12-09-2025, 01:17 AM
Alex listened and remained silent as he looked down at his hands. After a long and thoughtful pause, he gave a slow nod and said, "It's especially hard when death is involved. I honestly don't know exactly how many, but I recall that the last estimates attributed to me...well...I stopped paying attention after it hit one thousand. The numbers become hard to hold in your mind after that."
He looked back up and met her eyes, "Sometimes there's no undoing what's been done. There's a saying that no matter how hard you try, you can't step on the same piece of water twice. I've found that it's rather rare if you're able to right a wrong. In the worst case scenario, you are forced to live with it and move on. You may not be able to do anything about the past, but you can still influence the future. I've helped people try to wrestle with the balance of past and future and I don't recommend it. The process is very complicated and takes quite an organized effort that almost never goes well."
Alex realized he had wandered off topic and waved a hand, "Never mind...sorry...back to your point...I tried hiding away from the universe for a while, but that only made me feel worse. Then I realized that no matter what I had done, I couldn't let the universe punish my daughter for it. I now try to teach her that good intentions don't count for much unless you back it up with well thought out actions."
Without realizing it, he ran a finger along his scar at his temple and added, "Fortunately, she's really smart. I'm pretty sure she's starting to teach me more than I'm teaching her." He met her eyes once more and wrinkled his nose, "This probably isn't helping. Is it?"
Alex gave another sigh and set a small PADD on the table, "Maybe you should tell it what you want, but be specific. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."
A softly glowing circle briefly appeared in front of each of them with numbers in the center. Beno quickly determined they were coordinates. Something had just scanned and designated a target area, then the circles disappeared.
Alex said, "Tranya, chilled to 10 degrees Celsius." He then tapped where the circle had been and a glass appeared. Alex picked it up and took a sip, then nodded toward the PADD.
== Tag ==
He looked back up and met her eyes, "Sometimes there's no undoing what's been done. There's a saying that no matter how hard you try, you can't step on the same piece of water twice. I've found that it's rather rare if you're able to right a wrong. In the worst case scenario, you are forced to live with it and move on. You may not be able to do anything about the past, but you can still influence the future. I've helped people try to wrestle with the balance of past and future and I don't recommend it. The process is very complicated and takes quite an organized effort that almost never goes well."
Alex realized he had wandered off topic and waved a hand, "Never mind...sorry...back to your point...I tried hiding away from the universe for a while, but that only made me feel worse. Then I realized that no matter what I had done, I couldn't let the universe punish my daughter for it. I now try to teach her that good intentions don't count for much unless you back it up with well thought out actions."
Without realizing it, he ran a finger along his scar at his temple and added, "Fortunately, she's really smart. I'm pretty sure she's starting to teach me more than I'm teaching her." He met her eyes once more and wrinkled his nose, "This probably isn't helping. Is it?"
Alex gave another sigh and set a small PADD on the table, "Maybe you should tell it what you want, but be specific. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."
A softly glowing circle briefly appeared in front of each of them with numbers in the center. Beno quickly determined they were coordinates. Something had just scanned and designated a target area, then the circles disappeared.
Alex said, "Tranya, chilled to 10 degrees Celsius." He then tapped where the circle had been and a glass appeared. Alex picked it up and took a sip, then nodded toward the PADD.
== Tag ==