01. Text

[hopefanatic]

There's something I've been thinking about for a while so I hope all of you will be patient enough to indulge me.

A good deal of fantastic and seemingly-impossible things happen in this place, ranging from all of us raising dragons to encountering killer plants like ones out of an old horror movie. I know that I don't just speak for myself when I say that a lot of the things we encounter here simply don't happen where I'm from... In fact one could even call all of it downright impossible and against the laws of nature and physics! I mean, the moons changing us into animals? Some mysterious space society that we've "mysteriously" encountered right when they need our help? It almost sounds like a video game!

Which brings me to the question I'd like to pose to all of you...

How do you know that any of this is reality?

Comments

[takingchances]

I take it that you need high stakes to make it interesting for you?

[hopefanatic]

Not really, it's just not really inspiring. You won't encourage anyone to strive for a brighter hope if you don't push them for it!

[takingchances]

You don't really have to push anyone to hope for something. They either do or they don't. You could probably *encourage* them though.

[hopefanatic]

Is there really that much of a difference? It seems like it mostly just depends on the preference of your word choice.

[His idea of "encouragement" is just as extreme as "pushing" anyway...]

[takingchances]

Pushing someone is forceful. Encouraging them is passive.

[hopefanatic]

Wow, I guess I've had those mixed up for a while now!

[He hasn't.]

[takingchances]

[Interesting. Eva cocks a brow upward to herself, curious now. Who gets pushing and encouraging mixed up?]

So have you been in a simulation before? It sounds like you have experience with them.

[hopefanatic]

That's right! I was in one for a while before coming here. This place is like a vacation in comparison!

... Well that place was supposed to be a vacation too technically, but things didn't quite work out that way.

[takingchances]

That's unfortunate. I do agree with you about this being like a vacation in comparison though but I mostly use a simulation for work.

[hopefanatic]

What sort of job do you do?

[takingchances]

I'm a senior memory traversal agent for the Sigmund Corporation. I mostly go through simulations of client's memories.

[hopefanatic]

Can your system alter the memories in any way? Or just replay them?

[takingchances]

It can alter memories and create completely news ones as well. It can't *erase* memories however or destroy the original memories.

[hopefanatic]

So why do you alter peoples' memories? That must be pretty controversial work.

[takingchances]

Oh definitely. The Sigmund Corporation though is in the business of granting wishes though. Our clients come in and take out contracts to have a particular wish granted just before their deaths.

[hopefanatic]

But I'm guessing that you don't actually grant their wishes, you manipulate their memories to make it seem like they fulfilled whatever it is they wanted. Am I right?

[takingchances]

More or less. We ourselves change as little as possible in order to send through the desire for the client's wish. How the memories are rewrote and how the new memories are made as solely up to our client's mind and the information the machine has available for reference.

[hopefanatic]

So you give them hope just as they're dying. That's a pretty noble profession, even if it isn't real in the end.

[takingchances]

I like to think it is. Everyone has their own opinions though.

[hopefanatic]

Well I'm behind anything that spreads hope!