maskormenace | text; filtered away from Newton Geiszler

text; filtered away from Newton Geiszler

Hero
[heer-oh]

noun, plural heroes;

1. a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.

There are a great many heroic types among the imPort population, and this is probably a rather tired question, but indulge my curiosity if you would.

What is it the elevates a person from simply well-intentioned, to someone worthy of such a distinguished title?

Deeds? Bravery? Strength? Capability? Righteousness? Nobility? All of the above, or some combination thereof?

Or is it simply that there's one person in the world that believes it?

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I would say the latter. You aren't necessarily defined as a hero by your actions, but by the beliefs of others.

What is your take on it? Do you view yourself as a hero, Mr. Gottlieb?

I never did. But there seems to be one person that believes as much.

Your friend? The one from home?

Yes, that does seem to be the case.

How do you feel about that? Do you view him as a hero as well?

Those queries are not unrelated, and I'm not certain of either of them. If I could be considered a hero, then he most certainly is one as well.

I haven't spoken with you both in great length, but based on what I've seen -- you two are vital to one another. You work well together. And most of all, you support each other. I would say you two are the perfect hero for one another. And your work combined could cause you both to be a hero in the eyes of many.

Is that something you would be comfortable with? Or is it something you would prefer not to think about?

[uh wow, so feelings just happened. thanks for summing all that up Raina]

Well I can't say I disagree with you on any particular point, but it is quite a lot to consider.

[ It's what she does, bro. ]

And not something your analytical mind has considered very often, I take it?

Regrettably not. Rather, we've worked together for so long, it hardly seems notable at first thought.

How long have the two of you been colleagues?

Five years in direct contact. Unfortunately, we didn't quite get along for most of them.

Really? I would have thought you to be close all along. What happened to change your feelings for one another?

We got along on paper for a few years. But personality conflicts, and we were rather young and self-absorbed at the time.. Then of course, we were forced to work closely together during the last years of the war when our funding ran out and the stress certainly didn't help matters.

But during those final hours, I suppose you could say mutual trust and respect won out. We'd found that we never hated one another, despite all evidence to the contrary, and that we were rather more alike than we knew. Being here has reinforced all of that.

If nothing else came out of the war, I'm glad that you two were able to come to terms with your feelings for one another.

[ Which sounded a bit like they were romantically involved. Of course, if the shoe fits....... ]

But I do hope something else came out of the war. Victory for the side you were fighting on, and for you two to continue on in this newfound relationship with each other back in your world.

[Well it's a good thing they've come to terms with that general assumption. It's just too much of a bother to keep correcting it, and talking about the drift without talking about it is difficult. So just not gonna touch that part]

Yes, we won. Not much of a celebration to have been ported here immediately after, but I certainly wouldn't have appreciated it before then.

Perhaps it isn't the world you had just saved, but this one is worth appreciating in its own right. I can think of worse locations for your celebration party.

Yes, certainly.

[The anteverse comes to mind]

If it seems we're to stay here long-term however, I will likely move out of the immediate imPort cities to somewhere quieter and less volatile.

Any place in mind? Hopefully not too far away from the nearest porter.

Not yet, just somewhere within an hour's drive or so. The remote anonymity would be well worth the commute.

I can certainly understand the sentiment. Well, Dr. Gottlieb, I wish you luck. Not only in your pursuit of a place, but also in your newly found role of 'hero.'

Ah yes.. thank you, Miss Raina. You've listened to me quite enough.

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