MEMORY SEQUENCE 002 - VIDEO

[lifescratched]

[The camera cuts abruptly to a view from the roof of a building, giving a panorama over one of the bridges and the river of the city. How the D-Terminal's owner got up to such a height is unknown, but who it belong to becomes obvious when Armadillomon shuffles into view. He pokes his nose over the edge of the roof, looking a little green.]

I don't know why you had to carry me up here... Couldn't I have just waited on the ground where it's safe?

[Then there's a brief glimpse of Connor's hooded face as he sets the D-Terminal down, perching himself on the edge of the rooftop. Apparently the multi-story drop doesn't make him flinch in the least.]

There. [The camera is angled toward, in the distance, Tokyo's Statue of Liberty.] Look at the tablet she is holding. It has a date on it -- "4th July, 1776".

[This means nothing to Armadillomon, who is only looking more anxious.] All right, now you've seen it, can we get down?

Wait. [He places a hand on Armadillomon's shell, as if to soothe his nerves.] I wish to know the meaning of the other date. "14th July, 1789". [Now his attention is on the D-Terminal, which he glances down to.] Is anyone able to tell me? And why is such a statue in a place such as this? It should not belong in this world.

Comments

[ Video ]

[gallowshumor]

[ Well now, there's a date he knows. It takes him back to the life of Marie Antoinette, whose soul he judged at her death.... The statue, by comparison, is more alien to him. The original is only a couple years old in his home time. ]

Well, I can answer the question the others haven't yet, but I don't just give out information for free....

[ Ah, how he misses his shop. Trying to barter for trivial information with all these lost souls is simply nothing in comparison to the workings of the underworld... not that he's going to stop trying just yet. ]

[ Video ]

[lifescratched]

[A fair enough request, Connor supposes... Although such information seems of little value in a place like this.]

And in exchange?

[gallowshumor]

[ Undoubtedly so, but old habits die hard and Undertaker has to get his kicks somehow. There's enough selfless good Samaritans around already....

He still gets that creepy, over-eager grin at the prospect. ]

I only ask for that one thing more valuable than any gold or 'bit'... give me laughter.

[lifescratched]

[Oooo..kay.]

I am not here to entertain.

[gallowshumor]

[ He gets that a lot. It gets a titter, but not enough of one to qualify as payment. He sits back and stops crowding the screen of his D-Terminal, which is totally a thing he was doing. ]

Then I have no information for you. Although... I suppose I could offer you a deal, since it's a fairly trivial date. [ By his standards. ] Don't you know any jokes at all?

[lifescratched]

I have heard many, but I cannot say I take the time to remember them.

[Does this seriously look like someone with a sense of humour to you. Really.]

[gallowshumor]

[ Not in the least little bit. Which would make it all the funnier if he could be made to tell a joke! ]

A pity. [ He doesn't sound that disappointed. ] The Fourth of July seems significant to you, or at least you are aware of its significance in general. Do you expect the Fourteenth to hold similar weight?

[lifescratched]

[It would either be funny, or cringeworthy. Possibly both.]

Yes. Why else would the dates be recorded together, on a statue that represents freedom?

[gallowshumor]

[ Which equals "funny" straight across the board for our friend Undertaker here. ]

Indeed. So, it could be a very good thing... or a very bad thing. Of course, given the nature of history in general, chances are it was good for some people, while bad for others involved.

[ He hums thoughtfully. This is Undertaker playing coy. It's the closest he's gotten to information selling since he got here. He's missing his usual lifestyle, man. ] I wonder which side you would be on....

[lifescratched]

The cause of freedom is not a bad thing, so long as all benefit from it equally. [He would call Undertaker a cynic, but he's right. In the case of the American Revolution, at least, some were made more free than others. Connor had learned that one the hard way...]

I choose no sides but my own.

[gallowshumor]

Doesn't every man? But one man's freedoms do so often have a way of infringing upon the freedoms of others....

[ It's actually rather nice talking to another adult for a change, after all these children. (And a few delightful other adults, can't deny that, but still. Mostly children.)

Oh why not, let's drop a little hint. ]

What do you think of the French?

[lifescratched]

Freedom is a responsibility as much as a right -- the responsibility to respect the freedom of others as well as your own. True freedom is impossible if one group deprives it from another. [He pauses.] The French? Of those I have met, they are good friends and allies.

[Stephane, Norris, Aveline... Hell, he even has a more positive opinion of Lafayette than of Washington.]

Why do you ask?

[gallowshumor]

[ A wise man butif Undertaker laughs more, it's because the idealism itself amuses him and not so much to directly mock. This fellow reminds him just a little bit of that Inspector from the Scotland Yard.... ]

It relates to your question. I simply wondered if, perhaps, the answer itself is just not relevant to your interests—asking simply for curiosity's sake, as it were.

[lifescratched]

[Connor simply stares. He's used to having his idealism mocked, but it still irritates him. It seems cynical types exist in every world.]

You are saying the French are related to that date, then. How?