[Outside the Garden of No Return] Lower Education (Open)

[Seidaku]

Seidaku blinked in confusion at Keido's questions. And then he realized, he was a foreigner. Still, had he not even heard of Alvadas' nature before he came here? If so, that would make him the first foreigner Seidaku had met who had not.

"Oh, umm... sorry," he said, "It is easy to, umm, forget that not everyone is, ah, aware of the city's nature."

"You see," Seidaku began, with a feeling of trying to explain the color red to a blind man, "Alvadas is called the City of Illusions, ah, literally. The roads, the buildings, even the, ah, people sometimes... they change. Appearance, location, they are, umm, quite actually never the same way twice. Most of the time, the changes are benign, umm, streets changing location, buildings moving around the city. One day, your, ah, inn might be next to the Bizarre, and the next by the docks."

"But the city has a mind of its own. Sometimes, ah, the changes are not hospitable to humans. Pits of tigers, umm, fire, acid. If you can imagine it, it can happen, and many times even if you cannot imagine it. It's, umm, why the scholars cannot map it, and why it may seem that the, umm, directions that people give you do not seem helpful."

"It's, ah, really quite fascinating," he took another sip of ale, "But you'll, ah, get used to it, with time."

[Keido]

Keido just nodded at Seidaku's explaination which was almost like his assumption of how a city should be like. Roads, buildings and people will always change with expansions. Until Seidaku reached the inn changing spots overnight. Keido had felt it before but always thought that it was only because he was not used to the city yet.

"I thought it was only just because I did not learn about the city's layout yet"

But until today Keido still did not encounter any inhospitable changes like those pits which Seidaku was telling him about. If he did then he should have known about it or at least those people who gives him directions would tell.

"More of an annoyance the way you put it. But I am sure anyone who wants to live here would have to learn to live with it" Still Keido was skeptical about a city which was more like a living organism.

"Is there any reason why the city is the way it is then?" taking a sip after to signal Seidaku that it was his turn to speak.

[Seidaku]

Seidaku wondered if perhaps this was what Alvadaswas like for those who came for purposes not related to its sights and artistry? Instead of mystery, there was an irritating inconsistency, and instead of a bastion of the arts there was only pointless frippery. Certainly, he had never considered the city from that angle before, but it certainly made sense. Just as he simply assumed that others must be dreadfully bored in their never changing cities, where every day you followed the same path to the same place, seeing the same people, eating the same foods. If he felt this way, then there would naturally be others who simply saw Alvadas as an incomprehensible jungle.

"Oh, umm, certainly there is a reason," Seidaku answered with a grin, "Because it is, ah, Ionu's city. Layers upon layers of, ah, Illusions, befuddling ever sense, or, umm, perhaps none at all. That is a question that I have, umm, never been able to answer, for, ah, perhaps it has none, at least none that matters... Does the city itself change, or, ah, is it only our perceptions that change?," with a chuckle, he added, "Could one, ah, expect less from the crown jewel of the God of Illusions? After all, I have read that other cities that, umm, I guess house is the best word... that house deities tend to, ah, reflect the aspects of their lords and ladies."

[Keido]

Ionu as Keido knew was the god of illusions and had a temple dedicated to him in the city. He should have known that a god's mischief would have something to do with how unnatural the city was but mischief did not mean malice. Children also like to play jokes and pranks but they never caused any harm unless accidents happen. Since they were talking about a deity, Keido believed that there would be no problems with that. The divine should have better sense.

"So do the citizens know how to see past the illusions?"

It was something Keido has been trying to learn about ever since that day in the colosseum. If they could do it then why not he? But he did not know if Seidaku would be the right person to ask since the way he explained things earlier especially the tigers would mean that he was still easily affected by them.

"I would say from a personal experience that its closer to our perceptions" only because Keido accidentally kicked an invisible part of a building last time.

"But if it is our perceptions then how is it that the positions of the building change?"

Keido has heard something similar like Seidaku that cities reflect their deities but for him a different reason than their power. He always thought it was because the city would be full of believers who adopted the god's mentality which was why the city will reflect the deity's character.

[Seidaku]

"Certainly not," Seidaku replied with a laugh, "What would be the, ah, fun in that? The Illusions are a, umm, an inextricable part of Alvadas. Without them, it would be, well... just another city. You, umm, get used to them, though. Learn to accommodate them. The City of Illusions is, ah, is as much about the journey as it is the, um, destination."

He hastily swallowed a mouthful of ale and grinned delightedly at Keido's question. The nature of perception was one of his all together favorite discussions, and so few people ever stopped to consider it that any such discussion was a rare delight.

"Ahh, now that is my own particular area of interest, at least in regard to, umm, Alvadas itself. We interact with the world using our, umm, our perceptions; sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. Without those perceptions, we could not tell that, ah, someone was speaking at us, and they could not tell that we were speaking with them. Now, umm, consider further," he leaned forward with a grin, "But, our perceptions are not infallible. Have you ever, umm, seen something from the corner of your eye and, umm, thought it was something else? A hanging coat that looked like a man, or a, umm, a sleeping dog that you thought was, ah, just a pile of rubbish until it wakes and walks off?"

"According to simple perception, umm, all of those are reality. Of course, experience tells us that that is, ah, not true. The coat is, umm, not a man, and the dog is not a pile of rubbish. In Alvadas, that is not true. More importantly, if your senses tell you that something is real, how can you, ah, tell yourself that it is not?"

Seidaku leaned back and took another sip of ale, "In a very real sense, the, ah, Illusions are reality in Alvadas."

[Keido]

How could Seidaku be talking about fun. The reason that we live in cities in this broken and fractured world is for safety and security. What some people refer to as fun sometimes can also mean danger and this is not a good thing.

"I see. What is the destination then?" Each city had a different goal and if what Seidaku was saying meant that, that would mean Alvadas had one too.

Keido could not see what Seidaku meant. It was just too complicated. How could you experience of perceive something as something else unless it was by mistake. The way Alvadas sounded to him so far was as if it did it on purpose.

"This is a mug no matter how you look at it" Keido said picking his mug up.

"And what I am drinking now is ale" he said when it touched his lips.

"How could you say otherwise Seidaku? A blindman may not see my cup and a tongueless man could not taste my ale but that does not mean that they are not what they are."

But if what Seidaku said about illusions are reality in Alvadas it was very dangerous. To control another, that took true power and that power would probably be in Ionu's palm. Keido had his own suspicions of the god since the city would be a reflection of him.

"So what you mean is Ionu is controlling what we are all doing at this very moment?" Keido asked after taking another few sips.

[Seidaku]

"That depends on the person and the, ah, the moment," Seidaku said, smiling slyly around lip of his mug, "Sometimes the destination is a literal one, getting to, umm, where ever it is you need to be. In that case, Alvadas forces you to, umm, slow down and appreciate the scenery, so to speak. But more importantly, the destination is, ah, is an idea, I think."

He set his mug down and leaned forward intently, "Life is about more than just, ah, living. It's a... harder lesson than it, umm, sounds. And even understanding it, it's, umm, harder still to practice. The world is a harsh, dangerous place. In the face of this, it is easy to get bogged down in the, ah, minutiae of living. Food, shelter, the other basics of, umm, day to day survival. But, in order to recover what we, ah, lost in the Valterrian, we have to do more than just that. Alvadas forces you to do this. It forces you to think... to wonder, and in doing so, ultimately, umm, changes the way you think. It, umm, makes you do more than just live, just survive."

"Yes, we are, umm, drinking ale. Out of mugs, even," Seidaku grinned again, taking a drink of his own to illustrate the point, "But even those ideas are, umm, formed by our perceptions and experiences. The reason you know what ale is, is because, ah, because you have experienced it before. If you had never seen ale before and, umm, I told you that it was the juice of a, umm, a local berry, to you it would be."

Keido's last question though, that was interesting. One that he had never considered himself, even. It was perfectly logical, though. If you controlled the stimuli, you could control the response. His eyebrows drew down in thought and he took a sip of his ale. That would only be partially true, though. No. You could elicit a response, but you could not control it, not entirely. After all, he could set a fire, but he could not control whether someone tried to save themselves or someone else. Though, with total control over the factors present to react to...

It was a very good question, and further proof that Keido was worth at least approaching about a position teaching. He was fairly dour, but that was not necessarily a negative trait. And he had shown an understanding of the importance of education as well as an interest in learning himself.

Rolling his mug between his palms as he thought, he finally said, "Yes, I suppose that is an, umm, an accurate statement. By showing us its vision of the world, Alvadas determines which stimuli are present for us to react to. That is, ah, a very astute observation, actually."

[Seidaku]

"That depends on the person and the, ah, the moment," Seidaku said, smiling slyly around lip of his mug, "Sometimes the destination is a literal one, getting to, umm, where ever it is you need to be. In that case, Alvadas forces you to, umm, slow down and appreciate the scenery, so to speak. But more importantly, the destination is, ah, is an idea, I think."

He set his mug down and leaned forward intently, "Life is about more than just, ah, living. It's a... harder lesson than it, umm, sounds. And even understanding it, it's, umm, harder still to practice. The world is a harsh, dangerous place. In the face of this, it is easy to get bogged down in the, ah, minutiae of living. Food, shelter, the other basics of, umm, day to day survival. But, in order to recover what we, ah, lost in the Valterrian, we have to do more than just that. Alvadas forces you to do this. It forces you to think... to wonder, and in doing so, ultimately, umm, changes the way you think. It, umm, makes you do more than just live, just survive."

"Yes, we are, umm, drinking ale. Out of mugs, even," Seidaku grinned again, taking a drink of his own to illustrate the point, "But even those ideas are, umm, formed by our perceptions and experiences. The reason you know what ale is, is because, ah, because you have experienced it before. If you had never seen ale before and, umm, I told you that it was the juice of a, umm, a local berry, to you it would be."

Keido's last question though, that was interesting. One that he had never considered himself, even. It was perfectly logical, though. If you controlled the stimuli, you could control the response. His eyebrows drew down in thought and he took a sip of his ale. That would only be partially true, though. No. You could elicit a response, but you could not control it, not entirely. After all, he could set a fire, but he could not control whether someone tried to save themselves or someone else. Though, with total control over the factors present to react to...

It was a very good question, and further proof that Keido was worth at least approaching about a position teaching. He was fairly dour, but that was not necessarily a negative trait. And he had shown an understanding of the importance of education as well as an interest in learning himself.

Rolling his mug between his palms as he thought, he finally said, "Yes, I suppose that is an, umm, an accurate statement. By showing us its vision of the world, Alvadas determines which stimuli are present for us to react to. That is, ah, a very astute observation, actually."

[Keido]

Did he mean an idea or a literal place or both a literal idea? Alvadas and now Seidaku is making him quite confused but Seidaku looked more serious. Keido just nodded about what Seidaku said about life, agreeing with him since it is what everyone else does in the world.

"And why would Alvadas do this, I mean what motivates a whole city to want and change its people?" simply put, why? Why would all of this happen?

"If we are talking what we know, about you telling me that this was the juice of a local berry" Keido asked as he took a drink just like Seidaku to illustrate his own point "I would think it was the same juice but the taste, the scent would be the same as ale and while I would forever think it is juice, I still drank ale did I not?" the only difference in that instance is his own ignorance.

Keido was not following the line of thought of Seidaku about the fire or anything else similar. When he asked all those questions, he meant them separately and not together the way Seidaku interpreted them and so he had ideas of his own.

"I don't understand what you mean by Alvadas' stimuli for our reaction. Do you care to explain more since I think I failed in that observation you were talking about."

[Seidaku]

Seidaku shrugged, "I don't know if, umm, if anyone knows. Not really, anyway. Certainly, I can, ah, guess. Why does any city, any group, seek to, umm, change its members? So that they better conform with the, umm, with whatever ideal the group holds. Maybe survival. Perhaps Alvadas or Ionu believes that, umm, quick thinking, creativity, and cleverness will, ah, will serve us well in a dangerous world."

When Keido missed the purpose of his allegory, Seidaku had to remind himself that those who were not native to Alvadas and its ever transient nature would have an inherent difficulty in grasping the concept that perception was reality to the perceiver. Given enough time and experience with the city, the lesson would prove itself, and Keido would scarcely be able to remember a time when he had not known that fact.

Passing the point entirely, Seidaku chose instead to address Keido's last question. "Stimulus is what forces us to, umm, to act. Why do you pull your hand out of a flame? Because, ah, it hurts. You react to the presence of the, umm, fire by pulling your hand away. In this case, the fire is the stimulus, and pulling your hand away the, umm, reaction. Even if the stimulus applied is false, like one created by, umm, Illusion, your reaction is real."

"Another example," he said, taking a sip of ale, "If you were thirsty and, ah, drank an ale that proved to be an Illusion, if it were to, umm, provide the illusion of slaking your thirst, you would not, uhh, attempt to find another ale to drink, because you would not, umm, feel thirsty."