08-03-2017, 04:25 AM
Tearen looked over his shoulder as Malon's shrouded form slipped off into the woods. The girls' mind was heavy with worry for her friends in Camelot; it was difficult not to pick up on that with how loudly she was thinking about them. He was concerned now that she may have been suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress, but being that the Hylian had never specifically told him the details, he could only guess at the damage. Regardless, she was a big girl and could take care of herself, for now at least. The elder Prime turned back to the last scraps of his food before leaning back and sighing.
"Right then, everyone mostly finished? I think its time we discussed some fundamentals." Tearen said, standing up slowly. Some of the other guests were still picking at their lunch, but the eldritch human felt like talking now, so, he would.
"The core ethos and thought where all of my power stems from is very simple; Thou Art God. It is not a metaphor or analogy. It is the recognition that you, as a thinking entity, are not discreet from the universe." Tearen said, walking around the table slowly. Dane and Gamzee followed him with their gazes eagerly, but Strazio and Karkat seemed more content to just soak in what they felt relevant. That was fine. They would learn, in time. Regardless, they seemed content to let him lecture.
"Our egos inspire us to view our condition as our individual selves and the rest of reality, but that is doing yourself a disservice. Instead, Enigmas, such as myself, choose to view ourselves as an inextricable unit of the greater whole. Any fraction of infinity must still be infinity, and therefore, we are not just part of the universe...we ARE the universe."
"Actually..." Dane said, piping up in a manner as politely as he could, "...that's not exactly how that math works. There is more than one kind of infinity, and–"
The bookish warrior suddenly found himself shutting up. It wasn't as if Tearen was exercising some mental power over him; the ex-deity was simply giving him that look again.
"You are correct, Dane, but a concrete reality exists as infinity as a concept, not as a hard mathematical function...as much as that may chafe your logical sensibilities. There are many things you are going to have to accept as undefinable if you wish to proceed with my teachings." Tearen said softly. It wasn't as if he didn't welcome questions to his lectures, but if felt more like Dane was trying to supersede him, again. The man's mind was strong, but Tearen could still feel trickles of anxiousness leaking out of his mind at the idea he could not triumph over the vagaries of reality with mathematics. So be it.
"...allow me to demonstrate. Let us consider walking." Tearen said, gesturing down at his foot. "If we choose to measure each step as an uncountable infinity as I progress through one motion, at what point to we consider that set concluded? At what point does point nine-nine-nine of a step simply become one? When do all of those countless decimal places finally cross the boundary of their uncountable set and collapse into a single...step." Tearen asked, the sole of his bare foot gently slapping against the hard granite. Dane opened his mouth and then closed it. He was sure he had an answer to that question, but for now he was quickly learning not to try and show up Tearen on the elder Prime's own stage.
"So...are we numeric titans, casually striding the gulfs of infinity with each thundering step, or, are we small, meek little motes of flesh, shuffling around tiny specks of land lost in a sea of epic proportions?" Tearen conjectured, waving his hand around in the air. "I find neither answer satisfying, and so, I don't concern myself with the question. For the purposes of this philosophy, we choose to forgo concrete measurements and realize our connection to reality as a sign of our innate divinity." Tearen said in a conclusive tone. There was silence for a little minute before Strazio stifled a yawn. Tearen smiled, in spite of himself. He would have expected nothing less of the rage mage, but luckily for Rockwell, demonstrations were not far away.
"Fuckin'..." Gamzee started saying, staring down at his own feet, "...Miracles."
Tearen chuckled.
"For lack of a better term, yes. So, when we recognize that we are not just part of the universe, but that we ARE the universe...as in, the actual universe, choosing to think and recognize itself...well then everything else starts to fall into place." Tearen said, snapping his fingers and conjuring a whorl of sparking, black energy around his hand.
"So basically what you're saying is that you can move things with your mind simply because of authority." Strazio asked in a pointed tone.
"It's a little more nuanced than that. You have the authority to move your own arm if you choose to, yes? If we extend the perception of our body to that of the entire world, the same principles apply. This wooden bowl..." Tearen said, summoning his dirty dish to his outstretched hand, "...is no less a part of me than the fingers which hold it."
"Uh hhhuh. So. At what point do you start fucking with people's heads?" Karkat snapped. The eldritch human shot the petulant alien a dangerously bemused glance.
"All in good time, Mr. Vantas. For now, I'm sure you all have questions relevant to what I just went over..."
"Right then, everyone mostly finished? I think its time we discussed some fundamentals." Tearen said, standing up slowly. Some of the other guests were still picking at their lunch, but the eldritch human felt like talking now, so, he would.
"The core ethos and thought where all of my power stems from is very simple; Thou Art God. It is not a metaphor or analogy. It is the recognition that you, as a thinking entity, are not discreet from the universe." Tearen said, walking around the table slowly. Dane and Gamzee followed him with their gazes eagerly, but Strazio and Karkat seemed more content to just soak in what they felt relevant. That was fine. They would learn, in time. Regardless, they seemed content to let him lecture.
"Our egos inspire us to view our condition as our individual selves and the rest of reality, but that is doing yourself a disservice. Instead, Enigmas, such as myself, choose to view ourselves as an inextricable unit of the greater whole. Any fraction of infinity must still be infinity, and therefore, we are not just part of the universe...we ARE the universe."
"Actually..." Dane said, piping up in a manner as politely as he could, "...that's not exactly how that math works. There is more than one kind of infinity, and–"
The bookish warrior suddenly found himself shutting up. It wasn't as if Tearen was exercising some mental power over him; the ex-deity was simply giving him that look again.
"You are correct, Dane, but a concrete reality exists as infinity as a concept, not as a hard mathematical function...as much as that may chafe your logical sensibilities. There are many things you are going to have to accept as undefinable if you wish to proceed with my teachings." Tearen said softly. It wasn't as if he didn't welcome questions to his lectures, but if felt more like Dane was trying to supersede him, again. The man's mind was strong, but Tearen could still feel trickles of anxiousness leaking out of his mind at the idea he could not triumph over the vagaries of reality with mathematics. So be it.
"...allow me to demonstrate. Let us consider walking." Tearen said, gesturing down at his foot. "If we choose to measure each step as an uncountable infinity as I progress through one motion, at what point to we consider that set concluded? At what point does point nine-nine-nine of a step simply become one? When do all of those countless decimal places finally cross the boundary of their uncountable set and collapse into a single...step." Tearen asked, the sole of his bare foot gently slapping against the hard granite. Dane opened his mouth and then closed it. He was sure he had an answer to that question, but for now he was quickly learning not to try and show up Tearen on the elder Prime's own stage.
"So...are we numeric titans, casually striding the gulfs of infinity with each thundering step, or, are we small, meek little motes of flesh, shuffling around tiny specks of land lost in a sea of epic proportions?" Tearen conjectured, waving his hand around in the air. "I find neither answer satisfying, and so, I don't concern myself with the question. For the purposes of this philosophy, we choose to forgo concrete measurements and realize our connection to reality as a sign of our innate divinity." Tearen said in a conclusive tone. There was silence for a little minute before Strazio stifled a yawn. Tearen smiled, in spite of himself. He would have expected nothing less of the rage mage, but luckily for Rockwell, demonstrations were not far away.
"Fuckin'..." Gamzee started saying, staring down at his own feet, "...Miracles."
Tearen chuckled.
"For lack of a better term, yes. So, when we recognize that we are not just part of the universe, but that we ARE the universe...as in, the actual universe, choosing to think and recognize itself...well then everything else starts to fall into place." Tearen said, snapping his fingers and conjuring a whorl of sparking, black energy around his hand.
"So basically what you're saying is that you can move things with your mind simply because of authority." Strazio asked in a pointed tone.
"It's a little more nuanced than that. You have the authority to move your own arm if you choose to, yes? If we extend the perception of our body to that of the entire world, the same principles apply. This wooden bowl..." Tearen said, summoning his dirty dish to his outstretched hand, "...is no less a part of me than the fingers which hold it."
"Uh hhhuh. So. At what point do you start fucking with people's heads?" Karkat snapped. The eldritch human shot the petulant alien a dangerously bemused glance.
"All in good time, Mr. Vantas. For now, I'm sure you all have questions relevant to what I just went over..."
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued