[Fitz has the right of it. All of that was just a slow, insipid death — waiting for time to run out, nestled away in a derelict, rusted freighter as forgotten as they were. Before the name Jericho meant more than just a place to huddle in shadow. Before its continual transition into a symbol, or the movement Markus hopes that it’ll grow into with each passing day, hour, minute.]
No, I couldn’t. How was I supposed to? How could I, after everything? Seeing them all like that, I realized that it just… wasn’t fair.
[That kind of complacency, he isn’t sure he can ever understand it again, not after his turn to deviancy. As if a switch had been irrevocably flipped, and accepting any degree of condonation could no longer slot into his programming. Even the thought of it was a red-hot offense that sent alarm bells ringing, and defiance hiking up in his heart.]
I told them that we should take action, instead of waiting around to die. So we raided a CyberLife warehouse for spare parts and blue blood, and in our success we came away more revitalized than before.
[The first stepping stone, the first jumping-off point towards a higher cause. All it took was a small spark of hope to set something ablaze with promise.]
After that, I thought we should make a statement to mankind. Declaring autonomy, our recognition as a living species. Individual and civil rights. The wish to co-exist peacefully. [A beat, and a clarification.] A literal statement, I mean. Infiltrating a broadcast tower was next on the agenda.
I guess you could say we didn’t do anything in half-measures after that.
[He wonders if Fitz can guess at the nature of his role with that much information, if it answers his original question. Drawing conclusions about the kind of leader he is; the sort with an underdog revolution steeling his spine. Why the idea of Morningstar quietly resonates with Markus in its own parallel way, despite the differences, though he's never told anyone that much.]
no subject
No, I couldn’t. How was I supposed to? How could I, after everything? Seeing them all like that, I realized that it just… wasn’t fair.
[That kind of complacency, he isn’t sure he can ever understand it again, not after his turn to deviancy. As if a switch had been irrevocably flipped, and accepting any degree of condonation could no longer slot into his programming. Even the thought of it was a red-hot offense that sent alarm bells ringing, and defiance hiking up in his heart.]
I told them that we should take action, instead of waiting around to die. So we raided a CyberLife warehouse for spare parts and blue blood, and in our success we came away more revitalized than before.
[The first stepping stone, the first jumping-off point towards a higher cause. All it took was a small spark of hope to set something ablaze with promise.]
After that, I thought we should make a statement to mankind. Declaring autonomy, our recognition as a living species. Individual and civil rights. The wish to co-exist peacefully. [A beat, and a clarification.] A literal statement, I mean. Infiltrating a broadcast tower was next on the agenda.
I guess you could say we didn’t do anything in half-measures after that.
[He wonders if Fitz can guess at the nature of his role with that much information, if it answers his original question. Drawing conclusions about the kind of leader he is; the sort with an underdog revolution steeling his spine. Why the idea of Morningstar quietly resonates with Markus in its own parallel way, despite the differences, though he's never told anyone that much.]