update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/neviim/local/tycho/004.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ True Name began walking, letting him fall into step behind her. She laughed. "Of
 
 So out of place was the humor that it took him several silent steps and a sip of his coffee to relax from the adrenal rush of the statement. "Well, if you say so. No further communications from them?"
 
-"One, but I will not ungate it on you yet, as it is quite large. It is instructions for one of their languages. Secondrace, apparently. I will ask you to learn some of it, enough to be polite, but both Why Ask Questions and Answers Will Not Help is working on that with more forks."
+"One, but I will not ungate it on you yet, as it is quite large. It is instructions for one of their languages. Secondrace's, apparently. I will ask you to learn some of it, enough to be polite, but both Why Ask Questions and Answers Will Not Help are working on that with more forks."
 
 Tycho quickstepped enough to fall in beside True Name as they made their way back to the central hub of the complex. "That feels somewhat out of place to me."
 
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ The woman grinned to him, then gestured to each of the new guests in turn. "Sova
 
 Tycho was already leaning forward to shake the hand of the other guest, a slight gentleman who looked every one of the seventy years he had been prior to uploading. "Dr. Verda, wonderful to see you again."
 
+"Likewise, likewise."
+
 "You two know each other, then?"
 
 Tycho nodded. "Paolo was one of my professors, yes."
@@ -50,7 +52,7 @@ They made their way to a conference room where they sat around a long table, bot
 
 Tycho frowned. "Two people working on all of that?"
 
-"Two clades, yes. As discussed, Ms. Soun will begin with a clade of 10 to work on the software, and Dr. Verda will begin with a clade of two. Both can expand as needed. We need to ramp this up and complete the changes required within two weeks, so it is important that we be able to move quite quickly."
+"Two clades, yes." She continued to diagram on the board. "As discussed, Ms. Soun will begin with a clade of ten to work on the software, and Dr. Verda will begin with a clade of two. Both can expand as needed. We need to ramp this up and complete the changes required within two weeks, so it is important that we be able to move quite quickly."
 
 "And what about me?"
 
@@ -96,21 +98,21 @@ The three walls of the room that did not contain the door quickly expanded outwa
 
 When Sovanna shook her head and Dr. Verda nodded, both pods of two sprouted cubicle walls around them, the pod of ten melding into shapely desks. With a final flourish of a bow, Answers Will Not Help welcomed them into the room. Above the pod of ten hung a sign that read 'Ansible', and the two pods were labeled 'Astro' and 'Admin' in turn.
 
-It was all quite skillfully done, but Tycho still felt a slight pang in his chest. It was generally considered unethical for public sims to violate Euclidean space, but private sims were beholden only to the holders of the ACLs. This room would occupy at least one office on either side, if not more.
+It was all quite skillfully done, but Tycho still felt a slight pang in his chest. It was generally considered a violation of social norms for public sims to violate Euclidean space without warning, but private sims were beholden only to the holders of the ACLs. This room would occupy at least one office on either side, if not more.
 
 He found it quite unnerving.
 
-Answers Will Not Help spoke as she walked. "Begin by estimating your work. We will meet in one hour. After that, we will meet twice a day or more often as needed. Please feel free to ping me if you need anything. I have granted you all access to cones of silence, which you may use at your discretion or when requested. Tycho, dear, with me."
+Answers Will Not Help spoke as she walked. "Begin by estimating your work. We will meet in one hour. After that, we will meet twice a day or more often as needed. Please feel free to ping me if you need anything. I have granted you all access to cones of silence and music, which you may use at your discretion or when requested. Tycho, dear, with me."
 
 Sovanna forked as she walked, further instances of her blipping into existence beside her, each one walking up to claim a seat. It took Dr. Verda longer to fork, but soon, there were two of him.
 
-Tycho simply followed his new boss to the admin pod and gestured him to one of the cubicles while she took the other. Once they sat, the wall between the cubicles lowered itself and he found that their two desks faced each other. At a gesture, a cone of silence fell over them both.
+Tycho simply followed his new boss to the admin pod. She gestured him to one of the cubicles while she took the other. Once they sat, the wall between the cubicles lowered itself and he found that their two desks faced each other. At a gesture, a cone of silence fell over them both.
 
 "Alright, Dr. Brahe. I am going to grant you access to the language dump that they sent our way. I would like you to take a look at it over the next hour and see how easily you might be able to pick it up. From what it sounds like, they already have a good grasp on English, but in order to be polite, we ought to also work on learning one of theirs."
 
 He nodded. He could already feel the presence of that information lingering on the periphery of his memory. "I'll give it a go. I've never learned another language but I guess there's a first time for everything."
 
-"Excellent, thank you. Again, you do not need to gain mastery over it. That will be my job. Why Ask Questions and I have several instances working on it already. If you find yourself in need of assistance, let me know and I will request a merger for them so that I can pick up what they have learned." She waved a hand and a few notepads spooled out of the air between them, along with several pens. "I do not know your preference, but here are some materials for you should you need. You are also welcome to create further copies if you need, and should you require anything more advanced, ping me and I will make it happen."
+"Excellent, thank you. Again, you do not need to gain mastery over it. That will be my job. Why Ask Questions and I have several instances working on it already. If you find yourself in need of assistance, let me know and I will request a merger from them so that I can pick up what they have learned." She waved a hand and a few notepads spooled out of the air between them, along with several pens. "I do not know your preference, but here are some materials for you should you need. You are also welcome to create further copies if you need, and should you require anything more advanced, ping me and I will make it happen."
 
 He collected the notepads into a pile on his desk, setting the pile of pens next to them. Each was unique, which, he supposed, was to give him a variety to choose from.