Sime~Gen Roleplaying on IRC: Snake River Dam Scenario
Episode #116: Fear Talks (2/4/01)
Borgmann is curled up among the chewed paper in his nest--er, I mean, going over some IDAS paperwork in his makeshift "office".
Borgmann doesn't have Arat's money, presence, or allergies, and so he is still in the packing-crate-and-board stage of office evolution.
Borgmann is trying to deduce from a field report whether a particular illegal Gen desires to stay in Norwest Territory permanently or be deported.
Borgmann finds statements like, "I dunno, y'know, it kinda depends" less than enlightening.
Borgmann finally makes a note to have one of his Sime staff conduct a re-interview, in hopes that zlinning can resolve the issue.
Wise Snake: Whoa, there, a person could get hurt with that thing. [voice coming from the outer door of the building]
Wise Snake: Let me just take that for you.
Wise Snake appears in Borgmann's office door a few moments later, all bundled up and carrying a long, skinny, pointy package.
Wise Snake: Taking up skiing?
Borgmann: Skiing?
Borgmann eyes the package.
Wise Snake tosses the package aside and moves over to what passes for a heating element in Borgmann's office.
Wise Snake: This place is a fire trap, do you know that?
Borgmann: Yes, I do, but one must have heat.
Wise Snake: Although come to think of it you won't have to pay as much for firewood.
Borgmann longs for his comfortable office building back in Capitol.
Wise Snake peels off her gloves, stuffs them in a cloak pocket, then grabs a small stick and enthusiastically starts enlivening the brazier, sending sparks zipping around the room.
Borgmann: I even know a mule which would be glad to chop....
Borgmann takes a long look at Snake.
Borgmann: Hajene Farris, I didn't hear my assistant announce you.
Borgmann: Nor do I recall your having an appointment.
Borgmann is rather into appointments; they make life so much more predictable, something he has missed sorely since arriving here.
Borgmann looks like a moderately offended, aging rodent talking to a stoat which is wresting with an octopus.
Wise Snake snorts.
Wise Snake: Appointment? What would I want with something like that?
Wise Snake: Cramps my style.
Borgmann: It is customary.
Wise Snake spots a likely piece of paper lying near by, crumples it up, and adds it, and the stick, to the fire.
Wise Snake brushes her hands off and turns to Borgmann.
Wise Snake: Very well.
Wise Snake: Let's see... yes, I do have some time available right now.
Wise Snake takes another piece of paper, turns it over, and searches for a pen.
Wise Snake: I can only give you a half hour or so, because I have to talk to Minister Plum as well.
Wise Snake: But I'm sure I can squeeze you in.
Borgmann straightens abruptly.
Wise Snake finds a stumpy pencil and jots Borgmann's appointment down on the back of the sheet.
Wise Snake: There we go. [pauses for a moment, and then adds Plum's]
Borgmann: Plum? Haven't you done quite enough to him?
Wise Snake: No, not by far. Have you? [conversationally]
Borgmann: He hasn't eaten since his last donation, and that was only because I had him fed while he was still drugged.
Borgmann: He is not well, and I don't want him to get any worse.
Wise Snake smiles easily.
Wise Snake: Then you probably need to change a few things, hey?
Borgmann is stung by this all-too-true observation.
Wise Snake: Now, one little detail which nobody has mentioned to you all is that I, too, have the authority to remove Plum from your custody.
Borgmann: You?
Borgmann: ~~ astonished ~~
Borgmann: On what grounds?
Wise Snake: Well, and Nick and Jeniard and any of the other high ranking channels and Donors... based entirely upon our educated opinions.
Wise Snake: Of course, most of us are much too well-behaved to dream of acting in contradiction to the Controller's actions. [adds]
Wise Snake: Aha.
Wise Snake dumps a pile of papers off of a chair she has just spied, and sits upon it in a sprawling pose.
Borgmann: He determined that Josef is sane, and that therefore there is no grounds to interfere in his suicide attempt.
Borgmann was ~~ not happy ~~ with that decision.
Wise Snake: Oh yes. That would be the sort of thing he'd decide.
Wise Snake: But I prefer to make my own diagnoses. It's so much less... limiting that way, don't you think?
Wise Snake: For example, his sanity. Well, there may be nothing physically wrong with his brain. But surely there are other forms of inability to cope?
Borgmann is torn between wanting Plum to get the treatment required to keep his former friend alive, and misgivings about letting Snake anywhere near him.
Borgmann: He is certainly not able to function on this side of the border.
Wise Snake's pale eyes flicker across the nestlike heap of papers surrounding Borgmann, speculatively.
Wise Snake: Not now.
Wise Snake: Not yet.
Borgmann: Not... yet?
Borgmann looks interested in spite of himself.
Wise Snake meets his eyes boldly.
Wise Snake: When I get done with him, he'll understand there's nothing to fear in ordinary Sime society.
Borgmann has to admit that this is a goal devoutly to be wished.
Borgmann: A change of heart of that magnitude would certainly do a great deal to moderate his sentence, in length and severity.
Wise Snake picks up some of Borgmann's papers and begins to look through them with half an eye. She is really zlinning, and watching, Borgmann with some interest.
Wise Snake: Well, that's not the point of course.
Wise Snake: But that will do, for external purposes.
Borgmann: It will ruin any chance he has to go back to his old life, of course, but that's no longer an option, anyway.
Wise Snake shrugs.
Wise Snake: Anyway, that is none of your concern really. I came to speak to you about something else.
Wise Snake sets the papers back on Borgmann's desk and leans forward to look him intently in the eye.
Wise Snake's own eyes have an odd gleam to them.
Borgmann finds Snake's pale gaze profoundly disturbing.
Borgmann: And what would that be?
Borgmann: Controller Farris has previously taken care of most of the contacts between the Tecton and the IDAS.
Wise Snake: You haven't been cooperating with Sgt. Edka, have you?
Borgmann: Sergeant Edka? Who's he? One of those soldiers that caused so much trouble a while back?
Wise Snake: If you don't know who Sgt Edka is, then I would suggest you do some investigation and find out.
Wise Snake: His name may become more important than you know.
Borgmann's eyes widen.
Borgmann: Do you mean those rumors were true? There is a plan by the Gen Army to take over the Dam?
Wise Snake looks at Borgmann incredulously.
Wise Snake: No. [pointedly]
Borgmann is ~ relieved ~
Borgmann: Than what is this problem with which my cooperation is required? I don't think I've ever met this Sergeant Edka.
Borgmann has to qualify his statement that way because he has a hard time keeping track of all the out-Territory Gens in his charge, without a file to brief him.
Wise Snake: That is because your staff refused to give him an appointment. [smiles pleasantly. Sort of.]
Borgmann's stomach clenches at the sight of the smile.
Wise Snake: Who knows who else was refused an appointment?
Wise Snake: Why, just about anybody I imagine.
Wise Snake: You never know who an unimportant person might be.
Wise Snake: Or how important an unimportant looking person might be.
Wise Snake: Well. Your time's up, and I must be on to my next appointment.
Wise Snake stands, adjusting her cloak.
Borgmann: Plum? Just what do you intend to do with him, Hajene?
Wise Snake: Well, that depends upon him, doesn't it? [smiles]
Wise Snake: I like to fit my diagnoses and treatments to my patients, Glif Borgmann, not the other way around.
Borgmann: Well, I'm not convinced that you are necessarily the best channel to work with him, after your previous interactions, but it appears that you are the only channel willing to do so.
Borgmann gets up.
Borgmann: I will show you to his cell.
Borgmann is under the illusion that Snake actually requires assistance to get past his guards and the lock on Plum's cell.
Wise Snake doesn't go anywhere.
Wise Snake is looking puzzled at Borgmann's statement.
Wise Snake: Why do you say I am the only channel willing to work with Plum?
Borgmann: Since Controller Arat judged him legally sane, there is, I am told, no problem requiring a channel's treatment. At least, not until his fast becomes life-threatening.
Borgmann smiles thinly.
Wise Snake: No problem requiring a channel to treat him against his will. [clarifies]
Wise Snake: That is the difference. I have no problem with treating him against his will - which is, you may as well know, quite illegal.
Wise Snake: My father prefers to stand upon the technicalities of the law, to protect his position.
Borgmann had rather gathered that impression, and although in most cases he would view that trait as admirable, this situation has made it harder to accept.
Borgmann: Well, even your father would be forced to intervene before much longer.
Wise Snake squeezes past Borgmann and strides down the hallway, ignoring the occasional guard.
Borgmann follows, signaling the guards that everything is in order.
Borgmann doesn't seriously believe that IDAS guards would stop a channel, or at least not the Sime ones, but he's a stickler for protocol.
Borgmann's willingness to overlook protocol in the matter of getting Plum early treatment is a measure of his desperation.
Plum lies on the hard bunk of his prison bed, staring at the wood grain in the ceiling.
Plum is a bit light-headed from fasting. Sometimes that seems to sharpen his eye-sight and he thinks he can make out all the patterns and sometimes it just goes hazy.
Plum is going over again the information that his attorney, Battel, told him.
Plum understands that he will have to wait in prison until his case comes up, and in prison he will be forced to donate again.
Plum doesn't want to be subjected to the Tecton's tender ministrations; that would be even worse.
Plum's thoughts go round and round; he can't find a way out of his dilemma.
Wise Snake arrives at Plum's cell door and points at the lock.
Wise Snake: I want to go in.
Wise Snake would just pick the lock, but even she would think it's a bit impolite right in front of the lock's owner.
Plum hears voices in the corridor.
Plum wonders, what now? He tries to decide if it is worth the bother of getting up to see.
Borgmann has already justified Snake's presence to his partial satisfaction, and so he opens the lock as commanded.
Borgmann holds the door open for Snake.
Wise Snake slips in and pulls it shut behind her.
Plum slowly sits up when his cell door opens to see what is coming at him now.
Wise Snake zlins and visually examines Plum, smiling.
Wise Snake always enjoys a challenge.
Borgmann notes that Plum has once more failed to eat his breakfast, not even the piece of fruit Borgmann had managed to get at an outrageous price.
Plum is confronted by his nemesis, the snake-haired channel who stole his wallet, his soul and his reason for living.
Borgmann: Josef, you haven't eaten.
Borgmann: ~~ disappointment ~~
Borgmann watches through the bars anxiously; Plum's reaction to Snake is likely to be negative.
Plum sees Gideon's hunched silhouette in the corridor.
Plum shrugs.
Plum: I wasn't hungry.
Plum eyes Wise Snake warily.
Borgmann hopes that his presence will reassure Plum, on at least some level.
Wise Snake's smile widens as she takes in Plum's wariness.
Plum: I find it interesting that you are running around free after the crimes you committed against me, while I am penned up here.
Wise Snake: No, you don't. [zlinning]
Wise Snake: I can tell when you are interested, and when you're not.
Wise Snake: You're something else entirely right now, aren't you?
Plum: ~~satisfied that his worst suspicions have been confirmed~~
Plum is certain that the Tecton and IDAS are all part of a conspiracy to reduce him from an anointed Minister of the Church of the Purity to a mindless Pen Gen.
Plum: Well, you are the mind reader.
Wise Snake smirks.
Wise Snake: No, I only zlin your emotions.
Wise Snake: But emotions can tell a lot about a person's state of mind... and state of heart.
Wise Snake: And when a person lies to himself, well, that says a lot too.
Wise Snake: Mind if I sit here? [sits on the foot of the bed without waiting for an answer]
Plum: Of course I mind. But I doubt you care.
Wise Snake: Of course I care. I just don't let it stop me.
Wise Snake: That is what makes me different from the other channels you know.
Wise Snake smiles a snakely smile.
Plum: ~~revulsion~~
Wise Snake 's smile becomes even more delighted.
Plum knows his holy wrath isn't what it used to be, but he does his best.
Wise Snake: What a quaint trick.
Wise Snake: You know, it is not considered properly civilized these days.
Plum has not seen much evidence of channels being stopped by what he wants, though perhaps he doesn't really understand Arat's forbearance.
Wise Snake: More of the sort of thing half-mad wildmen did while living in ruins and hunting for Sime-meat to eat.
Plum: ~~nauseous~~
Plum: I have no wish to eat Simes, I assure you.
Wise Snake: Of course not. You do have some bit of common sense.
Plum in fact has no wish to eat whatsoever.
Plum is not impressed by compliments from Demons. They usually precede some diabolic attempt to manipulate him.
Wise Snake, whose comments was not intended as anything but the thinnest veneer of a compliment (over a very obvious slap) ignores his nageric sullenness.
Wise Snake: Now, did you know that it is possible to take down a Gen's field more than once a month?
Wise Snake: In fact, if it were deemed necessary, it could be taken down nearly every day. [smiles]
Wise Snake: Why, if I thought you had no manners nagerically, and if I tired of your quite rude and petty attacks, I could quite simply arrange for you to be low field all the time.
Wise Snake: Of course, most Gens have some self-control, but not all of them are in as degraded and pathetic a state as you are.
Borgmann is only kept from protesting by the hope that the implied threat will bring Plum into a more cooperative state of mind.
Wise Snake: I should mention, for your enlightenment, that I am quite incapable of being harmed by someone with such a tiny nager as yours, unless I were already nearly incapacitated, or in the middle of some delicate functional.
Wise Snake might have more accurately said that she can handle it just fine as long as she can see it coming and prepare herself, but it sounds much better the way she said it.
Borgmann also has to admit that some of the Sime guards would probably appreciate a permanently lowfield Plum.
Plum: I refuse to grant any Sime my selyn.
Wise Snake: So really, your dirty looks and such reflect poorly on you while not helping your case in any way whatsoever.
Wise Snake: Pardon me?
Plum: If you take it, you will have to do it by force. You will never have my consent.
Wise Snake: My dear Plum, who asked for your consent?
Wise Snake: Certainly I have not brought up the subject.
Wise Snake smiles pleasantly.
Wise Snake: In your blindness, you fail to understand that there are two types of people in this world, and I am not talking about Simes and Gens.
Wise Snake: There are those who play by the rules, and there are those who do not.
Plum: If you drug me or force me, you are a criminal, no different than a Raider.
Wise Snake: And so I am.
Wise Snake: Does that make you feel better?
Plum: Ahh, you admit it, then!
Wise Snake: I freely admit it. I was born to it. I enjoy it.
Plum: At least you spare me the hypocrisy.
Wise Snake: As I was saying... there are those who play by the rules.
Wise Snake: You have been dealing mostly with them, so far.
Wise Snake: The difficulty is that you yourself are not the sort who plays by the rules. Not ours... and not yours.
Wise Snake's white eyes pick out Plum's searchingly.
Wise Snake: You took quite a risk coming here, didn't you?
Wise Snake: You thought you could produce some dramatic change, the saving of many souls, that would forgive your rashness?
Plum smiles slowly.
Plum: Yes, I did.
Plum: It was a sin of pride.
Plum: And you are the agent of my damnation.
Plum doesn't bother denying it; as he thinks Snake can read his mind.
Wise Snake can certainly zlin his emotions, and there is a lot of interesting material here.
Wise Snake: You felt that those who command you -- on earth, of course -- are limited in their vision, yes?
Wise Snake: Not bold enough? Too afraid to do what must be done? And yet capable of seeing, if only they can be shown?
Plum: I am just a man, and obviously my own vision was flawed, or I would not be sitting here having this conversation.
Plum: Certainly, I thought that the world was changing, and some new approaches should be tried.
Wise Snake: But this, [smiling softly] this is just the backlash.
Wise Snake: Your eye for the dramatic and the extent to which you spent yourself to achieve what you hoped would be a miracle, has exhausted you.
Wise Snake: You don't see what I can zlin - you are no different than you were before, just spent. Spent, and self-flagellating, and upset with the world because it is easier than facing a mistake head on.
Plum: Certainly I have been humbled.
Wise Snake: Do you think you have faced it head-on?
Wise Snake: Or do you glance at it, then look aside?
Plum: I think I have faced it head-on, Demon.
Plum: My life is over.
Plum: All I can do is make my death count for something, if I can.
Wise Snake: Your death, [comments candidly] will count for nothing.
Wise Snake: The most you might be able to accomplish would be to harm a small number of people who have done nothing but good for you.
Wise Snake smiles.
Wise Snake: It certainly will not affect me.
Plum: Forgive me if I don't take your word for that, Demon.
Wise Snake: People rarely take me at my word.
Plum shrugs.
Borgmann is probably the one most likely to be affected by Plum's death, at least emotionally.
Plum: In any case, I will do what I can.
Wise Snake: My name is already as besmirched and rotten as any channel's could be,
Wise Snake: I have already done things that would have sent any other channel to her death.
Wise Snake: I should have died in First Year due to natural causes, and yet it did not happen.
Wise Snake: I have estranged my Companion, and yet I live.
Wise Snake: At any moment one of those mysterious reprieves could end....
Wise Snake: Why should I care about another threat?
Plum: They said that they would punish the one who stole my soul. I didn't believe them when they said that. I see I was right.
Wise Snake: Oh, they'll try.
Wise Snake: But it comes down to two things. What do they lose by losing me? And who else might be lost if I am lost?
Wise Snake: There are things they do not tell you. Things that nobody knows.
Plum: ~~some interest in Sime secrets~~
Plum: Ah, but you are going to tell me?
Wise Snake: The plainest of the truths is that the Tecton cannot spare a channel like me, not at this time.
Wise Snake: Some day, perhaps, but it is too early yet.
Wise Snake: Because I live, hundreds of renSimes don't kill each month.
Wise Snake smiles.
Wise Snake: But they could.
Wise Snake: Oh yes, particularly here.
Wise Snake: If you only knew how delicate the balance is.
Wise Snake: If something were to happen to Arat, Jeniard and I, half the channelling capacity of the Dam site would be gone.
Borgmann would rather not know, thank you very much.
Wise Snake: And in the dead of winter, half the renSimes here... eight thousand, perhaps? would descend upon Salmonton and farther points, looking for kills.
Wise Snake: Have you ever really thought about it, Plum? Just how many Gens it would take to supply eight thousand renSimes, if there were no channels?
Wise Snake: Well, it'd be eight thousand... and then eight thousand again, the next month, and eight thousand again after that.
Wise Snake may be exaggerating the numbers somewhat, but not hugely.
Plum: A well-equipped military force could take care of the problem in a few days.
Wise Snake: Not in the dead of winter. Not in the mountains, oh no. Not without months of advance warning.
Wise Snake: Don't you think we've discussed this?
Wise Snake: What to do if a selyn shortage became critical?
Wise Snake smiles.
Wise Snake: If Simes could be erased by simple gunfire, it'd have happened centuries ago.
Wise Snake: But you breed them within your own homes.
Plum: It would be better than allowing Raiders in channel's clothing like yourself to sustain a force of eight thousand renSimes so that such a dangerous situation could occur.
Plum: And if those Simes were to Kill, as you threaten, perhaps that would alert the Gen nation to the real threat.
Wise Snake continues to stare at Plum in fascination.
Wise Snake: I have never met anyone who was as irrational about channels as you are.
Wise Snake: Why, you hate channels more than common renSimes.
Plum: Channels are the agents of corruption.
Plum: They persuade Gens that it is safe to associate with Simes.
Plum: My own case illustrates the truth.
Wise Snake: Has it ever occurred to you that you persuaded yourself the same thing?
Wise Snake: Where a person wishes to be persuaded, it will happen. The agent will present itself as required. [grin]
Plum considers the idea.
Wise Snake: You do not fear the Sime touch - you only despise it. When did that happen?
Wise Snake: Perhaps it is yourself you despise, and your self-loathing you fear.
Plum leans back on his hard bench.
Plum: Perhaps when I lost my soul. You see, I have nothing left to fear.
Wise Snake: Or perhaps you have condemned others so harshly for all of your life, that you are terrified of condemning yourself in the same way. [suggests]
Plum's raises his eyebrows in surprise.
Wise Snake: You make yourself the victim, when it was your decision -- against the recommendations of your elders -- that you come.
Plum: Are you suggesting I am not condemned?
Wise Snake: I am suggesting that it is not God that has forsaken you, but you.
Plum: I do God's will to the extent I understand it.
Plum: Certainly, there was disagreement.
Plum: Scriptures do not cover all the changes in the modern world. They do not speak of channels.
Wise Snake: And you have damned others for failing to live according to your understanding of God's will, haven't you? But yet, you are a thinking man. You are aware of these inconsistencies in the scriptures, and even in your own understanding of them.
Wise Snake: How can truth be black and white when evidence is so fragmented?
Wise Snake: And how can one human mind survive, sane, thinking black and white in a colored world?
Wise Snake seems fascinated by Plum's case.
Wise Snake: Do you ever regret things that you have said in the church, when years later you came to a different understanding?
Wise Snake seems genuinely curious.
Plum: I am only human, so of course I can make mistakes.
Plum: That is why I took the risk to come here, to test my understanding of how Scripture applies to the Simes of today.
Plum: And yes, I regret my decision heartily.
Wise Snake reaches down to her boot and draws a long, slim stiletto-like blade.
Plum: I should never have come, and I should never have suggested that any pure Gen come near the border.
Wise Snake: I think you made a good decision.
Plum: Of course you would. Now that you have stolen my soul.
Wise Snake: It is the sort of decision I might have made. In fact I made a decision very like it once, you know.
Wise Snake: Across the border was Eastcove, and they had a Gen hospital there. They had not enough doctors to save all of the people's lives.
Wise Snake: I decided to cross the border and work in that hospital to save lives, despite the danger to me.
Plum's eyes follow the stiletto.
Wise Snake: But I have never regretted it.
Wise Snake smiles.
Wise Snake: I regret nothing.
Wise Snake fingers the stiletto.
Wise Snake: Do you like it?
Wise Snake: It was a gift.
Plum is amazed that she would permit a weapon this close to him.
Plum wonders if she plans to threaten him or tempt him with it.
Plum: Very nice.
Wise Snake notices that Plum is looking more alive despite himself. There is something about cold steel that makes it difficult to maintain apathy, particularly in the right hands.
Wise Snake: If you're wondering if I've ever murdered a man, the answer is yes. [helpfully]
Plum doubts he will get a chance to put his hands on the blade, but he readies himself if an opportunity presents itself.
Borgmann is ~~ alarmed ~~ at the sight of the stiletto.
Wise Snake: But not since I became a Tecton channel again.
Wise Snake: At least not with a knife.
Plum considers her essentially a Raider, so this statement makes no change to his attitude towards Wise Snake.
Wise Snake: Some might argue that what I've done to Arat is worse, but that is a matter of opinion.
Borgmann hopes that Snake will have the sense to keep the knife away from Plum--if only to keep him from using it on her.
Wise Snake enjoys Borgmann's alarm, but doesn't look in his direction.
Plum: What could you do that's worse than murder? And to your father?
Wise Snake: I poisoned him. [smiles]
Borgmann recoils at this admission--which he can zlin is true.
Plum: He looked healthy enough to me, the last time I saw him.
Borgmann is having second thoughts as to whether letting Snake at Plum is a good idea, despite his former friend's greater animation.
Wise Snake: He would want you to think he was.
Wise Snake: His pride would put yours to shame.
Plum of course was fooled by the judge's robes which hide a multitude of physical flaws.
Wise Snake: His life depends upon my goodwill. Which is why there will be no punishment. Do you understand now?
Plum doesn't think that poisoning is any worse than soul-stealing, but he fully believes Snake quite capable of both.
Plum: I understand that you all will do what you must to survive.
Plum: I expected nothing else.
Wise Snake: No, I think you did.
Wise Snake: Otherwise, you would have nothing to regret.
Plum had doubted all along that the Controller or any Sime authorities would harm one of their own to protect a member of the Church of the Purity.
Plum: The matter had to be put to the test.
Plum: There are members of our congregations who say that we should give the channels a chance.
Wise Snake: And they are correct.
Plum: That Simes are not evil except when they Kill.
Plum: And the others should be allowed to live.
Wise Snake: And that is true, and they should.
Plum: You have proven the truth of it to me.
Plum: Without Killing, you have stolen my essence, imprisoned me, and stripped me of everything that makes life of any value.
Plum: You are a Raider and a Demon.
Wise Snake smiles as if he'd been heaping praise and not insults.
Plum: I no longer have any doubts on that score.
Wise Snake: I am going to take you on as my patient, [confides]
Wise Snake: That is what I am here for.
Wise Snake: You've interested me.
Plum: And I do not consent to be your patient.
Plum: As I did not consent to donate to you.
Plum: Anything you do to me is a crime.
Wise Snake: It doesn't matter. Unlike my father, and all other Tecton channels, I don't give a damn about your consent.
Plum: And so the truth is made plain.
Wise Snake: I have never lied to you.
Plum: Do you witness this, Gideon?
Plum: She is evil. So are you. So is the Tecton.
Plum: Here it is proved. Killing makes no difference.
Borgmann looks very sad.
Wise Snake beams. It is always so much easer to show dramatic progress when the patient has demonstrated extreme behaviors in the beginning.
Borgmann: I can't let you die, Josef. Not like this.
Borgmann: And Hajene Farris is the only channel willing to treat you, at the moment.
Plum: I refuse her treatment.
Plum: And I would be willing to eat if the channels would stop forcing me to donate.
Plum: But clearly she has no intention of doing that.
Borgmann: No, she does not. And so you will eat, and donate as well.
Borgmann: And you will live.
Plum: No, Gideon. I will not.
Wise Snake: It will take me a couple of days to prepare his living quarters.
Borgmann: ...Living quarters?
Wise Snake rises from the bed, sheathing the stiletto in the same fluid movement.
Wise Snake: Yes, of course. He can't learn under these conditions.
Wise Snake indicates the cell.
Wise Snake means, she requires privacy to do what must be done.
Plum: I am already dead.
Plum watches the stiletto disappear with regret.
Borgmann had assumed that the treatment would take place at the IDAS facility, as he doubts that even Snake would use the Tecton's for illegal purposes.
Borgmann does not know Snake except by reputation, which doesn't tell the half.
Borgmann: Where... where will you take him?
Wise Snake: I have just the place in mind. Splendidly isolated, quite without resources, but a beautiful view.
Plum had hoped to hang onto life long enough to see his case brought to trial, but the prospect of being Snake's patient is making him reconsider this idea.
Wise Snake: Quite appropriate for contemplation and prayer, I should think.
Wise Snake: Or have you given up the more constructive aspects of your religion, Plum?
Wise Snake seems positively cheerful.
Plum has no wish to hang onto life in a torture chamber, like the Gens once sold in Reloc.
Wise Snake: Let me out, Borgmann. I'm done here.
Plum doesn't think contemplation or prayer will be of much benefit to a soulless body.
Borgmann unlocks the cell door.
Wise Snake saunters out, like the well-greased strutting weasel that she is.
Borgmann is starting to have second thoughts about this whole idea.
Borgmann looks at Plum as he locks the door.
Plum gazes at Borgmann, trying to see what his reaction is to the events he has just witnessed.
Wise Snake doesn't wait for Borgmann, but simply leaves, smiling sardonically at the guards as she goes.
Borgmann: Josef, if you will moderate your self-destructive behavior -- eat, and keep yourself clean -- I won't let her have you.
Borgmann is willing to make no promises if Plum stays on his hunger strike.
Plum: You heard, she admitted that she has no more regard for your laws than a Raider, and that she can torture and murder without fear of punishment.
Plum: Or is this just a ploy to persuade me to cooperate?
Plum considers and doesn't think Snake was bluffing.
Borgmann: It's no ploy. You have refused to eat at my urging. If you continue to refuse to eat, I will let her try.
Borgmann: The choice is yours, Josef. I can't tell you what you must do, but now you know what I must do.
Plum considers his options. He really doesn't want to be given to Snake.
Borgmann: God help us both.
Plum: Very well. I will eat and wait for my so-called trial.
Plum: Just keep her away from me.
Plum knows this is capitulation, but he only has a choice of bad and worse here.
Plum resolves to find some way to suicide that will be fast and effective.
Borgmann: ~~ profound relief ~~
Borgmann nods towards the untouched breakfast on the floor of Plum's cell.
Plum grimly stoops to pick up the bowl of dried-out potato stew.
Plum pushes a finger into the gummy mess and forces some into his mouth.
Plum hopes that maybe he can get food poisoning, but figures the Simes probably have some horrible and unnatural therapy that would make him survive that also.
Borgmann smiles, looking five years younger: that is to say, early middle age with premature balding.
Borgmann: Thank you, Josef.
Plum grimaces in disgust.
Go on to Episode #117: Customs Agents My Eye
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