From d60616ece62b1159ac4e53c55d42525d9c583279 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Madison Rye Progress Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2024 18:10:56 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] update from sparkleup --- writing/soot.html | 8 ++++++-- 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/writing/soot.html b/writing/soot.html index 9b1871a48..17aa54ddc 100644 --- a/writing/soot.html +++ b/writing/soot.html @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@

Thankfully, today, epistemics was well-staffed, and by some very bright researchers at that. Of note, the mystagogue was someone Soot trusted would be nearly as paranoid about glimmer as they were.

Such was not always the case, as they had found out so long ago.

Epistemics was itself a curious department. These two universes, slip-sliding against each other did so differently across space. When, it turns out, you are a corporation spanning the larger part of an arm of the galaxy, that has real, knock-on effects, for what worked in one location may not in another. Worse, this changed over time, rendering some research moot even from one shift to the next. You learn less about how best to make a universal micro-reactor fusion cell and more about how to most efficiently research micro-reactor fusion cells.

-

Other sectors even named it the science department rather than epistemics. They named the lead the Research Director rather than Mystagogue. They named the person in charge of investigating psionics users something far more plain that the Psionic Mantis.

+

Other sectors even named it the science department rather than epistemics. They named the lead the Research Director rather than mystagogue. They named the person in charge of investigating psionics users something far more plain that the Psionic Mantis.

The Delta sector, however, was something else. Here, the veil was far thinner. Here, whole religions sprung up around this very fact, to the point where many stations had a chaplain, as well.

Here, glimmer was a problem.

That simple measurement of the friction between planes, a number that started at zero and yet which had no upper bound, became a way to tell just how bad things might get because of that friction. At 500Ψ, the point at which the station moved to code white, auditory hallucinations became possible, as did seeing spectres of the dead. As glimmer climbed, so too did the effects. Those with psionics would succumb to headaches and nosebleeds, new psionics users would appear, and, as Soot had witnessed firsthand, wide-spread psionic chaos might ensue, such as the mass swapping of consciousnesses.

@@ -86,7 +86,11 @@

They laughed and nodded. “Want me to pull any plasma out of the hot loop?”

They shook their head. “Like I thaid, I’m not worried if you aren’t.Like I said, I’m not worried if you aren’t.“

They nodded and, hearing the call for help in putting the anti-matter engine to sleep for the time being. The AME made a good initial source of energy, and a necessary backup, but was too expensive, fuel-wise, to run the whole shift.

-

(Glimmer keeps rising)

+

“Cap, can you come to epi?” the mystagogue whispered through command comms. “It’s not super urgent, but…”

+

They frowned and toggled to command on their own mic and murmured, “Heard,” in return before smiling once more to the rest of the engineering team and walking station-north to epistemics.

+

As ey walked, ey pulled out eir PDA and tapped to open the glimmer monitor.

+

389Ψ +(Glimmer keeps rising)

(Mantis critted, but revived, talks of hearing lots of mites)

(Throughout, memories of Abby, plurality becoming more evident)

(Finally, near the end of the shift, botanist caught trying to anchor a second prober, found by telegnosis)