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Sorry I brought up the memory thing. I think it fucked with your head. Ellery is nervous. Ellery knows you can tell that he's nervous. Ellery knows that you can tell that he can sense what he's up against. He knows that you can read his mind. He knows now, also, as you know now also, that you can say what's on his mind. And your heart is pure and honest, and what you speak is true. So: Ellery is nervous, terribly so, enough that he shakes, enough that he can't bear to lie back, or to maintain his half-smile, which is deteriorating now into a full grimace; he must stand and face you and see what is so plainly apparent, what you have always known, and what you have only just come in to knowing. And he will—
<span class="mu-i">Stop!</span> You fucking bitch!
And you will stand unaffected by his feeble insults, which wash off your glorious heroic hide like water off a glorious heroic gull's wing, and you will graciously allow him to see what you are, which is to say: yourself. And he will be compelled, though strictly speaking neither of you are bodied, to kneel.
Fuck you!
If he resists, he shall feel weak at the knees, or whatever imaginary metaphysical construct corresponds to his knees, and he will have no choice but to fall down upon them, in effect kneeling. And he will know that there was never any future in which he blew up Headspace. It was always you. So he shouldn't feel too bad, even if you're making him— even if he's randomly forced by his own weak knees to kneel. You won't lord it over him or anything. You can do that for plenty of other reasons. He really should be nicer to you.
Why?
Because you're the Herald?
No? Because you're a heroine, and you're being very helpful. You're not the Herald. Did he know that the Herald is a big lizard, by the way? (You attempt to send him pictures of the big lizard.) Do you look like a big lizard? Again, you're a heroine. Though the Herald, from the way all the Managers were talking, seems like she might be some sort of lizard heroine. Snake heroine? Lizard-snake heroine? So maybe you're adjacent.
Because you're a god?
What? When did you ever say anything about God? Doesn't he know that God's a big evil snake? Do you look like a big evil snake? You look even less like a big evil snake than a big lizard. You said you're a heroine, and you are. He ought to be kneeling out of gratefulness, not weak knees, but you'll forgive him this once. You'll let him go, even. He can stand up if he... you mean, he will find that his knees are restored to their usual vigor. And you will take your half of the sun back, if he doesn't mind. This whole situation was very instructive, but not particularly productive. Headspace remains notably un-blown up. So you'll pull back, reform, find yourself—
«Charlotte Fawkins. Speak to me this—»
You're fine, Richard. Find yourself still elbow-deep in Ellery's chest, and extract it, and wipe your hand down your front. Then look Ellery right in his muddy eyeballs. "Did you get all that?"
(3/4)
