Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun hung huge and low on the horizon, stretching the city's shadows out towards infinity. Babylon turned towards it, squinting into the glare - nightfall felt symbolic, given the Code's warnings about approaching darkness, but he didn't think that the turning of the seasons was really what it was talking about. As for what it was referring to... he didn't know.

That was why he was here again, standing before the Code's lamppost.

"So I've been thinking," he said as preamble, "since Olympus. About how you say we don't listen. And I thought it might be easier to speak to you one-on-one, without interruptions, because I'm ready to try listening. Really listening. Not just hearing you and then calling bullshit because I don't like what you're saying."

The most important lessons he'd learned had always come the hard way. "You say that good and evil are an illusion," he said. "That we need to seek balance. I can sort of wrap my head around the paradigm shift needed to see Order and Chaos as morally neutral forces, but - is the division between the two real? Or is it artificial - imaginary? I can feel the difference between the two, and I assign one good and I assign one bad, but that's a morality call. Fake, like you said. But is the difference imagined?"

The code flickered once acknowledged. "You know, it really isn't easy to talk to you one on one. It takes a great deal of energy to address even just one of you. It is far easier to speak to you as a group."

The Code dimmed a bit. "Well. At least when you listen."

Perhaps it was only an effort to buy a few seconds to think of an answer for Babylon—but then, why would it have needed to buy time? The Code already had all the answers.

"The difference isn't imagined. There is a difference. But how it is perceived is more problematic than anything. 'Good' and 'Evil' are how we label those who are with us, and those who are against us. If you feel the faintest sliver of Chaos, you can label it 'evil' regardless of motivation. You feel the difference in power, but are all Knights necessarily good just because they share your power source? Have you never met an Agent of the Negaverse who wasn't necessarily evil? People are people. All flawed. The power that flows through us affects us, and our decisions. But 'good' and 'evil' are labels to justify bloodshed."

Babylon bristled, but did his best not let it get the best of him. The code had been perfectly happy to talk to people one-on-one until it became a matter of courtesy. Still, he'd gotten a concession out of it... and he was going to take what he could get. He just needed to keep his cool and handle this like he would an ornery ancestor and then maybe he'd get some useful answers.

Babylon nodded, considering the Code's wisdom on Order and Chaos. Real, but morally neutral. He could handle that. "You're right, I have," he replied. "There's good and bad on both sides." (He thought of Titanlavenite, whom he considered a friend; of Megiddo, dogmatic and uncompromising and violent. He could not call one 'evil.' He could not call the other 'good.')

"The first time we met you," he continued, thinking back, "You showed us a map of the world to illustrate how Order and Chaos were unbalanced. Has the balance shifted any more since then? And where - where's the fulcrum set?"

He certainly hoped that was the right word. Babylon held up his hands, trying to demonstrate. "A lot of people think... we need to eradicate Chaos completely. But that's not right. No Chaos, things get stagnant. It's like... If you have too many predators, the prey population dies out. No predators, bunnytopia. You run out of resources. Chaos and Order, it can't be zero and one hundred. One hundred percent Chaos, the world ends. One hundred percent Order, society comes to a complete standstill. So what are we aiming for here - fifty-fifty?"

Because, after seeing that map of the world with just Destiny City all lit up in gold, getting to fifty-fifty felt like pushing a boulder up a cliff.

The Code was emotionless—or, at least, calm. For now.

"I will not lie. You are fighting a losing battle. But you are still looking at Good and Evil. You can eradicate all the Chaos, but more will replace it. You can lessen their numbers, but you must remember that the Chaos is not only bad. It needs to be taught. Changed. You can harness the power of Chaos to keep the balance without being evil. That, unfortunately, is where you would shine. In times like this—in times of war, sometimes…sacrifices need to be made."

The Code seemed to be peering down at him.

"They would not listen to you as you are. They are blinded by their own prejudices. If you truly want to change them, you have to reform them. Lead them. Destruction will only see them replaced, not fixed. They need someone to guide them on the right path. To guide them through the Chaos."

Babylon nodded, trying to work through the Code's latest answer. It seemed to him - at least, with very little in-depth analysis, that the Code was suggesting he personally needed to... not corrupt, because there was a moral judgment inherent to that word's connotations that he needed to move past, but to go over to the dark side, so to speak. That wouldn't work - he was transcendent. Chaos could not touch his starseed, even if he were to willingly descend into the breach.

He pressed a thoughtful hand to the glowing lines on his face, and to the long, straight scar that sliced through them. "I don't think it's physically possible for me to be that person," he said, steeling himself for whatever reproach might follow. He seemed to have won a small amount of favor (or at least patience) from the Code - he didn't want to squander it on something as beyond his control as the changes Cosmos had made to his magic in order to save his life.

Also, he had to keep in mind that his and Scholomance's operating theory was that there was something wrong with the code, and he needed to be wary of a trap. Like this. You should corrupt and become the leader Chaos deserves was definitely the makings of a trap.

He lowered his hand. "You've done so much for us," he said. "Given so selflessly, even when we reject Your gifts. Is there anything we knights can do to help You?"

"It is a pity," the Code said, and seemed to sigh. "If there were more Knights like you, perhaps even the Negaverse could be an honorable group. It would have taken time, and diligence, but I suppose it was a hopeless task. Perhaps another will come along to fill the role. Perhaps you would be so kind as to keep the idea in mind should you find someone you feel could better guide them from their darkness."

It flickered a bit and then dimmed just slightly.

"You are kind though, Babylon. I ask only for you that you always keep the balance in mind. Never doubt that you can find a light in the darkest of corners. Always give it a chance."

It was tempting to fall back into his previous mindset, that order and chaos were just synonyms for good and evil, but the Code had bade him to consider the balance. Babylon was going to do his best to follow its instruction, whether or not he still suspected that something was wrong. It would have been easy to dismiss the earlier weirdness as a matter of disrespect, but a Code so concerned with the balance would not have encouraged its knights to corrupt so wantonly if nothing was wrong.

"Thank you," he said, bowing his head. "I'll do my best."

He'd gotten a lot of good information out of this conversation. The Code was still there beneath the sheen of hostility. He'd been lucky to get as much information as he had, but the situation still required a certain amount of care moving forward.

"I have a lot to think about," said Babylon. "I'll leave you be."

The code hovered in place, finally silent. Babylon bit his lip, said, “Thank you,” and turned away. The situation seemed far from black and white now.

He had a lot of work to do.