[Voice]

[alephbet]

I'm no good at speeches. Louis is far better at them than I am - but with him gone I feel that it's my duty to pick up his slack.

[It still stings a little to speak of his disappearance, but Aleph has had worse pains.]

Not because I need to intimidate the administrators. Not because I need to curse them. They know already what their crimes are. But everyone trapped in this tower needs to hear this right now.

Every tyrant falls. Every regime is overthrown, every cruel fist is shaken off. No matter how powerful, how old, or how deeply entrenched.

You know how many of us there are, and our numbers continue to grow. And with every new captive comes a new hope for freedom. Among us are those stronger than you can imagine, those wiser than you can dream of, those skilled beyond belief - those who may not have the power to escape on their own, but will risk everything together to bring down those who would seek to torture us.

With so many of us who are so strong, freedom is an inevitability.

Comments

[video]

[doesnotgetit]

It was always a matter of "when", not "if", I think. Nobody just knew what exactly "when" would be.

Everything that happened recently just means that we have even less of an idea of "when" will be.

[video]

[alephbet]

It's getting closer. Even if we don't know when, I know we're approaching it.

[video]

[doesnotgetit]

This might be a bit of a setback, though. Dax was trying to help us, wasn't he? Without him, we don't know what the tower will be like now.

[Let it be known that however dumb Hakuno may seem, she also has surprisingly sharp moments!]

I... I still don't think helping others find their way out of this tower is impossible. It might just have been set back a bit. Until we can figure out if this changes things at all.

[Video]

[technologic]

... Even though you said you aren't good at them, that was pretty good.

[Video]

[alephbet]

I did my best.

[Video]

[technologic]

And your best was pretty good. [She grins, before her expression turns a bit more solemn.]

An unescapable prison is something I doubt that exists, and I doubt the tower will ever be that. There are always cracks somewhere.

[Anon Text]

[great_king_of_evil]

Congratulation. Like many before you, you speak well. So many times have I heard speeches of such nature spoken on the network in moments on anger and hatred.

Yet, none are the times I have seen people act upon their words.

Build upon your beautiful speeches and act. Go on the field and fearlessly face the prospect of total annihilation in the name of what justice you believe in. Defy those who wield the godly power with your body rather than with your tongue. Risk your soul and very existence to bring about the world you dream of. Then maybe, you will gain your freedom.

So far all I see is a colony of ants too scared and afraid to act and do anything unless they are held by the hand and told comforting words. Children, all too happy to follow the strict parents out of fear of growing up.

[Voice]

[alephbet]

I don't know you. Yet I doubt you know me either. And I have more faith in us than you - let's see which of us is right.

[Anon Text]

[great_king_of_evil]

Neither do I know you, yet I know you have been here for long. And what are your exploits so far? What have you done? Maybe it is time indeed. Try and prove me wrong. Nothing would satisfy me more than to be wrong in this case. But--

This is such a typical situation. I will not hold any hope to see anything emerge from these words.

[Anon Text]

[tohko_amano]

You're much better at speeches than you give yourself credit for. That was wonderful. However..it might not be best to make war cries right now, with the situation as it is.

Your viewpoint isn't bad..but it's probably best to not make these statements via the network.

[Voice]

[alephbet]

I'm worried some of us might give up with the loss of an ally. It's harder to pull them out of despair when they're already in it than save them from the edge.

[Anon Text]

[tohko_amano]

That's true..but I think, in the end, we won't give up. It's not like most of us can ignore or forget what happened.

Audio

[true_noir]

[And into this little ray of sunshine...]

Entropy and death are the only certainties. Freedom is an illusion of the desperate mind to cling to the notion that it is in control. Once control is accepted as an illusion, it may be embraced and appreciated for the pretty fantasy that it is, and no more.

I am sure a few of them will appreciate the fantasy. Not all of us truly need it.

[A moment of gloom.]

Audio

[alephbet]

That view is short-sighted. Maybe I won't see freedom. Maybe you won't either. But the tower will fall.

Audio

[true_noir]

No. If anything, it is too far-sighted. Time, entropy and eternity await them as much as they await us. All will decay, all will die, all will crumble to ash. Freedom does not rise as a phoenix from the ashes of every tyrant, only another tyrant, doomed to die just as the last.

Freedom is just what we pretend to make ourselves sleep at night. Did you not listen to them? They were as desperate, as confused and as afraid as some among us. In their desperation they consume themselves to fight against the dying of the light. Are they so different, other than the mere scale of their depravities?

In the end, I know only this. Almost none of it really matters, and no matter how eloquently you wave a banner and proclaim this shall not stand, I can practically see the fraying of its edges in the breeze. I do not care if this tower rises or falls, because I know it will, and my own life is little more than a flyspeck in the history of time itself.

[text]

[mask_of_suffering]

I'd like to think that we can stand up to the people in charge and get our freedom back, but what would happen if we fail?

[text]

[alephbet]

They're reluctant to actually kill us. So what else can they do that we can't change?

[video;]

[notayoungkitten]

I have watched tyrants fall before.

It is just a matter of when and how.

[video;]

[alephbet]

So have I. Caused them, actually.

[Voice]

[forgetbeam]

[It's only been a few short weeks since Ishimaru declared that not falling into despair was the best way to get back at the Admins, but it feels so far away now.

He has to admire Aleph for being able to stick to it, at least.]

You're right, of course. The important thing is maintaining that unity and that optimism at a time like this. The Administrators do not even have that now, right? They've already lost.

[He sounds more like he's trying to convince himself than anything. God, he's tired.]

[Voice]

[alephbet]

Exactly. I have confidence in us. You have that too, right? You told me so.

video

[keybearer]

Let's assume we do find a way to take them out... What then?

[He appreciates the sentiment, but would that really undo everything they've endured? It seems a little too good to be true.]

video

[alephbet]

Then we deal with things as they are. There is a world outside this tower that we can struggle with if we want that, or we can remain here and see how life improves without the intentional torture every month. I don't claim that everything will suddenly be perfect - merely that it's better to have the choice.

[text]

[pengeen]

...it's true that there are many strong fighters here, mentally and physically, but even though they're outnumbered, they're stronger than us, Aleph-san.

You've seen it before... they can stop us with the touch of a button. We're going to need more than numbers in people to be able to stop them.

[You'll have to excuse him for raining on your parade Aleph, this kid's still shaken up from everything, and it's not really reflecting on his mood well.]

[voice]

[alephbet]

That's not really anything new...

[People who can kill things that can kill you by pointing at you or talking: this guy.]

I don't think it's possible now. But there will be openings and faults in their defense.