Tycho returned to that field beneath the stars after the conversation with Codrin and Dear to find someone already waiting for him.
They’d discussed this potential. There were two branching paths that they had ruled most likely, which was that he’d meet another of the astronomers. Were that the case, he was to calmly explain the situation, exploring the ramifications of the messages both received and sent.
If, however, it was someone more aligned with the politics of the System — Codrin had left him with a short list of names — then the conversation would take several different forms based on what they already knew. For instance, if they knew that a message had been received but not what its contents were, he was to explain it calmly and plainly, beginning with the intent of speaking to a lay person. If they knew the contents, he was to explain the import behind him.
-If they knew that he had responded, however, the chances were that they were there specifically to interrogate, berate, or potentially cut his access to the perisystem architecture that dealt with the Dreamer Module. Hell, at that point, they might as well cut everyone’s access to that bit of the architecture, at that point, and completely run the show.
+If they knew that he had responded, however, the chances were that they were there specifically to interrogate, berate, or potentially cut his access to the perisystem architecture that dealt with the Dreamer Module. Hell, at that point, they might as well cut everyone’s access to that bit of the architecture and completely run the show.
The person who met him, however, immediately made his throat seize up.
-“If it is True Name,” Dear had said after providing a description. “Then there is absolutely nothing you can do but go along with what she says.”
+“If it is True Name,” Dear had said after providing a description and forking into a skunk to provide a visual aid. “Then there is absolutely nothing you can do but go along with what she says.”
“That bad?” he had asked.
-“Oh, do not worry, it will all go quite well for you if she herself is there. The outcome might not be what you wanted when you met her, but you will leave feeling as though a great deal has been accomplished. It is difficult to describe or get across in text, as you likely have a very dramatic view of her from reading the History.”
+“Oh, do not worry, it will all go quite well for you if she herself is there. The outcome might not be what you wanted when you met her, but you will leave feeling as though a great deal has been accomplished. It is difficult to describe or get across in words, as you likely have a very dramatic view of her from reading the History.”
And there, sitting on the mound in the center of the field, was the precise skunk that he’d been warned about. Long, thick tail. Short, cookie-shaped ears. Tapered snout pointed up to the sky as she leaned back on her paws.
Well, he thought. Nothing for it.
He walked over toward that small rise and, once the rustling of his steps became audible, True Name turned her head toward the sound. It was too dark to see her expression, so his mind flashed through several. Were her teeth bared? Was she smiling kindly? Was she secretly joyous about the news?
@@ -54,16 +54,16 @@True Name sat up, dusted her paws off on her thighs, and then turned to face him, switching to a kneeling position. The friendliness was still there in her face, but was now tempered by a down-to-business professionalism “Of course. Can you tell me more about the ramifications of this? I can understand the mechanics of it well enough, but I want to hear from you what the next steps are.”
This had not been the question he was expecting, so he took the act of sitting to face True Name, cross-legged, to think about his response. “Well, I suppose they’ll send over something uploadable which will drop it in the DMZ. I don’t imagine they’ll start that for a while yet, given the distances between us. They’ll probably want to talk more before doing so, I imagine, and if they’re sending us instructions on how to make an exchange of personalities, that’ll give us time to work on that.”
“If we want to,” the skunk said, nodding. “And, as you were out and we are now gating messages from the Dreamer Module through us, we will keep an eye out for such. We will do our best to keep you in the loop, of course.”
-He blinked. Gated? He supposed that meant that they’d cut his access and would be sharing only what they chose with him. “I didn’t mean to…I mean, I hope that my response was not too far out of line.”
+He blinked. Gated? Perhaps that meant that they’d cut his access and would be sharing only what they chose with him. “I didn’t mean to…I mean, I hope that my response was not too far out of line.”
She smiled to him, and while her expression remained friendly, there was the smallest note of pity in that smile. “Do not worry, Tycho Brahe, you are not in trouble. We have been running simulations on the various possible outcomes ever since this portion of the Dreamer Module was okayed. This possibility was on our list and well within our parameters. We know what it is that we will be doing going forward, and that does not include reprimanding you in any way.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, before he could even stop himself. “I probably should’ve asked.”
The skunk waved a paw as though the comment was simply irrelevant. “You will even keep access to the Dreamer Module; I meant what I said when you will still be kept in the loop. We will simply have first access.”
He nodded, hoping that there was still enough red light shining on him that she could see the gesture.
“In fact, that was the primary purpose of my visit. It was nice to get your view of the ramifications, of course, but I wanted to ensure that you would be willing to work with us on this. You keep access to the Dreamer Module, we learn all we can from you. A mutual arrangement wherein you do what you love and we help you out in that, and in exchange you teach us all you can in the process.” She held out her paw, grinning lopsidedly. “I know that the concept is rather outdated on the System, but what I am really here to do is offer you a job.”
Once the import of her words had sunk in, he laughed and clasped her paw in his hand. “Oh, of course! If it’s all the stuff I love, and also I get to talk about it to someone, that sounds…well, perfect, actually.”
-She laughed and shook on it. The handshake was almost picture perfect: the right balance between firm and gentle, the right speed, the right duration. He could see as though from three feet above himself the precise ways in which he was being played like a fiddle.
+She laughed and shook on it. The handshake was picture perfect: the right balance between firm and gentle, the right speed, the right duration. He could see as though from three feet above himself the precise ways in which he was being played like a fiddle.
“Excellent, excellent. I will also be in touch with your friend Codrin Bălan, as well, as I believe ey will be a good person to document much of this, so please expect further contact from em. You will also be in touch with a few of my cocladists — Beyond Dear, that is — who will be working with you in various capacities.”
-He nodded, frowning. How did she know that I’d met Dear?
+He nodded, frowning. How did she know that I’d met Codrin and Dear?
“I know that you consider yourself a tasker and that maintaining multiple forks is not your usual MO,” she continued. “But if possible, I would like you to keep at least one additional instance to work with us while you continue to work out here and with Codrin, but if you have the bandwidth for others, we may have additional tasks. Please keep that in mind, and consider how open to the prospect you will be should you be asked.”
“Oh, uh, okay. I guess I just never fork because it seems like an awful lot of trouble. One mind is a lot to deal with as it is.”
True Name grinned, said, “I do not begrudge you that. They are rather a lot. These will be long-running, however, so you need not worry too much about the burden of handling the memories for a while, and if you do not want to deal with that at all, so long as everyone is on the same page with me and my team, you need not accept the memory load.”
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@“Why Artemis?” he asked.
“They are flying like an arrow through the night sky, are they not?” True Name said.
“Does that make the others on the ship Artemisians or whatever?”
-The skunk stood, offered a paw to help Tycho#Artemis help in standing. “That or Sea People.”
+The skunk stood, offered a paw to help Tycho#Artemis in standing. “That or Sea People.”
“Sea People?” he asked, accepting her paw. As he stood, he realized that he was a good foot taller than the skunk, a fact which had missed him as they sat there on the hill.
“We had better hope for Artemisians, but we must also be prepared for Sea People. Come, Tycho. #Artemis, we will have a place for you to stay. #Tasker, you may stay here, and expect contact soon.” She looked up to the sky one last time, and said. “Do you know the poem about your namesake?”
Tycho#Artemis shook his head while #Tasker stood.
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@After True Name and Tycho#Artemis left, he stood there on the top of his hill, in the middle of his field, surrounded by his ring of trees, and looked up into the night sky, thinking on all that it meant to be powerless.