kavviyenta wrote:Aw, and I was hoping he would give the fat king a piece of his mind...and it should be vast now that he got divine power.
Sorry to disappoint.
Trust me, I was sorely tempted to do that.
Oh well, let's see what the other two have to say about all of this.
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Part 5.2:G:
Entry 21:
Still holding on to saying it. Yea, we made it to the top and actually found something. It’s a whole mess of guys living in the gaudiest looking things I’ve ever seen. So much for trying to get away from everyone. And, yea, we met a “demigod” who calls himself Pete. L looks sold, in that he perfectly resembles his pride’s description, but I for one still want actual proof that these weirdos are so great. So what? They live really high up. Nothing special about that- we made it up here. Can’t even say I envy these saps in that anything you drop from here you’ll probably never see again.
Also, this Pete character didn’t even know who we were. Are we that unimportant or are they really not as all-knowing as they let on? No, until they do something big for us, actually turning us into legitimate almighty beings like was promised, I’m waiting to say “I told you so” right in L’s face. It’s not like he even really believed we’d find anything up here.
Entry 22:
Shut up L. Shut up.
Whatever, I suppose they are gods in that they zapped us with actual superpowers... Their leader looks like a cross between Geordi La Forge and Barney the dinosaur... which I now know will be actual things someday. It may still be some kind of mind trick, but for now I’ll just play along. I’ll have this Pete show me the ways of being a god, even though you would think in becoming one you would know everything already.
Entry 23:
You know- I think I might like being a god. Yeah, the whole “keeping the universe in order” jazz sounds like a cosmic pain in the horns, but for once my decisions have actual meaning. I choose the means by which harmony is restored... though thinking about it, it’s not really a choice in the sense that I am ultimately accomplishing the same set goal, right? But at least I can pretend to be creative. And, hey, this Pete guy is alright in my book. Every now and then he indulges in lording power over mortals, who in turn can only try to appease him.
I take it everyone in my herd is gone. For the life of me, I can’t find hide or hair of them anywhere on the planet. Granted, there’s no telling how long we were climbing that mountain. They may all be long dust by now. But it’s strange I can’t find any record of them. It’s as if they were never there... Eh, no big loss... It’s really not worth complaining or worrying about... though I would have liked to see how Mena’s love affair would play out... especially after I showed up on the scene with a whole grove of those stupid flowers.
Whatever, I have “heavenly duties” to attend to and can’t harp on petty matters. Pete’s going to meet us in his room to brief us on our first mission. It’s sure to be a doozy.
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Part 5.3: S:
Entry 21:
At last, we have completed our journey to the summit. I’d say that the second half was almost too easy, but I’ve sufficiently learned my lesson (it’s not superstition so much as empirical awareness). Contrary to my apprehensions, the environment became more hospitable with increasing altitude.
While there was no vestige of that unknown element to be found, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a shimmering metropolis in the clouds. Such a complex suspended infrastructure, with massive architecture eons ahead of the scarce primitive dwellings I’m accustomed to. It definitely strove to remind us of our physical (and mental) limitations.
The real surprise came when we knocked on the front gate... My heart instinctively stopped the very instant I saw a curved yellow bill peer around from the other side. Fortunately, it wasn’t a bird... at least not technically speaking. Rather, it (or he) was a most fascinating zoological specimen, having the beak, wings, and feathered torso of a parrot, but the abdomen and legs of a lion. It quickly became apparent that he was no imminent threat; just a self-proclaimed “demigod” named Pete.
After a curt series of introductions, he allowed us to enter. The city was even more humbling up close. Some structures were not too dissimilar in appearance from what we saw in the cave, albeit they did not invoke the same feeling of dread. All the same, much of the technology was far more advanced than anything I’ve ever assembled.
We are currently waiting in one of the larger structures at the center of the city. Pete and three of his cohorts are conserving in private about our reward. I am obviously still skeptical about the whole concept of “gods and magic.” At best, my interpretation is that it’s all a matter of perspective. In terms of knowledge, capacity, and so forth, I am in a sense a “god” relative to an amoeba. Furthermore, many of my kind viewed my methods and technology as “sorcery,” purely through lack of capacity to understand (or accept) it. Perhaps these beings have simply mastered an even higher level of understanding, of which it is possible to become privy to... That or this is some elaborate hoax perpetrated by L and/or G via some natural psychedelic compound they probably found (but can’t pronounce).
Entry 22:
I am not entirely sure how to feel about all of this. All of my life, I have followed a line of reasoning where the only constraints are the laws of physics; that a fixed set of irrevocable parameters hold the universe in equilibrium. Now, thanks to the abilities granted to us by Pete’s superior, the Bahamut, I realize that there is a resource that in and of itself does not follow these laws and in turn enables one to bend/break them at will. I of course speak of “magic.” Beyond requiring a special energy source known as mana, there are only a few specific rules imposing limits on magic. These rules are, for the most part, enforced by protocols (through magic itself) and/or the edict of some higher authority. As for the description behind the processes governing magic- the “physics” behind it- Pete said something along the lines of “it is what it is.”
In the end, this all completely nullifies my previous “knowledge.” Gravity, magnetic attraction, energy-mass conservation; all can be ignored/negated if need be and are hence irrelevant. I was never even close! But I suppose this is my pride talking and I just have to embrace this gaping exception in my old logic without question... I suppose the silver lining is that I can now traverse the vacuum of space and touch earth’s moon, a feat that I had long accepted as being unfeasible (at least on earth within my lifetime)... With that, I now have conclusive evidence that the moon is not made of goat hair... which G had once challenged me to prove.
Entry 23:
We have been given the task of regulating the “mortal realm”. Evidently, beings in our position act as a restoring force when there is a drift from equilibrium, like the tension in a spring. That is, we are what limit anomalies, both biotic and abiotic, from threatening the stability of the universe. Abiotic disturbances, such as temporal and dimensional rips, are simple enough to deal with. It’s the biotic variety that’s incredibly complex and falls into the realm of social sciences and psychology. In spite of our abilities, we cannot override the consciousness of mortals. The edict of the Bahamut demands that all mortals choose for themselves. We can only at best indirectly steer their decisions in the “right” direction through compromises and subtle feats. The timing and means of this intervention are crucial, as incorrectly altering one event can result in problems growing exponentially beyond the power of magic to fix... It’s no trivial effortless matter restoring a universe from scratch, even for the Bahamut.
It’s interesting that my friends have not changed in spite of our enhanced knowledge. They are still irrevocably “them” in terms of their personalities, their quirks, their preferences and so forth. I had often wondered what would happen if everyone’s minds were expanded to such a degree that we all saw things in the same light. I assumed that we would effectively lose our “identities” in knowing the truth to everything. We would all know this particular way of behaving is best and that particular habit is illogical, such that we would all follow the same path. But, with the proof as is, we are all just as distinct from one another as before... and I am pleased by that.
One conundrum above all still perplexes me. Even with the ability to view the whole planet and integrate every finite detail backward in time, I cannot find any evidence of our presence at any instant in time. Likewise, all of our previous acquaintances are absent (not that I myself had many worth remembering). I cannot help but feel that this somehow has to do with our previous supernatural encounter up the mountain. However, the details of that strange place are also obscured from us in spite of our augmented cognitive faculties. In a similar fashion, the origin and nature of that rock- the very reason I came here- is still a complete mystery.
L is hesitant to communicate these inquiries with our new employers and G is more or less indifferent toward the whole matter. Perhaps it’s best if I wait and attempt to find the answers myself (story of my life).