@drolliic asked: For all of Caelus' boldness, he finds himself inexplicably shy once he takes a seat by Caiying's side on the bench in the Astral Express. It's as if his stomach has suddenly twisted itself into a knot, heavy and unmovable. It takes him a few moments before he can gather his thoughts enough to form the words he wants to speak. "You work with memories, right? Is it... Is it possible for somebody to not have any? I don't mean like having amnesia, but rather... Nothing at all. It's empty, but it doesn't feel like there's something that I should be missing. I... don't know if that's making any sense. I'm sorry if it doesn't."
Caiying gives a thoughtful expression at first. Her adventures through different worlds and across the stars had been detached up until now. The organization and keeping of memories is a task built on silent observation. Even on the Astral Expression, she prefers to sit and watch the others interact and converse in their undisturbed environment. She likens it to watch fish swim under the water's surface -- serene and interesting in its own mundane way.
" Are you aware of the philosophical thought: ' If a tree falls in a forest '? " She asks, setting aside her kept records for the time being. " The issue is simple -- if a tree were to fall in a forest but no one hears it, does it make a sound ? Unlike March 7th, who has something missing, you have nothing to lose ... is my understanding of what you are telling me. Perhaps in a way, you are like the sound of a falling tree that no one heard. "
It's not really her place to speak of the nature of his existence in the universe.
" But to answer your question, I do not believe it is possible for someone to not have any. Even if you perhaps forgot your memories or your memories were tampered with in some way, they had once existed and, therefore, you had them at some point. Even in the case where you had suddenly 'existed' properly one day, your form was likely created from the memories of others. "
Memory begets memory as time marches on into infinity. One day, everyone aboard the Astral Express will fade into nothingness in the universe. Did they not exist then, if nobody is left to remember them ? Caiying rejects this idea.
She smiles softly at Caelus.
" My apologies, " she says, " You were probably looking for something more concrete but the nature of what you are asking is not easy. The answers you seek likely lie on your own path. As an observer to these events, though I am meant to remain impartial, I am a little giddy to see where your place amongst the memories of the universe will be. "
