[ Voice/Video || Open ]
[ There's a rough voice on the com-link, but the slowness of the following statements round off the edges and, somehow, make it gentle. ]
Now that everything has died down a little bit, I've got a few words I'd like to say to all of you.
[ The video feed flicks on. There is a man looking into the camera, which encompasses his bust only. His face is battle-scarred and his hair is a stark white, giving the impression of age beyond what the rest of his body might have betrayed. His right eye is a definite, clear blue, while the other... it seems to have no iris at all, just a blank sclera which almost seems to glow around the edges. His broad shoulders and his mostly stolid features should scream military to anyone familiar with the type. Anyone paying particularly close attention may see strips of yellow chord underneath his high collar, and maybe the start of something metallic on his left shoulder. ]
To start, my given name is Nathan, and in some circles, I am known as "Cable" - you may call me either, as you see fit.
I'm sure that this interment has come as a shock to most, if not all of you. I, like you, had plans for my future and concerns regarding my present. So I'd like you to keep in mind that I sympathize with you fully when you hear my next words:
This is not the end of your life, but a new beginning.
I know many of you will disagree with me. I know many of you are angry and scared because we have come to understand these words -prison, asylum- as things to associate with the vilest forms of life. It hurts me too.
But I have spent time today wandering through this underwater city. I have passed some of you in the streets and witnessed your interactions, though you may not have seen me.
For those just coming to this facility, I can say this: Don't be afraid. Do not despair.
The people I have seen are just that - people. They are you, they are me. They are individuals that have struggled all of their life to make a place for themselves in the world and have done the best they could with the circumstances they were given. Some of these things may not have been the 'right' things -by Acumen's definition, they were not- but I believe that those things do not have weigh us down as we step toward the future. Our future.
Many of you will think of this place as a cage, but I invite you now to consider the alternative: an opportunity.
Change happens no matter what we may do. It's the way of living.
However, change can also be facilitated by those who would work for it. You have been given the unique opportunity to start anew - tabula rasa, if you will. You have also been given an environment that is moldable, unlike most 'prisons'. There are rules that must be followed, but I do not see them as completely unreasonable. I also do not see some of them as rules that are impervious to reason, either.
[ A pause, and Nate tilts his head to suggest that he's heard a good point. ]
I'm not saying that this is a paradise, because it is not.
I'm not saying that you should lay down your arms and meekly accept your sentence.
But I do believe that we can do more than simply 'make do' with our circumstances. I think we can work together to make this into a life we can love, if we want it badly enough. From what I can tell, the citizens of Marina have been fighting against the system for a long time, to little or no result. I believe that those intentions are good, but I do not think we should give up hope on this reality. There is so much potential to be had here.
That said, I welcome any feedback from you who are still listening. For those that are new, what are your current thoughts? For those who have lived here for some time, I'd love to hear about your personal experiences with the facility and the people.
I may not know you yet, but I consider you all my friends and neighbors. I hope you will come to consider the same of me.