deadly_ned | 013 - Mile-High Apple

I'm, um.

I'm leaving.

Thomas - my inmate - he's...graduated, he's left the Barge, so I think that's...probably my cue to leave too.

I'm...terrible at goodbyes, and let's be completely honest, I'm quiet enough that most of the Barge doesn't know I'm actually here, so I doubt I need to stay very long.

That sounds terrible.

I'm sorry. Something's come up. I have to go.

[The Piemaker - nervous, clearly hiding something, and agitated - leans over to shut off his communicator. Unbeknownst to him, he'll be back in a matter of days for reasons not clearly stated in this post]

[Private to the Marquis de Carabas]

And now it doesn't matter what you know.

Good luck graduating, you....bad, bad person.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

deadly_ned

And now I leave, and you don't get your deal.

No one wins. You upended the board and all the pieces are on the floor and I won't be here to pick them back up again.

From:

mattersverymuch

I've still won. I'll admit it's not the win I wanted. But I've still beaten you.

From:

deadly_ned

No you haven't. This isn't a forfeit.

My inmate graduated. I have my deal. There's no reason to continue.

From:

mattersverymuch

No, it's not a forfeit. It's a loss. You've proven that self-interest will always triumph over a man's desire to do good for others. Altruism is nothing in the face of selfishness. Thank you for confirming what I already knew.

From:

deadly_ned

I've killed people to save my girlfriend. Some people would argue that that's altruistic, but I know the truth. Deep, deep down, I wasn't just saving her so she could live. I was saving her so that I could live with her. So that I could be happy. I did good for others - for her - but also for me. I did it for both of us, so we could stay together and be happy and maybe something in my life would go right.

No one here is arguing that wardens are inherently selfless. They can't be. Not when there's something to gain - even the ones without deals are here for experience or to make themselves better people. That's how we're built. We're genetically written to do everything in our best interest so that we can survive and love and pass on our genes to the next generation. It's hardwired into who we are. I won't apologize for being human.

What's there to gain by staying? There are more wardens than inmates; the job will still get done whether I'm here or not. It wasn't a selfless act, it was a partnership with mutual benefits and Thomas and I both won by working together. I won't apologize for that either.

From:

mattersverymuch

I'm not asking you to apologize. I'd much prefer if you didn't. What I'm saying is that you've confirmed that the system is flawed. That, if the right pressure is applied, even someone who has intentions to do the right thing, even if only in one very specific circumstance, even that person will choose to retreat.

You fought very well, for a while. I was impressed. And you found a good ally, one who warned you, I'd assume, that you should stay away from me. And when I had you cornered the first time, you fought like a rat. But now you're running.

You've shown me that the system is broken in a way I can use. It's just a matter of finding places of weakness. So, as I said: thank you. It's much appreciated.

And by the way, my deal is never forfeit. No matter where you go, you'll still owe me.

From:

deadly_ned

You've just pointed out that I'm selfish. What makes you think I'm honorable? If I'm an inherently selfish person looking out for my own interests, wouldn't it be in my best interests to decide I don't owe you a thing?

From:

mattersverymuch

It would be in your best interests to realize that I didn't become accustomed to fear and obedience by assuming the best of people.

And before you ask, no, I'm not threatening you. I'm asking you to, as you leave this ship, not take leave of your senses.

From:

deadly_ned

I don't think you're threatening me.

I've killed for Chuck. And I would...kill again. I would do everything I can to make sure she was alive and that we could be together. I love her. And anything that threatens her - anything that threatens us, as in, say, revealing a secret that could ostracize us both - I take very, very seriously.

From:

mattersverymuch

[There's a moment when he seriously considers threatening her, the girl, his Chuck, but - that wouldn't get him anywhere. He does make a noise, a little 'hm' of contemplation.]

Your love is an inspiration to us all.

Would you like to know a secret?

From:

deadly_ned

I can't stop you from telling it.

From:

mattersverymuch

Threatening to kill me won't work. I'm at expert at dying, and I don't fear death.

[This, a lie, but one told with perfect precision.]

You should take me seriously. But if you're going to threaten me, find a real weakness.

From:

deadly_ned

I'm not threatening to kill you. I'm illustrating the lengths I would go to in order to keep Chuck safe. I've only ever killed people from my gift which is less like murder and more like involuntary attempted manslaughter.

From:

mattersverymuch

You're splitting hairs.

From:

deadly_ned

I'm splitting hairs and it doesn't really matter anyway. We won't be seeing each other again.

From:

mattersverymuch

Of course not.

You still owe me.

From:

deadly_ned

I'm leaving in half an hour. Think of something. This favor now officially has an expiration date.

From:

mattersverymuch

I don't think so.

From:

deadly_ned

I'm leaving

this universe.

How does that not warrant an expiration date?!

Edited Date: 2013-06-28 04:37 am (UTC)

From:

mattersverymuch

Because you don't currently have anything I want.

. . . Well, there is one thing, now that I think about it.

From:

deadly_ned

I can't even imagine what it could possibly be.

From:

mattersverymuch

Tell me the rules.

From:

deadly_ned

It works on anything dead. People, plants, animals. I can't cook with meat, I can't wear fur, and autumn is a very, very dangerous time of the year for me.

Touch a dead thing back to life, and there's a minute grace period. Sixty seconds. After those sixty seconds are up, you have a choice to make. You can either touch the thing you touched again and it goes back to being dead, forever. Or you can leave that thing alive longer than a minute, and something else, randomly chosen in the near proximity of approximately the same life value will die.

And just because you've let something else live past the sixty second mark doesn't mean they're safe. Anything I make alive again, if I touch at any point I'll kill them forever.

Also those that remain living tend to...not die of natural causes. They can still die by accidents or homicide, but...

I touched my dog Digby when I was ten years old. Nineteen years later and he's still alive and well with no signs of aging. It's..

I worry it's immortality. For a given value of immortality - there's a reason I don't let Digby out in traffic.

And that's it. Those are the rules, as I'm led to understand them through a near-lifetime of experimentation, trial and error.

Edited Date: 2013-06-28 04:57 am (UTC)