Liliana Vess (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2024-06-06 02:54 am
deathsmajesty) wrote in fandomhigh2024-06-06 02:54 am
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Philosophy of Mana, Thursday, Period 2
Unlike last week's pastoral meadow, this week the class would find themselves sitting around a large table on the balcony of a bustling cafe, overlooking a vast waterworks, with tall, elegant buildings, soaring bridges that spanned miles, and a waterfall in the distance that put the Niagara to shame. As with last week, Liliana had brought real snacks to share. Several carafes of coffea, with the usual accoutrements it was served with on this plane: cream, honey, and bumbat, an alcoholic drink; black iris, lavender, and irrimberry teas; kasarda, a fermented yogurt drink with a soft caramel taste; fruit-filled strudels; asparagus wrapped in kronch bacon; taffies; and various canapés made with either plants or animals native to the plane were all spread out across the table, along with the same dishware and cutlery that had been used last week. Also from last week was the same whiteboard, though the word at the top was no longer peace but
Perfection
And, of course the same questions were written out as well:
• What does blue mana desire? What is its end goal?
• What means does blue mana use to achieve these ends?
• What does blue mana care about? What does it represent?
• What does blue mana despise? What negatively drives it?
• What is blue mana's greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
"Welcome to Ravnica, class," Liliana said and there was no denying the warmth or the fondness in her tone. She loved this plane quite dearly and a lot of care had been put into programming the simulation. "Ravnica is an ecumenopolis, a city so vast it covers the entire plane, serving as proof that mana can thrive even when surrounded by the trappings of industry and civilization, rather than wild, untrammeled nature. This area is rich with blue mana - so much so that the building with the rounded dome over there is the home of Isperia, a great sphinx and the guildmaster of the Azorius Senate."
And with that brief introduction to Ravnica, Liliana leapt right into the lecture, as hopefully everyone expected by now. "Blue is the mana of mastery, of intellect, of control - and, conversely, the color of trickery, deception, and illusions. Blue is also the bailiwick of different kind of mental magics, such as telepathy--" don't mind the quick grimace there, class, it was nothing, "--telekinesis, and telemetry, otherwise known as psychometry. Of all the colors, blue believes in the absolute potential of every living creature. Blue is ever-striving to improve, to experiment, to push the envelope of what can be created, comprehended, and conceived. More than anything else, blue stands for perfection through knowledge.
"According to those who follow blue's philosophies, everyone is born as a blank slate, with the entire world and beyond as our potential and it is both our privilege and our duty to achieve our perfect self through education, prudence, and experience - and, through our own perfection, perfect the world as well. The entire point of life is figuring out what you could achieve with the right education, experience, and tools. Note that this is not a task with an end goal, but one that continues throughout your life. There will always be things you can do to improve, change, or adapt. The journey of life is one of constant discovery as you keep seeking to better yourself. One of the primary drives of blue is curiosity; what can be done? What can be discovered? What can be improved? And, of course, there's curiosity's less pleasant sibling: nosiness. What don't I know that others do? What secrets can I learn? What knowledge can be found in which places?" Don't mind her if she was taking a moment to smile at certain numbers of you. No reason.
"Blue sees the world as an opportunity. Within it hide wonders and possibilities most fantastic: the stuff of dreams. Blue is characterized by the desire to know the world's secrets and to make those possibilities real. The belief that dream can be reality - a belief to which blue holds fast - is the belief in tabula rasa, the blank slate. Unlike green, that believes in the predominance of one's own nature, regardless of experiences, blue believes the essence of a thing is given to it; shaped by the storms and eddies of its existence. Those with knowledge and willpower are masters of this: shaping and changing things at will. To them, the essence is as malleable as clay. Mastery of possibility, mastery of essence, is exactly what blue pursues. Thus, blue comes to prize knowledge. It is with the knowledge that blue will unlock great possibilities, and changes itself for the better. With all knowledge - omniscience - blue can make itself perfect.
"If reaching one's potential is the goal, the most valuable tool is information. You have to first figure out what your potential is and then you have to track down the means by which you can reach it. The trick is that you don't always know what information is the piece you'll need, so blue has decided to just collect as much information as possible. Knowledge is the ultimate tool and is most effective in the hands of the person that has the most. The net result of this way of thinking is that blue values the acquisition of any and all knowledge. Individuals with a blue bent are constantly interested in learning everything they do not know and have an insatiable quest to learn more. To blue, the act of learning is its own reward and is something that must be constantly encouraged."
Liliana turned and pointed to the large buildings that the water flowed through. "In order to facilitate the flow of information, blue wants a structure that enables information to be gathered. Blue likes universities, libraries, and laboratories, like those edifices there. It also likes a highly structured system where its knowledge of that system will give it an edge - which is why blue and white are allied colors, in their belief in and need of structure. Opportunities for education are vital. Places to experience things through trial and error are mandatory. Access to the top-of-the-line tools needs to be a right of every citizen. In addition, this way of living requires the right attitude. You have to be open to possibilities, but also not too hasty in action. Blue is methodical and exact. When one sets out to become the best individual they can be, one doesn't have the luxury of making mistakes." Her mouth crooked in a smile again. "Well, not unless they occur within a controlled environment, complete with notes to better improve for next time. This means that individuals need to be careful and deliberate in all their decision making. It is better to think one's options out carefully and select correctly, than to rush to a decision, which is why blue is the enemy of red mana."
Her smile fell away as she continued. "Now, at its best, blue is a utopia of learning, where information is shared equally and widely. Every person has the same access to learning and knowledge, and the circumstances of one's birth have no sway on the possibilities of one's future. But that isn't the only way a blue civilization can turn out because, as we discussed with white, mana does not come with morality. With their belief in rationality above all, those who follow blue mana often disregard emotions, even attempt to eschew them all together. Logic and reason are vaunted above all, and the assumption that with those as one's guiding star, one becomes infallible. These societies often have justice untempered by mercy, the drive to discover and invent outpaces morality or ethics, and there is no room for the irrational drives that all sapient creatures fall victim to. While this kind of society will often claim that it is egalitarian or a meritocracy, it will often see those who fall behind as 'lesser' and be willing to sacrifice their lives and bodies in the pursuit of learning - and, it is only in the best cases that these sacrifices are not literal.
"To follow the philosophy of blue, one must train oneself to examine the world and discover any and every opportunity that awaits - or can be made. Use these opportunities to learn, because with knowledge and mastery one's fingertips, there is no problem that cannot be solved, no question that cannot be answered. Seek not not just knowledge but omniscience, which is just as impossible a goal as perfection, but for blue, it isn't just the destination that's important, but the entire journey to get there, because the journey is where that knowledge is gathered - and where one's own essence is shaped and molded.
And, of course the same questions were written out as well:
• What does blue mana desire? What is its end goal?
• What means does blue mana use to achieve these ends?
• What does blue mana care about? What does it represent?
• What does blue mana despise? What negatively drives it?
• What is blue mana's greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
"Welcome to Ravnica, class," Liliana said and there was no denying the warmth or the fondness in her tone. She loved this plane quite dearly and a lot of care had been put into programming the simulation. "Ravnica is an ecumenopolis, a city so vast it covers the entire plane, serving as proof that mana can thrive even when surrounded by the trappings of industry and civilization, rather than wild, untrammeled nature. This area is rich with blue mana - so much so that the building with the rounded dome over there is the home of Isperia, a great sphinx and the guildmaster of the Azorius Senate."
And with that brief introduction to Ravnica, Liliana leapt right into the lecture, as hopefully everyone expected by now. "Blue is the mana of mastery, of intellect, of control - and, conversely, the color of trickery, deception, and illusions. Blue is also the bailiwick of different kind of mental magics, such as telepathy--" don't mind the quick grimace there, class, it was nothing, "--telekinesis, and telemetry, otherwise known as psychometry. Of all the colors, blue believes in the absolute potential of every living creature. Blue is ever-striving to improve, to experiment, to push the envelope of what can be created, comprehended, and conceived. More than anything else, blue stands for perfection through knowledge.
"According to those who follow blue's philosophies, everyone is born as a blank slate, with the entire world and beyond as our potential and it is both our privilege and our duty to achieve our perfect self through education, prudence, and experience - and, through our own perfection, perfect the world as well. The entire point of life is figuring out what you could achieve with the right education, experience, and tools. Note that this is not a task with an end goal, but one that continues throughout your life. There will always be things you can do to improve, change, or adapt. The journey of life is one of constant discovery as you keep seeking to better yourself. One of the primary drives of blue is curiosity; what can be done? What can be discovered? What can be improved? And, of course, there's curiosity's less pleasant sibling: nosiness. What don't I know that others do? What secrets can I learn? What knowledge can be found in which places?" Don't mind her if she was taking a moment to smile at certain numbers of you. No reason.
"Blue sees the world as an opportunity. Within it hide wonders and possibilities most fantastic: the stuff of dreams. Blue is characterized by the desire to know the world's secrets and to make those possibilities real. The belief that dream can be reality - a belief to which blue holds fast - is the belief in tabula rasa, the blank slate. Unlike green, that believes in the predominance of one's own nature, regardless of experiences, blue believes the essence of a thing is given to it; shaped by the storms and eddies of its existence. Those with knowledge and willpower are masters of this: shaping and changing things at will. To them, the essence is as malleable as clay. Mastery of possibility, mastery of essence, is exactly what blue pursues. Thus, blue comes to prize knowledge. It is with the knowledge that blue will unlock great possibilities, and changes itself for the better. With all knowledge - omniscience - blue can make itself perfect.
"If reaching one's potential is the goal, the most valuable tool is information. You have to first figure out what your potential is and then you have to track down the means by which you can reach it. The trick is that you don't always know what information is the piece you'll need, so blue has decided to just collect as much information as possible. Knowledge is the ultimate tool and is most effective in the hands of the person that has the most. The net result of this way of thinking is that blue values the acquisition of any and all knowledge. Individuals with a blue bent are constantly interested in learning everything they do not know and have an insatiable quest to learn more. To blue, the act of learning is its own reward and is something that must be constantly encouraged."
Liliana turned and pointed to the large buildings that the water flowed through. "In order to facilitate the flow of information, blue wants a structure that enables information to be gathered. Blue likes universities, libraries, and laboratories, like those edifices there. It also likes a highly structured system where its knowledge of that system will give it an edge - which is why blue and white are allied colors, in their belief in and need of structure. Opportunities for education are vital. Places to experience things through trial and error are mandatory. Access to the top-of-the-line tools needs to be a right of every citizen. In addition, this way of living requires the right attitude. You have to be open to possibilities, but also not too hasty in action. Blue is methodical and exact. When one sets out to become the best individual they can be, one doesn't have the luxury of making mistakes." Her mouth crooked in a smile again. "Well, not unless they occur within a controlled environment, complete with notes to better improve for next time. This means that individuals need to be careful and deliberate in all their decision making. It is better to think one's options out carefully and select correctly, than to rush to a decision, which is why blue is the enemy of red mana."
Her smile fell away as she continued. "Now, at its best, blue is a utopia of learning, where information is shared equally and widely. Every person has the same access to learning and knowledge, and the circumstances of one's birth have no sway on the possibilities of one's future. But that isn't the only way a blue civilization can turn out because, as we discussed with white, mana does not come with morality. With their belief in rationality above all, those who follow blue mana often disregard emotions, even attempt to eschew them all together. Logic and reason are vaunted above all, and the assumption that with those as one's guiding star, one becomes infallible. These societies often have justice untempered by mercy, the drive to discover and invent outpaces morality or ethics, and there is no room for the irrational drives that all sapient creatures fall victim to. While this kind of society will often claim that it is egalitarian or a meritocracy, it will often see those who fall behind as 'lesser' and be willing to sacrifice their lives and bodies in the pursuit of learning - and, it is only in the best cases that these sacrifices are not literal.
"To follow the philosophy of blue, one must train oneself to examine the world and discover any and every opportunity that awaits - or can be made. Use these opportunities to learn, because with knowledge and mastery one's fingertips, there is no problem that cannot be solved, no question that cannot be answered. Seek not not just knowledge but omniscience, which is just as impossible a goal as perfection, but for blue, it isn't just the destination that's important, but the entire journey to get there, because the journey is where that knowledge is gathered - and where one's own essence is shaped and molded.
Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit
Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit
If they were alone, she would just let him answer, but because this was her classroom and he her student, the rules were slightly different
shut up, Ender, so she amended, "Why are they good at lying and deception, I mean, not why can you verify."Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit
Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit
Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit
Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit
Re: Discussion: Trickery, Lies, and Deceit