The Lost Goats, 47
Aug. 2nd, 2012 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
avevale_intelligencer"Well," said Jonquil Hedaya, "that saves me getting the interns to draw lots."
"How did he get hold of one here?" Zander wondered aloud. "If they're turning up on Affiliated worlds as well--"
"Then it's worse than we expected," Soren said. "Wait on while I finish metabolising this lot. Whew. That was a rush. Yes, there's a Poppo stall in the market here, or there was. I don't expect them to be here long. Just long enough to get enough of the locals hooked. At that I think they'll have a job, given what floats around this place normally, but we have to assume they're trying other Affiliated planets. Snood's got a huge organisation at his beck and call, that he just stepped into ready made. I don't know how we're going to stop it, Zan, I just don't."
"Snood is the key." Zander snapped on a latex glove and twitched the ticket out of Soren's hand; Soren made a half-hearted grab for it, and then lapsed into gloom. "He's spreading an artificially created analogue of his own mindset, wild and unrealistic hope punctuating depression and resentment. I can't understand how anyone could be so frodding vindictive." He handed the ticket to a similarly gloved Dik Patterson, who promptly transferred it to a pair of tongs and bore it away in triumph. "This could bring the whole galaxy down," Zander continued. "I thought it might just be the UnAffiliated, but he really does want to destroy the lot."
"Too much of nothing," Soren observed morosely, "can make a man feel ill at ease."
"Brooding never solved anything," Probity said briskly. "Come on, you two. It's a Nyrond mess, and Nyronds have got to solve it."
"You're right," Zander said, rousing himself with an effort. "Ridding-Goat is where he's based still, yes? And in the meantime, if you or your colleagues could work on synthesising a counter-agent for whatever muck is on those tickets, that would be a good idea. Come on, Soren, and no you can't have another ticket."
"How did he get hold of one here?" Zander wondered aloud. "If they're turning up on Affiliated worlds as well--"
"Then it's worse than we expected," Soren said. "Wait on while I finish metabolising this lot. Whew. That was a rush. Yes, there's a Poppo stall in the market here, or there was. I don't expect them to be here long. Just long enough to get enough of the locals hooked. At that I think they'll have a job, given what floats around this place normally, but we have to assume they're trying other Affiliated planets. Snood's got a huge organisation at his beck and call, that he just stepped into ready made. I don't know how we're going to stop it, Zan, I just don't."
"Snood is the key." Zander snapped on a latex glove and twitched the ticket out of Soren's hand; Soren made a half-hearted grab for it, and then lapsed into gloom. "He's spreading an artificially created analogue of his own mindset, wild and unrealistic hope punctuating depression and resentment. I can't understand how anyone could be so frodding vindictive." He handed the ticket to a similarly gloved Dik Patterson, who promptly transferred it to a pair of tongs and bore it away in triumph. "This could bring the whole galaxy down," Zander continued. "I thought it might just be the UnAffiliated, but he really does want to destroy the lot."
"Too much of nothing," Soren observed morosely, "can make a man feel ill at ease."
"Brooding never solved anything," Probity said briskly. "Come on, you two. It's a Nyrond mess, and Nyronds have got to solve it."
"You're right," Zander said, rousing himself with an effort. "Ridding-Goat is where he's based still, yes? And in the meantime, if you or your colleagues could work on synthesising a counter-agent for whatever muck is on those tickets, that would be a good idea. Come on, Soren, and no you can't have another ticket."
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-08-02 10:37 am (UTC)The want of another ticket took over, and Soren satrted to amble off, towards where he had bought the last one. The fact that he had no money to buy another didn't matter -- in his compromised consciousness, a means would be found.
Zander noticed Soren's diversion (the length of string he'd thoghtfully fastened to Soren's buttonhole gave him, the clue that it was happening), and he getnly steered his youunger sib back onto the straight and narrow -- in this case, heading straight for the smallship and the narrow compass of what passed for an emergency med-kit.
"Zander calling homeship -- priority one -- I need Cesar."
"Cesar here, Zan -- what's the crisis ? Priority one is a bit steep -- "
"Soren's been drugged and his metabolism isn't rejecting it. I've got him isolated but I need the code for a full systems reboot, and I need you to oversee the process. Stand by to take remote control of the med-system."
"Something we can't systhesise and excorporate ?! That is serious, Zander. But I'm not sure what I cna do at this remove."
"Give me the codes to reboot Soren -- "
At that moment, that worthy opened his eyes.
"Why am I tied up, my captain ? And why do I feel woozy ?"
"It's deadly," Imbiss and Probity were unanimous in their verdict. "It's in the ink and it binds to blood cells -- but the white, not the red -- and it provides an hypnotic effect simulating psychological addiction. Touch one of the tickets, and you're bound to go back for more and more of them -- you beleive you'll die if you don't."
"Any way of blocking it ?" Galen aseked, feeling that he knew the answer already.
"Actually, yes," Jonquil said; "I have synthesised a counter-agent which strips the hyponotic from the blood cells and renders it harmless. But it only works on pure-blood humans -- Snood, if he is the one responsible, seems to have it in for anyone whose forebears were ... liberal ... in their attitudes on who they'd let their daughters marry."
An's wings hummed in irritation.
"If I find him, I may just be tempted -- "
"Calm down," Probity saiod, and tocuhed her hand to An's. "There are more people than us who will want a piece of Pervilious Snood."
Galen Nyrond drew himself up: "I think I need to draft a new chapter of my book," he said. "One that addresses the Accords -- There shall be no more slaves and No power shall outweigh freedom."
no subject
Date: 2012-08-02 12:43 pm (UTC)