As they walked, they pulled out their PDA and tapped to open the glimmer monitor.
389Ψ.
They stopped walking and started jogging. They worked to keep their expression level, doing their best to look merely busy and not panicked. After all, seeing a captain run through the halls wasn’t uncommon…
-(Glimmer keeps rising)
+“Thtatuth,Status,
” they said briskly, bowing to the mystagogue, a frightfully competent young human named Cleo.
“Prober’s off,” she said breathlessly. “Found a mite wedged in behind it. I hate that sound.”
+They grimaced. “Tho do I. Did you grind it?So do I. Did you grind it?
“
She immediately brightened and nodded. “Oh, yeah, of course! I’ll never turn down free ectoplasm. Did you know–”
+“Cleo,” they said, smiling faintly. They knew well the urge to infodump, and it took a certain type of mind to want to be MG. “Glimmer?”
+“Oh. Right. Uh…yeah! It’s been rising steadily. I called you out here to get some more direct input. I was going to stop research, and Marcos has already put the call out for psionics to stop.”
+“Good, yeth. Thtop rethearth,Good, yes. Stop research,
” they said. Their lisp always seemed to get worse when stressed, and few things stressed them out worse than high glimmer. They pulled out their tablet and pointed at the sharp rise on the graph showing glimmer levels. “At thith rate, think you might go code white onthe it hit-th 450?At this rate, think you might go code white once it hits 450?
“
She balked, frowning. “Usually I wait until 500. That’s SOP, right?”
+Soot straightened up and forced a smile. “Right. You’re right,” they said, taking a deep breath. “We’ll thtick with 500. If the call’th already been put out on the thide thannel, hopefully people lithen.We’ll stick with 500. If the call’s already been put out on the side channel, hopefully people listen.
“
Cleo rolled her eyes. “Most, I think, but if you give people what’s essentially anonymous telepathy, people are going to use it to be assholes. There’s someone — and I think Marcos knows who — who has been mass-sleeping people near them just for funsies who doesn’t want to stop.” +(Glimmer keeps rising)
(Mantis critted, but revived, talks of hearing lots of mites)
(Throughout, memories of Abby, plurality becoming more evident)
(Finally, near the end of the shift, botanist caught trying to anchor a second prober, found by telegnosis)