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Over the next week, Isabella gets the alethiometer to tell her that the planets they looked at don't contain microorganisms that know what to do with a human body (although the one with the giant bugs has some multicellular parasites that might be able to make do with the foreign macro-scale features of a human body if they got the chance). "The present", it includes in one of its answer phrasings, which is kind of worrying. But Adarin makes enough progress with his scry in little enough time that it's worth the double-check.
Isabella also hires ticket-takers, gives them little pots of ink to verify the authenticity of the passes she handed out, and opens the Los Angeles - New York route for the employees of her three companies of choice and anyone who shells out a cool fifteen thousand dollars per round trip (ten K for a one-way). This is steep, but it's within an order of magnitude of what people sometimes pay for short-notice first-class cross-country flights - with less novelty and more hassle. Albeit she doesn't supply inflight meals. She expects to have to raise the price when more people hear about it in response to volume and then be able to drop it again.
By the time the thing has been open for a few days she's fired and replaced one ticket-taker and the others have settled into a routine that she's willing to try out leaving unsupervised for awhile.
If Adarin's up for some up close and personal planet shopping and his results suggest it'll go well, anyway.
dark_light
prodigal_miser
"Yeah, you are. Be strong, Isabella. Soon my world take-over will be complete and I'll invade the sun. It'll make a lovely vacation spot."
dark_light
"Curse you and your projects that make no reference to my needs or interests! Wicked Adarin!"
prodigal_miser
"Yup! And the worst part of all... I'm changing the official food. It's now gummy worms."
prodigal_miser
He cackles maniacally - the cackles change into honest giggles and then suddenly he can't stop laughing.
prodigal_miser
Hugs!
Oooo, library! To the computers! And Wikipedia! He needs to learn about Feminism. Also programming.
Oooo, library! To the computers! And Wikipedia! He needs to learn about Feminism. Also programming.
dark_light
Isabella sees him set up on a computer and then finds a beanbag chair nearby to sit on while she asks the alethiometer things. Path hops off her head and flies to the desk on which Adarin's computer sits and hoots softly at Vern.
prodigal_miser
Vern trills back. She nudges Path a bit, then moves to snuggle, looking at Adarin with a bit of worry. "Are you going to ask him? I can, if you don't want to..."
dark_light
"So Adarin," says Path. "A few hours ago, sudden jolt of terror, took longer to wear off Vern than me - what happened that you forgot to tell us about when you came home? I kept expecting one of you to remember but you were distracted by adorable bantering. Which was admittedly fun."
prodigal_miser
Adarin blinks. He looks up from computer shenanigans and looks surprised, then really, really guilty. "Shit. I'd completely forgotten to - sorry, sorry. We're both fine, it turned out to not be a problem but it was scary at the time. Um." He glances at the public library. "... There was a thing we were not expecting there that I will expand on when we're not in public. At first it was really threatening and we were both terrified, but we handled it and um - now it works for us."
Vern gives him a look.
"I'm sorry?" he manages again.
Vern gives him a look.
"I'm sorry?" he manages again.
prodigal_miser
Adarin nods. He kind of looks like a kicked puppy, now. He feels terrible, the poor daemons must have been worried sick. Vern gives an apologetic trill to Path, nuzzles him, and - plop, into Adarin's lap.
Pet, pet, pet.
Pet, pet, pet.
dark_light
Path flies back to Isabella.
"Shit," Isabella says under her breath when he explains the problem to her. "I never forget when I'm going places alone..."
"Shit," Isabella says under her breath when he explains the problem to her. "I never forget when I'm going places alone..."
prodigal_miser
"Sorry," says Adarin quietly to Vern, again. "I promise I'll tell you everything, this - will be a very short library visit, I'm sorry..."
Vern trills. Snuggle, snuggle.
He looks up what he needs to find out in record time.
Vern trills. Snuggle, snuggle.
He looks up what he needs to find out in record time.