maskormenace | voice; let's talk about

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voice; let's talk about

Religion.

[Crane's calm, polite voice says inquisitively.]

For those who believe in providence; does this world's existence solve any of your big questions? For those who repudiate the irrational, do your answers to life's mysteries remain written in stone?

[He musters all of his carefully-rehearsed self-control to question a topic he isn't fond of.]

My fundamental question is does this world affirm the existence of the divine? I must say; if you take the positive view because you are a member of a pantheon, then that's a strange way of attesting your strength. Divinity is given power by its worship, do you realize? What's divine here other than your celebrity? Well, leaving aside for a moment the Porter. Lucifer is no more powerful than anybody. Inanna is no more powerful than anybody. Persephone is no more powerful than anybody. And, funnily enough, Woden is certainly no more powerful than anybody.

Emerson said, "Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool." I think that makes the question of how a God feels about playing the part of the Fool quite relevant.

That's all I've got to say. I'm going to slip off to work. Thank you for listening.

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It tells me that whatever God truly has the power over the multiverse has a great sense of humor, still.

[Should he really bite? He smiles and becomes a little more aware of his collar. No, but he's going to anyway.]

...But let's be serious for a minute, huh, Doc? What makes you think there isn't something more powerful than Lucifer-et-all that's pulling all these strings? Seems pretty proven to me that the Fates are something especially all-powerful, whatever name you want to attach to them.

I heard there's literally a Fate in the Porter.

Funny story, that- she seemed to have a ...certain sense of humor, so I'm feeling pretty good on that assertion.

Makes about as much sense when you think about it as any other explanation, I guess. Especially once you consider the other two.

You've met them?

Met? Mm, no, not really. I'd spoken to Lachesis a few times, but mostly observed. The 'chessmaster', I called her back then, but looking back now... I wonder if it wasn't really just a game....

I've heard about the sisters who came after, though- who destroyed The City, and such. It sorta confirmed something for me, though if we're speaking of divinities and constants of the universe, I guess it's all theoretical.

Uh huh. [ Well, that does explain a bit about his previous posts. ]

So they used to- what, come out and chat up the imPorts?

[Fun adventures, those were.] 'Come out' isn't really the term I'd use. I don't think she ever had a physical form, not that I ever heard of. Mostly she'd post directly through the net and taunt us a little, mess with people.

...When people first started to get Ported in, there was a figurehead. An Iron Man suit- you familiar with Stark? -that was the purported controller of the Porter. Well... as time went on, it became clear the suit wasn't the one in control, so once Lachesis revealed herself, it wasn't a huge surprise to me. I just didn't imagine at the time that she was anything more than an extremely advanced, volatile AI within the Porter.

You'll have to ask someone else the details on the other two- I just heard about them, myself. But from what I did hear, and if you know a bit of classical myth, the three together form a neat trifecta of universal constants.

[A sense of humor? Well, that's the Old Testament gone out the window.]

Behavior. I have yet to meet anyone, human or otherwise, who doesn't exhibit a predictable and specific demonstration of behavior. Honor. Obedience. Wrath. Gods have human characteristics though they are Gods. Machines have human characteristics though they are machines. It's all quite fascinating.

[And when it's fastinating is when he wants to pick it apart, mmmh.]

[Good thing he's not a rabbi!]

Woah there, cowboy. Who said these characteristics are human? Doesn't "man made in the image of God" make that theory go the other way around?

[He's teasing, mostly, but he's also feeling Crane out.] And that's in addition to all the aliens and whatever else non-human that pop through the Porter. You think divinity shouldn't be predictable, though? What about the whole idea of order in the universe?

[Man made in the image of God? No. It's the other way.]

Fear. Reverence. Both bring order. But you're twisting my line. I never stated that divinity shouldn't be predictable. I observed that, human, alien or otherwise, behavior's all the same.

In the end, it's a kind of universal brotherhood, isn't it? We're all the same at our core, whoever started setting the standard. It's kinda peaceful. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all set aside our other variances and recognize that?

[Religion was always more successful as a tool for order than as a personal coping method. A shame, that.]

...I get why one would dislike it, though. Sameness is... boring is too simple a way to put it, but it comes dangerously close to a kind of absolute order that prevents progression. You a proponent of entropy?

[Wouldn't it be nice were there no conflict? Hell no!

But he is aware of who's asking all the questions here. Not on, that.]

Are you?

[Soft breath of a chuckle. Revolution counted as a kind of entropy, didn't it?]

A sort. I guess.

Entropy just for the sake of it is pretty wasteful if ya ask me, but then again, if it's not absolute I don't know that it still qualifies, exactly.

[A weapon of change, shaped with purpose. What happened once that purpose was accomplished? He wants to know what you think on all this, Crane, and he doesn't mind giving up a little to get some back.] Steered progression still qualifies as some manner of order, depending how you look at it.

[Casting a lure to get a bite sometimes brings up... nothing.]

I believe it's one qualifying factor of an orderly university. Doesn't necessarily have to be the only one.

[What is it with young people thinking he doesn't notice their attempts to be sly? Insulting. :/]

[Unfortunately for Crane's patience, playing the fool is almost all Duo ever does. Publicly.]

Oookay. So let's assume that this divine will- "God" or "Fates", whatever it is that's at the top, operates on some level of orderly behavior- as you've observed, and that it has sentience, self-awareness, a will. And that this orderly behavior it exhibits is part of a choice of its own, which it's exerted upon every other being, mortal or otherwise, in this universe. Whether we want to call this behavior "Fate" or "all part of God's plan", or what have you.

You wanted to know if this place answered any questions for us, right? I think some level of proof in the all-encompassing power of universal constants is a pretty big one.

[One in particular, but it wouldn't be fun if he made the game easy. You win some, you lose some.]

Edited (oops html) 2017-06-03 21:14 (UTC)

You think universality provides some level of proof of intent, then? Of design?

[Jung's theory of the collective unconscious gets a new angle, all things considered.]

Makes it a pretty strong possibility, at least.

All the other divinities that got tossed on into here? They're just... subsets. Facets, or hands of the uppermost echelon. Whatever brought them here clearly has the ability and the choice to make them exactly as divine or mortal as it pleases.

[He's reminded of a conversation he had early on in the City, discussing the possibility of the universe as if it was a program, with varying levels of writer access. The Porter, a loophole in the code allowing someone access to rewrite the universes. Maybe he'd been on to something.]

[His tone contains a measure of consideration to it.]

Divine or mortal, they're still symbols. Though I would like to question whatever brought them here on its perverse choice to make them all mortal, frankly.

You think it--

[He was about to say it without intent. He stops himself, and laughs suddenly. Then, his voice goes quieter, and a little ..different.]

...think it fears what could happen if it lost control of them?

I think it respects the consequences.

[His tone is calm and polite - level with no emotion. He gently steps away from the feeling of being laughed at. Pays it no mind for now.

In the end, he knows fear and respect are the same thing.]

Right.

[Duo's is... not. But it's a lot less joking than it could be, like it might have been, once upon a time. Small progresses. Instead, his amusement is couched in bitterness, and he doesn't make an effort to hide it.]

In that case, you question the decision because it should embrace the possibility? Or some other reason?

[Crane brushes Duo's tone out of the forefront his mind. He pictures it in the back with all the rest of the trash he has to deal with, like that man the other night. Hmm.]

The former, yes.

[Fear and disruption are good for business.]

Ah. Encouraging Lachesis to get over her fears, Doc? That's nice. That's noble of you.

[Should he go on? No? Well okay]

I mean-- I think she should too, but that's more cuz there's about as much chance of one of those divine-powered folks managing to overpower her and find us all a way home as there is of them ending the universe, again, so hell. May as well try our luck.

[Do you feel lucky, Crane?]

[Having heard about the ending of the previous universe thanks to Chilton, Crane takes it all in his stride.]

You say that like you believe in luck. [One can imagine him sniffing haughtily.] A man like myself has no need for such a thing.

Oh, surely. [Sorry, there's that tone again] Hey- plan for the worst, hope for the best, huh? Luck isn't a contingency plan, it's luck.

[And some people have the strangest kind of it, Crane.]

I guess 'hope' itself is too much to ask of The Scarecrow, though.

voice; let's talk about

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