xp_logs | Forge and Crystal: Occam's Razor Explained

After witnessing some unexpected hostility on the journals, Crystal comes to inquire about various things, including Forge's animosity towards Manuel.

Crystal's signature raps of wind hit the door to Forge's suite to announce her arrival, and after being told to enter, the door opened to reveal the Attilani princess standing in the doorway. The door to this particular suite always seemed to be unlocked, but Crystal still didn't want to walk in completely unannounced.

Forge got up off the couch upon seeing Crystal, walking over with a smile to give her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before smiling again and motioning to the couch. "Come on in," he said, grinning. Normally Crystal would send him an email or text to announce that she was coming over; it was a little quirk of hers that Forge had come to enjoy, the way her little personal habits had managed to find a way to include him. "Can I get you anything?" he asked.

Crystal shook her head. "I suppose it is a good thing that I was away during this weekend's drama, as the tone of recent journals posts was why I needed to get away for the weekend in the first place. I still do not know what Julio meant, and I do not understand why Tabitha felt the need to make almost the same exact comment about confirming deaths with bodies." Sighing slightly, she sat down on the couch.

"I talked to Julio about it," Forge said as he sat next to Crystal, leaning back and stretching an arm over the back of the couch. "He was just falling back on the old tradition of reacting to an uncertain situation with humor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think now that the situation's resolved itself and Mark's reasonably okay, it'll all pass. Sometimes people are a bit too sensitive if you ask me."

"Me," Crystal stated, with only a bit of a question in the remark. "You mean to say that I am, or was, too sensitive to these comments, are you not?"

Widening his eyes, Forge shook his head. "Oh, no. Far from it. You've never, to my knowledge, jumped down someone's throat for an innocent comment. I mean, I can understand the reactions of Mark's friends, they're still kind in a bit of emotional turmoil. It'd be like... well, imagine if your parents showed up alive tomorrow, and people were making plane crash jokes."

"That is not what Julio believes. He seems to believe that I wish to spoil all of his fun." Crystal shook her head. "I do not see how making plane crash jokes in that manner would be worse than the comments people made about bodies. If my parents were alive, I doubt that I would care about the comments people made; I would be happy that there were alive. As it now, I do not believe that they are alive, and I cannot live everyday believing that they are alive simply because their bodies were not recovered. How do you think those comments made me feel, reminding me that not only did my parents die, but reminding me of the fact their bodies were not properly buried, that perhaps there wouldn't have even been enough of a body left to recover and bury?"

"Julio doesn't know that," Forge explained quietly. "I mean - probably about your parents, but not how you feel." He stopped for a moment, then placed his hands in his lap, looking down with a pensive expression. "After we came back from Attilan, Jennie ran into me in the kitchen. She was... almost angry that I wasn't dead.That she went through the grieving process, and then suddenly it wasn't true. She asked me why I got to come back, when other people she'd lost didn't. Other people could laugh about it, but because of her experiences, it hit her kind of hard. No one's fault, that's just how it is."

He sighed and looked over at Crystal with something like regret and sadness on his face. "I think she still holds that against me, in a way. But I know she doesn't mean any malice by it. I try and keep that in mind."

"Jennie actually said that? That is horrible!" Crystal looked horrified at the thought. "You were never dead; you disappeared along with a whole island! Medusa and I were supposed to be on the plane with our parents, so I can see how people would have naturally assumed that we were dead, but you and an entire country vanished! I suppose that I must be like that, or, what is the word, 'emo', yes? in order for people to understand that I am saddened or hurt by what someone has said on the journals? I need to state my exact emotional state explicitly? I assumed that a simple reminder about my parents would be enough, and I did not think that I would need to repeat it on a second journal."

Forge took a moment to try and gather his thoughts before speaking. "It's not always easy to guess what you're feeling," he said cautiously. "Because you put forth such an effort to be controlled and dignified, people often assume that you don't feel things as strongly as other people, because you don't show it to them."

Crystal frowned. "At least I do not insult people on the journals whether they are students, staff members, or new arrivals."

"New arrivals?" Forge's eyebrow raised in curiosity, then he nodded, understanding. "Ah. Manuel."

"More than that; I did not mean just yesterday," Crystal said, "I meant in general, other people and other times, but yes. Manuel."

"I speak my mind," Forge said quickly, "and no, it's not always polite. As for Manuel... you've never seen what he's capable of. Then again... yes, you have." He glanced up and met Crystal's gaze. "He's like Maximus. Not the exact same power, but the same potential. People can talk about second chances, but I don't trust him. No one should."

"Manuel was in a coma," Crystal said, not looking away. "Surviving what he did, waking up after he did, is it impossible to believe that he could be a changed man now? Maximus's actions were thought out, planned, premeditated... and even at the brink of death, he did not show a single sign of remorse. Perhaps Manuel is attempting to fool everyone here, but I have to think that with his known past actions and history with people who are and have been involved at the school, he would have to be genuine about his second chance. I am sure that there are several people who would not hesitate to take him down should he try anything, and if he proves to be like Maximus, I will not mind being right there with them."

"More like fifth or sixth chance," Forge said, shaking his head. "He's a scorpion, Crystal. A venomous creature that by its very nature poses a threat to everyone around it. He needs to be locked up, or if not that, watched closely. Maybe the Professor has plans for that, maybe not. Regardless, part of my job is to keep this home and the Institute safe and secure. So I am going to take a very personal interest in making sure that if Manuel decides to play his little mindgames with people, he's going to be in for more than just a slap on the wrist."

"Jennie and Marius seem to trust him," Crystal said. "Jennie did not say that he was a horrible person when she told me about her... unplanned summer-long visit in Europe."

"He's a goddamn empath!" Forge shouted, slamming his hand down on the arm of the couch, hearing something crack under the fabric. "While Jennie was in Europe, she got her head messed with. Empathic conditioning, twisting around her sense of judgment and ethics. She and Marius both claim it was Marius doing it, not Manuel. But l don't think so. You see, there's an axiom called Occam's Razor, it says that the conclusion requiring the least assumptions is usually the right one."

Angrily, he pushed off from the couch pacing around the room. "Conclusion one - Marius, who despite being driven to the emotional brink by his disfiguring condition, concocts this diabolical plan to leech off Manuel's power and coerce Jennie to stay with him in Europe. Highly unlikely - all Marius has to do is sneeze and Jennie's there with a tissue. Or conclusion two - Manuel, who has no end to his history of manipulating people to his own ends, finds two kids from Xavier's - a place he was expelled from, mind you - and decides to play out his own little revenge fantasy with them. It fits the profile, it fits his pattern, don't you see? And he gets Jennie somehow believing he's a hero, that he saved her life and threw himself in front of a truck for her sake." Forge formed a fist, shaking and seething as he paced back and forth. "Manuel's never committed a selfless act in his entire life. I don't think he's capable. Just capable of fooling people into believing it. I, for one, will not be fooled."

Crystal sat in silence for several long moments, watching Forge pace. "Does it have to be either of those two conclusions, Forge?" she asked softly. "Is it not possible that no one involved in what happened wanted it to happen the way it did? I am not saying that you should blame Marius, but is it necessary to give all of the fault to Manuel? Perhaps he did, consciously and willingly, risk his life for Jennie, a venture which ended up causing him serious injury and resulting in a comatose state."

Forge slowed his pacing, obviously mulling over an internal conflict. The very concept that Manuel could have done something selfless and heroic - it was almost unthinkable to him. "I... acknowledge the possibility," he said finally. "And it follows from there that if such an improbable event could happen, perhaps his desire for redemption is sincere. But in either case - one act is not enough. Regardless of whether he saved Jennie's life or not, one act cannot change a man's nature, and amnesia is not some great karmic reset button. I don't trust him, plain and simple. When it comes to Manuel de la Rocha, there are two types of paranoia: total and insufficient."

"He does not seem to have a problem recalling his past history with people," Crystal said, standing up. "He seems to have expected people to react in a a strong, negative manner, and although this was certainly not the case with everyone, he did get that reaction from you, and I know that Lorna, too, was not pleased with his arrival. You do not have to trust him; I am not asking you to trust him, and I do not expect you to trust him. While I appreciate the fact that you do not want anyone else to be hurt by him, and you wanted to warn Laurie, there are other, better ways to do that which do not involve calling someone a monster in public."

Forge sighed, leaning against the wall and resting his forehead on his clenched fist, feeling the cool metal against his brow. "I call him what he is, Crystal. It's that simple."

"Even if you believe that, even if it is true, you did not have to say it to him, to Laurie, in full view of everyone else," Crystal said, approaching Forge. "You are in charge of security here; I know that you will do everything you can to keep the people here safe."

"It's a bit different when they invite the threat into our home," Forge protested quietly, closing his eyes. "I just thought... Manuel's one of those prodigals that was better off staying lost."

"I will not say that I agree with him being brought here, and I certainly do not like the fact that no one was warned in advance," Crystal told Forge. "I believe that the strong reactions to his arrival would have been less if at least certain people were given prior warning that he would be brought here. However, he is here now."

Forge turned to Crystal, sighing as she put an arm around his shoulders. Slowly, he leaned in, touching his forehead to hers and just accepting the show of quiet support. "I'll deal with it. No more public condemnation, then. I promise."

"Thank you. Now, dinner?"

"Please."

It wasn't a perfect solution, Forge thought to himself, but it would suffice.