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<h1 id="ioan-balan-2346">Ioan Bălan — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-4 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes</span>
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<span class="err">(transmission delay: 7.23 days)</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<blockquote>
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<p><em>Convergence T-plus 2 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes</em>
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<em>(Castor–Lagrange transmission delay: 7 days, 5 hours, 31 minutes)</em></p>
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<p>Ioan#98ae38dc arrived at the appointed coffee shop a good hour in advance. The meeting had been eir idea, but it had also been eir primary source of stress during the day prior to it.</p>
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<p>The idea of meeting up with True Name in a neutral setting had not gone over as poorly as feared with May. She hadn’t been pleased, to be sure, but given the news from Castor, she had accepted that the chance of further contact with her down-tree instance was likely anyway, and had stated that she was unwilling to engage with her further on the point so ey might as well.</p>
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<p>So, ey had forked, given her double kisses on the cheeks along with #Tasker, and stepped away to sit and fret somewhere where ey’d not be a bother.</p>
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<p>The conversation was veering further off-script. The skunk herself was veering far afield from the one ey’d pictured in eir head. “Your counterpart on Castor sounds much the same as I remember. The True Name on Pollux has, from what I hear, wound up in a relationship and started to guide more openly over the last few years.”</p>
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<p>Looking down to where she held her mug against her front, True Name blinked rapidly, nodding.</p>
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<p><em>Tears? Really?</em> Ey frowned, searching her face and posture for any hint that this was some calculated display of emotion. </p>
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<p>“Is it something about the Legrange System?” ey asked, hunting for something to fix, helpless to stop emself from doing so. “Is the culture that different here? Maybe something about the System itself? I’m trying to think of what might be different.”</p>
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<p>“Is it something about the Lagrange System?” ey asked, hunting for something to fix, helpless to stop emself from doing so. “Is the culture that different here? Maybe something about the System itself? I’m trying to think of what might be different.”</p>
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<p>“I do not know, Ioan.” She sniffed, sat up straighter, and smiled tiredly at em. “Again, if I did, perhaps there might be something that I could do to address it. I know what I am — what I have become — in comparison to my peers. While I am trying not to view that as a failing, it is…difficult.”</p>
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<p>“Something with Jonas, perhaps?”</p>
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<p>She winced and looked away, ears pinned flat.</p>
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<p>She bowed again and stepped from the sim, leaving em to sit on the couch and finish eir tea, mulling over the differences between changing and forgetting. Without forgetting, all True Name had, all they <em>all</em> had, was the ability to change, and all they could do was hope that this would be enough to keep them all sane.</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-02-12</p>
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<h1 id="ioan-balan-2346">Ioan Bălan — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-5 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes</span>
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<span class="err">(transmission delaoy: 7.23 days)</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<blockquote>
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<p><em>Convergence T-plus 0 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes</em><br />
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<em>(Lagrange–Pollux transmission delay: 7 days, 3 hours, 53 minutes)</em></p>
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<p>Ioan,</p>
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<p>I must admit, I’m really not sure what to say about all of this. Thank you for waiting until you have a substantial amount to send to me, at least. Dear threw a little tantrum about about this “We have received messages over the last few days” bit, but I appreciate having an initial digest to work with so that I’m not left a fretting mess (as you say you were) by the simple news that, oh look, aliens! I threatened to bundle it up in blankets until it was immobile for a few hours, though, and it calmed down. I may do so anyway.</p>
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<p>Four races! Five thousand years! One language! Have you learned any of that, yourself? How is May Then My Name taking it? You mention True Name, but have you heard from any other Odists? Any other friends? If Legrange System is anything like Pollux, people are talking about little else.</p>
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<p>The news broke over here much as it sounds as though it has done on Legrange: with tightly controlled excitement. There is no doubt that the powers that be continue their work across all three Systems, but it’s always fascinating to see. The amount of bafflement was outweighed by the amount of excitement. The excitement also outweighed the amount of fear. Everyone’s eager for every scrap of news that they can get.</p>
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<p>Four races! Five thousand years! One language! Have you learned any of that, yourself? How is May Then My Name taking it? You mention True Name, but have you heard from any other Odists? Any other friends? If Lagrange System is anything like Pollux, people are talking about little else.</p>
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<p>The news broke over here much as it sounds as though it has done on Lagrange: with tightly controlled excitement. There is no doubt that the powers that be continue their work across all three Systems, but it’s always fascinating to see. The amount of bafflement was outweighed by the amount of excitement. The excitement also outweighed the amount of fear. Everyone’s eager for every scrap of news that they can get.</p>
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<p>How much of the delay in sending word to us was due to True Name and her friends? I imagine she had words about the first message, at least, but a whole week’s worth of messages feels like a good deal.</p>
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<p>No matter, though. We’re all eagerly awaiting every little snippet that we can get from you. I know that you won’t get this for another, what, seven days? Eight? And that seven or eight days from when you sent it! I know you won’t get it for a few weeks, is what I’m saying, but please know that you’re free to pass on information directly from here on out! We’ll be learning plenty from the news we’re allowed to see over here, anyway, so any juicy tidbits in addition to that will be greatly appreciated.</p>
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<p>I am continually confronted with the ways in which we have diverged. May Then My Name and Dear#Castor mentioned how upset they were by the idea of time manipulation, but my Dear…well, it did not seem pleased with the idea, but its reaction was not nearly so visceral. It simply got a sour look on its face and said <em>“I do not like the idea of a place where I cannot fork. Can you imagine a place so boring?”</em></p>
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<p>Ioan Bălan</p>
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<h1 id="codrin-balancastor-2346">Codrin Bălan#Castor — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-2 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 2 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes</em></p>
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<p>True Name’s ability to keep a steady, half-smiling expression was admirable. Even Why Ask Questions appeared to be only just barely keeping frustration at bay.</p>
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<p>Having instructed the Artemisians on how to use cones of silence, there were far fewer breaks throughout the last two days, limited to one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and a longer lunch in the middle. That did not stop them from settling into private conversation every few minutes to discuss whatever answer they might give.</p>
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<p>Ey initially found it strange that added downtime would make the their party more tired rather than less, but after some consideration — and a brief talk with Sarah — ey’d come to the realization that those periods of quiet between question and answer were still spent in expectation. They were still working during those pauses. They were still in conversation, if only by way of watching and waiting, trying to guess what might have led to the need to have that private discussion. Ey could not read expressions beyond eir limited notes so far, could not speak the language well enough, and certainly could not read lips, so ey was left only with guesses and suppositions.</p>
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<h1 id="codrin-balancastor-2346">Codrin Bălan#Castor — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 2 minutes</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 2 hours, 2 minutes</em></p>
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<p>“To begin with an example concept, I have noticed that your common language is very irregular and relies heavily on a small vocabulary and nominal compounding,” Why Ask Questions said. “As we classify our languages into families based on several factors, including compounding, can each of the races expand on various features of their languages?”</p>
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<p>“You speak on general terms?” Iska asked.</p>
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<p>She nodded. “I am curious if you have noticed consistencies between the languages of the various races as they have been incorporated during the convergences.”</p>
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<p>Why Ask Questions was laughing as well. She shrugged and grinned to the psychologist. “Fuck if I know. Come on. The least we can do is make some guesses over the next hour. I need a drink.”</p>
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<h1 id="tycho-brahecastor-2346">Tycho Brahe#Castor — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 3 hours, 13 minutes</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<blockquote>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 3 hours, 13 minutes</em></p>
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<p>Tycho had spent his share of time in conferences, both phys-side and sys-side. They all came with their exciting parts and their boring parts. They all came with peaks that left him completely rapt, and valleys that were so excruciatingly boring that he had, on more than one occasion, feigned illness to step out of a talk or away from a panel discussion or a lecture.</p>
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<p>This was different, though.</p>
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<p>It wasn’t that it didn’t have its peaks and valleys, for it surely did. There were more sciences, he had been reminded several times, than astronomy. He knew it, too. There was no reason that the LV and home System would not benefit from a knowledge share on biology or language, and certainly there could be much to learn about the construction of an embedded world.</p>
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<p>“Well, I’ll leave the politics to you all,” he said, grinning and shaking his head. “I’m going to write my own note while we have a bit of time.”</p>
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<h1 id="tycho-brahecastor-2346">Tycho Brahe#Castor — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 28 minutes</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 2 hours, 28 minutes</em></p>
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<p>“This has…wait, don’t leave yet, #Assist,” Codrin said. “Is this really a clade-eyes-only message for both True Name and Turun Ka?”</p>
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<p>Both Sarah and Tycho sat up straighter.</p>
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<p>Ey shrugged, saying only, “It appears Codrin#Artemis has instructed the Artemisians on how to relay such in turn. I guess ey did a while back, actually, but this is the first time they’ve taken advantage of it. Or, well…” Ey trailed off.</p>
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<p>“I’m sorry, Tycho, I really do want to answer your questions, but we just don’t have time.”</p>
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<h1 id="codrin-balanartemis-2346">Codrin Bălan#Artemis — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 4 hours, 7 minutes</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<blockquote>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 4 hours, 7 minutes</em></p>
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<p>The Artemisians had continued to fine-tune the new setup of the meeting space for the emissaries, so that the Odists beds were no longer in the same room as their half of the table. Now, there was a small, stone-paved unison room for their half of the table, at the back of which sat a low bench for sitting and talking, as well as a pitcher and glasses of water. To the side of that, a short hallway led to the two unison bedrooms.</p>
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<p>That True Name and Answers Will Not Help had requested separate bedrooms had felt notable to Codrin, though ey could not put eir finger on why. Perhaps one or both of them were having a hard enough time even while sleeping that it was keeping the other awake? Answers Will Not Help certainly looked as though she’d not slept since arriving.</p>
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<p>Both Odists had taken to spending any break longer than five minutes laying down, and ey’d taken it as eir task to ensure that they were up and moving a minute or so before the meeting resumed.</p>
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<p>“No,” ey said. “They wish us well.”</p>
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<h1 id="codrin-balanartemis-2346">Codrin Bălan#Artemis — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 32 minutes</span>
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</code></pre></div>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 2 hours, 32 minutes</em></p>
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<p>The next note that came from Castor included a block of indecipherable text that was marked as clade-eyes-only for Turun Ka.</p>
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<p>Codrin puzzled over this during a private minute in fast time.</p>
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<p>Normally, clade-eyes-only or individual-eyes-only text for someone other than the recipient appeared as that header of, for instance, <em>Bălan Clade-Eyes-Only Material</em> followed by an indication that such text might be there, but nothing about its contents, including its length or composition. For em, this usually appeared as an ellipsis in square brackets, long-standing traditions of elision being what they were.</p>
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<p>“Now, I would like to lie down during this break. Please accompany me so that I may dictate this letter.”</p>
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<h1 id="codrin-balanartemis-2346">Codrin Bălan#Artemis — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 12 minutes</span>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 2 hours, 12 minutes</em></p>
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<p>During the short break, Codrin helped True Name compose her letter and, after ey sent it, simply sat with her in quiet. The skunk remained still throughout, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring down at her knees. She looked small, and some part of em wanted to sit beside her and try to comfort her, but for the emotional and social distance between them, as well as her still jittery form.</p>
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<p>And so ey simply sat at her desk and watched her manage her breathing, keep her composure, meditate, or whatever it was that an Odist unbound did.</p>
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<p>Finally, ey reached out to offer a hand to the skunk to help her stand. “It’s time we start back, True Name.”</p>
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<p><em>All that may be, but what do I do with it?</em> ey thought. <em>And how the hell am I going to keep what I heard hidden and buried?</em></p>
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<h1 id="tycho-braheartemis-2346">Tycho Brahe#Artemis — 2346</h1>
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<div class="codehilite"><pre><span></span><code><span class="err">Convergence T-1 day, 2 hours, 38 minutes</span>
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<p><em>Convergence T-minus 1 day, 2 hours, 38 minutes</em></p>
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<p>Over the last hour of common time, what tension was bound within True Name seemed to have been refocused from struggling quite so hard to maintain her form into being present and taking part. This meant that, while she was more susceptible to waves of shifting species and the occasional gasp or shudder, she grew far more intent on the task at hand, of learning from the discussions with the Artemisians.</p>
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<p>Tycho found the ways in which her face would ghost first one way then the other fascinating and unnerving, but also the steadfastness with which she moved in the context of the meeting in spite of that admirable. While the talks had continued apace, with frequent breaks on the part of the Odists, there felt like more forward momentum thanks to this sacrifice.</p>
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<p>Codrin had noticed the change as well, and when asked, ey had nodded in agreement. “She approaches much of her…well, I was going to say life, but it goes beyond that. She approaches much of her existence as a cost-benefit analysis of sorts. This level of control and momentum is worth the cost she’s paying in comfort.”</p>
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<p><em>Wonder how the Artemisians would react to that?</em> Tycho thought. <em>True Name was honest, but not enough to bring up this little bit of trickery.</em></p>
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