Brent Stinebaker
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33-11 Information (II)
🕑 Added 2025-01-23 11:44:07 +0000 UTCThere is bitter wisdom in offering a tiger an envenomed limb…
-Old Sang Proverb
33-11
Information (II)
—[The Majority]—
THE INNER COUNCIL HAS CALLED AN EMERGENCY VOTE INTO SESSION:
MOTION TO RENDER ALL CONSTITUENTS OF ORI-THAUM IMPOTENT IS PROCEEDING
“What?” A horrified cry sounded from hundreds of enshadowed Constituents. Their mirrored-egos quailed at the thought of being rendered impotent to ward off the effects of some degenerate’s twisted miracle.
“No. We’re not doing this. We refuse.”
Against + 3.4%
“This is fine. We spent years suppressing our urges due to the rash—the situation isn’t fundamentally different, the danger has just evolved. We must not allow the Lovebringer to disable us in such a… disgusting manner. For the Overclan!”
For +2.4%
“Could the Sang’s assumptions be mistaken? Perhaps the Lovebringer won’t use such overt means—”
“Seeking blind hope in the face of a merciless enemy is like assuming the chalice they offer is truly filled with wine and not poison. Ask yourselves what would we do with his Heaven. What would we do to win. Violating or not, it is clear that this Aedon Chambers has the capacity—nohesavedus…hesavedus…. He’s a good man! A good man! He stood against his own shadow! No! No! I refuse!’
Against +0.003%
MOTION TO DIRECTLY CONTACT AEDON CHAMBERS “THE LOVEBRINGER” AND ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS HAS BEEN PUT FORWARD
>MOTION OVERRULED BY INNER COUNCIL
The Majority was roiling. The Inner Council turned their attention away from the outside world back inward as they examined the rebellion happening inside. To see some of their own members associating with someone like Aedon Chambers was troubling. Troubling, but almost understandable.
His acts against his Pathborn self were commendable, to say the very least, and he had preserved countless Ori lives. But this didn’t make him an ally. Not even close. It just made him a more honorable foe at best, and a significant threat in practicality.
Though he didn’t have any direct means to Bond with the Majority, if he contaminated the bulk of their population, the effects could be equally devastating. The Shadows of each Constituent were derived from their actual behaviors, their thoughts, from the data that composed their actions. If they were all twisted into a perversion of who they were, disabled by love and lust poured into them on an unfathomable scale…
The Majority’s greatest strength was not power projection. In fact, in direct application of force, it was quite possibly the single weakest Heaven there was, lesser than even a feeble First Sphere. However, the reason that it remains an Ark at the Ninth Sphere is because of its immense meta-manipulative capabilities and near-silence even when channeling miracles across tapestry, with absolute control over meaning, understanding, and more. But none of that would matter if it lacked any actors to enforce those capabilities through.
As such, the Inner Council censured the dissenting voices for the betterment of the greater whole. They wouldn’t be affected otherwise, and will be studied in terms of why they came to such conclusions, but right now, they couldn’t afford to let a single good deed direct them from their righteous path.
The [Against] vote has been discontinued. Proceed with the vote based on an affirmative or negative basis
For +4.01%
Aside from this, though, Chambers also provided a unique opportunity of attack. While Ori-Thaum needed to be insulated, the other Guilds were best left vulnerable. Already, the greatest minds within the Majority turned their focus to exploit this new opportunity. Voidwatch, after all, wasn’t immune to the Lovebringer’s touch from the information they gathered.
Perhaps this could be a means to finally and formally breach the polities as well…
***
—[Shotin]—
Things were turning into a shitshow, as expected, but he didn’t much care about that. Hidden within the Sage itself, the Seeker perception narrowed into a tunnel as he studied his bondsbrother, Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhara.
Shotin had been staring at him this entire time. Just… watching. Wordless. Unable to muster the courage or self-loathing to speak with the man. Because Kare was dead, and telling him the truth would leave both of them shattered; as if telling the truth would make the nature of her death feel real.
And that was the reason behind why a lot of people did stupid shit. They felt. The hurt. They liked. And so they did. Shotin was an Ori Seeker, so he knew all about sequencing and augmenting his own emotions, but there was a thing about that—if you thought you deserved the pain, you typically chose to suffer.
Because misery was its own kind of sanctuary, and facing the problem before you were ready would see you broken in so many ways.
This isn’t over. This isn’t done. Part of her remains inside Avo. You can get her back. We can still do this. This isn’t done. This isn’t done.
Part of Shotin knew it was true, that there was still the Ladder, that Avo was still trying to make things right. But what was Shotin worth in all this? What did he manage? All his life, he thought himself capable of doing anything. With the right trauma, with the right wards, with the right stacks, he could beat anyone. But at Scale, he wasn’t even a contender. At Scale, everything came apart, and though he was there, though he had everything told to him in advance, he failed.
He still failed.
The pain of losing his sister to Lorea Greatling was not being there. That was hell. That was a venom he would never heal from. Losing Kare was like a mortal wound — a scar that told him it didn’t matter what he did, he wasn’t enough.
And for the first time, he was indecisive. Waiting. Terrified of taking a step, of facing his bondsbrother and the other Ori.
A tug pulled at his chest. Shotin blinked as he heard Chambers speak to him through the Lovenet. +Hey, consang. Naeko’s almost done slamming his sack over the heads of the Sang. He’s going to get to your guys next.+
Despite everything, the vulgar little shit made him laugh. +You just can’t help being you, huh?+
+What? Did I say something wrong?+
Shotin was about to say something sarcastic, but he stopped himself. How the hells would Chambers know what common etiquette was? Did anyone teach him? Did it matter in his life? He was a gutter rat and a Syndicate soldier. Nothing he did was for polite society. Judging him for his words were ridiculous. And it wasn’t like Shotin was much better, considering all the things he got up to in the past. +No. No, you’re fine. I’m just being a glassjaw.+
A grumble of sympathy sounded across the link. +Yeah, I… listen, I don’t want to hit you with the love-juice again unless you ask for it, but I can do that—+
+No. Absolute not. And don’t tell me about how I acted earlier, either. I deleted those memories. I never do that. Shit must’ve been humiliating enough for me to consider snuffing myself to do that.”
+Yeah. Okay.+ Chambers sounded almost disappointed. +It really wasn’t that bad. You were just—+
+Chambers. Not another word about this.+
And to his credit, Aedon Chambers listened. Because ultimately, he was a decent guy who suffered a shitty life, while Shotin…
+You ever have to tell another person that someone they love died, Chambers?+ Shotin asked.
+Yeah,+ Chambers replied. Almost without any hesitation. +Wasn’t pretty. Not looking forward to talking with your in-law, huh? Can’t say I blame you. I’d go really hard into the parts about Avo being able to bring her back and the Ladder.+
+I don’t know if that’s going to matter that much to him,+ Shotin said. +Not at first. And I don’t know if I… if I got it in me to tell him.+
A lull of silence followed, and a flash of magenta light pulsed through the Sage’s fog. +What the hells are you guys doing now?+
+Oh, I’m just snatching other Dowagers that Brilliant Orchard knows.+
+Brilliant Orchard? Dowager Brilliant Orchard?+
+Yeah. I kidnapped her using Green River. Oh, she’s here too—you wanna link to her as well—+
+No!+ Shotin said with a bit more vehemence than he expected. He didn’t need this right now—and he certainly didn’t want her to see him as he was. +I got enough shit I’m trying to unfuck right now, Chambers! Godsdammit!+
+Whoa! Okay! I’ll leave you alone—+
+No. Wait! Stop. Tell me… tell me about how you did it.+
+Did what?+
+How you told the person you knew that someone they loved was dead.+
+Oh,+ Chambers sighed. +Okay. For the first couple years I spent as a ganger, I was in charge of “inventory.” Which is a fancy way of saying I’m the one who needed to keep an eye on the literal human cargo. Now, if you know anything about smuggling, you know that a lot of smugglers are fucking ass at keeping the flats alive. Their ships aren’t clean, the flats get diseases, next thing you know, what’s a barge holding 200 ends up being 190 rotting corpses and 10 gibbering wrecks. Not good.+
+Jaus,+ Shotin breathed. He knew things were bad. Seen the vics. But still, to live that life must’ve been some kind ugly.
+What usually gets people to listen to you after they break is shit like food and water at first. Because after a certain point, the thinking shit doesn’t work so good, so they just become more animal. Acting, doing, feeling. They’ll stay that way for a while. Then, you gotta wait for them to talk with you, and then you start bullshitting them.+
+Bullshitting?+
+Yeah! I’d tell them that people can get resurrected in the city. That if they just fought hard in a Crucible or served as a good slave to whoever, they might be able to see whoever they lost brought back. New Vultun’s the city of the fallen gods, after all. Anything should be possible here.+ Chambers snorted bitterly. +Technically isn’t a lie if the right person wins this war and claims the Ladder.+
Shotin was at a loss for words. +Your strategy was just to… to fucking lie to them?+
+Yeah. Kinda. But also to give them something to hope for. Because you gotta have something to lose if you want someone to really fight hard. Dying nu-dog just lays down and goes to sleep. No entertainment value in that. So you gotta promise them some meat at the end. Or a chance of something, anyway. Even if it’s hate. And for Kare… well, she’s not done. You’re not done. And everything she fought for isn’t done.+
+Yeah,+ Shotin replied. It wasn’t like he didn’t know this on a rational level, but to accept it, to swallow these words… No wonder Avo was so successful. The fucking ghoul just assimilated. Not only the opposition, but also his own thoughts and feelings. It didn’t stop him, it was just another part of him he could choose to use in one way or another. +Yeah. I get it. Thanks.+
+Sure thing.+ A beat followed, and Chambers let out a small cough. +:Listen. If you don’t feel ready for this, I could—+
+No. I need to do it. He should hear it from me. I’m not—I can’t be that much of a coward. I’ve fucked up enough already. Fucked up for all her life.+
Chambers made a series of noises like he was a broken machine trying to generate a response. +Alright. Just… I got your back. And your heart. And his heart. Let me know when you want to connect. I could even dose him with a bit of love too but… might be a bit fucked u—ah, shit, Naeko’s doing something again. Let me get back to you in a bit.+
And once more, Shotin was left alone with his thoughts. But only for a moment.
“Pitiful creature.” The mists around him grumbled and growled. “Look at you. Begging another to give you something as weightless as words.”
The Sage of the Sundered Sky: Naeko’s own personal nightmare of a Heaven with the Domain of Peace and being an asshole.
“Fuck off, cloud. Didn’t ask you for your opinion.”
“Yet you receive. Yet you will listen. Yet you will hear. What difference between you and a dog in a cage. Do you not have a god inside you? Are you not touched by the Burning One?”
“And why does that matter?”
“Because you are a god, cretin. A god trapped within the breast of a mongrel ape, but a god nonetheless. The child is dead. You failed her. But she was slain as well. Slain by the will of another. No god will allow this to stain them. No god will allow this to be their mythology. You think of what isn’t and never thing in terms of what could be again. You are a pathetic god. A weak god. But he has touched you nonetheless. Just like he has touched the Huntress and the Heart-Slaved.”
The flames of anger sputtered inside Shotin. “What are you trying to say?”
“That your human desires are a lie. That you have failed to understand what you are and where you truly stand. She is dead now. But that does not need to be the end of things. Only a part of continuation. All can change. All can be made true or false by divine decree. This is the highest privilege. This is the truth of our existence. To decide, for the first thing we reign over is truth itself, is reality, are those who cannot burn. Let die the ape, Shotin Kazahara, for it has choked the god in you too long. It is only by the weakness of my user that I have not rendered you to bloody ruin for your offense, so I must make right of you another way.
Kill the ape, and let the god be born. For I can hear it inside you. It is waking. It is struggling to hatch. Because you won’t let it. You delude yourself, and you act like you always have. But just as the hubris of the gods deprived us of perspective and let the bastard hand of Jaus Avandaer hew our roots, understand that the rot in man will see your reign be but a second compared to our eons. For we are spawned from dreams of power and divinity. And you are but paltry kindling trying to channel an inferno. Your failure is human. And human is not enough. A new changing of the times is upon us now. Decide. Become. Or remain, and cede your throne to another.”
And with that, the Sage fell silent, no longer interested in the broken man. Shotin shivered slightly, and closed his eyes. “Fuck.”
Hurt. Pain. Failure. Kare.
Godsdammit.
Fuck it all.
He took a step forward. And then another. And another, until he was striding through the mist and marching toward the glass box that contained all the Ori-Thaum delegates—and Valhu. With each footstep, something resonated within Shotin, something shivered and pulsed, something was roused.
CONDITIONS MET
BEGINNING ONTOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION…
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Brent Stinebaker
More clads and TTf soon
