Sime~Gen Roleplaying: District Controller's Office Scenario
Episode #52: Donor-free and Happy (7/19/99)
Darrel hesitates in the hall outside Arat's office, dithering over whether he really should make an unannounced and unexpected visit.
Darrel generally would never approach a Controller except under duress, but on the other hand, this is not exactly your ordinary Controller, or an ordinary situation.
Darrel: ~~ dithering ~~
Darrel finally gets his nager together and signals, faintly.
Darrel decides about 30 milliseconds later that Arat isn't in, and turns to go.
Arat had zlinned somebody hovering outside his door and put his pen down to zlin more clearly; therefore he's able to detect Darrel's almost nonexistent signal.
Arat: Come!
Darrel freezes at the invitation, then gathers his (never overabundant) courage and opens the door.
Darrel sticks his head through, just enough to see clearly.
Darrel: Controller Arat?
Darrel: ~~ uncertainty ~~
Darrel wishes it were possible for him to assess a First's mood.
Arat would ordinarily be very annoyed by unscheduled visits by anybody, but Darrel is a different case this month, having had Sosu Pylor pushed off on him.
Arat: Hajene Darrel. Come in.
Arat almost sounds kind.
Darrel is reassured enough to abandon the dubious shelter of the door and strike off for the chair in front of the desk.
Darrel: I could come back later, if this is inconvenient...
Darrel sort of hopes that it is, now that he is actually in Arat's presence.
Arat: I have a moment.
Arat: What is on your mind?
Darrel reaches the chair and sits.
Darrel: It's about Sosu Pylor.
Darrel zlins as if he has something important to communicate, terminal timidity aside.
Darrel: He's been, well....
Darrel runs out of words.
Arat appears quite interested in what Darrel has to say.
Arat zlins Darrel.
Darrel is in good health, not terribly surprising in a Second who hasn't been shorted or otherwise pushed beyond his limits lately, and is also highly embarrassed at his inability to get out a coherent sentence.
Arat: Go on.
Darrel: I've heard that you don't think much of him...
Darrel tries once more to gage Arat's mood.
Arat's look hardens as Darrel attributes other people's words to Arat.
Arat is not fond of gossip.
Darrel cringes at the sight of Arat's displeasure.
Darrel: I shouldn't have come.
Darrel starts to get up.
Arat: Sit down.
Arat: [firmly]
Darrel plops back into the chair with a promptness that would win him first prize at any dog obedience trial.
Arat: Have you a concern with Pylor's performance?
Darrel: No! I just wanted to say....
Darrel's voice trails off again.
Arat: Has he any problem with working with you, then?
Darrel: He's a First. He's ten times the Donor I'll ever require.
Darrel finds that after getting out two complete sentences, it's easier to continue than before.
Arat nods.
Darrel: I know he must have done something wrong, or you'd not have gotten rid of him, but he's been very good to me.
Darrel: Kind, and thoughtful, and not a bit angry at me for having to work with a Second.
Arat in fact suspects 'relieved' was closer to it.
Darrel: He's the nicest First Order Donor I've ever met.
Arat: Then you feel comfortable working with him?
Darrel: Yes, very. He doesn't grab at my fields like most Firsts do, after I told him that bothers me.
Darrel: He just supports.
Arat: I see.
Darrel can't completely hide his pleasure in having such dependable support available.
Arat sees, specifically, that lack of a challenge and partnering with someone clearly socially and nagerically inferior to him pleases Pylor, and that Darrel still tends to exaggerate a bit when speaking of the behavior of First Order Donors.
Arat: Is that what you came to tell me?
Darrel straightens, bracing himself for what passes for blatant defiance in him, and which most people would call mild assertiveness, if that.
Darrel: He's in trouble with the Tecton, the whole Center knows that.
Darrel: I just wanted to say that whatever else he's done, he's being a very good Donor to me.
Darrel runs out of courage and clams up again.
Arat: I knew he would be. That is why I assigned him to you, instead of to myself.
Arat: Be sure to make a note of this in your end-month report.
Arat: Was there anything else?
Darrel shakes his head, subdued.
Darrel: No, Controller Arat.
Darrel is by now wishing that he'd never come at all.
Darrel is, of course, well used to second guessing himself.
Arat is unclear as to why Darrel is so negative at this time.
Arat: I see. Very well, then. Thank you for your input.
Darrel gets up and scuttles for the door.
Arat watches the door close, then goes back to the report he was writing.
Arat makes a mental note to put something or other in their files.
Beni signals at Arat's door.
Arat puts down his pen.
Arat: Enter!
Beni obeys, looking over his shoulder as he does so.
Beni: Wasn't that Pylor's new charge?
Beni: ~~ curious ~~
Arat: Yes.
Arat: Hajene Darrel.
Beni: I'd heard he was a bit timid.
Beni is wondering just what Pylor is doing, to drive a Second to complain in such a short time.
Beni glances at Arat's desk, then wanders over to the tea table.
Beni checks the water level in the kettle, starts the flame, then begins measuring tea into two cups.
Beni lets his nager slip into ~~ support ~~ as he does so.
Arat leans back in his chair, regarding Beni.
Arat of course knows perfectly well why Beni is visiting.
Beni thinks that it is a shameful indication of Pylor's incompetence that Arat actually looks better with no Donor at all than under the disgraced Donor's care.
Arat, true to form, won't complain about it unless Beni actually admits verbally he's coming here just to check up on him.
Beni puts one steaming cup on Arat's desk, and settles into the Donor's chair at Arat's side with the other.
Beni does a very good job of pretending that he isn't playing the mother hen.
Beni: ~~ guileless innocence ~~
Beni: How is Hajene Darrel taking the assignment?
Arat: Well enough.
Arat bristles slightly at the implication anything other than perfect compatibility would be possible with Arat doing the assigning.
Beni sets to work unknotting Arat's nager.
Beni resigns himself to not getting any juicy tidbits out of Arat, and changes the subject.
Beni: I was hoping that you'd be willing to go over your strategy for reintroducing Snake to work.
Beni is well aware that nothing new is likely to be uncovered in such a discussion, but that sounds better than saying "I was afraid you were dissolving into a nervous breakdown without a Donor, so I dropped by to see what I could do."
Beni: Are you satisfied with the way the initial sessions went?
Beni's nager is soothing, encouraging Arat to take his time in replying.
Arat reaches for his tea, the combination of the change of subject and Beni's soothing nager causing him to unwind a little bit.
Arat: Provided she remains tractable, I see no reason why we could not have her in normal scheduling by next month.
Beni: I'm sure she'd appreciate that.
Beni has learned more about entran in the past month than in the twenty years he has worked as a Donor.
Arat: I am a bit concerned by her... tendency toward erratic behavior.
Arat doesn't just mean Farris style erratic either.
Beni: It's been weeks since she tried to carry through on a threat.
Beni tries to view this as a hopeful sign, for Arat's sake.
Arat grimaces and restrains himself from massaging his neck, which still shows a mark but which hasn't hurt in some time now.
Beni: And she's bathing more frequently.
Arat nods.
Arat had been very firm on the bathing point.
Arat: I have not spoken to Linn Haskins about assisting, yet. She is due in today for her probation check in.
Arat means assisting with Snake's re-entry into society, not specifically Snake's bathing, although he has heard that Linn had been of some assistance in that particular area in the past.
Beni: I admit I have trouble understanding her relationship with Snake.
Beni: She doesn't seem like the type to be involved with a rogue channel.
Arat: According to her file, Snake saved her life not long after they met. That may have something to do with it. [dryly]
Beni: Ah. You're probably right.
Arat owes an unlikely allegiance to Deah Tigue for much the same reason.
Beni wonders if Snake returns the loyalty, or merely finds it useful.
Beni: She has certainly been persistent about visiting.
Arat sips at his tea.
Beni: And she bakes a very nice apple pie.
Arat: I'll take your word for it.
Beni's ~~ appetite ~~ is roused by the memory.
Beni assesses Arat's condition again, trying to decide if he should continue to work under the guise of a casual conversation, or if he should forget the pretense and insist on doing a thorough job.
Arat appears to be having a relatively mellow week after four purely awful ones, and trying to make the most of it.
Beni decides that Arat will do for now, and finishes his tea.
Beni: I should get back to Snake; she'll be expecting me.
Beni is looking just a bit worn around the edges, after several days of trying to cope with two Farris channels.
Beni is, however, well within Tecton safety margins, at least for now.
Beni sets his teacup back on the tea table, letting his nager disengage.
Beni checks Arat for his reaction to the loss of support.
Arat looks regretful but stoic.
Arat: [with heavy emphasis on "stoic"]
Beni decides that Arat will do, and starts for the door.
Beni: I'll come back later, and tell you how the session went.
Beni: ~~ moderate reassurance ~~
Beni is well aware that Arat doesn't really require twice daily reports on Snake's progress, but so far, he hasn't objected to them, either.
Beni: Will you be down later?
Arat: Yes.
Beni nods and leaves.
Arat: ....Thank you. [to the empty room]
Arat sighs.
Arat picks up his pen once again, then tries to remember what he'd been writing about.
Linn reports for her monthly parole interview, looking a bit less like a vagabond than she did the first time she met Arat.
Linn had never enjoyed the vagabond look, even when she was one.
Linn had perhaps especially disliked the vagabond look when she was one.
Linn signals at Arat's door.
Arat: Come!
Arat reaches for Linn's folder, which of course is lying ready nearby.
Linn enters, carrying a smallish wicker basket.
Arat: Linn Haskins, good.
Arat always appreciates extremely punctual visitors.
Linn takes a seat and sets the basket beside it on the floor, from which it spreads the odor of freshly baked apple muffins throughout the office.
Linn: How is Snake?
Linn: I brought some fresh muffins for her....
Linn indicates the basket.
Arat: I am sure she will appreciate them.
Arat however feels his usual reaction to the presence of food: Anxious and queasy.
Linn picks the basket up.
Linn: Would you like to try one? I brought plenty.
Linn offers the basket to Arat.
Arat: No, but thank you.
Linn feels slightly ~~ hurt ~~ at the refusal.
Arat's stress level rises.
Arat pulls out the standard monthly probation check-in form.
Arat doesn't look at it right away, however.
Arat: Have you found work yet?
Linn: I've been doing some substituting here and there.
Arat through a titanic effort manages to keep his personal reaction to the word "substitute" off his face.
Linn: That's about all one can expect at this time of year.
Arat having been the only Farris student at a school just opened in his First Year, has some memories regarding subs.
Arat: I see. [nods]
Arat: And your housing situation? How is that working out?
Linn brightens.
Linn: Very well, actually. Nick offered to let me use one of the spare bedrooms in his apartment.
Linn: He didn't want his landlady to be alone half the time.
Arat frowns internally.
Linn: She's a dear, I can see why he worries about her.
Arat: [and seeing as how he's a Farris, externally as well]
Linn: Is something wrong?
Arat: No, not at all.
Linn spent enough time with Snake to be able to identify the danger signals in a Farris.
Linn: You seem a bit upset.
Arat is wondering 1) if he is misremembering Nick asking him to check on said landlady, and 2) how he managed to miss something like Linn moving in there.
Arat: It is nothing.
Arat: [though actually it isn't.]
Arat: What have you been doing to pass the time, then, if you are not working often?
Linn: I've been learning my way around the city. Did you know that the main library has over seven thousand volumes?
Linn zlins eager to read them all.
Linn: The history section is very comprehensive, too.
Arat did not know that, but finds the subject matter reassuring.
Linn: I've been doing a bit of volunteer work over at the museum, too.
Arat: It sounds as if you have been well occupied, then.
Arat: Have you been tempted at all to return to the activities of a rogue Donor?
Arat is required to ask this.
Linn looks a bit puzzled.
Linn: I never was a Donor, really.
Arat just looks at her, since as far as he knows she was not only in training to be a Donor, but performed the non-transfer services of a Donor for several months, and served a renSime in transfer besides.
Linn: And I never wanted to be one. Not like Nick did.
Linn is perhaps a bit unclear as to how much of the things Snake demanded of her count as Donor work.
Arat waits to see if an actual answer to his question is forthcoming.
Linn: But no, I've no wish to seek out another channel.
Arat: I see.
Arat: Have you given any thought to official training as a Donor, as a means of making a living?
Linn: Not really. I don't seem to have much talent for it, the way Nick does.
Linn: I still find myself getting nervous, when I have to be with a strange channel.
Linn: Not quite like I used to, but still....
Linn: That's hardly what you'd think of as Donor material, is it?
Arat has no comment in this regard.
Arat: We are reaching a point in Wise Snake's rehabilitation where you may be of some utility. In both the capacity of a Donor-in-training and your capacity as her friend.
Linn is obviously ~~ interested ~~ in the proposition.
Linn: Really? How so?
Arat: We are in the process of re-introducing Snake to a Tecton work environment. It is important that she be exposed to as many people demonstrating sane, correct behavior as possible during this period.
Arat: Her exposure to the general public has been limited thus far. However, I would like to have her working in a normal fashion by this time next month.
Linn nods; demonstrating civilized manners to Snake has long been one of her self-appointed duties.
Arat: The transition would be eased by being surrounded by people she instinctively trusts.
Linn is not noticeably handicapped by holding an out-Territory view of manners, since Snake doesn't know enough about the subject to notice the difference.
Linn: I will do what I can, of course.
Linn may not have an objective idea of the normal Tecton working environment, either.
Arat: If you will consent to pledging to the Tecton and entering into normal training, I believe it will not be difficult for me to secure a special-circumstances waiver to have you trained here instead of one of the camps.
Arat: In fact, if you'd like, after the first month or two, it could be Snake doing the training.
Arat makes a rather bold prediction that Snake will still be around then.
Linn: Well, if it would be Snake doing the training, I suppose I could give it a try....
Arat: You may want to think about it for a day or two. This is a serious commitment.
Arat: I can give you some literature that may help you decide.
Arat had had said literature sent up specifically for the purpose; ordinarily he isn't 1st contact for prospective Donors.
Arat hands her some pamphlets.
Linn takes the pamphlets and glances through them.
Linn notes that the pamphlets all assume that the reader actually does really want to be a Donor.
Linn isn't completely sure she's the type for the job herself, although she is willing to try.
Arat: You can be a certain amount of help to Snake just visiting her once a week as you have been.
Linn: I hate to see her locked up like that.
Arat wasn't the type to force disinterested persons to act as Donors even before the problem with Pylor a few days ago.
Arat: It has been necessary for her own safety and that of others.
Arat does rub his neck this time, unconsciously.
Linn sighs.
Linn: I know. She can get a bit--wild.
Arat: This is why it is so important that we expose her to normal behavior, particularly from people she trusts to know what is right.
Arat: Snake is still very young, and even though she is no longer in First Year, she is more flexible now than she will be later in life.
Linn: I'm not sure how much she trusts me, really.
Linn: But she does listen to me, sometimes.
Arat thinks Linn underestimates her worth to Snake.
Linn smiles wryly.
Linn: At least on some things.
Linn: On most other things, I listen to her.
Arat: If you were to become a Tecton trainee as I have described, your relationship would necessarily become slightly different.
Arat: Not on the personal level, but on a professional level.
Arat: You would get a feel for the difference through both training and experience, as all trainees must.
Arat: As I say, have a look at the literature and think about it for a couple of days.
Linn: I will.
Linn: You said I could train here from the beginning, but not with Snake at first.
Linn: Who would I be working with in the mean time?
Arat: You would most likely be working with a variety of people, with a lower-order channel assigned as your case manager and a lower order Donor assigned as a mentor.
Arat: Because we do not ordinarily provide First Year type training here at this facility, there is nobody dedicated to such work.
Arat: However, many people find the process of training interesting and could be assigned to it on a limited basis. [explains]
Linn nods.
Arat toys with the idea of assigning Darrel to the position of case manager, since he's showed so much initiative lately and has proved himself reliable with Pylor.
Arat puts the thought aside.
Arat won't make detailed decisions until/unless Linn actually decides to pledge.
Linn: I'll let you know when I've had a chance to think it over.
Linn debates consulting Snake as well.
Linn: I should get these muffins to Snake before they cool, though.
Linn pats her basket.
Arat nods.
Arat: Very well. Thank you for stopping by.
Arat knows she had to, of course.
Linn: You're welcome.
Linn believes in manners, even when under coercion.
Linn organizes pamphlets and basket, and takes her leave.
Arat drinks his now-cold tea, suppresses a shudder at the lingering scent of muffins, and looks down at the now-thoroughly-forgotten beginning of a report.
Arat thinks this month is definitely going much better than the last... even without a Donor of his own.