Cabal Contact

[narrativedilettante]

Dear Morgana,

Thank you for providing us this means to contact you. I very much hope that we'll be able to calmly and rationally discuss our differences and our common goals. Though I don't hold out hope that it will be possible to arrive at a solution that is satisfactory to everyone, I still wish to have as open and honest a dialog as we can. If we do arrive at a solution that everyone is happy with, I will be shocked and ecstatic.

In the interests of complete honesty and openness, I'll inform you that I'm known to the metaguards as narrativedilettante. This is the name I used to address you in the chatroom on Saturday. If you read through my posts on the forum, you will find that I've said some things indicative of being set against your cause. I won't hide that right now I consider the safest option to be sending all fictionals home. (Though I have also made it clear that I would gladly give all of you the exact stories you desire, regardless of my personal feelings about what any one of you might deserve.)

However, I have also been critical of Mr. Administrator, and I don't fully trust him. Nor do I fully trust you, but I figure I must give you an equal chance. I will gladly listen to your arguments, though I make no promises about what my decisions will be. All I can promise right now is a sympathetic ear.

Now I'd like to address the plan you suggested, of gathering the wall pieces and sealing the wall, with you and the other fictionals who wish to stay remaining on this side. I'm concerned about this plan, and I think you can understand why. If your presence here turns out to have damaging effects on the world, I would want to be able to send you home, which would save not just me but also you, as a catastrophe would put you in danger too. In the chat, you suggested that we may be able to reopen the wall if such an event were to come about. However, from what I can tell, no one knows how the wall was cracked or how one might go about opening it again. Until I know how to open the wall, I don't want to seal it with even a single fictional on this side. It just seems too dangerous. So what would need to happen for me to support you is that someone needs to figure out how the wall was damaged. If we have that information, we can replicate the initial event if needed.

I trust that we'll be able to engage in productive discourse.

--Robynne

I got a quick response from her just letting me know she'd got my email, and I sent a courtesy reply before getting her full response:

Dearest Robynne,
(what a lovely name)

I find it difficult to believe that the Administrator, in his infiniteness, has not researched how the wall was broken or how it would be possible to break it again. He could literally assign an infinite number of instantiations to work on that problem and still have an infinite number left.

I wish I could provide you with an answer that was concrete, but I am just one woman. The Cabal is only four. And, as I am sure you and yours have realized and been frustrated by, we are human. All I can do is point you toward a being who likely has those answers, has likely had them for awhile, and will likely not give them up for whatever reason. I leave you to draw your own conclusions there. I trust that you have seen the conclusions I myself have drawn.

Morgan

[Tohrinha]

Continuing from my previous posts,

Dearest Tohrinha,

I have been in many stories over the centuries. Many of them are revised, or new ones written, or old ones touched up. I have lived through various versions of the same events because of this. I probably couldn't tell you who my real parents are because of how many various interpretations have been written.

So I am unsure as to what you mean when you say a window, because I believe you all live linearly. You do not revisit events except in your memories, or perhaps in a video. I have lived through my defeats dozens of times.

I believe that, by living linearly and by being allowed to learn from my mistakes, I am on my way to becoming a better person in this reality.

If I go back, this will become one of many Morgan Le Fey stories. I do not know what knowledge I will retain or what will remain canonically intact. I will be forced to live through future variations of my various defeats.

Morgan

Morgan,

A clarification, please: You state that you have lived through your defeats repeatedly, as well as variations. Could you more fully explain this? What sort of timestream did you exist in? Did you exist in all adaptations of your story? When do you live through your story? From your perspective, do you loop through the timeline? or can you live through the same story more than once at the same time? or multiple stories?

Reading back over my email, it seems I leave you with a plethora of questions; this topic has piqued my interest. Beyond individual curiosity, your responses may help us refine our theories and perhaps improve our refictionalization methods. And once I receive your response, I may address some of your other concerns.

Respectfully,

Tohrinha Dasteme

Further contact from me will have to wait until morning.

[WackyMeetsPractical]

I do prefer Morgan, thank you for asking. I am glad that you have come to view us as fellow human beings, as that is all we desire to be. Leaving our stories behind and becoming fully three dimensional has been admittedly difficult, and the transition has been rocky for many of us.

I am not entirely certain of the crimes that have been committed individually, and I am not certain that the people involved will confess to them. I do not wish to reveal what our plans are for Joan, as they may not work out. Suffice to say that it would help more than just her. We will likely never give her an open apology, as that does not appear to be what she needs - she seems better off believing that her patient was not fictional and an apology would include too messy an explanation to be effective. I am not certain what our plan is regarding Joe, though I suppose I would be open to suggestions.

The wall pieces are not harmful to fictionals as far as I am aware. Anything I have to say about the nature of Holmes' illness would be mere conjecture, I am sorry to say.

I do believe we can all be happy, but I no longer believe in terms like "the end." The end is something that only comes in stories. In this world, things keep moving and changing, and I hope to move and change for the better along with the rest of this world.

Morgan

[OneSteve]

hey, so, I emailed Morgan also, and got a reply. didn't tell me much, but here it is:

Dear... Morgana, I guess?

I've mostly been a lurker on the WTF forums until now, but I guess now's the time for me to take the leap. I never really was convinced by the Mr. A guy-- he seems pretty shifty. Never seemed to be telling us everything.

So what I'm saying is, while I'm reserving judgement on trust for now, I'm inclined to side with you guys. And I'm wondering... what's the next step? Would you be able to give me (and I guess the others who are interested, like me) some more info?

Thanks,
Steve E.
(on the forums as OneSteve)

and her reply:

Hello Steve,



I am gladdened that you have contacted us. We hope, unlike the Tyrant, to be as open as possible with those who care to try to start a discourse with us. However, as far as information goes, I am not sure what specifically you would like to know, so I will start with the basics:



Our current objective is the secure the four Wall Pieces that the Tyrant has hidden away – with them, we can seal the wall, securing both our presence in this world and the stability of your reality. We believe the key to finding these Wall Pieces – which are physical objects in this world – begins at the locations where they used to be located, the places where comics containing the Tyrant’s image were seen – King’s Cross Station, the Majestic Theater, the Pratt Library, and the Palace of the Arts park. Check in Layar, our suspicions are that his agents left notes for their employer containing hints as to their new location.



We currently lack the ability to investigate ourselves… our resources are limited. But if you were interested in looking into the matter – or finding others who would – we would be more than pleased.



Sincerely,

Morgan

Oh, and something she said in one of her emails to someone else about the email addresses gave me an idea, so I played around a little with some stuff, and I give you: the Phantom's email-- erik@pheeble.net -- and don Juan's email-- juan@pheeble.net

...now back to lurking...

[Qara-Xuan Zenith]

Edit (sorry about the placeholder) :

As some of you know, I've been hoping for a line to Erik for quite a while. So-- thanks a bundle, Steve! (And keep posting! Don't just lurk!)

So this is what I wrote to Erik (I'm assuming this thread is fair game for messages with Erik and Juan too, now, since we have their emails) :

Cher Erik (ou preferez-vous M. Leroux?),

Je ne vous connais pas personnellement, mais j'ai lu un peu sur vous, et je crois que vous avez lu sur moi.

And while we may not be friends, I have reason to be concerned that I, a total stranger, am more of une vraie amie than the so-called 'friends' you have fallen into company with.

Erik, from what I have read, you appreciate that this world does not call you a monster based on mere physical disfigurement-- no more should it. Mais quand vous conspirez et falsifiez des preuves pour emprisonner une homme qui est innocent, cette monde vous voit comme une monstre-- et avec de juste cause.

Si vous voulons demeurer ici, ces actions ne sont pas acceptables-- ni sont des personnes qui vous encouragent a les faire.

Je suis, comme toujours, ton amie, en toute honnêteté,
Qara-Xuan

Translation for those of you who, unlike both me and Erik, don't speak French:

Dear Erik (Or do you prefer Mr. Leroux?),

I don't know you personally, but I've read a bit about you, and I believe that you have read about me.

And while we may not be friends, I have reason to be concerned that I, a total stranger, am more of une vraie amie than the so-called 'friends' you have fallen into company with.

Erik, from what I have read, you appreciate that this world does not call you a monster based on mere physical disfigurement-- no more should it. But when you conspire and falsify evidence in order to imprison an innocent man, this world sees you as a monster-- and rightly so.

If you wish to remain here, these actions are not acceptable-- and neither are the people who encourage you to commit them.

I am, as always, your friend, in total honesty,
Qara-Xuan

(note that I used the formal/respectful 'vous' form of you rather than the informal singular 'tu')

[Guyshane]

Right here is what i sent her:
Hello Morgan,
Thank you for finally coming forward and contacting us in an amiable fashion. I wish you had done that when we first found out about you but that is neither here nor there. In any case there is something I am curious about: what are the capabilities of the wall piece that you and your compatriots have in your possession? Can it do anything on its own? If so, what? Also I would like to say that I hope we can resolve this situation in away that makes everyone happy
Sincerely,
Guyshane

[WackyMeetsPractical]

In response to the above, I sent this:

Thanks for the response. We were all pretty concerned about the wall pieces effects on fictionals, and it's been confusing us that you all have been able to get near it without it doing what it supposedly had done for Holmes'. It's good to know that the wall pieces don't seem to hurt you, though we are still confused as to what had been happening to Holmes. We would really like to figure this out. Hopefully, you do too. You must not feel very comfortable knowing that there's this mysterious force that could hurt fictionals, and potentially kill them, that you can not identify or explain. If you have any theories, we'd love to hear them. Maybe among the many of us, we can figure out what is behind it.

As for Joan's plan, I can understand you wanting to keep that a secret. I do not expect you to reveal everything. Everyone's entitled to their privacy. I do sincerely hope that your plan works, and that it does benefit these people as you say.

However, I must say I am very disappointed in you and all the Cabal members. You say you no longer wish to be villains. You say you do not wish to harm anyone. You say you want to live like a normal human being. Yet when I ask you how you intend to make amends with Joe, you draw a blank. Seriously? You had months to figure this out. Between the four of you, have none of you seriously gave this any thought? Was there any discussion? Of course not, because you all only cared about your own selves.

The thing that gets me, is that even if I could understand your reasons for sending Joe those letters and threatening him off, there is no way I can understand your reasons for not tending to the matter now. You wanted to scare Joe off away from revealing more videos and from telling others about the fictionals. Your plan failed. We all know. And now there is no reason to want to scare Joe away anymore. What could you possibly have to gain from having Joe continue to run, moving from place to place just to feel secure? The easiest solution, the least you could possibly do, was to contact Joe again and tell him that he was never in any real danger. You could've told him at any time that the threats were just idle and that you were desperate and scared. You could tell him that right now. You could all have assured Joe that no harm would befall him. And yet, you guys did nothing. And don't tell me you couldn't have. Erik managed to send Joe an e-mail, and it seems you have the ability to hack his site, you could've sent a message that way. I mean, there are many ways that could've been done, yet you took advantage of none of your resources. Frankly, it disgusts me.

This right here convinces me that you have not truly changed. Sure, you no longer kill, and you may have changed to some extent. But you still lack basic human empathy. That small part of your brain that tells you that you did something wrong and nags at you until you can figure out a way to make it right. You shouldn't have me or any of the ideas give you suggestions as to how to fix things up with Joe. You should've been able to figure something out yourself. You should've had this settled weeks ago. If I, or any of the metaguards, gave you any advice now as to how to make amends with Joe, and you follow it all to the letter, and you manage to make Joe feel secure and happy and even have him forgive you and join your side, all you would really prove is that you would do anything to get us to trust you and thus ensure that you stay here, and thus revealing to us that you have not truly changed. You're still the heartless villain that you were written to be.

I gave you one chance to sway me to join your side, and frankly, you blew it. In fact, I am now more firmly against you then I was when I sent my first letter.

Don't get me wrong. I want to like you. I do. I want to believe that you can still change. Maybe you just have an uphill battle to fight. As you said, the transition can be rocky. It's not easy to change. But if you want to win me over, or any of the metaguards over, you have to do a little better to convince us that you truly want to change.

I'll try my best to contact Joe, if you would like, since no one would know better what would satisfy Joe then Joe himself. And I'll try to get the metaguards to come up with an even better solution for him. But I've already given you the least you could do for him, and I suggest you waste no time putting that into effect. I'm pretty sure Joe and all the metaguards will agree with me on that. And until that happens, it's going to be near impossible to get any of us to side with you completely.

I've got to tell you, this is perhaps the most passionate e-mail I've ever written. And I almost sent it after calling her out for still being a villain. But after some consideration, I realized that that may have closed off any further contact between her and I, and maybe even change her mood towards communicating with any of us. So I continued. Hopefully that fixes things.

[Pixelmage]

Second Exchange from me, I could've posted it earlier, but got distracted by the chatroom.

Dear Morgan

I am grateful for your reply. It is surprising to me that technology and computers would be a field of interest for one coming from an age where those didn't exist. I am, of course, positively surprised by it, as it has the clear meaning that you are in fact changing and adapting to the life on this side of the wall.

Also I do believe it impolite of me to not share some of my story with you now that you have openly told me of yours. In a general sense, I'm just [PERSONAL INFORMATION] interest on graphical works too. Perhaps in the future we might have a chance to exchange emails on the subject, but I assume that now is not the best time.

As a Metaguard, I'm limited to online interactions, in that sense most of my contributions are in regards to managing information and working on solving riddles. I am also keeping a soundrack, an amateur playlist would be more accurate, of songs we enjoy. I'd like to take this chance to invite you and your compatriots to submit songs to me if you wish to do so, all you need to do is tell me through here which songs you enjoy and I will add them under your name. In case you did not get the chance to explore this world's music yet, then perhaps listening to our lists could be a reasonable gateway to this particular medium.

Here, viewtopic.php?f=8&t=181 as I know you can access the forums, that's the thread we use to keep track of our playlists. The first post should have the most up to date links and information.

I too would like to stablish that I'm open to questions you might want to ask, be they about the developments in the forums or about me in particular, should you want to ask anything I am willing to respond.

I look forward to future discussions, and await for your opinion on the topic of music.

~Pixelmage

Reply:

Dearest [NAME],

I came to magic in my own world because all of a sudden, things were possible that had never before been imaginable. I feel that your technology is analogous. I wish to embrace it as I embraced magic.

Though I may be forward thinking as far as technology is concerned, I am afraid that my feelings toward your music are different. I do not find most of the sounds your musicians make pleasing to my ear. Your songs are all very jarring to me. Apologies if I have offended.

Thank you for sharing your own story with me. I will ask questions that I or my companions have in the future.

Morgan

I'm sad that she does not enjoy our music.
And Steve. I'd love to have a PM talk with you about posting these emails directly yourself. I'll not go meta here though.

[H22]

The first email ( I think) to Don Juan:


Dear Juan,
If I might say, you have been one of the quieter members of the Cabal. I understand you are getting married, and I must extend my heartfelt congratulation. We wish for further enunciation of your personal views on the 4th Wall, por favore. We also believe that it is counter-productive for both of us to molest the detectives, fellow fictites. The consequences of doing so may give this Mr. Administrator reason to distrust you, and that would be potentially disastrous for your peaceful  mission. I believe that you have a just case, but interfering with them would harden some opinions against you.

Apologies for the brevity and confusion of this message, but I have little time.

Yours sincerely,
[My real name]

[Scarab]

I'm sad that she does not enjoy our music.

Hm, you know, I'm tempted to link her to some Within Temptation. Some of their acoustic work, maybe? Perhaps she'd find that more appealing.

[Sicon112]

Well, I have just had an amusing and rather long conversation with Morgan on a rather wide variety of subjects. Here is my e-mail, her response, and my just now sent reply to that.

Dear Morgan,

I was dreadfully upset that I missed your little excursion to our chatbox. This is a more inconvenient form of address than I would really like, but I suppose I shall deal with it. First thing is first, as you can tell from the subject, this is Sicon112 speaking. Do not bother trying to use any name associated with this account. It is a spare address under a false name. No need to give away more information than I require, now is there?

On to business. Surprisingly, I do not have a whole lot to say. As you may have noticed, I was already considering the idea that the wall fragments or some related setup involving the holes were reacting with the characters to cause echoes. I have never been trusting of Mr. Administrator either, and have openly admitted that, but I am also not at all swayed by your claims that he is untrustworthy. I know he is, but the logic he uses is sound, so I can interact with him without any issues. I, of course, do not trust you either. This should be obvious. You have given me little reason to trust you, after all. Seeing as you have openly and understandably admitted that you are going to do what you have to do, whether or not you are being sincere ceases to matter. If you are not, it is obviously a bad idea to trust you, if you are, you are still determined and desperate enough to be a danger. Therefore, while I do not intend to offend you with it, I shall consider everything you say with a fair amount of distrust.

This does not mean I do not want information. I am quite willing to hear whatever you have to say, especially on the subject of your effect, or lack thereof on this world. I believe it should be much simpler for you to restate your proposed explanation for events here, rather than in a chaotic chat room, and you might be able to include more detailed arguments. Another important question I have to ask is whether you have even considered that you may indeed be causing direct damage to reality. Given the model and the small amount of evidence, it is indeed a valid possibility, and therefore is worthy of consideration, just as your proposal is. In essence, what makes you think that it is impossible? I wish to have you do more than merely present an alternate view, and then place ad hominem attacks upon your opposition. Do not bother with the tyrant stuff, that will not affect me in the slightest, only lower my opinion of you. I would like logic, please. I am also interested in your talk of being 'fleshed out'. Assuming I understand you right, I have already come up with multiple theories as to why it could be happening I am curious to know yours.

I believe that should be enough for now. I hope you enjoy the wall of text, Morgan.

~Sicon

Dearest K,

I have enjoyed this wall of text as much as I have enjoyed every wall of text everyone has emailed to me. I dislike all of them the same. Perhaps I need reading glasses. I appreciate the sarcastic sentiment, though. Really I do.

I wonder why, when you do not trust me with your information, you expect me to trust you with mine? I'll discount this as we both already know a great deal about one another. I hope you and your brother are able to take that trip from Nebraska to Kansas this weekend. I hear it will be chilly.

As I have stated, I would like for you to follow the Administrator's likeness in the comic to the wall pieces, as we did. I believe there will be letters from the Agents that will lead you to them. I would like the wall sealed with us on this side. I have stated that I do not mind if other characters - ones who wish to return - are sent back.

I do not think it is impossible. I believe that you are not interpreting the data correctly. If you look at what is happening - really look - then you will see that the greatest threat that your Administrator has shown you are all from the wall being broken. Medusa and Anansi forcing their way into this world would have been disastrous, as I am sure you would agree. A monster like a dragon, an Other (Song of Ice and Fire, not Lost), Cthulhu, or Baphomet would be worse. The worst that has happened because of the fictionals' presence, as far as the universe is concerned? There are some echoes. The threat here seems to be coming from the fact that the wall is wide open for attack. Do you believe that your Metaguards would stand a chance against monsters like that?

If I am causing direct damage to reality, I don't see it. If you can give me proof that we are damaging reality rather than merely affecting it, then we can speak again about this.

I don't very much about the fleshing out. Perhaps it is just that, in this world, I feel more like I am not confined to a set of options predetermined for me. I was written to lose, so no matter what strategic advantage I may have had in any battle, I would lose. My character is constantly in flux, due to various authors and retellings and connections with goddesses and characters who may or may not also be me. My origin is not exactly known. The only thing my Wikipedia page says is the first time I was written. That's why sometimes I am one of nine sisters, sometimes I am Arthur's sister, sometimes I am immortal, sometimes I am an actual fairy. It is constantly changing, ever morphing.

This is the first place I have felt any consistency. This is the first time I have ever felt like I knew, yes, this is who I am. I am fleshed out in this world because here, I have one story. One life. At least, that is my theory.

Because I have seen your post in the forums, I know you think this inconsistent with your view of how reality works. I cannot say why it works this way for me, or for the other members of the Cabal. I can say that, if everyone remembered their time over on the other side of the wall as I do, not as many of them would be as willing to return. More of them - not all (Pan and Cinderella had fairly happy endings) - would have joined with us. Perhaps some of them do, though. Or did. I am not sure.

How humorous. You now have more to read than I did.

Morgan

Dear Morgan,

If sarcasm is what you appreciate, then sarcasm I shall provide, wherever appropriate. It happens to be a talent of mine. I'm so glad to find someone who can take it.

Now, you ask me why when I do not trust you, I expect you to give me information. Simple. You, at the moment, hold nothing that I truly desire. That is not to say that this gains me nothing; indeed, my work is made much easier with your aid. However, I do not require it. Should you be non-compliant and refuse to answer my questions, you lose any hope of gaining my trust, or, at least, my cooperation. After all, if you can get the most prolific posters among our ranks on your side, the bulk of our group shall follow, and you may very well fulfill your wish to remain. Furthermore, a refusal to supply answers would be pitifully easy for me to paint in the worst possible light for you, and in that way cause a negative reaction. I have nothing to gain by trusting you with more information that I cannot reach on my own, and you have much to lose by not doing so for me. I do not find my requests overly demanding, however. This information I request is, if you are sincere, data that will benefit you upon being revealed. In the end, it is in both of our best interests to cooperate.

As for the chilliness, you can hardly call winter around here 'cold'. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I meant, by my query on the topic of your theories, for you to tell me exactly what you think is happening. Do you suspect that the holes in the wall are interacting with characters, in a way that is perhaps related to the leakage of tropes? Is it that you think the wall fragments in this world are causing echoes, and if so, how do you account for the echoes that are, by my understanding, unrelated to a wall piece? In other words, if that is the case, why are there echoes other than the ones with Mr. Administrator's face on them? On a related subject, but one I did not touch upon during my last message, could you confirm which echo containing Mr. A's face does not need revisiting, seeing as you have already collected the fragment there? I suspect that it is the one in San Fransisco from when you first arrived here, but it is always good to know for sure. Unless, that is, you wish us to visit this echo anyway. Do you believe there will be another message there too?

I admit that indeed, the possibility of further invasions, this time by more powerful characters, is a monumental threat. Perhaps we can hold them back for a time, should we further increase the Metaguards in number and use their abilities correctly, but in the end, assuming the situation remains stable as it currently is, they will begin to get through. This is exactly why we do not have a large amount of time for experimentation and data collection, and why we must rely mainly on theories. I think that you are, intentionally or otherwise, dodging my question here. You read my posts, and you know I realize that the chances of the characters causing a catastrophe may be very low indeed, however the data at this time does not allow me to discount the possibility within a reasonable margin of error. That is why I have stated that it may be necessary to send you back; it is not our place to gamble the lives of everyone ever, even on favorable odds. Still, you seem to disdain the possibility and pass on over it. I wanted to know if there is something you are aware of that I and the others are not. If so, it is obviously advantageous to you to reveal it.

There are other possibilities for what is going on, and I really do hope we can prove them. However, it is wise to consider a situation from every angle. I am attempting to view this from both your position and Mr. Administrator's. I will attempt to prove and disprove both sides with what data I have, and act on the results accordingly. While I'm sure there are some people who do otherwise, I do not usually find it expedient to discount an argument out of hand, and then point off to one side saying "Oh, look! Disaster! Be afraid!", at least, not in a situation like this.

Your statements on the subject of your own growth in this world are far informative. However, I wish to know when, approximately, this effect began to occur. Was there a trigger event of some kind that you can link to it? Because, from what I could see in your echo, you appeared with as little explanation of your travel here as any other of your kind. Also, has a similar experience been appearing in your companions? That would be interesting, especially considering that one of the people that remade Juan was Erik himself. Is there any special situation created by that, or would the effect of Erik's little play be translated over to a Juan on the second level? I can see a lot of data for my model coming out of a potential answer to that question. If you cannot explain it yourself, perhaps you could ask the people in question. That would help greatly.

Finally, I wish to bring up a new line of conversation. The wall piece you possess. Could you describe it, what its effects are, and any change that occurred as you removed it from its protection? By now, you are aware of A's statement that the wall pieces fix themselves at once upon removal from the measures he has set up. Were you aware of this before, did you realize it when you removed the piece, or is this new to you?

And yes, I did indeed have more to read than you. Until now, of course. However, that was exactly as I wished it, in the end. As far as I'm concerned, the more you write, the better it is for me. The more information I possess, the more likely it becomes that I can find the correct path. Still, you should probably not expect to top me in message size for very long. My brother is one of the few able to pull it off. This has been quite amusing and helpful, though, so I would like to continue for as long as it remains so. Thank you for your open response to my message and to the other ones you have gotten.

~Sicon

P.S. Really, I don't even have a K in my name. You should just call me Sicon and accept it.

Well, this is really helpful for modelling purposes. Also, on the subject of the whole "fleshing out" thing, I am not yet convinced as to exactly what it is. Lying is always a possibility, but I think that it could also be some sort of delusion/psychological affect induced by the situation with the fourth wall. It still seems likely that when inside fiction, fictionals do not notice anything off and exist normally, due to the way everyone else acts. No offense Morgan. Perhaps the answers to my most recent questions will help convince me.

[narrativedilettante]

Proceeding from my last exchange with Morgan:

Dear Morgan,

I agree with you that it is unthinkable for the Administrator to have not begun research into the event that caused the wall to break. He may even know the answer, but have chosen not to share it with us, for reasons benign or malevolent. As my fellow metaguards and I have determined, clear communication does not seem easy for our Administrator, though I am not sure whether this is by design or simply his nature. If he does possess this information, and has chosen not to share it with us, I don't know how we'd go about getting it out of him. I will try to discover what he knows, but he is notoriously good at dodging questions, often providing "Mathematician's Answers," wherein he technically answers the question asked, but does not address the reason behind the question. Therefore, information possessed by Mr. Administrator may be, in practical terms, unavailable to us. Do you know of any way to glean information from him?

I'll note here that I've posted my correspondence with you to the Watch the Footage forum, as have others. I trust you know of this practice and accept it, particularly since I've heard from one metaguard that you requested a private correspondence with her. I just want to be extra clear that, unless otherwise noted, my email conversations with you will be made public.

I have a new question for you regarding Pan's trial. Another metaguard has informed us, based on correspondence with you, that the prosecutor you hired is no longer under your control. I'm interested in keeping Pan out of jail. The hurricane that he almost ran into has gone, so I hope you will have no objection to setting him free. So, in the interests of helping Pan, can you provide us any information about the prosecutor? We know almost nothing about him, and I feel that if we could learn more about the prosecutor we stand a better chance of helping Pan. This wouldn't directly benefit you, but I would be more inclined to help you and your friends if you were to cooperate in helping Pan go free.

I think that's enough for now.

Sincerely,

Robynne

Dearest Robynne,

When I speak of the Administrator, I speak of Prime specifically. The instantiations all report to him, but not necessarily to one another. Therefore, I do not know of a good way to glean information from the instantiations. I doubt Prime has the time to go on Twitter, nor would he answer any less enigmatically.

I am aware of this thread's existence, and expect that these emails will be shared unless I ask otherwise. I thank you for your openness.

I do not know very much about the prosecutor. We have never met in person. We hired him based on his record - he came highly recommended to us. I will ask the others if they know more, or can find out more, in the morning.

Morgan

Dear Morgan,

I understand. For the meantime, I will treat information presumably held by Prime to be unattainable. I will continue my correspondence with the instantiations and see what more I can learn.

Thank you for looking into the prosecutor. He seems a mysterious figure, and any information about him at all would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Robynne

[Qara-Xuan Zenith]

So I just emailed Don Juan, in order to progress my plans.

My message to him:

Querido Don Juan,

You don't know me personally, though I've read a little about you, and I have reason to believe that you have read some of what I have said.
Aunque no nos conocemos la una al otro, yo creo que tenemos muchos similitudes.

No sé si has leiste lo que ha escribe Romeo en su blog sobre el amor, o lo que yo he comentado allá-- en resumen, tanto Romeo como yo sentimos que nosotros preferimos que el objeto del amor es seguro y feliz, antes de neustra propia felicidad. Yo creo que Usted, un hombre romántico, va a sentir lo mismo.

Si yo estuviera en su posición, tenía miedo para la seguridad de mi novia. You have illegally uttered threats to both Average Joe and Joan Lawson, and have recently been involved in illegally falsifying court evidence in order to wrongfully imprison an innocent young man. Cuando la policía investigaré esos crimenes, su novia sera la primera sospechosa como una cómplice.

Entonces, para su seguridad y felicidad, yo recomendo a renunciar esos crimenes, y a distanciarse usted mismo de los personas quienes os han incitado a los perpetrar.

Yo estoy, como todavía, su amiga, con felicitaciones por Usted y su novia,
Qara-Xuan

PS Yo pido perdon para mi gramática mala; yo prefiero, cuando puedo, a hablar en la primera lengua de mi conversador, pero sólo estudié el español para tres años, y yo sé que ese no es suficiente.

And a translation from the Spanish:

Dear Don Juan,

You don't know me personally, though I've read a little about you, and I have reason to believe that you have read some of what I have said.
Although we don't know one another, I believe that we have many similarities.

I don't know if you have read what Romeo has written on his blog about love, or what I have commented there-- in brief, both Romeo and I feel that we prefer that the object of our affections be safe and happy, before our own happiness. I believe that you, a romantic man, may feel the same way.

Were I in your position, I would be afraid for the safely of my fiancée. You have illegally uttered threats to both Average Joe and Joan Lawson, and have recently been involved in illegally falsifying court evidence in order to wrongfully imprison an innocent young man. When the police investigate these crimes, your fiancée will be the first suspect as an accomplice.

Therefore, for her security and happiness, I recommend you renounce those crimes, and distance yourself from those people who have incited you to commit them.

I am, as always, your friend, with congratulations for you and your fiancée,
Qara-Xuan

PS I apologize for my poor grammar; I prefer, when possible, to speak to my conversationalists in their first language, but I have only studied Spanish for three years, and I know that that is not sufficient.

[Dryunya]

I've finally browsed through Cabal's chat, threads and all that. My email goes exactly as you'd expect from me.

Hello, ma'am. You wanted to talk, and here I am. I don't think it's necessary for me to introduce myself, you can find be on the forums by the hate emanating from my later posts.

I'll now go and get your chatlog, so that I can deconstruct it bit by bit.

1. You say that our biggest problem is leaving the wall open.
Agreed.

2. You say that Mr. A's requirements to send all of you back are invalid, and the metaverse is safe.
And what do you have to back YOUR claims with? I don't trust Mr. A completely, but he operates on logic, and we had seen _some_ proof that you are influencing the reality. The echoes, the tropes, the plot devices. Wicked Witch has taken a goddamn Personal Rain Cloud with her. That's enough for me to know that something is wrong. Even if you don't threaten reality but your very existence, I can't take the risk - Mr. A can't provide any more proof, and neither can you. If we are wrong in our choice, EVERYONE dies. Or ceases to exist. With elephants. Which is why I will see that everyone is sent back. If you know something we don't, now is the time to tell us. So far, you're just telling me to disregard that the rules of physics are being broken.

3. You say that we are as manipulative and lying as you are.
Don't even.
DON'T EVEN.
I'll speak for myself, as I can't say for the others: My intention was to steer the characters towards cooperation, revealing as much information as they are able to handle. Exposing one as a fictional character is not something to be taken lightly. As far as I know, Quixote is still ignorant, and I hope it stays this way - I fear he may not handle the shock, now that he has a serious heart condition.
I've been following that course as long as I've been interacting with the characters until I've stepped aside, as my comrades' course matched my own.


You know what? Screw this. I'll let you stay, reality be damned.

On one condition: YOU TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY.

1. You take responsibility for threatening Joe.
For making him run away in fear, and not making a single step to settle things up. I know you've been reading my response to Erik's letter, and you know I told you to do that. It was a sensible step, and you haven't taken it. YOU HAVEN'T EVEN _APOLOGIZED_ TO THE MAN WHO YOU THREATENED.

2. You take responsibility for murders of Les Okogwu and Pieter Verhaeren.
Whoever of you did that. We all know who, though. Pieter Verhaeren was killed by James Moriarty. We have the evidence. Proving his involvement in Okogwu's murder is only a matter of time.

3. You take responsibility for threatening Dr. Lawson.
I didn't have an opportunity to examine most of your GODDAMN HUNDREDS of threats to Joe, but we heard your threats to Joan. YOU THREATENED HER LIFE. "We threatened her legally", you say?
...I don't think I can stress that enough.
Legal. Death. Threats.
ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!?

4. You take responsibility for framing Peter Pan. You Magnificent Bastard, we've read your log. I am ready to accept that you alerted the cops to his presence because you feared for his life, when he was walking right into the hurricane, and they identified him as the wanted man. Ok. And then you _tampered with the evidence_ and made him look like a molester because... Because what? You feared for his life, too?


In case I haven't made myself clear yet: You are CRIMINALS. What you did were CRIMES, performed by a group of individuals. What you did to Pan is what made me pick my side.

I WILL make sure you'll get what you deserve in our refics. The best you can do now is hope we don't pepper your Happy Ending with Fridge Horror.
If you manage to stay here, I'll make sure you'll enjoy your free will to its fullest. Don you know the thing about the free will? Your actions have responsibilities. You have done enough to get your asses behind bars, and if I fail as a Metaguard, I'll make sure you end up there, even if it will be the last thing I do. Better start looking for mitigating circumstances. "I wasn't fleshed out enough" won't stand in court.

I gave you the chance to reconcile with everyone. You blew it. You have no one to blame but yourself.

You wanted to talk, but the problem is that I don't really want to talk anymore. I've seen enough. Go ahead and oppose me. I know how it's going to end. I'm Meta and I know how to use it.



Hope you die in a fire,
~D

P. S. By all means write me back. ^__^

Response:

Dearest D,

Thank you for sharing a recap of your posts in the forum. It was just redundant enough that I almost enjoyed it.

I can see that you, like a handful of your other Metaguards, will never be convinced. I have said that I am trying to make amends for the things we have done. I must read things through more carefully than you do on the forums.

But again. Thank you for your numbered lists. I will not be in further contact with you.

Morgan

Just about what I'd expect.

(And don't you dare! I've read everything there is. You had all the time in the world to make amends. Also, you smell bad.)

[S_o_S]

So I took half an hour from my essay and wrote this:

Dear Morgan,

I am known as S_o_S on the forums. I'm glad I finally have the opportunity to do this, as I unfortunately missed your session in our chatroom by mere moments. How frustrating. I have a tendency to miss all the important things. I also appreciate that you must be absolutely flooded with emails at the moment, so I will try to keep this as brief as I can - though it will not be very brief at all.

My reason for writing to you is to lay out my position on this entire situation, but I also want to hear your side, especially on matters related to Peter Pan, as I will discuss below. I stand with the likes of Qara and Sicon on the side of Mr. Administrator. If there is any risk at all that our reality will collapse because of fictional presence in our world, I see no option but to return you. I apologise for that, but perhaps unlike some of my comrades, I wish to take a more moderate stance on this issue. Do I intend to return you to a world in which you rule England? Ultimately, no. But I do wish to at the very least give you and your comrades happier lives, especially should you co-operate with us. I wouldn't see you all in chains. Of course immoral, and illegal acts have been committed by both sides, notably murder and phone-hacking. But I for one am willing to move past them, forgive them and move on to ensure a better relationship between us. Several of my comrades disagree. I understand that, but I wish to be pragmatic in this situation.

I am aware that we have no concrete proof that the wall is collapsing due to your influence. I am also aware that Mr. Administrator is not telling us the whole story. However, I don't see any other reason for him to have such a vested interest in returning you to your original worlds, unless you can shed some light on this? I am simply unwilling to take any chance that reality as I know it will end.

So why am I telling you all this? Simply put, I feel the best way for these dialogues between us all to move forward is for us all to be completely honest and open with each other about what we want and our reasons behind it.

Now to Peter Pan, and this is where I probably derive the most apprehension I have about trusting the Cabal. I have a very strong sense of justice, and for its course to be perverted by the Cabal's tampering with evidence in a trial - by which I mean removing the audio from the first video (blame the Cat for informing us about that by the way) - infuriates me to no end. In addition, I see no need for it. In your chat session, you indicated that you had Peter arrested so that he was safe from the hurricane. Fine, I accept that excuse. But, why then tamper with his trial to ensure his conviction, if you only wanted to protect him for a couple of days? It makes no sense to me unless you have an ulterior motive in doing so.

Finally, to end this mail on a positive note, I want to thank both you and Erik for opening lines of communication between us and taking the first step. I only wish there was something that I could've done to begin this process sooner.

Have a nice day.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua

[WackyMeetsPractical]

Her reply to me

Dearest [redacted],

I am so sincerely glad to see that you take everything into account and do such thorough research when you tell us of our various wrong-doings. It is truly delightful to be seen as a person rather than a villain in this world.

I do not appreciate the accusations you have brought forth. Please feel free to contact me again when you have an argument with some weight to it.

I hope that you know that we will not hold any grudge against you or your friend Andrew. (I forgot to mention that in my email to him.) In my mind, we are parting on good terms. I hope it is the same for you.

Morgan

Andrew? I have no idea who that is, but I hope you get this message Andrew.

[Guyshane]

the reply:
Dearest Collin,

The wall piece is not capable of doing anything on its own. It is merely a
barrier between worlds, which has been shattered and is therefore unable to
perform its proper function.

Hoping for the same,
Morgan

So yea turns out my question didn't actually advance the plot

[WackyMeetsPractical]

(And don't you dare! I've read everything there is. You had all the time in the world to make amends. Also, you smell bad.)

She didn't say you didn't read things. She just suggested that you didn't read through everything carefully. It's a quality over quantity thing.

[Adell]

I can honestly say i don't blame her response to you, Dryu

[Victin]

I can honestly say i don't blame her response to you, Dryu

Discussion about the communication with the Cabal on its own thread

[Scarab]

Morgan responded to my most recent email.

Dearest Sarah,

Thank you for your sincere remarks. I believe the Administrator attempted to clear up exactly why he does not want you all to hold the wall pieces. I do not know if what he says is true, as we did not wait for the wall piece to flow back into the wall naturally. We used a code. However, I believe it would still be worth experimenting for you. Even taking three of the remaining pieces out still leaves the wall open, as the Administrator desires.

Any thoughts I have about the negative effects of the wall piece would be conjecture. But James was not troubled. Perhaps it was because he knew about it. I am not sure.

By the way, I have said this in other emails, but I would not hold my breath waiting for a response from Don Juan and Erik. They never check those emails any more.
Morgan

[The Finch]

SHE KNOWS YOUR NAME

[The Finch]

I'm going to type them a message. What should I put in it?

[Scarab]

SHE KNOWS YOUR NAME

...Of course she does, I TOLD her.
Honestly anybody who checked the witch's blog and realised I was her campaign manager should have known my name for ages

I'm going to write her a letter. What should I put in it?

Whatever you can think of to ask which has not already been mentioned, I think. I'm running out of info to work with.

[The Finch]

I see. But exactly what I should type is the problem.