It was Talcott's voice, trying to prove it was himself.
[And Lenka probably should be more skeptical, might have been if there hadn't already been instances of the dead speaking out of turn. Breaking out of their strange shells to stare through and at them, like Lillith did just today. Maybe it's because they want to believe. He certainly does.
But you listen to the dead. You try to understand what they wanted. That's something he's used to, at least, if not so literally.]
The dead want something from us. They try to tell us things.
[She knows what she's been told. The dead are gone, their souls lost to the...whatever the afterlife is in this world. They made that clear from the get-go.
They want to help. They want us to stop hiding and let them help.
[Slow, thoughtful as he tries to recall the fragmented message. He's replayed it many, many times in his mind, looking for clues. Possibilities. Anything they can do, besides what they've already been doing.]
And what they tell us... the stone god doesn't want whatever this camp wants. He's not being listened to. I think they're right. Red, you wanted us to talk to the-- to Mishibijw, didn't you?
[He can't really pronounce it, but hey. He gave it a good try. It's probably recognizable.]
Who did it ask? And what was it that it asked for?
[One thing he knows is that not everyone Red works with has the same goals -- that much is obvious even just from her communications alone, much less the videos they've been dealing with. It's possible that she doesn't know, or parts of her organization don't know, how deep divisions go or where exactly all of this is headed.
He's not sure, himself. He doesn't have all the answers. Just the questions, actually, that the dead and the lake cats have given him.]
The first ones from my organization who came here, many many years ago. The ones who built this camp.
'It' asked for 'food'. I can't recall the exact wording, but something about bodies and minds? But that's why this camp is here: to feed it. Because that's what it asked for.
[He stumbles, momentarily, thinking over what the sacrifices are needed for. Kon. The body and the mind. Was there a way to save him, at all? He tries to push that away. If he lets too many questions take over then he's going to lose himself in them again, and he needs to pick his battles right now. For now, he does.]
Those from your organization -- were they from here? Or from elsewhere, like you and -- and the rest of us?
Back then, they were from here. They only recently found a way to bring in people from other worlds, but once they did they switched to using us instead.
[That's promising, in a way. He can't help asking.]
Could there be a way... for us to talk to the god? We can only hear it, and the dead, but I don't think they can really hear us. Not all of the time.
[He's honestly not sure when the dead are present or when they can perceive things. But the connection... is like a bad satellite one, picking up and dropping again. Like passing through a bad magnetic field.
But if there's a more direct, two-way link then maybe they have a chance to learn more.]
[The fact that she's willing to hear him out, despite her preconceptions and her likely greater knowledge of the situation at large. If they can at least go this far in working together -- if they can put together what knowledge they have, as a group and with Red where they can... maybe they can move forward somewhere.
It still trips him up, not being able to be honest all the way. He's used to being able to face a team without reservations, knowing that they all have each other's back out in the field. It's so much more complicated here.]
I don't know how risky it is to dig around like this. But if you can find anything...
That sort of information should be free for me to access. Generally we get to look at any files related to the job we're on, and I would call that related to this.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 06:24 pm (UTC)[And Lenka probably should be more skeptical, might have been if there hadn't already been instances of the dead speaking out of turn. Breaking out of their strange shells to stare through and at them, like Lillith did just today. Maybe it's because they want to believe. He certainly does.
But you listen to the dead. You try to understand what they wanted. That's something he's used to, at least, if not so literally.]
The dead want something from us. They try to tell us things.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 06:29 pm (UTC)[She knows what she's been told. The dead are gone, their souls lost to the...whatever the afterlife is in this world. They made that clear from the get-go.
But what if they were wrong?]
What do they want?
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 06:38 pm (UTC)[Slow, thoughtful as he tries to recall the fragmented message. He's replayed it many, many times in his mind, looking for clues. Possibilities. Anything they can do, besides what they've already been doing.]
And what they tell us... the stone god doesn't want whatever this camp wants. He's not being listened to. I think they're right. Red, you wanted us to talk to the-- to Mishibijw, didn't you?
[He can't really pronounce it, but hey. He gave it a good try. It's probably recognizable.]
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 07:18 pm (UTC)[She looks honestly confused by that.]
But it asked for this. That's the only reason we keep doing it.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 07:26 pm (UTC)[One thing he knows is that not everyone Red works with has the same goals -- that much is obvious even just from her communications alone, much less the videos they've been dealing with. It's possible that she doesn't know, or parts of her organization don't know, how deep divisions go or where exactly all of this is headed.
He's not sure, himself. He doesn't have all the answers. Just the questions, actually, that the dead and the lake cats have given him.]
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 07:45 pm (UTC)'It' asked for 'food'. I can't recall the exact wording, but something about bodies and minds? But that's why this camp is here: to feed it. Because that's what it asked for.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 07:54 pm (UTC)[He stumbles, momentarily, thinking over what the sacrifices are needed for. Kon. The body and the mind. Was there a way to save him, at all? He tries to push that away. If he lets too many questions take over then he's going to lose himself in them again, and he needs to pick his battles right now. For now, he does.]
Those from your organization -- were they from here? Or from elsewhere, like you and -- and the rest of us?
no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 07:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 08:25 pm (UTC)[They hadn't had the chance to find out how many. But there's hope there, even in the jaws of death.]
I don't think it's taking the food, right now.
[It's perhaps grasping at straws, but coupled together with what Talcott has told them -- there's something there, he thinks.]
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:19 am (UTC)But...why? That's what it asked for. Why would it not eat them?
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:27 am (UTC)[They're all just about as confused, and they don't have any of the benefit of context that Red does.
But perhaps that's a good thing, in a way.]
Maybe something changed, since it first asked.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:38 am (UTC)[The gears are turning in her head now.]
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:47 am (UTC)Could there be a way... for us to talk to the god? We can only hear it, and the dead, but I don't think they can really hear us. Not all of the time.
[He's honestly not sure when the dead are present or when they can perceive things. But the connection... is like a bad satellite one, picking up and dropping again. Like passing through a bad magnetic field.
But if there's a more direct, two-way link then maybe they have a chance to learn more.]
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 05:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 06:04 am (UTC)[The fact that she's willing to hear him out, despite her preconceptions and her likely greater knowledge of the situation at large. If they can at least go this far in working together -- if they can put together what knowledge they have, as a group and with Red where they can... maybe they can move forward somewhere.
It still trips him up, not being able to be honest all the way. He's used to being able to face a team without reservations, knowing that they all have each other's back out in the field. It's so much more complicated here.]
I don't know how risky it is to dig around like this. But if you can find anything...
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 06:26 am (UTC)[They are running on a very limited schedule. Despite upcoming red tape wait times.]