3rd Course - Necessary Ingredients [Video]

[starofpleiades]

[Kazumi's expression is worried; not surprising after how the last few weeks have been. She wasn't really affected much, but she saw people who were...]

Is everyone alright now? Back to normal...?

[She sighs, looking a bit forlorn.]

Things making people act unlike themselves... what's "like yourself" though, other than how you acted before? I mean... what makes up a person? Our bodies? Our actions? Our memories?

[Memories...]

...hey, what do memories mean to you? How important are your memories? If you had something painful in your past... do you think it'd be better not to remember it?

[She's taking the video just outside the apartment complex, so anyone is free to run into her there or respond over the vine]

Comments

[starofpleiades]

Hmm... yeah, I think it's better to know the truth.

[notvitiligo]

Otherwise, you're up for grabs.

[starofpleiades]

So have you had any problems with memories?

[notvitiligo]

Yeah. Not like amnesia or anything, just...

[She fidgets uncomfortably, avoiding looking at the mirror as she tries to put together an explanation.]

When I was little, they thought I had some kind of, um... y'know, mental thing. Like schizophrenia. I don't, of course, but...

[She takes in Kazumi's expression carefully before continuing.]

They put me on some meds. Antipsychotics, usual stuff. But since my problem wasn't really mental, it didn't do anything but turn me into a zombie. So... there's a while in my childhood where I don't really have much other than a blur.

[starofpleiades]

Oh no... I'm sorry to hear that. But they got it sorted out eventually?

[notvitiligo]

Well, they took me off the meds.

[Not so much anything else.]

[starofpleiades]

At least that's something. Did they ever figure out what was wrong? Or if anything was wrong?

[notvitiligo]

[She shakes her head.] Ruled out just about everything, but nobody has any real idea what's up. I'm the only recorded case.

[starofpleiades]

Huh... so what is it? I mean, the symptoms that made them think something was wrong?

[notvitiligo]

It's... kind of complicated.

The shorthand version is that I... sort of, um, interact with stuff that nobody else can. Involuntarily.

[starofpleiades]

Like... ghosts or something?

[notvitiligo]

That's my hypothesis.

Evidence is kind of hard to come by, as you can guess.

[starofpleiades]

Wow, I guess so... does that happen here too?

[notvitiligo]

Well, your first hint is the fact that I'm not constantly stumbling or getting knocked over.

No ghosts here, as far as I've seen. It's really weird.

[starofpleiades]

Wow, it was that bad? I guess it's a good thing they don't bother you here then!

[notvitiligo]

It's pretty nice to be almost normal, yeah. It felt a little lonely at first, but... that's one thing I don't mind about being here.

There are a lot of dead people back home.

[starofpleiades]

A lot? Wow... did something happen? Or is it just because, well... people from a long, long time?

[notvitiligo]

Well, admittedly, a lot of them aren't really people, just... animals or whatever. The people do stick around for a while, though. Some of them a really long while, at least assuming the bits of verification I could do were accurate.

[starofpleiades]

Ghost animals too, huh?

I wonder if that means there's no ghosts here or you just can't see them here...

[notvitiligo]

I'm inclined to think there aren't any here.

Which...

I don't know. I guess it means it's not really real, but...

[A flash of frown. The idea is an uncomfortable one.]

[starofpleiades]

You mean, this whole place might not be?

[notvitiligo]

Or something like that.

It'd help if I knew what "ghosts" are. I mean, I know they're... some kind of leftover from dead people, but...

[starofpleiades]

Hmm... I'm sorry I can't help you much with that! I've never seen anything like that.

[notvitiligo]

Nobody has. Nobody from where I'm from, anyhow. It's unprovable.

[starofpleiades]

Wow... I wonder if there's anyone here who has experience? With ghosts and such...