Voxophone 6/?? - Voice

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[Another late night, and he's volunteered to make a pot of tea as he and his "sister" work.

So, in the kitchen, he opens the journal. It's still as good a place to store his thoughts as it is a method of communication, especially late at night when few are likely to be actively listening.]

There are constants and variables. That is the crux of our work. Constants that are measurable -- the laws of physics, for instance -- are, naturally, the more scientifically sound.

[Book in hand, waiting for the kettle to whistle, he wanders into the main room and puts a record on the player procured some time ago. The other residents of the house have proven themselves able to sleep through it when he's done it before, so he doesn't hesitate to let the sound come.

A familiar song can be heard after a moment of the player warming up.]

However, there are other constants. Things that cannot easily be measured. Things which can be relied upon to comfort, rather than affirm.

[He pauses and makes a quiet sound that's almost a chuckle.]

"A middle C vibrates at 262 Hz, no matter what the universe."

[Then, another remark, said more softly, almost to himself:] Perhaps I'm merely sentimental.

Comments

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

You're assuming that peace ever lasts for very long.

[Voice]

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It can last long enough that the requirements to survive change.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

[Gai makes a soft sound of amusement.]

I wouldn't know anything about that.

[Voice]

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I, on the other hand, would.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

Oh yeah? Columbia didn't sound very peaceful to me.

[He's heard enough from Elizabeth and Booker to be able to come to that conclusion.]

[Voice]

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Twenty years of relative peace. The standards of "fit for survival" were quite different there.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

I'm guessing your standards had more to do with intelligence and usefulness to society.

[Voice]

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And the ability to keep one's head down.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

Yet another constant.

[There's no small note of irony to his tone as he says this, considering that he is a man who made a living out of doing the exact opposite.]

[Voice]

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It does seem to be the way to live the longest.

[Said by a man whose mouth and actions got him killed.]

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

I'm almost amazed I made it to seventeen.

[Gallows humor, coming right up.]

[Voice]

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I'm amazed DeWitt made it past that.

[Because, oh, he's noticed the similarities.]

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

How old is he, anyway? I never bothered to ask.

[But that would be a kind of useful fact to know about his future father-in-law...]

[Voice]

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Thirty-eight.

Really quite remarkable he's made it that far.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

Considering his drinking habits? It's almost a miracle.

[Voice]

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Very nearly, I'd say so.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

Yet you seem to trust him a great deal.

[To a degree, at least, as far as Elizabeth is concerned.]

[Voice]

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When a man dies over a hundred times trying to do something he feels he should... I'm inclined to trust him.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

[There's an intrigued sound on Gai's end.]

So just how many times does someone have to die for a cause before they become trustworthy in your eyes?

[Voice]

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It isn't the amount of times. It's the cause.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

Dedication to a worthy cause, in other words.

[Voice]

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Something like that, I suppose.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

If it's the cause I'm thinking of, he isn't the only one who'd be willing to die over a hundred times for it.

[Voice]

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That's certainly good to hear.

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

I thought you might agree.