|
Ikiru
Jan 6, 2006 2:28:07 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 6, 2006 2:28:07 GMT -5
Ikiru's new tasks can occur here.
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 19:05:51 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 2, 2006 19:05:51 GMT -5
k so yeah, i was heading to.... somewhere to take an oath of hogwash
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 19:13:37 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 2, 2006 19:13:37 GMT -5
The Watchers Oath in the Magister of Observation, being led by Katarnos, a being he still had yet to ask much about. The last line (in response to a question about privacy) was, "We respect each other's privacy, but we also respect information. Unless a Watcher has expressed a desire to be left alone or to not have certain topics broached, you may ask any question. Once you are inculcated into the Order, you will project symbols to those of the Order that indicate your preferences on these and many other topics."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 19:16:46 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 2, 2006 19:16:46 GMT -5
well if i am not getting any signals of provacy desires from him sy "Katarnos, I am interested in different forms of transcendence, how did you become a watcher?"
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 20:05:12 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 2, 2006 20:05:12 GMT -5
Ikiru can't see the signals yet. Katarnos says, "That is a painful part of my life, yet.... I am your Incipiator, and I must tell you. My creator was like many you know, including Archeus and Egon: far more concerned with the wonders of the universe than the mundanities of common sense. He was a temporal scientist and magician, but he was paralyzed by fear of actually entering the timelines, for he felt it was too dangerous. So he created me. Much like many cultures design robotic life forms to make their jobs easier for terraforming, he designed me for tempoforming."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 20:40:28 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 2, 2006 20:40:28 GMT -5
"So you have always been a watcher then? Is this a common case?"
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 20:47:56 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 2, 2006 20:47:56 GMT -5
"No, I was not always a Watcher. Father's fear was warranted: when he finally went back, he caused a temporal paradox that wrote him out of existence. Without a function, I retired into the timelines, and eventually began to commit myself to observation. None of our cases are 'common', but it is nothing too unusual. Nothing compared to... Him."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 2, 2006 21:13:53 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 2, 2006 21:13:53 GMT -5
"please elaborate."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 6, 2006 2:24:17 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 6, 2006 2:24:17 GMT -5
"You have met Him. I am forbidden to speak too extensively of him - it is a courtesy, and an important one. Just know that he is the creature of the Eye of Thoth."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 9, 2006 20:46:11 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 9, 2006 20:46:11 GMT -5
"Ah yes, the enigmatic Tyrant, I am sure you are aware of the help he gave us in the Dark Tournament of(insert realm name here)."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 9, 2006 21:01:02 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 9, 2006 21:01:02 GMT -5
"I am aware that he might indeed have done so. Perhaps it is his rarely-seen soft spot or perhaps he has his own agenda. Assuming he did it at all."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 9, 2006 21:05:27 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 9, 2006 21:05:27 GMT -5
"I am starting to be greatly angered by the fact that this entity seems to be masterminding so much and yet barely anyone who matters knows of him. What makes this courtesy of not speaking of him so important?"
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 9, 2006 21:09:57 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 9, 2006 21:09:57 GMT -5
Katarnos says, "There are many things you do not and should not understand, young Somnium. Tyrant does not belong. The more known of him and the more contact he has, the more likely it is he faces instant dissolution. And you think he has masterminded so much because you are looking at his works from beneath rather than from above. Though it is a cliché, perspective matters. Sixteen billion years is a lot of time to get things done - what is amazing is not how much but how little is connected to him."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 9, 2006 21:20:54 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 9, 2006 21:20:54 GMT -5
"A friend of mine has had visions of another being far more powerful than anything I, or he, has seen. I cant help but feel I should desperately be avoiding a diaster I have no knowledge of."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 9, 2006 22:44:24 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 9, 2006 22:44:24 GMT -5
"Disaster seems to always be striking, Ikiru. And bad omens are always coming. But if a disaster is in the works, I doubt Tyrant is to blame. He has averted more disasters than you can... But again, his privacy."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 10, 2006 17:25:51 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 10, 2006 17:25:51 GMT -5
"So, how long of a trip is it to the MAgister?"
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 10, 2006 17:43:06 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 10, 2006 17:43:06 GMT -5
In front of them, imposed over real space, is a great pyramid-like building with additional components built onto it and an observation deck on top. "About this long." Katarnos says, with no apparent hint of sarcasm. "Are there any other pressing matters, or are you ready to take the oath?"
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 12, 2006 21:16:05 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 12, 2006 21:16:05 GMT -5
"I believe I am ready."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 12, 2006 22:10:12 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 12, 2006 22:10:12 GMT -5
The two pass through the permeable walls of the structure. Katarnos sinks and Ikiru follows him. No one is in the great libraries, the laboratories, the observation towers. They sink further and further, beneath the floor of the library (a strange structure without any floors almost like a stadium), and into a large briefing room. It is an inverted stadium, with a large cone holding a speaker's stand. In all directions around it, on the cone and on the walls, are seats. Now they are all full. Watching eyes of a million races look at Ikiru. Nestled somewhere is a visage Ikiru has been looking for, a pyramid with an eye at the top of it. A man in purple robes with a colossal head says, "Greetings, Ikiru of the Somnium. I am Chief Librarian Manamos Rayega."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 14, 2006 20:16:25 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 14, 2006 20:16:25 GMT -5
"Hello, Chief Librarian, it is an honor to be here meeting you."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 14, 2006 20:28:28 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 14, 2006 20:28:28 GMT -5
"And we are honored that such a prodigious intellect and master observer would seek to join our numbers voluntarily, after having guaranteed our continued careers." There is a titter in the audience at that semi-joke. "Now, I must have you spread your arms wide, casting your energy to the universe so your oath may be heard by all the secret ears."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 16, 2006 0:33:03 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 16, 2006 0:33:03 GMT -5
Ikiru will very reluctantly remove his coat, spread his arms wide and open alll his eyes.
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 16, 2006 0:47:39 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 16, 2006 0:47:39 GMT -5
Ikiru sees in every direction. The Librarian says, "Read what is written on the lectern aloud." The lectern has an oath engraved in it. The oath reads as follows, in a strange language that Ikiru somehow understands:
"I pledge myself to the Watcher's Order. I pledge that I will hold the interests of the Order and its members in as high a regard as I can muster. [This means that some things may trump the interests of the Order; this allows some degree of conscientious activity.] I pledge by my very essence, soul and liberty to suspend my judgment about the world and only discover with open eyes and a silent heart. I pledge to respect the work, privacy and values of my colleagues. I pledge to avoid interacting with the physical universe insofar as is reasonably possible and I pledge to commit myself only to the expansion of knowledge for knowledge's sake. I pledge to rise above creed, class, culture and occupation as well as any other provincialities. I pledge to make my research public [this implicitly means the Watchers, but there is some leeway here to offer research to responsible scientific communities: a lot of good scientific material is offered in various ways by the Watchers.], unless there is a compelling reason not to and then only with the express permission of a review board. I promise to in general follow standards of professional ethics and proper demeanor, respecting my colleagues and treating them with courtesy."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 16, 2006 18:57:21 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 16, 2006 18:57:21 GMT -5
its really odd for an oath to have so many indefinities, but whatever
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 16, 2006 19:24:47 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 16, 2006 19:24:47 GMT -5
It's less a hard-and-fast oath than a code of professional ethics, much like a doctor or lawyer. Those codes of ethics have degrees of personal interpretation and autonomy built in, as well as disciplinary boards for investigation by the community in cases of violation of the codes. So Ikiru recites the oath?
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 17, 2006 16:36:32 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 17, 2006 16:36:32 GMT -5
yeah he says
"I pledge myself to the Watcher's Order. I pledge that I will hold the interests of the Order and its members in as high a regard as I can muster. [This means that some things may trump the interests of the Order; this allows some degree of conscientious activity.] I pledge by my very essence, soul and liberty to suspend my judgment about the world and only discover with open eyes and a silent heart. I pledge to respect the work, privacy and values of my colleagues. I pledge to avoid interacting with the physical universe insofar as is reasonably possible and I pledge to commit myself only to the expansion of knowledge for knowledge's sake. I pledge to rise above creed, class, culture and occupation as well as any other provincialities. I pledge to make my research public [this implicitly means the Watchers, but there is some leeway here to offer research to responsible scientific communities: a lot of good scientific material is offered in various ways by the Watchers.], unless there is a compelling reason not to and then only with the express permission of a review board. I promise to in general follow standards of professional ethics and proper demeanor, respecting my colleagues and treating them with courtesy."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 17, 2006 17:09:54 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 17, 2006 17:09:54 GMT -5
I like how you didn't even bother to delete my parenthetical comments, nice work there. I was also meaning a description of Ikiru's cadence, whatever words he may emphasize or surreptitiously rush through, etc.
When Ikiru concludes, he feels a great weight lifting off of him. There is a comfort to being able to safely watch, and completing the Oath is a very strange commitment of body and soul. The Librarian says, "Now, Initiate Ikiru, do you have anything you wish to say to this gathering? What research you may embark upon and any additional promises you must make?"
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 19, 2006 21:45:45 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 19, 2006 21:45:45 GMT -5
"As I am sure many of you have already observed, one of the things that most interests me is the intricacies and workings of people. If I see reason to investigate any of your personal histories, rest assured that the knowledge will remain with me, unless it is discovered that you are in anyway planning on bringing misfortune on my less visually inclined comrades."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 19, 2006 22:19:58 GMT -5
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 19, 2006 22:19:58 GMT -5
OOG: Very nice. Award coming your way on that one.
The Librarian nods. "Words to heed and remember, I am sure. Ikiru, I am proud to tell you that you are now an Initiate of our order. I hope your research is enlightening to yourself and to our community." The amassed congregation drift away, some offering congratulations or welcomes. A featureless being nods and drifts away. Eventually, all have left. The Librarian says, "Ikiru... I have a strange request in light of what has just occured, but I feel I need to express it."
|
|
|
Ikiru
Feb 23, 2006 3:34:16 GMT -5
Post by halfhero on Feb 23, 2006 3:34:16 GMT -5
"Speak your mind."
|
|