Video Post

[solo_patria]

[The video opens with Enjolras, who looks a bit worse for wear, considering his arrival here was right after he'd been gunned down with eight shots, knowing that all of his friends had died before him, save for Grantaire. But he IS here, and obviously startled, and in pain though he is, there is a bemused expression on his face as he peers out skeptically at the new technology, not entirely sure he understands the explanation he was given, but willing to make the attempt at mastering it, if this is how communication on this strange new island works.]

Greetings, those of you who are seeing this. I am...not quite sure of how I might address people I have not seen when I attempt to speak to them. The progress of the keedans seems to be above that of man where I am from to have wrought such an invention as THIS and the things it allows us now.

I am Enjolras and I have come from Paris, at the hour of what I thought to be my death in 1832, and instead have been installed here by some means I cannot fully comprehend. In that life, I wrote, and read the law in hope of practicing one day. [Best not to mention what else he did in a place the mysterious Emperor might see it. He mistrusts this figure already for being what he is.]

In this new one, I am not fully certain of what I shall do, but I have seen the other on this island making postings of all sorts and thought that I should speak as well. I am told that seeking a job here is quite important, but tell me what there is most need of, and I shall gladly apply there if they will have me do so, and if there are others I might speak to who know more of the world whence I came?

[And he is frowning, deeply, troubled by some stray thought perhaps, as the video feed shuts off, leaving him remaining there in his suite, pensive.]

Comments

[kvarterskommissarie]

[ It is the mention of Paris and a time period not too far from his own that draws him in. Sure, it's a good 42 years between them but compared to the others he's met here that are from worlds full of actual magic, those 42 years may as well be 42 minutes. ]

Greetings, monsieur. It's been some time since I last saw Paris, but it was a wonderful experience.

[solo_patria]

Monsieur. There is a comfort in meeting someone who is from the same planet, and even more so in meeting someone who has experienced Paris. [And the clothing alone tells Enjolras enough that his nod is friendly.] It is good to meet you.

[kvarterskommissarie]

Likewise. Familiarity is always welcome in these... trying times. [ A small smile. ] I have to admit, I am not as far along as you. It was the spring of 1791 last I saw home.

[solo_patria]

Trying is a way to put it I imagine. A socially acceptable way at least, though this place has hardly been so bad that. Merely...unusual.

[Enjolras is not entirely accustomed to smiling but the tilt of his head is clearly amused in this case, so that counts as something, yes?]

Ah 1791. Trying times in Paris, certainly. And have you been in this place long?

[kvarterskommissarie]

[ It certainly does count. Subtle expressions are underrated. ]

Only a few days, I'm afraid. I'm still adjusting.

[solo_patria]

[Ah good then. Enjolras can appreciate someone who understands their inherent value.]

I have been here for the same. [At least to him, so that counts, does it not? He hopes so.] I do have my...suspicions about this place that I do hope will be resolved as I adjust. How are you finding things?

[kvarterskommissarie]

Mostly confusing, I have to admit. [ A small, self-deprecating chuckle. ] Some aspects are certainly more familiar than others- [ Like the poverty and rations and xenophobia. ] -though others I never would've believed had I not seen them with my own eyes.

[solo_patria]

Are they so? I have had little success in finding most of those things. The situation with the lack of resources is disturbingly something I have known of, but have not dealt with rationing before, as such.

[And it strikes him that this MAY be a good sign if all of the resources are equal, though he worries that the Emperor may not believe in it for himself, which creates a conflict in his mind. And as for that next bit.]

I do know what you mean when you speak of these strange things. The turtle for one of them. I had never imagined a world on a turtle might exist before. And beings of legend walk among us as well. It IS decidedly...odd.

[kvarterskommissarie]

I've spent some time with the Royal Archipelago Fleet. Rationing was not uncommon among the soldiers. [ Less so the officers. Starvation seemed to be just as reserved for the poorer classes as justice was for the rich. ]

It does seem like the things you'd find in stories for children... I've always put my faith in science, trusting what my own senses tell me but after arriving here? I have to admit I'm... not quite as certain as I usually am.

[solo_patria]

And where I am from, it is more likely that those with nothing will continue to do without, and those who have excess will continue to have that, regardless of fairness to everyone. It seems that this rationing, if it is done correctly, with little potential of abuse by anyone, is by far a fairer way to share the resources here. I am not sure yet in practice of how well they work, but we might hope that they are well.

[Enjolras knows of that situation far too well for his own liking, yes, and though he has worked to prevent it, that was nothing like eradicating that starvation as he had hoped the revolution might do. It is to be hoped that this sort of thing does not happen as much on this island.]

Indeed. And I have never believed in anything outside of here or what can be found within other men, so a change like this is hard to wrap my mind around in turn. When your senses so turn on you, what IS reason or what has it become? It is...something of a struggle to make sense of.

[kvarterskommissarie]

Ah, I can't disagree with you there. If this truly is done in absolute fairness, it's a fair bit better than the way the resources were distributed in Stockholm. Of course, it is difficult to make a call like this without knowing whether or not the Emperor lives under the same conditions.

[ Unlikely, but it is a pleasant thought. ]

[solo_patria]

Indeed. And in Paris, well, it depended on those who were able to buy those things, and even the shop owners, a great deal of them were not exactly prosperous themselves. The moneyed few, on the backs of the poor. It was not the way to go about those things.

One does wonder about him, yes. Or how to determine that. Though perhaps I should not speak so on this network. [No, it is NOT really likely at all. Far more likely Enjolras got himself put on a watch list of some kind just now. He'll have to find a way to be more careful.]

[kvarterskommissarie]

Someplace else then, perhaps... it does seem as though we have much to speak of. [ Do you have any idea how liberating it is to find someone who seems to share his ideals? He hasn't been able to speak freely in any way since he came back from the war. ]

[solo_patria]

I would greatly enjoy that, yes. [And that is one of Enjolras's rare half smiles there.] It is always good to find one of a similar mind, and especially so here.

[kvarterskommissarie]

Agreed. Perhaps you would like some time to settle in first?

[solo_patria]

And to learn what more I can of things as they stand here, yes. That would be the best of ideas, I think. In a week's time, perhaps?

[kvarterskommissarie]

A week it is. Until then, monsieur.