four ¬ voice

[enterpainment]

[filtered away from alan and mae | so hackable it's barely even a filter]

So... magic. I've heard a lot about it here, and I was wondering... what's magic in everyone else's world like? Dangerous, or common, or... er, not so common? It's a universal word, but it seems to mean a lot of different things.

I was just... curious.

[/filtered]

... I think I'm cursed.

Well, not the kind of curse that usually goes on here, but actually cursed. I swear three toasters this week have disappeared! One minute they were in the kitchen, and the next they'd just gone. Either I'm living in a sentient apartment that eats toasters, or I have an... an anti-toaster curse on me. Or maybe the toasters are alive. It's all probably possible, in a place like this.

All I want is toasted bread in the morning! Apparently that is too much to ask for.

Comments

audio ][ filtered

[enterpainment]

[Jamie doesn't know much about science. Actually, he knows barely anything, except what's managed to stick with him from school.] ... So people in your world can do lots of different things?

I suppose it could be sort of similar to different kinds of magic, just... with more science involved. It's brainier.

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[adamantined]

I don't know how much brainier, really, but yeah. For most of us it's pretty simple and straightforward. Those of us who can do something can only really do one thing. Fly or create fire or read minds. Some people can do more, can do anything they want, really. It's like having the ability equivalent of a variety pack.

[Pause.]

Is there God where you come from?

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[enterpainment]

Fly? Read minds? [Oh man it sounds so cool. But... with great power comes great responsibility, and all that.] You're all starting to sound like a race of superheroes. I hope you don't wear your underwear on the outside.

[... his seriousness comes in short and stingy bursts, yes. But he does evaluate Claire's question with a frown.] I think that's a matter of personal opinion.

... We have demons. But as for God-- well, I have no idea.

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[adamantined]

[She laughs, soft and light.]

No nothing like that. We try to keep it quiet for the most part, with varying levels of success.

[The even and quiet quality of her tone makes the transition from somewhat silly to a bit more serious that much easier.]

That's what I mean, personal opinion. Some worlds don't even have mention of God, you know? Anyway. [This has a point.] This guy from my world, he has an ability, too, and he used to tell me that what we could do was God. I think what people from my world can do is different for everyone. I'm sure some people think of it as science. Some people probably think it's God or magic. Some people see it as a curse. I like to think that's at least something universal, that everyone wonders about what they can do and what it all means.

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[enterpainment]

I can see how flying might attract some attention. [And... all the other things, actually, but still.

Jamie keeps quiet as Claire talks, and when she finishes, realises he doesn't have much of an idea what to say in response to any of it. It makes sense, all those views-- thinking you're better, thinking it can be explained logically, thinking you're cursed.] ... It'd be nice if there was some sort of universal answer for it, too.

[But that would never happen.] There's some people, in my world, with magic. They think they're... I wouldn't say it goes quite as far as the God thing. But they think they're privileged, above everyone else. They use that "privilege" as an excuse to say hurting people's all right. Basically.

[He sighs.] I guess there's those kinds of people everywhere.

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[adamantined]

I think what the man who suggested our abilities were God was trying to say was that it was... I don't know. Proof of something bigger than all of us, something to be respected, something to be thankful for. But there are definitely people who would and have easily seen themselves as gods. People who think they're above the rules. I think you'll get that in my word, in your world, in John Doe's world.

I guess... what I'm trying to say is, you can call it a different thing - magic or genetics or something else - and at the heart of it, it can be different, but there are always going to be similarities. That's kind of the nice thing about this place. You don't have to hide it or pretend it doesn't exist, because for a lot of the people here, it's something we've got in common. It's nice, that way.

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[enterpainment]

... I don't know, I think there's a flaw in their logic there. God is meant to work in strange and mysterious ways, isn't he? I don't know if there's anything strange or mysterious about using your powers for world domination.

[... that's what most evil people want, right? Either on large or small scales.]

[There's a bit of a delay before Jamie responds to the second part, though -- he's processing everything Claire's said, and realises that she kind of has a point.]

Yeah. It's nice to have people around who are just as weird as you. Okay, maybe not all of them are just as weird, because I've been told I'm rather eccentric. But in spirit.

It's... nice not to hide it, too. [Although it's kind of a reflex, for Jamie.]

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[adamantined]

I thought it was an admirable way of trying to understand something strange. I don't know if I believe it, since I've never subscribed to the same school of thought as him, but not everyone... wants to use their powers for bad, I guess. And it's no different than trying to understand anything else, something normal.

[Though this does say something about Jamie's experiences with people who have power. Claire's been there herself, even with the man who said their abilities were something divine, but she can see both sides.

She only perks up again from where she's gone in thought after he starts talking.]

You don't seem very eccentric to me. How are you so eccentric? [Pause.] It is nice.