The Unaligned Player
Agony that desires to meet Extinction
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This story is one of the things that keep me from feeling completely empty on the inside.
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This story is one of the things that keep me from feeling completely empty on the inside.
Hopefully.
Would killing Melmoth even put him in hell? What are the Sheedas' views on afterlife? Where would Melmoth's soul end up if you kill him on Witch World?"By the laws of Columbia he is an outlaw, a pestilence from our grandsire's time who should have long since been keeping company with Satan in eternal hellfire."
Would killing Melmoth even put him in hell? What are the Sheedas' views on afterlife? Where would Melmoth's soul end up if you kill him on Witch World?
Man, I cannot understate how much I do not like the Columbians.
Eh... From what we have seen it's only really the Lord Protector that's particularly bad...Man, I cannot understate how much I do not like the Columbians.
I think that's fine.
Thank you, corrected.'warlock-breed', seeing as they were descendants from warlocks.
Altered!Melmoth is surprisingly endearing.Melmoth nods as best he can with the collar and chains.
"I see it clearly now; I was so painfully short sighted. I can never make amends to your forebears, but please let me help you. I know things about your magic and physiology that you have yet to discover; you have access to only a small part of your full magic potent-."
Comes to my mind.
To be honest, I would not have complained of someone took the shot anyway, whether from fear or anger. It's not like it'll kill him, he's immortal.5th May
18:36 GMT -5
Lord-Protector Judah's right hand tightens around the grip of his sword, and his escort barely restrain themselves from raising their jezails.
"This is the fiend?"
Melmoth smiles. "Hello, descendant."
Heh, easy assumption to make, even if it might not feel the same to the Columbians. As for the Lord-Protector (and isn't that a familiar title...) I have to wonder if he's not so locked down, physically and emotionally, as some kind of Geas to rule fairly and as impartially as possible...The Lord-Protector's botoxed face doesn't give anything away, and his wards mean that his empathic network doesn't either.
"Your seal upon his forehead. Does it mean have broken him to your will, as we do the grundymen?"
Which is still worrying. I mean, OL can shut off any potentially harmful urge as soon as he feels it even if it's completely logical to Melmoth in his altered state. But there's still that niggling hint of concern that he might pull something..."No. That's a sign that I've changed his desires. He's still free to make decisions within his new framework."
Melmoth nods as best he can with the collar and chains.
Yeah, nattering on about potential is probably just going to piss off the Columbians. What with their whole opposition to using their in-born talents. Plus, he's just got such a punchable face."I see it clearly now; I was so painfully short sighted. I can never make amends to your forebears, but please let me help you. I know things about your magic and physiology that you have yet to discover; you have access to only a small part of your full magic potent-."
"Cease your prattling, Sheeda-man." Judah turns to Diana. "What is your intent?"
It does fit with what we've seen of previous Sheeda craft... Castle"The Earth will soon face the fury of the full Harrowing fleet. Every piece of information we can learn and every artefact of theirs that we can study improves our ability to fight against them. We would like to bring people here to study this harvest ships-."
"'Harvester Dreadnought'. Though obviously this one has been substantially reconfigured."
Well, you can just drop him into a dark hole whenever you don't need to talk to him. It's not like starving will kill him."And Melmoth's magic. This is a unique opportunity for us."
"You would have us tolerate his presence."
Eh... Putting a technologically advanced craft in the hands of, for want of a better term, primitive people like the Columbians (and I mean that in terms of scientific knowledge, nothing more.) That could go so wrong in so many ways. What if some overzealous Witch-Hunter decides the Warlock-breed need to be exterminated utterly, and hijacks it to do so?"You may, or you may place him in our custody and you need never see him again."
"And the vessel?"
"We have no need for the vessel itself. We merely need to learn how to fight others of its class."
It would be a bad reminder of their history. I'm sure tales of such things, hanging in the sky like swords of Damocles, still persist centuries after their abduction."I mean: will you take this blight from our skies?"
"We…" Diana glances at me. "Can do that, if you wish."
Understandable. I suspect Burning is treated as the ultimate punishment. Imagine it: Being seen as so worthless or so dangerous, that your people would rather see you reduced to ash rather than allow you to serve as a Grundy?"Lord-Protector, I would urge you not to throw this opportunity away. Do you not use the grundymen and grundywomen created from criminals?"
"Those of mundane criminals who may seek forgiveness from God Almighty, aye. From such as him, I would see them burned, not raised. We have no desire for this… Chalice of poison."
No, OL. Not without getting it deeply checked over by a Maltusian technician. Who knows what hidden traps still lay within, even after Melmoth got flipped. Plus the whole issue of the Timey-wimey lime juice...Well… Okay. We offered and he didn't want it. No idea how we're going to ship it, but I suppose that we can just cut it up and shove it through the witch-path in pieces. Or throw it into the local primary.
Or I could take it as a replacement for my old Ice Fortress. I'm sure that I can learn how it works-.
Not the time.
Not as much as you'd like, certainly...
Oh, yes, but whether he would want to? That's a whole other kettle of fish."Technically, no, merely indefinite. Another Orange Lantern or a magic user who knew what they were doing could remove it, and he would revert back to his actual personality."
"Can you make it permanent?"
Surprised there wasn't even a hint of anger showing through. I doubt Judah has that good a temper... Maybe he's emotionally throttled for just that reason..."Yes… But that would effectively make him a new person. If you want to try him for what he did to your forebears, it wouldn't be reasonable to do that to a new person who happened to share the old him's body."
"Do not presume to tell me what is 'reasonable'."
I think even The First of the Fallen would go "He's too dangerous. Flay his soul for fuel and be rid of him." After all, even Hell has some standards."I'm using it in the legal sense."
"By the laws of Columbia he is an outlaw, a pestilence from our grandsire's time who should have long since been keeping company with Satan in eternal hellfire."
Nooo... probably not. Best not to piss off your host any further than he already is. Don't want to burn what little goodwill you've earned dealing with this crisis (which you had a hand in causing, no less...)"And by the laws of the Orange Lantern Corps-" I lay my left hand on the glowing sigil on my body armour's chest. "-I can't hand him over under these conditions. I can't hand over someone I know for a fact not to be guilty in a jurisdiction where I do not believe that they will receive a fair hearing."
Which is a legitimate interpretation of the actual rule, but I don't think calling Lord-Protector Judah 'technically incompetent' is going to win any friends here.
Makes sense, she is a spirit of Truth, and all that. That kind of alteration... Would mean fundamentally altering someone's true self...Judah stares at me for a moment, then turns his face towards Diana.
"And your view on the matter?"
"I'm not comfortable with permanently altering a person's nature in that way, and I will not authorise it."
...You got a couple of years? He has been busy. Very, very busy. And lived a long, long life.I shrug. "I'm fine with that. I just want to make sure that you're fully informed."
"While he is like this, could you order him to list his sins in full?"
What about them? I mean, the warlocks, yes, they might need dealing with, especially if any are as bad as Klarion. But the warlock-breed aren't really.. Are you really considering them tainted by the sins of their forefathers? ...Oh, right..."Um. He probably doesn't precisely share your definition of 'sin' and so might struggle. And I'm not sure whether or not his memory is perfect. He's very old and has committed a great many crimes. But I could make him want to recount as many as he can remember to the best of his ability."
"You must take this vessel, and may take a share of the fallen beasts. I will consult with parliament on the matter of Melmoth himself." Diana and I nod. "Now. What of the witch-breed, and the accursed warlocks?"
Oh, that would just drive people nuts with paranoia. Imagine not knowing if someone new to town were a 'true and just' Columbian who hews to their rules, or some warlock-breed wearing the mask of pureness and good? Even if the warlock-breed were willing to agree to be bound as the Columbians are, and many did seem to be, that whole 'sins of the father' thing would follow them...Diana shakes her head. "This doesn't change anything. We're still willing to offer them sanctuary if they want it. Though with the attacks by the Sheeda beasts coming to an end it is possible that they would prefer to remain here."
"Or we could offer them Melmoth's knowledge to turn them into normal humans. Or.. Columbian humans. I mean, I understand why you hate warlocks, but if the worst they've done is have a warlock parent or grandparent, well… That ancestor won't be as bad as Melmoth and you're all descended from him."
Save it, Diana, the man's made his mind up. And he does not seem the sort to change it for anything. Even if The Presence itself came down with a host of angels and told him to, he'd probably refuse."They are not citizens of Columbia. We have agreed a truce, and I have no cause to forbid them from seeking his aid. But they will not be citizens for as long as I draw breath."
"Lord-Protector-."
Wow, asshole. Stubborn to a fault, and proud to admit it..."No, no, I get it. It's a catch twenty-two. If they're showing Sheeda modifications then they're tainted, and if they use Sheeda technology to remove those modifications then they're tainted."
"Verily."
I don't know, how long..."Would you let them become citizens if they removed their alterations by some other means?"
"Which part of 'draw breath' escapes your comprehensions?"
Damn, you got there first.Diana gives me a short glare as she somehow hears me thinking 'how long do witch-men live, asking for a friend?'.
"As you will. Let me know when I can be of further service."
Let's hope he goes for the 'out of sight, out of mind' angle, and not 'hung, drawn, quartered and then burnt.' Not that the latter would likely keep Melmoth down, given his immortality.I walk away, heading for one of the launch bays. Melmoth told me that he didn't know if anything could be done for Aurakos, but he's more than happy to try. And I want him to try soon just in case Judah decides to give him the thumbs down.
...study this harvest ship-.
True, but if he wanted to, the rings let him use could godspeech and Diana is new-god-ish enough to hear it.She didn't hear your thoughts, Paul. That's pure pattern recognition.
DO. IT.Or I could take it as a replacement for my old Ice Fortress. I'm sure that I can learn how it works-.
Rude.
Surprisingly tolerant response Paul. Well done.
True, but if he wanted to, the rings let him use could godspeech and Diana is new-god-ish enough to hear it.
To be honest, I would not have complained of someone took the shot anyway, whether from fear or anger. It's not like it'll kill him, he's immortal.
Heh, easy assumption to make, even if it might not feel the same to the Columbians. As for the Lord-Protector (and isn't that a familiar title...) I have to wonder if he's not so locked down, physically and emotionally, as some kind of Geas to rule fairly and as impartially as possible...
Which is still worrying. I mean, OL can shut off any potentially harmful urge as soon as he feels it even if it's completely logical to Melmoth in his altered state. But there's still that niggling hint of concern that he might pull something...
Yeah, nattering on about potential is probably just going to piss off the Columbians. What with their whole opposition to using their in-born talents. Plus, he's just got such a punchable face.
Well, you can just drop him into a dark hole whenever you don't need to talk to him. It's not like starving will kill him.
It would be a bad reminder of their history. I'm sure tales of such things, hanging in the sky like swords of Damocles, still persist centuries after their abduction.
I think even The First of the Fallen would go "He's too dangerous. Flay his soul for fuel and be rid of him." After all, even Hell has some standards.
Save it, Diana, the man's made his mind up. And he does not seem the sort to change it for anything. Even if The Presence itself came down with a host of angels and told him to, he'd probably refuse.
And to those refusing to look at the story from an objective perspective, you should really stop criticizing people who do.
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Failures in discipline in a military unit are a big deal, even if the person they shot had it coming.To be honest, I would not have complained of someone took the shot anyway, whether from fear or anger. It's not like it'll kill him, he's immortal.
'Lord Protector' and 'Lord-Protector' are completely different titles.
Thank you, corrected.
I don't think that works if the kettle isn't black.
It works best if the kettle isn't black, especially in this case.
That's the point though. A phrase I've heard in another context is 'the pot calling the silverware black'
good. if he is anything in the comics like he was presented in justice league unlimited, then that is a very good thing.Hopefully.
Though I fear if we do Zoat will just have his SI mind fuck Lobo into an upstanding citizen or something.
"Oh, that's no problem. I know of several anaerobic respiratory systems I could fit you with."
Why not either 1) fix it or 2) remove the hands and treat it as an ornament?I have a broken coocoo clock my wife won't let me throw away, so I put it in another room so I don't have to look at it.
Could you be more precise?If the plan is to release him at a certain point then that's very shortsighted of Paul.
The ship uses magic-based technology that is so different to the tech base of everyone involved in the NEMO project that it... Wouldn't really be worth their time. Now, an industrialising magic-focused civilisation could really benefit from it.Giving the ship to the Dox to study and report back is reasonable.