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Cam is out flying. There's a decent cloud of atmosphere around the gold plane, now, millenia of demons making air around themselves for comfort and not sealing it up because why would you bother. There's a small forest, here - the effect is kind of ruined by the lamps it has to grow under, but it's still pretty.
He feels an open summons and lets it grab him -
the Connecticut Yankee summons Demon Cam
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from_scratch
from_scratch
"That wouldn't be very consistent with the divine right thing, but I'm happy to proclaim it if you think it'll go down easy."
connecticut_yankee
"Oh, I thought you meant reasons to convince you.
For everyone else, they've been so thoroughly indoctrinated that they might literally disbelieve an angel from heaven. If we told them everyone is equal, the best possible result is that they stop to ask the priests first and then decide you must be a demon disguised as an angel."
For everyone else, they've been so thoroughly indoctrinated that they might literally disbelieve an angel from heaven. If we told them everyone is equal, the best possible result is that they stop to ask the priests first and then decide you must be a demon disguised as an angel."
from_scratch
"Since I am a demon disguised as an angel, my ability to produce evidence to the contrary is limited, although I'm not exorciseable and won't burn on exposure to crosses or holy water or anything. And genuine angels just have slightly different magical powers and aesthetics and reputations, that's all, so summoning one won't help."
connecticut_yankee
"Yes, but it would be unfortunate if they arrived at a technically correct conclusion through bad theology."
from_scratch
"Yeah. It's a pity Arthur probably wasn't a summoner or you could try summoning him. Some daeva are dead summoners. Little fair warning in case it happens to you in spite of alternate universe time travel shenanigans."
connecticut_yankee
"Well, I was always expecting an eternal reward, and abilities like that don't sound too bad. But it's a long way off yet, I hope."
from_scratch
"Even if you turn into an angel there's no sign of God," warns Cam. "According to the angels to whom I have spoken."
connecticut_yankee
"You'll forgive me if I don't take you at your word. Even if you are much less evil than I would have expected."
from_scratch
"Sure. Maybe when this Camelot business has settled down I'll show you how to summon a bona fide angel and you can ask them. But we do keep getting distracted from the topic of whether there's anything less patently false I can say to justify the end of monarchy than 'yaaaaay Arthur'."
connecticut_yankee
"You could just say 'I have decreed that there is to be no king and every citizen is to vote on a leader.' If you don't say anything against kings in general, they'd obey but they'd start worrying about what to do to please God enough to be allowed a king again. Cheering for Arthur was the only way I could think of that would speak against all future kings without contradicting too much of the propaganda they've heard.
What if we say that Arthur isn't dead, but recovering in Avalon or something and England should elect its Regents until he returns in a thousand years?"
What if we say that Arthur isn't dead, but recovering in Avalon or something and England should elect its Regents until he returns in a thousand years?"
from_scratch
"Well, that might be a little awkward in a thousand years. Incidentally, if you're operating on my afterlife system instead of having your own alternate universe one, Arthur's in Limbo."
connecticut_yankee
"A thousand years from now, anything you say will be a superstition that nobody takes literally.
When you say 'Limbo,' do you mean like the Catholics say? Because he was Christian, if of a different sect from myself."
When you say 'Limbo,' do you mean like the Catholics say? Because he was Christian, if of a different sect from myself."
from_scratch
"There are other words for the place, but the English one I use is Limbo. Angels live in Heaven, demons live in Hell, fairies live in Fairyland, and dead humans who never summoned any of the above loiter in Limbo and don't get any of the cool magic powers apart from indestructibility. Speaking of indestructibility, I'm immortal, and I might want to still be wandering around periodically saying things in a thousand years, if dismissal and resummoning works all right."
connecticut_yankee
"I'm completely unworried about a thousand years from now. Once everyone believes in the idea of a republic, they won't mind finding out that we lied to start it. If anyone even remembers.
How do dismissal and resummoning usually work?"
How do dismissal and resummoning usually work?"
from_scratch
"I don't know if it will work as it should from an alternate universe. But usually I'll be dismissed if you die, or will me away for about a minute, and you can draw this," he produces a piece of paper, "finish the circle part of it last, in any material, on the floor, with space for me to stand in, to get me back."
connecticut_yankee
"I imagine testing it is a bad idea if summoning you back might not work."
from_scratch
"Yes, but if there's some sort of emergency - for instance, if you are about to die and I am for some reason very far away, but you have access to a piece of charcoal, a floor, and two minutes, you may as well try to dismiss and resummon me to where I can help with the 'about to die' thing."
connecticut_yankee
"Always good to have another backup plan." He folds the paper and puts it in his pocket.
"Any other ideas on how to tell people to replace the monarchy without saying it isn't the one true form of government?"
"Any other ideas on how to tell people to replace the monarchy without saying it isn't the one true form of government?"
from_scratch
"Actually, the longer I think about this the more I'm wondering why democracy is such a great plan anyway. But I'm betting you'd stop being so admirably nonracist about my demonhood if I expressed an interest in kinghood and I did just tell you how to get rid of me."
connecticut_yankee
"Suppose you did become king, and convinced everyone to accept you. They would then believe that you were infallibly placed over them because it is your rightful place. They would not be able to comprehend the idea that you might be wrong or that they might ever have a duty to disobey you or that they might have any rights against whatever you choose to do to them. I have no doubt that you would be better than whatever other king they might suffer under, but it would nevertheless be a grave blow against equality."
from_scratch
"You really don't have a very high opinion of these people, do you. Democracy's very good at some things, but - not at all things. I suppose it's a reasonable start, anyway, if it comes down to it after Earth is nice and industrial I'll fly off and terraform Mars and take immigrants with a slightly more sophisticated understanding of how monarchy actually works... Right, fine, I will angel it up and declare an end to kings of England. I'll be the Emperor of Mars if I get that far."
connecticut_yankee
"It's not the people's fault. I blame the Church. But it is true that everyone in this country believes that hierarchy is right and natural. Electing rulers to be regents in name is, I think, as democratic as I can come without the blessing of a king.
If you run Mars the way England is run in my time, I won't try to overthrow you. I don't object to the existence of high-sounding titles, only to what they're taken to mean."
If you run Mars the way England is run in my time, I won't try to overthrow you. I don't object to the existence of high-sounding titles, only to what they're taken to mean."
from_scratch
"I think I have an advantage over anybody trying to run England in your time, given that I don't have to worry about economic scarcity of necessities and foreigners will not be able to visit unless they manage to get ahold of one of the spaceships I personally manufacture. So I should be able to do at least that well."
connecticut_yankee
"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves again.
Would you be willing to tell people as divinely as possible that Arthur is alive and will return eventually, that leaders in his absence should be elected by and from all the citizens, and that the bishops who promulgated the Interdict are ordered to revoke it?"
Would you be willing to tell people as divinely as possible that Arthur is alive and will return eventually, that leaders in his absence should be elected by and from all the citizens, and that the bishops who promulgated the Interdict are ordered to revoke it?"
from_scratch
"Mmm - can I just say 'until Arthur returns' rather than specifying an estimated time of revival?"