Entry #A-4: "Ante" [February 21, Text]

[dead_black_eyes]

Though the police and the Blood Keys obviously represent a threat to many numbered individuals, I have a question about organized religion, and what pulses might mean when framed within certain philosophical contexts.

No matter how natural it might feel, if there really is another being nudging its way into an existing consciousness, changing a person's aptitudes, physical attributes and even their personality... there have to be at least a few churches that would consider that demonic possession, right?

Has anyone tried to reconcile what's happening with influential religious practices, and do we have any resources for assisting anyone who might wind up the subject of an attempted exorcism? Those still happen today, they can be extremely dangerous, and I'm concerned about the possibility of frightened numbered people seeking out such assistance, or being subjected to it by their families and communities. Thinking you're crazy is one thing, but sincerely believing that the devil is wielding you as an instrument is another entirely. Probably not something that the FAQ page can successfully assuage, for the most tenaciously convinced.

Comments

[Text]

[dead_black_eyes]

There seem to be odd exceptions, but for the most part, it is recognized that we're all in this together, I believe.

Maybe everyone will come around before it's all over.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

Mebbe, mebbe not. I'm hoping that no one's gonna become a mass murdering nut case that'll kill everyone with their pulses going nuts.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

[Speaking of pulses going nuts...]

Do... does "Kira" mean anything to you?

voice;

[ursoreckless]

...It's killer.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

If you pour on the Japanese accent it absolutely is. That's the initial conclusion I reached just now. Something about what you said...

voice;

[ursoreckless]

My mother made sure I can pronounce English without turning L into R, but in general Japanese people do not have the L sound.

I gave you a pulse?

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

As a native English speaker who's studied some Japanese, I guess I'd call it an in-between letter. A lateral alveolar flip. It's really not what I would interpret as an "L" or an "R."

[All that junk aside, though.]

Yes, you did. Just that much... that word "Kira," and the immediate association with "killer."

voice;

[ursoreckless]

Huh. [he mimics, not study languages. picking it up by hearing other people and mimic the sounds until he got it right.]

Must be something important to your past self.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

It makes about as much sense as everything else I've gotten back.

I didn't think I dealt in homicides, though. "Killer" really seems to suggest that.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

Or mebbe it was something weird enough that got you interested in it?

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

I think this person would have wanted to save children foremost, whether he found it interesting or not.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

Mebbe it was someone attacking kids?

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

I guess it's possible... not all missing children cases have a happy ending. I've just been remembering the ones that did, so far.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

Yeah, I know. I sometimes think the pulses like to be kind before becoming cruel.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

Have yours been kind for the most part? How many cruel ones have you received back?

voice;

[ursoreckless]

They have been a mixed bunch.

Enough.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

I'm guessing you aren't counting on them stopping where you're comfortable.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

I don't think they'll stop unless I run out of stuff to get pulses from.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

Not likely... unless you limit your experiences pretty drastically, and even then... you could probably get echoes just by thinking about something.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

If I get to the point where there is no memories to regain, that's what I mean.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

Has that happened, to your knowledge? I know that people have lost their echoes, but have they just stopped without disappearing?

voice;

[ursoreckless]

I don't think so. It's been working for a year, and a lot of people leave or forget or disappear.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

Then it's unlikely. Even if some of the memories are mundane, you could probably get one every second for the rest of your life and never run out.

voice;

[ursoreckless]

You never know how long this whole thing will last though.

voice;

[dead_black_eyes]

That's a different matter entirely... though you're right. It almost seems random, how some people abruptly just... shut off.