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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
self_composed
[For a Star Empress, I have surprisingly little money. Alice has a couple million bucks he'd let me use. Seems odd to have you buy it outright. Want to buy some Star Empire currency, in the form of you buying it and then me giving you that many units of Star Empire currency?]
She wonders if Alice's mom wants to buy some Martian currency. [Hey, Alice, want to come with me to tell your mom about how I'm the Empress of the Stars and stuff now?]
She wonders if Alice's mom wants to buy some Martian currency. [Hey, Alice, want to come with me to tell your mom about how I'm the Empress of the Stars and stuff now?]
prima-sequentem
[Sure,] she says agreeably. [Does Star Empire currency have a name?]
edgeofyourseat
[Nah,] says Alice. He is back in his lair and has just sat down to sew for a while. [Maybe later.]
self_composed
[Not yet,] Bella says. [Stellas, asters... Starbucks!]
And to Alice: [Want me to wait to tell her - and Hilary - until you're available to come along?]
And to Alice: [Want me to wait to tell her - and Hilary - until you're available to come along?]
self_composed
[Asters. I do like that. Need a name for pennies. I guess 'pennies' or 'cents' is already currency-neutral.]
[Alrighty.]
Bella teleports to the front door of Alice's mother's house and politely rings the doorbell.
[Alrighty.]
Bella teleports to the front door of Alice's mother's house and politely rings the doorbell.
edgeofyourseat
Hilary answers it.
"Bella! Hi! Didn't know you were in town. C'mon in, there's muffins."
"Bella! Hi! Didn't know you were in town. C'mon in, there's muffins."
self_composed
"I wasn't, a minute ago!" says Bella cheerily. "What kind of muffins?"
self_composed
"Delicious. Is Judith home?" Bella inquires. "I wanna tell you both something."
edgeofyourseat
"She is, as a matter of fact! What kind of a something? You grab a muffin, I'll grab the lady of the house."
self_composed
"A very big something," says Bella. "It may be hard to believe." She sidles in - not flying, restrainedly - and collects her muffin. Nom!
edgeofyourseat
Hilary collects Judith, who gravitates immediately muffinward.
"Okay," says Hilary. "Spill."
"Okay," says Hilary. "Spill."
self_composed
"You might wanna sit down."
Bella gives them a chance to do so, but regardless, continues:
"I have terraformed Mars and declared myself the Empress of the Stars, because I have magical powers, observe," says Bella, floating a foot off the ground.
Bella gives them a chance to do so, but regardless, continues:
"I have terraformed Mars and declared myself the Empress of the Stars, because I have magical powers, observe," says Bella, floating a foot off the ground.
edgeofyourseat
Judith sits; Hilary just crosses her arms.
When Bella hovers, Judith puts her hand over her mouth and Hilary snorts.
"Nice trick. I'll believe the part about Mars when I see it."
When Bella hovers, Judith puts her hand over her mouth and Hilary snorts.
"Nice trick. I'll believe the part about Mars when I see it."
self_composed
"Okay. You could drive there, but the magic door is in the Bay Area, so I'd have to teleport you there for a visit to be at all convenient," Bella says, flipping midair. "I should warn you, the sky isn't that butterscotch color anymore, I didn't like it and I wasn't sure what it'd do to the plants. My palace on the moon might be more convincing. It still looks pretty moony."
edgeofyourseat
"Sure," says Hilary. "Show me the moon palace."
"Ah," says Judith. She doesn't seem inclined to follow up.
"Ah," says Judith. She doesn't seem inclined to follow up.
self_composed
"Back in a few minutes, Judith, please don't faint," Bella says, and since she's doing a lot of teleporting other people lately she hexes up a generalized passenger-porting power to bring Hilary up with her. She lands them on the front steps.
"Don't you faint either," she says, still floating.
"Don't you faint either," she says, still floating.
edgeofyourseat
Arms still crossed, Hilary looks up.
"...Yep," she says. "That's a moon palace, all right. So what brought this on, exactly?"
"...Yep," she says. "That's a moon palace, all right. So what brought this on, exactly?"
self_composed
"Well, it's possible someone will take exception to me having declared myself the Empress of the Stars. I originally thought, well, obviously, moon palace, because that will cut collateral damage, but then I decided it wasn't a great idea to be directly overhead, so this is still here but the city I'm going to be operating much of the empire from is on Mars."
self_composed
"I thought it sounded nice? I hope it's obvious why I'd want to be any sort of empress."