Video - Eliminate Nightmares With This One Weird Trick!

[fractaljesus]

Greetings, Lunatia. I am Yaha-kui zaShunina.

I understand that the Lunatian government has advised you to refrain from sleep for as long as possible. I also understand that for biological entities, doing so is difficult and results in both physical and mental strain that is detrimental to the health of the organism as a whole.

Thus, I present a solution.

[Rising into view of the feed is an oblong object, floating innocuously in front of zaShunina's chest.]

This is called "Sansa." It is a device from my world that, when activated, has various effects upon the brain of those who view it, but the most relevant among these is the ability to no longer require sleep, though they may choose to do so if they desire. This effect also works when viewed over video transmission.

I will make this voluntary. If you wish to view the activated Sansa and receive its effects, continue watching this feed. If you do not, please close the video now.


[zaShunina gives about ten seconds of silence to allow any who want to leave do so. After that, the object suddenly begins to move without another word from him. It splits into cross-sections and rotates in the air, and any still watching the video will experience some very unsettling sensations.

Nausea, mostly, but also an overwhelming sense of awareness such that they've likely never experienced before. Awareness of higher dimensions, and sudden awareness of more of themselves stretching off into these higher dimensions. The effect only lasts for a few seconds, and everything suddenly comes crashing back to the present time and place as the Sansa returns to its inert state.]

For those who have remained to view the Sansa, I will gladly answer your questions.

(OOC Note: How much the Sansa affects your character (if at all) is entirely up to you.)

Comments

[fractaljesus]

[Honestly, zaShunina wouldn't be able to tell him whether the effect would remain if and when he leaves this world. But, since Hijitaka hasn't asked, he can't tell him as much.]

My origin is Novo--translated, it means "anisotropic". I was able to produce the Sansa in this world by utilizing Summonrock Chalk.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He'll find out one of these days... honestly, it really would make his life so much easier, but it would also put an end to all those feel-good fanworks that start with him falling asleep at his work desk. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.]

Aniso... yeah, sorry, you lost me. I get the second part, so thanks for that. I don't think many people would have been able to pull this off.

[fractaljesus]

[He nods in the video--he doesn't mind if Hijitaka doesn't completely get it, he'll probably give him a link to an archive of his other conversations explaining it more in-depth if he really wants to know.]

It was something only I could do, that is why I felt it necessary to present this solution. To not do something to help when you have the means at your disposal to do so would have been the wrong answer.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He'll appreciate that! He'll actually set time aside to listen and try to properly understand once the crisis is over.]

Even if you "just" did the right thing, is there anything you need help with in return?

[Someone with zaShunina's good attitude probably won't want a reward as such, but Hijikata is really grateful. It's not often that the Moonblessed get such a strong boost against whatever madness descends on Luntatia.]

[fractaljesus]

I do not. [Chroma's always good, of course, but he doesn't want anything for this.]

However, please do not mistake this for altruism. There is a concept that exists within Novo called 'Unocle'--it is a fundamental principle to the existence of all anisotropic beings. I have used a particular metaphor for this concept when I attempted to translate it before.

Imagine that you have more bread than you could ever possibly eat, but then you encounter a starving man. What would you do in this circumstance?

[mayoninofukucho]

[He immediately needs several terms explained, but once zaShunina poses the question he decides to simply answer it. This will probably be the easier way to comprehension.]

I'd share, of course.

[fractaljesus]

[zaShunina nods.]

As you said; "of course." You did not need to consider this course of action, because it was the obvious one to take. But it is not the same as generosity, as you possessed more of a resource than you could ever consume. Rather, it is closer to osmosis.

Unocle is similar. I possess a resource--the Sansa--that would aid Lunatia. It would be antithetical to my existence not to use it to do so.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata increasingly feels like conversing with zaShunina will cost him more brain cell activity than he was prepared for, but he isn't one to back down from a challenge.]

The way you say "my existence"... are you some kind of minor deity who governs this principle, or..?

[Maybe he shouldn't have said "minor"; that was kind of rude - but the only somewhat comparable concept that comes to his mind is a conversation he had with Lucio a good while ago about Astrals and Primals in the Sky Realm, where the former created the latter to help govern the laws of nature. He wonders if it's a similar situation where zaShunina is from.]

[fractaljesus]

[Maybe he should go lie down--oh wait.]

No. [It's an immediate answer, but a patient one.] Though I could be compared to one from a certain point of view, I am not a god. I am nothing more than an anisotropic being.

[mayoninofukucho]

[NOT ANYMORE. Visit someone else, Sandman (preferably not in Lunatia)!]

Okay, I'm going to have to ask you to explain this one. I assume this is normal for you, not having to sleep? Don't you have to eat either? Are there any normal-- I mean, mortal, people in your world, or is everyone like you?

[This is throwing him for a loop. Everyone else he met so far was similar enough to humans is terms of basic functionality.]

[fractaljesus]

This body is capable of doing these things, but it is not necessary for its functionality.

[Which is sure to raise yet more questions, so before Hijitaka can ask, zaShunina continues.]

My origin is Novo--it is not a "world", but rather a location that exists outside of space that is anisotropic in nature, and possesses higher dimensions than this world. I created this body to function as an interface through which I could interact with the universe, as it is impossible for what you would call my "true form" to exist in only three dimensions.

Anisotropic beings are the sole residents of this space and cannot be classified as "people" by the standard you have set. You may consider us as "thought entities" if you require a label.

Does that answer your question?

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah.

[It's still a lot to take in, though.]

Are you the only one of your kind who took on a humanoid form to communicate with our kind? What made you do that?

[His first assumption is that zaShunina got fed up watching humanity - or whatever equivalent civilisations he observed - flounder around and decided to help them get their priorities straight, but that seems like a never-ending effort.]

[fractaljesus]

[His assumption isn't wrong, per se.]

I wanted to bring them advancement. The Sansa was one of the gifts I brought with me from the anisotropic for that purpose.

[He doesn't answer the question about whether he's the only one, though...]

[mayoninofukucho]

And did it help? Are they doing better now?

[He tries to imagine the logistics of this. Sure, with enough broadcasts the vast majority of any sufficiently connected planet could be reached. But if nobody needs to sleep or eat anymore, let alone other improvements they haven't discussed, that means a total restructuring of society and life as a whole. What would the average population do with all the extra time? Research, invent and create? Or wage war?]

Not to bash my own species, but I'm not sure if we can handle this kind of freedom on a widespread basis.

[Of course it's totally okay for some responsible individuals like him to get levelled up...]

[fractaljesus]

No, they are not. [He shakes his head, eyes closed.] I was aware that presenting my gifts would result in widespread disruption, but I had been prepared to accept that outcome for the sake of ultimate prosperity.

However, I had also been naive. I understand that now.

[mayoninofukucho]

I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about what happened?

[He feels embarrassed despite not personally having been involved. A higher entity took a human form to help his kind, and of course they fucked it up!]

[fractaljesus]

[Actually, as it turns out, zaShunina himself had been the one to fuck it up.]

I did not understand mankind. My attempt to bring about their advancement in the way I had intended would have destroyed what made them so precious to begin with.

["If you do that, you'll break humanity!" That woman's voice echoes in his mind, and though zaShunina smiles sadly, there's also a sense of satisfaction to it.]

I do not regret my actions, however, nor their ultimate conclusion.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata isn't sure how to interpret that... if it's a matter of "The subjects died, but I made valuable findings!" that's kind of discomfiting, but then again he can't very well hold zaShunina to human moral standards. His overall philosophy - or reason for being, rather - seems geared towards utilitarianism, though, and he did just call them precious... and he said "would have destroyed", that leaves space for optimism.]

Did it help you understand us better? I'm sorry, it has to be really hard. We contradict each other a lot.

[Why is he being so apologetic?! It's not his fault so many people are disasters on legs! But deep down he knows all too well that he can be an unpredictable chaos vector too.]

[fractaljesus]

[It's kind of funny how Hijitaka is getting a completely different picture from all of this than what actually happened, but therein lies the shortcomings of human methods of communication.]

It did. [He still can't say he completely understands humanity, but therein lies the beauty of mankind. They will never stop surprising him.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[He could simply ask for more details, but sadly he's a particularly bad communicator! He does end up drawing a positive conclusion, though, due to zaShunina's word choice and overall attitude.]

Would it help you if I reported back on how the whole "no sleep" thing goes for me?

[Simply accepting a gift of this magnitude without doing anything in return is really hard for him, clearly...]

[fractaljesus]

[Maybe before the world ends, he'll get to learn the full story.]

It is not necessary. [He pauses, considering it for a moment.] However, I would like to know.

[zaShunina already knows how well the Sansa works, but he's nothing if not voracious when it comes to information. So, necessary or not, he wouldn't mind at all if Hijitaka wants to talk to him again later.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata will try to make the time between crises (good thing he'll have more hours in the day now, so to speak)! It's still difficult for him to just take this massive life upgrade and run with it without a more significant payback, but clearly zaShunina doesn't have many needs he could cater to, so he accepts his "fate" with a smile.]

Then I'll let you know. For now I'll see if I can make myself useful in combating this phenomenon! Thank you so much again.