update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/009.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Ioan Bălan --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes (transmission delay: 7.23 days)
+    Convergence T-1 day, 0 hours, 11 minutes (transmission delay: 7.23 days)
 
 Ioan#98ae38dc arrived at the appointed coffee shop a good hour in advance. The meeting had been eir idea, but it had also been eir primary source of stress during the day prior to it.
 

writing/post-self/neviim/ioan/011.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Ioan Bălan --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes
+    Convergence T-2 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes
 
 Ioan,
 

writing/post-self/neviim/local/codrin/010.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Codrin Bălan#Castor --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 2 hours, 2 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 2 minutes
 
 "To begin with an example concept, I have noticed that your common language is very irregular and relies heavily on a small vocabulary and nominal compounding," Why Ask Questions said. "As we classify our languages into families based on several factors, including compounding, can each of the races expand on various features of their languages?"
 

writing/post-self/neviim/local/codrin/011.md

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
-# Codrin Bălan#Artemis --- 2346
+# Codrin Bălan#Castor --- 2346
 
-Despite the excitement, the talks remained surprisingly banal. Even when the topic of the Odists' deception and the troubles that True Name#Emissary still suffered on Artemis, the talks still felt like a political summit. The conference was still a conference, with its cloth-covered table and shitty pens, its uncomfortable chairs and weary participants.
+    Convergence T-0 days, 2 hours, 53 minutes
+
+Despite the excitement, the talks remained surprisingly banal. Even when the topic of the Odists' deception and the troubles that True Name#Artemis still suffered on Artemis, the talks still felt like a political summit. The conference was still a conference, with its cloth-covered table and shitty pens, its uncomfortable chairs and weary participants.
 
 Ey counted emself among the weariest of them all. Tycho was still in his stride, and Sarah was keeping up well enough, though she remained fairly quiet throughout, focusing on watching rather than speaking or taking notes. Why Ask Questions had proceeded as though the news had never happened, continuing on in her litany of questions around biology and linguistics. In fact, the only one more tired seemed to be True Name.
 
@@ -22,9 +24,9 @@ It seemed such a strange limitation to put on talks such as these. Why divide th
 
 Questions such as these littered the verso pages of eir notebook, the recto pages reserved for notes about the topic at hand. Ey'd sent dozens of those questions over to Artemis already; it certainly didn't seem as though this was the place to ask them.
 
-Answers had been sparse. The responses had invariably been "it is not the time for that conversation". At least the most recent note from Codrin#Emissary --- running at nearly three pages --- had explained the use of that sentence, as well as so much else. Checklists and goals, indeed.
+Answers had been sparse. The responses had invariably been "it is not the time for that conversation". At least the most recent note from Codrin#Artemis --- running at nearly three pages --- had explained the use of that sentence, as well as so much else. Checklists and goals, indeed.
 
-It had also contained a more detailed account of Answers Will Not Help's breakdown and quitting, as well as the extended interactions with True Name that Codrin#Emissary had been having.
+It had also contained a more detailed account of Answers Will Not Help's breakdown and quitting, as well as the extended interactions with True Name that Codrin#Artemis had been having.
 
 "I hate to do this to you," ey had written, clade-eyes only. "But I simply cannot overstate just how dramatic and anxiety-inducing the whole event was, and I mean this in the most literal way possible. There are things that I cannot tell you. I cannot put them into words, and I certainly cannot set them to paper. It is overwhelming. The import is crushing. I feel like I'm going to burst and there's nothing I can do or say about it, and the only reason I'm describing it like this is that I *can't* be the only one who knows this, even if only at one layer of remove. You will remember soon enough, I think, but until then, I just need to offload some of the pressure."
 

writing/post-self/neviim/local/tycho/011.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Tycho Brahe#Castor --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 3 hours, 13 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 3 hours, 13 minutes
 
 Tycho had spent his share of time in conferences, both phys-side and sys-side. They all came with their exciting parts and their boring parts. They all came with peaks that left him completely rapt, and valleys that were so excruciatingly boring that he had, on more than one occasion, feigned illness to step out of a talk or away from a panel discussion or a lecture.
 

writing/post-self/neviim/local/tycho/012.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Tycho Brahe#Castor --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 2 hours, 28 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 28 minutes
 
 "This has...wait, don't leave yet, #Assist," Codrin said. "Is this really a clade-eyes-only message for both True Name and Turun Ka?"
 

writing/post-self/neviim/remote/codrin/006.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Codrin Bălan#Artemis --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 2 hours, 32 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 32 minutes
 
 The next note that came from Castor included a block of indecipherable text that was marked as clade-eyes-only for Turun Ka.
 

writing/post-self/neviim/remote/codrin/007.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Codrin Bălan#Artemis --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 2 hours, 12 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 12 minutes
 
 During the short break, Codrin helped True Name compose her letter and, after ey sent it, simply sat with her in quiet. The skunk remained still throughout, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring down at her knees. She looked small, and some part of em wanted to sit beside her and try to comfort her, but for the emotional and social distance between them, as well as her still jittery form.
 

writing/post-self/neviim/remote/codrin/008.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-# Codrin Bălan#Emissary --- 2346
+# Codrin Bălan#Artemis --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 1 hour, 58 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 1 hour, 58 minutes
 
 As suggested, Codrin and Sarah wound up in the courtyard.
 
@@ -20,15 +20,15 @@ She laughed and waved away the comment. "It's alright. That was a whole lot all
 
 Ey nodded. Ey could feel the knowledge of what ey'd learned sitting heavily in eir gut, clawing at eir insides. The Name, the pronouns, feeling the owner of the Name in the system. It wanted out, at least in some way, but there was no one other than True Name ey'd be able to share that with from now until eternity.
 
-Swallowing down the feeling clutching at eir throat, ey said instead, "You know, she said something to me when she was laying down to nap. She said something like, "I need someone to anchor me and you are very good at that". And come to think of it, I got a note from Codrin#Artemis that Tycho said similar earlier, that he said I'm 'grounding'."
+Swallowing down the feeling clutching at eir throat, ey said instead, "You know, when she was laying down to nap, she said something like, "I need someone to anchor me and you are very good at that". Come to think of it, I got a note from Codrin#Castor that Tycho said similar earlier, that he said I'm 'grounding'."
 
-Sarah nodded readily. "You are, yeah. Why do you bring it up?"
+Sarah nodded readily. "You are, yes. Why do you bring it up?"
 
 "It's not something I'd really considered about myself." Ey spoke slowly, piecing together eir thoughts as ey went. "I've been questioning my path in life moving forward. I've been very passive, very much like a recorder. I'm *good* at being an amanuensis, but I also feel like I get dragged into it more often than I choose to do so."
 
 "Does being a grounding person help with that?"
 
-Ey shrugged. "I suppose so. Empathy helps, because it lets me understand what's happening more readily. The way Tycho and True Name put it, though, sounds...I don't know, more active."
+Ey shrugged. "I suppose so. Empathy helps, because it lets me understand what's happening more readily, lets me build a more complete story. The way Tycho and True Name put it, though, sounds...I don't know, more active."
 
 She nodded again, waiting in silence until ey was done speaking.
 
@@ -36,13 +36,13 @@ She nodded again, waiting in silence until ey was done speaking.
 
 "It's a complex question, Codrin. Hell, even when we were limited to ninety or a hundred years, folks would talk about having midlife crises, questioning what it was that they really wanted to do, and a lot of times it came down to feeling a lack of agency. Psychologists would..." She trailed off, looking over eir shoulder. "Well, lets pick this up later. Artante and Turun Ko are on their way."
 
-Ey turned to look over eir shoulder, noticing the two Artemisians moving slower than expected. A moment's thought showed that ey was still running at a skew of one point two as the meeting had been, so ey dropped back down to common time.
+Ey turned to look, noticing the two Artemisians moving slower than expected. A moment's thought showed that ey was still running at a skew of one point two as the meeting had been, so ey dropped back down to common time.
 
 Turun Ko dipped its head as Artante bowed, saying, "Recorder Codrin Bălan, representative Sarah Genet. Do you know where the scientists are?"
 
 "They're probably down the hall," Codrin said, returning the bow. "Every time they sneak off, they head for an alcove there and talk as much as they can."
 
-"We are pleased-excited to witness mutual enjoyment," Turun Ko said, voice bouncing between registers in amusement.
+"We are pleased-excited to witness mutual-shared enjoyment," Turun Ko said, voice bouncing between registers in amusement.
 
 The fourthracer laughed. "I am not surprised. Will you join us in finding them?"
 
@@ -62,21 +62,21 @@ Ey frowned, relaxing against the sensation and feeling eir control over time dim
 
 There was a brief lurch as time skewed quickly up to two point five, moving far more quickly and with more surety than eir experiments up to that point.
 
-"Thank you, recorder Codrin Bălan, representative Sarah Genet, scientist Tycho Brahe." The firstracer shifted back, settling onto its haunches and tail and clasping its hands together over its front, which appeared to be the default resting state for its race.
+"Thank you, recorder Codrin Bălan, representative Sarah Genet, scientist Tycho Brahe." The firstracer eased back, settling onto its haunches and tail and clasping its hands together over its front, which appeared to be the default resting state for its race.
 
-"How do you feel the talks are going?" Artante asked.
+"How do you feel the convergence is going?" Artante asked.
 
 Tycho picked at a corner of the stone sill, shrugging. "Well enough, I suppose. I'm feeling really in over my head."
 
 Stolon tilted their head far to the side. "In over...?"
 
-"*Nu...nukupot...kopotla...*" he stammered, hunting through the language he'd been trying to mainline over the last three days.
+"*Nu...nukupot...kopotla...*" he stammered. He had apparently held true to his promise to learn more of the language.
 
 "*Iha! Ka, ka, nukupotla,* not-knowing?"
 
 "Something like that. I don't know what's going on, and don't have much to contribute. Not much knowledge to give, I mean, when we're talking about social stuff."
 
-"Rrr, *ka,* I also." The thirdracer made what looked to be a frustrated gesture with one of their hands and then shifted to drape languidly over the edge of the windowsill, hands hanging nearly down to the ground and feet kicking lazily behind them in the alcove. It was a nearly childlike move that Codrin found incredibly endearing. Something more...well, not human, but perhaps personable in this otherwise impersonal conference.
+"*Irr, ka,* I also." The thirdracer made a frustrated gesture with one of their hands and then shifted to drape languidly over the edge of the windowsill, hands hanging nearly down to the ground and feet kicking lazily behind them in the alcove. It was a nearly childlike move that Codrin found incredibly endearing. Something more...well, not human, but perhaps personable in this otherwise impersonal conference.
 
 "I went into academia because-- sorry, into studying as one of the only things I do in my life because that seemed to be the only way I could just do what it was that I wanted," Tycho said. "No commitments, no distractions. Just the stars and math."
 
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ This was the most that Turun Ko had said at once over the last few days and, des
 
 "*Anem.*"
 
-"I am studying convergence also. I learn your language, not so well, maybe." Stolon chattered their teeth in something like amusement. "Also I learn path of convergence. Items on checklist, leader Turun Ka says. We have list of steps for convergence, and each of us...*jaruvi*...see? Notice...each of us notice what you say and what you do, and we complete checklist. I study this before."
+"I am studying convergence also. I learn your language, not so well, maybe." Stolon chattered their teeth in amusement. "Also I learn path of convergence. Items on checklist, leader Turun Ka says. We have list of steps for convergence, and each of us...*jaruvi*...see? Notice...each of us notice what you say and what you do, and we complete checklist. I study this before."
 
 Ey frowned. Ey wanted nothing more than to write this down, to do as ey always had done and incorporate this into a story, but something about this meeting seemed to preclude that possibility. Something about it was meant only for this space.
 
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Ey frowned. Ey wanted nothing more than to write this down, to do as ey always h
 
 "*Anem.*" Turun Ko lifted its snout. "You will join-converge with us as fifthrace or you will not."
 
-There was silence within that bubble of fast-time, and ey imagined that it was em and Sarah struggling to process this information while the two Artemisians waited patiently for the next step in the conversation --- or perhaps the next item on the checklist.
+There was silence within that bubble of fast-time, and ey imagined that it was em, Tycho, and Sarah struggling to process this information while the two Artemisians waited patiently for the next step in the conversation --- or perhaps the next item on the checklist.
 
 The pressure to ask the correct question weighing down eir shoulders, Codrin nonetheless stood up straighter. "Is there a correct ending?"
 
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ Artante nodded. "And the other, seeing that, might feel enough unease that the d
 
 After a pause, Turun Ko said, "The list does not work-function in this way, recorder Codrin Bălan. The decision-inflection-point is preceded by a cloud-tree-collection-net-pile-table-graph of interconnected actions-items-steps."
 
-It took em a few frowning seconds to plow through the litany of synonyms to reach the heart of the statement. "To be clear, there are a bunch of steps leading up to this decision point?"
+It took em a few seconds to plow through the litany of synonyms to reach the heart of the statement. "To be clear, there are a bunch of steps leading up to this decision point?"
 
 "*Anem.*"
 
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ Ey smiled, shrugged. "It's my job to pay attention."
 
 Stolon bobbed their head. "*Anem,* recorder Codrin Bălan. We find patterns and say 'yes yes' or 'no no' and do next thing. You hear, "this is not time to have that conversation." We say because we use checklist."
 
-"You can just call me Codrin, by the way."
+"Alright. You can just call me Codrin, by the way."
 
 "And you can just call me Sarah."
 
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ Stolon bobbed their head. "*Anem,* recorder Codrin Bălan. We find patterns and
 
 "I will remain-always-be Turun Ko."
 
-There was another moment's silence as Codrin and Sarah processed and the Artemisians waited.
+There was another moment's silence as they processed and the Artemisians waited. Tycho and Stolon drifted back into quiet conversation.
 
 There was so much to take in here, but on further examination, it all made quite a bit of sense. The Artemisians had prepared for this event as thoroughly as had the Odists and Jonases. Of course there would be things that would happen --- or at least could be reasonably expected to happen --- throughout the convergence. The Artemisians simply had a head start in that they had history to lean on: they'd been through at least three convergences prior to this one.
 
@@ -194,13 +194,13 @@ After a hesitation, the fourtracer replied, "There are steps on the checklist fo
 
 Turun Ko tilted its head far to the side. "*Lubaenåtam?*"
 
-"Do you two have steps of your own?"
+"Do you two have steps of your own? Desired outcomes?"
 
 "You ask an interesting question," Artante said, sounding thoughtful. "I want what's best, and with each passing conversation between delegations, the meaning of 'what's best' shifts. I'm sorry that I can't put it more clearly than that, though I can assure you that I consider us to be together in this: what's best for the Artemisians will also be what's best for you."
 
 "And you, Turun Ko?"
 
-It straightened up, joints and synthetic flesh shifting smoothly in a well-articulated dance, as though it was running through some internal checklist to straighten and correct its posture. "I want-desire stories. There is no combination of steps-items on our list that will not result-in-lead-to stories, so I will not be disappointed. I have received-learned many already, and I am content-happy-satisfied-fulfilled and will remain-continue-to-be so even if you become-turn-into the most exceptionally-stupendously boring-droll numbskulls-sad-sacks-dipshits in the visible-observable universe."
+It straightened up, joints and synthetic flesh shifting smoothly in a well-articulated dance, as though it was running through some internal checklist to correct its posture. "I want-desire stories. There is no combination of steps-items on our list that will not result-in-lead-to stories, so I will not be disappointed. I have received-learned many already, and I am content-happy-satisfied-fulfilled and will remain-continue-to-be so even if you become-turn-into the most exceptionally-stupendously boring-droll numbskulls-sad-sacks-dipshits in the visible-observable universe."
 
 Codrin and Sarah both stared at the firstracer before laughing, joined by Artante. Even the fourthracer seemed taken aback by the sudden injection of humor.
 
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ Codrin and Sarah both stared at the firstracer before laughing, joined by Artant
 
 There was a moment's silence. Comfortable. Warm. The six of them seemed content to bask and watch the shadows of leaves play on the wall. Ey was tired, ey realized. Dreadfully exhausted. The warmth of the sun, even standing up, seemed to be doing its best to lull em to sleep. Stolon also seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit, stretching languidly, speaking lazily.
 
-"I am not worrying, though." They poked a torn bit of the leaf into their mouth and chewed thoughtfully before spitting it out with a choking sound. "*Natarla...*"
+"I am not worrying." They poked a torn bit of the leaf into their mouth and chewed thoughtfully before spitting it out with a choking sound. "*Natarla...*"
 
 Laughing, Tycho said, "Not so tasty?"
 

writing/post-self/neviim/remote/tycho/003.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Tycho Brahe#Artemis --- 2346
 
-    Convergence T-0 days, 2 hours, 38 minutes
+    Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 38 minutes
 
 Over the last hour of common time, what tension was bound within True Name seemed to have been refocused from struggling quite so hard to maintain herself into being present and taking part. This meant that, while she was more susceptible to waves of shifting form and the occasional gasp or shudder, she grew far more intent on the task at hand, of learning from the discussions with the Artemisians.