voice; un: eliasainsworth

[thornydisposition]

I believe I have some information that might be of use, or at least to consider.

[The voice is low and very even, having only the barest hint of a conversational cadence.]

My companion, Shuyi, and I managed to locate and capture Miz Poppy. We captured her and two of her Deemer companions, and as we began to take them back to Perdition's Rest, she had some very interesting things to say.

She reaffirmed that there was no way to safely separate a Taraxa from its host without the destruction of the latter. What is more troubling, however, was that she insisted that hers and her compatriots' mission of destruction was something which the TIMELINE.EXE asked of them.

Before we could deliver her back here, one of the other captured Deemers sacrificed himself so that she may escape in the confusion.

It is not my intention to offer this information in order to incite mass confusion or doubt, as it is quite possible she was lying. But I do not think we can completely discount that she might be telling the truth—or that she and her fellows are somehow deluded enough to believe that they are. It is, as I originally said, something to at the very least keep in mind.

Comments

[grunehexe]

As I am sadly aware.

It is better to wait than act on unconfirmed hearsay.

[predomination]

Perhaps that's true. But that's the cost of meddling- if you can't commit to your belief that what you did meant something to them, then you shouldn't be doing it.

[spoken like a true meddler. a sigh] But we didn't exactly get a choice to stand back and stay out of it entirely, did we, Shuyi-san?

[ex_adept136]

That I'm unsure of. It's difficult to know where their objectives lie, or what it achieves...

But I remember once being told some time ago that the "cataclysm" fractured the universe into the multiverse. According to ALASTAIR, this throws some kind of energies out of balance, with multiple iterations of the same worlds existing at once. I remember reality being described as splintered in this way.

Could it be that the Deemers take this to mean they should [A pause as he clearly hesitates to phrase it this way, yet he can think of nothing simpler] "tidy up"?

[That is, by destroying perceived "loose ends" in the timeline]

[Video | un: tsukuyo]

[sekimorinashi]

If the Zymandis have their own program, does that make 'em our rivals?

I gotta say I ain't inclined to think any people who willingly put parasites into others are worth listenin' to. At the very least they look at the bigger picture and care for nothin' else.

If the Taraxa were only hired by the Zymandis, I'd like to have a chat with the real masterminds at work here.

[assent]

We may not have that choice. [ He can't see it with it being an audio call, but she's staring at the ground as she speaks, the tone of her voice dropping just slightly with it. ]

What if... [ She pauses briefly, before continuing. ] What if something we have done has made it so we are the threat now? What would you do in that case? [ Then-- ] No, that does not matter right now. We should be prepared for the worst, either way. We do not know for certain what may happen next... but it would seem we will have problems in the near future.

[thornydisposition]

I certainly think it should be.

[He is aware some people have managed to get in contact with other ALASTAIR members back in Oska or otherwise, but that isn't necessarily his concern.]

Mm, you are correct. The universe is a large place, after all.

Or it could be merely that this is the first time their Timeline program has diverged in its calculations from our own, leading to a conflict like this.

[thornydisposition]

[It was simply not in Elias' nature to belong to anything. To an organization, to a country, or, hell, even to a race or a species. Throughout his long existence he had learned to set himself apart; a spare cog that did not seem to mesh with the machine of the world at any point of contact. In his dealings back home, he interacted but did not belong—did not seek to belong. He lived in England but he did not think of himself as English. He walked among the people in town, bought things of them and sold things to them, but he did not count himself as one of them. He helped the church with various problems they had with fae and aberrations, but their Lord would know he did not think of himself as one of them.

So even if he hadn't been forced into service by ALASTAIR without proper approach and consent, and even if his relationship with them was neutral or even positive, he would not think of himself as a part of them. It was just how his mental processes worked, a kind of mental exile he held himself to.]

You cannot force an individual into picking up a banner. It must be upon one's own volition.

[In his centuries he had watched kingdoms rise and fall. It had never been his place to interfere.]

For now, it is my volition to help as I see fit.

And nothing more.

[thornydisposition]

If they have no knowledge of this group or how they managed to secure another version of this Timeline program, it will be dire news indeed.

[So far, from what he had heard, the Audentes group hadn't faced true opposition from a force that wasn't of the planet they landed on. Now they would face opposition on two fronts. Troublesome.]

We will have to change our tactics if we seek to gain any advantage. We cannot afford to field assaults from natives and Zymandis without loss.

[respired]

[ Bitterly, his ears folding back against either side of his head--like an agitated cat. ]

Not so, in my experience. But there is no force in this.

[ He was a slave for ten years--he knows from force. ]

We have no masters here. Our wills are not leashed. If we choose to do nothing, then that is a viable option. Albeit unproductive.

[steler]

There's definitely more to the story.

[steler]

You really think they don't know anything?

[steler]

Still, that doesn't seem to be in the future for this kind of work.

[fateality]

I'm not overly concerned with the form of currency, personally. If there are other worlds like this one in the future, I'm content.

[thornydisposition]

Hmph.

[Nothing about this gives him any shred of confidence in their situation or the group they are (apparently) a part of. Either they knew about this group and their aims and did not inform the Audentes outfit, which is negligent and offensive to those risking their health to fulfill this mission, or they did not know anything about them, which made them marred by the far worse sin of ignorance.]

If this is the truth of the structure of this "multiverse" from which we were all drawn, it is possible.

[It would certainly explain why there were multiple versions of Earth and whatnot.]

Admittedly multiple instances of one world seems very fragile in concept, so I could even understand their motivations were this the case. But, considering I am from one of those instanced worlds, well.
If this truly ends up being their aim, we must do our best to prevent their efforts.

[thornydisposition]

[One usually does not wish to attribute a force seeking to preserve the sanctity of a universal timeline to "whimsy."]

Regardless of its success or failure, it will be data to inform our actions in the future.
Is there a place within Perdition's Rest you believe would be most conducive to your casting of this spell?

[Shuyi and he still haven't figured out what to do with this Deemer captive... not that he was as troublesome as the other two, now that Miz Poppy had escaped.]

[thornydisposition]

[He recognizes the change in tone.

He does his best as well. Elias can emulate what he think is a soothing tone, though it is little more than him emulating the person he had first traveled with in the earliest years of his remembered life. He's attempting to replicate that as best he can now.]

While I would be lying if I said it was not a possibility, Sonia, I do not believe we are in a position where we can second-guess ourselves—not without a good deal more concrete information. Attempting to foresee the future is always dangerous. The best you can do is be knowledgable and prepared so that you may respond as best you can as things arise and occur.

[It's about as soothing as he can get, honestly...]

[grunehexe]

[Precisely.]

Unfortunately my temporary laboratory burned down with the brothel, and I have had little time to rebuild... but anywhere with little wind and a flat surface, say ten by ten paces, would do.

video

[thornydisposition]

ALASTAIR has told us themselves that they have employed Taraxa in the past, albeit that their hosts were temporary. A very interesting qualification given what we have found happens to hosts after their parasites are removed.

So if Zymandis merely hired them, it makes that organization not only our rivals, but one eerily similar to the one which claims us as well.

[thornydisposition]

[A brief pause...]

Oh.
Well, if that is the chase, I will check with my companion and reply back to you with a proper location soon.

[grunehexe]

Of course.

I await your word.

[thornydisposition]

[Starkly contrary to the conversation, Elias seems strangely interested in the gesture of irritation. Largely because... well, it was one he had never seen, largely studying the emotions of humans, and he was always intrigued by emotions, gestures, or expressions he had never seen.

Anyway.]

Just because they do not present you with a threat does not mean there is no force to it.

Individuals are forcibly extracted from their own familiar worlds and are practically ransomed for their involvement in dangerous missions in order to perhaps be returned, upon ALASTAIR's leisure. There are no agreements. There are no promises.

Even the concept of abstaining is an illusory one, as doing so would likely increase one's risk of death.

[In the end... they're just probably not going to agree on this, largely due to the completely understandable preconceptions they have coming from two very different worlds and backgrounds.]

A risk which should not have been posed to them unwillingly in the first place.

[fateality]

When we got a breather, I'll share a bit. Hopefully then, you'll have the time to share some of what you know to me too, friend.

In any case, suppose we ought to focus on the Deemers and whatnot for now.

[ex_adept136]

It's the information with which we were provided as ALASTAIR recruits, after my first mission. If it's accurate, then Zymandis may have access to similar information themselves.

[And thus having drawn the conclusion that fractured realities should be destroyed rather than allowed to continue coexisting. Haise remembers how it was characterized as disorder and chaos: something to correct.

Perhaps the essential difference between organization is how they think to go about it]

I wouldn't want anyone else's version of Earth sacrificed only for mine, either. In something like this, I'd rather be wrong, but if it does prove to be their objective...I'm with you on stopping them.

Among so many reasons, and so many lives involved, there's the fact that none of us can claim our version of a world is more worthy of existence than another.

[gunah]

She was captured, bound, on her way to certain death or worse. Perhaps she was only buying herself some time, looking for chances to escape.

I would not trust her. [ She doesn't want to trust her. ]

[racking]

I know.

[ And he isn't completely certain it isn't. ]

It might be. But after we resolve the other issues at hand, we can devote more energy to restoring hosts.