Cheating Death (WARNING: Very Disturbing)
Jun 10, 2018 3:35:00 GMT -5
Biblically Accurate Angel likes this
Post by Toz76 on Jun 10, 2018 3:35:00 GMT -5
January 16, 1101:
It has become clear to us that our wisdom can not truly be preserved just in the form of scrolls. So today, Man In Green, Man In Gold, and I set out on a seemingly impossible task- to cheat the 5th law of magic. The hope is that future colorfolk will be able to summon their ancestors when advise or aid is needed.
Nothing like this has ever been done before, and I am not optimistic. But this prism can make colored fabric in massive quantities. Who knows what else it is capable of!
~Man In Orange
--------
April 24, 2017
"It just doesn't add up."
"What doesn't add up?" Woman In Gold asked, sliding in next to Woman In Silver with a steaming cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant.
Woman In Silver shuffled through a sheaf of paper. "We had no idea any of the underground rooms were here until we actually discovered them. But now that we have, we've found thousands of new documents in the archives, detailing 600 years of history where this room, and all the other rooms down here, were actually heavily used. Surely we should have found some reference to this place before we found this place."
"Huh?" Woman In Gold asked through a mouthful of croissant.
"I think someone is tampering with the records in the great hall. We had no idea that the VEC existed until they resurfaced, and then we found all these records. We went from no paper records on the underground areas to hundreds, as soon as we found them. It's like our history is being suppressed, until it becomes impossible to suppress."
"That sounds insane."
"I don't believe in coincidence. Or plotholes. Everything has an explanation. And I suspect that explanation is downstairs. And I'm gonna find it."
"I'll come too, if that's cool. I could use some excitement." Woman In Gold said, finishing her croissant.
-------------
April 28, 1101
After three fruitless months, Man In Gold believes he's made a breakthrough. Poring over the texts of the ancient Sudric pagans, he has found legends of a spirit capable of cheating death. Called variously Vlad, Vigaga, and The Broken One, legend says he is reincarnated every thousand years, ready to bring destruction upon the land. And according to the savages, the current incarnation, known as the Toymaker, lives in the hills of Culdee Fell. Ten of us (Blue, Green, White, Black, Red, Yellow, Silver, Purple, Gold, and myself) are venturing out to subdue him and learn his secrets.
I must admit to a certain optimism about this whole thing. If this Toymaker can help us, we may miss out on the kingdom of heaven for a time, but we will continue doing the lord's work. And when revelation comes, we who sacrificed heaven will lead the charge to paradise.
~Man In Orange
------------
"This is boring!"
Woman In Silver rolled her eyes. "Oh, boo hoo. The texts found in the particle accelerator room contain the most advanced scientific knowledge of the colorfolk. Whoever is censoring our data might have missed something."
Woman In Gold groaned. "Look, my job is to fight stuff. You and your husband do all the nerdy research. If I were in charge, we would already have forced this wacko's hand."
"Oh, quit whining, you- wait, force their hand? How?"
"Well, whoever is stealing the information returns it when we need it. So what we should do is discover something important that the colorfolk kept records on."
"That's a great idea! I could have my husband set up cameras to monitor the shelves so we can see the documents being returned!"
"But what do we "discover"?" Woman In Gold asked.
"I've got an idea... let's go find Man In Blue! We're going to the bottom floor!"
-----------
May 3, 1101
We found the Toymaker's hut after a week of searching. It was a simple log hut, but was surprisingly cozy. The Toymaker himself was a young-looking man who wore a strange apron with attached trousers, made of a strange blue material. He called them "denim overalls".
The shack itself smelled most disagreeably of kerosene and metal. But it was a peculiar place. Several wooden carvings of animals had been made in an engenious fashion, with wooden joints replicating the real thing, then animated through some unknown means. The wooden birds could fly and sing just like the real thing.
When asked how he was able to keep returning to life, despite the fifth law of magic, the Toymaker laughed. "The laws of magic! Hah! You won't even finalize the list for another 120 years, and even then all of them have exceptions and loopholes. You colorfolk are too obsessed with rules and order. But I can create what you want. I'm not even the only soul who defies death. Steph became Heph, who shall become Silvestron. But what you need is a more mechanical solution. Devices that allow you to live on even in death, by trapping your souls within them. But it will require great sacrifice. It may be above you high-minded snobs."
"Our Prism will never lead us astray. We are guided by a morality check." Man In Blue declared.
"Very well." The Toymaker laughed. "Bring me to your lair, and I will perform the necessary rituals. The contraptions must be at least 100 meters below ground, so you must dig a great pit beneath your great hall. I will join you in due time to perform the necessary rituals."
---------------
"I don't know about this." Man In Blue said. "Our ancestors were very clear. We can go as far as the -27th floor, but the final three floors are off limits. Whatever's down there is not meant to be seen by us, until a future arc."
"Maybe this is that arc!" Woman In Silver exclaimed. "We need to find out who's tampering with our records. And you know the Laws Of Narrative Cohesion. The answer is down there! We need to find it!"
Man In Blue sighed. "Very well, but you two aren't going alone. I'm coming with you. If the ancestors are angered, I'll cover for you."
The trio made their way to the door leading down to the -28th floor. Man In Blue sighed, opened the door...
...and the Original Man In Blue stood on the other side. But he didn't look mad, or betrayed, or even disappointed. He looked scared.
"I meant what I said, Daniel my child. There is nothing but death down here. You must not enter.
"I don't care! Whatever's down here, we need to know."
"No. I- look." The original Man In Blue turned away from Daniel, not wanting to make eye contact. "We were young and foolish. We made mistakes in our early days. Dangerous mistakes. You are better off not knowing what lies beneath."
"Damn it, Matthew, we need to-"
"This conversation is over." The ancestor slammed the door, magically sealing it behind him.
"Damn it!" Man In Blue swore. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"You give up too easily, Erdagovern." Woman In Gold laughed. "Stand back."
Woman In Gold slammed her fist against the door and the hinges shattered.
"Hot damn!" Woman In Silver exclaimed, impressed.
Woman In Gold smirked. "Pretty impressive, right? My fiance didn't fall in love with me for my brains, ya know."
"Yes, yes, she's a lucky woman, now can we focus?" Man In Blue interjected. "We've got dark secrets to unearth."
As it turned out, the 28th and 29th floors were just catwalks, overlooking the much larger 30th floor. And as the trio looked down, they saw something very strange indeed.
Several strange objects, resembling cradles but much larger, were evenly spaced around the cavern in rows. Each contained what appeared to be corpses, in various stages of decay. A small prism was set in the foot of each cradle, emitting a dim blue light.
The entire cavern was filled with the pitiable moans of small children, and as the trio approached the ground floor, they immediately saw why. A device sat in the center of the cavern, with five small children strapped to it. Tubes were inserted into every orifice on their bodies, and a strange golden liquid flowed from them and into the ground. The children were clearly in great agony, but unable to free themselves.
"What the hell!?"
The original Man In Blue appeared alongside them. "I see you've found our great shame. Perhaps you are owed an explanation."
-------
May 22, 1101
Today was the darkest day in our order's short history. But I must write down what I witnessed, leaving out no detail save what good taste demands. It is vital that future historians know what we did. And why we had to do it.
The ten of us gathered in the pit with the Toymaker earlier today. He had already built a towering machine, using esoteric tools he called "screwdrivers" and "elbow grease". He had insisted on us bringing the prism, to prove that what he was about to do was "good". And indeed, the Prism never registered any of this as "wrong". But God forgive me, it was so wrong...
I first realized something was wrong when the Toymaker summoned a small girl, with a mysterious red tint to her skin, which the Toymaker said was due to hailing from a land we have yet to discover. I cannot describe what he made us do to that girl. It makes me sick to think about. As does the moment the Toymaker seized the girl and dashed her head against the point of the prism, causing her blood to pour out over it.
He then summoned five more young children of varying race and sex, linking them to the machine in a manner that caused great suffering. It was then that the Man In Blue finally spoke up. I remember the Toymaker's reply verbatim. I suspect none of us will ever forget.
"You say what I've done is wrong. You are absolutely correct. But remember, you are complicit. Not only that, but look at the Prism. Clearly, the Prism is fine with this. Because being good does not mean never sinning. So long as the suffering you prevent is less than the suffering you cause, you are considered good. This machine requires 5 children to be suspended in permanent undying agony, a sacrificial ceremony of blood to start it, and every time a colorman dies, another man's soul from somewhere in the world will be sent to hell in your place. But the prism knows that the good your little undead army will do is far greater than this miniscule suffering. Isn't that convenient. All you need to commit atrocities is to have the greater good on your side."
I toss and turn, trying to justify all this to myself. Someone has to die so I may guide my descendants. How selfish we were! How foolish! And yet... the Prism thinks it was for the greater good.
I only hope the Lord sees it the same way.
------------
Man In Blue stood in stunned silence. A crowd of colorman ancestors had now gathered, listening to the story with their heads hung low.
Man In Blue turned to his predecessor, furious. "Was it worth it?"
The original sighed. "I wish it was. But no. Our souls weren't meant to be held in these cribs. It is extremely painful. We only leave them when needed or to recover bodies and add them to the machine, and when we're in limbo it's nothing but emptiness and pain. At times I envy that young girl. At least for her, the suffering ended quickly."
The original Man In Orange stepped up. "It was we who stole your records. There were... things... that we wanted to keep safe during the dark ages. We've been gradually returning them. They're in a vault in the far corner."
"Now what?" Woman In Silver asked.
"Destroy the machine. Kill those five children, and the cribs will lose power. Our souls will be free to make the final trip to the afterlife. Those children Wil finally be put out of their misery. And no one else will have to suffer our fate."
Tears were flowing down Man In Blue's face as he approached the machine. With five deft strokes of the sword, the crying of the children ended. A golden liquid began to pool on the floor.
The sound of shattering glass could be heard throughout the cavern as each Prism exploded, releasing each Colorman soul as a glowing blue light.
The original Man In Blue held out his hand as he began fading away. "Daniel... do you forgive us?"
"I... don't know." Daniel sighed, unwilling to meet his gaze.
The silhouettes faded into blue lights, which slowly drifted into the floor and vanished.
Woman In Silver gasped. "The souls... they all went down..." Even the outspokenly atheistic Woman In Gold looked scared.
"It might not mean anything." Man In Blue gritted his teeth. "But no matter how much these men did for the... "greater good", they still allowed this... this barbarism to continue for hundreds of years. They have a lot to answer for."
"Should we... get those papers?" Woman In Gold asked.
"You do as you will. I'm going to go pray." Man In Blue said, making his way to the ladder.
It has become clear to us that our wisdom can not truly be preserved just in the form of scrolls. So today, Man In Green, Man In Gold, and I set out on a seemingly impossible task- to cheat the 5th law of magic. The hope is that future colorfolk will be able to summon their ancestors when advise or aid is needed.
Nothing like this has ever been done before, and I am not optimistic. But this prism can make colored fabric in massive quantities. Who knows what else it is capable of!
~Man In Orange
--------
April 24, 2017
"It just doesn't add up."
"What doesn't add up?" Woman In Gold asked, sliding in next to Woman In Silver with a steaming cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant.
Woman In Silver shuffled through a sheaf of paper. "We had no idea any of the underground rooms were here until we actually discovered them. But now that we have, we've found thousands of new documents in the archives, detailing 600 years of history where this room, and all the other rooms down here, were actually heavily used. Surely we should have found some reference to this place before we found this place."
"Huh?" Woman In Gold asked through a mouthful of croissant.
"I think someone is tampering with the records in the great hall. We had no idea that the VEC existed until they resurfaced, and then we found all these records. We went from no paper records on the underground areas to hundreds, as soon as we found them. It's like our history is being suppressed, until it becomes impossible to suppress."
"That sounds insane."
"I don't believe in coincidence. Or plotholes. Everything has an explanation. And I suspect that explanation is downstairs. And I'm gonna find it."
"I'll come too, if that's cool. I could use some excitement." Woman In Gold said, finishing her croissant.
-------------
April 28, 1101
After three fruitless months, Man In Gold believes he's made a breakthrough. Poring over the texts of the ancient Sudric pagans, he has found legends of a spirit capable of cheating death. Called variously Vlad, Vigaga, and The Broken One, legend says he is reincarnated every thousand years, ready to bring destruction upon the land. And according to the savages, the current incarnation, known as the Toymaker, lives in the hills of Culdee Fell. Ten of us (Blue, Green, White, Black, Red, Yellow, Silver, Purple, Gold, and myself) are venturing out to subdue him and learn his secrets.
I must admit to a certain optimism about this whole thing. If this Toymaker can help us, we may miss out on the kingdom of heaven for a time, but we will continue doing the lord's work. And when revelation comes, we who sacrificed heaven will lead the charge to paradise.
~Man In Orange
------------
"This is boring!"
Woman In Silver rolled her eyes. "Oh, boo hoo. The texts found in the particle accelerator room contain the most advanced scientific knowledge of the colorfolk. Whoever is censoring our data might have missed something."
Woman In Gold groaned. "Look, my job is to fight stuff. You and your husband do all the nerdy research. If I were in charge, we would already have forced this wacko's hand."
"Oh, quit whining, you- wait, force their hand? How?"
"Well, whoever is stealing the information returns it when we need it. So what we should do is discover something important that the colorfolk kept records on."
"That's a great idea! I could have my husband set up cameras to monitor the shelves so we can see the documents being returned!"
"But what do we "discover"?" Woman In Gold asked.
"I've got an idea... let's go find Man In Blue! We're going to the bottom floor!"
-----------
May 3, 1101
We found the Toymaker's hut after a week of searching. It was a simple log hut, but was surprisingly cozy. The Toymaker himself was a young-looking man who wore a strange apron with attached trousers, made of a strange blue material. He called them "denim overalls".
The shack itself smelled most disagreeably of kerosene and metal. But it was a peculiar place. Several wooden carvings of animals had been made in an engenious fashion, with wooden joints replicating the real thing, then animated through some unknown means. The wooden birds could fly and sing just like the real thing.
When asked how he was able to keep returning to life, despite the fifth law of magic, the Toymaker laughed. "The laws of magic! Hah! You won't even finalize the list for another 120 years, and even then all of them have exceptions and loopholes. You colorfolk are too obsessed with rules and order. But I can create what you want. I'm not even the only soul who defies death. Steph became Heph, who shall become Silvestron. But what you need is a more mechanical solution. Devices that allow you to live on even in death, by trapping your souls within them. But it will require great sacrifice. It may be above you high-minded snobs."
"Our Prism will never lead us astray. We are guided by a morality check." Man In Blue declared.
"Very well." The Toymaker laughed. "Bring me to your lair, and I will perform the necessary rituals. The contraptions must be at least 100 meters below ground, so you must dig a great pit beneath your great hall. I will join you in due time to perform the necessary rituals."
---------------
"I don't know about this." Man In Blue said. "Our ancestors were very clear. We can go as far as the -27th floor, but the final three floors are off limits. Whatever's down there is not meant to be seen by us, until a future arc."
"Maybe this is that arc!" Woman In Silver exclaimed. "We need to find out who's tampering with our records. And you know the Laws Of Narrative Cohesion. The answer is down there! We need to find it!"
Man In Blue sighed. "Very well, but you two aren't going alone. I'm coming with you. If the ancestors are angered, I'll cover for you."
The trio made their way to the door leading down to the -28th floor. Man In Blue sighed, opened the door...
...and the Original Man In Blue stood on the other side. But he didn't look mad, or betrayed, or even disappointed. He looked scared.
"I meant what I said, Daniel my child. There is nothing but death down here. You must not enter.
"I don't care! Whatever's down here, we need to know."
"No. I- look." The original Man In Blue turned away from Daniel, not wanting to make eye contact. "We were young and foolish. We made mistakes in our early days. Dangerous mistakes. You are better off not knowing what lies beneath."
"Damn it, Matthew, we need to-"
"This conversation is over." The ancestor slammed the door, magically sealing it behind him.
"Damn it!" Man In Blue swore. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"You give up too easily, Erdagovern." Woman In Gold laughed. "Stand back."
Woman In Gold slammed her fist against the door and the hinges shattered.
"Hot damn!" Woman In Silver exclaimed, impressed.
Woman In Gold smirked. "Pretty impressive, right? My fiance didn't fall in love with me for my brains, ya know."
"Yes, yes, she's a lucky woman, now can we focus?" Man In Blue interjected. "We've got dark secrets to unearth."
As it turned out, the 28th and 29th floors were just catwalks, overlooking the much larger 30th floor. And as the trio looked down, they saw something very strange indeed.
Several strange objects, resembling cradles but much larger, were evenly spaced around the cavern in rows. Each contained what appeared to be corpses, in various stages of decay. A small prism was set in the foot of each cradle, emitting a dim blue light.
The entire cavern was filled with the pitiable moans of small children, and as the trio approached the ground floor, they immediately saw why. A device sat in the center of the cavern, with five small children strapped to it. Tubes were inserted into every orifice on their bodies, and a strange golden liquid flowed from them and into the ground. The children were clearly in great agony, but unable to free themselves.
"What the hell!?"
The original Man In Blue appeared alongside them. "I see you've found our great shame. Perhaps you are owed an explanation."
-------
May 22, 1101
Today was the darkest day in our order's short history. But I must write down what I witnessed, leaving out no detail save what good taste demands. It is vital that future historians know what we did. And why we had to do it.
The ten of us gathered in the pit with the Toymaker earlier today. He had already built a towering machine, using esoteric tools he called "screwdrivers" and "elbow grease". He had insisted on us bringing the prism, to prove that what he was about to do was "good". And indeed, the Prism never registered any of this as "wrong". But God forgive me, it was so wrong...
I first realized something was wrong when the Toymaker summoned a small girl, with a mysterious red tint to her skin, which the Toymaker said was due to hailing from a land we have yet to discover. I cannot describe what he made us do to that girl. It makes me sick to think about. As does the moment the Toymaker seized the girl and dashed her head against the point of the prism, causing her blood to pour out over it.
He then summoned five more young children of varying race and sex, linking them to the machine in a manner that caused great suffering. It was then that the Man In Blue finally spoke up. I remember the Toymaker's reply verbatim. I suspect none of us will ever forget.
"You say what I've done is wrong. You are absolutely correct. But remember, you are complicit. Not only that, but look at the Prism. Clearly, the Prism is fine with this. Because being good does not mean never sinning. So long as the suffering you prevent is less than the suffering you cause, you are considered good. This machine requires 5 children to be suspended in permanent undying agony, a sacrificial ceremony of blood to start it, and every time a colorman dies, another man's soul from somewhere in the world will be sent to hell in your place. But the prism knows that the good your little undead army will do is far greater than this miniscule suffering. Isn't that convenient. All you need to commit atrocities is to have the greater good on your side."
I toss and turn, trying to justify all this to myself. Someone has to die so I may guide my descendants. How selfish we were! How foolish! And yet... the Prism thinks it was for the greater good.
I only hope the Lord sees it the same way.
------------
Man In Blue stood in stunned silence. A crowd of colorman ancestors had now gathered, listening to the story with their heads hung low.
Man In Blue turned to his predecessor, furious. "Was it worth it?"
The original sighed. "I wish it was. But no. Our souls weren't meant to be held in these cribs. It is extremely painful. We only leave them when needed or to recover bodies and add them to the machine, and when we're in limbo it's nothing but emptiness and pain. At times I envy that young girl. At least for her, the suffering ended quickly."
The original Man In Orange stepped up. "It was we who stole your records. There were... things... that we wanted to keep safe during the dark ages. We've been gradually returning them. They're in a vault in the far corner."
"Now what?" Woman In Silver asked.
"Destroy the machine. Kill those five children, and the cribs will lose power. Our souls will be free to make the final trip to the afterlife. Those children Wil finally be put out of their misery. And no one else will have to suffer our fate."
Tears were flowing down Man In Blue's face as he approached the machine. With five deft strokes of the sword, the crying of the children ended. A golden liquid began to pool on the floor.
The sound of shattering glass could be heard throughout the cavern as each Prism exploded, releasing each Colorman soul as a glowing blue light.
The original Man In Blue held out his hand as he began fading away. "Daniel... do you forgive us?"
"I... don't know." Daniel sighed, unwilling to meet his gaze.
The silhouettes faded into blue lights, which slowly drifted into the floor and vanished.
Woman In Silver gasped. "The souls... they all went down..." Even the outspokenly atheistic Woman In Gold looked scared.
"It might not mean anything." Man In Blue gritted his teeth. "But no matter how much these men did for the... "greater good", they still allowed this... this barbarism to continue for hundreds of years. They have a lot to answer for."
"Should we... get those papers?" Woman In Gold asked.
"You do as you will. I'm going to go pray." Man In Blue said, making his way to the ladder.