Sime/Gen Roleplaying: Two Roads Diverged Scenario
Episode #81: Unwelcome Concern (9/11/98)
Nick: Hi!
Nick frowns as Snake fails to respond.
Nick wonders if Snake has taken too many horse tranquilizers again.
Nick tries to remember how big the Naros stables are, and if the animals are particularly neurotic.
Nick shakes Snake's shoulder.
Nick: Snake, answer me!
Wise Snake is passed out on the sofa in their guest cottage.
Nick: ~~ worry ~~
Nick decides it's time for more stringent measures.
Nick tickles Snake with his nager.
Nick remembers the rutabaga wine in the dining hall, and leans over to smell Snake's breath.
Wise Snake is not drunk.
Nick: Shen!
Nick check's Snake's breathing and reflexes.
Nick: Why do you keep doing this to me?
Riyyh walks nervously up to the door of the guest cottage, wishing Mytag had been available.
Riyyh signals.
Nick grabs the medical satchel and paws through it, trying to figure out what's missing.
Nick yelps at the disturbance, and drops the medicine satchel.
Riyyh looks around anxiously as he hears a strange noise from within.
Riyyh tries not to zlin obviously.
Riyyh: Hello? Is anybody home?
Nick looks at Snake, quickly throws a blanket over her so it will look like she's just sleeping, and answers the door.
Nick: Just a moment.
Nick answers the door.
Riyyh: Ah... hello, Nick. Is Hajene Farris in?
Nick: Um....
Nick looks at the unconscious reptile.
Nick: She's... not feeling well at the moment.
Riyyh: Oh.. ~concerned~ May I be of assistance?
Nick steps to the side, allowing Riyyh a good zlin of Snake.
Nick: Perhaps you can.
Nick: ~~ concern for Snake ~~
Nick notices Mytag is once again playing hooky, and offers ~~ support ~~ to Riyyh.
Riyyh enters, zlins, and does a double-take.
Riyyh: My word!!
Nick: Yes.
Riyyh: [it's not clear whether he's referring to how Snake zlins or how Nick supports]
Nick leads the way over to the couch.
Riyyh approaches cautiously.
Riyyh: How long has she been like this?
Nick adjust his support to allow Riyyh absolutely clear zlinning.
Nick: She was like this when I got back from lunch.
Nick: I can't rouse her at all.
Riyyh bends over Snake, feeling her neck and wrists and then taking her arms to zlin deeply.
Nick's face reflects the frantic worry he keeps from his nager.
Nick waits for a diagnosis.
Riyyh releases the patient and then pauses for a moment, frowning thoughtfully.
Riyyh turns to Nick.
Nick reflexively adjusts his support for recovery.
Riyyh: You are an excellent Donor.
Riyyh: Your fieldwork is amazing.
Nick wasn't waiting for an evaluation of his work.
Nick: What's wrong with Snake?
Nick lets a bit of his worry show.
Nick is, however, careful not to swamp Riyyh.
Riyyh: I... I'm reluctant to make a firm diagnosis because I do not have first-hand experience with Farrises.
Riyyh: But I think it is a combination of entran complications and some kind of drug overdose.
Nick nods.
Riyyh would probably be perfectly comfortable making this diagnosis if he had known Snake for a little longer.
Nick: It's not the first time.
Riyyh looks rather disturbed.
Nick: Can you tell if it was only horse tranquilizers, or something more exotic?
Riyyh: Horse tranquilizers?
Nick: Yes.
Riyyh strangely enough has never zlinned a person who has taken horse tranquilizers before.
Riyyh: Can you show me a sample?
Nick: I think so.
Nick takes Bum Bum's pack out of the closet and searches an interior pocket.
Nick withdraws a small bag with a large blue pill in it.
Nick: That's what it was. There were three here this morning.
Riyyh looks appalled.
Nick hands Riyyh the bag with the remaining pill.
Riyyh: I'll have to get Tictoc to handle this.
Riyyh: She's the head of our medical facility.
Nick: Shen! I didn't think she'd search Bum Bum's bag.
Riyyh examines the pill visually, then zlins it.
Nick is a little surprised that the Sectuib isn't the medical authority, but he's not in a position to argue.
Nick: Next time, I'm going to toss them in the nearest garbage can.
Nick: Or better yet, flush them down the toilet.
Riyyh: Has she taken two of these before?
Nick: yes, several times. Once, she took three.
Nick shudders at the memory.
Nick: I thought I'd lost her, that time.
Riyyh: Nick, this is a real problem.
Riyyh: You should get rid of these and make sure she doesn't come in contact with anything else like it.
Nick smiles wryly.
Riyyh: I know it's hard to play the bad guy, but it's for her own good.
Nick: The first is easy enough. Keeping her from buying more....
Riyyh: Perhaps if you could convince her to let you handle the group's finances...?
Nick: She can spot a drug dealer in a strange town at twice her zlinning range.
Riyyh sighs.
Riyyh: Is it just these, or is there anything else readily accessible?
Nick: Let's see.
Nick searches Snake's pockets.
Nick then goes on to check her baggage, Linn's baggage, Tanzarra's medicine satchel, and several other favorite hiding spots.
Nick looks at the small pile of assorted pharmaceuticals on the coffee table.
Riyyh meanwhile examines the patient thoroughly once again.
Nick: She must have restocked yesterday, when she went to scout out the town for work.
Riyyh goes over to the table and examines the pile.
Nick goes over to Snake, studying her for signs of rousing..
Riyyh: Yes, these Feevils definitely came from here.
Nick isn't surprised to see that Snake has been raiding the Naros pharmacy.
Riyyh is.
Nick: Snake... is rather flexible about ownership, where pills are concerned.
Riyyh: Do you mind if I take these back? [with a slight frown]
Nick: Please.
Riyyh pockets them.
Riyyh: I'll run and fetch Tictoc. I really am specialized in disjunction and transfer pathologies.
Riyyh: She is more inclined to this sort of thing, she handles all the local emergencies.
Nick: Thank you.
Wise Snake: hnnnnnnnnnurrggle
Nick rushes to Snake's side and sits down beside her, patting her cheeks briskly.
Nick: ~~ ALERT ~~
Riyyh aborts mission on leaving when he realizes Snake is reviving.
Riyyh goes to the other side and zlins anxiously, ready to help nagerically if anybody tells him it's OK to do so.
Nick pinches Snake's chest hard, trying to provoke a reaction.
Riyyh hasn't had much first-hand experience with Farrises, but he does know you don't mess with them if you don't know what you're doing.
Nick: Snake! Wake up, shen you!
Wise Snake: Unhnn!
Wise Snake twitches away from the stimulus.
Nick redoubles his efforts.
Nick: Come on, Snake. Talk to me!
Wise Snake: Wwhhh.... huh?
Wise Snake: Wherrrrzaa, ermerghenzy?
Wise Snake: ~zonked~
Nick pulls Snake into a sitting position.
Nick: Come on, wake up.
Nick shakes Snake some more.
Riyyh backs off to give them room, carefully keeping his nager from affecting the ambient.
Nick: Riyyh, can you get me a pitcher of water?
Riyyh: Yes, one moment.
Riyyh disappears into the kitchen.
Wise Snake's eyelids flutter.
Wise Snake lolls limply as she is shaken.
Wise Snake: Ummmhhhaa. Whazapening. Unhh
Nick: Come on, now, don't go back to sleep on me.
Riyyh finds a suitable container, fills it with water, and returns to Nick's side.
Nick takes the water and dumps it over Snake's head.
Wise Snake: Aahhggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wise Snake: Get it off me!!!
Wise Snake jerks away from Nick and starts pawing at herself in a panic, radiating ~revulsion~
Riyyh is shocked by the reaction.
Riyyh: Some kind of... hallucinatory episode!
Nick is pleased at the reaction.
Wise Snake: What'd you do that for! ~enraged~
Nick: Wake up, now, or I'll put you under the shower!
Wise Snake sounds practically coherent.
Wise Snake shakes her head, whipping water all around the room.
Wise Snake: Don't you dare. Oh, my head.
Wise Snake stops and clutches her forehead suddenly.
Nick: I assure you, I'll do it as often as necessary until you're on your feet and functional.
Wise Snake finally notices Riyyh.
Wise Snake: What's he doing here?
Nick: Trying to keep you from dying.
Nick: I told you to stay away from those horse tranquilizers.
Wise Snake: Dying? What are you talking about.
Wise Snake: I'm fine, let me up.
Nick pulls Snake to her feet, and starts walking her in circles.
Riyyh hovers nearby, anxiously observing.
Wise Snake: Ah, leave me alone.
Nick: Not until you can walk without weaving like a drunk.
Wise Snake gets dragged in circles by Nick despite her protest.
Wise Snake: I'm perfectly fine, I just could use some work is all. I got contracts in the town, I'll be fine.
Nick: If you have entran, come to me and we'll do an outfunction.
Wise Snake: We do those all the time. I need real work.
Nick: The drugs just lead to more complications.
Wise Snake uses the word for selyn-need.
Wise Snake: Nick, I don't take anything for entran, it's to try to settle my nerves.
Wise Snake: I'm going to freak out being trapped in this ridiculous Householding.
Nick wonders if Riyyh knows of any towns which have lost their channel, full of renSimes in hard need.
Nick: Then we'll leave. Preferably before you manage to destroy yourself completely.
Riyyh watches them in concern, but says nothing.
Wise Snake: I'm not going to destroy myself... Nick, I'm fine. Stop pushing me.
Wise Snake pries his hands off.
Wise Snake: Thank you, but I'm OK now.
Nick: You almost did!
Wise Snake: Nick, don't worry so much. I appreciate your concern but you're being a panic case.
Nick: If Riyyh and I hadn't found you, you could easily have stopped breathing.
Wise Snake: I can handle myself, Nick.
Nick grabs Snake and turns her to face him.
Wise Snake: ~surprise~
Nick: No, you can't. Or more to the point, you won't.
Nick: This isn't the first time you've nearly died from an overdose.
Wise Snake stares at him through bedraggled strands of wet black hair.
Wise Snake: I wasn't going to die. [under her breath]
Nick: You nearly did.
Wise Snake looks away from him.
Wise Snake: Look, Nick, I'm sorry I gave you a fright.
Wise Snake: No, I'll be fine. Just... don't do this, Nick.
Wise Snake wishes this wasn't all happening in front of Riyyh.
Nick: Sorry doesn't mean a thing when you keep on trying to murder yourself.
Wise Snake: I'm not trying to m... look, Nick. You're freaking out here.
Wise Snake: Just try to relax.
Wise Snake looks like she's starting to freak out herself.
Wise Snake: And stop yelling at me, you're making me crazy.
Wise Snake: I can't hear this right now.
Nick: Maybe you require a little crazy, if drugging yourself to oblivion is your idea of sanity!
Nick glares ferociously at Snake.
Riyyh unobtrusively goes to the table and picks up the pile of assorted pills.
Wise Snake makes sure not to meet his eyes, but his nager is a little harder to avoid when he's holding onto her physically.
Wise Snake: Nick...
Wise Snake: Don't do this, please, I'm doing all right.
Wise Snake: I've made it a lot farther than anybody thought I would.
Nick: Snake, promise me that you will never, ever, take more than one horse tranquilizer in any 24-hour period.
Riyyh stops at the door and looks at them again.
Wise Snake just shakes her head helplessly.
Wise Snake: Nick, you're making this really hard for no reason.
Nick has pretty much forgotten Riyyh's presence by now.
Nick: You think it isn't hard on me to know that any time you're out of my sight, I might find you dead?
Wise Snake: Would you stop it about death! I'm not going to die.
Nick: You almost did, today.
Nick: And again, in Vortez Lake.
Wise Snake: You're exaggerating, I'm perfectly fine. It's just the entran.
Wise Snake: I've lived with entran before.
Nick: The entran won't do you in, if you don't mix it with those tranquilizers.
Wise Snake: And what are you still doing here! Get out.
Wise Snake wrests free of Nick's hands and advances on Riyyh.
Riyyh startles, then flees out the door.
Nick 's nager snaps ~~ NO ~~
Nick: Snake, he just spent almost an hour trying to revive you.
Wise Snake staggers as the ~~ NO ~~ rams her amidships.
Nick: Don't you think he deserves at least a "thank you" before you chase him off?
Wise Snake gropes her way back to the couch and sinks down on it.
Wise Snake: Nick, don't tell me what to do. [doggedly]
Nick: That's the job you hired me for.
Wise Snake massages her forehead.
Wise Snake: Well then... don't do it right now.
Wise Snake: I have four half-days of work lined up in town, we'll leave after that.
Nick stands, watching Snake, his nager offering support while leaving clear his displeasure in Snake's behavior.
Nick: Good. This place is driving us all crazy.
Wise Snake continues to hold her forehead, eyes hidden.
Linn makes her way back towards the guest cottage.
Riyyh gets halfway to the medical facility and Tictoc's office, when he sees Linn.
Riyyh: Linn!
Riyyh: ~uncharacteristically non-exuding-greeting~
Riyyh looks rather distraught.
Linn notices that Riyyh seems upset.
Linn: is something the matter, Sectuib Riyyh?
Riyyh: Might I have a word with you?
Riyyh: It is a matter of some importance.
Linn: Of course.
Riyyh: I'm terribly sorry to buttonhole you like this, but I didn't know how much time I'd have before you left.
Linn hopes that this time the issue isn't putting her under surveillance again.
Riyyh: The garden? [gestures toward the shaded area]
Riyyh: Or perhaps somewhere more private?
Riyyh knows everything said in the garden gets all over Naros nearly instantaneously.
Riyyh: [for one thing, his own office overlooks the garden]
Linn looks at the empty path, with no nearby bushes to hide eavesdroppers.
Linn: Why not here?
Riyyh: [it also overlooks the courtyard; after all, as Sectuib he absolutely be up on all the gossip]
Riyyh: If you like.
Riyyh: Perhaps a little farther... over here.
Riyyh moves out of the "sweet spot" that lets a person's voice echo off every wall in the Householding.
Linn follows, wondering why all the fuss.
Riyyh: I meant to ask you about your future, about your and Bum Bum's future.
Linn: What about it?
Linn thought Snake had that pretty much settled.
Riyyh: Well, it must be rather stressful to have so many unknowns. As it happens, we have a wonderful program for juncts, and for their friends.
Riyyh: If you and Bum Bum would like to stay at Naros, you would be welcome here.
Riyyh smiles genuinely at her.
Linn: You train Donors for juncts?
Linn: I didn't think the Tecton allowed that.
Riyyh: Our program isn't as specific as that.
Linn waits for Riyyh to specify the specifics.
Riyyh: We deal primarily in disjunction, but we also handle junct renSimes.
Linn: And how do you handle them?
Riyyh: A permanently juncted channel is rare these days, but I have handled them in the past.
Riyyh: With the most profound care and respect, of course.
Riyyh: Theirs is a terrible burden, and we help to ease their emotional and physical suffering as best as we are able.
Riyyh appears less agitated and more fatherly, Sectuibly, almost ministerly.
Linn: Perhaps if I could speak to one of the junct channels you treated in the past? Just to get a participants view of your program?
Riyyh: I am sorry. As I say, junct channels are extremely rare, especially nowadays. Your Bum Bum is the first I've seen personally in years.
Linn: What happened to the ones you treated?
Riyyh: They are all dead now. It was a long time ago.
Riyyh doesn't like conversational topics that draw attention to his age.
Linn considers.
Linn: How long did they live, after joining your program?
Riyyh: Generally speaking, for as long as their Companions did.
Riyyh: However, the Companions I chose were often far older than the channels.
Riyyh: Specifically? Perhaps ten or twenty years, on average.
Linn thinks it over.
Riyyh: I have never treated a channel who had already been paired with, and successfully taken transfer with, a suitable Gen.
Linn: Oh, Bum Bum and I haven't....
Linn breaks off.
Riyyh looks at her.
Riyyh: You haven't? ~surprised~
Linn: I mean, I'll certainly inform him of your offer.
Riyyh: I am sorry, I thought you... that you and he... ~embarrassed~
Riyyh usually doesn't miss-guess this badly, even with strangers.
Linn: No. Snake thinks it will be another two months before I'm ready.
Riyyh doesn't think much of Snake's judgment at the moment.
Riyyh: Well, would you be interested in being tested to determine whether you could indeed be Bum Bum's partner in recovery if he were to stay here?
Linn: Tested?
Linn is a bit wary about being a Tecton guinea pig again.
Riyyh: Yes, for suitability of temperament and nageric quality.
Riyyh thinks the "suitability of temperament" is the real question here.
Linn: Suitability of temperament?
Linn wonders how in the world one could test for such a thing.
Riyyh: Yes. A junct requires sympathy, understanding and caring, without the slightest trace of distaste for his condition.
Riyyh: This was once a very common combination, but in recent times, it has become nearly impossible to find.
Linn: You don't have anybody here at present?
Riyyh's expression shades subtly toward disappointment.
Riyyh: Yes, I imagine somebody suitable could be found, should he choose to stay and you choose not to.
Linn nods.
Linn: Whatever he decides to do, it will help Bum Bum to know that there's more than one person he can turn to for help.
Riyyh: And please let him know that if he has any questions, I would be more than willing to speak with him personally about it.
Linn: He's become...pretty desperate, since Snake told him that one way or another, he was not going to kill again.
Riyyh: Perfectly understandable.
Riyyh: Such threats are terrifying to anybody.
Linn: There are worse things than threats.
Riyyh: The only juncts which survive long enough to pass First Year, are those for whom their own death is more terrifying than the deaths of others.
Riyyh: The threat of murder can have a powerful hold over the older junct.
Linn looks thoughtful.
Linn: I hadn't thought of it that way.
Riyyh: However, it breaks my heart to see it, it really does.
Riyyh: To truly help requires compassion, and gentleness.
Riyyh: That goes for the children, the ones who can disjunct, as well.
Linn nods, making a mental note to check the library for texts on the junct-matching program before they leave.
Riyyh: Naros specializes in social intervention such as disjunction, and we have since our founding over three hundred years ago.
Linn: Three hundred years...
Riyyh: Of course, I haven't been Sectuib that whole time.
Riyyh winks at her.
Linn thinks, no wonder they seem culturally--and physically--inbred.
Linn: I imagine not.
Riyyh has, however, been Sectuib for slightly over 40 years, which exact number he'd prefer if most forgot.
Riyyh: Perhaps... perhaps I could ask you of another matter as well?
Linn raises an interrogative eyebrow.
Riyyh: Your... your leader, Hajene Farris, and her Nick. How long have they known each other?
Linn: Over a year by now, I think.
Riyyh looks troubled.
Linn: Of course, it took a while for Snake to train him.
Riyyh: Has he had any formal training, perhaps at Zeor?
Linn: Why do you ask?
Riyyh sighs.
Riyyh: I am concerned for her health and safety.
Linn: No, as far as I know, Snake trained him herself.
Linn: Nick's pretty responsible, most times.
Riyyh: There is a great deal of very precise medical knowledge which has been compiled, over the centuries, specifically related to Farrises.
Linn nods.
Linn: Nick read everything the Bender Cove Center had to say about Farrises, I know.
Riyyh: How... how well are you related to them? Are you.. [hesitates as he remembers Bum Bum's tormented accusations] ... a good friend?
Linn: I like to think so.
Linn: Although I'm not sure that Snake really understands friendship very well.
Riyyh lets that one pass.
Riyyh: Then I am telling you this as their friend, in the hopes that you will act on it.
Linn waits for the revelation.
Riyyh: Get your friends off the road and into a situation where Hajene Farris is getting proper medical attention and a Farris-sized workload.
Riyyh: I don't know how long this has been going on, but it can't have been too long and it certainly isn't going to last.
Linn: She had that, in Bender Cove. And again, in Vortez Lake.
Riyyh shakes his head sadly.
Riyyh: I don't think you understand the magnitude of the problem.
Riyyh: Have you been to Zeor?
Linn: No.
Riyyh: The library there... it is unbelievable.
Linn: And completely inaccessible, to us.
Riyyh: They have over seven hundred years of reference works on Farris health problems.
Riyyh lets that one pass also.
Riyyh: They have some of the best resources in the world, medically and channeling-wise, and they certainly have the best training.
Riyyh: There's a good reason the Farrises cling to Zeor.
Linn shakes her head.
Linn: I don't think Snake will ever return to Zeor.
Linn: Or let Nick visit it, either.
Linn: Quite apart from her requiring his services, she'd be afraid that they'd steal him from her.
Riyyh looks tired.
Linn: That's why she won't ask the Tecton for help, either.
Riyyh: Linn, what I'm trying to tell you is that Hajene Farris is not equipped to survive in any other environment.
Riyyh: The Farrises have been bred for centuries to do one thing and do it well, to the exclusion of all other considerations.
Linn: Perhaps not, but she can't survive there, either.
Linn: If she'd rather die than go back....well, that's her choice.
Linn: ~~ pain ~~
Linn: She never thought she'd survive First Year, you know.
Riyyh: She hardly has. Do you know how close she came to not surviving this morning?
Linn looks alarmed.
Linn: She found the horse tranquilizers?
Riyyh: I would say she'd found a good deal more than that.
Riyyh pulls the bag out of his pocket and displays what Nick had collected.
Riyyh: This is suicide.
Riyyh: Do you know, we do not have a single medicine here, save Fosebine, that is safe for a Farris?
Riyyh: The outside world is even worse.
Linn: Yes. She hasn't had that much luck getting Farris medicines from the Tecton.
Linn: But, Sectuib Riyyh, you are overlooking something.
Linn: Snake knows everything you've told me, with a much more immediate knowledge than you or I could ever have.
Linn: And yet, she has never even considered going back to Zeor.
Riyyh: Of course, all I said was that she requires proper medical care and a safely substantial workload. It would not have to come from Zeor, so long as it approximated the environment.
Linn: She knows that. We all do.
Riyyh: Linn, sometimes a person's friends must show her the compassion she refuses to show herself.
Linn: Sectuib Riyyh, if I could provide Snake with what she needs, and not destroy her in the process, don't you think I would do so?
Riyyh: I... I think you cannot see what role you must truly play.
Riyyh: Of course you cannot provide for her.
Linn: In all the months since we left Bender Cove, we've only once found something close.
Linn: And the Tecton chased us out of there.
Riyyh: Linn, listen to me.
Riyyh: Hajene Farris is capable of anything that is necessary.
Riyyh: It is her decision-making which has been faulty.
Riyyh: Her judgment.
Linn looks closely at Riyyh.
Linn: Do you know of anyplace, not associated with Zeor or the Tecton, where she could have what she requires?
Riyyh appears the epitome of the handsome, gentle, fatherly (maybe grandfatherly) Sectuib.
Riyyh gazes at Linn with an expression full of compassion.
Riyyh: There is no such place except where one makes it. A Householding, a Sime Center, a city.
Linn sighs.
Riyyh: But listen... she is in no condition to make anything now.
Riyyh: If you, you and Nick, changed that, she could make a decision about where to go.
Riyyh: What a senseless tragedy it would be if she died some morning like today.
Linn: Yes. She can't build her House until she's well, and she won't be well until she has her House.
Riyyh: There is much that can be done with the resources you already have.
Riyyh speaks intensely.
Linn: What?
Riyyh: Look at this. [shakes the bag]
Riyyh: This can't be happening. This is, as I say, suicide.
Riyyh: And this jumping from town to town... I've heard stories of some of it.
Riyyh: That has to end.
Riyyh: You can change those two things, you and Nick.
Riyyh: And the others.
Linn: You think she would listen to us?
Riyyh: What can she do if all of you decide together?
Riyyh: She can't abandon Nick.
Linn: If she felt it was a matter of principle, she'd do even that.
Riyyh: Then it is up to you, also, to demonstrate to her that it's not.
Riyyh reaches out a hand to Linn's shoulder, but stops short of touching it.
Riyyh: May I?
Linn looks at Riyyh curiously, then nods.
Riyyh rests his hand gently on her shoulder, a gesture intended to offer comfort.
Riyyh: I must confess, this is... this is an unusual situation for me.
Riyyh: I was born here, I knew I'd be Sectuib, and this is all I've ever done.
Riyyh: I care for these people, I'd give my life for them.
Riyyh: They feel the same about me, and about all the members of their House.
Riyyh: I suppose it is provincial of me to assume anybody else would feel the same for their own.
Riyyh: Good luck, then, whatever ends up happening.
Linn: Thank you.
Riyyh lets go of Linn.
Riyyh turns and walks back toward the medical center, carrying the bag.
Linn continues her interrupted journey to the cottage.
Go on to Episode #82: The Father of Our Householding
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