ic inbox

[lingeringhope]

[Hope's voice is clear and clipped.]

If you would like to leave a message, you may do so here. I can't promise to respond. I have many demands on my time, and this sort of thing is far down the list. Still, if you would like to, you may.

Comments

[torrefied]

I'm not yours to use.

[He bristles audibly at that. It's entirely too reminiscent of Near, back in New York.]

And anyway, I'm sure you've noticed that hope isn't an emotion I hold much stock in. That's what I meant about it not being to your benefit.

[lingeringhope]

Whether you hold much stock in it or not, you still feel it sometimes. If you were dead, you would never feel it.

[torrefied]

You're assuming an awful lot about me, you know.

[lingeringhope]

Do you work differently than other humans?

[torrefied]

That's an extremely broad question. There are some basic, fundamental aspects of being human that are universal - we breathe to stay alive; likewise, our hearts beat in a regular rhythm. Anything more than that, you'll find the experience of being human is one that varies wildly.

[lingeringhope]

But none of you seem to truly have the ability to control what you feel.

[torrefied]

[Way to nail the story of Mello's life pretty much exactly on the head, Hope. He goes quiet for a moment.]

No. We don't. Emotions are complicated, but they're not voluntary responses. We can't control what we feel, only how we act on it. Some of us do that better than others.

[lingeringhope]

So you see why I prefer all of you alive. Dead, you can never feel hope again. Alive, there is always a chance.

Did you want to remain dead?

[torrefied]

[Well, OK, that's fair. Hope is well named, at least.]

No. Not until I finish what I was doing back where I was before.

[Which he would have no chance of completing if he were to remain dead here.]

I guess thanks are in order.

[lingeringhope]

Thanks are unnecessary. I'm simply doing what's in everyone's best interests.

[torrefied]

Doing what's in everyone's best interest is often thankless work.

[lingeringhope]

It certainly is here.

[torrefied]

Yeah ... I noticed that.

[Mello might have a little personal experience with it, too.]

I guess maybe that means you should hear it more often.

[lingeringhope]

That isn't necessary. I don't expect it.

[torrefied]

I'd question your motives if you did. That would suggest an ulterior motive beyond the common good.

[lingeringhope]

I have always been clear about my motives. I want my companions resurrected and I want to keep you all alive and safe.

[torrefied]

Yeah, you have been. I'm sure not a whole lot of people here appreciate it, but I do.

[lingeringhope]

Thank you. I try not to lie or mislead any of you. I suppose being nice is valued more than honesty.

[torrefied]

Being nice is overrated.

[lingeringhope]

So I have always believed.

[torrefied]

Most people don't agree. They like to think that people are fundamentally good and kind, and that being nice is the best way to win others over.

[lingeringhope]

I am startled to find that humans seem to prefer kind lies over blunt truth. But I suppose I learn new things about you constantly.

[torrefied]

And you probably will, as long as we're around.

[lingeringhope]

That is a benefit, if frustrating.