Count Dooku (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dun_moch) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
maskormenace2017-12-18 09:05 pm
dun_moch) wrote in maskormenace2017-12-18 09:05 pm
Entry tags:
7th Oration // Video
[The opening shot is exactly the same as Dooku's interrupted last post. Same bookshelf, same lighting, same Count Dooku casually brushing some dust off his shoulder as he addresses the camera in his deep voice. It is as though he is continuing the previous post without missing a beat, refusing to be disrupted by the Porter, which is exactly the impression he wants to convey.]
Now then. As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted...
[Something is subtly different now, though. There's a touch of strain in the Count's smooth voice that wasn't there before, a note of tension in his face and the way he carries his body. Nonetheless, he carries on as though nothing has changed.]
It appears that the Porter's vengeance against imPort inquiries has ended, for now. But do not make the mistake of thinking that we are now safe. We remain bound by mysterious and cruel entities.
Many of us wish to be sent home. But at the same time, how many of us fear to be Ported out at any moment? Hurled away from our lives here and the friends we have made, sent back to the grim fate that may await us: conflict and humiliation, betrayal and death?
[Dooku's voice rises a bit on those last two words. He maaaaay be projecting a little here. He takes a breath.]
So let me ask you this: what does freedom mean to you, my friends? What is the heart of that word? Is it choice? Is it the ability to command your own life? If so, can we truly be called free today?
A new year is about to begin, with new challenges and opportunities. I urge you all to think carefully about what freedom means to you... and how you will seek to achieve it as we move into the future.
Now then. As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted...
[Something is subtly different now, though. There's a touch of strain in the Count's smooth voice that wasn't there before, a note of tension in his face and the way he carries his body. Nonetheless, he carries on as though nothing has changed.]
It appears that the Porter's vengeance against imPort inquiries has ended, for now. But do not make the mistake of thinking that we are now safe. We remain bound by mysterious and cruel entities.
Many of us wish to be sent home. But at the same time, how many of us fear to be Ported out at any moment? Hurled away from our lives here and the friends we have made, sent back to the grim fate that may await us: conflict and humiliation, betrayal and death?
[Dooku's voice rises a bit on those last two words. He maaaaay be projecting a little here. He takes a breath.]
So let me ask you this: what does freedom mean to you, my friends? What is the heart of that word? Is it choice? Is it the ability to command your own life? If so, can we truly be called free today?
A new year is about to begin, with new challenges and opportunities. I urge you all to think carefully about what freedom means to you... and how you will seek to achieve it as we move into the future.
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[Alfie drums his fingers on the tabletop.]
I'd like to discuss adding to that, if I may. Yeah, because your cause is one of very few here that I do not find completely fucking imbecillic - that's assuming, right, that it is what you say it is.
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It is what I say... and perhaps more. You understand, of course, that there are some things that cannot be stated openly, especially in the eyes of the authorities.
[Of course he understands. That's why they have to meet in this pit of an establishment.]
What are you willing to offer? And what might you ask in return?
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[He taps the table again, not breaking eye contact.]
Yeah, I don't know much about interdimensional travel - magic, science, whatever you wanna call it. My world's nearly a hundred years behind this one, and I'm not a scientist there, either. I've learned enough to know that it would take me a very long time to gather all the knowledge and experience it would take to get anything useful done on my own. But you, and your people--
[He might not know specifics, but he has hunches, and he thinks they're good ones.]
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[The Count's smile is showing teeth now.]
My people want much the same thing you do. You are hardly the only imPort who feels this way, and there are those in our community who are bending their intellects to grasping the secrets of the Porter.
[He pauses. The smile shrinks.]
But the risks of such inquiries are quite severe, as recent events have demonstrated. Are you truly willing to pursue this goal, despite the possible consequences? There are those who would call you reckless for doing so, if they knew.
no subject
[His fingers still on the table.]
Tell me what you think of this latest venture with the Porter.
[He's pretty sure he doesn't need to tell Dooku which venture he's talking about.]
no subject
A bold stroke with unexpected costs. Those who executed it should be praised for their discoveries and their courage. I think they can hardly be blamed for the unforeseeable consequences inflicted through the government's nanites.
[It's the truth of what he feels, for whatever that is worth. Of course, Dooku was lucky enough to be out of this universe for most of the time when people were sickening, losing control of their powers, or even dying as a result of this 'venture.']
We have learned much through their actions. Now it is up to the rest of us to take the next steps on the path, and ensure these sacrifices were not in vain.
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[Alfie makes an ambivalent sound. He'd had plenty of his own misgivings about it all, though they've lessened somewhat now that he's had more time to think about it. And while he might not trust Dooku anywhere near implicitly, his opinion on the matter is still significant to him.]
My concerns here, right, are about the effects of plans on the Porter itself. The thing shut down for a bit, after all. There was worry that we were trapped for good.
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[The Count shakes his head, as though the Porter has disappointed him through its immaturity.]
I say this as someone who has concerned himself with the Porter for quite some time: I see no reasonable way this could have been predicted or avoided. Save by giving up, and surrendering to the Porter's will forever.
no subject
[Alfie rubs his chin.]
It was described as a group effort; I wasn't aware there was a single person heading the idea. And you say he - but I'm sure you don't mean Kaneki, do you?
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A group effort, to be sure. But Kaneki has become a very strong leader, and has done great work in gathering knowledge for imPorts. Let us say that I would not discount his role in any such endeavor.
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[Dooku raises a skeptical eyebrow. He knows better than most that Kaneki is a tortured creature on an emotional level, but he also credits the ghoul with a certain level of sense. He has been wise enough to accept Dooku's wisdom, after all.]
And what precisely has been your experience with him, if I may ask?
no subject
[He rubs at his chin, itching his beard.]
I will say that he inserted himself into a situation I very unequivocally told him to stay out of, despite his lack of real involvement and lack of, you know, understanding of the context and all. Yeah. And that sort of thing - that's a problem for me, in my line of work. He's a rogue fucking element, that one, with a very obvious air of self-righteousness and a certainty that he knows best - despite the lack of context and involvement that I mentioned before, right.
no subject
[He does have to admit that sounds like something Kaneki would do. And that would severely irritate the Count himself, if he was on the receiving end of such behaviour. He heaves a sigh, a bit theatrically.]
The impetuousness of youth can be most trying, can it not? But such boldness has its advantages as well. I hope his imposition upon your business was not too damaging, at any rate.
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[Dooku leans forward a bit, meeting Alfie's eyes.]
In that case, I ask you as a man of business to consider costs and benefits, investment and reward. Kaneki's recklessness disrupted your affairs for an instant, but it also gained you and all of us new knowledge about the Porter: it's origins, its master, its nature. With that in mind, should the ghoul be viewed as more of a risk? Or an assset?
[The Count made his own decision on that score long ago.]
no subject
[If it sounds like Alfie is saying "control him as much as possible so that you can use him as a tool without dealing with the nasty side effects of his personal decisions", it's... because that's basically what he's saying.]
no subject
Of course. I will keep both eyes on him, as often as I can spare them. I only hope that my continued association with him won't discourage any cooperation between you and I.
[He gestures his hand back-and-forth between him and Alfie.]
I sense there is much we could accomplish together.
no subject
[He pauses for a solid ten seconds, just staring at the Count, before he continues.]
I am prepared to give you money. I am prepared to give you support - to some extent, right, on the condition that it may be revoked at any time. But I would like to make my ambivalence known. Because sitting around on our asses - well, nobody likes to do that, do they? Not me, and surely not you. I would very much like to do something. But do you know what's always there, in the back of my mind?
[Another pause, though it's shorter.]
The fact that many fucking people have left this place, often permanently, and none of it's happened because of our efforts. No, they've all done it by sitting on their asses.
All I ask is that with every action you take, with every action I support you in, you keep that fact in mind. Eh? Every time you think about what step to take next, I respectfully ask that you think long and hard about whether it's a better option than doing nothing, or a worse one. Because there will surely be many of both, and considering our situation is not as desperate as it could be right now, I don't much like the idea of doing something simply out of a desire to say that something was done.
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I promise to keep that fact very much in mind at all times, Mister Solomon. Do we have an accord, then?
[He won't bother reminding Alfie about the imPorts who would prefer to remain here or who might have only death waiting at home. A man like this has already weighed those angles.]
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[And with that, Alfie spits on his palm and holds his hand out for a shake. By now, he's well aware that that's not standard practice for shady business deals here, and is in fact something that a lot of people find over-the-top disgusting, but he's not planning to stop doing it anytime soon. It's interesting - and sometimes telling - to see how people react to it. At the very least, the looks on their faces are usually pretty funny.]
no subject
Then he lifts up his own hand and grips Alfie's firmly- after picking up a napkin to provide a little protection between his skin and Alfie's damp palm.]
Very good, then. I will look forward to discovering what we can accomplish together.
[And he doesn't hold that shake one second longer than he has to.]