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[faderbroderson]

[The boy who appears on camera could be no more than sixteen, if one were to judge by physical appearance alone. At best, the sober expression and conservative haircut might cautiously elevate him to as old as twenty. It’s the eyes that reveal the lie in that assumption. The eyes and perhaps a quality to his presence, something still and weary and aged that he makes no effort to conceal.]

My name is Godric, and I am newly arrived here.

I do not doubt that many of you have heard every possible question that could be asked in regard to our arrival, so I will be brief.

[A faintly wry expression crosses his face as he says it, as if in apology. But it passes as he pauses for a few heartbeats, unhurried, taking the time to consider his words.]

I am not altogether comfortable being proclaimed a hero, nor am I necessarily comfortable with the hand the military has taken in all this. For those of you who chose to register, if you had doubts, what swayed your opinion? For those of you who chose to abstain, or indeed took any other path, what convinced you it was for the best?

[His eyes wander back to the camera then, his gaze steady, focused wholly at whoever he may be addressing on the other end.]

They say the Porter is sentient, but I wonder over the nature of its intelligence. Do you believe our presence here is as deliberate as they imagine? If so, is it punishment or providence? Or is all this merely chance?

[Another pause and he shifts, eyes going distant and unfocused, considering whether to ask more. Deciding against it, he smiles politely. There’s no real happiness in it.]

Thank you for your time.

Comments

[faderbroderson]

[That's an understatement, but the important question is what exactly is going on. There are only a few possibilities, all of them fantastical, but he silently examines each one in turn, uncomfortably aware of the adage, "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

Not all of the things he considers are impossible, but in the end, one is simply more probable than the rest.

If one considers any of this probable. But Godric is adapting.

With some hesitation, he speaks his mind.]

I would believe it highly improbable under other circumstances, but considering where we have found ourselves and the incredible variety of worlds the Porter seems to have access to, it stands to reason that perhaps we are not from the same world after all. Very similar ones, surely, but different enough.

[wordaday]

[It's almost a little annoying that he probably hasn't even been here for a full day, and here he is pulling out theories that, frankly, she hasn't even considered. Though, it's to be expected. He looks young, and yet he's older than anyone she's ever met—even Eric or Stan Davis. She would guess he's seen weirder than this.]

Well. It makes some kinda sense, I guess. [But not the kind she wants, at all.] More sense than what I was thinking, I think.

[There had only been one theory before she had packed up the whole thing in a box labeled "do not touch" in her brain. It was vague, having to do with witches and spells and it honestly didn't make any sense, but it hadn't mattered then.

Now, well...]

I think you're right.

[faderbroderson]

[Oh no, this is hands down the weirdest thing Godric's ever seen. All of this, actually. That said, he's not unaccustomed to weird things in general, and certainly not new to them in the same way Sookie is. He assimilates -- and more importantly, accepts -- the kind of things that people born in the age of scientific skepticism have a lot more trouble immediately integrating into their non-fictional thought processes.

That doesn't make it any less weird or discomforting to think there are other versions of himself and the people he knows out there, living parallel lives, or that they can just run into each other here without warning.]

What was your theory? There are other possibilities, this is only the one I consider most likely.

[wordaday]

[Well now that he's put forth something that makes more sense, it's kinda embarrassing to say her thing. Mmph.]

Witches, some kind of weird spell to scramble our memories. Nothing having to do with this place but I though maybe something had happened to S—my friend who's here.

Eric—oh, who I guess you know?—some real powerful witches got him with this spell that erased all his memories a while back, so I thought, maybe it's like that.

[faderbroderson]

[And that's when Godric's brain grinds to a visible halt.

Please pardon the interruption, we are having technical difficulties. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming soon.]

Eric-- Eric Northman is my progeny. You were aware of that, in my world.

[Which begs the question why Sookie had not known it in hers. It has not occurred to him that there is any possible way that could not be the case.]

They erased his memories?

[There's a glimmer of something dangerous in his voice, but it's not directed at Sookie.]

[wordaday]

[Oh. Well. Huh.]

Um. I don't think that's how it is where I'm from.

[That's about thirteen miles away from reality in her experience (world?), and she's about 100% sure she'd have known if Godfrey were Eric's maker. For one, she's got a feeling he wouldn't have bothered going undercover to Dallas, and two, she doubts he would have stayed on the sidelines like he did.

Honestly, she's never given much thought to Eric having a maker. She guests she's always pictured him springing fully formed from the earth, like a Venus with really great abs. She can't picture him being anything but vampire, really. Regardless, Godric doesn't appear to be lying. He appears to be thinking vampire thoughts, is what he appears, and that's never good news.]

But you don't have to worry about it, we got all of them back! [Most of them.] And the witches who did it are dead.

[There. That should make him feel better.]

[faderbroderson]

[It does make him feel better, Sookie, thank you. Whatever darkness might have entered his expression passes, but he still looks like everything he knows has been turned on its head. Incidentally, he recognizes that this is probably how Sookie is feeling as well.]

Good. That's good.

[Witches who would harm his child should be doornail-dead, so that's as it should be, even if maybe Eric isn't his child-- and that's a sentence he has trouble even thinking without his mind doing a rebellious, incredulous flip as it makes its way out the door.]

If I was not Eric's maker in your world, do you know who was?

[Because seriously, what.]

[wordaday]

I don't, I'm sorry. He likes to talk about himself, but he keeps the important stuff close to the vest, I think. [Of course, except for those few days he spent with her, when he got cursed.] When he heard about your...ah...what happened, he did seem sad, but I think it was because he thought it was brave?

[God, this is uncomfortable. And speaking of:]

Um, do you mind if I ask kind of a personal question?

[faderbroderson]

That sounds like Eric.

[Except for the last part. Eric hadn't thought his suicide was brave, but perhaps he would have, had they not been so close. He isn't sure how to feel about the possibility.]

You may, of course.

[wordaday]

[Well, it's nice to know that Eric is Eric no matter where he's from. "Nice".

Alright, so, maybe different universes. Alright, fine. She'll eat her stress about that little nugget of terror tonight, but right now she places it to the side, because there's a question gnawing away at her. So Godric is different than Godfrey, she gets that. But it seems like a lot of things are still the same. What all has changed? Exactly how is he different? Luna was pretty damn clear about just how much of a monster Godfrey had been, but you can't just out and out accuse someone of all of that.

It's very clear that Sookie it choosing her words carefully, like she's picking through a minefield blind. But how else would she ask?]

You told me you had a lot of guilt over your...crimes. What were those crimes, exactly?

[faderbroderson]

[That is one hell of a question, and the way she says it is... odd. What crimes might his counterpart have committed, that this is the personal question Sookie would lead with, as opposed to, say, "How do you feel about being alive," or "Do you miss being human?"

He has to take a moment to gather himself and figure out where to even begin.]

I am unsure I can speak for... Godfrey in this. That he phrased it in that way to you implies that there may have been specific crimes he felt guilty for, while my own guilt is not so distinct.

For a long time, I lived by the philosophy that there was no right or wrong, only survival or death.

[He laughs quietly, humorlessly.]

Even then I must have known it was a lie. There were things I held to be wrong, principles I abided by. Some had a practical purpose, but not all. Some things I didn't do simply because I found them repugnant.

Nonetheless, I told myself that lie so that I could justify my own heartlessness. I've killed more humans than I could possibly count. For most of my life, I held no regard for their age or circumstances, whether they were loved or would be missed, save in how it might affect my own safety. I saw humans as lesser beings, and did not care.

[His voice, already quiet, softens and becomes more distant for a moment.]

In retrospect, I realize that I was, in many ways, exorcising my own demons by taking my pain out on those who could not fight back.

[Gathering himself, he continues.]

And then, after so many centuries of unrepentant slaughter, we integrated further and further into human society, and eventually I could no longer ignore the obvious. Humans are no less deserving of respect, and never had been.

However my kind came to exist, I believe now it must have been a mistake. There is right and wrong, and creatures that prey on the very people they used to be must be wrong. I must be wrong, and I felt it. I still feel it. That is why I went into the sun.

[wordaday]

[It all sounds....familiar, in a way. The guilt, the distaste for his own kind, the weariness. Except, Godric seems to have a genuine concern for humankind. Godfrey did, yes, but he was more concerned with himself and his own crushing guilt for what he'd done rather than the actual people he was still harming to get his way.

It's, well, nothing is a relief right now, when things are rapidly going sideways, but it's a weight off to know that Godric hasn't committed the sins of his other self. Parallel self?]

Ah.

[Still, it's a lot to take in, and even the second (first and a half?) time around it still weighs on her heart. More, really, than it had before.]

Well, I'm....I'm not sure if I should say I'm sorry you're here, considering.

[faderbroderson]

[That startles a short laugh out of him. Her concern for him will probably never not touch him deeply.]

That is more than fair, Miss Stackhouse, as I am also unsure if I am sorry. For all that I still sincerely wish to find my end, I hesitate now. Here, I have been given the gift to walk in the sun.

[His eyes and voice go a little distant.]

Before this, I spent a full day doing nothing but staring at the blue of the sky and observing the play of light on tree leaves and on water.