text ↪ un: 朱

[blackfire]

（ there are a variety of reasons he has resisted making this announcement, chiefly among them that he is as fiercely protective of viveca's privacy as he is his own — however, he is keenly aware that such desire does not follow a pragmatic path. viveca must have known that sending them to this world would make her history impossible to conceal. his own tendency to withhold information from others needs to be set aside if they have any hope of bettering this — her — world.

he has spoken on the matter to a few people, those he trusts more than not — but his conversation with sam has resulted in the realization that if viveca is... upset at others learning the truth of her nature, she may as well be so with him. at least he can control the narrative, and stave off attempts at ferreting out further information about her.

thus, his delivery is entirely without embellishment — ）

E-23b is Viveca's world of origin. Those of you who have spoken with her on the matter may recall her propensity to say that she built herself — it seems she was human, and as such had a hand in the design of her digital parameters. She is the daughter of the Mayor, Jacques Reman and his wife Alexandra — with whom I have spoken directly — and was the original leader of the Fables known by the animal moniker 'Fox'.

I will not speculate on the circumstances that resulted in her being as we know her, nor explain my certainty — do not ask.

Sam Wilson is currently speaking with the Hare, confirmed to be Callan de la Cruz, and he is the source of our learning of Viveca's identity as the Fox. Presently, he appears to be an ally, and Viveca seemed to trust him — it was the symbol of the revolution that she gave Sam that sparked their conversation. If anyone can think of any information that may be pertinent to our efforts and possibly known by the Hare, please direct your queries to Sam. He is in an unknown location, and his ability to return communication is limited due to the nature of his situation. I do not believe him to be in any amount of danger, however — I would suggest that you respect both his time and his discretion in this.

（ the message ends there, for a time. some moments later, he amends it: ）

Collectively, we owe Viveca a great debt. I cannot think of better repayment than helping her home in a way that she can be proud of.

Comments

[tochnyy]

and, in theory, she can't send us somewhere without an orb so it just means no one's looked in the right places. whatever they may be.

[blackfire]

What have you seen of this world that you consider to be the biggest contributor to its current chaos?

[tochnyy]

i'm more of a soldier than a thinker.

usually it's the rich wanting keeping everything for themselves, while everyone else is left to suffer. the wealthy here have a whole lot of things, but i keep wondering about the food.

no matter how many geniuses they put in work camps to figure out food or how to fix rain, even the wealthy in the first circle aren't eating fresh meals.

so what are they keeping for themselves? money's not getting them far if they are eating nearly the same thing as everyone further out even if they have more of it.

they either have the stupidest geniuses around working on it, something is stopping progress, or we've missed something.

[blackfire]

To be an effective soldier, it is required that one be both.

（ how much grief would be saved in the world if such a thing held true? hm. ）

  • The odds of there being approximately five hundred years with no significant forward progress is improbable. Humans innovate far too quickly en masse for that to hold true in dire circumstance — necessity being the mother of invention. Additionally, there is no notable cognitive decline amongst the population such as what one might expect in an environment with a low oxygen yield and reduced nutrition. With that in mind, I doubt it is the lack of a 'brain trust' that has halted their advance.

  • It is possible we have missed something. As a group, we are not so infallible as to have overturned every avenue of thought. Past successes on other worlds mean potential for complacency and arrogance. It is inevitable that at some point between now and the end of our mission, such potential will negatively impact the outcome of a mission. There is no reason to assume that could not be the case in this instance. In that case, it is those of us who are newer to the Ximilia who hold a better chance of success, as they will hold fewer biases and preconceptions about how a mission should go.

  • This planet is dying. The death is the chaos. The orbs crave such a thing above all else — if something is stopping the combat of this world's end, thus prolonging the chaos, it is highly likely to be the orb. Whether it is a free agent or in the hands of someone yet unknown to us, this is where — were I a betting man — I would place my wager.

[tochnyy]

king back home isn't one for wanting his soldiers to be thinkers.

if something had been created and the rich got their hands on it --- people talk. someone, somewhere would have bragged about it. [ someone would have shown the have-nots what they have. ]

i don't know if it's less bias but something feels strange about all this. what is the better life the fables are seeking, when life here is shit all around.

i would take that bet. i can't shake that we haven't found the right lead to follow. no one has found it in the first circle or anywhere we have looked, the fables don't have it underground. it's not in the dome over where the earthquake was built. what else is left?

[blackfire]

Then he is a poor king.

Some people talk — it is unwise to assume all those in power are the same. A wise man might know that envy in a ruined world will lead to him dead in the streets with the knife of his hubris in his back. The Mayor is clearly aware that he is not invulnerable, given his caution.

The Fables may believe that the rich are withholding the key to a better world — even if it is only a hope. One does not need proof to want change.

'What is left' is everywhere else we have not yet looked. We are less than threescore strong, we have not been everywhere this world has to offer yet. We will continue searching.

[tochnyy]

no one would argue with you about that.

then the mayor is smarter than our king.

i guess... people will really hold out and do a lot for the idea of a miracle. i've seen that.

[blackfire]

Hope is often the last thing to be lost.

（ it is a legacy. his mouth curves downwards, and he thinks of the war monument in konoha, shaped like an ever-burning flame. ）

For now, we will continue searching. I will inform the crew should I find anything more of note in this camp.

（ and with that, he cuts the feed. ）