A Question of Humanity
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#126
What Dane found on the other side of the twist in the tunnel was... incredible. A large chamber perhaps ten metres across, it was absolutely covered in silvery metal that turned to rainbow patterns in places. And at the centre of the room there was a strange metal construct of undescribable colour sitting like a unbloomed flower waiting to unfold. Surrounding it on all sides were high intensity lamps, blasting yellow light like that of the sun onto the thing. This was the focus of this entire expedition. This was what needed to be bathed in light at all times. This was the thing at the heart of the mystery of what had happened here.
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Cynical Cat
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#127
Dane slowly stepped forward. "Where are you?!" he shouted. "Show yourself!"
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
#128
"Where are you?!" Nadya heard from within the hole. "Show yourself!"
Dane was there, and he was still alive. She swallowed hard, then turned to the two men next to her.
"Come on!" she said, and climbed off the drop. She was trying to be careful, but still, she landed on her wounded leg and let out a yelp of pain. Strangely enough, the surge of pain helped a little, the adrenaline helping drive the fear away.
She ducked into the hole, and was staring at the object a second later.
"This...this...."
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Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Dane was there, and he was still alive. She swallowed hard, then turned to the two men next to her.
"Come on!" she said, and climbed off the drop. She was trying to be careful, but still, she landed on her wounded leg and let out a yelp of pain. Strangely enough, the surge of pain helped a little, the adrenaline helping drive the fear away.
She ducked into the hole, and was staring at the object a second later.
"This...this...."
-------------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
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#129
Dane's cry went unanswered for a moment, but as Nadya moved into the room, the cry was seemingly answered by the lights flickering and fading as the final generator ran out of fuel. The yellow light seemed to stay an unnaturally long time in the silvery chamber, bouncing back and forth between the walls. Out in the tunnel the light went out much faster, only staying for the length of time it took the filaments in the lamps to cool below incandescent temperatures. The shadows that took their place seemed... hungry. The air itself began to bite with unnatural chill of any still in the tunnel.
Within, as the light died the metallic flower coloured from outside the rainbow began to unfold, twisting about itself in ways that seemed impossible by the standard laws of geometry and physical matter. It seemed to almost drink the shadows as it opened, increasing illumination not by the presence of light but by the absence of darkness. The effect was impossible to fully comprehend and as it increased a needle of pain lodged itself in the forehead of all witnessing it, quickly growing into a debilitating spike of agony. Despite it all, it was impossible to look away, the flowering of the object almost beautiful in its own way.
Within, as the light died the metallic flower coloured from outside the rainbow began to unfold, twisting about itself in ways that seemed impossible by the standard laws of geometry and physical matter. It seemed to almost drink the shadows as it opened, increasing illumination not by the presence of light but by the absence of darkness. The effect was impossible to fully comprehend and as it increased a needle of pain lodged itself in the forehead of all witnessing it, quickly growing into a debilitating spike of agony. Despite it all, it was impossible to look away, the flowering of the object almost beautiful in its own way.
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Cynical Cat
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#130
Dane hissed through gritted teeth as his knees buckled. He couldn't not look. Tears trickled down his cheeks. He forced himself to take a step towards the accursed things. It was like lifting a mountain. The effort was an eternal, agonized moment.
He succeeded.
He succeeded.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
#131
Nadya stared at the object, twisting and moving in impossible ways, doing impossible things. Her mind refused to comprehend it, screaming it's denial against things that it knew were not possible.
No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No she kept repeating to herself constantly, tears streaming down her face. The vision was impossible to look away from, impossible to block out, impossible not to see.
Her wounded leg gave out and she fell heavily to the floor. She noted the perspective had shifted, and then the thought was gone, swept away by the picture unfolding before her eyes.
"No.No.No.No. NO. NO! NO!"
The metal flower was unfolding, absorbing the darkness until there was nothing left but brilliant light...and pain. So much pain.
She screamed. And screamed. And screamed.
----------------------------------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No.No she kept repeating to herself constantly, tears streaming down her face. The vision was impossible to look away from, impossible to block out, impossible not to see.
Her wounded leg gave out and she fell heavily to the floor. She noted the perspective had shifted, and then the thought was gone, swept away by the picture unfolding before her eyes.
"No.No.No.No. NO. NO! NO!"
The metal flower was unfolding, absorbing the darkness until there was nothing left but brilliant light...and pain. So much pain.
She screamed. And screamed. And screamed.
----------------------------------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Last edited by fgalkin on Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Losonti Tokash
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#132
Zach heard Dane yell and froze for a moment, before scrambling to catch up with Nadya. Just got to cram through this stupid hole...
All the sound was gone. Zach had been dimly aware of Nadya screaming but it had quickly faded into nothing.
Not that he really cared. He simply could do nothing else but stare at this giant mental monstrosity that was burning his eyes from the inside. There was not even the briefest flicker of rational thought telling Zach to run, to even look away.
He fell to his knees and stared in complete silence as the girl screamed.
All the sound was gone. Zach had been dimly aware of Nadya screaming but it had quickly faded into nothing.
Not that he really cared. He simply could do nothing else but stare at this giant mental monstrosity that was burning his eyes from the inside. There was not even the briefest flicker of rational thought telling Zach to run, to even look away.
He fell to his knees and stared in complete silence as the girl screamed.
Last edited by Losonti Tokash on Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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#133
The metal flower finished unfolding, filling the room with unspeakable light that drove away any comprehension of form, colour, or shape, leaving only static as the pain increased to unbearable levels, followed by darkness as the mind simply shut down, incapable of dealing with the experience.
Out in the tunnel, the last member of the party not yet into the chamber felt the shadows thicken to the point of crushing sea depths, then felt nothing at all.
For the survivors, they each awoke alone, surrounded and suspended by void, not even the comfort of the ground to give them direction. Of the others from the plane, there was no sign, nothing to indicate that they were alive, that anyone was alive. There were not even echoes to indicate the presence of something for sound to reflect off, or even for sound to carry on. Silence reigned, no matter how hard one screamed. There was simply nothing, infinite and unending.
Just at the point where the mind started to scream at the lack of stimulus, perhaps a second, perhaps an hour, perhaps a day, something seemed to take awareness of those lost in the darkness. Though alone, each experienced the same thing to start.
To the forward right, a chill wind blew, like a late autumn breeze across freshly dug earth. Carried like a whisper was a thin, dry voice, hissing and chattering like the words passed from a shivering, lipless mouth.
"How... interesting..."
From the forward left, a burst of hot air smelling of sulphur and iron was released, a blast furnace opening to let loose the bombast within.
"Aha! We were wondering if that damn thing would remain inactive for another thousand years!"
From dead ahead, a distantly heard voice, loud yet silent, like the crackling of mountains with the ages filtered through a static, tinny loudspeaker from some distant shore arrived, brought by a stale breath devoid of life or death.
"The Gate opens when it is ready, and no sooner."
"Be that as it may, these ones are more... random than previous eras."
"They were marked by fate to be here, so they are here."
"So it may be. So it may be. What shall we do with them then?"
"Why, what we always do! Send them back!"
"But which one of us gets to send them back? To send them back is to touch them, and to touch them is to bless them, and they have not come seeking any one of us."
"Just let them decide! It's what we always do!"
"Yet never before have such as these appeared, the decision yet made, the one to be blessed unaware of us."
"I think they know more than they think they do."
"Ah! Yes, I remember this one now! This should be interesting!"
With that the strange winds seemed to recede somewhat and the void seemed a little less infinite, letting some sounds return, including speech.
"Speak mortal, speak and let us know who you wish to bring you back to your realm."
Out in the tunnel, the last member of the party not yet into the chamber felt the shadows thicken to the point of crushing sea depths, then felt nothing at all.
For the survivors, they each awoke alone, surrounded and suspended by void, not even the comfort of the ground to give them direction. Of the others from the plane, there was no sign, nothing to indicate that they were alive, that anyone was alive. There were not even echoes to indicate the presence of something for sound to reflect off, or even for sound to carry on. Silence reigned, no matter how hard one screamed. There was simply nothing, infinite and unending.
Just at the point where the mind started to scream at the lack of stimulus, perhaps a second, perhaps an hour, perhaps a day, something seemed to take awareness of those lost in the darkness. Though alone, each experienced the same thing to start.
To the forward right, a chill wind blew, like a late autumn breeze across freshly dug earth. Carried like a whisper was a thin, dry voice, hissing and chattering like the words passed from a shivering, lipless mouth.
"How... interesting..."
From the forward left, a burst of hot air smelling of sulphur and iron was released, a blast furnace opening to let loose the bombast within.
"Aha! We were wondering if that damn thing would remain inactive for another thousand years!"
From dead ahead, a distantly heard voice, loud yet silent, like the crackling of mountains with the ages filtered through a static, tinny loudspeaker from some distant shore arrived, brought by a stale breath devoid of life or death.
"The Gate opens when it is ready, and no sooner."
"Be that as it may, these ones are more... random than previous eras."
"They were marked by fate to be here, so they are here."
"So it may be. So it may be. What shall we do with them then?"
"Why, what we always do! Send them back!"
"But which one of us gets to send them back? To send them back is to touch them, and to touch them is to bless them, and they have not come seeking any one of us."
"Just let them decide! It's what we always do!"
"Yet never before have such as these appeared, the decision yet made, the one to be blessed unaware of us."
"I think they know more than they think they do."
"Ah! Yes, I remember this one now! This should be interesting!"
With that the strange winds seemed to recede somewhat and the void seemed a little less infinite, letting some sounds return, including speech.
"Speak mortal, speak and let us know who you wish to bring you back to your realm."
#134
Nadya wondered if this is what being in Hell was like- suspended in nothingness for all eternity, unfeeling, yet thinking.
She shrieked, she ran, she tried everything, anything to prove that she still existed.
She remembered reading a story once, where a man asked God to postpone his execution so he could finish his play. God, with magnificent irony, froze time for a year, forcing the man to stand there, looking at the bullets of the executioner's guns hanging in the air.
She was beginning to give in to despair, when she heard voices speak. She listened greedily, absorbing every sound, every intonation, with the whole of her being.
Finally, the dead distant voice spoke its piece, and she felt speech return to her.
"Who...who are you?" she managed, at last
-----------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
She shrieked, she ran, she tried everything, anything to prove that she still existed.
She remembered reading a story once, where a man asked God to postpone his execution so he could finish his play. God, with magnificent irony, froze time for a year, forcing the man to stand there, looking at the bullets of the executioner's guns hanging in the air.
She was beginning to give in to despair, when she heard voices speak. She listened greedily, absorbing every sound, every intonation, with the whole of her being.
Finally, the dead distant voice spoke its piece, and she felt speech return to her.
"Who...who are you?" she managed, at last
-----------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
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Cynical Cat
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#135
Dane swallowed nervously. His throat was as dry as a desert. He had expected to encounter . . . . something else. Something more actively malicious, not entities that treated mankind as bugs pinned to slides under their microscope. This was evil of a different nature. Callous, indifferent. Perhaps unknowable.
Too much like gods.
Too much like gods.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
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#136
"Who are we? Who are we?! We are..." the voice paused for a moment, building for tension before it burst out, "Not telling!"
"Quite."
"I always get a kick out of that!"
"Quite."
"Suffice to say, we are the ones in the shadows, manipulating things to our own end."
"We each have our own agenda, our own methods."
"Some of us start wars! Some of us end them! Some of us release toxic gas over unsuspecting Indian communities, killing tens of thousands!"
"And one of us has done things to one of you already, and maybe a different one did things to another one of you too."
"But like who we are..."
"Not telling! Hahaha!"
"...quite."
"Quite."
"I always get a kick out of that!"
"Quite."
"Suffice to say, we are the ones in the shadows, manipulating things to our own end."
"We each have our own agenda, our own methods."
"Some of us start wars! Some of us end them! Some of us release toxic gas over unsuspecting Indian communities, killing tens of thousands!"
"And one of us has done things to one of you already, and maybe a different one did things to another one of you too."
"But like who we are..."
"Not telling! Hahaha!"
"...quite."
#137
Nadya considered the reply. Her whole universe had shrunk to this, three voices in the darkness. Nothing else existed, and nothing else mattered. She examined the words said, the intonations with which they were spoken, and their intent.
At last, she spoke.
"So, I will choose one of you based on something silly and arbitrary, like who spoke first, or who has the loudest voice, and not on your true nature."
--------------------------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
At last, she spoke.
"So, I will choose one of you based on something silly and arbitrary, like who spoke first, or who has the loudest voice, and not on your true nature."
--------------------------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
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#138
"You're my kind of mortal!"
"Of course, if you're clever, you might be able to catch a glimmer from our conversations. A pity if you're not, but then so many are pitiful."
"Bah! Always so intellectual!"
"Says the most Promethean of us..."
"Hrmph!"
"I always thought him more like Pandora myself..."
"A bit of both perhaps."
"See what I have to put up with? Just go for it and don't concern yourself over trivialities like which one of us supported Hitler the most!"
"Now there's quite the philosophical puzzler, I must admit."
"It would depend much on how you define the timeframe amongst ones such as us."
"Bah!"
"Of course, if you're clever, you might be able to catch a glimmer from our conversations. A pity if you're not, but then so many are pitiful."
"Bah! Always so intellectual!"
"Says the most Promethean of us..."
"Hrmph!"
"I always thought him more like Pandora myself..."
"A bit of both perhaps."
"See what I have to put up with? Just go for it and don't concern yourself over trivialities like which one of us supported Hitler the most!"
"Now there's quite the philosophical puzzler, I must admit."
"It would depend much on how you define the timeframe amongst ones such as us."
"Bah!"
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Cynical Cat
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#139
This is just a game to them, Dane thought. Our lives just throws of the bones. Pawns to be swept from the board. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could exploit that. "Whichever one of you most wants to destroy the others," said Dane.
Last edited by Cynical Cat on Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
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#140
There is a bit of a pause before...
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Oh wow... that was a good one mortal!"
"We pretty much all want to kill each other equally."
"These usurpers have no idea what they're doing."
"Do you have any idea how much pointless suffering these two cause?"
"Do you have any idea how cowardly these two are?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Oh wow... that was a good one mortal!"
"We pretty much all want to kill each other equally."
"These usurpers have no idea what they're doing."
"Do you have any idea how much pointless suffering these two cause?"
"Do you have any idea how cowardly these two are?"
#141
Nadya smiled at that.
"Tell me why I shouldn't choose the other two. What do they want?"
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Have a very nice day
-fgalkin
"Tell me why I shouldn't choose the other two. What do they want?"
-------------------------------------------
Have a very nice day
-fgalkin
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#142
"Skully wants to kill everyone but the librarians while aurora breath wants everyone to suffer!"
"And your philosophies don't lead to suffering you psychotic warmonger? He's right about our other company."
"Says the younglings who blunder into something they don't understand and whose immediate response is to start smashing things?"
"And your philosophies don't lead to suffering you psychotic warmonger? He's right about our other company."
"Says the younglings who blunder into something they don't understand and whose immediate response is to start smashing things?"
#143
Nadya thought about that for a moment.
"Well, what do you fine upstanding gentle...beings think about humanity?"
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Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
"Well, what do you fine upstanding gentle...beings think about humanity?"
-------------------------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
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#144
"What does the entomologist think about endangered butterflies?"
"What does the smith think about hematite?"
"What does the artist think about paint?"
"What does the smith think about hematite?"
"What does the artist think about paint?"
Last edited by Academia Nut on Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Losonti Tokash
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#145
"I don't understand...if we're so insignificant, why do you want to kill us?"
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#146
"Of course you don't understand if you cannot see the importance of paint to a painter, spice to a chef."
"It is not what you are, it is what you can become!"
"We think you are precious and deserve protection from these other two."
"If by protection you mean control and management, then yes!"
"Better than paths that lead only to pain and suffering."
"It is not what you are, it is what you can become!"
"We think you are precious and deserve protection from these other two."
"If by protection you mean control and management, then yes!"
"Better than paths that lead only to pain and suffering."
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#147
"Which one of you is responsible for murdering my family?" Dane asked.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
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#148
"A rather curious question, no? You are known to us, and one of us hurt you... perhaps. But in the world we live it, it is a measure of degrees of guilt. And as for who is most guilty... well..."
"Is for us to know, and you to find out!"
"Perhaps we are all involved, perhaps none of us. Know well that your family did not die in vain."
"Yeah! You wouldn't be here if not for what happened!"
"Tch. Such brutes."
"Is for us to know, and you to find out!"
"Perhaps we are all involved, perhaps none of us. Know well that your family did not die in vain."
"Yeah! You wouldn't be here if not for what happened!"
"Tch. Such brutes."
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Losonti Tokash
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#149
Zach's face twitched halfway though this latest round of...whatever it was that was happening. "So I assume you're also the ones who killed Sarah?"
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#150
"We did not kill her, but perhaps we touched upon the events surrounding what happened."
"It is our way, we influence everything, but touch little."
"It is our way, we influence everything, but touch little."