Day 323 (Open)

[freedom_engineer]

Who: Colin, anyone interested in what he's doing.
Open: Like a convenience store.
When: Day 323, all morning. (BACKDATED)
Where: Several key locations around the Bastion.
What: Setting up surveillance systems
Format: Action to start, but anything's good.
Warnings: A short-tempered Colin.

[Just the other day he had been speaking with Nathan about the thefts that had been taking place. They'd agreed that some sort of surveillance system would be necessary in order to better defend against the thief.]

[Then the party came back, minus two souls, and Colin's mind went straight into defense mode. Cameras were purchased, sites were chosen, and plans were put in motion.]

[This morning Colin is moving from place to place, setting up cameras and wires as appropriate. Some of the cameras are huge, blatant affairs that can't help but be noticed. Others are tiny, designed to be hidden.]

[He's stopping by most of the buildings in the Bastion to set up at least one camera. If anyone has an opinion on big brother, now's your time to express yourself.]

Comments

[freedom_engineer]

Until it is needed, and I can't move quickly because the necessary measurements haven't been taken.

[He gives Bon a very tired look.]

Come on, man. Humor me a bit. This is all I can do to confront what happened.

[Not anywhere all he can do, actually, but it's certainly all he's going to do...]

I need data. I need to be ready.

[kyotoprincess]

'collecting data' isn't one of the five stages of grief.

[It might fall under rationalization, though.]

[freedom_engineer]

Anger sure is, though.

[He glares briefly, but it doesn't last.]

So is coping, however you can.

[The five stages of Grief is a decidedly Terran concept... He's passingly familiar with it.]

[kyotoprincess]

If anger is what you're struggling with, there are better ways to cope with it than this.

[Sorry Colin, he was raised by Buddhist monks, and that affects how he deals with things.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Not QUITE what he was going for, but that's neither here nor there.]

And people say I'm miserable at this people-stuff...

[He sighs.]

It doesn't bother you in the slightest that we're not ready, in spite of the fact that we've probably got someone living among us who wants us dead? Or at the very least, hampered while someone ELSE wants us dead?

[kyotoprincess]

Of course it bothers me! There's always someone who wants us dead, or who hates us and wants us to suffer, or who just thinks we're an inconvenience. It's been that way since before people managed to put a pen to paper and write about their asshole neighbors who raided their lands again.

But you know what? Security at the expense of freedom isn't worth it. And if whoever is after us is strong or smart, then cameras aren't going to do jack shit to stop them anyway.

[freedom_engineer]

[He called it. Literally thirty minutes or so ago, he CALLED IT]

[And yep, there's a roll of his eyes.]

I am sincerely glad that I don't need to rely on you for security or freedom.

Fine, whatever. I don't care enough about this to get in a fight over it.

[kyotoprincess]

[Bitch what did you just say?]

For someone who 'doesn't want to get in a fight', you sure are eager to get the last word in. Or are you just mad that you're wrong about something for once?

[freedom_engineer]

[He's taking his time to put away his tools now.]

Actually, I'm upset that the monk who's supposed to be a spiritual leader can't recognize pain and coping in someone in a time of grieving.

I'm also rather justifiably angry that I can be accused of wanting to strip away peoples' freedom because I took measurements as a precaution for the future and somehow be WRONG for wanting numbers.

And I think I can be understandably angry that I'm still one the only ones actually trying to contribute anything to the whole of the Bastion's well-being, rather than just stuff for myself.

And since you seem to want the moral high ground for some strange reason... Yeah, I'm being snide. It's about all I've got left.

[kyotoprincess]

I am trying to help, you insufferable ass!

[He starts counting off on his fingers.]

Ignorance. Greed. Anger. These are the three poisons that all humans have to deal with. You're feeding into all three of those at once!

All of this-

[That hand he had been counting with, he sweeps it wide to indicate to Colin's tools.]

-has very little to do with actually protecting us and very much to do with you. You're angry that people died on that last mission, and you're letting that anger drive your actions right now. You're ignorant of how to actually help anyone here, and instead of stopping and learning how to help, you blindly push forward, doing what you think is best. Because you want to be right, you want to be the hero, you want to have everything your way without compromise, and you can't even see how your actions are making everything worse.

You have to stop. If not for everyone else, then for yourself.

[freedom_engineer]

[That actually gets a tic to his eyelid. Not the rest of it, just one word. Human.]

Get it through your species-centric brain, Terran! You are not the only sentient race in the galaxy and we are not lesser because we're not your species! Your morals do not translate to every other race!

[He raises three fingers and tics them off as he speaks.]

Ignorance? Acceptable. I don't have information, I want more. Thus, seeking to acquire it through every means at my disposal.

Greed? Come off your high horse I've GIVEN more of myself than anyone can be expected to except Night, Crona, and Ragnarok. I have gone against every single survival guide in the history of multiverse-civilization in order to see to it that you people have more food, more comfort, and more breathing room than you ever would have had without me.

Not because I want to be a hero, but because it's the right thing to do! What I WANT to do is leave you people to fend for yourselves and go back to my fallback position where I can get some omni-planar peace!

And anger? Oh yeah, I've got lots of anger. More of it building day by day because of people who are doing nothing see fit to criticize me for trying to fix things without offering ANY alternative ideas in the first place!

[He exhales and fixes a steady gaze on Bon.]

Yeah, I'm full of myself. Yeah, I think I'm right all the time. But I'm open to the possibility that I can be wrong. It's a piss-poor scientist that is stuck on an ego-centric world-view. What I'm NOT open to is being told I'm wrong, when nothing else is even offered in the alternative, when time is of the essence to ensure survival, and when it's plainly apparent that we're in deep trouble.

You got alternatives? I'd be GLAD to hear them. Because in spite of everything, I've tried to be peaceful and make sure that everybody who can possibly survive does so. And all I get is accusations that I think I'm better than everyone, that I want to be a hero, that I don't care about anything but being right.

I just want to fix things until they run smoothly. Remove the bugs, remove the blocks, remove the saboteurs. That's my end-game. Heroism is for chumps who think that glory's all there is.