landscape

[isthisart]

Linya avoids haring off to do things much while Miles's arms are unusable. Once he can feed himself comfortably enough to prefer to do so, though, she makes plans with Ekaterin to go with her and little Nikki on a hike in some nice woods of mixed-origin fauna. She packs a picnic and takes the lightflyer and flies out to pick up the relevant subset of Vorsoissons.

Comments

[greatcomposure]

"Perhaps, yes. That's a tricky one."

[isthisart]

"It is. But Mark does not seem to have made any relatively short-term decision to show up, let alone ask for pictures of his nonscoopable hypothetical self, so perhaps the decision can be abdicated indefinitely."

[greatcomposure]

"That would be lucky."

[isthisart]

"Yes. ...But since simulation pictures of Aral Adri already exist, and I have already looked at them, do you want to see?"

[greatcomposure]

"Sure."

[isthisart]

Linya requires no further prompting to produce a series of pictures of Aral Adri at ages six months, two years, five years, nine years, fifteen years, and twenty-one years.

He has Miles's eyes. (Cordelia's mouth and Linya's face shape and Aral's eyebrows.)

[greatcomposure]

"How much of this is design work? I know you mentioned giving him Miles's eyes... they're very lovely on him."

[isthisart]

"Not much. I've made no strictly cosmetic changes besides the eyes, but some things have cosmetic effects incidentally. Good teeth, good skin, good posture," says Linya. "A completely unedited version would still be recognizable."

[greatcomposure]

"Well, he's going to be adorable."

[isthisart]

"I know. I am insufferably proud of myself." Linya puts her pen back on her necklace. "Unrelatedly, is there anything in particular planned for dinner tonight, such that I should not go get a large snack right now?"

[greatcomposure]

"Oh—thank you for reminding me, I'd forgotten to mention it. Simon's coming over."

[isthisart]

"Is he? Any particular occasion?"

[greatcomposure]

"My whim. I'm mildly surprised that he said yes."

[isthisart]

"I will be gentle with the snack cupboard, anyway, since there's company."

Linya goes off to gently raid the snack cupboard.

And of course turns up for dinner.

"Hello, everyone," she says to assembled spouse and mother-in-law and spy. She takes her seat beside the former.

[thisvorlunatic]

He grins at her.

[as_i_remember]

"Hello, Linyabel. I've been thinking of getting a pen," says Simon.

[isthisart]

"I think you know my feelings on the matter of pens. Do you have unprecedented design requirements that will require months of optics fiddling?"

[as_i_remember]

"'Everyone ought to have a pen. Pens are lovely.' No, if I have any suggestions that require months of fiddling, they will be cryptographic in nature."

[isthisart]

"I will be happy to field security update suggestions."

[as_i_remember]

"That's convenient."

[isthisart]

"Besides contemplating your possible electronics acquisitions, what have you been up to?"

[as_i_remember]

"Not very much both interesting and suitable for dinner conversation. Not very much interesting at all, actually, which is always nice when you have my job." Then he smiles slightly. "I do happen to have an amusing anecdote about Mark, though."

[isthisart]

"Oh? What's he up to?"

[as_i_remember]

"It seems he has decided to express his displeasure at being surveilled by making the lives of my agents slightly surreal, rather than any more traditional kind of unpleasant. According to the latest report, the agent returned to his hotel room one evening to find that someone had lined up about five thousand dried beans in neat little rows on top of his freshly made bed."

[thisvorlunatic]

...

Miles cracks up.