Intergalactic Summit

Hi Aria,


Boss and I knew Nauplius from way back in the day. East Khanid Trading had been having trouble with some local pirates and he reached out to KP-V for assistance.

I don't know what lead him from being that bright-minded trader to being the Butcher.

My sources tell me he's still active (as I write this)...so that's something to consider...but I'll agree to the statement above that you were very brave.

I've been asked to mention, if you need help with TCMC removal or reconditioning, or if you need help transporting people to their home, we're here for you. No charge, no conditions.

You should have stuck a knife in his gut. If he cancelled his clone contract, it was the perfect opportunity.

... this isn't an easy one to answer.

There are easy answers, of course. I was unarmed. I had no time to prepare, and I did get searched. His license was still days from expiration, and I had no reason to think he'd cancelled his clone contract.

I might have been able to flip him over the balcony railing, though. If I had, neither I nor any of those people would have gotten out of there alive, I'm sure.

But, also....

Part of the reason Nauplius having an interest in me wasn't a complete shock was that I'd had someone approach me with a suggestion like this before: proposing, in fact, to marry me to Nauplius so that I could get close enough to destroy him completely and for good.

It was a good plan. I'm pretty obviously inquisitive and critical, and skeptical of occult claims, but since Nauplius is deeply convinced of the objective truth of his own beliefs it wouldn't be hard to persuade him that his ideas were winning me over. Even if he wouldn't trust me very far at first, that could be worn away over time. I'd probably have to do some pretty dark things to win his trust, but it's not like I'm a very good person to begin with, or incapable of being ruthless. It would position me to wholly destroy someone who caused a ridiculous amount of harm in the world. I'd be a hero. All I'd have to do was to seduce and betray someone who trusted me.

... so, I couldn't even really seriously consider it.

In a lot of ways I'm maybe kind of a lost soul, but this is something I know about myself: I'm not a person who breaks faith, Samira. Call me selfish or naive-- I don't really care. It's not that I'm incapable of deceit. It's more that, if I did such a thing, I'm not sure what would be left of me, after.

So I don't.

Oh, gods and spirits ...

Yes, his quarters. No, not his search. He's not stupid, Samira. He had a minion do it.

Vile individuals deserve to be punished. Their being sad and lonely or hurt does not change the fact that they have committed very real trauma on other people and must be punished. Whatever hurts they feel, it does not compare to the hurts they have done to others. Nauplius deserves to feel as he does. He deserves to feel worse. He deserves no sympathy, care, or pity.

May he stew in his loneliness. If the universe was good, it'd drive him to hang himself.

I don't think in terms of good and evil, just cause and effect. Maybe "vile individuals" don't deserve it, but I'd rather see them change for the better and feeling good, than remain as they are and continuing hurting others.

Gosh.

Do you mean that time when I met with you to hand over some people that I had picked up from space ?

Or someone else.

Ex post, I'm save to say you did the right thing, Peregrinans.

Furthermore, as the head of the Mithra family I'd like to extend an offer of help: We can house a few thousand of the victims in emergency shelters and the estates hospital and have them treated.

Regards,
N. Mithra

Oh, this is going to be hard.

There's a thread developing here that ... I kind of don't want to respond to, but I need to, I guess.

I didn't do this out of devotion to a deity, trusting in His protection, or out of belief in love as a sort of conquering power. This is a matter of faith for me, but ... maybe not quite like that. I assessed the situation, and believed I had a clear and worthwhile opportunity to act, although I had been warned not to risk bargains with Nauplius that would involve a personal meeting.

My faith doesn't promise a benevolent universe. It doesn't promise that love will overcome, or that trust in God will be rewarded. ... I simply saw an opportunity to obtain something it would be difficult for others to obtain, using leverage I was maybe uniquely positioned to employ. I believed I was correct, but, if I was wrong, the likely consequences included humiliation and painful death. That was a real possibility.

My faith tells me I'm an illusion, a phantasm, a trick an organism plays on itself to stay alive. A phantasm's pain is insignificant. It doesn't become more meaningful just because I am the one who experiences it. I have no reason, therefore, to place my own possible suffering ahead of the suffering of others.

I saw an opportunity to ease many others' suffering by taking a risk. If I was right, I could rescue a lot of people. If I was wrong, nothing important would be lost.

Nauplius gave me a tool, and I believed I understood its nature well enough to use it safely when he gave me the opportunity. I just accepted the risk of failure, trusted my perceptions, and took the opening.

I wasn't wrong. That's all.

Well-- Achura are thought of by the Caldari as sort of practicing the Way of the Winds by another name. There are some differences, but ... pretty much, yeah.