Practical Philosophy, Thursday

[endsthegame]

"I realize it's been something of a summer," Ender said lightly, "And that doesn't leave us with a great deal of space for reflection."

But the sun was shining. He'd even brought out sodas and cupcakes for the occasion, though the usual staples of water and sandwiches were also available.

"So I think this is a good moment for us to fall back to a question that's a cornerstone of, I think, most of our conversation, our ability to relate one another, and maybe humanity - perhaps, sentience in its entirely," he said, twisting the top off his bottle of water. "How are you doing?"

A pause.

That turned into a silence.

It was the question, after all.

Comments

Re: Talk.

[always_someone]

"It's harder because... because of a lot of reasons," Norman sighed. "There were moments where we got to catch our breath, and that was great, but it was less background radiation and more constant, horrified screaming."

He paused a moment, and then added, "There were too many places where even death didn't mean the horror went away. I don't know if I could do something like that again."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"How many years do you have left at the school?" Ender asked.

Re: Talk.

[always_someone]

"This is my last one," Norman replied, hiking up a shoulder a little. "So it feels a little bit like running away when I'm a few steps from the finish line if I don't see it through."

Even if it meant he might have to do something like that again a few more times.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Avoid the last few weeks of each semester, if you can," Ender said, tilting his head. "I know weekends are hard to escape on a budget, but that should get you through the worst in fall and spring, at least."

Re: Talk.

[always_someone]

Norman nodded faintly. He supposed nobody would hold it against him if he ducked out a couple of weeks early for the breaks between semesters, right? Though the prospect of being gone in the lead-up to his own graduation made him squirm a little, too.

"That might be the best thing for it," he murmured. "I used to think I could be useful during things like that. Looking for answers, offering anything I find. But some things are bigger than I am." He paused a moment, and then added, "I think I'm at a place where I'm not ashamed of admitting that."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Good," Ender said, nodding faintly. "Take it from me: we're all pushed past our abilities at some point in our lives, and it's rarely anything but destructive. Respect your own limits as much as you can."

Re: Talk.

[always_someone]

"I'm still learning what those are," Norman noted. And then paused a second. "This summer's been good for that, at least."