Second.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER 2. Saturday evening arrives, and with it the time to follow through on that invitation. Upon entering the resort area, the group will be greeted - inasmuch as the emotionless can properly greet anyone - by staff that evidently works there. They don't appear to be affiliated with Team Galactic, at least not outwardly; they're all dressed similarly, but not in Galactic uniforms, and their hair is down and noticeably not covered in identical wigs. They seem to have retained some aspect of individuality, in other words, as opposed to being absorbed into what appears to be the Team Galactic hivemind, and while they don't seem genuinely pleased to see the lot of you, they'll smile politely as they usher you in, albeit in an odd, uncanny-valley sort of way that doesn't reach their eyes. A purely mechanical reaction, their bodies smile while they do not. It's probably a little difficult to say whether that's preferable or not to the usual blankness you may be getting accustomed to. However, they seem cordial enough as they escort all of you further into the resort proper, past several bungalows that likely contain a few rooms apiece for people to reside in for the duration of their stay. The walk will take you up a few sets of stairs built into the rock formation the resort is built upon, leading eventually to a restaurant that likely overlooks Lake Valor from the north side of the building - it certainly seems elevated enough, and the positioning is right. The seating area itself seems to have been prepared in advance for your arrival; rather than several separated tables, there's one long arrangement draped in white, with twelve chairs arranged down each side - twenty-four total - and one at the head of the table. That one appears to already be occupied with your host for the evening; the smile Saturn is offering is soft but it isn't nice, disingenuous in a way that's only slightly less unsettling than the mechanical expressions of the staff. "It's good of you to join me." His voice is likewise soft but it isn't nice; just the same, he'll gesture at the rest of the table easily. "Feel free to have a seat, and keep your Pokémon out if it pleases you; this used to be a battling establishment, so the staff is more than accustomed to things like that." Food will be brought out shortly after people are seated; there are no arranged seats, so you're free to sit wherever suits you along the table. It's likely noticeable once things are laid out that either the people here don't hunt or Saturn is aggressively vegan; either way, there's no meat involved and nothing that would insinuate that Pokémon were harmed in any way to obtain what's in front of you, though the food is still decidedly nicer and more substantial than anything you've had for the past week - high-class and freshly-prepared, and not...you know, relying on berries and nonperishable stuff from a department store shelf. "Enjoy yourselves." Saturn's voice is still even, still calm to perhaps infuriating levels regardless of whatever the atmosphere in the room may happen to be, "since I did say that this was intended at least partially to apologize for the incident at the lakefront. And of course, you're welcome to ask whatever you like, seeing as you did have questions and I'm no longer strictly on company time. After all, a peaceful solution to this entire...situation is what we're all striving toward, isn't it?"

Comments

[heritrix]

Of course.

[In fact, it's because of that that Rin feels comfortable enough to go ahead and just start eating now. She takes a quick nibble to appreciate the food, and continues once she's swallowed it.]

I'll be frank with you, Commander Saturn; I'm fundamentally opposed to the goal your group seeks. If I somehow fail to stay as myself or keep my world from falling into the same state as this one, my best hope would be that more people like you somehow remain active. Not like you in the same sense of pushing this agenda, mind, but people who are curious.

[Another bite; she chews before continuing once again.] A world without conflict will stagnate. There's no future for such a place. But curiosity is one of those human elements that can keep a spark going. Good or bad, someone seeking to satisfy their curiosity makes progress.

[azumods]

My work is primarily in research; I'm well aware of the benefits of curiosity.

[It doesn't sound chiding or anything, it's just kind of a statement.]

[heritrix]

[So was hers, similarly. He asked, after all.]

Another question, if you will. You mentioned before that you're still imperfect... [Creepy as that is] Will there come a point where even the leaders of Team Galactic will join the rest of this world and be removed of their spirit, or are you meant to oversee things indefinitely?

[azumods]

...There will, yes. That's the intended goal - to eventually have our imperfections removed as well.

[heritrix]

Doesn't that scare you?

[This question isn't... Really like her previous ones. More like she said the first thing that came to her mind, because the idea bothers her.]

[azumods]

It...

[Mm.]

Any misgivings I may have about it are the result of the imperfection itself, nothing more.

[That isn't a "no."

...That's kind of the polar opposite of a "no."]

[semistableman]

Fear isn't an imperfection.

[It's said in a very knowing tone.]

[azumods]

It's one of the primary causes of hatred and strife in the world. I'd say that it is.

[He's trying to remain even; he's not getting riled like he was at Zelda, but he's still seeming at least slightly worked up.]

[discutio]

Humans are imperfect. We're fallible by design, prone to mistakes and failures. Even conflict is something deeply rooted in the nature of humans and their relationships.

...That does not make it something in need of removal.

[azumods]

Again, any misgivings about this world's peace and having one's imperfections removed are a result of the imperfection itself. As such, you can't say whether it needs to be removed or not.

[discutio]

How conveniently infuriating.

[azumods]

...I'm aware, yes.

[semistableman]

I have a lot of imperfections.

[....says the man with one arm.]

Fear's pretty low on the list.

[azumods]

And according to Master Cyrus' will, all imperfections that reside within you will be removed. It's for the best that way, ultimately.

[semistableman]

Is it?

[It's a genuine question, not a retort.]

[heritrix]

[Honestly, she just looks pained.]

Every emotion or characteristic has both good and bad qualities to them. If you wipe the slate clean, what's left? You've thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

[azumods]

You've thrown out the...?

[...He has honestly never heard that one and that is a really morbid metaphor, holy shit.]

[heritrix]

Oh.

[Right, when you're hearing it for the first time, It kind of is pretty yikes, yeah.]

It's an old, German proverb for minding avoidable errors. Like accidentally eliminating something good and essential in the process of getting rid of what's bad.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, humans are terrible. You're very good at torturing yourselves and each other. I've wondered before why any other means need to be involved.

[If Saturn doesn't know his name, he probably doesn't know the context for any of that...oh, well.]

But you're also capable of being great, if you try. Taking away their spirits - you haven't made them good. Whatever negative things they aren't doing, it's meaningless if they lack the moral autonomy to make that choice themselves. Same for any positive actions you might order them to do. They're all just void.

[azumods]

[...That actually kind of gets him to shut up for a moment; it's clear that he has a response for most things, but that's...honestly not an argument he's heard before, at least not put that way.]

What... What purpose does moral autonomy even serve in the world, if so many are willing to abuse it in the first place? It's better that it doesn't exist, so the negative things won't come into being in the first place.

[discutio]

[Deep breath.]

And you deem the free will for humanity to embrace the positives a necessary sacrifice to that end?

[heritrix]

Robbing them of the choice to learn and do the right thing isn't any better, though. That isn't peace; it's control.

[eudaimonikos]

Because no positive things will ever come into being, either. It may as well be a world full of corpses, completely unable to hurt or help each other at all.

[He leans forward, resting his weight on his elbows as he warms up to the topic.]

If human beings - if any of us - are capable of achieving anything near perfection, it's in choosing to be good when the opposite is readily available to us. If there's no choice, there's no meaning in our actions. If I tell one of these waiters here to go bring you a cake, it wouldn't be the same as if he made one for you of his own volition, because he wanted you to be happy.

...don't. Do that, by the way, we're fine. [At the nearest staff member.]

[hesychast]

[ This might not be noticeable, but Rin has Shirou's full attention for this conversation. ]

[heritrix]

[She doesn't even know your deal yet, preacher man, but it's probably stupid. Or it would be if she actually noticed; she's kind of paying more attention to Saturn right now, but I'm sure this won't be awkward later.]