Chapter 15
Eric van Genus' Audio Journal #15: Spirituality
Despite the fact I was atheist, I still believe in something. I'm gonna take a break about my past lives for a moment to discuss something. Some atheists don't believe in any god or some spiritual entity (which are just beings that are artificially created or evolved in some way) or some invisible man or woman controlling every aspect of the universe. Yet they do believe in something. In Adam Smith's books, the Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Mortal Sentiments, he describe an invisible force known as the "Invisible Hand". This "hand" as he describes, the unintended social benefits of an individual's self-interested actions, invoking it in reference to income distribution. A metaphor for the unseen forces that move the free market economy. Through individual self-interest and freedom of production as well as consumption, the best interest of society, as a whole, are fulfilled. In Bioshock, Andrew Ryan's "Great Chain" is an allegorical term to describe the market and its evolution. According to his philosophy, each worker and consumer influences the economy through his or her natural endeavors to produce, buy and sell. The combined actions of all participants in the economy create a relatively unified movement, thus every individual is a "link" in this Great Chain of industry, pulling it in a certain direction without swaying it of their own accord. These are all well and good, but people want something when they die. Not just economics. People want or need something to work towards to when they die.
I have founded a new religion after many reincarnations. Something that I should've made a long ass time ago and now I founded it here on Remnant. The Church of Isekai. It's basically what is sounds like. The Church of Isekai is what people need for their spiritual needs. Through all of my past lives and what I've learned from my original human life, there is no such thing as an afterlife. When people claim that they see a bright light, it is actually a response to the biochemicals in the brain when in the state of death which causes hallucinations of an afterlife depending their subconscious. If they did something wrong, they hallucinate whatever hell they believe in. Same for whatever heaven they believe in. The brain creates some sort of coping mechanism when dying. In actuality, there is no afterlife. Just the empty void we all go to to await our next life while our memories get scrubbed. I do remember an indie game that tackles such a subject where you see the character's memories of his past lives before choosing to end the cycle of reincarnation or continue it. Sadly, I have forgotten the title. My memory has been faulty after many reincarnations.
Back on topic, the Church of Isekai teaches that the Void is where the souls go and await reincarnation. By staying true to yourself, be yourself along with having a high IQ and high moral standings which allows you to maintain your memories and you will enjoy a new life on a new world in a new body. Once there, you can start a new life while gathering knowledge, become a beacon for the future with the knowledge of your past life or see it as a new opportunity to amend the mistakes of your past life. Thanks to this Church, many people become smarter in order to obtain a wise and intelligent mind, people are far more friendlier to each other, people are free to be themselves rather what others want them to do along with obtaining that goal that awaits us all in death. Plus the Church of Isekai never discriminate unlike the other religions here on Remnant. The symbol of this church is in the form of three birds and the void at the center to symbolize where the soul goes as the birds circle it. The white dove represents life, the black raven with its exposed skull represents death, and a flaming phoenix represents rebirth. I would like to talk about that subject more, but that would involve talking about the three elements that make up the universe. Best to save that for another time.
End of recording.
Beacon Academy, Start of Mountain Glenn...
Over at Beacon Academy, General Ironwood is looking out from the landing docks to the City of Vale in the middle of the night. He can see the city lights while airships hover over the city. Glynda Goodwitch walks up behind him.
"Trouble sleeping?" she asks.
Ironwood just looks up at the night sky, "Yeah. But there are some things I've been thinking."
Goodwitch walks up to his left side, "Of course, so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance. What's wrong?"
Ironwood continues to look at the city, "These Evolutionaries wish to bring change. Sometimes I wonder if change is good. Because their name means 'to change'. Atlas has changed Remnant for a long time with our newest technologies. Now they want to stop Atlas and make changes of their own. Which I thought that was their goal, but I read the reports and had a survey that says that people have relied too much of Atlas for technological changes and new wonders. And only Atlas. I wonder if the other Kingdoms should develop technologies of their own for a change rather than having all their scientists being at Atlas." He looks at Glynda with tired eyes, "What do you think?"
Glynda puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I'm uncertain. But I know one thing: change is neither good nor evil. It is how the person who brings it and the people do with it. The Evolutionaries, on the other hand, have captured the Maiden Souls and stealing the Relics. Whatever their plan is, a great and terrible change will befall on Remnant."
Mountain Glenn, During the end of Mountain Glenn and start of No Brakes...
Ruby is standing guard at the campsite and is on first watch. Yet Zwei gets Ruby's attention before she gets to swap out with Yang.
"What is it, Zwei?" Ruby asks while sounding tired.
Zwei runs off.
"Zwei! Zwei! Ugh!" Ruby goes after Zwei outside the building and wander around to find him. She says silently while looking for the little corgi, "Zwei! Zwei, where are you? Zwei! Huh?" She finds him urinating the side of one of the ruins. "Zwei, this is a wasteland! You literally could have done that anywhere!"
Zwei barks at Ruby.
"What was that?" says a male voice.
Ruby looks behind the corner of one of the buildings and sees two soldiers wearing urban camo armor with one having a helmet made for a Blutbad while another is wearing one made for a Raub-Kondor. The Blutbad is wearing sergeant stripes while the Raub-Kondor has corporal stripes. The Raub-Kondor spins its head like an owl. Upon seeing that, Ruby hid behind the corner and waits.
"I'm not seeing anything." says the female Raub-Kondor.
"I definitely heard something." He sniffs in the air, "Smell something too. I smell four humans and a Faunus...and a dog? Corgi, I think."
The corporal Raub-Kondor spins her head back to normal, "Best to head inside before they find us. This place is creepier than that mansion we had to explore close to Vytal. Or that one game I played."
The two guards walk away as Ruby and Zwei sneak around and follow them. The two enter the ruined building with a pair of metal doors with Ruby holding Zwei around the corner to watch them.
Ruby whispers, "Did they go in yet? One bark means yes."
The two soldiers went inside as the metal door squeaks before shutting. When it closes, Zwei barked once.
Ruby gets really excited as she has found the lair of the bad guys. "Oh! This is it! This is it!" She holds Zwei as she pulls out scroll to contact her teammates to let them know. Unfortunately, the screen says 'Low Signal', which means she can't contact anybody. "Aw man!" She says to Zwei, "Come on, we gotta get the others!"
Ruby and Zwei hurry off down the street. However, the asphalt beneath them suddenly sinks before caving in. Ruby grabs onto a ledge and catches Zwei. She tosses him up out of the hole and begins to attempt to pull herself up. However, the ledge she is holding onto breaks off, and she plummets into a huge cave filled with ruined buildings, far below the surface. She takes in the view as she sees a hidden world beneath the surface.
"Whoa." Ruby is amazed by what she sees as she is on top of one of the buildings...until some doors are burst open by the Evolutionaries.
Ten Evolutionaries with Maya surround her as Ruby steps on the ledge. Three Blutbaden, a Damonfeuer, a Fuchsteufelwild, Agent Brick, two humans, a deer Faunus with antlers and a dog Faunus with a tail.
"Freeze!" Agent Brick points his weapon at Ruby.
Maya smiles as she approaches. Ruby tries to get her Crescent Rose but only to realize she doesn't have it. So she put up her dukes to prepare to fight hand to hand against Maya. However, she had her arms transform into katanas as she manically smiles at her.
"Oh no." Ruby raises her hands up and surrenders. Yet she also notices that Maya has silver eyes. "Hey, you have silver eyes too."
One of the human Evolutionaries say, "Let's take her to the general."
Back on the surface, it is time to change shift for Yang.
Yang wakes up Weiss, "Hey Weiss, it's your..." Yet she also notices that Ruby isn't in her sleeping bag. "Ruby? Hey, where's Ruby?"
Oobleck goes, "What?"
Zwei shows up running around and start barking.
"Zwei?"
Blake wakes up, "What's going on?"
Oobleck realizes the situation, "Grab your weapons! Your leader may be in trouble."
Back underground, Ruby has her hands behind her head as Maya takes her to meet Fenris, the general. Not to mention that the other Evolutionaries have their guns pointed at her. She could've use her semblance at anytime, but she is unsure what they are truly capable of. They made it to an old subway site as she notices humanoid machines destroying the buildings and gathering the rubble to be used for whatever materials they need. Some of the other Evolutionaries on night patrol see her and glare at her. Ruby notices the half-human/half-animal people she sees that are more animalistic than the Faunus. She sees some heavy trucks that are carrying the rubble. Ruby also notices the dead bodies of the White Fang are being loaded into a medical truck in body bags with Roman's body pinned to the rocky walls and his head missing. There are even Grimm locked in cages and are ready for transport.
Maya whistles to get someone's attention.
Fenris comes out of his tent, "Yes, Maya!" he sounds cranky, "What is it!? I'm trying to get some sleep!"
When Maya steps out of the way, she reveals Ruby Rose to him.
"...oh." Fenris is a bit surprise. "I was not expecting another Silver-Eyed Battle Sister."
Back on the surface, Zwei leads Oobleck and the rest of Team RWBY to the hole where Ruby fell in as Yang spots Crescent Rose next to it.
Yang picks it up, "Ruby's scythe!"
"Oh no." Blake says with a worrisome tone as she and the others look down the hole.
"Do you think she fell?" Weiss asks.
Oobleck realizes something, "Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!"
"What is it?" Blake questions the doctor.
"How could I be so stupid?!"
Then Yang asks, "Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong?"
"Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people! Working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"
Yang is confused (even though it is SO FUCKING OBVIOUS on what he is saying), "Doc, what are you saying?"
"My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!"
Blake looks back down, "So everyone's been working in caves?"
Oobleck lay downs more trivia, "No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start! As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface!"
Yang finally got her brain working, "An underground village?"
" In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. If Ruby is down there," he pulls out Antiquity's Roast, "we must find her..."
Over at the base, Ruby is sitting across Fenris at a small table with folding chairs and Maya sitting between them. Maya smiles as she looks back and forth while Ruby is a bit uncomfortable and nervous while Fenris is giving an expressionless look.
"Do you want some coffee?" Fenris politely asks.
"No thanks." Ruby quickly turned him down. "But I do have some questions."
"Like why do we have silver eyes?"
"My second question actually. Why is she just staring at us?"
"Because she is a mute. We do have the technology to fix her impairment, but she refuses."
Maya delightfully smiles and waves at Ruby.
"She thinks it's what makes her unique. Now let me tell you the story of the silver-eyed warriors. Long ago, before the kingdoms, there were a race of humans that had an extraordinary power. With those eyes, they are destined to be warriors to fight against the Creatures of Grimm. They can destroy the Grimm with one look and have the excellent combat prowess against them. I'm pretty sure you are aware as a natural born silver-eyed warrior."
"But where did our silver eyes come from? ...and did you say 'natural born'?"
"From what our Leader has told us, silver eyes came from the Alien of Light who also had silver eyes to fight against his brother's creation. And yes, we had ours artificially."
Maya points her eyes to show.
"Wait, 'Alien of Light'? Don't you mean 'God of Light'?"
Fenris scoffs, "There are no such things as gods. There are only beings that gained a great amount of power through either artificial means or evolution. Back on topic, the reason why silver-eyed warriors are rare is because Salem's been hunting them down because She fears their power."
"But how does it work?" Ruby avoids the one question because she already knows of the fate of her mother and wants to know more about how to use this power. She already knows the fate of her mother, thanks to her father.
"Simple, yet can be difficult." Fenris explains, "You see, the silver eye power is fueled by strong desires to preserve life. Yet it is a bit more emotional, like Semblances. As this overwhelming emotional need to preserve life is condensed, the power is unleashed as a destructive force that kills Grimm. However, sometimes it turns them to stone, blind them or just simply vaporize them. But one cannot just simply train this power though. Because it can only activate it when you are in the presence of a Grimm. So it is a double-edged sword. Someone who is inexperienced may have their energy drain, fall unconscious and may wake-up with a major headache. Speaking from experience here."
Maya nods her head because she also has some experience.
"Would you like to try?" Fenris asks.
Ruby ducks her head between her shoulders, "I'mmmmmm...not sure."
Fenris smiles, "I will teach you, fellow Silver-Eyed Battle Sister."
AN: Hey guys! Hope you are all good. Me, I got back from hiding in a cabin to celebrate Independence Day with friends who didn't get the virus. It is a small rental cabin out in the woods that I spent some good times getting some fresh air and away from all the crap back in the city. At least I got some good internet. Now for Q&A.
Trung Tran: If you are referring to the time I went to help relatives at a campsite, it was alright. Although my bed in the trailer is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. If you are referring to the cabin, it was very peaceful. I got to see prairie dogs, butterflies, and plenty of beautiful flowers up in the mountains. More relaxing than the campsite away from some idiot with a loudspeaker party all night and kids screaming at the pool. But I did enjoy the s'mores at the campsite and I forgot to get stuff to make s'mores at the cabin. Column A, column B.
Haxorus Knight: Yeah, it is. Although he did focus a lot more willpower to it, which is way more than Thanatos. Since Eric was reincarnated to another universe with his memories intact, he focus some of his own "hidden potential" through the stones.
RedBurningDragon: That maybe true.
Green223: Sort of. Enlighten Valley maybe similar to Rapture, but some of its policies are similar to Galt's Gulch from Atlas Shrugged (or called Atlantis according to the book). People are actually allowed to leave whenever they like as long as they keep it a secret by contract. Contracts are very important since many are business people and workers that signed an agreement that should be beneficial to all mutual parties. And some nanomachines in some brains that do break the contract will give them a memory wipe if anyone is broken and forced to talk. Well, that is only a rumor to the populace along with psychic scanners that should prevent any form of descent, but they are all false claims to ensure that there will be no betrayal...to an extent. We'll get to that later.
Plus it is rather reminiscent to the United States before regulations and abolition of certain substances along with the slow progress of technology, high taxes, and everything that fucked up our country. In Enlighten Valley, if the government wants money, they form businesses of their own to make money rather than fleecing it and only have very little power over the affairs of its people. People are supposed to think for themselves and use their own hands and minds to forge their own paths rather than just sit around and waste space in which they can achieve their dreams (and there is no outsourcing, which to me, it becoming a major problem in the USA). And unlike Rapture, it is not an anarcho-capitalist state. Things are a bit more like Galt's Gulch. Despite everyone fulfilling their dreams, they still need some sort of "day job" to keep a float and make some investments. In Atlas Shrugged, there is an economics professor that also became an electrical lineman. Calvin Atwood, one of the strikers, have a light and power company but is also a shoe cobbler. Midas Mulligan opened his bank but he also owns wheat fields and cattle ranches. Richard Halley, who was a great pianists and musician, grew fruit trees but kept his concerts season on every June until the strike "settles". These are just a few examples. Back on Andrew Ryan, once he fled his village of Minks when the Russian Revolution came and came to the States, he worked two jobs and made investments that he latter owned his own coal, oil and railway companies before the reforms.
Until then, good luck.
