[20:43] -- truculentConservationist [TC] began pestering sesquipedalianScholar [SS] at 20:43 --
[20:43] TC: Hey, Dirk?
[20:43] TC: Or, well, Future Dirk, apparently?
[20:44] TC: Got a second to talk?
[20:44] SS: Yeah, kind of a long story on that one... anyway, what's up?
[20:44] TC: It's about Chas.
[20:44] SS: What isn't?
[20:44] TC: Specifically, he's a fucking useless piece of shit puppet.
[20:45] TC: Those are not qualities I look for in a leader.
[20:45] SS: I can understand perfectly where you're coming from, and considering I come from a timeline where his bullshit leading (with a lot of help from me being a complete prick, mind you) got us all killed,
[20:46] SS: I might even say I agree.
[20:46] TC: ...Oh.
[20:46] SS: But.
[20:46] TC: Uh.
[20:46] SS: Like I said. LONG story. Would you prefer I give you the history lesson first, or the daily proverb?
[20:46] TC: I can't resist the temptation. I'll take them in that order.
[20:47] SS: Well, all right. First off, what do you know about timelines?
[20:47] TC: Let's assume "nothing".
[20:47] SS: OK then, luckily I'm the Mentor of Time, so I am perfectly qualified to teach this sort of thing.
[20:48] SS: Picture a piece of string, ok?
[20:48] TC: A string of timey-wimey stuff.
[20:48] TC: Got it.
[20:48] SS: Now imagine literally everything to ever occur in this universe is located, in linear order, on that string.
[20:49] SS: That is the timeline. Specifically, the Alpha Timeline; that is, the timeline destined by Sburb to be the true, "successful" one.
[20:49] SS: However, this timeline can fray. If something goes awry at any point in time, that string frays into newer little bits of string going off in other directions.
[20:50] SS: Those are Beta Timelines, also known as Doomed Timelines, or Calamityfuckville if you're in a festive mood.
[20:50] TC: Not particularly, no.
[20:50] SS: See, the Alpha Timeline has a very specific destiny. But Beta timelines, all bets are off. Their only destiny is unescapable destruction.
[20:51] SS: I am from one of those Beta Timelines. I'm not the Dirk you know, currently off running around doing his hero thing.
[20:51] SS: Now for the history lesson.
[20:51] SS: In the timeline I came from, things were going swimmingly until I did something stupid.
[20:52] SS: Monumentally stupid, the kind of stupid that denied us the power boost we needed to win the game.
[20:52] SS: That was when shit went to shit.
[20:52] TC: Well shit.
[20:52] SS: A day or two ahead of where we are right now, the battle between Prospit and Derse went south.
[20:53] SS: I learned of this development about the time an unruly Agent of Derse chucked Greg's corpse at my face.
[20:53] TC: That's rather odd.
[20:53] TC: He should've eaten his heart, and gained his courage.
[20:54] SS: I... I don't remember you being like that in the Beta timeline. Did you get hit on the head?
[20:54] SS: I'm talking about our fucking best friend here. Dead.
[20:55] TC: ...I...sorry, it just...doesn't seem real to me.
[20:55] TC: It didn't quite register that this was your recent past.
[20:55] TC: So that was more-or-less a dick move on my part.
[20:55] SS: It's fine. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. Most of us--you, rather, I guess, are still kind of under the assumption that this is all a game.
[20:56] SS: But anyways, that's not important.
[20:56] SS: After I fought him off, I tried to gather everyone else, and found out our plan to invade Derse had completely went tits-up.
[20:56] SS: All of our guardians were dead, and the Dersites were hunting us down.
[20:57] SS: At that point it was just me and Chas; we decided that I needed to come back to the Alpha timeline and stop you guys from screwing up like we did.
[20:58] SS: A couple seconds later the Black Queen kicked down the metaphorical door and killed him; I was able to fight her to a standstill and escape, but she'd completely destroyed all of my equipment. So I alchemized some basic stuff, and came back to where your Dirk went looking for a future self to keep an eye on Chas.
[20:59] SS: And now, here I am, playing damage control.
[20:59] TC: So you're here to put things right.
[21:00] SS: Basically. There's a few key points I've figured are the points where we really went wrong. And I'm currently in the process of preventing those things from going wrong.
[21:01] TC: Well, for both our sakes, I wish you luck.
[21:02] SS: Thanks. But now that that's dealt with, I believe you were asking about Chas.
[21:02] TC: Aye.
[21:02] TC: I guess it's time for the moral lesson of the day.
[21:02] SS: Yep. The way I look at it, Sburb has a very specific definition of a leader.
[21:03] SS: It's not exactly like what you and I think of.
[21:03] TC: Oh?
[21:03] SS: To Sburb, a leader is a lot more than a guy who gives out orders; somebody who you can follow, even. Hell, he doesn't even have to be inspiring.
[21:04] SS: A leader, in this game, is a symbol. A banner that we all raise into the heavens as a symbol of our teamwork.
[21:05] SS: Chas is by no means a good leader by your definition. Or mine. But by Sburb's he fits. He's a blindly idealistic, naive idiot who is too stupid to ever fear anything, and we could all learn from him.
[21:05] SS: But he could learn from us too.
[21:05] SS: We all enter this game with our issues that we need to resolve. One of his is his stubbornness, his refusal to accept criticism.
[21:05] SS: And as his friends and his followers, it's our job to teach him.
[21:06] TC: I don't know.
[21:06] SS: So no matter how much he pisses you off, you've got to remember that without you he'll never grow stronger, or wiser. Hell, he'll probably wind up dead.
[21:06] TC: Even if actual leadership isn't required, I'm not convinced he meets the "banner of teamwork" definition.
[21:07] TC: His current primary objective is punching Connor in the face.
[21:07] TC: He's rapidly alienating team members; hardly representative of us working together.
[21:07] SS: Yes, it is. And in his own incompetence, he's turned us all against him. And slowly, he's making us a better team for it.
[21:07] SS: Without a leader, we have to rely on each other.
[21:08] SS: Teamwork, co-dependence. And at the same time, independence. We learn to think for ourselves, and act on our own when there is no one else to turn to.
[21:08] SS: A negative role model teaching you what not to do can be just as effective as a positive one giving you an example.
[21:11] TC: I can't help but think that all of that could be accomplished in a manner that doesn't waste massive amounts of time and expenditure, or counterproductively embitter teammates towards the person they're supposed to rely on for leadership.
[21:11] SS: It's a weird game; there's a lesson in everything, and it is one harsh teacher.
[21:11] SS: Nothing can be gained unless something of equal value is given in return.
[21:12] TC: I remain unconvinced that the lesson isn't "don't let stupid fuckasses declare themselves to be in charge".
[21:13] SS: I would say that the lesson is "A leader is taught by his followers as much as they are taught by him".
[21:13] SS: But don't let me tell you.
[21:13] SS: Find out the answers yourself; that's partly what this whole game is about.
[21:14] SS: Finding out who you are in the dark.
[21:14] TC: I'll give it that much.
[21:14] TC: What's the real point of this game, anyway?
[21:15] TC: What could -possibly- be worth it?
[21:15] SS: Even I don't know. We lost before we could find out.
[21:15] SS: But it's something amazing, I know that much.
[21:15] SS: And something that someone else wants.
[21:16] TC: How amazing can it be?
[21:17] TC: How can it be worth the death of a civilization?
[21:17] TC: The death of a planet?
[21:18] SS: ... It's not my place to say. I might know, but if I'm wrong I don't want to worry you.
[21:18] TC: I'm worried about a lot of things right now.
[21:19] TC: Whatever your guess is, it's going to be the absolute least.
[21:20] SS: I didn't want to worry you, but don't go discounting potential threats.
[21:20] SS: You never know, it might be a bigger threat than even Derse.
[21:20] TC: You can't hint at it, then deny me the truth.
[21:21] SS: All right, I'll tell you. But only if you promise not to tell the others, and not to freak out.
[21:21] TC: Your terms are acceptable.
[21:22] SS: Well, when I escaped the Black Queen, I had taken Chas' suitcase-laptop with me.
[21:22] SS: And when I had a moment, I checked it. He had received a single message from Letage.
[21:23] SS: There was no text, only a gif of two pool balls, 1-15, in extremely rapid shifting rotation.
[21:23] TC: Wait.
[21:23] TC: Seriously?
[21:23] SS: Yeah.
[21:23] TC: Like...the Midnight Crew?
[21:23] SS: I suppose. But it gets a bit worse than that.
[21:23] TC: Hm.
[21:24] SS: When I told Alpha-Illire about this, he pretty much shat himself. He said that that was the signature of the thing that had chased them off into the asteroids.
[21:24] SS: The reason they were stuck out there, contacting us for help.
[21:25] TC: Really?
[21:25] TC: I don't know, that seems...a bit troll-ish.
[21:26] TC: I mean, what are the odds our future was predicted by a webcomic?
[21:26] SS: At this point? I'd say skepticism is out the window.
[21:26] TC: Well...alright, I've been getting little hints of that, I guess.
[21:27] TC: I dismissed them as amusing coincidence, but I suppose it's getting harder to write them off as such.
[21:27] SS: Exactly. Have you met Jack yet?
[21:28] TC: No.
[21:29] SS: Well, when you do, you'll know I'm right.
[21:29] TC: I'm willing to take your word for it.
[21:29] TC: Well, that's admittedly pretty worrying.
[21:30] SS: Exactly. So you can see me being worried about possibly freaking out the others over nothing?
[21:30] TC: Certainly.
[21:30] SS: Because if those two beat their Black Queen, and that thing sent them running scared... what the fuck do we do if it comes here?
[21:31] TC: Have you given that question serious consideration?
[21:32] SS: Yes.
[21:32] TC: Any ideas?
[21:33] SS: Honestly? No. As far I can tell, we are completely doomed if that happens.
[21:33] TC: Excellent.
[21:33] SS: But then again, I'm rather bitter considering I watched all my friends die.
[21:34] TC: I wouldn't blame you.
[21:34] SS: When, or if, that happens, my Alpha counterpart will think of something. I know him. He's way too stupid to let something like an unstoppable demon slow him down.
[21:34] SS: If his first punch doesn't work, he just gets back up and throws a harder one.
[21:35] TC: I'm not sure that's going to be the best course of action.
[21:37] SS: Of course not. The first thing he'll try to do is fight it, and then he'll be beaten within an inch of his life and thrown over to your side of the court a ragged mop.
[21:38] SS: But then he'll start to think. And he does good stuff when he's protecting his friends. But I sound really fucking narcissistic right now, so I should probably mention that he's not doing this alone.
[21:38] SS: You'll all need to work together, at 100% to even dream of beating something that powerful.
[21:40] TC: Heh.
[21:41] TC: If Lord English is represented accurately by the webcomic that inexplicably seems to predict our future, I'm not sure we can.
[21:41] TC: As the Seer of Hope, I am uniquely qualified to recognize when all hope is lost.
[21:42] TC: And when that time comes, maybe we should just try to run.
[21:43] SS: You can do that if you want, but I have a question for you: what will you do if he keeps chasing?
[21:43] SS: Will you run forever?
[21:44] TC: If that's what it takes, what choice do we have?
[21:45] SS: You have a choice. You ALWAYS have a choice. You can accept your reality, or you can say that's not good enough, and you can make a better one.
[21:46] SS: Nothing ever changes unless someone is stupid and idealistic enough to genuinely believe it can happen, and try to make it reality.
[21:47] TC: Fighting for change is one thing, but dying in futility against an enemy we already knew to be invincible doesn't sound particularly appealing.
[21:49] SS: If he's an invincible, immortal, time-traveling monster, then he is going to find you one day.
[21:49] SS: I don't know about you, but to me, spending my whole life running like a fucking rat doesn't sound that appealing.
[21:50] SS: This game chose us, chose you, for a reason. If you can't see any hope, you'll just have to make some.
[21:50] TC: He's omnipotent and immortal, but he isn't omniscient.
[21:51] TC: If he comes here, the chance to abscond is the closest we'll get to hope.
[21:51] SS: That's no hope at all. Why hope to escape when you can hope to win?
[21:52] TC: Because - at least, assuming that our source material remains accurate - we can't.
[21:55] SS: Lord of the Rings.
[21:55] SS: Star Wars.
[21:55] SS: Gurren Lagann
[21:55] SS: Fullmetal Alchemist.
[21:55] SS: The Matrix.
[21:56] SS: Die Hard.
[21:56] SS: Do you know what all of these things have in common?
[21:57] TC: They're works of fiction, which barring bizarre prediction capability should probably not be used as evidence when making real-world decisions?
[21:58] SS: That might be right, except one work of fiction in particular seems to be the source material for one of the villains we now face.
[21:58] SS: What these works all have in common is this: Impossible odds.
[21:58] TC: Hence the "bizarre prediction capability" phrasing.
[21:59] SS: The villains have everything in these: unlimited power and resources, complete domination of all strategic locations, and the utter certainty of victory crushing down on the heroes like a ton of bricks.
[21:59] SS: But the heroes don't let that stop them. They fight those impossible odds, for the good that they can do, not for themselves but for everyone and everything.
[21:59] SS: They fight against the odds, they fight against hope itself, and at the end, they do something impossible: they win.
[22:00] SS: That is us, Rich. This time, we're the heroes.
[22:00] SS: And no matter how hard it gets, we need to fight, and do the impossible.
[22:01] TC: The reason they win is that underdogs are more dramatic protagonists.
[22:01] TC: We don't have dramatic purposes on our side - maybe in the main game we do, but I get the strong impression English is far more than a game construct.
[22:02] SS: So? We're more than that, too.
[22:03] TC: You know what the common thread between the works of fiction you just outlined really was?
[22:03] TC: They did the improbable.
[22:03] TC: Not the impossible.
[22:03] TC: The impossible is defined by its inability to be done.
[22:03] TC: Beating Sburb is improbable.
[22:03] TC: Beating English is impossible.
[22:03] SS: With that attitude, it is.
[22:04] SS: But when the chips are down, I know how it's going to go. I won't be there to see it, but I know that the Alpha me is going to stay and fight.
[22:04] SS: I know the trolls are going to fight, too.
[22:04] SS: Maybe even the rest of us.
[22:05] SS: Without everyone, they're doomed.
[22:05] SS: But if we all work together... who knows?
[22:05] TC: This isn't about teamwork and inspiration, dammit!
[22:05] TC: Lord English is defined by being invincible and unstoppable!
[22:06] TC: Anything less and he wouldn't be Lord English!
[22:07] SS: Nothing ever changes when you sit and brood like that!
[22:08] SS: Maybe he's not invincible! Maybe no one has ever had the courage to stand up to him!
[22:09] TC: Maybe you're desperately denying the truth of the situation, because you just can't accept that all our work might be wasted.
[22:10] SS: If that's what I have to do, then I will!
[22:10] SS: I'm already giving my life to make sure you win this game! I refuse to let everyone's work go to waste!
[22:11] SS: And if I have to break the laws of reality to do it, then I will!
[22:11] SS: THAT is how a hero works. You kick logic and reason to the curb and drag a new and better reality up where the old one was!
[22:11] TC: Or maybe you'll die futilely ensuring our deaths.
[22:12] SS: And maybe I WON'T.
[22:12] SS: If you're going to die, wouldn't you rather do it facing down your foe, and making him earn his kill? Rather than crawl away and shrivel in the dark?!
[22:13] TC: I'd rather try to live for as long as I can.
[22:13] TC: Like I said, he's not omniscient.
[22:13] TC: We could possibly run; we could certainly hide.
[22:14] SS: No one lives forever. Don't waste a moment of your life; make it count. If you can't make it count for yourself, make it count for the countless other universes he could attack and destroy just like he did to the trolls.
[22:19] SS: This game made you a hero, Rich. Are you willing to act like one?
[22:23] TC: I'm willing to do what is necessary.
[22:23] TC: -Whatever- is necessary.
[22:23] TC: Look, we've both got things to do; I just have one last question.
[22:23] TC: Have you told the trolls about their doomed alternate future?
[22:24] SS: Only Illire.
[22:24] TC: Why only him?
[22:24] SS: Because he was th eone who asked what happened to me.
[22:24] TC: Think he passed it along to Letage?
[22:25] SS: He might have. But he might not have either. He seems like he keeps some things from her for her own good.
[22:25] TC: Alright, thanks.
[22:26] SS: You're welcome. I need to get moving right now, so good luck with your journey.
[22:26] TC: Goodbye, Dirk.
[22:26] SS: And if you haven't yet, I'd ask the trolls about the god tiers.
[22:27] TC: I'll make a note of it, thanks.
[22:27] SS: All right then. Bye.
[22:27] -- truculentConservationist [TC] ceased pestering sesquipedalianScholar [SS] at 22:27 --
