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and conditions apply. Astride, bocular hosses,

1:24

riders through the

1:26

weird streets of an

1:28

of an underfold city. Our

1:30

riders trot through bustling,

1:33

clangorous through bustling in

1:35

avenues dark in the

1:38

eternal fold, but of

1:40

the lit by the warmly lit

1:42

by the pulsing, flickering,

1:44

gently erratic fluctuations of

1:46

fold -safe lights. lights. There

1:48

are many different kinds

1:50

of fault -safe lights, everything

1:52

from specially light bulbs,

1:55

from competing manufacturers to

1:57

natural light sources like

1:59

mushrooms and... prey jars. Clouds of

2:01

warm steam gush from street grates,

2:03

pri ethic and electric cables swing

2:05

in the air. Workers linger in

2:08

open garages and foundries. Windows glimmer

2:10

in old brick facades. Fold mercables

2:12

wind slowly through the dark fog

2:14

above the streets. There's a very

2:16

industrial feel here. The air smells

2:18

of metal, smoke, and strange exhaust

2:20

fields. The many residents and pedestrians

2:22

here in the street are very

2:24

excited to see this particular posse

2:26

come to town. Folks all around

2:28

are waving, pointing, shouting hello, shouting,

2:30

oh my goodness, it's the crew

2:33

of the ship. Crawling over each

2:35

other, trying to get high fives,

2:37

autographs. People are bringing newspapers to

2:39

have them sign banners declare welcome

2:41

crew. It's the same old launch

2:43

day hullabaloo that they had at

2:45

stationary hill and again at the

2:47

highest light and again at the

2:49

uppermost outpost. It's just something that

2:51

kind of happens every time the

2:53

ship has a little stopover in

2:55

civilization. You know, historic, incredibly important

2:58

cosmic significance and all that. Singular

3:00

one-of-a-kind magic ship exploring the limits

3:02

of the cosmos, you understand. You

3:04

know, it's that again. And it's

3:06

not like the crew is getting

3:08

tired of this, not by a

3:10

long shot. You do come to

3:12

expect it after a while. It's

3:14

normalizing for them. Cleo riding side

3:16

saddle atop her bocular horse is

3:18

beaming, waving, taking time to say

3:20

something nice and heartfelt to everyone

3:23

who approaches her. Now that we're

3:25

back in the fold, Cleo's biolumines

3:27

is fully visible once again. Pulses

3:29

of light dancing along the cotton

3:31

candy pink strands of her silky

3:33

hair twinkling in the freckles of

3:35

her green skin Her hair once

3:37

again wafts and billows with this

3:39

underwater mermaidy weightlessness Omelet is draped

3:41

around her shoulders cuddling in the

3:43

safety of Cleo's embrace many admiring

3:45

stairs. So does that. Different groups

3:48

of folks on different hosses are

3:50

slowly breaking away from the group.

3:52

Different teams doing errands. The kitchen

3:54

crew separating here to head into

3:56

a nice night market to grab

3:58

a little bit of a few

4:00

ingredients for tonight's dinner. It's always

4:02

a night market, even during the

4:04

day. They're picking up some fresh

4:06

fold catch, while the gittens good.

4:08

Drury Hambing, the terrorologist, is off

4:10

to learn more about the way

4:13

that they do fracking here on

4:15

a cute up. Mother Ariface, do

4:17

you know they use terror as

4:19

for fracking? We have to go

4:21

see this, come with me. That

4:23

does sound like a unique spectacle,

4:25

and one which I would enjoy

4:27

to perceive, lead the way, lead

4:29

the way, Hambing. Enjoy the rest

4:31

of your shore leave, everyone. We

4:33

will see you back aboard the

4:35

ship. Ruggles, Baoie, Amos, Merlin, Canikin,

4:38

and a bunch of the science

4:40

folks, the naturalists, the botanist, etc.

4:42

are all off together to a

4:44

press interview to talk about the

4:46

science of the journey and the

4:48

engineering of the ship. And after

4:50

not long at all, there's just

4:52

a trio of them. Everett and

4:54

Mickey doubled up sitting a stride

4:56

old smoker together here, sticking with

4:58

Cleo to show her around, since

5:00

it is Cleo's first ever time

5:03

to Acuta. And it's Everett and

5:05

Mickey's like a hundredth time or

5:07

something. Probably not that much, but

5:09

they've been here a lot. Acuda

5:11

is a very common stop for

5:13

them on their normal everyday stagecoach

5:15

shipping routes, under normal circumstances. It's

5:17

been a fun afternoon so far.

5:19

Nearly the whole crew have disembarked

5:21

for shore leave. Shopping, running errands,

5:23

seeing the sights, stretching their legs.

5:25

Everett and Mickey have already completed

5:28

a few errands. They've grabbed a

5:30

few components from a shipwright pal

5:32

here in town. Some necessities in

5:34

their efforts to repair the various

5:36

high altitude mica damage that the

5:38

stagecoach incurred during its daring sloop

5:40

rescue. Oof, they're still working on

5:42

that, huh? Yeah, the stagecoach is

5:44

pretty banged up. Mica is serious

5:46

business. And now they're all getting

5:48

a little bit hungry. Time to

5:50

grab some food. They're heading over

5:53

to a spot that Everett and

5:55

Mickey. familiar with. Kiki's kantina, where

5:57

Everett and Mickey are explaining now,

5:59

they actually had their first date

6:01

over a decade ago. And today,

6:03

incidentally, happens to be their anniversary.

6:05

Mickey is telling the story. I'm

6:07

originally from Sequester. Everett was running

6:09

deliveries to Sequester from Mitzt, and

6:11

I was doing deliveries to Mitzt

6:13

from Sequester. So when the Postal

6:15

Express was looking for a pilot

6:18

and a navigator to fly its

6:20

new stagecoach together, we both applied,

6:22

and the rest is history. Cleo

6:24

is listening intently. She loves hearing

6:26

stories about how couples got together.

6:28

It's like top five of her

6:30

favorite things to hear about, as

6:32

far as conversation topics go. So

6:34

ever at your from Midst then?

6:36

Born and raised. My mom and

6:38

my uncle founded Stationary Hills Post

6:40

Office. They were both some of

6:43

the island's first residents. Them, Joe.

6:45

Oh gosh. Then you must have

6:47

been on Midst when the moon.

6:49

Everett nods, riding along on Old

6:51

Smoker here beside Cleo. Yeah, I

6:53

was just a kid though. My

6:55

mom and I got out in

6:57

time. I lost my uncle Ogden

6:59

though. He stuck me and my

7:01

mom on a ship and he

7:03

went back to get some other

7:05

people to help them evacuate and

7:08

he didn't make it out. Oh,

7:10

I'm so sorry. It's okay. It

7:12

was a long time ago. Ogden

7:14

was a great guy. He loved

7:16

flying. He is actually the one

7:18

who taught me how to fly

7:20

in the first place. I owe

7:22

it to him that I'm even

7:24

part of the stagecoach that I

7:26

even know. Mickey. Mickey has a

7:28

soft smile. Piloting old smoker. Navigating,

7:30

really. Actually, Everett looks at Cleo's

7:33

some interest. You might like this.

7:35

Ogden loved flying so much that

7:37

before I was born, he got

7:39

stuck in terror that made him

7:41

fly to fly to fly permanently.

7:43

Oh, really? I actually have an

7:45

uncle who can fly too. How

7:47

fast could your uncle go? No,

7:49

he was... I shouldn't say flying.

7:51

It was more of like a

7:53

floating situation. Oh, well, that's still

7:55

very cool. Hey, look at this.

7:58

They are rolling up to Kiki's.

8:00

They dismount their hosses, tie them

8:03

up at a little hoss post,

8:05

and hop in a glass elevator,

8:07

which they begin to ride up

8:09

the side of the building. The

8:12

glass is a little dingy, smeared

8:14

with soot on the outside, but

8:16

it still offers a spectacular view

8:19

of the scenario. You've probably been

8:21

wondering where we even are. We

8:23

were withholding information in order to

8:26

increase intrigue, but now is the

8:28

time to zoom out. The

8:31

ship is docked at the

8:33

islet of Acuta in the

8:35

barony of the first fathom.

8:37

This is our one stop

8:40

in fold civilization, before we

8:42

go whole ass down into

8:44

the depths. Acuta is mountainous,

8:47

forested, rich in metallic oars,

8:49

and the whole island got

8:51

fracked in half, a long

8:53

time ago, on purpose, to

8:56

facilitate easier fracking. Its two

8:58

hemispheres are now held together

9:00

by this chaotic lattice work

9:03

of bridges, elevators, industrial scaffolds,

9:05

and cranes, cranes, and cranes,

9:07

and cargo. An unbroken, congested,

9:09

smog-filled cityscape clings to the

9:12

interior of each of the

9:14

island's internal faces, mirroring each

9:16

other, held in place by

9:19

a unique and definitely somewhat

9:21

fold-assisted gravity situation. Don't think

9:23

about it too hard. The

9:26

Vista unfolds outside of the

9:28

glass elevator, as our trio

9:30

here plus, um, let who

9:32

could forget, arrive at the

9:35

lobby of Kiki's. Kiki's

9:41

Cantina is at the top

9:43

of a tall building, offering

9:45

a nice 360-degree wrap-around vista.

9:47

Sort of this panoramic lounge

9:49

situation. The name may sound

9:51

deceptibly humble, but this is

9:54

actually kind of a fancy

9:56

restaurant. Fancy for Acuta. Not

9:58

fancy, for, say, the highest

10:00

light. It has this sort

10:02

of swanky. panorama lounge situation

10:04

going for it. Smoke billowing

10:07

by the windows outside, through

10:09

the skylights above, one can

10:11

see the other half of

10:13

the city hanging on by

10:15

a buff, encrusting the interface

10:17

of the island's opposing other

10:19

hemisphere. Cleo looks upon the

10:22

industrial cityscape above and below

10:24

into the mega frack canyons

10:26

and also beholds the ship

10:28

looming in the dock over

10:30

yonder. What a scene! The

10:32

cantina host sidles over to

10:35

greet them. Welcome to Kiki.

10:37

We're closed for a private

10:39

event today. She smiles warmly

10:41

at Cleo in particular then.

10:43

Oh, but excuse me, you

10:45

must be part of the

10:47

Gilman party. The, the what?

10:50

Oh, Cleo! A voice sings

10:52

over the din of Kiki's.

10:54

What the fun? And gliding

10:56

over to them is a,

10:58

well, a spectacular woman. Tall,

11:00

curvaceous, gorgeous, with a nearly

11:03

floor-length braid of thick honey-colored

11:05

hair, woven with gold rings.

11:07

She's wearing a skin-tight dress

11:09

of shimmering golden fabric. which

11:11

pools on the ground and

11:13

trails behind her like a

11:15

river of molten metal. A

11:18

cloud of delicious, calmly perfume

11:20

washes over the newcomers, preceding

11:22

the woman's actual arrival. Her

11:24

skin glows with a languid,

11:26

golden, bioluminescence, especially concentrated in

11:28

her paws and fingers. Cousin

11:31

Cleo, my darling! I was

11:33

crossing my fingers we'd end

11:35

up in acute at the

11:37

same time. She goes in

11:39

to give Cleo a hug,

11:41

but Cleo is quite surprised

11:43

and squirms out of it

11:46

as soon as possible to

11:48

continue the conversation. Wow! Aurelia!

11:50

Yes, oh my gosh, I

11:52

had no idea. You would

11:54

be here. Why? why? How?

11:56

What? Cleo, Cleo, this is

11:59

the engagement party. The whole

12:01

town is here. You're engaged?

12:03

Yes, to an acute and

12:05

local, a charming young man.

12:07

Oh, you love him. I

12:09

have to introduce you. He

12:11

was affected by this terror

12:14

last year. He now has

12:16

this just, idetic memory for

12:18

all forms of fiction, but

12:20

it's so beautiful, so wonderful

12:22

to see you. Who were

12:24

your charming friends? Hi. Everett

12:27

steps right up extending your

12:29

hand. Everett's cheerwater, how do

12:31

you do? A pleasure, a

12:33

pleasure, welcome. This is my

12:35

lovely wife, Mickey Flute. Hey,

12:37

how you doing? Says Mickey.

12:39

Mickey and Everett are the

12:42

pilot and navigator of the

12:44

stagecoach, the ship's, um, lifeboat.

12:46

Oh, sort of a ship

12:48

within this ship. How fun!

12:50

Right. Yeah. How is that

12:52

going for you by the

12:55

way? Oh my goodness. It's

12:57

been great so far, Everett

12:59

says. Smiling, winningly. Behind Aurelia,

13:01

the cantina is warmly and

13:03

richly decorated, and a crowd

13:05

is milling there. Festive and

13:07

tipsy, laughing and chatting. This

13:10

looks like a fun and

13:12

festive event! Whoa! Well, the

13:14

gilmoths are very magical and

13:16

wonderful. Any islet would be

13:18

honored to host them. Speaking

13:20

of magic and wonderful, Aurelia

13:23

is being very touchy-feely the

13:25

way she greets everyone with

13:27

a touch on the arm

13:29

or a hug. Her hands

13:31

are very warm. Everett shakes

13:33

her head for a sec,

13:35

feeling immediately a surge of

13:38

well-being upon contact with Aurelia.

13:40

It is not subtle at

13:42

all. Whoa, Everett says, feeling

13:44

kind of a head rush,

13:46

Mickey seems to be feeling

13:48

it too. Whoa, what's... The

13:51

touch of Aurelio's warm, warm

13:53

palm still lingering on her

13:55

shoulder. It's just my gift

13:57

from the fold. I'm so

13:59

blessed to be able to

14:01

spread joy and good. through

14:03

just a touch, I consider

14:06

it a great privilege and

14:08

one I'm more than happy

14:10

to share. Please, come join

14:12

the party. How long are

14:14

you here for? And they

14:16

all get swept in. Cleo's

14:18

association with the Gilmoths giving

14:21

them essentially a free ticket

14:23

to this elite private party.

14:25

Everett and Mickey's certainly aren't

14:27

bothered. This is, uh, way

14:29

more than they were expecting

14:31

to find the Kiki's. It's

14:34

always fun to crash a

14:36

party, and this one is

14:38

not just any party. There

14:40

are some important guests here,

14:42

one can gather, looking around.

14:44

What fun! Orelia throws her

14:46

hands wide. Oh, and you're

14:49

just in time. Please, come

14:51

in, come in. The cake

14:53

is about to come out.

14:55

An enormous cake is wheeled

14:57

into the room. Intricate sugar

14:59

work and whorls of frosting,

15:02

decorating its every tier. Crazy

15:04

spirally sparkler candles are lit.

15:06

The fold, which swirls seamlessly

15:08

through exterior and interior spaces

15:10

alike, twists and dances around

15:12

each brightly sparkling flame. It

15:14

creates these candles of both

15:17

light and swirling excited darkness.

15:19

The fold within Kiki's is

15:21

like the guests, also excited

15:23

by the cake. O'Reilly

15:27

abasily introduces them to a few

15:29

people. To a fancy and fabulous

15:31

menagerie of folks. The first being

15:34

some ranger from the United Barony's

15:36

department of the exterior. Wearing a

15:38

cute little dusky purple felt hat

15:41

with a DOTE crest on it.

15:43

Everett and Mickey have plenty of

15:46

questions for her about fold navigation.

15:48

Current conditions are fairly clear. We're

15:50

still a little early for whale

15:53

migration, but always good to keep

15:55

an eye out could be anywhere

15:57

in the depths. And who's this?

16:00

Why perhaps the most high-profile party

16:02

guest? them all. Barren, Buttercombe, D.

16:05

Pappledumir of the first fathom. He's

16:07

this beryl-chested, just chongous of a

16:09

man. With massive, ornately sculpted facial

16:12

hair, glorious mutton chops that practically

16:14

wrap around his whole head. A

16:16

pleasure to make your equated, Scliffy

16:19

yomoth. We all wish you the

16:21

best of luck and the finest

16:23

of felicitations upon this occasion of

16:26

your journey into the limits of

16:28

the cosmos. The Baron might be

16:31

a few drinks in. He's having

16:33

a great time. A server swings

16:35

through the conversation, clearly busy, but

16:38

excited to proffer a trave, brightly,

16:40

glowing, shimmering, oyster-like meats in nacrious

16:42

shells. Aurelia beckons Cleo over to

16:45

a relatively less crowded area of

16:47

the Cantina. They crowd around a

16:49

high-top table. Everett and Mickey separate

16:52

to take a seat at the

16:54

bar to give Cleo little space,

16:57

little time with her cousin. We

16:59

have to catch up. It's been

17:01

too long. Yes, so long. I

17:04

mean, I missed that you were

17:06

even engaged. Oh, did you not

17:08

receive an invitation? I've been on

17:11

a ship. That's so funny. I'm

17:13

sorry. All of these details have

17:16

just gotten so complicated. This is

17:18

only one party, obviously. This is

17:20

for the acutest side of the

17:23

family. So is there going to

17:25

be another engagement party on Gilmuth?

17:27

Oh yes, of course. But you'll

17:30

probably still be on your trip

17:32

thing, won't you? Depends when you're

17:34

having it. I might be free.

17:37

I'm not going with the rest

17:39

of the crew to the Delta,

17:42

remember? I'm getting off at Brocheroo

17:44

right after we return from the

17:46

depths. Orelia looks thrilled. She leans

17:49

in across the table beaming at

17:51

Cleo. How is my little bitty,

17:53

little cousin, Phoe-phie? Orelia! I've got

17:56

my co-workers around. Things are good.

17:58

Things are really good. It's been

18:00

amazing. I can't even describe. things

18:03

that I've experienced. And in some

18:05

cases, definitely won't describe. I'm so

18:08

glad that you're able to go

18:10

out and do something. You know,

18:12

I think it's so cute and

18:15

so admirable that you have this

18:17

little job to do. Are you

18:19

having fun, at least? So much

18:22

fun. Are you making friends? Tons

18:24

of friends. Does anyone know? Shoh,

18:27

really? No, no one knows.

18:29

Please be quiet. Cleo's eyes dark to

18:31

Everett and Mickey at the bar. No,

18:33

it's fine. They're busy. They're ordering up

18:36

some acute abruse over there. They're not

18:38

listening. Honestly, it's probably so good for

18:40

you to be around people that are,

18:43

you know, more like you. You know

18:45

I'm an empath. I always worried about

18:47

you, cooped up back at home, you

18:50

know, with nothing to do, the rest

18:52

of us just so busy all the

18:54

time. Oh, you're so sweet. You were

18:57

just always looking at your picture books,

18:59

reading fairy tales about the un. A

19:01

fold mercable cruises by outside the flickering

19:03

beams of its fold-safe headlamps passing through

19:06

the dining room. Everett does pop by

19:08

now just for a moment. She's got

19:10

a plate of appertivos in one hand,

19:13

a drink in the other. Hello, just

19:15

dropping these off for you. They're about

19:17

to, well, some of the last ones,

19:20

wouldn't want you to miss these. You're

19:22

so thoughtful, Everett. Cleo says, reaching forward,

19:24

an omelet makes a dive for one

19:27

of the morsels before he can be

19:29

stopped, immediately devouring it. Oh, and here's

19:31

little egg yolk. Omelette, Aurelia. Everett laughs.

19:33

Did you know, Everett? Uh, Phi Phi

19:36

only used to be able to fall

19:38

asleep when she had a stuffed animal.

19:40

Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you

19:43

get to keep your little stuffy so

19:45

close to you on your big scary

19:47

ride. Oh, it's fine. I understand the

19:50

feeling I have a stuffy I sleep

19:52

with every night too. She's sitting at

19:54

the bar over there. Speaking of which,

19:57

Everett sidles away. were going to have

19:59

an engagement party somewhere the ship would

20:01

be passing through. I could have brought

20:03

you a present. I would have put

20:06

on a better dress. This part came

20:08

up so last minute. You know how

20:10

these things go. I wasn't trying to

20:13

upstage you or anything. It was just...

20:15

That's not what I was trying to

20:17

imply, Erelia. I just, you know, I

20:20

just want to be able to support

20:22

you. Of course, and I'm so delighted

20:24

by the coincidence that we could both

20:27

be here at the same time. No

20:29

one is more delighted than me. Yes,

20:31

yes, it's so, so, so, so great.

20:33

It's so great. This is so great.

20:36

Oh goodness. The baron's wife is waving

20:38

to me. I might have to go

20:40

keep mingling, but you... Of course, of

20:43

course you go. This is your party.

20:45

You have fun. Make sure your friends

20:47

have fun. It's truly... I will. So,

20:50

so good that you could stop by,

20:52

Vivi. Amazing to see family in the

20:54

middle of this voyage. I thought I

20:57

wouldn't be seeing all of you for

20:59

so much longer. with a little hug,

21:01

a little kiss on each cheek and

21:03

a flip of her bioluminescent hair, Aurelia

21:06

turns and slinks, glamorously back into the

21:08

crowd. Everett and Mickey are having a

21:10

great time. They have discovered Aurelia's spouse

21:13

to be. The one with the apparently

21:15

incredible idetic memory for fiction. Everett is

21:17

hyped. You can use your incredible new

21:20

memory to just memorize Olive on smoke.

21:22

I wish I wish I could. The

21:24

man is a little flustered. I'm not

21:27

actually that into fiction. I just... Ah,

22:15

and here we have travellers in their natural habitat

22:17

enjoying guaranteed 4pm checkout at fine hotels and

22:19

resorts booked through Amex Travel. And they don't

22:21

even see what's coming at them. We're

22:24

in! We got the table! Yep, with

22:26

Resi Priority Notify, they're alerted when hard-to-get

22:28

reservations open up. Reservation for

22:31

two? Mmm, save the best

22:33

for last. Thanks to Amex Platinum, the

22:35

last day vacation brings yet another experience.

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That's the powerful backing of American

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Express. Terms apply. Learn more

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at americanexpress.com slash with Amex. Dark

23:16

fog swirls outside the supernatural

23:18

substance of the ship's dark

23:21

mica walls. As Cleo comes

23:23

back aboard, doring into a

23:25

two-stage airlock. A new thing

23:28

they've been implementing since submerging

23:30

into the fold. The ship

23:33

is in the fold, but

23:35

the fold is not in

23:37

the ship. This is very

23:40

unusual. No other ships in

23:42

history have had this fold-tight

23:44

construction, because no other ships

23:47

in history have been made

23:49

of dark mica. As we've

23:52

seen in Kiki's Cantina, when

23:54

you are in the fold,

23:56

whether you are indoors, outdoors,

23:59

or inside of a fold

24:01

mercable, the fold is there

24:03

with you as well. not

24:06

like water, you can't just

24:08

close a hatch and keep

24:11

it out. Not counting specially

24:13

thickened fold isolate and certain

24:15

types of terrors, the fold

24:18

at large can pass effortlessly

24:20

between the very molecules of

24:22

most solid materials to infiltrate

24:25

any and every enclosure, every

24:27

enclosure, that is, except a

24:30

certain dark mica ship making

24:32

its way to the limits

24:34

of the cosmos. Dark mica

24:37

is built different. We're not

24:39

in the un anymore. And

24:41

that bright harsh light we've

24:44

been getting used to outside

24:46

the windows of the ship

24:49

is extremely gone. Acuda's industrial

24:51

twilight cityscape glimmers outside and

24:53

shrouded in swirling inky fog

24:56

and oily smog alike. Cleo

24:58

leaves that smog to enter

25:00

the hushed nighttime mood that

25:03

pervades the atrium. Fold-safe lights

25:05

glow dimly in light fixtures,

25:08

and the fold-light, not currently

25:10

needed to propel or control

25:12

the ship, has itself been

25:15

elevated backup from control to

25:17

once again occupy the middle

25:19

of the atrium's central conversation

25:22

pit. The atrium is silent,

25:24

empty. All other crew, either

25:27

below decks doing technical things

25:29

to prepare for the continuation

25:31

of the journey, or ashore,

25:34

enjoying the city's attractions. Cleo

25:36

has no further reason to

25:38

do either of those things.

25:41

And she wanders morosely over

25:43

to the fold-light, and slumps

25:46

into the curve of the

25:48

recessed conversation-pit couch. The fold-like

25:50

glows and thrums quietly, radiating

25:53

a soft fireplace-like warmth. The

25:55

black, ferro-fluid-like fold amalgam lava

25:57

lamps languidly within. Now

26:03

what, Omelette? Cleo asks,

26:06

stroking her little guy's yellow

26:09

fur fur as

26:11

she notices she's

26:13

not actually alone. A

26:20

black -caped, almost invisible

26:22

shadow sits in solitary

26:24

contemplation before the fold

26:26

the other side of

26:29

the conversation pit. Their

26:31

eyes Their eyes closed. They are not They

26:33

are not wearing their hat.

26:36

not They are not wearing

26:38

their gloves, either, and their

26:40

hands are folded meditatively on

26:42

their lap. lap. are breathing slowly,

26:44

methodically. Perhaps

26:47

meditating. Cleo up.

26:49

up. Oh, whoops, I'm so sorry.

26:52

I'll leave you to it.

26:54

you to it. all right, all right.

26:56

you are welcome to stay. to

26:58

stay. eyes remain closed. Cleo

27:01

hesitates, but then but then

27:03

she gets up

27:05

and tentatively circles the

27:08

pit to stand

27:10

beside the beside the Could

27:12

I Could I... sit

27:14

with you? you? Yes.

27:18

Clio sits beside the

27:20

granddaughter. The The

27:22

granddaughter does not open their

27:24

eyes. Cleo looks down into her

27:26

lap. lap. slithers himself off

27:28

of her shoulders to pool

27:31

there, looking up at her

27:33

with his looking eyes. with his liquid black

27:35

eyes. Hey, I I think I

27:37

need to apologize to you. I

27:41

just decided to call

27:43

you Dot dot because I I don't

27:45

I don't know, I thought

27:47

it would like we it

27:50

feel like we were friends

27:52

or something. Friends call

27:54

each other nicknames, you know?

27:56

you know But I never asked never

27:58

asked your permission I said that the

28:00

I said that the

28:03

granddaughter was too inconvenient to

28:05

say and that was

28:07

just. just really shitty and disrespectful and just not

28:09

okay for me to do. I guess that leaving

28:11

your name behind must be a really important part

28:13

of the whole mother's thing and I've just been

28:15

ignoring that because it made me feel like I

28:18

was making friends. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. The

28:22

granddaughter slowly half opens

28:24

their eyes. The fold-light

28:27

pulses glows in the

28:29

dark of the atrium

28:32

like Christmas lights, glimmering,

28:34

reflecting in their letted

28:37

gaze. I

28:45

have spent most of

28:48

my life learning to

28:50

separate myself from thought

28:53

and from feeling, and

28:55

you need not worry.

28:57

Unhappiness is something that

29:00

I no longer experience.

29:04

They look at Cleo, who

29:06

betrays no apparent recollection of

29:08

any recent events that might

29:10

disprove this statement. You have

29:12

my permission to call me

29:14

Dot? Really? Cleo looks relieved

29:16

and grateful and bashful all

29:18

at once. Do you mean

29:20

that? I have to admit

29:22

it would be really hard

29:25

to break the habit now,

29:27

and it's even starting to

29:29

catch on with the other

29:31

members of the crew. I'm

29:33

still... I'm still sorry for

29:35

the way I pushed it

29:37

on to you, but if

29:39

it's really okay, I would

29:41

love to keep calling you

29:43

Dot. I think it's really

29:46

cute. Omelette has

29:48

been sniffing at the

29:50

hem of Dot's sleeve,

29:52

and around this time

29:54

decides to snake curiously

29:56

over into their cloaked

29:58

lap. He coils up

30:00

into a tight a

30:02

cinnamon roll sort of

30:04

shape and starts purring.

30:06

With her lap now

30:08

empty, Cleo hugs her

30:10

knees up to her

30:12

chest and stares into

30:14

the gleaming depths of

30:16

the fold light for

30:18

a minute. I had

30:20

a really bad day.

30:22

I kind of would

30:24

like to talk to

30:26

somebody about it. I

30:29

feel like I

30:31

can talk to

30:33

you. Can I

30:35

talk to you?

30:37

The granddaughter is

30:39

looking at the

30:42

fold light, not

30:44

at Cleo. Yes.

30:46

Thanks. So, as

30:48

everybody knows, everyone

30:50

in my family

30:52

can do. Incredible

30:55

things. Cousin Aurelia makes people

30:57

happy by touching them. My

30:59

sister Anemone can watch other

31:01

people's dreams and even change

31:04

them if she wants to.

31:06

My sister Daphne can always

31:08

tell if someone is lying.

31:10

Aunt Grazette can tame any

31:12

wild animal just by looking

31:14

at it. Aunt Nixie and

31:16

Aunt Trixie can shape-shift. Uncle

31:18

Bloming can fly. Only in

31:21

the fold, but still. The

31:25

granddaughter is listening. And

31:27

this isn't just luck.

31:30

For however many generations, my

31:32

family has had kind of

31:34

this tradition of collecting people,

31:36

curating a menagerie of talents.

31:38

If they hear about anyone

31:40

in the fold who was

31:42

born with an interesting ability

31:44

or someone who stumbled into

31:46

a terror and ended up

31:48

with fairy wings, they court

31:50

them. They find a way

31:53

to bring them into the

31:55

family. And this has been

31:57

going on long enough that

31:59

nowadays every new child

32:01

of the Gilmuth lineage

32:03

is blessed with fantastic

32:06

fold gifts from the

32:08

moment they're born. All

32:10

of them. Except me.

32:12

I'm a dud. What

32:14

about your lights? They

32:16

ask. Obviously referring to

32:18

Cleo's glowing spots and

32:21

the aurora of bioluminescence

32:23

flowing through her hair.

32:25

Oh, those don't do

32:27

anything. They're just vestigual

32:29

nonsense. They don't cause

32:31

terrors, which I guess

32:33

I am grateful for.

32:35

But other than that,

32:38

they're just window dressing,

32:40

really. Most people in

32:42

my family are bioluminescent.

32:44

It's barely even considered

32:46

interesting anymore. The

32:48

granddaughter continues to slowly pet

32:51

Omelet. I've been lying to

32:53

everybody. Everyone on this ship

32:56

must think I'm here because

32:58

I'm the best of my

33:01

family. But I'm not. I'm

33:03

not even the second best,

33:05

or third best. I'm the

33:08

one they could spare. No

33:11

one else even wanted to come.

33:13

They don't care about some ship.

33:16

When they can breed their own

33:18

miracles right at home. They just

33:20

wanted the Gilmuth name attached to

33:22

it, since all the other big

33:25

players were tripping over themselves to

33:27

get involved. If my grandiolodia was

33:29

still alive, she might have cared,

33:32

but she's been gone for a

33:34

while. I miss her so much.

33:37

The fold-like pulses and

33:40

glows, the fold swirls

33:42

within. Ever since I

33:45

set foot on the

33:47

ship, I felt kind

33:50

of how Granny used

33:52

to make me feel,

33:55

just so admired and

33:57

respected and just special.

34:00

Just the way I am.

34:02

And I guess I like

34:05

feeling that way. And it

34:07

sucks being reminded that people

34:09

are only impressed by me

34:12

because they don't really know

34:14

me. Where someone else might

34:16

ask a follow-up question, the

34:18

granddaughter just listens. Cleo looks

34:21

to dot. I can't believe

34:23

I just said all that.

34:25

Can you please not tell

34:28

anyone? I really don't want

34:30

anyone else to know. I'm

34:32

afraid they wouldn't like me

34:34

anymore. I'm afraid everyone would

34:37

be really disappointed in me.

34:39

Do you ever feel like

34:41

that? Like if

34:44

you let people

34:46

find out who

34:48

you truly are,

34:50

it would just

34:52

ruin everything. The

34:55

granddaughter has continued

34:57

to stare into

34:59

the fold light

35:01

this whole time.

35:03

But now, their

35:06

gaze tracks slowly

35:08

to Cleo. I

35:10

contact. And

35:14

then Cleo clutches her face in

35:16

embarrassment. Oh, what am I saying?

35:18

You're amazing. You're the coolest person

35:20

ever. You're going to be a

35:22

mother someday soon. I'm sorry, I'm

35:25

such a mess and I'm dumping

35:27

all this on you out of

35:29

nowhere. I hope you still like

35:31

me. If you liked me to

35:33

start with, that is. The fold-light

35:35

flickers on her face, like strange

35:37

candle-light, casting long flickering shadows over

35:40

the polished atrium floor. The granddaughter

35:42

takes a slow, deep breath. As

35:44

granddaughter, I have been trained not

35:46

to... The fold-light clanks and begins

35:48

to elevate her down into the

35:50

floor, retracting down to the floor.

35:52

deck to commence

35:54

the ship's pre

35:57

-departure warm -up sequence.

35:59

There's a flurry

36:01

of laughter of

36:03

chatter a big

36:05

group of crew,

36:07

including Sean door into

36:09

the the from the from the bow deck,

36:12

returning from their shore shore leave. Cleo and

36:14

and jump a a little bit,

36:16

startled and embarrassed for no discernible

36:18

reason. Hamlet goes galloping across the

36:20

room, room, up the atrium stairs

36:23

to the dining balcony above,

36:25

hooting with unknowable passions. The granddaughter

36:27

stands, pulling on their gloves. I

36:30

won't tell anyone on the crew

36:32

what you told me, Dot, You needn't

36:34

worry, everyone on

36:36

this ship thinks are you

36:39

are very good

36:41

and admirable. glide away

36:43

they glide away

36:45

to the elevator.

36:47

But Dot, Cleo murmurs Cleo

36:50

murmurs quietly once they

36:52

are out of of earshot, I

36:54

want to know know what you

36:56

think. Thanks

37:03

for listening to On End. If

37:05

you're enjoying the story, please rate

37:07

and review to help someone new

37:09

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