Log 0007

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[In Zero, Scorpius does what he does best: he plans. Giving him space and time to think through what he wants and how to get it is one of the unintended gifts of his cell space, and he appreciates every moment of it.

After several days, he addresses the Barge]

A question to my fellow shipmates;

When an inmate commits a grievous crime, who is to blame for it? Obviously the inmate must share some, but what percentage is attributed to them and what percentage is attributed to their warden, who may be unfit to command them? A warden may fail just as easily by not admitting to something that could be most assuredly out of their control.

And what of inmates who aren't paired and no one has taken the time to explain to them the rules?

My apologies to Alex Summers. While it was certainly my intent to hurt him, he had done nothing to harm me and was simply in the correct place at the correct time.



[Private to Crichton]

Of course, John, we all know that you are the one fully to blame.

More like Alex will follow. You cannot hope to save them all.

In a few days' time they will be forced to release me. What has changed between the time of my entering this cell and the time of my leaving it? As a deterrent towards behavior, Zero leaves much to be desired.

I am willing to entertain ideas of a deal between us.

Comments

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Not possible, I'm afraid. For various reasons.

[bodilesswarrior]

Have you considered that you've got an opportunity to change that?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

I am considering every possibility afforded to me.

[bodilesswarrior]

Good. I'd hate to think of you wasting any through tunnel-vision.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

I may be blatantly obsessed, Barbara - although I dislike using that word - but that does not make me a moron who cannot consider other alternatives.

[bodilesswarrior]

I don't know, hurting Alex was kind of moronic.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Only if you apply it to terms of my own graduation.

But then, I'm not seeking graduation as a primary motivator. Which you know.

By all means, continue to belittle my intelligence, if it will make you feel superior.

[bodilesswarrior]

That's not what I'm trying to do, Scorpius. And anyway, I have better ways to feel superior.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

I'm sure you do.

[bodilesswarrior]

Don't even have to try, really.

[Her expression shifts, then, turns more serious.]

I know you're smart, Scorpius. [This is the first time they've spoken; it's not the first time she's studied him.] But I think you get in the way of yourself.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

You're welcome to draw your own conclusions.

[bodilesswarrior]

Thanks for your permission. [She's smiling again, just a little.]

You know, obviously, that you don't have to listen to me or anyone else. And God knows I don't know everything about you. [Which is irritating on principle, but she doesn't show it.] But most Inmates - a lot of people, in general - tend to be their own worst enemies.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

I did not begin sabotaging myself until the Barge decided to put the chance of my redemption at opposing odds with what I wanted most in life, Barbara. It is a cruel irony to pit my desire to graduate against my desire to eliminate the Scarrans.

[bodilesswarrior]

[A slight nod.] I get that.

I've been turned into an Inmate before. [Her smile sharpens.] Apparently I'm one of those Wardens on the borderline, or at least I was. [A lot has happened, since then.]

It's - I had to find a balance. Between achieving what I wanted, and not losing who I wanted to be. [A slight shrug.] Our situations are different, but...I know what hate can do to a person. I know how hard it is to separate vengeance from justice, rage from practicality.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

In this case, my achievements are who I am. Over time, I have become to define myself through my deeds and actions. I prefer it, rather than be riddled in ambiguousness.

The Barge, to me, represents not a compromise but an ultimatum. I must change who I am or lose everything, but if I change, I will lose the one thing I want most.

[bodilesswarrior]

[Another nod, because she understands that, too. So many times, she defined herself through the mission, as Oracle; enough that she felt guilty, felt wrong being anything else.

But that's no way to live.]

Maybe not. Maybe it's not your actions themselves, that need to change, not all of them. [She thinks of the Emperor, of the choices he's had to make. Not all of them were avoidable; the devil is in the details.]

I'm still going to kill a man when I go home, but it's not about me. It's not about my pain, or my grief, or my vengeance.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Who will you kill, Barbara? For what reason?

[bodilesswarrior]

[Her hands clasp in her lap as she considers her words.]

He's called the Joker. He's a serial killer - hundreds of people, murdered and maimed. Hundreds of families torn apart.

Two of them were my family. My deal is bringing them - and everyone else - back to life. But it can't end there - he'll just keep on killing.

[She remembers telling Dick that, before she came here; wondering how much of that blood was on their hands. She still couldn't bring herself to take that step, back then - couldn't separate personal vengeance from objective justice. She knew she couldn't use Oracle for the former.]

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Then you will need to put him out of his misery.

Or to be more accurate, everyone else's misery.

Is he nearly unstoppable?

[bodilesswarrior]

He's impossible to contain - we've been trying for years - but he won't be hard to kill. [She's thought of a dozen different ways, all untraceable.]

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Containing him is no longer an option. Give a creature enough time to itself and eventually its dungeon will erode. Only death is final.

[He pauses, to consider his surroundings]

In most cases.

[bodilesswarrior]

Our prison system is - it's definitely not perfect, for a lot of reasons, but it's pretty good at keeping people incarcerated.

Most people. Unfortunately, Gotham got a lot of exceptions.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

This man. Do you think he can be redeemed?

[bodilesswarrior]

No. [Her answer is firm and immediate.] Most people can, I think - most people have some scrap of humanity left.

[A beat.] If you'll pardon the expression.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Of course.

Then he is better off dead, for all your sakes. A prison is meant to contain, but only for those who it is believed will serve a purpose their death will not. There is nothing you have told me about this man that would suggest death would not be better suited for him than imprisonment.