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Second.
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?" |
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[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.]
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[...He's trying to rephrase it such that it'll make any sense to him whatsoever, and he sounds vaguely incredulous in the sort of way that implies that he is pretty sure this is purest bullshit, but there is an attempt.]
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What you've achieved is technically peace. It's the absence of strife, that's literally what peace means. But this is just a negative, an absence. It's defined by what it isn't, rather than what it is. Goodness is more than just a simple lack of evil. The fact that I'm not picking up this knife and stabbing someone doesn't mean I'm doing a good thing right now.
[Though he definitely picks up the knife and points it at the person next to him while he talks, almost like an unconscious gesture.]
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[He says, blankly, like he is not altogether sure why we're having an argument if we all agree on this.]
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[oh my god he literally just said]
...can we try to define what the goal is in positive terms? We know what you want to get rid of, strife and whatever, but what are you adding? Also, side-note, I'm pretty sure you haven't actually gotten rid of suffering.
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To address the side-note first, might I ask what makes you say that?
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Maybe they can't relate to them in the same way anymore. Maybe they're not capable of crying about it, or protesting, or even wishing that things were different. But they don't forget about them. It sticks. Whatever's left of them dwells on it. Turning your loss over and over in your mind, never able to do anything about it but never able to let it go...that's suffering.
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[And that does get a weird look out of him; not the sort of thing that implies disbelief, just...a previous lack of awareness, completely.]
That isn't... Who told you this? Cynthia?
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[Given that machine conversation happening over there, he's a little leery of naming his specific source. Even if the population of Veilstone isn't that large to begin with...]
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[...That is not a confident reply.]
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[...Saturn, now is not the time to get riled, come on.]
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[That's not a very nice smile.]
The point of the matter is, they're capable of suffering, and they're doing it. The fact that they can't understand what's happening, or that it's not the same as before, that doesn't make it any better. Just makes it more like torturing a caged animal.
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[he has never sounded more goddamn uncertain, give him a moment.]
...I'll discuss it with Master Cyrus, that...shouldn't be happening.
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[Which is what she was kind of getting at with her comment before, about harmony, and the pokemon he described from the legends vs. the ones they've seen now.]
Since we've left Veilstone, the pokemon I've encountered scarcely look at each other, much less interact. They're all unhappy.
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It didn't even try to survive. All it did was lie there.
These people and all these Pokemon don't even have the will to try to live.
[It's only matter of time before everything dies, in Kiryu's opinion, and not in the 'well death is part of the natural cycle of life' way]
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[He's doing a decent job at keeping his voice steady, anyway.]
Just...trust me, I know.
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I don't...know, all right?
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[He smiles again, wider and sharper. Watching Saturn squirm is satisfying.
That's not...exactly the best impulse in him. He has that nature still, to want to dig his claws in. Saturn deserves it, but everything isn't about deserts.]
I've been in that position before, you know. Trying over and over to make something like this work. The human spirit's a lot more durable than you give it credit for, it's one of your best qualities.
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[...it's a legitimate question.]
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[ She's not quite trembling with anger, but she's really getting closer there, a fist tightening at her side, something with the beldum actually seems to respond to in the form of being a little curious about its trainer's(?) state ]
... In Veilstone, there scarcely was a house which didn't have a spare bed. But those people are all acutely aware of who is missing, even if they cannot comprehend their loss entirely.
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