voidseeing | [Anonymous Voice/Written]

[The events of a week and a half ago still hang heavy over Gai's mind, something that's unusual for him. He's had his body altered without his consent, even his mind during a few experiments before, but to have his memory messed with... it's far more disconcerting than even he wants to admit. Add in everything else that happened, and you've got one broody former terrorist leader who can't even take out his unhappiness in the Battle Dome due to that damn virus.

So he opts to express himself in another way that's familiar to him, one that doesn't require any physical exertion. Something tells him that he's not the only one feeling this way right now...

When the journal entry begins, the camera is covered, obscuring its owner. All there is is a song playing over the journals, letting the music and the lyrics speak for themselves.

But that isn't all. Once it finishes playing, a written message will appear in a neat and practiced hand.]

There is a universal constant among this world and every other. The world will always force a choice on those within it: either to sit quietly by and be selected out, or to adapt and change. Those are the only two paths that can be chosen.

Our opponents made a fatal mistake when they expected us to choose the former. They underestimated our desire to survive, and that proved to be their undoing. We rose to the challenge, and we survived. And we will keep on surviving, no matter what they may try to send at us. We won't roll over and play dead the way they expect us to.

Well done, Luceti. You should be proud.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wait too long and they'll all forget just how distressing having their minds played with like that was. It's better to strike while it's still fresh in their memory, or else it will become just another experiment that gets forgotten as soon as the next one rolls around.

As much as I agree with that, I've found that not letting people debrief can be just as messy, and it might actually make things worse.

--Also, trust me. People've got a long memory. Things like this don't get forgotten easily.

[He knew that from experience. Although six months had no passed since he learned the truth, it wasn't something that he was going to just ignore. Even if he knows there's a positive resolution...there's no way to be sure.]

You'd be surprised how little time it takes for people to forget the details of something that should be seared into their memory forever.

[He'd seen it in his world with Lost Christmas. Ten years later, and for the most part Japan acted as if it never even happened and just went on with their ordinary, everyday lives.]

Maybe. Maybe not. I've seen lots of things like this, and it can go differently with any population.

[Sometimes they carry on. Other times the stress is so much that it haunts a person for the rest of their life.]

Are you a soldier?

Soldier? Please. [He scoffed at the mere thought of it.] Everyone makes that mistake-- it gets old.

I'm just another guy with a head on his shoulders. I sometimes like to use that head too.

Edited 2013-08-27 03:03 (UTC)

It's a logical question to ask, considering most civilians wouldn't use a term like debriefing.

Aah. I see.

Truth be told, I don't like soldiers that much. We tend to butt heads and get in fights.

Ya could say that I'm in the business of getting into other peoples' business so they can understand eachothers' business. It's a tricky business, and requires a little bit of interdisciplinary training.

[Bullshit. He's shooting air to cover for his utter lack of education yet high success in his field of choice.]

[And Gai isn't buying it, but he's not going to say that, of course.]

A professional meddler, in other words. Or would you prefer to be called a mediator?

Your words, not mine, and I don't care which one you prefer. But, suffice to say...there's a reason that soldiers don't like me too much.

I'll keep that in mind. It should make drafts interesting for you, if nothing else. You don't get a choice about working with soldiers on some of those.

Ah, but you see? We've all got the same goal on those.

Kill the enemy before they kill you.

That should be everyone's goal on those.

Exactly. So the details don't matter when under the gun, even if people don't get along.

Too bad more people don't think the way you do. Things would go a lot more smoothly that way.

I don't think so. [Seriously, stranger. You do not want more people like Cliff around.] People will be people no matter what we do. We can just hope that they listen to sense every once in a while, and learn to decide what to do in their own lives.

...besides, don't you think it'd be a little boring if everyone thought like this? You and I'd be out of a job!

The job of keeping everyone else in line, you mean?

Nope.

The job of showing people how to better themselves, and helping them bit by bit along the way.

Too bad I was never very good at that. I always leave that part up to someone more suited for it.

Hey, now. Don't cut yourself short. I'm not very good at it either, but it kinda just happened by a process of elimination. You can fight all you want, but some things are pretty hard to beat down.

Encouraging people because you were the only one left who could do it, in other words.

Edited 2013-09-09 06:58 (UTC)

Nope. I just don't like seeing things I don't like.

It ain't anything that special.

This place should do a good job of keeping you busy, then. It's full of people who still haven't discovered their full potential. Who knows, you might actually be able to do something about that.

Eh. It's not my deal anymore. I kinda retired from the business. It just ain't my thing.

Besides. I've got my own deal here. Why don't you try your hand at it, just to see? This town isn't so big that it'll be impossible.

I'm not sure this town is ready for the results of me trying my hand at something like that.

[audio]

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