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[fatestrings]

 action | genessia

[Her arrival was common: Waking in the strange pod, stepping into shallow water, acquiring printed pamphlets along with a holographic presentation... Fayet folds the papers into origami cranes, which rest in her palm for only a brief moment. Which a breath, they take off flying as if they were real birds. 

She hums in amusement at her own magical ability. For now, these first few hours, she'll take it easy. Fayet heads off down the streets of Genessia, with no shoes on her feet and her long lilac hair trailing behind her.]

Interesting... You there. [The young woman points, addressing a stranger with friendly authority in her voice,] How long have you been held captive in this "Genessia?"

 

video | 24 hours later

Salutations. Genessia, correct? That's how I should greet the general public here? But then, how should I greet our supposed captors? Hm.

How about "thank you?" Thank you, Genessia. For creating an indestructible cage, with lives from so many other worlds-- No, other unvierses. Other omniverses, I'm sure! This is the most excellent place for me to begin. Yes, thank you for this cage and all of these people.

But I'd like to take over now. To all of you comfortable in Genessia: I'll be here now, keeping you content and satisfied. To those of you wishing to leave... Why? Why would you leave this entertaining experiment? Is there an effort in place to leave this place at all? Has any progress been made? Do let me know... I'd like to crush it as soon as possible, and stay with you all. Forever.

Comments

[fatestrings]

Four years... and no one has managed to escape?

How very strange. Is the desire to leave low, or the defenses unusually high, Mr Ted?

[youfool]

[The more he hears the official story, the more he doubts.]

Souls appear and disappear. What part desire or defenses have to do it with it is, as far as I know, only speculative. Were you given a more definitive account?

[fatestrings]

I was not. I've only just arrived.

[Fayet gently pushes her long hair behind her shoulder, lavender gaze tilted upward. Towards the barrier, and what she imagines beyond it.]

To drag souls across time and space is no easy feat. It is not the same as falling down a rabbit's hole... For what purpose would someone capture souls, only to release them without warning?

What a curious trap this Genessia is...

[youfool]

Oh, have you read Alice in Wonderland too? That tale's very popular here.

[He even met the cat. Or a meaner version of it, anyway. He crossed his arms, eyes far away in thought. The kind of thought that bids him answer rhetorical questions.]

To achieve a great good, I've been told.

I've a question of my own. For one new you seem weathered in phenomena like this. Tell me, have you ever known a soul to seamlessly enter a seemingly unrelated body? Or even several?

[fatestrings]

More than read it. I've guarded that world, Wonderland, along with many others. Personally, I prefer the endings where Alice gets home safe and sound...

[Her mouth drops open with surprise. His educated question is delightful, though unexpected.]

Why, yes. I have. If you've the mind to imagine it, I've likely encountered it... I am a guardian of many different universes, you see, and their multitude of timelines. Why do you ask, Mr Ted?

[youfool]

Ahaha, goodness, that must've kept you busy, peacekeeping so many fictional places.

[The mirthful mood of the joke subsides into something subtler.]

It's strange; wisdom teaches that the soul and body are rather attached to one another. The sympathy between them is so deep that, by all reason, any switch ought to be a violent, if not impossible affair.

Just one more question, then I'll let you alone. These souls that found it so trivial to inhabit anything and live anywhere--as a native, I mean, not like a possessing or demonic spirit--was there anything distinctive about them? Any nature they shared, abnormal or otherwise?

[fatestrings]

Perhaps by the logic of your world, Mr Ted. But you're from one universe, with its one set of laws. That connection you speak of as fact is fiction to other worlds.

[She shakes her head, still smiling.]

Your pursuit of patterns is natural. However, it will lead you astray. If you really wish to learn something, then let that go. Otherwise, your mind will be as contained as Genessia. Contained, and trapped.

[youfool]

Perhaps, or perhaps it is rather more gift than law. Something that can be lost by scorn or neglect.

[He waits a little while after she finishes to see if he'd get a "yes" or "no", but seeing as one isn't on its way, he laughs instead.]

Hahaha, that's a negative way to put it. I greatly prefer my mind being confined, especially to my skull. Without that captivity--like if a gun blew it out--its liberty would do no good.

Well, try not to despise limits too much, Ms. Fayette. As a writer you may have heard of once said, art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere. Good morning.

[fatestrings]

To as well, then, Mr Ted. I hope you learn how to find what you're looking for.

[She offers a brief curtsy, then continues on her way.]