courtship arms race | Glowfic Constellation

"Those of them with any business doing so should find no cause to complain about that."

"You'd think that a demon would like demons better. Or at least have more of a sense that they vary."

"Revelation's thing about demons is very ingrained. Maybe the Amentan summoners will enjoy the chance to feel morally superior, if we frame things right."

"I really thought that learning their dead relatives were daeva would soften it. Do we want the GCP doing all daeva criminal procedures, we can do it ourselves -"

"Not strongly opposed but we'd need something worked out for jurisdiction, and I don't think we want to establish that anyone can set up their own systems, lest someone have an inhumane one -"

"The GCP -"

"They do their best."

"Your grace."

"They're fine with us being the summoners modulo logistical considerations which are about to be obviated, and they don't object if we don't gag the demons, are there really other complaints that won't be fixed with some money for good lawyers?"

"They just very conspicuously think all demons are terrible."

"But they believe they deserve rights anyway. It really is different. ...draw up a proposal, in case the GCP doesn't want that kind of volume of new subscribers, but if they'll have us I favor keeping things contained."

The GCP will accept new subscribers and expand to match.

And they're all set up to strongly encourage anyone in Hell who wants a hatched kid to come have their kid on a planet newly set up for that where their kid can be a summoner and accordingly safer, can the GCP amend its bylaws to prosecute child abuse in Hell? "If the wording also prohibited the making of Elves, without drawing attention to that as something anybody could do, that would be convenient."

"I'm not sure how to do that as a child abuse prohibition unless we just prohibit making people in Hell at all and even that won't cover child demons."

"Child demons don't seem to have historically been a problem, they have lots of prospective adoptive parents and can pick one they like and leave if they're getting hurt. Prohibiting making specific people in Hell, maybe, in addition to prohibiting child abuse."

"Yes, that'd cover eggs of prominent folks from egg species, I suppose - word it to include clones -"

"Yep. And then the law is clearly appropriate to the situation if anyone does try Elves, without making it clear to them that trying might work in the first place."

"Sure. But demons can't make minds, are you thinking someone'll sell their 'soul' -"

"Or they'll go graverobbing - if they take one out of a living person we could get that anyway as murder, but the war wasn't all that long ago and the law doesn't cover just finding one."

The staffer nods. "Well, I can write it that way, sure."

"Thanks so much. I'm excited for when we can go public about this."

"Biggest deal since Revelation!"

"And a big deal for the multiverse, too! You guys have the most useful magic system, and I've seen well over a hundred."

"That many? And summoning beats 'em all?"

"Lots of them are very trivial and inconvenient! ...though I guess if we'd come here before Revelation and someone had shown us parlor tricks..."

"Those're a ripoff," nods the staffer.

"So maybe someone else has something great we're missing. But you're the heavy hitters for now. - there are more powerful people elsewhere, but not societies with more widespread accessible access to powerful magic."

"Huh. Must be inconvenient."

"It is!" And they make plans for once they're ready to announce that.

Calado bus guy upgrades to an eight-car shuttle and an elevated boarding platform so he doesn't get stuck if there are too many people standing where he's trying to land his bus. The shuttle now lands on its elevated-platform rails and people can board. Ticketing is on the Elendil end because Elendil is safer.