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Daimyon's inquisitive eyes pleaded for nothing, it seemed, as most Infinites avoided his gaze. Those who did meet it could offer nothing but silent sympathy. No one wished to be in his position, understandably so. The wiggle room around the decision shrunk with every thought until it boiled down to two binary choices, each with unknown and potentially far-reaching consequences—a true ‘bad or worse’ situation. As comfortably as Daimyon moved in the realm of the unknown, [i]this[/i] much mystery was more irritating than intriguing.

It hardly mattered how he felt, though. What counted was how he was going to act. The sole person to offer any sort of comment had blonde hair and striking fiery eyes, wearing an elaborate outfit that consisted of a waistcoat with a long-sleeved shirt underneath and a red ribbon tied loosely around her neck...Lucy, yes. The Infinite Prodigy. Daimyon had almost forgotten the names of the roster amidst the chaos. Her identity was not what mattered here: it was her impassioned outcry against the absurdity of the situation that resonated with the poet, and he assumed with everyone else as well. Beyond that, however, he also caught on to her choice of words, describing the posse of her, Thomas, and Jezebel as [i]‘pulling strings for the greater good’[/i]. Now, language was a fickle instrument and phrasing was its scrupulous art—as Infinite Poet, there were few who knew that better than Daimyon. Regardless, he could not ignore the connotations of her outburst, even as she stormed out of the room. [i]‘It was all just a game’[/i] for them? Truly?

Finally, there was no more room to delay. Thomas urged—no, [i]pressured[/i] him to give over the e-handbook. He looked down at it one last time, clutching it tighter in his hand.

[color=seagreen]“I want to.”[/color] He let out an enervated sigh, looking at the biomechanic. [color=seagreen]“Trust me, Thomas, I want to. But I can't. Why? Because this is not reality. This...”[/color] With slow steps, he made his way to the middle of the circle, spreading his arms to underline his point. [color=seagreen]“This is a scene straight out of an action drama. We have a cartoonishly conniving villain, terrified extras, a damsel in distress...ah, we even have a hero with a moral dilemma. These are tropes. Flat, two-dimensional characters penned by a lazy, imagination-deprived writer. Is that what we are? Really?”[/color] He turned slightly in both directions, addressing the others as much as Thomas now. His voice gained new strength as he continued. [color=seagreen]“It sure seems so, because if we weren't, why would this situation have devolved into such ridicule? There is no substance, so there has to be spectacle to cover it up. There has to be action, action, action to keep the thrills up, because that's all these characters are capable of. You might be fine with that, Thomas, being in such a movie setting, or shall I say [i]game.[/i] But I am not.”[/color] A pause. [color=seagreen]“I am a [i]person.[/i] A flesh and blood human being, capable of rational, civil conversation with my fellows. Do you know what that means? That means that all you had to do was approach me, say, after this meeting and tell me you wanted the e-handbook. Heavens forbid, you might have had to tell me a few details of your plan to get me to agree, but [i]so what?[/i] In my eyes, we all share an ultimate goal: that is, us escaping this nightmare once and for all. There really is no higher cause to strive for at the moment, is there now? And if your plan serves this purpose in the end, then I would have been glad to help you. I would have even sworn secrecy if that was the requirement to proceed. [i]That's, it.[/i] Instead, look at what you have actually done: you brought an [i]explosive[/i] and openly threatened [i]everyone[/i] to force them to do your bidding. [i]Why?[/i] Now you're missing fingers and a whole heap of blood. Was it worth it?”[/color] He let the question hang in the air for a second. [color=seagreen]“This could have been solved calmly and with reason. The way of thinking adults. Yet you chose the way of boneheaded B-movie characters and caused suffering for everyone involved. I do not wish harm on you, Thomas, only that you cease your theatrical hostilities and take a moment of introspection. Then we shall see to getting you that handbook.”[/color] He found his seat in the circle and sat down. [color=seagreen]“Now... I missed the last portion of this meeting, and for that I apologise. Will someone enlighten me as to what has been discussed while I was away?”[/color]