Journal of the Marquis de Sade

Still more departures after such long tenures. I'm beginning to think it's me.

It may interest not a single soul among my favored readers that I have taken to using the pool with greater frequency. It removes much of the strain from exercise, but my, do my poor muscles complain after such rigorous exertions.

...Especially when I could be enduring these little aches and pains over something much more enjoyable. Never has a libertine felt greater disappointment.

[Private to Rex Lewis]

I would like a word with you about our last conversation.

[Rather than deliver a statement on what has occurred in the last day, the Marquis has resolved, instead, to use the day he has had in the infirmary, to finish another chapter of his book and make it publicly available -- He found the next installment to be somewhat relevant.]

Chapter 4: The Breaking of a Libertine

( Chapter beneath the cut )

[On the screen appears a severe woman, with an authoritative air and a commanding voice. In the background the light sounds of a dog whining can be heard.]

I need not have set foot in this room before to know it is the den of a creature I have known too well in my lifetime. Such fascinating devices strewn about with all this degeneracy and madness. This place is neither Heaven nor Hell, and the Marquis de Sade has no right to the former and no recourse but the latter. That is a matter that shall be rectified shortly.

You may know me as Mme de Montreuil. My daughter with regret was and still is the Marquise Renee Pelagie de Sade. I bear lettre-de-cachet, an ordinance written by the hand of the King and ordained by God, granting me sole authority over the placement of the man whose position I have taken for a time, without interference via the courts or any erroneous third parties. It is with that authority that I address you, now, and this Admiral who refuses to face me.

I have read the written account of my son-in-law's death and his time here, of which I have now disposed, and I am unmoved. Unfettered from the trappings of societal reputation, I may at last speak candidly of matters past: This man is guilty of the crimes of rape, kidnapping, public indecency, sodomy, high treason, blasphemy, and sedition, and to have granted him power over another soul is damnable in itself. All who have permitted it are now culpable. It is therefore my demand that the powers in this place respect my will and the will of God and with my departure send this wretched man back to Hell where he belongs.

There are to be no negotiations. There will be no exceptions. This is what must be done.

Fellow denizens of the barge, I pose to you a question: 

What is your definition of blasphemy? 

I have a book here which defines it, rather simply, as irreverence toward the deities, artifacts, customs and tenets of a given religion. Which I suppose is a perfectly fair and universal explanation. But "irreverent" behavior -- don't you have to belong to that particular religion, or at least to the society that sanctions it, for it to count as blasphemy? 

For instance, most religions that use the Bible or some form of it hold to the notion that "taking God's name in vain" is a sin. Does this not apply merely to followers of that faith? If, say, I were to not be a member of the church (can you imagine?), I would therefore have no reason to hold the teachings of the Bible as sacred. Oui? By that logic, then, if someone were to, say, drop something particularly heavy on my foot, enough to induce extreme pain, then for me to exclaim "Jesus Christ!" should be perfectly acceptable. In turn -- because it's not just about teasing the Christians -- the same would be assumed if I were to say "Sweet fucking Tak!" instead, no? 

Is there a difference, aside from the fact that the religious whining is for once issuing the most loudly from a non-Christian?

This is not about respecting the differences of others -- I'm well aware that I could have made my point without such coarse language. I'm also well aware that if it were simply about respecting differing cultures, a Warden would not have been physically attacked today for "blaspheming" -- over Audio, where anyone could hear it, no less.

Has anything been done about this, by the way? Or were the lot of you simply having a laugh over it? 

My sweet fellow denizens, I have been entirely too moody of late -- sufficient enough to make an old pervert quite nostalgic. Enough so that recording my exploits in these new standard journals has become especially distasteful to me. There's a certain element of the art that is lost -- the succulent red of the ink, every sharp tip or gentle curve to a letter, the blade of the quill -- its soothing vibration against rough parchment or submissive, dimpled skin. More difficult to write upon when your canvas twitches at even the slightest prick, but it's much more entertaining.

...Odd. I have not thought of that in what feels like years.

My treasure, it is perhaps prudent we have that meeting I spoke of as soon as possible. Please inform me when you feel amenable to taking guests in your quarters.

Short and unpleasant. I suppose that when the Admiral gives us ports that turn out to be completely unsalvageable, that's the best he can offer us.

Not pointless -- you might have noted I did not use that word. If anything, my brief sojourn into the mad wilderness yielded some experiences that were most illuminating. Even on top of knowing what it feels like to be shot in the face -- an advent about which I'm certain Monsieur Swing will be delighted to hear.

Note also that I didn't say "eaten alive". I'll let the lot of you ponder on that. I might have to write about that one someday, but for now? Rest, I think.

[Private to Iago]

Are you safe? 

Well, that certainly wasn't the most unpleasant flood, but it's already taken its toll. I might be some years younger, physically, than I was when I graduated, but it would seem my back certainly isn't. This is what I get for being hospitable and giving up my bed to a toddler and a puppy. I'll be by the infirmary later to have the matter looked into.

[Private to Sexby]

I have been entertaining the possibility of permitting Iago to see Judas without supervision or schedule, but I would of course prefer to be certain that you are in agreement, and under what conditions you feel it should be offered.

(ooc: The Marquis has been a good Warden/surrogate throughout all of this. He was firm and insightful. He played with Iago. He read to him. He was surprisingly more fatherly than he was to his own children. ...He also spent the entire weekend IN EXCRUTIATING PAIN, without letting on. Because he's been giving his bed to Iago and sleeping in his chair. So yeah. Go old dude!)

I do not think I could have ever predicted being exasperated by a place like this. Owing to the -- overenthusiastic hommages of a few kindly denizens in this fair city, I am presently tucked away in a secluded area. Iago -- on pain of repercussion when we return to the Barge, I expect you to be on your best behavior.

(ooc: The Marquis? Used roses and drinks to woo several people in Kissing Town...and now they won't leave him alone. He's physically and mentally exhausted and actually probably having trouble getting around, wherever it is that he's hiding. You'll know who one of these people are if you meet anybody in passing looking for "Edward".)

If that experience has taught me anything, it is that even if I had been a virtuous man, I would still have been the victim of the same injustices, and why? There is always at least one person with power who cares nothing for law, cares nothing for honesty, or equality, or lawfulness, and only about silence and control.

My keepers in Charenton cared nothing for helping or healing me. They only wished to hide me.

[Private to Prefect]

I won't trouble you in person. I realize you were not the same man, just as I was not the same man, in terms of how we each arrived here. But there was still a core of truth in my identity, as I'm sure there must have been in you.

My point -- thank you. There are few that I could credit with saving what sanity I had, and I can say that one of them was most definitely you.

Merci, Prefect.

[Private to Iago]

We shall have this conversation here or in person.

Once again, I convey my thanks to Doctor Jones, who was so kind as to look after my Renate whilst I was feeling under the weather.

In light of the recent health crisis, rehearsals are postponed.

[Private to Henry West]

I trust that if you can be so angry with the kitchen staff, you must be healthy.

[Warden Filter]

When you lose ground with your Inmate -- and nobody lie; I know most of you have had this happen -- how do you usually recover?