Jilia really wishes she'd dug a ring of sustenance out of her vaults sooner. She ought to have known there was one, but a full inventory of the rings got postponed and... well, tomorrow night, assuming it's properly calibrated now, she'll only have to sleep two hours.
She got five hours and is, instead of well-rested, poorly. But she's here, and she has a draft censorship bill she could live with.
Korva is quickly reading it through one more time.
"It's definitely legal to make and sell an unlimited number of copies of a physical book you purchased legally in any of the friendly nations, as long as it's more than five years old, and you arcane mark the copies, and include the note about the first statute, with no other requirements?" Imports are enough, she thinks, if the list includes Absalom, but will be the only way for anyone not affiliated with a publishing house to run an independent bookstore in the long term. And it will be possible to have Chelish books published in Absalom, she thinks, and then bring them back and make unlimited copies without relying on the publishing house statute. People dealt in imports when it carried the death penalty; they can muddle through if it can be done openly.
She nods when Enric mentions talking about the details after the meeting. "Yeah, she told me she survived, but it's possible Heaven helped, I don't know how you'd tell for sure unless it was really obvious."
"Need to find her and ask for the story, she still thinks I'm dead." To both Victoria and Xavier.
He is unsure, a small wizard swimming out of a rain tossed river seems as implausible as heaven moving directly. He has to talk to her, has to apologize for– we're in committee. Focus.
"I'd appreciate a reading, but if we're in a hurry there's no need. If it's a bill stopping the presses, I vote aye."
"I think you might be questioned if they're surprised about the book. But yes, Delegate Tallandria, I thought that was important to ensure. Delegate Porras, we're looking to get something that stops most of the presses and all the unwise ones, but keeps the ones that haven't been causing problems going."
“Stopping most of the presses is good too.”
Enric is of the opinion that decent people just speak to each other when they have things to say. Pamphlets and the café and romance novels are fun, and having committee notes is convenient, but it’s not worth burning the city down. Let the people who read add the exceptions they need.
One more time.
They're outlawing all the pamphlets with this. Newspapers, too. But that's not such a loss, is it? They're mostly nonsense anyway, only useful to gauge the moods of one confused little city. The important things, the old and foreign and different things, the things where unfamiliar truths lie nestled in between the lies -
Those will remain. And all burn, otherwise, if the nobles aren't lying.
"We can live with this. I'll vote for it."
"I think Sofia's clause will do for petitioning. And let's add 'not shared with an audience outside a private domicile' to the list of privacy conditions, that should cover letting a dozen people read your books in ten years. But I'm inclined to call the vote. Last objections?"
Probably there are things she'd think of if she knew more about how the laws were supposed to work but she doesn't, so.
"Abstain." He doesn't think he can in good conscience vote to ban his own holy book even if they have made nods toward figuring something out.
"The Ayes have it. Archduke, you wanted to deliver this to the floor? Let it be done, and I declare this emergency session over. About time for the floor to open, too."
"...Delegate Ferrer, would you walk with me a few moments?"
Oh. Enric wanted to talk to Victoria about... everything. But Kintargo probably has something much more important "We'll catch up after the floor?"
"There's a pamphlet calling for your head. Yours and Delegate Rivera. I kept a copy to show you. I assume it's been banned and the author arrested, but he won't be the only one. The archmage will keep the convention safe, but you should think carefully about your personal security before you leave."
"May the righteous gods watch over us," Xavier says. "Archduke. Sower. Delegates." And he picks it up and heads out.
"...I don't actually know how to, uh, have better personal security. I'm only first circle. Alicia suggested I sleep at a temple, so it'll be harder for an angry nobleman to kill me without everyone at the temple seeing him, but I still need to, like, walk between there and here every day."
"You probably can't hire great guards, but if you have the delegate's stipend you can afford some. Or just move in groups with Rivera or anyone else willing. I'd offer you some of mine but frankly my guard are only slightly better than most Counts have with them and I need everyone I brought."
View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
