"...ah."

"I would love to hear more about the vampire revolution."

Elspeth will tell the story of the vampire revolution! It is very exciting and parts of it are horrible!

He will be a good audience and be excited at the exciting parts and horrified at the horrifying ones!

Iobel is also these things! She is particularly appalled about Chelsea!

He clutches her hand and is equally appalled about Chelsea.

And eventually it is Elspeth's bedtime and she teleports home four hops to go to bed.

"I want one," remarks Iobel.

"...ooooh. Do you think it's - however this absurd thing works - will you get one regardless, first child of a Bell, or do you need the father to be an alternate of her father, or is it even possible..."

"I have absolutely no idea, and I don't fancy guessing six times till we figure it out," Iobel says. "But if we do ever observationally form a solid model of however this absurd thing works and I can have one of those I want one, she's great. - Well, I'd probably ask her first. And would probably want to know that her template doesn't come inextricably attached to the story of her life, because there are parts of that I'd sooner skip."

"We seem to exist without the horrifying tragedy that afflicted all of our alts so far. I occasionally worry that just means it's in the future, but. Seems unlikely."

"Yeah, it's just there's only the one of her so far. Your family seems to be obligatory and mine's not; maybe her story is obligatory."

"Apparently people sometimes come in 'evil', too."

"Yeah." Handsqueeze.

"I kind of would like to imagine I'd be more creatively evil. If there's an evil you that is not what she'd do with it."

"I emphatically hope that there is not an evil me, or an evil your dad - I think those are the worst case scenarios."

"Yep. Don't suppose there's any way to check."

"Not an obvious one. They'll have to figure out whether whatever's wrong with Evil Arda affected the alt of your dad there, though..."

"That's the other reason I want a trial, they're going to have to figure out what to do with everyone on that planet, and it sounds like most of them are awful...though, you know, maybe given the wrong conditions most people just are..."

"I'd believe that," she sighs, "most people are normal, if you tip the balance on what's normal most of them still are..."

"My alt does not get to use that excuse."

"Wasn't saying he did."

"I know you weren't. Sorry. I am probably irrationally upset. Finankar is going to laugh at me -"

"I don't see what's funny about any of it."

"It is not funny at all, it is horrible. He will anyway, because it is not very useful for me to be in a mood about it."

"Suppose." Sigh.