[Hearing words that make sense for the first time since whatever caused those headaches is an immense relief to Shirley, and the panic that drove her here starts to fade. Mostly.
The fact that she doesn't know how to deal with Jay still stands, but here she is.]
I've been fine, but I don't know what this is supposed to mean.
. . . I'm not entirely sure, either. Either it's something Qri's doing--although for what, I have no idea--or Shehui has found a way of interfering with our connection. Either possibility is somewhat unsettling.
If it's something intentional, the government here in Shehui has clearer reasons to separate people like this. They've already made it clear they don't like us.
[Does she sound bitter? Very much so.]
Then the question is what else they can do, and what they're going to do.
[He leads her into the apartment, then--it's messy, but not to a crazy extent or anything--and motions that she can sit down at the table, if she likes.]
. . . I do wonder why they don't just kick us out, if they dislike us so much. They must want something from us.
[Shirley sits, although she doesn't look at Jay; rather, she stares at a point on the table as she considers what he's said.]
Maybe they want to use us for something. They can say all they want about us, but in the end that wouldn't matter as long as they can get something out of the power we have.
[It's not meant as a jab to Jay specifically, but Shirley is thinking about everything Crusand did to her and Stella. She's still more than a little bitter about that.]
[He blinks at her: until this moment it hadn't really occurred to him, the parallels between their situation in Shehui and her situation back on their world.]
Maybe. We do have mysterious magic powers that shouldn't be possible.
[Shirley ignores his surprise and keeps her eyes on the table. Naturally Jay wouldn't see things the way she does. She wishes she didn't have to either.]
Do they want anything from people outside the city? I don't think they talked about it when I was in school.
. . . their records are almost completely silent on what's outside the city, actually. It could be populated, or it could be barren. The government doesn't seem to want its people to know.
[He frowns, mulling the question over.]
The people did seem rather insistent that we stay in Shehui--at least, until this latest informational campaign.
If they want people to stay inside the city, I don't believe it would be for caution. In that case, they would be much clearer about the dangers outside.
[Speaking as somebody from such a village. Shirley's never thought of it from a position of authority before but she tries to now, thinking about what she'd heard of Senel and Stella's journey outside. If things had been different back home...in another time, the Merines would guide the Ferines instead of becoming one with Nerifes right away. The thought is intimidating, something she probably wouldn't live up to if it happened for real, but at least it remains a hypothetical.]
The exception might be if there was something outside that would tempt people to leave and endanger themselves...or, I suppose, if you never wanted anybody to leave at all. It's possible there are other reasons to act that way as well.
[It's an incisive analysis, and a little more like the Shirley he knows. He nods once.]
The only way to leave the city that we know of is to be banned . . . the government would have an interest in making people believe that whatever's outside is terrible.
. . . of course, if it really was terrible, they would just tell the truth, wouldn't they?
If leaving the city is a punishment, then only those who are already meant to see it may see the outside. What would you have to do to be banned from here?
[Shirley's been making an effort to stay well within the lines, so she isn't so clear on what the actual bounds are. Too bad that doesn't seem to have helped at all.]
The easiest way is to be caught out "not contributing," I think. There are a number of different ways to "contribute," but eventually you have to find a job or do volunteer work around the city in order to stay.
So what is the goal of making sure that people contribute?
[That's easier to think about. Shehui isn't exactly like home, but parts of it resonate and school has helped her get an idea of what Shehui wants to be too.]
Although you can choose the way you do things, everything is for the good of the city. People from other worlds are welcome as long as they integrate well, but if they don't...it's clear that they want to do something more with the coven, but most people are banished. And once you leave you've seen the inside, so there must be strong measures for ensuring they can't ever come back.
[She pauses there to consider.]
Whatever outside isn't obviously dangerous, or else the government here would probably tell everyone so. But still, those who leave can't return. That's what seems most likely, at least.
[He nods; he agrees with pretty much everything she's said.]
Everything they do--the rules they have about contributing and banishing people--is to create a harmonious society. To control the kinds of people who come in and out, and their behavior.
We don't, and yet they must have something planned for us. We might be banished as well, otherwise.
[Edge near the line and it might suddenly jump behind you. The government certainly has that power. So why...?]
Perhaps they want some kind of information from us, or perhaps they want to use us in some way. Or it might be that they think we're too dangerous to send to the outside, if there's something out there.
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[Hearing words that make sense for the first time since whatever caused those headaches is an immense relief to Shirley, and the panic that drove her here starts to fade. Mostly.
The fact that she doesn't know how to deal with Jay still stands, but here she is.]
I've been fine, but I don't know what this is supposed to mean.
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[Does she sound bitter? Very much so.]
Then the question is what else they can do, and what they're going to do.
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[He hesitates, his hand on the door.]
Did you want to come in? I don't think this is a conversation we should be having in the hall.
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Let's go.
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. . . I do wonder why they don't just kick us out, if they dislike us so much. They must want something from us.
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Maybe they want to use us for something. They can say all they want about us, but in the end that wouldn't matter as long as they can get something out of the power we have.
[It's not meant as a jab to Jay specifically, but Shirley is thinking about everything Crusand did to her and Stella. She's still more than a little bitter about that.]
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Maybe. We do have mysterious magic powers that shouldn't be possible.
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Do they want anything from people outside the city? I don't think they talked about it when I was in school.
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[He frowns, mulling the question over.]
The people did seem rather insistent that we stay in Shehui--at least, until this latest informational campaign.
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[Speaking as somebody from such a village. Shirley's never thought of it from a position of authority before but she tries to now, thinking about what she'd heard of Senel and Stella's journey outside. If things had been different back home...in another time, the Merines would guide the Ferines instead of becoming one with Nerifes right away. The thought is intimidating, something she probably wouldn't live up to if it happened for real, but at least it remains a hypothetical.]
The exception might be if there was something outside that would tempt people to leave and endanger themselves...or, I suppose, if you never wanted anybody to leave at all. It's possible there are other reasons to act that way as well.
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The only way to leave the city that we know of is to be banned . . . the government would have an interest in making people believe that whatever's outside is terrible.
. . . of course, if it really was terrible, they would just tell the truth, wouldn't they?
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[Shirley's been making an effort to stay well within the lines, so she isn't so clear on what the actual bounds are. Too bad that doesn't seem to have helped at all.]
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[That's easier to think about. Shehui isn't exactly like home, but parts of it resonate and school has helped her get an idea of what Shehui wants to be too.]
Although you can choose the way you do things, everything is for the good of the city. People from other worlds are welcome as long as they integrate well, but if they don't...it's clear that they want to do something more with the coven, but most people are banished. And once you leave you've seen the inside, so there must be strong measures for ensuring they can't ever come back.
[She pauses there to consider.]
Whatever outside isn't obviously dangerous, or else the government here would probably tell everyone so. But still, those who leave can't return. That's what seems most likely, at least.
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Everything they do--the rules they have about contributing and banishing people--is to create a harmonious society. To control the kinds of people who come in and out, and their behavior.
The question is how we fit into that.
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[Edge near the line and it might suddenly jump behind you. The government certainly has that power. So why...?]
Perhaps they want some kind of information from us, or perhaps they want to use us in some way. Or it might be that they think we're too dangerous to send to the outside, if there's something out there.