I need to bring Jade somewhere like this. I don't know if she'll appreciate it in the way that I do-.
"You were the one who released Malvolio, were you not?"
...I get the feeling these coloured quotation marks drove you a
little loopy, Mr Zoat...
I tear my eyes from the vertiginous vista and drop them to Lantern Priest himself. He's hairless, red-skinned and wears a simple white robe which leaves his arms bare. His arms are long enough that his hands rest on the ground when he's standing upright, and the only protective clothing he's wearing are the two large bracers which cover both his forearms and the backs of his hands. A gold coloured plate covers his head the middle of his forehead over the top of his head and back to the base of his skull. A pale yellow force field protects him from the environment and his eyes are sheer black ovals set diagonally into his face.
...
Yellow? interesting. Technological protection sourced from a local race, or did someone drop off a certain
other kind of ring?
"Yes, that's me. Pleased to meet you in person."
"You are more interesting in person. Why are you here?"
Oh, I'm betting Priest has some damn
sharp Empathic Vision, doesn't he? And OL's soul must look
amazing to it.
"Some Green Lanterns decided to break you out. Lord Malvolio is fighting them now. I tried to encourage them to negotiate, but neither were particularly interested."
"I had thought that Malvolio was beyond such pettiness by now."
No concern for his fellow Lanterns? No worry that Malvolio might get carried away? He's very
Zen about things, isn't he?
"Exactly what sort of pettiness are you referring to?"
"Using violence as his first recourse."
Because a user of the Green Light should be above such things?
"I'm.. not sure that that's what he did. He went to Karax to learn more about the Green Lanterns, and I had a lengthy talk with him about Lanterning in general before Green Lantern Guy Gardner tripped the alert."
"Another human?"
...I can't help but picture him thinking 'Oh, no, not again.' That or 'How many Lanterns does one world
need?'
"Oh. Right. Yes, we're off the 'Do Not Recruit' list. A Green Lantern called Abin Sur needed a replacement desperately while he was on Earth, and since Lantern Jordan turned out alright the Guardians okayed the rest of us."
"He did not demonstrate Malvolio's superlative abilities?"
Hmm... Curiosity as to whether Spectrum use comes naturally to humans, or just concern that there's another Malvolio on the rise?
"No. Guy's better, but none of them are Lord Malvolio. My friend Alan's a little closer, but he uses a blue ring these days."
"Ah, Earth."
...He doesn't seem very surprised to learn about the Blue Ring, doesn't he? I mean,
sure, meeting OL probably let him know there were more lights...
"We get that a lot. Look… Do you mind being here?"
"Compared to what?"
I'm sure it's nice and quiet, but wouldn't someplace you can breathe
unaided be better?
"Any other location that we could negotiate."
"Now that I am freed from the need to confine Malvolio, I have the opportunity to continue my own studies of the green light of will. My only concern is what Malvolio is doing without my oversight. When he controlled this region he made himself the focus of-."
Good grief. He really is treating this as a holiday, isn't he?
"Of their entire society and they couldn't function without him. He knows, and he wants to fix that this time."
Priest reach up to stroke his chin with his right hand.
Finally, he
moves. I see something finally cracked that placid shell.
"That surprises me. I had thought him too inflexible to consider modifying his approach. Perhaps in a few centuries he might truly understand the green light."
"Right, but what about you?"
"It… Might be interesting to see what Malvolio does with his freedom."
Heh.
Indeed.
"Last time we spoke, you told me that his will was crowding out the will of everyone else."
"That is not limited to Malvolio. The confident can inspire others to follow their example through their certainty. Life is full of things that inspire uncertainty, and it is a natural response to find this state uncomfortable."
True enough. I'm sure there are
plenty of examples out there, even outside the twenty-year edge of Rule 8. Not least amongst them Hitler, eh?
I nod.
"'Make me an autocrat and I'll solve your problems without any of that confusing 'free will' business.' I'm familiar with the idea."
I can just see a Pratchett character saying that.
"His command of the green light takes him beyond the abilities of mundane tyrants."
"The conclusion then being that strong Lanterns should avoid other people so they don't contaminate their thought processes?" I shake my head. "That's not a viable solution, even if the effect is as strong as you're implying. Look, what sort of assurance that he's improving do you want?"
Interesting idea, though. And not that far from concerns you yourself have had, aren't they, OL? We've seen that blue Lanterns can inspire Hope in others, certainly.
"'Do I want' in order to achieve what end?"
"To tell the visiting Greenies that you don't want to be rescued so that I can talk them into standing down so that neither they nor Lord Malvolio die."
Because even if the Green lanterns can't actually kill under normal circumstances... Accidents
can happen in Ring combat...
"Have the Guardians renewed their sentence of death?"
I frown. "I'm… Not exactly the first person they'd tell-." Wait. He wouldn't-. "I don't work for the Guardians."
...Wait, did Priest never
question the origin of the Orange Lanterns?
"Then where did you get that ring?"
Because he's been stuck in this Sector for hundreds of years and so hasn't heard anything about the Orange Lantern Corps. He probably hasn't heard of Sinestro and the fact that Qwardians can make power rings.
Yeah, I don't see him being the kind to keep up on current affairs... Not when he could be meditating on the Green Light.
"I'd be happy to fully brief you later, but a friend and an ally of mine are trying to kill each other now."
"I was willing to leave the Corps rather than kill Malvolio when I last received that order. The fact that he has moderated his position has not led me to change my mind for the worse."
Aw, give him a
chance, big guy. Let him show you how he's mellowed out...
"I-. You have conditions for your rescuers?"
"I am content to remain here. If they want me to leave, there are things they must do."
Bet that would be a
shock for the Lanterns to hear.
"Oh, you came to rescue me? Did I send word that I needed aid?
"
"Ah, okay?"
"Malvolio acts as he does due to his concern for the people of this region, not because he coverts power for its own sake. I will not go anywhere without a peace treaty between his Sector and the Green Lantern Corps."
In other words, you want the Guardians to say 'Let this guy handle it.'
"And from Lord Malvolio?"
Priest hesitates, then looks upward at the burning green universe above us.
Heck of a sight.
"A better view might be nice."
"Okay. I'll see what I can do. Excuse me."
Let me guess: You want to knock on the sky, and listen to the
sound?
