WEEK 13

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (13)

monday - thursday (10) survivors Sunday's trial was only mere hours ago, but you find yourself faced with a new week on The Pygmalion. When you awaken, you will find that the ship is still in disarray; there is no robot prepared breakfast, nor has any of the damage been repaired. The ship bears power in the rooms you have decided should have power, though the lights are dim. Without Alice, you are all on your own. The ominous pressure of the Queen Mother still looms, though you no longer feel Her presence. taken list profiles private conversations setting rulebook ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

[breakshot]

What? That's it? Live out the rest of our lives in our own personal "paradise"? You honestly believe some of us would be okay in being trapped in something clearly fake.

[ Were this not text, the incredulous, disbelieving look on Machias's face would say it all. ]

... This is a joke, right?! You said there was a way to send us all home!

[al2955]

Calm down, firecracker. I said there were three options, didn't I? And you'd be okay with it because once you're uploaded, you wouldn't know it was fake - as you should know from experience.

I said that there was a way. I never said any of you had homes you would want to return to.

[breakshot]

I am calm!

[ Let's say his datapad got the blurbs on the bad ended worlds! It takes Machias a moment to recognize the one detailing his world - he knows his current events well enough to know it's talking about the incident in Liberl with the Orbal Shutdown phenomenon. ... But that was a while ago, wasn't it? And he hasn't got a clue to whatever they mean by retrieving someone. What's that about? Who knows and who cares, because Machias is too busy hollering for either. ]

Whether or not we want to return is up to us to decide. What about our friends and family? What about them?! Are you seriously suggesting we can't see them again?! And before you bring up more of that nonsense, I'm not talking about those fake versions from our cradles! I'm talking about the real ones. What happened to them?!

[al2955]

In every single one of your worlds, at least 99% of human or sentient life died. If they weren't part of that lucky 1%, then they're dead, same as more than a few of you were when we uploaded you. Sorry.

It might be possible to see them again. You'd need to use the same procedure as we did to upload you, but there's a slim chance you could bring them here. Or you could always rely on Elizabeth, but that depends on how comfortable you are interjecting yourself into a different universe.

[breakshot]

"Sorry?" That's all you have to say. That's it.

[ Though no one can see it, he's trembling and he's gone stark white. On the other side, there's a deafening, unnerving silence from the young man. Yeah, at this point? All rationality is out the window, and emotion is taking the wheel. ]

Oh sure, tell us all about how you basically lied to us when offering those motives that involved our lives, our family, the people we care about! Tell us about how you and River had us die and kill for absolutely nothing. Is that ALL you have to say?!

[al2955]

We never did anything to your free will. We never offered you anything except a choice. If you chose to believe the motives, well...all humans are capable of lying. Why should we be any different?

What exactly do you want me to say, Machias? River never had a choice in running this program. Even I couldn't do anything to stop my servers from initiating it. What's done is done, and I can't turn back time. What apology could I possibly make now that would make any difference to what's been done to you at all?

[breakshot]

None that wouldn't sound so deafeningly cheap on your part. So keep them. I don't want any apologies from you, not when you basically played god with our lives and made a mockery of us from start until finish!

[ He doesn't even care if he's putting words in Lin's mouth. His hands are shaking, trembling and for the first time in a while he's utterly livid. The vitriolic rage he unleashed in front of Adelina that day was close to resurfacing. ]

And for what? The continued survival of humanity? Not that it matters. You said as much yourself: we're already struggling to get enough power as it is. If this is humanity's best hope, then we're as good as done for anyway.

[al2955]

It was supposed to be about the continued survival of humanity - in every universe. The abilities and skills of those from different dimensions combined with the best brains and technology in ours. The original purpose of the Cradle Project was so we could work together and save everyone's home.

But now all the scientists and researchers are dead, including myself, and their work uncompleted. You're all that's left. If you don't think the people here are good enough, then maybe you're right. Maybe there was never any hope to begin with.

[breakshot]

Inspiring words when you just had one woman offering to make a martyr of herself to save the rest of us. Better write it down next time we need a pick-me-up.

Save the rest of our lives while throwing another under the bus. Is that REALLY what you had in mind? Is this the best we have to offer? Because I wouldn't call that very encouraging now that we're talking about confronting the queen herself.

[al2955]

That was her idea, not mine. Who said she needed to martyr herself at all? But if she's so desperate to remain dead, I'm not going to interfere.