The View From Here

[Brian]

"Well, they came back into existance while you were here," Pandora writes, somewhat apologetically.  "You've missed months."

[Ebiris]

Daniel stares open mouthed for far too long. "Months?! We've barely been here five minutes!"

[Halbarad]

"...months? How many months?" Tim seems a bit stunned as well.

[Brian]

"And now you know why it's not good for you to be here for too long," Pandora writes, shrugging.  "As long as you've been near me, or the other Brothers of Morpheus, we've scaled your time relatively to be near the time it would be in reality."

"Right," Alan says, entering the room, followed by Kyle and Phae.  "Now, I can send you back to reality, but while you're here, you should probably take advantage of your opportunity to ask Pandora some questions.  I'm not an oracle myself, but at a guess ... it may be a while before you get another chance like this."

[Ebiris]

"Haven't we just spent like a week on this conversation alone?" Daniel asks, slightly panicked. "My God, the world's spiralling to oblivion and we're trapped in some relativistic time dilating nightmare!"

He comes down from his drama kick with a sigh. "Okay, that's Monday done. We'd better make this quick."

[Halbarad]

"Might as well, yes," Hal agrees.

"Question one, then. Who or what exactly is the Order of Symmetry? You mentioned them before as a 'dead' movement, and if you're sending us to meet with them I'd like to know a little more about who they are and what they want."

[Carthrat]

"And where's, like, this New Delphi place? And who's Relm?" chimes in Tom, eyeing his watch with some skepticism.

[Brian]

"The Order of Symmetry is a group we're allied with currently to try and sway the outcome of the Contest.  Essentially ... three factions compete to decide the fate of the world.  The Order is only one of these, but they further belief in the Dream.  The others would either destroy or ignore it, so we ignore them.

"They're currently lead by a group of five people who escaped from a covert facility designed to experiment and study people with paranormal powers.  In order to fight their former captors, they joined the Contest.  At least, that's how Relm tells me.

"And Relm is the current Oracle of Delphi.  New Delphi is currently located in Alabama."

[Carthrat]

"Every answer seems to bring more questions," intones Tom dramatically.

"So who're these other factions, then? And what do *they* want to do? Not to mention that I don't have a clue what this Contest is about..."

[Halbarad]

"Okay, seems fair enough. As long as THEY'RE not interested in trying to kill us for some reason, anyway, but I expect there's no way to know that without getting back to reality and meeting them in the first place. Just hope we can make a good first impression, I suppose. But if you trust them, that's a good sign - at least to me.

"Now, when you say that Relm is the Oracle of Delphi, do you mean the same oracle from back in the classical Greek period? And why would she be named Relm? The only time I've ever heard that name was in a video game that came out about ten years ago."

[Carthrat]

"Don't forget Rez's alternate nick," quips Tom. "The way things are going, I expect to be stabbed with icy needles tonight."

OOC: Because it had to be said.

[Brian]

"She's named Relm NOW," Pandora writes, underlining the 'now' for emphasis.  "In the past, she bore other names.  And she is an iteration of the original oracle, if not exactly Cassandra herself."

[Halbarad]

"Sorry, misunderstood that part - I'm still new to all this kind of thing," Tim says, scratching his head a bit. "Is there any advice you can give me as a dreamer, if that's really what I am or am supposed to be? Since you're in the Dream, I suppose you - well, all of you," - here he looks at Alan and the other Brothers - "would be the ones to talk to about that. I guess if I learn to dream myself here I can ask you later, but something tells me there aren't any guarantees."

[Brian]

Pandora hesitates, and then looks to Alan.  Alan smirks, and says, "The truth to the Dream is the root of power over it.  You understand the precepts -- here, will defines reality.  Expand on this in your meditations, and you will understand that you can control reality.

"Right now, your control over it is unrefined, and uses more of your strength than it needs to.  Your meditation and focus will allow you to refine your touch and your perception.  You can establish a foundation and a basis ... some would call it a mythos or a theme.  And by building on that, you can effect reality without the strain of simply willing it to be otherwise," he concludes.

"And when in doubt, don't be afraid to ask us for assistance.  The fastest route to learn the dream is experimentation.  Of course ... this can be dangerous, so with guidance, you might learn more quickly in relative safety.  Or take your time and achieve a more thorough understanding of the dream," Saul supplies.  "That choice is yours."

"Woah," Sterling says, as he and the rest of Bigfire return, Kyle and Phae in tow.  "You guys went all grim.  And hey, I like the new spot for the oracle.  Seems a bit more accessible."

[Halbarad]

"How can I contact you in the future?" Tim asks. "I assume I can place myself in the Dream without too much trouble, but do I just seek you out the way I have been up to now?"