video; un:curtaincall

[endcaller]

[The feed opens with a view of a metallic ceiling illuminated by blue light as the tablet is moved around; followed by the pale face of a man in a hood. The movement suggests he is crouching down to set the tablet against something. Once it is in place, apparently on the floor but propped up, he walks forward a few paces and settles himself against a wall lined with neon lights. Despite their glare, he doesn't cast a shadow.]

Good morrow to you, my dearest fellow Chosen!

On a scale from one to ten, one being "abysmal" and ten being "I've had better", how has your week been?

[A thin, joyless smile creeps across his lips as he tilts his head.]

Mine has been filled with peril and adventure! Some of you may know that we are not the only civilization on this star. There are others.

I traveled to the nearest settlement, Rumpitur, to see with my own eyes whether these... "glitches" as we've been calling them plagued them as well. Alas, I was not able to observe much. Whenever I passed the town's borders my being was warped back to the outside. At times I was warped quite far.

I did, eventually, decide to speak with the guards but--

[There is a sharp crash of thunder from nearby, the suddenness makes him wince. After a moment of concerned silence, he stands up, smooths his hands down his robe, and walks away. For several seconds the camera shows the blank floor of an empty room, and then a small, square robot whirs into frame. Some might recognize it as a welcome robot.

Its screen lights up with text, each line appearing within a few seconds of each other.

HELLO, CHOSEN.

MASTER HAS BEEN SAD.

WHEN HE COMES BACK...

WISH HIM A HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

There are footsteps and Fandaniel's throaty lilt breaks the silence.]

I believe I just saw the ground outside boil, freeze, and sublimate all at once. Marvelous!

[His boots step into view in front of the robot.]

Hyperetes, what are you telling people?

[The robot beeps.]

I see, how terribly inappropriate. Thank you.

[Hyperetes wheels away as Fandaniel sits himself back down.]

Now, where was I before I so rudely interrupted myself?

Ah! Yes, the snake folk.

Well, my conversation with the guards was not illuminating so much as mortifying. If I attempted to broach any topic of substance they...

[How can he even explain it? He waves a hand in the air and giggles.]

This entire world is coming apart at the seams. Truly, it feels as though the Final Days are upon us. We're all going to die screaming.

[This observation doesn't seem to bother him much.]

Comments

[endcaller]

Truly?

Well now you simply must tell me that tale.

[aonibi]

There isn't much to tell. Shinra was building a mako reactor, but the explosions set off a mako torrent. The Lifestream took Rhadore, collapsing it into the ocean.

[endcaller]

It sounds like the construction of this "mako reactor" did not go according to plan.

[aonibi]

No. It's not really my place to comment on, though.

[endcaller]

No? You are not worried your superiors might find out, are you?

[aonibi]

No. [ .. well. a little, maybe. he's still not 100% convinced that this is all real and not a very elaborate test of some sort. ] I'm a SOLDIER. It's just not my place.

[endcaller]

I take it the all capital text means a "SOLDIER" is distinct from, well... a soldier?

[aonibi]

Yes. SOLDIER is Shinra's elite fighting force. They're more well-trained and better-equipped than regular troops.
I'm the next development in SOLDIER.

[endcaller]

My, my, my.

Shinra starts you people out young, don't they? Why, when I was your age I was...

[He trails off.

No good, he still can't remember.]

Well, I may have been brewing alchemical potions to improve the mental acuity of my peers but I am a poor example to go by.

[aonibi]

No, not usually. They've recently lowered the age of enlistment, but SOLDIERs are all adults. [ he doesn't count. ]

You're the second person I've spoken to that's mentioned alchemy here. It's considered a pseudoscience in my world, but I suppose it's real in other places.
Why are you a poor example?

[endcaller]

Because I, like you, was not a typical teenager. If I ever had my moments of running about the town, skinning my knees, and stealing candy--

[Is that what teenagers do? ...Uh...]

--I cannot remember them.

Far too busy with alchemy. Which is a real science on my star. I cannot imagine why anyone would argue otherwise.

[aonibi]

None of the teenagers here have mentioned stealing candy or skinning their knees. [ ???? ]

It was considered the precursor to modern science on my planet. I don't know much about it, though.
What did you do with it?

[endcaller]

The teenagers here are far too preoccupied with blowing up the city to steal candy.

And I used alchemy to expand the minds of my people. At some point later I studied aether chemistry, a similar but distinct field. I admit it was so long ago the timeline is somewhat blurry.

[aonibi]

Blowing up the city?

What is aether chemistry?
How long ago?

[endcaller]

Blowing up the city! Or at the very least parts of it. It appears to be a popular pastime. Be a good lad and don't go destroying property, hm?

[Another shifting sound of chains and a thoughtful hum.]

Aetherochemistry, or aether chemistry, is a marriage of arcane and scientific thought. Very popular when I was young though it's no longer practiced.

That was oh...

[He clicks his tongue near the mic.]

Five millennia ago give or take?

[There is a playful lilt in his voice as he says this, as if he might be joking.]

[aonibi]

I have no reason to do so. There's no one here to give me orders.

Why did it fall out of practice? Better methods were found?

[ a pause as he apparently takes that in. ]

You're not human, then. [ .. sorry if you were looking for a bigger reaction.. ]

[endcaller]

Goodness me, you're sharp.

I may not be "human". I may be an immortal creature of pure shadow and hate...

[A lengthy pause.]

Or I may be joking, I do that. We'll have to work on your sense of humor.

[But Sephiroth seems to accept anything he's told, Fandaniel suspects that could be useful.]

Aetherochemistry fell out of practice because the world moved on. That is all.

[aonibi]

I don't think that it's entirely a joke.

[ he's not good with telling when people are joking, it's true, but this guy has Hojo Lite vibes, and hojo doesn't joke about anything, so.. ]

It usually takes longer than a single human lifetime for a popular scientific practice to die out.

[ maybe he's lying about that, too. who knows? sephiroth would have no way of verifying either way, it's all just new and interesting to him. ]

[endcaller]

Unless a calamitous event was responsible for its sudden unpopularity.

[aonibi]

Yes. Is that what happened?

[endcaller]

It was.

[His lilt drops lower into his throat, creating a huskiness that stops just short of a growl.]

The people who discovered aetherochemistry were wiped out by an earthquake caused by their own creations. After the dust settled, the world vowed never again to use their science. Books were burned, machines were destroyed, scientists hunted down and slaughtered. The world turned to its gods for salvation and technology was lost.

Regrettable, I suppose...

[He tries to sound indifferent about it but sad nostalgia colors his voice. Watching the world destroy everything he had spent his life working on had been much harder than he cares to admit.]

[aonibi]

[ he's somewhat unintentionally stumbled into a sore spot for the man, and has no idea how to proceed from here. he doesn't know how to comfort people, and even if he did, this person is still a stranger. would he even want to be comforted? it's such a tricky thing. ]

The professor sometimes says that only weak minds allow themselves to be driven by religion. I don't know how true that is, though.

You were able to escape. Does it have to be a lost science forever?

cw: suicidal ideation in brackets

[endcaller]

[Any words like "I'm sorry" would have drawn a cold, weary sigh from Fandaniel. Luckily, Sephiroth says no such thing.]

This professor sounds like a smart man.

[A small giggle.]

Aetherochemistry will never be a lost science as long as I yet breathe...

[Which, he hopes, will not be too long. He'd never intended to survive the Final Days of Etheirys.]

Why, this star has even gifted me with the Aetherochemical Research Facility! What luck, hm?

[aonibi]

He's a brilliant scientist. [ .. somewhat unfortunately. ]

Is that where you are now? What is it mean to be used for here?

[endcaller]

It is. I live here, after all.

[He coos.]

And with the resources now at my disposal it is my aim to learn more about Expiation and how we came to be here.

Ah. Admittedly, I am unable to use the Facility in its entirety. There is no aether here which does rather make practicing aetherochemistry more difficult.