011✖; (voice)

[circumitus]

"People tend to believe in something, whether it's gods, a god, some sort of afterlife or nothing at all. Nothing can be something, can't it?

"In any case, the belief in the soul and that it goes somewhere after the body dies has surprisingly been a subject of interest these last few years. Is the soul a thing that is natural, and can it be created out of something that is unnatural?

"What happens to the vessel once it's no longer occupied by whatever makes you you?"

['You are a vessel. You are born to die.' Those were among the first words she's ever heard, and yet the connotation behind them are unsettling for her now.]

"Is there any place like a Heaven or a Hell for a thing that's not born but made by a person, or is it more likely that we just disappear entirely once the vessel dies?"

[Death had never been a scary prospect for her before. Not when she had something that she wanted to live and die for. She almost misses being empty, when she didn't have to worry about the things she would leave in the likely events of her eventual demise. Everything has an expiration date, after all.

[DEEP THOUGHTS coming from the lounge with booze.]

Comments

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[likescats]

[Oh hey, here's a topic he knows a lot about.]

THERE ARE SUCH CREATURES ON MY WORLD. CREATED, NOT BORN. THEY TEND NOT TO DIE OFTEN EITHER. HOWEVER A FEW HAVE, AND I HAVE SHOWN UP FOR THEM AS I WOULD ANY OTHER SOUL. WHATEVER WAITS FOR A HUMAN OR A DWARF OR A TROLL, WAITS FOR THEM AS WELL

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[circumitus]

[Well that's... interesting. Not that she's surprised by what the talking skeleton man has to say. She's been around, and she knows the ship's residents to know what he is.]

On your world. But would this same rationale apply to others as well?

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[likescats]

I BELIEVE SO. I HAVE COME ACROSS MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE FROM MANY DIFFERENT WORLDS AND THEY ALL HAD SOULS.

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[circumitus]

Interest. And you know this, for certain?

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[foundafamily]

[There's something unsettling about listening to this, in no small part due to the fact that he's suddenly wondering why the hell Rey's worrying about death. He needs her to stick around for a while longer, okay?

And then these are also similar to the words he heard from Ennis when Szilard left her to die. He'll give the same answer to Rey, with much more certaninty than actual knowledge.]

There's nothin' like heaven or hell. For anyone--doesn't matter how you're made.

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[circumitus]

Know of a few people who would beg to differ.

[Her brother, Orion, for instance. She recalls the wavering in his tones when he spoke of the beliefs he grew up with, and whatever that same devout faith might entail for someone like him -- like both of them.]

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[foundafamily]

What, like priests and stuff? Why would they know any better than anyone else?

[majestyofthethrone]

Wait-

What?

[circumitus]

which part do you need elaboration on?

[majestyofthethrone]

Whose vessel are you?

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[acapriciousthing]

Belief is a powerful thing. Powerful enough to shape even what comes after death. Powerful enough to create a soul.

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[circumitus]

It just sounds strange. Seems like it'd contradict some beliefs.

[And yet, here we are.]

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[acapriciousthing]

It's a big universe. There's room for a lot of different beliefs to flourish.

[voice]

[surveyor]

[Levi had been listening to this broadcast with only mild interest- because as far as he's concerned there isn't anything else other than the one life you're given- but once it's through he feels compelled to respond anyway.

Rey's answered his questions more than once, and he'll repay that favor. ...In his own way, of course:]

It doesn't matter.

[He's not being intentionally dismissive, but it just isn't something he spends a lot of energy thinking about no matter how many drinks he's had. He isn't wired that way.]

[voice]

[circumitus]

Having died eleven times before, it does sort of matter. [To her it does, at least.

[She's not angry for him saying it -- everyone is entitled to think however they want about the subject, she knows. It's not something she expects Levi or anyone to just know, and hell if she talks about it that much. Because dying is hard, but remembering the actual "being dead" part is what she more often struggles with the most.]

[voice]

[surveyor]

[THE PLOT THICKENS....

Congrats, Rey, the highest death toll Levi knows of is four. You've just dethroned that stranger on the train to Nibiru. What a great title to hold...

There isn't a whole lot of sympathy in Levi's voice, but there isn't any pity, either. He's just a little confused by what she's asking, if she's already experienced this for herself.]

If you've already been through it yourself, what sort of answers are you looking for?

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[worthtempting]

Where I come from, there is only one soul per human birth. In the case of twins, that means one has no soul. It is up to the other to save or damn them both. But a sorcerous manifestation...its energies would return to the realm they had been drawn from, once it ceased to exist.

[the words aren't particularly heartening, but the voice that speaks them is soft, lilting and empathetic.]

voice, private

[circumitus]

Oh. [That's all she says at first. She's reminded of her own "birth", and the brother she had killed.

[So, by that logic, she was probably the soulless one, and her brother--]

How would one necessarily be able to "save" the other?

[It doesn't apply to her, or her world. Her world doesn't have the things that she just described. But she's curious nonetheless.]

voice, private

[worthtempting]

One is saved by being good, and following the teachings of the Lord, and one is damned by committing evil deeds and following the wicked ways of the Devil.

[it sounds rote when she says it, though it is perfectly true. sophie just happens to be the soulless twin.]

Or, I suppose, one suicides and is consigned to the eternal purgatory of the Onyx realm, from whence the Elder Creatures came.

The twin without the soul, though, they cannot commit sin or know grace. Their words and deeds leave no mark on the soul, for better or worse.

voice;

[blackmagus]

What matters if a person was created or born? If a person has a soul, they have a soul. Their exact creation shouldn't value, or devalue, their soul.

[ Fortescue does know quite a bit about souls. She knows that if you extract part of it, it hurts like the dickens. ]

You know, in my opinion.

[ That's it, Fort. Play it casual. ]

voice;

[circumitus]

[Eh, casual's for squares, anyway. Rey doesn't know much about souls, other than what she's learned secondhand.]

Fair point.

Suppose it's sometimes -- not knowing whether the soul is there, or it's a matter of feigning it. There's more than enough data to help pretend, but does that make it real?

[She's done it before, though less so now that she has more than enough fabricated memories and personalities to fill the empty gaps she used to be.]

voice;

[blackmagus]

I suppose it exists, or it doesn't. Where I come from, at least. When it's taken away, or severely damaged, the person in question can't really... function properly, anymore.

[ Which she knows from experience. ]

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[servator]

You'd think someone who's dropped twice might have a clue, but I don't.
Why the philosophy?

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[circumitus]

if that were the case, would've already had the answer many times over as well.

been thinking. remembering. it's a bad combination.

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[servator]

You okay, though?
Don't get in too deep, alright?