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The Orchestrator [Self] [L] [--]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 4:58 PM

[Aside: This is just...pure, unadulterated nonsense. Mostly just a means to an end. Not worth a read, essentially, not that any of my other self-rps are, but, you know.]

The building was tiny, more of a shack, really. It hunched in a corner out of the way of anyone's gaze, and anyone who did look at it was unlikely to give it a second glance. There were certain enchantments to achieve such an effect, and this one was very good; the only way to see through it was with a certain pass. A scrap of paper marked with a stylized Q, of all things, and you could see the truth.

It was small, true, and flat and generally unimpressive, but it was nothing like the little shack visible to the uninitiated. Black walls and evenly spaced columns and enormous double doors loomed at its entrance. While the sign looked to those without the paper too faded to read, anyone with the pass could see the ominous lettering: Office of the Orchestrator.

She was late. Not normally a huge concern, but she'd already received a number of vaguely threatening letters telling her the time of the orientation, and she didn't want to know whether the Orchestrator would follow through. She flew up to the doors and very nearly panicked when she couldn't open them, but shortly thereafter a mechanical hand shot out and snatched at the pass that was wrapped around her leg. The hand and the pass disappeared into the wall, and a moment later the doors creaked open.

There was a desk in the dark room beyond, but it was unoccupied, and another open door seemed the way to go. She glided nervously down the dark hallway, glancing left and right until she entered one final door, which slammed shut behind her. Here there was another desk, and all kinds of creatures milling about in the shadows. What was with this place and lighting?

A pair of bright green eyes glinted from above the desk, reflecting light from a source unseen. "Now that everyone is here," said a voice, "maybe we can actually start registering you assholes."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 5:09 PM

A hand went up from somewhere in the crowd. "Is such language really necessary?" said a high, quavery voice. "After all, it is you who invited us here, and we never--"

"Oh, shut up," snarled the original voice. "Or I'll mark your name down as the most humiliating thing I can think of. And believe me, I can think of a lot."

"Er, yes, sorry," squeaked the Gallizar, lowering his hand and sidling to the back of the room. He had a strange band of white fabric around his long neck, just above where his markings began, and something seemed to be written on it. His pass? No, that had most likely been taken at the entrance just like hers. Then what? Something related to this sinister registration business, no doubt.

Someone else, too far to the front and too small to be visible, said, "Are you the Orchestrator?"

"No, of course not. You think she can be bothered to come down here and deal with this? I'm just a proxy. Which means that we're operating on my rules, and my rules are that you shut the fuck up when I'm talking to you, got it?"

The Gallizar muttered something about "excessive linguistic force", but apart from that the assembled remained silent. "Good," said the voice. "Let's get on with it."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 5:36 PM

"Now, then, which one of you is first? Not that you'd know. Let's see...Carver! Get up here!"

Despite the mandate of silence, the assembled creatures now murmured amongst themselves. Only one of them seemed to remember a name, and it was something entirely different from what had been announced. People began pushing each other toward the front, trying to get someone, anyone to answer.

The Orchestrator's proxy sighed heavily. "Okay, okay, I'll give you fuckwits a hint. He's small, kinda fuzzy, got weird creepy bones sticking out of his back? And big teeth. Come on, come on, he better be in here, the damn door's not supposed to close until everyone is in! Oh, yes, there we go."

It was an undersized Smilokuhna, an expression of moderate surprise on his face. He stumbled toward the desk, tripping over his feet, his strange bone wings clattering as they trembled with nerves. He sat directly in front of the desk and said, loudly enough for the whole room to hear, "Me?"

"Yes, you. Good, glad you actually did manage to find your way here. I could read what the report says about your navigation skills but frankly it's not something you want to hear. Anyway they're calling you Carver Lockley or something like that, now clear out."

"I...what? Where do you expect me to go? The doors are all closed and I thought you were supposed to tell us--"

"Not my problem. Good luck."

"Oh, for god's sake, Mac!" This voice was new, low and musical, and it came from somewhere far off to the right. The next moment there was a thump and the green eyes disappeared, and a light went on.
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 6:41 PM

Image

An Adawockee sat upright behind the desk. Though her mouth was, of course, invisible, if it existed at all, the assembled mass got the sense that she was smiling. She said, "Hello, all! Sorry about that. Mac and I got picked as proxies for this...weird little event, but as it turns out she's not very well suited to the job. Anyway, my name is Ellen, and I'm here to shed some light on a few matters. Clearly." There were a few titters from the audience.

Ellen jumped over the desk and began walking around the room, people clearing the way for her as she went. "See, what you need to understand here is that, right now, we exist outside of time. Outside the fourth wall, if you like. Even I wouldn't normally be aware of this, but I have special dispensation. After all this is over, none of us will remember it."

There were some gasps. Once again she seemed to smile.

"You misunderstand, friends. Our memories aren't going to be wiped. We won't remember it because it won't have happened."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 11:29 PM

"It's a little complicated, but basically it's all about that fourth wall thing I mentioned before. It seems that technically we are all fictional characters, present only in the collective consciousness of a fairly select group of people, and in theory we could be snuffed out at any moment." Ellen raised a paw placatingly. "Not to worry, not to worry. The very fact that we're here means that we have been chosen to continue existing for the time being, no matter what my companion might threaten."

There mas a muttered curse from under the desk.

"But why make such a big deal out of it?" said the Gallizar, who apparently no longer felt the need to raise his hand. "It seems odd. Why not just do it in a private and out of the way manner, and not inflict ourselves on the public?"

"I'd hardly say we're being inflicted on the public," Ellen said, "since there is no need to look into this building. As to why, I'm as mystified as any of you."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 11:34 PM

"Well, I tell you I know exactly what it is," said a voice--the same voice that had asked whether Mac was the Orchestrator, in fact. A few people cleared aside to reveal a small Shartile perched atop his skull in annoyance. "It's a moneymaking ploy, that's what. And a self-referential one at that."

"Fascinating theory," said Ellen in an encouraging tone.

"It's not just a theory! It's--"

"Regardless," Ellen continued, "there are implications, mainly about the lack of implications, if you see what I mean. Or even if you don't; the statement retains its truth irrespective of your understanding. I hardly understand it myself! But in essence, since we currently exist outside of what we would normally consider reality, and what indeed is reality for us, what we do here has no ramifications."

"That," said Mac's voice from under the desk, "is one serious fucking lie."

"Well--"
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 11:41 PM

"Oh, no! Don't you get coy with me, little Miss Forsythe! If you insist on telling these bastards what's going on then you better tell them all of it, or I'll handle it for you. As a matter of fact, I think I will handle it for you."

The desk shifted to one side, knocked askew by the prodigious bulk of some unimaginable creature. Unimaginable indeed--when Mac drew up to her full height she was a shapeless, shadowed mass, with only her bright green eyes floating around the middle of what therefore must be called a head as a distinguishing feature. Something vaguely like a claw shot out and gripped the desk, and with a sound like peeling wood dragged it back to its original position. The shadowy mass disappeared, leaving only the eyes hovering just above the wooden surface.

"Sorry about that," she muttered. "Unfortunate childhood incident, all right? I don't like to discuss it. Now, I better tell you exactly what this is, because it's more than a place outside of time or a self-referential whatever. It is, my dear fuckwits, a fucking metaphor."

The Gallizar sighed.
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 11:51 PM

"That's right," Mac said, apparently mistaking the sigh for a sound of astonishment. Or possibly just repeating herself, it was difficult to be sure of anything anymore. "A metaphor. A needlessly extended one, but a metaphor nonetheless. But a metaphor for what, you ask? Or you don't because you are all, as I said, fuckwits, but part of the thing the metaphor is for is the process that ought to make you less of fuckwits, so maybe I should be a little nicer about it. I won't, though."

"Mac," said Ellen, wincing, "do you really have to be so...abrasive?"

"Yeah. Maybe it's even part of the metaphor. What a terrible thought. Anyway, it is basically a metaphor for the character creation process, wherein you are metaphorically all gathered into a big room and assigned basic traits, if the creator in question is feeling lazy. Which apparently she is. It's also definitely a moneymaking scheme, points to not-Damascus in the back--" She sighed. "Right, you don't remember you used to be someone else--I mean the little feathery lizard thing with the skull. So there you go. In a few minutes when Ellen stops being so goddamn nice and answering all of your questions you're all going to be assigned names and a few scraps of other information, like our friend Carver--" The Smilokuhna flinched. "--and then you'll walk out the door and be like real fucking people, isn't that nice? And have no idea what's happened. Nor will Ellen."

"What about you?" asked the Traveler Wilson.

"No, I always stay the same. I'm not real. I'm not even fake real like you, I was made up just for this nonsense. I'll just kind of stop until something else comes along and then I'll start again."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/30/2014 11:56 PM

"Wellll...now that that's out of the way," said Ellen, "are there any questions? Oh, don't raise your hands, the very nature of the metaphor requires you to go one at a time anyway."

"Will you tell us who the Orchestrator is?" said someone.

"As much as I can," said Ellen. "The Orchestrator, you see, is not entirely real. She is a little like Mac, in that she is a construct made mostly for the purposes of...whatever this is. But she's also different because underneath that sort of scaffolding is an actual real individual, who just happens to enjoy hiding behind a lattice of shadowiness and self-reference instead of coming out and identifying her true nature. Or even a truly false nature, if you see what I mean."

"Or even if we don't?"

"Precisely!" Ellen beamed. "I'm so glad you understand."

"But you haven't actually answered the question."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/31/2014 12:05 AM

"All right, I will be definite if you demand it. It's not really in my nature, you know, but we are all a bit outside of ourselves right now, and especially all of you, so I suppose I can allow it. The Orchestrator...is one of our creators. There are actually a number of them, you see. One is responsible for our shapes and colors and all that. Actually more than one these days, now that I think about it--some of us are sort of a hodgepodge and others are all from one mind, but either way there is certainly a strange variance at work. But none of those people are the Orchestrator. And then there are a few beings who are sort of gods in the world in which we normally exist, what we would consider reality if we were not currently in this bizarre little room, but in the end they are of a similar nature to us. The Orchestrator is who makes us individuals, and gives us things to do, and she also seems to be getting a bit overwrought about the fact judging from, well, all this nonsense."

"My understanding," said Mac suddenly, "is that it's mostly an accident."

"How odd."
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Re: The Orchestrator [Self] [L]

Postby Indigo » 03/31/2014 12:38 AM

"So where does it end?" asked the Gallizar.

"Hmm." Ellen tilted her head. "Well, you know, I think it was meant to go on quite a bit longer than this. But some new decisions are just coming down from the higher-ups. Apparently they want this business done with, as something else has come up."

"It's time for the naming, then."

"It is indeed. Come up to the desk and I'll mark you as present and give you your name, shall I? It seems like rather a waste of time, but there you have it. I doubt anyone will appreciate it but we do what we must to support ourselves. Now, where is that Gallizar? I saw him just a moment ago."

Shortly thereafter, the shack vanished, never to be seen again.
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