07-07-2023, 02:16 PM
There it is again. If the first full-body deflation hadn't already come and gone, this would do the job. And if the last one failed to flatten him completely, this finishes what it started.
"You're telling me if you just ... avoid them. Forever. Then everything goes on like normal." As normal as it can go on, if it ever was normal.
Near has been banking on an assumption that these people will, eventually, accomplish whatever it is they're trying to with or without Jude. That maybe it will take twice as long, but it will still pan out at some point. That Jude's desire to prevent the world from ending prematurely will require some semblance of action to achieve. That his and Near's desires for action run parallel despite their different ends. But, twist! Apparently Jude has the option to save the universe via eternal inaction. Isn't that lucky for him.
"So when you showed up at the Reaches, you were hoping Courtland would, what, buy you a plane ticket?"
"You're telling me if you just ... avoid them. Forever. Then everything goes on like normal." As normal as it can go on, if it ever was normal.
Near has been banking on an assumption that these people will, eventually, accomplish whatever it is they're trying to with or without Jude. That maybe it will take twice as long, but it will still pan out at some point. That Jude's desire to prevent the world from ending prematurely will require some semblance of action to achieve. That his and Near's desires for action run parallel despite their different ends. But, twist! Apparently Jude has the option to save the universe via eternal inaction. Isn't that lucky for him.
"So when you showed up at the Reaches, you were hoping Courtland would, what, buy you a plane ticket?"