The Twenty-Third Trial

[advisories]

Who: trialgoers etc!
When: Day 50, morning
Where: the ~trial zone~

[Another morning, another Trial! Ugh.

At least this one seems normal, starting out with a shake and the Hermit’s booming voice:]

"Good morning, Heroes. You can guess why you're being called, but before we begin I have an official statement. The Prince of Stars and associates were not responsible for yesterday's Trial. It appears the system was copied by a Malicious entity -- we apologize for any confusion and are doing our best to locate this entity and find a way to prevent any such incidents in the future.

In the meantime, we've scheduled a low-stress Trial for today to lift your spirits. With teamwork and a little silliness, let's search for unity and peace within ourselves."

[The Hermit's tent is in the clearing, awaiting your arrival.]

rules | sign-in | mingle | rooms | winners & endgame

Comments

[malignstar]

He would not be able to read them unless he was in control.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Do you have a reason to think Felix wouldn't hear you out?

[malignstar]

... He thinks I am some corrupted part of him.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Does he know anything about you beyond 'mauled that person that one time?'

[malignstar]

He knows I punished some youths that were assaulting him. A recent memory. He knows I said I would protect us.

[schrodingerscockroach]

....okay, but has he processed that because I imagine punished youths was probably hard for him to work through?

[malignstar]

He was a child then. I do not know how he interpreted the memory. We share experiences, not feelings or thoughts.

[schrodingerscockroach]

So 'mauled that person that one time' and 'traumatic childhood memory.'

Knowing more about you would probably help. Knowing you can think beyond 'fight' would might go a long way.

[malignstar]

[ Well, when you put it that way, it just sounds bad. 8( ]

I cannot tell him on my own. Not without surrendering again. That is what your journal idea requires.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[IT KIND OF IS???]

I did suggest seeing if dreams work first, but I'm kind of low on ideas for 'how to get two people in the same head to talk when they can't.'

Which is kind of annoying because that's a thing I should really have experience with.

[malignstar]

I would have to wake him up from my side. It would be a shock to the system. Since he is presently unaware.

[ He knows the truth. If he wants to establish any meaningful communication without badly messing Felix up, he will have to relinquish his control and reach out. And the idea of backing down still puts him on edge right now. ]

Why should you have experience with it?

[schrodingerscockroach]

Shared my head with another person once. May have had a tumultuous relationship and everything.

Shock as in emotional or shock as in weird head things?

[malignstar]

Shock as in damage. The mind has its limits on what it can process and what it will accept.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[....does it though?]

[Sounds fake, but okay.]

He knows there's another side of him. Is this really that much of a shock?

[malignstar]

I am not his other side.

[schrodingerscockroach]

There's still an acknowledgement of another consciousness in the mix.

Just more....other soul versus psychological trauma.

[malignstar]

Would you react well to suddenly learning you have two souls when you are barely aware of yourself at the time?

[schrodingerscockroach]

...I literally signed up to have someone put into my head so I'm not sure I could give a fair answer to this.

[malignstar]

... Why would you volunteer for something so horrid?

[schrodingerscockroach]

That says a lot about your self view, huh.

Because it would make me a better soldier and again, extinction threat.

[malignstar]

Most people would not desire to share a body. And I do not see how having another within you would improve your own skills.

[schrodingerscockroach]

It was an AI.

The human mind is capable of a lot of speed and processing power, more than most computers, they just can't effectively use it. An AI, however, can. Faster reaction time, able to process information more thoroughly and near instantly, and capable of running specialized equipment without the delay of a neutral transmitter.

But an AI is a person. I've remembered a few other agents with theirs. There were problems, sure, but I know at least two pairs managed to maintain their connection for years. [He assumes Epsilon was meant to be with Carolina.] So if things went well, pros seemed to outweigh the cons.

[malignstar]

It sounds like an unnecessary mess just for a faster thought process.

[schrodingerscockroach]

There's this shield made of segments of hard light we had. Bubble shield, but it was two ways. Nothing could get in, but nothing could get out. Real nasty piece of work if you fired a gun in a Bubble Shield, that bullet would just ricochet and could end up killing yourself.

An AI jacked into a human can allow for the human to fire in precise timing to turn off segments of that shield to allow bullets to leave the shield and kill the enemy, and not let a single shot get through to hit them.

Could run like that for a few hours. In theory, they could kill hundreds of enemies all on their own without suffering a single injury.

[malignstar]

I see. To you, the value of union of the union was worth the perversion of the soul. But you had something different as well. A choice.

This does not feel voluntary.