@w.graham; night 299 - video [ Let reports of questionable life choices continue! ]

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[OOC - CW: Mention of self harm]

[ Good evening fellow snobos, it would appear that the reports of questionable life choices continues to roll in; Rhys started a trend.

It is another video, coming from the user name w.graham and featuring that same gentleman. It’s hard to tell if he looks worse than before, because he tended to look terrible in general. What is different is he looks a bit more exasperated than he had the last time.

As he takes a breath to start speaking, the voice of one Gregory House, comes across first, calling from somewhere off screen. ]

Don't forget to call them snowhellions! And remember it's Hotstud first! Then Graham Cracker.

[ Will just sighs and rubs his hand over his face, before he gets started. ]



Good evening.

House and I have a couple of new discoveries we've been tracking over the past week or two and inspired by Rhys, we thought we'd share...

First things first! If you change something in a place, freaking tell me. I maintain the building guide and map, people. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not psychic. You move crap, paint new symbols, or smash in symbols tell me. And get before and after pics. I don't need a conversation. Neither of us wants a conversation, just where, what, and pics or it didn't happen!

[ Will pauses for a moment, his eyes casting towards the direction the voice is speaking, and he’ll inquire, with polite sarcasm. ]

Done? [ There is a pause and a slight narrowing of his eyes, before he remarks in a flat tone. ] As a doctor you know that’s a physical impossibility.

[ A pause, an eyebrow lift -the rude gestures were getting more creative here- and Will shook his head and turned back to the camera. ]

I’ve been told to keep this short, so here goes. We also discovered in building 217 that a combination of blood and fire will result in instant cult membership. [ Here Will rolled up his sleeve, exposing his forearm, complete with healing laceration and the prophet eye burned into the skin above where he’d sliced himself open.

After giving the audience a good view he lowered his arm and took a breath, only to be interrupted again. ]

Don't let Graham Cracker sell you on the platinum membership, folks. The fees include your first-born child, two pints of blood, and a patch of skin. And that doesn't even get you access to the topless lounge. But if you're really in for it, just drip some blood, light a little fire, and you’re good to go. Matching brands and everything.

Did you want to do this? Because I can turn this camera around and... yeah, that’s what I thought.

In building 213 we tried a little tyger, tyger burning bright at night. For those of you who have just arrived, that is the building where Winter died. Apparently if you set the walls on fire, it makes them scream. Like a woman, or a child and the screaming only lets up once the fire wanes.

I think we should light a fire somewhere else. Test this more thoroughly; we’d need a lot more wood though.

Or some bodies.

And this is why people don't wanna be friends with you, Graham Cracker.

Okay back to what matters. Woman or child makes me think Winter or Sam, take your pick. Also the knives stuck in there still won't come out but I couldn't taste anything interesting on 'em.

We do have record of the screaming, if anyone wants to listen for themselves.

Finally the pool in building 216 is a bust. We cracked open the eyes at the bottom, I tried to get a read on the scene, but came up blank, and Mr. Oral fixation over here tried tasting the paint, nothing.

About the only evidence we could nail down was that the symbols look like they were all done around the same time, at least, and same color, but no way to tell if it was more than one person.

[ House's disembodied voice is still coming from somewhere off screen as he takes the wrap-up. ]

Anyone else wanna share? Already tracking the magic brigade over at the high school so we can skip that.

[OOC: House is all comments in blue
Will is all comments in purple
Responses will come from both of them! Assume House is audio only, unless otherwise noted in the comment header! ]

Comments

[thewarningafter]

Oh, well, if we're just going to ignore known phenomena and completely set aside any consideration of what would be typical, expected side effects of interdimensional contact because the implications offend our sensibilities -- yeah, in that case you've got a point.

[rubikscomplex]

Whining doesn't suit you. Maybe take a few extra of my pills and mellow out, bro. And then go back and take a basic science course. Or say it with me: 'I cannot prove a negative.'

[thewarningafter]

So prove the alternative. Give me evidence that this human society was capable of making the kind of technological leap that you're talking about. Show me a reason I should dismiss a very real possibility that isn't just your discomfort at the prospect of expanding your world view.

[No denial of the accusation, only a push forward on the argument itself. He simply won't address it.]

[rubikscomplex]

You're asking me to prove what you can observe yourself? We're here. The nanomachines can alter everything from our perceptions to the way we think. Our devices are mini-quantum computers. We've already seen evidence to support some other quantum entanglement tech. This is the basis for what you would need to develop the kind of tech we're talking about. Quod erat demonstrandum.

This isn't about my world view. This is about what's been demonstrably shown to be going on here.

[thewarningafter]

[Too many good points. When did this become about proving House wrong instead of reminding everyone that there's another possible dimension to what they're experiencing?]

And the Beast? Just, what, a figment of our infested imaginations?

[rubikscomplex]

Not a figment. It's a program. We're filled with nanomachines. It's the representation of whatever it is that's screwing with the system. I'm guessing it was one of our cultists who gave it that designation. Very spiritual.

[thewarningafter]

Whatever it is.

[A.k.a. that thing they can't identify that could be Cthulu's cousin, thank you very much.]

Traditions happen for a reason. Spiritual practices come about for a reason.

[rubikscomplex]

Whatever variety of program it is.

Spiritual practices and traditions come about because people can't stand not having an explanation for something.

Oh, no! What's that white sparky stuff in the sky that set the forest on fire? Must be the god of thunder, pissed off. Better sacrifice a virgin to him and then we won't have any thunderstorms for another year.

Traditions start because people want a way to commemorate an event or because someone needs to ascribe a higher meaning to something mundane to feel better about themselves. If there's a higher meaning, if there's some greater reason, then the universe isn't just some unimaginably cold and random place.

[thewarningafter]

You do realize the god of thunder showed up in New York in the middle of an alien invasion in my universe.

[rubikscomplex]

It was an example. If you don't like that one, pick a natural phenomenon that doesn't have a god attached to it.

[thewarningafter]

So...ignoring observed phenomena again. You seem to like telling me to do that.

[rubikscomplex]

[House rolls his eyes.]

I get that you feel compelled to prove me wrong after our little tiff. But you're ignoring something you know is demonstrably true to nitpick a specific example. That's annoying. And indication you don't have a better argument.

[thewarningafter]

No, you're ignoring what's demonstrably true in my universe because it's easier for you to assume that this universe runs on the same natural laws as your own. You want me to cherry-pick you something that's not somehow tied to the spiritual, or to visitations by creatures from other dimensions, and you want to pretend that that's going to be the baseline when I've observed that it's not.

[rubikscomplex]

It's easier to assume that when everything we've learned so far backs it up.

[thewarningafter]

And when everything you're going to learn backs it up because you won't consider the possibility that you might, just might, not know everything there is to know about how the world works!

[rubikscomplex]

Just because you had some bullshit imperialistic 'Oh, I'll go to the mystic east to heal myself' life experience that turned you into a space wizard doesn't mean that crap exists here. And wishing it did isn't gonna bring back your powers or make your knowledge any kind of relevant.

[thewarningafter]

You know what? Yeah. Sure. I'm the only one here who's projecting the laws of his home universe onto what he sees here. Because your universe is the touchstone by which all other universes are to be judged. That's not biased in the slightest.

[rubikscomplex]

Glad you're finally seeing it my way, bro.

[Yep. That's the level this is devolving to.]

[thewarningafter]

Yeah, well, like they say, ignorance is bliss. Enjoy it, Greg.

[And he's finally hanging up.]