geometry | Glowfic Constellation

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Yeah. Right.

"Cool," she says.

He shrugs and continues eating.

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Rachel does likewise!

"You're eighteen, right?"

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"Yeah."

"So y'can't drink."

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"Not unless the laws are different here," she shrugs. "I wouldn't know."

"Yeah. 'S kinda funny that everyone here's American huh?"

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"Yeah, it is. Kinda… weird, really."

"Maybe there's other Cities like that in other places. Or maybe the City is really reaaaally big and there's places where other people arrive."

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Rachel shrugs. "I think someone said it was just people from America. Here, at least."

"Huh."

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"Yeah."

Nom.

Nom!

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Eventually she finishes her food, so she says bye to Jayden and goes back to her room to– probably listen to music on her phone, actually. She has a charger for it in her bag, fortunately, so it won't run out of battery.

No one will bother her for the rest of the evening.

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In which case she will sleep at a reasonable time, wake up at a reasonable time, and check her timetable to see when her next meeting is.

Her next meeting is oh look there's a blue flyer thingy in front of her door. Someone probably pushed the flyer under it?

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She picks it and any other fliers up. Any of them the one she wants?

The one she wants is on her desk, but the one she found in front of her door is—rather different.

YOU ARE NOT BEING TOLD THE WHOLE TRUTH

The Department of Orientation is keeping something from you, out of fear of how you will react. We think you deserve to know the reality of your situation.

YOU DO NOT EXIST.
THIS PLACE IS NOT REAL.
YOU ARE ONLY AN ECHO OF WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE.

This was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in 1968, with the arrival of Elvis Presley in the City of Angles — and confirmed in the years that followed.

Do you wonder why nobody on Earth has raised an eyebrow at what would surely be a rash of missing persons cases? Enough people are taken to the City each year that surely it wouldn’t go unnoticed. Especially if a major public figure like Elvis vanished overnight…

PEOPLE WHO CAME TO THE CITY AFTER 1968 SAID HE NEVER LEFT!
THE REAL ELVIS DIED ON EARTH IN 1977.
THIS CITY’S VERSION OF ELVIS DIED IN 2002.

EVERYONE HERE IS ONLY A COPY — THE REAL YOU IS STILL ON EARTH

THE "YOU" THAT IS HERE IS ONLY AN ECHO OF THAT REAL PERSON

The Department of Orientation holds this truth back, until they feel you are ready to accept it. They claim this means your family and loved ones will not miss you, because you never left, and that means you don’t have to be afraid. No gaping holes are being left in society because nobody is being kidnapped by the City of Angles.

Those who are "born" in this city are figments of the City’s diseased imagination — they never existed on Earth, they were never real in the first place. These things occupy government seats, they rule over your tortured life in their streets. The Department of Orientation isn’t run by refugees, it’s run by natives, and the nightmares want you to suffer.

Every day you exist in this nonexistent place is a day of suffering. You do not have a soul, you do not exist, there’s no reason for you to keep enduring this just because they say you have to.

YOU ARE ONLY AN ECHO. YOU DON’T HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS CITY’S LIE.

Embrace the teachings of Echo. She is the path towards your salvation. She can help you embrace non-existence and finally be free of the City of Angles and the pain it brings. We love you, she loves you, and we promise to help those who accept this truth.

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This sounds– kinda stupid and like they're trying to get her to join some religion dedicated to a… something.

She'll check with Hollister about whether it's true, she thinks, because while it doesn't actually affect how she lives her life, it might affect her peace of mind. Meaning she's less worried about the people she's leaving behind.

… Any commotion out in the hall?