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

[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?