Kisume Quest VII - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> "Then what do you propose? Asking him really nicely? Because I can promise you that all trying to forcibly remove him will accomplish is ruin any chance of convincing anyone to take our side. He's ready and willing to die for his vision if he has to; do you really think he doesn't have plans in place in case that comes to pass?"
> Press.

[Hello Purvis]

> Press.
> "Then what do you propose? Asking him really nicely? Because I can promise you that all trying to forcibly remove him will accomplish is ruin any chance of convincing anyone to take our side. He's ready and willing to die for his vision if he has to; do you really think he doesn't have plans in place in case that comes to pass?"
> Press.

>""Taking our side?" says Yumemi, "People are already on our side. The military is all he has, and without him it will crumble while the generals bicker over control and the soldiers desert. Our old leaders can then rise up to fill the vacuum, and we can restore some sanity to our world! "

>_

[O4rfish]

>BTW, can we fire lethal danmaku?
>Assuming we can throw lethal demonfire, how much more effective than ordinary fire (or ordinary napalm) would it be at killing someone?

[Kilgamayan]

> "I don't know. I pointed out to him that he'd be stuck in a hostile Gensokyo for a long time if your machine got destroyed while he was there, and he sai he'd considered that risk and was willing to take it. He was even sure he'd find some way to fix it and come back here eventually. I don't think he's concerned about what you're saying coming to pass."

[Hello Purvis]

>BTW, can we fire lethal danmaku?
>Assuming we can throw lethal demonfire, how much more effective than ordinary fire (or ordinary napalm) would it be at killing someone?

>You cannot.
>Your demon fire can be be as lethal as any fire when it comes to killing someone.

> "I don't know. I pointed out to him that he'd be stuck in a hostile Gensokyo for a long time if your machine got destroyed while he was there, and he sai he'd considered that risk and was willing to take it. He was even sure he'd find some way to fix it and come back here eventually. I don't think he's concerned about what you're saying coming to pass."

>"Well of course he's going to say and think those things," says Yumemi, "He's a crazy dictator and he thinks he nothing will stop him! Who cares whether he's concerned about them? Let's take care of him and then it'll happen anyways!"

>_

[O4rfish]

Now that Sariel is discredited, the emperor is going to need a new advisor. Kasen would be perfect, although Kisume may not know that.
He also needs to get input from the common rabble citizens. This idea may not have occurred to the professor, but it may lead to him reversing some of the reforms which she most objected to.

>"Professor, perhaps you would want to meet with him personally? You might be able to convince him of some of your ideas."

[Hanzo K.]

I'd really rather not leave Kasen here though. If anyone's qualified for being the new advisor, I'd say it'd be Yumemi, or that assistant of hers.

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> Say what O4rfish suggested.
> "We can take care of just the crazy and let everything else fall apart from there."
> Press.

Chiyuri has a name, you know. >:|

[Hello Purvis]

>"Professor, perhaps you would want to meet with him personally? You might be able to convince him of some of your ideas."

> Press.
> Say what O4rfish suggested.
> "We can take care of just the crazy and let everything else fall apart from there."
> Press.

>"That pig has his helmet on much too tightly to listen to his betters," says Yumemi.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> "He listened to me."
> Press.

[O4rfish]

Hanzo, you don't want Kasen to leave the campaign world, right? Assuming nothing terrible happens to the professor, Kasen would still have a ride home, and would presumably show up in later Quests.
Judging from this conversation, Yumemi doesn't seem to have the right skills or mindset to be an advisor.

>Where is Kasen, anyway? Is she with Yumemi?

[Hello Purvis]

> Press.
> "He listened to me."
> Press.

>"He was using you to gather additional information for his invasion," says Yumemi.

>Where is Kasen, anyway? Is she with Yumemi?

>You assume she is, but you haven't really confirmed it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> "An invasion he's now reconsidering. Because he listened to me. He could have blithely dismissed me as trying to save my home when I produced information that ran counter to his key assumptions. He called Sariel's information into question instead."
> Press.

I suspect Kosa will probably not want a second foreign special advisor after getting burned badly by this first one.

[Hanzo K.]

Kilga's got the right idea. Plus, Kasen just plain belongs back home too.

[Hello Purvis]

> Press.
> "An invasion he's now reconsidering. Because he listened to me. He could have blithely dismissed me as trying to save my home when I produced information that ran counter to his key assumptions. He called Sariel's information into question instead."
> Press.

>"Then he was certainly already suspicious of her," says Yumemi.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> "When he was reay to go to war and possibly die on her advice? Good grief! Why do you think he's that much of a lost cause? Are you his jilted lover or something?"
> Press.
> Is Ruukoto here yet?

[Hello Purvis]

> Press.
> "When he was reay to go to war and possibly die on her advice? Good grief! Why do you think he's that much of a lost cause? Are you his jilted lover or something?"
> Press.
> Is Ruukoto here yet?

>Ruukoto and the other half of your contingent of soldiers emerged from a neighboring elevator, but you've paid them little mind. Ruukoto seems to be waiting patiently.
>"Because I have lived through his tyranny, that's why!" says Yumemi. "I have witnessed him trample over freedom and declare that all people live for the state! I have witnessed what he's done to other nations and to people who speak out against him! You want me to believe such a monster would listen to anyone who challenged him?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> "I sure do! You want to know about a true bureaucratic lost cause? My mother is a bureaucratic lost cause! She's the one that never listens to anyone! Nothing is more important than her job, not even her own goddamn kid! An she didn't even need a demon from another world to perch on her shoulder to change her attitude like this guy! I got more legitimate respect from Canus in ten minutes than I got from my own mother in the last ten years!"
> Press.

[Hello Purvis]

> Press.
> "I sure do! You want to know about a true bureaucratic lost cause? My mother is a bureaucratic lost cause! She's the one that never listens to anyone! Nothing is more important than her job, not even her own goddamn kid! An she didn't even need a demon from another world to perch on her shoulder to change her attitude like this guy! I got more legitimate respect from Canus in ten minutes than I got from my own mother in the last ten years!"
> Press.

>"Inform me how many civilizations your mother has crushed and annexed," says Yumemi. "And I've already explained to you why he has shown you any respect; because you have a use! Once that use is gone, we will see how long you stay in his graces."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Press.
> "You think civilizations are important? My mother judges souls for a living, sending them to what afterlife she sees fit for endless lengths of time, longer than any civilization will last. You'd think someone in that position would have respect for the individual, wouldn't you? But she can't even bring herself to respect her own child."
> Press.

[Hello Purvis]

> Press.
> "You think civilizations are important? My mother judges souls for a living, sending them to what afterlife she sees fit for endless lengths of time, longer than any civilization will last. You'd think someone in that position would have respect for the individual, wouldn't you? But she can't even bring herself to respect her own child."
> Press.

>"Your mother has nothing to do with this," says Yumemi. "When she starts conquering your world and aims at mine, we'll consider them on equal footing. In the meantime, listen to yourself. You're arguing on the behalf of the person who is planning to invade your home after ruining mine!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give an exasperated sigh and look at the lead guard.
> "She wants all this to signal the end of the dictatorship you all have going on here."

[Hello Purvis]

> Give an exasperated sigh and look at the lead guard.
> "She wants all this to signal the end of the dictatorship you all have going on here."

>"She's not going to be very happy, then," says the captain.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You're telling me."
> Shake head.
> "For all she gripes about all of you, she's really no better. Canus, her, all of you, no one here cares about the commoner. We're all just pawns in a giant political chess game."

[Hello Purvis]

> "You're telling me."
> Shake head.
> "For all she gripes about all of you, she's really no better. Canus, her, all of you, no one here cares about the commoner. We're all just pawns in a giant political chess game."

>It looks like the captain is about to say something, but Sombraluz raises a hand again. "This isn't the time or the place." He then looks at you and says, "Promise her whatever you like, as long as we can get her out in the open and subdued."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Cross our arms.
> "I'm not promising anything I can't deliver. You and your Emperor don't give any more of a damn about me than she does. Give me something tangible to promise that she'll want or you can toss me aside like you'd been planning this whole time anyway and get back to your mouse hunt without me."

[Hello Purvis]

> Cross our arms.
> "I'm not promising anything I can't deliver. You and your Emperor don't give any more of a damn about me than she does. Give me something tangible to promise that she'll want or you can toss me aside like you'd been planning this whole time anyway and get back to your mouse hunt without me."

>"Then is there something you want from us?" says Sombraluz.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "What do I want from you? Both the dictatorship and the plans to invade Gensokyo scrapped. Permanently. There's literally nothing you could give me otherwise that would mean anything if either of those are left in place, because I have zero guarantee you won't just change your mind and take everything back later."

[Hello Purvis]

> "What do I want from you? Both the dictatorship and the plans to invade Gensokyo scrapped. Permanently. There's literally nothing you could give me otherwise that would mean anything if either of those are left in place, because I have zero guarantee you won't just change your mind and take everything back later."

>"I was hoping you'd ask for something we could do to move this along, rather than unreasonable demands," says the agent in a flat tone.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Then think of something we'd want that you can't just take back when you change your mind later."