high-energy physics

[warpfairy]

Federation political prisons are not particularly uncomfortable. She's not going anywhere, but she can read, she's considering taking up an instrument, the only really awkward thing is that she doesn't particularly want to be supervised while she's sweating her way through her next pon farr one way or another but that's years off. That and she wishes she'd taken longer to get caught. But she was running out of the really low-hanging fruit anyway.

This is what she signed up for. She makes up imaginary profiles of people on the planets she got to, people who can live longer fuller lives with the stars in reach, one per day. One per day and she'll have loads of estimated impact left unused when she dies. Perfectly reasonable tradeoff and she can still read books.

Someone wants to interview her about Vulcan; they don't want to lose anything that anybody remembers; she gives the interview and then picks up some poetry.

Comments

[lintamande]

"We told you that you were safe in Valinor. I told you that."

[subtly_artistic]

"But you were there, you saw, you heard me -"

[lintamande]

"But the way he saw it, the last time I said something I was wrong, so how could he trust it to me? I understand that way of thinking, I've been there myself."

[subtly_artistic]

"- mm?"

[lintamande]

"Other people can't be relied on, if I actually care about anything I shall have to just be the one to do it".

[subtly_artistic]

"It is a little tempting, sometimes - I think T'Mir has more of it than me."

[lintamande]

"I think depending on the situation it can be a necessary tool or a serious handicap. Needing other peoples' eyes helped me refine my sense of it..."

[subtly_artistic]

"It did?"

[lintamande]

"Well, most people won't just be ordered around, you have to convince them that whatever you're doing is worth their attention, and some people are much more convincible than others but also some attitudes of mine made it easier for me to make the value of my work apparent, and less impatient, and better able to ask help when I needed it even when my needs were less obvious."

[subtly_artistic]

"You had the hang of it by the time I was there, I think."

[lintamande]

"I am coming up on a thousand years old, you know."

[subtly_artistic]

"Years or Years?"

[lintamande]

"No no no, just years. We weren't in Valinor until recently ourselves."

[subtly_artistic]

"Just checking. It still feels weird that I'm pushing forty. I don't look it, I don't feel it..."

[lintamande]

"Have all the Ages of all the worlds ahead of you. Is forty a milestone for humans?"

[subtly_artistic]

"Round numbers in general are, we count by tens and only get so many divisible by ten. Forty's early middle age."

[lintamande]

He nods. "We could try to christen the planet as a birthday gift."

[subtly_artistic]

"Oh, we haven't even started thinking about what to name the planet."

[lintamande]

"The list of things to do is really getting a bit absurd. It's so exciting."

[subtly_artistic]

"I know, right? It's like the opposite of the time slide in the best possible way."

[lintamande]

"It really is. Not for everyone, obviously, but I can't imagine a better place for you."

[subtly_artistic]

Giggle.

[lintamande]

And they get back to work. A day later he has a pair of T'Mir's shoes for Bella. "Skating was fun, I want to do that again. And I want you fast on your feet if there's any trouble."

[subtly_artistic]

The shoes, of course, fit. She jumps and clicks her heels together and lands.

[lintamande]

Do Davlia people like ice skating rings? They can definitely do an impromptu one, if it's of interest.