This Work Is Part Of A Series (The Messenger Archive Book 2)

by DC Bastien

  "Maybe I'm too simple to dissemble. Or maybe I just know what I want, and I don't mind other people knowing. Ain't like I got anything to feel guilty about," Biann said, musing. "Maybe if I was more important I'd want things I didn't want people to know. But I don't see as how."

  "It's... it's complicated, Biann-Tho. It's usually not that you want things that are shameful, it is more that you... if you lead well? You have to be fair. And you might have to be fair in ways that disadvantage some. And they wouldn't want that. Or... for a greater good, you have to do a lesser 'evil'. To feed your people you might need to sell some land. And if you spent your life explaining all of your choices, you would get nothing done."

  "Right. And you want to go into all of that?"

  "No. Oh, heavens, no. But if it's the only way to get them back, then... yes."

  "Would you still talk to me? If you were the leader of your people?"

  "Biann - you even need to ask?"

  "I'm... I'm sorry. I've never really known anyone important before."

  "Important, yes. Influential... possibly not. Biann, the title won't change me. I'll still be me. I might have... decisions to make, but I will still be me. And yes, I'll talk to you. I'd have you work for me, if you wanted. You could be my conscience. The voice in my ear, telling me to be good."

  "I'm not really... qualified to be an advisor. I'm just a grease-monkey."

  "You're perfectly qualified to keep someone from going cold, Biann. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met." Then they hit a bump. "Except at driving."

  Biann pulled the little car to a halt at the lights, looking sheepish. "Hey, I don't kill people."

  "The fact that not killing is your proof of goodness... says a lot."

  "And I don't damage property. And I don't cut people off. And I let them merge."

  "...I'll grant you're not evil, then. But I'm not going as far as 'good'."

  "...fine."

  ***

  [Ashroe: I might edit some of the scenes around. Ones we've not published. To give a better sense of pace.]

  [Sianor: Yeah, I was just writing what felt right for me at the time, not what... not what order they go in. Which is so unlike me.]

  [Ashroe: It's complicated when you have so many threads running at the same time, and you want to keep some things hidden from the audience.]

  [Sianor: I'm usually very linear, though. I mean, I might jump back and forth in timeline, but I write it as the story appears to me.]

  [Ashroe: Same. But then I have been known to chop all the sections up, throw them in the air, and then rearrange them. I did it with an essay once, when I realised the points were good, but the structure was rambling.]

  [Sianor: That's actually pretty smart.]

  [Ashroe: I should edit better, I know. But I don't... like doing it to my own babies. With someone else's work, I'll be ruthless if they want me to.]

  [Sianor: I think it's hard with long stories, too. I guess if I was doing it professionally, I'd try to put more effort into it. But when it's just a hobby?]

  [Ashroe: Still doesn't excuse lazy work, but yeah. I think it's more my excitement to get a response, than idleness.]

  [Sianor: Do you think the fan culture has changed much? I know you've been in fandom for longer than me, and maybe you can see how things have shifted?]

  [Ashroe: I can only speak for my own limited experience, but... yes. I think the way we've moved from dial-up to broadband has helped. There's more multi-media now. There's fanmixes, videos, tonnes of fanart, too. Now anyone with a mouse can do basic image editing it's helping. But the culture... well. Maybe I was too young, but slash was a bit... outre? Like, you would keep it way, way away from people. There'd be a gen archive, a het archive, a slash archive. Then came the Pit of Voles.]

  [Sianor: Did you ever archive there?]

  [Ashroe: No, nor did I ever read there. I guess it depends on your desired fandom and work, but... no. Archives tended to be labours of love, and some generous soul would host them. It was an honour if another archivist came to you and asked for permission to host your work, too.]

  [Sianor: Really? Huh. I've only ever known the main archive.]

  [Ashroe: We also feared litigation more. There were cease and desists floating around. We worried that someone not paying their webhost - or the webhost deciding the content was too risky - would jeopardise our hard work and wipe out the online record of our art.]

  [Sianor: Wow. I couldn't even imagine that.]

  [Ashroe: We also whacked disclaimers on everything. This is not mine. This is not mine. Do not sue, do not sue. I'm not stealing your money. After all, except in the case of novels, or works which have tie-in books, we're filling a gap in the market. And even then, the books they print don't always correspond to our... needs.]

  [Sianor: And now you hear about the show's actors discussing pairings. Even slash ones.]

  [Ashroe: There used to be this rule: not to mention it. And some actors are still a bit uncomfortable about it, I guess. But then there's others who love how much attention they're getting, even if they don't... swing that way.]

  [Sianor: You know, I don't know how I'd feel as an actor. I guess... flattered? It's not like it's about me, just my body?]

  [Ashroe: Except for RPF.]

  [Sianor: Oh, yeah. I forgot about Real Person Fic. I... well I admit I like it when they're all over one another in interviews. Like when they paw at one another and joke, but I wouldn't want to... uh. Read about it.]

  [Ashroe: I don't read it myself. I like my fourth wall where it is.]

  [Sianor: You know, I bet creators get annoyed when suddenly the fans ship the 'wrong' thing. Like... it's their book, or show, or film. And all of a sudden the love affair they've been building up, been investing in... bam. Nope. Gay. Or straight. Or whatever.]

  [Ashroe: If they really invested in that relationship to the point of OTP and weren't capable of multi-shipping, then yeah. But if fans like characters' interactions enough to bounce off it... well. That's still cool.]

  [Sianor: And I think there's more and more subtext these days.]

  [Ashroe: They'd be fools not to play to it, when it's such a huge part of their fee-paying fans.]

  [Sianor: Maybe eventually we'll not be sitting waiting for the tiny clues.]

  [Ashroe: Possibly around the same time as more female characters are people, not tropes.]

  [Sianor: Nah, gays are more important than women. *cough*]

  [Ashroe: Sadly, I think that's true. There's a huge anti-feminist wave, which is ridiculous. But if you discriminate against homosexuals you're lambasted by the liberal press.]

  [Sianor: And asexuals. It would be nice if we had some good asexual characters. Maybe really hot ones.]

  [Ashroe: Ohh, that would be so cool. Like a super sexy spy, and he or she uses their prettiness to get people to agree to things, and they all think there'll be banging but NOPE. Coffee.]

  [Sianor: It should be a boy. Because girls are always made to use their sexuality to get things.]

  [Ashroe: Yes, things should totally be even. And there's a ruthlessly efficient girl, but she goes home to her really loving husband and they have cute puppies, proving she is capable and calm, but not a bitch.]

  [Sianor: And they invite him around for dinner parties and he flirts with both the husband and the wife and they are all 'oh that's so cute' and they half-flirt back, but only out of politeness, and no one is offended and then they watch a movie.]

  [Ashroe: I would watch the shit out of that if it was real.]

  [Sianor: I think maybe we found our world to write in?]

  [Ashroe: Yeah... we might just have.]

  ***

  The patch really helped. Like - really. A lot. Vadim felt better than he had done in weeks. Intellectually, he knew it was drug-related. He knew it was a temporary injection of survival skills, but damn... it was easy to see why people got addicted to them. His mind felt sharp, his senses bright, and he just wanted to solve everything.
>
  "The lights going out can't be coincidence. Can't be. Too coincident."

  "True, but we don't know who did it, or why."

  "Could be someone about to attack. Someone attacked the kolkhoz. Could come here, next. Could be a plot. Ardeshir." His mind was going oh so very fast. "Could be the Judge."

  "I think he'd have told us if he planned on turning the lights off."

  "Maybe last minute thing. A signal. Couldn't reach us any other way. Or if it's the Ardeshir, they're trying to unsettle us. About to go boom. Big hole in the wall. Run in."

  "You did study Ardeshir tactics at the same time as me, didn't you, Kip?"

  "Yeah?"

  "So you know this isn't their modus operandi?"

  "Shock tactics! Surprise!" Very surprising. So surprising it made him borderline shocked.

  "You're high."

  Avery was guiding him up the stairs. Up, up, up. To wherever they had originally planned on going. Apparently the elevator had opened at the wrong floor, or maybe it didn't go where they needed to. So many flights. Why did they call them flights? It would be easier if you could fly. Yes, he was high. High up the building.

  "So?" he asked, as if that was an intelligent rebuttal.

  "So... your thinking processes are warped."

  "You're... warped."

  "I am, but I'm also not hallucinating."

  "I am not hallucinating!"

  "...yet."

  Vadim scowled. Stupid Avery. Stupid pretty face. Stupid scratchy voice. Stupid 'I am always right' when he wasn't, but neither was Vadim, it was more like they were both sometimes right, but never always right. No one was always right. Not even really good people. Forgot to carry the two.

  "Should make use of me, before I burn out," he said, sensibly changing the subject away from his unhallucinations.

  "It's precisely the burn out that I am trying to avoid by keeping you on an even keel."

  "Even! Even! You're running me up the tallest building in the world!"

  "Third tallest on Jazibe, and we're not going all the way."

  "See!"

  "Kip, I need you to focus on keeping as calm as you can. I don't want you accidentally shooting me in the ass."

  "It's a nice ass. I wouldn't shoot it. Unless it was really, really on accident." Vadim leered after it, in the bouncing, low glow from their weapons. "Where are all the people?"

  "If you mean the security forces: we likely shot the majority of them." Avery was slightly out of breath, but then these steps were sure steep. "I'm glad you find me attractive."

  "I've always found you attractive. And infuriating. Annoying. Great. The backup won't be long. I can hear footsteps below us."

  "Yes, thank you, so can I, and you're broadcasting our location."

  "I think if we can hear their footsteps, they can hear ours." It was logic. "HELLO!" he yelled, redoubling his efforts up the stairs. "They aren't replying! Where are their manners?"

  "Possibly reloading," Avery sniped.

  "Why don't you surrender?" came a voice from below.

  "It speaks!" Vadim was over the moon. "Why don't you surrender?"

  "We're not trespassing and murdering!"

  "Neither are we!" That was offensive. "How mean. We were defending ourselves from attempts on our lives."

  "After trespassing."

  "Trespassing does not mean you can kill someone dead! I know laws! This isn't law! Not even a really, really bad law on a fucked up pl-- okay. Some planets. But not this one. This one is pretty not-bad," Vadim called back.

  "You could be here to commit corporate espionage, or... worse!"

  That made Vadim stop. "Worse?"

  The footsteps below slowed, and Avery turned to see what the hell was going on.

  "Worse like how?" the Captain asked.

  "Well... you shot my colleagues. You shot Brian."

  "I'm sorry I shot Brian, but Brian shot me." Vadim sat down on the step, leaning the gun across his lap. "Listen. You don't want to shoot us. If you shoot us, we shoot back."

  "But..."

  "How about you take us to your boss? Not at gun-point. You walk us in, saying we want to talk, saying how you corralled us good and proper. You might even get a raise. You definitely won't get shot."

  "Kip--"

  "No, I'm serious," Vadim said, looking up at the Enforcer several steps above. "We wanna see the man behind the curtain. He wants to not-get shot. We don't want to get shot, or shoot. How is this not a win-win-win?"

  "You promise not to shoot me?" the voice asked.

  "I promise not to shoot you. Hand on heart."

  "And your friend?"

  Vadim waved his gun at Avery, who was frowning. He waved some more. Fine. "Ithon!"

  "Fine. I promise I won't shoot you, unless you shoot me, or him, or somehow double-cross us in a way that could lead to our death... happy?"

  "I didn't know you were a Judge," the man said, and he started walking again.

  "Enforcer, actually," Avery shrugged. "Judging wouldn't suit me."

  "You like guns too much," Vadim agreed.

  "Kip, this may well be the first time you didn't opt to shoot everything just as a way of announcing your presence."

  "I'm saving myself."

  "You didn't even shoot Brian. I had to."

  "That's not helping," the third man said, as he drew closer. "Brian was my friend."

  "Did he die?" Vadim asked, peering at the man.

  "...I think it was just a through and through," he admitted.

  "Well, see, he'll heal! And if you have a union worth shit, he'll get a well paid desk job and a lot of time at home with Mrs Brian," Vadim said, pushing up to his feet. "And if he doesn't, then you let us know who to shoot for him."

  "I... thanks?"

  "You're welcome. So. Where's the boss?"

  ***

  [Ashroe: I swear you write stoned!Kip too well.]

  [Sianor: It's not writing from experience, I swear. Okay, maybe, but not... drugs.]

  [Ashroe: I'm beginning to think there is going to be a terrible cliffhanger.]

  [Sianor: Me too. We need to pace it out right. I guess if we'd actually plotted this out properly we might have had our lines fall at different times.]

  [Ashroe: How are you feeling today?]

  [Sianor: Not bad, actually.]

  [Ashroe: Good.]

  [Sianor: Are... you... OK?]

  [Ashroe: Yeah, why?]

  [Sianor: I dunno. I just... guess I wanted to check.]

  [Ashroe: I'm fine. A bit... well. Tired, but nothing new.]

  [Sianor: Yes, well, you're burning the candle at both ends.]

  [Ashroe: I should sleep sooner, but... this is why I get up. You know? Why I go to work to pay the bills. And then... then sometimes I feel...]

  [Sianor: You can say it.]

  [Ashroe: I'm not sure I can. Not that I won't, but that I can't.]

  [Sianor: We'll pause. We can unwrite. We don't have to spend all our time writing.]

  [Ashroe: I know that, but... I just feel frustrated. I spend the day behind my desk, smiling, emailing, making graphs, making coffee, trying not to make it too obvious that I'm staring at the clock. I'm murdering the hours. Not just killing time, I'm slaughtering it. I'm ethnically cleansing all the hours that I'm paid for, and I'm begrudging each and every second because I should be home and writing.]

  [Sianor: And then you get home and you're wiped because you've been busy all day? You... you can only fit so many hours in, you know. It's not a matter of willpower. Eventually sleep deprivation will make you really, super ill.]

  [Ashroe: I know. It's like two curves: physical vs emotional. The more I write, the more my emotional mood goes up. But the less I sleep, the more my physical condition deteriorates. When I get to the tipping point, the physical issues start to bring my mood back down again. And then I resent it, because... because. I just want to be able to do everything.]

  [Sianor: You're only human. But this does sound to me like it nee
ds solving with science.]

  [Ashroe: Uh-oh, am I now an experiment?]

  [Sianor: Yes. We need to work out your optimal sleep-to-write cycle. We can do graphs and we can work out how best to be productive!]

  [Ashroe: This sounds painfully like timing your fertility. Are we trying to birth a baby?]

  [Sianor: A brain!baby! Yes. We so are. We can work out the best way to keep you happy and bubbly and not a worn out zombie.]

  [Ashroe: Writing is supposed to be organic, though.]

  [Sianor: So is sleep, and yet you constrain your body beyond its natural circadian rhythms. Also, writing is pretty much artificial.]

  [Ashroe: 'Pretty much'?]

  [Sianor: Yeah, we didn't do writing until really late on. And even then, not everyone could do it. It's only recently that the great unwashed masses could read, let alone write.]

  [Ashroe: I suppose, but we've been telling stories for longer.]

  [Sianor: Mostly short ones, with structures you can remember. The three little pigs. The three bears. The three billy goats gruff...]

  [Ashroe: It's interesting how often we come back to threes. Even when you move on, you get your love-triangles, instead of your love-stories. Three is magic.]