eighth snare

[fanstheflame]

[Belle]
Hey ... are you okay? I haven't heard from you in a while...
[/Belle]

[checking up on one friend out of the way, Gale grabs his bag and heads on down the hall, idly flipping pages and dictating as he goes]

You know, I'm sure a lot of people are putting out messages to the people they were related to, checking up on them, asking if they can pretend the whole thing never happened ... and ... from what I saw, we were all related to each other. So there's not much point in being secretive about it, for me. It was weird, but ... I have a big family back home, too, in a town where everyone knows everyone. So I guess I was lucky, because it wasn't much different for me, in that sense.

[and then he'll wander into the game room and take a look around] ... But everyone's talking about that. Anyone want to explain to me how these games work? The ones that look like TVs with more buttons?

Comments

[fanstheflame]

[Gale, meanwhile, is glad he's got the game to distract him from the old, familiar Capitol rage bubbling up. he finishes off the level he's on, and turns, not really minding if his game goes to pot now that he has the hang of it]

Control. They want to keep the Districts all frightened of them, so that no one tries to rise up and overthrow them. They say it's a show of unity, of celebration, but ... everyone who's ever even known someone who went into the arenas knows that's bull.

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

[A shadow passes behind Flynn's eyes as he realizes how familiar that sounds. What was the Gaming Grid than CLU's version of that. The only difference is Gale's Capitol uses children instead of programs. Innocent children. How could a government do something like that? To put a 12 year old in the position to kill or be killed...]

It's monstrous.

[fanstheflame]

Yeah. ... Yeah, it is. That's why, when ... when people talk about how much they hate this place ...

I always want to tell them how much worse it could be.

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

[He nods slowly]

I can sympathize with that. Though I can't even fathom how someone could send children... [He sighs softly]

I have a son. He's here, actually. Seven years old... though he was older when I last saw him at home. When I think about what I would do if he...

[He pauses, shaking his head] I'm sorry.

[fanstheflame]

It's pretty simple - they just don't care about the future as much as they care about themselves. ... That's why I like it here, even if we're trapped. People look out for each other a lot more, here. Something like that would never happen.

[he gives Flynn a reassuring smile] Your son's probably safer here than anywhere else, if he's met even half the people I have.

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

[He returns that smile. Now there's a sentiment he can get behind. He likes this kid.] As are you. There are certainly far worse places to be... to some extent my own world included.

[fanstheflame]

Yeah? ... Why, what's yours like? [he likes Flynn, too - he's down-to-earth, there's nothing false about him ... like a lot of the men he worked with back in the mines]

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

Well I suppose I could say I've got two worlds I come from. The first is regular old Earth. California, specifically. I used to live and work in a big city with skyscrapers and lights everywhere. It was beautiful in its own way.

But I've ended up spending most of my time in another world that very few people even know exists. [His eyes grow a little sad and he reaches out to touch the side of the machine] A digital world inside a computer. It's called the Grid. Initially it was within a game system, not unlike this. I moved it to a computer which is a lot more complicated.

[He thinks for a moment] I could show you what it looks like if you'd like.

[fanstheflame]

Two worlds ...? [that's interesting. he frowns thoughtfully, trying to wrap his head around it. as Flynn explains, he turns to look at the screen]

So ... could other people look in and see you? Did you look like that? All made up of little squares?

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

[He shakes his head] No. Not like that. It's more like when we're taken here, only I could control it and kept all my memories and abilities.