Daimon is just losing his mind.
Shannen checks in Lost and Found for Daimon's mind..
Daimon says "Nope. I left it in Shal-Mari."
Shannen doesn't go there. "Too dangerous for an angel like me.."
Daimon says "It's not too bad. Although, granted, there is crime."
Shannen says "That's to be expected." A pause "What's the safest place for a girl like me? Down there, you know."
Daimon says "For YOU? Man, I don't know. Maybe in Andre's red light district, where people don't look twice. Or they do, but not for what you'd look twice for."
Shannen umms softly "I don't think I'm really the kind of person for that sort of place."
Daimon says "No? Well, there are four main areas of Shal-Mari. You might like the clubs and casinos, but it does get crowded."
Shannen nods in a considering manner "That sounds like it might be fun. Are the tables rigged?"
Daimon says "Most definitely."
Shannen nods "Well, that's not really fair. 'Course, if everyone knows the tables are rigged, then cheating the house becomes part of the game, and if you can cheat the house, you deserve to win, so that sorta works out in the end." She pauses "So, that means the tables aren't really rigged."
Daimon says "I assure you, the tables are rigged."
Shannen shakes her head "Nonono. It's only rigged if the tables aren't supposed to be rigged. Since the tables are supposed to be rigged, it's not rigged. See?"
Daimon says "No, you don't understand. The tables are rigged in favor of the House. If you can cheat and get away with it, then you cheat and get away with it. If you win too much, we'll hunt you down. It's very simple."
Shannen nods "I know. So cheating becomes part of the game, since it's expected you'll cheat, since you expect things to be rigged. Running very fast and hiding well is expected, too. The rules of the game are just redefined for a new and exciting era. -- I sound like some weird commercial, don't I?"
Daimon says "You sound like you have an exciting career ahead of you in Media."
Shannen tilts her head "Really? Do you think I could? I've never really understood the technological aspects of it, though."
Daimon says "You don't need to know the technological aspects of it to get a little liposuction, get some blow job lips, smile alot, and sell the Casinos to the poor schleps who would rather not spend their essence there but it seems like such a good time."
Shannen nods "And just think of the exercise you'll get if you do win! You'll learn to think on your feet, keep in good shape. Heck, after a successful night gambling, you'll feel better about yourself already. And just think if you can keep it up for a while." She lowers her voice to a whisper "You do realize, some Princes keep a look out for souls that know how to stay alive, so to speak." She winks.
Daimon says "Sure. They keep a look out for them. Then they find them, strip them of component forces, and glue them onto the servant of the week."
Daimon checks Pat for tattoos or piercings.
Shannen hmms and motions some guards over to Daimon "He's undermining the advertising campaign."
Pat says "Nope. Not yet."
Daimon says "Hardly. I'm just pointing out some realities."
Shannen waves to Pat and smiles "Hey, wanna go gambling?"
Daimon says "We're talking about Shal-Mari. Shannen has a promising career ahead of her as a spokesmodel for Media."
Shannen says "Hey, I know where I'm going if I Fall."
Pat says "No falling."
Daimon says "Except I'd rather have the Inquisition recycle her forces to the Symphony then have her Fall."
Shannen says "Hey, that's not a Happy Though, Daimon.."
Daimon says "It's happier then Falling."
Daimon frowns.
Pat says "Yes, it is."
Daimon says "One day maybe I should just take you on a tour, so that you would know. Just so you could see, for one moment, just what Hell really is."
Daimon says "Ever read the Tibetan book of the dead?"
Shannen says "Wouldn't it be a bit difficult to just take an angel on a tour? Book of the Dead? Umm, nope, not me."
Shannen says "I wonder if Guternberg has it."
Daimon says "The interesting part is the brilliant intro commentary by Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche."
Shannen says "Who?"
Daimon says "What he did to become Rinpoche is that he watched the dead. For years. On battlefields, in hospitals, in sick beds. He made his life out of watching people die. A Rinpoche is like the head of Buddhism in Tibet."
Daimon says "He writes about Hell. I believe it's apt."
Shannen says "No Book of the Dead in the Gutenberg."
Daimon says "He tells you that in the moment of death, you lose everything, all your sensations. And then you find yourself alone. Suddenly, everything comes back to you, and you can do nothing about it. You start to fight to get it out of your head, and it won't go away. Fear develops, and from this, paranoia. You start to struggle and fight. But there's nothing to fight except, finally, yourself. You start to struggle against yourself, and there's no where to go. You're trapped. It's an endless cycle."
Daimon says "That, in a nutshell, describes the souls of Shal-Mari. We do nothing to them. They torture themselves because there is no way to attain satisfaction from their existences. They fight against where they are."
Shannen nods "There are four? types of conflicts in drama: Man against Man, Man against God, Man against Fate, and Man against Himself."
Shannen says "That made no sense, you know. What I just said."
Daimon says "Anyway, do you see what I'm saying? Hell is a lack of hope. It's paranoia. It's fear. Not necessarily pain. Just a lack of there ever being a tomorrow."
Daimon says "It's hatred. It's the driving need to be so miserable you HAVE to lash out in pain."
Shannen says "A lot like Dante's Inferno, or any college student's life."
Daimon says "Or any college student's life."
Shannen says "Do you think that colleges are a diabolical creation, in order to condition man to a hopeless state and prepare them for Hell?"
Daimon says "It's very internal. And with Hell, it's very personal."
Daimon says "Um... having attended college myself... probably not."
Daimon says "There's too much in the way of redeeming qualities."
Shannen shrugs "Just a thought.."
Daimon says "So this is why it is better to die then to Fall."
Daimon doesn't think he can get through to Shannen.
Shannen can be pretty darned stubborn "Well, you started it. You said I had a promising career in Media.." She sniffles "I don wanna fall anyway. It's scary and no one dresses properly and there's no nice glow of light and everyone is mean and stuff."
Daimon says "I was joking. It was a bad joke. Besides, you wouldn't like plastic surgery."
Hitherby says "It's better to die than to Fall, even if it's soul-death, because if you achieve your Destiny, you'll be brought to the Upper Heavens on Judgment Day. Soul-death seems permanent because we live with the arrow of time; to God, who sees all times simultaneously, nothing that was of you is forgotten :)"
Daimon blinks at Hitherby's amazing wisdom.
Daimon says "That's really something."
Hitherby pbblt :)
Shannen crawls into Daimon's lap and puts her arms around him and rests her head on his shoulder, sniffling "I wonder what my Destiny is.."
Daimon says "What about Demons who are soul-killed?"
Daimon reaches a hand around and pats Shannen consolingly on her back.
Daimon says "So angels get to go to the upper heavens when they die. What happens to us? Oblivion?"
Pat says "Yes."
Daimon says "There is no God for demons, then."
Pat says "There is. You're just beyond His light and His will."
Daimon says "The universe seems skewed against demons. Not that it's good or bad, but one would think that if God had allowed the creation of something as vile as Hell, he would at least have some reason for allowing it to exist. Or else life, including human life, is just sort of a dumb joke."
Daimon says "Only the elect few get to go to God? Or are we just not part of Creation?"
Pat says "Every entity has the potential to go to God."
Hitherby says, "Demons who are soul-killed will also be brought to the Upper Heavens, in the end, if they have achieved their Destiny. They will also be cleansed of their infernal taint. Mind, it is *rare* that a demon will achieve its Destiny and still be a demon, but some never have the chance to understand what Redeeming is ..."
Daimon says "True."
Hitherby says "The Destiny of your average frotling is only slightly better than its Fate, but God understands that. :)"
Daimon says "I think most demons are just total nihilists. No God, no afterlife, no great plan, no saving, no prophets, nothing. Just a total rejection of all conventional trappings of religion."
Daimon says "Because, in reality, it's totally true. For them, there is no God, no afterlife, no being saved. It's just Hell, and that's it. They're born at the end of the train."
Daimon says "Me too."
Pat says "And that's why they stay there.,"
Shannen says "They're at the bottom of ye ol' totem pole and no one above wants to step aside."
Pat says "They don't have the ambition to leave because they are convinced it is impossible."
Daimon says "And largely, and realistically, how is it NOT impossible?"
Pat says "Impossible is an absolute."
Pat says "If there is any chance, no matter how miniscule, it is not, by definition, impossible."
Hitherby says, seriously, "Unfortunately, it is difficult for us to enter Hell and spread the Word of God."
Daimon says "Most demons never see the corporeal realm. They never leave their homes. They may never even travel between principalities in their lifetime."
Pat says "Of course."
Daimon says "So for them, it really is an impossibility."
Hitherby says "As I said, it is not impossible for a demon to reach its Destiny and remain a demon, although it is rare."
Pat says "Because the power structure of Hell thrives on deception and ignorance."
Daimon says "And ambition. And raw capitalism."
Hitherby says "For some, it may be nothing more than giving in to a moment of "insane" "ridiculous" "stupid" and "counterproductive" compassion."
Hitherby says "If their mind and experience is sufficiently limited, this might be as hard for them as Redeeming is for you."
Daimon says "True, I really cannot argue that point."
Daimon says "Lilim have a completely different problem."
Hitherby says, seriously, "If you do come up with a way in which we can enter Hell to spread the Word, without simply handing over 9 Forces to some Demon Prince, I would appreciate your mentioning. -- as an aside."
Daimon says "Well, certainly not easily. It's not a simple thing, you will be noticed. The best way to spread any sort of word en masse is via the Media. They are pretty much everywhere now a days. But it's difficult, because they have their own sets of paranoia and censors."
Daimon says "Either that, or send someone who is a demon to spread the Word of God."
Daimon says "Probably just by screaming on the streetcorners in Shal-Mari. Going anywhere else is suicide."
Hitherby says, seriously, "That's handing *7* Forces over to some Demon Prince, really, most likely Asmodeus."
Daimon says "Yes, it is. Asmodeus would have the person grabbed and thrown into the arena on a blink of an eye. Or worse. Probably worse."
Hitherby mulls. Media.
Daimon says "Media is the way to spread messages quickly to as many people as possible."
Hitherby considers.
Shannen hrms.
Daimon says "But it means that Shannen has to get liposuction."
Hitherby says "Perhaps the proper route is to be interviewed by an antagonistic Media reporter, and lose the argument."
Daimon says "And get it recorded."
Hitherby says "While scoring enough points to give people insight into the truth."
Hitherby nods. Precisely. "Surely it is not forbidden to show an angel *losing* the argument of grace."
Daimon says "The idea is to be humiliated on tape, so the interview will pass Media and Game censors, but still get the message across."
Hitherby nods. Exactly.
Daimon says "No, of course it isn't forbidden. Hell... we'd probably... uh... it would be Funny...."
Hitherby grins. "Would you like to be the demon?"
Pat says "Interview me. :)"
Daimon says "I'm feeling myself being sent on the freight train to hell all of the sudden."
Hitherby thinks this is almost worth discussing IC at the party. It would be a wonderful way to get everyone into even more trouble. :)
Daimon says "We'd need a Media weenie. Then I could interview Pat. And he could lose. :)"
Daimon says "OBJECTIVELY."
Pat says "Of course."
Shannen says "They should have a Running Man type game in Hell. It'd be really cool and get everyone involved. Imagine prizes for choosing which demon slays the poor soul criminal."
Pat can see that, Shannen.
Daimon says "Shannen, they have that."
Daimon says "It's a popular game show."
Hitherby | Pat buries his head in his hands. "You are right. I have been misled." "Cut!" Pat looks back up, and half-smiles.
Daimon says "Given time, I could probably choreograph this."
Shannen grins.
Daimon says "That is, if we aren't being beaten by the Game."
Hitherby says "There's no reason not to have a script. :)"
Daimon says "If it was scripted, then it's even MORE Media-like."
Hitherby says "Perhaps Sarah or Pat could ask their Superior to prepare it. I would, but, er."
Daimon would pull off this stunt for humor value.
Hitherby says "Sarah might be preferable, all things considered."
Pat says "Which one?"
Daimon says "Or the Boss. But then, ah, then things get hairy."
Daimon says "Eli."
Pat says "Ah."
Hitherby wants to do this. Hitherby is very concerned about all the poor demons in Hell.
Hitherby :)
Daimon just wants to pull off a really big Stunt, and get the Game's undies in bunches.
Daimon says "Now, if Terry shows...."
Daimon thinks of Terry, the Media Stooge.
Daimon suddenly should call his agent, ya know?
Daimon says "I have this Role, I dunno, as an entertainer. I wonder if that helps."
Pat says "Hm."
Daimon says "I'm already in trouble. What the hell."
Shannen says "Ya know, in a twisted way, if the script embarrases the Game, then Kobal might find it humorous, which would help Daimon."
Hitherby says "Difficult, because the Game will be censoring it. Best to pick some other target."
Hitherby considers. "Malphas and Saminga come to mind, for some reason."
Hitherby . o O ( Andrealphus! )
Daimon says "I could, ah, use my, ah, sex bunny with plunging cleavage vessel for this."
Daimon says "And lean into Pat alot."
Pat says "Um."
Pat says "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."
Daimon says "It was a thought."
Daimon says "I didn't say it was a GOOD one."
Pat says "Oh."
Daimon laughs. "I was going to say that the vessel is only for undercover work..."
Pat aughs.
Daimon says "It's a pun! I'm Funny today."
Shannen grins.
Daimon says "So, ah, anyway. This is a very weird idea. But there's a possibility it would work, if it was very carefully scripted."
Hitherby nods. "It would be worthwhile."
---