[Video]

[neverfeltthatway]

[As he has after every jaunt for nearly the past two years, Armin appears 'on screen' to announce the release list.]

I have the list of Travelers who've vanished over the course of the jaunt. Elphaba, Eliza, Liara, Xena, Gabrielle, Jotaro, and Persephone.

[He closes his eyes for a long moment, still and silent in respect for those departed - giving everyone a moment to hear and accept his words before moving on.]

I know there have been other conversations about it, but, I think, nothing comprehensive where everyone can hear - we should share what we found out from the Arcana during out conversations with them. We've learned more about them, our past, and our situation in the past couple months than in years before that, it can be hard for everyone to keep up.

Comments

[theflyingone]

I wrote down what I know of the Arcana and placed it in the Workshop's library, in the section for past Jaunts. My first encounter can be found in the Newport Codex. My Infiltration delivered a letter to who he thought was King Malcolm Doyle, but was in fact the Emperor. There is not much there. My second encounter is detailed in A Conversation with the Magician the Arcana and the Emperor the Arcana. That has an appendix of theories regarding it. My third contribution is to do with... while I was... in the floor. That is called Dying in Liminal Space, which is something I warn heavily against, for those of you who are new.

[ He neglects to mention that none of these give any details that he was Marked by the Emperor. He's kept the secret of his Arcana from all but a couple people thus far... ]

[neverfeltthatway]

I'll be sure to check them out, thank you. [Useful, for all that it misses the point that this was about getting everyone to share and to hear what was learned. Though he does plan to read these accounts, Armin is confident that most of the Travelers will not.]

[theflyingone]

[ If he shared all he knew, including detailed descriptions of what they look like, how their tones and gestures communicated, and the theories he and others came up with, everyone would be here all day. ]

I am free to answer questions anyone might have, though I prefer to talk about dying in Liminal in person rather than on the network.

[ He'd rather not give the Arcana any chance to know he was eavesdropping on them, though he will allow people to assume that it's a matter of the experience being a sensitive one.

The spoken word is impermanent to everyone, especially new people, who cannot archive dive on the network. In one ear and out the other. Notes, he feels, have the advantage of being able to be read and contemplated over and over, even after a Traveler disappears. This is to be expected of someone who grew up with a library. ]

[neverfeltthatway]

Was there anything you discovered in your conversations that you particularly think people should know? [He wasn't hoping for detailed descriptions of all the Arcana in this post - he's trusting everyone to sift through the information they received and discern what is important enough to relay to the others.] And I would like to hear the details of your time in the floor in person, if you don't mind.

[To be fair, Armin agrees. He's kept extensive records of all the jaunts he can remember, all the way back to Moebius. He's even encouraged others to keep written records of things he deems important. But keeping a written record doesn't mean you ignore the spoken word, either - there are appropriate times for both of them, and times that one is more useful than the other. In this situation, Armin thinks the spoken word has advantages the written word lacks, in the form of collaboration and follow up questions, as well as the size of the audience reached by it.]

[theflyingone]

The Emperor behaves... like an emperor. The Magician, who Beatrice calls ROSE, claimed to be information itself. She was more capricious. The Magician believes the Arcana have a right to everything and everyone within their reach. The Arcana refuse to change their nature or consider how we think, insisting that their actions are right because they follow their archetype. I feel it is important to understand as much as we can of their nature. Despite their lack of empathy for our freedom, the Emperor said that only one Arcana was truly malicious. The pronouns he used correspond to the Devil's depiction in some card decks.

Tampering with the Magician's computers may disrupt this very space. Memories may be forgotten, colors might disappear, and so on. I can only assume they hold this over us. In spite of their power, the Arcana fear dying. Star, for example, was weakened, and then the actions of Travelers lead to her death. The Emperor is angered by it still.

I do mind talking about the floor. I wrote it down for a reason, so I would not have to repeat my story to every fifth person who asks. But I will speak with you in the Workshop, if only so you do not bother Matthew about it.

[neverfeltthatway]

From what I understand, it's not necessarily a matter of refusal - it would literally be impossible for the Arcana to change their nature. That's part of why they need us - to advance their cause by means outside the restrictions of their archetype.

I wonder if they are actually computers as we would understand them, or if that was simply a projection, the easiest analogy our minds could understand. But if that's the case, it seems to me that they might see everything as data. That they can interpret and affect everything the way we would read and edit a file on a computer.

If you don't wish to, you need not - I won't bother Matthew either, if that's what you're worried about. I can simply read your account. [He'd just thought that he was likely to get a better understanding of it from a verbal retelling - where he could see Altair's reactions and ask questions about it. But that was only if he was okay talking about it - there was a reason he had asked. With what he'd said about discussing it in person, it had sounded like he might be - but if he was not, and does mind, Armin isn't going to press. He didn't talk much about Moebius for years afterward - and even now, it's infrequent. He wishes to understand, but not at the cost of aggravating someone else's trauma.]

[theflyingone]

I only know that when the Magician placed computers in the wall of the room, that is the explanation she gave. The Emperor also prevented me from touching them.

Do not discuss the contents of the death account on the network. When you read it, you will know why.

[neverfeltthatway]

Well, one way or the other, it sounds like they govern the rules of our reality. We may not get very far with it, but studying them - given the chance - can only lead to a better understanding of our situation. And, perhaps, the ability to control it.

Understood. [Not that he'd have needed the warning, given the contents.]

[awitchdidit]

Author to author here, collecting everyone's experiences into one codex might also be a good plan, if we get permission to summarize the Telepathic conversations on the subject. A few Permanent copies of such a thing would prevent us from losing any information gathered up to this point, even if they were to start swapping out players far more rapidly.

[theflyingone]

I do not have the ability to sift through past conversations on the Network. Someone who can will have to do it, or teach me how. Riddick has mentioned it to me as a way of catching warnings when I've missed them for whatever reason, though it follows that it can be used to gather information as well.

[awitchdidit]

Really? I must have picked it up through natural nosiness...I can teach you, if you'd trust me with something simple like that, or I can just get started myself. I have that skill and perfect recall, as well.

[theflyingone]

[ He does not trust her, but he's not sure how well saying so would go over. ]

You have been here longer, and may be more able to discern the context of the information you are sifting through. I can set aside time to look over your notes, however.

[ He's used to working with people he either doesn't like or doesn't trust. Abbas. Fuck that guy. ]

[awitchdidit]

I'll get started, then. I've been focused on Jaunt narratives but since you're doing those anyway, I can get some research notes going instead this time...