The Light Show

[munajjima]

Characters: Rani VIII, open
Setting: Floor 12
When: April 14
Format: Starts as action, but can be action or prose. I'll match you.
Summary: Rani finds the Tower more interesting than she should, especially Floor 12. Though with the stars disappearing on the projector, she replaces them with her own.
Warnings: None.

Floor 12
[ For one who studies the stars and the meanings they hold, it's only natural Rani finds herself drawn to a floor that seems to reach into space itself. But the stars she sees are different then the ones she's familiar with, and the death of so many galaxies played over and over before her eyes, she doesn't get the chance to look for others she does know.

At first, she doesn't seem too bothered by the sight of so many universes simply disappearing from existence, though a closer look at her face will prove otherwise. ]

Such sadness...

[ With so many stars and planets fading from sight, Rani takes it upon herself to add to the perpetual illusion of loss. Her hands reach up toward the false sky, and where the tips of her fingers touch, small dots of light are left behind, floating in the shapes of constellations. It's a minor spell, very weak, so the lights only last for a couple blinks before they disappear too.. ]

Comments

[lightofhumanity]

[chaos sometimes came into this floor to beat how high the stakes were into his head every time he thought he was getting too slow. However, when he saw a person speak and cast an illusion that only lasted for a moment, he smiled sadly.]

It is sad, this illusion of constantly dying stars..but if you like, there is a better place to see the stars that I could show you.

[munajjima]

[ Being interrupted doesn't surprise or upset her, though the spell she was in the middle of casting fizzles out and "explodes" into a tiny burst of harmless sparks in the air. ]

Truly? I have yet to see another floor like that.

[lightofhumanity]

You must be a new arrival then. Most of everyone knows about it. If you wish, I could show you it and tell you what I know about this place.

[munajjima]

Yes, I am fairly new. I have not yet explored the majority of the tower.

[ And with a faint smile: ]

I would greatly appreciate a tour like that if it is no trouble to you. Thank you.

[lightofhumanity]

It is of no trouble to me. Let's take the elevator though, if you do not have a problem. It shall be much quicker that way, and I can tell you about the Tower during the ascent. It is down on the dormitory floors.

[munajjima]

Ah, of course. It will not be a problem at all.

If you will kindly lead, I will follow closely.

[lightofhumanity]

Thank you. It is not too far above here, so we won't have long to walk.

[As he spoke, chaos stepped onto the stairs and started to go up. Every now and then he would check behind him to make sure that Rani was following him.]

[munajjima]

I see, that is good to hear.

[ Every time he looks, she's still walking wordlessly behind him by one step, hands folded in front of her. ]

This tower...have you lived here for very long?

[lightofhumanity]

[As chaos climbed the stairs, he replied. They were almost at it.]

I have been here for about six or seven months.

[munajjima]

That is quite some time. Has your time here been as unfortunate as others here claim it can be?

[lightofhumanity]

I have not been experimented on, so I cannot say that it has been made worse by the Administrators, but that does not mean that this Tower is a nice place to be for most people.

[munajjima]

I see. Then, you are fortunate.

I am sorry that that cannot be the case for everyone here.

[lightofhumanity]

..In some ways, I have been. However, it is terrible that most people here have been experimented on and hurt.

[munajjima]

Yes...it is. There are many places where it seems their only purpose is to make others suffer, as is human nature to create.

[lightofhumanity]

There are some places like that..but I am sure that there are many other places where people find joy and peace. Some may even consider this Tower a blessing.

[munajjima]

Perhaps. Statistically, there must be worlds worse than this Tower, and worse than the place I previously inhabited. They must exist, but the fact that they do is still a sad matter.

[lightofhumanity]

..I am not saying that it is a sad matter, or that I enjoy that fact. However..there must also be words better than those places and worlds better than this tower.

[munajjima]

I see...

How close are we to the floor you spoke of?

[lightofhumanity]

[And, finally, they were at the dorm floors, with the elevator being a few feet in front of them. chaos walked over and pressed the call button as he spoke.]

We are here.

[marriedthebloke]

[Sola-ui climbs the stairs into this floor just in time to catch Rani tracing the constellations.]

That is a beautiful spell.

[But she cannot help but think that it might be a wasteful one. Was there really time and energy to spend on sparkles in a place like this one?]

[munajjima]

[ The interruption snaps her concentration in two, and the Orion form she was making sputters and flickers out of sight. ]

Thank you, but it is nothing truly spectacular. It is merely a play of lights.

[marriedthebloke]

And surely, it is far from all you can do.

But you must surely love the stars if you can put such effort into making these lights.

[munajjima]

It is only natural for one who reads the stars to love them, I think. Although I would not call it love, but rather a fondness, I suppose.

[marriedthebloke]

Astrology, then?

[Not exactly a common practices in these times.]

What can you read out of these stars? Or are their arrangements too foreign for you?

[munajjima]

Yes, astrology. [ She looks back to the fake sky above and the disappearing galaxies within it. ] The stars are gone too quickly for me to read them properly. It is unfortunate.

[marriedthebloke]

Indeed.

[While she can't put very much stock in astrology, she would have liked some way to predict the future happenings in this Tower.]

I wonder where in space this floor is showing? Stars don't vanish so quickly back on Earth.

[munajjima]

It appears to be showing a multitude of different points in space.

[marriedthebloke]

And all of them show stars disappearing. It seems whatever controls this floor has destructive tastes.

[munajjima]

It certainly does seem so. It is...disheartening.

[marriedthebloke]

I can agree with that. You would think that after all the effort to create these strange floors, they can at least make them more...comforting.

[More like a living place and not a torture facility.]

[munajjima]

Yes, though I cannot expect a place with a nature such as this one to be anything but unpleasant.

[marriedthebloke]

You've heard about the administrators, haven't you? About how horrible all of them can be?

[munajjima]

I have heard of them and read the data provided about them, yes. Though I must admit that after considering their methods and past experiments, calling them unpleasant is perhaps an understatement.

[marriedthebloke]

I suppose then you also know how much power they have over us, and how there is little we can do to resist?

[She slowly shakes her head. What had she fallen into?]

We are no better than experiments or curiosities for them.

[munajjima]

[ Rani's expression takes a slight hint of sorrow, merely a glimmer in her eye before it's gone. ]

...dolls, perhaps.

[marriedthebloke]

Not quite. Dolls are meant to be played with and then put into a display case. They don't seem to fancy the idea of keeping us intact for display, though.

[munajjima]

Not all dolls have owners who seek to keep them pristine.

Children are often careless with the condition of their toys.

[marriedthebloke]

Those responsible for this place are no children. And even if they were, they're ill-bred ones.

[munajjima]

Physically, no, they may not be children. But they have certainly neglected the tenets of humanity all children learn to adhere to before they must become adults.

Thus, they are no better than children setting insects on fire with a magnifying glass.

[marriedthebloke]

You are right.

[And unlike real children, they would never learn.]

But even the insects might be able to bite back someday.

[munajjima]

They surely will. It has been well documented that an overabundance of pride on the part of a captor has led to a revolt and their downfall by the hands of those under them.

[marriedthebloke]

Indeed. Though all the recorded captors in question were human. Or, at least, mortal.

[Sometimes they were monstrous, but never outright godlike]

I don't know if historically tried methods would work on these.

[atlasia]

The universe is constantly expanding, the stars and other objects do as well. It's not sad as it is the natural order of the world.

[munajjima]

[ She answers without taking her eyes away from the sky. ]

The sadness lies within the lives lost. So many at once, it is a shame.