Kisume Quest IV - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "So you're saying it's unlikely anyone would actually believe you unless you actively went out of your way to convince them."

>"Rather like that," says Shuuei. "But they would still associate it with me, belief or not."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Would they?"
> Turn to Iku.
> "If I told you that 'Kisume' was a lie and my real name was Utsuho Reiuzi all along, what would you think?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Would they?"
> Turn to Iku.
> "If I told you that 'Kisume' was a lie and my real name was Utsuho Reiuzi all along, what would you think?"

>"Hmm, you have a point," says Iku. "I would humor you, I think, but you are right that I would be highly skeptical."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Turn back to Shuuei.
> "And whatever this other name represents, would people that heard it associate it with a poltergeist girl? One with white hair, or blue clothing, or a quiet voice?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Turn back to Shuuei.
> "And whatever this other name represents, would people that heard it associate it with a poltergeist girl? One with white hair, or blue clothing, or a quiet voice?"

>You turn back toward the tree that Shuuei has hidden behind.
>"No...not really. Not until I explained it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "And presumably you never would. So it sounds like the problem solved itself, really."

[Hello Purvis]

> "And presumably you never would. So it sounds like the problem solved itself, really."

>"No, it doesn't," says Shuuei, "There's a whole lot more to a person than what they're called. It doesn't matter what words you use, it matters what you know."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Glance over to Iku for a second, then look back at the tree.
> "So it's only what you think that matters, not anyone else."

[Hello Purvis]

> Glance over to Iku for a second, then look back at the tree.
> "So it's only what you think that matters, not anyone else."

>"Where did you get that?" says Shuuei. "I'm saying it doesn't matter I call you, it matters that I know the details about you."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "But if you are given no reason to connect me with the details you know about me, is that really knowing me? You look at a girl in a bucket and associate what you see with one set of details, while taking a second set of details, the actual set of details that applies to the real me, and associate it with something that isn't a girl in a bucket. Then, not only does it not occur to you to associate the set of the real me details with the girl in the bucket, you actively refuse to do so, because they don't line up, and it could just be a notoriety grab on the bucket's part."

[Hello Purvis]

> "But if you are given no reason to connect me with the details you know about me, is that really knowing me? You look at a girl in a bucket and associate what you see with one set of details, while taking a second set of details, the actual set of details that applies to the real me, and associate it with something that isn't a girl in a bucket. Then, not only does it not occur to you to associate the set of the real me details with the girl in the bucket, you actively refuse to do so, because they don't line up, and it could just be a notoriety grab on the bucket's part."

>"No, because both of those "sets" would be the same thing, mostly," says Shuuei.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Roll our eyes, then turn back to Iku.
> "Hi there. My name is Reimu Hakurei. You might know me from all those times I went out and kicked everyone's ass for starting bad stuff or even just looking at me the wrong way. You remember seeing me, this green-haired little girl in a bucket, doing all those things, right?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Roll our eyes, then turn back to Iku.
> "Hi there. My name is Reimu Hakurei. You might know me from all those times I went out and kicked everyone's ass for starting bad stuff or even just looking at me the wrong way. You remember seeing me, this green-haired little girl in a bucket, doing all those things, right?"

>"And everyone knows you're not," says Shuuei. "Even if your name is actually Reimu, everyone still knows you're that green-haired girl in a bucket who does whatever it is you do."
>"I confess," says Iku, "I'm not quite sure what kind of point you're getting at anymore..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "The point is that no one is going to associate who you present yourself as with who you really are, unless you actively try to present yourself as their preconceived notion of who you really are. All you have to do is not look like or act like the public perception of the real you, and no one will associate the white-haired jeweler poltergeist with the real you."

[Hello Purvis]

> "The point is that no one is going to associate who you present yourself as with who you really are, unless you actively try to present yourself as their preconceived notion of who you really are. All you have to do is not look like or act like the public perception of the real you, and no one will associate the white-haired jeweler poltergeist with the real you."

>"Doesn't that presume that such isn't the real her?" says Iku.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Blink.
> "Now it's my turn to not get it."

[Hello Purvis]

> Blink.
> "Now it's my turn to not get it."

>"Well, you seem to be asserting that Shuuei and her old name are completely different people," says Iku. "and in using the old name she wouldn't be who she is now anymore. That is, that she won't be the poltergeist who works with the jeweler anymore, that none of the things she's done under her current name is real. I don't think that's what you mean, but I just don't understand what you're trying to say,"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "She can and should still be Shuuei the poltergeist jeweler. She can be those things and everything else she has been. She just doesn't need a disguise for it, because we've already established that absolutely no one is going to see a white-haired, blue-clothed, soft-spoken poltergeist and go 'Oh, look, it's so-and-so the famous person!' on their own."

[Hello Purvis]

> "She can and should still be Shuuei the poltergeist jeweler. She can be those things and everything else she has been. She just doesn't need a disguise for it, because we've already established that absolutely no one is going to see a white-haired, blue-clothed, soft-spoken poltergeist and go 'Oh, look, it's so-and-so the famous person!' on their own."

>"No, they'll think it's me, whatever they choose to call me," says Shuuei, "only with an added headache of trying to explain it and either being believed or not, while even more information about it is allowed to spread."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "So they do associate your hair color, clothing, and voice with the real you, despite you saying earlier that they would not do so without explanation."

[Hello Purvis]

> "So they do associate your hair color, clothing, and voice with the real you, despite you saying earlier that they would not do so without explanation."

>"No, they'll figure it out because I'm not going to stop being Iku's friend," says Shuuei. "and I don't want to stop being the jeweler's apprentice, and everything like that. People aren't stupid, they're going to make the connections quickly."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Slap forehead.
> "Okay. Let me try this another way, because clearly this isn't working out."
> "So the general public knows of Famous Person X. They have an established perception of who and what Famous Person X is. One day, they encounter a poltergeist girl. This girl has white hair, blue clothing, a soft voice, works as a jeweler, and is friends with an oarfish woman. They associate all of these aspects with that poltergeist girl. Now, here's the important part. None of these aspects apply to their preconceived notion of Famous Person X. Therefore, they conclude that the poltergeist is not Famous Person X. The poltergeist is her own person and Famous Person X must be someone else somewhere else. What is the problem in this scenario?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Slap forehead.
> "Okay. Let me try this another way, because clearly this isn't working out."
> "So the general public knows of Famous Person X. They have an established perception of who and what Famous Person X is. One day, they encounter a poltergeist girl. This girl has white hair, blue clothing, a soft voice, works as a jeweler, and is friends with an oarfish woman. They associate all of these aspects with that poltergeist girl. Now, here's the important part. None of these aspects apply to their preconceived notion of Famous Person X. Therefore, they conclude that the poltergeist is not Famous Person X. The poltergeist is her own person and Famous Person X must be someone else somewhere else. What is the problem in this scenario?"

>"The fact that this famous person doesn't have anything to do with this," says Shuuei, "That doesn't matter at all. What matters is what they know about me. All telling people my old name would do is add more to what they know about me. It doesn't matter that it's also someone else and they're more likely to think of them than me, they'll still know. Even if they think I'm lying, they'll still know even if they got it wrong."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Then...don't tell them your real name?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Then...don't tell them your real name?"

>"That's why I haven't. You're the one who brought up names to begin with!" says Shuuei.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "As hypotheticals, yeah. And I'd still bet that people would see trying to claim the name of a famous person would be a notoriety grab. But if that's the only sticking point, then just don't use the real name."

[Hello Purvis]

> "As hypotheticals, yeah. And I'd still bet that people would see trying to claim the name of a famous person would be a notoriety grab. But if that's the only sticking point, then just don't use the real name."

>"I never really intended to," says Shuuei.
>"Perhaps we may consider some other angles," Iku says, waving a hand. "Kisume, shall I assume you still largely don't care what she does?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Not much more or less than I care about most anyone else, which isn't a lot."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Not much more or less than I care about most anyone else, which isn't a lot."

>The oarfish youkai nods, then looks toward the hidden poltergeist. "There's another reason, most people aren't going to care, beyond noticing a difference."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "There's that too, yeah. Really, you've been your own disguise all along. As long as you're not stupid enough to go around telling everyone who you are, no one's going to care or know better."