(no subject)

[imperious]

[let's say this is Emeraldy shenanigans. Peony has arrived in London, although he looks about ten years younger because crazy unspeakable horror aliens have no regard for taking people from the same point in time. This means Peony's not wearing emperor clothes, but snow surfer dude type clothes like when he first arrived in Grand Chokmah. Right now he's looking around a market like a certain other noble kid who was locked up for his own good. Peony is knowledgeable enough not to steal apples though, so he's got that going for him.]

Comments

[clinical]

[Okay, if Jade can keep his dignity 99% of the time when hit with a Random Encounter Peony, this is not one of those times. Jade openly stares, like he's been hit with a flying chair.]

[Quick! Recover! Jade walks over to the Emperor Prince(?) and clears his throat.] It may have escaped you, but ordinary market interaction discourages window shopping.

[imperious]

[That actually surprises him, because he recognizes the voice and he grins as he turns to Jade]

Haha, are you actually talking to me at la- [and he stops short when he takes in Jade, looking honestly startled, because...dude, you're old Jade] Whoa! What the hell happened?

[he cautiously scans Jade's face] You are Jade, right?

[did he do some horrible experiment that rapidly aged him? Did he make a replica that somehow ages at a quicker rate? What is this nonsense?]

[clinical]

[Yulia Jue you're so young. He is able to work out what that sentence was and shiiiiiiiiit. Oh Lorelei what the HELL is this bullshit.]

Yes, Your--Highness, I am.

[He wasn't programmed for this, guys.] I'd almost forgotten that your clothing choices were no less offensive for your youth.

[imperious]

[Peony is still so unsure here, but he is trying to act casual at least]

Coming from you I take that as a compliment. Age hasn't helped with your fashion sense at all, huh?

[Even if he's trying to act comfortable though, Peony can't stop looking at Jade like something alien and unfamiliar, and feeling very on guard]

So what, you're old man Jade now?

[clinical]

As it happens, I've been an old man for several years now. It's an enlightening experience.

[imperious]

[he almost wants to touch Jade to see what happens, but he still holds back]

So you're from the future?

[which still seems odd, but then again he somehow arrived in a strange city in a strange world out of nowhere, so odd is relative at this point. But the oddity is different when it applies to a friend versus just a world]

[clinical]

Hypothetically. Or I could be from an entirely different timeline. [Jadeshrug] It would require detailed analysis to come to any definite conclusion.

[imperious]

You're talking to me. [he says it simply, like it should explain everything.]

[after a short pause, he elaborates] So whatever timeline you're from, you and Saphir stopped your research.

That's right, isn't it?

[clinical]

[A beat.] Yes, Your M--Highness. [He is going to have to work on that.] Would it please Your Highness to retire to my residence here? [Instead of trademark old man Jade pleasant sarcasm, there's that slightly nasty edge like fangs when Jade adds,] I could make you a pork stew.

[imperious]

[Peony does catch the slips, although he's not going to comment on it. Everything is all ready way too much to take in when not factoring that piece of information]

Old age hasn't made you any less heartless.

[although that nastiness actually makes Peony relax a little, as it reminds him of a Jade he's familiar with, and not the Jade who's ignoring him back home or this foreign old Jade Peony's still trying to figure out.]

Anyway, if you were stupid enough to buy pork stew I'd force you to eat it first. It would almost be worth it just to see that disgusted look on your face. [real reason why rappigs are Peony's pet of choice: because Jade hates rappig meat]

[clinical]

How heartless. As a prince in training, shouldn't you put your subjects first? [His hands slip into his pockets, which is apparently a habit that has stuck with him for at least thirty years.] This way, Your Highness. [HE GOT IT THIS TIME. SUCCESS.]

[imperious]

Nah, nah, I'm still in training. I get a learning curve, and you're from my future or a future, so you don't even count as a subject.

[he follows Jade, his own hands remaining at his side while he eyes their surroundings curiously] What's up with this place anyway? One second I was in Grand Chokmah, the next I woke up here.

[clinical]

[Jade's remembering that one for the future.]

To simplify, there are cracks in universes which, like fon slots, attract the matter of those universes in through them. This time and place are particularly fon slots, to extend the metaphor, and you were among the substances drawn through it. Many others have had a similar experience.

[imperious]

[let's fast-forward a week. Peony has been living the couch surfing lifestyle, pretty much bumming around the city and going from charity house to charity house. He's in the park right now, flipping through a pamphlet one of the churches handed to him, with no real interest in it, but reading it because it's in front of him]

[clinical]

[Jade has of course kept a discrete eye on Peony because apparently none of my characters are above spying and stalking. Oh well. This is, though, a random encounter. He doesn't accost Peony, though. Unlike some people from Keterberg, he keeps his stalking unobtrusive. Also unlike some people from Keterberg, he doesn't persistently send annoying letters and get in people's faces.]

Good afternoon, Your Highness. [And that's it. Either Peony responds or Jade leaves him to his idiocy.]

[imperious]

[Those letters were amazing, if Jade ever took the time to open them B|]

Would you cut it out, I told you not to call me that.

[Maybe he's been a little lonely and regretted storming out, but he has some pride, and he keeps ADDing on freedom. And he's distracted by a stray dog wandering through the park, and he whistles to try to get it's attention, before setting the pamphlet aside and forgetting about it as he decides to go stalk a dog.]

[clinical]

Very well, Peony. [Jade just observes.]

[And decides to store up 'Your Highness' as a secret weapon to be thrown out like his horrible 'Young Master' and 'Master Luke' PA bullets.]

[imperious]

[he's just going to play with this stray dog now, since it doesn't seem like it's going to attack him, and it's cute and cuddly, even if it's mangy and dirty, too]

Tell me about that experiment you mentioned before.

[clinical]

It's quite simple. We merely choose a word or a statement for you to tell me--the version of me in your universe--on your return, with such instructions that I would recognize, when I arrived here and met you again, that this is their context. It doesn't have to be explicable, merely sufficient for my understanding. If you decide to do this, then we can narrow down the possibiliteis of what will have occurred, based on any altered memories I may or not have.

However, even a minor change like this runs the risk, however minimal, that the test subjects and test universes will be erased or destroyed through the alterations. Theory suggests it is less likely than greater changes to lead to annihilation, but the possibility still remains.

[imperious]

So that's out. Anything else?

[clinical]

None that can avoid those possible consequences. Ethical considerations aside, even experimenting on others in a similar situation would be inadequate, as their possible erasure from history would mean we might not know we experimented on them. [Thoughtfully, he adds,] Which would lead to a situation where we repeat the experiment on multiple parties, erasing people or even universes from existence without any awareness of our crime. A fairly atrocious sin to not have on your conscience. [...Look, he already decided it was unethical to experiment on other people. That doesn't mean he can't have a thought experiment about responsibility and culpability without memory. Ethical thought experiments are fun.]

[Shut up, at least he is thinking about these things.]

[imperious]

[Peony looks up at Jade, his hand still petting the dog]

You put a lot of thought into all that, huh? [He sighs.] It seems like a hassle to know any of this future stuff, so I'll pass. [going back to petting the dog] You're worse than an annual Score reading. [it's not said without some begrudging fondness at least]

[clinical]

I'll add that to my list of foreboding titles and epithets.

[imperious]

It's probably the worst one you could ever earn. [he frowns, because he really doesn't like this part of himself that's being so difficult, so he's going to try to be nice or open up conversation.] This is all really weird. I'm betting it's weird for you, too. If you changed this much, I must've too, so meeting me now, it's weird, right?

[clinical]

[Jade considers the question before he answers.] Yes, but not to as great a degree. Giving nothing further away, I understand that I have changed profoundly in the last twenty years. You will have as well, but less so. Further, I have already known you at this point in your life, while you haven't known me at this point in mine. Any unfamiliarity with you exists with a strong framework of knowledge to compensate, while you have been presented with a great amount of uncertainty.

[With a smile, he also adds:] On top of that, old men like me hardly feel surprise any longer. It's much more difficult for youngsters to deal with confusion maturely.