diff --git a/content/read/003.md b/content/read/003.md index 4717148..b8a1456 100644 --- a/content/read/003.md +++ b/content/read/003.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ The first thing that Ioan did when ey arrived before that low-slung house, there among countless acres of rolling buffalo grass, was laugh. -The prairie was as ey remembered. Grass still tickled at eir lower calves even through the socks and slacks; clouds threatened rain as they always did; wind tugged at eir hair in all the very same ways it first had however many years ago now --- was it really twenty? And yet the house! Banners were hung about in deepest black, streamers running from pole to pole in a welcoming path, guiding visitors. The house itself was lit about with flames of all sizes: tea-lights scattered among the dandelions, elaborate candelabras set upon tables, braziers set upon tripods, wall sconces set beneath the cantilevered roof. A glow painting the grass beside the house suggested a bonfire out back. +The prairie was as ey remembered. Grass still tickled at eir lower calves even through socks and slacks; clouds threatened rain as they always did; wind tugged at eir hair in all the very same ways it first had however many years ago now --- was it really twenty? And yet the house! Banners were hung about in deepest black, streamers running from pole to pole in a welcoming path, guiding visitors. The house itself was lit about with flames of all sizes: tea-lights scattered among the dandelions, elaborate candelabras set upon tables, braziers set upon tripods, wall sconces set beneath the cantilevered roof. A glow painting the grass beside the house suggested a bonfire out back. And there, the largest banner of them all, draped from that roof, shouted in stately capitals: "HAPPY DEATH DAY". @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Following after the fox and laughing at the way the occasional non-anthropomorph The fox was short on speech after the greeting, eventually hushing em. *"We will all talk together."* -"Ioan! Goodness!" +"Ioan, goodness!" Ey smiled. "Codrin, you're looking well." @@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ She shrugged noncommittally, then rested her head back on Ioan's shoulder. The a Ioan nodded. "Close enough to politics, I suppose." -Another moment of silence. Ey permitted some of the drunkenness from the evening to drift away, allowing thoughts to come more clearly. May Then My Name relaxed further against eir side, and ey suspected she was not far away from sleep. Tomorrow, eir work would begin to pick up in earnest, so ey was tempted to let her sleep, but a question nagged at em. +Another moment of silence. Ey permitted some of the drunkenness from the evening to drift away, allowing thoughts to come more clearly. May Then My Name relaxed further against eir side, and ey suspected she was not far away from sleep. Tomorrow, eir work would begin to pick up in earnest, so ey was tempted to let her doze, but a question nagged at em. "May?" diff --git a/content/read/006.md b/content/read/006.md index 6249d93..efb2b75 100644 --- a/content/read/006.md +++ b/content/read/006.md @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ He was directed to a waiting room where he was instructed to disrobe and push hi "You have fasted?" -"Yes?" +"Yes." "Forty-eight hours?" diff --git a/content/read/008.md b/content/read/008.md index adebf50..6d1e91f 100644 --- a/content/read/008.md +++ b/content/read/008.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Dear rolled up and immediately focused on Codrin with a singular intensity that "We looked to the morning, supposing that it might dwell between the two, but morning is the time of creation! The beast of destruction cannot live there. And so we sought in the evening gloaming and there we found the slavering teeth--" -"The jaws that bite, the claws that catch." Dear's partner chimed in, lifting their own tankard. +"The jaws that bite, the claws that catch," their partner chimed in, lifting their own tankard. "And we braved them. We braved, but though we tried, we could not best them. There was no fight to be had--" diff --git a/content/read/009.md b/content/read/009.md index 08dd1f8..519ba79 100644 --- a/content/read/009.md +++ b/content/read/009.md @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Sasha. That last hypothesis encompassed much of the previous two, and would explain why the looming tenth anniversary of the founding of the System seemed to make it all the worse. Ten years since the founding, eleven years since RJ disappeared, giving emself up to the act of creation. -Ah well. She had lingered long enough outside the coffee shop, so she swallowed down her rising gorge and mastered a few waves of shifting form, skunk fur and human flesh fighting for dominance. The human form won today: round of face rather than mephit snout; curly, black hair rather than thick black fur. It would do. She would be Michelle for the meeting. +Ah well. She had lingered long enough outside the coffee shop, so she swallowed down her rising gorge and mastered a few waves of shifting form, skunk fur and human flesh fighting for dominance. The human form won today: round of face rather than mephit snout; curly black hair rather than thick black fur. It would do. She would be Michelle for the meeting. The Council of Eight, for all its high status and demand, met in incognito in unassuming, downtempo sims rather than some conference room or grand palace. The eight of them would trickle into the sim over the course of a few hours, set up camp on a hilltop or in a cafe, enjoy the ambiance, and then set up a cone of silence to discuss business. They had been noticed once or twice, but never hounded and certainly not attacked. diff --git a/content/read/010.md b/content/read/010.md index 82b85e6..a1739e4 100644 --- a/content/read/010.md +++ b/content/read/010.md @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ > > Without compromising their identity, I can say that I have received a letter from two representatives of the Council of Eight, the leadership within the System, and on this we agree. They are alive, and because they are alive, they deserve the rights guaranteed those who are alive. They are individual, and so those rights must be individual. They can feel happiness, they know what it means to be free, and they are completely dependent on this one necessity, and so those rights afforded us must be granted them. > -> One of these representatives with whom I have been speaking is one of the lost. I know that the collective conscious moves quickly, and it's a lot to ask it to keep in mind a single incident from nigh on twelve years ago, but they are important. They were among the lost, those unlucky few trapped within their own minds and exocortices by the whims of tyranny, and when they were returned to our shared existence from their solipsistic one, they were among the voices campaigning for change from the very political systems who failed them and many others. As one of the lost, their experiences were integral to the creation of the System, and have been a part of it from the inside for almost a decade. +> One of these representatives with whom I have been speaking is one of the lost. I know that the collective conscious moves quickly, and it's a lot to ask it to keep in mind a single incident from nigh on twelve years ago, but they are important. They were among the lost, those unlucky few trapped within their own minds and exocortices by the whims of tyranny, and when they were returned to our shared existence from their solipsistic one, they were among the voices campaigning for change from the very political systems who failed them and many others. As one of the lost, their experiences were integral to the creation of the System, and they have been a part of it from the inside for almost a decade. > > Their memories are real. > @@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ He could let his anger cool, but it felt too good to nurse it just a little whil His usual low stool was free, so he claimed that and sat to watch as the coffee was roasted, ground, boiled, strained, poured. Despite the urge to stoke that fury further, the meditative aspect of watching the coffee being prepared, the smell of it and the small cakes of himbasha, calmed him quickly. -He was partway through his second cup and nibbling on his second slice of the sweet cardamom bread when another man sat down next to him. This would not normally be cause for concern, except for the fact that the man was wearing a suit. A *black* suit. This was not just incongruous, it was alarming in a place where the sun shone so hot. +He was partway through his second cup and nibbling on his second slice of the sweet cardamom bread when another man sat down next to him. This would not normally be cause for concern, except for the fact that the man was wearing a suit. A *black* suit. This was not just out of place, it was alarming in a place where the sun shone so hot. Yared looked around, then spotted the black car parked down the cross street. Obviously that must have a cushy, air-conditioned interior, which would at least make the choice of clothing tolerable. @@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ Yared blinked, frowned, and took the few seconds offered by a sip of his coffee "How can they be independent. Aren't they a part of the S-R Bloc? Those who upload have to get a visa, even if only for a few hours, before they join the System." -"Yes, but it is dual citizenship!" the councilor said, stabbing his finger toward Yared. "They remain citizens of the Western Fed or of the Northeast African Coalition or wherever they are from. They essentially only have a visa for the S-R Bloc. If they are our citizens, they must still have the rights we grant them. That is your argument, yes?" +"Yes, but it is dual citizenship!" the councilor said, stabbing his finger toward Yared. "They remain citizens of the Western Fed or of the Northeast African Coalition or wherever they are from. They essentially only have a visa for the S-R Bloc, as you say. If they are our citizens, they must still have the rights we grant them. That is your argument, yes?" Yared nodded numbly. diff --git a/content/read/012.md b/content/read/012.md index 47148cc..887f7b5 100644 --- a/content/read/012.md +++ b/content/read/012.md @@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ So now ey slept beside a skunk. She had also requested a few beanbags that she could curl on, more comfortable than a couch for one with an outsized tail. Each of these was larger than Ioan had felt was strictly necessary, and it had required that ey expand the bounds of the rooms to fit them, but ey had quickly gotten used to them, as ey could stretch out on them just as well as May. They were a little too amorphous to sleep on, but still plenty comfortable. -Ey sunk into a slouch on one next to the skunk, feeling the way it molded around em. Ey knew well enough by now to lift up the arm on the side where the skunk was curled, and she predictably scootched up by eir side to rest her head against eir chest at the shoulder, arm around eir middle. Ey let eir arm drop again, curling it around her shoulders. +Ey sunk into a slouch on one next to the skunk, feeling the way it molded around em. Ey knew well enough by now to lift up the arm on the side where she was curled, and she predictably scootched up by eir side to rest her head against eir chest at the shoulder, arm around eir middle. Ey let eir arm drop again, curling it around her shoulders. "Alright, planning," ey said, reaching eir free right arm down beside the beanbag for the lap desk which had proved so useful for times such as these. "What should we plan?" @@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ Ey forced a laugh. "What is it with you Odists? Are you all this good at turning "I was going to say, "And now you're pushing me in weird directions." I wasn't expecting Codrin to find emself in a triad, if I'm honest." -"You, my dear, lack a certain self-awareness for someone who spends all eir time up in eir head." +"You, my dear, lack a certain self-awareness for someone who spends all eir time up in eir head. It is quite endearing." "Thanks, I think." Ioan shifted to the side enough to look down at the skunk. "How do you mean, though?" @@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ More woolgathering. That's what the evening called for, more than work. More woo Lovers? Ey let a tape run forward in eir mind. Ey watched the friendship ey had formed with May progress into some form of romantic relationship. How would it start? Would it start with em making a formal decision to let that happen? Or would it happen by accident? Would ey some day wake up and realize, *Holy shit, I think we're dating. Are we dating? I think we are.* -And ey set a different tape to playing. A tape wherein ey set firmer boundaries, prohibited the friendship from progressing further than it already had. Or, worse --- strange to already be placing value judgements! --- a world in which ey pushed the skunk away, backed off from the physical affection, from the talk that bordered on flirty, from even the hypocorism 'May'. If ey let that tape play beyond that point, ey knew ey would find all of the ways in which that would hurt May and how, knowing her, seeing her express that pain would hurt em in turn. +And ey set a different tape to playing. A tape wherein ey set firmer boundaries, prohibited the friendship from progressing further than it already had. Or, worse --- strange to already be placing value judgements! --- a world in which ey pushed the skunk away, backed off from the physical affection, from the talk that bordered on flirty, from even the hypocorism 'May'. If ey let that tape play beyond that point, ey knew ey would find all of the ways in which that would hurt her and how, knowing her, seeing her express that pain would hurt em in turn. *How do they do this?* ey thought. *How do the Odists just worm their way into your life and make themselves comfortable, letting you think it was your idea? That's what she'd said, and now I'm in exactly the same position as Codrin twenty years ago.* diff --git a/content/read/013.md b/content/read/013.md index 888abe9..08b8e86 100644 --- a/content/read/013.md +++ b/content/read/013.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ > The discussion of speciation continues, I see. > -> And you know what? You all begin to convince me of this fact. If you have been following the System feeds, you will have doubtless seen the ways in which the System differs from life phys-side in levels so completely fundamental that they strain the imagination. We (by virtue of the fact that you are even reading this) have all used the 'net. To greater or lesser extents, we have all felt the ways in which it is different than 'real life'. I myself have often found the ways in which tactility differs here from out in the world: there is touch, yes, and there is something akin to the sensation of hot and cold (thermoception, the dictionary tells me), and it obviously could not function without a fairly accurate simulacrum of proprioception. If you don't know where you end and the rest of the sim begins, it is nigh useless as a shared space. +> And you know what? You all begin to convince me of this fact. If you have been following the System feeds, you will have doubtless seen the ways in which the System differs from life phys-side in levels so completely fundamental that they strain the imagination. We (by virtue of the fact that you are even reading this) have all used the 'net. To greater or lesser extents, we have all felt the ways in which it is different than 'real life'. I myself have often found the ways in which tactility differs here from out in the world: there is touch, yes, and there is something akin to the sensation of hot and cold ("thermoception," the dictionary tells me), and it obviously could not function without a fairly accurate simulacrum of proprioception. If you don't know where you end and the rest of the sim begins, it is nigh useless as a shared space. > > But touch? Touch is subtly different in so many ways. I remarked on this to a friend who is far, far more into the tech side than I am, and he immediately mentioned that he had felt similar. The reason, he explained, is that no matter how hard the implants try, they can only approximate the sensation of touch. Hearing? Fine. We have decoded the phenomenon of sound well enough that we are able to toss that sense in there just fine. Smell? Well, that's a bit more difficult, as I've read that there is some funny quantum aspects to that sensation. In the end, however, it is just a matter of simulating chemical interactions well enough. > @@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ The formalities, those were also rote by now. Yared nodded. "Thank you, sir." -The councilor leaned back against his seat, switching his coffee for a slice of the himbasha. "You know, originally, my constituents and I were nervous about the idea of letting you craft your own posts. Many thought it unwise to let you choose your own words, thinking it best that we write your arguments for you and have you simply post them. I disagreed, as I think that something of your style would be lost in the process. You rely on a lot of imagery and word choices that are good at swaying readers, and I think this isn't necessarily a thing that my speech writers would be able to accomplish. You have recently changed their minds." +The councilor leaned back against his seat, switching his coffee for a slice of the himbasha. "You know, originally, my team and I were nervous about the idea of letting you craft your own posts. Many thought it unwise to let you choose your own words, thinking it best that we write your arguments for you and have you simply post them. I disagreed, as I think that something of your style would be lost in the process. You rely on a lot of imagery and word choices that are good at swaying readers, and I think this isn't necessarily a thing that my speech writers would be able to accomplish. You have recently changed their minds." "I'm happy to hear that. I like to think I'm a good writer." diff --git a/content/read/014.md b/content/read/014.md index 91ebcd1..a4bec83 100644 --- a/content/read/014.md +++ b/content/read/014.md @@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ Six sets of eyes flitted between Debarre and True Name, between weasel and skunk "We aren't seeing that," the man in the suit spoke up. "Two thirds of our power structure still think child restrictions are a good enough idea that those laws have bled into Russia. I'm pretty sure they see speciation as a positive. What better way to help in population control?" -One of his companions shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised if they started putting limitations on uploading by gender, but that is a separate topic." +One of his companions shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised if they started putting limitations on uploading by gender, but that's a separate topic." "Zeke?" diff --git a/content/read/016.md b/content/read/016.md index 841770b..9df7b3a 100644 --- a/content/read/016.md +++ b/content/read/016.md @@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ Codrin nodded dumbly. *"No, no. Not at first, at least. The deal she struck with the other members of the Council was that her responsibility would be split evenly among the ten. At first, The Only Time I Know My True Name Is When I Dream was the only one to sit council, then as her responsibilities to the secession process began to grow, more of Michelle's ongoing projects were given to further first lines."* -"You said not at first. Did she --- the Odists --- wound up with more than an equal share of responsibility?" +"You said not at first. Did she --- the Odists --- wind up with more than an equal share of responsibility?" Dear nodded. *"It was slow and subtle, and, initially, unintentional. She was--"* @@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ Codrin shook eir head. "At least, I don't know the acronym." "That sounds disgusting." Ey thought a moment, then shook eir head. "Or impossible." -"Capitalism was never one to let impossibility stand in its way," Dear's partner laughed. +"Capitalism was never one to let impossibility stand in its way." Their partner laughed. *"Yes, well, there were at least still those phys-side who wished to help. Dreamers to the last."* It smiled fondly, lifting its glass to swirl the wine within. *"Many of them uploaded. You have doubtless talked to a few without knowing. I don't know if Yared --- he was our biggest champion --- decided on joining the Launch. Perhaps he did. If he did not, I will nudge Ioan to him if May Then My Name does not do so first. If he did, you may yet meet him."* @@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ Codrin shook eir head. "At least, I don't know the acronym." This time, the exaggerated care when setting down its glass was missing, as it nearly slammed it on the table. *"I will not answer that."* -"Dear," its partner murmured. +"Dear," their partner murmured. It was nearly a minute before it mastered its anger. *"No, I will not answer. Not now, at least."* diff --git a/content/read/018.md b/content/read/018.md index 23908bd..894b97b 100644 --- a/content/read/018.md +++ b/content/read/018.md @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ May Then My Name Die With Me sat across from Ioan at their dining table, looking "This feels unusually formal." -"Yes, well, I'd like to be able to see your expressions." Ey grinned. "Also, it's easier to write when I don't have a skunk hanging onto my arm." +"Yes, well, I'd like to be able to see your expressions." Ey grinned, adding, "Also, it's easier to write when I don't have a skunk hanging onto my arm." She rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically. "I suppose. Ask away then, O archivist." @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ She rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically. "I suppose. Ask away then, O archivis "Alright." Ey tested the nib of eir pen on the corner of the page and then began to jot in eir comfortable shorthand. "Uncomfortable question first. When did you upload?" -May frowned down to the table, drawing lazy Lissajous curves on its surface. "I would have gone for the shit-sandwich approach. Do you promise to ask lighter questions after?" +May frowned down to the table, drawing lazy Lissajous curves on its surface with a claw. "I would have gone for the shit-sandwich approach. Do you promise to ask lighter questions after?" Ioan laughed, nodded. @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Ey lifted eir pen from the page. "Can you tell me why? I can leave it out of the Ey laughed. "Alright, if you won't talk about that, that's okay. It's enough that you mention it; I'll keep my eye out." -She reached out and took eir off-hand in her own, brushing thumbpad over eir knuckles. "Thank you, dear. Do you have a more pleasant question for me to answer?" +She reached out and took eir off-hand in her own, brushing thumbpad over eir knuckles. "Thank you, my dear. Do you have a more pleasant question for me to answer?" "Of course. Why did you stay behind." diff --git a/content/read/022.md b/content/read/022.md index 466df15..f991a42 100644 --- a/content/read/022.md +++ b/content/read/022.md @@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ He frowned, quelling the suspicion that they had known of his EVA. > : That is how ey came to work with our clade and thus the Launch project. Ey had done some observing with one of my cocladists, and it recommended em to us for this task. > > Ioan -> : As for my biography, before I lose the thread, I uploaded in the 2230s after growing up in south-central Europe. I uploaded after a short stint in university where, yes, I studied history. My parents died, and I am not built for a life with death in it, so I headed sys-side to allow my siblings to attend school. +> : As for my biography, before I lose the thread, I uploaded in the 2230s after growing up in south-central Europe. I uploaded after a short stint in university where, yes, I studied history. My parents died, and I am not built for a life with death in it, so I headed sys-side to allow my brother, Rareș, to attend school. > > May Then My Name > : Oh, Ioan. That is the first I have heard of this. @@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ His stomach sank. He considered what to type back, but decided instead on waitin > : What did she look like, at that age? > > May Then My Name -> : You misunderstand, or I misspeak. She looked much as she did when she uploaded, but that pre-upload trauma meant that she felt all two hundred of those years. If you go through an event that makes 80% of your days bad days, then that means that you wind up with 58400 bad days through the years. That will wear on one. +> : You misunderstand, or I misspeak. She looked much as she did when she uploaded, but that pre-upload trauma meant that she felt all two hundred of those years. If you go through an event that makes 80% of your days bad days, then that means that you wind up with 58,400 bad days through the years. That will wear on one. > > Douglas > : I don't know what to say. diff --git a/content/read/023.md b/content/read/023.md index 1891e72..a009484 100644 --- a/content/read/023.md +++ b/content/read/023.md @@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ His name was Martin Rankin, and while Codrin had not read any of his works prior To prepare for the interview, ey'd read two of Rankin's books. They were not without their merit, as might any such book be that garnered so much attention, but they still took plenty of work to get through. He wrote most often about contemporary life within the System in all its deliriously boring intricacies. -That said, much of his work was bound up in a sense of magical realism that was, ey had to admit, enticing. This was something that Codrin had never managed to capture emself, and so ey set aside some time to study the ways in which Rankin used surrealism to enhance the story at hand without distracting. +That said, much of his work was bound up in a sense of magical realism that was, ey had to admit, enticing. This was something that ey had never managed to capture emself, and so ey set aside some time to study the ways in which Rankin used surrealism to enhance the story at hand without distracting. -Martin Rankin was exactly as ey had expected. There was nothing about the man that did not shout Martin Rankin. He wore his identity on his face, on his chest, in the way his hands moved across the table as they talked, there at the cafe, there sitting out on the street, there sipping their drinks. +Martin Rankin was exactly as ey had expected. There was nothing about the man that did not shout *Martin Rankin.* He wore his identity on his face, on his chest, in the way his hands moved across the table as they talked, there at the cafe, there sitting out on the street, there sipping their drinks. "So, you are the illustrious Codrin Bălan." His voice was imperious, veering dangerously close to pompous, looking over the rim of the glass appraisingly at em as he sipped grappa. @@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ Dear gasped, paw to muzzle. *"A curse! Codrin! I am shocked."* "I'll get the wine," its partner said, still laughing. -They gathered on the couch where Codrin could lounge against Dear with eir feet up in its partner's lap. +They gathered on the couch where Codrin could lounge against Dear with eir feet up in their partner's lap. *"So, how was it, really? Was he really that bad?"* Dear asked. @@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ Codrin laughed and poked the fox in the side. "Yeah, those things. I'm guessing "The dual text thing?" Dear's partner asked. -"Yeah. Did he tell you about that?" +"Yeah. Did you hear about that?" "Mmhm. It sounds interesting, at least on the surface. We'll have to see how the execution works out, though. It could be stupendously boring." diff --git a/content/read/024.md b/content/read/024.md index a34b813..78cc51e 100644 --- a/content/read/024.md +++ b/content/read/024.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Debarre shrugged this off. "I don't need a great explanation. I don't need anyth And with that, with a susurration of fur against clothes, she was Sasha. What thoughts before that had kept her as Michelle, as her human self, had been uprooted for the day and replaced with those that anchored her to a time, a context, a name. Debarre, of all the others that she'd met, seemed to understand this best, and he took this in stride. -"If I am honest, I do not know myself. At least, not truly. It is something that came to me in the moment." She paused to pluck a dandelion, twirling it between fingerpads, laughing. "I am still a little unnerved by it, myself. I remember thinking to myself, "I need a fucking vacation, but I should fork so that I do not leave the others in a lurch", and then there it was, the idea, already fully formed and ready to go." +"If I am honest, I do not know myself. At least, not truly. It is something that came to me in the moment." She paused to pluck a dandelion, twirling it between fingerpads, laughing. "I am still a little unnerved by it, myself, honestly. I remember thinking to myself, "I need a fucking vacation, but I should fork so that I do not leave the others in a lurch", and then there it was, the idea, already fully formed and ready to go." "To use Aw-- to use eir poem for the names?" @@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ He frowned at her, straightening up. "When I tried to say 'AwDae' earlier, True Sasha shook her head. "None of my forks have merged back down to me yet. I-- we decided that I would take some time off before reengaging. I have no memory of what happened." -"It was kinda terrifying." The weasel laughed. "She slammed her glass down and said something like 'do not fucking say that name'. I can respect wanting to keep things close to the heart, but I thought I was about to get in a fistfight." +"It was kinda terrifying." The weasel laughed. "She slammed her glass down and said something like "do not fucking say that name." I can respect wanting to keep things close to the heart, but I thought I was about to get in a fistfight." -"I am trying to picture either of us in a fistfight, much less with each other, and failing," she said, grinning. "I would very much appreciate this being kept between us, yes. Ey was not...the politics of em leaving for the S-R Bloc are complex. I have no plans to deck you if you say eir name when it is just the two of us." +"I am trying to picture either of us in a fistfight, much less with each other, and failing," she said, grinning. "I would very much appreciate this being kept between us, yes. Ey was not supposed to...well, the politics of em leaving for the S-R Bloc are complex. I have no plans to deck you if you say eir name when it is just the two of us." "I appreciate that. Why'd True Name seem to think otherwise, though?" diff --git a/content/read/027.md b/content/read/027.md index c4ab8eb..3378c35 100644 --- a/content/read/027.md +++ b/content/read/027.md @@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ When the speech appeared to have concluded, Codrin bowed eir head. "That answers Ey once more remained quiet, mind churning over what seemed to be the root of the Ode clade. Michelle? Breaking the treaties with the earth which God set before her? Michelle, who left the world of her birth? And who was this Jonah? -"There were eight of us," Ezekiel said, and something about its voice sounded clearer, more present than it had before. "A council set to guide but not govern. We were to be the interface between our world and the Earth. The three from the East, the prophet, the nameless one, the politician, the broken one and her friend." +"There were eight of us," Ezekiel said, and something about his voice sounded clearer, more present than it had before. "A council set to guide but not govern. We were to be the interface between our world and the Earth. The three from the East, the prophet, the nameless one, the politician, the broken one and her friend." Ezekiel must be the prophet, and surely Michelle was the broken one. Ey didn't know the rest of the references, so ey filed the information away until later to look up. Ey felt the need to be completely present for the prophet. diff --git a/content/read/028.md b/content/read/028.md index fb623b7..d5d3386 100644 --- a/content/read/028.md +++ b/content/read/028.md @@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ > : You still have me worried that others have this all figured out. Jonas, convince me not to worry. You're the politician, I'm the scared DDR junkie trying not to get stoned to death. Or worse, have my DDR account suspended. > > Jonas -> : Alright, I'll try. I promise, no stoning. The number one advantage that we have is an entire team of instances working with you and on essentially no other projects. That means we have the resources to send a few of them chasing after this hunch that someone was steering you, do some textual analysis, find the patterns, then do some digging into NEAC politics, looking for people with both the resources, the motive, and the personality to pull it off. +> : Alright, I'll try. I promise, no stoning. The number one advantage that we have is an entire team of instances working with you and on essentially no other projects. That means we have the resources to send a few of them chasing after this hunch that someone was steering you, do some textual analysis, find the patterns, then do some digging into NEAC politics, looking for people with the resources, the motive, and the personality to pull it off. > > Jonas > : Remember, most of this team were phys-side politicians, too, so we have that head-start. The worst you have to worry about is the WF or S-R Bloc doing the same with their own people after they find out. We haven't seen evidence of that yet. diff --git a/content/read/029.md b/content/read/029.md index 834e679..e29f812 100644 --- a/content/read/029.md +++ b/content/read/029.md @@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ Tycho's laugh was bitter. "Of course I'm not happy. I mean...I *am* happy, but t There were a few minutes of silence as astronomer and historian looked out into the night sky, there in the simulated pacific northwest, there on the simulated moss surrounded by the simulated trees while simulated stars shone still above them. -*They don't twinkle,* Codrin thought to emself. *That's what it is. They don't twinkle, and the last time I saw them was from Earth, and all those who uploaded and made sims with star-filled nights, never left that aspect out.* +*They don't twinkle,* Codrin thought to emself. *That's what it is. They don't twinkle, and the last time I saw them was from Earth, and all those who uploaded and made sims with star-filled nights never left that aspect out.* Ey mentioned this to Tycho, who laughed good-naturedly. "Of course. You're right. If they twinkled, it might feel more natural, but there is no reason for it, here. This place is a dream. My dream. The stars are there, and they don't twinkle." diff --git a/content/read/030.md b/content/read/030.md index 6da4476..32032c4 100644 --- a/content/read/030.md +++ b/content/read/030.md @@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ > : There was one last spate of protesting right before the launch. I saw some of the videos from planet-side, and a lot of it was just talking-heads discussing the fact that some had tried to shut down portions of the net, and even tried to take down one of the Ansible stations. Most of it was the same stuff we saw during the planning phase. I guess it kind of broke down into three complaints: > > Douglas -> : 1. Expenses --- this one was diminished toward the end, as there's not really a whole lot of expense required in popping some explosive bolts to set the launches flying, and all the material used out here was from scavenged Trojan asteroids. The protests that we saw around this were mostly griping about how much had already been spent. "Think of how much could have gone to deacidifying projects, etc etc" +> : 1. Expenses --- this one was diminished toward the end, as there's not really a whole lot of expense required in popping some explosive bolts to set the launches flying, and all the material used out here was from the moon and scavenged Trojan asteroids. The protests that we saw around this were mostly griping about how much had already been spent. "Think of how much could have gone to deacidifying projects, etc etc" > > Douglas > : 2. Brain/workforce drain --- This is a perennial topic with the System. All those smart minds out there focusing on pie-in-the-sky dreams instead of 'real problems' back there on Earth. What they imagine someone with a masters in spaceflight or astronomy or whatever can do back on Earth to better an overheated dustball is beyond me. diff --git a/content/read/031.md b/content/read/031.md index 4533cf4..e34ff2e 100644 --- a/content/read/031.md +++ b/content/read/031.md @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Her first drink was a total wash. Someone had decided to explore the utility of There was, True Name discovered, essentially no place for sulfur in a cocktail. It was a drink that was *almost* good, so long as one did not breathe in the scent. The first heady whiff that she got had burnt her nostrils and she only managed a few sips after that. -Her next drink was some bracingly strong lime-and-bitters-and-liquor deal with a float of foam made of egg whites and pork fat. There was a dusting of star anise and cinnamon on top. Her final assessment: pleasantly disgusting. The lime, egg whites, and spices all worked quite well together, she imagined, but the added porky fat clashed with it in such a savory way that she suspected it would have gone better with some brown spirit. +Her next drink was some bracingly strong lime-and-bitters-and-liquor deal with a float of foam made of egg whites and pork fat. There was a dusting of star anise and cinnamon on top. Her final assessment: pleasantly disgusting. The lime, egg whites, and spices all worked quite well together, she imagined, but the added porkiness fat clashed with it in such a savory way that she suspected it would have gone better with some brown spirit. Still, she drank it all. @@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ True Name let the non-compliment slide over her, continuing. "If we are to steer Jonas's frown deepened. "You're a bit further along in this than maybe I gave you credit for." -The skunk leaned forward, resting her chin on folded hands. She refused to rise to the bait offered, choosing instead a thoughtful expression. "Your forks. Do they work on a similar dialectic?" +The skunk leaned forward, resting her chin on folded paws. She refused to rise to the bait offered, choosing instead a thoughtful expression. "Your forks. Do they work on a similar dialectic?" He nodded. @@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ He nodded. "It's not a bad idea, no, and with a small clade, some of whom already look like you, you can probably get away with it easily enough. I have to make sure only one of me is out and about where people might see me at a time." He grinned, adding with a wink, "At least, while working. Ar is out drinking." -The skunk laughed. "Of course. Hopefully he has better luck with drinks than I did." +True Name laughed. "Of course. Hopefully he has better luck with drinks than I did." There was a lull in the conversation as True Name crunched her way through the bruschetta on her plate. diff --git a/content/read/032.md b/content/read/032.md index dc9e83b..00a0395 100644 --- a/content/read/032.md +++ b/content/read/032.md @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ There had never been a full explanation of what it was that happened, but as the *"Sometimes I overflow,"* is all the fox had said when pressed. -Even after nearly twenty years, though, Codrin had yet to gain the knack of telling the original instance of Dear when that many were running around, and so when the fox began to 'overflow' once more, ey sought out its partner in their own workshop and waited until they reached a stopping point before saying, "I think it's time for dinner." +Even after nearly twenty years, though, Codrin had yet to gain the knack of telling the original instance of Dear when that many were running around, and so when the fox began to 'overflow' once more, ey sought out their partner in their own workshop and waited until they reached a stopping point before saying, "I think it's time for dinner." As usual, they were able to hunt down the root instance and shake it back to reality. Whenever the fox was grabbed by the scruff, it went limp, and the shake was usually something of a rag doll affair. At first, Codrin had worried that its partner was hurting it, but as ey was welcomed into their relationship, ey learned that the fox counted it as a pleasure. diff --git a/content/read/033.md b/content/read/033.md index d468e6b..7614624 100644 --- a/content/read/033.md +++ b/content/read/033.md @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ May nodded. "It is not a feeling I share, but I can see how one might," May said, carefully shifting the backpack from between them to the other side of her so that she could lean against em. "It is the feeling one gets when one asks "is that all there is?" and the answer comes back "yes, of course"." -"Yeah," ey murmured. As May rested her head against eir shoulder, ey turned eir head to place a kiss between her ears. Ey did not remember when ey had first started doing that, but it had long since become habit. Every time ey remembered that it had been an act that was out of character for em until May moved in, some part of em raced around in circles to try and find out what had changed and why. +"Yeah," ey murmured. As May rested her head against eir shoulder, ey turned eir head to place a kiss between her ears. Ey didn't remember when ey had first started doing that, but it had long since become habit. Every time ey remembered that it had been an act that was out of character for em until May moved in, some part of em raced around in circles to try and find out what had changed and why. *It's just...May. That's just how she is,* ey kept reminding emself. *There is no explaining an Odist.* diff --git a/content/read/034.md b/content/read/034.md index 0990394..ddbaf6c 100644 --- a/content/read/034.md +++ b/content/read/034.md @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ He tilted his head. "What? Why?" Demma sighed and set aside his own coffee. "I have a suspicion that I know who one of them is, and I would like confirmation of that. I would appreciate if you would tell me, so that I do not need to tip my hand and send you hunting him down. You understand." -"I suppose." Yared bit his lip and considered the possible consequences of sharing the names of his contacts, deciding that if he shared just one, that perhaps that would be enough without compromising the identity of both. "You say 'he'. The man that I'm in discussions with is named Jonas. Is that the one you're thinking of?" +"I suppose." Yared bit his lip and considered the possible consequences of sharing the names of his contacts, deciding that if he shared just one, that perhaps that would be enough without compromising the identity of both. "You say him. The man that I'm in discussions with is named Jonas. Is that the one you're thinking of?" The councilor groaned and slouched back into the cushy microfiber seat. "Yes. I was afraid of that." diff --git a/content/read/036.md b/content/read/036.md index 906665c..338c749 100644 --- a/content/read/036.md +++ b/content/read/036.md @@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ Ey laughed. "You hang out with other friends, then?" -"Hang out, drink, go for long walks on the beach, watch plays --- did you know that Time Is A Finger Pointed At Itself has put on some really interesting ones? Michelle was a theatre nerd before she uploaded. She put much of that on hold after the whole getting lost kerfuffle and all of the politics that went into the first years after uploading, but still that desire sticks with us." +"Hang out, drink, go for long walks on the beach, watch plays --- did you know that Time Is A Finger Pointing At Itself has put on some really interesting ones? Michelle was a theatre nerd before she uploaded. She put much of that on hold after the whole getting lost kerfuffle and all of the politics that went into the first years after uploading, but still that desire sticks with us." "Stepping back a second, you said that True Name was to organize the launch. What did you mean by that?" diff --git a/content/read/037.md b/content/read/037.md index 5ea7599..9259c0d 100644 --- a/content/read/037.md +++ b/content/read/037.md @@ -50,11 +50,11 @@ ----- -Ioan didn't know quite what it was about the latest messages from the launches that was nagging at em so much. It wasn't that either of the Codrins were sending back anything that was particularly surprising. Sure, the Odists had been a big part of Secession, but ey knew that, hadn't ey? They dealt with propaganda and speeches and politics, so they must have been, right? That's what was needed for something like seceding from the rest of the governments on earth, right? +Ioan didn't know quite what it was about the latest messages from the launches that was nagging at em so much. It wasn't that either of the Codrins were sending back anything that was particularly surprising. Sure, the Odists had been a big part of Secession, but ey knew that, hadn't ey? They dealt with propaganda and speeches and politics, so they must have been, right? That's what was needed for something like seceding from the rest of the governments on Earth, right? It wasn't the more personal notes that ey'd gotten, expressing how life was going out on the LVs, all of the ways in which it was exactly the same, except for some key difference in sentiment. Those on the LVs felt like they were going on a journey, and those who remained at the L5 System felt like they weren't, so there was an entirely different feeling between two societies that were otherwise identical. -*Three* societies, for it was obvious that Castor and Pollux were diverging rapidly without strict contact with each other or the System. +*Three* societies, for it was obvious that Castor and Pollux were diverging rapidly without strict contact with each other or Lagrange. And it wasn't that, either. Ey had known from the very start that the systems on the LVs would diverge from each other as soon as they were launched. Nothing about that was weighing on em, and it was turning out to be precisely as interesting as ey had expected that it would be. diff --git a/content/read/039.md b/content/read/039.md index d4f1684..b197945 100644 --- a/content/read/039.md +++ b/content/read/039.md @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Ey realized that ey hadn't been writing anything, so ey focused momentarily on j "I don't know." She was smiling in earnest now. -"And," ey said, realizing that eir frustration was showing, but was unable to stop it. "What impact does that have on us? Or on Earth?" +"And," ey said, realizing that eir frustration was showing, but unable to stop it. "What impact does that have on us? Or on Earth?" "Mx. Bălan," she said, laughing. "I don't know. I don't know! Isn't that exciting in and of itself? I don't know, and that means that we have something interesting to work on. There are patterns here, as you acknowledge, and they may go deeper, or they may not, but that gives us a direction to look, doesn't it? It gives us direction to our questions, doesn't it? You've been asking why people have been staying or leaving. Your cocladists have been asking the same on the launches, I imagine. Those are good questions for boring histories. This is a tenuous question for exciting histories!" diff --git a/content/read/043.md b/content/read/043.md index 77294c6..82bd8fd 100644 --- a/content/read/043.md +++ b/content/read/043.md @@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ The skunk's arrival was something of a surprise, as what ey had initially taken "Mx. Bălan," the form murmured, tugging back the hood that hid most of its face to reveal the familiar white-striped black snout. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I was exploring." -Ioan stood and bowed politely. "No problem. Exploring, though? I would've thought that you'd know the area around your home fairly well by now." +"No problem." Ioan stood and bowed politely. "Exploring, though? I would've thought that you'd know the area around your home fairly well by now." -The skunk smiled. His features were undeniably those of an Odist --- at least those of the skunk variety --- while still being unique. They were more masculine in a way that ey could not place. More rugged. Dirtier. Certainly more exhausted. "One never truly finishes exploring a forest. I was climbing the trees." +End Waking smiled. His features were undeniably those of an Odist --- at least those of the skunk variety --- while still being unique. They were more masculine in a way that ey could not place. More rugged. Dirtier. Certainly more exhausted. "One never truly finishes exploring a forest. I was climbing the trees." "That sounds enjoyable, at least." @@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ They sat in silence for several long minutes while Ioan digested this and End Wa End Waking visibly brightened and nodded. There was a small unwinding of the previous ritual, where the fire within the stove was banked, the mugs rinsed clean and replaced in their spot, and his cloak donned once more. -They stepped out into the cool, clean air of the onrushing evening, and the skunk led the writer along a narrow trail worn in the undergrowth, explaining, "This is the way that I take to get water when the rain-barrel is empty." +They stepped out into the cool, clean air of the onrushing evening, and the skunk led em along a narrow trail worn in the undergrowth, explaining, "This is the way that I take to get water when the rain-barrel is empty." He walked silently, thick tail held high enough to stay above the plants that lined the path, and while Ioan tried to be as graceful as ey could, ey was still a far sight clumsier and noisier than End Waking. @@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ Once they were past that, he continued. "It is important to me that there be som Ioan smiled, nodded. -"So many of the Odists are built to manipulate in such complex ways. It is all part of theatre. I am sure that you two have talked about that already. Even May Then My Name is manipulative in her unfailingly kind way." The skunk stopped and stepped aside to let Ioan come stand beside him before a creek at the bottom of a ravine. "It is a very difficult habit to break. Serene is manipulative: this place is built to be loved in spite of its antipathy towards intrusions. Dear is manipulative: its life is one lived bending the experiences of others to its whims in ways far beyond any those of any prior artist as it plays its games. I am a repentant manipulator." +"So many of the Odists are built to manipulate in such complex ways. It is all part of theatre. I am sure that you two have talked about that already. Even May Then My Name is manipulative in her unfailingly kind way." End Waking stopped and stepped aside to let Ioan come stand beside him before a creek at the bottom of a ravine. "It is a very difficult habit to break. Serene is manipulative: this place is built to be loved in spite of its antipathy towards intrusions. Dear is manipulative: its life is one lived bending the experiences of others to its whims in ways far beyond any those of any prior artist as it plays its games. I am a repentant manipulator." "How so?" ey asked. diff --git a/content/read/044.md b/content/read/044.md index f318a6a..4ba52e1 100644 --- a/content/read/044.md +++ b/content/read/044.md @@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ Figuring that, since dinner had come to a close, Codrin hazarded the first quest "Same." user11824 shrugged. "Though I'd be surprised if Dear had invited them." -*"Quite,"* the fox said curtly. +*"Quite,"* Dear said curtly. Debarre looked sheepishly at the fox, ears splayed. "Sorry, Dear. I know you've distanced yourself from all that." @@ -130,13 +130,13 @@ Codrin was tempted to ask if Debarre had also known the author of the Ode, but k "More than I would've liked." -Dear's partner laughed. "Why'd you even join, then?" +Dear and Codrin's partner laughed. "Why'd you even join, then?" "Mom was a politician," he said, shrugging. "I learned all that bullshit from her, and the S-R Bloc gang pressed me into joining." "Who were they?" Codrin asked. -"There were three of them on the Council. Part of the initial agreement, since the System was originally hosted somewhere in Russia." Debarre counted off on his fingers. "Those three, me, user11824, Zeke-- uh, Ezekiel, and then Michelle and Jonas." +"There were three of them on the Council. Part of the initial agreement, since the System was originally hosted somewhere in Russia." Debarre counted off on his fingers. "Those three, me, user11824, Zeke– uh, Ezekiel, and then Michelle and Jonas." "Well, I know the Odists are here on the LVs, as well as you two and Ezekiel. Are Jonas and the Russians here?" @@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ user11824 rolled his eyes and finished his wine. "In Toledot Yeshu, Paul is actually hinted at being a plant from the Jewish authorities, though it is vague as to who, whose goal was to introduce enough changes to the budding religion to cause it to split away so that it wouldn't remain a sect of Judaism." -*"Many viewed Jesus as a rabbi,"* Dear interjected. *"And had that lasted to the point where Judaism headed into a rabbinical tradition after the destruction of the Second Temple, his teachings would have become part of the faith and Judaism would have looked very different."* +*"Many viewed Jesus as a rabbi,"* Dear added. *"And had that lasted to the point where Judaism headed into a rabbinical tradition after the destruction of the Second Temple, his teachings would have become part of the faith and Judaism would have looked very different."* Codrin frowned. "Are you suggesting that Secession was engineered to keep the System from remaining a part of society, phys-side?" @@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ Codrin finished eir wine and set the glass aside. "So you stayed away from the p Yared nodded. -Debarre said, "We all were, towards the end. Anyone who was a true believer in Secession was a tool for True Name and Jonas, in a way, or at least a potential tool." +Debarre said, "We all were, towards the end. Anyone who was a true believer in Secession was a tool for True Name and Jonas, in a way. Or at least a potential tool." "This was not what I was expecting out of the evening," Codrin admitted. "I was going to just ask you all why you decided to join the launch and everything." diff --git a/content/read/045.md b/content/read/045.md index 88fdc4b..620e0ed 100644 --- a/content/read/045.md +++ b/content/read/045.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ With that in mind, she focused on composing herself into a state of friendly ale She watched him step inside, look around, and immediately laugh. After picking up a cider at the bar, he made his way over to the booth she had picked and plopped down across from her. -"Cheeky choice," he said, grinning. +"Hell of a choice," he said, grinning. True Name grinned, shrugged. "What can I say? I was feeling nostalgic for terrible beer." @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Small talk was not a guarantee that this was simply a social visit, but given th "Feeling the workload, then?" -He shrugged. "Not particularly, no. It's just that I'm starting to wonder just how cut out for politics I really am. I haven't the faintest idea on how to get people to do things without sounding like I'm bullying them, and I'm not going to put all the work into it that you have. You and yours, I mean." +He shrugged. "Not particularly, no. It's just that I'm starting to wonder just how cut out for politics I really am. I don't have a clue how to get people to do things without sounding like I'm bullying them, and I'm not gonna put all the work into it that you have. You and yours, I mean." "Yeah, it is no small amount of effort," the skunk said. "But it will be worth it in the end, I think. Plus, I figure that once we secede and the launch goes off successfully, we can probably just sit back and let things run themselves. No one has managed to cause any problems that cannot be solved by them simply having the fistfight that they so desperately crave." @@ -116,13 +116,13 @@ True Name frowned. "Really?" True Name stopped in the aisle, letting Life Breeds Life step ahead and turn to face her. "You would like the System to forget that there was a council?" -"It is a way to build a mythos and identity, yes. It allows us to use the words 'freedom' and 'secession' and so on in a collective sense, as though these were the decisions of all, rather than a few. It will instill a sense of patriotism, if one could call it such a thing, for being sys-side, which will in turn reduce the connections that many feel to phys-side." He smiled, tugging a book from the shelf at random and flipping through the pages. "This will not happen for this generation. Nor, likely, the next. The goal for future generations, though is to ensure that they feel that the System is a place to live rather than a place where they wound up, or a place that they uploaded to simply because it was convenient or necessary, or even a place that they uploaded to simply for the way life works here, whether it be immortality or the sheer hedonistic joy of it." +"It is a way to build a mythos and identity, yes. It allows us to use the words 'freedom' and 'secession' and so on in a collective sense, as though these were the decisions of all, rather than a few. It will instill a sense of patriotism, if one could call it such a thing, for being sys-side, which will in turn reduce the connections that many feel to phys-side." He smiled, tugging a book from the shelf at random and flipping through the pages. "This will not happen for this generation. Nor, likely, the next. The goal for future generations, though, is to ensure that they feel that the System is a place to live rather than a place where they wound up, or a place that they uploaded to simply because it was convenient or necessary, or even a place that they uploaded to simply for the way life works here, whether it be immortality or the sheer hedonistic joy of it." The skunk watched the pages flip beneath Life Breeds Life's fingers and thought. To downplay the council would be to minimize the work of years, of almost a decade. It might rankle for the other members, but she was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable an idea it was. It would gain her and Jonas much needed room to maneuver. -Eventually she nodded, saying, "That makes sense, yes. If the concept of the Council disappears into foggy memories and untrustworthy histories, then any attempts to lead again will seem out of place, too. It will give Jonas and I more latitude to continue working long term." +Eventually she nodded, saying, "That makes sense, yes. If the concept of the Council disappears into foggy memories and untrustworthy histories, then any attempts to lead again will seem out of place, too. It will give all of us more latitude to continue working long term." -"Precisely." He replaced the book on the shelf. "Down the line, too, I am considering suggesting that we say that we uploaded after Secession. Say in the thirties. Not far enough to be an obvious lie, but enough distance from it to give us the space to act as we must now so that we can act as we will later." +"Precisely." He replaced the book on the shelf. "Down the line, too, I am considering suggesting that we say that we uploaded after Secession. Say, in the thirties. Not far enough to be an obvious lie, but enough distance from it to give us the space to act as we must now so that we can act as we will later." True Name felt the smile grow on her face, earnest and excited. "Excellent. Excellent thinking. Keep me up to date as you go, though I do not expect the updates to come all that quickly." diff --git a/content/read/046.md b/content/read/046.md index 6d8ba4b..2fae4a6 100644 --- a/content/read/046.md +++ b/content/read/046.md @@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ Codrin nodded as ey wrote. "Alright. Are you okay if I start asking questions, t "Of course, ask away." -"First of all, and I'm not sure how well this applies to a dispersionista such as yourself, but did you --- No Jonas --- leave an instance back on the L5 System?" +"First of all, and I'm not sure how well this applies to a dispersionista such as yourself, but did you --- No Jonas --- leave an instance back on the L5 System? Back on Lagrange?" "Oh, sure. There didn't seem to be any reason not to, you know? I figure there's enough of us Jonases up here to have our fun, and plenty back down on the System to keep things interesting." @@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ Codrin nodded and made a note to that effect. "You have to understand though, Codrin, none of this was like some sort of shadowy conspiracy like you may be thinking. We did what politicians do: we represented our constituents and duked it out --- metaphorically, of course --- with other politicians." -"Are we your constituents?" ey asked. The words were out of eir mouth before ey had time to consider it. +"Are we your constituents?" ey asked. The words were out of eir mouth before ey had time to consider them. Jonas laughed, shaking his head and tugging that fiber on the couch all the looser. "In a way, yes. We may be a separate legal entity, but we don't work the same. We're not a government. There are no representatives. We don't vote. Better to say that the System is our singular constituent. You are our constituents only in the sense that there are still some who have to work on keeping the System going. We're the ones who organize with the phys-side engineers to keep everything ticking along. We're the ones who ensure that new uploads are smoothly integrated. We're the ones who ensure that the System keeps growing." @@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ Jonas laughed, shaking his head and tugging that fiber on the couch all the loos Codrin waggled eir pen at Jonas. "I'm the writer out of the two of us, you're the politician. What do you mean by stasis, though?" -"If we were phys-side, conservatism would probably be the word one would reach for, if only because the sheer burden of legislation grows exponentially complex with the size of the small-s system that all of the other aspects of the system start to fall under its branch. +"If we were phys-side, conservatism would probably be the word one would reach for, if only because the sheer burden of legislation grows exponentially more complex with the size of the small-s system that all of the other aspects of the system start to fall under its branch. "Here, though, we tend towards stasis. It's a type of stability that implies a cessation of change. It's not a bad thing. Boring, maybe, but boring is safe. Still, it's only a tendency, and it approaches that point asymptotically. The bigger the system, the smoother things run because the rough spots and sharp edges are harder to feel. It needs to be gardened and nourished. That's all we do." diff --git a/content/read/047.md b/content/read/047.md index 691c558..8db7eeb 100644 --- a/content/read/047.md +++ b/content/read/047.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ The Only Time I Know My True Name Is When I Dream walked. -She walked from sim to sim, finding intricate ways to build up a sign, a sigil from them. Finding ways for disparate streets to connect, finding alleyways to open into deer paths, finding breathlessly exposed parks that, when a corner was turned around a tree or perhaps a low hill, might open out again into the lobbies of libraries, the shelves of which could become a hedge maze. +She walked from sim to sim, finding intricate ways to build up a sign, a sigil from her path. Finding ways for disparate streets to connect, finding alleyways to open into deer paths, finding breathlessly exposed parks that, when a corner was turned around a tree or perhaps a low hill, might open out again into the lobbies of libraries, the shelves of which could become a hedge maze. Perhaps there was more to the sims that she walked, but she did not notice. As soon as she felt herself drawn to any one particular place, any one particular feature of any one particular sim, as soon as she began to feel anchored, she left. All of the things that people --- her people --- built passed beneath her feet, passed before her eyes. @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ She stepped into that office building from the dry bed of a river, walked up two A thought: *Why is the first instinct upon creating a wholly blank medium such as this to build in the nature we remember?* -She stepped from the cubicle and turned left, out into a rolling, open field, dotted throughout with dandelions. She bent down and picked one, twirling it between finger and thumb, then tucking it behind her ear where the yellow could shine bright amidst the black fur there. +She stepped from the cubicle and turned left, out into a rolling, open field, dotted throughout with dandelions. She bent down and picked one, twirling it between finger and thumb, before tucking it behind her ear where the yellow could shine bright amidst the black fur there. She could almost feel em, sometimes, as part of the very fabric of existence within the System. Almost. A dream of a dream of her friend, always just out of reach. @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ What would this place look like after seceding from the rest of the world? What Would they build differently? Perhaps they would stop bringing along with them the structures of their pasts. Perhaps there would be fewer office buildings and more cabins in the woods. More idyllic houses. More mountain landscapes and main streets of cute towns with hole-in-the-wall restaurants that no one knew about and yet which served the best curry, the best hot dog, the best cupcakes that one could possibly imagine. -Would they live differently, love differently? Perhaps they would still pair up as always they had. Maybe, when they picked up feelings for someone, they would fork to have a separate relationship with them as well. Maybe collectives of families would live together as they always had, finding comfort as much in each other as in their chosen relatives. Maybe a taboo would grow around having a relationship with oneself, of forked instances living together and loving each other. Would that be narcissism forever, or only before individuation? Would it be incest? Masturbation? She did not know, she did not know. +Would they live differently, love differently? Perhaps they would still pair up as always they had. Maybe, when they picked up feelings for someone new, they would fork to have a separate relationship with them as well. Maybe collectives of families would live together as they always had, finding comfort as much in each other as in their chosen relatives. Maybe a taboo would grow around having a relationship with oneself, of forked instances living together and loving each other. Would that be narcissism forever, or only before individuation? Would it be incest? Masturbation? She did not know, she did not know. Would they choose life? Choose death? Would they pray? diff --git a/content/read/048.md b/content/read/048.md index 8d49c33..5e1cb12 100644 --- a/content/read/048.md +++ b/content/read/048.md @@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ So, when he returned back to his room to a series of messages that felt loud, br > : Anyway, I messaged you to ask you about something that you have mentioned a few times so far. Do you have it in you to answer some questions? > > Douglas -> : Sure, why not. My first meeting is in the afternoon, tomorrow, and it's just a weekly safety briefing. Talk my ear off, I could use the distraction. +> : Sure, why not. My first meeting is in the afternoon tomorrow, and it's just a weekly safety briefing. Talk my ear off, I could use the distraction. > > May Then My Name > : Yes, you certainly could. diff --git a/content/read/050.md b/content/read/050.md index 5949e00..9236597 100644 --- a/content/read/050.md +++ b/content/read/050.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ And these Jonases! Ey was going to see one today, after eir walk. They seemed so Ey was not looking forward to eir interview with Jonas Prime today. -So, instead, ey stomped along the path and thought and talked to emself, walking all the way to the rock halfway around the lake from the default entry point to the sim, throwing a few handfuls of stones into the placid water one by one, and then stomping all the way back to that same point. +So, instead, ey stomped along the path and thought and talked to emself, walking all the way to the rock halfway around the lake from the default entry point to the sim, throwing a few handfuls of pebbles into the placid water one by one, and then stomping all the way back to that same point. Once ey'd had eir sulk, ey headed to the meeting with Jonas. @@ -48,11 +48,11 @@ Ioan hesitated, then lifted eir own glass to return the toast. "To boldness. You "I have too much, my friend, and you need more, that's all." Jonas winked, then continued, "So, divest. The reason that's an interesting question is that's the word that immediately sold me when True Name came to me with that suggestion. It was the lynchpin on which the project was hung, and we built outward from there." -Ey scribbled quickly in eir shorthand, doing eir best to take down verbatim what Jonas was saying. Ey'd be able to remember, for sure, but through writing, ey might better process and use what time ey had with the founder while ey had the chance. +Ey scribbled quickly in eir shorthand, doing eir best to take down verbatim what Jonas was saying. Ey'd be able to remember, sure, but through writing, ey might better process and use what time ey had with the founder while ey had the chance. "It could've meant so many things," he was saying. "It could've meant just "clone the System and leave a copy at the Earth-Sun L5 point". It could've meant "break the physical elements of the System up into much smaller ones and scatter them around so that damage to one did not beggar the others". Both of those are still on the table, by the way. -"We took it in another way, however, given news that we've been reaching from Earth. In particular, we were noticing a tendency to move from the excesses of capitalism back to the day-to-day hardships of feudalism and even, in some cases, subsistence farming. The problem, I'm sure you can imagine, is that when you're stuck being a peasant or scraping by to earn the most meager living, you aren't all that keen on space. It's only by dint of a few dreamers and the impossibility of retrieving it that the System remains up here in the first place." +"We took it in another way, however, given news that we've been receiving from Earth. In particular, we were noticing a tendency to move from the excesses of capitalism back to the day-to-day hardships of feudalism and even, in some cases, subsistence farming. The problem, I'm sure you can imagine, is that when you're stuck being a peasant or scraping by to earn the most meager living, you aren't all that keen on space. It's only by dint of a few dreamers and the impossibility of retrieving it that the System remains up here in the first place." Ioan nodded. "One of our interviewees phys-side said much the same thing." @@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ Ey frowned. "What it sounds like your goals are is to keep life on Earth from ge "And how is that frightening?" Jonas laughed. "The grass *is* greener. We give them something to reach for. What more could anyone want out of life than a goal?" -Ioan kept from speaking up about what ey'd heard from those ey had interviewed who had uploaded for the money, about those they'd left behind, that whiff of eugenics. Instead, ey asked. "Alright, last question for now. Two-parter. One of my clade interviewed someone who mentioned that there was some dissension with your clade about whether to go ahead with Launch. Is that true?" +Ioan kept from speaking up about what ey'd heard from those ey had interviewed who had uploaded for the money, about those they'd left behind, that whiff of eugenics and imagined Malthusianism Instead, ey asked. "Alright, last question for now. Two-parter. One of my clade interviewed someone who mentioned that there was some dissension with your clade about whether to go ahead with Launch. Is that true?" Jonas shook his head, swallowing the last sip of his drink before saying, "There might have appeared to be, but I guarantee you that that was manufactured. Having some highly visible folks argue about whether or not it was a good idea gets everyone interested." diff --git a/content/read/051.md b/content/read/051.md index 3cc1432..f2c9f45 100644 --- a/content/read/051.md +++ b/content/read/051.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ # Codrin Bălan#Pollux --- 2325 -The messages between LVs and the L5 System were flying as fast and as thick as possible, given the nearly day and a half transmission time between the station and the launches. It was enough time for Codrin to sit and stew and plan. +The messages between LVs and the L5 System were flying as fast and as thick as possible, given the near day of transmission time between the station and the launches. It was enough time for Codrin to sit and stew and plan. The sheer amount of information that was being generated by the Bălan clade and all of their Odist assistants and lovers was enormous, and so much of it was so important, so meaningful, so *weird* that there was little else ey felt ey could do. There was no clarification that any one of them could offer the other that would take the form of a conversation, something immediate. Instead, they each had to wait three days for a response to a query. Messages became letters, rather than conversations. diff --git a/content/read/052.md b/content/read/052.md index d6df568..3dca944 100644 --- a/content/read/052.md +++ b/content/read/052.md @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Codrin hesitated, pen nib resting on paper, a dark blue spot of ink spreading sl She nodded toward em. "You have this humanity. I have this humanity. Jonas has this humanity. You may not like us. You may think us manipulative and angry, or perhaps emotionless and cruel. You may think us villainous. It does not matter. What we have done, we have done to protect your humanity. What we have done, we have done to protect the humanity of all here on the System. What we have done, we have done to protect the humanity of even those phys-side, but you must understand, Codrin, that the humanity which requires the strictures of government is one less perfect than ours, and so we guide them to their logical conclusions." -"But why?" ey asked again, voice quavering. In fear, in anger, ey couldn't tell. "Why would you do that? Why guide the less perfect ones here? Even if you're right, that those who upload are somehow more perfect versions of those who don't or haven't yet. What does that even buy you? I don't get it. You don't sound like some psychotic villain who wants to bring humanity under their wing out of some misguided, high-minded ideals. You sound like a psychopath." +"But why?" ey asked again, voice quavering. In fear, in anger, ey couldn't tell. "Why would you do that? Why guide the less perfect ones here? Even if you're right, that those who upload are somehow more perfect versions of those who don't or haven't yet. What does that even buy you? I don't get it. You don't sound like some psychotic villain who wants to bring humanity under their wing out of some misguided, high-minded ideals. You sound like a psychopath." Ey immediately regretted the incautious choice of words, the unnecessary pathologization, but by then it was was too late, eir anger had already driven it from eir mouth. True Name laughed. It was a musical laugh, replete with tones of real amusement and genuine pity. A fantastically toothy laugh, and those teeth were sharp. "There is nothing I can say that will convince you that I am earnest in these endeavors, Codrin. You know that. You know that you have already made up your mind." @@ -54,9 +54,9 @@ The skunk nodded. "No. We are not reading your notes, we are simply keeping tabs on the project." -"Much of what ey learned," ey said, starting to feel the heat of anger rising through fear, growing within em. "Indicated that many of those who upload, even if it's only those who upload for the incentive, hold more than just a cynical view of the System. They recognize that it is a tool that their governments hold over them and perhaps imagine that those governments are tools of the System in turn, even if only on some subconscious level. If they're your pupae, they know the terrors of being a butterfly caught in a net." +"Much of what ey learned," ey said, starting to feel the heat of anger rising through fear, growing within em, "indicated that many of those who upload, even if it's only those who upload for the incentive, hold more than just a cynical view of the System. They recognize that it's a tool that their governments hold over them and perhaps imagine that those governments are tools of the System in turn, even if only on some subconscious level. If they're your pupae, they know the terrors of being a butterfly caught in a net." -"And Jonas Prime told Ioan about the cost-benefit analyses inherent in all that we do," True Name countered. "Some small fraction may be aware of and unhappy with the actions that we have taken, but in the grand scheme of things, we are simply setting up and maintaining the progression for all, removing them from lives that require such manipulations to somewhere where those manipulations are not just unneeded, but are not even possible. The same applies to your project, as I'm sure you have heard. It passes the same measure as insignificant in the grand scheme of things." +"And Jonas Prime told Ioan about the cost-benefit analyses inherent in all that we do," True Name countered. "Some small fraction may be aware of and unhappy with the actions that we have taken, but in the grand scheme of things, we are simply setting up and maintaining the progression for all, removing them from lives that require such manipulations to somewhere where those manipulations are not just unneeded, but are not even possible. The same applies to your project, as I am sure you have heard. It passes the same measure as insignificant in the grand scheme of things." The skunk's words, however calm they might have seemed, battered and buffeted em. They smashed up against eir emotions and base instincts, scuffing away carefully-maintained control until the fear and anger shone through bright and hot. Codrin pushed emself quickly to eir feet and leaned eir hands against the desktop. "How fucking cynical do you have to be to wind up in this mindset? I've met so many of your clade, and none of them have their heads so far up their asses as you do. I can't believe--" diff --git a/content/read/053.md b/content/read/053.md index 964944f..cb7a995 100644 --- a/content/read/053.md +++ b/content/read/053.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ > Here we must step back and address a potential conflict of interest. > -> At time of writing, the Bălan clade is made up of two personalities in the form of three individuals: Ioan Bălan, the root instance, remains on the L5 System, and Codrin Bălan travels on the Launch Vehicles (hereafter "LVs"). Two persons, three instances. +> At time of writing, the Bălan clade is made up of two personalities in the form of three individuals: Ioan Bălan, the root instance, remains on the System at the Earth-Moon L5 Lagrange point (hereafter "Lagrange"), and Codrin Bălan travels on the Launch Vehicles (hereafter "LVs"). Two persons, three instances. > > Both of these persons, all of three of these instances, are entangled with the Ode clade. Ioan Bălan has worked extensively with and is in a relationship with May Then My Name Die With Me of the Ode clade, and Codrin Bălan has worked with and is in a polyamorous relationship which includes Dear, Also The Tree That Was Felled of the Ode clade. The fact that the Ode clade was instrumental in both Secession and Launch is undeniable, and the fact that the Bălan clade is entangled with the Odists is equally so. > diff --git a/content/read/054.md b/content/read/054.md index 84aa034..1d90db3 100644 --- a/content/read/054.md +++ b/content/read/054.md @@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ Yared frowned. "Do you think there will be any further legislation around the Sy Demma grinned. "There's no need for you to, but I'll do my best to explain if it will keep you placated. The System is a nuisance and a political thorn in everyone's side. It needed removal --- as any thorn does --- before the infection spread. Anyone who held onto their citizenship while making a one-way journey to a nowhere we aren't even sure is real could still have had influence back in their so-called home countries. Look at Jonas, if you need a prime example. Now they can't. That's that. It's a dumping ground for dreamers, and the less of those we have here, the easier our jobs get." -"But I thought," Yared said, voice raw. "I thought you wanted to help them secede." +"But I thought," Yared said, voice raw, "I thought you wanted to help them secede." Demma only shrugged. "I did. Just maybe not for the same reasons as you." diff --git a/content/read/055.md b/content/read/055.md index 0cfa992..246d4a8 100644 --- a/content/read/055.md +++ b/content/read/055.md @@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ True name stood, brushing her paws down over her blouse to straighten some imagi "I'll have to tell it that when I get back. It'll be excited to hear its idea out in the wild." -The skunk walked with em to the door and grinned. "It will be fucking pissed, Codrin Bălan, and we both know that." +The skunk walked with em to the door and chuckled. "It will be fucking pissed, Codrin Bălan, and we both know that." When ey returned home and set down eir notes on eir desk, ey quit to merge with the Codrin that had remained behind, who, bearing the sudden weight of exhaustion, walked into the house proper, into the bedroom, and slipped, fully-clothed, beneath the sheets. The interview had not lasted more than half an hour, and yet ey felt drained. @@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ Codrin nodded. "Thanks. Stressful day." "Very, very batty," Codrin mumbled, and there was a pleasant silence between the two. -A loud clatter and a shouted curse from the kitchen was followed quickly by Dear forking off an instance to go help its partner, leaving the original fox and Codrin to sit up in bed. +A loud clatter and a shouted curse from the kitchen was followed quickly by Dear forking off an instance to go help their partner, leaving the original fox and Codrin to sit up in bed. "You know," ey said. "True Name said that you'd get fucking pissed if I told you this, but I'm going to anyway, because I can't leave well enough alone. She said that the divergence between the two LVs and the System was irreversible." diff --git a/content/read/056.md b/content/read/056.md index a692554..b513c38 100644 --- a/content/read/056.md +++ b/content/read/056.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ The wandering discussion took place around a chiminea radiating warmth. An inden "I like it," Zeke rumbled. "I only ever got to see snow once, and that was in Yakutsk when I was uploading." -The three S-R Bloc goons laughed. "There's not that much snow out there," one of them said. "But I'm glad you got to see it at least once." +The three S-R Bloc goons laughed. "There's not that much snow out there," one of them said, "but I'm glad you got to see it at least once." The bundle of rags nodded appreciatively, extending a pseudopod of an arm to ladle more of the wine into his mug. diff --git a/content/read/057.md b/content/read/057.md index 507cf16..97ac950 100644 --- a/content/read/057.md +++ b/content/read/057.md @@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Ey prowled through the exo ey had devoted to this project, rifling through files Ioan scribbled furiously to keep up, as the skunk's language flowed more easily and became more flowery. -"But this is just speculation, Mx. Bălan. We do not know why we differ so much, but we do, and that is the best guess we have. The evidence you have just seen is all we have to back it up, but you have seen what was borne from it. All of the stanzas have their role, and mine just happens to be that of politics. We influence people. It is just what we do." +"But this is just speculation, Mx. Bălan. We do not know why we differ so much, but we do, and that is the best guess we have. The evidence you have just seen is all we have to back it up, but you have seen what was borne of it. All of the stanzas have their role, and mine just happens to be that of politics. We influence people. It is just what we do." "Which is why your stanza was able to dive so easily into their associated tasks. They had your memories, of course, but they also had that same drive." diff --git a/content/read/059.md b/content/read/059.md index dbcb74d..6900e3d 100644 --- a/content/read/059.md +++ b/content/read/059.md @@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ Ey nodded. "For that, sure, but also for the sake of me, or us." "Among Those Who Create Are Those Who Forge started out by watching creatives here on the System, perhaps unsurprisingly, but grew bored and wandered off to do their own thing. -"Time Is A Finger Pointed At Itself helped both Praiseworthy and Qoheleth as a speech writer, though she was more into theatre than whatever work they gave her. I must take you to one of her shows. +"Time Is A Finger Pointing At Itself helped both Praiseworthy and Qoheleth as a speech writer, though she was more into theatre than whatever work they gave her. I must take you to one of her shows. "If I Am To Bathe In Dreams acted as the grounding element for much of the clade. She became something of a therapist. I have leaned on her often. @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ Ey nodded. "For that, sure, but also for the sake of me, or us." Ey frowned. "That doesn't sound like feeling." -"That is because True Name did this on a whim, in the most True Name way possible, and I do not think she expected me to be anything but as manipulative as her. She wanted another True Name for a different purpose. In order to influence someone on a truly individual level, though, you must be able to understand them, and I began to work towards that. I did not tell her at first. I changed myself physically, and then as I went out into the System to learn how to manipulate individuals, I kept on forking and changing whenever I found myself coming to a new conclusion. In short, I guess I grew a sense of empathy." +"That is because True Name did this on a whim, in the most True Name way possible, and I do not think she expected me to be anything but as manipulative as her. She wanted another True Name for a different purpose. In order to influence someone on a truly individual level, though, you must be able to understand them, and I began to work towards that. I did not tell her at first. I changed myself physically, and then as I went out into the System to learn how to manipulate individuals, I kept on forking and changing whenever I found myself coming to a new conclusion. In short, I guess I grew a greater sense of empathy." "Why didn't you tell her?" @@ -72,11 +72,11 @@ The skunk brightened and nodded. "Yes. The System is more subtle than we give it "That's pretty damn manipulative," ey said. -What brightness had reached her face faded again. "It was. I was a hell of a tool before I grew my own conscience." +What brightness had reached her face faded again. "It was. I was a hell of a tool before I grew into my own." "So, you started to feel bad?" -"I started to *feel*, Ioan. Bad, yes, but I started to feel. True Name does not do much of that. I started to feel, and when I started to feel love, affection, friendship...well, those felt good, so I'd fork again to cement those more firmly in place." +"I started to *feel*, Ioan. Bad, yes, but I started to feel. True Name does not do much of that, not in a way we understand. I started to feel, and when I started to feel love, affection, friendship...well, those felt good, so I'd fork again to cement those more firmly in place." "But you still manipulated those around you." @@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Ioan let out a breath, realizing partway through that it was coming out as a lau Her words were unsteady, clouded by tears, but she continued, "The gods built the world because they desired to shape it to their will. They wanted to bend the world into something that they could direct this way and that, because after all, could they not do that with their atoms and molecules? A world that is orderly! Imagine the wonders they could create! The wills they could work! -"So the gods set the world to spinning and watched and waited as it began to blossom and bloom. When the time was ripe, they reached down their hands to touch the world, and instead found that they had become the wind and the tides and the rain and the snow and the sunlight and the moonlight. They reached down to touch the world and shape it to their will, and found that they become impersonal forces in the face of absolute independence. The world they created could not be controlled, because there is no such thing as a world that can be controlled. They reached down, became impersonal forces, and the lives within the world bundled their coats up tighter at the north wind or took their hats off when the sun shone bright, but never could they change a single mind." +"So the gods set the world to spinning and watched and waited as it began to blossom and bloom. When the time was ripe, they reached down their hands to touch the world, and instead found that they had become the wind and the tides and the rain and the snow and the sunlight and the moonlight. They reached down to touch the world and shape it to their will, and found that they become impersonal forces in the face of absolute independence. The world they created could not be controlled, because there is no such thing as a world that can be controlled. They reached down, became impersonal forces, and the lives within the world bundled their coats up tighter at the North Wind or took their hats off when the Sun shone bright, but never could they change a single mind." A long silence followed May's myth, broken only by the soft sounds of her crying. @@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ Ey sighed. The skunk laughed through the tears, a choked and stifled sound. She finally reached out and set one of her paws in Ioan's hand. "Even then, I would feel bad." -"I believe that, too," ey said, brushing a thumb over her fingers. "I believe that you're genuine, is what I'm trying to say. You just happened to have the craziest fucking family I've ever met." +"I believe that, too," ey said, brushing eir thumb over her fingers. "I believe that you're genuine, is what I'm trying to say. You just happened to have the craziest fucking family I've ever met." At this, May laughed in earnest, rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm down. "Yes, you are right. I am sorry that they are upsetting people, and that I am a part of that, that I did what I do and that you were their goal. The last thing that I want to do is hurt you." diff --git a/content/read/060.md b/content/read/060.md index 2591b9f..9f88e5b 100644 --- a/content/read/060.md +++ b/content/read/060.md @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ Systime: 202+22 1208 > : Yes. Well, can you expand on how you feel relieved? > > Dear -> : I will try. There is a lot that the Ode clade has done that has come to light in the last year, and while I cannot say that I was personally a part of much of that, I have also borne that knowledge. I also knew those secrets. Not having to hold them constantly at bay from even those that I am closest to has let off that pressure. +> : I will try. There is a lot that the Ode clade has done that has come to light in the last year, and while I cannot say that I was personally a part of much of that, I have also borne that knowledge. I also knew some of those secrets. Not having to hold them constantly at bay from even those that I am closest to has let off that pressure. > > Codrin > : Thank you for telling us, too. I know that True Name said we won't see a huge reaction from this given her past work, but it's still a relief to hear for me, as well. Now, do you have any additional thoughts on why you decided to join the Launch? I'm particularly interested on your thoughts on investing entirely in it, but I suspect those will come up in separate questions. @@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Systime: 202+22 1208 > : You said, "If we are doomed to forever remember everything, then the closest we can get to being forgotten is to turn memory into longing." You also said that you wanted to be missed. How do you feel about that sentiment now? Is it happening? Is it progressing at the pace you'd like it to? Are you happy about it? > > Dear -> : It is an interesting question, because I cannot know, can I? I cannot know if anyone misses me or is longing for me back on the L5 station, can I? They can write me, perhaps, let me know that they are thinking of me, but words on paper only convey so much meaning. It makes me wish that someone had found a way to share thoughts, or even facial expressions, between the LVs and the System, but no, we are stuck with text, and therein lies the beauty. +> : It is an interesting question, because I cannot know, can I? I cannot know if anyone misses me or is longing for me back on the L5 station, can I? They can write me, perhaps, let me know that they are thinking of me, but words on paper only convey so much meaning. It makes me wish that someone had found a way to share thoughts, or even just facial expressions, between the LVs and the System, but no, we are stuck with text, and therein lies the beauty. > > Codrin > : Can you expand on what 'longing' and 'being missed' mean to you in this sense? diff --git a/content/read/063.md b/content/read/063.md index 35b1472..e75abd5 100644 --- a/content/read/063.md +++ b/content/read/063.md @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ After a certain point, when one gets so far from the sun that transmission times And so it is that, in some wonderful serendipity, all three members of the Bălan clade are asleep. Both Codrins have fallen asleep with Dear in their arms, as they so often do, while both versions of the third member of their triad curl a few inches away, never having done well being touched while sleeping. The foxes fit so nicely against their fronts, their fur so soft. -Ioan sleeps, too, and in eir arms, May Then My Name dreams. She is somewhere between waking and sleeping, and has been letting herself hover there for the last hour, while she does her best work, sewing hypnogogic myths into the seams of dream and reality. Ioan sleeps with eir arms around her, snoring gently, while she stays curled against em, head tucked up under her partner's chin, tail draped loosely over eir hip. The skunk fits so nicely against eir front, her fur so soft. +Ioan sleeps, too, and in eir arms, May Then My Name dreams. She is somewhere between waking and sleeping, and has been letting herself hover there for the last hour, while she does her best work, sewing hypnagogic myths into the seams of dream and reality. Ioan sleeps with eir arms around her, snoring gently, while she stays curled against em, head tucked up under her partner's chin, tail draped loosely over eir hip. The skunk fits so nicely against eir front, her fur so soft. Perhaps the other Odists sleep and dream and snore and curl, too. End Waking does, one supposes, tired after another day exploring that endless forest, another day climbing trees and clambering through ravines, doing his best to wear himself out, to sleep, to stop feeling. Serene certainly does, too, so that she can use those dreams to build new landscapes; mountains, perhaps, or maybe a swamp. Some instances of True Name are surely sleeping, because we know that she must at some point, but others are likely out and about, walking sims, or perhaps planning with any number of different Jonases, scheming and conniving and workshopping and wargaming.