voice;

[paterelohim]

[With how much Chuck loves doing video post, the fact that he's sticking to voice should be the first red flag. The choked tone in his voice is another.]

Fred- Winifred Burkle. Has anyone seen her?

Her NV's offline, she isn't answering it.

[There's a long, sunken silence.]

I think... she's gone.

I want to say she'll probably be back, but I just don't know- I haven't seen it yet. God, what's the point of seeing the future if it doesn't help?

Anyway, I just- thought everyone who knows her should know. She's out.

Comments

[failedparenting]

Shit. And you survived that?

[Steeeeering the conversation away. Distractions are good, Chuck.]

[paterelohim]

Having Batman as the first responder helped.

[failedparenting]

[Oh man, Dean would love that.]

Who was he trying to kill?

[paterelohim]

Jinx.

[And her mutant half-angel baby.]

[failedparenting]

[Holy shiiiii-]

She had a kid?

[paterelohim]

-No. [Very quietly.] She had a miscarriage in October.

[failedparenting]

Oh.

[He's never been Jinx's biggest fan, but holy shit that poor girl.]

I had no idea.

[paterelohim]

Yeah. I was there- it was... really fucked up.

[Beat.]

As far as I understand, Mary was her friend at the time.

[In case John ever wonders about that particular bond. From what Chuck knows of John and Jinx, he can't see that bff friendship ever going anywhere. 8|]

[failedparenting]

Oh. That-

[That makes so much sense.]

That's why they're so close.

[paterelohim]

Yeah, it does make sense.

It was- I mean, have you ever seen an angel die? They leave this enormous ash print of- of wings.

She was... covered in ash. If you ever go there- to Purgatory- there's still a stain on the floor if you move a table and look hard enough. I guess angel powers can't cover something like that.

[Guess how much this man has had to drink, John. Go on. Guess.]

I know how insane this sounds, but I don't think the Core let her have a baby. It doesn't want to make new life. All it can do is take and take from... everywhere.

[failedparenting]

Jesus. Poor girl.

[Bro, you sound hammered.]

Doesn't make much sense. People are still having kids here, or there wouldn't be any kids.

[paterelohim]

Only the residents. They were born here and they- they can have kids, and when they die it's for real.

None of the rules apply to us. We don't get to have our children, keep them, or die normally.

[He's quite a lot drunker than he's been letting on in his other conversations, because he holds his booze like a champ.]

[failedparenting]

You're fucking with me.

[But it makes sense. He hasn't heard of any newcomers having kids. That'd be some kind of news, right? The awful newcomers multiplying?]

[paterelohim]

We don't have kids. It's never happened, I'm pretty sure.

[failedparenting]

[Well, fuck, that's not good.]

That doesn't seem right, man. Like it's on purpose.

[paterelohim]

I don't know. Can you imagine a pregnant woman vanishing halfway through her pregnancy? Or a baby's parents going home suddenly? Who'd get the kid? This place doesn't exactly have immigration laws set up.

[failedparenting]

With all that, that'd mean the Core has a mind of it's own. Which option is scarier to you?

[paterelohim]

I don't know. I've heard theories that it's sentient.

[failedparenting]

Christ.

I hope it's just the scientists.

[paterelohim]

Are you kidding? I trust a pissed off, sentient machine a lot more than I trust the fucking natives.

[failedparenting]

Seriously? The idea that a machine that can think for itself and has the power to kidnap people from different goddamn times and universes doesn't make you nervous?

[paterelohim]

It's just one mind, and it's probably hurting- I mean, they say the Core is broken.

You can talk to one mind. You can convince it, appeal to it, or argue with it. You can figure out how it works and relate to it on its own level.

But a mob- you can't reason with a mob. There's nothing more cruel than an ignorant public.