one ➠ voice

[triedtobe]

Been here almost three months now, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion. Almost none you get it. And by almost, I don't mean some, I mean one, and maybe that's even pushing it.

[ As much as he considered taking the opportunity to full on shout at his comm device in video, Peter still can't find it within himself to splash his face on the network. Especially not right now, when he's busy splitting from any idea of reality. It doesn't really help matters that he's aware this he's bound to be in disagreement with... oh, maybe everyone? You don't exactly get to tell people they don't exist and expect them to like you.

Now, it's time for a reality check. For everyone else, mind, not him. ]

This isn't real. It's never going to be real. I don't even know how many of you are real, but nobody really likes hearing that they might not exist so we'll just stick with the basics.

[ Does it sound like he's being condescending? That's because he is. And he doesn't actually care all that much anymore about potentially hurting someone's feelings. ]

I don't care if you've got reasons, I don't care if you've got explanations. Everyone comes up with some way to convince themselves that what they're stuck in is actually reality. Give someone too much time and something they can't pick apart and eventually they'll tell themselves whatever they have to, just to make it all make sense.

But it doesn't. It's not going to.

And before you even ask, no, I don't think it's a nightmare or a dream. Or even a hallucination. So no, I don't need to get shipped off to the psych department to get my head fixed. [ He's particularly growly about that one. ] It's a construct. It's supposed to look real, and unless you've been in one, I wouldn't expect you to know the difference. Looks real, feels real, it's supposed to make you think it's real.

And fuck, if this one's working just a little too damn well.

You won't believe me, i've already got that down. Nathan's got some of you wrapped around his finger, I already know that much, and I already know what he thinks about all this. But I know a different Nathan, and I know one that'd do things to your brain that you wouldn't believe. Doesn't get any better after that. You don't get fixed.

You get his public service announcements and now you're getting mine.

I don't think this bullshit is real, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon.

Comments

voice

[cobaltblue]

Okay, fine. So what if it's not real? What the hell are we supposed to do about that? 'Cause as far as I can tell, people still get hurt and die here like anywhere else, and if you're seriously suggesting that doesn't matter, maybe you should go try and off yourself and see how it makes you feel.

voice

[triedtobe]

Of course people still get hurt, still die. [ Whether or not you care, and whether it's important are two entirely different beasts, however. ] And shoving myself into the nearest airlock won't prove anything to me.

[theyalldieforme]

Congratulations.

[triedtobe]

Much appreciated.

voice

[harriedosborn]

That's the worst part about it. The longer you're here the more real it feels, never mind how logically it starts to seem less and less. [ He sounds frustrated. ] It's so obvious when you really think about it.

voice

[triedtobe]

[ Thank god, his one voice of reason. ] Try convincing them.

Easier to get used to it when it's all there is. When you want it to be real just so you can get through another day, but that's not how it works. Wanting it isn't enough. No matter what anyone wants to believe.

text;

[andyouwill]

I congratulate you on your perspicacity, young man: so few here have the mind or inclination to generate what seems to me (and, I take it, you) an obvious hypothesis.

Have you any ideas regarding what manner of entity might be culpable? I would be pleased to hear more of your past experience with such constructs.

permavoice!

[triedtobe]

[ Give him a couple seconds to decide whether or not that's meant to be facetious... but even after that he's not even sure so he'll just go with no. It makes him feel better-ish. He doesn't need the congratulations, but he sure as hell appreciates not being told that he's insane. ]

I know a couple people that could manage it. Takes a skilled telepath, or a few shitty one's that've got enough experimental equipment behind them that all they need is incentive.

voice;

[cargojet]

Son of a bitch.

voice;

[triedtobe]

There a problem, Nathan?

text;

[majestyofthethrone]

What?

permavoice!

[triedtobe]

Need me to repeat something?

voice;

[sweetmotherofgod]

Does it make a difference? Real or not, we're experiencing it. Pain still hurts. Still get weak if we don't eat, whether we're imagining it or not. If it feels the same, how's it different from reality?

voice;

[triedtobe]

Because it's not reality. And I want to know how the hell we got here.

[voice]

[yardbird]

After awhile I've learned to stop givin' a shit about whether something's real or not. Wouldn't be the first time that I've ever questioned my sanity, anyway...

[voice]

[triedtobe]

[ but gdi it's important. ]

You know, I really wouldn't care so much if it didn't matter how I got here in the first place.

voice.

[northerner]

What cause do you have for levying such accusations against your brother?

[ it's easier to start there, rather than entertain the idea of whether or not this place is real or not. robb questions his sanity enough. ]

voice.

[triedtobe]

[ isn't 'because he's my big brother' enough of a reason to do it? ]

Because i've seen the roads he goes down. The choices he makes.

text.

[leaps]

Is this really going to help anything?

permavoice because i said so

[triedtobe]

Still haven't worked that part out yet.

[andblockbuster]

It's a shame we don't have a crack team of neurologists hellbent on figuring that out. [Sarcasm thy name is Topher.]

[triedtobe]

Yeah, and how far have you gotten?

encrypted 70%

[killarevolution]

[God, he hates encryptions, but he also knows he doesn't trust Nathan as far as he can throw him.]

You want to elaborate on any of that or do you want to keep getting yelled at?

encrypted 70%

[triedtobe]

[ But he likes getting yelled at so very much..... ]

Which part do you want elaborated?

[voice]

[jurisimpudent]

[Good God.]

Right. Kindly answer me a question, sir.

[voice]

[triedtobe]

[ This should be fun. ]

You've gotta ask it first.

voice; locked

[swagneto]

Where are you?

[ Because fuck explaining anything over these; Erik believes Peter - to an extent. He doesn't trust Nathan, doesn't really know how to handle the ship, but he gets Peter. Gets him enough that something like this is enough to finally jerk Erik out of his passive mood lately. ]

voice; locked

[triedtobe]

[ He contemplates saying nothing at all because he's pissed off served up about a hundred different ways and everyone coming to Nathan's defense is a little too much like being back home all over again. Being an unknown's kind of like being a terrorist and Peter has stopped trusting shit. Not that he really did in the first place. ]

Anywhere that's not here. [ if only. ] Getting the hell out of my room, not exactly sure where i'm going yet. Any corner of the ship to try and dig my way out of here or maybe taking up residence in the oxygen gardens.

audio » stark locked

[became]

You make a lot of friends with that one?

audio » stark locked

[triedtobe]

Wasn't exactly an attempt at bonding.

text;

[puppydogeyes]

You're wrong.

permavoiiice

[triedtobe]

And majority rules again.

text;

[constructum]

What make you so sure this isn't reality?

permavoice

[triedtobe]

You really want to know, or are you more interested in proving me wrong?

voice

[ironrusts]

[Oh what is this bullshit Tony doesn't even.]

All right. Let's assume, for a moment, that you're right: none of this is real and we're trapped in a telepathic construct. All the telepaths of note are dead where I'm from, but it's possible there's a survivor I wouldn't know about, and there's some universe-bridging telepathic gestalt going on. Or maybe it's a technological construct of some kind -- I wondered that, when I woke up here, if Ultron had brought me here to mess with my mind. It's a possibility.

But let's get a bit of context from what you're not saying: you're not talking about "we" in this scenario. You're talking about you.

You're stuck in a telepathic construct. We could be people from your world who also got sucked in and have been made to believe they're someone else, bad guys in disguise, or just the supporting cast in your little psychodrama. We may or may not exist.

I'm going to ask you some questions now, like why in the world there would be three of me, each from a different universe. I know I don't know you, so what's the point, in the grand scheme of messing with your head, of there being three different versions of a complete stranger? Are your telepathic overlords just getting sloppy? You think they'd pay more attention to little details like this if they wanted you convinced of the reality of this place.

Or how about this question: what are we supposed to do about it? If this isn't real, if we're not real, there are only two purposes for this message: either you're sitting in the dark shouting "I disbelieve the illusion!" as loud as you can, in the hopes that you'll wake up in the really real world... or you're hoping to enlist us mental constructs to tear your prison apart for you.

I hate to break it to you, but for something to be an actual public service announcement, it needs to be of service to the public, not just yourself. ...Unless, of course, you're a solipsistic idiot who doesn't believe in the very public he's addressing.

Oh, but here's another possibility: you're hedging your bets, and just in case we are real, you're hoping we'll be understanding when you decide not to show traits like a basic grasp of empathy.

[And then comes the sound of slow, sardonic applause.]

Well done. All bases covered. Now, let's pretend for a moment this isn't entirely about you, sunshine, and maybe we'll come to some kind of useful conclusion.

Point the first: if this is about just one person, or one group of people, everyone else is out of luck. I'm not going to say it's not about Pete here, or about me, or about someone else entirely. I have no hard evidence to back that up, either way. But if that's true, that means everyone else here is doomed as soon as our hero wakes up, and I refuse to accept that outcome. I still have to believe that the people here matter, and that we're doing more than playing pretend.

Point the second: If this isn't just for the benefit of one person or group, and this is a constructed world of some kind, we're involved in a telepathic or technological linkup that spans multiple possible realities. Does everyone's reality here even have telepaths or sufficiently advanced tech? And if they don't, then what? Are they not real by default? Sucks to be them. Of course, we could say there are outside forces at work abducting otherwise real people -- secret telepaths or aliens or something, putting people into a construct that somehow mutated and grew and linked up with other, completely unrelated constructs. Possible? Yes. Likely? ...Not really.

Or this could be real. And that's the scariest possibility yet, because that means that this isn't about us, on an individual level. It means this isn't an extension of our own struggles, or some cosmic accident; it means accepting the possibility that there's something out there that's bigger and scarier than we are, and that has an agenda we don't understand. But it also means that we matter. Each and every one of us matters, even if we don't understand how or why yet, because we're all real people, and we're all stuck here together, like it or not.

Point the third: Even if this is just about one person, or one group of people, and everyone else isn't real, what does it say about us if we accept that logic about ourselves? Obviously everyone here is going to believe they're the real one. Even if it's a valid possibility, do you really want to take the chance that you're wrong and you're letting actual people suffer?

Maybe things are dire enough back home that you don't see another option... and if that's the case, I can't judge you. But I'm certainly not going to trust you. And I'd recommend no one else does, either, for what should be obvious reasons.

voice

[triedtobe]

[ Well, that was certainly an interesting listen. He got lost somewhere back at the 'like a basic grasp of empathy' comment, considering he's an empath, and considering people keep making the same sort of rash judgements he's used to them making. And yet still manage to piss him off. But beyond that, he might have stopped listening to everyone awhile ago.

Even so. ]

Considering you answered all your own questions and made your own points, don't really think there's much for me to add.