As Priceless as Genius

    The early morning sun has only just cast aside the gray of night's last breath. It is now that Wake asked to meet Giganpor. As for the where? She elected to make it away from the main camp, where two might discuss things easily without drawing too many voices. Additional viewers might lead to guarded words and tiresome explanations of things not yet decided.

    "Morning is ever the hope of humanity," Wake says softly, staring inland before slowly turning her face back to the east, staring directly in the direction of her home. "I wonder what we might learn of ourselves in this new world. What judgment of ourselves must we accept. Shall we ever make the errors of the past, or can we use what was wise in this new world and eschew what nearly brought ruin upon us in the dream before?"

    Giganpor, while having his own reasons for wanting to talk to Wake, had definitely agreed that being away from the main camp would be more preferable to being near it. His hearing her words seems to stir him from his own thoughts. Despite the armor he wears, he was definitely at times lost in thought. And at others looking both haunted and not so haunted.

"Sometimes we learn about ourselves in ways that we wish we did not. I fear that as much as we wish for the best, this world is going to become like our own former one before long. And with that, a disaster." He looks out over the sea.

Then he sighs, "I guess some of the old me is still inside, not as much as I would like, but this world is certainly changing a lot of us." He moves over to a fallen tree, settling himself as he continues to look in the direction of the sea, back towards Yamato.

    "McClellan had brought superior forces to Sharpsburg, but he had also brought himself," quotes Wake, laughing softly. "And so it is with us. Here we have the chance to do things correctly, and yet.. it is so easy to fall back into what got us this far, is it not?"

    Wake turns her attention on Giganpor, allowing the smallest of smiles. "But where the many may falter, the few might find another way." She glides nearer to where Giganpor sits, though she remains on her feet. The Right Clothes today have wrapped her fine in a fine silk dress, fit for any ball. In the wilds it is not so effective, but in the moment it makes her look very much the noblewoman that she is.

    "What troubles you, Giganpor? Does the weight of war lay heavy on your shoulders? Or is it the fear that even should we avert it, our own ambitions may poison this wondrous land, proving to our captors that in the end, we are what we are, and we consume all we touch?"

"A lot does. I'd rather leave the upcoming war out of it, to be honest. It's just... annoying to me, nowadays." Giganpor reaches up to his cloak, fingers going over the clasp. "At times I wonder if perhaps I should simply stay in my forge in that regards, but... I like being out here. To see these sights."

"This world is very beautiful, even if it might be just digital code. If it came down to it, I would not see it polluted... or otherwise harmed by our actions. Yet, if we stand by and do nothing, it will be destroyed either way." The Were Lion's gaze hardens a bit.

"And yet, force of arms fails me lately. Whereas I wish to learn to find a better way and find myself at a loss as to how to do so." He states.

    Wake turns her gaze to the skies as she speaks. "I rather liked the idea of steam travel, honestly," she admits. "Until I saw the black smoke pouring into the sky. I had forgotten the scent of it. Honestly, there are few of us who knew what coal burning smelled like from the dream before. And steam trains, as well. Filthy things. To say nothing of mining. And yet, the bottle has been opened and the genie is out."

    She once again directs her full attention on Giganpor's face. "But if another means should present itself.. another way that same thing might be achieved? We can still cast aside this destiny. Olympus is not in love with the trappings of the dream before. If an analog might be found, I am confident that we would take it."

    The Baroness is silent for a time, her expression tranquil, a slight glow in her eyes. If anything, her posture is even more pronounced than it had been, as if the full attention of another person was on making it just so.

    "Which is something I wish to discuss. I believe that the New World Alliance and my own people can find the best path of all. For certainly other powers exist to speed us across the land or even, perhaps, across the skies."

"Maybe. I admit I was trying to find an answer to that when I heard about it. Between it and the Scale's train, I see a lot could happen there." Giganpor says softly, looking still at the ocean. He's definitely not looking at her right now.

"If we are to pursue such, however, we need to do so quickly. Perhaps enchanting a ship or a boat to fly, or making a horseless carriage. A lot of us have forgotten that we ourselves can use magic and perhaps achieve the same thing as steam power without having to rely on it. I can agree that both our people could perhaps do something about the steam technology, but we need to find a way to get the Landers on board with it as well."

He looks down at one of his hands. "I am not sure how much help I would be in this regards."

    "When it comes to getting Landers on board, I think I can find a way to do so. It has to be safe, it has to be clean, and it has to make their lives safer and better." Wake sighs softly, her head tilting as she studies Giganpor.

    "But.. I get the feeling before we do that, we must address something with you. What else is on your mind?" she asks.

    She lowers herself, then, kneeling in front of the man now. "Clearly.. something else is." With a very delicate touch, she reaches out to take Giganpor's hands in her own.

Giganpor looks at her carefully, as if weighing what is going on. As if trying to figure out if he can trust her. His expression shifts to one of unease, then conflicted. Finally it settles back to that sad look. "A lot does. I've lost a lot due to my actions. In a way, I do not want them back, but at the same time I want to find another way."

"That the way I had was not working is obvious, and that my forge while also my home feels as if I should move it to a Root Town rather than keep it in Shibuya. I find myself wishing that I could just fade to the background or gain the strength I need to keep others in line. I want to be able to protect the people around me, but find myself lacking even in that quality. At the same time I want to be able to talk to those in power and earn that respectful gaze so I can advise them of things like the steam power."

"There's a lot more on my mind, but that's the most obvious... it's like I've hit a wall and I have no means to break it down. Or if there is a means, it escapes me completely right now." He says finally.

    "These hands are meant for for the forge," replies Wake. Her attention is, indeed, on Giganpor's hands. "Strong, calloused, but also.. skilled, guided by clear intentions and a strong will. But even that will needs help. At the forge, you might work alone to the aid of others, but there are problems beyond any one set of hands."

    She sighs gently, but she wears a smile. "You are not alone in this. We have all lost. In this world, and the dream before. Some of us lost people we loved forever. Many of us, honestly. Now, you might withdraw to the forge, for a time. But I doubt you can do so for long. You are a maker, a shaper, and those who create have a unique viewpoint that those of us who do not need to heed. I have come around, and I will lend my skills to making things right. I was part of the wrongdoing, after all."

    

Giganpor listens carefully, frowning at her words near the end. But it seems as if she has at least reached him. "I... suppose in a lot of ways I do... at least in a way it was born of what I was in the world before..."

He shakes his head, "What wrongdoing do you mean? The steam project or something else?"

He sighs, "Perhaps I should learn better how to shape with words rather than the tools I have. The tools I can use are those of fear, intimidation... I do not wish to use either of those."

    "The steam. I have had a hand in it. All that Olympus does, I have a hand in. But I think in this case I own considerable share in the fault. I will see us fix it, but it will be us, not alone. The mistake was not mine alone, and so while I will do the convincing, I am far from a master of magic.. or magitech, in this case."

    Wake laughs gently and rises once more. "In any case, I am not alone. But it begs the question. Will your peers accept this compromise? Is it enough to get us moving in the right direction?"

Giganpor looks thoughtful on what they have said. He seems to consider, "I do not know. As I said, I am not an officer any more. I can not speak for all of them, but I can see if it will be agreeable. Magitech, huh? Sounds like one of those fantasy games. But I can see it perhaps working out."

He looks back towards the sea. "In the mean time, I do not know what to do here... this... land seems almost deserted for some reason. I went with the scouting group this past week and found one sign of life... now? I question if it is worth it, or if perhaps we should use a ship and find some other areas to explore."

    "Magitech is the best option, I think. However, there always seems to be some cost, Giganpor. Our mages and your mages will have to explore just what those costs are," explains Wake.

    She turns her glance inland once more. "As for this place, I would not abandon this angle just yet. If we follow the mobs to lower level areas I believe you'll find landers, perhaps even adventurers. That we haven't found them yet is disappointing, but there could be many explanations of it. Should we struggle to do so, we can always try to look for a port town."

"Hm... perhaps. Perhaps we should do so in any case? Or look for some sort of town by sailing the coasts?" Giganpor notes, then sighs.

"In the mean time... I will talk with my people. To see if they are agreeable to going for better options. To pursue the idea of magitech." He frowns a bit.

"You know... I did find out something a while back. It relates a bit to what some of us have been discovering. The new professions and the like."

    "You must do what you think is best. I also think that we should establish some guidance as to what is and is not acceptable behavior in this place. New World Alliance came here first. To the discovery should go the right to set the rules of engagement. Do you know who I should speak to? I want to ensure that Olympus stays on the right side of things here and ensure Scale doesn't do.. whatever silliness they have been doing to anger the one local we've spoken to."

    She pauses, thinking of what exactly to say. "As for the new professions, I'm very curious what you've found."

Giganpor shakes his head, "To do that, we would have to send Prophylaxis back to Yamato the hard way, I imagine. He's not smart enough to realize we are guests here. I will suggest it to those that did come here first, however, and see what they have to say. At the moment, I believe Shiruba is the one you would want to speak to, but she is back in Yamato. Hm."

Giganpor looks a bit conflicted, "I found an ancient forge. One of the lessons that I learned there was that those before us didn't stop. They kept making, shaping, and doing wonders that we could only dream of. And in another... I found out that the Alvs made such wonders, they were destroyed. That has lead me to wonder if perhaps the magitech is a good thing, but at the same time we need to find a point to stop. Something we would have to convince all the leaders to talk about if we can achieve the goal."

    "That may be what we need to do," replies Wake. "If he endangers our work here, we need to send him back. It's better than killing him. He has no right to just charge in and ruin everything that your alliance is trying to do."

    She listens intently about the forge, nodding slightly in thought. "So the Alvs were destroyed. But how and why are the questions. Was it greed? Did they go to war with themselves? Did they gain the attention of those who might have been even stronger than they? But yes, we need to determine what the limits are, how it works. Did you ever play Final Fantasy 7?"

Giganpor shakes his head, "I did not... and the Alvs were destroyed for greed more so over how beautiful their creations were."

He frowns, "I heard of Final Fantasy 7, but I did not get a chance to play it. Being what I was before this kinda made it impossible to get a good job."

He seems to consider, "I wonder now if we could talk to Miho and Katherine. They both have expressed a desire to make some form of battery."

    The Baroness explains, "While I didn't play much, Tae did. The story as it is written is about huge reactors channeling something like magical life energy to create power. It was destroying the planet. There were signs, but since that story is so influential, I fully expect there are rules here that follow the same concept."

    She laughs suddenly. "Here I am, getting my ideas from a video game.. for a video game. My boss would be rolling his eyes at me. However, in the more intelligent vein of conversation, you are right. A battery might do the thing. I know what I'd like the first project to be, honestly. Not to replace the steamship, but to bring another wonder to life. I want to light Eas. We can bring light to the whole world, Giganpor. Assuming it is safe to do so."

Giganpor looks considerate of that, "Electricity, you mean, or just magical lights?"

That there is something to do with light is something perhaps Giganpor can get behind far as making something again.

He seems to really be considering on that one, too. "Mm... we need something to conduct the magic, or a way for it to absorb magic, I think. I will have to get with others and research it."

    "Magical lights," replies Wake. "I had in mind something like crystals, that illuminate cities for safety. With those little shutter things on them to ensure that we minimize light pollution. I don't mean to lose the starlight, after all. I never liked that Tokyo was nearly a city bereft of stars."

    She clasps her hands behind her back, looking back to the camp. "I think we have the foundation of a healthy understanding. With that in mind, there are other conversations we both need to have. And you.. have other things to do than talk to me all morning." She slides into her usual curtsey, "Good day, Master Giganpor. I look forward to bringing more smiles to that face. For now.. perhaps the crystal idea will give you something bright to aim at."