diff --git a/content/read/004.md b/content/read/004.md index 4f8f8b5..fd55c96 100644 --- a/content/read/004.md +++ b/content/read/004.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ > They dreamt and thought and considered, and then many of those who knew the ways to navigate the seas argued that reaching one of those campfires would be a way to quell the loneliness that they felt as a hole in their hearts. "Perhaps they will fill us with joy! And even if they fight against us or sow strife, is that not a form of companionship?" > -> Others were more cautious about the venture, however. "Is a danger not a danger?" they said. "Is a risk not a risk? We must also consider that we might ourselves be overcome by their might. Is it worth stoking that fire?" +> Others were more cautious about the venture. "Is a danger not a danger?" they said. "Is a risk not a risk? We must also consider that we might ourselves be overcome by their might. Is it worth stoking that fire?" > > Still others spoke thoughtfully, "It is a danger here, as well. There are wild animals in the dark, and there are those who might fight against us here. Perhaps the goal of exploration is also to ensure the security of ourselves! Could we not also use this as a chance to ensure that we live on?" diff --git a/content/read/006.md b/content/read/006.md index 3adf66f..cd669d3 100644 --- a/content/read/006.md +++ b/content/read/006.md @@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Codrin shrugged. "I don't know what else to say other than that. Obligated, then *"Do you need a vacation, my dear?"* -"Good Lord, no," ey said, laughing. "I don't go as nuts as you, fox, but sitting around idly is decidedly uncomfortable. It's not quite an 'I hate my job' feeling, either. It's just more of a 'Why is it always me? Why do I always wind up at the center of these enormous happenings?' feeling." +"Good Lord, no," ey said, laughing. "I don't go as nuts as you, fox, but sitting around idly is decidedly uncomfortable. It's not quite an 'I hate my job' feeling, either. It's just more, "Why is it always me? Why do I always wind up at the center of these enormous happenings?" feeling." As though on cue, both Codrin and eir partner looked over at the fox, who burst into giggles. Ey felt so loopy from exhaustion that ey was soon joining Dear in the fit. diff --git a/content/read/007.md b/content/read/007.md index 9da8ad5..9c25451 100644 --- a/content/read/007.md +++ b/content/read/007.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ The person who met him, however, immediately made his throat seize up. "That bad?" he had asked. -*"Oh, do not worry, it will all go quite well for you if she herself is there. The outcome might not be what you wanted when you met her, but you will leave feeling as though a great deal has been accomplished. It is difficult to describe or get across in words, as you likely have a very dramatic view of her from reading the* History." +*"Oh, do not worry, it will all go quite well for you if she herself is there. The outcome might not be what you wanted when you first meet her, but you will leave feeling as though a great deal has been accomplished. It is difficult to describe or get across in words, as you likely have a very dramatic view of her from reading the* History." And there, sitting on the mound in the center of the field, was the precise skunk that he'd been warned about. Long, thick tail. Short, cookie-shaped ears. Tapered snout pointed up to the sky as she leaned back on her paws. diff --git a/content/read/008.md b/content/read/008.md index 7f7e5ee..f6aa8a7 100644 --- a/content/read/008.md +++ b/content/read/008.md @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Ey whirled around to see a dim cone of red light shining on the ground, illumina There was a small click and then a ray of further red light spread out from a doorway, showing a small hut nestled within the trees. Ey let emself be guided in the door, finding a sparsely decorated room --- a desk, a bed, and a massive cork board nailed to the wall, covered in at least three overlapping layers of notes. -"Thanks for having me," ey said, sitting on the offered chair while Tycho claimed the edge of the bed. Once the door was shut, a switch shifted the red light to a normal, warm desk lamp. "I should've mentioned that I'd be coming over, first." +"Thanks for having me," ey said, sitting on the offered chair while Tycho claimed the edge of the bed. Once the door was shut, a switch in the jamb shifted the red light to a normal, warm desk lamp. "I should've mentioned that I'd be coming over, first." He waved away the apology. "I knew you'd be here, though I didn't know when." @@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ He nodded. "It all just sounded so normal. There didn't seem like anything else "Can you tell me more about both?" -"Well, she said that she knew good deal about the communications and that she'd like me to come help her with the mechanics of that. She'd help me out with resources and I'd teach her what I learn about Artemis as I learned it." +"Well, she said that she knew a good deal about the communications and that she'd like me to come help her with the mechanics of that. She'd help me out with resources and I'd teach her what I learn about Artemis as I learned it." "Artemis? Is that what they're calling the remote...ship? Vehicle?" @@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ He nodded. "Does that mean a month before they upload?" -He shrugged. "Not necessarily. They can upload whenever they want, so long as our Ansible is on and the DMZ is ready. I don't think it's on yet, though. There's probably an effective range beyond which the Ansible won't work well." +He shrugged. "Not necessarily. They can upload whenever they want, so long as our Ansible is on and the DMZ is ready. I don't think it's on yet, though. There's probably an effective range beyond which using the Ansible would be risky." "Alright. Have we received any further communications from them? Their message said that they had a similar mechanism in place. Is that something we'll be able to use? Or want to use, even?" @@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ Ey smiled, though ey felt just how tired ey was as ey did so. "Perhaps. I have a "And if your partners uploaded with you?" -The idea caught em up short, and several trains of thought crunched to a halt within em. "If they..." Ey laughed, shaking eir head. "You know, I hadn't considered that, yet. I wonder why? But yes, if they chose to do so, then yes, I'll go with them." +The idea caught em up short, and several trains of thought crunched to a halt within em. "If they..." Ey laughed, shaking eir head. "You know, I hadn't considered that. I wonder why? But yes, if they choose to do so, then yes, I'll go with them." The conversation wound on from there, teasing apart a few possible next steps that lay ahead of them, but throughout it all, at least one thread of eir mind was dedicated to picking at that question. diff --git a/content/read/009.md b/content/read/009.md index d01374a..b20072b 100644 --- a/content/read/009.md +++ b/content/read/009.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ And yet, for all that activity, it was incredibly quiet. There must be dozens of "What is this?" he asked the skunk standing beside him. -"Headquarters." She gestured him to a couch already containing a woman, picking at her nails. Short, curly black hair framing a round face. "Though that makes it sound far more formal than it really is. It is a place for Jonas and I to work together in our various instances." +"Headquarters." She gestured him to a couch already containing a woman, picking at her nails. Short, pale, with curly black hair framing a round face. "Though that makes it sound far more formal than it really is. It is a place for Jonas and I to work together in our various instances." He sank down into the couch beside the woman. "That sounds pretty formal to me. What are you working on that requires cubicles?" @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Jonas nodded absently. Without any visible signal a cone of silence fell over th "I am Why Ask Questions When The Answers Will Not Help," the woman said in a tone that seemed to sit just shy of laughter. "Answers Will Not Help will do." -"Answers, in a rush," Jonas said, to which she replied with an ankle kick of her own. +"Answers, in a rush," Jonas said, to which she replied with an ankle-kick of her own. "If you call me Answers, I will beat the shit out of you," she said though that near-laugh took most of the sting out of the words. @@ -94,11 +94,11 @@ Jonas nodded. "And that approach isn't all that close, is it?" Jonas did not actually wait for confirmation before Tycho was given access. Or, rather, access was forced upon him. Like a sensorium message, the text from the perisystem architecture wedged itself into his mind. -> If possible, in 400 hours orient down 0.3142 radians relative to your sun reference point source of this transmission to align courses. If possible, accelerate 0.00029c to approach matched velocity. Confirm actions taken. +> If possible, in 400 hours orient down 0.3142 radians relative to your sun reference point source of this transmission to align courses. If possible, accelerate 0.00029c to approach matched velocity. Confirm actions taken upon receipt. > -> Instructions for matching consciousness-bearing system transfer mechanism to follow. Confirm actions taken upon receipt. +> Instructions for matching consciousness-bearing system transfer mechanism to follow. Confirm actions taken. > -> Prepare airgapped area with locked-down edit permissions dimensions 20m by 20m height 5m and two sandbox areas for rest for us and you dimensions 20m by 20m height 5m. Confirm actions taken. +> Prepare airgapped area with locked-down edit permissions minimum dimensions 20m by 20m height 5m and two sandbox areas for rest for us and you dimensions 20m by 20m height 5m. Confirm actions taken. > > Prepare party of five consciousness-bearing systems containing one element of leadership, one to record in any capacity, one scientist, two representatives of own choice. Duplicate, prepare to send one set to us, and send other set to above location. Prepare to receive five in turn, similar roles. Expect four categories of consciousness-bearing systems. Confirm actions taken. > @@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Jonas did not actually wait for confirmation before Tycho was given access. Or, A long silence stretched over the group while the others waited for Tycho to digest the sudden onslaught of information. -"This is," he said, took a slow breath in, then continued, "A lot." +"This is," he said, took a slow breath in, then continued, "a lot." "Talk us through your thoughts," True Name said. "That will help you process, and you may catch something that we have not. This is your role here, Tycho Brahe." @@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ He couldn't tell what expression or expressions crossed his face, but it must've "Why me, though?" he stammered. "There have to be smarter people on board! People who would love to meet aliens and know just what to ask them." -The skunk across from him waved her hand to dismiss the comment. "You will be the scientist. We do not want someone who is smarter than you. We do not want someone who knows just what to ask them. We want you because you are the type of person who grants consent to join us without consulting anyone first. That and a few other factors that we have taken into account leave our decision clear." +The skunk across from him waved her paw to dismiss the comment. "You will be the scientist. We do not want someone who is smarter than you. We do not want someone who knows just what to ask them. We want you because you are the type of person who grants consent to join us without consulting anyone first. That and a few other factors that we have taken into account leave our decision clear." "Besides," Answers Will Not Help him said, still giggling. "You will get to ask four spacefaring races astronomy questions. Does that not excite you?" @@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ Tycho nodded. He felt slow, somehow. Stupid. It wasn't even that they were speak "Yes. We received the specifications for that immediately after this message. I will not bore you with their contents, but the sys-side Ansible techs assure us that it works much the same as ours and will require only software changes, nothing physical. That will be ready within a few weeks, if not sooner." -He hesitated, then, seeing no possible reply that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot, continued. "Alright. Then they want us to prepare a space for them. I don't know what airgapped means, though." +He hesitated. Then, seeing no possible reply that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot, continued. "Alright. Then they want us to prepare a space for them. I don't know what airgapped means, though." "We're assuming they mean as in a DMZ. Something completely separate from the rest of our System, which is what we were planning, anyway. It's a tech term which means that there is no physical connection between two devices, so they can't possibly communicate unless one plugs in a cable. Maybe that's what they meant?" Jonas grinned lopsidedly. "We'll just have to hope we get it right." @@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ True Name and Jonas exchanged a quick glance, and the skunk, suddenly more serio He mastered the urge to shy away from her. "I just mean that, if we can't promise them that we're universally on board with having them visit us, that puts the talks at risk, right?" -She leaned back on her stool, frowning, as two more instances of her forked off and dashed down the aisles to a cubicle. "This is why we are talking with you, Tycho. Thank you for proving your worth so quickly." +She leaned back on her stool, frowning, as two more instances of her forked off and dashed down the aisles to a cubicle, followed by a fork of Jonas. "This is why we are talking with you, Tycho. Thank you for proving your worth so quickly." "This wasn't part of your calculations or whatever?" diff --git a/content/read/010.md b/content/read/010.md index 5103be2..51847b8 100644 --- a/content/read/010.md +++ b/content/read/010.md @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Codrin replied, voice equally muffled against the back of Dear's neck, "I don't Ey laughed against Dear's neck, which got a giggle out of the fox in turn. "I guess. It's hard to hate too much because good things came of it, but also you can't say for sure that the same thing would've happened if she hadn't been there. Her, Jonas, the lot of them, they were all helpful in bringing about Secession and Launch how they happened, but who knows? Maybe they would've happened regardless, just with different people at the helm." -There was a long moment of silence, broken only but the occasional noise of contentment from Dear's partner as the fox continued in its back-rub. Codrin spent the time plastering those thoughts over with better ones. Ey thought about how the fox smelled, how its fur felt against eir face. Ey thought about how, once, ey'd wound up between eir two partners in much the same position and it had led to an overwhelming wave of anxiety, a sense that things were wrong, a feeling that ey needed to escape, and how they'd comforted em and then simply fallen back into the habit of laying like this, instead. Dear seemed to draw a sense of security, sandwiched between them, just as Codrin did by having no one at eir back. +There was a long moment of silence, broken only by the occasional noise of contentment from Dear's partner as the fox continued in its back-rub. Codrin spent the time plastering those thoughts over with better ones. Ey thought about how the fox smelled, how its fur felt against eir face. Ey thought about how, once, ey'd wound up between eir two partners in much the same position and it had led to an overwhelming wave of anxiety, a sense that things were wrong, a feeling that ey needed to escape, and how they'd comforted em and then simply fallen back into the habit of laying like this, instead. Dear seemed to draw a sense of security, sandwiched between them, just as Codrin did by having no one at eir back. *"Did you hate her?"* Dear said, breaking the silence and eir rumination. It had stopped in its massage and settled for a simple hug instead. *"Do you still?"* @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Ey hooked eir chin over the fox's shoulder, humming thoughtfully. "Maybe, in a w Both of eir partners laughed. -"Now, though, I think resentment is a more accurate word than hate. I resent the feeling of being controlled with no recourse. She may have the brainpower and manpower and analytical skills to read everyone as thoroughly as she did, but I resent how cold she was in actually doing so; intentionally making me angry to make the result seem sensational? There's a lot of cynicism bound up in that." Ey shrugged. "There's no point in hating her. I don't dislike the System as it stands after her and Jonas's manipulation, but I resent the cynicism it took to get here. I don't resent being here, but I do resent the phys-side manipulations that led to me being here." +"Now, though, I think resentment is a more accurate word than hate. I resent the feeling of being controlled with no recourse. She may have the brainpower and manpower and analytical skills to read everyone as thoroughly as she did, but I resent how cold she was in actually doing so; intentionally making me angry to make the result seem overly sensational? Not to be taken seriously? There's a lot of cynicism bound up in that." Ey shrugged. "There's no point in hating her. I don't dislike the System as it stands after her and Jonas's manipulation, but I resent the cynicism it took to get here. I don't resent being here, but I do resent the phys-side manipulations that led to me being here." After yawning, Dear's partner asked, "Think you'll be alright working beside her while you resent her?" @@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ They smirked, looked up at the ceiling for a minute or two, then nodded. "She's Codrin had never seen a therapist either before or after uploading. Before, it had been a luxury that eir family couldn't afford, and after, ey had been so busy --- first with getting used to uploaded life, then with study, then with work --- to have considered it much. -Ey had, however, seen a counselor in school as mandated by the school itself. Mr. Nicolescu had been a kindly old gentleman, but one who seemed perpetually on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. It made sense, given the size of the school, the requirement to meet with every student once a year, and the lack of any other counselors. Ey had been a good student and a quiet kid, and seeing him any context other than the required visit was often a sign that something had gone wrong. +Ey had, however, seen a counselor in school as mandated by the school itself. Mr. Nicolescu had been a kindly old gentleman, but one who seemed perpetually on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. It made sense, given the size of the school, the requirement to meet with every student at least once a year, and the lack of any other counselors. Ey had been a good student and a quiet kid, and seeing him in any context other than the required visit --- as ey had when eir parents had died --- was often a sign that something had gone wrong. Sarah Genet immediately reminded em of Mr. Nicolescu in many ways. The way she walked, the way she held herself, her smile, the way she listened with her whole attention on whatever someone had to say. @@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ Dear's partner answered, "Have you read the Bălans' *History,* yet? *An Expande "The one who tried to guide everything? Yeah, I remember. I didn't miss her name on there, either." -Codrin sighed. "I had the chance to interview her --- me and my root instance both did --- and she's a lot to deal with. I'm sure it's some calculated gesture that she leaves the last choice up to me, but all the same, I wanted to pick someone who was the opposite of her." +Codrin sighed. "I had the chance to interview her --- me and my root instance both did --- and she's a lot to deal with. I'm sure it's some calculated gesture that she leaves the last choice up to me, but all the same, I wanted to pick someone who could be a foil to her." "So you figured a therapist would be good? A psychologist?" diff --git a/content/read/011.md b/content/read/011.md index 8f07645..b36d754 100644 --- a/content/read/011.md +++ b/content/read/011.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ > *Convergence T-minus 22 days, 5 hours, 2 minutes* -Despite the exhaustion that had come down on him like a hammer, Tycho found it difficult to get to sleep. It weighed him down like stones on his chest, even as he lay in bed in the room that True Name led him too. It was a comfortable bed in a nice enough room, and still he lay there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling with eyes that burned. +Despite the exhaustion that had come down on him like a hammer, Tycho found it difficult to get to sleep. It weighed him down like stones on his chest, even as he lay in bed in the room that True Name led him to. It was a comfortable bed in a nice enough room, and still he lay there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling with eyes that burned. He did not know how long it took him to actually fall asleep, but when next he woke, ten hours had passed, and dreams of Artemisians clung to him still. They were always just out of sight, and their conversations were just slightly below the level that he could hear them, and yet, he knew it to be them. Knew they were there, just around the corner. Knew that, above all else, he wanted to meet them. @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ True Name tilted her head momentarily, then nodded. "You will be working with An As if on command, Answers Will Not Help appeared before them, followed shortly by two others. Tycho supposed that the skunk must've sent each a sensorium ping. -The Odist grinned to him, then gestured to each of the new guests in turn. "Sovanna Soun is a sys-side Ansible tech, who will be working on that part, and--" +Answers Will Not Help grinned to him, then gestured to each of the new guests in turn. "Sovanna Soun is a sys-side Ansible tech, who will be working on that part, and--" Tycho was already leaning forward to shake the hand of the other guest, a slight gentleman who looked every one of the seventy years he had been prior to uploading. "Dr. Verda, wonderful to see you again." @@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ Everyone looked at him. "Uh, sorry." -"What the fuck, man," Sovanna said, laughing. "So all this is your fault?" +"What the fuck, man?" Sovanna said, laughing. "So all this is your fault?" Answers Will Not Help laughed as well, waving her hand. "Do not be too mad at him. Or do, but do not tear into him too much. He has already received the Odist third degree." @@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ It was all quite skillfully done, but Tycho still felt a slight pang in his ches Quite unnerving. -Answers Will Not Help spoke as she walked. "Begin by estimating your work. We will meet in one hour. After that, we will meet twice a day, more often as needed. Please feel free to ping me if you need anything. I have granted you all access to cones of silence and music, which you may use at your discretion or when requested. Tycho, dear, with me." +Answers Will Not Help spoke as she walked. "Begin by estimating your work. We will meet in one hour. After that, we will meet twice a day; more often as needed. Please feel free to ping me if you need anything. I have granted you all access to cones of silence and music, which you may use at your discretion or when requested. Tycho, dear, with me." Sovanna forked as she walked, further instances of her blipping into existence beside her, each one walking up to claim a seat. It took Dr. Verda longer to fork, but soon, there were two of him. diff --git a/content/read/012.md b/content/read/012.md index 770a2c1..e918174 100644 --- a/content/read/012.md +++ b/content/read/012.md @@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ True Name's gaze bore down on Tycho with such intensity that the astronomer shie "Please expand on that, Dr. Brahe." -"I just mean...how sure are we that this signal is real? How sure are we that it's coming from the Dreamer Module and thus outside of Castor?" He shrugged, still looking cowed. "I've been worried about the whole thing since it showed up, but the more I think about how long we've been going and all the risks involved, what's the probability that it's just us dreaming that there are aliens out there? They learn our language and tech so fast it's hard not to worry." +"I just mean...how sure are we that this signal is real? How sure are we that it's coming from the Dreamer Module and thus outside of Castor?" He shrugged, still looking cowed. "I've been worried about the whole thing since it showed up, but the more I think about how long we've been going and all the risks involved with the LV's integrity, what's the probability that it's just us dreaming that there are aliens out there? They learn our language and tech so fast it's hard not to worry." The silence fell once more, and Codrin imagined True Name and Why Ask Questions both sending off rapid-fire sensorium messages. Ey caught a glint of excitement in Dear's eyes. Ey suspected it'd have plenty to say before long. diff --git a/content/read/015.md b/content/read/015.md index 9d05cc2..790c6e3 100644 --- a/content/read/015.md +++ b/content/read/015.md @@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ The fox flinched back as though slapped, its ears laid flat and its brow furrowe "They provided additional information, though. They say that fourthrace had the same concept of forking that we appear to, so they understand our questions around dissolution strategies and clade structures. #Artemis also asked about their naming system, and apparently Turun Ka and Turun Ko are from something akin to a clade that existed before the voyage began. Something from when they were electronic but not on their system. -"Instead of forking, they have individual, fine-grained control over time. This is how they responded so quickly, apparently: they slowed time way down so that they had as much as they wanted to write their response. They ask if this will be accommodated during the talks and there's a note from True Name here saying that, even if it were possible, she's going to answer no. Tycho said she looked upset." +"Instead of forking, they have individual, fine-grained control over time. This is how they responded so quickly, apparently: they slowed time way down so that they had as much as they wanted to write their response. They ask if this will be accommodated during the talks and there's a note from True Name here saying that, even if it were possible, she would answer no. Tycho said she looked upset." *"Unpleasant business,"* Dear muttered darkly. *"Unpleasant to an extreme."* diff --git a/content/read/016.md b/content/read/016.md index ce3f630..c145236 100644 --- a/content/read/016.md +++ b/content/read/016.md @@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ He nodded toward the panel he had just finished reading. "So you injected a ques Tycho frowned. "I never got that about the *History*." -"We do not want people to be too happy because unlimited happiness is a happiness with no defense mechanisms." She poked him sharply in the side with a finger, making him wince and jerk his arm to guard himself better. "A purely happy society would feel that pain as agony and be unable to do anything about it. A society that is just anxious enough can enjoy security but also guard itself from further pain. It can be happy but also wish for more happiness." +"We do not want people to be too happy because unlimited happiness is a happiness with no defense mechanisms." She poked him sharply in the side with a finger, making him wince and jerk his arm to guard himself better. "A purely happy society would feel that pain as agony and be unable to do anything about it." She moved to jab him again, so he shifted his arm down quickly to cover his side. "A society that is just anxious enough can enjoy security but also guard itself from further pain. It can be happy but also wish for more happiness." Rubbing at his side, he began to step down away from the scrolling wall of information. "If you say so. I don't see why it wouldn't be self-regulating, though." diff --git a/content/read/017.md b/content/read/017.md index b76fe5e..1bd01f8 100644 --- a/content/read/017.md +++ b/content/read/017.md @@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ Ey rolled eir eyes and shook eir head. "Foxes." "Do you want children, then?" -*"Good Lord, no."* It laughed. *"I did not wind up with that desire. That is something for other elements of the clade. I am sure that Hammered Silver and her stanza would pounce on the idea."* +*"Good Lord, no."* It giggled. *"I did not wind up with that desire. That is something for other elements of the clade. I am sure that Hammered Silver and her stanza would pounce on the idea."* -Its partner laughed. "I thought not. Besides, can you imagine a synthesis of the three of us? A historian chef that forks like mad." +Their partner chuckled as well. "I thought not. Besides, can you imagine a synthesis of the three of us? A historian chef that forks like mad." They all laughed. diff --git a/content/read/018.md b/content/read/018.md index e75b14e..ec1be43 100644 --- a/content/read/018.md +++ b/content/read/018.md @@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Ey had been planning on a simple dinner on eir own, perhaps catching up on some The burgers had long since been finished and the grill long since put away when Ioan felt an automated sensorium ping of someone entering the house, followed shortly by a real-time message from who had just arrived. -She did not give em time to react, nor even to stand. Ey had only managed to turn to look to the door opening out to the patio before the visitor stepped out onto the concrete, lit only by the string of lights tucked beneath the overhanging deck. +She did not give em time to react, nor even to stand. Ey had only managed to turn to look to the bottom of the steps leading to the patio before the visitor stepped out onto the concrete, lit only by the string of lights tucked beneath the overhanging deck. "I...what? True Name?" @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ She bowed quickly before holding her paws up in a disarming gesture. "Ioan, May May growled, pushing herself to her feet. "I will leave you to it." -Ey had only ever seen eir partner furious on a scant handful of occasions, but now ey could add one more to the list. Her teeth were bared, tail bristled out, and hiked up, paws bunched up into fists. In the two decades since the research and publication of *On the Origin of Our World*, May's view of her down-tree instances had dropped precipitously, and all but one of those moments of fury had been triggered by her own clade. +Ey had only ever seen eir partner furious on a scant handful of occasions, but now ey could add one more to the list. Her teeth were bared, tail bristled out, and hiked up, paws bunched up into fists. In the two decades since the research and publication of *On the Origin of Our World*, since the knowledge of True Name's supposed role in Michelle's death became known, May's view of her down-tree instances had dropped precipitously, and all but one of those moments of fury had been triggered by her own clade. "May Then My Name, please," True Name said, clasping her paws before her and bowing once again, lower this time. She sounded contrite, small. "I know that you do not hold me in high regard, but all the same, I would prefer if you stayed, as I am assuming that you have both received the same news." diff --git a/content/read/021.md b/content/read/021.md index 34cdd20..0cb6da1 100644 --- a/content/read/021.md +++ b/content/read/021.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Consequently, ey kept finding emself stumbling when presented with a pattern tha At last, though, they had dotted all of the 'i's they could find and crossed all the 't's that they could think of and gathered to begin the final preparations. -The five of them trickled into the boardroom. They'd been told to dress 'nice, but comfortable', which didn't change anything for True Name. Why Ask Questions had dressed in a matching outfit. Tycho had swapped out a plaid flannel shirt for a plain white one, but remained in his jeans. Sarah had opted for a blouse and slacks that fit well with her middle-aged, mid-career psychologist aesthetic. +The five of them trickled into the boardroom. They'd been told to dress 'nice, but comfortable', which didn't change anything for True Name. Why Ask Questions had dressed in a matching outfit. Tycho had swapped out a plaid flannel shirt for a plain white one, but remained in his jeans. Sarah had opted for a blouse and slacks that fit well in what she called her "middle-aged, mid-career psychologist aesthetic." It left Codrin feeling somewhat overdressed for the occasion, but ey shook it off as best ey could. A few years prior, ey'd written a short paper on traditional clothing styles that had been ported into the System, many of which had seen a resurgence, up where cost was no longer a barrier. Ever since, when nicer dress was required, ey'd taken to dressing in various levels of traditional Romanian garb from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For this project, that meant an embroidered, wide-sleeved blouse and a simple, ankle-length wrap-around skirt, over which was layered *fotele*, an over-skirt rather like an apron, in rich, embroidered red, with a simpler panel of fabric hanging from the back. @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Jonas waved away the comment. "You're fine, Tycho. Not everyone is True Name." Both instances of the skunk made a rude gesture at him. -"Yeah, well, fuck you too." He laughed. "Alright. The rest of the tasks will be specific to each group, so--" He forked, and the new instance continued, "--#Artemises, with me to Artemis Staging#553a49c. The rest to Castor Staging#ad89ae3." +"Yeah, well, fuck you too." He laughed. "Alright. The rest of the tasks will be specific to each group, so--" He forked, and the new instance continued, "--#Artemises, with me to Artemis Staging#553a49c. The rest to Castor Staging#ad89ae03." Ey lingered for a few seconds and thought. One thing this project had that none of the others had had was the feeling of stepping away from home and leaving it behind completely. There would be no coming home for dinner after a day of interviewing or researching. There would be no returning to the tightly controlled chaos that had become the comfortable dynamic among eir little family. Ey stood, watching the others step away, including the other versions of emself, and soaked in the sensation of longing. @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ She nodded. "As always, yes, though I do not believe you will need to remain sil The skunk smiled and lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "What I do best, my dear. I will guide the questioning, perform risk analysis, and assess lines of control and weakness." -Ey had been prepared to make a mental note to pull apart her answer to come up with a way to divine her true intentions, but so honest was her answer that ey was wrong-footed into silence. +Ey had been prepared to make a mental note to pull apart her reply to come up with a way to divine her true intentions, but so honest was her answer that ey was wrong-footed into silence. They talked through a few more plans, though there was nothing that they had not already covered on the docket. Another short language quiz. First questions they'd ask. A quick run-down of what textual descriptions of their races they had sent. The Artemisians had been startled by the Castor's inability to receive anything but text, so the descriptions had seemed hasty. diff --git a/content/read/022.md b/content/read/022.md index c8b54b6..aa17200 100644 --- a/content/read/022.md +++ b/content/read/022.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ To their right, a being of similar shape stood on two legs, though they were far However, rather than that supple plastic, they were coated in a scaly hide, washed in oil-sheen colors. Where the firstrace representatives had little in the way of facial features, though, Stolon almost seemed to have a surfeit. Their eyes were bright and curious, their mouth seemingly ready to a smile --- or some other expression, ey reminded emself, as what appeared to be a smile to humans may not be so to thirdrace. They did not have hair, as made sense for what looked to be a type of lizard, but they did have a crest of what appeared to be feathers of a sort, or perhaps massively elongated scales. -Beside Stolon and standing a head shorter than even them was a creature that reminded em so much of Debarre that ey was caught off-guard. The resemblance was uncanny: a svelte coat of brown fur with a creamier white starting beneath the chin and heading down over their front --- or at least, ey assumed it continued beneath the thin, blue tunic they were wearing --- and a black-tipped tail behind. Plenty of whiskers, dark eyes. +Beside Stolon and standing a head shorter than even them was a creature --- ey supposed this must be Iska --- that reminded em so much of Debarre that ey was caught off-guard. The resemblance was uncanny: a svelte coat of brown fur with a creamier white starting beneath the chin and heading down over their front --- or at least, ey assumed it continued beneath the thin, blue tunic they were wearing --- and a black-tipped tail behind. Plenty of whiskers, dark eyes. The last of the Artemisians, Artante Diria, looked almost-but-not-quite human. Her features seemed far smoother, with a nose that melted into her face and earlobes that ramped smoothly down into her neck below. Beyond that, however, the differences were negligible. She could easily get lost in a crowd of humans with no problem whatsoever, another face of Asian descent, perhaps. She even wore a blue tunic and sarong of nearly identical cut to what ey wore so often. @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ The firstrace...member? Firstracer? The firstracer dipped its snout with a twist It took em a moments work to disentangle the question before ey realized that Turun Ko was asking about True Name and Why Ask Questions. They were, ey supposed, still closer to being one individual than any two non-cladists. -"Yes. The Only Time I Know My True Name --- or just True Name --- and Why Ask Questions Here At..." Ey trailed off, looking at the woman who still appeared to be in mid-shout. The splash of skunk-fur appeared to have crept further up her cheek, though so out-of-phase was she with eir local time that it was hard to say for sure. More, though, something seemed...off about her. She seemed not quite as ey remembered. +"Yes. The Only Time I Know My True Name --- or just True Name --- and Why Ask Questions, Here At..." Ey trailed off, looking at the woman who still appeared to be in mid-shout. The splash of skunk-fur appeared to have crept further up her cheek, though so out-of-phase was she with eir local time that it was hard to say for sure. More, though, something seemed...off about her. She seemed not quite as ey remembered. "Recorder Codrin Bălan, please continue." diff --git a/content/read/023.md b/content/read/023.md index c35e7b4..4cc0a14 100644 --- a/content/read/023.md +++ b/content/read/023.md @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ The skunk squinted at him. "Has Ioan not been keeping you up to date?" "Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Well, out with it, then." -"I've gotten several messages from Codrin over the last few days. Ey said they would be heading out to start the talks later that day." +"I've gotten several messages from Codrin over the last few days. Ey said they would be heading out to start the talks later that day in the last one." "So they have been into them for a while now." She looked thoughtfully up to the ceiling. "A few weeks, perhaps?" diff --git a/content/read/026.md b/content/read/026.md index 7bf5cb1..825da71 100644 --- a/content/read/026.md +++ b/content/read/026.md @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ May made it through dinner --- Ioan was heartened to see that she'd actually eaten all of the chicken soup ey'd made --- before padding off to a beanbag to curl up. She kept up a conversation for a few minutes while Ioan cleaned, but even that tapered off to silence. When next ey looked back, the skunk was asleep. -Every time ey'd left her to sleep out on the beanbag in the past, though, she'd spent the next day disoriented and moody --- ey suspected this is what she'd meant when she said she slept better next to someone all those years ago --- so once ey finished the (unnecessary but meditative) task of cleaning, ey knelt beside the beanbag, wormed eir arms beneath her, and scooped her up. +Every time ey'd left her to sleep out on the beanbag in the past, though, she'd spent the next day disoriented and moody --- ey suspected this was part of what she'd meant when she said she slept better next to someone all those years ago --- so once ey finished the (unnecessary but meditative) task of cleaning, ey knelt beside the beanbag, wormed eir arms beneath her, and scooped her up. She made a sort of drowsy chirping noise as ey lifted her, hugging her arms around eir shoulders for the short journey to the bedroom. Long as her tail was, ey had to be careful not to step on any of her fur with it hanging limply, almost to the ground. diff --git a/content/read/027.md b/content/read/027.md index 68fb625..a79a750 100644 --- a/content/read/027.md +++ b/content/read/027.md @@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ > > In terms of knowledge share, you're spot on in much of what you bring up. The firstracers are hard to read, as you say, though you can add 'rocking head side to side = amusement' to your list. You don't mention much about Iska, but they're really quite nice after one gets past the clipped nature of their speech. I like them plenty. > -> Artante is curious. Her mannerisms are incredibly familiar, which I originally chalked up to the similarity in species, but it's come to light during discussions that she has picked up an obsession with the media that was embedded in the Dreamer Module broadcast. She's watched all of the videos several times over (more than seventy hours worth!) and listened to all of the audio enough to know how things sound (Iska's speech is clipped, I've mentioned, and occasionally misses intonation around questions/commas *qua* pauses/etc., and the firstracers' melodious speech often sounds more like singing than speaking). She and Sarah have had much to talk about, though both leaders nudge them often back to sociology and psychology as it relates to political systems, rather than therapeutic applications of forking or whatever. We'll have to ask them how she got that video within a system after this is over. 230+ years and you'd think they would've figured that out on our end by now. Ah well, engineers and their priorities. +> Artante is curious. Her mannerisms are incredibly familiar, which I originally chalked up to the similarity in phsyiology, but it's come to light during discussions that she has picked up an obsession with the media that was embedded in the Dreamer Module broadcast. She's watched all of the videos several times over (more than seventy hours worth!) and listened to all of the audio enough to know how things sound (Iska's speech is clipped, I've mentioned, and occasionally misses intonation around questions/commas *qua* pauses/etc., and the firstracers' melodious speech often sounds more like singing than speaking). She and Sarah have had much to talk about, though both leaders nudge them often back to sociology and psychology as it relates to political systems, rather than therapeutic applications of forking or whatever. We'll have to ask them how she got that video within a system after this is over. 230+ years and you'd think they would've figured that out on our end by now. Ah well, engineers and their priorities. > > TN here struggles with the 1racers lack of expression, though I had been chalking much of that up to her struggles with skew until you mentioned it. There have been a few misses in the conversation, where the two leaders will wind down a conversational blind alley and have to back up to the point where they turned the wrong corner. So patient is Turun Ka that this has been all the more frustrating for us, as it's difficult to tear down the assumptions that we've built up in the interim. Now that I say that, though, perhaps it is also frustrating for it, too, we just can't tell. > diff --git a/content/read/029.md b/content/read/029.md index 2318ead..c983887 100644 --- a/content/read/029.md +++ b/content/read/029.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Yet another blur. Tycho watched Codrin add a tick mark to a growing list on his notebook then dash off a few marks next to it in some sort of shorthand. "Keeping track of private discussions?" -The recorder nodded. "And what the general topic was that spurred it." +Ey nodded. "And what the general topic was that spurred it." After a few seconds, the Artemisians slid back out of fast time, and Turun Ka spoke once more. "To your second request, yes, this fits the pattern as established after the first convergence. When we approached a star for a gravity assist, we confirmed radio transmissions following a familiar pattern and halted our planned maneuver to orbit the second planet from the star. There, we found a planet-bound civilization of approximately two billion biological individuals. We analyzed the language well enough to learn it within a day common time, and were able to initiate contact. I will allow representative Iska to describe from here." @@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ Another silence, another note from Codrin. "We do not know why you would tell us such a thing at this moment," Artante said. "This is not the time to discuss this." -True Name sat back as she digested this. +True Name sat back once more as she digested this. "Without explaining how we came to be as we are," Answers Will Not Help said, voice shifting between registers as her species shifted in turn. "May we explain why we are interested in an exchange of this knowledge?" diff --git a/content/read/030.md b/content/read/030.md index 22f6ccf..1e0bd4e 100644 --- a/content/read/030.md +++ b/content/read/030.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Very, *very* good rustic stew. End Waking had explained that, as he had no way t They'd each brought their own contribution for the night, as well. After dinner, A Finger Pointing pulled out a bottle of over-proof white whiskey that they passed around the circle, taking burning sips. Ioan and May brought with them a short, two-person play that they put on for the other four, full of crude jokes and self-deprecating humor. Douglas, having picked up music as a hobby since uploading, performed a trio with three instances, one on flute, one on a mandolin, and one on a cajón. -For his part, Debarre had brought fireworks. Or *a* firework, at least. The weasel produced a double fist-sized sphere of *papier mache*, and set it atop a small cylinder right next to the fire. With End Waking watching, hawklike, he directed everyone to stand back a few feet and lit the fuse with a small punk from the fire, explaining, "I've been working on this for the last seventy years or so. It's only about fifty percent possible outside the System, but my excuse is that I never saw fireworks out there so I can do whatever the fuck I want." +For his part, Debarre had brought fireworks. Or *a* firework, at least. The weasel produced a double fist-sized sphere of *papier-mâché*, and set it atop a small cylinder right next to the fire. With End Waking watching, hawklike, he directed everyone to stand back a few feet and lit the fuse with a small punk from the fire, explaining, "I've been working on this for the last seventy years or so. It's only about fifty percent possible outside the System, but my excuse is that I never saw fireworks out there so I can do whatever the fuck I want." The firework lifted off the cylinder it had been set on top of with surprising grace. Rather than rocketing into the air, it rose slowly, splitting in half a few inches up and rising in a tight helix, the weasel explaining that the propellant was tightly controlled to allow such, until it was hovering about three meters above the fire on a column of sparks as orange as those of the fire itself. From there, small spheres of cool-blue sparks popped free and danced around it in slow, hypnotic whorls. Finally, in a fountain of green fire, billowing into the shape of a tree, it fell back into the campfire with a hissing sigh to be consumed by the flames. diff --git a/content/read/031.md b/content/read/031.md index 0c265cf..6132c9b 100644 --- a/content/read/031.md +++ b/content/read/031.md @@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Why Ask Questions frowned. "Uncomfortable how?" "The, *lu*...level of interaction decreases as one's skew increases. Above plus one, sound does not transmit to common time and touch is impossible. Above plus five, movement becomes difficult and one feels...*baenåt*...restrained, perhaps. Movement takes effort. The effort required to move slows one down to where positive skew is no longer effective, though one may use the time to think. This is one use for unison rooms, which may be skewed much higher or lower without such constraints." -The two Odists exchanged a look, and a brief glance at Codrin showed the writer looking more intently at them than at Iska. +The two Odists exchanged a look, and a brief glance at Codrin showed em looking more intently at them than at Iska. "I would like to move on to a related question," True Name said, at which Codrin wrote something down on eir pad. @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ He wrote down a few more ideas for questions while they waited. Iska tilted their head again, further this time. "Why would one, scientist Tycho Brahe?" -"Well, we can turn our sensoria's sensitivity up and down on an individual level, and we can increase or decrease collision sensitivity on a sim level. Like, in public sims, collision sensitivity will be conservative so that you can't bump someone too hard. I was wondering if there are similar mechanics on Artemis. Are there sims where that restriction on touch at high relative skew is relaxed?" +"Well, we can turn our sensoria's sensitivity up and down on an individual level, and we can increase or decrease collision sensitivity on a sim level. In public sims, collision sensitivity will be conservative so that you can't bump someone too hard. I was wondering if there are similar mechanics on Artemis. Are there sims where that restriction on touch at high relative skew is relaxed?" The secondracer's expression was what Tycho could only describe as shocked. "That could lead to physical damage to one or both objects involved in the interaction." @@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ The skunk frowned. "Why?" There was a silent pause where True Name looked first at Codrin, then at Why Ask Questions, then back again. "I had intended to send it to #Artemis, but I take your meaning. You know that Jonas and I have thoughts on an appropriate level of discomfort and danger within a society in order to maintain stability. A system that restricts violence by mechanics such as these may --- and that is a very big 'may' --- speak to one that falls below that acceptable threshold for us." -""Pain, anxiety, the need for something greater, these are all essential for survival. Without them, the world would be an impossibly dangerous place", you mean." Codrin quoted. +""Pain, anxiety, the need for something greater, these are all essential for survival. Without them, the world would be an impossibly dangerous place", you mean," Codrin quoted. She laughed. "Indeed. You may thank Jonas for that one. That they may disagree with this could say a lot about them. If they have somehow moved past the need for pain and anxiety, we will have much to learn. If they object to it on moral grounds, we must be wary." diff --git a/content/read/032.md b/content/read/032.md index 28c8624..e20ff46 100644 --- a/content/read/032.md +++ b/content/read/032.md @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Codrin sat up straighter. "You mean the Odists struggling over there?" She nodded. "It sounds like moving them to a unison room is helping, but they're still struggling with that...what did Codrin#Artemis call it? The omnipresence of time?" -"Yeah. Dear had talked about it some. It called the feeling of being lost as being stuck in an 'endless place of no time'." +"Yeah. Dear talked about it some. It called the feeling of being lost as being stuck in an 'endless place of no time'." "I was going to call that poetic, but the more I think about it, the less I think I could describe it without a whole lot of metaphors, myself." She pushed a few remaining pieces of lettuce around her plate with her fork. "I was wondering if maybe she's trying to hide how she's feeling about that by amping up other emotions. Hiding trauma with humor is not uncommon, and I'm sure she has trauma of her own." @@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Ey dredged up the memory of the postscript. "Ey asked Dear to check eir work. I Ey nodded. -"Well, that'd be a hell of a stunt to pull." She sighed, steepling her fingers before her. "I could only really tell them apart by the way they acted, but, like you, I only met them a week or so ago. Is ey sure that it's not just due to the way the skew is impacting them?" +"Well, that'd be a hell of a stunt to pull." She sighed, steepling her fingers before her. "I could only really tell them apart by the way they acted, but, like you, I only really met them a week or so ago. Is ey sure that it's not just due to the way the skew is impacting them?" "I don't know, really, but given that a good chunk of the rest of the letter, as well as subsequent ones, has been about that impact and the effects it's having on the meetings, I don't doubt eir observations." diff --git a/content/read/033.md b/content/read/033.md index dd123ad..80ceeee 100644 --- a/content/read/033.md +++ b/content/read/033.md @@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ There may very well be specific steps they had to take that had never been provi When ey shook away the rumination, ey found both Tycho and Sarah staring at em. "Sorry if I was mumbling. Tycho, hold off on actually asking about this for now, but keep thinking about it, alright? At least let me run it past True Name first." -The astronomer nodded. +Tycho nodded. "On that note, we should probably start getting ready again," Sarah said. diff --git a/content/read/037.md b/content/read/037.md index cabf49c..798a355 100644 --- a/content/read/037.md +++ b/content/read/037.md @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ True Name, despite maintaining careful control of her expression, still appeared Answers Will Not Help, however, was a mess. -Her form rippled between species, and with it, so too did her expression. She would veer wildly between barely constrained laughter and agony, all while tears coursed down her cheeks or left tracks in fur. She managed to keep quiet for the most part, though occasionally a snippet of poetry would escape her: here a line of the Ode, there a bit of Dickinson. She had even startled Tycho at one point by quoting something ey didn't quite recognize: "I have sown, like Tycho Brahe, that a greater man may reap..." +Her form rippled between species, and with it, so too did her expression. She would veer wildly between barely constrained laughter and agony, all while tears coursed down her cheeks or left tracks in fur. She managed to keep quiet for the most part, though occasionally a snippet of poetry would escape her: here a line of the Ode, there a bit of Dickinson. She had even startled Tycho at one point by quoting something ey didn't recognize: "I have sown, like Tycho Brahe, that a greater man may reap..." This wild dissociation from the world around her was made all the more unnerving by the fact that ey could tell that she was having a difficult time staying within common time. @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ Codrin nodded toward her, "By your leave, True Name?" "Please, Mx. Bălan." She sounded quite relieved. -"Prior to the founding of the System two hundred thirty-one years ago, long distance communication and interaction took place over a global network. It worked much as it does here, in that there are designated locations --- sims, a name which has stuck with us --- and we interacted through forms such as these. The origin of our System came about shortly after a brief period of political unrest wherein some political entities released a type of virus into the implanted hardware we used to connect to the 'net. Those who came across too much information relating to this unrest had the virus triggered and were trapped in a vegetative state, locked within their minds." Ey paused and looked to True Name, who nodded. Answers Will Not Help just hugged her arms to her front, looking pale as she silently mouthed some litany ey couldn't guess. "Michelle Hadje, the root instance of the Ode clade, to which True Name and Why Ask Questions belong, was one of these individuals. The lost, they called them. Dear, my partner, is an Odist as well, and mentioned to me beforehand that a malleable sense of time sounded much like what it experienced during that period." +"Prior to the founding of the System two hundred thirty-one years ago, long distance communication and interaction took place over a global network. It worked much as it does here, in that there are designated locations --- sims, a name which has stuck with us --- and we interacted through forms such as these. The origin of our System came about shortly after a brief period of political unrest wherein some political entities released a type of virus into the implanted hardware we used to connect to the 'net. Those who came across too much information relating to this unrest had the virus triggered and were trapped in a vegetative state, locked within their minds by that hardware." Ey paused and looked to True Name, who nodded. Answers Will Not Help just hugged her arms to her front, looking pale as she silently mouthed some litany ey couldn't guess. "Michelle Hadje, the root instance of the Ode clade, to which True Name and Why Ask Questions belong, was one of these individuals. The lost, they called them. Dear, my partner, is an Odist as well, and mentioned to me beforehand that a malleable sense of time sounded much like what it experienced during that period." "You are not normally like this," Turun Ka said. A statement rather than a question. "My counterpart on Castor describes you as solely in the form you primarily occupy here, and Why Ask Questions solely in, *lu*...a human form. You are both described as calm, confident, and politically adroit." @@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Codrin's eyes darted over to Answers Will Not Help --- as, ey noticed, did the r "I cannot feel em!" Answers Will Not Help interrupted, nearly shouting. Tears were streaming down her face, now. "I cannot...here...b-beside whom..." -Something akin to anger or fear tore through True Name's exhaustion and she sat bolt upright, glaring down the row of emissaries to Answers Will Not Help. "Why Ask Questions, my dear, please do try to remain present," she said, voice eerily calm, soothing. +Something south of fury and north of terror tore through True Name's exhaustion and she sat bolt upright, glaring down the row of emissaries to Answers Will Not Help. "Why Ask Questions, my dear, please do try to remain present," she said, voice eerily calm, soothing. The silence at the table was absolute. All delegates on both sides held still, and Codrin suspected that all of the emissaries from Castor were holding their breath. All had experienced the laser-focused wrath of at least one of the Odists in the weeks leading up to the conference. diff --git a/content/read/038.md b/content/read/038.md index b77ce65..b96e692 100644 --- a/content/read/038.md +++ b/content/read/038.md @@ -73,13 +73,13 @@ She nodded, averting her eyes. "I am fucking terrified, Ioan. What am I to do in Ey blinked, taken aback. This was not how ey'd imagined the conversation would go. Ey'd pictured her providing some glib explanation for what was happening and perhaps outlining the steps that she and her close cocladists were taking to control the situation. Ey was expecting her to steer em towards confidence in her, and hopefully even to soothe eir fears about May through doing so. -This wasn't the True Name ey remembered. Were these her own cracks showing? +This wasn't the True Name ey remembered. Ey prowled through memories of the conversations ey'd had with her over the years --- several, during those first few years after launch, then the rapid decrease after the publication of the *History* --- and tallied up each against the next. -"You've changed quite a bit, True Name," ey said. "I don't know what you're supposed to do, that's out of my league. All I can say is that you've changed. It looks like it takes you a lot of effort to keep the confidence that used to be so integral to your personality." +"You've changed quite a bit, True Name," ey said. "I don't know what you're supposed to do, that's out of my league. I'm sorry. Trust me when I say I wish I could help. I just...you seem like you're struggling." -Ey watched as she bridled, subsided, and nodded. "I am not what I was." +Ey watched as she bridled, subsided, nodded. "I am not what I was." "What changed?" @@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ The skunk laughed, and it was difficult to miss the bitter tone in her voice. "I Eir frown deepened. -She made a setting-aside gesture that ey'd grown used to from May, as though the topic were unimportant, not worth discussing. "I will contact them. Thank you for suggesting that, Mx. Bălan. Even if they are unwilling to help, it is probably a good idea that I seek out therapy. Lord knows I need it." +She made a setting-aside gesture, one ey'd grown used to from May, as though the topic were unimportant, not worth discussing. "I will contact them. Thank you for suggesting that, Mx. Bălan. Even if they are unwilling to help, it is probably a good idea that I seek out therapy. Lord knows I need it." Ey nodded, wary to continue. As the silence that followed stretched out, ey retrieved eir tea and sipped it before it grew too cold. diff --git a/content/read/039.md b/content/read/039.md index e026c3f..4a2f956 100644 --- a/content/read/039.md +++ b/content/read/039.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Ey shrugged, saying only, "It appears Codrin#Artemis has instructed the Artemisi "Yeah, haven't the faintest. Anyway, I'm not sure how you want to pass it over. I figured a separate sheet would be easiest and you can decide from there. The news from #Artemis seems mostly to be about the Odists, so perhaps that's what Turun Ka is getting. True Name has her own message in here." Ey nodded over to the skunk, handing her a separate sheet -Both of the Odists, having claimed the other table in order to have their own hushed conversation quickly moved over to rejoin the other three. They all watched as ey frowned, nodded, and skimmed quickly over the letter addressed to em. +Both of the Odists, having claimed the other table in order to have their own hushed conversation, quickly moved over to rejoin the other three. They all watched as ey frowned, nodded, and skimmed quickly over the letter addressed to em. Eir frown deepened. "Thanks. Here, hold on--" Ey quickly jotted *Message received, passed on, more soon, updates from others?* on a slip of foolscap and handed it to the other Codrin. "Send this for now, just so we're on the same page at as close to the same time as we can manage." @@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ Codrin#Castor smirked. "Well, did it?" "Just have to pull harder, then." Ey sighed and shook eir head. "Self-deprecating humor aside, tell them I miss them." -Ey nodded. "Of course." +Codrin#Assist nodded. "Of course." "I'll see them soon enough, I guess. A few weeks, tops, though at this rate, I'm guessing only a matter of days. Tell--" -"Mx. Bălan," True Name said, nodding to the writer. "Please come with us. We have only a few minutes to sort this out before we start, and if you are correct about Turun Ka receiving similar information, I would like to plan." +"Mx. Bălan," True Name said, nodding to Codrin#Castor. "Please come with us. We have only a few minutes to sort this out before we start, and if you are correct about Turun Ka receiving similar information, I would like to plan." Ey shrugged to Tycho and Sarah and stood to follow the two Odists to True Name's partitioned rest area. Codrin#Assist stepped from the sim and back to Castor proper. @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Ey shrugged to Tycho and Sarah and stood to follow the two Odists to True Name's "Best guess? More about how they're struggling with the time skew over there. Maybe something specific happened, and that's why everybody's gotten messages all at once." -He nodded, sighed, and rubbed over his face with a hand. For as little as was actually happening, he was incredibly tired. Conferences were always like this, felt like. +He nodded, sighed, and rubbed over his face with a hand. For as little as was actually happening, he was incredibly tired. Conferences were always like this, it seemed. "Well, neither of us got anything, and it's not worth speculating, especially since I figure we will learn soon enough," she said. "I'll start to sound like a broken record before long, but how are you feeling about how things are going?" @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ Sarah laughed. "Well, okay. I'll grant you that. Sounds like working with her ha "She didn't exactly come off as kind or polite in there, no." -"Codrin mentioned something about that, about how they wanted the *History* released but wanted to control how. Ey said that she'd acted as dramatic as she had in order to make the end result seem more sensational than realistic. "Shaping the narrative," she called it." +"Codrin mentioned something about that, about how they wanted the *History* released but wanted to control the outcome. Ey said that she'd acted as dramatic as she had in order to make the end result seem more sensational than realistic. "Shaping the narrative," she called it." Sarah laughed. "Well, I'd certainly call *that* subtle." diff --git a/content/read/040.md b/content/read/040.md index 1577bce..8e8c882 100644 --- a/content/read/040.md +++ b/content/read/040.md @@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ True Name stood quickly enough to knock her chair back and, with a decisive wash The rest of the delegation pressed away from her with a shout. The firstracers rose up to their full height and Iska blurred quickly to stand atop their stool, shouting, "*Iha!*" -"To his exclusion who prepare by process of Size...of..." Answers Will Not Help continued, unfazed. She was phasing in and out of common time now, despite the promise of unison. Her words jittering now fast, now slow. "I cannot feel em here. We are so far away from home. I cannot...I miss em, I miss em. I miss...was that eir prophecy? Was that why ey wrote me? Is this AwDae's words come true?" +"To his exclusion who prepare by process of Size...of..." Answers Will Not Help continued, unfazed. She was phasing in and out of common time now, despite the promise of unison. Her words jittering now fast, now slow. She turned to True Name, eyes pleading. "I cannot feel em here. We are so far away from home. I cannot...I miss em, I miss em. I miss...was that eir prophecy? Was that why ey wrote me? Is this AwDae's words come true?" "Stop!" True Name shouted. She swiped out at her cocladist, managing to grab a fistful of her blouse, roughly yanking her closer. @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ True Name bared her teeth, tackling the blurring, crumbling form of Answers Will After a moment's tussle, Answers Will Not Help sprawled flat the ground, limp and laughing, retching, crying. "For the Stupendous Vision of eir diameters---" she said, and then quit, leaving True Name to fall to the ground, weeping. -There was a shocked silence around the table, and when no one moved, Codrin slid out of eir chair to kneel by True Name's side. Her form had begun to waver once more, and, remembering the aversion to touch that came with that, ey simply knelt beside her, waiting until she calmed down. +There was a stunned silence around the table, and when no one moved, Codrin slid out of eir chair to kneel by True Name's side. Her form had begun to waver once more, and, remembering the aversion to touch that came with that, ey simply knelt beside her, waiting until she calmed down. It was Sarah who broke the silence. "What just happened?" @@ -74,9 +74,9 @@ Codrin spoke carefully. "As mentioned, True Name and, uh...Why Ask Questions --- Tycho frowned, nodded. "We had guessed." -"She should not have been able to do that," Iska said, nearly growling. "She should not have been able to do any of that. No skew, no exit. What was she? Who are you?" +"She should not have been able to do that," Iska said, nearly growling. "She should not have been able to do *any* of that. No skew, no exit. What was she? Who *are* you?" -"Leader True Name," Turun Ko said. "Please explain 'lost' in this context." +"Leader True Name," Turun Ko said. "Please explain the connection to 'lost' in this context." She did not move from her spot on the floor. "You have heard about what it means to get lost, but there is no possible way that I can explain the way it has warped us. To get lost is to go mad." @@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ The skunk wilted, her ears splaying to the sides. "Of course, leader Turun Ka." She nodded. "Yes, that would be fine. It is uncomfortable, but I can sleep through the discomfort." -"*Aën*," it said. "We shall return here in half an hour. The other participants shall meet in the central courtyard." +"*Aën*," it said. "We shall return here in half an hour common time. The other participants shall meet in the central courtyard." "I will join shortly," Iska said. "I must contact a technician, first." @@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ Ey guided her into her room and helped her to sit down on the edge of her bed, a Ey took a half step back from the skunk. So hoarse and clouded was her voice that ey couldn't piece together her mood. "I...is that a suggestion or a threat? I'm sorry, True Name. I know how much it means, I just--" -She smiled weakly and shook her head before laying out on her side, rubbing her arm and wincing. "It is a request from me to you, Codrin, from my clade to yours. Across our two entangled clades." The smile faded as she added, "Not...a request. A plea." +She smiled weakly and shook her head before laying out on her side, rubbing her arm and wincing. "I am sorry. It is a request from me to you, Codrin, from my clade to yours. Across our two entangled clades." The smile faded as she added, "Not...a request. A plea." Ey nodded, struck silent by the sincerity in her voice. Real, actual sincerity. It made em feel bashful. Ey bowed and started to turn back toward the door. diff --git a/content/read/041.md b/content/read/041.md index e82c37a..dca293c 100644 --- a/content/read/041.md +++ b/content/read/041.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ It was bound by the cycle of the day, and so Ioan and May would spend their morn She had nodded. "It will pass, and we will make the shows work, my dear. Keep her company and be good to her, and you need not worry." -Some dark look must have crossed eir face at which the director had shaken her head and hugged em. "Do not worry about that, Ioan. There is no death in her, I am sure of that. I am sorry that there are no easy ways to explain it, but I promise that what I expect she is feeling is separate from what our cocladists felt." +Some dark look must have crossed eir face at which A Finger Pointing had shaken her head and hugged em. "Do not worry about that, Ioan. There is no death in her, I am sure of that. I am sorry that there are no easy ways to explain it, but I promise that what I expect she is feeling is separate from what our cocladists felt." When presented with this along with eir anxious expression, May had laughed and tousled eir hair. "She is right, my dear. It feels uncomfortable at best, bad at worst, but only ever bad. I am simply a bit crashy after a little too much all at once." @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ There was a muffled laugh from where the skunk had planted her face against eir "Other than the obvious." -May stayed quiet, shifting the rest of the way so that she could lay her head on eir lap, looking off into the yard. Finally, she murmured, "We will need to talk about that at some point, Sarah and I. The pressure surrounding it is building." +May stayed quiet, releasing her hug and shifting so that she could lay her head on eir lap, looking off into the yard. Finally, she murmured, "We will need to talk about that at some point, Sarah and I. The pressure surrounding it is building." This did not seem to be an open conversation, so ey nodded, settling into silence with eir partner. @@ -51,13 +51,13 @@ May had melted into a beanbag when they'd come back inside and was folding paper "Just Sarah is fine." Smiling kindly to em, she nodded and stepped inside. She seemed to be taking the sight of their home in with some deeper understanding than ey could grasp. Ey wondered just how much she could tell by how clean or messy a place might be, and thanked past-Ioan for cleaning up quite well after breakfast. -The skunk had finished her crane and levered herself out of her beanbag by the time they made it to the den. She was standing by the kitchen table, paws folded before her and ears perked up, looking polite and attentive, though Ioan could still read the exhaustion in her face. +The skunk had finished her crane and levered herself out of her beanbag by the time they made it to the den. She was standing by the table, paws folded before her and ears perked up, looking polite and attentive, though Ioan could still read the exhaustion in her face. "May Then My Name Die With Me," Sarah said, bowing once more. "A pleasure to meet you at last. Thank you for helping to organize this project." "Please, just May Then My Name." She returned the bow, cleared her throat. "Thank you for going along with it. It will be a large one, and I-- *we* appreciate all the help we can get." -They sat down around three sides of the dining table. The skunk surprised em by ensuring that ey, rather than her, sat across from the woman. +They sat down around three sides of the dining table. The skunk surprised em by ensuring that ey, rather than her, sat across from Sarah, perhaps to have someone kind on either side. "So, there's no real agenda today other than to just get to know each other. No hard topics or anything, just chatting. Stuff like that helps me get used to how you communicate." Sarah nodded toward May. "Though I would like to know how you're feeling." @@ -67,7 +67,11 @@ They sat down around three sides of the dining table. The skunk surprised em by May smiled weakly. "Lots of work. We share jobs from start to finish. There are more of us working as stage hands and crew than there are working as actors. Ioan even writes many of our plays." -"I guess that means you both know your way around the craft better than most, since you have to keep all of that in your heads. I'm curious, though; what all goes into the crew side? Are you also...what's the term. Stage managers? Techs?" Sarah shrugged, looking almost embarrassed at her lack of knowledge. "Lights? Sound?" +"I guess that means you both know your way around the craft better than most, since you have to keep all of that in your heads. Is that common?" + +"It is these days. It is something that A Finger Pointing pioneered long ago and has refined over the years." + +"Every role, though; I'm curious, though; what all goes into the crew side? Are you also...what's the term. Stage managers? Techs?" Sarah shrugged, looking almost embarrassed at her lack of knowledge. "Lights? Sound?" At the word 'sound', a stricken look washed over the skunk's face. She sat, rigid, in her chair for a moment before shaking her head, the movement jerky and uneven. "I...I will leave...I will leave Ioan to answer that." @@ -85,9 +89,9 @@ The skunk stood and swayed, clutching at the edge of the table hard enough for c Ioan forked quickly, the new instance taking May by the elbow and guiding her carefully toward the bedroom, leaving #Tracker and Sarah to sit in stunned silence, watching them leave. -There was a brief sensorium message, a few quiet words from eir fork, and ey nodded. "She panicked for a moment but is just going to disengage for a bit. She says to carry on since you and I might as well get to know each other, too. She'll reschedule for the near future." +There was a brief sensorium message, a few quiet words from eir fork and May, which ey passed on. "She panicked for a moment but is just going to disengage for a bit. She says to carry on since you and I might as well get to know each other, too. She'll reschedule for the near future." -"Alright," Sarah said, still frowning. "I know I said just chat, but I don't think I can just let that go. Can you explain what just happened?" +"Alright," Sarah said, still frowning. "I know I said just chat, but I don't think I can just let that go. Can you explain what happened?" Ey sighed, nodded, and rubbed eir palms against eir slacks. "She will wind up getting overwhelmed by emotion sometimes, once every six months or so. It'll take her out for a few days then pass. She just got through one not too long ago --- I think she contacted you the day after she got back." @@ -117,7 +121,7 @@ A pang of that love tugged at em. Sarah must have seen it on eir face, as she sm "I don't do well with loss. That's why I'm here, really. On the System, I mean," ey said, then recounted eir and May's previous conversations about the death of eir parents and how that factored into eir anxieties. -The conversation wound around from there. Ey could tell that Sarah was guiding it gently, giving careful nudges toward positive topics when the heavier ones began to loom too near, but always keeping it productive, substantive. It was, ey realized, the sort of mirror image of what ey'd seen from much of May's stanza. Subtle influencing borne out of years of reading and responding to the actions, words, and expressions of another. Rather than aiming to control, however, Sarah seemed to be doing all she could to keep the control in eir hands, acting almost as a tool for em to use to examine emself, though far more human that that made it sound. +The conversation wound around from there. Ey could tell that Sarah was guiding it gently, giving careful nudges toward positive topics when the heavier ones began to loom too near, but always keeping it productive, substantive. It was, ey realized, the sort of mirror image of what ey'd seen from much of May's stanza. Subtle influencing borne out of years of reading and responding to the actions, words, and expressions of another. Rather than aiming to control, however, Sarah seemed to be doing all she could to keep the control in eir hands, acting almost as a tool for em to use to examine emself, though far more human than that made it sound. It was refreshing. Too many Odists over the last twenty years, perhaps. diff --git a/content/read/042.md b/content/read/042.md index 5eeb7e5..7479176 100644 --- a/content/read/042.md +++ b/content/read/042.md @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Why Ask Questions sat bolt upright. "That should not have been possible," Iska muttered. "Apologies. Please continue, leader True Name." -The skunk hesitated, frowning. "We will discuss that aspect after this, perhaps. The reason that I wish to address this before we have a conversation is that, in the process of our party transferring to Artemis, Why Ask Question's counterpart was replaced with a separate fork of mine named Why Ask Questions When The Answers Will Not Help. She is another up-tree instance of myself, which I believed to be acceptable, but we have discussed the topic of individuation, and as both representative Why Ask Questions and Answers Will Not Help were forked from me 222 years ago, they have long since become separate individuals. +The skunk hesitated, frowning. "We will discuss that aspect after this, perhaps. The reason that I wish to address this before we have a conversation is that, in the process of our party transferring to Artemis, Why Ask Question's counterpart was replaced with a separate fork of mine named Why Ask Questions When The Answers Will Not Help. She is another up-tree instance of myself, which I believed to be acceptable. However, we have discussed the topic of individuation, and as both representative Why Ask Questions and Answers Will Not Help were forked from me 222 years ago, they have long since become separate individuals. "The reasons for this deception are complicated, relating to the origins of both of the forks' creation." She clasped her paws on front of herself and bowed. "Please accept my apologies on this matter." @@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ Why Ask Questions picked up from there, so smoothly that Codrin suspected that t When it was clear that there wouldn't be any further explanation from the Odists, Turun Ka said, "Thank you. Second question: what was it that you hoped to gain from this strategy?" -"My goal in this case is the same as my goal during Secession and Launch --- the effort that led to this vehicle --- which is to maintain the stability and continuity of our existence. I do not wish to govern or control, but I do have at my disposal a set of tools to help in my aims." +"My goal in this case is the same as my goal during Secession and Launch --- the effort that led to this vehicle --- which is to maintain the stability and continuity of our existence. I do not wish to overstep my responsibilities in pursuit of that goal, but I do have at my disposal a set of tools to help in my aims." There was a silent conversation between the Artemisians during which Codrin finished up the notes ey'd been taking on the discussion. True Name was being surprisingly honest about the whole endeavor. Ey was sure there were some aspects that she was withholding, but the initial announcement and answers that she'd provided thus far contained no outright lies that ey could tell. diff --git a/content/read/043.md b/content/read/043.md index 776b9cb..0c69cba 100644 --- a/content/read/043.md +++ b/content/read/043.md @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Turun Ko dipped its head as Artante bowed, saying, "Recorder Codrin Bălan, repr "We are pleased-excited to witness mutual-shared enjoyment," Turun Ko said, voice bouncing between registers in amusement. -The fourthracer laughed. "I am not surprised. Will you join us in finding them?" +Artante laughed. "I am not surprised. Will you join us in finding them?" Codrin led them down the hall past their rest area. The hallway continued beyond, though it ended at a flat wall that ey supposed must be an exit when the place was not in use for a convergence. To the side, though, there was an alcove, windows on the three walls looking out over a garden. It seemed perpetually sunny, and every time ey'd seen them there, the thirdracer had been sunning themself while they chatted. @@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ Codrin shook emself to wakefulness, rubbing at eir face with a hand. "Why aren't The thirdracer shrugged, tail flipping about in a wide arc as they rolled over onto their back, flexible enough to drape over the windowsill and sun their belly that way. "Convergence is convergence. Is to be happy and safe, *anem?* Is for leaders and representatives. Scientist, am not worrying. Stars are not lying. Artemis is not lying. Physics is not lying. If you do not join Artemis, will, *lu*...think about? Will think about you, but good to be happy and safe, and science is not lying." -Throughout Stolon's short speech, Tycho sat up straighter, his grin growing wider. "Yeah, I like that. Science is not lying. It can't, really, can it? Politics can lie, and maybe that's why I hate it so much." +Throughout Stolon's short speech, Tycho sat up straighter, his smile growing wider. "Yeah, I like that. Science is not lying. It can't, really, can it? Politics can lie, and maybe that's why I hate it so much." "*Ka, ka.*" @@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ Tycho nodded, "I'm only on Castor and Pollux, yeah." "Is Pollux same?" -"Yeah, they started out identical, but they've diverged over time." He frowned, shrugged. "I bet Tycho#Pollux is feeling awful now, missing all of this. Or will when he learns, I guess." +"Yeah. Or, well, they started out identical, but they've diverged over time." He frowned, shrugged. "I bet Tycho#Pollux is feeling awful now, missing all of this. Or will when he learns, I guess." "No Tycho on Lagrange construct?" diff --git a/content/read/044.md b/content/read/044.md index cd78d44..1329f08 100644 --- a/content/read/044.md +++ b/content/read/044.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ The news broke over here much as it sounds as though it did on Lagrange: with ti How much of the delay in sending word to us was due to True Name and her friends? I imagine she had words about the first message, at least, but a whole week's worth of messages feels like a good deal must have been going on. -No matter, though. We're all eagerly awaiting every little snippet that we can get from you. I know that you won't get this for another, what, 30? 31? And that a month from when you sent it! I know you won't get it for a while, is what I'm saying, but please know that you're free to pass on information directly from here on out! We'll be learning plenty from the news we're allowed to see over here, anyway, so any juicy tidbits in addition to that will be greatly appreciated. +No matter, though. We're all eagerly awaiting every little snippet that we can get from you. I know that you won't get this for another, what, 30 days? 31? And that a month from when you sent it! I know you won't get it for a while, is what I'm saying, but please know that you're free to pass on information directly from here on out! We'll be learning plenty from the news we're allowed to see over here, anyway, so any juicy tidbits in addition to that will be greatly appreciated. I am continually confronted with the ways in which we have diverged. May Then My Name and Dear#Castor mentioned how upset they were by the idea of time manipulation, but my Dear...well, it did not seem pleased with the idea, but its reaction was not nearly so visceral. It simply got a sour look on its face and said *"I do not like the idea of a place where I cannot fork. Can you imagine a place so boring?"* @@ -23,11 +23,11 @@ I am continually confronted with the ways in which we have diverged. May Then My The last few years have seen a drastic reduction in the amount of times that Dear has overflowed. I don't know if ey's been passing on every instance from Castor, or if you have been passing on every letter in turn, but it sounds like the same is true of Dear#Castor as well, for which I'm thankful. -I'm sorry to hear about May Then My Name, though. Discussion of 'cracks showing' always seems to crop up whenever one of our loved ones goes through a rough period such as this, and your news spurred a conversation between the three of us plus Serene, and despite the relative quiescence of Dear's symptoms, such as they are, we have noticed an uptick of oddities in Odists over here, as well. Not just Odists, of course, but a few of the older clades. Hell, a Jonas even went haywire a few weeks back. +I'm sorry to hear about May Then My Name, though. Discussion of 'cracks showing' always seems to crop up whenever one of our loved ones goes through a rough period such as this, and your news spurred a conversation between the three of us plus Serene, and despite the relative quiescence of their 'symptoms', such as they are, we have noticed an uptick of oddities in Odists over here, as well. Not just Odists, of course, but a few of the older clades. Hell, a Jonas even went haywire a few weeks back. -Still, I'm happy to hear that everyone's tallies are lining up well: far fewer old clades over here are experiencing such symptoms than feared after the publication of *Perils*, for which just about everyone is happy. No one wants to deal with an impending burden of insanity on one's two hundredth birthday, so to hear that it's only a fraction and that maybe there's something that can be done (or so we hear; has there been news of psychotherapy as a treatment over there? I've been hearing whispers) has kept the population at large from freaking out. I imagine you have it worse, though, given the relative skew towards dispersionistas on the LVs; I bet early taskers are freaking out. +Still, I'm happy to hear that everyone's tallies are lining up well: far fewer old clades over here are experiencing such symptoms than feared after the publication of *Perils*, for which just about everyone is happy. No one wants to deal with an impending burden of insanity on one's two hundredth birthday, so to hear that it's only a fraction and that maybe there's something that can be done (or so we hear; has there been news of psychotherapy as a treatment over there? Or memory pruning? I've been hearing whispers) has kept the population at large from freaking out. I imagine you have it worse, though, given the relative skew towards dispersionistas on the LVs; I bet early taskers are freaking out. -Either way, Ioan, I am concerned for you and your partner. Our lives are informed by trauma, and the trauma that we hold in particular leads to a sort of conservatism that is particularly focused on our loved ones. I know that you want nothing more than to see May Then My Name continue to thrive, and I know that seeing her struggle is incredibly painful as it touches on the roots of those very same traumas. I know that the two of you will make it through alright, but, as this is in the clade-eyes-only section, do remember to keep yourself safe. You have Douglas. You have Debarre and End Waking (are they back together? Please say yes). You have A Finger Pointing. You have so many delightful friends I've yet to even meet and some I'll have have the chance to. When you need, nudge May Then My Name to her support network and lean on your own. +Either way, Ioan, I am concerned for you and your partner. Our lives are informed by trauma, and the trauma that we hold in particular leads to a sort of conservatism that is particularly focused on our loved ones. I know that you want nothing more than to see May Then My Name continue to thrive, and I know that seeing her struggle is incredibly painful as it touches on the roots of those very same traumas. I know that the two of you will make it through alright, but, as this is in the clade-eyes-only section, do remember to keep yourself safe. You have Douglas. You have Debarre and End Waking (are they back together? Please say yes). You have A Finger Pointing. You have so many delightful friends I've yet to even meet and some I'll never have have the chance to. When you need, nudge May Then My Name to her support network and lean on your own. **IOAN BĂLAN INDIVIDUAL-EYES-ONLY MATERIAL** @@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ This is in confidence. It was interesting hearing the story of your triad (is it still a triad? I was unable to parse to what extent Serene may still be a part of your little polycule, though it does sound as though there is a healthier distance between you all now) in your words. Serene actually contacted us a few months back to pass on the story, herself, also in confidence. She made us promise to keep it to ourselves, even from you. I pinged her with the fact that your letter contained this information to make sure that I could confirm this with you, and she said yes. -I found the whole story as she told it to be terribly fascinating. There was a brief twinge of surprise at the idea of an intraclade relationship, but it was not the first that I've heard of since Launch. They're hardly common back here, but neither are they unheard of as individuation increases and taboos lessen. Still, this is the closest that we've been to one. No friends, even, just right into our own clades. +I found the whole story as she told it to be terribly fascinating. There was a brief twinge of surprise at the idea of an intraclade relationship, but it was not the first that I've heard of since Launch. They're hardly common back here, but neither are they unheard of as individuation increases and taboos lessen. Still, while this is not the closest that we've been to one --- A Finger Pointing and Beholden are openly a couple --- this is right in our own clade. It sparked a long, drawn out discussion between May, Douglas and I, actually. Less, I think, because there was any chance of that between the three of us than because Douglas is hungry for essentially every bit of information about the clade that he can get his hands on --- though, May being May, she would leap at the chance to get closer to him, but the most he is comfortable with from anyone is friendship and physical affection (he will pet May for hours if she'll let him --- and she always does). diff --git a/content/read/045.md b/content/read/045.md index ee49a11..5e79d68 100644 --- a/content/read/045.md +++ b/content/read/045.md @@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Artante spread her hands over the table, palms up. "As I said before, it would b "Text and metatext," Codrin mumbled, and with that, an idea dropped, fully-formed, onto em. Ey could feel the weight of it land on eir shoulders, the import of it digging into eir back like claws. Texts! Ey sat up straighter. "With the understanding that there are correct times for conversations, may I *give* you information for you to access at those times?" -The fourthracer looked to Turun Ko, who raised its chin in assent. "You may, recorder Codrin Bălan." +Artante looked to Turun Ko, who raised its chin in assent. "You may, recorder Codrin Bălan." Ey nodded, hoping against hope that ey even had the ACLs to do as ey'd planned. Ey knew that ey could create as much paper as ey wanted, though ey wasn't sure whether ey'd be able to create paper with text already on it. Ey knew that ey could create notepads, but had yet to try creating a notebook, as ey hadn't finished the current one yet. @@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ Artante looked between them, picking up on the anxiety. "May I ask as to the imp "It...doesn't exactly paint the prettiest picture of some aspects of the System," Sarah said, audibly hunting for a diplomatic way to phrase it. "It led to a reevaluation of the...political nature of our lives." -Ey tensed, realising the import of what Sarah was getting at. While there were countless reminders as to the books impact on the Ode clade, it had always seemed an unintentional side-effect of what was otherwise a text that strove to be above all else an accurate historical document. It was bound up in those who had lived those lives, those who had been influenced by the Odists. +Ey tensed, realizing the import of what Sarah was getting at. While there were countless reminders as to the books impact on the Ode clade, it had always seemed an unintentional side-effect of what was otherwise a text that strove to be above all else an accurate historical document. It was bound up in those who had lived those lives, those who had been influenced by the Odists. Ey'd meant to provide it strictly in that historical sense, but realized that, in the context of her deception, the discussion of True Name and her friends guiding the trajectory of society within them might color the talks moving forward. diff --git a/content/read/048.md b/content/read/048.md index 514b13e..9aeabcc 100644 --- a/content/read/048.md +++ b/content/read/048.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ > *Convergence T-plus 1 day, 21 hours, 38 minutes* -The process of leaving the talks was one of emotion bound up in the stress of merging. As unpracticed as he was at forking, the process of quitting and reconciling memories was just as foreign to him. Ordinarily it would have taken an hour for Tycho#Castor to sort through the memories from Tycho#Artemis and then another two for Tycho#Tasker to sort through the memories from #Artemis for a few weeks' divergence. +The process of leaving the formal talks was one of emotion bound up in the stress of merging. As unpracticed as he was at forking, the process of quitting and reconciling memories was just as foreign to him. Ordinarily it would have taken an hour for Tycho#Castor to sort through the memories from Tycho#Artemis and then another two for Tycho#Tasker to sort through the memories from #Artemis for a few weeks' divergence. These were not ordinary times. @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ She laughed, set the bottle aside and shifted from her kneeling position to more He was startled away from looking at the sky by the sound of a sniffle from the skunk. -"I'm sorry, True Name. That was--" +"Shit. I'm sorry, True Name. That was--" "No, you are right, Tycho. I know what I am and how I became that," she said, voice thick. "But I am feeling every one of my 259 years tonight. I just wanted to be with someone. Just...be, you know? Exist with someone without having some sort of agenda other than to celebrate something big." @@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ She laughed. "That it is, my dear." She shrugged, a subtle shifting of shadow. "That too, yes, but also, news from the three Systems has been distressing. Much of the clade will be seeking...well, therapy." -He frowned up to the sky, unable to think of anything to say to that that would not sound rude or patronizing. +He frowned up to the sky, unable to think of anything to say to that that would not sound rude or patronizing. He'd already put his foot in it once tonight. "Our cracks are showing," the skunk continued in a far-away voice. "Growth is colliding with eternal memory, and the cracks are showing." @@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ There was a moment's pause as the skunk shifted to lay down beside him. "I suppo "But you won't be able to join them, *anem?*" -She laughed. "Practicing?" +She chuckled. "Practicing?" "I guess," he admitted. "I want to get used to the language." diff --git a/content/read/049.md b/content/read/049.md index 76a0d00..3709065 100644 --- a/content/read/049.md +++ b/content/read/049.md @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Ey laughed and bumped eir shoulder against its own. "Of course." *"This is all so delightfully exciting, is it not? I was worried at first that the drama would be too much. Aliens! Political summits in space! Imagine."* The fox giggled. *"And it was dramatic, I suppose, but it has settled down into merely exciting. Aliens, yes, but boundless new knowledge. Political summits in space, yes, but also a mingling of societies that we could not possibly comprehend."* -Sarah laughed and raised her glass. "To the proper amount of excitement." +Sarah raised her glass. "To the proper amount of excitement." Dear hoisted its own glass as thought it was an ale-filled tankard. *"Precisely, my dear!"* @@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Ey shook eir head. "They pulled some nonsense. Why Ask Questions was the delegat "I'd call it cheeky, but it was more distressing than anything." Ey sighed. "They really didn't do well with the time skew at all. When we first got there, Answers Will Not Help collapsed, and True Name was only just barely holding it together. Even when we were in a unison room --- places where time skew was locked into...uh, consensus, I guess --- they kept...well, they looked like Michelle. Alternating forms, exhausted, distracted." -The fox splayed its ears, nodding. *"I did not know how they would act, but I am not surprised that those memories would come home to roost. I am sorry for them. I am sorry that you had to experience that so directly. Did it negatively impact the discussion?"* +The fox splayed its ears, nodding. *"I did not know how they would act, but I am not surprised that those particular memories would come home to roost. I am sorry for them. I am sorry that you had to experience that so directly. Did it negatively impact the discussion?"* Ey thought back over the memories ey had been left with from Codrin#Artemis, frowning. "Not necessarily, though we didn't learn as much as we had hoped, I think. Things just went poorly on their end. Very poorly." diff --git a/content/read/050.md b/content/read/050.md index 13370db..c87d79f 100644 --- a/content/read/050.md +++ b/content/read/050.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ # Tycho Brahe --- 2346 -> *Convergence T-plus 4 days, 20 hours, 18 minutes* +> *Convergence T-plus 3 days, 20 hours, 18 minutes* "Who's idea was this?" Tycho asked, staring, unbelieving, at the heat-haze shimmer before him. @@ -74,13 +74,13 @@ He nodded. "I suppose it is. Even then, I think most of my coworkers and friends "I was surprised to learn that, as well," True Name said, leaning back against the bench with her tail canted to the side. "Ey has come to eir own decision, though. It makes sense for one such as em to send along a fork." -"Right. I'm sorry that you and Why Ask Questions or Answers Will Not Help will not be joining us. It'd be nice to have the emissaries together there." +"Right. I'm sorry that you and Why Ask Questions or Answers Will Not Help won't be joining us. It'd be nice to have the emissaries together there." "We will visit once more before Artemis leaves effective Ansible range, but no, we will not stay." "Well, as I said, I'll miss you." -She bowed her head in acknowledgement, ears splayed. +She bowed her head in bashful acknowledgement, ears splayed. "And you'll get to meet your fair share of Artemisians here, as well." diff --git a/content/read/051.md b/content/read/051.md index bc0ca15..6af4dcd 100644 --- a/content/read/051.md +++ b/content/read/051.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ # Ioan Bălan --- 2346 -> *Convergence T-plus 39 days, 3 hours, 23 minutes* +> *Convergence T-plus 34 days, 3 hours, 23 minutes* > *(transmission delay: 30 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes)* Ioan and May both awoke to messages. May, however, was the first to read hers, having gotten up before her partner, so when Ioan stumbled out of bed toward coffee, the skunk was already sitting at the table, her note before her and eirs still in its clade-eyes-only envelope, waiting for em. @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Ey forced a laugh, shaking eir head. "May Then My Name will be receiving a note The skunk's smile fell. "Well, please get it over with, then, and we can judge Dear on what it considers a game soon." -"Alright," ey said. "During the talks on Artemis, the time skew got to be too much for who we thought was Why Ask Questions and she lost it. It turns out that, through some design of True Name's, they swapped in Why Ask Questions When The Answers Will Not Help for the emissaries to Artemis rather than sending Why Ask Questions. +"Alright," ey said. "During the talks on Artemis, the time skew got to be too much for who we thought was Why Ask Questions and she lost it. It turns out that, through some design of Jonas and True Name's, they swapped in Why Ask Questions When The Answers Will Not Help for the emissaries to Artemis rather than sending Why Ask Questions. "Anyway, she snapped. She quoted several lines of the Ode as well as several lines of Emily Dickinson, talked about how she, quote, "could not feel em", and then she said the Name aloud. True Name got--" diff --git a/content/read/052.md b/content/read/052.md index d9ac632..46e8be8 100644 --- a/content/read/052.md +++ b/content/read/052.md @@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ Dear blinked and laughed. *"Codrin, you are such a fucking nerd."* "Of course. All that work on those cairns? Of course it's coming with. I want to show them the prairie." Dear leapt up to wrap its skinny arms around eir middle and ey shrugged as best ey could in the midst of a hug, continuing, "I want to show them what our home looks like. I want to see Stolon sun themself out in the grass. I want you both to meet Turun Ko." -Eir partner laughed. "Well, hey, I'm game." +Their partner laughed. "Well, hey, I'm game." *"Will we move as forks, or invest entirely?"* diff --git a/content/read/054.md b/content/read/054.md index b30096b..36e82bd 100644 --- a/content/read/054.md +++ b/content/read/054.md @@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ He didn't know. Before he could look, before he could listen, he set his glass down, turned on his heel and walked straight into the customs building, this entrance (one of hundreds now) temporarily off-limits for tonight's event. His event. -Within, there was a small pedestal --- one among thousands --- that bore a plaque he'd read countless times by now: *Place your hand on the pedestal below and hold it there for ten seconds. This is a **transfer process** of the current instance, so please be sure to leave a fork behind.* +Within, there was a small pedestal --- one among thousands, most occupied with others making the journey --- that bore a plaque he'd read countless times by now: *Place your hand on the pedestal below and hold it there for ten seconds. This is a **transfer process** of the current instance, so please be sure to leave a fork behind.* He did not leave a fork behind. He simply closed his eyes, put his hand on the pedestal, and waited, counting heartbeats. @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ There it was. There was the discontinuity. There was that slippery feeling to time. There was that change in atmosphere, that change in pressure, that change in ACLs. There was that change in the way the very fabric of the world was woven. -There, too, was Stolon standing just outside the gazebo that served as the arrival point from Castor. Stolon and Sorina and Iska and Turun Ka and Turun Ko and Artante; they were all there, his own small welcoming committee. Beside them stood the rest of what had become the Council of Ten, of which he was now a part. Representatives of all those aboard Artemis. +There, too, was Stolon standing just outside the pavilion that served as the arrival point from Castor. Stolon and Sorina and Iska and Turun Ka and Turun Ko and Artante; they were all there, his own small welcoming committee. Beside them stood the rest of what had become the Council of Ten, of which he was now a part. Representatives of all those aboard Artemis. And beyond them, crowds and crowds of others, milling around the plaza. Firstracers through fourthracers, and hundreds of humans --- no, fifthracers, now --- all of whom must still be learning their way around, being shown the ropes by the volunteer guides. diff --git a/content/read/056.md b/content/read/056.md index 00008e9..4ddd3c6 100644 --- a/content/read/056.md +++ b/content/read/056.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Ey did not know where ey was and, ey was promised, the hope was that no one else The briefing, once ey had reached the compound, had lasted days. -The System engineers --- so vague a name as to keep discussions impossible to trace --- had been toiling for nearly a year on achieving the dream of countless futurists. They had been looking into what would be involved in moving a mind to some newer reality. Some reality built of the minds that inhabited it. +The engineers of the System --- so vague a name as to keep discussions impossible to trace --- had been toiling for nearly a year on achieving the dream of countless futurists. They had been looking into what would be involved in moving a mind to some newer reality. Some reality built of the minds that inhabited it. It had begun as a way to spread humanity through the 'net, and when their ethicists had warned them that inhabiting a place so ridden with terror and danger would be cruel, they had narrowed their goal to this new world. A mirror world of all the meaning ey could dream of and more. @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ This was too much, too much. There was no way to simply emulate process after pr Perhaps they could combine the two. Perhaps they could build a map of a system and also mesh it with scans. Perhaps, perhaps... -And yet while this creation of theirs was close to a person, it fell short as it crashed ceaselessly into strange loop after strange loop. There was no world in which they could place it wherein it could live happily. +And yet while this creation of theirs was close to a person, it fell short as it crashed ceaselessly into strange loop after strange loop. There was no world in which they could place it wherein it could live happily, live sane. No luck, no luck.