update from sparkleup
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<p><em>“And the rest of you?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“And the rest of you?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Working.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Working.”</em></p>
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<p>I finished my coffee in two coarse swallows, winced at the uncomfortable sensation that followed. I took another moment to stand up and start making the bed again. As I did, I asked, <em>“What on? I saw a ton of forks.”</em></p>
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<p>I finished my coffee in two coarse swallows, winced at the uncomfortable sensation that followed. I took another moment to stand up and start making the bed again. As I did, I asked, <em>“What on? I saw a ton of forks.”</em></p>
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<p>The sense of a nod, and then, <em>“Several things. One of me is still keeping tallies on how many are missing based on reports, which appears to be some few million so far. Another of me is collating the varied types of posts on the feeds — wild supposition, unchecked grief, confusion, and so on. Another is speaking to…a member of the eighth stanza, even though–”</em></p>
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<p>The sense of a nod, and then, <em>“Several things. One of me is still keeping tallies on how many are missing based on reports, which appears to be some few million so far. Another of me is collating the varied types of posts on the feeds — wild supposition, unchecked grief, confusion, and so on. Another is speaking to a member of the eighth stanza, even though–”</em></p>
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<p><em>“This ‘Need An Answer’ you mentioned?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“This ‘Need An Answer’ you mentioned?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Yes. The Only Time I Dream Is When I Need An Answer. She is the one who has focused on interpersonal connections, which is only relevant in that she is the one in the stanza who will still pass information on to the portions of the clade that cut them off, about twenty of us.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Yes. The Only Time I Dream Is When I Need An Answer. She is the one who has focused on interpersonal connections, which is only relevant in that she is the one in the stanza who will still pass information on to the portions of the clade that cut them off, about twenty of us.”</em></p>
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<p>I snorted. <em>“Minus you, I guess.”</em></p>
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<p>I snorted. <em>“Minus you, I guess.”</em></p>
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<p>“No, not particularly. When I say that she has confirmed guesses, what she has done is invite me to talk and simply agreed when something I have said is right, perhaps expanding on it by small amounts.” Her expression soured. “I get the impression that she would <em>like</em> to share more with me, but that she is simply not allowed to.”</p>
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<p>“No, not particularly. When I say that she has confirmed guesses, what she has done is invite me to talk and simply agreed when something I have said is right, perhaps expanding on it by small amounts.” Her expression soured. “I get the impression that she would <em>like</em> to share more with me, but that she is simply not allowed to.”</p>
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<p>I frowned. “You mean someone’s keeping her from doing so?”</p>
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<p>I frowned. “You mean someone’s keeping her from doing so?”</p>
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<p>“It is a hunch. Perhaps our communications are being monitored, and she is being instructed to limit the topics or to act in this way. Perhaps her implants limit her by NDA. While talking with Need An Answer, she suggested that this is also what the eighth stanza is used to doing, but they are the political ones.”</p>
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<p>“It is a hunch. Perhaps our communications are being monitored, and she is being instructed to limit the topics or to act in this way. Perhaps her implants limit her by NDA. While talking with Need An Answer, she suggested that this is also what the eighth stanza is used to doing, but they are the political ones.”</p>
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<p>I dredged up what history of the System I had learned, all of those sensationalist stories about the few old clades steering the direction of the lives of however many billion uploaded minds — certainly well over a trillion, if one counted the two launch vehicles, Castor and Pollux that had been sent out seventy five years prior.</p>
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<p>I dredged up what history of the System I had learned, all of those sensationalist stories about the few old clades steering the direction of the lives of however many billions of uploaded minds and their instances — certainly well over two trillion, if one counted the two launch vehicles, Castor and Pollux that had been sent out seventy five years prior. More, if what Hanne said was right.</p>
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<p>“And they’d be sneaky like this, too?” I asked.</p>
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<p>“And they’d be sneaky like this, too?” I asked.</p>
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<p>A snort of laughter and she nodded. “Sneaky is one way to put it, yes. They shape interactions by second nature, for which much of the clade has distanced themself from from. We — Hammered Silver’s up-tree instances — are not supposed to be speaking to any of them, but there are a few that I like plenty, and given our current status, I have begun interacting more openly with Need An Answer.”</p>
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<p>A snort of laughter and she nodded. “Sneaky is one way to put it, yes. They shape interactions by second nature, for which a portion of the clade has distanced themselves from them. We — Hammered Silver’s up-tree instances — are not supposed to be speaking to any of them, but there are a few that I like plenty, and given our current status, I have begun interacting more openly with Need An Answer.”</p>
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<p>Wary of letting the topic drift too far, I said, “Have they gotten anything else from phys-side, then?”</p>
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<p>Wary of letting the topic drift too far, I said, “Have they gotten anything else from phys-side, then?”</p>
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<p>She shrugged. “There has been little enough interaction with sys-side over the years, and even less of late, now that the climate has started to level out back on Earth. The rate of uploads has even leveled off from its slow increase over time. We rarely hear much except what comes through the newly uploaded.” She sipped her mocha, seeming to take that time to sort out her thoughts. “Our political relationship with phys-side is cordial. It is one borne of necessity. Our social relationship is more complicated. Many have expectations of a long peace for themselves once they join us, and many more have loved ones who have joined us.”</p>
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<p>She shrugged. “There has been little enough interaction with sys-side over the years, and even less of late, now that the climate has started to level out back on Earth. The rate of uploads has even leveled off from its slow increase over time. We rarely hear much except what comes through the newly uploaded.” She sipped her mocha, seeming to take that time to sort out her thoughts. “Our political relationship with phys-side is cordial. It is one borne of necessity. Our social relationship is more complicated. Many have expectations of a long peace for themselves once they join us, and many more have loved ones who have joined us.”</p>
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<p>“Right, I still talk to a bunch of friends I knew phys-side who uploaded later. Or Marsh does.” I winced, amending that statement. “Did.”</p>
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<p>“Right, I still talk to a bunch of friends I knew phys-side who uploaded later. Or Marsh does.” I winced, amending that statement. “Did.”</p>
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