Fresh section, checking in on a couple of side-characters during the blackout. This isn't edited much, and could likely change by the final book.
---------------
---------------
“Contact?”
Gabe called into Contact's dark office, “Are you here?”
“Gabe
is that you?” Sounds of Contact fumbling to stand accompanied that
of a cup falling to the ground, then rolling away. “Get these
lights on!”
“I...
I'm sure Messenger is working on it, Contact.”
“Have
we asked him? Properly?”
“I'm
not sure where he is. What... what do you mean by asking him
properly?”
Contact
scoffed. “In recent years, I've seen people addressing the
Messenger with less reverence than is proper for the servant
of the Great Actual. This is all a warning! A punishment!
We must throw ourselves before Messenger and beg for forgiveness!”
“I'm
not sure-”
“I
blame that Lenth! A mere Subject, and-”
“Contact,
the Messenger seems to favour Lenth well enough, if Lenth were to
blame-”
“Whatever!
It's not right! He's a problematic sort!”
Gabe
sighed. “Contact, the reason I'm here is just to make you aware
that several Subjects are out of their Units. It seems that in light
of this unexpected blackout, some Managers have decided-”
“They're
loose!? Subjects running around loose!?” Staggered footsteps
could be heard in Contact's direction, going nowhere very quickly.
“None
of them are above Manager level right now, and they're peaceful. It's
only a dozen or two. It's not like Citizenry's spilled out.”
Contact
let out a horrified gasp, and then a moment of silence.
“Contact?
Are you a-”
“Has
anyone checked that Citizenry is secure?!”
“From
the Grand Elevator shaft, things seem quiet,” Gabe said.
“This
is all unacceptable! Find Messenger! Politely! Now!”
Gabe
sighed. Again. “All right. Stay safe here, okay, Contact? I'll...
make sure I post a Provider near your door to keep problematic
sorts away from you.”
“Post
two!”
“Sure.”
“Four?”
“Sure.”
“And
do we know where those shock-sticks are?”
“Four
guards with shock-sticks. I'll see what I can do.”
“Good,
good. You're a good man, Gabe.”
“Sure.”
No comments:
Post a Comment