Ned § Video 01 § Day 57

[nedofpies]

[ The video feed switches on upon Ned's determined face. It's his first video communication; he hasn't been using the network much, but this is an important community matter. ]

Does anyone know who is responsible for these? [ Ned waves a copy of that mysterious flyer which has popped up around town so suddenly. He turns the camera back to his own face, talking directly to his fellow captives. ]

Whoever it is, it seems to me like they are trying to sow the seeds of doubt and turn us on one another. Make us so suspicious of one another so we can't work together. Which makes me think it might have come from the people who are keeping us here. And it makes me think that we're starting to worry them. [ There is an edge of anger to his voice, beneath the surface, if you listen closely enough. ]

But I think they're underestimating us. Gossip? Really? [ He half-laughs and shakes his head in amused disbelief. ] We're all grown-ups here. We aren't going to be- to be manipulated by some anonymous bullies. [ The spite in the way he delivers that last word makes it sound as if he's had some experience with bullies. ] We just need to trust one another, and not let this nonsense come between us. Part of that is... coming clean.

So. Me first. [ Ned swallows, takes a moment to collect his courage. It's a big thing to confess, even if plenty of people already know about it. For all his big talk, honesty is against Ned's very nature. But this isn't exactly a normal place, and at this point, owning up is just a part of damage control. ]

...It's true. I brought someone back to life. [ He exhales, half in relief. It's done, now. No going back. ] It's not like that was a secret. It happened in broad daylight and there were like, a dozen witnesses, so this- [ He brandishes the paper again ] is not exactly an exposé, is it? As for being 'mint-in-the-box', well, I don't even know what that means, so I can't say if I am one way or another.

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[godsprophet]

[He can't blame Ned for that either. He knows that even in his own world, he's had to open his mind to a whole list of new things.]

...How?

[nedofpies]

When I touch dead things, they come back to life. I can't tell you why, it's just... something that happens.

[ Interesting, that it's starting to get easier, talking about this aloud. Perhaps it's just the exhaustion of answering questions all day. Or, perhaps, he thinks, it is the knowledge of the various people who have offered to come to his aid, should anyone react violently to his bizarre ability. The slight lessening of that feeling of imminent danger makes it easier to just present the facts, with a decreased amount of stuttering and shuffling and pre-emptive apologies ]

[godsprophet]

You just... touch them? That's it?

[No spells, no incantations, no will, no trying. Just touch? That's not something that should be able to be done. People shouldn't be able to have the choice to bring people back to life. He can imagine that going very downhill very quickly.]

[nedofpies]

Sort of. [ Ned rubs the back of his head awkwardly; he doesn't want to give people the wrong impression and have them thinking that he can just bring them back if they get themselves killed ] All it takes is one touch, yes. But there are two complications. If I touch the same thing a second time, it goes back to being dead, permanently. And... and if I bring someone back for more than minute, someone else dies.

[ Bolstered confidence aside, Ned still looks away from the communicator as he says this. ] So it's a kind of exchange, really.

[godsprophet]

Oh.

[And, oddly enough, that makes him--the God part, not the human part--a lot more comfortable with the idea. Exchange for a human life wasn't ideal, but it was better than no repercussions at all. Human life was sacred, and no one human should hold the power of life and death in their hands.]

And, uh... you've done this before? [Who did you kill to bring someone back to life?]

[nedofpies]

Yes. [ Hope Chuck doesn't want specifics, because there is no way in hell that Ned is going there right now. Or you know, ever. ] Though generally speaking I try to avoid it. [ And then, because he assumes Chuck might be asking out of fear that Ned is going to go around whipping up a weird zombie army and felling innocent bystanders left and right. ] Laura was an accident. It won't happen again.

[godsprophet]

[He nods. He can't exactly say he blames Ned for not wanting to use that power. And maybe even a bit proud as well. But then again, he's always proud of the people who choose good over everything else.]

Yeah, that, uh... doesn't sound fun.

[nedofpies]

It isn't. But there's no undoing it now, so all I can do is be more careful, next time. [ And Ned has several steps he intends to implement to prevent any future occurrence such as this. At least now that people know about him, his efforts don't have to be covert as well as thorough ]

[godsprophet]

Yeah, I guess.

[He wants to ask more questions. He wants to ask who Ned killed in order to bring Laura back. He wants to ask how, when, where and why Ned got these powers, and what all he's done with it. But he doesn't. Not yet, anyways.]

Are, uh. Powers like that, are they... normal? In your world?

[nedofpies]

No. Pretty much everything is completely normal there, except me. [ Ned rubs a hand along the back of his neck, feeling ill at ease. He can't blame this man for having questions, of course, but at the same time, it makes him nervous, particularly when he knows nothing at all about the person asking them ] Most people don't have powers where you come from, do they? [ He's guessing they don't, based on the level of curiosity and incredulity he's getting ]

[godsprophet]

Do, uh... angels and demons count?

[Because surprise, all the angels here come from his world, sob.]

[nedofpies]

....angels don't exist.

[ Ned's been willing to stretch the boundaries of his belief a lot since he's gotten here. Even demons he can sort of imagine - it's a general word for some kind of creature that isn't very pleasant. But angels is inescapably Judeo-Christian in a way that he isn't willing to just buy into ]

[godsprophet]

[He realizes, right in time, that he's promised about half the angels in Kore that he won't tell anyone they were angels. So he can't exactly provide evidence or anything, because Chuck isn't in the practice of breaking promises.

But he can sympathize.] Yeah, no, that's... that's what I thought too. Until I met one.

[nedofpies]

[ Sure, okay. It's not like Ned hasn't heard this kind of talk before. He's met plenty of people who believed in angels, even a few who thought they'd had encounters with them. In his search for any kind of explanation of what he might be, he'd run into some interesting types. But that doesn't mean they are real. Clearly, this guy has got faith, and Ned doesn't want to challenge that. It probably helps in a place like this. Best to tread cautious. ]

Okay, I suppose that makes sense. I guess I'm just a "I'll believe it when I see it" kind of guy, no offense.

[godsprophet]

[Ned certainly won't be the first one to think he was crazy, or some sort of religious nut, upon hearing some of the things from his world. Perhaps he ought to take a cue from the angels and keep that information on the down low for as long as he can.

Chuck does to raise his hands in a "no, man, I totally understand" manner, but it takes him a moment to realize that the video is still strapped to his wrist, so he kind of just moves about awkwardly for a moment before stopping.]

Oh, yeah, sure. None taken.