The void was all around . Nothingness. No sensation, no sense of weight or distance.
Black.
It was strange to be here again. Back where it all started.
If I relaxed my mind, it was almost like everything that had co to pass was a fever dream, and I was reset to the frantic monts after the teor. In reality, it wasnt the sa. The overload of panic and existential terror was entirely absent.
Id gotten used to it. Accepting the unknown was almost automatic.
The text lood in front of , magnified several tis larger than what Id grown accustod to on the system overlay.
When I went to select the only option, I was surprised to find the text field empty. Before, the options had all been selected for . Theyd all been answers I likely would have selected if I was being completely and totally honest with both the questions and myself, but generally things I never would have admitted to. Other Users had similar experiences.
Maybe that was ant to be a safeguard. There was no way Id have taken it seriously enough to answer honestly the first ti around.
Given the lack of mouth, I didnt speak so much as focus my thoughts on the text. Yes.
I waited.
The window snapped shut. Confusion ford the beginnings of alarm as it beca clear sothing was wrong. This was either a malfunction or sothing worse.
Hello?
There was no response. The silence dragged out long enough for my alarm to turn to dread. If sothing went fundantally wrong, did that an I was stuck here? Forever catatonic in my bed.
Suddenly, the text reappeared.
No.
A quiet anger swept over . Apparently, the old saying held true. Three people could keep a secret if two of them were dead. Even in the realm of gods. And I was getting really fucking tired of deific interference.
More importantly, I needed to know if Nychta had intentionally set up to fail.
And what, if I may ask, would have happened without this intercession?
are friends of a sort. In answer to your question, the session would have tid out, and youd be returned to your body, with no penalty or benefit.>
If Im filling in the gaps correctly, the gods use the Null to grant classes to mortals?
He was including himself in that, of course. Letting know he wasnt a lesser god without saying it.
Sothing crucial occurred to . When Id spoken to the Allfather at the shrine of elevation, his ssage text had been capitalized. The sa held true for my initial venture into this place, after the teor, and when Id awoken the Ordinators summoner variant. It was just a guess, but a grounded one. The Allfather had been my proctor the first ti around, and continued to directly oversee anything to do with my advancent as an Ordinator.
How do we proceed? I asked.
The vein above my brow would have popped out, if I had a forehead to speak of.
First, Im assuming if you wanted to know who you were, you would have told . Your associates
I sighed. The other gods havent been shy when it ca to introductions. Figured that ca with the territory. Secondly, Im pretty sure you want sothing. Nychta emphasized that Im marked. Im assuming when she told you about even though I really wish she hadntshe did so with confidence youd keep it to yourself. Not that I have any clue what any of you actually want. Or expect for this to be my last deific house-call.
:)
The symbol appeared on its own, floating towards in the void before dissipating to nothing. Sothing flashed through my mind. An image in the hotel lobby of the sa symbol emblazoned on a tal backplate behind the reception desk.
Nychta didnt tell you about . You told her.
Business?
While the entity talked to itself, I spoke again. Are you willing to tell anything about the ga? Or my brothers class?
The text paused.
I sighed. Figured
. And thats saying sothing.>
A cold chill went through . And if you were being so unspeakably unprofessional, what would you advise the supplicant to do with this information?
Behind the babbling text, I sensed a grain of truth. It was dubious. This entity wasnt my friend, and had already admitted they werent above lying for their own amusent. But the already significant concern I felt for Ellison had grown exponentially.
Miner? They were going to present Miner as one of your options. Blech.>
I an, Im not opposed to a resource gathering class.
A wall of laughter scrolled, long and excessive. If I had a body, there was no question Id be in cold sweats right about now. When the text returned, it was all business.
I hesitated. On the surface, it looked the sa as the sheep and wolf question from the first go around. Only, it wasnt. Hawks were generally fiercely solitary and territorial. By contrast, ravens werent nearly as passive as sheep. They werent necessarily birds of prey, but in addition to scavenging, they did hunt. Sotis alone, sotis cooperatively. And their cleverness was well docunted.
Raven.
Good. A softball.
There was a common undercurrent of thought that more severe penalties worked as a deterrent for criminals. If I rembered correctly, this wasnt the case. Surprisingly, it did almost nothing to reduce recidivism, either. It just made people more likely to commit additional cris to cover it up. If the penalty for robbing soone is already horrific, youre much better off just killing them after to reduce the chances of being caught.
Reformation.
I wanted to roll my eyes. Really? Were doing Theseus?
Another philosophical problem with a twist. The unaltered version didnt refer to man at all, rather whether a ship that had all its components replaced over ti was the sa ship. There wasnt a correct answer to the paradox. This version was further complicated because the question made no reference to the mans brain. No notable damage or otherwise. And with the brain being key to who we are, it was entirely valid to argue that he was the sa.
I changed my answer at the last mont. No. Hes not the sa.
It was a struggle to put it into words. My reasoning has nothing to do with the replacents from the surgery. And theres no ntion of brain damage. But his mind wont be the sa. Trauma and hardship always catalyze change. Good or bad. And after an accident of that severity, grieving over what he lost, and undergoing treatnts and exhaustive physical therapy? I cant imagine anyone would co out unaltered.
Before I could respond, the darkness faded, and I jolted upright in bed.
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