"Understanding always closes as many doors as it opens. A child is bound by few responsibilities but at the same time rather helpless... when they have become a parent, suddenly their freedom is lessened even though their power has increased. Responsibility. Of course not all people chose to heed it..." It was a cheap shot.

He knew it was, and it showed.

"Regardless..." he continued as he sipped his drink "... the choice is not an easy one. Nor do I suspect I would have been considered if it was."

"No. Not everyone does."

A cheap shot back.

Morgan had had time to find a peace. Maalech, the man began to suspect, didn't know how.

Neither did Morgan a long time ago.

"No. No, they seem pretty stringent in their selection process. I mean, really, how else can you explain my exclusion from ascension, hm?" The man chuckled a bit and shrugged, "But that's good. At least I think so."

"Ascension... I doubt that is an applicable term. It is a change is all." Maalech hadn't flinched at the cheap shot back, his walls were up again, helped by the alcohol. It truly had advantages at times.

"Regardless, this promotes a certain paranoia that I cannot help but find amusing. Once the world has stopped making sense in the ways you knew how... everything seems to be possible. Liberating... and somewhat frightening. Because it is all conjecture."

That made him chuckle, a sound that surprised even him.

"Eh. Seems like it enough to a guy like me. Turning into a living archetype sounds pretty impressive to me. Have yourself ironed out into something more and less than you..." Morgan chuckled some, "Guess Seth isn't the only one who likes big, stupid ideas and stuff." The man chuckled at his own naivete.

It was interesting to still have it after all this. Romantic notions and the like.

Morgan smiled at the other man's laugh, "Well, what's magic but a point of view, right?"

"True." Maalech sighed, then contemplated the alcohol. After a moment of frowning deeply he explained "It bothers me at times. How pasts and futures influence the present, if they exist at all. We cannot be certain after all, can we? And this is the aspect that deals with time, and that is already retired for a number of years. Except that he somehow is not, and is still serving. The implications what that might mean for me are rather interesting."

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." Morgan chuckled at that and rubbed at the back of his neck, "But what're you going to do? If it is you going off and getting married with some human woman who may or may not be someone or another, you'd be smart enough to never let yourself know." He shook his head and made a few dismissive gestures that went a little farther than they were intented to, tipping the bottle a little before he caught it.

"As long as you can think about it logically from your own perspective and try and keep the one other people have in mind, I figure guys like you and me can do okay."

The rest got into some existential stuff that Jack had been interested in that frankly was too bizarre and vague to even bother discussing.

"You thought... hah." Maalech scoffed, emptying the last of his drink. "No, that is absurd. What I was considering was something else. Let us assume that I will become this aspect in the future. How far would my reach be to ensure that I would be suitable for my role? What events on my path might have been nudged by myself in order to create what was needed?" He shook his head, frowning. "I am quite aware of my own ruthlessness for what I consider to be a just cause."

Morgan was quiet for a moment.

And then, for a few moments all he could manage was, "...Ah."

Before he finally just shrugged, "I have no idea what to say to that. You might be the Tzarg yourself if that's your worry. I'd put it aside somewhere in my head I don't like to go and hope that it doesn't come out again. But, then, I'm kind of a coward."

"I do not look away from possibilities just because they might be unpleasant. In a way that might be a simpler explanation for all of this. But I doubt that the world is as symmetrical as that." Maalech kept looking at Morgan, an almost bemused look on his face.

"And it would not matter if it was. Regardless of speculations, the facts do not change. And the facts are this day, this life, right here and now. This is what I need to ponder." The sigh came quite unbidden now.

"I should talk to her."

"On that much we agree." Morgan smiled some, shrugging, "Want me to head out for the happy couple to have some alone time?" Morgan smiled a bit, chuckling.

"Of course, I do want to say that there's a certain poetry to you being your own worst enemy. Maybe the Grey-you... if it is... has a really fucked sense of humour." Morgan smiled a bit, leaning back in his chair, "I kinda like the thought."