Sime~Gen Roleplaying: District Controller's Office Scenario
Episode #40: A Little Gossip, A Little Chat (6/17/99)
Tiarala enters the testing cubical, carrying a new file stuffed full of recent test results, but rather skimpy otherwise.
Hero sits there looking and zlinning bored out of her skull.
Hero is the spitting image of Riyyh ambrov Naros, only much younger and somewhat more female.
Tiarala: Hello, dear. I'm Hajene Tiarala ambrov Imil.
Tiarala: Imil offers respect to Naros, and all of that.
Tiarala smiles in a friendly fashion.
Hero perks up as company arrives.
Hero: Hello.
Tiarala is thinking that given the Narosian reluctance to work for the Tecton, doing this as one Householder to another might work best.
Tiarala holds up the folder.
Tiarala: I can see from this that they've been keeping you very busy for the past week.
Hero: Gosh, I wish!
Tiarala zlins Hero carefully to get a feel for her nager.
Tiarala smiles sympathetically.
Tiarala: Well, testing can get a bit repetitive, but you see, we can't place you without it.
Hero: Mulla says Jeddi says Nick said Arat said you seduced my dad into signing all the Tecton papers.
Hero: Did you?
Hero: [brightly]
Tiarala is slightly taken aback.
Hero has taken to meaning Riyyh when she says "my dad", due to a certain amount of annoyance on Snake's part over the winter.
Tiarala: Oh, I don't think you should believe everything you hear.
Hero: No kidding! The other day Juda told me Controller Arat hadn't had sex in a year and a half, and I knew that couldn't be right!
Tiarala: Do you like your brother Nick?
Hero: Oh, Nick? He's kind of cool. [dubiously]
Hero: I mean, he was kind of stuck on Snake and stuff, and she's mean.
Hero: So I didn't hang out with them much, until Prunida kidnapped me.
Tiarala: Did you learn a lot from Hajene Snake?
Tiarala thinks that might explain the erratic flashes of exceptional work in the test results.
Hero: Welll........
Hero: It's kind of hard to tell.
Hero: She told me to shut up and stuff.
Tiarala nods in a sympathetic fashion.
Hero: But then we did some lessons and things. She was all, "if you learned to concentrate you might be worth something to somebody someday."
Hero frowns.
Tiarala: Yes. Farris channels tend to be like that.
Tiarala: Look at Controller Arat!
Hero's eyes widen.
Hero: What about him?
Hero didn't like him much, but is always eager to hear gossip about Talked About People.
Tiarala: Oh, he's said to be very fussy about having the ambient just so, when he's working.
Tiarala: But any Donor who learns to work to his standards would have it made in the Tecton.
Hero: Oh.
Tiarala zlins Hero to see if she seems interested in the challenge.
Hero's nager darts about seemingly in response to various haphazard thoughts in Hero's head, some of which are intriguing and others of which are unsure, cheerful, or curious.
Hero: What does he do?
Hero: You know, when somebody messes up the ambient?
Tiarala sighs, wishing that this girl had half Nick's alleged powers of concentration.
Tiarala: Controller Arat?
Hero: Well, yeah.
Hero had thought that was who they were talking about.
Tiarala: Oh, he scowls at them fiercely, like this.
Tiarala demonstrates.
Tiarala: And he tells them to straighten up, or else.
Hero squeals in excitement, and her nager thrills.
Hero: Do it again!
Tiarala: But he's very fair, really.
Hero wants to be able to repeat the expression to others.
Hero: So what are you going to test me on?
Hero: I liked the test for seeing if I could tell what people were thinking.
Hero presses her fingers against her temples.
Hero: She's getting mad... I think... yes, she's definitely mad or frustrated.
Hero: I got pretty good at Snake after hanging out with her all winter. [explains]
Tiarala understands that this test has proved unreliable on Narosians, since the gossip-gathering talents of Riyyh's descendants often mimic ESP.
Tiarala chuckles.
Tiarala: I'm happy to be able to tell you that your initial testing is done, at least for a while.
Tiarala: You have a great deal of undeveloped potential, you know.
Tiarala: I'm here to help you figure out what you want to do with it.
Tiarala smiles encouragingly.
Hero: Oh!
Tiarala: Have you given any thought to your future?
Hero: A little bit.
Tiarala settles back to listen.
Hero: First of all, I really wanted to be like Riyyh's wife.
Hero: Only, it doesn't seem like I'm ever going to get back home again.
Hero: ~despairing~
Tiarala: Oh, I don't see any reason why you couldn't visit from time to time.
Hero: Really?
Tiarala reaches to pat Hero's hand comfortingly.
Tiarala: After you're settled, of course.
Hero: [perks up, and her nager brightens suddenly like the sun bursting from behind a cloud]
Tiarala blinks at the sudden selyn-shine.
Tiarala: Wouldn't you like to be able to show all your friends at home just how successful you've become?
Hero: Um...
Hero's nager wavers unenthusiastically.
Hero: I guess so.
Hero has never been very ambitious.
Hero: [at least not in the normal sense]
Hero: So then when I was hanging out with Snake and them I thought I might like to become a ski instructor.
Hero's nager brightens again at the memory.
Hero: Mainly because they were soooooooo cool, and also I was like, soooooo bored with Snake. And, plus, she was way mean to me. I mean, like, all the time.
Tiarala: A ski instructor? Do you ski?
Tiarala: I didn't think there were any hills high enough for skiing at Naros.
Hero: No, they wouldn't let me. [nager blackens again] Snake said it was too dangerous and nobody else had any money.
Hero: Snake was soooo stingy.
Hero's childhood at Naros had not really prepared her for wants.
Tiarala: Well, channels tend to be a bit wary, when a Donor does something dangerous.
Tiarala: And skiing accidents are common, you know.
Hero: I wouldn't have an accident. ~~confidently~~
Tiarala: Did you know that a good Donor makes a very good salary?
Hero: Yeah and never has any time to spend it.
Hero remembers that much from what Riyyh had patiently told them all when she was a child.
Tiarala: Well, that depends on who you're working for.
Hero: Y'have to work for the Tecton, don't you?
Tiarala: Not all channels demand as much from their Donors as Arat, or Snake, for that matter.
Hero: Is it true that Arat is Snake's dad?
Hero: ~~curious~~
Tiarala: That's still under investigation, I understand.
Tiarala expects that it will be "under investigation" until people give up and stop asking.
Hero: I think it is, because they look sooo much alike. They're both like.... brrr!!
Hero's nager simulates perfectly what a person feels when stared down by a disapproving Arat.
Tiarala chuckles.
Hero: Although Arat has never thrown anything at me, not even once. [adds thoughtfully]
Tiarala: There is a resemblance, but all Farrises look alike to some extent.
Hero: And nobody ever told me he tried to murder anybody.
Hero: Do you have any kids?
Tiarala: Yes, three. My youngest daughter is just about your age.
Tiarala: She's recently Qualified First--I'm afraid I'm very proud of her.
Tiarala: ~~ maternal pride ~~
Hero: Gosh.
Hero: You don't look old enough to have a kid that old.
Hero looks at Tiarala with Riyyh-ish coyness.
Tiarala: Why, thank you.
Hero: So um, did Arat like, stick you with me?
Hero: Or did you ask for it?
Tiarala: Not at all. I was very glad to have the chance to work with a Donor of your potential.
Hero's nager regains some of its enthusiasm.
Tiarala: From these tests, you have the ability to be as good as Nick, with training.
Hero's effect on the ambient over an entire conversation is rather like the effect partially-cloudy skies in a strong wind has on outdoor light levels.
Hero: Oh.
Hero seems to find that less interesting than the idea that Tiarala actually wanted to work with her.
Hero: Is it true Prunida kidnapped Nick and sold him to the Tecton?
Tiarala finds herself reflexively bracing against a breeze that isn't there.
Hero: Cause you know, she did the same thing to me, only she sold me to Snake. And Snake sent her packing instead of paying her. [adds]
Hero: Course, I don't think Snake liked her at all. She was always groping Nick and stuff.
Hero: Prunida has this, like, Donor fetish.
Tiarala: I'm afraid I don't know Prunida, but there are always renSimes who dream of having a Donor, or a channel, for a friend.
Tiarala has not, of course, been given access to Nick's file, and so doesn't have the full story, even to the limited extent that the Tecton knows it.
Hero looks dubious.
Tiarala: Some can get quite persistent.
Hero: I'll say.
Hero: She got her own daughter to have a Donor for a kid since she wasn't one herself.
Hero: That's how Nick came to be Riyyh's son and grandson.
Tiarala: Really?
Hero: And I heard she even tried to nab Nick's paycheck, too, but they didn't let her.
Tiarala: Well, of course not. A Donor's salary belongs to him--or her.
Tiarala: No one can take it without permission.
Hero: I guess somebody shoulda told her that about 25 years ago.
Hero grins impishly.
Hero: ~~humor~~
Hero: Mulla says Arat hates her guts because she spilled some tea once. [irrelevantly]
Hero: Gosh, I thought my mom was strict!
Hero: And Wolfa complained about my nager, but she never said anything if I spilled tea, actually she probably spilled it more than I did....
Tiarala: Was Wolfa your teacher back at Naros?
Hero: Yeah, she was my channel too.
Hero: And my boss.
Hero: Sort of.
Hero isn't sure if a person is called your boss if you shirk most of the work she gives you.
Tiarala zlins Hero to determine how she feels about Wolfa.
Hero: ~~mild loss all confused with curiosity and a sort of general, low-level giddiness~~
Tiarala is relieved that Hero isn't pining for her former channel.
Tiarala: So, about your future....
Tiarala: You have a choice of several good schools for completing your Donor training.
Tiarala: The closest is in New Othwol.
Tiarala: That's where Nick Reckage has been sent, to serve the Controller there, Deah Tigue.
Tiarala: So if you went there, you'd already have a brother on the staff.
Hero scratches her head.
Hero: I thought Nick didn't want to go there.
Tiarala had heard of a few loud objections herself.
Tiarala: Of course he went. Controller Tigue is his channel, for the next two months.
Tiarala: And a Donor's place is with his channel.
Hero doesn't look convinced.
Hero: How come I have to go to a school? School is boring.
Hero: Can't I just learn from one person?
Hero's eyes light up.
Hero: I know, I'll tell them I'll only do it if you teach me,
Tiarala: Oh, but you'll learn so much more if you have many teachers.
Hero: Yeah but you're nice, and you're already here, then I wouldn't have to leave again.
Hero: ~~perky~~
Tiarala chuckles.
Tiarala: I expect you'll be feeling like you've lived in New Othwol all your life, after a few weeks.
Hero screws her face up.
Tiarala: There will be a lot of other students there, people your own age.
Tiarala: I met some of my best friends in school.
Hero looks slightly less doubtful at the mention of other people her age.
Hero: Did you go to New Othwol?
Tiarala: No, dear, I went through changeover long before the New Othwol school was built.
Tiarala: But the Tecton had founded a channel training school at Rialite. I went there.
Hero: Oh.
Tiarala: You won't have to take the whole training course, given your previous experience.
Hero: Really?
Tiarala: You'll just be filling in the bits you've missed.
Hero's nager begins to bounce perkily again.
Tiarala: I expect you'll have plenty of time to get into mischief.
Hero becomes quite optimistic at the mention of opportunities to get into mischief.
Tiarala thinks, "until the teachers catch on and accelerate your curriculum".
Tiarala: And when you graduate, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've had the best training that's available.
Hero: Ummm... sure.
Hero's interest wanes again.
Hero: So like, what do you do in the Tecton?
Hero: Besides get papers signed, I mean?
Tiarala: There do seem to be a lot of papers to sign, doesn't there?
Hero's eyes widen.
Hero wonders if that means Tiarala goes back and forth to Naros a lot.
Tiarala: I'm in charge of the children's ward.
Tiarala: And I help out in other departments from time to time, as well.
Tiarala: It's interesting work.
Hero: So like, what is the deal with Arat and Jeniard?
Hero: Everybody talks about it but nobody really says anything.
Tiarala reminds herself firmly that as a Narosian, Hero would not have been taught that the private life of the District Controller is not the business of Donor-trainees, however much potential they might have.
Tiarala: Arat and Jeniard have been friends since they were in First Year.
Tiarala firmly stops the tale there.
Hero: Just friends? ~~disappointed~~
Hero looks around for something else that might entertain her.
Hero: ~~growing bored~~
Tiarala: Now then, I'm sure you'll be eager to get to New Othwol and start on your new life.
Hero: Er... oh, yeah.
Hero returns her attention to Tiarala.
Tiarala: There is a train which leaves tomorrow at noon.
Hero: Tomorrow?
Tiarala: Yes. You'll have to switch trains in Nestaf.
Tiarala: They'll be expecting you.
Hero: You already told them??
Tiarala: Why, yes. They're quite eager to have a student with your potential.
Tiarala: I'm sure you'll do very well there.
Hero: I totally feel like a wood chip.
Tiarala: A wood chip?
Hero: You know, when a wood chip gets kicked into the horse trough and then somebody comes along and dumps out the trough to clean it.
Hero: And the wood chip goes flying off every which way wherever the water goes between the grass and stuff.
Hero looks and zlins rather wilted.
Tiarala reaches out to pat Hero again.
Tiarala: I know you feel rather buffeted around by fate just now, dear.
Tiarala: But you'll make a place for yourself quickly enough.
Tiarala: Just give it a chance.
Hero has been hearing that a lot in the last year or so.
Hero: OK.
Tiarala beams.
Tiarala: Now, they'll provide you with uniforms and other necessities at school, so you'll just want to pack what you'll require for the journey.
Tiarala: Along with any keepsakes you might want to take along, of course.
Tiarala: You'll start to draw a small stipend as soon as you're enrolled, so you'll have some spending money.
Hero: It's not like I had anything with me.
Hero: Prunida like totally kidnapped me, and she packed my stuff for me, didn't let me pick anything.
Hero is glad they have furnished some clothes for her here, since she had been ashamed of what was left of her Narosian clothes after a hard winter of repeated use.
Tiarala: Well, then, that leaves you all the more space to put things you pick out for yourself, doesn't it?
Hero considers.
Hero: Yeah!
Hero: ~~perks up a bit once again~~
Tiarala: You'll want to have a good dinner tonight, and get to sleep early.
Hero nods obediently.
Hero has always been good at the agreeing part of obedience.
Tiarala: I'll have the kitchen pack you some sandwiches to take on the train.
Hero nods again.
Tiarala: And you'll be on your way to a new adventure.
Hero: Yes, Tiarala.
Hero looks forward to being surrounded by young people who hopefully aren't stuffy.
see note 1
Nick sits in Deah's office, although not hoveringly close, and bends over his latest literary effort.
Nick is filling a second page with purple prose on the subject of how much he misses Snake, and worries about her health.
Nick looks at Deah.
Nick: What time does the mail go out?
Nick would hate for his missive to be delayed.
Deah: At noon.
Deah: Unless you'll be wanting a special courier?
Nick: Is there one heading towards Capitol?
Nick: ~~ eager ~~
Deah: Well, no, but you can arrange for one.
Nick: I haven't gotten any news of Snake since that one letter from Arat just after I arrived.
Nick hasn't stopped to consider that any mail he receives by regular post must make the round trip by train.
Nick: I'm worried that something's happened to her.
Nick: ~~ concern ~~
Deah: I'm sure nothing's happened.
Nick: It's just that I wouldn't know if it did.
Nick frets, apologetically.
Deah: I should think there's less chance of anything happening now, than there was before. [points out]
Deah: She's in capable hands, after all.
Deah thinks, 'more or less!'
Nick seals his letter with a blob of wax, then addresses it in a large, round hand.
Nick does not have to look up the details of the address, since he has been copying it out at least daily since he departed from Capitol.
Nick: There. Where do I find a courier?
Deah: The commercial one is cheaper than the Tecton one. Two blocks east, one block west, on 3rd Ave. E and 2nd St. W.
Deah: "Lightning Delivery".
Nick notes the name.
Nick: They're dependable?
Deah is not the type to use the Tecton one out of loyalty when the other one is more likely to arrive on time and, more to the point, is 10% cheaper.
Deah: Very.
Nick: Good. I'll be back...
Nick takes three steps and pauses.
Nick: Do you think you'll want me in the next half hour or so?
Nick is too much of a Farris-trained Donor to be comfortable leaving his channel for that long.
Deah: Go ahead. [smiles]
Deah has a certain amount of sympathy for Nick's situation, after all.
Nick checks Deah over reflexively, having heard the "I'm OK" line way too much from Farris channels who should have known better.
Nick then limps for the door at top speed.
Buggsy chuckles as the door closes behind Nick.
Buggsy: Is it love?
Deah glances at Buggsy and shrugs.
Deah: Low grade dependency, I think.
Buggsy: Oh, the poor man.
Buggsy: ~~ sympathy ~~
Buggsy: Do you think he'll be wanting some...consolation, as it were?
Deah: I never did ask, how did your dinner go?
Buggsy: He's much more civilized than his reputation makes him out to be.
Buggsy: I suppose it's the Narosian factor.
Buggsy's grasp of the environment vs genetics debate is perhaps not quite what it should be.
Deah: Well, Arat's had his hands on him for the last month and a half too.
Deah: That'd be enough to turn anyone into a civilized stiff.
Buggsy: True enough.
Buggsy: ~~ laughter ~~
Deah grins.
Deah: We'll get him loosened up though, hey?
Deah: In our copious spare time.
Buggsy turns at the FFSSSSSHH--whomp of an arriving message.
Buggsy: Speaking of which....
Buggsy: Do you want me to get that?
Deah: Go ahead. I have to finish writing this letter.
Buggsy is already moving towards the message chute.
Buggsy opens the capsule and scans the note.
Deah has been trying to correctly phrase a letter to make it appear as if it came from a distraught parent complaining about the sanitary conditions at the local high school.
Deah is not above a certain amount of lying to improve the quality of life of innocent schoolkids.
Buggsy: Well, it appears that the inspectors have finished with the juvenile delinquents across the street, and now are moving on to us experienced felons.
Deah: The inspection!
Deah strikes her forehead with the palm of her hand.
Deah: I knew there was something I'd forgotten.
Buggsy: They'll be in the building shortly--they are apparently stopping for lunch first.
Deah: Did they manage to take care of that little c-o-c-k-r-o-a-c-h problem in the kitchen?
Buggsy: Well, the good news is that they put down plenty of boric acid.
Deah looks at her.
Deah: There's bad news as well?
Buggsy: The bad news is, dead roaches don't run and hide themselves out of sight when the inspectors come calling--and the things are everywhere down there.
Buggsy: I'll send a note down to remind them to sweep quickly.
Buggsy is already scribbling.
Buggsy: Maybe we can arrange a diversion until that's happened?
Buggsy seals the note and drops it into the chute.
Deah winces at the description.
Deah: I'd better handle the diversion myself.
Deah: Which door are they bringing them in?
Buggsy: The front... and the lobby's always good for a few minutes of sight-seeing.
Buggsy: Particularly since that sculpture went in.
Deah: They did replace those ceiling tiles?
Deah: You know, the ones that were knocked off when the pointy part of the... ah, good.
Buggsy: Yes. That's the only good thing about that eyesore--they beautified the lobby when it went in.
Deah nods.
Buggsy: I still think that the only reason the artist gave the thing to us was because he couldn't find a sucker to buy it.
Deah: Either that or he wanted people to think we'd bought it, so he could get more gigs.
Buggsy: Well, maybe. But that would only work if they hadn't seen the thing.
Deah has to agree with her there.
Deah: Perhaps we should donate it to District.
Buggsy breaks into giggles.
Buggsy: Can you imagine Arat's face?
Deah: Yeah... pretty much the same as if we donated a large bucket of steaming....
Buggsy: But think of the public good that would be accomplished! Can we justify keeping that... masterpiece... from the broader public?
Deah: Er, I think it'd almost be a crime to expose more people to it, to be honest.
Deah: I think we should just leave it up for the obligatory five years and then remove it in the course of the next remodel.
Buggsy: Oh, well. You can't blame me for trying--I have to walk past the thing every morning.
Deah: Why do you think I use the laundry entrance?
Buggsy: And here I thought you were just making surprise inspections of the maintenance facilities.
Buggsy: Keeping them on their toes, as it were.
Deah chuckles.
Deah: Me?
Deah has been guilty of that now and then.
Nick returns, carrying a stack of mail.
Nick: I stopped by the mail room on my way back.
Deah: Anything exciting?
Nick absently plops a pile of assorted solicited and unsolicited missives on Deah's desk, and pulls two envelopes out of his shirt pocket.
Nick: Yes, there's one from Snake here, and a report from Arat.
Deah: Great.
Nick is a credit to his training, in that he returned to check on Deah before ripping open the envelopes.
Deah: I was just going to head down to the lobby, you can come with if you want. I can wait until you've read them.
Nick nods quickly and loses no time in opening Snake's letter, once he sees that Deah is not in urgent need of his services at the moment.
Snake Letter: Nick,
Nick squints at the squiggles.
Snake Letter: Needless to say life in isolation and imprisonment has not improved me or my prison.
Snake Letter: They have given me a Donor, named Beni, who must have pissed the wrong Controller off.
Snake Letter: He lives in fear I will bite him on the neck. I haven't bothered. He is OK I guess.
Nick smiles fondly.
Nick wonders vaguely who they got for Arat, if Beni is working with Snake, then almost drops the note when he reads the next sentence.
Snake Letter: Everybody except Arat is now convinced Arat is my father.
Nick: ~~ amazement ~~
Snake Letter: This all started when Beni remarked that we looked alike and then some friend of Arat's remembered something about hiring a hooker in the BC train station about 16 years ago.
Snake Letter: Personally, I think [unintelligible] although [unintelligible].
Snake Letter: God damn it [unintelligible]
Snake Letter: OK, I'm back, I made them give me a better pen.
Nick nods reflexively.
Snake Letter: I still can't believe you'd abandon me in this rat hole, with a yellow-bellied, bastard-fathering, mealy-mouthed bookworm of a jailkeeper.
Snake Letter: I hope you won't hold it against me if I throttle his mangy ass the next time he's stupid enough to come in the same room with me.
Snake Letter: Oh, and I hope you are doing OK with what's her name.
Snake Letter: Yours,
Snake Letter: [unintelligible]
Deah watches Nick read the letter.
Nick turns quickly to Arat's note, hoping for confirmation or refutation of the parentage issue.
Arat Letter: Nick,
Arat Letter: I hope that all is going well for you, and that you enjoy New Othwol and the City Controller's Office. I have every confidence that Deah Tigue will be able to provide excellent work experience. You may also find the town agreeable as well.
Arat Letter: You will be pleased to hear that Snake is progressing well, if slowly. We were able to find her a Donor she got along with and she has calmed down considerably.
Arat Letter: Linn Haskins has gone out to live in Capitol but expressed an interest in returning at intervals to visit Snake.
Nick makes a mental note to ask Linn to check on his landlady while he's gone.
Arat Letter: I have every hope that the young Donors and channel which accompanied Snake's arrival will be sent to New Othwol for training, although this has not yet been finalized.
Nick scans quickly for more news of Snake, particularly as regards her parentage.
Arat Letter: Yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah, Sincerely, Arat Farris, Controller, 53rd District NWT.
Nick closes Arat's letter, then goes back to scan Snake's once more.
Nick rereads the section about parentage.
Nick isn't positive, but he's pretty sure that Snake wouldn't still be threatening to murder Arat if she weren't really convinced that he was her father.
Nick thinks she should be glad; after all, at least she doesn't have Riyyh for a father. And grandfather.
Nick puts the letter in his pocket with Arat's, then looks at Deah.
Nick: You knew Arat when he was just past changeover, didn't you?
Deah: Yeah, I sure did.
Nick: Did he ever go through Bender Cove? It would have been about 16 years ago.
Deah gets up, in preparation for going downstairs.
Deah: Bender Cove?
Deah frowns.
Nick: Yes. Small port and fishing town on the border.
Deah: I know what Bender Cove is. [smiles]
Deah: That's a long time ago, let's see.
Deah: Well, his first assignment after training, he was sent to Maple Leaf Territory. They figured he couldn't do any political damage out there.
Nick nods, having figured he was sent to New Othwol for much the same reason.
Deah: Turned out to be a major mistake, he kicked up such a hissy fit at being taken from the New Othwol area, they finally had to bring him back.
Deah: In fact to get him out there in the first place he practically had to be kidnapped and dragged up there.
Deah: Anyway, Bender Cove might have been along that route, in one direction or the other.
Deah: But he was in Maple Leaf for about two weeks, and then back here again for at least a year and a half.
Nick: Would he have had reason to... celebrate, during the trip?
Deah: Shen, no, he was the most miserable son of a gun I ever met.
Deah: Come on, let's head down toward the lobby. [moving toward the door]
Nick follows.
Deah: But everybody else was in a party mood.
Nick: Why?
Deah: I mean hey, it was graduation! It was First Assignment.
Nick hasn't really experienced either, at least not under circumstances which would be cause for celebration.
Nick: Could Arat have been... drunk, or overdosed on medications, or otherwise not himself?
Deah: Oh yeah! That was the famous dare to get Arat drunk. [nods]
Deah: Mepig dared Jeniard to get Arat drunk on the trip, and he did.
Nick: And... did they do anything else, when he was drunk?
Deah looks at Nick oddly.
Deah: What's this all about?
Deah: I wasn't there, I can only tell you so much.
Nick: Snake thinks that Arat might be her father.
Deah gapes at Nick, and then laughs.
Deah: You're kidding me!
Nick is rather serious about the idea.
Nick: It would sure explain a lot.
Deah zlins his seriousness and tries to wipe the smile off her face.
Deah: [with extreme difficulty!]
Nick: Why Zeor couldn't place any of their Farris men in Bender Cove at the right time.
Nick: The way they both have that narrow face, unlike the other Farrises I've seen.
Nick: Arat even feels like Snake, sometimes, I mean beyond being a Farris.
Nick: That's why I was so comfortable with him, but not with Kenmore.
Deah: Whoa.
Deah: This would give Arat like, heart failure. To have an illegitimate child he didn't know about?
Deah: Family is more important to him, than, than selyn.
Deah: Well, almost.
Nick: His letter was so very careful not to mention the subject. In fact, he hardly mentions Snake at all.
Deah: Hmmm....
Deah: Oh, when we enter the lobby, try to keep your eyes to the left. Don't look over on the right hand side of the room at all, whatever you do. All right?
Nick: Umm... sure. But why?
Deah: Trust me on this one.
Deah: [Even a Tigue wouldn't want to zlin even a Farris-trained Donor's first reaction to The Sculpture.]
see note 2
Neptude makes an unannounced visit to Arat's office.
Jeniard jumps to get the door.
Arat tries to look as if the visit weren't a completely unexpected displeasure, even if it did come right during a badly required neck-rub.
Neptude nods when he sees Jeniard answering the door instead of Pylor, not surprised.
Neptude: Arat, I thought I'd just drop by and zlin how things are going for myself.
Jeniard lets Neptude in, zlinning of ~~I'm not here, don't pick on me~~
Neptude: Is Pylor on break?
Neptude: ~~ neutral ~~
Jeniard has been zlinning just a bit apprehensive ever since Arat chewed off his laterals for having blurted the bit about the drunken train journey.
Arat: Controller Neptude.
Arat: Yes, he is.
Arat has been saying his Donors were "on break" for so many years he can say it with perfect ease.
Arat: I can see if I can have somebody find him for you...?
Neptude: That won't be necessary.
Arat nods.
Neptude: I do apologize for assigning him to you, but there was no way I was going to get to steal a second high First, when I already had one available.
Neptude: Pylor really is capable of doing good work, when his prejudices don't get in the way.
Neptude: Perhaps I can trade him for something better next month.
Arat gives Neptude a look best described as "But I'm doing so much for you, how could you inflict this terrible beast on me for an entire month???"
Arat: ~~hint of depression~~
Neptude catches the look, and decides that the Pylor-Arat situation must be worse than he thought.
Neptude decides to at least not hassle Arat about Jeniard until Pylor is out of there.
Jeniard surreptitiously creeps up to Neptude and offers him some hot tea.
Neptude: I was hoping you could give me you personal opinion on the progress our collection of rogues is making.
Neptude accepts the tea with a nod of thanks.
Arat: Wise Snake Farris has been considerably improved.
Arat: Beni has had no trouble with her. I have every hope we will be able to get her working -- in controlled situations, of course -- soon.
Neptude: Good, good. That should improve her temper.
Neptude: Have you heard from Nick?
Neptude: Did he arrive safely at New Othwol?
Arat: Yes, he is still adjusting although there haven't been any major difficulties.
Neptude: Is Controller Tigue satisfied with his skills and behavior?
Arat lives in fear that Nick will either 1) forget that he exists and request to be put into a regular Tecton rotation, or 2) become so dulled by working with Deah that he is utterly unable to work with Arat again.
Arat: Yes, she is.
Neptude: What about the others in their group?
Neptude: Have you decided what to do with them yet?
Arat: The three of them are going to Othwol and Fellps for training, tomorrow.
Arat: Linn Haskins has been released on probation.
Neptude: Do you think she will obey its terms?
Arat: Yes.
Arat has come under the impression that the only reason Linn broke the law in the first place is because she was pressured into it by Wise Snake.
Neptude: Good, good.
Neptude sips his tea, and decides to take the plunge.
Jeniard sits near Arat, unobtrusively.
Neptude: I've been hearing some very interesting rumors, in the past few days. One in particular about you and Snake. I'm sure you know the one I mean.
Arat's nager becomes very still, and his expression takes on a look one might see on a person being stoned in the street.
Arat: The rumor in question is still under investigation.
Neptude: Tell me truthfully, could there be any truth to it?
Arat looks like he doesn't want to answer that, but forces himself to do so.
Arat: I am told there might be.
Arat looks like it might possibly be the worst occurrence in his entire life, if it turns out to be true.
Neptude, on the other hand, looks more pleased than upset.
Neptude: It might be exactly the thing required to salvage Snake: Having a father she can look up to.
Arat: Perhaps. [throat dry]
Arat hadn't planned on the relationship being quite so literal.
Neptude chuckles.
Neptude: And it would certainly be a surprise for Zeor, to find out that their lost orphan is your daughter.
Arat: It'd be better for her if they thought she was theirs. [darkly]
Arat knows what it's like to be a non-Zeor Farris in today's Tecton.
Neptude: Nonsense. They work for the same Tecton we do.
Neptude isn't a Farris, and therefore doesn't suffer Arat's predicament.
Arat: I... hadn't even known such a thing could have occurred.
Arat is referring to the incident which, if it happened, caused Snake to be conceived.
Neptude: Of course you didn't. How could you?
Neptude: ~~ comfort ~~
Neptude: After all, I understand the woman was a prostitute.
Neptude: One expects such... partners to take precautions.
Arat's self-condemnation intensifies, only partially covered by denial and defensiveness.
Neptude: I'm sure Snake will understand. Eventually.
Arat is now about as miserable as he can possibly get: This hits him both in the personal competence and in the family pride.
Arat knows trying to explain the circumstances - for example, that he doesn't remember any of it - will just look like an attempt to deny it.
Arat really doesn't remember any of it, though, and never did even the day after.
Neptude sets his tea down.
Neptude: Well, I'm afraid I must be going. Do tell me the outcome of your "investigation" into the rumor.
Arat nods.
Neptude wonders if Arat will decide to acknowledge Snake if he turns out to be her father.
Neptude gets to his feet.
Jeniard hastens up to get the door for Neptude.
Neptude: I'll be in touch, and if I can, I will get you a different Donor for next month.
Arat at this point can't even picture getting through the rest of today, much less seeing next month.
Neptude bustles through the door.
Jeniard starts to close it behind him, and then catches Arat's eye.
Arat is looking at him with an expression of perfect murderous fury.
Arat's nager, thank goodness, only hints at it.
Jeniard takes a deep breath, and then closes the door, knowing there is another long round of explanation ahead of him.
Notes:
1) Meanwhile, in New Othwol.... [return]
2) Back in Capitol.... [return]