entrancelogs | [ Open ] Of Good, Evil, and the Scientific Method

Who: Carlos and you!
Where: Library, and wherever else they might roam off to after that.
When: The duration of the event.
Rating: PG
Summary: Carlos the ~~Scientist's~~ Angel’s interest in humanity goes beyond simply trying to nudge them in the “right” (adjective, \ˈrīt\ : good, morally upstanding, heavenly) direction. How can it not, when humans are just so interesting? Event catch-all.

The Story:

Logic and order: the things that govern the universe, to which all things must adhere to. Of course, “order” can seem a lot like chaos to those who have yet to fully understand the truths governing existence. Humanity falls safely within that category, and as long as it’s taking them to slowly understand how the world around them really works, Carlos is (and always has been) fascinated by the process of their learning.

Which is why you’ll most likely find him in the library. He’s not necessarily reading. Mostly it’s just observation and conversation with the humans that wander into the room. What are you looking at there? What do you think about it, and did you come up with that? Oh no, don’t mind him as he reads over your shoulder and jots down notes… nope, not weird at all. The good news is, he’ll be extremely enthusiastic to help you out with whatever it is you’re working on.

But that’s only if you’re human. If you’re a demon, expect this logically-minded angel to keep his distance. But you might also notice him sneaking you glances with a thoughtful, almost troubled expression. Because he may or may not be… involved… with a certain demon, and it’s making him reconsider a few things.

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It’s a subject Carlos has found himself thinking about as well. And he’s tried not to, because it’s so obviously blasphemous that he’s surprised he hasn’t been called out for it already. But at the same time, Carlos can’t just stop thinking something. And even if he could, he wouldn’t want to. There’s something sacred about knowledge too, isn’t there? But that would be just the sort of temptation a demon might offer up to a questioning soul…

But Carlos tries not to let that subject overrun his thoughts when Cecil is around, because then there are so many other, more interesting things to think about. Like-

“Jellyfish?” He grins as well, the expression contagious. Leave it up to Cecil to come up with such a delightfully strange topic. “I never really thought about it, but… you’re right. I mean, of course they’re interesting- everything is interesting- but I’d never thought about them as beautiful before.” He holds up a hand, and somewhere between one second and the next a book appears on his upraised palm. It’s an encyclopedia of marine life, pulled from elsewhere in the library. “I’m not an expert on animals,” he admits as he sets the large tome down and starts flipping through the pages.

Fortunately for demons, it's sort of a given that they're going to blaspheme all over the place. Demons can't exactly Fall twice. The issue is that even demonic superiors don't particularly like questions like the ones Cecil has been asking himself. It's the sort of thing that gets you sent back to Hell for some re-education in the Abandoned Hell Shaft.

"They so pretty. Really delicate...like underwater ghosts or something. And all the tentacles! I mean, the whole stinging thing is unpleasant, but just watching them drift around slowly and totally carefree? I love it."

Cecil loves a lot of animals. Cats, dogs, jellyfish, spiderwolves... Most days one comes to the forefront to be his favorite for the day. And today it's jellyfish.

Carlos has gotten to the section on jellyfish, but he’s spending less time looking down at the pages and more time smiling affectionately at Cecil. Sure, he’s a demon, but there’s something almost innocent about how pure his fascination with things can be, and Carlos loves listening to him go on about whatever has caught his fancy on any particular day. And Cecil has such a way of summing things up in a way that’s both completely strange and extremely accurate. It’s fascinating to listen to.

“They’re very relaxing to watch. They may not have an awareness like higher life forms do, but if they did, I like to think they would be enjoying themselves.” It’s a silly thing to say, and Carlos would feel embarrassed admitting that to anyone but Cecil. It’s such a fanciful, unscientific thought- if jellyfish could enjoy themselves. He clears his throat and turns the book around so it’s facing Cecil, then he pushes it across the table for him to be able to see it better.

“Did you know that they aren’t really fish at all? The word “jellyfish” is a complete misnomer.”

That's just fine, because Cecil is pretty much gazing unabashedly at Carlos at this point. Carlos is so perfect. Or at least, so perfectly imperfect. Which is a little odd. Angels are supposed to be perfect. But the mere fact that angels can Fall means that they must have some imperfections. Carlos doesn't have the same kind of imperfections, thankfully. Cecil would wonder what that meant about perfection and God if it didn't hurt his head and freak him out a little.

"Oh, I'm sure they do. Enjoy themselves, I mean. I think most animals know how to enjoy life. Kind of like how ignorance is bliss, right? If you don't have to think about the crushing terror of existence and mortality then you're free to just enjoy things."

He looks at the book, beaming at the colorful jellyfish captured in the images.

"Really? I didn't know that. What are they, then?"

Ignorance is bliss. It takes a lot of restraint for Carlos not to say something in response to that. He looks up, mouth opening and then shutting again as a stream of counter-arguments filter through his mind. It may be blissful, but what’s the point? How can you really enjoy something without understanding it, without knowing- And then his head starts to hurt a little, because of course this goes against some of Heaven’s own creeds. Isn’t the mind of God one of those sacred, unknowable things? And he would never consider even wanting to breach such sacred ground, but… still, in the more general scheme of things, to be ignorant is…

But one look at Cecil’s glowing expression and Carlos is able to tamp down the ideological argument he can feel building on the back of his tongue. It was overreaction anyway, a… strangely human impulse to argue the point. Honestly, Carlos isn’t quite sure what had gotten into him.

Instead, Carlos stands and walks around to Cecil’s side of the table, a hand resting on the back of his chair as he leans over to look at the book from over Cecil’s shoulder. “I’m not sure, actually. Something else, like-“ he squints down the page. “Medusozoa?” Animals are really not his specialty.

Cecil blinks at the look on Carlos's face. Oops. He shouldn't have said that. It's hard for him to understand an angel's perspective sometimes. He remembers what it was like, but actually understanding it is different. He's about to speak up and say he didn't mean it that way, that thinking is all good and fine, but then Carlos gets up and his expression changes. Cecil follows him with his eyes and smiles when Carlos comes around behind his chair.

"Medusoza? Medu--Medusozoa. Kind of like Medusa, right, with the snake hair? I suppose that makes sense."

Carlos is happy to let the subject go this once. After all, they have the rest of eternity to discuss the complexities of good and evil and where knowledge comes into play in the grand scheme of things. And in the end, does it matter that much anyway? He and Cecil, against whatever prerogatives their natures have imposed on them, seem to be on equal ground when it comes to the things that matter. That they have both utilized their freedom, knowledge and ability to be together in the first place attests to that. And anyway, it's a lot more fun to look at encyclopedias together.

“I think so. Though I wonder what humans called them before the Medusa legend then. I’m sure we could find out, with a little more research..."

Cecil loves talking about good and evil, specifically how outdated the terms are, but there's a time and a place for everything. When he and Carlos talk shop like that there's always going to be some points they disagree on. You find ways to let things go; they'd never have been able to make it work, otherwise. Cecil wonders if it's easier for humans, with their free will and all.

"Ooh, yeah! I wonder! Yes, clearly more research is required. Do you think the library has a jellyfish section?"

“What library wouldn’t?” Carlos grins and steps back, allowing for Cecil to pull his chair out. If there’s one thing he can never say no to, it’s research. “We can look together.”

[ Open ] Of Good, Evil, and the Scientific Method

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