Albert Silverberg (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chikaidestroyer) wrote2010-06-15 03:52 pm
chikaidestroyer) wrote2010-06-15 03:52 pm
∞ 83: A chronicle of life and death [action]
[What a wonderful afternoon. The sun is shining, the sky has cleared up, and the ground is drying after two days of rain. And Albert is around the village today, weaving through the streets and between houses and even to the edges of the forest.
Little do people know that Albert received a beautiful flower last night, and he happened to smell it. When he awoke up the morning, getting out of his room proved to be an ... arduous battle. And getting out the front door? Well, he had at least discovered what a doorknob was by then.
He has a vague, wondrous look on his face as he looks at swaying tree branches and flowers he would have otherwise ignored. His hair is in slight disarray, as if he had rolled out of bed and fought his way through a bedroom door. His clothes are in a similar state, and notably the same as the ones he had been wearing last night.
This isn't strange at all.
He will be wandering around for the entire afternoon. Attempts to talk to or capture the 6'1" strategist will be bizarre. ...And he won't be returned home until sunset or so.]
Little do people know that Albert received a beautiful flower last night, and he happened to smell it. When he awoke up the morning, getting out of his room proved to be an ... arduous battle. And getting out the front door? Well, he had at least discovered what a doorknob was by then.
He has a vague, wondrous look on his face as he looks at swaying tree branches and flowers he would have otherwise ignored. His hair is in slight disarray, as if he had rolled out of bed and fought his way through a bedroom door. His clothes are in a similar state, and notably the same as the ones he had been wearing last night.
This isn't strange at all.
He will be wandering around for the entire afternoon. Attempts to talk to or capture the 6'1" strategist will be bizarre. ...And he won't be returned home until sunset or so.]
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How long is that gonna take?
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But... the penalty...
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Right now he's harboring a mushi which harmonizes its own biological clock to its host's. This particular mushi has a lifespan of twenty-four hours, after which it reproduces. His body will return to life with the next dawn, to repeat the cycle indefinitely-- so the penalty should not be a factor.
[a pause as he leans back to take a draw of smoke, glancing at Caesar]
I first encountered this mushi on an island where the infected where regarded as gods, for that reason. But once he returns to life this morning, I can remove the mushi very simply.
[muttered, as if in thought] His emotional state might be a little more complicated...
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Is there anything we can do until then?
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What are the... likely complications? [Because if Caesar is going to dismiss everything, someone needs to ask the questions.]
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[and he gives Raine a careful look.]
As I said-- he's experiencing life the way the mushi would... [a pause and he looks down]. They say, that though every living thing has a different lifespan-- the number of heartbeats we are allotted are the same. In other words, even living life for a single day feels like a complete lifetime.
Many of the people I cured on that island voluntarily returned to that state afterward. [a slow inhale and exhale of smoke, curling through his fingers] They found the long stretch of a human lifetime too uncertain in comparison.
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[But obviously, it wasn't like Caesar had any experience with this kind of thing. Maybe he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.]
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[In the space of a day. It sounds so long, so unnatural. She's known people who have lived for thousands of years. But having that much time experienced in such a small frame? And... he was hardly himself throughout it, was it?]
And the ones... who didn't allow themselves to return to that state. How long did it take them?
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I can never stay for too long in one place, in my world.
So I can't tell you that with any certain. Most probably, it depends on the individual.
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Hey. Once you remove this stuff, what happens to it? I mean... is it still going to be here, in Luceti?
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[She falls quiet for a moment, debating on something. At least the act of getting up and grabbing a pillow and throw blanket would be better than just looking down at the body and feeling useless. Though she wants to hear the response to Caesar's question, as well.]
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I don't know why any of them are here in the first place-- or how soon they'll be gone. But even a world like this can't support such a high concentration of mushi indefinitely. As usual, they're toying with things they don't understand. [unless... somehow, it's his fault. And he drew them here. There's a brief pause]
But this single mushi should die, when I remove it. I'm more concerned about there being others.
They take the form of morning glories, and have a very strong scent.
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Morning glories. Go figure. [This is a very bitter comment. Stupid flowers.]
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What is the probability that someone... could get affected again, after they're cured?
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[his eye shifts to Raine at the question]
Mm. As I said... that depends on whether they seek to return to that state of their own will.
But as it would take inhaling the scent of the flower intentionally to bring that about, so long as an individual stays clear of the blossoms, they should be fine. [he rubs his head with one hand] I'll go and search for them tomorrow, when I'm finished here.
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Time was going by too slow for him.]
Those flowers could be anywhere, though, huh?
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They grew only in places hidden from the sun, in my world-- which at least narrows down the places they might be here.
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What a hassle. So, what, these things can't affect you?
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It's very surreal.]
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Quite the contrary.
I have a rare condition that attracts the mushi to me. In my world... I can never stay too long in one place, or it would become infested. So I travel.
[he taps ash from the cigarette] This smoke is actually a form of mushi repellent, as well.
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[Just a few more adjustments now. Then Raine glances up toward Ginko, then toward Caesar.] Is there anything I can get either of you?
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As you can imagine [quirks an eyebrow, glancing at Caesar] I began honing my skills in this area out of necessity.
[at the question he simply shakes his head, slouching a little tiredly-- arms over knees]
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Of course, of course. Such skills would certainly come in handy in a world infested with these things.
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[action] >___>;;;