hadriel | Sixth ☂ Text

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Sixth ☂ Text

[Have you missed him? Sorrow graces the network of Hadriel once more, and just like every other time, he's calm, composed. Even death can't seem to shake him.]

It's time for a relocation.

[Straight to business, as always.]

Fear was acting quickly when he moved the city to the homeworld of our original hosts, but this is hardly an environment that I'd approve of staying in for too long. I understand that many of you longed to be free from the underground caverns, but we were safer there. Here- we're vulnerable, exposed to Null scans, and without cover. As such, I've instructed Fear to move the city immediately.

[There's a pause, as he considers- though of course, he's already thought this part through.]

Of our four underground cities that we moved between, the Null have located two. It's possible that Delight has told them the location of the other two. Therefore, our remaining options are the surfaces of the other planets- places that provide more tactical advantages when it comes to hiding and potentially fighting the Null. With that being said, there are three options that come to mind immediately. Listen closely- I am allowing you to decide which location best suits your purposes, both for hiding and for a potential battle.

• The first is a planet that is far colder than this one. Temperatures are often below freezing, which inhibit's the Null's ability to scan for life. This was the planet where we made first contact with the Null, as well as the first planet they attacked. Some of our embassies may still remain, with information about our alliance and about the Null that were lost to us.

• The second is a planet with far more life than this one. The city location is overrun by various plants and animals, which will provide adequate cover to hide from the Null, though they may prove dangerous to you. The area is lush and humid and it rains quite often- flooding is a possibility.

• As for the third... the planet's surface is roughly ninety-two percent water, making it one of the few places the Null would not care to look. The inhabitable areas are rocky islands, with some aquatic life and a few plants further inland. This planet is where many of my elders resided, and at one point, I visited here often to learn of the history of my species. The Null destroyed all of our structures and every artifact here that they could find, but they did not find all of them. This is where I instructed Fear to find the Door.

These are the options we have available to us right now. I trust you'll choose wisely.

Poll #19918

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 80

Where should we go next?

The frozen planet
13 (16.2%)

The jungle planet
22 (27.5%)

The ocean planet
45 (56.2%)

[He'd end it there, but- well, there's an elephant in the room here, isn't there?]

Additionally. Thank you.

I understand that the motivation to resurrect me was largely due to my knowledge of the Door and your desire to return home, but all the same... I was forced again to consider the possibility of failure. When I- when the Null destroyed me, I had to come to terms with the thought that this was the end of our efforts.

Because of all of you, it was not.

I owe you a debt. I won't forget that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

welcome back. things were rather shitty without you.

[Well, Rey thinks so, anyway. Though things were already pretty shitty for her for a while, we're not talking about that.]

do any of these potential embassies have any information on the null that could be useful in any future encounters with them, you think?

I can imagine. With all of our experienced leaders either dead or driven to exhaustion... you did well, despite a lack of direction.

[Anyway.]

Someone told me once that any information is useful. I don't know what could be there, though Tranquility might. If anything on that planet survived the destruction of our alliance... well, that's better than the information we currently have.

[Now that they've got the gratitude and mushy feelings out of the way...]

couldn't agree with you more. will take whatever info we can get.
can't deny that it wouldn't be interesting to learn more about you guys, tho.

take it by your wording that wherever we go to won't be our final destination. that mean we might be able to swing by one of the other planets eventually then?

It's unsafe to stay in any one place for too long. The Null know about us now, and they will stop at nothing to find us. With that in mind, I'd say it's likely that we would face another relocation, probably to one of the other planets.

My hope is that by going through these various locations, we can find information and items that will assist us in ultimately ridding ourselves of them.

well good, was getting sick of this planet anyway.
wherever we go would be better than this endless sunshine and sand.

so you stated pretty clearly that the first and third planets have potential info and items to find. what about the second? it doesn't sound like there's anything useful there, unless some of us want take up on botany.

I haven't personally been to the second. I mention it because it's the only other location I can imagine us hiding for any length of time, as the forestry would confuse the Null sensors. The potential information in the first and third are useful, but not necessarily the main point of our retreat.

right, the main point is because your revival most likely set off their sensors or whatever they were using to track your movements in the first place.

how much time would you say we have before they come here? can't imagine it won't be long.

They'll need to mobilize. They can't move through space like Fear can, and so they'll try to overcome us before he gathers the power to move the city.

He'll need to gather that power quickly. I would advise you to be prepared.

that's
good to know, actually.
don't like being out and exposed like this. this place doesn't seem to offer much strategic advantages for a potential fight.

had a feeling that he was probably going to need a little boost before we set sail. nice not to be proven wrong for once.

Your instincts are correct.

[There's a pause, before he swaps the feed to private- and though Rey can't see the specifics, it excludes even the other gods from seeing his transmission.]

I need to ensure that what happened with Delight will not happen again.

I assume you still have a god killer- or you know where one is.

that's right.

when the majority opted to keep delight alive, it seemed better to have one on hand in case she ever breaks out somehow, so we have a way of protecting ourselves.
pretty sure you guys think that prison of hers will hold, but you were also sure that you wouldn't have been betrayed by your own.

After everything I've done to save our species, I would not approve of killing one of them unless absolutely necessary. At the very least, I could attempt to convince her to reproduce before her death.

I don't assume absolutes. If she breaks free, she will need to be dealt with. If any of the rest of my kin are sympathetic to her and we see a repeat of our previous circumstances, they will need to be dealt with. To that end, you have a god killer.

If you have another, I would humbly request that you give it to me.

didn't know that reproducing was even an option for her. [Weird.]

but don't worry, it would only be used for something absolutely necessary, like if she or anyone else tried going after hope again.

will let you know if another godkiller comes up. wouldn't want something like that in the wrong hands.

thanks for understanding.

It would weaken her immensely, but it would be possible. Her offspring would not share her viewpoints, but would carry on the Delight lineage.

Of course. I will not compromise when it comes to the continuation of my species, even if that means killing or allowing the deaths of individuals who would risk it.

Hope survives, or everything we've done has been for nothing. Everything I do is for him.

[And considering that Sorrow has died to protect Hope twice now, that's pretty damn believable.]

well it's not like she's going to be making much use of her energy there. [Rey was pissed to hear that it was decided to imprison Delight over an execution, but maybe she could be useful to them in another way.] how do you guys reproduce, anyway? do you split apart like amoebas or something? do i even want to know?

[No, you probably don't, Rey. But the curiosity is still there like a terrible kitty curse.]

understood. since hope is the one who can bring others and the rest of you back, it only makes sense. won't ask you to risk your species, just to give us a chance.

We isolate a part of ourselves and give it sentience before cutting it out. The process takes an extraordinary amount of energy and leaves us immensely weakened- which can be mitigated by allowing another god to assist, though that's... taboo, in some regard.

The offspring is, for all intents and purposes, a new life. In general, it does not have the knowledge or experience of its predecessor, but it knows... some things. It is weak and naive- maturity takes time. This is typically done when we have a surplus of host population, but needs must.

sounds painful and tiring.
is it taboo because the traits of the predecessor carries over to the offspring, like fear? or is it just the relationship itself not considered tolerable?

well guess that's one good reason to have kept delight alive then. doubt you guys would want to be raising her progeny while being chased by the null at the same time tho, right? unless upbringing works differently for your kind.

Because the traits have a potential to carry over. It makes one of us... different, in both personality and ability. It can upset the balance of the eight. The Fear you know is an example of this, though I like to think that the Tranquility who helped sire him gave him his ability to become something of Hadriel's secondary leader in my absence. Imperfect, but useful.

Relationships are allowed. Romance is not particularly common among the gods due to our nature, but it's not unheard of.

You're correct, though. Raising a child god is something that I have experience with and is... tiring. It can take decades for us to mature.

[And, just to head her off-]

-don't make a crass comment about the maturity levels of those here. Remember that all of us are still considered very young for our species.

no one's really "perfect" - even you. diversity tends to be essential in order to progress and evolve.

it is amusing tho. they say opposites attract, and your species seems to be no exception to that. instead of something like rage it was a tranquility who helped to make the fear we know. in some way you could call that maintaining another sort of balance.

[Heh.]

don't know what you're talking about. wasn't going to say anything about that.
but really, considering you are one of the last and have made it this far, you're not doing too bad.

Diversity, yes. Diversity that can unbalance our system, however- inconvenient and inefficient. Systems of us have stagnated and failed to provide for their hosts due to differences attributed to multiple parents.

Opposites seem to attract with us. Even among our system, our preferred alliances would support that claim wholeheartedly. But then, you look at Fear and Hope and see how they loathe one another, and the theory is thrown right out the window, is it not?

Anyway, thank you. I hadn't attributed our youth as a factor in our survival any more than the fact that our colony was overlooked for some time due to its smaller size.

and stagnation is just as likely with civilizations where everything remains the status quo.
not trying to argue, just saying.

wouldn't say it's entirely thrown out. fear and hope clash but hope and you team up well, and it's not like hope and sorrow are exactly synonymous.
thenthere was rage and delight. never really got how those two got along so well.
either way it's more about the proper chemistry than opposites alone.

hey you're welcome. thanks for indulging me.

I see.

There are indeed many factors when it comes to our relationships. We all have a long history with one another.

caught on to that much.

can't imagine that'd make it easy, dealing with what delight did.
out of curiosity, what would you have wanted done with her if you had a say in the matter at the time?

Edited 2018-05-22 07:25 (UTC)

It's a difficult decision.

Likely death. But as I don't want to unbalance the eight of us, I'd have requested she reproduce before being executed.

guess it is a downer to have delight down for the count. people actually liked her.

[Rey was one of them, but now she has nothing but contempt for the god. There was just no excuse for what she did.]

well good luck with trying to deal with her. better you than any of us, for sure.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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