USER: #DC143C - QUESTION FOR EVERYONE

[lonered]

[ USER: #DC143C ]

Hey. So...

...

Question for anyone. Or for everyone I guess.

How sure are you that you're still alive? Back where you're from I mean.

Like on a scale from 1 to 10. Where 1 is "I definitely died" and 10 is "I'm definitely still alive" and everything in between.

Thanks in advance. I know it's a weird question. I just... I gotta know.



[He's asked some folks, but the results so far are mixed. And Keith needs to figure out one way or another if this is just some weird unexpected afterlife, and he's at a solid 2.5 on his own scale so he's wondering.]

Comments

[appraiser]

Your definition, however you feel fit to word it, would be fine. It doesn't have to be correct or exact.

[lonered]

Well I mean, alive means you're still living?
Haven't been killed or uh... I guess still physically, mentally, biologically in tact and present?

Dead is the opposite. Gone. Not part of that world anymore.

No more chances to see your friends or apologize for things you said... or didn't say or... anything.

[Well. This didn't go well. Sorry. First time Keith's actually considering what being dead will actually mean.]

[appraiser]

Like existing and not existing.

[ That's what these explanations seem like to Ryoji. ]

In that case, wouldn't everybody here be a 10? There are always chances.

[lonered]

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.

It could be this is just a moment to catch your breath before the inevitable -- whatever that is. I guess there's no way to know until we find a way out of here.

[appraiser]

Do you think this place is limbo? A transition before the afterlife... I don't believe death works like that.

It'd be nice if it were.

[lonered]

I don't know what it is. I just know I don't belong here. I don't think any of us belong here.

[appraiser]

I'm not so sure. Belonging has the sense of being rejected by this place. I don't feel rejected, nor welcomed. I simply exist. I think it's the same for most everybody here. What do you feel about this place?

[lonered]

That we don't belong here.

That we were all dragged here with no explanation, no request for permission. Something's wrong with this place.

[appraiser]

Things happen without permission all the time. That's just how life is. It's inconvenient, though, and a little worrisome. But how would you blame that on a town? On water, dirt, and houses?

[lonered]

Do you really think I have a grudge against the dirt? Quiznak.

I don't blame the inanimate objects. I blame whoever or whatever dragged us all here. Still doesn't mean I think we belong here. We all have places we should be. Wherever that is. A lot of people have families and friends waiting for them. Or yeah maybe their deaths waiting for them. People were ripped away from their lives or their deaths. And you want to have a discussion about whether I blame dirt and houses?

[appraiser]

I didn't mean it like that! I realize it's a terrible thing, and that so many people are heartbroken to find themselves here instead of where they want to be.

I just think that denying things doesn't solve anything. Accepting is a good first step to moving forward.

[lonered]

Yeah. ...sorry. I'm on edge right now I think.

[Though that's Keith. He flies off and lets his emotions have the driver's seat more often than not.]

I really don't get what you think I'm denying though.

[appraiser]

It's alright. Most everybody is.

I guess... the idea that sometimes things happen, and there isn't always an evil mastermind behind it. Well, I'm not sure what to think about all of this, either.

[lonered]

Someone literally gave us laptops with our names on them. It's not some some cosmic coincidence we're here. I don't know if it's an "evil mastermind" but someone or something is responsible for us being here.

[appraiser]

Is that not a sign of hospitality?

[lonered]

Look. You said there wasn't always a mastermind behind it. I mentioned proof of the fact that someone is behind it because random coincidence didn't put our names on laptops. Now your new objection is that it's "hospitality"?

I'm not inclined to give kidnappers a pass for giving us a crappy laptop. Kidnappers don't get points for hospitality.

[appraiser]

I still hope there isn't. These laptops are fine though? They work perfectly well.