[Return] [Voice]

[aetherweaver]

[There's a vaguely British-sounding voice emitting from the journals, and those who recognize Nara'a will note it's not his usual calm tone.]

Would anyone, anyone like to explain what in the hells just happened? 'Oh, the town or the spaceship or the book closing sound?' All of it.

[He takes a breath, lets it out.]

Right. Everyone back here? All appendages accounted for?

Comments

[bashasasdemon]

I haven't got a fucking clue

[alas, if Kai had the appropriate skill, it would be clear how exhausted he is, but he does not.]

All appendages counted for. And no extras.

[aetherweaver]

Good.

[He just sighs and tries to unclench his jaw. His head is aching.]

I think I recognize the writing... Kai? ... Sorry about... before.

voice

[angel_of_baal]

[Someone is very displeased because what the fuck was that. ]

It was a violation of our autonomy, whatever else it might have been.

[aetherweaver]

[Ah. He recognizes that voice.]

It was, yes. I don't think I care for it very much. ... Nor for the methods some of those off-worlders used.

Handwritten. Nonhtml cuz phone.

[curzed]

It began with a book and ended with one. My knowledge of sorcery is limited, but there are technologies that can simulate such things.

Was any of it real?

[Voice]

[aetherweaver]

... That depends. What counts as 'real', I suppose? We remember it. The people were there. We could interact with it.

Is that enough to be real?

[curzed]

No. While our lived experiences are not false because of it, if it was the creation of a machine spirit or the product of sorcery, then there is no defenseless human world left behind.

[aetherweaver]

... I'm not sure. Either way, we can't seem to do anything about it at the moment. And the off-star people were not intending to do harm, at least...

[curzed]

Intention is not relevant. Kidnapping and unlawful detainment are not benevolent.

It is easier, if it were a created scenario and not a planet left to the dubious mercy of beings who do not understand 'informed consent'.

[aetherweaver]

I'm aware that it's not.

[He's trying to not sound irritated. It's not Konrad's fault, it's just... everything.]

They seemed to be leaving, at the very least...

[angel_of_baal]

I did not care for it at all.

[It was terrible. Entirely.]

The. The xenos were trying, I think, to not cause harm or distress. [Says the former xenos. ]

[aetherweaver]

... Xenos?

[In that context it would be... ah.]

Yes. I think they were trying to help. Yourself included, so I don't think there's reason to feel bad about it?

[curzed]

And can return easily.

[A little doodle appears in the margins of his writing, looks like some kind of ship.]

As I detected to teleportation, and it began on contact with that book, it may be best to err on the side of some form of simulation in line with the pod-aliens warning we'd received.

[angel_of_baal]

Alien species. Interlopers. The enemies of mankind.

[Which he absolutely had been but he is also absolutely NOT ready to admit it. That was the biggest reason of his discomfiture. How dare they make him a xenos!!! And Curze not?]

Myself? No. You are mistaken. [He's not going to outright lie but he's going to ride that line like a pro athlete. ]

[aetherweaver]

Aw, most of the ones I've met weren't that bad.

[... Okay so technically dragons are aliens, but that one wasn't on them. Omega, sure, even as it was trying to learn. And then... well. That one wasn't her fault either. So on the whole not too bad.]

I'm sorry the ones you've met have been problems. ... And oh? I could have sworn your voice was... well. Maybe I was mistaken...

[aetherweaver]

I feel like they might not be so keen on doing so, but perhaps.

But yes, perhaps it was some sort of... simulation. Though I think that 'warning' was a fictional movie... ? Things lined up too well for it to be real.

[curzed]

That is generally how warnings work, it does no good if what you warn for is wildly different from its subject.

If it were a second invasion, or third, then the refinement of the process would be expected, but they are still terrible at acting human.

[bashasasdemon]

Yeah it's me, sorry.

What for?

[please don't apologize for being weird to the aliens, the aliens fucking deserved it. Even if 'Kaiisteron' was genuinely trying to help.]

[Text]

[aetherweaver]

[He's just going to swap to text for this one.]

I ended up dumping a lot of stuff on you, even if I didn't really realize it was you.

I shouldn't be dumping that stuff on anyone.

[aetherweaver]

They are. That much is true.

[There's a sigh, which is probably weird coming out of a book.]

Hopefully they'll at least keep an eye on the place in case someone else shows up. I'd rather have well-meaning but incompetent rather than malicious and destructive.

[curzed]

Not just incompetent but willfully so. If I never encounter that simulation again it will be too soon, the entire month was an exercise in frustration.

No human world is free of defenders. If it is not a fabrication, it will be protected. I must admit I prefer the threats that arrive with weapons in hand than ones that appear with a smile on their lips and lies behind their teeth.

[aetherweaver]

I mean... it's simpler, but there's always some complexity. Even the Empire I fought against most fiercely was made up of people. When they came to kill me I killed them... but otherwise... mm.

I don't know how willfully incompetent they were, but it's still frustrating.

[curzed]

[the words that follow are almost artistic in their fanciness, the script exaggeratedly so. There is even a daisy as the dot on every single i.]

I know exactly how willfully incompetent they were.

[his writing returns to what passes for normal for Curze.]

Your insight is noted, but it seems we write on different subjects. What is the relevance of a fighting force being made of people?

[aetherweaver]

People are individuals with hopes and dreams. They are not countless innocents to slaughter. Even should some alien force come to fight them, they would have to defend themselves, of course... but...

[He's quiet for a few moments before returning to text.]

It weighs on the soul, knowing that your enemy is as much of a person as you are.

[curzed]

On hypothetical alone, there is agreement.

But in turn, based on what I wrote that you responded to, are you implying you would prefer your foe to pretend to be an ally first?