deernet | text | un: anonymous

text | un: anonymous

( This is not Peter Graham, though of course, posting anonymously takes away that possibility. The user didn't want to use the boy's network handle, to inevitably be seen through the filter of "Not Peter."

The user is trying to define his own identity. )

why did you choose your title here on this THING
what is the meaning
?
?

( ...Texting is still something he struggles with, though the demon has been watching and learning and forming his own conclusions on how to do it. Autocorrect is a life-saver. Two questions get two question marks. ....Even if they go in the wrong place. )

i will grant you a
GOLDEN COIN
if you
RESPOND

( ...For those who know Paimon fairly well, that particular offer of exchange might betray who he is. But the demon of Knowledge is curious to hear reasons, and within them: perhaps stories, memories, self-perceptions. There is a meaning to everything, whether simple or complex.

And perhaps by the end of it, he will know what title he would give himself, here on the network. )

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I use my serial number. Usually shortened to the nickname I go by, like so.

[ Chosen back in Deerington as a baby android, before he possessed the creativity to come up with anything less straightforward. But he likes it, and it makes it easy to know who he is on the network. ]

Trench doesn't have a monetary system, by the way. Everything's done through bartering. Though gold coins might be useful in both situations. Are you a new arrival?

( He does recognise K's username, and there's a pleasant flicker to be speaking to him again. The information is also much-welcomed, and with it comes ever more questions about the being Paimon still knows so little about, relatively speaking. )

what is a serial number
do i have one too
?
?

( Maybe his Vessel has one....? Do humans come with numbers? He knows K is not a human, but since he's the imitation of one... perhaps. )

i have been here many days
you are correct i have seen them used in trade
they are also of BEAUTY
my gold is something humans desire
they summon me so that they may have it

Broadly, serial numbers are used to identify manufactured products. As an android, I myself am a manufactured product designed by humans. In lieu of a name, I was assigned a serial number: KD6-3.7. If you're unsure whether or not you also possess a serial number, it's likely that you don't. Do you possess a name?

That's true. Many do appreciate gold for its beauty, and not just humans. I think my Sandygast would enjoy having a coin. They have a toy treasure chest they like to keep similar trinkets in.

Humans summon you for gold? [ Hmmm. ] Is it a mutually beneficial arrangement, or are you used against your will?

( Ahh... manufactured. He does know that term. )

i under stand
i most likely do not have one
i do possess a name

( And while he could just give it... there is a part of Paimon who delights in trickery. Of course, in this instance it's harmless, almost playful. )

you know my name
you know me
i wonder if you can guess

( Though it probably won't be too difficult... )

it is meant to be mutually beneficial
but humans have MANIPULATED me
so i must be careful to reveal my true name
here

[ With the plethora of clues throughout the post, K would be a very poor detective indeed if he couldn't infer the identity of this mysterious anonymous poster by now. Which is why he's willing to tease a little in turn. ]

I do enjoy riddles. And I have one for you: What do you call a camel that appears the same from both directions?

[ It is, in fact, a groan-worthy dad joke disguised as a riddle. It's also his way of subtly acknowledging he knows now whom he's communicating with. ]

Humans have also greatly mistreated me and my kind. It's wise to be wary of them. Wise to be wary of a lot of beings, here.

[ While most probably wouldn't feel protective of a demon or think to warn them like this, something about Paimon has always struck K as — strangely naive. Somehow new to the world. Perhaps he recognises it because it wasn't so long ago that he'd been the same, and in some ways, still is. ]

May I ask how they've manipulated you? Does knowing your true name grant them some kind of power over you?

[ While he knows certain things about Paimon through his research back in Deerington and perusing Ben's old books, he doesn't know as much about Peter's specific situation with Paimon back in their home universe. But he's always wondered. ]

( A camel.... Immediately, the demon realises: K must know who he is. (Of course he would; it isn't surprising. The android has always been clever, but also thoughtful in that cleverness; he'd researched about Paimon all on his own, after all. Crafted a dromedary from metals. Paimon has kept it amongst his most precious items.)

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately...) the demon isn't familiar with dad joke type riddles... He's about to learn something here... )

i am uncertain
i ask that you may divulge it to me

( He's very interested to know!! But.... there's more to all of this, and this being K of all people, makes those words especially weighted. Paimon is processing them slowly, heavily. (And with a flicker of something deep and hot and angry. Humans mistreated K, too. K, and those like him.)

It takes him a little while to answer that part, to find the right words, the right shape. And his typing remains very slow, each line taking several moments. )

if a witch or magician knows my true name then they may use it to summon me
and to work with me
we are meant to work together
BALANCE
how ever in my vessels world they were able to manipulate me
there was not BALANCE
i am not sure what happened or how but i am trying to remember

is it not true that humans created you
?
i do not under stand why they would mistreat their creation

( It does seem... a naïve question. But it's so far beyond his functioning; his kind have rules, important and ancient. Sacred. To create something is... precious; there should be a precious bond there. )

A palindromedary.

[ There's a brief pause between texts for comedic effect before K goes on to explain the joke. Just in case Paimon needs a little help understanding the (dubious) humour. ]

Like a palindrome. And dromedary.

I'm sorry you've had to experience that. Do you know if there are ways to undo what they've done? And what would happen to you and your vessel [ Sorry Peter, but he isn't going to name you on the public network. ] if the imbalance is corrected?

[ ... Peter is probably doomed no matter what, isn't he? K's glad that this is a text conversation because there'd be no hiding over video how troubled all of this has him. ]

The humans where I'm from created me to serve them. They view me as inferior, disposable. Not even a person, but an object worthy of contempt. I can't say I understand it either. There has never been balance between them and my kind because humans won't allow it. Those who manipulated you sound no better. They sought to enslave you as well?

[ Because that's definitely the impression he has. ]

( He doesn't get it at first, not until K does explain — and even then it takes the demon a few moments to sort it out. But understanding comes, seeping up in him from beneath layers and layers within him. Palindrome is a word rooted in an old, old, language, and he realises he knows its meaning, as he knows the meanings of every such old word, like a whisper under the wind. And dromedary, of course, is something very familiar.... K has merged the two words into one. Turned the ending of one into the beginning of the other, and formed a chimerical new word. It's like a riddle, and it's very clever, and the demon feels bursts of excitement that fizzle and pop like electricity flashing and shorting and burning out. (Somewhere in the house, poor Luna who is connected to Peter's mind will feel the static buzz of Demon Excitability....) )

I UNDER STAND
IT IS WORDS TOGETHER
IT IS VERY CLEVER I I LIKE IT VERY
MUCH @ &! * * ! ! ~~~~~~ *******

( ....What happened there was not Paimon having a stroke, but rather— he knows capitalising is a way to show Importance, and so! He capitalised everything! And put pretty symbols on the end.

However, what comes next is extremely sobering, and fortunately Paimon does remember to turn off "CAPS LOCK" this time... sometimes he just leaves it on... )

i do not know if it is possible or what would happen to us
our spirits were not meant to FOREVER touch in this way how ever now they have been FOREVER touched in this way for a very long time
an attempt to un do the wrong may make things even more
wrong

( It takes him an extremely long time to type all of that out, both because of his texting ability (lacking) but also because he is thinking deeply about it... putting it to word. There is so much; it's all very complicated. And it's... horrifying to hear the android describe this, how he was outright considered an object, something whose worth was only to be utilised. )

ones creation should be valued as precious
respected
you are capable of much more than humans
you are an incredible being

( If anything, something like K should be..... revered, he thinks. He's capable of more than humans can be, he assists them with things, and it's very much like what Paimon's kind are meant do to, actually. But there should only ever be mutual exchange and respect. Not contempt, not taking advantage. That is... wrong.

The question earns another long bout of silence. There was a time he wasn't quite sure, but now... over time, over discussing it with Luna and others.. he is quite sure of that answer. )

i believe so
they wished to keep me contained so that they may use my abilities
that is why they put me with in my vessel so that i would be trapped on the plane of earth
i am not meant to be there FOREVER

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WHY IS THIS REPLY SO LONG.....