"Why come down here at all... I believe it may be different for everyone. For some, they landed here in the Fall. For others, it was the very idea of freedom from what was known on the Surface, even if they knew not what such freedom looked like. For more, it was simply a punishment to fit the crime of being outcast. For my wife, it was loneliness. For my spouse, it was glory. For me... The Neath has different freedoms and limitations than the Surface. That does not make either better inherently, but it does provide opportunities for those who would seek it. For those that choose to come down here, a closed door may mean an open window. Certainly, we are a people now deathly allergic to direct sunlight, who live in a world where we may not drink the rain water and should never consume the snow, where a monster stalks the night and hunts its hunters, where a serial killer is undying and there are words that burn our eyes. But there are colors we would never have otherwise seen. There are species of flora and fauna both that do not exist on the Surface. We can take genders and sexes beyond man and woman and change our bodies with Shapeling Arts until they fit. A hundred new drugs, a thousand new books, and a great zee to explore."
The Socialite took a sip of tea. "There is something darkly beautiful about the Neath that the world above cannot hope to attain that humanity, in their endless curiosity, is drawn to. It is exploration and novelty personified. It is boundless possibility and experimentation without true judgement. What is the cost of a scandal? A week or a month in the Tomb Colonies? Certainly, yes, we have brought our own judgement to the Neath, but what worth is the judgement of man against man and in the dark where no god is wise to our actions?"
The cup hit the saucer with a soft noise and the Socialite looked back up, eyes bright. "Dear Tailor, I can to the Neath with a singular goal in mind, in a time when I had nothing, not even hope, just a bare desperation. And, in the Neath, I found love, a home, and a world begging to be known just as it wants to know us. And, with luck, I would hope to have found a friend as well."
Re: ... an invited guest arrives.
The Socialite took a sip of tea. "There is something darkly beautiful about the Neath that the world above cannot hope to attain that humanity, in their endless curiosity, is drawn to. It is exploration and novelty personified. It is boundless possibility and experimentation without true judgement. What is the cost of a scandal? A week or a month in the Tomb Colonies? Certainly, yes, we have brought our own judgement to the Neath, but what worth is the judgement of man against man and in the dark where no god is wise to our actions?"
The cup hit the saucer with a soft noise and the Socialite looked back up, eyes bright. "Dear Tailor, I can to the Neath with a singular goal in mind, in a time when I had nothing, not even hope, just a bare desperation. And, in the Neath, I found love, a home, and a world begging to be known just as it wants to know us. And, with luck, I would hope to have found a friend as well."