mental link

[adamance]

WISDOM passing on her legacy, her knowledge, and showing a willingness for more	COMPASSION looking upon her people with care, with hope, and understanding a different layer of strength
STRENGTH strength is more than just mere words or mere actions—it is everything	PURPOSE being born for this

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[whowhatnow]

[He listens quietly, which is already a bit bizarre for him - there's no interruption, no quick joke. He takes it all in and nods, finding himself agreeing with the sentiment.]

I totally get what you mean. It's that kind of whole "sacrificing yourself for the greater good" thing. Even if that greater good is a war that doesn't seem like it will ever end. It's like...constant sacrifice.

[He shakes his head with a slight grimace. He speaks, his tone bitter:]

And I don't want that. Sure, I want to help, but I don't want to give my whole self up for...what, the strange, vague goals of this parasite hivemind? I didn't sign up for this. I wanted to be saved, not thrown into some kind of group where leaving means absolute death.

[adamance]

It's good that you're questioning. [There are others who question, but in meaningless ways. Lexa recalls offering an olive branch to Parker to offer her an outlet. It had gone nowhere, and she suspects that it won't be long until Parker finds herself in a position that isn't unlike the Parker who had come before.

There are others who are selfish, frustrated, aimless ...

It's not that selfishness is a bad thing in the Nest. That is one way to continue independence. But Lexa isn't fully convinced that people's self-serving natures benefit themselves in any way.]

Too much doesn't add up. If these symbiotes were stopped, there would be no reason to fear us. What are the goals of the Enemy? Here, it's clear that they aren't seeking to kill people. It means that we are missing too many pieces to willfully offer ourselves over. You are right to wonder about their goals. The more answers we receive, the more that we recognize how little we know. [They may be trapped, but there is little reason to give themselves over because it's a losing battle.

And she assumes that if Nathaniel is asking, if he's worried, then there is a desire within him to fight as well.]

[whowhatnow]

Yeah. We're trying to solve a puzzle with half of the pieces from the box. How can we get what's going on through something like that?

[He hates it. It's frustrating, being at the whims of some great hivemind. He's already been at the whim of a great majority. He never wanted it again, but the universe just had to say no, apparently.]

We need to find answers. And do it in a way that won't be some big glaring red flag to everyone else. Like...rebel, but discretely, you know what I mean? But I don't even know where to start.

[adamance]

Have you spoken to Cathaway about the Nest and what has come before us? She gave me an idea when I spoke to her, but we may be able to find more. I believe much of the answers lie in why these symbiotes are worth protecting. [And what the Enemy gains by stopping it. What if they are the Enemy? What if they're the ones tricked into going along with a plan because they may be the way of prolonging a war that is only two-sided because the symbiote exists?

It's an unsettling thought, albeit one she can't completely ignore.]