Attempt 2
+Meeting of One
Ioan Bălan, despite all attempts to keep emself from sinking into the depths of whatever it was studying, always managed to find emself mired in details ey could not hope to escape. They twined and twisted around eir wrists, tripped em up about the ankles, and tugged em ever deeper into the fractal complications of whatever topic ey decided would be the subject of eir next work.
The current subject was spurred note ey had received titled “The Joseph Chace Friends Meeting”.
The name alone was enough to grab Ioan’s attention. Was it a meeting of one person’s friends? If so, why was it tagged ‘religion’? What would they meet about? A fan-club, perhaps? Those still lingered, even in this post-self society.
@@ -20,14 +20,16 @@Mx. Ioan Bălan:
My name is Joseph Chace and I am the…well, the language fails me. Organizer? Sole member? Recorded minister?
-Either way, I am part of and entirely the Joseph Chace Friends Meeting. This meeting began on the occasion of my upload into the system as one of the first Quakers (or, at least recorded members).
-To that end, and with the lack of other Quakers uploading after me, I devised a method for creating a meeting of my own. Given your anthropological work, I thought you might appreciate my attempt at a meeting of one. I understand that you are a busy individual, but if you are able to, I would love to invite you to a meeting for worship. We will discuss more at the time should you accept.
+Either way, I am part of and entirely the Joseph Chace Friends Meeting. This meeting began on the occasion of my upload into the system as one of the first Quakers.
+To that end, and with the lack of other Friends uploading after me, I devised a method for creating a meeting of my own. Given your anthropological work, I thought you might appreciate my attempt at a meeting of one. I understand that you are a busy individual, but if you are able to, I would love to invite you to a meeting for worship. We will discuss more at the time should you accept.
Many thanks,
Joseph Chace (Prime)
This was not the first religious movement that Ioan had found or been asked to investigate, though it was certainly the oldest. As an historian, ey was well acquainted with the unspoken maxim that, should one wish to be at the center of grand changes, whether in society or in thought, one ought to hang around centers of religion. In the past, ey had followed (with a fork, natch) more than one cult in whatever state of formation.
Ah well, it was worth checking out, was it not?
+
As easy as forking one’s personality was within the system, it always felt to Ioan as though it came with a brief thrill of splitting: a sudden doubling, a sudden branching of experiences. Four hands were better than two, though.
+Ey forked a new copy of emself so that ey could continue eir work, and the fork accepted Chace’s invitation, blipping out of eir home sim and into sunlight scattered on a fine lawn.
Ey was greeted by Joseph Chace. A Joseph Chace, ey soon realized, for the unassuming building, low-slung and painted drab, seemed to be populated entirely by copies of the same person.
“Joseph? Uh…Chace Prime?” Ioan asked.
“No, I’m Chace Epsilon. Prime’s setting up, but we’ve all been briefed. Ioan, yes? A pleasure to meet you.”
@@ -338,7 +340,7 @@ I see. -->