update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/toledot/launch/sys/Ioan/008.md

@@ -66,4 +66,38 @@ She laughed breathlessly, finally letting her shoulders sag and her chin droop.
 
 "So which bit about influencing politics had you not heard before?"
 
-"The bit about influencing politics phys-side." Ey shook eir head, "Which I'm a little confused about. I suppose I can see how that might work, given the communication between sys- and phys-side during both of those occurences, but--"
+"The bit about influencing politics phys-side." Ey shook eir head, "Which I'm a little confused about. I suppose I can see how that might work, given the communication between sys- and phys-side during both of those occurrences, but--"
+
+"I'll note that we're nearing the extent of my knowledge as well. Sorry, I interrupted." Despite the acknowledgement, she continued, unfazed. "All I can say is that I've noticed patterns. I think you have, too, as mentioned when you frowned, but I am starting to piece together patterns that go beyond that. Yes, they helped with Secession, yes they helped with Launch --- more than helped, organized --- but that, I think, includes subtle manipulation of politics planet-side in order to ensure that both happened precisely as they wanted."
+
+"Where are you seeing that?"
+
+She cocked her head to the side and waved an arm expansively above the two of them. "It's all there, Mx Balan. The news that we received from phys-side shows some of the same patterns that we also see sys-side. The hesitant gestures toward a project, which are suddenly rapidly and smoothing forward. You must understand, projects like this do not move smoothly on their own, nor do they change the speed at which they move without some outside influence. That is why we speak of momentum and inertia when it comes to projects as well as forces, yes?"
+
+Ey realized that ey hadn't been writing anything, so ey focused momentarily on jotting some of this information while Sabeena wasn't speaking. Finally, ey said, "How do you picture this influence working?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"I can see how the right words in the right ears might help smooth things along, at least. Do you think that might be enough to lead to these changes you're talking about?"
+
+"I don't know," she repeated, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
+
+"Say that the Odists have managed to have a hand in both Secession and Launch," ey continued. Ey did not smile. "What does that get them? What is their motivation?"
+
+"I don't know." She was smiling in earnest now.
+
+"And," ey said. Ey realized that eir frustration was showing, but could do nothing to stop it. "What impact does that have on us? On Earth?"
+
+"Mx Balan," she said, laughing. "I don't know. I don't know! Isn't that exciting in and of itself? I don't know, and that means that we have something interesting to work on. There are patterns here, as you acknowledge, and they may go deeper, or they may not, but that gives us a direction to look, doesn't it? It gives us direction to our questions, doesn't it? You've been asking why people have been staying or leaving. Your cocladists have been asking the same on the launches, I imagine. Those are good questions for boring histories. This is a tenuous question for exciting histories!"
+
+She was waving her arms around now, and the volume of her voice had steadily increased. Ioan was happy for the cone of silence that came with the booth.
+
+"Sabeena, I must ask you to both slow down and lower your voice again," ey said, as calm as ey could manage. "I'm having a hard time keeping up and the shouting is making me anxious."
+
+Startled, she let her shoulders slouch and chin dip once more. "Sorry, Mx Balan. Thank you for reminding me again. I don't like touch, you don't like loud noises. *Quid pro quo.*"
+
+Ey didn't think that's quite what that meant. That, or if she did mean it as an actual this-for-that exchange, she was on far more levels of manipulation than ey was comfortable with.
+
+"Humor me in at least a few of the questions. Why are you here on the System? If you are also on the LVs, why remain here as well?"
+
+"If the patterns are also showing up planet-side, why on Earth would I leave?" she said, laughing. "Pardon the expression.