Iskaulit mingle

[lord_wizard]

Who: Anyone!
Broadcast: No
Action: Iskaulit
When: Feb. Drift Week (and beyond?)

[The fleet, more or less patched up after their battle, has once again left civilization behind for empty space. Maybe it's a good time to distract yourself and get away from the endless repairs and nothingness, though there might still be cleaning up that needs to be done here too.

Whether you're grabbing a broom or grabbing a drink, this is a fleetwide mingle for the Iskaulit.]

Comments

[axiomed]

No. It rarely is with the Fleet.

[ And Charles wasn't all that concerned with the attack. He gets the danger, but it was a small bump in the road. ]

[passingthrough]

So, is the Heron doing okay now? Got whatever repairs it needed?

[axiomed]

For the most part. We might put in a few more security upgrades, just in case.

[ Charles isn't going to share the details of his attack just a month ago. He didn't tell anyone save for Wrath and Hank anyway. ]

[passingthrough]

Mm...yes, the new upgrades. Convenient timing for those. [She doesn't like them. Well, she's excited about the bigger bedroom for reasons, but not the position upgrades.]

[axiomed]

All timing tends to be convenient around here, I'm afraid. It's part of the system.

[passingthrough]

Yeah, well, I can still dislike it. I don't like the thought of volunteering for anything that changes us. Our skills, our abilities, our anything. I know the augments are in us and we don't have a choice in that and god knows I tried to remove it and that ended all kinds of badly, but asking for it just seems like a few steps too far.

[Which might sound judgmental all things considered. There's a pause.]

But I understand why people would want to arm their ships to the best of their ability. It's just the part where the person in that position will also be "upgraded" that she can't tolerate for herself.]

[axiomed]

[ Charles wonders if she would say the same thing to Erik, considering Erik was going to get an upgrade for himself. It took a lot of meandering on Charles' part to take on Fortitude because it was unfair to expect Erik and everyone else to protect him. And telepathy has its weaknesses as he has discovered of late. ]

The experience does vary from person to person, but I doubt anyone will forget where they came from. If we all have the augments, using their technology to improve our lives from their own machinations seems contradictory, but it also does work.

[passingthrough]

[She would definitely say something to Erik. She worries about it more with people the closer she is to them.]

Maybe. It's hard to know what else comes with the part we accept. They might be making us compliant one way or another. [Of course she's not exactly resisting at every turn. She generally likes her life here and doesn't want to leave unless it's on her own terms. Not to mention her bank account is always replete.]

[axiomed]

I think you'd know if you were.

[ In matters of the mind, it's not that simple. It never will be. ]

[passingthrough]

Would you? It can make us suddenly younger or resistant to gravity or able to fly a space ship even if you've never done more than ride a horse. I think it could manage to make us embrace it without us knowing it wasn't really what we wanted.

...Which...I'm sure it can do without our permission too. [Maybe it's more about feeling like she has a thread of control over a thing she really, really, really doesn't like.]

[axiomed]

Yes.

[ His voice is clear. ]

I think no matter what the Atroma or any other power tries, they can't take away our core. What makes us us. I've lost my memories twice. I had to restart as a person. But it couldn't make me stop being Charles Xavier. Younger, older, memory-less, abilities.

None of that changes who we are. And at the end of the day, it's the choices we make that still matter to us. Not the Atroma.

[passingthrough]

I've always thought about my memories making me who I am. I've never gone through losing them to discover a core. I know I've been very different at different points in my life. [But yes, all the more reason to never choose an augment for herself.]

[axiomed]

Core or not, I think the intrinsic quality of a person isn't easily lost, no matter how hard anyone tries.

[passingthrough]

What would you call your intrinsic or core qualities?

[axiomed]

[ He blinks, caught off guard. ]

Ah, well. Hope, I suppose. Even without memories, I always had strong opinions over the sanctity of people's lives. Belief in a better world.

[passingthrough]

[She's quiet, taking that answer in.] What would you say it was for Erik? [She pauses before guessing.] Determination?

[axiomed]

Stubbornness.

[ But his lips twitch slightly. ]

But we weren't all that different. He had similar beliefs. Erik was more pessimistic of course, but he did his part to help. It's how we always sort of came together. He didn't like authority or the control they had over us.

[passingthrough]

My word was nicer. [She smiles and then looks thoughtful as he speaks, listening to what he's saying but her thoughts also drift to herself and she thinks that could sound like her maybe—hopeful and stubborn.]

That part isn't fun. Second chances are nice, but these people should be able to be in their worlds with their families and friends.

[axiomed]

Should be, but I'm sure not everyone wants to go back to their world.

[ Charles is hardly the exception. Erik doesn't care so long as Charles and Raven were around. ]

Which makes dismantling the Fleet hard. It's still the right thing to do, but what comes after always is a difficult choice.

[passingthrough]

Don't hold it together on my account.

[axiomed]

I doubt you're the only person in that regard.

[passingthrough]

No, but I also doubt you could end all this tomorrow if that wasn't holding you back.

[axiomed]

Mm. I don't think anyone holds back, even the people who prefer this place. The opinion of the Atroma is universal.

[passingthrough]

Atroma bad. Freedom good. Going back to be dead less good.

[axiomed]

[ There have been some instances of that, but the Atroma is a different place. The rules can change. ]

First comes beating the Atroma.