update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/toledot/index.md

@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ Nearing the 200th anniversary of System secession from humanity, the System and
     * [X] [Secession: phys-side: Yared](secession/phys/Yared/007) - Introduces secession amendment himself, it goes over poorly initially, contacts Demma who reassures him that it will swing in secession's favor after some unsavory strings are pulled, told to keep pressing sys-side on secession - 2640
     * [X] [Launch: sys-side: Ioan](launch/sys/Ioan/009) - Ioan, already worried, interviews Do I Know God After The *End Waking* (skunk male, druid type) at eir home, who was tasked by True Name and Jonas to meddle with phys-side finance late 2100s to increase sys-side population by paying for uploads (as Ioan was), liberal now, regrets his actions; points em to Jonas still on system; conversation with both End Waking and May about what she meant about system being more subtle viz dandelions (even after all this time, it's still a dream, May's been dreaming with em, not uncommon for emotionally entangled people) - 3217
     * [X] [Launch: launch-side: Codrin#Pollux](launch/launch/Codrin-pollux/006) - Has Yared, Debarre, and user11824 over, who talk about how the council was undermined, then overridden by Jonas/Odists after secession, Yared talks about Toledot Yeshu, Demma as Paul (left unsaid whether or not Demma was influenced by anyone sys-side, implied no; phys-side still had its own politics, then) - 2856
-    * [O] [Secession: sys-side: True Name](secession/sys/True-Name/006) - Meets with Debarre, who says he understands better now, thanks her for all her work; after he leaves, meets up with *Life Breeds Life,* But Death Must Now Be Chosen (human male, scholar type) to help keep up appearances during secession work that the clade isn't growing, minimize actions in history so that the clade doesn't appear to have done anything, that Michelle was on the Council and the clade just helped. - 2317
+    * [X] [Secession: sys-side: True Name](secession/sys/True-Name/006) - Meets with Debarre, who says he understands better now, thanks her for all her work; after he leaves, meets up with *Life Breeds Life,* But Death Must Now Be Chosen (human male, scholar type) to help keep up appearances during secession work that the clade isn't growing, minimize actions in history so that the clade doesn't appear to have done anything, that Michelle was on the Council and the clade just helped. - 2317
     * [O] [Launch: launch-side: Codrin#Castor](launch/launch/Codrin-castor/006) - Interviews No Jonas, hints at how big an influence he and Odists (not just TN!) had on both phys/sys side after secession, anything to keep System growing - 2471
     * [O] [Secession: sys-side: True Name](secession/sys/True-Name/007) - walks sims, thinking about what the System will look like after secession (doesn't share Yared's pessimism), how to keep it running, remembers conversation about birth laws in S-R Bloc, forks End Waking to investigate that, revealing that at some point, Jonas showed her how to manipulate reputation markets to make sure she could always fork. - 1378 Expand?
     * [O] [Launch: phys-side: Douglas](launch/phys/Douglas/008) - Sabotage attempts, hinting that there are those phys-side who have also picked up patterns and really don't like System - 2802

writing/post-self/toledot/secession/sys/True-Name/006.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ True Name was early to her meeting, and that, she figured was okay. On a whim, s
 
 She ordered herself one of those beers that she loved to hate, sat down in a corner booth with a commanding view of the entrance, tail flopped over the edge, and waited.
 
-While she waited, she thought about all of the different reasons that Debarre might have asked to meet. There was always the possibility that the weasel had figured out just how deep she and Jonas had gotten in their work, though she suspected that that wasn't the case. Debarre was smart, yes, but political adroitness was not his strong point. There was always the worry --- shared by him --- that he had been let onto the council merely by his proximity to Michelle and connection with the lost.
+While she waited, she thought about all of the different reasons that Debarre might have asked to meet. There was always the possibility that the weasel had figured out just how deep she and Jonas had gotten in their work, though she suspected that that wasn't the case. Debarre was smart, yes, but political adroitness was not his strong point. That had been the root of the worry --- shared by him --- that he had been let onto the council merely by his proximity to Michelle and connection with the lost.
 
 It could also be that he had further questions about why it was that Michelle had chosen the Ode as a clade scheme, and that perhaps he wanted to discuss why it was that all of the clade seemed so averse to mentioning the author of the poem.
 
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ She hid a sudden surge of emotion behind a sip of her flat beer, nodding. "It wa
 
 Debarre nodded. After the reference to both losses, he seemed on guard, or ready to jump out of the booth at a moment's notice.
 
-"I am sorry that I snapped at you a while back," she said, reaching out to pat at the paw that had been drawing designs in the grime on the tabletop. "That is a name that I would like to keep close to my heart and prefer not to say out loud. Also, given that ey was not strictly supposed to defect to the S-R Bloc, it still feels risky."
+"I am sorry that I snapped at you a while back," she said, reaching out to pat at the paw that had been poking absently at the grime on the tabletop. "That is a name that I would like to keep close to my heart and prefer not to say out loud. Also, given that ey was not strictly supposed to defect to the S-R Bloc, it still feels risky. The spooks definitely should not hear it."
 
 "I get that," the weasel said. He had relaxed, but not all the way.
 
@@ -66,15 +66,15 @@ They beamed at each other, all bristled whiskers and perked-up ears.
 
 The conversation wound around for a while longer, with talk of plans and memories, likes and dislikes, gossip and news. True Name allowed herself to earnestly enjoy the afternoon, now that any concerns that she might have had about the meeting had been assuaged.
 
-Eventually, they made their goodbyes and she left the sim, letting herself sober up in the process in order to make the next meeting on her agenda.
+Eventually, they made their goodbyes and she left the sim, allowing herself to sober up in the process in order to make the next meeting on her agenda.
 
-For some reason that she couldn't fathom, Life Breeds Life But Death Must Now Be Chosen had decided to incarnate himself as a scholarly gentlemen, somewhere between respectable and nerdy. It was a good look, she thought, but what train of thoughts had led him to head down that route evaded her.
+For some reason that she couldn't fathom, Life Breeds Life But Death Must Now Be Chosen had chosen to incarnate himself as a scholarly gentlemen, somewhere between respectable and nerdy. It was a good look, she thought, but what train of thoughts had led him to head down that route from Michelle evaded her.
 
 After a pleasant greeting in the lobby of the library, they wound their way up the spiral staircases to the law section, three levels up. There was no particular reason that they needed to head there, other than the fact that it was liable to be fairly empty --- few had to read up on phys-side laws, here --- and would still be a comfortable place for them to walk and talk.
 
 "So," Life Breeds Life said, once pleasantries were out of the way and the cone of silence had been set up. "Why did you want to meet today?"
 
-"During discussions with Praiseworthy and Ir Jonas, I started to realize that there were some steps that I might need to take when it comes to the historical view of the clade. There is already the forceful de-emphasizing of AwDae's name, thanks to Praiseworthy. She thought it a good hook, and it has already proven its utility. I guess, given your interest in history and memory, that you seemed like the most likely to be interested in helping continue that effort."
+"During discussions with Praiseworthy and Ir Jonas, I started to realize that there were some steps that I might need to take when it comes to the historical view of the clade. There is already the forceful de-emphasizing of AwDae's name, thanks to Praiseworthy. She thought it a good hook, and it has already proven its utility. None of us want it out in the open, anyway. I guess, given your interest in history and memory, you seemed like the most likely to be interested in helping continue that effort."
 
 He grinned. "You guess correctly. I have been considering some aspects of that, as it is. Before I go off on that, however, I would like to hear your ideas."
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ She nodded.
 
 "That should be doable."
 
-"It will require a bit of fudging, at least for myself, as how many instances actually exist for the clade. I believe that it would reflect poorly on us to say that we were initially ten, and then for someone to dig up that I had already forked three or four times less than a year after Michelle's decision."
+"It will require a bit of fudging, at least for myself, as to how many instances actually exist for the clade. I believe that it would reflect poorly on us to say that we were initially ten, and then for someone to dig up that I had already forked three or four times less than a year after Michelle's decision."
 
 His laugh was kind and relieved. "Oh, good. I am glad that I am not the only one."
 
@@ -116,9 +116,9 @@ True Name frowned. "Really?"
 
 True Name stopped in the aisle, letting Life Breeds Life step ahead and turn to face her. "You would like individuals to forget that there was a council?"
 
-"It is a way to build a mythos and identity, yes. It allows us to use the words 'freedom' and 'secession' and so on in a collective sense, as though these were the decisions of all, rather than a few. It will instill a sense of patriotism, if one could call it such a thing, for being sys-side, which will in turn reduce the connections that many feel to phys-side." He smiled, tugging a book from the shelf at random and flipping through the pages. "This will not happen for this generation. Nor, likely the next. The goal for future generations, though is to ensure that they feel that the System is a place to live rather than a place where they wound up, or a place that they uploaded to simply because it was convenient or necessary, or even a place that they uploaded to simply for the way life works here, whether it be immortality or the sheer hedonistic joy of it."
+"It is a way to build a mythos and identity, yes. It allows us to use the words 'freedom' and 'secession' and so on in a collective sense, as though these were the decisions of all, rather than a few. It will instill a sense of patriotism, if one could call it such a thing, for being sys-side, which will in turn reduce the connections that many feel to phys-side." He smiled, tugging a book from the shelf at random and flipping through the pages. "This will not happen for this generation. Nor, likely, the next. The goal for future generations, though is to ensure that they feel that the System is a place to live rather than a place where they wound up, or a place that they uploaded to simply because it was convenient or necessary, or even a place that they uploaded to simply for the way life works here, whether it be immortality or the sheer hedonistic joy of it."
 
-The skunk watched the pages flip beneath Life Breeds Life's fingers and thought.
+The skunk watched the pages flip beneath Life Breeds Life's fingers and thought. To downplay the council would be to minimize the work of years, of almost a decade. The other members might rankle, but she was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable an idea it was. It would gain her and Jonas much needed room to maneuver.
 
 Eventually she nodded, saying, "That makes sense, yes. If the concept of the Council disappears into foggy memories and untrustworthy histories, then any attempts to lead again will seem out of place, too. It will give Jonas and I more latitude to continue working long term."