"It is all conjecture, is it not? Perhaps the world do go on outside of our perceptions, but we cannot be sure. Logic would have it that it does, but all the evidence would be circumstantial. In truth, we could all be our own worlds, the rest merely players, fading from the scene once they are not needed. Reality... yes, it is an interesting thought. However, I am not a philosopher. What the truth of reality truly is interests me less than what reality can be used for. How it can be manipulated, formed and shaped. It is in regards to this I question the nature of things. Not to see one grand truth."

He chuckled a bit, as if he realized that he was growing long-winded again. "I very much doubt that my mind could encompass a 'Truth' even if there was one, we all filter the world through our perceptions. In that way, we make the world and are the world, so for us, the world might as well not exist outside our sphere of regard. But within it, I suspect we have the power of gods. Reality might bind and force us, but it is we that holds the reins. No matter what most people think."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. A lot of people seem to get the idea, when they hear that there might be more than one reality, that the one they're living in isn't the real one. I've always wondered about that instinct--they find out there might be other options and they immediately assume they're getting gypped somehow."

She settled in more comfortable, tracing a finger down the palm of his hand. "But the point is, however, that going by your statement, reality can be altered. The wider your perceptions grow, the more of the real reality you can take in. It's not seeing something that wasn't already there; it's just seeing something you couldn't before."

"People are unsure of themselves. They always worry that the other person is cleverer, more funny, have a more beautiful wife or in general have a better life than they do. They assume they fall short somehow. So of course they would come to the conclusion that whatever world they inhabit must be somehow lesser than the others." Maalech chuckled softly, watching her touch his hand.

She felt solid. Human.

"The grass is always greener on the other side." There was a glint of humour in his grey eyes for once as he looked down at her "I think that in part it is because few people have the courage or the skill to climb that fence themselves. Reality is never as appealing as a dream."

She let out a soft sigh. "The oddest thing about all this is . . . I still don't know how it's going to fetch up. If people suddenly wake up that they're only getting about a tenth of the world, all their lives . . . what are they going to do when they get the rest of it?"

"Would you like my opinion?" Maalech closed his hand around her finger, squeezing it lightly. "The first one is that it is a foolish idea. People should not be given knowledge like that, they cannot handle it. Perhaps a lesser secrecy if you wish, a way for people who have the inclination to slowly uncover the greater reality. If one goes looking for it, it is a different story. There is a degree of preparation then..."

He shook his head, looking wryly amused "Still, I do think you underestimate the human mind. You might reveal everything to people, spell it out in simple words for them all to understand, and yet they will take what you offer and make it their own. Rather than freeing them from their own shackles, it might very well be that they bind you instead. recreates you in their own image as nothing more than petty godlings..."

"That was always the plan. The state of things as they are, dumping an extra source of power onto people would be like leaving a bomb in their midst. Someone's bound to start tinkering with it." She gave him a frank, wry smile. "That's what the current worry is with you, you know."

"Ah, I suspect that it is a just concern. Also spoken by people who understands less of things if they truly think that I can 'tinker' with you and your associates. I am not a humble man by any chance, but I do realize my limitations."

He did seem rather amused by it.

"I think, in part, it might be because you wear the trappings of a young woman, and does not seem particularly powerful. It is a grand guise for getting people to trust you, but they will disregard you more often than not, and think you flighty and foolish."

"Likely or not, it's still an issue," she said. "And rather unfortunately, the only way to prove it's not true is if you don't do it."

"There is no way that I can prove my intentions, just as there is no way that you can prove that you are not influenced by me, or that you are not a part of the Tzarg if you will. There is no proof, only trust, and I am not a trustworthy man." He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it briefly before letting it go.

"My question however would be, why do their views matter in this?"

"Between us? They wouldn't. Not so much." She gave him a thin smile. "Of course there might be the small problem of my being a scorned woman the likes of which hell hath none, to quote Blue, but there's . . . I hate this, there's no way of really separating the two issues. Much as I'd like to."