03 - #D4AF37

[to_dust]

[The Dalek Emperor transmits in audio only, but there's no mistaking him/them for anyone else-- not with that characteristic modulated, stilted whine of a voice.]

Strictest attention must be paid to the Admiral's announcement of pairings. The inmate designated as Marsh is now a subject of the Daleks. He will not be controlled without the permission of the Daleks. He will not be injured without the permission of the Daleks. Do not intrude. You will be exterminated.

[Private to Marsh]

Inmate designate Marsh, we have studied your file. Come to our chambers, we will speak to you.

[Replies will be from divergentemperor]

Comments

[spam]

[divergentemperor]

Grief is irrational. It is weak.

[A Dalek cannot sound comforting, but the Emperor sounds less insane and less angry than he otherwise might.]

We would free you from it. It must be your choice. Choice is required for the Admiral's conditions. Choice is required for our purposes. We wish you to join us. You are superior.

[spam]

[myironeyes]

Grief is - true.

[spam]

[divergentemperor]

Do not mourn. The fatalities are temporary aboard this vessel. Do not mourn. All things must die.

[spam]

[myironeyes]

This isn't about death. It's about - suffering. And injustice.

[He has mourned for the deaths of others, but most of all for the shortness and twisted misery of their lives. He has yearned for death, does not fear it. But grief is true because it acknowledges the worth of what was lost. The Dalek sees no worth in most people, so - Marsh understands, even as he disagrees.]

[spam]

[divergentemperor]

Suffering is strength. The Daleks know this. You know this. Justice is-- false. It is not measurable.

[spam]

[myironeyes]

Grief is suffering.

[So is it weakness, or strength? Certainly, he's felt it as both, at times.]

[spam]

[divergentemperor]

It has no basis. There is no neurological reason to suffer. But if it gives you suffering then you may grieve. Grieve. Feel hatred for those who harm your friends. Feel hatred for the Daleks. It will fill you. You will be strong, Marsh.

[The Emperor extends his grasping arm towards Marsh's shoulder, a terrible parody of some great king bestowing a knighthood.]

That would... please us.

[spam]

[myironeyes]

[He lets the weird touch land. He doesn't even hate the wardens here, although he comes closest with Bianca. He just - he thinks he's just ashes, sometimes, that Ruin burned through him too hot for too long. He can't feel the way he used to, zealous, fierce. Fire needs fuel, and he doesn't have any left. Bitterness, anger, sick fear - yes. But the bloodthirsty craving that comes with real hate - something in him shies away, even contemplating it. He can't be full of that again, isn't capable of wanting to.]

Who do you hate?

Re: [spam]

[divergentemperor]

We... Hate. The sensation is. Constant. As the pain. We hate. We hate Davros. He was our creator. He was flawed. He abandoned us.

We hate. We hate the Doctor.

The ...Doctor. Doctor?

The Doctor is the enemy of the Daleks.

We hate the Thals. They are the enemy of the Daleks. We hate.

[All encompassing and cleansing. Hate does not always need a direction.]

[spam]

[myironeyes]

Are you in pain because of the way he made you?

[Quiet. Not effusive in his sympathy - he wonders if the Dalek would even recognize it. Although the changes in his voice are...he doesn't know what to think about that. But he understands constant pain, and hating the thing that made you what you are.]

Re: [spam]

[divergentemperor]

The pain is strength. It is Dalek. It is how the first generation were created and how we were made. It is correct. We were made from a creature that was not hatched as a Dalek. It did not understand pain. But we learned. We became the Emperor. You can become. We wish you. You will be superior.

[spam]

[myironeyes]

[He thinks, distant and fleetingly, of mistwraiths, hideous amalgamations, but translucent and gentle. He doesn't actually know if they hatch or what.]

What kind of creature?