[ he has never been to scalegorge waterscape, in his own personal recollection. but if he closes his eyes and thinks, he can fill in the gaps. better the empty garden and looming shadow of the arbor than a recreation of his cell in the shackling prison. ]
true. most of the others i've spoken to don't seem to come from spacefaring civilizations to begin with.
[ there's a long pause, almost long enough that cassian might think dan heng has finally fallen asleep from the late hour.
what was the luofu like? what was it like growing up there? darkness and isolation, no sound but the chains binding his hands and the occasional lights as the judges instructed him. dreams of the sea, of his past life's mistakes and joys. an empty marketplace with the first kiss of artificial sunlight on his neck. what else was it like? he can't say anything about what he experienced himself that sounds good, but he misses it all the same, the words on the page giving him glimpses to things his heart yearned for. ]
to be honest, i haven't been there in many years and don't know that i can do it justice. visitors are apparently often struck by the scale of the older delves, or the number of people living in them.
human lifepsans are determined by a variety of factors, but the average in most modern civilizations is upwards of seventy standard years, barring augmentation.
can i ask why [ hes too polite to say "the fuck" but it belongs here ] you seem to think i'm a different species
[ faster than the question about his home ship but slower than his dodging of the questions the night of the heartwood attack, dan heng's response appears. ]
i don't like falsehoods, cassian.
i have also had the good fortune so far of people simply accepting the person they see in front of them. if that continues, my life will remain simple.
[ its not lying. its not telling the truth either. it a request to change the conversation as much as he can without cutting off a... person who was a friend in the dream when he was solid enough to remember who he was, perhaps. enough for dan heng to resist the impulse to lie and flee the conversation entirely, running from his past as well as the unwelcome questions. ]
[ He's certain about his instincts, but he's in no mood or mind to pressure Dan Heng into admitting something that he doesn't seem readily open to sharing yet. There's another beat before another message comes through with what he hopes reads as sincerity. ]
if it's worth anything at all i do accept you stay safe
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ is he being uncharitable and untrusting? yes. is he right? also yes. ]
i understand. the first version of mine, before i started testing the spatial compression properties, was one of the delves on my home ship.
[ Cassian extended the courtesy of an explanation to him, and its only fair to offer one in return as well. ]
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your home ship?
you were raised and lived on it?
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yes. is that so strange?
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it's not uncommon in my galaxy
you're just the first person that i've met here that has said they're raised on one
[ There's a brief pause as if he considers what he's sending. ]
what was it like?
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[ there's a long pause, almost long enough that cassian might think dan heng has finally fallen asleep from the late hour.
what was the luofu like? what was it like growing up there? darkness and isolation, no sound but the chains binding his hands and the occasional lights as the judges instructed him. dreams of the sea, of his past life's mistakes and joys. an empty marketplace with the first kiss of artificial sunlight on his neck. what else was it like? he can't say anything about what he experienced himself that sounds good, but he misses it all the same, the words on the page giving him glimpses to things his heart yearned for. ]
to be honest, i haven't been there in many years and don't know that i can do it justice. visitors are apparently often struck by the scale of the older delves, or the number of people living in them.
i remember it was very beautiful.
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how long have you been away?
you don't look that old
unless your people don't age as quickly as species
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six or seven years? maybe eight at this point; i can't do the conversion between the calendars on my own. surely you know what that's like.
[ hes not that old. hes not. ]
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Does that make you six to eight years old then?
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the estimate i use for work permits right now is 17
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[ He's annoying but really he just wants to know about other species and life out there. ]
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can i ask why [ hes too polite to say "the fuck" but it belongs here ] you seem to think i'm a different species
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[ How else does one say, "It's #justspacethings." ]
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[ NO, YOU. ]
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and if i weren't i wouldn't deny it either
but if you are human i apologize for assuming otherwise
[ But he has his suspicions. He spent too much time with the kid to think that all of that was entirely fiction. ]
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i don't like falsehoods, cassian.
i have also had the good fortune so far of people simply accepting the person they see in front of them. if that continues, my life will remain simple.
[ its not lying. its not telling the truth either. it a request to change the conversation as much as he can without cutting off a... person who was a friend in the dream when he was solid enough to remember who he was, perhaps. enough for dan heng to resist the impulse to lie and flee the conversation entirely, running from his past as well as the unwelcome questions. ]
fin! π
[ He's certain about his instincts, but he's in no mood or mind to pressure Dan Heng into admitting something that he doesn't seem readily open to sharing yet. There's another beat before another message comes through with what he hopes reads as sincerity. ]
if it's worth anything at all i do accept you
stay safe