![\"MAROONED](\"http:\/\/www.dresan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/MAROONED-2013-11-04.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
MAROONED is still progressing. Taking a break now, but I’m keeping above the curve so far.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSeren, this is serious,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a spacecraft to rebuild. If we can get this housing running again with a standard cabling software, we have to do it, whether his software is inclined or not. We can\u2019t afford to romanticize your little pet\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is not a pet,\u201d Serendipity said. \u201cHe may be my \u2018familiar,\u2019 but he\u2019s a full person, with a full person\u2019s rights and responsibilities. This housing isn\u2019t just a piece of equipment we can do what we want with. It\u2019s his body, and we need his permission\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we need the parts\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Leonid needed some biomass to keep the oxygen farm running, would you be happy if he just threw you into the cycler?\u201d Serendipity asked. \u201cNo? Wouldn\u2019t that go double if you were in a coma, expected to recover, and they just decided to cycle you anyway, just because?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dijo stared at her with those odd contact lenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me see him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again she felt reluctant, but Serendipity realized that if she really wanted to be part of this crew, she had to recognize Dijo as her superior. Slowly Serendipity stepped back, reached in her satchel, and carefully brought out Tianyu\u2019s still form.<\/p>\n
Filled with mercury batteries, built on a thact frame, the minifox felt unusually heavy in her hands\u2014dead weight, she thought, and cursed herself\u2014and oddly small and sad. Without the millions of tiny motors fluffing his fur, he looked flat and drab, doubly so because of the soot.<\/p>\n
Serendipity laid Tianyu down on the worktable between her and Dijo. \u201cThis is my best friend,\u201d Serendipity said. \u201cI mean that. More than my cohort, more than my PC\u2019s, in some ways, more than even my parents. He\u2019s always been there for me, when by right he could have chosen to go elsewhere. You will not treat him like a collection of parts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d Dijo said, leaning down, \u201che\u2019s an impressive collection of parts\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Serendipity reached down, putting her fingers under Dijo\u2019s chin and lifting her back up. It was an easy move, an aikido move despite the initiation of force, and despite resistance she easily straightened Dijo back to standing. Dijo stepped back, a bit shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a ship to fix, I owe you help fixing it, and I\u2019ll serve under you if that\u2019s what you think I should do,\u201d Serendipity said. \u201cBut this world is mine. It\u2019s my responsibility to protect all the people within half a light year, even the ones you can\u2019t easily see as people yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dijo raised her hands, licked her lips. She was scared.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don\u2019t hurt me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Onward into the deep!<\/p>\n
-the Centaur<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MAROONED is still progressing. Taking a break now, but I’m keeping above the curve so far. \u201cSeren, this is serious,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a spacecraft to rebuild. If we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[204,197,200,1],"tags":[4,91,87],"class_list":["post-2439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-challenges","category-fiction","category-science-fiction","category-uncategorized","tag-dragon-writers","tag-nanowrimo","tag-the-dresanians","ratio-2-1","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2439"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3687,"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2439\/revisions\/3687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dresan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}