thefinaljedi | Appointments

[Luke shakes his head, huffing a faint laugh.]

Unnatural might be the wrong word. Tainted is probably more right, as it seems into the essence of things that use it and changes them. It does have a mind of it's own. I know from experience.

[As close an admission as he will give that he's dabbled himself. Luke Skywalker is no stranger to the Dark Side and it's offers of power.]

The fish analogy would work better if you thought of it more as a fish in oil. It can survive there, but eventually the oil will overcome it. It's the same for the Dark Side. It will eventually consume and kill anyone closely associated with it.

[The plant weighs this.]

Although it's stretching the metaphor to silliness, as I know very well what you are intending at this point, it is still overwhelmingly tempting to point out the bacteria that can still live and thrive in and on oil.

Not so much this 'dark side' of yours, I imagine.

[Questions with purpose, though stalled for a moment. It was best to know and not need the information, than need it and not know..]

I suppose you would be disinclined to explain further about it having its own will. Does the 'light side' have a will of its own as well?

[If Luke was adverse to the negative, perhaps he'd be more open with the positive.]

And so can some fish, at least where I'm from. But they've evolved differently, because of the influence of the oil. Changed by the outside influence.

[Star Wars has some weird fish.]

I wouldn't be disinclined at all. The Dark and the Light both have their own will. The Light often guides people towards answers, and sometimes offers visions to point people in a direction. When it exerts it's will, an adept will experience a moment of clarity. As for the Dark, it brings out violent urges, accompanied by rage. It too offers visions of the future, but often warped, and they aren't quite as accurate as the Light Side's.

Life finds a way to adapt to any environment it seems. There is little oil on my world to adapt to, but the desert has many other things living in it.

[The likes of which Luke might well be able to make reasonable guesses at, being raised on a desert with binary stars as well.]

If both the Dark and the Light offer obvious benefits, else nobody would use them at all.. given the drawbacks of using the dark's power, such as uncontrollability, why would anyone turn to it at all? Is it stronger? A simpler path?

[Knives can't use the Force. The power he had was.. fairly different and he had no intention of using it. But it's interesting to know.. and if he ever happened across another Jedi he wouldn't be completely helpless by way of information.]

...Though, warped how? Have you experienced visions from both sides of the spectrum? Is there a neutral medium between them, or simply black and white?

[That's an easier question to answer.]

It's far simpler to grow angry than it is to master your own emotions. The Dark Side is a quick route to power, and in some ways, mainly ways to destroy or hurt, it is more powerful. But it can't heal or shield like the Light.

[Luke nods at that question, too.]

I have experienced both, yes. During my training, I was confronted by visions from the Dark Side, and it's something my family struggles with. Steering clear of our tempers. As to the...grey? Yes and no. That's a matter of debate between different philosophers. I personally feel there are some aspects of the Force that are entirely neutral, and some that are good and some evil. Others feel differently, but as I don't agree I can hardly speak on their behalf impartially.

[This, Knives can't deny. He struggled to keep his own hatreds and fears at bay on a daily basis and at least maintain outward calm and not act on those destructive, violent habits. Anger came so much easier than calm, but he tried.

He tried very hard. One day he wasn't going to succeed..]

Rage provides little power that I've experienced. Only the blindness to ignore all else in favor of the target.

[It's not an argument for why anger is good. Far from it.]

Were I younger, perhaps such a quick route to power would be tempting indeed.

[Knives still sticks on the idea of power itself being evil. It didn't feel right to him somehow. What one chooses to do with it could be wrong or right, but the power itself..? He thinks about it a moment before putting it aside.]

It's a good object lesson. You should try it, for practice. To weigh another's perspective as neutrally as you can, and to keep one's own biases and expectations out of it is an incredible struggle but often valuable. ..Perhaps on something not quite so potentially corruptive as this Dark Side, but other things.

[Luke nods, completely agreeing.]

It's something I'm trying to work on, myself. My apologies if I came across as harsh. This is something I've had a lot of personal experience with, and none of it positive.

[There is a brief flash of displeasure through Knives' carefully maintained calm. Luke should be apologizing--

The thought is shaken off.]

I've had my share of unpleasant lifelong experiences. They color one's views pretty indelibly, that you experience the same is no surprise. Your actions and reactions nonetheless are superior to what I've come to expect from your species.

It is not something that fits in the reality I am from, however. In that reality, all power is simply power. What one chooses to do with it can be good or bad. The idea of an 'evil' force of nature is difficult to come to grips with as much as it is hard to grasp a 'good' force of nature. Like a sandstorm, such things simply.. exist, in No Man's Land.

[Luke raises an eyebrow but nods at the somewhat backhanded compliment.]

Our worlds are different, as are our experiences. I can't really say more than that. Though, time will lead to new perspectives I feel. Who can say, especially in a place like Luceti?

Entire realities may differ. The power of one galaxy may not fuel the next, and so on. Luceti might not be the best place to acquire new perspectives.

[His tone sours a little.]

It's a prison. Individuals do not act normally when imprisoned, no matter how pretty the cage is.

It is a prison. Thankfully, someone else sees it for that.

[He shakes his head and stares at the false sky.]

Frankly, I think too many people are starting to feel too settled here. And far, far too comfortable. We should be focusing on finding ways to protect ourselves. Too many barriers have been broken by the Third Party, and the Malnosso are seemingly always too slow to react.

There are a few who do, it seems. But not enough. We are caged here, to be used, killed and dragged back at the whim of our captors. It is not a good, peaceful life.

[Knives has learned to manage his hate pretty well, but this sort of ... of slavery hit on every single trigger that was most likely to induce bloody rage. It's probably for the best he lacked the power he once had.]

Protecting ourselves is good. Being able to fight back is better. They've found a way to hobble the power of most people here, surely there would be a way to shut it off.

[He doesn't sound like he believes it, but hope is a fragile thing.]

I will never .. be settled here. It is a miracle, this much life and this much water, but the price for it is too high.

[Luke nods in agreement. The cost is far, far too high for what little benefit is offered]

Time. Give it time, and we'll find some answers I'm sure.

I disagree.

[Luke is given a brief, unreadable glance, emotions subdued.]

The people who have been here the longest are those most settled into this life. Time is our enemy.

[Time is his enemy. How long did he have left? Weeks? That wouldn't be long enough to see Vash freed from this place..]

[He can't agree with that assessment.]

I don't know, have you met Law and Raine? They've been here for years, and they're all but hellbent on escape. Shikamaru, Ami, Albert, Gai...there are people who have been here more than five years and they're just as bent on escape as you or I.

I wouldn't say time is our enemy, necessarily. Time is the enemy of some, but those are the people who've done little to change the situation, from what I've seen.

I have met none of the people you have mentioned. Nor have I heard anything greater than even the mildest of discontent with this place, save from you. Not even my brother seems concerned.

[Knives' smile is thin.]

You could say I don't spend a lot of time chatting with humans.

[Luke's own smile is tired, but understanding.]

Yeah, I got that impression. I don't know what to say, honestly. There've been plenty of people voicing discontent, but maybe not openly. I find it's best to avoid talking about anything we want private on the journals or in any building made by the Malnosso. They do bug them.

I don't do much with that ... journal. It is convenient for keeping tabs on my brother and little else. But I have my doubts that there are those here who truly wish their freedom. It is part of humanity's nature to ... 'make the best of what they have'. It's a psychological adaption. Your kind are well-suited to captivity and slavery.

[Nothing in how Knives says it, makes it sound like he ever wanted to keep a human slave. It sounds more like biological fact the way he says it, like one might say 'lions eat meat'.]

You will deny it, and cite rebellion across time as proof, and yet all I will do is point to the countless human lives living under oppression and doing nothing at all, because it is comfortable... ....And I can do little to try to save any of you, here, even if I wished to. I can do very little to save myself, never mind another.

[There's a small pause.]

How much do you know, of the effect or power that brings the dead to life here?

Appointments

[Action with a pickled radish]

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[Action with a salty winch...for loading boxes]

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[Action with a periscope! Dive Dive!.] And sorry this is short.

[Action on a bouy] NEVER FORGIVE

[Action on a pier] NEVER FORGET

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[Action on a piece of mind!]

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[Action in a stew]

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[Action, slightly beer flavored.]