[There's no one in the temple- and then suddenly, there's someone, as Sorrow appears behind Law, stern and straight-backed as one might imagine he'd be after speaking with him.]
I don't get many visitors- you don't have to be concerned with that.
[Probably has something to do with how the temple encourages melancholy to people who walk in... probably.]
[fascinating, the way that sudden presence registers against his haki. Despite living in these confines with the gods somehow there and yet not, this sensation is new, and nothing like living beings.]
I had been waiting for an opportunity to speak with you, generally, but I appreciate the invitation. The phones annoy me. [turning to face Sorrow, though any touch of sadness in his expression is strangely close to Law on a normal day so...]
Some of my questions can wait. In fact, you let slip a lot more about the Door in your answers to the others than I was expecting. Mostly, I'm interested in your tactical view of our situation.
[Sorrow's body is solid- for the time being, feels solid, looks solid, but he's anything but flesh and bone. When Law speaks, he tilts his head, observant, quiet- the gesture seems human enough.
But he's not human. There's still something alien to him that's difficult to quite isolate, something too hollow and elegant to be anything like humanity.]
I try to be very open about the Door. It isn't my interest to keep you all in the dark- rather, I only refuse to tell you things when I think it would hurt my purposes.
[But more to the point.]
It's no small secret that we're overwhelmed. We have been for years; even before the Null killed the rest of the colonies, when they first attacked there was nothing we could do, as we had never before encountered war and our hosts weren't built for it. Our own colony- and with it our entire species- survived by a single thread, which was Hope and Fear escaping and finding the Door, after everything else had died.
In the years since, we've bolstered our forces. All eight of us are alive again, we have a stable host population- but you must understand, we're not fighting a war. "War" implies that both sides are at least reasonably evenly matched. This is... [he takes a moment, searching for the right term.] ...this is resisting a genocide. What we've done should not be discounted, but all we have done is survive.
[It's not often that Sorrow will comment on how truly dire their situation is, but- there you have it.]
Tactically, no sane man would ever take our fight, and yet take it we must. I've grown to believe in the capabilities of our hosts here, but there's a difference between respecting your power and believing that we will ever be able to eradicate all of the Null forever.
[Law listens patiently, comparing the information against what he already knows or at least suspects. It matches up, and he's not entirely surprised.]
Having been through a genocidal massacre before, I can verify your assessment. [and thanks, Sorrow, for the general mood reminding him oh-so-much of that moment in his life] There's no choice in it, fighting must be done in order to do more than survive. But doing to the Null what they've done to you isn't necessarily a sound goal, either.
[he slides his tattooed hands into his jeans pockets, trying to subconsciously fight against the temple's influence. If he's going to feel things to Sorrow's benefit, he'd better get something out of it, first]
I gather that they're not going to stop until you're dead, so it seems like destroying all of them in turn is the only way to survive. But there has to be another outcome, or several if we open our minds to all possibilities. Setting aside for a moment the Null capacity to be a bunch of whiny little shits who can't understand compromise... [ahem] ...they really are terrified, for lack of a better word, of catching emotions. But the way they behave is as if they've never encountered a species, outside of yourselves and your original hosts, capable of emotion. That much was obvious seeing how they reacted to us resisting their kill-list. It makes me wonder just what they'd do if they realized that exposure to emotions could come from anywhere, and not just your kind.
Were we merely passing through and seeing your conflict from the outside, I wouldn't give a shit what happened to either you or the Null. But by forming a symbiotic relationship with us, you've involved us, so I can't just wash my hands of the whole affair. Protecting you, and solving the penultimate problem, is the only way to preserve our own survival as well as get ourselves home. [his eyes narrow slightly] I wanted to see if I could find you another food source, but that may take too long. It sounds to me like finding a reason for the Null to cease their pursuit is a shorter path to our mutual goal.
[which is giving him ideas for what to do with Name, now, but shhh he doesn't know anything about the rogue Null nope no sir]
And one that I'd hoped more of you would come to. I didn't necessarily intend for the Door to bring in beings with abilities or... your degree of sentience. I thought for some time that it was unfortunate that it had. But I'll admit, in recent times, I've seen the advantages of having allies, rather than simply hosts.
[But, more to the point:]
I don't think emotions can 'come from anywhere' to the Null. It's an effect our kind has on them and other beings incapable of emotion. Like you, I don't believe that eliminating the entire species is plausible- that means there must be another option. They will hunt us to the ends of the galaxy if they think we might repopulate and attack them again, so running isn't an option. Which leaves...
[Not a lot. He sighs.]
Negotiation or sabotage. Not necessarily mutually exclusive options.
I have a feeling they may be too stubborn for negotiation, unless we had something they wanted. Say, an antidote, or better, a vaccination against catching the 'virus.'
[of course he thinks in medical terms, even if he knows the difference between an organic virus and whatever the Null are suffering]
If they no longer had anything to fear from you, they would logically have no reason to pursue you. At least, assuming that they would continue to behave logically. If you're correct, and it's something about your species interaction... [huff] Shame I voted to learn more about the Door over learning more about the Null. But I had my priorities and I won't change my vote.
[strategy aside, though...] How amenable are you to allowing someone to learn more about you? Physiologically, I mean. I've never studied a noncorporeal species before but it interests me. Particularly if it might mean developing either a vaccine for the Null or a means of shielding you from them. [grim-faced and dour, moreso than usual] What would I have to give up to gain that level of cooperation?
I wouldn't be opposed. I doubt that it would yield any significant benefits, but I won't refuse a potential source of information. In return...
[He pauses for a moment, eyeing Law quietly, as if considering something carefully in his mind.]
Confusion will stand in while you do your study. She will have the power to remove the memory of our interaction from your mind, as well as any knowledge you had gained. Every time you leave the city, every time we have contact from the Null, she will remove the memory and the information you have on our physiology, and will restore it when the danger has passed. You will not document your findings anywhere that the Null can find it. I think that sounds reasonable enough.
[he contemplates for only a moment, and then squares his shoulders in determination]
Agreed. That is more than a fair deal for such a situation. It may come to nothing, it's true, but no one will know that until an attempt has been made. To not even try is to guarantee that nothing of value will be learned.
Then, when this moving the city business is complete, I'd like to begin. If you're amenable, I'll use you as my subject, but if not, I would approach Tranquility. He seems...easy to talk to.
[though, he has a feeling there's still a caveat waiting, he's practically steeled against having to give Sorrow a snack. That last two-day grieving jag was awful, he's not keen to repeat it]
[Sorrow agrees- and he does like Tranquility, even if sometimes he can be a little too amenable.]
But there should be little need for that. I don't mind you looking at my being. I trust that you're aware of our true composition- if nothing else, then from Love's presence in our city and their refusal to take a human form.
[OH BOY MORE GRIEF well all right. There's always a price to be paid for knowledge.]
I am. Which means I'm not even going to start with a customary physical exam, there's no need. At least I have two means of reconnaissance that don't require a thermometer and a stethoscope - I can Scan you, and see what it tells me, and haki, which I already use passively. Neither involves touch, it's quite unobtrusive.
Soon, then. [he'll start as soon as they're in water-world] I'll be in touch.
[and with that he turns on his heel and makes for the door, hoping to get the fuck out of there before he actually succumbs to the atmosphere. Some other time, Sorrow.]
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[There's no one in the temple- and then suddenly, there's someone, as Sorrow appears behind Law, stern and straight-backed as one might imagine he'd be after speaking with him.]
I don't get many visitors- you don't have to be concerned with that.
[Probably has something to do with how the temple encourages melancholy to people who walk in... probably.]
no subject
I had been waiting for an opportunity to speak with you, generally, but I appreciate the invitation. The phones annoy me. [turning to face Sorrow, though any touch of sadness in his expression is strangely close to Law on a normal day so...]
Some of my questions can wait. In fact, you let slip a lot more about the Door in your answers to the others than I was expecting. Mostly, I'm interested in your tactical view of our situation.
no subject
But he's not human. There's still something alien to him that's difficult to quite isolate, something too hollow and elegant to be anything like humanity.]
I try to be very open about the Door. It isn't my interest to keep you all in the dark- rather, I only refuse to tell you things when I think it would hurt my purposes.
[But more to the point.]
It's no small secret that we're overwhelmed. We have been for years; even before the Null killed the rest of the colonies, when they first attacked there was nothing we could do, as we had never before encountered war and our hosts weren't built for it. Our own colony- and with it our entire species- survived by a single thread, which was Hope and Fear escaping and finding the Door, after everything else had died.
In the years since, we've bolstered our forces. All eight of us are alive again, we have a stable host population- but you must understand, we're not fighting a war. "War" implies that both sides are at least reasonably evenly matched. This is... [he takes a moment, searching for the right term.] ...this is resisting a genocide. What we've done should not be discounted, but all we have done is survive.
[It's not often that Sorrow will comment on how truly dire their situation is, but- there you have it.]
Tactically, no sane man would ever take our fight, and yet take it we must. I've grown to believe in the capabilities of our hosts here, but there's a difference between respecting your power and believing that we will ever be able to eradicate all of the Null forever.
no subject
Having been through a genocidal massacre before, I can verify your assessment. [and thanks, Sorrow, for the general mood reminding him oh-so-much of that moment in his life] There's no choice in it, fighting must be done in order to do more than survive. But doing to the Null what they've done to you isn't necessarily a sound goal, either.
[he slides his tattooed hands into his jeans pockets, trying to subconsciously fight against the temple's influence. If he's going to feel things to Sorrow's benefit, he'd better get something out of it, first]
I gather that they're not going to stop until you're dead, so it seems like destroying all of them in turn is the only way to survive. But there has to be another outcome, or several if we open our minds to all possibilities. Setting aside for a moment the Null capacity to be a bunch of whiny little shits who can't understand compromise... [ahem] ...they really are terrified, for lack of a better word, of catching emotions. But the way they behave is as if they've never encountered a species, outside of yourselves and your original hosts, capable of emotion. That much was obvious seeing how they reacted to us resisting their kill-list. It makes me wonder just what they'd do if they realized that exposure to emotions could come from anywhere, and not just your kind.
Were we merely passing through and seeing your conflict from the outside, I wouldn't give a shit what happened to either you or the Null. But by forming a symbiotic relationship with us, you've involved us, so I can't just wash my hands of the whole affair. Protecting you, and solving the penultimate problem, is the only way to preserve our own survival as well as get ourselves home. [his eyes narrow slightly] I wanted to see if I could find you another food source, but that may take too long. It sounds to me like finding a reason for the Null to cease their pursuit is a shorter path to our mutual goal.
[which is giving him ideas for what to do with Name, now, but shhh he doesn't know anything about the rogue Null nope no sir]
no subject
[He remarks gamely, nodding as Law speaks.]
And one that I'd hoped more of you would come to. I didn't necessarily intend for the Door to bring in beings with abilities or... your degree of sentience. I thought for some time that it was unfortunate that it had. But I'll admit, in recent times, I've seen the advantages of having allies, rather than simply hosts.
[But, more to the point:]
I don't think emotions can 'come from anywhere' to the Null. It's an effect our kind has on them and other beings incapable of emotion. Like you, I don't believe that eliminating the entire species is plausible- that means there must be another option. They will hunt us to the ends of the galaxy if they think we might repopulate and attack them again, so running isn't an option. Which leaves...
[Not a lot. He sighs.]
Negotiation or sabotage. Not necessarily mutually exclusive options.
no subject
I have a feeling they may be too stubborn for negotiation, unless we had something they wanted. Say, an antidote, or better, a vaccination against catching the 'virus.'
[of course he thinks in medical terms, even if he knows the difference between an organic virus and whatever the Null are suffering]
If they no longer had anything to fear from you, they would logically have no reason to pursue you. At least, assuming that they would continue to behave logically. If you're correct, and it's something about your species interaction... [huff] Shame I voted to learn more about the Door over learning more about the Null. But I had my priorities and I won't change my vote.
[strategy aside, though...] How amenable are you to allowing someone to learn more about you? Physiologically, I mean. I've never studied a noncorporeal species before but it interests me. Particularly if it might mean developing either a vaccine for the Null or a means of shielding you from them. [grim-faced and dour, moreso than usual] What would I have to give up to gain that level of cooperation?
no subject
[Sorrow arches an eyebrow.]
I wouldn't be opposed. I doubt that it would yield any significant benefits, but I won't refuse a potential source of information. In return...
[He pauses for a moment, eyeing Law quietly, as if considering something carefully in his mind.]
Confusion will stand in while you do your study. She will have the power to remove the memory of our interaction from your mind, as well as any knowledge you had gained. Every time you leave the city, every time we have contact from the Null, she will remove the memory and the information you have on our physiology, and will restore it when the danger has passed. You will not document your findings anywhere that the Null can find it. I think that sounds reasonable enough.
no subject
Agreed. That is more than a fair deal for such a situation. It may come to nothing, it's true, but no one will know that until an attempt has been made. To not even try is to guarantee that nothing of value will be learned.
Then, when this moving the city business is complete, I'd like to begin. If you're amenable, I'll use you as my subject, but if not, I would approach Tranquility. He seems...easy to talk to.
[though, he has a feeling there's still a caveat waiting, he's practically steeled against having to give Sorrow a snack. That last two-day grieving jag was awful, he's not keen to repeat it]
no subject
[Sorrow agrees- and he does like Tranquility, even if sometimes he can be a little too amenable.]
But there should be little need for that. I don't mind you looking at my being. I trust that you're aware of our true composition- if nothing else, then from Love's presence in our city and their refusal to take a human form.
no subject
I am. Which means I'm not even going to start with a customary physical exam, there's no need. At least I have two means of reconnaissance that don't require a thermometer and a stethoscope - I can Scan you, and see what it tells me, and haki, which I already use passively. Neither involves touch, it's quite unobtrusive.
no subject
[He considers for a moment- but it doesn't sound like anything he can't stop if need be.]
Very well.
no subject
[and with that he turns on his heel and makes for the door, hoping to get the fuck out of there before he actually succumbs to the atmosphere. Some other time, Sorrow.]