Re: Epic Clash Round 2 - The Wax Colosseum
05-14-2010, 02:21 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by suomynonAyletamitlU.
"Not intergalactic... not precisely. Just a wanderer in dreams that truly exist. In any case, there is one factor in this that you entirely seem to miss." Spender paused. "Well, two factors. The second is that the number of survivors only matters in a case of the continuation of the species. Nobody, to my knowledge, fits that description in this situation, myself included." He smirked. "I'm an excellent agent, but I'm not more than that."
"But--!" Greg started to complain.
"No buts. The only way our living or dying is at all significant is if we can prevent this sort of contest from happening again in the future--after all, who knows how many people that madman has killed... or will kill."
"The first factor is that he said that the winner gets a 'wish'--that he would try to accomplish something on the winner's behalf, with the full might of his obviously-broad powers."
That gave the four some pause. Greg turned back around to look at his whiteboard. His hand clenched a marker tightly.
"You clearly see the problem. Whoever gets the 'wish' gets, potentially, anything they want. Therefore, if we were to give that wish to an unstable individual--"
"Now wait just a minute--" Bern started towards Spender again.
Blades of a black steel, blacker than the coldest nights, frigid with sorrow, appeared in midair not terribly far in front of Bern's neck. He jumped back, and the weapons didn't pursue. "You tried to murder Michelle; I saw the evidence while coming near. I'll deal with that in a moment. More importantly, I see in your despair, your panic, what we call the Nightmare Seed. People who are willing to break all rules for a single selfish goal... those people become Nightmares. They are my prey, and I know them well. If you become one--if ANY of you become one... I will destroy you."
"Now... I'm not going to tell you that the survivor has to be me. I am an agent, but also a soldier, something you four may not be able to comprehend." The blades spun in the air and returned to Spender's side, then faded, their sorrow lingering only a moment. "Soldiers die for the sake of the future. To some degree, we live only in order to die for the future. If my death brought you and Michelle back... and anyone else who was innocent... if I could ensure with my death that that would happen, then I would die. But being a good soldier means not dying until you've exhausted every tool at your disposal. Therefore, I live, and I fight, and I'll defend anyone else who fights for the future." He turned away. "I'm not terribly sure I'll trust all of those people, however."
"Is there anything else? I'm worried about how much time has passed."
"Not intergalactic... not precisely. Just a wanderer in dreams that truly exist. In any case, there is one factor in this that you entirely seem to miss." Spender paused. "Well, two factors. The second is that the number of survivors only matters in a case of the continuation of the species. Nobody, to my knowledge, fits that description in this situation, myself included." He smirked. "I'm an excellent agent, but I'm not more than that."
"But--!" Greg started to complain.
"No buts. The only way our living or dying is at all significant is if we can prevent this sort of contest from happening again in the future--after all, who knows how many people that madman has killed... or will kill."
"The first factor is that he said that the winner gets a 'wish'--that he would try to accomplish something on the winner's behalf, with the full might of his obviously-broad powers."
That gave the four some pause. Greg turned back around to look at his whiteboard. His hand clenched a marker tightly.
"You clearly see the problem. Whoever gets the 'wish' gets, potentially, anything they want. Therefore, if we were to give that wish to an unstable individual--"
"Now wait just a minute--" Bern started towards Spender again.
Blades of a black steel, blacker than the coldest nights, frigid with sorrow, appeared in midair not terribly far in front of Bern's neck. He jumped back, and the weapons didn't pursue. "You tried to murder Michelle; I saw the evidence while coming near. I'll deal with that in a moment. More importantly, I see in your despair, your panic, what we call the Nightmare Seed. People who are willing to break all rules for a single selfish goal... those people become Nightmares. They are my prey, and I know them well. If you become one--if ANY of you become one... I will destroy you."
"Now... I'm not going to tell you that the survivor has to be me. I am an agent, but also a soldier, something you four may not be able to comprehend." The blades spun in the air and returned to Spender's side, then faded, their sorrow lingering only a moment. "Soldiers die for the sake of the future. To some degree, we live only in order to die for the future. If my death brought you and Michelle back... and anyone else who was innocent... if I could ensure with my death that that would happen, then I would die. But being a good soldier means not dying until you've exhausted every tool at your disposal. Therefore, I live, and I fight, and I'll defend anyone else who fights for the future." He turned away. "I'm not terribly sure I'll trust all of those people, however."
"Is there anything else? I'm worried about how much time has passed."