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Chelsa buries herself in her friends, and the warmth of the world that Harley isn't on anymore. She doesn't understand him. She never will. But there's Corona, sun-scorching and intense; there's Amdon, her oldest and closest; there's Anneia, sweet and smiling; there's Sandre, cuddly and fun; there's Tima, pretty-kindling and empathetic; there's Pacco, bright and deferent; there's Jony, hot as a kiln; Lionara hot as molten glass. And Aelise herself, who makes so many compromises but who does love Chelsa after all.
Harley wasn't like that one cold, cold girl, who - she wasn't even technically a sociopath. Sociopaths kindle like everyone else. She was just - cold. Like an airless environment in which no fire can burn.
But Aelise had her killed, and Chelsa made sure no one would miss her, and if anything like that ever happened again, Chelsa has every confidence that Aelise would make it right. Harley's one thing. He can just be - out of sight, out of mind. Aelise would never expect Chelsa to compromise on the existence of such a terrible cold.
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warmfeelings
Mehitabel considers her doodles. She makes a few dots, and a circle, and underlines a sequence of consonants.
"If I pretended you got a doctor to fix me even though I'm not broken," she says, "Mommy and Daddy would be happy about that, but they shouldn't be. If you pretend I am very sick and that I died - then they will be sad about it, but they should be."
She sighs, and pokes along all the lines in her chart, re-checking.
"When I fix it they can find out I'm alive, right?"
"If I pretended you got a doctor to fix me even though I'm not broken," she says, "Mommy and Daddy would be happy about that, but they shouldn't be. If you pretend I am very sick and that I died - then they will be sad about it, but they should be."
She sighs, and pokes along all the lines in her chart, re-checking.
"When I fix it they can find out I'm alive, right?"
salus-populi
"Of course," says Aelise. "And they'll probably still be alive too, even if it takes you a very long time."
"Maybe since you have already paid special attention to me, you could immortal them, to make sure," suggests Mehitabel. "You could say 'I am sorry I could not fix your sick daughter, would you like to live forever?'" She pauses. "Also, could I be dying slow enough to say goodbye? Is there a disease that would do all that but also be slow?"
salus-populi
"You'd have to lie," Aelise reminds her. "But yes, I could find a disease like that, and a doctor to lie and say you have it. As for making them immortal... right now, I can only make very few people immortal. I'm going to try something soon that might let me make everyone immortal. If it works, your parents will be part of everyone. If it doesn't, I might have room for them, or I might not. But your parents aren't very old right now, so there's plenty of time to figure that out."
"I can lie a little bit to say goodbye," Mehitabel says. "I think that's better than just pretending to die without saying anything. If you can make everyone immortal does that mean you don't need Chelsa anymore because the problem with wars is people dying?"
salus-populi
"No," says Aelise. "I can't make people that kind of immortal. I can only make them younger, down to about eighteen or twenty, and a little bit healthier, so they don't die of old age and usually don't get sick."
"Oh. That is not as good a kind of immortal but it is still pretty good, I guess," sighs Mehitabel.
salus-populi
"It's what I've got. If I found a way to make everyone properly immortal, that would solve a lot of problems. And I don't think I'd use it on Chelsa."
Mehitabel nods once, decisively.
"Yes," sighs Mehitabel, "and then I guess I go and I live with your aunt? Is she nice? I don't think I knew you had an aunt."
salus-populi
"Not a lot of people do," says Aelise. "I think she's plenty nice. My mother died when I was a little younger than you are, and Kers raised me from there."
"Where does she live?"
salus-populi
"That's a secret. It's such a big secret, I can't tell you until I take you there, even though you're a pretty big secret yourself."
"I'm a secret," giggles Mehitabel.
"Okay. I'm a secret and I'll go live with your secret aunt and my mommy and daddy will think I died and I will get to say goodbye but I have to lie a little to do it." Mehitabel sighs and traces her finger in apparent idleness across her borrowed tablet.
Mehitabel gets her story straight.
It is with unfeigned sorrow that she tells her parents that she loves them and bids them goodbye.
They cry. She cries.
She doesn't have to do a lot of explicit lying, what with all the crying.
It is with unfeigned sorrow that she tells her parents that she loves them and bids them goodbye.
They cry. She cries.
She doesn't have to do a lot of explicit lying, what with all the crying.
salus-populi
Aelise keeps a respectful distance from these proceedings.
The doctor collects Mehitabel eventually, and then Aelise puts the doctor back where she found him.
The doctor collects Mehitabel eventually, and then Aelise puts the doctor back where she found him.
Mehitabel rubs her stinging eyes and follows Aelise.
salus-populi
After dropping off the doctor, she does something to a control panel and heads south.
Mehitabel picks up her book.
There are only a few chapters of it left.
There are only a few chapters of it left.
salus-populi
Aelise takes them to one of the orbital towers, parks at the bottom, and waits.
Mehitabel closes her book.
"Where I'm going there are enough things to keep me, aren't there? I've left all my stuff at home."
"Where I'm going there are enough things to keep me, aren't there? I've left all my stuff at home."