stilldontgotit | 42 - voice/action;

You know, it's kind of crazy to think about. When I first showed up here, I was fifteen, completely powerless, and all I ever wanted was to see the outside world. Everything about this place was new to me. I thought it was a dream come true.

[Mostly, anyway. He had some rough times back then. Selfishness, arrogance, mistakes... It's never fun.]

My friends were a year ahead of me. Learning about the future wasn't easy, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been in that position.

But it's been almost three years. I know my future, and when I leave, I'll probably go right back to where I was. The thing is, I just don't see myself as the same guy my friends know from their time. Not completely.

[There's a pause, followed by a soft 'hm'.]

Anyone else feel that way? Like, after being here for so long, your identity's just kind of changed?

[And with that out of the way, Riku can be found chilling in the battle dome after creating a simulated version of Destiny Islands. After some hanging out there, he'll just be wandering the village. Probably going to hang by the plaza, maybe drop by the library. Anything goes!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...

E-Essentially, yes. Violence in g-general is... [He wishes he could explain the sheer... pervasiveness that it has in Terran culture. It's so difficult to put into words the kind of way it's... almost engrained into him, to the point that it's like fighting against behavioural conditioning.]

Man, how do they even enforce that?

[It's a little hard to grasp. Banning violence altogether?]

... M-Much of it is... s-self-policed...

T-Terrans are taught from a young age that v-violence is... barbaric. Few... d-deviate from that norm, and... a-and there are... a n-number of internal reactions I have had to v-violence...

[Violent impulses are curbed, or hidden, or redirected, or... they fester and rot inside.]

... The g-government has... methods of... er, a-analysis. For... for d-deviant behaviour.

[... Yes, this is as scary as it sounds.]

... Until I c-came here, I... I did not understand how... ... how flawed this w-was...

[Huh, that's... interesting. Interesting and mildly disturbing.]

So they force conformity on everybody?

... It is... n-not forced. Not... overtly, l-like the Malnosso do, though... th-though I am certain the threat of... of b-being imprisoned keeps people... f-from acting out, so to speak...

...

However, there... there is... an e-expectation, that... that people be similar. That... no m-major differences be present...

... B-Because... the g-general idea - [- the one he had before Luceti -] - is that d-differences are... dangerous. D-Divisive. Cause... problems, inherently.

... A... u-unified mindset suffers less...

[And yet it also causes stagnation.]

Maybe it suffers less, but I'd argue that it makes society way too plain.

... I... I think at th-this point, I... might be inclined to a-agree with you, m-moreso than Terra...

...

[Awkwardly:] But... s-such an opinion would be... unprecedented, on T-Terra. There, major differences have... only s-succeeded in causing wars, hatred, and... p-policies that only benefit certain individuals...

... This is not necessarily t-true here, but... [What if it was?]

Only? No offense, but I seriously doubt that. Maybe the wars and conflict stand out more, but it's never that simple.

[You're talking to a very concrete-minded person, Riku. It's hard for him to see these shades of gray.]

... Wh-what do you mean, exactly...?

It's never black and white. There are always exceptions and grey areas.

[And boy is he one walking grey area.]

I... I will g-grant you that, but... ... a-are they always the same...?

[It's a rhetorical question, and one that hasn't gotten any easier for the scientist to answer.]

I'd say they vary just as much as the situations and conflicts that come with them.

Hrm...

... W-Well, with... with that logic, I... I am not certain if some situations woukd... result in d-difficulty either way...

... all I know is th-that... Terra has far less c-conflict than Luceti does...

I just wonder what the costs are. Guess I wouldn't know, since I haven't been there before.

...

... Well... I can s-say one thing... Terra is much less... d-diverse.

Even the... f-food is... far less varied there...

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