driftfleet | (no subject)

[At least he's marginally better than Sorey about asking one question at a time.]

Hmm... what's that Moon Cell you mentioned? Some kind of historical record?

It's a giant mass of photonic crystal, some thousands of kilometers across... Well, it might be easier if I say it's an alien supercomputer that has become the moon? It watches over the Earth, and takes a complete record of the entire world about once every nanosecond, and stores it in its records.

You can call it an absolute existence that knows everything that happened in the history of the Earth, but one that will not ever divulge its records. It doesn't communicate, doesn't teach. All it does is watch and record.

[....

There. Is a lot of stuff there that went right over his head. But even so-]

A record of an entire world's history, and it can't be shared!? Why not?

Well... Actually, there is one way for only one single person to access the Moon Cell's records. By winning the Holy Grail War.

In doing so, you get access to the Holy Grail... That is, the Moon Cell's records. A complete history, that not only records what happened, but also the pasts that could have happened, and extrapolates potential futures from them. It's an omnipotent machine that can grant any wish, you know?

But it's still a machine. Its only purpose is to observe. It can't share itself, because that isn't its purpose.

I see... like a singular, giant Earthen Historia, really... or maybe a more apt comparison would be a connection to the earthpulse itself...

[mumble mumble mumble TAKING NOTES]

What is the Holy Grail War?

The Holy Grail War... Well.

"Humankind's potential has always shone the brightest in conflict", is what the Moon Cell deduced from its observations. War, while terrible, brings out the best in people, refining them. In order to understand this potential in humans, the Moon Cell invited magi to partake in a war themselves.

But ordinary fighting between ordinary people only brings ordinary results. So, to facilitate these battles, we Servants are summoned- Heroes and villains from history. We who had our existences recorded in the Moon Cell, who left our mark upon the world for good or evil, those of us whose stories endured for many hundreds of years after... We are recorded as Heroic Spirits in the Throne of Heroes- That is, the Moon Cell's records- and summoned as Servants. Though, to make it easier on the Moon Cell's system memory and the like, we're fit into one of seven classes, and have our parameters and abilities adjusted accordingly.

And so, as Servants controlled by the magi who are our Masters, we fight each other. Over seven weeks, the losers of each battle are killed. From one hundred and twenty-eight Masters in the first week, sixty-four in the second, thirty-two in the third... Until in the end, only one is left.

And as a reward, the strongest, who must be the most pure example of mankind's potential, is allowed to access the Holy Grail. The Moon Cell Automaton, the records of the planet, of all the potentials... Well, it's still a computer. You input your wish, and the Moon Cell Automaton will start influencing things to bring about your wish. It's an omnipotent wish-granting machine that can reshape the entire world, entirely through manipulating what already exists on the Earth.

[..........

what the heck]

That's... that all sounds horrible. War brings out the worst in people as much as anything else. So much fighting and death, just so a single person can get their wish? What a cruel way to determine one's potential.

[He's seen the sort of destruction war can bring about- the damage it causes to the land and those living on or around it. And so much malevolence, too...]

The machine doesn't care about morals. Simply who is the strongest example of 'human'. Even if it's cruel, it is the truth. After all, war will always birth a hero.

[She doesn't look particularly happy, but her voice isn't particularly upset, either. It sounds more like she's just talking about an unpleasant fact, like a rainy day.]

A hero only to the winner's side.

... Not always.

Those who try to stop the war, those who try to end the suffering, those who give everything they are to save people... A doctor who runs into battle, unable to fight, only to try to save even one life... These are all heroes as well.

...I suppose.

[He's become somewhat disillusioned with the concept of heroes ever since finding out how many of them were hellions, oops.]

I'm against war, regardless, so I'm not a fan of this machine.

... I see.

[There's a strange, distant expression, but one that bears a slight hint of... Well, it can only be called sad amusement, at Mikleo's statement.]

It isn't the thousand-year-old story I spoke of before, but would you like to hear a different one? The story of a victim, whose very Origin was war itself, yet hated war more than any other.

[Oof. Why does he feel like he said the wrong thing, there? He stands by his words, but...]

If I offended you, I'm sorry. I'm sure there's a lot about the situation that I don't understand.

No... After all, I agree with you. War is in the end, always futile, and more trouble than it is worth.

But it does undeniably bring results.

Results aren't always a good thing, but such thoughts never seem to stop those who are eager to start the wars, unfortunately.

It's true. Honestly, mortal lives are such short, depressing things already, and still they rush to make things even worse... It's something you can never understand, looking down on them from above.

Going by that, and what you've already said... can I ask what it is that you are?

[It's already pretty obvious that she's not human, but beyond that, who knows.]

Well, isn't that a question... A fox, a shrine maiden, a lovely girl who dreams of being a good wife... But those aren't what you're asking, right?

I'm a goddess.

[...Yeah that definitely wasn't what he was asking. But a goddess, huh. It's rare that anyone makes that sort of claim. Even the seraphim don't really call themselves that, even if humans do.]

Are you associated with any specific power or mortal's needs?

... To be specific, I am but an embodiment of one single facet of a goddess's personality, incarnated as a mortal to achieve a desire of hers.

Specific power, or needs? Well... Not exactly. In the first place, by the time I became aware of mortals, I had already gathered many worshipers. It was pretty strange to look down upon the Earth and realize, oh! Those little things down there are offering such intense devotion to me?

But, well, I am needed. Or, my original self is. Though I am now my own separate being, I am still fundamentally a single facet of Amaterasu, the embodiment of the sun itself.

The sun...

[Okay, that's actually pretty cool. Someone like that would be on par with the Five Lords, those who have chosen a significantly more impressive vessel than your average seraph.]

Wait, a goddess who became a mortal? How does that work?

... Did you just seriously ask how a god did something?

...Yes? Even gods can have methods and processes you can study, even if you yourself can't recreate them.

[If he ends up meeting Maotelus you can sure as hell bet he's going to grill the bastard for everything he knows.]

I see. It's a nice thought, but unfortunately, you're wrong. It's mortals and spirits that have to bother with such trivialities as 'methods' and 'processes'. Gods simply have 'Authority'. Gods can make things just happen, simply because they have the right to do so. That is all there is to it.

That's... rather arrogantly simplistic.

[To humans, seraphim can just "make things happen", too, but they're still artes.]