Text;

[onerous]

What is it that keeps you living? Why? What makes it worth it to you?

[That’s, uh. That’s it. That’s the message. There’s no follow-up explanation or anything.

She’s just curious and doesn’t seem to see how alarming a question like that out of the blue might be]

Comments

text

[realimperfect]

Because I have an entirely new life ahead of me that's mine to create for the first time ever.

I feel like that is more than enough to justify it for as long as we can muster.

text

[onerous]

That's a good reason. Your life wasn't your won back home? What changed?

[realimperfect]

When you're no longer a fellow citizen there's no cog to the wheel.

So, my life became my own.

[onerous]

Even though you haven't said much about it, I can already think of the sort of place you might've come from.

Is this place very different then?

[realimperfect]

In some ways. My Earth was destroyed by a nuclear warhead.. this had the Calamity...

Thankfully we aren't living in engineered domes yet, though, so it's already a step up.

[onerous]

Yet. [Well she hopes it doesn't come to that anyhow.]

But humanity managed to survive, despite the warhead. That's pretty impressive. Inspiring, almost.

But I'm sure there's going to be a bit of a culture clash for you.

[realimperfect]

Sure, humanity survived. In what capacity is questionable..

Probably. But that's just been my life since I left Romdeau. I'll manage

[onerous]

What made you leave?

[realimperfect]

I needed to know more than grandfather would tell me.

Find my own truths.

[onerous]

I'm sure it was really difficult. So was what you learned worth it?

[realimperfect]

I think so.

Others may not agree.

[onerous]

Does it matter if they agree?

You think it was worth it for you, so that's probably enough.

[realimperfect]

It does, in a way, when it involves lives that aren't just my own.