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Who: Elim Garak and YOU
Broadcast: Network wide at first; to the Red Fish ship afterwards
Action: In his room
When: December 28th

[A wholly pleasant smile appears on the network. While the face it's attached to is . . . reptilian, to say the least, at least the smile is friendly. Prominent ridges outline Garak's cheekbones and where a human's eyebrows would be; his black hair is neatly combed back from his face.]

I wonder . . . while the planet below is quite charming, I find myself rather disliking the temperature. And while I can amuse myself with embroidery, I find myself wanting nothing more than a good book. Do any of you have recommendations? I'm somewhat familiar with Terran literature; a friend of mine even says I have a favorite genre: realistic fiction, if that's any help.

My sincerest gratitude to any who might help.

[A beat. He cuts off the feed and adds to the members of the Red Fish:]

Coil. Might I ask you to stop by when you've a spare moment?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Three years passed in happiness, with Aterareanhui never suspecting a thing. His people did not need to bathe the way we do, so he never took off the shirt, and the spell never broke. One day, when Nurak was out shopping, he heard tell of a new construction project coming-- one to take place in the desert, to try and build the town into a city. The only problem were the herds of khavichka'n; they had been all but wiped out, save for one.

When he heard this, Nurak paled. He was a sentimental man, and he did not want Aterareanhui to suffer. The moment he got home, he told his lover of what he'd heard. Aterareanhui's reaction was simple: "I must warn them."

Nuvak protested, of courses, for if Aterareanhui left, he would be hunted as well. "Tell me where they are, and I will warn them!" But of course, Aterareanhui had been gone for several years; he had no idea where his camp had moved.

"I must go," he said, and brushed the tears from Nuvak's eyes. "We have ways of being unseen-- I will be fine. I will go and warn them and return to you." And finally, though his heart ached and protested, Nuvak agreed.

But of course, the shirt that he had made was bound to Nuvak's desires-- and his true desire was for Aterareanhui to be safe. Aterareanhui, try though he might, could not get past the open door. But though Nuvak wanted him to stay, he also loved him, truly and deeply, beyond lust or puppy-love. So he took his scissors, and cut the shirt, freeing his lover from the spell.

Immediately, the effects were obvious. Aterareanhui stared at Nuvak in horror, fully aware for the first time in three years. "What have you done," he snarled, and left. Nuvak wept.

[Garak smiles thinly.]

The rest of the tale isn't so long, now, and I thank you for your patience. Aterareanhui and his clan were able to evade capture for a bit, but of course, we Cardassians are thorough, and soon they were found and killed. In their questioning, the police found that Nuvak had been the one to help them-- and so, in his own way, betrayed his country. He was put on trial and executed publicly, as a lesson to all. The town prospered, becoming more wealthy and a good source of income to the State.

And so everything was orderly and in its proper place. The end.

[...he sighs, still smiling.]

And so it was, I see. What a fascinating story...

[he laughs, then, finally relaxing back in his chair. now that he can afford to divide his attention again, he's got a lot to think about.]

And wonderful to listen to, thank you.

Of course. It's been quite a while since I've had a captive audience, frankly.

Well, I would not mind repeating the experience either.

May I ask--what do you think of that story?

Oh, it was wonderful. I do love cleverness in my protagonists-- so much better than brute force.

Ah, that's something we share. I'll keep it in mind for the future...

More stories from the Underground would be a good match, I think. It's actually disadvantageous to be the big guy down there, so they have a lot of clever, quick-thinking heroes to pull from.

Is it a real place, then? I wasn't certain how much was legend and how much was fact.

[he laughs!]

Actually, it was all fact. You said you liked realistic fiction, so I figured I'd meet you halfway.

Truly! It rather had the sound of myth, but I suppose that's thanks to the teller. Do said creatures have a name now, then?

You know... [he... scratches his head, a little.] After hearing so much about other people, their worlds, their cultures... I've come to think that mine is not quite as good at naming things.

Most would still call it a monster. The few who still study this sort of thing would call it a n'z'clari, from the old texts, but that mostly translates to "large, mythical thing we don't understand".

Well, so long as they're honest about it. To be fair, I believe most names originate in such a way-- most people simply refuse to admit it.

Ah, I'll agree with you there. My world might get there someday, perhaps once writing things down finally becomes habit again...

[not that he's... yeah, okay, he's bitter about that last one.]

Not a particularly literate people?

[he sighs...] They used to be much better... But then the world ended, the economy crashed, the surface tried to eat everyone, and the focus kind of shifted from advancement to, you know, figuring out how to grow anything underground.

Well, that does tend to take priority, to be certain. The, ah, surface tried to eat everyone?

The plants, the animals... Sometimes the ground would just split open and swallow up whole buildings. It was a very strange time. [understatement of the century.]

Was there any known cause? Or did it suddenly just happen?

[ah, he can't help smirking a little...]

Man reached too close to the stars, they say, intruded upon the Gods' realm. Humans became too greedy, too flawed, just like the failed Kings they'd once made an example of...

[he barely lets a spooky pause settle before he adds, flatly:]

Or so they teach us. I believe the truth is much more complicated.

And far less mystic, I suspect. Such is the price of progress: the loss of religion and myths.

So it goes, yes... I've seen plenty of both sides, in my time.

Oh? What have you seen of the mythic variety?

Ah... Collosal beasts, gods, magic, ghosts, none of which has been explained away by science, no matter how much they've tried. Ah, and then--

[he gets that excited grin on his face again.] Dragons! I've met so many. Dragons, angels, demons, all manner of things that don't even exist on my world. I met them elsewhere, in another one of these, what would you call them... collections? Another space like this one.

I've heard of the merit of dragons from several people so far. Are they truly that appealing?

[he suddenly laughs!]

No! They're a bunch of assholes.

My word, that's a rather harsh description!

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