> > > > > > > > > slave boss sits and smokes slowly while sipping tea mixed > > > > > > > > > with coffee > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > he looks at you > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > moments pass during this gaze > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > you look at back him. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > an air of patient behavior rests in the room. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > while you and slave boss pensate over each others' > > > > > > > moment-to-moment > > > > > > > appearance, the various AIs and programmed alters present in the > > > > > > > area > > > > > > > study the situation, slowly working their influence on the > > > > > > > possibilities of the scene > > > > > > > > > > > > usually a forced conflict might erupt, or a stereotypical > > > > > > interaction > > > > > > pulled from popular media > > > > > > > > > > > > but this time it's different > > > > > > > > > > people are resisting forced conflicts with more skill. they've been > > > > > through a lot of them and have more experience as well as having spent > > > > > more time studying and discussing doing so. > > > > > > > > > > and the AIs and alters have learned each other's stereotypical > > > > > interactions and how they use them as tools to make further situations > > > > > and changes develop, and happen to have found balance here. > > > > > > > > [but not everything is tracked, and different groups value things > > > > differently, and nobody quite knows what is "natural" ... > > > > influence finds nooks, crannies, or large expanses that don't seem to > > > > concern the humans as much, such as nearby wildlife, embedded > > > > controllers in fixtures and appliances, or areas of the nervous system > > > > where the correct human function is still in debate ... > > > > > > slave boss and you hear in your minds the phrase "what do you want" > > > as if both of you were thinking of saying at the same time, but tried > > > to suppress it, and those influences latched on and-- > > > > there's a brief scuffle, where it takes a lot of energy not to be > > stereotypical, and you can feel yourself switching as you wrestle with > > the storm. > > by "switching" here i might mean having learned for some time to use > strong amnesia and internal changes to navigate strong forces taking > over your behavior so as to survive in daily life, and having > eventually developed enough comfort and skill with that to notice it > in a calmer situation later, when it suddenly seems needed far more > than expected. you use the word because it's what you've heard > mentioned in your experiences studying and discussing handling the > problem. > > > you start to say "sorry for --" and slave boss interrupts you and > > completes the phrase "-- upsetting your juju."
you and slave boss look calmly at each other again. he reaches to sip his tea and coffee. suddenly a flock of birds fly through the area you are sitting in. their bird noises sound strangely similar to a pattern of buzzes that briefly come from one of the lights.
