039: You're Only Going Through the Motions, Baby

[contract_star]

[Hei is here with a small patch of grass and his telescope. The telescope is propped up nearby and he's lying on his back in the grass, staring up at the Astral Sky. He has an unreadable expression.]

Hard to believe. They're really real there...

[He sighs.] The servants and the...concentration camp kind of put a damper on things, though...

Comments

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Just watches him for a moment before making a "go on" motion with his hand]

[contract_star]

[Folds his arms.] You're not just a simple mobster, are you?

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

No, I'm not. But you didn't need me to confirm that.

[contract_star]

No, I've known you were a mobster for awhile. It's relatively obvious--no offense. But there's something else about you, isn't there?

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

I don't hide it. I'm just not going to come out and tell everyone. If they want it, they can dig a little for it.

[Absent pause.]

Define something else.

[contract_star]

Wise.

That's the problem--I don't know.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

I know.

And that's what you're looking for then. What you don't know.

[contract_star]

[Smirk.] That's the point, isn't it?

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Thinks on this, taking a few steps away.]

Some things are secret for a reason, you know.

[contract_star]

I know.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

So you also know that what you don't know won't kill you, right?

[contract_star]

[Slow, wicked smile.] Ignorance is bliss, you mean?

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Nods, then crouches and stares at Li] That's one way of putting it.

[contract_star]

[Notices but is focused on the stars.] Interesting, isn't it? What we don't know can kill us. But knowing too much can be just as deadly.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Pauses, then decides to take a peak at the sky above too.] Information is risky merchandise. What you have, what you don't have, it could kill you either way, every way. It's about picking and choosing. What you need to know and what you don't.

[Absent pause, longer than the last one]

This is one of those things you don't need to know.

[contract_star]

[Hei would beg to differ on that, but he decides not to push it. He'll find out eventually.]

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Stares for a bit more] What about you? How many different secrets are you hiding?

[contract_star]

A fair few, I suppose.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

And if someone were to find out?

[contract_star]

[Long pause. He's still staring up at the sky.] It would depend on the someone.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Now he's smirking] Secrets. Now that's the funny thing. How often have secrets decided who lives and who dies?

[contract_star]

[Hei's expression becomes distant.] Too often.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Silence for a moment] You've got secrets. I've got mine. They're secrets for a reason.

[contract_star]

[Is silent for awhile.] ...I've noticed, lately, that keeping secrets can be infinitely worse than revealing them.

[stronguponme.livejournal.com]

[Smirk fades, and now it's his turn to be distant.] That depends on the secret.