7th November 2012
Roughly 10:43 GMT -5
"So how does this work?"
"Somewhere, there is a place where the hopes of all things that can hope or have ever hoped are inscribed upon the very structure of that place.
"
"Uh… Huh."
"The Honden of Hope. I use the Honden of Avarice whenever I do my teleportation thing. However, just connecting
to it should be far easier.
"
"Do I have a..? Blue-Ophidian?"
"An Entity, yes. Its name is Adara and it's a… Giant… Bird-like alien. As far as I remember it's a good deal more easygoing than the Ophidian, but we shouldn't need to get its attention anyway.
"
"Is it dangerous?"
"Anything as powerful as an Entity is dangerous, but it shouldn't be
hostile. In the unlikely event that you encounter it, remain calm and offer it birdseed.
"
"Ph-?"
It takes a second, but then he realises that it was a joke.
"Seriously though, what should I do?"
"I can't say for certain. It will probably just be curious, so show it your hopes and where they come from. If it wants to help, then let it, but I imagine that once it sees that you're genuine it will go back to whatever it was doing before.
"
Hm.
"Eagle, do you want to help?
"
The eagle tears its eyes away from the remains of the fallen president.
"How?"
"Alan's going to be using all of the hopes associated with President Kennedy to try to restore his soul to something approaching what it should be. Honestly… It's more likely that he's going to overshoot and turn him into the best president that America can imagine because who people think about a person -particularly after they're dead-
has only the most tenuous connection to what they were actually like.
"
Alan frowns. "I thought I was just going to be fixing him up?"
"And this is why it's important to ensure that your afterlife arrangements are secure. He can't be 'fixed', any more than I could have scooped the chunks of brain he's dropped and shoved them back into a living person to repair their brain.
"
His face drops. "
Oh. That's…"
"That's better than what
everyone in my home parallel gets. So if you ever wonder why I
keep going on about it, that's why. From my point of view, everyone here who
does is like… Like someone with AIDS who's got an easy-to-use hypodermic with the cure loaded into it
right next to them, but is so lazy that they'd rather die horribly than reach over and fix themselves.
"
Huh. That got 'real' rather quickly.
"But this way we turn him into some sort of perfect dream president and he can… Eagle, would he be Heartlands material if we did that?
"
"I think so? I'd have to see him afterwards to know for sure."
"So there you go.
" I nod at President Kennedy.
"That, for eternity.
"
"I'm a…
Doughnut…"
"Or a demigod.
"
"Okay." Alan nods. "I'm on board."
I incline my head towards him. He frowns, then spots that his environmental shield is barely there.
"Oh. Just a moment." He closes his eyes and
his shield burns back into life. "
Everyone deserves better than this, and he certainly does."
"Okay, now, keep your eyes closed and focus on the things that inspire hope in
you. For me,
I feel hope every time I go to see the Beresfords and see that they really don't want to go back to being thugs. Every time people I know
make good decisions without me needing to talk them through it, and I see it's not just me pushing the world up a hill in a wheelbarrow.
"
He nods, eyes still closed. A few moments pass, then
his flame grows into a bonfire.
"Good. Now, keep doing that, and imagine… All the things that make you angry or hateful moving away. They're still there, still part of you, but they're not where you are right now.
"
"
Uh-huh."
His aura dips for a moment, then
burns back, the flames not any larger but…
Steadier.
"Next, your selfish desires. Everyone has things that they want for themselves, but all of yours are somewhere else. They haven't stopped existing and they'll be there when you need them, but your hopes are all that surround you.
"
He nods slowly.
"Next, your fears. A normal animal reaction to danger, but yours have no place here.
"
Hm. Skip will, since it should synergise with any mental effort. Hope is what we're using, and… Compassion and love.
"It is a noble thing to help others without the desire for reward, but that is not where you are. This is a place for inspiring others, not aiding them directly. Your compassion is elsewhere, waiting for you when you leave.
"
The flaming effect is basically gone, though the size of his aura has continued to grow. I wonder if that's what
I look like when I meditate?
"Love is our particular attachment to those closest to us. But you are somewhere universal, and the particular only serves to distract you. All around you are your hopes made manifest.
"
His mouth moves, opening and closing a little like he's feeling around for the words.
"I see it."
"Good. Now, your hopes are the walls and the ceiling and the floor, but on the other side of one is the chamber for someone who shares that hope with you. Can you picture that?
"
"It's like I'm… There."
And now he's
gone slightly translucent. Um. Okay, just carry on.
"We're looking for images of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Every person he inspired is there with you, and we need their hopes. Can you see them?
"
"I can. It's… All so beautiful…"
"Now you've seen how he exists in that place, in their minds, draw the blue light to you and make it
true. Make Kennedy the Kennedy they believe in.
"
Alan
opens his eyes, and they're pools of blue light as he reaches for Kennedy's broken head.
