unfinishedlibrary | Careful of the stacks

Entry tags:

Careful of the stacks - LIBRARY LOG

Who: EVERYONE!
What: A bunch of Editors walk into a library...
When: October 31st - November 13
Where: The Unfinished Library
Content warnings: Please add them as needed in the comment titles!

Welcome to the Library, Editors.

As the new residents drop into the Library, they are bound to have questions. Unfortunately it seems no one (except perhaps someone on the phone) appears to have any answers. But there is a nice little cart with a carafe of too weak coffee, a pot of too strong tea, assorted creams and sugar packets, and what appear to be leftover boxed shortbread cookies. There’s a sign inviting people to help themselves but reminding them not to take any food or drinks into the stacks, or touch any of the books with their grubby cookie hands. But aside from this little display and the nametags they’re all given, which do reappear whenever removed for the first week (where do they keep coming from?), the Editors are more or less left alone.

The Library is eternal, or at least it seems that way, unbothered by its new inhabitants. It certainly does not seem like this is anything unusual within its operation. Are there other sections of the Library with Editors, tucked into a different part of the stacks? Have there been Editors here before, and the ones here are simply a replacement? It’s impossible to say, just that the Library seems quite prepared for them. The refrigerators are stocked with appropriate (if generic) foodstuffs, any tantrums in front of the circulation desk are completely ignored, and attempts to set the Library on fire fizzle out before anything can even catch.

However, after a few days, some of the scenery in the Library seems to be changing. Little singing bowls and white noise makers pop up on various shelves and counters, yoga mats appear tucked under the bunk beds (plenty for everyone, somehow), and some of the rooms have started playing relaxing, meditative music over unseen speakers. More confusingly, there are also small UFOs hanging by string from the lower ceilings of the contained rooms, which on closer reflection are revealed to simply be two paper plates glued together and painted silver. In the beginning they’re quite sparse, but by the end of the second week they are everywhere and impossible to ignore.

At the start of the second week, there is a possible hint as to why, for at least part of it. On the table by the circulation desk there is a sign: “This Week’s Recommended Reading: Invasion of the Body Snatchers!” Next to it, there is a sign up sheet: a waitlist to check-out the ‘reading.’ (There is no explanation or apology for it actually being a movie.)

[ooc note: The Library prompts from the TDM can be considered canon to the game. Remember any of the locations listed in the setting are fair game. Have fun!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Konrad is no daemon, but he's definitely made people question that many times in his life. He'll probably continue to do so until he finally gets himself killed. "Ah, answers I do not have. We are .. hm, far away from home."

It's only funny because it's happening to someone else. It lets him not be as concerned with feeling more or less the same extreme discomfort with finding himself somewhere unexpected, with no awareness of how he's gotten there.

"What I do know, is you are not the only one with such questions, and there is terrible tea to be had elsewhere if you wish it." Nobody's ever accused him of being particularly helpful either.

"Terrible... tea." He's not sure why his brain decides to stick on that bit of information, but it sure does. Perhaps because it's the only part of what Curze said that is actual information. Useless information, but information.

Well, that's not true. Him saying there are others with questions... "Are you one of the people with the same questions?" He's not sure he trusts it; the man looks too comfortable here, which people should not look like after being kidnapped. But the claim alone is interesting.

"And watered down recaff." Which he didn't touch on principle, one way or another. Tea was barely a thing he'd bother with. Water was fine, in the rare times he bothered to drink anything at all.

Konrad should, by all means, be far more upset about this. But things simply don't happen to him without him being aware it would occur long beforehand. This? This has not happened before, and the novelty has yet to wear off. What kind of power would it take to not only hide from his visions, but snatch him from his flagship without his awareness?

It's great. His smile is utterly friendless. "I am. Rest assured I do intend to find out, there is much to do and little time to do it in, but it is very interesting, don't you think..?"

The more Curze talks, the more suspicious Kai finds him. He doesn't scare easily, but there is something deeply creepy about that smile. His only consolation is that the man is clearly not a Hierarch or an expositor. Of course, that also means he could very well be something he doesn't know about.

"Interesting is definitely a word for it," Kai says dryly- it's clearly not the one he would have picked, "What do you mean, little time to do it in?" It sounds like Curze knows something that he doesn't.

The book is unfinished about two-thirds of the way through, giving way to blank pages, and with a sigh it's put back. So far that's every single one he's picked up. That's less interesting and more aggravating.

"I have other duties. Don't you?" The smile widens slightly, but it fades back to something more even, measuring. Few worlds spawned the hallmarks of those humans from Nostramo, and it's possible such solidly dark eyes appear elsewhere besides in Corax..

Kai doesn't have the smell of someone who's lived among the adamantium refineries, hive cities and back alleys of his home planet, though. Nor does he have the right accent. "There is, after all, a Crusade going on. Duty ever calls, and has little time for dallying in libraries."

"Do you think whatever's trapped us here cares about your other duties?" It's an assumption, but unknowingly a pretty good one- if someone was going to take Kai somewhere without his permission, it had for their sakes better be a place to trap him. It won't end well for them otherwise.

He pauses, feeling that prickle of unease grow. "Crusade?" That is not a good word. Kai does not like that word. He never sat down and listened to a Hierarch's excuse for what was done (not that they would have told him even if he wasn't too busy killing them), but that sounds very much like the kind of word they would have used for slaughtering entire peoples.

"Not yet." Whatever force brought them here did not choose wisely, as far as Curze is concerned. Sanguinius, certainly; if there was one among his brothers who'd help out any cause for any mortal he came across, the Night Haunter did not.

He doesn't sound concerned about it, either being trapped here or that his job isn't being done, for all that his words imply otherwise.

There's a pause when he reaches for another book, idle curiosity compelling him to keep checking and see if ANY might be complete. How many mortals were disquieted by the idea of the Emperor's coming?

Only those who thought to resist, usually. "Yesss, the Emperor's great plan for mortals, bringing all of mankind under one banner whether they wish it or not." Only a touch of sarcasm in that; it's a noble enough goal given the amount of things that would happily shred any unprotected planet they came across. "And of course exterminating all that threatens the Imperium once they are among it, the shattering of old superstition and foolish beliefs, freedom from heresy and tyranny, predation from the alien. Those who obey find Him a kind master, but those who do not..." This book too is only partly finished. "Well. Let's not dwell on them too much, it's such a nice day."

Wow, Kai hates absolutely all of that. He would do something about it, maybe try to steal the life of Curze for supporting such a thing, but there's a few things stopping him. The big one is that while the structure of a horrible empire that destroys everything in its path is universal, there's a lot of words in there he doesn't understand. Well, mostly one.

"Alien?" he echos- and it's very clear that he has no idea what that word means. (The rest of him is tense as hell, about two seconds from trying to tear out Curze's throat.)

The tenseness is noted with interest. It took a brave soul indeed to think of attacking something quite a bit larger than they were.

Many worlds resisted, for a while. Kai may simply be from one of them. Curze isn't here to bring the Library into compliance - why he's here is still a mystery but he's pretty sure it doesn't involve that or Magnus would be here instead - so there's no great need to try to force Kai into submission.

"The galaxy," one scarred hand gestures, not just to the library but everything beyond it, "Is rife with threats, little one. Creatures that will devour innocents .. such as yourself presumably .. mind, body and soul. Some will only devour the flesh you wear. Others wish more. Threats that would bind you to their will and use you as nothing more than fuel for their blasphemous so-called gods. Beings that will raze entire worlds to ash simply because humanity is seen as vermin. These are the xenos, the alien. I have seen what they do. Sometimes, we even arrive soon enough to save some of their victims."

That is also a lot of terrible words, but Kai's brain admittedly hitches a bit on being called little one. He doesn't quite sputter, but there is a very offended noise. (He doesn't think he's been called anything like that by anyone other than his Grandmother, before the war, a mortal lifetime ago. He might accept it from her; she still calls him 'little snake' sometimes. He does not like it from Curze.)

He doesn't actually comment on it, focusing (or trying to) on the rest of it. (Also very much ignoring the part about him being a 'presumed innocent.') "Are you human?" he winds up asking, because at ten feet tall with black eyes and talking about mortals he certainly doesn't seem to be, but then he talks about humanity like he's a part of it. It's weird. But something else comes to mind. "Are any of your 'aliens' called Hierarchs?"

Just about everyone here is little compared to Curze and his winged brother. Do the people around him have names? Almost certainly. Is he interested in finding out what those are?

Generally not. "Do I look human?" The question is very mild, no malice or anger in it, just thoughtfulness. "My sons are. ... Ahh, were, I suppose."

Not so much anymore. Anyone who could count their lifespan in centuries and not decades hardly qualified, especially with the amount of augmentation that went into each and every space marine.

The way the primarch's attention sharpens at being asked about hierarchs though, is one of recognition and not confusion. He's heard the word before. It's not the same ones Kai knows, but translated through whatever power makes language understandable in the library, the word is the same. "Indeed, some are," the pale creature says softly. "Do not think them exceptions to the dangers of the xenos."

"No," Kai admits readily- he didn't think he was, but it adds the question of what his relationship to humanity is. The tidbit about his sons sort of explains a part of it, at least.

That gets a snort. "Trust me, I don't," he says dryly, "Or wouldn't, since they're all dead now." At least they better be. ~~He hopes Dahin's theory isn't true.~~

"Is that so? All of them?" Consider his curiosity piqued.

That would be an interesting thing to report on when he returned to Imperial space. It would of course have to be investigated, it's such a bold claim. Unlikely ... but still interesting. "Their servants as well? Do you have evidence of their extermination?"

"This was something like seventy years ago, so not with me, no," Kai replies; not that he would be terribly inclined to prove anything to this man. He would do it for allies and he is not remotely convinced Curze is one of those.

As for their servants... well, expositors seem to keep popping up, no matter how many Kai personally kills. It is extremely annoying.

The towering shape shakes his head slightly, almost sounding disappointed when he speaks again. "Then you and yours did not succeed at erasing them. They have been active much more recently."

The book, incomplete, is placed with the others. It was of course too much to expect, but that was the way of things. Threats rarely were subdued so easily. "The feast of suffering continues. Do not worry. They, like the many other xenos who seek to sate themselves on mankind, will be butchered in turn. In time."

"Hierarchs were also human," Kai points out (or, at least to his mind), "Just shitty, power hungry humans." Which is why he's still hung up on this 'alien' and 'xeno' talk. He doesn't really know what it means, other than sounding like the kind of degrading language someone like- well, the Hierarchs would use.

"They are not." Humans do not look like the Eldar. Well, most of them. But the smell was wrong, the powers were wrong, the taste was wrong-- nothing about them was right. Nothing about them allowed forgiveness. Or survival.

It's too easy to fall to alien tricks and pleasantries. By the time anyone finds out the truth behind it, it's usually too late. "But if they were, then they are still threats to human survival, and will be dealt with accordingly." Konrad's smile is thin, sharp-toothed and utterly friendless. "Until then, there is a library with no exit, yes?"

"They definitely are." And acting like they're not is dangerous, as far as Kai's concerned. If people make their enemies into nothing but monsters, then they think they can't ever become that. They can't see the enemy in themselves. It hurts to do that, but it's necessary, to avoid becoming a monster yourself. He wonders if it's too late for this man on that count.

He's not sure if he wants to drop this line of conversation or if he'd rather keep poking at it. For now he lets Konrad change the subject. "There has to be some exit, somewhere." Kai just hasn't had a chance to look yet.

This is exactly the sort of heresy ... entirely different legions specialize in dealing with, not the VIIIth. "If it comforts you to draw yourself closer to xenos, be careful it doesn't affect your judgment."

It is much too late for Konrad Curze on many, many counts.

"I have not yet found one. The agri plots are not truly 'outside', and it is the closest one may get." There may be other ways out that he had yet to find, and he wasn't giving up on finding it so quickly, but it's very obvious whatever brought them here didn't want them sneaking out unexpectedly.

Kai is not responding to that. He's not taking warnings about his judgement from this man.

"Then we'll just have to keep looking." He doesn't trust Konrad, not even a little bit, so he'll be going to check those places himself and test the boundaries the place has put on them. But he's not inclined to give up so quickly either.

"Oh yes. There's no point in just surrendering, is there." Curze's judgment is impeccable. Impeccable! Not doing anything he suggests is also usually a very good idea.

They all had duties they were supposed to be attending to, and none of that had much to do with being in a library, waiting around, thumbing through half-finished books. "The door which leads to the variety of rooms does not as yet lead to an exit but there are other interesting things within. If you intend to search on your own, beginning there is as good as anywhere, if only to eliminate it." Even the garden wasn't a good way out!

"Then I better get started."

And so Kai just walks off, past Konrad, towards the rest of the Library. It does mean his back winds up to the man, and he walks a bit like he's expecting to be stabbed in it as he goes. (Not that that would end the way Konrad would think if he did.)

"May the Emperor guide your search," the pale creature says, tone edged with a dry cynicism.

Curze is not given to stabbing people in the back even when he does intend to kill them, he prefers to watch their expressions change. Kai escapes unstabbed, the primarch doesn't even leave his chosen spot in favor of picking up another book. It will be as annoyingly unfinished as the rest.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Careful of the stacks - LIBRARY LOG

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: mentions of genocide

no subject

no subject

tw: ..not sure how to warn for this; Curze? Cannibalism? Xenocide?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject