[ The practical thing about all those eerie empty houses with the moving brooms is that they make for a better private tea setting than the bedrooms which only have one singular chair. McGillis is one who makes use of his resources, so he's brought some bakedgoods from the bakery and some tea from the palace kitchen - the tea set meanwhile is simply pilfered from the house itself.
It's a cozy little set-up and McGillis is a good host, even in a house that is not even remotely his. If they're going to talk about such unpleasant things such as government, they might as well do it comfortably. ]
How regrettable, really, that we seem to have such similar stories to share. I'd have hoped other worlds were a little less aggravating.
[...Oh, this place is not at all yours and that's sure a thing, isn't it.
Alexei is willing to meet McGillis there, surely, though he isn't positive how he feels about it; some part of him is too Lawful-aligned to be completely comfortable, but that same part of him is also too Lawful-aligned to complain about hospitality, even when it isn't entirely his host's to give.
Besides, he likes tea, so...]
It's a shame to disappoint you, truly - although I suppose something similar can be said for worlds that seem so advanced, by comparison to my own.
[ Look, there is zero sign anybody is living in here AND it's got chairs. What more does one want from life? If the magical broom wants to complain, it is welcome to do so. So far, it is just happily sweeping away despite their interruption.
McGillis looks entirely at home even when it isn't his home. ]
Technological advancement sadly says little about the moral values of a society. If anything, it allows for more hypocrisy.
It says you managed to last longer than some, without everything going to the dogs. It can be argued that that's some sort of accomplishment, even if it really ought not to be seen as such.
[Achievement unlocked: didn't cause an extinction event. The Great Filter is somewhere beyond you still. Yay!]
It seems to be the accomplishment of very few rather than society at large. 300 years ago, mankind nearly faced extinction and was only rescued from such by the power of 72 brave warriors.
[ Judging by his smile as he relegates this, he likes that story a whole lot. ]
It's been a long time since anybody truly followed their example, but humanity still persists.
[...McGillis, has anyone ever told you that you're kind of a weird dude...]
My own world has faced a large-scale threat in the past, but we don't even have a solid timeline as to when that was; we have murals, and some of the elders of the Krityan race are aware of what happened, but generally speaking many of the details are lost to us.
That doesn't mean there isn't a risk of it occurring again; by my calculations, another event along those lines is past due.
[ Listening to somebody speak about the history of a whole other world is both brainbreaking and fascinating. Krityan race? Does this world coexist with other species entirely? It's a question shelved for later because its relevance is low, but the vastness of what McGillis doesn't know here is staggering. ]
It sounds as though you're speaking of a natural catastrophe with cyclical nature not a man-made conflict. Is that the case?
I'm not certain of the nature of the first incident; the one currently being faced down is largely manmade. It isn't an absolute, however; while it's a lie to say that I'm not concerned - I believe concern to be a reasonable reaction, honestly - it's something that isn't an immediate danger, and can actually be averted entirely. We have time; I'm honestly just surprised that we have as much as we do.
[ Well, someone's being cagey with the details. McGillis isn't sure he can imagine the potential apocalypse any better now than he did before, but he supposes he might as well volunteer a bit more information about his own world and see if it gets him more in return. ]
Most things can be pushed through with an adequate amount of power, thankfully. The Calamity War was entirely manmade. An escalated war, creating machines programmed only to kill humans. Naturally they did not discriminate between their creators and their enemies. It was mankind's own lack of foresight that nearly doomed it.
[ McGillis huffs in amusement and then drowns that budding laughter in a sip of tea. ]
You'd think. If there were precautions taken, the records of them are lost to time now. The destruction that was caused erased a good deal of data as well.
I research that time period for a hobby, but the blank spots are neverending.
...I wouldn't say I specialize in it, but the design and creation of mechanical things has long been work that I enjoy. One of the first things I take into account when creating anything that could possibly be used as a weapon is ensuring that it won't do anything that I didn't explicitly tell it to do. "Kill humans" seems a bit broad as a command.
Having recently encountered a remnant machine from the Calamity War myself, I can confirm that if nothing else, they were at least formidable at following that unfortunate command. Entirely self-maintaining too. A marvel of engineering, bereft of all human morals.
[ In concept, he thinks there is something beautiful to that. A very pure kind of raw power. In practice... fighting the one was exciting but not doing it again would be the vastly preferable option. ]
We have yet to create anything self-sustaining where I'm from. Likely for the best, at least for the time being.
[Alexei is personally of the opinion that he did not like squinting at a gigantic mechanical piece of Fuck You as it lumbered awkwardly off the coastline, muttering "Oh, what the fuck is that doing?" to himself and trying to figure out if he should not be standing where he was currently standing. That was enough of an experience, thank you.]
I imagine you would find what I've created to be fairly straightforward. But then, I likewise imagine that I'm from another of those worlds that you find completely foreign to your own.
I think that is a safe assumption, so I think even the simplest of your machines might still turn out to be a complete marvel to me.
[ And really, he wishes he could see. McGillis' constant mood in this place is the endless rollercoaster ride of 'I hate this and I need to be home' and 'all these other worlds sound intriguing and I want to spend an eternity learning about them'. ]
It's not like I am an engineer to start with. I know some, but largely I pay people to do these things for me.
I prefer to oversee my own projects, if nothing else. My largest achievement so far, mechanically speaking, is a fully functioning mobile fortress; it deploys both traditional and magical weaponry, and is designed for neutralizing beings that would otherwise be capable of destroying legions of human units. It's roughly the size of a city, and capable of deployment on both water and land; it isn't fully autonomous, but it can be set to follow simple but explicit commands on its own, and it can be deployed remotely if needs be.
[ .... well. That certainly isn't straight-forward or simple in the slightest. McGillis looks genuinely surprised and there is a glimmer of awed interest in his eyes. ]
Right off the bat, magic doesn't exist in my world so any combination of machinery with it is bound to impress me.
But even further than that... it sounds like something I'd much like to see. Fighting units are traditionally much smaller in my world - even the mobile armors from the Calamity War span only around 40 meters. There's battle ships of course, and those are capable of operating in air or in outer orbit, but... this is still something else. Our worlds would have much to learn from one another.
I see... We don't have much need for much large-scale weaponry, short of the fortress I've created; humans don't often fight one another, and we try to avoid war as much as possible. The beings that I've mentioned went to war with us ten years ago, and much of our number was annihilated; we're obviously still rebuilding.
But if we do fight one another, it's with some combination of physical weaponry and magic; guns exist, but they aren't widespread. Swords, lances and archery are still in widespread use.
Interesting... I'd have expected any reality that developed firearms to default to them soon after. I wonder if the presence of magic is the key difference there...?
[ Said more to himself as he takes another sip of tea. ]
I have learned fencing as a child, but it's only performative. In battle, we rely on firearms or mobile suits - tall humanoid machines you can control from the inside.
I believe that guns are found only within black market dealings, and even then only within the guilds. The Empire has nothing to do with them; however, we control most of the magic usage. So that would be your difference, I believe.
[That said, though... He seems to consider the second part of that for a moment.]
We have humanoid machines that require an artifact to use, but they're not controlled from within...? That seems like a rather decent way to kill the operator.
I won't deny it is dangerous and requires a high level of skill, but there are many reasons we default to piloting instead of remote control.
The reaction times and maneuverability are a lot better when you're in direct contact with your machine, for one. And then, there is a particle that causes a strong type of radio interference that can easily disable all communications and remote control.
In order to beat back the mobile armors I mentioned, mobile suits were entirely necessary. And they still persist, 300 years later.
I see. The sort of technology that I'm accustomed to, with the artifacts and conduits required to make them function... They're fairly sophisticated, but they're incredibly intuitive and simple to use. Anyone can do it, including children, with enough practice and familiarity. However, modifying and altering them is incredibly difficult, requiring years of study, and isn't the sort of thing that one can do accidentally. It's likewise possible to disrupt them, but there are only two artifacts in the world capable of that, so the chance of them coming into play at any point is very low.
[He settles back a bit, though, once that's out there.]
I understand that it's highly flippant and dismissive of me to think of it in terms of "I would simply create something that can't be disrupted by those particles, then"; I'm not arrogant enough to believe that thought to be anything more than my own ignorance. But I admit that several of the concepts you've mentioned are a bit beyond me.
[ Oh hey, good to see his conversation partner getting a little more comfortable. ]
Understandable enough. I am not confident in my ability to explain them with the simplicity necessary for this situation to begin with. I imagine reaching even the common knowledge of an uneducated citizen in each other's world would take us quite a few lectures by one another.
[ Which he would not be opposed to if this situation drags on, because it is interesting. But also, there was something else that brought them here today... ]
Tell me about your Empire instead. Power structures seem to be universally understood.
[The Empire is... Well, it sure is, but at the very least it doesn't defy explanation.]
There are usually three existing governing bodies, created with the intention of no one individual - or block of individuals - holding absolute power. The Imperial Knights consist of my subordinates down the chain of command and myself as their leader and commander; our duties are largely what one would expect given such a title, as it seems to be a common organization between worlds. The Council consists of a number of nobles acting as a group of delegates, intended to represent the will of the people. Our Emperor is usually the third ruling body; while his word is usually absolute, the Emperor's decrees can be overruled if the Knights and the Council act in agreement to do so. Otherwise, the Emperor's position is to have final say on all proposals put forth by the Council and the Knights individually, and to settle any disputes when the proposals put forth clash.
Unfortunately, our Emperor is deceased. A replacement is decided through divine revelation, which we have yet to receive.
[HE KNOWS, FROM THE SOUND OF IT, THAT THAT LATTER PART SOUNDS STUPID. Just. Just work with him here.]
The Council was already difficult to keep in check due to its own nature; the higher classes will always ensure that they prosper, while the lower classes will be left in a state of oppression and squalor. They've also ordered assassination attempts against me personally, as well as several of my men. I'm keeping them from doing worse to those citizens under my care and jurisdiction; they dislike me greatly for doing so, and for blocking them from acting on whatever whim strikes them that day.
[ Divine revelation, why not? You guys have magic, why not a God? McGillis takes that one in stride. ]
Ah... Indeed, everything is the same, no matter where you go...
[ Now, is that reassuring or disappointing? How would it feel if his world was the only awful one out of so many that prosper? McGillis can't say. At least knowing that humans will be humans no matter where and how means that he is not out of his depth trying to understand everyone else in this strange land. ]
I can understand your frustrations quite intimately and I respect your work deeply. The political structure in my world is different, but we have our own equivalent of your council. Regretfully, I must say that I am on it. It's the only way I could ever hope to change its iron hold.
Truly, I'd rather you don't trust me. It shows a refreshing amount of sanity regarding our situation. Likewise, I don't trust you either, but putting the disclaimer every time does get exhausting.
[ No real trust until explicitly stated otherwise, how does it sound? ]
I want to believe your tale, though. There are always too few who wish to change the world for the better.
[ McGillis can't quite decide how he feels about Alexei's survival. He's held onto his vote until the last moment and he's not certain he made the right call regardless of that. Not morally right just... right, for his own sense of what that means.
And either way, what is done is done and their own input ended up mattering fairly little in it. The end result of it is simply that Alexei will live and Raven will die. They'll all have to make their peace with it.
Alexei, from the look of things, would have a rather hard time with that.
And that's why McGillis finds himself knocking on his door late that night even though he knows he is not the most comforting person per se. ]
[Alexei, at the very least, doesn't seem entirely opposed to company. He also sees no reason to tell McGillis in particular to leave; when he opens the door, he surprisingly isn't lacking in composure. He seems...perhaps strangely fine, and from the look of the room he isn't taking all of this out on his surroundings, either. Everything seems almost aggressively put-together, honestly.]
[ McGillis isn't surprised to find Alexei in a state of superficial calm. He's always struck him as a person who values being in control of his emotions and people's perception of his emotions. Like recognizes like, in that regard. ]
I came to ask you that same question. After all that happened, I wanted to check up on you. And I'm sorry the vote turned out this way.
[ McGillis will forgive how awkward Alexei is being here, the man clearly had a long long day. ]
Don't mind if I do then.
[ McGillis is glad to come inside and keep an eye on Alexei for a little. ]
We've been here so many weeks and all wishes continue to be very far away... It would be nice if getting close counted for something because this truly was a frustrating 'almost'.
[ It is starting to sound to McGillis like Alexei has been searching for a way to die in place of somebody else for many years now. He's not sure what to think of that.
But something Alexei had shouted in the trial comes to mind. ]
It sounded like you saved his life once already.
[ Maybe more than saved, considering their conversation earlier this week. ]
Letting somebody die who you're indebted to might be difficult. Though personally I'd say that honoring your wishes is the best way to repay a debt.
[ McGillis suspected something like this but hearing it still makes his eyes go wide for a second. ]
I am honestly impressed. I have tried the impossible before, not on my own but with my team of researchers. Even with a man only on the brink of death our technology could not reconstruct him to seem like an ordinary human anymore.
The black box you might have seen attached to my back is a smaller version of the same technology I used for that.
But then... why was it ill-advised? By all accounts, Raven seemed full of life.
...I admit that I was curious about the box, but it seemed in poor taste to ask.
[That, and it would have turned into a game of twenty questions because he wouldn't have wanted to leave well enough alone.]
Either way, what I did was a physiological success. Psychological, far less so. "Raven" is a facade he constructed to infiltrate the guild union for me. He acted like someone else entirely around me, and I had to build that out of nothing.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Week 1 - Wednesday
It's a cozy little set-up and McGillis is a good host, even in a house that is not even remotely his. If they're going to talk about such unpleasant things such as government, they might as well do it comfortably. ]
How regrettable, really, that we seem to have such similar stories to share. I'd have hoped other worlds were a little less aggravating.
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Alexei is willing to meet McGillis there, surely, though he isn't positive how he feels about it; some part of him is too Lawful-aligned to be completely comfortable, but that same part of him is also too Lawful-aligned to complain about hospitality, even when it isn't entirely his host's to give.
Besides, he likes tea, so...]
It's a shame to disappoint you, truly - although I suppose something similar can be said for worlds that seem so advanced, by comparison to my own.
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McGillis looks entirely at home even when it isn't his home. ]
Technological advancement sadly says little about the moral values of a society. If anything, it allows for more hypocrisy.
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[Achievement unlocked: didn't cause an extinction event. The Great Filter is somewhere beyond you still. Yay!]
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[ Judging by his smile as he relegates this, he likes that story a whole lot. ]
It's been a long time since anybody truly followed their example, but humanity still persists.
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My own world has faced a large-scale threat in the past, but we don't even have a solid timeline as to when that was; we have murals, and some of the elders of the Krityan race are aware of what happened, but generally speaking many of the details are lost to us.
That doesn't mean there isn't a risk of it occurring again; by my calculations, another event along those lines is past due.
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It sounds as though you're speaking of a natural catastrophe with cyclical nature not a man-made conflict. Is that the case?
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Most things can be pushed through with an adequate amount of power, thankfully. The Calamity War was entirely manmade. An escalated war, creating machines programmed only to kill humans. Naturally they did not discriminate between their creators and their enemies. It was mankind's own lack of foresight that nearly doomed it.
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You'd think. If there were precautions taken, the records of them are lost to time now. The destruction that was caused erased a good deal of data as well.
I research that time period for a hobby, but the blank spots are neverending.
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[Goodness.]
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[ In concept, he thinks there is something beautiful to that. A very pure kind of raw power. In practice... fighting the one was exciting but not doing it again would be the vastly preferable option. ]
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[Alexei is personally of the opinion that he did not like squinting at a gigantic mechanical piece of Fuck You as it lumbered awkwardly off the coastline, muttering "Oh, what the fuck is that doing?" to himself and trying to figure out if he should not be standing where he was currently standing. That was enough of an experience, thank you.]
I imagine you would find what I've created to be fairly straightforward. But then, I likewise imagine that I'm from another of those worlds that you find completely foreign to your own.
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[ And really, he wishes he could see. McGillis' constant mood in this place is the endless rollercoaster ride of 'I hate this and I need to be home' and 'all these other worlds sound intriguing and I want to spend an eternity learning about them'. ]
It's not like I am an engineer to start with. I know some, but largely I pay people to do these things for me.
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I rather enjoyed creating that one.
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Right off the bat, magic doesn't exist in my world so any combination of machinery with it is bound to impress me.
But even further than that... it sounds like something I'd much like to see. Fighting units are traditionally much smaller in my world - even the mobile armors from the Calamity War span only around 40 meters. There's battle ships of course, and those are capable of operating in air or in outer orbit, but... this is still something else. Our worlds would have much to learn from one another.
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I see... We don't have much need for much large-scale weaponry, short of the fortress I've created; humans don't often fight one another, and we try to avoid war as much as possible. The beings that I've mentioned went to war with us ten years ago, and much of our number was annihilated; we're obviously still rebuilding.
But if we do fight one another, it's with some combination of physical weaponry and magic; guns exist, but they aren't widespread. Swords, lances and archery are still in widespread use.
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[ Said more to himself as he takes another sip of tea. ]
I have learned fencing as a child, but it's only performative. In battle, we rely on firearms or mobile suits - tall humanoid machines you can control from the inside.
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[That said, though... He seems to consider the second part of that for a moment.]
We have humanoid machines that require an artifact to use, but they're not controlled from within...? That seems like a rather decent way to kill the operator.
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The reaction times and maneuverability are a lot better when you're in direct contact with your machine, for one. And then, there is a particle that causes a strong type of radio interference that can easily disable all communications and remote control.
In order to beat back the mobile armors I mentioned, mobile suits were entirely necessary. And they still persist, 300 years later.
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[He settles back a bit, though, once that's out there.]
I understand that it's highly flippant and dismissive of me to think of it in terms of "I would simply create something that can't be disrupted by those particles, then"; I'm not arrogant enough to believe that thought to be anything more than my own ignorance. But I admit that several of the concepts you've mentioned are a bit beyond me.
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Understandable enough. I am not confident in my ability to explain them with the simplicity necessary for this situation to begin with. I imagine reaching even the common knowledge of an uneducated citizen in each other's world would take us quite a few lectures by one another.
[ Which he would not be opposed to if this situation drags on, because it is interesting. But also, there was something else that brought them here today... ]
Tell me about your Empire instead. Power structures seem to be universally understood.
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[The Empire is... Well, it sure is, but at the very least it doesn't defy explanation.]
There are usually three existing governing bodies, created with the intention of no one individual - or block of individuals - holding absolute power. The Imperial Knights consist of my subordinates down the chain of command and myself as their leader and commander; our duties are largely what one would expect given such a title, as it seems to be a common organization between worlds. The Council consists of a number of nobles acting as a group of delegates, intended to represent the will of the people. Our Emperor is usually the third ruling body; while his word is usually absolute, the Emperor's decrees can be overruled if the Knights and the Council act in agreement to do so. Otherwise, the Emperor's position is to have final say on all proposals put forth by the Council and the Knights individually, and to settle any disputes when the proposals put forth clash.
Unfortunately, our Emperor is deceased. A replacement is decided through divine revelation, which we have yet to receive.
[HE KNOWS, FROM THE SOUND OF IT, THAT THAT LATTER PART SOUNDS STUPID. Just. Just work with him here.]
The Council was already difficult to keep in check due to its own nature; the higher classes will always ensure that they prosper, while the lower classes will be left in a state of oppression and squalor. They've also ordered assassination attempts against me personally, as well as several of my men. I'm keeping them from doing worse to those citizens under my care and jurisdiction; they dislike me greatly for doing so, and for blocking them from acting on whatever whim strikes them that day.
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Ah... Indeed, everything is the same, no matter where you go...
[ Now, is that reassuring or disappointing? How would it feel if his world was the only awful one out of so many that prosper? McGillis can't say. At least knowing that humans will be humans no matter where and how means that he is not out of his depth trying to understand everyone else in this strange land. ]
I can understand your frustrations quite intimately and I respect your work deeply. The political structure in my world is different, but we have our own equivalent of your council. Regretfully, I must say that I am on it. It's the only way I could ever hope to change its iron hold.
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[So, yeah.]
I don't begrudge you your position, though as with so many things, I only have your word on the matter.
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[ No real trust until explicitly stated otherwise, how does it sound? ]
I want to believe your tale, though. There are always too few who wish to change the world for the better.
[ Hm, is wish a good word here...? ]
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My thoughts on it are similar, though I believe I've had more than enough of wishes to last me some time yet.
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[ He's just assuming that confidently, because it is hard to imagine he could be wrong. ]
I consider that to be more helpful than those who simple dream, anyway.
Week 5 - After Trial
And either way, what is done is done and their own input ended up mattering fairly little in it. The end result of it is simply that Alexei will live and Raven will die. They'll all have to make their peace with it.
Alexei, from the look of things, would have a rather hard time with that.
And that's why McGillis finds himself knocking on his door late that night even though he knows he is not the most comforting person per se. ]
It's McGillis.
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...Was there something you needed?
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I came to ask you that same question. After all that happened, I wanted to check up on you. And I'm sorry the vote turned out this way.
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You have nothing to be sorry for. I did what I could. If it wasn't enough then so be it.
[Story of his fucking life, really.]
You're welcome to come in if you like. I hardly mind.
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Don't mind if I do then.
[ McGillis is glad to come inside and keep an eye on Alexei for a little. ]
We've been here so many weeks and all wishes continue to be very far away... It would be nice if getting close counted for something because this truly was a frustrating 'almost'.
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[Raven allowed Tenn to check him over again. Alexei doesn't understand why, outside of perhaps that.
Maybe he'll ask him for his reasoning down in the dungeons later. Maybe he won't. It depends on how the night goes.]
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But something Alexei had shouted in the trial comes to mind. ]
It sounded like you saved his life once already.
[ Maybe more than saved, considering their conversation earlier this week. ]
Letting somebody die who you're indebted to might be difficult. Though personally I'd say that honoring your wishes is the best way to repay a debt.
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[He's quiet for a moment; he seems...agitated, in some way.]
We discussed raising the dead a few days ago. Why it's ill-advised. I think it's ill-advised because I know what happens in my world when you do it.
[...Yeah.]
Everyone died in that battle I told you about. The one time I asked the Goddess to intercede for me.
She didn't hear me. So I did something about it myself. Raven...
There was enough to save, with Raven. So I created something, there on the battlefield, and I used it to revive him.
I'm...very good. With devices and mechanical things.
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I am honestly impressed. I have tried the impossible before, not on my own but with my team of researchers. Even with a man only on the brink of death our technology could not reconstruct him to seem like an ordinary human anymore.
The black box you might have seen attached to my back is a smaller version of the same technology I used for that.
But then... why was it ill-advised? By all accounts, Raven seemed full of life.
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[That, and it would have turned into a game of twenty questions because he wouldn't have wanted to leave well enough alone.]
Either way, what I did was a physiological success. Psychological, far less so. "Raven" is a facade he constructed to infiltrate the guild union for me. He acted like someone else entirely around me, and I had to build that out of nothing.
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I dearly wish I had been mistaken about the notion of 'not coming back themselves' when I was merely speculating earlier.