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Author Topic: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre  (Read 2573 times)

Madame Trousers Son

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Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« on: September 28, 2021, 10:17:38 PM »
Good people lie. They don't mean to, but they do. White lies, half-truths, peccadillos. Mothers fabulise to quieten their children; priests tell you that your choices matter; lovers tell you they'll feel the same way forever.

It's easy. We do it all the time. We don't want to hurt people we care about. What's bad about that?

And when you don't want to face the truth, the easiest person to lie to is yourself.

Dorian de Sauvre is a good young man. He's also a liar. He lies when he tells himself why he obeys his mother's wishes, and subsequently lies to the world.

Because the truth isn't something he can face. Not yet. Not now. The truth is hard, and dangerous.

Lying is easy, lying is safe.

Do you judge our young protagonist? Do you think yourself better? Do you think you're a good and honest person?

See, I told you lying was easy.
« Last Edit: September 29, 2021, 10:47:52 AM by Madame Trousers Son »
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2021, 07:08:37 PM »
Water reeking with detritus dripped into the cage from above. They huddled within the cages, crying, whimpering, begging; the boy and the others who had been caught: women, children, a few men, those too weak to fight back. Those who had fallen through the cracks of society; who wouldn't be missed.

Except for him.

The slavers kept watch around the day (whatever that meant, down here in the darkness, they'd long lost track of time). They fed the prisoners infrequently, usually throwing them slops and mouldy bread, laughing as fights broke out over food not fit for animals.

The boy ate nothing. He wasn't used to fighting, nor to eating such unfit food. Instead he went hungry and thirsty, weeping for his mother to save him.

When his saviours came, they weren't the traditional heroes: they wore red and black, and struck from the shadows; nor were their motivations benign: the enemy of my enemy...

His mother found him thus, hungry, weak, sick from drinking sewer water, hiding amongst the other would-be slaves. She cried out to him but he couldn't stand, could only call "Mother", as she rushed to sweep him up in her arms.

She had saved him. He always knew she would.





The painting was Chassuer's most popular, and arguably the least subtle. To most other nobles, the work might evoke the works of Pιnible; some even murmured about Revolutionary tones. For Dorian, they stirred long-repressed memories, and he fled the room before they overcame him.

See? He sees the truth, and he runs from it. Because, for him, this terrible truth isn't an abstract. It isn't merely the shape of an unjust society that profits from the blood of those it claims to help.

For him, that evil truth has a name.
« Last Edit: October 02, 2021, 08:22:27 PM by Madame Trousers Son »
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2021, 06:58:16 PM »
Spoiler: show



He does what is expected of him. Goes to the University. Studies Law and History, as his mother desires. Joined the Gendarmerie, again obeying her will.

These actions aren't the real Dorian. They're camouflage. Discretion, his mother's watch word. He's walking through his young life in such a way that he won't draw notice, that he won't be seen by the predators. That the illusion of Dementlieu might protect him.

That security blanket might protect some; but not him.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2021, 10:26:04 PM »
Dorian had come to trust his superior officer a little -- just a little. It was an unusual reflex, but he relished the ability to speak frankly, in confidence. At least on some subjects, the ones were the truth might hurt them both, equally.

Life for the Dementlieuse nobility and their courtiers is part-theatre, part-game where everyone must play their role; even the rebels have their place, as long as they play by the rules. Yet occasionally the mask slips, and one of the players tries to be their own true person. Perhaps it is envy that motivates their resultant condemnation by so-called polite society. Or perhaps it's just the rules of that game...

Dorian came to envy those who surrendered to their anger. What a luxury, to lose your temper! Despite all appearances to the contrary, he knew well enough the lure of that intoxicating nectar. But composure and decorum aren't merely tools for self-advancement here; they're a survival tactic. Only kings and jesters can cast them aside.

If you find yourself losing your calm, ask yourself, which one are you?
« Last Edit: October 10, 2021, 10:27:48 PM by Madame Trousers Son »
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2021, 10:24:04 PM »
Love is a weakness. Love is a strength.

You've heard both perspectives, no doubt: how love can be someone's undoing, or how it can elevate us beyond our mortal ken.

If our young protagonist believes one thing in this world, it's that his mother loves him. He understands, in some intuitive way, that she is dishonest with him, misleads him. Yet he trusts no other: she saved him, after all. His is not merely the filial piety required by duty but the close bond of adversity. But is it enough?

Love: hormones, or higher purpose? You decide.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2021, 07:53:04 AM »
The trial was a revelation for Dorian. He brought to it all his anxiety, all his disgust at a world where truth is merely a smoke screen for villainy. He channelled all that into his role and in that moment, he found something, something he hadn't expected. Something perhaps no-one expected.

He prosecuted the case, seeking the death penalty. He did better than he had any right to, with the evidence at hand. He gained a conviction for a lesser crime. Except the defendant was innocent. He'd sent an innocent woman to jail.

Thank Ezra it was only a class exercise.

For a moment, he felt guilty at his own zeal. He realised he'd been pursuing this exercise not to learn, but to prove something. Perhaps to prove something to himself. It was the wrong motivation. And yet, he'd found something in that moment: a choice. For the first time in his life, Dorian saw two distinct parts of himself, and learned that he could choose between them. He found the realisation both exhilarating and frightening about that.

He should do.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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A letter to Dame de Sauvre
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2021, 04:14:35 AM »
Dated 14th November 776

Quote
...

Is this what you wanted me to learn? Is this why you wanted me to be a Gendarme?

I don't -- can't trust anyone, as you told me.

I miss you terribly.

Your loving son,
Dorian
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2021, 07:31:40 AM »
Self-Portrait; a painting
Quote
Dorian de Sauvre looks to himself in a fine, expensive mirror. He is dressed in his Gendarme uniform, the picture of the young, noble defender of the Republic. Yet his expression is troubled as he reaches towards the mirror: he cannot see himself within it. Only the uniform is visible, floating empty.



Decency.

It's a strange little word, isn't it? Attempting to catch so much meaning into one little word.

To Dorian, it means almost everything. Raised to treat everyone with decency (albeit from within the biased and somewhat bigoted context of the Dementlieuse nobility and the paranoid wariness of the de Sauvre bloodline), it is how he approaches the world. Yet it is a standard to which he intuitively fears he doesn't measure up; already he sees beyond the biases and the bigotry of his society, and understands that it is hypocritical and dysfunctional in subtle ways. Within the cracks of that hypocrisy and dysfunction, people starved and died.

He'd also been taught to be careful, to be discreet...

Was Sieur Jacques a decent man? Dorian had looked up to the Chevalier, but the previous day had been a disillusionment. Yet Sieur Jacques hadn't been entirely in the wrong...

Dorian would never show his first self-portrait to anyone. Not even to his own mother.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #8 on: November 22, 2021, 02:01:19 PM »
There wasn't much left of her. The monster had seen to that.

He stood vigil for hours. Grief and regret flooded him every moment. But he couldn't leave; didn't want to leave her alone.

"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2021, 12:02:57 AM »
Failure.

After Dorian shook Marco's hand and left to trudge back to the Gendarmerie, he contemplated the word.

Failure. Marco had failed. His career had been ruined by unwise choices; by trusting the wrong people. Perhaps Marco had briefly tasted despair, but the man today appeared unbowed. His failure was a step back, but it was not his destruction; not while he had hope. It is said that the mark of character is how we deal with failure; who can be called truly successful, if they have never been tested and forced to rise up again from their knees?

Failure. Did Emeric feel he had failed his sister? Failed to protect her from the monsters with human faces? Emeric blamed himself; Dorian had told him he was not responsible. But that was a lie, and secretly they probably both knew it.

Failure. Dorian pondered his own failure. Faced with the two plans to stop the Baron, Dorian had naturally erred towards the more conservative, more discreet idea. Only at the Lieutenant's prodding had he stepped up to put the bolder one into motion. Had his hesitation cost Eglantine her life? If he'd been more like Rouen, more like Sacha Frelon, maybe she'd still be alive... The doubt ate at him like a worm in his gut.

That's why he'd let all the charges quietly drop on the little red sash and his posse afterwards, including the ones that by rights should have probably stuck. He had no stomach to punish them and stare his own hypocrisy, his own failure, in the eye.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2021, 03:49:41 PM »
Oh, silly boy. Trying not to take sides.

Look at the others, taking sides and being rewarded for it. The deluded believe in the Council's wisdom and fairness, but you know better; you've known better since you were a boy. They tolerate that monster amongst them because he's useful to them. That's how this all really works.

Do you tell yourself you're siding with justice? You've seen how that works here; at best, it's approximate, at worst...

With truth? Come now, you're a de Sauvre. Duty? Duty is your shield, perhaps, in the sense that you hide behind it.

Every side has blood on their hands, or exploit the corpses of the unfortunate as martyrs for their cause. Are you really that squeamish, silly boy?

(Surely now you see there's more than one monster in Dementlieu...)
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2021, 01:35:06 AM »
It didn't fit. It was almost perfect, but it didn't quite fit.

Dorian looked once more at the signature at the bottom of the note that Beauregard had (supposedly) left. How could it be anything else, but what it appeared to be? What was the alternative? He replayed the scene in his mind. There'd been no signs of a struggle. It was too perfect.

The signature itched in his mind all day and all night, and the next day too. It didn't fit...

Slowly, the nagging led him to a new awareness, a new fear.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #12 on: December 22, 2021, 03:06:23 AM »
Dorian found himself plunged into existential distress: the pain that comes from your beliefs about society, about people (such as your parents, your mother...) being swept away. Everything he'd believed in was a lie. Of course he'd already begun to understand this, he'd witnessed the profound, nay, complete corruption with his own eyes. But the disillusionment had been no less painful, coming from his mother; perhaps even all the harsher.

Try as he might, he could not yet see things through her eyes. Perhaps it was indeed merely the idealism of youth; but more pertinently, he didn't see the point of thinking as she did. If he did, then what possible reason in the Core could compel him to stay in Dementlieu? Was this home, truly?

He spent days and nights wracked by doubts. It's not easy, rebuilding your moral foundation on quicksand.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2021, 03:12:08 AM by Madame Trousers Son »
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #13 on: December 24, 2021, 06:06:23 AM »
Throughout time and across the multiverse, various authors have reached a variation of the following quotation: "In times of universal deceit, to tell the truth is a revolutionary act." Dorian read the first issue of the Truth with a mix of admiration and... some other, unfamiliar thrill. Perhaps hope?
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2022, 11:52:19 PM »
He craved escape.

Technically he wasn't a prisoner; he could walk into his Lieutenant's office at any time and resign. But no matter how corrupt this city was, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not now, not yet. Call it a moral compass, call it an overwrought sense of duty: he couldn't abandon his post.

What would his mother have said? He wished he could talk to her again. Yet he knew her words. "Just do not risk yourself or your love..."

Oh, to flee the country and fly free, like the sea bird...
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #15 on: January 29, 2022, 02:35:43 AM »
Not with a bang (well, not another one), but with a whimper, most of the tension faded away from Port-ΰ-Lucine. Aldous Hargreaves was dead. So was Imzel Imala, apparently. The hot politics of the Grain Deal had faded back to cold backroom deals.

Even the Ouvrier was quiet, for now. Perhaps, too quiet.

The quiet gave him more time to dwell on his unhappiness. He envied; he envied others' ability to love and trust freely. Yet though he was now master — the sole member — of his own House, he was less free than when his mother had been alive.

Should he, could he, continue to live the double life that he'd been leading? Not that it was much of a life at present, save for the thrill of his stolen escapades. In some ways, "Dorian de Sauvre" was the mask, one that he had worn all his life...
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2022, 10:44:37 PM »
For the first time, he played the game for stakes other than personal survival. For the first time, he wanted more.

They knew what they wanted, they had a plan to get it; and perhaps most importantly, they knew what they might sacrifice, or not, to achieve their goals. Yet he was always anxious: she would never chose him over her family, he knew that much. But that meant that losing the game meant losing her...
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2022, 12:51:55 PM »
He did his duty.

Did Juliette de Bellavance deserve to be sent to the Asylum; or, failing that, to be executed? She was guilty of something, certainly; at best, ignorance is no excuse, at worst, she was lying through her teeth. Arielle had always been the more honest one; intellectually, at least.

Was it all really a plot to get cruel revenge on Arielle for her foolish article? Perhaps. But Dorian wasn't going to stake his fortunes on something he couldn't prove. Unlike the de Bellavances.

He did his duty.

He was promoted on the same day as he lost the first man under his command; forever the achievement would be tainted in his recollection. Du Banc had been with him since the beginning; through the Fracas, through Eglantine's murder, his mother's suicide... Dorian had asked him to accompany them to the Asylum, and Du Banc had spent the last moments of his life screaming in terror before dying due to Arielle's wicked sorcery. Dorian had seen red after that. He'd wanted to kill her; yet his cool rage hadn't been enough to even stop her.

He'd done his duty, and he'd led a man into danger, to his death. He'd gotten a friend killed; and Juliette de Bellavance had turned her sister into a murderer.

Well done, Sargent de Sauvre. Was it worth it?
« Last Edit: April 09, 2022, 01:09:06 PM by Madame Trousers Son »
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #18 on: April 29, 2022, 12:20:27 AM »
Humility, she'd called it. He'd told the Baronesse that he was "monsieur", not "Sargent", off-duty, and she'd mistaken it for humility.

Dorian preferred to think of it as realism. That power wasn't his; didn't derive from any personal authority. It was extended to him by an institution, an entity of many individuals that formed this organ of the Council of Brilliance. It was the Council's power, and what the Council giveth, the Council could taketh away. He called himself "monsieur" off-duty because he never, ever wanted to forget that...

Which is not to say he was powerless without his rank. But he wouldn't use his power like Arielle de Bellavance did, screaming useless fury into a hurricane. That path might be more honest; but what would it serve? Whom would it serve?

His mother had loved, and lost; it had broken her. He had lost much, in a short time, as well. Yet he still had hope. He had always been the dutiful son, and as ever, he obeyed her final command.

There is power to devotion; and that power, at least, is his.
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #19 on: May 08, 2022, 11:28:49 PM »
The day had been a success beyond his wildest imaginings.

He had been given almost everything he wanted. His status confirmed. He could marry his love. He had his heart's desire.

Yet as he sat and drank a glass of wine to soothe his nerves, alone in his bedroom, his thoughts turned to Sacha, and Arielle.

Sacha would be disappointed. Angry. Dorian suspected he wouldn't understand. In some ways, Sacha had been as much of a son to Solange as he was; yet theirs had been a divided legacy. To Dorian, Solange had left her hope. To Sacha...

And Arielle. The braying donkey was right, regret did mar his thoughts when he remembered her; guilt, even. He'd misled her, when they'd talked in the cell. He'd misled everyone, including himself. He'd chased Arielle because she'd killed one of his men, yes; that had been a reason. But it hadn't been the main reason.

The main reason had been simply that her actions had created an obstacle between him and what he truly wanted. He gulped down his wine as he considered this truth in a moment of clarity.

De Bellavance sisters... is there anything more powerful, more destructive than love?
« Last Edit: May 08, 2022, 11:45:37 PM by Madame Trousers Son »
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #20 on: June 05, 2022, 03:54:16 PM »
He was in love and he was married; and strangely enough for Dementlieu, to the same person.

He was happy: a balm for the hole in his soul left by the death of so many he cared for.

He had something to lose.

He became afraid of failure; yet also aware of its inevitability. He had never been a man of vaulting ambition; power sat uneasily with him. And with so many spinning plates, one is bound to fall eventually...
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #21 on: December 10, 2022, 05:14:46 PM »
There isn't much to say about happiness. For a long while, he was happy.

The part of him that had been abused as a boy, the part that knew the reality of Dementlieu in a way his conscious mind couldn't express, had a knack for knowing when things would go wrong; how things would go wrong.

The events of the past few days had proceeded predictably enough. He was angry. He tried hard to remember his earlier admonishment of anger; how stupid, how luxurious those who permitted themselves to let their anger overrule their sense.

Even d'Aubry had commented upon it. Yet he couldn't afford to be reckless or impatient. He couldn't afford to do what his instincts told him to do.

What if patience was wrong, this time? What if slow action cost lives?
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #22 on: January 30, 2023, 11:24:49 AM »
An unsent letter.

Quote
Dear Mother,

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I've not been sure what to say since you shot yourself. I grieved you alone. Well, perhaps not completely alone -- Sacha might have wept, too, though with him, it's hard to tell.

The good news first, perhaps. You're going to be a grandmother. I can scarcely believe my good fortune at having married Maddie. I think you would approve of her. She is kind and beautiful, but she's also been through Ameranthe; she knows how the game is played. I love her and I trust her, and she, me. Together, we have what I've never really had before: a family. Writing that last sentence, I know how it sounds; I understand. You were only trying to protect me. Now I have to protect Maddie and our unborn child: I understand.

The less good news. Oh, where to start? Part of me, the perverse part that mirrors mademoiselle Dove's mania, does hope this Grain Deal turns out to be a farce. So much blood and sweat spilled, just so that Dementlieu doesn't need to change. Would you be laughing? Weeping? Angry at me for stepping up and fighting side-by-side with those duplicitous, infernalist, sadistic Borcan snakes? And yet they're not even our biggest problem out here...

Oh, Sacha... if you could see him, Mother. What has he become? He has inherited your bitterness, your anger, your despair. In that sense he's more your son than I am. I fear for him. I wish I could help him. I've tried to help him. But I think he hates me; thinks I betrayed him. Betrayed you.

Perhaps. Perhaps, if I'd found another family, I could have walked your path. But I have chosen my family, and for that family, I would do anything. Even walk this path that takes me ever further away from you. You understand.

So I don my uniform. I play my role. We are puppets on show, and I dance as the strings compel me, for the amusement of the white-masked figures in black robes. Dove, the Falkovnians... they are children playing at being gruesome monsters. They think they can shock us, frighten us. Not me. They are just puppets, like us.

Yet the role I play protects my family, and, I hope, lets me do some good while I'm at it; a velvet glove is, by definition, softer and gentler than the grip it hides, is it not?  I wear these shackles so that Maddie and my children need never be alone and afraid; so alone and afraid as I was, because of you. I hope my wife and children will never suffer because of me, as you made me suffer. You understand.

I love you. I miss you.

Your son,
Dorian

Below is a sketch, perhaps, of a masked watcher...

"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #23 on: February 08, 2023, 08:19:03 PM »
"I hereby seek trial of Sacha Frelon based on the evidence outlined herein: ..."

What would his mother think of him now?
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon

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Re: Whose narrative is it anyway? The story of Dorian de Sauvre
« Reply #24 on: February 15, 2023, 11:02:22 PM »
He noticed how she followed them.

Followed him.

He suspected he knew whose pet she was.

Slowly, the logic of the next few days unfolded itself before him. He'd have to pull the lever when they executed Sacha. For two reasons.

Firstly, he owed to Sacha. Better he do it than anyone else. And second...
"The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs."

 - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon