Post by Maverick on Nov 24, 2013 0:31:39 GMT -5
[Children of The Grand Design Enrichment Retreat - Unknown Underground Location - Months Ago]
"When are you at your best?" Orn walks around a seated Maverick, blindfolded in an otherwise empty room.
"When the lights shine the brightest." Maverick confidently replies. Orn walks over and smacks him upside the head.
"No. It's easy to be confident in the light. You, however, are at your best when you are surrounded in darkness. Only then will our Mother Woven comfort you." Orn sternly states.
"I don't fear the dark." Maverick states out loud. Orn's footsteps echo as he paces around Maverick.
"You should. To say that you don't fear the dark makes you a liar. Our Mother does not keep the company of liars." Orn paces around him. "What are you really afraid of? Answer carefully, She will know if you lie."
Maverick sits silently for a moment before speaking. "Being alone...and dying." Maverick hesitates.
"And having no purpose." Orn finishes for him. "The greatest fear of every man, woman, and child. Regardless of whatever faith they may profess, everyone is afraid of being meaningless. Our Mother's message is a message of meaning. She assures her followers that they all matter in the Grand Design."
"Right." Maverick says, listening for Orn to walk around him some more.
"Our Mother wishes great things for you, Maverick. She wishes for you to spread her message. To be the darkness at the end of the tunnel. In the dark everyone is the same. Naked, and afraid. There is no rich, there is no poor, there is no best, there is no worst. The dark is man's great equalizer. Everyone fears it, and everyone should fear it. Do you understand?"
[Key Arena - Seattle Washington - Present]
Maverick nods his head in agreement. "Do you understand?" The trainer asks him again. Maverick nods again, and the trainer begins unwrapping the ice pack around both his knees.
"As your physician, I'm concerned by the wear and tear you've put on your joints. You're still young, and I don't want to see you end up like many others, battling with pain and painkillers for the rest of their lives." The trainer tells Maverick.
"I'm not like anyone else. I'm better. Don't forget that." Maverick says, hopping off the exam table and heading out.
Maverick walks down the hall and stops in front a mirror. "You could have at least thanked him." his reflection interjects.
"For doing his job? His paycheck is thanks enough." Maverick tells his reflection. He turns to walk away and bumps right into Rodney Sinclair.
"Oh sorry, I thought you saw him." Maverick's reflection quips. Maverick turns to glare at himself in the mirror.
"Mr. Jones sir?" Rodney asks meekly.
"What do you want?" Maverick asks, though he keeps his eyes on his reflection, daring him to say something.
"Well....you see...well...we put the interview on our website last week EPNZ.com, and my...my bosses wanted me to come back and interview you again." Rodney says with some hesitation.
"No." Maverick says as he turns to walk away.
"But..." Rodney says grabbing Maverick on the shoulder and turning him around. Rodney then quickly throws his hands up waving them in front of him. Maverick looks at him and gives a quick smirk.
"No. Instead, I will show you something." Maverick says as he starts walking down the hall. He has to encourage Rodney to follow him. They walk for several minutes through the arena until they end up at a wooden door. This seemed strange, considering the moderness of the arena. He opens the door, the contents of the room obscured by darkness. Maverick pushes Rodney into the room and closes the door behind him.
"I can't see anything." Rodney's voice echoes. "What's going on?"
"I want you to experience what I experience every day." Maverick says his voice cutting through the darkness. "It's here, where I can attain peace through fear. In the dark, you are naked, you are exposed, you cannot see, you cannot examine your reflection."
"My reflection...what?" Rodney asks. His footsteps echo in the darkness.
"I learned through my faith, that this is your greatest fear. That this is my greatest fear. We are all equals when the watchful eye of the void is turned on you. You could lose yourself in here, never to be heard from again."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"And you shouldn't. Because you don't believe in my message. You don't believe in my Mother Woven. Unlike us she can see in the dark. The absence of light allows her to get close. I come here to receive her strength. Through her strength and wraith I was able to defeat Allen last week."
"I don't understand..."
"Shut up and let me commune. For my Mother is speaking to us. Can you feel it? ....Can you?"
Rodney makes a shuffling sound and then lets out a small yell. "What was that?"
"She is telling me my fate for this week. Last week I triumphed over a harden warrior. An empty warrior, but a warrior nonetheless. She wants to remind me that this week I have three opponents who have done nothing, three opponents who mean nothing. Three opponents who won against a collection of nobodies and never-weres. Basically they beat people like you, Rodney."
"Can we stop this now?"
"I mean think about it Rodney, you said it yourself. Before you met me, your life had no meaning. But now you're scratching at the surface. It's why my Mother has twisted fate to bring you here right now, to experience her chill first hand. Last week, I gave Allen purpose. His purpose was to lift me up above him, as his superior. This week, three more people have the opportunity...no the pleasure to do the same."
Maverick's voice is replaced by silence, as Rodney seems unable or unwilling to respond.
"Fate has put in front of me false heroes, false icons, and false institutions. I wish to break new ground. Not under the bright lights, but the cold embrace of darkness."
Thunder is heard clapping in the distance.
"What was that?!!??" Rodney asks startled by the noise.
"That is the oncoming storm. I am the eye, descending my calm upon PURE, before unleashing fury." Maverick says, pausing for more thunder.
"Alisha, where do we begin. I know you. You may say otherwise, but I know you. You are just like everyone else. No, no, you may talk and walk like you're different, but you're insufferably common. The bright lights of PURE shine on you, and you step into them because you are a coward, afraid of what happens when no one pays attention to you. Let me let you in on a secret of fate. You don't need those lights, already no one cares for you. Your fate is for me to step on your back."
Lightning briefly illuminates Maverick's face in the darkness, making Rodney jump once again.
"But...Maverick...no cameras are rolling...I'm losing this..." Rodney trails off.
"I'm sure you can faithfully recreate this from memory." Maverick says with an air of intrusion. Rodney makes an audible sigh.
"I want to illustrate something else for you Rodney, we will use poor Dennis as an example. Poor Dennis, just a kid from a small town with big aspirations. He wants to be a big time star. That's a noble quest for someone with such humble upbringings. But here's another secret. Nobility doesn't exist in that sense. Dennis wants to achieve something in life but he is blinded by the dark cloud of his hubris. A man with no faith is a man with nothing. Dennis is standing in the ring with me by sheer luck, because my Mother Woven wanted to give me a grub to feed to the darkness. I am going to take Dennis and bury him under the rubble of his shattered will. Dennis cannot achieve anything against me, because he has no faith backing him up." The wind begins to pick up as Maverick finishes. Rodney shutters, shuffling around in the darkness again.
"This all...well sounds like nonsense." Rodney interjects.
"My message is truth! Don't you forget it! You are here to witness my powers in action. I continue to give meaning to everyone I encounter. That is more than any of my opponents can say for themselves. The Madman...sorry Chris as he ought to call himself, believes he has found meaning inside the wrestling ring. No, instead he has found a great mascarade that has made him into a jester. Chris wastes his life chasing the next big thing. He's akin to a dog chasing a car. Sure, he will catch the car, and the car will reward him by running him over. Chris, your path has been determined. You chase me because fate decides it so. And you will receive your fair and just reward, when I run you over."
Maverick begins walking around the dark again. He reaches the door and places his hand on the door handle, tapping it with his finger.
"I am the fire knocking down your hills, and reigning in the darkness from above. You all run around helplessly in Pompeii, without any warning, as eminent destruction approaches. You have a choice, you can continue to watch helplessly, or embrace my message and find that proper fate can give you a way out. The rubble, or our sins?" Maverick opens the door, shining light on Rodney who is sitting on the floor. He looks up allowing the light to bathe him. Maverick takes a step through the doorway.
"Wait for me!" Rodney says picking himself up from the floor.
"No. The time for learning is now Rodney. I must continue to spread my message. Oh...the woes you weave....the woes we wave." Maverick says as he steps through and shuts the door. In the darkness there is shuffling...followed by a growl and a yell.
"When are you at your best?" Orn walks around a seated Maverick, blindfolded in an otherwise empty room.
"When the lights shine the brightest." Maverick confidently replies. Orn walks over and smacks him upside the head.
"No. It's easy to be confident in the light. You, however, are at your best when you are surrounded in darkness. Only then will our Mother Woven comfort you." Orn sternly states.
"I don't fear the dark." Maverick states out loud. Orn's footsteps echo as he paces around Maverick.
"You should. To say that you don't fear the dark makes you a liar. Our Mother does not keep the company of liars." Orn paces around him. "What are you really afraid of? Answer carefully, She will know if you lie."
Maverick sits silently for a moment before speaking. "Being alone...and dying." Maverick hesitates.
"And having no purpose." Orn finishes for him. "The greatest fear of every man, woman, and child. Regardless of whatever faith they may profess, everyone is afraid of being meaningless. Our Mother's message is a message of meaning. She assures her followers that they all matter in the Grand Design."
"Right." Maverick says, listening for Orn to walk around him some more.
"Our Mother wishes great things for you, Maverick. She wishes for you to spread her message. To be the darkness at the end of the tunnel. In the dark everyone is the same. Naked, and afraid. There is no rich, there is no poor, there is no best, there is no worst. The dark is man's great equalizer. Everyone fears it, and everyone should fear it. Do you understand?"
[Key Arena - Seattle Washington - Present]
Maverick nods his head in agreement. "Do you understand?" The trainer asks him again. Maverick nods again, and the trainer begins unwrapping the ice pack around both his knees.
"As your physician, I'm concerned by the wear and tear you've put on your joints. You're still young, and I don't want to see you end up like many others, battling with pain and painkillers for the rest of their lives." The trainer tells Maverick.
"I'm not like anyone else. I'm better. Don't forget that." Maverick says, hopping off the exam table and heading out.
Maverick walks down the hall and stops in front a mirror. "You could have at least thanked him." his reflection interjects.
"For doing his job? His paycheck is thanks enough." Maverick tells his reflection. He turns to walk away and bumps right into Rodney Sinclair.
"Oh sorry, I thought you saw him." Maverick's reflection quips. Maverick turns to glare at himself in the mirror.
"Mr. Jones sir?" Rodney asks meekly.
"What do you want?" Maverick asks, though he keeps his eyes on his reflection, daring him to say something.
"Well....you see...well...we put the interview on our website last week EPNZ.com, and my...my bosses wanted me to come back and interview you again." Rodney says with some hesitation.
"No." Maverick says as he turns to walk away.
"But..." Rodney says grabbing Maverick on the shoulder and turning him around. Rodney then quickly throws his hands up waving them in front of him. Maverick looks at him and gives a quick smirk.
"No. Instead, I will show you something." Maverick says as he starts walking down the hall. He has to encourage Rodney to follow him. They walk for several minutes through the arena until they end up at a wooden door. This seemed strange, considering the moderness of the arena. He opens the door, the contents of the room obscured by darkness. Maverick pushes Rodney into the room and closes the door behind him.
"I can't see anything." Rodney's voice echoes. "What's going on?"
"I want you to experience what I experience every day." Maverick says his voice cutting through the darkness. "It's here, where I can attain peace through fear. In the dark, you are naked, you are exposed, you cannot see, you cannot examine your reflection."
"My reflection...what?" Rodney asks. His footsteps echo in the darkness.
"I learned through my faith, that this is your greatest fear. That this is my greatest fear. We are all equals when the watchful eye of the void is turned on you. You could lose yourself in here, never to be heard from again."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"And you shouldn't. Because you don't believe in my message. You don't believe in my Mother Woven. Unlike us she can see in the dark. The absence of light allows her to get close. I come here to receive her strength. Through her strength and wraith I was able to defeat Allen last week."
"I don't understand..."
"Shut up and let me commune. For my Mother is speaking to us. Can you feel it? ....Can you?"
Rodney makes a shuffling sound and then lets out a small yell. "What was that?"
"She is telling me my fate for this week. Last week I triumphed over a harden warrior. An empty warrior, but a warrior nonetheless. She wants to remind me that this week I have three opponents who have done nothing, three opponents who mean nothing. Three opponents who won against a collection of nobodies and never-weres. Basically they beat people like you, Rodney."
"Can we stop this now?"
"I mean think about it Rodney, you said it yourself. Before you met me, your life had no meaning. But now you're scratching at the surface. It's why my Mother has twisted fate to bring you here right now, to experience her chill first hand. Last week, I gave Allen purpose. His purpose was to lift me up above him, as his superior. This week, three more people have the opportunity...no the pleasure to do the same."
Maverick's voice is replaced by silence, as Rodney seems unable or unwilling to respond.
"Fate has put in front of me false heroes, false icons, and false institutions. I wish to break new ground. Not under the bright lights, but the cold embrace of darkness."
Thunder is heard clapping in the distance.
"What was that?!!??" Rodney asks startled by the noise.
"That is the oncoming storm. I am the eye, descending my calm upon PURE, before unleashing fury." Maverick says, pausing for more thunder.
"Alisha, where do we begin. I know you. You may say otherwise, but I know you. You are just like everyone else. No, no, you may talk and walk like you're different, but you're insufferably common. The bright lights of PURE shine on you, and you step into them because you are a coward, afraid of what happens when no one pays attention to you. Let me let you in on a secret of fate. You don't need those lights, already no one cares for you. Your fate is for me to step on your back."
Lightning briefly illuminates Maverick's face in the darkness, making Rodney jump once again.
"But...Maverick...no cameras are rolling...I'm losing this..." Rodney trails off.
"I'm sure you can faithfully recreate this from memory." Maverick says with an air of intrusion. Rodney makes an audible sigh.
"I want to illustrate something else for you Rodney, we will use poor Dennis as an example. Poor Dennis, just a kid from a small town with big aspirations. He wants to be a big time star. That's a noble quest for someone with such humble upbringings. But here's another secret. Nobility doesn't exist in that sense. Dennis wants to achieve something in life but he is blinded by the dark cloud of his hubris. A man with no faith is a man with nothing. Dennis is standing in the ring with me by sheer luck, because my Mother Woven wanted to give me a grub to feed to the darkness. I am going to take Dennis and bury him under the rubble of his shattered will. Dennis cannot achieve anything against me, because he has no faith backing him up." The wind begins to pick up as Maverick finishes. Rodney shutters, shuffling around in the darkness again.
"This all...well sounds like nonsense." Rodney interjects.
"My message is truth! Don't you forget it! You are here to witness my powers in action. I continue to give meaning to everyone I encounter. That is more than any of my opponents can say for themselves. The Madman...sorry Chris as he ought to call himself, believes he has found meaning inside the wrestling ring. No, instead he has found a great mascarade that has made him into a jester. Chris wastes his life chasing the next big thing. He's akin to a dog chasing a car. Sure, he will catch the car, and the car will reward him by running him over. Chris, your path has been determined. You chase me because fate decides it so. And you will receive your fair and just reward, when I run you over."
Maverick begins walking around the dark again. He reaches the door and places his hand on the door handle, tapping it with his finger.
"I am the fire knocking down your hills, and reigning in the darkness from above. You all run around helplessly in Pompeii, without any warning, as eminent destruction approaches. You have a choice, you can continue to watch helplessly, or embrace my message and find that proper fate can give you a way out. The rubble, or our sins?" Maverick opens the door, shining light on Rodney who is sitting on the floor. He looks up allowing the light to bathe him. Maverick takes a step through the doorway.
"Wait for me!" Rodney says picking himself up from the floor.
"No. The time for learning is now Rodney. I must continue to spread my message. Oh...the woes you weave....the woes we wave." Maverick says as he steps through and shuts the door. In the darkness there is shuffling...followed by a growl and a yell.
