Jon was working late in school today. Brittany was there, looking sympathetic to her, but she could tell Jon was in deep thought. She wanted to tell her about time stopping for a brief time (as a ghost it didn't affect her- but it was quite freaky... she was glad when it started again.)
"How are you m'lady?" Asked the ghost-girl curiously. Perhaps it could wait though.
"A... little confused," The slug girl admitted. She had a nice time going out with Tim. But there was also the forced admission that doing it was different then when she had been male. She wasn't sure exactly how it was. She felt a little more nervous about things, and there was little doubt she did make more of an effort then usual to make herself look nice. Then again, being female did take a bit more work in that, didn't it? Or... was she over complicating this again? She didn't know.
"What concerns you? I make myself available to council you, should you desire," the ghost girl said in her very gentle English accent.
Jon turned to her putting down her work. There was something very calming about how polite the ghost girl was with things. Jon was still amazed to be speaking to someone from the distant past. "I... guess I know the time is coming where I'll have to make a choice soon, on just what wish to do."
"There are many options m'lady," said the Brittany. "Have you read the journal of the past keepers?"
Jon nodded. It was interesting to read, but so little of it applied to where they stood now. Nobody could have imagined humanity to get quite like this, and now she just didn't know what would be best for the next stage. "If you were me, what would you do?" the slug girl asked.
Brittany gave it some thought. "Honestly?"
Jon nodded.
The ghost girl gave a little sigh as she placed a finger onto her cheek. "For something as large as this... there can be few middle grounds. You can either make this all simply a dream, or.. leave it as it is."
Jon bulked at that idea. "You mean... I could make this all just a weird dream everyone had?"
Brittany nodded. "Very easily m'lady, once the stone is charged. Everyone would go back to their normal lives, and everything would be exactly as it was, and none of this would seem to have ever happened." Those words hung in the air, and fell with a thud onto the slug girl's heart.
Jon looked down. She thought of Mikey, Biff.. Sarah even Tiffany. It would be better wouldn't it? To take away any pain they might have felt after their changes. To just make this an 'interesting dream'? But then she thought of Haru... who thanked her. Thanked her with all her heart, at changing her life. She thought of that comatosed girl in the news, who was now enjoying life again. She thought of people who had found something exciting at simply living again... could she really erase all that?
Brittany saw the look Jon had. "It is... not what I would choose. I simply say it is one of two choices."
"I- I don't know," said Jon in the end.
"The other choice is to keep things as they are. Trust that humans will be able to adapt to a new state, whatever that future may bring. Perhaps make the next wish aid towards that idea" She glanced to the history books on a shelf, and slowly took one out. "I am no fortune teller... but I fear terribly, that humanity's course had it continued as it did, would eventually result in massive wars, stagnation... and very possibly, eventually an end." Were they not reaching the limits of their current existence? How far could they go? But now they could go even further... to interact and understand the universe far better.
"You really think we're better off as we are?" Asked Jon a bit surprised.
Brittany nodded. "I like to believe we are on a path m'lady. But we must take that journey... to go back just doesn't sit right with me."
"I rather find a middle ground of some sort," said Jon in the end. There has to be some 'compromise'?
"Consider back to the early dawn of man m'lady. When suddenly all these primitive creatures, achieved sentience... became aware that they were naked... some of course wished to not know their nakedness, and be as animals again. Tribes fought wars over 'clothes and skins'... the keeper of the stone at that time felt a terrible guilt. He.. or she could have tried to find a middle ground, even though they had suddenly understood how to make 'fire'. The keeper trusted that in the end humans would co-operate... was that such a poor decision?" She wasn't sure what a 'half' sentient state might work out to be like in practice, but.. she suspected it would have been a disaster. To go back and forth too? Equally disastrous.
Jon wondered again. Was it? If not for that one choice, nothing else would have happened... humanity would be a very uninteresting animal, among a lot of other uninteresting animals... but now they were all different species. No two was alike... what if that brought a war too? But then- war's were generally fought over resources and everyone was occupying a different niche. The news was always reporting how the air was now cleaner, with industry adapting and changing... there also appeared to be less disease. With everyone a different species, the threat of plague had severely decreased... their new bodies tended to be exceptionally healthy.
... Yet... "I... see what you mean Brittany. But I really want to explore some kind of middle ground to this. It might have had to be that way in the past, but... I'm sure in our era, there is some way to make everyone happy."
Brittany nodded. "I only serve to advise m'lady, and respect greatly your desire. I hope you can find a perfect wish."
