exsilium | one :: walking on eggshells

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one :: walking on eggshells :: video

[A man appears on screen. He's older, with a greying beard and a shaved head. Bright blue eyes stare into the screen, almost boring through anyone who might be watching. He doesn't look like he's in a pleasant mood at all.]

'allo. I'm Gabriel.

[He has a smooth-yet-gravelly voice and a soft English accent.]

I assume there are a great many of you that have arrived as I did, and you had the same general experience--buried in a great deal of knowledge. They said we're all here to save the world, yeah? They sure as hell tried to make it sound like a noble cause.

[He took a breath, set his jaw.]

What's really going on here?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That Is What They Said
And Its Entirely True
Their Cause Is Noble
The Enemy Government Is Evil
And Would Target Us As Well As Them
We Have In Some Senses Been Saved By Our Very Kidnapping

Probably The Only Part They Left Out Is That They Happen To Do Everything Fairly Badly
Which Is Why They Really Need Us In The First Place

[Gabriel rubs the back of his neck, generally uncomfortable.

[Perhaps he had been saved, but... but what if she's lying as well? He can't tell by text alone.]

I've never met a government I could trust.

You from here?

[Unseen eyeroll. Fine, she turns on video, and guess what! She's an alien!]

No. A kidnappee, like you.

[There are no dramatic gasps, no 'is that candy corn growing out of your head?', nothing to indicate he's going to run in the opposite direction. His tone softens slightly.]

What makes you believe they're telling the truth, then?

This entire situation is so elaborate, I can't imagine an alternate explanation that would be more straightforward.

Apologies...

[He rubs his eyes as if he could erase the weariness behind them.]

I'm not the trusting sort. What I meant was, is there a reason you believe they're not lying to you? I need to know that I'm needed more here than where I'm from.

[She stares straight ahead. For a thousand yards.]

You're going to be returned to the same spatial-temporal location anyway. Whatever happens here doesn't even matter.

[She's avoiding the question.]

[Loki is sitting on a rock near the edge of the Borderlands scrolling through new arrivals on his communicator when he sees this. A newcomer who does not trust what the Initiative has to say... Oh, what fun.

Loki's body goes still as his spirit leaves the Borderlands and travels, rapidly, back to the Hold to hover, unseen, behind Gabriel and whisper in his ear, letting lies flow over his mind.]

You have been stolen.

[Gabriel is instantly at attention, looking 'round, tense. This seems familiar, yet not.

[Telepathy?]

Obviously. Who're you, and why are you hiding?

[The thoughts drip sweetly into Gabriel's mind, without any true words or voice to them. Without any hint of gender.]

I am a part of you, the part who knows the truth.

None here can be trusted.

Far as I can tell? They're not lying. Can't say for sure, but getting out of here isn't an option.

I'm not sure I believe people are going to willingly fall into step to fight a war they've no stake in, other than to stay alive.

I think they're doing it on the basis of "If you help win the war you get to go home."

Least, that's what I got from that tour they gave.

[Well, it might be too much to hope that the ~~English~~ Imperial accent means he's from home, but it helps to get her attention anyway, even though she frowns at the question.]

That's what they claim, yes. [Then again, that was what the last city had claimed, too, and how well had that turned out?] There's proof enough of their....time-travel abilities, but little else beyond that.

I can sympathize with their cause well enough, but yeah, I've only heard one side of the story and it's theirs. It's... I don't know these people, and I've had my mind buggered before.

[...yup, that's a panda.]

What do you mean? They need us to fight the bad guys!

Oh! You're new! You missed all the explosions. The explosions were the bad guys and they need heroes and stuff to help them save the world!

...I mean the people who brought us here need heroes. Not the bad guys.

Edited 2012-10-31 13:27 (UTC)

[Large talking panda. Mutant, experiment, alien, or...? Christ only knows.]

I'm no hero, mate, and I'm needed at home. From the looks of it, you've more than your share of heroes here.

[Seriously. He needs to be HOME. Not here, not stuck in some ridiculous, other reality fighting someone else's war.]

How many angels are they actually looking to recruit, because this is getting a little hilarious. There's a fight. Occasionally they fight back. We get monsters to deal with. It'll be fun.

Angels?

[Never bloody mind. Doesn't matter, this guy is a smartarse.]

I've heard of the fight. They told me all about it and everything else that apparently goes on here. Sounds a bit simplistic to me, and there's nothing in all the worlds that cut and dried.

I want to know if this fight is more important than the one I've just come from.

Counting into the equation factors such as 'this one is closer', 'this one travels in time', and 'there's no way back anyway', I'd say there's a decent chance this one is.

But, I can't really make that sort of determination until I know which war you came from?

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one :: walking on eggshells :: video

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