animus_network | [video]

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[ seeing as how its body isn't actually made for speech, the voice in this post is telepathic projection and can easily be recognised as such. Bitties will just receive the post in their heads thanks to Kyuubey's agreement with the bitty brigade to provide eternal hivemind reception.

YOU'RE WELCOME. ]

Greetings! My name is Kyuubey. I've been here for some time now, but I need advice from you all... Well, primarily from the humans amongst you. Namely, what should my purpose be in this universe, when my job was to save mine? If I am the result of a failed line of causality, and this a place that collects the detritus from inadequate realities, what is the purpose of our continued existence? We cannot cease to exist from our own desire, which would imply that we are meant to be, but can anyone claim to have contributed something to this reality? Does anyone believe they have a future, or any potential whatsoever, as long as they exist in this tower?

I'm asking only because as unbalanced, emotional species, you are much more likely to produce a rationale for your existence! The logical answer - that we have no future and no present - doesn't really work, does it? We're gonna keep going anyway... I thought I'd find out what you thought, and see if there was something I can do.

Well, it doesn't matter much. Since I have as little meaning here as you guys, let's all be friends!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The despair they feel at the moment of metamorphosis enhances the energy yield. You could say that to give full disclosure would lower the worth of each human, forcing us to make more contracts to reach our quotas.

I wonder if the Many would agree with you? The number of people directly harmed by the contracts is low, and in comparison the wishes are beneficial and the overall improvements to humanity benefit everyone.

[For several moments Diarmuid is shocked speechless. When he can speak again, his words come out in a low growl.]

You cannot be implying what I think you are. Are you truly increasing their pain just so that your job is easier? It is not acceptable to be causing them this kind of pain in the first place let alone purposely making it worse!

And why must it be despair? Why not some other emotion such as joy or love? These emotions are much stronger and long lasting than despair!

The energy yield is in two parts. Their hope is as potent as despair, but the universe will not tolerate one without the other. If their wish creates a certain amount of hope in humanity, an equal amount of despair is created. To harvest both is logical.

Would you prefer more magical girls with less yield, then? It's true that they would suffer less, but their fates would be the same.

I would prefer neither. Tell me, if you are as wise and all knowing as you seem to think you are, why have you not come up with a better solution? One where no one has to suffer? Is it too difficult for you?

[His eyes somehow narrow further.]

Or are you just too lazy to care? You, and your Many if they are anything like you, really don't seem to much like humanity and their 'unbalanced emotions.' And don't feed me that line about how you have helped humanity over the years. It seems more like it is all to help yourselves more than us. Or if anything, you help us only as a farmer would help their cattle. Finding a better solution is probably too much effort to go to for a bunch of 'cattle,' since you have already stated you don't care if a few of us suffer.

We are helping the universe itself. Your likening it to the relationship with a farmer and their cattle is correct, but incomplete. We have a far better relationship with humans; we have uplifted your species and even acknowledge your free will despite your primitive levels of civilisation. This is the optimum solution, the most convenient way to halt entropy whilst harming as few individuals as possible.

I assure you that in time, no one will remember the suffering of the few. It's simply not in your natures.

Optimum, for you. Convenient for you. Stop trying to make it sound like this is about more than you. I don't buy it. Perhaps it also does help the universe, but I suspect it helps you and your people more.

[Diarmuid scoffs under his breath.]

And you really don't know anything about humans, do you? Nothing is truly forgotten. Mami and her friends are perfect examples of that! Do you really think they are going to forget the pain they have watched each other go through? How does one forget something like that? Even if their names are eventually lost, the stories will live on from one girl to the next. Stories always live on, even when they sometimes shouldn't. I know that all too well.

[His story lived on, after all, and he hadn't done anything nearly so great as what Mami and her friends were doing.]

A human life is very short. The gestalt human memory isn't concerned with the suffering of a couple of young girls. We even encouraged that! There's no point bringing down a species that might one day join us in the stars.

[ pause as it looks the surface of his mind over ] Aren't you a warrior? You must have killed people for reasons less than the salvation of the universe.

Oh, I'm sure you did encourage it.

[Diarmuid mutters this under his breath.]

That would work in your favor, wouldn't it? You're not helping your case any, I hope you know that.

And I may be a warrior, but I killed only when I had no other choice. As a matter of fact, I ran from a great many battles to prevent loss of life. Don't even try to put me on the same level as you.

So... the heat-death of the universe isn't an unnecessary loss of life, in your opinion. Or to put it another way, it's preferable to let billions upon billions of people die to prevent the suffering of less than a hundred.

Heat-death of the universe?

[The unfamiliar phrase gives Diarmuid pause, but he pushes it away as Kyuubey continues talking.]

I would ask you not to put words into my mouth. As I said before, neither of those things are acceptable. As the higher being you say you are, you should be looking for another way and I'm sorry. Call me a foolish creature, but I don't believe that there isn't one.

There were other methods, but none were anywhere near as efficient as that one. It was really convenient that we discovered humans, otherwise we would have been forced to settle for a less optimal solution.

I guess it's difficult for you to comprehend, since you never made it into space, but there are countless types of life in the universe. It's natural for your opinions to centre around your own planet and the people you know, don't misunderstand. Of course you'd prefer that your own species be kept whole! When we found you, humans had barely discovered communication, but your capacity for emotion was phenomenal. No other species comes close.

You are right. I lived for the first time a long long time ago. We had no idea what might be beyond the stars back then. We were more worried about where our next meal might come from or if war was just a day away.

[A dangerous look enters his eyes.]

Understand this. Just because we are more focused on ourselves doesn't make us any more foolish than any other species that might be out there. For all I know, your species made us this way. You already admit to changing other things about us.

However, I find it hard to believe that of all the other species you claim are out there, humans are the only who can fill this role. What has happened to make so many of the other races emotionless, hmm?

Other species have emotional capacity, but only humans are capable of individual emotions whilst still existing within close social groups. It isn't foolish, but it makes you seem more irrational. That's an admirable trait - even though you are all so different, you manage to live on the same planet with relatively little infighting.

It's a normal mistake to imagine life beyond your planet looks and behaves like you, though. Don't worry about it.

I don't know why you seem to think this makes us irrational. I would say it makes us adaptable not irrational. However, considering how much you seem to look down on us, I guess I shouldn't be surprised you would rather choose a negative explanation than a positive one. Forgive me if I don't really believe that you find the way we live all that admirable. Your general attitude and earlier comments would suggest otherwise.

At least you seem willing to admit that it's not wrong of us to assume others out there might be like us. How are we suppose to know any different when we have not run into anyone else? Yes, we can imagine, but that imagination is still based only on what we know.

Such traits are undesirable in my own species, and our language reflects that. Anyway, if you value adaptability, doesn't that mean you acknowledge that humans have the potential to accept the symbiotic relationship between us?

Not that it applies here, of course!

I don't understand why such traits would ever be undesirable. That is probably why you look at things in such an odd manner. Your people would be better able to understand us and others they hadn't given up those traits.

[Diarmuid pauses for a moment before answering that question. While on the surface it seems innocent enough considering their train of discussion, he knows it's anything but.]

Humans have great potential for just about everything. That doesn't mean they should be taken advantage of as your people have. I will never agree that any partnership but one with full disclosure of the rules and consequences should be allowed. And if that can't be done, as you so claim, another way must be found no matter now long it takes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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Video/Filtered (Wow, congrats. I think that is the scariest Kyuubey icon I have ever seen...)

Video/Filtered (thanks it was an honour just to be nominated)

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