eyemind | Audio | UN: presage

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Audio | UN: presage - An Offer

With our situation here having grown more dire with Mindseye making itself known and our rather unwilling trip to the Infernal realm Xanadu I thought perhaps we could all use some recreational options. With that in mind I have procured a video game system from the space station with intent to set up a communal space for such things.

I have also taken the liberty of sifting through Mammon's hoard for similar items of entertainment. By the way if any newcomers have found their cabins lacking in soaps and towels, those items have been placed in the kitchen for easy retrieval.

Back to the topic at hand: I require assistance in setting up such a place. One of the many lounges would work for space, but I am wholly unfamiliar with the specifics of this kind of technology. For the benefit of all aboard I am asking for any willing to lend a hand, or other luxuries, to the cause.

These trips between worlds do get so long and boring.

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"Bringing the world science and reason." He's focused and sincere, "Teaching in it's own way is a crusade - though without the religious ramifications. My wife-"

He missed the beat, "I suppose one's marriage could be called a crusade but I like to attach myself to hopeless causes - probably because I'm hopeless."

He suddenly wants a drink, a very stiff drink as he leans back to stare at the angel, "I'm a so-called psychic in a world with supposed ghosts and demonic serial killers - stopping those alone is a crusade."

His throat works, "Alex doesn't need crusades. She has a life to lead, and she deserves it. Being so focused. She has done so much good and while I don't think I want to let her go she would be safer..."

"A noble pursuit." Just because Murmur's technically a supernatural being that doesn't mean he can't appreciate science and reason. That's really his schtick, after all.

"Did you find your marriage to be hopeless?" It was a genuine question, one born of simple curiosity about the word usage with no hint of judgement. Relationships end, it's reality, again a strange taboo that humans held themselves to. Perhaps Murmur will never understand that.

"Do you believe that you alone can 'stop' demons and ghosts?" Okay now he seemed amused, if only faintly. Many have tried, and one cannot eradicate their existence any more than they can will the wind to cease blowing. They are parts of creation, that's just how it is. He's also not going to comment on the psychic part, it's pretty obvious he is but if Richard wants to cling to his denial far be it for Murmur to stop him.

However, as Richard continues and begins to express his assumptions about Alex he does seem to frown disapprovingly. "And how does Alex feel about you determining what she needs?" The removal of one's autonomy is not something he's quick to abide. That is the domain of free will, who is Richard to decide what her path is to be?

"My wife had an affair with one of her grad students." It was ironically hypocritical, he'd met the mother of his daughter when Amber was a grad student. Granted he'd only been a TA - but Richard looks heartbroken at the thought. He had it in him to be soft and gentle and kind and life just kept spitting it back in his face.

Leaning forward he snorted, "Demons and Ghosts aren't supposed to be real. I combat human ignorance. It's not even stupidity. We could do so much more without being inhibited even if belief is supposed to comfort. We could grow..."

"I can already tell she throws herself into this and here she told me she died. I'm not going to kill people."

He rubs at his head, "She doesn't know this but I've been stalked over this - people trying to steal my father's work." He spits, "Bastard. I don't want her to hurt."

"Ah, I see," Yes that would certainly complicate things. That did explain the tone. Murmur would be less impressed if he knew Richard were being a hypocrite, but two wrongs don't make a right and all that. Unfortunate.

"Aren't supposed to be," He offers with a faintly quirked eyebrow. Richard was aware he was a psychic talking to an angel, right? "I will not disagree that humankind has a tendency to inhibit their own advancement, but I also believe you know yourself that things are less simple than that."

Although... "Died, when?" There is concern there. As hard as he tried to protect them, Murmur was but one angel against an army. He and Mammon did their best, but there were bound to be some that slipped through.

The frown remains. "You have hid this information from her, why?" If he were so concerned in protecting her would it not be better to be honest about the reasons why, rather than to try to control and manipulate? Granted, Murmur did understand the irony of him saying that, being the master of manipulating patterns and weaving intricate webs of fate. It was different as a Seer. He couldn't control free will, only guide it.

All of the rest of this doesn't matter. He frowns at Murmur before pointing a finger, "It's my business. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I don't want her to get hurt. It distracts from my work."

There's an edge to him, hard and cold and mean.

"She and I were never supposed to be that close to know it."

A snorted laugh. "You presume to decide the course of time and fate?" While his monotone rarely changed much beyond itself there was a very slight undercurrent of 'who do you think you are?' in that statement.

Richard may like to pretend his motivations are altruistic, but he's made it very clear it's all selfishness here. Pride, and hubris.

"What is it they say again? Pride goeth before the fall?"

"I presume to offer assistance. To offer help." The pride is more obvious but he sniffs and looks away, "...My mission has always been to help, the propaganda spread by beings in my world - let's assume for a moment you have a message."

He almost, almost says, almost thinks, You aren't real but it is shoved aside mentally.

"Messages can be corrupted no matter how many mouths speak it." He gestures, "surely you can agree that's wrong? That ignorance is in itself dangerous?"

"To offer implies the receiving parties have a choice in the matter," He states pointedly, pinning Strand briefly beneath that unnervingly piercing gaze of his. Only a moment, as he has no desire to worsen the man's headaches and make him more belligerent than he already is.

Not real, and yet here he very much is.

"While it is true that no message is immune to misrepresentation or misunderstanding, I fail to understand what that has to do with you deciding for Alex what is best for Alex, without any regard for her input? On the same hand, dangerous as ignorance is it can be corrected, but blind zealotry and a blunt refusal to acknowledge that which stands before you is equally as dangerous. And far more difficult to excise."

Edited 2021-05-18 02:44 (UTC)

"You're calling me a zealot? You're an angel. Isn't that the definition of zealotry?"

But, the being helped him so the snarky tone is replaced with quiet, calm, reason, "Alex is free to do as she chooses, but the way she's been behaving indicates that I do...take an interest despite my wife-"

He stops himself.

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt anymore because of me."

He laughed. It was almost... musical, melodic and carrying with it just the faintest hint of distant chimes. "We are capable of zealotry most certainly, not unlike your own," It would seem he wasn't offended by the accusation. "Are you operating under the impression that human religious texts are an accurate representation of us and our roles? I do not believe the comparison is quite fitting, as while we are capable of enacting on free will it can be more difficult for us."

And impossible, depending. Fortunately it isn't often they are stripped of that option anymore. Murmur's amusement dies down, and he tilts his head curiously at Richard. "How long has it been?" That he's been missing his wife. It's clear to him there's something there, though Richard is aggressively guilting himself out of it. For whatever reason.

"A noble ideal, but flawed in its execution. You cannot control the actions of others, what you can do is keep them informed. Or not. But know that choosing to do nothing is still a choice. And hiding the truth may leave them more vulnerable, than not."

This makes him want to get drunk. Well and truly drunk. Let Alex see that, let everyone see the guy who wants to be the center of the spotlight and how he focuses enough to keep himself there. It would be good for all of them. Good for every single one of them.

"Everything I do is to keep people informed. Believe that." He tries to move to his feet, headache and exhaustion hitting all at once.

"Knowledge and reason can and will change the world. And I operate on that principle."

The difference is it's almost like he was bred to it, born to it, raised to it for a reason, as if an enlightened apocalypse or massive change could be a way out for so many others.

Would it? Or would it simply be cathartic for a man trained to embody an idea of perfection both unobtainable, and utterly false to begin with.

"Does lying to yourself make it more true, I wonder?" Murmur mused aloud, watching Strand stand. He could only shake his head. The blessing was effective so long as it was embraced, when Richard rejected it so too did the effects weaken.

He hummed thoughtfully. "What does that brighter future look like to you, Richard?" When did he learn Strand's name?

A muscle in his jaw twitches and something cracks across the pleasant fuzz, "Why am I lying to myself? I know you're an angel, an ethereal being, which could be something evolutionary different..."

Another crack. Better not to think about it.

He sighed, "Is it too much to ask that you not go digging into my head?" That's the only way he might know, "Or did Alex tell you my name?"

The cracks are making him rude, cranky. He rubs his jaw before he presses the side of his head.

"I can see people when it do it now. Go digging in my mind."

"Incorrect, we do not evolve. We are created, lack physiology, and are only changed through experience. External environmental pressures are irrelevant," Of course he knows what evolution is and how it works. "Would you like a demonstration?"

As for that he spreads his hands in something of a helpless apology. "I am afraid that particular talent is one I can no more turn off than you can willfully cease your heart beating. I Know you all upon meeting you, that includes your name. I assure you I am making no additional effort to know, though that is more specifically within my wheelhouse than some."

"Can you? Very good, you're growing. Although, I am not people." And would still very likely be harder to detect than Simon. Murmur's general abilities are far more passive. Like one being faintly aware of the scent of flowers when walking past. No additional effort needed, and very little notice granted to the influx of information as it comes. It is nature to them, not even second, simply nature.

"I know what you can do. And to deny yourself sentient life is wrong. Even if you are eternal. You may not be people but you still have...identity even if that's not what it looks like for animals. It- you still need something to differentiate yourself..."

Oh fuck it. He waves a hand, "Or not."

"Please don't share things with Alex."

Interesting. Murmur cants his head again, curious. "Jack offered a similar argument when I expressed that we do not qualify as people. What would you suggest as a differentiation?" He finds it perplexing that these mortals kept insisting such a thing. He didn't mind, it was kind, one of the more beautiful aspects of humanity. For they did still have beauty within them, when they felt like exercising it.

"Angel-mortal confidentiality. I will not share what you have shared, or not, with me in confidence."

"Living beings? Creatures? Asking a person to identify themselves can be difficult..."

This is easier. He even looks more relaxed, "You have access to immense power, but that doesn't mean you don't have access to beliefs and personality, looks or psychology that makes up you. That's a core component of society. Society is an aggregate of individuals living together, start there. Work together from there."

He pauses, "I could...Well if I had access to books that were from my reality I would show you but. I do not."

He can't even manage a suspicious thought because the fuzziness is starting to fade, "...Can you do it again? This hurts."

"Beings, perhaps, living again is a complicated term and depends upon one's definition. The same could be said for creature," Murmur is a philosopher, he does enjoy these mental exercise games far more than the debating. He does look pleased to now be pursuing a more intellectual line of discussion.

"Ah, you speak of our society as a whole. That is more... complicated. There are those among my brethren who would be more inclined to find the concept of being called people highly offensive for the association it bears with mortals." They are... proud creatures. Proud, arrogant, and very set in their ways. Without external factors forcing adaptations the way they do for living beings they find a greater comfort in holding the line. No matter how detrimental that may be.

"Keep an eye out, perhaps? It's remarkable what washes up on these planets sometimes." Like Alex finding a recorder with her show on it, for instance.

A faint frown. Hmm, a difficult case. "It would seem you are beset by something more potent than anticipated. I cannot guarantee a long-term effect without first usurping the root cause, but I can offer something more potent." This one is... more aggressive than a gentle prayer. Murmur gestured, not this time in prayer but something else. If Richard were to guess an incantation for a spell he'd be more correct, though the power upon which Murmur called was internal rather than external.

The effect was sharper this time. Not the gentle soothing warmth of the blessing but a sharp, refreshing burst of cold. Like walking outside on an early spring morning for a jog. The sensation was swift, efficient, like a menthol balm for the soul seeking out the worst of the turmoil and pinning it beneath a soothing shield. Not severing, but subduing. Sending a great beast to slumber, if only for a time.

Less gentle than the last, but decidedly more potent. Murmur was, after all, a scholar of all magics. If anyone could figure out how to entice a waking dragon to nap it would be him.

It's a stirring in him, like surfacing out of a pool, wiping his hands over his face in a sudden motion. He breathes slowly, in and out, in and out." He breathes, things are muted but they still feel good, they feel right.

He swallows it down. He won't say it. He won't ask (what's happening to me?) but instead he buries his head in his hands.

"I deserve this." He nods, "I deserve this I suppose." And he starts to rise, "I will think on the building blocks of society and see if I can find you something that might...work."

Now he just wants to sleep? He sleeps too much. Like his body is trying to heal or forget or something unintelligible.

Murmur cannot answer a question unasked, so he offers no further insight. For now he'll simply do what he can, there's only so much with Richard actively undermining his efforts at the same time. Ah well.

"Is that truly what you believe?" Murmur counters quietly. It's not necessarily a challenge, most certainly not a denial or agreement. Simply a question. These things, after all, are rarely as simple as a matter of deserving. But that's not his place to say. "I look forward to it. Do try to get some rest."

He should get some decent rest for a time, at the very least. Before he goes and disrupts it for himself again.

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Audio | UN: presage - An Offer

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