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[neverjoinyou]

Leave a message. I will hear you.

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[tetractys]

YEAH, BUT WHY??

[All this stuff where people want him to DO things without telling him WHY is something he's hit the end of his rope about.]

[neverjoinyou]

Friends are important. Friends are one of the things that help remind us who we are and why we're here. And because I care about you, I want to know about the people you care about. I want to know how you feel about them.

[tetractys]

I KNOW WHO I AM, [Bill sulks.]

LOOK. HE SAYS 'I set the library on fire,' AND I SAY 'COOL!'

AND THEN I SAY 'HEY, I'VE BEEN LYING ABOUT MY HISTORY AND MY NAME AND ALSO I'M FROM A NIGHTMARE DIMENSION' AND HE GOES 'Okay, let's watch a movie where something explodes.' AND THEN WE DO. AND WE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT ANY MORE! UNLIKE THIS. WHICH IS UNCOMFORTABLE!

[neverjoinyou]

[Luke raises a hand.]

Okay, okay. Sorry. I just... thanks. That sounds nice. [He's learning to see that in relative terms, ok.] I'm not going to try to make you do anything you don't understand. I'm not going to try to force you to behave in a way that doesn't make sense, just because you think that's what the Admiral's looking for. I want to concentrate on the things you like to do. That aren't... hurting people.

[tetractys]

[This is entirely counterintuitive to the logic of how any of this is supposed to go.]

WHAT'S THAT GONNA ACCOMPLISH?

[neverjoinyou]

I don't know, yet. I'm not working towards a specific goal. Does that bother you?

[tetractys]

WHAT! YES.

[Bill struggles into a sitting position.]

HEY, I SAID IF I DON'T FIGURE THIS OUT I DIE, RIGHT? I SAID THAT!

[neverjoinyou]

Well, you said you were going to kill somebody. Did you mean yourself?

[tetractys]

WHAT!

[Literally what are these nonsense words, Luke]

EVERYONE ELSE.

[neverjoinyou]

[He's so confused.]

I understand that... that this is a second chance for you. But I'm not sure there's a timer on it. So you saying that you need to figure this out... I don't think you need to this minute. And I'm pretty sure that killing anyone here, let alone everyone, would get in the way of that.

[tetractys]

I NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT AS SOON AS I CAN, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHEN THE ADMIRAL'S GONNA DECIDE I'M NOT ENTERTAINING ENOUGH AND CUT ME LOOSE!

[neverjoinyou]

I understand that concern. And Bill... I know it doesn't seem like it, but I really do think that trying to work on being you, having friends... I think that'll get you farther than trying to pretend you're something you're not. I know that there's part of you that likes things. I want you to discover what those are.

[tetractys]

[Bill squints at the ceiling for awhile, like he's trying to process this through the haze of eggnog.]

I LIKE DESTROYING CIVILIZATIONS.

[the least helpful answer, thank you so much]

[neverjoinyou]

[At first, Luke agrees with the assessment that this is not helpful. However... he's seen a few things while on the Barge that give him an idea.]

Well. What part of that do you enjoy?

[tetractys]

PEOPLE'S FACES.

[He starts to giggle faintly.]

SETTING UP A LONG PLAN AND HAVING IT PAY OFF, THAT'S GREAT. FINDING THE WEAKNESSES IN COMPLICATED THINGS AND PULLING THEM APART.

[neverjoinyou]

[There's a slightly sick feeling in his stomach, which Luke tries to tamp down. It's his job to help Bill, not to judge him for... feelings which Luke finds reprehensible but which Bill obviously has.

It's his job to redirect them. Right?]

So the payoff... it's destruction? I mean, what? Anarchy?

[tetractys]

ALL RULES DO IS HOLD PEOPLE BACK, AND THE MACHINES AND ILLUSIONS THAT ENFORCE THEM ARE EVEN WORSE! THAT'S WHY I'M ALWAYS TEN STEPS AHEAD OF ANYBODY STILL TRYING TO LIVE IN A SOCIETY. IT MESSES YOU UP!

[neverjoinyou]

I think we've had this conversation before. But thank you--for answering. That helps.

[The problem is, he can't really envision what Bill even wants. Or how that can be turned into something positive.]

I can't do anything about that at the moment. But is there something I can do now?

[tetractys]

[A long, slightly angry whine.]

I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING.

[he is so frustrated with this situation]

[neverjoinyou]

[Luke pauses, unsure what to do with Bill until he can implement his admittedly probably not very good plan. Finally,]

Want to watch tv? Or beat me at a game?

[tetractys]

[Long pause. He contemplates what's remaining in his cup.]

WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT'S LIKE CHESS?

[neverjoinyou]

Well... there's chess.

[Luke smiles, and leans over the bar to find the set stashed there.]

Bull taught me.

[tetractys]

HEY, YOUR FUNERAL. I'LL DESTROY YOU AT THIS, YOU'VE GOT A BETTER SHOT AT A GAME I DON'T KNOW YET.

[Bill's particular confidence sometimes comes off as bragging, but usually, like now: he is so confident in this that he considers it a fact.]

[neverjoinyou]

[Luke had pretty much expected to be beaten at any game he chose, and wasn't planning on trying to win. Still, he does think that if he goes forward with chess, it'll end too quickly to make Bill anything but even more bored. So after a moment, Luke shrugs and reaches over the bar again to pull out another board.]

Fine. Dejarik it is. It's like chess, but the holograms attack each other.

[Which makes it obviously superior in Luke's mind, but he usually doesn't say that for fear of sounding shallow.]

do you want to handwave explaining rules and playing, or play it out?

[tetractys]

[Bill props himself up and wipes the last of the eggnog off of his eyelid.]

I ALREADY LIKE THIS.