No party like an pope party??

[archboxer]

[That... that was a thing for everyone. There should be no celebration for Lif but, well, even if Rhea has a very cynical view of such things it's probably for the best that everyone stays together. Her first stop is the cafeteria, after all nothing better to keep people in one spot than free food. There she bumps into Mira, leaving the snacks to her Rhea ends up writing notes to everyone to come to the cafeteria in a few hours.

Some she hands personally and if she can't find someone she slid it under their door. Rin's she slides into her room regardless.

Fortunately, you won't hear a sermon.]

Comments

[mouflon]

No points for guessing the obvious. But you're right — the Harway family and all the politicians they have in their pocket.

[emberserker]

High-ranking mages, I'll presume. How did you cross them?

[mouflon]

They do have magic in their bloodline, but the problem isn't that they're mages. It's that they're plutocrats. One stupid family dictates what most of three continents can do, all because they're in control of some miracle energy source. And that means they decide which resources go where, who's allowed to do what, and what people live and die.

It's not a question of what I did to cross them. It's a question what they did to cross me.

[emberserker]

Hm.

[Rank has always been important, hasn't it? Suishou and Rosa, from unimportant families, thinking they could backtalk her, tell her what to do -- but Rin's said something else important.]

Energy? Is this related to that computer you mentioned?

[mouflon]

No, not that part. They have an interest in the Moon Cell, and they've spent decades suppressing information related to it — but that's not the point here.

The world you live in. Do you still rely on fossil fuels for basic power, or something else?

[ Rin is always a little intense, but from the moment she's started talking about the Harway family, her delivery has become... more so. ]

[emberserker]

Mundane things don't hold my interest that much, but yes, we have oil and electricity and such. Your world discovered something new, and they took hold of it?

[mouflon]

Worse than that. Demand for fuel exceeded supply, and then they swept in with their miracle solution before anyone could create the infrastructure that would make another alternative viable. Even if you don't care about the mundane world much, you must realize how that would shake up the balance of global politics and place a lot of power in the hands of a few private citizens.

[emberserker]

Of course. So they made a power play, or rather, they took everything for themselves.

[mouflon]

[ Rin nods. ]

And you probably don't need to be told that they haven't let anyone else know how it works. Suppressing data is practically their second specialty.

There are still some countries that resist their control, though, mostly in Asia. Those are the people I've hitched my wagon to.

[emberserker]

That explains the terrorist bit. What's your aim, only taking them down?

[mouflon]

And the difference between "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" is what side you're on. So hopefully you understand what I mean when I say the assumptions people make about me are about them, not who I am.

You say only like it's a small thing. I'm trying to topple the king of the world so people can live for real again.

[emberserker]

Simply that I can understand having one person in your way. Though at this point, can't we all?

[mouflon]

[ For a second, that... makes her feel some kind of way. The feeling of having a life or death enemy is something she has been long accustomed to, and Anna's words make her consider for the first time that not everyone here is as used to it as she is. Like, that Piers guy? He looked (and still looks) ready to be sick. She can't take that on so other people don't have to, like she could in her fight against the Harways. ]

Yeah. I guess you're right about that.

[emberserker]

The Professor first, unfortunately. Then we can get back to dealing with our own problems. The world will be much better off.

[mouflon]

You're not about to hear me argue with that. [ And she sighs, a little theatrically, because making a show of being unaffected helps her feel unaffected. ] Sorry, I was just thinking... There are people here that shouldn't have to deal with that. The strong are supposed to shoulder these things so the weak don't have to.

[emberserker]

...

[And that hits in a weird way, Anna's grip on her spoon going tense for a minute as her mind seems to weigh how to take that. She pauses and briskly shakes her head.]

Yes, well. Things will be as they should be once he's dealt with. And since it seems he doesn't truly want to wait decades for this, it'll be sooner rather than later.

[mouflon]

[ Rin notices that momentary tension, and she isn't sure what to make of it. But... For once, given the circumstances, she decides to have a little tact and not ask. It probably isn't her business, anyway. ]

No offense, but I'd probably kill someone before the year was out, with or without an incentive.

[ It's... an attempt at levity, actually. ]

[emberserker]

With how some of these people are, I wouldn't blame you in the slightest.

[Appreciated? Well, taken, anyway.]

[mouflon]

That, and there's not nearly enough to distract me from them. I'm not used to being this idle, you know?

[ LITTLE DID RIN KNOW, ]

[emberserker]

We'll have to see what happens, then.

[mouflon]

[ That gets Anna a big sigh. ]

"Wait and see" is all we've done so far.

[ But Anna isn't exactly... wrong, so it doesn't sound as combative as it might in another circumstance. ]