After the storm

[jianai]

[1]
[Late at night, Ren is looking up at the starry sky. It is peaceful and quiet, with wind gently blowing, a fresh breeze on everyone's faces.]

I was a fool, wasn't I?

If you close your heart, if you stay distant from others - then they can't really hurt you. And if you are not sure about someone's intentions, that is the best way to avoid disappointment and harm.

And yet...

And yet I will continue being a fool.

I am aware of horrible things human beings are capable of. I even experienced it first hand - this doesn't change anything. Because, every day, I am surrounded by proof of wonderful things people are capable of, too. People of Earth, and of other planets.

[Ren notices the shining object in the distance. It was not there just a few days' ago. Cybertron.]

Great kindness, incredible cruelty and everything in between. That's what it means to be human, doesn't it? Sorry for waxing so philosophically.

[2]
Hello!

[Ren approaches people they know with a glint in their eye. It might be time to run.]

So many people were concerned about recent happenings, I'd like to help them get at least some relief. And I know how.

Would you like to attend a religious ceremony with me?

Comments

[jianai]

This is what makes us alive, doesn't it? Pursuing the most logical option is not always the correct choice of action.

[abugslife]

Is that really what you are trying to say? That those who chose a path different from yours did not pick the correct choice? And that they do not have anything in their existence that makes them alive? Perhaps they are not truly human, either?

[jianai]

It is amusing of you to imply that, Hetepheres.

After all you are the one who just did the exact same thing.

[abugslife]

I am not the one who called you a fool. You have chosen that title yourself.

You seek acknowledgement, do you not. Acknowledgment that the path you have chosen might be the foolish one, but it is also the right one. I cannot acknowledge that, for it would also mean that those whose paths are different have chosen wrong. And that would not be true. You can find happiness, and fulfillment, while living at a distance with others. I would know that well.

[jianai]

Or perhaps, both paths are correct.

In the end, what matters most, is individual approach. Every single person is different, and wants - or needs, different things.

[abugslife]

It is a matter of preference. If you choose a path that will cause you more pain in the future, it is not my place to forbid you from taking it.

Coincidentally, my answer to the question of "what is human?" is much simpler than yours.

[jianai]

Is it something like "if you wonder whether you are a human or not, then you are"?

[abugslife]

Yes.

[jianai]

That is a very benevolent definition.

[abugslife]

What benevolence is there to it? There is nothing inherently noble or special about being human. It simply means you belong to a species that chooses that name for itself, or identify yourself as one.

[jianai]

You know, Hetepheres...

Despite hating humanity, many of my kin would disagree with you on that. Quite strongly in fact.

[abugslife]

I am not surprised. Putting what you hate on a pedestal is as common as putting what you love. Though it is a different kind of idealization.