Sacramento U Evening Arts Lecture

[Orphan]

About 3 minutes into the lecture, Derek gives up trying to follow it and focuses instead on people-watching.

First he studies the physical and verbal mannerisms of the lecturer, figuring he might be able to draw upon them in portraying certain sorts of characters - egghead academics, esoteric art theorists and so on - on stage and teaching his students how to portray such folk.

Next he looks around the audience, paying attention via body language - not to mention more obvious signs, such as glazed expressions or snoring - how others might be responding to the lecture.

Finally, he glances again at the fellow he recognizes from the Room Without Doors, the supposed mage. He notices several other people sitting near him, and wonders about them. He knew there were three supernatural beings in the audience - himself, the other Changeling and West. He didn't have any idea how many more there might be, but was curious... and so he decided to do some Kenning.

((1 WP spent; Clarity 7))


Meanwhile...

Orphan tries as best he can to follow the lecture. The idea of art offering a window into the divine was nothing new - he knew that was a common idea among the Greeks and among medieval artists - and he'd run into the term "divine geometry" before, though he had only the fuzziest idea about its meaning. His education and experience simply didn't provide him any context that allowed him to keep up with the talk. Orphan wasn't college educated - in fact, he dropped out of high school at 16 when he went to go find his father and instead found his Awakening; he'd only gotten his GED a year or so ago, while spending some time in Miami. He read a lot, but not this sort of stuff. The fact that he was more into 2-D than 3-D art didn't help either.

But he sticks with it, trying to get what he can out of it. His Legacy mentor had taught him the importance of developing the mind as well as the body - a concept heavily emphasized within the Adamantine Arrow - and Orphan knows people usually don't learn much if they just stick with easy stuff, or things they already know.

That doesn't keep his mind from occasionally wandering, though, and when it does, it usually drifts to getting in some shooting practice or some unarmed sparring. "I wonder what Teegan and Tug are up to? Or Val?" he thinks at one point, before reminding himself that right now he was right here, and that he'd better pay attention.

Still, try as he might, when the lecturer opens things up to questions, he has nothing.

[Aeolus]

God, is this some sort of sect? Aimée had heard something like this theory before, but not as.. needlessly detailed as this one. The disappointment was obvious for anyone watching her - her shoulders dropped as it was sure that there won't be any other pieces of art to look at and when Ruby started to calculate around she just let everything flow by.
Art was something to make life prettier, more enjoyable and ultimately worthwhile; the importance of a God was something she seriously doubted, but it seemed this lecture focused on a higher being or pattern as inspiration. Aimée frowned and raised her hand - discussing this, exchanging points of views could make this evening not completely wasted. In fact, it could turn out interesting.

[tsameti]

Ruby isn't too disappointed. She wrote her talk on short notice, and frankly expected to put more of her audience to sleep. She also had to censor herself fairly stringently, a huge annoyance. She'd like to be a little more explicit about the religious aspect of the presentation, which would be sadly inappropriate in a lecture setting, and just as vexing, Ruby certainly couldn't mention anything that might breach the mysteries...

Honestly, that didn't leave much to work with. She hoped the few hints she dropped might be enough to lead an inquisitive mind to the first step of The Path, but that might be hoping for too much. There had been a short instant where Tyria had squirmed a bit in her seat, but it had been fleeting.

She notices one or two questions in the audience.

"Well, looks like we got a hand up, right over there. Yup! The young woman with the sparkle in her smile."

[Jack Falley]

As he listened to the lecture, Jack leaned forward over his closed iBook in his lap. After hearing Divine Geometry a few times, he lost focus on Ruby as he thought about it. While he's smart, things don't just click immediately with him because he enjoys doing so many things and his mind wanders.

So, when Jack figured out what Ruby was talking about, he silently gasped as his heart skipped a beat and adrenaline pumped shortly through him. He knew that she was someone else he could possibly talk to! He put his computer into his backpack as quietly as possible and waited for the woman's question.

[Aeolus]

"So what you're basically saying is, that every piece of art created is inspired by a higher idea? Or is there a distinction between 'inspired art' and - let's say - 'mundane art'? If so, where do you draw the line? If not, doesn't this pretty much eliminate innovation and free will?" Aimée wasn't spiteful, she didn't want to disregard these ideas; she was honestly interested in hearing Ruby's answers.

[tsameti]

Ruby expects the students to misunderstand the basic premises of her talk, the Q&A is her chance to correct them politely and graciously. She's always confused how some of them come to such strange conclusions though.

"Well now, that's an interesting question. Luckily that's actually not what I've been saying at'all. So let me assure you now, you don't have to worry a whit about your free will. I ain't plannin' to take it from you with a piece of old crockery."

"Now, what I've been talkin' bout tonight is in fact a very specific pursuit. The ladies and men who use their art to try to figure out the biggest of the big questions. What's it mean to be a little old human bein', why we here, why's it we look up at the stars and feel a moment like we been touched by infinity?"

"Now there are plenty of examples in art of folks makin' light of baser things, what I'm sayin' is in those times an artist sets out to capture somethin' truly True, and that's with a capital T, she's like to stumble into these remarkably interesting patterns and conventions. Further, these numerological oddities cross cultural and historical boundaries."

"Now I suppose a man might say that this could simply be a symptom of the way our brains are wired, an inheritance from a primitive ancestry an' apehood and all. But! Another person, just as reasonable, might say instead that maybe these folks were on to something. Maybe there is some of the big T we might divine from an earnest craft."

"So, to answer your question, yes. There is a line. There's Art that's made for naught but fancy, and you might easily argue it's worth, I won't disagree. But then there's Art where you try to capture somethin' real, somethin' True, 'bout humanity, 'bout our world. That's the line."

"Alright, next question please."

[West (The Mage)]

West

West raised his hand, then asked his question when Ruby acknowledged him.

"Isnt' there, ummm, some inherent dichotomy in seeking the ephemeral divine through the... ah, 'base' act of working with earth?" he asked, stumbling a bit. It might give the impression that he wasn't used to using high dollar words or asking questions of that sort.

[tsameti]

Ruby hadn't meant to shut down the first two questioners, but she can't allow people to get the wrong impressions from her talk, leading these souls astray would be a crime.

The Magister raises his hand next, and unsure what he might ask Ruby steels herself a bit. His question, it turns out, is deeply Acanthus... although most Obrimos might be inclined to have similar opinions.

"That's a tricky question, the shortest of answers I might give is that I do disagree. Now, we're startin' to approach a bit of the metaphysical here... so tonight I'll try to address that as generally as I can so as not to become a discussion of Theology."

"I suppose firstly when we approach this question, there's an issue of practicality we've got to address. This world here, this physical stuff," she pinches herself lightly for emphasis, "it's what we've got to work with. If we happen to be unfortunate enough that there's no trace of somethin' more here..."

"Well then, there'll never be a chance to find it. But if there's just a spark, just a bare glimmer of deeper truth still left in the world, well... maybe, just maybe, we might find our path illuminated by a deeper understandin'. Blessin's be if a kind soul wiser than ourselves figures some of that out might bring a little back with'em."

"But that's all conjecture of course, I can present only what I've seen myself. That is, there's somethin' that all of these," she sweeps out her hand over the pieces on the table, "people were toein' the line of. Approachin' but never quite able to reproduce. They were blind men aimin' for perfection and missed the mark. Maybe we can grope through that darkness with these hands of ours and make a guess at what they wanted to hit."

"I apologize, my opinions on the matter are a bit stronger than that but I doubt it'd be appropriate discussion for a lecture settin'. I hope that was enough an answer?" She waits for a moment just in case the Magister wanted clarification. That was a bit rambly after all.

[West]

West

"So, hmmm," West pauses to phrase his question, "Are you saying that this method of enlightenment is more advantageous than... say, some type of shamanistic or Eastern method of expanding the consciousness through meditation?"

"Or is this just the one you like?" he quickly added, realizing that his question was putting her in a corner.

Ruby may know through the Mysterium or Tyria that West has a great deal of mundane Occult knowledge, specifically in the area of Taoism.

[tsameti]

"Whoa now," Ruby laughs falsely as she sticks out her hands to slow him down. "I'm just talkin' about pottery. Enlightenment's a bit bigger than little old me." She looks strained for a moment, frustrated that she can't answer more fully.

"Maybe we might have another question?"