shakespearealien | VII. Video + Action for Ecruteak City + two more things.

Video/Action:

[It's the dead of night, and Gorthan is in a room at the Ecruteak City inn. If the scientist doesn't look happy in the least, it's because he is not. He is, in fact, very, very angry. Angry about what happened to the Kimono Girls and their theatre. Angry at the people who did it, whoever they are.

And most of all? He's angry at himself, for being part of something that allows and even encourages this level of horrible cruelty.

The video is a close-up of Gorthan's face, the focus being on his narrowed eyes and furrowed brow, his usual circular markings very visible.]

"O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!
And for thy life let justice be accused.
Thou almost mak’st me waver in my faith,
To hold opinion with Pythagoras
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men. Thy currish spirit
Governed a wolf who, hanged for human slaughter,
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet,
And, whilst thou layest in thy unhallowed dam,
Infused itself in thee; for thy desires
Are wolfish, bloody, starved and ravenous."

[As he recites the quotation, his voice is loud, deep and scary, almost a growl in some parts. At times his hands tremble with rage, making the camera shift a little. When that happens, one may catch a glimpse of Gorthan's Elgyem in a corner of the screen. And while it's hard to tell an Elgyem's emotions, it's pretty easy to tell that this one is seriously intimidated right now. It recoils away from its trainer, its eyes open wide and its colorful lights blinking wildly.

At the end of the quotation, however, Gorthan appears to regain a certain degree of composure. He sighs, throwing his head back a little for a moment, takes a few deep breaths and picks up his Elgyem, pulling the smaller alien into his lap. When he speaks again, it's clear that he has successfully managed to calm down.]

I have arrived in Ecruteak City. I believe I do not need to inform you about what has occurred here. All of you know by now, I am sure.

To the rescuers of the Kimono Girls - thank you sincerely. I intend to help out as well, now that I am here. If any of you are watching this, I ask that you contact me.

Private text to Minnie:

I must ask that you reach me here in Ecruteak. Even though the original plan was to visit you, I will be here a while. Something horrible happened, as I am sure you know, and my help is needed.

Private text to Descole:

Report.

[That is totally how it's done. On Evron, that is.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It means that your defeat, when it comes, will be a story I have already read.

I could say the same to you, you know.

I rather enjoy people like you.

Probably. But the difference is that I expect no happy ending for myself.

I don't doubt that you do.

Not at all, actually.

Your nihilism extends that far?

What, as to believe that there are no happy endings? Because if that's what you're implying, that isn't what I said. I'm well aware that they can and do exist, "happy endings" being a relative principle notwithstanding.

However, I'm well aware that happy endings don't exist for people like me. I've long accepted that I will die alone, I will likely be in a great amount of pain, and it may very well have all been for nothing. And no one I've met will ever know that I've died. If they do know, they won't know how.

It's the way of the world, as my choices have led me to experience it. And yet I don't regret my choices.

Edited 2012-03-31 08:22 (UTC)

You are so much like my children, indeed.

But the difference is that, while they do not have the luxury of being able to choose a different path, you do.

I reiterate, you have deliberately chosen to destroy and erase what makes this planet - your own planet - worth living in. And not only for others, but for yourself as well. Will you still feel nothing, when you have razed everything to the ground and created a lifeless desert around yourself? Besides short-lived, sadistic joy.

[...oh, Gorthan. You have no idea.]

I've done it before.

And believe me, I still feel nothing.

Then your worst enemy may attack at any time.

From a mirror, or a mere glass pane. From a shopwindow, as you walk down the street.

Can you honestly not fathom that someone like me exists? That there exists in this world someone who commits the atrocities I do while hiding nothing from themselves - that someone could be perfectly at peace with themselves as a weapon of destruction?

My experiences are not yours. It would serve you well to remember that. While you may not have chosen to be what you are, I have.

I cannot believe that you are not lying to yourself, no. That you believe you are *perfectly at peace* with yourself is merely a testament to your worth as a liar.

Immunity to fear is more common than you know, and people will not let your deeds go unpunished. Where they fail, your worst enemy shall eventually succeed.

I have nothing more to say to you.

If you truly have nothing more to say, then all the better for me; perhaps that means you'll listen this time.

Let me tell you something about human beings; being what you are, I don't expect you to know this, so listen well. Morality is not a universal trait; it's relative. This isn't nihilism, exactly, so much as it's a proven fact. True remorse is taught, not inherent. Human children cannot comprehend empathy, as they are relatively defenseless and so it's an evolutionary benefit for them to be self-centered and protect themselves at all cost to others when threatened. Empathy is a concept unique to the world of adults, once they've experienced enough of the world to understand, and are at a point where they can understand. As such, the beginnings of morality in children are instilled through fear, not any sort of natural empathy.

We feel remorse because we are made to fear consequences; we feel sympathy because we are taught what we'll get when we harm others. We learn in facing harm ourselves, in one way or another; only when we have come to fear pain can we understand the pain of others, and lose the desire to do as we see fit to ensure our own survival.

Do you understand? This "immunity to fear" you preach about is not a heroic trait. I won't claim that you're wrong in saying that I will be my own downfall; I know enough about my world of origin to know that to be fact. I simply don't care about the consequences.

Believe what you like. But I can assure you that I am fearless.

Edited 2012-03-31 09:24 (UTC)

VII. Video + Action for Ecruteak City + two more things.

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