livestudioaudience | Viewing Party 2

[...Casually leans the popcorn towards him in offering.] Oh, of course. I am really far from surprised by much of what they do.

[He peers suspiciously.] Is there salt on that? It's terrible for amphibians.

I...honestly, I was surprised by all of this. Even after Nina took Wilhelmina away, I never thought... [He glances away.] It's terrible, but it's still not on the same level as systematic snuff television.

...Shoot, I don't know. [She'll take a piece and eat it, chewing thoughtfully before nodding with a frown. Sorry, Grampa.] I think the butter is salted? That's where it comes from.

[She swallows, nods again.] By human standards...it's pretty awful. And it's worse that no one's figured it out or is even investigating it. Like everything is so very thorough that nobody considers "is it actually real" to be a question.

Most people wouldn't think that closely about it. I never did. It's not so hard to make things look realistic - look at that virtual environment you were in.

[Presumably someone has filled him in on everything by now.]

[By now it is 100% very likely.]

There were still things the others picked up on. How the stars moved outside, the...lack of coherency from the pigeons. Supply lines and such. Just because it all looks real doesn't mean they've perfectly simulated life.

True. But you have to remember, you saw a lot more of it than the audience ever did. The episodes are only about an hour long, only a fraction of what you actually experienced made it to broadcast. I was looking for a location, and I could never see enough of the outside to make anything of it...

[should he ask, or...]

Coherency from the pigeons?

The Doctor speaks pigeon. He taught me some. I can...understand maybe a fraction of a fraction? But I definitely can't speak it.

[Example: if Ardyn's bird friend hopped over and sang, Jane would maybe pick up the use of the word "and" once. If she heard it clearly. And was concentrating specifically on the bird and nothing else. And, fuck, I don't know, the moons of Jupiter in seven instances of the Milky Way all align.]

Huh! That's really interesting!

[He'll have to ask him about that later! But for now - ]

...Alexander Hamilton? Was he really a real person, then?

Um...yes, yes he was. Though I was not taught in school that he was the truest "original rap gangsta".

[Airquotes around those last three words]

He's a figure from classical Earth drama. It is supposed to be a historical play, but you know how things get that far back - I'm not sure exactly how real anybody considers him.

...he actually sounds exactly like I'd expect.

I can assure you that in history lessons, he was not known for his sick rhymes.

I always assumed that part was artistic license. Although some species do have certain unique forms of communication...like poetry.

It probably was. A shame I never got to see it for myself, it must've been a thing after 2011.

[A pause.] Do you know what sort of species speak in poems? And...is there a way to see or read some of what they have to say? That sounds interesting.

Oh - yes, it's actually very interesting! It doesn't translate perfectly, of course, but I could pull some things together.

...though, maybe your translators would help you with that. They obviously gave you something for that. I don't think all of you even natively speak the same language?

I'm pretty sure we don't, no. At the very least, I know that I don't speak Japanese, but I hear everyone speaking English.

[Except for some various little bits like san, chan, etc.]

It's probably the nanomachines they mentioned in the last season. Those can be used for translation purposes. Generally under different circumstances, of course...

[A nod. Of course.] There really is so much about this situation that we don't understand.

...yes. All of us.

[He folds his hands over his mouth with a sigh, and is quiet for a second.]

I don't understand how it came to this. Everything was...it was a normal television network. We got public funding.

[Quietly, Jane wipes her hands on her skirt to make sure they're not salty or whatever before placing one comfortingly on Yl'lb's shoulder.]

Something had to of changed. Between when things were fine and when Nina...did what she did. Something changed. Is...was she going through an ordeal at the time? Trouble with sponsors? Anything?

She...was always ambitious. She wanted to expand, past what we could be on public funding. It was a point of difference between us, though not...something we ever really fought over, exactly. I might have known it was all coming if we'd ever fought.

I know that she was trying to move in that direction after she cancelled my show. There were... [He thinks for a second, then waves a hand dismissively.] ...soap operas, for a while. Some genre shows. I've looked them up again since I met you, and they all had real actors in them, they've had other work since. None of it ever really took off, until this.

[Ambition is something Jane can understand. She nods once, solemnly - public television is a wonderful thing, there wouldn't be nearly as many children of all species being edutained if it wasn't around, but if you're a business woman and you want more, usually you go for more. Just like Betty Crocker had done, twice now, so long ago.

And just like her wishes to change the fork back to a spoon, Jane wishes she could go in and make things how they were. Public television sounds much more beneficial than bloodsports.]

So she must have gotten some sort of...inspiration, to turn things in such a direction. Or she was desperate to get something that would really launch the network into notoriety, and...she found an opportunity, and took it. The technology to bring us all here, maybe? Or that there were all these other worlds and realities to begin with? [A pause.] Mister Ein, if you happen to know off the top of your head, how long have memory altering to this degree and the ability to reconstruct organic bodies...how long has that been a thing that's possible? Roughly speaking.

The ability to build bodies like that is older than I am. Which is older than Nina, at least as far as I could tell. Access to it isn't equal, of course, just like anything else...but species have been using the technology for medical purposes for a long time.

As for the memories...well, again, it depends on the species. There's similarities, but even my brain - [He gestures at his temple.] - doesn't have the exact same makeup as yours. I think they must be tailoring it for everyone who isn't an ordinary human, and that...that is a shocking amount of time and effort.

...unless, of course, she's found something advanced enough to be called magic. Then, who knows.

Were advancements of that level something she was interested in?

Not to my knowledge. We never talked much about the best way to wipe out people's memories.

[He folds his arms.]

She was interested in science, but we mostly discussed it in the context of the show. [Which, being for children, was not that advanced.]

Did you cover all sorts of scientific topics?

[Even if it was just basic, there is a LOT of science that can be taught to kids and then expanded upon as you get older. Building a foundation of knowledge, and all that.]

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