Re: The Savage Brawl [Round 2: Giant's House]
03-21-2010, 11:35 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by slipsicle.
As he nears the base of the gigantic kitchen sink, the god's voice rolls through Hand of Silver's aural receptors. Another round, another god, another plea. Hoss reflects upon the strong human themes this "contest" has taken up. The first round, the "afterlife", a particularly mammalian concept, specific to humanity (through his millions of years of existence, Hoss has run models of how alien intelligences may have evolved, in case he ever encountered any, and as such has a good idea as to the specific qualities which are inherent to a species which followed humanity's evolutionary path). The second round, a house, seemingly conforming to the Atomic era of the humanity of his universe. Gods, higher powers, demanding things of the more "lowly" entities for vague promises of "reward", yet offering no proof they might follow through; while limited to mere mental constructs in his universe, these gods appear to be real, here. The scent of human influence appears to have infiltrated all corners of the multiverse, with limited exceptions: Gormand and Ekelhaft. While Ziirphael and Calm are not human per se, they are humanoid in appearance, and appear to think like humans.
And then there is the Cultivator. She appeared in a human form. The idea of a contest of life and death, also human. She mentioned other such contests, likely hosted by other such beings.
The seed of human greatness appears not to be limited to the single strata of existence from which the condensed essence of the human race that is Hoss sprung forth, but instead has pierced through to other universes, its branches inexorably reaching into every facet of all that exists...
"...corrupt! They're all corrupt! They're leading this country into the pits just to satisfy their own corrupt needs! This doesn't make you angry? You don't want to fight it?!"
An obviously agitated young man beseeches his companion on a sidewalk. The two are walking through a busy, metropolitan area, surrounded by an eclectic yet completely oblivious crowd. The hour is growing late, and a nebulous haze of artificial light hangs over the buildings. A slight breeze dances through the windswept, wild hair of the (so far silent) companion, blue eyes narrowed in thought.
"No."
Consternation passes over the other man's face.
"What do you mean 'no'?!"
"I mean no, I do not want to fight them. You cannot fight human nature. Yes, they are greedy, yes they are corrupt, and there is nothing we can do about it. We cannot change them. Therefore, we must embrace their natural behavior; accept it, use their greed to achieve our own ends."
The other man makes a dismissive gesture.
"But that's just as bad! All the problems our country is having, all the bad things going on, they're because people think like that! They think, like, how can this person benefit me? How can I use them to get what I want? We can't live like that! We have to work in harmony with each other, with everything!"
"Yes."
Frustration. The other man feels he is being toyed with, condescended to.
"Goddamnit make up your mind! You just disagreed with what you said before!"
"No."
The increasingly agitated man stops, whirling to confront the source of his frustration. His companion moves to face him, turning his ocean-deep eyes upon the young man, bringing them to bear against the anger now radiating from his, previously merely agitated, walking partner. The other man suddenly finds himself unable to speak, pinned by the power of personality emanating from those cerulean depths.
"I'll lay it out for you. All these things you have described; the greed, the corruption, the yearning for peace and harmony, the willingness to use others to achieve one's goals... they are all intrinsic to being human. I cannot change your view of the world, your goals in life, just as you cannot change mine, nor can you change those whom you wish to fight against. We must accept the behavior of others as something which is immutable. There are traits which we all carry, some more than others, which are relics of our evolutionary past; some may view these relics as harmful, as dangerous evolutionary baggage. Others, like myself, simply see them as something we must work with."
The wild-haired man brings up his arms, gesturing to the activity around him, to the high-rise buildings and bustling traffic.
"We are surrounded by the evidence of our greatness. All that we as a species have achieved has not been in spite of what you see as "flaws", but because of them. We, as a species, are perfect. We could not be so without those qualities which you despise; they have helped to drive us forward, constantly. Certainly there have been temporary setbacks; the sacking of the Library of Alexandria to name one. Yet even that bore fruit to long-term improvements. If the Ionians had risen to technological superiority, slave trade would still be an accepted practice. I'm not against slavery, as I view that quality as yet another inevitability of our species which may find its place again, but its absence was necessary for this society to arise, and for the technological marvels which you see around you to become reality."
Those impenetrable blue eyes remove themselves from the other man's focus, releasing him from his companion's silencing charisma. They are instead pointed down a nearby street. It runs down a hill, providing an opening in the steel jungle around them. Through the towering testaments to human dominion can be seen a bejeweled darkness. It is too low, too dense, and too bright to be the twinkling pinpricks of stars. It is, instead, the kaleidoscopic effusion of thousands of buildings, streetlights and cars, layering a massive hillside. It is an artificial galaxy on the horizon, backdropping the oblivious pedestrians which hurry across the street.
The wild-haired man continues, "We have erected around us the proof of our ability to bend nature to our will, and we can only do so because we have, at many points in our past, succumbed to the totality of our humanity; the good, and the bad. And what we have created is beautiful."
The man who will soon be known as Hand of Silver stares out at the vision before him, yet he sees more than mere cityscape. What arrays itself before him is a goal, a feature currently lacking in his incomplete Billion Year Plan. He sees a future where the pride of Homo Sapiens Sapiens is omnipresent in the universe.
As Hoss pulls out of his ruminations, another piece of the puzzle reveals itself. He does not know where it goes, but its existence has been made obvious: Humanity is key. He must yet gather more data if he is to complete his new plan. Data which just happens to be approaching in the form of a skeleton and a meatball...
And then there is the Cultivator. She appeared in a human form. The idea of a contest of life and death, also human. She mentioned other such contests, likely hosted by other such beings.
The seed of human greatness appears not to be limited to the single strata of existence from which the condensed essence of the human race that is Hoss sprung forth, but instead has pierced through to other universes, its branches inexorably reaching into every facet of all that exists...
"...corrupt! They're all corrupt! They're leading this country into the pits just to satisfy their own corrupt needs! This doesn't make you angry? You don't want to fight it?!"
An obviously agitated young man beseeches his companion on a sidewalk. The two are walking through a busy, metropolitan area, surrounded by an eclectic yet completely oblivious crowd. The hour is growing late, and a nebulous haze of artificial light hangs over the buildings. A slight breeze dances through the windswept, wild hair of the (so far silent) companion, blue eyes narrowed in thought.
"No."
Consternation passes over the other man's face.
"What do you mean 'no'?!"
"I mean no, I do not want to fight them. You cannot fight human nature. Yes, they are greedy, yes they are corrupt, and there is nothing we can do about it. We cannot change them. Therefore, we must embrace their natural behavior; accept it, use their greed to achieve our own ends."
The other man makes a dismissive gesture.
"But that's just as bad! All the problems our country is having, all the bad things going on, they're because people think like that! They think, like, how can this person benefit me? How can I use them to get what I want? We can't live like that! We have to work in harmony with each other, with everything!"
"Yes."
Frustration. The other man feels he is being toyed with, condescended to.
"Goddamnit make up your mind! You just disagreed with what you said before!"
"No."
The increasingly agitated man stops, whirling to confront the source of his frustration. His companion moves to face him, turning his ocean-deep eyes upon the young man, bringing them to bear against the anger now radiating from his, previously merely agitated, walking partner. The other man suddenly finds himself unable to speak, pinned by the power of personality emanating from those cerulean depths.
"I'll lay it out for you. All these things you have described; the greed, the corruption, the yearning for peace and harmony, the willingness to use others to achieve one's goals... they are all intrinsic to being human. I cannot change your view of the world, your goals in life, just as you cannot change mine, nor can you change those whom you wish to fight against. We must accept the behavior of others as something which is immutable. There are traits which we all carry, some more than others, which are relics of our evolutionary past; some may view these relics as harmful, as dangerous evolutionary baggage. Others, like myself, simply see them as something we must work with."
The wild-haired man brings up his arms, gesturing to the activity around him, to the high-rise buildings and bustling traffic.
"We are surrounded by the evidence of our greatness. All that we as a species have achieved has not been in spite of what you see as "flaws", but because of them. We, as a species, are perfect. We could not be so without those qualities which you despise; they have helped to drive us forward, constantly. Certainly there have been temporary setbacks; the sacking of the Library of Alexandria to name one. Yet even that bore fruit to long-term improvements. If the Ionians had risen to technological superiority, slave trade would still be an accepted practice. I'm not against slavery, as I view that quality as yet another inevitability of our species which may find its place again, but its absence was necessary for this society to arise, and for the technological marvels which you see around you to become reality."
Those impenetrable blue eyes remove themselves from the other man's focus, releasing him from his companion's silencing charisma. They are instead pointed down a nearby street. It runs down a hill, providing an opening in the steel jungle around them. Through the towering testaments to human dominion can be seen a bejeweled darkness. It is too low, too dense, and too bright to be the twinkling pinpricks of stars. It is, instead, the kaleidoscopic effusion of thousands of buildings, streetlights and cars, layering a massive hillside. It is an artificial galaxy on the horizon, backdropping the oblivious pedestrians which hurry across the street.
The wild-haired man continues, "We have erected around us the proof of our ability to bend nature to our will, and we can only do so because we have, at many points in our past, succumbed to the totality of our humanity; the good, and the bad. And what we have created is beautiful."
The man who will soon be known as Hand of Silver stares out at the vision before him, yet he sees more than mere cityscape. What arrays itself before him is a goal, a feature currently lacking in his incomplete Billion Year Plan. He sees a future where the pride of Homo Sapiens Sapiens is omnipresent in the universe.
As Hoss pulls out of his ruminations, another piece of the puzzle reveals itself. He does not know where it goes, but its existence has been made obvious: Humanity is key. He must yet gather more data if he is to complete his new plan. Data which just happens to be approaching in the form of a skeleton and a meatball...