ataraxionlogs | OTA - Watching volcanoes on the holodeck

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OTA - Watching volcanoes on the holodeck

CHARACTERS: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen & Anyone (OTA)
LOCATION: A holodeck
WARNINGS: TBA- the Baron's his own warning.
SUMMARY: The Baron is drinking wine, watching volcanoes on holodecks and missing his home.
NOTES: OTA- Feel free to hit up the Baron for talk, volcano watching, etc!

The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen has still not adjusted to life on the Tranquility. In his estimation, the entire experience has been a parade of inadequacies, with the lack of servants grating upon him foremost. The lack of space in the general Passenger Quarter areas is also irritating- Vladimir is used to the grandiose scale of Imperial architecture, and, is tired of being generally surrounded by the sterile sensibility of it all.

Recently, however, he discovered the holodecks. Although the holodecks have been disappointingly non-interactive, the environmental illusions produced have proven tolerable enough, even admirable to a point. The Baron now sits within an environment loosely based upon a pre-programmed volcanic environment, drinking some almost-decent wine procured from one of the ship's bars. The chair he sits on and the table beside him are obviously real, able as they are to support objects.

All else is entirely artificial. His immediate holographic surroundings are those of a huge, red room, with vaulted ceiling upheld by massive pillars, marble everywhere, and enormous windows on all sides. Outside these windows, fountains of luminous lava burst from huge volcanic caldera- the proximity of these volcanoes is such that for the most part, the view is an ever-shifting tumult of fire. The unbearable heat which would be expected from such a vantage point is not present, however, only a slight sense of warmth. As a final touch, the room has been sparsely but tastefully furnished with an assortment of Imperial-style accoutrements, and a few statues of entirely unclad young men. A couple of well-made, scantily-clad young men with dark hair stand near the Baron's seat, their artificiality and not-quite-finished programming evidenced by occasional flickering and hints of translucency.

He has left the door to the holodeck open- perhaps some real, non-programmed diversion will enter, and make his day more interesting?)

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"It is an inherent skill, yes."

Daylen extinguishes the flame, fingers curling as he considers the way best way to explain.

"A natural connection that one is either born with or without. That is why mages are taken as children -- as I was -- to a circle to be taught. To... ensure we understand our abilities, and to ensure we are not taught to be too destructive, of course."

He gives a rather thin, cynical smile.

"I know plenty who would agree with you, though. Caging people is... never a long term solution. Caged animals often long to be free, and some are prone to taking the gaining of freedom upon themselves. They rarely think to spare their captors in the process. Some are content within the circle, I was lucky myself -- I... was in a position where I was treated well. That was not true for everyone, I fear, and other circles outside of Ferelden sound as if they may have been worse."

There's a moment where he hesitates, drops his hand to his lap and laces his fingers together as if bringing himself under control. Presses his lips together and gives a slightly self-conscious huff of amusement.

"I fear I am talking too much..."

Perhaps he has been too long in Anders' company, grown used to talking at length and discussing life at the circle. Grown used to voice his distaste at things a little more honestly instead of always being entirely neutral.

The concept of actual 'magic' may seem absurd on the surface level, a thing for children's stories and not reality. But, here it was- the Baron wonders why the Imperium never discovered it, or, undiscovered it, or, whatever happened to relegate magic to the children's shelf. Presumably, if a mage was born with this ability, there was some sort of inherent physiological trait involved, and, at its heart, perhaps 'magic' was just a subtle science, no more mystical than any other.

The Baron's intrigue grows as Daylen speaks of the circles- this practice does sound familiar. If Daylen was well-treated, it seemed likely that he is also a skilled mage, and possibly trained to put magical destruction to practical use. Someone else's use, of course. For, these mage circles sound a great deal like potential military units to Vladimir. In his experience, people tended to enjoy freedom only to the extent to which they were free not to suffer. Many people were quite content to exchange freedom for the right sort of cage, especially one that came with a rank, a steady paycheck, access to pleasurable diversions, and big guns. He cannot help but wonder how much of this trait Daylen might have, and, if there is a way he can tap into it. If magic exists on the Tranquility, he wants mages on his side. Which means, of course, being on theirs.

"Ahhh, no, not at all. Speak whatever you wish, I am interested in what you have to say. Other than Anders, you are the first mage I have met. I've never even contemplated the nature of a society which contains magic and mages, but now that I have, I'd like to know more about it all, and about the nature of magic." Although he is very curious about these circles, and how they served whatever political balance they must have served, it seems like Daylen may have mixed memories regarding them- the Baron hopes to forge some sort of alliance, not to upset his lovely young visitor.

Steering towards the nature of magic seems the better choice, for now. He takes a drink of his wine before asking, "Is it all fire, or, are there more aspects to it? Perhaps manipulation of other classical elements, water and such?"

"You have met Anders?" Daylen looks up at that, lips quirking into a curious smile. "I am surprised you are not already well versed on the topic, then. Anders is very strong-minded, he can be very vocal about his opinions given the chance."

Something Daylen knows extremely well, and which he appears to have taken on at least a little as a trait himself. Circle mage or not, he can certainly understand a good amount of Anders' distaste -- even if he never experienced what happened in Kirkwall first hand. The Baron is curious, though, which Daylen supposes is a good trait to have. He's always been curious about things himself, and a desire to understand is a healthy thing -- people fear what they do not understand, after all. He could very easily have simply feared Daylen for being different. For being tainted, as it were. He drops his eyes back down to his hands, twisting his fingers together idly.

"You are correct, though, magic is not limited to fire. You can equally manipulate ice, lightning, make the earth shake, turn a person to stone, heal their wounds or inflict a malady upon them, change your shape, control another person or protect an ally. Not all such practices are encouraged, of course, and any hint of the forbidden arts is punishable by death."

"That I have," the Baron replied. "He was very concerned with informing the ship about space safety. It would appear he has some concerns about space radiation." He smirks slightly at this, still somewhat amused by this odd concern, which seems childish or primitive to Vladimir. However, the Baron had indulged him- obviously there were actually people who needed to be aware of space safety, such as Anders himself. "He also had a great deal to ask and say about intergalactic empire. I don't think he's too fond of the idea." He chuckles slightly- he wasn't offended by Anders quaintly primitive views about government, again he'd been mostly entertained by the conversation.

"Just so you know," he says with a conspiratorial half-grin, "Space radiation is nothing to be deeply worried about. It exists, but, any interstellar transport is going to be designed to shield it out. This vessel seems very primitive compared to those of my day, but, I suspect it's even more shielded than ours on that account. Its engineering has to account for a greater amount of unforeseen factors. Even a nasty burst of space radiation would perhaps cause some power disruptions at worst, and these are rare." If Daylen knows Anders, it does seem likely that Anders has been lecturing him about the horrors of space radiation. He is indeed a proponent of understanding things, believing that fear and superstition are products of a lack of it.

Vladimir considers Daylen's examples, and is swiftly growing fascinated with this magic, and its potential. It is easy to see how these mage circles and hysterical ideas of them being 'tainted' had occurred- even without knowing the exact circumstances, it seemed beyond doubt that the root lay in power, and just how easy it might be for mages to take it for themselves. He supposed the 'forbidden' arts were those especially destructive ones, the magical equivalent to using atomics against human targets, a crime punishable by death in the Imperium. "I can easily understand why some might fear such arts, and call them 'tainted'. Especially if they themselves do not possess them. But I, I find this magic fascinating. If the Imperium had known of such an art, it would have been treated similar by most- or worse. But I would have remained interested." He grins slightly, as he adds, "I have never much cared about adhering to popular opinions."

Ah, yes. Daylen is indeed familiar with Anders' particular brand of fears about space safety, and the training sessions Carolyn runs. He frowns, tilts his head slowly at the Baron -- as if trying to decide how to feel about his attitude towards all this. He feels like, perhaps, he should be offended on Anders' behalf. Concerned that someone did not think to allay his fears earlier, if the threat is indeed not as heavy as Anders has been led to believe.

Or, perhaps, question why someone might not wish to allay them -- and why they might tell someone else instead.

"Popularity does not make an opinion correct," he observes carefully -- trying to gauge how to take the revelation. He feels like any attempt to look down on a friend should be stopped, but at the same time does not know the Baron well enough to understand his intentions. He raises a sceptical eyebrow, then, the picture of careful calculation. "You did not think this information warranted telling Anders himself, then? I would think, since it concerns him so, you would have been the first to correct him on his fears. Lack of familiarity with a topic does not equate to lack of intelligence or skill. If he has been misled then that is no fault of his own. I should think it a shame nobody has taken the time to correct him sooner."

((My apologies for the slowness!))

The Baron had, of course, quite deliberately chosen to give Daylen a piece of information he'd not given Anders- and for more than one reason. Not only does he simply prefer Daylen, due to the obvious superficial reasons, he also wanted to see how Daylen reacted. Reactions can tell so much about character- and it seems to the Baron that Daylen is a fair-minded individual, which suggests a certain sense of naievete. But, there is also a sense of practiced thoughtfulness there. At this point, Vladimir is not sure what use or purpose this traits may serve, but, he catalogs them away with the rest of his observations.

"No, no I really did not think that it warranted explaining it to Anders himself," he replies with his well-practiced smile. "I didn't think he'd benefit, as I did not think he'd listen. His mind appears made up already. He's been correctly informed about space radiation, at least from a factual perspective. How much fear he chooses to weight his knowledge with, that part is his own choice and responsibility."

He takes another drink of his wine, contemplating that people do so love to burden themselves with pointless fears. "Worrying about space radiation is much like worrying about earthquakes and meteor impacts and various random natural disasters. There is really no difference. So long as the ship doesn't go flying into a star, the danger is little more than the danger of any other random disaster that might befall. And so, it's not worth worrying about in my opinion. Anders obviously holds a different one."

Daylen considers this a moment, carefully takes a sip of the wine on offer to give himself time to think. The Baron is minding his words to a certain extent, and Daylen is well enough versed in the art of minding one's words to know when such a thing is being done in turn.

"Anders is rash on occasion," he begins, "but he can be made to listen if one has the right approach. Or the right incentive, of course. The same can be said of most people. While the concept of worrying may be irrational to you, Anders is a healer. He has seen what sickness can do to a person, and taken on the position of someone who works to undo such things. It is natural that if something is presented to him as a threat to people's health he will be concerned and do his best to ensure others are aware, even if he does not fully understand.

"He is also a very dear friend of mine, rashness and all. Perhaps... if you do not find yourself able to make him listen I shall do so in your place."

Daylen gives a light shrug, gently puts down the glass again and drags his eyes around the room.

"Will you explain this illusion to me, then? I have done a great deal too much talking."

Edited (English) 2013-01-13 02:21 (UTC)

Anders is some sort of doctor? The Baron files this into his useful information list. Doctors are useful people to know, and as it appears that Daylen considers Anders a good friend (such a liability, those), he makes a mental note to be nice to Anders in the future. Not that he'd been unpleasant to him when they'd met- had Daylen not thought well of Anders, however, or considered him an enemy, this could easily have changed in future meetings. "I think that he would be more inclined to listen to friend on the matter. I got the impression that he didn't trust nobles and aristocrats." He chuckles briefly, adding with a smirk, "A wise choice- I don't either."

The Baron is forced to admit that he's not entirely sure how the holodeck works- he sips his wine as he contemplates this question. He understands a good portion of the theory behind it, but the precise engineering of the computer elements is unknown to him. He has, however, figured out how to use it anyway, and this much he can explain. "This is a holodeck, a room of holograms, light-figures. It's all run by a thinking machine- computers, they are called here, which sends information to the hologram-generating parts of the machine. We didn't have technology precisely like this where I am from, as we were lacking the computers. I still have no idea how it emulates some of the environmental sensations, like weather- perhaps there's mechanical parts, and it simply adjusts temperature and humidity. But, I can show you how it operates," he offers, indicating a control panel which currently appeared to be set into the wall near the door. "Right now, the room is based off my home, but, it could be anything- there are pre-programmed environments, and it is possible to alter them, and input new ones."

"Your home?"

Daylen takes another look around the room at that, studying the scantily clad young men more closely. The statues, the marbled pillars and the volcanic activity outside. He has never seen volcanic activity before, has no sense of what it is -- only that it seems to be a river of fire and that such a thing can hardly make a place liveable. Yet, this is claimed to be his home? Or at least, a representation of it?

Standing slowly he takes in the high ceilings with a frown, paces over and peers out the artificial window with an unconcealed sense of wonder.

"Such a place as this truly exists? When you said it was an illusion I assumed it fiction. An environment made from imagination rather than reality."

He nods to Daylen, saying, "Given the infinite range of possibility, I suppose that creating a duplicate of a real place suggests a lack of imagination." He smirks again, looking at his dwindling glass of wine, which he finishes off before admitting, "It is my home, and, although this ship is interesting, and the timing of my arrival was quite serendipitous, I'd prefer to be home." The Baron is indeed fond of his world of dark skies, volcanic wasteland, and slag-filled industrial expanses- it was, perhaps a Hell to most. But it was his home, and it was his.

"It's mostly accurate," he explains. "But, just one small corner of my palace, with a couple of aesthetic changes. Namely, less staff bustling about, and I moved the volcanoes. They were more interesting to watch here, and I didn't feel like taking hours to input the actual view. Harko's an extremely large city." Extremely large was perhaps a lacking term to describe the reality of the Harkonnen ancestral city, and all the other cities on the Baron's planet- but, it was a scale he was used to. In his mind, extremely large was accurate. The actual immensity, however, was rather astounding, containing as it did a sizable percentage of his planet's population in a massive superstructure. "They all are, on Giedi Prime. It's not exactly a hospitable world, and, focusing population centers in several preferred locations is much more functional than having them scattered all over the place." It was of course easier to manage a planets population when it was nicely sorted into a few specific areas as well, and far more efficient where industry was concerned. "It's not a hospitable planet, but it's a good one, very rich in metals."

Now that the subject has turned to homes, the Baron is curious- what is the world of these mages like, exactly? He pours himself another glass of wine, and turns his attention back to Daylen. "And your home, Daylen? What is it like? I am curious, never having known of a planet with mages before."

Daylen frowns in concentration as the Baron explains, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar terms. To form a picture in his mind of what he means, of what a place like this would be like to walk in. Hot, he thinks, and the memory of walking through the burning circle tower in the fade rises unbidden. He blinks it away quickly, flicks his eyes out the window and watches the lava for a moment. Liquid fire rolling out over the environment. Not, Daylen would not have called it hospitable -- but a home is a home. He can understand that. One is inclined to miss it, even when it was not a place that treated you well. At least, in his experience. It's easy to get used to such a situation.

"Nothing like this," he offers -- turning away from the window once more to study the Baron. "At least, not the place I was from. Home is a difficult term. I no longer have a place that I will always return to. I suppose the tower where I was taught is the closest thing I have, but I am no longer associated with it. I simply travel wherever the road takes me, wherever I am required. The tower where I was schooled... it sits in the centre of a great lake. You can see a great way from its windows, out into the hinterlands, the wilds -- thick forest and foliage. In the other direction, the mountains. Of course... there is a reason we are isolated to the middle of a lake. We were not allowed to leave. All the same, since then I have travelled many of the roads I saw from its windows."

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OTA - Watching volcanoes on the holodeck

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