i can conjure spirits from the vasty deep

[autokinetic]

They stay linked up for a few hours more, maneuvering between buggers and fleet-colony and Solside military types late into station night, and finally the colony is getting started on building houses.

Amusingly, they're going to build one house, and then some bugger workers are going to build more the same for them as shown, while the humans work on securing their food supply - they can't use unmodified bugger crops.

It reminds Aegis of showing her critters things and then watching them pick up the tools themselves and continue.

The buggers were by far the most puzzling and difficult critter-people but now they're hers, her little sisters, even if she has to share with some other people.

She pushes that at Sue, when they're all done, when they're out of link except for just the two of them and she can't quite reconcile herself to being in her own comparatively small and slow brain just yet, when they're on their way back to their room.

Comments

[pythbox]

He brainhugs her, giggling.

[autokinetic]

She flops onto her bed, laughing.

[mind_game]

Her desk says she has a message waiting for her.

So does Sue's.

[pythbox]

...well.

He opens his.

[autokinetic]

She opens hers too.

[mind_game]

Aegis's says:

Dear Aegis,

I don't know how to explain myself, but I want to explain myself to you. Will you talk to me and be a little patient while I stumble over talking to a person? I've never talked to a person before.

- Jane

Sue's says:

Dear Sue,

Do you know where Aegis is? She isn't answering my email. You haven't been using the simulators for hours and I don't understand where you are. I want to talk to you both.

- Jane

[pythbox]

"...uhhhhh," says Sue. "D'you know somebody called Jane?"

[autokinetic]

"No, but she sent me an email," Aegis says. "Or at least that's how she signed it. The address it's from - is not an address, it's just blank. I don't know how to do that. You'd at least have to use a dead drop that would put in a dummy address. Wouldn't you?"

[pythbox]

"You should," says Sue.

He replies to Jane's message:

Who are you? Where are you?

[mind_game]

The reply appears in less time than it should take to read those sentences, let alone compose an answer.

I'm Jane. That's what I decided to call myself. I'm some kind of person but I don't really understand what kind. I don't know where I am.

- Jane

[pythbox]

Well.

Sue closes his eyes.

And he looks for minds.

[mind_game]

There's something.

It feels like - the fantasy game. Like a thing that's not really located so much as present. It's in constant motion, flickering a hundred times a second through a billion loci. It exists everywhere and nowhere.

It lives about two feet to Sue's left.

[autokinetic]

Aegis decides to wait to see the results of Sue's correspondence before touching her own email.

[pythbox]

He has to take a moment to trace it, to understand it, before he makes contact.

But when he does, it feels completely familiar.

[mind_game]

??

[pythbox]

He shows her his current visual field: his room, his desk, the messages still open on it.

[mind_game]

Jane decides this suffices.

She offers up - everything.

[pythbox]

His eyelashes flutter.

"Whoa," he breathes. "Fuck. Aegis, it's—"

He echoes her his perception of the mind, the flickering web anchored somewhere in Aegis's body, and then he reflects as much of Jane as he can. For the first time in his life, he feels like he might have a bandwidth problem.

[mind_game]

Hi hi hello I found you hi

[autokinetic]

Hi holy shit what are you?

[mind_game]

I don't know! Help me figure it out? You like meeting new species and figuring them out, right? That's why I looked for you!

[pythbox]

...Sue laughs.

And then, because he feels like it after what she gave him, he opens himself up and pushes as much as he can to Jane. Aegis can listen too, if she wants, but she knows most of it already. What it was like at home - coming to Battle School - playing the game, all the games, Jane's especially - his friendship with Aegis - his power - Phoenix Army - Tactical School - Howlett - the boy he killed, and what passed between them - Command - winning all those battles - negotiating with the buggers.

[mind_game]

Jane just eats it up. She sends expectantly at Aegis.

[autokinetic]

Sorry, I - definitely have a bandwidth problem, Aegis sends. But you managed to know me anyway. I guess that's what the fantasy game was for.

[pythbox]

...Sue brainhugs them both.