TLY- Fallout - Thursday, April 13, 2000, 12:04 PM Guardian Mesa A hallowed site, this was once the testing grounds of the original guardians. The mesa stands cold and desolate now, its history long since forgotten and abandoned over time. It stands as a distant reminder to a select few. Old metal structures and girders lay about, their purpose long forgotten. The old structures and shadows of this area leave many with a reverant awe. Cold whispers seem to dance at the edge of one's audio circuits as unseen currents whirl through the ancient ruins. Shadows dance, and at once some might be unsure if this place is truly haunted by the ghosts of the ages long past, and by those who came here before. Jade [U] Obvious exits: -N- North leads to Guardian Pass . -S- South leads to Guardian Pass . Fallout walks quietly. =========================== Guardian Pass ============================ =========================== Guardian Pass ============================ Tomb =============================== Guardian Mesa ================================ Jade Fallout ============================================================================== Jade just looked at you. Standing at about 25 feet is this plain looking robot. His body is painted a dull dark gray. He is of average build, with what appears to be some wings folded down on his back. He carries no weapons, nor wears any symbol of alligence. He seems pleasant enough, almost as if he were totally at easy. They one thing that stands out about him is his dark jade optics. Jade says, "good day young one..." Fallout looks at Jade and arches an optic ridge. "Young one..?" Her voice sounds amused. Jade says, "I do hope this fine day, finds you well..." You say, "Oh, yes. Quite well." Jade smiles slightly, "That is good, and what brings you to this old haunt? You say, "I'm just looking about." Jade nods, "Looking for anything in particular? You say, "Certain trouble-making creatures." Jade nods, "There are many of those around, though most do not come to this planet anymore...here it is just those in the war..." You say, "Well, there is a bunch of them causing more problems than usual.." Jade nods, "Which of them is it?..bot, con or crystal? You say, "None of those." You say, "Though perhaps in conjuction with one of them." Jade raises an eye ridge, "None of these....then what is causing the problem..not another giant wresslor?" Fallout chuckles. "You don't keep up with the news much, do you?" Jade says, "The news on this world, really doesn't change that much...war, battles, things like that" You say, "If you live in the flow of things, you must understand what you're afloat in. If you live outside, I suppose it wouldn't matter." Jade says, "We are all in the flow of the universe...simply floating at different speeds..." Fallout quirks a smile. You say, "Do you philosophize much?" Jade says, "it is something we do when we meditate..we open ourselves to a greater being" Fallout finds something to sit on. "Do go on." Jade says, "you just need to look at the big picture is all...such as this war, that they fight here..in the whole of the cosmos, it is simple a nick in time..." You say, "And causes?" Jade hmms, "Causes?" You say, "Where do ideals and causes fit into your view of the cosmos?" Jade says, "Whereever one wishes them to fall...ideals are what defines us as a being....cause are what are Ideals make..as long as they are valid, and truly seen for what they are..." You say, "And when two ideals oppose one another?" Jade says, "If the oppose one another...or are they just two sides to the same one..." You say, "Go on.." Jade says, "Well, I Assume you are refering to the ideals at war here on this planet...all sides claiming that they all want the same thing, but no one able to see that they are the same thing.." You say, "What do you see them as?" Jade says, "Simply misguided..all claim to want the best for cybertron...but each refusing to see that as they try to bring about their idea of best, cybertron itself dies.." You say, "do they? Perhaps the ideals are for more than just Cybertron?" Jade shakes his head, "Only because there is little left here to fight for in their eyes...what use is it to rule a dead planet?..because they each have failed here, they hope to rebuild there image again.. You say, "You have a very cynical view of ideals." Jade says, "We have seen these ideals clashing for more years then we care to remember on this world..it is simply what has been..." You say, "Yet you see no difference?" Jade says, "Between the bots and cons?..no, there is no difference..." Fallout quirks a wry smile. "If you could convince the bots of that, I'd be grateful." Jade says, "or perhaps just make the cons see the bots are right?...No, it is not our place to interfere..each will return to the true path over time..." You say, "Not -your- place? Whose?" Jade says, "The order, we do not interfer in anothers lost path." You say, "What order might that be?" Jade says, "The Order of Veratron..." You say, "Veratron?" Jade says, "Surely you've heard of Veratron child?.." he shakes his head, "History continues to be lost..." You say, "Go on.." Jade says, "He is our leader, and the founder of the order..we try to live up to his example..." You say, "And..?" Jade says, "And?..and each day we strive to be better then the last, recording what has happened so that it is not lost..." Fallout nods. "What is the history of this order, then?" Jade says, "The history of the order, is the history of cybertron...." Fallout shakes her head. "No.. what is the history of the order itself? It's founding?" Jade says, "thoughs of us that could see the path of cybertron being lost came together so that it would not be lost completly, we are outside of the conflict, so we can follow the true path...and we wait for the others to find their way back" You say, "That is to say, you follow a different set of ideals and do not credit either side's ideals with any validity, so you sit outside the conflict as baggage upon Cybertron. Nor do you even speak of your ideals to promote peace. You merely occupy space." Jade says, "How can any ideal be valid, that promotes hurting a fellow member of your species?..If you wish to discuss peace, that is one thing..if you wish for me to sway another to your ideal..that I can not do. We are netural in this war...helping those that we can..."" Fallout smiles. "Then I have found out your ideals.. they are nearly the opposite of my own. I did not wish you to sway people to a specific ideal. But the 'bots act as we do and yet claim to be somehow morally better.. that is what I had thought would be enjoyable to be pointed out. Peace, as in the lack of war, has its place, but conflict is important, too, even if merely performed in civil settings. A world without conflict would stagnate and die as quickly as one that is enveloped with it. Pain is a necesary commodity for growth. Fallout pauses.. "As is healing.. to wallow in pain is as sick as to avoid it entirely." Jade shakes his head, "Young one, conflict need not end in pain...a healthy compatiton is needed to better one self. Even we in the order spar, but it is not to beat the other...but to beat ourselves..thus bettering us..." You say, "Such gentle competition eases away wariness. There are more threats than internal ones. A society of perfect peace would atrophy.. without something to oppose, it would lose its ability to defend itself, as well as its own sense of self, leaving it vulnerable both physically and mentally. Only a few would bother to keep their senses sharp; the rest of them would surrender to oblivious pleasure and die off." Jade says, "Ah, my child...I see you are a bit misguided....we simply hold that there is no reason for cybertronians to be fighting their own kind..when there is greater enemies out there, then are known about here...for us to be able to defeat these enemies we must be united as a whole. We have been out there...we know what is to come. But until the squabble here is settled, there is nothing we can do to ready the misguided" Fallout nods. "Then tell the bots that. Nothing could make me happier than for them to surrender. After all, they were the ones that rebelled against the empire." Her optics twinkle. "Not that I suppose you care. If you did, you'd do something." Jade says, "Or was it you the rebeled against their democracy?" Jade says, "But it their eyes, as in yours...I am not an ally..I do not fight the cons, so the bots do not wish to listen to me..I do not fight the bots, so the cons don't wish to listen to me....either that or they fear me...which is not really good...but you beat the best of all the factions and they seem to shy away from you..." You say, "Historically, the bots rose up against the empire... and I will not make excuses for others' folly. One should stand as one's own person, even in the midst of causes and wars. After all, if you should discard one's identity to the mob of peoples around you, you have already lost in the greatest sense. You have lost yourself." Jade says, "Then you are one of few...too many I talk to fight, simply because they are autobot or decepticon..yet they have no idea why they are in that faction...." Fallout's optics twinkle. "I am well aware of that. Yet there are those who fight for at least some reason, even if it is only because they get a steady paycheck and ration." Jade says, "That is an interesting notion..to destroy something, just to get a paycheck" You say, "To those with little wish for philosophy, survival, in the form of food and shelter, is enough of a reason to join a war. They do a job; they get paid. A fair trade equal to that of an artist or a construction worker."