[PSL] time travel, time travel
Jun. 16th, 2020 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
[ Martin had always known that Lukas would kill him in the end. If not along the way, then surely at the end, once he'd gotten what he wanted out of Martin, whatever that turned out to be. When the Lonely rose up to swallow him, he'd accepted his impending death with ... what?
What did he have left, really? Numbness, mostly. A hallucination of Jon in the Lonely, looking for him, but - but that was impossible, ridiculous. His mind playing cruel tricks. He settled himself down in the frigid surf, knees drawn up close to his chest, unshed tears frozen to his cheeks and lashes.
And then. A door. A door that shouldn't exist, that couldn't exist. That he shouldn't take at all. The Lonely was terrible, yes, but it was quiet, and it was peaceful. Martin was aligned enough with it by now to very nearly enjoy it, in a strange and terrible way. The Spiral would be infinitely worse than this quiet beach.
But ... it was hope, too. In a strange way. Hope enough that Martin found himself turning the door handle and stepping through, leaving the false comfort of the Lonely behind him.
The transition was unpleasant. Long. But Martin couldn't remember it after; he only remembered stumbling out through the door of a supply closet somewhere deep in the Archives, blinking up at the dim bulbs that pretended to be sufficient. What time was it? Had he escaped? Where were Lukas and Elias now?
And where was Jon? ]
What did he have left, really? Numbness, mostly. A hallucination of Jon in the Lonely, looking for him, but - but that was impossible, ridiculous. His mind playing cruel tricks. He settled himself down in the frigid surf, knees drawn up close to his chest, unshed tears frozen to his cheeks and lashes.
And then. A door. A door that shouldn't exist, that couldn't exist. That he shouldn't take at all. The Lonely was terrible, yes, but it was quiet, and it was peaceful. Martin was aligned enough with it by now to very nearly enjoy it, in a strange and terrible way. The Spiral would be infinitely worse than this quiet beach.
But ... it was hope, too. In a strange way. Hope enough that Martin found himself turning the door handle and stepping through, leaving the false comfort of the Lonely behind him.
The transition was unpleasant. Long. But Martin couldn't remember it after; he only remembered stumbling out through the door of a supply closet somewhere deep in the Archives, blinking up at the dim bulbs that pretended to be sufficient. What time was it? Had he escaped? Where were Lukas and Elias now?
And where was Jon? ]
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Date: 2020-08-18 11:09 pm (UTC)Elias' office was built for discomfort. It was built to make it hard to focus, for one's mind and eyes to wander. There were oddities, strange whorls in the woodwork. The temperature was always just a little too warm, a little too humid, the chair not quite uncomfortable until one's been in it too long. Books on the shelf with titles on their spines designed to trigger the more common embarrassing or interesting memories that a guilty person (and really, who wasn't a LITTLE guilty.)
In short, no meeting here was ever pleasant. Elias' little bureaucratic throne was exactly to his taste.
Which is why this particular visitor was always a bit irksome. Well. He was in general. But he hardly feared the hemisphere announcing a camera, or paid even a second look at the carefully 'casually' placed recorder.
Peter Lukas wouldn't show up on any of them.
So instead, he reluctantly focused his attention on the cheerfully abrasive little man instead.]
Prompt. I'll give you that.
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Date: 2020-08-19 12:58 am (UTC)Especially given how Peter forgoes all of it. He simply appears in a way that suggests teleportation, without ever making it clear if he did in fact teleport. It seems equally likely that he simply ... walked in but didn’t bother to let himself be remembered until just now. What’s the difference, really? Nothing that matters to him.
He sits leans against he back of that chair, avoiding its sneaky discomfort by simply not using it properly. ]
But nothing else, Elias?
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Date: 2020-08-19 01:03 am (UTC)Or Elias is just self congratulatory and extra like that.
No one said they had to be exclusive.]
Absolutely nothing else.
You know, in other circumstances, I would consider that quite the ... overt disrespect of my territory.
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Date: 2020-08-19 01:07 am (UTC)He gives the most unaffected shrug, deflecting whatever threat might have been intended, if any. ]
Normally I wouldn’t. But you see, he’s already been marked by one of mine. I’d say that makes it justified.
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Date: 2020-08-19 01:28 am (UTC)[He steeples his fingers, letting the silence carry through the room a long moment. Peter's far too used to him to be affected by it, but Elias is too old to break old habits now.]
Let me guess, you've have no explanations as to how that happened.
[Whether he has or hasn't.]
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Date: 2020-08-19 01:30 am (UTC)Theories, maybe. Nothing as concrete as you’d like.
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Date: 2020-08-19 02:07 am (UTC)Well. Never let it be said I don't entertain the plausibility of your theories. As wild as some may be.
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Date: 2020-08-19 02:12 am (UTC)[ Such a sigh. ]
Your least favourite assistant’s been hurting himself.
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Date: 2020-08-19 02:16 am (UTC)But this was hardly normal circumstances and Peter is either being deliberately obtuse or playing.]
Care to elaborate?
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Date: 2020-08-19 02:19 am (UTC)I’m saying that - what was his name. Marvin? Has a very curious mark now. But I’m very good on seeing when other people have been involved, and that just ... isn’t the case here.
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Date: 2020-08-19 02:36 am (UTC)He leans back in his chair, thoughtful. That was ... an unexpected complication. But is it useful or not? That is the question.]
No, no I imagine it isn't. I believe I may know the source, though very little as to what it actually is. Or is not.
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Date: 2020-08-19 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-19 02:51 am (UTC)No wonder you'd dragged your feet setting sail. Someone in London that close to becoming a full avatar and you hadn't noticed.
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Date: 2020-08-19 10:36 am (UTC)We don’t like clustering up much. I thought that would be obvious enough.
[ But the same goes in reverse, which Elias surely knows. Peter does not enjoy surprise encroachments on his territory. Especially not ones that teeter on the verge of being competition. Only snacks and subordinates allowed. ]
But your assistant isn’t quite there yet, is he? No, I think he’s got an echo. Not that he would tell me much about it. Surprisingly loyal, your Marvin.
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Date: 2020-08-19 12:46 pm (UTC)No, I think I've got a strong lead on the source of ... both of our difficulties.
I'll pull the relevant information from my Archive shortly. [There is something in the way he says it, that he doesn't mean the physical location below the office.] I do believe it may come with a bit of .. adjustment of plans.
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Date: 2020-08-19 12:50 pm (UTC)[ But Peter had enjoyed his meal still, yes. Very much so. He sort of tilts his head, curious? And dimly amused. ]
Thus you calling me, I gather. Are we going to have another wager?
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Date: 2020-08-19 12:54 pm (UTC)Though, I am always open to... create opportunities, if you have something you'd like to place on the table.
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Date: 2020-08-19 01:12 pm (UTC)Then again, he really enjoys having Elias’s plans upended sometimes. ]
I could side with them for a while. Maybe I have a fatherly instinct.
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Date: 2020-08-19 03:39 pm (UTC)Oh, you could. My. I can just imagine how much they would depend on you.
[The scathing sarcasm is more than enough to let Peter know how likely he thinks Elias is to interfere in THAT particular way.]
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Date: 2020-08-19 03:42 pm (UTC)... Right. Point taken. No need to turn my stomach, Jonah.
[ When did he sit in that chair? You don’t quite remember. ]
You have been bothering me to mark your Archivist for some time now. And I think I’d like to tear apart at least one of your Marvins.
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Date: 2020-08-19 04:17 pm (UTC)Martin. [Perfunctorily and reflexive correction.]
As for the agreement... no. I don't need you to make that particular scar... In the company he has, he's bound to get bitten at some point. Hardly something I need to worry about. No, I need something else from you.
[A hand traces an elegant arc.] Resources. There are some, ah, factions with some reticence when dealing with myself.
[He is, in fact, asking Peter to actually DEAL with people. Eyes and tone quite serious.]
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Date: 2020-08-19 04:21 pm (UTC)Besides, you’ve suggested something much more abhorrent. He looks dimly nauseated at the thought of dealing with (UGH) people. ]
And you’ve come to me to, what. Ask for my negotiating skills? Jonah, please. I’d much rather spend money.
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Date: 2020-08-19 04:47 pm (UTC)[To his benefit, naturally. To enjoy the reward of victories he hadn't earned.]
I wouldn't ask such a thing without sweetening the pot a little.
I propose we put our... philosophies to the test. I'll wager the very seat of power I have that you cannot convince this little group to truly believe in this ... little emergency theory.
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Date: 2020-08-19 04:51 pm (UTC)But the Panopticon. Oh the Panopticon. He would very, very much like to have that. With a proper bearer, anyway, and that ... ah. ]
I’ll need someone to sit in that chair. The one who’s further along in the Lonely.
[ That’s a fair trade for both of them. ]
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Date: 2020-08-19 05:05 pm (UTC)Not the other one? I would have thought you'd enjoy breaking him to your particular standards. Well, very well. I believe I can relinquish that much.
[Another problem solved. Goodness, and he didn't even have to demand it.]
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