beholdmydemons | seventh fusion

[Walter starts talking almost immediately after turning on the recording, sounding tired but as though his message was prepared ahead of time.]

You're the king of a country, and you hold a great contest - or a game. One man who comes to participate is very tall, and strong. Would you let him compete as any other, or bar him from the game to even those others' chances?

A man comes to a remote village, one that's remained as it is for a thousand years. He brings with him technology that would change life as the people know it, bringing them comfort and luxury. Should the village send that man away, or accept his gifts?

The person you love is gravely ill, doomed to sleep and never wake...you've tried every remedy you can imagine, and there's nothing left at your disposal. Would you tend to them for the rest of your life, or let them die naturally?

[He goes quiet, not sure what to follow that up with. The radio, playing tinnily in the background, switches to a holiday song that's been on at least five times already today.

...Yeah, that bears asking about. In just as tired a voice, but a much less rehearsed one:]

What the hell is Christmas?

[[ooc: canon update to end of first route split, complete!]]

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[...Hold on, what's this "not from Earth" thing? Of all the people to turn out to be a demon (or something), it's you, with the way you act?

Walter's eyebrows quirk upwards and stay there for the rest of the message and his own reply.]

What kind of harm could technology bring?

[Surprise! Come now, Walter, did you forget what he looked like that first time the two of you met in the castle? Did you think the ears were some kind of decoration?]

[...actually, that's probably an easy mistake to make, considering his ears ARE, in fact, decorated with some silly alien cover.]

[Fashion.]

I have twice seen a entire civilization bring itself to ruin, due to the gaining of technologies beyond their means. The first instance caused a race known as the Cardianon to evolve much faster than nature had intended. Change that should have occurred over millenia instead happened in a span of only two hundred years. Their home planet could not keep up with the rapid growth and in the end, it was destroyed. They became a vagrant people, living among the stars until eventually they began to lose all sense of themselves. The Cardianon mutated into fearsome, mindless monsters and literally ripped themselves apart, all because of technology beyond their means.

The second instance happened on an alternate version of Earth, many years in the past relative to my own time. The year was 1957. Driven by greed and a lust for power, an ambitious young woman sought to make use of an alien technology years beyond her understanding or control. She destroyed her entire planet. Billions of lives, snuffed out by advanced technology she so unwisely dared to take.

Granted, I have also seen another civilization given hope for a new future in much the same way. Were it not for the aid of my people, it may have been several hundred more years before Earthlings developed warp technology that wold allow them to seek a new home in space. Hundreds of years that they may not have had, given the state of present-day Earth in my world.

[There's a slight pause. YOu can almost hear the slight smile in his voice as he continues.]

There are many factors, you see. The source of the technology, how advanced it is compared to the civilization's native technology, how much is given and for how long...

[He could go on.]

[...Yikes. Now there's a cautionary tale he'd actually take at face value.]

And...whose hands it lands in? Could a better person have prevented that kind of harm from coming to their world?

Ah, yes, that as well. In the instance of alternate Earth in particular, that was perhaps the most important factor. The woman in question was...not quite in her right mind. [Putting it very, very lightly there. Losing her son apparently left Milla quite unhinged.] Had it been someone with purer intentions, I daresay it might not have ended so catastrophically.

As far as the Cardianon are concerned, however, I believe the problem was far more complicated than that. From what I understand, they were a very simple race in the beginning. They had no visions of glory or power. And yet, they eventually began to think of themselves as being above all other races and civilizations, forcibly conquering many of them. Sometimes even "better people," or perhaps in this case: more innocent people, are not completely incorruptible.

Edited 2013-12-16 02:59 (UTC)

[Naturally, Walter hears that part near the end the loudest. "Being above", that concept of innate superiority - that fucks everything right up, doesn't it?

...He still feels kind of lost, though. This stuff is pretty much flying over his head.]

You...have a lot of knowledge about this. [With a hint of admiration in his tone.]

Heh, well I don't know about a lot, but... [He sounds sheepish, almost embarrassed.] But I do have a bit of experience in the matter. Though, I have only come to learn this recently. Like I said, my initial reaction was to say that technology should be shared.

So what do my answers mean?

[Hmmm.]

Well, you...put a lot of thought into things. So much that you go against your instinct...but you couldn't come to a decision, in the end. [....] Because you're...trying to make a choice that won't hurt anyone?

It's not always possible to do that, though. Sometimes you simply must go one way or another.

seventh fusion - audio

audio; apologies if they have actually talked about the alien thing i can't remember at all

audio; we're good! i'm about 99% certain it hasn't come up

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