001 (jan. 27) / video.

[dissenter]

[good afternoon Death City. hope you aren't tired of new arrivals yet because here's another one.

it's hard to tell where exactly this particular old bespectacled man is recording from because most of the screen is taken up by the biggest hat in the cosmos. don't be intimidated, though! he seems friendly enough, though his attention constantly flickers from his unseen audience to a point just beyond them -- as if he's almost more interested in the communicator itself than who's behind it. the quiet muttering doesn't help.] A mirror, eh? Curious choice...

[right, he's supposed to be talking to people. whoops! he blinks, starts, and smiles apologetically, refocusing.] Ah-- greetings. My name is Qilby, and I am an Eliatrope.

[an awkward, expectant pause as if he's hoping that by some stretch the term should be familiar to someone out there. or maybe he's just hesitant to address his next point.] ...I don't suppose I'm the only one that finds it rather tragic that by bringing us here and giving us these new abilities, they've stripped us of our powers that arguably could have been more useful to help end this conflict. And now we must figure out how to harness an entirely new set of skills... Well. They say you can't teach an old boowolf new tricks, and I doubt I'm an exception. [and his smile at his own "joke" implies that he is a very old boowolf indeed.]

That aside, I'm more than willing to try and learn. Tell me, how have people's experiences been? I'm afraid I haven't had to fight a war in a long time.

[and at that, he looks very tired.] A very, very long time.

Comments

video.

[dissenter]

Oh, well now... [harsh! qilby laughs a little.] At least they have the courtesy to leave us with new skills. It could be far worse.

As for Eliatropes: they are my people. A space-faring race with portal-making powers and sophisticated magic science.

[le smile.] If you've seen anyone in the city with a hat similar to mine... Chances are you may have met one.

[voice]

[want_the_world]

Can't say I have.

I assume they take any powers that would let people leave easily, and give us ones useful to them.

How do magic and science go together? [An amused note creeps into his voice.]

[dissenter]

Like bread and butter. [another laugh!] People with powers like ours -- once we've exhausted the depths of our mysticism, surely there's no other route to turn to but the one of technological progression. Some of my fellow Eliatropes -- myself included -- are inventors, using our magic to create machines to do what our powers can't.

While we personally have our limits, there is no limit to what our minds can create.

[and... he frowns, but shrugs one shoulder in acceptance.] I'm not surprised you haven't met another Eliatrope, though. It would be too much to hope for.

[want_the_world]

There's no magic in my world.

[He finds this version of magic interesting, though. Working hand in hand with technology, instead of following an entirely separate track. Shame it doesn't work here.]

I wouldn't give up hope on another Eliatrope showing up here. In fact, you being here probably increases the chances.

[dissenter]

Unless BREW can work a real miracle I'm afraid my people are, for the most part, beyond any hope of that. [a sad smile.] It's a nice thought, though.

[no magic? how do these people live?] But how have you adjusted to a world like this?

[want_the_world]

You never know. There's more than a few here who should have been beyond BREW's reach.

There are things in my world that operate by mechanisms I can't explain. It would be foolish to discount similar things here. I don't need to know exactly how my partner can send out a blast wave for it to come in useful.

[dissenter]

[that's somewhat comforting, and he cheers somewhat-visibly for the other man's benefit... but unless BREW got it in its mind or whatever to bring in every single one of his people, he'd never be satisfied. he knew that.

another short laugh.] Wouldn't you be curious, though? We've such a great opportunity here, to learn about things we'd never even imagined existed.

[want_the_world]

Heh, there are things I need to learn here that are more relevant than that.

[Of course it was ingrained in him from a very young age that you can never know too much, about anything, but Mello's much more eager to figure out BREW, for example, than exactly how the abilities people have gained work.]

[dissenter]

True enough. [wartime, and all. priorities. it was easy to forget that not everyone had as much time as he did.]

You have a partner, though? So you've chosen to fight?

[want_the_world]

The war ending quickly benefits everyone.

[So yes, but only until he finds a faster way that will benefit him, of course.]

[dissenter]

[someone after his own heart!]

Indeed. But I understand not everyone here thinks the same way...

[want_the_world]

[If Mello were in charge, he'd find some way to convince people to fight.

But he'd argue strenuously against anyone trying to compel him to fight. He chose it because it suited his purposes. If someone said he had to, he'd be likely to resist just because. So the conclusion he's reached is...]

You can't force people. If you do, they'll just half-ass it.

[dissenter]

[lightly...] It's not our place to force them, in any case.

I can only assume BREW judges how well-equipped or well-intended its city's defences are, and... Adjusts its collection of people accordingly. [why else would it bother sending people home...?]

[want_the_world]

I'm not convinced there's rhyme or reason to how BREW chooses people. It's not random, but I wouldn't attribute prescience to it. It's a tool like any other, and not immune to design flaws.

[dissenter]

I find it hard to believe someone capable of creating a device with powers like BREW's wouldn't consider giving it some sort of logical processes... That's not merely flawed design -- that's reckless design.

But perhaps I'm speaking from bias. My people had an artefact of similar capabilities. Later models, of my own invention, developed the ability to think for themselves. [it was really interesting, in fact, and he wished he could have studied them further...]

[voice | private]

[want_the_world]

[Oh, hello, you have Mello's undivided attention.]

It could be that the wish itself was flawed, and BREW's doing the best it can to fulfill it anyway.

Did you design yours from the ground up, or build upon the existing one?

video, private.

[dissenter]

[the switch to a private line raises a brow, but qilby follows suit.]

Upon the original design, of course. These were given out to my people as a sort of personal device -- somewhat like these mirrors -- so I preferred to keep my inventions in the realm of the familiar. [a laugh!] Besides, I imagine my brother would have had some strong words for me if I'd mangled his original blueprints too much.

[he pauses.] And-- you're right. That is all too much a possibility, and... Frequently the result of people attempting to harness powers they can't begin to comprehend.

[voice | private]

[want_the_world]

Believe me, I know. My world doesn't exactly have demon tools, but it might as well have. It had things humans had no right getting their hands on.

[Mello being the exception, as in so many other things he believes.]

Did yours grant wishes, too?

oh god i must've accidentally deleted the notif for this, i'm so sorry

[dissenter]

Perhaps not in quite as literal a way as BREW seems to, but... In a way, yes. They bent to the will of whoever held them, and had few limitations on their power. My people had the wisdom to handle this responsibly, but I hear that it wasn't the same for certain others that got their hands on our creations after our time on their world had passed.

[if he's bitter he does a good job not giving any indication of it, apart from a slight furrowing of the brow, an almost unnoticeable set in his jaw.] The problem is most humans are simply too short-sighted to hold such power. And er-- forgive me, if I'm speaking to a human here.

It's okay!

[want_the_world]

You are, but I've reached the same conclusion myself.

[And he owes the man some information about his own world in return by now.]

My world's closest equivalent tool could kill people, any way the one who had it chose. All he needed was a name and a face. I'm sure you can imagine what happened when it fell into the hands of someone who thought he was wise, but wasn't.

[Mello, at least, never had that delusion.]

[dissenter]

[it's a wonder his eyebrows haven't gone right off his head and launched themselves into the stratosphere. it's not out of disbelief, though, but--] --I'm having trouble imagining what kind of person would create such a tool, and be so thoughtless with its safekeeping. Or lack thereof.

He... Attempted to use the tool for good, I suppose. [the way that sentence was phrased, it seems the case...]

[want_the_world]

Not people. Death gods.

They aren't quite the same species as the shinigami here. Some seem to be careless with their artefacts for fun.

You're right, of course. The person who got hold of one tried to create a world free from crime.

The problem is, once all the murderers are gone, who's next? And once all the petty felons are gone, why not wipe out those who are most likely to commit crimes? Or those who aren't doing all they could? The slippery slope argument taken to extremes.

[dissenter]

Gods... Somewhat less surprising, then. But no less tragic.

Even the noblest of intentions are rarely enough to justify such extreme measures. I've seen this story countless times before, and they all end the same way. Hubris, like gravity, eventually catches up and crushes you.

[a long pause. he's still curious as to why this line had suddenly become private, but...] ... I hope it won't be the case with BREW, here. Though from what I understand, it seems to react to very little. I doubt anyone could do much, even if they managed to get their hands on it.

[want_the_world]

And even a taste of power like that is enough to make hanging onto that power more important than any ideal.

A trap Shibusen, at least, doesn't seem likely to fall into. If BREW has a reset button, or anything like one, no one knows how to press it, and the person who created it is long gone.

[He still thinks that if anyone in Death City can figure it out, it's Matt and Gemini.]

[dissenter]

A real shame. I should have liked to meet its creator. Very much so, in fact. [they could have a little talk about creating artefacts of incredible power...

a smile.] Speaking of which, I've hardly met you. Does the voice have a name to it?