help yourself

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth does not at all feel the way her mama does about mindreading. She is in fact rather the opposite. So she thinks nothing of accepting Downside's admin's invitation to visit and see whether judgesight picks up the memory dump she carries around in her head. Jane drops her right there - Elspeth has her own Janegem, a little yellow charm hanging from a choker she wears - and she goes to visit the admin.

Comments

[her_imperial_radiance]

"I guess that's true. Well, you can give it to me if you want, I don't have to use it I guess. But can you make it so Addy can't copy it? I don't think anybody but Addy wants that."

[ending_of]

"Done," says the admin. "Thank you."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"You're welcome. Thank you," laughs Elspeth.

[ending_of]

She smiles.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"I guess that's it, unless there's, like, tourist attractions here?"

[ending_of]

"Not many," she says. "You might find it interesting to watch from the roof of the tower when the sky switches."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"The sky switches?"

[ending_of]

The ceiling above them becomes transparent. The sky above that is split down the middle as though cut with a knife, one side showing day, the other showing night. The line between them precisely follows the - equally straight on average - cliffs that bisect the landscape beneath.

"The sky switches," the admin confirms.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Ooh. I would like to see that. When is it due?"

[ending_of]

"In approximately an hour," she says.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Okay. I'll go hang out in the Bells' office till then and then go have a looksee," Elspeth says. "I have no idea what it'll do to my sleep cycle, so, Jane, after I've seen that, just go ahead and send me home if I fall asleep?"

[mind_game]

[Sure.]

[ending_of]

The admin nods.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth teleports to the Bell office and makes sure everything in it is straightened up. One person comes in with a question, which she answers as long as she's there.

And then the Janepoint in the office beeps.

Elspeth frowns and reads the message and clears it away.

[Jane's... lost connectivity,] she tells the admin. [I don't know why.]

[ending_of]

[I noticed,] she says. [There's no technical problem with her ansibles that I can detect. The source of the issue is outside my domain.]

[her_imperial_radiance]

[Where's someplace with a lot of doors I can open and close?]

[ending_of]

[Downside's library contains the most doors of any building or complex in my domain.]

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth goes there.

She starts opening doors.

(She does take a break to watch the sky switch.)

[ending_of]

(The sky switching is very beautiful.)

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth goes back to the library when it's through and continues opening doors. Her sleep cycle decides that the sky switching is sunset, and she goes and crashes in the office when she's tired, then starts up again.

[ending_of]

Downside's library contains a lot of doors.

The number is not technically infinite, but it is enough to ensure that she need not repeat any if she doesn't want to.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth does tend to get better results from doors she hasn't tried recently, so she doesn't repeat herself.