04 ☼ spam and voice

[baals]

[Spam; Throughout the day]

[He isn't a pleasure to be around, while he isn't aggressive, he's quite obviously very grumpy. Expressing displeasure about everything. He never says he hates anything, even if he does. He'll call this foolish, pointless or poorly thought out instead.

He drifts between all the common areas of the Barge. None of the areas seem satisfy him. He's not quite sure what he's after. An outlet, perhaps. He's tired of playing nice. He lingers the longest at the Gym, where he looks at the equipment but doesn't do anything with them, and Library, where he is, at least, slightly more interested. He gathers a few assorted books on Mythology, some books on various methods of propulsion for space travel.]

[Voice; Evening]

I wish to request access to the Enclourse. [the message is curt and despite him calling it a request it sounds a bit like a demand. He's not in the cheeriest of moods.]

Comments

[tucky]

[Tiffany's in the library too, picking at some of the schoolwork Barbara's assigned to her. She has a couple different Bible translations in her arms, as well as a reference book on Biblical reading.

She leans over to peer at the titles of those mythology books.]

You studying religion, too?

[baals]

In a sense.

[His books all deal with middle eastern mythology. Most being about Canaanites and Phoenicians. At least one book is tangentially related to the Bible. The book he has open has Cuniform writing and translation.]

My interest is not on the method of worship or incidental structure. [he taps a finger on his open book. What he's doing isn't something he intends to share, looking for every reference of himself.]

I am... comparing stories.

[tucky]

So you ain't religious yourself?

[She comes a little closer, checking out that Bible-related title.]

[baals]

[Now that gets a breathless little laugh.] I have a religion I hold dear and believe fully in the existence of that God.

The particulars of worship do not interest me at present. They change to frequently, I see no need to track them. I have more interest in the repeated mythology of said God. [He nods to his books.] There is no centralized text. Merely fragments across the ages.

[tucky]

[She frowns a little, confused.]

Then how do you know what to follow?

[baals]

I know my God. [He's very certain because...it's him.] Many thousands of years and many wars have destroyed much of the record. [Which is beneficial to him on the Barge, not that he'll say that.] Some records survived, however.

He is even found within those pages. [He lazily indicates the Biblical research she's carrying.] Rather, his followers carrying on with tradition.

[tucky]

You know him, like, personally?

[She looks at the Bible, then back up at Ba'al.]

Who's he in here?

[baals]

I know his work. [His eyes are certain and intent.]

[His expression changes to a slight frown.] His true name is only for his priests to speak of.

I doubt your reaction will be favorable. [He opens one of the books and flips to a specific page. He turns the book to her. It's a section discussing the Priests of Ba'al and the Priests of YAHWAH. Both groups vying for religious superiority in the time of the Old Testament. References to the passages of the Bible that mention the Priests or Cult of Ba'al.]

[tucky]

[She reads it, running her finger down the page as she does so.]

So, like... pagan worship? Idols and stuff? Or...

[baals]

Idols are foolish and unneeded. It's what they used when they could not see him but wished to pay tribute. [He honestly doesn't like idol worship.]

Remarkably, aside from a few variations their practices were very similar to the Hebrew's practices. Hence the rivalry. Some argue that they were once the same religion that split off into two. [He shrugs. Though he knows way more about it than that.]

Neither God's name was to be spoken, each referred to instead by title. Curious, isn't it? [His mood seems to have improved with those two sentences.]

[tucky]

Oh, so you... follow those old rules? I learned a bit about those from Dillon, but I don't actually have to follow them myself.

[baals]

Something to that effect.

You wouldn't, as you fall into the Christian faith, with Jesus' death and return you are absolved from following the old rules.

[tucky]

Yeah, I know. Didn't know that before I came here, actually; my lawyer taught me otherwise. The next time I see him I'll have to let him know.

[baals]

[He smirks.] What do you think of this new knowledge?

[A thought occurs to him and he flips through another book. 'Old rules' reminded him of one detail. Orgies. His cult had a few orgy traditions.]

[tucky]

Well, it's... different from how I thought it was. I'm still getting used to that. But less rules ain't always a bad thing, right?

[baals]

I have always preferred less. Only a few are truly important.

[He turns the book so she can see the part about orgies.] A shame this tradition was lost in the ages. [He knows how to joke sometimes.]

[tucky]

I just like it when they're given to you straight, whatever they are.

[She likes feeling like she knows what to believe.

She leans in to look, then raises her eyebrows.]

Shit. Seriously?

[baals]

It was believed to please God and bring about the rains if the land had been dry. [There's some laughter in his voice. He may have seeded clouds to make it rain a couple times... just for entertainment value, if nothing else.]

[tucky]

Oh.

... Pretty sure that's not a part of what I believe.

[She chuckles, a little incredulously. Orgies for God; that is definitely a new one for her.]

[baals]

And what do you believe? [he nods to her books]

[tucky]

I believe...

[She runs a hand over one of the Bibles, reverently.]

I just believe in Him. I believe He loves me.

[baals]

[He nods accepting that and maybe feeling a little bit jealous.]

A God would be a fool not to love one who believe in him. Foolish gods are not gods. He is fortunate to have your devotion.

[tucky]

[That makes her smile. She likes having her beliefs confirmed, and she likes to be told that she matters. Being told that she matters to God is even better.]

I'm fortunate to have Him.

... Pretty glad he's not asking me to have orgies for him, though. Did you really do that?

[baals]

[Yep, that does feel like jealousy. He pushes that down, it won't help his situation right now.]

[For a half second, he's caught off guard by the question. Thinking she is asking if he wanted orgies from his followers. He realizes that isn't what she means and hopes his expression lends itself to surprise or embarrassment, rather than a half second of dread.]

Ah... I may have... on occasion. [he clears his throat] Though not after I married. [took a Queen] I preferred her bed. Though that hardly matters now, she is the one who killed me, I believe it's safe to say our relationship is at an end.

[tucky]

... Damn. That's cold. Is that how you ended up here?