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Bella has watched a simple, managed Martian ecosystem and a glitteringly colorful first city pour procedurally out from assorted points of origin on her computer with a variety of rand seeds, and picked the prettiest result.
She's standing on that ideal origin spot now - the top of Olympus Mons, under a blue-dyed sky and a breathable layer of atmosphere - holding her laptop which holds this specification under her left arm. All present to witness this moment are Alice, Libby, Lazarus, and Bridget.
She defangs a trio of stars: one for the terrain, one for the wildlife, one for the city of Olympus. To be dramatic, she squares them off her bandolier and holds them high in the air between the fingers of her right hand.
"Welcome to Mars," she says.
Wishwishwish.
Moss ripples out from under her feet and carpets the landscape, giving way to forest further downhill and, further away, to freshwater ocean. Birds, startled by their existence, take off. An instant later they're all standing at the foot of her crystalline tower that sits at the center, watching skyscrapers riddled with magical appliances sprout from the ground, and streets pave themselves with smooth tiles.
Bella defangs more stars and lays down what she's taken to calling Ground Rules with another gesture. Mars is going to be peaceful. Mars is going to be safe. Mars is going to watch its people and report to her.
Mars is going to be the seat of the Empire of the Stars.
(There's a flag, on the spire of her tower. It's sky blue, and there are half a dozen seven-pointed stars spangling it. It ripples in the breeze that's begun to waft in from the sea.)
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self_composed
prima-sequentem
"Which seems to be pretty close," says Pat.
"Well, we're both very busy people and I don't think we have any more substantial issues to cover right this second. Do we?"
"Well, we're both very busy people and I don't think we have any more substantial issues to cover right this second. Do we?"
self_composed
"Nothing springs to mind. Want to be on the telepathy network?"
prima-sequentem
"I think that would be extremely convenient," she says, "thank you."
self_composed
[Poof,] says Bella.
"Later," she adds aloud, and teleports back to her office in Marspire.
"Later," she adds aloud, and teleports back to her office in Marspire.
prima-sequentem
Pat does not respond.
About half an hour later, Libby asks, [How do you feel about Mary the precog as your banker?]
About half an hour later, Libby asks, [How do you feel about Mary the precog as your banker?]
self_composed
[Is she disposed towards banking? I imagine being a precog would give her an advantage as an anything, banker included.]
self_composed
[Sure,] Bella says. [She okay with being on the brainphone network?]
self_composed
Bella adds her and makes a call. [Hullo, Mary, this is Bella.]
prima-sequentem
[Hi, Bella,] says Mary. [Good to meet you. Libby was going to say something about a job?]
self_composed
Bella laughs. [She thinks you would be a suitable banker.]
self_composed
[Magic Martian banker,] Bella says. [How much did Libby explain?]
prima-sequentem
[Very little. You have a magic empire, you might offer me a job, she thinks I'd like it. She's right. What does a magic Martian banker do?]
self_composed
[Fill up the immigration officer or her employee's account with asters when it runs out, so she can exchange asters for dollars. Move asters around according to where they belong. Probably other stuff. I am not precognitive or an expert on banking, it just seemed like a job I ought to delegate.]
prima-sequentem
[So a magic Martian banker runs the magic Martian bank,] says Mary. [Fun. Sure, I'll do it.]
self_composed
[Cool. Have yourself a root access to the system. I will be displeased if you pull crap with it,] Bella says.
self_composed
[Good good. I suppose you can tell without even bothering to ask -?]
prima-sequentem
[Yep,] Mary says firmly. [Don't ask how. I don't like talking about it.]
prima-sequentem
[Then next time you're going to ask me a question I hate, I'll stop you sooner,] she says. [You're going to do it a lot.]
prima-sequentem
[Don't ask me how I work,] says Mary. [If there's something about what I can or can't do that you really need to know for some reason, be going to ask me it and I'll tell you.]