Quoted By:
>Pepe Silvia
Well... you suppose you could stoop to his intellectual level and attempt to explain the gist of things. Purely for his education, of course, so he'll stop being quite so wrong and stupid. Well, quite so wrong. Probably still stupid.
"You haven't heard about the <span class="mu-i">dark plot?</span>" you say, and allow Ellery only a few moments of confusion before you launch into an elaborate summary. Namway Co., whose head researcher kidnapped Madrigal, has been tasked with creating a giant gooplicate of a snake. Eloie says that, in theory, a giant gooplicate of a snake could warp reality in various large and nasty ways— though you don't know what ways, precisely. Namway has been tasked this by their 'Upper Management,' some kind of shadowy force that leaves classified notes and only appears to the highest-ranking employees. 'Upper Management' has also apparently kidnapped the Namway (lowercase 'm') manager Lester in a fit of pique after you delayed the creation of the goo-snake by reclaiming Branwen's regular snake. This is what drove Pat to kidnap Madrigal in snake form: she needed a new snake so they'd give Lester back. (Or so she said. She could've been an evil liar.)
(...Or, well, that's what you think about ahead of the elaborate summary: you end up omitting the specifics about the Madrigal-kidnapping, since Ellery might get unfairly provoked about the whole 'in snake form' part.)
Ellery barely has time to process this— his mouth is forming an 'o'— before you reach your grand finger-jabbing conclusion. This alone— the Management, the goo-snake— that would be enough to make it a dark plot. What makes it a <span class="mu-i">web of conspiracy</span> is the interesting fact that Headspace Corp., Ellery's regular-and-boring place of employment, is <span class="mu-i">also</span> a subsidiary of Management, which hangs around 'supervising' in ominous fashion. And you don't know exactly what Management expects of them yet, but you <span class="mu-i">do</span> know that mystery body doubles keep showing up around their 'campus.' And that they caused locitis, but even senior Headspace employees didn't know that. But they do <span class="mu-i">remember</span> it, unlike everybody else in the world.
(Or, well— you say the thing about the body doubles, and Ellery's eyes go a little filmy, and then you don't say it again when he asks. And you don't say the thing about locitis at all, remembering the last time.)
"So," you finish. "Your <span class="mu-i">job</span> directly ties— I mean, is connected through gossamer threads of darkness— to the <span class="mu-i">kidnapping</span> of your <span class="mu-i">girlfriend,</span> Ellery. How's that for—"
He's smiling very weakly. "She's— she's not my girlfriend."
You stamp your foot. "<span class="mu-i">That's</span> the hill you're going to die on?!"
(1/4?)
