Aligning views

[Miach]

Einstein's assessment was only too close to the truth for comfort. "I see what you mean. As someone who's lived here for some time now, I can only agree. You wouldn't believe the amount of pointless infighting I've been witness to. And yet, I doubt you'll actually achieve more through other means. More power to you if you do, of course, but if experience tells us one thing, it's that numbers matter." Her points were very valid, of course, but no matter how lacking their organization was, the mystagogue couldn't think of any better alternative.

"Just to correct you on one thing, though" the doctor added "I'l hoping to find a cure for Avis, not to Avis." Wishful thinking, probably, but still, the Acanthus wasn't anything if not hopeful.

"Think what you will of my political motives - or lack thereof. I'm busy enough trying to handle the Mysterium." he finished with.

[Einstein]

Einstein mostly didn't respond to Miach's answer to her statements. The last bit got a reaction though. "I'm going to have to disagree with you. See, 'achieving something more' is fairly easy - it requires achieving something that is literally anything other than 'absolutely nothing'. And, believe it or not, already got that handled. See, things are getting done at the squad level anyway. The bigger organization just interrupts and acts like it makes the decisions."

She smirked at Miach's answer to her accusation regarding Avis. "And you can keep telling yourself that, right up until you exile her for this or that issue. But, really, I don't care about your political motivations. The best part of not considering myself a true member of the group , is that I don't have to care about anything going on inside, til it affects me on the outside. You lot could stab each other if you felt like it. Don't matter to me, so long as my guys makes it out unharmed." There was a warning in there, too, evident in the shift of her voice in the last sentence.

[Miach]

"Then as I said, more power to you. And if you ever need my help achieving something, please feel free to call upon me." he said earnestly, holding his hands open at an angle in front of him, as if presenting something precious to someone,. Other than their common ground about Avis, it would seem that they had vastly dissimilar opinions about a lot.

There was that one little thing, though. "Your guys, you, her, everyone else... everyone's my concern, you know. Everyone deserves a chance at making it out unharmed. That's what I believe in, at least. All lives are equally precious." and his tone rose to match her, as that point wasn't something open to discussion.

[Einstein]

"All lives are equally precious? What about a Banisher's life? Or a Seer's?" Einstein let the pretense of Secrecy drop for just a moment, to ask a question, then put it back on. Maybe any shock would translate into an honest answer. "Given a choice between them and one of Us, would you choose them?" It was an important question, in her mind. Could Miach be trusted? Or would he turn on them the moment they did what had to be done?

"Not all lives are equally precious. Some people sacrifice their right to live when they make certain decisions. When they turn their back on the world and choose to destroy it, then they forfeit their lives. And, before you say anything, it's not about some lives being more valuable than others. It's about some lives being worth nothing compared to others."

[Miach]

It's exactly that line of thought that brought the division and imperiled them all in the long run. "They are as precious as ours, no question asked. Theirs are misused, dangerously astray, and a threat to our countinued existence, yes. But it doesn't have to be that way, nor does it mean their life is worth less."

Optimistic, yes. Naive... perhaps. But in the Acanthus's opinion, it was the only worthy goal. And to answer her question, as he had done already, and would probably have to do again... "The situation you describe is not a choice. If I had absolutely no choice but to take one of their life to save yours, I would do it. But I would deeply regret it. And if possible, I would rather have captives on my hands, or patients as I would say, rather than bodies."

[Einstein]

Einstein frowned. That kind of thinking was exactly what she'd been afraid of. Miach thought he could reason with them, turn them back to the side of the not-destroyers. He'd fold the second something decisive had to be done. When he had to pull the trigger, he'd hesitate. He'd fail, probably, and get someone killed. "Choosing one life over another is always a question of which life is worth more to you, whether you think it is or not."

"You can't reason with them. You can't rehabilitate them. They're already broken, and they're not going to be fixed. There's only one solution." A finger-gun was put up to her own head, and she mimed pulling a trigger. Then, Einstein stood. "And I hope you figure that out before you get someone killed trying to prove the opposite."

She didn't wait for an answer, she turned on her heel and walked off, in the direction of her home.

Einstein goes on home and leaves the scene!

[Miach]

There were many objections to be raised, but if letting her leave with the last word was the price for her cooperation, Miach was glad to pay it. Hopefully he'd someday be able to prove her wrong, because the opposite would be very, very bad. And it was with that sour thought that the Acanthus left the park, and headed back home, to more studies.

Good Scene, thank you !