Merge pull request #3 from makyo/v2

V2 edits

content/read/003.md

@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@ Ey had been lost for something beyond an eternity, for 'eternity' implied the ex
 
 She had been the first one in more than forever that ey had seen. She had been the one who broke through the wall of eir solipsistic existence and encouraged em to reengage with the world. As the orbits of eir life grew smaller and smaller, they had collapsed into a wandering figure-eight around Sasha, the one who made em complete, and Carter, the one who tied em to reality.
 
-And so it was that, even beyond the meetings and interviews, beyond the panels and studies, ey found emself staying in touch with her. Once a week or two, ey would make the long walk from eir flat down to the cluster of UCL buildings and wait until she was free for lunch or dinner, or, had ey yet again forgotten the meaning of time, wait for her to arrive at work early in the morning so that they could get coffee together.
+And so it was that, even beyond the meetings and interviews, beyond the panels and studies, ey found emself staying in touch with her. Once or twice a week, ey would make the long walk from eir flat down to the cluster of UCL buildings and wait until she was free for lunch or dinner, or, had ey yet again forgotten the meaning of time, wait for her to arrive at work early in the morning so that they could get coffee together.
 
 She had not questioned it at all. Even that first time, after ey had hunted down her office in the UCL directory and arrived, unannounced, outside of it to wait awkwardly until she pulled back from her rig. She had simply smiled, shaken eir hand, and they had gone out for an afternoon cup of coffee with no further discussion. It had simply become the thing that they did every now and then. 
 
 Perhaps that was why ey liked her? Maybe.
 
-Today, at lunch, ey joined Carter and two of her coworkers, Prakash Das and Avery Wilkins. Vietnamese had been the order of the day, and each of them had consoled em in turn about the loss of eir dear Priscilla, the cat who had been the only other grounding factor in eir life these last two years. A sudden loss of appetite, and then a sudden loss of life, and now ey needed the comfort of friends --- or whatever it was that Carter had become --- and some noise other than quiet jazz and London streets.
+Today, at lunch, ey joined Carter and two of her coworkers, Prakash Das and Avery Wilkins. Vietnamese was the order of the day, and each of them had consoled em in turn about the loss of eir dear Priscilla, the cat who had been the only other grounding factor in eir life these last two years. A sudden loss of appetite, and then a sudden loss of life, and now ey needed the comfort of friends --- or whatever it was that Carter had become --- and some noise other than quiet jazz and London streets.
 
 To their condolences, ey had simply raised eir cup of tea and nodded to them, saying, "To deny the end is to deny all beginnings."
 
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ The time neared one o'clock, whatever that meant, and they settled up the bill a
 
 More laughter, more companionship. More warmth, despite the cold.
 
-*Perhaps this is why,* ey thought. *Perhaps Carter and all of those she has introduced to me can add at least a little bit of warmth into the winter of my life.*
+*Perhaps this is why,* ey thought. *Perhaps Carter and all of those she has introduced to me can add at least a little bit of warmth to the winter of my life.*
 
 No, no, must not think such things. Ey had made eir decision, had ey not?
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ At the door to the building where the three worked, they all exchanged hugs, ano
 
 Perhaps sleep.
 
-Ey made it a block away before ey heard the sound of jogging behind em, and stepped over closer to the wall to let the jogger pass. The sound slowed, however, and ey was greeted once more by Prakash.
+Ey made it a block before ey heard the sound of jogging behind em, and stepped over closer to the wall to let the jogger pass. The sound slowed, however, and ey was greeted once more by Prakash.
 
 "Hey RJ, mind if I walk with you for a bit?"
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ He shrugged. "I do, but I'm getting sick of being cooped up. Begged an additiona
 
 A silence stretched for a few minutes before Prakash said, "Nice day, isn't it?"
 
-"No," ey said, laughing. "It is cold and gray. My cat is dead, my job is gone, and my two friends are someone I can only meet in a place I am terrified to go and a researcher of something that is no longer a problem." *Memory is a mirror of hammered silver,* the litany continued within as always. Ey hoped silently. *A weapon against the waking world.* "Dreams are the plate-glass atop memory: a clarifying agent against the-- Sorry."
+"No," ey said, laughing. "It is cold and gray. My cat is dead, my job is gone, and my two friends are someone I can only meet in a place I am terrified to go and a researcher of something that is no longer a problem." *Memory is a mirror of hammered silver,* the litany continued within as always. Silently, ey hoped. *A weapon against the waking world.* "Dreams are the plate-glass atop memory: a clarifying agent against the-- Sorry."
 
 Prakash nodded, as though this was part of a normal conversation. "You're okay, RJ. No luck on the job front? Are you doing alright for cash?"
 
@@ -94,11 +94,11 @@ Ey nodded, waited for Prakash to continue.
 
 "A way back?"
 
-The intensity with which ey replied startled the researcher, who held up his hands defensively. "Sorry, RJ. If I overstepped--"
+The intensity with which ey replied startled Prakash, who held up his hands defensively. "Sorry, RJ. If I overstepped--"
 
 "No, sorry," ey said. "I did not mean to shout. If it is a way back, I will say yes. If it is a way to 'fix' whatever I have become, I will say no and do not wish to waste your time."
 
-Prakash relaxed and shook his head. "I see. You've mentioned not wanting to lose what you have. I wouldn't have offered if that was on the table. They're not really thinking of a way back, no, but maybe a way forward. Use what you taught us to find --- or make --- somewhere new."
+He relaxed and shook his head. "I see. You've mentioned not wanting to lose what you have. I wouldn't have offered if that was on the table. They're not really thinking of a way back, no, but maybe a way forward. Use what you taught us to find --- or make --- somewhere new."
 
 At this, ey really did stop up short. "What do you mean, 'somewhere new'?"
 

content/read/005.md

@@ -20,11 +20,11 @@ Low clouds hung above the low house on the shortgrass prairie. He forced himself
 
 "Tycho Brahe, yes?" ey asked. "Is everything okay?"
 
-He tore his eyes away from the figure beside the historian, what looked to be some large-eared vulpine standing on two legs, looking just as tired as Codrin.
+He tore his eyes away from the figure beside the historian, what looked to be some large-eared...dog? Fox? Large-eared animal standing on two legs, looking just as tired as Codrin.
 
 "Uh, yes," he stammered. "No? I don't think so, at least. I'm sorry for waking you. I don't think things are okay, though."
 
-Codrin nodded and stepped aside, gesturing to welcome the astronomer in and guiding him to a seat at the table.
+Codrin nodded and stepped aside, gesturing to welcome him in and guiding him to a seat at the table.
 
 *"I will make tea,"* the fox said. *"Though I think perhaps one without caffeine."*
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Codrin nodded warily. "That some of the Odists were against it, yes."
 
 "Then certainly you can see my concern!" Tycho hissed, leaning toward Codrin.
 
-The historian startled back. "I'm afraid I don't follow, Dr. Brahe, I--"
+Ey startled back. "I'm afraid I don't follow, Dr. Brahe, I--"
 
 "Can we at least step outside?"
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Codrin froze, mug halfway lifted. Dear's ears stood erect, and all sleepiness fl
 
 "You understand why I'm concerned, then, right?"
 
-The historian set eir mug back down on the table without taking a sip, saying, "Tell me all that you can."
+Ey set eir mug back down on the table without taking a sip, saying, "Tell me all that you can."
 
 So he recounted the events of the previous hour. The sudden interruption of an impersonal message, a simple note from the perisystem architecture informing him, the astronomer on duty, of the signal received.
 
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ With the repetition of those words, he pushed the untouched mug of tea further a
 
 The longest silence yet followed as both Dear and Codrin appeared to take this information in and he, poor, stupid Tycho Brahe, he soaked in his own guilt. It seeped through his clothes, squished in his shoes, matted his hair and pushed against his face. Tycho Brahe, indeed! He should have chosen the name of some far less competent man, all those years ago when he'd first met Codrin.
 
-It was the historian who spoke first, voice sounding calm, somewhere between professional and empathetic. An interviewer's voice. "Have you told anyone else?"
+It was Codrin who spoke first, voice sounding calm, somewhere between professional and empathetic. An interviewer's voice. "Have you told anyone else?"
 
 "No," he said, lifting his head, though still not meeting their gazes. "I don't know who I'd tell."
 

content/read/006.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ And, once he was able to talk without the volume of his voice continually rising
 
 "It's alright," he had said, laughing tiredly. "It's always night in the field. It's always night outside, isn't it?"
 
-This left Codrin and Dear to sit in silence for a few minutes. After making coffee, they moved out to the patio despite the chill of the morning.
+This left Codrin and Dear to sit in silence for a few minutes. After making more coffee, they moved out to the patio despite the chill of the morning.
 
 *"What do you think, my dear?"* the fox asked, cradling its mug close to its chest.
 
@@ -22,19 +22,19 @@ Dear laughed. *"You jumped out of bed so fast I thought that we were under attac
 
 "Probably not."
 
-They sat in silence, drinking their coffee, and watching the sun creep up until the horizon reluctantly let it free. When they realized that they were squinting and shading their eyes too much to actually see anything, they went back inside to claim the couch, huddling under a throw to warm themselves up while Dear's partner puttered sleepily around the kitchen.
+They sat in silence, drinking their coffee and watching the sun creep up until the horizon reluctantly let it free. When they realized that they were squinting and shading their eyes too much to actually see anything, they went back inside to claim the couch, huddling under a throw to warm themselves up while their partner puttered sleepily around the kitchen.
 
-This led, of course, to second cups of coffee and warm sweet rolls, and a long hour of Codrin and the fox catching their partner up to date.
+This led, of course, to further cups of coffee and warm sweet rolls, and a long hour of Codrin and the fox catching their partner up to date.
 
 "Well," they said. "How do you feel?"
 
 *"That is a very Codrin question."*
 
-"Yeah, I guess it is. I feel..." Ey paused, looking down into eir coffee. "I feel overwhelmed. I guess that's not a complete emotion, though."
+"Yeah, I guess it is. I feel..." Ey paused, looking down into eir mug. "I feel overwhelmed. I guess that's not a complete emotion, though."
 
 "You want help teasing it apart?"
 
-Codrin slouched down into the couch further, resting the coffee mug on eir stomach. Tiredness clung to em in a thin, sticky film. "I guess. I mean, I think a lot of it is due to exhaustion."
+Codrin slouched down into the couch further, resting the mug on eir stomach. Tiredness clung to em in a thin, sticky film. "I guess. I mean, I think a lot of it is due to exhaustion."
 
 *"Seconded,"* Dear mumbled. *"I am surprised you slept through that, my love."*
 
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Codrin hesitated, taking a sip to gain a bit more time to mull that over in eir
 
 "Ten times?" Dear's partner frowned. "A hundred times the size of *On the Perils of Memory?*"
 
-"Size maybe isn't the best descriptor. Intensity, perhaps?" Ey shrugged. "Working on the Qoheleth project never had me screaming into the void or shouting at the sky. The *History* was longer, but while I can see this one being perhaps shorter, the intensity is going through the roof. I'm not sure how much of that is just being exhausted, though."
+"Size maybe isn't the best descriptor. Intensity, perhaps?" Ey shrugged. "Working on the Qoheleth project never had me screaming into the void or shouting at the sky. The *History* was longer, but while I can see this one maybe being shorter, the intensity is going through the roof. I'm not sure how much of that is just being exhausted, though."
 
 *"That is about the work, though. How do you feel about the topic? Aliens sending us copies of Douglas? Or perhaps us sending aliens copies of...well, whoever we decide?"*
 
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Ey waggled a hand. "Tense is maybe too strong a word. We were both excited, and
 
 *"Then May Then My Name tainted em in turn."*
 
-"I miss them," Dear's partner said. "I can't imagine seeing them together would be anything but adorable."
+"I miss them," their partner said. "I can't imagine seeing them together would be anything but adorable."
 
 *"Saccharine, even."*
 

content/read/007.md

@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ The skunk stood, offered a paw to help Tycho#Artemis in standing. "That or Sea P
 
 Tycho#Artemis shook his head while #Tasker stood.
 
-"*Reach me down my Tycho Brahe --- I would know him when we meet*," she quoted. "*When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from then till now*."
+"Reach me down my Tycho Brahe --- I would know him when we meet," she quoted. "When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from then till now."
 
 "I--"
 

content/read/008.md

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ Tycho sipped at the coffee, winced, and set the mug aside to cool. "No, she just
 
 "Of course she did," ey murmured. "She knows me too well."
 
-The astronomer ground the heels of his palms against his eyes. "I feel like she knew me too well, too. We had what felt like a wonderful conversation where she offered me a job, asked me to fork to send an instance with her to keep working with her, but then quoted some bit of poetry at me and I couldn't tell if it was a threat or a warning or whatever. I'm still trying to recover from that."
+He ground the heels of his palms against his eyes. "I feel like she knew me too well, too. We had what felt like a wonderful conversation where she offered me a job, asked me to fork to send an instance with her to keep working with her, but then quoted some bit of poetry at me and I couldn't tell if it was a threat or a warning or whatever. I'm still trying to recover from that."
 
 "I'm guessing you said yes to both the job offer and the fork?"
 
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ Tycho's eyes grew wide. "Do you think that's what she's getting at with the refe
 
 Ey shrugged. "Who knows? Probably both, honestly. Maybe there's even some reference that we're missing. She's True Name, there really is no way of telling."
 
-Nodding, Tycho scooted back on the bed until his back was to the wall, then brought his knees up to his chest. Despite his height, he looked small to Codrin, somehow diminished after the events of the last...goodness, had it only been a day? Diminished, yes, and younger, though he'd always looked as though he was not yet out of his forties in his well-groomed salt-and-pepper hair and well-kept beard.
+Nodding, Tycho scooted back on the bed until his back was to the wall, then brought his knees up to his chest. Despite his height, he looked small to Codrin, somehow diminished after the events of the last...goodness, had it only been a day? Diminished, yes, and younger, though he'd always looked as though he was not yet out of his forties with his well-groomed salt-and-pepper hair and well-kept beard.
 
 They sat in silence for a while. Codrin could not guess what the astronomer was thinking about, though ey could see his eyes occasionally darting this way and that, as though connecting one idea to another in the air as well as in his head.
 
@@ -160,7 +160,9 @@ Ey finished eir coffee and replaced the cup on the cap of the thermos. "One of u
 
 "Yes. If it's possible, I mean. I figure it would just be an instance rather than completely investing. I'd also be curious to hear your opinions on that as well."
 
-Tycho tilted his head back until it hit the wall of the hut, staring up toward the ceiling. He sat like that for a good five minutes, during which Codrin remained silent, before leaning forward to pour emself another cup of coffee. "Yes. I don't know about investing completely, but yes, I think I would. Would you?"
+Tycho tilted his head back until it hit the wall of the hut, staring up toward the ceiling. He sat like that for a good five minutes, during which Codrin remained silent, before leaning forward to pour emself another cup of coffee.
+
+"Yes," he said. "I don't know about investing completely, but yes, I think I would. Would you?"
 
 Ey smiled, though ey felt just how tired ey was as ey did so. "Perhaps. I have attachments here, though. So the Codrin who uploaded --- if ey remains a Codrin --- would be severed completely from those ey loves. As romantic as the idea of sailing away on some alien spacecraft might be, it'd be painful to leave, even knowing that a Codrin remained."
 

content/read/009.md

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Tycho Brahe#Artemis 2346
+# Tycho Brahe#Artemis --- 2346
     
 > *Convergence T-minus 22 days, 3 hours, 49 minutes*
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ True Name nodded. "We are not controlling anything. We are guiding. Of what use
 
 "Well...wait, can you tell me how long it's been since the message arrived? I haven't slept in I don't know how long."
 
-"A little less than a day."
+"A little less than twelve hours."
 
 "Well, then we have a little less than forty days until their closest approach, at which point they'll start moving away from us again."
 
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ He couldn't tell what expression or expressions crossed his face, but it must've
 
 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."
 
-"Besides," the woman beside him said, still giggling. "You will get to ask four spacefaring races astronomy questions. Does that not excite you?"
+"Besides," Answers Will Not Help him said, still giggling. "You will get to ask four spacefaring races astronomy questions. Does that not excite you?"
 
 "I...four?" His head was swimming, not aided by the stilted way these Odists seemed to talk.
 

content/read/010.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 > *Convergence T-minus 21 days, 9 hours, 48 minutes*
 
-Codrin found emself in possession of a blissful day of peace after that sudden pile-on of news. Ey acknowledged a request from True Name to act as amanuensis with a faintness of heart that ey hoped the skunk did not notice, worked on a letter to Ioan, and then went back to spending the rest of eir day napping, catching up on a writing project ey had been poking at, shoving Dear around for fun, and watching the fox rehearse its next performance with their partner. This one was to be a ballroom dance where everyone invited would dance with instances of Dear, which would begin disappearing one by one while the rest grew steadily more anxious, as though worrying that they would be next.
+Codrin found emself in possession of a blissful day of peace after that sudden pile-on of news. Ey acknowledged a request from True Name to act as amanuensis with a faintness of heart that ey hoped she did not notice, worked on a letter to Ioan, and then went back to spending the rest of eir day napping, catching up on a writing project ey had been poking at, shoving Dear around for fun, and watching the fox rehearse its next performance with their partner. This one was to be a ballroom dance where everyone invited would dance with instances of Dear, which would begin disappearing one by one while the rest grew steadily more anxious, as though worrying that they would be next.
 
 It was all very Dear, and Codrin enjoyed the idea immensely.
 
@@ -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. The fox 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 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.
 
 *"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?"*
 

content/read/013.md

@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ As he did, she jotted down details on her own notepads, occasionally asking him
 
 "Alright," she said. "Let us come up with five questions out of this. They seem to like the number five."
 
-"If you think that we can do one paragraph per question, perhaps we can ask about whether there are common areas that have a *lingua franca*, too. I think we have *how often do the four races interact?* already."
+"Hmm...if you think that we can do one paragraph per question, perhaps we can ask about whether there are common areas that have a *lingua franca*, too. I think we have *how often do the four races interact?* already."
 
 She shrugged as he wrote down the question. "I do not see why not. We are not limited on bandwidth. I would also like to know if they have similar strategies of forking, if they even have such. As part of that, we can ask about clade structures and naming, given the implications of both Turun Ka and Turun Ko."
 
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ And yet she'd not given her name, and so he was forced to consider the 'long-liv
 
 "Should we also ask where they came from?" she continued.
 
-He frowned. "I don't know about that one. It can be a very involved answer, and who knows, maybe even touchy. Perhaps a separate set of questions for science down the line, since those will take them more time to come up with. Maybe we can come up with a list of questions to have them prepare answers for at the conference."
+He frowned. "I don't know about that one. It can be a very involved answer until we share more knowledge, and who knows, maybe even touchy. Perhaps a separate set of questions for science down the line, since those will take them more time to come up with. Maybe we can come up with a list of questions to have them prepare answers for at the conference."
 
 "Oh! Wonderful idea!" She paused, likely sending off a note to one of her cocladists. "We will tackle that at a separate time. I agree with you, though, that keeping this to more cultural and social topics will help. We can offer similar in return. Let us ask about leisure activities, then. What kind of stories do they tell? How do they tell them? Is storytelling limited to certain individuals, or considered a skilled trade? Is there a concept of work to make leisure time important?"
 

content/read/014.md

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ They made their way backstage, letting the hands --- several of whom were also t
 
 As always, when coming face to face with emself in costume, the feeling of being someone else all but disappeared, and ey marveled at the fact that ey'd even let May talk em into this however many years ago. If there was one thing that ey was, it was a historian, right? It was a writer. An investigative journalist, right? Ey was in no way a stage actor, right?
 
-But the Ioan that stared back at em, one skinny almost to the point of gaunt, one with sallow skin and sunken eyes, was proof of the opposite. It had taken em at least a year to really, truly master the art of forking over and over to carefully modify one's appearance. It felt counter to so many instincts, and even still, ey left a Ioan back home, unchanged from the view of emself that felt most at home, just to ensure that there remained some tie to that. May had chided em for this, but ey couldn't let go entirely.
+But the Ioan that stared back at em, one skinny almost to the point of gaunt, one with sallow skin and sunken eyes, one taller than usual, was proof of the opposite. It had taken em at least a year to really, truly master the art of forking over and over to carefully modify one's appearance. It felt counter to so many instincts, and even still, ey left a Ioan back home, unchanged from the view of emself that felt most at home, just to ensure that there remained some tie to that. May had chided em for this, but ey couldn't let go entirely.
 
 "I do not know why you decided to write a scene where I have to yell at you," the skunk said, bumping her shoulder against eirs. "Love the story, hate the scene."
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Ey let her lace her fingers with eirs as ey thought. Words were a long time comi
 
 "How do you mean?"
 
-She squeezed eir fingers between her own. "I think Codrin and Dear settled into a life of their own on Castor, but you know Dear. It is intensely focused on these big dramatic gestures. And before you say it, I am focused on drama, but rarely are my actions in life dramatic. I am happy with the life we have built. I am happy living with you and loving you and pushing you into writing increasingly weird plays."
+She squeezed eir fingers between her own. "I think the trio settled into a life of their own on Castor, but you know Dear. It is intensely focused on these big dramatic gestures. And before you say it, I am focused on drama, but rarely are my actions in life dramatic. I am happy with the life we have built. I am happy living with you and loving you and pushing you into writing increasingly weird plays."
 
 Ey laughed, lifting her paw to kiss her knuckles. "Well, sure. You got me to settle down, I guess. I don't think Dear is capable of settling down that much, but its patterns are familiar. It will do as it does and drag others with it."
 

content/read/015.md

@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
 
 It was not at all surprising that dinner at home was far less stressful than dinner with the Odists out in Tycho's observatory. While the conversation throughout the meal had been nothing but pleasant, the food delightful, and the location and single candle a stunning setting for a dinner, a tension had nonetheless hung above the table throughout. While Sarah had appeared relaxed and True Name and Answers Will Not Help seemed to earnestly enjoy the evening, Tycho had been hovering on the edge of terror, Codrin had remained hypervigilant, and Dear had seemed to have put on a mask of pleasantness that involved choosing its words most carefully.
 
-This was confirmed when they returned home and the instance of Dear which had accompanied em to the dinner sagged, exhausted, and then quit. The instance of Dear which had remained behind, when confronted with the onslaught of memories, sighed and simply shook its head. None of the triad seemed at all interested in discussing the dinner.
+This was confirmed when they returned home and the instance which had accompanied em to the dinner sagged, exhausted, and then quit. The instance of Dear which had remained behind, when confronted with the onslaught of memories, sighed and simply shook its head. None of the triad seemed at all interested in discussing the dinner.
 
 It was eir other partner who had suggested the smaller party for the next night. While they hadn't explicitly mentioned that it would be a counter to the first party, it was certainly implied. Something to cleanse palates, as well as to give further time for Codrin, Tycho, and Sarah to interact before they were to go on their journey. All three --- four, including Dear --- had immediately agreed.
 
 So it was that they sat around the table, there in the modern house on the prairie, sharing wine and desserts and pleasant, easy conversation.
 
-"So," Sarah said, leaning back in her chair. "I was thinking about the fact that we seem to have wound up with jobs. Honest-to-goodness go-to-work-for-the-day jobs. What did you do before this? You all know that I was a psychologist before I uploaded. I still am, I guess. Dear, you did theatre, right?"
+"So," Sarah said, leaning back in her chair. "I was thinking about the fact that we seem to have wound up with jobs. Honest-to-goodness go-to-work-for-the-day jobs. What did you do before this? You all know that I was a therapist before I uploaded. I still am, I guess. Dear, you did theatre, right?"
 
 The fox nodded. *"Michelle was a high-school theatre teacher. I suppose you can see why it is that we are so dramatic."*
 
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ If Sarah had been interested before, she was nearly staring holes into Tycho now
 
 A silence fell over the table while they digested this, each in their own way.
 
-Codrin sipped eir coffee while ey thought. *The correct question* made it sound as though they had reached some sort of milestone, perhaps, especially when taken with *we are eager to meet you.* It made it sound as though humanity had completed a mission by asking that.
+Codrin sipped eir wine while ey thought. *The correct question* made it sound as though they had reached some sort of milestone, perhaps, especially when taken with *we are eager to meet you.* It made it sound as though humanity had completed a mission by asking that.
 
 And yet, there wasn't an answer to the question given, if Tycho was right about the message. They didn't say yes or no, they didn't say what about. They simply seemed to be smiling through the page, and ey couldn't tell whether that smile was one of satisfaction, encouragement, or pride.
 

content/read/016.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 > *Convergence T-minus 19 days, 4 hours, 33 minutes*
 
-The sight of the dissemination of the news of Artemis was beautiful in much the same way that a ballet was. This was, he supposed, largely due to the well-coordinated dance of both messages flying back and forth and countless Odists and Jonases moving back in forth in the largest of the conference rooms he'd seen yet.
+The sight of the dissemination of the news of Artemis was beautiful in much the same way that a ballet was. This was, he supposed, largely due to the well-coordinated dance of both messages flying to and fro and countless Odists and Jonases moving back in forth in the largest of the conference rooms he'd seen yet.
 
 He knew that there were sims where one could fly. Flying, after all, fit well within the realm of something that any number of people could consensually imagine together. They held a perennial appeal for a certain type of person, of which he was not. A fear of heights combined with a certain neurotic work ethic led him to stay away from those sims in general. If it was fun and not also productive, he felt little need to engage. It may have been unhealthy, it may not have been, but he had never stuck around anyone long enough to hear either way.
 
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Even now, as more news flowed into the board, it would pop up from the bottom an
 
 And standing before it, whether they were standing on the ground or however many meters above it, Odists and Jonases worked, tagging each of the feeds with arcane symbols, drawing lines from one to the other, conversing in small knots, popping into existence and quitting as needed.
 
-This involved none of the graceful floating that ey had seen before on eir excursions to sims whose owners allowed such. They were not drifting about on the breeze, they were simply standing on something that was not there. If they needed to move to another level, they would simply walk as though on a ramp or step up as though on a ladder. It was productive movement at its very core, and it immediately appealed to him but for the height.
+This involved none of the graceful floating that ey had seen before on eir excursions to sims whose owners allowed such. They were not drifting about on the breeze, they were simply standing on something that was not there. If they needed to move to another level, they would just walk as though on a ramp or step up as though on a ladder. It was productive movement at its very core, and it immediately appealed to him but for the height.
 
 The Odists were not tall. Every time he was near, Tycho felt that he dwarfed them. He could easily have rested his chin atop True Name’s head without lifting it at all. "You, who have your head in the clouds and feet on the ground," he remembered her having said about the Bălans, and the phrase had stuck with him. His feet were a steel-toed anchor, and though he towered above the others, he could never name the feeling of being that much closer to his beloved stars.
 

content/read/017.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Codrin suspected that this had come when it did in part due to the transmission
 
 Ey had kept that thought to emself.
 
-Ey expected True Name would be visiting eir down-tree instance and eir partner before long. Ey had suspected she would do as much as soon as ey had read anxiety in her expression at the mention of May Then My Name. She had surely sent a message back to L<sub>5</sub> within seconds of em telling her such.
+Ey expected True Name would be visiting eir down-tree instance and eir partner before long. Ey had suspected she would do as much as soon as ey had read anxiety in her expression at the mention of May Then My Name. She had surely sent a message back to Lagrange within seconds of em telling her such.
 
 It was the reaction that ey was most worried about. True Name was a touchy topic with Dear, and the cold hatred of one of its cocladists was...well, ey could read melancholy in the fennec's face as easily as any other emotion. Ever since news of May Then My Name's thoughts on her down-tree instance had made their way across the light-days of distance, there had been more of that. There had been days of silence, days of tears, days of walking the prairie for hours at a time. When pressed, it would simply say, *"She is the best of us."*
 
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ Their partner laughed. "Is this in doubt or something?"
 
 "Wouldn't that take an awful lot of dreaming to accomplish? Dream the incoming signal, dream our...uh, instruments, I guess, tracking Artemis, dream up this whole thing about races and such?"
 
-Dear shrugged. It looked quite pleased. *"Perhaps, but is that not an internally consistent dream? A dreaming mind that starts with the proposition of aliens and enough knowledge of our little world would be able to construct a consistent narrative to get us to where we are. The Dreamer Module, the micro-Ansible, the DMZ, all of it."* Its grin widened, the volume of its voice rising. *"Or perhaps the System aboard Castor is losing coherency! Perhaps our world is falling down around our ears and we would never know!"*
+Dear shrugged. It looked quite pleased. *"Perhaps, but is that not an internally consistent dream? A dreaming mind that starts with the proposition of aliens and enough knowledge of our little world would be able to construct a consistent narrative to get us to where we are, and that is all that the System demands. The Dreamer Module, the micro-Ansible, the DMZ, all of it bears the seeds of consistency."* Its grin widened, the volume of its voice rising. *"Or perhaps the System aboard Castor is losing coherency! Perhaps our world is falling down around our ears and we would never know!"*
 
 Codrin laughed, watching the fox get more and more animated. "I'm pretty sure we'd know whether Castor is failing or not."
 

content/read/018.md

@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@
 
 Ioan knew that it would be quite a while yet before eir and May's forks merged back down. Time Is A Finger Pointing At Itself, the director of the play, was quite strict but she also drank like a fish and clung jealously to some remnant of productions she'd remembered from more than two centuries ago, so it had become a comfortable rhythm for Ioan, May, and any other actors who wished to join to follow her to a pub that served strong drinks and greasy food.
 
-Ey had been planning on a simple dinner on eir own, perhaps catching up on some reading, but with this knowledge and the fact that May was now here with em, the plan evolved into something more involved. Staying inside didn't feel right. Something about the news had them in mind of stars, in mind of looking up to the sky, so they wound up grilling burgers out on the patio and talked as they watched the stars come out one by one, sitting there in the house's backyard.
+Ey had been planning on a simple dinner on eir own, perhaps catching up on some reading, but with this knowledge and the fact that May was now here with em, the plan evolved into something more involved. Staying inside didn't feel right. Something about the news had them in mind of stars, in mind of looking up to the sky, so they wound up grilling burgers out on the patio and talking as they watched the stars come out one by one, sitting there in the house's backyard.
 
 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 skunk 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 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.
 
 "I...what? True Name?"
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ The skunk giggled again, sounding even less grounded, then rested her elbows on
 
 "Sure," Ioan said.
 
-May shrugged. "I may talk to A Finger Pointing and End Waking about it, but I think you will have the rest of the clade under control before I wind up speaking to any of them again. I will likely also share this with Douglas."
+May shrugged. "I may talk to A Finger Pointing and End Waking about it, but I think you will have the rest of the clade under control before I wind up speaking to any of them again. I will likely also share this with Douglas. He of all people deserves to know."
 
 The skunk stiffened in her seat and sat silent for a moment. "May I be there when you do? I would like to impress upon him the gravity of the situation."
 
@@ -105,4 +105,4 @@ May let go of her paws to hug her arms up around her cocladist's shoulders. "I s
 
 True Name leaned into the hug. Ey couldn't see her face from where ey sat, but ey could still hear the sharp intake of breath and see the shaking of her shoulders.
 
-After a moment, May leaned back, rested her paws on those shoulders, and said, "But please leave and do not ever, *ever,* come to my house again."
+After a moment, May leaned back, rested her paws on those shoulders, and said, "But please leave and do not ever, *ever* come to my house again."

content/read/019.md

@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ Tycho nodded.
 
 He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. He felt in a precarious position, surrounded as he was by three politicians. Calling them out on their machinations was surely a dangerous move.
 
-Answers Will Not Help giggled. Even True Name and Jonas were grinning. "You continue to amaze and delight, my dear," she said. "But yes, it does make them susceptible to our wicked ways."
+Answers Will Not Help giggled. Even True Name and Jonas were chuckling. "You continue to amaze and delight, my dear," she said. "But yes, it does make them susceptible to our wicked ways."
 
 He smiled cautiously. "Well, if you say so."
 

content/read/023.md

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Ioan was pleased to see the mildness of the skunk's expression. It really did se
 
 "It's weird," Douglas said. "Every now and then, I'll hear about something from one of the LVs that's anchored to a certain time and I'll remember, 'Oh shit, yeah, they're billions of kilometers away by now', and then I have to spend some time trying to conceptualize that distance."
 
-Ioan nodded. "The transmission delay throws a wrench in things, doesn't it? I was just thinking about that on Secession day. We were celebrating and it sounds like they were, too, but we didn't learn about their party until a week later."
+Ioan nodded. "The transmission delay throws a wrench in things, doesn't it? I was just thinking about that on Secession day. We were celebrating and it sounds like they were, too, but we didn't learn about their party until a month later."
 
 "The thing that always catches me off guard is that our days do not seem to line up any longer," May said around a bite of sandwich. "I mean, they do, but when the delay is off by half a day, we start getting messages at shit o'clock in the morning. It is a strange feeling."
 

content/read/024.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ So it was that they found themselves lined up opposite their counterparts across
 
 "*Rehasiër munachla achles eslosam. Tapotevier les unachadev itek The-Only-Time-I-Know-My-True-Name-Is-When-I-Dream-am, True-Name itet.*" The skunk bowed formally, deep and at the waist.
 
-The firstracer before her bowed its head, a movement that took place solely in the neck rather than the waist. "Greetings, and thank you for letting us join you. I am the leader, and my name is Turun Ka."
+The firstracer before her bowed its head, a movement that took place solely in the neck rather than the waist. "Greetings, and thank you for letting us join you. I am acting in a leadership capacity as a representative from the Council of Eight, and my name is Turun Ka."
 
 Ey watched the exchange of greetings curiously, making note of what gestures were made, before bowing emself and saying, "*Rehasiër munachla echles eslosam. Tapotevier les unechrenum Codrin-Bălanam.*"
 
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ There was a small shuffle as the delegates from both craft sat at the table, Isk
 
 "Thank you once again, and welcome to this convergence," Turun Ka said. Its voice was pleasantly musical. "It is a pleasure to meet those who are new and different from us, and we are always grateful when luck and chance allow us to do so."
 
-True Name nodded, a hint of a bow from where she sat. "Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Launch Vehicle Castor. We are honored to have you aboard. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask me, as I bear full ACLs for the sim. You will find your rest area down there---" She gestured with a paw toward one of the hallways. "---where you will have limited ACLs that will allow you to modify many of the objects there and will allow you to fork once."
+True Name nodded, a hint of a bow from where she sat. "Thank you for joining us. We welcome you to the Launch Vehicle Castor. We are honored to have you aboard. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask me, as I bear full ACLs for the sim. You will find your rest area down there---" She gestured with a paw toward one of the hallways. "---where you will have limited ACLs that will allow you to modify many of the objects there and will allow you to fork once."
 
 The reactions around the table were mixed. Turun Ka and Turun Ko remained impassive --- they seemed to move only with intent, and when not required, they were as stationary as statues. Stolon tilted their head in a quizzical manner. Iska's expression was hard to read, but were ey pressed to put a name to it, ey would have called it startled, or perhaps unnerved. Given the similarities of her features to the humans around the table, Artante looked quite pleased.
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ After a moment's silence, the skunk continued. "Per our agreement, this meeting
 
 "Yes," Turun Ka said. "One question per delegate should be an appropriate way to begin. I invite you to ask first, leader True Name."
 
-The response was quick in coming. "We have divided civilizations up into a range of classes depending on their energy usage: planet scale, planetary system scale, and galaxy scale. At what stage were each of your races, and, if you have ran across any additional races, at what scale did they work?"
+The response was quick in coming. "We have divided civilizations up into a range of classes depending on their energy usage: planet scale, planetary system scale, and interplanetary scale. At what stage were each of your races, and, if you have ran across any additional races, at what scale did they work?"
 
 "Our race lived at the scale of planetary system," it replied. "We appear the way we do in our post-biological state in order to survive in a variety of environments beyond those of our world-of-origin."
 

content/read/026.md

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ There was a long moment's silence, and were it not for the shallowness of her br
 
 Ioan dipped eir chin enough to bump eir nose against hers. "Codrin said Dear got quite upset about it, too. It warned em that there would be two Odists among the emissaries and that ey should watch out."
 
-She remained still, no reciprocating press of nose to nose. She continued in her whisper. "Once, when I was in school, I performed in a play that used the works of Emily Dickinson throughout. I still remember it. *Time feels so vast that were if not For an Eternity--- I fear me this Circumference Engross my Finity---*"
+She remained still, no reciprocating press of nose to nose. She continued in her whisper. "Once, when I was in school, I performed in a play that used the works of Emily Dickinson throughout. I still remember it. Time feels so vast that were if not For an Eternity--- I fear me this Circumference Engross my Finity---"
 
 Ey remained quiet as ey mulled over the words. The archaic language felt opaque to em, but, as ey prowled through synonyms, ey began to piece together meaning. "You've mentioned eternity before in the context of getting lost. This sounds almost relieved, though, that eternity exists, lest everything get too overwhelming."
 

content/read/027.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 >
 > First, here is what we are finding, seen through the eyes of the scientifically inept:
 >
-> * Iska is quite upset about the lack of "time skew", as they call it, and has stated that they refuse the single fork they're permitted in their rest area. They have not elaborated on this, but I find it interesting that skew, this scientific feat that they have accomplished, is so thoroughly engrained in their society (secondrace has been on Artemis for nigh on four millennia by now) that dissolution seems alien or even abhorrent to them. I know that forking is integral to our society, but it does make me wonder if it has reached that point yet. Dear would be furious without it, of course, but would that sentiment be universal after only 231 years? Are you missing it? Are the Odists?
+> * Iska is quite upset about the lack of "time skew", as they call it, and has stated that they refuse the single fork they're permitted in their rest area. They have not elaborated on this, but I find it interesting that skew, this scientific feat that they have accomplished, is so thoroughly ingrained in their society (secondrace has been on Artemis for nigh on four millennia by now) that dissolution seems alien or even abhorrent to them. I know that forking is integral to our society, but it does make me wonder if it has reached that point yet. Dear would be furious without it, of course, but would that sentiment be universal after only 231 years? Are you missing it? Are the Odists?
 > * Stolon and Tycho are so happy to have met each other that both parties have had to shush them on several occasions. I would prefer to let them have at it, but I do also understand the desire to talk about sciences *other* than astronomy and spaceflight. Why Ask Questions is our biologist and linguist here, and she has been the other primary participant, speaking mostly with Iska and Turun Ka.
 > * Artante and Sarah are almost as perfectly aligned as Tycho and Stolon; they are both psychologists, though it sounds like the Artemisians' approach to such bears some striking differences. Notably, there are some time-related disorders that have largely gone over my head (something about "lacking a feel for common time" and "unison rooms"? Perhaps you can enlighten me), and there are some approaches that Sarah has found interesting, including forms of proactive therapy using, you guessed it, time. Something about practicing through skew, making time to take time.
 > * It is almost impossible to get a read on the firstracers. It's not just that they do not have facial expressions, so much as their penchant for absolute stillness unless a gesture is required (I've begun cataloguing these: uplifted head = nod; head tilt = shrug; chin tilted far down, exposed neck = bow; turning head far to the side = frustration, maybe?). This has led to some frustration, primarily on True Name's part. Ioan's mentioned in the past that May Then My Name calls the root of her skill a sort of 'registering', as though she's gotten very good at figuring out what her 'target' needs in order to be convinced. Sounds like she's struggling to use that to her full abilities, here.
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
 >
 > 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.
 >
-> Are we dreaming it? Given how dreadfully immediate everything has felt, if we are, it is closer to a nightmare than a dream. Given what is happening with the Odists, I'll stick with TN's original assessment: the chance isn't zero, but it is small.
+> Are we dreaming it? With how dreadfully immediate everything has felt, if we are, it is closer to a nightmare than a dream. Given what is happening with the Odists, I'll stick with TN's original assessment: the chance isn't zero, but it is small.
 >
 > Anyway, I should head back to common time and catch up with Sarah before we head back to it. I want to make sure we talk more about the reasons why they picked 'recorder' as a required profession for this meeting. If it's about telling stories, I'm all for it.
 >

content/read/028.md

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ None of that seemed to jive with his experience with any of the Odists he'd met
 
 "Well, when Tycho#Artemis returns, you'll at least get to remember that."
 
-He laughed. "I guess, yeah. I'm eager to hear what all they've been learning. It's been interesting hearing what I can. I don't have the eye for learning styles that either of you two do, so I'm missing out on that aspect, but even just hearing information about their gravity assist and how much they were able to learn about us as they zipped through our system was surprising. They ignored Lagrange and Earth entirely, and didn't bother with Pollux, since it was easier to align with us, anyway. It makes them seem like past masters at this, even if it's only the fourth time they've done it. Makes sense, though. Earth wouldn't hold much interest for an LV that can't even access it, and they're not going to stop to deal with the Lagrange System if they have access to us. Who knows, maybe they've gone past way more civilizations than those on Artemis, we just happened to meet the criteria. True Name mentioned that maybe rather than energy usage, a better measure of how advanced a civilization is would be whether or not they've discovered uploading."
+He laughed. "I guess, yeah. I'm eager to hear what all they've been learning. It's been interesting hearing what I can. I don't have the eye for learning styles that either of you two do, so I'm missing out on that aspect, but even just hearing information about their gravity assist and how much they were able to learn about us as they zipped through our system was surprising. They ignored Lagrange and Earth entirely, and didn't bother with Pollux, since it was easier to align with us, anyway. It makes them seem like past masters at this, even if it's only the fourth time they've done this 'convergence' thing. Makes sense, though. Earth wouldn't hold much interest for an LV that can't even access it, and they're not going to stop to deal with the Lagrange System if they have access to us. Who knows, maybe they've gone past way more civilizations than those on Artemis, we just happened to meet the criteria. True Name mentioned that maybe rather than energy usage, a better measure of how advanced a civilization is would be whether or not they've invented uploading."
 
 Codrin had started jotting down notes part way through, nodding. "These are good questions to be asking. We'll have to find a way to work them in. I'll send them over to Artemis in the morning, too, so that the other Codrin can ask, as well."
 

content/read/030.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ So, rustic stew it was.
 
 Very, *very* good rustic stew. End Waking had explained that, as he had no way to store leftovers, they would need to finish the entire pot that night. It turned out to be no stretch for the small gathering --- Ioan and May, Debarre, Time Is A Finger Pointing At Itself, Douglas, and End Waking himself --- as they all went back for seconds. The ranger skunk even swirled in a little extra water once the pot was empty, using a fingerpad to wipe what stew remained down into that to make himself a thin soup to finish out of the battered mug he'd been using as a bowl for the night.
 
-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 three, 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.
+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."
 

content/read/031.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ There was another long moment of thought before the secondracer nodded. "Again,
 
 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."
+"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.
 

content/read/032.md

@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ Ey laughed, shaking eir head. "Nothing so grand. It's just hard for us to leave
 
 "Agreed," ey said, then shrugged. "Could be that ey just doesn't trust that clade-eyes-only works on Artemis. All the same, I'll hint back and see what comes of it, just to be safe."
 
-She grinned. "Alright. Keep me up to date, I guess."
+She nodded. "Alright. Keep me up to date, I guess."
 
 Codrin dropped the cone of silence and stretched eir arms up over eir head, "I'll see you in there in a few, then. Thanks for chatting."
 

content/read/033.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Or, ey realized, like ey needed to hide anything from them.
 
 Tycho groaned. "Yeah, though I feel like we've been here for at least a week by now."
 
-"Might as well have been. The room is pinned at plus point two, so we're already given far more time than we might have on an ordinary day."
+"Might as well have been. The room is pinned at +0.2, so we're already given far more time than we might have on an ordinary day."
 
 "At least it's easy to take a long, lazy break," Sarah said. "But yes. Day three, I guess. What are your thoughts, Codrin?"
 
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ True Name slouched down in her seat with a wave of Michelle rolling across her f
 
 "Are you alright?" ey asked, patting her paw/hand.
 
-She jolted to the side with a quiet grunt, pulling her hand back as though burned. She rolled her head to the side against the back of the chair looking steadily at em. "I will be okay, Mx. Bălan. Thank you for your concern. Please refrain from touching me when my form is shifting, though. It is quite uncomfortable."
+She jolted away with a quiet grunt, pulling her hand back as though burned. She rolled her head to the side against the back of the chair looking steadily at em. "I will be okay, Mx. Bălan. Thank you for your concern. Please refrain from touching me when my form is shifting, though. It is quite uncomfortable."
 
 "Apologies." Ey bowed her head. Something about the skunk's voice brooked no further questioning.
 

content/read/037.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Normally, clade-eyes-only or individual-eyes-only text for someone other than th
 
 This, however, appeared to be text of the type ey'd grown used to in encrypted blocks. Letters, numbers, punctuation, all crammed into a single unbroken chunk. More, some of the characters appeared to be restless. They strained at their form, as though they desperately wanted to be something else, and when ey looked away and back, they were indeed that other form, and some other character nearby would be itching to change, instead.
 
-Clearly, one of the delegates from Castor had instructed the Artemisians on not just how to send text back to Artemis, but how to do so in a private way. Artemis itself, however, couldn't figure out how to represent that, and perhaps that's what clade-eyes-only text might actually be in the perisystem architecture.
+Clearly, one of the delegates from Castor had instructed the Artemisians on not just how to send text back to Artemis, but how to do so in a private way. Artemis itself, however, couldn't figure out how to represent that. Perhaps that's what clade-eyes-only text might actually be in the perisystem architecture.
 
 Ey recreated the note on a few fresh sheets of paper, eir own message on one and Turun Ka's on another, and headed back to the meeting.
 
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ Her shoulders sagged. "Would you like information specifically relating to our a
 
 "This is a good place to begin."
 
-The skunk looked as though she hadn't the faintest idea of where to begin, as though too many thoughts clouded her mind for her to decide.
+The skunk looked as though she hadn't the faintest idea of where to begin, as though too many thoughts crowded her mind for her to decide.
 
 Codrin nodded toward her, "By your leave, True Name?"
 

content/read/038.md

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ She nodded, straightening up as though steeling herself for a coming blow. "I im
 
 Ey nodded.
 
-The skunk clutched her coffee closer to her chest, as though that might serve to shield her. It certainly felt as though she was struggling not to close herself off from the topic entirely. "We are very old, Ioan, and the implication of eternity has affected us all differently. I am beginning to think that it has less to do with memory than we had all originally suspected, but all the same, we have all begun to struggle through the centuries."
+True Name clutched her coffee closer to her chest, as though that might serve to shield her. It certainly felt as though she was struggling not to close herself off from the topic entirely. "We are very old, Ioan, and the implication of eternity has affected us all differently. I am beginning to think that it has less to do with memory than we had all originally suspected, but all the same, we have all begun to struggle through the centuries."
 
 Ey nodded, but remained silent. She was speaking slowly, and did not appear to have finished.
 
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ Ey laughed, shrugging sheepishly. "Sorry, True Name. Long habit. Still, I'm happ
 
 "Really? I thought that they had been in contact with all of the clade they could," ey said, frowning. "But perhaps that's still in progress. Either way, you mentioned having someone to talk to, and In Dreams has suggested taking a therapeutic approach to this. She and Ms. Genet have been working on setting up a course of therapy sessions for Odists and a few of the other old clades that are struggling. Perhaps that's something that could help. May has an appointment in a few days." Ey hastened to add, "I'm still happy to listen, but I'm hardly trained in that."
 
-The skunk laughed, and it was difficult to miss the bitter tone in her voice. "I spoke with In Dreams this morning, and had not heard this. Perhaps it is an issue of priority."
+The skunk laughed, and it was difficult to miss the bitter tone in her voice. "I spoke with In Dreams this morning and had not heard this. Perhaps it is an issue of priority."
 
 Eir frown deepened.
 
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ She shook her head, took a moment to regain her composure, and said, "No, I supp
 
 The skunk reached out a paw toward em and, after a moment's hesitation, ey took it and gave it what ey hoped was a comforting squeeze. Ey was once more startled by the similarity of her to May: the softness of her fur, the satiny feel of her pads, those well-kept claws.
 
-She laughed and shook her head, pulling her paw back. "How silly. I believe I stand by my assessment that comfort through physicality is not for me, but thank you all the same. That you have the capacity to comfort...well, even me does mean a lot, Mx. Bălan. I appreciate your empathy."
+She laughed and shook her head, pulling her paw back. "How silly. I believe I stand by my assessment that comfort through physicality is not for me, but thank you all the same. That you have the capacity to comfort...well, even me does mean a lot, Ioan. I appreciate your empathy."
 
 Ey smiled cautiously. "Worth a try, I suppose."
 

content/read/039.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 > *Convergence T-minus 1 day, 2 hours, 28 minutes*
 
-"This has...wait, don't leave yet, #Assist," Codrin said. "Is this really a clade-eyes-only message for both True Name *and* Turun Ka?"
+"This has...wait, don't leave yet, #Assist," Codrin said. "Is this really an eyes-only message for both True Name *and* Turun Ka?"
 
 Both Sarah and Tycho sat up straighter.
 
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Ey 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--"
 
-"Codrin," 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 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."
 
 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.
 
@@ -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 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."
 
 Sarah laughed. "Well, I'd certainly call *that* subtle."
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ Sarah laughed. "Well, I'd certainly call *that* subtle."
 
 "Sure, that makes sense," Sarah said, sitting back with her hands folded in her lap. "I can pick up little bits and pieces of her and Why Ask Questions trying to nudge things this way or that, with mixed results. It's giving me a new appreciation for what Codrin does, honestly. Ey's got maybe the hardest job of us all."
 
-Tycho nodded. "I don't envy em that. Ey told me at the beginning that I'd be doing the same, in my own way --- listening and coming away from this with a more complete picture --- and I think I lack the experience ey has, both the training as an amanuensis and from living with an Odist."
+Tycho nodded. "I don't envy em that. Ey told me at the beginning that I'd be doing the same in my own way --- listening and coming away from this with a more complete picture --- and I think I lack the experience ey has, both the training as an amanuensis and from living with an Odist."
 
 "They're cute together, though. Pulling Dear's tail sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I guess if you've been together for forty years or whatever, you can get away with it."
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Sarah nodded. "They're not for everyone, especially here, where you have the pro
 
 After a suitable pause, he nudged the subject back toward the previous topic. "Has your opinion of the *History* changed at all?"
 
-"A little, I suppose. A lot of the dramatic interactions felt like just that: drama. It's the type of thing that I'm attuned to, though, based on my work. The Odists have a flair for that, though, which I guess makes sense, given where they come from." She paused, gaze drifting off towards nothing. "I guess if my opinion has changed, it's been to understand just how deep it all goes. Not the behind the scenes stuff, that's whatever, but their control over themselves. True Name especially. Control like that is often used to cover fear and trauma."
+"A little, I suppose. A lot of the dramatic interactions felt like just that: drama. It's the type of thing that I'm attuned to, based on my work. The Odists have a flair for that, though, which I guess makes sense, given where they came from." She paused, gaze drifting off towards nothing. "I guess if my opinion has changed, it's been to understand just how deep it all goes. Not the behind the scenes stuff, that's whatever, but their control over themselves. True Name especially. Control like that is often used to cover fear and trauma."
 
 "It kind of makes me wonder--"
 

content/read/041.md

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ She had nodded. "It will pass, and we will make the shows work, my dear. Keep he
 
 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."
 
-When presented with this along with eir anxious expression, the skunk 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."
+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."
 
 So for the last few days, they'd strategized in the mornings and then done what they could in the evenings. Scenes in plays were reworked for understudies, dinner menus shifted towards comfort foods, temperatures and weather adjusted, old comfort-hobbies dredged up from the past --- the skunk had been littering the house with origami figures. Ey'd even tried reading aloud to her, her with her head parked on eir chest and em with a book held above them. This had gone over well, and ey had that on the menu for later in the evening after dinner.
 
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ Sarah arrived an hour later, a quiet knock at the door accompanying the sensoriu
 
 May had melted into a beanbag when they'd come back inside and was folding paper crane after paper crane from a bottomless stack of origami paper, so Ioan capped eir pen and slid eir project into a drawer of eir desk. The skunk studiously avoided eir gaze, the tightness of her expression showing anxiety with tears near at hand.
 
-"Mx. Bălan?" the psychologist said, bowing. "Nice to meet you."
+"Mx. Bălan?" Sarah said, bowing. "Nice to meet you."
 
 "And you, Ms. Genet." Ey stood aside, gesturing toward the hall. "Please, come inside."
 
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ 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 clade. 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 that that made it sound.
 
 It was refreshing. Too many Odists over the last twenty years, perhaps.
 

content/read/042.md

@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ When it was clear that there wouldn't be any further explanation from the Odists
 
 "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."
 
-There was a silent conversation between the Artemisians during which Codrin finished up the notes ey'd been taking on the conversation. 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.
+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.
 
 *Perhaps this too is a way of shaping their responses? Or maybe she just can't register them well enough to tell how best to lie,* ey thought, then sighed. *And maybe I'm just being too cynical.*
 

content/read/043.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ She nodded again, waiting in silence until ey was done speaking.
 
 "It's a complex question, Codrin. Hell, even when we were limited to ninety or a hundred years, folks would talk about having midlife crises, questioning what it was that they really wanted to do, and a lot of times it came down to feeling a lack of agency. Psychologists would..." She trailed off, looking over eir shoulder. "Well, lets pick this up later. Artante and Turun Ko are on their way."
 
-Ey turned to look, noticing the two Artemisians moving slower than expected. A moment's thought showed that ey was still running at a skew of one point two as the meeting had been, so ey dropped back down to common time.
+Ey turned to look, noticing the two Artemisians moving slower than expected. A moment's thought showed that ey was still running at a skew of +1.2 as the meeting had been, so ey dropped back down to common time.
 
 Turun Ko dipped its head as Artante bowed, saying, "Recorder Codrin Bălan, representative Sarah Genet. Do you know where the scientists are?"
 
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ Turun Ko tilted its head far to the side. "*Lubaenåtam?*"
 
 It straightened up, joints and synthetic flesh shifting smoothly in a well-articulated dance, as though it was running through some internal checklist to correct its posture. "I want-desire stories. There is no combination of steps-items on our list that will not result-in-lead-to stories, so I will not be disappointed. I have received-learned many already, and I am content-happy-satisfied-fulfilled and will remain-continue-to-be so even if you become-turn-into the most exceptionally-stupendously boring-droll numbskulls-sadsacks-dipshits in the visible-observable universe."
 
-Codrin and Sarah both stared at the firstracer before laughing, joined by Artante. Even the fourthracer seemed taken aback by the sudden injection of humor.
+Codrin and Sarah both stared at the firstracer before laughing, joined by Artante. Even she seemed taken aback by the sudden injection of humor.
 
 "I guess we have proven interesting, if nothing else," Sarah said.
 
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ 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."
+"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."
 
 "No Tycho on Lagrange construct?"
 

content/read/045.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ The beds were comfortable, but empty. There was no wind against glass, no cricke
 
 Ey plowed through two cups of (thankfully quite good) coffee on the morning of the fourth day, and brought a third with em to the conference table. 
 
-The talks were slow to resume. There were a few halting attempts at starting up conversations about astrochemistry, but neither Tycho nor Stolon were well-versed on it enough to have the conversation without additional research first.
+The talks were slow to resume. There were a few halting attempts at starting up conversations about astrochemistry, but neither Tycho nor Stolon were well-versed in it enough to have the conversation without additional research first.
 
 *Why had they divided the subjects between the locations?* ey wondered for the dozenth time. *I'm sure that every one of us wants nothing more than to ask about the history of their trip, just as I'm sure that there are topics surrounding science that those on Artemis would love to ask about.*
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ There was a brief flicker of some emotion ey couldn't decode on Artante's face.
 
 Artante spread her hands over the table, palms up. "As I said before, it would be impossible for the formal discussion to be the only context in which we communicate."
 
-"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. 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?"
+"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."
 

content/read/046.md

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ He tentatively tried labeling the idea that coiled within him with 'restlessness
 
 "I want to stay here," he interrupted, surprising even himself. "Even if we don't become fifthrace or anything. I want to stay here. I want to stay on Artemis."
 
-Stunned silence fell around the table. Even he felt some of that shock. The words were out of his mouth before he'd even had the chance to check them for truth, and yet they bore as much truth as any mathematical theorem that he knew. They were *true.* They were *correct.* They were *anemla.* 
+Stunned silence fell around the table. Even he felt some of that shock. The words were out of his mouth before he'd even had the chance to check them for truth, and yet they bore as much truth as any mathematical theorem that he knew. They were *anemla.* They were *true.* They were *correct.* 
 
 "I also want for us to be fifthrace, I mean," he added, voice quieter. "I want this convergence to wind up with that ending of the two. I want to join you, and I want *us* to join you."
 
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ Tycho laughed, nodded. "And hey, think of the sights we'll get to see along the
 
 "For certain definitions of see, yes." She smiled and shrugged. "Thank you for spurring this discussion, my dear. I do not want to take too much time away from the conference, though, leader Turun Ka. I apologize if we need to get back to the topic at hand."
 
-After the round of answers, there was a long, blurred meeting, and then the Artemisians stood as one, each bowing as their race had when they first entered.
+After the round of answers, there was a long, blurred meeting, and then the Artemisians stood as one, each bowing as their race had when they first arrived.
 
 Tycho stood as well, and, after a moment's hesitation, so too did the rest of the table. He didn't know why they were standing and bowing, but it seemed to be what the moment demanded.
 

content/read/048.md

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ And he did, now. He felt it all as something more real than it had ever felt bef
 
 He waited in silence. There seemed to be more to come, so he enjoyed his champagne meanwhile. It was quite good.
 
-"I have learned many habits, and I have dropped countless others. Perhaps that growth is our protection from unceasing memory. We may retain our memories of concrete events, of who we must have been, but I am no longer the True Name of 2124. Even remembering her feels like remembering an old friend. I remember her perfectly, and yet I do not remember how to be earnest. I do not remember how to simply celebrate. I do not know how to simply *be.*"
+"I have learned many habits, and I have dropped countless others. Perhaps that growth is our protection from unceasing memory. We may retain our memories of concrete events, of who we must have been, but I am no longer the True Name of 2124. Even remembering her feels like remembering an old friend. I remember her perfectly, and yet I do not remember how to be as earnest. I do not remember how to simply celebrate. I do not know how to simply *be.*"
 
 Silence fell again while they both looked up to the sky. Nothing needed to be said right away, he figured. Something Codrin had said, though he didn't remember when: *silences come with their own rhythms and will break when it's time.*
 

content/read/050.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ He shook his head, looking once more from the ground to the sky. They stood on a
 
 So extreme was the temperature differential in so small a space that the barrier between the two, that shimmer of heat-haze, appeared to be a very literal wall extending as far as he could see in either direction, though after a few dozen yards, the forest crept right up to the barrier once more, impossibly dense, impassible.
 
-And there, right in the middle of the clearing, sitting flush against the wall of heat, sat a low tollbooth. There was a glass-walled cubicle, large enough for one person to sit on a stool, huddling beneath a canopy, a small A/C unit gasping and rattling atop it. A red and white striped gate blocked a concrete sidewalk leading directly into the desert.
+And there, right in the middle of the clearing, crouched flush against the wall of heat, sat a low tollbooth. There was a glass-walled cubicle, large enough for one person to sit on a stool, huddling beneath a canopy, a small A/C unit gasping and rattling atop it. A red and white striped gate blocked a concrete sidewalk leading directly into the desert.
 
 The whole affair was dusty and tired, as though it had weathered a hundred sandstorms and would doubtless weather a hundred more, though it would never be truly clean again.
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ The skunk led him up to the gate beside the tollbooth --- a peek inside showed t
 
 The space had been subtly re-structured, repurposed from a conference space to a small, comfortable plaza. The cloistered walk remained, as did the fountain, but the plaza itself had been made much larger, the trees spaced further apart, and comfortable seating of diverse shape spread throughout.
 
-"This will be the entryway that those arriving to the DMZ will see," True Name said. "It is intended to be an area where the newly arrived can orient themselves, but also one that will be pleasant for those who have visited before. We are working with a few sim architects from Artemis to introduce a few mixed aspects of greenery and architecture to make it feel familiar to all five races."
+"This will be the entryway that those arriving to the DMZ will see," True Name said. "It is intended to be an area where the newly arrived can orient themselves, but also one that will be pleasant for those who have visited before. We are working with a few sim architects from Artemis to introduce some mixed aspects of greenery and architecture to make it feel familiar to all five races."
 
 "Are we going to keep calling it the DMZ?"
 

content/read/052.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ And so here ey was, up early one morning before both of eir partners --- Dear ha
 
 *I can quit when I want, if I need,* ey thought. *If it gets to be too much, I need answer to no one and can quit when I want. That will be proof enough of my love.*
 
-There were several weeks still within Ansible range, but something about this morning felt like now was the time for big decisions, for big changes. A dream, perhaps? Ey didn't remember eir dreams, but perhaps it was one of those ones that lingered beneath the subconscious, making itself known only through the acts one takes throughout the day.
+There were several weeks still within Ansible range, but something about this morning felt like now was the time for big decisions, for big changes. A dream, perhaps? Ey didn't remember eir dreams, but maybe it was one of those ones that lingered beneath the subconscious, making itself known only through the acts one takes throughout the day.
 
 Ey nodded decisively and dumped out the dregs of eir coffee, waving the mug away so that ey could walk without littering the prairie with dishes.
 
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ They shared in the silence, though they had to look away from the sun before lon
 
 She shook her head, and ey could tell that she was on the verge of tears. They both were. Ey took her hand in eirs and gave it a comforting squeeze, though for her comfort or eirs, ey didn't know.
 
-There was a sleepy ping against eir sensorium and ey looked back at the house. "Dear's awake."
+There was a sleepy ping against eir sensorium and ey looked back at the house, to where they'd come from. "Dear's awake."
 
 Sorina kept looking out into the prairie, out away from the house.
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ Ey nodded. "I think they'll understand."
 
 "Yeah, I do, too." She finally turned to face em, smiling through her tears. "Do you think you'll even tell them you did this?"
 
-"I don't know." Ey laughed and squeezed eir hand, tighter this time. "I don't know that I have that much sneakiness within me."
+"I don't know." Ey laughed and squeezed her hand, tighter this time. "I don't know that I have that much sneakiness within me."
 
 "I bet you could manage. You already have one secret to keep."
 
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ Dear blinked and laughed. *"Codrin, you are such a fucking nerd."*
 
 "You mean the whole sim?"
 
-"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. "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."
+"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."
 

content/read/053.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ The skunk nodded, turning her head to the side to poke her nose against eir chee
 
 Ey laughed. "Well, alright. I think it was a pretty good one, all told. It was very...em. Bringing them together to make a formal announcement of 'we're moving to convergence' is an incredibly Bălan thing to do. Still, I'm glad ey was able to manage, and I think they'll do well there. Ey certainly seems to have enjoyed eir time with the Artemisians, so I'm glad ey's going to do more than just visit with them across a border."
 
-"Really? Ey gave an actual announcement?" May giggled, giving eir hand a squeeze in her paw. "You are such fucking nerds."
+"Really? Ey gave an actual announcement?" May giggled, giving eir hand a squeeze in her paw. "You are such nerds."
 
 "That's nerdy even for me, I think."
 
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ Ey laughed. "Well, alright. I think it was a pretty good one, all told. It was v
 
 "Forty?" Ey frowned up to the sky. "Good question. I don't think so. That Ioan was nerdier then than even Codrin is now."
 
-"Makes me think that Codrin#Pollux was right about em," she said. "Ey had changed the least out of the three of you. Not that it was a bad thing, except in that it led to eir crisis of identity over the last few weeks."
+"Makes me think that Codrin#Pollux was right about em," she said. "Ey had changed the least out of the three of you. Not that it is a bad thing, except in that it led to eir crisis of identity over the last few weeks."
 
 "The whole of Castor seems to have been the most conservative of the three Systems. Codrin, Dear, and even True Name hadn't changed much at all from what they were like closer to Launch."
 

content/read/054.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ They'd claimed a portion of the plaza for his last dinner, setting up a long tab
 
 Those scientists included Dr. Verda and several of his other colleagues who had served as on-duty astronomer for Castor throughout the long years.
 
-Beyond them, to either side of the table, sat a gaggle of Artemisians. Both Turun Ka and Turun Ko were there, despite not partaking in the meal. Stolon and Iska sat across from them and had both tried the various dishes to greater or lesser success. Artante Diria sat next to them across from Sarah Genet, and they had spent much of the meal talking with the quiet earnestness of those who shared a profession.
+Beyond them, to either side of the table, sat a gaggle of Artemisians. Both Turun Ka and Turun Ko were there, despite not partaking in the meal. Stolon and Iska sat across from them and had both tried the various dishes to greater or lesser success. Artante Diria sat next to them across from Sarah Genet, and they had spent much of the meal talking with the quiet earnestness of those who shared a beloved profession.
 
 Beyond them, Sovanna sat across from Answers Will Not Help --- a move that surely must have been intentional --- and beside Jonas. Across from Jonas, Why Ask Questions sat beside the final guest, True Name.
 
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ The thirdracer chattered their teeth, looking pleased.
 
 The skunk raised her glass to him.
 
-"When we first heard from the Artemisians, True Name met me at my sim and quoted a snippet of poetry by Sarah Williams: *Reach me down my Tycho Brahe,---I would know him when we meet, When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things, yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from then till now.*
+"When we first heard from the Artemisians, True Name met me at my sim and quoted a snippet of poetry by Sarah Williams: 'Reach me down my Tycho Brahe,---I would know him when we meet, When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things, yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from then till now.'
 
 "See, Tycho Brahe is a name I picked for myself twenty years ago when Codrin interviewed me for the *History*. Brahe was an astronomer born eight centuries ago this year. A lot of his science was bunk, but that's what the poem says, isn't it? He may know the law of all things, but we're the ones with the later science.
 
@@ -38,29 +38,29 @@ The mood had settled into somber, present, and while most eyes were dry, he coul
 
 "I won't quote the whole thing, since it's quite long, but there's a few bits that I'd like to share with you before I leave.
 
-"*There has been a something wanting in my nature until now; I can dimly comprehend it,---that I might have been more kind, Might have cherished you more wisely, as the one I leave behind.*
+"'There has been a something wanting in my nature until now; I can dimly comprehend it,---that I might have been more kind, Might have cherished you more wisely, as the one I leave behind.'
 
-"Perhaps I should have cherished you all more while I was here. I really don't know. It's not in my nature to cherish people, for better or worse, but maybe I should have cherished my time here on Castor, or even back on Lagrange, more than I did. It was still home, wasn't it? I lived here. I loved what I did. *What, for us,* Williams writes. *Are all distractions of men's fellowship and smiles? What, for us, the goddess Pleasure, with her meretricious wiles?* Pleasure came second, and the fallout of that is that I was fundamentally unhappy, and thus perhaps unable to cherish.
+"Perhaps I should have cherished you all more while I was here. I really don't know. It's not in my nature to cherish people, for better or worse, but maybe I should have cherished my time here on Castor, or even back on Lagrange, more than I did. It was still home, wasn't it? I lived here. I loved what I did. 'What, for us,' Williams writes. 'Are all distractions of men's fellowship and smiles? What, for us, the goddess Pleasure, with her meretricious wiles?' Pleasure came second, and the fallout of that is that I was fundamentally unhappy, and thus perhaps unable to cherish.
 
 "That's not to say that I won't miss you all. Some of you are up on Artemis already, and some more may join in these last few days before the Ansible shuts down, but no matter what, I *will* miss you all.
 
-"It's just that, as the poem says, *I have sown, like Tycho Brahe, that a greater man may reap; But if none should do my reaping, 'twill disturb me in my sleep.* I'm headed off to newer places, to learn the later sciences at the feet of those who have been traveling for so long. I've done my work, though I've left it incomplete. Many of you will have much to work on to complete it. You must!
+"It's just that, as the poem says, 'I have sown, like Tycho Brahe, that a greater man may reap; But if none should do my reaping, 'twill disturb me in my sleep.' I'm headed off to newer places, to learn the later sciences at the feet of those who have been traveling for so long. I've done my work, though I've left it incomplete. Many of you will have much to work on to complete it. You must!
 
 "In fact, I think the only thing I'm leaving behind that is well and truly finished to my liking is my sim, and even then, it sounds like perisystem engineers are working on getting visual transmission piped in."
 
 There were some smiles around the table, but no laughter. All were focused entirely on him, and he had to force down a wave of embarrassment at his speech.
 
-"I only have one more snippet of poetry to leave you with, something engraved on the astronomy building on campus, back phys-side. It will be my goodbye. It was the last thing I said on Earth, it'll be the last thing I say on Castor, and trust me when I say that those words made me dizzy the first time I thought of them. 'Last thing I say on Castor'. I'll cease being here. I'll cease being among a place that is all --- or, now, a majority --- my own species. I'll cease being on anything made around our own dear Sun.
+"I only have one more snippet of poetry to leave you with, something engraved on the astronomy building on campus, back phys-side. It will be my goodbye. It was the last thing I said on Earth, it'll be the last thing I say on Castor, and trust me when I say that those words made me dizzy the first time I thought of them. 'Last thing I say on Castor'. I'll cease being here. I'll cease being in a place that is all --- or, now, a majority --- my own species. I'll cease being on anything made around our own dear Sun.
 
 "I could draw out such a goodbye, but I won't. Not more than I already have. You'll have your memories, won't you?"
 
-He lifted his half-full glass of wine to the sky and, even as the other members of the dinner began to lift theirs, downed it in two coarse swallows. "*Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.*"
+He lifted his half-full glass of wine to the sky and, even as the other members of the dinner began to lift theirs, downed it in two coarse swallows. "'Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.'"
 
 Perhaps they toasted to him. Perhaps they said goodbye to him, calling out. Perhaps some of them did cry, as he knew he would if he stayed any longer.
 
 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, temporarily off-limits for tonight's event. His event.
+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.*
 

content/read/056.md

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ Eir promise, eir promise...
 
 Eir promise to emself. Eir promise to Sasha. Eir promise to Carter. Eir promise in quiet whispers over the still warm but unalive body of Prisca. *I decided against it,* ey told emself, awaiting dreams. *Truly decided: I made a conscious decision to stick around, remember?*
 
-But the pet lost the scientists had begun with, they were madder than em, and ey was too mad to see in anything but smeared paint spelling out the language of the mad, to see in language that dripped from eir tongue in studied ink, to see in language that fell in sooty tears from eir eyes.
+But the pet lost that the scientists had begun with, they were madder than em, and ey was too mad to see in anything but smeared paint spelling out the language of the mad, to see in language that dripped from eir tongue in studied ink, to see in language that fell in sooty tears from eir eyes.
 
 Their pet lost ran better than any other of their simulations before. There had been a glimmer there. A few milliseconds before the crash. A few milliseconds of life. There had been a swelling in the System. Bits and bytes and countless drives worth of data swelling and growing and they could tell that a burst of creativity had been blown into the memory of the computer --- if computer it was --- that was destined to be this new world.