update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/toledot/secession/sys/True-Name/005.md

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 # True Name --- 2124
+
+The next time the Council of Eight met was nearly two weeks after True Name's discussion with Praiseworthy, thanks to a small, artificial delay suggested by the other skunk in order to see how well she could manage buttering up those who needed buttering up, meet with Ir Jonas, and just plain let True Name get used to her new form, her new personality.
+
+When Jonas Prime first saw her after that meeting, he had sat up straight from where he had been lounging on his apartment's couch, pointed his finger at her, and all but shouted, "Perfect! I don't know what you did or how, but it's fucking perfect."
+
+She had laughed, given a bow, and stood up straighter once more. "Glad you approve. I figured if I am going to continue not being a politician, I really ought to look the part."
+
+"I'm surprised you didn't work it in bit by bit, but it'll go over well."
+
+It did, thankfully. When she met with a few of the council members --- Debarre and Zeke, thankfully --- in order to request the delay on the meeting, they had both complimented her on her looks. She explained it away as wanting try looking "a little less dumpy", which had gotten a laugh out of Zeke.
+
+But now, the time had come to actually have the council meeting, which was taking place on a set of benches set alongside the edge of a well manicured pond. The S-R Bloc trio showed up in high-collared coats, hats, and sun-glasses.
+
+"This is utterly ridiculous," Jonas said. "I feel like we're about to start meeting sleeper agents from foreign powers to discuss what intel we've picked up in the last month."
+
+One of the Russians, in a rare sign of outward emotion, grinned broadly. "I thought you of all people would enjoy, Jonas."
+
+"Oh, don't get me wrong, I love it, but it's not exactly subtle."
+
+"We'll just say that we're in the middle of a spy reenactment."
+
+Debarre laughed. "Well, I'm for it. All we're missing is the ducks and a bag of breadcrumbs to feed them."
+
+"This can be arranged," another of the S-R Bloc trio said.
+
+"Another time, perhaps. We can play out the full scene."
+
+"Maybe we can walk and talk for once." True Name gestured down the trail, palm up and hand relaxed as Praiseworthy had instructed --- *you do not want to seem stiff, but rather like you are suggesting that you would like to get on with something that was already their idea in the first place.*
+
+It worked well enough, as the whole council turned on cue and began to walk slowly down the trail. Jonas caught her eye and gave her a wink while the cone of silence settled into place and the meeting began.
+
+"What news on the markets?"
+
+"Nothing particularly new there. We're still tuning the cost of sims, but the model for forking seems to be working well. We got the chance to test it during a recent hardware upgrade."
+
+"How about sensorium messages?"
+
+"Proposal was accepted, and there's an alpha in place. Want to try?"
+
+"Sure, why n-- Holy shit, please don't do that again."
+
+And on and on.
+
+They'd made it about halfway around the lake before the discussion turned to True Name and Jonas.
+
+"Glad to hear the launch is a go. I'm curious to see if there will be any interruptions in service meanwhile."
+
+Jonas shook his head, "Should be smooth sailing. Worst case, we shut down for a few minutes or hours, and then come back online, in which case we won't even notice a thing in here."
+
+"And the bill sounds like it's going well, too," Debarre said. "I'm actually surprised that that isn't a foregone conclusion, too. From what I've been hearing, there's essentially total agreement on the DDR, and most of the governments seem on-board now, too."
+
+It was True Name's turn to nod, and she slid through the sentence smoothly, letting the topic flow into the conversation as gently as Ir Jonas and Praiseworthy had suggested. She just needed to trust that the work had been done, trust in her own abilities. "Yes, it has almost unanimously been accepted, and all we're really waiting on right now is for them to decide whether or not we can be trusted to govern ourselves."
+
+The reaction was precisely what she had hoped: almost nothing at all. There were some nodding of heads, and user11824 just shrugged, as he ususally did.
+
+*Excellent, it is already in their minds,* she thought. *Just need to keep going.*
+
+Aloud, she said, "We got lucky with our DDR junkie friend, actually. It looks like he has been tapped to help draft the secession amendment that will be added to the bill, though I do not predict any trouble with that passing, either."
+
+Zeke rumbled with a laugh. "They're actually calling it 'secession' now? How delightful."
+
+True Name grinned, watching Jonas laugh along with the bundle of rags. *I must find a way to thank Praiseworthy. That could not have gone better.*
+
+"Hey, if it gets us what we need, then they can call it what they want," Jonas said. "We can govern ourselves, they can govern themselves, and then all these rights arguments become a moot point. The only sticking point seems to be some portions of the S-R Bloc holding onto the idea of dual citizenship."
+
+The trio nodded in unison. "We will be working on that."
+
+"Hell," True Name mused. "We could probably even make a spectacle out of it. If it is to become something important to the entirety of the System, might as well make it a holiday."
+
+
+
+