unfringed | File #009; video

September! This way! Now, you have to read this. It's incredibly important. Everyone, please listen and give your very best advice. I have tried to do what I can, but, well... [He isn't exactly the best person to ask about taking care of themselves. He even forgot to introduce himself-- Oh, he forgot to introduce himself!]

Ah! I'm Walter Bishop. Dr. Walter Bishop, a fellow inmate here. And this is September. No other name. Also a fellow inmate. September?

[September, the rarely seen hairless friend of Walter's joins the slightly taller man.]

Yes, Walter?

We're conducting a survey of the village to help you with the questions I cannot answer. And so I thought it would be best to hear from you, not me. Can you read this card?

[He nods, and reads--] 'Hello. My name is September'.

[Wait a minute.] Walter, you have previously established my name. [Anyway...]

'I have some questions about your personal experiences regarding sensations and things I cannot feel. Would you give me a few moments of your time?'

[There's a list, underneath, but here he stops reading and looks sideways at Walter.]

Go on! [Walter gestures September onward with a wide smile. This is totally the best way to get answers, right?] With so many humans and humanoids from different universes, we should be able to gather a great deal of information for you to choose from.

What is it like to have a family?
How does it feel to drink a milkshake?

Ah-- [Well, he could have answered those, but he'll let the others do it.] Additionally, if you have any other comments regarding what it is to be "human" for my friend, please do share. He's learning how, you see. Being stuck in a single timeline can do that. Oh! And if I might remind people that I am still collecting blood samples! Please do volunteer yours. Thank you.

[ooc; Joint Post with September (

quantumtangled)! Walter is blue, September is orange. Specify to whom you're responding in the subject or ask for both!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From you and someone else, it seems that blood family is not just as important, but less important. Is that what you meant to say?

[Milkshakes are irrelevant. He may or may not have feelings, but he doesn't have taste.]

To a degree. Personally, the family I've made is more important to me than my blood family. [Largely because her parents are dead and her relationship with her brother is estranged at best.] But that doesn't mean I care about my blood family any less. We've just grown apart and started our own lives.

They care about you and they want you to... exist?

I would say that's the general characteristic of a good family. People who care and want the best for you.

[There are gaps in his written replies.]

What do you believe causes this love?

[It's a tough question to answer and there's a very long pause before Ginia begins writing. Love is complicated. How do you explain love to someone who doesn't know feelings? How do you explain the different degrees and types of love, of how good it can be even while it hurts, of how uplifting and how deadly it can be?]

I don't know. Love is something that just happens. There's different degrees of it. The love a parent might feel for their child is very different than love between siblings. Love between siblings is different than love that can be shared between two unrelated individuals.

[Another pause, a new consideration.]

Love is organic. You can't force it to happen, it has to develop naturally.

[It's all one word, though, which is terribly vague. Someone make up some new words he can use, please.]

Different complex emotions for different relationships, described with one word.

I suspect I do not know the correct questions and neither does Walter.

The English language is pretty poor in that regard. You describe it as parental love versus sibling love but it still doesn't really capture the whole meaning because there are always different degrees or feelings.

If I remember correctly, the Greek language had four distinct words for love.

Agape for general love. Selfless love, one that didn't expect any love in return.

Eros for passionate, physical love. Sensual, the love felt between two people in an intimate relationship.

Philia, also a general love, but one with give and take. A love between family or friends or a grater whole.

Storge, natural affection such as one between a parent and a child.

Thank you.

[He's not being polite, that's uncommonly interesting. A major clue in the unending puzzle.]

Natural affection between parents and children. It would be what comes first?

It's a good starting place. Someone is born or they're adopted. The adult taking care of them would feel love toward them and want to protect them and ensure they can grow up to an adult.

[That echoes in him, touching something deep inside.]

Once they are an adult, the bond continues, as I have seen.

A child is always a child in the eye of their parents, no matter how old the child gets. [In the best of situations at least. Ginia wonders if her parents would feel the same if they were still alive.]

I have seen the lengths a person will go for their child. It is the most noticeable of all.

[Or maybe it only is to him--it's what he fixated on back when the feelings began.]

[As someone who died protecting a teenager with no blood relationship at all, Ginia knows how strong that bond can be.]

It is. A variety of animals will go great lengths to protect their offspring or the offspring of others within the same community and humans are no different. From a purely practical standpoint, it's to ensure the survival of the next generation and thus the survival of the species. But love is a factor too, as well as need to protect those that are weaker.

In my world, people that hurt children aren't regarded very highly.

No, they are not. Less highly when they are the parent of the child.

[She knows--but now she also knows that he's seen it. Sometimes pointing out the obvious is good.]

[Sometimes the obvious is very good.]

Guess that's something that doesn't change too much across worlds.

Any other questions?

What is friendship in relation to family?

Friendship, like family and love, come in different degrees.

At the lowest level, you have a casual acquaintance. Someone you pass by now and then, maybe make small talk with, but someone you don't know very well. Then as you two begin to talk more and get to know each other and get to be better friends. Maybe you spend more time together, trust them with things you don't trust other people with, come to care for them, love them even.

For some people, friends eventually become family. Others may simply have a lot of friends of varying degrees of closeness.

[His reply takes far too long to appear...]

Friendship begins with learning about the other individual?

I think so. A willing exchange of information and shared interests.

That is a concept I can understand. I keep no secrets about my own life.

Then it's very possible you've made friends without even knowing.

How do I know?

[Another question for the ages.]

With some people you can tell without asking. You just know. Maybe it's because of how long you two have known each other, or it feels right. Sometimes you have to ask.

[And sometimes, even after time, even after asking, you can never be too sure.]

Asking would not be impolite of me?

File #009; video

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