Someone else who got snaked is here!
...so presumably at least one of these kissing men is a past snake victim!
Oh my god Lúthien put us outside this building please.
"If you want the kind you control with your mind you need Cam, if you don't I can just grab you one."
"Okay. I should be able to dig something up you won't have to read to use, too."
"And you only have to learn it once and then Allspeak can get you plenty functional in any language."
"No great hurry, I can get you a computer that will read things to you and transcribe what you say."
"You're welcome. And then when you've checked in on additional Lúthiens you can give a report that everyone else will be able to fetch out of their mailboxes and then everyone concerned will know whether Lúthiens want to meet them. Uh - fair warning, your Space alt is likely to be unfond of Cam."
"He successfully cut a deal with his Melkor which involved the Valar and most of the Maiar dying, and Melian was inconsolable about it until I showed up and brought them all back. Please don't bring it up with Cam, it upsets him and he's too guilty about it to actually tell you to drop it if you start."
"No. He made a deal. He extracted an indefinite and well-constructed oath in exchange for a one-time thing."
"Do you want to understand what happened or would you prefer not to?"
"Cam. On the orders of the Enemy. Killed all of the Valar and most of the Maiar. In exchange for a favor."
"Your wording is uncharitable to the point of misrepresentation, your context is nonexistent, and I'm not thrilled with your tone, but you are not denotationally incorrect."
"It's in the Space Arda directory, Joy, if you'd rather read it."
"Okay."
She reads it. She's a slow reader.
She curls up and sobs quietly when she reaches the end.