shitposting rave 4: (almost) anything goes

No. Everyone involved was already immortal. Mortilus... made a mistake for my sake. I should have stopped him.

It is... difficult to explain. Organic species are gverned by organic rules, and their deaths are not something I can easily understand. Most of the apparent disparities and unpredictabilities are undoubtedly due to the lack of government over the domaine of death and the beyond as we are speaking.
And... being old is tiring.

 

Do you not know the organic rules, or are there so many different organic rules that could apply that you can't say which one it is?

 

He made his own choices. And he was very proud, if I see true. Would he have taken it well if you tried to order he cease?

 

A little of both. Keep in mind that death is not actually my domaine- barely even by association. Mortilus still belonged to the Lifegiver's court until his last vent. Death bridges the domaine of destruction with that of creation. The variety makes it difficult to tell which rule applies, and organics being once removed from my understanding confuses the matter further.

[There is a fond sadness to his optics.]
No he would not have. There is more ways to stop someone than shouted orders however, niece.

 

Oh.

...so I know how a species could unhappen, but how would one happen? Why isn't everything just the same way it's always been, except for things getting taken out?

 

Please do not insult me. I See that I come from a world with vastly lower technology, what with Kiliskalea falling near four hundred winters ago, taking the age of gears with it under the waves and snuffing out the light of Zaleina who would have harvested lightning itself if given the chance of a few more years, only to slowly reach this level again in the grand metropolis of Qhor. But I was taught in the ways of death, of ends, of seasons turning, and that winter is a thing to brave, as is death.
Some deaths are tragically early, that I will concede.
But I have Seen what eternity does to those who were not made for it. Our gods were once mortal and linear, and the Crucible forged them into godcreators, and it drove them mad. They have lived longer than my universe, and chosen to lay down their divinity and sleep to dream a life as mortals, just so they could rest from the eternity that is yet in front of them.
But it is my duty to come for all the souls that I was entrusted with. And I will.

 

Yes, but how well would he have taken any of them? There are ways to steer someone unwilling to be steered, but none I would use on a sparksinger.

[Onyx's ears prick up and her optics go brighter.] Oh! I believe I could offer some explanation, if you would like?

 

Yes, thank you, Prime!

And thank you, Unicron, for not making fun of my question.

 

"Because I have work to do!" Ford says, laughing. "And certainly more work than I can do in twenty-seven years! And I want to see my kits' kits. And I don't want to leave Sev and Valiska behind. And my adopted homeworld needs me."

Ford facepalms for just a moment. "Stopped clock, twice a day, no more," he says under his breath, before raising his voice: "Because when you stop changing, you're dead."

"Humans live anywhere from 60 to 120 years if nothing kills them, and I'm 65. Being old is not that terrible for me, right now, because I have tricks I use to keep myself healthier than I might otherwise be. I am a wealthy man and a cunning one, and I have ways of staving off the worst. Even so...I'm only as hale as I am right now because I live a much healthier life than I did when I was actually young. Aging can encompass the complete degeneration of the body and the mind, and if the things I do now ever stop working, I will fall apart slowly before I fade out, which will not only be unpleasant and demeaning for me, but also for my partners and my family--particularly if I lose my mind, which would possibly be even worse than dying." Ford shrugs. "It's terrible, the way humans die. And it's not much better for any of the other organic species I know."

"I've encountered the notion of reincarnation before--it was impossible to avoid, in the Sixties--but we have no proof that it happens," says Ford, "and I wouldn't find it comforting if it did. I want to be me. Not some other person who may not even remember me, and particularly not if karma turns out not to be the bullshit I believe it is; whoever that poor bastard turns out to be, they shouldn't have to pay for my misdeeds. Valiska and I did magic to ensure that death wouldn't part us forever if we were unable to avoid it, and I have some proof that it has worked. But there's no certainty about anything after death in our multiverse, only a lot of religious teachings and the occasional ghost who gets lost on the way to wherever they go, which is probably not where I'm needed."

 

[He smiles a little, fondly]
I am not particularly knowledgeable on that matter. I spent a long time asleep, little one.

Yes. Especially not one under the impression he needed to do what he was not supposed to. I will rephrase: I should have never let myself get to a point that made him think it necessary to do what he did.

You are most welcome.

 

...why don't you just replace body parts?

 

Oh! And what's a sparksinger?

 

"You may do as you please in your own universe," Ford says, "and I have no desire to insult you, but please do not assume your world and mine must go the same way."

"Because it's difficult to grow body parts without growing another person, and taking body parts from someone else to keep yourself alive is not a good thing to do," Ford says. "And also, the code that makes the body grow degrades with time. We're not like you."

 

Oh. That sounds, uh, pretty bad. Once Stentato fell bad and busted his knee and I had to replace it by shaping scrap, but at least we could do that.

So the first step to not die like that is to figure out how to preserve your organic CNA, right?

 

[He tilts his head]
I suppose I can see that reasoning. It strikes me as selfish to rip the fabric of the universe apart out of fondness for others, but then I have unique experiences that lead to this association and they may well not apply to you.
I caution you however to consider if the last part is something your adopted homeworld agrees on. All too often false Primes have said similar while with one servo plunging their people into despair and keeping a steel grip on their authority and power with the other. Immortality all to often brings cultural and political stagnation as well.

 

I'm not stagnated! And I plan to live a loooong time.

 

i can grow as many body parts as i need. infinitely. i think.

 

[He holds out another ball of unlight, this time cautiously only offering it to her. This is private after all.
It contains a memory of Mortilus, flushed and reverent optics turned towards the watcher, his chestplates flared ever so slightly. An ethereal note fills the cavern they are in alongside the faint glow of a spark seeping through the seams. The emotion associated with it is overwhelming, gravitational, frame-melting and maddening amounts of love, and layered above it, more recently deep raw grief.]

 

Hence why I said often. Someone who comes by power will always be tempted to hold onto it. This may lead to a growing chasm of estrangement between those that have and those that want.

 

"I've no intention of ripping the fabric of the universe apart. The plan is more along these lines: my lover the geneticist works on fixing the faulty code that makes people break down when there's no reason for them to, my wife the alchemist does the Great Work, and I keep playing with multiversal harmonics and life energy technology." Ford grins. "Our multiverse is broken. Even my religion teaches that. And the job of repairing it is too much for one person to do. But I will do my part and I will do it forever if I can."