trinkett | Fourth Dispatch: It's Not What You Think. Voice.

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Fourth Dispatch: It's Not What You Think. Voice.

Dear Fellow Residents of Luceti,

Wouldn't it be entertaining to put on some Games here in Luceti? Not that the Cultural Fair wasn't amusing, or any of the other activities going on here -- but true gladiatorial games. The pitting of one creature against another! Think of the thrill and drama and the release that goes along with that sort of entertainment! And here in Luceti we are ideally suited for a very exciting Games indeed.

Who would you sponsor or volunteer for this entertainment? Or would it all be...

[There is a pause here.]

Pokey-mans? I find human beings MUCH more interesting to watch, personally.

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Because they don't like you? Because you suggested this whole debacle and think you need a taste of your own medicine? Because they think it would be hilarious to watch someone untrained have to fight for survival?

Because they really don't care that you'll get hurt.

And those are just the reasons off the top of my head.

[They were all good reasons. Very good. Effie had seen what jealousy, pettiness, and hatred could do in the hallowed courts and streets of the Capitol. Smear campaigns, gossip, and whispers could lead someone to the chambers of the torturers, never to return. She'd always been so careful to never give anyone reason to drag her. So clean. So perfect. And now, she'd mucked it up, somehow. Just by trying to give people what she thought they wanted.

Best to continue smoothly. Confidently.]

Trust me -- I'd be very poor entertainment indeed! No, these games would be for those truly adept at creating excitement and pathos for the crowds! There is unity in that sort of thing, you know.

[That would be the sound of Max facepalming.]

But you'll happily watch someone else who can't fight get beaten to the ground, because you find it fun and someone volunteered them.

Do people die in your world? In these games you're so fond of? People who have no choice in the matter.

Everyone in my world dies. No one ever has a choice. Is it different in yours?

Depends on the species.

But the ideal is generally to live to a ripe old age and die in your sleep, not get slaughtered while people take bets on your survival.

And then of course, you have the ones who die and stick around afterwards. Angrily.

Do you mean "ghosts"? [She is suddenly curious. She's heard of people being "haunted" by "ghosts". Most in the Capitol think it is nonsense. Cinna sometimes mentions things that sound like that, but very few others dare to talk about it.]

Yeah, if that's what you want to call him. Spirits of the dead. Get a vengeful one stuck around, one that feels like it's been wronged, one that has suffered, and it's... horrible.

I've thought sometimes that that could be marginally inconvenient. You know. If someone got "trapped" in the physical world after passing on honorably.

[Sometimes it does indeed keep her up at night.]

Someone who has passed on in a way that they believe is honourable probably isn't gonna be sticking around. Happy people don't become ghosts.

I wonder if President Snow ever.....

Nevermind.

[One should not think about what the President gets up to in his dreams or even in his waking moments.]

I know there are a lot of dead politicians and monarchs and nobles hanging around in various castles where I'm from, so a lot of them obviously have something they feel is unfinished business.

That must be very confusing and inconvenient! They should acknowledge their time is up! Time to move on!

They can't. That's kind of the point of a ghost. They're trapped in the same mindset as when they died. It takes something pretty special to send them on.

Special like what? [Because she was a reasonable enough woman to understand that she might be the target of a haunting one day.]

Like someone with the ability and skill to channel them and get rid of them.

Do you have that skill?

[She follows this up quickly:]

It's only because today I thought...I thought I heard a baby.

Yeah. I do. And the training to back it up. I'm an exorcist back home.

[He raises an eyebrow curiously at that.]

A baby? Where?

Does the "where" matter?

Well, kind of. If you were in the middle of town, there is always the chance it might actually just be a baby.

It was in my head. Kind of. [Wow that sounded way too weird. She finishes quickly:] While I was in the Battle Dome!

Uh... in your head is usually uh... any chance it was just a Battle Dome sim going wrong?

I'm not sure; I don't understand the technology of the Dome.

If it helps, this baby seemed to be part of...part of a memory.

[A horrible, horrible memory that she usually tried to justify or just not remember at all.]

I don't think anyone does. It's way beyond what there is in my world.

[He pauses for a moment and wonders if there's a tactful way of telling someone that they're probably crazy and hallucinating.]

Huh... strong memories can cause ghosts but... I'd say the child had to have been there at some point.

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Fourth Dispatch: It's Not What You Think. Voice.

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