update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/marsh/004.md

@@ -459,9 +459,71 @@ Another, longer silence followed. By now, more of them were sitting in the grass
 
 "The number..." Need An Answer began, then cleared her throat. "The number of missing instances for those here is eleven. For the total respondents in the clade as a whole, there are twenty-eight missing instances."
 
-"With a population of 2.3 trillion instances,
+"With a population of 2.3 trillion instances, we are looking at a loss of approximately 48.1 billion souls," Dry Grass said. Her voice sounded as confident as it had all morning, but her expression was aghast.
 
-(dandelion field - talking about/with the Odists, one loss, End Of Endings, though still checking on those who have left the clade, of which there are now a few, no word on E.W.)
+Silence fell for a third time. Silence except for sniffles.
+
+My own were included, as were Sedge's and Tule's. The number was unimaginable. 48 billion! Yes, many of those instances were ephemeral, merely those sent out on errands or to enjoy multiple parties to ring in the new year. How many did not matter, though. Even if only one percent of those who were lost were long-lived instances, that was still, 480 million dead.
+
+The loss of Marsh suddenly felt insignificant, and with that feeling of insignificance came an anger, a despair. 
+
+"Are other clades seeing the same?" Rush asked. "We are seven and have lost one. We've lost fourteen percent, you've lost two percent. Are you expecting that you'll really be representative."
+
+Dry Grass shook her head. "The threads on the feeds focused on similar tallies show that many clades have experienced zero losses, while others have been all but destroyed. A branch of the CERES clade has reported a loss of more than 99.9%, while another experienced almost no losses."
+
+"How big was that branch?" I asked, taken aback.
+
+"Approximately 70,000," Dry Grass said. "Of which only twelve remain."
+
+"Jesus fucking Christ," Rush said, laughing nervously.
+
+"Jesus fucking Christ indeed," she said, then turned to Need An Answer. "Have any lines been lost, my dear?"
+
+The other Odist's shoulders sagged. "Two."
+
+"Who?" Beholden asked, sounding impatient.
+
+"End Of Endings and–"
+
+"*What?!*" Warmth In Fire said, clutching tightly at Serene's paw in one of hers, the other grasping for Beneath Your Tongue's once more. "No. No no no..."
+
+"I am sorry, Heat And Warmth. I know that you two were close."
+
+The skunk didn't reply other than to continue whispering 'no' quietly.
+
+"The other lost line is No Longer Myself. She no longer associated with the clade, but did maintain her identity as one of the lines of the first stanza. Of the others I know who have rescinded their clade membership, Sasha, E.W., and May Then My Name all remain in some capacity."
+
+Looking quite frustrated, A Finger Pointing spoke up. "And what of beloved long-lived instances? Do they not count? I have lost one of mine. I have lost A Finger Curled."
+
+At this, Beholden burst into tears, eventually rolling to the side to slip out of the sim. A Finger Pointing quickly forked to follow while the other instance remained.
+
+"You are right. I apologize, my dear," Need An Answer said, bowing. "Of the 28 missing, five are long-lived instances that are not named lines, including A Finger Curled. My condolences to you, to Beholden, and to her up-tree instance."
+
+"Do we have enough information to ask about whether or not they'll be recoverable?" Cress asked. "Serene said we'd need some questions answered first."
+
+Dry Grass tilted her head thoughtfully. "None of my forks have reported any success along that front. Most, however, are still processing. When I asked Günay, she simply shrugged and said, "I do not know. Perhaps there is something that can be done sys-side, but best efforts were made in recovering lost data phys-side.""
+
+"Are any of you, love?"
+
+"Working on recovery? Yes, I have an instance working on collating information on that topic. Need An Answer?"
+
+She nodded. "Several, yes, and from across the stanzas."
+
+"*Yitgaddal veyitqaddash shmeh rabba,*" one of the gathered, From Whence Do I Call Out, began to chant. "*Be'alma di vra khir'uteh...*"
+
+Dry Grass lowered her head as several of the other Odists joined. After a moment, she forked and gathered the Marshans around her, setting up a cone of silence above us.
+
+"I believe we are done with pertinent business for now, and we are going to circle inwards and discuss those who have been lost," she said. "I would like to suggest that we give them space. Would you mind stepping away?"
+
+"Will you come with?" Cress asked, alarmed.
+
+"Not yet, my love. I will rejoin before long. One of the lost long-lived instances was one of my own, and this will give me a chance to step back and grieve, myself."
+
+Cress's expression fell, and it wrapped its arms around her. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
+
+"I did not say," Dry Grass said, shrugging. "We will talk later, my love. More of me remain at home, too."
+
+We all took turns ensuring that she got a hug from each of us, then stepped away, this time to the pagoda that I had discovered earlier that day before sleeping.
 
 (Reed's pagoda - more conversation among the stanzas now)