letter to cam #17

[thisvorlunatic]

You would not believe the month I've had.

I really did mean to get back to you within a few weeks of my last message, but circumstances intervened. On the other hand, it seems to have worked out all right this way, because there's an Ash and Stars tour coming up and I'm not dead yet. How would you like to attend a concert in addition to raiding the comm nets?

Comments

[from_scratch]

Letter to Miles #15

I'd love to see them live and hear more about your month. Summon me whenever. I have a curated bunch of pleasant uplifting media, if you haven't already had your dad make the list (it is titled the moderately obvious title "Optimism Bomb").

[thisvorlunatic]

Letter to Cam #18

I'll tell Da about the list. Summons incoming tomorrow, really and truly this time, I bought tickets and everything.

[from_scratch]

Cam waits and drinks coffee.

[thisvorlunatic]

And he is summoned approximately sixteen hours after that message, by a cheerful Miles next to that lovely lake of his.

"I forgot to mention," he says, "although you might have picked up an inkling from your adventures through Barrayaran media, you will have to ditch or at least thoroughly conceal the wings and tail in order to ensure your concertgoing is not interrupted by prejudiced locals. I hope that's not too much of a problem?"

[from_scratch]

"I can hide them under a coat or I can just chop 'em off, what's the level of caution warranted here?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Probably the latter, I'm afraid. I'm familiar with the wonders of advanced tailoring, but I am unfortunately also familiar with the sort of thing that's likely to happen if advanced tailoring fails you."

[from_scratch]

"Right. They do have a blood supply and I haven't taken them off before so I don't know how well I can control the mess, where should I go?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Uh - now that I think of it the mess may be avoidable; my mother's an angel."

[from_scratch]

"Oh, sure, that makes it easy."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Right. This way."

There turns out to be a lovely house near the lovely lake. It has a neat little flying vehicle parked out front, which broadly resembles a small airplane; apart from that it looks more fifteenth century than thirtieth, at least on the outside.

[from_scratch]

"Interesting aesthetic."

[thisvorlunatic]

"How thorough have your adventures through Barrayaran media been?"

[from_scratch]

"Spotty. And despite knowing where I am, this information is competing with a century and a half of differently-contexted media. It looks like a spacecraft landed on a medieval duke's lawn or something."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Barrayar is like that. Comes of the sudden reintroduction to galactic technology just as my ancestors were reinventing gunpowder and moveable type."

Inside the house, the decor is similarly mixed. Wood paneling on the walls; thirtieth century lightbulbs in the ornate chandeliers.

"I'm going to be mildly embarrassed if Mother's gone out to another universe without telling me..."

[from_scratch]

"Isn't that an interesting sentence."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Not the way my life has been going it isn't. Ah, there she is."

He leads Cam into a cozy little sitting room where a red-haired woman in a long gown is sitting at some manner of stationary computer interface.

"Mother, this is Cam. Cam, my mother, Countess Vorkosigan."

[greatcomposure]

"Please, call me Cordelia," she invites, getting out of her chair. "It's good to meet you."

[from_scratch]

"Likewise." Do they do handshakes on this planet?

[greatcomposure]

They do! Or at least, she does.

"Miles has had only good things to say."

[from_scratch]

"That's gratifying."

[thisvorlunatic]

"We were wondering if you might help Cam temporarily detach his wings," Miles explains, "on the theory that he probably oughtn't bring them to an Ash and Stars concert."

[greatcomposure]

"Reasonable."

[from_scratch]

"Tail too." Wag wag. "Does this century have any miracle cures for neurological balance issues? The wings help and being suddenly without them is sure to be worse than never having had them."

[greatcomposure]

"I don't believe so. On the other hand, there's always magic. Miles, do you suppose we have any magical miracle cures for neurological balance issues?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"...in about ten years I bet I could get something put together with taieli, but just yet I wouldn't dare try it, I don't think. Hm."