#not morphing humans was the biggest rule they all UNANIMOUSLY agreed to

[kooldewd123]

as much as i love book 32 in concept, it's probably the worst thing that ever happens to rachel's characterization because it feels like every ghostwriter after that point read it and their only takeaway was mean rachel

[esotericbreak]

So... in the Esoteric Break Universe, the story is divided into the main, current timeline and the narrator retelling the story in the future. The narrator belongs to an organization called the Revitalization Agency, or RA. Below is the first meeting transcript, with further installments coming later. But for now, enjoy, and meet some of the characters from the future side of Esoteric Break’s world.

RA Meeting Transcript 1/1/00

Meeting 001

Vicente: I bring the first meeting of the Revitalization Agency to order. To start, I would like to call roll.

Weiss: To start, I would like to make the motion for this not to be treated like we’re in elementary school.

Edel: Weiss, I would like to make the motion for you to shut your mouth.

Vicente: You are aware this is being recorded and translated into text format via computer, right? That does mean everything you say will not be edited in any way for professionalism.

Estore: I don’t believe that’s the biggest issue right now.

Vicente: But this is the very first meeting. In the future, when our descendants learn about history in school, what do you think they’ll say when they read or listen to this?

Estore: I think they’ll thank us for making history class interesting, but you’re assuming we’ll even be remembered as anything more than yet another desperate attempt to regain order. Don’t shoot the mutant before you have any bullets, Vicente.

Vicente: Speaking of which, that is a topic we do need to cover.

Estore: It’s just a saying.

Vicente: I meant the literal meaning. But I’ll get to that in a second. Bootes branch head: Jeret?

Jeret: Present, and I second Weiss’s motion. I feel like I’m back in school.

Vicente: Overruled. Canis Major branch head: Edel?

Edel: Present and accounted for.

Vicente: Canis Minor branch head: Weiss?

Weiss: Here.

Vicente: Auriga branch head: Estore?

Estore: Present, and perhaps you could simply ask everyone who’s not here to raise their hands. Or count heads, since there are only five of us including you.

Vicente: It’s a matter of principle. And finally, Aquila branch head: Vicente, is present. There, was that so difficult?

Weiss: Like pulling teeth.

Vicente: Why do I bother?

Estore: Let’s just get down to business and dispense with the rituals and formalities.

Vicente: Very well, we’ll avoid the old world meeting style and skip straight to business in future meetings. I just wanted this to be a little historic, given it’s our first meeting ever.

Jeret: You never had a tea party with stuffed animals you pretended were people? Or did you not want to tell me I replaced Mr. Flopkins as Bootes branch head?

Estore: Jeret.

Jeret: Sorry, Estore.

Estore: *coughs*

Jeret: And sorry, Vicente.

Vicente: Make all the jokes you want, but the RA has been aptly functioning for a while now, we’ve just been unable to do anything with ourselves. But now with branch heads, we may be able to extend our influence. Any suggestions?

Estore: It’s not my branch’s responsibility, but we need a reliable source of food.

Vicente: Still trying to find a leader for Orion, but we already have several acres of farmland already yielding crops. Jeret, for the time-being, your branch is also in charge of hunting, until we manage to get Orion completed.

Jeret: I have no objection. However, we should get one thing out of the way now so we don’t let it spiral in a big philosophical debate: are mutants a food source.

Vicente: I… are they edible?

Jeret: I’ve had to eat them before. They taste like overcooked, rotten pork, but they’re just like any other kind of meat.

Vicente: Well, we’re a little different than most people, Edel and Weiss should run tests to determine their effect on humans without Fountain.

Jeret: And suppose they do come back negative for any side effects, what then?

Vicente: I believe that needs to be determined by a majority vote.

Weiss: It’s not technically cannibalism, right?

Estore: Depends on your definition.

Edel: Maybe it’s best if we don’t dwell on that aspect too long.

Vicente: I disagree, I would prefer if we were certain we weren’t eating the equivalent of rabid humans.

Jeret: I wouldn’t call them “human” anymore. Have you seen those things? They’re about as close to a terrifying horror monster as we can get!

Estore: As close to? I would disagree, they are exactly that.

Vicente: The point remains, is it okay to eat them if we have to?

Edel: Well, I suppose my reservations are due to the possibility of a cure, if anyone believes that is possible?

Jeret: I don’t think anyone can come back from that. Physically or mentally.

Estore: I’m siding with Jeret on this one. Mutants are beyond hope for a cure. Given how they were created, I doubt we even could synthesize a way to morph their bodies back, and the mental trauma would be beyond any shrink’s qualifications. It’s likely even if by some miracle, in the distant future, we could turn them back into something more human-shaped, they wouldn’t still try and kill us in the most gruesome way possible. Which brings me to another point; since we’re going to have to either run from them or kill them anyway, not eating them or feeding them to something would be a waste if they don’t have any ill-effects on the consumer.

Weiss: I still don’t like eating anything that still has a human face.

Jeret: Creepiest human faces ever, but point made.

Estore: I don’t like the idea of eating them, in fact, I rather abhor it, but if we have to as a last resort, it’s preferable to a slow death from starvation. Besides, they’re eight foot tall, rage monsters with spider limbs who can plow through a wall if they’re hunting someone. I think any hope for negotiations went out the window a long time ago.

Vicente: Sarcasm was not needed, however you have a point there.

Estore: Obviously, no one is comfortable with using them to make meat patties, but we can’t be picky eaters, so let’s come to a reasonable solution. If there’s ever a famine, or something else happens, and we have no other option for food, we’ll eat them instead of waiting for someone to go Donner Party on everyone else. However, if we have other alternatives, as long as they are safe to eat and won’t kill you, those are consumed first, even if they’re absolutely disgusting. Sound fair?

Jeret: I second that.

Weiss: Shocker.

Jeret: What?

Weiss: Nothing, I’m cool with that solution.

Edel: As long as mutants are safe to eat, this sounds reasonable.

Vicente: Very well, then it’s unanimous. If deemed safe to eat by the Canis branches, mutants can be stored for food purposes, but only consumed as an absolute last resort. And if they are taking up room needed for other food, they will be gotten rid of. Also, if they’re growing anything which could spread to other food-

Jeret: Dear God, we’ll be here all day.

Vicente: Alright, I’ll write up the entire rule later and you can make corrections at a later meeting. We have other things to get to anyway.

Estore: So we’re calling them “rules,” huh?

Vicente: There are aspects of the old world I am interested in preserving. Others, however, should be left in the past. For instance, the term “law” has connotations that could cause many people to ignore everything we say, as they see laws in conjunction with the governments which ultimately failed to protect them from anarchy. To most people, the world is seen as lawless, which I can’t disagree with, but that idea is hard to shake in many people’s minds. So… rules.

Jeret: I can get behind that. Rules are usually more flexible, too. And we all know in the world we live in, nothing is concrete.

Edel: Estore? Are you okay?

Estore: Fine, just thinking. So Auriga will be in charge of enforcing these rules, correct?

Vicente: Among other things, yes. So far we only have the basics: don’t kill, don’t steal, etc. but we need to flesh out a few more.

Estore: I think that can wait until we have more control, let’s make that less of a priority. In the meantime, I’ll use my judgment. If someone is doing something wrong, I’ll arrest them for it.

Vicente: No offense, but I don’t think that’s wise. You would be put in a very high position of power then.

Estore: It’s only temporary, and I won’t abuse my power. It’s just the most effective mode of getting things done.

Vicente: Once again, forgive me, but I virtually just met you. I have no guarantees of your character.

Estore: Perhaps not yet, but I would never use my position tyrannically.

Jeret: I support Estore in this. I’ll vouch that he would never abuse power.

Estore: Thank you, Jeret. Vicente, listen. In most cases, I agree with you: this would be a very bad idea. Giving one person the ability to arrest people without following any laws is begging for trouble. However, in this one instance, I see it as acceptable, as I know the person gaining this power won’t use it for his own personal gain or to oppress others. You have my word, and as long as you don’t betray me, I won’t betray you.

Vicente: We’re in an alliance of mutual destruction?

Estore: As you’ve pointed out, we’ve only recently met, and you haven’t quite earned my trust beyond that. I’ve placed a reasonable amount of blind faith in you, you’ve placed a little in me, I’m asking you to take the next step in the cycle.

Vicente: Very well. You have my permission to enforce justice according to your own code of ethics until the rules have been properly lined out.

Estore: Thank you. However, where sentencing is concerned, I think we should all vote on an acceptable punishments for the accused, should we have any.

Vicente: I hadn’t quite thought of that. I had simply assumed we should banish them, but I suppose not all crimes can be dealt with in that way, especially if it’s a minor crime.

Estore: Or a major crime.

Vicente: Pardon?

Estore: There are enough homicidal maniacs out there in addition to the mutants. If someone, say, eats ten people, since we were on the topic of cannibalism, when there was plenty of alternative food available, I would rather not let them loose to feast on everyone else.

Vicente: You’re not suggesting capital punishment?

Estore: Only in extreme cases, but that wasn’t what I was referring to. If a criminal is honestly insane and has done something seriously illegal and immoral, we can have Edel psychoanalyze them and use them as test subjects. If we want to survive, we’re going to have to improve mental health treatments.

Vicente: I’m not sure I like experimenting on the people we’re supposed to protect.

Estore: It’s only if they do something like what I mentioned. You haven’t seen a man in a mascot costume torture and murder your friends while going over the menu for a children’s restaurant. Violent crazies are a danger to themselves and others, while normal mentally unstable individuals are a danger to themselves. Using the former to help the latter makes sense, especially if the former are helped in the process.

Vicente: They may not be, though.

Estore: Vicente, listen up. There are mutants all over the place. There are hordes of zombies. There are murder cults. There are criminal gangs without any checks on them killing anyone they please. There are innocent people dying because they were unlucky, naive, unprepared, or unwilling to compromise their morals just enough to survive. I’m not advocating for us to become monsters, or to not do the right thing, but I am asking everyone here to be a realist. There are things we have to do that would not be acceptable by anyone’s standards in the old world, and these things may make us sick for having to do them. But I trust myself to do what I believe to be right no matter what, and I don’t trust another group of people who are probably out there trying to make their own new government to do the same thing. I want the RA to survive and protect as many people as possible, and that won’t happen if we don’t do what’s necessary, despite not wanting to do it.

Jeret: I’m with Estore.

Weiss: Do me a favor and just tell us when you aren’t. It’ll save us all a lot of time.

Jeret: Shut up.

Vicente: Very well, let’s put it to a vote. All in favor?

Edel: Aye.

Weiss: Reluctantly, aye.

Jeret: Aye!

Vicente: And motion passes. Wonderful.

Estore: I have some work to do. I’ve never actually done any of this before, so if you’ll excuse me, I need to read some police manuals and figure out what the heck I’m doing.

Edel: Yeah, I was about to say…

Weiss: I should probably review that book on physics…

Jeret: I’m the only person here who has actually worked in the field they’re now in charge of.

Vicente: How do you know I haven’t?

Jeret: I don’t think you were a CEO or in charge of any department in government. And you definitely weren’t any kind of world leader.

Estore: You were an accountant.

Vicente: How-?

Estore: I’m in charge of law enforcement now, thought it might be good practice to privately investigate your past for practice.

Weiss: Nice!

Jeret: Already on top of things. Looks like there are at least two people suited for their positions, hopefully everyone here is, too.

Vicente: For all our sakes, I hope you’re right. Meeting adjourned.

End of transcript.

So? Thoughts? Anyone want to read more? Anyone’s interest peaked? If so, like or reblog please!