Fourth.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER. Perhaps it's a good thing that the people of Floaroma Town seem to be exhibiting curiosity, because that's how you end up getting the tip. It isn't much, in the end - a question of where you're going from one of the ladies in the flower shop, followed by a brief look exchanged between them and a soft shrug. There's a mention of the Valley Windworks just across the way, a short walk from here, and something inside that will shave a week's time off of the journey south. Something that should put you right in the heart of Jubilife City, should you be able to gain access to it. It's likely clear that whatever would be blocking your access to such a thing likely isn't going to be pleasant; it doesn't take them long to tell you that Team Galactic has owned the Windworks for a while now, but at the same time it's only ever staffed with low-tier employees on the chain of command - the Commanders themselves haven't cared about it since they took over, and the grunts... Well, for one reason or another, they haven't been changing with the rest of the world. It likely seems obvious, when put that way - the people of the town haven't lied to you in the entire time you've been here (they aren't many things, but at the very least they are honest), and if they're correct about this, that's a week's less travel that will need to be done. Over a distance this large, every day counts; as such, you might as well check out the Windworks for whatever it will bring you. As it turns out, the townspeople were right about several things - the Valley Windworks is only a short walk away, surrounded by tall electricity-generating windmills that are turning away at a good clip in the windstreams traveling through the valley; upon entering it, it seems fair to say that it really is generally only staffed by grunts. In light of the changes the world has undergone, their appearance may be a bit jarring, a reminder of what the entire place used to look like - they're completely dead-eyed and listless, lacking any sort of individual initiative, and while they look up as you enter and their eyes track you as you move, they don't seem inclined to do much about you as a whole. Unfortunately, the ladies in the flower shop seem to have been mistaken about something - it seems that one of the Commanders, at least, seems to care very much about this place, given that she's waiting for you in the lobby. As with the others before her, she looks distinctive from the others in both her style of dress and the fact that she's still emotionally intact; she's small in stature, the heels on her boots doing nothing to help that fact, and she's incredibly slight in comparison to Jupiter. She also seems displeased about being here; the smile she offers in greeting is sharp, and it's not a pleasant look. More along the lines of baring teeth. "It's pretty rude of you guys to barge in here like you own the place. Not like I was expecting much from you people, anyway. I'm Commander Mars, and it's about time we met."

Comments

[discutio]

[Ignis was patient as he answered, voice even without any confrontation to it. His response was as honest as it had been with Saturn, entirely heartfelt.]

Suffering and happiness are no less than two sides of a single coin, Commander. It's very true that it would seem a life without possibility of pain or sadness would seem ideal for those who have lived through dire times or trying circumstances. But to simply erase such things is to erase the very point of human existence.

Life, dreams, hope...all of them stem from the very spirit Cyrus has sought to extinguish. Do they end in pain? Yes, oftentimes--but that does not mean the right answer is to feel nothing at all. Can you truly say that the hollow lives this world has under Cyrus' directive would be worth living at all?

We wish for this world to live, Commander. And to do so wholeheartedly, for even should living bring pain it also carries with it reasons to continue forth, every single day.

[perfectselfie]

[That was beautiful and Aya is tearing up a little bit while also giving a bright smile. She knows he can't see that but he can hear her applause.]

[azumods]

You're looking at it all wrong. Sure, some individuals are going to agree with you, that in the end having all of that outweighs any pain you may suffer through. But what about those that don't agree with you? What about those that have been beaten down again and again and again, who haven't had the opportunity to experience the better parts of "living"? Is it fair to leave them to suffer while others get to be happy?

What Master Cyrus has done eliminates suffering like that. It eliminates conflict and keeps people and Pokémon alike from being hurt.

[gekkaju]

Your team may all agree with this idea, but how do you know that there are even that many others out there who would agree? Their spirit was taken away regardless. No one else ever had any choice. No one else ever had the opportunity to say anything.

And now they can't even if they wanted to, not when their will to do much of anything doesn't exist anymore.

[azumods]

What would you do then, huh? Poll everyone and ask them whether they want something like this or not?

Master Cyrus has done what this world needs. There certainly are those that don't agree with it, and they're free to be wrong. But this is necessary.

[gekkaju]

No...I wouldn't have done something like this in the first place. Like others have said already, ripping away everyone's will and spirit for the sake of a world without strife...isn't a world.

My world is full of strife. People dying every day is really common where I'm from, and honestly sometimes I find myself wishing we were all normal and had no way to fight each other anymore so people would stop hurting.

But seeing things really like that, the way they are here...it's not right, Commander. There are other ways to help the world without turning it into a totally blank slate and removing everything that gives it life.

[azumods]

Yeah, sounds like you've done a really good job of it in your world if people are dying every day. But go ahead, tell me how you'd do it instead. Tell me how you'd solve all this world's problems.

[gekkaju]

[...]

In my world, some people are gifted. Like how Pokemon can do extraordinary things people can't. Some people use their gifts to hurt others. But others...use them to help people.

That's what I do. That's what me and the people I work with do. We do what we can to help, but we don't do it at the expense of the well-being of other people. We know better than to think that we can solve all the world's problems. That's not something you can do.

So I'm not trying to tell you that's something that can be done. But you act like there's absolutely no alternative to having peace beyond removing the free will of people that can cause strife in the first place. This...is probably the easiest way you could have done it, yeah...but that doesn't make it the right thing to have done.

[azumods]

You've acknowledged you can't solve all the world's problems. So then what do you do? Do you keep helping only a select handful of people? Or do you do what's best for the majority of people?

If it comes down to helping individuals or the world, we're always going to choose to help the world.

[discutio]

Commander, I admit I know nothing of you and I also confess I have been very fortunate for a fair amount of my own life. But I don't think you truly understand the kind of pain of which you speak.

[Calmly, he adjusted his sunglasses.]

If there are those so lost as to know naught but suffering, is it right to remove all else from those who could and would offer their hands to help them? Cyrus has taken the choice away entirely and instead left everyone to languish in this empty life in which nothing ever happens, positive or negative.

[azumods]

You're under the impression that people will be kind to others. You're assuming that they will help those around them, that they won't turn a blind eye or lash out. You're ignoring that sometimes people are just awful. Sometimes things don't get any better.

Master Cyrus has removed all of that. The positive, yes, but also all of that negativity. And when you look at it, there was a lot of negativity in the world. It's not like the people are dead. They just don't have to deal with anything like that anymore.

[discutio]

You're wrong.

[It took a fair bit of restraint, but that wasn't snapped or cold. Ignis remained calm as ever, taking a slow breath--his left hand curled into a loose fist and uncurled restlessly before he continued.]

...Our world has seen nothing but strife for the past ten years, in which not even the sun would rise. Bloodthirsty daemons ran rampant throughout the land, and humanity itself seemed as though it would crumble as we were relegated to scattered havens across what was once a beautiful and prosperous kingdom. I have no need of sight to know what despair looks like, and yet even as our numbers dwindled at what must have felt like the end of everything, still there were people who fought to protect what remained. Who supported one another, maintaining those last bastions of safety and fighting for those who could not. Humanity fought tooth and nail to remain standing, and in the end it mattered. It was selflessness which kept our world alive, and sacrifice which saved it.

There are always those who will be kind to others, no matter their own pain or suffering. I will not have you tell me otherwise when you know nothing of what humanity is truly capable of.

[bloodspent]

Yeah, I hate to do this, Ignis, but I've heard you make this fucking argument for two and a half months and I'm gonna have to be jerk of the week and say that maybe your world is the exception when it comes to recovering after it's been put on the brink of hell.

My world's been ending itself since I was four. It's not getting better. Yeah, we save it. We've saved it more than once. Humanity's stubborn like that. And I'm not saying what Cyrus and Mars and all of them are doing is right. But you can't just keep yelling at them about how they're just not trying hard enough because your world fixed itself.

[discutio]

...Maybe so. But the fact remains that it's possible, and I don't know how else to get through to any of them.

[bloodspent]

Yeah, no, I get it. Don't get me wrong, I really fuckin' do, because I've had to hear them doing this shit for two and a half months, too.

This would be a lot easier if we had Cyrus' perspective on this. Not his guys, not his Commanders', but his own. As it is now, though, I'm pretty sure they're legitimately trying?

[...]

Most of 'em are legitimately trying.

[Jupiter was...yeah, but given that Mars keeps yelling about how Jupiter's faith in Cyrus wouldn't falter, he doesn't really want to throw her under the bus either.]

[azumods]

Okay, fine, let's look at your world.

What if there was a way to make sure the daemons never fought again? What if there was a way to make sure no more humans would die to their attacks? You'd want that, right? What if the cost was high? Is there a ceiling you'd hit where you'd decide "no, I'd rather let people die than pay that price"?

[discutio]

...You have no idea how high the price was or how much no one wished to pay it. But it wasn't this. It wasn't remaining alive at the cost of all else.

[azumods]

So what would you prefer, then? A handful of people with the ability to feel or a world populated by people who can't feel? That's what it comes down to.

[enjoymyatelier]

I mean, if you’re so concerned about those sorts people you could always put the effort into seeking out the people who are suffering and finding ways to actually help them instead of trying to make everyone equally passionless and spiritually dead.

[azumods]

Master Cyrus decided on this course of action. Helping individuals is a nice idea, but it's not always possible. This is the best way to fix things.

[enjoymyatelier]

Well, you could technically “fix” pain from a broken leg by simply amputating their leg. Sure, they can’t walk anymore, but it’s just easier than setting the bone and giving it time to heal, right?

[niceoppai]

[Chelsea wipes her eyes with her sleeve, tearing up at everyone's arguments.]

He's right! Everyone's right. Sure, bad things happen, but so do good things. Atsushi and Ignis and them, even me, most of us came from pretty harsh places and this place must've been a paradise in comparison. But even there, there were people who'd help each other! Even criminals have a code of honour. Didn't you, back when you were just trying to change things instead of ruling a dead world?

[azumods]

If you're claiming your world is so much worse than this one, then what would you do? What would you do if there was endless strife and suffering and you had an opportunity to end it all? Wouldn't you want to seize that opportunity, no matter how great the cost?

[azumods]

...I get the argument you're trying to make, but these are very different things.

[enjoymyatelier]

Ah, that is true.... Maybe I should change the point, then. This is like seeing that broken legs are very bad, and even if people don’t break their legs being able to walk makes it easier to kick people, so you enslave God and have him remove everyone’s legs so they can’t break them or kick anyone anymore.