Scenes I'd Like to See: Different-ent.
Apr. 23rd, 2015 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingedbeastSetting: The post apocalyptic, reconstructed society. Everybody is tested to find their one true Guild, based on their one Virtue.
Scene 1: In a white office without anything on the walls, with a white desk and white chairs.
Guild Assessment Counselor: I understand you have something to ask me about?
Wot: Umm, it's about my Social Diagnosis.
Counselor stands up, signaling to Wot with a finger to the lips, and walks to the door: If you're thinking we misdiagnosed you, we can test again. I assure you th at mistakes are very rare. :Counseler closes the door.: *harsh whisper* You need to be more careful! If they ever find out-
Wot: That's the thing. I think that the hidden and vaguely evil people trying to take over would already know I'm a-
Counselor: SHH! The walls have ears.
Wot: Even the word for it is a clue. A "Different"?
Counselor: Keep your voice down! If the hidden and vaguely evil people ever found out, who knows what they would do. Maybe I shouldn't have burdened you with the knowledge, but you deserved to know. But, you really are a-
Wot: Oh, I don't doubt that I'm a "Different". *makes air quotes motion* I know that I have more than one virtue and could display the virtues of other guilds.
Counselor: What if someone hears you?
Wot: You can be honest with me. Is anybody not a "Different"?
Counselor: Of course! Most people aren't... You're uniquely...
Wot gives the counselor a steady, annoyed look.
Scene 2: In a dark and mostly empty parking lot.
Wot walks his way to the bus stop.
A figure dressed in black jumps in front of Wot and presses him to the wall, immediately putting a knife to Wot's neck.
Figure: It's you. We heard the rumors, that there was a Different out there, trying to thwart us. Well, there will be no-
Wot: Why are you still talking?
Figure: Thwa... what?
Wot: Why are you still talking?
Figure: That doesn't matter, Different. Just know that we're on to-
Wot: If you really wanted to stop me, you'd have killed me by now.
Figure: We don't have to kill you. We can use you. We can manipulate you and-
Wot: If you could, this really wouldn't be the way to go about it. I mean, you're purposely putting me onto your scheme? It seems more like you're trying to scare me and purposely give me time to push you away then run away.
Figure: ... No, I'm not.
Wot: Really? Then, why are you leaving yourself so open? I'm not even in the Courageous Guild and I can see how easy it would be just to kick you then run away.
Figure: Well... you haven't, so it must not be so easy.
Wot: And, you're still having this conversation. I'm not buying it.
Scene 3: In a darkened office high up in a sky scraper. The person standing by the large window is recognized, by Wot, as the President of The Society. Wot is in a chair.
President: What do you see out this window?
Wot: Well... I see my house from here, but I don't think that's what you're going for.
President: No, but I do enjoy comic relief. Thank you. I was referring to Society, an entire world of people. And, the Society needs those people to be virtuous.
Wot: Um, is this going to be some Villain Philosophy Monologue?
President: Yes. It's going to involve history and science. The science comes from the old world, but has been backed up in more recent experimentation.
One of the ways you can encourage people to display certain virtues is to praise those virtues.
Wot: People had to do experiments to verify that? My parents did that to get me to work harder at my homework.
President: You'd be surprised at the common wisdoms that aren't really wise. So, yes, people had to do experiments to verify that.
It's said that the old society broke down due to series of escalating civil wars of different borders. That was the symptom, but the cause was people being selfish, self-centered, cowardly, hide-bound, and unwilling to consider the consequences of their actions. We have the records to show this.
That's why the Guild System was invented. We needed people to display the virtues that a society needs. Courage not just in combat but to challenge thinking in others and themselves. The self-denial to do the jobs that must be done, no matter how dirty, so that a society can function. I believe that's your guild.
Wot shrugs: I mainly chose it because the work was simple and I could blog on the side.
President: Of course, everybody has a blog these days. Back in the past, we tried to identify all of the needed Virtues. But, there was one that we weren't able to figure on, which I still find confusing, as it is the most essential virtue in the functioning of any society?
Wot: Being able to have a conversation without shouting?
President: Actually, yes.
Wot: Really?
President: Not just that, but what you described is an application of basic empathy. Compassion, sure, we could build a guild for that. But, the basics of empathy? We tried convincing people that they were all capable of that, tried praising all the world.
Wot: Why don't I hear more about that?
President: There seems to be a boundary. It's like when you say that everybody's special. It's true, really, but when you say it like that, it can sound like...
Wot: Like being special is special in that special way that makes special nothing special.
President: Exactly so. The most essential virtue, the one that we need the most people to display to the greatest ability... and we couldn't do it.
Wot: Okay, I think I get that. You get people to think that sharing virtues with other guilds is their special, unique super power and they get to be more empathetic, helping each other out with their jobs, being more efficient 'cause of flexibility.
President: Yes.
Wot: Is that why the whole hidden and vaguely evil people who want to take over thing is about? Just to cover for that lie?
President: Only in part. Let's say that a terrorist is set to kill thousands of people in the next year. How much work are you willing to put into fighting that terrorist?
Wot: A lot. I mean, you gotta stop that-
President: The terrorist is failure to wear seat-belts.
Wot: ... Oh.
President: What we have, what we need, is a society filled with people who believe that seeing things from the perspective of other people and making the small adjustments to help each other out or simply refrain from making their jobs harder is their own special, unique super power to defend against a societal force of mystical evil.
In a way, it's not even a lie. It is the power that saves society from the greed and cruelty and self-centered nastiness that turns political disagreements into unbridgeable evils. We just have to put that threat into a different context.
Wot: So, what happens if I say that I'll tell everybody.
President: You go and you decide whether or not to tell everybody.
Scene 1: In a white office without anything on the walls, with a white desk and white chairs.
Guild Assessment Counselor: I understand you have something to ask me about?
Wot: Umm, it's about my Social Diagnosis.
Counselor stands up, signaling to Wot with a finger to the lips, and walks to the door: If you're thinking we misdiagnosed you, we can test again. I assure you th at mistakes are very rare. :Counseler closes the door.: *harsh whisper* You need to be more careful! If they ever find out-
Wot: That's the thing. I think that the hidden and vaguely evil people trying to take over would already know I'm a-
Counselor: SHH! The walls have ears.
Wot: Even the word for it is a clue. A "Different"?
Counselor: Keep your voice down! If the hidden and vaguely evil people ever found out, who knows what they would do. Maybe I shouldn't have burdened you with the knowledge, but you deserved to know. But, you really are a-
Wot: Oh, I don't doubt that I'm a "Different". *makes air quotes motion* I know that I have more than one virtue and could display the virtues of other guilds.
Counselor: What if someone hears you?
Wot: You can be honest with me. Is anybody not a "Different"?
Counselor: Of course! Most people aren't... You're uniquely...
Wot gives the counselor a steady, annoyed look.
Scene 2: In a dark and mostly empty parking lot.
Wot walks his way to the bus stop.
A figure dressed in black jumps in front of Wot and presses him to the wall, immediately putting a knife to Wot's neck.
Figure: It's you. We heard the rumors, that there was a Different out there, trying to thwart us. Well, there will be no-
Wot: Why are you still talking?
Figure: Thwa... what?
Wot: Why are you still talking?
Figure: That doesn't matter, Different. Just know that we're on to-
Wot: If you really wanted to stop me, you'd have killed me by now.
Figure: We don't have to kill you. We can use you. We can manipulate you and-
Wot: If you could, this really wouldn't be the way to go about it. I mean, you're purposely putting me onto your scheme? It seems more like you're trying to scare me and purposely give me time to push you away then run away.
Figure: ... No, I'm not.
Wot: Really? Then, why are you leaving yourself so open? I'm not even in the Courageous Guild and I can see how easy it would be just to kick you then run away.
Figure: Well... you haven't, so it must not be so easy.
Wot: And, you're still having this conversation. I'm not buying it.
Scene 3: In a darkened office high up in a sky scraper. The person standing by the large window is recognized, by Wot, as the President of The Society. Wot is in a chair.
President: What do you see out this window?
Wot: Well... I see my house from here, but I don't think that's what you're going for.
President: No, but I do enjoy comic relief. Thank you. I was referring to Society, an entire world of people. And, the Society needs those people to be virtuous.
Wot: Um, is this going to be some Villain Philosophy Monologue?
President: Yes. It's going to involve history and science. The science comes from the old world, but has been backed up in more recent experimentation.
One of the ways you can encourage people to display certain virtues is to praise those virtues.
Wot: People had to do experiments to verify that? My parents did that to get me to work harder at my homework.
President: You'd be surprised at the common wisdoms that aren't really wise. So, yes, people had to do experiments to verify that.
It's said that the old society broke down due to series of escalating civil wars of different borders. That was the symptom, but the cause was people being selfish, self-centered, cowardly, hide-bound, and unwilling to consider the consequences of their actions. We have the records to show this.
That's why the Guild System was invented. We needed people to display the virtues that a society needs. Courage not just in combat but to challenge thinking in others and themselves. The self-denial to do the jobs that must be done, no matter how dirty, so that a society can function. I believe that's your guild.
Wot shrugs: I mainly chose it because the work was simple and I could blog on the side.
President: Of course, everybody has a blog these days. Back in the past, we tried to identify all of the needed Virtues. But, there was one that we weren't able to figure on, which I still find confusing, as it is the most essential virtue in the functioning of any society?
Wot: Being able to have a conversation without shouting?
President: Actually, yes.
Wot: Really?
President: Not just that, but what you described is an application of basic empathy. Compassion, sure, we could build a guild for that. But, the basics of empathy? We tried convincing people that they were all capable of that, tried praising all the world.
Wot: Why don't I hear more about that?
President: There seems to be a boundary. It's like when you say that everybody's special. It's true, really, but when you say it like that, it can sound like...
Wot: Like being special is special in that special way that makes special nothing special.
President: Exactly so. The most essential virtue, the one that we need the most people to display to the greatest ability... and we couldn't do it.
Wot: Okay, I think I get that. You get people to think that sharing virtues with other guilds is their special, unique super power and they get to be more empathetic, helping each other out with their jobs, being more efficient 'cause of flexibility.
President: Yes.
Wot: Is that why the whole hidden and vaguely evil people who want to take over thing is about? Just to cover for that lie?
President: Only in part. Let's say that a terrorist is set to kill thousands of people in the next year. How much work are you willing to put into fighting that terrorist?
Wot: A lot. I mean, you gotta stop that-
President: The terrorist is failure to wear seat-belts.
Wot: ... Oh.
President: What we have, what we need, is a society filled with people who believe that seeing things from the perspective of other people and making the small adjustments to help each other out or simply refrain from making their jobs harder is their own special, unique super power to defend against a societal force of mystical evil.
In a way, it's not even a lie. It is the power that saves society from the greed and cruelty and self-centered nastiness that turns political disagreements into unbridgeable evils. We just have to put that threat into a different context.
Wot: So, what happens if I say that I'll tell everybody.
President: You go and you decide whether or not to tell everybody.
