[That settles that for her, at least. She might worry anyway, but she will be able to recall his statement and put the worry out of her mind more easily.
As for the Null's recent contact... well, she can't help but be honest.] I must admit, their offer is quite tempting. [Immediately after saying so, she shakes her head.] But not at that cost.
[She has only ever taken a life when hers or another person's was at risk, and even that is sometimes too much to bear. She cannot rationalize killing Hope for purely selfish reasons. That would make her no better than the murderers she works to catch back home.]
I'm concerned for what will happen to this society, with our opinions on the matter being so divided.
[He nods a little at her words, unsurprised by her stance on the subject of the Null's deal; because it's the right one to have and he knows that, even with his own conflict about it. Lance realizes though, especially after her next comments, that Brennan might not know something important.]
There are some people here for whom their offer is life or death, in that if they return to their own worlds they're either already dead or will die.
[He knows he isn't the only one in this situation.]
That makes the Null's offer potentially their only choice. And considering how the people here seem inclined to violence over pretty much nothing, such high stakes will definitely lead to serious conflicts.
[He's already had enough problems with people here over relatively minor issues, or even nothing. When people are desperate they'll do even worse, and he shares her worry about what will happen here in the coming weeks and months.]
[That earns him a frown.] You mean, die soon after returning, and not of old age or natural causes. If that's true, then wouldn't they choose not to kill Hope? He is the one resurrecting the dead.
[Clearly, there is something she is missing here, apart from the fact that she has no way of understanding what it's like to know for a fact that your death is imminent if and when you return home. She certainly hopes she will live a long life.
On the subject of death here, however, she is... frowning even more.] People here do seem to live by the "eye for an eye" system of justice. But murder for murder only works if Hope is alive. [Don't... don't tell her how that would sound to someone who doesn't know she means 'Hope' and not 'hope'.] If Hope is murdered, then... we are all as subject to death as we are naturally. I don't understand why anyone who will die upon arrival or shortly after arriving in their home world would choose to accept the terms of the Null's deal.
[He realizes she may not have gone through all the conversations, and so of course the point he's trying to make wouldn't make sense.]
They're offering to send people to other worlds, not just their own; they could return to the world of a friend, or even stay here if they want.
[He'd also asked about the possibility of returning to one's own world but at a different time, although they hadn't had an answer for him just yet. So he doesn't mention that.]
But here, yes, it's important to have Hope. I'm not sure why anyone intending to stay in this world would want to kill the god that is keeping everyone alive.
[Going back at a different time... would that she could keep all the good things she has in life and yet find a way to bring her mother and Vincent back. To get Zack out of the mental institute and back in the lab while still keeping all her new interns. Physics can tell them all it wants about how time is not linear and events from the past are happening right now, but they still can't touch those moments. They're gone from the lives of the people who lived them. All they have are memories and things, like the ring she wears every day.]
I do not like that there's little more to do than wait.
[But that's reality here. Well -- those are the facts. Reality is clearly subjective, given that last event.]
The technology possessed by these "gods" is very powerful if it could alter our perceptions to the point where this city looked as beautiful as it did last week. To say nothing of what we believed about ourselves during that time.
That was definitely weird. I'd heard about events that changed the whole environment before, but not like that.
[With the fake memories and everything. What a strange experience that had been; it's creepy and unsettling to think that they could be affected so strongly as to think they'd lead completely different lives, but at least those lives had been pretty good. A part of him had always been curious about what it would've been like to have a more average life, and now he--sort of, at least--knows.]
How are um, things, with that, by the way?
[Yeah, because that was a clear question, Lance.]
I mean with the people who were your family in that version of things. Have you talked to any of them?
[She can't say the same as him in this regard. Sure, she'd wondered what would change if she had led a life where she hadn't been abandoned by her family, and she'd spent some of her time recently envious of her friends who seemed to fall in love with so little fear and hesitation, but now that she has let herself go there, now that she has a small family of her own in Booth and Christine, and in all their friends, she doesn't want another life.
And no, that was not a clear question at all, but at least he realizes it on his own and clarifies before she asks him to.]
No... well. I did speak with the boy who was my fake son. He told me to go get myself killed a few times to find out about the resurrection technology used by Hope. [She shrugs, completely unperturbed.] It's not the worst suggestion, but I do not intend to go looking for death.
[As much as it could've been worse, the last few days had been incredibly stressful and upsetting; he'd take this event over some of the ones he's heard of or the ghost one, but that doesn't mean he's interested in repeating it.
And yeah, about that--]
Please don't listen to him. I've spoken with him a few times before and he seemed more reasonable, so I assume he was upset about what happened to Sharon and not thinking clearly.
[Not that that's an excuse, but if he wasn't thinking clearly when he made the suggestion then maybe Brennan will decide it's an illogical course of action. At least she added that last part about not looking for death, but he's still concerned.]
It would be an effective way to experience and possibly observe the resurrection process. Given the willingness of some people here to murder Hope, there may be a limited time to attempt it.
That gets her thinking about things she has had the opportunity to experience but has not taken. At the moment, it is a very short list, but there must be things she is not able to remember right now.]
...that is true, [she responds slowly and after a few long seconds of silent contemplation.] And given we don't know when the Null will contact their volunteer hitmen again, resurrection may not be guaranteed going forward. [She shrugs.] I'll have to investigate this some other way.
[That is to say, she possibly still would go seeking out such an experience, but only if it were a sure thing. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly, not probably.
And then, with no transition at all--] I started writing a novel.
[Okay, well, he'll take that. That's the best answer he's expecting to get for now, and he's at least mostly convinced she doesn't consider it a good option at the moment.
The change in subject is abrupt but not unwelcome, and he shifts a little on the couch so he can draw a leg up closer to his chest in a more relaxed posture.]
Yeah? Are you doing something new, or another in your series?
Another in the series. [It's easier when you don't have to come up with more fluff from scratch, especially since Angela is not here. Figuring out where to insert fluff for existing characters and relationships will be hard enough as it is.] I considered writing something different, but I could not decide what else to write about. It should be done by the end of the month at the latest. I think at least some people here will find it entertaining.
[Lance... Can't even be offended, honestly. He's gotten used to her backhanded compliments and he's still so glad she's here to make such comments that they don't bother him.]
Thanks. I guess.
[Although he says it dryly, he's grinning a little.]
I'm only like three pages in, but I don't really know much to write about in terms of fiction other than crime cases.
[Except it would probably focus more on the FBI and profiling side of things than on the science the way Brennan's do.]
[Things Brennan misses the meaning of: that sarcastic statement. The smile throws her off. Clearly this means he is actually grateful.]
I understand that feeling. It will be hard to complete my novel without Angela to help me with the filler scenes, but I will manage somehow.
[She is assuming that people here will be like at home and prefer the boring character stuff over the fun science. This is her curse in life, it seems. Alas.]
[Oh Brennan, never change. Except maybe to get better at sarcasm because that actually would be useful.]
It'll be a chance for you to practice.
[And he may be slightly amused by the idea of Brennan trying to write her famous smut scenes without Angela's input, but he won't say that. Hey, maybe she'll be good at it and it won't be hilarious or awkward.]
The boredom is one of the worst things about being here, although it seems like there are only extremes.
[It's either incredibly boring with nothing to do, or there's far too much happening at once. He misses steady work with occasional lulls or flurries of activity, not the weird chaotic mess that is how things go in Hadriel.]
If any of these extremes are like the day that Zack and I arrived, then I would hope we have enough time to react appropriately to a new event when it begins.
[Locking yourself inside your apartment seems like a really good way to avoid mutant wasps. Just saying.]
As invasive as the mass hallucination was, it was not unpleasant until it began to release us.
[Of course, now she is missing her family more than before, but that was going to happen no matter what.]
Some of them are, from what I understand of the history.
[A lot of the past events sound really horrifying and he's glad he missed them. He nods a little at the last comment, feeling pretty similarly.]
It's really strange looking back on it, but everything else was fine until it started wearing off. Although it's definitely made some things more complicated, in regards to other people here.
[Like that Brennan was married, although he isn't really sure she feels much awkwardness about that.]
[Brennan wrinkles her nose for a moment. She is not looking forward to what she will inevitably face.]
Has it? The boy who was my false son seems to harbor no lingering affection for me at all. [She shrugs.] I don't expect I will find many complications in my interactions with others here, but I also have no prior history with them. You've known them longer, so it's likely different for you.
He may not, or he may and just be hiding that with other emotions.
[Suddenly caring about someone who you don't even know can be frightening, and that can easily lead to hostility.]
The person who was my sibling during the event, Adam, I had only spoken with twice before. So that's... Strange.
[He'd like Adam well enough from their conversations, but didn't really know him and, of course, has no siblings normally. So that whole thing is pretty strange for him.]
[She shrugs.] He has been hostile towards me from the beginning. In that sense, not much changed at all even during the event.
[If anything, it was worse for her, given she's been taken from her daughter and was given fake children... who were subsequently taken away from her as well.]
Was he at least nice? That could be the beginning of a friendship.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 12:49 am (UTC)As for the Null's recent contact... well, she can't help but be honest.] I must admit, their offer is quite tempting. [Immediately after saying so, she shakes her head.] But not at that cost.
[She has only ever taken a life when hers or another person's was at risk, and even that is sometimes too much to bear. She cannot rationalize killing Hope for purely selfish reasons. That would make her no better than the murderers she works to catch back home.]
I'm concerned for what will happen to this society, with our opinions on the matter being so divided.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:00 am (UTC)There are some people here for whom their offer is life or death, in that if they return to their own worlds they're either already dead or will die.
[He knows he isn't the only one in this situation.]
That makes the Null's offer potentially their only choice. And considering how the people here seem inclined to violence over pretty much nothing, such high stakes will definitely lead to serious conflicts.
[He's already had enough problems with people here over relatively minor issues, or even nothing. When people are desperate they'll do even worse, and he shares her worry about what will happen here in the coming weeks and months.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:40 am (UTC)[Clearly, there is something she is missing here, apart from the fact that she has no way of understanding what it's like to know for a fact that your death is imminent if and when you return home. She certainly hopes she will live a long life.
On the subject of death here, however, she is... frowning even more.] People here do seem to live by the "eye for an eye" system of justice. But murder for murder only works if Hope is alive. [Don't... don't tell her how that would sound to someone who doesn't know she means 'Hope' and not 'hope'.] If Hope is murdered, then... we are all as subject to death as we are naturally. I don't understand why anyone who will die upon arrival or shortly after arriving in their home world would choose to accept the terms of the Null's deal.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:47 am (UTC)They're offering to send people to other worlds, not just their own; they could return to the world of a friend, or even stay here if they want.
[He'd also asked about the possibility of returning to one's own world but at a different time, although they hadn't had an answer for him just yet. So he doesn't mention that.]
But here, yes, it's important to have Hope. I'm not sure why anyone intending to stay in this world would want to kill the god that is keeping everyone alive.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:56 am (UTC)I do not like that there's little more to do than wait.
[But that's reality here. Well -- those are the facts. Reality is clearly subjective, given that last event.]
The technology possessed by these "gods" is very powerful if it could alter our perceptions to the point where this city looked as beautiful as it did last week. To say nothing of what we believed about ourselves during that time.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 02:04 am (UTC)[With the fake memories and everything. What a strange experience that had been; it's creepy and unsettling to think that they could be affected so strongly as to think they'd lead completely different lives, but at least those lives had been pretty good. A part of him had always been curious about what it would've been like to have a more average life, and now he--sort of, at least--knows.]
How are um, things, with that, by the way?
[Yeah, because that was a clear question, Lance.]
I mean with the people who were your family in that version of things. Have you talked to any of them?
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 02:17 am (UTC)[She can't say the same as him in this regard. Sure, she'd wondered what would change if she had led a life where she hadn't been abandoned by her family, and she'd spent some of her time recently envious of her friends who seemed to fall in love with so little fear and hesitation, but now that she has let herself go there, now that she has a small family of her own in Booth and Christine, and in all their friends, she doesn't want another life.
And no, that was not a clear question at all, but at least he realizes it on his own and clarifies before she asks him to.]
No... well. I did speak with the boy who was my fake son. He told me to go get myself killed a few times to find out about the resurrection technology used by Hope. [She shrugs, completely unperturbed.] It's not the worst suggestion, but I do not intend to go looking for death.
[At least, not until she has more data.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 04:08 am (UTC)[As much as it could've been worse, the last few days had been incredibly stressful and upsetting; he'd take this event over some of the ones he's heard of or the ghost one, but that doesn't mean he's interested in repeating it.
And yeah, about that--]
Please don't listen to him. I've spoken with him a few times before and he seemed more reasonable, so I assume he was upset about what happened to Sharon and not thinking clearly.
[Not that that's an excuse, but if he wasn't thinking clearly when he made the suggestion then maybe Brennan will decide it's an illogical course of action. At least she added that last part about not looking for death, but he's still concerned.]
cw talk of getting herself killed and revived... for science!!
Date: 2017-08-02 01:50 pm (UTC)It would be an effective way to experience and possibly observe the resurrection process. Given the willingness of some people here to murder Hope, there may be a limited time to attempt it.
brennan no
Date: 2017-08-02 08:38 pm (UTC)There are plenty of things that you have opportunity to experience but shouldn't.
[Both in normal life at home, and here.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 10:00 pm (UTC)That gets her thinking about things she has had the opportunity to experience but has not taken. At the moment, it is a very short list, but there must be things she is not able to remember right now.]
...that is true, [she responds slowly and after a few long seconds of silent contemplation.] And given we don't know when the Null will contact their volunteer hitmen again, resurrection may not be guaranteed going forward. [She shrugs.] I'll have to investigate this some other way.
[That is to say, she possibly still would go seeking out such an experience, but only if it were a sure thing. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly, not probably.
And then, with no transition at all--] I started writing a novel.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 12:02 am (UTC)The change in subject is abrupt but not unwelcome, and he shifts a little on the couch so he can draw a leg up closer to his chest in a more relaxed posture.]
Yeah? Are you doing something new, or another in your series?
no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 09:45 pm (UTC)[He likes them a lot personally, even if at this point he would take a math textbook just to have something to read.]
I started writing something too, but I haven't gotten very far.
[Too many distractions, and he doesn't really write fiction normally and so second-guesses himself constantly.]
weeps. i'm sorry lmao
Date: 2017-08-03 10:12 pm (UTC)Oh? [Color her interested.] I think you will be a good author. You're constantly making things up and calling it psychology.
[Same thing, right?]
What are you writing about?
you should be okay you made me read this with my own two eyes
Date: 2017-08-04 03:05 am (UTC)Thanks. I guess.
[Although he says it dryly, he's grinning a little.]
I'm only like three pages in, but I don't really know much to write about in terms of fiction other than crime cases.
[Except it would probably focus more on the FBI and profiling side of things than on the science the way Brennan's do.]
remember you kiiiiiinda brought this on yourself c:
Date: 2017-08-04 04:56 pm (UTC)I understand that feeling. It will be hard to complete my novel without Angela to help me with the filler scenes, but I will manage somehow.
[She is assuming that people here will be like at home and prefer the boring character stuff over the fun science. This is her curse in life, it seems. Alas.]
this is true, alas
Date: 2017-08-05 12:26 am (UTC)It'll be a chance for you to practice.
[And he may be slightly amused by the idea of Brennan trying to write her famous smut scenes without Angela's input, but he won't say that. Hey, maybe she'll be good at it and it won't be hilarious or awkward.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-05 12:49 am (UTC)I suppose. It will be something to do, in any case. I find I am restless here without work to do.
[What she wouldn't give for, say, chipmunk bones to examine. She's getting desperate here.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-05 02:28 am (UTC)The boredom is one of the worst things about being here, although it seems like there are only extremes.
[It's either incredibly boring with nothing to do, or there's far too much happening at once. He misses steady work with occasional lulls or flurries of activity, not the weird chaotic mess that is how things go in Hadriel.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-05 07:53 pm (UTC)[Locking yourself inside your apartment seems like a really good way to avoid mutant wasps. Just saying.]
As invasive as the mass hallucination was, it was not unpleasant until it began to release us.
[Of course, now she is missing her family more than before, but that was going to happen no matter what.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-05 09:41 pm (UTC)[A lot of the past events sound really horrifying and he's glad he missed them. He nods a little at the last comment, feeling pretty similarly.]
It's really strange looking back on it, but everything else was fine until it started wearing off. Although it's definitely made some things more complicated, in regards to other people here.
[Like that Brennan was married, although he isn't really sure she feels much awkwardness about that.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-06 12:01 am (UTC)Has it? The boy who was my false son seems to harbor no lingering affection for me at all. [She shrugs.] I don't expect I will find many complications in my interactions with others here, but I also have no prior history with them. You've known them longer, so it's likely different for you.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-06 04:49 pm (UTC)[Suddenly caring about someone who you don't even know can be frightening, and that can easily lead to hostility.]
The person who was my sibling during the event, Adam, I had only spoken with twice before. So that's... Strange.
[He'd like Adam well enough from their conversations, but didn't really know him and, of course, has no siblings normally. So that whole thing is pretty strange for him.]
no subject
Date: 2017-08-06 05:43 pm (UTC)[If anything, it was worse for her, given she's been taken from her daughter and was given fake children... who were subsequently taken away from her as well.]
Was he at least nice? That could be the beginning of a friendship.
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