The In Character Character Game: Part III

[Festy_Dog]

"Damnit, The rabbit didn't come this way did he?"

Festy shakes his head.

"Rabbit tastes like chicken though far as I've heard, don't think I've ever eaten any though," he says, going off at a tangent.

"What was the last word you read?" He begins to speak a little faster and more forcefully to try and drive his point home. "Was it in a san-serif font? Was it bold? Was it larger or smaller than the other text? Are you sure you read it? Could you have just looked at it and understood?"

"Well I dunno about reading being an indicator for this being a dream, but the last word I read was in this book here," Festy interupts, pulling a book from the pile he stacked on the glass table, "Here we go: 'The Ideal Feng Shui Hedge for your Home', its incredibly boring, like every other book in the pile, but I have no trouble reading it, judge the font for yourself."

He offers it to Daniel.

"I think someone grabbed a book on the way down"

Festy takes a bow.

"If this is a dream, you lose nothing by acting like it's not; if it's not a dream, it's obviously a good idea to act like it's real, because it is. Either way, it's best not to risk it."

"Fair enough," he answers.

"So treat it as if it's reality collapsing. If it is just a dream, no big loss, hey it was a cool dream. If it turns out that reality is collapsing, then we acted appropriately."

"Fair enough," he says again, sounding exactly the same as before.

"And I've seen crazy stuff like guns that turn Goro into a bear happens in my dreams more often than in reality."

At the mention of the weapon, Festy pulls out an odd pink water pistol looking thing, twirls it on his finger, then deftly puts it away again. He snickers.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Anyway, I'm more intrigued by the idea that we're all part of some larger collective conciousness. And Hanh does have that whole glow thing. And she does seem to know more about this place than anyone else. "

"That's an interesting theory, but seeing how Hanh's currently napping, untestable. Oh well."

"So I'll concede that this is her dream as long as you concede that since I'm sentient, I'm somehow important." He grins.

Thomas smiles back. "The human psychological emphasis on 'being important' and 'life having meaning' is something I've never quite understood. Unfortunately, otherwise valid philosophilal theories are often discarded on the basis that people 'don't like the thought of that kind of world' or somesuch."

"But sentience, I find, is the best meterstick for importance. Or at least, for being granted rights in a society. Others, of course, disagree." Thomas shrugs amiably.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Daniel looks at the book momentarially. "Well, if we're supposed to have trouble reading in dreams, then that test fails. Looks just fine to me."

He nods before resuming speaking with Thomas. "But aren't most philosophical theories based off of what 'feels right' to begin with? At some point, you do just have to make a leap, accept something, and build from that. And I suppose that sentience is less important than simply being around here and being within some definition of normal and friendly."

"And yeah," Daniel grins. "Rabbit does taste kind of like chicken."

 

[Pyrex]

Mike shrugs, then with a grin "Cogito, ergo sum. Good enough for me."

 

[Jemal]

Jim walks up beside them and then reaches out and Pinches Thomas. "Wake up"

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Jim walks up beside them and then reaches out and Pinches Thomas. "Wake up."

"Ow!" Thomas jumps back and rubs his arm, then frowns at Jim. "That was uncalled for. Besides, the pinch test has already failed, unless I'm mistaken." He shrugs, and turns to the others, still rubbing his arm, his previous deamenor returning as he continues the debate.

Mike shrugs, then with a grin "Cogito, ergo sum. Good enough for me."

Thomas nods. "Technically true, but not, unfortunately, terribly useful. Any given person can know they exist, but that's all they can truly 'know.' Everything else is based on information from the senses, which can be decieved. We could, to use a hackneyed example, all be brains in jars- or any one of us could be a brain in a jar, and the rest of us simulations. And so on."

He nods before resuming speaking with Thomas. "But aren't most philosophical theories based off of what 'feels right' to begin with? At some point, you do just have to make a leap, accept something, and build from that."

"Yes and no. Any philosophy has to have a certain number of basic assumptions- can't remember the latin term." Tom pauses in thought for a moment. "A priori. Anyway, there are certain facts that are a priori with any given argument, like that the senses can be trusted, or should be trusted. We know they can't really, but we just went through this- either it's not real and you lose nothing or it is real and you lose nothing.

"But not all a priori arguments are equal. You have to make a leap of faith somewhere, but there are reasonable assumptions an unreasonable assumptions. But those choices should be based as much as possible on logic, rather than what 'feels right' or is convenient."

"And I suppose that sentience is less important than simply being around here and being within some definition of normal and friendly."

Thomas grins. "'Normal' and 'friendly,' of course, being relative terms. I think if a succubus, who is generally niether, walked up to me an introduced herself as Nahael, I'd trust her with my life. Or, uh, does no one else read the same story hours I do...?"

 

[Pyrex]

Thomas nods. "Technically true, but not, unfortunately, terribly useful. Any given person can know they exist, but that's all they can truly 'know.' Everything else is based on information from the senses, which can be decieved. We could, to use a hackneyed example, all be brains in jars- or any one of us could be a brain in a jar, and the rest of us simulations. And so on."

"That's where the 'Good enough for me' part comes in. I am. Whether or not any of you or any of this exists, be it as simulation, dream or hallucination or even if any of you believe that I don't exist doesn't really matter because I am.

Secondly Perception is Reality. My current reality includes all of this and all of you. It doesn't matter if all of this is 'real' or if I'm just a brain in a vat. Until I receive additional information to the contrary the only useful course of action is to accept all this as 'real'."

 

[dream66_]

"This whole nature of existance is all very entertaining... But, Is it really acheiving anything?"

 

[Festy_Dog]

"This whole nature of existance is all very entertaining... But, Is it really acheiving anything?"

"Not in the slightest, but it does fill in time nicely while we can't do anything," Festy answers.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Thomas shrugs. "I'm enjoying myself. I just wish it wouldn't take reality being sundered in twain for me to be able to talk philosophy." He smiles. "So, what shall we tackle next? The nature of morality, the existance of God, or the justifiability of killing kobold babies?"