Sime~Gen Roleplaying on IRC: Snake River Dam Scenario
Episode #171: Donors is Donors (5/28/01)
Sylma makes her way through the mud towards the hole in the cliff that she and Sedel designed as a practice ground.
Sylma has been very careful not to miss her practice sessions, in order to preserve the still fragile accord between them.
Sedel sits quietly on a small boulder. He should be stretching but his heart really isn't in it.
Sylma scales nimbly down the cliff, putting some preliminary mud on her practice outfit.
Sylma comes around the last boulder and gets a good zlin of Sedel.
Sylma: Sedel, what is it?
Sylma: ~~ worry ~~
Sedel: Sorry, Syl. ~~ neutral ~~
Sedel has no desire to hurt his sister ever again.
Sedel is just not quite up to working the fields actively at the moment.
Sedel: I've just been sitting here thinking.
Sylma is in pretty decent shape, Sedel having taken care of her entran the previous night, and so is more concerned about the cause of Sedel's depression.
Sedel: That's all I do these days: sit and think, or ask stupid questions of other Donors and think.
Sylma sits down beside her brother.
Sedel smiles weakly at Sylma. He can't dump this on her again.
Sylma: Has it helped you find any answers? Or refined the questions? Sometimes that's even more important.
Sylma reaches across with one handling tentacle and wraps it around Sedel's little finger, giving it a comforting squeeze.
Sedel: [smiles at the gesture] Problem is, I knew the answers going in. I just have to make myself swallow them.
Sylma: What answers are those?
Sedel: That I'm a Donor whether I want to be or not. That I can't see living without working. That I need channels as much as they need me and that no matter how screwed up the Tecton is it is the only game in town.
Sylma manages to (almost) keep a sober face at this wonderful news, in deference to Sedel's mood, but only by zlinning him hard enough to substitute his lack of pleasure for her own feelings.
Sylma: It may be selfish of me, Sedel, but I'm glad you've chosen not to resign. I didn't want to face never having your transfer again.
Sylma: But if you're still unhappy with the only game in town, there's always the two alternatives.
Sedel squeezes Sylma's tentacle gently.
Sedel: And those would be?
Sedel wouldn't like to think of never providing a transfer for his sister again. That one thing weighed very heavily on him.
Sylma: Remember Yollen's lesson on the no-win scenario as a test of character?
Sedel groans.
Sedel: Don't remind me. The only part of my training I had to repeat. Twice!
Sedel: I kept insisting that there is always a way out.
Sedel shrugs. "Yollen kept insisting that death isn't technically a way out."
Sylma: I didn't ever tell you this, but a few years back I took her aside and asked her what she would do, if the rules of the game wouldn't let her win. She admitted.... 1
Sylma starts to chuckle, remembering the hard-as-nails strategy and tactics instructor whom even age hadn't managed to soften.
Sylma: She said that in that sort of situation, she'd either change the rules so she could win fairly, or she'd....
Sylma collapses onto Sedel's shoulder, giggling.
Sylma: Or she'd... she'd cheat!
Sedel stares down at his little sister being so much the child he loves. He can't help but smile.
Sedel: I always suspected there was something underneath all that spit and polish.
Sylma manages to stop giggling, at least mostly.
Sylma: It really is a matter of strategy, you know. If the Tecton doesn't freely give you what you want to be happy as a Donor, we should look for ways to get it anyway.
Sedel: I guess that I do have choices in the matter. I do doubt that Arat will allow me to work as a Donor if I stay.
Sylma: I'm not sure whether he'll put me back on rotation, either, to tell the truth.
Sylma: He asked me a while back what I'd learned from watching him. I'm not sure I gave the answer he wanted to hear.
Sedel: I don't know for sure. But my last interview with him was pretty noncommittal now that I look back at it.
Sylma: Frankly, if he's sending you back to Dar, I'd just as soon go with you. It'd be very lonely out here by myself.
Sylma tends to disregard the thousands of non-Dar present.
Sedel: There's something dirty afoot up here and we stepped in it. During my forced inactivity I got a chance to really pay attention to the rumor mill.
Sedel: Did you know that Wise Snake actually took Plum's first donation while he was asleep?
Sylma: She did?
Sylma: And Controller Arat did nothing?
Sedel: She admitted to it in front of Borgmann, Plum and some out-T Gen. Arat hasn't done a thing about it.
Sedel: I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that she's his daughter. I know how tight our family is but I just hadn't gotten that impression from those two.
Sylma feels a sudden chill that has nothing to do with the melting snow and mud on her clothes.
Sylma: There's not a bit of family feeling between them, or even collegial respect. Trust me on that one.
Sedel puts a protective arm around Sylma's shoulders.
Sedel: Makes you wonder what she's holding on him.
Sedel: ~~protectiveness, affection~~
Sylma: Yes. It's completely out of character for Arat Farris to ignore such a deed.
Sylma: It puts some things I've been noticing into perspective.
Sylma: And I don't care much for the view.
Sedel: What have you noticed sis?
Sylma: Snake. I think she does have some hold over Arat. And whatever it is, it's nasty.
Sylma: I've seen her waltz in and demand Nick's services, even when he was scheduled to work for Arat.
Sylma: Or take patients that Arat had his eyes on.
Sedel starts adding things up. The sum isn't good.
Sylma: I can't zlin through any of their nagers, but I got the distinct impression that neither Arat nor Nick dared to refuse her.
Sedel: I'm no great proponent of the Tecton bureaucracy, but no one should be able to manipulate a Controller.
Sedel doesn't count Donors in that "no one".
Sylma: Whatever his other failings, Sedel, Arat's no moral coward.
Sylma: And he's a stickler for chain of command.
Sedel: How much time have you spent with Snake?
Sylma: Not much, thank goodness.
Sylma: She's as good as Arat, from what I've seen. Maybe even a bit better trained, in some ways, which is surprising for a rogue.
Sylma has no real conception of how similar the work at the Dam is to the sort of emergency-medicine-under-suboptimal-conditions that Snake practiced as a rogue. Or that Snake has some Zeor training, for that matter.
Sedel: That's probably because she's ambrov Zeor.
Sylma: Zeor! How did she end up as a rogue, then?
Sedel: I don't know but Nick could fill you in on that. I looked into her eyes once. There's something missing in them. And I don't mean pigmentation either.
Sylma: She's insane. And as full of poison as a rattlesnake.
Sylma: What sort of hold could she have over a Tecton martinet like Controller Arat?
Sylma: Whatever it is, it's got to be very bad. And very personal.
Sedel: Yeah, something really nasty.
Sedel: Do you see what I mean about the Tecton? How could they let those two near normal people?
Sylma: By himself, Arat isn't all that bad. I'd rather have someone competent, even without a sense of humor or perspective, particularly for a critical location like this.
Sedel: Something has to be done, Syl. And soon, before either Snake, or Arat controlled by Snake, does something even more awful than they have so far.
Sylma: Yes. I think Snake is the key. Find out what hold she has on Arat, and the rest should fall into place.
Sylma: Of course, I'm not volunteering to question her on the matter. As Yollen pointed out, suicide is not an acceptable alternative.
Sedel: Well, I'm in no position to get into Arat's inner circle. You are there already.
Sylma: Arat isn't going to let anything slip, at least about the particulars, or I'd have gotten at least an idea of what was going on, by now.
Sedel: Have you noticed any odd behavior, well, odd for Arat that is?
Sedel has something nibbling a the back of his mind but he can't put a finger on it. Something that he saw during the time he was working in the infirmary.
Sylma: You mean besides being the only person in camp who has money for the bath house and refuses to go there?
Sylma: I think he makes a fetish of asceticism.
Sedel barks a laugh.
Sedel: Well, we both know that being Farris makes him skittish about coming into contact with soap.
Sedel: I don't know, there must be something.
Sylma: Well, I can understand not wanting to use the Narosian soaps; who knows what's in them? But he's got a shower rigged in his quarters, and he uses it. Snake, on the other hand, seems to be allergic to water itself.
Sedel remembers only too well the full day and a half of training taken up by what to do if you ever have to work with a Farris.
Sedel: I think she just waits to shed her skin twice a year.
Sylma: Humpf. It's surprising she can get the patients to allow her to touch them.
Sylma suddenly looks thoughtful.
Sylma: You know, I hadn't thought of it this way, but neither Arat nor Snake goes near the Narosian bath house.
Sylma: And when Arat had to deal with Riyyh, he always used Nick as an intermediary.
Sedel frowns. Riyyh had always struck him as the totally innocuous type.
Sedel: Well, Syl, you see more of what goes on than I do.
Sedel: Think I can talk Arat into letting me give a transfer this month?
Sylma: I don't know, Sedel. He's never volunteered a word about his plans for either of us, in my hearing. Truth to tell, I think it's part of the punishment to keep us guessing.
Sedel: Yeah. Come on. Why don't you beat me up for a while and maybe we will both feel better.
Sylma gives a feral grin, and springs to her feet.
Sedel isn't quite up to springing yet.
Sylma: You shouldn't make that kind of offer until you've reserved your bath and massage at the bath house, Big Brother.
Sedel does grin with equal ferocity.
Sedel: Now how do you know I haven't, squirt?
Sylma starts ostentatiously stretching to warm up.
Sylma: 'Cause I just came from there, and they said you didn't. Don't worry, I made reservations for you.
Sedel watches as he starts his own set of stretches. Sylma always reminds him why he's a Donor. Because as long as there are channels like her around he can't think of anything else he'd rather do.
Sedel: Now, that's what younger sibs are for.
Sylma sticks her tongue out, not missing a beat of her warmup.
Notes:
1) Star Trek II anyone? [return]
Go on to Episode #172: Losing Battle
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