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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

I felt the mask crash down on my face, freezing my emotional output.
I'd seen this in other parents when their children got hurt, or complained, or were afraid.
But I hadn't known quite what the internal state would be like.
And here is what it is: "I know this is bad, and I want to run to him and comfort him. But what if that will make him weak? What if it's not so bad and if I don't treat it seriously, he'll grow stronger?"
So there I was, with a face fixed as stone, waiting.

(just over two mins.)
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Sorus
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Post by Sorus »

Elsewhere, Linna Heartlistener wrote: We could start it up again. (:

I am always itching to write 2-minute scraps, and someone else just... present and working the same kind of task (i.e. writing vignettes, snapshots and short dialogues) actually makes it possible for me to do things I otherwise can't.

Admittedly, it is also fun when there's 4-6 people coming up with different things, too.
Maybe the lurkers will join in if they see enough activity. I know it hasn't worked well in the past, but you never know.

I don't even remember where I left off, but I'm sure no one else does either, so there's that.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

New vignette, 2 mins:
"Do you want it in the hand or in the forehead?" I asked the white-haired woman, as I tapped the syringe.
One stubborn bubble just wouldn't dissolve.

I re-focused my eyes on her. She was sitting there quietly, waiting her turn to speak, and it was hard to read whether this was complacent or stalwart.
She laid her walking cane against her powder-blue polysynth slacks and took a deep breath.
"Dearie, I'm not going to be getting it today."

"Nothing bad is going to happen if you get it done."


Sorus, 2 pages back, wrote:And no, I have not forgotten that I have left my main protagonists stranded in a dive bar while I struggle to hammer out coherent backstory...
I dunno, isn't a conversation in a dive bar a -little- like... if this was in an Role-Playing Game you were running for some people...
...that would be the high-tech equivalent of the beginning the requisite scene in the tavern where everybody meets up.

So at least that means that none of the characters have gotten killed yet!
(Barring time paradoxes. Which, errmm.. seem likely to be more relevant than usual!)
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Post by Sorus »

Uh-oh, someone was actually paying attention. I'm stuck on that scene because I was trying to fill in backstory when I should have been moving forward. I have ideas rattling around about how to fix that, but so far have spent my two minutes staring at a blank page.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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peter
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Post by peter »

(peter watches quietly from the shadow seats at back of the auditorium.)
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

We are the Bloodguard
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Post by Sorus »

*spotlight snaps on*

"And for this next part, I'm going to need a volunteer from the audience..."


Kidding, kidding. I'd say I'm not cruel enough to drag you into this universe, but that'd be a lie. :twisted:

Now if I could only get my usual dramatis personae sorted out, I might be able to make some progress.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

The Tragically Hip wrote:Morning broke out the back side of a truck stop - the end of a line, a real rainbow-likening luck-stop...


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning:


"You and Commander Donovan--"

"It's over." More curtly than I'd intended, but the lighting in her office seems abnormally harsh, and I knew she didn't call me to here to discuss my non-relationship with her associate.

She just nods. Of course she already knew. Not that I was naive enough to believe my every step wasn't under surveillance.

"She wouldn't want your... knowledge falling into the wrong hands."

"And how do I know hers are the right ones?"


"You were born on New Pangaea?"

It isn't really a question, but it's my turn to nod. Puzzled. That had to be the least relevant piece of my history. Wasn't it?

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

Linna Heartlistener wrote:
"Nothing bad is going to happen if you get it done."

Is it To-be-continued, or are you leaving it up to our imagination?

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

Wanted to, wasn't sure I'd get back to it though. :)
Linna Heartlistener wrote:"Do you want it in the hand or in the forehead?" I asked the white-haired woman.
I tapped the syringe a few times: One stubborn bubble just wouldn't dissolve.

I re-focused my eyes on her. She was sitting there quietly, waiting her turn to speak, and it was hard to read whether this was complacent or stalwart.
She laid her walking cane against her powder-blue polysynth slacks and took a deep breath.
"Dearie, I'm not going to be getting it today."

"Nothing bad is going to happen if you get it done."
She was just silent, looked at my eyes dead-center, and blinked, as if to say, "Excuse me, I don't believe you just said that."

"Have you read the documentation?" I asked.

I took a deep breath, and looked at her, imagined how I must look.
When I passed the mirror on the way in, I saw myself the way I usually look to me - crisp pink scrubs, long reddish-brown hair pulled back, and the worry furrow at the top of my brow.
Someone who looks accomplished enough that people, you know, generally listen to.
Last edited by Linna Heartbooger on Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Sorus
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Post by Sorus »

"You joined the military when you were what, fourteen?"

"Sixteen," I say automatically.

She gives me a not-buying-it look.

There was only one way off New Pangaea if your parents weren't filthy rich. Sixteen was the minimum enlistment age, but the war had already begun, and the recruitment officer hadn't asked many questions.

"Fourteen." I'm not surprised that she was able to track me down - even with New Pangaea's notoriously shoddy record-keeping, she had the resources, not to mention my real name.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by peter »

"Eighth in line eh? Not much chance of that happening then!"

He viewed me with a sidelong glance, interested to see if I would rise to the bait. I'd been in the game however, way too long for this creep to phase me and besides my damn arm hurt like hell and I wasn't in the mood to play. "Oh I don't know - stranger things have happened."

"Got a plan?" He asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes", I replied slowly, "Kill them. Kill them all."
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

We are the Bloodguard
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Sorus
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Post by Sorus »

"You weren't implanted before you enlisted?"

I resist the urge to scratch an imaginary itch under the skin of my left wrist. On Earth, ID implants are mandatory at birth, but the outer colonies tend to be lax about such things. And I also know where this conversation is going.

"When my... younger self receives her implant, it'll be a duplicate code."

I hadn't used my chip since I'd arrived, of course - the ID card she'd given me sufficed, and I hadn't given much thought to the matter. They'd scanned it, of course. Recorded it. Been perplexed that it wasn't on file. She'd rescued me with the story that I was Special Ops. One of her people. I supposed I was now, in truth, though it felt strange.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

"What are you going to do? Have her killed?" I regret the words as soon as they leave my mouth, but she seems unfazed.

"It wouldn't help. The implant would just go to someone else."

She watches me impassively, probably gauging my reaction to the news that she'd obviously considered having my younger self murdered. In a way, I'm relieved. It shows she's ruthless enough to face what's coming. I probably should be bothered, but the whole thing is just so sci-fi weird.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

"Do you want it in the hand or in the forehead?" I asked the white-haired woman.
I tapped the syringe a few times: One stubborn bubble just wouldn't dissolve.

I re-focused my eyes on her. She was sitting there quietly, waiting her turn to speak, and it was hard to read whether this was complacent or stalwart.
She laid her walking cane against her powder-blue polysynth slacks and took a deep breath.
"Dearie, I'm not going to be getting it today."

"Nothing bad is going to happen if you get it done."

She was just silent, looked at my eyes dead-center, and blinked, as if to say, "Excuse me, I don't believe you just said that."

"Have you read the documentation?" I asked.

I took a deep breath, and looked at her, imagined how I must look.
When I passed the mirror on the way in, I saw myself the way I usually look to me - crisp pink scrubs, long reddish-brown hair pulled back, and the worry furrow at the top of my brow.
Someone who looks accomplished enough that people, you know, should generally listen to her.


"Why yes, I do believe I did."
"Why don't you tell me what it says?"
"Alright, dearie... do ou have a copy here that I can look at. Then we can make sure that we're both talking about the same thing.
"Avoids misunderstandings that way," she added softly.

I hurried back into the hall, passed the mirror and glanced at myself; yup, I still looked the same.
Why wasn't it working?
Oh well, lots of people who should listen to me don't, every day. It's my job to know stuff and get ignored. You'd think I woulda known that when I started taking classes to get my RN.

(first 2 minutes)
_____________

Passed back in with the paperwork in hand; leaned forward:
"You get it in the hand or in the forehead; It's smaller than a grain of rice... then the scanners can pick up the info that's saved on it electronically. Then you can, you know... buy, sell, make a profit."
"There shouldn't be any allergic reactions. We have literally done eight billion of these with nobody having any allergic symptoms to it yet."

(second 2-min segment)

Sorus wrote:She watches me impassively, probably gauging my reaction to the news that she'd obviously considered having my younger self murdered. In a way, I'm relieved. It shows she's ruthless enough to face what's coming...
I like that...

also, I feel like the settings of our stories are converging... (or maybe just props we use?)


Peter- I enjoyed the snappy dialogue. I'm curious what he's eighth in line for!
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Post by Sorus »

Linna Heartlistener wrote:
also, I feel like the settings of our stories are converging... (or maybe just props we use?)


Peter- I enjoyed the snappy dialogue. I'm curious what he's eighth in line for!
It is a bit serendipitous, isn't it?

And yes, I hope Peter will continue that story.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

Something completely different, from a hypothetical that popped into my head the other day:

"This will be your classroom," she said with a shrug.
I breathed deeply. "It's amazing."
She looked at me, startled.
"I never taught Sunday School in 3-D," I explained.
She laughed nervously: "But the E-Scape gives you so much opportunity to reach people. I bet there are Children's lessons you taught ten years ago that are still being viewed."
I looked at her eyes directly, and was silent.
Then after a few seconds I just said, "Yeah."
I walked to the table. "But this... look at this."
I ran my hand across the table.
She giggled nervously and bit a fingernail.
"Look at how the sun shines on it... the gradient. It is beautiful. It's an outflow God's grace literally pouring in through the windows."


Sorus wrote:It is a bit serendipitous, isn't it?
It's fun.
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Post by Sorus »

"At any rate," she continues. "The chip hasn't been manufactured yet. That's a point in our favor."

Meaning the crew of the Ilatmaru had brought it with them. It would certainly be easier to intercept it before it left Earth, but at what cost? Virgin ID chips were worth a theoretical fortune on the black market, meaning they were heavily guarded. It would be nearly impossible to steal one. Destroying the entire shipment, on the other hand...

"This is no time to get cold feet, Agent Blake."

She wouldn't have said that if she knew what I'd been thinking only a moment ago, but she was right.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Shuram Gudatetris
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Post by Shuram Gudatetris »

:O Hey, wasn't there a different post here, Sorus? I'm not crazy, am I? I really liked it! It was magical. I guess I should've sad so while I had the chance. I hope it still exists in some form or another (assuming it ever did exist? seriously, did I imagine it?? :P )

That's not to say I'm not enjoying your on-going story. I've only read through the last couple of pages of this thread so far, and I get the feeling there is some catching up to do (is this the stranded at the bar" story?). "younger self"--does that mean this is a time-travelling story? She's from the future, so she has a chip that hasn't even been created yet, and therefore not in the system, correct? This business with the chip is incredibly intriguing. And I loved the bit about wanting to scratch an imaginary itch--wonderful little detail.
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Post by Sorus »

I delete a lot of the stuff I post here - generally before people see it, or at least that's the idea. I deleted the original post out of fear that it wasn't as original as I thought - sometimes when I'm doing a stream-of-consciousness thing my mind has sticky fingers. I Googled some of the bits and didn't get any hits, but I'm always afraid of committing accidental plagiarism.
Shuram Gudatetris wrote: I've only read through the last couple of pages of this thread so far, and I get the feeling there is some catching up to do (is this the stranded at the bar" story?). "younger self"--does that mean this is a time-travelling story? She's from the future, so she has a chip that hasn't even been created yet, and therefore not in the system, correct?
That is correct. This is my main story here - it's fanfic, but I've gone off the rails pretty far at this point.



Anyway, since you already saw it:

(From memory, since I didn't save it in a Word file this time around. Also not connected to anything.)



"What would you call yourself, if you didn't have a name?" she asked. "If you had no voice to speak it, if I had no ears to hear?"

"You know I don't like riddles," I complain.

"It's not a riddle," she says, all wide-eyed innocence. "Just a question."

"It's not a fair question."

"Of course it isn't a fair question," she explains patiently. "Most questions aren't."

"I don't know," I say. "Would it even matter?"

"That's an entirely different question."

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Shuram Gudatetris
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Post by Shuram Gudatetris »

:biggrin: Yea!

Yeah, I love this little snippet. ..."all wide-eyed innocence" hooks me right in. The way the asker speaks, she has the flavor of sort of an all-wise-yet-playful personality. Like she is being manipulative (beneficially manipulative, getting someone to realize something about theirself) without quite realizing what she's doing (I want to buy into her wide-eyed innocence).

I realize I am extrapolating a lot from just a little bit of dialog, but like I said, it just sort of struck a chord with me.
Covenant is Linden Frankenstein's monster.

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