Accountability.

[explosivecombat]

There are all sorts of secrets to this place, really, ways to get from place to place reasonably unnoticed. Some of those ways involve the ability to shift one's appearance, some of them involve shadows and vessels and darkness; for those without those sorts of gifts, though, one has to rely on more conventional means. Panels and doorways, joins and seams that don't join up quite right; portions of the wall that will open up if you manipulate them properly. The Conductor himself tends to rely on the latter; he is, after all, entirely human. He's thin, as though he doesn't eat terribly much, but his clothes are immaculate and sharply-tailored, a suit and long coat all in white and shades of pale grey; his hair is long, trailing at least halfway down his back in a thin, tightly-tied ponytail, and his eyes are cold when he moves to stand at the thirtieth podium – it's not his, it never has been, but it's going to do for now. He doesn't seem anxious at all about being here; there's nothing nervous in his demeanor, and he's keeping his head up, perfectly willing to look everyone in the face. There's a definite arrogance about him, as is probably to be expected, though he'll certainly acknowledge everyone once he's there – when he bows it's enough to be respectful, but not nearly enough to expose the back of his neck. When he speaks, his voice is recognizable but it's quiet, far moreso than one would assume him to be based on the volume of the intercom alone; his tone is even, almost unsettlingly calm given the circumstances, though there's a hardness to it that never quite goes away. "It's a pleasure to speak to all of you in person; I'd say that it's almost a shame that the circumstances have to be what they are, but I'm not going to insult your intelligence like that." He straightens up then; the smile he's offering is understated, but it's not particularly nice. "I understand that we have a fair amount to discuss; shall we begin?" Your host for the evening, everyone; let's start.

Comments

[explosivecombat]

Something like that. If we're going to be frank, it's more like he consumed God and is using the power of entirely more souls than are really feasible to ensure that God stays put.

[for fuck's sake there are some things that you just don't say like it ain't even a thing- ]

...To put it a bit more simply, God is no longer in his heaven, all is not right with the world. We have the power to control God. And then this happened. Is that a bit better? I understand that the original description was probably a bit confusing.

[sunsong]

Whoa, wait, more souls than feasible? Are you fuckers runnin' low on them or what?

[explosivecombat]

Not at all, actually. It's just that I'll admit the number of souls this required was more than slightly ridiculous.

[sunsong]

...An entire world's worth?

[explosivecombat]

A few countries. War and general unrest is what's ending the rest of it.

[...you can practically hear the unspoken "AND I HELPED" at the end of that last part, holy shit]

[sunsong]

Soundin' that pleased about startin' wars for this purpose...

[ Power. Money. What's the difference? ]

[explosivecombat]

It's as I've said to Geotic - I rather enjoy my work. War is my specialty. It's what I live for, and it's my chosen path to affect the world in any way I can.

[sunsong]

That way of thinkin', it'll never make sense to me.

[announcemyvictory]

So... it is more like the gods the others were talking about, one to a world, instead of the minor ones we've got in my world who are one or two to a small region?

[explosivecombat]

...I'm honestly not sure how to describe it. People in different parts of Amestris believed in different gods, such as Leto or Ishvala - but religion wasn't something terribly saturated among the population as a whole.

The being I'm thinking of is more of a force than anything - it keeps the world in balance. Since it can be condensed into a singular entity, I'm not sure what one would consider that, if not "God."

[blazeit]

... So basically like a... law of nature, given a physical entity?

[ All those philosophy books and now it's getting all philosophical in here and he's kinda ???? ]

[explosivecombat]

Yes, that's it exactly.

[blazeit]

I can't believe there are multiple assholes who thought to themselves, "you know what sounds fun? Fucking around with a law of nature".

So now this law is all out of balance because you guys screwed around with it, is that what's up?

[explosivecombat]

Something like that, yes. We actually haven't found the limits of what we're capable of reaching just yet; it's absolutely fascinating from an alchemic standpoint.

[blazeit]

Sounds like a load of fucking bullshit from a humanitarian standpoint, but okay.

[oftheland]

...

I would be impressed by the fact that someone ate a god if I was the sort of person who enjoyed messing around with the fabric of reality, to be honest.

[explosivecombat]

I can assure you that witnessing it was...well, it was an experience.

[THERE ARE FEW THINGS ON THIS PLANET THAT KIND OF WIG HIM OUT

THAT ACTUALLY KIND OF WIGGED HIM OUT]

[oftheland]

...if it's anything like coming home and finding out that your subordinates summoned god to try and impress you, well... yeah. It's rough, buddy.

[ninehundredlives]

...what the hell does the mafia do where you're from?

[LOOK SHE'S ASSUMED FOR A WHILE YOU'RE SOME KIND OF CRIMINAL BUT BRO]

[sunsong]

I mean, are we surprised? These people don't have normal sized bees.

[ninehundredlives]

I guess the ATM cats sort of take away the point of racketeering...

[oftheland]

Hey, I normally don't condone that kind of stuff. When we play god, we are always to stop short of potentially ripping reality to pieces, because we're supposed to be intelligent human beings.

[withabigsmile]

...Please tell me this isn't happening right now.

[oftheland]

...It's probably mostly taken care of by this point, I think. I don't really remember anything past almost dying, though...

[withabigsmile]

I don't remember anything past turning into a rock, but you're alive and I'm not solid stone, so we're probably okay.