There can be no pollution in the absence of people.

Out there are empty worlds yet untainted by Amentan hands. We must not allow them to be desecrated. Space travel is wrong. (This is an Amenta RP blog; nothing here is real.)

[emptyworldsuntainted]

At least they haven't shit on them yet probably.

[”–yet probably.”

Yet.

Yet.

There is nothing they can to to stop this. No last minute reprieve they can hope for. It’s inevitable. 

It’s already happened.

Empty is sobbing too hard to answer this.]

[emptyworldsuntainted]

Do you think the explorers forgot how staying clean works? They won't have been polluted!

For now, perhaps.

It’s only a matter of time.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

I do not know if this will be any comfort to you but space is likely infinite. So no matter how much we spread we will still only be an infinitesimal part of everything. We will not have a large impact on the universe. Almost all of it will likely remain untouched.

Amentans, given an infinity into which to expand? Well– let’s just say there’s always the possibility of infinite pollution as well.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

“Amentan feet have walked upon extrasolar planets; Amentan breath has mixed with their air.“

They touched them.

How could they?

[openamenta]

Amentans have found habitable planets. At 4:19 this morning, the first exploration mission returned to our world with news of five confirmed Amentan habitable biospheres, and an expectation of more to come. Amentan feet have walked upon extrasolar planets; Amentan breath has mixed with their air. It was the fulfillment of a dream Amentans have shared since we first looked to the stars. When asked to comment, explorer Thesha Pepalma said, “Our children, our children’s children: none of them will ever suffer empty springs again. The planets we have found… [click here to read the full article]

[emptyworldsuntainted]

No. This is fake. A lie. A hoax.

It has to be.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

"reluctant to continue demanding that action of those already living" *Continue*????

…There is a difference between those who already exist, and those who only do so in potentia. There has to be.

I haven’t been an extinctionist since I was four.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

why does it matter whether we had something to begin with?

The simple fact is that the state of Amenta itself cannot get any worse. We have already befouled every possible refuge. We teem with the living; we are surrounded by the pollution they produce. The only way to truly clean our planet would be for all of us to cease to exist entirely.

Surely, you can understand why I was reluctant to continue demanding that action of those already living? Even if it is for the best?

And until recently, the rest of existence was filled with empty worlds untainted.

Until we chose to trade this away for some few passing sweet springs.

Now, we are the encroaching ruin which shall defile them all.

[rejoice-in-life]

i know we’re all excited about planets and that’s great but please please make responsible decisions when celebrating!! the number of drug overdoses spiked after the announcement and we’re honestly kind of short-staffed. use drugs in safe amounts only! you can’t go to space if you’re dead!

[emptyworldsuntainted]

[OOC: Not reblogged directly from rejoice-in-life IC.]

Drugs. What a fantastic idea.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

They’re back. It really happened.

And now entire worlds are within our reach.

Please, let them not find a single one.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

Most people don't enjoy not having planets either!!

[OOC: in reply to]

We didn’t have those to begin with.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

do you want me to live out the rest of my life CHILDLESS on this miserable rock? if you want that i hope you ROT!

We’re all going to rot one day.

And now we’ll spread our putrefaction to the stars as well.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

Hey, um. I bet you're really upset right now. Which has to suck. So I wanted to come in and say - 1) stars are on fire! they're burning all the time. So there's no way they can get polluted, even if planets can. 2) Did you know that Afen's cowriter is his son? So clearly it's getting passed on great, and now he can have lots of children himself and maybe one of them will invent uploading! 3) Maybe someday there'll be a spare shuttle for you and you can ride it right into a star.

Ha, well, those last two points are a nice thought.

Especially the last one.

Thank you. I appreciate that you’re trying to help.

[amentansassorted]

[@tohigherpurity is attempting to compose a letter to Afen Kisantami. The letter expresses high admiration for his obvious brilliance and skills, great gratitude for his invention, and then urges and begs him to consider, when things are more stable with FTL, applying his clear genius to the problem of uploading.

There are elaborate paragraphs arguing the importance of uploading and why it deserves such attention and how great and worldchanging it would be and how even more grateful Amenta would be to him.

Higher doesn’t know what the chances are that Afen Kisantami knows anything about upload technology or has any interest in it. But - his pages say he’s a linguist but his papers credit in such a number of diverse fields, and - FTL.

She worries her Anitami isn’t quite good enough for something of this importance, and repeatedly looks up words and phrases, and plans to start calling friends with possibly greater skills for help when she’s done enough.

She searches for the names of Afen’s coauthors and starts composing further.]

[emptyworldsuntainted]

[If Empty knew this was being written, they would find it comforting.

If Empty knew this was being written, they would offer to help.

But they do not, so there is nothing that interrupts their desperate sobs.]

[amentansassorted]

[Higher eventually posts up an explanation and her latest draft, looking for feedback]

[emptyworldsuntainted]

[Eventually, Empty stumbles upon it. Days later, when they’ve become too tired of crying to continue.

Obsessively, they comb through it, returning suggestion after suggestion, pouring every ounce of their attention into being as useful as possible.

Eventually they run out of energy, and return to lying on their bed, staring blankly up at the starry mural they had so carefully placed upon their ceiling, all those years ago.

The phosphorescent stars shine back.

Empty feels nothing.]

[emptyworldsuntainted]

the ship's not back yet. it could still not happen.

…

Maybe.

It’s too much to hope for.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

We won't become more exposed to pollution just by being in space! Indeed, we'll be exposed to less since we can spread out more and not be cramped un-hygienically. I understand that you are depressed but this news should be making you happy if you really hate pollution so much. You can get away from it all. That's what I want to do.

I understand you’re trying to be comforting. However, the fact is, I cannot. No one can.

Pollution is an immutable fact of the Amentan condition. Every time we eat, every time we drink, every time we breathe, our bodies work to churn out yet more vile substances with which to desecrate the world.

Perhaps individual Amentans will indeed experience less pollution per capita out amongst the stars in their new environment. This isn’t nothing, but it’s not worth the entire universe.

Nothing is worth that price.

Nothing can ever be worth it.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

How can you support red cleaning? Cleaned reds still produce waste and die just like everyone else.

By your logic, we should quarantine and eliminate everyone from the face of Amenta. 

Which is certainly a tempting proposition, but I have been reliably informed that most people would not enjoy that outcome.

Thus, we are left with a choice. Leave them to be polluted through their every waking moment, eternally, unerringly suffering with whatever capacity they have to do so, or clean them.

That isn’t a choice at all.

[emptyworldsuntainted]

i'm sorry. this must be hard for you. i can't say i entirely understand why, but for what it's worth i am sorry.

Thank you for your sympathies.