SWITCHBOARD

[transmittable]

If you'd like to ask the Transmitter something over the phone, go right ahead! The Transmitter will answer the phone as soon as she's available. Leaving messages is impossible, given how old these phones are, but you should be able to reach her at almost all hours.

Comments are screened for privacy; all Patients are offered confidentiality, didn't you know?

Comments

[journalname]

[yOUNG LadY]

I would offer to make you something, but I suspect that would not work either. The variety of human food here is nice, though!

[transmittable]

[ You're not her real dad, goat man. ]

It probably wouldn't. It'd be a little hard to get food to me, I think. We uh, we just want to provide all of you with all the absolute essentials.

[journalname]

[he met her over the phone yesterday and this is the second time they've spoken, sooooooo obviously he is]

Ha, ha. I think you must know a little more about the history of the Underground than the others here, if you were responsible for the profiles. The absolute essentials are far more than we had for a very long time. I do not take it for granted, now.

[transmittable]

...I do. Some things get jumbled, but it's hard to mix up information about a giant goat man. ...Do you have unicorns, in the Underground? Stupid question, never mind it.

[journalname]

It is not a stupid question! There are certainly monsters who resemble unicorns! I think a great deal of human myths stem from encounters with monsterkind, one way or another.

[like their fixation on a goat-like devil with a pitchfork who rules an underground kingdom of evil?]

[transmittable]

Is there any truth in those myths? Like, are the unicorns friendly, or majestic?

[journalname]

[He chuckles.]

They are quite friendly! And I suppose they are majestic, too. Many of them even have healing magic - that is in the stories, is it not?

[transmittable]

It is! I've always liked unicorns, but we didn't have them in my world. ...I've been asking people who call, if they let me ask questions.

[ She can't help but sound embarrassed, and with the distortion it's kind of funny sounding. ]

[journalname]

[That is adorable.]

Have any of the other worlds had them?

[transmittable]

Assertive's has...I think she called them fiends? Fiends like them. Ones that resemble them. She hadn't heard of the word, though.

[journalname]

[It takes him a second to place the title, but - ]

- oh, yes, Nachetanya! She is enjoyable to talk to, isn't she? Though she has not mentioned fiends to me before. [It actually recontextualizes some things.] I wonder if she thought I was one of those, when we met...

[transmittable]

Yes, her. I- we can't really say what we talked about more than that, confidentiality and all that, but it doesn't seem like all fiends are bad. Just so you know.

[journalname]

Of course, do not worry about it. I shall ask her if I wish to know more about her world. But thank you, all the same.

...this is not exactly how I imagined it might happen, if I were to ever encounter humans again. [It's a slightly joking statement, because who could have foreseen this particular circumstance] But almost everyone has been very kind, even though I know my appearance alarmed some of them. It is...encouraging.

[transmittable]

Many...fear what they don't understand. But once they start to actually look at that something as the potential to befriend, instead of the potential to fear, it... it changes things? Just looking with an uncritical eye.

[journalname]

Exactly. That is something we were lacking before. But I have always known humanity is capable of it - they are not inherently any better or worse than monsterkind. They were just afraid, back then.

[transmittable]

You would forgive them, for what they did to you?

[journalname]

I do not think it would do us any good to sit underground being resentful. We must keep moving forward.

[..........]

Besides, all the humans involved in the war are long dead. Those who live on the Surface now had nothing to do with it. To blame them for being human would be no better than when we were blamed for being monsters.

[transmittable]

An enlightened way of thinking. ...Maybe we should've given YOU that title.

[journalname]

[wait like three memory regains and check back]

Ha! Well, I am sure Miss Kashima deserves it. How did you choose all of these titles?

[transmittable]

We studied what we could about you, and we conferred until we found a suitable descriptor.

[journalname]

That sounds difficult. I am not sure I could pick one word for the people I know very easily...though I suppose you had not really met us yet.

[transmittable]

We hadn't. It was also a collective process. So many minds thinking about one person, it made it easier.

[journalname]

That makes sense! I admit, I still think it would have been easier to just use our names, but I suppose you have your process.

[And, well, it's really not that big a deal.]

You did say that it was good to "finally" meet me. This must have taken a long time to prepare?

[transmittable]

Yes. "This" in the general sense of things. While we weren't sure exactly who we would welcome here, we waited for a...very long time, to get to this point.

[journalname]

Was there a reason you chose the people you did? Or was it your choice?