futurology | text | un: Sasaki

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text | un: Sasaki

Like a few others here, I'm among those who met the goddess Nalanni. And like others there are things I learned from having a conversation with her. First and foremost, I'd like to request some help in conveying a message she intended for her people.

She wanted them to know that she loves them, and that she knows they can go on without her.

At the time, I was struck with the thought that she'd considered her own passing a possibility. And now that I've seen mentions of slaying gods here, it seems she wasn't wrong. Maybe some of you know more than me, but I'm not convinced it's the only way. Having said that, I'm not blind to the reality that those are our orders, and that there are those who will follow them.

I'm more interested in helping the Nalawi. I gave my word that I would do whatever I could, and so... To those who are already making efforts to ensure the Nalawi are able to sustain themselves, whatever may come, I'd like to volunteer any help I can provide.

If anyone wants further information on the conversation I had with Nalanni, please let me know. I'm unsure how much would be redundant, since admittedly, I've picked up on recent developments here and there.

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You and I and a good handful of other recruits. Thank you for all the detail you've provided. Some of it we've known for a while, but you're the second person to say that Nalanni is contrite about her crimes and honestly it surprises me. There is... a video on the network of when she committed that genocide. It's ugly watching. What is this token that she's given you? What are its properties?

I've been shown that video, by another recruit. And I can see why people had the impression that she was some ravening monster...especially since it sounds as though her reasons, and how she felt about the results, weren't something most were privy to beforehand.

I may not be the best equipped to explain properties beyond a basic description, but it's a stone the size and shape of an egg. I'd say it best resembles an opal, and when I held it, my whole body felt warm. I'm not quite sure how it works, but I surmise it does what she meant it to.

She told me I had a warm heart, you see.

I don't know about ravening monster but anything with that much power and a mediocre handle on her temper is a dangerous force. I don't think she's evil or particularly malicious, but she is... worrisome. I'd be curious to look at this stone. Would you be amicable to meeting?

Power can make a large difference. If she'd had less, circumstances could have been vastly different. But then it seems that gods are likely to have far more power than we do.

I have time, if there's a place you'd like to meet.

Are you near the Nalawi village right now? I can come to you.

I've wandered along the beach this last while, so that wouldn't be far for me.

Excellent. I'm coming out to the beach. I'll be just to the east of the village, around those big rocks that the Nalawi children are always poking their fingers into. I'll be the one with red hair.

[And true to that promise, Evan was out and waiting in the sea breeze in very little time. The day had been a slow one, if tense for all that was going on, and once he had left the confines of the village and its tiny buildings, he found that the sea air was a relief. He picked a spot on the rocks far away from the teeming tidepools, and sat, and the waiting allowed him to let go for a time of the worry and the fretting he'd been doing.

Evan was a slight young man, with only a bit of breadth across his shoulders from all the manual labour he'd been taking part in on this world over the past three months. He'd accrued a tan but it was a new one, and the orange of his hair had bleached out a little: he had shaken off some of the look of a person who spent most of their time indoors, though not all of it. His uniform was in rough shape: the extremities entirely missing, including the boots, replaced by sandals of Nawali crafting. The tattered edges suggested burning, although he'd done his best to trim them down, and all down the left side of the torso there were faded stains that may have been blood.

On that same side, too, his face was bandaged. The bandages were tight and well-maintained but sparse, and held a pad in place over one of his eyes. Around the bandage were faint pinkish scars, still healing, that interrupted his eyebrow and looked like they might have been made by something small and clawed. He kept lookout with his good eye, but otherwise sat quite still.]

[The description was a vivid one, and Haise could easily envision the location as Evan had detailed it. His memory for all its brevity was sharp, latching onto details with such stubborn determination that it seemed to be filling the void his first twenty years of life had left behind]

I'll be there shortly.

[It didn't take him long to find the stones Evan had referred to, though no children were there inspecting them at this time. Perhaps it was telling of the circumstances the Nalawi were facing, or for any number of other reasons. Somehow the silence where small voices laughing and masking exaggeratedly conspiratorial whispers when recruits passed by was quite stark, but Haise pushed that out of mind.

Instead he scanned the shore for his associate, and as the lone figure in the area, he was easy enough to spot. Haise veered in his direction, ignoring the way sand found a way of creeping into his boots, no matter how impossible it seemed that it should've been.

As he approached it looked to him as though Evan had been through some harrowing experiences. Haise had been told in bits and pieces what the time preceding his arrival had been like, fragments of information he found both distressing and bizarre, but it seems his associate was heavily marked by these events. Concern knit his eyebrows together before he could fend it off, as he drew closer and took those details in.

Blooded and burned clothing, bandages and scars... These operations couldn't be easy on those who had been here longer. In contrast Haise's uniform was in good repair, with only sand and grit to evidence that he'd done all that much of anything while wearing it. When he came close enough he made sure to approach from the side that would allow Evan to see him, and he lifted a hand to wave]

Sorry to make you wait.

[It was a bit odd, so deep in the mission, to see a uniform that was actually in good repair. Of the other recruits who regularly wore their ALASTAIR digs, enough of them had gone native in the last few months that the pristine purple-black-and-white on the approaching young man was a stark indicator of his newness. He hadn't been through the rollicking ride that had been Nawali.

Ah, and wasn't that just a whole nother thing? Evan hadn't had time while he was healing from the loss of his eye to feel self-conscious about the so-necessary bandages, as everyone had been through hell that week in one way or another. But to a new recruit, he suddenly felt embarrassed by his obvious injury, enough so that he compensated with a particularly bright grin of greeting.

He shook his head, rising to his feet to greet the new recruit.]

Not at all. Ah, it's nice out here today. It's too easy to forget that this place is basically a tropical paradise, barring the supernatural storms and murderous deities.

Um, it occurs to me that I have forgotten the usual niceties. I'm Evan.

He offered a hand out, as the other young man looked normal enough that he might well know what to do with a handshake.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Edited 2016-06-08 04:32 (UTC)

[Though his surname was at least on his post, having been offered an introduction was prompt for one in kind. And so with a small smile he responded]

Haise Sasaki.

[It hadn't been often that Haise had been offered the gesture, but a brief life as part of a large organization did make him aware enough. So he didn't hesitate in clasping Evan's hand long enough for a handshake before withdrawing from the contact, ever aware of personal space as his culture would dictate.

Such things were meant to be brief, he'd learned that quite early with hugs]

Good to meet you as well.

[Having said that, he turned his attention to tugging the stone out from a uniform pocket. Just as it had before, the moment he touched the stone it flooded his whole body with warmth, something he questioned ever becoming accustomed to. He held the stone out for Evan to take and inspect as he liked, red and nacreous, roughly the size and shape of a chicken's egg]

Here, this is the stone I mentioned before.

[Perhaps ironically for the sometimes garrulous young man, Evan had an appreciation for the quickness with which Haise got to the point. He quirked a smaller grin before his eyes flicked to the stone and stayed there, well caught by the prospect of new knowledge.

He took the stone carefully, cognizant of the care he should probably take with the token of a deity, and was stayed for a moment when he experienced that flood of warmth. It was a sensation a little closer to familiar for Evan, considering his heritage; it was a little like climbing into a bonfire on a cold winter night, the same flood of warmth and buzz of reverence both.

Eyeballing the stone with sharper interest, he held it up, trying to discern some quality that might explain that lovely warmth.]

I suppose it stands to reason. She is a volcano goddess, after all.

[He said that mostly to himself, but finally looked back to Haise, not having entirely forgotten about the other young man.]

It does that for you, too? When she gave it to you, did she mention it having a particular purpose?

[It appeared to him that Evan had a particular interest in objects like this, though Haise granted to himself that he could well be mistaken. With only this one instance to draw on, he couldn't gauge anything conclusively. But it did seem that Evan's appraisal of the stone came from a different perspective than his own had, and doubtless from different experiences.

Though he'd seen the stone being made, having been there, he couldn't say that he understood it fully. Nalanni had generated it with her own power, and it had required energy - but that was the bulk of what he understood. He folded his arms ad he considered that; just how much would he encounter that he couldn't fathom?

Once he was posed that question, he shook his head]

No, all she told me was that it was a token of her appreciation... And she told me I had a warm heart, so I suppose she may have had that thought in mind.

[Though truly, he hadn't done much of anything except care, and he doubted that was at all unique]

[Evan's brows crunched and he glanced at the stone again.]

Surely not all that for the sake of a visual pun. But then, I suppose I'm not that familiar with the kind of sense of humor a god would have.

[He held the stone up, in the direction of the setting sun, admiring the translucency around the edges. Tilting it, he peered at the flash inside and how it backlit, then tilted it down to look at the sheen again, ran a fingernail over its nacreous surface. Glancing at Haise again, he suppressed the urge to ask if he could chip off a piece. He doubted the answer would ever be yes.

Cupping the stone in both hands, he felt the warmth of it again and focused to see if he could feel any fire in it. But either the stone was made just for Haise or it didn't have any fiery aspect itself, for Evan sensed nothing of his element within that gem.]

What are you going to do with it?

[It would be a bit strange for a goddess to expend her limited energies to craft a stone just for humor, though Haise can't argue that he knows that with certainty. This is the first time gods have existed outside of stories and myths, assuredly the first that he's ever encountered one in-person. Whether that's a rarity or not among worlds, only time would tell.

As for what he was going to do with it, that's something he can answer easily enough]

I'll take care of it as best I can. It was a gift, after all.

[And whatever the thought behind it was, Haise had told her he would treasure it. If there are any other options to be had, they don't come to mind... Though he does have to wonder-]

What would you do, with something like that?

What would I do?

[Somehow Evan is surprised at the question. He looked up at Haise, a little self-deprecating grin playing on his face. He knew exactly what he'd do with it -- any number of things he'd do with it -- but he was also savvy enough to the various opinions on gods and their sanctity that he wondered if he shouldn't tread lightly with that.

Well, maybe, maybe not. So far Haise had seemed the level-headed sort.]

Honestly, I would test it for its attributes. Not terribly respectful, I expect, but I'll admit to a certain weakness for finding out how things tick. [He tilted the stone again, peering at its underside.] Even if it does nothing but that warmth thing, it'd be interesting to know...

Hmmm.

[The look he gave Haise was a much more assessing one, with a cheerful sharpness to it.] Actually, would you consent to helping me run an experiment? Non-invasive, I assure you.

[Haise watched as Evan turned the stone about, looking at it from different angles. It was something he'd done more than once in the short time since he'd been gifted it by Nalanni. He hadn't wondered so much how it worked, simply because something of mystical origins seemed beyond his knowledge for the time being.

Perhaps when they returned to Oska he could do something about that.

The question was unexpected, eyebrows lifting in response to it]

An experiment? I don't mind, though I don't have much experience with science.

[Supposing that was what Evan had meant, at least. Haise was himself apparently the result of an experiment, and his squad was experimental too... But that was surely not the same]

[Evan huffed, both gratified and lightly embarrassed.]

Well, I wouldn't quite deign to call it scientific, exactly. It's more a proof of concept, I'd need an actual thermometer and maybe a good handful of people to really... but in any case.

[He stopped himself, suffering a flash of self-consciousness again. Enough years of getting lightly mocked for going off on little tangents like that one made the young man quick to cut himself off. He straightened, lowering the rock to look at Haise instead. It's also occurring to him, somewhat belatedly, that the experiment he's thought of might be a bit awkward.

Augh. But he can't turn back now without enough backpedalling to make it just as awkward to ask as not.]

Since we only know of one thing that it does so far, I want to test that. That warmth that it imparts, I want to see if it's an actual warmth or some sort of trickery.

If you would let me, I'd like to take your temperature as I hand you the stone. Would you mind?

[The notion that it might just cause one to perceive warmth hadn't ever occurred to Haise, but he supposed that might be a good thing to learn. If it was real it might be useful in a far colder world, in theory. Otherwise it would be dangerous to rely on what was only an imagined change in temperature.

It was quite something, what some would notice or consider]

Why would I mind?

[The question came with an easy smile. Haise couldn't imagine what would be wrong with that, and it seemed that the confirmation of the stone's actual effects would be beneficial in the long run]

Well. [The breezy response drew something of a fret from Evan, one he recognized as silly. While he didn't personally object to physical contact, he was always startled when someone didn't ask first. It made him sensitive to the same in others -- and occasionally, like now, he wondered if perhaps he wasn't too sensitive. There was some envy in him for those who found touching others an easy thing.] Some people aren't always amicable to being touched.

In that case. Ah.

[He took one hand from the stone, considered it, feeling awkward now himself. But there was nothing for it but to do it, and he reached out and -- as per the way he'd always had his own temperature taken in the past -- he put his hand to Haise's forehead.

His hand was warm. It was always warm; other people feeling slightly cool to Evan was as familiar as breathing to the young man. With that in place, he went to hand off the stone to Haise before his hand warmed the other man's skin enough to confuse the reading.]

It's kind of you to ask, but you don't need to worry.

[In his three years of memory, Haise had become accustomed to being poked, prodded, and examined. He was an oddity, a human-turned-ghoul, a product of some mad scientist's delusion of grandeur. At least, that was the way it had always been presented to him. And being an anomalous existence, it was only natural that he was treated like the experiment he must have been.

Though perhaps more to the point, a weapon they were still deciding how best to use.

He glanced up curiously when Evan touched his forehead, though that didn't afford him the best view from this angle. When the stone was passed to him he felt the same warmth flow through him as any time he'd held it since Nalanni first gave it to him, but he hadn't any idea what Evan would conclude.

At least this seemed a simple way to determine whether it was a real effect or a perceived one]

[Evan kept his hand in place for long moments, gaze unfocused, but the frown that grew on his face was plenty of indication of his experiment's status, really. Finally he dropped his hand, fretting lightly.]

Oh, I suppose it stands to reason. Human bodies are so fine-tuned, we'd almost certainly feel the heat internally before it would express internally...

I'm still not convinced. Oh, for a proper thermometer. [He was still half talking to himself, but Evan shook himself out of it and looked at Haise again.]

Thank you, for helping out with that. I'm not sure off the top of my head what other non-invasive experiments I could run on that. [He nodded at the stone in Haise's hand.] If I think of any, could I contact you again? Or, you know, if you think of any?

[Haise couldn't imagine what he might think to suggest, as someone with no experience in this department. But he would surely adapt to the circumstances with time, and if he had the chance to read up on related subjects perhaps he could come up with some kind of ideas...

In the interim, he pocketed the stone, supposing they'd done what they could to examine it for now]

I'll let you know if any come to mind. Feel free to let me know if you think of anything, as well.

[It would be nice knowing more about the gift Nalanni had given him, after she'd put her energy into it]

[The offer genuinely made Evan smile, never mind that he'd made the request.] Thank you. I will.

Haise, right? [Too often Evan forgot names; being folded into a team with so many people had left him more determined to be diligent about learning his fellow recruits without having to resort to too many repetitions.] Listen, thank you for letting me have a look.

Hmm... [He glanced back at the village, away from the hypnotic waves and their peaceful rolling.] Feel free to ping me on the network anytime, I'm always around one way or another. I think it's about time to see what's in the communal pot for dinner tonight, though. Have you eaten? Do you want to come with?

Right.

[He confirmed when he was asked about his name, a small nod accompanying the word. It seemed there were no small number of them here, and a great deal of new information to absorb, so he thought nothing of verifying what his name was. To his knowledge, his given name was rather unusual compared to his far more common family name.

Granted...both had been given to him, and he was perfectly aware of that.

At the offer of food, though, he lightly waved the suggestion away like mist]

Thank you - but I really should take some time to spread Nalanni's message around. Hope it's a good meal, though.

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