nihilo | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ She sounds breathless, breathy, terribly in awe: ]

Most of the universe is terra incognita.

Unknown, never to be discovered if not for its indelible pull on what we can see. What we conceive is only a mere five percent, a fragment. The rest is guesswork.

Here, there, [ sigh ] everywhere be dragons.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Do you know what it takes to gain power?

[ She smiles. ] Yes.

Then you know that there is no power without perception; without belief. What one considers a gift, another might consider a weakness. No matter how that power is used, it must be acknowledged by someone to be valid.

Otherwise you're just a child banging your stick against the gate and claiming you own the house beyond it.

That is certainly one way.

But it is a weakness to rely on validation from such [ sigh ] fickle things as people.

It only needs to be acknowledged once. Whether it holds with that individual is irrelevant. These things carry their own momentum, and when that starts nobody can take it away unless the powerful person in question forfeits it.

In which case it was never theirs to claim to begin with, don't you think?

[ No, she thinks, it should be acknowledged always and forever and again. She relishes each syllable. ]

Forfeits or expires.

An expiration date is outside my realm of acknowledgment unless it applies to that bottle of milk in my refrigerator.

Even galaxies rot much too fast in the grander scheme of things.

[ She switches and sounds lighter, more nonchalant. ] I've never managed to finish the entire carton before it goes bad, how do you do it?

...

Lots of cereal and hot chocolate.

[ There's a pause as if she's seriously thinking about it, then a sort of shrug. ]

I should just have more tea.

Why does everyone here seem to adore tea so much? Coffee really is under appreciated.

I'm a good ol' British lass, I'm afraid. Coffee doesn't do it for me.

Here I thought that was a stereotype...

But I'm surprised to hear you're from Earth.

Grain of truth.

And I hope that's not a pick-up line.

[ Congratulations, you made Joshua laugh...sincerely! It actually takes him a moment to calm down. ]

It isn't my habit to pick up girls unless I know what they look like first.

But human girls who show up from Earth usually make louder, more panicked entrances, rather than discuss philosophy.

[ A good comedian doesn't laugh at his own jokes, and neither does Alice. ]

Who told you I was human?

That clears it up. What are you?

[ She smiles, razor sharp. ]

Alice Morgan.

[ Weird, that's the kind of answer Joshua would give. One of a kind? ]

And if I ask who you are, will the answer change?

[ Two of a kind. She supposes she can live with that. ]

Whether one uses who or what depends only on sentience. I personally find it irrelevant.

And yet distinguishing milk's favorable uses is relevant.

[ That has her grinning. ]

Yes. Personally.

And, personally, have you met any dragons?

Certainly not and I hope never to.

How sad. They're some of the most fascinating creatures.