Once they were finished, Sarah asked, “It’s only fair that I ask you as well as the emissaries. How are you feeling about things so far?”
When Codrin didn’t respond, Tycho shrugged. “Overwhelmed, still. I really like Stolon, and kind of wish I could just talk with them for a while instead of working through this whole process.”
“Maybe we can figure out how to do break-out meetings or something.”
-“I guess, yeah. See if we can beg one fork each. Still, I understand the reason for things working the way they do. We’re not having an astronomy conference.”
-Sarah laughed. “That might be easier, yeah. Certainly easier to connect on sciences than the social side.”
+“I guess, yeah. See if we can beg time and space for our one fork each. Still, I understand the reason for things working the way they do. We’re not having an astronomy conference.”
+Sarah laughed. “That might be easier, yes. Certainly easier to connect on sciences than the social side.”
“You seem to be connecting quite well with Artante,” Codrin said once ey’d finished the salad ey’d settled on. “And it sounds like the same is true on Artemis.”
“Oh? Does it sound like much the same dynamic over there?”
“Well, for us three, yes. For the Odists, no. It seems like–” Ey cut emself off, averting eir gaze from the entry as True Name and Why Ask Questions came in.
Neither looked happy. They paused their rather heated discussion and served themselves dinner before making their way over to True Name’s partitioned-off rest area. Before sliding the screen shut, the skunk nodded to Codrin. “You may share, Mx. Bălan. If you already know, then there is no harm in the others knowing, too. Perhaps Ms. Genet will have some insight, as well.”
With that, the screen slid shut and the room went silent, the two Odists apparently having set up a cone of silence.
“Well…” Ey shrugged. “I guess I’ll just read you the pertinent parts. There’s some clade-eyes-only stuff, so I’d prefer not to just hand it over.”
-Once ey had finished describing the situation aboard Artemis, the three sat in silence.
+Once ey had finished explaining what Michelle went through and describing the situation aboard Artemis, the three sat in silence.
“Well, I guess that explains their sour mood,” Sarah said at last. “That rather changes things, doesn’t it?”
“How?” Tycho asked. “Or, well, how do you mean? The mechanics have changed over there, but I’m guessing you mean something more subtle.”
She nodded. “It’s no longer an even playing ground on Artemis. Our leadership role is acting in reduced capacity and it sounds like one of our representatives has been all but taken out by the time skew.”
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@“It’s almost impossible not to anthropomorphize to at least some extent,” Sarah said, nodding. “It’s just how our minds work. I’ll agree with you on that, though; even though they are still worlds different from us, it’s not like we totally lack commonalities. Most of the differences seem to be surface ones, actually. Gestures and body language are foreign, but the number of truly fundamental differences in how we think has been pretty low so far, and mostly restricted to the two firstracers.”
“They do seem to be operating on a different level,” Codrin said. “I think if they had expressive faces, True Name would like them immensely.”
She nodded, then asked, “Has your opinion of them changed?”
-Ey shrugged. “Not particularly. I am curious about this time skew thing, but not nearly to the extent that Tycho is. I think it’s tempered by being in a relationship with an Odist. It’d be cool, but Dear will never be able to experience it, or at least never agree to. I still bear a lot of the same anxieties, but I’m getting more comfortable with the process, because this role is familiar to me, at least.”
+Ey shrugged. “Not particularly. I am curious about this time skew thing, but not nearly to the extent that Tycho is. I think it’s tempered by being in a relationship with an Odist. It’d be fascinating, but Dear will never be able to experience it, or at least never agree to. I still bear a lot of the same anxieties, but I’m getting more comfortable with the process, because this role is familiar to me, at least.”
“Doing a job you know how to do?”
Ey nodded. “It’s my job to observe, to take in information and form it into something coherent.”
“Which is fascinating to me,” she said, laughing. “It’s got me thinking about how I approach this, too.”
@@ -79,12 +79,14 @@“Thanks, yeah.” Ey sighed. “My thoughts on it are incomplete as yet. I’ll figure it out over time, I’m sure.”
“I’m glad to have you about either way,” Tycho said, surprising himself with the earnestness in his voice. “You’re really…I don’t know. Grounding, perhaps?”
Ey laughed. “What does that mean?”
-“Like, you’re here to witness it, and so everything that happens will have to have at least some basis in reality.”
-The writer crossed eir arms and leaned back in eir chair, expression thoughtful. “Thank you, Tycho, I’d not thought of it that way. That’s a role I feel more comfortable with.”
+“Like you’re here to witness it, and so everything that happens will have to have at least some basis in reality.”
+“It’s quite important to feel witnessed,” Sarah added. “Not just for ensuring that an experience is real, but for personal validation.”
+“Right. You being here makes me think I’m not crazy, that maybe I really am a part of something big.”
+The writer crossed eir arms and leaned back in eir chair, expression thoughtful. “Thank you both, I’d not thought of it that way. That’s a role I feel more comfortable with.”
He nodded, then stifled a yawn. “Weird times. Weird, but interesting. I’m at least feeling better about just inviting aliens over without consulting anyone first. For now, though, I’m going to try and sleep, and see if I can snag some extra time with Stolon in the morning.”