lastvoyages | if I do lose thee, I do lose a thing that none but fools would keep

Skip to Main Content

Entry tags:

if I do lose thee, I do lose a thing that none but fools would keep

[Video]

[Simon is sitting cross legged in his cabin, in his usual form.]

I have a question I'd like to pose to anyone willing to answer: if there was a choice between death or the loss of, say, a hundred years spent as a tree, which would you say is kinder?

If you could add your prospective lifespan that would be of greater help.

[Simon hasn't been paying attention to the network, so he is posing the question just because he's been thinking about it.]

[Spam]

[Simon is around the ship, though mostly in the evening shading into night. His time in the Nethermere and the trip back had been exhausting, so his body has fallen into more natural rhythms. He's continuing to work on cleanup, and continuing to display more willingness than skill.

He's not making anything worse.

Most of the time he looks like he has since he arrived on the ship, though sometimes instead of the appearance of a human man he's adopted something closer to his actual appearance. The edges are still sanded off to protect humans from the glamor, but he's far more brightly colored.

He's trying some stuff out.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...are you choosing this for yourself or for someone else?

[Good point of clarification.]

You're under someone else's power but they're giving you the choice between death or losing a century.

Ah, so it's a choice of yourself or-

[ A pause. ]

Are there any other factors? Like... if you don't die, someone else will? O-or that you would die if the tree was chopped down?

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 20:19 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 20:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 20:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 20:47 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 20:50 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 20:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 20:59 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 21:13 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 21:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 21:18 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 21:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 21:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 21:24 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 21:27 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 21:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 21:31 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 21:39 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 23:05 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 23:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 23:09 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 23:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 23:18 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 23:26 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 23:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 23:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 23:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 23:51 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-11 23:53 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 00:08 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-12 00:12 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 00:16 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-12 00:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 00:25 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-12 00:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 00:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

greatoldjohn - 2026-05-13 21:09 (UTC) - Expand

I would kill anyone who tried to force that choice on me.

And the problem isn't my lifespan. It's my wife's. And my former warden's. And some of my adoptive family's.

I could be a tree for a century. Fine. I'll live centuries more. Except that I'd come back to myself and have to grieve for half of the people I love. Unacceptable.

My time with her is too limited as it is.

[Simon doesn't laugh, but he does have to smile.]

I won't debate the concept of a theoretical thought exercise.

[He doesn't see any reason she'd find it interesting.]

It's an answer that can depend a lot upon the mortality or otherwise of those you love.

If I had to, I would choose tree. Hjerte would figure out how to turn me back to a woman sooner than the person who composed the spell planned.

[It's helpful to have yourself divided into two separate bodies sometimes.]

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 20:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-12 07:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 18:45 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-12 19:28 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 19:39 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-12 19:55 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 20:02 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-13 05:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 05:27 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-13 18:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 19:51 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-13 21:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 21:45 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-13 21:50 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 22:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-13 22:29 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 23:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverwaitslong - 2026-05-18 20:36 (UTC) - Expand

[Hehe.]

Asking complicated questions again, Simon?

[Then, after a little thought.]

I suppose I would choose to be a tree.

[Simon gives him a quick smile.]

What would be the fun of a simple question?

Why a tree? I would pick that myself, so I'm interested in your reasoning.

I have never been one before.

[There's a playful scrunch of his nose as he smiles along with his reply.]

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-11 22:11 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

modestpurpose - 2026-05-13 10:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 17:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

modestpurpose - 2026-05-15 19:37 (UTC) - Expand

Death is probably kinder? Missing a hundred years is a lot, 'cause societies advance fast, and that person might wake up with no resources or friends. So you might be killing them either way, one is just slower.

I like the tree better. There's a chance things can get better, with the tree, even if it's not a big chance.

And I'm immortal? So a hundred years is kind of whatever. It sucks, but it's not bad for me the way it would be for a lot of people.

[He nods.]

My people are more or less immortal, so being put to sleep for a hundred years is a standard punishment, though I think it's more unpleasant in a way than spending it as a tree.

Yet even among us there can be a debate over which someone might think is kinder. Of course, we're forbidden from killing each other which is probably why they came up with sending us to sleep.

If the society you live in's pretty much immortal, I guess that does change my answer? 'Kinder' is pretty contextual.

If you're awake as a tree, it's definitely less kind, though.

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 18:43 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

adamantea - 2026-05-15 15:34 (UTC) - Expand

Death would be kinder. Most humans do not even live a hundred years, so if I was stuck as a tree for that long, everyone I know would be dead, and I would be stuck having to learn to navigate a world I do not recognize, that thinks I have been dead for almost a century, with no allies and no support structure.

[Losing five years had been bad enough.]

[He thinks that she's the first human who's responded, so he can't quite resist taking the chance to ask:]

I imagine it would be very difficult to be thrust into a whole new world, and I don't think that losing people is any easier for a mortal. Yet when you deal with others don't you always take into account their deaths?

No. Not unless they are very sick, or very old.

[Or she's planning to kill them.]

We do not dwell on our own deaths, either, unless we're unwell. I won't say that knowing we have a time limit has no impact on our psychology, but we do not live our entire lives thinking about that limit. If we did, we would either be suicidally reckless, or paralyzed with fear of any risk, any connection, any loss.

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 03:49 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-12 04:12 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 04:31 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-12 23:29 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 23:37 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-13 00:11 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 00:14 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-13 19:08 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 19:52 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-13 22:22 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 23:29 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-14 01:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-14 01:49 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-14 16:26 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-14 18:14 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-20 23:51 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-21 00:16 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-24 00:29 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-24 00:46 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-24 01:00 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-24 01:04 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

musicdied - 2026-05-24 06:17 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Private

twotruthstold - 2026-05-24 06:21 (UTC) - Expand

Would one be aware of the time spent as a tree?

You would have some sense that time had passed, but you wouldn't be fully aware.

How much awareness would be retained?

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-12 20:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

abyssalflames - 2026-05-14 21:24 (UTC) - Expand

Sorry, I was trying to see if anyone else had asked my question. I'd be asleep the entire time? Not, like, trapped in immobile solitary confinement while entirely awake? ...Which makes people go bananas and is considered torture?

Tree, then. I'd be alright. I mean, my mum's gonna lose me on either choice, at least this way I'll get to see the future.

I'd rather be a tree. Then again, I'm 230. And I could live forever, if I wanted.

What grants you immortality?

Science, uh, stuff that my bosses gave me. I don't really know how it works. I just know it works.

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 01:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

weaponuser - 2026-05-13 02:05 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 05:25 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

weaponuser - 2026-05-13 13:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

twotruthstold - 2026-05-13 17:16 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

weaponuser - 2026-05-13 17:34 (UTC) - Expand

I wanted to be a tree.

[ Sourly. ]

But they convinced me to come back here.

[ A little late, but he had been busy recently with the whole reconstruction and death and all. ]

Ah, what an interesting question. Is a hundred years spent as a tree that horrible of a thing to choose?

I've found that whether or not it's a horrible thing to choose depends on who's making the choice.

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-21 00:34 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-21 02:19 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-21 04:03 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-21 04:06 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-21 04:30 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-21 04:32 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-21 04:34 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-22 00:26 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-22 00:48 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-22 00:53 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-22 01:41 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-22 01:49 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-22 03:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-22 03:42 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-22 03:48 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-22 03:51 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-22 03:53 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

twotruthstold - 2026-05-22 03:56 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Audio

skybeyondsky - 2026-05-22 08:21 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only