burns_so_brightly | First Stanza: [Action/Written]

[The gentleman walking out of Community Building 1 does not live there, and in fact didn’t even walk in there in the first place. He’s dressed in a suit, tie, and trench coat and is tossing a fedora between his hands. Julian Bell walks through Luceti with a smile, as if this is nothing more than an exceptionally lucky day. He’s keen to explore and peers into every shop, sometimes actually going inside. The library holds his fascination for some time, and he’s delighted to find his own published books of poetry there (even if he’d admit it’s a faintly narcissistic pleasure).

He eventually sits down at the tea shop to read, looking for all the world like this is a vacation day and not the day after his death. That part, he’ll address once this actually sinks in.

At night, he’s at Cloud Nine, enjoying a Scotch on the rocks and a cigarette and listening to the music. For a crappy oppressed town, this place is doing very well!

Eventually, he works past an unusual (for him) nervousness and writes over the journals.]

Am I allowed to take any empty flat, or is that supposed to be assigned?

-Julian Bell

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I know, I just... [he blinks.} ...wasn't thinking about it.

[That's the problem.]

Don't worry about it. [ desperately, she tries to recapture the fun. playing off the horror of being here; missing the point completely. ]

Here's not so bad. Once you get past the Shifts.

The Shifts are the...

[He shakes his head a little. It was hard to take it all in.]

Experiments. Almost monthly. The big catch to getting everything for free. I guess you might call them the real cost -- amongst other things.

Other things like...?

Like war, vital-to-your-health wings, homesickness, and the varying pains of getting to know people only to watch them get their ticket punched by chance.

[ all described rather flippantly, of course. ]

[An uncertain laugh.] I just left a war, actually. I doubt it could be worse, and...and for the rest, I don't think I can think of it right now.

...I thought you said you were a teacher, not a soldier?

...I drove an ambulance in Spain.

Like...with lights and sirens and everything?

[ army ambulances aren't really a known thing to her. ]

Not exactly. Carrying soldiers to the hospital, there wasn't very much traffic on the roads that were being bombed.

So you didn't actually...y'know.

[ she mimes a gun with one hand. points it at the sky. ]

I learned how, in case I needed to. Never did.

Good. Guns? Gross.

Worst of all when they're suspended from planes. Killing machines. What sort of mind does it take to design something to kill?

[His hand goes to his heart, rubbing subconsciously. Still no pain.]

[ the kind of mind she knows too well. ]

Well? As a heads up? We're planeless, here.

Bombless, too, I should hope.

So far? So true.

So what are the wars here like?

Eerily scheduled. Very territorial. We get drafted to go on them.

Then there's no choice in it.

[Despite the Marxist nature of the village, the Malnosso sound positively fascist.]

Choice is something we don't get much of, Jules. So grab your agency where you can. There's some wisdom from me to you.

[They reach the restaurant, and Julian will take his turn to open the door for her, mulling a bit on her wisdom.]

[ she turns on her heel -- walking backwards into the restaurant so she can still see julian as she enters. ]

You do get to pick your address, though. Have you done that yet?

No. Had other things on my mind. [He follows her in and shuts the door.]

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