Quoted By:
>See you later, alligators
You already dealt with this, a long time ago. You frankly thought you were done with alligators, maybe for the rest of your life. God knows you saw enough already. Are these different alligators? Worse, are they the same alligators? Did Management <span class="mu-i">steal</span> your alligators? You're already spending way too much thought on the alligators. Stupid alligators. The faster you never see them again, the better.
«Charlotte. Status report.»
Oh. Uh, there's alligators. Lots. But it's okay, because you're just going to sprint past them. Maybe over them a little bit.
«You're going to—»
«Are you joking?»
No. You're already sprinting. You're also remembering how it is to sprint in heeled boots— Everard's lame loafers made you complacent. Uh, positive thinking. If you step on an alligator's face, your heels will stab its eye out. Yeah! That's the spirit! You can't have any other spirit, because you're there amidst the alligators this very second, careening around tails and jaws, slaloming through stacks of thick green scutes, stepping on— yes, stepping on— poor bruised snouts and sensitive eyeballs, as the alligators groan and hiss and snap at your toes. Several of them scoot forward faster than you thought alligators could go. In retrospect you might describe them as "slavering." But you, Charlotte Fawkins, Reptile Queen, you make it through without a single leg bitten off at the knee, because what was the alternative? Was there any alternative? Did Richard actually <span class="mu-i">doubt</span> you?
>[+1 ID: 4/14]
«We just talked about this. Just because something <succeeded> in no way makes it retroactively a good or sensible—»
It was good and sensible to sprint past/through a hoard of alligators, which is why you're continuing to sprint: for the love of it, the joy and thrill of success, and not because the alligators are chasing you now. They wouldn't do that. You're sure Headspace feeds them properly.
«They don't even feed their employees properly, from what I'm understanding.»
You're sure they get fed properly, because the alternative is that the pitter-patter of claws behind you is from over twenty hungry, angry alligators, and you're not willing to confront that right now. You're just enjoying your jog— and also gaining on Ellery, right? You bet he isn't jogging. You belt he's skulking around like a total creep. Richard would happen to know any alligator countermeasures, would he?
«...»
Okay, you're just going to jog. You're fine with that. Alligators aren't that fast, except for the ones that lunged at you, but you were probably imagining it. You're not in real danger. You're not even tired. The last one is nearly even true— it must be the fake-body thing. Suck it, Ellery! You can have a stupid fake body too! If you did get your leg bitten off, you probably wouldn't even feel it.
«No. Don't test that. Your state is inherently fragile. You would not be able to reconstruct yourself nearly as easily as he can.»
(1/3)
