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Grayling - Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - Page 718 [[Morse and Abe are next to each other. Darkness surrounds them, creating an egg-shaped empty space where they stand.]] Morse: Rhodes? Are you here?
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Grayling - Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - Page 719 [[Many black and gray lines of various widths swirl together to form a vaguely human shape, from the shoulders up. The figure has hollow black eyes and, instead of a mouth, short radiating lines. It hovers inverted.]] Rhodes: Yes. How do I look?
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Grayling - Thursday, July 10, 2008 - Page 720 [[Abe and Morse stand closer to each other]] Abe (in response to Rhodes' first appearance): Star mouth... / Morse: Well uh. You look different. Very different. / [[The swirling, curving lines condense to better represent a human head. Some lines curve to form a floating ear, while others stream out of a black void, which more resembles a mouth. Rhodes still has empty black eye sockets]] Rhodes (in a different font than the others): Sorry. I can't see myself. These lines are so hard to control. / [[The line-figure of Rhodes, now seen waist-up, stares a a series of thick black lines at the end of his arms. These just begin to form tendril-like fingers.]] Rhodes: I haven't been able to remember what I looked like, much less establish a form for myself to take. I cannot grasp anything of myself. / [[Morse has an intense, angry expression]] Morse: That's fine, Rhodes. We don't care what you look like. We're only here to talk.
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Grayling - Friday, July 11, 2008 - Page 721 [[Rhodes is still composed of curving black lines. His shoulders and head are formed, but everything from his waist down is just disjointed swirls. One arm floats by itself, reaching towards Morse, while the other dissipates just after the elbow. His feet are completed, but without legs they are detached from the rest of the body. Long, thick black lines stream out of Rhodes' mouth. Morse faces her cousin. Her arms are crossed.]] Morse: Is it true, Rhodes? Did you kidnap Ell? Are you using time to destroy Faidia? / Rhodes: It is a mercy killing. / Morse: If you really believe that, why did you allow me to come here? / Rhodes: I did not just allow it, I did what I could to ease your passage to this place. I wanted your opinion first.
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Grayling - Sunday, July 13, 2008 - Page 723 [[Abe glares angrily at Rhodes]] Abe: What about Faidia, Rhodes? What are your plans? / [[Rhodes, still composed of wavering lines, faintly resembles a human with elongated arms, neck, and face]] Rhodes (in a different font): Destroy it. Recycle the energy back into myself. And start a brand new world.
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Grayling - Monday, July 14, 2008 - Page 724 [[Morse and Abe stand side by side. The former has her eyes closed in an expression of pity and frustration, while Abe looks on distrustfully]] Morse: Oh, but Rhodes. We know you can't do that. Those may have been your plans at one time, but everything has changed, hasn't it? You expect to destroy Faidia and survive to create another world to replace it? Can you wrench an ancient tree from the soil without killing it? You are inextricably entangled with Faidia, Rhodes. / [[A close-up of Rhodes' head against a black background. His eyes are hollow and black. Black lines stream out of his mouth and curve around his features]] Morse (off panel): This world is you. If you destroy it, you destroy yourself. You'll do it anyways, won't you? You really think you can delete everything and no one will ever know what happened here. You'd rather not exist than face it. / [[Morse's face becomes passionate and enraged]] Morse: But I'll know what you did, Rhodes, and though you let me live so I could justify your cowardice at the end, I won't do it. You'll have to kill me, because I refuse.
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Grayling - Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - Page 725 [[As Rhodes becomes upset the lines distinguishing his figure become thicker and more manic. His black eye sockets are fully round, the black lines from his mouth almost overwhelm the rest of him, and the lines below his torso dissolve]] Rhodes: I cannot do that. I need someone to tell me I am doing the right thing. / [[Morse raises one arm, gesturing angrily]] Morse: It ISN'T right! You are going to kill millions of people, an entire planet! The elementals have struggled so hard--
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Grayling - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - Page 726 [[Rhodes is upset. His form is now clearly distinguished with black lines with gray shadows. His eyes, once black, are now white. Black ribbons stream out of his mouth and back past his head. Rhodes' two hands seem detached from his body, gesturing back at himself defensively.]] Rhodes: Why should I not kill them?! They murdered GOD! It all ends here, with me! They deserve annihilation!
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Grayling - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - Page 727 [[Abe supports Morse; standing behind with one hand on her shoulder and the other on her arm.]] Morse: Do you even know who "they" is, Rhodes? You don't know what you're destroying. Look at you. You can barely hold yourself together. Your consciousness erodes with every passing moment. You have no IDEA what you're destroying. This world may have sprung from your mind, but do you know all the minds now within it? / [[A dense mass of black lines erupts from Rhodes' mouth. His eyes are still gaping white.]] Rhodes: I KNOW ENOUGH / [[A close-up of Morse. She has a focused, determined face, accented by fierce brown eyes. ]] Morse: How many wiwens with worlds of their own are living on Faidia right now, Rhodes? Had you taken that into account? How many worlds will you destroy without meaning to, like dominoes, falling into space, maybe infinitely.
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Grayling - Friday, July 18, 2008 - Page 728 [[Morse stands alone, seen from shoulders up. Her expression is firm.]] Morse: You sit up here in your white tower as some morally superior force. But you can't righteously destroy something when you don't know the width and berth of it. That's why it's wrong, Rhodes. You don't kill because you cannot possibly know what it is you are killing, and you can't take it back. Destroying lives means you have let your ignorance run loose, not your reason. This entire world may have sprung from your mind, Rhodes, but the truth is, any mortal can stand toe to toe with you. You can't deny them the right to live. They have just as much a right as you do.
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Grayling - Saturday, July 19, 2008 - Page 729 [[Rhodes sits face-downwards with closed eyes. The stream of black lines coming from his mouth has shrunk to a thin trickle. His body is nearly complete, with only one leg thin and wavering, but all the proportions are still elongated]] Morse (not seen): You may think you're mortally justified in destroying this world. But all I see is an arrogant coward, presuming to know what he cannot. / [[Morse is also looking down so her thick hair conceals her eyes.]] Morse: A sadistic child, crushing ants.
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Grayling - Sunday, July 20, 2008 - Page 730 [[Rhodes' figure is well defined, but the lines marking his calves remain incomplete, and at the end of his arms he has feet instead of hands. He holds one of these up to his mouth - still streaming black lines - in a thoughtful manner. Morse and Abe stand nearby facing him.]] Rhodes (in a different font than the others): The Arducian elementals did not harm others. Sutiyenner told me. / Morse: You seriously think he was telling you the truth, Rhodes? / Rhodes: Um. / Morse: Here's a question. How old were the Arducian elementals? / [[A closeup of Rhodes with one foot-hand against his head and the other scratching his chin. His eyes are black sockets again.]] Rhodes: Several million years old. I think. / [[A shot of Abe with lowered eyelids.]] Abe: Maybe that's why the Faidian elementals are so imperfect. They're still very young. They need time to grow up. / [[Rhodes hovers silent and thoughtful. His mouth is closed but a few black lines still leak out. His face is beginning to take a more realized and realistic form.]] Rhodes: ...
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Grayling - Monday, July 21, 2008 - Page 731 [[Rhodes stands and frowns. Only a few, thin black lines trail from his mouth, while the rest of his figure has become more set in features]] Rhodes (a different font): What would you have me do? / [[Morse looks at him intently from the corner of her eyes, past her black hair.]] Morse: Let go, Rhodes. Your punishment is worse than the crime. People can be trusted to behave decently, if you'll only let them alone. If they can't make their own lives work, then no one can. It's not your responsibility to shove them around. / [[Morse and Abe stand next to each other, staring at Rhodes with pleading expressions. The panel is oriented so they are both nearly horizontal.]] Abe: What's more... maybe the best thing we can do for Arduc now is to learn from it. / [[A close-up of Rhodes' chin and upper shoulders. The lines from his face trail down, wavering slightly.]] Abe (off panel): What did the Arducian elementals do that made their world work? / Rhodes: I see. A compromise.
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Grayling - Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - Page 732 [[Cal - wearing a black jacket and light pants - rests on his knees, small and alone in an empty frame. His back is to the viewer.]]
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Grayling - Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - Page 733 [[A close-up of Cal from head to waist. His bright blue eyes stand out from his white and black attire. He looks to the side with a confused expression.]] Rhodes (not seen): Let me guess. You stopped hearing, seeing and feeling not long ago. That is because time has slowed down so much your nerve impulses have slowed to a crawl. Just hold on. It should be fine again in a moment.
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Grayling - Thursday, July 24, 2008 - Page 734 [[Ell, with bright purple eyes and hair, stands looking down at Cal. She's dressed in a plain gray shirt and pants.]] Rhodes (speaking through Ell): There. Better? / [[Cal's head, in profile, looks up at Ell with a concerned expression.]] Cal: Ell!? Is she all right? / Rhodes (off panel): I will let her go in a short time. First, I have something to tell you.
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Grayling - Friday, July 25, 2008 - Page 735 [[Rhodes speaks through the purple-haired Ell.]] Rhodes-Ell (different font): Through the efforts of Morse and Abelarde, I have been convinced to spare Faidia. But I have conditions. / [[Cal, still kneeling, has surprised dots for eyes. Rhodes-Ell looks at him in slight irritation with arms crossed.]] Rhodes-Ell: Why are you looking at me like that? Are you listening? / [[Cal lowers his brow with concern]] Cal: You didn't keep Ell anywhere scary, did you? She's very delicate. / Rhodes-Ell (off panel): Oh for the love of- / [[Ell is seen in profile, purple hair and eyes contrasting against white skin.]] Rhodes-Ell: She is JUST FINE. She has spent this entire time frolicking in a meadow, oblivious to the fate of the world and a good deal happier than any of you. NOW LISTEN UP. / [[A panel full of text]] Rhodes-Ell: The Arducian elementals lived in secret. The mortals in their charge were unaware of their existence. They had concluded, after a long time, that it was against nature for immortals to mingle with mortals. So... they went underground. This is what I want you to do as well.
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Grayling - Saturday, July 26, 2008 - Page 736 [[Cal looks down with an expression of mixed confusion and amazement at Rhodes' request]] Cal: Underground... What purpose would that serve? / Rhodes (different font, and off-panel): Several. An end to the political conflict with the free people. / [[Rhodes, as Ell, closes her eyes as she explains the point.]] Rhodes-Ell: Crucially, it will force you elementals to actually make your relationships work, instead of using mortals like some sort of emotional backup and then getting them killed. / Cal (off-panel): Point taken. / [[Panel full of text]] Rhodes-Ell: You and your brothers, Lem especially, have wasted much on your continued desire to be mortals with benefits. You are not mortals with benefits, you are a completely different entity, and your personal meddling in mortal affairs is unacceptable. Hold to your own elements and understand yourselves better. It hardly warrants mentioning, but a further condition is that you never use the wiwen system for harm ever again. If anything, I want you to monitor it for misuse. / [[Ell is only partially shown and Rhodes still acts through her. She raises one arm in a gesture indicative of an important decree.]] Rhodes-Ell: Establish a policy of non-interference with the mortals. The specifics I leave to you. I am telling you this because, out of all the others, you will understand the most clearly why this is necessary.
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Grayling - Sunday, July 27, 2008 - Page 737 [[Rhodes, as Ell, puts her hand on Cal's forehead. He looks up with confusion in his bright blue eyes.]] Rhodes-Ell (different font): You are their leader. They love and trust you. I find I trust you too. You did come to get me, after all. / Cal: But Rhodes... What will you do? / Rhodes: I have only one use left. According to Morse, anyway, but she is right. I will die. / [[Ell, with purple eyes and hair, looks towards Cal]] Cal (not seen): Who is going to watch us then? You trust us that much? / Rhodes-Ell: Not that much. I have already made arrangements. There will always be someone watching.
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Grayling - Monday, July 28, 2008 - Page 738 [[Cal, seen in profile, has a panicked expression. His blue eyes are open wide.]] Rhodes (different font, and off panel): Speaking of which, it is time for me to take off. / Cal: Wait, Rhodes! I still need to ask so many - / Rhodes: It will be fine. You will figure out what to do. Ell can restore the Tower denizens. Goodbye. / [[Rhodes leaves and returns Ell to her body, wide-eyed and startled. Cal stands behind her looking sad, tired, and a little bit lost.]]
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Grayling - Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - Page 740 Ell: Oh, dear. / I've been out of commission for awhile. I hope nothing terrible has happened. / Cal: N...no, not really. / It's going to be fine. / Come on, let's get the others and I'll explain. / We have a lot of work ahead of us. / / the end
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