Sime~Gen Roleplaying: Householding Naros Scenario
Episode #72: For a Good Time... (12/2/98)
Ifto signals outside of Riyyh's office.
Riyyh: Come in!
Riyyh quickly straightens out the papers on his desk.
Ifto enters the office.
Riyyh: Ifto!
Ifto: Oh, dear, I didn't know you were in the middle of something.
Riyyh smiles gladly, having not seen the Zeor channel in a while.
Ifto: ~~ apology ~~
Riyyh: Oh, there's always something. Do come in.
Riyyh: Would you like some tea?
Ifto: I would, very much.
Riyyh gets Ifto some tea.
Ifto: I don't think even Zeor has such a variety of flavors.
Ifto feels just a tad ~~ guilty ~~ at this admission that Zeor's drive for excellence has failed in at least one area, however minor.
Ifto accepts the tea from Riyyh and sniffs delicately.
Ifto: Ah, "Rosebud Revel".
Riyyh smiles.
Riyyh takes his seat again.
Ifto catches a glimpse of the papers, and with First Year curiosity has read a few lines before he can stop himself.
Ifto: Are you working on the next month's transfer assignments?
Riyyh: No, these are [hesitates for the barest fraction] selyn management projections.
Ifto: Selyn management?
Ifto: ~~ avid curiosity ~~
Ifto: Forgive me. I know it is Naros business.
Riyyh shrugs. "Naros operates on a selyn surplus, due to most of the Gens living around channels, but most of the channels doing only enough work to stay healthy."
Ifto: You are trying to figure out what to do with the extra Gens?
Riyyh: No, the extra selyn.
Riyyh: And what is done with it is not in question, I just make a point of making a projection each month so I know what to expect financially.
Ifto: Oh, I see. They're not Qualified Donors?
Riyyh: Well, some are, some aren't. These figures aren't taking into consideration each persons' exact occupation so much as the total selyn produced and used by the Householding.
Ifto: It sounds almost like managing a Sime Center in a Gen-high area.
Riyyh: Well, I suppose that is true, although of course the imbalance is a bit more subtle here.
Ifto: Yes, it would be.
Riyyh is somewhat embarrassed to be caught gleaning by somebody from Zeor.
Ifto: Are you trying to increase the selyn production of your Gens to provide a source of income for your House?
Riyyh: No, it has been our policy to discourage unnecessary development in both channels and Gens.
Riyyh: ~honest~
Ifto still finds that a bit shocking.
Riyyh didn't think of this himself; the policy was firmly in place when he was trained decades ago.
Riyyh: It isn't particularly healthy for either one.
Ifto: I'm sorry, Eruditia would be scolding me if she heard me asking about private business.
Ifto: However, I don't have a chance to learn much about management at Zeor.
Ifto: Too many Farrises outranking me.
Riyyh: It isn't particularly private business... we at Naros believe that so long as a channel receives enough work to not feel entran, and so long as a Gen is transferring with a Sime, that is the optimum level of health.
Riyyh: Of course, we are not supporting cities full of renSimes or unpaired Gens.
Ifto nods.
Riyyh: The Tecton's problems are very different from ours, and of course they must approach things in a different way to be effective.
Riyyh would just prefer that the Tecton's problems aren't approached with people snatched from Naros, thank you.
Ifto: Still, it's helpful to get a different perspective on a similar problem.
Riyyh is ~pleased~ by Ifto's interest.
Riyyh has often worried that outsiders' failure to gossip was caused less by an inability to gather information, than by a complete lack of desire to do so.
Ifto: With all the genetic potential, I'd assume you have a surplus of Donors at present?
Riyyh: Not particularly, no.
Riyyh might say there was a surplus of Gens with Donor potential, but the majority of those were never pushed or qualified.
Riyyh: ~truth... more or less~
Ifto: So you're short on Donors?
Ifto tries to muster what he's learned about dealing with such problems.
Ifto: Do you use rotation to keep any one channel from being shorted too badly, or are you trying to train and Qualify new Gens to make up the lack?
Riyyh: There isn't any particular lack, or excess, to speak of.
Riyyh: I try not to "rotate" people, it causes hard feelings.
Ifto: You're perfectly matched?
Riyyh: More or less. [vaguely]
Ifto wonders what sorts of hard feelings would be caused by so normal a thing as rotation.
Riyyh has been looking into getting somebody new brought up to his own level, to give Mytag a break from listening to his whining about Companionship.
Ifto: So how do you go about matching a channel with a Donor?
Ifto: I mean, besides looking at the numbers.
Riyyh: Well, it is a matter of experience, and of zlinning them both. Together, if necessary.
Ifto leans forward eagerly, soaking up every word.
Ifto: ~~ sponge ~~
Riyyh mostly has winged it, until recent weeks when a lot of new channels showed up, who he hadn't known all their lives.
Riyyh: [and whose nagers aren't rather similar to his own]
Ifto: Would you mind....
Riyyh looks at Ifto curiously.
Ifto: Could you tell me how you've gone about assigning, say, that new channel with the red hair?
Ifto: If it wouldn't violate his privacy, that is.
Ifto manages to look like an eager puppy who has just mastered "sit" and is quivering cutely in place.
Riyyh: Jasin hasn't been assigned yet. ~kindly~
Ifto perks up.
Ifto: Oh? Would you mind telling me about the possibilities, and your thoughts on them? I've had some of the preliminary coursework on making matches, but that's not the same thing as zlinning how an actual problem is being handled.
Ifto: It's not something that nonFarrises get exposed to in Zeor, at least not until we're assigned as a Controller at some Sime Center.
Riyyh: I see.
Riyyh: Well, of course, he hasn't been around long enough to have met a lot of people yet.
Ifto: You feel length of acquaintance is a factor?
Riyyh: Oh, yes. Definitely.
Riyyh: I was going to see if it might work out to transfer him with Linn Haskins this month, to give him some more time to get acquainted with folks.
Ifto: Just as a temporary measure?
Riyyh: Well, yes, she'll be leaving with Wise Snake soon.
Riyyh crosses his fingers under the desk.
Riyyh: You see, when rotation isn't practiced, it is important that the channel and Donor get along on a personal level.
Ifto: So after the transfer, you'd be looking around for a compatible Third to work with Jasin permanently?
Riyyh: Of course, with native Narosians there are already established friendships from childhood, and many times there are some obvious choices for.... Yes. Not permanent, precisely, but long-term. Nothing is ever permanent. ~regret~
Ifto zlins Riyyh more closely.
Riyyh is aware that his method of allowing matches to sort of "fall into place" will be less usable as the genetics become more diverse; after all, with two complete strangers there is much less chance of them being compatible nagerically.
Ifto: Have you been having trouble with your Donor, Sectuib Riyyh?
Ifto: ~~ sympathy ~~
Riyyh: I don't actually have anybody at the moment, [explains]
Ifto: You don't? What about Sosu Mytag?
Ifto: I thought he only gave you up last month because Kenmore wanted you for Nick.
Riyyh: I'm afraid Mytag is having difficulty in committing to me long term. [explains]
Riyyh: He is more than willing to rise to the occasion, since there is nobody else, but he has not yet resolved his feelings about me since the, the genetics scandal.
Riyyh: It may take years.
Riyyh: It would be unfair to both of us to extend the current setup for too much longer, unless Mytag has a change of heart.
Riyyh thinks there will be plenty of opportunity for that, since it will take a little while to get anybody else up to speed as it were.
Ifto: Is that why you accepted Kenmore's offer of Sosu Nick, even though it's against Naros custom to break into pairings? And he isn't even ambrov Naros.
Riyyh: That is why. [admits]
Riyyh: ~semi-truth~
Ifto: I envy you the chance, you know.
Ifto: That nager is... distinctive.
Riyyh: Big? [helpfully]
Ifto: I'd hoped that if Hajene Snake required another therapeutic transfer....
Ifto shrugs, embarrassed.
Riyyh: Perhaps you would leave him more satisfied than I.
Ifto: Well, that probably wasn't realistic.
Riyyh: Probably not.
Riyyh: However, it is natural to dream.
Ifto: Yes. Eruditia is very good at training channels, but....
Ifto: ~~ mild discontent ~~
Ifto: At times I'd really like to have someone with more... interest in life.
Riyyh: ~curious~
Riyyh is not exactly sure what Ifto means.
Riyyh: Somebody who likes to go out dancing and have a good time? [guesses]
Ifto: Well, someone who at least knows what a good time is.
Riyyh nods.
Riyyh: ~sympathy~
Ifto: She's never really seen me as anything but another young student to be nagged into shape.
Riyyh: Perhaps if you told her that you were interested in something more, she might...?
Ifto: Do you think so?
Ifto: ~~ eagerness ~~
Ifto: She's awfully prim... I don't think I've ever heard her laugh.
Ifto: Not really.
Ifto: I don't even know if she likes me at all, or just took me on because Sectuib assigned her the task.
Riyyh: I am sure she could be persuaded that you are a fun loving guy. ~sincerely~
Riyyh, at least, has never failed to persuade a woman that she was interested in having a good time.
Riyyh assumes that the same would be true of anyone who was sincere about helping a person.
Ifto thinks that his penchant for fun appears to be Eruditia's main gripe with him, but is willing to bow to Riyyh's expertise in the area.
Riyyh: Of course, it will be necessary to change your own manner when around her. [adds]
Riyyh realizes that if Ifto had such a big problem grasping the concept of relaxing on breaks, he may not be super experienced in smooth talking either.
Ifto: What should I do?
Ifto is eager to learn at the feet of such an expert.