about a reserve at teleios.

[3dvision]

This is a little hard for me to wrap my head around, so I'm just gonna go ahead and ask.

Are you insane? Have you totally lost your marbles? I have fought so hard to keep Amber safe, to get her away from those horrible people who want to keep her a prisoner and experiment on her, and now you're going to tear me away from her and just stick me in some crazy limbo prison where I'm being punished for saving her??

What is wrong with you?

How long am I going to have to be there? What happens to my sister in the meantime? Will they ever let me out? I'm not interested in rebuilding a wonderful city of whatever for some random gods that nobody even believes in anymore, I'm interested in saving my little sister's life!

Aren't you supposed to be on my side?

Comments

[scientistdukebastard]

No, generally they're not. On your side. But I'm real sorry to hear about your sister and this experimentation bullshit, lady. I hope she'll be okay. You guys mutants?

[3dvision]

I just thought we were in this together. I guess I was wrong.

No, we're just another species. They call us Oracles, we're kind of rare in comparison to the rest and nobody really knows much about us or where we come from, which is I guess why they thought keeping Amber prisoner in a lab for her whole life and doing experiments on her was such a good idea. For the record, I disagree.

[scientistdukebastard]

Think of it more like a shitty buddy cop movie where you're handcuffed to them, but they're also like, Jim Carrey circa The Mask, totally indestructible, and also sort of, I don't know, crapfuckingly meta-existent giant naked baby gods who control your entire life and giggle while doing so.

Or anyway that's how it is for me.

Oh man, are you guys aliens? Is that guy with the orange spray tan and crazy hair right?

[3dvision]

Wow that's... colorful. You know how in buddy cop movies they always end up being friends somehow? Does that ever happen?

Don't be silly, even Ogres don't believe in aliens! It's just a myth.

[scientistdukebastard]

Uhhhhh maybe. [ His face says: no. ] Take a poll. Anything's possible. Except aliens, I guess. Which is gonna be real upsetting news for them Star Trek people.

[3dvision]

Well, where I'm from, there aren't any. I suppose you could argue that they're out there but they just don't want to bother with us, but we've never found any evidence of life on other planets yet. Anything's possible, but that doesn't make it likely! Crazy-haired tan guys notwithstanding.

[strongestcoward]

You ask too many questions.

[3dvision]

Well, if I don't ask questions, how am I supposed to get any answers?

[strongestcoward]

Personal investigation.

[3dvision]

Isn't questioning generally considered part of investigation?

[strongestcoward]

Question yourself, then find the answers! Don't expect people to hand them to you.

[3dvision]

Sometimes they do, though. If you ask them! Which is why I do!

[gramarye]

You're really pretty.

- Uh. Sorry. I, uh. I don't... uh. [ STOPS TALKING!!!! ]

[3dvision]

Oh! Um, thanks, you are too. I like your hair!

[AWKWARD SILENCE IS GO]

[fulltiltdiva]

[ That is so many question. Here we go. ]

Your first and second questions are matters of philosophy. We are not real to them, they are hardly real to us. Someone's deluded.

It seems likely.

I cannot know what is wrong nor right about your scribe, but suffice to say she has too much time on her hands.

You will be there as long as they wish it, manipulating hard numbers against the uncertain, unbalanced, ever changing shape of morality.

Your sister remains safe in oblivion, lest she join you.

They may spare you, in time, should they grow weary of you and consign you to non-existence.

No.

[3dvision]

[blink. blink blink.]

Those weren't the answers I was looking for.

...What do you mean by "oblivion" and "non-existence", exactly.

[fulltiltdiva]

The places we are when we are not.

[3dvision]

Aren't you a helpful little ray of sunshine! So what makes you the expert?

[fulltiltdiva]

I have experience. Teleios is not the first realm I have found myself stranded.

[3dvision]

But for now, you're still stuck?

[fulltiltdiva]

For now.

We are promised paradise.

[3dvision]

You know there's no such thing, right?

[rhinemaid]

It's like reality television. They care about having a story to sell.

[ figuratively speaking. because that is wayyy easier to respond to than CAPTIVITY AND EXPERIMENTATION, which she has. some experience with. uh. ]

[3dvision]

My sister's safety is not for anyone's entertainment.

[rhinemaid]

I know. [ intimately. ]