update from sparkleup
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<p>“Hold on, one more sec.”</p>
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<p>00:02.</p>
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<p>He thought across the clade, thought of one of Marsh’s other forks. Pinged Lily.</p>
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<p>The response was immediate, words flowing into his consciousness through some sense that was not quite hearing. <em>What’s happening? I can’t–</em></p>
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<p>Pinged Cress, the other fork. Asked, <em>Cress? Can you–</em></p>
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<p><em>What the fuck is happening?</em> came the panicked response.</p>
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<p><em>My place,</em> he sent back, followed by his address. He repeated the message to Lily and, on a whim, his own up-tree instances, Rush, Sedge, and Tule.</p>
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<p>The response was immediate, words flowing into his consciousness through some sense that was not quite hearing. <em>“What’s happening? I can’t–“</em></p>
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<p>Pinged Cress, the other fork. Asked, <em>“Cress? Can you–“</em></p>
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<p><em>“What the fuck is happening?”</em> came the panicked response.</p>
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<p><em>“My place,”</em> he sent back, followed by his address. He repeated the message to Lily and, on a whim, his own up-tree instances, Rush, Sedge, and Tule.</p>
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<p>00:04.</p>
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<p>Cress arrived almost immediately along with Tule — they shared a partner, so it made sense they’d be together for the evening — leading Hanne to start back on the couch. “Reed,” she said, voice low. “What is–“</p>
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<p>Lily arrived next, already rushing forward to grab Reed’s shoulder. “You can’t either?” she said, voice full of panic.</p>
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@ -130,14 +130,14 @@
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<p>Hanne glanced around the room, singling out Marsh’s other two immediate up-tree instances, Cress and Lily. Both shook their heads.</p>
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<p>“I was just talking to them about an hour ago, actually. They and Vos were wrapping up the first part of the night’s celebration and they were going to–“</p>
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<p>“Vos!” Reed shouted. “Shit, sorry Lily.”</p>
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<p>It took a minute for Vos to respond to Reed’s ping. <em>Reed? It’s been a bit. What’s up?</em></p>
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<p><em>Is Marsh there?</em> he sent back.</p>
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<p><em>I don’t know. I figured they were in the study waiting on you. It’s been a bit and I just made us drinks, but they’re not in there now. Is something wrong?</em></p>
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<p><em>Can you ping them?</em></p>
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<p>It took a minute for Vos to respond to Reed’s ping. <em>“Reed? It’s been a bit. What’s up?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Is Marsh there?”</em> he sent back.</p>
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<p><em>“I don’t know. I figured they were in the study waiting on you. It’s been a bit and I just made us drinks, but they’re not in there now. Is something wrong?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Can you ping them?”</em></p>
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<p>There was a short pause, followed by a sensorium glimpse of a familiar room, that study from so long ago, every flat surface that wasn’t the floor covered in stacks of unread books. Empty.</p>
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<p><em>What’s happening?</em> Vos sent. There was an edge of caution to her voice, the sound of a thin barrier keeping worry at bay.</p>
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<p><em>Pierre?</em></p>
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<p><em>One second.</em> There was a pause, and then, quickly, <em>Wait, can we just come over? What’s your address?</em></p>
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<p><em>“What’s happening?”</em> Vos sent. There was an edge of caution to her voice, the sound of a thin barrier keeping worry at bay.</p>
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<p><em>“Pierre?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“One second.”</em> There was a pause, and then, quickly, <em>“Wait, can we just come over? What’s your address?”</em></p>
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<p>He messaged over the address, and a few seconds later, Fenne Vos and Pierre LaFontaine arrived holding hands, leading to another yelp from Hanne. </p>
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<p>“Vos! Hi,” she said, preempting any of Marsh’s up-tree instances. “Do you know where Marsh is?”</p>
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<p>Some small part of Reed looked on in admiration. Hanne had kept much of the panic that was coursing through him and his cocladists out of her voice. He could feel a shout building within him, and he knew from past experiences with Vos and Pierre that that would only make things worse.</p>
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@ -203,8 +203,8 @@
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<p>“It is proving difficult to keep up with the feeds,” she said, speaking slowly. Perhaps still receiving updates? “One of me is just reading the feeds and marking a tally every time a missing instance is mentioned.”</p>
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<p>“Thousands, Jesus,” Hanne whispered. “I should check in on Jess. And probably–“</p>
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<p>She started as Pierre sagged briefly against Vos, then either quit or left the sim. “He…I mean…” Vos began, shook her head, and then followed suit.</p>
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<p><em>Do you two need anything?</em> Reed sent to Vos. <em>Or just space and quiet?</em></p>
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<p><em>The latter,</em> she replied after a few long seconds. The sensorium message was so clearly sent between sobs that Reed had to swallow down the same sensation rising in his throat.</p>
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<p><em>“Do you two need anything?”</em> Reed sent to Vos. <em>“Or just space and quiet?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“The latter,”</em> she replied after a few long seconds. The sensorium message was so clearly sent between sobs that Reed had to swallow down the same sensation rising in his throat.</p>
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<p>“Give them some space,” he mumbled against that awkward pressure in his chest. “So, okay. What’s the whole story again? Midnight hit and suddenly it’s thirteen months–“</p>
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<p>“Thirteen months and ten days, almost exactly,” Sedge corrected.</p>
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<p>He sighed, nodded. “Right. Midnight hit and the date jumped forward and now there are thousands of–“</p>
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@ -245,7 +245,7 @@
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<p>“Really, really weird,” Sedge muttered.</p>
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</article>
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<footer>
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<p>Page generated on 2023-03-15</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2023-03-16</p>
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</footer>
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</main>
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<script type="text/javascript">
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@ -12,7 +12,9 @@
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<h1>Zk | 003</h1>
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</header>
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<article class="content">
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<p>One by one, the other Marshans stepped away from Reed and Hanne’s sim until it was just the two of them standing, the fire crackling, the weight of the evening hanging over, between them. They stood in silence for a few long moments before Reed stumbled back over to the couch and fell heavily into the cushions. He buried his face in his hands and only then let the grief take him.</p>
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<!-- Would they really be sleeping? -->
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<p>One by one, the other Marshans stepped away from Reed and Hanne’s sim until it was just the two of them standing, the fire crackling, the weight of the evening hanging over, between them. They stood in silence for a few long moments before Reed stumbled back over to the couch and fell heavily into the cushions. He buried his face in his hands and only then let the grief take him.</p>
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<p>Hanne sat beside him, got her arm around his back, and rested her head on his shoulder, letting the wave of emotion overcome him. At first, she asked if he was alright, then she whispered a few “I’m sure it’ll be alright”s and “it’s going to be okay”s before eventually just sitting with him in silence.</p>
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<p>“This is really fucking weird,” he said once he was able to speak again. The sound of speech echoed strangely in his head, muffled in that post-cry mess. “I don’t even know who I’m crying for. It’s not like they were a parent, but they weren’t me, either.”</p>
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<p>“A bit of both, maybe?”</p>
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@ -31,18 +33,20 @@
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<p>He sighed, slouched back against her. “I know. I love you too.”</p>
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<p>As expected, sleep did not come. Exhaustion pulled at him, exerting its own gravity, but too many emotions crowded it out. Too many emotions and too many thoughts. He spent a few minutes chiding himself — shouldn’t he sleep, if only to be more refreshed for the next day? — before giving in and letting his mind circle around each of those emotions, each of those thoughts.</p>
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<p>There was the faintest brush against his sensorium. Vos.</p>
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<p><em>How’re you two holding up?</em> he sent.</p>
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<p><em>Not well.</em></p>
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<p><em>I imagine not.</em> After a moment, he added, <em>Do you have any more information?</em></p>
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<p>The faintest sense of a shake of the head before Vos said, <em>Nothing. They were here, then they weren’t. There’s no trace. It’s almost as thought they never existed. Pierre fell asleep a bit ago. I think he wore himself out trying to reach them.</em></p>
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<p><em>It’s pretty late.</em></p>
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<p><em>Or early,</em> Vos mused. <em>No sleep for you, either?</em></p>
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<p><em>I gave it a go, but have just been laying in the dark.</em></p>
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<p><em>Have you heard from any of the others?</em></p>
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<p><em>Nothing yet,</em> he sent. <em>I need a bit of a break from them, anyway.</em></p>
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<p><em>How come?</em></p>
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<p><em>We wind up in feedback loops a little too easily.</em> He stifled a snort of laughter. Hanne mumbled something incoherent against his neck in her sleep. <em>It drives Hanne nuts. That’s why she was yelling about me doing it again.</em></p>
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<p><em>Oh, trust me, Marsh winds up in–</em> The message stopped suddenly, and Reed found himself holding his breath, checking the time several times in a row, wary of further jumps. A few seconds later, Vos continued, voice shaky. <em>They, uh…they</em> wound <em>up in their own feedback loops.</em></p>
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<p><em>“How’re you two holding up?”</em> he sent.</p>
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<p><em>“Not well.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“I imagine not.”</em> After a moment, he added, <em>“Do you have any more information?”</em></p>
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<p>The faintest sense of a shake of the head before Vos said, <em>“Nothing. They were here, then they weren’t. There’s no trace. It’s almost as thought they never existed. Pierre fell asleep a bit ago. I think he wore himself out trying to reach them.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“It’s pretty late.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Or early,”</em> Vos mused. <em>“No sleep for you, either?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“I gave it a go, but have just been laying in the dark.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Have you heard from any of the others?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Nothing yet,”</em> he sent. <em>“I need a bit of a break from them, anyway.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“How come?”</em></p>
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<p><em>“We wind up in feedback loops a little too easily.”</em> He stifled a snort of laughter. Hanne mumbled something incoherent against his neck in her sleep. <em>“It drives Hanne nuts. That’s why she was yelling about me doing it again.”</em></p>
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<p><em>“Oh, trust me, Marsh winds up in–“</em> The message stopped abruptly, and Reed found himself holding his breath, checking the time several times in a row, wary of further jumps. A few seconds later, Vos continued, voice shaky. <em>“They, uh…they</em> wound <em>up in their own feedback loops.”</em></p>
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<p>He buried his face against the pillow, took long, slow breaths, willing himself to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake Hanne. How could he lay there, knowing as he did that Marsh was gone? How could he speak to Vos, knowing that he should be doing something, not crying in bed, accepting a fate that made no sense? Was it just some hopeless part of him that had accepted Marsh’s absence? Oughtn’t he be striving even now to find some way to get him back?</p>
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<p>No answers, only questions.</p>
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</article>
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<footer>
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<p>Page generated on 2023-03-16</p>
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