Changes

[duetsavvy]

[1]
Wow, what was that? I didn't know it could do that! Why didn't anyone tell me?

[Brye is looking over the smoking battered hulls of the Huckebein and Grungust duo. The duo returned from SSR headquarters, even though the seal SSR housed is no longer there - it's in the units now. Somehow.]

I'm terrified, but also excited! Can a human person have so much adrenaline in her system and still live? Is something terrible going to happen now?


[2]
So, that was the "Loni", huh...

[A fair bit later Bryanne is still alive, but instead she's more thoughtful and pondering loudly.]

I knew he was a jerk but now it looks like he's not all right in the head too. But the scary thing is, I think he got one thing right. In very, very general terms.

This world needs to change. Look what happened with SSR and the Cambio thingy. Look what happens to people all the time. This isn't right, this needs to change.

I just don't think Loni's the one who should do it.

Comments

2

[majestic_keiki]

Yeah, it probably should. I never really thought about it, but it seems like we're fighting other people far more than aliens, demons or anything of the sort these days.

Relying on magic to change the world is probably a bad idea, though.

[duetsavvy]

Was anything ever accomplished by hoping magic can fix it?

And yeah, if I recall correctly - UG was made to respond to crisises that come from giant monsters, aliens and such. Right?

[majestic_keiki]

Yes, but we ended up fighting human terrorists a lot as well.

[duetsavvy]

And looks like you're doing that, still. But something motivates people to become terrorists. If that can change...

[majestic_keiki]

I think it's many different things for different people. But the chaos of the world probably doesn't help.

[duetsavvy]

Still. If we could make it so instead of beating up terrorists, they decide not to be them...

I know, it's not easy. but it'd be nice.

[majestic_keiki]

We're soldiers, not politicians, it's probably beyond our means. Not that I'm sure politicians can guarantee it either.

[duetsavvy]

It's true, it's beyond our means, I guess.

But, you made one mistake.

[majestic_keiki]

Oh?

2

[brought_it_back]

...What are you getting at.

[duetsavvy]

What I'm getting at? I'm not a revolutionary or anything, but look at the state of the world. Is that alright with you?

[brought_it_back]

No. But it sounded like you wanted to use those seals...

...Nobody deserves that kind of power. Not even us.

[duetsavvy]

Why do you say that?

[brought_it_back]

They can..'change the world', right? In the god-like sense.

Here, we work to try to make the world safer, and better. Piece by piece, bit by bit. But, if you asked people what 'an ideal world' looked like, there would be many different answers. What might be a paradise to one could be a hell to another.

...We're all imperfect beings. I don't think we have the wisdom to use that power, without hurting many, many people.

[duetsavvy]

Hmm. There must be better ways to do it. And we don't need an ideal world, but one better than what we have. Like... the world before vaccines were a thing was worse then after, right? I don't think introducing them hurt anyone.

[brought_it_back]

It took a long time before people could agree on that, didn't it?

If you want to change the world, do it without that power. It will be slow and frustrating, but when you make a mistake - which will happen - the problem will be smaller.

[duetsavvy]

Slow and frustrating? This isn't like preparing for a test or learning a skill. Slow and steady may win the race then, but we're talking about fixing the world. Hypothetically. I don't have any kind of magic wand to wave around and make it a better place.

But if we did, why not use it? You just have to be very careful to know what to wish for, but some things are more obviously good than others.

2

[dignity_kept]

You would be a much better choice, I presume.

[The spectral form of Kagura is by now something of a common sight around the bases, but the way her voices seem to bounce on the walls never stops being weird]

[duetsavvy]

Yeah? I mean, a lot of people would, right?

[dignity_kept]

You think? I certainly wouldn't want it.

So what would you do with the power to change the world, then, do you think?

[duetsavvy]

A lot of people are suffering all around the world, don't you think they deserve better? There's violence, sickness, starvation... I'd fix all of that.

[dignity_kept]

Easy enough, isn't it.

Say, are you willing to perform massive brain alterations on a large part of your species, Eriksen?

[duetsavvy]

Eh? What are you... are you saying these are parts of human nature?

[dignity_kept]

I'm saying that's what it would take to "fix violence" tomorrow. You'd need to perform such a brutal change to humanity that I'm not sure you'd recognize what would be left.

And that is why this kind of thing is dangerous. The greater the power, the easier it is for everything to go FUBAR in unexpected directions after you rub the lamp and the djinni gets to work. There are so many factors involved that a human brain couldn't properly keep them all in mind when using this kind of power.

[duetsavvy]

Well... scratch that one, but what about the rest? You give people homes their lost, or food back on their tables, they'll be much happier and I wouldn't be surprised if violence levels went down, too!