A Crossroads Between Realities

[Victor, blinking as he tries to figure out the best way to explain capitalism to someone who lived in a cave on raw fish] Er. . .it's -- giving people something in exchange for something else?

[Alice, trying to hide a smile] It's a bit complicated. . .but food is good. And they've got just about everything there. Have to cater to a lot of different tastes, after all.

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Oh, trade! *So near and yet so far . . .*

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[Victor wiggles a hand] Sort of! Just you're trading a very specific thing for the things you want. Something they can then use to trade for things they want.

[Alice] It's called "money," generally. Usually specially-made bits of metal or paper.

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Because they don't go bad?

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[Alice pauses] That -- you know, that probably was a consideration. Though I think the bigger one was that people like to put value on shiny or colorful things.

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Precious was ssshiny. Everyone wanted it. Don't think that was why, though. But having value is power, ssso maybe?

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[Alice, tilting her head] Precious?

[Victor, explaining] An artifact of great evil power he got saddled with that some other evil power wanted. It's gone now, thankfully. . . [to Smeagol] And it probably didn't hurt. You can get a lot of power just by having a lot of money. [said in a tone that means he's thinking of his biological parents and all the bullshit they were able to get away with, being rich]

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I wasss nothing much to start with, sooo it gave us little. More to work with, the worssse things get. *And with the state he's in, imagine what a lot would be . . .*

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[Victor winces] Oh dear, I can imagine. . .

[Alice grimaces] Me too. Especially since I've had some nasty experiences with some of the worst of humanity. If the Monroe twins had gotten any more power. . .I'm sorry you had to endure what it did to you.

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Long yearses in the dark.

Hobbitses . . . we was once hobbitses. Our kind don't want much, folk say. I don't think they're right. I want a nice chair and fishes three times a day! Ones I don't have to catch! Very nice wish. *Smeagol has no idea that this is even less than what Samwise wanted, and Samwise was the least tempted of anyone. From opposite ends, the two foes came to the same scarcity.*

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[Victor shivers at the mention of how much time Smeagol spent in the darkness -- hello, personal hell, how are you?] I'm sorry again. Truly.

[The mention of Smeagol's wish, however, gets a smile] It is very nice. Just enough to want, I think.

[Alice nods] Not unreasonable at all. . .you know, there should be chairs at the mall. And fish in the food court.

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What more is there to want? *An utterly genuine query. If he had the ring, a chair and had free fish, he would be close to the limit of his imagination. Smeagol-Gollum, as he exists in this moment, knows only a hardscrabble existence that has reduced the greatest dream to a nice chair and a fish.

*This probably explains why his expression is switching between ecstasy and deep suspicion semi-randomly as he tries to figure out what they want from him. Even nice people have had short tempers and made him do painful things before, the only difference was that they encouraged him and kept the pain to a minimum when they didn't have to. The Nexus is throwing him for more of a loop here than the space between worlds thing ever did.*

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[Victor, rolling his eyes] Well, if you're Nell Van Dort, various expensive knick-knacks on every bloody surface so people can see, oh, we're so rich we can spend a small fortune on fragile figurines and plates no one uses.

[Alice pats his back] Yes -- a lot of people just aren't satisfied with a warm place to sit and guaranteed meals, unfortunately.

[she notes Smeagol's changing expressions with a small nod] Not used to people being nice, hmm?

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Barely used to people at all. And nice? Nice is not dragging Smeagol around by the neck. Much.

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[Alice frowns sympathetically] Sort of like how nice, for me, was "doesn't try to jab drills through my skull" or "only ties me to the bed some of the time" for a while.

[Victor takes a steadying breath -- hearing about her time at Rutledge always makes him angry that anyone could do such things to a little girl, much less the girl who grew up into his wife] We intend to show you a better version of "nice." No dragging about included.

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Good. Nasty ropeses burned our skin, they did. Nice lady knows all about that, by the sound of things.

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[Alice makes a face, nodding] More or less. . .Rutledge was not a kind place for a child. The things they did to people in there. . .

[Victor puts a comforting arm around her] You're both well out of the worst now.

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Children should be sssafe. *He sounds a bit uncertain, though, since he can barely remember what children are.*

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[Alice nods] They should. But life doesn't work like that sometimes. Many times. As I'm sure you know. One little thing goes wrong, and suddenly. . . [she sighs, leaning up against Victor]

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Sssuddenly everything is lossst.

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[Alice] Exactly. [she looks up at Victor with a smile] But, sometimes, you're also lucky enough to find something new. Something worth going on for.

[Victor nods, smiling back before giving her a quick kiss] There's always something to hope for.

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We hope there is something to hope for, at leassst.

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[Victor, encouragingly] That's the spirit.

[Alice, looking around their location] And you know ice cream exists now. That definitely puts you ahead.

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It does, it does!

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