i can't actually show you the world

[psychofailed]

WHO: Kogami and Matthew
WHERE: Somewhere in Maurtia Falls
WHEN: 16th March
WHAT: Continued from here. Who made Kogami the responsible adult here, stop this ride he wants to get off.
WARNINGS: will add if any come up.


It's for next time.

[You know that old saying about teaching a man to fish vs. giving him one. He figures if he shows Matthew at least once, maybe the kid will be less likely to screw up with the directions he typed up. And he's not actually charitable enough to do this more than once, much as he currently feels a sense of obligation toward getting Matthew where he's going safely.]

C'mon, kid, we don't have all day.

Comments

[dreamkid]

Sure. Great!

[ Matthew obediently resumes following him, ever willing to please. A minute or so later he points out a sign advertising Hot, Fresh Donuts--Serving Now! at the front of one of the many local businesses. ]

Hey, do you want one? I can treat, since you're helping me.

[ What did the man just say, Matthew? But he just recently got his first paycheck ever and he himself is always ready to eat something, so at least let him give it a shot. ]

[psychofailed]

[There's just. A brow being raised here.]

Don't you have a time you need to reach where you're going by?

[Because seriously, kid. First ending up on the wrong side of town and now this........it's a miracle you ever get anywhere]

[dreamkid]

[ Does a dandelion seed floating on the wind worry about when it's going to land? ]

Oh, that's right. [ He gets his communicator out and types up a quick text, sending it off easily and then re-pocketing the device--all while keeping whatever pace Kogami is, so he doesn't actually slow them down. ]

There. [ He sounds pleased. ] I let them know I'll be a little late.

[ The donut offer still stands but he's not gonna push it. ]

[psychofailed]

[His gaze drifts between the kid and the donut shop and back. This is so not what he signed up for...

It's a good thing Matthew is a cute kid.]

Alright, but make it quick.

[dreamkid]

[ He holds up his finger in the universal one minute gesture and then veers off toward the shop, pausing only to hold the door open for an older fellow who also apparently wants donuts. A couple minutes later he's back, two paper bags in hand. ]

Here. I hope regular glazed is okay?

[ He gives one to Kogami; as advertised the donuts inside are warm and probably delicious. It takes him no time whatsoever to get his own out of the bag and take a bite. He can walk and eat at the same time, so he's ready to go again whenever. Just lead the way. ]

[psychofailed]

[While he waits outside, he crushes his cigarette beneath his foot to put it out and...doesn't actually throw it out because there's no trash cans nearby, whoops. Not exactly a role model, this one.]

It's fine. Thanks.

[For his own part, Kogami is perfectly fine with walking and eating, too, and the donut actually is delicious. Between bites at one point, he asks:]

Do you usually buy things for complete strangers?

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew is already finished with his by this point, neatly licking glaze from his fingers and holding onto his trash until they pass an appropriate receptacle, as one does. The question earns Kogami a somewhat curious glance. ]

I guess not. You're going out of your way for me, though.

[ And really, are they complete strangers?? They know each other's names and everything. ]

[psychofailed]

[He pauses to take another bite of donut, looking around at everyone milling about the streets, going about their daily business with no real confidence about their safety, just blind trust. Like this kid's.]

At least, that's what I say. You don't know that you can trust me, though.

[Did you know, that he's a latent criminal? Of course you don't, because the Sybil System doesn't exist here. And despite its flaws...he's still having some difficulty with the idea that people are just. Comfortable, not knowing.]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew actually considers this, turning his clear blue eyes on Kogami again. Thinking, thinking, and what he comes up with is-- ]

I don't think that's something you'd say if you were actually up to anything shady.

[ He is pretty confident in this simple line of reasoning, at ease again right away. What different ways of seeing the world... ]

[psychofailed]

I could just be trying to earn your trust.

[Which...he isn't. He has no ulterior motives here, nor is he even sure why he's doing this in the first place, except that it bugs him to just leave the kid to handle this alone when they clearly don't have the first clue what they're doing.

But that's what he knows, inside his own mind. And there's no way for anyone else to judge his intentions, his inclinations...anything. It's both intensely liberating and...utterly, totally terrifying. Like walking on a tightrope without a net underneath to catch him if he falls.]

How do you know you're safe with me?

[dreamkid]

[ Kogami, it's like you're trying to confuse him. He doesn't understand why the conversation is going in this direction but he rolls with it. ]

You said you were going to help, and I think I'd know if you were lying.

[ Despite what the choice of words may indicate, he's not bragging about his good judgment of character. In fact the statement has something of a curious tone at the end, like he's not certain what to make of the fact that, by the way, he has actual lie detecting powers. ]

[psychofailed]

[That's the thing. Kogami can't tell if this kid means it literally or not. Literally would be nice; faith is risky, and he's not sure how he feels about this kid being comfortable with him just because he seems decent enough, much as he legitimately doesn't want to harm him.]

How?

[It's a genuine question, one without sarcasm--he's been asking himself that for awhile now. How could people be sure without Sybil?]

[dreamkid]

[ So they are definitely talking about two different things now. Matthew simply shrugs at first, because he's not sure how to explain something he doesn't totally understand himself. ]

I just would, I think.

[ He considers something else. ]

Most people aren't bad, anyway.

[ He thought so well before he could tell when people were lying, but also good chunk of the lies he's supernaturally (and unintentionally, for the record) detected have been, he thinks, pretty harmless things. Just people being people. ]

[psychofailed]

[Most people aren't bad, anyway.

He's not sure what it is that pulls at his chest at that assertion. Maybe something like nostalgia for a time when he might have been able to believe the world was that simple. He came to work for the MWPSB because he believed in justice, and wanted to protect people. But the Sybil System didn't make assessments of goodness, not technically. Everything was judged on the potential to commit crimes--you were either a latent criminal, or you weren't, and nobody was ever safe from becoming one. Even people who believed in justice and wanted to protect people.]

Most isn't all, though. And you can't really know, just by talking to someone. What if I'm just a damn good actor?

[dreamkid]

[ ... Kogami is really stuck on this. Matthew looks over at him as they walk, trying to figure out what exactly his deal is.

His imagination is not wild enough to get him even close to the truth. ]

There's plenty of things you can't know for sure, about people and a lot of other stuff. You just have to trust them sometimes or you'd never get to know anybody.

[ He straightens one of his sleeves by giving the end a little tug, an unnecessary gesture that might hint at a small measure of discomfort--but it has nothing to do with Kogami. ]

And actually, I was serious about the lying thing. That I'd know if you were.

[ Maybe he didn't say it plainly enough the first couple times. ]

[psychofailed]

[It's Matthew's lucky day, because Kogami's going to tell him. Well, some of it, anyway.]

That's not how it works, where I'm from. If you're able to get to know someone in the first place, it's because they've already been deemed as not dangerous.

[He pauses to light another cigarette, take a drag before he keeps walking.]

Our technology can do that. If you met me in Japan, you would know I'm safe to be around. But the truth is, I'm actually a latent criminal.

[Another exhale of smoke.]

Someone who is no longer allowed to be a part of society.

[dreamkid]

[ Well, that's super weird, color Matthew confused. Also to his credit, at this point he does wonder if he should start being a little concerned about his traveling companion, a self-confessed criminal of some kind. There's just one thing. ]

But... What'd you do? What's a latent criminal?

[ That sounds a little fake. Not like Kogami is lying--as previously mentioned, Matthew can tell when that is the case--but like someone in his world was just making stuff up. "No longer allowed to be part of society"? That's terrible. ]

[psychofailed]

[That's the thing about the Sybil System, though. It's not about what you do so much as what you could do. It's about your darker thoughts and feelings and urges, acted upon or otherwise. By the time he started thinking that the person who murdered and mutilated his subordinate should suffer the same, it was all over for him.]

A latent criminal is someone whose Psycho Pass has deteriorated to unacceptable levels.

[...]

And a Psycho Pass is the composite designation we use in Japan for a person's overall mental health and potential criminal inclination, measured in biological markers in your brain and body. Once your Crime Coefficient crosses a certain threshold, you're flagged as a latent criminal and isolated from society.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew tries very hard to follow along with this explanation, he really does. But there are a lot of new terms and science and a totally different way of thinking than what he's used to all wrapped up in what Kogami is telling him, and he just doesn't manage to hold on to all of it. Please don't give him a pop quiz later.

What he does pick up are words like "latent" and "potential" and "inclination", and it allows him to paste together the very basics. ]

So you're saying you haven't actually done anything bad. They just thought you would.

[ Wait, is this Minority Report? Is Kogami Tom Cruise? ]

That seems messed up.

[psychofailed]

[P MUCH. Except for the part where basically nobody gets a happy ending.]

It really depends on how you're defining "doing something bad."

[Because in Psycho Pass Japan, wanting to settle the score with Sasayama's murderer or even so much as thinking that they should suffer an equally grisly fate is tantamount to "doing something bad," in the eyes of society.]

I had plenty of chances to accept counseling and fix my Psycho Pass before it was too late, and I didn't take them. I knew the consequences, but I had other priorities at the time--so don't feel too sorry for me.