ablankpage | Voxophone 7/??

Voxophone 7/?? - Voice

Citizens of Luceti.

[It is, perhaps, the first time Robert Lutece has ever used the journal as an actual means of reaching the community at large rather than simply a voxophone others happened to hear and respond to.

For all intents and purposes, he sounds as if he's discussing the weather or another phase in the Lutece Field he and Rosalind have been attempting to re-discover here and the machine they intend to re-build.

It's a very calm, very scientific tone.]

I would like to know if anyone here has information regarding conception, gestation, and delivery of children as it pertains to Luceti.

Physics is my specialty, but I am well-versed in anatomy and biology. [He does not need the "birds and bees" talk. That isn't the purpose of this.] However, there are anomalies in this world in regards to anatomy and biology -- the wings, for instance.

It is of interest to me whether these changes or the progression of the alterations of reality commonly referred to as "shifts" affect the aforementioned topics.

[...And yes, that is all he's going to say on the topic. Not why it matters or why he's decided to start researching this. It's simply stated as a matter of fact.]

Any information or Luceti-specific literature on the subject would be most helpful.

Thank you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Robert smiles faintly, shrugging his shoulders.]

Rosalind is considering the possibility.

[Which is why he's been trying to get the facts of the situation rather than the "moral high ground" arguments some have been trying to make. Facts and logic are of interest, not pathos-filled opinions.]

[That... actually pulls him up short for a moment. Not that it surprises him, as he could see the two of them wanting to do it as an experiment of sorts. Still, he's not convinced that this question doesn't somehow involve him and Elizabeth as well, especially given their upcoming wedding.]

So that the two of you can treat it as another experiment?

As Rosalind once put it -- "the biological urge to leave one's mark is strong."

[He gives another shrug, looking back to his journal to check the remarks.]

It was not possible before Luceti. Here, it is.

You'd bring a child into the world here even knowing the risks?

[He doesn't even bother to try concealing the judgment in his tone. Yes, he wants children of his own someday, but not now, and certainly not until he can be sure that they won't someday become cultists. He wants his and Elizabeth's children to have a future that doesn't involve slowly going mad.]

What risk is there here that isn't in any other world?

[Robert keeps his tone even, but there might have been some rolling of his eyes. Because he has heard this far too much today.]

That one or both parents might be pulled from this world before the child's old? Go to an orphan asylum in any major city and tell me that risk doesn't apply to anyone.

That the child might go mad? Show me the proof that it must happen and define that madness. I have known many men I would call sane that other people call mad.

Depending on one's political or religious leanings, the people in power can easily condemn you as a madman to make sure you aren't considered someone to be listened to, someone they can classify as an enemy.

[Gai meets that tone with a steely look in his grey eyes, as if issuing a silent challenge to Robert.]

I've been on multiple drafts and missions, and every single cultist I've encountered had large wings just like the ones children born here in Luceti grow up to have. You can't tell me there isn't some connection there. The Malnosso themselves have confirmed that any child born here will have wings that grow to be larger than the ones we're given upon arrival-- it's a sign of being born in this world.

That's enough proof for me to believe those things are somehow connected.

And is every cultist simply mindless in their insanity? Or are they fighting what they perceive to be an injustice? Are they mad? Or are they simply inconvenient to the Malnosso, a disparate part of the narrative to be brought into line?

I'll bear in mind that you think the Malnosso are worth believing.

I never said I believed what they told us directly. There are other sources of information here than what they think is appropriate to give to us.

So you believe a child born here would prove dangerous.

Have you ever been down into the tunnels here?

I haven't. Though I ask again, simply put: do you believe a child born here would be dangerous to the people in the enclosure?

I believe there's enough to suggest that could end up being the case.

"Don’t have kids. If only we’d known why before."

[The quote comes easily to him; he's memorized nearly all of the graffiti he copied down from the wall of the abandoned lab in the tunnels. And he's far more inclined to trust those scrawls than he is the word of any of the Malnosso who speak to them directly.]

What should be done about the child who resides in the enclosure now?

[A simple question, asked calmly but pointedly.]

For the moment? Nothing, unless they start showing signs of becoming a threat. They're still too young to be a danger to anyone right now.

Then why not apply the same standard to any future child considered or born here? If that child has shown no signs of being a threat, why assume another would?

Why take that risk in the first place?

[Honestly, he probably wouldn't have such strong feelings on this if he hadn't been treated as a human lab rat when he himself was a child. The thought of someone else having a child as what will essentially be an experiment makes him nearly ill with rage, and it's taking a great deal of self-restraint for him to remain this calm during the conversation.]

Why take any risk involved in bringing a child into the world? There is always a risk of death and madness in any involved party.

When presented with an opportunity that has been impossible for a good deal of time until that point and will be impossible again outside of such a place as this, should it be squandered? Entirely ignored? Or should the courses of action be weighed?

A child isn't an experiment for you to produce just to see what happens.

[He practically snaps this, a tiny edge of the anger he's been holding back creeping into his voice.

Keido had never viewed him as a person, as anything other than an instrument of victory in a rivalry that had never existed anywhere outside his own head.

"Welcome back, my son... my Adam." Those were the words he'd greeted Gai with upon his resurrection. He had his tool back, and that was all that mattered to him, never mind the fact that Gai had never wanted to be revived in the first place.

It's enough to make him almost see red at Robert's blithe questioning.]

Nor is it your place to tell someone they cannot do, should they weigh the pros and cons and find the former outweighs the later.

[Finally, there was a bit of emotion in Robert's voice. A hint, low and as buried as he could keep it for now, of anger.

His eyes narrowed faintly as he eyed Gai.]

We care about scientific facts regarding gestation, birth, and development, yes. Because those are important to know for the health of mother and child.

This choice? Is one that has been discussed for twenty years. And rendered impossible the last five and any time in the future should we be returned to our world.

I have not once asked for opinions. I have asked for facts. So that I may consult with the person whose decision this is about whether or not she wants this.

I've given you the facts that I know. Anything beyond that is speculation on anyone's part-- there haven't been any children born here during this cycle that have reached adulthood. Having a child is still going to be an experiment until that happens for us to see things for ourselves.

[It's a struggle to keep his own voice level. This is a sensitive topic to him for multiple reasons. Perhaps it's true that they want children for no other reason than wanting to have a family. However, to Gai, his innate distrust of scientists leads him to draw the worst conclusions regardless of whether or not they're correct.]

And one such experiment is permissible [he certainly hasn't heard anyone talk about putting the child down, and it would probably be considered deplorable if he said anything, even in anger] but a second is entirely out of the question.

No such experiments are permissible. This is a human being we're talking about, not some lab rat.

[He spits those last two words with evident derision.]

Or do you really think there isn't a difference between the two?

And yet, the child already here is entirely a possibility. A possibility of madness, a possibility of sanity. A possibility of safety, a possibility of danger.

One is allowed. You've given no indication that this child shouldn't be put down. But another risk is unacceptable. A risk taken by people who understand the possible consequences and will be watchful for them.

['Put down.' Two words normally used to refer to an animal, yet suddenly Gai's ears are filled with the crackle of fire, the scent of smoke clogging his nose as he remembers the child he had to 'put down' with his own gun.]

A child isn't an animal.

[His voice is strained now, the words barely controlled. Robert is pushing all of his buttons here, and it won't take much more to make him snap.]

[Robert has to roll his eyes. Because, well, Gai is fishing for a reason to be offended now and probably knows it himself. He wants to be angry, wants to be right.]

No. But people are hardly that different from animals.

Especially one considered "mad" or "dangerous."

Voxophone 7/?? - Voice

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