08-03-2017, 01:31 PM
"My my, he does have a brain and a half, doesn't he?" Tearen said with a challenging smile. The elder Prime folded his arms over his chest and leaned against one of the granite pillars again, bearing the same sort of expression that the owner of a chocolate factory might make as Dane ran through a list of questions borne from his blessed little sense of logic. These lessons were not going to be painless for him, for many reasons.
"Well, in my universe of origin, there was no limit. A substantial boast to make in passing, perhaps, but my power was effectively absolute. The only limitations placed on me were by others of my kind with a more intuitive grasp. This leads directly in to your third question, actually..." Tearen said, dismissing lunch's dishes off towards the stone bunk house. The plates, cups and utensils dutifully drifted off through the air and out of sight. Everyone except Gamzee was rather nonplussed by the display, which was good. The elder Prime hadn't really intended such a paltry effort to serve as an example.
"No matter how deeply you dive into the waters of the universe, there will always be a tiny mote of self-doubt in your mind, stemming from the most animal, primal parts of our brains. It's a sort of defense mechanism, hailing back to days that predated sentience or reason, that prevented our barely sapient ancestors from stargazing while they were half-starved and hunted. I assure you, each and every organism that is capable of creative thought can tap into this larger universe that is theirs to claim...if only they can overcome their own disbelief that it is even possible." Tearen said, staring off into the distance. He realized he had been speaking for some time now, so he paused. Strazio volunteered.
"...sounds like an insane person would have an easy time of it, but I don't see asylum residents levitating dishes." Rockwell said with an edge in his voice. Tearen nodded knowingly.
"The mentally ill are bound by their own twisted logic, and are surprisingly rational in other ways. But...you're not entirely wrong. To embark on this path is to voluntarily give up part of what might be considered 'sanity', but only insofar as most of it flies in the face of dated, animal logic. This leads into Dane's second question; how does it work? Well..." Tearen said, calling a nearby rock to his hand. He weighed it in his palm and adopted a ponderous expression.
"Instinct, Mathematics and Logic state, that if I toss this rock, this rock must then fall. It's more than common sense. Millions of years ago, my survival may have depended on this." Tearen said, casually lobbing the stone at Karkat's face. The grey alien's eyes went wide and he toppled over backwards onto the ground. He scrambled to his feet, fuming, and then saw the rock floating just an inch from where it would have broken his nose. Well...now he was even more mad.
"WHAT THE FUCKING SHIT. WAS THAT ENTIRELY NECESSARY." the crabby man shouted. It went on for another minute or so before Tearen just signaled for him to shut up.
"The uncomfortable part of this..." said Tearen, in a very low and serious tone, "...is that there is no interaction, aside from what my mind demands of the situation. I am the universe. I demand that the rock stays in the air. A machine cannot produce this effect, because a machine does not think, no matter how complex. Your question betrays your unwillingness to accept the truth. We do not interact with the universe. We ARE the universe." Tearen said, slowly locking eyes with the skeptical swordsman. The eldritch human leaned heavily on the table and spoke in as grave a tone he could muster.
"Thou art God."
Gamzee was just smiling.
"Well, in my universe of origin, there was no limit. A substantial boast to make in passing, perhaps, but my power was effectively absolute. The only limitations placed on me were by others of my kind with a more intuitive grasp. This leads directly in to your third question, actually..." Tearen said, dismissing lunch's dishes off towards the stone bunk house. The plates, cups and utensils dutifully drifted off through the air and out of sight. Everyone except Gamzee was rather nonplussed by the display, which was good. The elder Prime hadn't really intended such a paltry effort to serve as an example.
"No matter how deeply you dive into the waters of the universe, there will always be a tiny mote of self-doubt in your mind, stemming from the most animal, primal parts of our brains. It's a sort of defense mechanism, hailing back to days that predated sentience or reason, that prevented our barely sapient ancestors from stargazing while they were half-starved and hunted. I assure you, each and every organism that is capable of creative thought can tap into this larger universe that is theirs to claim...if only they can overcome their own disbelief that it is even possible." Tearen said, staring off into the distance. He realized he had been speaking for some time now, so he paused. Strazio volunteered.
"...sounds like an insane person would have an easy time of it, but I don't see asylum residents levitating dishes." Rockwell said with an edge in his voice. Tearen nodded knowingly.
"The mentally ill are bound by their own twisted logic, and are surprisingly rational in other ways. But...you're not entirely wrong. To embark on this path is to voluntarily give up part of what might be considered 'sanity', but only insofar as most of it flies in the face of dated, animal logic. This leads into Dane's second question; how does it work? Well..." Tearen said, calling a nearby rock to his hand. He weighed it in his palm and adopted a ponderous expression.
"Instinct, Mathematics and Logic state, that if I toss this rock, this rock must then fall. It's more than common sense. Millions of years ago, my survival may have depended on this." Tearen said, casually lobbing the stone at Karkat's face. The grey alien's eyes went wide and he toppled over backwards onto the ground. He scrambled to his feet, fuming, and then saw the rock floating just an inch from where it would have broken his nose. Well...now he was even more mad.
"WHAT THE FUCKING SHIT. WAS THAT ENTIRELY NECESSARY." the crabby man shouted. It went on for another minute or so before Tearen just signaled for him to shut up.
"The uncomfortable part of this..." said Tearen, in a very low and serious tone, "...is that there is no interaction, aside from what my mind demands of the situation. I am the universe. I demand that the rock stays in the air. A machine cannot produce this effect, because a machine does not think, no matter how complex. Your question betrays your unwillingness to accept the truth. We do not interact with the universe. We ARE the universe." Tearen said, slowly locking eyes with the skeptical swordsman. The eldritch human leaned heavily on the table and spoke in as grave a tone he could muster.
"Thou art God."
Gamzee was just smiling.
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