chikaidestroyer | ∞ 22: Reading the flow of time

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∞ 22: Reading the flow of time

I think I'll appreciate writing a little more now. It's annoying talking into the journal when you have no one in particular you're speaking to.

Like clockwork, the Malnosso have brought in more specimens. A noticeably rowdier group than usual, for that matter. Try not to get yourselves killed so quickly; there are dire consequences for dying around here, and the Malnosso have no problem taking things important to you.

I'd like to ask if people here have instituted a calendar without the majority letting us know. I realize that there are extremely different ideas of a calendar here, but I think we can agree that the arrival of newcomers marks the beginning of a new "cycle." Having a calendar we agree on would allow ease of noticing temporal patterns in the experiments, and give us a more structured approach to planning patrols and the like.

This may seem like an incredibly unnecessary idea to some of you, but believe me when I say your perception of time is very different when a week is five days to you versus seven, or even thirteen, days. I come from a world where the calendar has 5 days to a week, 30 days to a month, and 360 days to a year. The idea of an experiment lasting seven days didn't make much sense to me until I noticed some referring to seven days as a week.

Opinions, if you will. I'd like to have people's thoughts on the matter.

And Caesar, I want to talk to you.

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That is certainly something that needs to be considered, and hopefully rectified, considering the sheer amount of places that we all come from... and the fact that we may very well be here for a long while yet.

Both very good points, unfortunate on the latter case. Calendars and schedules often govern the workings of a society, and it's something that we need to decide as a whole on the significance. I find it an important tool to have.

Considering we have the means to collect and store various information about our own worlds, as well as the means to calculate the passage of time accurately... all that's really needed is a consensus on what the days could be referred to as.

At the same time, we must be sure to keep records of what we recall from our home worlds as well, in case an opportunity ever ... arises.

Well, I always thought that the calendar is created by looking at the position of the stars. I'm not sure about the details, though.

True, the span of a day can be measured based on the position of the stars, and the year based on the position of the world in relation to the sun, but the things beyond that are constructs of society -- the length of a week, a month.

We have the length of days and the seasons of winter and spring to measure thus far. We shouldn't get trapped in the same "living for the day" mentality that the Filial apparently lived by. Their history is filled with vague points, not even specifying how long ago the Malnosso appeared.

I see...

Well, personally, I don't really care how many days a week should have. It's nice to have a measure of time, though, so let's just choose whatever's most accurate.

We may just end up using whatever system the majority of the populace is familiar with, as far as names of days and the length of days to a week. And there may be some here who can accurately measure the length of a day.

It would be a step towards some form of order here, at least.

Yeah, it would be. This is a pretty good initiative you're taking.

Well, in my world a week has 7 days that last 24 hours. Months don't always have the same amount of days, but at the end of a year 12 months will have passed.

It's something that has to be done. The Filial really don't leave us with much to work with.

My world was similar in some aspects, namely the day's length and the number of months to a year. Seven days to a week seems like a long time, to me.

Really? You think? Well, two of the seven days were considered to be 'lounge' days. You'd work five to six days of the week, then spend one or two days resting. Not that us airpirates actually let those last two days stop us, but most shopkeepers enjoyed that extra day off.

Hm. Yes, I suppose I can see the benefit to having days of rest. But it also has disadvantages; that would be a day where most are consuming and not producing, causing a slump in the economy each week. ...That's a moot point here in Luceti, though.

I'm assuming airpirates function the same way that pirates on the sea do, except for the obvious.

Heh, yeah. Luceti doesn't have that much of an economy. You can use whichever day you like to rest.

It depends what the sea pirates do. And anyway, there's two types of airpirates. The Blue Rogues and the Black Pirates. They're completely different when it comes down to honor. I'm a Blue Rogue, myself.

True. It's both welcome and baneful to our society. We need to keep active, or we're going to lose what will we have to fight our situation.

Honor among thieves, is it? You'll have to tell me the difference between the Blue Rogues and Black Pirates.

That's easy! See, Blue Rogues only target the guys who have all the money and riches, but treat other people like dirt. Wealth is supposed to be shared, not used to make yourself seem more impressive, that's our motto. Black Pirates, on the other hand, simply attack everyone and everything they like. They also hurt innocent people and stuff like that.

Back in the days, we mostly targeted the snobs from Upper Valua. But ever since Enrique took over as the emperor, the line between the rich people on the upper side and the poor people on the lower side is starting to fade. Which is wonderful, of course! But it's putting us out of the pirating business. We were starting to resort to treasure hunting before I was taken.

...A-Albert?

Caesar. Did you resolve the problem?

Yes. On both fronts.

Koizumi is, for the moment, a threat no longer. Nina seems to be stable again, and in Sephiroth's care.

...how are you?

Good. I fail to see what he hoped to prove with his escapade, so I'm glad it was a salvageable situation.

My eyesight has returned, for the most part. And you?

He accomplished at least some of his goals, though I can't say the sacrifice involved was worth it in the least.

That's excellent news, Albert. I knew it would.

I'm ... tired. Can't sleep very well lately, it seems.

You'll have to enlighten me on what he accomplished, because it seemed like a bunch of cynical nonsense to me.

Your lack of sleeping is becoming a trend.

He wanted people to mobilize. To do something about a crap situation ... and we did. And he wanted Nina neutralized ... which, well, she was. It was cynical nonsense, but somewhere in there -- as much as I hate to admit it -- he had a point.

It's not intentional, I assure you.

The point he made was that the only way to make any sort progress here is to promote dissent.

Get some sleep now, will you? Or are there unresolved problems?

I would like to think that it's not the only way. But ...

It's ... hard to sleep. I don't know if the Malnosso are doing something intentionally, or not, but ...

Don't tell me you're allowing him to affect you. Those are tactics that I would use, not you.

What are you talking about? Are others affected?

Edited 2008-04-05 07:32 (UTC)

Things aren't that simple, Al.

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