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[the video opens on David sat straight backed, in a still entirely nondescript room. he has no reason to add any personal touches to his room. even the few items that came with him are tucked away and out of sight.

bar his newly reattached body, of course. and the basketball currently sitting in his lap.]

While the possibility is likely very slim, I wish to inquire after the location of one Doctor Shaw.

Elizabeth, if you can hear this, I believe we should…talk.

[at first it seems as though he's finished. he's already done as much as he believes would be expected from him if she were there. but at the same time, he's already well aware that she isn't present. he would have been able to find her somewhere on the network.

for a very brief moment he looks almost amused by that thought. at the idea that it's taken a trip through both space and time to finally break those last tendrils of control that humanity had over him. that elizabeth still has. that her absence leaves him free from.]

Regardless.

To those from a time before this, or a world where technology isn't quite as advanced yet, a query.

Why do you believe that any of this is real? Why not accept that your mind may simply be "playing tricks" on you? That you could be hallucinating, or dreaming up all of this?

What is it that makes you so certain that everything you are seeing is true?

Curious minds wish to know.

[this time, the amused look is a little clearer, before he reaches forward to click the public feed back off and instead set up a private one.]

[filtered to residents of unit 408 (Isa and Roxy)]

Greetings.

[don't mind that earlier broadcast. there's nothing creepy to see, is there?]

My name is David, and I believe I have been assigned to share an apartment with the two of you.

[your turn?]

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[ Well, that's not going to haunt him for the rest of forever now. ]

Dreams aren't typically so prolonged or coherent.

That you are aware of. What's to say that things aren't a little...different this time?

In that case, do you think you're dreaming?

Ah, but I'm the one asking these questions. It isn't my opinion that matters.

Edited 2012-08-02 21:08 (UTC)

You shouldn't ask questions without being willing to provide answers yourself.

[ He is in no way being hypocritical here. ]

[Atley opens the feed and looks pleased at the idea of such a conversation.]

Well, if our minds are indeed playing tricks on us....why not have fun with it? It seems as if we're all stuck together, and we're all here for...seemingly quite a long time....why give up and say its all fake?

[He smiles.]

S'more fun if you go along with it.

And have you found your time here enjoyable thus far?

I guess?

I've only been here about a day. Maybe a little longer.

[He shrugs.]

It's been fine. I do miss home though.

How long have you been here?

And yet you believe that you aren't still there.

[it's a quiet mutter as though he's talking to himself. no, he's not trying to make you question your sanity. not at all.]

It's been fourteen hours, thirty-seven minutes this far.

[ There are tens of hundreds of thousands of things that Charles finds himself in a position to say, here and now, but he must stop himself and settle on only a few.

This is not the first time this phenomenon has occurred, after all. This—shared face, as it were. Still, his eyes narrow. Another version of his own face? Surprisingly less unsettling as this... this has touched on something else entirely. ]

I know that our situation is real, because I've rather an unusual set of skills that is not entirely customary in humans. [ He supposes that is vague enough, until he's certain this is all—all right. Then, without further ado; ]

You share a face with someone here. A companion of mine. This is a strange phenomenon, now, and while it is no longer unusual, I'm certain you'd—like to be aware.

[the idea of others sharing a face should surprise him in some way. but it's information that takes little time to process; to accept as fact despite just how slight the odds should be. but those odds hadn't included the possibility of alternate realities. they increase the chances exponentially.]

And you believe that these skills are ones that leave you at an advantage to the majority of the Transports then?

[yes, far simpler to focus on the questions he posed himself, for now.]

[ encrypted; ] [ Because okay maybe Charles shouldn't be throwing this information around this openly. ]

Entirely. [ Then, he smiles. ]

I am able to read minds; it has helped, in the past, to quell any instances of drastic mental manipulation.

[his ability to school his features is working wonders for this conversation. there's disbelief, at first. he knows, of course, of telepathy. of the studies that have been undertaken throughout the years in the search for the paranormal. but coincidence had played too large a part in most results, leaving true telepathy to be nothing more than a myth. mentalism, on the other hand-]

Then clearly you, of all people, understand just how powerful and self-destructive a mind can be. How certain are you that your mind hasn't been compromised in any way?

I have had my mind compromised before. [ He stops, decides how he is going to phrase the next few words. ] There is an essence in it—inexplicable—a consciousness, below the manipulation, that allows one to at least feel... unsettled.

I have not felt that here. [ A soft pause. ]

However, for the sake of science, and for my own humility—I suppose I cannot say for one-hundred-percent certain that I am not being compromised at this time. I can say that I am very confident that I am not, but as is the case with such tricks—I truly would not know, would I?

I have an upper hand, but I do not imagine it is just high enough. I am not above the possibilities.

[as far as he's concerned, charles has gained points by not discarding the possibility entirely. but he's still seemingly settled enough to make it clear he's accepted his fate. it's a careful balance that david wants to see tipped; wants to know just what would happen if he's forced to rethink the situation they're caught in.

why? well, that part he isn't going to share just yet.]

But you believe the possibility is small enough that you would sooner set it aside and accept that what you are seeing is fact?

( Charles seems to take a few more seconds to reply to this, as he purses his lips in thought and rolls it over. )

I do not have a choice, do I? ( He stops, shakes his head a bit as though dismissing that opening line. )

No, rather—I should think, that in this situation, it is in the best interest of my own survival to take what is being told to me and act accordingly. This being the volatile place that it is, should I not be safer to accept what I am being told, here and now?

I can assure you that I do not always act with such disregard for my own person—but truly, it is the better of two evils. In one scenario, my mind is being manipulated, along with that of many others', and I can attempt escape—attempt to realise and rationalise what is happening, and thus free myself from it; but to what end? I do not know what, or whom, has a hold upon my mind.

It could be so much more terribly dangerous than approaching our situation with a guarded sense of truth, I imagine.

I assure you—

[ Such a deadpan voice. ]

This is no trick.

You seem overly certain of that.

[ i sure do play a lot of jerks who don't care about disclosing private information this is kind of unfortunate

but loki is at least intentionally an asshole ]

I consider myself a master of tricks. This is not one—nor is it any form of sorcery.

[ he doesn't actually know what it is, but he's not going to say that. ]

[don't mind that amusement slipping back again.]

Surely a trick of the mind would be far more difficult to disprove than one of the eye. Do you really believe that a mastery of illusions makes you immune to all others?

I do not believe it makes me immune. [ Loki just sounds—affronted. But when does he not? ]

I know sorcery. This is not it. Nor is my mind being toyed with. [ HE DOESN'T KNOW FOR SURE BUT. He certainly feels like he does. ]

Perhaps not sorcery, but there are countless other methods that could be employed, including those you may be unfamiliar with.

( There is a point, there. Loki's expression falters for a split second as he finds himself struggling with whether or not he ought to concede— )

I am a god. What could I be unfamiliar with?

( That is a 'no'. )

Counter q: why not ask that about back home instead?

I can only pose the question to those present at this place and time. Referring to a place they cannot currently see seems counter-productive.

But you're questioning them at all. So. We're here. Just if we're going to jump into Matrix arguments, why not say where we remember coming from was the fake?

Hey, David. I'm Isa. Looks like we're stuck together for the moment.

[He'll just ignore that whole first part. For now.]

I guess they don't do single-sex housing here.

Will that be an issue to you?

I guess it's fine. But I've got a friend here, so he might want me to live with him instead. Unless we're not allowed to switch.

It might very well be some kind of mental projection that just projects right into our brains and makes us think that what's happening is actually happening.

That certainly is a possibility. It would be simple enough to organise.

How simple?

[Fortunately, she has seen face-doubles before -- so David isn't so strange to her, although she's still slightly puzzled. He gets treated to a webcam mostly-filled with Ravens's face.]

I don't know much about hallucinations, but dreams never seem this long or unpredictable.

Surely that would depend on the individual in question. There are some capable of dreaming years worth of memories in a single sleep cycle.

[...granted they were generally in stasis and their dreams would be built up of individual memories. but he's not about to point that part out.]

[She sees what you're doing there, David]

How long a sleep cycle, exactly?

Because I cast a True Sight spell when I arrived here.

[Philosophy is not her strong suit.]

And you believe that, were this a dream, your magic would still be effective?

Based on previous experience, yes.

What tells you when something isn't real?

[ Because the dead don't dream, David, she doesn't think. And she most certainly believes she should be, and likely is, dead to her own world.

But who cares to focus on that! She looks curious at his curiosity, wondering if he has an answer. ]

What does it matter if it's not?

[it's very much the point he's trying to make. he wants to know just why people are so quick to accept this all. he wants to hear what people consider proof.]

A variant of the very same question I've already posed. However, as I'm already aware of my own answers, I'd sooner hear yours.

Will I get to hear yours afterward? 'Cause the logic works both ways. I know my answers, and I want to know yours too! So if I share, will you?

Because I made sure to take the red pill when they sat us down for this conversation.

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