h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

~ A fountain pen flips up off the captain's desk and hits Gilling, getting ink on his shirt. ~

*do android cats laugh? if they do, then undoubtedly the cat is doing so. if they don't, well, i've got a bone to pick with whoever programmed her*

Android?


*Gillings stares at the pen for a moment, wondering*

I don't care what the Johans say, we've got a spirit of some kind on this ship. At least it doesn't seem to wish evil to anyone.

*Picks up the pen and wonders how long it will be until he can change into another set of clothes*

Amelia: You know, I really hate punks who like to...*shuts her mouth with a snap* Meh. nevermind.

*Amelia makes a mental note to give McMellan some of her whiskey*

Mr Gillings, I find your story facinating and your willingness to admit the captain and no one else acceptable. I would ask that you keep what you see in this cabin to yourself and not to attempt to contact the SoulStone in any way. It is, to say the very least, quite dangerous right now. *looks into the eyes of each - visible - person in the cabin* I admonish each of you in the same way. There are those on this ship who cannot know what you are about to see. Mr Richardson, if you would please be ready to restrain Mr Gillings of it becomes necessary?...

*walks to a cupboard, with her back to the assembled party, and takes out a bundle wrapped in doeskin. turns around, walks towards Gillings stopping just out of arms reach and opens the doeskin only far enough to allow a glimpse of what lies within. closes the doeskin, walks back to the cupboard and returns the SoulStone to its previous hiding place*

And now you have seen it, Mr Gillings. *turns around* How does it feel to have a dream confirmed?

I will stand for this so long as Mrs. Briggs is agrees to it, but I must point out that it is not necessary. Mate Gillings is still under ship's disciple and may be ordered to unlock the door.

*slips hand into pocket, appears to grip something*

darn! i could've sworn everyone in this thread knew that!

I merely suspected, Sea. I had other theories about you.


*Gillings appears speechless. He is staring longingly at the cupboard, but standing his ground*

A thousand thanks, Mrs. Gillings. I now know that things exist beyond that of which I am capable of accumulating or totally understanding, and that I shall never have to resign to a life of simplicity devoid of surprises. I almost feel as if it hadn't happened.

You said that the Soulstone was dangerous, though. Do you mean that it still somehow contains the energies that it was once imbued with? Is it possible for anything to retain energy for that long?

*thinking "What does he mean, 'Mrs. Gillings?'"*

*Amelia's keeps her hand near her gun just in case Gillings decides to do something no ends of stupid, as it seems he just might*

It does indeed still hold the energies, Mr Gillings, although it may not for much longer. I again would ask you not to mention this to anyone on board this ship. There are those who would use the SoulStone to ill effect...

*not entirely sure what Sarah thinks she's doing*

*the cat glances nervously at amelia's gun, then at gillings*

*calmly looks Gillings in the eyes* Now that you have seen the artifact, Mr Gillings, do you think that you could see fit to unlock the doors and windows now. I confess to feeling a touch claustrophobic with everyone locked in here.

*He just stares*

Energy for that long? How? When energy is contained, it transmits heat. Centuries of enough energy for it to still exist would make it extremely hot. That would make sense. I still remember a poem from Alexandria,....

"Soulstone bright, Soulstone near
Guarding is difficult here
My pouch for you grows ever thin
And grows hotter on my guarding skin."

Shouldn't the Soulstone itself be so unbelievably hot that it would be capable of setting that lambskin, if nothing else, on fire?

My favorite poem about the SoulStone went something like this:

"SoulStone close and SoulStone true
Flow like water, soft and cool
Safe you are with me today
And with me, safe you'll stay."

It is, in my experience, a much more realistic view of the stone. It has always been happy with the members of my family. There is no reason for me to fear heat or pain from it.

*thoughly bewildered. Gets the strange impression he is witnessing a duel, but he doesn't know why. Alters the grip on whatever he has in his pocket*

Realistic? No, I don't think so. It may be very true that the Soulstone stays cool, but that doesn't make the truth realistic. Ever hear the poem "Fact or Fiction"?

"To walk across the cool fall ground
Is to risk the heat and pain.
But to see the shaman cross the coals,
proves it to be matter under brain."

The Soulstone itself must generate heat, even if you can't feel it. Perhaps this is why the Soulstone is so unstable. Centuries of not releasing energy would be a strain on anything.

*continues to gaze into Gillings eyes* I find that the most realistic thing is that which is true, Mr Gillings. As the old saying goes:

"As I see it, so it is
As I watch it, so it goes
Strength and comfort in the heart
Stability in power always grows."

Perhaps the release of energy that you speak of happens because it must. It is possible that this energy supports and comforts the city of Atlantis to this day. After all, the SoulStone is still part of Atlantis, Mr Gillings. And there are many who would fight to see it untouched.

*Amelia puts on a sardonic voice*

Amelia: Oooh, ooh, maybe *her voice drops to a definitively dangerous low tone* /me/? *She goes back to being pleasant again* The stone seems happy enough with Mrs. Briggs, Mr. Gillings. Logic says that perhaps it would be a good idea to leave it with her, where it is safe and dually happy, and open the door to the cabin *low voice* before I chop off one of your limbs.