"Sounds to me like he's saying he won't know until he actually wins," Stone says, sounding grouchy. "That's not very helpful for those of us stuck in this flawed game of yours, but it's a start, I guess." He pauses, and looks fully at ROSE now. "What about you? What are you here trying to get out of this? IF you're like him, you're trying to win, too, and you probably have your own goals."
"Listen, Chuckles," she says. "You seem like you'd be lots of fun at parties, and I like talking about what's going to happen when I come in first, but this is not the appropriate venue for telling you what I'll do when I beat the pants off my brother here. My role is strictly intermediary."
Stone snorts, himself. "I hate parties. Even when I was young and pretty, I hated parties." He glances back at SAGE, and says, "I just want to know if others of you idea-people see these shortcomings, too, and want to do something about them, or if we're alone with SAGE here on our side. If he even is. Since you're here, you're the one probably most likely to agree with him."
"Sorry, Charlie," she says, not sounding particularly sorry. "I'm here because I talk as much as he doesn't. I'm his ally. So are others. We have things in common. But 'an agenda' isn't one of them, unless you define it pretty broadly."
So much for that tactic. Apparently she doesn't share any of SAGE's misgivings about this whole game thing-- at least it's better to know than to not know. Looks back at SAGE, Stone asks, "Did you not tell her my name, or does she do this to everybody?"
Apparently antagonizing him means she likes him. Stone can't help a bit of a grin. "Not so different from a Raksura, after all." He shakes his head. Back to business. "All right, so I try to make people stop and think, and you try to fix this game of yours. What happens to the rest of us, once it's over?"
"That will depend on the victor," ROSE says with a solemnity entirely due to fidelity of translation. "ROSE, Sol, myself - and some others - will be considerate or generous in our treatment of Travelers. Others - will reward you according to their particular idiom."
That's three who he'd lean towards to win, then. ... still, he has to ask: "What does considerate and generous mean, to you people? Does that mean getting sent back home, or something else?"
"It means when you all talk about what you want, we listen," ROSE says, tartly enough it can be assumed she's speaking on her own behalf. "We take your words into account, and not just our preconceptions about you."
"No need to get snappy. I've never been kidnapped by idea people before, and your friend there just said all questions are worth asking," Stone reminds her, keeping his expression and voice bland. "But thanks. That helps me understand. Anything else you two think I should know?" Because he's out of questions that he thinks will get answered, right now.
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"Listen, Chuckles," she says. "You seem like you'd be lots of fun at parties, and I like talking about what's going to happen when I come in first, but this is not the appropriate venue for telling you what I'll do when I beat the pants off my brother here. My role is strictly intermediary."
The wolf huffs, a sound of obvious amusement.
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