Insider Talks [LE2, Strange Charm, Closed]

[Sharn]

"Mine has ever been to formulate a macroscopic relativity equation that includes the Force as a variable or constant. Kybers would be means to it, through lab testing, but if I can get closer to it by studying the Force by means of this creature and it yields progress, I'll be satisfied. How do you define yours?"

[Runi Vizsla]

"My goals are a little less defined. I'm interested in your ideas of forming a sort of general theory of the world including the Force, for sure," she replied thoughtfully. "I suppose some of my goals are more personal - I want to connect with my parents through exploring the Force and holding to the Resol'nare. But I want to understand more about the former in general, as well, since it's a little unclear. And with both, help younger people not have to work things out on their own the way I had to in some ways."

[Sharn]

He took it in. "So in addition to discovering the truth about your predatory master race, you look forward to forming a Force order once you've become more proficient with handling it? I assume he'll have much to tempt you with." He didn't reach for fruit in the end, just the caf in small sips. "It's inadvisable for you to give in on sharing the knowledge about the contemporary world with him too much. His maladjustment may be giving us a bargaining chip."

[Runi Vizsla]

"'Predatory master race'?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow, then shrugged. "We both have our vulnerabilities. But I'll keep that in mind."

[Sharn]

"That's derivative of what he told me about you, presupposing me being your slave. I hypothesise in his time people of your ancestry may have been prominent slave masters." He rolled his eyes. "Clearly, he doesn't know too much about my species to have ever assumed it possible."

[Runi Vizsla]

She raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Well, I'm interested in finding out more, but trying to recapture something like that isn't on my radar."

[Sharn]

"It may not be entirely up to you if your mental fortitude is inadequate. The leanings encoded in your genome may be triggered as we progress down this path. I've actually managed to translate a bit. The book is entitled somewhat poetically but perhaps tellingly: The Gate to Darkness." He divulged.

[Runi Vizsla]

She raised her eyebrows. "How very poetic. But if so, it'll hopefully just be a matter of being aware of it and staying grounded."

"You know, come to think of it, I don't know all that much about the Chiss."

[Sharn]

"It hardly befuddles me. We don't mingle too much with the galactic riffraff. It has served our vast domain in what you call Unknown Regions well. Polities have risen and fallen, republics, empires, confederacies, and the Ascendancy is there." He looked at her studyingly. "I might indulge you with details at some point depending on how our relationship develops."

[Runi Vizsla]

"There is something to be said for a sense of permanence. I'd be interested if you feel like sharing in the future, of course, but I won't push," she agreed.

"I take it your translation efforts are bearing fruit, then."

[Sharn]

"Yes, as expected of a genius. No puzzle is too hard for me, it's just the question of motivation and time to focus." He said casually. "Though you've not made clear if what you'd be interested in in today's iteration of interest is me or the Chiss in general."

[Runi Vizsla]

She shrugged. "Both."

[Sharn]

"I was about to call you out on the inability to prioritise but then I realised that would be quite hypocritical of me since about you I could also say: 'both'. With us both being Force-sensitive, of matching colouration, both on this aeon-old case I could easily fall into the narrative the incorporeal guy proposed, of fate and destiny. But I don't believe in either of those, as they are just apophenic efforts to skew reality to fit someone's agenda or the need for simplistic patterns. I do, however, believe in conscious decision of intelligent people who know what they want, or think of how to learn that." He took another sip, then leaned back, spreading hands. "Here and now I'm yours, Vizsla. An open book, flesh, bone and neurons. What's your move?"

[Runi Vizsla]

"Well, to be fair, it's more addressing an active interest in the people I'm around. That happens to encompass your species, in this case, because I don't know much about them, and your culture is often a pretty significant factor in what makes you who you are. I know mine is," she reasoned. "So I guess you could stay I'm starting off curious about your past and what brought you to being who you are now. A bit of a broad topic, I know, but still."

[Sharn]

"I left the Ascendancy circa 2 years before Yavin and have never returned. I worked on a variety of executive, research, design and engineering positions at the behest of my cousin who initially had promoted me. I was rich for a time but burned through it all pursuing my theories. I antagonised every single boss I have ever had. I never knew my father, I don't speak to my mother. Since Galen Erso's death I am most likely the prime mind of the galaxy on hyperenergy physics. I am Csas'har'nuruodo, a scion of the Second Ruling Family. Does this resume click with your curiosity?" The delivery of it was a bit neurotic.

[Runi Vizsla]

She nodded as she listened. "You've had a pretty complicated life, it sounds like. At least compared to what I'm aware of."

[Sharn]

"Complex rather than complicated." He wasn't firm on that, it had been complicated, he just didn't like the summary. "But guided by a singular idea. Which, after my loss of access to proper lab facilities and kybers to power my experiments, has come to an abhorrent halt I am now working on overcoming."

He paused. "Still, a decade older now, I have a bit different perspective on my own pursuits through life. The Chiss maturate in c. 11 years. I was 9 when I entered studies on Csilla and 11 when I entered the academia. Some things that separate that young man from me is that he believed in his immortality and had no idea o being Force-positive."

[Runi Vizsla]

"Force-positive is an interesting way to put it... It makes it sounds like a social disease," she noted. "Why driven out so often?"

[Sharn]

"That I refuse to compromise on what I care about is one reason. But objectivising it, it has been a ride from one terminal peril to another, with my intelligence and the preternatural aspects of the Force giving me just enough edge to survive. People who thought I was a part of their play are gone, and I am here."

He looked at her. "The Force might well be a disease. Biology knows little energy altruism. If our microbial symbionts give something, they compensate elsewhere. Medichlorians must be eating even if it is inapparent what it is and where it comes from."

[Runi Vizsla]

"If they exist in a transdimensional way, it could be a survival strategy," she mused.