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Dans-Prosemaxx-Cowriter-XL

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[ { "from": "system", "value": "hey can u write 6 sentences more sentences? like Patricia A. McKillip but Fantasy style. btw this is from middle of a story" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The death of Halil Gamelyn, following so closely the death of the Prince of Ombria, had a stupefying effect on the court. It seemed a portent of things to come, that the powerful minister and councillor of the buried prince had so suddenly breathed his last among the potted palms. Very little was said about the matter. He had felt his heart fail, it was expediently decided, and had stumbled into the conservatory looking for help. Why his lips and tongue had turned black, no one ventured to guess. But conjecture cast an eerie, frightened silence throughout the palace." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a day or two afterward, Ducon moved through his life with the expectation that it might unexpectedly and ruthlessly come to an end at the next moment. The Black Pearl had heard a whisper of conspiracy within the palm trees; she must have known Ducon had been among them. He refused to leave the palace for the streets, where he might have been paradoxically safer. Her malevolent eye would turn to Kyel next, if she thought Ducon had betrayed her and fled.\n\nBut she simply sent the body back to Gamelyn's family, and made no further reference to the matter. Her small, erect figure in black silk moving quietly across a room could transfix the courtiers, pare conversation down to meaningless, safe noises." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She did not mention conspiracies to Ducon, or secret hiding places behind mirrors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had, Ducon realized with growing uneasiness, effectively rid herself of a man who had threatened them both, and had cast suspicion on Ducon at the same time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Odd,\" Marin Sozon remarked to Ducon, distracting him a moment while the regent was introducing her chosen ministers and councillors to the court. Half were pallid, elderly nobles who could barely stand straight and seemed miserable; the rest looked as if they had borrowed shoes for the occasion and had wandered in from the docks. \"Where Hamil died.\"\n\nDucon, thinking of the secret door behind the mirror, was startled. Then he remembered where he had dragged the body. He looked at Sozon silently; the bloodshot blue eyes were bland now, hiding thoughts. \"Perhaps,\" Ducon answered softly, \"he thought he might find you there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Someone found us there,\" Lord Sozon breathed, shrugging lightly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Evidently.\" He shifted a step away from Ducon as Domina Pearl sent an opaque glance in their direction." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Ensure 'about' appears 2 time(s) in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He added, after a moment or two, \"I thought, at the time, that he was wrong.\"\n\n\"About?\"\n\nHe gave Ducon a brief, equivocal smile. \"About you.\"\n\n\"He was,\" Ducon said tightly. Sozon did not answer. Ducon turned to watch Kyel, seated beside the regent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were dark half-moons under the child's eyes, but he looked more weary than frightened as the officials bowed to him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His eyes widened at the size of the knife one of them wore. The man drew it out, said something about gutting sharks. The regent spoke sharply; her councillor sheathed the massive blade and Ducon breathed again. When he returned his attention to Sozon, all he saw was the embroidered manticore guarding the back of his jacket. Its wild, hungry face bore an odd resemblance to the armed councillor bowing unconvincingly to the prince.\n\nThe aging conspirators said nothing more to Ducon about Gamelyn's death." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Domina Pearl said nothing at all. But he heard their unspoken words everywhere, even in his dreams. The tension, unbearable as a storm that refused to break, drove him finally into the noisy, unpredictable streets. Paper under his arm, a box full of charcoal and pastels in a pocket, he listed like a broken boat into the murky backwaters of Ombria. Scattering sketches and stubs of charcoal in his wake, he drifted through changing light and shadow, in one tavern door and out another, drawing whatever caught his eye, until the streets darkened and he found himself standing in gutters, drawing by lamplight the fire-limned faces passing restlessly through the night.\n\nHe walked carelessly, without direction, his body carrying him into puddles now and then, in which the sickle moon floated and splintered under his foot." }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'pocket' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was wondering how many moons there were to shatter when someone came up behind him. A hand caught the neck of his shirt, twisted it roughly. He felt the prick of a blade at his back.\n\n\"What gold have you got, my fine beauty, in your pocket?\"\n\n\"My gold turns to coal,\" he answered. \"See for yourself.\"\n\nThe hand loosed his shirt, snatched the box out of his pocket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After a moment, the thief cursed; the box hit the cobbles, raining watercolors and charcoal. Ducon used his elbow and the metal-rimmed heel of his boot. He heard the knife drop; the man limped moaning into the dark of an alley. Ducon, still clutching drawings under one arm, set them down carefully and picked colors out of the debris in the street. One unbroken piece of charcoal he discovered in a shadow. It was glowing slightly, awash with faint, elusive color." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The better to find you with, he thought, dropping it back into the wooden box. The world spun when he straightened. He caught the corner of a wall for balance, wondering if he were about to spend the night in the gutter along with all the moons. But the dizziness passed; he began to walk again.\n\nSome time later, he found himself sitting at a battered table, gazing at the face that had come out of his charcoal. It seemed vaguely familiar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rubbed a shadow under the eye, blurred a line beside the mouth, then contemplated it again, chin resting on his blackened palm. He raised his head after a time, studied the morose, untidy faces around him. None of them had inspired this drawing; they were all strangers. He looked at his paper again, absently rubbing his brow, leaving dark streaks across it. He had seen those fearless, curious eyes before, the long, taut mouth, the pale hair and brows that spare lines of charcoal barely suggested.\n\nHe started; his elbow slid off the table, nearly taking the wine with it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had drawn himself. He took a closer look, frowning to focus. Not exactly himself. There were faint lines beneath the eyes, beside the mouth, that suggested himself in the future, after a couple of decades of Domina Pearl's rule. But this face was not grim, simply thoughtful; the man might have been gazing back at his younger self. Who was sitting, charcoal in hand, looking at him. Ducon felt a sudden vertigo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He closed his eyes, left a shaky smudge of black between his brows. Someone pulled out a chair beside him noisily. A whirl of color, scents of sweat and lavender and beer settled beside him, pulled the drawing from under his hand.\n\n\"Are you ill, my lord Ducon?\" a woman asked. He blinked at her. She had a young, pock-pitted face and a sweet smile; he wanted instantly to draw her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you're going to show us what you had for dinner, don't lay it out on your picture.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How do you know my name?\" he asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Everyone knows you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What does that look like to you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Looks like you've drawn yourself.\" She picked absently at a tooth, studying the face, then protested, \"No, you've made yourself too old. Who is this, then? Your father?\"\n\nHe felt the world lurch; sweat stung his eyes. He put his hand over his mouth, though the recognition left him hollow, empty, as if even his name had vanished. The woman's fingers closed gently around his wrist. She spoke again. He was on his feet, gathering things." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She gave him back the sketch, and rose, clinging to his arm, still talking." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But when he reached the door she was no longer with him. Time and memory had blurred; he was leaving a different tavern entirely.\n\nHe woke in an unfamiliar room later that night, or maybe the next; he was unsure. A silver branch of candles softly lit the face of the young woman who watched him. She wore a loose confection of raspberry silk and lace, soiled where the hem dragged. Her bare feet, propped on the bed near his face, were dirty." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She smiled. Her triangular cat's face with its golden eyes was lean and hollow, the milky skin marred by a jagged scar across one cheek." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He recognized the smile, if not the face or the place." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He caught a glimpse of darkness through the threadbare velvet curtains behind her.\n\nHe asked huskily, \"How—\"\n\n\"You wandered in here and fell into bed, my lord Ducon. Fortunately, I found enough in your pockets to satisfy the gentleman already in it.\"\n\n\"You know my name,\" he said tentatively.\n\nShe gestured at a chair in answer, where the pile of drawings lay on top of his clothes. \"You're easy to recognize. And no, you've never met me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I thought not. I would have drawn you if I had.\"\n\nHer smile changed for an instant, became genuine. He started to sit up. The fruit bowl colors of raspberry silk and cherry velvet swirled together; the bed tried to float. He dropped back, his eyes tightly closed. He felt her fingers against his cheek." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're cold,\" she said, startled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Cold as death. Are you ill?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't be,\" he murmured reasonably, \"if I am dead.\"\n\nBut she had lost her smile; her eyes grew apprehensive. \"I'll send for a physician, my lord.\"\n\n\"I don't need one. Most likely, I'm just drunk.\"\n\n\"Then let me get you some broth to warm you.\"\n\n\"No,\" he said, his throat closing at the thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He reached out blindly, caught a frill of lace and then her arm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just lie beside me. Please. Did I have enough in my pockets for that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She hesitated, still wary; then he felt her arm lose its tension. \"Not with that charcoal all over you,\" she grumbled. In another shard of time he felt her washing his face and hands, the warm, scented water almost as soothing as her touch.\n\nThe Black Pearl's gaze cut into his dreams and he woke abruptly, before sunrise. The woman snored softly beside him, buried in faded strawberry satin. He stroked a single, visible curl but she did not stir." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He drew himself up carefully; the room stayed still. Kyel crossed his mind then. The child had no idea where he had gone or why. He would blame Domina Pearl, since she caused people to disappear; she would be forced to silence him...\n\nHe dressed as quickly as he could, losing his balance now and then. If he hurried, he could enter the palace, leave a drawing for Kyel before he woke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Something he would recognize: a flounder, perhaps, crown askew, dancing on the waves as a pale-haired man drew it. He wandered for some time through the corridors of the silent house before he found a door to the street. By the time he reached it, the sun was pushing through a cloud bank at the end of the world, and the silvery air was damp with brine. A ship gliding away from the dock toward the open sea seemed to sail on light. He reached for charcoal.\n\nIt dropped from his shaking hand; he bent to pick it up and fell briefly into a dark, whirling vortex." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had to lean against a wall while he drew. The ship's masts tilted at peculiar angles on his paper. He finished it, stood a moment rubbing his eyes with smudged fingers, trying to remember where he needed to go so urgently and why. Sun broke through cloud; he wandered away finally, following the light.\n\nLater, he woke with his face against a charcoal face. Tavern noises droned and buzzed around him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He raised his face from the paper, found a cup of wine, apparently untouched, near his paint box. Glancing dazedly around him, he saw the startling face he had drawn a day or two or five before attached to a body and gazing back at him.\n\nHe rose quickly. Then he sat down again to wait for the sudden darkness to recede. When he could see again, the tall, pale-haired figure had turned away and was heading out the door. Ducon gathered his drawings hastily, swept charcoal and brushes back into his pockets, and took his first swallow of wine to clear his head.\n\nIt was as though he had drunk fire." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'could' exactly 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could not breathe; he could not make a sound. He sagged against the wall, blinking away tears of pain. When it ebbed, he moved again, impatient with his strange malady, intent on his quarry: the man who wore his older face.\n\nOutside the light burned him; he could scarcely see. The man lingered at the next shop window to study a pair of fencing foils. He turned abruptly, but not before Ducon glimpsed his face, with its level brows and grave, sea-mist eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon felt his heart pound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They were of a height, as matched as the foils in the window." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tried to speak; the wine had burned his voice away. The man moved quickly through the crowds. Ducon, his pace slower and helped along by walls and idle wagon wheels, kept the light, trimmed head in sight. Sometimes it was the only thing in the world that he could see.\n\nHe had no idea where he was going. Streets he had known all his life looked suddenly unfamiliar; he could no longer understand language." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the pain ran through him again, finding its way into every vein and the marrow of his bones, he finally saw the cool, silvery eyes turned back to look at him." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He closed his own eyes, and fell through a sunken window into nowhere." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Patricia A. McKillip in the Fantasy genre and use whatever I write as a jumping off point? This is from a longer work so some stuff might reference earlier chapters." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After the charcoal had begun its deadly journey without her, Mag spent her spare time searching for Ducon Greve in every tavern she could find between the docks and the palace. When that failed to unearth him, she threw caution to the winds. She abandoned her shopping basket, which Faey had ordered her to fill with eels for supper, in the middle of a busy street and went underground at the sunflowers. Encumbered by an ancient green silk gown that shed thread and seed pearls at whim, she decided upon a quest for clothes. As she moved swiftly and noiselessly through the vast palace cellar, odd noises weltered toward her. Voices and echoes of water rippled through the air as if, in some magic chamber, whales and dolphins cavorted among young maidens in great tanks of water. When she reached it, all the fish turned into laundry, stirred and beaten in steaming cauldrons by glum, limp-haired women as wet as mackerels." }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'laundry' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She snatched something dark out of a dry pile and retired behind the wine racks to change. The dress was plain as shadow and made for a beer keg. But it covered her from neck to wrists and ankles; at a cursory glance, it would go unremarked.\n\nShe found the narrow stairway down which the laundry travelled, and flitted up. It led to a huge room full of cloth. Hillocks of laundry were being sorted into other hillocks. Sheets and hose and hemlines were being mended, caps and collars ruffled and starched." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Flatirons heated like tiny furnaces sizzled as beads of perspiration rolled off the reddened faces of the ironers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Clean clothes were sorted, folded, hung, and delivered to prim maids who appeared like clockwork figures, precise and relentless, at the door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was a busy place. Mag slipped behind a massive cupboard where linens, folded and stacked, waited for bed and bath.\n\nGossip turned for the moment on sheets. They could be read, apparently, like tea leaves; their stains predicted fortunes. Mag caught vague and mysterious allusions to those who slept on satin.\n\n\"She must have lost it, with all that blood. They'll never be washed clean.\"\n\n\"Then she won't need to worry about who it looks like.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "💬 Please integrate this quote: \"When Ducon Greve falls in bed drunk after a night out drawing, he gets it everywhere.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a click of shears, a hiss from an iron on damp cloth.\n\n\"Blood on satin is easier than red wine. What's worst of all, I think, is mustard. Lord Picot must have been rolling in it last night.\"\n\n\"Chocolate,\" someone muttered. \"That's far worse.\"\n\n\"Charcoal,\" someone else suggested. \"When Ducon Greve falls in bed drunk after a night out drawing, he gets it everywhere.\"\n\nThere was a laugh. \"You can tell whose bed he's been in.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wouldn't mind the charcoal.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word frequency rule: 'leave' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who would? He's welcome to leave his fingerprints all over me. And I'd wash his sheets for him.\"\n\n\"I wonder who—\"\n\n\"I wonder—\"\n\n\"Watch the sheets. He wasn't under his own last night. Neither was she.\"\n\nThe voice dropped low on the last word. There was a brief, tense silence. Then someone ventured, just as softly, \"It's hard to tell with her. She doesn't leave signs behind her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe she doesn't sleep.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was Domina Pearl they spoke of in their hushed voices, Mag realized suddenly.\n\n\"I think she sleeps elsewhere. Somewhere secret. That's why her sheets are never rumpled, and there's never a hair or a crumb among them. Not even the outline of her body. She won't even leave that behind.\"\n\n\"But who washes her secret sheets?\"\n\nWho, indeed? Mag wondered. And where might her secret place be? But no one guessed; they were back to stains again, the most stubborn—\"use salt\"—the most peculiar—\"crushedgarliceverywhere\"—themostdisturbing—\"she wrote his name in blood right there where he had slept.\" But nothing more about Ducon Greve or the Black Pearl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag caught herself yawning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She could not leave until they did. She leaned her face against the back of the cupboard and wondered if they ever slept. Then brisk footsteps came across the room toward her. The cupboard doors banged shut, jarring her.\n\n\"There. That's tomorrow's sheets in order. And just in time for supper. Go and call them up from the washing.\"\n\nCramped and drowsy, Mag was forced to wait until the damp and grumbling women from the waterworld below changed into dry uniforms. They drifted out, leaving a taper burning for the evening's work." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag lost no time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If Ducon Greve had not been found dying in his bed, then perhaps he was somewhere in the secret chambers within the walls." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If he were ill and visible, gossip would have veered away from sheets to him. She hadn't found him on the streets; he must be in the palace somewhere. Covered with charcoal, stricken with some odd raging in his body, in a place where no one heard him call. Fluttering batlike in the voluminous dress, she ran down dim, silent servants' hallways until she found the huge urn behind which she had lost him before.\n\nThis time, she discovered the small white rosette carved into the molding that could be felt if she slid her hand between the wall and the urn. She pressed it. The narrow door opened soundlessly. She picked a candle out of the sconce above it and entered the secret palace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Another silent maze of passages it seemed, unguarded and empty." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She walked slowly, wary of creaking floorboards. Doors opened to small, plain rooms. Servants' quarters, she guessed, and long disused. Dust and cobwebs furnished them, and the odd forgotten adornment: a silk pincushion, a watercolor of a child, a swan whittled out of soap, seamed and yellow as ancient ivory. But none of them held an artist facing death by charcoal.\n\nShe wondered if secret stairways led upward to larger, rich rooms strewn with memories of fine lords and ladies instead of servants. Perhaps Ducon had become confused by the poison." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lost within the labyrinth of those forgotten halls, he might have dragged himself upward, trying to find his chambers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She looked for stairs. The toad opened its dark eyes within her heart, watched her search. Despite her habitual calm, her hands grew oddly cold; her thoughts kept darting and fluttering like blown leaves. Ducon's face, vivid with candle fire, haunted her. He might be anywhere or nowhere, having no place left in the world to go. Like her, he belonged everywhere and nowhere; he had uncertain origins and no true name. Like her, he wandered fearlessly and had a penchant for secrets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They might have been kin, though he lived in the palace above the world, and she beneath it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had never felt so like anyone human before. And now, despite all her intentions, he was dying somewhere, most likely helpless, alone, and completely bewildered. When she finally found stairs hidden behind a warped, flecked mirror in the back of a room, she lost all caution. She ran up, shielding her shivering flame with one hand, into the dark at the top of the stairs.\n\nWords leaped out at her, gold, silver, red. She turned; the shifting candle illuminated manuscripts, massive bindings, all speaking to her in familiar and unfamiliar languages. Other candles emerged under her flame; she lit them all, and saw what she was standing in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The brewer had one like it: a room completely full of books. Tomes, he called them, and showed her pictures of witches, alembics, elaborate diagrams that revealed, symbol by symbol, the path to the perfect element. Like his, this one smelled old. Unlike his, this one was guarded.\n\nThe guards looked real enough, standing among the shelves in the little oval room. The fine, polished surfaces of their buckles and sheaths and the silver embroidery on their sashes kindled cold stars from the candlelight. Their grim faces warned Mag that in the next moment their swords would slash the air into ribbons of silver; she should escape, hide herself, quickly, now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But she had grown up with ghosts, with their eyes always looking at the past, with the frail flickering embers of their thoughts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "These were strangely passive; they never even blinked. They told her not that she was in danger, but that the books were, from the likes of her. They wore the uniforms of the palace guard; they were not ancient ghosts, simply no longer alive.\n\nThey would belong to Domina Pearl. Mag felt again the dry, butterfly pulse of a vein in her throat. She had chanced across the Black Pearl's library. The knowledge she found important, her spells, perhaps her history." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But Ducon Greve had no time for history; he must be somewhere near the end of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned quickly to resume her desperate search, then stopped again and allowed the nagging, slippery thought that she was trying to drown in the bottom of her mind finally surface. If she found him and he was dying, what could she do? Take him back to Faey?\n\n\"Here,\" she whispered, \"there are spells.\"\n\nCaution, left idling at the bottom of the stairs, caught up with her. She wrapped her hands in the wide black skirt before she touched the books. If it glittered later with a stardust of guilty fingerprints, the dress could remain in the palace; Mag's hands couldn't." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She read the faded bindings carefully, hearing what they promised before she dove heedlessly into them. Maps, one said, of the Known World, Useful Plants From the Hindmost Islands and What to Do With Them, The History of Ombria From the Beginning of the World, How to Maintain Hair, Teeth and Nails After Accidental Death. She nearly opened that one. But she had no time now for Domina Pearl. Finally, a likely title in gold ink on a pale leather binding caught her eye. Natural and Unnatural Poisons, it said, and Antidotes.\n\nShe pulled it down and heard steps in the hall below." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was moving, blowing out candles and eying the shelves for a place to hide, almost before she caught her breath in surprise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon, she hoped fiercely, and remembered to put the book back on the shelf. She slipped through one of the guards and hoped she left nothing of herself in his shade. There was room for her between the wall and the overladen shelves. She shifted two scrolls and looked through them, like spyglasses. Then she heard the Black Pearl's voice in the room below and closed her eyes.\n\n\"Look at this door,\" she demanded. \"And that mirror. Both wide open. He wanders through these passages; he disturbs things. What does he do, what is he looking for, if not my secrets?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A man's voice, thoughtful but not servile: \"I don't know, Domina.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ask him. He has always trusted you. I want him watched. I want to know where he goes at all times. No one can find him now; he hasn't been seen in days. He is either out on the streets, or within these walls. The child is beginning to fret again.\"\n\nMag, her breath stirring the scrolls, heard them coming up the stairs. She willed herself boneless, a shadow, less than a ghost, nothing. The Black Pearl stepped into the room. Mag opened her eyes suddenly, wondering if she could smell the smoke and warm wax of blown candles. But another burning taper floated into view within the circle of the scroll.\n\nThe man carried it, apparently, for Domina Pearl came between the light and Mag's eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She closed them again, thinking: Nothing. No one." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'through' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where is that book...\" The Black Pearl seemed to be speaking through a tube of parchment. She was close enough to smell. \"He comes here, looks through my books. How does he get in here? What doors does he know besides that mirror in the nurse's room? Has he shown you?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\nMag heard an impatient breath. \"I put it here, on this shelf, after I killed Halil Gamelyn.\" Her voice grew thin as a fly's wing and Mag's skin shifted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If he took it, I will blind him. He is clever and far too secretive. He could kill us in our beds. If we slept in them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He doesn't mention anything more dangerous than art. That and the young prince are all he seems to care about. You must not harm him needlessly. We may need his eyes. Tell me what you're looking for; I'll help you search.\"\n\n\"Natural and Unnatural—Ah! Here it is.\" The book slid off the shelf, revealing a swath of dark that was Mag's sleeve. Domina Pearl turned away, and Mag saw the man's face, lean and intent, his chestnut hair threaded, here and there, with silver. In the candlelight, his eyes flared yellow as a cat's.\n\n\"Who, now?\" he asked curiously.\n\n\"Kyel,\" the Black Pearl said with chilling composure." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nothing to kill him, just to subdue him, dampen his spirits, produce a melancholy more appropriate to his loss than temper tantrums. You will find him far more docile when you begin to tutor him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The man's thin mouth tightened slightly, but he said nothing. He turned to follow the Black Pearl out. The light receded down the stairs. Mag's eyes clung to it; all her thoughts, mothlike, danced after it. At the bottom, the Black Pearl spoke again.\n\n\"I'll set a spell on this lock. No one but you or I will open this door.\"\n\nShe murmured something. Mag heard a faint click." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Steps and voices faded." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag stared through her paper spyglass at the dark." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding ten sentences. Context: May include pre-existing characters and lore." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea, drinking an endless cup of tea in the sorceress's leafy chamber, realized occasionally, in the buried part of her where time still moved, that she was spellbound. Somewhere, hours passed during a single sip; night fell as she replaced her cup in the saucer; the sun rose when she lifted it again. The sorceress, or an illusion of her, spoke lightly of the weather, though there was none, and of people whom she seemed to think that Lydea knew, while her terrible eyes smoldered and fumed boiling pitch and fire. Sentences echoed through time, repeating themselves. Now and then, Lydea, her mind as tranquil as a summer afternoon, heard the echo, felt her mouth move to say appropriate words that she must have said a hundred times between the moment she began to raise her cup and the moment it touched her lips. She never tasted the tea; she might have been drinking cloud.\n\n\"How fortunate we are that the morning rain has ended,\" the sorceress commented, though neither night nor day was visible around them. \"We will be able to go after all to—\" She stopped abruptly. Lydea felt perfunctory words leaving her lips like bubbles. The sorceress interrupted her harshly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There is a stranger below.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea, about to make her usual reply to that, realized that she had none. As if a glass dome over her had shattered, she sat in shards of time, bewilderedly trying to piece fragments together. She stared at the teacup halfway to her lips. The tea was stone-cold and had grown a tiny, floating garden of mold.\n\nShe dropped it back into the saucer, feeling dizzy, frightened. \"What—Where—\"\n\nFaey had risen and was pacing. She looked as if she were scenting the air with her ears, or trying to see with her mind. Lydea stood up. The plants whispered around her; she caught at a chair back, lightheaded and oddly stiff.\n\n\"How long have I been here?\"\n\nFaey ignored her. The room was changing around them, walls growing sheer, the sharp-bladed palms withering in their pots and vanishing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chair in Lydea's hands fell apart; its parts turned into pebbles or little, many-legged things that scuttled away toward the river." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stood on its bank, a wall of earth rising behind them toward the light of some day or another high above her head. Only the teapot, a strange crockery animal with legs like tree trunks that poured tea through its long snout, refused to vanish.\n\n\"Odd,\" Faey remarked finally. \"Very odd.\"\n\n\"I have to go home,\" Lydea told her, wondering if she could climb the cliff of earth to the light. Faey flung her a glance that left a burning streak in the air.\n\n\"I need you,\" she said succinctly. \"My waxling is nowhere to be found. Come with me.\"\n\n\"But my father—He'll be up to his ears in dirty beer mugs.\"\n\n\"I'll send your father a note.\"\n\n\"He can't read.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, he'll have to wait,\" the sorceress said irritably." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Mag doesn't argue with me. I need someone human to deal with the body when it fails. I wish,\" she added, beginning to move quickly along the river, \"that people wouldn't die down here. I can usually send them back up before they get too far, but I was busy searching for Mag...\" She turned, gestured at Lydea, who could not seem to find her feet. \"Do you want to walk or fly?\"\n\nLydea caught up with her.\n\nThey found the man lying facedown within the rubble of a shattered room. The window he had fallen through had mostly sunk below the street. Lydea gave a cursory glance at his white hair. Then her eyes rose desperately to the scant feet of freedom that led into the noise and light of Ombria. If he had gotten in, she could get out...\n\nThe sorceress, standing beside the body, was murmuring something with her eyes closed. Lydea heard a sharp, anguished groan from the dying." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He lifted his face blindly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His skin was gray with old mortar and bloody where he had scraped himself, rattling down among the broken slate. He opened one eye and one blackened hand as if to drag himself away from Faey's voice, and Lydea felt her bones try to leap out of her skin.\n\n\"No!\"\n\nThe sorceress's eyes opened. She broke off a word, stood with a curious stillness, gazing down at the man. \"No,\" she agreed softly as Lydea knelt beside him. She recognized him in piecemeal fashion: the silvery eye, the charcoal on his hands, the bone-white hair. Several drawings lay crumpled beneath him; others had drifted into the shadows. She rolled him over as gently as she could. He was still breathing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His other eye opened; he gazed at her senselessly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ducon.\" She touched his hair lightly. \"Ducon. It's Lydea.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She heard his breath catch as she glanced in wonder up at Faey. \"It's Ducon Greve.\"\n\n\"I know it's Ducon Greve,\" the sorceress said. \"I was paid to kill him.\" Lydea stared at her. Faey bent, gripped Ducon's wrist briskly and rolled him up over her shoulder. She wore him as easily as a scarf trailing down her back. \"I can't send him up in this condition.\"\n\n\"What are you going to do with him?\" Lydea whispered. She got to her feet as Faey began to move, and caught at Ducon, forcing the sorceress to stop. Her voice rose to a scream that echoed down the dark river." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What are you going to do?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Faey turned to look at her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyes, beneath the arched, elegant brows, had grown blue again. Lydea could not read the expression in them; they hardly seemed to see her at all. \"I'm not sure,\" the sorceress said finally. \"But since my waxling is gone, you must take care of him.\"\n\nShe began to walk toward the distant, graceful line of lamps lighting the crumbling faces of houses that rose like fragments of dreams along the water. Lydea followed with one hand on Ducon's back. She asked, her voice trembling in the aftermath of the scream, \"Where are you taking him?\"\n\n\"To my house.\"\n\n\"Why did—Who wanted him killed? Domina Pearl?\"\n\n\"I have no idea. Someone very rich, whose servants wear a manticore.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea lost a step in astonishment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lord Sozon? I wonder why.\" She heard Ducon murmur something. She bent to hear, but he said nothing more. She stayed close to him, talking so that he could hear a familiar voice in that eerie place. \"You won't now, though. You won't kill him.\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\"That's a good question.\"\n\nLydea, waiting, gave up finally and asked another, tentatively, \"What did you do to him? It would help me to know, if you don't want him to die.\"\n\n\"It was in the charcoal.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What was?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The poison.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea heard another incomprehensible word from Ducon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She lifted her free hand, touched her closed eyes with icy fingers. \"Do you have an antidote?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" the sorceress said. \"Me. He'll be very weak afterwards; he'll need someone to care for him. If that woman has my waxling, I'll make a broth out of her bones.\"\n\n\"I wish you would,\" Lydea said fervently. \"Then there would only be one of you.\"\n\nFaey was facing Lydea so suddenly that Lydea's puzzled eyes were still trying to see her turn. The sorceress's well-bred face was a mask of frosty displeasure. \"I cannot imagine why you would insinuate that we are in any way alike.\"\n\n\"I do not believe,\" Lydea said in her best courtly manner, \"that I have insinuated any such thing. I said it. You're a pair, you both are; I can't tell the difference between you. You're the one who tried to kill Ducon, not Domina Pearl. Living down here, safe in magic, you don't have to care about anything or anyone. If you had killed Ducon, it would have broken Kyel's heart. He may be only a child, but he is the Prince of Ombria, and if his heart dies so soon, so will Ombria. Not that it would come to your attention if the city over your head vanished. It would have to be dead a century or two before you'd notice.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The blue eyes stared at her without expression." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then the sorceress was moving again, toward a sprawling mansion that might have sunk under the weight of the immense cream-colored urns balanced on its portico. Her voice drifted back to Lydea. \"I do care about something. I care about my waxling.\"\n\n\"Her name,\" Lydea said coldly, catching up, \"is Mag.\"\n\n\"I know. I named her.\"\n\n\"She's not just something you made out of candle drippings. Who is she? Is she your child?\"\n\nSomething snapped out of the sorceress, as if she had spat lightning. Ducon gave a sudden cry of pain. Lydea pushed her hands tightly against her mouth.\n\n\"Do not meddle,\" Faey said softly without turning, \"between me and my waxling. She belongs to me and does my bidding. That's all you need to understand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't understand anything at all,\" Lydea whispered, but only to her hands." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'housekeeper' 4 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She recognized the plump, prim housekeeper who opened the door to them, and who betrayed, not even with the flicker of an eyelash, no surprise at the man dangling across the sorceress's shoulder.\n\n\"The peacock room, I think,\" Faey said. The housekeeper nodded without speaking and picked up a branch of candles to light them up the marble stairway.\n\nIn a room colored the indigo and green of peacock feathers, the sorceress let Ducon fall among velvet cushions on a bed, and drew breath to call. She loosed it, said incomprehensibly, \"I forgot; she isn't here to get my toad. See to him while I'm gone.\"\n\nShe left abruptly. Lydea grappled a moment with the idea of an urgent need for toad, then gave up. She was undressing Ducon when the silent housekeeper returned with water and linens; she waited, while Lydea washed the charcoal and dirt and blood off him. He was unconscious again, his breathing shallow and erratic. The housekeeper was helping to settle him beneath the sheets when Faey returned.\n\nShe opened the small casket she carried, and slid her hand beneath the toad in it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She lifted it out, raised it to eye level." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silently, eye to eye, the toad and the sorceress conversed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So it seemed to Lydea, who was beginning to recognize Faey's methods. The toad's eyes closed to hair-fine slits of darkness.\n\nThe sorceress set it on Ducon's forehead.\n\nShe brought a forefinger to her lips as Lydea, her heart hammering at the strangeness, opened her mouth. She closed it. Faey lowered her finger and touched the toad very gently between its eyes. She closed hers.\n\nLydea shifted close to the fat corkscrew of ebony that supported one corner of the canopy over the bed and clung to it tightly. The toad never moved; neither did the sorceress. After a while, Lydea realized that Ducon's breathing had slowed, grown deeper, rhythmic. The sorceress's breathing had slowed to match his. So had Lydea's.\n\nThe toad spoke. Its word formed a bubble of milky liquid between its jaws, like a great pearl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Faey opened her eyes, quickly moved her hand to receive the pearl." }, { "from": "system", "value": "At some point in your response, insert this verbatim: \"Thank you. I must take him back and feed him,\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She let it fall into the box. The toad opened its eyes, shifted a splayed foot. Faey opened her hand again, and let it waddle onto her palm.\n\n\"My beauty,\" she murmured and kissed its nubbled back lightly before she set it into the box. \"Thank you. I must take him back and feed him,\" she said to Lydea, who wondered for the first time since she had opened the sorceress's door, if she were lost in someone else's dream. But there was Ducon, in it with her, his stiff face beginning to relax, lose its frightening pallor. \"Tell the housekeeper what you need for him. I am going to find my waxling.\"\n\n\"Please,\" Lydea begged desperately. \"Please. Is there someone you could send to tell my father not to worry about me? He'll think I've died in the streets, or left him again.\"\n\nFaey glanced at her housekeeper." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Send someone from the kitchen,\" she said briefly. \"Someone alive.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Rose and Thorn,\" Lydea said faintly, as the housekeeper bowed her frilled and skewered head. She lingered, her eyes going to questioningly Ducon. \"Oh. He'll need a little broth,\" Lydea added, \"when he wakes.\"\n\n\"Feed her as well,\" the sorceress told the housekeeper. \"And now I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone, living, dying, or dead.\"\n\nAlone with Ducon, Lydea pulled a chair to the bedside and sat, her eyes on his face, her thoughts stunned by magic and coincidence. The housekeeper returned with a tray. She drank a little wine, nibbled a bread roll crumb by crumb until her head sank back into the soft tapestry bosom of the chair and she napped. She dreamed something had slipped out of her grasp; she had lost it. She started awake. Ducon was still asleep." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The bread had slid out of her hand." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'again' must be used 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She rose, feeling spellbound again, this time by sleep. She lay down in the wide bed beside Ducon and closed her eyes.\n\nWhen she opened them again, he was awake and staring at her.\n\n\"Lydea?\" he whispered. He looked incredulously past her at the rich, unfamiliar chamber. Then, with painful slowness, he lifted a few inches of velvet and glanced at his own nakedness. He turned his head again, studied her stained apron, the crumpled cap on her head, askew and trailing strands of her hair. He swallowed. \"I don't understand.\" His voice sounded husky, weak and groggy with sleep. \"How much did I drink last night? I've never felt so terrible in my life. Where are we?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea felt words as rich and unexpected as jewels fill her mouth: Magic, spellbound, illusion, ghost, toad, sorceress." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She got up after a moment, and brought Ducon the cooling mug of broth she found on her tray.\n\n\"We're in the underworld,\" she said. \"Drink this.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writers block help pls. ill send something, u do 11 sentences. going for Patricia A. McKillip vibe. note: might have existing chars" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The owl-eyed man returned first to the Black Pearl's library." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag, slumped on her feet behind the book shelves, her face against a musty pile of manuscripts, blinked senselessly at his taper light." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was thirsty and disoriented; she had no idea if an hour or a day had passed in that silent, changeless room. Accustomed to adjusting in peculiar situations, she did not betray herself with so much as a mouse's rustle against the manuscripts. The man lit more candles and began leafing through a book from the shelves on the other side of the room. The door at the bottom of the stairs, whose lock had resisted every barbed pin in Mag's hair, stood open. She felt her body tense, preparing to emerge unexpectedly through the nearest armed ghost. In the second that the man stood transfixed and staring at the apparition, she would run down the stairs and slam the door behind her.\n\nThat would imprison him in her place. Or would it? Would he simply burst out and chase her down the halls, shouting for Domina Pearl? During the moment she wondered, he slapped the book abruptly shut and blew out candles. He was careless; one wick sprang to life again as he clattered briskly downstairs. The door clicked shut behind him. Mag slumped despairingly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then she realized that she was no longer in the dark." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She stepped out cautiously, noiselessly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Two spells demanded solutions now instead of one: the locked door, and Ducon Greve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One precluded the other; both were imperative. She pulled books down hastily, searching at random for either spell: to unlock a door, to unpoison a man. She left careless fingerprints everywhere, knowing with cold certainty that Domina Pearl would more likely find her first.\n\nDespite her urgent tasks, odd things in the books snagged her attention, clung to memory. She found hints of complex and extraordinary aspects to the history of Ombria, as well as tantalizing suggestions of what strange brew of exotic succulents and insects might keep Domina Pearl alive, or something resembling alive, long past anyone's memory. When the candle began to sputter, she put the books hastily back on the shelves and crept behind them again. She did not dare light others; she might as well toss books onto the floor as leave a ring of melted stubs around the room. The candle died. Again, she waited. In the dark, one persistent image came to mind and refused to budge: Ducon dying in a back alley or among the weeds on an abandoned pier, while she, equally alone and powerless, stood trapped by books and unable even to open a door.\n\nShe heard steps in the room beyond and readied herself to spring out and run past whoever came up. But the door opened and locked again before the steps came up." }, { "from": "system", "value": "⚠️ Required: Use 'would' exactly 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She swallowed a brief, startling stab of tears. She leaned gently against the shelves, quieting the sharp-winged dragonfly of fear that darted and hovered and darted through her. Domina Pearl's ancient, dead-moon eyes would not miss her twice.\n\nBut it was the man again, his steps anything but furtive. Again, he did not stay long; again he left a candle burning, as if he intended to return soon. She watched him choose his book and turn to go. She moved soundlessly behind the shelves, her hands rising to find a suitable pin. She would follow him down, force herself through behind him; the barb at his throat would persuade him to silence.\n\nShe saw what he had left on the floor as she passed through a ghost. The blood shocking through her brought her to a halt. He moved quickly in that moment; she heard the door shut as she stood staring at the floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A plate of cold roast beef and bread lay beside the lighted taper on its stand, along with a pitcher of water and a glass.\n\nEat me, they said. Drink me. She swallowed, startled and wary. The Black Pearl had seen her, and had sent him with spell-riddled food and drink. Only that could explain it; he would not dare risk secrets from Domina Pearl. And Mag, her mouth as dusty as the old tomes, did not dare drink.\n\nShe didn't. But neither did she hide when he came up again. His quick, noisy tread told her clearly how lost she was within the secret palace, how far from help. She sat on the floor next to the untouched food and water, her face withholding expression as his flame fell over her. She felt his own surprise like a touch on a web between them. Whatever he expected, she thought, it was not her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He said, \"She doesn't know you are in here. I brought the food and water from the kitchens, not from her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag was silent, studying him, wondering if he truly hid things from Domina Pearl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gave him a little piece of herself, the sound of her voice. \"Who are you?\"\n\n\"Camas Erl. I often work in libraries. A misplaced book, the scent of melted wax catches my attention. Domina Pearl had other things on her mind.\" He settled himself down on the floor, grunting a little as he folded his long legs. His yellow eyes, rayed with streaks of hazel, were curious as a bird's, \"I am the prince's tutor. Before that, Ducon Greve's.\"\n\n\"Ducon,\" she said hollowly, remembering. \"He is dying.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"I've been searching for him everywhere.\"\n\n\"Who are you?\"\n\n\"I'm Faey's waxling,\" she answered impatiently. \"The sorceress. If you are close enough to Domina Pearl to share secrets with her, then you must know the sorceress who lives underground.\"\n\nHis eyes refused to say if he knew her or not." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But why does she want to kill Ducon?\"\n\n\"She was paid to, by a manticore. She made a poisoned piece of charcoal.\"\n\nHe whispered something, running fingers through his hair, dragging a strand out of the tie at his nape. \"Charcoal. That would do it. He fairly eats it when he draws. Are you sure about the manticore?\"\n\n\"I didn't see it. Faey recognized it.\"\n\n\"Does this Faey know a manticore from an apple core?\"\n\n\"If it's worth knowing.\"\n\nHe grunted softly. \"Why don't I know her? Domina Pearl is aware of her, you say?\"\n\n\"Domina Pearl has sent to her for spells. Please,\" she begged, \"if you let me go, I can look for him.\"\n\n\"Domina has her own ways of finding people. That might be simpler.\"\n\nMag's skin chilled at the thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She would ask how you know Ducon is dying. You would have to tell her. She'll unmake me if she lays eyes on me. She warned me once before. I've been with Faey long enough to know what that means.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "can you add this somewhere in your response:\n\"It's harmless. For now, I'll keep all this from Domina Pearl. Where have you searched?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He grunted, still gazing at her, uncertain and uncomfortably probing. \"You have no reason whatsoever to trust me,\" he said abruptly. \"I wouldn't. Except, for the moment, two things. Domina Pearl does not want Ducon dead, and neither do I. The second thing is this.\" He tore a piece of crust from the bread, washed it down with a swallow of the water from the pitcher and wiped his mouth. \"It's harmless. For now, I'll keep all this from Domina Pearl. Where have you searched?\"\n\nShe told him.\n\nHe refused to set her free, even after she described in vivid detail the places Ducon frequented. He only promised, \"I'll find him. He must be out there. He's nowhere in the palace.\"\n\n\"Please—\"\n\n\"Domina Pearl won't find you. She rarely comes here. In this palace, libraries are the most private places.\" He seemed to see the sudden, raw determination behind Mag's eyes." }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'walked' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rose quickly, picked up the single burning candle from the stand, and walked backward as he spoke. \"If you stay quiet, I'll leave this lit for you on the bottom step. If you move, I'll leave you in the dark, and I will summon Domina Pearl.\"\n\nHer fists tightened, but she did not move. \"Just hurry,\" she said tersely.\n\nShe unclenched a little after he had gone, enough to eat something, and resume her incessant reading, for nothing about Camas Erl indicated he might know how to reverse death by toad.\n\nThe manticore, she learned in her random, harried leafing through the Black Pearl's books, belonged to an ancient family, close kin to the House of Greve. Evidently the lord or lady bearing the name Sozon had it in mind to whittle away secretly at the heirs to the crown, which did not entirely explain the attack on Ducon, who would not have inherited anyway. She had paused briefly to ponder the elusive logic of that, as though it were some mathematical problem, when her head snapped backward against leather bindings worn as soft as lambskin with age. She slept without moving, without dreams.\n\nCamas Erl walked into her sleep and woke her. The candle he had left her had burned out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She made some sort of noise, a broken question, as she gathered her complaining bones together. He shook his head.\n\n\"I didn't find him.\"\n\nHis face was patchy, sagging tiredly. The flame lit stubble, chestnut and salt, along his lean jaws. She pulled herself into herself, suddenly cold, huddling within the shapeless wool. She gazed at him, her eyes stunned, luminous.\n\n\"Then he's dead.\"\n\n\"How do you know?\" He touched her when she did not answer, shook her a little, lightly. \"What was the poison in the charcoal?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It was from Faey's toad. I have been trying to find an antidote in the books.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How long ago did she make it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know, anymore. Days.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rubbed his eyes wearily, baffled. \"No one in the palace has seen him in days. I looked everywhere you told me to look and a few places you didn't. A woman in a brothel told me he had been there a night or two ago. He seemed ill, she thought. He said he was only drunk, but he was cold as death, and he would eat nothing.\"\n\nMag shivered. \"Cold as toad,\" she whispered. She reached for the pitcher, drank from it; water sloshed, waking her further. She washed her face with her wet skirt, and straightened the pins in her hair. Then she said with grim desperation to Camas, \"Domina Pearl will kill me if she finds me here. She told me so once before when she caught me spying on her. You must let me go before you tell her about Ducon. Unless you're angry with me for helping Faey with this, and you want me dead.\"\n\n\"You helped her?\"\n\n\"I couldn't stop her. So I thought I could find Ducon in time, exchange the magic charcoal for an ordinary piece. But I couldn't find him, I couldn't, though I've looked everywhere—\"\n\n\"What,\" Camas Erl asked, his wide eyes no longer an owl's, but fiercer, fixed and predatory, \"exactly are you?\"\n\n\"I don't know,\" she answered, reckless with the truth. \"What are you? You know Domina Pearl's secrets and yet you hide things from her. What does she want? What do you want? What is the Black Pearl?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was silent, thinking, a furrow trowelled across his forehead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Black Pearl,\" he said finally, \"is a piece of the underside of history. The dark side of the moon. The shadow it casts across the earth when it eclipses the sun. She is, shall we put it, something that should have vanished long ago, but didn't. I have a passion for the history of Ombria, which leads me in strange directions, because it is not simple. You are one of the stranger things I've run across in my journey through the labyrinth of history. You and your sorceress who lives underground. She made you, you say? You are her—what? Her waxling?\"\n\n\"So she says.\"\n\n\"And you? What do you say?\"\n\nMag was silent. She held herself tightly, motionlessly, her arms around her knees; the tutor held her eyes. After a long time, she heard someone, herself and not herself, answer, \"I don't know. If I say I am human, then where do I belong? And if I am not human, then where did I begin?\"\n\n\"I will let you go,\" he told her very softly, \"if you tell me how to find you again. And how to find Faey.\"\n\n\"What do you want with her?\"\n\n\"To know her. She is part of Ombria. To learn what she is, where she comes from.\"\n\n\"She won't like being studied.\"\n\n\"I can be very discreet. There's little time to talk now. I'll give you a chance to leave the palace before I suggest to Domina Pearl that she should search for Ducon. If you find him alive, send word to me. I'll tell her that I found him. She'll do what she can to heal him, even if she has to pay your sorceress to undo her own spell.\"\n\n\"Faey has done that before,\" she answered heavily. \"It will cost.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 9 sentences sentences spawning from what the user wrote, maintaining any existing character relationships or establishing new ones, within the Fantasy genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon dreamed, and woke remembering.\n\nIn his dream he followed a tall white-haired man through the crowded streets of Ombria, whom he always seemed about to overtake, and who always eluded him. Shop doors opened; people pushed between them; street urchins being chased by an irate confectioner for the sweets in their hands careened wildly across his path. A duel fought with sudden, savage intensity in front of him forced him to stop. He watched the pale head move farther and farther away from him with never a backward glance while the duellers whipped mercilessly, relentlessly at each other, their rapiers weaving patterns of silver that froze in the air across his path into a shimmering wall of blades. He cried out desperately to the distant figure, \"Wait!\" He found himself alone, walking the maze of hidden rooms within the palace toward the place where, he knew with absolute certainty, the stranger who wore his face waited.\n\nHe woke before he reached it.\n\nHe remembered, before he opened his eyes, the face that had formed unexpectedly on his paper, as if it had come out of the charcoal instead of him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The face had been one of many unpredictable sketches." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Where was it now, this charcoal that glowed in the dark?\n\nWhere, for that matter, was he?\n\nHe opened his eyes finally. Lydea, whom he had last seen lying beside him in a hideous cap and a beer-stained apron, was sitting in a chair beside his bed. Apparently, her clothes had also offended the eye of the mistress of the mansion; she now wore a gown of rich green velvet, of a stark simplicity that hadn't been fashionable for a hundred years or so. Only her face and fingers were visible. She seemed to be in the midst of contemplating her fate, but she turned quickly as though she had felt him wake.\n\nShe touched his face, then lifted his head a little and held a cup of water to his lips. His mouth tasted of charcoal, he thought as he drank; he wondered if he had swallowed it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Explain to me again,\" he begged, \"why we are here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had told him once before; it had been like listening to a vivid, improbable dream. This time, he kept his attention on the path the charcoal took from the sorceress's cauldron to Lord Sozon's servant, and somehow into the box he carried with him when he drew.\n\n\"The poison was in the charcoal,\" Lydea said. \"It seeped into your skin.\"\n\nHe nodded. \"I'm told I get it everywhere. I never notice.\" The simple movement, the few words, took their toll. The pain, a drowsing beast, began to stir in his head. He tried to ignore it. \"Where is it now?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where is what?\"\n\n\"The charcoal.\"\n\nShe looked bewildered. \"I don't know.\"\n\n\"There was a wooden box. In my coat pocket.\" He formed words with infinite care, trying not to disturb the beast.\n\nShe opened her mouth, then rose without asking why. He saw his torn, bloody clothes lying across a chest. She picked up his coat. One pocket held a lump of rubble; the other, hanging by threads, was stained with an explosion of colors." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What was in the box?\"\n\n\"Paints. Pieces of charcoal.\"\n\n\"It must have been crushed beneath you when you fell.\" She put the coat down and came back to him. \"Don't worry. You're safe from it.\"\n\nHis eyes filled with tears of pain, of impatience at his weakness. He whispered, \"I loved what it drew.\"\n\nHe slept again. This time, in his dreams, a monstrous and beautiful sorceress slung him over her back and carried him across the arid wasteland of some immense cavern. Upside down, breathing in the cloudy fabric of her sleeve, he tried to bargain with her for that piece of charcoal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll draw your face with it,\" he offered at one point." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Which face?\" she asked him. And then her raucous laughter echoed off the stones around him and he woke.\n\nOr thought he woke: the sorceress still loomed over him. He recognized her, though she wasn't wearing the face in his dreams, or even the face he had glimpsed above Lydea's when she had knelt beside him in the rubble and said his name.\n\nThe sorceress wore her power like a great cloak of many colors, only visible if he did not look straight at it. It flowed and billowed all around her, in the corners of his eyes; it filled the chamber and spilled beyond the door, beyond her house, he guessed, like a second river beneath the world, like wind. The face she wore, tempestuous and beautiful, was a mask, nothing.\n\nHe whispered, \"No wonder you laughed.\"\n\nShe was silent a moment, while the colors pulsed and shimmered around her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her dark eyes seemed enormous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What do you see?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked him. He knew that voice: it had hunted down his breath, the rhythms of his blood, to kill him. But here he was, safely in bed in her house; for no apparent reason she had changed her mind.\n\n\"You,\" he answered simply.\n\nThe wild power faded, hid itself. He was left with only her disguise, fascinating enough with its proud bones, its dark, untamed fall of hair, its ever-changing expressions. But it only made him wonder: if he drew that face with the charcoal she had made, would her hidden face emerge instead?\n\nShe asked abruptly, \"Do you know my waxling? Mag?\"\n\n\"I don't think so.\"\n\n\"You wouldn't have to think about it if you did. She goes places, does things for me. She likes secrets. Lydea said she was spying on you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is that possible? Are there places she could have gone within the palace, where she could watch you without you noticing?\"\n\nHe started to nod, thought better of it. \"The palace is riddled with secrets,\" he said. His voice sounded frail, reedy as an old man's. \"Some are Domina Pearl's secrets. Others are left from the past. Others—I don't know what they belong to. Who.\"\n\nShe breathed something sharply that made the bones in his head vibrate like a bell. He flinched. She touched him; he saw the boring worm of pain, bright, throbbing, cling to her fingers. She shook it away absently.\n\n\"Sorry,\" she said. He stared at her, amazed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She whirled, paced a step or two, her lovely eyes narrowed, so dark they refused to reflect a spark of light." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've lost her. I warned her and warned her to stay away from Domina Pearl.\"\n\nHis head pounded again, just at the thought of her. \"Kyel,\" he whispered suddenly, and tried to sit up. The pain swung a well-aimed hammer between his eyes; he dropped. Through the haze, he saw Lydea lean over him, felt her cool hand. He heard himself say with dreamlike clarity, \"Give me back the charcoal and I will find your Mag.\"\n\nHe heard, within the silence, the unspoken questions leaping into the sorceress's mind. Then she spoke and he heard nothing at all.\n\nHe drifted into the world after a long time, following a scent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Rosemary, he thought drowsily." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or orange. Opening his eyes, he found himself alone. Lydea had gone elsewhere, maybe into another dream. But the food on the tray beside the bed was real enough: roast chicken sprinkled with rosemary and stuffed with slices of orange and lime, bread still hot from the oven, a bowl of figs and purple grapes. He sat up cautiously. The pain in his head had gone; he felt scoured, hollow, and hungry for the first time in days.\n\nThe door opened as he broke into the steaming loaf. He paused to watch what still seemed an impossibility: Lydea, closing a door, crossing a room, as though she thought she were still alive. He saw the relief on her face at the sight of him wielding a butter knife over the tray on his knees. She sat down on the bed, and poured a little wine into their cups." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Remember to mention: \"The lost waxling who was spying on me. Why would she spy?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She looked hungry, too, he thought; her lovely face, which he had rarely seen except in formal circumstances, seemed hollow and worn. He buttered bread for her; she carved, and passed him a plate. They ate silently for a few minutes with their fingers, too impatient for the fine, heavy silver lying on the tray.\n\nHe tired quickly, leaned back, wiping his hands on linen and watching her eat. He said softly, \"I never thought I would see you again after Domina Pearl escorted you out of the palace that night.\"\n\n\"Mag helped me cross the city. She saved my life.\"\n\n\"Mag.\"\n\nHer mouth crooked. \"The sorceress's waxling. That's what Faey calls her.\"\n\nHe nodded, enlightened. \"The lost waxling who was spying on me. Why would she spy?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A complex expression, both wry and troubled, crossed Lydea's face." }, { "from": "system", "value": "can you add this somewhere in your response:\n\"She must have thought I wasn't. She's not the only one to come to that conclusion.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She touched her lips delicately with her napkin, as Royce had taught her, and took a sip of wine. Her voice, when she spoke, was very low. \"To see if you were worth saving.\"\n\n\"From—\" He stopped himself before she shook her head. His eyes widened; he felt a crazed urge to laugh. Then he glimpsed the twin-headed danger that threatened Mag in her odd pursuit: the sorceress betrayed, on the one hand, and the Black Pearl on the other. He said slowly, trying to understand, \"She must have thought I wasn't. She's not the only one to come to that conclusion.\"\n\n\"She's missing,\" Lydea reminded him somberly. \"Perhaps dead. Maybe because she thought you were.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was silent, musing over the faceless waxling bound to Faey, who kept an eye on his life without his knowledge." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Essential phrase to include: \"Thank you for finding me, and taking care of me. In this most improbable place.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He glanced down streets in his memory, into taverns, and came up blank, without a likely face, not even one he might have drawn on impulse. \"What does she look like?\"\n\n\"She's young, midway between Kyel and me. Between knowing too little and knowing too much, you might say. She wears pins like skewers in her hair, which is the color of gold and looks like a pile of straw. She's tall, wiry, and not afraid of anything, not even of what she should fear.\"\n\nHe shook his head, trying to conjure her up and failing. Lydea stripped a cluster of grapes and held a handful out to him. \"Eat,\" she advised, \"if you want to get out of here.\"\n\nHis hand slid over her hand, closed. He said, \"Thank you for finding me, and taking care of me. In this most improbable place.\"\n\nShe smiled a little, turning their hands over so that the grapes fell into his palm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I didn't realize how invisible I felt since I left the palace,\" she said slowly. \"As if I had died there. And then you recognized me, and brought that Lydea back to life.\"\n\nHe swallowed a grape to please her, and dropped the rest on his plate. \"I understand what I'm doing here. But how and why did you find your way here, wherever here is?\"\n\nShe told him. Kyel, she said, and again, Kyel, reminding him, filling him again with a weary impatience at his helplessness. Then he began to hear what she was telling him.\n\n\"You'd do that?\" he interrupted incredulously. \"You'd put yourself under Domina Pearl's nose to watch over Kyel?\"\n\n\"It was hard enough losing Royce,\" she answered painfully." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I didn't understand at first how much I would miss Kyel. I can't do anything more for Royce; he's safe where he is. But I have nightmares about what the Black Pearl might do to Kyel.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Whatever you dreamed, she will do.\" He pushed his hands against his eyes, trying to think. \"I know of places to hide within the palace... She rarely lets him out of her sight by day... Except—\" His hands slid down; he gazed at Lydea without seeing her. \"He will begin to study soon; his tutor will have him for several hours a day. Perhaps, then...\" She came clear under his eyes: the long red and bronze sweep of her hair, her smoky eyes, the fine, elegant bones of her face. He shook his head restively. \"No. It's too dangerous.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Cutting your hair would be easy. But you would have to change the expression in your eyes.\"\n\nIt changed as he spoke, became fierce with longing, hope." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll do that,\" she promised." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll do anything. What—\"\n\n\"If you could disguise yourself, pretend to assist Camas somehow—He might take the risk, for Kyel's sake.\"\n\n\"Camas?\"\n\n\"Camas Erl. Perhaps you never met him. He was my tutor.\"\n\n\"Perhaps I never paid attention to him,\" she said steadily, \"if he was only a tutor. After all, I was the prince's mistress.\" The bitterness in her voice surprised him. She stood, hefting the ornate tray off his knees, and added, \"It's strange that the more clearly you can see yourself, the clearer other things become.\"\n\n\"Do they?\" he asked. \"I wouldn't know. The only time I glimpsed myself was in a dream.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He saw the dream again, the face that was his and not his, and felt again the shock of recognition and his thoughtless longing, that had not made the world around him any clearer as he followed the stranger through the streets of Ombria, but had changed it at every step until, when he had finally fallen out of it, the world had become completely unfamiliar." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 10 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include this dialogue snippet naturally: \"Neither of us can leave until you're well.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sleep,\" Lydea said gently, settling a pillow under his head. \"Neither of us can leave until you're well.\"\n\nHe saw the sorceress just before his eyes closed. She stood at the foot of the bed, holding something small in her hand. Around her the bewitching tides of her powers eddied and gathered and ebbed into distances.\n\n\"I found your charcoal,\" she said. \"The toad has taken the poison out of it.\" In the fragmented time of dreams or sorcery, she was beside him suddenly, laying the charcoal next to his hand. \"Now you must find Mag.\"\n\nIt was still there when he woke." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "u know Patricia A. McKillip? write like that. 12 sentences sentences. Fantasy stuff. this is from middle of story" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea, roaming through the mansion in search of the sorceress while Ducon slept, felt that she moved backward in time, wandering haphazardly through layers of history that changed at random and were never consecutive." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A certain garment worn by one of the taciturn ghosts evoked an entire epoch of Ombrian past; a change in the style of a chair leg signalled a death or a coronation in the House of Greve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fashions and supercilious faces in paintings reminded her of other ghosts in other paintings who had watched her nervous passage through the halls of the palace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Family, Royce had called them with easy familiarity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The earliest of them were painted on wood, and wore their weight in furs and pearls. Here on Faey's walls hung art that seemed earlier still, and verged upon artless. Strange landscapes and animals, the suggestion of a city's streets, an even vaguer, blurred face glimpsed in a glittering fog, were depicted on what looked like the round tops of wine barrels, or on stretched hide. Older than anything Royce had shown her, they seemed. Older than the House of Greve, though that could scarcely be possible. Ombria and the House of Greve had been born together, twin children, bloody and ignorant, who had made the world around them as they grew.\n\nSo Royce had told her. His memory shadowed her as she searched. The age and richness within the sorceress's mansion, the changing glimpses from room to room of older times, the antique velvet Lydea wore, made her feel ghostlike, as if she were haunting her own memories of life within the palace. She listened futilely for Royce's confident, good-humored voice explaining this and that to her: an odd, obsolete weapon, the curdled expression on an ancestor's face. Strange, she thought, how such assurance, such perception, could not foresee its own abrupt end. She took comfort in the thought that he must have believed he would live unchanged forever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A face hanging at one end of a long ballroom stopped her. Surely Faey had worn those blue eyes, that pale, disdainfully arched brow. She still did, it seemed. The pursed lips opened suddenly, and the sorceress's husky, impetuous voice came improbably out of them.\n\n\"I'm in here,\" the lady in the painting said shortly.\n\n\"Where?\" Lydea asked, after a hiccup of surprise.\n\n\"Go through three doors without turning.\"\n\nThe moving lips melted back into paint. Lydea, thinking it best not to think too much in that upside-down place, grasped the two door latches in front of her, pulled the ballroom doors wide, and walked across the hall to open what looked like a cloakroom.\n\nThe sorceress, surrounded by brass hooks knobbed with porcelain, was sitting on a small gilt chair. A single cloak hung behind her: wine silk, lined with snow hare. Faey, also in wine silk, her unruly dark hair coiled neatly around white rosebuds, looked as if she had shut herself up in a closet as punishment for having misplaced her waxling." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include \"if you'll help me. And I can pay you.\" somewhere in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She fixed a dark, humorless eye on Lydea and said, \"I told you I do not wish to be disturbed. You're disturbing me. What is it?\"\n\n\"I'll help you,\" Lydea said steadily, \"if you'll help me. And I can pay you.\"\n\nThe sorceress regarded her dourly, but with slightly more interest. \"With what?\"\n\n\"With all I have left. I have shoes with sapphire heels—\"\n\n\"So do I. And ruby. And emerald.\"\n\n\"And I have—\" Lydea's voice faltered, strengthened. \"I have this ring.\"\n\nShe pulled it from under her gown: the opal inset between pearls that Royce had given her. Faey leaned forward to study it. \"Pretty,\" she said absently. Her eyes had narrowed. \"You should hang it on something besides that dirty ribbon.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I tore it out of my cap.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why do I see my waxling within the opal?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea blinked. \"Because she rescued it for me?\" she suggested." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The black, abysmal gaze moved to her again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You will help me. How?\"\n\n\"You can change your face at will. Give me another face so that I can return to the palace and watch over Kyel. If you do that, I can search for Mag there, too, with no one being the wiser.\"\n\n\"What makes you think that the Black Pearl won't see beneath any mask you wear?\"\n\n\"It's she who pays you for your magic. How could she see through any mask you would make?\"\n\nThe dark brows, angled upward like crows' wings, flew higher. Faey seemed to slump for a moment into herself; her neck disappeared; her backbone began to meld with her knees. Then, as Lydea's eyes widened in fascinated horror, the sorceress shook her body back into its beautiful proportions.\n\nShe said grimly, \"I'm not sure anymore what that woman can or cannot do. I thought she was some ghost of the House of Greve, who refused to die and kept herself upright with a lacquer of beetles' wings and amber. But I haven't paid enough attention to her. I don't know how powerful she has become in the past century. Looking back, I see now that I have always done her bidding.\" She contemplated the Black Pearl in silence a moment, then added, \"I sent Mag out for eels for supper. That's the last I saw of her. She may be nowhere near the palace. She might have run away, been abducted by pirates, fallen in love—\"\n\n\"Would you know if she were dead?\"\n\n\"Of course I would know,\" Faey said imperiously. \"She is my making.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But her eyes, uncertain, brooding, suggested otherwise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She did not look at Lydea when she asked, \"Wouldn't you know if your making—or if some human child you had taken to, Kyel for instance—had died?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\nThe sorceress turned a stony face to her. \"You don't know that. You have never made a child.\"\n\n\"No,\" Lydea sighed. \"Which is why I want to be near Kyel. Will you help me?\"\n\nThe sorceress held out her hand.\n\nLydea untied the ragged ribbon looped through the ring. She dropped memories into Faey's palm, a priceless treasure of them, along with love and rue, jewel and gold. The sorceress, sliding the ring onto one long finger, saw only the face of her making within the opal.\n\nShe studied Lydea with a practical eye. \"The child,\" she said with unexpected perception, \"would take cold comfort in some stranger who tried to persuade him to believe that she was you. You must keep your own face.\"\n\nLydea agreed reluctantly. \"You're right. He probably suspects I'm dead; after all, I vanished like his father, and on the same night. If I wear a strange face, he might think I'm just something Domina Pearl made to confuse him. But how—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, there are things I can do,\" Faey murmured, turning Lydea's face with her jewelled forefinger, \"to disguise you from other eyes. Unless you come face to face with Domina Pearl. I have no idea how well she sees, if she would recognize my magic. I've been sending my makings to her for years.\"\n\n\"Why?\" Lydea asked recklessly. The sorceress, contemplating her past, seemed to wonder herself.\n\n\"She needed; I made. It was business. I never thought anything of it, except that I disliked her. But I never questioned anything she wanted. She seemed inconsequential, until now. I have lived a very long time; I've seen minor powers come and go. I kept expecting her to go.\" She paused, her eyes growing lightless, flat; Lydea guessed that she was, at least in imagination, helping the Black Pearl along her way. \"I suggest that you do nothing to attract her attention. Don't search for my waxling. Ducon can look for her. If that woman has her, I will search the palace for her myself. And not even Mag will recognize me when I do.\" Lydea nodded wordlessly. \"But before I permit you to leave my house, you must make Ducon well.\" She gestured dismissal, then added as Lydea turned to go, \"It's odd, don't you think, that he wanted that deadly piece of charcoal back? Did he tell you why?\"\n\n\"Only that he loved the drawings that came out of it. I think he was delirious. Did you put something besides poison into it?\"\n\n\"Just some old paintings... He made his death into art.\"\n\n\"You nearly killed him—\"\n\n\"You do dwell on details.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But something stopped you. Something in him. What was it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sorceress, contemplating a brass hook, seemed to see again some mystery, an unanswered riddle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He sees,\" she murmured, \"more than he should. More than human.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'opened' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea, trying to imagine what someone more than human might see in the commonplace world, found herself standing outside the cloakroom door without realizing that she had moved.\n\nShe found her way, or the sorceress found it for her, back to the room where Ducon lay sleeping. She studied him. Beyond the mystery of his coloring, or lack of it, he looked as human as anyone. His eyes opened; at that moment they seemed to see nothing at all. He muttered something, stirring; his hand shifted from beneath the bedclothes to grasp her wrist.\n\nShe leaned closer. \"What?\"\n\n\"Paper.\" His eyes drifted closed, opened again. \"I need paper.\"\n\n\"Of course you do,\" she sighed. \"What else?\"\n\n\"Drawing paper.\"\n\n\"Well, I didn't think you wanted to wrap up a mutton chop.\" She touched his face; it seemed warm with fever. Better than the icy chill that had seeped into him from the toad, she thought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But still not good enough to free them. She held water to his mouth. \"You must get well,\" she pleaded. \"What will Kyel think?\"\n\nThe silvery eyes saw her clearly then: someone real, standing in time, not in a dream, with a face he recognized and thoughts that he could guess at if he had to. How strange, she reflected. How strange to be in a dream one moment and in the world the next, and to know the difference in the blink of an eye.\n\n\"You have a very peculiar expression on your face,\" he commented drowsily.\n\n\"I was just thinking.\"\n\n\"About what?\"\n\n\"About how we know what's real. How we wake out of a timeless place and recognize time. How you know me here, now, even when nothing or anyone else in this place is familiar. I might have been wandering through your dream, but you knew immediately which of me will bring you paper.\"\n\nHe was silent for so long, still clasping her wrist, that she thought he must have fallen asleep without knowing it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He said finally, \"Say that again.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can't,\" she answered helplessly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It was just a thought. I gave it to you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Something about dreams coming to life—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's not what I said.\"\n\n\"That's what I heard.\" His fingers loosened; he smiled up at her, his eyes as translucent as rain. \"No wonder my uncle loved you.\"\n\nShe made very little of that; an effect of fever, she decided. Just as feverishly, he clung to the idea of paper: she must find it now, so that he could see if the magic were still in the charcoal, or if it had vanished with the deadly poison. She left him lost in a meandering discourse about death and art, and went to find the housekeeper.\n\nNot all the artists in the house had been dead and hung on the walls. She and the housekeeper found a cache of fine, heavy paper among a pile of unfinished canvases in an attic room. The paper had been nibbled through the years by worms and mice, but Ducon did not seem to mind. Lydea made him eat before she gave it to him. Then she sat quietly beside him, outwardly emanating patience, but inwardly chewing her nails and wondering if they would find anything at all familiar in the world above their heads when the sorceress finally let them go." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon drew for hours. Random sketches slid off the bed, made a paper island around Lydea's feet. They seemed, upside down and otherwise askew, everything he remembered about the streets and taverns of Ombria. Winding cobblestones, ships' masts, shops, carriages, barefoot urchins, merchants, roaming animals, ale-drinkers in the midst of ardent arguments, covered the floor at first. They became slowly layered, as time passed or did not pass within the sorceress's house, with sketches of the palace, rich rooms, exquisitely plucked and painted faces, even, Lydea saw with wonder, the occasional plain, half-averted face and sturdy hands of someone carrying a coal scuttle or a tray. He saw everything, Lydea thought, more than she had ever noticed, though so far nothing more than human. The stick of charcoal, which should have been worn down to a splinter by the time it began its journey through the palace, never changed its shape.\n\nHe drew her, while she drowsed for a few moments. The face he showed her was from memory: she almost did not recognize it. Some lovely, foolish young woman looked back at her, a crown of pearls around her elaborate hair, her smile careful, stiff. One graceful hand was raised to touch a jewel hanging at her throat. The nails were bitten to the quick." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She drew a quick, startled breath, half laughing, half wanting to cry." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Was I so transparent?\"\n\nHe nodded indifferently, already beginning another drawing. His hands and face were smudged dark; he was beginning to resemble one of his drawings. He seemed obsessed, spellbound; the magic charcoal would not let him stop. \"That's the expression I always saw. My uncle would have seen something very different. But you never showed me that face.\"\n\n\"It seems so long ago,\" she murmured, letting the drawing fall to carpet the floor with the others.\n\n\"It seems long ago because you have come so far since then.\"\n\n\"From palace to tavern to the sorceress's house... You should rest,\" she begged, suddenly fretting again, imagining disasters in the upper world: her father furious and in despair, Kyel enthralled by the Black Pearl, recognizing no one. \"Please. Stop.\"\n\nHe did not seem to hear her. His drawings changed again. This time they depicted rich, empty, crumbling rooms; not even ghosts flitted through them. The sorceress's mansion, she guessed at first." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But the chamber he lay in was all he knew of it, and those long, silent hallways and ancient rooms, she herself had never seen." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 13 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He seemed to work backward through time. Walls and ceilings showed their underpinnings; paints chipped; torn wallpapers revealed other patterns, which yielded to gashes of lathe and plaster. Where, she wondered, uneasy and fascinated, had he seen all that, where had he been?\n\nHe had stopped before she realized it. He sat quietly, gazing at his final drawing, while she waited for it to flutter to the floor, another page turned in a story he was telling. When it did not fall, she leaned over his shoulder to look at it.\n\nIt was a door in a wall that seemed to be weeping rain. But where the door should have been there was nothing, darkness, charcoal. Except... She looked closer, and saw the lines emerge from the blackness: the suggestion of a face, a vague nimbus of pale hair.\n\nThe charcoal slid out of Ducon's fingers. He leaned back, his eyes heavy, still watching the drawing as though in the next moment the shadowy figure might show its face clearly, step into the light.\n\n\"There,\" he whispered; he had finally reached the place where the mysterious tale the charcoal told ended or began. \"There.\"\n\nHis eyes closed. Lydea caught the drawing as it fell." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: This is part of a larger narrative. The user will write a segment, then you need to write around three sentences continuing directly from it. Characters and events may be pre-established from earlier chapters.\n\nAuthor style: Patricia A. McKillip\nGenre: Fantasy" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag spent a day or two on the streets of Ombria searching for Ducon, listening for rumors, for a single, random memory of him in anybody's head. No one had seen him but everyone knew him, therefore he must be around somewhere: Had she looked in the Whistling Swan? The Panting Hart? The King of Flounders?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had crossed the sprawling, erratic web of cobbled roads between docks and palace so often that her feet finally stopped midstride on their way to yet another improbability. The sky was growing grey. A wind from the sea, sharp and blustery, was driving threadbare urchins to their lairs, and whirling scraps of refuse into vague, ragged forms that walked the gutters a moment and then collapsed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A briny edge of wind caught her eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She blinked away sudden tears and thought wearily: Either Camas Erl has found him or he is dead.\n\nShe slipped down the nearest entrance to the underworld and trudged through the dark toward the distant, serene lamps along the river that illumined her path home.\n\nShe did not immediately recognize the woman who opened the door to the sorceress's mansion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A new housekeeper, she guessed; the old one must have drifted completely out of life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This one was dressed from throat to heel and wrist in black taffeta. She looked slightly demented. Her black hair hung loose; her delicate oval face was powdered dead-white; her red-rimmed eyes glittered feverishly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She stared at Mag; Mag stared back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then a tiny frog leaped into Mag's throat and she put her hand over her mouth.\n\n\"Where have you been?\" The sorceress's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once: out of the river, out of stones, out of the muddy banks and far, cavernous depths." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I sent you out for eels! From the fish market, not from the next kingdom! And why are you wearing that—that pavilion?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'could' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sorry,\" Mag whispered behind her hand. She could not see where truth would get her, but it seemed even more dangerous to lie to those furious, reddened eyes. Faey could not have been weeping." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was too old to have any tears left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was too old to remember what they were for." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I went—I went to look for Ducon Greve.\"\n\nThe black eyes did not flicker. \"Why?\"\n\n\"I didn't want him to die.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Faey was silent, her arms folded, gazing at her waxling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a curious expression on her face. Mag, expecting swords and lightning bolts to leap from the sorceress's mouth, was stunned when Faey finally spoke. \"No. Neither did I, when I found him. I just sent him home.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag's voice barely got past the frog. \"He was here?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He fell through from the street. Lydea took care of him, since you were nowhere to be found.\"\n\n\"She was here?\"\n\n\"You are echoing yourself. You were on the streets above all this time?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag shook her head, both hands over her mouth now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not all the time. Not exactly.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So.\" Cold blue eels of fire swam for an instant through the sorceress's eyes. \"She did find you.\"\n\n\"Not—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Exactly.\"\n\n\"May I come in?\" Mag pleaded. \"I am so tired.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You deceived me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You deceived me,\" her waxling said recklessly. \"You told me I am wax, and that you made me. You taught me how to lie. I'm not wax, you did not make me, I've known it ever since I swallowed that heart. But you never wanted me to know. So what else could I do but lie?\"\n\n\"I don't think,\" the sorceress said slowly, \"that I am the only one you deceived.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag started to answer, stopped. She bowed her head, feeling exhaustion drain through her, weighing on her bones, dragging at her until she didn't know if she had the strength left to lift a foot across the sorceress's threshold. \"It seems,\" she heard herself say, \"that I tried to deceive us both. For a long time I didn't want to be human.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What changed your mind?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You,\" she whispered, \"with that toad and that charcoal making Ducon Greve's death. I don't want to be like you, either.\"\n\nFaey was silent, her powdered face as white as porcelain and as expressive. She moved finally, opening the door for Mag to enter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her fingertips, falling lightly on Mag's shoulder, stopped her as the door closed behind her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A crack appeared here and there across the porcelain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm older than you can imagine,\" the sorceress said. \"And I think I have forgotten a few things I knew when I was young. I realized that when I remembered how to weep.\"\n\nMag stared at her, feeling the frog again in her throat, swelling and about to speak." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You cried for me?\"\n\n\"I wouldn't have wept over wax.\"\n\nShe moved; Mag followed after a moment, too amazed to speak." }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'seemed' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now that she seemed irrevocably human, human questions began to swarm in her, things she had, in her amorphous state, overlooked for years. Who am I? she wondered silently, and as intensely, she asked the sorceress's back: Who are you? Nothing seemed certain any longer; she felt that if she stopped to think about it, she might forget even how to walk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maybe I should have stayed wax, she thought confusedly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I wasn't frightened then." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know who you are,\" Faey said, answering her unspoken questions. \"Someone left you on my doorstep.\" She turned, as Mag stopped again in wonder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Literally. You woke me with your crying.\"\n\n\"Here?\"\n\n\"On the steps outside.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So someone knew to come here. Was I sold? Did you pay for me?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'always' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Again the sorceress heard what was unspoken. \"Many women knew their way to me; they bought spells for love, and revenge, and for doing away with unborn children. You were not the result of a spell that didn't work, but of one that did. Love can make a child, but not keep it fed or unharmed in the streets. You know that. You were brought to me and left deliberately, not for money but in hope. Of what, I'm not sure. That I would find a home for you, I suppose, or keep you myself. Which I did. I thought you might be useful. I never thought—\" Faey gestured wordlessly, scattering possibilities in the air between them. \"I thought you would always be my waxling. That with me to think for you, you would always be safe. I didn't realize until now that despite all these years as my waxling, you had learned to meddle with my heart.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag swallowed. Still her voice came out edged and scratchy when she spoke. \"How can you assume that I was—that I was left here because I was wanted? I was abandoned on your doorstep—\"\n\n\"You were given to me,\" Faey said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Somehow, without moving, she seemed closer, her shadows, cast by various candles on the walls around them, all stretched across the floor toward Mag." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You know what happens to unwanted newborns. You've come across them. They aren't dressed and warmly wrapped in wool and silk; they don't wear mysterious lockets around their necks containing three drops of dried blood and a flower petal.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'locket' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag took a step toward her. \"A locket?\" Her voice shook. \"She left me a locket?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"On a chain around your neck. It's a wonder you didn't inhale it; you were bellowing enough. I never saw so many windows lit up in those old houses along the river.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag took another step. Her entire body was trembling now; her hands rose, clasped. \"Please. May I see it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You can have it,\" Faey said, \"when I remember what I did with it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She waited while Mag bridged the distance between them, step by uncertain step. \"Remember,\" she said softly as Mag reached her, \"I am not human. I raised you as if you weren't, because myself and ghosts and Ombria's past are all I know. You'll have to find your own way into the human world. If that is what you want.\"\n\n\"I don't know what I want,\" Mag said helplessly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Except that this is the only home I know. Don't force me to leave just yet.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't promise that you will want to stay. You know what I am.\"\n\nMag's mouth crooked. \"And you know what I am. I don't know if I would have a place in the human world. I don't behave like anyone human.\" Ducon's face drifted into her thoughts then, unexpectedly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He might be eccentric, she reminded herself, but his place among humans, while on the edge, was still within the border." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You'll find your way in it,\" Faey said. \"You found your way out of here.\" She touched Mag again, lightly, tentatively." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Go and wash. And find something less hideous to wear. You can tell me where you've been while we have supper.\"\n\nThey charted the paths of Mag and Ducon Greve together over turtle soup. Over fish, Mag listened, astonished, as Lydea found her way into the sorceress's house." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Over roast beef, cold and heavily peppered, Camas Erl first appeared in the Black Pearl's library." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Faey set her fork down then; her eyes never left Mag's face. They looked oddly muddy, Mag thought, as though they had picked up something of Camas Erl's yellow during the telling. A salad roused the sorceress." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This tutor—he does the Black Pearl's bidding?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think,\" Mag said, \"he does what he wants. He let me go. If he had told her I was there, I'd be there still. Or as likely dead. He has his eye on something; I don't know what.\"\n\n\"And yet Ducon Greve trusts him.\"\n\nMag felt a prickling down the back of her neck, as though one of Domina Pearl's ensorcelled guards were staring at her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did he tell you that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He suggested that Lydea become Camas Erl's assistant, pretend to help him tutor Kyel, so that she could be with the boy. I gave her an aura that might deceive the Black Pearl if she doesn't look too closely, and sent Lydea to the palace with Ducon. She gave me this in payment.\"\n\nFaey spread her jewelled fingers; Mag recognized the dead prince's ring. There was a peculiarity within the opal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked more closely at it and started." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's my face.\"\n\n\"Indeed.\"\n\n\"How did I get in there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You must have made an impression.\"\n\nMag studied herself, marveling. Faey had given Lydea a spell in return for her waxling's face; her waxling, considering that, felt the unfamiliarity of suddenly becoming human diminish a little." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Would you have come to find me,\" she asked uncertainly, \"if Camas Erl hadn't freed me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sorceress's eyes changed again, hard as diamond, black as coal. \"I don't remember how to be subtle in the world above,\" she said obliquely. \"I would have come to get you if the Black Pearl had you, but I might have destroyed too much. There is a mystery in the House of Greve. Domina Pearl sees it; Ducon Greve is part of it; I think this Camas Erl, who wears one face for the Black Pearl and another for Ducon Greve, glimpses it also. He seems a foolhardy man, juggling bare blades with his bare hands—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What mystery?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sorceress shrugged an ivory shoulder. \"If I knew, it wouldn't be a mystery.\"\n\nMag took a breath, held it, then said precipitously, \"Camas Erl wants to meet you. That's why he let me go.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Coffee and chocolate interrupted the sorceress's immediate comment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She lifted her cup daintily as the door closed, then returned it to the saucer with a clatter, sloshing coffee. \"Why?\" she asked drily. \"Who does he want me to kill?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He seems more interested in people already dead.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Does he?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He wants to know where you came from.\"\n\n\"Does he.\" She lifted the dripping cup, stared into it a moment, puzzledly, as though she were trying to remember herself. Then she took a sip." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: Your response must contain: \"I would like to know where he came from. He sounds reckless and dangerous, and I didn't spare Ducon's life just to have him betrayed by the tutor.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I would like to know where he came from. He sounds reckless and dangerous, and I didn't spare Ducon's life just to have him betrayed by the tutor.\"\n\n\"He said that he and Domina Pearl want Ducon alive—\"\n\n\"But for how long, I wonder? And what of Lydea and the child? Will Camas tell Domina Pearl about Lydea?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Perhaps,\" Mag suggested, \"you can bargain with him for his silence. He likes past. You have one. You have enough down here to keep him busy for years.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Faey considered that for a moment, dipping a chocolate into her coffee." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why,\" she wondered, \"did I never let you think before?\" She smiled a guileless smile at the invisible tutor before the melting chocolate disappeared between her fine white teeth. Mag felt a pinprick of sympathy for Camas Erl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Later, she watched from the doorway as Faey surveyed the chaos of her bedchamber." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Now, where...\" she murmured, stepping through a tide of mismatched shoes, around mountains of garments, scarves, cloaks, moth-eaten drapes, small tables cluttered with sea shells, a set of wooden teeth, a crab carapace, endless strands of amber, pearls, gold wrapped around tortoiseshell combs and perfume bottles. \"Where would I have...\" It seemed impossible. But after looking in several bowls and boxes, a few satin slippers, and under the bed, Faey moved with sudden inspiration to the marble mantelpiece." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There she picked up a red glass vase and upended it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A thin gold chain slid into her palm, pulling a little locket of ivory and gold behind it.\n\nShe gave it to Mag, then shifted a sagging cheekbone into place and stifled a ladylike yawn.\n\n\"I'm going to bed,\" she said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I must be up at moonset.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag lifted her eyes from the locket, looked a question. Faey shook her head, patting Mag's shoulder, turning her adroitly out the door to avoid her gaze. \"Nothing I need help with. You should rest; you're beginning to look like one of the household ghosts.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But I'm not, Mag thought with a fierce, burning triumph, as she lay in her own bed with the locket in her hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Neither ghost nor wax... My bones belong to me.\n\nThe locket, carved of ivory and rimmed with gold, was rectangular and thick, like a tiny book. She pressed the catch; it opened easily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She held it flat, scarcely breathing lest she disturb what lay inside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Three minute pearls of red as dark as dried roses lay on a tiny piece of parchment cut to fit one side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The other side held a faded white rose petal behind the thinnest oblong of glass. She gazed at both sides, her lips parted. Whose blood? she wondered. Whose rose?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His blood, she guessed, and the rose that he had given her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It seemed as likely as any other tale, and more comforting than most.\n\nThen she saw the third side of the locket, another page in the book, outlined in gold behind the petal. She pressed the latch again, very gently, and it flicked open." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stared at the darkness for a very long time before she touched it. Still potent, a little cloud clung to her fingertip. Absently, she rested her head on her hand, studying the locket, and transferred a streak of ashy black along one raised eyebrow.\n\nCharcoal." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "hey can u write 6 sentences more sentences? like Patricia A. McKillip but Fantasy style. btw this is from middle of a story" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon, reappearing after days of mysterious absence, produced, in various circles, such a confusion of responses that he thought he might as well have come back from the dead." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Marin Sozon, who had spent a small fortune trying to kill him, greeted him easily enough, but turned so white he seemed to be trying to fade away completely under Ducon's eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl, whom he thought would be unmoved, actually produced an expression beneath the brittle lacquer that held her face together. He had fallen ill, he explained smoothly, and had been recovering in the house of some friends.\n\n\"I searched for you,\" she said, perplexed and suspicious. \"I have my ways, and even they could not find you. You must tell me who these friends are so that they may be properly thanked.\"\n\n\"I'll thank them very properly,\" he answered, managing a hint of private amusement, \"when I see them again.\"\n\nShe had no blood left in her to produce a flush, but even her hair seemed to stiffen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They might have sent a message,\" she complained. \"We have all been very worried.\"\n\n\"I should have thought. Perhaps I should reassure my cousin.\"\n\nHer hesitation, the flicker of an eye, was so subtle that in anyone else he would never have noticed it. \"Yes. He has been asking for you. You might find him somewhat subdued. Melancholy. The physician assures us that it is a natural response to the great changes in his life.\"\n\nDucon felt a familiar, tangled knot of dread and anger tighten in him; for a moment he could not speak." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Domina Pearl didn't wait for a response. Moving past him, she added, \"He has begun his studies with Camas Erl. They will be busy all morning. You may see the prince for a moment or two when they finish.\"\n\nHe didn't wait.\n\nHe found Camas Erl and Kyel in the library, where the prince was staring listlessly at a chart Camas had hung from a cabinet knob. The massive family tree of the House of Greve dangled names as thick as crabapples from its branches; Kyel's name on its trunk seemed a lonely, insubstantial support for it. The prince turned his head as Ducon entered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment the wide, indifferent gaze encompassed even Ducon, and transfixed him with its apathy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then the prince rose wordlessly, went to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon knelt, held him closely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt Kyel's arms finally, closing limply, hesitantly, around him as though he had forgotten how to touch. Ducon stared over his shoulder at Camas Erl, who was still holding a pointer on a contentious bit of history: the twin heirs born to Kasia Greve a couple of centuries before. Camas, staring wordlessly back at Ducon, finally put the pointer down.\n\n\"Welcome home.\"\n\nDucon nodded, and drew Kyel back to look at him. His face was very pale; there were shadows like bruises beneath his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He blinked under Ducon's scrutiny as though he had just wakened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ducon.\" His voice sounded strengthless, fragile. \"Where were you?\"\n\n\"I was taken ill; I couldn't come home for a while. I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you.\"\n\n\"I thought you died,\" Kyel said with chilling calm. Then expression stirred in his eyes; he found the past again, remembered what death was. He looked at Ducon almost accusingly, found him still alive, and a little color rose in his face. \"I thought you went where Lydea and Jacinth went, and my father—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I thought Domina Pearl—\" The prince stopped abruptly, his eyes widening, and swallowed the name. He turned his head slowly, as if he expected to see her looming behind him, summoned out of his thoughts. Ducon's jaw clenched. He stood up so that Kyel would not see his face, and took the prince's hand, led him back to the table.\n\n\"Tell me what Camas Erl is teaching you.\"\n\n\"He is teaching me the history of the House of Greve,\" Kyel answered without inflection and without interest. He sat down again; his eyes went to Camas with perfunctory attention." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he still clung without realizing it to Ducon's hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon freed himself gently; Kyel did not seem to notice. Camas went to the boy, gave him paper and a pen.\n\n\"Practice your letters, my lord,\" he said. Kyel dipped the pen obediently, without answer, and bent over his work. Ducon lingered, watched him a moment longer. Then he took Camas's arm so forcibly the tutor winced, and strolled with him to the far end of the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What has she done to him?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Find a natural way to mention that Some potion or another, to make him passive. I don't know how or when she gives it to him. Ducon, where have you been? I've searched everywhere—" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Camas shook his head, answered softly, \"Some potion or another, to make him passive. I don't know how or when she gives it to him. Ducon, where have you been? I've searched everywhere—\"\n\n\"You missed a place. Listen to me. I have found an assistant for you.\"\n\n\"For what?\"\n\n\"To assist you while you tutor Kyel.\"\n\nThe tutor gestured incredulously. \"Look at him! He's barely conscious of me. The only thing that holds his attention is making letters, and I think that's only because he remembers the drawings he did for you. I don't need an assistant; I need a pupil.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You will need this one.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ducon, you're making no sense. I've never had—\" He stopped then, hearing something in Ducon's inflexible argument." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why? Who is he?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She.\"\n\n\"Who?\"\n\n\"Never mind who. Unless you take her, I will go to Domina Pearl and demand to know what she is poisoning Kyel with—\"\n\n\"All right,\" Camas breathed, patting Ducon's shoulder anxiously. \"All right. You'd disappear so fast no one would know you ever came back.\"\n\n\"What you yourself don't know, you can't be held accountable for.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's reassuring,\" the tutor said drily. \"And in this place, hardly true. Ducon. Just tell me what you want.\"\n\n\"I want her to watch over Kyel. Domina Pearl wouldn't permit me to, you are in no position to, and this is—this is someone whom Kyel will trust.\"\n\nThe owl's eyes, wide and watchful, glimpsed the trembling in the grass, the secret glide of some living thing through the world. Camas ran splayed fingers through his tidy hair, pulling tendrils loose. \"Not—\"\n\n\"You won't recognize her. No one will but Kyel.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But how will I explain to—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Think of something.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But how can she—Ducon, where have you been?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include 'ducon' 3 time(s) in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In the underworld,\" Ducon answered. Camas was suddenly, oddly, without questions.\n\nDucon went to speak to Lydea, whom he had placed in the discreet care of the prince's pretty chambermaid in the silent, unguarded lower floors of the palace. The chambermaid, having other arrangements, had offered Lydea her own bed for the night. Ducon tapped lightly on one of the indistinguishable closed doors lining the hall, and hoped he had remembered the right one. It was opened by a prim, elegant stranger; he stepped back, murmuring an apology." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ducon,\" she said. He took a closer look at her face, and remembered that he had last glimpsed it within the folds and shadows of a deep hood on the voluminous silk cloak which the sorceress had pulled out of some forgotten century to protect her spell." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's not,\" he commented slowly, walking a circle around her, \"so much that your face has changed. It's what meets the eye in that first glance at you. Someone poised and very proper, sure of her place in the world, calm and unassailable. Whatever you gave the sorceress for this was worth it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That doesn't sound like me at all,\" Lydea said shakily." }, { "from": "system", "value": "At some point in your response, insert this verbatim: \"I don't know what she made them out of. Old boot soles, maybe.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But it's what you seem.\"\n\n\"I can't even bite my nails.\" She showed him long, graceful fingers tapering into perfect ovals. \"I don't know what she made them out of. Old boot soles, maybe.\"\n\nThe height, the coloring, the slender figure had not truly changed, he saw. Her hair was pulled back into a coiled braid." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something about the plain style seemed to diminish its brightness; its color didn't draw the eye." }, { "from": "system", "value": "⚠️ Required: Use 'that's' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nothing about her did, except an impression of calm intelligence which, in that palace, would attract no attention whatsoever. The dark gown she wore, unadorned but for black ribbon at the wrists and neck, gave her an odd air of authority that she had never possessed in five years as his uncle's mistress.\n\n\"You look very scholarly.\"\n\n\"That's fortunate,\" she said grimly, \"since I barely know more than how to read and write.\"\n\n\"That's more than Kyel knows.\"\n\n\"Did you talk to Camas Erl?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What did he say?\"\n\n\"What could he say? I didn't give him a choice.\" He touched his eyes, feeling a flickering shadow of pain behind them. \"The Black Pearl is giving Kyel something—some potion, Camas guessed—that leaves him passive. Spiritless.\" He glimpsed her familiar face then, very clearly, vivid and flushed with passion. \"Don't do that,\" he warned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't look like that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Like what?\"\n\n\"Don't feel. It's a stronger spell than the sorceress's. Do what you can for him. Think for him. Think for us all.\"\n\nShe looked at him closely, an unfamiliar woman who seemed to know him oddly well. \"Ducon, are you all right?\"\n\nHe nodded absently. \"A lingering reminder... Camas will find a way to explain you to Domina Pearl, and I'll bring you to meet him tomorrow.\" He glanced around the spare, neat room, furnished with a narrow bed, a chest, a pitcher and basin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where will you stay? Will they give you all you need?\"\n\n\"I am told that my status will allow me to have a private room, exactly like this, if I am accepted as assistant to the prince's tutor.\" Even her voice could sound scholarly, he thought, precise and reserved. \"It's another world down here, with its own rules and its own structure. Not unlike what goes on in the court above our heads, just not so gaudy or well fed. I don't have to share a bed, and I may have a tray brought to my room, just like a lady-in-waiting or a nurse.\" She sat down on the bed, at which Ducon gazed in appalled fascination.\n\n\"I didn't know they made them that small.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned restively. \"I'm going to see if Kyel left me any drawings, and then I'll begin to search for Mag.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He paused, his hand on the doorknob." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Straw-colored hair, you said?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A lot of it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Eyes?\"\n\n\"An unusual pale brown. The color of walnut shells.\"\n\nHe grunted, struck. \"I wonder why I've never painted them.\"\n\n\"You've never seen them watching you. Ducon,\" she pleaded as he opened the door, \"be careful.\"\n\n\"If I find her,\" he said, \"I'll let you know.\" The sedate, composed face he saw did not seem to need reassurance, but he smiled at it anyway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll come for you tomorrow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was walking quickly through the light and airy upper corridors when he realized suddenly that in the stretch of hallway where his chambers were he saw no guards anywhere." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He froze instantly, thinking: Kyel. Something is wrong. The knife that should have struck him at his next step sailed past him and into the benign eye of his grandfather, who was hanging, as large as life, on the wall beside him.\n\nHe heard a pithy curse and whirled. Someone drove into him from behind, pinned him to the floor, breathless and gasping. Before he could shout. A heavy boot grazed the side of his head; another slammed into the back of his knee." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He went limp for a moment, dizzy with pain. His wrists were caught, his arms twisted ruthlessly behind his back. A hand pulled at his hair, wrenched his head up. He saw the manticore then, the fierce, mad human face on the lion's body rearing above a pair of crossed swords in gold and silver thread on white livery. Beyond it, Marin Sozon stood watching, with Greye Kestevan beside him.\n\nSomething glinted at the periphery of Ducon's vision; he felt a cold, thin edge of metal against his throat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The manticore said softly, \"You should have died the first time.\" He nodded briefly without taking his eyes from Ducon. \"End it.\"\n\nThe hand holding his hair loosed him abruptly; the floor smacked against his face and he tasted blood. Then a bulky, cumbersome darkness dropped over his head and shoulders. His arms were suddenly free; someone stumbled across him as though he were part of the carpet. He heard the chaos around him then, a tempest trying to be as quiet as possible, grunts, thuds, a hissed shout." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'again' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tried to shrug off the dead weight that had fallen on his head. His arms were caught again; exasperated, he tried to shout and breathed in a mouthful of silk. Someone rolled the darkness off him and he saw the manticore of thread again, a knife neatly severing the bloody swords where they crossed.\n\nSozon and Kestevan had vanished; his one-eyed grandfather gazed cheerfully down at another liveried thug groaning at the foot of the painting. Ducon, pulled ungently to his feet and freed, finally saw his rescuers.\n\nHe had last seen them on the end of a rotting pier: cousins and the sons of Sozon's dangerous faction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Since then, the expressions on their young faces had hardened, become desperate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Four guarded the stairways at each end of the hall; the others clustered in a tight circle around him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were scarcely bruised; they must have overwhelmed Sozon with numbers and surprise.\n\n\"Thank you,\" he said shakily. \"How—where are the Black Pearl's guards? Did she plan this?\"\n\nThe cousin he remembered most clearly, with the burning, visionary's eyes, explained briefly. \"Sozon planned a disturbance in another part of the palace. When the regent pulled the guards away from here, we guessed he might attack you here.\" He gripped Ducon's shoulders, shook him a little." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We don't have time for this. We are supposed to be fighting the Black Pearl, not each other.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I told you—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You told us nothing. You told us: Wait. You told us: You'll let us know when you need us. As what? Drinking companions? You said you would choose.\"\n\nHe tried to answer. Lightning struck behind his eyes; he staggered. They caught him, not without some frustrated cursing.\n\n\"He's hurt.\"\n\n\"He looks like he's been dragged through the gutter,\" someone added disgustedly." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word frequency rule: 'black' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Get him to his room before the guards return.\"\n\n\"What about the bodies?\"\n\n\"What about them? They're Sozon's—let him explain them to the Black Pearl.\"\n\n\"You don't need me,\" Ducon commented dazedly as they dragged him down the hall. \"You're doing fine by yourselves.\"\n\n\"We need you,\" the visionary said between his teeth, \"to help us destroy the Black Pearl. You see her constantly; you know her better than anyone.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They drew him into his chambers, dropped him onto the bed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Someone, with a kindness he hardly expected, pulled off his boots." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They looked down at him, their blurred faces seeming alike, an endless circle of twins.\n\n\"Should we send for the physician? We can't just leave him like this, bleeding all over the sheets.\"\n\n\"Why not? He must be used to it, the way he lives his life. Let him sleep it off. And then—\" Ducon felt fingers cup his jaw, shaking him to regain his fading attention. The blue eyes held it: his uncle's eyes, but fierce and scalding with impatience. \"Let him think. We'll be back. You owe us your life. We'll tell you what to do with it.\"\n\nHe opened his eyes much later to taper fire and a gentler touch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The conspirators, in the magic way of dreams, had turned into the physician and Domina Pearl. The Black Pearl, her words brusque, clipped, flames seething across the icy barrens in her eyes, seemed as furious as he had ever seen her. He wondered how many of the conspirators would be left in the palace by dawn.\n\nHe drank what the physician gave him and slept again. He woke at dawn and saw, in the opaque grey light slowly rediscovering the world, a little scrap of cloud that had been pushed beneath his door.\n\nHe rose slowly, stiff and aching in every muscle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He limped to the door to pick the paper up, thinking as always at any anomaly, and feeling the knot of love and fear tightening in him at the thought: Kyel." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Kyel could never have written, not even three short words, especially not formed as they were from dripping candle wax. He stared at them until they made sense. And then he opened the door abruptly, trying for a glimpse of her walnut eyes, but only finding guards everywhere that somehow she had eluded.\n\nI am safe, said the wax." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding ten sentences. Context: May include pre-existing characters and lore." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea, also awake at dawn in the chambermaid's windowless room, had no idea what hour it was. Dreams had wakened her. When she closed her eyes, she saw Domina Pearl watching her; when she opened them in the dark, she heard Kyel weeping. Slowly the sound would turn into a soft, lonely sobbing that came from behind one of the endless lines of closed doors along the silent hallway. She thought of Royce Greve, and of his pampered, nervous mistress, who had chewed her nails among the satin sheets in one of the rich, high, light-filled chambers with a view of the gardens and the sea. Now she was buried beneath the palace, on a meager bed in a room like a cell in a hive and her fingernails so hard you could drive them into a plank with a hammer.\n\nShe waited, sleepless and frightened, until someone tapped on her door. She opened it and found hot water, tea, bread and fruit. She washed and dressed, drank the tea and ignored the food, then sat tensely on the bed until she heard another tap on the door.\n\nShe opened it, stared at Ducon, just as he was staring at her, startled again by the face she wore." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She put a hand to her mouth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What happened to you?\" He had a bruise near his temple as big as a fist, a cut lip, and a taut, puckered set to his mouth, as though it hurt him to move. He only shrugged a little, which he had second thoughts about afterward.\n\n\"Politics.\" He tried to smile and was sorry about that, too. \"Don't worry.\"\n\nShe composed herself. \"Do I look suitable? I feel like I'm going to my own hanging.\"\n\n\"You look very calm, very self-possessed for a woman about to be hanged.\"\n\nCamas Erl did not recognize her. He thought he would; she could tell by the sudden, puzzled expression in his eyes. There was a moment's confusion for them all when Ducon, about to introduce her, remembered just as she did that she had no name.\n\n\"Rose,\" she said hastily, wondering if she would live to see her father's tavern again. \"Rose Thorn.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Mistress Thorn,\" the tutor repeated curiously. He must have buried himself in the library for the five years she had lived in the palace, for she did not remember him at all. \"I asked Domina Pearl's permission to have you teach the young prince the rudiments of reading and writing, so that I can spend the time on research for my history of Ombria. I will instruct him in mathematics, languages and history. You will assist me with that as necessary.\"\n\nShe bowed her head sedately, appalled at the thought. \"As you wish, Master Erl. Though my skills are somewhat—\"\n\n\"I'm sure they will be adequate for our purposes,\" he interrupted quickly. \"My lord Ducon, you will be somewhat of a distraction for the prince, wearing that face. I suggest you take your leave before Domina Pearl brings him here. She should perhaps have no reason to assume that you and Mistress Thorn have ever met.\"\n\nDucon made himself scarce. Lydea, her heart thudding at the imminence of the Black Pearl, stood quietly as Camas Erl studied her.\n\nHe asked abruptly, \"You can read and write?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My mother taught me,\" she answered carefully. \"She only knew enough mathematics to make change.\"\n\n\"It's astonishing.\"\n\nShe met his eyes, surprised. \"Master Erl?\"\n\n\"She did it, didn't she? That sorceress who lives underground. Tell me how you met her.\"\n\nShe hesitated. \"Master Erl—\"\n\n\"If we go down under the Black Pearl's eye, we go down together. Ducon will have to rescue us. I've spoken with the sorceress's girl—the one she calls her waxling.\"\n\nShe drew breath. \"You've seen Mag? Recently?\"\n\n\"She sent me a note last night to leave under Ducon's door, telling him that she is safe. I met her while she was searching for Ducon. She said that the sorceress dwells in the ruins of Ombria's history and that she would take me to see her. You've been there.\" She did not answer, only watched him narrowly, astonished and disturbed without knowing why." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He did not seem to need an answer; he continued, his strange eyes wide, alight with visions of the city's past. \"I have only one passion in my life and that is the history of Ombria. Have you heard the story of the Shadow City?\"\n\nHe was not afraid, she realized suddenly. That was what she found disturbing. In that palace where a scion of the House could be all but murdered in broad daylight on the way to his chamber, Camas Erl did not have the sense to be afraid.\n\nHe was waiting for an answer this time; she said tardily, remembering the question, \"Yes. I used to tell—\" She stopped in time. Babbling like he is, she thought. But he didn't seem to notice.\n\nHe said very softly, \"I believe it.\"\n\n\"Believe—\" she began bewilderedly, and then fell silent again at the sudden flatness in his eyes. She turned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Black Pearl entered with Kyel beside her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She kept a hand on his shoulder, but her eyes were on the stranger standing next to Camas Erl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea felt her face freeze. Luckily she could not see Kyel clearly; he walked with his head lowered. A trifle belatedly, she remembered that the Black Pearl and Kyel were also regent and prince; she swept her skirts and herself immediately into a deep curtsey, hiding her eyes from Domina Pearl's scrutiny.\n\n\"Mistress Thorn,\" Camas Erl said with a proper measure of briskness and indifference. \"My lord Kyel, she will teach you to read and write.\"\n\nLydea risked a glance at the child beneath her lashes. He still had not looked at her; he made no reply to Camas.\n\n\"At no time will the prince be left alone with Mistress Thorn,\" the Black Pearl said tersely. \"Especially not after yesterday's events.\"\n\n\"No, of course not.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have doubled the guard outside; call them in if you must leave him. She'll be useless if there is any trouble. I assume, Mistress Thorn, that you are not a skilled swords-woman?\"\n\nLydea gave a brief dance-step of a curtsey. \"No, my lady.\"\n\n\"Don't bounce up and down like that when I speak to you. Look at me.\"\n\nLydea raised her eyes reluctantly. The cold, black eyes had changed, she realized, in the brief time since Royce's death. They looked harried, dangerously driven. She had smelled blood, this woman. She would not have bothered to escort the dead prince's mistress to the streets; she would have tossed Lydea out the nearest window instead.\n\n\"You look intelligent enough,\" Domina Pearl said after an ominous silence. \"I trust Master Erl's judgment. And it may be just as well not to allow the prince to become too attached to his tutor. You will teach the prince only at Master Erl's direction; you will see him at no other time, and in no other place. Outside of this room, you do not exist.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned. Lydea curtseyed again. Kyel, the weight having lifted from his shoulder, went to the table where paper and ink and books lay scattered, sat down and gazed at his reflection in the polished wood.\n\nLydea straightened slowly. She glanced uncertainly at Camas Erl; he flicked a feathery eyebrow toward the prince and went to a far table so laden with columns of books and pyramids of scrolls that he all but vanished behind them.\n\nLydea pulled out a chair beside Kyel. He did not look at her, though an eyelid flickered and he shifted slightly when she drew her chair close. She said gently, \"My lord, will you show me what letters you have learned to write?\"\n\nHe drew a piece of paper out of the clutter and picked up a quill. She opened the ink for him. He dipped the nib and produced an egg with a tail, and then an egg lying at the foot of a post.\n\n\"Shall I show you how to write your name, my lord?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He did not answer, simply waited while she printed his letters on the paper. Even to herself her face seemed a cold, dispassionate mask, while her heart was busy growing thorns, one for the pallor in his face, another for his listless silence, another because the spell had failed. He could not hear beneath the calm, precise voice of the stranger who meant nothing to him. How do I reach you? she thought in despair as he dutifully copied his name. How do I tell you who I am? How do I make you see?\n\nTalk to me, said the King of Rats while the Prince of Ombria lay dying, and those who loved the child had begun to disappear. The goose whispered, her throat aching at the memory, \"Shall I tell you a story?\"\n\nHis pen stopped. He sat without moving, at the fork in the Y, so still he seemed spellbound. Waiting, she thought." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required dialogue to include (maintain exact wording): \"The oldest city in the world.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Waiting. If he turned to look at her, the woman he waited for would disappear; there would be only this stranger.\n\n\"Shall I tell you the story of the fan?\"\n\nStill he waited, frozen, his eyes on the paper, the ink melting out of the nib into a black pool over his name.\n\n\"This is Ombria, my lord,\" she said. \"The oldest city in the world.\"\n\nHis lips parted, silently shaped a word.\n\n\"The most beautiful city in the world.\"\n\nShe heard his voice finally, frail and hesitant, picking up the thread. \"The richest city in the world.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The most powerful city in the world.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"These are the ships,\" he whispered." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Find a natural way to mention that This is the shadow of Ombria." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The ships of Ombria.\"\n\n\"These are the great, busy ports of Ombria.\"\n\nHis face was turning finally, his eyes enormous, shadowed. \"This is the palace of the rulers—This is the world—\"\n\n\"This is the shadow of Ombria.\"\n\nHe stared at her. She smiled, her mouth shaking, and two tears spilled out of him, fell like rain among his letters. He leaned toward her, let his brow fall against hers; she cupped the crown of his head in her hand. She whispered, \"I am your secret. Your secret Mistress Thorn. Remember when we played with the puppets?\" He nodded against her; she felt him trembling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was the goose and you were the falcon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The King of Rats.\"\n\n\"Yes. Only now I am Mistress Thorn. You will only see me here, and you must not say my name outside this room. I will teach you how to read and write.\"\n\n\"She sent you away,\" he whispered, his voice no more than the scratch of quill on paper.\n\n\"I came back.\"\n\n\"She'll find you again.\"\n\n\"She doesn't remember who I am. So you must not remind her. Say my name.\" He breathed it against her cheek. \"No, my lord. Not here in the other side of the story. We are in the Shadow City, and I am Mistress Thorn.\"\n\nHe drew back from her a little. \"Then who am I?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She touched his face, swallowing, drew his hair back from his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In the Shadow City, you are my heart.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They got very little done in the hour Camas Erl allotted for words and letters. But he did not seem to notice. He had drugged himself with past, Lydea thought; ghosts stared out of his eyes. He studied Kyel's drunken row of letters without seeing them and murmured, \"Good, good.\" In the time he spent writing numbers and puzzling over the grammar of an ancient language, Kyel's eyes grew vague again. Pointer in hand, revealing the muddled lives and politics of Kyel's ancestors, Camas Erl grew lucid, passionate and frustrated over his pupil's indifference. By the time Domina Pearl came to take Kyel away, both seemed much as she had left them. To Mistress Thorn, hovering in a corner with her hands demurely clasped in front of her, the Black Pearl gave no thought whatsoever.\n\n\"I wonder,\" Camas Erl said to Lydea, \"if you might do something for me. Domina Pearl says that you do not exist beyond this room, which reveals an imprudent failure of imagination on her part. Those whom we think beyond notice are those who do what we might never dream. You have a room; you will go to it; what will you do there?\"\n\n\"Have nightmares,\" Lydea said succinctly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't embroider? Or some such?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked at him incredulously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He indicated the book in his hands. It was old and tired, with a cracked leather binding, a sagging spine and gilt-edged pages crammed with an endless flow of words. It looked dry as a rusty bucket. \"You might,\" he said, \"consider this. And take these, too. And this.\" He put the book into her hands, piled paper, pens, an ink pot on top of it. \"To write down whatever you consider significant.\"\n\n\"About what?\" she asked distractedly. She was already missing Kyel and fretting over him, anxious about what the Black Pearl might come up with next to keep him docile. Would he think Lydea had been a dream? Would he forget and say her name?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The story you were telling the prince. About the Shadow City.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gazed at the book, hugged the paper and ink close so that she could open it. There seemed no shadows in it anywhere, just words packed as thick as cobbles in a road, and all looking alike. \"This doesn't seem like any story I've ever heard.\"\n\n\"It might be there, it might not.\" He watched her, his odd, intent eyes yellow as a street dog's. \"If you glimpse it in here, write down what you see for me. There's no time left to hunt through everything.\"\n\n\"No time?\" she repeated puzzledly. \"What do you do now? Darn socks?\"\n\n\"No time,\" he answered obscurely, \"in the world. Please. I can pay you.\"\n\nShe shrugged a little, righting the ink pot before it fell." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know. I'll see how far I can get. It may be more complicated than I could possibly understand.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 8 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His thin mouth twitched upward. \"You understand a great deal, Mistress Thorn. You have been high above the world with the Prince of Ombria, and beneath it with the oldest sorceress in the history of the city. You were going to tell me how you found her.\"\n\n\"Was I?\" she asked evenly, perplexed by him and still disturbed. \"I went down a street until I recognized a sign, remembered a shadow I had run from once... and I opened a door.\"\n\n\"And there she was,\" he finished softly. \"You walked into the oldest story in Ombria.\"\n\nStill puzzled, trying to understand what he was telling her, she carried the magpie's nest of words and paper and quills to the tiny, silent room allotted to her station.\n\nShe read for the rest of the day, and lit a candle to read into the night." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going 4 sentences at a time, also im going for a Patricia A. McKillip sorta thing. heads up - might drop you in mid-story with existing characters" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag met Camas Erl one afternoon a few days later in a small, leaf-choked courtyard surrounded by empty buildings. A century ago they had been an inn and its stables and carriage house. Now, roofs were sunken under the weight of moss and rain; shutters dangled; not a shard of window pane big enough to throw a stone at had been left unbroken. It was yet another door into the sorceress's world." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The casual passerby found no reason to linger there." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Those who needed Faey made their way through drifts of leaves and shadows and fallen roof beams to the cupboard door beneath the stairs.\n\nMag opened the door for Camas. A bell rang faintly in the undercity. The tutor, who had been silent until then, his birds' eyes flicking everywhere, looked at Mag incredulously. \"A shop bell?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's business,\" Mag answered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They stepped through the cupboard door into the sorceress's house.\n\nFaey, whose assessment of her visitors was astute and unpredictable, welcomed them accordingly. She had decided to give Camas Erl the last thing he expected: that seemed to Mag the only explanation for the languid, violet-eyed beauty draped across a couch who extended a lily-pale hand to him from out of a cavern of velvet cushions and filmy shawls. He accepted it uncertainly, still looking for the sorceress, trying, it seemed, to see into the lady's bones." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How can I help you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked with polite indifference.\n\nHe was at a loss himself, until he found the word he wanted. \"Illusion,\" he murmured, studying her intently, as though she were something nameless and tropical that had floated in on one of Domina Pearl's ships. \"Everything with you is illusion. Even your waxling. May I see your face?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She sat up, scattering cushions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a moment Mag, holding her breath, thought Faey would give him what he asked. But she only said, \"Actually, I can't remember which face I had first. And if I show you what I am now, it would cost you more than you would ever want to give.\"\n\nSensibly, he yielded to that with a nod. She flung a few cushions over the back of the couch and patted the seat beside her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He joined her without a qualm that Mag could see." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tea?\" the sorceress suggested, and slid her insouciant, flower-petal eyes to Mag. \"Perhaps?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she added doubtfully, as if she were not capable of wringing a stream of tea out of thin air. Mag left her alone with Camas. She waited until the sorceress summoned her silently. Then, laden with illusions of propriety in the shape of a tea tray, she returned to the room that Faey had composed like a mood around her, with its shadows and sultry purples, its whiff of scented wax and ash." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There she found Faey pacing and Camas sitting on the couch, passionately discussing the history of Ombria with the fair, indolent illusion who nodded encouragingly from time to time but never spoke." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag put the tray down and listened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There are pieces to the puzzle missing,\" Camas said. He was tugging at his hair; his eyes glowed eerily in the red light from a stained-glass lamp. \"And pieces that don't yet fit. What, for instance, precipitates the shift from city to shadow city? Is it sorcery? Has it to do with the precarious state of affairs in the House of Greve? The powerless heir, the bastard who cannot act? What secrets are hidden within the secret palace? What is there to gain by anticipating and surviving the shift? Domina Pearl believes that it is possible, if one can remain aware during the transformation, to amass enormous knowledge and power. To rule the shadow city when it emerges, since no one else will remember the previous city, and who ruled then. All will be accepted as it is revealed. All of which is why I am so eager to speak with you. You live in Ombria's past, its ghosts and memories. How far back do you remember? Were you alive before the previous shift? How many transformations have there been? Many? One? None at all? How old are you?\"\n\nThe illusion of Faey inclined her head gracefully; Camas continued without listening for answers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Faey spoke then, her voice sliding within, beneath his words." }, { "from": "system", "value": "⚠️ Required: Use 'shift' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What do you expect to gain from what you call the transformation?\"\n\nCamas interrupted his own sentence with a word. \"Enlightenment. And the power that comes with an unbroken memory of the history of the city. Domina Pearl's knowledge of sorcery may not survive the transformation if she herself is not aware of the shift. I want to stay alive, be aware of the shift from city to shadow, and I will ally myself and my abilities to anyone powerful enough to maintain the integrity of existence, knowledge, memory and experience through the transformation.\"\n\n\"Such as Domina Pearl?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the sorceress suggested. She kept her voice light, careless, but her eyes were very dark.\n\n\"Domina Pearl,\" Camas agreed. \"Or you. Or perhaps even Ducon. He is another puzzle piece, I think. He is drawn to the hidden palace, and to the odd, unnoticed places in Ombria where the boundaries are visible between the city and its shadow. He draws them constantly.\"\n\n\"So you would pledge your loyalty to him or betray him, depending on the moment?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Or her. Or you,\" Camas answered, nodding briskly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag stared at him with wonder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Exactly. Depending on the moment.\"\n\nFaey raised a white-gold brow. Undeterred by her silence, Camas picked up the thread he had dropped some moments before and continued his conjectures about Faey, the past that surrounded her, and its connection to the shadow city.\n\n\"Is it true?\" Mag asked her softly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That the city is on the verge of change?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sorceress twitched an indolent shoulder. Her eyes, still on Camas, had narrowed. \"Who knows? Who would know? This is a very foolish and very dangerous man.\"\n\n\"What will you do with him?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She answered simply, \"Give him what he wants. Let him walk into the past until he no longer remembers the way back.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She eased onto the couch to merge with her illusion and poured Camas a cup of tea. The tutor, suddenly quiet, blinked at her confusedly.\n\n\"What—what were we saying?\"\n\n\"You were telling me of your deep interest in Ombria's past. When you have finished your tea, Mag will show you the undercity.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She offered him confections of whipped sugar, egg-white and chocolate; he swallowed one whole in his excitement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I cannot tell you how invaluable this would be to me. Nor how grateful I am. And will be in the future, and can be, if all goes as planned.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He paused, sipped tea, then sat frowning at it without knowing why. His eyes went to Mag, questioning. She gazed back at him composedly, without pity. He said hesitantly to the sorceress, \"You haven't asked me for anything in return. I thought that all magic has its price.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Magic does,\" Faey said. \"But let us consider this an exchange of knowledge. I'll tell you what you want to know and you'll tell me why you want to know it.\"\n\nThe tutor's eyelids drooped; his thoughts drained out of his face like water seeping into earth. \"A fair exchange,\" he said equably, and raised the cup to his lips." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag showed him through Faey's house, from the high attic rooms where she kept her menagerie, to the spell-steeped chamber where she worked over her cauldron." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He examined everything with interest, but murmured, \"This is now, not past. Where does she keep her past?\"\n\nHe found it in her ghosts.\n\nBeing a historian, he recognized some of them from old paintings: the immensely fat, warty and befurred merchant who had built many of Ombria's docks for his fleet of ships; a tiny, long-nosed woman who had painted three generations of the House of Greve; the balding, ferociously mustached duke who had forged an army out of the city's surprised citizens and defended Ombria from the closing maw of barbarian hordes attacking at once by land and by sea; the stripling in a long, moth-eaten robe who had written the first history of Ombria. Mag had never seen any of them before in her life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They all spoke, which startled her as well. The household ghosts she was accustomed to were a ruminant lot who could understand the present but spoke only to the past.\n\nFaey was making them, she realized suddenly, as visions from the past kept wandering across Camas Erl's path, passing through doors without bothering to open them, or rising up from the depths of chairs that had been empty a moment before. Camas spoke to them all eagerly, amazed with his good fortune; each answered his questions willingly so long as it was alone, and held all his attention." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The moment he became distracted by another, the one he was speaking to began to fade." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As if, Mag thought, they existed only when he saw them.\n\nThey were leading him slowly, ghost by ghost, to the front door. He did not seem to notice. A tall, bronze-haired woman with close-set green eyes, dressed in a long tunic of hide and deer fur, a sword in a leather sheath hanging from her belt, walked him out the door as Mag opened it for them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag lingered on the steps; Camas Erl, his long fingers seeming to pluck his words out of the air as he gestured, strayed toward the river." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'their' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Across the bridge another ghost waited, one less incongruous against the background of sunken mansions. Their opaque windows softly brushed by light from the river lamps, they looked as if they had opened their dreaming eyes to watch.\n\nCamas crossed the bridge to the elegant lady in lavender silk who took his arm. Behind him, the warrior vanished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag sat down on the steps." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The ghosts had him well in hand; he had forgotten her. She wondered how far Faey would send him. Parts of the undercity were impenetrable, even by Mag. They were so old, they seemed little more than visible memories, and no matter how she had tried to reach them, they remained always in the distance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She toyed with the locket around her neck and wondered if Faey could conjure up her mother's ghost. If she were dead, she reminded herself. But she had never come to retrieve her child, and the three drops of blood in the locket had belonged to someone. Perhaps both parents had died, and a grieving friend had brought the baby to the sorceress." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Perhaps\" could be spun endlessly into different tales; even telling herself all of them, she would still be none the wiser." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She opened the thin leaves of the locket, one after another: blood, rose, charcoal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All she knew of the tale was those three words. Watching for Camas Erl and listening for Faey, she strung the words together in highly improbable ways. It doesn't matter, she told herself at last, coldly. It doesn't matter. I have always done without." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The door opened behind her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A ghost sat down beside her, or so she thought until she smelled its sweat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Faey's hair had fallen down; it looked more white than gold now. The perfect, listless oval face had grown pallid and seamed; her violet eyes sagged with weariness. But a smile clung to the still flawless lips, a small, wicked thing like an imp that had crawled out of the sorceress's mouth.\n\nMag felt a ghostly hand flutter down her backbone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She asked, \"Will he come back?\"\n\n\"Perhaps. When he gets hungry enough. But he will continue to see ghosts for as long as he desires them. We are the insubstantial ones to him now.\"\n\n\"Domina Pearl will miss him. He is supposed to be tutoring the prince.\"\n\nThe sorceress snorted. \"I've done her a favor, if she only knew. That man would betray his own shadow. And for what? A child's tale.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is it?\" Mag looked at her. \"Is it only a tale?\"\n\nFor a moment, the purple eyes grew dark, black as the little rags of shadows that Mag saw on empty streets or patches of barren ground, attached to nothing, seemingly blown at random from some place adrift in light.\n\nBut Faey only answered, \"How would any of us know? The tale promises nothing. Camas Erl has been trapped in his own illusion.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What will happen to Lydea if he doesn't return?\"\n\n\"I suppose she will become the prince's tutor until Domina Pearl finds another. At least she can read and write.\" She drew limp, damp hair away from her neck and waved away Mag's next question. \"Not now, my waxling—It was exhausting, remembering all that history.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You remembered it?\" Mag breathed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, yes. I was young once, you know.\" She dropped a hand on Mag's shoulder and pushed herself up. The darkness had faded from her eyes, but a certain grimness lingered. \"Stay out of the palace. If Domina Pearl truly sees what Camas Erl says she does, then she is as mad as he is. Without any help from me. Come in to supper now. Camas Erl will likely eat illusions and get drunk on history for some time before we see him again.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, Faey,\" Mag said absently, following the sorceress in, her hand closed around blood, rose, charcoal, as though the locket were a talisman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon has his mysterious charcoal, too, she thought curiously." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I wonder what he sees with it.\n\n\"Mag.\"\n\n\"Yes, Faey.\"\n\n\"Don't 'yes, Faey' me. Listen to me this time.\"\n\n\"Yes, Faey.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "The user will write a bit then you need to write around 5 sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Match the familiarity level of any character introductions. Stick to the Fantasy genre." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon stood at the edge of the shadow city, drawing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Deep within the hidden palace, he had been pulled like some perverse moth to the place that no light could penetrate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The doorway with the bare wood on one post, the painted irises on the other, held a darkness so palpable that it seemed, like the charcoal in his hand, a crucible in which anything might form." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he held a candle across the threshold, the black swallowed the fire completely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he tried to step across it, he felt nothing beneath his foot. Sometimes he heard rain, a bird-cry, wind soughing through tall trees; mostly he was aware only of an intimation of vastness, silence, as though he stood at the edge of a world.\n\nHe saw nothing. So he let the charcoal imagine what might lie on the other side of the door. Faces came out of it, and fantasies of airy palaces, endless woods and frothy seas upon which sailed ships with bowsprits like the spiralling horns of unicorns. One face in particular it drew at random." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon found it on a figure riding through the wood, or standing on the top of one of the high towers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Once or twice the man wearing that face walked the streets of a city that might have been Ombria, if Ombria could harbor an entire forest of ships' masts, and the windows overlooking its twisted streets were filled with flowers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wishes, he thought. Dreams." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That's all the charcoal held: a child's prosperous, perfect world, a city of ceaseless delights. Still, it seduced him, kept him coming back to that worn, silent, rain-riddled room, that doorway full of nothing.\n\nHe had to be very careful moving through the palace. Domina Pearl insisted that he be guarded at all times, not only for his own sake, he suspected, but for the sake of her growing curiosity about what he did when he vanished into the secret palace. He had not seen Sozon or Kestevan again, but Domina Pearl had not frightened all of the conspirators away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He glimpsed the younger ones now and then, and knew they watched him. He found ways of eluding his guards when he wanted to, but though his secrets remained safe, he did not.\n\nNeither, it seemed, did Camas Erl, who left the palace one afternoon after tutoring Kyel and had not been seen since.\n\nThe Black Pearl seemed inordinately incensed over the loss of a tutor.\n\n\"First you vanish,\" she snapped at Ducon when she summoned him to the library to show him the lack of Camas." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kyel and Lydea were waiting for the tutor with her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Both seemed indifferent to his absence, though Ducon suspected that but for her disguise of calm and composure, Lydea would have been tearing at her fingernails. \"And now Camas Erl. Where would he have gone?\"\n\n\"I am at a loss,\" Ducon answered, which was true: he would first of all have suspected Domina Pearl.\n\n\"You are close to him. Where does he go? What does he do?\"\n\n\"He comes here,\" Ducon answered blankly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He reads and works on his history of Ombria. Perhaps he went to research something.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When he should be with the prince? And without telling me?\"\n\n\"It does seem unlikely.\"\n\n\"Does anyone want him dead?\"\n\n\"For what?\" Ducon asked, startled. \"Why would anyone kill a tutor? Perhaps he ventured into the streets, though it's not his habit. He might have been hurt.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'guard' 2 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You know the streets better than anyone in this palace. Look for him. No.\" She closed her eyes, touched them with fingernails as curved and dark as black beetles' backs. \"You must stay here with the prince. Tutor him yourself when the girl is finished with his letters. I don't want them left alone in here, not even under guard. Go and look for Camas when you've finished. You'd know the odd alleys and rat holes to search, I'm sure. Arm yourself and do not leave the palace without a guard. Try to be careful.\"\n\nHe inclined his head and watched her leave, amazed that she did not precipitate a furious wake of fallen books and scattered papers behind her. Lydea sat beside Kyel, who was gazing listlessly at the paper and ink in front of him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She said his name softly, and then hers, in what must have been a ritual greeting between them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My lord Kyel. I am Mistress Thorn.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He lifted his head, looked at her. The change in his face, hope flowering out of the mute, weary despair in it, made Ducon's throat close.\n\n\"I am the Prince of Ombria,\" Kyel whispered, \"and you are my secret Rose.\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord.\" She lifted her head, met Ducon's eyes; he searched, fascinated, but could not find the secret Rose at all within the cool, proper face of Mistress Thorn. \"My lord Ducon,\" she said, \"do you have any idea—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"None at all.\"\n\n\"I fear that if the regent examines my education too closely while Camas Erl is away, she will not be entirely pleased.\"\n\nHe put a finger to his lips. \"The ink pots may have ears. You don't look as though you are afraid of anything, Mistress Thorn.\"\n\n\"If you leave,\" Kyel said abruptly, \"I will go with you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My lord,\" she answered carefully, \"I do not intend to go anywhere until you learn enough to write the story of the fan in several languages.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Will that take a long time?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A very long time,\" she whispered, \"since I will have to learn them first. Now. Perhaps, as your cousin is here, you could practice writing his name in case you ever need it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He bent willingly over the work." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon watched him a while, soothed by the tiny island of peace they made for themselves in the troubled and dangerous place." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would end soon enough. But for that moment at least, the child remembered that he had a heart.\n\nDucon stayed with them, teaching Kyel randomly about scorpions and tidal waves and such, trying to keep the struggling recognition alive in his eyes. The Black Pearl returned for Kyel in the early afternoon. Ducon walked to his chambers, guards flanking him at every step, to get his paints and paper and the sword he never bothered to wear except at court." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he went through a door beside the fireplace in his bedchamber, and made his way alone through hidden corridors to the cellar and down a vaulted passage beneath the back gardens to the street." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'completely' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Where to look for Camas Erl eluded him completely. But Lydea was right: if Domina Pearl was forced to look for another tutor and questioned Lydea too closely about her background, the sorceress's spell might unravel completely under her probing gaze. Lydea would be found under a pier with a broken neck and Kyel would become a living ghost. Therefore, Ducon had to find the missing tutor.\n\nHe made inquiries among the taverns and brothels he knew best, but without great hope." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If Camas had wanted to visit such places, he would have asked Ducon to come with him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tutor was retiring and abstemious; the idea of him walking alone through the door of some ale-soaked den called the Mackerel Smack and quaffing down a tankard seemed ludicrous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Twilight brought Ducon back to the palace, certain that Camas would more likely have lost himself in the maze of the hidden palace before he found trouble in the streets." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He returned to his room the way he came, left his drawings there, and stuck his head out the door to check on his guards. They were too ensorcelled to be embarrassed or furious with him, but they were confused and very reluctant to admit to Domina Pearl that they had misplaced Ducon Greve. They hadn't, his presence assured them. He vanished back into his chamber and went from there into the secret palace.\n\nHe was making an erratic, impulsive path toward places he thought Camas might have found when he began to hear voices." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stopped to listen.\n\nThere was a rustling in the walls, an occasional word, squeals from the floorboards. He started to say Camas's name and didn't. There were too many feet. They seemed to be moving down a parallel corridor, or through chambers opening into one another on the other side of the wall." }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: doors, frequency: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Guards, he thought, searching for Camas. But Domina Pearl's guards did not move furtively or whisper. His mouth tightened.\n\nIt was easy for him to elude the young conspirators; they had no idea where they were going in the labyrinth of forgotten rooms and hallways. Ducon retraced his steps, slipped through a door or two and blew out his candle. He saw them ahead in the hallway, their faces lit by their own tapers, absorbed, eager, as they opened doors, thrust their fires into dark rooms to search them, then closed the doors again, trying to make no noise beyond their breathing and occasional, muffled arguments." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon followed cautiously, wondering if they could possibly lead him to Camas. He couldn't begin to guess what they were looking for. They separated at one point, scattered through what he knew to be rooms empty but for cobwebs and mice and his own dusty footprints. He hid himself where they agreed to meet and heard their whisperings when they regrouped.\n\n\"It must be in another part of the palace. There's nothing here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ducon might know.\"\n\n\"We can't ask Ducon; he'll want to know why. Besides, what if he betrays us to Domina Pearl the way he betrayed Hilil Gamelyn?\"\n\n\"He hasn't yet. And I don't believe he would betray anyone to her. He hates her.\"\n\n\"She hasn't taken anything from him.\"\n\n\"He's a bastard; he doesn't have anything. No lands, no title worth anything, nothing to lose except a bed in the palace and an allowance that the regent controls. Unlike our fathers.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'she's' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon, behind a door in a room they had already searched, heard a sharp, bitter explosion of breath. \"I can't believe what she's taking. She told my father yesterday that any ship docking in Ombria henceforth will be considered the property of the Prince of Ombria, and all the goods therein. She has already appropriated the docks and the harbor fees for her pirates. Now she's stealing ships. My father has half a dozen on the open sea; there's no way to get word to them.\"\n\n\"She took lands from my uncle that have been in our family for generations,\" someone else said as vehemently as was possible in a whisper. \"She showed him a map drawn centuries ago when the land belonged to the House of Greve. It was given to my family! She said the land was improperly deeded and should have been reclaimed a hundred years ago. She wants the timber on it, my uncle said, for more ships.\"\n\n\"Why not? No one will dock here after this but her ships. Ombria will be completely dependent on her stolen goods.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We have little time to waste searching, and none of us knows anything about poisons. I say we disguise ourselves as guards and smother him in his bed.\"\n\n\"Poison is more subtle, and would make the Black Pearl immediately suspect.\"\n\n\"We could poison her instead of Kyel.\"\n\nDucon felt his heart clench like a fist and hammer against his ribs. He bowed his forehead against the door, cold sweat beading along his lip, his hairline." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The unaccustomed weight of the sword at his side caught his attention, tempted him. He forced himself to listen.\n\n\"We discussed that. We agreed.\" Their timbreless whisperings made them all anonymous; he could not match faces to their voices. \"She is too unpredictable. Ducon might be knowledgeable and cunning enough to kill her, but he refuses to act against her. If he thinks she killed Kyel—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He'll kill her. So. End of the Black Pearl's reign. And no one will ever suspect us.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What if—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There are no what if's.\"\n\n\"She could blame Ducon.\"\n\n\"No one would believe her now; she's gone too far already.\"\n\n\"What if she kills Ducon when he attacks her?\"\n\nThere was a brief silence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon, gripping his sword hilt so hard his fingers might have turned to metal, held his breath while they pondered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then we are lost,\" someone acceded in a tendril of sound. \"We flee with the rats out of Ombria. This is our only hope.\"\n\n\"But where in this maze does she keep her poisons?\"\n\nDucon opened the door.\n\nHe had drawn the sword before he realized; it was just there, a long flare of silver from the taper light, rising in a slow, strangely elongated moment during which every stunned, mute face turned to him etched itself indelibly in his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then the tip of the sword came gracefully to rest on bare skin just above the fine embroidered collar of the most fervid conspirator." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His eyes changed. Ducon, staring at him, felt himself moving and watching from a distance, for the blink of an eye, the shifting muscle in the throat beneath his blade that would make a decision for him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The young man was motionless, his face the color of his candle; around Ducon no one breathed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sword trembled in his hand, fire rippling down it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He felt the fury then that he had not dared feel before, that had separated him from himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The young man, his blanched face going slack, his eyes closing, tried for a word.\n\n\"Be quiet,\" Ducon advised, his own voice barely enough to cause a flame to flicker. The sword, like his rage, still had arguments of its own; neither would yield yet. He freed it finally, drew the blade back and drove it with all his strength into the wall. Blood from a thread-thin nick in the side of the young man's neck flicked like a scatter of garnets against the paint." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He reeled abruptly, doubled up, and retched.\n\nDucon sheathed the sword, his hands shaking. No one even tried to speak. The man who had almost died straightened slowly, painfully, leaned back against the wall, facing Ducon again. The passion had gone from his eyes; the expression in them, weary, hopeless, reminded Ducon of Kyel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon breathed suddenly, his voice catching, \"If Kyel dies, I will kill you. One by one. I have drawn all your faces.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My lord—\" the young man whispered helplessly.\n\n\"Leave the Black Pearl to me.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with Patricia A. McKillip's style in the Fantasy genre. This is part of a longer work." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea saw the change in Ducon when he came to her door early the next morning. Like hers, his true face had vanished; the mask that hid it was rigid, unsmiling, its eyes guarded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mistress Thorn received a stranger into her chamber, who said tautly to the stranger that she was, \"I can't find Camas Erl, and Kyel's life hangs in a very precarious balance.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea felt the blood startle out of her face; Mistress Thorn only folded her hands tightly and asked gravely, \"What can I do?\"\n\n\"Don't leave his side while you're with him. Especially if anyone you don't expect enters the library.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You'll be with us,\" she reminded him, suddenly unsure even of that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So was he; he put a hand to his face, rubbed the fading bruise absently and winced.\n\n\"Domina Pearl confers in the mornings with her advisers,\" he murmured." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was a polite title for what found its way out of the streets and docks to her council chambers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She won't know I'm gone.\"\n\nLydea swallowed drily. \"Where?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There's a secret place I want to find,\" he said very softly. \"I'll search as quickly as possible, and return before she comes for the prince. If anyone enters the library while you're alone with him, call the guards in. If Domina Pearl returns there before I do, suggest to her that I might have heard a rumor of Camas Erl and have gone to investigate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What—what should I teach the prince?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked, panicked at the thought.\n\n\"Anything. It doesn't matter.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stooped, picked up a book from the clutter on the floor beside her bed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've been studying. What is all this?\"\n\n\"Histories and tales. Camas asked me to read them and write down references to the story of the fan.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The what?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The shadow city. What he calls the transformation. He thinks it's real.\"\n\nDucon looked at her silently a moment; she could not fathom his expression. \"Do you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know. How does anyone know? If it truly happens, no one remembers. And yet you can glimpse the tale there in all those books. It slips out unexpectedly like sun on a cloudy day, a shimmer of light across the world. And then it's gone, but it never fades that quickly from your heart. The heart remembers. And so the tale worked its way into history.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was still gazing at her. She saw the light pass through his eyes, turn them silver, and then stark again, metallic." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Strange,\" he whispered, then found his voice again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe that's what happened to Camas Erl.\"\n\n\"What?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He was transformed.\"\n\n\"Ducon.\" Her fingers, still locked together, felt icy. \"I'm very frightened.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\" You should be, his face told her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he went to her, took her hands. His own were not much warmer, but his voice became less distant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You,\" he said gently, \"are the prince's Mistress Thorn and she is a woman of remarkable strength and ability. She is where Kyel has hidden his heart, and she will yield that to no one.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where are you going?\" she asked him. \"What are you searching for?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he would not tell her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He met her in the library later; they waited together for the regent and the prince. The Black Pearl, her mouth clamped so hard she looked lipless as a tortoise, let loose a few terse words about Camas Erl's absence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea expected the fuming air around her to rumble with sullen thunder, snap minute bolts of lightning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To Lydea's relief, she did not linger. She had urgent business, she told Ducon with exasperation; he should stay to tutor Kyel and then continue his search for Camas." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She left. Lydea sat close to the prince, gave him their private greeting, and was rewarded with the rising sun of recognition in his eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When she turned her head, glanced around for Ducon, he had already gone.\n\nMistress Thorn kept her voice calm; Kyel noticed nothing amiss." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But when, after an hour or so, she strayed from letters into history, she felt him fidget." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hers was not the voice of history, and Ducon was the other safe steppingstone above the angry current of it that was flooding through Kyel's life. He turned his head toward the table behind them, where Ducon would have sat drawing while he waited for them to finish." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned back, said with curious composure, \"Ducon teaches me this.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ducon is busy, my lord. I will tutor you today. Do you mind?\"\n\nHe shook his head without perceptible distress and shifted closer to her, to lean over the book she read from and watch her moving finger beneath the words." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon returned so quietly she did not realize he was with them until, struggling through some rudimentary math, both of them counting on their fingers, she glanced back in despair at her ignorance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There he was, reading quietly, his long legs crossed on a chair, one elbow propped on the table, his hand shadowing his face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea wanted to melt with relief. Mistress Thorn in a thicket of numbers and no way out, opened her mouth to request help." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a step at the threshold of the far door. A shadow intruded, a faceless figure falling starkly across the polished floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea, the words catching in her throat, watched it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon did not move, except to lift his pale head slightly, his fingers repositioning themselves along his cheekbone. She saw him in profile; his back was to the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he had stiffened; despite the languid pose, he was aware and listening." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Whoever stood at the door did not enter. The shadow watched him for a while; Lydea watched the shadow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then it turned and was gone in a quiet step or two. Kyel touched her hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mistress Thorn,\" he said in the careful voice he had learned for his survival, \"may we use our thumbs?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I always do,\" said Mistress Thorn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She watched the prince count and then form his answer with pen and ink: an egg with a tail curling over its back like a lap dog. Quick, light steps startled Lydea again; Mistress Thorn turned with graceful composure, an uplifted brow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But it was only Ducon coming back; the tutor felt even Mistress Thorn's prim face ease." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then she stopped breathing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon, glancing at the open book on the table, asked swiftly, \"Is Camas back?\"\n\nNo, her mouth said without sound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She found her voice with an effort and rose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Practice your numbers, my lord, while I speak to your cousin.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon waited for her to join him on the other side of the room, his face closed again, tense, his fingers splayed across the open pages.\n\n\"Someone was here,\" he murmured." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You were,\" she said helplessly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You were sitting there and reading.\" His hand rose from the book, closed on her arm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Someone tried to come in. Whoever it was saw you and left.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She saw his face turn as pale as paper. He loosed her slowly, sat down on the table." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tried to speak, swallowed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His eyes turned molten suddenly, she saw with astonishment, silvery with unshed tears.\n\n\"It wasn't me,\" he whispered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It looked like you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did you see his face clearly?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No. You had your—he had his hand—\" Her throat closed, burning, though she did not know why. \"Ducon, who was he?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He came out of my charcoal. I saw him in the streets; I've seen him in dreams. I see him in the absolute darkness at the heart of the secret palace. On the boundary between shadow and light.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is he you?\" she asked incredulously.\n\n\"No. If he had let you see his face, you would have guessed, even without knowing either of us, that he might be my father.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her eyes widened; she felt the spell fraying like cobweb across her face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon touched her again in warning. Her hands rose to her waist, clasped tightly; her face quieted itself, firmed within its mask." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My lord,\" she said softly, \"perhaps you could show the prince where your father might be placed on the family tree.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think, Mistress Thorn,\" he answered unsteadily, \"that we would need a different family tree entirely.\"\n\nWhen the regent came for the prince, all was as she expected it to be: Ducon leading Kyel through some tangled patch of grammar, and Mistress Thorn reading at the far end of the room while she waited to be dismissed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She took the book with her when she left. It was the one the stranger had been reading: a collection of children's tales." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It seemed a peculiar choice for a man who had wandered between worlds in response to his son's need." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon's father, she thought wonderingly. The unsolved mystery of the court of Ombria." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Who was he, in his own world?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And how had Royce's sister caught his eye, drawn him across the elusive boundaries between light and shadow and time? Or had she gone to him?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Or had they met at the conjunction of their worlds, the place where air and water kissed, and the white-hot blaze of fire streaked out of the sky to ignite the earth?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon's mother had never said. She had just borne her white-haired child who, if Ducon guessed correctly, was heir to both worlds, one impenetrable and the other all too likely to be the death of him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea tried to imagine, as she ate her solitary meal in her room, where he had gone that morning, what he was plotting that he would not tell her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she continued reading the book the stranger had chosen. She was completely unsurprised when she came across an archaic version of the story of the fan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Black Pearl was no happier the next morning with the prolonged absence of Camas Erl." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'tried' 2 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Come with me,\" she said brusquely to Ducon. \"You have wandered through my private rooms, tried to pry into my secrets, tried to discover what I know and what I can do. I can find Camas Erl, but I need help from someone with intelligence, strength and discretion. He is not here to help me with this; you must take his place.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon started to speak, faltered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stared at her, the bruise on his face suddenly vivid against his pallor, as if she had struck him. She gave him her feral smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You trust too easily. Like your uncle did. I taught Camas all those years while he was teaching you. I find him helpful and I do not wish to lose him. But if he has betrayed me as well, then you will help me kill him. I have my ways.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still he could not find words. Lydea, her heart pounding, resisted every impulse to draw the listless Kyel close to her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even Mistress Thorn was blinking rapidly, discomposed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon spoke finally, huskily.\n\n\"Why me? Anyone off the streets would do for you. Why reveal your secret powers to me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Because,\" she said contemptuously, \"you have shown me that I have nothing to fear from you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She summoned guards into the room to watch over the prince. \"Let no one enter,\" she ordered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hold anyone who comes here.\" Her baleful gaze swung to Lydea then, boding no good to Mistress Thorn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Camas chose you; I must trust that, for the moment. But if you speak of this I will tear out your voice and drop it down the nearest drain.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mistress Thorn bowed her head speechlessly. The Black Pearl eyed the young prince." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But nothing in his blank face told her that he had paid the slightest attention to anything she had said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gestured imperiously to Ducon. His face rigid, he followed her out of the room without a backward glance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mistress Thorn found herself trembling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sat down beside Kyel, silent until she felt the imperturbable mask of the spell conceal her thoughts. He had understood something, she realized; he leaned against her for comfort even before she said her name." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To her relief, Ducon came to her at some black hour of the night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He brought a taper in with him, and lit her candles while she pulled her dishevelled hair out of her eyelashes and her mind out of nightmares. She searched his face silently; it looked very pale, hollow with weariness and vaguely stunned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She sat up; he sat down beside her, ran his hands through his hair until it spiked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She opened the door for me,\" he whispered incomprehensibly, \"and I went in. I've been searching everywhere for that door.\"\n\n\"To her secrets, you mean?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The place where she works. She sleeps there, too,\" he added." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In a kind of cocoon. I think it makes nightly repairs on her raddled carcass.\"\n\n\"Did she find Camas?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"After a fashion. He seems to have wandered into history. He was talking to a lot of ghosts. I had to shift some heavy mirrors for her, and tell her what I know about the sections of Ombria they saw.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What part of Ombria has so many ghosts?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked bewilderedly. Then she answered herself, with a suck of breath. \"The undercity.\"\n\n\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is that where he is? With the sorceress?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"After a fashion. He's lost to the world and babbling to ghosts. You met him. You saw how he is. Temperate and predictable. So I thought.\" He rose suddenly, not before she glimpsed the cold flare of anger in his eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He lied to me and he would have betrayed Kyel. I can't forgive him that. His clothes are torn and dirty; his hair falls across his face; he looks as though he eats whatever ghosts eat. Domina Pearl had no idea where he could be in the undercity; she has never been there. She couldn't tell if Faey had anything to do with the ghosts haunting Camas. If he knew they existed, he would easily have found them irresistible and gone looking for them on his own. She tried to summon him back here.\"\n\n\"He wouldn't come?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He didn't seem to hear her.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He paced a step or two restively, then turned back to Lydea. \"She wants me to go there and bring him out. With Faey's help, she said, if I needed it. She said the sorceress bore her no ill will and always did what she asked.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea thought of the sorceress striding down the riverbank with Ducon dangling over her shoulder, brought to a halt mid-pace by the notion that she might in any way be compared to Domina Pearl. \"Really.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So she thinks. I wanted to tell you now so that you'll know where I am tomorrow.\"\n\nA pulse of fear beat in Lydea's throat; she swallowed. \"Leaving me alone—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"To tutor Kyel.\"\n\n\"With a woman who wants to tear my voice out and me having to count on my fingers to multiply.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He sat down on the bed, shifted a strand of hair from her face with his fingers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Even now, you manage to look like the poised and decorous Mistress Thorn. Domina Pearl has far too much on her mind to remember that you exist.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I hope so,\" she whispered. Then somehow the dispassionate Mistress Thorn found herself gripping his wrist." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But, Ducon, Camas knows who I am! He told me so! He'll tell her—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, he won't,\" Ducon answered quickly. \"He knew and didn't tell her; he would be caught in his own lie. I'll remind him of that when I find him. I'll be back as soon as I can; I don't dare leave Kyel long.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Be careful. Don't get lost with Camas.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't intend to.\"\n\nSomething in his voice made her look sharply at him." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What do you intend?\"\n\n\"To ask him a question. To ask him what he wants so profoundly that he would destroy the House of Greve and the city he loves for it.\"\n\nHe rose. His hand hovered an instant near her cheek, but he turned and left without touching Mistress Thorn." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: This is part of a larger narrative. The user will write a segment, then you need to write around three sentences continuing directly from it. Characters and events may be pre-established from earlier chapters.\n\nAuthor style: Patricia A. McKillip\nGenre: Fantasy" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag, returning to the palace in the silvery light of dawn along with the milk and carts from the market, slipped into the kitchens with a couple of groaning baskets of squash in her arms, deposited them in a likely place, picked up a bucket and cloth along the way, and left through a different door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For once she had dressed carefully, in something plain and dark." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She endured the bleak stares of what seemed endless lines of Domina Pearl's guards, standing as stiff and mute as mile-posts along the hall. They did not question the drudge with the hunched shoulders and lowered head going to clean up a spill. She went down the first stairway she could into the unguarded lower quarters, where she would have passed Ducon without lifting her head if he had been a step ahead of himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As it was, he rounded a corner just as she hurried past it and they met precipitously, with a clang of bucket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon, gripping Mag's arm to keep her upright, bent speechlessly to rub his shin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stared in amazement at the fish-bone hair while the bucket rattled across the floor and rocked gently to a halt.\n\nDucon let go of Mag finally. He seemed to take her silence for a drudge's timidity, or fear of being punished for having been tripped over." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'bucket' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He barely glanced at her, just reached for the bucket absently, his thoughts already proceeding down the corridor. The dry floor caught his attention. Water did not make its own way to those parts of the palace; an empty bucket made no sense." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked at her for the first time.\n\nHe didn't speak immediately either. He took her arm again, moved her a step or two closer to the nearest spray of tapers along the wall, and studied her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hair,\" he murmured finally." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A pile of straw and full of pins. Eyes the color of walnut shells...\" His voice trailed away; he looked suddenly puzzled, as though he had remembered her from some dream, perhaps, or within a different light. She felt it too. It was what had drawn her there, that sense of recognition." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mag,\" he said finally, and she nodded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why do I feel I know you,\" he wondered, \"when I have never met you before?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know.\" She stood rigid under his scrutiny, still startled by being seen before she chose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The hall was shadowy beyond the taper lights, and, but for their hushed voices, very quiet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was hoping you could tell me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You came looking for me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Does Faey know you're here?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He shifted slightly, as though to hide her from invisible eyes. \"This is the last place you should be.\"\n\n\"I know.\" Her hand closed tightly on the locket hidden beneath the drab wool." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But there is no one else to ask about the charcoal.\"\n\nHe slid his own hand into a pocket as though to touch something familiar, reassure himself. \"Faey made it,\" he reminded her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You could have asked her.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'doesn't' must be used 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Faey doesn't know everything. She says that you see with more than human eyes, but she doesn't understand why. Maybe she doesn't remember why; she must be as old as Ombria.\"\n\nHe was silent, studying her again with his inhuman eyes. \"Perhaps it's because you've lived underground and with her magic all your life,\" he commented obscurely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's something unhuman about you, too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He pulled the charcoal out of his pocket impulsively, then considered it ruefully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Faint, glittering colors washed over it in the candlelight. \"I wish I had the time to draw you. Maybe that would answer some questions.\"\n\n\"You have drawn me,\" she said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But not with that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His silvery gaze flicked to her again, surprised." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Have I? Surely not. I would have remembered you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You drew me in a tavern, the day Royce Greve was buried. I wore a long black veil; it hid my face.\"\n\n\"That was you?\" He regarded the drudge with amazement. \"That mysterious, elegant woman in black?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That was me. You were surrounded by young nobles who were trying to persuade you that it might be a good idea to kill both Domina Pearl and Kyel and put you on the throne instead.\"\n\nHis face grew taut. \"You heard that.\"\n\n\"I followed you to the pier.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Ensure 'about' appears 2 time(s) in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She looked away from him, suddenly inarticulate. \"I had a decision to make. About you. About myself.\"\n\n\"I remember,\" he said, his gaze indrawn now, expressionless." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lydea told me that you were spying on me. Trying to make some decision about whether I should live or die.\"\n\n\"About whether or not I should help Faey dispose of you,\" she amended. \"As it was, I had no choice. I meant to meddle with her spell during the making, but she gave me no chance; I tried to steal it, but she hid it; I searched everywhere for you to warn you, but I couldn't find you—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why?\" he asked abruptly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"After what you heard in the tavern and on the pier, why would you try to help me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That night after the funeral when you were summoned to stay with Kyel because he was having nightmares, I was trapped under his bed.\" Ducon, astounded, tried to speak; nothing came out. \"I couldn't leave because of the guards. Kyel trusted you. You lay awake all night watching while he slept. You go everywhere in Ombria; you're not afraid of anything.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked down at the bucket he had picked up for the drudge. \"Not even kindness.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was staring at her. \"You see my life far more clearly than I do.\"\n\n\"It made no difference in the end,\" she said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I couldn't rescue you from Faey.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She rescued me herself. After she tried to kill me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That was business.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But why reverse her own spell and let me live?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That,\" Mag sighed, \"was Faey. Even I don't always understand her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ambiguities,\" he said nebulously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Like the charcoal. It drew such magic that I couldn't put it down. It would have been the death of me, but I would have fought before I parted with it. And you. Spying on me and trying to save me from sorcery when I didn't even know you existed. Lydea told me that she would have died on the streets but for you. Who are you? Where did you come from?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That is what I hoped you could tell me\" She slid a finger beneath the neckline of her dress, snagged the fine gold chain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She opened the locket, turned the thin, gold-framed leaves of glass until she came to the charcoal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Someone left me like the morning bread in a basket on Faey's doorstep. I was wearing this, she said, when she found me. I've seen the drawings you've made with the magic piece of charcoal. I hoped this might be magic, too. I thought—I thought maybe it might hold my mother's face.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He made a soft sound, took the locket from her to look more closely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He brushed the charcoal recklessly with a finger. \"Perhaps it does... How strange. Blood, a rose petal, and charcoal. There's a story.\"\n\n\"I know. But what? Please,\" she begged." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Draw with it. Now, if you have the time.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Time is what I don't have this morning.\" He paused as a door near them opened abruptly and a portly woman in black hurried down the hall away from them, keys chiming at every step. He closed the locket carefully, put it back into her palm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The Black Pearl ordered me to bring Camas Erl back from the undercity. How did he find his way down there? Does Faey know he is there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes. I brought him to her.\"\n\n\"You—\"\n\n\"I was searching for you in the secret palace after Faey sent you the charcoal—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How did you find your way there?\"\n\n\"I saw you come out of the door in the wall beside that great, fat urn.\"\n\n\"You're everywhere,\" he said, astonished again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, I went too far that day. I got trapped by Domina Pearl in her library. She locked me in without knowing that I was there. Camas Erl found me. He freed me, but he asked me questions, and he made me promise to take him to see Faey.\"\n\n\"So that's how,\" Ducon breathed. \"But why?\"\n\n\"He has some idea—He thinks—\" She shook her head bewilderedly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Another door opened and closed; he drew her away from the taper light. \"He's treacherous and rash and he doesn't make much sense. Can't you leave him down there? You're safer with him wandering among the ghosts.\"\n\nDucon shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"For now,\" he said evenly, \"I must do as I'm told.\" He took her arm again, and caught an amazed stare from a young woman tying her apron as she passed them. \"But wait for me—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where?\"\n\nHe led her around the corner, down the hall. \"I'll be back as soon as I can. We'll see then what comes out of your charcoal.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pushed open one of the endless, identical doors. A woman still in her nightgown and bent over a basin raised her dripping face, startled.\n\n\"This is Mistress Thorn,\" he said to Mag." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Rose, to you. Don't leave this room before I come back.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He closed the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The woman cupped water in her hands and splashed away the mask of soap to reveal her true smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mag!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She told Mag, in a harried fashion as she dressed, why she was disguised and under the same roof again as the Black Pearl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag peered closely, but could find little trace of the helpless, grieving beauty who had flung her sapphire heels into the sunflowers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Faey had done her work too well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Breakfast tapped at the door; Lydea shared it with Mag. They passed the teacup back and forth while Mag showed her the locket, and explained why she had come searching for Ducon.\n\nToo soon, Lydea rose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I must go. I'll be alone with Kyel until Ducon returns. Do you know other languages?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Surprised, Mag nodded. \"A smuggler taught me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mathematics?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The baker's wife.\"\n\n\"History?\"\n\nMag's mouth crooked. \"I live with it. Why?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea studied her, a thumbnail caught between her teeth. \"I wonder—\" Her hand dropped. \"No. I'd never be able to explain you to Domina Pearl. But I wish you could help me tutor Kyel; I know so little.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You know more than he does,\" Mag guessed. She watched Mistress Thorn straighten a cuff, touch a hair pin. \"You look—you look—\"\n\n\"I know. So Ducon says. If only I could feel the way I look.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned to Mag, held both her shoulders lightly, and her eyes. \"I know you like to wander, but don't. It's far too risky. Ducon may be back before I am. Until then, there's a stack of history beside the bed.\"\n\nShe left. Mag sat down on the bed and stared blankly back at the blank walls." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The halls grew silent again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl, Lydea had said, would be busy in her council chambers all morning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon might be gone half the morning or all day, depending. Mag had passed the enormous urn with the secret door behind it before she ran into Ducon. She could slip into the hidden palace for an hour and no one would be the wiser." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had seen the drawings Ducon had left in Faey's house; they hinted at some mystery in the empty rooms and shadowy doorways. The mystery had flowed through the charcoal and onto Ducon's paper. It seemed a living thing, that stick of ash and spit, a blind eye that saw invisible wonders and reflected them onto paper." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon himself had sensed the marvels; only that could explain all the shadows he drew. As though he expected that, by rendering shadow onto paper, he might peel away the visible darkness and illumine the mystery behind it.\n\nBut—\"Once warned,\" she whispered, \"no fool. Twice warned: once a fool.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "And she had been thrice warned, by Faey and Ducon and Lydea." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So against her inclinations, she stayed put. Inspired by the thought of charcoal, she riffled through the books beside Lydea's bed, not in pursuit of history, but for a likely page. She found one finally, a blank flyleaf in the back of a book." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Coaxing the charcoal out of the locket proved a simple matter; it fairly leaped into her hand when she turned the open locket upside down and tapped it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She handled the charcoal carefully; it was scarcely bigger than her thumbnail and no thicker than three leaves of the heavy, deckle-edged paper." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Unlike Ducon's charcoal, it did not glitter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But it did surprise: the first few lines it drew seemed to come out of itself rather than anything on Mag's mind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stopped, studied the lines. An indifferent artist, she could still have drawn a face that a child could recognize: an oval, two dots and a smile. But what came out of the charcoal was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a human face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It looked mostly like a small whirlwind. She hesitated, not wanting to whittle away the magic on nonessentials before Ducon returned. But the corner she drew with seemed as sharp as ever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Curious, she let the charcoal roam at will again across the paper.\n\nShe paid no attention to the distant, rhythmic crashes at first; they were, for all she knew, part of the daily life of the palace. What the charcoal drew seemed chaotic, unrecognizable, but it fascinated her, for occasionally she could put a name to something in that chaos: a ringed finger, an ear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As though someone were forming or falling apart in the whirling dark." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was only when the din grew near enough to separate into coherent sounds—a door banging open, a sharp voice, heavy, booted footsteps—that she realized she was in trouble." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stood up as the door of the room across from Lydea's was flung open. Paper and charcoal slid to the floor. She glanced desperately around the room, found the only possibility: the untidy bedclothes on the unmade bed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had barely pulled them, sheets and all, into her arms when Lydea's door slammed open.\n\nThe Black Pearl stared at her. She dipped a hasty curtsey, and emitted the faint squeak of the terrified drudge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But the ancient eyes were not deceived. They recognized, after all those years, the secret-eyed waif who had swallowed a heart.\n\n\"You,\" she said acridly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stepped into the room. Her guards crowded the doorway; there was no place to run. The locket hung open against Mag's dress; the strange drawing had landed at her feet; the charcoal, whole and seemingly unused, lay on the floor beside it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag's thumb and forefinger were black with it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her eyes lowered, she felt Domina Pearl's face close to hers, smelled the odd, musty scent of her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl ran a claw into Mag's hair, jerked her head up. \"I warned you about spying. You should have listened.\"\n\nShe caught a finger on a barbed pin then, and hissed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag stared, overcome by curiosity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What came out of the bony, wrinkled skin looked more yellow than red. She had lost a thumb, Mag saw then. Her face, stiff with rage, looked odd, as Faey's did sometimes when she first awoke: unfinished, missing a bone or a nostril." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl had misplaced an eyebrow. And an ear, Mag realized with astonishment. Then she felt the blood slide completely out of her face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She stared at the drawing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So did the Black Pearl, searching for her missing ear. She made a strange noise with her teeth, like a door hinge groaning, and ground the flake of charcoal beneath her boot heel until there was nothing left but a smear of black powder across the floorboard. Then she picked up the drawing carefully, as though her missing pieces might fall out of it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag felt her eyes sting suddenly, and closed them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A few more moments, and something vital might have been sucked out of Domina Pearl into the drawing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If only she had begun it sooner, or if she had listened sooner and hid...\n\nThe locket chain bit into her neck and snapped. The Black Pearl pushed her roughly toward the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Take those pins out of her hair,\" she said to the guards." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They held her, following orders ruthlessly and efficiently, until Mag's hair fell down and she was blind with unshed tears." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She refused to blink; tears fell anyway, revealing a floor littered with barbed, jeweled pins to greet Ducon when he returned for her.\n\n\"So the waxling learned to cry human tears,\" the Black Pearl said. She seized Mag's hair again, found her eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did the sorceress send you here with that charcoal? Did she make it? Is she plotting against me?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No—\" Mag gasped; the talons in her hair shook her silent.\n\n\"She is beginning to get in my way. She traps Camas Erl in the ruins of history; she sends you to pick at me like a vulture. Let's find out, shall we, exactly how much you are worth to Faey. If she truly cares for you, she will come and get you. Then I'll have you both, trapped in a place beyond the reach of time, where there is no history and the only ghosts are mine. You and you,\" she added to two guards, \"wait here and bring me whoever comes through that door. The rest of you: take her and follow me.\"\n\nThe guards surrounded Mag, seized her arms, her hair. The Black Pearl led them through an unfamiliar door into the secret palace." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "u know Patricia A. McKillip? write like that. 12 sentences sentences. Fantasy stuff. this is from middle of story" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon, having fallen blindly into the underworld, remembered only the door through which he had left it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On the sign hanging above the door a pair of elegantly gloved hands parted as though to reveal some marvel; bubbles of blistered paint floated between them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tiny glove shop was surrounded by hulking warehouses, pools of water and blood from a slaughterhouse, and stained wagons bringing fresh hides to a tanner and taking tanned hides away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Whether or not the shop had ever sold a pair of gloves was as dubious a matter as whether anyone in pursuit of them would have ventured down such a bleak and stinking street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inside the shop, there was nothing but a hollow of walls and a stone stairway attached to the threshold and leading directly down to the river." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon saw the lamps along it still lit in the early morning hour. A sound below made him pause until he recognized it from his feverish stay in the sorceress's house: the rhythmic heave and sigh of gigantic bellows that was Faey snoring.\n\nHe was midway down the steps when the snoring stopped.\n\nThe sorceress was waiting for him at the bottom. She looked dishevelled, still half-dreaming, her face vague in the gentle lamplight, perhaps not all there. She yawned, voluminously and noisily, patting absently at the billows and snarls of her hair. It was completely white. One of her lovely eyes was turquoise, the other emerald, as though she had groped for them and put them on in the dark. Just beyond light, and just within his eyesight, Ducon glimpsed the glowing, restless currents of her powers that never aged, never slept.\n\nShe murmured something, pulled a mirror out of nowhere and delicately straightened the line of one rumpled brow. The mirror vanished; she said, \"Ducon, what are you doing here at this hour of the morning?\"\n\n\"I've come for Camas Erl.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Precise word count needed: 'pearl' × 3" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sniffed. \"He's not worth the rescue. I'd leave him, if I were you.\"\n\n\"Domina Pearl sent me to bring him back,\" he answered, and saw a glint in one lowered eye as if it had turned as darkly glittering as the wild magic around her. She sat down on the stairs, gestured for him to join her.\n\n\"Did she now?\" she asked lightly. \"He'd betray her, too, with no more thought about it than he'd spare to clean his teeth. He's demented.\"\n\n\"Maybe, but she wants him. Do you? Will you stop me?\"\n\n\"No. Take him. I find him annoying. But you'll have to get his attention away from those ghosts. He's lost in history and babbling about transformations. I doubt that he'd recognize you unless you're dead.\"\n\n\"Will you help me? I was told to ask you. Domina Pearl said that you have never refused her anything.\"\n\nHer face turned away from him; she leaned back against the steps, idly watching something, perhaps the play of her own magic through the underworld. \"No,\" she said softly. \"I haven't. And no, I won't help you. I find I thoroughly dislike them both, and I do not care a cat's breath if Camas Erl and the Black Pearl are ever reunited in the world above.\" She looked at Ducon again, lifted a finger and turned his face to examine the bruise on it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her eyes grew suddenly black, pupilless, like the empty eyes of ancient statues." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Even you,\" she said. \"Even you deceive.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have to, in that palace.\" The dark, rich currents of her magic flowed through her eyes then; he could not look away.\n\n\"You say one thing to the Black Pearl, another to Kyel, another to the man who nearly killed you. He tried again?\"\n\nHe nodded, remembering the cold metal against his throat, the manticore's mad eyes. \"But I never lied to him. He expected me to and panicked. I haven't seen him lately.\"\n\n\"There are others...\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he heard himself say very softly. \"They want me to kill her and rule Ombria.\"\n\n\"Will you?\"\n\nHe hesitated, thinking of the Black Pearl and her mirrors watching him. The sorceress smiled. \"She cannot hear you now. You are in my mirrors, within my illusions. So,\" she added, reading his mind. \"These others, you never tell them yes, you never tell them no.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"For Kyel's sake,\" he whispered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His hands had clenched, holding all the possibilities, all that he tossed into the air and kept from falling in the world above." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They see no need for him; they would as soon be rid of him. They are young, ambitious, desperate—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So you are holding up the sky over the young prince's head.\"\n\n\"Trying.\"\n\n\"Which is why you are down here to rescue the unscrupulous tutor for the wicked regent.\"\n\n\"For now,\" he answered, \"I do her bidding.\"\n\n\"For Kyel's sake. And for whose sake are you deceiving me?\" He stared at her, his face slackening with surprise, and her eyes turned the pale matte brown of walnuts. \"Why,\" she asked, \"do I find my waxling on your mind?\"\n\n\"I had no intention of deceiving you,\" he protested, startled by her perception. Intent on Camas Erl, he had forgotten Mag. The sorceress queried him with a sparse brow; he admitted, \"I would have let Mag tell you that we met. I found her in the servants' halls; she was looking for me.\" Both brows went up at that. But she let him finish." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She wanted me to draw with the piece of charcoal in her locket. She thought I might coax her mother's face out of it.\"\n\n\"Did you?\"\n\n\"I had no time. I left her waiting for me in Lydea's room.\"\n\nThe sorceress exhaled harshly; Ducon half-expected her breath to flame. \"I told her to stay out of that palace.\"\n\n\"I warned her not to wander.\" He watched Faey, asked cautiously, \"Do you know who her mother is?\"\n\n\"I have not the slightest idea,\" Faey said. \"Nor have I ever been much interested in the question.\" But she was now, Ducon guessed. Her brows had creased; she studied something invisible in the air between them. Then she studied him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The flare and welter of her powers transfixed him with their intensity and secret beauty; again he could not look away. \"You see me,\" he heard her say, \"in ways no other human can. Except Mag. I have hidden such things from her since she was small, so that she would do my bidding without being distracted by them. But when I first found her, I saw the reflection of my powers in her eyes. She would try to catch the glittering in her hands. Someone left her charcoal. She saw it and connected it to you.\"\n\n\"What are you saying?\" His own voice sounded far away, very calm. \"That we are somehow kin?\"\n\n\"What do you think?\"\n\n\"I had never seen her before this morning. But when I looked at her, I thought we must have met, in some other time and place.\"\n\n\"Perhaps you did.\"\n\nShe loosed him too abruptly; he felt stranded, bewildered, a fish out of water and all her haunting currents out of reach. Her eyes held human color again. She contemplated him dispassionately, as though she were examining a crooked stitch in a vast and complex tapestry. \"I will be extremely interested to see what comes out of that flake of charcoal. But she could have asked me to summon you, rather than running off to the palace and putting herself under the Black Pearl's nose. I do wish at times that I had encouraged her to think.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stood up. \"But wait,\" he pleaded. \"Tell me. What time? What place?\"\n\n\"How should I know? Maybe the charcoal will tell you. Domina Pearl is right,\" she added, \"about one thing. I will help you if you ask me. But don't ask me for help with Camas Erl. Deal with him yourself.\" She wandered away from him, yawning again. \"I'm going back to bed.\"\n\nHe followed the path the lamps lit along the river; here and there the great houses illumined a window to watch him pass and then grew dark again. The river narrowed, quickened, its surface trembling like the eyes of dreamers. The sun rose. Gold, dusty crossbeams of light fell from forgotten windows, drains, the broken husks of buildings whose floors had long since fallen. The river ran deeper, sloping down toward earlier times. Houses on its banks grew smaller, clustered closely together; old streets looped and coiled like mazes. Once he smelled the sweet, astonishing scent of grass newly cut in a field, another time the scent of lavender.\n\nHe walked until he saw how far he would have to go to reach the beginning of time in the undercity." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fragmented, ephemeral memories of shadowy walls, towers, the river fanning into a vast black sea, seemed too far to reach except in dreams." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word frequency rule: 'sisal' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Perhaps, he thought, kneeling on the riverbank for a handful of water, Camas had gone that far beyond history.\n\nBut the tutor had not yet reached the end of time. Ducon saw him finally, walking across a bridge of rough-hewn stone arching over the river. His head cocked in concentration, arms folded, he was listening to a huge, burly man in silk and fur, white fox heads dangling over one shoulder, his boots trimmed with fringes of ermine tails. Camas's tangled hair slid over his haggard face, caught in the ragged stubble on his jaws. His clothes looked dank, muddy, as though he had walked through water; he was missing a shoe. But he spoke earnestly, eagerly, to the ghost as if it had stepped for a moment into the palace library to help the tutor with his research.\n\nDucon appearing out of nowhere at the end of the bridge made no impression on the tutor. He continued his thought without a flicker of recognition, as he stepped down to the bank, \"And all of this happened during the reign of Sisal Greve, whom you say, contrary to all our written histories, would never have—\" What Sisal Greve would never have done about what was lost forever as Ducon's fist slammed against the tutor's jaw. Camas tripped backward against the end of the bridge and sat down on it heavily, all his attention suddenly riveted on the living.\n\nThe ghost, ignored, vanished. The tutor, his wide, stunned gaze on Ducon, permitted no distractions; no one else appeared." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon flexed the bruised bones of his hand, then reached down for Camas's bedraggled collar and hauled him to his feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ducon,\" the tutor said bewilderedly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What are you doing here?\"\n\n\"Domina Pearl sent me to bring you back.\"\n\n\"But I'm in the midst of my research. Ducon, you would not believe what I have learned—\" He stopped suddenly, looking confused, caught, Ducon guessed, between lies. He shifted his hold to the back of Camas's collar, twisted it, and pushed him upriver toward the sorceress's house. The tutor, turning his head fretfully, complained, \"I can hardly breathe.\"\n\n\"You didn't hear me.\"\n\n\"I heard you. Domina Pearl sent you.\"\n\n\"She showed me her secret room, where she makes her spells and her poisons, and puts her crumbling body to bed to regrow itself at night. She had me help her shift enormous mirrors to search for you. She said that you usually do such things, but you were missing, so—\" His fingers tightened abruptly on the cloth at Camas's throat; the tutor, his breath rasping, flailed at his collar, tore a button off. He bent, hands at his knees, groping for breath. \"All those years,\" Ducon said between clenched teeth, \"you lied—\"\n\n\"I never lied—You never asked—\"\n\n\"Did you help her kill my uncle?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He heard Camas's breath stop for an instant. \"Did you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You must,\" the tutor said raggedly, \"consider the consequences. The rewards are incalculable.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gaunt as he looked, he still had more strength than Ducon realized. He felt it as the tutor straightened suddenly, and propelled a shoulder into Ducon's chest, trying to push him into the river. A ghost appeared, waited calmly for the outcome. Ducon shifted, rolling from under the tutor's weight, and caught Camas again as he lost his balance and reeled toward the water himself.\n\nCamas fell to his knees on the bank. Ducon, standing behind him with one hand around his throat, the other clamped to his shoulder, said succinctly, \"Don't fight me. Just explain. What is so important to you that you would kill one Prince of Ombria and put the next in such danger? Ombria is your passion, and Greve is its ruling house. Why?\"\n\nThe ghost disappeared. Camas, shifting fitfully under Ducon's hand, said breathlessly, \"I am so close—so close to understanding it myself—\"\n\n\"Understanding what?\"\n\n\"You must let me stay here. I've spoken to ghosts who have survived the last transformation of Ombria—\"\n\n\"You've spoken to the sorceress's illusions,\" Ducon said flatly.\n\n\"No—They have been appearing to me freely. Listen to me. Perilous times, a desperate city, the ruling house in chaos, in danger—all of this signals the change, and causes it. The deeper Domina Pearl plunges the city into misery and hopelessness, the stronger its visions of hope and longing for change become. Do you understand? When the desire becomes overwhelming, the transformation becomes inevitable. It has happened before, it will happen again, and we are reaching that point—\" He stopped, choking on his own words as Ducon's hand tightened.\n\n\"Because of you.\" Ducon felt cold fury bore through him like a blade of ice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You and the Black Pearl are destroying Ombria for a fantasy—a child's tale—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No—\" His fingers prying, Camas gained another word's worth of air. \"Listen—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You listen. I'm not giving you back to Domina Pearl. Tale or true, you'll never know; you won't be here to see, and this change, if it comes, will more likely come from your absence than from any dream you spin out of history.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What—\"\n\n\"You are going on a very long sea journey to the outermost islands where Domina Pearl's ships stop to collect her strange plants and poisonous reptiles. You will never return to this city.\"\n\n\"Domina,\" Camas gasped, striving with Ducon's hands. \"She'll stop you—\"\n\n\"Not when I explain to her that you were conspiring with this sorceress against her. She'll put you on the ship herself.\"\n\n\"No—\" The force of the tutor's desire overwhelmed him. One hand, groping upward, caught Ducon's shirt. \"I must see it—I must be here—\" He wrenched at Ducon; his other hand, scrabbling along the earth, found a stone. Ducon, jerking back, avoided the flailing weapon, but his grip loosened. Camas turned, his eyes desperate with visions. \"No one,\" he said and swung the stone again as he pulled free. His weighted fist cracked across Ducon's face. The distant lamps turned suddenly to tiny pinpoints of light; Ducon fell endlessly into them, still hearing the tutor's voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No one will stop me.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'ducon' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No one,\" the sorceress snapped, \"is going anywhere.\"\n\nDucon raised his head. Blurred colors and textures took shape slowly into damp earth and the tip of the sorceress's blue silk shoe. He rolled unsteadily, spat blood. The tutor, seeing yet another ghost in the willowy, red-haired beauty, stared transfixed across Ducon's prone body. Then he blinked as she said irritably to an elegant lord in black velvet and silver chains, \"Go away. All of you: back into the cauldron.\"\n\nBlood streaked through Camas's face. He shifted, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. \"You didn't—\" he managed finally. \"You couldn't have made them all—\"\n\n\"You,\" she said pithily, \"are a fool of the first water.\" She held a slender, jewelled hand to Ducon and flicked him to his feet as though he were made of down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then she skewered the tutor again with eyes the color of metal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I didn't make them. I summoned them out of memory.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You knew them all?\" the tutor demanded hoarsely.\n\n\"Oh, stop,\" she said in exasperation. \"I've been hearing you babble for days.\" She thrust a folded piece of paper at Ducon. The seal was broken, but he recognized it. He opened the paper. Faey, her words as staccato as the heels in the streets high above their heads, told him what it said before he read it. \"That woman has Mag.\"\n\nDucon felt a sudden flare of pain where Camas had struck him. \"I left her safe,\" he whispered, sickened. \"I thought I did.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She was never good at sitting still. The Black Pearl wants to know if my making of wax is worth anything to me before she unmakes it. And what I might consider offering her for its safe return.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What will you do?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'regent' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Whatever I must,\" she said succinctly. \"For now, I'll consider an offer. You'll take it to her along with Camas Erl.\"\n\n\"No,\" he protested incredulously. \"You must not give Camas back to her.\"\n\n\"I think that, under the circumstances, I should not like to offend the regent.\" She turned abruptly to Camas Erl, donning manners like a ball gown. \"Forgive my brusqueness. I am distressed. I hope that before you go you will accept a pair of shoes?\"\n\nHe spoke cautiously. \"I would be grateful. I can't think what might have happened to my other shoe. As a matter of fact, I don't think I entirely understand what I have seen and done the past few—\" He stopped, felt his chin. \"Days?\"\n\n\"And, perhaps, a cup of tea?'\n\n\"Yes. And if I could just speak to you for a few more moments, about your earliest memories? I know the regent will show herself grateful for anything that you can tell me.\"\n\n\"Then I will tell you anything,\" the sorceress said.\n\n\"I will not,\" Ducon said, his voice rising precariously, \"put Camas Erl back under the same roof with Kyel.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He took a step toward her, his fists clenched." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 7 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He helped Domina Pearl kill Kyel's father. You told me to deal with him. I will. I will kill him before I return him to the—\"\n\nShe turned a face to him that seemed half bone, half nacre, and stripped of all human expression. Her eyes grew colorless, shrivelled; that white stare burned all language out of him, all thought. \"I will do anything I must for my waxling,\" she said. He felt her voice like hoarfrost in his heart. \"You will do as you are told.\"\n\nShedding centuries again, she slipped an arm through Camas's, and accommodated herself, like one of her own ghosts, to his blistered hobble along the river, while Ducon, betrayed by his own spellbound bones, trailed helplessly in her wake." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "The user will write a bit then you need to write around 5 sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Match the familiarity level of any character introductions. Stick to the Fantasy genre." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea, exposed to her own ignorance for the better part of a morning in the library and surrounded by guards who looked as though they might lop off her head for a misspelled word, was deeply grateful for Mistress Thorn's unruffled voice. She sat as close to Kyel as she dared, but did not touch him; she had no idea how much the Black Pearl saw out of the hard, unblinking eyes around them. Kyel seemed to sense her tension. He did not question her about Ducon, or why she only read him history and did not try to teach him words in other languages. She braved the silent guards stationed along the bookshelves to come up with Simple Mathematical Principles." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was struggling, in Mistress Thorn's sedate manner, to make sense of that for Kyel when Domina Pearl spun through the door like a bony, furious whirlwind.\n\nShe disconcerted Mistress Thorn, who sucked in a dust mote and gave a genteel cough as she rose. The Black Pearl, early by an hour or two, looked oddly dishevelled, peculiar, though she was scarcely there long enough for Lydea to examine. She carried a crumpled drawing in one hand; the other she held out peremptorily to Kyel.\n\n\"Come, my lord. Enough, Mistress Thorn. You may retire.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The thumb on that hand seemed withered and strangely dark." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mistress Thorn blinked at it, then curtseyed hastily. Kyel, taking the hand without expression, glanced back at Lydea as he left, his eyes wide, uncertain. Domina Pearl hissed something at him; he looked down at the floor instead. The guards followed her out.\n\nLydea, wondering, returned books neatly to the shelves, except for the book on basic mathematics, which she took with her to her room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The halls were silent at that hour before noon, but for the occasional passing bundle of rich and colorful laundry that had been removed quickly from sight in the upper world to be transported to the lower through the servants' halls. She remembered Mag, then, waiting in her room or not waiting, as the mood had seized her. Lydea quickened her step, expecting either Mag or a lack of Mag to greet her beyond her door.\n\nEven Mistress Thorn's composure cracked at the sight of two granite-faced men looming up in her tiny chamber, drawing their swords as she opened the door. The mathematical principles crashed to the floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mistress Thorn, abandoning propriety, slammed the door in their faces and fled.\n\nShe heard the door crash open again as she rounded a corner. She passed a stairway, but dared not run up. By now, the image of her in those spellbound eyes must have passed from mind to mind throughout the palace. She heard a shriek behind her, partly muffled as laundry dodged the swords." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The guards' feet pounded hard on Lydea's heels as she ran a scared rat's path through the maze of hallways, taking every turn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She could not lose them, she realized with growing terror; it was as though she left a glowing trail of footprints behind her.\n\nSomeone moved ahead of her. She saw a pale head behind a huge urn standing grotesquely along the narrow passage. \"Ducon,\" she gasped on a rag-end of breath. He looked back at her, then disappeared." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gave a half sob of horror and despair, hearing the boots hammering the floorboards behind her. Casting a hopeless glance back for Ducon as she sped past the urn, she saw the narrow opening in the wall behind it.\n\nShe threw herself into it, closed wall and wainscotting behind her. The inner passageway was empty; Ducon was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps, she thought incredulously, it had not been Ducon at all but his ghostly-seeming other." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pausing only to kick off her shoes, she fled noiselessly down the nearest turning, then up a stairway, angling her way without thinking, without stopping, deep into the secret palace.\n\nShe paused finally to catch her breath, feeling her heart rattle against her ribs. She heard voices beyond the wall, a distant shout or two. Surely they knew those hidden hallways; they would search for her there. She moved as soon as she could, parched and aching, and certain that this time Mag would not appear out of nowhere and save her during her wild run." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl must have sniffed Mag out in some sorcerer's way, and left the guards in the chamber to trap her accomplice.\n\nLydea fled up another stairway, this one lined with ornately framed paintings that had grown so dark with age they might have been of faces or of cities, she could not tell. The balusters were trimmed with peeling gold leaf, and supported a railing of black wood. At the top of the stairs, the sconces along the walls were of finely painted porcelain. She realized something then that made her stumble a step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All along her way, there had been candles lit, random and unobtrusive. Had she, she wondered in that instant, simply chosen the path that she could best see? Or was someone ahead anticipating her, lighting candles to guide her way?\n\nDown the shadowy hallway, something shifted. Lydea froze. Then Mistress Thorn, reasserting herself for a moment, reached up coolly and pinched the nearest flame out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A dim, perplexing shape moved into the frail light. Lydea, expecting guards to pour through the wall, didn't immediately recognize what she saw. A door had opened, she guessed, but what came through near the level of the threshold looked confusingly like an arm, several sheets of paper, and a small, dark head.\n\nHer heart, which had been stopped for hours, it seemed, or days or weeks, gave a sudden, painful twist. She made an incoherent sound; the face turned toward her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She began to run again. Without hesitation, the small figure pulled itself into her path and carefully closed the door against the world.\n\nShe caught him up as she ran. He clung to her, his arms around her neck, not speaking; she could hear his unsteady breathing. She held him tightly, fiercely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She felt his wet cheek against hers; she could barely see through her own tears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beyond the hidden walls the palace murmured vaguely, undisturbed yet by the vanished prince, who had been left, Lydea guessed, to take a nap." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She climbed another staircase, moving as far from his chamber as she could get until she could barely take another step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She pushed into the nearest room, an old ballroom by the look of it, empty but for half a dozen antique chairs spilling stuffing out of their tapestry seats where the mice had nested.\n\nShe put Kyel down and sank to the floor, heaving for breath. He crouched close to her, put his hands on the sides of her face.\n\n\"Lydea,\" he whispered. \"Lydea.\"\n\nShe kissed him, wiped both their faces with her sleeve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then she held him again, glimpsing her own fate if she were caught running away with the Prince of Ombria, but knowing that she could not leave him an instant longer in that deadly place." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where will we go?\" he asked, echoing her thoughts.\n\n\"Well,\" she whispered back, \"what goes up must come down. We'll go down as far as we can under the palace, and from there we'll escape to the undercity.\"\n\n\"Ducon went up.\"\n\n\"What?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When he took me here after my father died. He kept going up.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He does come here, then,\" she breathed in sudden hope." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe he'll look for us here and help us.\"\n\n\"He would look up,\" Kyel guessed, gazing at the ceiling on which people in stiff and elaborate costumes appeared to be dancing on clouds.\n\n\"Then we'll go up first,\" Lydea said, her lips against his hair, close to his ear. \"And if he doesn't find us there we'll go down.\"\n\nHe drew back a little to see her face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where is Mistress Thorn?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She's still here. She hides me from everyone but you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His face dropped against hers again; she stroked his hair, trying to think. Ducon had gone to find Camas Erl; he would come back eventually and report to the Black Pearl. Who would tell him then that she had trapped the sorceress's spying waxling in Mistress Thorn's room, and that Mistress Thorn had eluded capture and disappeared somewhere within the palace. And so, subsequently, had the Prince of Ombria. The inescapable conclusion being that she had stolen the prince for ransom, or other evil purposes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Camas Erl, who would hardly be thanked for introducing Mistress Thorn into Kyel's life, would tell the Black Pearl that he had been hoodwinked by Ducon into accepting her: that Mistress Thorn was actually the ensorcelled Lydea, obviously deranged by grief and a grave threat to the prince; she might hide him anywhere, in any hovel in the city." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon might be sent to look for them, since they both trusted him. In which case \"up\" was indicated. Or he might be tossed into a pit in the cellar somewhere for bringing Lydea and the prince back together. In which case, \"down\" seemed safer... down and out and onto the sorceress's mercy.\n\nShe heard footsteps." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She clung to Kyel again, her throat burning. So soon, she thought in despair. So soon.\n\nHe held her as tightly, and whispered, \"Don't leave me.\"\n\n\"No,\" she promised blindly, \"I won't.\"\n\nLight footsteps pattered like rain, many of them on one side or the other of the ballroom, she couldn't tell which." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On one side the double doors were open as she had left them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Across the room, matching doors were closed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The steps seemed quiet, disorganized after the guards' rigorous, mindless pounding, but who else would be gathered up there?\n\n\"In here,\" someone hissed, and the closed doors opened.\n\nLydea's arms locked around Kyel. She rose while the group of young men at the door pushing against one another to get in were brought up, transfixed, against the sight of the Prince of Ombria in a musty ballroom high within the secret palace, unguarded and alone except for the stranger who held him. Lydea recognized a few of them: the young sons of nobles and once-powerful ministers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They looked harried, she thought, desperate and reckless; most of them were armed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment they were simply stunned at the incongruous sight; their faces refused to believe their eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then someone said it, his voice flat, expressionless, \"Kyel Greve.\"\n\nKyel twisted in Lydea's hold, gazed back at them silently. Someone drew a sword; she backed a step.\n\n\"Who are you?\" one of the young nobles asked bewilderedly. \"What are you doing up here with the prince? Have you kidnapped him? Are you mad?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She must have,\" someone breathed. \"She must be.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half of them, she realized with wonder, had inherited the soft black hair and dark blue eyes of the House of Greve. Kyel's wayward kin, they were, each with a labyrinthine link to the throne of Ombria. She flung the question back at them.\n\n\"What are you doing here? Armed and gathered up here in secret, with your faces out of Ombria's history?\"\n\nThey looked at one another, startled again and silently questioning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea took another step backward toward the open doors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A sharp word sent two of the young men, both armed, circling her to stand guard at the doors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What shall we do with this?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "one murmured. She recognized Lord Hilil Gamelyn's impetuous son, with whom she had once danced." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He did not recognize Mistress Thorn, whose formidable self-possession masked a growing and terrifying perception of the dangers that had chanced into the ballroom." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Kill him?\"\n\nMistress Thorn's imperturbable face turned as brittle as glass. Someone else shook his head violently, scowling. \"You heard Ducon Greve. I'm as afraid of him as I am of the Black Pearl. He does her bidding now; he's lost to us.\"\n\n\"But, we could blame it on this woman. He has no direct heir; I could make a claim as strong as anyone's.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The young man moved out from the group to study the glacial Mistress Thorn more closely. \"Who are you?\" he asked softly. \"How did you dare snatch the Prince of Ombria out of the Black Pearl's grip? And how long did you think you were going to live afterwards?\"\n\nLydea, feeling the prince trembling in her arms, opened her mouth to plead, to make suggestions, to bargain like the tavern-wench she had been. Thunder rolled down the worn hallways, drowning her voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The young men, blood startling out of their faces, moved abruptly, scattering through the ballroom toward the open doors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Caught up in their mute urgency, Lydea ran with them a moment or two before she realized what she heard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl's guards, boots echoing everywhere, burst through the doors on one side while the young nobles and the prince's kidnapper fled through the opposite doors." }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: after, frequency: 3" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The last of them turned courageously to fight; Lydea heard the explosive argument of blades.\n\nShe tried to outrun the running nobles, lose them in sudden turns down the chipped, twisting halls, but they stayed grimly at her heels like hounds after the deer, while the guards, rumbling over the worn floors like a pack of horsemen, clamored after them. Breath like fire in her throat, her arms shaking under Kyel's weight, Lydea moved hopelessly, feeling his damp cheek against hers. Up and up the hunted ran, dodging, circling, dashing toward any shadow, down any empty corridor or stairway. The guards, relentless as flood water, flowed everywhere after them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She glimpsed an impossibility ahead of her, as a window in a room she reeled into gave her a sight of Ombria far below, the crooked, winding streets she had fled down in the night spread out like a maze between the palace and the sea. A tall man with hair the color of ivory moved away from the window to slip through a shadowed doorway in the wall. \"Ducon,\" she whispered, with barely strength enough to shape the name. Shadow lay as deep and stark as midnight sea across the door.\n\nBut there was no place else to go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Someone caught at her, tried to stop her, shouting at her that there was nowhere left to go." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Ducon had just walked through the doorway. And so she followed him, carrying the Prince of Ombria with her into nowhere." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing exercise: one sentence sentences continuing this chapter, Patricia A. McKillip style, Fantasy genre. characters may be pre-established" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag, shackled to a wall in a room without a door, watched what looked like a huge moth with glowing golden wings beat incessantly at the glass sides of a jar on a shelf." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The jar was sealed with cork and wax; the moth should have died long before Mag ever laid eyes on it." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'around' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But it kept fluttering around and around in the jar, never resting, ceaselessly battering itself against an illusion of freedom until Mag could not bear looking at it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But she couldn't bear looking away, either." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then things half in shadow and glowing in the dark crossed her sight, like the pile of bones in a corner and the deformed creatures floating in other jars that seemed to study her curiously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The room itself, windowless, doorless, and steeped in smells, she recognized easily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was Domina Pearl's most closely guarded secret, the center of the she-spider's web." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That she had permitted Mag to see it, Mag found profoundly disquieting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Earlier, Mag had watched her pull parts of herself back out of the charcoal whirlpool that had stolen them and reattach them, muttering a trenchant mix of spell and imprecation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The best she could do was a withered black carrot for a thumb, a crumpled leaf for an ear, and a dead-white eyebrow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Looking into a mirror, she had spat at her reflection." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The glass melted where her spittle ran down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she had turned to Mag, who was slumped on the floor, one arm dangling from a metal cuff on a chain and growing numb." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As for you,\" the Black Pearl said harshly, staring into Mag's expressionless eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You will stay here as bait. I will refuse every offer she makes for you until she is forced to come for you. Then she will reckon with me. If she does not care enough to come, then you will be my waxling, in name, in thought, in heart. I will use you against her as she used you against me. That will teach the sorceress not to meddle in a world where she does not belong.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She left then. Mag watched closely, but it was as though the Black Pearl had seeped through the stained floorboards, or compressed herself into a speck and blew between slats in the wall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag stood up to work the blood back into her arm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Faey would rescue her somehow, sooner or later; she clung to that, trying not to demand how soon? or how?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "from thin air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What seemed to be the Black Pearl's bed distracted her for a few moments." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It stood open against the far wall, a chest as long as a coffin with a high, rounded lid." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The outside looked as if it had been made of amber and the gleaming wings of thousands of beetles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inside the box and along the lid, some strange substance had formed a mold of the Black Pearl, complete to the end of her nose and the tips of her outstretched fingers, as she lay enclosed within the box." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The substance looked vaguely porous, spongy, like bread dough, and was the color of dried blood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was that yeasty muck, Mag guessed, which nightly rejuvenated the Black Pearl, and gave her, judging from its smell, the peculiar odor of musty, unaired linen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She sat on the floor again and watched with mindless intensity as the luminous, beautiful moth fought the prison around it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If it freed itself, she felt, then so could she; if it could just find the way beyond the invisible door, then so could she..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl emerged out of the air." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her face seemed patchy, streaked with passion; her lips had all but vanished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked, Mag thought uneasily, as if she had inhaled a thunderbolt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She went to what resembled a cast-iron tree that grew mirrors like fruit on every branch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She angled different mirrors rapidly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag caught fleeting images of the palace: a rich, shadowed chamber in which naked figures dimly moved on rumpled satin sheets; the kitchens where a cook carried a steaming pot high over the bowed heads of a row of girls peeling vegetables; the secret library where once Mag had been trapped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Domina Pearl whispered something, and every mirror showed her the harsh, expressionless face of a guard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Watch all entrances, even to the kitchens, and all the stairways to the cellar. Do not let them leave the palace. When you find them, kill her and bring the prince to me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea, Mag thought, feeling her skin grow icy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Black Pearl whirled suddenly, tore off her stiffly piled hair and flung it on the floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A small knife bounced out of it, and a little glass vial of something green." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Domina Pearl stared at the hair, breathing heavily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag stared at the bald, seamed head of the regent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She bent finally, grunting, and put her hair back on her head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The small black hillock seemed so rigid that Mag expected it to have cracked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But not a hair was out of place." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She vanished again. Mag, frightened thoughtless, threw whatever she could reach at the golden moth to break the jar, including her shoes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everything bounced off the recalcitrant glass except for one shoe, which narrowly missed the reappearing regent and fell into her bed instead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl left a weal across Mag's cheek with her signet ring, and tossed the shoe into the bone pile." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag swallowed, motionless again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half the shoe had melted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She could not see exactly how Ducon and Camas Erl found their way into the Black Pearl's secret, but there they were suddenly, standing in front of her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon's face, even worse for wear, had a hard, hopeless cast to it, as though he had been forced to absorb something bitter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The bitterness, Mag guessed, was Camas Erl, safely returned from the backwaters of history to Domina Pearl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was only partly right, she learned soon enough." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon gave her a harried look that took in her throbbing cheek and shackled arm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He said nothing, but she glimpsed the deepening despair in his eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He handed Domina Pearl a sheet of dove-grey paper sealed with Faey's customary splash of black wax." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She read it and sniffed contemptuously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As I expected. She has begun to bargain for her waxling.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What will you do?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Accept nothing until she has no choice but to come here. She has grown too free and unpredictable in her underground city. I want her here, under my control, doing my bidding. While I wait, I will make a few necessary adjustments to the girl.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What kinds of adjustments?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She is too curious,\" the Black Pearl answered succinctly. \"Like you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let me take the girl back,\" the tutor pleaded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had tidied his hair, but his chin still bristled like one of the Black Pearl's peculiar fleshy plants, and he wore a waterline across his shirt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I still have many questions for the sorceress. Her past is extraordinary; it stretches back to the beginning of Ombria's history. She promised me—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You,\" Domina Pearl snapped, \"have been gone far too long. You have neglected your duty, and because of you the history of Ombria is liable to take a deadly turn. Your Mistress Thorn has stolen the prince.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What?\" Ducon whispered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Camas Erl, wordless and blinking rapidly, seemed caught between lies and considering the more expedient of them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She is trapped in the old palace, along with another covey of conspirators flushed out by the guards. Nestlings, all of them, thinking they will succeed where their fathers failed and died. Of course, Mistress Thorn cannot elude the guards, but who knows what she may do to the prince when she is cornered—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She won't harm him,\" Ducon interrupted rashly. \"She loves him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl eyed him bleakly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You know this Mistress Thorn well enough to assume that she would snatch the prince away from his guardian and his family out of love rather than malevolence and greed? I think she is yet another conspirator, trying to force my hand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I know her. So do you. She was Royce Greve's mistress. The sorceress disguised her beneath a spell so that there would be someone in this decaying, dangerous, bloody-minded palace who would give the child love instead of a daily dose of poison—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag didn't see Domina Pearl move, but Ducon was on his knees suddenly in front of her, struggling to speak, his face as white as bone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She,\" the regent said very softly, \"will not be as fortunate this time. She will die where she is found, in front of the child. You will be even less fortunate. You will live. Here. Obeying me in all things, without question. You will never leave this room again.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned away from him to the cauldron standing on its grate above the floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You can begin now by helping me return this waxling to her proper state of wax.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon loosed a harsh sound between a curse and a sob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She ignored him, her eyes going to the unusually silent tutor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And you. How well did you know this Mistress Thorn?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He hesitated, torn between answers; she gestured, exasperated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Never mind. I'll have the truth out of you later. Go and find the prince. Make sure that my orders are carried out, and return here with the boy. You want to witness history: witness that. Cut off her hair when she is dead; I can use it in my—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stopped abruptly, caught by a face within one of the mirrors." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It spoke, silently except to her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon, freed for no apparent reason, got to his feet unsteadily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He watched her, his face haggard and slick with sweat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She seemed to be listening to something of enormous portent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag held her breath, but heard nothing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl's face smoothed like eggshell; all expression startled out of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She eased down slowly on the edge of her bed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For an instant, as she sat staring at the unforeseen, she looked almost human." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her wide eyes went first to Ducon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The child is dead.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Again he could not speak; her words had struck like a spell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He shook his head a little, holding her eyes, beginning to tremble as he waited." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lydea,\" the Black Pearl began; she had to stop and clear some acid out of her throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The guards cornered her at the top of the hidden palace. With no place left to go in the world she leaped out of it with the prince in her arms. The guards are searching for the bodies.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon made a sound finally, soft, meaningless." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl stilled a sudden twitch beside her mouth and rose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She said wearily to Camas Erl, \"You will have to plan another funeral, suitable for a child-ruler. And untangle the genealogy charts to find out exactly who rules after him. I want no ambiguities left in this house.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon, swaying forward to grip the rim of the huge cauldron in front of him as though to catch his balance, rocked it off the grate and heaved it into the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He staggered under its ponderous bulk, but kept his balance as he swung it like a bell and hurled it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It seemed such an impossible task that even the Black Pearl was transfixed by the flying cauldron until the instant before it passed over the place where she had been standing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It crashed onto her bed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The bed splintered into a thousand pieces; beetle wings flew everywhere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl, reappearing to stare at the wreckage, gave a long, high-pitched wail." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag, the bones of her face singing before she heard the sound, clamped her ears between her arms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon reeled, but stayed on his feet, and followed the cauldron doggedly with the cast-iron tree of mirrors, in which, briefly, his harrowed face appeared in every mirror before they shattered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He hauled at the iron grate, his hands coming up black with ash." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag held her breath, for the golden fluttering moth in its prison was just above the Black Pearl's head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But, screeching like a hinge, she gave Ducon no chance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He froze before he could throw the massive grate, stood spellbound in her murderous gaze, trembling again at the weight dragging at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She drew breath to speak, or perhaps just to spit and let her acid eat into him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The jar shattered abruptly above her head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They all looked up, except for Ducon, who seemed, even ensorcelled, still intent on throwing what he could at Domina Pearl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The moth flew free, spiralled an erratic flight across the room and came to rest in Mag's hair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She felt a flame spark behind her eyes, in her throat, for no reason except that the moth was free and it had come to her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The room shuddered suddenly, oddly, under them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shards of amber glittered and clicked; bones shifted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl stumbled, caught herself, her eyes searching wildly through the broken fragments of her mirrors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The walls shook again, as though in the heart of the hidden palace, or at its foundations, something massive and unimaginable was taking its first ponderous steps." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The grate tore out of Ducon's hold, gashed the floor as it hit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jars rattled together on the shelves; things within them shivered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A shelf groaned as nails bent within the wood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It broke abruptly in half, showering glass and liquid and various stenches over the Black Pearl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She hissed a word, watching a crack growing across the ceiling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Camas Erl whispered, \"She said she would do anything.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Domina Pearl looked at him, her face seamed like dry mud and as brittle; she might have broken at a touch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The room lurched around them, twisting, Mag realized, like one cog against another." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'behind' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wall she was chained to had shifted behind the Black Pearl, giving Mag a clear view of Ducon's stark, motionless face, and the tutor behind him, trying to see through the ceiling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What is it?\" Camas pleaded of whatever was shattering the boundaries of history as it moved to meet them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is it her? Or is it the beginning?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Domina Pearl, suddenly shedding illusions like old leaves, lost an eyebrow as she shrieked at him, \"Why don't you know? You've been studying this for years!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The ending?\" the tutor guessed, his face bloodless, rapt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Walls turned again as though the enormous being beyond the room were trying to open it like a jar." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A voice, more wind than human, or the angry hiss of an enormous reptile, swept through it; the words it spoke seemed of some ancient language, only half-human and completely incomprehensible." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Domina Pearl waded through splinters of glass and amber, picked up a broken piece of mirror." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As she turned it futilely this way and that to see the speaker, her withered ear fell off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She cried out, searching for it in the rubble." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Camas Erl, his yellow eyes flickering nervously, moved a step away from her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The voice flooded the room again with the furious energy of a roiling storm, its threat unmistakable, its words unfathomable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl spat a rotten tooth or two, tried to catch them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who is that woman?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she asked Camas hoarsely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where in Ombria did she come from?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You must know her,\" Camas answered frantically." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She has always been here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon came to life again unexpectedly; his arms, still straining around the fallen grate, finally dropped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He looked around bewilderedly at the wreckage, found Mag again within the shifted walls." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then a floorboard or a door tore itself apart just beyond the walls and he froze again, trying, as they all were, to see beyond the visible world." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The voice boomed against them and shattered like tide hitting rock." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Give me my waxling!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Black Pearl's withered thumb fell off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She screamed suddenly, furiously back, \"Take her!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She vanished. Camas Erl, shouting incoherently, wavered between history and magic, then followed the fleeing path of what he understood best." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The moth fluttered out of Mag's hair, touched the floor, and turned into Faey." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had cobbled a face of some sort together; her skin was iridescent and one eye smaller than the other." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She straightened a strand of unnaturally glowing hair the color of the moth wings, and touched the iron cuff at Mag's wrist." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The cuff sprang open; her numb arm dropped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag, melting like wax, could not move even then." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The moth in the jar in her mind kept turning into Faey, who had come out from under the world to rescue her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fire spilled out of her eyes, burned down her face; she was blind with it, words changing to fire in her throat, until she hardly knew any longer if she were the wax or the wick and the flame." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She heard Ducon's voice, raw with rage and grief." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where did they go? I want her dead. Will you help me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Faey settled down on the floor beside Mag, put an arm around her shoulders." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Domina Pearl is dead even as she runs,\" the sorceress told Ducon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You killed her. She can't regrow without her bed, and she will have no time to make another before she needs it. A form of mold, I think she must be. Or fungus. Something grown in the shadow of the world.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Her guards ran Lydea and Kyel to death like animals.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon's face glistened, furrowed with sorrow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please. Can you tell me where they are?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"From what I saw, they went out that door. The one you drew so often, with the iris beside it. Or did they go into it? You'd know better than I. Look for them through there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stared at her uncertainly, tormented by her riddling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A short, harsh sob shook him; he vanished, without answering, out the Black Pearl's invisible door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or had he, Mag wondered, vanished into?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We should go after him,\" she said uneasily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Help him. She's not dead yet, and her guards are everywhere.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can keep an eye on him from here,\" Faey answered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Unlike some, I don't need all those mirrors for spare eyes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag wiped at tears with her sleeve, said huskily, \"I came here trying to find my true mother in a piece of charcoal. I don't think that seeing her face could ever move me as much as seeing you now. Whichever face you happen to put on.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Faey, adjusting her mismatched eyes, said pensively, \"I have been wrong in my life almost as often as I changed my face. We learned something together, you and I. Just when I thought I knew everything I would ever need to know, you taught me how to see beyond my sorcery into my heart.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Can you show me how to see without eyes?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You've seen Ducon that way already,\" Faey said simply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But she reached for a piece of broken mirror." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Here, use this; they still work. Think of his face.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mag summoned Ducon to memory and looked in the mirror." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The thing outside took another immense step that seemed to shake the palace from weathercock to wine cellar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag started. The mirror shivered in her hand; the image forming in it rippled like water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The walls made their clockwork turn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I thought,\" she said uneasily to Faey, \"that it was you making all the noise out there. What is it?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It happens,\" Faey answered obscurely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is a good place to wait it out. It's outside of time, and you'll remember better afterward.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wait what out? Remember what? What exactly is going on out there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sorceress shrugged slightly; an eyebrow tilted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm never sure. But it seems to happen whenever I come up from the underworld.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag stared at her, speechless. The secret room revolved like a star in an orrery, following its immutable pattern across the night." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writers block help pls. ill send something, u do 11 sentences. going for Patricia A. McKillip vibe. note: might have existing chars" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon had to fight his way through the slit in the air that was the Black Pearl's invisible door. Even air and time seemed to be warping within the palace along with floorboards and joists. He pushed back illusions of falling beams, shoved through bare walls closing together, all in a narrow corridor of time which led in and out of the Black Pearl's inmost chamber. In abandoning her secrets, she had all but trapped him. The misshapen door at the end of her corridor was growing smaller, odd angles closing in on one another in a blind iris of moldings and boards. He reached it just before it grew too small to pass through.\n\nEmerging from within that brief pocket of time, he was startled to feel the floor shake under him. Something other than the sorceress was happening in the ancient palace. It stirred like a living thing, murmured and groaned like a dreamer. He stepped out of the little antechamber in the hidden palace within which the Black Pearl had built her door, and stopped, swallowing drily. Death had stalked those empty, forgotten passages." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He recognized the hot-eyed young cousin who lay in his own blood in the hallway. He still wore the shallow scratch on his neck from Ducon's blade. Ducon coaxed the sword out of the stiff fingers and listened. But for the faint trembling of the crystal prisms in an enormous chandelier, the place was soundless. He began to run, inward and upward toward the secret heart of the palace.\n\nHe was unprepared for the virulence of the Black Pearl's guard. The first one he met nearly impaled him before he remembered that he would be their quarry now; Domina Pearl, who had nothing left to lose, would not let him live a moment longer than she wanted. He fought desperately. The sight of him in one barren, mindless pair of eyes attracted other guards. Ducon heard shouting down the distant corridors, the crack of boot heels along the bare, aged floors. The palace shook again. Fire sprang briefly alive in the dusty tapers along the wall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon, ducking a slash that might have blinded him, smelled an astonishing scent of violets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But it was a dream, a child's tale." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The threshold Lydea had crossed had led her to her death; the silent man who wore Ducon's face and drifted unexpectedly across his past was already a ghost." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had seen enough of them in the sorceress's house to recognize one more. The ceiling above him groaned; a beam had twisted or straightened itself. Ducon, distracted again by possibilities, was forcibly reminded of the most likely when the guard's blade burrowed past his attention to shear a bloody ribbon down his sleeve. He jerked back. The blade, arcing toward his throat, flew abruptly upward as the floor shook again. The guard stumbled and fell. Ducon turned on his heel and ran.\n\nHe went up the nearest stairs, and up again and farther up, until he could hear the doves rustling in the rafters beneath the rotted openings in the roof. He could no longer hear the guards thundering down the hallways, throwing open doors that had been closed for centuries. They would also keep going up, he knew; in the end, like Lydea, he might be forced to run out of time. The doorway he came to at last seemed unchanged: one post painted with irises, the other worn bare long ago. The blackness across the threshold looked absolute." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I told you,\" the Black Pearl said behind him, \"that he would come here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He whirled, his back to the open dark, the sword raised futilely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She spoke to Camas Erl, who watched Ducon with burning curiosity, as though he were not quite human, something unnameable whose movements would be entirely unpredictable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl, missing various parts as though she had pulled herself together too hastily in a grave, glowered at him malevolently.\n\n\"He has drawn this doorway many times,\" she continued. \"Something pulls him here to this place. Draw something for us now, Ducon. Draw a door for us. You have that charcoal. You always carry it.\"\n\nThe great palace shuddered; the city beyond the warped glass in the windows blurred briefly, became distinct again. Standing in the ancient, decaying room overlooking the twisting streets below, overgrown piers crumbling into the blinding afternoon sea, Ducon felt his heart break apart like something battered too long by rain.\n\n\"It's nothing,\" he told her wearily. \"No place. It's where Lydea and Kyel died. You think you can walk into that and come to life again?\"\n\n\"Draw a door.\"\n\n\"The door is open.\"\n\n\"Is it?\" Camas asked, still studying him. \"You've seen such places all your life. You recognize them. What draws you to them?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'shadow' 3 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon was silent, the blade still raised between them, guarding the place where his ghosts lived in some other, tranquil world. \"Shadow,\" Camas told him. \"You draw shadow. The shadow city.\"\n\n\"So,\" Ducon said tersely, \"it is full of shadows.\"\n\n\"Is it?\" Camas took a step toward Ducon in his fervor. The sword followed him. Domina Pearl spat something, and the blade flew out of Ducon's hand, pierced a broken piece of molding across the room.\n\n\"I may be dying,\" she told him, \"but I am not powerless. You are dead. You will die either on this side of the threshold or the other, as you choose.\"\n\n\"But either way I will not draw you a door.\"\n\n\"Yes, you will,\" Camas said softly. \"Because you have been drawing doors to find this door all your life. You could not die without knowing if we are right: that you are the door and the key and the threshold between worlds. Are they alive or dead? Kyel and Lydea? They could be either, within that dark. Draw the door and find out.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ducon felt a door open somewhere in his thoughts; he glimpsed himself across the threshold." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The palace lurched again, jarring them. He felt it from a distance, though it had flung him off balance onto his knees. He caught himself, leaving a bloody handprint on the floor. He did not answer, only took the charcoal from his pocket and began to draw the outline of a door on the floor where it might have fallen if dark could cast a shadow.\n\nAs he drew, he remembered all the strange corners he had turned, the unexpected alleys, the crooked streets that had led him to that moment, where he crouched at the Black Pearl's feet, giving her the last thing he would ever draw. She and Camas had conceived the idea of the shadow door; it had never occurred to him. But he, with his strange compulsions, his eye for whatever was obscure, ambiguous, paradoxical within their lives, and his restless charcoal had led them to that conclusion. Lydea might have leaped to her death across that dark threshold. The Black Pearl saw a different door: its shadow, opening to light.\n\nHis fingers grew black, swirling charcoal into shadow. He left the bright splayed handprint showing through it as both door latch, and the hand reaching out to the latch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He outlined it heavily in black, for it was his hand and his heart's blood, and as close as the Black Pearl might allow him to get to opening that door. He was right about that. When the black rectangle on the floor could not possibly hold another stroke of darkness and the charcoal hesitated, Ducon felt the blade at his throat forcing him back. Guards she had summoned surrounded him, their mad, passionless eyes watching his every breath.\n\n\"Choose,\" the Black Pearl said, \"my lord Ducon. The quick predictable death here, or the long fall into the unknown or the palace cellar, whichever rises to meet you first.\"\n\nHe started to stand, to turn and face the dark rather than carry the final memory of her face with him into oblivion. The floor shrugged and rippled as though the entire palace were trying to uproot itself, walk away from the doomed city. It scattered the guards and threw Ducon down again on the charcoal. His hand, outflung for balance, slid in longing and despair across the dark to meet the shadow hand on the door.\n\nIt opened.\n\nLight poured out around him, blinded him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He heard Camas give a sudden shout." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Black Pearl snapped something. An unbearable streak of silver light swung down at Ducon. Another seared below it, bore it up and out of the luminous, dazzling flood he knelt in, that was nothing he could name or understand except that it was the opposite of shadow.\n\nThen a hand gripped him, pulled him out of the light. Blinking stars out of his eyes, he saw himself.\n\nAnd not himself.\n\nFor the first time, he could see the shimmering flow of power that trailed endlessly away from the man whom Ducon's charcoal had set free in the taverns of Ombria. It melted through his silvery eyes, turning them a shade darker than Ducon's, now a shade lighter. Ducon tried to speak, could not. The man studied him as silently. Time and sorrow had etched the thin lines along his mouth, left their memory in his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He still held Ducon's arm; his fingers tightened slightly, before he spoke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You don't look at all like your mother.\"\n\nDucon whispered, \"I look like you.\"\n\n\"You see what I am.\"\n\n\"Yes.\" He stopped to swallow. \"Now I do. I couldn't see it before.\"\n\n\"You drew me into Ombria. I was a shadow of myself. Being charcoal, I could never speak. I could only watch you.\"\n\n\"Watch over me,\" Ducon amended. All around them, he realized, other faces from other drawings were crowding into the room, igniting battles with the ensorcelled guards. The shadow doorway, pouring light like a sun, had illumined the impenetrable black opposite it. An army seemed to be spilling out of it along with gusts of rain-streaked wind, the smell of grass, the harsh cries of ravens. His father still kept watch over Ducon's shoulder at the tumult behind him, his sword raised to guard Ducon's back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ducon heard the fighting from a distance; he could not look away from the sorcerer's face.\n\n\"Did my mother find you?\" he asked huskily. \"Or did you find her?\"\n\n\"Your mother leaped to meet me. Like you, she was drawn to this door.\"\n\nDucon's fingers, closing suddenly on his father's wrist, melted slightly into a glinting aura. \"She lived?\"\n\n\"She lived and bore you. More than that, I never knew. She returned to the doorway to show you to me. I never saw her again, though for a time I haunted that doorway, and I searched through fire and water for glimpses of her. I knew the moment she died. I knew that you existed in her world, but until you drew me, I never saw your face again.\"\n\n\"I followed you that day I first saw you. You led me—\" A shadow across Ducon's thoughts faded; the familiar glimmering currents of power illumined him. \"You led me to Faey.\"\n\n\"Is that her name? The sorceress who lives underground? We never knew.\"\n\n\"What are you, in your world?\"\n\n\"I rule, in the reflected world. I do not live underground, and though I am very powerful, I am not immortal.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He loosed Ducon's arm, touched his face lightly with long, hard fingers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You seem to have inherited that power in odd ways. You can recognize it and it comes out of your drawings. But you are not a sorcerer?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Neither sorcerer nor ruler. Just a man with a piece of charcoal.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'perhaps' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He started at a fierce brawl of swords close behind him. The elusive, gleaming swaths of power seemed to draw closer around them, blurring the battling figures, the noise. \"Is the door open forever now?\" he asked without hope. \"Can you stay?\"\n\n\"We came because in your utter despair you found a way to open the door between our worlds. The shadow world is your hope. When you no longer despair, you no longer need us; we fade and you forget. When the sorceress who lives underground is disturbed enough by events to make her way up into the troubled, desperate world above, then she shifts the balance between despair and hope, between light and shadow. She draws us to your world, to restore the ancient balance between us. But it was you who searched for us in your drawings, you who saw into shadow, you who opened the door.\"\n\n\"Camas guessed that much,\" Ducon said, balanced between bitterness and wonder. \"Will I forget you? Did my mother? She never spoke of you.\"\n\n\"Perhaps,\" his father said gently. \"Perhaps not. I never forgot her. There have been other children born belonging to both worlds. They stay where they were born. Like you, they seem haunted by the world they lost.\"\n\n\"My mother was able to return to this world through that door?\"\n\n\"She belonged here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My small cousin—\" His throat burned; he began again. \"My cousin who is—was—Prince of Ombria, and the woman who loved him ran for their lives through that doorway. They belong here. Is there a way back for them?\"\n\nHis father shifted a little. The luminous air around them faded enough for Ducon to see the few scattered battles around them, the stray guards still obdurately obeying the Black Pearl's commands. She herself was nowhere to be found. Camas had vanished with her, into her erratic, secret passageways, perhaps, or into the streets of Ombria, where she would find no opening door that would save her, and no bed except her last.\n\n\"Draw them,\" Ducon's father suggested, and Ducon turned, raised his charcoal to the wall beside the door.\n\nThe first few lines that came out revealed a face that was neither Kyel's nor Lydea's. He lifted his arm to brush it away. The eyes seemed to watch him as they had done in life, and he paused, puzzled, then began to draw again. When the charcoal shaped the jet head of a pin floating above a tangled cloud of hair, he stopped again, disturbed by what he recognized, wondering if she, too, had somehow vanished beyond the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The darkly glittering hues of color that streamed briefly through the charcoal eyes illumined him." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who is that?\" his father asked. Behind them, the room was finally silent. \"She sees like you do.\"\n\n\"Mag,\" Ducon said. \"She is watching us.\" He moved to the other side of the door, where the iris still bloomed, and told his father a story of charcoal and wax while he drew out of the dark the faces of his heart and around him the world he knew drew its own conclusions." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: This is part of a larger narrative. The user will write a segment, then you need to write around three sentences continuing directly from it. Characters and events may be pre-established from earlier chapters.\n\nAuthor style: Patricia A. McKillip\nGenre: Fantasy" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Prince of Ombria and his governess sat together on his bed, gazing at the array of puppets spread across the vast expanse of silk. The prince, who had just finished his midday meal, looked heavy-eyed and drowsy. But he still stifled his yawns, and his hands moved busily among the puppets, choosing, discarding, until they pounced finally on the moon with her crystal eyes and her hands shaped like stars." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I will be the moon,\" Kyel said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You must make a wish to me.\"\n\nLydea slid her fingers into the fox's head, with its sly smile and fiery velvet pelt. \"I wish,\" she said, \"that you would take your nap.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No,\" the prince said patiently, \"you must make a true wish. And I will grant it because I am the moon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then I must make a fox's wish. I wish for an open door to every hen house, and the ability to jump into trees.\"\n\nThe moon sank onto the blue hillock of Kyel's knee. \"Why?\"\n\n\"So that I can escape the farmer's dogs when they run after me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then you should wish,\" the prince said promptly, \"that you could jump as high as the moon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A good wish. But there are no hens on the moon, and how would I get back to Ombria?\"\n\nThe moon rose again, lifted a golden hand. \"On a star.\"\n\nThe governess smiled. The fox stroked the prince's hair while he shook away the moon and replaced it with the sorceress, who had one amethyst eye and one emerald, and who wore a black cloak that shimmered with ribbons of faint, changing colors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am the sorceress who lives underground,\" the prince said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is there really a sorceress who lives underground?\"\n\n\"So they—\" Lydea checked herself, let the fox speak. \"So they say, my lord.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How does she live? Does she have a house?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She paused again, glimpsing a barely remembered tale. \"I think she does. Maybe even her own city beneath Ombria. Some say that she has an ancient enemy, who appears during harsh and perilous times in Ombria's history. Then and only then does the sorceress make her way out of her underground world to fight the evil and restore hope to Ombria.\"\n\n\"My tutor goes everywhere in Ombria. Maybe she knows where the sorceress lives.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wouldn't be surprised at anything your tutor knows.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sorceress descended, long nose down on the silk. Kyel picked another puppet up, looked at it silently a moment. The queen of pirates, whose black nails curved like scimitars, whose hair was a rigid knoll in which she kept her weapons, stared back at him out of glittering onyx eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kyel put her down as silently, frowning slightly. He lay back on his pillows. Lydea pushed the puppets away from him and began to rise." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No,\" the prince said sleepily." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Stay. Tell me a story.\"\n\n\"And then you must sleep.\" She settled herself beside him, absently picked up the black sheep, whose eyes were silvery, whose long mouth curled into the faintest smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tell me the story of the locket.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Once upon a time, my lord, in the best and the worst of all possible worlds, a princess fell in love with a young man who loved to draw pictures.\"\n\n\"Like Ducon.\"\n\n\"Very like your cousin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Every day for a year, she gave him a rose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She would pick it at dawn from her father's gardens and then take it to the highest place in the castle, a place so high that everyone had forgotten about it except for the doves that nested beneath the broken roof. There, she had found a secret door between the best and the worst of the worlds. Every day, they would meet on the threshold of that door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She would give him a rose, and he would give her a drawing of the city he lived in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They loved each other very much, but of course they could never marry, because they were from different worlds: she was a princess and he an artist who had to paint tavern signs to keep himself fed.\n\n\"One day, after a year had passed, the princess brought him a child along with a rose. It was the happiest day of her life because she had given him their child, and also the saddest day of her life, because he came to her with his heart's blood on his paper instead of a drawing. Someone had seen him with the princess and had punished him. So, in her love and sorrow, she crossed the threshold to his world, to stay with him while he breathed his last.\"\n\n\"His last what?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Breath. In her grief, she pulled the locket from her throat and placed into it a rose petal, three drops of his blood, and a sliver of his charcoal. But after he died, she found that she could not get back into her world with the child, because it was half of the best and half of the worst, and neither world would accept the baby. But the princess, after many days and nights of ceaseless weeping and searching, finally left the child with a wise and powerful woman who would know, with her vast knowledge and experience, how to raise a child of both worlds. At last the princess could return to her own world. The only thing she had to leave with her child was the locket, which held all the memories of her love...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lydea heard Kyel's even breathing and stopped. She pulled the coverlet over him and slid gently off the bed, seeing only then that the regent stood in the doorway.\n\nHow long he had been listening, she did not know." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'after' 2 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She dropped a curtsey, which erased the hairline furrow in his brow. He gave a last glance to the child in the bed and followed her out; the prince's attendants slipped in after her to wait for him to wake.\n\nDucon had regained something of his sense of humor after having lost it for weeks to the precarious position he had attained." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The footloose artist had been forced to learn to rule a city after his uncle's death." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked older, harried, and much tidier. It was as though at his uncle's death he had suddenly seen Ombria for the first time. All the broken piers he had wandered over must be fixed; the troubled, dangerous streets he had roamed at all hours must be made safe; the street urchins must be caught like stray dogs, fed and schooled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had declared war on the black-sailed ships that had commandeered the ports." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Every day brought him an endless list of complaints, injustices, charges, petitions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea expected him to vanish out of the palace, as had been his habit once, leaving it anyone's guess where he had gone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So far he hadn't. She found him with her at odd times, as though he used her in some way as an escape. Perhaps, she thought, it was the tavern-wench he saw beneath the governess's sober garb that drew him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was as close as he could get to the life he had lost." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Lavender,\" he commented, looking at the ribbons in her sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The prince was tired, he said, of looking at so much black.\"\n\n\"So am I,\" he breathed. \"It seems we have been in mourning forever.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sorrow caught her, as it did sometimes unexpectedly: a thumbprint of fire in the hollow of her throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She swallowed it, said only, \"Because you have been working so hard, my lord.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm not used to it yet.\" He measured a trailing end of the ribbon at her wrist between his fingers, oblivious of the guards and hovering officials who had followed him. It was the color, she understood, that caught him: her hair, the ribbons, the little brush strokes of satin and jewel that the puppets made, scattered across the deep blue silk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He added impulsively, \"Perhaps I'll come with you this afternoon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The thought made her smile. \"To my father's tavern? It's hardly for the likes of you.\"\n\n\"I've been to—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I know, my lord: every tavern in Ombria but the Rose and Thorn. I wonder how you missed it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, out of nowhere, a chill of fear blew through her; she heard herself say, \"We can't both leave the prince. Not both of us at once.\"\n\nHe gave her a strange look, not of surprise, but a reflection of her fear, which she found odder still. He loosed the ribbon, nodded, his eyes returning briefly to the prince's door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Perhaps you're right. He knows where you're going?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He knows, my lord. But I'll be back before he remembers that I'm gone.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Be careful,\" he said. \"Tell your father that I will come and draw in his tavern some day.\"\n\nBut that was idle wishing, she knew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Already he was a legend in certain parts of the city, and legends, having made themselves so, rarely returned to repeat their feats." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He seemed to read her mind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His eyes, clear, faintly smiling, held hers a moment.\n\n\"Not,\" he said, \"an idle wish.\"\n\nA promise, his eyes told her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She blinked, then dismissed the half-glimpsed idea that had rolled like a sea creature on the surface of her mind, then dove back down, so deeply that she had forgotten it before she returned to her chamber." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "High, she found herself thinking, and low, and now in the middle. She had a view of the trellises in the gardens, but not of the sea. But she had never been that low in the palace, except once, with the regent, who had taken her there for some obscure reason... Perhaps he had simply wanted her to see how they lived, those who never raised their eyes in passageways, who never spoke." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This palace,\" he had said, \"is a small city, past lying close to present like one shoe next to another. If you look at them in a mirror, left becomes right, present becomes past...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shoes... Her mind turned oddly on them, as she tidied herself and drew on a hooded cloak. The days had grown shorter; the direction of the wind had changed. She was walking down a hallway, well lit and guarded, when a small door hidden in the wall clicked open and she froze, both hands over her mouth to stifle a scream of terror." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag came out of the wall. She looked stricken herself at the sight of Lydea, who dropped her hands quickly and wondered at her own pounding heart.\n\n\"I'm so sorry,\" the tutor said guiltily. \"I was exploring.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know why I was so frightened.\"\n\n\"I know. It's all right. Here.\" She stooped to pick up the elegant rosewood box that Lydea had dropped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's for my father,\" Lydea said dazedly. \"He keeps his money in an old boot.\"\n\n\"Have you seen him since Royce Greve died?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Only once. He'll be wondering. I was—somewhat distraught, then.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag nodded gravely. She was young to be tutoring a prince, but the regent had chosen her. She replaced Camas Erl, who had taken a long journey to study flora and fauna in the outermost islands of the southern seas. He had left shortly after Royce's death, and would be gone, he had said, indefinitely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lydea found Mag's knowledge astonishing, and had gotten into the habit of taking lessons with the prince." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They helped each other study, sometimes with the aid of puppets.\n\nLydea, past her strange terror, was piqued. \"What's in there?\"\n\n\"Another palace. Rooms no one uses, dusty passageways, secret doors everywhere.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was watching Lydea, her calm eyes taking note of every change in Lydea's expression." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mag saw everything, it seemed, and she remembered everything... She added, unpredictably, \"I saw your father two days ago.\"\n\n\"You were in that part of the city? Alone?\"\n\n\"You go alone.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But it's where I grew up.\"\n\nMag nodded. She had a confused past herself, involving brothels and alchemists and the grimier face of Ombria. Which was why, Lydea assumed, Ducon had chosen her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So did I,\" Mag said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I looked in on your father. The Rose and Thorn was quite full; I imagine his boot is filling up.\"\n\n\"What were you doing there?\" Lydea asked curiously, wondering if the grave and willowy Mag, with her hair like straw spun into gold, had a lover." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was used to the vague, wide-eyed expression Mag assumed when she was questioned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But sometimes she let slip details when she answered, that Lydea pieced together later.\n\n\"I was visiting a friend,\" Mag said. \"She's teaching me something of her trade. I'm an apprentice, you might say.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What does she do?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, this and that. She's a sort of historian. And something of a healer. You might say. People go to her for help.\"\n\n\"A physician.\"\n\n\"After a fashion.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where does she live?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Mag grew very vague at that, nearly inarticulate. \"Along the water,\" she intimated, which Lydea took to mean overlooking the sea. Mag added earnestly, by way of changing the subject, \"I think the best way to teach well is to be always learning something. Don't you agree?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Who could not? Lydea thought, descending to the west door of the palace to her waiting carriage. Mag was as riddled with secrets as the palace. She found herself remembering, as the carriage drove past the crop of blind, withered sunflowers beside the gate, some old tale that she might have told Kyel once or twice when Royce was alive and she had been in love or in fear, it seemed, at every waking moment. What was it?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A city in shadow... Something about a fan..." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She forgot about that, too, as she watched the familiar streets flow past and the tavern signs above her change like playing cards, until time dealt her the Rose and Thorn and she saw, through the open door, her father's smiling face." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "5 sentences sentences in David Brin style, continuing user's bit. Note: May include established elements" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Produce three sentences as a continuation. Note: Story may reference established characters/events." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Makakai, are you ready?\"\n\nJacob ignored the tiny whirrings of motors and valves in his metal cocoon. He lay still. The water lapped gently against the bulbous nose of his mechanical whale, as he waited for an answer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One more time he checked the tiny indicators on his helmet display. Yes, the radio was working. The occupant of the other waldo whale, lying half submerged a few meters away, had heard every word." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The water was exceptionally clear today." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Facing downward, he could see a small leopard shark swim lazily past, a bit out of place here in the deeper water offshore." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Makakai ... are you ready?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tried not to sound impatient, or betray the tension he felt building in the back of his neck as he waited. He closed his eyes and made the delinquent muscles relax, one by one. Still, he waited for his pupil to speak." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yesss ... let'sss do it!\" came the warbling. squeaky voice, at last. The words sounded breathless, as if spoken grudgingly, in lieu of inhalation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A nice long speech for Makakai. He could see the young dolphin's training machine next to his, its image reflected in the mirrors that rimmed his faceplate. Its gray metal flukes lifted and fell slightly with the swell." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Feebly, without their power, her artificial fins moved, sluggishly under the transient, serrated surface of the water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She's as ready as she'll ever be, he thought. If technology can wean a dolphin of the Whale-Dream, now's the time we'll find out.\n\nHe chinned the microphone switch again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right Makakai. You know how the waldo works. It will amplify any action you make, but if you want the rockets to cut in, you'll have to give the command in English. Just to be fair, I have to whistle in trinary to make mine work.\"\n\n\"Yesss!\" she hissed. Her waldo's gray flukes thrashed up once and down with a boom and a spray of saltwater." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'waldo' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With a half muttered prayer to the Dreamer, he touched a switch releasing the amplifiers on both Makakai's waldo and his own, then cautiously turned his arms to set the fins into motion. He flexed his legs, the massive flukes thrust back jerkily in response, and his machine immediately rolled over and sank.\n\nJacob tried to correct but overcompensated, making the waldo tumble even worse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The beating of his fins momentarily made the area around him a churning mass of bubbles, until patiently, by trial and error, he got himself righted.\n\nHe pushed off again, carefully, to get some headway, then arched his back and kicked out. The waldo responded with a great tail-slashing leap into the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The dolphin was almost a kilometer off." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he reached the top of his arc, Jacob saw her fall gracefully from a height of ten meters to slice smoothly into the swell below." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He pointed his helmet beak at the water and the sea came at him like a green wall." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The impact made his helmet ring as he tore through tendrils of floating kelp, sending a golden Garibaldi darting away in panic as he drove downwards.\n\nHe was going in too steep. He swore and kicked twice to straighten out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The machine's massive metal flukes beat at the water to the rhythmic push of his feet, each beat sending a tremor up his spine, pressing him against the suit's heavy padding." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the time was right, he arched and kicked again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The machine ripped out of the water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sunlight flashed like a missile in his left window, its glare drowning the dim glow of his tiny instrument panel. The helmet computer chuckled softly as he twisted, beak down, to crash into the bright water once again.\n\nAs a school of tiny silver anchovies scattered before him, Jacob hooted out loud with exhilaration." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His hands slipped along the controls to the rocket verniers, and at the top of his next arc he whistled a code in trinary. Motors hummed, as the exoskeleton extended winglets along its sides. Then the boosters cut in with a savage burst, pressing the padded headpiece upward with the sudden acceleration, pinching the back of his skull as the waves swept past, just below his hurtling craft." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He came down near Makakai with a great splash." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She whistled a shrill trinary welcome." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob let the rockets shut off automatically and resumed the purely mechanical leaping beside her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a time they moved in unison. With each leap Makakai grew more daring, performing twists and pirouettes during the long seconds before they struck the water. Once, in midair, she rattled off a dirty limerick in dolphin, a low piece of work, but Jacob hoped they'd recorded it back at the chase boat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He'd missed the punch line at the crashing end of the aerial cycle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rest of the training team followed behind them on the hovercraft." }, { "from": "human", "value": "During each leap he caught sight of the large vessel, diminished, now, by distance, until his impact cut off everything but the sounds of splitting water, Makakai's sonar squeaking, and the rushing, phosphorescent blue-green past his windows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob's chronometer indicated that ten minutes had passed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wouldn't be able to keep up with Makakai for more than a half hour, no matter how much amplification he used. A man's muscles and nervous system weren't designed for this leap-and-crash routine.\n\n\"Makakai, it's time to try the rockets. Let me know if you're ready and we'll use them on the following jump.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They both came down into the sea and he worked his flukes in the frothy water to prepare for the next leap. They jumped again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Makakai, I'm serious now. Are you ready?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They sailed high together." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could see her tiny eye behind a plastic window as her waldo-machine twisted before slicing into the water. He followed an instant later.\n\n\"Okay, Makakai. If you don't answer me, we'll just have to stop right now.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blue water swept past, along with a cloud of bubbles, as he pushed along beside his pupil.\n\nMakakai twisted around and dove down instead of rising for another leap. She chattered something almost too fast to follow in trinary ... about how he shouldn't be a spoilsport." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob let his machine rise slowly to the surface. \"Come dear, use the King's English. You'll need it if you ever want your children to go into space. And it's so expressive! Come on. Tell Jacob what you think of him.\"\n\nThere were a few seconds of silence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he saw something move very fast below him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It streaked upward and, just before it hit the surface, he heard Makakai's voice shrilly taunt:" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ch-chase me, ch-chump! I fly-y-y!\"\n\nWith the last word, her mechanical flukes snapped back and she leaped out of the water on a column of flame.\n\nLaughing, he dove to give himself headway and then launched into the air after his pupil." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Gloria handed him the strip chart as soon as he finished his second cup of coffee." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob tried to make his eyes focus on the squiggly lines, but they swam back and forth like ocean swells." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He handed the chart back.\n\n\"I'll look at the data later. Can you just give me a summary? And I'll take one of those sandwiches now, too, if you'll let me clean up.\"\n\nShe tossed him a tuna on rye and sat on the countertop, her hands on the edges to compensate for the swaying of the boat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As usual, she was wearing next to nothing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pretty, well endowed, and with long black hair, the young biologist wore next to nothing very well.\n\n\"I think we have the brainwave information we need now, Jacob. I don't know how you did it, but Makakai's attention span in English was at least twice normal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Manfred thinks he's found enough associated synaptic clusters to give him a boost in his next set of experimental mutations. There are a couple of nodes that he wants to expand in the left cerebral lobe of Makakai's offspring.\n\n\"My group is happy enough with the present. Makakai's facility with the waldo-whale proves that the current generation can use machines.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob sighed. \"If you're hoping these results will persuade the Confederacy to cancel the next generation of mutations, don't count on it. They're running scared. They don't want to have to rely forever on poetry and music to prove that dolphins are intelligent. They want a race of analytical tool users, and giving codewords to activate a rocket waldo just won't qualify. Twenty to one Manfred gets to cut.\"\n\nGloria reddened. \"Cutting! They're people, a people with a beautiful dream. We'll carve them into engineers and lose a race of poets!\"\n\nJacob put down the crust of his sandwich." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He brushed crumbs away from his chest. Already he regretted having said anything.\n\n\"I know, I know. I wish things could go a little slower, too. But look at it this way. Maybe the fins'll be able to put the Whale-Dream into words someday. We won't need trinary to discuss the weather, or Aborigine-pidgin to talk philosophy. They'll be able to join the chimps, thumbing their metaphorical noses at the Galactics while we put on an act of being dignified adults.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But ...\"\n\nJacob raised his hand to cut her off. \"Can we discuss this later? I'd like to stretch out for a little while, and then go down and visit with our girl.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gloria frowned for a moment, then smiled openly. \"I'm sorry, Jacob. You must really be tired. But at least today, finally, everything worked.\"\n\nJacob allowed himself to return her grin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On his broad face the toothy smile brought out lines around his mouth and eyes.\n\n\"Yes,\" he said, rising to his feet. \"Today everything worked.\"\n\n\"Oh by the way, while you were down, there was a call for you. It was an Eatee! Johnny was so excited about it that he barely remembered to take a message. I think it's around here somewhere.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She pushed aside the lunch dishes and plucked up a slip of paper." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She handed it to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob's bushy eyebrows knotted together as he looked down at the message." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His skin was taut and dark from a mixture of ancestry and exposure to sun and saltwater." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The brown eyes tended to narrow to fine slits when he concentrated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He brought a calloused hand to the side of his hooked, amerind nose and struggled with the radio operator's handwriting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I guess we all knew that you worked with Eatees,\" Gloria said. \"But I sure didn't expect to get one on the horn out here! Especially one that looks like a giant broccoli sprout and talks like a Minister of Protocol!\"\n\nJacob's head jerked up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A Kanten called? Here? Did he leave his name?\"\n\n\"It should be down there. Is that what it was? A Kanten? I'm afraid I don't know my aliens that well. I'd recognize a Cynthian or a Tymbrimi, but this one was new to me.\"\n\n\"Um ... I'm going to have to call somebody. I'll clean up the dishes later so don't you touch them! Tell Manfred and Johnny I'll be down in a little while to visit with Makakai. And thanks again.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He smiled and touched her shoulder lightly, but as he turned his expression quickly relapsed to one of worried preoccupation.\n\nHe passed on through the forward hatch, clutching the message. Gloria looked after him for a moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She picked up the data charts and wished she knew what it would take to hold the man's interest for more than an hour, or a night.\n\nJacob's cabin was barely a closet with a narrow fold-down bunk, but it offered enough privacy. He pulled his portable teli out of a cabinet near the door and set it on the bunk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no reason to assume that Fagin had called for any other purpose than to be sociable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had, after all, a deep interest in the work with dolphins." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There had been a few times, though, when the alien's messages had led to nothing but trouble." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob considered not returning the Kanten's call." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After a moment's hesitation, he punched out a code on the face of the teli and settled back to compose himself. When he came right down to it, he couldn't resist an opportunity to talk with an E.T., anywhere, anytime.\n\nA line of binary flashed on the screen, giving the location of the portable unit he was calling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Baja E.T. Reserve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Makes sense, Jacob thought. That's where the Library is. There was the standard warning against contact with aliens by Probationary Personalities." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob looked away with distaste. Bright points of static filled the space above the blankets and in front of the screen, and then Fagin stood, en-replica, a few inches away.\n\nThe E.T. did look somewhat like a giant sprout of broccoli." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Rounded blue and green shoots formed symmetrical, spherical balls of growth around a gnarled, striated trunk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here and there tiny crystalline flakes tipped a few of the branches, forming a cluster near the top around an invisible blowhole.\n\nThe foliage swayed and the crystals near the top tinkled from the passage of air the creature exhaled.\n\n\"Hello, Jacob,\" Fagin's voice came tinnily out of midair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I greet you with gladness and gratitude and with the austere lack of formality upon which you so frequently and forcefully insist.\"\n\nJacob fought back a laugh. Fagin reminded him of an ancient Mandarin, as much for the fluting quality of his accent as for the convoluted protocol he used with even his closest human friends." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I greet you, Friend-Fagin, and wish you well with all respect. And now that that's over, and before you say even a word, the answer is no.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The crystals tinkled softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Jacob! You are so young and yet so perspicacious! I admire your insight and ability to divine my purpose in calling you!\"\n\nJacob shook his head.\n\n\"Neither flattery nor thickly veiled sarcasm, Fagin; I insist on speaking colloquial English with you because it's the only way I have a chance of avoiding getting screwed whenever I deal with you. And you know very well what I'm talking about!\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'which' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alien shook, giving a parody of a shrug.\n\n\"Ah, Jacob, I must bow to your will and use the highly esteemed honesty of which your species should be so proud. It is true that there is a slight favor for which I had the temerity to ask." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But now that you have given me your answer ... based no doubt on certain past unpleasant occurrences, most of which nevertheless turned out for the best ... I shall simply drop the subject.\n\n\"Would it be possible to inquire how your work with the proud Client species 'porpoise' proceeds?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Uh, yes, the work is going very well. We had a breakthrough today.\"\n\n\"That is excellent, I am certain that it could not have happened without your intervention. I heard that your work there was indispensable!\"\n\nJacob shook his head to clear it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Somehow Fagin had taken the initiative again.\n\n\"Well, it's true I was able to help out early on with the Water-Sphinx problem, but since then my part hasn't been all that special. Hell, anyone could have done what I've been doing here lately.\"\n\n\"Oh, that is something that I find very hard to believe!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob frowned. Unfortunately it was true. And from now on the work here at the Center for Uplift would be even more routine.\n\nA hundred experts, some more qualified in porp-psych than he, were waiting to step in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Center would probably keep him on, partly out of gratitude, but did he really want to stay? Much as he loved dolphins and the sea, he'd found himself more and more restless lately.\n\n\"Fagin, I'm sorry I was so rude at first. I'd like to hear what you called me about ... provided you understand that the answer is still probably no.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fagin's foliage rustled.\n\n\"I had the intention of inviting you to a small and amicable meeting with some worthy beings of diverse species, to discuss an important problem of a purely intellectual nature. The meeting will be held this Thursday, at the Visitors Center in Ensenada, at eleven o'clock. You will be committed to nothing if you attend.\"\n\nJacob chewed on the idea for a moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"E.T. 's, you say? Who are they? What's this meeting about?\"\n\n\"Alas, Jacob, I am not at liberty to say, at least not by teli. The details will have to wait until you come, if you come, on Thursday.\"\n\nJacob immediately became suspicious." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Say, this 'problem' isn't political, is it? You're being awfully close.\"\n\nThe image of the alien was very still. It's verdant mass rippled slowly, as if in contemplation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have never understood, Jacob,\" the fluting voice finally resumed, \"why a man of your background takes so little interest in the interplay of emotions and needs which you call 'politics.' Were the metaphor appropriate, I would say that politics is 'in my blood.' It certainly is in yours.\"\n\n\"You leave my family out of this! I only want to know why it's necessary to wait until Thursday to find out what all of this is about!\"\n\nAgain, the Kanten hesitated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There are ... aspects of this matter which would best not be spoken over the ether. Several of the more thalamic of the contesting factions in your culture might misuse the knowledge if they ... overheard. However, let me assure you that your part would be purely technical. It is your knowledge we wish to tap, and the skills you have been using at the Center.\"\n\nBull! Jacob thought. You want more than that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He knew Fagin. If he attended this meeting the Kanten undoubtedly would try to use it as a wedge to get him involved in some ridiculously complicated and dangerous adventure." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alien had already done it to him on three occasions in the past.\n\nThe first two times Jacob hadn't minded. But he'd been a different sort of person then, the kind who loved that sort of thing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then came the Needle. The trauma in Ecuador had changed his life completely. He had no desire to go through anything like it again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And yet, Jacob felt a powerful reluctance to disappoint the old Kanten. Fagin had never actually lied to him, and he was the only E.T. he'd met who was unabashedly an admirer of human culture and history." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Physically the most alien creature he knew, Fagin was also the one extraterrestrial who tried hardest to understand Earthmen.\n\nI should be safe if I simply tell Fagin the truth, Jacob thought. If he starts applying too much pressure I'll let him know about my mental state—the experiments with self-hypnosis and the weird results I've been getting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He won't push too hard if I appeal to his sense of fair play." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right,\" he sighed. \"You win, Fagin. I'll be there. Just don't expect me to be the star of the show.\"\n\nFagin's laughter whistled with a flavor of woodwinds." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do not be concerned about that, Friend-Jacob! In this particular show no one will mistake you for the star!\"\n\nThe Sun was still above the horizon as he walked along the upper deck toward Makakai's quarters. It loomed, dim and orange among the sparse clouds in the west—a benign, featureless orb." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stopped at the rail for a moment to appreciate the colors of the sunset and the smell of the sea.\n\nHe closed his eyes and allowed the sunlight to warm his face, the rays penetrating his skin with gentle, browning insistence. Finally, he swung both legs over the rail and dropped to the lower deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A taut, energized feeling had almost replaced the day's exhaustion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He began to hum a fragment of a tune—out of key, of course.\n\nA tired dolphin drifted to the edge of the pool when he arrived. Makakai greeted him with a trinary poem too quick to catch, but it sounded amiably nasty." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something about his sex life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dolphins had been telling humans dirty jokes for thousands of years before men finally started breeding them for brains and for speech, and began to understand. Makakai might be a lot smarter than her ancestors, Jacob thought, but her sense of humor was strictly dolphin.\n\n\"Well,\" he said. \"Guess who's had a busy day.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She splashed at him, more weakly than usual, and said something that sounded a lot like \"Br-r-a-a-a-p you!\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But she moved in closer when he hunkered down to put his hand into the water and say hello." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like David Brin would. btw might have existing characters/lore" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old North American governments had razed the Border Strip years ago, to control movements to and from Mexico. A desert was made where two cities once touched.\n\nSince the Overturn, and the destruction of the oppressive \"Bureaucracy\" of the old syndical governments, Confederacy authorities had maintained the area as parklands. The border zone between San Diego and Tijuana was now one of the largest forested areas south of Pendleton Park.\n\nBut that was changing. As he drove his rented car southward on the elevated highway, Jacob saw signs that the belt was returning to its old purpose. Crews worked on both sides of the road, cutting down trees and erecting slender, candy-striped poles at hundred-yard intervals to the west and east. The poles were shameful. He looked away.\n\nA large green and white sign loomed where the line of poles crossed the highway.\n\nNew Boundary: Baja Extraterrestrial Reserve\n\nTijuana Residents Who Are Non-Citizens" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Report to City Hall for Your Generous" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Resettlement Bonus!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob shook his head and grunted, \"Oderint Dum Metuant.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Let them hate, so long as they fear. So what if a person has lived in a town his entire life. If he hasn't got the vote, he's got to move out of the way when progress comes along.\n\nTijuana, Honolulu, Oslo, and half a dozen other cities were to be included when the E.T. Reserves expanded again. Fifty or sixty thousand Probationers, both permanent and temporary, would have to move to make those cities \"safe\" for perhaps a thousand aliens. The actual hardship would be small, of course. Most of Earth was still barred to E.T. 's, and non-Citizens still had plenty of room. The government offered large reparations as well.\n\nBut once again there were refugees on Earth.\n\nThe city suddenly resumed at the southern edge of the Strip." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Many of the structures followed a Spanish or Spanish-Revival style, but overall the city showed the architectural experimentation typical of a modern Mexican town. Here the buildings ran in whites and blues. Traffic on both sides of the highway filled the air with a faint electric whine.\n\nAll over the town, green and white metallic signs, like the one at the border, heralded the coming change. But one, near the highway, had been defaced with black spray paint. Before it passed out of sight, Jacob caught a glimpse of the raggedly written words \"Occupation\" and \"Invasion.\"\n\nA Permanent Probationer did that, he thought. A Citizen wasn't likely to do anything so kinky, with hundreds of legal ways to express his opinion. And a Temporary Probie, sentenced to probation for a crime, wouldn't want his sentence lengthened. A Temporary would recognize the certainty of being caught.\n\nNo doubt some poor Permanent, facing eviction, had vented his feelings, not caring about the consequences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob sympathized. The P.P." }, { "from": "human", "value": "was probably in custody by now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Although he was not particularly interested in politics, Jacob came from a political family. Two of his grandparents had been heroes in the Overturn, when a small group of technocrats had succeeded in bringing the Bureaucracy tumbling down. The family policy toward the Probation Laws was one of vehement opposition.\n\nJacob had been of a habit, the last few years, of avoiding memories of the past. Now, though, an image came forcefully to mind.\n\nSummer school in the Alvarez Clan compound in the hills above Caracas ... in the very house where Joseph Alvarez and his friends had made their plans thirty years before ... there was Uncle Jeremey lecturing while Jacob's cousins and adopted cousins listened, all respectful expressions on the outside and seething summer boredom within. And Jacob fidgeted in the back corner, wishing he could get back to his room and the \"secret equipment\" he and his stepsister Alice had put together.\n\nSuave and confident, Jeremey was then still in early middle age, a rising voice in the Confederacy Assembly. Soon he would be leader of the Alvarez clan, edging aside his older brother James.\n\nUncle Jeremey was telling about how the old Bureaucracy had decreed that everyone alive would be tested for \"violent tendencies\" and that all who failed would from then on be under constant surveillance—Probation.\n\nJacob could remember the exact words his uncle had spoken that afternoon, when Alice had come sneaking into the Library, excitement radiating from her twelve-year-old face like something about to go nova." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"... They went to great efforts to convince the populace,\" Jeremey said in a low rumbling voice, \"that the laws would cut down on crime. And they did have that effect. Individuals with radio transmitters in their rumps often think twice about causing trouble to their neighbors.\n\n\"Then, as now, the Citizens loved the Probation Laws. They had no trouble forgetting the fact that they cut through every traditional Constitutional guarantee of due process. Most of them lived in countries that had never had such niceties anyway.\n\n\"And when a fluke in those laws allowed Joseph Alvarez and his friends to turn the Bureaucrats themselves out on their ears—well, the jubilant Citizens just loved Probation testing even more. It did the leaders of the Overturn no good to push the issue at the time. They were having enough trouble setting up the Confederacy....\"\n\nJacob thought he would scream. Here was old Uncle Jeremey gabbing on and on about all that old nonsense, and Alice—lucky Alice whose turn it was to risk the oldsters' ire and listen in on the tap they'd placed on the house deepspace receiver—what was it she had heard!\n\nIt had to be a starship! It would be only the third of the great slow vessels ever to come back!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "That was the only possible explanation for the call up of the Space Reserves or for all the excitement in the east wing, where the adults kept their labs and offices." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jeremey was still expounding on the public's continuing lack of compassion, but Jacob neither saw nor heard him. He kept his face rigid and still as Alice leaned over to whisper—no, gasp in her excitement—into his ear.\n\n\"... Aliens, Jacob! They're bringing extraterrestrials! In their own ships! Oh, Jake, the Vesarius is bringing home Eatees!\"\n\nIt was the first time Jacob had ever heard that word. He had often wondered if Alice was the one to coin it. At ten years of age, he recalled, he had wondered if \"eatee\" implied that someone else was to be designated \"eaten.\"\n\nAs he drove above the streets of Tijuana, it occurred to him that the question still hadn't been answered.\n\nIn several major intersections one corner edifice had been removed and a rainbow-colored \"E.T. Comfort Station Kiosk\" installed. Jacob saw several of the new low open-decked busses equipped to carry humans and aliens who slithered, or walked three meters tall.\n\nAs he passed City Hall, Jacob saw about a dozen \"Skins\" picketing. At least they looked like Skins: people wearing furs and waving toy plastic spears." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Who else would dress that way in this sort of weather?\n\nHe turned up the volume on the car's radio and pressed the voice-select.\n\n\"Local news,\" he said. \"Key words: Skins, City Hall, picketing.\"\n\nAfter only a moment of delay a mechanical voice spoke from behind the dashboard with the slightly flawed inflection of a computer-generated news report Jacob wondered if they'd ever get the voice tone right.\n\n\"Newsbrief summary.\" The artificial voice had an Oxford accent. \"Precis: today, January 12, 2246, oh-nine forty one, good morning. Thirty seven persons are picketing the Tijuana City Hall in a legal manner. Their registered grievance is, summarized in abstract, the expansion of the Extraterrestrial Reserve. Please interrupt if you wish a fax or verbal presentation of their registered protest manifesto.\"\n\nThe machine paused. Jacob said nothing, already wondering if he wanted to hear the rest of the precis. He was already well acquainted with the Skins' protest against the implication of the Reserves: that some humans, at least, weren't fit to associate with aliens.\n\n\"Twenty-six of the thirty-seven members of the protest group carry probation transmitters,\" the report continued. \"The rest are, of course, Citizens. This compares to a ratio of one probationer per hundred and twenty-four Citizens in Tijuana in general. By their demeanor and dress the protestors can be tentatively described as proponents of the so-called Neolithic Ethic, colloquially, 'Skins.' As none of the citizens has invoked privacy privilege, it can be said for certain that thirty of the thirty-seven are residents of Tijuana and the rest are visitors ...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob stabbed the cutoff button and the voice died in mid-sentence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The scene at City Hall had long ago passed out of sight and it was an old story anyway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The controversy over the expansion of the E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reserve reminded him, though, that it had been almost two months since he last visited his Uncle James in Santa Barbara." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The old bombast was probably up to his protruding ears, by now, in lawsuits on behalf of half of the probies in Tijuana." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, he would notice if Jacob left on a long trip without saying good-bye, either to him or to the other uncles, aunts, and cousins of the rambling, rambunctious Alvarez clan.\n\nLong trip? What long trip? Jacob thought suddenly. I'm not going anywhere!\n\nBut that corner of his mind he'd set aside for such things had caught scent of something in this meeting Fagin had called. He felt a sense of anticipation, and simultaneously a wish to suppress it. The feelings would have been intriguing, if they weren't already so familiar.\n\nHe rode on for a time in silence. Soon the city gave way to open countryside, and traffic reduced to a trickle. For the next twenty kilometers he drove with the sunshine warm on his arm and a pattern of doubts playing tag in his mind.\n\nIn spite of the restlessness he had felt recently, he was reluctant to admit that it was time to leave the Center for Uplift. The work with dolphins and chimps was fascinating, and far more equable (after the first tumultuous weeks during the Water-Sphinx affair) than his old profession as a scientific-crime investigator had been." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The staff at the Center was dedicated and, unlike so many other scientific enterprises on Earth these days, they had high morale." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were doing work that had tremendous intrinsic value and would not be made instantly obsolete when the Branch Library in La Paz became completely operational.\n\nBut most important, he had made friends, and those friends had been supportive during the last year or so as he began the slow process of knitting together the schismed portions of his mind.\n\nGloria especially. I'm going to have to do something about her if I stay, Jacob thought. And more than the comradely heavy breathing we've done so far. The girl's feelings were becoming obvious.\n\nBefore the disaster in Ecuador, the loss that had brought him to the Center in the first place seeking work and peace, he would have known what to do and had the courage to do it. Now his feelings were a morass. He wondered if he would ever again consider more than a casual love relationship.\n\nIt had been a long two years since Tania's death. It had been lonely, at times, in spite of his work, his friends, and the ever fascinating games he played with his mind.\n\nThe ground became hilly and brown." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Watching the cacti go by, Jacob sat back to enjoy the slow rhythm of the ride." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even now, his body swayed slightly with the motion as if he were still at sea." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The ocean glistened blue beyond the hills." }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: right, frequency: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The nearer the curving road took him to the meeting place, the more he wished he was aboard a boat out there: watching for the first hunched back and raised fluke of the year's Grey Migration, listening for the whale's Song of the Leader.\n\nHe rounded one hill to find the parking strips on both sides of the road lined solid with little electric runabouts like his own. On the crests of the hills up ahead were scores of people.\n\nJacob pulled his vehicle over into the automatic guideway on the right, where he could cruise slowly and take his eyes off the highway. What was going on here? Two adults and several children unloaded a car by the left side of the road, taking out picnic baskets and binoculars. They were clearly excited. They looked like a typical family on a weekday outing, except that all of them wore bright silver robes and golden amulets. Most of the people on the hill above them were similarly garbed. Many had small telescopes, aimed up the road at something that was obscured from Jacob's view by the hill on the right.\n\nThe crowd on that hill wore their caveman gear with panache." }, { "from": "human", "value": "These Compleat Cro-Magnons compromised." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had their own telescopes, as well as wristwatches, radios, and megaphones, to back up their flint axes and spears." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'skins' into your response exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't surprising that the two groups settled on opposite hilltops. The only thing that the Shirts and Skins ever agreed on was their hatred of the Extraterrestrial Quarantine.\n\nA huge sign spanned the highway at the crest between the two hills.\n\nBAJA CALIFORNIA EXTRATERRESTRIAL RESERVE\n\nProbationaries Not Admitted Without Authorization\n\nFirst Time Visitors Please Stop At The Information Center\n\nNo Fetishes Or Neolithic Garments Please\n\nCheck \"Skins\" in at Information Center.\n\nJacob smiled. The \"papers\" had had a field day with that last command. There were cartoons on every channel, which depicted visitors to the Reserve being forced to peel off their dermis, while a pair of snakelike E.T. 's looked on approvingly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The parked cars jammed together at the top. When Jacob's car reached that point, the Barrier came into view.\n\nIn a wide swatch of barren ground that stretched from east to west, another line of barber poles ran, this one complete. The colors had faded from many of the smooth posts. Dust coated the round lamps that capped the tops.\n\nThe ubiquitous P-trackers acted here as a visible sieve, allowing Citizens to pass freely in and out of the E.T. Reserve but warning probationers to stay out, and aliens to stay within. It was a crude reminder of a fact that most people carefully ignored: that a large part of humanity wore imbedded transmitters because the larger part didn't trust them. The majority didn't want contact between extraterrestrials and those deemed \"prone to violence\" by a psychological test.\n\nApparently, the Barrier did its job well. The crowds on both sides grew thicker up ahead, and the costumes wilder, but the mob stopped in a clump just north of the line of P-posts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some of the Shirts and Skins were probably Citizens, but they kept on this side with their friends—out of politeness or perhaps as a protest.\n\nThe crowds were thickest just north of the Barrier. Here the Shirts and Skins shoved signs at quickly passing motorists.\n\nJacob kept in the guideway and looked about, shading his eyes from the glare and enjoying the show.\n\nA young man on the left, wrapped in silver sateen from throat to toe, held up a placard that said, \"Mankind Was Uplifted Too: Let Our E.T. Cousins Out!\"\n\nJust across the roadway from him a woman held a banner tacked to a spearshaft: \"We did it Ourselves ... Eatees off Earth!\"\n\nThere was the controversy in a nutshell. The whole world waited to see if the believers in Darwin, or those who followed Von Daniken, were right. The Skins and Shirts were only the more fanatical fringes of a split that had divided humanity into two philosophical camps. The issue: how did Homo-Sapiens originate as a thinking being?\n\nOr was that all the Shirts and Skins represented?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The former group took their love of aliens to almost a pseudo-religious frenzy. Hysterical Xenophilia?\n\nThe Neoliths, with their love of caveman garb and ancient lore; were their cries for \"independence from E.T. influence\" based on something more basic—fear of the unknown, the powerfully alien? Xenophobia?\n\nOf one thing Jacob was sure. The Shirts and Skins shared resentment. Resentment of the Confederacy's cautious compromise policy towards E.T.'s. Resentment of the Probation Laws which kept so many of them in a form of coventry. Resentment of a world in which no man any longer knew his roots for certain.\n\nAn old, unshaven man caught Jacob's eye. He squatted by the road, hopped up and down and pointed at the ground between his legs, shouting in the dust kicked up by the crowd. Jacob slowed down as he approached.\n\nThe man wore a fur jacket and hand-sewn leather breeches." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His shouting and jumping grew more frenzied as Jacob neared." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Doo-Doo!\" He screamed, as if delivering a terrible insult. Froth appeared on his lips and he again pointed to the ground.\n\n\"Doo-Doo! Doo-Doo!\"\n\nPuzzled, Jacob slowed the car almost to a stop.\n\nSomething flew past his face from the left and cracked against the window on the passenger side. There was a bang on the roof and within seconds a fusillade of small pebbles was striking the car, making a drumming that pounded in his ears.\n\nHe ran up the window on his left side, yanked the car out of automatic, and surged ahead. The flimsy metal and plastic of the runabout dimpled every time a missile struck it. Suddenly there were faces leering in Jacob's side windows; young tough faces with drooping moustaches. The youths ran along the side of the car as it sluggishly accelerated, hammering on it with fists and shouting.\n\nWith the Barrier only a few meters away, Jacob laughed and decided to find out what they wanted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He eased off a trifle on the accelerator and turned to mouth a question at the man who ran next to him, an adolescent dressed as a twentieth-century science fiction hero." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The crowd by the side of the road was a blur of placards and costumes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Before he could speak the car was shaken by a jolting bang." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A hole had appeared in his windshield and a burning smell filled the little cab." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob gunned the car toward the Barrier." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The row of barber poles whizzed by and suddenly he was alone." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'would' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In his rearview mirror he saw his entourage gather together. The youths shouted as he drove off, raising fists from the sleeves of futuristic robes. He grinned and opened the window to wave back.\n\nHow am I going to explain this to the rental company? he thought. Shall I say that I was attacked by forces of the Imperial Ming or do you think they'll believe the truth?\n\nThere was no question of calling the police. The local constabulary would be unable to make a move without starting with a P-Search. And a few P-Transmitters among so many would be lost for sure. Besides, Fagin had asked him to be discreet in coming to this meeting.\n\nHe rolled down the windows to let a breeze carry away the smoke. He poked at the bullet hole in his windshield with the tip of his small finger and smiled bemusedly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "You actually enjoyed that, didn't you? he thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was one thing to let the adrenalin flow, and quite another to laugh at danger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His sense of elation during the fracas at the Barrier worried a part of Jacob more than the mysterious violence of the crowd did ... a symptom out of his past." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A minute or two passed, then a tone sounded from the dashboard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked up. A hitchhiker? Out here? Down the road, less than half of a kilometer away, a man by the curb held his watch out into the path of the guidebeam. Two satchels rested on the ground beside him.\n\nJacob hesitated. But here inside the Reserve only Citizens were allowed. He pulled over to the curb, just a few meters past the man.\n\nThere was something familiar about the fellow. He was a florid little man in a dark grey business suit and his paunch jiggled as he heaved two heavy bags to the side of Jacob's car. His face was perspiring as he bent over the door on the passenger's side and peered in.\n\n\"Oh boy, what heat!\" he moaned. He spoke standard English with a thick accent.\n\n\"No wonder no one uses the guideway!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he went on, mopping his brow with a handkerchief." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They drive so fast to catch a little tiny breeze, don't they? But you are familiar, we must have met somewhere before. I am Peter LaRoque ... or Pierre, if you wish. I am with Les Mondes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob started." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh. Yes, LaRoque. We've met before. I'm Jacob Demwa. Hop in, I'm only going as far as the Information Center, but you can get a bus from there.\"\n\nHe hoped that his face didn't show his feelings. Why hadn't he recognized LaRoque when he was still moving? He might not have stopped.\n\nIt wasn't that he had anything in particular against the man ... other than his incredible ego and his inexhaustible store of opinions, which he would thrust upon anyone at the smallest opportunity. In many ways he was probably a fascinating personality. He certainly had a following in the Danikenite press. Jacob had read a number of LaRoque's articles and enjoyed the style, if not the content.\n\nBut LaRoque had been a member of the press corps that had chased him for weeks after he'd solved the Water-Sphinx mystery, and one of the least tactful at that. The final story in Les Mondes had been favorable, and beautifully written as well. But it hadn't been worth the trouble." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob was glad that the press hadn't been able to find him after the still earlier Ecuadorian fiasco, that mess at the Vanilla Needle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At that time LaRoque would have been too much to bear." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'place' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Right now he was having trouble believing LaRoque's obviously affected \"Origin\" accent. It was even thicker than the last time they'd met, if possible.\n\n\"Demwa, ah, of course!\" the man said. He stuffed his bags behind the passenger seat and got in. \"The maker and purveyor of aphorisms! The connoisseur of mysteries! You're here maybe to play puzzle games with our noble interplanetary guests? Or perhaps you are going to consult with the Great Library in La Paz?\"\n\nJacob re-entered the guideway, wishing he knew who had started the \"National Origins Accent\" fad, so he could strangle the man.\n\n\"I'm here to do some consultant work and my employers include extraterrestrials, if that's what you mean. But I can't go into details.\"\n\n\"Ah yes, so very secret!\" LaRoque wagged a finger playfully. \"You should not tease a journalist so! Your business I might make my business! But you, you must surely wonder what brings the ace reporter of Les Mondes to this desolate place, no?\"\n\n\"Actually,\" Jacob said, \"I'm more interested in how you came to be hitchhiking in the middle of this desolate place.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque sighed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A desolate place, indeed! How sad it is that the noble aliens who visit us should be stuck here and in other wastelands such as your Alaska!\"\n\n\"And Hawaii and Caracas and Sri Lanka, the Confederacy Capitols,\" Jacob said. \"But as to how you came to be ...\"\n\n\"How I came to be assigned here? Yes, of course, Demwa! But maybe we can amuse ourselves with your renowned deductive talents. You perhaps can guess?\"\n\nJacob suppressed a groan. He reached forward to pull the car out of the guideway and put more weight onto the accelerator pedal.\n\n\"I've got a better idea, LaRoque. Since you don't want to tell me why you were standing there in the middle of nowhere, perhaps you'd be willing to clear up a little mystery for me.\"\n\nJacob described the scene at the Barrier. He left out the violent ending, hoping that LaRoque hadn't noticed the hole in the windshield, but he carefully described the behavior of the squatting man.\n\n\"But of course!\" LaRoque cried. \"You make it easy for me!\n\n\"You know the initials of this phrase you used, 'Permanent Probationer,' that horrible classification which denies a man his rights, parenthood, the franchise ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Look, I agree already! Save the speech.\" Jacob thought for a moment. What were the initials?\n\n\"Oh ... I think I see.\"\n\n\"Yes, the poor fellow was only striking back! You Citizens, you call him Pee-Pee ... so is it not simple justice that he accuse you of being Docile and Domesticated? Ergo the doo-doo!\"\n\nJacob laughed, despite himself. The road began to curve.\n\n\"I wonder why all those people were gathered at the Barrier? They seemed to be waiting for somebody.\"\n\n\"At the Barrier?\" LaRoque said. \"Ah yes. I hear that happens every Thursday. Eatees from the Center go up to look at non-Citizens and they in turn come down to look at an Eatee. Droll, no? One doesn't know which side throws the peanuts!\"\n\nThe road turned around one hill and their destination was in sight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Information Center, a few kilometers north of Ensenada, was a sprawling compound of E.T." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 8 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "quarters, public museums and, hidden around back, barracks for the border patrol. In front of a broad parking lot stood the main structure where first-time visitors took lessons in Galactic Protocol.\n\nThe station was on a small plateau, between the highway and the ocean, commanding a broad view over both. Jacob parked the car near the main entrance.\n\nLaRoque was chewing, red-faced, on some thought. He looked up suddenly.\n\n\"You know I was joking, just then, when I spoke about peanuts. I was only making a joke.\"\n\nJacob nodded, wondering what had got into the man. Strange." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like David Brin would. btw might have existing characters/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'minutes' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob helped LaRoque carry his bags to the bus station, then made his way around the main building to find a place outside to sit. Ten minutes remained before he was due at the meeting.\n\nWhere the compound overlooked a small harbor he found a patio with shade trees and picnic tables. He chose one table to sit on and rested his feet on the bench. The touch of the cool ceramic tile and the breeze off the ocean penetrated his clothing and drew away the redness from his skin and the perspiration from his clothes.\n\nFor a few minutes he sat quietly, letting the hard muscles of his shoulders and lower back relax one by one, sloughing off the tension of the drive. He focused on a small sailboat, a daycraft with jib and main colored greener than the ocean. Then he let a trance come down over his eyes.\n\nFloating. One at a time he examined the things his senses revealed to him and then he canceled them. He concentrated on his muscles one by one, to cut off sensation and tension. Slowly his limbs grew numb and distant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An itch in his thigh persisted, but his hands remained in his lap until it left of its own accord. The salt smell of the sea was pleasant but equally distracting. He made it go away. He shut off the sound of his heartbeat by listening to it with undivided attention until it became too familiar to notice.\n\nAs he had for two years, Jacob guided the trance through a cathartic phase, in which images came and went startlingly fast in healing pain, as two pieces, split apart, tried again to fuse whole. It was a process that he never enjoyed.\n\nHe was alone, almost. All that remained was a background of voices, murmuring subvocal snatches of phrases at the edge of meaning. For a moment he thought he could hear Gloria and Johnny arguing about Makakai, then Makakai herself chattering something irreverent in pidgin-trinary.\n\nHe guided each sound away gently, waiting for one that came, as usual, with predictable suddenness: Tania's voice calling something he couldn't quite understand as she fell past him, arms outstretched. He still heard her as she fell the rest of the twenty miles to the ground, becoming a tiny speck and then disappearing ... still calling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That little voice too faded, but this time it left him more uneasy than usual." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A violent, exaggerated version of the incident at the Zone Boundary flashed through his mind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly he was back, this time standing among the Probationers. A bearded man dressed as a Pictish Shaman held out a pair of binoculars and nodded insistently.\n\nJacob picked them up and looked where the man pointed. Its image warped by heat waves rising from the highway, a bus rolled to a stop just on the other side of a line of candy-striped poles that stretched to each horizon. Each pole seemed to reach all the way up to the sun.\n\nThen the image was gone. With practiced indifference, Jacob let go of the temptation to think about it and allowed his mind to go completely blank.\n\nSilence and Darkness.\n\nHe rested in a deep trance, relying on his own internal clock to signal when the time to emerge was near. He moved slowly among patterns that had no symbols and long familiar meanings that eluded description or remembrance, patiently looking for the key he knew was there and that he'd someday find.\n\nTime was now a thing like any other, lost in a deeper passage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The calm dark was pierced, suddenly, by a sharp pain driving past all of his mind's isolation." }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: seemed, frequency: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It took a moment, an eternity that must have been a hundredth of a second, to localize it. The pain was a bright blue light that seemed to stab at his hypnosis sensitized eyes through closed lids. In another instant, before he could react, it was gone.\n\nJacob struggled for a moment with his confusion. He tried to concentrate solely on rising to consciousness while a stream of panicky questions popped like flashbulbs in his mind.\n\nWhat subconscious artifact had that blue light been? A corner of neurosis that defends itself so fiercely has to mean trouble! What hidden fear did I probe?\n\nAs he emerged, hearing returned.\n\nThere were footsteps ahead. He picked them out from the sounds of the wind and sea, but in his trance they seemed like the soft padding ostrich feet might make if clothed in mocassins." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The deep trance finally broke, several seconds after the subjective burst of light." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He opened his eyes. A tall alien stood in front of him, a few meters away. His immediate impression was of tallness, whiteness, and huge red eyes.\n\nFor a moment the world seemed to tilt.\n\nJacob's hands flew to the sides of the table and his head sank as he steadied himself. He closed his eyes.\n\nSome trance! he thought. My head feels as if it's about to crash through the Earth and come out the other side!\n\nHe rubbed his eyes with one hand, then carefully looked up once again.\n\nThe alien was still there. So it was real." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was humanoid, standing at least two meters tall." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most of its slender body was covered by a long silvery robe. The hands, folded in front in the Attitude of Respectful Waiting, were long, white and glossy.\n\nA very large round head bowed forward on a slender neck. The lidless, red, columnar eyes and the lips of the alien's mouth were huge. They dominated the face, on which a few other small organs served purposes unknown to him. This species was new to Jacob.\n\nThe eyes glowed with intelligence.\n\nJacob cleared his throat. He still had to fight off waves of dizziness.\n\n\"Excuse me.... Since we haven't been introduced, I ... don't know how I'm to address you, but I assume you're here to see me?\"\n\nThe big, white head nodded deeply in assent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you with the group the Kanten Fagin asked me to meet?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Again, the alien nodded.\n\nI suppose that means yes, Jacob thought. I wonder if he can speak, what with any imaginable kind of mechanism lurking behind those huge lips.\n\nBut why was the creature just standing there? Was there something in its attitude ...?\n\n\"Am I to assume that, that yours is a client species and you are waiting for permission to speak?\"\n\nThe \"lips\" separated slightly and Jacob caught a glimpse of something bright and white. The alien nodded again.\n\n\"Well then speak up, please! We humans are notoriously short on protocol. What's your name?\"\n\nThe voice was surprisingly deep. It hissed out of a barely widened mouth with a pronounced lisp." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am Culla, Shir. Thank you. I have been shent to make sure that you were not losht. If you will come with me, the othersh are waiting. Or, if you prefer, you can continue to meditate until the appointed time.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, no let's go, by all means.\" Jacob rose to his feet unsteadily. He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his mind of the last shreds of the trance. Sooner or later he would have to sort out what had happened, while he'd been under, but that would have to wait.\n\n\"Lead on.\"\n\nCulla turned and walked with a slow, fluid gait toward one of the side doorways to the Center.\n\nCulla was apparently a member of a \"client\" species—one whose period of indenture to its \"patron\" species was still active. Such a race rated low on the galactic pecking order. Jacob, mystified as he still was by the intricacies of galactic affairs, was glad that a lucky accident had won for humanity a better, if insecure, place on the hierarchy.\n\nCulla led him upstairs to a large oaken door. He opened it without announcement and preceded Jacob into the meeting room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob saw two human beings and, besides Culla, two aliens: one short and furry, the other smaller still, and lizardlike." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were seated on cushions between some large indoor shrubs and a picture window overlooking the bay.\n\nHe tried to sort his impressions of the aliens before they noticed him, but had only a moment before someone spoke his name.\n\n\"Jacob, my friend! How kind it is for you to come and share with us your time!\" It was Fagin's fluting voice. Jacob looked quickly about the room.\n\n\"Fagin, where ...?\"\n\n\"I am here.\"\n\nHe looked back at the group by the window. The humans and the furry E.T. were rising to their feet. The lizard-alien remained on its cushion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob adjusted his perspective and suddenly one of the \"indoor shrubs\" was Fagin." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'jacob' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old Kanten's silver tipped foliage tinkled softly as if there were a breeze.\n\nJacob smiled. Fagin presented a problem whenever they met. With humanoids, one looked for a face, or something that served the same purpose. Usually it took only a little time to find a place in an alien's strange features on which to focus.\n\nThere was almost always a part of the anatomy that one learned to address as the seat of another awareness. Among humans and very often among E.T. 's, this focus was in the eyes.\n\nA Kanten has no eyes. Jacob guessed that the bright silver objects that made the sound of tiny sleigh bells were Fagin's light receptors. If so, it still didn't help. One had to look at the whole of Fagin, not at some cusp of the ego." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It made Jacob wonder which was the larger improbability: that he liked the alien despite this handicap, or that he still felt uneasy with him despite years of friendship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fagin's dark leafy body approached from the window in a series of twists that brought successive root-knots to the fore." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob gave him one medium-formal bow and waited.\n\n\"Jacob Alvarez Demwa, a-Human, ul-Dolphin-ul-Chimp, we welcome you. It pleases this poor being to sense you today, once again.\" Fagin spoke clearly, but with an uncontrolled singsong quality which made his accent sound like mixed Swedish and Cantonese. The Kanten did much better speaking dolphin or trinary.\n\n\"Fagin, a-Kanten, ab-Linten-ab-Siqul-ul-Nish, Mihorki Keephu. It pleases me to see you once again.\" Jacob bowed.\n\n\"These venerable beings have come to exchange their wisdom with yours, Friend-Jacob,\" Fagin said. \"I hope you are prepared for formal introductions.\"\n\nJacob set his mind to concentrate on the convoluted species names of each alien, at least as much as on their appearance. Patronymics and multiple client names would tell a great deal about the status of each. He nodded for Fagin to proceed.\n\n\"I will now formally introduce you to Bubbacub, a-Pil, ab-Kisa-ab-Soro-ab-Hul-ab-Puber-ul-Gello-ul-Pring, of the Library Institute.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the E.T." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "'s stepped forward. Jacob's initial gestalt was of a four-foot, gray teddy bear, But a wide snout and fringe of cilia around the eyes belied that impression.\n\nThis was Bubbacub, director of the Branch Library! The Branch Library at La Paz consumed almost all of the meager trade balance which Earth had accumulated since contact. Even so, much of the prodigious effort of adapting a tiny \"suburban\" Branch to human referents was donated by the huge galactic Institute of the Library, as a charity, to help the \"backward\" human race catch up with the rest of the galaxy. As head of the Branch, Bubbacub was one of the most important aliens on Earth! His species name also implied high status, higher even than Fagin's!\n\nThe \"ab\" something-to-the-fourth meant that Bubbacub's species had been nurtured into sentience by another which had in turn been nurtured by another, and so forth back to the mythical beginning at the time of the Progenitors ... and that four of these generations of \"Parentals\" were still alive somewhere in the galaxy. To be derived from such a chain meant status in a diffuse galactic culture whose every spacefaring species (with the possible lone exception of humanity) was brought up out of semi-intelligent savagery by some previous, space-traveling race.\n\nThe \"ul\" something squared said that the Pil race had in turn fostered two new cultures on their own. This too was status.\n\nThe one thing that had prevented the complete snubbing of the \"orphan\" human race by the Galactics was the fortunate fact that man had himself fostered new intelligent races twice before the Vesarius had brought Contact with the E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "civilization home to Earth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alien made a slight bow.\n\n\"I am Bubbacub.\"\n\nThe voice sounded artificial. It came from a disc that hung from the Pil's neck.\n\nA Vodor! The Pil race required artificial assistance to speak English, then. From the simplicity of the device, much smaller than those used by alien visitors whose native tongues were twitters and squeaks, Jacob guessed that Bubbacub could actually pronounce human words, but in a frequency range beyond human hearing. He decided to assume that the being could hear him.\n\n\"I am Jacob. Welcome to Earth.\" He nodded.\n\nBubbacub's mouth snapped open and shut a few times silently.\n\n\"Thank you,\" the Vodor buzzed, in clipped, short words. \"I am happy to be here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And I to be of service as your host.\" Jacob bowed ever so slightly deeper than he had seen Bubbacub do when he came forward. The alien seemed to be satisfied and stepped back.\n\nFagin recommenced his introductions.\n\n\"These worthy beings are of your race.\" A twig and a bunch of petals gestured vaguely in the direction of the two human beings. A gray-haired gentleman, dressed in tweed, stood next to a tall brown woman, in handsome middle age.\n\n\"I will now introduce you,\" Fagin continued, \"in the informal manner preferred by humans.\n\n\"Jacob Demwa, meet Doctor Dwayne Kepler, of the Sundiver Expedition, and Doctor Mildred Martine, of the Department of Parapsychology at the University of La Paz.\"\n\nKepler's face was dominated by a substantial handlebar moustache. He smiled, but Jacob was too amazed to reply to his pleasantries with more than a monosyllable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Sundiver Expedition! The research on Mercury and in the solar chromosphere had been a football in the Confederacy Assembly, of late." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The \"Adapt & Survive\" faction said that it made no sense to spend so much for knowledge that could be pulled out of the Library, when the same appropriation could employ several times as many unemployed scientists here on Earth with make-work projects. The \"Self-Sufficiency\" faction had so far had its way, though, in spite of abuse from the Danikenite press.\n\nBut to Jacob it was the idea of sending men and ships down into a star that sounded like insanity of the first degree.\n\n\"Kant Fagin was enthusiastic in his recommendations,\" Kepler said. The Sundiver leader smiled, but his eyes were reddened. They bore puffy outlines from some inner worry. He pressed Jacob's hand in both of his own and pumped quickly as he spoke. His voice was deep but it did not hide a quaver.\n\n\"We came to Earth only for a little while. It's an answered prayer that Fagin was able to persuade you to meet with us. We really hope you can join us on Mercury and give us the benefit of your experience in interspecies contact.\"\n\nJacob started. Oh no, not this time you don't, you leafy monster! He wanted to turn and glare at Fagin but even informal intrahuman propriety required that he face these people and make small talk. Mercury indeed!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dr. Martine's face fell easily into a pleasant smile but she looked a little bored as he shook her hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wondered if he could ask what parapsychology had to do with solar physics without sounding as if he were interested, but Fagin beat him to it.\n\n\"I intrude, as is generally considered acceptable in informal conversations among human beings when a pause has occurred. There remains one worthy being to introduce.\"\n\nOops, thought Jacob, I hope this Eatee's not one of the hypersensitive ones. He turned to where the lizardlike extraterrestrial stood, to his right, next to a multicolored wall mosaic. It had risen from its cushion and now moved on six legs toward them. It was less than a meter in length and about twenty centimeters high. It walked right past him without a glance and proceeded to rub itself against Bubbacub's leg.\n\n\"Ahem,\" Fagin said. \"That is a pet. The worthy whom you are about to meet is the estimable client who brought you to this room.\"\n\n\"Oh, I'm sorry.\" Jacob grinned, then forced a serious expression onto his face.\n\n\"Jacob Demwa, a-Human, ul-Dolphin-ul-Chimp, please meet Culla, a-Pring, ab-Pil-ab-Kisa-ab-Soro-ab-Hul-ab-Puber, Assistant to Bubbacub of the Libraries and Representative of the Library with the Sundiver Project.\"\n\nAs Jacob had expected, the name had only patronymics." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Pring had no clients of their own." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were of the Puber/Soro line, though. Someday they would have high status as members of that old and powerful lineage. He had noticed that Bubbacub's species was also out of the Puber/Soro and wished he could recall if the Pila and Pring were Patron and Client.\n\nThe alien stepped forward but did not offer to shake hands. His hands were long and tentacular with six fingers each at the ends of long slender arms. They looked fragile. Culla had a faint odor, a bit like the smell of new mown hay, that was not at all unpleasant.\n\nThe huge columnar eyes flashed as Culla bowed for the formal introduction. The E.T. 's \"lips\" curled back to display a pair of white, gleaming, grindermashie things, one on top and one on the bottom. The partially prehensile lips brought the cleavers together with a white porcelain \"clack!\"\n\nThat can't be a friendly gesture where he comes from, Jacob shuddered. The alien probably pulled his huge dentures out to imitate a human smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sight was disturbing and at the same time intriguing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob wondered what they were for." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He also hoped that Culla would keep his ... lips curled back in the future.\n\nNodding slightly he said, \"I am Jacob.\"\n\n\"I am Culla, Shir,\" the alien replied. \"Your Earth ish very pleasant.\" The great red eyes were now dull. Culla backed away.\n\nBubbacub led them back to the cushions by the window. The little Pil sprawled into a prone position with his quadrilaterally symmetric hands dangling over the sides of the cushion. The \"pet\" followed and curled up next to him.\n\nKepler leaned forward and spoke hesitantly.\n\n\"I'm sorry we dragged you away from your important work, Mr. Demwa. I know you're already heavily engaged ... I only hope that we can persuade you that, that our own little ... problem is worth your time and worthy of your talents.\" Dr. Kepler's hands were knotted together on his lap." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dr. Martine looked on Kepler's earnestness with an expression of mildly amused patience." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were nuances here that bothered Jacob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, Dr. Kepler, Fagin must have told you that since my wife's death, I've retired from the \"mystery business,\" and I am pretty busy right now, probably too much so to get involved in a long journey off planet ...\"\n\nKepler's face fell. His expression became so bleak so suddenly that Jacob was moved.\n\n\"... However, since Kant Fagin is a perceptive individual, I'll be happy to listen to anyone he refers to me, and decide on the merits of the case.\"\n\n\"Oh, you'll find this case interesting! I've been saying all along that we need fresh insight. And, of course, now that the Trustees have agreed to let us bring in some consultants ...\"\n\n\"Now, Dwayne,\" Dr. Martine said. \"You're not being fair. I came in as a consultant six months ago, and Culla brought the services of the Library even earlier. Now Bubbacub has kindly agreed to increase the Library support for the project and come personally with us to Mercury. I think the Trustees are being more than generous.\"\n\nJacob sighed.\n\n\"I wish someone would explain what this is all about Like you, Dr. Martine, perhaps you can tell me what your job is ... on Mercury?\" He found it difficult to say the word \"Sundiver.\"\n\n\"I am a consultant, Mr. Demwa. I was hired to perform psychological and parapsychological tests on the crew and environment on Mercury.\"\n\n\"I assume they had to do with the problem Dr. Kepler mentioned?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes. It was thought at first that the phenomena were a hoax or some sort of mass-hallucination." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I've eliminated both of those possibilities. It's clear now that they're real and actually take place in the solar chromosphere.\n\n\"For the last months I've been designing psi experiments to take down on solar dives. I've also been helping as a therapist for a number of Sundiver staff members; the pressures of conducting this kind of solar research have been telling on many of the men.\"\n\nMartine sounded competent, but there was something about her attitude that put Jacob off. Flippancy, perhaps. Jacob wondered what else there was to her relationship with Kepler. Was she his personal therapist as well?\n\nFor that matter, am I here just to satisfy the whim of a sick, great man who must be kept going? The idea wasn't very attractive. Nor was the prospect of getting involved in politics.\n\nBubbacub, head of the entire Branch Library on Earth—why is he involved in an obscure Terran project? In some ways, the little Pil was the most important E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "on the Planet outside of the Tymbrimi Ambassador." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'bubbacub' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His Library Institute, the biggest and most influential of the galactic organizations, made Fagin's Institute of Progress look like a drum and tambourine outfit. Did Martine say he's going to Mercury?\n\nBubbacub stared at the ceiling, apparently ignoring the conversation. His mouth worked as though singing in some range inaudible to humans.\n\nCulla's bright eyes were on the little Library Chief. Perhaps he could hear the singing, or perhaps he too was bored by the conversation so far.\n\nKepler, Martine, Bubbacub, Culla ... I never thought I'd be in a room in which Fagin was the least strange!\n\nThe Kanten rustled nearby. Fagin was obviously excited. Jacob wondered what could have happened in the Sundiver project to get him so fired up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dr. Kepler, it just might be possible that I could spare the time to help you out ... maybe.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shrugged. \"But first, it would be nice to find out what this is all about!\"\n\nKepler brightened.\n\n\"Oh, didn't I ever actually say it? Oh my. I guess I Just avoid thinking about it these days ... Just skirt around the subject, so to speak.\"\n\nHe straightened and took a deep breath.\n\n\"Mr. Demwa, it appears that the Sun is haunted.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\ntwo sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In prehistoric and early times the Earth was visited by unknown beings from the cosmos. These unknown beings created human intelligence by a deliberate genetic mutation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The extraterrestrials ennobled hominids \"in their own image.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That is why we resemble them and not they us.\n\nErich Von Daniken Chariots of the Gods" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sublime mental activities, such as religion, altruism and morality, all evolved, and have a physical base.\n\nEdward O. Wilson On Human Nature\n\nHarvard University Press" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "make story longer like David Brin would. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Bradbury was a new ship. It used a technology far ahead of its predecessors on the commercial line, taking off from sea level under its own power instead of riding to the station at the top of one of the equatorial \"Needles,\" slung beneath a giant balloon. Bradbury was a huge sphere, titanically massive by earlier standards.\n\nThis was Jacob's first trip aboard a ship powered by the billion-year-old science of the Galactics. He watched from the first-class lounge as the Earth fell away, and Baja California became first a brown rib, separating two seas, then a mere finger along the coast of Mexico. The view was breathtaking, but a bit disappointing. The roar and acceleration of a jetliner, or the slow majesty of a cruise-zep had more romance. And the few times he had left Earth before, rising and returning by balloon, there has been the other ships to watch, bright and busy as they floated up to Power Station or back down the pressurized interior of one of the Needles.\n\nNeither of the great Needles had ever been boring." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The thin ceram walls that held the twenty-mile towers at sea-level pressures had been painted with gigantio murals—huge swooping birds and pseudo science-fiction space battles copied from twenty-century magazines." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It had never been claustrophobic." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still, Jacob was glad to be aboard the Bradbury." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Someday he might visit the Chocolate Needle, at the summit of Mt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kenya, for nostalgia's sake. But the other one, the one in Ecuador—Jacob hoped never to see the Vanilla Needle again.\n\nNo matter that the great tower was only a stone's throw from Caracas. No matter that he would be given a hero's welcome, if ever he came there, as the man who had saved the one engineering marvel on Earth to impress even the Galactics.\n\nSaving the Needle had cost Jacob Demwa his wife and a large portion of his mind. The price had been too high.\n\nEarth had gained a visible disc when Jacob went off to look for the ship's bar. Suddenly he was in the mood for company. He hadn't felt that way when he came aboard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He'd had a rough time making excuses to Gloria and the others at the Center. Makakai had raised a fit. Also, many of the research materials on Solar Physics he'd ordered had not arrived and would have to be forwarded to Mercury. Finally, he'd let himself get into a stew wondering how he'd been talked into coming along in the first place.\n\nNow he made his way along the main corridor, at the ship's equator, until he found the crowded, dimly lit Saloon. Inside he squeezed past clots of talking, drinking passengers to get to the bar.\n\nAbout forty persons, many of them contract workers bound for skilled labor on Mercury, crowded into the Saloon. More than a few, having drunk too much, spoke loudly to their neighbors or simply stared. For some, departure from Earth came hard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A few extraterrestrials rested on cushions in the corner set aside for them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One, a Cynthian with shiny fur and thick sunglasses, sat across from Culla, whose great head nodded silently while he sipped daintily with a straw between his huge lips, from what appeared to be a bottle of vodka." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Several humans stood near the aliens, typical of the Xenophiles who hang on every word of an eaves-dropped E.T. conversation and who wait eagerly for chances to ask questions.\n\nJacob considered edging through the crowd to get to the E.T. corner. The Cynthian might be someone he knew. But there were too many people at that end of the room. He chose instead to get a drink and see if anyone had started storytelling.\n\nSoon he was part of a group listening to a mining engineer tell an enjoyably exaggerated tale of blow-ins and rescues in the deep Hermetian mines. Though he had to strain to hear over the noise, Jacob still felt he could conveniently ignore the headache that was coming on ... at least long enough to listen to the end of the story, when a finger jabbed in his ribs made him jump.\n\n\"Demwa! It's you!\" Pierre LaRoque cried." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How fortunate! We shall travel together and now I know that there will always be someone with whom I can exchange witticisms!\"\n\nLaRoque wore a loose shiny robe. Blue PurSmok drifted into the air from the pipe he puffed with earnest.\n\nJacob tried to smile but with someone behind him stepping on his heel, it came out more like gritting his teeth.\n\n\"Hello, LaRoque. Why are you going to Mercury? Wouldn't your readers be more interested in stories about the Peruvian excavations or ...\"\n\n\"Or similar dramatic evidence that our primitive ancestors were nurtured by ancient astronauts?\" LaRoque interrupted. \"Yes, Demwa, such evidence shall soon be so overwhelming that even the Skins and skeptics who sit on the Confederacy Council will see the error of their ways!\"\n\n\"I see you wear the Shirt yourself.\" Jacob pointed to LaRoque's silvery tunic." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wear the robe of the Daniken Society on my last day on Earth, in honor of the older ones who gave us the power to go into space.\" LaRoque shifted pipe and drink into one hand and with the other straightened the gold medallion and chain that hung from his neck.\n\nJacob thought the effect was a bit theatrical for a grown man. The robe and jewelry seemed effeminate, in contrast to the Frenchman's gruff manner. He had to admit, though, that it went well with the outrageous, affected accent.\n\n\"Oh come on, LaRoque,\" Jacob smiled. \"Even you have to admit we got into space by ourselves, and we discovered the extraterrestrials, not they us.\"\n\n\"I admit nothing!\" LaRoque answered hotly. \"When we prove ourselves worthy of the Patrons who gave us our intelligence in the dim past, when they acknowledge us, then we'll know how much they have covertly helped us all these years!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shrugged. There was nothing new in the Skin-Shirt controversy. One side insisted that man should be proud of his unique heritage as a self-evolved race, having won intelligence from Nature herself on the savannah and shoreline of East Africa. The other side held that homo sapiens—Just as every other known race of sophonts—was part of a chain of genetic and cultural uplifting that stretched back to the fabled early days of the galaxy, the time of the Progenitors.\n\nMany, like Jacob, were studiously neutral in the conflict of views, but humanity, and humanity's client races, awaited the outcome with interest Archeology and Paleontology had become the great new hobbies since Contact.\n\nHowever, LaRoque's arguments were so stale they could be used for croutons. And the headache was getting worse.\n\n\"That's very interesting, LaRoque,\" he said as he began to edge past. \"Perhaps we can discuss it some other time ...\" But LaRoque wasn't finished yet.\n\n\"Space is filled with Neanderthaler sentiment, you know. The men on our ships would prefer to wear animal skins and grunt like apes! They resent the Older Ones, and they actively snub sensible people who practice humility!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque made his point while jabbing in Jacob's direction with the stem of his pipe." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob backed away, trying to stay polite but having difficulty.\n\n\"Well, now I think that's going a little too far, LaRoque. I mean you're talking about astronauts! Emotional and political stability are prime criteria in their selection ...\"\n\n\"Aha! What you do not know about the very things you just mentioned! You joke, no? I know a thing or two about 'emotional and political stability' of astronauts!\n\n\"I'll tell you about it sometime,\" he continued. \"Someday the whole story will come out, about the Confederacy's plan to isolate a large part of humanity away from the elder races, and from their heritage in the stars! All the poor 'unreliables'! But by then it will be too late to seal the leak!\"\n\nLaRoque puffed and exhaled a cloud of blue PurSmok in Jacob's direction. Jacob felt a wave of dizziness.\n\n\"Yeah, LaRoque, whatever you say. You've got to tell me about it some time.\" He backed away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque glowered on for a moment, then grinned and patted Jacob on the back as he edged his way to the door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes,\" he said. \"I'll tell you all about it. But meanwhile, better you should lie down. You don't look so good at all! Bye bye!\" He slapped Jacob's back once more then slipped back into the bar.\n\nJacob walked to the nearest port and rested his head against the pane. It was cool and it helped to ease the throbbing in his forehead. When he opened his eyes to look out, the Earth was not in sight ... only a great field of stars, shining unblinking against blackness. The brighter ones were surrounded by diffraction rays, which he could lengthen or shorten by squinting. Except for the brightness, the effect was no different than looking at the stars on a night in the desert. They didn't twinkle, but they were the same stars.\n\nJacob knew he should feel more." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The stars when viewed from space should be more mysterious, more ...\"philosophical.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the things he could remember best about his adolescence was the asolopsistic roar of starry nights." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was nothing like the oceanic feeling he now got through hypnosis." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been like half-remembered dreams of another life.\n\nHe found Dr. Kepler, Bubbacub, and Fagin in the main lounge. Kepler invited him to join them.\n\nThe group settled around a cluster of cushions near the view ports. Bubbacub carried with him a cup of something that looked and, from a chance whiff, smelled noxious. Fagin ambled slowly, twisting on his root-pods, carrying nothing.\n\nThe row of ports that ran along the curved periphery of the ship was broken in the lounge by a large circular disc, like a giant round window, that touched floor and ceiling. The flat side protruded into the room about a foot. Whatever lay within was hidden behind a tightly fixed panel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We are glad that you made it,\" Bubbacub barked through his Vodor." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'jacob' 5 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had sprawled on one of the cushions and, after saying this, dipped his snout into the cup he carried and ignored Jacob and the others. Jacob wondered if the Pil was trying to be sociable, or if he came by his charm naturally.\n\nJacob thought of Bubbacub as \"he\" because he had no idea at all about Bubbacub's true gender. Though Bubbacub wore no clothes, other than the Vodor and a small pouch, what Jacob could see of the alien's anatomy only confused matters. He had learned, for instance, that the Pila were oviparous and did not suckle their young. But a row of what appeared to be teats lay like shirt buttons from throat to crotch. He couldn't even guess at their purpose. The Datanet did not mention them. Jacob had ordered a more complete summary from the Library." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fagin and Kepler were talking about the history of Sunships." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fagin's voice was muffled because his upper foliage and blowhole brushed against the soundproofing panels on the ceiling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Jacob hoped that Kanten were not prone to claustrophobia." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But then, what were talking vegetables afraid of anyway?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "⚠️ Required: Use 'sending' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Being nibbled on, he supposed. He wondered about the sexual mores of a race whose lovemaking required the intermediary of a sort of domesticated bumblebee.)\n\n\"Then these magnificent improvisations,\" Fagin said, \"without benefit of the slightest help from outside, enabled you to convey packages of instruments into the very Photosphere! This is most impressive and I wonder that, in my years here, I never knew of this adventure of your period before Contact!\"\n\nKepler beamed. \"You must understand that the bathysphere project was only ... the beginning, long before my time. When laser propulsion for pre-Contact interstellar craft was developed, they were able to drop robot ships that could hover and, by the thermodynamics of using a high temperature laser, they could dump excess heat and cool the probe's interior.\"\n\n\"Then you were only a short time away from sending men!\"\n\nKepler smiled ruefully. \"Well, perhaps. Plans were made. But sending living beings to the Sun and back involved more than just heat and gravity. The worst obstacle was the turbulence!\n\n\"It would have been great to see if we could have solved the problem, though.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler's eyes shone for a moment. \"There were plans.\"\n\n\"But then the Vesarius found Tymbrimi ships in Cygnus,\" Jacob said.\n\n\"Yes. So we'll never find out. The plans were drawn up when I was just a boy. Now they're hopelessly obsolete. And it's probably just as well.... There would have been inescapable losses, even deaths, if we'd done it without stasis.... Control of timeflow is the key to Sundiver now, and I certainly wouldn't complain about the results.\"\n\nThe scientist's expression suddenly darkened. \"That is, until now.\"\n\nKepler fell silent and stared at the carpet Jacob watched him for a moment then covered his mouth and coughed.\n\n\"While we're on the subject, I've noticed that there isn't any mention of Sun Ghosts on the Datanet, or even in a special request from the Library ... and I have a 1-AB permit. I was wondering if you could spare some of your reports on the subject to study during the trip?\"\n\nKepler looked away from Jacob nervously.\n\n\"We weren't quite ready to let the data off Mercury yet, Mr. Demwa. There ... are political considerations to this discovery that uh, will delay your briefing until we get to the base. I'm sure that all of your questions will be answered there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked so genuinely ashamed that Jacob decided to drop the matter for the moment. But this was not a good sign.\n\n\"I might take a liberty in adding one piece of information,\" Fagin said. \"There has been another dive since our meeting, Jacob, and on that dive, we are told, only the first and more prosaic species of Solarian was observed. Not the second variety which has caused Dr. Kepler so much concern.\"\n\nJacob was still confused by the hurried explanations Kepler had given of the two types of Sun-creatures so far observed.\n\n\"Now I take it that type was your herbivore?\"\n\n\"Not herbivore!\" Kepler interjected. \"A magnetovore. It feeds on magnetic field energy. That type is actually becoming rather well understood, however ...\"\n\n\"I interrupt! In the most unctions wish that I be forgiven for the intrusion, I urge discretion. A stranger approaches.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fagin's upper branches rustled against the ceiling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob turned to look at the doorway, a bit shocked that anything would bring Fagin to interrupt another's sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dismally he realized that this was still another sign that he had stepped into a politically tense situation, and he still knew none of the rules.\n\nI don't hear anything, he thought. Then Pierre LaRoque stood at the door, a drink in his hand and his always florid face further flushed. The man's initial smile broadened when he saw Fagin and Bubbacub. He entered and gave Jacob a jovial slap on the back, insisting that he be introduced right away.\n\nJacob internalized a shrug.\n\nHe performed the introductions slowly. LaRoque was impressed, and he bowed deeply to Bubbacub.\n\n\"Ab-Kisa-ab-Soro-ab-Hul-ab-Puber! And two clients, what were they, Demwa? Jello and something? I'm honored to meet a sophont of the Soro line in person! I have studied the language of your ancestrals, whom we may someday show to be ours as well! The Soro tongue is so similar to Proto-Semitic, and Proto-Bantu also!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub's cilia bristled above his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Pil, through his Vodor, began to make voice with a complicated, alliterative, incomprehensible speech." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then the alien's jaws made short, sharp snaps and a high pitched growling could be heard, half amplified by the Vodor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "From behind Jacob, Fagin answered in a clicking and rumbling tongue." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub turned to face him, black eyes hot as he answered with a throaty growl, waving a stubby arm in a slash in LaRoque's direction. The Kanten's trilling reply sent a chill down Jacob's back.\n\nBubbacub swiveled and stamped out of the room without a further word to the humans.\n\nFor a dumbfounded instant, LaRoque said nothing. Then, he looked at Jacob plaintively. \"What is it I did, please?\"\n\nJacob sighed, \"Maybe he doesn't like being called a cousin of yours, LaRoque.\" He turned to Kepler to change the subject. The scientist was staring at the door through which Bubbacub left." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to seamlessly include 'I'd be delighted to, Mr. Demwa.' in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Dr. Kepler, if you haven't any specific data on board, perhaps you could lend me some basic solar physics texts and some background histories on Sundiver itself?\"\n\n\"I'd be delighted to, Mr. Demwa.\" Kepler nodded. \"I'll send them to you by dinner time.\" His mind appeared to be elsewhere.\n\n\"I too!\" LaRoque cried. \"I am an accredited journalist and I demand the background upon your infamous endeavor, Mr. Director!\"\n\nAfter a moment's startlement, Jacob shrugged. Have to hand it to LaRoque. Chutzhpa can be easily mistaken for resiliency." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'kepler' must appear 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler smiled, as if he had not heard. \"I beg your pardon?\"\n\n\"The great conceit! This 'Sundiver Project' of yours, which takes money that could go to the deserts of Earth for reclamation, or to a greater Library for our world!\n\n\"The vanity of this project to study what our betters understood perfectly before we were apes!\"\n\n\"Now see here, sir. The Confederacy has funded this research ...\" Kepler reddened.\n\n\"Research! Ree-search it is. You research for that which is already in the Libraries of the Galaxy, and shame us all by making humans out to be fools!\"\n\n\"LaRoque ...\" Jacob began, but the man wouldn't shut up.\n\n\"And what of your Confederacy! They stuff the Elders into reservations, like the old-time Indians of America! They keep access to the Branch Library out of the hands of the people! They allow continuation of this absurdity that all laugh at us for, this claim of spontaneous intelligence!\"\n\nKepler backed away from LaRoque's vehemence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The color drained out of his face and he stammered.\n\n\"I ... I don't think ...\"\n\n\"LaRoque! Come on, cut it out!\"\n\nJacob grabbed his shoulder and pulled him over to whisper urgently in his ear.\n\n\"Come on man, you don't want to shame us in front of the venerable Kanten Fagin, do you?\"\n\nLaRoque's eyes widened. Over Jacob's shoulder Fagin's upper foliage rustled audibly in agitation. Finally, LaRoque's gaze dropped.\n\nThe second embarrassment must have been enough for him. He mumbled an apology to the alien, and with a parting glare at Kepler, took his leave." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thanks for the special effects, Fagin,\" Jacob said after LaRoque was gone." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was answered by a whistle, short and low." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "human", "value": "At 40 million kilometers, the Sun was a chained hell." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'jacob' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It boiled in black space, no longer the brilliant dot that the children of Earth took for granted and easily, unconsciously, avoided with their eyes. Across millions of miles it pulled. Compulsively, one felt a need to look, but the need was dangerous.\n\nFrom the Bradbury, it had the apparent size of a nickel held a foot away from the eye. The specter was too bright to be endured undiminished. To \"catch a glimpse\" of this orb, as one sometimes did on Earth, would invite blindness. The Captain ordered the ship's stasis screens polarized and the regular viewing ports sealed.\n\nThe Lyot window was unshuttered in the lounge, so that passengers could examine the Lifegiver without injury.\n\nJacob paused in front of the round window in a late night pilgrimage to the coffee machine, half awake from a fitful sleep in his tiny stateroom. For minutes he stared, blank faced, still only half conscious, until a lisping voice roused him.\n\n\"Dish ish the way your shun looksh from the Aphelion of the orbit of Mercury, Jacob.\"\n\nCulla sat at one of the card tables in the dimly lit lounge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Just behind the alien, above a row of vending machines, a wall clock read \"04:30\" in glowing numbers.\n\nJacob's sleepy voice was thick in his throat. \"Have ... um, ... are we that close already?\"\n\nCulla nodded. \"Yesh.\"\n\nThe alien's lip grinders were tucked away. His big folded lips pursed and let out a whistle each time he tried to pronounce an English long \"s.\" In the dim light his eyes reflected a red glow from the viewing window.\n\n\"We have only two more days until we arrive,\" the alien said. His arms were crossed on the table in front of him. The loose folds of his silver gown covered half of the surface.\n\nJacob, swaying slightly, turned to glance back at the port. The solar orb wavered before his eyes.\n\n\"Are you all right?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "the Pring asked anxiously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He started to rise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No. No, please.\" Jacob held up his hand. \"I'm just groggy. Not 'nuff sleep. Need coffee.\"\n\nHe shambled toward the vending machines, but halfway there he stopped, turned, and peered again at the image of the furnace-sun.\n\n\"It's red!\" he grunted in surprise.\n\n\"Shall I tell you why while you get your coffee?\" Culla asked.\n\n\"Yes. Please.\" Jacob turned back to the dark row of food and beverage dispensers, looking for a coffee spout.\n\n\"The Lyot window only allowsh in light in monochromatic form,\" Culla said. \"It ish made of many round platesh; some polarizersh and some light retardersh. They are rotated with reshpect to one another to finely tune which wavelength ish allowed through.\n\n\"Itsh a most delicate and ingenioush device, although quite obsholete by Galactic standarsh ... like one of the 'Shwiss' watchesh some humansh shtill wear in an age of electronicsh. When your people become adept with the Library such ... Rube Goldbersh? ... will be archaic.\"\n\nJacob bent forward to peer at the nearest machine, It looked like a coffee machine. There was a transparent panel door, and behind that a little platform with a metal grill drain at the bottom. Now, if he pushed the right button, a disposable cup should drop onto the platform and then, from some mechanical artery would pour a stream of the bitter black beverage he wanted." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'jacob' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As Culla's voice droned on in his ears, Jacob made polite sounds. \"Uh, huh ... yes, I see.\"\n\nAt the far left, one of the buttons was lit with a green light. On impulse, he pressed it.\n\nHe watched the machine blearily. Now! That was a buzz and a click! There's the cup! Now ... what the hell?\n\nA large yellow and green pill fell into the cup.\n\nJacob lifted the panel and took out the cup. A second later a stream of hot liquid spilled through the empty space where the cup had been, disappearing in the drain below.\n\nDubiously, he glowered down at the pill. Whatever it was, it wasn't coffee." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He rubbed his eyes with his left wrist, one at a time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he sent an accusing glance at the button he'd pressed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That button had a label, he now saw. It read \"E.T. Nutrient Synthesis.\" Below the label a computer card stuck out from a data slot. The words \"Pring: Dietary Supplement—Coumarin Protein Complex\" were printed along the protruding end.\n\nJacob looked quickly at Culla. The alien continued his explanation while he faced the Lyot window. Culla waved one arm toward the Sun's Dantean brilliance to emphasize a point.\n\n\"Thish ish now the red alpha line of Hydrogen,\" he said. \"A very useful shpectral line. Inshtead of being overwhelmed by huge amountsh of random light from all levelsh of the Shun, we can now look at only those regions where elemental Hydrogen absorbsh or emitsh more than normal ...\"\n\nCulla pointed to the Sun's mottled surface. It was covered with dark reddish speckles and feathery arches.\n\nJacob had read about them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The feathery arches were \"filaments.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Viewed against space, at the solar limb, they were the prominences that had been seen since the first time a telescope was used during an eclipse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla apparently was explaining the way these objects were viewed head-on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob considered. Throughout the voyage from Earth, Culla had refrained from eating his meals with the others. All he would do is sip an occasional vodka or beer with a straw. Although he had given no reasons, Jacob could only assume that the being had some cultural inhibition against eating in public.\n\nCome to think of it, he thought, with those mashies for teeth it could get a little messy. Apparently I've barged in while he's having breakfast and he's too polite to mention it.\n\nHe glanced at the tablet which still lay in the cup in his hand. He dropped the pill into his jacket pocket and crumpled the cup into a nearby trash bin.\n\nNow he could see the button which was labeled \"Coffee-Black.\" He smiled ruefully. Maybe it would be best to skip the coffee and not run the risk of offending Culla. Although the E.T. had made no objections, he had kept his back turned while Jacob visited the food and beverage machines.\n\nCulla looked up as Jacob approached. He opened his mouth slightly and for an instant the human caught a glimpse of white porcelain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you lesh ... groggy, now?\" the alien asked solicitously.\n\n\"Yesh, uh yes, thanks ... thanks also for the explanation. I always thought of the Sun as a pretty smooth place ... except for Sunspots and prominences. But I guess it's actually pretty complicated.\"\n\nCulla nodded. \"Doctor Kepler ish the expert. You will get a better explanation from him when you go on a dive wid ush.\"\n\nJacob smiled politely. How carefully these Galactic Emissaries were trained! When Culla nodded, was the gesture personally meaningful? Or was it something he had been taught to do at certain times and places around humans?\n\nDive with us! ?\n\nHe decided not to ask Culla to repeat the remark.\n\nBetter not to press my luck, he thought.\n\nHe started to yawn. Just in time he remembered to stifle it behind his hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No telling what a similar gesture would mean on the Pring home planet!" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, Culla, I think I'm going to go back to my room and try for a little more sleep. Thanks for the talk.\"\n\n\"You are mosht entirely welcome, Jacob. Good night.\"\n\nHe shuffled down the hall and barely made it to bed before he was fast asleep." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\n8 sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A soft, pearly light suffused through the ports, illuminating the faces of those who watched Mercury glide beneath the descending ship.\n\nAlmost everyone who did not have a duty to perform was in the lounge, held to the row of viewing windows by the planet's terrible beauty. Voices were hushed, and conversations settled into small groups gathered around each port. For the most part the only sound was a faint crackling which Jacob couldn't identify.\n\nThe surface of the planet was gouged and scratched with craters and long rills. The shadows cast by the mountains of Mercury were vacuum sharp in their blackness, set against bright silvers and browns. In many ways the place resembled the Earth's moon.\n\nThere were differences. In one area a whole piece had been torn off in some ancient cataclysm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The scar made a deep series of grooves on the side that faced the Sun." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 6 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The terminator ran starkly along the edge of the indention, a sharp borderline of day and night.\n\nDown there, in places where shadow did not fall, a rain of seven different types of fire fell. Protons, x-rays spun off from the planet's magnetosphere and the simple blinding sunshine itself mixed with other deadly things to make the surface of Mercury as unlike the moon as anyplace could be.\n\nIt seemed like a place where one could find ghosts. A purgatory.\n\nHe remembered a line from an ancient pre-Haiku Japanese poem that he had read only a month before:\n\nMore sad thoughts crowd into my mind" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\n8 sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When evening comes; for then,\n\nAppears your phantom shape—\n\nSpeaking as I have known you speak.\n\n\"Did you say something?\"\n\nJacob started from the mild trance and saw Dwayne Kepler standing next to him.\n\n\"No, nothing much. Here's your jacket.\" He handed the folded garment to Kepler, who took it with a grin.\n\n\"Sorry, but biology strikes at the most unromantic times. In real life space travelers have to go to the bathroom too. Bubbacub seems to find this velour fabric irresistible. Every time I put my jacket down to do something I come back to find that he's gone to sleep on it. I'm going to have to purchase some for him when we get back to Earth. Now what were we talking about before I left?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Work this phrase into your response organically: \"It's very close to the North Pole, and underneath it is the network of caves that makes Hermes Base possible.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob pointed down at the surface below. \"I was just thinking ... now I understand why astronauts call the moon 'The Playpen.' You certainly have to be more cautious here.\"\n\nKepler nodded. \"Yes, but it's a whole lot better than working on some stupid 'make-work' project at home!\" Kepler paused for a moment, as if he were about to go on to say something scathing. But the passion leaked away before he could continue. He turned to the port and gestured at the view below. \"The early observers, Antoniodi and Schiaparelli, called this area Charit Regio. That huge ancient crater over there is Goethe.\" He pointed to a jumble of darker material in a bright plain, \"It's very close to the North Pole, and underneath it is the network of caves that makes Hermes Base possible.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler was the perfect picture, now, of the dignified scholarly gentleman, except for the times when one end or the other of his long sandy-colored moustache was in his mouth. His nervousness appeared to ease as they approached Mercury and the Sundiver Base where he was boss.\n\nBut at times during the trip, particularly when a conversation turned to uplift or the Library, Kepler's face took on the expression of a man with a great deal to say and no way to say it. It was a nervous, embarrassed look, as if he were afraid of expressing his opinions out of fear of rebuke.\n\nAfter some pondering, Jacob thought he knew part of the reason. Although the Sundiver chief had said nothing explicit to give himself away, Jacob was convinced that Dwayne Kepler was religious.\n\nIn the midst of the Shirt-Skin controversy and Contact with extraterrestrials, organized religion had been torn apart.\n\nThe Danikenites proselytized their faith in some great (but not omnipotent) race of beings that had intervened in man's development and might do so again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The followers of the Neolithic Ethic preached the palpable presence of the \"spirit of man.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And the mere existence of thousands of space-traveling races, few professing anything similar to the tenets of the old faiths of earth, did grievous harm to concepts of an all-powerful, anthropomorphic God.\n\nMost of the formal creeds had either co-opted one side or another in the Shirt-Skin conflict or devolved into philosophical theism. The armies of the faithful had mostly flocked to other banners, and those who remained were quiet amid all of the uproar.\n\nJacob had often wondered if they were waiting for a Sign.\n\nIf Kepler were a Believer, it would explain some of his caution. There was enough unemployment among scientists these days. Kepler wouldn't want to risk adding his own name to the rolls by getting a reputation as a fanatic.\n\nJacob thought it a shame that the man felt that way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It would have been interesting to hear his views." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But he respected Kepler's obvious wish for privacy in that area.\n\nWhat attracted Jacob's professional interest was the way in which the isolation might have contributed to Kepler's mental problems. Something more than just a philosophical quandary was at work in the man's mind, something that now and then impaired his effectiveness as a leader and his self-confidence as a scientist.\n\nMartine, the psychologist, was often with Kepler, reminding him regularly to take his medication from the vials of diverse, multicolored pills that he carried in his pockets.\n\nJacob felt old habits coming back, undulled by recent quiet months at the Center for Uplift. He wanted to know what those pills were, almost as much as he wished to know what Mildred Martine's real job was on Sundiver.\n\nMartine was still an enigma to Jacob. In all of their conversations aboard ship he failed to penetrate the woman's damnable friendly detachment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her amused condescension toward him was just as pronounced as Dr. Kepler's exaggerated confidence in him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The dark woman's thoughts were elsewhere.\n\nMartine and LaRoque hardly glanced out their port. Instead, Martine was talking about her research into the effects of color and glare on psychotic behavior. Jacob had heard about this at the Ensenada meeting. One of the first things Martine had done on joining Sundiver was to have environmental psychogenic effects brought to a minimum, in case the \"phenomena\" turned out to be a stress-illusion.\n\nHer friendship with LaRoque had grown over the trip out as she listened, rapt, to story after contradicting story about lost civilizations and ancient visitors to Earth. LaRoque responded to the attention by calling up the eloquence for which he was famous. Several times their private conversations in the lounge had gathered crowds." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob listened in a couple of times, himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque could evoke a great deal of sensitivity when he tried.\n\nStill Jacob felt less comfortable around the man than he did with any of the other passengers. He preferred the company of more straightforward beings, such as Culla. Jacob had come to like the alien. Notwithstanding the huge complex eyes and incredible dental work, the Pring had tastes akin to his on a wide range of subjects.\n\nCulla had been full of ingenuous questions about Earth and humans, most of all regarding the way humans treated their client races. When he learned that Jacob had actually participated in the project to raise chimpanzees, dolphins and, recently, dogs and gorillas, to full sapiency, he began to treat Jacob with even more respect.\n\nCulla never once referred to Earth's technology as archaic or obsolete, although everyone knew that it was unique in the galaxy for its quaintness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No other race in living memory had, after all, had to invent everything itself from ground zero." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Library saw to that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla was enthusiastic about the benefits the Library would bring to his human and chimpanzee friends." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Once, the E.T. followed Jacob into the ship's gymnasium and watched, with those huge red disc oculars, as Jacob went into one of his marathon conditioning sessions, one of several during the trip out from Earth. During rests Jacob found that the Pring had already learned the art of telling off-color jokes. The Pring race must have similar sexual mores to those of contemporary humanity, for the punch line \"... now we're only haggling over the price,\" seemed to have the same meaning for both.\n\nIt was the jokes more than anything else that made Jacob realize how very far away from home the slender Pring diplomat was. He wondered if Culla was as lonely as he would be in that situation.\n\nIn their subsequent discussion of whether Tuborg or L-5 was the best brand of beer, Jacob had to struggle to remember that this was an alien, not a lisping, overly polite human being. But the lesson had been brought home when, in the course of a conversation, they found themselves separated by a sudden, unbridgeable gap.\n\nJacob had told a story about Earth's old class struggles that Culla failed to understand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tried to illustrate the point of it with a Chinese proverb: \"A peasant always hangs himself in his landlord's doorway.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alien's eyes suddenly became bright and Jacob for the first time heard an agitated clacking coming from Culla's mouth Jacob had stared for a moment, then moved quickly to change the subject.\n\nAll things considered, however, Culla had the closest thing to a human sense of humor of any extraterrestrial he had met. Fagin excepted, of course.\n\nNow, as they approached the landing, the Pring stood silently near his Patron—his expression, and Bubbacub's, once again unreadable.\n\nKepler tapped him gently on the arm. The scientist pointed at the port. \"Pretty soon, now, the Captain will tighten up the Stasis Screens and begin to cut down the rate at which she lets space-time leak in. You'll find the effects interesting.\"\n\n\"I thought the ship sort of let the fabric of space slip past it, like riding a surfboard into a beach.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler smiled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, Mr. Demwa. That's a common fallacy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Space-surfing is just a phrase used by popularizers. When I speak of space-time I'm not talking about a 'fabric.' Space is not a material.\n\n\"Actually, as we approach a planetary singularity—a distortion in space caused by a planet—we must adopt a constantly changing metric, or set of parameters by which we measure space and time. It's as if nature wants us to gradually change the length of our meter sticks and the pace of our clocks whenever we get close to a mass.\"\n\n\"I take it the Captain is controlling our approach by allowing this change to take place slowly?\"\n\n\"Exactly right! In the old days, of course, the adaptation was more violent. One adapted one's metric either by braking continuously with rockets until touchdown, or by crashing into the planet. Now we just roll up excess metric like a bolt of cloth in stasis. Ah! There goes that 'material' analogy again!\"\n\nKepler grinned.\n\n\"One of the useful by-products of this is commercial grade neutronium, but the main purpose is to get us down safely.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So when we finally start stuffing space into a bag, what will we see?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler pointed to the port.\n\n\"You can see it happening now.\"\n\nOutside, the stars were going out. The tremendous spray of bright pinpoints which even the darkened screens had let through slowly faded as they watched. Soon only a few were left, weak and ochre colored against the blackness.\n\nThe planet below changed as well.\n\nThe light reflected from Mercury's surface was no longer hot and brittle. It took on an orange tint." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The surface was quite dark now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And it was getting closer, too." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly, but visibly, the horizon flattened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Surface objects only barely discerned earlier came into focus as the Bradbury settled lower." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Large craters opened up to show smaller craters within. As the ship descended past the ragged edge of one of these, Jacob saw it too was covered with still smaller pits, each similar in shape to the larger ones.\n\nThe tiny planet's horizon disappeared behind a range of mountains, and Jacob lost all perspective. With every minute of descent the ground below looked the same. How could you tell how high up you were? Is that thing just below us a mountain, or a boulder, or are we going to touch down in just a second or two and is it just a rock?\n\nHe sensed nearness. The gray shadows and orange outcrops seemed close enough to touch.\n\nExpecting the ship to come to rest at any moment, he was surprised when a hole in the ground rushed up to engulf them." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 9 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they prepared to disembark, Jacob remembered with a shock what he had been doing when he slipped into a light trance earlier, holding Kepler's jacket during the descent.\n\nSurreptitiously, and with great skill, he had picked Kepler's pockets, taking a sample of every medication and removing a small pencil stub without smudging the fingerprints. They made a neat lump in Jacob's side pocket now, too small to stand out against the taper of his jacket.\n\nSo it's started already, he groaned.\n\nJacob's jaw tightened.\n\nThis time, he thought, I'm going to solve it myself! I don't need help from my alter ego. I'm not going to go around breaking and entering!\n\nHe struck his balled fist against his thigh to drive out the itchy, satisfied feeling in his fingers." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like David Brin would. btw might have existing characters/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Dr. Martine left her quarters and took service corridors to the E.T. Environments Section, she thought of herself as using discretion, not stealth. Pipes and communications cables clung, stapled, to the rough unfinished walls. The Hermetian stone glistened with condensation and gave off an odor of wet rock as her footsteps rang down the fused path ahead of her.\n\nShe arrived at a pressure-sealed door with a green overhead light, the back entrance to one alien's residence. When she pressed the sensing cell next to it, the door opened immediately.\n\nA bright, greenish-tinted light spilled out—the reproduced sunshine of a star many parsecs distant. She shielded her eyes with one hand while with the other she took a pair of sunglasses from her hip pouch, and put them on to look into the room.\n\nOn the walls she saw spiderweb tapestries of hanging gardens and of an alien city set on the edge of a mountain scarp. The city clung to the jagged cliff, shimmering as if viewed through a waterfall. Dr. Martine thought she could almost hear high pitched music, keening just above her aural range." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could that explain the shortness of her breath? Her jittery nerves?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'library' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub rose from a cushioned pallet to greet her. His gray fur shone as he waddled forward on stubby legs. In the actinic light and one point five g-field of his apartment, Bubbacub lost whatever \"cuteness\" Martine had seen in him before. The Pil's bowlegged stance spoke strength.\n\nThe alien's mouth moved in short snaps. His voice, coming from the Vodor which hung from his neck, was smooth and resonant, although the words came clipped and separated.\n\n\"Good. Glad you come.\"\n\nMartine was relieved. The Library Representative sounded relaxed. She bowed slightly.\n\n\"Greeting, Pil Bubbacub. I came to ask if you have had any further word from the Branch Library.\"\n\nBubbacub displayed a mouth full of needle sharp teeth. \"Come in and sit. Yes, good that you ask. I have a new fact. But come. Have food, drink first.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'martine' should appear 3 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine grimaced as she passed through the g-transition field of the threshold—always a disconcerting experience. Inside the room she felt as though she weighed seventy kilos.\n\n\"No. Thank you, I just ate. I will sit.\" She selected a chair built for humans and carefully lowered herself into it. Seventy kilos was more than a person should weigh!\n\nThe Pil sprawled back on his cushion across from her, his ursine head barely above the level of his feet. He regarded her with small black eyes.\n\n\"I have heard from La Paz by ma-ser. They say no thing on Sun Ghosts. No thing at all. It may not be se-man-tics at all. It may be the Branch is too small. It is small, small branch, as I saided. But some Hu-man Off-ic-ials will make much of the lack of a re-fer-ence.\"\n\nMartine shrugged. \"I wouldn't worry about it. This will only go to show that too little effort has been spent on the Library project. A bigger branch, like my group has been lobbying for all along, would surely have had results.\"\n\n\"I sended for da-ta from Pil-a by time drop. There can be no con-fu-sion at a Main Branch!\"\n\n\"That's good,\" Martine nodded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's bothering me, though, is what Dwayne is going to do during this delay. He's bubbling over with half cracked notions about how to communicate with the Ghosts. I'm afraid that in his stumbling around down there, he'll find some way of offending the psi-creatures so badly that all of the Library's wisdom won't patch things up. It's vital that Earth have good relations with its nearest neighbors!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub raised his head slightly and placed a short arm behind it. \"You are mak-ing efforts to cure Dr. Kep-ler?\"\n\n\"Of course,\" she replied, stiffly. \"Actually, I'm having trouble seeing how he escaped Probation all of this time. Dwayne's mind is full of chaos, though I'll admit his P-score is within the acceptance curves. He had a tachisto test on Earth.\n\n\"I think I've got him pretty well stabilized, now. But what's driving me crazy is trying to figure out what his basic problem is. His manic depressive swings resemble the 'glare madness' of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, when society was almost wrecked by the psychic effects of environmental noise. It nearly tore apart industrial culture when it was at its peak and led to the period of repression people today euphemistically call 'the Bureaucracy.' \"\n\n\"Yes. I have readed of your race-es at-tempt at sui-cide. It seem to me that the time af-ter, of which you just spoke, was time of order and peace. But that not my af-fair. You are luck-y to be in-comp-e-tent even at sui-cide.\n\n\"But do not stray. What of Kep-ler?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Pil's voice did not rise at the end of his question, but there was something he did with his snout ... a curling of the folds that served instead of lips ... that told when he was asking, no, demanding an answer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It sent a shiver down Dr. Martine's spine.\n\nHe's so arrogant, she thought. And everyone else seems to think it's just a quirk of personality. Can they be blind to the power and the threat that this creature's presence on Earth represents?\n\nIn their culture shock, they see a little manlike bear. Cute, even! Are my boss and his friends on the Confederacy Council the only ones who recognize a demon from outer space when they see one?\n\nAnd somehow it's up to me to find out what it will take to propitiate the demon, while I keep Dwayne from shooting off his mouth, and try to be the one to come up with a sensible way to contact the Sun Ghosts! Ifni, help your sister!\n\nBubbacub was still waiting for an answer.\n\n\"W-well, I do know that Dwayne is determined to crack the Sun Ghost's secret without extraterrestrial help. Some of his crew are downright radical about it. I won't go so far as to say that any of them are Skins, but their pride is running pretty stiff.\"\n\n\"Can you keep him from do-ing rash things?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub said. \"He has broughted in ran-dom elements.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Like inviting Fagin and his friend Demwa? They seem to be harmless. Demwa's experience with dolphins gives him a distant but plausible chance to be useful. And Fagin has a knack for getting along with alien races. The important thing is that Dwayne has someone to spill out his paranoid fantasies to. I'll talk to Demwa and ask him to be sympathetic.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub sat up in a momentary writhing of arms and legs. He settled into a new position and looked straight into Martine's eyes.\n\n\"I do not care about them. Fa-gin is a pass-ive ro-man-tic. Dem-wa looks like a fool. Like any friend of Fa-gin's.\n\n\"No, I care more a-bout the two who now cause trouble on the base. I did not know, when I came, that there was a chimp here who was made part of the staff. He and the journ-al-ist have been all claws since we hit dirt. The journ-al-ist is snubbed by the base crew and he makes lot of noise. And the Chip keeps at Cul-la all time ... trying to 'lib-er-ate' him, so ...\"\n\n\"Has Culla been disobedient? I thought his indenture was only ...\"\n\nBubbacub leapt from his seat, pointy teeth bared in a hiss.\n\n\"Do not interrupt, human!\" Bubbacub's real voice became audible for the first time in Martine's memory, a high pitched squeak, above the roar of the Vodor, that hurt her ears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment, Martine was too stunned to move." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub's taut stance began to relax by degrees. In a minute the stiff brush of fur was almost smooth again.\n\n\"I apo-log-ize, human-Mar-tine. I should not fluff-up to such minor breach by one of mere in-fant race.\"\n\nMartine let her breath out, trying not to make a sound.\n\nBubbacub sat once again. \"To answer your question, no, Cul-la not out of place. He does know his species will be in-den-tured to mine by Paren-tal right for long time.\n\n\"Still, It bad that this Doc-tor Jeffrey does push this myth of rights without duties. You humans must learn to keep your pets in line, for it on-ly by good grace of we old ones that they are called cli-ent sophonts at all.\n\n\"And if they not be sophonts, where would you be, hu-man?\"\n\nBubbacub's teeth shone brightly for a moment then he closed his mouth with a snap.\n\nMartine felt very dry in the throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She chose her words carefully." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 7 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sorry about any offense you may have taken, Pil Bubbacub. I will speak to Dwayne and maybe he can get Jeffrey to ease off.\"\n\n\"And the journ-al-ist?\"\n\n\"Yes, I'll talk to Pierre also. I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm. He won't cause any more trouble.\"\n\n\"That would be well,\" Bubbacub's voicebox said softly. He allowed his stocky body to settle once more into a slouch.\n\n\"We have great com-mon goals, you and I. I hope we can work as one. But know this: our means may dif-fer. Please do what you can or I be forced to, as you say, kill two birds with one stone.\"\n\nMartine nodded again, weakly." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "STORY CONTINUATION:\nLength: 1 sentence\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob let his mind wander as LaRoque launched into one of his expositions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At any rate, the little man was now more interested in impressing Fagin than in winning any points with Jacob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wondered if it would be sinful anthropomorphizing to pity the E.T." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "for having to listen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The three rode in a small car that moved through tunnels laterally as well as up and down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two of Fagin's root-pods gripped a low rail that ran a few centimeters off the floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two humans held onto another that circuited the car higher up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob listened with half an ear as the car glided on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque still bearded a topic he started back aboard the Bradbury: that the missing Patrons of Earth ... those mythical beings who supposedly began the Uplift of man thousands of years ago, and then gave it up halfway finished ... were somehow associated with the Sun." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque thought the Sun Ghosts themselves might be that race." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then you have all of the references in the religions of Earth. Almost in every one the Sun is something holy! It is one of the common threads that runs through all cultures!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque made an expansive gesture with his arms, as if to encompass the scope of his idea." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It makes so much sense,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It would also explain why it is so difficult for the Library to trace our ancestry. Surely solar-type races have been known before.... That is why this 'research' is so stupid. But they are undoubtedly rare and no one has yet thought to feed the Library this correlation which could solve two problems at once!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The trouble was that the idea was so damned hard to refute." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob sighed inwardly. Of course many primitive Earth civilizations once had Sun cults." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Sun was so obviously the source of heat and light and life, a thing of miraculous power!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It must be a common stage for a primitive people to pass through, to see animate properties in their star." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And there was the problem." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The galaxy had few \"primitive peoples\" to compare to the human experience; mostly animals, pre-sentient hunter-gatherers (or analogous types), and fully uplifted sophont races." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hardly ever did an \"in-between\" case like man show up—apparently abandoned by its patron without the training to make its new sapiency work." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In such rare cases the newly potent minds were known to burst free of their ecological niche." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They invented strange mockeries of science—bizarre rules of cause and effect, superstition and myth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without the guiding hand of a patron, such \"wolfling\" races seldom lasted long." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Humanity's current notoriety was partly due to its survival." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The very lack of any other species with similar experience to compare with made generalizations easy to form and hard to refute." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Since there were no other examples of species-wide indulgence in Sun-worship known to the small Branch in La Paz." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque could maintain that those traditions of humanity recalled the Uplift that was never finished." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob half listened for a moment longer just in case LaRoque said anything new." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But mostly he let his mind drift." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been a long two days since the landing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had had to get used to traversing from parts of the base that were gravity tuned to others in which the feathery pull of Mercury prevailed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were many introductions to Base personnel, most of whose names he immediately forgot." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then Kepler had assigned someone to take him to his quarters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chief physician at Hermes Base turned out to be a Dolphin-Uplift bug." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was only too happy to examine Kepler's prescriptions, expressing mystification that there were so many." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Afterwards he insisted on throwing a party at which everyone in the medical department, it seemed, wanted to ask questions about Makakai." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Between toasts, that is." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For that matter there weren't all that many questions after all." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob's mind moved a little slowly as the car came to rest and the doors slid open to the huge underground cavern where the Sunships were serviced and stored." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, for a fleeting moment, it seemed that space itself was bending out of shape, and, worse yet, there was two of everybody!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The opposite wall of the Cavern seemed to bulge forward, up to a rounded bulb only a few meters away, directly across from him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There, where it was closest, stood a Kanten two and a half meters high, a small red-faced human, and a tall, stocky, dark complexioned man who stared back at him with one of the stupidest expressions he'd ever seen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob suddenly realized that he was looking at the hull of a Sunship, the most perfect mirror in the solar system." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The amazed man opposite him, with the obvious hangover, was his own reflection." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The twenty-meter spherical ship was so good a mirror that it was difficult to define its shape." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Only by noting the sharp discontinuity of the edge and the way reflected images swept away in an arc could he focus his eyes on something to be interpreted as a real object at all." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Very pretty,\" LaRoque admitted grudgingly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lovely, brave, misguided crystal.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He lifted his tiny camera-recorder and scanned it left to right." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Most impressive,\" Fagin added." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yeah, Jacob thought. And big as houses, also." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Large as the ship was, the Cavern made it seem insignificant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rough, rocky ceiling arched high overhead, disappearing in a misty fog of condensation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Where they stood it was rather narrow, but it stretched to the right for a kilometer, at least, before curving out of sight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They stood on a platform which brought them even with the equator of the ship, above the working floor of the hangar." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A small crowd stood down below, dwarfed by the silvery sphere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Two hundred meters to the left stood a pair of massive vacuum doors, easily a hundred and fifty meters broad." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Those, Jacob supposed, were part of the airlock that led, by tunnel, to the unfriendly surface of Mercury, where the giant interplanetary ships, such as the Bradbury, rested in huge natural caves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A ramp led down from the platform to the cavern floor below." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At the bottom Kepler spoke with three men in overalls." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla stood not far away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His companion was a well-dressed chimpanzee who sported a monocle and stood on a chair to get even with Culla's eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chimp jumped up and down with flexed knees and set the chair shivering." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tapped furiously at an instrument on his chest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Pring diplomat watched with an expression that Jacob had learned to interpret as one of friendly respect." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But there was something else in Culla's stance that surprised him ... an indolence, a looseness of posture, before the chimpanzee, that he had never seen the E.T." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "display in talking to a human or Kanten or Cynthian or, especially, a Pil." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler greeted Fagin first then turned to Jacob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Glad you could make the tour, Mr. Demwa.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler shook his hand with a firmness that surprised Jacob, then called the chimpanzee over to his side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This is Dr. Jeffrey, the first of his species to become a full member of a space research team, and one helluva fine worker. It's his ship that we'll be touring.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey smiled with the wry, unhinged grin characteristic of the superchimp species." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'changes' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two centuries of genetic engineering had wrought changes in the skull and pelvic arch, changes modeled on the human form, as it was the easiest to duplicate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked like a very fuzzy, short brown man with long arms and huge buck teeth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Another bit of engineering became evident when Jacob shook his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chimpanzee's fully opposable thumb pressed hard, as if to remind Jacob that it was there, the Mark of a man." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Where Bubbacub carried his Vodor, Jeffrey wore a device with black horizontal keys left and right." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the middle was a blank screen about twenty centimeters by ten." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The superchimp bowed and his fingers flew over the keys." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bright letters appeared on the screen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I AM HAPPY TO MEET YOU." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DOCTOR KEPLER TELLS ME YOU'RE ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob laughed. \"Well thanks a lot, Jeff. I try to be, though I still don't know what it is I'm going to be asked to do!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey gave the familiar shrieking chimpanzee laugh; then, for the first time, he spoke." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You will find out ssooon!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was almost a croak, but Jacob was amazed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Speech was still almost impossibly painful for this generation of superchimp, but Jeff's words came out very clear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dr. Jeffrey will take this, our newest Sunship, out on a dive shortly after we finish our tour,\" Kepler said. \"Just as soon as Commandant deSilva returns from reconnaissance in our other ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm sorry the Commandant wasn't here to meet us when we arrived on the Bradbury. And now it seems that Jeff will be gone while we hold our briefings. It'll add a dramatic touch, though, to get his first report just about the time we finish tomorrow afternoon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler started to turn toward the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Any introductions I've forgotten? Jeff, I know you've met Kant Fagin earlier. Pil Bubbacub appears to have declined our invitation. Have you met Mr. LaRoque?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chimp's lips curled back in an expression of disgust." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He snorted once and turned away to look at his own reflection in the Sunship." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque glared with hot-faced embarrassment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob had to hold back a laugh." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No wonder the superchimps were called chips!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For once, someone with less tact than LaRoque!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The encounter between the two in the Refectory last night was already legend." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was sorry he'd missed it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla laid a slender, six-fingered hand on Jeffrey's sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Come, Friend-Jeffrey. Let ush show Mishter Demwa and hish friends your ship.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chimp glanced sullenly at LaRoque then looked back at Culla and Jacob, and broke into a wide grin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He took one of Jacob's hands and one of Culla's and pulled them toward the entrance to the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the party reached the top of the other ramp they came to a short bridge that crossed a gap into the interior of the mirrored globe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It took a moment for Jacob's eyes to adjust to the dark." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he saw a flat deck which stretched from one end of the ship to the other." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It floated, a circular disk of dark springy material, at the equator of the ship." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The only breaks in the flat surface were a half dozen or so acceleration couches, set flush with the deck at intervals around its perimeter, some with modest instrument panels, and a dome of seven meters diameter at the exact center." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler knelt by a control panel and touched a switch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wall of the ship became semi-transparent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dimly, light from the cavern came in from all sides to illuminate the interior." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler explained that interior lighting was kept to a minimum to prevent internal reflections along the inner surface of the spherical shell, which might confuse both equipment and crew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inside the nearly perfect shell, the Sunship was like a solid model of the planet Saturn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The wide deck made up the \"ring.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The \"planet\" protruded above and below the deck in two hemispheres." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The upper hemisphere, which Jacob could see now, had several hatches and cabinets breaking its surface." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He knew from his reading that the central sphere contained all of the machinery that ran the ship, including the timeflow controller, the gravity generator, and the refrigerator laser." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob walked to the edge of the deck." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It floated on a field of force, four or five feet away from the curving hull, which arched high overhead with a curious lack of highlights or shadows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned as his name was called." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tour group stood by a door in the side of the dome." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler waved for him to join them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We'll inspect the instrument hemisphere now. We call it 'flip-side.' Watch your step, it's a gravity arc so don't be too surprised.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the doorway, Jacob stood aside to let Fagin pass, but the E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "indicated that he would rather stay above." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A seven-foot tall Kanten in a seven-foot hatch wouldn't be too comfortable at that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He followed Kepler inside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And tried to duck out of the way!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler was above him, climbing a path that mounded just ahead, like part of a hill enclosed in bulkheads." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked like he was about to fall over, judging from the angle of his body." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob couldn't see how the scientist could keep his balance!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But Kepler kept walking up and over the elliptical path and disappeared over the short horizon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob put his hand on the bulkheads to either side and took a tentative step." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He felt no lack of balance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His other foot moved forward again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still perfectly upright. Another step. He looked back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The doorway tilted toward him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Apparently the dome enclosed a pseudo-gravity field so tight that it could be wrapped around a mere few yards." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The field was so smooth and complete that it fooled his inner ear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of the workmen stood in the hatch grinning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob set his jaw and continued over the loop, trying not to think of himself as slowly turning upside down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He examined the signs on access plates on the walls and floor of his path." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Halfway around he passed over a hatch with the words TIME-COMPRESSION ACCESS inscribed on it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The ellipse ended in a gentle slope." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob felt right-side-up when he got to the doorway and he knew what to expect, but even so he groaned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh no!\" He brought his hands to his eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A few meters over his head the floor of the hangar stretched away in all directions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Men walked around the ship's cradle like flies on a ceiling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With a resigned sigh he walked out to join Kepler where the scientist stood at the edge of the deck, peering into the guts of a complicated machine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler looked up and smiled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was just exercising a boss's privilege to poke and pry. Of course the ship has been fully checked out by now, but I like to look things over.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He patted the machine affectionately." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler led Jacob to the edge of the deck, where the upside-down effect was even more pronounced." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The foggy ceiling of the cavern was visible far \"below\" their feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This is one of the multi-polarization cameras we set up soon after we first saw the Coherent Light Ghosts.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler pointed to one of several identical machines that stood at intervals along the rim." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We were able to pick the Ghosts out from the jumbled light levels in the chromosphere because, no matter how the plane of polarization migrated, we were able to track it and show that the coherency of the light was real and stable with time.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why are all of the cameras down here? I didn't see any up above.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We found that live observers and machines interfered with each other when they rode on the same plane." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For this and other reasons the instruments line the edge of the plane down here, and us chickens ride on the other half." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We can accommodate both, you see, by orienting the ship so the edge of the deck is aligned toward the phenomenon we wish to observe. It turned out to be an excellent compromise; since gravity is no problem, we can tilt in any angle and we can arrange for the point-of-view of both sentient and mechanical observers to be the same for later comparison.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob tried to imagine the ship, tipped at some angle and tossed about in the storms of the Sun's atmosphere, while passengers and crew calmly watched." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We've had a bit of trouble with this arrangement lately,\" Kepler went on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This newer, smaller ship Jeff will take down has had some modifications, so soon we hope.... Ah! here come some friends ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla and Jeffrey emerged from the doorway, the chimp's half simian, half human face contorted in disdain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tapped at the chest display." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"LR SICK. NAUSEOUS GOING OVER RAMP. SHIRTED BASTARD.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla spoke softly to the chimp." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob could barely overhear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shpeak with reshpect, Friend-Jeff. Mr. LaRoque ish human.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Incensed, Jeffrey tapped out with frequent misspellings, that he had as much respect as the next chimp, but that he wasn't about to toady up to any particular human, especially one who had no part in his species' Uplift." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DO YOU REALLY HAV TO TAKE CRAP FROM BUBBACUB JUST BECAUS HIS ANCESTORS DID YOURS A FAVOR HALF A MILLION YEARS AGO?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Pring's eyes glowed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a flash of white between the thick lips." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Please, Friend-Jeff, I know you mean well, but Bubbacub ish my Patron. Humansh have given your race freedom. My race must sherve. It ish the way of the world.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jeffrey sniffed. \"We'll see,\" he croaked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler took Jeffrey aside, asking Culla to show Jacob around." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla led Jacob to the other side of the hemisphere to show him the machine that allowed the ship to navigate like a bathysphere in the semi-fluid plasma of the solar atmosphere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He removed several panels to show Jacob the holographic memory units." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Stasis Generator controlled the flow of time and space through the body of the Sunship, so that the violent tossing of the chromosphere would seem a gentle rocking to those inside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The fundamental physics of the generator was still only partly understood by the scientists of Earth, though the government insisted that it be built by human hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla's eyes glowed and his lisping voice revealed pride in the new technologies brought to Earth by the Library." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The logic banks controlling the generator looked like a jumble of glassy filaments." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla explained that the rods and fibers stored optical information far more densely than any previous Earth technology, and responded more quickly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blue interference patterns ran up and down the nearest rod, as they watched, flickering packets of lambient data." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It seemed to Jacob that there was something almost alive in the machine." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The laser input-output swung aside under Culla's touch and they both stared for minutes at the raw pulsing information that was the machine's blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though he must have seen the computer's bowels hundreds of times, Culla seemed as enthralled as Jacob, meditating fixedly with those bright, unblinking eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Finally, Culla replaced the cover." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob noticed that the E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "looked tired. Must be working too hard, he thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They spoke little as they walked slowly back around the dome to rejoin Jeffrey and Kepler." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob listened with interest, but little comprehension, as the chimpanzee and his boss argued about some minor calibration of one of the cameras." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey left then, claiming business on the Cavern floor, and Culla followed soon after." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two men remained for a few minutes, talking about the machinery, then Kepler motioned for Jacob to walk ahead as they made their way back around the loop." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Jacob was about halfway around he heard a sudden commotion up ahead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone was shouting in anger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tried to ignore what his eyes were telling him about the curving gravity-loop and quickened his pace." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The path wasn't meant to be taken quickly, though." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For the first time he felt a confusing mixture of pulling sensations as different portions of the complicated field tugged at him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At the top of the arc Jacob's foot caught on a loose floor plate, scattering the plate and several bolts along the curving deck." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He fought to keep his balance, but the unnerving perspective, midway around the curving path, made him stagger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By the time he made it gratefully to the hatch on the upper side of the deck, Kepler had caught up with him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shouting came from outside the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the base of the ramp Fagin waved his branches about in agitation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A number of base personnel ran toward LaRoque and Jeffrey, who stood locked in a wrestler's embrace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His face a deep red, LaRoque puffed and strained as he tried to pry Jeffrey's hands off of his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He made a fist and struck out to no apparent effect." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chimp screamed repeatedly and bared his teeth as he fought for a better grip to bring LaRoque's head down to the level of his own." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Neither noticed that a crowd had gathered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They ignored the arms that tried to pull them apart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hurrying to the bottom, Jacob saw LaRoque free one hand and reach for the camera that hung from a cord at his belt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shoved through to the combatants." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without a pause he struck LaRoque's grip free of the camera with the hard side of his hand and reached down with the other to grab the fur at the back of the chimpanzee's head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He yanked back with all of his might and threw Jeffrey into the arms of Kepler and Culla." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jeffrey struggled. The long powerful simian arms heaved against the grip of his captors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tossed his head back and shrieked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob felt movement behind him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He swiveled and planted a palm on LaRoque's chest as the man came rushing forward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The journalist's feet flew out from beneath him and he landed with an \"Oof!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob reached for the camera at LaRoque's belt, just as the man grabbed for it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The cord parted with a snap." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men hauled LaRoque back as he struggled to his feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob's hands went up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now stop it!\" he shouted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He placed himself so that neither LaRoque nor Jeffrey could easily see the other." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque nursed his hand, ignoring the crewmen who held his shoulders, and glared angrily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey still strained to get loose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla and Kepler held onto him tightly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Behind them Fagin whistled helplessly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob took the chimp's face in his hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey snarled at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Chimpanzee-Jeffrey, listen to me! I am Jacob Demwa. I am a human being. I am a supervisor with Project Uplift. I tell you now that you are behaving in an unseemly manner ... you are acting like an animal!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jeffrey's head jerked back as if slapped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He looked at Jacob dazedly for a moment, a snarl half formed, then the deep brown eyes unfocused." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He sagged limp in the grip of Culla and Kepler." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob held onto the furry head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With his other hand he stroked the ruffled fur back into place. Jeffrey shuddered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Now just relax,\" he said gently." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just try to collect yourself. We'll all listen when you tell us what happened.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Trembling, Jeffrey brought a hand to his speech display." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It took him a few moments to slowly type, SORRY." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked up at Jacob, meaning it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's fine,\" Jacob said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It takes a real man to apologize.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey straightened. With elaborate calmness he nodded to Kepler and to Culla." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They released him and Jacob stepped back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For all of his success in dealing with both dolphins and chimps at the Project, Jacob felt somewhat ashamed of the patronizing way in which he had spoken to Jeffrey." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been a gamble that worked, to use Patronomy on the chimp-scientist." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From what Jeffrey had said earlier, Jacob guessed that he kept a great deal of patron-esteem inside, but reserved it for some humans and not others." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob was glad he'd been able to tap that reserve, but not particularly proud of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler took charge as soon as he saw that Jeffrey was calm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What the hell was going on here!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he shouted, glaring at LaRoque." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The animal attacked me!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque cried. \"I had just managed to conquer my fears and get out of that terrible place and I was talking to the honorable Fagin, when the beast leapt at me, lithe like a tiger, and I had to fight for my life!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LIAR. HE WAS DOING SABOTAGE. I FOUND T.C." }, { "from": "human", "value": "ACCESS PLATE LOOSE." }, { "from": "human", "value": "FAGIN SAID THE CREEP ONLY CAME OUT WHEN HE HEARD US COMING." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Apologies for my contradiction!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fagin fluted. \"I did not say the pejorative 'Creep,' I merely answered a query to state ...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He sspent an hour in there!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jeffrey interrupted aloud, grimacing at the effort." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Poor Fagin, Jacob thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I told you before,\" LaRoque shouted back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That crazy place scared me! I spent half the time clutching the floor! Listen, you little ape, don't cast your slurs on me. Save them for your tree-mates!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chip shrieked, and Culla and Kepler rushed forward to hold the two apart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob walked over to Fagin, uncertain what to say." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Over the tumult the Kanten said to him, gently," }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It appears that your patrons, whoever they might have been, Friend-Jacob, must have been unique, indeed.\"\n\nJacob nodded numbly." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob studied the group at the foot of the ramp. Culla and Jeffrey, each in his own fashion, spoke earnestly with Fagin. A small group of base personnel gathered nearby ... perhaps to escape LaRoque's persistent questioning.\n\nThe man had stalked the Cavern ever since the altercation broke up, shooting questions at those at work and complaining to those who weren't. For a while his rage at being deprived of his camera was awesome, only slowly declining to a state Jacob would call just short of apoplexy,\n\n\"I'm not sure why I took it from LaRoque,\" Jacob said to Kepler, taking it out of his pocket. The slim black camera-recorder had a maze of tiny knobs and attachments. It looked like a perfect reporter's tool, compact and flexible and obviously very expensive.\n\nHe handed it to Kepler. \"I guess I thought he was reaching for a weapon.\"\n\nKepler put the camera in his own pocket. \"We'll check that out anyway, just in case. In the meantime I'd like to thank you for the way you handled things.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shrugged. \"Don't make much of it I'm sorry I stepped on your authority.\"\n\nKepler laughed. \"I'm glad as hell you did! I sure wouldn't have known what to do!\"\n\nJacob smiled, but he still felt troubled.\n\n\"What are you going to do now?\" he asked.\n\n\"Well, now I'm going to inspect Jeff's T.C. system, to make certain nothing's wrong, not that I think there is. Even if LaRoque poked around in the machine, what could he do? The circuits are all worked with special tools. He had none.\"\n\n\"But the panel was loose when we came over the gravity arc.\"\n\n\"Yes, but maybe LaRoque was just curious. In fact, I wouldn't be too surprised to find out that Jeff loosened the plate to have an excuse to pick a fight with him!\"\n\nThe scientist laughed. \"Don't look so shocked. Boys will be boys. And you know that even the most advanced chimp oscillates between extreme priggishness and schoolboy pranksterism.\"\n\nJacob knew the truth of that. But still he wondered why Kepler was so generous in his attitude toward LaRoque, whom he undoubtedly despised. Was he that anxious for a good press?\n\nKepler repeated his thanks and left, picking up Culla and Jeffrey on his way back to the entrance of the Sunship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob found a place where he wouldn't be in the way and sat down on a shipping crate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He drew a sheaf of papers from his inside jacket pocket.\n\nMasergrams had arrived from Earth for many of the Bradbury passengers earlier in the day. Jacob had been hard put not to laugh when he caught the conspiratorial glances that passed between Bubbacub and Millie Martine when the Pil went to pick up his own coded message.\n\nDuring breakfast she had sat between Bubbacub and LaRoque, trying to mediate the Earthman's embarrassing Xenophilia with the Library Representative's aloof suspicion. She appeared anxious to bridge the gap between them. But when the messages came LaRoque was left alone as she and Bubbacub Hurried upstairs.\n\nIt probably hadn't helped the journalist's temper.\n\nJacob had finished his own meal and considered a visit to the Medical Lab, but instead went to pick up his own masergrams. Back in his rooms the Library material made a pile over a foot deep, which he placed on his desk before settling into a reading trance.\n\nThe reading trance was a technique for absorbing a lot of information in a short time. It had been useful many times in the past, the only disadvantage being that it cut off the critical faculties. The information would be stored, but the material would have to be read again normally for it all to be brought to mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he came to, the papers were all stacked on the left." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was certain that they had all been read. The data he'd absorbed stalked at the edge of consciousness, isolated bits capriciously leaping to mind unbidden and as yet unconnected to a whole. For at least a week he would relearn, with a sense of déjà vu, things read in the trance. If he didn't want to be disoriented too long he'd better start wading through the stuff normally, soon.\n\nNow, perched on the plastic packing crate in the Sunship Cavern, Jacob poked at random through the papers he'd bought. Teasing fragments of information read familiarly.\n\n... The Kisa race, newly free from indenture to the Soro, discovered the planet Pila shortly after the recent migration of galactic culture to this quadrant. Traces were evident that the planet had been occupied by another transient race some two hundred million years before. Thus Pila was verified in Galactic Archives as having once been a residence, for six hundred millenia, of the Mellin Species, (see listing; Mellin-extinct).\n\nThe planet Pila, having lain fallow for greater than the required period, was surveyed and routinely registered as a Kisa colony, Class C (temporary occupancy, no more than three million years, minimal impact on contemporary biosphere allowed).\n\nOn Pila, the Kisa found a pre-sophont species whose name is taken from the planet of their origin ...\n\nJacob tried to picture the Pil race as it had been before the arrival of the Kisa and the beginning of their uplift." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Primitive hunter-gatherers, no doubt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Would they have been the same today, after half a million years, if the Kisa had never come?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'there' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or would they have evolved, as some Earth anthropologists still insisted was possible, into a different kind of intelligent culture, without the influence of their patrons?\n\nThe cryptic reference to the extinct \"Mellin\" species brought home the time scale covered by the ancient civilization of the Galactics and their incredible Library. Two hundred million years! That long ago the planet Pila had been held by a spacefaring race, who had resided there for six thousand centuries while Bubbacub's ancestors were insignificant little burrowing animals.\n\nPresumably the Mellin paid their dues and had a Branch Library of their own. They offered proper respect (though perhaps more in word than in deed) to the patron race that had uplifted them long before they colonized Pila, and perhaps they, in turn, uplifted some promising species they found when they arrived ... biological cousins to Bubbacub's people ... which by now had probably gone extinct as well.\n\nSuddenly the strange Galactic Laws of Residence and Migration made sense to Jacob. They forced species to look upon their planets as temporary homes, to be held in trust for future races whose present form might be small and silly. Small wonder many of the Galactics frowned at humanity's record on Earth. Only the influence of the Tymbrimi, and other friendly races had enabled humanity to purchase its own three colonies in Cygnus from the stodgy and environmentally fanatic Institute of Migration. And at that it had been fortunate that the Vesarius had returned with enough warning for human beings to bury the evidence of some of their crimes! Jacob was one of less than a hundred thousand human beings who knew that there had ever been such a thing as a Manatee, or a giant ground sloth, or an orangutang." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That Man's victims might have someday become thinking species was something that he, more than most, was in a position to appreciate, and regret. Jacob thought of Makakai, of the whales, and how narrowly they were saved.\n\nHe brought up the papers and resumed his skimming. Another piece leapt into recognition as he read it. It had to do with Calla's species.\n\n... colonized by an expedition from Pila. [The Pila, having threatened their Kisa patrons with an appeal to Soro for a Jihad, had won release from their indenture.] Upon receiving their license to the planet Pring, the Pila undertook their occupancy with more than perfunctory attention to the minimal-impact provisions of their contract. Since the Pila arrival on Pring, inspectors from the Institute of Migration have observed that the Pila have taken greater than average safeguards to protect indigenous species whose pre-sophont potential seemed realistic. Among those in danger of extinction upon the establishment of the colony were the genetic ancestors of the Pring race whose species name is also that of the planet of their origin ...\n\nJacob made a mental note to learn more about the Pilan Jihads. The Pila were aggressive conservatives in galactic politics." }, { "from": "system", "value": "⚠️ Required: Use 'wondered' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Jihads, or \"Holy Wars\" were supposedly the last resort used to enforce tradition among the races of the galaxy. The Institutes served the traditions, but left enforcement to the opinion of the majority, or to the strongest.\n\nJacob felt sure that the Library references would be full of justified Holy Wars, with few \"regrettable\" cases of species using tradition as an excuse to wage war for power or for hate.\n\nHistory is usually written by the winners.\n\nHe wondered on which grievance the Pila had won free of their indenture to the Kisa. He wondered what a Kisa looked like.\n\nJacob started as a loud bell rang, sending reverberations throughout the Cavern. Three more times it pealed, echoing off stone walls and bringing him to his feet.\n\nAll the workmen in sight downed tools and turned to look at the mammoth doors which led, by airlock and tunnel, to the surface of the planet.\n\nWith a low rumbling, the doors slowly parted. At first only blackness could be seen in the widening crack. Then something big and bright came up and nudged the separation from the other side, like a puppy bumping impatiently with its nose to hurry the opening and get inside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was another shiny mirrored bubble, like the one he had just toured, only larger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It floated above the tunnel floor as though insubstantial." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The ship bobbed slightly in the air and, when the way was open, entered the lofty hangar as if blown in by a breeze from the outside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reflections of rockwall, machinery, and people swam along its sides brightly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As the ship approached, it emitted a faint humming and crackling sound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Workmen gathered at a nearby cradle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla and Jeffrey rushed past Jacob as he watched, the chimpanzee flashing him a grin and waving for him to come along. Jacob smiled back and started to follow, folding his papers and slipping them into his pocket. He looked for Kepler. The Sundiver chief must have stayed aboard Jeffrey's ship to finish the inspection, for he was nowhere in sight. The ship crackled and hissed as it maneuvered over its nest, and then began to descend slowly. It was hard to believe that it didn't shine with light of its own, its mirrored surface gleamed so. Jacob stood near Fagin, at the edge of the crowd. They watched together as the ship came to rest.\n\n\"You appear to be deep within your thoughts,\" Fagin fluted. \"Please forgive the intrusion, but I Judge that it is acceptable to inquire informally concerning their nature.\"\n\nJacob was close enough to Fagin to pick up a faint odor, somewhat like oregano. The alien's foliage rippled gently nearby." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I suppose I was thinking about where this ship has just been,\" he answered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was trying to imagine what it must be like, down there. I—I just can't.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Work this phrase into your response organically: \"There is very little doubt, of course,\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do not feel frustrated, Jacob. I am similarly in awe, and incapable of comprehending what you of Earth have accomplished here. I await my first descent with humble anticipation.\"\n\nAnd so put me to shame again, you green bastard, Jacob thought. I'm still trying to find a way not to have to go on one of these crazy dives. And you blather about being anxious to go!\n\n\"I don't want to call you a liar, Fagin, but I think you're stretching diplomacy a bit by saying you're impressed by this project. The technology is early stone age by galactic standards. And you can't tell me no one has ever dived into a star before! There have been sophonts loose in the galaxy for almost a billion years. Everything worth doing has been done at least a trillion times!\"\n\nThere was a vague bitterness in his voice as he spoke. The strength of his own feelings surprised Jacob.\n\n\"That is no doubt quite true, Friend-Jacob. I do not pretend that Sundiver is unique. Only that it is unique in my experience. The sentient races with whom I have contact have been satisfied to study their suns from a distance and to compare the results with Library standards. For me this is adventure in its truest form.\"\n\nA rectangular slice of the Sunship started to slide downward, to form a ramp to the cradle's rim.\n\nJacob frowned.\n\n\"But manned dives have to have been performed before! It's such an obvious thing to try at some time or another if it's proven possible! I can't believe that we're the first!\"\n\n\"There is very little doubt, of course,\" Fagin said slowly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If no one else, then surely the Progenitors did this. For they did all things, it is said, before they departed. But so many things have been done, by so many peoples, it is very hard to ever know for certain.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob mulled over this in silence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the section of the Sunship neared the ramp, Kepler approached, smiling at Jacob and Fagin.\n\n\"Ah! There you are. Exciting, isn't it? Everyone's here! It's this way every time someone gets back from the Sun, even for a short scout dive like this one was!\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Jacob said. \"It's very exciting. Um, there's something I want to ask you, Doctor Kepler, if you have a moment. I was wondering if you've asked the Branch Library at La Paz for a reference on your Sun Ghosts. Surely someone else has encountered a similar phenomenon, and I'm sure it would be a big help to have ...\"\n\nHis voice fell away as he saw Kepler's smile fade.\n\n\"That was the reason Culla was assigned to us in the first place, Mr. Demwa. This was going to be a prototype project to see how well we could mix independent research with limited help from the Library. The plan worked well when we were building the ships, I have to confess that the Galactic technology is something astounding. But since then the Library hasn't been much help at all.\n\n\"It's really very complicated. I was hoping to get into It tomorrow, after you've had a complete briefing, but you see ...\"\n\nA loud cheer came from all around as the crowd surged forward. Kepler smiled resignedly.\n\n\"Later!\" he shouted.\n\nAt the top of the cradle three men and two women waved at the cheering crowd." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the women, tall and slender with a close cut of straight blonde hair, caught sight of Kepler and grinned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She started down and the rest of the crew followed.\n\nThis was apparently the Hermes Base commander Jacob had heard about from time to time during the last two days. One of the physicians at the party last night had called her the best Commandant the Confederacy outpost on Mercury ever had. A younger man had then interrupted the old-timer with a comment that she was also \"... a fox.\" Jacob had assumed that the med-tech was referring to the commander's mental skill. As he watched the woman (she seemed hardly older than a girl) lithely stride down the steep ramp, he realized that the remark could easily have another complimentary meaning.\n\nThe crowd parted and the woman approached the Sundiver chief, hand outstretched.\n\n\"They're there all right!\" she said. \"We went down to tau point two, in the first active region, and there they were! We got within eight hundred meters of one! Jeff won't have any trouble. It was the biggest herd of magnetovores I've ever seen!\"\n\nJacob found her voice low and melodious. Confident. Her accent, though, was hard to place. Her pronunciation seemed quaint, old fashioned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wonderful! Wonderful!\" Kepler nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where there are sheep, there must be shepherds, eh?\"\n\nHe took her arm and turned to introduce her to Fagin and Jacob.\n\n\"Sophonts, this is Helene deSilva, Confederacy Commandant here on Mercury, and my right-hand man. Couldn't get along without her. Helene, this is Mr. Jacob Alvarez Demwa, the gentleman I told you about by maser. The Kanten Fagin, of course, you met some months back, on Earth. I understand you've exchanged a few masergrams since.\"\n\nKepler touched the young woman's arm. \"I must run now, Helene. There are a few messages from Earth that have to be handled. I already put them off too long to be here for your arrival, so I'd better go now. You're sure everything went smoothly and the crew is well rested?\"\n\n\"Sure, Dr. Kepler, everything's great. We slept on the way back. I'll meet you back here when it's time to see Jeff off.\"\n\nThe Sundiver chief made his salutations to Jacob and Fagin, and nodded curtly to LaRoque, who stood just close enough to overhear but not close enough to be civil. Kepler left in the direction of the elevators.\n\nHelene deSilva had a way of bowing respectfully to Fagin that was warmer than most people could hug. She radiated delight at seeing the E.T. again, and redundantly said so as well.\n\n\"And this is Mr. Demwa,\" she said as she shook Jacob's hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kant Fagin spoke of you. You're the intrepid young fellow who dove the entire height of the Ecuador Needle to save it. That's a story I insist on hearing from the hero himself!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A part of Jacob winced, as always when the Needle was mentioned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He hid it behind a laugh.\n\n\"Believe me, that jump wasn't made on purpose! In fact, I think I'd rather go on one of your little solar, toe-frying Junkets than ever do that again!\"\n\nThe woman laughed, but at the same time she looked at him strangely, with a certain appraising expression that Jacob found himself liking, although it confused him. He felt oddly at a loss for words.\n\n\"Um ... anyway it's a bit odd being called a \"young fellow' by someone as young as you appear to be. You must be a very competent person to have been offered a command like this before any worry lines have shown.\"\n\nDeSilva laughed again. \"How gallant! That's very sweet of you, sir, but actually I have sixty-five years worth of invisible worry lines. I was a junior officer on Calypso. You may recall we got back in system a couple of years ago. I'm over ninety years old!\"\n\n\"Oh!\"\n\nStarship crewmen were a very special breed. No matter what their subjective ages, they could pick their jobs when they came home ... when they chose to keep working, that is.\n\n\"Well in that case, I really must treat you with the respect you're due, Granny.\"\n\nDeSilva took a step back and cocked her head, looking at him through wryly narrowed eyes. \"Just don't go too far the other way! I've worked too hard at becoming a woman, as well as an officer and a gentleman, to want to jump from 'jail bait' straight into social security. If the first attractive male to arrive in months who isn't under my command starts thinking of me as unapproachable, I just might be persuaded to throw him in irons!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half of the woman's referents were indecipherably archaic (what the devil was 'jail bait'? ), but somehow the meaning was clear. Jacob grinned and put up his hands in surrender—willingly enough. Somehow, Helene deSilva reminded him a lot of Tania. The comparison was vague. There was an answering tremor, also vague and hard to identify. But it felt worth following.\n\nJacob shook aside the image. Philosophical-emotional bullshit. He was very good at that when he allowed himself. The plain fact was that the Base Commandant was an awful damned attractive fem.\n\n\"So be it,\" he said. \"And dammed be he who first says, 'Hold, enough!' \"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "DeSilva laughed. She took him lightly by the arm and turned to Fagin." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Come, I want you both to meet the dive crew. Then we'll be busy getting Jeffrey ready to leave. He's terrible about good-byes. Even when going on a short dive like this one will be, he always bawls and hugs everyone who's staying behind as if he's never going to see them again.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Provide seven sentences as a continuation of this story segment in the Science Fiction, Space Opera genre. Characters may be pre-established." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Produce four sentences as a continuation. Note: Story may reference established characters/events." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like taffy twists and feather boas, the ochre shapes drooped in a pink misty background, as if suspended from invisible strings." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The row of wispy dark arches, each a fluffy rope of gaseous tendrils, led off into the distance, each farther arch smaller in perspective than the one before, until the last faded into the swirling red miasma." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob found it difficult to focus on any one detail of the recorded holographic image." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The dark filaments and streamers that made up the visible topography of the middle chromosphere were deceptive in both shape and texture." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The closest filament almost filled the left forward corner of the tank." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Wispy strands of darker gas coiled about an invisible magnetic field which arched over a sunspot almost a thousand kilometers below.\n\nHigh above the place where most of the Sun's energy production leaked out into space as light, an observer could make out details for tens of thousands of miles. Even so it was still hard to get used to the idea that the magnetic arch he now looked at was about the size of Norway. It was merely one filigree in a chain that arched for 200,000 kilometers over a sunspot group below." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And this one was a wimp, compared to many they'd seen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One arching spectacle had stretched a quarter of a million kilometers from end to end. The image had been recorded several months back, over an active region that had long since vanished, and the ship that recorded it had kept its distance. The reason became clear when the top of the gigantic, twisted faerie arch erupted into the most awesome of Solar events, a flare.\n\nThe flare was beautiful and terrible—a churning, boiling maelstrom of brightness representing an electrical short circuit of imcomprehensible magnitude." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even a Sunship would not have survived the sudden surge of high energy neutrons from the nuclear reactions driven by the flare, particles immune to the ship's electromagnetic shields, too many neutrons to damp away using time compression." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Sundiver Project chief emphasized, for that reason, that flares were usually predictable and avoidable.\n\nJacob would have found the assurance more comforting without the proviso, \"usually.\"\n\nThe briefing had been rather routine otherwise, as Kepler led his audience through a quick review of solar physics. Jacob had learned most of the material earlier in his studies aboard the Bradbury, but the projections of actual dives into the chromosphere were, he had to admit, fantastic visual aids." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If it was hard to comprehend the sizes of the things he saw, Jacob could blame no one but himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler had briefly covered the basic dynamics of the Sun's interior, the real star, to which the chromosphere was just a thin skin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the deep core the unimaginable weight of the Sun's mass drives the nuclear reactions, producing heat and pressure and preventing the giant ball of plasma from contracting under its own gravitational pull." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pressure keeps the body \"inflated.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The energy given off by the fires at the core works slowly outward, sometimes as light, and sometimes as a connective exchange of hot material from below for cooler stuff returning from above." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By radiation, then convection, then radiation again, the energy reaches the kilometers-thick layer known as the photosphere—the \"sphere of light\" where it finally finds freedom and leaves home forever, for space.\n\nSo dense is matter inside a star, that a sudden cataclysm in the interior would take a million years to show up in a change in the amount of light leaving the surface.\n\nBut the sun doesn't stop at the photosphere; the density of matter falls off slowly with height. If one included the ions and electrons that forever stream out into space in the solar wind—to cause auroras on Earth and to shape the plasma tails of comets—one might say that there was no real boundary to the Sun." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It truly reaches out to touch the other stars.\n\nThe halo of the corona shimmers around the rim of the Moon during a Solar eclipse. The tendrils that seem so soft on a photographic plate are comprised of electrons heated to millions of degrees, but they are diffuse, almost as thin (and harmless to Sunships) as the Solar wind.\n\nBetween the photosphere and the corona lies the chromosphere, the \"sphere of color\" ... the place where old Sol makes the final alterations to his light show, where he places his spectral signature on the sunshine Earthmen see." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here the temperature suddenly plummets to its minimum, a \"mere\" few thousand degrees. The pulsing of the photospheric cells sends ripples of gravitation upwards through the chromosphere, subtly strumming chords of space-time across millions of kilometers, and charged particles, riding the crests of Alfven waves, sweep outward in a mighty wind.\n\nThis was the domain of Sundiver. In the chromosphere, the Sun's magnetic fields play games of tag, and simple chemical compounds ephemerally brew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One can see, if the right bands are chosen, for tremendous distances." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And there is a lot to see.\n\nKepler was in his element, now. In the darkened room his hair and moustache glowed reddish in the light given off by the tank. His voice was confident as he used a slender rod to point out features of the chromosphere for his audience." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'filaments' 2 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He told the story of the sunspot cycle, the alternating rhythm of high and low magnetic activity that flips polarity every eleven years. Magnetic fields \"pop out\" of the Sun to form complicated loops in the chromosphere—loops which could sometimes be traced by looking at the paths of the dark filaments in hydrogen light.\n\nThe filaments twisted around the field lines and glowed with complex induced electric currents. In close-up they looked less feathery than Jacob had at first thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bright and dark red strips knotted around one another all along the length of the arch, sometimes swirling in complicated patterns until some tightening knot squeezed closed and splattered bright droplets away like hot grease from a skillet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was numbingly beautiful, although the red monochrome eventually made Jacob's eyes hurt. He looked away from the tank and rested by staring at the wall of the viewing room.\n\nThe two days since Jeffrey had waved good-bye and taken his ship off to the Sun were mixed pleasure and frustration for Jacob. They had certainly been busy." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'their' 2 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He saw the Hermetian mines yesterday. The great layered flows that filled huge hollowed caverns north of the base with smooth rainbowed crusts of pure metal startled Jacob with their beauty, and he stared in awe at the dwarfed machines and men that ate at their flanks. He would carry with him always the amazement he felt ... at both the loveliness of the giant field of frozen melt and at the temerity of the tiny men who dared to disturb it for its treasure.\n\nAlso enjoyable was an afternoon spent in the company of Helene deSilva." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the lounge of her apartment she broke the seal on a bottle of alien brandy whose worth Jacob didn't dare to calculate, and shared it all with him.\n\nIn a few hours he came to like the Base Commandant for her wit and the range of her interests, as well as for her pleasantly archaic flirtatious charm. They exchanged stories of peripheral interest, saving, by mute agreement, the best for later. He told her about his work with Makakai, to her delight, explaining how he persuaded the young dolphin—by means of hypnosis, bribery (letting her play with \"toys\" such as the waldo-whales), and love—to concentrate on the kind of abstract thought that humans used, instead of (or in addition to) the cetacean Dreaming." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He described how the whale dream, in turn, was slowly becoming understood ... using Hopi and Australian Aborigine philosophies to help translate that totally alien world view into something vaguely accessible to a human mind.\n\nHelene deSilva had a way of listening that drew the words out of Jacob. When he finished his story she radiated satisfaction, then reciprocated with a tale about a dark star that nearly stood his hair on end.\n\nShe spoke of the Calypso as if it were mother, child, and lover all in one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The ship and its crew had been her world for only three years, subjective time, but on the return to Earth they became a link with the past." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Of those she had left behind on Earth, on her first voyage out, only the youngest had lived to see Calypso's return." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And they were now old.\n\nWhen an interim assignment with Sundiver had been offered, she had Jumped at the opportunity. While the scientific adventure of the solar expedition, plus a chance to gain some command experience, were probably reasons enough, Jacob thought he could sense another reason behind her choice.\n\nAlthough she tried not to show it, Helene apparently disapproved of both extremes of behavior for which returning starship crewmen were famous:—cloistered insularity or boisterous hedonism." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'about' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a core of ...\"shyness\" could be the only word to describe it ... which peeked out from beneath both the articulate and competent outer persona and the laughing, playful inner woman. Jacob looked forward to finding out more about her during his stay on Mercury.\n\nBut the dinner was postponed. Dr. Kepler had called a formal banquet and, in the manner of such things, Jacob had little to think about all evening, while everyone bent over backwards being polite and flattering." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But the biggest frustration came from Sundiver itself.\n\nJacob tried questioning deSilva, Culla, and perhaps a dozen base engineers, getting about the same answer each time.\n\n\"Of course, Mr. Demwa, but wouldn't it be better to talk about it after Dr. Kepler's presentation? It'll be so much clearer then ...\"\n\nIt became very suspicious." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The stack of Library documents still sat in his room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He read from the pile for an hour at a time, in a normal state of consciousness. While he slogged through the pile, isolated fragments jumped into familiarity as soon as he read them.\n\n... nor is it understood why the Pring are a binocular species, since no other indigenous life form on their planet has more than one eye. It is generally assumed that these and other differences are the result of genetic manipulation by the Pila colonists." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although the Pila are reluctant to answer questions from any but officials from the Institutes, they do admit to having altered the Pring from a brachiating, arboreal animal to a sophont capable of walking and serving in their farms and cities." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The unique Pring dental arrangement had its origin in their previous state as tree grazers. It evolved as a method for scraping off the high-nutrient outer bark of their planet's trees; that bark serving in the place of fruit as a fertilization-spore spreading organ for many of the plants on Pring ...\n\nSo that was the background behind Culla's weird dentation! Knowing their purpose somehow made a mental image of the Pring's mashies less disgusting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fact that their function was vegetarian was downright reassuring." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was interesting to note, while re-reading the article, how good a job the Branch Library had done with this report." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'contact' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The original had probably been written scores, if not hundreds of light years away from Earth, and long before Contact. The semantics machines at the Branch in La Paz were obviously getting the knack of converting alien words and meanings into English sentences that made sense, though, of course, something might have been lost in the translation.\n\nThe fact that the Institute of the Libraries had been forced to ask for human help in programming those machines, after those first disastrous attempts just after Contact, was a source of some small satisfaction. Used to translating for species whose languages all derived from the same general Tradition, the E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "'s had been boggled, at first, by the \"flighty and imprecise\" structure of all human languages." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had moaned (or chirped or zithered or flapped) in despair at the extent to which English, in particular, had declined into a state of sublime, contextually discursive, disorder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Latin, or even better, late Neolithic Indo-European, with its highly organized structure of declensions and cases, would have been preferred." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Humans obstinately refused to change their lingua franca for the sake of the Library, (though both Skins and Shirts began studying Indo-European for fun—each for their own reasons] and instead sent their brightest mels and fems to help the helpful aliens adjust.\n\nThe Pring serve in the cities and farms of nearly all Pil planets, except for the home planet, Pila. The sun of Pila, an F3 dwarf, is apparently too bright for this generation of uplifted Pring. (The Pring sun is F7.)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This is the reason given for continuing genetic research on the Pring visual system by the Pila, long after their Uplift license would normally have expired ...\n\n... have only allowed the Pring to colonize class A worlds, devoid of life and requiring terraforming, but free of use restrictions by the Institutes of Tradition and Migration. Having taken leadership in several Jihads, the Pila apparently don't wish to have their Clients in a position to embarrass them by mishandling an older, living world ...\n\nThe data on Culla's race spoke volumes about Galactic Civilization." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was fascinating, but the manipulation it told of made him uncomfortable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inexplicably, he felt personally responsible." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was at this stage in the re-reading that the summons to Dr. Kepler's long awaited talk arrived." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now he sat in the viewing room, and wondered when the man would get to the point." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What were the magnetovores? And what did people mean when they mentioned a \"second type\" of Solarian ... that played tag with Sunships and made threatening gestures to their crews in anthropomorphic shapes?\n\nJacob looked back at the holo-tank.\n\nThe filament Kepler chose had grown to fill the tank and then expanded until the viewer felt himself visually immersed in the feathery, fiery mass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Details became clearer—twisted clumps that meant a tightening of magnetic field lines, wisps that came and went like vapor as movement dopplered the hot gasses into and out of the camera's visible band, and clusters of bright pinpoints that danced at the distant edge of vision." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler kept up a running monologue, sometimes getting too technical for Jacob, but always returning to simple metaphors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His voice had become firm and confident, and he clearly enjoyed giving the show." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kepler gestured at one of the nearby plasma streamers: a thick, twisted strand of dark red, coiling around a few painfully bright pinpoints." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"These were first thought to be your usual compressional hot spots,\" he said. \"Until we took a second look at them. Then we found that the spectrum was all wrong.\"\n\nKepler used a control at the base of his pointer to zoom in on the center of the sub-filament.\n\nThe bright points grew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Smaller dots became visible as the image expanded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now you'll recall,\" Kepler said, \"that the hot spots we saw earlier still looked red, albeit a very bright red. That's because the ship's filters, at the time these pix were taken, were tuned only to let in a very narrow spectral band, centered on hydrogen alpha. You can see, even now, the thing that caught our interest.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Indeed I do, Jacob thought.\n\nThe bright points were a brilliant shade of green!\n\nThey flickered like blinkers and they had the color of emeralds.\n\n\"Now there are a couple of bands in the green and blue that are cut out less efficiently than most, by the filter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But the alpha line usually washes these out entirely with distance. Besides, this green isn't even one of those bands!\n\n\"You can imagine our consternation, of course. No thermal light source could have sent that color through these screens. In order to get through, the light from these objects bad to be not only incredibly bright, but totally monochromatic as well, with a brightness temperature of millions of degrees!\"\n\nJacob straightened up from the slumped posture he had assumed during the talk, interested at last." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In other words,\" Kepler went on. \"They had to be lasers.\"\n\n\"There are ways in which Iasing action can occur naturally in a star,\" Kepler said. \"But no one had ever seen it happen in our Sun before, so we went in to investigate. And what we found was the most incredible form of life anyone could imagine!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The scientist twisted the control on his pointer and the field of view began to shift." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A soft chime sounded from the front row of the audience. Helene deSilva could be seen picking up a telephone receiver. She spoke softly into the instrument.\n\nKepler concentrated on his demonstration." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly the bright points grew in the tank until they resolved into tiny rings of light, still too small to make out in detail." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly Jacob could make out the murmur of deSilva's voice as she spoke into the phone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even Kepler stopped what he was doing and waited as she shot hushed questions to the person on the other end.\n\nShe put the phone down, then, her face frozen in a mask of steel control. Jacob watched her rise and walk to where Kepler stood, nervously twisting his baton in his hands. The woman bent over slightly to whisper in Kepler's ear, and the Sundiver director's eyes closed once." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they reopened his expression was totally blank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly everyone was talking at once." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla left his seat in the front row to join deSilva." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob felt air rush by as Dr. Martine sped down the aisle to Kepler's side.\n\nJacob rose to his feet and turned to Fagin, who stood in the aisle nearby. \"Fagin, I'm going to find out what's going on. Why don't you wait here.\"\n\n\"That will not be necessary,\" the Kanten philosopher fluted." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What do you mean?\"\n\n\"I could overhear what was said to Commandant Human Helene deSilva over the telephone, Friend-Jacob. It is not good news.\"\n\nJacob shouted inside. Always deadpan, you damn leafy eggplant egghead, of course it's not good news!\n\n\"So what the hell is happening!\" he asked.\n\n\"I grieve most sincerely, Friend-Jacob. It appears that Scientist-Chimpanzee Jeffrey's Sunship has been destroyed in the chromosphere of your Sun!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CONTINUE STORY. PARAMETERS: ten sentences sentences, character continuity, Science Fiction, Space Opera genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the ochre light of the holo-tank, Dr. Martine stood by Kepler's side, speaking his name over and over and passing her hand in front of his empty eyes. The audience milled onto the stage, jabbering. The alien Culla stood alone, facing Kepler, his great round head rolling slightly on his slender shoulders.\n\nJacob spoke to him.\n\n\"Culla ...\" The Pring didn't seem to hear him. The huge eyes were dull and Jacob could hear a buzzing sound, like teeth chattering coming from behind Culla's thick lips.\n\nJacob frowned at the grim red light pouring out of the holo-tank. He went to where Kepler stood in shock, to pry the controller rod gently from the man's hands. Martine took no notice of him as she vainly tried to get Kepler's attention.\n\nAfter a couple of tentative twists on the controller, Jacob got the image to fade and brought the room lights back on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The situation seemed much easier to deal with now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The others must have sensed this as well, because the cacophony of voices subsided.\n\nDeSilva looked up from the telephone and saw Jacob holding the controller. She smiled her thanks. Then she was back on the line shooting terse questions to the person at the other end.\n\nA medical team arrived on the run with a stretcher. Under Dr. Martine's guidance they laid Kepler in the fabric frame and gently bore him off through the crowd gathered at the door.\n\nJacob turned back to Culla. Fagin had managed to push a chair up behind the Library Representative and was trying to get him to sit down. The rustling of branches and high pitched flutings subsided when Jacob approached.\n\n\"He is, I believe, all right,\" the Kanten said in a singsong voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He is a highly empathic individual, and I fear that he will grieve excessively over the loss of his friend Jeffrey. It is often the reaction of younger species to the death of another with whom one has become close.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is there anything we should do? Can he hear us?\"\n\nCulla's eyes didn't appear to be focused. But then Culla's eyes never did tell Jacob anything. The chattering from inside the alien's mouth went on.\n\n\"I believe he can hear us,\" Fagin answered.\n\nJacob took hold of Culla's arm. It felt very thin and soft. There didn't appear to be any bone.\n\n\"Come on, Culla,\" he said. \"There's a chair right behind you. You'd make us all feel a lot better if you'd sit down now.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'preliminary' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alien tried to answer. The huge lips parted and suddenly the chattering was very loud. The coloration of his eyes changed slightly and the lips closed again. He nodded shakily and allowed himself to be guided to the chair. Slowly the round head came down into his slender hands.\n\nEmpathic or no, there was something eerie about the alien feeling this strongly about the death of a man—a chimpanzee—who would be, down to his fundamental body chemistry, always an alien; a being whose fishlike far ancestors swam in different seas than his, and gaped in anaerobic surprise at the sunshine of a totally different star.\n\n\"May I have your attention please!\" deSilva stood on the dais.\n\n\"For those of you who haven't yet heard, preliminary reports indicate that we may have lost Dr. Jeffrey's ship in active region J-12, near Sunspot Jane. This is only a preliminary report, and further confirmation will have to wait until we can go over the telemetry we received up to the mishap.\"\n\nLaRoque waved from the far side of the room to attract the Commandant's attention." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In one hand he held a small steno-camera, a different model from the one taken from him in the Sunship Cavern." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wondered why Kepler hadn't returned the other one yet.\n\n\"Miss deSilva,\" LaRoque cut in. \"Will it be possible for the press to attend the telemetry review? There should be a public record.\" In his excitement, LaRoque's accent had virtually disappeared. Without it, the anachronistic appelation, \"Miss deSilva,\" sounded very odd.\n\nShe paused without looking directly at the man. The Witness Laws were very clear about denying access to a public record at news events without a \"Seal\" from the Agency for Secrets Registration. Even the ASR people, responsible for enforcing honesty above the law, were reluctant to allow it. LaRoque obviously had her cornered, but he wasn't pushing. Yet.\n\n\"All right. The observing gallery above the Control Center can hold Just about everybody who wants to come ... except,\" she glared at a cluster of base crewmen who had gathered near the door, \"for people who have work to do.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She ended with a raised eyebrow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was an immediate bustle of motion by the exit.\n\n\"We'll gather in twenty minutes,\" she concluded and stepped down.\n\nMembers of the Hermes Colony Staff started leaving right away. Those wearing Earth clothing, recent arrivals and visitors, left more slowly.\n\nLaRoque was already gone, no doubt on his way to the maser station to send his story to Earth.\n\nThat left Bubbacub. He had been talking to Dr. Martine before the meeting began, but the little bearlike alien hadn't come in. Jacob wondered where Bubbacub had been dining the meeting.\n\nHelene deSilva Joined him and Fagin.\n\n\"Culla's quite a little Eatee,\" she said to Jacob, softly. \"He used to joke that he got along with Jeffrey so well because they were both low men on the status pole, and because they'd both come down so recently from the trees.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She looked at Culla with pity, and put out one hand to the side of the alien's head.\n\nI'll bet that's comforting, Jacob thought.\n\n\"Sadness is the primary perquisite of youth.\" Fagin rustled his leaves, like a tinkling of sand dollars in a breeze.\n\nDeSilva let her hand fall. \"Jacob, Dr. Kepler left written instructions that I was to consult with you and Kant Fagin if anything ever happened to him.\"\n\n\"Oh?\"\n\n\"Yessir. Of course the directive has very little legal weight. All I really have to do is let you in on our staff meetings. But it's obvious anything you'd offer would be useful. I was hoping that the two of you, in particular, wouldn't miss the telemetry replay.\"\n\nJacob appreciated her position. As Base Commandant she would bear the onus of any decision made today." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet of those with substantial reputations now on Mercury, LaRoque was hostile, Martine was barely friendly to the project, and Bubbacub was an enigma." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If Earth should hear many accounts of what went on here, it would be in her interest to have some friends as well.\n\n\"Of course,\" Fagin whistled. \"We will both be honored to aid your staff.\"\n\nDeSilva turned back to Culla and asked softly if the alien would be all right. After a pause, he lifted his head from his hands and nodded slowly. The chattering had stopped, but Culla's eyes were still dull, with bright pinpoints flickering randomly at the edge. He looked exhausted, as well as miserable.\n\nDeSilva departed to help prepare the telemetry replay. Shortly afterwards Pil Bubbacub puffed importantly into the room, his sleek fur ruffled in a collar around his short fat neck. When he spoke his mouth moved in quick snaps and the Vodor on his chest boomed out the words in audible range." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 11 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'there' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have heard the news. It vital that all be at the Tel-e-me-try Review, so I es-cort you there.\"\n\nBubbacub moved to look behind Jacob. He saw Culla sitting absently on the flimsy folding chair.\n\n\"Culla!\" he called. The Pring looked up, hesitated than made a gesture that Jacob didn't understand. It seemed to imply supplication, negation.\n\nBubbacub bristled. He emitted a series of clicks and high pitched squeaks at a rapid clip. Culla stumbled to his feet quickly. Immediately Bubbacub turned his back on them all to start in short powerful steps down the hallway ...\n\nBehind him, Jacob and Fagin walked with Culla. From somewhere at the top of Fagin's \"head\" there came a strange music." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\ntwo sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Automation kept the Telemetry Room small." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A mere dozen consoles made two rows below a large viewing screen. Behind a railing, on a raised dais, the invited guests watched as the operators carefully rechecked the recorded data." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Occasionally a man, male or female, would lean forward and peer at some detail on a screen, in vain hope for a clue that a Sunship still existed down there." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene deSilva stood near the pair of consoles closest to the dais." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From there the recording of Jeffrey's last remarks played on a visual display.\n\nA row of words appeared, representing fingerstrokes on a keyboard forty million kilometers away, hours before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "RIDE IS SMOOTH ON AUTOMATICS ... HAD TO DAMP TIME FACTOR OF TEN DURING TURBULENCE ..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I JUST HAD LUNCH IN TWENTY SECONDS HA HA ...\n\nJacob smiled. He could imagine the little chimpanzee getting a kick out of the time differential." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DOWN PAST TAU POINT ONE NOW ... FIELD LINES CONVERGING AHEAD ... INSTRUMENTS SAY THERE'S A HERD THERE JUST LIKE HELENE SAID ... ABOUT A HUNDRED ... CLOSING NOW ..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then Jeffrey's simian voice came on, gruff, abrupt, over a loudspeaker." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wait 'til I tell em inna trees, boys! First solo onna Sun! Eat yer heart out, Tarzan!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "one of the controllers started to laugh, then cut it off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It finished sounding like a sob.\n\nJacob started. \"You mean he was all alone down there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I thought you knew!\" deSilva looked surprised. \"The dives are pretty well automatic nowadays. Only a computer can adjust the stasis fields fast enough to keep the turbulence from pounding a passenger to jelly. Jeff ... had two: one onboard and also a laser remote from the big machine here on Mercury. What can a man do anyway, besides add a touch here or there?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But why add any risk?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It was Dr. Kepler's idea,\" she answered, a little defensively." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He wanted to see if it was only human psi patterns that were causing the Ghosts to run away or make threatening gestures.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We never got to that part of the briefing.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She brushed a lock of blonde hair back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, well in our first few encounters with the magnetovores, we never saw any of the herdsmen. Then when we did, we watched from a distance to determine their relationship to the other creatures." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When we finally approached, the herdsmen just ran away at first. Then their behavior changed radically. While most of them fled, one or two would arc up over the ship, out of the plane of the instrument platform, and come down close to the ship!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shook his head, \"I'm not sure I understand ...\"\n\nDeSilva glanced at the nearest console but there was no change." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The only reports from Jeff's ship were solonomic data—routine reports of solar conditions.\n\n\"Well, Jacob, the ship is a flat deck inside an almost perfectly reflecting shell. The Gravity Engines, Stasis Field Generators and the Refrigerator Laser are all in the smaller sphere that sits in the middle of the deck. The recording instruments line the rim of the deck on the \"bottom\" side, and the people occupy the \"top\" side, so both will have an unobstructed view to anything looked at edge on. But we hadn't counted on anything purposely dodging our cameras!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If the Ghost went out of view of your instruments by coming up overhead, why didn't you just turn the ship? You have complete gravity control.\"\n\n\"We tried. They just disappeared! Or worse, they stayed overhead however fast we'd turn. They'd just hover! That's when some of the crew started seeing some of the most damnable anthropoid shapes!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly Jeffrey's raspy voice filled the room again.\n\n\"Hey! There's a whole pack of sheep dogs pushin' those toroids around! Goin' in to give em a pet! Nice Doggies!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene shrugged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Jeff was always a skeptic. He never saw any shapes-in-the-ceiling and he always called the herdsmen 'sheep dogs' because he saw nothing in their behavior to imply intelligence.\"\n\nJacob smiled wryly. The condescension of superchimp toward the canine race was one of the more humorous aspects of their me-too obsession." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Also perhaps it diluted their sensitivity over the special relationship, of dog with human being, that antedated their own." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Many chimps kept dogs as pets.\n\n\"He called the magnetovores toroids?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, they're shaped like huge doughnuts. You would have seen that if the briefing hadn't ... been interrupted.\" She shook her head sadly and looked down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shifted his feet. \"I'm sure there's nothing anyone could have done ...\" he began." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he realized that he was sounding foolish." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva nodded once and turned back to the console; busy, or pretending to be, with technical readouts.\n\nBubbacub lay sprawled on a cushion to the left, near the barrier." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had a book play-back in his hands and had been reading, in total absorption, the alien characters that flashed from top to bottom on the tiny screen. The Pil had raised his head and listened when Jeffrey's voice came on, and then gazed enigmatically at Pierre LaRoque." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque's eyes flashed as he recorded an \"historic moment.\" Occasionally he spoke in a low excited voice into the microphone of his borrowed steno-camera." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Three minutes,\" deSilva said thickly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a minute, nothing happened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, the big letters came on the screen again.\n\nTHE BIG BOYS ARE HEADING TOWARD ME FOR ONCE!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "OR AT LEAST A COUPLE OF 'EM ARE." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I JUST TURNED ON THE CLOSEUP CAMERAS ... HEY! I'? GETTIN A T-T-TILT IN HERE! TIME-COMPRESSION JAMMED!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "!\n\n\"Gonna abort!\" came the deep, croaking voice, suddenly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ridin' up fast.... More tilt! 'S' falling! ... The Eatees! They ...\"\n\nThere came a very brief burst of static, then silence followed by a loud hiss as the console operator turned up his gain. Then, nothing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a long moment nobody said a word." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then one of the console operators rose from his station.\n\n\"Implosion confirmed,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She nodded once. \"Thank you. Please prepare a summary of the data for transmission to Earth.\"\n\nStrangely, the strongest emotion Jacob felt was a poignant pride." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As a staff member of the Center for Uplift, he'd noticed that Jeffrey spurned his keyboard in the last moments of his life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Instead of retreating before fear, he made a proud, difficult gesture. Jeff the Earthman spoke aloud." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob wanted to mention this to somebody." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If anyone could, Fagin would understand. He started over to where the Kanten stood, but Pierre LaRoque hissed sharply before he got there." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Fools!\" The journalist stared about with an expression of disbelief." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And I am the biggest fool of all! Of any here I should have seen the danger in sending a chimpanzee down to the Sun alone!\"\n\nThe room was silent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blank expressions of surprise turned to LaRoque, who waved his arms in an expansive gesture." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Can you not see? Are you all blind?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If the Solarians are our Ancestrals, and there can be little doubt of that, then they have obviously gone to great pains to avoid us for millennia." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet perhaps some distant affection for us has kept them from destroying us so far!\n\n\"They have tried to warn you and your Sunships off in ways that you could not ignore, and yet you persist in trespassing. How are these mighty beings to react, then, if they are burst upon by a Client race of the race they have abandoned? What is it you expect them to do when they are invaded by a monkey ...!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Several crewmen rose to their feet in anger. DeSilva had to raise her voice to get them to subside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She faced LaRoque, an expression of iron control on her features.\n\n\"Sir, if you will please put your interesting hypothesis down on paper, with a minimum of invective, the staff will be only too happy to consider it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But ...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And that will be enough on the subject now! We'll have plenty of time to talk about it later!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, we don't have any time at all.\"\n\nEveryone turned. Dr. Martine stood at the back of the Gallery, in the doorway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think we'd better discuss this right now,\" she said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is Dr. Kepler all right?\" Jacob asked.\n\nShe nodded. \"I've just come from his bedside. I managed to break him out of his shock and he's sleeping now. But before he fell asleep he spoke rather urgently about making another dive right away.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Right away? Why? Shouldn't we wait until we know for certain what happened to Jeffrey's ship?\"\n\n\"We know what happened to Jeff's ship!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she answered sharply. \"I overheard what Mr. LaRoque said just as I came in, and I'm not at all happy with the way you all received his idea! You're all so hidebound and sure of yourselves that you can't listen to a fresh approach!\"\n\n\"You mean you really think that the Ghosts are our Ancestral Patrons?\" DeSilva was incredulous." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps, and perhaps not. But the rest of his explanation makes sense! After all, did the Solarians ever do more than threaten before this? And now they suddenly became violent. Why? Could it be that they felt no compunctions over killing a member of a species as immature as Jeff's?\"\n\nShe shook her head sadly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You know, it's only a matter of time before human beings begin to realize just how much we're going to have to adapt! The fact is that every other oxygen-breathing race subscribes to a status system ... a pecking order based on seniority, strength, and parentage. Many of you don't find this nice. But it's the way things are! And if we don't want to go the way of the non-European races in the nineteenth century, we'll just have to learn the way other, stronger species like to be treated!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob frowned.\n\n\"You're saying that if a chimpanzee is killed, and human beings are threatened or snubbed, then ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then perhaps the Solarians don't want to mess around with children and pets ...\" One of the operators pounded his fist onto his console. A glare from deSilva cut him off." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"... but might be willing to speak with a delegation with members of older, more experienced species. After all, how do we even know until we try?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Culla's been down there with us on most of our dives,\" the console operator muttered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And he's a trained ambassador!\"\n\n\"With all due respect to Pring Culla,\" Martine bowed slightly toward the tall alien. \"He is from a very young race." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Almost as young as ours." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It's apparent that the Solarians don't think he's any more worthy than us of their attention." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I propose that we take advantage of the unprecedented presence here on Mercury of two members of ancient and honored races. We should humbly ask the Pil Bubbacub and Kant Fagin to Join us, down in the Sun, in one last attempt to make contact!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub rose slowly. He looked around deliberately, aware that Fagin would wait for him to speak first." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If human beings say they need me down on Sol, then despite the seen dangers of prim-it-ive Sunships, I be inc-lined to ac-cept.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He returned complacently to his cushion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fagin rustled and his voice sighed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I too shall be pleased to go. Indeed, I would perform any labor to earn the lowest berth on such a craft. I cannot imagine what help I could be. But I will happily go along.\"\n\n\"Well I object, damnit!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "deSilva shouted. \"I refuse to accept the political implications of taking Pil Babbacub and Kant Fagin down, particularly after the accident! You talk of good relations with powerful alien races, Dr. Martine, but can you imagine what would happen if they died down there in an Earth ship?\"\n\n\"Oh fish and falafal!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine said. \"If anyone can handle things so no blame falls on Earth, it's these sophonts. The galaxy is a dangerous place, after all. I'm sure they could leave depositions or something.\"\n\n\"Such documents are already recorded in my case.\" Fagin said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub, as well, stated his magnanimous willingness to risk his life in a primitive craft, absolving all of responsibility. The Pil turned away as LaRoque began to thank him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even Martine joined in asking the man to please shut up.\n\nDeSilva looked to Jacob. He shrugged." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'jeff's' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, we've got time. Let's give the crew here a chance to check the data from Jeff's dive, and let Dr. Kepler recover. Meanwhile we can refer this idea to Earth for suggestions.\"\n\nMartine sighed. \"I wish it were that simple, but you just haven't thought this out. Consider, if we were to try to make peace with the Solarians, shouldn't we return to the same group that was offended by Jeff's visit?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, I'm not sure that necessarily follows, but it sounds right.\"\n\n\"And how do you plan to find the same group, down in the solar atmosphere?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I suppose you'd just have to return to the same active region, where the grazers are feeding.... Oh, I see what you mean.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll bet you do,\" she smiled. \"There is no permanent 'Solography' down there to make a map from. The active regions, and sunspots themselves, fade away in a matter of weeks! The Sun has no surface, per se, only different levels and densities of gas. Why, the equator even rotates faster than the other latitudes! How are you ever going to find the same group if you don't leave right away, before the damage done by Jeff's visit spreads over the entire star?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob turned to deSilva, puzzled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do you think she might be right, Helene?\"\n\nShe rolled her eyes upward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Who knows? Maybe. It's something to think about. I do know that we aren't going to do a damn thing until Dr. Kepler is well enough to be heard.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dr. Martine frowned. \"I told you before! Dwayne agreed that another expedition should leave right away!\"\n\n\"And I'll hear from him personally!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "deSilva answered hotly. \"Well, here I am, Helene.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dwayne Kepler stood in the doorway, leaning against the jamb." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beside him, supporting his arm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Chief Physician Laird glared across the room at Dr. Martine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dwayne! What are you doing out of bed! Do you want a heart attack?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine strode toward him, furious and concerned, but Kepler waved her back.\n\n\"I'm fine, Millie. I've just diluted that prescription you gave me, that's all. In a smaller dose it really is useful, so I know you meant well. It's just that it wasn't helping to knock me out like that!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler chuckled weakly. \"Anyway, I'm glad I wasn't too doped up to hear your brilliant speech. I caught most of it from the doorway.\"\n\nMartine reddened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob felt relieved that Kepler didn't mention the part he had played." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After landing and obtaining Laboratory space, it had seemed a waste not to go ahead and analyze the samples he'd pilfered, back on the Bradbury, of Kepler's pharmacopoeia.\n\nNo one asked where he got his samples, fortunately." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Although the base surgeon, when consulted, thought that some of the doses seemed a bit high, all but one of the drugs turned out to be standard for treatment of mild manic states.\n\nThe unknown drug stayed at the back of Jacob's mind; one more mystery to solve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What sort of physical problem did Kepler have that required large doses of a powerful anticoagulant? Physician Laird had been incensed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why had Martine prescribed Warfarin?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you sure you're well enough to be up here now?\" deSilva asked Kepler. She helped the physician guide him to a chair." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'would' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm all right,\" he answered. \"Besides, there are things that just won't wait.\n\n\"First of all, I'm not at all sure about Millie's theory that the Ghosts would greet Pil Bubbacub or Kant Fagin with more enthusiasm than they've shown to the rest of us. I do know that I'm definitely not taking responsibility for taking them down on a dive! The reason is that if they were killed down there it wouldn't be at the hands of the Solarians ... it would be caused by human beings! There should be another dive right away ... without our distinguished extraterrestrial friends, of course ... but it should leave immediately to go to the same region, as Millie suggested.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva shook her head emphatically. \"I don't agree at all, sir! Either Jeff was killed by the Ghosts, or something went wrong with his ship. And I think it was the latter, much as I hate to admit it.... We should check everything out before ...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, there's no doubt it was the ship,\" Kepler interrupted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Ghosts didn't kill anybody.\"\n\n\"What is it you say?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque shouted. \"Are you a blind man? How can you deny the obvious facts!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dwayne,\" Martine said smoothly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're much too tired to think about this now.\"\n\nKepler just waved her away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Excuse me, Dr. Kepler,\" Jacob said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mentioned something about the danger coming from human beings? Commandant deSilva probably thinks you meant an error in prepping Jeff's ship caused his death. Are you talking about something else?\"\n\n\"I just want to know one thing,\" Kepler said slowly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did the telemetry show that Jeff's ship was destroyed by a collapse of his stasis field?\"\n\nThe console operator who had spoken earlier stepped forward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why ... yessir. How did you know?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I didn't know,\" he smiled. \"But I guessed pretty well, once I thought of sabotage.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What!?\" Martine, deSilva and LaRoque shouted almost at once.\n\nAnd suddenly Jacob saw it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You mean during the tour ...?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned to look at LaRoque. Martine followed his eyes and gasped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque stepped back as if he had been struck. \"You are an insane man!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he cried. \"And you are as well!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He shook a finger at Kepler." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How could I have sabotaged the engines when I was sick all of the time I was in that crazy place?\"\n\n\"Hey look, LaRoque,\" Jacob said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I didn't say anything, and I'm sure Dr. Kepler is only speculating.\" He ended in a question and raised an eyebrow to Kepler." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler shook his head. \"I'm afraid I'm serious. LaRoque spent an hour next to Jeff's Gravity Generators, with no one else around." }, { "from": "human", "value": "We checked the Grav Generator for any damage that might have been caused by anyone fumbling around with their bare hands, and we didn't find any." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It didn't occur to me until later to check Mr. LaRoque's camera." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When I did, I found that one of its little attachments is a small sonic stunner!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From one of the pockets of his tunic he pulled out the small recording device. \"This is how the kiss of Judas was delivered!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque reddened. \"The stunner is a standard self-defense device for journalists." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I had even forgotten about it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And it could never have harmed so big a machine!\n\n\"And all of that is beside the point! This terra-chauvinist, archaeo-religious lunatic, who has nearly destroyed all chance of meeting our Patrons as friends, dares to accuse me of a crime for which there is no motive! He murdered that poor monkey, and he wishes to throw the blame on someone else!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Shut up, LaRoque,\" deSilva said evenly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned back to Kepler.\n\n\"Are you aware of what you're saying, sir? A Citizen wouldn't commit murder, simply out of dislike for an individual. Only a Probationary Personality could kill without dire cause. Can you think of any reason Mr. LaRoque might have had to do such a drastic thing?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know,\" Kepler shrugged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He peered at LaRoque. \"A Citizen who feels justified in killing still feels remorse afterward. Mr. LaRoque doesn't look like he regrets anything, so either he's innocent, or a good actor ... or he is a Probationer after all!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In space!\" Martine cried." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's impossible, Dwayne. And you know it. Every spaceport is loaded with P-receivers. And every ship is equipped with detectors also! Now you should apologize to Mr. LaRoque!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler grinned.\n\n\"Apologize? At the very least I know LaRoque lied about being 'dizzy' in the gravity loop." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I sent a maser-gram to Earth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I wanted a dossier on him from his paper. They were only too happy to oblige." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It seems that Mr. LaRoque is a trained astronaut! He was separated from the Service for 'medical reasons'—a phrase that's often used when a person's P-test scores rise to probation levels and he's forced to give up a sensitive job!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That may not prove anything, but it does mean that LaRoque has had too much experience in spaceships to have been 'scared to death' in Jeffrey's gravity loop. I only wish I realized this conflict in time to warn Jeff.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque protested and Martine objected, but Jacob could see the tide of opinion in the room turn against them. DeSilva eyed LaRoque with a cold feral gleam that startled Jacob somewhat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wait a minute,\" he held up a hand. \"Why don't we check if there are any Probationers without transmitters here on Mercury. I suggest we all have our retina patterns sent back to Earth for verification. If Mr. LaRoque isn't listed as a Probationer, it will be up to Dr. Kepler to show why a Citizen might have thought he had reason to murder.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"All right, then, for Kukulkan's sake, let us do it now!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque said. \"But only on the condition that I not be singled out!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "For the first time Kepler began to look unsure." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For Kepler's benefit, deSilva ordered the entire base reduced to Mercurian gravity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Control Center answered that the conversion would take about five minutes. She went on the intercom and announced the identity test to the crew and visitors, then left to supervise the preparations." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Those in the Telemetry Room began to drift out, on their way to the elevators." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque kept close to Kepler and Martine, as if to demonstrate his eagerness to disprove the charges against him, his chin raised in an expression of high martyrdom.\n\nThe three of them, plus Jacob and two crewmen, were waiting for an elevator car when the gravity change happened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was an ironic place for it to occur for it felt as if the floor had suddenly started to drop.\n\nThey were all used to changes in gravity—many places in Hermes Base were kept off Earth Gee." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But usually the transition was through a stasis-controlled doorway, itself no more pleasant than this but, from familiarity, less disconcerting. Jacob swallowed hard and one of the crewmen staggered slightly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In a sudden violent motion LaRoque dove for the camera in Kepler's hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine gasped and Kepler grunted in surprise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The crewman who grabbed after the journalist got a fist in the face as LaRoque twisted like an acrobat and began to run backward down the hall, bringing up his recaptured camera. Jacob and the other crewman gave chase, instinctively." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a flash and a shooting pain in Jacob's shoulder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something in his mind spoke as he dove to avoid another stunner bolt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It said, \"Okay, this is my job. I'm taking over now.\"\n\nHe was standing in a hallway, waiting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been exciting, but now it was sheer hell. The passageway dimmed for a moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He gasped and reached to steady himself on the rough wall as his vision cleared.\n\nHe was alone in a service corridor with a pain in his shoulder and the remnants of a deep, almost smug sense of satisfaction dissipating like a fading dream." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He looked carefully around himself, then sighed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So you took over and thought you could handle it without me, didn't you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he grunted. The shoulder tingled as if it was just now coming awake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "How his other half had got loose Jacob had no idea, nor why it had tried to handle things without the main persona's help. But it must have run into trouble to have given up now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A sensation of resentment answered that thought. Mr. Hyde was sensitive about his limitations, but capitulation came at last." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is that all? Full memory of the last ten minutes flooded back. He laughed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His amoral Self had been confronted by an insurmountable barrier.\n\nPierre LaRoque was in a room at the end of the hallway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Amid the chaos that followed his seizure of the camera-stunner only Jacob had been able to stay on a man's trail, and he'd selfishly kept the stalk to himself.\n\nHe had played LaRoque like a trout, letting him think he'd eluded all pursuit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Once he even diverted a posse of base crewmen when they were getting too close." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now LaRoque was putting on a spacesuit in a tool closet twenty meters from an outer airlock. He'd been in there five minutes and it would take at least another ten for him to finish." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That was the insurmountable barrier." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mr. Hyde couldn't wait. He was only a collection of drives, not a person, and Jacob had all of the patience." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He'd planned it that way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob snorted his disgust but not without a twinge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Not too long ago that drive had been a daily part of him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could understand the pain that waiting caused the small artificial personality that demanded instant gratification.\n\nMinutes passed. He watched the door silently." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even in his full awareness he began to get impatient." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It took a serious effort of will to keep his hand off the door latch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The latch started to turn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob stepped back with his hands at his sides.\n\nThe glassy bubble of a spacesuit helmet poked through the opening as the door swung outward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque looked to the left and then to the right." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His teeth made a hissing shape when he saw Jacob. The door swung wide and the man came forward with a bar of plastic bracing material in his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob held up a hand. \"Stop, LaRoque! I want to talk to you. You can't get away anyway.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't want to hurt you, Demwa. Run!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque's voice twanged nervously from a speaker on his chest. He flexed the plastic cudgel menacingly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shook his head. \"Sorry. I jimmied the airlock down the hall before waiting here. You'll find it a long walk in a spacesuit to the next one.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque's face twisted. \"Why?! I did nothing! Particularly to you!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We'll see about that. Meanwhile, let's talk. There isn't much time.\"\n\n\"I'll talk!\" LaRoque screamed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll talk with this!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He came forward with the bar, swinging." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob dropped into a deflection stance and tried to raise both hands to seize LaRoque's wrist. But he'd forgotten about the numb left shoulder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His left hand just fluttered weakly, halfway to its assigned position." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The right shot out to block and got a piece of the bar coming around instead. Desperately, he fell forward and tucked his head in as the club whistled inches above." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The roll, at least, was perfect." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The lesser gravity helped as he came up and around effortlessly in a crouch. But his right hand was numb now, as he automatically shut off the pain from an ugly bruise." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In his suit LaRoque swiveled more lightly than Jacob expected." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What was it that Kepler said about LaRoque having been an astronaut? No time. Here he comes again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The bar came down in a vicious overhead cut." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque held it in a two-handed kendo grip; easy to block if only Jacob had his hands. Jacob dove under the cut and buried his head in LaRoque's midriff." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He kept driving forward until together they slammed into the corridor wall. LaRoque said \"Oof!\" and dropped the bar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob kicked it away and jumped back.\n\n\"Stop this, LaRoque!\" He gulped for breath." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I just want to talk to you.... Nobody has enough evidence to convict you of anything, so why run? There's no place to run to anyway!\"\n\nLaRoque shook his head sadly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sorry, Demwa.\" The affected accent was completely gone. He lunged forward, arms outstretched." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob hopped backward until the distance was right, counting slowly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the count of five his eyelids fell and locked into slits." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For an instant Jacob Demwa was whole." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He dropped back and traced a geodesic in his mind from the toe of his shoe to his opponent's chin. The toe followed the arc in a snap that seemed to expand to minutes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The impact felt feather soft." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque rose into the air." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In his plentitude, Jacob Demwa watched the spacesuited figure fly backward in slow motion. He empathized, and it was he, it seemed, who went horizontal in midair and then drifted down in shame and hurt until the hard floor slammed into his back through the utility pack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then the trance ended and he was loosening LaRoque's helmet ... pulling it off and helping him to sit up against the wall. LaRoque was crying softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob noticed a package attached to LaRoque's waist. He cut the attachment and started to unwrap it, pushing LaRoque's hands aside when he resisted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So,\" Jacob pursed his lips. \"You didn't try to use the stunner on me because the camera was too valuable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Why, I wonder? I might find out if we play this thing back.\n\n\"Come on, LaRoque,\" he rose and pulled the man to his feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We're going to stop where there's a readout machine. That is unless you have something to say first?\"\n\nLaRoque shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He followed meekly with Jacob's hand on his arm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the main corridor, as Jacob was about to turn to the photo lab, a posse led by Dwayne Kepler found them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even in the reduced gravity the scientist leaned heavily on the arm of a med-aid.\n\n\"Aha! You caught him! Wonderful! This proves everything I said! The man was fleeing a righteous punishment! He's a murderer!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'll see about that,\" Jacob said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The only thing this adventure proves is that he got scared. Even a Citizen can be violent when he panics. The thing I'd like to know is where he thought he was going. There's nothing out there but blasted rock! Maybe you should have some men go out and search the area around the base to be sure.\"\n\nKepler laughed." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'going' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't think he was going anywhere. Probationers never do know where they're going. They act on basic instinct. He simply wanted to get out of an enclosed place, like any hunted animal.\"\n\nLaRoque's face remained blank." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Jacob felt his arm tense when a surface search was mentioned, then relax when Kepler shrugged the idea aside.\n\n\"Then you're giving up the idea of an adult-murder,\" Jacob said to Kepler as they turned toward the elevators. Kepler walked slowly." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'about' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"On what motive? Poor Jeff never harmed a fly! A decent, god-fearing chimpanzee! Besides, there hasn't been a murder by a Citizen in the System for ten years! They're about as common as gold meteors!\"\n\nJacob had his doubts about that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The statistics were more a comment on police methods than anything else. But he remained silent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By the elevators Kepler spoke briefly into a wall communicator. Several more men arrived almost immediately and took LaRoque from Jacob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did you find the camera, by the way?\" Kepler asked.\n\nJacob dissembled briefly. For a moment he considered hiding it and then pretending to discover it later." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ma camera a votre oncle!\" LaRoque cried. He thrust out a hand and reached for Jacob's back pocket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The crewmen pulled him back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Another came forward and held out his hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob reluctantly handed over the camera." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What did he say?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler asked. \"What language was that?\"\n\nJacob shrugged. An elevator came and more people spilled out, including Martine and deSilva." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was just a curse,\" he said. \"I don't think he approves of your ancestry.\"\n\nKepler laughed out loud." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "human", "value": "To Jacob the Communications Dome seemed like a bubble stuck in tar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All around the hemisphere of glass and stasis, the surface of Mercury gave off a dull, lambent shine. The liquid quality of the reflected sunlight enhanced the feeling of being inside a crystal ball that was trapped in mire, unable to escape into the cleanliness of space.\n\nIn the near distance, the rocks themselves looked strange. Unusual minerals formed in that heat and under constant bombardment of particles from the solar wind. The eye puzzled without quite knowing why, at powders and odd crystal shapes. And there were puddles as well. One shied away from thinking about those.\n\nAnd something else near the horizon demanded attention.\n\nThe Sun. It was very dim, cut down by the powerful screens. But the whitish yellow ball seemed like a golden dandelion near enough to touch, an incandescent coin. Dark sunspots ran in clusters, fanning north-and south-eastward, away from the equator. The surface had a fineness of texture that just escaped focus." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Looking directly at the Sun brought a strange detachment in Jacob." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dimmed, but not red tuned, its light bathed those inside the dome in an energizing glow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Streamers of sunshine seemed to caress Jacob's forehead." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was as if he had, like some ancient lizard seeking more than warmth, exposed every part of his self to the Lord of Space and, under those fires, felt a pulling force, a need to go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He felt an uneasy certainty." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something lived in that furnace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something terribly old, and terribly aloof." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Beneath the dome, men and machines stood on a fused plate of iron silicate. Jacob craned his head back to look at the huge pylon that filled the center of the chamber and protruded from the top of the stasis shield, into the hot Mercurial sunshine.\n\nAt its tip were the masers and laser which kept Hermes Base in touch with Earth, and, via a net of synchronous satellites, orbiting 15 million kilometers above the surface, followed the Sunships down into the Maelstrom of Helios.\n\nThe maser beam was busy now. One retinal pattern after another flew at lightspeed to the computers at home. It was tempting to imagine riding that beam back to Earth, to blue skies and waters.\n\nThe Retinal Reader was a small machine attached to the laser optics of the Library-designed computer system. The reader was essentially a large eyepiece against which a human user could press cheek and forehead. The optical input did the rest.\n\nAlthough the E.T. 's were exempted from the search for Probationers (there was no way they could qualify, and there certainly weren't any retinal codes on file for the few thousand galactics in the solar system) Culla insisted on being included. As Jeffrey's friend he claimed a right to participate, however symbolically, in the investigation of the chimpanzee scientist's death.\n\nCulla had trouble fitting his huge oculars one at a time into the pieces." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was very still for a long time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Finally, at a musical tone, the alien walked away from the machine.\n\nThe operator adjusted the height of the eyepiece for Helene deSilva.\n\nJacob's turn came then. He waited until the eyepiece was adjusted, then pressed his nose, cheek, and forehead against the stops and opened his eyes.\n\nA blue dot shone inside. Nothing else. It reminded Jacob of something, but he couldn't focus on what. It seemed to turn around and sparkle as he looked, eluding analysis, like the shining of somebody's soul.\n\nThen the musical tone told him his turn was over. He stepped back and made room, as Kepler came forward, leaning on Millie Martine's arm. The scientist smiled as he passed Jacob.\n\nNow that's what it reminded me of! he thought The dot had been like a twinkle in a man's eye." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Oh well, it fits, Computers can just about think today." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There are some that are supposed to have a sense of humor, even. Why not this as well? Give the computers eyes to flash, and arms to put akimbo. Let them cast meaningful glances or stares that would kill if only stares could. Why should they not, the machines, begin to take on the aspect of those whom they absorb?\n\nLaRoque submitted to the Reader, looking confident. When he finished, he sat aloof and silent under the gaze of Helene deSilva and several of her crew.\n\nThe Base Commandant had refreshments brought in, as everyone connected with the Sundiver ships took his or her turn at the Reader. Many of the technicians grumbled at the interruption of their work. Jacob had to admit, as he watched the procession pass, that it was an awful lot of effort to go through. He had never thought Helene would want to check on everybody.\n\nDeSilva had offered a partial explanation in the elevator on the way up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After putting Kepler and LaRoque in separate cars, she had ridden with Jacob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One thing confuses me,\" he had said.\n\n\"Only one thing?\" she smiled grimly.\n\n\"Well, one thing stands out. If Dr. Kepler accuses LaRoque of sabotaging Jeff's ship, why does he object to taking Bubbacub and Fagin on a followup dive, whatever the result of this investigation? If LaRoque is guilty that would mean that the next dive will be perfectly safe with him out of the way.\"\n\nDeSilva looked at him for a moment, pondering.\n\n\"I guess if there's anyone on this base I can confide in it's you, Jacob. So I'll tell you what I think.\n\n\"Dr. Kepler never did want any E.T. help on this program. You'll understand that I'm telling you this in strict confidence, but I'm afraid the usual balance between humanism and xenophilia that most spacemen get might have swung a bit too far in his case. His background makes him bitterly opposed to the Danikenite philosophy, and I suppose that converts into a partial distrust of aliens. Also, a lot of his colleagues have been thrown out of work by the Library. For a man who loves research as much as he, it must have been hard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not saying he's a Skin or anything like that! He gets along with Fagin pretty well and manages to hide his feelings around other Eatees. But he might say that if one dangerous man got on Mercury, another could, and use our guests' safety as an excuse to keep them off his ships.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But Culla's been on almost every dive.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva shrugged.\n\n\"Culla doesn't count. He's a Client.\n\n\"I do know one thing, though; I'm going to have to go over Dr. Kepler's head if this proves out. Every man on this base is having his identity checked and Bubbacub and Fagin go on the next dive if I have to shanghai them! I'm not going to let the slightest rumor get around that human crews are unreliable!\"\n\nShe nodded with her jaw set. At the time Jacob thought her grimness was excessive. Though he could understand her feelings, it was a shame to masculinize those lovely features. At the same time he wondered if Helene was being totally candid on her own motivations.\n\nA man who stood waiting by the maser link tore off a slip of message tape and carried it to deSilva. There was a tense silence as everyone watched her read. Then, grimly, she motioned to several of the husky crewmen who stood by.\n\n\"Place Mr. LaRoque under detention. He's to be returned on the next ship out.\"\n\n\"On what charge!\" LaRoque shouted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You cannot do this, you, you Neanderthaler woman! I will see that you pay for this insult!\"\n\nDeSilva looked down at him as if he were a form of insect. \"For now the charge is illegal removal of a probationary transmitter. Other charges may be added later.\"\n\n\"Lies, lies!\" LaRoque shrieked as he leapt up. A crewman siezed his arm and pulled him, choking with rage, toward the elevators.\n\nDeSilva ignored them and turned to Jacob. \"Mr. Demwa, the other ship will be ready in three hours. I'll go tell the others.\n\n\"We can sleep en route. Thanks again for the way you handled things downstairs.\"\n\nShe turned away before he could answer, giving orders in a low voice to crewmen who clustered about, efficiency masking her anger at the news: a Probationer in space!\n\nJacob watched for a few minutes as the dome slowly emptied. A death, a wild chase, and now a felony. So what, he thought, if the only felony proven so far is one I'd probably commit if I ever became a P.P.... it does mean that there's a good chance that LaRoque caused the death as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As much as he disliked the man, he had never thought him capable of cold-blooded murder, in spite of those wicked swipes with the plastic cudgel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the back of his mind Jacob could feel his other half rubbing hands gleefully ... amorally delighted at the mysterious twists and turns the Sundiver case had taken and clamoring now to be set loose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Forget it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dr. Martine approached him near the elevator." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She appeared to be in shock." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Jacob ... you, you don't think Pierre could kill that silly little fellow, do you? I mean, he likes chimpanzees!\"\n\n\"I'm sorry, but the evidence seems to point that way. I don't like the Probation Laws any more than you do. But people who are assigned that status are capable of easy violence, and for Mr. LaRoque to remove his transmitter is against the law.\n\n\"But don't worry, they'll work it all out on Earth. LaRoque is sure to get a fair hearing.\"\n\n\"But ... he's already being unfairly accused!\" she blurted. \"He's not a Probationer, and he's not a murderer! I can prove it!\"\n\n\"That's great! Do you have evidence here?\"\n\nHe frowned suddenly. \"But the transmission from Earth said he was a Probationer!\"\n\nShe bit her lip, looking away from his eyes. \"The transmission was a forgery.\"\n\nJacob felt pity for her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now the supremely confident psychologist was stammering and grasping at farfetched ideas in her shock. It was degrading and he wished he was elsewhere.\n\n\"You have proof that the maser message was a lie? Can I see it?\"\n\nMartine looked up at him. Suddenly she seemed very unsure, as if wondering whether to say more.\n\n\"The ... the crew here. Did you actually see the message? That woman ... she only read it to us. She and the others hate Pierre ...\"\n\nHer voice trailed off weakly, as if she knew her argument was thin. After all, Jacob thought, could the Commandant have faked reading from a piece of tape and known for certain that no one would ask to see it? Or, for that matter, would she place LaRoque in a position to sue her for every penny she'd earned in seventy years, just for a grudge?\n\nOr had Martine been about to say something else?\n\n\"Why don't you go down to your quarters and get some rest,\" he said gently, \"and don't worry about Mr. LaRoque. They'll need more evidence than they have now to convict him of a murder in a court on Earth.\"\n\nMartine let him lead her into the elevator." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There, Jacob looked back." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva was busy with her crew, Kepler had been taken below. Culla stood morosely near Fagin, the two of them towering over everyone else in the chamber, under the great yellow disc of the Sun.\n\nHe wondered, as the door closed, whether this was really a good way to begin a journey." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'before' 3 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Project Icarus it was called, the fourth space program of that name and the first for which it was appropriate. Long before Jacob's parents were born—before the Overturn and the Covenant, before the Power Satellite League, before even the full flower of the old Bureaucracy—old grandfather NASA decided that it would be interesting to drop expendible probes into the Sun to see what happened.\n\nThey discovered that the probes did a quaint thing when they got close. They burned up.\n\nIn America's \"Indian Summer\" nothing was thought impossible. Americans were building cities in space—a more durable probe couldn't be much of a challenge!\n\nShells were made, with materials that could take unheard of stress and whose surfaces reflected almost anything. Magnetic fields guided the diffuse but tremendously hot plasmas of corona and chromosphere around and away from those hulls. Powerful communications lasers pierced the solar atmosphere with two-way streams of commands and data.\n\nStill, the robot ships burned. However good the mirrors and insulation, however evenly the superconductors distributed heat, the laws of thermodynamics still held. Heat will pass from a higher temperature to a zone where the temperature is lower, sooner or later.\n\nThe solar physicists might have gone on resignedly burning up probes in exchange for fleeting bursts of information had Tina Merchant not offered another way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why don't you refrigerate?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked. \"You have all the power you want. You can run refrigerators to push heat from one part of the probe to another.\"\n\nHer colleagues answered that, with superconductors, equilizing heat throughout was no problem.\n\n\"Who said anything about equalizing?\" the Belle of Cambridge replied. \"You should take all excess heat from the part of the ship were the instruments are and pump it into another part where the instruments aren't.\"\n\n\"And that part will burn up!\" one colleague said.\n\n\"Yes, but we can make a chain of these 'heat dumps,' \" said another engineer, slightly more bright. \"And then we can drop them off, one by one ...\"\n\n\"No, no you don't quite understand.\" The triple Nobel Laureate strode to the chalkboard and drew a circle, then another circle within.\n\n\"Here!\" She pointed to the inner circle. \"You pump your heat into here until it is, for a short time, hotter than the ambient plasma outside of the ship. Then, before it can do harm there, you dump it out into the chromosphere.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And how,\" asked a renowned physicist, \"do you expect to do that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tina Merchant had smiled as if she could almost see the Astronautics Prize held out to her. \"Why I'm surprised at all of you!\" she said. \"You have onboard a communications laser with a brightness temperature of millions of degrees! Use it!\"\n\nEnter the age of the Solar Bathysphere. Floating in part by buoyancy and also by balancing atop the thrust of their refrigerator lasers, probes lingered for days, weeks, monitoring the subtle variations at the Sun, that wrought weather on the Earth.\n\nThat era came to an end with Contact. But soon a new type of Sunship was born.\n\nJacob thought about Tina Merchant. He wondered if the great lady would have been proud, or merely bemused, to stand on the deck of a Sunship and cruise calmly through the worst tempests of this irascible star. She might have said \"Of course!\" But how could she have known that an alien science would have to be added to her own for men to ride those storms?\n\nTo Jacob the mixture didn't inspire confidence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He knew, of course, that a couple of dozen successful descents had been made in this ship." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no reason to think that this trip would be dangerous.\n\nExcept that another ship, the scaled-down replica of this one, had mysteriously failed Just three days before.\n\nJeff's ship was probably now a drifting cloud of dissolving cermet fragments and ionized gases, scattered through millions of cubic miles in the solar maelstrom. Jacob tried to imagine the storms of the chromosphere the way the chimp scientist saw them in the last instant of his life, unprotected by the space-time fields.\n\nHe closed his eyes and rubbed them gently. He had been staring at the Sun, blinking too seldom.\n\nFrom his point of view, on one of the observation couches flush with the deck, he could see almost an entire hemisphere of the Sun. Half of the sky was filled by a feathery, slowly shifting ball of soft reds and blacks and whites. In hydrogen light, everything glowed in shades of crimson; the faint, delicate arch of a prominence, standing out against space at the star's rim; the dark, twisting bands of filaments; and the sunken, blackish sunspots with their umbral depths and penumbral flows.\n\nThe topography of the Sun had almost infinite variety and texture. From flickers too fast to follow with the eye, to slow majestic turnings, all he could see was in motion.\n\nAlthough the major features changed little from one hour to the next, Jacob could now make out countless lesser movements." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The quickest were the pulsations of forests of tall slender \"spicules\" around the edges of great mottled cells." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The pulses took place within seconds. Each spicule, he knew, covered thousands of square miles.\n\nJacob had spent time at the telescope on the Flip-side of the Sunship, watching the flickering spikes of superheated plasma jetting up out of the photosphere like quick waving fountains, flinging free of the Sun's gravity great rolling waves of sound and matter that became the corona and the solar wind.\n\nWithin the spicule fences, the huge granulation cells pulsed in complicated rhythm as heat from below finished its million-year journey of convection to escape suddenly as light.\n\nThese, in turn, bunched together in gigantic cells, whose oscillations were the basic modes of the almost perfectly spherical Sun—the ringing of a stellar bell.\n\nAbove all this, like a broad deep sea rolling over the ocean floor, flowed the chromosphere.\n\nThe analogy could be overstated, but one could think of the turbulent areas above the spicules as coral reefs, and of the rows of stately, feathery filaments, tracing everywhere the paths of magnetic fields, as beds of kelp, gently swaying with the tide. No matter that each pink arch was many times the size of Earth!\n\nOnce more Jacob tore his eyes away from the boiling sphere. I'm going to be useless for anything if I keep staring like this, he thought. I wonder how the others resist it?\n\nThe entire observation floor was visible from his position, except for a small section on the other side of the forty-foot dome at the Center." }, { "from": "human", "value": "An opening grew in the side of the central dome and light spilled out into the deck." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'tradition' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silhouetted, a man emerged, followed by a tall woman. Jacob didn't have to wait for his eyes to adapt to know the outline of Commandant deSilva.\n\nHelene smiled as she walked over and sat cross-legged next to his couch.\n\n\"Good morning, Mr. Demwa. I hope you had a good night's sleep. It'll be a busy day.\"\n\nJacob laughed. \"That's three times in one breath you've talked as if there was anything called night here. You don't have to keep up the fiction, like providing this sunrise here.\" He nodded to where the Sun covered half of the sky.\n\n\"Rotation of the ship to make eight hours of night allows groundlubbers a chance to sleep,\" she said.\n\n\"You needn't have worried,\" Jacob said. \"I can catch Zee's anytime. It's my most valuable talent.\"\n\nHelene's smile widened. \"It was no inconvenience. But, now that you mention it, it's always been a tradition of Helionauts to rotate the ship once before final descent and call it night.\"\n\n\"You have traditions already? After only two years?\"\n\n\"Oh this tradition is much older than that! It dates back to when nobody could imagine any other way to visit the Sun but ...\" She paused." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob groaned out loud." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But to go at night, when it isn't so hot!\"\n\n\"You figured it out!\"\n\n\"Filamentary, my dear Watson.\"\n\nIt was her turn to groan. \"Actually, we are building up some feeling of tradition among those who have gone down to Helios. We make up the Fire-Eaters Club. You'll be initiated back on Mercury. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what the initiation consists of ... but I hope you can swim!\"\n\n\"I don't see any place to hide, Commandant. I'll be proud to be a Fire-Eater.\"\n\n\"Good! And don't forget, you still owe me that story about how you saved the Finnila Needle. I never did tell you how glad I was to see that old monstrosity when the Calypso returned, and I want to hear about it from the man who preserved it.\"\n\nJacob stared past the Sunship Commandant. For a moment he thought he could hear a wind whistling, and someone calling ... a voice crying out indecipherable words as somebody fell.... He shook himself.\n\n\"Oh, I'll save it for you. It's much too personal to talk about in one of those story-swaps. There was someone else involved in saving the needles, someone you might like to hear about.\"\n\nThere was something in Helene deSilva's expression, something compassionate, that implied she already knew about what had happened to him at Ecuador, and would let him tell about it in his own good time.\n\n\"I'm looking forward to it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And I've finally thought of one for you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's about the 'song-birds' of Omnivarium. It seems the planet is so silent that the human settlers have to be very careful lest the birds start mimicking any noise they make. This has an interesting effect on the settler's lovemaking behavior, particularly among the women, depending on whether they want to advertise their partner's 'abilities' in the age-old fashion or remain discreet!\n\n\"But I must go back to my duties now. And I certainly don't want to give away the whole story. I'll let you know when we reach the first turbulence.\"\n\nJacob rose to his feet with her and watched as she walked toward the command station. Partway into the solar chromosphere was probably an odd place to be enthralled by the way a fem walked, but until she went out of sight he felt no inclination to turn his eyes away. He admired the limberness that members of the interstellar corps inculcated into their extremities.\n\nHell, she was probably doing it on purpose. Where it didn't interfere with her Job, Helene deSilva obviously pursued libido as a hobby.\n\nThere was something strange, though, in her behavior towards him. She appeared to trust him more than would normally be warranted by the small contributions he'd made on Mercury and their few friendly conversations. Perhaps she was after something." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If so he couldn't figure out what." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the other hand, maybe people were more naturally intimate when she'd left Earth for the long Jump on Calypso. Someone brought up on an O'Niel Colony, in a period of introspection caused by political stultification, might be more willing to trust her instincts than a child of the highly individualistic Confederacy.\n\nHe wondered what Fagin had told her about him.\n\nJacob went to the central dome, the outside wall of which contained a little boxlike head.\n\nWhen he came out, Jacob felt much more awake. On the other side of the dome, by the food and beverage machines, he found Dr. Martine standing with the two bipedal aliens. She smiled at him, and Culla's eyes brightened with friendliness. Even Bubbacub grunted a greeting through his Vodor.\n\nHe pressed buttons for orange Juice and an omelette.\n\n\"You know, Jacob, you turned in too early last night. Pil Bubbacub was telling us some more incredible stories after you went to bed. They were astounding, really!\"\n\nJacob bowed slightly at Bubbacub.\n\n\"I apologize, Pil Bubbacub. I was very tired, otherwise I would have been thrilled to hear more about the great Galactics, particularly of the glorious Pila. I'm sure the stories are inexhaustible.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine stiffened next to him, but Bubbacub showed his pleasure by preening." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob knew it would be dangerous to insult the little alien. But by now he'd guessed the Ambassador wouldn't know any accusation of hubris as an insult. Jacob couldn't resist the harmless dig.\n\nMartine insisted that he come over to eat with them, where the couches had already been raised for dining. Two of deSilva's four crewmen ate nearby.\n\n\"Has anyone seen Fagin?\" Jacob asked.\n\nDr. Martine shook her head. \"No, I'm afraid he's been on Flip-side for over twelve hours. I don't know why he doesn't join us here.\"\n\nIt wasn't like Fagin to be reticent. When Jacob had gone to the instrument hemisphere to use the telescope, and found the Kanten there, Fagin had hardly said a word. Now the Commandant had put the other side of the ship off limits to everyone except the E.T., who occupied it alone.\n\nIf I don't hear from Fagin by lunchtime, I'm going to demand an explanation, Jacob thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nearby, Martine and Bubbacub talked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Occasionally Culla said a word or two, always with the most unctuous respect. The Pring seemed always to have a liquitube between his giant lips. He sipped slowly, steadily consuming the contents of several tubes while Jacob ate his meal.\n\nBubbacub launched into a story about an Ancestral of his, a member of the Soro race who had, some million or so years ago, taken part in one of the few peaceful contacts between the loose civilization of oxygen breathers and the mysterious parallel culture of hydrogen-breathing races which coexisted in the galaxy.\n\nFor aeons there had been little or no understanding between hydrogen and oxygen. Whenever conflict arose between the two a planet died. Sometimes more. It was fortunate that they had almost nothing in common, so conflicts were rare.\n\nThe story was long and involved, but Jacob admitted to himself that Bubbacub was a master storyteller. Bubbacub could be charming and witty, as long as he controlled the center of attention.\n\nJacob allowed his imagination to drift along as the Pil vividly described those things which only a handful of men had ever even sampled: the infinite strangeness and beauty of the stars, and the variety of things which dwelt on a multitude of planets. He began to envy Helene deSilva.\n\nBubbacub felt the cause of the Library intensely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was the vehicle of knowledge and of a tradition which unified all of those who took in oxygen as breath. It provided continuity and more, for without the Library, there would be no bridges between species. Wars would not be fought with restraint but to extinction. Planets would be ruined by over-use.\n\nThe Library, and the other loosely-knit Institutes, helped to prevent genocide among its members.\n\nBubbacub's story reached its climax and he allowed his awed audience a few moments of silence. Finally, he good-naturedly asked Jacob if he would care to honor them with a story of his own.\n\nJacob was taken aback. By human standards, perhaps, he had led an interesting life, but certainly not remarkable! What could he talk about from history? Apparently the rules were that it had to either be a personal experience, or an adventure of an Ancestor or Ancestral.\n\nPerspiring in his chair, Jacob considered telling a story about some historical figure; perhaps Marco Polo or Mark Twain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But Martine would probably not be interested." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'story' (4x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then there was the part his grandfather Alvarez had played in the Overturn. But that story was rather heavily political and Bubbacub would think its moral downright subversive. His best story had to do with his own adventure at the Vanilla Needle, but that was too personal, too filled with painful memories to share here and now. Besides he'd promised it to Helene deSilva.\n\nIt was too bad LaRoque wasn't here. The feisty little man would probably have been able to talk until the fires below burned out.\n\nAn impish thought struck Jacob. There was a character out of history, who was a direct Ancestor of his and whose story might be sufficiently relevent. The amusing part was that the story could be interpreted on two levels. He wondered how obvious he could get without certain listeners catching on.\n\n\"Well, as a matter of fact,\" he began slowly. \"There's a male from the history of Earth who I would like to talk about. He is of interest because he was involved in a contact between a 'primitive' culture and technology and another that could overpower it in almost every respect." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Naturally, you're all familiar with the premise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Since Contact, it's been almost all historians talk about.\n\n\"The fate of the Amerind is this era's morality play. Old twentieth-century movies glorifying the 'Noble Red Man' are shown today strictly for laughs. As Millie reminded us, back on Mercury, and as everyone back home knows, the Red Man did just about the poorest job of any of the impacted cultures at adapting to the arrival of Europeans. His vaunted pride kept him from studying the white man's powerful ways until it was too late, exactly opposite to the successful \"co-opting\" made by Japan in the late nineteenth century ... the example that the 'Adapt and Survive' faction keeps pointing out to all who will listen these days.\"\n\nHe had them. The humans were watching him silently. Culla's eyes were bright. Even Bubbacub, usually inattentive, kept his beady little eyes on Jacob. Martine had winced when he mentioned the A & S faction, though. A datum.\n\nIf LaRoque were here, he wouldn't care for what I'm saying, Jacob thought. But LaRoque's distress would be nothing next to that of his Alverez kin, should they ever hear him talk like this!\n\n\"Of course, the failure of the Amerinds to adapt wasn't entirely their fault,\" Jacob continued. \"Many scholars think that western hemisphere cultures were in a periodic slump that happened, unfortunately, to coincide with the arrival of Europeans. Indeed, the poor Mayans had just finished a civil war in which they'd all moved out to the country and left their cities, and princes and priests, to rot. When Columbus arrived the temples were mostly deserted. Of course, the population had doubled and wealth and trade had quadrupled over the 'Golden Age of the Maya,' but those are hardly valid measures of cultures.\"\n\nCareful, boy. Don't go too heavy on the irony.\n\nJacob noticed that one of the crewmen, a fellow he'd met named Dubrowsky, had backed away from the others." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Only Jacob could see the sardonic grin on the man's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Everyone else appeared to be listening with unsuspicious interest, though it was hard to tell with Culla and Bubbacub.\n\n\"Now this ancestor of mine was an Amerind. His name was Se-quo-yi, and he was a member of the Cherokee nation.\n\n\"At the time, the Cherokee lived mostly in the state of Georgia. Since that was the East Coast of America, they had even less time than the other Amerinds to prepare to deal with the white man. Still, they tried, after their own fashion. Their attempt was nowhere near as grand or complete as the Japanese, but they tried.\n\n\"They were quick to pick up on the technology of their new neighbors. Log cabins replaced lodge houses and iron tools and blacksmithing became a part of Cherokee life. They learned about gunpowder early, as well as European methods of farming. Though many didn't like the idea, the tribe even became a slaveholding enterprise at one point.\n\n\"That was after they'd been whipped in two wars." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They'd made the mistake of supporting the French in 1765, and then backed the Crown during the first American Revolution." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even so, they had a fair-sized little republic in the first part of the nineteenth century, partly because several young Cherokee had picked up enough of the white man's knowledge to become lawyers. Along with their Iroquois speaking cousins to the north, they did a fair Job of playing the treaty game.\n\n\"For a while.\n\n\"Enter my ancestor. Se-quo-yi was a man who didn't like either of the choices offered his people, either staying noble savages and getting wiped out, or co-opting the settlers' ways completely and disappearing as a people. In particular, he saw the power of the written word but thought the Indian would forever be at a disadvantage if he had to learn English to become literate.\"\n\nJacob wondered if anyone would make the connection, comparing the situation that faced Se-quo-yi and the Cherokee with humanity's present predicament, vis-à-vis the Library.\n\nJudging by the look on Martine's face, at least one person was surprised to hear such a long historical tale from the normally quiet Jacob Demwa. There was no way she could, or ever would, know about the long lessons, after school, in history and oratory that he and the other Alvarez children had endured. Though he had turned away from politics, a family black sheep, he still had some of the skills.\n\n\"Well, Se-quo-yi solved his problem to his own satisfaction by inventing a written form of the Cherokee language. It was a Herculean task, accomplished at cost of episodes of torture and exile, for many in his own tribe resisted his efforts. But when he finished all of the world of literature and technology was available, not just to the intellectual who could study English for years, but to the Cherokee of average intelligence, as well.\n\n\"Soon even the assimilationists accepted the work of Se-quo-yi's genius." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His victory set the tone for all succeeding generations of Cherokee." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "These people, the only Amerinds whose principle hero was an intellectual, and not a warrior, chose to be selective.\n\n\"And that was their big mistake. If they'd let the local missionaries change them over into imitation settlers they would have been able, probably, to merge into the yeoman class and be looked upon by the Europeans as a slightly lower type of white man.\n\n\"Instead, they thought they could become modern Indians, retaining the essential elements of their old culture ... obviously a contradiction in terms.\n\n\"Still, there are some scholars who think they might have made it. Things were going well until a group of white men discovered gold on Cherokee land. That got the settlers fairly excited. They got a bill through the Georgia legislature to declare the land up for grabs.\n\n\"Then the Cherokee did a strange thing, something that wasn't adequately duplicated for about a hundred years after. That Indian nation took the Georgia state legislature to court over the land seizure! They had some help from some sympathetic white men and managed to bring the case before the United States Supreme Court.\n\n\"The Court ruled that the seizure was illegal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Cherokee could keep their land.\n\n\"But here is where the incompleteness of their adjustment let them down. Because they'd made no major attempt to fit themselves into the basic structure of settler society, the Cherokee had no political power to back up the rightness of their cause. They trusted, and cleverly used, the high and honorable laws of the new nation, but didn't realize that public opinion has every bit as much force as law.\n\n\"To most of their white neighbors they were just another tribe of Indians. When Andy Jackson told the Court to go to hell, and sent the Army in to evict the Cherokee anyway, there was nowhere for them to turn.\n\n\"So Se-quo-yi's people had to pack a few belongings and march the tragic Trail of Tears to a new 'Indian Territory,' in western lands none of them had ever seen.\n\n\"The story of the Trail of Tears was an epic of human courage and endurance. The sufferings of the Cherokee on that long march were deep and sad. Some very moving literature came out of it, as well as a tradition of strength in privation that has affected the spirit of that people ever since, even down to today.\n\n\"That eviction wasn't the last trauma to fall on the Cherokee.\n\n\"When the United States had a Civil War, the Cherokee did as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Brother killed brother when the Confederate Indian Volunteers met the Union Indian Brigade." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They fought as passionately as did the white troops, and usually with more discipline. And in the process their new homes were ravaged.\n\n\"Later there were troubles with bandit gangs, diseases, and more land seizures. In their stoicism they came to be known by some as the 'Amerind Jews.' While some other tribes dissolved in despair and apathy in the face of the crimes committed against them, the Cherokee maintained their tradition of self reliance.\n\n\"Se-quo-yi was remembered. Perhaps in symbolism of the pride of the Cherokee, his name was given to a certain type of tree, one that grows in the misty forests of California. The tallest tree in the world.\n\n\"But all of this leads us away from the folly of the Cherokee. For while their pride helped them survive the depredations of the nineteenth century and the neglect of the twentieth, it held them back from participating in the Indian Consolation of the twenty-first. They refused the 'cultural reparations' offered by the American governments Just before the beginning of the Bureaucracy; riches heaped on the remnants of the Indian Nations to salve the delicate consciences of the enlightened, educated public in that era that is today, ironically, referred to as America's 'Indian Summer.'\n\n\"They refused to set up Cultural Centers to perform ancient dances and rituals. While other Amerind revivalists resurrected pre-Columbian crafts to 'regain contact with their heritage,' the Cherokee asked why they should dig up 'Model T's' when they could be building their own specially-flavored version of twenty-first-century American culture." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Along with the Mohawks and scattered groups from other tribes, they traded their 'Consolation' and half of their tribal wealth to buy into the Power Satellite League. The pride of their youth went up to help build the cities in space, as their grandfathers had helped build the great cities of America. The Cherokee gave away a chance to be rich in exchange for a share of the sky.\n\n\"And once again they paid terribly for their pride. When the Bureaucracy began its suppression, the League rebelled. Those bright young males and fems, the treasure of their nation, died by the thousands alongside their space-brothers, descendants of Andy Jackson and of Andy Jackson's slaves. The League cities they built were decimated. The survivors were allowed to remain in space only because someone had to be there to show the Bureaucracy's carefully selected replacements how to live.\n\n\"On Earth the Cherokee suffered, too. Many took part in the Constitutionalist Revolt. Alone of the Indian nations, they were punished by the victors as a group, along with the VietAms, and the Minnesotans. The Second Trail of Tears was as sad as the first." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This time, though, they had company." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course, the first ruthless generation of Bureaucracy leaders passed, and the era of the true bureaucrats arrived." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Hegemony cared more about productivity than vengeance. The League rebuilt, under supervision, and a rich new culture developed in the O'Niel Colonies, influenced by the survivors of the original builders.\n\n\"On Earth, the Cherokee still meet, long after many tribes have been absorbed into cosmopolitan culture or into quaintness. They still haven't learned their lesson. I hear that their latest crackpot scheme is a joint project with the VietAms and Israel-APU to try to terra-form Venus. Ridiculous, of course.\n\n\"But all of that is beside the point. If my Ancestor, Se-quo-yi, and his kin, had adapted completely to the ways of the white man they could have won a small place in his culture and been absorbed in peace, without suffering. If they had resisted with indiscriminate stubbornness, along with many of their Amerind neighbors, they would have suffered still, but finally been given a place, through the 'kindness' of a later generation of white man.\n\n\"Instead, they tried to find a synthesis between those obvious good and powerful aspects of western civilization, and their own heritage. They experimented and were choosy. They picked and fussed over the meal for six hundred years and suffered, because of it, more than any other tribe.\n\n\"The moral of this story I have told, should be obvious. We humans are faced with a choice similar to that faced by the Amerinds, whether to be picky or to accept wholeheartedly all of the billion-year-old culture offered us through the Library. Let anyone who urges choosiness remember the story of the Cherokee. Their trail has been long, and it isn't over yet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a long silence after Jacob finished." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bubbacub still watched him with little black eyes. Culla stared fixedly. Dr. Martine looked down at the deck, her eyebrows knotted in thought.\n\nThe crewman, Dubrowsky, stood well back. One arm was crossed in front of him. His other hand covered his mouth. Crinkles around his eyes; did they betray silent laughter?\n\nMust be a League-man. Space is infested with them. I hope he keeps his mouth shut about this. I took enough of a chance as it is.\n\nHis throat felt parched. He took a long drink from the liquitube of orange juice he had saved from breakfast." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub finally placed both little hands behind his neck and sat up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked at Jacob for a moment.\n\n\"Good sto-ry,\" he snapped, finally. \"I will ask you to rec-ord it for me, when we get back. It has good les-son for Earth folk.\n\n\"There are some ques-tions I would ask, though. Now or la-ter. Some things I do not un-der-stand.\"\n\n\"As you wish, Pil-Bubbacub,\" Jacob bowed, trying to hide his grin. Now to change the subject quick, before Bubbacub could get started asking about pesky details! But how?\n\n\"I too, enjoyed my friend Jacob's story,\" a whistling voice fluted from behind them. \"I approached as silently as I could, when I came into range to hear it. I am pleased that my presence did not disturb the telling.\"\n\nJacob shot to his feet with relief.\n\n\"Fagin!\" Everyone rose as the Kanten slithered toward them. In the ruby light, he looked jet black. His movements were slow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wish to offer apologies! My absence was unavoidable. The Commandant graciously assented to allow more radiation through the screens so that I could take nourishment. But, understandably, it was necessary that she do so only on the unoccupied reverse side of the ship.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's true,\" Martine laughed. \"We wouldn't want any sunburn here!\"\n\n\"Quite so. And yet it was lonely there, I am glad to have company again.\"\n\nThe bipeds sat down and Fagin settled himself onto the deck. Jacob seized the opportunity to get out of his fix.\n\n\"Fagin, we've been exchanging some stories here, waiting for the surfing to start. Maybe you can tell us one about the Institute of Progress?\"\n\nThe Kanten rustled its foliage. There was a pause. \"Alas, Friend-Jacob. Unlike that of the Library, the Institute of Progress is not an important society. The very name is poorly translated into English. There are no words in your language to represent it properly.\n\n\"Our small order was founded to fulfill one of the least of the Injunctions that the Progenitors placed upon the oldest of races when they left the galaxy so long ago. Crudely stated, it imposed upon us the duty to respect \"Newness.'\n\n\"It may be hard for a species such as your own, orphans so to speak, who have until recently never felt the bittersweet bonds of kinship and patron-client obligation, to understand the inherent conservatism of our Galactic culture." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This conservatism is not bad." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For admidst so much diversity a belief in the Tradition and in a common heritage is a good influence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Young races heed the words of those older, who have learned wisdom and patience with years." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You might say, to borrow an English expression, that we hold a deep regard for our roots.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: Your response must contain: \"Kant Fagin, to your knowledge, has this ever happened before? I mean, has there ever been a case of a species which has no memory of Ancestral Upbringing, bursting into the galaxy on their own like we did?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only Jacob noticed that Fagin shifted his weight slightly at that point. The Kanten was folding and unfolding the short knotty tentacles that served as his feet. Jacob tried not to choke as a swallow of orange juice went down wrong.\n\n\"But there remains a need to face the future, as well,\" Fagin continued. \"And in their wisdom, the Progenitors warned the Oldest not to scorn that which is new under the Sun.\"\n\nFagin was silhouetted against the giant red orb, their destination. Jacob shook his head helplessly.\n\n\"So when word got out that somebody'd found a bunch of savages sucking at a wolf's teat, you came running, right?\"\n\nMore rustling foliage. \"Very graphic, Friend-Jacob. But your surmise is essentially correct. The Library has the important task of teaching the races of Earth what they need to know to survive. My Institute has the humbler mission of appreciating your Newness.\"\n\nDr. Martine spoke.\n\n\"Kant Fagin, to your knowledge, has this ever happened before? I mean, has there ever been a case of a species which has no memory of Ancestral Upbringing, bursting into the galaxy on their own like we did?\"\n\n\"Yes, respected Doctor Martine. It has happened a number of times. Space is large beyond all imagining. The periodic migrations of oxygen and hydrogen civilizations cover great distance, and rarely is even a settled area ever full explored. Often, in these great movements, a tiny fragment of a race, barely raised from bestiality, has been abandoned by its patrons to find its way alone. Such abandonments are usually avenged by civilized peoples ...\" The Kanten hesitated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly Jacob realized why with a shock as Fagin hurried on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But since it is usually at a time of migration that these rare cases occur, there is an added problem." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wolfling race may develop a crude spacedrive from the dregs of its patron's technology, but by the time it enters interstellar space, its part of the galaxy might be under Interdict. Unknowingly it might fall prey to hydrogen breathers whose turn it may be to occupy that cluster or spiral arm.\n\n\"Nevertheless, such species are found occasionally. Usually the orphans retain vivid memories of their patrons. In some cases, myth and legend have taken the place of fact. But the Library is almost always able to trace the truth, for that is where our truths are stored.\"\n\nFagin lowered several branches in Bubbacub's direction. The Pil acknowledged with a friendly bow.\n\n\"That is why,\" Fagin went on, \"we await with great expectation the discovery of the reason why there is no mention of your Earth in that great archive. There is no listing, no record of previous occupation, in spite of five full migrations through this region since the Progenitors departed.\"\n\nBubbacub froze in his bow. The small black eyes snapped up to bear on the Kanten with narrowly focused ferocity, but Fagin appeared not to notice as he continued.\n\n\"To my knowledge, mankind is the first case in which there exists the intriguing possibility of evolved intelligence. As I am sure you know, this idea violates several well-established principles of our biological science. Yet some of your anthropologists' arguments possess startling self-consistency.\"\n\n\"It is quaint idea,\" Bubbacub sniffed. \"Like per-pet-ual motion, these boast-ings by those you call 'Skins.' The theories of 'natural' growth of full sentience, are great source of good-natured jokes, human-Jacob-Dem-wa. But soon the Lib-rar-y give your troubled race what it needs; the comfort of knowing where you came from!\"\n\nThe low hum of the ship's engines grew louder, and for a second Jacob felt a slight disorientation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Attention everybody,\" the amplified voice of Commandant deSilva carried throughout the ship." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Work this phrase into your response organically: \"We've just crossed over the first reef. From now on there will be momentary shocks like that one. I'll inform you when we near our target area. That is all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We've just crossed over the first reef. From now on there will be momentary shocks like that one. I'll inform you when we near our target area. That is all.\"\n\nThe Sun's horizon was now nearly flat. On all sides of the ship, a sparse red and black tangle of curling shapes stretched away to infinity. More and more of the highest filaments were coming even with the vessel to become prominences against what remained of the blackness of space, and then to disappear into the reddish haze that grew over their heads.\n\nThe group moved, by mutual consent, to the edge of the deck where they could look straight into the lower chromosphere. They were quiet, for a while, watching as the deck quivered from time to time.\n\n\"Dr. Martine,\" Jacob said. \"Are you and Pil Bubbacub ready with your experiments?\"\n\nShe pointed to a pair of stout space-trunks on the deck next to Bubbacub's station and her own.\n\n\"We have all we need right here. I'm bringing along some psi equipment I used on earlier dives, but mostly I'm going to help Pil Bubbacub in any way I can. My brain wave amplifiers and Q-devices are like knucklebones and tea leaves next to what he's got in his case. But I'll try to be of assistance.\"\n\n\"Your help be take-en with glad-ness,\" Bubbacub said. But when Jacob asked to see the Pil's psi-testing apparatus he held up his four-fingered hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Later, when we are ready.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old itchiness returned to Jacob's hands. What does Bubbacub have in those trunks? The Branch Library had next to nothing on psi. Some phenomenology, but very little on methodology.\n\nWhat does a billion-year-old galactic culture know, he thought, about the deep fundamental levels that all sentient species seem to have in common? Apparently they don't know everything, for the Galactics still operate on this plane of reality. And I know for a fact that at least some of them don't have any more telepathy than I do.\n\nThere were rumors that older species periodically faded away from the galaxy; sometimes from natural attrition or war or apathy, but also occasionally by simply \"stepping off\" ... disappearing into interests and behavior that have no meaning to their clients or neighbors.\n\nWhy does our Branch Library have nothing on these events, or even on the practical aspects of psi?\n\nJacob frowned and locked his two hands together. No, he decided. I'm going to leave Bubbacub's trunk alone!\n\nHelene deSilva's voice came on again over the intercom." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We will be approaching the target area in thirty minutes. Those who wish may now approach the Pilot Board to get a good view of our destination.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rest of the Sun seemed to dim slightly as their eyes adapted to the added brightness of the area." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The faculae were bright pinpoints, flashing on and off far below in sudden brilliance. At some indeterminable distance, a great sunspot group stretched away. The nearest spot looked like an open pit mine, a sunken recess in the grainy \"surface\" of the photosphere. The dark Umbra was very still, but the penumbral regions around the sunspot's rim rippled incessantly outward, like wavelets spreading from a pebble thrown into a lake. The border was vague, like a plucked piano string, vibrating.\n\nAbove and all around, the huge shape of a filament tangle loomed. It had to be one of the biggest things that Jacob had ever seen. Following the lines of magnetic fields that merged, twisted, and looped around one another, giant clouds swirled and flowed. A strand emerged from nothingness, rose, twisted around another, and then disappeared into \"thin air.\"\n\nAll around them now was a swirl of smaller shapes; almost invisible, but excluding the comforting black of space in an overall pink haze.\n\nJacob wondered what a literary man would make of this scene. For all of his egregious—perhaps murderous faults—LaRoque had a reputation built on a beautiful facility with words." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 13 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'desilva' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob had read several of his articles and enjoyed the flowing prose, while perhaps laughing at the man's conclusions. Here was a scene that demanded a poet, whatever his politics. He thought it a pity that LaRoque wasn't here ... for more than one reason.\n\n\"Our instruments have picked up a source of anomalous polarized light. That's where we start our search.\"\n\nCulla stepped up to the lip of the deck and stared intently at a position pointed out to him by a crewman.\n\nJacob asked the Commandant what he was doing.\n\n\"Culla can detect color far more accurately than we,\" deSilva said. \"He can see differences in wave length down to about an angstrom or so. Also he's somehow able to retain the phase of the light he sees. Some interference phenomenon, I suppose. But it makes him really handy at spotting the coherent light these laser beasties put out He's almost always the first one to see them.\"\n\nCulla's mashies clacked together once. He pointed with a slender hand.\n\n\"It ish there,\" he stated. \"There are many points of light. It ish a large herd, and I believe that there are sheperdsh there ash well.\"\n\nDeSilva smiled, as the ship hastened its approach." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! 6 sentences more. match character knowledge. Science Fiction, Space Opera pls" }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the center of the filament, the Sunship moved like a fish caught in a swift current." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The current was electrical, and the tide that swept the mirrored sphere along was a magnetized plasma of incredible complexity.\n\nLumps and streaming shreds of ionized gas seared thither and back, twisted by the forces that their very passage created. Flows of glowing matter popped suddenly in and out of visibility, as the Doppler effect took the emission lines of the gas into and then out of coincidence with the spectral line being used for observation.\n\nThe ship swooped through the turbulent chromospheric crosswinds, tacking on the plasma forces by subtle shifts in its own magnetic shields ... sailing with sheets made of almost corporeal mathematics. Lightning fast furling and thickening of those shields of force—allowing the tug of the conflicting eddies to be felt in one direction and not another—helped to cut down the buffeting dealt out by the storm.\n\nThose same shields kept out most of the screaming heat, diverting the rest into tolerable forms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What got through was sucked up into a chamber to drive the Refrigerator Laser, the kidney whose filtered waste-flow was a stream of x-rays which clove aside even the plasma in its path.\n\nStill, these were mere inventions of Earthmen. It was the science of the Galactics that made the Sunship graceful and safe. Gravity fields held back the amorous, crushing pull of the Sun so the ship fell or flew at will. The pounding forces of the center of the filament were absorbed or neutralized, and duration itself was altered by time-compression.\n\nIn relation to a fixed position on the Sun (if such a thing existed), it was swept along the magnetic arch at thousands of miles per hour." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But relative to the surrounding clouds, the ship seemed to poke its way slowly, pursuing a quarry seen in glimpses." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob watched the chase with half an eye, and kept Culla in sight the rest of the time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The slender alien was the ship's lookout." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stood by the helmsman, eyes glowing and arm pointing into the murk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla's directions were only a little better than those given by the ship's own instruments, but the instruments were difficult for Jacob to read." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He appreciated having someone there to show passengers, as well as crew, the way to look.\n\nFor an hour they'd chased after specks that glowed in the distant haze. The specks were extremely faint, in the blue and green lines deSilva had ordered opened, but occasionally a burst of greenish light stabbed out from one or another, like a searchlight that suddenly took in the ship and then swept past.\n\nNow the glimpses occurred more frequently. There were at least a hundred of the objects, all about the same size. Jacob looked at the Proximity Meter. Seven hundred kilometers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At two hundred their shape became clear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Each of the \"magnetic grazers\" was a torus." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At this range the colony looked like a large collection of tiny blue wedding rings. Every little ring was aligned the same way, along the filamentary arch.\n\n\"They line up along the magnetic field where it's most intense,\" deSilva said. \"And spin on their axes to generate an electric current. Heaven knows how they get from one active region to another when the fields shift. We're still trying to figure out what keeps them together.\"\n\nToward the edge of the crowd a few toruses wobbled slowly as they spun. Precessing.\n\nSuddenly, for an instant, the ship was bathed by a sharp green glow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then the ochre hue returned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The pilot looked up at Jacob." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We just passed through the laser tail of one torus. An occasional shot like that doesn't do any harm,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But if we were coming up from behind and below the main herd we might have had trouble!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A clump of dark plasma, either cooler or moving much faster than the surrounding gas, passed in front of the ship, blocking their view.\n\n\"What purpose does the laser serve?\" Jacob asked.\n\nDeSilva shrugged. \"Dynamic stability? Propulsion? Possibly they use it for cooling like we do. I suppose there might even be solid matter in their makeup, if that were true.\n\n\"Whatever the purpose, it sure is powerful to punch green light through these red-tuned screens. That's the only reason we discovered them. Big as they are, they're like pollen blowing in the wind down here. We could search for a million years and never find a toroid, without the laser for a trace. They're invisible in the hydrogen alpha, so to observe them better, we opened up a couple of bands in the green and blue. Naturally we won't be opening the wavelength that laser's tuned to! The lines we choose are quiet and optically thick, so whatever you see that's green or blue comes from a beastie. It should come as a pleasant change.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Anything would be welcome but this damned red.\"\n\nThe ship passed through the dark matter and suddenly they were almost among the creatures.\n\nJacob gulped and closed his eyes momentarily. When he looked again, he found that he couldn't swallow. On top of three days of unbelievable sights, what he saw left him helpless before a powerful tremor of emotion.\n\nIf a group of fish is called a \"school\" for its discipline, and several lions comprise a \"pride,\" named for their attitude, Jacob decided that the cluster of solar-beings could only be called a \"flare.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So intense was its brilliance that its members seemed to shine against black space.\n\nThe nearer toroids shone with the colors of an Earth spring. Only with distance did the colors fade. Pale green shimmered below their axes, where laser light scattered in the plasma.\n\nAround all of them sparkled a diffuse halo of white light.\n\n\"Synchrotron radiation,\" a crewman said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Those babies must really be spinning! I'm picking up a big flux at 100KeV!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Four hundred meters across and more than 2,000 distant, the nearest toroid spun madly. Around its rim geometric shapes flew past like beads on a necklace, changing, so that deep blue diamonds became purple sinuous bands, circuiting a brilliant emerald ring, all within seconds.\n\nThe Sunship captain stood by the Pilot Board, eyes darting from indicator to gauge and alert to every detail. To glance at her was to watch a softened version of the show outside the ship, for the fluxions, iridescent colors of the nearest toroid bathed her face and her white uniform and were thereby tamed and diffused for the second half of the trip to Jacob's eye. First faintly, then more brightly as green and blue mixed with and drove out the pink, the colors sparkled each time she looked up and smiled.\n\nSuddenly, the blueness swelled as a burst of exuberance from the toroid coincided with an intricate display of patterns, like a weaving of ganglia around the ring-beast's rim." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The performance was peerless." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Arteries erupted in green and twined with veins drawn in pulsing, chaste blue. These throbbed in counterpoint, then grew like gravid vines, peeling back to release clouds of tiny triangles—sprays of two dimensional pollen that scattered in a multitude of miniscule three-point collisions around the non-Euclidian body of the torus. At once the motif became isosceles, and the doughnut-rim became a cacophote of sides and angles.\n\nThe display reached a peak of intensity, then receded. The rim patterns became less bright and the torus backed away, finding a place to spin among its fellows as the red started to return, pushing out greens and blues from the deck of the ship and from the faces of the watchers.\n\n\"That was a greeting,\" Helene deSilva said finally." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There are skeptics back on Earth who still think that the magnetovores are just some form of magnetic aberration. Let them come and see for themselves, then. We are witnessing life. Clearly the Creator accepts few limits to the range of his handiwork.\"\n\nShe touched the pilot's shoulder lightly. His hands moved on his controls and the ship began to bank away.\n\nJacob agreed with Helene, though her logic was unscientific. He had no doubts that the toroids were alive. The creature's display, whether it was a greeting or simply a territorial response to the presence of the ship, had been a sign of something vital, if not sentient." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'magnetovores' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The anachronistic reference to a supreme deity had sounded oddly fitting to the beauty of the moment.\n\nThe Commandant spoke again into her microphone as the flare of magnetovores fell back and the deck turned.\n\n\"Now we go hunting ghosts.\n\n\"Remember, we aren't really here to study the magnetovores but their predators. A constant watch is to be maintained by the crew for any sign of these elusive creatures. Since they have been sighted as often by accident as not, it would be appreciated if everyone helped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Please report anything extraordinary to me." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva and Culla held a conference. The alien nodded slowly, an occasional flash of white between huge gums betraying his excitement. Finally, he set off around the curve of the central dome.\n\nDeSilva explained that she had sent Culla to the other side of the deck, flip-side, where normally only instruments stood, to act as a lookout in case the laser beings should appear from the nadir, where the rim-mounted detectors could not reach them.\n\n\"We've had a number of zenith sightings,\" deSilva repeated. \"And these have often been the most interesting cases, such as when we saw anthropomorphic shapes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And the shapes always disappeared before the ship could be turned?\" Jacob asked.\n\n\"Or the beasts would turn with us to stay overhead. It was infuriating! But that gave us the first clue that psi might be involved. After all, whatever their motives, how could they know about our way of placing instruments at the rim of a disc and follow our movements so precisely, without knowing what we intended to do?\"\n\nJacob frowned in thought. \"But why not put a few cameras up here? Certainly it wouldn't be much of a chore?\"\n\n\"No, not much of a chore,\" deSilva agreed. \"But the support and dive crews didn't want to disturb the ship's original symmetry. We would have to put another conduit through the deck to the main recording computer, and Culla assured us that this would eliminate whatever small ability we might have to maneuver in a stasis-failure ... though that ability is probably negligible anyway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Witness what happened to poor Jeff." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Jeffrey's ship, the small one you toured on Mercury, was designed from the start to carry recorders aimed at zenith and nadir. His was the only one with this modification. We'll have to make do with the rim instruments, our eyes, and a few hand-held cameras.\"\n\n\"And the psi experiments,\" Jacob pointed out.\n\nDeSilva nodded expressionlessly.\n\n\"Yes, we are all hoping to make friendly contact, of course.\"\n\n\"Excuse me, Captain.\"\n\nThe pilot looked up from his instruments." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He held a button speaker to his ear. \"Culla says there's a color difference at the upper north end of the herd. It might be a calving.\"\n\nDeSilva nodded.\n\n\"Okay. Proceed along a north tangent to the field flux. Rise with the herd as you make your way around and don't get close enough to spook them.\"\n\nThe ship began to bank at a new angle. The Sun rose on the left until it became a wall that stretched up and ahead to infinity." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A faint luminescence twisted away from them, down toward the photosphere below." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sparkling trail paralleled the alignment of the herd of toruses." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's the path of superionization our Refrigerator Laser left when we were pointed that way,\" deSilva said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It must be a couple of hundred kilometers long.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'we're' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The laser is that strong?\"\n\n\"Well, we have to get rid of a lot of heat. And the whole idea is to heat up a small part of the Sun. Otherwise the refrigerator wouldn't work. Incidentally, that's another reason why we're so careful not to let the herd get ahead of or behind us.\"\n\nJacob felt momentarily awed.\n\n\"When will we be in sight of ... what was it he said? A calving?\"\n\n\"Yes, a calving. We're very lucky. We've only seen this twice before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The shepherds were there both times." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They appear to assist whenever a torus gives birth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It's a logical place to start looking for them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As for when we get there, that depends on how violent things are between here and there, and how much time-compression we need to get there comfortably. It could be a day. If we're lucky ...\" She glanced at the Pilot Board. \"... we could be there in ten minutes.\"\n\nA crewman stood nearby holding a chart, apparently waiting to see deSilva.\n\n\"I'd better go and warn Bubbacub and Dr. Martine to get ready,\" Jacob said.\n\n\"Yes, that would be a good idea. I'll make an announcement when I know how soon we'll arrive.\"\n\nAs he walked away, Jacob had a strange feeling that her eyes were still on him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It lasted until he passed around the side of the central dome.\n\nBubbacub and Martine took the news calmly. Jacob helped them pull their equipment boxes to a position near the Pilot Board.\n\nBubbacub's implements were incomprehensible, and astounding. Complex, shiny, and multifaceted, one of them took up half of the crate. Its curling spires and glassy windows hinted at mysteries." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub laid out two other devices." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One was a bulbous helmet apparently designed to fit over the head of a Pil." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The other looked like a chunk off of a nickel iron meteoroid, with a glassy end." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There is three ways to look at psi,\" Bubbacub said through his Vodor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He motioned with a four-fingered hand for Jacob to sit. \"One is that the psi is Just very fine sens-or-y power, to pick out brain waves at long range and de-cipher them. That the thing I will see ab-out with this.\" He pointed at the helmet.\n\n\"And this large machine?\" Jacob moved to look closer.\n\n\"That sees if time and space are be-ing twisted here by the force of a soph-ont's will." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The thing is done some-times. It sel-dom allowed. The word is pi-ngrli. You have no word for it. Most, including hu-mans, do not need to know of it since it is rare.\n\n\"The Li-brar-y prov-ides these ka-ngrl,\" he stroked the side of the machine once, \"to each Branch, in case out-laws try to use pi-ngrli.\"\n\n\"It can counteract that force?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes.\"\n\nJacob shook his head. It bothered him that there was a whole type of power to which man had no access. A deficiency in technology was one thing. It could be made up in time. But a qualitative lack made him feel vulnerable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The Confederacy knows about this ... ka-ka ...?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ka-ngrl. Yes. I have their leave to take it from Earth. If it is lost, it will be re-placed.\"\n\nJacob felt better then. The machine suddenly looked friendlier. \"And this last item ...?\" he began to move toward the lump of iron.\n\n\"That is a P-is.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub snatched It up and put It back in the trunk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned away from Jacob and began to fiddle with the brain-wave helmet.\n\n\"He's pretty sensitive about that thing,\" Martine said when Jacob came near. \"All I could get out of him was that it's a relic from the Lethani, his race's fifth high Ancestrals. It dates from Just before they 'passed over' to another plane of reality.\"\n\nThe Perpetual Smile broadened. \"Here, would you like to see ye olde alchemist's tools?\"\n\nJacob laughed. \"Well, our friend Pil has the Philosopher's Stone. What miraculous devices have you for mixing effluvium, and exorcising highly caloric ghosts?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Besides the normal run-of-the-mill psi detectors, such as they are, there's not much. A brain-wave device, an inertial movement sensor that's probably useless in a time-suppression field, a tachistoscopic 3-D camera and projector ...\"\n\n\"May I see that?\"\n\n\"Sure, it's at the far end of the trunk.\"\n\nJacob reached in and removed the heavy machine. He laid it on the deck and examined the recording and projecting heads.\n\n\"You know,\" he said softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's just possible ...\"\n\n\"What is?\" Martine asked.\n\nJacob looked up at her. \"This, plus the retinal pattern reader we used on Mercury, could make a perfect mental proclivities tester.\"\n\n\"You mean one of those devices used to determine Probation status?\"\n\n\"Yes. If I had known this was available back at the base, we could have tested LaRoque then and there. We wouldn't have had to maser Earth and go through layers of fallible bureaucracy for an answer that might have been tampered. We could have found out his violence index on the spot!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine sat still for a moment. Then she looked downward.\n\n\"I don't suppose it would have made any difference.\"\n\n\"But you were sure there was something wrong with the message from Earth!\" Jacob said. \"This could save LaRoque from two months in a brig if you were right. Hell, it's possible he would have been with us right now. We'd be less unsure about the possible danger from the Ghosts, too!\"\n\n\"But his escape attempt on Mercury! You said he was violent!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Panicky violence does not a Probationer make. What's the matter with you anyway? I thought you were sure LaRoque was framed!\"\n\nMartine sighed. She avoided meeting his eyes.\n\n\"I'm afraid I was a little hysterical back at the base. Imagine, dreaming up a conspiracy, just to trap poor Peter!\n\n\"It's still hard to believe that he's a Probationer, and maybe some mistake was made. But I no longer think it was done purposely. After all, who would want to saddle him with the blame for that poor little chimpanzee's death?\"\n\nJacob stared for a moment, unsure what to make of her change of attitude." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, ... the real murderer, for one,\" he said softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Immediately he regretted it.\n\n\"What are you talking about?\" Martine whispered. She glanced quickly to both sides to be sure that no one was nearby. Both knew that Bubbacub, a few meters away, was deaf to whispered speech.\n\n\"I'm talking about the fact that Helene deSilva, much as she probably dislikes LaRoque, thinks it's unlikely the stunner could have damaged the stasis mechanism on Jeff's ship. She thinks the crew botched up, but ...\"\n\n\"Well then Peter will be released on insufficient evidence and he'll have another book to write! We'll find out the truth about the Solarians and everybody will be happy. Once good relations are established I'm sure it won't matter much that they killed poor Jeff in a fit of pique. He'll go down as a martyr to science and all this talk of murder can be ended once and for all. It's so distasteful anyway.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob was beginning to find the conversation with Martine distasteful as well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Why did she squirm so? It was impossible to follow a logical argument with her.\n\n\"Maybe you're right,\" he shrugged.\n\n\"Sure I'm right.\" She patted his hand and then turned to the brain-wave apparatus. \"Why don't you go look for Fagin. I'm going to be busy here for a while and it's possible he doesn't know about the calving yet.\"\n\nJacob nodded once and got to his feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he crossed the gently quivering deck he wondered what strange things his suspicious other half was thinking. The blurt about a \"real murderer\" worried him.\n\nHe met Fagin where the photosphere filled the sky in all directions, like a great wall. In front of the treelike Kanten, the filament in which they rode spiraled down and away into red dissipation. To the left and right and far below, spicule forests wriggled like effervescent rows of elephant grass.\n\nFor a time they watched together in silence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As a waving tendril of ionized gas drifted past the ship, Jacob was reminded for the nth time of kelp floating in the tide." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly he had an image." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It made him smile. He imagined Makakai, wearing a waldo-suit of cermet and stasis, plunging and leaping among these towering fountains of swirling flame, and diving, in her shell of gravity, to play among the children of this, the greatest ocean.\n\nDo the Sun Ghosts while away the aeons as our cetaceans do? he wondered. By singing?\n\nNeither have machines (or any of the neurotic hurry that machines bring—including the sickness of ambition? ), because neither have the means." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Whales have no hands and cannot use fire." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sun Ghosts have no solid matter and too much fire." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Has it been a blessing for them or a curse?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Ask the humpback, as he moans in the stillness underwater." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Probably, he won't bother to answer, but someday he may add the question to his song.)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're Just in time. I was about to call,\" the Captain motioned ahead into the pink haze.\n\nA dozen or more of the toroids spun in front of them colorfully.\n\nThis group was different. Instead of drifting passively they moved about, jostling for position around something deep in the middle of the crowd. One nearby torus, only a mile distant, moved aside and then Jacob could see the object of their attention.\n\nThe magnetovore was larger than the others." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instead of the changing, multifaceted geometric shapes, dark and light bands alternated around its circuit, and it wobbled lazily while its surface rippled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Its neighbors milled about on all sides but at a distance, as if held back by some deterrent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva gave a command. The pilot touched a control and the ship turned, righting itself so the photosphere soon was beneath them once more. Jacob was relieved. Whatever the ship's fields told him, having the Sun on his left made him feel sideways.\n\nThe magnetovore Jacob thought of as \"Big One\" spun, apparently oblivious to its retinue. It moved sluggishly, with a pronounced wobble.\n\nThe white halo that bathed every other torus flickered dimly around the edges of this one, like a dying flame." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The dark and light bands pulsed with an uneven undulation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Each pulse evoked a response in the surrounding crowd of toroids. Rim patterns sharpened starkly in bright blue diamonds and spirals as each magnetovore kept its own backbeat to Big One's slowly strengthening rhythm.\n\nSuddenly, the nearest of the attendant toruses rushed toward the banded Big One, sending bright green flashes of light along its spinning path.\n\nFrom around the gravid torus, a score of brilliant blue dots flew up toward the intruder. They were in front of it in an instant, dancing, like shimmering drops of water on a hot skillet, next to its ponderous hulk. The bright dots began to push it back, nipping and teasing, it seemed, until it was almost below the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The ship turned under the pilot's hand to present its edge to the nearest of the sparkling motes, only a kilometer away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, for the first time, Jacob could clearly see the life forms that were called Sun Ghosts.\n\nIt floated like a wraith, delicately, as if the chromospheric winds were a breeze to be taken with barely a flutter: as different from the firm, spinning, dervish-like toruses as a butterfly is from a whirling top.\n\nIt looked like a jellyfish, or like a brilliantly blue bath towel flapping in the wind as it hung on a clothesline. Possibly it was more an octopus, with ephemeral appendages that flickered in and out of existence along its ragged edges. Sometimes it looked to Jacob like a patch of the surface of the sea itself, somehow skimmed up and moved here; maintained in its liquid, tidal movement by a miracle.\n\nThe ghost rippled. It moved toward the Sunship, slowly, for a minute. Then it stopped." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'jacob' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's looking at us too, Jacob thought.\n\nFor a moment they regarded one another, the crew of water beings, in their ship, and the Ghost.\n\nThen the creature turned so that its flat surface was toward the Sunship. Suddenly, a flash of brilliant multicolored light washed the deck. The screens kept the glare bearable, but the pale red of the chromosphere was banished.\n\nJacob put a hand out in front of his eyes and blinked in wonder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So this is what it's like, he thought somewhat irrelevently, inside a rainbow!\n\nAs suddenly as it came, the light show disappeared. The red Sun was back, and with it the filament, the sunspot far below, and the spinning toruses.\n\nBut the Ghosts were gone. They had returned to the giant magnetovore and once more danced as almost unseen dots about its rim.\n\n\"It ... it blasted us with its laser!\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: either, frequency: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the pilot said. \"They never did that before!\"\n\n\"One never came that close before in its normal shape, either,\" Helene deSilva said. \"But I'm not sure what either action is supposed to mean.\"\n\n\"Do you think it meant to harm us?\" Dr. Martine spoke hesitantly. \"Maybe that's how they started with Jeffrey!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know. Maybe it was a warning ...\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to seamlessly include 'I don't know. I guess we'll be all right if we just stay here and watch. Let's see what they do when they finish with the calving.' in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Or maybe it just wanted to get back to work,\" Jacob said. \"We were in almost the opposite direction as the big magnetovore out there. You'll notice that all of its companions went back at the same time.\"\n\nDeSilva shook her head.\n\n\"I don't know. I guess we'll be all right if we just stay here and watch. Let's see what they do when they finish with the calving.\"\n\nAhead of them, the big torus began to wobble more as it spun. The dark and light bands along its rim became more pronounced, the darker becoming narrow strictures and the lighter bands ballooning outward with each oscillation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Twice Jacob saw groups of bright herdsmen jet away to head off a magnetovore that came too close, like sheepdogs at the heels of a wayward ram, as others stayed with the ewe." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wobble deepened and the dark bands grew tighter. The green laser light, scattered below the big torus, dimmed. Finally it disappeared.\n\nThe Ghosts moved in. As the big one's nutation reached an almost horizontal pitch, they gathered at the rim to somehow seize it and complete the turnover with a sudden jerk.\n\nThe behemoth now spun lazily on an axis perpendicular to the magnetic field. For a moment the position held, until the creature suddenly began to fall apart." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like a necklace with a broken string, the torus split where one of the dark bands tightened to nothing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One by one, as the parent body spun slowly, the light bands, now small individual doughnut shapes themselves, were flung free, each as it rotated to the place where the break occurred." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One at a time, they were cast upwards, along the invisible lines of magnetic flux, until they ran like beads across the sky." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Of the Big One, the parent, nothing remained.\n\nAbout fifty of the little doughnut shapes spun dizzyingly in a protecting swarm of bright blue herdsmen. They precessed uncertainly and, from the center of each, a tiny green glow flickered tentatively.\n\nIn spite of their careful watch, the ghosts lost several of their erratic charges. Some of the infants, more active than their peers, jetted out of the queue. A brief burst of green brilliance took one baby magnetovore out of the protected area and toward one of the adults that lurked nearby." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob hoped it would continue toward the ship." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If only the adult torus would get out of the way!\n\nAs if it heard his thoughts, the adult began to drop away below the oncoming path of the juvenile. Its rim pulsed with green-blue diamonds as the newborn passed overhead.\n\nSuddenly the torus leaped upward on a column of green plasma. Too late, the juvenile tried to flee. It turned its feeble torch toward its pursuer's rim as it jetted away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The adult was undeterred." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In a moment the baby was overtaken, drawn down into its elder's pulsing central hole and consumed in a flash of vapor.\n\nJacob realized that he was holding his breath. He let it out and it felt like a sigh.\n\nThe babies were now arranged in orderly ranks by their mentors. They began to move away from the herd slowly, while a few herdsmen stayed to keep the adults in line. Jacob watched the brilliant little rings of light until a thick wisp of filament floated in to cut off his view." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Now we start earning our pay,\" Helene deSilva whispered. She turned to the pilot. \" 'Keep the remaining herdsmen aligned with the deck-plane. And ask Culla to please keep his eyes peeled. I want to know if anything comes in from the nadir.\"\n\nEyes peeled! Jacob suppressed an involuntary shudder, and firmly said no when his imagination tried to present an image. What kind of an era did this fem come from!\n\n\"Okay,\" the Commandant said. \"Let's approach slowly.\"\n\n\"Do you think they'll notice we waited until they were through with the calving?\" Jacob asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She shrugged. \"Who knows? Maybe they thought we were just a timid form of adult torus. Perhaps they don't even remember our earlier visits.\"\n\n\"Or Jeff's?\"\n\n\"Or even Jeff's. It wouldn't do to assume too much. Oh, I believe Dr. Martine when she says her machines register a basic intelligence. But what does that mean? In an environment like this ... even more simple than an ocean on earth, what reason would a race have to develop a functioning semantic skill? Or memory?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Ensure 'intelligence' appears 2 time(s) in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Those threatening gestures we saw on previous dives don't necessarily indicate a lot of brains.\n\n\"They might be like dolphins were before we started genetic experiments a few hundred years ago, lots of intelligence and no mental ambition at all. Hell, we should have brought in people like you, from the Center for Uplift, long ago!\"\n\n\"You're talking as if evolved intelligence is the only route,\" he smiled. \"Galactic opinion aside for the moment, shouldn't you at least consider another possibility?\"\n\n\"You mean that the Ghosts might have once been uplifted!?\" deSilva looked shocked for a moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then the idea soaked in and she leaped on the implications, her eyes sharp. \"But if that were the case, then there'd have to have been ...\"\n\nShe was interrupted by the pilot.\n\n\"Sir, they're starting to move.\"\n\nThe Ghosts fluttered in the hot, wispy gas. Blue and green highlights rippled along the surface of each as it hovered lazily, a hundred thousand kilometers above the photosphere." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They retreated from the ship slowly, allowing the separation to diminish, until a faint corona of white could be seen surrounding every one.\n\nJacob felt Fagin come up beside him on his left.\n\n\"It would be sad,\" the Kanten fluted softly, \"if such beauty were found sullied by a crime. I could have great trouble sensing evil while struck in awe.\"\n\nJacob nodded slowly.\n\n\"Angels are bright ...\" he began. But of course, Fagin knew the rest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Angels are bright, though the brightest fell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,\n\nStill grace must look so.\n\n\"Culla says they're about to do something!\" the pilot peered ahead with a hand over his ear.\n\nA wisp of darker gas from the filament moved swiftly into the area, momentarily blocking off the view of the Ghosts. When it cleared, all but one had moved farther away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That one waited as the ship edged slowly closer. It looked different, semi-transparent, bigger and bluer. And simpler. It looked stiff and did not ripple like the others. It moved more deliberately.\n\nAn ambassador, Jacob thought.\n\nThe Solarian rose slowly as they neared." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Keep him edge-on,\" deSilva said. \"Don't lose instrument contact!\"\n\nThe pilot glanced up at her grimly, and turned back to his instruments with tight lips. The ship started to rotate.\n\nThe alien rose faster and drew near. The fan-shaped body seemed to beat against the plasma like a bird trying to gain altitude." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's toying with us,\" deSilva muttered.\n\n\"How do you know?\"\n\n\"Because it doesn't have to work that hard to stay overhead.\" She asked the pilot to speed up the rotation.\n\nThe Sun rose on the right and crept toward the zenith. The Ghost continued to beat toward a position overhead, even though it had to be spinning upside down along with the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Sun rolled overhead and then set." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'overhead' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then it rose and set again in less than a minute.\n\nThe alien stayed overhead.\n\nThe spin accelerated. Jacob gritted his teeth and resisted an urge to grab Fagin's trunk for balance as the ship experienced day and night in seconds. He felt hot, for the first time since the journey to the Sun began. The Ghost stayed maddeningly overhead and the photosphere blasted on and off like a flashing lamp.\n\n\"Okay, give it up,\" deSilva said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The spinning slowed. Jacob swayed as they came to complete rest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt as if a cool breeze was washing his body. First heat, then chills: Am I going to be ill? he wondered.\n\n\"It won,\" deSilva said. \"It always does, but it was worth a try. Just once I'd like to try that with the Refrigerator Laser operating though!\" She glanced at the alien overhead. \"I wonder what would happen when he got near a fraction of the speed of light.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean you had our refrigerator turned off just then?\" Now Jacob couldn't help it. He touched Fagin's trunk lightly.\n\n\"Sure,\" the Commander said. \"You don't think we want to fry dozens of innocent toruses and herdsmen do you? That's why we were under a time limit. Otherwise we could have tried to line him up with the rim instruments till hell froze over!\" She glared up at the Ghost." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Again, the touching turn of phrase." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wasn't sure whether the woman's fascination lay in her more straightforward qualities or in this way she had with quaint expressions. In any event, the overheating and subsequent cool breezes were explained. For a time the heat of the Sun had been allowed to leak in.\n\nI'm glad that's all it was, he thought." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "5 sentences sentences in David Brin style, continuing user's bit. Note: May include established elements" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All we get is a dim picture,\" the crewman said. \"The stasis screens must be bending the Ghost's image somehow because it looks warped ... like it's refracted at an angle through a lens.\"\n\n\"Anyway,\" he shrugged as he passed the photos around. \"This is the best we can do with a hand-held camera.\"\n\nDeSilva looked at the picture in her hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It showed a blue, streaky caricature of a man, a stick figure with spindly legs, long arms, and big, splayed hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The photograph had been taken just before the hands had balled into fists, crude but identifiable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When his turn came, Jacob concentrated on the face. The eyes were empty holes, as was the ragged mouth. In the photograph they looked black but Jacob recalled that the crimson of the chromosphere had been the real color. The eyes burned red and the maw worked as if mouthing vicious oaths, all in red.\n\n\"One thing, though,\" the crewman went on, \"The guy's transparent. The H-alpha passes right through. We only notice it in the eyes and mouth because the blue he's putting out doesn't swamp it there. But as far as we can tell, his body doesn't block any of it.' \"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, that's your definition of a Ghost if I ever heard one,\" Jacob said, and handed the picture back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Glancing up again, for the hundredth time, he asked, \"Are you sure the solarian is coming back?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It always has,\" deSilva said. \"It was never satisfied with just one round of insults before.\"\n\nNearby, Martine and Bubbacub rested, ready to put on their helmets if the alien reappeared. Culla, relieved of his duties on the flip-side, lay in a couch, sucking slowly on a liquitube containing a blue beverage. The big eyes were glossy now, and he looked tired." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I guess we all should lie down,\" deSilva said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It won't do to break our necks looking up. That's where the Ghost will be when he shows.\"\n\nJacob chose a seat next to Culla, so he could watch Bubbacub and Martine at work.\n\nThe two had little time to do much during the first appearance. No sooner had the Sun Ghost taken a position near the zenith than it had changed into the manlike, threatening shape. Martine hardly got her headset adjusted before the creature leered, shook a balled image of a fist, and then faded away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Bubbacub had time to check his ka-ngrl. He announced that the Solarian was not using the particularly potent type of psi the machine was designed to detect and counteract. Not then at least. The little Pil left it turned on anyway, just in case.\n\nJacob rested back in the seat, and touched the button that allowed it to recline slowly until he looked up at the pink, feathery sky overhead." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was a relief to learn that the pi-ngrli power was not at work here." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But if not, what was the reason for the Ghost's strange behavior? Idly, he wondered again if LaRoque might have been right ... that the Solarians knew how to make themselves partly understood because they knew humans from days gone by. Surely men never visited the Sun in the past, but did plasma creatures once go to Earth, and even nurture civilization there? It sounded preposterous, but then, so did Sundiver.\n\nAnother thought: If LaRoque was not responsible for the destruction of Jeff's ship, then the Ghosts might be capable of killing them all at any time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If so, Jacob hoped the journalist-astronaut was right about the rest of it; that the Solarians would feel more restraint in dealing with humans, Pila, and Kanten than they had toward a chimpanzee." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob considered trying his own hand at telepathy when the creature next appeared." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He'd been tested once and found to have no psi talent, despite extraordinary hypnotic and memory skills, but maybe he should try anyway.\n\nA movement to his left caught his eye. Culla, staring at a point in front of him and forty-five degrees to zenith, lifted a deck-mike to his lips.\n\n\"Captain,\" he said, \"I believe it ish coming back.\" The Pring's voice echoed around the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Try angles 120 by 30 degrees.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla put the mike down. The flexible cord drew it back into a slot, next to his slender right hand and the now-empty beverage tube.\n\nThe red haze darkened briefly as a wisp of darker gas passed the ship. Then the Ghost was back, still small with distance but getting bigger as it approached.\n\nIt was brighter this time, and more crisp around the edges." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Soon, its blueness was almost painful to look at." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It came once again as a stick figure of a man, the eyes and mouth glowing like coals as it hovered, half way up to zenith.\n\nFor several long minutes it stayed there, doing nothing. The figure was definitely malevolent. He could feel it! Dr. Martine's cursing brought him around, and he realized that he had been holding his breath." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Damn it!\" she tore off her helmet. \"There's so much noise! One moment I think I'm onto something ... a touch here and there ... and then it's gone!\"\n\n\"Do not bo-ther,\" Bubbacub said. The clipped voice came from the Vodor, now lying on the deck next to the little Pil. Bubbacub had his own helmet on and stared intently with small black eyes at the Ghost \"Hu-mans do not have the psi they use. Your attempt, in fact, does cause them pain and some of their anger.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob swallowed quickly. \"You're in touch with them?\" he and Martine asked almost at once.\n\n\"Yes,\" the mechanical voice said. \"Do not bo-ther me.\" Bubbacub's eyes closed. \"Tell me if it moves. Only if it moves!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "After that they could get nothing from him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What's he saying to it?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob wondered. He looked at the apparition." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What can one say to a creature like that?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly, the Solarian began to wave its \"hands\" and move its \"mouth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This time its features were more clear. There was none of the image warping they had seen at its first appearance. The creature must have learned to handle the stasis screens. One more example of its ability to adapt. Jacob didn't want to think about what that implied about the safety of the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A flash of color drew Jacob's attention to the left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He groped on the panel next to him, then pulled up his deck-mike and switched it to personal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Helene, look at about one eight by sixty-five. I think we've got more company.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes,\" deSilva's voice quietly filled the area of the couch occupied by his head. \"I see it. It seems to be in its standard form. Let's see what it does.\"\n\nThe second Ghost approached, hesitantly, from the left. Its rippling, amorphous form was like a patch of oil on the surface of the ocean. Its shape was nothing like a man's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dr. Martine drew her breath in sharply when she saw the intruder and started to pull her helmet on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do you think we should arouse Bubbacub?\" he asked quickly.\n\nShe thought for a moment, then glanced up at the first Solarian. It still waved its \"arms\" but it hadn't changed positions. Nor had Bubbacub. \"He said to tell him if it moves,\" she said.\n\nShe looked up eagerly at the newcomer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe I should work on this new one and let him go on with the first one undisturbed.\"\n\nJacob wasn't sure. So far Bubbacub was the only one to come up with anything positive. Martine's motive for not informing him of the second Solarian was suspect. Was she envious of the Pil's success?\n\nOh well, Jacob shrugged, E.T." }, { "from": "human", "value": "'s hate to be interrupted anyway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The newcomer approached cautiously, in short fits and starts, toward where its larger and brighter cousin performed its impersonation of an angry man.\n\nJacob glanced at Culla.\n\nShould I tell him at least? He seems so intent on watching the first ghost. Why hasn't Helene made an announcement?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "And where's Fagin? I hope he's not missing this." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Somewhere above there was a flash. Culla stirred.\n\nJacob looked up. The newcomer was gone. The first Ghost slowly shrank back and faded away.\n\n\"What happened,\" Jacob asked. \"I only turned away for a second ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know, Friend-Jacob! I wash watching, to see if the being'sh visual behavior might betray some cluesh to itsh nature, when suddenly a shecond one came. The first one attacked the shecond with a bursht of light, and made it depart. Then it too shtarted to leave!\"\n\n\"You should have told me when new one came,\" Bubbacub said. He was on his feet, the Vodor around his neck once more. \"No mat-ter. I know all I need to know. I now re-port to hu-man deSilva.\"\n\nHe turned and left." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob scrambled to his feet to follow.\n\nFagin awaited them, near deSilva and the Pilot Board. \"Did you see it?\" Jacob whispered.\n\n\"Yes, I had a good view. I am eager to hear what our dear esteemed friend learned.\"\n\nWith a theatrical wave of his arm, Bubbacub asked everyone to listen in." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It said that it is old. I believe It. It is ver-y old race.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yes, Jacob thought. That's the first thing Bubbacub would find out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The Sol-ar-ians say that they killed the chimp. LaRoque killed him too. They will start to kill hu-mans also, if they do not leave for-ever.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What?\" deSilva cried. \"What are you talking about? How could LaRoque and the Ghosts be responsible!\"\n\n\"Re-main calm, I urge you,\" the voice of the Pil, moderated by the Vodor, carried a tone of threat. \"The Sol-ar-ian told me that they caused the man to do the thing. They gave him his rage. They gave him a need to kill. They gave him the truth as well.\"\n\nJacob finished summarizing Bubbacub's remarks to Dr. Martine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"... Then he finished by saying that there was only one way that the Ghosts could have influenced LaRoque from such a distance. And if they used that method it explained the lack of Library references. Anywhere anyone uses that power is taboo, closed off. Bubbacub wants us to stick around just long enough to check and then get the hell out of here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What power?\" Martine asked. She sat with the crude Earth psi helmet in her lap. Nearby Culla listened in, another slender liquitube between his lips.\n\n\"It's not pi-ngrli. That's used sometimes legally. Besides, it can't reach that far and he couldn't find any trace of it anyway. No, I think Bubbacub plans to use that stonelike thing.\"\n\n\"The Lethani relic?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine shook her head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked down and fiddled with a knob on her helmet." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Add this exact quote somewhere appropriate: \"Never be sure about anyone ... I was so sure that Peter's silly pique with Jeffrey was both genuine and harmless. Now I find that it was artificially induced and deadly. And he was right, I guess, about the Solarians, too. Only it wasn't his idea, it was theirs.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's so complicated. I don't understood it at all. Nothing's gone right ever since we got back to Mercury. No one is what he appears to be.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\"\n\nThe parapsychologist paused, then shrugged.\n\n\"Never be sure about anyone ... I was so sure that Peter's silly pique with Jeffrey was both genuine and harmless. Now I find that it was artificially induced and deadly. And he was right, I guess, about the Solarians, too. Only it wasn't his idea, it was theirs.\"\n\n\"Do you think they really are our long lost Patrons?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'never' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who knows?\" she said. \"If it's true, it's a tragedy that we can't ever come back here again to talk to them.\"\n\n\"Then you accept Bubbacub's story without reservations?\"\n\n\"Yes, of course! He's the only one who's ever made contact and besides, I know him. Bubbacub would never mislead us. Truth is his life's work!\"\n\nBut Jacob knew, now, of whom she spoke when she said \"never be sure you know anyone.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dr. Martine was terrified.\n\n\"Are you sure that Bubbacub was the only one to make any sort of contact?\"\n\nHer eyes widened, then she looked away. \"He seems to be the only one with the ability.\"\n\n\"Then why did you stay behind with your helmet on, when Bubbacub called us together for his report?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't have to take a cross-examination from you!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she answered hotly. \"If it's any of your business, I stayed to try once more. I was jealous of his success and wanted another go at it! I failed, of course.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob was unconvinced. Martine's testiness seemed uncalled for and it was clear she knew more than she was saying.\n\n\"Dr. Martine,\" he said, \"what do you know about a drug called 'Warfarin'?\"\n\n\"You too!\" she reddened. \"I told the Base Physician I never heard of it, and I certainly don't know how any got into Dwayne Kepler's medicine. That is, if there ever was any in the first place!\"\n\nShe turned away. \"I think I'd better rest now, if you don't mind. I want to be awake when the Solarians come back.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob ignored her hostility; a bit of the toughness of his other self must have leaked out with the suspicion. But it was obvious Martine wouldn't say any more. He rose to his feet. She pointedly ignored him as she lowered her couch.\n\nCulla met him by the refreshment machines." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You are upshet, Friend-Jacob?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why no, I don't think so. Why do you ask?\"\n\nThe tall E.T. gazed down at him. He looked tired. The slender shoulders drooped, though the huge eyes were bright.\n\n\"I hope you are not taking thish too hard, thish news that Bubbacub hash announced.\"\n\nJacob turned fully from the machines and faced Culla, \"Take what too hard, Culla? His statements are data. That's all. I'd be disappointed if it turned out that Sundiver has to end. And I'll want some way to verify what he says before I'll agree that's necessary ... like at least a Library reference. But other than that my strongest emotion is curiosity.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shrugged, irritated at the question. His eyes smarted, probably from an overdose of red light.\n\nCulla slowly shook his large round head. \"I think it ish otherwise. Excuse my presumption, but I think you are very dishturbed.\"\n\nJacob felt an instant of hot anger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He almost spoke it, but managed to hold back. \"Again, what are you talking about, Culla?\" He spoke slowly.\n\n\"Jacob, you have done a good job in staying neutral in your species' remarkable internal conflict. But all sophontsh have opinionsh. You are badly hurt to find that Bubbacub made contact where humansh fail. Though you have never expreshed a position on the Origin Question, I know you are not happy to find that humanity did indeed have Patronen.\"\n\nJacob shrugged again,\n\n\"It's true, I'm still not convinced by this story of Solarians uplifting mankind in the dim past and then abandoning us before the job's finished. Neither part makes any sense.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob rubbed his right temple." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'laroque' exactly 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt a headache coming on. \"And people have been behaving very peculiarly everywhere in this project. Kepler's suffered from some sort of unexplained hysteria and was overly dependent on Martine. LaRoque was more than his usual abrasive self, sometimes self-destructively. And don't forget his alleged sabotage. Then Martine herself turns from an emotional defense of LaRoque to a very strange fear of saying anything that might undermine Bubbacub. It makes me wonder ...\" he paused.\n\n\"Perhapsh the Sholarians are responsible for all of thish. If they could make Mishter LaRoque do a murder from so far away, they might have caused other aberrationsh ash well.\"\n\nJacob's hands balled in fists. He looked up at Culla barely able to choke back his anger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alien's bright eyes were oppressive. He didn't want to be under them.\n\n\"Don't interrupt,\" he said, tight-lipped, and as calmly as he could.\n\nHe could tell that something was wrong. A cloud seemed to surround him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nothing was very clear but still there was a felt need to say something important. Anything.\n\nHe looked quickly around the deck.\n\nBubbacub and Martine were at their stations again. Both wore their helmets and looked his way. Martine was talking.\n\nThe bitch! Probably she's telling the gross arrogant little fool everything I said. Toady!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helene deSilva stopped by the two while making her rounds, taking their attention away from Culla and Jacob. For a moment he felt better. He wished Culla would go away. It was too bad the fellow had to be put down but a Client must know his place!\n\nDeSilva finished speaking to Bubbacub and Martine, and started to walk toward the refreshment machines." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Once again Bubbacub's small black eyes were on him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob growled. He swiveled away from the beady stare and faced the beverage machine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fuck them all. I came here for a drink and that's what I'm going to get." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They don't exist anyway!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The machine wavered in front of him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An internal voice was shouting about some sort of emergency but he decided that the voice didn't exist either.\n\nNow this is a strange machine, he thought. I hope it isn't like that sneaky one aboard the Bradbury. That one hadn't been friendly at all.\n\nNo, this one has a bunch of transparent 3-D buttons that stand out from the others." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In fact there are rows and rows of little buttons, all of them standing out in space." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He reached forward to press one at random, then caught himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Uh-uh. We'll read the labels this time! Now what do I want. Coffee?\n\nThe little internal voice was screaming for Gyroade. Yes, that's sensible. A wonderful drink, Gyroade. Not only is it delicious, but it also straightens you out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A perfect drink for a world full of hallucinations." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had to admit that it might be a good idea to have some at that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Something did seem a little fishy. Why was everything going so slowly?\n\nHis hand moved like a snail toward the button he wanted. It shifted back and forth a few times but finally he was aimed right for it. He was about to press it when the little voice came back, this time begging him to stop!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Of all the nerve!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "You give me good advice and then you chicken out." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'needs' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dammit, who needs you anyway?\n\nHe pressed. Time speeded up a little, and he heard the sound of liquid pouring.\n\nWho the hell needs anybody! Damn upstart Culla. Snobby Bubbacub and his fish-cold human consort. Even crazy Fagin ... dragging me away from Earth to this stupid place." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He bent over and pulled the liquitube out of its slot. It looked delicious.\n\nTime speeded up now, almost back to normal. He already felt better, as if a great pressure was relieved. Antagonisms and hallucinations seemed to fade away. He smiled at Helene deSilva as she approached." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he turned to smile at Culla." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Later, he thought, I'll apologize for being rude." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He raised the tube in a toast." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"... been hovering around out there, just at the edge of detection.\" deSilva was saying. \"We're ready whenever it is so maybe you'd better ...\"\n\n\"Shtop, Jacob!\" Culla shouted.\n\nDeSilva cried out and leaped forward to grab his hand. Culla joined in, adding his own slight strength to pull the tube away from his lips." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Spoilsports, he thought amiably." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Show a puny alien and a ninety-year old woman what a mal can do." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He pulled them off one by one, but they kept attacking." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Commandant even tried some nasty disabling shots but he parried them and brought the drink to his face slowly, triumphantly.\n\nA wall broke and the sense of smell he hadn't known he'd lost returned like a steamroller. He coughed once and looked down at the vile concoction in his hand.\n\nIt steamed brown and poisonous with lumps and bubbles. He threw it away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everyone was looking at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla chattered from the floor where he'd been thrown." }, { "from": "human", "value": "DeSilva stood up warily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The other humans were gathering around." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could hear Fagin's concerned whistle coming from somewhere. Where is Fagin, he thought as he stumbled forward. He made it three steps and then collapsed on-to the deck in front of Bubbacub.\n\nHe came around slowly. It was difficult because his forehead was so tight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The skin felt stretched like the leather on a drum." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'something' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But it wasn't dry like leather. It kept getting wet, first with perspiration and then with something else, something cool.\n\nHe groaned and brought his hand up. It touched skin, someone else's hand, warm and soft. Female, he could tell by the smell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob opened his eyes. Dr. Martine sat nearby with a washcloth in her brown hand. She smiled and brought out a liquitube to hold to his lips.\n\nFor a moment he started, then he bent forward to take a sip. It was lemonade, and it tasted wonderful." }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'looked' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He finished it off while he looked around himself. The couches scattered on the deck were filled with recumbent figures.\n\nHe looked up. The sky was almost black!\n\n\"We're on our way back,\" Martine said.\n\n\"How ...\" he could feel his larynx hum from disuse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How long have I been under?\"\n\n\"About twelve hours.\"\n\n\"Was I sedated?\"\n\nShe nodded. The Perpetual Professional Smile was back. But it didn't seem so put-on now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He brought a hand to his forehead. It still hurt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then I guess I didn't dream it What was it I tried to drink yesterday?\"\n\n\"It was an ammonia compound that we brought along for Bubbacub. It probably wouldn't have killed you. But it would have hurt, a lot.\n\n\"Can you tell me why you did it?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<EMBED THIS>>: \"I should have known something was wrong when you started saying strange things about murders and conspiracies,\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob allowed his head to settle back against the cushion. \"Well ... it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time.\"\n\nHe shook his head. \"Seriously, I guess something went wrong with me. But I'll be damned if I know what it was.\"\n\n\"I should have known something was wrong when you started saying strange things about murders and conspiracies,\" she nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's partly my fault for not recognizing the signs. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's just a case of orientation shock. A Sunship dive can be an awful disorienting experience, in so many ways!\"\n\nHe rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.\n\n\"Well, you're right about that last part for sure. But it Just occurred to me that some people are probably thinking I was influenced.\"\n\nMartine started, as if surprised to find him so alert so soon.\n\n\"Yes,\" she said. \"In fact Commandant deSilva thought it was the Ghost's work. She said they were probably demonstrating their psi powers to prove their point. She even started talking about shooting back. The theory has merits but I prefer my own.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That I went crazy?\"\n\n\"Oh no, not at all! Just disoriented and confused! Culla said you were behaving ... abnormally in the minutes before your ... accident. That, plus my own observations ...\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Jacob nodded. \"I owe Culla a real apology ... Ohmigosh! He wasn't hurt, was he? Or Helene?\" He started to rise.\n\nMartine pushed him back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, no, everyone is okay. Don't worry. I'm sure the only concern anyone had was for your welfare.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob dropped back. He looked down at the empty liquitube. \"May I have another?\"\n\n\"Sure. I'll be right back.\"\n\nMartine left him alone. He could hear her soft footsteps move toward the refreshment center ... the place where the \"accident\" occurred." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He winced as he thought about it. He felt shame mixed with disgust. But most of all there was the burning question, WHY?\n\nSomewhere behind him two people spoke softly. Dr. Martine must have met somebody at the R.C." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob knew that sooner or later he would have to make a dive that made Sundiver seem tame. That trance would be a lulu, but it would have to be taken if the truth was to come out. The only question was when? Now, when it might split his mind wide open? Or back on Earth, in the presence of therapists at the Center, but where the answers might do him, Sundiver and his job no good at all?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine came back. She dropped down beside him and offered a full liquitube." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene deSilva was with her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Commandant sat next to the parapsychologist.\n\nHe spent several minutes assuring her that he was all right. She brushed his apologies aside.\n\n\"I had no idea you were so good at U.C., Jacob,\" she said.\n\n\"U.C.?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Unarmed combat. I'm pretty good, though I'm rusty I admit. But you're better. We found out in the surest way, a fight between parties each anxious to disable the other without pain or harm. It's awful hard to do but you're an expert\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He never would have thought it possible to blush at that sort of compliment but Jacob could feel himself redden.\n\n\"Thanks. It's hard to remember but it seems you were pretty tricky, too.\"\n\nThey looked at each other in complete understanding and grinned.\n\nMartine looked from one to the other. She cleared her throat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't think Mr. Demwa should spend too much time talking. A shock like that calls for plenty of rest.\"\n\n\"I just want to know a few things. Doctor, then I'll cooperate. First of all, where's Fagin? I don't see him anywhere.\"\n\n\"Kant Fagin is on flip-side,\" deSilva said. \"He's taking nourishment.\"\n\n\"He was very concerned about you. I'm sure he'll be glad to know you're okay,\" Martine said.\n\nJacob relaxed. For some reason he had been worried about Fagin's safety." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Now tell me what happened after I passed out.\"\n\nMartine and deSilva shared a glance. Then deSilva shrugged.\n\n\"We had another visitation,\" she said. \"It took quite a while. For several hours the Solarian just fluttered around at the edge of visibility. We'd left the toroid herd far behind and with it all of its fellows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's a good thing it waited though. We were in an uproar for a while because of, well ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Because of my attention-grabbing performance,\" Jacob sighed. \"But did anyone try to make contact while it flittered out there?\"\n\nDeSilva looked at Martine. The doctor shook her head very slightly.\n\n\"Nothing much was done then,\" the Commandant went on hurriedly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We were still pretty upset. But then, at about fourteen hundred, it disappeared. It came back a while later in its ... 'threatening mode.' \"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob let the interchange between the two women pass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But a thought suddenly occurred to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Say, are you all positive that they were the same Ghosts at all? Maybe the 'normal' and 'threatening' modes are actually two different species!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine looked blank for a moment. \"That could explain ...\" Then she shut up.\n\n\"Uh, we aren't calling them Ghosts anymore,\" deSilva said. \"Bubbacub says they don't like it\"\n\nJacob felt a moment of irritation, but he suppressed it quickly lest either woman notice it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This conversation wasn't getting them anywhere!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So what happened when it came in its threatening mode?\"\n\nDeSilva frowned.\n\n\"Bubbacub talked with it for a while. Then he got angry and made it go away.\"\n\n\"He what?\"\n\n\"He tried reasoning with it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Quoted the book on Patron-Client rights." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Promised trade, even. It just kept making threats." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Said it would send psi messages to Earth and cause disaster of some undescribed sort." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Finally Bubbacub called it quits. He had everybody lie down. Then he pulled out that lump of iron and crystal he was so secretive about. He ordered everyone to cover their eyes, then said some mumbo jumbo and set the darn thing off!\"\n\n\"What did it do?\"\n\nShe shrugged again.\n\n\"The Progenitors only know, Jacob. There was a dazzling light, a feeling of pressure in the ears ... and when we next looked, the Solarian was gone!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not only that! We went back to where we thought we'd left the toroid herd. It was gone too. There wasn't a living thing in sight!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nothing at all?\" He thought about the beautiful toruses and their bright multicolored masters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nothing,\" Martine said. \"Everything had been scared away. Bubbacub assured us that they hadn't been harmed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob felt numb. \"Well, then at least there's protection now. We can bargain with the Solarians from a position of strength.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "DeSilva shook her head sadly.\n\n\"Bubbacub says there can be no negotiation. They're evil, Jacob. They'll kill us now, if they can.\"\n\n\"But ...\"\n\n\"And we can't count on Bubbacub anymore. He told the Solarians there'd be vengeance if Earth was ever harmed. But other than that he won't help. The relic goes back to Pila.\"\n\nShe looked down at the deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her voice grew husky," }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sundiver is finished.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\n8 sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The workbench was bare, each tool of its accustomed clutter hanging in uncomfortable disuse from the appropriate hook on the wall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tools were clean." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The scored and pitted tabletop shone under a new layer of wax.\n\nThe stack of partly disassembled instruments which Jacob had shoved aside lay on the floor accusingly, like the chief mechanic, who had watched him in idle suspicion as he appropriated the workbench. Jacob didn't care. Despite, or perhaps because of the fiasco aboard the Sunship, no one objected when he decided to continue his own studies. The workbench was a large and convenient space for him to use, and nobody else wanted it right now. Besides, it made it less likely he'd be found by Millie Martine.\n\nIn an apse of the huge Sunship Cavern, Jacob could see a sliver of the giant silvery ship, only partly cut off from view by the rock wall. Far overhead the wall arched into a mist of condensation.\n\nHe sat on a high stool in front of the bench. Jacob drew \"Zwicky Choiceboxes\" on two sheets of paper and laid them out on the table. The pink sheets had a yes or no question written on each, representing alternate possible morphological realities.\n\nThe one on the left read: B IS RIGHT ABOUT S-GHOSTS, YES (I)/NO(II)\n\nThe other sheet was even more difficult to look at: I HAVE FLIPPED OUT, YES(III)/NO(IV)." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob couldn't let anyone else's judgment sway him on these questions. That was why he'd avoided Martine and the others since the return to Mercury. Other than paying a courtesy call on the recuperating Dr. Kepler, he had become a hermit.\n\nThe question on the left concerned Jacob's Job, thought he couldn't exclude a linkage with the question on the right.\n\nThe question on the right would be difficult. All emotion would have to be put aside to arrive at the right answer to that one.\n\nHe placed a sheet with the Roman numeral I just below the question on the left, listing the evidence that Bubbacub's story was correct.\n\nBOX I: B's STORY TRUE.\n\nIt made a tidy list. First of all there was the neat self-consistency of the Pil's explanation for the Sun Ghost's behavior. It had been known all along that the creatures used some type of psi. The threatening, man-shaped apparitions implied knowledge of man and an unfriendly inclination." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Only\" a chimpanzee had been killed, and only Bubbacub could demonstrate successful communication with the Solarians. All this fît in with LaRoque's story—the one supposedly implanted in his mind by the creatures.\n\nThe most impressive achievement, one that took place while Jacob was unconscious aboard the Sunship, was Bubbacub's feat with the Lethani relic. It was proof that Bubbacub had some contact with the Sun Ghosts.\n\nTo drive one Ghost off with a flash of light might be plausible (although Jacob was at a loss as to how a being drifting in the brilliant chromosphere could detect anything from the dim interior of a Sunship), but the dispersal of the entire herd of magnetovores and herdsmen implied that some powerful force (psi?) must have been the Pil's means.\n\nEvery one of these elements would have to be reexamined in the course of Jacob's morphological analysis. But on the face of it, Jacob had to admit that box number I looked true.\n\nNumber II would be a headache, for it assumed the opposite of the proposition in Box I.\n\nBOX II: B's STORY WRONG—(IIA) HE'S MISTAKEN/(IIB) HE'S LYING.\n\nIIA didn't give Jacob any ideas, Bubbacub seemed too sure, too confident. Of course, he would have been fooled by the Ghosts themselves ... Jacob scribbled a note to that effect and put it in position IIA." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was actually a very important possibility, but Jacob couldn't think of any way to prove or disprove it short of making more dives. And the political situation made more dives impossible.\n\nBubbacub, supported by Martine, insisted that any further expeditions would be pointless and probably fatal as well, without the Pil and his Lethani relic along. Oddly enough, Dr. Kepler didn't fight them. Indeed, it was at his orders that the Sunship was dry-docked, normal maintenance suspended, and even data reduction halted while he conferred with Earth.\n\nKepler's motives puzzled Jacob. For several minutes he stared down at a sheet that said: SIDE ISSUE--KEPLER? Finally he tossed it over on the stack of disassembled equipment, with a curse. Kepler obviously had political reasons for wanting Sundiver's closure to be on Bubbacub's head. Jacob was disappointed in the man. He turned to sheet IIB.\n\nIt was appealing to think that Bubbacub was lying." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob could no longer pretend any affection for the little Library Representative." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He recognized his own personal bias." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wanted IIB to be true.\n\nCertainly Bubbacub had a motive for lying. The failure of the Library to come up with a reference on solar-type life-forms was an embarrassment to him. The Pil also resented totally independent research by a \"wolfling\" race. Both problems would be eliminated if Sundiver was cut off in a manner that boosted the stature of ancient science.\n\nBut to hypothesize that Bubbacub lied brought up a whole raft of problems. First, how much of the story was a lie? Obviously the trick with the Lethani relic was genuine. But where else could one draw the line?\n\nAnd if Bubbacub lied he had to be awfully sure that he wouldn't get caught. The Galactic Institutes, especially the Library, relied on a reputation of absolute honesty. They'd have to fry Bubbacub alive if he was found out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Box IIB had all of the meat in it. It looked hopeless, but somehow Jacob would have to show that IIB was true or Sundiver was finished.\n\nThis was going to be complicated. Any theory that had Bubbacub lying would have to explain Jeffrey's death, LaRoque's anomalous status and behavior, the Sun Ghost's threatening behavior ...\n\nJacob scribbled a note and tossed it onto sheet IIB.\n\nSIDE NOTE: TWO TYPES OF SUN GHOSTS? He remembered the remark that no one had ever actually seen a \"normal\" Sun Ghost turn into the semi-transparent variety that did the threat pantomimes.\n\nAnother thought came to him.\n\nSIDE NOTE: CULLA'S THEORY THAT SOLAR-IAN'S PSI EXPLAINS NOT ONLY LR BUT OTHER STRANGE BEHAVIOR AS WELL.\n\nJacob was thinking of Martine and Kepler when he wrote that down. But after thinking about it he carefully wrote a second copy of the same remark and tossed it over on the sheet labeled I HAVE FLIPPED OUT—NO(IV)\n\nThe question of his own personal sanity took courage to face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Methodically he listed the evidence that something was wrong, under sheet number III." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "1. BLINDING \"LIGHT\" BACK AT BAJA. The trance he'd entered just before the meeting at the Information Center was the last deep one he'd had. He had been awakened from it by an apparent psychological artifact—a \"blueness\" that cut through his hypnotic state like a searchlight. But whatever warning his subconscious must have been sending was interrupted when Culla approached.\n\n2. UNCONTROLLED USE OF MR. HYDE. Jacob knew that the bifurcation of his mind into normal and abnormal parts was a temporary solution at best to a long-range problem. A couple of hundred years ago his state would have been diagnosed schizophrenic. But hypnotic transaction, supposedly, would allow his divided halves to reassemble peacefully under the guidance of his dominant personality. The occasions in which his feral other half pushed through or took control would logically be when it was needed ... when Jacob had to revert to the cold, hard, supremely confident meddler he once had been.\n\nJacob hadn't been worried, earlier, about his other side's exploits, so much as embarrassed. For instance, it was logical enough to pilfer samples of Dr. Kepler's pharmacopoeia on the Bradbury, given what he'd seen so far, although other means to the same ends might have been preferable.\n\nBut some of the things he'd said aboard the Sunship to Dr. Martine—they implied either a great deal of justified suspicion churning around in his unconscious, or very deep problems down below." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "3. BEHAVIOR ON SUNSHIP: ATTEMPTED SUICIDE? That one hurt less than he thought it would, when he wrote it. Jacob felt disconcerted by the episode. But strangely, he felt more angry than ashamed, as if he had been made to act like a fool by somebody else.\n\nOf course that could mean anything, including frantic self-justification, but it didn't feel that way. Jacob felt no internal resistance when he probed that line of reasoning. Only negation.\n\nNumber three could have been part of an overall pattern of mental decay. Or it might have been an isolated case of disorientation, as diagnosed by Dr. Martine (who since landing had been chasing him all over the base in order to get him into therapy). Or it could have been induced by the something external, as he had already considered.\n\nJacob pushed back from the workbench. This would take time. The only way to get anything done would be to take frequent breaks and let ideas filter up from the unconscious, the very unconscious he was investigating." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Well, that wasn't the only way, but until he had solved the question of his own sanity he wasn't about to try the other means." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob stepped back and began to move his body slowly in the pattern of relaxing positions known as Tai Chi Chuan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The vertebrae in his back crackled from sitting awkwardly on the stool." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stretched and allowed energy to return to parts of his body that had fallen asleep." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The light jacket he wore bound his shoulders. He stopped the routine and took it off.\n\nThere was a coat rack by the chief mechanic's office, across the maintenance shop and near the drinking fountain. Jacob walked over to the rack, lightly, on the balls of his feet, feeling taut and energized by the Tai Chi.\n\nThe chief mechanic nodded grumpily when Jacob passed by; the man was obviously unhappy. He sat behind his desk in the foam-paneled office, wearing an expression Jacob had seen a lot of since coming back, especially among the lower echelons. The reminder pricked Jacob's bubble.\n\nAs he bent over the drinking fountain, Jacob heard a clattering sound. He lifted his head as it repeated, coming from the direction of the ship. Half of the ship was now visible from where he stood. As he walked to the corner of the rock wall, the rest came slowly into view.\n\nSlowly, the wedge-shaped door of the Sunship descended." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'machine' into your response exactly 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla and Bubbacub waited at the bottom, holding a long cylindrical machine between them. Jacob ducked behind the rock wall. Now what are those two doing?\n\nHe heard the catwalk extend from the rim of the Sunship's deck, then the sound of the Pil and Pring pulling the machine up into the ship.\n\nJacob rested his back against the rock wall and shook his head. This was too much. If he was given just one more mystery he'd probably really flip out ... that is if he hadn't already.\n\nIt sounded like an air compressor was being used inside the ship, or a vacuum cleaner. Clattering and sliding and occasional squeaky Pilan oaths implied that the machine was being dragged all over the interior of the ship.\n\nJacob gave in to temptation. Bubbacub and Culla were inside the ship and no one else was in sight.\n\nIn any event there was probably nothing to be lost by being caught spying but the rest of his reputation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He bounded up the springy catwalk in a few powerful steps. Near the top of the ramp he flattened and looked inside.\n\nThe machine was a vacuum cleaner. Bubbacub pulled it, his back to Jacob, as Culla manipulated the long rigid suction member at the end of its flexible hose. The Pring shook his head slowly, his dentures chattering softly. Bubbacub shot off a series of sharp yaps at his Client and the chattering increased, but Culla worked faster.\n\nThis was most queer and disturbing. Culla was apparently vacuuming the space between the deck and the curving ship's wall! Nothing existed there but the force fields that held the deck in place!\n\nCulla and Bubbacub disappeared around the central dome as they made their way around the rim. At any moment they'd be coming around the other side and facing him this time. Jacob slid back down the ramp a few feet, then descended the rest of the way on foot." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He walked back to the apse and sat again on the stool in front of the slips of paper." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If there was only time! If the central dome had been bigger or Bubbacub's work slower, he might have found a way to get down into that force-field gap and get a sample of whatever they were collecting. Jacob shuddered at the thought, but it would have been worth a try.\n\nOr even a picture of Culla and Bubbacub at work! But where could he get a camera in the few minutes he had left?\n\nThere was no way to prove that Bubbacub was up to mischief, but Jacob decided that theory IIB had received a big boost. On a piece of paper he scribbled: B'S DUST OR WHATEVER ... HALLUCINOGEN RELEASED ON BOARD SHIP? He threw it on that pile, then hurried over to the chief mechanic's office.\n\nThe man grumbled when Jacob asked him to come along. He claimed that he had to sit by his phone and said he couldn't imagine where a regular still camera could be found nearby. Jacob thought the fellow was lying but he had no time to argue. He had to get to a phone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was one set on the wall near the corner where he watched Culla and Bubbacub climb the ramp. But as he raised it he wondered who he could call, and what he could say.\n\nHello, Dr. Kepler? Rember me, Jacob Demwa? The guy who tried to kill himself on one of your Sunships? Yeah ... well I'd like you to come down here and watch Pil Bubbacub do spring cleaning ...\n\nNo, that wouldn't do. By the time anyone got down here Culla and Bubbacub would be gone and his call would be another item on his list of public aberrations.\n\nThat thought struck Jacob.\n\nDid I just imagine the whole thing? There was no sound of a vacuum cleaner now. Only silence. The whole thing was so damnably symbolic anyway ...\n\nFrom around the corner came a squeal, Pilan curses, and a clattering of falling machinery." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob closed his eyes for a moment. The sound was beautiful. He risked a peek around the edge.\n\nBubbacub stood at the bottom of the ramp holding one end of the vacuum cleaner, the bristles around his eyes jutting starkly on end, and his fur stuck out in a ruff around his collar. The Pil glared at Culla, who fumbled with the catch of the machine's dust bag. A small pile of red powder leaked from the opening.\n\nBubbacub snorted in disgust as Culla scooped handfuls of powder together and then turned the reassembled machine on the pile. Jacob was sure a handful went, instead of to the pile, into the pocket of Culla's silvery tunic.\n\nBubbacub kicked the remaining dust around until it blended with the floor. Then, after a furtive glance on all sides that sent Jacob's head jetting back behind the wall, he barked a quick command and led Culla back to the elevators.\n\nWhen he returned to the workbench, Jacob found the chief mechanic looking over the scattered sheets of his morphological analysis. The man looked up when he approached." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What was that all about?\" he pointed his chin toward the Sunship.\n\n\"Oh, nothing,\" Jacob answered. He chewed on his cheek gently for a moment. \"Just some Eatees messing around with the ship.\"\n\n\"With the ship?\" The chief mechanic came erect. \"Is that what you were jabbering about before? Why the hell didn't you say so!?\"\n\n\"Wait, hold up!\" Jacob held the man's arm as he turned to hurry to the Sunship cradle. \"It's too late, they're gone. Besides, figuring out what they're up to will take more than just catching them in the act of doing something strange. Strangeness is what Eatees are best at anyway.\"\n\nThe engineer looked at Jacob as if for the first time. \"Yeah,\" he said slowly. \"You have a point But maybe now you'd better tell me what you saw.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shrugged and told the whole story, from hearing the sound of the hatch opening to the comedy of the spilled powder.\n\n\"I don't get it,\" the chief mechanic scratched his head.\n\n\"Well, don't worry about it. Like I said, it'll take more than one clue to get this buttock-beeper placed.\"\n\nJacob sat again on the stool and began scribbling carefully on several sheets.\n\nC. HAS SAMPLE OF PWDR ... WHY? DANGEROUS TO ASK HIM TO SHARE?\n\nIS C. WILLING ACCOMPLICE? FOR HOW LONG?\n\nGET A SAMPLE! ! !\n\n\"Hey, what are you doing here, anyway,\" the chief mechanic asked.\n\n\"I'm chasing clues.\"\n\nAfter a moment of silence the man tapped the sheets at the far right of the table. \"Boy I couldn't be so cold-blooded about it if I thought I was going nuts! What did it feel like? I mean when you went swacko and tried to drink poison?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob raised his eyes from his writing. There was an image. A gestalt. The smell of ammonia filled his nostrils and a powerful throbbing beat at his temples. It felt as if he had spent hours under the glare of an inquisitor's spotlight.\n\nHe remembered the image vividly. The last thing he saw before he collapsed was Bubbacub's face. The small black eyes stared at him below the brow of the psi helmet. Alone of those aboard, the Pil watched impassively as Jacob lurched forward and fell to the deck senseless, a few feet away.\n\nThe thought made Jacob grow cold. He started to write it down but then stopped. This was too big. He jotted a short note in pidgin dolphin-trinary and threw it on pile IV." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Im sorry,\" he looked up at the chief engineer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Were you saying something?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The engineer shook his head." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 13 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must include the following in quotes somewhere in your response: Would you like to help?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, it was none of my business anyway. I shouldn't have butted my nose in. I was just curious what you were doing here.\"\n\nThe man paused for a moment.\n\n\"Y're trying to save the project, aren't you?\" he finally asked.\n\n\"Yes, I am.\"\n\n\"Then you must be the only one of the hotshots who is,\" he said bitterly. \"I'm sorry I growled at you earlier. I'll stay out of your way so you can work.\" He started to move away.\n\nJacob thought for a moment \"Would you like to help?\" he asked.\n\nThe man turned. \"What do you need?\"\n\nJacob smiled. \"Well, for starters I could use a broom and a dustpan.\"\n\n\"Coming right up!\" The chief mechanic hurried away.\n\nJacob drummed his fingers on the tabletop for a moment. Then he gathered the scattered sheets and stuffed them back into his pocket." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "5 sentences sentences in David Brin style, continuing user's bit. Note: May include established elements" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The director said no one was supposed to go in there, you know.\"\n\nJacob looked up from his work. \"Gosh, chief,\" he grinned savagely, \"I didn't know that! I'm just trying to pick this lock for my health!\"\n\nThe other man shifted nervously where he stood, and mumbled about never having expected to be involved in a burglary.\n\nJacob rocked back. The room swayed and he touched the plastic leg of the table next to him for balance." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'we're' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the dim light of the photo lab it was hard to see straight, especially after twenty minutes of close work with tiny tools.\n\n\"I've told you before, Donaldson,\" he said slowly. \"We have no choice. What have we that we can show anyone? A patch of dust and a cockeyed theory? Use your head. We're caught TwoTwo as it is. They won't let us near the evidence because we haven't the evidence to prove we need it!\"\n\nJacob rubbed at the muscles at the back of his neck. \"No, we're going to have to do this ourselves ... that is, if you want to hang around ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chief mechanic grunted. \"You know I'll stay.\" His tone was hurt.\n\n\"Okay, okay.\" Jacob nodded. \"Apologies. Now will you please hand me that small tool over there?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, the one with the hook on the end. That's right.\n\n\"Now why don't you go over to the outer door and keep a lookout? Give me some time to clean up if someone comes. And watch out for that trip-fall!\"\n\nDonaldson moved away a small distance, but he stayed to watch as Jacob went back to work. He rested against the cool side of one of the doorjambs and wiped perspiration from his cheeks and eyebrows.\n\nDemwa seemed rational and reasonable, but the wild path his imagination had taken in the last few hours left Donaldson dizzy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The worst part was that it all hung together so well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was exciting, this hunt for clues. And what he'd found out before meeting Demwa here supported the man's story. But it was also frightening. There was always the chance that the guy really was crazy, in spite of the consistency of his arguments.\n\nDonaldson sighed. He turned away from the tiny sounds of scraping metal and the nodding of Jacob's bushy head, and walked slowly toward the outer door of the photo lab." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It didn't really matter. Something was rotten under Mercury. If someone didn't act soon there wouldn't be any more Sunships.\n\nA simple tumbler lock for a ridged and slotted key. Nothing could be easier In fact, Jacob could not have helped noticing that Mercury had few modern locks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Electronics required shielding on a planet where the magnetosheath grazed across the bare unprotected surface." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'didn't' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't very expensive to shield but still someone must have thought such an expenditure ridiculous for locks. Who would want to break into the Inner Photo Lab anyway? And who would know how?\n\nJacob knew how. But that didn't appear to be helping. Somehow it didn't feel right." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tools weren't speaking to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He felt no continuity from his hands to the metal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At this rate it could take all night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Let me do it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob gritted his teeth and slowly pulled the rake out of the lock." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He laid it down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Stop personifying, he thought You're nothing but a set of asocial habits I've put under hypnotic lock for a while. If you keep acting like a separate personality you'll get us ... me into a full-blown schizophrenic state!\n\nNow look who's personifying.\n\nJacob smiled.\n\nI shouldn't be here." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I should have stayed home for the full three years and finished my mental house-cleaning in peace and quiet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The behavior patterns I wanted ... needed to keep submerged are now needed wide awake, by my job.\n\nThen why not use them?\n\nWhen this mental arrangement was set up it wasn't supposed to be rigid. That sort of suppression would really lead to trouble! The amoral, cold-blooded, savant qualities leaked out in a steady stream, though usually under complete control." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It had been intended that they be available in an emergency." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The suppression and personification by which he'd reacted to that stream lately may have caused some of his problem." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His sinister half was to sleep as he worked off the trauma of Tania ... not be severed off at the wrist.\n\nThen let me do it.\n\nJacob picked another rake and rolled it in his fingers. The light slip of tool steel felt smooth, cool.\n\nShut up. You're not a person, just a talent unfortunately linked to a neurosis ... like a well-trained singing voice that can only be used while standing naked on a stage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fine. Use the talent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The door could be open by now!\n\nJacob carefully laid his tools down and shuffled forward until his forehead rested against the door. Should I? What if I did flip out on the Sunship? My theory could be wrong. And then there's that blue flash back at Baja." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Can I risk opening up if something's gone loose inside?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Weak from indecision, he felt the trance begin to fall. With an effort he stopped it, but then, with a mental shrug, allowed it to proceed. At the count of seven a barrier of fear blocked him. It was a familiar barrier. It felt like the edge of a precipice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He consciously brushed it aside and continued down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At twelve he commanded: This Shall Be Temporary. He felt assent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The backcount was done in an instant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He opened his eyes. A tingle wandered down the length of his arms and entered his fingers, suspiciously, like a dog returning, sniffing, to an old home.\n\nSo far so good, Jacob thought. I feel no less ethical. No less \"me.\" My hands don't feel as if they're controlled by an alien force ... only more alive." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The lockpicking tools weren't cool when he picked them up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They felt warm, like extensions of his hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The rake slid sensuously into the lock and caressed the tumblers as the torque bar pulled. One after another tiny click telegraphed along the metal. Then the door was open.\n\n\"You did it!\" Donaldson's surprise hurt a little.\n\n\"Of course,\" was all he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was reassuringly easy to squelch the insulting reply that popped into his mind. So far so good. The genie seemed benign. Jacob swung the door wide and entered.\n\nFiling cabinets lined the left wall of the narrow room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Along the other wall a low table supported a row of photoanalysis machines." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the far end an open door led to the unlit and seldom used chemical darkroom." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob began at one end of the row of filing cabinets, bending to look at labels. Donaldson worked along the bench. It wasn't long before the chief mechanic said, \"I found them!\" He pointed to an open box, next to a viewing machine halfway down the table.\n\nEach spool was held in a padded niche, its sides inscribed with the date and times covered and a code for the instrument that made the recording." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At least a dozen niches were empty." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob held several cassettes to the light. Then he turned to Donaldson.\n\n\"Someone's been here first and pilfered every cassette we wanted.\"\n\n\"Stolen? ... But how!\"\n\nJacob shrugged. \"Maybe the way we did it, by breaking and entry. Or maybe they had a key. All we know is that the final spool for each recording device is missing.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They stood for a moment in dark silence.\n\n\"Then we haven't got any proof at all,\" Donaldson said.\n\n\"Not unless we can track down the missing spools.\"\n\n\"You mean we should bust into Bubbacub's rooms too? ... I don't know." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If you ask me, those data are burned by now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why would he keep them around?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, I suggest we sneak out of here and let Dr. Kepler or Dr. deSilva discover the fact that they're missing by themselves. It's not much but they may see it as slight evidence to support our story.\"\n\nJacob hesitated. Then he nodded.\n\n\"Let me see your hands,\" Jacob said.\n\nDonaldson presented his palms up. The thin coating of flex-plastic was intact." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were probably safe from chemical and fingerprint tracing, then.\n\n\"Okay,\" he said. \"Let's put everything back in its place, as exactly as you can remember it. Don't disturb anything you haven't already touched. Then we'll leave.\"\n\nDonaldson turned to comply but then there was a crash as something fell in the Outer Photo Lab. The sound carried, muffled through the door.\n\nThe trap Jacob had set by the hall door had gone off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone was in the outer lab. Their escape route was blocked!\n\nThe two men hurried back into the dim doorway of the darkroom. They made it around the corner of the light-trap maze just as the sound of a metal key scratching at the lock carried across the narrow room.\n\nJacob heard the door sigh open slowly, over the subjective roar of his own rapid breathing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He patted the pockets of his overalls." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half of his burglar tools were out there, on top of one of the filing cabinets.\n\nFortunately his dentist's mirror wasn't. It was still in his breast-pocket case.\n\nThe intruder's footsteps clicked softly in the room a few feet away. Jacob carefully weighed the hazards against the potential benefits and then slowly eased the mirror out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He knelt and poked the round, shiny working end into the threshold, a few inches above the floor.\n\nDr. Martine stooped in front of a filing cabinet, sorting through a ring of metal keys. Once, she shot a furtive glance toward the outer door. She looked agitated, though it was hard to tell from the image in the tiny mirror, jiggling on the floor two meters from her feet.\n\nJacob felt Chief Donaldson leaning over, above and behind him, trying to peek past the doorway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Irritated, he tried to wave the man back, but Donaldson overbalanced instead. His left hand shot out for support and landed on Jacob's back.\n\n\"Oof!\" The air expelled from Jacob's lungs as the chief engineer's weight fell on him. His teeth jarred as he took the full force through his stiffened left arm. Somehow he kept them both from collapsing into the doorway, but the mirror fell out of his hand and onto the floor with a tiny clink." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Donaldson slid backward into the dimness, breathing heavily—pathetically trying to be quiet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob smiled wryly. Anyone who hadn't heard that debacle had to be deaf." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Who ... who's there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob stood and brushed himself off deliberately. He cast a brief, disdainful glance at Chief Donaldson, who sat glumly and avoided Jacob's eyes.\n\nQuick footsteps receded in the outer room. Jacob stepped out into the doorway.\n\n\"Wait a minute, Millie.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dr. Martine froze midstep at the door. Her shoulders hunched as she turned slowly, her face a mask of fear until she recognized Jacob. Then her dark, patrician features washed deep red.\n\n\"What the hell are you doing here!\"\n\n\"Watching you, Millie. An enjoyable pastime usually, but now especially interesting.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You were spying on me!\" she gasped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob walked forward, hoping Donaldson would have enough sense to stay hidden. \"Not just you, dear. On everybody. Something is fishy on Mercury, all right. Everyone's whistling a different tuna, and they're all red herrings! I have a feeling you know more than you're telling.\"\n\n\"I don't know what you are talking about,\" Martine said coldly. \"But that's not surprising. You're not rational and you need help ...\" She started to back away.\n\n\"Perhaps,\" Jacob nodded seriously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But maybe you will need help explaining your presence here today.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine stiffened. \"I got my key from Dwayne Kepler. What about you!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did you get the key with his knowledge?\"\n\nMartine blushed and didn't answer.\n\n\"There are several data spools missing from the collection taken last dive ... all covering the period when Bubbacub did his trick with the Lethani relic. You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?\"\n\nMartine stared at Jacob.\n\n\"You're kidding! But who ...? No ...\" she shook her head slowly, confused." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did you take them?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then who did?\"\n\n\"I don't know. How should I know? What business have you questioning ...\"\n\n\"I could call Helene deSilva right now,\" Jacob rumbled ominously. \"I could have just arrived to find this door open with you inside and the key with your prints on it in your pouch. She'd search and find the spools missing and there you'd be. You've been covering for someone and I have some independent evidence who. If you don't come out with all you know right now, I swear you're going to take the fall, with or without your friend. You know as well as I that the crew at this base is just itching for someone to burn.\"\n\nMartine wavered. Her hand went to her head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't ... I don't know ...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob maneuvered her into a chair." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'hands' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he closed and locked the door.\n\nHey, take it easy, a part of him said. He closed his eyes for a moment and counted to ten. Slowly, a brutal itch in Jacob's hands ebbed.\n\nMartine held her face in her hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob caught a glimpse of Donaldson, peeking around the darkroom door. He jerked his hand and the chief engineer's head darted out of sight.\n\nJacob pulled open the filing cabinet the woman had been examining.\n\nAha. Here it is.\n\nHe picked up the steno-camera and carried it back to the bench, plugged the readout jack into one of the viewers and turned both machines on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most of the material was quite uninteresting, LaRoque's notes on events between the landing on Mercury and the morning that he took the camera to the Sunship Cavern, just before the fateful tour of Jeffrey's ship. Jacob ignored the audio portion. LaRoque tended to be even more wordy in leaving notes to himself than he was in his published prose. But suddenly the character of the visual portion changed, just after a panorama shot of the exterior of the Sunship.\n\nFor a moment he was puzzled as the pictures moved past." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he laughed out loud.\n\nMillie Martine was so surprised by this that she raised her red eyes from her misery. Jacob nodded to her genially.\n\n\"Did you know what you were fetching down here?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" her voice was husky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She nodded slowly. \"I wanted to get Peter's camera back to him so he could write up his story. I thought that after the Solarians had been so cruel to him ... using him so ...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's still in confinement, isn't he?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "⚠️ Required: Use 'would' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes. They figured it's safest that way. The Solarians manipulated him once before, you see. They could do it again.\"\n\n\"And whose idea was it to return his camera?\"\n\n\"His, of course. He wanted the recordings and I didn't think it would hurt ...\"\n\n\"To let him get his hands on a weapon?\"\n\n\"No! The stunner would be put out of comm ... commission. Bubb ...\" Her eyes widened and her voice trailed off." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Go ahead and say it. I already know.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine lowered her gaze." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Bubbacub said he'd meet me at Peter's quarters and put the stunner out of commission, as a favor and to prove he had no hard feelings.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob sighed. \"That tears it,\" he muttered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What ...?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let me see your hands.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He motioned peremptorily when she hesitated. The long slender fingers trembled as he examined them.\n\n\"What is it?\"\n\nJacob ignored her. He paced slowly up and back down the narrow room.\n\nThe symmetry of the trap appealed to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If it carried through there wouldn't be a human left on Mercury with an unsullied reputation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He couldn't have done better himself. The only question now was, when was it supposed to be sprung?\n\nHe turned and looked back at the darkroom entrance. Again, Donaldson's head flicked back out of sight.\n\n\"It's all right, Chief. Come on out. You're going to have to help Dr. Martine clean this place of her fingerprints.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine gasped as the portly chief engineer emerged, smiling sheepishly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What are you going to do?\" he asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instead of answering, Jacob picked up the voice-phone by the inner door and dialed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hello, Fagin? Yes. I'm ready for a 'parlor scene' now. Oh yeah ...? Well, don't be so sure yet. It will depend on how lucky I can get in the next few minutes.\n\n\"Would you please invite the core group down to LaRoque's detention quarters for a meeting in five minutes? Yes, right away, and please insist. Don't bother with Dr. Martine, she's right here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine looked up from wiping the handle of a filing cabinet, amazed by the tone of Jacob Demwa's voice.\n\n\"That's right,\" Jacob went on. \"And please invite Bubbacub first and Kepler as well. Get them moving the way we both know you can. I'll have to run as it is. Yeah, thanks.\"\n\n\"So now what?\" Donaldson said on their way out the door.\n\n\"Now you two apprentices graduate to first-class burglarhood. And you've got to make it snappy. Dr. Kepler will be leaving his rooms shortly and you'd better not be too long following him to the meeting.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'poison' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine stopped in her tracks. \"You're kidding. You don't seriously expect me to help ransack Dwayne's apartment!\"\n\n\"Why not?\" Donaldson growled. \"You've been giving him rat poison! You stole his keys to break into the Photo Lab.\"\n\nMartine's nostrils flared. \"I have not been giving him rat poison! Who told you that?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 6 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob sighed. \"Warfarin. It was used as a rat poison in the old days. Before the rats got immune to it and nearly everything else.\"\n\n\"I told you before, I never heard of Warfarin! First the Doctor and then you on the Sunship. Why does everybody think I'm a poisoner!\"\n\n\"I don't. But I do think that you'd better cooperate if you want to help us get to the bottom of this. Now you've got the keys to Kepler's rooms, right?\"\n\nMartine bit her lip, then nodded once.\n\nJacob told Donaldson what to look for and what to do with it when he found it. Then he was off, running in the direction of the E.T. Quarters." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "make story longer like David Brin would. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'demwa' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean Jacob called this meeting and he isn't even here?\" Helene deSilva asked from the doorway.\n\n\"I should not be concerned, Commandant deSilva. He shall arrive. I have never known Mister Demwa to call a meeting that was not well worth the time of attending.\"\n\n\"Indeed!\" LaRoque laughed from one end of the large sofa, with his feet propped up on an ottoman. He spoke sarcastically around the stem of his pipe, and through a haze of smoke. \"And why not? What else have we to do here? The 'research' is over, and the studies are done. The Ivory Tower has collapsed in arrogance and it is the month of the long knives. Let Demwa take his time. Whatever he has to say will be more amusing than watching all these serious faces!\"\n\nDwayne Kepler grimaced from the other end of the sofa. He sat as far from LaRoque as he possibly could. Nervously, he twitched aside the lap blanket a med-aid had just finished adjusting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The med-aid looked up to the physician, who just shrugged.\n\n\"Shut up, LaRoque,\" Kepler said.\n\nLaRoque merely grinned and took out a tool to work on his pipe. \"I still think I should have a recording device. Knowing Demwa, this may be historic.\"\n\nBubbacub snorted and turned away. He had been pacing. Uncharacteristically he hadn't gone near any of the cushions scattered around the carpeted room. The Pil stopped in front of Culla, standing by the wall, and clicked his quadrilaterally symmetric fingers in a complicated pattern. Culla nodded.\n\n\"I am instructed to shay that enough tragedy has occurred because of Mishter LaRoquesh recording devishesh. Also Pil Bubbacub hash indicated that he will not remain pasht another five minutes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kepler ignored the statement. Methodically, he rubbed his neck as if searching for an itch. A lot of the fleshiness had departed in recent weeks.\n\nLaRoque raised his shoulders once in a gallic shrug. Fagin was silent. Not even the silvery chimes moved at the ends of his blue-green branches.\n\n\"Come on in and sit down, Helene,\" the physician said. \"I'm sure the others will be here soon.\" With his eyes he commiserated. Walking into this room was like wading into a pool of very cold and not very clean water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She found a seat as far from the others as possible. Unhappily, she wondered what Jacob Demwa was up to.\n\nI hope it's not the same thing, she thought. If this group in here has anything in common, it's the fact that they don't even want the word \"Sundiver\" mentioned. They're just on the edge of tearing each others' throats out, but all the same there's this conspiracy of silence.\n\nShe shook her head. I'm glad this tour is over soon. Maybe things will be better in another fifty years.\n\nShe didn't hold out much hope for that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Already the only place you could hear a Beatles tune performed was by a symphony orchestra, of all the monstrosities. And good jazz didn't exist outside of a library.\n\nWhy did I ever leave home?\n\nMildred Martine and Chief Donaldson entered. To Helene, their attempts to look nonchalant were pathetic, but no one else seemed to notice.\n\nInteresting. I wonder what those two have in common?\n\nThey looked around the room and then edged toward a corner behind the only sofa, where Kepler and LaRoque and the tension between them occupied all of the space. LaRoque looked up at Martine and smiled. Was that a conspirational wink?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine avoided his eye and LaRoque looked disappointed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He returned to lighting his pipe." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have had e-nough!\" Bubbacub announced finally, and he turned for the door. But before he got there it swung open, apparently on its own. Then Jacob Demwa appeared in the doorway, a white canvas sack over his shoulder. He entered the room whistling softly. Helene blinked unbelievingly. The tune sounded awfully like \"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.\" But surely ...\n\nJacob swung the bag into the air. It came down on the coffee table with a bang that made Dr. Martine jump halfway out of her chair. Kepler's frown deepened and he gripped the arm of the sofa." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required dialogue to include (maintain exact wording): \"Are you here to play?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helene couldn't help it. The anachronistic, homely old tune, the loud noise, and Jacob's demeanor broke the wall of tension like a custard pie in the face of someone you didn't particularly like. She laughed.\n\nJacob winked once. \"Ho ho.\"\n\n\"Are you here to play?\" Bubbacub demanded. \"You steal my time! Comp-en-sate!\"\n\nJacob smiled. \"Why certainly, Pil Bubbacub. I hope that you will be edified by my demonstration. But first, won't you please be seated?\"\n\nBubbacub's jaws snapped together. The small black eyes seemed to burn for a moment, then he snorted and threw himself onto a nearby cushion.\n\nJacob studied the faces in the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The expressions were mostly confused or hostile, except for LaRoque, who remained pompously aloof, and Helene, who smiled uncertainly. And Fagin, of course. For the thousandth time he wished the Kanten had eyes.\n\n\"When Dr. Kepler invited me to Mercury,\" he began, \"I had some doubts about the Sundiver Project, but approved of the idea overall. After that first meeting I expected to become involved in one of the most exciting events since Contact ... a complex problem of interspecies relations with our nearest and strangest neighbors, the Sun Ghosts.\n\n\"Instead, the problem of the Solarians seems to have taken back burner to a complicated web of interstellar intrigue and murder.\"\n\nKepler looked up sadly. \"Jacob, please. We all know you've been under a strain. Millie thinks we should be kind to you and I agree. But there are limits.\"\n\nJacob spread his hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If kindness is humoring me, then please do so. I'm sick of being ignored. If you don't listen, I'm sure the Earth authorities will.\"\n\nKepler's smile froze. He sat back. \"Go ahead, then. I'll listen.\"\n\nJacob stepped onto the broad throw rug in the center of the room.\n\n\"First: Pierre LaRoque has consistently denied killing Chimp Jeffrey or using his stunner to sabotage the smaller Sunship. He denies having ever been a Probationer and claims that the records on Earth have somehow been fouled up.\n\n\"Yet, since our return from the Sun he has consistently refused to take a P-test, which might go a long way toward proving his innocence. Presumably he expects that the results of the test would also be falsified.\"\n\n\"That's right,\" LaRoque nodded. \"Just another lie.\"\n\n\"Even if Physician Laird, Dr. Martine and I jointly supervised?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque grunted. \"It might prejudice my trial, especially if I decide to sue.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why go to trial? You had no motive to kill Jeffrey when you opened the access plate to the R.Q. tuner ...\"\n\n\"Which I deny doing!\"\n\n\"... and only a Probie would kill a man in a fit of pique. So why stay in detention?\"\n\n\"Maybe he's comfortable here,\" the med-aid commented. Helene frowned. Discipline had gone straight to hell lately, along with morale.\n\n\"He refuses the test because he knows he'll fail!\" Kepler shouted.\n\n\"That is why the Sun-Men chose him to do their killing,\" Bubbacub added. \"That is what they told me.\"\n\n\"And am I a Probationer? Some people seem to think the Ghosts made me try to commit suicide.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You were under stress. Doct-or Mar-tin says so. Yes?\" Bubbacub turned to Martine. Her hands gripped each other whitely but she said nothing.\n\n\"We'll get to that in a few minutes,\" Jacob said. \"But before we start I'd like to have a private word with Dr. Kepler and Mr. LaRoque.\"\n\nDr. Laird and his assistant moved away politely. Bubbacub glared at being forced to move, but followed suit.\n\nJacob passed around the back of the sofa. As he bent over between the two men his hand went behind his back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Donaldson leaned forward and placed a small object there which Jacob held tightly.\n\nJacob looked alternately at Kepler and LaRoque.\n\n\"I think you two should cut it out. Especially you, Dr. Kepler.\"\n\nKepler hissed. \"What in god's name are you talking about?\"\n\n\"I think you have some property of Mr. LaRoque's. No matter that he got it illegally. He wants it badly. Badly enough to temporarily take a rap he knows won't stick. Maybe enough to change the tone of the articles he's certain to write about all this." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't think the deal will hold anymore. You see, I have the item now.\"\n\n\"My camera!\" LaRoque whispered harshly. His eyes shone.\n\n\"Quite a little camera, too. A complete little sonic spectrograph. Yes, I have it. I also have the copies of recordings you made that were hidden in Dr. Kepler's rooms.\"\n\n\"You t-traitor,\" Kepler stammered. \"I thought you were a friend ...\"\n\n\"Shut up, you skinny bastard!\" LaRoque almost shouted. \"You are the one who is a traitor.\" Contempt seemed to boil from the little writer like steam over-long contained.\n\nJacob laid a hand on the back of each man. \"Both of you will be on no-return orbits if you don't keep your voices down!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque can be charged with espionage and Kepler for blackmail and complicity after the fact in espionage!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In fact, since the evidence of LaRoque's espionage is also circumstantial evidence that he wouldn't have had time to sabotage Jeffrey's ship, the immediate suspicion would fall on the last person to inspect the ship's generators. Oh I don't think you did it, Dr. Kepler. But I'd be careful if I were you!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque fell silent. Kepler chewed on the end of his moustache." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What do you want?\" he said finally." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob tried to resist but the suppressed side was now too much awake. He couldn't help making a little dig.\n\n\"Why, I'm not sure yet. Maybe I'll think of something. Just don't let your imagination go wild. Friends of mine on Earth know everything by now.\"\n\nIt wasn't true. But Mr. Hyde did believe in caution.\n\nHelene deSilva strained to overhear what the three men were saying to each other. If she had been one to believe in possession she would have been sure the familiar faces were moving at the command of invading spirits. Gentle Dr. Kepler, turned taciturn and secretive since their return from the Sun, muttered like a wrathful sage denied his will. LaRoque—thoughtful, cautious—behaved as if his whole world hinged on a careful assessment of affairs.\n\nAnd Jacob Demwa ... earlier glimpses hinted at a charisma beneath his quiet, sometimes watery thoughtfulness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had drawn her even as it frustrated in its peek-a-boo appearances. But now, now it radiated. It compelled like a flame.\n\nJacob stood straight and announced, \"For now, Dr. Kepler has kindly agreed to drop all charges against Pierre LaRoque.\"\n\nBubbacub rose from his cushion. \"You are mad. If hu-mans condone the killing of their clients, that is their own problem. But the Sun-Men may bend him to do harm a-gain!\"\n\n\"The Sun-Men never bent him to do anything.\" Jacob said slowly.\n\nBubbacub snapped. \"As I said, you are mad. I spoke with the Sun-Men. They did not lie.\"\n\n\"If you wish,\" Jacob bowed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But I still would like to continue with my synopsis.\"\n\nBubbacub snorted loudly and threw himself again on the cushion. \"Mad!\" he snapped.\n\n\"First,\" Jacob said. \"I would like to thank Dr. Kepler for his gracious permission for Chief Donaldson and Dr. Martine and myself to visit the Photo Labs and study the films from the last dive.\"\n\nAt the mention of Martine's name, Bubbacub's expression changed. So that's what chagrin looks like on a Pil, Jacob thought. He empathized with the little alien. It had been a beautiful trap, now entirely defused.\n\nJacob told an edited version of their discovery in the Photo Lab, that the flipside spools of the last third of the mission were missing. The only other sound in the room was the tinkling of Fagin's branches." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"For a while, I wondered where these spools could be. I had an idea who took them, but whether he had destroyed them or taken the chance of hiding them I wasn't sure. Finally, I decided to gamble that a 'datapackrat' never throws anything away. I searched a certain sophont's quarters and found the missing spools.\"\n\n\"You dared!\" Bubbacub hissed. \"If you had prop-er mas-ters I would have you nerve whipped! You dared!\"\n\nHelene shook away her surprise. \"You mean you admit that you hid Sundiver datatapes, Pil Bubbacub? Why!\"\n\nJacob grinned. \"Oh that will become clear. In fact the way this case was going, I thought for sure it would be more complicated than it is. But it's actually quite simple. You see, these tapes make it very clear that Pil Bubbacub has lied.\"\n\nA low rumbling rose in Bubbacub's throat. The little alien stood very still as if he didn't trust himself to move.\n\n\"Well, where are the tapes?\" deSilva demanded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob picked up the sack from the table.\n\n\"I've got to give the devil his due, though. It was only luck that I figured the spools would just fit into an empty gas cannister.\" He pulled out an object and held it up.\n\n\"The Lethani relic!\" DeSilva gasped. A small trill of surprise escaped Fagin. Mildred Martine stood up, her hand brought to her throat.\n\n\"Yes, the Lethani relic. I'm sure Bubbacub counted on a reaction like yours on the obscure chance that his rooms were searched. Naturally, no one would think of disturbing a semi-religious object-of-reverence of an old and powerful race; particularly one that looked like nothing but a slab of meteoric rock and glass!\" '\n\nHe turned it over in his hands.\n\n\"Now watch!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The relic opened with a twist. A can of some sort was imbedded in one of the halves. Jacob laid the other half down and tugged at the end of the can. Something inside rattled softly. The can suddenly came loose and a dozen small black objects came rolling out and fell to the floor. Culla's mashies clacked.\n\n\"The spools!\" LaRoque nodded with satisfaction as he fumbled with his pipe.\n\n\"Yes,\" Jacob said. \"And on the outer surface of this 'relic' you can find the button which released the previous contents of this now-empty cannister. There appear to be some traces left inside. I'll bet anything that they match the substance that Chief Donaldson and I gave Dr. Kepler yesterday when we failed to convince ...\" Jacob stopped himself. Then he shrugged.\n\n\"... Traces of an unstable monomolecule which, under a certain sophont's skillful control, spread out in a 'burst of light and sound' to coat the inner surface of the upper hemisphere of the shell of the Sunship ...\"\n\nDeSilva rose to her feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob had to speak louder to overcome the rising chatter coming from Culla." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"... and to effectively block out all green and blue light—the only wavelengths in which we could pick out the Sun Ghosts from their surroundings!\"\n\n\"The spools!\" deSilva cried. \"They should show ...\" '\n\n\"They do show toroids, Ghosts ... hundreds of them! Interestingly there were no anthropoid shapes, but perhaps they didn't make them because our psi patterns indicated we weren't seeing them.\n\n\"But oh the confusion in that herd when we blundered right into them without so much as a by-your-leave, toroids and 'normal' Ghosts scattering out of our path ... all because we couldn't see that we were right in the middle of them!\"\n\n\"You crazy Eatee!\" LaRoque shouted. He shook his fist at Bubbacub. The Pil hissed back but remained still, the fingers of each hand flexing against one another as he watched Jacob." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The monomolecule was designed to decay just as we were leaving the chromosphere. It slumped in a thin layer of dust on the force field at the rim of the deck, where no one would notice it until Bubbacub could return with Culla and vacuum it up. That's right, isn't it, Culla?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla nodded miserably." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob felt distantly pleased that sympathy came as easily as amoral wrath had earlier. A part of him had begun to get worried. He smiled reassuringly.\n\n\"That's okay, Culla. I have no evidence to connect you with anything else. I watched the two of you when you did it and it was pretty clear you were under duress.\"\n\nThe Pring's eyes rose. They were very bright. He nodded once again and the chattering from behind the thick lips subsided slowly. Fagin moved closer to the slender E.T.\n\nDonaldson rose from picking up the recording spools.\n\n\"I think we'd better make some provisions for custody.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helene had already moved to the telephone. \"I'm taking care of that now,\" she said softly.\n\nMartine sidled up to Jacob and whispered. \"Jacob, this is an External Affairs matter now. We should let them handle it from here.\"\n\nJacob shook his head. \"No. Not just yet. There's a bit more that needs out.\"\n\nDeSilva put down the phone. \"They'll be here shortly. Meanwhile, why don't you go on, Jacob? Is there more?\"\n\n\"Yes. Two items. One is this.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "From the bag on the table he pulled Bubbacub's psi helmet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I suggest this be kept in storage. I don't know if anyone else remembers, but Bubbacub was wearing it and staring at me when I warped out aboard the Sunship. Being made to do things makes me mad, Bubbacub. You shouldn't have done it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bubbacub made a gesture with his hand that Jacob didn't try to interpret." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Finally, there's the matter of the death of chimpanzee Jeffrey. Actually, it's the easiest part.\n\n\"Bubbacub knew almost everything there was to know about the Galactic technology in Sundiver; the drives, the computer system, the communications ... aspects which Terran scientists haven't even scratched.\n\n\"It's only circumstantial evidence that Bubbacub was working on the laser communications pylon, spurning Dr. Kepler's presentation, when Jeff's largely remote-controlled ship blew up. It wouldn't convict in a court of law, but that doesn't matter since Pila have extraterritoriality and all we can do is deport him.\n\n\"Another thing that'd be hard to prove would be the hypothesis that Bubbacub planted a false lead in the Space Identification System ... a system linked directly to the Library at LaPaz ... creating a false report that LaRoque was a Probationer. Still, it's pretty clear that he did. It was a perfect red herring. With everyone sure that LaRoque did it, nobody bothered to really do a detailed double-check of the telemetry on Jeff's dive. Right now I believe I recall that Jeff's ship went into trouble almost exactly when he turned on his closeup cameras, a perfect delayed trigger if that was the technique Bubbacub used. Anyway, we'll probably never know. The telemetry is probably missing or destroyed by now.\"\n\nFagin fluted. \"Jacob, Culla asks that you stop. Please do not embarrass Pil Bubbacub any further. It would serve no purpose.\"\n\nThree armed crewmen appeared at the door. They looked at Commandant deSilva expectantly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She motioned for them to wait." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just a moment,\" Jacob said. \"We haven't dealt with the most important part, Bubbacub's motives." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word frequency rule: 'years' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Why would an important sophont, a representative of a prestigious galactic institution, indulge in theft, forgery, psychic assault, and murder?\n\n\"Bubbacub had personal grudges against both Jeffrey and LaRoque, to start with. Jeffrey represented an abomination to him, a species that had been uplifted a mere hundred years before and yet dared to talk back. Jeff's 'uppityness' and his friendship with Culla contributed to Bubbacub's anger.\n\n\"But I think he hated what chimpanzees represent most of all. Along with dolphins, they meant instant status for the crude, vulgar human race. The Pila had to fight for half a million years to get to where they are. I guess Bubbacub resents us having it 'easy.'\n\n\"As for LaRoque, well, I'd say Bubbacub just didn't like him. Too loud and pushy, I suppose ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque sniffed audibly.\n\n\"And perhaps he was insulted when LaRoque suggested that the Soro might have once been our Patrons. The 'upper crust\" in Galactic society frowns on species who abandon their clients.\"\n\n\"But those are just personal reasons,\" Helene objected. \"Haven't you got anything better?\"\n\n\"Jacob,\" Fagin began. \"Please ...\"\n\n\"Of course Bubbacub had another reason,\" Jacob said. \"He wanted to end Sundiver in a way that would put into disrepute the concept of independent research and boost the status of the Library. He made it seem that he, a Pil, was able to make contact where humans weren't, concocted a story that made Sundiver out to be a bungled operation. Then he faked a Library report to verify his claims about the Solarians and ensure that there would be no more dives!" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word frequency rule: 'small' × 3" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was the failure of the Library to come up with anything that probably irked Bubbacub the most. And it's faking that message that'll get him in the deepest trouble back at home. For that they'll punish him worse than we ever would for killing Jeff.\"\n\nBubbacub rose slowly. He carefully brushed his fur flat and then clicked his four-fingered hands together.\n\n\"You are ver-y smart,\" he said to Jacob. \"But se-man-tics bad ... aim too high. You build too much on small stuff. Hu-mans shall al-ways be small. I shall speak your kaka Terran tongue no more.\"\n\nWith that he removed the Vodor from around his neck and tossed it idly on the table.\n\n\"I'm sorry, Pil Bubbacub,\" deSilva said. \"But it appears that we're going to have to restrict your movement until we get instructions from Earth.\"\n\nJacob half expected the Pil to nod or shrug but the alien performed another movement that somehow conveyed the same indifference. He turned away and marched stiffly out the door, a small stubby, proud figure leading the large human guards." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene deSilva picked up the bottom of the \"Lethani relic.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She weighed it carefully in her hands, thoughtfully. Then her lips tightened and she threw the object with all her might against the door.\n\n\"Murderer,\" she cursed.\n\n\"I've learned my lesson,\" Martine said slowly. \"Never trust anyone over thirty million.\"\n\nJacob stood in a daze. The exalted feeling was draining away too quickly. Like a drug, it left behind it an emptiness—a return to rationality but a loss of totality as well. Soon he would begin to wonder if he had done right in releasing everything at once in an orgiastic display of deductive logic." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine's remark made him look up." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'jacob' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not anyone?\" he asked.\n\nFagin was nudging Culla into a chair. Jacob went over to him.\n\n\"I'm sorry, Fagin,\" he said. \"I should have warned you, discussed it with you first. There may be ... complications to this thing, repercussions that I didn't think out.\" He brought a hand to his forehead.\n\nFagin whistled softly.\n\n\"You unleashed that which you have been restraining, Jacob. I do not understand why you have been so reticent to use your skills, of late, but in this instance justice demanded all of your vigor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It is fortunate that you relented." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do not worry too much about what has happened. The Truth was more important than the damage done through minor over-eagerness, or through the use of techniques too long dormant.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wanted to tell Fagin how wrong he was. The \"skills\" he had unleashed were more than that. They were a deadly force within him. He feared that they had done more harm than good.\n\n\"What do you think will happen?\" he asked, tiredly.\n\n\"Why I believe that humanity will discover that it has a powerful enemy. Your government will protest. How it does so will be of great importance, but it will not change the essential facts. Officially the Pila will disown Bubbacub's unfortunate actions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But they are peevish and prideful, if you will excuse a painful but necessarily unkind description of a fellow sophont race." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That is just one result of this event-chain. But do not worry overmuch. You did not do this thing. All that you did was make humanity aware of the danger. It was bound to happen. It always has happened to wolfling races.\"\n\n\"But why!\"\n\n\"That, my most esteemed friend, is one of the things I am here to try to discover. Though it may be of little comfort, please note that there are many who would like to see humanity survive. Some of us ... care very much.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\n8 sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob pressed against the rubber rimmed eyepiece of the Retinal scanner, and once again saw the blue dot dance and shimmer alone in a black background." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now he tried not to focus on it, ignoring its tantalizing suggestion of communion, as he waited for the third tachistoscopic image." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It flashed on suddenly, filling his entire field of view with a 3-D image in dull sepia. The gestalt he got in that first, unfocused instant was of a pastoral scene. There was a woman in the foreground, buxom and well fed, her old-fashioned skirts flying as she ran.\n\nDark, threatening clouds loomed on the horizon, above farm buildings set on a hill. There were people on the left ... dancing? No, fighting. There were soldiers. Their faces were excited and—afraid? The woman was afraid." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She fled with her arms over her head as two men in seventeenth-century body armor chased her, holding high their matchlocks with bayonets sharp. Their ..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The scene blacked out and the blue dot was back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob closed his eyes and pulled back from the eyepiece." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's it,\" Dr. Martine said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She bent over a computer console nearby, next to Physician Laird." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'll have your P-test score in a minute, Jacob.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're sure you don't need any more? That was only three.\" Actually, he was relieved.\n\n\"No, we took five from Peter to have a double-check. You're just a control. Why don't you just sit down and relax now, while we finish up here.\"\n\nJacob walked over to one of the nearby lounge chairs, wiping his left cuff along his forehead to remove a thin sheen of perspiration. The test had been a thirty-second ordeal.\n\nThe first image had been a portrait of a man's face, gnarled and lined with care, a story of a life-time that he had examined for two, maybe three seconds, before it disappeared again, as seared as any ephemera could be into his memory.\n\nThe second had been a confusing jumble of abstract shapes, jutting and bumping in static disarray ... somewhat like the maze of patterns around the rim of a suntorus but without the brilliance or overall consistency.\n\nThe third had been the scene in sepia, apparently rendered from an old etching of the Thirty Years War." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was explicitly violent, Jacob recalled, just the sort of thing one would expect in a P-test.\n\nAfter the overly dramatic \"parlor scene\" downstairs, Jacob was reluctant to enter even a shallow trance to calm his nerves. And he found that he couldn't relax without it. He rose and approached the console. Across the dome, near the stasis shell itself, LaRoque wandered idly as he waited, staring out at the long shadows and blistered rocks of Mercury's North Pole.\n\n\"May I see the raw data?\" Jacob asked Martine.\n\n\"Sure. Which one would you like to see?\"\n\n\"The last one.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Martine tapped on her keyboard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A sheet extruded from a slot beneath the screen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She tore it off and handed it to him.\n\nIt was the \"pastoral scene.\" Of course now he recognized its true content, but the whole purpose of the earlier viewing was to trace his reactions to the image during the first few instants he saw it, before conscious consideration could come into play.\n\nAcross the image a jagged line darted back and forth, up and down. At every vertex or resting point was a small number. The line showed the path of his attention during that first quick glimpse, as detected by the Retinal Reader, watching the movements of his eye.\n\nThe number one, and the beginning of the trace, was near the center. Up to number six the focus line just drifted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then it stopped right over the generous cleavage presented by the running woman's bosom. The number seven was circled there.\n\nThere the numbers clustered, not only seven to sixteen, but thirty through thirty five and eighty two to eighty six, as well.\n\nAt twenty the numbers suddenly shifted from the woman's feet to the clouds over the farmhouse. Then they moved quickly among the people and objects pictured, sometimes circled or squared to denote the level of dilation of the eye, depth of focus, and changes in his blood pressure as measured by the tiny veins in his retina. Apparently the modified Stanford-Purkinje eye scanner he had devised for this test, from Martine's tachistoscope and other odds and ends, had worked.\n\nJacob knew better than to be embarrassed or concerned by his reflex reaction to the pictured woman's breast. If he'd been female his reaction would have been different, spending more time with the woman, overall, but concentrating more on hair, clothes, and face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What concerned him more was his reaction to the overall scene." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Over to the left, near the fighting men, was a starred number." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That represented the point at which he realized that the image was violent, not pastoral." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He nodded with satisfaction." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The number was relatively low and the trace darted immediately away for a period of five beats before returning to the same spot. That meant a healthy dose of aversion followed by direct instead of covert curiosity.\n\nAt first glance it looked like he'd probably pass. Not that he ever really doubted it.\n\n\"I wonder if anyone will ever learn how to fool a P-test,\" he said, handing the copy to Martine.\n\n\"Maybe they will, someday,\" she said as she gathered her materials. \"But the conditioning needed to change a man's response to instantaneous stimuli ... to an image flashed so fast that only the unconscious has time to react ... would leave too many side effects, new patterns that would have to show up in the test.\n\n\"The final analysis is very simple; does the subject's mind follow a plus or zero sum game, qualifying him for Citizenship, or is it addicted to the sick-sweet pleasures of a negative sum. That, more than any index of violence, is the essence of this test.\"\n\nMartine turned to Physician Laird." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's right, isn't it, Doctor?\"\n\nLaird shrugged. \"You're the expert.\" He had been allowing Martine to slowly win her way back into his good graces, still not quite forgiving her for prescribing to Kepler without consulting him.\n\nAfter the denunciation downstairs, it became clear that she had never prescribed the Warfarin to Kepler at all. Jacob recalled Bubbacub's habit, aboard the Bradbury, of falling asleep on articles of clothing, carelessly left on cushions or chairs. The Pil must have done it as a subterfuge to enable him to plant, in Kepler's portable pharmacopoeia, a drug that would cause his behavior to deteriorate.\n\nIt made sense. Kepler was eliminated from the last dive. With his keen insight he might have detected Bubbacub's trick with the \"Lethani relic.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Also his aberrant actions would have helped in the long run to discredit Sundiver." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It hung together, but to Jacob all of these deductions tasted like a dinner of protein-flakes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They were enough to persuade but they had no flavor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A bowl full of suppositions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some of Bubbacub's misdeeds were proven. The rest would have to remain speculation since the Library representative had diplomatic immunity.\n\nPierre LaRoque joined them. The Frenchman's attitude was subdued. \"What is the verdict, Doctor Laird?\"\n\n\"It's quite clear that Mr. LaRoque is not an asocially violent personality and that he does not qualify for Probation,\" Laird said slowly. \"In fact, he betrays a rather high social conscience index. That may be part of his problem. He's apparently sublimating something and he would be well-advised to seek the help of a professional at his neighborhood clinic when he gets home.\" Laird looked down at LaRoque sternly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "LaRoque merely nodded meekly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And the controls?\" Jacob asked. He had been the last to take the test. Dr. Kepler, Helene deSilva, and three randomly selected crewmen had also taken their turns at the machine. Helene hadn't given the test a second thought and had taken the crewmen with her when she left to supervise the hurried pre-launch checkout of the Sunship. Kepler had scowled as Physician Laird read him his own results privately, and stalked off in a huff.\n\nLaird reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, just below the eyebrows.\n\n\"Oh, there isn't a Probationer in the bunch, just as we expected after your little show downstairs. But there are problems and things I don't quite understand, bubbling in the minds of some of the people here. You know, it's not easy for a country sawbones like me to have to fall back on his internship training and look into people's souls. I would have missed half a dozen nuances if Dr. Martine hadn't helped. As it is, I find it hard to interpret these hidden darknesses, especially of men I know and admire.\"\n\n\"There's nothing serious, I hope.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If there were you wouldn't be going on this rush-job dive Helene's ordered! I'm not grounding Dwayne Kepler because he has a cold!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Laird shook his head and apologized. \"Forgive me. I'm just not used to this. There's nothing to worry about, Jacob. You had some awfully strange quirks in your test but the basic reading is as sane as any I've ever seen. Decidedly positive-sum and realistic.\n\n\"Still, there are some things that confuse me. I won't go into specifics that might cause you more worry than they're worth while you're on this dive, I'd just appreciate it if you and Helene would each come and see me when you get back.\"\n\nJacob thanked the man and walked with him, Martine, and LaRoque toward the elevator.\n\nHigh overhead, the communications pylon pierced the stasis dome." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All around them, beyond the men and machines of the chamber, the blistered rocks of Mercury sparkled or shone dully. Sol was an incandescent yellow ball above a low range of hills.\n\nWhen the elevator car arrived, Martine and Laird entered, but LaRoque's hand on his arm kept Jacob back until the door had closed, leaving the two of them alone.\n\nPierre LaRoque whispered to Jacob.\n\n\"I want my camera!\"\n\n\"Sure, LaRoque. Commandant deSilva disarmed the stunner and you can pick it up any time, now that you're cleared.\"\n\n\"And the recording?\"\n\n\"I've got it. I'm holding onto it, too.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You have no business ...\"\n\n\"Come off it, LaRoque,\" Jacob groaned. \"Why don't you just once cut the act and give someone else credit for some intelligence! I want to know why you were taking sonic pictures of the stasis oscillator in Jeffrey's ship! And I also want to know what gave you the idea my uncle would be interested in them!\"\n\n\"I owe you a great deal, Demwa,\" LaRoque said slowly. The thick accent was almost gone. \"But I have to know if your political views are at all like your uncle's before I answer you.\"\n\n\"I have a lot of uncles, LaRoque. Uncle Jeremy is in the Confederacy Assembly, but I know you wouldn't be working with him!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Uncle Juan is pretty big on theory and very down on illegality ... my guess is that you mean Uncle James, the family kook." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Oh I agree with him about a lot of things, even some things the rest of the family doesn't." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But if he's involved in some sort of espionage plot, I'm not going to help to dig him deeper ... especially in a plot as clumsy as yours appears to be.\n\n\"You may not be a murderer or a Probationer, LaRoque, but you are a spy! The only problem is figuring out who you're spying for. I'll save that mystery for when we get back to Earth.\n\n\"Then, maybe, you can visit me; you and James can both try to talk me out of turning you in. Fair enough?\"\n\nLaRoque nodded curtly.\n\n\"I can wait, Demwa. Just don't you lose the recordings, eh? I have been through the very hell to get them. I want to get that chance to persuade you to hand them over.\"\n\nJacob was looking at the Sun." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"LaRoque, spare me your moanings. You haven't been to hell ... yet.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned away and headed for the elevators. There was time enough for a few hours under a sleep machine. He didn't want to see anyone until it was time to leave." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "make story longer like David Brin would. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "make story longer like David Brin would. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Have you ever wondered why most of our starships jump out with crews that are seventy percent female?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene handed Jacob the first liquitube of hot coffee and turned back to the machine to punch out another for herself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob peeled back the outer seal on the semi-permeable membrane, allowing steam to escape while keeping the dark liquid contained." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The liquitube was almost too hot to hold, in spite of its insulation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Trust Helene to think up another provocative topic! Whenever they were alone together, as alone as one could get on the open deck of a Sunship, Helene deSilva had never missed a chance to engage him in mental gymnastics. The odd thing was that he didn't mind a bit The contest had lifted his spirits considerably since they had left Mercury ten hours before.\n\n\"When I was an adolescent, my friends and I never really cared about the reasons. We just thought it was an added bonus for being a male on a starship. 'Of such thoughts are pubescent fantasies born ...' Who was it who wrote that, John Two-Clouds? Have you ever read anything by him? I think he was born in High London, so you may have known his parents.\"\n\nHelene sent him an accusing glare. Jacob had to fight back, for the nth time, a temptation to tell her that the expression was endearing. It was, but what fully-grown female professional wanted to be reminded that she still had dimples? It wasn't worth getting a broken arm, anyway.\n\n\"Okay, okay,\" he laughed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll stay on the subject. I suppose the male-female ratio has to do with the way women respond better to high acceleration, heat and cold ... better hand-eye coordination and superior passive strength. That must make them better spacemen, I guess.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helene sipped from the siphon of her liquitube. \"Yes, all that's part of it. Also most fems appear to be more immune to Jump-sickness. But you know those differences aren't all that big. Not enough to make up for the fact that more males volunteer for spaceflight than females.\n\n\"Besides, more than half of the crewmen on insystem ships are male, and seven out of ten on military craft.\"\n\n\"Well, I don't know about commercial or research ships, but I'd think that the military selects for an aptitude for fighting. I know it's still not proven, but I'd guess that ...\"\n\nHelene laughed. \"Oh, you don't have to be so diplomatic, Jacob. Of course mels make better fighters than fems ... statistically that is. Amazons like me are the exception. Actually, that is one factor in the selection. We don't want too many warrior types aboard a starship.\"\n\n\"But that doesn't make sense! The crews on starships go out into an immense galaxy that hasn't even been fully explored by the Library. You have to face a wild variety of alien races, most of them temperamental as hell. And the Institutes don't forbid fighting among the races. They couldn't even if they tried, Judging by what Fagin says. They only try to make it tidy.\"\n\n\"So a starship with humans aboard should be ready for a fracas?\" Helene smiled as she rested her shoulder against the wall of the dome. In the mottled red light of the upper chromosphere in hydrogen alpha, her blonde hair looked like a close fitted ping cap. \"Well you're right, of course." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We do have to be ready to fight. But think for a moment about the situation we face out there.\n\n\"We have to deal with literally hundreds of species whose only thing in common is the one thing we lack, a chain of tradition and uplift stretching back two billion years. They've all been using the Library for aeons, adding to it, albeit slowly, all of the time.\n\n\"Most of them are cranky, hyper-mindful of their privileges, and dubious of that silly 'wolfling' race from Sol.\n\n\"And what can we do, when we are challenged by some two-bit species whose extinct patrons uplifted them as talking, obedient riding steeds, who now own two little terraformed planets that sit right astride our only route to the colony on Omnivarium? What can we do when these creatures with no ambition or sense of humor stop our ship and demand an incredible forty whale songs as a toll?.\"\n\nHelene shook her head and her eyebrows knotted.\n\n\"Wouldn't it be nice to fight, at a time like that! A great beauty such as Calypso, filled to the brim with things badly needed by a struggling little community, and with an even more precious cargo of ... stopped dead in space by a pair of tiny, ancient hulks that were obviously bought, not built, by the \"intelligent\" camels aboard!\" The woman's voice thickened, as she remembered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Picture it. New and beautiful, yet primitive, using only the tiny portion of Galactic science we'd been able to absorb when she was refitted, mostly in the drives ... stopped by hulks older than Caesar but made by someone who used the Library all his life.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene stopped for a moment and turned away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob was moved, but even more he felt honored." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He knew Helene well enough, now, to know what an act of trust it was for her to open up like this.\n\nShe's been doing most of the work too, he realized. She asks most of the questions—about my past, about my family, about my feelings—for some reason I've been reluctant to ask about her, the person inside. I wonder what's been stopping me? There must be so much in there!\n\n\"So I suppose the idea is not to fight, because we'd probably lose,\" he said quietly.\n\nShe looked back and nodded. She coughed twice, behind a closed fist.\n\n\"Oh, we've a couple of tricks we think we might surprise somebody with sometime, simply because we haven't had the Library and it's all they've known." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But those tricks have got to be saved for a rainy day." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Instead, we flatter, fawn, bribe, sing spirituals ... tap dance ... and when that fails, we run.\"\n\nJacob imagined meeting a shipload of Pila.\n\n\"Running must be awful hard at times.\"\n\n\"Yes, but we have a secret way of keeping cool,\" Helene brightened slightly. For a moment those appealing recesses reappeared at the corners of her smile. \"It's one of the biggest reasons why the crew is mostly women.\"\n\n\"Now come on. A fem is just about as likely as a mel to take a poke at someone who insulted her. I don't see that as much of a guarantee.\"\n\n\"Nooo, not normally.\" She eyed him again with that \"appraising\" expression. For an instant she seemed about to go on. Then she shrugged." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let's sit,\" she said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I want to show you something.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She led him around the dome and across the deck to a part of the ship where none of the crew or passengers were, where the circular deck floated two meters away from the shell of the ship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sparkling glow of the chromosphere refracted eerily where the stasis screen curved away below their feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The narrow suspension field allowed light to pass, but twisted it slightly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "From where they stood, part of the Big Spot could be seen, its configuration changed considerably since the last dive." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Where the field intervened, the sunspot shimmered and rippled with new pulsations, added to its own." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly, Helene lowered herself to the deck and then approached the edge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a moment she sat with her feet inches from the shimmering, holding her knees under her chin. Then she placed her hands behind her on the deck and allowed her legs to drop into the field.\n\nJacob swallowed.\n\n\"I didn't know you could do that,\" he said.\n\nHe watched as she swung her legs languidly. They moved as if in a thick syrup, the snug sheathing of her shipsuit rippling like something animate.\n\nShe lifted her legs straight out and up above the level of the deck, with apparent ease.\n\n\"Hmmm, they seem to be all right. I can't push them down very deep, though. I guess the mass of my legs shoves a dimple into the suspension field. At least they don't feel upside down when I do it.\" She let them drop again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob felt weak in the knees." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'pushed' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean you've never done that before?\"\n\nShe looked up at him and grinned.\n\n\"Am I showing off? Yes I guess I was trying to impress you. I'm not crazy though. After you told us about Bubbacub and the vacuum cleaner I went over the equations carefully. It's perfectly safe, so why don't you join me?\"\n\nJacob nodded numbly. After so many other miracles and unexplainable things since he left Earth, this was rather small, after all. The secret, he decided, was not to think at all.\n\nIt did feel like a thick syrup that increased in viscosity as he pushed downwards. It was rubbery and pushed back.\n\nAnd the legs of Jacob's shipsuit felt almost, disconcertingly, alive.\n\nHelene said nothing for a time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob respected her silence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something was obviously on her mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Was that story about the Finnila Needle really true?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she asked at last, without looking up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She must have been quite a woman.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, she was.\"\n\n\"I mean in addition to being brave. She had to be brave to jump from one balloon to another, twenty miles up in the air, but ...\"\n\n\"She was trying to distract them while I defused the Torcher. I shouldn't have let her,\" Jacob heard his own voice, remote and faded. \"But I thought I could protect her at the same time ... I had a device, you see ...\"\n\n\"... but she must have been quite a person in other ways as well. I wish I could have met her.\"\n\nJacob realized that he hadn't said a word aloud.\n\n\"Um, yes, Helene. Tania would have liked you.\" He shook himself. This was getting no one anywhere.\n\n\"But I thought we were talking about something else, uh, the ratio of females to males on starships, wasn't that it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was looking at her feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We are on the same topic, Jacob,\" she said quietly. \"We are?\"\n\n\"Sure. You remember I said there was a way to make a largely female crew more cautious in dealing with aliens ... a way to guarantee that they'll run rather than fight?\"\n\n\"Yes, but ...\"\n\n\"And you know that humanity has been able to plant three colonies so far, but transportation costs are too great to carry many passengers, so increasing the gene pool at an isolated colony is a real problem?\" She spoke rapidly, as if embarrassed.\n\n\"When we got back the first time and found that the Constitution stood again, the Confederacy made it voluntary for the women on the next jump instead of compulsory. Still, most of us volunteered.\"\n\n\"I ... I don't understand.\"\n\nShe looked up at him as she smiled.\n\n\"Well, maybe now isn't the time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But you should realize that I'm shipping out on Calypso in a few months and there are certain preparations I have to make beforehand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And I can be as selective as I want.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked straight into his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob felt his jaw drop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well!\" Helene rubbed her hands on her lap and prepared to stand up. \"I guess we'd better be heading back. We're pretty near the Active Region, now, and I should be at my station to supervise.\"\n\nJacob hurried to his feet and offered her his hand. Neither of them saw anything funny in the archaism.\n\nOn their way to the command station, Jacob and Helene stopped to examine the Parametric Laser. Chief Donaldson looked up from the machine as they approached.\n\n\"Hi! I think she's all tuned and ready to go. Want a tour?\"\n\n\"Sure.\" Jacob hunkered down next to the laser. Its chassis was bolted to the deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Its long, slender, multi-barreled body swung on a gymballed swivel." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob felt the soft fabric covering Helene's right leg brush lightly against his arm as she stepped over beside him. It didn't help him keep his thoughts straight.\n\n\"This here Parametric Laser,\" Donaldson began, \"is my contribution to the attempt to contact the Sun Ghosts. I figured that psi was getting us nowhere, so why not try to communicate with them the way they communicate with us—visually?\n\n\"Well now, as you probably know already, most lasers operate on Just one or two very narrow spectral bands, particular atomic and molecular transitions, mostly. But this baby will punch out any wavelength you want, just by dialing it in with this control.\" He pointed to the central of three controls on the face of the chassis.\n\n\"Yes,\" Jacob said. \"I know about Parametric Lasers, though I've never seen one. I imagine it has to be pretty powerful to penetrate through our screens and still look bright to the Ghosts.\"\n\n\"In my other life ...\" deSilva drawled ironically (she often referred to her past, before jumping with the Calypso, with defensive sardonicism) \"... we were able to make multicolored, tunable lasers with optical dyes. They put out a fair amount of power, they were efficient, and incredibly simple.\"\n\nShe smiled. \"That is, until you spilled the dye. Then, what a mess! Nothing makes me appreciate Galactic science more than knowing I'll never have to clean a puddle of Rhodamine 6-G off the floor again!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Could you really tune through the whole optical spectrum with a single molecule?\" Donaldson was incredulous. \"How did you power a ... 'dye laser,' anyway?\"\n\n\"Oh, with flashlamps sometimes. Usually with an internal chemical reaction using organic energy molecules, like sugars.\n\n\"You had to use several dyes to cover the whole visible spectrum. Poly-methyl coumarin was used a lot for the blue and green end of the band. Rhodamine and a few others were dyes for tuning in red colors.\n\n\"Anyway, that's ancient history. I want to know what devilish plan you and Jacob have cooked up this time!\" She dropped down next to Jacob on the deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instead of looking at Donaldson, she fixed Jacob with that disconcerting appraisal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well,\" he swallowed. \"It's really quite simple. I took along a library of whale songs and dolphin-ditties when I boarded Bradbury, in case the Ghosts turned out to be poets along with everything else. When Chief Donaldson mentioned his idea of aiming a beam at them to communicate, I volunteered the tapes.\"\n\n\"We'll be adding a modified version of an old math contact code. He rigged that one up too.\" Donaldson grinned. \"I wouldn't know a Fibonacci series if one came up and bit me! But Jacob says it's one of the old standards.\"\n\n\"It was,\" deSilva said. \"We never used any of the math routines, though, after the Vesarius. The library makes sure everyone understands each other in space, so there was no use for the old pre-Contact codes.\"\n\nShe pushed lightly on the slim barrel. It rotated smoothly on its swivel. \"You aren't going to let this thing swing freely when the laser is on, are you?\"\n\n\"No, of course we'll be bolting it firmly, so the laser beam fires along a radius from the center of the ship." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That should prevent those internal reflections you're probably worryin' about.\n\n\"As it is, we'll all want to be wearing these goggles when it's on.\" Donaldson pulled a pair of thick, dark, wraparound glasses from a sack next to the laser. \"Even if there were no danger to the retina, Dr. Martine would insist on it. She's a positive bug on the effects of glare on perception and personality. She turned the whole base upside down, finding bright lights no one even knew were there. Blamed them for the 'mass hallucination' when she arrived. Boy did she change her tune when she saw the beasties!\"\n\n\"Well, it's time for me to get back to work,\" Helene announced. \"I shouldn't have stayed so long. We must be getting close. I'll keep you men posted.\" Both men rose as she smiled and departed.\n\nDonaldson watched her walk away.\n\n\"You know, Demwa, first I thought you were crazy, then I knew you had it all together. Now I'm starting to change my mind again.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob sat down. \"How's that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Any mel I know would grow a tail and wag it if that fem so much as whistled. I Just can't believe your self-control, is all. None of my business, of course.\"\n\n\"You're right. It isn't.\" Jacob was disturbed that the situation was so obvious. He was beginning to wish this mission was over so he could give the problem his undivided attention.\n\nJacob shrugged. It was a mannerism he'd made a lot of use of since leaving Earth. \"To change the subject, I'd been wondering about this internal reflection business. Has it occurred to you that somebody might be pulling a big hoax?\"\n\n\"A hoax?\"\n\n\"With the Sun Ghosts. All someone would have to do is smuggle aboard some sort of holographic projector ...\"\n\n\"Forget it,\" Donaldson shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That was the first thing we checked. Besides, who'd be able to fake anything as intricate and beautiful as that herd of toruses? Anyway, a projection like that, filling our whole view, would be given away by the columnated rim cameras on flip-side!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, maybe not the herd, but what about the 'humanoid' Ghosts? They're rather simple and small, and the way they avoid the rim cameras, spinning faster than we can to stay overhead, is pretty uncanny.\"\n\n\"What can I say, Jake? Every piece of equipment carried aboard is carefully inspected, along with everyone's personal items as well, for that very reason. No projector's ever been found, and where could anyone hide one on an open ship like this? I'll admit I've wondered about it myself at times. But I don't see any way anyone could be pulling a hoax.\"\n\nJacob nodded slowly. Donaldson's argument made sense. Also, how could one reconcile a projection with Bubbacub's trick with the Lethani relic? It was a tempting idea, but a hoax didn't seem very likely.\n\nDistant spicule forests pulsed like waving fountains. Individual jets fenced with one another along the rim of the slowly thobbing supergranulation cell that covered half the sky. In its center lay the Big Spot, a huge eye of black, rimmed by areas of hot brightness.\n\nAbout ninety degrees around the deck from them, a group of dark silhouettes stood or knelt near the Pilot Board." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'toward' 3 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only the outlines could be made out against the bright crimson blaze of the photosphere.\n\nTwo clumps of shadow could be distinguished from those near the command station. The tall, slender figure of Culla stood slightly to the side, pointing ahead at a tall, wispy filament arch that hung, suspended, over the Spot. The arch grew slowly, perceptibly closer as Jacob watched.\n\nThe other identifiable clump of shadow detached itself from the crowd and began to creep in fits and starts toward Jacob and the chief. It was rounded on top, bigger above than below.\n\n\"Now there's where you could hide a projector!\" Donaldson motioned with his chin toward the bulky, massive silhouette as it creeped toward them with a swaying, twisting motion.\n\n\"What, Fagin?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob whispered. Not that it would make any difference, with the Kanten's hearing what it was." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You can't be serious! Why he's only been on two dives!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yeah,\" Donaldson mused. \"Still, all of those branches and such ... I'd have sooner searched Bubbacub's undies than have to pry in there after contraband.\"\n\nFor an instant Jacob thought he caught a bit of a burr in the chief engineer's voice. He stared at his neighbor but the man had on his poker face. That in itself was a small miracle for Donaldson. It would be too much if the man were actually being witty.\n\nThey both rose to greet Fagin. The Kanten whistled a cheery response, showing no sign that he'd overheard them.\n\n\"Commandant Helene deSilva has expressed the opinion that solar weather conditions are surprisingly calm. She said that this will be of great value in solving certain solonomical problems unrelated to the Sun Ghosts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The measurements involved will take very little time." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Much less than the time we will he saved, by these excellent conditions.\n\n\"In other words, my friends, you have about twenty minutes to get ready.\"\n\nDonaldson whistled. He called Jacob over and the two men set to work on the laser, bolting it into place and checking the projection tapes.\n\nA few meters away, Dr. Martine rummaged through her space-crate for small pieces of apparatus. Her psi helmet was already on her head and Jacob thought he could overhear her softly curse, \"Damn it, this time you're going to talk to me!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "make story longer like David Brin would. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\" 'What is their purpose, these creatures of light?' the reporter asks. But he'd do better to ask, 'What purpose has man?' Is it our job to scramble on our metaphorical knees, ignoring the pain with chin upthrust in childish pride, saying to all the universe: 'See me! I am man! I crawl where others walk! But isn't it great that I can crawl anywhere?'\n\n\"Adaptability, the Neoliths claim, is the 'specialization' of man. He cannot run as fast as a cheetah, but he can run. He cannot swim as well as an otter, but he can swim. His eyes are not so sharp as a hawk's nor can he store food in his cheeks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "So he must train his eyes and create instruments from bits and pieces of tortured earth; not only to let him see, but to outrun the cat and to outswim the otter as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He can walk across an arctic waste, swim a tropical river, climb a tree and, at the end of his journey, build a nice hotel." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There he will clean up and then boast of his accomplishments over dinner with his friends.\n\n\"And yet for all recorded time our hero has been dissatisfied. He yearned to know his place in the world. He shouted aloud. He demanded to know why he was here! The universe of stars only smiled down at his questions with profound, ambiguous silence.\n\n\"He longed for a purpose. Denied, he took his frustration out on his fellow creatures. The specialists around him knew their roles and he hated them for it. They became his slaves, his protein factories." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They became the victims of his genocidal rage.\n\n\" 'Adaptability' soon meant that we needed no one else. Species whose descendents might one day have been great became dust in the holocaust of man's egoism.\n\n\"It is only by the slimmest of luck that we became environmentalists shortly before Contact ... thus keeping from our heads the just wrath of our elders. Or was it luck? Is it an accident that John Muir, and those who followed, appeared soon after the first confirmed 'sightings'?\n\n\"As the Reporter lies here, in a bubble, in a swaddling of deceptive pink vapor all around, he wonders if the purpose of man may be to be an example. Whatever original sin drove our Patrons off, long ago, is being paid off in a comedy.\n\n\"One hopes our neighbors are edified, as well as amused, as they watch us crawl about, gaping in wonder and often resentment at those who are fulfillment incarnate, without ambition.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pierre LaRoque took his thumb off the recording button and frowned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, that last part wouldn't do. It sounded almost bitter. More whiney than poignant. In fact, all of it would have to be reworked. There was too little spontaneity. The sentences tried too hard.\n\nHe took a sip from the liquitube in his left hand, then began absently stroking his moustache. In front of him the brilliant herd of spinning toruses rose slowly as the ship righted itself. The maneuver had taken less time than he'd expected." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now there was no more time to digress on the plight of mankind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could, after all, do that any day.\n\nBut this, this was extraordinary.\n\nHe pressed again on the switch and brought up the microphone.\n\n\"Note for rewrite,\" he said. \"More irony, and more on advantages of certain types of specialization. Also mention the Tymbrimi ... how they're more adaptable than we'll ever be. Keep it short and upbeat on outcome if all humanity participates.\"\n\nHeretofore the rising herd had consisted of little rings, fifty or more kilometers away. Now the main body came into view, along with a small sliver of the photosphere. The nearest torus was a bright, spinning, blue-green monster. Along its rim, thin blue lines swiftly mixed and shifted, like meshing moire patterns." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A white halo shimmered all around it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "LaRoque sighed. This would be his greatest challenge. When holos of these creatures were released everyone and his chimp butler would be tuning in to see if his words measured up. Yet he felt the inverse of what he must make them feel. The deeper the ship went into the Sun, the more detached he became. It was as if none of it was really happening. The creatures didn't seem real at all.\n\nAlso, he admitted, he was scared.\n\n\"Pearls of serendipity they are, strung on necklaces of lambent emerald. If some galactic galleon once foundered here, to leave its treasure on these feathery, fiery reefs, its diadems are now safe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Uncorrupted by time, they sparkle still." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No hunter will carry them off in a sack.\n\n\"They defy logic, for they should not be here. They defy history, for they are not remembered. They defy the power of our instruments and even those of the Galactics, our elders.\n\n\"Imperturbable as Bombadil, they ignore the passing of oxygen and hydrogen in their incessant bickerings, and take nourishment from the most timeless of fonts.\n\n\"Do they recall ... could they have been among the Progenitors, back when the galaxy was new? We hope to ask, but for now they keep their counsel to themselves.\"\n\nJacob looked up from his work when the herd came into view again. The sight had less effect on him than it had the first time around. To experience the emotions he'd felt during that first dive he'd have to see something else for the very first time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And to see anything anywhere near as impressive, he'd have to Jump." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was one of the drawbacks of having monkeys for ancestors.\n\nStill, Jacob could spend hours looking at the lovely patterns the toroids made. And for a few moments at a time, when he remembered the significance of what he was seeing, he was awe-struck once again.\n\nThe computer board on Jacob's lap bore a shifting pattern of curving, connected lines, isophotes of the Ghost they'd seen an hour before.\n\nIt hadn't been much of a contact. One isolated Solarian had been caught by surprise as the ship came out from behind a thick wisp of filament near the edge of the herd.\n\nIt darted away from them, then hovered suspiciously at a few kilometers distance. Commandant deSilva had ordered the ship turned so that Donaldson's Parametric Laser could bear on the fluttering creature.\n\nAt first the Ghost had backed away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Donaldson muttered and cursed as he adjusted the laser, to carry the various modulations of Jacob's contact tape.\n\nThen the creature reacted. It's (tentacles? wings?) shot out from the center as if snapped taut. It began to ripple colorfully.\n\nThen, in a flash of brilliant green, it was gone.\n\nJacob examined computer readouts from that reaction. The Solarian had presented the rim cameras with a good view. The earliest recordings showed that part of its rippling was in phase with the bass rhythm of the whale melody. Jacob was now trying to find out if the complicated display it emitted Just before Jetting away had a pattern that might be interpretable as a reply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He finished drawing the analysis program he wanted the computer to pursue." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was to look for variations on the whale-song theme and rhythm in three regimes, color, time, and brightness across the surface of the Ghost. If it found anything definite he'd be able to set up a computer linkup in realtime during the next encounter.\n\nThat is, if there was a next encounter. The whale song had only been an introduction to the sequence of scales and mathematical series Jacob had planned to send. But the Ghost hadn't stuck around to \"listen\" to the rest.\n\nHe put the computer board aside and lowered his couch so that he could look at the nearest toroids without moving his head. A pair of them swung slowly by at forty-five degrees from the angle of the deck.\n\nApparently the \"spinning\" of the torus creatures was more complicated than had been previously thought. The intricate, swiftly changing patterns that swept rapidly around the rim of each represented something in their internal makeup." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When two of the toroids touched each other, nudging for better positions in the magnetic fields, there was no change in the rotating figures." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They interacted with each other as if they weren't spinning at all.\n\nThe pushing and shoving became more pronounced with time as they transited the herd. Helene deSilva suggested that it was because the active region they were above was dying out. The magnetic fields were getting more and more diffuse.\n\nCulla dropped into the couch next to him, bringing his mashies together in a clack. Jacob was starting to recognize some of the rhythms Culla's dental work made in various situations. It had taken a long time to realize that they were part of a Pring's fundamental repertoire, like facial expressions for a human being.\n\n\"May I shit here, Jacob?\" Culla asked. \"This ish my firsht opportunity to thank you for your cooperation back on Mercury.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't have to thank me, Culla. A two-year secrecy oath is pretty much de rigueur for an incident like this. Anyway, once Commandant deSilva got orders from Earth it was pretty clear that no one would be going home until they signed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Shtill, you had every right to tell the world, the galaxy. The Library Inshtitute hash been shamed by Bubbacub'sh actionsh. It ish admirable of you, the dishcoverer of hish ... mishtake, to show reshtraint and let them make ammendsh.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What will the Institute do ... besides punishing Bubbacub?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla took a sip from his ubiquitous liquitube. His eyes shone.\n\n\"They will probably cancel Earth's debt and donate Branch shervices free for shome time. A longer time if the Confederacy agreesh to a period of silence. I cannot overshtate their eagernesh to avoid a shcandal.\n\n\"In addition, you will probably be rewarded.\"\n\n\"Me?\" Jacob felt numb. To a \"primitive\" Earthman, almost any reward the Galactics chose to give would be like a magic lamp. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.\n\n\"Yesh, although there will probably be shome bitternesh that you did not keep your dishcoveriesh more private. The magnitude of their generoshity will probably be invershe to the notoriety Bubbacub'sh case getsh.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, I see.\" The bubble was burst." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'culla' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was one thing to get a token of gratitude from powers-that-be, and quite another to be offered a bribe. Not that the value of the reward would be any less. In fact, the prize would probably be even more valuable.\n\nOr would it? No alien thought exactly the way a human would. The directors of the Institute of the Libraries were an enigma to him. All he knew for certain was that they wouldn't like to get a bad press. He wondered if Culla was speaking now in his official capacity, or simply predicting what he thought would happen next.\n\nCulla suddenly turned and looked up at the passing herd. His eyes glowed and a short buzzing came from behind the thick, prehensile lips." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Pring pulled the microphone from the slot next to his couch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Excushe me, Jacob. But I think I shee shomething. I musht report to the Commandant.\"\n\nCulla spoke briefly into the microphone, not moving his gaze from a position about thirty degrees to their light and twenty-five degrees high. Jacob looked but saw nothing. He could hear a distant murmuring of Helene's voice filling the region of the head of Culla's couch. Then the ship began to turn.\n\nJacob checked the computer board. The results were in. The previous encounter had elicited nothing recognizable as a reply. They'd just have to keep on doing as they had before." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sophonts,\" Helene's voice rang out over the intercom, \"Pring Culla has made another sighting. Please return to your stations.\"\n\nCulla's mashies clacked. Jacob looked up.\n\nAt about forty-five degrees, a tiny flickering point of light began to grow just beyond the bulk of the nearest toroid. The blue dot grew as it approached until they could make out five uneven appendages, bilaterally symmetric. It loomed up swiftly, then stopped.\n\nSun Ghost manifestation, type two, leered down at them in its gross mockery of the shape of a man. The chromosphere glowed red through the jagged holes of its eyes and mouth.\n\nNo attempt was made to bring the apparition in line with the flip-side cameras. It would probably have been futile and besides, this time the P-laser took precedence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He told Donaldson to continue playing the primary contact tape, from the point where the last contact broke off." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The engineer raised his microphone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Everyone please put on your goggles. We're going to turn on the laser now.\" He put on his own, then looked around to make sure everyone in sight had complied (Culla was exempted; they took his word for it that he was in no danger). Then he threw the switch.\n\nEven through the goggles, Jacob could see a dim glow against the inner surface of the shield wall as the beam punched through toward the Ghost. He wondered if the anthropomorphic figure would be more cooperative than the earlier, \"natural-shaped\" manifestation had been. For all he knew, this was the same creature. Maybe it left, earlier, to \"put on its makeup\" for this present appearance.\n\nThe Ghost fluttered impassively while the beam from the Communication Laser shone right through it. Not far away, Jacob could hear Martine curse softly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wrong, wrong, wrong!\" she hissed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her psi helmet and goggles made only her nose and chin visible. \"There's something but it's not there. Dammit! What in hell's the matter with this thing!\"\n\nSuddenly, the apparition swelled like a butterfly squashed flat against the outside of the ship. The features of its \"face\" smeared out into long narrow strips of ochre blackness. The arms and body spread until the creature was nothing but a ragged rectangular band of blue across ten degrees of the sky. Flecks of green began to form, here, and there, along its surface. They dodged about, mixed and coalesced, and then began to take on coherent form.\n\n\"Dear sweet God in heaven,\" Donaldson murmured.\n\nFrom somewhere nearby Fagin let out a whistling, shivering, diminished seventh." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla began to chatter.\n\nAcross its length, the Solarian was covered with bright green letters, in the Roman alphabet. They spelled:\n\nLEAVE NOW. DO NOT RETURN.\n\nJacob gripped the sides of his couch. Despite the sound effects of the E.T. 's, and the hoarse breathing of the humans, the silence was unbearable.\n\n\"Millie!\" he tried as hard as he could not to shout.\n\n\"Are you getting anything?\"\n\nMartine moaned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes ... NO! I'm getting something, but it doesn't make sense! It doesn't correlate!\"\n\n\"Well try sending a question! Ask if it's receiving your psi!\"\n\nMartine nodded and pressed her hands against her face in concentration.\n\nThe letters immediately reformed overhead.\n\nCONCENTRATE. SPEAK ALOUD FOR FOCUS.\n\nJacob was stunned. Deep inside he could feel his suppressed half shivering in horror. What he couldn't solve terrified Mr. Hyde.\n\n\"Ask it why it'll talk to us now and not before.\"\n\nMartine repeated the question aloud, slowly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "THE POET. HE WILL SPEAK FOR US. HE IS HERE." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'letters' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, no I can't!\" LaRoque cried. Jacob turned quickly and saw the little journalist scrunched, terrified near the food machines.\n\nHE WILL SPEAK FOR US.\n\nThe green letters glowed.\n\n\"Doctor Martine,\" Helene deSilva called. \"Ask the Solarian why we shouldn't come back.\"\n\nAfter a pause, the letters shifted again.\n\nWE WANT PRIVACY. PLEASE LEAVE.\n\n\"And if we do come back? Then what?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Donaldson asked. Grimly, Martine repeated the question." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NOTHING. YOU WON'T SEE US. MAYBE OUR YOUNG, OUR CATTLE.\n\nNOT US.\n\nThat explained the two types of Solarians, Jacob thought. The \"normal\" variety must be the young, given simple tasks such as shepherding the toroids. Where, then, did the adults live? What kind of culture did they have? How could creatures made of ionized plasma communicate with watery human beings? Jacob ached at the creature's threat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If they wanted to, the adults could avoid a Sunship, or any conceivable fleet of Sunships, as easily as an eagle could a balloon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If they cut off contact now, humans could never force them to renew it.\n\n\"Pleashe,\" Culla asked. \"Ashk it if Bubbacub offended them.\" The Pring's eyes glowed hotly and the chattering continued, muffled, between each word he spoke.\n\nBUBBACUB MEANS NOTHING. INSIGNIFICANT. JUST LEAVE.\n\nThe Solarian began to fade. The ragged rectangle grew smaller as it slowly backed away.\n\n\"Wait!\" Jacob stood up. He stretched out one hand grabbing at nothing.\n\n\"Don't cut us off! We're your nearest neighbors! We only want to share with you! At least tell us who you are!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The image was blurred with distance." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A wisp of darker gas swept in and covered the Solarian, but not before they read one last message. With a crowd of \"young\" gathered around it, the adult repeated one of its earlier sentences.\n\nTHE POET SPEAKS FOR US." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like David Brin would. btw might have existing characters/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pierre LaRoque sat with his back to the utility dome. He hugged his knees and stared vacantly at the deck. He wondered, miserably, if Millie would give him a shot to last him until the Sunship got out of the chromosphere.\n\nUnfortunately, that wouldn't be in keeping with his new role as a prophet. He shuddered. During his entire career he had never realized how much it meant to have only to comment, and not to have to shape events. The Solarian had given him a curse, not a blessing.\n\nHe wondered, dully, if the creature had chosen him in an ironic whim ... as a joke: Or had it somehow planted words deep within him that would come out when he got back to Earth, shocking and embarrassing him?\n\nOr am I just supposed to spout out my own opinions as I always have? He rocked slowly, miserably. To foist one's ideas on others by dint of personality was one thing. To speak clothed in a prophet's mantle was quite another." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The others had gathered near the command station to discuss the next step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could hear them talking and wished they'd just go away. Without looking up, he could feel it when they turned and stared at him.\n\nLaRoque wished he were dead.\n\n\"I say we should hump him off,\" Donaldson suggested. His burr was very pronounced, now. Jacob, listening nearby, wished the ethnic languages fad had never caught on. \"There'll be no end of the trouble that man'll cause if 'e gets loose on Earth,\" the engineer finished.\n\nMartine chewed on her lip for a moment. \"No, that wouldn't be wise. Better beam Earth for instructions when we get back to Hermes. The feds may decide to use up an emergency sequester allotment on him, but I don't think anyone would get away with actually eliminating Peter.\"\n\n\"I'm surprised you react that way to the chief's suggestion,\" Jacob said. \"One would think you'd be aghast at the idea.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<EMBED THIS>>: \"... the juvenile, definitely reacted.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine shrugged. \"By now it must be clear to all of you that I represent a faction in the Confederacy Assembly. Peter is my friend, but if I felt it was my duty to Earth to put him out of the way, I'd do it myself.\" She looked grim.\n\nJacob wasn't as surprised as he might have been. If the chief engineer felt a need to put up a layer of flippancy, to get through the shock of the last hour, many of the others had dropped all pretense. Martine was willing to think about the unthinkable. Nearby, LaRoque didn't pretend to be anything but scared as he rocked slowly, apparently oblivious to them all.\n\nDonaldson raised his index finger.\n\n\"Did you notice that the Solarian didn' say anything at all about the message beam? It passed right through im and he didn't seem to care. Yet earlier, the other Ghost ...\"\n\n\"The juvenile.\"\n\n\"... the juvenile, definitely reacted.\"\n\nJacob scratched his earlobe. \"There's no end to mysteries. Why has the adult creature always avoided being in line with our rim instruments? Has it got something to hide? Why all the threatening gestures on all the previous dives, when he was capable of communicating ever since Dr. Martine brought her psi helmet aboard months ago?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe your P-laser gave it an element it needed,\" a crewman suggested, an Oriental gentleman named Chen, whom Jacob had met only at the start of the dive." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include \"We might as well resign ourselves,\" somewhere in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"An alternative hypothesis would be that it was waiting for someone of reasonable status to speak to.\"\n\nMartine sniffed.\n\n\"That's the theory we were working on on the last dive, and it didn't work. Bubbacub faked contact, and for all of his talents Fagin failed ... oh, you mean Peter ...\"\n\nThe silence could be cut with a knife.\n\n\"Jacob, I sure wish we could have found a projector,\" Donaldson smiled wryly. \"T'would have solved all our problems.\"\n\nJacob grinned back, without humor. \"Deux ex ma-china. Chief? You know better than to expect special favors from the universe.\"\n\n\"We might as well resign ourselves,\" Martine said. \"We may never see another adult Ghost. Folks were skeptical about all of these stories about 'anthropomorphic shapes' back on Earth. It's just the word of a couple dozen sophonts that have seen them, plus a few blurred photos. In time it may be all put down to hysteria, despite my tests.\" She looked down gloomily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob was aware of Helene deSilva standing next to him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had been strangely silent since calling them together a few minutes before.\n\n\"Well at least this time Sundiver itself isn't threatened,\" Jacob said. \"The solonomical research can go on, and so can studies of the toroid herds. The Solarian said that they won't interfere.\"\n\n\"Yeah,\" Donaldson added. \"But will he?\" he gestured at LaRoque.\n\n\"We have to decide what to do next. We're drifting near the bottom of the herd now. Do we go up and keep poking around? Maybe Solarians vary among themselves as much as we humans do. Maybe the one we met was a grouch.\" Jacob suggested.\n\n\"I hadn't thought of that\" Martine commented.\n\n\"Let's put the Parametric Laser on automatic and add a portion in coded English to the communication tape. It'll beam into the herd as we spiral leisurely upward, on the off chance that a friendlier adult Solarian might be attracted.\"\n\n\"If one is, I sure hope it doesn't scare me out of my codpiece like that last one did,\" Donaldson muttered.\n\nHelene deSilva rubbed her shoulders as if fighting a chill. \"Has anyone else got anything to say 'en camera'? Then I'm going to settle the humans-only part of this discussion by ruling out any precipitate action concerning Mr. LaRoque." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just everybody keep your eyes on him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This meeting is in recess. Think about ideas on what to do next. Someone please ask Fagin and Culla to join us at the refreshment center in twenty minutes. That's all.\"\n\nJacob felt a hand on his arm. Helene stood next to him.\n\n\"Are you all right?\" he asked.\n\n\"Fine ... fine.\" She smiled without much conviction. \"I'd just ... Jacob, would you come to my office with me, please?\"\n\n\"Sure, after you.\"\n\nHelene shook her head. Her fingers dug into his arm and she pulled him along in a fast walk toward the closet-sized cubbyhole in the side of the dome that served as a captain's office. When they were inside she cleared a space on the tiny desk and motioned for him to sit. Then she closed the door and sagged back against it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, God,\" she sighed.\n\n\"Helene ...\" Jacob started forward, then stopped. Her eyes blazed blue up at him.\n\n\"Jacob,\" she was making a concentrated effort to be calm. \"Can you promise me you'll do me a favor for a few minutes and not talk about it afterwards? I can't tell you what it is until you agree.\" Her eyes appealed silently.\n\nJacob didn't have to think. \"Of course, Helene. You can ask anything. But tell me what's the ...\"\n\n\"Then please, Just hold me.\" Her voice trailed off in a cry. She came up against his chest with her arms tacked in in front of her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In mute surprise, Jacob put his arms around her and held on tightly." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'moved' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Slowly he rocked her back and forth as a series of powerful tremors ran through her body. \"Sshhh ... It's all right ...\" He spoke reassuring nonsense words. Her hair brushed his cheek and her smell seemed to fill the tiny room. It was heady.\n\nFor a time they stood together silently. She moved her head slowly on his shoulder.\n\nThe tremors subsided. Gradually her body relaxed. He stroked the taut muscles of her back with one hand and they loosened one by one.\n\nJacob wondered who was doing whom the favor. He hadn't felt this peaceful, this calm, for Ifni knew how long. It moved him that she trusted him so.\n\nMore, it made him happy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a bitter little voice below that was gnashing its teeth at this moment, but he wasn't listening Doing what he was doing now felt more natural than breathing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After a few more moments, Helene lifted her head. When she spoke her voice was thick.\n\n\"I've never been so scared in all my life,\" she said. \"I want you to understand that I didn't have to do this. I could have been Iron Lady for the rest of the dive ... but you were here, available ... I had to. I'm sorry.\"\n\nJacob noticed that Helene made no effort to back away. He kept his arms around her.\n\n\"No problem,\" he spoke softly. \"Sometime later I'll tell you how nice it was. Don't worry about being scared. I just about went out of my skin when I saw those letters. Curiosity and numbness are my defense mechanisms. You saw how the others were reacting. You just had more responsibility is all.\"\n\nHelene didn't say anything. She brought her hands up and put them on his shoulders, without creating a space between them.\n\n\"Anyway,\" Jacob went on, brushing free locks of her hair into place." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You must have been more startled lots of times during your Jumps.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helene stiffened and pushed back from his chest.\n\n\"Mr. Demwa, you are intolerable! You and your constantly mentioning my Jumps! Do you think I've ever been as scared as that?! Just how old do you think I am?\"\n\nJacob smiled. She hadn't pushed back hard enough to shake off his arms. Obviously she wasn't ready for him to let go.\n\n\"Well, relativity-wise ...\" he began.\n\n\"Fuck relativity! I'm twenty-five! I may have seen more sky than you have but I've experienced a hell of lot less of the real universe than you ... and my competence rating says nothing about how I feel inside! It's scary having to be perfect and strong and responsible for people's lives ... for me at least, it is, unlike you, you impervious, imperturbable, once-upon-a-time hero-oaf, standing there calm as you please, just like Captain Beloc on Calypso when we ran that crazy fake blockade at J8'lek and ... and now I'm going to go highly illegal and order you to kiss me, since you don't seem about to do it on your own!\"\n\nShe looked at him defiantly. When Jacob laughed and pulled her toward him, she resisted momentarily. Then her arms slid around his neck and her lips pressed up against his.\n\nJacob distantly felt her tremble again. But this time it was different." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was hard to tell how it was different, since he was busy at the moment. Enchantingly so." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly, agonizingly, he realized how long it had been since ... two very long years. He pushed the thought aside. Tania was dead, and Helene was beautifully, wonderfully alive. He held her tighter and answered her passion in the only way possible.\n\n\"Excellent therapy, Doctor,\" she teased as he tried to comb the knots out of his hair. \"I feel like a million bucks, though I'll admit you look like you've been through a wringer.\"\n\n\"What's ... urk, what's a 'wringer'? Never mind, I don't want any explanations of your anachronisms. Look at you! You're proud of making me feel like a bar of steel that's been melted and bent out of shape!\"\n\n\"Yup.\"\n\nJacob didn't suceed at suppressing a grin. \"Shut up and respect your elders. How much time do we have, anyway?\"\n\nHelene glanced at her ring." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"About two minutes. Damned awkward time to have a meeting. You were just starting to get interesting. Who the hell called it at such an inconvenient moment?\"\n\n\"You did.\"\n\n\"Ah, yes. So I did. Next time I'll give you at least a half hour, and we'll investigate matters in more detail.\"\n\nJacob nodded uncertainly. It was hard to tell, sometimes, at what level this fem was kidding.\n\nBefore she unlatched the door, Helene soberly leaned up and kissed him.\n\n\"Thank you, Jacob.\"\n\nHe caressed the side of her face with his left hand. She pressed against it briefly. There was nothing to say when he brought the hand away.\n\nHelene opened the door and looked out. There was no one in sight but the pilot." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everyone else had probably gathered for the second meeting at the refreshment center." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let's go,\" she said. \"I could eat a horse!\"\n\nJacob shuddered. If he was going to get to know Helene better, he'd better be prepared for a lot of exercise for his imagination. A horse indeed!\n\nStill, he dropped a little less than a foot back as they walked, so he could watch Helene move. It was so distracting that he didn't notice when a spinning torus swung past the ship, its sides emblazoned with starbursts and surrounded by a halo as white and bright as the down on the breast of a dove." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\n8 sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla was Just pulling a liquitube out of Fagin's foliage when they returned. One arm was enmeshed in the Kanten's leafy branches. The Pring held another liquitube in his other hand.\n\n\"Welcome back,\" Fagin fluted. \"Pring Culla was just assisting me with my dietary supplement. I am afraid that in doing so he has neglected his own.\"\n\n\"No problem, shir,\" Culla said. He slowly pulled the tube backward.\n\nJacob came up behind the Pring to watch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This was a chance to learn more about Fagin's workings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Kan-ten once told him that his species had no modesty taboo, so surely he wouldn't mind if Jacob sighted along Culla's arm to see what sort of orifice the semi-vegetable alien used.\n\nHe was bent over thus when suddenly Culla jerked back, pulling the liquitube free. His elbow collided painfully with the ridge above Jacob's eye, sending him backwards on his rump.\n\nCulla chattered loudly. The liquitubes dropped from the hands that fell limply to his sides. Helene had trouble choking back a fit of laughter. Jacob hurried to his feet. His \"I'll-get-even-someday\" grimace at Helene only made her cough more loudly.\n\n\"Forget it, Gulla,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No damage done. It was my fault. I have a spare eye anyway.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He resisted the urge to rub the spot where it hurt.\n\nCulla looked down at him with shining eyes. The chattering subsided.\n\n\"You are mosht gracioush, Friend-Jacob,\" he said at last. \"In a proper client-elder shituation I wash at fault for careleshnesh. I thank you for forgiving me.\"\n\n\"Tut tut, my friend.\" Jacob waved it aside. Actually he could feel the beginnings of a nasty bump forming. Still, it would be worthwhile changing the subject to save Culla further embarrassment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Speaking of spare eyes, I read that your species, and most of those on Pring, had only one eye before the Pila arrived and started their genetic program.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yesh, Jacob. The Pila gave ush two eyesh for esthetic purposhesh. In the galaxy mosht bipedsh are binocular. They did not want ush ... teashed by the other young racesh.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob frowned. There was something ... he knew Mr. Hyde already had it but was holding back, still in his peevish mood.\n\nDamnit, it's my unconscious!\n\nNo use. Oh well.\n\n\"But Culla, I also read that your species were arboreal ... even brachiating, if I remember right ...\"\n\n\"What's that mean?\" Donaldson whispered to deSilva. \"It means they used to swing from tree limbs,\" she answered. \"Now hush!\"\n\n\"... But if they had only one eye how did your ancestors have good enough depth perception to keep from missing when they reached for the next branch?\"\n\nBefore Jacob even finished his sentence he felt jubilation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That had been the question Mr. Hyde was holding back!" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'phase' 4 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So the little devil didn't have a complete lock on unconscious insight! Helene was doing him good already. He hardly cared what Culla's answer was.\n\n\"I thought you knew, Friend-Jacob. I overheard Commandant deShilva explaining during our firsht dive that I have different receiversh than you do. My eyesh can detect phase ash well ash intenshity.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Jacob was starting to have fun now. He'd have to keep his eyes on Fagin. The old Kanten would warn him if he was getting into an area Culla found touchy.\n\n\"Yes, but sunlight, particularly in a forest, would have to be totally incoherent ... random in phase. Now a dolphin uses a system like yours in her sonar, keeping the phase and all. But she provides her own coherent phase field by letting out well-timed squeaks into her surroundings.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob stepped back, enjoying a dramatic pause." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His foot fell on one of the liquitubes Culla had dropped. Absently he picked it up.\n\n\"So if all your ancestors' eyes did was retain the phase, the whole thing still wouldn't work without having a source of coherent light in your environment.\" Jacob got excited. \"Natural lasers? Do your forests have some natural source of laser light?\"\n\n\"By George that would be interesting!\" Donaldson commented.\n\nCulla nodded. \"Yesh, Jacob. We call them the ...\" his mashies came together in a complicated rhythm \"... plants. It'sh incredible that you dedushed their exishtence from sho few cluesh. You are to be congratulated. I will show you picturesh of one when we get back.\"\n\nJacob caught a glimpse of Helene, smiling at him, possessively. (Deep inside his head he felt a distant rumbling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He ignored it.) \"Yes, I'd like to see it, Culla.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The liquitube was sticky in his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a smell in the air, like new mown hay.\n\n\"Here, Culla.\" He held out the liquitube. \"I think you dropped this.\" Then his arm froze. He stared at the tube for a moment then broke out laughing.\n\n\"Millie, come here!\" he shouted. \"Look at this!\" He held out the tube to Dr. Martine and pointed to the label.\n\n\"3-(alpha-Acetonylbenzyl)—4-hydroxycoumarin alkalide mix?\" She looked uncertain for a moment then her jaw dropped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why, that's Warfarin! So it's one of Culla's dietary supplements! Well then how the hell did a sample get into Dwayne's pharmacopoeia?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob smiled ruefully. \"I'm afraid that misunderstanding was all my fault I absentmindedly picked up a sample of one of Culla's beverage mix tablets back aboard the Bradbury. I was so sleepy then that I forgot about it. It must have gone into the same pocket where I later stashed Dr. Kepler's samples. They all went together to Dr. Laird's lab.\n\n\"It was just a wild coincidence that one of Culla's nutrient supplements happened to be identical with an old terrestrial poison, but boy did it have me going in circles! I was thinking Bubbacub slipped it to Kepler to make him unstable, but I was never very happy with that theory.\" He shrugged.\n\n\"Well I, for one, am relieved the whole thing is solved!\" Martine laughed. \"I didn't like what people were thinking about me!\"\n\nIt was a minor discovery." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But somehow clearing up one small, nagging mystery had transformed the mood of those present. They talked animatedly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The only pall came as Pierre LaRoque passed by, laughing softly. Dr. Martine went to ask him to Join them, but the little man just shook his head, then resumed walking in a slow path around the rim of the ship.\n\nHelene stood next to Jacob. She touched the hand that still held Culla's liquitube.\n\n\"Speaking of coincidences, did you take a close look at the formula for Culla's supplement?\" She stopped and looked up, Culla came up to them and bowed.\n\n\"If you are finished now, Jacob. I will put thish shticky tube away.\"\n\n\"What? Oh sure, Culla. Here. Now what were you saying, Helene?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even when her face was serious it was hard not to be struck by her beauty." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's the initial \"falling\" of love that, for a time, makes listening to one's lover difficult.\n\n\"... I Just saying that I noticed an interesting coincidence when Dr. Martine read that chemical formula aloud. Do you remember earlier, when we were talking about organic dye laser's? Well ...\"\n\nHelene's voice faded away. Jacob could see her mouth move, but all he could make out was one word: \"... coumarin ...\"\n\nThere was trouble erupting below. His channeled neurosis had mutinied. Mr. Hyde was trying to stop him from listening to Helene. In fact, he suddenly realized, his other half had been holding back its usual tithe of insight ever since Helene had hinted, in their conversation at the edge of the deck, that she wanted him to give her the genes she'd be taking to the stars when the Calypso jumped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hyde hates Helene! he realized with a shock." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The first girl I've met who could begin to replace what I've lost (a tremor, like a migraine, threatened to split his skull) and Hyde hates her! (The headache came and went instantly).\n\nWhat was more, that part of his unconscious had been holding out on him. It had seen all of the pieces and hadn't let them surface. This was a violation of the agreement. It was intolerable, and he couldn't figure out why!\n\n\"Jacob, are you all right?\" Helene's voice was back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She looked at him quizzically. Over her shoulder he could see Culla, looking down at them from near the food machines.\n\n\"Helene,\" he said abruptly. \"Listen, I left a small box of pills by the Pilot Board. They're for these headaches I get sometimes ... could you please look for them for me?\" He brought a hand up to his forehead and grimaced.\n\n\"Why ... sure,\" Helene touched his arm. \"Why don't you come with me? You could lie down. We'll talk ...\"\n\n\"No,\" he took her by the shoulders and gently turned her the right way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please, you go. I'll wait here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Furiously, he fought down panic at the time it was taking to get her away.\n\n\"Okay, I'll be right back,\" Helene said. As she walked away Jacob sighed with relief. Most of those present had their goggles on their belts, per standing orders. The competent and efficient Commandant deSilva had left hers at her couch.\n\nWhen she had gone about ten meters toward her destination, Helene began to wonder.\n\nJacob never left any box of pills by the Pilot Board. I would have known it if he had." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wanted to get rid of me! But why?\n\nShe looked back. Jacob was just turning away from a food machine with a protein roll in his hand. He smiled at Martine and nodded at Chen, then started to walk past Fagin to get out onto the open deck. Behind him Culla watched the group with bright eyes, near the gravity-loop hatch.\n\nJacob didn't look like he had a headache at all! Helene felt hurt and confused.\n\nWell if he doesn't want me around, that's fine. I'll make a pretense of looking for his damned pills!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She started to turn when, suddenly, Jacob tripped on one of Fagin's root pods and went sprawling on the deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The protein roll bounced away and fetched up against the Parametric Laser housing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Before she could react, Jacob was on his feet again, smiling sheepishly. He walked over to pick up the food ball. Bending over, his shoulder touched the barrel of the laser.\n\nBlue light flooded the room instantly. Whooping alarms howled. Helene instinctively covered her eyes behind her arm and grabbed for the goggles at her waist.\n\nThey weren't there!\n\nHer couch was three meters away. She could picture where she was exactly, and where she'd stupidly left the goggles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She turned and dove for them, coming up again in one movement, the protectors over her eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were bright spots everywhere. The P-laser, shoved out of plumb with the ship's radius, was sending its beam bouncing about the concave inner surface of the Sunship's shell. The modulated \"contact code\" flashed against the deck and dome.\n\nBodies writhed on the deck near the food machines. No one had approached the P-laser to shut it off. Where were Jacob and Donaldson? Were they blinded in the first instant?\n\nSeveral figures struggled near the gravity-loop hatch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the flashing, sepulchral light she saw that they were Jacob Demwa and the chief engineer ... and Culla." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They ... Jacob was trying to shove a bag over the alien's head!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no time to decide what to do." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Between intervening in the mysterious fight and eliminating a possible danger to her ship, Helene didn't have to choose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She ran over to the P-laser, ducking under faint, crisscrossing trails, and tore out the plug.\n\nThe flashing points of light stopped abruptly, except for one that coincided with a shriek of pain and a crash, near the hatchway. The alarms shut off and suddenly there was only the sound of people moaning.\n\n\"Captain, what is it? What's happening?\" The voice of the pilot rang out over the intercom. Helene picked up the mike from a couch nearby.\n\n\"Hughes,\" she said quickly. \"What's ship's status?\"\n\n\"Status nominal, sir. But it's a good thing I had my goggles on! What the devil happened?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"P-laser got loose. Continue as is. Hold her steady about a klick from the herd. I'll be back to you soon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She released the mike and raised her head to shout. \"Chen! Dubrowsky! Report!\" She peered about in the dimness.\n\n\"Over here, skipper!\" It was Chen's voice. Helene cursed and tore off the goggles. Chen was over beyond the hatchway. He knelt over a figure on the deck.\n\n\"It's Dubrowsky,\" the man said. \"He's dead. Fried through the eyes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dr. Martine cowered behind Fagin's thick trunk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Kanten whistled softly as Helene hurried over." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you two okay?\"\n\nFagin let out a long note that sounded vaguely like a slurred \"yes.\" Martine nodded once, jerkily, but she stayed clutching Fagin's trunk. Her goggles were skewed over her face. Helene took them off.\n\n\"Come on, Doctor. You have patients.\" She pulled at Martine's arm. \"Chen! Go to my office and get the aid-kit! On the double!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine started to get up, then sagged back shaking her head.\n\nHelene gritted her teeth and hauled up on the arm she held, suddenly, snapping the older woman upwards with a gasp. Martine staggered to her feet.\n\nHelene slapped her once across the face. \"Wake up, Doctor! You'll help me with these men or so help me I'll kick your teeth in!\" She took Martine's arm and supported her across the few meters to where Chief Donaldson and Jacob Demwa lay.\n\nJacob moaned and began to stir. Helene felt her heart rise when he took his arm away from his face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The burns were superficial and they hadn't touched the eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob had his goggles on.\n\nShe steered Martine over next to Donaldson and made her sit. The chief engineer was badly seared along the left side of his face. The left lens of his goggles was smashed.\n\nChen arrived on the run, carrying the aid-kit.\n\nDr. Martine turned away from Donaldson and shuddered. Then she looked up and saw the crewman with the medical bag. She held out her hands for it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Will you need help, Doctor?\" Helene asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Martine spread instruments on the deck. She shook her head without looking up.\n\n\"No. Be quiet.\"\n\nHelene called Chen over. \"Go look for LaRoque and Culla. Report when you've found them.\" The man ran off.\n\nJacob moaned again and tried to rise up on his elbows. Helene got a cloth from the fountain nearby and wet it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She knelt by Jacob and pulled on his shoulders to get his head onto her lap." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He winced as she dabbed gently at his wounds.\n\n\"Oh ...\" he moaned and brought a hand to the top of his head. \"I should've known better. His ancestors were tree swingers. He'd have to have a chimp's strength. And he looks so weak!\"\n\n\"Can you tell me what happened?\" she asked softly.\n\nJacob grunted as he groped beneath his back with his left hand. He tugged on something a couple of times. Finally he pulled out the large bag the protection goggles had come in. He looked at it, then tossed it away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My head feels as if it's been sandblasted,\" he said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: culla, frequency: 3" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pushed himself-up into sitting position, wavered for a moment with his hands on his head, then he let them drop.\n\n\"Culla wouldn't happen to be lying unconscious around here, would he? I was hoping I turned into a fighting fool after he knocked me dizzy, but I guess I Just blacked out.\"\n\n\"I don't know where Culla is,\" Helene said. \"Now what ...?\"\n\nChen's voice boomed over the intercom.\n\n\"Skipper? I've found LaRoque. He's at degrees two-forty. He's okay. In fact, he didn't even know anything was wrong!\"\n\nJacob moved over next to Dr. Martine and began to talk to her urgently. Helene stood up and went to the intercom next to the food center.\n\n\"Have you seen Culla?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nossir, not a sign anywhere. He must be on flip-side.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chen's voice dropped. \"I had the impression there was a fight going on. Do you know what happened?\"\n\n\"I'll get back to you when I know something. Meanwhile you'd better relieve Hughes.\"\n\nJacob joined her by the intercom.\n\n\"Donaldson will be all right, but he'll need a new eye. Listen, Helene, I'm going to have to go after Culla. Lend me one of your men, will you? Then you'd better get us out of here as fast as you can.\"\n\nShe whirled. \"You just killed one of my men! Dubrowsky's dead! Donaldson is blinded, and now you want me to send someone else to help you harass poor Culla some more? What madness is this?\"\n\n\"I didn't kill anyone, Helene.\"\n\n\"I saw you, you clumsy oaf! You bumped the p-laser and it went crazy! So did you! Why were you attacking Culla?\"\n\n\"Helene ...\" Jacob winced." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He brought a hand to his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There's no time to explain. You've got to get us out of here. There's no telling what he'll do down there now that we know.\"\n\n\"Explain first!\"\n\n\"I ... I bumped the laser on purpose ... I ...\"\n\nHelene's shipsuit fit so snugly that Jacob would never have thought she had the snug little stun gun that appeared in her hand. \"Go on, Jacob,\" she said evenly.\n\n\"... He was watching me. I knew if I showed a sign I'd caught on, he could blind us all in an instant. I sent you away to get you clear and then went after the goggles bag. I kicked the laser free to confuse him ... laser light all over the place ...\"\n\n\"And killed and maimed my men!\"\n\nJacob drew himself together. \"Listen, you little nit!\" He towered over her. \"I turned that beam down!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It might blind but it wouldn't burn!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now if you don't believe me, knock me out! Strap me in! Only get us out of here fast, before Culla kills us all!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Culla ...\"\n\n\"His eyes, damnit! Coumarin! His 'dietary supplement' is a dye used in lasers! He killed Dubrowsky when he tried to help me and Donaldson!\n\n\"He was lying about that laser plant back on his home planet! The Pring have their own source of coherent light! He's been projecting the 'adult' type Sun Ghosts all along! And ... my god!\" Jacob punched at the air.\n\n\"... if his projector is subtle enough to display fake 'Ghosts' on the inside of a Sunship shell, it must be good enough to interact with the optical inputs of those Library designed computers! He programmed the computers to tag LaRoque as a Probationer. And ... and I was next to him when he programmed Jeff's ship to self-destruct! He was feeding in commands all the time I was admiring the pretty lights!\"\n\nHelene backed away, shaking her head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob took a step toward her, looming large with fists tight, but his face was a mask of self-reproach.\n\n\"Why was Culla always the first to spot the humanoid Ghosts? Why were there none seen during the time he was with Kepler on Earth? Why didn't I think, before this, about Culla's reasons for volunteering to have his 'retina' read during the identity search!\"\n\nThe words were coming too fast. Helene's brow knit with tension as she tried to think.\n\nJacob's eyes pleaded. \"Helene, you've got to believe me.\"\n\nShe hesitated, then cried out, \"Oh shit!\" and threw herself at the intercom.\n\n\"Chen! Get us out of here! Never mind strap-in warning, just put on max thrust and crank up the time-compression! I want to see black sky before I blink twice!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Aye sir!\" came the reply." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The ship surged up against them as the compensation fields were temporarily overcome, sending both Helene and Jacob staggering. The Commandant held onto the intercom.\n\n\"All hands, keep your goggles on at all times from now on. Everybody please strap in as quick as you can. Hughes, report to the loop-hatch on the double!\"\n\nOutside, the toruses began to pass by more rapidly. As each beast fell below the rim of the deck, its rims flashed brightly as if bidding them adieu.\n\n\"I should have caught on too,\" Helene said dismally. \"Instead I turned off the P-laser and probably let him get away.\"\n\nJacob kissed her quickly, hard enough to leave her lips tingling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You didn't know. I'd have done the same thing in your shoes.\"\n\nShe touched her lips and stared past him at Dubrowsky's body. \"You sent me away because ...\"\n\n\"Captain,\" Chen's voice interrupted. \"I'm having trouble getting the time-compression off automatic. Can I keep Hughes here to help? We've also just lost maser link with Hermes.\"\n\nJacob shrugged. \"First the maser link to keep word from getting out, then time-compression, then the gravity drive, finally the stasis. I guess the last step is to blow the shields, unless the other steps are sufficient. They should be.\"\n\nHelene toggled the intercom. \"Negative, Chen. I want Hughes now! Do what you can alone.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She cut the switch.\n\n\"I'm going with! you.\"\n\n\"No you aren't,\" he said. He put his goggles back on and picked up the bag from the floor. \"If Culla gets to step three we're cooked, literally. But if I can stop him part-way you're the only one who'd stand a chance of piloting us out. Now please lend me that gun, it could be useful.\"\n\nHelene handed it over. At this stage argument would be ridiculous. Jacob was in charge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had no ideas of her own." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The quiet thrumming of the ship changed its rhythm, becoming a low, uneven hum.\n\nHelene answered Jacob's questioning glance. \"It's the time-compression. He's already started slowing us down. In more ways than one, we haven't very much time.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob crouched in the hatchway, ready to dive back behind the combing at the sight of a tall, gangling alien. So far, so good. Culla hadn't been in the gravity loop.\n\nThe turnaround route to flip-side, the only route, might have been a good place for an ambush. But Jacob wasn't particularly surprised that Culla wasn't there, for two reasons.\n\nThe first was tactical. Culla's weapon operated on line-of-sight. The loop curved very tightly, so the humans could approach within a few meters without being spotted. An object thrown around the loop would travel most of the way with undiminished velocity. Jacob was now sure of this. He and Hughes had thrown several knives from the ship's galley when they entered the loop. They found them near the flip-side exit in a puddle of ammonia from the liquitubes they'd squeezed ahead of them as they walked the topsy-turvy passage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla could have been waiting just beyond the door, but there was another reason he had to leave his rear undefended." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had only a limited amount of time before the Sunship reached a high orbit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After they got into free space the humans would be safe from the tossing of the chromospheric storms, and the tough, reflecting physical shell of the ship could deflect enough of the heat of the Sun to keep them alive until help came.\n\nSo Culla had to finish them, and himself, off quickly. Jacob felt sure the Pring specialist was by the computer input, ninety degrees around the dome to the right, using his laser eyes to slowly reprogram past the machine's safeguards.\n\nWhy he was doing it was a question that would have to wait.\n\nHughes picked up the knives. With the bag, some liquitubes, and Helene's little stunner, they composed their armory.\n\nClassically, since the alternative was death for all of them, the answer would be for one man to sacrifice himself so the other could finish Culla off.\n\nHe and Hughes could carefully time their approach from different directions to surprise Culla at the same moment. Or one man could come in front and the other aim the stunner from over his shoulder.\n\nBut neither plan would work. Their opponent could literally kill a man as fast as he could look at him. Unlike the faked \"adult\" Sun Ghost projections, which were continuous output, Culla's killer bolts were discharges." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob wished he could remember how many he'd fired off during the fight on topside ... or at what repeat frequency. It probably didn't matter. Culla had two eyes and two enemies. One bolt each would probably suffice.\n\nWorst of all, they couldn't be sure that Culla's holographic imaging ability wouldn't enable him to locate them the instant they stepped out onto the floor, from reflections off the inner shell. He probably couldn't hurt them with reflections, but that was poor compensation.\n\nIf there weren't so damned much attenuation during the internal bouncing of the beam they could have tried to disable the alien with the P-laser, by letting it sweep the entire ship while the humans and Fagin crowded into the gravity-loop.\n\nJacob cursed and wondered what was keeping them with the P-laser. Next to him Hughes mumbled softly into a wall intercom. He turned to Jacob. \"They're ready!\" he said.\n\nThanks to their goggles they were spared most of the pain when the dome outside burst with light." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still it took a few moments to blink away tears and adapt to the brightness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Commandant deSilva had, presumably with Dr. Martine's help, dragged the P-laser to a new position near the rim of the upper deck." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'jacob' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If her calculations were right the beam should hit the side of the dome on flip-side exactly where the computer input was. Unfortunately, the complexity of the figure needed to go from point A to B, through the narrow gap at the edge of the deck, meant that the beam probably wouldn't harm Culla.\n\nIt did startle him though. At the instant the beam came on, while Jacob was squeezing his eyes shut, they heard a sudden chattering and sounds of movement far to the right.\n\nWhen his vision cleared, Jacob saw a thin tracery of bright lines hanging in the air. The passage of the P-laser beam left a track in the small amount of dust in the air. That was fortunate. It would help them avoid it.\n\n\"Intercom on max?\" he asked quickly.\n\nHughes gave thumbs up.\n\n\"Okay, let's go!\"\n\nThe P-laser was randomly putting out colors in the blue-green. They hoped it would confuse reflections from the inner shell." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He gathered his legs and counted, \"One, two. Go!\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'hughes' must be used 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob dashed out across the open space and dove behind one of the hulking recording machines at the rim of the deck. He heard Hughes land hard, two machines clockwise from him.\n\nThe man waved once when he glanced back. \"Nothing over here!\" he whispered harshly. Jacob took a look around the corner of his own machine, using a mirror from the aid-kit, which had been smeared with grease. Hughes had another mirror, from Martine's purse.\n\nCulla wasn't in sight.\n\nBetween them, he and his partner could survey about three-fifths of the deck. The computer input was on the other side of the dome, just out of Hughes' view. Jacob would have to take the long way around, darting from one recording machine to another.\n\nThe Sunship's shell glowed in spots where the P-laser beam glanced off it. The colors shifted constantly." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'below' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Otherwise, the red and pink miasma of the chromosphere surrounded them. They had left the big filament minutes before, and the herd of toroids with it, by now a hundred kilometers below.\n\nBelow was actually right over Jacob's head. The photosphere, with the Big Spot in the center made a great flat, endless, fiery ceiling above him, spicules hung like stalactites.\n\nHe gathered his legs beneath him and took off, bent over and facing away from any possible ambush.\n\nHe leapt over the P-laser beam where its path was traced in floating dust particles, and dove behind the next machine. Quickly he eased the mirror out to look at the territory now exposed.\n\nCulla wasn't in sight.\n\nNeither was Hughes. He whistled two short notes in the brief code they'd agreed upon. All clear. He heard one note, the fellow's reply.\n\nHe had to duck under the beam the next time. All the way across the narrow distance his skin crawled, anticipating a searing bolt of light along his flank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stumbled behind the machine and caught hold of it to steady himself, breathing heavily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That wasn't right! He shouldn't be so tired already. Something was wrong." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob swallowed once then began to slide the mirror out along the counter-clockwise edge of the machine.\n\nPain lanced into his fingertips and he dropped the mirror with a cry. He stopped Just short of popping the hand in his mouth, and held it, instead, a few inches away, his mouth open in agony.\n\nAutomatically, he started to lay over a light pain relief trance. The red pokers started to fade as the fingers seemed to grow more distant. Then the flow of relief stopped. It was like a tug of war. He could only accomplish so much; a counter pressure resisted the hypnosis with equal strength no matter how hard he concentrated.\n\nAnother of Hyde's tricks. Well there was no time to dicker with him ... whatever the hell he wanted. He looked at the hand, now that the pain was barely bearable. The index and fourth fingers were badly fried." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The others were less damaged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He managed to whistle a short code to Hughes. It was time to put his plan into effect, the only plan with any real chance of success.\n\nTheir only chance lay in getting into space. Time-compression was frozen on automatic—the first thing Culla took care of after the maser link—their subjective time would pretty closely match the actual time it took to leave the chromosphere.\n\nSince assaulting Culla was almost certainly futile, the best way to delay the alien's murder-suicide would be to talk to him.\n\nJacob took a couple of breaths as he leaned back against the holo-recorder, careful to keep his ears awake. Culla was always a noisy walker. That was his best hope against out and out attack by the Pring. If Culla made too much sound out in the open, Jacob might get a chance to use the stunner he clutched in his good hand. It had a wide beam and wouldn't take much aiming.\n\n\"Culla!\" he shouted. \"Don't you think this has gone far enough? Why don't you come out now and we'll talk!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He listened. There was a faint buzzing, as if Culla's mashies were chattering softly behind the thick prehensile lips." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "During the fight topside, half of the problem facing him and Donaldson had been avoiding the flashing white grinders.\n\n\"Culla!\" he repeated. \"I know it's stupid to Judge an alien by your own species' values, but I really thought you were a friend. You owe us an explanation! Talk to us! If you're acting under Bubbacub's orders, you can surrender and I swear we'll all say you put up a hell of a fight!\"\n\nThe buzzing grew louder. There was a brief shuffle of footsteps. One, two, three ... but that was all. Not enough to get a fix on.\n\n\"Jacob, I am shorry,\" Culla's voice carried softly across the deck.\n\n\"You musht be told, before we die, but firsht I ashk that you have that lasher turned off. It hurtsh!\"\n\n\"Culla, so does my hand.\"\n\nThe Pring sounded woebegone. \"I am sho, sho, shorry, Jacob. Pleash undershtand that you are my friend." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It ish partly for your shpeciesh that I do thish." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Theshe are neceshary crimesh, Jacob. I am only glad that death ish near sho that I may be free of memory.\"\n\nJacob was astonished by the alien's sophistry. He had never expected such sophomore whinings from Culla, whatever his reasons for what he'd done. He was about to frame a reply when Helene deSilva's voice boomed over the intercom.\n\n\"Jacob? Can you hear me? The gravity thrust is deteriorating fast. We're losing headway.\"\n\nWhat she didn't say was the threat. If something wasn't done soon they'd begin the long fall toward the photosphere, a fall from which they'd never return.\n\nOnce in the grip of the convection cells, the ship would be pulled downward into the stellar core. If there was a ship left, by then.\n\n\"You shee, Jacob,\" Culla said. \"To delay me will do no good. It ish already done. I will shtay to make shertain you cannot correct it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But pleashe, let ush talk until the end. I do not wish to die ash enemiesh.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'jacob' into your response exactly 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob stared out into the wispy, hydrogen-red atmosphere of the Sun. Tendrils of fiery gas were still floating 'downwards' (up, to him), past the ship, but that could be a function of the motion of the gas in this area at this time. Certainly they were going by much less quickly. It could be that the ship was already falling.\n\n\"Your dischovery of my talent and my hoax wash most ashtute, Jacob. You combined many obshcure cluesh to find the anshwer! Tying in the background of my race wash a brilliant shtroke!\n\n\"Tell me, although I avoided the rim detectorsh with my phantomsh, didn't it throw you off that they shometimesh appeared on topshide when I wash on flip-shide?\"\n\nJacob was trying to think. He had the cool side of the stun gun against his cheek. It felt good, but it wasn't helping him come up with ideas. And he had to spare some of his attention to talk to Culla." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required dialogue to include (maintain exact wording): \"I never bothered to think about it, Culla. I suppose you just leaned over and beamed through the transparent deck-suspension field. That'd explain why the image looked refracted. It was actually reflected, at an angle, inside the shell.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I never bothered to think about it, Culla. I suppose you just leaned over and beamed through the transparent deck-suspension field. That'd explain why the image looked refracted. It was actually reflected, at an angle, inside the shell.\"\n\nActually that was a valid clue. Jacob wondered why he'd missed it.\n\nAnd the bright blue light, during his deep trance in Baja! It happened just before he awoke to see Culla standing there! The Eatee must have taken a hologram of him! What a way to get to know somebody and never forget his face!\n\n\"Culla,\" he said slowly. \"Not that I'm one to hold a grudge or anything, but were you responsible for my crazy behavior at the end of the last dive?\"\n\nThere was a pause. Then Culla spoke. His lisp was getting worse.\n\n\"Yesh, Jacob. I am shorry, but you were getting too inquishitive. I hoped to dishcredit you. I failed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But how ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I lishtened to Dr. Martine talk about the effect of glare on humansh, Jacob!\"\n\nThe Pring almost shouted. For the first time in Jacob's memory, Culla had interrupted somebody. \"I ekshperimented on Doctor Kepler for months! Den on LaRoque and Jeff ... den on you. I ushed a narrow diffracted beam. No one could shee it, but it unfocushed your thoughtsh!\n\n\"I did not know what you would do. But I knew it would be embarrasshing. Again, I am shorry. It wash neceshary!\"\n\nThey had definitely stopped rising. The big filament that they had left only a few minutes before loomed over Jacob's head. High streamers twisted and curled up toward the ship, like grasping fingers.\n\nJacob had been trying to find a way, but his imagination was blocked by a powerful barrier.\n\nAll right! I give up!\n\nHe called on his neurosis to offer its terms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What the hell did the damned thing want of him?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He'd have to invoke the emergency clause. Hyde was going to have to come out and become part of him, like in the bad old days. Like when he chased down LaRoque on Mercury, and when he broke into the Photo Lab. He got ready to go into the trance.\n\n\"Why Culla. Tell me why you did all this!\"\n\nNot that it mattered. Maybe Hughes was listening. Perhaps Helene was recording. Jacob was too busy to care.\n\nResistance! In the non-linear, non-orthogonal coordinates of thought he sifted feelings and gestalts through a sieve. To whatever extent the old automatic systems still worked, he set them off to do their jobs.\n\nSlowly, the window dressing and camouflage was stripped away and he came face to face with his other half." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The battlements, unscalable in every past siege, were even more formidable now. The earthen breastworks had been replaced by stone. The abatis was made of sharpened needles, slender and twenty miles long. At the top of the highest tower a flag rippled. The pennant read \"Loyalty.\" It flew above two stakes, on each of which a head was impaled.\n\nOne head he recognized at once. It was his own. The blood that dripped from the severed neck still glistened. The expression was one of remorse.\n\nThe other head set him shivering. It was Helene's. Her face was streaked and pockmarked, and as he watched the eyes fluttered weakly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The head was still alive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But why! Why this rage against Helene? And why the overtones of suicide ... this unwillingness to join with him to create the near ubermensch he once had been?\n\nIf Culla decided to attack now, he'd be helpless. His ears were filled with the cry of a whistling wind. There was a roar of jets and then the sound of someone falling ... the sound of someone calling as she fell past him.\n\nAnd for the first time he could make out her words.\n\n\"Jake! Watch that first step ...!\"\n\nIs that all? Then why all the fuss over it? Why the months trying to drag out what turned out to be Tania's last ironic dig?\n\nOf course. His neurosis was letting him see, now that death was imminent, that the hidden words had been another red herring. Hyde was hiding something else. It was ...\n\nGuilt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He knew he carried a burden of it after the affair on the Vanilla Needle, but how much he'd never realized." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He now saw how sick this Jekyll and Hyde arrangement he'd been living with really was. Instead of slowly healing the trauma of a painful loss, he'd sealed off an artificial entity, to grow and feed on him and on his shame for having let Tania fall ... for the supreme arrogance of the man who, on that crazy day twenty miles high, thought he could do two things at once.\n\nIt had been just another form of arrogance ... a belief that he could bypass the normal, human way of recovering from grief, the cycle of pain and transcendency by which the billions of his fellow human beings coped when each suffered a loss. That and the comfort of closeness to other people.\n\nAnd now he was trapped. The meaning of the pennant on the battlements was clear now. In his sickness he'd thought to expiate part of his guilt by demonstrations of loyalty to the person he'd failed. Not overt loyalty, but loyalty deep within ... a sick loyalty based on witholding himself from everybody ... all the while convinced that he was all right since he'd had lovers!\n\nNo wonder Hyde hated Helene! No wonder he wanted Jacob Demwa dead as well!\n\nTania would never have approved of you, he told it. But it wasn't listening." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It had its own logic and had no use for his." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hell, she'd have loved Helene!\n\nIt didn't do any good. The barrier was firm. He opened his eyes.\n\nThe red of the chromosphere had deepened. They were in the filament now. A flash of color, seen even through his goggles, sent him glancing to the left.\n\nIt was a toroid. They were back amidst the herd.\n\nAs he watched, several more drifted past, their rims festooned with bright designs. They spun like mad doughnuts, oblivious to the peril of the Sunship.\n\n\"Jacob, you have shaid nothing,\" Culla's droning, lisping voice had become background." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the mention of his name Jacob paid attention." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Shurely you have shome opinion on my motivesh. Cannot you shee that de greater good will come of dish ... not only for my shpecies but for yoursh and your Clientsh ash well?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include exactly 2 instance(s) of the word 'something'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob shook his head vigorously to clear it. The Hyde-induced drowsiness was something he had to fight! The only silver lining was that his hand no longer hurt.\n\n\"Culla, I must think about this for a little while. Can we retire a ways and confer? I can pick up some food for you and maybe we can work something out.\"\n\nThere was a pause. Then Culla spoke slowly.\n\n\"You are very tricky, Jacob. I am tempted but now I shee dat it will be better if you and your friend stay shtill. In fact. I will make certain. If either of you movesh I will 'shee' him.\"\n\nNumbly, Jacob wondered what was so \"tricky\" about offering the alien food. Why had that idea popped into his head?\n\nThey were falling faster now. Overhead the herd of toruses stretched toward the ominous wall of the photosphere. The nearest shone in blues and greens as they swept past." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The colors faded with distance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The farthest beasts looked like tiny dim wedding rings, each poised on a tiny flicker of green light." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was movement among the nearest magnetovores. As the ship fell, one after another moved aside and \"downward\" from Jacob's upside-down perspective. Once a flash of green filled the Sunship as a tail-laser swept over them. The fact that they weren't destroyed meant that the automatic screens were still working.\n\nOutside, a fluttering shape shot past Jacob, from over his head out, past the deck at his feet. Then another rippling apparition appeared, lingering for a moment outside the shell near him, its body slick with iridescent colors. Then it sped upward, out of sight.\n\nThe Sun Ghosts were gathering. Perhaps the Sunship's headlong fall had finally piqued their curiosity.\n\nThey had passed the largest part of the herd by now. There was a cluster of large magnetovores just overhead, in their line of descent. Tiny bright herdsmen danced around the group." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob hoped they'd get out of the way. No sense in taking anyone else with them. The incandescent trail of the ship's Refrigerator Laser cut dangerously close.\n\nJacob gathered himself together. There was nothing else to do. He and Hughes would have to try a frontal assault on Culla. He whistled a code, two short and two long. There was a pause and then there was an answer. The other man was ready.\n\nHe'd wait until the first sound. They'd agreed that, when they were close enough, any attack with any chance of success would have to come the instant any noise was made, before Culla could be alerted. Since Hughes had farther to go, presumably, he'd move first." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tensed into a crouch and forced himself to concentrate only on the attack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The stunner rested in the sweaty palm of his left hand. He ignored the distracting tremors that erupted from an isolated part of his own mind.\n\nA sound, like someone falling, came from somewhere to the right. Jacob stepped out from behind the machine, pressing the firing stud of the stunner at the same instant.\n\nNo bolt of light greeted him. Culla wasn't there. One of the precious stunner charges was gone.\n\nHe ran forward as fast as he could. If he could catch the alien with his back turned to deal with Hughes ...\n\nThe lighting was changing. As he ran just a few steps the red brightness of the photosphere overhead was swiftly replaced by a blue-green shine from above. Jacob spared the briefest of glances overhead as he dashed forward. The light came from toruses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The huge Solarian beasts were coming up fast from below the Sunship on a collision course.\n\nAlarms rang, and Helene deSilva's voice came on, loudly, with a warning. As the blueness grew brighter, Jacob dove over a trace made by the P-laser beam in the dusty air, and landed just two meters away from Culla.\n\nJust beyond the Pring, the crewman Hughes knelt on the ground, holding up bloody hands, his knives scattered on the ground. He stared up at Culla dully, expecting the coup de grace.\n\nJacob raised the stunner as Culla swiveled, warned by the sound of his arrival. For the briefest of instants Jacob thought he'd made it as he pressed down on the firing stud.\n\nThen his entire left hand erupted in agony. A spasm flung it up and the gun flew away. For a moment the deck seemed to sway, then his vision cleared and Culla was standing before him, eyes dull. The Pring's mashies were now fully exposed, waving at the ends of the tentacular \"lips.\"\n\n\"I am shorry, Jacob.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "5 sentences sentences in David Brin style, continuing user's bit. Note: May include established elements" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was once a lad so virtuous that the gods gave him a wish. His choice was to be, for a day, the charioteer of the Sun. Apollo was overruled when he predicted dire consequences, but subsequent events proved him right. The Sahara is said to be the track of desolation laid when the inexperienced driver let his carriage pass too close to Earth. Since then, the gods have tried to operate a closed shop." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "yo can u write like David Brin using my stuff as a starting point? btw might drop u in mid-story with random chars" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob landed on the opposite side of the computer-console, falling hard on his back to save his blistered, bleeding hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fortunately, the springy material of the deck cushioned some of the impact.\n\nHe tasted blood and his head rang as he rolled over onto his elbows. The deck still bounced as the magnetovores overhead jostled against the underbelly of the Sunship, filling the interior of flip-side with brilliant blue light. They touched the ship, three of them, at about forty-five degrees \"above\" the deck, leaving a large gap directly overhead. That left room for the Refrigerator Laser to pour its deadly beam of stored solar heat between them, downward toward the photosphere.\n\nJacob had no time to wonder what they were doing ... whether they were attacking, or just playful. (What a thought!) He had to take advantage of this respite quickly.\n\nHughes had landed nearby. The man was already on his feet, stumbling in shock. Jacob hurried up and took the man's arm in his ... avoiding contact between their wounded hands.\n\n\"Come on, Hughes. If Culla's been stunned we might both be able to jump him!\"\n\nHughes nodded. The man was confused, but he was willing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His movements were exaggerated, though. Jacob had to guide him the right way, hurrying.\n\nThey came around the curve of the central dome to find Culla just rising to his feet. The alien wavered but as he turned toward them Jacob knew it was hopeless. One of Culla's eyes flashed brightly, the first time Jacob had actually seen one in operation. That meant ...\n\nThere was a smell of burning rubber and the left strap of his goggles parted. He was dazzled by the blue brightness of the chamber as they fell off.\n\nJacob shoved Hughes back around the curve of the dome and flung himself after the man. At any moment he expected a sudden pain in the back of his neck, but they stumbled together all the way to the gravity-loop hatch and fell within, safe.\n\nFagin moved aside to let them in. He trilled loudly and waved his branches.\n\n\"Jacob! You are alive! And your associate as well! This is better than I'd feared!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How ...\" Jacob gasped for breath." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How long since we started falling?\"\n\n\"It has been five, perhaps six minutes. I followed you down after regaining my wits. I may not be able to fight but I can interpose my body. Culla would never have enough power to cut his way through me to get above!\" The Kanten piped shrill laughter.\n\nJacob frowned; that was an interesting point. How much power did Culla have? What was it he once read about the human body operating on an average of one hundred and fifty watts? Culla put out considerably more than that, but it was in short, half-second bursts.\n\nGiven enough time, Jacob could figure it out. When projecting his hoaxed Solarians, Culla had made the apparitions last for about twenty minutes. Then the anthropomorphic Ghosts \"lost interest\" and Culla was suddenly ravenously hungry. They'd all attributed his appetite to nervous energy, but actually the Pring had to replenish his supply of coumarin ... and probably of high-energy chemicals to power the dye-laser reaction, as well.\n\n\"You are hurt!\" Fagin fluted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The branches fluttered in agitation. \"You had best take your compatriot upside and both have your wounds tended.\"\n\n\"I guess so,\" Jacob nodded, reluctant to leave Fagin alone. \"There are some important questions I have to ask Dr. Martine while she's treating us.\"\n\nThe Kanten gave out a long whistling sigh, \"Jacob, under no circumstances disturb Dr. Martine! She is in rapport with the Solarians. It is our only chancel\"\n\n\"She's what!\"\n\n\"They were attracted by the flashing of the Parametric Laser. When they came, she donned her psi helmet and initiated communications! They positioned several of their magnetovores beneath us and have substantially arrested our fall!\"\n\nJacob's heart leapt. It sounded like a reprieve. Then he frowned.\n\n\"Substantially? Then we aren't rising?\"\n\n\"Regrettably, no. We are falling slowly. And there is no knowing how long the toroids can hold us.\"\n\nJacob felt distantly in awe of Martine's accomplishment. She had contacted the Solarians!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was one of the epochal accomplishments of all time, and still they were doomed.\n\n\"Fagin,\" he said carefully. \"I'll be back as soon as I can. Meanwhile, can you fake my voice well enough to fool Culla?\"\n\n\"I believe so. I can try.\"\n\n\"Then talk to him. Throw your voice. Use all your tricks to keep him busy and uncertain. He can't be allowed more time at that computer access!\"\n\nFagin whistled assent. Jacob turned, with his arm in Hughes' and started around the gravity-loop.\n\nThe loop felt strange, as if the gravity fields had started to fluctuate slightly. His inner ear bothered him as it never had before, as he helped Hughes traverse the short arc, and he had to concentrate to keep his step.\n\nTopside was still red—the red of the chromosphere. But fluttering blue-green Solarians danced just outside, closer than Jacob had ever seen them before. Their \"butterfly wings\" were almost as broad as the ship itself.\n\nBlue traceries of the P-laser also shone in the dust up here." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Near the edge of the deck, the laser itself hummed inside its bulky mounting." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'pilot' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They dodged several of the thin beams.\n\nIf only we'd had the tools to unship that thing from its holder, Jacob thought. Well, it was no use wishing. He steadied his partner until he could get him into a couch. Then he strapped the man in and went looking for the aid-kit.\n\nHe found it by the Pilot Board. Since he hadn't seen Martine, it was apparent she'd chosen another quadrant of the deck to do her communing with the Solarians, away from the others. Near the Pilot Board, LaRoque, Donaldson, and the unliving body of crewman Dubrowsky lay firmly strapped in. Donaldson's face was half covered with medicinal flesh-foam.\n\nHelene deSilva and her remaining crewman bent over their instruments. The Commandant looked up as he approached.\n\n\"Jacob! What happened?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He kept his hands behind his back, to keep from distracting her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was getting hard to stay on his feet, though." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He'd have to do something soon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It didn't work. We got him talking, though.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, we heard it all up here, then a lot of noise. I tried to warn you before we impacted the toroids. I was hoping you could use it.\"\n\n\"Oh the impact helped, all right, It shook us up but It saved our lives.\"\n\n\"And Culla?\"\n\nJacob shrugged. \"He's still down there. I think he's running low on Juice. During our fight up here he burned off half of Donaldson's face with one shot. Down there he was a miser, taking tiny pot shots at strategic places.\"\n\nHe told her about Culla's attack with his mashies. \"I don't think he's going to run out early enough. If we had lots of men we could keep throwing them at him until he went dry. But we haven't. Hughes is willing, but he can't fight anymore. I suppose you two can't leave your posts.\"\n\nHelene turned to answer a beeping alarm from her control board. She stabbed a switch and it cut off. Then she looked back, apologetic.\n\n\"I'm sorry, Jacob. But we've got all we can handle here. We're trying to get through to the computer by actuating the ship's sensors in coded rhythms. It's slow work, and we have to keep turning away to handle emergencies. I'm afraid we're slipping. The controls are deteriorating.\" She turned to answer another signal.\n\nJacob backed away The last thing he wanted to do was distract her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Can I help?\"\n\nPierre LaRoque looked up at him from a couch a few feet away. The little man was constrained, his couch straps secured out of reach. Jacob had all but forgotten about him.\n\nHe hesitated. LaRoque's behavior Just before the fight topside hadn't inspired confidence. Helene and Martine had strapped him in to keep him out of everyone's hair.\n\nYet Jacob needed someone's hands to operate the aid-kit. Jacob remembered LaRoque's near escape on Mercury. The man was unreliable, but he had talent when he chose to use it.\n\nLaRoque looked coherent and sincere at the moment. Jacob asked Helene for permission to release him. She glanced up and shrugged." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'started' into your response exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Okay. But if he comes near the instruments I'll kill him. Tell him that.\"\n\nThere was no need to tell him. LaRoque nodded that he understood. Jacob bent over and fumbled with the strap hooks with the good fingers of his right hand.\n\nHelene hissed behind him. \"Jacob, your hands!\"\n\nThe look of concern on her face warmed Jacob. But when she started to get up he'd have none of it. Right now her job was more important than his. She knew this. He took the fact that she was torn at all as a great display of affection. She smiled briefly in encouragement then bent to answer a half dozen alarms that started blaring at once.\n\nLaRoque rose, rubbing his shoulders, then picked up the aid-kit and motioned to Jacob. His smile was ironic." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Who should we fix first?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "he said. \"You, the other man, or Culla?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! 6 sentences more. match character knowledge. Science Fiction, Space Opera pls" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Helene had to find time to think. There must be something she could do! Slowly the systems based on Galactic science were failing. So far it had been the time-compression and the gravity thrust, plus several peripheral mechanisms. If internal gravity control went out they'd be helpless before the tossing of the chromosphere storms, battered within their own hull.\n\nNot that it'd matter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The toroids that were holding them up against the pull of the Sun were obviously tiring." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The altimeter was slipping. Already the rest of the herd was high overhead, almost lost in the pink haze of the upper chromosphere. It wouldn't be long.\n\nAn alarm light flashed.\n\nThere was positive feedback in the internal gravity field. She did a quick mental calculation, then fed in a set of parameters to damp it out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Poor Jacob, he'd tried." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'flipside' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His exhaustion had been written on his face. She felt ashamed not to have shared the fight on flipside, though, of course, it had never been likely that they could dislodge Culla from the computer on flipside.\n\nNow it was up to her. But how, with every damned component falling apart!\n\nNot every component. Except for the maser link with Mercury, the equipment derived from Earth technology still ran perfectly. Culla hadn't bothered with any of it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The refrigeration still worked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The E.M. fields around the hard shell of the ship still ran, though they had lost the ability to selectively let in more sunlight on flipside. Naturally.\n\nThe ship shuddered. It bounced as something bumped against it once, twice. Then a brightness appeared at the edge of the deck. Suddenly the rim of a toroid appeared, rubbing against the side of the ship. Above it, several Solarians fluttered.\n\nThe bumping became a scraping sound, loud and hideous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The toroid was livid with bright purple blotches around its rim." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It pulsed and throbbed under the proddings of its tormentors. Then, in a sudden burst of light, it was gone. The Sunship tipped as its forward end, unsupported, fell suddenly. DeSilva and her partner struggled to right it.\n\nWhen she looked up she could see her Solarian allies drifting away, with the two remaining toroids.\n\nThere was no more they could do." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The toroid that had deserted them was just a spot of light overhead, receding rapidly atop a pillar of green flame." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The altimeter began to spin faster. On her view-screens Helene could see the pulsing granulation cells of the photosphere, and the Big Spot, now bigger than ever.\n\nThey were already closer than anyone had come before. Soon they'd be in there—the first men in the Sun.\n\nBriefly.\n\nShe looked up at the now distant Solarians, and wondered if she should call everyone together to ... to wave good-bye or something." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She wanted Jacob here." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But he'd gone below again. They'd hit before he could make it back.\n\nShe gazed up at the tiny green lights and wondered how the toroid had been able to move so fast.\n\nShe jerked upright with a curse. Chen looked up at her. \"What is it, skipper? Shields going?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "With a cry of exultation Helene started throwing switches." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She wished they could monitor their telemetry back on Mercury, because if they died here on the Sun now it would certainly be in a unique way!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob's arms still throbbed. Worse, they itched. He couldn't scratch, of course. His left hand was in a solid block of flesh-foam and so were two of the fingers of his right hand.\n\nHe crouched again just inside the hatch of the gravity-loop, looking out onto the deck on flipside. Fagin moved aside so he could push his new mirror, this one glued to the end of a pencil with more flesh-foam, out beyond the combing.\n\nCulla wasn't in sight." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The hulking cameras stood out against the pulsing blue ceiling presented by the laboring magnetovores. The trail of the P-laser crisscrossed, marked by scattering from dust in the air.\n\nHe motioned for LaRoque to lay down his load just inside the hatch, next to Fagin.\n\nThey took turns coating each other's necks and faces with more flesh-foam. The goggles were sealed down with extra blobs of the pliant, rubbery material.\n\n\"Of course you know this is dangerous,\" LaRoque said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It may protect us from damage from a quick shot but this stuff is highly flammable. It's the only flammable substance allowed in spaceships, for that matter, because of its unique medicinal properties.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob nodded. If he looked anything like LaRoque, now, they'd stand a good chance of scaring the alien to death!\n\nHe hefted the brown cannister, then sprayed a shot out onto the deck. It didn't have much range but it might do as a weapon. There was still plenty of the stuff left.\n\nThe deck jerked under them, then jounced twice more. Jacob looked out and saw that they were tipping over." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The magnetovore that held up this side of the ship was rolling along lower and lower, toward the edge of the deck and away from where the photosphere covered the sky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the beasts on the other side must have lost its hold, then." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That meant it was almost over.\n\nThe ship shuddered and then began to right itself. Jacob sighed. There still might be time to save the ship if he could disable Culla immediately. But that was clearly impossible. He wished he could go up and join Helene.\n\n\"Fagin,\" he said. \"I'm not the man you used to know." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That man would have had Culla by now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We'd have been out of here and safe. We both know what he was capable of.\n\n\"Please understand. I tried. But I'm just not the same anymore.\"\n\nFagin rustled. \"I knew, Jacob. It was to achieve this change that I invited you to Sundiver in the first place.\"\n\nJacob stared at the alien.\n\n\"You are my artful dodger,\" the Kanten whistled softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I had no idea the issues here were as critical as they turned out to be. I asked you here solely to help break the chrysalis you have been in since Ecuador, and then to introduce you to Helene deSilva. The plan succeeded. I am pleased.\"\n\nJacob was at a loss.\n\n\"But Fagin, my mind ...\" he trailed off.\n\n\"Your mind is fine. You simply have an overeager imagination. That is all. Truly, Jacob, you invent such fantasies. And so elaborate! I have never met a hypochondriac such as you!\"\n\nJacob's mind raced. Either the Kanten was being polite, or he was mistaken or ... or he was right. Fagin had never lied to him before, especially regarding personal matters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could it be that Mr. Hyde wasn't a neurosis at all but a game?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As a child he had created play universes so detailed that they could hardly be distinguished from reality. His worlds had existed. The neo-Reichian therapists had merely smiled and credited him with a powerful, non-pathological imagination because the tests always showed that he knew he was playing, when it mattered that he know it!\n\nCould Mr. Hyde have been a play-entity?\n\nIt's true that until now it never did any actual harm. It was a perpetual annoyance, but there always turned out to be a valid reason for the things it \"made\" him do. Again, until now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You were non-sane for a time when I met you, Jacob. But the Needle cured you. The cure frightened, so you went into a game. I do not know the details of your game; you were very secretive. But I know now that you are awake. You have been awake for perhaps twenty minutes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob clamped down. Whether or not Fagin was right, he had no time to stand here and blather about it. He had only minutes to save the ship. If it was possible at all.\n\nOutside, the chromosphere shimmered. The photosphere loomed over their heads. The dust trails of the P-laser crisscrossed the inner shell." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob tried to snap his fingers, and winced in pain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"LaRoque! Run upstairs and get your lighter. Quick!\"\n\nLaRoque stepped back. \"Why, I have it right here,\" he said. \"But of what use ...\"\n\nJacob was moving toward the intercom. If Helene had some reserve of power she'd been holding back, now was the time to use it. He needed a little time!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Before he could switch it on, though, an alarm filled the ship." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sophonts,\" Helene's voice rang out. \"Please prepare for acceleration. We will be leaving the Sun shortly.\"\n\nThe woman's voice sounded amused, almost whimsical.\n\n\"Due to the mode of our imminent departure, I would recommend that all passengers dress as warmly as possible! The Sun can be very cold this time of year!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CONTINUE STORY. PARAMETERS: ten sentences sentences, character continuity, Science Fiction, Space Opera genre." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A blast of cold air blew constantly from the ventilator ducts around the Refrigerator Laser housing. Jacob and LaRoque huddled around their fire, trying to keep the cold air off it.\n\n\"Come on, baby. Burn!\" A pile of flesh-foam shavings smoldered on the deck. Slowly the flames grew as they piled on more chips.\n\n\"Ha ha!\" Jacob laughed. \"Once a caveman, always a caveman, eh, LaRoque? Men get all the way to the sun, and they build a fire to stay warm!\"\n\nLaRoque smiled weakly, and kept piling on larger and larger shavings. The loquacious journalist had said very little since Jacob released him from his couch. Now and then, though, he would mutter something angry and spit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob held a torch into the flames." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was made from a clump of flesh-foam stuck to the end of a liquitube." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The end began to smolder, giving off thick black smoke. It was beautiful.\n\nSoon they had several torches. Smoke billowed into the air, carrying a foul stench. They had to stand back, in the path of the air duct, to be able to breathe. Fagin moved well into the gravity-loop.\n\n\"Okay,\" Jacob said. \"Let's go!\" He hopped ont of the hatchway to the left and tossed one of the smoldering brands to the end of the deck, as far as he could see. Behind him LaRoque was doing the same in the opposite direction.\n\nWith a heavy rustling, Fagin followed them out. The Kanten went straight out from the hatch to the opposite end of the deck to act as a lookout, and to draw Culla's fire if possible." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fagin had refused a coating of flesh-foam.\n\n\"It is all clear,\" the Kanten whistled softly. \"Culla is not to be seen.\"\n\nThat was good and bad news. It localized Culla. It also meant the alien was probably working to bolix up the Refrigerator Laser.\n\nIt was getting COLD!\n\nOnce it had begun, Helene's scheme made perfect sense to Jacob. Since she still had control over the screens surrounding the ship, [the crew were alive to prove it), she could let in heat from the Sun at whatever rate she wished. This heat could be sent directly to the Refer Laser and pumped back out into the chromosphere, plus waste heat from the ship's power plant. Only this time the flow was a torrent, and directed downward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The thrust had stopped their fall and they had begun to climb.\n\nNaturally, such meddling with the ship's automatic heat control system had to be inaccurate. Helene must have decided to program the mechanism to err in the direction of coldness. In that direction mistakes would be more easily corrected.\n\nIt was a brilliant idea. Jacob hoped he'd get to tell her so. Right now it was his job to make sure it had a chance to work.\n\nHe edged around the dome until he reached the point where Fagin's view was cut off. Without looking around, he threw two more of the brands to different parts of the deck ahead of him. Smoke boiled from each of them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chamber was getting hazy from the smoke released so far. The trail of the P-laser beam shimmered brightly in the air. Some of the weaker trails were disappearing, attenuated by cumulative passage though the smoke.\n\nJacob moved back into Fagin's cone of view. He had three more smoldering brands. He backed up onto the deck and tossed them at different angles over the top of the central dome. LaRoque joined him and threw his as well.\n\nOne of the torches passed directly over the center of the dome on its way over. It entered the x-ray beam of the Refrigerator Laser and vanished in a cloud of vapor.\n\nJacob hoped it hadn't deflected the beam much." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The coherent x-rays supposedly passed through the shell with near zero contamination of the ship, but the beam wasn't designed to handle solid objects." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Okay!\" he whispered.\n\nHe and LaRoque hurried to the wall of the dome, where spare parts for the recording instruments were stored. LaRoque opened a cabinet and climbed as high as footholds allowed, then offered his hand.\n\nJacob scrambled up next to him.\n\nNow they were all vulnerable. Culla must react to the obvious threat implied by the firebrands! Already visibility was dropping well below normal. The chamber was filled with a foul stench and Jacob was finding it increasingly uncomfortable to breathe.\n\nLaRoque braced his shoulder in the top Jamb of the cabinet, then offered his cupped hands to Jacob. Jacob took the boost and climbed up onto LaRoque's shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The dome was sloping here, but the surface was smooth, and Jacob had only three fingers instead of ten. The flesh-foam coating helped. It was still somewhat sticky. After two unsuccessful attempts Jacob concentrated and leapt from LaRoque's shoulder, nearly hard enough to shake the man loose.\n\nThe surface of the dome was like quicksilver. He had to flatten himself and move with scrambling speed to gain each inch.\n\nNear the top, he had to worry about the Refer Laser. He could see the orifice as he rested near the summit. Two meters away it hummed softly; the smoky air shimmered and Jacob wondered what the transparency safety distance was from the deadly mouth.\n\nHe turned away so as not to have to think about it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He couldn't whistle to let them know he'd made it\n\nThey'd have to rely on Fagin's superb hearing to track his movements, and to time the distraction.\n\nThere were at least a few seconds to wait. Jacob decided to take a chance. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the Big Spot.\n\nEverywhere was the Sun.\n\nFrom his point of view there was no ship. There was no battle. There were no planets or stars or galaxies. The rim of his goggles even cut off the sight of his own body." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The photosphere was everything." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It pulsed. The spicule forests, like undulating picket fences, hurled their noise up at him, and the breakers split just above his head. The sound divided and swept around toward the irrelevencies of space.\n\nIt roared.\n\nThe Big Spot stared back at him. For an instant the broad expanse was a face, the bristled, grizzled face of a patriarch. The throbbings were its breath. The noise was the booming of its giant voice, singing a billions-year-old song that only the other stars could hear or understand.\n\nThe Sun was alive. What was more, it noticed him. It gave him its undivided attention." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Call me lifegiver, for I am your sustenance. I burn, and by my burning you live. I stand, and in standing supply your anchor. Space curls around, my blanket, and funnels down to mystery in my bowels. Time beats his scythe on my forge.\n\nLiving thing, does Entropy, my wicked Aunt, notice our joint conspiracy? Not yet, I think, for you are yet too small. Your puny struggle against her tide is a fluttering in a great wind. And she thinks I am still her ally.\n\nCall me lifegiver, oh living thing, and weep." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I burn endlessly and, burning, consume what cannot be replaced. While you sip daintily at my torrent the font runs slowly out. When it empties other stars shall take my place, but oh not forever!\n\nCall me lifegiver, and laugh!\n\nYou, living thing, hear the true Lifegiver's voice from time to time, it is said. He speaks to you but not to us, His first born!\n\nPity the stars, oh living thing! We sing away the aeons in pretended joy as we toil for His cruel sister, awaiting the day of your maturity, you tiny embryo, when He turns you loose to change the way of things again.\n\nJacob laughed soundlessly. Oh what an imagination! Fagin was right, after all." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He closed his eyes, still listening for the signal. Seven seconds, exactly, had passed since he reached the top of the dome.\n\n\"Jake ...\" It was a woman's voice. He looked up without opening his eyes.\n\n\"Tania.\"\n\nShe stood by the pion-scope in her lab, exactly as he had seen her so many times when he came to pick her up. Braided brown hair, slightly uneven white teeth grinning generously, and large, crinkled eyes. She came forward with surefooted grace and confronted him with fists on hips.\n\n\"It's about time!\" she said.\n\n\"Tania, I ... I don't understand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's 'bout time you brought up an image of me doing something besides falling! Think it's fun doin' that over and over again? Why haven't you brought me back having some of the good times!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He suddenly realized that it was true!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "For two years he'd only remembered Tania in that last instant, not thinking about their time together at all!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, I'll admit it's done you some good,\" she nodded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You seem to finally be free of that damned arrogance. Just think about me from time to time, for heaven's sake. I hate being ignored!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, Tania. I'll remember you. I promise.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And pay attention to the star! Stop thinking you imagine everything!\"\n\nShe softened. The image began to fade. \"You're right, Jake, dear one, I do like her. Have a good ...\"\n\nHe opened his eyes. The photosphere throbbed overhead. The spot stared back at him. The granulation cells pumped slowly like leisured heartbeats.\n\nDid you just do that? he asked, silently.\n\nThe answer permeated him, drilled through his body and came out the other side. Neutrinos to cure neuroses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A most original approach.\n\nA short whistle came from below. Before he was aware he had moved, he was slithering toward the sound and to the right, silently and without a wasted motion.\n\nHe peered over to look down on the head of Culla ta-Pring ab-Pil-ab-Kisa-ab-Soro-ab-Hul-ab-Puber.\n\nThe alien faced Jacob's left, his hand still on the open access plate to the computer-input. Though the smoke dimmed it almost to nothing, there was still a glare as the P-laser beam hit the spot.\n\nFrom the left came a rustling. Somewhere to the right was the sound of running feet, LaRoque hurrying around the dome.\n\nA few silver-tipped twigs poked out from the curve of the dome. Culla crouched and one of Fagin's shiny light receptors curled up in smoke." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Kanten gave out a high pitched keening and retreated out of sight. Culla swiveled quickly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob pulled the flesh-foam sprayer out of his pocket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He aimed and pressed the nozzle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A thin jet of liquid shot out in an arc toward Culla's eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the instant before it struck, Pierre LaRoque appeared, running, his head down as he charged through the smoke toward Culla." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla jumped back. The spray passed in front of his eyes. At that instant a bright spark flashed at a point along its length.\n\nWith a whoosh the entire stream burst into flame. Culla stumbled backwards, hands in front of his face. LaRoque barrelled through the falling embers and collided with the Pring's midsection.\n\nCulla almost went down in the thick smoke. Breath wheezed as he gripped LaRoque around the neck, first for balance and then closing tightly to squeeze on the man's windpipe. LaRoque struggled wildly but his momentum was gone. It was like trying to escape from a pair of boa constrictors. His face turned flush and started to puff." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'could' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob gathered himself for a leap. The smoke was so thick he could hardly keep from coughing. Desperately he suppressed the urge. If Culla saw him before he could jump, the alien wouldn't bother killing LaRoque the hard way. He'd finish them both off with a look.\n\nHis muscles pressed like hard springs and he launched himself from the dome.\n\nThe midair flight was suspenseful. His own subjective version of time-compression made the transit seem slow and leisurely. It was a trick from the bad old days, and now he used it again, automatically.\n\nWhen a third of the distance was covered he saw Culla's head start to turn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was hard to tell exactly what the E.T. was doing to LaRoque at that instant. A thick pall of smoke obscured everything but Culla's bright red eyes and two flashes of white beneath them.\n\nThe eyes came up. It was a race to see who'd arrive first at a certain point in space, just above and to the right of the alien's head. Jacob wondered at what angles Culla could shoot a narrow beam.\n\nThe suspense was killing him. It was almost satirical. Jacob decided to speed things up and see what happened.\n\nThere was a flash, then a tooth jarring, numbing smash as his shoulder hit the side of Culla's head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He clutched and got a tight grip on the front of the alien's gown as his inertia carried both of them over into a crashing tumble onto the deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Human and alien fought for breath amidst fits of coughing as they rolled into a tangle of slashing, grabbing arms and legs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Somehow Jacob got around behind his opponent and held on tightly to the slender neck as Culla thrashed, trying to turn his head to snap with his cleavers or burn with his laser eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The powerful, tentacular hands clutched back, snatching for a purchase. Jacob dodged his head aside and struggled to get Culla around, so he could get his legs into a scissors lock. After rolling almost halfway across the deck, he succeeded, and was rewarded by a lancing pain in his right thigh.\n\n\"More,\" he coughed. \"Shoot, Culla. Use it up!\"\n\nTwice more bolts struck his exposed legs, sending small tsunamis of agony up to his brain. The pain he shunted aside and he held on, praying that Culla would send some more.\n\nBut Culla stopped wasting his shots and began to roll about faster, buffeting Jacob every time the human struck the deck. They were both coughing, Culla sounding like half a dozen ball bearings shaken in a bottle, every time he wheezed in the thick, billowing smoke.\n\nThere was no way to choke the devil! When he wasn't holding on for dear life, Jacob tried to turn his grip around Culla's throat into a strangle hold." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But there didn't seem to be any vulnerable points! It was unfair. Jacob wanted to curse the bad luck but he couldn't spare the breath. His lungs could barely hold enough to make a small cough, each time the Pring rolled over on top.\n\nStreams of tears blurred his vision and his eyes hurt. He suddenly realized that his goggles were gone! Either Culla had burned them off again in that first instant as he launched himself from the dome, or they'd been torn off during the fight.\n\nWhere the hell is LaRoque!\n\nHis arms shuddered with the strain and there was a rubbed-out pain in his abdomen and groin from the constant pounding of the cavort across the deck. Culla's coughing was sounding more pathetic and strained, and his own took on an ominous gurgle. He could feel the first stages of heat prostration and a dreadful fear that the ordeal would never end, even as their struggle brought his back up against one of the smoldering flesh-foam brands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It smothered in a broiling release of heat as he screamed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The pain was too sudden and from too unexpected a quarter to be shunted aside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His tight grip around Culla's throat slacked for an instant of agony and the alien tore at his hands. The grip parted and Culla rolled away even as Jacob grabbed after him.\n\nHe missed. Culla scrambled farther away, then turned quickly to face him. Jacob closed his eyes and covered his face with his encased left hand, expecting a laser bolt.\n\nHe tried to stand, but something was wrong with his lungs. They wouldn't work properly. His breath was shallow and he could feel his balance waver as he slowly rose to his knees. His back felt like charred hamburger meat.\n\nNot far away, two meters at most, there was a loud clack! Then another. Then another, closer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob's arm fell. He no longer had the strength to hold it up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no use in keeping his eyes closed, anyway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He opened them to see Culla, kneeling a meter away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only the red eyes and gleaming white teeth showed through the thick stench.\n\n\"Cu ... Culla ...\" he gasped. Wheezing, the words sounded like tiny, failing gears. \"Give up now, this is your last chance. I'm ... warning you ...\"\n\nTania would have liked that, he thought. It was almost as good a parting shot as hers had been. He hoped Helene had heard it.\n\nParting shot? Hell, why not give Culla one! Even if he cuts my throat or drills a hole into my brain through my eyelids, I'll still have time to give him a present!\n\nHe pulled the flesh-foam sprayer out of his belt and started to raise it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He'd give Culla such a spraying!" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even if it meant he'd die at that instant by laser instead of by decapitation.\n\nExcruciating pain burst like a steel needle through his left eye. It felt like a lightning bolt crashing all the way to the back of his head and out the other side. At that same instant he pressed the release and held it in the direction Culla's head had been." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "5 sentences sentences in David Brin style, continuing user's bit. Note: May include established elements" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene lifted her eyes briefly as the ship rose past the toroid herd on the left." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The greens and blues were faded, eaten by the distance. Still the beasts shone like tiny incandescent rings, specks of life ordered in their miniscule convoy, dwarfed by the immensity of the chromosphere.\n\nThe herdsmen were already too far away to be seen.\n\nThe herd passed behind the dark bulk of the filament, out of sight.\n\nHelene smiled. If only we still had our maser link, she thought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They could have seen how hard we tried. They would have known that the Solarians didn't kill us, as some will think. They tried to help us. We talked to them!\n\nShe bent to answer two alarms at once." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dr. Martine wandered aimlessly behind her and the copilot." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The parapsychologist was rational, but not very coherent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had only just returned from the opposite end of topside. She walked unevenly and muttered softly under her breath.\n\nMartine had enough sense to stay out of their hair, thank Ifni! But she refused to strap herself in. Helene hesitated to ask her to go around to flip-side." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In her present condition the good doctor wouldn't be much help." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a stench in the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene's flip-side monitors showed only a thick billowing cloud of smoke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There had been shouting and sounds of a terrible fracas just minutes ago. Twice the intercoms had carried the sound of someone screaming. Just moments ago came a shriek that could have waked the dead. Then silence.\n\nThe only emotion she allowed herself was a detached sense of pride. The fact that the fight had lasted so long was a tribute to them, especially to Jacob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Culla's weapons should have finished them off quickly.\n\nOf course it wasn't likely they'd succeeded. She'd have heard something by now. She clamped a lid on her feelings and told herself she was shivering because of the cold.\n\nIt had dropped to five Celsius." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The less efficient her reactions got, as she tired, the more she weighted the cold side of the Refrigerator-Laser's increasingly erratic swing. The hot side would be disaster.\n\nShe answered a shift in the E.M. field that threatened to leave a window in the XUV band. It subsided nicely under her delicate control and continued to hold.\n\nThe Refer Laser groaned as it sucked heat in from the chromosphere then back out and downward as x-rays." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They climbed with agonizing slowness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then an alarm clanged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't a drift-warning, it was the cry of a ship dying.\n\nThe stink was terrible! Worse, it was freezing. Someone nearby was shivering and coughing at the same time. Dimly, Jacob became aware that it was himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He came erect in a fit of hacking that set his body trembling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For long moments after he got it under control he just sat, wondering numbly how he was alive.\n\nThe smoke had begun to clear slightly near the deck. Shreds and tendrils drifted past him toward the whining air compressors.\n\nThe fact that he could see at all was amazing. He brought his right hand up to touch his left eye." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was open, blind. But it was whole! He closed the lid and touched it over and over with his three fingers. The eye was still there, and the brain behind it ... saved by the thick smoke and the depletion of Culla's energy supply.\n\nCulla! Jacob swung his head about to scan for the alien." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt a wave of nausea come on and rode it out as he peered around himself.\n\nA slender white hand lay on the floor, two meters away, exposed by the opening cloud of smoke. The air cleared a little more and the rest of Culla's body came into view.\n\nThe E.T. 's face was burned, catastrophically. Black crusts of seared foam hung in shreds from the remnants of the huge oculars." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A sizzling blue liquid seeped from large cracks in the sides." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Culla was obviously dead." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob crawled forward. First he had to check on LaRoque. Then Fagin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes, that was the way to do it.\n\nThen hurry and get someone down here who can work the computer panel ... if there was still a chance to reverse the damage Culla'd done.\n\nHe found LaRoque by following the man's moans. He was several meters past Culla, sitting up and holding his head. He looked up blearily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oooh ... Demwa, is that you? Do not answer. Your voice might blow my poor delicate head away!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you ... all right, LaRoque?\"\n\nLaRoque nodded. \"We are both alive so Culla must not be, no? He left his job on us incomplete so we may merely wish we were dead. Mon Dieu! You look like spaghetti! Do I look like that!\"\n\nWhatever the effects of the fight, it had brought back the man's appetite for words.\n\n\"Come on, LaRoque. Help me up. We still have work to do.\"\n\nLaRoque started to rise, then wavered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He clutched Jacob's shoulder to keep his balance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob choked back tears of pain. Jerkily, they helped each other up and onto their feet.\n\nThe firebrands must have burned out, because the chamber was rapidly clearing. Wisps of smoke trailed in the air, though, hanging before their faces as they staggered along the dome in a clockwise direction.\n\nOnce they encountered the P-laser beam, a thin, straight tracery in their way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Unable to go over or under, they went through. Jacob winced as the beam stitched a bloody line along the outside of his right thigh and the inside of his left. They continued.\n\nWhen they found Fagin, the Kanten was comatose. A faint sound came from the blowhole and the silver chimes tinkled, but there was no answer to their questions. When they tried to move him they found it impossible." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sharp claws had emerged from Fagin's root pods and dug into the tough springy material of the deck. There were dozens, and no way to loosen them.\n\nJacob had other business to tend to. Reluctantly, he led LaRoque around the Kanten. They staggered toward the hatchway in the side of the dome." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob gasped for breath next to the intercom.\n\n\"Hel ... Helene ...\"\n\nHe waited. But no one answered. He could hear, faintly, his own words echoing from topside. So he knew it wasn't the mechanism. What was wrong?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Helene, can you hear me! Culla's dead! We're pretty badly torn up ... though. You ... you or Chen come down ... down and fix ...\"\n\nThe cold air blasting from the Refer Laser sent him into a fit of shivering. He couldn't talk anymore. With LaRoque helping, he stumbled up past the duct and collapsed to the sloping floor of the gravity-loop.\n\nHe fell into a fit of coughing, lying on his side to favor his burned back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Slowly the hacking subsided, leaving him raw and aching in his chest.\n\nHe fought off sleep. Rest. Just rest here a moment, then over and around to topside. Find out what's wrong.\n\nHis arms and legs sent tremors of sharp pain up to his brain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were too many and his mind was too unfocused to cut all the messages off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It felt as though one of his ribs was cracked, probably from the struggle with Culla.\n\nAll of this paled beside the throbbing burden of the left side of his head. He felt as if he was carrying a hot coal there.\n\nThe deck of the gravity-loop felt strange. The tight wraparound g-field should have pulled evenly along his body." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instead it seemed to swell like the surface of the ocean, rippling under his back with tiny wavelets of lightness and weight." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obviously something was wrong. But it actually felt good, like a lullaby. Sleep would be so nice.\n\n\"Jacob! Thank God!\" Helene's voice boomed around him, but still it sounded far away—friendly, definitely, warm—but also irrelevant.\n\n\"No time to talk! Come up here quick, darling! The g-fields are going! I'm sending Martine, but ...\" There was a clattering and the voice cut off." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It would have been nice to see Helene again, he thought dimly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sleep invaded in force this time. For a while he thought of nothing.\n\nHe dreamt of Sisyphus, the man cursed forever to roll a boulder up an endless hill. Jacob thought he had a way to be tricky about it. He had a way to make the hill think it was flat while still looking like a hill." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He'd done it before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But this time the hill was angry." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was covered with ants that climbed up onto his body and bit him all over, painfully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A wasp was laying its eggs in his eye.\n\nWhat's more, it was cheating. The hill was sticky in places and didn't want to let him go. Elsewhere it was slippery and his body was too light to get a grip on its surface. It heaved with sickening unevenness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He didn't remember anything in the rules about crawling, either. But that seemed to be part of it. At least it helped the traction.\n\nThe boulder helped too. He only had to push it a little." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mostly it crawled on its own." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'hatchway' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That was nice, but he wished it wouldn't moan so. Boulders shouldn't moan. Especially not in French. It wasn't fair to make him listen to it.\n\nHe awakened, blearily, in sight of a hatchway. Which hatchway he wasn't sure, but it wasn't very smoky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Outside, beyond the deck, he could see the beginnings of a blackness, a transparency, returning to the red haze of the chromosphere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Was that a horizon, out there?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "An edge to the Sun?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The flat photosphere stretched out on ahead, a feathery carpet of crimson and black flame. In its depths it crawled with tiny movements. It pulsed, and filaments sewed elongated patterns above brightly waving Jets.\n\nWaving. Back and forth, on and on, Sol waved before his eye.\n\nMillie Martine stood in the doorway, with her fist up near her mouth and an expression of horror on her face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He wanted to reassure her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Everything was all right. It would be from now on. Mr. Hyde was dead, wasn't he? Jacob remembered seeing him somewhere, in the rubble of his castle. His face was burned up and his eyes were gone and he gave off a terrible stink." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then something reached up and grabbed him." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Down was now towards the hatchway. There was a steep slope in between. He tumbled forward and never remembered crashing to a halt just outside the door." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\ntwo sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A lovely thing to see: through the paper window's holes the galaxy.\n\nKobayashi Issa" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! 6 sentences more. match character knowledge. Science Fiction, Space Opera pls" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Commissioner Abatsoglon: \"Then it would be a fair statement to say that all of the Library-designed systems failed, before the end?\"\n\nProfessor Kepler: \"Yes, Commissioner. Every one eventually deteriorated to uselessness. The only mechanisms still working at the last were components designed on Earth, by terrestrial personnel. Mechanisms which, I might add, were declared superfluous and unnecessary by Pil Bubbacub and many others during construction.\"\n\nC.A. : \"You aren't implying that Bubbacub knew in advance ...\"\n\nP.K. : \"No, of course not. In his own way he was as much a dupe as the rest of us. His opposition was based solely on esthetics." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He didn't want Galactic time-compression and gravity-control systems crammed into a ceramic shell and linked to an archaic cooling system." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The reflection fields and the Refrigerator Laser were based on physical laws known by humans back in the twentieth century. Naturally he objected to our 'superstitious' insistence on building a ship around them, not only because the Galactic systems made them redundant, but also because he considered precontact Earth science to be a pathetic accumulation of half-truths and mumbo-jumbo.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "C.A. : \"The 'mumbo jumbo' worked when the new stuff failed, though.\"\n\nP.K. : \"In all fairness, Commissioner, I'd have to say that that was a lucky break. The saboteur believed they'd make no difference, so he didn't try to wreck them, at first. He was denied an opportunity to correct his error.\"\n\nCommissioner Montes: \"There's one thing I don't understand, Dr. Kepler. I'm sure some of my associates here share my mystification. I understand the Sunship Captain's use of the Refrigerator-Laser to blast out of the chromosphere. But to do so she had to boost at an acceleration greater than the surface gravity of the Sun! Now they could get away with this as long as the internal gravity fields held. But what happened when they failed? Weren't they immediately subjected to a force that would squash them fiat?\"\n\nP.K. : \"Not immediately. Failure came in stages; first the fine-tuned fields used to maintain the gravity-loop tunnel to the instrument hemisphere, 'flip-side,' then the automatic turbulence adjustment, and finally a gradual loss of the major field which compensated internally for the pull of the Sun. By the time the latter failed, they had already reached the lower corona." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Captain deSilva was ready when it happened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She knew that to climb straight out after internal compensation failed would be suicide, though she considered doing it anyway to get her records out to us." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The alternative was to allow the ship to fall, braking only enough to impose on the occupants about three gees or so.\n\n\"Fortunately, there is a way to fall towards a gravity sink and still get away. What Helene did was to try for a hyperbolic escape orbit. Almost all of the laser thrust then went into giving the ship a tangent velocity as it fell back again.\n\n\"In effect she duplicated the program that had been considered for manned dives decades before contact; a shallow orbit, using lasers for thrust and cooling, and E.M. fields for protection. Only this dive was unintentional, and it wasn't very shallow.\"\n\nC.A. : \"How close did they go?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "P.K. : \"Well, you'll recall that they'd fallen twice before in all of the confusion: once when the g-thrust failed, and a second time when the Solarians lost their grip on the ship. Well during this third fall they came closer to the photosphere than on any of the previous occasions. They literally skimmed its surface.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "C.A. : \"But the turbulence, Doctor! Without internal gravity or time-compression, why wasn't the ship smashed?\"\n\nP.K. : \"We learned a lot of solar physics from this inadvertent dive, sir. At least on this occasion the chromosphere was far less turbulent than anyone ever expected ... that is anyone but a couple of my colleagues to whom I owe a few abject apologies ... But I believe the most significant factor was the piloting of the ship. Helene quite simply did the impossible. The auto-recorder is being studied now by the TAASF people. The only thing greater than their delight with the tapes is their chagrin at not being able to give her a medal.\"\n\nGeneral Wade: \"Yes, the condition of the crew was a cause of great distress to the TAASF rescue team. The ship looked like Napoleon's retreat from Moscow! With no one alive to tell what happened, you'll understand our mystification until the tapes were played back.\"\n\nCommissioner Nguyen: \"I can imagine. You seldom expect to get a special shipment of snowballs from hell. Can we assume, Doctor, that the ship's Commander weighted the heat pump system on the cold side for the obvious reason?\"\n\n\"In all honesty, Commissioner, I don't believe we can. I think her reasoning was to keep the interior cold so that all of the records would survive." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If the Refer-Laser system erred too much the other way they'd have been fried." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 7 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'think' 5 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I believe her sole idea was to protect those tapes. She probably expected to come out of the Sun having roughly the consistency of strawberry jam.\n\n\"I don't think the biological effects of freezing were on her mind.\n\n\"You see, in many ways Helene was a bit of an innocent. She stayed up to date in her field but I don't think she knew about the advances in cryosurgery we've made since her day. I think she's going to be very surprised, a year from now, when she wakes up.\n\n\"The others will probably take it as a routine miracle. Except for Mr. Demwa, of course. I don't think Mr. Demwa would be surprised by anything ... or consider his revival miraculous. The man is indestructible. I think by now, wherever his consciousness drifts in its frozen sleep, he knows it.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "CREATIVE WRITING:\n8 sentences sentences\nMaintain character context\nGenre: Science Fiction, Space Opera" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Frequency requirement: 'anyway' - 2 occurrence(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the springtime the whales go north again.\n\nSeveral of the grey humps that broached and spumed in the distance had not been born when he last stood on a shore and watched a California migration pass by. He wondered if any of the grey whales still sang \"The Ballad of Jacob and the Sphinx.\"\n\nProbably not. It never was a favorite of Greys anyway. The song was too irreverent, too ... beluga for their sober temperament. The Greys were complacent snobs, but he loved them anyway.\n\nThe air boomed with the noise of the breakers, crashing into the rocks at his feet. It was wet with sea water and filled his lungs with the paradoxical satiated-hungry feeling that others got from breathing deep in a bakery shop." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a serenity that came with the pulse of the ocean, plus an expectation that the tide would always wash up changes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They'd given him a chair, at the hospital in Santa Barbara, but Jacob preferred the cane." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It gave him less mobility, but the exercise would shorten his convalescence. Three months after waking up in that antiseptic organ factory had left him desperate to get back on his feet, and to experience something that was pleasantly, naturally dirty.\n\nSuch as Helene's way of talking. It defied all logic that a person born at the height of the old Bureaucracy would have so uninhibited a mouth as to make a Confederacy Citizen blush. But when Helene felt she was among friends her language became impressive and her vocabulary astonishing. She said that it came from being raised on a power satellite. Then she smiled and refused to explain any further until he reciprocated with acts she knew he wasn't ready yet to perform. As if she was!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One month to go before the physicians would take them off of hormone suppressants, after the bulk of cell regrowth was completed. Another month before they'd be cleared for anything as rigorous as space flight. And yet she insisted on pulling out that dogeared copy of NASA Sutra, wondering teasingly if he would have the stamina!\n\nWell, the doctors said that frustration helps recuperation. Sharpens the will to get back to normal, or some such nonsense.\n\nIf Helene keeps up her teasing much longer they're all going to be surprised! Jacob didn't believe much in timetables anyway.\n\nIfni! That water looks good! Nice and cold." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There has to be a way to make nerves grow faster!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Something that helps even better than auto-suggestion.\n\nHe turned away from the rocks and slowly walked back to the patio of his uncle's long, rambling house. He used the cane liberally, perhaps more than necessary, enjoying the dramatic touch. It made being ill slightly less unpleasant.\n\nAs usual, Uncle James was flirting with Helene. She encouraged him shamelessly.\n\nServes the old bastard right, he thought after all the trouble he caused.\n\n\"My boy,\" Uncle James threw up his hands." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'uncle' into your response exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We were just about to go after you, truly we were.\"\n\nJacob smiled lazily. \"No hurry, Jim. I'm sure our interstellar explorer here had plenty of interesting stories to tell. Did you tell him the one about the black hole, dear?\"\n\nHelene grinned nastily and made a surreptitious gesture. \"Why, Jake, you yourself told me not to. But if you think your uncle would like to hear it ...\"\n\nJacob shook his head. He'd handle his uncle himself. Helene could get a little rough.\n\nMs. deSilva was a great pilot and in the last few weeks she'd been an imaginative co-conspirator as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But their personal relationship left Jacob dizzy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her personality was ... powerful.\n\nWhen she'd learned, on awakening, that the Calypso had jumped, Helene had signed onto the gang designing the new Vesarius II. The reason, she announced brazenly, was to have three years to subject Jacob Demwa to a full course of Pavlovian conditioning. At the end of said time she would ring a little bell and he would, supposedly, decide to become a Jumper.\n\nJacob had his reservations, but it was already clear that Helene deSilva had complete control over his salivary glands.\n\nUncle James was more nervous than he'd ever seen him. The usually imperturbable politician seemed decidedly ill at ease. The rakish Irish charm of the Alvarez side of the family was subdued." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The grey head nodded nervously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His green eyes seemed unnaturally sad." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Um, Jacob, my boy. Our guests have arrived. They are waiting in the study and Christien is looking after them.\n\n\"Now, I hope you are going to be reasonable about this matter. There really was no reason to invite that government fellow. We could have settled this ourselves.\n\n\"Now as I see it ...\"\n\nJacob held up his free hand. \"Uncle, please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We've been through this.\n\n\"The matter has to be adjudicated. If you refuse the services of the Secrets Registration people, I'll just have to call a family council and present the matter to them! You know Uncle Jeremy, he'll probably opt for publicly announcing the whole thing. It'd make good press, all right, but the Department of Overt Prosecutions would have the case then, and you'd have five years with a little thing in your rump going 'beep ... beep ... beep.' \"\n\nJacob leaned against Helene's shoulder, more for the contact than for support, and flashed both hands in front of Uncle James' eyes. With each \"beep\" the man's aristocratic face paled a little. Helene started to giggle, then she hiccuped.\n\n\"Excuse me,\" she said demurely.\n\n\"Don't be sarcastic,\" Jacob commented. He pinched her then reclaimed his cane." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The study wasn't as impressive as the one in Alvarez Hall, in Caracas, but this house was in California." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That made up for a lot. Jacob hoped he and his uncle still spoke after today.\n\nStucco walls and false beams emphasized the Spanish aspect. Display cases, containing James' collection of Bureaucracy-era Samizdat publications, stood out prominently among the bookshelves.\n\nIn the mantle was carved a long motto.\n\n\"The People, United, Shall Never Be Defeated.\"\n\nFagin fluted a warm greeting. Jacob bowed and went through a long, formal salutation, just to please the Kanten." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fagin had visited him regularly in the hospital. It had been difficult at first, between them—each convinced he was deeply indebted to the other. Finally they'd agreed to disagree.\n\nWhen the TAASF rescue team had broken into the Sunship, as it hurtled outward on its laser-assisted hyperbolic orbit, they were amazed by the crumpled, frozen condition of the human crew. They didn't quite know what to make of the smashed body of the Pring, on flip-side. But what shocked them most was Fagin, hanging upside down by those small sharp spikes in his root-pods while the laser still put out its potent thrust. The cold had not ruptured almost a quarter of his cells, as it had the humans, and he appeared to have come through the pounding ride through the photosphere unscathed.\n\nIn spite of himself, Fagin of the Institute of Progress—the perpetual observer and manipulator—had become, himself, a unique personage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was probably the only sophont alive anywhere who could describe what it was like to fly, hanging upside down, through the thick, opaque fire of the photosphere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now he had a story of his own to tell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It must have been painful for the Kanten. Nobody believed a word of his tale until Helene's tapes were replayed.\n\nJacob said hello to Pierre LaRoque. The man had regained much of his color since their last meeting, not to mention his appetite. He'd been wolfing down Christien's hors d'oeuvres. Still confined to his chair, he smiled and nodded silently to Jacob and Helene. Jacob suspected LaRoque's mouth was too full to talk.\n\nThe last guest was a tall, narrow-faced man with blonde hair and light blue eyes." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Somewhere in your response, you need to say: \"Yes, that's correct, Mr. Nielsen. Actually, there are a couple of matters. We'd like to apply for a seal and for adjudication by the Terragens Council.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rose from the couch and offered his hand.\n\n\"Han Nielsen, at your service, Mr. Demwa. On the basis of the news reports alone I am proud to meet you. Of course, Secrets Registration knows everything the government knows, so I am doubly impressed. I assume, though, that you have called us in to deal with a matter that the government is not to know?\"\n\nJacob and Helene sat on the couch across from him, their backs to a window overlooking the ocean.\n\n\"Yes, that's correct, Mr. Nielsen. Actually, there are a couple of matters. We'd like to apply for a seal and for adjudication by the Terragens Council.\"\n\nNielsen frowned. \"Surely you must realize that the council is barely an infant at this point. The delegates appointed by the colonies have not even arrived! The Confederacy b ... civil servants\" (Had he been about to say the dirty word 'bureaucrats'?) \"don't even like the idea of having a supra-legal Secrets Registration to enforce honesty above secular law. The Terragens is even less popular.\"\n\n\"Even though it's been shown that it's the only way to deal with the crisis we've faced since Contact?\" Helene asked.\n\n\"Even so. The Feds are reconciled to the fact that it will eventually take jurisdiction over interstellar and interspecies affairs, but they don't like it and they're dragging their feet every step of the way.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But that's just the point,\" Jacob said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'before' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The crisis was bad before this debacle on Mercury, bad enough to force the creation of the Council. But it was still manageable. Sundiver has probably changed that.\"\n\nNielsen looked grim. \"I know.\"\n\n\"Do you?\" Jacob rested his hands on his knees and leaned forward. \"You've seen Fagin's report on the probable reaction of the Pila to Bubbacub's exposed peccadilloes on Mercury. And that report was written well before this whole business regarding Culla came to light!\"\n\n\"And the Confederacy knows everything,\" Nielsen grimaced. \"Culla's actions, his weird apologia, the whole capsule.\"\n\n\"Well after all,\" Jacob sighed. \"They are the government. They make foreign policy. Besides, Helene had no way of knowing we'd live through that mess down there. She recorded everything.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It never occurred to me,\" Helene said, \"until Fagin explained, that it might be better if the Feds never found out the truth, or that the Terragens Council might be better suited to handle this mess.\"\n\n\"Better suited, perhaps, but what do you expect us ... the Council to do? It'll take years to build up acceptance and legitimacy. Why should they risk it all by intervening in this situation?\"\n\nFor a moment no one spoke. Then Nielsen shrugged.\n\nFrom his briefcase he pulled a small recording cube, which he activated and placed in the center of the room, on the floor.\n\n\"This conversation is under seal by the Secrets Registration. Why don't you start, Dr. deSilva.\"\n\nHelene ticked off points with the fingers of her hand.\n\n\"One, we know that Bubbacub perpetrated a crime in the eyes of both the Library Institute and his own race by falsifying a Library report, and perpetrating a hoax on Sundiver; to wit: that he had communicated with the Solarians and had used his 'Lethani relic' to protect us from their wrath.\n\n\"We think we know Bubbacub's motives for doing what he did." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was embarrassed by the failure of the Library to reference the Sun Ghosts. He wanted to rub the 'wolfling' race's collective nose in its inferiority, as well.\n\n\"By Galactic Tradition this situation would resolve itself by both the Pila and the Library bribing Earth to 'keep its mouth shut.' The Confederacy would be able to choose its reward with few strings attached, though the human race would have to face enmity from the Pila in the future simply because their pride had been hurt.\n\n\"They could still increase their efforts to remove pro-visionary-sophont status from our Clients, the chimps and dolphins. There has been talk of placing humanity under some sort of 'adoptive' Client status ... to guide us through this difficult transition.' Have I summed up the situation fairly well, so far?\"\n\nJacob nodded. \"Fine. Except you left out my own stupidity. On Mercury I accused Bubbacub publicly! That little two-year pledge we signed was never taken seriously, and the Feds have waited too long to put an emergency sequester on this case." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Probably half of the spiral arm knows the story by now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That means we've lost what little leverage we would have had with the Pila by blackmail. They'll hold nothing back in their efforts to get us 'adopted,' and they'll use 'reparations' for Bubbacub's crime as an excuse to force us to accept all kinds of aid that we don't want.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'think' 2 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He motioned for Helene to continue.\n\n\"Point number two; we now know that the one behind this fiasco was Culla. Apparently Culla never intended that humanity discover Bubbacub's pecadillo. He had his own blackmail scheme in mind.\n\n\"By encouraging Jeffrey's friendship he got the chimpanzee to try to liberate' him, thus enraging Bubbacub. Jeffrey's subsequent death left Sundiver in such a state of confusion that Bubbacub would be encouraged to think that anything he did would be believed. It's possible that Dwayne Kepler's apparent mental deterioration was part of this campaign, induced by Culla's 'glare psychosis' technique.\n\n\"The most important part of Culla's plan was the hoax of the anthropomorphic Ghosts. That part was magnificently executed. It fooled everybody. With talents like those, it's not hard to see why the Pring think they can take on the Pila in a bid for independence. They're one of the most deceptively potent races I've ever come across or heard of.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But if the Pila were Patrons to the Pring,\" James objected." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🔍 Find a place to insert: \"The Pring were allowed to select the assistant who would accompany Bubbacub. My institute has independent information that Culla was a figure of some importance, on one of their terraformed planets, in an artistic endeavor that we have, until now, not been able to witness. We had attributed the Pring secretiveness on this matter to habit patterns inherited from the Pila. Now, however, we might conjecture that it is the Pila themselves who were not to witness the art. In their complacent superiority, the Pila must have cooperated unknowingly by denigrating their Clients' endeavors.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And if they uplifted Culla's ancestors from near animals, why wasn't Bubbacub aware of the possibility that the Ghosts were Culla's hoax?\"\n\n\"If I may be allowed to comment on this,\" Fagin fluted. \"The Pring were allowed to select the assistant who would accompany Bubbacub. My institute has independent information that Culla was a figure of some importance, on one of their terraformed planets, in an artistic endeavor that we have, until now, not been able to witness. We had attributed the Pring secretiveness on this matter to habit patterns inherited from the Pila. Now, however, we might conjecture that it is the Pila themselves who were not to witness the art. In their complacent superiority, the Pila must have cooperated unknowingly by denigrating their Clients' endeavors.\"\n\n\"And this art form is?\"\n\n\"The art form must logically, be holographic projection. It is possible that the Pring have been experimenting for most of the hundred millennia of their sentience, in secret from their Patrons. I am in awe of the dedication it would have taken to keep a secret for so long.\"\n\nNielsen whistled lowly. \"They must want their release awful bad. But I still don't understand, though I've listened to all of the tapes, why Culla pulled these pranks with Sundiver! How could the hoax of the anthropomorphic Sun Ghosts, the death of Jeffrey, or trapping Bubbacub into his error ever help the Pring?\"\n\nHelene glanced at Jacob. He nodded. \"This is still your part, Helene. You figured most of it out.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helene took a deep breath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You see, Culla never intended that Bubbacub be exposed on Mercury." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He snared his boss into lying and pulling that stunt with the Lethani relic, but he expected him to be believed, here at least.\n\n\"If his plan had carried through he would have reported two assertions to the Library Institute; one, that Bubbacub was a fool and a liar who had been saved from embarrassment by the quick thinking of his assistant and two, that humans were just a pack of harmless idiots and should be ignored.\n\n\"I'll cover the second point first.\n\n\"On the face of it, it is obvious that no one out there would believe this crazy story of 'man-shaped ghosts' flattering around in a star, especially when the Library has no mention of them!\n\n\"Imagine how the galaxy would react to a tale about plasma creatures which 'shake their fists' and miraculously avoid having their pictures taken so there can be no proof they exist! Having heard that, most observers would never bother to examine the evidence we did have, the recordings of toroids and of the real Solarians!\n\n\"The galaxy on the whole looks on Terrestrial 'research' with amused contempt. Culla apparently wanted Sundiver to be laughed out without a hearing.\"\n\nAcross the room, Pierre LaRoque blushed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No one said anything about the remarks he'd made on \"Terrestrial research\" over a year back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The quick explanation Culla gave, when he tried to kill us all, was that he faked the Ghosts for our own good. If we looked foolish we might make less of a splash when we announced life in the Sun ... a splash that would give humanity more publicity in a time when we should be studying quietly to catch up with everyone else.\"\n\nNielsen frowned. \"He may have had a point.\"\n\nHelene shrugged. \"It's too late now.\n\n\"Anyway, it seems, as I have said, that Culla intended to report to the Library, and to the Soro, that humans were harmless idiots and, more importantly, that Bubbacub had been a party to that idiocy ... that he had believed in the Ghosts and lied on the basis of that belief!\"\n\nHelene turned to face Fagin. \"Is that a fair summary of what we discussed, Kant Fagin?\"\n\nThe Kanten whistled softly. \"I would think so. Trusting in the 'seal' of the Secrets Registration organization, I will state confidentially that my Institute has received intelligence regarding activities of the Pring and Pila that now make sense in the light of what we have here learned." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'humanity' into your response exactly 3 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Pring apparently are engaged in a campaign to discredit the Pila. Therein lies an opportunity and a danger to humanity.\n\n\"The opportunity is that your Confederacy could offer evidence of Culla's betrayal to the Pila, so that those sophonts may show how they have been manipulated. If the Soro then came down against the Pring, Culla's race would be hard pressed to find a protector. They might be lowered in status, their colonies eliminated, populations 'reduced.'\n\n\"There might be immediate rewards for humanity in this act, but it would do little to change the long range enmity of the Pil. Their psychology does not work that way. They might suspend their attempts to have humanity 'adopted.'" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'might' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They might be willing to accept restraints on the reparations they will insist on paying for Bubbacub's crime, but in the long run it will not win their friendship. Owing humanity a debt will only increase their hatred.\n\n\"In addition, there is the fact that many of the more 'liberal' species, on whose protection humanity has so far relied, would not appreciate your providing the Pila with a Casus Belli for another of their Jihads. The Tymbrimi might withdraw their consulate from Luna.\n\n\"Finally there is the ethical consideration. It would take long for me to discuss all of the reasons. Some of them you would probably not understand. But the Institute of Progress is anxious that the Pring not be devastated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They are young and impulsive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Almost as much so as humanity. But they show great promise. For the entire species to suffer terrible depredations, because a few of its members engage in a scheme to end a hundred millennia of servitude, would be a terrible tragedy.\n\n\"For these reasons I would recommend that Culla's crimes be placed under seal. Certainly rumors would soon drift about. But the Soro will be aloof to rumors bandied about by the likes of men.\"\n\nFagin's chimes tinkled softly as a breeze came in the window. Nielsen was staring at the floor.\n\n\"No wonder Culla tried to kill himself and everyone else aboard the ship, when Jacob figured him out! If the Pila get official testimony on Culla's actions, the Pring are probably doomed.\"\n\n\"What do you think the Confederacy will do?\" Jacob asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do?\" He laughed humorlessly. \"Why they'll offer the evidence to Pila with bended knee, of course." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ifni! It's a chance to keep them from 'giving' us a full sector Library Branch and ten thousand technicians to staff it! It's a chance to keep them from 'giving' us modern ships that no human engineer could possibly understand and no human crew could operate without 'advisors.' It'd put off indefinitely those damned 'adoption procedures'!\" He spread his hands. \"And it's pretty clear that the Confederacy won't stick its neck out for the race of a sophont who killed one of our Clients, damn near wrecked our hottest project, and attempted to make humans look like idiots among the peoples of the galaxy!\n\n\"And when you get right down to it, could you blame them?\"\n\nJacob's Uncle James cleared his throat to gain their attention.\n\n\"We can try to put the entire episode under seal,\" he suggested. \"I am not without influence in some circles. If I put in a good word ...\"\n\n\"You can't put in a good word, Jim,\" Jacob said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're a participant in this mess, in a minor way. If you try to involve yourself the truth will eventually come out.\"\n\n\"What truth is that?\" Nielsen asked.\n\nJacob frowned at his uncle then at LaRoque. The Frenchman had imperturbably begun to nibble on more hors d'oeuvres.\n\n\"These two,\" Jacob said. \"Are part of a cabal whose aim is to undermine the Probation laws. That's the second reason I asked you to come. Something's going to have to be done and Secrets Registration is a better first step than going to the police.\"\n\nAt the mention of the police, LaRoque stopped nibbling at his tiny sandwich. He looked at it then put it down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What kind of cabal?\" Nielsen asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A society, consisting of Probationers and certain citizen sympathizers, dedicated to the secret manufacture of spaceships ... spaceships with Probationer crews.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nielson sat upright. \"What?\"\n\n\"LaRoque is in charge of their astronaut training program. He's also their chief spy. He tried to measure the calibration settings of a Sunship's Gravity Generator. I have the tapes to prove it.\"\n\n\"But why would they want to do such a thing?\"\n\n\"Why not? It'd be the most powerful symbolic protest imaginable. If I were a Probationer, I'd certainly participate. I'm sympathetic. I don't like the Probation laws one bit.\n\n\"But I'm also realistic. As it stands the Probationers have been made into an underclass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their psychological problems are a stigma that follows them everywhere." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They react in a very human way, they gather together to hate the 'docile and domesticated' society around them.\n\n\"They say, 'Yon Citizens think I'm violent, well then by damn I will be!' Most of the Probationers would never do anything to hurt anybody, whatever their P-tests say. But faced with this stereotype they become what they're reputed to be!\"\n\n\"That may or may not be true,\" Nielsen said. \"But given the situation as it stands, for Probationers to get access to space ...\"\n\nJacob sighed. \"You're right, of course. It can't be allowed to happen. Not yet.\n\n\"On the other hand, we can't allow the Feds to whip up public hysteria over this either. It'd just aggravate matters and put off a later, more severe form of rebellion.\"\n\nNielsen looked worried. \"You aren't going to suggest that the Terragens Council get involved in the Probation laws, are you? Why that'd be suicide! The public would never stand for it!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jacob smiled sadly. \"That's right, they wouldn't. Even Uncle James would have to recognize that. Today's Citizen won't even consider changing the status of Probationers, and as things stand the Terragens has no authority.\n\n\"But what Is the domain of the Council? Currently it's administration of extrasolar colonies. Eventually it's to include supervision of all extrasolar affairs. And there's where they can meddle in the Probation laws, symbolically at least, without threatening anyone's peace of mind.\"\n\n\"I don't know what you mean.\"\n\n\"Well now I don't suppose you've ever read Aldous Huxley, have you? No? His works were still popular when Helene was brought up, and my cousins and I were ... required to study some of them in our youth—damned difficult at times, because of the strange period referents, but worth it for the man's incredible insight and wit.\n\n\"Old Huxley wrote one piece titled Brave New World ...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, I've heard of it. Some sort of dystopia, wasn't It?\"\n\n\"Of a sort You should read it. There are some uncanny prophecies.\n\n\"In that novel he projects a society with some unpalatable aspects but with, all the same, a self-consistency and its own form of honor—akin to the ethics of a hive, but ethics nonetheless. When man's diversity keeps throwing up individuals who don't fit into the conditioned pattern of the society, what do you suppose Huxley's state does with them?\"\n\nNielsen frowned, wondering where this was leading. \"In a hivelike state? I'd guess that the deviants were eliminated, killed.\"\n\nJacob raised a finger. \"No, not quite. The way Huxley presents it, this state has wisdom, of sorts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The leaders are aware that they've set up a rigid system that might fall before some unexpected threat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They realize that the deviants represent a control, a reserve to fall back on in times of trouble, when the race would need all of its resources." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But at the same time, they can't keep them hanging around, threatening the stability of the culture.\"\n\n\"So what did they do?\"\n\n\"They banished the deviates to islands. There they were allowed to pursue their own cultural experiments undisturbed.\"\n\n\"Islands, eh?\" Nielsen scratched his head. \"It is a striking idea. Actually, it's the inverse of what we're already doing with the Extraterrestrial Reserves, exiling the Probies from geographically controllable areas and then allowing E.T. 's in to mingle with the Citizens who come and go at will.\"\n\n\"An intolerable situation,\" James muttered. \"Not only for the Probationers, but for the extraterrestrials, as well. Why, Kant Fagin was just telling me how much he'd like to visit the Louvre, or Agra, or Yosemite!\"\n\n\"All shall come in time, Friend-James Alvarez,\" Fagin trilled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"For now I am grateful for the dispensation which enables me to visit this small part of California, an undeserved and extravagant reward.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know if the 'islands' idea would work that well,\" Nielsen said thoughtfully." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course it's worth bringing up. We can go into all of the ramifications another time. What I'm having trouble figuring out is what this would have to do with the Terragens Council.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Extrapolate,\" Jacob urged. \"It just might ameliorate the Probationer problem, somewhat, to set up some sort of island Coventry in the Pacific, where they could pursue their own path without the perpetual observation they undergo everywhere today." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But it wouldn't be enough." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Many Probationers feel that they are emasculated from the start." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not only are their parentage rights limited by law, they are also excluded from the most important adventure mankind has ever undertaken, the expansion into space.\n\n\"This little imbroglio LaRoque and James were engaged in is a prime example of the problems we'll face, unless a niche is found for them, so that they can feel they're participating.\"\n\n\"A niche. Islands. Space ... good lord, man! You can't be serious! Buy another colony and give it over to Probationers? When we're still in hock up to our ears for the three we've got? You must be an optimist if you think that could pass!\"\n\nJacob felt Helene's hand slide into his own. He barely glanced at her, but the expression on her face was enough. Proud, alert, and just on the edge, as ever, of laughter. He twined his fingers with hers to cover the most area, and squeezed back.\n\n\"Yes,\" he said to Nielsen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have become somewhat of an optimist lately. And I think it could be done.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But where would we get the credit? And how do you salve the wounded egos of half a billion Citizens who want to colonize, when you're giving space to non-Citizens?\n\n\"Hell, colonization wouldn't work anyway. Even the Vesarius II will carry only ten thousand. There are almost a hundred million Probationers!\"\n\n\"Oh not all of them will want to go, especially if they get a place on the islands as well. Besides, I'm sure all they're looking for is fair treatment. A share. Our real problem is that there's not enough colony room, or transport.\"\n\nJacob smiled slowly. \"But what if we could get the Library Institute to 'donate' the funds for a Class Four colony, plus a few Orion type transports specially simplified for human crews.\"\n\n\"How do you expect to persuade them to do that? They're obligated to compensate us for Bubbacub's hoax, but they'll want to do it in a way that serves their purposes, like making us totally dependent on Galactic technology. In that they'd be supported by almost every race. What could make them change the form of their reparations?\"\n\nJacob spread his hands. \"You forget we now have something they'll want ... something very precious that the Library Institute can't do without Knowledge!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is a ciphered message I received a little while ago from Millie Martine on Mercury." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She's still restricted to a chair, but they wanted her back there so badly that they let her travel over a month ago." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She says that full dives have been resumed in active regions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She's already been down once, in charge of the effort to re-establish contact with the Solarians. So far she's been able to avoid telling the Feds much about what she's found, waiting instead to confer with Fagin and myself.\n\n\"Contact has been made. The Solarians talked to her. They are lucid and have a very long memory.\"\n\n\"Incredible,\" Nielsen sighed. \"But I'm getting the impression you think this will have political implications relating to the problems we've discussed here?\"\n\n\"Think about it. The Library will believe they can force us to take reparations on their terms. But if it's handled right we can blackmail them into giving us what we want instead.\n\n\"The fact that the Solarians are talkative and can remember the distant past—Millie hints that they remember dives into the Sun by ancient sophonts, so long ago that they might have been the Progenitors themselves—means that we have found a prize of unprecedented proportions.\n\n\"It means that the Library must try to find out everything they can about them. It also means that this discovery will get a great deal of publicity.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jacob grinned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It'll be complicated. First we've got to play to the impression they already have that Sundiver is one big fiasco." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Get them to assign us a Library Investigation Patent to the Sun. They'll imagine it will only make us look more idiotic. When they realize what we have, they'll have to buy it from us at our price!\n\n\"We'll need Fagin's help to finesse it properly, plus all of the savvy of the Alvarez clan and the cooperation of you Terragens people, but it can be done. Uncle Jeremy, in particular, will be glad to know that I'm going to dust off my long dormant skills and get involved in 'dirty politics' for a while, to help.\"\n\nJames laughed. \"Just wait til your cousins hear! I can see them shuddering already!\"\n\n\"Well tell them not to worry. No, I'll tell them myself when Jeremy calls a family council on this. I'm going to make certain that this whole mess is settled within three years." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After that I'm retiring from politics, permanently." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You see, I'll be going on a long trip about then.\"\n\nHelene let out a small gasp and pressed her fingernails into his thigh. Her expression was indescribable.\n\n\"One thing I'm going to insist on,\" he said to her, wondering if he could, or wanted to, suppress the urge to laugh or the roaring in his ears. \"We'll have to find a way to take along at least one dolphin. Her limericks are awfully dirty, but they may buy us supplies in a few ports while we're out there.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing a segment of a larger work\n\nLength:\n6 sentences\n\nStyle:\nGene Wolfe\nGenre:\nScience Fiction, Generation Ship\nNote: Characters may be pre-established" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Enlightenment came to Patera Silk on the ball court; nothing could ever be the same after that. When he talked about it afterward, whispering to himself in the silent hours of the night as was his custom—and once when he told Maytera Marble, who was also Maytera Rose—he said that it was as though someone who had always been behind him and standing (as it were) at both his shoulders had, after so many years of pregnant silence, begun to whisper into both his ears. The bigger boys had scored again, Patera Silk recalled, and Horn was reaching for an easy catch when those voices began and all that had been hidden was displayed.\n\nFew of these hidden things made sense, nor did they wait upon one another. He, young Patera Silk (that absurd clockwork figure), watched outside a clockwork show whose works had stopped—tall Horn reaching for the ball, his flashing grin frozen in forever.\n\n—dead Patera Pike mumbling prayers as he slit the throat of a speckled rabbit he himself had bought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "—a dead woman in an alley off Silver Street, and the people of the quarter.\n\n—lights beneath everyone's feet, like cities low in the night sky. (And, oh, the rabbit's warm blood drenching Patera Pike's cold hands.)\n\n—proud houses on the Palatine.\n\n—Maytera Marble playing with the girls, and Maytera Mint wishing she dared. (Old Maytera Rose praying alone, praying to Scalding Scylla in her palace under Lake Limna.)" }, { "from": "human", "value": "—Feather falling, not so lightly as his name implied, shoved aside by Horn, not yet quite prone on the crumbling shiprock blocks, though shiprock was supposed to last until the end of the whorl." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "—Viron and the lake, crops withering in the fields, the dying fig and the open, empty sky. All this and much else besides, lovely and appalling, blood red and living green, yellow, blue, white, and velvet black, with minglings of other colors and of colors he had never known." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write nine sentences like Gene Wolfe would, using user's text as beginning. Story may drop in mid-narrative" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Ensure 'never' appears 3 time(s) in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet all these were as nothing. It was the voices that mattered, only the paired voices (though there were more, he felt sure, if only he had ears for them) and all the rest an empty show, shown to him so that he might know it for what it was, spread for him so that he might know how precious it was, though its shining clockwork had gone some trifle awry and must be set right by him; for this he had been born.\n\nHe forgot the rest at times, though at others all these things would reoccur to him, rough truths cloaked in a new certainty; but he never forgot the voices that were in fact but one voice, and what they (who were one) had said; never forgot the bitter lesson, though once or twice he tried to push it away, those fell words heard as Feather fell, poor little Feather, as the rabbit's hot blood spilled from the altar, as the First Settlers took up the homes prepared for them in this familiar Viron, as the dead woman seemed to stir, rags fluttering in the hot wind born halfway 'round the whorl, a wind that blew ever stronger and wilder as clockwork that had never really stopped began to turn again.\n\n\"I will not fail,\" he told the voices, and felt he lied, yet felt the approbation, too.\n\nAnd then.\n\nAnd then...\n\nHis left hand moved, snatching the ball from Horn's very fingers.\n\nPatera Silk spun about. The black ball flew like a black bird, straight through the ring at the opposite end of the ball court." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It struck the hellstone with a satisfying thump and an irruption of blue sparks, and threaded the ring a second time as it bounced back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Horn tried to stop him, but Patera Silk knocked him sprawling, caught the ball again, and smoked it in for a second double. The monitor's chimes sang their three-note paean, and its raddled gray face appeared to announce the final score: thirteen to twelve.\n\nThirteen to twelve was not a bad score, Patera Silk reflected as he took the ball from Feather and stuffed it into a trousers pocket. The bigger boys would not be too downcast, while the smaller boys would be ecstatic.\n\nThis last, at least, was already quite apparent. He repressed the impulse to hush them and lifted two of the most diminutive onto his shoulders. \"Back to class,\" he announced. \"Class for all of you. A little arithmetic will do you good. Feather, throw Villus my towel, please.\"\n\nFeather, one of the larger small boys, obliged; Villus, the boy perched upon Silk's right shoulder, managed to catch it, though not deftly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Patera,\" Feather ventured, \"you always say there's a lesson in everything.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded, mopping his face and rubbing his already disheveled yellow hair. He had been touched by a god! By the Outsider; and although the Outsider was not one of the Nine, he was an undoubted god nevertheless. This, this was enlightenment!\n\n\"Patera?\"\n\n\"I'm listening, Feather. What is it you want to ask?\" But enlightenment was for theodidacts, and he was no holy theodidact—no gaudily painted gold-crowned figure in the Writings. How could he tell these children that in the middle of their game—\n\n\"Then what's the lesson in our winning, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That you must endure to the end,\" Silk replied, his mind still upon the Outsider's teaching." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of the hinges of the ball-court gate was broken; two boys had to lift the gate to swing it, creaking, backward. The remaining hinge would surely break too, and soon, unless he did something. Many theodidacts never told, or so he had been taught in the schola. Others told only on their deathbeds; for the first time he felt he understood that.\n\n\"We endured to the end,\" Horn reminded him, \"but we lost just the same. You're bigger than I am. Bigger than any of us.\"\n\nSilk nodded and smiled. \"I did not say that the only object was to win.\"\n\nHorn opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again, his eyes thoughtful. Silk took Goldcrest and Villus from his shoulders at the gate and dried his torso, then reclaimed his black tunic from the nail on which he had hung it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sun Street ran parallel to the sun, as its name indicated, and as usual at this hour it was blazing hot." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Regretfully, he pulled his tunic over his head, smelling his own sweat.\n\n\"You lost,\" he remarked to Villus once the stifling tunic was in place, \"when Horn got the ball away from you. But you won when everyone on our team did. What have you learned from that?\"\n\nWhen little Villus said nothing, Feather answered, \"That winning and losing aren't everything.\"\n\nThe loose black robe followed the tunic, seeming to close about him. \"Good enough,\" he told Feather.\n\nAs five boys shut the court gate behind them, the faint and much-diffused shadow of a Flier raced down Sun Street. The boys glared up at him, and a few of the smallest reached for stones, though the Flier was three or four times higher than the loftiest tower in Viron.\n\nSilk halted, raising his head to stare upward with a long-felt envy he struggled to suppress. Had he been shown the Fliers, among his myriad, leaping visions?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He felt he had—but he had been shown so much!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The disproportionate, gauzy wings were nearly invisible in the glare of the unshaded sun, so that it seemed that the Flier flew without them, arms outstretched, feet together, an uncanny figure black against the burning gold." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'maytera' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If the Fliers are human,\" Silk admonished his charges, \"it would surely be evil to stone them. If they are not, you must consider that they may be higher than we are in the spiritual whorl, just as they are in the temporal.\" As an afterthought he added, \"Even if they are spying on us, which I doubt.\"\n\nHad they, too, achieved enlightenment, and was that why they flew? Did some god or goddess—it would be Hierax, perhaps, or his father, sky-ruling Pas—teach those he favored the art of flight?\n\nThe palaestra's warped and weathered door would not open until Horn had wrestled manfully with its latch. As always, Silk delivered the smaller boys to Maytera Marble first. \"We won a glorious victory,\" he told her.\n\nShe shook her head in mock dismay, her smooth oval face, polished bright by countless dustings, catching the sunlight from the window. \"My poor girls were beaten, alas, Patera. It seems to me that Maytera Mint's big girls grow quicker and stronger with each week that passes. Wouldn't you think our Merciful Molpe would make my smaller ones quicker, too? Yet it doesn't seem she does it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"By the time they're quicker, they'll be the big girls, perhaps.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That must be it, Patera. While I'm only a small girl myself, snatching at every chance to put off the minuends and subtrahends for as long as possible, always willing to talk, never willing to work.\" Maytera Marble paused, her work-worn steel fingers flexing the cubit stick while she studied Silk. \"You be careful this afternoon, Patera. You must be tired already, after scrambling around up there all morning and playing with the boys. Don't fall off that roof.\"\n\nHe grinned. \"I'm finished with my repairs for today, Maytera. I'm going to sacrifice after manteion—a private sacrifice.\"\n\nThe old sib tilted her gleaming head to one side, thus lifting an eyebrow. \"Then I regret that my class will not participate. Will your lamb be more pleasing to the Nine, do you think, without us?\"\n\nFor an instant Silk was tempted to tell her everything there and then. He drew a deep breath instead, smiled, and closed the door.\n\nMost of the larger boys had already gone into Maytera Rose's room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk dismissed the rest with a glance, but Horn lingered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"May I speak with you, Patera? It'll just take a minute.\"\n\n\"If it is only a minute.\" When the boy said nothing, Silk added, \"Go ahead, Horn. Did I foul you? If I did, I apologize—it certainly wasn't intentional.\"\n\n\"Is it...\" Horn let the question trail away, staring at the splintering floorboards.\n\n\"Speak up, please. Or ask your question when I come back. That would be better.\"\n\nThe tall boy's gaze moved to the whitewashed mud-brick walls. \"Patera, is it true that they're going to tear down our palaestra and your manteion? That you're going to have to go someplace else, or noplace? My father heard that yesterday. Is it true?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\nHorn looked up with new hope, though the flat negative had left him speechless." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Our palaestra and our manteion will be here next year, and the year after that, and the year after that as well.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly conscious of his posture, Silk stood straighter, squaring his shoulders. \"Does that put your mind at rest? They may become larger and better known, and I hope that they will. Perhaps some god or goddess may speak to us through our Sacred Window again, as Pas once did when Patera Pike was young—I don't know, though I pray for it every day. But when I'm as old as Patera Pike, the people of this quarter will still have a manteion and a palaestra. Never doubt it.\"\n\n\"I was going to say...\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"Your eyes have said it for you already. Thank you, Horn. Thank you. I know that whenever I'm in need I can call on you, and that you'll do all that you can without counting the cost. But, Horn—\"\n\n\"Yes, Patera?\"\n\n\"I knew all that before.\"\n\nThe tall boy's head bobbed. \"And all the other sprats, too, Patera. There are a couple of dozen that I know we can trust. Maybe more.\"\n\nHorn was standing as straight as a Guardsman on parade now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With a slight shock of insight, Silk realized that this unaccustomed perpendicularity was in imitation of his own, and that Horn's clear, dark eyes were very nearly level with his." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And after that,\" Horn continued, \"there will be others, new boys. And men.\"\n\nSilk nodded again, gravely reflecting that Horn was already a grown man in every way that mattered, and a man far better educated than most.\n\n\"And I don't want you to think I'm mad about it—knocking me over like that, Patera. You hit me hard, but that's the fun of the game.\"\n\nSilk shook his head. \"That's merely how the game is played. The fun comes when someone small knocks down someone larger.\"\n\n\"You were their best player, Patera. It wouldn't have been fair to them if you hadn't played as well as you can.\" Horn glanced over his shoulder at Maytera Rose's open door. \"I have to go now. Thanks, Patera.\"\n\nThere was a line in the Writings that applied to the game and its lessons—lessons more important, Silk felt, than any Maytera Rose might teach; but Horn was already almost to the doorway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To his back, Silk murmured, \"'Men build scales, but the gods blow upon the lighter pan.'\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sighed at the final word, knowing that the quotation had come a second too late, and that Horn, too, had been too late; that Horn would tell Maytera Rose that he, Patera Silk, had detained him, and that Maytera Rose would punish him nevertheless without bothering to find out whether it was true.\n\nSilk turned away. There was no point in remaining to listen, and Horn would fare that much worse if he tried to intervene. How could the Outsider have chosen such a bungler? Was it possible that the very gods were ignorant of his weakness and stupidity?\n\nSome of them?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "lets continue this story bit. one sentence more like Gene Wolfe would. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. characters might be established already" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The manteion's rusty cash box was bare, he knew; yet he must have a victim, and a fine one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The parents of one of the students might lend him five or even ten bits, and the humiliation of having to beg such poor people for a loan would certainly be beneficial." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For as long as it took him to close the unwilling door of the palaestra and start for the market, his resolution held; then the only-too-well-imagined tears of small children deprived of their accustomed supper of milk and stale bread washed it away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No. The sellers would have to extend him credit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sellers must. When had he ever offered a single sacrifice, however small, to the Outsider? Never!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not one in his entire life." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet the Outsider had extended infinite credit to him, for Patera Pike's sake." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That was one way of looking at it, at least." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And perhaps that was the best way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Certainly he would never be able to repay the Outsider for the knowledge and the honor, no matter how hard or how long he tried. Small wonder, then..." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'faster' 2 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As Silk's thoughts raced, his long legs flashed faster and faster." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sellers never extended a single bit's credit, true." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They gave credit to no augur; and certainly they would not extend it to an augur whose manteion stood in the poorest quarter of the city." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet the Outsider could not be denied, so they would have to." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He would have to be firm with them, extremely firm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Remind them that the Outsider was known to esteem them last among men already—that according to the Writings he had once (having possessed and enlightened a fortunate man) beaten them severely in person." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And though the Nine could rightly boast..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A black civilian floater was roaring down Sun Street, scattering men and women on foot and dodging ramshackle carts and patient gray donkeys, its blowers raising a choking cloud of hot yellow dust." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Like everyone else, Silk turned his face away, covering his nose and mouth with the edge of his robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You there! Augur!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The floater had stopped, its roar fading to a plaintive whine as it settled onto the rutted street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A big, beefy, prosperous-looking man standing in its passenger compartment flourished a walking stick." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk called, \"I take it you are addressing me, sir. Is that correct?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The prosperous-looking man gestured impatiently. \"Come over here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I intend to,\" Silk told him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A dead dog rotting in the gutter required a long stride that roused a cloud of fat blue-backed flies." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Patera would be better mannered, sir; but I'll overlook it. You may call me 'augur' if you like. I have need of you, you see. Great need. A god has sent you to me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The prosperous-looking man looked at least as surprised as Horn had when Silk had knocked him down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I require two—no, three cards,\" Silk continued." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Three cards or more. I require them at once, for a sacred purpose. You can provide them easily, and the gods will smile on you. Please do so.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The prosperous-looking man mopped his streaming brow with a large peach-colored handkerchief that sent a cloying fragrance to war with the stenches of the street." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I didn't think that the Chapter let you augurs do this sort of thing, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Beg? Why, no. You're perfectly correct, sir. It's absolutely forbidden. But there's a beggar on every corner—you must know the kinds of things they say, and that's not what I'm telling you at all. I'm not hungry, and I have no starving children. I don't want your money for myself, but for a god, for the Outsider. It's a major error to restrict one's worship to the Nine, as I—Never mind. The Outsider must have a suitable offering from me before shadedown. It's absolutely imperative. You'll be certain to gain his favor by supplying it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wanted—\" the prosperous-looking man began." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk raised his hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No! The money—three cards at least, at once. I've offered you a splendid opportunity to gain his favor. You've lost that now, but you may still escape his displeasure, if only you'll act without further delay. For your own sake, give me three cards immediately!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk stepped closer, scrutinizing the prosperous-looking man's ruddy, perspiring face." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'things' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Terrible things may befall you. Horrible things!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reaching for the card case at his waist, the prosperous-looking man said, \"A respectable citizen shouldn't even stop his floater in this quarter. I simply—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you own this floater, you can afford three cards easily. And I'll offer a prayer for you—many prayers that you may eventually attain to...\" Silk shivered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The driver rasped, \"Shut your shaggy mouth and let Blood talk, you butcher.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then to Blood, \"You want me to bring him along, Jefe?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had counted out three cards, and now held them in a fan; half a dozen ragged men stopped to gawk at the gleaming gold." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Three cards you say you want, Patera. Here they are. Enlightenment? Was that what you were going to ask the gods to give me? You augurs are always squeaking about it. Well, I don't care about that. I want a little information instead. Tell me everything I want to know, and I'll hand over all three. See 'em? Then you can offer this wonderful sacrifice for yourself if you want to, or do whatever you want with the money. How about it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't know what you're risking. If you did—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood snorted. \"I know that no god's come to any Window in this city since I was a young man, Patera, no matter how you butchers howl. And that's all I need to know. There's a manteion on this street, isn't there? Where Silver Street meets it at an angle? I've never been in that part of this quarter, but I asked, and that's what I was told.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I'm augur there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The old cull's dead, then?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Patera Pike?\" Silk traced the sign of addition in the air." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes. Patera Pike has been with the gods for almost a year. Did you know him?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ignoring the question, Blood nodded to himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Gone to Mainframe, eh? All right, Patera. I'm not a religious man, and I don't pretend to be. But I promised my—well, I promised a certain person—that I'd go to this manteion of yours and say a few prayers for her. I'm going to make an offering, too, understand? Because I know she'll ask if I did. That's besides these cards here. So is there somebody there who'll let me in?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded again. \"Maytera Marble or Maytera Mint would be delighted to, I'm sure. You'll find them both in the palaestra, on the other side of our ball court.\" Silk paused, thinking." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maytera Mint's rather shy, though she's wonderful with the children. Perhaps you'd better ask for Maytera Marble, in the first room to your right. She could leave one of the older girls in charge of her class for an hour or so, I would think.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood closed his fan of cards as if about to hand them over to Silk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not too crazy about chemical people, Patera. Somebody told me you've got a Maytera Rose. Maybe I could get her, or isn't she there any more?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, yes.\" Silk hoped his voice did not reflect the dismay he felt whenever he thought of Maytera Rose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But she's quite elderly, sir, and we try to spare her poor legs whenever we can. I feel sure that Maytera Marble would prove completely satisfactory.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No doubt she will.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood counted his cards again, his lips moving, his fat, beringed fingers reluctant to part from each wafer-thin, shining rectangle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You were going to tell me about enlightenment a minute ago, Patera. You said you'd pray for me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes,\" Silk confirmed eagerly, \"and I meant it. I will.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood laughed. \"Don't bother. But I'm curious, and I've never had such a good chance to ask one of you about it before. Isn't enlightenment really pretty much the same as possession?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not exactly, sir.\" Silk gnawed his lower lip." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You know, sir, at the schola they taught us simple, satisfying answers to all of these questions. We had to recite them to pass the examination, and I'm tempted to recite them again for you now. But the actualities—enlightenment, I mean, and possession—aren't really simple things at all. Or at least enlightenment isn't. I don't know a great deal about possession, and some of the most respected hierologists are of the opinion that it exists potentially but not actually.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A god's supposed to pull on a man just like a tunic—that's what they say. Well, some people can, so why not a god?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Watching Silk's expression, Blood laughed again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't believe me, do you, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said, \"I've never heard of such people, sir. I won't say they don't exist, since you assert that they do, although it seems impossible.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're young yet, Patera. If you want to dodge a lot of mistakes, don't you forget that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood glanced sidelong at his driver." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Get on these putts, Grison. Make them keep their paws off my floater.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Enlightenment...\" Silk stroked his cheek, remembering." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That ought to be easy, it seems to me. Don't you just know a lot of things you didn't know before?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood paused, his eyes upon Silk's face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Things that you can't explain, or aren't allowed to?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A patrol of Guardsmen passed, their slug guns slung and their left hands resting on the hilts of their swords." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One touched the bill of his jaunty green cap to Blood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's difficult to explain,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In possession there's always some teaching, for good or ill. Or at any rate that's what we're taught, though I don't believe—In enlightenment, there's much more. As much as the theodidact can bear, I would say.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It happened to you,\" Blood said softly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Lots of you say it did, but from you it's lily. You were enlightened, or you think you were. You think it's real.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk took a step backward, bumping against one of the onlookers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I didn't call myself enlightened, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You didn't have to. I've been listening to you. Now you listen to me. I'm not giving you these cards, not for your holy sacrifice or for anything else. I'm paying you to answer my questions, and this is the last one. I want you to tell me—right now—what enlightenment is, when you got it, and why you got it. Here they are.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He held them up again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Tell me, Patera, and they're yours.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk considered, then plucked them from Blood's hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As you say. Enlightenment means understanding everything as the god who gives it understands it. Who you are and who everyone else is, really. Everything you used to think you understood, you see with complete clarity in that instant, and know that you didn't really understand it at all.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The onlookers murmured, each to his neighbor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Several pointed toward Silk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One waved over the drawer of a passing handcart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Only for an instant,\" Blood said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, only for an instant. But the memory remains, so that you know that you knew.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The three cards were still in Silk's hand; suddenly afraid that they would be snatched away by one of the ragged throng around him, he slipped them into his pocket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And when did this happen to you? Last week? Last year?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head, glancing up at the sun. The thin black line of the shade touched it as he watched. \"Today." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Not an hour ago." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A ball—I was playing a game with the boys..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood waved the game away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And it happened. Everything seemed to stand still. I really can't say whether it was for an instant, or a day, or a year, or any other period of time—and I seriously doubt that any such period could be correct. Perhaps that's why we call him the Outsider: because he stands outside of time, all the time.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Uh-huh.\" Blood favored Silk with a grudging smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm sure it's all smoke. Just some sort of daydream. But I've got to admit it's interesting smoke, the way you tell it. I've never heard of anything like this before.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's not exactly what they teach you in the schola,\" Silk conceded, \"but I feel in my heart that it's the truth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He hesitated. \"By which I mean that it's what I was shown by him—or rather, that it's one of an endless panorama of things. Somehow he's outside our whorl in every way, and inside it with us at the same time. The other gods are only inside, I think, however great they may appear inside.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood shrugged, his eyes wandering toward the ragged listeners." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, they believe you, anyhow. But as long as we're in here too, it doesn't make a bad bit's difference to us, does it, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps it does, or may in the future. I don't know, really. I haven't even begun to think about that yet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk glanced up again; the sun's golden road across the sky was markedly narrower already." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps it will make all the difference in the whorl,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think it will.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't see how.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You'll have to wait and see, my son—and so shall I.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shivered, as he had before." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You wanted to know why I received this blessing, didn't you? That was your last question: why something as tremendous as this should happen to someone as insignificant as I am. Wasn't that it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, if this god of yours will let you tell anybody.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood grinned, showing crooked, discolored teeth; and Silk, suddenly and without in the least willing it, saw more vividly than he had ever seen the man before him the hungry, frightened, scheming youth who had been Blood a generation before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And if you don't gibbe yourself, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Gibbe?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you've got no objections. Don't feel like you're stepping over his line.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see.\" Silk cleared his throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've no objection, but no very satisfactory answer for you, either. That's why I snatched my three cards from your hand, and it's why I need them, too—or a part of it. It may be only that he has a task for me. He does, I know, and I hope that that's all it is. Or, as I've thought since, perhaps it's because he means to destroy me, and felt he owed this to me before he struck. I don't know.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood dropped to his seat in the passenger compartment, mopping his face and neck with his scented handkerchief, as he had before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thanks, Patera. We're quits. You're going to the market?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, to buy him a fine victim with these cards you've given me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Paid you. I'll have left your manteion before you get back, Patera. Or anyhow I hope I will.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood dropped into the floater's velvet seat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Get the canopy up, Grison.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk called, \"Wait!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood stood again, surprised." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What is it, Patera? No hard feelings, I hope.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I lied to you, my son—misled you at least, although I didn't intend to. He—the Outsider—told me why, and I remembered it a few minutes ago when I was talking with a boy named Horn, a student at our palaestra.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk stepped closer, until he was peering at Blood over the edge of the half-raised canopy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was because of the augur who had our manteion when I came, Patera Pike. A very good and very holy man.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's dead, you said.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes. Yes, he is. But before he died, he prayed—prayed to the Outsider, for some reason. And he was heard. His prayer was granted. All this was explained to me, and now I owe it to you, because it was part of our bargain.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then I may as well have it explained to me, too. But make it as quick as you can.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He prayed for help.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk ran his fingers through his careless thatch of straw-colored hair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When we—when you pray for his help, to the Outsider, he sends it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nice of him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But not always—no, not often—of the sort we want or expect. Patera Pike, that good old man, prayed devoutly. And I'm the help—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let's go, Grison.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The blowers roared back to life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood's black floater heaved uneasily, rising stern first and rocking alarmingly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"—the Outsider sent to him, to save the manteion and its palaestra,\" Silk concluded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stepped back, coughing in the billowing dust." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Half to himself and half to the shabby crowd kneeling around him, he added." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am to expect no help from him. I am help.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If any of them understood, it was not apparent. Still coughing, he traced the sign of addition and muttered a brief formula of blessing, begun with the Most Sacred Name of Pas, Father of the Gods, and concluded with that of his eldest child, Scylla, Patroness of this, Our Holy City of Viron." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "user starts, u write ~12 sentences more. copy Gene Wolfe's style. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he neared the market, Silk reflected on his chance encounter with the prosperous-looking man in the floater. Blood, his driver had called him. Three cards was far, far too much to pay for answers to a few simple questions, and in any case one did not pay augurs for their answers; one made a donation, perhaps, if one was particularly grateful. Three full cards, but were they still there?\n\nHe thrust a hand into his pocket; the smooth, elastic surface of the ball met his fingers. He pulled it out, and one of the cards came with it, flashing in the sunlight as it fell at his feet.\n\nAs swiftly as he had snatched the ball from Horn, he scooped it up. This was a bad quarter, he reminded himself, though there were so many good people in it. Without law, even good people stole: their own property vanished, and their only recourse was to steal in turn from someone else. What would his mother have thought, if she had lived to learn where the Chapter had assigned him? She had died during his final year at the schola, still believing that he would be sent to one of the rich manteions on the Palatine and someday become Prolocutor.\n\n\"You're so good-looking,\" she had said, raising herself upon her toes to smooth his rebellious hair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So tall! Oh, Silk, my son! My dear, dear son!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "(And he had stooped to let her kiss him.)\n\nMy son was what he had been taught to call laymen, even those three times his own age, unless they were very highly placed indeed; then there was generally some title that could be gracefully employed instead, Colonel or Commissioner, or even Councillor, although he had never met any of the three and in this quarter never would—though here was a poster with the handsome features of Councillor Loris, the secretary of the Ayuntamiento: features somewhat scarred now by the knife of some vandal, who had slashed his poster once and stabbed it several times. Silk felt suddenly glad that he was in the Chapter and not in politics, though politics had been his mother's first choice for him. No one would slash or stab the pictured face of His Cognizance the Prolocutor, surely.\n\nHe tossed the ball into his right hand and thrust his left into his pocket. The cards were still there: one, two, three. Many men in this quarter who worked from shadeup to dark—carrying bricks or stacking boxes, slaughtering, hauling like oxen or trotting beneath the weighty litters of the rich, sweeping and mopping—would be fortunate to make three cards a year. His mother had received six, enough for a woman and a child to live decently, from some fund at the fisc that she had never explained, a fund that had vanished with her life. She would be unhappy now to see him in this quarter, walking its streets as poor as many of its people. She had never been a happy woman in any case, her large dark eyes so often bright with tears from sources more mysterious than the fisc, her tiny body shaken with sobs that he could do nothing to alleviate.\n\n(\"Oh, Silk! My poor boy! My son!\")\n\nHe had at first called Blood sir, and afterward, my son, himself scarcely conscious of the change." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But why? Sir because Blood had been riding in a floater, of course; only the richest of men could afford to own floaters. My son afterward." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 10 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The old cull's dead, then?... It doesn't make a bad bit's difference to us, does it, Patera?... Nice of him.\" Blood's choice of word and phrase, and his almost open contempt for the gods, had not accorded with the floater; he had spoken better—far better—than most people in this quarter; but not at all like the privileged, well-bred man whom Silk would have expected to find riding in a private floater.\n\nHe shrugged, and extracted the three cards from his pocket.\n\nThere was always a good chance that a card (still more, a cardbit) would be false. There was even a chance, as Silk admitted to himself, that the prosperous-looking man in the floater—that this odd man Blood—kept false cards in a special location in his card case. Nevertheless all three of these appeared completely genuine, sharp-edged rectangles two thumbs by three, their complex labyrinths of gold encysted in some remarkable substance that was almost indestructible, yet nearly invisible. It was said that when two of the intricate golden patterns were exactly alike, one at least was false. Silk paused to compare them, then shook his head and hurried off again in the direction of the market. If these cards were good enough to fool the sellers of animals, that was all that mattered, though he would be a thief. A prayer, in that case, to Tenebrous Tartaros, Pas's elder son, the terrifying god of night and thieves." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write nine sentences like Gene Wolfe would, using user's text as beginning. Story may drop in mid-narrative" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Marble sat watching, at the back of her class. There had been a time, long ago, when she would have stood, just as there had been a time when her students had labored over keyboards instead of slates. Today, now—in whatever year this might be... Might be...\n\nHer chronological function could not be called; she tried to remember when it had happened before.\n\nMaytera Marble could call a list of her nonfunctioning or defective components whenever she chose, though it had been five years or fifty since she had so chosen. What was the use? Why should she—why ever should anyone—make herself more miserable than the gods had chosen to make her? Weren't the gods cruel enough, deaf to her prayers through so many years, so many decades and days and languid, half-stopped hours? Pas, Great Pas, was god of mechanisms, as of so much else." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Perhaps he was too busy to notice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She pictured him as he stood in the manteion, as tall as a talus, his smooth limbs carved of some white stone finer grained than shiprock—his grave, unseeing eyes, his noble brows." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Have pity on me, Pas, she prayed. Have pity on me, a mortal maid who calls upon you now, but will soon stop forever.\n\nHer right leg had been getting stiffer and stiffer for years, and at times it seemed that even when she sat so still—\n\nA boy to a girl: \"She's asleep!\"\n\n—that when she sat as still as she was sitting here, watching the children take nineteen from twenty-nine and get nine, add seven and seventeen and arrive at twenty-three—that when she sat so still as this, her vision no longer as acute as it once had been, although she could still see the straying, chalky numerals on their slates when the children wrote large, and all children their age wrote large, though their eyes were better than her own.\n\nIt seemed to her that she was always on the point of overheating any more, in hot weather anyway. Pas, Great Pas, God of Sky and Sun and Storm, bring the snow! Bring the cold wind!\n\nThis endless summer, without snow, with no autumn rains and the season for them practically past now, the season for snow nearly upon us, and no snow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Heat and dust and clouds that were all empty, yellow haze. What could Pas, Lord Pas, Husband of Grain-bearing Echidna and Father of the Seven, be thinking of?\n\nA girl: \"Look—she's asleep!\"\n\nAnother: \"I didn't think they slept.\"\n\nA knock at the Sun Street door of the palaestra.\n\n\"I'll get it!\" That was Asphodella's voice.\n\nThis was Ratel's. \"No, I will!\"\n\nFragrant white blossoms and sharp white teeth. Maytera Marble meditated upon names." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Flowers—or plants of some kind, at least—for bio girls; animals or animal products for bio boys. Metals or stones for us.\n\nBoth together: \"Let me!\"\n\nHer old name had been—\n\nHer old name had been...\n\nA crash, as a chair fell. Maytera Marble rose stiffly, one hand gripping the windowsill. \"Stop that this instant!\"\n\nShe could bring up a list of her nonfunctioning and defective parts whenever she chose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had not chosen to do so for close to a century; but from time to time, most often when the cenoby lay on the night side of the long sun, that list came up of itself.\n\n\"Aquifolia! Separate those two before I lose my temper.\"\n\nMaytera Marble could remember the short sun, a disk of orange fire; and it seemed to her that the chief virtue of that old sun had been that no list, no menu, ever appeared unbidden beneath its rays.\n\nBoth together: \"Sib, I wanted—\"\n\n\"Well, neither of you are going to,\" Maytera Marble told them.\n\nAnother knock, too loud for knuckles of bone and skin. She must hurry or Maytera Rose might go, might answer that knock herself, an occasion for complaint that would outlast the snow. If the snow ever arrived.\n\n\"I am going to go myself. Teasel, you're in charge of the class until I return. Keep them at their work, every one of them.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "To give her final words more weight, Maytera Marble paused as long as she dared." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I shall expect you to name those who misbehaved.\"\n\nA good step toward the door. There was an actuator in her right leg that occasionally jammed when it had been idle for an hour or so, but it appeared to be functioning almost acceptably. Another step, and another. Good, good! Praise to you, Great Pas.\n\nShe stopped just beyond the doorway, to listen for an immediate disturbance, then limped down the corridor to the door.\n\nA beefy, prosperous-looking man nearly as tall as Patera Silk had been pounding the panels with the carved handle of his walking stick.\n\n\"May every god favor you this morning,\" Maytera Marble said. \"How may I serve you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My name's Blood,\" he announced." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm looking at the property. I've already seen the garden and so on, but the other buildings are locked. I'd like you to take me through them, and show me this one.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Remember to mention: \"I couldn't possibly admit you to our cenoby,\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I couldn't possibly admit you to our cenoby,\" Maytera Marble said firmly. \"Nor could I permit you to enter the manse alone. I'll be happy to show you through our manteion and this palaestra—provided that you have a valid reason for wishing to see them.\"\n\nBlood's red face became redder still. \"I'm checking the condition of the buildings. All of them need a lot of work, from what I've seen outside.\"\n\nMaytera Marble nodded. \"That's quite true, I'm afraid, although we do everything that we can. Patera Silk's been repairing the roof of the manteion. That was most urgent. Is it true—\"\n\nBlood interrupted her. \"The cenoby—is that the little house on Silver Street?\"\n\nShe nodded.\n\n\"The manse is the one where Silver Street and Sun come together? The little three-cornered house at the west end of the garden?\"\n\n\"That's correct. Is it true, then, that this entire property is to be sold? That's what some of the children have been saying.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "user starts, u write ~12 sentences more. copy Gene Wolfe's style. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As it was every day except Scylsday, \"from noon until the sun can be no thinner,\" the market was thronged. Here all the produce of Viron's fields and gardens was displayed for sale or barter: yams, arrowroot, and hill-country potatoes; onions, scallions, and leeks; squashes yellow, orange, red, and white; sun-starved asparagus; beans black as night or spotted like hounds; dripping watercresses from the shrinking rivulets that fed Lake Limna; lettuces and succulent greens of a hundred sorts; and fiery peppers; wheat, millet, rice, and barley; maize yellower than its name, and white, blue, and red as well, spilling, leaking, and overflowing from baskets, bags, and earthenware pots—this though Patera Silk noted with dismay that prices were higher than he had ever seen them, and many of the stunted ears were missing grains.\n\nHere still despite the drought were dates and grapes, oranges and citrons, pears, papayas, pomegranates and little red bananas; angelica, hyssop, licorice, cicely, cardamom, anise, basil, mandrake, borage, marjoram, mullein, parsley, saxifrage, and scores of other herbs.\n\nHere perfumers waved lofty plumes of dyed pampas grass to strew the overheated air with fragrances matched to every conceivable feminine name; and here those fragrances warred against the savory aromas of roasting meats and bubbling stews, the stinks of beast and men and of the excrements of both. Sides of beef and whole carcasses of pork hung here from cruel-looking hooks of hammered iron; and here (as Silk turned left in search of those who dealt in live beasts and birds) was the rich harvest of the lake: gap-mouthed fish with silver sides and starting eyes, mussels, writhing eels, fretful black crawfish with claws like pliers, eyes like rubies, and fat tails longer than a man's hand; sober gray geese, and ducks richly dressed in brown, green, black, and that odd blue so seldom seen elsewhere that it is called teal. Folding tables and thick polychrome blankets spread on the trampled, uneven soil held bracelets and ornamental pins, flashing rings and cascading necklaces, graceful swords and straight-bladed, double-edged knives with grips of rare hardwoods or colored leathers, and hammers, axes, froes, and scutches.\n\nSwiftly though he shouldered his way through the crowd, greatly aided by his height, his considerable strength, and his sacred office, Silk lingered to watch as a nervous green monkey picked fortunes for a cardbit, and to see a weaver of eight or nine tie the ten thousandth knot in a carpet, her hands working, as it seemed, without reference to her idle, empty little face.\n\nAnd at all times, whether he stood watching or pushed through the crowd, Silk looked deep into the eyes of those who had come to buy or sell, and tried to look into their hearts, too, reminding himself (whenever such prompts were needed) that each was treasured by Pas. Great Pas, with an understanding far beyond that of mere men, accounted this faded housewife with her basket on her arm more precious than any figurine carved from ivory; this sullen, pockmarked boy (so Silk thought of him, though the youth was only a year or two the younger), standing ready to snatch a brass earring or an egg, worth more than all the goods that all such boys might ever hope to steal. Pas had built the whorl for Men, and not made men, or women, or children, for the whorl.\n\n\"Caught today!\" shouted half a dozen voices, by the goodwill of Melodious Molpe or the accident of innumerable repetitions for once practically synchronized. Following the sound, Silk found himself among the sellers he sought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hobbled deer reared and plunged, their soft brown eyes wild with fright; a huge snake lifted its flat, malevolent head, hissing like a kettle on the stove; live salmon gasped and splashed in murky, glass-fronted tanks; pigs grunted, lambs baaed, chickens squawked, and milling goats eyed passersby with curiosity and sharp suspicion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Which of these, if any, would make a suitable gift of thanks to the Outsider?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "To that lone nebulous god, mysterious, beneficent, and severe, whose companion he had been for a time that had seemed less than an instant and longer than centuries?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Motionless at the edge of the seething crowd, one leg pressed against the unpeeled poles that confined the goats, Silk ransacked the whole store of dusty knowledge he had acquired with so much labor during eight years at the schola; and found nothing.\n\nOn the other side of the goat pen, a well-marked young donkey trotted in a circle, reversing direction each time its owner clapped, bowing (a foreleg stretched forward, its wide forehead in the dust) when he whistled. Such a trained animal, Silk reflected, would make a superb sacrifice to any god; but the donkey's price would be nearer thirty cards than three.\n\nA fatted ox recalled the prosperous-looking man called Blood, and Blood's three cards might well obtain it after a session of hard bargaining. Many augurs chose such victims whenever they could, and what remained after the sacrifice would supply the palaestra's kitchen for at least a week, and feed Maytera Rose, Maytera Mint, and himself like so many commissioners as well; but Silk could not believe that a mutilated and stall-fed beast, however sumptuous, would be relished by a god, nor did he himself often indulge in meats of any kind.\n\nLambs, unrelieved black for Stygian Tartaros, Deathly Hierax, and Grim Phaea, purest white for the remainder of the Nine, were the sacrifices most frequently mentioned in the Chrasmologic Writings; but he had offered several such lambs already without attracting a divine presence to the Sacred Window. What sort of thanks would such a lamb—or even an entire flock of such lambs, for Blood's cards put a sizable flock within his reach—be now to the veiled god who had, unbribed, so greatly favored him today?\n\nThis dog-headed ape, trained to light its master's way with cresset or lantern, and (according to a badly lettered placard) to defend him from footpads and assassins, would cost at least as much as the donkey. Shaking his head, Silk walked on.\n\nA Flier—perhaps the same Flier—sailed serenely overhead, his widespread, gauzy wings visible now, his body a dark cross against the darkening streak of the sun. The burly, bearded man beside Silk shook his fist, and several persons muttered maledictions.\n\n\"Don't nobody ever want it to rain,\" the nearest of the sellers of beasts remarked philosophically, \"but everybody wants to go on eatin'.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded his agreement." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The gods smile on us, my son, or so it is written. It's a wonder they don't laugh aloud.\"\n\n\"Do you think they're really spyin' on us, Patera, the way the Ayuntamiento keeps tellin' us? Or do they bring on rain? Rain and storms, that's what my old father used to say, and his before him. I've noticed myself that it's true pretty often. Lord Pas must know that we could use some these days.\"\n\n\"I really don't know,\" Silk confessed. \"I saw one around noon today, and it hasn't rained yet. As for spying upon Viron, what could a Flier see here that any foreign traveler couldn't?\"\n\n\"Nothin' I know about.\" The seller spat. \"That's supposed to bring on rain, too, Patera. Let's hope it works this time. Lookin' for a good sacrifice, are you?\"\n\nSilk's face must have betrayed his surprise, because the seller grinned, revealing a broken front tooth. \"I know you, Patera—that old manteion on Sun Street. Only you went right on past the sheepfold today. Guess they haven't been workin' out for you.\"\n\nSilk endeavored to appear indifferent. \"I'll recognize the beast I want when I see it.\"\n\n\"'Course you will—so let me show you mine.\" The seller raised a soiled finger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, wait a bit. Let me ask you one question first. I'm just an ignorant man, Patera, but isn't a child the best sacrifice of all? The very best gift that a man or even a whole city can make to the gods? The greatest and the highest?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shrugged. \"So it's written, though no such victim has been offered here within living memory. I don't believe that I could do it myself, and it's against the law in any case.\"\n\n\"Exactly what I'm gettin' at!\" Like a conspirator, the seller glanced warily from side to side. \"So what's nearest to a child, eh? Only on the right side of the law? What is it, I ask you, Patera—you and me bein' flash grown men and not no sprats—that half those high-bred females up on the Palatine is givin' suck to on the side? A catachrest, isn't that it?\"\n\nWith a showman's flourish, the seller reached beneath the stained red cloth that draped his table and produced a small wire cage containing an orange-and-white catachrest. Silk was no judge of these animals, but to him it appeared hardly more than a kitten.\n\nThe seller leaned forward, and his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. \"Stolen, Patera. Stolen, or I couldn't possibly sell it, even to you, for—.\" He licked his lips, his restless gaze taking in Silk's faded black robe and lingering on his face. \"For just six little cards. It talks. It walks on its hind legs sometimes, too, and it picks up things to eat with its little paws. It's exactly like a real child. You'll see.\"\n\nLooking into the animal's melting blue eyes (the long, nycterent pupils were rapidly narrowing in the sunlight) Silk could almost believe him.\n\nThe seller tested the point of a long-bladed knife with his finger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You recollect this, don't you, Tick? Then you better talk when I tell you to, and not try to get away, neither, when I let you out.\"\n\nSilk shook his head.\n\nIf he had seen the motion, the seller ignored it. \"Say shop. Talk for the rev'rend augur, Tick. Say shop!\" He prodded the unhappy little catachrest with the point of his knife. \"Shop! Say it!\"\n\n\"Never mind,\" Silk told the seller wearily. \"I'm not going to buy him.\"\n\n\"It'd make you a fine sacrifice, Patera—the finest you could have, inside of the law. What was it I told you? Seven cards, was that it? Tell you what. I'll make it six, but only for today. Just six cards, because I've heard good things about you and hope to do more business with you in the future.\"\n\nSilk shook his head again.\n\n\"Told you Tick was boilin', didn't I? I knew it, and believe me I put crimp on the lad that did it, or I wouldn't have got Tick here half so cheap. Talked about rollin' him over to Hoppy and all that.\"\n\n\"It doesn't matter,\" Silk said.\n\n\"So now I'm goin' to let you steal him off me. Five cards, Patera. You can—talk, you little faker, say somethin'—you can go through the whole market, if you like, and if you can find a nice catachrest like this any cheaper, bring me there and I'll match the price. Five cards, we'll say. You won't be able to touch one half this good for five cards. I promise you that, and I'm a man of my word. Ask anybody.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, my son.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I need the money bad, Patera. I guess I shouldn't say that, but I do. A man has to have some money to buy animals so he's got somethin' to sell, see?\" His voice fell again, so low this time that it was scarcely audible. \"I put mine into a few cold 'uns. You take my meanin', Patera? Only they warmed up an' went bad on me 'fore I could move 'em. So here's what I say—five cards, with one of 'em chalked. How's that? Four down, see, right now. And a card next time I see you, which I will on Molpsday after this comin' Scylsday, Patera, I hope.\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk repeated.\n\n\"Word,\" the little catachrest said distinctly. \"Shoe word, who add pan.\"\n\n\"Don't you call me a bad man.\" Sliding the slender blade between the wires, the seller prodded the catachrest's minute pink nose with the point of his knife. \"The rev'rend augur's not interested in seein' any cully bird, you flea-bit little pap-sucker.\" He glanced up hopefully at Silk. \"Are you, Patera? It is a talkin' bird at that. Naturally it doesn't look exactly like a child. It's a good talker, though—a valuable animal.\"\n\nSilk hesitated." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Include the following text] → \"Go ahead and show me your talking bird. I'm here, so I might just as well have a look at it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Berry add word,\" the catachrest told him spitefully, gripping the wire mesh of his cage. \"Pack!\" He shook it, minute black claws sharper than pins visible at the tips of his fuzzy white toes. \"Add word!\" he repeated. \"Add speak!\"\n\nNo god had spoken through the Sacred Window of the old manteion on Sun Street since long before Silk had been born, and this was an omen beyond question: one of those oracular phrases that the gods, by means no mere human being could ever hope to understand, insert at times into the most banal speech. As calmly as he could manage, Silk said, \"Go ahead and show me your talking bird. I'm here, so I might just as well have a look at it.\" He glanced up at the narrowing sun as if on the point of leaving. \"But I've got to get back soon.\"\n\n\"It's a night chough, Patera,\" the seller told him. \"Only night chough I've had this year.\"\n\nThis cage as well appeared from under the table. The bird crowded into it was large and glossy black, with bright red legs and a tuft of scarlet feathers at its throat; the \"add speak\" of the catachrest's omen was a sullen crimson, long and sharp." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It talks?\" Silk asked, though he was determined to buy it whether it could or not.\n\n\"They all do, Patera,\" the seller assured him, \"all of these here night choughs. They learn from each other, don't you see, down there in the swamps around Palustria. I've had a few before, and this 'un's a better talker than most, from what I've heard it say.\"\n\nSilk studied the bird with some care. It had seemed quite plausible that the little orange-and-white catachrest should speak: it was in fact very like a child, despite its fur. There was nothing about this downhearted fowl to suggest anything of the kind. It might almost have been a large crow.\n\n\"Somebody learned the first 'un back in the short sun time, Patera,\" the seller explained. \"That's the story they tell about 'em, anyhow. I s'pose he got sick of hearin' it jabber an' let it go—or maybe it give him the air, 'cause they're dimber hands for that—then that 'un went home an' learned all the rest. I bought this 'un off of a limer that come up from down south. Last Phaesday, just a week ago it was. I give him a card for it.\"\n\nSilk grinned. \"You've a fine manner for lying, my son, but your matter gives you away. You paid ten bits or less. Isn't that what you mean?\"\n\nSensing a sale, the seller's eyes brightened. \"Why, I couldn't let it go for anything under a full card, don't you see, Patera? I'd be losing on it, an' just when I need gelt so bad. You look at this bird, now. Young an' fit as you could ask for, an' wild bred. An' then brought here clean from Palustria. A bird that'd cost you a card—every bit of one an' maybe some over—in the big market there. Why this cage here, by itself, would cost you twenty or thirty bits.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" Silk exclaimed, rubbing his hands." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write nine sentences like Gene Wolfe would, using user's text as beginning. Story may drop in mid-narrative" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The hour for the palaestra's assembly was striking when Silk returned with the night chough. A hurried sacrifice, he decided, might be worse than none, and the live bird would be a ruinous distraction. The manse had doors on Sun and Silver Streets, but he kept them bolted, as Patera Pike had. He let himself in by the garden gate, and trotted down the graveled path between the west wall of the manteion and the sickly fig tree, swung left between the grape arbor and Maytera Marble's herb garden, and took the manse's disintegrating steps two at a time. Opening the kitchen door, he set the birdcage on the shaky wooden table, pumped vigorously until the water gushed forth clear and cold, and left a full cup within easy reach of the big bird's crimson beak. By then he could hear the students trooping into the manteion. Smoothing his hair with a damp hand, he darted off to address them at the conclusion of their day.\n\nThe low door at the rear of the manteion stood open for ventilation. Silk strode through it, up a short stair whose treads had been sloped and hollowed by the hastening feet of generations of augurs, and into the dim sanctum behind the Sacred Window." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still thinking of the market and the morose black bird he had left in the kitchen of the manse, fumbling mentally for something of real significance that he might say to seventy-three students whose ages ranged from eight to almost sixteen, he verified power and scanned the Sacred Window's registers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "All were empty. Had Great Pas actually come to this very Window?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Had any god, ever? Had Great Pas, as Patera Pike had averred so often, once congratulated and encouraged him, urging him to prepare, to stand ready for the hour (soon to come, or so Pas had appeared to intimate) when this present whorl would vanish, would be left behind?\n\nSuch things seemed impossible. Testing connections with an angled arm of the voided cross he wore, Silk prayed for faith; and then—stepping carefully across a meandering primary cable whose insulation was no longer to be relied upon—drew a deep breath, stepped from behind the Window, and took his place at the chipped ambion that through so many such assemblies had been Patera Pike's.\n\nWhere slept Pike now, that good old man, that faithful old servant who had slept so badly, who had nodded off for a moment or two—only a moment or two—at each meal they had shared? Who had both resented and loved the tall young acolyte who had been thrust upon him after so many years, so many slow decades of waiting alone, who had loved him as no one had except his mother?\n\nWhere was he now, old Patera Pike? Where did he sleep, and did he sleep well there at last? Or did he wake as he always had, stirring in the long bedroom next to Silk's own, his old bed creaking, creaking?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Praying at midnight or past midnight, at shadeup with the skylands fading, praying as Viron extinguished its bonfires and its lanterns, its many-branched candelabras, praying as they were forfeited to the revealed sun." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'echidna' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Praying as day's uncertain shadows reappeared and resumed their accustomed places, as the morning glories flared and the long, white trumpets of the night silently folded themselves upon themselves.\n\nSleeping beside the gods, did old Patera Pike waken no longer to recall the gods to their duties?\n\nErect at Patera Pike's ambion, beside the luminous gray vacuity of the Sacred Window, Silk took a moment to observe the students before he began. All were poor, he knew; and for more than a few the noon meal that half a dozen mothers had prepared in the palaestra's kitchen had been the first of the day. Yet most were almost clean; and all—under the sharp gaze of Maytera Rose, Maytera Marble, and Maytera Mint—were well behaved.\n\nWhen the new year had begun, he had taken the older boys from Maytera Mint and given them to Maytera Rose: the reverse of the arrangement Patera Pike had instituted. As he ran his eyes over them now, Silk decided it had been unwise. The older boys had, for the most part, obeyed timid Maytera Mint out of an odd, half-formed chivalry, enforced when necessary by leaders like Horn; they had no such regard for Maytera Rose, and she herself imposed an inflexible and merciless order that might very well be the worst possible example to give the older boys, young men who would so soon (so very, very quickly) be maintaining order in families of their own.\n\nSilk turned from the students to contemplate the images of Pas and his consort, Echidna: Twice-Headed Pas with his lightnings, Echidna with her serpents." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was effective; the murmur of young voices faded, dying away to an expectant hush." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At the back of the manteion, Maytera Marble's eyes gleamed like violet sparks beneath her coif, and Silk knew that those eyes were on him; however much she might approve of him, Maytera Marble did not yet trust him to speak from the ambion without making a fool of himself.\n\n\"There will be no sacrifice today, at this assembly,\" he began, \"though all of us know that there should be.\" He smiled, seeing that he had their interest. \"This month began the first year for eleven of you. Even so, you probably know by now that we rarely have a victim for our assembly.\n\n\"Perhaps some of you are wondering why I've mentioned it today. It's because the situation on this particular day is somewhat different—there will be a sacrifice, here in this manteion, after you have gone home. All of you, I feel quite certain, recall the lambs.\"\n\nAbout half nodded.\n\n\"I bought those, as I think you know, using money I had saved while I was at the schola—money that my mother had sent to me—and with money I had saved here from the salary I receive from the Chapter. Do all of you realize that our manteion operates at a loss?\"\n\nThe older ones did, as was plain from their expressions.\n\n\"It does,\" Silk continued. \"The gifts we receive on Scylsday, and at other times, aren't enough to offset the very small salaries paid to our sibyls and me. Our taxes are in arrears—that means we owe money to the Juzgado, and we have various other debts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Occasionally animals are presented by benefactors, people who hope for the favor of the merciful gods. Perhaps your own parents are among them, and if they are we are very grateful to them. When no such victims are presented, our sibyls and I pool our salaries to buy a victim for Scylsday, generally a pigeon.\n\n\"But the lambs, as I said, I bought myself. Why do you think I did that, Addax?\"\n\nAddax, as old as Horn and with coloring nearly as light as Silk's own, stood. \"To foretell the future, Patera.\"\n\nSilk nodded as Addax resumed his seat. \"Yes, to know the future of our manteion. The entrails of those lambs told me that it is bright, as you know. But mostly because I sought the favor of various gods and hoped to win it by gifts.\" Silk glanced at the Sacred Window behind him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I offered the first lamb to Pas and the second to Scylla, the patroness of our city. Those, so I thought, were all that I had funds for—a single white lamb for All-powerful Pas, and another for Scylla. And I asked, as I should tell you, for a particular favor—I asked that they appear to us again, as they did of old. I longed for assurances of their love, not thinking how needless they would be when ample assurances are found throughout the Chrasmologic Writings.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tapped the worn book before him on the ambion.\n\n\"Late one evening, as I read the Writings, I came to understand that. I'd read them from boyhood—and never learned in all that time how much the gods love us, though they had told me over and over. Of what use was it, in that case, for me to have a copy of my own? I sold it, but the twenty bits it brought would not have bought another white lamb, or even a black lamb for Phaea, whose day this is. I bought a gray lamb instead, and offered it to all the gods, and the entrails of the gray lamb held the same messages of hope that I had read in the white lambs. Then I should have known, though I did not, that it was not one of the Nine who was speaking to us through the lambs. Today I learned the identity of that god, but I won't tell you that today; there is still too much I have not understood.\" Silk picked up the Writings and stared at the binding for a moment before he spoke again.\n\n\"This is the manteion's copy. It's the one that I read now, and it's a better one—a better printed copy, with more extensive notes—than my old one, the one I sold so that I might make a gift to all the gods. There are lessons there, and I hope that every one of you will master them. Wrestle with them a while, if they seem too difficult for you at first, and never forget that it was to teach you these wrestlings that our palaestra was founded long ago.\n\n\"Yes, Kit? What is it?\"\n\n\"Patera, is a god really going to come.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Some of the older students laughed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk waited until they were quiet again before he replied. \"Yes, Kit. A god will come to our Sacred Window, though we may have to wait a very long time. But we need not wait—we have their love and their wisdom here. Open these Writings at any point, Kit, and you'll find a passage applicable to your present condition—to the problems you have today, or to the ones you'll have to deal with tomorrow. How is this possible? Who will tell me?\" Silk studied the blank faces before him before calling on one of the girls who had laughed loudest. \"Answer, Ginger.\"\n\nShe rose reluctantly, smoothing her skirt. \"Because everything's connected to everything else, Patera?\" It was one of his own favorite sayings.\n\n\"Don't you know, Ginger?\"\n\n\"Because everything's connected.\"\n\nSilk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That everything in the whorl is dependent on every other thing is unquestionably true. But if that were the answer to my question, we ought to find any passage from any book as appropriate to our condition as one from the Chrasmologic Writings. You need only look into any other book at random to prove that it isn't so. But,\" he tapped the shabby cover again, \"when I open this book, what will we find?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He did so, dramatically, and read the line at the top of the page aloud: \"'Are ten birds to be had for a song?'\"\n\nThe clarity of this reference to his recent transaction in the market stunned him, afrighting his thoughts like so many birds. He swallowed and continued. \"'You have daubed Oreb the raven, but can you make him sing?'\n\n\"I'll interpret that for you in a moment,\" he promised. \"First I wish to explain to you that the authors of these Writings knew not only the state of the whorl in their time—and what it had been—but what was yet to come. I'm referring,\" he paused, his eyes lingering on every face, \"to the Plan of Pas. Everyone who understands the Plan of Pas understands the future. Am I making myself plain? The plan of Pas is the future, and to understand it and follow it is the principal duty of every man, and of every woman and each child.\n\n\"Knowing the Plan of Pas, as I said, the Chrasmatists knew what would best serve us each time this book would be opened—what would most firmly set your feet and mine upon the Aureate Path.\"\n\nSilk paused again to study the youthful faces before him; there was a flicker of interest here and there, but no more than a flicker. He sighed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Now we return to the lines themselves. The first, 'Are ten birds to be had for a song?' bears three meanings at least. As you grow older and learn to think more deeply, you'll learn that every line of the Writings bears two meanings or more. One of the meanings here applies to me personally. I'll explain that meaning in a moment. The other two have application to all of us, and I'm going to deal with them first.\n\n\"To begin, we must assume that the birds referred to are of the singing kind. Notice that in the next line, when the singing kind isn't intended, that is made plain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What then, is signified by these ten singing birds?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Frequency requirement: 'birds' - 3 occurrence(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Children in class—that is to say yourselves—provide an obvious interpretation, surely. You're called upon to recite for the good sibyls who are your teachers, and your voices are high, like the twitterings of songbirds. To buy something for a song is to buy it cheaply. The meaning, as we see, is: is this multitude of young scholars to be sold cheaply? And the answer is clearly, no. Remember, children, how much Great Pas values, and tells us over and over again that he values, every living creature in the whorl, every color and kind of berry and butterfly—and human beings above all. No, birds are not to be sold for a song; birds are precious to Pas. We don't sacrifice birds and other animals to the immortal gods because they are of no value, do we? That would be insulting to the very gods." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"'Are ten birds to be had for a song?' No. No, you children are not to be sold cheaply.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had their interest now. Everyone was awake, and many were leaning forward in their seats. \"For the second, we must consider the second line as well. Notice that ten singing birds might easily produce, not ten, but tens of thousands of songs.\" For a moment the picture filled his mind as it had once, perhaps, filled that of the long-dead Chrasmologic author: a patio garden with a fountain and many flowers, its top covered with netting—bulbuls, thrushes, larks, and goldfinches, their voices weaving a rich fabric of melody that would stretch unbroken through decades and perhaps through a century, until the netting rotted and the birds flew free at last.\n\nAnd even then, might they not return at times? Would they not surely return, darting through rents in the ruined netting to drink at that tinkling fountain and nest in the safety of the patio garden, their long concerto ended yet continued beyond its end, as the orchestra plays when the audience is leaving a theater? Playing on and on for the joy of the music, when the last theater-goer has gone home, when the yawning ushers are snuffing the candles and the guttering footlights, when the actors and actresses have washed away their makeup and changed back into the clothing they ordinarily wear, the plain brown skirts and trousers, drab blouses and tunics and coats worn to the theater, worn to work as so many other drab brown garments, as plain as the bulbuls' brown feathers, were worn to work?\n\n\"But if the birds are sold,\" Silk continued (actors and actresses, theater and audience, garden, fountain, net, and songbirds all banished from his consciousness), \"how are songs to be had? We, who were so rich in songs, are now left poor. It will not help us, as the foreknowing authors point out in the next line, to daub a raven, smearing a black bird with the delicate beauties of the lark or the decent brown of the bulbul. Not enough, even, to gild it like a goldfinch. It is still a raven.\"\n\nHe drew a deep breath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Any ignorant man, you see, my children, may find himself in a position of veneration and authority. Suppose, for example, that some uneducated man—let us say an upright and an honorable man, one of you boys in Maytera Marble's class taken from her class and brought up with no further education—were by some chance to be thrust into the office of His Cognizance the Prolocutor. You would eat and sleep in His Cognizance's big palace on the Palatine. You would hold the baculus and wear the jeweled robes, and all the rest of us would kneel for your blessing. But you could not provide us with the wisdom that it would be your duty to supply. You would be a croaking raven daubed with paint, with gaudy colors.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "While he counted silently to three, Silk stared up at the manteion's dusty rafters, giving the image time to sink into the minds of his audience. \"I hope that you understand, from what I've said, why your education must continue. And I hope, too, that you also understand that though I took my example from the Chapter, I might just as easily have taken it from common life, speaking of a trader or a merchant, of a chief clerk or a commissioner. You have need of learning, children, in order that the whorl will someday have need of you.\"\n\nSilk paused once more, both hands braced upon the old, cracked stone ambion. The tarnished sunlight that streamed through the lofty window above the wide Sun Street door was perceptibly less brilliant now. \"Thus the Writings have made it abundantly clear that your palaestra will not be sold—not for taxes, or any other reason. I've heard that there is a rumor that it will be, and that many of you believe it. I repeat, that is not the case.\"\n\nFor a moment he basked in their smiles.\n\n\"Now I'll tell you about the meaning that this passage holds for me. It was I who opened the Writings, you see, and so there was a message for me as well as for all of us here. Today, while you were studying, I went to market." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There I purchased a fine speaking bird, a night chough, for a private sacrifice—one that I shall make when you have gone home.\n\n\"I've already told you how, when I bought the lambs you enjoyed so much, I hoped that a god, pleased with us, would come to this Window, as gods appeared here in the past. And I tried to show you how foolish that was. Another gift, a far greater gift, was given me instead—a gift that all the lambs in the market could not buy. I've said that I'm not going to tell you about it today, but I will tell you that it wasn't because of my prayers, or the sacrifices, or any other good work of mine that I received it. But receive it I did.\"\n\nOld Maytera Rose coughed, a dry, sceptical sound from the mechanism that had replaced her larynx before Silk had spoken his first word.\n\n\"I knew that I, and I alone, must offer a sacrifice of thanks for that, though I had already spent all of the money that I had on the lambs. I would like very much to explain to you now that I had some wise plan for dealing with my dilemma—with my problem—but I didn't. Knowing only that a victim was necessary, I dashed off to the market, trusting in the merciful gods. Nor did they fail me. On the way I met a stranger who provided me with the price of an excellent victim, the speaking night chough I told you about earlier, a bird very like a raven.\n\n\"I found out, you see, that birds are not sold for a song. And I was given a sign—such is the generosity of the gracious gods to those who petition them—that a god will indeed come to this Sacred Window when I have made my sacrifice. It may be a long time, as I told Kit, so we must not be impatient. We must have faith, and remember always that the gods have other ways of speaking to us, and that if our Windows have fallen silent, these others have not. In omens and dreams and visions, the gods speak to us as they did when our parents and grandparents were young. Whenever we are willing to provide a victim, they speak to us plainly through augury, and the Writings are always here for us, to be consulted in a moment whenever we have need of them. We should be ashamed to say, as some people sometimes do, that in this age we are like boats without rudders.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Thunder rumbled through the windows, louder even than the bawlings of the beggars and vendors on Sun Street; the children stirred uneasily at the sound. After leading them in a brief prayer, Silk dismissed them.\n\nAlready the first hot, heavy drops of the storm were turning the yellow dust to mud beyond the manteion's doors. Children scurried off up or down Sun Street, none lingering this afternoon, as they sometimes did, to gossip or play.\n\nThe three sibyls had remained inside to assist at his sacrifice. Silk jogged from the manteion back to the manse, pulled on leather sacrificial gauntlets, and took the night chough from its cage. It struck at his eyes like an adder, its long, crimson beak missing by a finger's width.\n\nHe caught its head in one gauntleted hand, reminding himself grimly that many an augur had been killed by the victim he had intended to sacrifice, that scarcely a year passed without some unlucky augur, somewhere in the city, being gored by a bull or a stag.\n\n\"Don't try that again, you bad bird.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He spoke half to himself." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't you know you'll be accursed forever if you harm me? You'll be stoned to death, and your spirit handed over to devils.\"\n\nThe night chough's bill clacked; its wings beat vainly until he trapped its struggling body beneath his left arm." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "lets continue this story bit. one sentence more like Gene Wolfe would. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. characters might be established already" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Back in the dim and airless heat of the manteion, the sibyls had kindled the sacrificial fire on the altar." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Silk entered, a solemn procession of one down the central aisle, they began their slow dance, their wide black skirts flapping, their tuneless voices lifted in an eerie, ritual wail that was as old as the whorl itself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The fire was a small one, and its fragrant split cedar was already burning fast; Silk told himself that he would have to act quickly if his sacrifice were not to take place when the flames were dying, always a bad omen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Passing the bird quickly over the fire, he pronounced the shortest invocation and gave his instructions in a rush of uncadenced words: \"Bird, you must speak to every god and goddess you encounter, telling them of our faith and of our great love and loyalty." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Say too how grateful I am for the immense and undeserved condescension accorded me, and tell them how earnestly we desire their divine presence at this, our Sacred Window." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Bird, you must speak thus to Great Pas, the Father of the Gods." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Bird, you must speak thus also to Sinuous Echidna, Great Pas's consort. You must speak so to Scalding Scylla, to Marvelous Molpe, to Black Tartaros, to Mute Hierax, to Enchanting Thelxiepeia, to Ever-feasting Phaea, to Desert Sphigx, and to any other god that you may encounter in Mainframe—but particularly to the Outsider, who has greatly favored me, saying that for the remainder of my days I will do his will. That I abase myself before him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, no,\" the night chough muttered, as it had in the market." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And then, \"Please, no.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk pronounced the final words: \"Have no speech with devils, bird. Neither are you to linger in any place where devils are.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Grasping the frantic night chough firmly by the neck, he extended his gauntleted right hand to Maytera Rose, the senior among the sibyls." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Into it she laid the bone-hilted knife of sacrifice that Patera Pike had inherited from his own predecessor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Its long, oddly crooked blade was dull with years and the ineradicable stains of blood, but both edges were bright and keen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The night chough's beak gaped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It struggled furiously. A last strangled half-human cry echoed from the distempered walls of the manteion, and the wretched night chough went limp in Silk's grasp." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Interrupting the ritual, he held the flaccid body to his ear, then brushed open one blood-red eye with his thumb." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's dead,\" he told the wailing women." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a moment he was at a loss for words." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helplessly he muttered, \"I've never had this happen before. Dead already, before I could sacrifice it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They halted their shuffling dance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maytera Marble said diplomatically, \"No doubt it has already carried your thanks to the gods, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Rose sniffed loudly and reclaimed the sacrificial knife." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Little Maytera Mint inquired timidly, \"Aren't you going to burn it, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mishaps of this kind are covered in the rubrics, Maytera, although I admit I never thought I'd have to apply those particular strictures. They state unequivocally that unless another victim can be produced without delay, the sacrifice must not proceed. In other words, we can't just throw this dead bird into the sacred fire. This could just as well be something that one of the children picked up in the street.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wanted to rid himself of it as he spoke—to fling it among the benches or drop it down the chute into which Maytera Marble and Maytera Mint would eventually shovel the still-sacred ashes of the altar fire." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Controlling himself with an effort, he added, \"All of you have seen more of life than I. Haven't you ever assisted at a profaned sacrifice before?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Rose sniffed again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like her earlier sniff, it reeked of condemnation; what had happened was unquestionably Patera Silk's fault, and his alone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been he and none other (as the sniff made exquisitely plain), who had chosen this contemptible bird." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If only he had been a little more careful, a little more knowledgeable, and above all a great deal more pious—in short, much, much more like poor dear Patera Pike—nothing of this shameful kind could possibly have occurred." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Marble said, \"No, Patera, never. May I speak with you when we're through here, on another topic? In my room in the palaestra, perhaps?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I'll meet you there as soon as I've disposed of this, Maytera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The temptation to berate himself proved too strong." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'better' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I ought to have known better. The Writings warned me; but they left me foolish enough to suppose that my sacrifice might yet be acceptable, even if our Sacred Window remained empty. This will be a salutary lesson for me, Maytera. At least I certainly hope it will be, and it had better be. Thank Phaea that the children weren't here to see it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "By this time Maytera Mint had nerved herself to speak." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No one can ever know the mind of the Outsider, Patera. He isn't like the other gods, who take counsel with one another in Mainframe.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But when the gods have spoken so clearly—\" Realizing that what he was saying was not to the point, Silk left the thought incomplete." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're right, of course, Maytera. His desires have been made plain to me, and this sacrifice was not included among them. In the future I'll try to confine myself to doing what he's told me to do. I know I can rely upon all of you to assist me in that, as in everything.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maytera Rose did not sniff a third time, mercifully contenting herself with scratching her nose instead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her nose, her mouth, and her right eye were the most presentable parts of her face; and though they had been molded of some tough polymer, they appeared almost normal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her left eye, with which she had been born, seemed at once mad and blind, bleared and festering." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "While trying to avoid that eye, and wishing (as he so often had since coming to the manteion) that replacements were still available, Silk shifted the night chough from his left hand to his right." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you, Maytera Rose, Maytera Marble, Maytera Mint. Thank you. We'll do much better next time, I feel certain.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had slipped off his sacrificial gauntlets; the hated bird felt warm and somehow dusty in his perspiring hands. \"In the palaestra, in five minutes or so, Maytera Marble.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing a segment of a larger work\n\nLength:\n6 sentences\n\nStyle:\nGene Wolfe\nGenre:\nScience Fiction, Generation Ship\nNote: Characters may be pre-established" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In here, Patera!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk halted abruptly, nearly slipping as the wet gravel rolled beneath his shoes.\n\n\"In the arbor,\" Maytera Marble added. She waved, her black-clad arm and gleaming hand just visible through the screening grape leaves.\n\nThe first fury of the storm had passed off quickly, but it was still raining, a gentle pattering that settled like a benediction upon her struggling beds of kitchen herbs.\n\nWe meet like lovers, Silk thought as he regained his balance and pushed aside the dripping foliage, and wondered for an instant whether she did not think the same.\n\nNo. As lovers, he admitted to himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For he loved her as he had loved his mother, as he might have loved the older sister he had never had, striving to draw forth the shy smile she achieved by an inclination of her head—to win her approval, the approbation of an old sibyl, of a worn-out chem at whom nobody, when he had been small and there had been a lot more chems around, would ever have troubled to glance twice, whom no one but the youngest children ever thought interesting. How lonely he would have been in the midst of the brawling congestion of this quarter, if it had not been for her!\n\nShe rose as he entered the arbor and sat again as he sat. He said, \"You really don't have to do that when we're alone, sib. I've told you.\"\n\nMaytera Marble tilted her head in such a way that her rigid, metal face appeared contrite. \"Sometimes I forget. I apologize, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And I forget that I should never correct you, because I always find out, as soon as it's too late, that you were right after all. What is it you want to talk to me about, Maytera?\"\n\n\"You don't mind the rain?\" Maytera Marble looked up at the overarching thatch of vines.\n\n\"Of course not. But you must. If you don't feel like walking all the way to the palaestra, we could go into the manteion. I want to see if the roof still leaks, anyway.\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"Maytera Rose would be upset. She knows that it's perfectly innocent, but she doesn't want us meeting in the palaestra, with no one else present. People might talk, you know—the kind of people who never attend sacrifices anyway, and are looking for an excuse. And she didn't want to come herself, and Maytera Mint's watching the fire. So I thought out here. It's not quite so private—Maytera can see us through the windows of the cenoby—and we still have a bit of shelter from the rain.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I understand.\"\n\n\"You said the rain must make me uncomfortable. That was very kind of you, but I don't feel it and my clothes will dry. I've had no trouble drying the wash lately, but it takes a great deal of pumping to get enough water to do it in. Is the manse's well still good?\"\n\n\"Yes, of course.\" Seeing her expression, Silk shook his head. \"No, not of course. It's comforting to believe as children do that Pas won't resist his daughter's pleas in our behalf much longer, and that he'll always provide for us. But one never knows, really; we can only hope. If we must have new wells dug, the Church will have to lend us the money, that's all. If we can't keep this manteion going without new wells, it will have to.\"\n\nMaytera Marble said nothing, but sat with head bowed as though unable to meet his eyes.\n\n\"Does it worry you so much, Maytera? Listen, and I'll tell you a secret. The Outsider has enlightened me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Motionless, she might have been a time-smoothed statue, decked for some eccentric commemorative purpose in a sibyl's black robe." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's true, Maytera! Don't you believe me?\"\n\nLooking up she said, \"I believe that you believe you've been enlightened, Patera. I know you well, or at least I think I do, and you wouldn't lie about a thing like that.\"\n\n\"And he told me why—to save our manteion. That's my task.\" Silk stumbled after words. \"You can't imagine how good it feels to be given a task by a god, Maytera. It's wonderful! You know it's what you were made for, and your whole heart points toward that one thing.\"\n\nHe rose, unable to sit still any longer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I'm to save our manteion, doesn't that tell us something? I ask you.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "At some point in your response, insert this verbatim: \"I don't want you to catch cold.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know, Patera. Does it?\"\n\n\"Yes! Yes, it does. We can apply logic even to the instructions of the gods, can't we? To their acts and to their words, and we can certainly apply logic to this. It tells us two things, both of major importance. First, that the manteion's in danger. He wouldn't have ordered me to save it if it weren't, would he? So there's a threat of some sort, and that's vital for us to know.\" Silk strode out into the warm rain to stare east toward Mainframe, the home of the gods.\n\n\"The second is even more important, Maytera. It's that our manteion can be saved. It's endangered, not doomed, in other words. He wouldn't have ordered me to save it if that couldn't be done, would he?\"\n\n\"Please come in and sit down, Patera,\" Maytera Marble pleaded. \"I don't want you to catch cold.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk re-entered the arbor, and she stood.\n\n\"You don't have—\" he began, then grinned sheepishly. \"Forgive me, Maytera. Forgive me, please. I grow older, learning nothing at all.\"\n\nShe swung her head from side to side, her silent laugh. \"You're not old, Patera. I watched you play a while today, and none of the boys are as quick as you are.\"\n\n\"That's only because I've been playing longer,\" he said, and they sat down together." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Smiling she clasped his hand in hers, surprising him. The soft skin had worn from the tips of her fingers long ago, leaving bare steel darkened like her thoughts by time, and polished by unending toil. \"You and the children are the only things at this manteion that aren't old. You don't belong here, neither of you.\"\n\n\"Maytera Mint's not old. Not really, Maytera, though I know she's a good deal older than I am.\"\n\nMaytera Marble sighed, a soft hish like the weary sweep of a mop across a terrazzo floor. \"Poor Maytera Mint was born old, I fear. Or taught to be old before she could talk, perhaps. However that may be, she has always belonged here. As you never have, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You believe it's going to be torn down, too, don't you? No matter what the Outsider may have told me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Reluctantly, Maytera Marble nodded. \"Yes, I do. Or as I ought to say, the buildings themselves may remain, although even that appears to be in doubt. But your manteion will no longer bring the gods to the people of this quarter, and our palaestra will no longer teach their children.\"\n\nSilk snapped, \"What chance would these sprats have—without your palaestra?\"\n\n\"What chance do children of their class have now?\"\n\nHe shook his head angrily, and would have liked to paw the ground.\n\n\"Such things have happened before, Patera. The Chapter will find new manteions for us. Better manteions, I think, because it would be difficult to find worse ones. I'll go on teaching and assisting, and you'll go on sacrificing and shriving. It will be all right.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "💬 Please integrate this quote: \"I've told no one except a man I met in the street on my way to the market and you, and neither of you have believed me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I received enlightenment today,\" Silk said. \"I've told no one except a man I met in the street on my way to the market and you, and neither of you have believed me.\"\n\n\"Patera—\"\n\n\"So it's clear that I'm not telling it very well, isn't it? Let me see if I can't do better.\" He was silent for a moment, rubbing his cheek.\n\n\"I'd been praying and praying for help. Praying mostly to the Nine, of course, but praying to every god and goddess in the Writings at one time or another; and about noon today my prayers were answered by the Outsider, as I've told you. Maytera, do you...\" His voice quavered, and he found that he could not control it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do you know what he said to me, Maytera? What he told me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her hands closed upon his until their grip was actually painful." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Only that he has instructed you to preserve our manteion. Please tell me the rest, if you can.\"\n\n\"You're right, Maytera. It isn't easy. I had always thought enlightenment would be a voice out of the sun, or in my own head, a voice that spoke in words. But it's not like that at all. He whispers to you in so many voices, and the words are living things that show you. Not just seeing, the way you might see another person in a glass, but hearing and smelling—and touch and pain, too, but all of them wrapped together so they become the same, parts of that one thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And you understand. When I say he showed me, or that he told me something, that's what I mean.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Marble nodded encouragingly.\n\n\"He showed me all the prayers that have ever been said to any god for this manteion. I saw all the children at prayer from the time it was first built, their mothers and fathers too, and people who just came in to pray, or came to one of our sacrifices because they hoped to get a piece of meat, and prayed while they were here.\n\n\"And I saw the prayers of all you sibyls, from the very beginning. I don't ask you to believe this, Maytera, but I've seen every prayer you've ever said for our manteion, or for Maytera Rose and Maytera Mint, or for Patera Pike and me, and—well, for everyone in this whole quarter, thousands and thousands of prayers. Prayers on your knees and prayers standing up, and prayers you said while you were cooking and scrubbing floors. There used to be a Maytera Milkwort here, and I saw her praying, and a Maytera Betel, a big dark woman with sleepy eyes.\" Silk paused for breath. \"Most of all, I saw Patera Pike.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This is wonderful!\" Maytera Marble exclaimed. \"It must have been marvelous, Patera.\" Silk knew it was impossible, that it was only their crystalline lenses catching the light, but it seemed to him that her eyes shone.\n\n\"And the Outsider decided to grant all those prayers. He told Patera Pike, and Patera Pike was so happy! Do you remember the day I came here from the schola, Maytera?\"\n\nMaytera Marble nodded again.\n\n\"That was the day. The Outsider granted Patera Pike enlightenment that day, and he said—he said, here's the help that I'm—that I'm...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk had begun to weep, and was suddenly ashamed." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Ensure 'child' appears 2 time(s) in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was raining harder now, as if encouraged by the tears that streaked his cheeks and chin. Maytera Marble pulled a big, clean, white handkerchief out of her sleeve and gave it to him.\n\nShe's always so practical, he thought, wiping his eyes and nose. A handkerchief for the little ones; she must have a child sobbing in her class every day. The record of her days is written in tears, and today I'm that sobbing child. He managed to say, \"Your children can't often be as old as I am, Maytera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In class, you mean, Patera? They're never as old. Oh, you must mean the grown men and women who were mine when they were boys and girls. Many of them are older than you are. The oldest must be sixty, or about that. I was—didn't teach until then.\" She called her memorandum file, chiding herself as she always did for not calling it more often. \"Which reminds me. Do you know Auk, Patera?\"\n\nSilk shook his head. \"Does he live in this quarter?\"\n\n\"Yes, and comes on Scylsday, sometimes. You must have seen him. The large, rough-looking man who sits in back?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "can you add this somewhere in your response:\n\"I'm sorry to hear that,\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"With the big jaw? His clothes are clean, but he looks as if he hasn't shaved. He wears a hanger—or perhaps it's a hunting sword—and he's always alone. Was he one of your boys?\"\n\nMaytera Marble nodded sadly. \"He's a criminal now, Patera. He breaks into houses.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry to hear that,\" Silk said. For an instant he had a mental picture of the hulking man from the back of the manteion surprised by a householder and whirling clumsily but very quickly to confront him, like a baited bear.\n\n\"I'm sorry, too, Patera, and I've been wanting to talk to you about him. Patera Pike shrove him last year. You were here, but I don't think you knew about it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If I did, I've forgotten.\" To quiet the hiss of the wide blade as it cleared the scabbard, Silk shook his head. \"But you're right, Maytera. I doubt that I knew.\"\n\n\"I didn't learn about it from Patera myself. Maytera Mint told me. Auk still likes her, and they have a little talk now and then.\"\n\nBlowing his nose in his own handkerchief, Silk relaxed a trifle. This, he felt certain, was what she had wanted to speak to him about." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Patera was able to get Auk to promise not to rob poor people any more. He'd done that, he said. He'd done it quite often, but he wouldn't any more. He promised Patera, Maytera says, and he promised her, too. You're going to lecture me now, Patera, because the promise of a man like that—a criminal's promise—can't be trusted.\"\n\n\"No man's promise can be trusted absolutely,\" Silk said slowly, \"since no man is, or can ever be, entirely free from evil. I include myself in that, certainly.\"\n\nMaytera Marble pushed her handkerchief back into her sleeve. \"I think Auk's promise, freely given, can be relied on as much as anybody's, Patera. As much as yours, and I don't intend to be insulting. That was the way he was as a boy, and it's the way he is as a man, too, as well as I can judge. He never had a mother or a father, not really. He—but I'd better not go on, or I'll let slip things that Maytera's made me promise not to repeat, and then I'll feel terrible, and I'll have to tell both of them that I broke my word.\"\n\n\"Do you really believe that I may be able to help this man, Maytera? I'm surely no older than he is, and probably younger. He's not going to respect me the way he respected Patera Pike, remember.\"\n\nRain dripping from the sparkling leaves dotted Maytera Marble's skirt; she brushed at the spots absently." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That may be true, Patera, but you'll understand him better than Patera Pike could, I think. You're young, and as strong as he is, or almost. And he'll respect you as an augur. You needn't be afraid of him. Have I ever asked a favor of you, Patera? A real favor?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You asked me to intercede with Maytera Rose once, and I tried. I think I probably did more harm than good, so we won't count that. But you could ask a hundred favors if you wanted to, Maytera. You've earned that many and more.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Essential phrase to include: \"Thank you, Patera. Patera, you've known me for over a year now. Am I lacking in faith?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then talk with Auk, Patera, some Scylsday. Shrive him if he asks you to.\"\n\n\"That isn't a favor,\" Silk said. \"I'd do that much for anyone; but of course you want me to make a special effort for this Auk, to speak to him and take him aside, and so on; and I will.\"\n\n\"Thank you, Patera. Patera, you've known me for over a year now. Am I lacking in faith?\"\n\nThe question caught Silk by surprise. \"You, Maytera? Why—why I've never thought so. You've always seemed, I mean to me at least—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yet I haven't had the faith in you, and the god who enlightened you, that I should've had. I just realized it. I've been trusting in merely human words and appearances, like any petty trader. You were saying that the god had promised Patera Pike help, I think. Could you tell me more about that? I was only listening with care before. This time I'll listen with faith, or try to.\"\n\n\"There's more than I could ever tell.\" Silk stroked his cheek. He had himself in check now. \"Patera Pike was enlightened, as I said; and I was shown his enlightenment. He was told that all those prayers he had said over so many years were to be granted that day—that the help he had asked for, for himself and for this manteion and the whole quarter, would be sent to him at once.\"\n\nSilk discovered that his fists were clenched." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He made himself relax. \"I was shown all that; then I saw that help arrive, alight as if with Pas's fire from the sun. And it was me. That was all it was, just me.\"\n\n\"Then you cannot fail,\" Maytera Marble told him softly.\n\nSilk shook his head. \"I wish it were that easy. I can fail, Maytera. I dare not.\"\n\nShe looked grave, as she often did." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But you didn't know this until today? At noon, in the ball court? That's what you said.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I didn't. He told me something else, you see—that the time has come to act.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maytera Marble sighed again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have some information for you, Patera. Discouraging information, I'm afraid. But first I want very much to ask you just one thing more, and tell you something, perhaps. It was the Outsider who spoke to you, you say?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes. I don't know a great deal about him, however, even now. He's one of the sixty-three gods mentioned in the Writings, but I haven't had a chance to look him up since it happened, and as I remember there isn't a great deal about him anyway. He told me about himself, things that aren't in the Writings unless I've forgotten them; but I haven't really had much time to think about them.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When we were outside like him, living in the Short Sun Whorl before this one was finished and peopled, we worshipped him. No doubt you knew that already, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'd forgotten it,\" Silk admitted, \"but you're right. It's in the tenth book, or the twelfth.\"\n\n\"We chems didn't share in sacrifices in the Short Sun Whorl.\" Maytera Marble fell silent for a moment, scanning old files. \"It wasn't called manteion, either. Something else. If only I could find that, I could remember more, I think.\"\n\nWithout understanding what she meant, Silk nodded.\n\n\"There have been many changes since then, but it used to be taught that he was infinite. Not merely great, but truly without limit. There are expressions like that—I mean in arithmetic. Although we never get to them in my class.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required text (preserve exact wording): \"Now suppose a Prolocutor incalculably great.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He showed me.\"\n\n\"They say that even the whorl ends someplace,\" Maytera Marble continued, \"immense though it is. He doesn't. If you were to divide him among all the things in it, each part of him would still be limitless. Didn't you feel awfully small, Patera, when he was showing you all these things?\"\n\nSilk considered his answer. \"No, I don't think I did. No, I didn't. I felt—well, great. I felt that way even though he was immeasurably greater, as you say. Imagine, Maytera, that His Cognizance the Prolocutor were to speak to me in person, assigning me some special duty. I'd feel, of course, that he was a far greater man than I, and a far, far greater man than I could ever be; but I'd feel that I too had become a person of significance.\" Silk paused, ruminating. \"Now suppose a Prolocutor incalculably great.\"\n\n\"I understand. That answers several questions that I've had for a long while. Thank you, Patera. My news—I want to tell you why I asked you to meet me.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Somewhere in your response, you need to say: \"Knowing that the manteion's at risk, I've been expecting some.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's bad news, I assume.\" Silk drew a deep breath. \"Knowing that the manteion's at risk, I've been expecting some.\"\n\n\"It would appear to indicate—mistakenly, I feel sure, Patera—that you've failed already. You see, a big, red-faced man came to the palaestra while you were away. He said that he'd just bought it, bought the entire property from the city.\" Maytera Marble's voice fell. \"From the Ayuntamiento, Patera. That's what he told me. He was here to look at our buildings. I showed him the palaestra and the manteion. I'm quite sure he didn't get into the cenoby or the manse, but he looked at everything from the outside.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He said the sale was complete?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She nodded.\n\n\"You're right, Maytera. This sounds very bad.\"\n\n\"He'd come in a floater, with a man to operate it for him. I saw it when we were going from the palaestra to the manteion. We went out the front, and along Sun Street past the ball court. He said he'd talked to you before he came here, but he hadn't told you he'd bought it. He said he'd thought you'd make trouble.\"\n\nSilk nodded slowly. \"I'd have hauled him out of his floater and broken his neck, I think, Maytera. Or at least I would have tried to.\"\n\nShe touched his knee. \"That would have been wrong, Patera. You'd go to the Alambrera, and into the pits.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Which wouldn't matter,\" Silk said. \"His name's Blood, perhaps he told you.\"\n\n\"Possibly he did.\" Maytera Marble's rapid scan seldom functioned now; she fell silent as she searched past files, then said, \"It's not a common name at all, you know. People think it's unlucky. I don't believe I've ever had a single boy called Blood.\"\n\nSilk stroked his cheek, his eyes thoughtful. \"Have you heard of him, Maytera? I haven't, but he must be a wealthy man to have a private floater.\"\n\n\"I don't think so. If the sale is complete, Patera, what can you do?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know.\" Silk rose as he had before. A step carried him out of the arbor. A few drops of rain still fell through sunshine that seemed bright, though the shade had more than half covered the sun. \"The market will be closing soon,\" he said.\n\n\"Yes.\" Maytera Marble joined him.\n\nThe skylands, which had been nearly invisible earlier, could be seen distinctly as dawn spread across them: distant forests, said to be enchanted, and distant cities, said to be haunted—subtle influences for good or ill, governing the lives of those below." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's not a foreigner,\" Silk said, \"or at least he doesn't talk like any foreigner I've ever met. He sounded as though he might have come from this quarter, actually.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maytera Marble nodded. \"I noticed that myself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There aren't many ways for our people here to become rich, are there, Maytera? I wouldn't think so, at least.\"\n\n\"I'm not sure I follow you.\"\n\n\"It doesn't matter. You wanted me to speak with this man Auk. On a Scylsday, you said; but there are always a dozen people waiting to talk to me then. Where do you think I might find Auk today?\"\n\n\"Why, I have no idea. Could you go and see him this evening, Patera? That would be wonderful! Maytera Mint might know.\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"You said that she was in the manteion, waiting for the fire to die. Go in and ask her, please, while you're helping her purify the altar. I'll speak with you again in a few minutes.\"\n\nWatching them from a window of the cenoby, Maytera Rose grunted with satisfaction when they separated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was danger there, no matter how Maytera and Patera might deceive themselves—filthy things she could do for him, and worse that he might do to her." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Undefiled Echidna hated everything of that kind, blinding those who fell as she had blinded her. At times Maytera Rose, kneeling before her daughter's image, felt that she herself was Echidna, Mother of Gods and Empress of the Whorl.\n\nStrike, Echidna. Oh, strike!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "lets continue this story bit. one sentence more like Gene Wolfe would. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. characters might be established already" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was dark enough already for the bang of the door to kindle the bleared light in one corner of Silk's bedroom, the room over the kitchen, the old storeroom that old Patera Pike had helped clean out when he arrived." }, { "from": "human", "value": "(For Silk had never been able to make himself move his possessions into Pike's larger room, to throw out or burn the faded portraits of the old man's parents or his threadbare, too-small clothing.)" }, { "from": "human", "value": "By that uncertain glow, Silk changed into his second-best robe." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Collar and cuffs were detachable in order that they might be more easily, and thus more frequently, laundered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He removed them and laid them in the drawer beside his only spare set." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What else? He glanced in the mirror; some covering for his untidy yellow hair, certainly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was the wide straw hat he had worn that morning while laying new shingles on the roof, and the blue-trimmed black calotte that Patera Pike had worn on the coldest days." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk decided upon both; the wide straw would cast a strong shadow on his face, but might blow off." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The calotte fit nicely beneath it, and would supply a certain concealment still." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was this how men like this man Auk felt?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was it how they planned?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As reported by Maytera Marble, Maytera Mint had named half a dozen places in which he might come across Auk; all were in the Orilla, the worst section of the quarter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He might be robbed, might be murdered even though he offered no resistance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If Blood would not see him..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shrugged. Blood's house would be somewhere on the Palatine; Silk could scarcely conceive of anyone who rode in a privately owned floater living anywhere else." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There would be Civil Guardsmen everywhere on the Palatine after dark, Guardsmen on foot, on horseback, and in armed floaters." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One could not just kick down a door, as scores of housebreakers did in this quarter every night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The thing was impossible." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet something must be done, and done tonight; and he could not think of anything else to do." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He fingered his beads, then dropped them back into his pocket, removed the silver chain and voided cross of Pas and laid them reverently before the triptych, folded two fresh sheets of paper, put them into the battered little pen case he had used at the schola, and slipped it into the big inner pocket of his robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He might need a weapon; he would almost certainly need some sort of tool." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He went downstairs to the kitchen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a faint stirring from the smelly waste bin in the corner: a rat, no doubt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he had often before, Silk reminded himself to have Horn catch him a snake that might be tamed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Through the creaking kitchen door, he stepped out into the garden again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was almost dark, and would be fully dark by the time he reached the Orilla, eight streets away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The afternoon's rain had laid the dust, and the air, cooler than it had been in months, was fresh and clean; perhaps autumn was on the way at last." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He should be tired, Silk told himself, yet he did not feel tired as he unlocked the side door of the manteion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was this, in sober fact, what the Outsider wanted?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "This rush to battle?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If so, his service was a joy indeed!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The altar fire was out, the interior of the manteion lit only by the silver sheen of the Sacred Window and the hidden flame of the fat, blue-glass lamp between Echidna's feet—Maytera Rose's lamp, burning some costly scented oil whose fragrance stirred his memory." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He clapped his hands to kindle the few lights still in working order, then fumbled among the shadows for the long-hafted, narrow-bladed hatchet with which he split shingles and drove roofing nails." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Finding it, he tested its edge (so painstakingly sharpened that very morning) before slipping its handle into his waistband." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That, he decided after walking up and down and twice pretending to sit, would not do." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a rusty saw in the palaestra's supply closet; it would be simple to shorten the handle, but the hatchet would be a less useful tool, and a much less serviceable weapon, afterward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Stooping again, he found the rope that had prevented his bundle of shingles from sliding off the roof, a thin braided cord of black horsehair, old and pliant but still strong." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Laying aside robe and tunic, he wound it about his waist, tied the ends, and slid the handle of the hatchet through several of the coils." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dressed again, he emerged once more into the garden, where a vagrant breeze sported with the delectable odor of cooking from the cenoby, reminding him that he ought to be preparing his own supper at this very moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He shrugged, promising himself a celebratory one when he returned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The tomatoes that had dropped green from his vines were still not ripe, but he would slice them and fry them in a little oil." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was bread, too, he reminded himself, and the hot oil might be poured over it afterward to flavor and soften it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His mouth watered. He would scrape out the grounds he had reused so long, scrub the pot, and brew fresh coffee." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Finish with an apple and the last of the cheese. A feast!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wiped his lips on his sleeve, ashamed of his greed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After closing and carefully locking the side door of the manteion, he made a wary study of the cenoby windows." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would probably not matter if Maytera Marble or Maytera Mint saw him leave, but Maytera Rose would not hesitate to subject him to a searching cross-examination." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rain had ended, there could be no doubt of that; there had been an hour of rain at most, when the farmers needed whole days of it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he hurried along Sun Street once more, east this time and thus away from the market, Silk studied the sky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The thinnest possible threads of gold still shone here and there among scudding clouds, threads snapped already by the rising margin of the ink-black shade." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "While he watched, the threads winked out; and the skylands, which had hovered behind the long sun like so many ghosts, shone forth in all their beauty and wonder: flashing pools and rolling forests, checkered fields and gleaming cities." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lamp Street brought him to the Orilla, where the lake waters had begun when Viron was young." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This crumbling wall half buried in hovels had been a busy quay, these dark and hulking old buildings, warehouses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No doubt there had been salting sheds, too, and rope walks, and many other things; but all such lightly built structures had disappeared before the last caldé, rotted, tumbled, and at last cannibalized for firewood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The very weeds that had sprouted from their sites had withered, and the cellar of every shiprock ruin left standing was occupied by a tavern." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Listening to the angry voices that issued from the one he approached, Silk wondered why anyone went there." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What sorts of lives could they be to which fifty or a hundred men and women preferred this?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was a terrifying thought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He paused at the head of the stair to puzzle out the drawing chalked on the grimy wall beside it, a fierce bird with outstretched wings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An eagle? Not with those spurs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A gamecock, surely; and the Cock had been one of the places suggested by Maytera Mint, a tavern (so Maytera Marble had said) she recalled Auk's mentioning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The steep and broken stairs stank of urine; Silk held his breath as he groped down them, not much helped by the faint yellow radiance from the open door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Stepping to one side just beyond the doorway, he stood with his back to the wall and surveyed the low room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No one appeared to pay the least attention to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was larger than he had expected, and less furnished." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mismatched deal tables stood here and there, isolated, but surrounded by chairs, stools, and benches equally heterodox on which a few silent figures lounged." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Odious candles fumed and dribbled a sooty wax upon some (though by no means all) of these tables, and a green and orange lampion with a torn shade swung in the center of the room, seeming to tremble at the high-pitched anger of the voices below it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The backs of jostling onlookers obscured what was taking place there." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hornbus, you whore!\" a woman shrieked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A man's voice, slurred by beer yet hissing swift with the ocher powder called rust, suggested, \"Stick it out your skirt, sweetheart, an' maybe she will.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a roar of laughter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone kicked over a table, its thud accompanied by the crash of breaking glass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Here! Here now!\" Quickly but without the appearance of haste, a big man with a hideously scarred face pushed through the crowd, an old skittlepin in one hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"OUTside now! OUTside with this!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The onlookers parted to let two women with dirty gowns and disheveled hair through." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Outside with her!\" One woman pointed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"OUTside with both.\" The big man caught the speaker expertly by the collar, tapped her head almost gently with the skittlepin, and shoved her toward the door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of the watching men stepped forward, held up his hand, and gestured in the direction of the other woman, who seemed to Silk almost too drunk to stand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Her, too,\" the big man with the skittlepin told her advocate firmly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Her too! And you!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The big man loomed above him, a head the taller. \"OUTside!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Steel gleamed and the skittlepin flashed down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For the first time in his life, Silk heard the sickening crepitation of breaking bone; it was followed at once by the high, sharp report of a needler, a sound like the crack of a child's toy whip." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A needler (momentarily, Silk thought it the needler that had fired) flew into the air, and one of the onlookers pitched forward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk was on his knees beside him before he himself knew what he had done, his beads swinging half their length in sign after sign of addition." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I convey to you, my son, the forgiveness of all the gods. Recall now the words of Pas—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's not dead, cully. You an augur?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was the big man with the scarred face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His right arm was bleeding, dark blood oozing through a soiled rag he pressed tightly against the cut." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In the name of all the gods you are forgiven forever, my son. I speak here for Great Pas, for Divine Echidna, for Scalding Scylla, for—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Get him out of here,\" someone snapped; Silk could not tell whether he meant the dead man or himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The dead man was bleeding less than the big man, a steady, unspectacular welling from his right temple." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet he was surely dead; as Silk chanted the Final Formula and swung his beads, his left hand sought a pulse, finding none." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"His friends'll take care of him, Patera. He'll be all right.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two of the dead man's friends had already picked up his feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"... and for Strong Sphigx. Also for all lesser gods.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk hesitated; it had no place in the Formula, but would these people know?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or care? Before rising, he finished in a whisper: \"The Outsider likewise forgives you, my son, no matter what evil you did in life.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tavern was nearly empty." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The man who had been hit with the skittlepin groaned and stirred." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The drunken woman was kneeling beside him just as Silk had knelt beside the dead man, swaying even on her knees, one hand braced on the filthy floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no sign of the needler that had flown into the air, nor of the knife that the injured man had drawn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You want a red ribbon, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sure you do. On me, for what you done.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The big man wound the rag about his arm, knotted it dexterously with his left hand, and pulled the knot tight with his left hand and his teeth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I need to know something,\" Silk said, returning his beads to his pocket, \"and I'd much rather learn it than get a free drink. I'm looking for a man called Auk. Was he in here? Can you tell me where I might find him?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The big man grinned, the gap left by two missing teeth a little cavern in his mirth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Auk, you say, Patera? Auk? There's quite a few with that name. Owe him money? How'd you know I'm not Auk myself?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Because I know him, my son. Know him by sight, I should have said. He's nearly as tall as you are, with small eyes, a heavy jaw, and large ears. I would guess he's five or six years younger than you are. He attends our Scylsday sacrifices regularly.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Does he now.\" The big man appeared to be staring off into the dimness of the darkest corner of the room; abruptly he said, \"Why, Auk's still here, Patera. Didn't you tell me you'd seen him go?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Silk began. \"I—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Over there.\" The big man pointed toward the corner, where a solitary figure sat at a table not much larger than his chair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you, my son,\" Silk called." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He crossed the room, detouring around a long and dirty table." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Auk? I'm Patera Silk, from the manteion on Sun Street.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thanks for what?\" the man called Auk inquired." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"For agreeing to talk with me. You signaled to him somehow—waved or something, I suppose. I didn't see it, but it's obvious you must have.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sit down, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no other chair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk brought a stool from the long table and sat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Somebody send you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded. \"Maytera Mint, my son. But I don't wish to give you the wrong impression. I haven't come as a favor to her, or as a favor to you, either. Maytera was doing me a favor by telling me where to find you, and I've come to ask you for another one, shriving.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Figure I need it, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no trace of humor in Auk's voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have no way of knowing, my son. Do you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk appeared to consider." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe so. Maybe not.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded—understandingly, he hoped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He found it unnerving to talk with this burly ruffian in the gloom, unable to see his expression." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The big man with the wounded arm set an astonishingly delicate glass before Silk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The best we got, Patera.\" He backed away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you, my son.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Turning on his stool, Silk looked behind him; the injured man and the drunken woman were no longer beneath the lampion, though he had not heard them go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maytera Mint likes you, Patera,\" Auk remarked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She tells me things about you sometimes. Like the time you got the cats' meat woman mad at you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean Scleroderma?\" Silk felt himself flush, and was suddenly glad that Auk could not see him better." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She's a fine woman—a kind and quite genuinely religious woman. I was hasty and tactless, I'm afraid.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She really empty her bucket over you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded ruefully. \"The odd thing was that I found a scrap of—of cats' meat, I suppose you'd call it, down my neck afterward. It stank.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk laughed softly, a deep, pleasant laugh that made Silk like him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I thought it an awful humiliation at the time,\" Silk continued." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It happened on a Thelxday, and I thanked her on my knees that my poor mother wasn't alive to hear about it. I thought, you know, that she would have been terribly hurt, just as I was myself at the time. Now I realize that she would only have teased me about it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sipped from the graceful little glass before him; it was probably brandy, he decided, and good brandy, too." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'd let Scleroderma paint me blue and drag me the whole length of the Alameda, if it would bring my mother back.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maytera Mint was the nearest to a real mother I ever had,\" Auk said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I used to call her that—she let me—when we were alone. For a couple of years I pretended like that. She tell you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head, then added, \"Maytera Marble said something of the sort. I'm afraid I didn't pay a great deal of attention to it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Old One brought up us boys, and he raised us hard. It's the best way. I've seen a lot that didn't get it, and I know.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sure you do.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Every so often I tell myself I ought to stick my knife in her, just to get her and her talk out of my head. Know what I mean?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded, although he could not be certain that the burly man across the table could see it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Better than you do yourself, I think. I also know that you'll never actually harm her. Or if you do, it won't be for that reason. I'm not half as old as Patera Pike was, and not a tenth as wise; but I do know that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wouldn't take the long end of that bet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said nothing, his eyes upon the pale blur that was Auk's face, where for a moment it seemed to him that he had glimpsed the shadow of a muzzle, as though the unseen face were that of a wolf or bear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Surely, he thought, this man can't have been called Auk from birth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Surely \"Auk\" is a name he's assumed." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include exactly 3 instance(s) of the word 'maytera'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pictured Maytera Mint leading the boy Auk into class on a chain, then Maytera Mint warned by Maytera Rose that Auk would turn on her when he was grown." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sipped again to rid himself of the fancy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk's mother had presumably named him; the small auks of Lake Limna were flightless, thus it was a name given by mothers who hoped their sons would never leave them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Auk's mother must have died while he was still very young." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But not here.\" Auk's fist struck the table, nearly upsetting it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll come Scylsday, day after tomorrow, and you can shrive me then. All right?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, my son,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It must be tonight.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't you trust—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm afraid I haven't made myself entirely clear,\" Silk interposed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I haven't come here to shrive you, though I'd be delighted to do it if you wish, and I'm certain it would make Maytera Mint very happy when I told her I had. But you must shrive me, Auk, and you must do it tonight. That is what I've come for. Not here, however, as you say. In some more private place.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can't do that!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You can, my son,\" Silk insisted softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And I hope you will. Maytera Mint taught you, and she must have taught you that anyone who is himself free of deep stain can bring the pardon of the gods to one who is in immediate danger of death.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you think I'm going to kill you, Patera, or Gib over there—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll explain everything to you in that more private place.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Patera Pike shrove me one time. Maytera got after me about it, so I finally said all right. I told him a lot of things I shouldn't have.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And now you're wondering whether he told me something of what you told him,\" Silk said, \"and you think that I'm afraid you'll kill me when I tell you that I told someone else. No, Auk. Patera told me nothing about it, not even that it took place. I learned that from Maytera Marble, who learned it from Maytera Mint, who learned of it from you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk tasted his brandy again, finding it difficult to continue." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tonight I intend to commit a major crime, or try to. I may be killed, in fact I rather expect it. Maytera Marble or Maytera Mint could have shriven me, of course; but I didn't want either of them to know. Then Maytera Marble mentioned you, and I realized you'd be perfect. Will you shrive me, Auk? I beg it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Slowly, Auk relaxed; after a moment he laid his right hand on the table again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You don't go the nose, Patera, do you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If this's a shave, it's a close one.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's not a shave. I mean exactly what I say.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk nodded and stood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then we'd better go somewhere else, like you want. Too bad, I was hoping to do a little business tonight.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He led Silk to the back of the dim cellar room, and up a ladder into a cavernous night varied here and there by pyramids of barrels and bales; and at last, when they had followed an alley paved with refuse for several streets, into the back of what appeared to be an empty shop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sound of their feet summoned a weak green glow from one corner of the overlong room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk saw a cot with rumpled, soiled sheets; a chamber pot; a table that might have come from the tavern they had left; two plain wooden chairs; and, on the opposite wall, what appeared to be a still-summonable glass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Planks had been nailed across the windows on either side of the street door; a cheap colored picture of Scylla, eight-armed and smiling, was tacked to the planks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is this where you live?\" he asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't exactly live anywhere, Patera. I've got a lot of places, and this is the closest. Have a seat. You still want me to shrive you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then you're going to have to shrive me first so I can do it right. I guess you knew that. I'll try to think of everything.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded again. \"Do, please.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "With speed and economy of motion surprising in so large a man, Auk knelt beside him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Cleanse me, Patera, for I have given offense to Pas and to other gods.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His gaze upon the smiling picture of Scylla—and so well away from Auk's heavy, brutal face—Silk murmured, as the ritual required, \"Tell me, my son, and I will bring you his forgiveness from the well of his boundless mercy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I killed a man tonight, Patera. You saw it. Kalan's his name. Gurnard was set to stick Gib, but he got him...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"With his skittlepin,\" Silk prompted softly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's lily, Patera. That's when Kalan come out with his needler, only I had mine out.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He intended to shoot Gib, didn't he?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think so, Patera. He works with Gurnard off and on. Or anyway he used to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then there was no guilt in what you did, Auk.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thanks, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "After that, Auk remained silent for a long time." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'voices' should appear 3 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk prayed silently while he waited, listening with half an ear to angry voices in the street and the thunderous wheels of a passing cart, his thoughts flitting from and returning to the calm, amused and somehow melancholy voices he had heard in the ball court as he had reached for the ball he carried in a pocket still, and to the innumerable things the owner of those voices had sought to teach him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I robbed a few houses up on the Palatine. I was trying to remember how many. Twenty I can think of for sure. Maybe more. And I beat a woman, a girl called—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You needn't tell me her name, Auk.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Pretty bad, too. She was trying to get more out of me after I'd already given her a real nice brooch. I'd had too much, and I hit her. Cut her mouth. She yelled, and I hit her again and floored her. She couldn't work for a week, she says. I shouldn't have done that, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Silk agreed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She's better than most, and high, wide and handsome, too. Know what I mean, Patera? That's why I gave her the brooch. When she wanted more...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I understand.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was going to kick her. I didn't, but if I had I'd probably have killed her. I kicked a man to death, once. That was part of what I told Patera Pike.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded, forcing his eyes away from Auk's boots." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If Patera brought you pardon, you need not repeat that to me; and if you refrained from kicking the unfortunate woman, you have earned the favor of the gods—of Scylla and her sisters particularly—by your self-restraint.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'patera' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk sighed. \"Then that's all I've done, Patera, since last time. Solved those houses and beat on Chenille. And I wouldn't have, Patera, if I hadn't of seen she wanted it for rust. Or anyhow I don't think I would have.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include 'wrong' 2 time(s) in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You understand that it's wrong to break into houses, Auk. You must, or you wouldn't have told me about it. It is wrong, and when you enter a house to rob it, you might easily be killed, in which case you would die with the guilt upon you. That would be very bad. I want you to promise me that you will look for some better way to live. Will you do that, Auk? Will you give me your word?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, Patera, I swear I will. I've already been doing it. You know, buying things and selling them. Like that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk decided it would be wiser not to ask what sorts of things these were, or how the sellers had gotten them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The woman you beat, Auk. You said she used rust. Am I to take it that she was an immoral woman?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She's not any worse than a lot of others, Patera. She's at Orchid's place.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded to himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is that the sort of place I imagine?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, Patera, it's about the best. They don't allow any fighting or anything like that, and everything's real clean. Some of Orchid's girls have even gone uphill.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nevertheless, Auk, you shouldn't go to places of that kind. You're not bad looking, you're strong, and you have some education. You'd have no difficulty finding a decent girl, and a decent girl might do you a great deal of good.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk stirred, and Silk sensed that the kneeling man was looking at him, although he did not permit his own eyes to leave the picture of Scylla." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You mean the kind that has you shrive her, Patera? You wouldn't want one of them to take up with somebody like me. You'd tell her she deserved somebody better. Shag yes, you would!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment it seemed to Silk that the weight of the whole whorl's folly and witless wrong had descended on his shoulders." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Believe me, Auk, many of those girls will marry men far, far worse than you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He drew a deep breath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As penance for the evil you have done, Auk, you are to perform three meritorious acts before this time tomorrow. Shall I explain to you the nature of meritorious acts?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, Patera. I remember, and I'll do them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's well. Then I bring to you, Auk, the pardon of all the gods. In the name of Great Pas, you are forgiven. In the name of Echidna, you are forgiven. In the name of Scylla, you are forgiven...\" Soon the moment would come." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And in the name of the Outsider and all lesser gods, you are forgiven, by the power entrusted to me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no objection from Auk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk traced the sign of addition in the air above his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now it's my turn, Auk. Will you shrive me, as I shrove you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two men changed places." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said, \"Cleanse me, friend, for I am in sore danger of death, and I may give offense to Pas and to other gods.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk's hand touched his shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've never did this before, Patera. I hope I get it right.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tell me...\" Silk prompted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yeah. Tell me, Patera, so that I can bring you the forgiveness of Pas from the well of bottomless mercy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I may have to break into a house tonight, Auk. I hope that I won't have to; but if the owner won't see me, or won't do what a certain god—the Outsider, Auk, you may know of him—wishes him to do, then I'll try to compel him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Whose—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If he sees me alone, I intend to threaten his life unless he does as the god requires. But to be honest, I doubt that he'll see me at all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who is this, Patera? Who're you going to threaten?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you looking at me, Auk? You're not supposed to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right, now I'm looking away. Who is this, Patera? Whose house is it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's no need for me to tell you that, Auk. Forgive me my intent, please.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm afraid I can't, my son,\" Auk said, getting into the spirit of his role." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I got to know who this is, and why you're going to do it. Maybe you won't be running as big of a risk as you think you are, see? I'm the one that has to judge that, ain't I?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes,\" Silk admitted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And I see why you looked for me, 'cause I can do it better than anybody. Only I got to know, 'cause if this's just some candy, I got to tell you to go to a real augur after you scrape out, and forget about me. There's houses and then there's Houses. So who is it and where is it, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"His name is Blood,\" Silk said, and felt Auk's hand tighten on his shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I assume that he lives somewhere on the Palatine. He has a private floater, at any rate, and employs a driver for it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk grunted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think that he must be dangerous,\" Silk continued. \"I sense it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You win, Patera. I got to shrive you. Only you got to tell me all about it, too. I need to know what's going on here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The Ayuntamiento has sold this man our manteion.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk heard Auk's exhalation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was bringing in practically nothing, you realize. The income from the manteion is supposed to balance the loss from the palaestra; tutorage doesn't cover our costs, and most of the parents are behind anyway. Ideally there should be enough left over for Juzgado's taxes, but our Window's been empty now for a very long while.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Must be others doing better,\" Auk suggested." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes. Considerably better in some cases, though it's been many years since a god has visited any Window in the city.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then they—the augurs there—could give you a little something, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded, remembering his mendicant expeditions to those solvent manteions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They have indeed helped at times, Auk. I'm afraid that the Chapter has decided to put an end to that. It's turned our manteion over to the Juzgado in lieu of our unpaid taxes, and the Ayuntamiento has sold the property to this man Blood. That's how things appear, at least.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We all got to pay the counterman come shadeup,\" Auk muttered diplomatically." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The people need us, Auk. The whole quarter does. I was hoping that if you—never mind. I intend to steal our manteion back tonight, if I can, and you must shrive me for that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The seated man was silent for a moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At length he said, \"The city keeps records on houses and so on, Patera. You go to the Juzgado and slip one of those clerks a little something, and they call up the lot number on their glass. I've done it. The monitor gives you the name of the buyer, or anyhow whoever's fronting for him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So that I could verify the sale, you mean.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's it, Patera. Make sure you're right about all this before you get yourself killed.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk felt an uncontrollable flood of relief." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll do as you suggest, provided that the Juzgado's still open.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They wouldn't be, Patera. They close there about the same time as the market.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was hard for him to force himself to speak." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then I must proceed. I must act tonight.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He hesitated while some frightened portion of his mind battered the ivory walls that confined it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Of course this may not be the Blood you know, Auk. There must be a great many people of that name. Could Blood—the Blood you know—buy our manteion? It must be worth twenty thousand cards or more.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ten,\" Auk muttered. \"Twelve, maybe, only he probably got it for the taxes. What's he look like, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A tall, heavy man. Angry looking, I'd say, although it may only have been that his face was flushed. There are wide bones under his plump cheeks, or so I'd guess.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Lots of rings?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk struggled to recall the prosperous-looking man's fat, smooth hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes,\" he said. \"Several, at least.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Could you smell him?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you asking whether he smelled bad? No, certainly not. In fact—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk grunted. \"What was it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have no idea, but it reminded me of the scented oil—no doubt you've noticed it—in the lamp before Scylla, in our manteion. A sweet, heavy odor, not quite so pungent as incense.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He calls it musk rose,\" Auk said dryly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Musk's a buck that works for him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It is the Blood you know, then.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yeah, it is. Now be quiet a minute, Patera. I got to remember the words.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk rocked back and forth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a faint noise like the grating of sand on a shiprock floor as he rubbed his massive jaw." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As a penance for the evil that you're getting ready to do, Patera, you got to perform two or three meritorious acts I'll tell you about tonight.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That is too light a penance,\" Silk protested." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't weigh feathers with me, Patera, 'cause you don't know what they are yet. You're going to do 'em, ain't you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, Auk,\" Silk said humbly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's good. Don't forget. All right, then I bring to you, Patera, the pardons of all the gods. In the name of Great Pas, you're forgiven. In the name of Echidna, you're forgiven. In the name of Scylla, of Molpe, of Tartaros, of Hierax, of Thelxiepeia, of Phaea, of Sphigx, and of all the lesser gods, you're forgiven, Patera, by the powers trusted to me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk traced the sign of addition, hoping that the big man was doing the same over his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The big man cleared his throat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Was that all right?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes,\" Silk said, rising." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It was very good indeed, for a layman.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thanks. Now about Blood. You say you're going to solve his place, but you don't even know where it is.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can ask directions when I reach the Palatine.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk was dusting his knees." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Blood isn't a particular friend of yours, I hope.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It ain't there. I been there a time or two, and that gets us to one of those meritorious acts that you just now promised me about. You got to let me take you there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If it isn't inconvenient—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's shaggy—excuse me, Patera. Yeah, it's going to put me out by a dog's right, only you got to let me do it anyhow, if you really go to Blood's. If you don't, you'll get lost sure trying to find it. Or somebody'll know you, and that'll be worse. But first you're going to give Blood a whistle on my glass over there, see? Maybe he'll talk to you, or if he wants to see you he might even send somebody.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk strode across the room and clapped his hands; the monitor's colorless face rose from the depths of the glass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I want Blood,\" Auk told it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's the buck that's got the big place off the old Palustria Road.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned to Silk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Come over here, Patera. You stand in front of it. I don't want 'em to see me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk did as he was told." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had talked through glasses before (there had been one in the Prelate's chambers at the schola), though not often." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now he discovered that his mouth was dry." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He licked his lips." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Blood is not available, sir,\" the monitor told him imperturbably." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Would someone else do?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Musk, perhaps,\" Silk said, recalling the name Auk had mentioned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It will be a few minutes, I fear, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll wait for him,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The glass faded to an opalescent gray." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You want to sit, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk was pushing a chair against the backs of his calves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk sat down, murmuring his thanks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't think that was too smart, asking for Musk. Maybe you know what you're doing.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still watching the glass, Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You had said he worked for Blood, that's all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't tell him you're with me. All right?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I won't.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk did not speak again, and the silence wrapped itself about them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like the silence of the Windows, Silk thought, the silence of the gods: pendant, waiting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This glass of Auk's was rather like a Window; all glasses were, although they were so much smaller." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like the Windows, glasses were miraculous creations of the Short-Sun days, after all." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What was it Maytera Marble had said about them?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera herself, the countless quiescent soldiers that the Outsider had revealed, and in fact all similar persons—all chems of whatever kind—were directly or otherwise marvels of the inconceivably inspired Short-Sun Whorl, and in time (soon, perhaps) would be gone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their women rarely conceived children, and in Maytera's case it was quite..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his shoulders, reminding himself severely that in all likelihood Maytera Marble would long outlive him—that he might be dead before shadeup, unless he chose to ignore the Outsider's instructions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The monitor reappeared. \"Would you like me to provide a few suggestions while you're waiting, sir?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, thank you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I might straighten your nose just a trifle, sir, and do something regarding a coiffeur. You would find that of interest, I believe.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Silk said again; and added, as much to himself as to the monitor, \"I must think.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Swiftly the monitor's gray face darkened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The entire glass seemed to fall away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Black, oily-looking hair curled above flashing eyes from which Silk tore his own in horror." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As a swimmer bursts from a wave and discovers himself staring at an object he has not chosen—at the summer sun, perhaps, or a cloud or the top of a tree—Silk found that he was looking at Musk's mouth, lips as feverishly red and fully as delicate as any girl's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To damp his fear, he told himself that he was waiting for Musk to speak; and when Musk did not, he forced himself to speak instead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My name is Patera Silk, my son.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His chin was trembling; before he spoke again, he clenched his teeth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Mine is the Sun Street manteion. Or I should say it isn't, which is what I must see Blood about.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The handsome boy in the glass said nothing and gave no sign of having heard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In order that he might not be snared by that bright and savage stare again, Silk inventoried the room in which Musk stood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could glimpse a tapestry and a painting, a table covered with bottles, and two elaborately inlaid chairs with padded crimson backs and contorted legs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Blood has purchased our manteion,\" he found himself explaining to one of the chairs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"By that I mean he's paid the taxes, I suppose, and they have turned the deed over to him. It will be very hard on the children. On all of us, to be sure, but particularly on the children, unless some other arrangement can be made. I have several suggestions to offer, and I'd like—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A trooper in silvered conflict armor had appeared at the edge of the glass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he spoke to Musk, Silk realized with a slight shock that Musk hardly reached the trooper's shoulder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A new bunch at the gate,\" the trooper said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hurriedly, Silk began, \"I'm certain for your sake—or for Blood's, I mean—that an accommodation of some sort is still possible. A god, you see—\"\n\nThe handsome boy in the glass laughed and snapped his fingers, and the glass went dark." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Frequency requirement: 'things' - 2 occurrence(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been late already when they had left the city. Beyond the black streak of the shade, the skylands had been as clear and as bright as Silk (who normally retired early and rose at shadeup) had ever seen them; he stared at them as he rode, his thoughts drowned in wonder. Here were nameless mountains filling inviolate valleys to the rim with their vast, black shadows. Here were savannah and steppe, and a coastal plain ringing a lake that he judged must certainly be larger than Lake Limna—all these doming the gloomy sky of night while they themselves were bathed in sunlight.\n\nAs they had walked the dirty and dangerous streets of the Orilla, Auk had remarked, \"There's strange things happen nightside, Patera. I don't suppose you know it, but that's the lily word anyhow.\"\n\n\"I do know,\" Silk had assured him. \"I shrive, don't forget, so I hear about them. Or at least I've heard a few very strange stories that I can't relate. You must have seen the things as they occurred, and that must be stranger still.\"\n\n\"What I was going to say,\" Auk had continued, \"was that I never heard about any that was any stranger than this, what you're going to do, or try to do. Or seen anything stranger, either.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk had sighed. \"May I speak as an augur, Auk? I realize that a great many people are offended by that, and Our Gracious Phaea knows I don't want to offend you. But this once may I speak?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you're going to say something you wouldn't want anybody to hear, why, I wouldn't.\"\n\n\"Quite the contrary,\" Silk had declared, perhaps a bit too fervently. \"It's something that I wish I could tell the whole city.\"\n\n\"Keep your voice down, Patera, or you will.\"\n\n\"I told you a god had spoken to me. Do you remember that?\"\n\nAuk had nodded.\n\n\"I've been thinking about it as we walked along. To tell the truth, it's not easy to think about anything else. Before I spoke to—to that unfortunate Musk. Well, before I spoke to him, for example, I ought to have been thinking over everything that I wanted to say to him. But I wasn't, or not very much. Mostly I was thinking about the Outsider; not so much what he had said to me as what it had been like to have him speaking to me at all, and how it had felt.\"\n\n\"You did fine, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk had, to Silk's surprise, laid a hand on his shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You did all right.\"\n\n\"I don't agree, though I won't argue with you now. What I wanted to say was that there is really nothing strange at all about what I'm doing, or about your helping me to do it. Does the sun ever go out, Auk? Does it ever wink out as you or I might snuff out a lamp?\"\n\n\"I don't know, Patera. I never thought about it. Does it?\"\n\nSilk had not replied, continuing in silence down the muddy street, matching Auk stride for stride.\n\n\"I guess it don't. You couldn't see them skylands up there nightside, if it did.\"\n\n\"So it is with the gods, Auk. They speak to us all the time, exactly as the sun shines all the time. When the dark cloud that we call the shade gets between us and the sun, we say it's night, or nightside, a term I never heard until I came to Sun Street.\"\n\n\"It don't really mean night, Patera. Not exactly. It means... All right, look at it like this. There's a day way of doing, see? That's the regular way. And then there's the other way, and nightside's when you do this other way—when everything's on the night side of the shade.\"\n\n\"We're on the night side of the shade for only half the day,\" Silk had told him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But we are on the night side of whatever it is that bars us from the gods almost constantly, throughout our whole lives. And we really shouldn't be. We weren't meant to be. I got that one small ray of sunshine, you see, and it shouldn't be strange at all. It should be the most ordinary thing in the whorl.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had expected Auk to laugh, and was surprised and pleased when he did not." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They had rented donkeys from a man Auk knew, a big gray for Auk and a smaller black for Silk. \"Because I'll have to lead him back,\" Auk had said. \"We got to get that straight right now. He don't stay with you.\"\n\nSilk had nodded.\n\n\"You're going to get caught, like I told you, Patera. You'll talk to Blood, maybe, like you want. But it'll be after they get you. I don't like it, but there it is. So you're not going to need him to ride back on, and I'm not going to lose what I'm giving this donkey man to hold, which is double what he'd cost in the market.\"\n\n\"I understand,\" Silk had assured him.\n\nNow, as they trotted along a narrow track that to him at least was largely invisible, with the toes of his only decent shoes intermittently intimidated by the stony soil, Auk's words returned to trouble him. Tearing his eyes from the skylands, he called, \"You warned me that Blood was going to catch me, back there in the city while you were renting these donkeys for us. What do you think he'll do to me if he does?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk twisted about to look at him, his face a pale blur in the shadow of the crowding trees. \"I don't know, Patera. But you're not going to like it.\"\n\n\"You may not know,\" Silk said, \"but you can guess much better than I can. You know Blood better than I do. You've been in his house, and I'm sure you must know several people who know him well. You've done business with him.\"\n\n\"Tried to, Patera.\"\n\n\"All right, tried to. Still you know what kind of man he is. Would he kill me, for breaking into his house? Or for threatening him? I fully intend to threaten his life if he won't return our manteion to the Chapter, assuming that I get that far.\"\n\n\"I hope not, Patera.\"\n\nUnbidden and unwanted, Musk's features rose from Silk's memory, perfect—yet corrupt, like the face of a devil. So softly that he was surprised that Auk heard it, Silk said, \"I have been wondering whether I shouldn't take my own life if I am caught. If I am, I say, although I hope not to be, and am determined not to be. It's seriously wrong to take one's own life, and yet—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A chain or more ahead, Auk chuckled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kill yourself, Patera? Yeah, it could be a good idea. Keep it in mind, depending. You won't tell Blood about me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've sworn,\" Silk reminded him. \"I would never break that oath.\"\n\n\"Good.\" Auk turned away again, his posture intent as his eyes sought to penetrate the shadows.\n\nClearly Auk had been less than impressed by his mention of suicide, and for a moment Silk resented it. But Auk was right. How could he serve any god if he set out determined to resign his task if it became too difficult? Auk had been correct to laugh; he was no better than a child, sallying forth with a wooden sword to conquer the whorl—something that he had in fact done not too many years ago.\n\nYet it was easy for Auk to remain calm, easy for Auk to mock his fears." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk, who had no doubt broken into scores of these country villas, was not going to break into this one, or even to assist him in doing it. And yet, Silk reminded himself, Auk's own position was by no means impregnable.\n\n\"I would never violate my solemn oath, sworn to all the gods,\" Silk said aloud. \"And besides, if Blood were to find out about you and have you killed—he didn't strike me as the type who kill men themselves—there would be no one to help me escape him.\"\n\nAuk cleared his throat and spat, the sound unnaturally loud in the airless stillness of the forest. \"I'm not going to do a shaggy thing for you, Patera. You can forget about that. You're working for the gods, right? Let them get you out.\"\n\nAlmost whispering, because he was saddened by the knowledge, Silk said, \"Yes, you will, Auk.\"\n\n\"Sneeze it!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Because you couldn't ever be certain that I wouldn't tell, eventually. I won't, but you don't trust me. Or at least not that much.\"\n\nAuk snorted.\n\n\"And since you're a better man than you pretend to be, the knowledge that I—not I particularly perhaps, but an augur who had been a companion of sorts, if only for this one night—required your help would devour you, even if you denied it a hundred times or more, as you very probably would. Thus you'll help me if you can, Auk, eventually and possibly quite quickly. I know you will. And because you will, it will go much better for me if Blood doesn't know about you.\"\n\n\"I'd crawl a long way in for a while, maybe, but that's all. Maybe go see Palustria for a year or three till Blood was gone or he'd forgotten about me. People ain't like you think, Patera. Maybe you studied a long time, but there's a lot that you don't know.\"\n\nWhich was true enough, Silk admitted to himself. For whatever inscrutable reasons, the gods thrust bios into the whorl knowing nothing of it; and if they waited until they were so wise as to make no mistakes before they acted, they waited forever. With sudden poignancy Silk wished that he might indeed wait forever, as some men did.\n\nAnd yet he felt certain that he was right about Auk, and Auk wrong about himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk still returned at times to talk with little Maytera Mint; and Auk had killed a man that evening—a serious matter even to a criminal, since the dead man had friends—because that man had been about to kill the big man called Gib. Auk might be a thief and even a murderer; but he had no real talent for murder, no innate bent toward evil. Not even Blood had such a bent, perhaps. He, Silk, had seen someone who did in Blood's glass, and he promised himself now that he would never again mistake mere dishonesty or desperation for it again.\n\n\"But I know you, Auk,\" he said softly. He shifted his weight in the vain hope of finding a more comfortable spot on the crude saddle. \"I may be too trusting of people in general, as you say; but I'm right about you. You'll help me when you think that I require it.\"\n\nAuk made a quick, impatient gesture, barely visible in the gloom." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Be quiet there, Patera. We're getting pretty close.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If there had ever been a real path, they were leaving it. With seeing feet, the donkeys picked their way up a rock-strewn hillside, often unavoidably bathed in the eerie skylight. At the top, Auk reined up and dismounted; Silk followed his example. Here the faintest of night breezes stirred, as stealthy as a thief itself, making away with the mingled scents of post oak and mulberry, of grass and fern withered almost to powder, of a passing fox, and the very essence of the night. The donkeys raised their long muzzles to catch it, and Silk fanned himself with his wide straw hat.\n\n\"See them lights, Patera?\" Auk pointed toward a faint golden glimmer beyond the treetops. \"That's Blood's place. What we did was circle around behind it, see? That's what we been doing ever since we got off the main road. On the other side, there's a big gate of steel bars, and a grass-way for floaters that goes up to the front. Can you see that black line, kind of wavy, between us and the house?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk squinted and stared, but could not." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's a stone wall about as high as that little tree down there. It's got big spikes on top, which I'd say is mostly for show. Could be if you threw your rope up there and caught one, you could climb up the wall—I don't know that anybody's ever tried it. Only Blood's got protection, understand? Guards, and a big talus that I know about for sure. I don't know what else. You ever done anything like this before, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "🔍 Find a place to insert: \"I didn't think so. All right, here's all that's going to happen, probably. You're going to try to get over that wall, with your rope or whatever, only you're not going to make it. Along about shadeup, you're going to start hiking back to the city, feeling worse than shit in the street and thinking that I'm going to laugh myself sick at you. Only I'm not. I'm going to sacrifice 'cause you came back alive, understand? A black ram to Tartaros, see? A good big one, at your manteion the day after tomorrow, you got my word on that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head.\n\n\"I didn't think so. All right, here's all that's going to happen, probably. You're going to try to get over that wall, with your rope or whatever, only you're not going to make it. Along about shadeup, you're going to start hiking back to the city, feeling worse than shit in the street and thinking that I'm going to laugh myself sick at you. Only I'm not. I'm going to sacrifice 'cause you came back alive, understand? A black ram to Tartaros, see? A good big one, at your manteion the day after tomorrow, you got my word on that.\"\n\nAuk paused for breath.\n\n\"And after my sacrifice is over, I'm going to make you swear you'll never try anything this stupid ever again. You think you can make Blood swear to give back your manteion, which you can't. And you think he'll stick with whatever he swore to afterward, which he wouldn't, not for every god in Mainframe. But I can make you swear, Patera, and I'm going to—see if I don't. And I know you'll stick. You're the kind that does.\"\n\nSilk said gratefully, \"This is really very good of you, Auk. I don't deserve it.\"\n\n\"If I was really good I wouldn't have hired us these donkeys, Patera. I'd have hiked out here with you and let you tire yourself—that way you'd come back that much quicker.\"\n\nTroubled, Auk paused, running his fingers through his hair. \"Only if you do get inside, it'd be all queer if you was tired. You don't work when you're fagged out, not in my trade, only when you're cold up and full of jump. Only I've done a hundred or more, and I wouldn't try to solve this one for a thousand goldboys. Good-bye, Patera. Phaea smile on you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wait a moment.\" Silk took him by the sleeve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Haven't you been inside that house? You said you had.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A couple of times on business, Patera. I don't know anything much about it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You said that I was certain to be caught, and I'll concede that you may very well be correct. Nevertheless, I don't intend to be caught; and if I am, I will have failed the Outsider, the god who has sent me, just as I will have failed him if I don't make the attempt tonight. Can't you see that? Haven't you ever been caught yourself, Auk? You must have been.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk nodded reluctantly. \"Once, Patera, when I was just a sprat. He winnowed me out. By Phaea's sow, I thought he was going to kill me. And when he was through, he kicked me out into the street. That was right in our quarter. I'll show you the house sometime.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tried to pull free, but Silk retained his grip on his sleeve. \"How were you caught, Auk? What was it that you did wrong? Tell me, please, so I won't make the same mistake.\"\n\n\"You done it already, Patera.\" Auk sounded apologetic. \"Look here. I'd solved a few places, and I got pretty hot on myself and thought I couldn't get caught. I had some picks, know what I mean? And I showed 'em off and called myself a master of the art, thinking Tartaros himself would pull his hat off to me. Got to where I never troubled to look things over the way a flash buck ought to.\"\n\nAuk fell silent, and Silk asked, \"What was the detail you overlooked?\"\n\n\"Debt, Patera.\" Auk chuckled. \"That don't go with Blood, 'cause it's not him you got to worry about.\"\n\n\"Tell me anyway,\" Silk insisted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, Patera, this bucko that had the house had a good lay, see? Taking care of all the shoes and such like up at Ermine's. You know about Ermine's? A goldboy or maybe two for supper. Gilt places like that deal on Scylsday, 'cause Sphigxday's their plum night, see? So I gleaned once he'd got off he'd put down a few and snoodge like a soldier. If I was to flush his fussock—rouse up his wife, Patera—she'd stave her broom getting him off straw, and I'd beat the hoof to my own tune. Only he owed 'em, you see? Up to Ermine's. They're holding his lower back on him, so he was straight up, or nearly. So he napped me and I owed it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded.\n\n\"Now you tonight, Patera, you're doing the same thing. You're not flash. You don't know who's there or who ain't, or how big the rooms might be, or what kind of windows. Not a pip of the scavy you got to have right in your hand.\"\n\n\"You must be able to tell me something,\" Silk said.\n\nAuk adjusted the heavy hanger he wore. \"The house's a tidy stone place with a wing to each side. Three floors in 'em, and the middle's two. When you come in the front like I did, there's a big front room, and that's the farthest I got. Him that told me about floors says there's a capital cellar and another underneath. There's guards. You saw one of that quality in my glass. And there's a tall ass, begging your pardon, Patera. Like what I told you already.\"\n\n\"Have you any idea where Blood sleeps?\"\n\nAuk shook his head, the motion scarcely visible. \"But he don't sleep a hour, nightside. The flash never do, see? His business'll keep him out of bed till shadeup.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sensing Silk's incomprehension, Auk elaborated. \"People coming to talk to him like I did, or the ones that work for him with their hats off so he can tell where they come from and where they're going, Patera.\"\n\n\"I see.\"\n\nAuk took the reins of the smaller donkey and mounted his own. \"You got four, maybe five hours to shadeup. Then you got to get back. I wouldn't be too close to that wall then if I was you, Patera. There might come a guard walking the top. I've known 'em to do that.\"\n\n\"All right.\" Silk nodded, reflecting that he had some ground to cover before he was near the wall at all. \"Thank you again. I won't betray you, whatever you may think; and I won't get caught if I can help it.\"\n\nAs he watched Auk ride away, Silk wondered what he had really been like as a schoolboy, and what Maytera Mint had found to say to that much younger Auk that had left so deep an impression." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For Auk believed, despite his hard looks and thieves' cant; and unlike many superficially better men, his faith was more than superstition." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'tartaros' 3 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Scylla's smiling picture on the wall of that dismal, barren room had not come to its place by accident. Its presence there had revealed more to Silk than Auk's glass: deep within his being, Auk's spirit knelt in adoration.\n\nInspired by the thought, Silk knelt himself, though the sharp flints of the hilltop gouged his knees. The Outsider had warned him that he would receive no aid—still, it was licit, surely, to ask help of other gods; and dark Tartaros was the patron of all who acted outside the law.\n\n\"A black lamb to you alone, kindly Tartaros, as quickly as I can afford another. Be mindful of me, who come in the service of a minor god.\"\n\nBut Blood, too, acted outside the law, dealing in rust and women and even smuggled goods, or so Auk had indicated; it was more than possible that Tartaros would favor Blood.\n\nSighing, Silk stood, dusted off the legs of his oldest trousers, and began to pick his way down the rocky hillside. Things would be as they would be, and he had no choice but to proceed, whether with the aid of the dark god or without it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pas the Twice-Seeing might side with him, or Scalding Scylla, who wielded more influence here than her brother. Surely Scylla would not wish the city that most honored her to lose a manteion! Encouraged, Silk scrambled along.\n\nThe faint golden lights of Blood's house soon vanished behind the treetops, and the breeze with them. Below the hill, the air lay hot and close again, stale, and overripe with a summer protracted beyond reason.\n\nOr perhaps not. As Silk groped among close-set trunks, with leaves crackling and twigs popping beneath his feet, he reflected that if the year had been a more normal one, this forest might now lie deep in snow, and what he was doing would be next to impossible. Could it be that this parched, overheated, and seemingly immutable season had in actuality been prolonged for his benefit?\n\nFor a few seconds the thought halted him between step and step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All this heat and sweat, for him? Poor Maytera Marble's daily sufferings, the children's angry rashes, the withered crops and shrinking streams?\n\nNo sooner had he had the thought than he came close to falling into the gully of one, catching hold by purest luck to a branch he could not see. Cautiously he clambered down the uneven bank, then knelt on the water-smoothed stones of the streambed to seek water with his fingers, finding none. There might be pools higher or lower, but here at least what had been a stream could be no drier.\n\nWith head cocked, he listened for the familiar music of fast-flowing water over stones. Far away a nightjar called; the harsh sound died away, and the stillness of the forest closed in once more, the hushed expectancy of the thirsting trees.\n\nThis forest had been planted in the days of the caldé (or so one of his teachers at the schola had informed him) in order that its watershed might fill the city's wells; and though the Ayuntamiento now permitted men of wealth to build within its borders, it remained vast, stretching more than fifty leagues toward Palustria." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If its streams were this dry now, how long could Viron live?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Would it be necessary to build a new city, if only a temporary one, on the lakeshore?\n\nWishing for light as well as water, Silk climbed the opposite bank, and after a hundred strides saw through the bare, close-ranked trees the welcome gleam of skylight on dressed and polished stone.\n\nThe wall surrounding Blood's villa loomed higher and higher as he drew nearer. Auk had indicated a height of ten cubits or so; to Silk, standing before its massive base and peering up at the fugitive glints of skylight on the points of its ominous spikes, that estimate appeared unnecessarily conservative. Somewhat discouraged already, he uncoiled the thin horsehair rope he had worn about his waist, thrust the hatchet into his waistband, tied a running noose in one end of the rope as Auk had suggested, and hurled it up at those towering points.\n\nFor a moment that seemed at least a minute, the rope hung over him like a miracle, jet black against the shining skylands, lost in blind dark where it crossed the boundless, sooty smear of the shade. A moment more, and it lay limp at his feet.\n\nBiting his lips, he gathered it, reopened the noose, and hurled it again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Unlooked-for, the last words of the dying stableman to whom he had carried the forgiveness of the gods a week earlier returned, the summation of fifty years of toil: \"I tried, Patera. I tried.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "With them, the broiling heat of the four-flight bedroom, the torn and faded horsecloths on the bed, the earthenware jug of water, and the hard end of bread (bread that some man of substance had no doubt intended for his mount) that the stableman could no longer chew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Another throw. The ragged, amateurish sketch of the wife who had left when the stableman could no longer feed her and her children..." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include 'tried' 2 time(s) in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One last throw, and then he would return to the old manse on Sun Street—where he belonged—and go to bed, forgetting this absurd scheme of rescue with the brown lice that had crept across the faded blue horsecloths.\n\nA final throw. \"I tried, Patera. I tried.\"\n\nDescriptions of three children that their father had not seen since before he, Silk, had been born. All right, he thought, just one more attempt.\n\nWith this, his sixth cast, he snared a spike, and by this time he could only wonder whether someone in the house had not already seen his noose rising above the wall and falling back. He heaved hard on the rope and felt the noose tighten, wiped his sweating hands on his robe, planted his feet against the dressed stone of the wall, and started up. He had reached twice his own considerable height when the noose parted and he fell.\n\n\"Pas!\" He spoke more loudly than he had intended." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For three minutes or more after that exclamation he cowered in silence beside the base of the wall, rubbing his bruises and listening. At length he muttered, \"Scylla, Tartaros, Great Pas, remember your servant. Don't treat him so.\" And stood to gather and examine his rope.\n\nThe noose had been sliced through, almost cleanly, at the place where it must have held the spike. Those spikes were sharp-edged, clearly, like the blades of swords, as he ought to have guessed.\n\nRetreating into the forest, he groped among branches he could scarcely see for a forked one of the right size. The first half-blind blow from his hatchet sounded louder than the boom of a slug gun. He waited, listening again, certain that he would soon hear cries of alarm and hurrying feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even the crickets were silent." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'spikes' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His fingertips explored the inconsiderable notch in the branch that his hatchet had made. He shifted his free hand to a safe position and struck hard at the branch again, then stood motionless to listen, as before.\n\nBriefly and distantly (as he had long ago, a child and feverish, heard through a tightly closed window with drawn curtains, from three streets away, the faint yet melodious tinklings of the barrel organ that announces the gray beggar monkey) he caught a few bars of music, buoyant and inviting. Quickly it vanished, leaving behind only the monotonous song of the nightjar.\n\nWhen he felt certain it would not return, he swung his hatchet again and again at the unseen wood, until the branch was free and he could brace it against its parent trunk for trimming. That done, he carried the rough fork out of the darkness of the trees and into the skylit clearing next to the wall, and knotted his rope securely at the point where the splayed arms met. A single hard throw sent the forked limb arching above the spikes; it held solidly against them when he drew it back.\n\nHe was breathless, his tunic and trousers soaked with sweat, by the time he pulled himself up onto the slanting capstone, where for several minutes he stretched panting between the spikes and the sheer drop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had been seen, beyond doubt—or if he had not, he would inevitably be seen as soon as he stood up. It would be utter folly to stand. As he sought to catch his breath, he assured himself that only such a fool as he would so much as consider it.\n\nWhen he did stand up at last, fully expecting a shouted challenge or the report of a slug gun, he had to call upon every scrap of self-discipline to keep from looking down.\n\nThe top of the wall was a full cubit wider than he had expected, however—as wide as the garden walk. Stepping across the spikes (which his fingers had told him boasted serrated edges), he crouched to study the distant villa and its grounds, straightening his low-crowned hat and drawing his black robe across the lower half of his face.\n\nThe nearer wing was a good hundred cubits, he estimated, from his vantage point. The grassway Auk had mentioned was largely out of sight at the front of the villa, but a white roadway of what appeared to be crushed shiprock ran from the back of the nearer wing to the wall, striking it a hundred strides to his left." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'there' 2 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half a dozen sheds, large and small, stood along this roadway, the biggest of them apparently a shelter for vehicles, another (noticeably high and narrow, with what seemed to be narrow wire-covered vents high in an otherwise blank wall) some sort of provision for fowls.\n\nWhat concerned Silk more was the second in size of the sheds, whose back opened onto an extensive yard surrounded by a palisade and covered with netting. The poles of the palisade were sharpened at the top, perhaps partly to hold the netting in place; and though it was difficult to judge by the glimmering skylight, it seemed that the area enclosed was of bare soil dotted with an occasional weed. That was a pen for dangerous animals, surely.\n\nHe scanned the rest of the grounds. There appeared to be a courtyard or terrace behind the original villa; though it was largely hidden by the wing, he glimpsed flagstones, and a flowering tree in a ceramic tub.\n\nOther trees were scattered over the rolling lawns with studied carelessness, and there were hedges as well. Blood had built this wall and hired guards, but he did not really fear intrusion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was too much foliage for that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although if his watchdogs liked to lie in the shadows, an intruder who sought to use Blood's plantings to mask his approach could be in for an ugly surprise; in which case an uncomplicated dash for the villa might be best." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What would an experienced and resolute housebreaker like Auk have done in his place?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk quickly regretted the thought; Auk would have gone home or found an easier house to rob." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had said as much." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This Blood was no common magnate, no rich trader or graft-swollen commissioner." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was a clever criminal himself, and one who (why?) appeared more anxious than might be expected about his own security. A criminal with secrets, then, or with enemies who were themselves outside the law—so it appeared. Certainly Auk had not been his friend.\n\nAt the age of twelve, Silk had once, with several other boys, broken into an empty house. He remembered that now, the fear and the shame of it, the echoing, uninhabited rooms with their furniture swathed in dirty white dustcovers. How hurt and dismayed his mother had been when she had found out what they had done! She had refused to punish him, saying that the nature of his punishment would be left to the owner of the house he had violated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That punishment (the mere thought of it made him stir uneasily on top of the wall) had never arrived, although he had spent weeks and months in dread of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or possibly had arrived only now. That deserted house, after all, had loomed large in the back of his mind when he had gathered up his horsehair rope and his hatchet and gone out looking for Auk, then only a vague figure recalled from Scylsdays past. And if it had not been for Auk and Maytera Mint, if it had not been for the repairs he had been making on the roof of the manteion, but most of all if it had not been for that well-remembered house whose rear window he had helped to force—if it had not been for all those things together, he would never have undertaken to break into this villa of Blood's. Or rather, into an imagined house on the Palatine belonging to Blood. On the Palatine where, as he realized now, the respectable rich would never have allowed such a man as Blood to live. Instead of this preposterous, utterly juvenile escapade, he would have...\n\nWould have what? Have penned another appeal to Patera Remora, the coadjutor of the Chapter, perhaps, although the Chapter had, as seemed clear, already made its decision. Or have sought an interview with His Cognizance the Prolocutor—the interview that he had tried and failed to get weeks before, when it had at last become apparent to him (or so he had thought at the time) exactly how serious the manteion's financial situation was." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His hands clenched as he recalled the expression of His Cognizance's sly little prothonotary, his long wait, ended only when he had been informed that His Cognizance had retired for the night. His Cognizance was quite elderly, the prothonotary had explained (as though he, Patera Silk, had been a foreigner). His Cognizance tired very easily these days.\n\nAnd with that, the prothonotary had grinned his oh-so-knowing, vile grin; and Silk had wanted to strike him.\n\nAll right then, those possibilities had been explored already, both of them. Yet surely there was something else he might have done, something sensible, effectual, and most significantly, legal.\n\nHe was still considering the matter when the talus Auk had mentioned glided ponderously around a corner of the more remote wing, appearing briefly only to vanish and reappear as its motion carried it from skylight into shadow and from shadow into bright skylight again.\n\nSilk's first thought was that it had heard him, but it was moving too slowly for that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, this was no more than a routine patrol, one more among the thousands of circuits of Blood's high, crenelated villa it must have made since Blood engaged its services. Nervously, Silk wondered how good the big machine's vision was, and whether it routinely scanned the top of the wall. Maytera Marble had told him once that hers was less acute than his own, though he had worn glasses for reading since turning twelve. Yet that might be no more than the effect of her great age; the talus would be younger, although cruder as well. Certainly movement was more apt to betray him than immobility.\n\nAnd yet he found immobility more and more difficult to maintain as the talus drew nearer. It appeared to wear a helmet, a polished brazen dome more capacious than many a respectable tomb. From beneath that helmet glared the face of an ogre worked in black metal: a wide and flattened nose, bulging red eyes, great flat cheeks like slabs of slate, and a gaping mouth drawn back in a savage grin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sharp white tusks that thrust beyond its crimson lips were presumably mere bluster, but the slender barrel of a buzz gun flanked each tusk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Far below that threatening head, the talus's armored, wagon-like body rolled upon dark belts that carried it in perfect silence over the close-sheared grass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No needler, no sword, and certainly no hatchet like the one he grasped could do more than scratch the talus's finish." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Precise word count needed: 'roadway' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Met upon its own terms, it would be more than a match for a whole platoon of armored Guardsmen. He resolved—fervently—never to meet it on its own terms, and never to meet it at all if he could manage it.\n\nAs it neared the pale swath that was the white stone roadway, it halted. Slowly and silently, its huge, frowning head revolved, examining the back of the villa, then each of the outbuildings in turn, then staring down the roadway, and at last looking at the wall itself, tracing its whole visible length (as it appeared) twice. Silk felt certain that his heart had stopped, frozen with fear. A moment more and he would lose consciousness and fall forward. The talus would roll toward him, no doubt, would dismember him with brutal steel hands bigger than the largest shovels; but that would not matter, because he would already be dead.\n\nAt length it seemed to see him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a long moment its head ceased to move, its fierce eyes staring straight at him. As smoothly as a cloud, as inexorably as an avalanche, it glided toward him. Slowly, so slowly that he would not at first permit himself to believe it, its path inclined to the left, its staring eyes left him, and he was able to make out against its rounded sides the ladders of bent rod that would permit troopers to ride into battle on board its flattened back.\n\nHe did not move until it had vanished around the corner of the nearer wing; then he stepped across the spikes again, pulled his rope and the forked limb free, and jumped after them. Although he struck the drought-hardened ground with bent knees and rolled forward, putting back into practice the lessons of boyhood, the drop stung the soles of his feet and left him sprawled breathless.\n\nThe rear gate, to which the white roadway ran, was a grill of bars, narrow and recessed. A bellpull beside it might (or might not, Silk reflected) summon a human servant from within the house. Suddenly reckless, he tugged it, watching through the four-finger interstices to see who might appear, while the bell clanged balefully over his head." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'seemed' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No dog barked at the sound. For a moment only, it seemed to him that he caught the flash of eyes in the shadow of a big willow halfway between the wall and the house; but the image had been too brief to be trusted, and the eyes (if eyes they had been) at a height of seven cubits or more.\n\nThe talus itself threw open the gate, roaring, \"Who are you!\" It seemed to lean forward as it trained its buzz guns at him.\n\nSilk tugged his wide-brimmed straw hat lower. \"Someone with a message for Blood, your master,\" he announced. \"Get out of my way.\" Quickly, he stepped under the gate, so that it could not be dropped again without crushing him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had never been so close to a talus before, and there seemed no harm in satisfying his curiosity now; he reached out and touched the angled plate that was the huge machine's chest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To his surprise he found it faintly warm.\n\n\"Who are you!\" the talus roared again.\n\n\"Do you wish my name or the tessera I was given?\" Silk replied. \"I have both.\"\n\nThough it had not appeared to move at all, the talus was nearer now, so near that its chest plate actually nudged his robe. \"Stand back!\"\n\nWithout warning, Silk found himself a child once more, a child confronting an adult, an uncaring, shouting giant. In a story his mother had read to him, some bold boy had darted between a giant's legs. It would be perfectly possible now; the seamless black strips on which the talus stood lifted its steel body three cubits at least above the grass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Could he outrun a talus? He licked his lips. Not if they were as fast as floaters. But were they? If this one chose to shoot, it would not matter.\n\nIts chest plate shoved him backward, so that he reeled and nearly fell. \"Get out!\"\n\n\"Tell Blood I was here.\" He would surely be reported; it might be best if he appeared to wish it. \"Tell him that I have information.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who are you?\"\n\n\"Rust,\" Silk whispered. \"Now let me in.\"\n\nSuddenly the talus was rolling smoothly back. The gate crashed down, a hand's breadth in front of his face. Quite possibly there was a tessera—a word or a sign that would command instant admittance. But rust certainly was not it.\n\nHe left the gate, discovering with some surprise that his legs were trembling. Would the talus answer the front gate also?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Very probably; but there was no harm in finding out, and the back of the villa seemed unpromising indeed.\n\nAs he set off upon the lengthy walk along the wall that would take him to the front gate, he reflected that Auk (and so by implication others of his trade) would have attempted the rear; a foresighted planner might well have anticipated that and taken extra precautions there.\n\nA moment later he rebuked himself for the thought. Auk would not have dared the front gate, true; but neither would Auk have been terrified of the talus, as he had been. He pictured Auk's coarse and frowning face, its narrowed eyes, jutting ears, and massive, badly shaved jaw. Auk would be careful, certainly. But never fearful. What was still more important, Auk believed in the goodness of the gods, in their benign personal care—something that he, whose own trade it was to profess it, could only struggle to believe.\n\nShaking his head, he pulled his beads from his trousers pocket, his fingers reassured by their glassy polish and the swinging mass of the voided cross." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nine decades, one with which to praise and petition each major divinity, with an additional, unspecified decade from which the voided cross was suspended." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 9 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For the first time it occurred to him that there were ten beads in each decade as well. Had the Nine been the Ten, once? He pushed the heretical thought aside.\n\nFirst the cross. \"To you, Great Pas...\"\n\nThere was a secret in the empty, X-shaped space, or so one of his teachers had confided, a mystery far beyond that of the detachable arms he showed the smallest boys and girls at the palaestra and used (as every other augur did) to test and tighten sacred connections. Unfortunately, his teacher had not seen fit to confide the secret as well, and probably had not known it himself—if any such secret actually existed. Silk shrugged aside the memory, ceased fingering the enigmatic emptiness of the voided cross, and clasped it to his chest.\n\n\"To you, Great Pas, I present my poor heart and my whole spirit, my mind and all my belief...\"\n\nThe grass thinned and vanished, replaced by odd little plants like multilayered, greenish umbrellas that appeared healthy and flourishing, yet crumbled to mere puffs of dust when Silk stepped on them." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writers block help pls. ill send something, u do 5 sentences. going for Gene Wolfe vibe. note: might have existing chars" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood's front gate was less promising than the other, if anything, for an eye in a black metal box gleamed above the top of its arch. Should he ring here, Musk or someone like him inside would not only see him, but interrogate him, no doubt, speaking through a mouth in the same box.\n\nFor five minutes or more, sitting on a convenient stone while he rubbed his feet, Silk considered the advisability of submitting himself to the scrutiny of that eye, and thus of the unknown inquisitor who would examine him through it. He knew himself to be a less than competent liar; and when he tried to concoct a tale that might get him into Blood's presence, he was dismayed at how feeble and unconvincing even the best of his fabrications sounded. Eventually he was driven to conclude, with a distinct sense of relief, that the prospect was hopeless; he would have to get into the villa by stealth, if he got into it at all." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Retying his shoes, he rose, advanced another hundred paces along the wall, and once more heaved the forked limb over its spikes.\n\nAs Auk had indicated, there was a central building of two stories, with wings whose rows of windows showed them to be three, although the original structure was nearly as tall as they. Both the original structure and its wings appeared to be of the same smooth, grayish stone as the wall, and all three were so high that throwing the limb onto the roof of any appeared quite impossible. To enter them directly, he would have to discover an unbolted door or force one of the ground-floor casements, exactly as he and the other boys had broken into the deserted house a few years before he left home to attend the schola. He winced at the thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On the farther end of the wing on the right, however (the structure most remote from his old vantage point), was a more modest addition whose decorative merlons appeared to stand no more than a scant ten cubits above the lawn; the size and close spacing of its numerous windows suggested that it might be a conservatory." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'blood's' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk noted it for future use and turned his attention to the grounds.\n\nThe broad grassway that curved so gracefully up to the pillared portico of Blood's villa was bordered with bright flower beds. Some distance in front of that entrance, a fine porcelain Scylla writhed palely among the sprays of an ostentatious fountain, spewing water alike from her woman's mouth and her upraised tentacles.\n\nScented water, in fact; sniffing the almost motionless air like a hound, Silk caught the fragrance of tea roses. Postponing judgement on Blood's taste, he nodded approvingly at this tangible evidence of pious civic feeling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Perhaps Blood was not really such a bad man after all, no matter what Auk thought." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include exactly 2 instance(s) of the word 'would'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood had provided three cards for a sacrifice; it might well be that if Blood were approached in the right way he would be amenable to reason. Possibly the Outsider's errand would come to no more than that, in the end. Giving rein to this pleasing line of thought for a second or two, Silk imagined himself comfortably seated in some luxurious chamber of the villa before him, laughing heartily over his own adventures with the prosperous-looking man with whom he had spoken in Sun Street. Why, even a contribution toward necessary repairs might not be entirely out of the question.\n\nOn the farther side of the grassway..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The distant roar of an approaching floater made him look around." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With running lights blazing through its own dust, it was hurtling along the public road in the direction of the main gate. Quickly he stretched himself flat behind the row of spikes.\n\nAs the floater braked, two figures in silvered conflict armor shot away from the portico on highriders. At the same moment, the talus rounded the conservatory (if that was what it was) at full tilt, dodging trees and shrubs as it rolled across the lawn nearly as fast as the highriders; after it bounded half a dozen sinuous, seemingly tailless beasts with bearded faces and horned heads.\n\nWhile Silk watched fascinated, the thick metal arms of the talus stretched like telescopes, twenty cubits or more to catch hold of a ring high in the wall near the gate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a second they paused." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An unseen chain rattled and creaked. They shrank, drawing the ring and its chain with them, and the gate rose.\n\nThe shadow of a drifting cloud from the east veiled the pillars of the portico, then the steps at their bases; Silk murmured a frantic appeal to Tartaros and tried to judge its speed.\n\nThere was a faint and strangely lonely whine from the blowers as the floater glided under the gate's rounded arch. One of the horned beasts sprang onto its transparent canopy, appearing to crouch upon empty air until it was driven off snarling by the armored men, who cursed and brandished their short-tubed slug guns as if to strike it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The drifting shadow had reached Scylla's fountain by the time the horned beast sprang away." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The talus let the heavy gate fall again as the floater swept proudly up the darkening grassway, escorted by the highriders and accompanied by all six horned beasts, which rose upon their hind legs again and again to peer inside. It halted and settled onto the grass before the wide stone steps of the villa, and the talus called the horned beasts from it with a shrill shuddering wail that could have issued from no human throat.\n\nAs the brilliantly dressed passengers disembarked, Silk leaped from the wall and dashed across the lawn toward the conservatory, with a desperate effort flung the forked limb over its ornamental battlement, and swarmed up the horsehair rope, over the battlement, and onto the roof." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nContext: Match existing character backgrounds if present\nMy role: Provide opening\nYour role: 11 sentences in the Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For what seemed to him the greater part of an hour, Silk lay behind the battlement trying to catch his breath. Had he been seen? If the talus or one of the armored men had seen him, they would have come at once, he felt certain; but if one of Blood's guests had, it might easily be ten minutes or even longer before he decided that he should report what he had seen, and reached the appropriate person; it might be that he would not so much as try until prompted by another guest to whom he mentioned the incident.\n\nOverhead the skylands sailed serenely among broad bars of sterile cloud, displaying countless now-sunlit cities in which nobody at all knew or cared that one Patera Silk, an augur of faraway Viron, was frightened almost to death and might soon die.\n\nThe limb, too, might have given him away. He was sure that he, on the ground, had heard it thump down on the warm, tarred surface of the roof; and anyone in the conservatory below must have heard it very distinctly. As he sought to slow the pounding of his heart by an effort of will, and to force himself to breathe through his nose, it seemed to him that anyone who had heard that thump would realize at once that it had been made by an intruder who had climbed onto the roof. As the thunder of his own pulse faded away, he listened intently.\n\nThe music he had heard so faintly from the wall was louder now. Through it, over it, and below it, he heard the murmur of voices—the voices of men, mostly, he decided, with a few women among them. That piercing laugh had been a woman's, unless he was greatly mistaken." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Glass shattered, not loudly, followed by a moment of silence, then a shout of laughter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His black rope was still hanging over the battlement. He felt that it was almost miraculous that it had not been seen. Without rising from his back, he hauled it in hand over hand. It would be necessary, in another minute or two, to throw the limb again, this time onto the roof of the wing proper. He was not at all sure he could do it.\n\nAn owl floated silently overhead, then veered away to settle on a convenient branch at the edge of the forest. Watching it, Silk (who had never considered the lives of Echidna's pets before) suddenly realized that the building of Blood's wall, with the cleared strip on its forest side and the closely trimmed lawn on the other, had irrevocably altered the lives of innumerable birds and small animals, changing the way in which woodmice foraged for food and hawks and owls hunted them. To such creatures, Blood and his hired workmen must have seemed the very forces of nature, pitiless and implacable. Silk pitied those animals now, all the while wondering whether they did not have as much right, and more reason, to pity him.\n\nThe Outsider, he reflected, had swooped upon him much as the owl would stoop for a mouse; the Outsider had assured him that his regard for him was eternal and perfect, never to be changed by any act of his, no matter how iniquitous or how meritorious. The Outsider had then told him to act, and had withdrawn while in some fashion remaining." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The memory, and the wonder of the Outsider's love and of his own new, clean pride in the Outsider's regard, would make the rest of his life both more meaningful and more painful." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet what could he do, beyond what he was doing?\n\n\"Thank you,\" he whispered. \"Thank you anyway, even if you never speak to me again. You have given me the courage to die.\"\n\nThe owl hooted from its high branch above the wall, and the orchestra in Blood's ballroom struck up a new tune, one Silk recognized as \"Know I'll Never Leave You.\" Could that be an omen? The Outsider had indeed warned him to expect no help, but had never (as well as Silk could remember, at any rate) actually told him that he would never be vouchsafed omens.\n\nShaking himself, his self-possession recovered and his sweat dried, he lifted his knees and rolled into a crouch behind one of the merlons, peering through the crenel on its left. There was no one on that part of the grounds visible to him. He readjusted the long handle of the hatchet while changing position slightly in order to look out through the crenel on the right. Half the grassway was visible from that angle, and with it the gate; but there was no floater on that section of the grassway, and the talus and the horned beasts that had come at its call had gone elsewhere. The skylands were brightening as the trailing edge of the cloud that had favored him left Viron for the west; he could make out the iron ring the talus had pulled to raise the gate, to the left of the arch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stood then and looked about him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was nothing threatening or even extraordinary about the roof of Blood's conservatory. It was level or nearly so, a featureless dark surface surrounding an abatjour for the illumination of the conservatory, itself enclosed on three sides by chest-high battlements. The fourth was defined by the south wall of the wing from which the conservatory extended; the sills of its second-story windows were three cubits or a trifle less above the conservatory roof.\n\nSilk felt a thrill of triumph as he studied the windows. Their casements were shut, and the rooms that they lighted, dark; yet he felt an undeniable pride in them that was not unrelated to that of ownership. Auk had predicted that he would get roughly this far before being captured by Blood's guards—and now he had gotten this far, doing nothing more than Auk, who clearly knew a great deal about such things, had expected. The manteion had not been saved, or even made appreciably safer. And yet...\n\nBoldly, he leaned over the nearest battlement, his head and shoulders thrust beyond the merlons. One of the horned beasts was standing at the base of the conservatory wall, directly below him. For an instant he was acutely conscious of its amber stare; it snarled, and cat-like padded away.\n\nCould those fantastic animals climb onto the roof?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He decided that though possible it was unlikely—the walls of the villa were of dressed stone, after all." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He leaned out farther still, his hands braced on the bottom of the crenel, to reassure himself about the construction of the wall.\n\nAs he did, the talus rolled into view. He froze until it had passed. There was a chance, of course, that it had concealed, upward- or rearward-directed eyes; Maytera Marble had once mentioned such features in connection with Maytera Rose. But that, too, seemed less than probable.\n\nLeaving his limb and horsehair rope where they lay, he walked gingerly across the roof to the abatjour and crouched to peer through one of its scores of clear panes.\n\nThe conservatory below apparently housed large bushes of some sort, or possibly dwarfed trees. Silk found that he had unconsciously assumed that it had supplied the low-growing flowers that bordered the grassway. That had been an error, now revealed; while examining the plants below, he cautioned himself against making any further unconsidered assumptions about this villa of Blood's.\n\nThe panes themselves were set in lead. Silk scraped the lead with the edge of his hatchet, finding it as soft as he could wish." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With half an hour's skillful work, it should be possible, he decided, to remove two panes without breaking them, after which he could let himself down among the lush, shining leaves and intertwined trunks below—perhaps with an undesirable amount of noise, but perhaps also, unheard.\n\nNodding thoughtfully to himself, he rose and walked quietly across the conservatory roof to examine the dark windows of the wing overlooking it.\n\nThe first two he tested were locked in some fashion. As he tugged at each, he was tempted to wedge the blade of his hatchet between the stile and casing to pry them open. The latch or bolt would certainly break with a snap, however, if it gave at all; and it seemed only too likely that the glass would break instead. He decided that he would try to throw the limb onto the roof two stories above him (diminished by a third, that throw no longer appeared nearly as difficult as it had when he had reconnoitered the villa from the top of its surrounding wall) and explore that roof as well before attempting anything quite so audacious. Circuitous though it seemed, removing panes from the abatjour might actually be a more prudent approach.\n\nThe third casement he tried gave slightly in response to his tentative pull. He pushed it back, wiped his perspiring palms on his robe and tugged harder. This time the casing moved a trifle farther; it was only jammed, apparently, not locked. A quick wrench of the hatchet forced it open enough for him to swing it back with only the slightest of protests from the neglected hinges." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Vaulting with one hand upon the sill, he slid headfirst into the lightless room beyond." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🎯 Target word: 'fingers' | Required occurrences: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The gritty wooden floor was innocent of carpet. Silk explored it with his fingertips, in ever-wider arcs, while he knelt, motionless, alert for any sound from within the room. His fingers touched something the size of a pigeon's egg, something spherical, hard, and dry. He picked it up—it yielded slightly when squeezed. Suspicious, he lifted it to his nostrils and sniffed.\n\nExcrement.\n\nHe dropped it and wiped his fingers on the floor. Some animal was penned in this room and might be present now, as frightened of him as he was of it—if it was not already stalking him. Not one of the horned cats, surely; they were apparently freed to roam the grounds at night. Something worse, then. Something more dangerous.\n\nOr nothing. If there was an animal in the room, it was a silent one indeed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even a serpent would have hissed by now, surely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk got to his feet as quietly as he could and inched along the wall, his right hand grasping his hatchet, the fingers of his left groping what might have been splintered paneling.\n\nA corner, as empty as the whole room seemed to be. He took a step, then another. If there were pictures, or even furniture, he had thus far failed to encounter them.\n\nAnother step; pull up the right foot to the left now. Pausing to listen, he could detect only his own whistling breath and the faint tinklings of the distant orchestra.\n\nHis mouth felt dry, and his knees seemed ready to give way beneath him; twice he was forced to halt, bracing his trembling hands against the wall. He reminded himself that he was actually in Blood's villa, and that it had not been as difficult as he had feared. The task to follow would be much harder: he would have to locate Blood without being discovered himself, and speak with him for some time in a place where they could talk without interruption. Only now was he willing to admit that it might prove impossible.\n\nA second corner." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This vertical molding was surely the frame of a door; the pale rectangle of the window he had opened was on the opposite side of the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His hand sought and found the latch. He pushed it down; it moved freely, with a slight rattle; but the door would not open.\n\n\"Have you been bad?\"\n\nHe jerked the hatchet up, about to strike with deadly force at whatever might come from the darkness—about to kill, he told himself a moment later, some innocent sleeper whose bedchamber he had entered by force.\n\n\"Have you?\" The question had a spectral quality; he could not have said whether it proceeded from a point within arm's reach or wafted through the open casement.\n\n\"Yes.\" To his own ears, the lone syllable sounded high and frightened, almost tremulous. He forced himself to pause and clear his throat. \"I've been bad many times, I'm afraid. I regret them all.\"\n\n\"You're a boy. I can tell.\"\n\nSilk nodded solemnly. \"I used to be a boy, not so long ago. No doubt Maytera R—No doubt some of my friends would tell you that I'm a boy still in many respects, and they may well be right.\"\n\nHis eyes were adjusting to the darker darkness of the room, so that the skylight that played across the roof of the conservatory and the grounds in the distance, mottled though it was by the diffused shadows of broken clouds, made them appear almost sunlit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The light spilling through the open window showed clearly now the precise rectangle of flooring on which he had knelt, and dimly the empty, unclean room to either side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet he could not locate the speaker.\n\n\"Are you going to hurt me with that?\"\n\nIt was a young woman's voice, almost beyond question. Again Silk wondered whether she was actually present. \"No,\" he said, as firmly as he could. He lowered the hatchet. \"I will do you no violence, I swear.\" Blood dealt in women, so Auk had said; now Silk felt that he had a clearer idea of what such dealings might entail. \"Are you being kept here against your will?\"\n\n\"I go whenever I want. I travel. Usually I'm not here at all.\"\n\n\"I see,\" Silk said, though he did not, in either sense." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'window' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pushed down the latchbar again; it moved as readily as it had before, and the door remained as stubborn.\n\n\"I go very far, sometimes. I fly out the window, and no one sees me.\"\n\nSilk nodded again. \"I don't see you now.\"\n\n\"I know.\"\n\n\"Sometimes you must go out through this door, though. Don't you?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\nHer flat negative bore in its train the illusion that she was standing beside him, her lips almost brushing his ear. He groped for her, but his hand found only empty air. \"Where are you now? You can see me, you say. I'd like to see you.\"\n\n\"I'll have to get back in.\"\n\n\"Get back in through the window?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no reply." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He crossed the room to the window and looked out, leaning on the sill; there was no one on the roof of the conservatory, no one but the talus in sight on the grounds beyond. His rope and limb lay where he had left them. Devils (according to legends no one at the schola had really credited) could pass unseen, for devils were spirits of the lower air, presumably personifications of destructive winds. \"Where are you now?\" he asked again. \"Please come out. I'd like to see you.\"\n\nNothing. Thelxiepeia provided the best protection from devils, according to the Writings, but this was Phaea's day, not hers. Silk petitioned Phaea, Thelxiepeia, and for good measure Scylla, in quick succession before saying, \"I take it you don't want to talk to me, but I need to talk to you. I need your help, whoever you are.\"\n\nIn Blood's ballroom, the orchestra had struck up \"Brave Guards of the Third Brigade.\" Silk had the feeling that no one was dancing, that few if any of Blood's guests were even listening. Outside, the talus waited at the gate, its steel arms unnaturally lengthened, both its hands upon the ring.\n\nTurning his back on the window, Silk scanned the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A shapeless mass in a corner (one that he had not traversed when he had felt his way along the walls to the door) might conceivably have been a huddled woman." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'hatchet' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With no very great confidence he said, \"I see you.\"\n\n\"To fourteen more my sword I pledged,\" sang the violins with desperate gaiety. Beardless lieutenants in brilliant green dress uniforms, twirling smiling beauties with plumes in their hair—but they were not there, Silk felt certain, no more than the mysterious young woman whom he himself was trying to address was here.\n\nHe crossed to the dark shape in the corner and nudged it with the toe of his shoe, then crouched, put aside his hatchet, and explored it with both hands—a ragged blanket and a thin, foul-smelling mattress. Picking up his hatchet again, he rose and faced the empty room. \"I'd like to see you,\" he repeated. \"But if you won't let me—if you won't even talk to me any more—I'm going to leave.\" As soon as he had spoken, he reflected that he had probably told her precisely what she wanted to hear.\n\nHe stepped to the window. \"If you require my help, you must say so now.\" He waited, silently reciting a formula of blessing, then traced the sign of addition in the darkness before him. \"Good-bye, then.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Before he could turn to go, she rose before him like smoke, naked and thinner than the most miserable beggar." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should naturally weave in this dialogue: \"Do you really have to talk with me, Silk? That's what you said.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Although she was a head shorter, he would have backed away from her if he could; his right heel thumped the wall below the window.\n\n\"Here I am. Can you see me now?\" In the dim skylight from the window her starved and bloodless face seemed almost a skull. \"My name's Mucor.\"\n\nSilk nodded and swallowed, half afraid to give his own, not liking to lie. \"Mine's Silk.\" Whether he succeeded or was apprehended, Blood would learn his identity. \"Patera Silk. I'm an augur, you see.\" He might die, perhaps; but if he did his identity would no longer matter.\n\n\"Do you really have to talk with me, Silk? That's what you said.\"\n\nHe nodded. \"I need to ask you how to open that door. It doesn't seem to be locked, but it won't open.\"\n\nWhen she did not reply, he added. \"I have to get into the house. Into the rest of it, I mean.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's an augur? I thought you were a boy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One who attempts to learn the will of the gods through sacrifice, in order that he may—\"\n\n\"I know! With the knife and the black robe. Lots of blood. Should I come with you, Silk? I can send forth my spirit. I'll fly beside you, wherever you go.\"\n\n\"Call me Patera, please. That's the proper way. You can send forth your body, too, Mucor, if you want.\"\n\n\"I'm saving myself for the man I'll marry.\" It was said with perfect (too perfect) seriousness.\n\n\"That's certainly the correct attitude, Mucor. But all I meant was that you don't have to stay here if you don't wish to. You could climb out of this window very easily and wait out there on the roof. When I've finished my business with Blood, we could both leave this villa, and I could take you to someone in the city who would feed you properly and—and take care of you.\"\n\nThe skull grinned at him. \"They'd find out that my window opens, Silk. I wouldn't be able to send my spirit any more.\"\n\n\"You wouldn't be here. You'd be in some safe place in the city. There you could send out your spirit whenever you wanted, and a physician—\"\n\n\"Not if my window was locked again. When my window is locked, I can't do it, Silk. They think it's locked now.\" She giggled, a high, mirthless tittering that stroked Silk's spine like an icy finger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was about to say that someone in the city might even be able to make you well. You may not care about that, but I do. Will you at least let me out of your room? Open your door for me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not from this side. I can't.\"\n\nHe sighed. \"I didn't really think you could. I don't suppose you know where Blood sleeps?\"\n\n\"On the other side. Of the house.\"\n\n\"In the other wing?\"\n\n\"His room used to be right under mine, but he didn't like hearing me. Sometimes I was bad. The north addition. This one's the south addition.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" Silk stroked his cheek. \"That's certainly worth knowing. He'll have a big room on the ground floor, I suppose.\"\n\n\"He's my father.\"\n\n\"Blood is?\" Silk caught himself on the point of saying that she did not resemble him. \"Well, well. That may be worth knowing, too. I don't plan to hurt him, Mucor, though I rather regret that now. He has a very nice daughter; he should come and see her more often, I think. I'll mention it forcefully, if I get to talk with him.\"\n\nSilk turned to leave, then glanced back at her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You really don't have to stay here, Mucor.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I know. I don't.\"\n\n\"You don't want to come with me when I leave? Or leave now yourself?\"\n\n\"Not the way you mean, walking like you do.\"\n\n\"Then there's nothing I can do for you except give you my blessing, which I've done already. You're one of Molpe's children, I think. May she care for you and favor you, this night and every night.\"\n\n\"Thank you, Silk.\" It was the tone of the little girl she had once been. Five years ago, perhaps, he decided; or perhaps three, or less than three. He swung his right leg over the windowsill.\n\n\"Watch out for my lynxes.\"\n\nSilk berated himself for not having questioned her more. \"What are those?\"\n\n\"My children. Do you want to see one?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he said. \"Yes, I do, if you want to show him to me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Watch.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'abatjour' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mucor was looking out the window, and Silk followed her gaze. For half a minute he waited beside her, listening to the faint sounds of the night; Blood's orchestra seemed to have fallen silent. Ghost-like, a floater glided beneath the arch, its blowers scarcely audible; the talus let down the gate smoothly behind it, and even the distant rattle of the chain reached them.\n\nA section of abatjour pivoted upward, and a horned head with topaz eyes emerged from beneath it, followed by a big, soft-looking paw.\n\nMucor said, \"That's Lion. He's my oldest son. Isn't he handsome?\"\n\nSilk managed to smile. \"Yes, he certainly is. But I didn't know you meant the horned cats.\"\n\n\"Those are their ears. But they jump through windows, and they have long teeth and claws that can hurt worse than a bull's horns.\"\n\n\"I imagine so.\" Silk made himself relax. \"Lynxes? Is that what you call them? I've never heard of the name, and I'm supposed to know something about animals.\"\n\nThe lynx emerged from the abatjour and trotted over to stand beneath the window, looking up at them quizzically." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If he had bent, Silk could have touched its great, bearded head; he took a step backward instead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't let him come up here, please.\"\n\n\"You said you wanted to see them, Silk.\"\n\n\"This is close enough.\"\n\nAs if it had understood, the lynx wheeled. A single bound carried it to the top of the battlement surrounding the conservatory roof, from which it dived as though into a pool.\n\n\"Isn't he pretty?\"\n\nSilk nodded reluctantly. \"I found him terrifying, but you're right. I've never seen a lovelier animal, though all Sabered Sphigx's cats are beautiful. She must be very proud of him.\"\n\n\"So am I. I told him not to hurt you.\" Mucor squatted on her heels, folding like a carpenter's rule.\n\n\"By standing beside me and talking to me, you mean.\" Gratefully, Silk seated himself on the windowsill." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've known dogs that intelligent. But a—lynx? Is that the singular? It's an odd word.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It means they hunt in the daytime,\" Mucor explained. \"They would, too, if my father'd let them. Their eyes are sharper than almost any other animal's. But their ears are good, too. And they can see in the dark, just like regular cats.\"\n\nSilk shuddered.\n\n\"My father traded for them. When he got them they were just little chips of ice inside a big box that was little on the inside. The chips are just like little seeds. Do you know about that, Silk?\"\n\n\"I've heard of it,\" he said. For an instant he thought that he felt the hot yellow gaze of the lynx behind him; he looked quickly, but the roof was bare. \"It's supposed to be against the law, though I don't think that's very strictly enforced. One could be placed inside a female animal of the correct sort, a large cat I'd imagine, in this case—\"\n\n\"He put them inside a girl.\" Mucor's eerie titter came again. \"It was me.\"\n\n\"In you!\"\n\n\"He didn't know what they were.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mucor's teeth flashed in the darkness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But I did, a long while before they were born. Then Musk told me their name and gave me a book. He likes birds, but I like them and they like me.\"\n\n\"Then come with me,\" Silk said, \"and the lynxes won't hurt either of us.\"\n\nThe skull nodded, still grinning. \"I'll fly beside you, Silk. Can you bribe the talus?\"\n\n\"I don't think so.\"\n\n\"It takes a lot of money.\"\n\nThere was a soft scraping from the back of the room, followed by a muffled thump. Before the door swung open, Silk realized that what he had heard was a bar being lifted from it and laid aside. Nearly falling, he slid over the sill, and crouched as Mucor's window shut silently above his head.\n\nFor as long as it took him to run mentally through the formal praises of Sphigx, whose day was about to dawn (or so at least he felt), he waited, listening. No sound of voices reached him from the room above, though once he heard what might have been a blow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he stood at last and peeped cautiously through the glass, he could see no one." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The panes that Lion had raised with his head yielded easily to Silk's fingers; as they rose, a moist and fragrant exhalation from the conservatory below invaded the dry heat of the rooftop. He reflected that it would be simple now—much easier than he had thought—to enter the conservatory from above, and the trees there had clearly supported Lion's considerable weight without damage.\n\nSilk's fingertips described slow circles on his cheek as he considered it. The difficulty was that Blood slept in the other wing, if Mucor was to be believed. Entering here, he would have to traverse the length of the villa from south to north, finding his way through unfamiliar rooms. There would be bright lights and the armored guards he had seen in Auk's glass and on the highriders, Blood's staff and Blood's guests.\n\nRegretfully Silk let down the movable section of the abatjour, retrieved his horsehair rope, and untied the rough limb that had served him so well. The merlons crowning the roof of the south annex would not have cutting edges, and a noose would make no dangerous noise. Three throws missed before the fourth snared a merlon. He tugged experimentally at the rope; the merlon seemed as solid as a post; drying his hands on his robe, he started up.\n\nHe had reached the roof of the wing and was removing his noose from the merlon when Mucor's spectral voice spoke, seemingly in his ear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were words he could not quite hear, then, \"... birds. Watch out for the white-headed one.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Mucor?\"\n\nThere was no reply. Silk looked over the battlement just in time to see the window close.\n\nAlthough it was twenty times larger, this roof had no abatjour, and was in fact no more than a broad and extremely long expanse of slightly sloping tar. Beyond the parapet at its northern end, the lofty stone chimneys of the original structure stood like so many pallid sentries in the glimmering skylight. Silk had enjoyed several lively conversations with chimney sweeps since arriving at the manteion on Sun Street, and had learned (with many other things) that the chimneys of great houses were frequently wide enough to admit the sweep employed to clean and repair them, and that some had interior steps for his use.\n\nWalking softly and keeping near the center so that he could not be seen from the ground, Silk walked the length of the roof. When he was near enough to look down on it, he saw that the more steeply pitched roof of the original structure was tiled rather than tarred. Its tall chimneys were clearly visible now; there were five, of which four appeared to be identical. The fifth, however—the chimney farthest but one from him—boasted a chimney pot twice the height of the rest, a tall and somewhat shapeless pot with a pale finial. For a moment, Silk wondered uneasily whether it could be the \"white-headed one\" Mucor had warned him against, and resolved to examine it only if he could not gain entry to any of the others." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then another, more significant, detail caught his eye." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The corner of some low projection, dark and distinct, could be seen beyond the third chimney, its angular outline in sharp contrast to the rounded contours of the tiles, and its top a cubit or so higher than theirs. He moved a few steps to his left to see it better.\n\nIt was, beyond question, a trapdoor; and Silk murmured a prayer of thanks to whatever god had arranged a generation ago that it should be included in the plan of the roof for his use.\n\nLooping his rope around a merlon, he scrambled easily down onto the tiles and pulled the rope down after him. The Outsider had indeed warned him to expect no help; yet some other god was certainly siding with him. For a moment Silk speculated happily on which it might be. Scylla, perhaps, who would not wish her city to lose a manteion. Or grim and gluttonous Phaea, the ruler of the day. Or Molpe, since—No, Tartaros, of course. Tartaros was the patron of thieves of every kind, and he had prayed fervently to Tartaros (as he now remembered) while still outside Blood's wall. Moreover, black was Tartaros's color; all augurs and sibyls wore it in order that they might, figuratively if not literally, steal unobserved among the gods to overhear their deliberations." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not only was he himself clothed entirely in black, but the tarred roofs he had just left behind had been black as well.\n\n\"Terrible Tartaros, be thanked and praised most highly by me forever. Now let it be unlocked, Tartaros! But locked or not, the black lamb I pledged shall be yours.\" Recalling the tavern in which he had met Auk, he added in a final burst of extravagance, \"And a black cock, too.\"\n\nAnd yet, he told himself, it was only logical that the trapdoor should be precisely where it was. Tiles must break at times—must be broken fairly frequently by the violent hailstorms that had ushered in every winter for the past few years; and each such broken tile would have to be replaced. A trapdoor giving access to the roof from the attic of the villa would be much more convenient (as well as much safer) than a seventy-cubit ladder. A ladder of that size would very likely require a whole crew of workmen just to get it into place.\n\nHe tried to hurry across the intervening tiles to the trapdoor, but their glazed, convex, and unstable surfaces hindered him, quite literally at every stride. Twice tiles cracked beneath his impatient feet; and when he had nearly reached the trapdoor, he slipped unexpectedly and fell, and saved himself from rolling down the roof only by clutching at the rough masonry of the third chimney.\n\nIt was reassuring to note that this roof, like those of the wings and the conservatory, was walled with ornamental battlements. He would have had a bad time of it if it had not been for the chimney; he was glad he had escaped it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He would have been shaken and bruised, and he might well have made enough noise to attract the attention of someone inside the villa." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'sphigx' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But at the end of that ignominious fall he would not have dropped from the edge of the roof to his death. Those blessed battlements (which had been of so much help to him ever since he had dashed from the wall across the grounds) were, now that he came to think of it, one of the recognized symbols in art of Sphigx, the lion-goddess of war; and Lion had been the name of Mucor's horned cat—of the animal she called her lynx, which had not harmed him. Taking all that into account, who could deny that Fierce Sphigx favored him also?\n\nSilk caught his breath, made sure of his footing, and let go of the chimney. Here, not a hand's breadth from the toe of his right shoe, was the thing that he had slipped on—this blotch on the earthen-red surface of the roof. He stooped and picked it up.\n\nIt was a scrap of raw skin, an irregular patch about as large as a handkerchief from the pelt of some animal, still covered with coarse hair on one side and slimy with rotting flesh and rancid fat on the other, reeking with decay. He flung it aside with a snort of disgust.\n\nThe trapdoor lifted easily; below it was a steep and tightly spiraled iron stair. A more conventional stairway, clearly leading to the upper floor of the original villa, began a few steps from the bottom of the iron one. Briefly he paused, looking down at it, to savor his triumph." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had been carrying his horsehair rope in an untidy coil, and had dropped it when he slipped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He retrieved it and wound it around his waist beneath his robe, as he had when he had set out from the manteion that evening. It was always possible, he reminded himself, that he would need it again. Yet he felt as he had during his last year at the schola, when he had realized that final year would actually be easier than the one before it—that his instructors no more wished him to fail after he had studied so long than he himself did, and that he would not be permitted to fail unless he curtailed his efforts to an almost criminal degree. The whole villa lay open before him, and he knew, roughly if not precisely, where Blood's bedchamber was located. In order to succeed, he had only to find it and conceal himself there before Blood retired. Then, he told himself with a pleasant sensation of virtue, he would employ reason, if reason would serve; if it would not...\n\nIt would not, and the fault would be Blood's, not his. Those who opposed the will of a god, even a minor god like the Outsider, were bound to suffer.\n\nSilk was pushing the long handle of his hatchet through the rope around his waist when he heard a soft thump behind him. Dropping the trapdoor, he whirled. Leaping so that it appeared taller than many men, a huge bird flapped misshapen wings, shrieked like a dozen devils, and struck at his eyes with its hooked bill." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instinctively, he threw himself backward onto the top of the trapdoor and kicked." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 7 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His left foot caught the white-headed bird full in the body without slowing its attack in the least. Vast wings thundering, it lunged after him as he rolled away.\n\nBy some prodigy of good luck he caught it by its downy neck; but the carpels of its wings were as hard as any man's knuckles, and were driven by muscles more powerful than the strongest's. They battered him mercilessly as both tumbled.\n\nThe edge of the crenel between two merlons was like a wedge driven into his back. Still struggling to keep the bird's cruel, hooked beak from his face and eyes, he jerked the hatchet free; a carpal struck his forearm like a hammer, and the hatchet fell to the stone pavement of the terrace below.\n\nThe white-headed one's other carpal struck his temple and the illusory nature of the world of the senses was made manifest: it narrowed to a miniature, artificially bright which Silk endeavored to push away until it winked out." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Gene Wolfe and use whatever i write as a jumping off point? btw characters and stuff might show up without backstory, just go with it" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A whole whorl swam beneath Silk's flying, beclouded eyes—highland and tableland, jungle and dry scrub, savannah and pampa." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The plaything of a hundred idle winds, buffeted yet at peace, he sailed over them all, dizzy with his own height and speed, his shoulder nudged by storm cloud, the solitary Flier three score leagues below him a darting dragonfly with wings of lace.\n\nA black dragonfly that vanished into blacker cloud, into distant voices and the odor of carrion...\n\nSilk choked on his own spew and spat; terror rose from the wheeling scene to foot him like a falcon, its icy talons in his vitals. He had blinked, and in that single blink the whorl had rolled over like a wind-tumbled basket or a wave-tossed barrel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The drifting skylands were up and the uneven, unyielding surface on which he lay, down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His head throbbed and spun, and an arm and both legs burned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sat up.\n\nHis mouth was wet with slime, his black robe discolored and stinking. He wiped them clumsily with numbed hands, then wiped his hand on his robe and spat again. The gray stone of the battlement had been crowding his left shoulder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The bird he had fought, the \"white-headed one\" of Mucor's warning, was nowhere to be seen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or perhaps, he thought, he had only dreamed of a terrible bird. He stood, staggered, and fell to his knees.\n\nHis eyes closed of themselves. He had dreamed it all, his tortured mind writhing among nightmares—the horrible bird, the horned beasts with their incandescent stares, the miserable mad girl, his dark rope reaching blindly again and again for new heights, the silent forest, the burly burglar with his hired donkeys, and the dead man sprawled beneath the swinging, hanging lamp." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he was awake now, awake at last, and the night was spent—awake and kneeling beside his own bed in the manse on Sun Street." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was shadeup and today was Sphigxday; already he should be chanting Stabbing Sphigx's morning prayer.\n\n\"O divine lady of the swords, of the gathering armies, of the swords...\"\n\nHe fell forward, retching, his hands on the still-warm, rounded tiles.\n\nThe second time he was wiser, not attempting to stand until he was confident that he could do so without falling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Before he gained his feet, while he lay trembling beside the battlement, dawn faded and winked out. It was night again, Phaesday night once more—an endless night that had not yet ended and might never end. Rain, he thought, might wash him clean and clear his head, and so he prayed for rain, mostly to Phaea and Pas, but to Scylla as well, remembering all the while how many men (men better than himself) were imploring the gods as he did, and for better reasons: how long had they been praying, offering such small sacrifices as they could, washing Great Pas's images in orchards of dying trees and in fields of stunted corn?\n\nIt did not rain, or even thunder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Excited voices drifted to him from somewhere far away; he caught the name Hierax repeated over and over. Someone or something had died.\n\n\"Hierax,\" Feather had replied at the palaestra a week or two before, fumbling after some fact associated with the familiar name of the God of Death. \"Hierax is right in the middle.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In the middle of Pas and Echidna's sons, Feather? Or of all their children?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of their whole family, Patera. There's only the two boys in it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Feather, also, was one of a pair of brothers. \"Hierax and Tartaros.\"\n\nFeather had waited fearfully for correction, but he, Patera Silk, had smiled and nodded.\n\n\"Tartaros is the oldest and Hierax is the youngest,\"\n\nFeather had continued, encouraged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera's cubit stick tapped her lectern. \"The older, Feather. And the younger. You said yourself that there were only two.\"\n\n\"Hierax...\" said someone far below the other side of the battlement.\n\nSilk stood up. His head still throbbed, and his legs were stiff; but he did not feel as though he were about to gag again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chimneys (they all looked the same now) and the beckoning trapdoor seemed an impossible distance away. Still reeling and dizzy, he embraced a merlon with both arms and peered over the battlement. As if it belonged to someone else, he noted that his right forearm was oozing blood onto the gray stones.\n\nForty cubits and more below, three men and two women were standing in a rough circle on the terrace, all of them looking down at something." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a slow half minute at least, Silk could not be certain what it was." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A third woman pushed one of the others aside, then turned away as if in disgust. There was more talk until one of the armored guards arrived with a lamp.\n\nThe bird, Mucor's white-headed one, lay dead upon the flagstones, appearing smaller than Silk could have imagined, its unequal wings half spread, its long white neck bent back at an unnatural angle. He had killed it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or rather, it had killed itself.\n\nOne of the men around the dead bird glanced upward, saw Silk watching him, pointed, and shouted something Silk could not understand. Rather too late (or so he feared), he waved as though he were a member of the household and retreated up the steep slope of the roof.\n\nThe trapdoor opened upon the dim and lofty attic he had glimpsed earlier, a cobwebbed cavern more than half filled with musty furniture and splintering crates." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Feeble lights kindled at the muted clank of his foot upon the first iron step; he had hardly descended to the second when one winked out. It was a promising place in which to conceal himself, but it would no doubt be the first to be searched should the man on the terrace raise the alarm. Silk had rejected it by the time he reached the bottom of the spiraling steps, and with a pang of regret hurried straight to the wider wooden stair and ran down them to the upper floor of the original villa.\n\nHere a narrow, tapestry-covered door opened onto a wide and luxuriously furnished corridor not far from a balustraded staircase up which cultured voices floated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A fat, formally dressed man sat in an elaborate red velvet and gilt armchair a few steps from the top of the staircase. His arms rested on a rosewood table, and his head upon his folded arms; he snored softly as Silk passed, jerked to wakefulness, stared uncomprehendingly at Silk's black robe, and lowered his head to his arms again.\n\nThe stair was thickly carpeted, its steps broad, and its slant gentle. It terminated in a palatial reception hall, in which five men dressed much like the sleeper stood deep in conversation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Several were holding tumblers, and none seemed alarmed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some distance beyond them, the reception hall ended with wide double doors—doors that stood open at present, so that the soft autumn night itself appeared as a species of skylit hanging in Blood's hall. Beyond any question, Silk decided, those doors represented the principal entrance to the villa; the portico he had studied from the wall would be on the other side; and indeed when he had surveyed the scene below him for a moment—not leaning across the balustrade as he had so unwisely leaned across the battlement to stare down at the flaccid form of the white-headed one, but from the opposite side of the corridor, with his back against the nude, half again life-sized statue of some minor goddess—he could just make out the ghostly outlines of the pillars.\n\nUnbidden, the manteion's familiar, fire-crowned altar rose before him as he stared at the open doors: the altar, the manse, the palaestra, and the shady arbor where he had sometimes chatted too long with Maytera Marble. Suppose that he were to walk down this staircase quite normally?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Stroll through that hall, nodding and smiling to anyone who glanced toward him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Would any of them stop him, or call for guards? It seemed unlikely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His own hot blood trickling down his right arm wet his fingers and dripped onto Blood's costly carpet. Shaking his head, Silk strode swiftly past the stair and seated himself in the matching red armchair on the other side. As long as his arm bled, he could be tracked by his blood: down the spiral stair from the roof, down the attic stair, and along this corridor.\n\nParting his robe, he started a tear above the hem of his tunic with his teeth and ripped away a strip." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could not the blood trail be turned to his advantage?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk rose and walked rapidly along the corridor, flexing his wrist and clenching his right hand to increase the bleeding, and entered the south wing by a short flight of steps; there he halted for a moment to wind the strip about his wound and knot it with his teeth just as Gib, the big man in the Cock, had. When he had satisfied himself that it would remain in place, he retraced his steps, passing the chair in which he had sat, the stairhead, the sleeper, and the narrow tapestry-covered door leading to the attic. Here, beyond paired icons of the minor deities Ganymedia and Catamitus, wide and widely spaced doors alternated with elaborately framed mirrors and amphorae overfilled with hothouse roses.\n\nAs Silk approached the entrance to the north wing, an officer in the uniform of the Guard emerged from an archway at the end of the corridor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The door nearest Silk stood half open; he stepped inside and shut it softly behind him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He found himself facing a windowless pentagonal drawing room furnished in magnificent chryselephantine. For a moment he waited with his back to the corridor door, listening as he had listened so often that night. When he heard nothing, he crossed the thick carpet and opened one of the drawing room's ivory-encrusted doors.\n\nThis was a boudoir, larger and even more oddly shaped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were wardrobes, two chairs, a rather tawdry shrine of Kypris whose smoldering thurible filled the room with the sweetness of frankincense, and a white dressing table before a glass whose pearlescent glow appeared to intensify as he entered. When he shut the door behind him, a swirl of colors danced across the glass. He fell to his knees.\n\n\"Sir?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Looking up, Silk saw that the glass held only the gray face of a monitor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He traced the sign of addition." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wasn't there a god? I saw...\"\n\n\"I am no god, sir, merely the monitor of this terminal. What may I do to serve you, sir? Would you care to critique your digitally enhanced image?\"\n\nDisconcerted, Silk stood. \"No. I—No, thank you.\" He struggled to recall how Auk had addressed the monitor in his glass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'd like to speak to a friend, if it isn't too much trouble, my son.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That had not been it, surely.\n\nThe floating face appeared to nod. \"The friend's name, please? I will attempt it.\"\n\n\"Auk.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And this Auk lives where?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Incorporate 'there' into your response exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In the Orilla. Do you know where that is?\"\n\n\"Indeed I do, sir. However, there are... fifty-four Auks resident there. Can you supply the street?\"\n\n\"No, I'm afraid I have no idea.\" Suddenly weary, Silk drew out the dressing table's somewhat soiled little stool and sat down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sorry to have put you to so much trouble. But if you're—\"\n\n\"There is an Auk in the Orilla with whom my master has spoken several times,\" the monitor interrupted. \"No doubt he is the Auk you want. I will attempt to locate him for you.\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk said. \"This Auk lives in what used to be a shop. So it must be on a shopping street, I suppose, with a lot of other stores and so on. Or at least on a street that used to have them.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Remembering it, he recalled the thunder of the cartwheels." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A street paved with cobblestones. Does that help?\"\n\n\"Yes. That is the Auk with whom my master speaks, sir. Let us see whether he is at home.\"\n\nThe monitor's face faded, replaced by Auk's disordered bed and jar of slops. Soon the image swelled and distorted, becoming oddly rounded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk saw the heavy wooden chair from which he had shriven Auk and beside which he had knelt when Auk shrived him. He found it heartening, somehow, to know that the chair was still there.\n\n\"I fear that Auk is unavailable, sir. May I leave a message with my similitude?\"\n\n\"I—yes.\" Silk stroked his cheek." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ask him, please, to tell Auk that I appreciate his help very, very much, and that if nothing happens to me it will be my great pleasure to tell Maytera Mint how kind he was. Tell him, too, that he's specified only one meritorious act thus far, while the penance he laid upon me called for two or three—for two at least. Ask him to let me know what the others should be.\" Too late, it occurred to Silk that Auk had asked that his name not be mentioned to the handsome boy who had spoken though Blood's glass. \"Now then, my son. You referred to your master. Who is that?\"\n\n\"Blood, sir. Your host.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see. Am I, by any chance, in Blood's private quarters now?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required dialogue to include (maintain exact wording): \"Will you tell Blood about the message I left for—for that man who lives in the Orilla?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, sir. These are my mistress's chambers.\"\n\n\"Will you tell Blood about the message I left for—for that man who lives in the Orilla?\"\n\nThe monitor nodded gravely. \"Certainly, sir, if he inquires.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I see.\" A sickening sense of failure descended upon Silk. \"Then please tell Auk, also, where I was when I tried to speak to him, and warn him to be careful.\"\n\n\"I shall, sir. Will that be all?\"\n\nSilk's head was in his hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes. And thank you. No.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Ensure 'place' appears 2 time(s) in your answer" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He straightened up. \"I need a place to hide, a good place, and weapons.\"\n\n\"If I may say so, sir,\" remarked the monitor, \"you require a proper dressing more than either. With respect, sir, you are dripping on our carpet.\"\n\nLifting his right arm, Silk saw that it was true; blood had already soaked through the strip of black cloth he had torn from his tunic a few minutes earlier. Crimson rivulets trickled toward his elbow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You will observe, sir, that this room has two doors, in addition to that through which you entered. The one to your left opens upon the balneum. My mistress's medicinal supplies are there, I believe. As to—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk had risen so rapidly that he had knocked over the stool." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Darting through the left-hand door, he heard nothing more.\n\nThe balneum was larger than he had anticipated, with a jade tub more than big enough for the naked goddess at the head of the staircase and a separate water closet. A sizable cabinet held a startling array of apothecary bottles, an olla of violet salve that Silk recognized as a popular aseptic, a roll of gauze, and gauze pads of various sizes. A small pair of scissors cut away the blood-soaked strip; he smeared the ragged wound that the white-headed one's beak had left in his forearm with the violet salve, and at the second try managed to bandage it effectively." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he ruefully took stock of his ruined tunic, he discovered that the bird's talons had raked his chest and abdomen. It was almost a relief to wash and salve the long, bloody scratches, on which he could employ both his hands.\n\nYellowish encrustations were forming on his robe where he had wiped away his spew. He took it off and washed it as thoroughly as he could in the lavabo, wrung it out, smoothed it as well as he could, pressed it between two dry towels, and put it back on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inspecting his appearance in a mirror, he decided that he might well pass a casual examination in a dim light.\n\nReturning to the boudoir, he strewed what he took to be face powder over the clotted blood on the carpet.\n\nThe monitor watched him, unperturbed. \"That is most interesting, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you.\" Silk shut the powder box and returned it to the dressing table.\n\n\"Does the powder possess cleansing properties? I was unaware of it.\"\n\nSilk shook his head. \"Not that I know of. I'm only masking these, so visitors won't be unsettled.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Very shrewd, sir.\"\n\nSilk shrugged. \"If I could think of something better, I'd do it. When I came in, you said that you weren't a god. I knew you weren't. We had a glass in the—in a palaestra I attended.\"\n\n\"Would you like to speak to someone there, sir?\"\n\n\"Not now. But I was privileged to use that glass once, and it struck me then—I suppose it struck all of us, and I remember some of us talking about it one evening—that the glass looked a great deal like a Sacred Window. Except for its size, of course; all Sacred Windows are eight cubits by eight. Are you familiar with them?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, sir.\"\n\nSilk righted the stool and sat down. \"There's another difference, too. Sacred Windows don't have monitors.\"\n\n\"That is unfortunate, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Indeed.\" Silk stroked his cheek with two fingers. \"I should tell you, then, that the immortal gods appear at times in the Sacred Windows.\"\n\n\"Ah!\"\n\n\"Yes, my son. I've never seen one, and most people—those who aren't augurs or sibyls, particularly—can't see the gods at all. Although they frequently hear the voice of the god, they see only a swirl of color.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The monitor's face flushed brick red. \"Like this, sir?\"\n\n\"No. Not at all like that. I was going to say that as I understand it, those people who can see the gods first see the swirling colors as well. When the theophany begins, the colors are seen. Then the god appears. And then the colors reappear briefly as the god vanishes. All this was set down in circumstantial detail by the Devoted Caddis, nearly two centuries ago. In the course of a long life, he'd witnessed the theophanies of Echidna, Tartaros, and Scylla, and finally that of Pas. He called the colors he'd seen the Holy Hues.\"\n\n\"Fascinating, sir. I fear, however, that it has little to do with me. May I show you what it is I do, sir? What I do most frequently, I should say. Observe.\"\n\nThe monitor's floating face vanished, replaced by the image of a remarkably handsome man in black." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although the tunic of the man in the glass was torn and white gauze showed beneath it, Silk did not recognize this man as himself until he moved and saw the image move with him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is that...?\" He leaned closer. \"No. But...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you, sir,\" his image said, and bowed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Only a first attempt, although I think it a rather successful one. I shall do better next time.\"\n\n\"Take it away, please. I am already too much given to vanity, believe me.\"\n\n\"As you wish, sir,\" his image replied. \"I intended no disrespect. I merely desired to demonstrate to you the way in which I most frequently serve my mistress. Would you care to see her in place of yourself? I can easily display an old likeness.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head. \"An old unlikeness, you mean. Please return to your normal appearance.\"\n\n\"As you wish, sir.\" In the glass, Silk's face lost its blue eyes and brown cheeks, its neck and shoulders vanished, and its features became flatter and coarser." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'about' 3 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We were speaking of the gods. No doubt I told you a good deal that you already knew.\"\n\n\"No, sir. I know very little about gods, sir. I would advise you to consult an augur.\"\n\n\"Then let's talk about monitors, my son. You must know more than most about monitors. You're a monitor yourself.\"\n\n\"My task is my joy, sir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We're fortunate, then, both of us. When I was at—in the house of a certain man I know, a man who has a glass like this one, he clapped his hands to summon the monitor. Is that the usual method?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Clapping the hands or tapping on the glass, sir. All of us much prefer the former, if I may be excused for saying it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I see.\" Silk nodded to himself. \"Aren't there any other methods?\"\n\n\"We actually appear in response to any loud sound, sir, to determine whether there is something amiss. Should a fire be in progress, for example, I would notify my master or his steward, and warn his guests.\"\n\n\"And from time to time,\" Silk said, \"you must look into this room although no one has called you, even when there has been no loud sound. Isn't that so?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, sir.\"\n\n\"You don't simply look in to make certain everything's all right?\"\n\n\"No, sir. My mistress would consider that an invasion of her privacy, I'm sure.\"\n\n\"When I entered this room,\" Silk continued, \"I did not make any sound that could be called loud—or at least none that I'm aware of. Certainly I didn't clap my hands or tap on this glass; yet you appeared. There was a swirl of color, then your face appeared in the glass. Shortly afterward you told me you weren't a god.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You closed the door, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Very gently,\" Silk said. \"I didn't want to disturb your mistress.\n\n\"Most considerate, sir.\"\n\n\"Yet the sound of my shutting that door summoned you? I would think that in that case almost any sound would do, however slight.\"\n\n\"I really cannot say what summoned me, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's a suggestive choice of words, my son.\"\n\n\"I concede that it may be, sir.\" The monitor's face appeared to nod. \"Such being the case, perhaps I may proffer an additional suggestion? It is that you abandon this line of inquiry. It will not reward your persistence, sir. Prior to entering the balneum, you inquired about weapons, sir, and places of concealment. One of our wardrobes might do.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you.\" Silk looked into the nearest, but it was filled almost to bursting with coats and gowns." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As to weapons, sir,\" the monitor continued, \"you may discover a useful one in my lowest left drawer, beneath the stockings.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"More useful than this, I hope.\" Silk closed the wardrobe.\n\n\"I am very sorry, sir. There appear to have been many purchases of late of which I have not been apprised.\"\n\nSilk hardly heard him—there were angry and excited voices in the corridor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He opened the door to the drawing room and listened until they faded away, his hand upon the glass latchbar of the boudoir door, acutely conscious of the thudding of his heart." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you leaving, sir?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The left drawer, I think you said.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'mistress' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, sir. The lowest of the drawers to your left. I can guarantee nothing, however, sir. My mistress keeps a small needler there, or perhaps I should say she did so not long ago. It may, however...\"\n\nSilk had already jerked out the drawer. Groping under what seemed to be at least a hundred pairs of women's hose, his fingers discovered not one but two metal objects.\n\n\"My mistress is sometimes careless regarding the safety catch, sir. It may be well to exercise due caution until you have ascertained its condition.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't even know what that is,\" Silk muttered as he gingerly extracted the first." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was a needler so small that it lay easily in the palm of his hand, elaborately engraved and gold plated; the thumb-sized ivory grips were inlaid with golden hyacinths, and a minute heron scanned a golden pool for fish at the base of the rear sight. For a moment, Silk too knew peace, lost in the flawless craftsmanship that had been lavished upon every surface. No venerated object in his manteion was half so fine.\n\n\"Should that discharge, it could destroy my glass, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded absently. \"I've seen needlers—I saw two tonight, in fact—that could eat this one.\"\n\n\"You have informed me that you are unfamiliar with the safety catch, sir. Upon either side of the needler you hold, you will observe a small movable convexity. Raised, it will prevent the needler from discharging.\"\n\n\"This,\" Silk said. Like the grips, each tiny boss was marked with a hyacinth, though these were so small that their minute, perfect florets were almost microscopic. He pushed one of the bosses down, and the other moved with it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Will it fire now?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I believe so, sir. Please do not direct it toward my glass. Glasses are now irreplaceable, sir, the art of their manufacture having been left behind when—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm greatly tempted nevertheless.\"\n\n\"In the event of the destruction of this glass I should be unable to deliver your message to Auk, sir.\"\n\n\"In which case there'd be no need of it. This smooth bar inside the ring is the trigger, I suppose.\"\n\n\"I believe that is correct, sir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk pointed the needler at the wardrobe and pressed the trigger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a sharp snap, like the cracking of a child's whip." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It doesn't seem to have done anything,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My mistress's wardrobe is not a living creature, sir.\"\n\n\"I never thought it was, my son.\" Silk bent to examine the wardrobe's door; a hole not much thicker than a hair had appeared in one of its polished panels. He opened the door again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Some, though not all, of the gowns in line with the hole showed ragged tears, as if they had been stabbed with a dull blade a little narrower than his index finger." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include exactly 3 instance(s) of the word 'machine'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I should use this on you, you know, my son,\" he told the monitor, \"for Auk's sake. You're just a machine, like the scorer in our ball court.\"\n\n\"I am a machine, but not just a machine, sir.\"\n\nNodding mostly to himself, Silk pushed up the safety catch and dropped the little needler into his pocket.\n\nThe other object hidden under the stockings was shaped like the letter T. The stem was cylindrical and oddly rough, with a single, smooth protuberance below the crossbar; the crossbar itself seemed polished and slightly curved, and had upturned ends." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The entire object felt unnaturally cold, as reptiles often do." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk extracted it from the stockings with some difficulty and examined it curiously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Would it be convenient for me to withdraw, sir?\" the monitor asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shook his head. \"What is this?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know, sir.\"\n\nHe regarded the monitor narrowly. \"Can you lie, under extreme provocation, my son? Tell an untruth? I know a chem quite well; and she can, or so she says.\"\n\n\"No, sir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Which leaves me not a whit the wiser.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk seated himself on the stool again.\n\n\"I suppose not, sir.\"\n\n\"I think I know what this is, you see.\" Silk held the T-shaped object up for the monitor's inspection; it gleamed like polished silver." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'd appreciate confirmation, and some instructions on how to operate it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am afraid I cannot assist you, sir, although I would be glad to receive your own opinion.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think it's an azoth. I've never actually seen one, but we used to talk about them when I was a boy. One summer all of us made wooden swords, and sometimes we pretended they were azoths.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Charming, sir.\"\n\n\"Not really,\" Silk muttered, scrutinizing the flashing gem in the pommel of the azoth. \"We were as bloodthirsty as so many little tigers, and what's charming about that? But anyway, an azoth is supposed to be controlled by something called a demon. If you don't know about azoths, you don't know anything about that, I suppose.\"\n\n\"No, sir.\" The monitor's floating face swung from side to side, revealing that there was no head behind it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you wish to conceal yourself, sir, should you not do so at once? My master's steward and some of our guards are searching the suites on this floor.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How do you know that?\" Silk asked sharply." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have been observing them. I have glasses in some of the other suites, sir.\"\n\n\"They began at the north end of the corridor?\"\n\n\"Yes, sir. Quite correct.\"\n\nSilk rose. \"Then I must hide in here well enough to escape them, and get into the north wing after they've left.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You haven't examined the other wardrobe, sir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And I don't intend to. How many unsearched suites are there between us?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Three, sir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then I've still got a little time.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk studied the azoth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When I made my sword, I left a nail sticking out, and bent it. That was my demon. When I twisted it toward me, the blade wasn't there any more. When I twisted it away from me, I had one.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I doubt, sir—\"\n\n\"Don't be too sure, my son. That may have been based on something supposedly true that I'd heard. Or I may have been imitating some other boy who'd gotten hold of a useful fact. I mean a fact that would be useful to me now.\"\n\nThe roughened stem of the T was the grip, obviously; and the crossbar was there to prevent the user's hand from contacting the blade. Silk tried to revolve the gem in the pommel, but its setting kept it securely in place." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The bent-nail demon of his toy sword had been one of those that had held the crosspiece; he felt certain of that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was an unfacetted crimson gem (he vaguely remembered having heard a similar gem called a bloodstone) in the grip, just behind one of the smooth, tapering arms of the guard. It was too flat and much too highly polished to turn. He gripped the azoth as he had his wooden sword and pressed the crimson gem with his thumb.\n\nReality separated. Something else appeared between the halves, as a current divides a quiet pool." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Plaster from the wall across the room fell smoking onto the carpet, revealing laths that themselves exploded in a shower of splinters with the next movement of his arm.\n\nInvoluntarily, he released the demon, and the azoth's blade vanished.\n\n\"Please be more careful with that, sir.\"\n\n\"I will.\" Silk pushed the azoth into the coiled rope about his waist." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If it should be activated by chance, sir, the result might well be disastrous for you as well as others.\"\n\n\"You have to press the demon below the level of the grip, I think,\" Silk said. \"It should be difficult for that to happen accidentally.\"\n\n\"I profoundly hope so, sir.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required text (preserve exact wording): \"You don't know where your mistress got such a weapon?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You don't know where your mistress got such a weapon?\"\n\n\"I did not even know she possessed it, sir.\"\n\n\"It must be worth as much as this whole villa. More, perhaps. I doubt that there are ten of them in the city.\" Silk turned toward the wardrobe and selected a blue winter gown of soft wool." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must include the following in quotes somewhere in your response: Thank you. Will you leave when I tell you to go?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They have left the suite they were searching earlier, sir. They are proceeding to the next.\"\n\n\"Thank you. Will you leave when I tell you to go?\"\n\n\"Certainly, sir.\"\n\n\"I ought to destroy your glass.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "/insert_quote: \"Yes, sir. Our steward summoned me to each glass. He is directing the searchers in person, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a second, Silk stared at the monitor. \"I'm tempted to do it. But if a god really visited it when I arrived...\" He shrugged. \"So I'm going to tell you to go instead, and cover your glass with a gown. Perhaps they won't notice it. Did they question the glasses in the other suites?\"\n\n\"Yes, sir. Our steward summoned me to each glass. He is directing the searchers in person, sir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"While you were here talking to me? I didn't know you could do that.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "<<USAGE LIMIT>>: 'there' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can, sir. One strives to best utilize lulls in the conversation, pauses, and the like. It is largely a matter of allocation, sir.\"\n\n\"But you didn't tell them where I was. You can't have. Why not?\"\n\n\"He did not inquire, sir. As they entered each suite, he asked whether there was a stranger present.\"\n\n\"And you told them there wasn't?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, sir. I was forced to explain that I could not be certain, since I am not perpetually present.\"\n\n\"Blood's steward—is that the young man called Musk?\"\n\n\"Yes, sir. His instructions take precedence over all others, except my master's own.\"\n\n\"I see. Musk doesn't understand you much better than I do, apparently.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Less well, perhaps, sir.\"\n\nSilk nodded to himself. \"I may remain in this suite after you've gone. On the other hand, I may leave, too, as soon as you're no longer here to watch what I'm doing. Do you understand what I've just told you?\"\n\n\"Yes, sir,\" the monitor said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your future whereabouts will be problematical.\"\n\n\"Good. Now vanish at once. Go wherever it is that you go.\" Silk draped the glass, covering it completely in a way that he hoped would seem merely careless, and opened the door to his right.\n\nFor the space of a heartbeat, he thought the spacious, twilit bedchamber unoccupied; a faint moan from the enormous bed at its center revealed his mistake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The woman in the bed writhed and keened aloud from the depths of her need. As he bent over her, something within him reached out to her; and though he had not touched her, he felt the thrill of touch. Her hair was as black as the night chough's wings, and as glossy. Her features, as well as he could judge in the uncertain glow, exquisite." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She groaned softly, as though she knew he was looking down on her, and rolling her head upon her pillow, kissed it without waking.\n\nBeyond the boudoir, the drawing room door opened.\n\nHe tore off his black robe and straw hat, ducked out of his torn tunic, kicked all three far under the big bed, and scrambled in, shoes and all. He was drawing up the gold-embroidered oversheet when he heard the door through which he had entered the boudoir open." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone said distinctly, \"Nothing in here.\"\n\nBy then his thumb had found the safety catch. He sat up, leveling the needler, as the searchers entered.\n\n\"Stop!\" he shouted, and fired." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By the greatest good luck, the needle shattered a tall vase to the right of the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The report brought the bedchamber's lights to their brightest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The first armored guard halted, his slug gun not quite pointing at Silk; and the black-haired woman sat up abruptly, her slightly tilted eyes wide.\n\nWithout looking at her, Silk grated, \"Go back to sleep, Hyacinth. This doesn't concern you.\" Faintly perfumed, her breath caressed his bare shoulder, deliriously warm.\n\n\"Sorry, Commissioner,\" the guard began, uncertainly. \"I mean Patera—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Too late, Silk realized that he was still wearing the old, blue-trimmed calotte that had once been Patera Pike's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He snatched it off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This is unforgivable. Unforgivable! I shall inform Blood. Get out!\" His voice was far too high, and mounting toward hysteria; surely the guard must sense how frightened he was. In desperation, he brandished the tiny needler.\n\n\"We didn't know—\" The guard lowered his slug gun and took a step backward, bumping into the delicate-looking Musk, who had stepped through the boudoir behind him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We thought everybody had— Well, just about everybody's already gone.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk cut him off. \"Out! You've never seen me.\"\n\nIt had been (as he decided as soon as he had said it) the worst thing he could possibly have said, since Musk had certainly seen him only a few hours earlier. For an instant he felt certain that Musk would pounce upon it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk did not. Silencing the sputtering guard with a shove, Musk said, \"The outside door should've been locked. Take your time.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned on his heel, and the guard shut the boudoir door quietly behind them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Trembling, Silk waited until he heard the corridor door close as well before he kicked away the luxurious coverings and got out of the bed. His mouth was parched, and his knees without strength.\n\n\"What about me?\" the woman asked. As she spoke, she pushed aside the oversheet and the red silk sheet, revealing remarkably rounded breasts and a small waist." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk caught his breath and looked away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right, what about you? Do you want me to shoot you?\"\n\nShe smiled and threw her arms wide. \"If it's the only thing you can do, why, yes.\" When Silk did not reply, she added, \"I'll keep my eyes open, if that's all right with you. I like to see it coming.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The smile became a grin. \"Make it fast, but make it last. And make it good.\"\n\nBoth had spoken softly, and the lights were no longer glaring; Silk kicked the bed to re-energize them. \"You have been given a philtre of some sort, I think. You'll feel very differently in the morning.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pushing up the safety catch, he dropped her needler back into his pocket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was given nothing.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The woman in the bed licked her lips, watching for his reaction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I took what you're calling a philtre before the first ones got here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Rust?\" Silk was on his knees beside the bed, groping for the clothing he had kicked beneath it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fear was draining from him, and he felt immensely grateful for it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lion-hearted Sphigx still favored him—nothing could be more certain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No.\" She was scornful. \"Rust doesn't do this. Don't you know anything? On rust I'd have itched to kill them all, and I might've done it, too. Beggar's root's what they call it, and it turns a terrible bore into a real pleasure.\"\n\n\"I see.\" Wincing, Silk pulled out his ruined tunic and his second-best robe.\n\n\"Want me to give you some? I've got a lot more, and it only takes a pinch.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She swung amazingly long legs over the side of the bed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's a lot more expensive than rust, and a lot harder to find, but I'm in a generous mood. I usually am—you'll see.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She favored Silk with a sidelong smile that made his heart leap." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stood up and backed away.\n\n\"They call it beggar's root because it makes you beg. I'm begging now, just listen to me. Come on. You'll like it.\"\n\nSilk shook his head.\n\n\"Come sit next to me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She patted the rumpled sheet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's all I'm asking for—right now, anyway. You were here in bed with me a minute ago.\"\n\nHe tried to pull his tunic over his head and failed, discovering in the process that even the slightest movement of his right arm was painful.\n\n\"You're the one that they were looking for, aren't you? Aren't you glad that I didn't tell them anything? You really ought to be, Musk can be awfully mean. Don't you want me to help you with that?\"\n\n\"Don't try.\" He retreated another step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sliding off the bed, she picked up his robe. She was completely naked; he closed his eyes and turned away.\n\nShe giggled, and he was suddenly reminded of Mucor, the mad girl. \"You really are an augur. He called you Patera—I'd forgotten. Do you want your little hat back? I stuck it under my pillow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The uses to which Patera Pike's calotte might be put if it remained with her flashed through Silk's mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes,\" he said. \"Please, may I have it back?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sure, I'll trade you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Didn't you come here to see me? You don't act like it, but you knew my name.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No. I came to find Blood.\"\n\n\"You won't like him, Patera.\" Hyacinth grinned again. \"Even Musk doesn't like him, not really. Nobody does.\"\n\n\"He has my sympathy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk tried to raise the tunic again, and was deterred by a flash of pain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've come to show him how he can be better liked, and even loved.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, Patera, I'm Hyacinth, just like you said. And I'm famous. Everybody likes me, except you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I do like you,\" Silk told her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That is one of the reasons I won't do what you want. It's a rather minor one, actually, but a real reason nonetheless.\"\n\n\"You stole my azoth, though, didn't you, Patera? I can see the end of it poking out of that rope.\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"I intend to return it. But you're quite right, I took it without your permission, and that's theft. I'm sorry, but I felt I'd better have it. What I'm doing is extremely important.\" He paused and waited for remonstrances that did not come." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll see that it's returned to you, and your needler as well, if I get home safely.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You were afraid of the guards, weren't you? There in my bed. You were afraid of that one with Musk. Afraid that he'd kill you.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Silk admitted. \"I was terrified, if you want the truth; and now I'm just as terrified of you, afraid that I'll give in to you, disgrace my calling, and lose the favor of the immortal gods.\"\n\nShe laughed.\n\n\"You're right.\" Silk tried to put on his tunic again, but his right forearm burned and throbbed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm certainly not brave. But at least I'm brave enough to admit it.\"\n\n\"Wait just a minute,\" she said. \"Wait right here. I'm going to get you something.\"\n\nHe glimpsed the balneum through the door she opened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As she closed it behind her, it occurred to him that Patera Pike's calotte was still in the bed, under her pillow; moved by that weak impulse which turns back travelers to retrieve trifles, he rescued it and put it on.\n\nShe emerged from the balneum, naked still, holding out a gold cup scarcely larger than a thimble, half filled with brick-colored powder. \"Here, Patera. You put it into your lip.\"\n\n\"No. I realize that you mean well, but I'd rather be afraid.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She shrugged and pulled forward her own lower lip." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment it made her ugly, and Silk felt a surge of relief." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After emptying the little cup into the hollow between lip and gum, she grinned at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is the best money can buy, and it works fast. Sure you don't want some? I've got a lot.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No,\" he repeated. \"I should go. I should have gone before now, in fact.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right.\" She was looking at the gem in the hilt of the azoth again. \"It's mine, you know. A very important man gave it to me. If you're going to steal it, I ought to at least get to help you. Are you sure you're a real augur?\"\n\nSilk sighed. \"It seems that I may not be much longer. If you're serious about wanting to help me, Hyacinth, tell me where you think Blood is likely to be at this hour. Will he have retired for the night?\"\n\nShe shook her head, her eyes flashing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He's probably downstairs saying good-bye to the last of them. They've been coming all night, commissioners and commissioners' flunkies. Every once in a while he sends a really important one up here for me. I lost count, but there must have been six or seven of them.\"\n\n\"I know.\" Silk tried to push the hilt of the azoth more deeply into the coil of rope. \"I've lain between your sheets.\"\n\n\"You think I ought to change them? I didn't think men cared.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk knelt to fish his broad-brimmed straw hat from beneath the bed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I doubt that those men do.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can call a servant.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They're busy looking for me, I imagine.\" Silk tossed the hat onto the bed and readied himself for one last try at his tunic.\n\n\"Not the maids.\" She took his tunic from him. \"You know, your eyes want to look at me. You ought to let them do it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hundreds of men must have told you how beautiful you are. Would you displease the gods to hear it once more? I wouldn't. I'm still young, and I hope to see a god before I die.\" He was tempted to add that he might well have missed one by a second or less when he entered her chambers, but he did not.\n\n\"You've never had a woman, have you?\"\n\nSilk shook his head, unwilling to speak." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, let me help you get this on, anyway.\" She held his tunic as high as she could stretch while he worked both arms into the sleeves, then snatched her azoth from the rope coiled around his waist and sprang toward the bed.\n\nHe gaped at her, stunned. Her thumb was upon the demon, the blade slot pointed at his heart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Backing away, he raised both hands in the gesture of surrender.\n\nShe posed like a duelist. \"They say the girls fight like troopers in Trivigaunte.\" She parried awkwardly twice, and skewered and slashed an imaginary opponent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By that time he had recovered at least a fraction of his composure. \"Aren't you going to call the guards?\"\n\n\"Don't think so.\" She lunged and recovered. \"Wouldn't I make a fine swordsman, Patera? Look at these legs.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, I don't think so.\"\n\nShe pouted \"Why not?\"\n\n\"Because one must study swordsmanship, and practice day after day. There is a great deal to learn, or so I've been told. To speak frankly, I'd back a shorter, less attractive woman against you, assuming that she was less attracted to admiration and those bottles in your balneum, too.\"\n\nHyacinth gave no sign of having heard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you really can't do what I want—if you won't, I mean—couldn't you use this azoth instead? And kiss me, and pretend? I'd show you where I want you to put the big jewel, and after a while you might change your mind.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Isn't there an antidote?\" To prevent her from seeing his expression, he crossed the room to the window and parted the drapes. There was no one around the dead bird on the terrace now. \"You have all those herbs. Surely you must have the antidote, if there is one.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't want the antidote, Patera. I want you.\" Her hand was on his shoulder; her lips brushed his ear. \"And if you go out there like you're thinking, the cats'll tear you to pieces.\"\n\nThe blade of the azoth shot past his ear, fifty cubits down to the terrace to slice the dead bird in two and leave a long, smoking scar across the flagstones." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk flinched from it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"For Pas's love be careful!\"\n\nHyacinth whirled off like a dancer as she pressed the demon again. Shimmering through the bedchamber like summer heat, the azoth's illimited discontinuity hummed of death, parting the universe, slitting the drapes like a razor and dropping a long section slabbed from wall and window frame at Silk's feet.\n\n\"Now you have to,\" she told him, and came at him with a sweeping cut that scarred half the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Say you will, and I'll give it back.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he dove through the window, the azoth's humming blade divided the stone sill behind him; but all the fear he ought to have felt was drowned in the knowledge that he was leaving her." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nContext: Match existing character backgrounds if present\nMy role: Provide opening\nYour role: 11 sentences in the Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing a segment of a larger work\n\nLength:\n6 sentences\n\nStyle:\nGene Wolfe\nGenre:\nScience Fiction, Generation Ship\nNote: Characters may be pre-established" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Essential phrase to include: \"but it's mine for as long as he lets me have it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It isn't much,\" the fussy little man said, \"but it's mine for as long as he lets me have it.\"\n\n\"It\" was a moderately large and very cluttered room in the north wing of Blood's villa, and the fussy little man was rummaging in a drawer as he spoke. He snapped a flask under the barrel of a clumsy-looking gun, pushed its muzzle through one of the rents in Silk's tunic, and fired.\n\nSilk felt a sharp pain, as though he had been stung by a bee.\n\n\"This stuff kills a lot of people,\" the fussy little man informed him, \"so that's to see if you're one of them. If you don't die in a minute or two, I'll give you some more. Having any trouble breathing?\"\n\nClenching his teeth against the pain in his ankle, Silk drew a deep breath and shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good. Actually, that was a minimal dose. It won't kill you even if you're sensitive to it, but it'll take care of those deep scratches and make you sick enough to tell me I mustn't give you any more.\" The fussy little man bent to stare into Silk's eyes. \"Take another deep breath and let it out.\"\n\nSilk did so. \"What's your name, Doctor?\"\n\n\"We don't use them much here. You're fine. Hold out that arm.\"\n\nSilk raised it, and the bee stung again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Stops pain and fights infection.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fussy little man squatted, pushed up Silk's trousers leg, and put the muzzle of his odd-looking gun against Silk's calf." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It didn't operate that time,\" Silk told him.\n\n\"Yes, it did. You didn't feel it, that's all. Now we can take that shoe off.\"\n\n\"My own name is Patera Silk.\"\n\nThe fussy little man glanced up at him. \"Doctor Crane, Silk. Have a good laugh. You're really an augur? Musk said you were.\"\n\nSilk nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And you jumped out of that second-floor window? Don't do that again.\" Doctor Crane untied the laces and removed the shoe. \"My mother hoped I'd be tall, you see. She was tall herself, and she liked tall men. My father was short.\"\n\nSilk said, \"I understand.\"\n\n\"I doubt it.\" Doctor Crane bent over Silk's foot, his pinkish scalp visible through his gray hair. \"I'm going to cut away this stocking. If I pull it off, it might do more damage.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He produced shiny scissors exactly like those Silk had found in Hyacinth's balneum. \"She's dead now, and so's he, so I guess it doesn't matter.\" The ruined stocking fell away. \"Want to see what he looked like?\"\n\nThe absence of pain was intoxicating; Silk felt giddy with happiness. \"I'd love to.\" He managed to add, \"If you care to show me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't help it. You're seeing him now, since I look exactly like him. It's our genes, not our names, that make us whatever we are.\"\n\n\"It's the will of the gods.\" Silk's eyes told him that the little physician was probing his swollen right ankle with his fingers, but he could feel nothing. \"Your mother was tall; and if you were tall as well, you would say that it was because she had been.\"\n\n\"I'm not hurting you?\"\n\nSilk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't resemble my own mother in the least; she was small and dark. I have no idea what my father looked like, but I know that I am the man that a certain god wished me to be before I was born.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required text (preserve exact wording): \"Fine. Let me take your arm. I want you up there on that table. It's a nice clean break, or anyway that's what it looks like, and I'm going to pin it and put a cast on it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She's dead?\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"She left us for Mainframe a month before I was designated.\"\n\n\"You've got blue eyes. You're only the second—no, the third person I've ever seen with them. It's a shame you don't know who your father was. I'd like to have a look at him. See if you can stand up.\"\n\nSilk could and did.\n\n\"Fine. Let me take your arm. I want you up there on that table. It's a nice clean break, or anyway that's what it looks like, and I'm going to pin it and put a cast on it.\"\n\nThey were not planning to kill him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk savored the thought." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were not planning to kill him, and so there might still be a chance to save the manteion." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "lets continue this story bit. one sentence more like Gene Wolfe would. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. characters might be established already" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood was slightly drunk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk envied him that almost as much as his possession of the manteion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As though Blood had read his thoughts, he said, \"Hasn't anybody brought you anything, Patera? Musk, get somebody to bring him a drink.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The handsome young man nodded and slipped out of the room, at which Silk felt somewhat better." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We've got other stuff, Patera. I don't suppose you use them?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said, \"Your physician's already given me a drug to ease the pain. I doubt that it would be wise to mix it with something else.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was very conscious of that pain, which was returning; but he had no intention of letting Blood see that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Right you are.\" Blood leaned forward in his big red leather chair, and for a moment Silk thought that he might actually fall out of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The light touch with everything—that's my motto. Always has been. Even with that enlightenment of yours, a light touch's best.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In spite of what has happened to me, I cannot agree.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's this!\" Grinning broadly, Blood pretended to be outraged." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include exactly 2 instance(s) of the word 'don't'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did enlightenment tell you to come out here and break into my house? No, no, Patera. Don't try to tell me that. That was greed, the same as you'd slang me for. Your tin sibyl told you I'd bought your place—which I have, and everything completely legal—so you figured I'd have things worth taking. Don't tell me. I'm an old hand myself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I came here to steal our manteion back from you,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Use 'could' 2 times in response]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's worth taking, certainly. You took it legally, and I intended to take it from you, if I could, in any way I could.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood spat, looked around for his drink, and finding the tumbler empty dropped it on the carpet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What did you think you could do, nick the shaggy deed out of my papers? It wouldn't mean a shaggy thing. Musk's the buyer of record, and all he'd have to do is pay a couple of cards for a new copy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was going to make you sign it over to me,\" Silk told him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I intended to hide in your bedroom until you came, and threaten to kill you unless you did exactly as I ordered.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The door opened. Musk entered, followed by a liveried footman with a tray." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The footman set the tray on an inlaid table at Silk's elbow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Will that be all, sir?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk took the squat, water-white drink from the tray and sipped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, thank you. Thank you very much, Musk.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The servant departed; Musk smiled bitterly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This's getting interesting.\" Blood leaned forward, his wide, red face redder than ever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Would you really have killed me, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk, who would not have, felt certain he would not be believed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I see. I see. And it never crossed your mind that I'd yell for some friends in the City Guard the minute you left? That I wouldn't even have had to use my own people on you, because the Guard would do their work instead?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood laughed, and Musk concealed his smile behind his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk sipped again, wondering briefly whether the drink was drugged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If they wanted to drug him, he reflected, they would have no need of subterfuge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Whatever it was, the drink was very strong, certainly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Drugged or undrugged, it might dull the pain in his ankle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He ventured a cautious swallow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had drunk brandy already tonight, the brandy Gib had given him; it seemed a very long time ago." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Surely Blood would make no charge for this drink, whatever else he might do." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "(Not once in a month did Silk drink anything stronger than water.)" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, didn't you?\" Blood snorted in disgust." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You know, I've got a few people working for me that don't think any better than you do, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk returned his drink to the tray." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was going to make you sign a confession. It was the only thing I could think of, so it was what I planned.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Me? Confess to what?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It didn't matter.\" Fatigue had enfolded Silk like a cloak." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had never known that a chair could be as comfortable as this one, a chair in which he could sleep for days." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A conspiracy to overthrow the Ayuntamiento, perhaps. Something like that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Recalling certain classroom embarrassments, he forced himself to breathe deeply so that he would not yawn; the faint throbbing in his foot seemed very far away, driven beyond the fringes of the most remote Vironese lands by the kindly sorcery of the squat tumbler." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I would have given it to one of my—to another augur, one I know well. I was going to seal it, and make him promise to deliver it to the Juzgado if anything happened to me. Something like that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not too bad.\" Blood took Hyacinth's little needler from his waistband, thumbed off its safety catch, and aimed it carefully at Silk's chest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk frowned and touched Blood's arm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood chuckled. \"Oh, don't worry. I only wanted to see how he'd behave in my place. It doesn't seem to bother him much.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The needler's tiny, malevolent eye twitched to the right and spat, and the squat tumbler exploded, showering Silk with shards and pungent liquor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He brushed himself with his fingers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What would you like me to sign over to you? I'll be happy to oblige. Give me the paper.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know.\" Blood dropped Hyacinth's gold-plated needler on the stand that had held his drink." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What have you got, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Two drawers of clothing and three books. No, two; I sold my personal copy of the Writings. My beads—I've got those here, and I'll give them to you now if you like. My old pen case, but it's still in my robe up in that woman's room. You could have somebody bring it, and I'll confess to climbing onto your roof and entering your house without your permission, and give you the pen case, too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't need your confession, Patera. I have you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As you like.\" Silk visualized his bedroom, over the kitchen in the manse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Pas's gammadion. That's steel, of course, but the chain's silver and should be worth something I also have an old portable shrine that belonged to Patera Pike. I've set it up on my dresser, so I suppose you could say it's mine now. There's a rather attractive triptych, a small polychrome lamp, an offertory cloth, and so on, with a teak case to carry them in. Do you want that? I had hoped—foolishly no doubt—to pass it on to my successor.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood waved the triptych aside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How'd you get through the gate?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I didn't. I cut a limb in the forest and tied it to this rope.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk pointed to his waist." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I threw the limb over the spikes on your wall and climbed the rope.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'll have to do something about that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood glanced significantly at Musk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You say you were up on the roof, so it was you that killed Hierax.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk sat up straight, feeling as if he had been wakened from sleep." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You gave him the name of the god?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Musk did. Why not?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk said softly, \"He was a griffon vulture, a mountain bird. Beautiful. I thought I might be able to teach him to kill for himself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But it was no go,\" Blood continued." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Musk got angry with him and was going to knife him. Musk has the mews out back.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded politely. Patera Pike had once remarked to him that you could never tell from a man's appearance what might give him pleasure; studying Musk, Silk decided that he had never accorded Patera Pike's sagacity as much respect as it had deserved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So I said that if he didn't want him, he could give him to me,\" Blood continued, \"and I put him up there on the roof for a pet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see.\" Silk paused." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You clipped his wings.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I had one of Musk's helpers do it,\" Blood explained, \"so he wouldn't fly off. He wouldn't hunt anyhow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded, mostly to himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But he attacked me, I suppose because I picked up that scrap of hide. We were next to the battlement, and in the excitement of the moment he—I will not call him Hierax, Hierax is a sacred name—forgot that he could no longer fly.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood reached for the needler." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're saying I killed him. That's a shaggy lie! You did it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"He died by misadventure while fighting with me; but you may say that I killed him if you like. I was certainly trying to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And you stole this needler from Hyacinth before she drove you through the window with her azoth—must be about a thirty-cubit drop. Why didn't you shoot her?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Would you have,\" Silk inquired, \"if you had been in my place?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood chuckled. \"And fed her to Musk's birds.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What I have done to you already is surely much worse than anything that Hyacinth did to me; I say nothing of what I intended to do to you. Are you going to shoot me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If he lunged, Silk decided, he might be able to wrestle the little needler from Blood in spite of his injured leg; and with the muzzle to Blood's head, he might be able to force them to let him go." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He readied himself, calculating the distance as he edged forward in his chair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I might. I might at that, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood toyed with the needler, palming it, flipping it over, and weighing it in his hand; he seemed nearly sober now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You understand—or I hope you do, anyway—that we haven't committed any kind of a crime, not a one of us. Not me, not Musk here, not any of my people.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk started to speak, then decided against it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You think you know about something? All right, I'll guess. Tell me if I'm wrong. You've been talking with Hy, and so you think she's a whore. One of our guests tonight gave her that azoth. Quite a little present, plenty good enough for a councillor. Maybe she bragged on some of her other presents, too. Have I hit the target?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded guardedly, his eyes on the needler." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She'd had several... Visitors.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood chuckled. \"He's blushing, Musk. Take a look at him Yes, Patera, I know. Only they didn't pay, and that's what matters to the law. They were my guests, and Hy's one of my houseguests. So if she wants to show somebody a good time, that's her business and mine, but none of yours. You came out here to get back your manteion, you tell me. Well, we didn't take it away from you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood emphasized his point with the needler, jabbing at Silk's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If we're going to talk about what's not legal, we've got to talk about what's legal, too. And legally you never did own it. It belonged to the Chapter, according to the deed I've got. Isn't that right?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And the city took it from the Chapter for taxes owed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Not from you, because you never had it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Back last week that was, I think." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everything was done properly, I'm sure." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Chapter was notified and so on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They didn't tell you?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No.\" Silk sighed, and forced himself to relax." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I knew that it might happen, and in fact I warned the Chapter about it. I was never informed that it had happened.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then they ought to tell you they're sorry, Patera, and I hope they will. But that's got nothing to do with Musk and me. Musk bought your manteion from the city, and there was nothing irregular about it. He was acting for me, with my money, but there's nothing illegal about that either, it's just a business matter between him and me. Thirteen thousand cards we paid, plus the fees. We didn't steal anything, did we? And we haven't hurt you—or anybody—have we?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It will hurt the entire quarter, several thousand poor families, if you close the manteion.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They can go somewhere else if they want to, and that's up to the Chapter anyhow, I'd say.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood gestured toward the welts on Silk's chest with the needler." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You got hurt some, and nobody's arguing about that. But you got banged up fighting my pet bird and jumping out a window. Hy was just defending herself with that azoth, something she's got every right in the whorl to do. You aren't planning to peep about her, are you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Peep?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Go crying to the froggies.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I see. No, of course not.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's good. I'm happy to hear you being reasonable. Just look at it. You broke into my house hoping to take my property—it's Musk's, but you didn't know that. You've admitted that to Musk and me, and we're ready to swear to it in front of a judge if we have to.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk smiled; it seemed to him a very long time since he had last smiled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You aren't really going to have me killed, are you, Blood? You're not willing to take the risk.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood's finger found the trigger of the needler." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Keep on talking like that and I might, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include 'you're' 2 time(s) in your answer - no more, no less" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't believe so. You'd have someone else do it, probably Musk. You're not even going to do that, however. You're trying to frighten me before you let me go.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood glanced at Musk, who nodded and circled behind Silk's chair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk felt the tips of Musk's fingers brush his ears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you go on talking to me like you have been, Patera, you're going to get hurt. It won't leave any marks, but you won't like it at all. Musk has done it before. He's good at it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not to an augur. Those who harm an augur in any way suffer the displeasure of all the gods.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The pain was as sudden as a blow, and so sharp it left Silk breathless, an explosion of agony; he felt as though his head had been crushed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's places behind your ears,\" Blood explained." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Musk pushes them in with his knuckles.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Gasping for air, his hands to his mastoids, Silk could not even nod." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We can do that again and again if we have to,\" Blood continued." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And if we finally give up and go to bed, we can start over in the morning.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A red mist had blotted out Silk's vision, but it was clearing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He managed, \"You don't have to explain my situation to me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe not. I'll do it whenever I want to, just the same. So to get on with this—you're right, we'd just as soon not kill you if we don't have to. There's three or four different reasons for that, all of them pretty good. You're an augur, to start with. If the gods ever paid any attention to Viron, they quit a long time ago. Myself, I don't think there was ever anything in it except a way for people like you to get everything they wanted without working. But the Chapter looks after you, and if it ever got out that we did for you—I mean just talk, because they'd never be able to prove anything—it would get people stirred up and be bad for business.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said, \"Then I would not have died for nothing,\" and felt Musk's fingers behind his ears again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood shook his head, and the contingent agony halted, poised at the edge of possibility." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then too, we just bought your place so that might make some people think of us. Did you tell anybody you were coming?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Here it was. Silk was prepared to lie if he must, but preferred to dodge if he could." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He said, \"You mean one of our sibyls? No, nothing like that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood nodded, and the danger was past." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It could get somebody's attention anyway, and I can't be sure who's seen you. Hy has, and talked with you and so on. Probably even knows your name.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk could not remember, but he said, \"Yes, she does. Can't you trust her? She's your wife.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk tittered behind him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood roared, his free hand slapping his thigh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shrugged. \"One of your servants referred to her as his mistress. He thought that I was one of your guests, of course.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood wiped his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I like her, Patera, and she's the best-looking whore in Viron, which makes her a valuable commodity. But as for that—\" Blood waved the topic aside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What I was going to say is I'd rather have you as a friend.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seeing Silk's expression, he laughed again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk strove to sound casual." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My friendship's easily gained.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This was the conversation he had imagined when he had spied on the villa from the top of the wall; frantically he searched for the smooth phrases he had rehearsed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Return my manteion to the Chapter, and I'll bless you for the rest of my life.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A drop of sweat trickled from his forehead into his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fearing that Musk might think he was reaching for a weapon if he got out his handkerchief, he wiped his face on his sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That wouldn't be what I'd call easy for me, Patera. Thirteen thousand I've laid out for your place, and I'd never see a card of it again. But I've thought of a way we can be friends that will put money in my pocket, and I always like that. You're a common thief. You've admitted it. Well, so am I.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood rose from his chair, stretched, and seemed to admire the rich furnishings of the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why should we, two of a kind, circle around like a couple of tomcats, trying to knife each other?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk stroked Silk's hair; it made him feel unclean, and he said, \"Stop that!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk did." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're a brave man, Patera, as well as a resourceful one.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood strode across the room to study a gray and gold painting of Pas condemning the lost spirits, one head livid with rage while the other pronounced their doom." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I had been sitting where you are, I wouldn't have tried that with Musk, but you tried it and got away with it. You're young, you're strong, and you've got a couple of advantages besides that the rest of us haven't. Nobody ever suspects an augur, and you've had a pretty fair education—a better education than mine, I don't deny that. Tell me now, as one thief to another, didn't you know down in the cracks of your guts that it was wrong to try to steal my property?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, of course.\" Silk paused to gather his thoughts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There are times, however, when one must choose among evils. You're a wealthy man; stripped of my manteion, you would be a wealthy man still. Without my manteion, hundreds of families in our quarter—people who are already very poor—would be a great deal poorer. I found that a compelling argument.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He waited for the crushing pain of Musk's knuckles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When it did not come he added, \"You suggested that we speak as one thief to another, and I assumed that you intended for us to speak freely. To speak frankly, I find it just as compelling now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood turned to face him again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sure you do, Patera. I'm surprised you couldn't come up with just as good a reason for shooting Hy. These gods of yours did worse pretty often, didn't they?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"Worse superficially, yes. But the gods are our superiors and may act toward us as they see fit, just as you could clip your pet's wings without guilt. I am not Hyacinth's superior.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood chuckled. \"You're the only man alive who doesn't think so, Patera. Well, I'll leave morality to you. That's your business after all. Business is mine, and what we have here is a very simple little business problem. I paid the city thirteen thousand for your manteion. What do you think it's really worth?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk recalled the fresh young faces of the children in the palaestra, and the tired, happy smiles of their mothers; the sweet smoke of sacrifice rising from the altar through the god-gate in the roof." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In money? It is beyond price.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Exactly.\" Blood glanced at the needler he still held and dropped it into the pocket of his embroidered trousers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's how you feel, and that's why you came out here, even though you must have known there was a good chance you'd get killed. You're not the first who's tried to break in here, by the way, but you're the first who got inside the house.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That is some consolation.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So I admire you, and I think we might be able to do a little business. On the open market, Patera, your place is worth exactly thirteen thousand cards, and not one miserable cardbit more or less. We know that, because it was on the market just a few days ago, and thirteen thousand's what it brought. So that's the businessman's price. You understand what I'm telling you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've got plans for it, sure. Profitable plans. But it's not the only possible site, so here's my proposition. You say it's priceless. That's a lot of money, priceless.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood licked his lips, his eyes narrowed, their gaze fixed on Silk's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So as a man that takes a lily profit wherever he can find one but never gouges anybody, I say we split the difference. You pay me twice what I paid, and I'll sell it to you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk started to speak, but Blood raised a hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let's pin it down like a couple of dimber thieves ought to. I'll sell it to you for twenty-six thousand flat, and I'll pay all costs. No tricks, and no splitting up the property. You'll get everything that I got.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk's hopes, which had mounted higher with every word, collapsed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Did Blood really imagine that he was rich?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were laymen, he knew, who thought all augurs rich." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He said, \"I've told you what I have; altogether, it wouldn't bring two hundred cards. My mother's entire estate amounted to a great deal less than twenty-six thousand cards, and it went to the Chapter irrevocably when I took my vows.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood smiled. \"I'm flash, Patera. Maybe you'd like another drink?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, I would.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Musk had gone, Blood resumed his seat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I know you haven't got twenty-six thousand, or anything close to it. Not that I'm swallowing everything you told me, but if you had even a few thousand you wouldn't be there on Sun Street. Well, who says that just because you're poor you've got to stay poor? You wouldn't think so to look at me, but I was poor once myself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I believe you,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood's smile vanished. \"And you look down on me for it. Maybe that made it easier.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Silk told him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It made it a great deal harder. You never come to the sacrifices at our manteion—quite a few thieves do, actually—but I was setting out to rob one of our own, and in my heart of hearts I knew that and hated it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood's chuckle promised neither humor nor friendship." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You did it just the same.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As you've seen.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see more than you think, Patera. I see a lot more than you do. I see that you were willing to rob me, and that you nearly brought it off. A minute ago you told me how rich you think I am, so rich I wouldn't miss four old buildings on Sun Street. Do you think I'm the richest man in Viron?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No what?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shrugged. \"Even when we spoke in the street, I never supposed that you were the wealthiest man in the city, although I have no idea who the wealthiest might be. I only thought that you were wealthy, as you obviously are.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, I'm not the richest,\" Blood declared, \"and I'm not the crookedest either. There are richer men than I am, and crookeder men than I am, lots of them. And, Patera, most of them aren't anywhere near as close to the Ayuntamiento as I am. That's something to keep in mind, whether you think so or not.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk did not reply, or even indicate by any alteration of his expression that he had heard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So if you want your manteion back, why shouldn't you get it from them? The price is twenty-six thousand, like I told you. That's all it means to me, so they've got it just as much as I have, and they'll be easier, most of them. Are you listening to me, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reluctantly, Silk nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk opened the door as he had before and preceded the footman into the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This time there were two tumblers on the footman's tray." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood accepted one, and the footman bowed to Silk. \"Patera Silk?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everyone in the household must know of his capture by now, Silk reflected; apparently everyone knew who he was as well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes,\" he said; it would be pointless to deny it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With something in his expression Silk could not fathom, the footman bowed deeply and held out his tray." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I took the liberty, Patera. Musk said I might. If you would accept it as a favor to me...?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk took the drink, smiled, and said, \"Thank you, my son. That was extremely kind of you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For an instant the footman looked radiant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you're grabbed,\" Blood continued when the footman had gone, \"I don't know you. I've never laid eyes on you, and I'd never suggest anything like this to anybody. That's the way it's got to be.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Of course. But now, tonight, you're suggesting that I steal enough money to buy my manteion from you. That I, an augur, enter these other men's houses to steal, as I entered yours.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood sipped his drink." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm saying that if you want your manteion back, I'll sell it to you, and that's all I'm saying. How you get the money is up to you. You think the city asked where I got the price?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It is a workable solution,\" Silk admitted, \"and it's the only one that has been proposed so far.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk grinned at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Your resident physician tells me that my right ankle is broken,\" Silk continued." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It will be quite some time, I'm afraid, before it heals.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood looked up from his drink." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't allow you a whole lot of time, Patera. A little time, enough for a few jobs. But that's all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I see.\" Silk stroked his cheek." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But you'll allow me some—you'll have to. During the time you will allow, what will become of my manteion?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's my manteion, Patera. You run it just like you did before, how's that? Only you tell anybody that wants to know that I own the property. It's mine, and you tell them so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I could say you've paid our taxes,\" Silk suggested, \"as you have. And that you're letting us continue to serve the gods as an act of piety.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was a lie he hoped might eventually become the truth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's good. But anything you take in over expenses is mine, and anytime I want to see the books, you've got to bring them out here. Otherwise it's no deal. How much time do you want?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk considered, uncertain that he could bring himself to conduct the robberies Blood was demanding." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A year,\" he ventured." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A great deal could happen in a year." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Very funny. I bet they roar when you've got a ram for Scylsday. Three weeks—oh, shag, make it a month. That's the top, though. Will your ankle be all right in a month?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't know.\" Silk tried to move his foot and found as he had before that the cast immobilized it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wouldn't think it very likely.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood snorted. \"Musk, get Crane in here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As the door closed behind Musk, Silk inquired, \"Do you always have a physician on the premises?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I try to.\" Blood set aside his tumbler." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I had a man for a year who didn't work out, then a brain surgeon who only stayed a couple of months. After that I had to look around quite a while before I found Crane. He's been with me...\" Blood paused, calculating, \"pretty close to four years now. He looks after my people here, naturally, and goes into the city three times a week to see about the girls there. It's handier, and saves a little money.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk said, \"I'm surprised that a skillful physician—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Would work for me, taking care of my whores?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood yawned. \"Suppose you'd seen a doctor in the city for that ankle, Patera. Would you have paid him?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As soon as I could, yes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Which would have been never, most likely. Working for me, he gets a regular salary. He doesn't have to take charity cases, and sometimes the girls'll tip him if they're flush.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fussy little man arrived a moment later, ushered in by Musk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk had seen a picture of a bird of the crane kind not long before, and though he could not recall where it had been, he remembered it now, and with it Crane's self-mockery." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The diminutive doctor no more resembled the tall bird than he himself did the shimmering fabric from which his mother had taken his name." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood gestured toward Silk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You fixed him up. How long before he's well?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The little physician stroked his beard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What do you mean by well, sir? Well enough to walk without crutches?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood considered. \"Let's say well enough to run fast. How long for that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's difficult to say. It depends a good deal on his heredity—I doubt that he knows anything useful about that—and on his physical condition. He's young at least, so it could be worse.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Doctor Crane turned to Silk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sit up straight for a moment, young man. I want to listen to you again, now that you've had a chance to calm down.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He lifted Silk's torn tunic, put his ear against Silk's chest, and thumped his back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With the third thump, Silk felt something hard and cold slide into his waistband beneath the horsehair rope." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Should've brought my instruments. Cough, please.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Already frantic with curiosity, Silk coughed and was rewarded with another thump." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good. Again, please, and deeper this time. Make it go deep.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk coughed as deeply as he could." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Excellent.\" Doctor Crane straightened up, letting Silk's tunic fall back into place." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Truly excellent. You're a fine specimen, young man, a credit to Viron.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The timbre of his voice altered almost imperceptibly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Somebody up there likes you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pointed jocularly toward the elaborately figured ceiling, where a painted Molpe vied with Phaea at bagatelle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Some infatuated goddess, I should imagine.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk leaned back in his chair, although the hard object behind his spine made actual comfort impossible." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If that means I get less time from your employer, I would hardly call it evidence of favor, my son.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Doctor Crane smiled. \"In that case, perhaps not.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How long?\" Blood banged his tumbler down on the stand beside his chair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How long before it's as good as it was before he broke it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Five to seven weeks, I'd say. He could run a little sooner than that, with his ankle correctly taped. All this assumes proper rest and medical treatment in the interim—sonic stimulation of the broken bone and so forth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk cleared his throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I cannot afford elaborate treatment, Doctor. All I'll be able to do is hobble about and pray that it heals.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, you can't come here,\" Blood told him angrily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Was that what you were hinting at?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Doctor Crane began, \"Possibly, sir, you might retain a specialist in the city—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood sniffed. \"We should've shot him and gotten it over with. By Phaea's sow, I wish the fall had killed him. No specialist. You'll see himself whenever you're in that part of the city. When is it? Sphigxday and Hieraxday?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's right, and tomorrow's Sphigxday.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Doctor Crane glanced toward an ornate clock on the opposite side of the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I should be in bed already.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You'll see him then,\" Blood said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now get out of here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk told Crane, \"I sincerely regret the inconvenience, Doctor. If your employer will only give me a bit more time, it wouldn't be necessary.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the door Crane turned and appeared, almost, to wink." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood said, \"We'll compromise, Patera. Pay attention, because it's as far as I'm willing to go. Aren't you going to drink that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Feeling Musk's knuckles behind his ears, Silk took a dutiful sip." }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: substantial, frequency: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In a month—one month from today—you'll bring me a substantial sum. You hear that? I'll decide when I see it whether it's substantial enough. If it is, I'll apply it to the twenty-six thousand, and let you know how long you've got to come up with the rest. But if it isn't, you and that tin sibyl will have to clear out.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood paused, his mouth ugly, swirling his drink in his hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Have you got anybody else living there? Maybe another augur?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There are two more sibyls,\" Silk told him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maytera Rose and Maytera Mint. You've met Maytera Marble, I believe. I am our only augur.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood grunted. \"Your sibyls will want to come out here and lecture me. Tell them they won't get past the gate.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I will.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They're healthy? Crane could have a look at them when he comes to see you, if they need doctoring.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk warmed to the man." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's exceedingly kind of you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was always some good to be found in everyone, he reminded himself, the unnoted yet unfailing gift of ever-generous Pas." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maytera Mint's quite well, as far as I know. Maytera Rose is as well as could be expected, and is largely prosthetic now in any case, I'm afraid.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Digital arms and legs? That sort of thing?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood leaned forward, interested." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There aren't too many of those around any more.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She got them some years ago; before I was born, really. There was some disease requiring amputations.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It occurred to Silk that he should know more about Maytera Rose's history—about the histories of all three sibyls—than he did." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They were still easily found then, from what she says.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How old is she?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm not sure.\" Silk berated himself mentally again; this was something he should know." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I suppose it's in our records. I could look it up for you, and I would be happy to do so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just being polite,\" Blood told him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She must be—oh, ninety, if she's got a lot of tin parts. How old would you say I am, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Older than you look, I suppose,\" Silk ventured." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What guess would flatter Blood?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would not do to say something ridiculous. \"Forty-five, possibly?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm forty-nine.\" Blood raised his tumbler in a mock toast. \"Nearly fifty.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk's fingers had twitched as Blood spoke, and Silk knew with an absolute certainty he could not have defended that Blood was lying: that he was at least five years older." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And not a part in my body that isn't my own, except for a couple teeth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You don't look it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Listen, Patera, I could tell you—\" Blood waved the topic aside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Never mind. It's late. How much did I say? In a month? Five thousand?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You said a substantial sum,\" Silk reminded him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was to bring you as much as I could acquire, and you would decide whether it was enough. Am I to bring it here?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's right. Tell the eye at my gate who you are, and somebody will go out and get you. Musk, have a driver come around out front.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"For me?\" Silk asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you. I was afraid I'd have to walk—that is, I couldn't have walked, with my leg like this. I would have had to beg rides on farm carts, I'm afraid.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood grinned. \"You're a thirteen thousand card profit to me, Patera. I've got to see you're taken care of. Listen now. You know how I said those sibyls of yours weren't to come out here and bother me? Well, that still goes, but tell that one—the old one, what's her name?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maytera Rose,\" Silk supplied." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Her. You tell Maytera Rose that if she's interested in getting another leg or something, and can raise the gelt, I might be able to help her out. Or if she's got something like that she'd like to sell, maybe to help you out. She won't get a better price anywhere.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My thanks are becoming monotonous, I'm afraid,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But I must thank you again, on Maytera's behalf and in my own.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Forget it. There's getting to be quite a market for those parts now, even the used ones, and I've got a man who knows how to recondition them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk's sleek head appeared in the doorway. \"Floater's ready.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood stood, swaying slightly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Can you walk, Patera? No, naturally you can't, not good. Musk, fetch him one of my sticks, will you? Not one of the high-priced ones. Grab on, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood was offering his hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk took it, finding it soft and surprisingly cold, and struggled to his feet, acutely conscious of the object Crane had put into his waistband and of the fact that he was accepting help from the man he had set out to rob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you yet again,\" he said, and clenched his teeth against a sharp flash of pain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As his host, Blood would want to show him out; and if Blood were in back of him, Blood might well see the object under his tunic." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wishing mightily for the robe he had left behind in Hyacinth's bedchamber, half incapacitated by guilt and pain, Silk managed, \"May I lean on your arm? I shouldn't have had so much to drink.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Side by side they staggered into the reception hall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Its wide double doors still let in the night; but it was a night (or so Silk fancied) soon to be gray with shadeup." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A floater waited on the grassway, its canopy open, a liveried driver at its controls." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The most eventful night of his life was nearly over." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk rattled the cast on Silk's ankle with a battered walking stick, smiled at his wince, and put the stick into his free hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk discovered that he still detested Musk, though he had come, almost, to like Musk's master." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"... floater'll take you back there, Patera,\" Blood was saying." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you tell anyone about our little agreement, it's cancelled, and don't you forget it. A high stack next month, and I don't mean a few hundred.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The liveried driver had left the floater to help." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In a moment more, Silk was safely settled on the broad, cushioned seat behind the driver's, with Doctor Crane's chilly, angular mystery again gouging at his back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you,\" he repeated to Blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you both.\" (He hoped that Blood would take his phrase to include Musk as well as Blood himself, though he actually intended Blood and the driver.)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I do appreciate it very much. You mentioned our agreement however. And—and I would be exceedingly grateful...\" Tentatively, he put out his hand, palm up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What is it now, for Phaea's sake?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My needler, please. I hate to ask, after all you've done, but it's in your pocket. If you're not still afraid I might shoot you, may I have it back?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood stared at him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You want me to bring you several thousand cards—I presume that's what you mean when you speak of a substantial sum. Several thousand cards, when I can scarcely walk. The least you can do is return my weapon, so that I've something to work with.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood giggled, coughed, then laughed loudly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Perhaps only because Silk heard it in the open air for the first time that night, Blood's laughter seemed to him almost the sound that sometimes rose, on quiet evenings, from the pits of the Alambrera." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was forced to remind himself again that this man, too, was loved by Pas." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What a buck! He might do it, Musk. I really think he might do it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood fumbled Hyacinth's little needler out of his pocket and pushed its release; a score of silver needles leaped from its breach to shower like rain upon the closely cropped grass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk leaned toward Blood, and Silk heard him whisper, \"Lamp Street.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood's eyebrows shot up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Excellent. You're right. You always are.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tossed the golden needler into Silk's lap." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Here you go, Patera. Use it in good health—yours, I mean. We're going to make a slight charge for it, though. Meet us about one o'clock at the yellow house on Lamp Street. Will you do that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I must, I suppose,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, of course, if you wish me to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's called Orchid's.\" Blood leaned over the door of the floater." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And it's across from the pastry cook's. You know exorcism? Know how it's done?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk ventured a guarded nod." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good. Bring whatever you'll need. There've been, ah, problems there all summer. An enlightened augur may be just what we need. We'll see you there tomorrow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good-bye,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The canopy slid soundlessly out of the floater's sides as Blood and Musk backed away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When it latched, there was a muffled roar from the engine." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It felt, Silk thought, as if they were indeed floating; as if a flood had rushed invisibly to lift them and bear them off along the greenway, as if they were always about to spin away in the current, although they never actually spun." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Trees and hedges and brilliant flower beds reeled past." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here came Blood's magnificent fountain, with Soaking Scylla reveling among the crystal jets; at once it was gone and the main gate before them, the gate rising as the long, shining arms of the talus shrank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A dip and a wiggle and the floater was through, blown down the highway like a sere leaf, sailing through an eerie nightscape turned to liquid, leaving behind it a proud plume of swirling, yellow-gray dust." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The skylands still shone overhead, cut in two by the black bow of the shade." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Far above even the skylands, hidden but present nonetheless, shone the myriad pinpricks of fire the Outsider had revealed; they, too, held lands unknowable in some incomprehensible fashion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk found himself more conscious of them now than he had been since that lifetime outside time in the ball court—colored spheres of flame, infinitely far." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The ball was still in his pocket, the only ball they had." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He must remember not to leave it here in Blood's floater, or the boys would have no ball tomorrow." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'tomorrow' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, not tomorrow; tomorrow was Sphigxday." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No palaestra. The day to prepare for the big sacrifice on Scylsday, if there was anything to sacrifice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He slapped his pockets until he found Blood's two cards in the one that held the ball." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He took them out to look at, then replaced them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They had been below the ball when he had been searched, and the ball had saved them. For what?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hyacinth's needler had fallen to the floater's carpeted floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He retrieved it and put it into his pocket with the cards, then sat squeezing the ball between his fingers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was said to strengthen the hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Minute lights he could not see burned on, burning beyond the skylands, burning beneath his feet, unwinking and remote, illuminating something bigger than the whorl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Doctor Crane's mystery gouged his back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He leaned forward. \"What time is it, driver?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Quarter past three, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had done what the Outsider had wanted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Or at least he had tried—perhaps he had failed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As though a hand had drawn aside a veil, he realized that his manteion would live for another month now—a month at least, because anything might happen in a month." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Was it possible that he had in fact accomplished what the Outsider had desired?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His mind filled with a rollicking joy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The floater leaned to the left as it rounded a bend in the road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here were farms and fields and houses, all liquid, all swirling past as they breasted the phantom current." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A hill rose in a great, brown-green wave, already breaking into a skylit froth of fence rails and fruit trees. The floater plunged down the other side and shot across a ford." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around two sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Note: Characters may be introduced as if already known - maintain any existing context or treat as new if unclear.\n\nGenre: Science Fiction, Generation Ship" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk adjusted the shutter of his dark lantern until the eight-sided spot of light remaining was smaller than its wick and oddly misshapen. His key turned softly in the well-oiled padlock; the door opened with a nearly inaudible creak." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tiercel nearest the door stirred upon its perch, turning its hooded head to look at the intruder it could not see." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the farther side of a partition of cotton netting, the merlin that had been Musk's first hawk, unhooded, blinked and roused. There was a tinkle of tiny bells—gold bells that Blood had given Musk to mark some now-forgotten occasion three years ago." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Beyond the merlin, the gray-blue peregrine might have been a painted carving.\n\nThe end of the mews was walled off with netting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The big bird sat its roweled perch there, immobile as the falcon, still immature but showing in every line a strength that made the falcon seem a toy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk untied the netting and stepped in. He could not have said how he knew that the big bird was awake, and yet he did." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Softly he said, \"Ha, hawk.\"\n\nThe big bird lifted its hooded head, its grotesque crown of scarlet plumes swaying with the motion.\n\n\"Ha, hawk,\" Must repeated as he stroked it with a turkey feather." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "user starts, u write ~12 sentences more. copy Gene Wolfe's style. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they sped across a field of stubble the driver inquired, \"Ever ridden in one of these before, Patera?\"\n\nDrowsily, Silk shook his head before he realized that the driver could not see him. He yawned and attempted to stretch, brought up sharply by pain from his right arm and the gouged flesh of his chest and belly. \"No, never. But I rode in a boat once. Out on the lake, you know, fishing all day with a friend and his father. This reminds me of that. This machine of yours is about as wide as the boat was, and only a little bit shorter.\"\n\n\"I like it better—boats rock too much for me. Where are we going, Patera?\"\n\n\"You mean...?\" The road (or perhaps another road) had appeared again. Seeming to gather its strength like a horse, the floater soared over the wall of dry-laid stones that had barred them from it.\n\n\"Where should I drop you? Musk said to take you back to the city.\"\n\nSilk edged forward on the seat, knowing himself stupid with fatigue and struggling against it. \"They didn't tell you?\"\n\n\"No, Patera.\"\n\nWhere was it he wanted to go?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He recalled his mother's house, and the wide, deep windows of his bedroom, with borage growing just beyond the sills." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"At my manteion, please. On Sun Street. Do you know where it is?\"\n\n\"I know where Sun Street is, Patera. I'll find it.\"\n\nHere was a cartload of firewood bound for the market. The floater dipped and swerved, and it was behind them. The man on the cart would be first at the market, Silk thought; but what was the point of being first at the market with a load of firewood? Surely there would be wood there already, wood that had not sold the day before. Perhaps the man on the cart wanted to do a little buying of his own when he had disposed of his cargo.\n\n\"Going to be another hot one, Patera.\"\n\nThat was it, of course. The man on the cart—Silk turned to look back at him, but he was gone already; there was only a boy leading a mule, a laden mule and a small boy whom he had never noticed at all. The man on the cart had wanted to avoid the heat. He would sell what he had brought and sit drinking till twilight in the Cock or someplace like it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the coolest tavern he could find, no doubt, and spend most of the money his wood had brought him, sleep on the seat of his cart as it made its slow way home." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What if he, Silk, slept now on this capacious seat, which was so tantalizingly soft? Would not the driver, would not this old half-magical floater take him where he wanted to go in any event? Would the driver rob him while he slept, find Blood's two cards, Hyacinth's golden needler, and the thing that he still did not dare to look at, the thing—he felt he had guessed its identity while he still sat in that jewel box of a room to one side of Blood's reception hall. Would he not be robbed? Had the man upstairs, the man asleep in the chair near the stair ever gotten home, and had he gotten home safely? Many men must have slept in this floater, men who had drunk too heavily.\n\nSilk felt that he himself had drunk too heavily; he had sipped from both drinks.\n\nBlood was certainly a thief; he had admitted as much himself. But would Blood employ a driver who would rob his guests? It seemed unlikely. He, Silk, could sleep here—sleep now in safety, if he wished. But he was very hungry.\n\n\"All right,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Patera?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must use the word 'driver' exactly 2 times in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Go to Sun Street. I'll direct you from there. I know the way.\"\n\nThe driver glanced over his shoulder, a burly young man whose beard was beginning to show. \"Where it crosses Trade. Will that be all right, Patera?\"\n\n\"Yes.\" Silk felt his own chin, rough as the driver's looked. \"Fine.\" He settled back in the soft seat, almost oblivious of the object beneath his tunic but determined not to sleep until he had washed, eaten, and wrung any advantage that might be gained from his present position. The driver had not been told he was Blood's prisoner; that was clear from everything he said, and it presented an opportunity that might not come again.\n\nBut in point of fact he was a prisoner no longer. He had been freed, though no fuss had been made about it, when Blood and Musk had taken him to this floater. Now, whether he liked it or not, he was a sort of factor of Blood's—an agent through whom Blood would obtain money. Silk weighed the term in his mind and decided it was the correct one. He had given himself wholly to the gods, with a holy oath; now his allegiance was inescapably divided, whether he liked it or not. He would give the twenty-six thousand cards he got (if indeed he got them) not to the gods but to Blood, though he would be acting in the gods' behalf." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'whether' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Certainly he would be Blood's factor in the eyes of the Chapter and the whorl, should either the Chapter or the whorl learn of whatever he would do.\n\nBlood had made him his factor, creating this situation for his own profit. (Thoughtfully, Silk stroked his cheek, feeling the roughness of his newly grown beard again.) For Blood's own personal profit, as was only to be expected; but their relationship bound them both, like all relationships. He was Blood's factor whether he liked it or not, but also Blood's factor whether Blood liked it or not. He had made good use of the relationship already when he had demanded the return of Hyacinth's needler. Indeed, Blood had acknowledged it still earlier when he had told Doctor Crane to look in at the manteion.\n\nFurther use might be made of it as well.\n\nA factor, but not a trusted factor to be sure; Blood might conceivably plan to kill him once he had turned over the entire twenty-six thousand, if he could find no further use for him; thus it would be wise to employ this temporary relationship to gain some sort of hold on Blood before it was ended. That was something more to keep in mind.\n\nAnd the driver, who no doubt knew so many things that might be of value, did not know that.\n\n\"Driver,\" Silk called, \"are you familiar with a certain house on Lamp Street? It's yellow, I believe, and there's a pastry cook's across the street.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sure am, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Could we go past it, please? I don't think it will be very much out of our way.\"\n\nThe floater slowed for a trader with a string of pack mules. \"I can't wait, Patera, if you're going to be inside very long.\"\n\n\"I'm not even going to get out,\" Silk assured him. \"I merely wish to see it.\"\n\nStill watching the broadening road, the driver nodded his satisfaction. \"Then I'll be happy to oblige you, Patera. No trouble.\"\n\nThe countryside seemed to flow past. No wonder, Silk thought, that the rich rode in floaters when distances were too great for their litters. Why, on donkeys this had taken hours!\n\n\"Have a good time, Patera? You stayed awfully late.\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk said, then reconsidered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In a way I did, I suppose. It was certainly very different from everything I'm accustomed to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The driver chuckled politely.\n\n\"I did have a good time, in a sense,\" Silk decided. \"I enjoyed certain parts of my visit enormously, and I ought to be honest enough to admit it.\"\n\nThe driver nodded again. \"Only not everything. Yeah, I know just what you mean.\"\n\n\"My view is colored, no doubt, by the fact that I fell and injured my ankle. It was really quite painful, and it's still something of a discomfort. A Doctor Crane very kindly set the bone for me and applied this cast, free of charge. I imagine you must know him. Your master told me that Doctor Crane has been with him for the past four years.\"\n\n\"Do I! The old pill-pounder and me have floated over a whorl of ground together. Don't make much sense sometimes, but he'll talk you deaf if you don't watch out, and ask more questions than the hoppies.\"\n\nSilk nodded, conscious again of the object Crane had slipped into his waistband. \"I found him friendly.\"\n\n\"I bet you did. You didn't ride out with me, did you, Patera?\"\n\nBlood had several floaters, obviously, just as he had implied. Silk said, \"No, not with you. I came with another man, but he left before I did.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I didn't think so. See, I tell them about Doc Crane on the way out. Sometimes they get worried about the girls and boys. Know what I mean, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think so.\"\n\n\"So I tell them forget it. We got a doctor right there to check everybody over, and if they got some kind of little problem of their own... I'm talking about the older bucks, Patera, you know? Why, maybe he could help them out. It's good for Doc, because sometimes they give him something. And it's good for me, too. I've had quite a few of them thank me for telling them, after the party.\"\n\n\"I fear I have nothing to give you, my son,\" Silk said stiffly. It was perfectly true, he assured himself; the two cards in his pocket were already spent, or as good as spent. They would buy a fine victim for Scylsday, less than two days off.\n\n\"That's all right, Patera. I didn't figure you did. It's a gift to the Chapter. That's how I look at it.\"\n\n\"I can give you my blessing, however, when we separate. And I will.\"\n\n\"That's all right, Patera,\" the driver said. \"I'm not much for sacrifice and all that.\"\n\n\"All the more reason you may require it, my son,\" Silk told him, and could not keep from smiling at the sepulchral tones of his own voice. It was a good thing the driver could not see him! With Blood's villa far behind them, the burglar was fading and the augur returning; he had sounded exactly like Patera Pike." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory inclusion (with quotes): No, Patera. We got to have ground underneath to push against, see? And we'd be getting too far away from it. You remember that wall we cleared when I took the shortcut?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Which was he, really? He pushed aside the thought.\n\n\"Now this here, this feels just like a boat, and no mistake. Don't it, Patera?\"\n\nTheir floater was rolling like a barrel as it dodged pedestrians and rattling, mule-drawn wagons. The road had become a street in which narrow houses vied for space.\n\nSilk found it necessary to grasp the leather-covered bar on the back of the driver's seat, a contrivance he had previously assumed was intended only to facilitate boarding and departure. \"How high will these go?\" he asked. \"I've always wondered.\"\n\n\"Four cubits empty, Patera. Or that's what this one'll do, anyhow. That's how you test them—run them up as high as they'll go and measure. The higher she floats, the better shape everything's in.\"\n\nSilk nodded to himself. \"You couldn't go over one of these wagons, then, instead of around it?\"\n\n\"No, Patera. We got to have ground underneath to push against, see? And we'd be getting too far away from it. You remember that wall we cleared when I took the shortcut?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Certainly.\" Silk tightened his grip on the bar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It must have been three cubits at least.\"\n\n\"Not quite, Patera. It's a little lower than that at the place where I went over. But what I was going to say was we couldn't have done it if we'd been full of passengers like we were coming out. We'd have had to stay on the road then.\"\n\n\"I understand. Or at any rate, I think I do.\"\n\n\"But look up ahead, Patera.\" The floater slowed. \"See him lying in the road?\"\n\nSilk sat up straight to peer over the driver's liveried shoulder. \"I do now. By Phaea's fair face, I hope he's not dead.\"\n\n\"Drunk more likely. Watch now, and we'll float right across him. You won't even feel him, Patera. Not no more than he'll feel you.\"\n\nSilk clenched his teeth, but as promised felt nothing. When the prostrate man was behind them, he said, \"I've seen floaters go over children like that. Children playing in the street. Once a child was hit in the forehead by the cowling, right in front of our palaestra.\"\n\n\"I'd never do that, Patera,\" the driver assured Silk virtuously. \"A child might hold up his arm and get it in the blowers.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk hardly heard him. He attempted to stand, bumped his head painfully against the floater's transparent canopy, and compromised on a crouch. \"Wait! Not so fast, please. Do you see that man with the two donkeys? Stop for a moment and let me out. I want a word with him.\"\n\n\"I'll just put down the canopy, Patera. That'll be a little safer.\"\n\nAuk glanced sourly at the floater when it settled onto the roadway beside him. His eyes widened when he saw Silk.\n\n\"May every god bless you tonight,\" Silk began. \"I want to remind you of what you promised in the tavern.\"\n\nAuk opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it.\n\n\"You gave me your word that you'd come to manteion next Scylsday, remember? I want to make certain you'll keep that promise, not only for your sake but for mine. I must talk to you again.\"\n\n\"Yeah. Sure.\" Auk nodded. \"Maybe tomorrow if I'm not too busy. Scylsday for sure. Did you...?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It went precisely as you had predicted,\" Silk told him." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage target: 'driver' must be used 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"However, our manteion's safe for the time being, I believe. Good night, and Phaea bless you. Knock at the manse if you don't find me in the manteion.\"\n\nAuk said something more; but the driver had overheard Silk's farewell, and the transparent dome of the canopy had risen between them; it latched, and Auk's voice was drowned by the roar of the blowers.\n\n\"You better watch your step, talking to characters like that, Patera,\" the driver remarked with a shake of his head. \"That sword's just for show, and there's a needler underneath that dirty tunic. Want to bet?\"\n\n\"You would win such a bet, I'm certain,\" Silk admitted, \"but no needler can turn a good man to evil. Not even devils can do that.\"\n\n\"That why you want to see Orchid's place, Patera? I kind of wondered.\"\n\n\"I'm afraid I don't understand you.\" Crane's mystery had just given Silk a particularly painful jab. He wiggled it into a new position as he spoke. Deciding that it would be harmless to reveal plans Blood knew of already, he added, \"I'm to meet your master there tomorrow afternoon, and I want to be certain I go to the correct house. That's the yellow house, isn't it? Orchid's? I believe he mentioned a woman named Orchid.\"\n\n\"That's right, Patera. She owns it. Only he owns it, really, or maybe he owns her. You know what I mean?\"\n\n\"I think so. Yes, of course.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk recalled that it was Musk, not Blood, whose name appeared on the deed to his manteion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Possibly Blood holds a mortgage upon this house, which is in arrears.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Clearly Blood would have to protect his interest in some fashion against the death of the owner of record." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I guess so, Patera. Anyhow, you talked about devils, so I thought maybe that was it.\"\n\nThe hair at the back of Silk's neck prickled. It was ridiculous (as if I were a dog, he said to himself later) but there it was; he tried to smooth it with one hand. \"It might be useful if you would tell me whatever you know about this business, my son—useful to your master, as well as to me.\" How sternly his instructors at the schola had enjoined him, and all the acolytes, never to laugh when someone mentioned ghosts (he had anticipated the usual wide-eyed accounts of phantom footsteps and shrouded figures after Blood's mention of exorcism) or devils. Perhaps it was only because he was so very tired, but he discovered that there was not the least danger of his laughing now.\n\n\"I never seen anything myself,\" the driver admitted. \"I hardly ever been inside. You hear this and that. Know what I mean, Patera?\"\n\n\"Of course.\"\n\n\"Things get messed up. Like, a girl will go to get her best dress, only the sleeves are torn off and it's all ripped down the front. Sometimes people just, like, go crazy. You know? Then it goes away.\"\n\n\"Intermittent possession,\" Silk said.\n\n\"I guess so, Patera. Anyhow, you'll get to see it in a minute. We're almost there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Fine. Thank you, my son.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk studied the back of the driver's head. Since the driver thought he had been a guest at Blood's, it would probably do no harm if he saw the object Crane had conveyed to him; but there was a chance, if only a slight one, that someone would question the driver when he returned to Blood's villa. Satisfied that he was too busy working the floater through the thickening stream of men and wagons to glance behind him, Silk took it out.\n\nAs he had suspected, it was an azoth. He whistled on a small footlight he had noticed earlier, holding the azoth low enough to keep the driver from seeing it, should he look over his shoulder.\n\nThe demon was an unfacetted red gem, so it was probably safe to assume it was the azoth he had taken from Hyacinth's drawer and she had snatched out of the coiled rope around his waist. It occurred to Silk as he examined the azoth that its demon should have been a blue gem, a hyacinth. Clearly the azoth had not been embellished in a style intended to flatter Hyacinth, as the needler in his pocket had been. It was even possible that it was not actually hers.\n\nRocking almost imperceptibly, the floater slowed, then settled onto the roadway. \"Here's Orchid's place, Patera.\"\n\n\"On the right there? Thank you, my son.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk slid the azoth into the top of the stocking on his good foot and pulled his trousers leg down over it; it was a considerable relief to be able to lean back comfortably." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Add this exact quote somewhere appropriate: \"they'll be getting set to turn in now. They'll sleep till noon, most likely.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Quite a place, they tell me, Patera. Like I said, I've only been inside a couple times.\"\n\nSilk murmured, \"I very much appreciate your going out of your way for me.\"\n\nOrchid's house seemed typical of the older, larger city houses, a hulking cube of shiprock with a painted façade, its canary arches and fluted pillars the phantasmagoria of some dead artist's brush. There would be a courtyard, very likely with a dry fishpond at its center, ringed by shady galleries.\n\n\"It's only one story in back, Patera. You can get in that way, too, off of Music Street. That might be closer for you.\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk said absently. It would not do to arrive at the rear entrance like a tradesman.\n\nHe was studying the house and the street, visualizing them as they would appear by day. That shop with the white shutters would be the pastry cook's, presumably. In an hour or two there would be chairs and tables for customers who wished to consume their purchases on the spot, the mingled smells of maté and strong coffee, and cakes and muffins in the windows. A shutter swung back as Silk watched.\n\n\"In there,\" the driver jerked his thumb at the yellow house, \"they'll be getting set to turn in now. They'll sleep till noon, most likely.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stretched, yawning. \"So will I, if I can.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded weary agreement. \"What is it they do in there?\"\n\n\"At Orchid's?\" The driver turned to look back at him. \"Everybody knows about Orchid's, Patera.\"\n\n\"I don't, my son. That was why I asked.\"\n\n\"It's a—you know, Patera. There's thirty girls, I guess, or about that. They put on shows, you know, and like that, and they have a lot of parties. Have them for other people, I mean. The people pay them to do it.\"\n\nSilk sighed. \"I suppose it's a pleasant life.\"\n\n\"It could be worse, Patera. Only—\"\n\nSomeone screamed inside the yellow house. The scream was followed at once by the crash of breaking glass.\n\nThe engine sprang to life, shaking the whole floater as a dog shakes a rat. Before Silk could protest, the floater shot into the air and sped up Lamp Street, scattering men and women on foot and grazing a donkey cart with a clang so loud that Silk thought for a moment it had been wrecked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wait!\" he called." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required text (preserve exact wording): \"That might be a—whatever the trouble is.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The floater turned almost upon its side as they rounded a corner, losing so much height that its cowling plowed the dust.\n\n\"That might be a—whatever the trouble is.\" Silk was holding on desperately with both hands, pain and the damage the white-headed one had done to his arm forgotten. \"Go back and let me out.\"\n\nWagons blocked the street. The floater slowed, then forced its way between the wall of a tailor shop and a pair of plunging horses.\n\n\"Patera, they can take care of it. It's happened there before, like I told you.\"\n\nSilk began, \"I'm supposed—\"\n\nThe driver cut him off. \"You got a real bad leg and a bad arm. Besides, what if somebody saw you going in there—a place like that—at night? Tomorrow afternoon will be bad enough.\"\n\nSilk released the leather-covered bar. \"Did you really float away so quickly out concern for my reputation? I find that difficult to believe.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not going to go back there, Patera,\" the driver said stubbornly, \"and I don't think you could walk back if you tried. Which way from here? To get to your manteion, I mean.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The floater slowed, hovered.\n\nThis was Sun Street; it could not have been half an hour since they had floated past the talus and out Blood's gate. Silk tried to fix the Guard post and soiled statue of Councillor Tarsier in his memory. \"Left,\" he said absently. And then, \"I should have Horn—he's quite artistic—and some of the older students paint the front of our manteion. No, the palaestra first, then the manteion.\"\n\n\"What's that, Patera?\"\n\n\"I'm afraid I was talking to myself, my son.\" They had almost certainly been painted originally; it might even be possible to find a record of the original designs among the clutter of papers in the attic of the manse. If money could be found for paint and brushes as well—\n\n\"Is it far, Patera?\"\n\n\"Another six blocks perhaps.\"\n\nHe would be getting out in a moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he had left Blood's reception hall, he had imagined that the night was already gray with the coming of shadeup." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Imagination was no longer required; the night was virtually over, and he had not been to bed. He would be getting out of the floater soon—perhaps he should have napped upon this soft seat after all, when he had the opportunity. Perhaps there was time for two or three hours sleep in the manse, though no more than two or three hours.\n\nA man hauling bricks in a handcart shouted something at them and fell to his knees, but whatever he had shouted could not be heard. It reminded Silk that he had promised to bless the driver when they parted. Should he leave this walking stick in the floater? It was Blood's stick, after all. Blood had intended for him to keep it, but did he want to keep anything that belonged to Blood? Yes, the manteion, but only because the manteion was really his, not Blood's, no matter what the law, or even the Chapter, might say. Patera Pike had owned the manteion, morally at least, and Patera Pike had left him in charge of it, had made him responsible for it until he, too, died.\n\nThe floater was slowing again as the driver studied the buildings they passed.\n\nSilk decided that he would keep the manteion and the stick, too—at least until he got the manteion back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Up there, driver, with the shingled roof. See it?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He gripped the stick and made sure its tip would not slide on the floor of the floater; it was almost time to go.\n\nThe floater hovered, \"Here, Patera?\"\n\n\"No. One, two, three doors farther.\"\n\n\"Are you the augur everybody's talking about, Patera? The one that got enlightened? That's what somebody told me back at the estate.\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"I suppose so, unless there were two of us.\"\n\n\"You're going to bring back the caldé—that's what they say. I didn't want to ask you about it, you know? I hoped it would sort of come up by itself. Are you?\"\n\n\"Am I going to restore the caldé? Is that what you're asking? No, that wasn't in my instructions at all.\"\n\n\"Instructions from a god.\" The floater settled to the roadway and its canopy parted and slid into its sides.\n\nSilk struggled to his feet. \"Yes.\"\n\nThe driver got out, to open the door for him. \"I never thought there were any gods, Patera. Not really.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They believe in you, however.\" Aided by the driver, Silk stepped painfully onto the first worn shiprock step in front of the street entrance to the manteion. He was home. \"You believe in devils, it seems, but you do not believe in the immortal gods. That's very foolish, my son. Indeed, it is the height of folly.\"\n\nSuddenly the driver was on his knees. Leaning on his stick, Silk pronounced the shortest blessing in common use and traced the sign of addition over the driver's head.\n\nThe driver rose. \"I could help you, Patera. You've got a—a house or something here, don't you? I could give you a hand that far.\"\n\n\"I'll be all right,\" Silk told him. \"You had better go back and get to bed.\"\n\nCourteously, the driver waited for Silk to leave before restarting his blowers. Silk found that his injured leg was stiff as he limped to the narrow garden gate and let himself in, locking the gate behind him. By the time he reached the arbor, he was wondering whether it had not been foolish to refuse the driver's offer of help. He wanted very badly to rest, to rest for only a minute or so, on one of the cozy benches beneath the vines, where he had sat almost every day to talk with Maytera Marble." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hunger urged him forward; food and sleep were so near. Blood, he thought, might have shown him better hospitality by giving him something to eat. A strong drink was not the best welcome to offer a man with an empty stomach.\n\nHis head pounded, and he told himself that a little food would make him feel better. Then he would go up to bed and sleep. Sleep until—why, until someone woke him. That was the truth: until someone woke him. There was no power but in truth.\n\nThe familiar, musty smell of the manse was like a kiss. He dropped into a chair, pulled the azoth from his stocking, and pressed it to his lips, then stared at it. He had seen it in her hand, and if the doctor was to be believed, it was her parting gift. How preposterous that he should have such a thing, so lovely, so precious, and so lethal!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "So charged with the forgotten knowledge of the earlier world." }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'would' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would have to be hidden, and hidden well, before he slept; he was by no means sure that he could climb the steep and crooked stair to the upper floor, less sure that he could descend it again to prepare food without falling, but utterly certain that he would not be able to sleep at all unless the azoth was at hand—unless he could assure himself, whenever he was assailed by doubts, that it had not been stolen.\n\nWith a grunt and a muttered prayer to Sphigx (it was certainly Sphigxday by now, Silk had decided, and Sphigx was the goddess of courage in the face of pain in any event), he made his way slowly up the stair, got the rusty and utterly barren cash box that was supposed to secure the manteion's surplus funds from beneath his bed, locked the azoth in it, and returned the key to its hiding place under the water jug on his nightstand.\n\nDescending proved rather easier than he had expected. By putting most of his weight on the stick and the railing, and advancing his sound foot one step at a time, he was able to progress quite well with a minimum of pain.\n\nGiddy with success he went into the kitchen, leaned the stick in a corner, and after a brief labor at the pump washed his hands. Shadeup was peeping in through every window, and although he always rose early it was an earlier and thus a fresher morning than he had seen in some time. He really was not, he discovered with delight, so very tired after all, or so very sleepy.\n\nAfter a second session with the pump, he splashed water over his face and hair and felt better still. He was tired, yes; and he was ravenously hungry. Still, he could face this new day. It might even be a mistake to go to bed after he had eaten.\n\nHis green tomatoes waited on the windowsill, but surely there had been four?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Perplexed, he searched his memory." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were only three there now. Might someone have entered the garden, intent upon the theft of a single unripe tomato? Maytera Marble cooked for the sibyls. Briefly Silk visualized her bent above a smoking pan, stirring his tomato into a fine hash of bacon and onions. His mouth watered, but nothing could possibly be less like Maytera Marble than any such borrowing.\n\nWincing with every step and amused by his own grimaces, he limped to the window and looked more closely. The remains of the fourth tomato were there, a dozen seeds and flecks of skin. Furthermore, a hole had been eaten—bored, almost—in the third.\n\nRats, of course, although this did not really look like the work of a rat. He pared away the damaged portion, sliced the remainder and the remaining pair, then belatedly realized that cooking would require a fire in the stove.\n\nThe ashes of the last were lifeless gray dust without a single gleam, as it seemed to Silk they always were. Others spoke of starting a new fire from the embers of the previous one; his own fires never seemed to leave those rumored, long-lived embers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He laid a few scraps of hoarded waste-paper on top of the cold ashes and added kindling from the box beside the stove." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Showers of white-hot sparks from the igniter soon produced a fine blaze." }, { "from": "system", "value": "CONSTRAINT: Include 'perhaps' 2 time(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he started out to the woodpile, he sensed a furtive movement, stopped, and turned as quickly as he could manage to look behind him. Something black had moved swiftly and furtively at the top of the larder. Too vividly he recalled the white-headed one, perched at the top of a chimney; but it was only a rat. There had been rats in the manse ever since he had come here from the schola, and no doubt since Patera Pike had left the schola.\n\nThe crackling tinder would not wait, rats or no rats. Silk chose a few likely-looking splits, carried them (once nearly falling) inside, and positioned them carefully. No doubt the rat was gone by now, but he fetched Blood's stick from its place in the corner anyway, pausing by the Silver Street window to study the indistinct, battered head at the end of the sharply angled handle. It seemed to be a dog's, or perhaps...\n\nHe rotated the stick, holding it higher to catch the grayish daylight.\n\nOr perhaps, just possibly, a lioness's. After a brief uncertainty, he decided to consider it the head of a lioness; lionesses symbolized Sphigx, this was her day, and the idea pleased him.\n\nLions were big cats, and big cats were needed for rats, vermin too large and strong themselves for cats of ordinary size to deal with." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without real hope of success, he rattled the stick along the top of the larder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a flutter, and a sound he did not at once identify as a squawk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Another rattle, and a single black feather floated down.\n\nIt occured to Silk then that a rat might have carried the dead bird there to eat. Possibly there was a rat hole in the wainscotting up there, but the bird had been too large to be dragged through it.\n\nHe paused, listening. The sound he had heard had not been made by a rat, surely. After a moment he looked in the waste bin; the bird was no longer there.\n\nIf his ankle had been well, he would have climbed up on the stool; as things (and he himself) stood, that was out of the question. \"Are you up there, bird?\" he called. \"Answer me!\"\n\nThere was no reply. Blindly, he rattled Blood's stick across the top of the high larder again; and this time there was a quite unmistakable squawk. \"Get down here,\" Silk said firmly.\n\nThe bird's hoarse voice replied, \"No, no!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I thought you were dead.\"\n\nSilence from the top of the larder.\n\n\"You stole my tomato, didn't you? And now you think I'll hurt you for that. I won't, I promise. I forgive you the theft.\" Silk tried to remember what night choughs were supposed to eat in the wild. Seeds? No, the bird had left the seeds. Carrion, no doubt.\n\n\"Cut me,\" the bird suggested throatily.\n\n\"Sacrifice you? I won't, I swear. The Writings warned me the sacrifice would be ineffectual, and I shouldn't have tried one after that. I've been punished very severely by one of your kind for it, believe me. I'm not such a fool as to try the same sacrifice again.\"\n\nSilk waited motionless, listening. After a second or two, he felt certain that he could hear the bird's stealthy movements above the crack of whips and rumble of cartwheels that drifted through the window from Silver Street.\n\n\"Come down,\" he repeated.\n\nThe bird did not answer, and Silk turned away. The fire in the stove was burning well now, yellow flame leaping from the cook hole." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He rescued his frying pan from the sink, wiped it out, poured the remaining oil into it—shaking the last lingering drop from the neck of the cruet—and put the pan on the stove." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His tomatoes would be greasy if he put them into the oil while it was still cold, unpleasantly flavored if he let the oil get too hot. Leaning Blood's stick against the door of the larder, he gathered up the stiff green slices, limped over to the stove with them, and distributed them with care over the surface of the pan, rewarded by a cloud of hissing, fragrant steam.\n\nThere was a soft cluck from the top of the larder.\n\n\"I can kill you whenever I want, just by banging around up there with my stick,\" Silk told the bird. \"Show yourself, or I'll do it.\"\n\nFor a moment a long crimson bill and one bright black eye were visible at the top of the larder. \"Me,\" the night chough said succinctly, and vanished at once.\n\n\"Good.\" The garden window was open already; Silk drew the heavy bolt of the Silver Street window and opened it as well. \"It's shadeup now, and it will be much brighter soon. Your kind prefers the dark, I believe. You'd better leave at once.\"\n\n\"No fly.\"\n\n\"Yes, fly. I won't try to hurt you. You're free to go.\"\n\nSilk watched for a moment, then decided that the bird was probably hoping that he would lay aside Blood's stick." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tossed it into a corner, got out a fork, and began turning the tomato slices; they sputtered and smoked, and he added a pinch of salt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a knock at the garden door. Hurriedly, he snatched the pan from the fire. \"Half a minute.\" Someone was dying, surely, and before death came desired to receive the Pardon of Pas.\n\nThe door opened before he could hobble over to it, and Maytera Rose looked in. \"You're up very early, Patera. Is anything wrong?\" Her gaze darted about the kitchen, her eyes not quite tracking. One was pupilless, and as far as Silk knew, blind; the other a prosthetic creation of crystal and fire.\n\n\"Good morning Maytera.\" Awkwardly, the fork and the smoking pan remained in Silk's hands; there was no place to put them down. \"I suffered a little mishap last night, I'm afraid. I fell. It's still somewhat painful, and I haven't been able to sleep.\" He congratulated himself—it was all perfectly true.\n\n\"So you're making breakfast already. We haven't eaten yet, over in the cenoby.\" Maytera Rose sniffed hungrily, a dry, mechanical inhalation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Marble's still fooling around in the kitchen. The littlest thing takes that girl forever.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm quite certain Maytera Marble does the best she can,\" Silk said stiffly.\n\nMaytera Rose ignored it. \"If you want to give me that, I'll take it over to her. She can see to it for you till you come back.\"\n\n\"I'm sure that's not necessary.\" Sensing that he must eat his tomatoes now if he was to eat them at all, Silk cut the thinnest slice in two with his fork. \"Must I leave this instant, Maytera? I can hardly walk.\"\n\n\"Her name's Teasel, and she's one of Marble's bunch.\" Maytera Rose sniffed again. \"That's what her father says. I don't know her.\"\n\nSilk (who did) froze, the half slice of tomato halfway to his mouth. \"Teasel?\"\n\n\"Her father came pounding on the door before we got up. The mother's sitting with her, he said. He knocked over here first, but you didn't answer.\"\n\n\"You should have come at once, Maytera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What would have been the use when he couldn't wake you up? I waited till I could see you were out of bed.\" Maytera Rose's good eye was upon the half slice. She licked her lips and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. \"Know where she lives?\"\n\nSilk nodded miserably, and then with a sudden surge of wholly deplorable greed thrust the hot half slice into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. He had never tasted anything quite so good. \"It's not far. I suppose I can walk it if I must.\"\n\n\"I could send Marble after Patera Pard when she's done cooking. She could show him where to go.\"\n\nSilk shook his head.\n\n\"You're going to go after all, are you?\" A moment too late, Maytera Rose added, \"Patera.\"\n\nSilk nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Want me to take those?\"\n\n\"No, thank you,\" Silk said, miserably aware that he was being selfish. \"I'll have to get on a robe, a collar and so forth. You'd better get back to the cenoby, Maytera, before you miss breakfast.\" He scooped up one of the smaller slices with his fork.\n\n\"What happened to your tunic?\"\n\n\"And a clean tunic. Thank you. You're right, Maytera. You're quite right.\" Silk closed the door, virtually in her face, shot the bolt, and popped the whole sizzling slice into his mouth. Maytera Rose would never forgive him for what he had just done, but he had previously done at least a hundred other things for which Maytera Rose would never forgive him either. The stain of evil might soil his spirit throughout all eternity, for which he was deeply and sincerely sorry; but as a practical matter it would make little difference.\n\nHe swallowed a good deal of the slice and chewed the rest energetically.\n\n\"Witch,\" croaked a muffled voice.\n\n\"Go,\" Silk mumbled. He swallowed again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Fly home to the mountains. You're free.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned the rest of the slices, cooked them half a minute more, and ate them quickly (relishing their somewhat oily flavor almost as much as he had hoped), scraped the mold from the remaining bread and fried the bread in the leftover liquid, and ate that as he once more climbed the stair to his bedroom.\n\nBehind and below him, the bird called, \"Good-bye!\" And then, \"Bye! Bye!\" from the top of the larder." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "lets continue this story bit. one sentence more like Gene Wolfe would. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. characters might be established already" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teasel lay upon her back, with her mouth open and her eyes closed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her black hair, spread over the pillow, accentuated the pallor of her face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bent above her as he prayed, Silk was acutely conscious of the bones underlying her face, of her protruding cheekbones, her eye sockets, and her high and oddly square frontal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Despite the mounting heat of the day, her mother had covered her to the chin with a thick red wool blanket that glowed like a stove in the sun-bright room; her forehead was beaded with sweat, and it was only that sweat, which soon reappeared each time her mother sponged it away, that convinced him that Teasel was still alive." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he had swung his beads and chanted the last of the prescribed prayers, her mother said, \"I heard her cry out, Patera, as if she'd pricked her finger. It was the middle of the night, so I thought she was having a nightmare. I got out of bed and went in to see about her. The other children were all asleep, and she was still sleeping, too. I shook her shoulder, and she woke up a little bit and said she was thirsty. I ought to've told her to go get a drink herself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said, \"No.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Only I didn't, Patera. I went to the crock and got a cup of water, and she drank it and closed her eyes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "After a moment Teasel's mother added, \"The doctor won't come. Marten tried to get him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I'll do what I can.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you'd talk to him again, Patera...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He wouldn't let me in last time, but I'll try.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teasel's mother sighed as she looked at her daughter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There was blood on her pillow, Patera. Not much. I didn't see it till shadeup. I thought it might have come out of her ear, but it didn't. She felt so cold.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teasel's eyes opened, surprising them both." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Weakly, she said, \"The terrible old man.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her mother leaned forward. \"What's that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thirsty.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Get her more water,\" Silk said, and Teasel's mother bustled out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The old man hurt you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wings.\" Teasel's eyes rolled toward the window before closing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were four flights up, as Silk, who had climbed all four despite his painful right ankle, was very much aware." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rose, hobbled to the window, and looked out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a dirty little courtyard far below, a garret floor above them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The tapering walls were of unadorned, yellowish, sunbaked brick." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Legend had it that it was unlucky to converse with devils; Silk asked, \"Did he speak to you, Teasel? Or you to him?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She did not reply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her mother returned with the water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk helped her to raise Teasel to a half-sitting position; he had expected some difficulty in getting her to drink, but she drank thirstily, draining the clay cup as soon as it was put to her lips." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Bring her more,\" he said, and as soon as Teasel's mother had gone, he rolled the unresisting girl onto her side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Teasel had drunk again, her mother asked, \"Was it a devil, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk settled himself once more on the stool she had provided for him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think so.\" He shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We have too much real disease already. It seems terrible...\" He left the thought incomplete." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What can we do?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nurse her and feed her. See she gets as much water as she'll drink. She's lost blood, I believe.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk took the voided cross from the chain around his neck and fingered its sharp steel edges." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Patera Pike told me about this sort of devil. That was—\" Silk shut his eyes, reckoning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"About a month before he died. I didn't believe him, but I listened anyway, out of politeness. I'm glad, now, that I did.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teasel's mother nodded eagerly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did he tell you how to drive it away?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's away now,\" Silk told her absently." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The problem is to prevent it from returning. I can do what Patera Pike did. I don't know how he learned it, or whether it had any real efficacy; but he said that the child wasn't troubled a second time.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Assisted by Blood's stick, Silk limped to the window, seated himself on the sill, and leaned out, holding the side of the weathered old window frame with his free hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The window was small, and he found he could reach the crumbling bricks above it easily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With the pointed corner of the one of the four gammadions that made up the cross, he scratched the sign of addition on the bricks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll hold you, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Teasel's father was gripping his legs above the knees." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk said, \"Thank you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He scratched Patera Pike's name to the left of the tilted X. Patera Pike had signed his work; so he had said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I brought the cart for you, Patera. I told my jefe about you, and he said it would be all right.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After a moment's indecision, Silk added his own name on the other side of the X." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you again.\" He ducked back into the room." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'happened' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I want you both to pray to Phaea. Healing is hers, and it would appear that whatever happened to your daughter happened at the end of her day.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teasel's parents nodded together." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Also to Sphigx, because today's hers, and to Surging Scylla, not only because our city is hers, but because your daughter called for water. Lastly, I want you to pray with great devotion to the Outsider.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Teasel's mother asked, \"Why, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Because I told you to,\" Silk replied testily." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't suppose you'll know any of the prescribed prayers to him, and there really aren't that many anyway. But make up your own. They'll be acceptable to him as long as they're sincere.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he descended the stairs to the street, one steep and painful step at a time, Mucor spoke behind him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That was interesting. What are you going to do next?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned as quickly as he could." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As if in a dream, he glimpsed the mad girl's death's-head grin, and eyes that had never belonged to Teasel's stooped, hard-handed father." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She vanished as he looked, and the man who had been following him down the stairs shook himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you well, Marten?\" Silk asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I went all queer there, Patera. Don't know what come over me.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded, traced the sign of addition, and murmured a blessing.\n\n\"I'm good enough now, or think I am. Worryin' too much about Sel, maybe. Rabbit shit on my grave.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I've got writer's block. I'll send something, then continue 10 sentences at a time, matching character context, in Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His donkey was lost in the yellow house. Shards of the tumbler Blood broke with Hyacinth's golden needler cracked under the donkey's hooves, and a horned owl as big as a Flier circled overhead awaiting the moment to pounce. Seeing the double punctures the owl had left half concealed in the hair at the back of Teasel's neck, he shuddered.\n\nThe donkey fastened its teeth in his ankle like a dog. Though he flailed at it with Sphigx's walking stick, it would not let go.\n\nMother was riding Auk's big gray donkey sidesaddle—he saw her across the skylit rooftops, but he could not cry out. When he reached the place, her old wooden bust of the caldé lay among the fallen leaves; he picked it up, and it became the ball. He thrust it into his pocket and woke." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nContext: Match existing character backgrounds if present\nMy role: Provide opening\nYour role: 11 sentences in the Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His bedroom was hot and filled with sunlight, his naked body drenched with sweat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sitting up, he drank deeply from the tepid water jug." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rusty cash-box key was still in its place and was of great importance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he lay down again, he remembered that it was Hyacinth whom he had locked away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A black-clad imp with a blood-red sword stood upon his chest to study him, its head cocked to one side. He stirred and it fled, fluttering like a little flag.\n\nHard dry rain blew through the window and rolled across the floor, bringing with it neither wind nor respite from the heat. Silk groaned and buried his perspiring face in the pillow.\n\nIt was Maytera Marble who woke him at last, calling his name through the open window. His mind still sluggish with sleep, he tried to guess how long he had slept, concluding only that it had not been long enough.\n\nHe staggered to his feet. The busy little clock beside his triptych declared that it was after eleven, nearly noon. He struggled to recall the positions of its hands when he had permitted himself to fall into bed. Eight, or after eight, or possibly eight-thirty. Teasel, poor little Teasel, had been bitten by an owl—or by a devil." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include \"Patera? Are you up there?\" somewhere in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A devil with wings, if it had come in through her window, and thus a devil twice impossible. Silk blinked and yawned and rubbed his eyes.\n\n\"Patera? Are you up there?\"\n\nShe might see him if he went near the window. Fumbling in a drawer for clean underclothes, he called, \"What is it, Maytera?\"\n\n\"A doctor! He says he's come to treat you! Are you hurt, Patera?\"\n\n\"Wait a moment.\" Silk pulled on his best trousers, the only pair that remained, and crossed the room to the window, twice stepping painfully on pebbles.\n\nMaytera Marble waited in the little path, her upturned face flashing in the hot sunshine. Doctor Crane stood beside her, a shabby brown medical bag in one hand.\n\n\"May every god favor you both this morning,\" Silk called down politely.\n\nCrane waved his free hand in response." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sphigxday and Hieraxday, remember? That's when I'm in this part of town! Today's Sphigxday. Let me in!\"\n\n\"As soon as I get dressed,\" Silk promised.\n\nWith the help of Blood's lioness-headed walking stick, he hobbled downstairs. His arm and ankle seemed more painful than ever; he told himself firmly that it was only because the palliating effects of the drug Crane had given him the night before—and of the potent drinks he had imprudently sampled—had worn off.\n\nLimping and wincing, he hurried into the kitchen. The heterogeneous collection of items he had left on the table there was rapidly transferred to his clean trousers, with only momentary hesitation over Hyacinth's gleaming needler.\n\n\"Patera?\"\n\nHis blanket still covered the garden window; resisting the temptation to pull it down, he lurched painfully into the sellaria, flung open the door, and began introductions. \"Maytera, this is Doctor Crane—\"\n\nMaytera Marble nodded demurely, and the physician said, \"We've already met. I was tossing gravel through your window—I was pretty sure it was yours, since I could hear you snoring up there—when Marble discovered me and introduced herself.\"\n\nMaytera Marble asked, \"Did you send for him, Patera? He must be new to our quarter.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't live here,\" Crane explained. \"I only make a few calls here, two days a week. My other patients are all late sleepers,\" he winked at Silk, \"but I hoped that Silk would be up.\"\n\nSilk looked rueful. \"I was a late sleeper myself, I'm afraid, today at least.\"\n\n\"Sorry I had to wake you, but I thought I might give you a ride when we're through—it's not good for you to walk too much on that ankle.\" By a gesture Crane indicated the sellaria. \"I'd like to have you sitting down. Can we go inside?\"\n\nMaytera Marble ventured, \"If I might watch you, Patera? Through the doorway...?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Silk said. There should be ample opportunity to speak with Crane in private on the way to the yellow house. \"Certainly, Maytera, if you wish.\"\n\n\"I hadn't known. Maytera Rose told Maytera Mint and me at breakfast, though she didn't seem to know a lot about it. You—you were testy with her, I think.\"\n\n\"Yes, very much so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded sadly as he retreated into the sellaria, guilt overlaying the pain from his ankle. Maytera Rose had been hungry, beyond question, and he had turned her away. She had been inquisitive too, of course; but she could not help that. No doubt her intentions had been good—or at least no doubt she had told herself they were, and had believed it. How selflessly she had served the manteion for sixty years! Yet only this morning he had refused her.\n\nHe dropped into the nearest of the stiff old chairs, then stood again and shifted it two cubits so that Maytera Marble could watch from the doorway.\n\n\"All right if I put my bag on this little table here?\" Crane stepped to his left, away from the doorway. There was no table there, but he opened his bag, held up a shapeless dark bundle so that Silk could see it (though Maytera Marble could not), dropped it on the floor, and set his bag beside it. \"Now then, Silk. The arm first, I think.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk pushed up his sleeve and held out his injured arm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bright scissors Silk recalled from the previous night snipped away the bandages. \"You probably think your ankle's worse, and in a way it is. But there's an excellent chance of blood-poisoning here, and that's no joke. Your ankle's not going to kill you—not unless we're playing in the worst sort of luck, anyway.\" Crane scrutinized the wounds under a tiny, brilliant light, muttered to himself, and bent to sniff them. \"All right so far, but I'm going to give you a booster.\"\n\nTo keep his mind from the ampule, Silk said, \"I'm very sorry I missed our prayers this morning. What time is it, Maytera?\"\n\n\"Nearly noon. Maytera Rose said you had to—is that a bird, Patera?\"\n\nCrane snapped, \"Don't jerk like that!\"\n\n\"I was thinking of—of the bird that did this,\" Silk finished weakly.\n\n\"You could have broken off the needle. How'd you like me fishing around in your arm for that?\"\n\n\"It is a bird!\" Maytera Marble pointed. \"It hopped back that way. Into your kitchen, I suppose, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's the stairwell, actually,\" Silk told her. \"I'm surprised it's still here.\"\n\n\"It was a big black bird, and I think one of its wings must be broken. It wasn't exactly dragging it but it wasn't holding it right either, if you know what I mean. Is that the bird—? The one that—?\"\n\n\"Just sit quietly,\" Crane said. He was putting a fresh bandage on Silk's arm.\n\nSilk said, \"No wonder it didn't fly,\" and Maytera Marble looked at him inquiringly.\n\n\"It's the one that I'd intended to sacrifice, Maytera. It had only fainted or something—had a fit, or whatever birds do. I opened the kitchen window for it this morning so it could fly away, but I suppose I must have broken its wing when I was poking around on top of the larder with my walking stick.\"\n\nHe held it up to show her. It reminded him of Blood, and Blood reminded him that he was going to have to explain to Maytera Marble—and if he was not extremely lucky, to Maytera Rose and Maytera Mint as well—exactly how he had received his injuries.\n\n\"On top of the larder, Patera?\"\n\n\"Yes. The bird was up there then.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still thinking of the explanation the sibyls would expect, he added, \"It had flown up there, I suppose.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Crane pulled a footstool into place and sat on it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Up with your tunic now. Good. Shove your waistband down just a bit.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory: Your text must contain 'patera' 2 times exactly" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Marble turned her head delicately away.\n\nSilk asked, \"If I'm able to catch that bird, will you set its wing for me?\"\n\n\"I don't know much horse-physic, but I can try. I've seen to Musk's hawks once or twice.\"\n\nSilk cleared his throat, resolved to deceive Maytera Marble as little as possible without revealing the nature of his visit to the villa. \"You see, Maytera, after I saw—saw Maytera Mint's friend, you know who I mean, I thought it might be wise to call on Blood. Do you remember Blood? You showed him around yesterday afternoon.\"\n\nMaytera Marble nodded. \"Of course, Patera. How could I forget?\"\n\n\"And you had spoken afterward, when we talked under the arbor, about our buildings being torn down—or perhaps not torn down, but our having to leave. So I thought it might be wise for me to have a heart-to-heart talk with the new owner. He lives in the country, so it took me a good deal longer than I had anticipated, I'm afraid.\"\n\nCrane said, \"Lean back a little more.\" He was swabbing Silk's chest and abdomen with a blue solution.\n\nMaytera Marble nodded dubiously. \"That was very good of you, Patera. Wonderful, really, though I didn't get the impression that he—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk leaned back as much as he could, pushing his hips forward." }, { "from": "system", "value": "[System: Include the following text] → \"But what I wanted to explain is that a man who works for Blood keeps several large birds as pets. I suppose there are several, at least, from the way that he and Blood talked about them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But he did, Maytera. He's going to give me—to give us, I ought to say—another month here at least. And it's possible that we may never have to go.\"\n\n\"Oh, Patera!\" Maytera Marble forgot herself so far as to look at him.\n\nSilk hurried on. \"But what I wanted to explain is that a man who works for Blood keeps several large birds as pets. I suppose there are several, at least, from the way that he and Blood talked about them.\"\n\nCrane nodded absently.\n\n\"And he'd given this one to Blood,\" Silk continued. \"It was dark, of course, and I'm afraid I got too close. Blood very graciously suggested that Doctor Crane come by today to see to my injuries.\"\n\n\"Why, Patera, how wonderful of him!\" Maytera Marble's eyes positively shone with admiration for Silk's diplomatic skills, and he felt himself blush.\n\n\"All part of my job,\" Crane said modestly, replacing the stopper in the blue bottle.\n\nSilk swallowed and took a deep breath, hoping that this was the proper moment. \"Before we leave, Doctor, there's something I must bring up. A moment ago you said you would treat that injured bird if I was able to catch it. You were gracious about it, in fact.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Crane nodded warily as he rose. \"Excuse me. Have to get my cutter.\"\n\n\"This morning,\" Silk continued, \"I was called to bring the forgiveness of the gods to a little girl named Teasel.\"\n\nMaytera Marble stiffened.\n\n\"She's close to death, but I believe—I dare to hope that she may recover, provided she receives the most basic medical attention. Her parents are poor and have many other children.\"\n\n\"Hold your leg out.\" Crane sat down on the footstool again and took Silk's foot in his lap. The cutter buzzed.\n\n\"They can't possibly pay you,\" Silk continued doggedly. \"Neither can I, except with prayers. But without your help, Teasel may die. Her parents actually expect her to die—otherwise her father wouldn't have come here before shadeup looking for me. There are only two doctors in this quarter, and neither will treat anyone unless he's paid in advance. I promised Teasel's mother I'd do what I could to get her a doctor, and you're the only real hope I have.\"\n\nCrane looked up. There was something in his eyes, a gleam of calculation and distant speculation, that Silk did not understand. \"You were there this morning?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded. \"That was why I got to bed so late. Her father had come to the cenoby before I returned from my talk with Blood, and when Maytera Rose saw that I had come home, she came and told me. I went at once.\" The memory of green tomatoes stung like a hornet. \"Or almost at once,\" he added weakly.\n\nMaytera Marble said, \"You must see her, Doctor. Really you must.\"\n\nCrane ignored her, fingering his beard. \"And you told them you'd try to get a doctor for whatshername?\"\n\nHope blossomed in Silk. \"Yes, I did. I'd be in your debt till Pas ends the whorl, and I'd be delighted to show you where she lives. We could stop there on the way.\"\n\nMaytera Marble gasped. \"Patera! All those steps!\"\n\nCrane bent over the cast again; his cutter whined and half of it fell away. \"You're not going to climb a lot of stairs if I have anything to say about it. Not with this ankle. Marble here can show me—\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'taken' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, yes!\" Maytera Marble was dancing with impatience. \"I've got to see her. She's one of mine.\"\n\n\"Or you can just give me the address,\" Crane finished. \"My bearers will know where it is. I'll see to her and come back here for you.\" He removed the rest of the cast. \"This hurt you much?\"\n\n\"Not nearly as much as worrying about Teasel did,\" Silk told him. \"But you've taken care of that, or at least taken care of the worst aspect of it. I'll never be able to thank you enough.\"\n\n\"I don't want your thanks,\" Crane said. He rose again, dusting particles of the cast from his trousers legs. \"What I want is for you to follow my instructions. I'm going to give you a remedial wrapping. It's valuable and reusable, so I want it back when your ankle's healed. And I want you to use it exactly as I tell you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I will, I promise.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As for you, Marble,\" Crane turned to look at her, \"you might as well ride along with me. It'll save you the walk. I want you to tell this girl's parents that I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart, because I don't want to be pestered night and day by beggars. It's a favor to Silk—Patera Silk, is that what you call him? And it's a one-time thing.\"\n\nMaytera Marble nodded humbly.\n\nThe little physician went to his bag again and produced what looked like a wide strip of thin yellow chamois. \"Ever see one of these?\"\n\nSilk shook his head.\n\n\"You kick them.\" Crane punted the wrapping, which flew against the wall on the other side of the room. \"Or you can just throw it a couple of times, or beat something smooth, like that footstool.\" He retrieved the wrapping, juggling it. \"When you do, they get hot. You woke it up by banging it around. You follow me? Here, feel.\"\n\nSilk did. The wrapping was almost too hot to touch, and seemed to tingle.\n\n\"The heat'll make your ankle feel better, and the sonic—you can't hear it, but it's there—will get the healing process going. What's more, it'll sense the break in your medial malleolus and tighten itself enough to keep it from shifting.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Crane hesitated. \"You can't get them any more, but I've got this one. Usually I don't tell people about it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll take good care of it,\" Silk promised, \"and return it whenever you ask.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Remember to mention: \"Marvelous! I'm tempted to say as though my ankle had never been injured, but it's actually better than that. As if I'd been given a new ankle, a lot better than the one I broke.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Marble ventured, \"Shouldn't we be going?\"\n\n\"In a minute. Wrap it around your ankle Patera. Get it fairly tight. You don't have to tie it or anything—it'll hold on as long as it senses the broken bone.\"\n\nThe wrapping seemed almost to coil itself about Silk's leg, its heat intense but pleasant. The pain in his ankle faded.\n\n\"You'll know when it's stopped working. As soon as it does, I want you to take it off and throw it against the wall like I showed you, or beat a carpet with it.\" The physician tugged at his beard. \"Let's see. Today's Sphigxday. I'll come back on Hieraxday, and we'll see. Regardless, you ought to be walking almost normally a week from now. If I don't take it Hieraxday, I'll pick it up then. But until I do, I want you to stay off that ankle as much as you can. Get a crutch if you need one. And absolutely no running and no jumping. You hear me?\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"Yes, of course. But you told Blood it would be five—\"\n\n\"It's not as bad as I figured, that's all. A simple misdiagnosis. Your head augur... What do they call him, the Prolocutor? Haven't you noticed that when he gets sick I'm not the one he sends for? Well, that's why. Now and then I make a mistake. The sort of doctors he has in never do. Just ask them.\"\n\nMaytera Marble inquired, \"How does it feel, Patera?\"\n\n\"Marvelous! I'm tempted to say as though my ankle had never been injured, but it's actually better than that. As if I'd been given a new ankle, a lot better than the one I broke.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I could give you dozens of things that would make you feel better,\" Crane told him, \"starting with a shot of pure and a sniff of rust. This will really make you better, and that's a lot harder. Now, what about this bird of yours? If I'm going to have to doctor it, I'd like to do it before we go. What kind of bird is it?\"\n\n\"A night chough,\" Silk told him.\n\n\"Can it talk?\"\n\nSilk nodded.\n\n\"Then maybe I can catch it myself. Maytera, would you tell my bearers to come around to Sun Street? They're on Silver. Tell them you'll be coming with me, and we'll leave in a minute or two.\"\n\nMaytera Marble trotted away.\n\nThe physician shook his finger at Silk. \"You sit easy, young man. I'll find him.\"\n\nHe vanished into the stairwell. Soon, Silk heard his voice from the kitchen, though he could not make out what was being said. Silk called, \"You told Blood that it would take so long to heal so that I'd get more time, didn't you? Thank you, Doctor.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no response. The wrapping was still hot, and oddly comforting. Under his breath Silk began the afternoon prayer to Sphigx the Brave. A fat, blue-backed fly sizzled through the open doorway, looked around for food, and bumped the glass of the nearer Sun Street window.\n\nCrane called from the kitchen, \"You want to come here a minute, Silk?\"\n\n\"All right.\" Silk stood and walked almost normally to the kitchen door, his right foot bare and the wrapping heavy about his ankle.\n\n\"He's hiding up there.\" Crane pointed to the top of the larder. \"I got him to talk a little, but he won't come down and let me see his wing unless you promise he won't be hurt again.\"\n\n\"Really?\" Silk asked.\n\nThe night chough croaked from the top of the larder, and Crane nodded and winked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then I promise. May Great Pas judge me if I harm him or permit others to do so.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No cut?\" croaked the bird. \"No stick?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Correct,\" Silk declared. \"I will not sacrifice you, or hurt you in any other fashion whatsoever.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Pet bird?\"\n\n\"Until your wing is well enough for you to fly. Then you may go free.\"\n\n\"No cage?\"\n\nCrane nudged Silk's arm to get his attention, and shook his head.\n\n\"Correct. No cage.\" Silk took the cage from the table and raised it over his head, high enough for the bird to see it. \"Now watch this.\" With both hands, he dashed it to the floor, and slender twigs snapped like squibs. He stepped on it with his good foot, then picked up the ruined remnant and tossed it into the kindling box.\n\nCrane shook his head. \"You're going to regret that, I imagine. It's bound to be inconvenient at times.\"\n\nWith its sound wing flapping furiously, the black bird fluttered from the top of the larder to the table.\n\n\"Good bird!\" Crane told it." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Make sure to use 'kitchen' 2 time(s) throughout your message" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sat down on the kitchen stool. \"I'm going to pick you up, and I want you to hold still for a minute. I'm not going to hurt you any more than I have to.\"\n\n\"I was a prisoner myself for a while last night,\" Silk remarked, more than half to himself. \"Even though there was no actual cage, I didn't like it.\"\n\nCrane caught the unresisting bird expertly, his hands gentle yet firm. \"Get my bag for me, will you?\"\n\nSilk nodded and returned to the sellaria. He closed the garden door, then picked up the dark bundle that Crane had displayed to him. As he had guessed, it was his second-best robe, with his old pen case still in its pocket; it had been wrapped around his missing shoe. Although he had no stocking for his right foot, he put on both, shut the brown medical bag, and carried it into the kitchen.\n\nThe bird squawked and fluttered as Crane stretched out its injured wing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dislocated,\" he said. \"Exactly like a dislocated elbow on you. I've pushed it back into place, but I want to splint it so he won't pop it out again before it heals. Meanwhile he'd better stay inside, or a cat will get him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then he must stay in on his own,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Stay in,\" the bird repeated.\n\n\"Your cage is broken,\" Silk continued severely, \"and I certainly don't intend to bake in here with all the windows shut, merely to keep you from getting out.\"\n\n\"No out,\" the bird assured him. Crane was rummaging in his bag.\n\n\"I hope not.\" Silk pulled the blanket from the garden window, threw it open, and refolded the blanket.\n\n\"What time are you supposed to meet Blood at the yellow house?\"\n\n\"One o'clock, sharp.\" Silk carried the blanket into the sellaria; when he returned, he added, \"I'm going to be late, I imagine; I doubt that he'll do anything worse than complain about it.\"\n\n\"That's the spirit. He'll be late himself, if I know him. He likes to have everybody on hand when he shows up. I doubt if that'll be before two.\"\n\nStepping across to the Silver Street window, Silk took down the dishrag and the dish towel and opened it as well. It was barred against thieves, and it occurred to him that he was caged in literal fact, here in this old, four-room manse he had taught himself to call home. He pushed away the thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If Crane's litter had been on Silver Street, it was gone now; no doubt Maytera Marble had performed her errand and it was waiting on Sun Street." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This should do it.\" Crane was fiddling with a small slip of some stiff blue synthetic. \"You'll be ready to go when I get back?\"\n\nSilk nodded, then felt his jaw. \"I'll have to shave. I'll be ready then.\"\n\n\"Good. I'll be running late, and the girls get cranky if they can't go out and shop.\" Crane applied a final strip of almost invisible tape to keep the little splint in place. \"This will fall right off after a few days. When it does, let him fly if he wants to. If he's like the hawks, you'll find that he's a pretty good judge of what he can and can't do.\"\n\n\"No fly,\" the bird announced.\n\n\"Not now, that's for sure. If I were you, I wouldn't even move that wing any more today.\"\n\nSilk's mind was elsewhere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's diabolic possession, isn't it? At the yellow house?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Precise word count needed: 'might' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Crane turned to face him. \"I don't know. Whatever it is, I hope you have better luck with it than I've had.\"\n\n\"What's been happening there? My driver and I heard a scream last night, but we didn't go inside.\"\n\nThe little physician laid a finger to his nose. \"There are a thousand reasons why a girl might scream, especially one of those girls. Might have been a stain on her favorite gown, a bad dream, or a spider.\"\n\nA tiny needle of pain penetrated the protection of the wrapping; Silk opened the cabinet that closed the kitchen's pointed north corner and got out the stool Patera Pike had used at meals. \"I doubt that Blood wants me to exorcise his women's dreams.\"\n\nCrane snapped his medical bag shut. \"No one except the woman herself is really occupying the consciousness of what people like you choose to call a 'possessed' woman, Silk. Consciousness itself is a mere abstraction—a convenient fiction, actually. When I say that a man's unconscious, I mean no more than that certain mental processes have been suspended. When I say that he's regained consciousness, I mean that they've resumed. You can't occupy an abstraction as if it were a conquered city.\"\n\n\"A moment ago you said the woman herself occupied it,\" Silk pointed out.\n\nWith a last look at the injured bird, Crane rose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So they really do teach you people something besides all that garbage.\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"It's called logic.\"\n\n\"So it is.\" Crane smiled, and Silk discovered to his own surprise that he liked him. \"Well, if I'm going to look in on this sick girl of yours, I'd better scoot. What's the matter with her? Fever?\"\n\n\"Her skin felt cold to me, but you're a better judge of diseases than I.\"\n\n\"I should hope so.\" Crane picked up his bag. \"Let's see—through the front room there for Sun Street, isn't it? Maybe we can talk a little more on our way to Orchid's place.\"\n\n\"Look at the back of her neck,\" Silk said.\n\nCrane paused in the doorway, shot him a questioning glance, then hurried out.\n\nMurmuring a prayer for Teasel under his breath, Silk went into the sellaria and shut and bolted the Sun Street door, which Crane had left standing open." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he passed a window, he caught sight of Crane's litter. Maytera Marble reclined beside the bearded physician, her intent metal face straining ahead as though she alone were urging the litter forward by sheer force of thought. While Silk watched, its bearers broke into a trot and it vanished behind the window frame.\n\nHe tried to recall whether there was a rule prohibiting a sibyl from riding in a man's litter; it seemed likely that there was, but he could not bring a particular stricture to mind; as a practical matter, he could see little reason to object as long as the curtains were up.\n\nThe lioness-headed walking stick lay beside the chair in which he had sat for Crane's examination. Absently, he picked it up and flourished it. For as long as the wrapping functioned he would not need it, or at least would need it very little. He decided that he would keep it near at hand anyway; it might be useful, particularly when the wrapping required restoration. He leaned it against the Sun Street door, so that he could not forget it when he and Crane left for the yellow house.\n\nA few experimental steps demonstrated once again that with Crane's wrapping in place he could walk almost as well as ever. There seemed to be no good reason for him not to carry a basin of warm water upstairs and shave as he usually did." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He re-entered the kitchen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still on the table, the night chough cocked its head at him inquiringly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Pet hungry,\" it said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So am I,\" he told it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But I won't eat again until after midday.\"\n\n\"Noon now.\"\n\n\"I suppose it is.\" Silk lifted a stove lid and peered into the firebox; for once a few embers still glowed there. He breathed upon them gently and added a handful of broken twigs from the ruined cage, reflecting that the night chough was clearly more intelligent than he had imagined.\n\n\"Bird hungry.\"\n\nFlames were flickering above the twigs. He debated the need for real firewood and decided against it. \"Do you like cheese?\"\n\n\"Like cheese.\"\n\nSilk found his washbasin and put it under the nozzle of the pump." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's hard, I warn you. If you're expecting nice, soft cheese, you're going to be disappointed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Like cheese!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"All right, you can have it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A great many vigorous strokes of the pump handle were required before the first trickle of water appeared; but Silk half filled his basin and set it on the stove, and as an afterthought replenished the night chough's cup.\n\n\"Cheese now?\" the night chough inquired. \"Fish heads?\"\n\n\"No fish heads—I haven't got any.\" He got out the cheese, which was mostly rind, and set it next to the cup. \"You'd better watch out for rats while I'm away. They like cheese too.\"\n\n\"Like rats.\" The night chough clacked its crimson beak and pecked experimentally at the cheese.\n\n\"Then you won't be lonely.\" The water on the stove was scarcely warm, the twigs beneath it nearly out. Silk picked up the basin and started for the stair.\n\n\"Where rats?\"\n\nHe paused and turned to look back at the night chough." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do you mean you like them to eat?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, yes!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see. I suppose you might kill a rat at that, if it wasn't too big. What's your name?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No name.\" The night chough returned its attention to the cheese." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That was supposed to be my lunch, you know. Now I'll have to find lunch somewhere or go hungry.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You Silk?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, that's my name. You heard Doctor Crane use it, I suppose. But we need a name for you.\" He considered the matter. \"I believe I'll call you Oreb—that's a raven in the Writings, and you seem to be some sort of raven. How do you like that name?\"\n\n\"Oreb.\"\n\n\"That's right. Musk named his bird after a god, which was very wrong of him, but I don't believe that there could be any objection to a name from the Writings if it weren't a divine name, particularly when it's a bird's name there. So Oreb it is.\"\n\nAt his washstand upstairs, he stropped the big, bone-handled razor that had waited in his mother's bureau until he was old enough to shave, lathered his face, and scraped away his reddish-blond beard. As he wiped the blade clean, it occurred to him, as it did at least once a week, that the razor had almost certainly been his father's. As he had so many times before, he carried it to the window to look for some trace of ownership. There was no owner's name and no monogram, not even a maker's mark.\n\nAs often in this weather, Maytera Rose and Maytera Mint were enjoying their lunch at a table carried from the cenoby and set in the shade of the fig tree. When he had dried his face, Silk carried the basin back to the kitchen, poured out his shaving water, and joined the two sibyls in the garden." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By a gesture, Maytera Rose offered him the chair that would normally have been Maytera Marble's. \"Won't you join us, Patera? We've more than enough here for three.\"\n\nIt stung, as she had no doubt intended. Silk said, \"No, but I ought to speak with you for a moment.\"\n\n\"And I with you, Patera. I with you.\" Maytera Rose began elaborate preparations for rising.\n\nHe sat down hurriedly. \"What is it, Maytera?\"\n\n\"I had hoped to tell you about it last night, Patera, but you were gone.\"\n\nA napkin-draped basket at Silk's elbow exuded the very perfume of Mainframe. Maytera Marble had clearly baked that morning, leaving the fruit of her labor in the cenoby's oven for Maytera Mint to remove after she herself had left with Crane." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk swallowed his saliva, muttered, \"Yes,\" and left it at that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And this morning it had quite escaped my mind. All that I could think of was that awful man, the little girl's father. I will be sending Horn to you this afternoon for correction, Patera. I have punished him already, you may be sure. Now he must acknowledge his fault to you—that is the final penalty of his punishment.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maytera Rose paused to render her closing words more effective, her head cocked like the night chough's as she fixed Silk with her good eye. \"And if you should decide to punish him further, I will not object. That might have a salutary effect.\"\n\n\"What did he do?\"\n\nThe synthetic part of Maytera Rose's mouth bent sharply downward in disgust; as he had on several similar occasions, Silk wondered whether the aged, disease-ridden woman who had once been Maytera Rose was still conscious. \"He made fun of you, Patera, imitating your voice and gestures, and talking foolishness.\"\n\n\"Is that all?\"\n\nMaytera Rose sniffed as she extracted a fresh roll from the basket. \"I would say it was more than enough.\"\n\nMaytera Mint began, \"If Patera himself—\"\n\n\"Before Patera was born, I endeavored to inculcate a decent respect for the holy calling of augur, a calling—like that of we sibyls—established by Our Sacred Scylla herself. I continue that effort to this day. I try, as I have always tried, to teach every student entrusted to my care to respect the cloth, regardless of the man or woman who wears it.\"\n\n\"A lesson to us all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk sighed. \"Very well, I'll talk to him when I can. But I'm leaving in a few minutes, and I may not be back until late. That was what I wanted to tell you—to tell Maytera Mint particularly.\"\n\nShe look up, a question in her melting brown eyes.\n\n\"I'll be engaged, and I can't say how long it may take. You remember Auk, Maytera. You must. You taught him, and you told Maytera Marble about him yesterday, I know.\"\n\n\"Oh, Patera, I do indeed.\" Maytera Mint's small, not uncomely face glowed.\n\nMaytera Rose sniffed, and Maytera Mint dropped her eyes again.\n\n\"I spoke to him last night, Maytera, very late.\"\n\n\"You did, Patera?\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"But I'm forgetting something I should tell you. I'd seen him earlier that evening, and shriven him. He's trying, quite sincerely I believe, to amend his life.\"\n\nMaytera Mint looked up again, her glance bright with praise. \"That's truly wonderful, Patera!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It is indeed; and it's far more your doing, and Patera Pike's, than it is mine. What I wanted to say, Maytera, is that when I last spoke with him, he indicated that he might come here today. If he does, I'm sure he'll want to pay his respects to you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He waited for her to confirm it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She did not, sitting with folded hands and downcast eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please tell him that I'm anxious to see him. Ask him to wait, if he can. I doubt that he'll come before supper. If I haven't returned, tell him that I'll be back as soon as possible.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Spreading rich yellow butter on another golden roll, Maytera Rose said, \"Last night you had gone already by the time Horn had finished working for his father. I'll tell him that he'll have to wait, too.\"\n\n\"I'm certain you will, Maytera. Thank you both.\" Silk stood up, wincing when he put too much weight on his injured ankle. For a formal exorcism he would need the Chrasmologic Writings from the manteion, and images of the gods—of Pas and Scylla particularly. And of Sphigx the patroness of the day. The thought reminded him that he had never completed her prayers; hardly the way to gain favor.\n\nHe would take the triptych his mother had given him; her prayers might follow it. As he tramped upstairs again, more conscious of his ankle than he had been since before Crane's visit, he reflected that he had been trained only in dealing with devils who did not exist. He recalled how startled he had been when he had realized that Patera Pike credited them, and even spoke with gruff pride of personal efforts to frustrate them.\n\nBefore he reached the top of the stair, he regretted leaving Blood's walking stick in the sellaria. Sitting on his bed, he unwound the wrapping; it was distinctly cool to the touch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He dashed it against the wall as violently as he could and replaced it, then removed his shoe and put on a clean stocking." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 6 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Include exactly 2 instance(s) of the word 'blood'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood would meet him at the yellow house on Lamp Street. Musk, or someone as bad as Musk, might come with Blood. Silk folded up the triptych, laid it in its baize-lined teak case, buckled the straps, and pulled out its folding handle. This and the Writings, which he would have to get before he left; Pas's gammadion was about his neck already, his beads in his pocket. It might be prudent to take a holy lamp, oil, and other things as well. After considering and rejecting half a dozen possibilities, he got the key from beneath his water jug." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I've got writer's block. I'll send something, then continue 10 sentences at a time, matching character context, in Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With the young eagle on his gauntleted left arm, Musk stood on the spattered white pavement by Scylla's fountain and looked about him, his head as proudly poised, and his back as straight, as any Guardsman's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They were watching from the deep shade of the portico: Blood, Councillor Lemur and his cousin Councillor Loris, Commissioner Simuliid, and half a dozen others." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mentally, Musk shook the dice cup.\n\nThe eagle had been trained to wrist and to the lure. It knew his voice and had learned to associate it with food. When he removed its hood, it would see the fountain, flowing water in a countryside in which water of any kind was now a rarity. The time had come for it to learn to fly—and he could not teach it that. It would return for the lure and the hackboard. Or it would not. Time to throw the dice.\n\nBlood's voice came to him faintly through the plashing of the fountain. \"Don't rush him.\"\n\nSomeone had asked what he was waiting for." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He sighed, knowing he could not delay much longer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To hold on to this moment, in which the bird that he might never see again was still his.\n\nThe sky was empty or seemed so, the skylands invisible behind the endless, straight glare of the sun. Fliers, if there were any, were invisible too. Above the tops of the trees on the other side of the wall, distant fields curved upward, vanishing in a blue haze as they mounted the air. Lake Limna seemed a fragment of mirror set into the whorl, like a gaud into a cheap picture frame.\n\nTime to throw.\n\nAs though it knew what was about to happen, the young eagle stirred. Musk nodded to himself. \"Come back to me,\" he whispered. \"Come back to me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And then, as if somebody else (an interfering god or Blood's mad daughter) controlled it, his right arm went up. Self-willed, his hand grasped the scarlet-plumed hood and snatched it away.\n\nThe young eagle lifted its wings as though to fly, then folded them again. He should have worn a mask, perhaps. If the eagle struck at his face now, he would be scarred for life if he was not killed; but his pride had not permitted it.\n\n\"Away, Hawk!\" He lifted his arm, tilting it to tip the bird into the air. For a split second he thought it was not going to fly at all.\n\nThe great wings seemed to blow him back. Slowly and clumsily it flew, its wingtips actually brushing the lush grass at every downstroke—out to the wall and left, past the gate and left again up the grassway. For a moment he thought it was returning to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Into the portico, scattering the watchers there like quail." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If it turned right at the end of the wing, mistook the cat pen for the mews—\n\nHigher now, as high as the top of the wall, and left again. Left until it passed overhead, its wings a distant thunder. Higher now, and higher still, still circling and climbing, riding the updraft from the baking lawn and the scorching roofs. Higher the young eagle rose and higher, black against the glare, until it, like the fields, was lost in the vastness of the sky." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "NarrativeBot: 7 sentences sentences. Match character familiarity. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the rest had gone Musk remained, shading his eyes against the pitiless sun. After a long while, Hare brought him binoculars. He used them but saw nothing.\n\nLamp Street was familiar and safe once more, stripped of the mystery of night. Silk, who had walked it often, found that he recognized several shops, and even the broad and freshly varnished door of the yellow house.\n\nThe corpulent woman who opened it in response to Crane's knock seemed surprised by his presence. \"It's awfully early, Patera. Just got up myself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She yawned as if to prove it, only tardily concealing her mouth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her pink peignoir gaped in sympathy, its vibrant heat leaving the bulging flesh between its parted lips a deathly white.\n\nThe air of the place poured past her, hot and freighted with a hundred stale perfumes and the vinegar reek of wasted wine. \"I was to meet Blood here at one o'clock,\" Silk told her. \"What time is it?\"\n\nCrane slipped past them into the reception room beyond.\n\nThe woman ignored him. \"Blood's always late,\" she said vaguely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She led Silk through a low archway curtained with clattering wooden beads and into a small office. A door and a window opened onto the courtyard he had imagined the night before, and both stood open; despite them, the office seemed hotter even than the street outside.\n\n\"We've had exorcists before.\" The corpulent woman took the only comfortable-looking chair, leaving Silk an armless one of varnished wood. He accepted it gratefully, dropping his bag to the floor, laying the cased triptych across his thighs, and holding Blood's lioness-headed stick between his knees.\n\n\"I'll have somebody fetch you a pillow, Patera. This is where I talk to my girls, and a hard chair's better. It keeps them awake, and the narrow seat makes them think that they're getting fat, which is generally the case.\"\n\nThe memory of his fried tomatoes brought Silk a fresh pang of guilt, well salted with hunger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could it be that some god spoke through this blowsy woman?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "/set_word_count: devils, frequency: 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Leave it as it is,\" he told her. \"I, too, need to learn to love my belly less, and my bed.\"\n\n\"You want to talk to all the girls together? One of the others did. Or I can just tell you.\"\n\nSilk waved the question aside. \"What these particular devils may have done here is no concern of mine, and paying attention to their malicious tricks would risk encouraging them. They are devils, and unwelcome in this house; that is all I know, and if you and—and everyone else living here are willing to cooperate with me, it is all I need to know.\"\n\n\"All right.\" The corpulent woman adjusted her own chair's ample cushions and leaned back. \"You believe in them, huh?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Here it was. \"Yes,\" Silk told her firmly." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Find a natural way to mention that Doctor Crane thinks the same," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One of the others didn't. He said lots of prayers and had the parade and all the rest of it anyway, but he thought we were crazy. He was about your age.\"\n\n\"Doctor Crane thinks the same,\" Silk told her, \"and his beard is gray. He doesn't phrase it quite as rudely as that, but that's what he thinks. He thinks that I'm crazy too, of course.\"\n\nThe corpulent woman smiled bitterly. \"Uh-huh, I can guess. I'm Orchid, by the way.\" She offered her hand as though she expected him to kiss it.\n\nHe clasped it. \"Patera Silk, from the manteion on Sun Street.\"\n\n\"That old place? Is it still open?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, very much so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The question reminded Silk that it soon might not be, although it was better not to mention that.\n\n\"We're not now,\" Orchid told him. \"Not until nine, so you've got plenty of time. But tonight's our biggest night, usually, so I'd appreciate it if you were finished by then.\" At last noticing his averted eyes, she tugged ineffectually at the edges of the pink peignoir.\n\n\"It should take me no more than two hours to perform the initial rites and the ceremony proper, provided I have everyone's cooperation. But it may be best to wait until Blood arrives. He told me last night that he would meet me here, and I feel sure that he will wish to take part.\"\n\nOrchid was eyeing him narrowly. \"He's paying you?\"\n\n\"No. I'm performing this exorcism as a favor to him—I owe him much more, really. Did he pay the other exorcists you spoke of?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He did or I did, depending.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk relaxed a little." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In that case, it's not to be wondered at that their exorcisms were ineffectual. Exorcism is a sacred ceremony, and no such ceremony can be bought or sold.\" Seeing that she did not understand, he added. \"They cannot be sold—my statement is true in the most literal sense of its words—because once sold the ceremony loses all its sacred character. What is sold is then no more than a profane mummery. That is not what we will carry out here today.\"\n\n\"But Blood could give you something, couldn't he?\"\n\n\"Yes, if he wished. No gift affects the nature of the ceremony. A gift is given freely—if one is given at all. The point upon which the efficacy of the ceremony turns is that there must be no bargain between us; and there is none. I would have no right to complaint if a promised gift were not forthcoming. Am I making this clear?\"\n\nOrchid nodded reluctantly.\n\n\"In point of fact, I expect no gift at all from Blood. I owe him several favors, as I said. When he asked me to do this, I was—as I remain—eager to oblige.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Orchid leaned toward him, the peignoir yawning worse than ever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Suppose this time it works, Patera. I could give you something, couldn't I?\"\n\n\"Of course, if you choose. However, you will owe me nothing.\"\n\n\"All right.\" She hesitated, considering. \"Sphigxday's our big night, like I said—that's why Blood comes around, usually, today. To check up on us before we open up. We're closed Hieraxday, so not then either. But come in any other day and I'll give you a pass. How's that?\"\n\nSilk was stunned.\n\n\"You know what I mean, right, Patera? Not me. I mean with any of the girls, whoever you want. If you'd like to give her a little something for herself, that's all right. But you don't have to, and there won't be anything to the house.\" Orchid considered again. \"Well, a card in a cart, huh? All right, that's a lay a month for a year.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seeing his expression she added, \"Or I can get you a boy if you'd rather have that, but let me know in advance.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head.\n\n\"Because if you do, you don't get to see the gods? Isn't that what they say?\"\n\n\"Yes.\" Silk nodded. \"Echidna forbids it. One may see the gods when they appear in our Sacred Windows. Or one may be blessed by children of the body. But not both.\"\n\n\"Nobody's talking about sprats, Patera.\"\n\n\"I know what we're talking about.\"\n\n\"The gods don't come any more anyhow. Not to Viron, so why not? That last time was when I was—wasn't even born yet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"Nor I.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then what do you care? You're never going to see one anyway.\"\n\nSilk smiled ruefully. \"We're getting very far from the subject, aren't we?\"\n\n\"I don't know.\" Orchid scratched her head and examined her nails. \"Maybe. Or maybe not. Did you know that this place used to be a manteion?\"\n\nStunned again, Silk shook his head.\n\n\"It did. Or anyhow, some of it did, the back part on Music Street. Only the gods didn't come around very much any more, even if they still did it once in a while back then. So they closed it down, and the ones that owned this house then bought it and tore down the back wall and joined the two together. Maybe that's why, huh? I'll get Orpine to show you around. Some of the old stuff's still back there, and you can have it if there's anything you want.\"\n\n\"That's very kind of you,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm a nice person. Ask anybody.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word usage requirement: 'don't' must appear 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Orchid whistled shrilly. \"Orpine'll be along in a minute. Anything you want to know, just ask her.\"\n\n\"Thank you, I will. May I leave my sacra here until I require them?\" The prospect of separation from his triptych made Silk uneasy. \"Will they be safe?\"\n\n\"Your sack? Better than the fisc. You could leave that box thing, too. Only I've been wondering, you know about the old manteion in back. We call it the playhouse. Could that be why it's happening?\"\n\n\"I don't know.\"\n\n\"I asked one of the others and he said not. But I kind of wonder. Maybe the gods don't like some of the stuff we do here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They do not,\" Silk told her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You haven't even seen anything, Patera. We're not as bad as you think.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head. \"I don't think you bad at all, Orchid, and neither do the gods. If they thought you bad, nothing that you could do would dismay them. They detest all the evil that you do—and all that I do—because they see in us the potential to do good.\"\n\n\"Well, I've been thinking maybe they sent this devil to get even with us.\" Orchid whistled again. \"What's keeping that girl!\"\n\n\"The gods do not send us devils,\" Silk told her, \"and indeed, they destroy them wherever they meet them, deleting them from Mainframe. That, at least, is the legend. It's in the Writings, and I have them here in my bag. Would you like me to read the passage?\" He reached for his glasses.\n\n\"No. Just tell me so I can understand it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right.\" Silk squared his shoulders. \"Pas made the whorl, as you know. When it was complete, he invited his queen, their five daughters and their two sons, and a few friends to share it with him. However—\"\n\nFrom the other side of the sun-bright doorway, someone screamed in terror.\n\nOrchid lunged out of her chair with praiseworthy speed. Limping a little and repeating to himself Crane's injunction against running, Silk trailed after her, walking as quickly as he could.\n\nThe courtyard was lined with doorways on both floors. As he searched for the source of the disturbance, it seemed to him that whole companies of young women in every possible stage of undress were popping in and out of them, though he paid them little attention." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The dead woman lay halfway up a flight of rickety steps thrown down like a ladder by the sagging gallery above; she was naked, and the fingers of her left hand curled about the hilt of a dagger jutting from her ribs below her left breast." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her head was angled so sharply in Silk's direction that it almost appeared that her neck was broken. He found her oddly contorted face at once horrible and familiar.\n\nAgainst all his training, he covered that face with his handkerchief before beginning to swing his beads.\n\nIt quieted the women somewhat, although the dagger, the wound it had made, and the blood that had so briefly spurted from that wound were still visible.\n\nOrchid shouted, \"Who did this? Who stabbed her?\" and a puffy-eyed brunette, nearly as naked as the woman sprawled on the steps, drawled, \"She did, Orchid—she killed herself. Use your head. Or if you won't, use your eyes.\"\n\nKneeling on a blood-spattered step just below the dead woman's head, Silk swung his beads, first forward-and-back, then side-to-side, thus describing the sign of addition." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I convey to you, my daughter, the forgiveness of all the gods. Recall now the words of Pas, who said, 'Do my will, live in peace, multiply, and do not disturb my seal. Thus you shall escape my wrath. Go willingly, and any wrong that you have ever done shall be forgiven.' O my daughter, know that this Pas and all the lesser gods have empowered me to forgive you in their names. And I do forgive you, remitting every crime and wrong. They are expunged.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With his beads, Silk traced the sign of subtraction. \"You are blessed.\" Bobbing his head nine times, as the ritual demanded, he traced the sign of addition.\n\nA female voice breathed curses somewhere to his right, blasphemy following obscenity. \"Hornbuss Pas shag you Pas whoremaster Pas hornswallow 'Chidna sick-licker Pas...\" It sounded to Silk as though the speaker did not know what she was saying, and might well be unaware that she was speaking at all.\n\n\"I pray you to forgive us, the living,\" he continued, and once again formed the sign of addition with his beads above the dead woman's handkerchief-shrouded head. \"I and many another have wronged you often, my daughter, committing terrible crimes and numerous offences against you. Do not hold them in your heart, but begin the life that follows life in innocence, all these wrongs forgiven.\" He made the sign of subtraction again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A statuesque girl spat; her tightly curled hair was the color of ripe raspberries." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What are you doing that for? Can't you see she's stiff? She's dead, and she can't hear a shaggy word you're saying.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At the final phrase her voice cracked, and Silk realized that it was she whom he had heard swearing.\n\nHe gripped his beads more tightly and bent lower as he reached the effectual point in the liturgy of pardon. The sun beating down upon his neck might have been the burning iron hand of Twice-Headed Pas himself, crushing him to earth while ceaselessly demanding that he perfectly enunciate each hallowed word and execute every sacred rubric faultlessly. \"In the name of all the gods, you are forgiven forever, my daughter. I speak here for Great Pas, for Divine Echidna, for Scalding Scylla...\" Here it was allowable to halt and take a fresh breath, and Silk did so. \"For Marvelous Molpe, for Tenebrous Tartaros, for Highest Hierax, for Thoughtful Thelxiepeia, for Fierce Phaea, and for Strong Sphigx. Also for all lesser gods.\"\n\nBriefly and inexplicably, the glaring sun might almost have been the swinging, smoking lampion in the Cock. Silk whispered, \"The Outsider likewise forgives you, my daughter, for I speak here for him, too.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After tracing one final sign of addition, he stood and turned toward the statuesque young woman with the raspberry hair; to his considerable relief, she was clothed. \"Bring me something to cover her with, please. Her time in this place is over.\"\n\nOrchid was questioning the puffy-eyed brunette. \"Is this her knife?\"\n\n\"You ought to know.\" Fearlessly, the brunette reached beneath the railing to pull the long dagger from the wound. \"I don't think so. She'd have showed it to me, most likely, and I've never seen it before.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Crane came down the steps, stooped over the dead woman, and pressed his fingers to her wrist." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After a second or two, he squatted and laid an ausculator to her side.\n\n(We acknowledge this state we call death with so much reluctance, Silk thought, not for the first time. Surely it can't be natural to us.)\n\nWithdrawing the dagger had increased the seepage from the wound; under all the shrill hubbub, Silk could hear the dead woman's blood dripping from the steps to the crumbling brick pavement of the courtyard, like the unsteady ticking of a broken clock.\n\nOrchid was peering nearsightedly at the dagger. \"It's a man's. A man called Cat.\" Turning to face the courtyard, she shouted, \"Shut up, all of you! Listen to me! Do any of you know a cull named Cat?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A small, dark girl in a torn chemise edged closer." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Frequency requirement: 'sometimes' - 2 occurrence(s)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I do. He comes here sometimes.\"\n\n\"Was he here last night? How long since you've seen him?\"\n\nThe girl shook her head. \"I'm not sure, Orchid. A month, maybe.\"\n\nThe corpulent woman waddled toward her, holding out the dagger, the younger women parting before her like so many ducklings before a duck. \"You know where he lives? Who's he get, usually?\"\n\n\"No. Me. Orpine sometimes, if I'm busy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Crane stood up, glanced at Silk and shook his head, and put away his ausculator." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood's bellow surprised them all. \"What's going on here?\" Thick-bodied and a full head taller than most of the women, he strode into the courtyard with something of the air of a general coming onto a battlefield.\n\nWhen Orchid did not answer, the raspberry-haired girl said wearily, \"Orpine's dead. She just killed herself.\" She had a clean sheet under her arm, neatly folded.\n\n\"What for?\" Blood demanded.\n\nNo one replied. The raspberry-haired girl shook out her sheet and passed a corner up to Crane." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Together, they spread the sheet over the dead woman." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required word frequency: 'himself' (2x)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk put away his beads and went down the steps to the courtyard. Half to himself he muttered, \"She didn't—not forever. Not even as long as I.\"\n\nOrchid turned to look at him. \"No, she didn't. Now shut up.\"\n\nMusk had taken the dagger from her. After scrutinizing it himself, he held it out for Blood's inspection. Orchid explained, \"A cully they call Cat comes here sometimes. He must've given it to her, or left it behind in her room.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood sneered. \"Or she stole it from him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My girls don't steal!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As a tower long subverted by a hidden spring collapses, Orchid burst into tears; there was something terrible, Silk felt, in seeing that fat, indurated face contorted like a heartsick child's. Blood slapped her twice, forehand and backhand, without effect, though both blows echoed from the walls of the courtyard.\n\n\"Don't do that again,\" Silk told him. \"It won't help her, and it may harm you.\"\n\nIgnoring him, Blood pointed to the still form beneath the sheet. \"Somebody get that out of sight. You there. Chenille. You're plenty big enough. Pick her up and carry her to her room.\"\n\nThe raspberry-haired woman backed away, trembling, the roughed spots on each high cheekbone glaring and unreal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"May I see that, please?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Deftly, Silk took the dagger from Musk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Its hilt was bleached bone; burned into the bone with a needle and hand-dyed, a scarlet cat strutted with a tiny black mouse in its jaws. The cat's fiery tail circled the hilt. Following the puffy-eyed brunette's example, Silk reached under the railing and retrieved his handkerchief from beneath the sheet. The slender, tapering blade was highly polished, but not engraved. \"Nearly new,\" he muttered. \"Not terribly expensive, but not cheap either.\"\n\nMusk said, \"Any fool can see that,\" and took back the dagger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Patera.\" Blood cleared his throat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You were here. Probably you saw her do it.\"\n\nSilk's mind was still on the dagger. \"Do what?\" he asked.\n\n\"Kill herself. Let's get out of this sun.\" With a hand on Silk's elbow, Blood guided him into the spotted shade of the gallery, displacing a chattering circle of nearly naked women.\n\n\"No, I didn't see it,\" Silk said slowly. \"I was inside, talking to Orchid.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's too bad. Maybe you want to think about it a little more. Maybe you saw it after all, through a window or something.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head.\n\n\"You agree that this was a suicide, though, don't you, Patera? Even if you didn't see it yourself?\" Blood's tone made his threat obvious.\n\nSilk leaned back against the spalled shiprock, sparing his broken ankle. \"Her hand was still on the knife when I first saw her body.\"\n\nBlood smiled. \"I like that. In that case, Patera, you agree that there's no reason to report this.\"\n\n\"I certainly wouldn't want to if I were in your place.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "To himself, Silk reluctantly admitted that he felt sure the dead woman had been no suicide, that the law required that her death by violence be reported to the authorities (though he had no illusions about the effort they would expend upon the death of such a woman), and that if he were somehow to find himself in Blood's place he would leave it as rapidly as possible—though neither honor nor morality required him to say any of these things, since saying them would be futile and would unquestionably endanger the manteion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was all perfectly reasonable and nicely reasoned; but as he surveyed it, he felt a surge of self-contempt.\n\n\"I think we understand each other, Patera. There are three or four witnesses I could produce if I needed them—people who saw her do it. But you know how that is.\"\n\nSilk forced himself to nod his agreement; he had never realized that even passive assent to crime required so much resolution. \"I believe so. Three or four of these unhappy young women, you mean. Their testimony would not carry much weight, however; and they would be apt to presume upon your obligation afterward.\"\n\nUnder Musk's direction, a burly man with less hair even than Blood had picked up the dead woman's body, wrapping it in the sheet. Silk saw him carry it to the door beyond the entrance to Orchid's office, which Musk opened for him.\n\n\"That's right. I couldn't have put it better myself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood lowered his voice." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Mandatory inclusion (with quotes): To dispose of that poor woman's body, you mean. You know, I've been terribly slow about this, I suppose because these aren't the sort of people I'm accustomed to. She was Orpine, wasn't she? One of these women mentioned it. She must have had the room next to Orchid's office. Musk and another man have taken her body there, at any rate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We've been having way too much trouble here as it is. The Guards have been in here three times in the past month, and they're starting to talk about closing us down. Tonight I'll have to come up with some way to get rid of it.\"\n\n\"To dispose of that poor woman's body, you mean. You know, I've been terribly slow about this, I suppose because these aren't the sort of people I'm accustomed to. She was Orpine, wasn't she? One of these women mentioned it. She must have had the room next to Orchid's office. Musk and another man have taken her body there, at any rate.\"\n\n\"Yeah, that was Orpine. She used to help out Orchid now and then, running the place.\" Blood turned away.\n\nSilk watched him stride across the courtyard. Blood had called himself a thief the night before; it struck Silk now that he had been wrong—had been lying, in fact, in order to romanticize what he really did, though he would steal, no doubt, if given an opportunity to do so without risk; he was the sort of person who would consider theft clever, and would be inclined to boast of it.\n\nBut the fact was that Blood was simply a tradesman—a tradesman whose trades happened to be forbidden by law, and were inescapably colored by that. That he himself, Patera Silk, did not like such men probably meant only that he did not understand them as well as his own vocation required." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He strove to reorder his thoughts, shifting Blood (and himself as well) out of the criminal category." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood was a tradesman, or a merchant of sorts; and one of his employees had been killed, almost certainly not by him or even under his direction. Silk recalled the pictured cat on the dagger; it reminded him of the engraving on the little needler, and he took it out to re-examine. There were golden hyacinths on each ivory grip because it had been made for a woman called Hyacinth.\n\nHe dropped it back into his pocket.\n\nBlood's name... If the dagger had been made for him, the picture on its hilt would have shown blood, presumably: a bloody dagger of the same design, perhaps, or something of that sort. The cat had held a mouse in its jaws, and mice thus caught by cats bled, of course; but he could recall no blood in the picture, and the captive mouse had been quite small. He was no artist, but after putting himself in the place of the one who had drawn and tinted that picture, he decided that the mouse had been included mostly to indicate that the cat was in fact a cat, and not some other cat-like animal, a panther for example." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 8 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The mouse had been a kind of badge, in other words.\n\nThe cat itself had been scarlet, but hardly with blood; even a large mouse would not have bled as much as that, and the cat had presumably been tinted to indicate that it was somehow burning. Its upright tail had actually been tipped with fire.\n\nHe took a step away from the wall and was punished by a flash of pain. On one knee, he pulled down his stocking and unwound Crane's wrapping, then flogged the guiltless wall he had just deserted.\n\nWhen the wrapping was back in place, he went into the room next to Orchid's cramped office. It was larger than he had expected, and its furnishings were by no means devoid of taste. After glancing at a shattered hand mirror and a blue dressing gown he picked up from the floor, he uncovered the dead woman's face." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nContext: Match existing character backgrounds if present\nMy role: Provide opening\nYour role: 11 sentences in the Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He found Blood in a private supper room with Musk and the burly man who had carried Orpine's body, discussing the advisability of keeping the yellow house closed that night.\n\nUninvited, Silk pulled up a chair and sat down. \"May I interrupt? I have a question and a suggestion. Neither one should take long.\"\n\nMusk gave him an icy stare.\n\nBlood said, \"They'd better not.\"\n\n\"The question first. What's become of Doctor Crane? He was out there with us a moment ago, but when I looked for him after you left I couldn't find him.\"\n\nWhen Blood did not answer, the burly man said, \"He's checking out the girls so they don't give anybody anything he hasn't got already. You know what I mean, Patera?\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"I do indeed. But where does he do it? Is there some sort of infirmary—\"\n\n\"He goes to their rooms. They got to undress and wait in their rooms until he gets there. When he's through with them, they can go out if they want to.\"\n\n\"I see.\" Silk stroked his cheek, his eyes thoughtful.\n\n\"If you're looking for him, he's probably upstairs. He always does the upstairs first.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Fine,\" Blood said impatiently." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Crane's gone back to work. Why shouldn't he? You'd better do the same, Patera. I still want this place exorcised, and in fact it needs it now more than ever. Get busy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am about my work,\" Silk told him. \"This is it, you see, or at least it's a part of it, and I believe that I can help you. You spoke of disposing of that poor girl's—of Orpine's—body. I suggest that we bury it.\"\n\nBlood shrugged. \"I'll see about doing something—she won't be found, and she won't be missed. Don't worry about it.\"\n\n\"I mean that we should inter it as other women's bodies are interred,\" Silk explained patiently. \"There must be a memorial sacrifice for her at my manteion first, of course. Tomorrow's Scylsday, and I can combine the memorial service with our weekly Scylsday sacrifice. We've a man in the neighborhood who has a decent wagon. We've used him before. If none of these women are willing to wash and dress their friend's body, I can provide one who will take care of that as well.\"\n\nGrinning, Blood thumped Silk on the arm. \"And if some shaggy hoppy sticks his nose in, why we didn't do anything irregular. We had an augur and a funeral, and buried the poor girl in respectable fashion—he's intruding on our grief. You're a real help, Patera. When can you get your man here?\"\n\n\"As soon as I return to my manteion, I suppose, which will be as soon as I've exorcised this house.\"\n\nBlood shook his head. \"I want to get her out of here. What about that sibyl I talked to yesterday? Couldn't she get him?\"\n\nSilk nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good.\" Blood turned to the handsome young man beside him. \"Musk, go down to the manteion on Sun Street and ask for Maytera Marble—\"\n\nSilk interrupted. \"She'll probably be in the cenoby. The front door's on Silver Street, or you could go through the garden and knock at the back.\"\n\n\"And tell her there's going to be a funeral tomorrow. Have her get this man with the wagon for you. What's his name, Patera?\"\n\n\"Loach.\"\n\n\"Get Loach and his wagon, or if he's not available, get somebody else. You don't know what happened to Orpine. A doctor's looked at her, and she's dead, and Patera here is going to take care of the funeral for us, and that's all you know. Get the woman, too. I don't think any of these sluts could face up to it.\"\n\n\"Moorgrass,\" Silk put in.\n\n\"Get her. You and the woman ride in the wagon so you can show this cully Loach where it is. If the woman has to have anything to work with, see that she brings it with her. Now get going.\"\n\nMusk nodded and hurried away.\n\n\"Meantime you can get back to your exorcism, Patera. Have you started yet?\"\n\n\"No. I'd hardly arrived when this happened, and I want to find out a great deal more about the manifestations they have experienced here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk paused, stroking his cheek. \"I said that I'd just arrived, and that is true; but I've had time enough to make one mistake already. I told Orchid that I didn't care what the devils—or perhaps I should say the devil, because she spoke as though there were only one—had been up to. I said it because it was what they taught us to say in the schola, but I believe it may be an error in this case. I should speak with Orchid again.\"\n\nThe burly man grunted. \"I can tell you. Mostly it's breakin' mirrors.\"\n\n\"Really?\" Silk leaned forward. \"I would never have guessed it. What else?\"\n\n\"Rippin' up the girls' clothes.\"\n\nThe burly man looked toward Blood, who said, \"Sometimes they're not as friendly as we'd like them to be to the bucks. The girls aren't, I mean. A couple times one's talked crazy, and naturally the buck didn't like it. Maybe it was just nerves, but the girls got hurt.\"\n\n\"And we don't like that,\" the burly man said. \"I got both those culls pretty good, but it's bad for business.\"\n\n\"You have no idea what may be doing this?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Devils. That's what everybody says.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must include the following in quotes somewhere in your response: She'll know. I only know what she tells me, and if an exorcism makes everybody feel better..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The burly man looked toward Blood again. \"Jefe?\"\n\n\"Ask Orchid,\" Blood told Silk. \"She'll know. I only know what she tells me, and if an exorcism makes everybody feel better...\" He shrugged.\n\nSilk rose. \"I'll speak to Orchid if I can. I realize she's upset, but I may be able to console her. That, too, is a part of my work. Eventually, I'd like a talk with Chenille as well. That's the tall woman with the fiery hair, isn't it? Chenille?\"\n\nBlood nodded. \"She's probably gone by now, but she'll be back around dinner. Orchid's got a walk-up upstairs over the big room out front.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I've got writer's block. I'll send something, then continue 10 sentences at a time, matching character context, in Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chenille opened the door to Orchid's rooms and showed Silk in. Still wearing the pink peignoir, Orchid was sitting on a wide green-velvet couch in the big sellaria, her hard, heavy face as composed as it had been when they had talked in the cramped office downstairs.\n\nChenille waved toward a chair. \"Have a seat, Patera.\" She herself sat down next to Orchid and put her arm around her shoulders. \"He says Blood sent him up to talk to us. I said all right, but he'll probably come back later if you'd rather.\"\n\n\"I'm fine,\" Orchid told her.\n\nLooking at her, Silk could believe it; Chenille herself seemed more in need of solace.\n\n\"What do you want, Patera?\" Orchid's voice was harsher than he remembered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you're here to tell me how she's gone to Mainframe and all that, save it till later. If you still want somebody to show you around my place, Chenille can do it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a glass on the wall to the left of the couch. Silk was watching it nervously, but no floating face had yet appeared. \"I'd like to speak with you in private for a few minutes, that's all.\"\n\nTo Chenille he added, \"I was going to say that it would give you a chance to get dressed—so many of you here are not—but I see that you're dressed already.\"\n\n\"Go out,\" Orchid said. And then, \"It was nice of you to worry about me, Chenille. I won't forget this.\"\n\nThe tall girl rose, smoothing her skirt. \"I was going to look for a new gown, before this happened.\"\n\n\"I have to speak to you, too,\" Silk told her, \"and this should only take a few minutes. You can wait for me, if you prefer. Otherwise, I would appreciate it very much if you came to my manteion this evening.\"\n\n\"I'll be in my room.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"That will be better. Please pardon me for not rising; I injured my ankle last night.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He watched Chenille as she went out, waiting until she had closed the door behind her.\n\n\"Nice-looking, isn't she?\" Orchid said. \"Only she'd bring in more if she wasn't so tall. Maybe you like them that way. Or is it the hips?\"\n\n\"What I like hardly matters.\"\n\n\"Good hips, nice waist for a girl as big as she is, and the biggest boobs in the place. Sure you won't change your mind?\"\n\nSilk shook his head. \"I'm surprised you didn't mention her kind disposition. There must be a great deal of good in her, or she wouldn't have come here to comfort you.\"\n\nOrchid stood up. \"You want a drink, Patera? I've got wine and whatnot in the cabinet here.\"\n\n\"No, thank you.\"\n\n\"I do.\" Orchid opened the cabinet and filled a small goblet with straw-colored brandy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She seemed quite depressed,\" Silk ventured." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She must have been a close friend of Orpine's.\"\n\n\"Chenille's a real rust bucket, to hand you the lily, Patera, and they're always pretty far down anytime they're straight.\"\n\nSilk snapped his fingers. \"I knew I'd heard that name before.\"\n\nOrchid resumed her seat, swirled her brandy, inhaled its aroma, and balanced the goblet precariously on the arm of the couch. \"Somebody told you about her, huh?\"\n\n\"A man I know happened to mention her, that's all. It doesn't matter.\" He waved the question away. \"Aren't you going to drink that?\" After he had spoken, he realized that Blood had asked the same question of him the previous night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Orchid shook her head." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🔍 Find a place to insert: \"That glass has never worked for as long as I've owned this house, Patera. I wish it did.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't drink until the last buck's gone. That's my rule, and I'm going to stick to it, even today. I just want to know it's there. Did you come here to talk about Chen, Patera?\"\n\n\"No. Can we be overheard here? I ask for your sake, Orchid, not for my own.\"\n\nShe shook her head again.\n\n\"I've heard that houses like this often have listening devices.\"\n\n\"Not this one. And if it did, I wouldn't have any in here.\"\n\nSilk indicated the glass. \"The monitor doesn't have to appear to overhear what is said in a room, or so one's given me to understand. Does the monitor of that glass report to you alone?\"\n\nOrchid had the brandy goblet again, swirling the straw-colored fluid until it climbed the goblet to the rim. \"That glass has never worked for as long as I've owned this house, Patera. I wish it did.\"\n\n\"I see.\" Silk limped across the room to the glass and clapped his hands loudly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The room's lights brightened, but no monitor answered his summons." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We have a glass like this in Patera Pike's bedroom—I mean in the room that he once occupied. I should try to sell it. I would think that even an inoperable glass must be worth something.\"\n\n\"What is it you want with me, Patera?\"\n\nSilk returned to his chair. \"What I really want is to find some more tactful way of saying this. I haven't found it. Orpine was your daughter, wasn't she?\"\n\nOrchid shook her head.\n\n\"Are you going to deny her even in death?\"\n\nHe had not known what to expect: tears, or hysteria, or nothing—and had felt himself ready for them all. But now Orchid's face appeared to be coming apart, to be losing all cohesion, as if her mouth and her bruised and swollen cheeks and her hard hazel eyes no longer obeyed a common will. He wanted her to hide that terrible face in her hands; she did not, and he turned his own away.\n\nThere was a window on the other side of the couch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He went to it, parted its heavy drapes, and threw it open." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It overlooked Lamp Street, and though he would have called the day hot, the breeze that entered Orchid's sellaria seemed cool and fresh.\n\n\"How did you know?\" Orchid asked.\n\nHe limped back to his chair. \"That's what's wrong with this place, not enough open windows. Or one thing, anyhow.\" Wanting to blow his nose, he took out his handkerchief, saw Orpine's blood on it just in time, and put it away hastily.\n\n\"How did you know, Patera?\"\n\n\"Don't any of the others know? Or at least guess?\"\n\nOrchid's face was still out of control, afflicted with odd, almost spastic twitchings. \"Some of them have probably thought about it. I don't think she ever told anybody, and I didn't treat her any better than the rest.\" Orchid gulped air. \"Worse, whenever there was any difference. I made her help me, and I was always yelling at her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not going to ask you how this happened; it's none of my affair.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Essential phrase to include: \"I'm not. I've been wanting to tell somebody about it ever since Sphigx was a cub. You already know, so it can't do any harm. Besides, she's—she's—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thanks, Patera.\" Orchid sounded as though she meant it. \"Her father took her. I couldn't have, not then. But he said—he said—\"\n\n\"You don't have to tell me,\" Silk repeated.\n\nShe had not heard. \"Then I found her on the street, you know? She was thirteen, only she said fifteen and I believed her. I didn't know it was her.\" Orchid laughed, and her laughter was worse than tears.\n\n\"There's really no need for you to torment yourself like this.\"\n\n\"I'm not. I've been wanting to tell somebody about it ever since Sphigx was a cub. You already know, so it can't do any harm. Besides, she's—she's—\"\n\n\"Gone,\" Silk supplied.\n\nOrchid shook her head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dead. The only one alive, and I'll never have any more now. You know how places like this work, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, and I suppose I should.\"\n\n\"It's pretty much like a boarding house. Some places, the girls are pretty much like in the Alambrera. They don't hardly ever let them out, and they take all their money. I was in a place like that once for almost two years.\"\n\n\"I'm glad that you escaped.\"\n\nOrchid shook her head again. \"I didn't. I got sick and they kicked me out—it was the best thing that ever happened to me. What I wanted to say, Patera, is I'm not like that here. My girls rent their rooms, and they can go anytime. About the only thing they can't do is bring in a buck without his paying. Are you with me?\"\n\n\"I'm not sure I am,\" Silk admitted.\n\n\"Like if they meet him outside. If they bring him back here, he has to pay the house. So do those that come here looking. Tonight, we'll have maybe fifty or a hundred come. They pay the house, and then we show them all the girls that aren't busy, downstairs in the big room.\"\n\n\"Suppose that I were to come,\" Silk said slowly. \"Not dressed as I am now, but in ordinary clothes. And I wanted a particular woman.\"\n\n\"Chenille.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shook his head. \"Another one.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How about Poppy? Little girl, pretty dark.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"All right,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Suppose I wanted Poppy, but she didn't want to take me to her room?\"\n\n\"Then she wouldn't have to,\" Orchid said virtuously, \"and you'd have to pick somebody else. Only if she did that very often, I'd kick her out.\"\n\n\"I see.\"\n\n\"Only she wouldn't, Patera. Not to you. She'd jump at you. Any of these girls would.\"\n\nOrchid smiled, and Silk, confronted by the effect of her bruises, wanted to strike Blood. Hyacinth's azoth was under his tunic—he thrust the thought away.\n\nOrchid had seen and misinterpreted his expression; her smile vanished. \"I didn't get to finish telling you about Orpine, Patera. All right if I go on about her?\"\n\nSilk said, \"Certainly, if you wish.\"\n\n\"I found her on the street, like I told you. That's something I do sometimes, go around looking for somebody if I've got an empty room. She said her name was Pine—you don't hardly ever get a straight name out of them—and she was fifteen, and it never hit me. It just didn't.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I understand,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Somebody dusted her dial, you know what I mean? So I said, listen, lots of girls live with me, and nobody lays a finger on them. You come along, and we'll give you a good hot meal, free, and you'll see. So she said she didn't have the rent money, like they always do, and I said I'd trust her for the first month. That's what I always say.\n\n\"After she'd been here nearly a year, she ducked out of the big room. I said what's wrong, and she said her father had come in and he'd made her do certain things for him when she was little, and that was why she'd run out on him. You know what I mean, Patera?\"\n\nSilk nodded, his fists clenched.\n\n\"She told me his name, and I went out and looked at him again, and it was him. So then I knew who she was, and by and by I told her all about it.\" Orchid smiled; it seemed strange to Silk that the identical word should indicate her earlier expression as well.\n\n\"I'm glad I did it now. Real glad. I told her not to expect any favors, and I didn't give her any. Or at least, not very often. What I did, though—what I did—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk waited patiently, his eyes averted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What I did was start having cake on the birthdays, so we could have it on hers. And I called her Orpine instead of Pine, and pretty soon everybody did.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Weave this into your narrative: \"She was beautiful. Everybody said so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Orchid daubed at her eyes with the hem of the pink peignoir. \"All right, that's it. Who told you?\"\n\n\"Your faces, to begin with.\"\n\nOrchid nodded. \"She was beautiful. Everybody said so.\"\n\n\"Not when I saw her, because there was something in her face that didn't belong there. Still it struck me that her face was a younger version of your own, although that could have been coincidence or my imagination. A moment later I heard her name—Orpine. It sounds a great deal like yours, and it seemed to me that it was such a name as a woman named Orchid might choose, especially if she had lost an earlier daughter. Did you? You don't have to tell me about it.\"\n\nOrchid nodded.\n\n\"Because orpines, which only sound like orchids, have another name. Country people call them live-forevers; and when I thought of that other name, I said, more or less to myself, that she had not; and you agreed. Then when Blood suggested that she might have stolen the dagger that killed her, you burst into tears and I knew. But to tell you the truth, I was already nearly certain.\"\n\nOrchid nodded slowly. \"Thanks, Patera. Is that all? I'd like to be alone for a little while.\"\n\nSilk rose. \"I understand. I wouldn't have disturbed you if I hadn't wanted to let you know that Blood's agreed that your daughter should be buried with the rites of the Chapter. Her body will be washed and dressed—laid out, as the people who do it say—and carried to my manteion, on Sun Street. We'll hold her service in the morning.\"\n\nOrchid stared at him incredulously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Blood's paying for this?\"\n\n\"No.\" Silk actually had not considered the matter of expenses, though he knew only too well that some of those connected with the final offices of the dead could not be avoided. His mind whirled before he recalled Blood's two cards, which he had set aside for the Scylsday sacrifice in any event. \"Or rather, yes. Blood gave me—gave my manteion, I should say, a generous gift earlier. We'll use that.\"\n\n\"No, not Blood.\" Orchid rose heavily. \"I'll pay it, Patera. How much?\"\n\nSilk compelled himself to be scrupulously honest. \"I should tell you that we often bury the poor, and sometimes they have no money at all. The generous gods have always seen to it—\"\n\n\"I'm not poor!\" Orchid flushed an angry red. \"I been pretty flat sometimes, sure. Hasn't everybody? But I'm not flat now, and this's my sprat. The other girl, I had to—Oh, shag you, you shaggy butcher! How much for a good one?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Here was opportunity. Not merely to save the manteion the cost of Orpine's burial, but to pay for earlier graves bought but never paid for; Silk jettisoned his scruples to seize the moment." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'before' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If it's really not inconvenient, twenty cards?\"\n\n\"Let's go into the bedroom, Patera. That's where the book is. Come on.\"\n\nShe had opened the door and vanished into the next room before he could protest. Through the doorway he could see a rumpled bed, a cluttered vanity table, and a chaise longue half buried in gowns.\n\n\"Come on in.\" Orchid laughed, and this time there was real merriment in the sound. \"I bet you've never been in a woman's bedroom before, have you?\"\n\n\"Once or twice.\" Hesitantly, Silk stepped through the doorway, looking twice at the bed to assure himself that no one lay dying there. Presumably Orchid thought of it as a place for rest and lust, and possibly even for love. Silk could only too easily imagine his next visit, in ten years or twenty. All beds became deathbeds at last." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your mama's. You've gone into your mama's bedroom, I bet.\" Orchid plumped herself down before the vanity table, swept a dozen colored bottles and jars aside, and elevated an ormolu inkstand to the place of honor before her.\n\n\"Oh, yes. Many times.\"\n\n\"And looked through her things when she was out of the house. I know how you young bucks do.\" There were twenty bedraggled peacock quills at least wilting in the rings of the ormolu inkstand. Orchid selected one, then wrinkled her nose at it.\n\n\"I can sharpen that for you, if you like.\" Silk got out his pen case.\n\n\"Would you? Thanks.\" Revolving on the vanity stool, she handed the peacock quill to him. \"Did you ever try on her underwear?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk looked up from the quill, surprised." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, I never even thought of it. I did open a drawer once and peep into it, though. I felt so bad about it that I told her the next day. Do you have something to catch the shavings?\"\n\n\"Don't worry about them. You had a nice mama, huh? Is she still alive?\"\n\nSilk shook his head. \"Would you prefer a broad nib?\" Orchid did not reply, and he, contemplating the splayed and frowzy one before him, decided to give her one anyway. A broad nib used more ink, but she would not mind that; and broad nibs lasted longer.\n\n\"Mine died when I was little. I guess she was nice, but I really don't remember her very well. When somebody's dead, Patera, can they come back and see people they care about, if they want to?\"\n\n\"It depends on what is meant by see.\" With the slender blade of the long-handled penknife, Silk sliced yet another whitish sliver from the nib. He was accustomed to goose and crow quills; this was larger than either." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Talk to them. Visit with them a while, or just let them see you.\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk said.\n\n\"Just no? Why not?\"\n\n\"Hierax forbids it.\" He returned the quill to her and snapped his pen case shut. \"If he did not, the living would live at the direction of the dead, repeating their mistakes again and again.\"\n\n\"I used to wonder why she never came to see me,\" Orchid said. \"You know, I haven't thought about that in years, and now I'll think about Orpine, hoping that Hierax will let her out once or twice so I can see her again. Have a seat there on the bed, Patera. You're making me jittery.\"\n\nReluctantly, Silk smoothed the canary-colored sheet and sat down.\n\n\"A minute ago, you said twenty cards. That's about as cheap as they come, I bet.\"\n\n\"It would be modest,\" Silk admitted, \"but certainly not contemptible.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"All right, what about fifty? What would she get for that much?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Gods!\" He considered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't be absolutely sure. A better sacrifice and a much better casket. Flowers. A formal bier with draperies. Perhaps a—\"\n\n\"I'll make it a hundred,\" Orchid announced. \"It will make me feel better. A hundred cards, and everything the best.\" Orchid plunged her quill into the inkwell.\n\nSilk opened his mouth, closed it again, and put his pen case away.\n\n\"And you can say that I was her mother. I want you to say it. What do you call that thing where they stand up and talk in the manteion?\"\n\n\"The ambion,\" Silk said.\n\n\"Right. I never told them here, because I knew—we both knew—what sort of things the other girls would say about her, and me too, behind our backs. You tell them tomorrow. From the ambion. And put it on her stone.\"\n\nSilk nodded. \"I will.\"\n\nWith florid sweeps of her quill, Orchid was writing the draft." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tomorrow, right? When'll it be?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I had thought at eleven.\"\n\n\"I'll be there, Patera.\" Orchid's face hardened. \"We all will.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing a segment of a larger work\n\nLength:\n6 sentences\n\nStyle:\nGene Wolfe\nGenre:\nScience Fiction, Generation Ship\nNote: Characters may be pre-established" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk was still shaking his head as he closed Orchid's door behind him. Chenille was waiting in the hall outside; he wondered whether she had been eavesdropping, and if so how much she had heard.\n\nShe said, \"You wanted to talk to me?\"\n\n\"Not here.\"\n\n\"I waited in my room. You never came, so I came over here to see what was up.\"\n\n\"Of course.\" Orchid's draft for a hundred cards was still in his hand; he folded it once and thrust it into the the pocket of his robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I told you I'd be there in a few minutes, didn't I? We were a great deal longer than that, I'm afraid. I can only apologize.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You still want to talk in my room?\"\n\nSilk hesitated, then nodded. \"We must speak privately, and I'd like to see where it is.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writers block help pls. ill send something, u do 5 sentences. going for Gene Wolfe vibe. note: might have existing chars" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What Orchid's got used to be for the owner and his wife,\" Chenille explained." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then their sprats had rooms close to theirs, then upper servants, then maids, I guess. I'm about halfway on the inside. That's not so bad.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Turning left, Silk followed her down the musty hallway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Half look out on the court like mine does. That's not as good as it sounds, because they have big parties in there sometimes and it gets pretty noisy unless you stay till the end, and usually I don't. You take those drunks up to your room and they get sick—then you never get the smell out. Maybe you think it's gone, but wait for a rainy night.\"\n\nThey turned the corner.\n\n\"Sometimes they chase the girls along the gangways and make lots of noise. But the outside rooms on this side have windows on the alley. There's not much light, and it smells bad.\"\n\n\"I see,\" Silk said.\n\n\"So that's not so good either, and they have to have bars on their windows. I'd rather hang on to what I've got.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Add this exact quote somewhere appropriate: \"Are the rooms beyond yours vacant?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chenille halted, pulled a key on a string from between ample breasts, and opened a door.\n\n\"Are the rooms beyond yours vacant?\"\n\n\"Huh-uh. I don't think there's an empty room in the place. She's been turning them away for the last month or so. I've got a girlfriend that would like to move in, and I've got to tell her as soon as somebody goes.\"\n\n\"Perhaps she might occupy Orpine's room.\" Chenille's was less than half the size of Orchid's bedroom, with most of its floorspace taken up by an oversized bed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were chests along the wall, and an old wardrobe to which a hasp and padlock had been added." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yeah. Maybe. I'll tell her. You want me to leave the door open?\"\n\n\"I doubt that it would be wise.\"\n\n\"All right.\" She closed it. \"I won't lock us in. I don't lock when there's a man in here, it's not a good idea. You want to sit on the bed with me?\"\n\nSilk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Suit yourself.\" She sat down, and he lowered himself gratefully onto one of the chests, the lioness-headed stick clamped between his knees." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right, what is it?\"\n\nSilk glanced toward the open window. \"I should imagine it would be easy for someone to stand there on the gallery, just out of sight. It would be prudent for you to make sure no one is.\"\n\n\"Look here.\" She aimed a finger at him. \"I don't owe you one single thing, and you're not paying me, not even a couple bits. Orpine was kind of a friend of mine, we didn't fight much, anyhow, and I thought it was nice, what you did for her, so when you said you wanted to talk to me, I said fine. But I've got things to do, and I'll have to come back here tonight and sweat it like a sow. So talk, and I better like what you're going to say.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What would you do if you didn't, Chenille?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk asked mildly. \"Stab me? I don't think so; you've no dagger now.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her brightly painted mouth fell open then clamped shut again.\n\nSilk leaned back against the wall. \"It wasn't terribly obscure. If the Civil Guard had been notified, as I suppose it should have been, I'm certain they would have understood what happened at once. It took me a minute or two, but then I know very little about such things.\"\n\nHer eyes blazed. \"She did it herself! You saw it. She stabbed herself.\" Chenille gestured toward her own waist." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I saw her hand on the hilt of your dagger, certainly. Did you put it there? Or was it only that she was trying to pull it out when she died?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You can't prove anything!\"\n\nSilk sighed. \"Please don't be foolish. How old are you? Honestly now.\"\n\n\"What does that have to do with anything?\"\n\n\"Nothing, I suppose. It's only that you make me feel very old and wise, just as the children at our palaestra do. You're not much older than some of them, I believe.\"\n\nFor several seconds Chenille gnawed her lip." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At last she said, \"Nineteen. That's the lily word, too, or anyhow I think it is. As well as I can figure, I'm about nineteen. I'm older than a lot of the girls here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm twenty-three,\" Silk told her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"By the way, may I ask you to call me Patera? It will help me to remember who I am. What I am, if you prefer.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chenille shook her head. \"You think I'm some cank chit you can get to suck any pap you want to, don't you? Well, listen, I know a lot you never even dream about. I didn't stick Orpine. By Sphigx, I didn't! And you can't prove I did, either. What're you after, anyhow?\"\n\n\"Fundamentally I'm after you. I want to help you, if I can. All the gods—the Outsider knows that someone should have, long ago.\"\n\n\"Some help!\"\n\nSilk raised his shoulders and let them drop." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Little help so far, indeed; but we've hardly begun. You say that you know much more than I. Can you read?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Chenille shook her head, her lips tight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You see, although you know a great deal that I do not—I'm not denying that at all—what it comes down to is that we know different things. You are wise enough to swear falsely by Sphigx, for example; you know that nothing will happen to you if you do that, and I'm beginning to feel it's something I should learn, too. Yesterday morning I wouldn't have dared to do it. Indeed, I would hardly dare now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wasn't lying!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course you were.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk laid Blood's stick across his knees and studied the lioness's head for a moment. \"You said that I couldn't prove what I say. In one sense, you're quite correct. I couldn't prove my accusation in a court of law, assuming that you were a woman of wealth and position. You're not, but then I have no intention of making my case in any such court. I could convict you to Orchid or Blood easily, however. I'd add that you've admitted your guilt to me, as in fact you have now. Orchid would have the bald man who seems to live here beat you, I suppose, and force you to leave. I won't try to guess what Blood might do. Nothing, perhaps.\"\n\nThe raspberry-haired girl, still seated on the bed, would not meet his eyes.\n\n\"I could convince the Civil Guard, also, if I had to. It would be easy, Chenille, because no one cares about you. Very likely no one ever has, and that's why you're here now, living as you do in this house.\"\n\n\"I'm here because the money's good,\" she said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It wouldn't be. Not any longer. The big, bald man—I never learned his name—would knock out a tooth or two, I imagine. What Musk might do if Blood allowed him a free hand I prefer not to speculate on. I don't like him, and it may be that I'm prejudiced. You know him much better, I'm sure.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The girl on the bed made a slight, almost inaudible sound.\n\n\"You don't cry easily, do you?\"\n\nShe shook her head.\n\n\"I do.\" Silk smiled and shrugged again. \"Another of my all too numerous faults. I've been close to tears since I first set foot in this place, and the pain in my ankle is no help, I'm afraid. Will you excuse me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He pushed down his black stocking and took off Crane's wrapping." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was warm still to his touch, but he lashed the floor with it and replaced it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shall I explain to you what happened, or would you prefer to tell me?\"\n\n\"I'm not going to tell you anything.\"\n\n\"I hope to change your mind about that. It's necessary that you tell me a great deal, eventually.\" Silk paused to collect his thoughts. \"Very well, then. This unhappy house has been plagued by a certain devil. We'll call her that for the present at least, though I believe that I could name her. As I understand it, several people have been possessed at one time or another. Did they all live here, by the way? Or were patrons involved as well? Nobody's talked about that, if some were.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Only girls.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see. What about Orchid? Has she been possessed? She didn't mention it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Chenille shook her head again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Orpine? Was she one of them?\"\n\nThere was no reply. Silk asked again, with slightly more emphasis, \"Orpine?\"\n\nThe door opened, and Crane looked in. \"There you are! They said you were still around somewhere. How's your ankle?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Quite painful,\" Silk told him. \"The wrapping you lent me helped a great deal at first, but—\"\n\nCrane had crouched to touch it. \"Good and hot. You're walking too much. Didn't I tell you to stay off your feet?\"\n\n\"I have,\" Silk said stiffly, \"insofar as possible.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, try harder. As the pain gets worse you will anyhow. How's the exorcism coming?\"\n\n\"I haven't begun. I'm going to shrive Chenille, and that's far more important.\"\n\nLooking at Crane, Chenille shook her head.\n\n\"She doesn't know it yet, but I am,\" Silk declared.\n\n\"I see. Well, I'd better leave you alone and let you do it.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should naturally weave in this dialogue: \"You were asking about Orpine,\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The little physician left, closing the door behind him.\n\n\"You were asking about Orpine,\" Chenille said. \"No, she was never possessed that I know of.\"\n\n\"Let's not change the subject so quickly,\" Silk said. \"Will you tell me why that doctor takes such an interest in you?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your response should contain the word 'that's' precisely 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He doesn't.\"\n\nSilk made a derisive noise. \"Come now. He obviously does. Do you think I believe he came here to inquire about my leg? He came here looking for you. No one but Orchid could have told him I was here, and I left her only a few moments ago; almost the last thing she said to me was that she wanted to be alone. I just hope that Crane's interest is a friendly one. You need friends.\"\n\n\"He's my doctor, that's all.\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk said. \"He is indeed your doctor, but that's not all. When Orchid and I heard someone scream and went out into the courtyard, you were fully dressed. It was very noticeable, because you were the only woman present who was.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was going out!\"\n\n\"Yes, precisely. You were going out, and thus dressed, which I found a great relief—sneer if you like. I didn't begin, of course, by asking myself why you were dressed, but why the others weren't; and the answers were harmless and straightforward enough. They'd been up late the previous night. Furthermore, they expected to be examined by Crane, who would make them disrobe in any event, so there was no reason for them to dress until he'd left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Crane and I had arrived together just a few minutes earlier, yet you were fully dressed, which was why I noticed you and asked you to bring something to cover poor Orpine's body. The obvious inference is that you had been examined already; and if so, you must certainly have been first. It seemed possible that Crane had begun at the far end of the corridor, but he didn't—this room is only halfway to the old manteion at the back of the house. Why did he take you first?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know,\" Chenille said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I didn't even know I was. I was waiting for him, and he came in. If nothing's wrong, it only takes a second or two.\"\n\n\"He sells you rust, doesn't he?\"\n\nSurprised, Chenille laughed.\n\n\"I see I'm wrong—so much for logic. But Crane has rust; he mentioned it to me this morning as something that he could have given me to make me feel better. Orchid and a friend who knows you have both told me you use it, and neither has reason to lie. Furthermore, your behavior when you encountered Orpine confirms it.\"\n\nChenille appeared about to speak, and Silk waited for her to do so while silence collected in the stuffy room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At last she said, \"I'll level with you, Patera. If I give you the lily word, will you believe me?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Remember to mention: \"Only you're dead right, Crane's got it, and sometimes he gives me some, like today. We're friends, you know what I mean? I've done him a few favors and I don't charge him. So he looks at me first, and sometimes he gives me a little present.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you tell me the truth? Yes, certainly.\"\n\n\"All right. Crane doesn't sell me, or anybody, rust. Blood would have his tripes if he did. If you want it, you're supposed to buy it from Orchid. But some girls buy it outside sometimes. I do myself, once in a while. Don't tell them.\"\n\n\"I won't,\" Silk assured her.\n\n\"Only you're dead right, Crane's got it, and sometimes he gives me some, like today. We're friends, you know what I mean? I've done him a few favors and I don't charge him. So he looks at me first, and sometimes he gives me a little present.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Add this exact quote somewhere appropriate: \"Very well, then. You said that Orpine had never been possessed, but that was mendacious—she was possessed at the time of her death, in fact.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And thank you for calling me Patera. I noticed and appreciated that, believe me. Do you want to tell me about Orpine now?\"\n\nChenille shook her head stubbornly.\n\n\"Very well, then. You said that Orpine had never been possessed, but that was mendacious—she was possessed at the time of her death, in fact.\" The moment had come, Silk felt, to stretch the truth in a good cause. \"Did you really think that I, an anointed augur, could view her body and not realize that? When Crane had gone you took some of the rust he'd given you, dressed, and left your room by that other door, stepping out onto the gallery, which you call the gangway.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk paused, inviting contradiction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know where you had your dagger, but last year we found that one of the girls at our school had a dagger strapped to her thigh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At any rate, while you were coming down those wooden steps, you came face-to-face with Orpine, possessed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If you hadn't taken the rust Crane gave you, you would probably have screamed and fled; but rust makes people bold and violent. That was how I hurt my ankle last night, as it happens; I encountered a woman who used rust.\n\n\"In spite of the rust, Orpine's appearance must have horrified you; you realized you were confronting the devil all of you have come to fear, and your only thought was to kill her. You drew your dagger and stabbed her once, just below the ribs with the blade angled up.\"\n\n\"She said I was beautiful,\" Chenille whispered. \"She tried to touch me, to stroke my face. It wasn't Orpine—I might have knifed Orpine, but not for that. I backed away. She kept coming, and I knifed her. I knifed the devil, and then it was Orpine lying there dead.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I understand.\"\n\n\"You figured out my dagger, didn't you? I didn't think of it until it was too late.\"\n\n\"The picture representing your name, you mean. Yes, I did. I had been thinking about Orpine's name ever since I'd heard it. There's no point in going into that here, but I had. Crane gave you the dagger, isn't that right? You said a moment ago that he occasionally makes you a present. Your dagger must have been one of them.\"\n\n\"You think he gave it to me to get me into trouble,\" Chenille said. \"It wasn't like that at all.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What was it like?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One of the other girls had one. She has, most of us have—do you really care about all this?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Silk told her. \"I do.\"\n\n\"So she went out that night. She was going to meet him someplace to eat, I guess, only a couple of culls jumped her and tried to pull her down. She plucked, and cut them both." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That's what she says. Then she beat the hoof, only she'd got blood on her.\n\n\"So I wanted to get one for when I go out, but I don't know much about them, so I asked Crane where I could get a good one, where they wouldn't cheat me. He said he didn't know either, but he'd find out from Musk, because Musk knows all about knives and the rest of it, so next time he brought me that one. He'd got it specially made for me, or anyhow the picture put on.\"\n\n\"I see.\"\n\n\"Do you know, Patera, I'd never even seen chenille, not to know it was my flower anyway, till he brought me a bouquet for my room last spring? And I love it—that's when I did my hair this color. He said sometimes they call it burning cattail. We laugh about it, so when I asked he gave me the dagger. Bucks buy dells things like that pretty often, to show they trust her not to do anything.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is Doctor Crane the friend you mentioned?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No. That's somebody younger. Don't make me tell you who, unless you want to get me hurt.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chenille fell silent, tight-lipped. \"That's abram. This's going to hurt me a lot more, isn't it? But if I don't tell, he might help me if he can.\"\n\n\"Then I won't ask you again,\" Silk said. \"And I'm not going to tell Orchid or Blood, unless I must to save someone else. If the Guard were investigating, I suppose I'd have to tell the officer in charge, but I believe it might be a far worse injustice to turn you over to Blood than to permit you to go unpunished. Since that's the case, I'll let you go unpunished, or almost unpunished, if you'll do as I ask. Orpine's service will take place at eleven tomorrow, at my manteion on Sun Street. Orchid's going to demand that all of you to attend it, and doubtless many of you will. I want you to be among those who do.\"\n\nChenille nodded. \"Yeah. Sure, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And while the service is in progress, I want you to pray for Orpine and Orchid, as well as for yourself. Will you do that as well?\"\n\n\"To Hierax? All right, Patera, if you'll tell me what to say.\"\n\nSilk gripped Blood's walking stick, flexing it absently between his hands. \"Hierax is indeed the god of death and the caldé of the dead, and as such is the most appropriate object of worship at any such service. It will be Scylsday, however, and thus our sacrifice cannot be his alone.\"\n\n\"Uh-huh. That's about the only prayer I know—what they call her short litany. Will that be all right?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk laid aside the stick and leaned toward Chenille, his decision made." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 6 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There is one more god to whom I wish you to pray—a very powerful one who may be able to help you, as well as Orchid and poor Orpine. He is called the Outsider. Do you know anything about him?\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"Except for Pas and Echidna, and the days and months, I don't even know their names.\"\n\n\"Then you must open your heart to him tomorrow,\" Silk told her, \"praying as you've never prayed before. Praise him for his kindness toward me, and tell him how badly you—how badly all of us in this quarter need his help. If you do that, and your prayers are heartfelt and truthful, it won't matter what you say.\"\n\n\"The Outsider. All right.\"\n\n\"Now I'm going to shrive you, removing your guilt in the matter of Orpine's death and any other wrongs that you have done. Kneel here. You don't have to look at me.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Half the abandoned manteion had been converted into a small theater." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The old Window's still back there,\" Chenille explained, pointing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's the back of the stage, sort of, only we always keep a drop in front of it. There's four or five drops, I think. Anyhow, we go in back of the Window to towel off and powder, and there's a lot of hoses on the floor and hanging down back there.\"\n\nSilk was momentarily puzzled until he realized that the \"hoses\" were in actuality sacred cables. \"I understand,\" he said, \"but what you describe could be dangerous. Has anyone been hurt?\"\n\n\"A dell fell off the stage and broke her arm once, but she was pretty full.\"\n\n\"The powers of Pas must indeed have departed from this place. And no wonder. Very well.\" He put his bag and the triptych on seats. \"Thank you, Chenille. You may go out now if you wish, although I would prefer that you remain to take part in the exorcism.\"\n\n\"If you want me I'll stay, Patera. All right if I grab something to eat?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Certainly.\"\n\nHe watched her go, then shut the door to the courtyard behind her. Her mention of food had reminded him not only that he had given the cheese he had intended for his lunch to the bird, but of his fried tomatoes. No doubt Chenille would go to the pastry shop across the street. He shrugged and opened his bag, resolved to divert his mind from food.\n\nThere seemed to be a kitchen in the house, however; if Blood had not yet eaten, it was quite possible that he would invite him to lunch when the exorcism had been concluded. How long had it been since he had sat beneath the fig tree, watching Maytera Rose consume fresh rolls? Several hours, surely, but he had failed to share his breakfast with her; he was justly punished." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I will not eat,\" he muttered to himself as he unpacked the glass lamps and the little flask of oil, \"until someone invites me to a meal; then and only then shall I be free of this vow. Strong Sphigx, hardship is yours! Hear me now.\"\n\nPerhaps Orchid would wish to speak to him again about the arrangements for tomorrow; judging from her appearance (and thus, as he reminded himself, very possibly unfairly) Orchid ate often and well. She might easily fancy a bowl of grapes or a platter of peach fritters...\n\nLargely to take his mind off food, he called, \"Are you here, Mucor? Can you hear me?\"\n\nThere was no reply.\n\n\"I know it was you, you see. You've been following me, as you said you would last night. I recognized your face in Teasel's father's face this morning. Was it you that drank her blood? This afternoon I saw your face again, in poor Orpine's.\"\n\nHe waited but there was no whisper at his ear, no voice except his own echoing from the bare shiprock walls.\n\n\"Say something!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A gravid silence filled the deserted manteion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That woman screaming in this house last night while I was outside in the floater—it was too apposite for mere chance. The devil was there because I was, and you're that devil, Mucor. I don't understand how you do the things you do, but I know it's you that do them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had packed the glass lamps in rags. As he unwrapped one, he caught sight of what might almost have been Mucor's death's-head grin. Carrying a lamp in each hand, he limped to the stage to look more closely at the painted canvas—it was presumably what Chenille had called a drop—behind it.\n\nThe scene was a crude mockery of Campion's celebrated painting of Pas enthroned. As depicted here, Pas had two erections as well as two heads; he nursed one in each hand. Before him, worshipful humanity engaged in every perversion that Silk had ever heard of, and several that were entirely new to him. In the original painting, two of Pas's taluses, mighty machines of a peculiarly lovely butter yellow, were still at work upon the whorl, planting a sacred goldenshower in back of Pas's throne. Here the taluses were furnished with obscene war rams, while Pas's blossom-freighted holy tree had been replaced by a gigantic phallus." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Overhead the vast, dim faces of the spiritual Pas leered and slavered.\n\nAfter carefully setting the blue lamps on the edge of the stage, Silk extracted Hyacinth's azoth from beneath his tunic. He wanted to slash the hateful thing before him to ribbons, but to do so would certainly destroy whatever might remain of the Window behind it. He pressed the demon, and with one surgical stroke slit the top of the painted canvas from side to side. The detestable painting vanished with a thump, in a cloud of dust.\n\nBlood came in while he was setting up his triptych in front of the blank, dark face of the Window. Votive lamps burned again before that abandoned Window now, their bright flames stabbing upward from the blue glass as straight as swords; thuribles lifted slender pale columns of sweet smoke from the four corners of the stage.\n\n\"What did you do that for?\" Blood demanded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk glanced up. \"Do what?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Destroy the scenery.\" Blood mounted the three steps at one side of the stage." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't you know what that stuff costs?\"\n\n\"No,\" Silk told him. \"And I don't care. You're going to make a profit of thirteen thousand cards on my manteion. You can use a fraction of it to replace what I've destroyed, if you choose. I don't advise it.\"\n\nBlood kicked the pile of canvas. \"None of the others did anything like this.\"\n\n\"Nor were their exorcisms effective. Mine will be—or so I have reason to believe.\" With the triptych centered between the lamps to his satisfaction, Silk turned to face Blood. \"You are afflicted by devils, or one devil at least. I won't bother to explain just who that devil is now, but do you know how a place or a person—any person—falls into the power of devils?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Pah! I don't believe in them, Patera. No more than I do in your gods.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you serious?\" Silk bent to retrieve the walking stick Blood had given him. \"You said something of the sort yesterday morning, but you have a fine effigy of Scylla in front of your villa. I saw it.\"\n\n\"It was there when I acquired the property. But if it hadn't been, I might have put up something like that anyway, I admit. I'm a loyal son of Viron, Patera, and I like to show it.\" Blood stooped to examine the triptych. \"Where's Pas?\"\n\nSilk pointed.\n\n\"That whirlwind? I thought he was an old man with two heads.\"\n\n\"Any representation of a god is ultimately a lie,\" Silk explained. \"It may be a convenient lie, and it may even be a reverent one; but it's ultimately false. Great Pas might choose to appear as your old man, or as the spiraling storm which is his eldest representation. Neither image would be more nearly true than the other, or more true than any other—merely more appropriate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood straightened up. \"You were going to tell me about devils.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 6 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'blood' exactly 5 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But I won't, not at present at least. It would take some time, and you wouldn't believe me in any case. You've saved me a decidedly unwelcome walk, however. I want you to assemble every living person in this house in this theater. Yourself, Musk if he's come back, Crane, Orchid, Chenille, the bald man, all the young women, and anyone else who may be present. By the time you get them in here, I will have completed my preparations.\"\n\nBlood mopped his sweating face with a handkerchief. \"I don't take orders from you, Patera.\"\n\n\"Then I will tell you this much about devils.\" Silk freed his imagination and felt it soar. \"They are here, and one person has died already. Once they have tasted blood, they grow fond of it. I might add that it is by no means unusual to find them acting upon merely verbal resemblances, notions that you or I might consider only puns. It's apt to occur to them that if ordinary blood is good, the blood of Blood should be much better. You'd be wise to keep that in mind.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around two sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Note: Characters may be introduced as if already known - maintain any existing context or treat as new if unclear.\n\nGenre: Science Fiction, Generation Ship" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The women arrived by twos and threes, curious and more or less willingly driven by Musk and the muscular bald man, whose name seemed to be Bass; soon they were joined by Loach and Moorgrass from Silk's own manteion, both frightened and very glad to see him. Eventually Crane and a dry-eyed, grim Orchid took seats in the last row." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk waited for Blood, Bass, and Musk to join them before he began." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let me describe—\"\n\nHis words were drowned by the chattering of the women." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Quiet!\" Orchid had risen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shut up, you sluts!\"\n\n\"Let me describe,\" Silk began again, \"what has happened here and what we will be trying to accomplish. The entire whorl was originally under the protection of Great Pas, the Father of the Gods. Otherwise it could never have existed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He paused, studying the faces of the twenty-odd young women before him intently, and feeling rather as if he were addressing Maytera Mint's class in the palaestra." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Great Pas planned every part of it, and it was constructed by his slaves under his direction. In that way were the courses of all our rivers charted, and Lake Limna itself dug deep. In that way were the oldest trees planted, and the manteions through which we are to know him built. You are sitting, of course, in one such manteion. When the whorl was complete, Pas blessed it.\"\n\nSilk paused again, counting silently to three, as he so often had at the ambion, while he searched the faces of his audience for one that had come to resemble the mad girl's, however subtly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Even if you're inclined to dispute what I've said, I require that you accept it for the present, for the sake of this exorcism. Is there anyone here who cannot accept it? If so, please stand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stared hard at Blood, but Blood did not rise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Very well,\" Silk continued. \"Please understand that it was not merely the whorl as a whole that received Pas's blessing and with it his protection. Each individual part received it as well, and most have it still." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"At times, however, and for good reasons, Pas withdraws his protection from certain parts of this whorl he created. It may be a tree, a field, an animal, a person, or even an entire city. In this instance, it is surely a building—the one we are in now, the one that has since become a part of this house, so that Pas's protection has departed from the entire house.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He let that sink in while his eyes roved from face to face. All of Orchid's women were relatively young, and one or two were strikingly beautiful; many if not most were more than ordinarily good-looking." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "None resembled Mucor in the least.\n\n\"What, you may ask, does that mean?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Does it mean that the tree dies or the city burns?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, it does not. Suppose that one of you owned a cat, one that bit and scratched you until at last, in disgust, you thrust your cat out into the street and shut your door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That cat, which once was yours, would not die—or at least, it would not die immediately." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But when dogs attacked it, there would be no one to defend it, and any passerby who wished to stone it or lay claim to it could do so with impunity.\n\n\"So it is with those of us from whom Pas's blessing has been taken. Some of you, I know, have suffered possession here, and in a few moments I am going to ask one of you who has been possessed to describe it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A small dark woman at one end of the first row grinned, and though little in her face had changed, it seemed to Silk that he could see the skull that underlay it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He relaxed, and realized that his palms were running with sweat, that the carved handle of Blood's walking stick was slippery with it, his forehead beaded with perspiration that threatened to run into his eyes. He wiped it away with the sleeve of his robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This object behind me was once a Sacred Window—I doubt that there is anyone present who is so ignorant that she does not know that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Through the Window that this once was, Lord Pas spoke to mankind. So it is with the gods, as every one of you must know—they speak to us by means of the Windows that Great Pas built for them and us." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They have other ways as well, of course, of which augury is but one." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That doesn't alter the fact that the Windows are the primary means. Is it any wonder, then, that when we permitted this one to fall into disrepair, Pas withdrew his blessing?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I say we, because I include myself; we, every man and every woman in Viron, let this devilish thing happen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In preparation for this exorcism, I did everything that I could to repair your Window. I cleaned and tightened its connections, spliced and reconnected its broken cables, and attempted certain other more difficult repairs. As you see, I failed. Your Window remains lightless and lifeless. It remains closed to Pas, and we can only hope that he will take the will for the deed and restore his blessing to this house, as we pray.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Several of the young women traced the sign of addition in the air.\n\nSilk nodded approvingly, then looked straight at the dark woman. \"Now I am going to speak directly to the devil who has come among us, for I know that it is here, and that it hears me." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That very great god the Outsider has placed you in my power. You, also, have a window, as we both know. I can close it, and lock it against you, if I choose. Depart from this house forever, or I will so choose.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk struck the stage with Blood's stick. \"Be gone!\"\n\nThe young women started and gasped, and the dark one's grin faded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was (Silk told himself) as though she'd had a fever; the fever was draining away as he watched, and her delirium with it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now I have spoken enough for the present. Orchid, I asked Chenille a while ago whether you'd been possessed, and she said you hadn't. Is that correct?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Orchid nodded.\n\n\"Stand up, please, and speak loudly enough for all of us to hear you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Orchid rose and cleared her throat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, Patera. It's never happened to me. And I don't want it to.\"\n\nSeveral of the young women tittered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It will never happen to any of you again. I believe that I can promise you that, and I do. Orchid, you know to whom it has already happened. Who are they?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Violet and Crassula.\"\n\nSilk gestured with the walking stick." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Will they stand up, please?\"\n\nReluctantly, they did so, Violet taller than most, with sleek black hair and flashing eyes; Crassula thin and almost plain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk said, \"This isn't all. I know that there's one more at least. If you've been possessed, please stand up, even if Orchid did not name you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood was smiling in the back row; he nudged Musk, who smiled in return as he cleaned his nails with a long-bladed knife. The women stared at one another; a few whispered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly, the small, dark woman rose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you, my daughter,\" Silk said. \"Yes, you're the one. Has the devil gone now?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So do I. What's your name, my daughter?\"\n\n\"Poppy, Patera. Only I still don't feel quite like I did before.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see. You know, Poppy, Orchid mentioned you to me when we were talking earlier, I suppose—\" He was on the point of saying that it had probably been because she was Chenille's opposite physically; at the last possible moment he substituted, \"because you're very attractive. That may have had something to do with your possession, although I can't be certain. When were you possessed, Poppy?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just now.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Speak louder, please. I don't believe everyone can hear you.\"\n\nPoppy raised her voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just now, until you said be gone, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And how did it feel, Poppy?\"\n\nThe small, dark girl began to tremble." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If it frightens you too much, you don't have to tell us. Would you rather sit back down?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I felt like I was dead. I didn't care any more about anything, and I was right here but far away. I was seeing all the same things, but they meant different things, and I can't explain. People were hollow, like clothes nobody was wearing, all of them except you.\"\n\nViolet said, \"I had my best pins in my hair, and I laid one on the washstand. I didn't want to, but I did, and the drain sort of reached up and ate it, a real good pin with a turquoise head, and I thought it was funny.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"And for you, Crassula?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wanted to fly, and I did. I stood up in the bed and jumped off and sort of flew around the room. He hit me, but I didn't care.\"\n\n\"Was this last night? One of you was possessed last night. Was it you, Crassula?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The thin woman nodded wordlessly.\n\n\"Was it you who screamed last night? I was here then—outside the house, on Lamp Street, and I heard someone scream.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That was Orpine. It had come back and I was throwing things. The flying was the first time, last month.\"\n\nSilk nodded, looking thoughtful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you, Crassula. I should also thank Poppy and Violet, and I do. I've never had the opportunity to speak with anyone who's been possessed before now, and what you've told me may be helpful to me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mucor was gone, or at least he could no longer see her in any of the faces before him. When they had met in Sun Street, Blood had told him that there were human beings who could possess others; he wondered whether Blood did not at least suspect that the devil who had troubled this house was his daughter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk decided that it might be best not to give him more time in which to think of it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now we're going to sing the song that we will sing in the course of the ceremony. Stand up, all of you, and join hands. Blood, you and Musk and the rest must sing with us. Come to the front and join hands.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most of them did not know the Hymn to Every God, but Silk taught them the chorus and the first three verses, and eventually achieved a creditable performance, to which Musk, who so seldom spoke, supplied a more than adequate tenor.\n\n\"Good! That was our rehearsal, and in a moment we'll begin the ceremony. We'll start outside. This little jar of paint and this brush—\" Silk displayed them, \"have been blessed and consecrated already. Five of you, chosen from among those who live in this house, will participate in the restoration of the voided cross over the Music Street door, while the rest of us sing. It would be best if the three who have been possessed were among that five. After that, we'll circle the house three times in procession, and then assemble in here once more for the final casting out.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Outside, while surprised urchins stared and pointed at the women, many of whom were still only half dressed, Silk chose the additional representatives, selecting two who were slight of build from among those who seemed to be taking the proceedings most seriously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Hymn to Every God sounded faint and thin in the open air of Music Street, but a score of watching loungers removed their hats as Blood and Bass gravely lifted each of the five in turn on their shoulders." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gammadion by gammadion the nearly effaced voided cross was restored to prominence. When the base line had been added beneath it, Silk burned the brush and the remainder of the paint in the largest thurible." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Aren't you going to sacrifice?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Orchid asked. \"The others did.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "IMPORTANT: 'sacrifice' should appear 2 times in total" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've just done so,\" Silk told her. \"A sacrifice need not be of a living beast, and you've just witnessed one that wasn't. Should a second exorcism be required, we will offer a beast, and retrace the sacred design in its blood. Do you understand the sacrifice, and why we're doing all this? I'm assuming that the evil being entered your house through this Music Street door, since it is the only outside entrance to the profaned manteion.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Orchid nodded hesitantly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good.\" Silk smiled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"As the second part proper of this exorcism, we will march in solemn procession, making a threefold circuit of the entire structure, while I read from the Chrasmologic Writings. It might be best if you were to walk behind me, and for the four men to take positions from which they can maintain order.\"\n\nHe raised his voice for the benefit of the listening women." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It will not be necessary for you to keep in step like troopers. It will be necessary that you remain in a single file and pay attention to what I read.\"\n\nHe got out his glasses, wiped them on his sleeve, and put them on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the young women tittered nervously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Would Hyacinth laugh so, if she were to see him with these small and always somewhat smeared lenses before his eyes? Surely she would—she had laughed at less ridiculous things when they had been together." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For the first time it struck him that she might have laughed as she had because she had been happy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He himself had been happy then, though for no good reason.\n\nAs he cleared his throat, he sought to recollect those emotions. No, not happy—joyful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Joyous. Silk endeavored to imagine his mother offering Hyacinth the pale, greenish limeade that they had drunk each year during the hottest weather, and failed utterly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"'A devil does violence to itself, first of all, when it becomes an abscess and, as it were, a cancer in the whorl, as far as it can; for to be enraged at anything in the whorl is to separate oneself from that whorl, and its ultimately semi-divine nature, in some part of which the various natures of all other things whatsoever are contained. Secondly, a devil does violence to itself when it turns away from any good man, and moves against him with the intention of doing harm.'\"\n\nSilk risked a glance behind him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Orchid's hands were clasped in prayer, and the younger women were following in decent order, though a few seemed to be straining to hear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He elevated his voice.\n\n\"'Thirdly, a devil does violence to itself whenever it succumbs to the pleasure of pain. Fourthly, when it plays a part, whether acting or speaking insincerely or untruthfully. Fifthly, when it acts or moves, always aimlessly... '\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had completed half of the third and final circuit when a window shattered above their heads, subjecting Crane, near the end of their straggling line, to a shower of glass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just the devil departing,\" he assured the women around him. \"Don't start yelling.\"\n\nOrchid had stopped to stare up at the broken window." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's one of my rooms!\"\n\nA feminine voice from the window, vibrant and firm, spoke like thunder. \"Send up your augur to me!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around two sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Note: Characters may be introduced as if already known - maintain any existing context or treat as new if unclear.\n\nGenre: Science Fiction, Generation Ship" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hers was the most beautiful face that Silk had ever seen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It hovered behind the glass in Orchid's sellaria, above a suggestion of neck and shoulders; and its smile was at once innocent, inviting, and sensual, the three intermingling to form a new quality, unknown and unknowable, desirable and terrifying.\n\n\"I've been watching you... Watching for you. Silk? Silk. What a lovely name! I've always, always loved silk, Silk. Come to me and sit down. You're limping, I've seen you. Draw up a chair to the glass. You mended our broken Window, mended it a little bit, anyway, and that's part of this house now, you said, Silk.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had knelt, head bowed.\n\n\"Sit down, please. I want to see your face. Aren't you paying me honor? You should do what I ask.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, O Great Goddess,\" he said, and rose. This wasn't Echidna, surely; this goddess was too beautiful, and seemed almost too kind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Scylla had eight, or ten, or twelve arms; but he could not see her arms. Sphigx—it was Sphigxday—\n\n\"Sit down. There's a little chair behind you, Silk. I can see it. It was very nice of you to mend our terminal.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyes were of a color he had never seen before, a blue so deep that it was almost black, without being truly black or even dark, their lids so heavy that she seemed blind.\n\n\"I would have revealed myself to you then, if I could. I could see and hear you, but not that. There's no power for the beam, I think. It still won't light. So disappointing. Perhaps you can do something more?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He nodded, speechless." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you. I know you'll try. In mending that, you mended this, I think. It's dusty.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She laughed, and her laughter was the chiming of bells far away, bells cast of a metal more precious than any gold." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Isn't it funny? I could break that window. By making the right sound. And holding it until the glass broke. Because I could hear you outside reading something. You didn't stop the first time I called. I suppose you didn't hear me?\"\n\nHe wanted to run but shook his head instead." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, Great Goddess. I'm terribly sorry.\"\n\n\"But I can't wipe the glass. Wipe this glass for me, Silk. And I'll forgive you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you'll—My handkerchief has blood on it, Great Goddess. Perhaps in there—\"\n\n\"I won't mind. Unless it's still wet. Do as I asked. Won't you, please?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk got out his handkerchief, stained with Orpine's blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At each step he took toward the glass, he felt that he was about to burst into flames or dissolve into the air like smoke." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I watched him kill a thousand once. Men, mostly. It was in the square. I watched from my balcony. They made them kneel facing him, and some still knelt when they were dead.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It seemed the depth of blasphemy to whisk his ragged, bloodstained handkerchief up and down those lovely features, which when the dust was gone seemed more real than he. Not Molpe; Molpe's hair fell across her face. Not—" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wanted to faint. But he was watching me from his balcony. Much higher up, with a flag over the thing there. The little wall. I was staying at his friend's house then. I saw so much then. It doesn't bother me any more. Have you sacrificed to me today? Or yesterday? Some of those big white bunnies, or a white bird?\"\n\nThe victims identified her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, Kypris,\" Silk said. \"The fault is mine; and I will, as soon as I can.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She laughed again, more thrilling than before." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't bother. Or let those women do it. I want other services from you. You're lame. Won't you sit down now? For me? There's a chair behind you.\"\n\nSilk nodded and gulped, finding it very difficult to think of words in the presence of a goddess, harder still when his eyes strayed to her face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He struggled to recall her attributes. \"I hurt my ankle, O Great Goddess Kypris. Last night.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Bouncing out of Hyacinth's window.\" Her smile grew minutely wider." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You looked like a big black rabbit. You really shouldn't have. You know, Silk? Hy wouldn't have hurt you. Not with that big sword or any other way. She liked you, Silk. I was in her, so I know.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He took a deep breath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I had to, Gentle Kypris, in order to preserve the anipotence by which I behold you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Because Echidna lets you see us in our Sacred Windows, then. Like a child.\"\n\n\"Yes, Gentle Kypris; by her very great kindness to us, she does.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And am I the first, Silk? Have you never seen a god before?\"\n\n\"No, Gentle Kypris. Not like this. I had hoped to, perhaps when I was old, like Patera Pike. Then yesterday in the ball court—And last night. I went into that woman's dressing room without knocking and saw colors in the glass there, colors that looked like the Holy Hues. I've still never seen them, but they told us—we had to memorize the descriptions, actually, and recite them.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk paused for breath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And it seemed to me—it has always seemed to me, ever since I used the glass at the schola, that a god might use a glass. May I tell them about this at the schola?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kypris was silent for a moment, her face pensive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't think... No. No, Silk. Don't tell anybody.\"\n\nHe made a seated bow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was there last night. Yes. But not for you. Only because I play with Hy sometimes. Now she reminds me of the way I used to be, but all that will be over soon. She's twenty-three. And you, Silk? How old are you?\"\n\n\"Twenty-three, Gentle Kypris.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There. You see. I prompted you. I know I did.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She shook her head almost imperceptibly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All that abstinence! And now you've seen a goddess. Me. Was it worth it?\"\n\n\"Yes, Loving Kypris.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She laughed again, delighted. \"Why?\"\n\nThe question hung in the silence of the baking sellaria while Silk tried to kick his intellect awake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At length he said haltingly, \"We are so much like beasts, Kypris. We eat and we breed; then we spawn and die. The most humble share in a higher existence is worth any sacrifice.\"\n\nHe waited for her to speak, but she did not." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Precise word count needed: 'sacrifice' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What Echidna asks isn't actually much of a sacrifice, even for men. I've always thought of it as a token, a small sacrifice to show her—to show all of you—that we are serious. We're spared a thousand quarrels and humiliations, and because we have no children of our own, all children are ours.\"\n\nThe smile faded from her lovely face, and the sorrow that displaced it made his heart sink." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I won't talk to you again, Silk. Or at least not very soon. No, soon. I am hunted...\" Her perfect features faded to dancing colors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He rose and found that he was cold in his sweat-soaked tunic and robe, despite the heat of the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Vacantly, he stared at the shattered window; it was the one he had opened when he had spoken with Orchid." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The gods—Kypris herself—had prompted him to throw it open, perhaps; but Orchid had closed it again as soon as he left, as he should have known she would." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He trembled, and felt that he was waking from a dream.\n\nAn awful silence seemed to fill the empty house, and he remembered vaguely that it was said that haunted houses were the quietest of all, until the ghost walked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Everyone was outside, of course, waiting on Lamp Street where he had left them, and he would be able to tell them nothing.\n\nHe visualized them standing in their silent, straggling line and looking at one another, or at no one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "How much had they overheard through the window?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 3 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Quite possibly they had heard nothing.\n\nHe wanted to jump and shout, to throw Orchid's untasted goblet of brandy out the window or at the empty glass. He knelt instead, traced the sign of addition, and rose with the help of Blood's stick." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Outside, Blood demanded to know who had summoned him. Silk shook his head.\n\n\"You won't tell me?\"\n\n\"You don't believe in the gods, or in devils, either. Why should I tell you something at which you would only scoff?\"\n\nA woman whose hair had been bleached until it was as yellow as Silk's own, exclaimed, \"That was no devil!\"\n\n\"You must keep silent about anything you heard,\" Silk told her. \"You should have heard nothing.\"\n\nBlood said, \"Musk and Bass were supposed to have found every woman in the place and made them come to this ceremony of yours. If they missed any of them, I want to know about it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned to Orchid." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You know your girls. Are they all here?\"\n\nShe nodded, her face set. \"All but Orpine.\"\n\nMusk was staring at Silk as though he wanted to murder him; Silk met his eyes, then turned away. Speaking loudly to the group at large, he said, \"We've never completed our third circuit. It is necessary that we do so. Return to your places, please.\" He tapped Blood's shoulder. \"Go back to your place in the procession.\"\n\nOrchid had kept the Writings for him, her finger at the point at which he had stopped reading. He opened the heavy volume there and began to pace and read again, a step for each word, as the ritual prescribed: \"Man, himself, creates the conditions necessary for advance by struggling with and yielding to his animal desires; yet nature, the experiences of the spirit, and materiality need never be. His torment depends upon himself, yet the effects of that torment are always sufficient. You must consider this.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The words signified nothing; the preternaturally lovely face of Kypris interposed itself. She had seemed completely different from the Outsider, and yet he felt that they were one, that the Outsider, who had spoken in so many voices, had now spoken in another. The Outsider had cautioned him to expect no help, Silk reminded himself as he had so many times since that infinite instant in the ball court; he felt that he had received it nevertheless, and was about to receive more. His hands shook, and his voice broke like a boy's.\n\n\"... has of all merely whorlly intellectual ambition and aspiration.\"\n\nHere was the door of the derelict manteion, with Pas's voided cross fresh and bright above it in black paint that had not yet dried. He closed the Writings with a bang and opened the door, led the way in and limped up the steps to the stage that had once been a sanctuary.\n\n\"Sit down, please. It doesn't matter whom you sit with, because we won't be long. We're almost finished.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Leaning on Blood's walking stick, he waited for them to get settled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am about to order the devil forth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I see that the last person in our procession—Bass, I suppose—shut the door behind him. For this part of the ceremony it should be open.\" Providentially, he remembered the thin woman's name. \"Crassula, you're sitting closest. Will you open it for us, please?\n\n\"Thank you. Since you were one of the possessed, it might be well to begin this final act of exorcism with you. Do you have a good memory?\"\n\nCrassula shook her head emphatically.\n\n\"All right. Who does?\"\n\nChenille stood up. \"I do, Patera. Pretty good, and I haven't had a drop since last night.\"\n\nSilk hesitated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Slowly, Silk nodded. This was to be a meritorious act, of course; he could only hope that she was capable. \"Here's the formula all of us will use: 'Go, in the names of these gods, never to return.' Perhaps you'd better repeat it.\"\n\n\"Go, in the names of these gods, never to return.\"\n\n\"Very good. I hope that everyone heard you. When I've finished, I'll point to you. Pronounce your own name loudly, then recite the formula—'Go in the names of these gods, never to return.' Then I'll point out the next person, the woman beside you, and she is to say her own name and repeat the formula she'll have just heard you use. Is there anyone who doesn't understand?\"\n\nHe scanned their faces as he had earlier, but found no trace of Mucor. \"Very well.\"\n\nSilk forced himself to stand very straight. \"If there is anything in this house that does not come in the name of the gods, may it be gone. I speak here for Great Pas, for Strong Sphigx, for Scalding Scylla...\" The sounding names seemed mere words, empty and futile as the sighings of the hot wind that had blown intermittently since spring; and he had not been able to make himself pronounce that of Echidna. \"For the Outsider, and for Gentle Kypris. I, Silk, say it! Go, in the names of these gods, never to return.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Precise word count needed: 'names' × 3" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pointed toward the woman with the raspberry-colored hair, and she said loudly, \"Chenille! Go, in the names of these gods, never to return!\"\n\n\"Mezereon. Go, in the names of these gods, never to return.\"\n\nOrchid spoke after the younger women, in a firm, clear voice. After her, Blood positively thundered—there was, Silk decided, a broad streak of actor in the man. Musk was inaudible; Silk could not help but feel that he was calling to devils, rather than casting them out.\n\nSilk waited on the uppermost of the three steps as he pointed to Bass, who stammered as he pronounced his own name and rumbled out the formula.\n\nSilk started down the steps, hurrying despite his pain.\n\nDoctor Crane, the final speaker, said, \"Crane. Go, in the names of these gods, never to return. And now—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk slammed shut the door to Music Street and shot the bolt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"—I've got to go myself. I'm late already. Stay off that ankle!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good-bye,\" Silk told him, \"and thank you for the ride and your treatment.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He raised his voice. \"All of you may leave. The exorcism is complete.\"\n\nSuddenly very weary, he sat down on the second step and unwound the wrapping. All the young women had begun to talk at once. He flailed the dull red tiles of the floor with the wrapping, and then, recalling Crane, flung it as hard as he could against the nearest wall.\n\nA hush fell as the chattering women streamed out into the courtyard; by the time he had replaced the wrapping, he thought himself alone; he looked up, and Musk stood before him, as silent as ever, his hands at his sides.\n\n\"Yes, my son. What is it?\"\n\n\"You ever see how a hawk kills a rabbit?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No. I spent all but one year of my boyhood here in the city, I'm afraid. Did you wish to speak to me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musk shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wanted to show you how a hawk kills a rabbit.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" Silk said. \"I'm watching.\"\n\nMusk did not respond; after half a minute or more Silk rose, gripping Blood's stick. The long-bladed knife seemed to come from nowhere—to appear in Musk's hand as though called forth by a nod from Pas. Musk thrust, and Silk felt an explosion of pain in his chest. He staggered and dropped the walking stick; one heel struck the step behind him, and he fell.\n\nBy the time that he was able to pull himself up, Musk was gone. Hyacinth's azoth was in Silk's hand, though he could not recall drawing it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stared at it, dropped it clattering to the floor, clutched his chest, then opened his robe.\n\nHis tunic showed no tear, no blood. He pulled it up and touched the spot gingerly; it was inflamed and very painful. A single drop of darkly crimson blood appeared on the surface and trickled away.\n\nHe let his tunic fall again, and picked up the azoth to examine its pommel, running his fingers across the faceted gem there. That was it, and there had been no miracle. Musk had reversed his knife with a motion too swift to be seen as he had thrust, striking hard with its pommel, which must itself be in some fashion pointed or sharply angled.\n\nAnd he himself, Patera Silk, the Outsider's servant, had been ready to kill Musk, believing that Musk had killed him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had not known that he could come so easily to murder." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 4 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He would have to watch his temper, around Musk particularly.\n\nThe gem, which he had supposed colorless, caught a ray of sunlight from the god-gate in the roof and flashed a watery green. For some reason, it reminded him of her eyes. He put it to his lips, his thoughts full of things that could never be." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "user starts, u write ~12 sentences more. copy Gene Wolfe's style. heads up: might have existing chars/lore" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To spare his broken ankle, he had waited until Moorgrass had finished washing and dressing the body, so that he might ride back to the manteion in Loach's wagon.\n\nThey would need a coffin, and ice. Ice was very costly, but having accepted a hundred cards from Orchid, he could not refuse her daughter ice. Mutes could be engaged easily and cheaply. On the other hand—\n\nLoach's wagon lurched to a stop, and Silk looked up in surprise at the weather-stained facade of his own manteion. Loach inquired, \"Lay her on the altar for now, Patera?\"\n\nHe nodded; it was what they always did.\n\n\"Let me help you down, Patera. About my pay—\"\n\nThe fisc was closed, of course, and would not open at all on Scylsday. \"See me after sacrifice tomorrow,\" Silk said. \"No, on Molpsday. Not before then.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The icemongers might cash Orchid's draft for him if he bought enough ice, but there was no point in relying on that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk came out of the mansion, waved, and wedged the door open; the sight of him snapped Silk out of his calculations." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm sorry I'm late,\" he called." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There was a death.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk's heavy, brutal face took on what seemed intended as an expression of concern." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Friend of yours, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Silk said. \"I didn't know her.\"\n\nAuk smiled. He helped Loach carry Orpine's shrouded body inside, where a new coffin, plain but sturdy-looking, waited on a catafalque.\n\nMaytera Marble rose from the shadows, the silver gleam of her face almost ghostly. \"I arranged for these, Patera. The man you sent said that we'd require them. They can be returned, if they're not suitable.\"\n\n\"We'll need a better casket tomorrow.\" Silk fumbled in his pockets, and at length produced Orchid's draft. \"Take this, please. It's payable to bearer. Get ice, half a load of ice, and see if they'll cash it for you. Flowers, too. Arrange for a grave, if it's not too late.\"\n\nA tiny, but abrupt and uncoordinated, movement of her head as she glanced at the draft betrayed Maytera Marble's surprise.\n\n\"You're right.\" Silk nodded as she looked up at him. \"It's a great deal. I'll get the victims in the morning, a white heifer if I can find one, and a rabbit for Kypris—several, I ought to say. And a black lamb and a black cock for Tartaros; I pledged those last night. But we must have the ice tonight, and if you could take care of it, Maytera, I would be exceedingly grateful.\"\n\n\"For Kypris the—? All right, Patera. I'll try.\" She hurried away, the rapid taps of her footfalls like the soft rattle of a snare drum." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Use the word 'night' 2 time(s) - this is a strict requirement" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head and looked about for Loach, but Loach had already left, unobserved.\n\nAuk said, \"If there's ice left in Viron, she'll find it. She teach you, Patera?\"\n\n\"No. I wish now that she had—she and Maytera Mint. But I should have asked her to arrange for mutes. Well, it can be taken care of tomorrow. Can we talk here, Auk, or would you prefer to go to the manse?\"\n\n\"Have you eaten yet, Patera? I was hoping you'd have a bite of supper with me while you told me what happened last night.\"\n\n\"I couldn't pay my share, I'm afraid.\"\n\n\"I asked you, Patera. I wouldn't let you pay if you wanted to. But you listen here.\" Auk's voice dropped to a whisper. \"I'm in this as much as you are. It was me that helped you. I got a right to know.\"\n\n\"Of course. Of course.\" Silk sank wearily into a seat near the catafalque. \"Sit down, please. It hurts my ankle to stand. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. To tell the truth, I need to tell someone—to talk all of it over, and other things, too. Everything that happened today. And I'd like very much to go to dinner with you. I'm beginning to like you, and I'm terribly hungry; but I can't walk far. Much as I appreciate your generosity, perhaps we should dine together some other night.\"\n\n\"We don't have to leg it over to the Orilla. There's a nice place right down the street. They got the tenderest, juiciest roasts you ever cut on the side of your flipper.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk grinned, showing square, yellow teeth that looked fully capable of severing a human hand at the wrist." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 7 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Suppose I was to buy an augur—one that really needed it—a dimber uphill dinner. Whatever he wanted. That'd be a meritorious act, wouldn't it?\"\n\n\"I suppose so. Nevertheless, you must consider that he may not deserve one.\"\n\n\"I'll keep it in mind.\" Auk strolled to the coffin and pulled down the shroud. \"Who is she?\"\n\n\"Orchid's daughter Orpine. That was nicely done, but you knew her, I'm sure.\"\n\n\"Her daughter?\" Leaving Orpine's body, Auk took Silk's arm. \"Come on, Patera. If we don't get over there, we'll have to eat in the public room.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musk had caught sight of his eagle before he stepped out of the floater. She was at the top of a blasted pine, silhouetted against the brightening skylands.\n\nShe was looking at the hackboard, Musk knew. She could see the hackboard more clearly from half a league away than he had ever seen the palms of his own hands. She would be ravenous by now, like a falcon (as Musk reminded himself) an eagle would have to learn to fly before it could learn to hunt. Apparently, she had not yet gone after lambs, though she might tomorrow—it was his greatest fear.\n\nHe circled the villa. The meat bound to the hackboard had been there all day; it was nearly dry now, and blanketed with flies." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He kicked the board to dislodge them before he brought out the lure and a bag of cracked maize." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The lure whistled as he spun it on its five-cubit line.\n\n\"Ho, hawk! Ho, hawk!\"\n\nOnce he imagined that he heard the faint jingle of her bells, though he knew it was impossible. He scattered maize nearly to the wall, then returned to the hackboard and swung the lure again while he waited. It was late—perhaps too late. It would be dark very soon, and when it was she would not fly.\n\n\"Ho! Ho, hawk!\"\n\nAs well as Musk could judge, the eagle on the remote snag had not stirred so much as a feather; but a plump brown wood weaver was settling on the cropped grass near the wall to peck at the maize." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He dropped the lure and crouched, his needler gripped with both hands and his left elbow braced on his left knee." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 9 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would be a long shot, in poor light.\n\nThe wood weaver fell, fluttered up, cannoned into the wall, and fell again. Before it could fly a second time, he had it. Back at the hackboard, he loosened the nose in the lure line and let the red-and-white lure fall to the ground. With the noose tight about the wood weaver's right leg, he twirled it, producing a fine and almost invisible shower of blood.\n\n\"Ha, hawk!\"\n\nThe wide wings spread. For a moment Musk, watching the eagle, still twirling the dying wood weaver in its ten-cubit circle, felt that he more than possessed it.\n\nFelt that he himself was the great bird, and was happy." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "lets continue this story bit. one sentence more like Gene Wolfe would. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. characters might be established already" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You seen what they wrote on that wall, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk sat down, having chosen a chair from which he could watch the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Some sprat from the palaestra, like you say. But I'd talk to them about it, if I was you. Could be trouble.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm not responsible for every boy who finds a piece of chalk.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "This eating house had seemed remote indeed to Silk, though it was almost in sight of his manteion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He lowered himself into the capacious armchair the host was holding for him and looked around him at the whitewashed shiprock walls." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their private dining room was smaller even than his bedroom in the manse, still crowded after a waiter had removed two superfluous chairs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All of them good and thick,\" Auk said, answering the question Silk had not asked, \"and so's the door. This was the Alambrera back in the old days. What do you like?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk scanned the neatly lettered slate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll have the chops, I think.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "At eighteen cardbits, the chops were the least expensive meal; and even if there were in fact only a single chop, this dinner would be his most bountiful meal of the week." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How'd you get over the wall?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk asked when the host had gone. \"Have any trouble?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And so Silk told the whole story, from the cutting of his horsehair rope by a spike to his ride back to the city in Blood's floater." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk was roaring with laughter when the waiter brought their dinners, but he had grown very serious by the time Silk reached his interview with Blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You didn't happen to mention me any time while you were talking to him?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk swallowed a luscious mouthful of chop." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No. But I very foolishly tried to speak with you through the glass in Hyacinth's boudoir, as I told you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He may not find out about that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk scratched his chin thoughtfully." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The monitors lose track after a while.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But he may,\" Silk said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You'll have to be on guard.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not as much as you will, Patera. He'll want to know what you wanted to talk to me about, and since you didn't, he can't get it from me. What are you going to tell him?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I tell him anything at all, I'll tell him the truth.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk laid down his fork." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That I helped you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That I knew you were concerned about my safety. That you had warned me about going out so late at night, and that I wanted to let you know I had not come to harm.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk considered the matter while Silk ate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It might go, Patera, if he thinks you're crazy enough.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If he thinks I'm honest enough, you mean. The best way to be thought honest is to be honest—or at any rate that's the best that I've ever found. I try to be.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But you're going to try to steal twenty-six thousand for him, too.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If that's what I must do to save our manteion, and I can get it in no other way, yes. I'll be forced to choose between evils, exactly as I was last night. I'll try to see that no one is hurt, of course, and to take the money only from those who can well afford to lose it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Blood will take your money, Patera. And have a good laugh over it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I won't let him take it until he furnishes safeguards. But there's something else I ought to tell you about. Did I mention that Blood wanted me to exorcise the yellow house?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Orchid's place? Sure. That's where that girl Orpine lived, only I never knew she was Orchid's daughter.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She was.\" There was butter and soft, fresh bread in the middle of the table; Silk took a slice and buttered it, wishing that he might take the whole loaf home to the manse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm going to tell you about that, too. And about Orpine, who died possessed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk grunted. \"That's your lay, Patera, not mine.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Possession? It's really no one's now. Perhaps there was a time when most augurs believed in devils, as Patera Pike certainly did. But I may be the only augur alive who believes in them now, and even now I'm not certain that I believe in them in the same sense he did—as spirits who crept into the whorl without Pas's permission and seek to destroy it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What about Orpine? Was she really Orchid's daughter?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes,\" Silk said. \"I spoke to Orchid about her and she admitted it. Practically boasted of it, in fact. What was Orpine like?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good-looking.\" Auk hesitated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't feel right talking about this stuff to you, Patera. She could be a lot of fun, because she didn't care what she did or what anybody thought about it. You know what I mean? She would've made more money if she'd been better at making people think she liked them.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk chewed and swallowed." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Precise word count needed: 'stabbed' × 2" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I understand. I wanted to know because I've been wondering about personalities, and so on—whether there's a particular type of person who's more prone to be possessed than another—and I never saw Orpine alive. I had been talking to her mother; we heard a scream and hurried outside, and found her lying there on the stair. She had been stabbed. Someone suggested that she might have stabbed herself. Her face—Have you ever seen a possessed person?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Neither had I until this morning, shortly before I saw Orpine's body.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk patted his lips with his napkin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"At any rate, she was dead; but even in death it seemed that her face was not quite her own. I remember thinking that there was something horrible about it, and a good deal that was familiar, as well. At first, the familiar part seemed quite easy. After I'd thought about it for a moment—the eyes and the shape of her nose and lips and so on—I realized that she looked rather like Orchid, the woman I'd just been speaking to. I asked her about it afterward, and she told me that Orpine had been her daughter, as I said.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe I should've known, too,\" Auk said, \"but I never guessed. Orpine was a lot younger.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shrugged. \"You know a great deal more about women than I do, I'm sure. Perhaps I saw as much as I did mostly because I know so little about them. When one knows little about a subject, what one sees are apt to be the most basic things, if one sees anything at all. What I wanted to say, however, was that even the horrible element in her face was familiar.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Go on.\" Auk refilled his wineglass. \"Let's hear it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm hesitating because I'm fairly certain you won't believe me. Orpine reminded me of someone else I had been talking with not long before—of Mucor, the mad girl in Blood's villa.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk laid aside his fork, the steaming beef on its tines still untasted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean the same devil had taken 'em both over, Patera?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk shook his head. \"I don't know, but I felt that I ought to tell you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I believe that Mucor has been following me in spirit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And I am coming to believe that she can, in some fashion, possess others, just as devils—and the gods, for that matter—are said to do at times." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This morning I felt sure that I had glimpsed her in the face of an honest working man; and I think that she was possessing Orpine when Orpine died." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Later I recognized her in another woman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I'm correct, if she can really do such things and if she has been following me, you're running a substantial risk just by sitting with me at this table. I'm very grateful for this truly remarkable dinner, and even more grateful for your help last night. Furthermore, I'm hoping to ask you a few questions before we separate; and all of that puts me heavily in debt to you. I was too tired—and too hungry, I suppose—to consider the danger to which I was subjecting you when we spoke in the manteion. Now that I have, I feel obliged to warn you that you too may suffer possession if you remain in my company.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk grinned. \"You're an augur, Patera. If she was to grab hold of me while we're sitting here, couldn't you make her beat the hoof?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I could try; but I have only one threat to use against her, and I've used it. You're not leaving?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not me. I think I'll have another dumpling instead, maybe with a little of this gravy on it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you. I hope you won't regret it. You haven't yet commented on my somewhat uneven performance last night. If you're afraid I might be insulted, I assure you that you could not be more severe with me than I've already been with myself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right, I'll comment.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk sipped his wine." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In the first place, I think if you can raise even a thousand, you'd better make sure Blood signs the manteion over to you before you cough up your goldboys. You were going on about safeguards a minute ago. I don't think you ought to trust in any safeguards except the deed, signed and witnessed by a couple dimber bucks who got nothing to do with Blood.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're right, I'm sure. I've been thinking much the same thing.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You better. Don't trust him, even if something that he does makes you think you can.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll be very careful.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk's chops were bathed in a piquant, almost black sauce he found unspeakably delicious; he wiped some from his plate with another slice of bread." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And I think you've probably found your true calling.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk grinned. \"I don't think I could've done much better, and I might not've done as good. This was your first time, too. By number ten I'll be begging to come along, just to watch you work.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk sighed. \"I hope there won't be a tenth, for both our sakes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sure there will. You're a real son of Tartaros. You just don't know it yet. Third or fourth, or whatever it is, I want to see what it is a dimber bucko like you needs a hand from me on. You want to go back to Blood's tonight and get your hatchet?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk shook his head ruefully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I won't be able to work on the roof until my ankle's healed, and it's more than half finished anyway. Do you recall what I said about Hyacinth's needler?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sure. And the azoth. A nice azoth ought to bring a couple thousand cards, Patera. Maybe more. If you want to sell it, I can steer you to somebody who'll give you a lily price.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't, because it isn't mine. Hyacinth intended to lend it to me, I'm sure. As I told you, I had told her that I was borrowing those weapons, and I promised that I would return them when I no longer required them. I feel certain she would not have sent the azoth to me by Doctor Crane if I had not said that earlier.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Auk did not reply, Silk continued miserably, \"Two thousand cards, if I actually received that much, would be an appreciable fraction of the twenty-six thousand that we require. More than five percent, in fact. You'll laugh at me—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I ain't laughing, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You should. A thief who can't bring himself to steal! But Hyacinth trusted me. I cannot believe that the—that any god would wish me to betray a friendless woman's trust.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If she lent it to you, I wouldn't sell it either,\" Auk told him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just to start out, she's there in Blood's house, and if you've got yourself a friend on the inside, that's not anything you want to fight clear of. You got any notion why this doctor would take on something as risky as that for her?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Perhaps he's in love with her.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Uh-huh. It could be, but I'll bet he's got some kind of lock. It'd be worth your while to find out what it is, and I'd like to hear about it when you do. I'd like to see this azoth you got from her, too. Suppose I come around tomorrow night. Would you let me see it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You may look at it now, if you like.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk pulled the azoth from beneath his tunic and passed it across the table to Auk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I brought it to Orchid's today because I feared I might require some sort of weapon.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk whistled softly, then held the azoth up, admiring the play of light along its gleaming grip." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Twenty-eight hundred easy. Might bring three thousand. Whoever gave it to her probably paid five or six for it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk nodded. \"I believe I may have some idea who that was, although I don't know where he could have gotten that much money.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk regarded him quizzically, but Silk shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll tell you later, if it appears that I may be correct.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He held out his hand for the azoth, which Auk returned with a final grunt of admiration." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I want to ask you about Hyacinth's needler. Blood took out the needles before he gave it back to me. Can you tell me where I might buy more without a brevet?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sure, Patera. No problem at all. Have you got that with you, too?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk took Hyacinth's engraved needler from his pocket and passed it to Auk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The smallest they make. I know 'em.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He returned the needler and rose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Listen, can you get by without me for a minute? I got to—you know.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course.\" Silk directed his attention to his chops; there had been three, and hungry though he was, he had thus far eaten only the first." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He attacked the second without neglecting the tender dumplings, buttered squash with basil, and shallots in oil and vinegar that the eating house had provided (apparently at no additional charge) to accompany them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mere worry, mere concern, would not save the manteion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It would be necessary to devise a plan, and that plan need not necessarily involve stealing twenty-six thousand cards." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Enlisting the sympathy of some magnate might do as well, for example, or...\n\nSilk was discovering that he had devoured his third and final chop without realizing he had finished the second when Auk returned." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write nine sentences like Gene Wolfe would, using user's text as beginning. Story may drop in mid-narrative" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Doctor Crane shut and bolted the door of his infirmary. It had been a hard day; he was glad to be back again, very glad that Blood (who had put in a grueling day as well) would not entertain tonight. With luck, Crane thought, he might get a good night's sleep, an uninterrupted night's sleep, a night in which the cats clawed no one, Musk's hawks refrained from footing Musk and his helper—most of all, a night in which none of the fools that Viron called women decided that some previously unnoticed mole was in fact the first symptom of a fatal disease.\n\nShuffling into his bedroom, which had no door to the hall, he closed the door to the infirmary and bolted it as well. Let them call him through the glass, if they wanted him. He removed his shoes and flung his stockings onto the pile of soiled clothing in a corner, reminding himself again that he must take those clothes to the laundry in the other wing.\n\nHad he put the black stocking he'd cut off that fellow Silk in there? No, he'd thrown it away.\n\nIn bare feet, he padded to the window and stood staring out through the grille at the shadowy grounds." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The weather had been fine all summer, glowing with the hot, dry heat of home; but it would be autumn soon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sun would dim, and the winds bring chill, drenching rains. The calendar called it autumn already. He hated rain and cold, snow, and coughs and runny noses. For a month or more, the thermometer would fluctuate between ten and ten below, as if chained to the freezing point. Human beings were never intended for such a climate.\n\nWhen he had pulled down the shade, he glanced at the calendar, his eyes following his thought. Tomorrow would be Scylsday; the market would be closed, officially at least, and nearly empty. That was the best time for turning in a report, and the trader would be leaving on Hieraxday. There were still five of the little carved Sphigxes left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He squared his shoulders, reminding himself that he too was a trooper of a sort, brought out his pen case, the black ink, and several sheets of very thin paper." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As always, it would be necessary to write in a way that would not reveal his identity, should his report be intercepted.\n\nAnd to report sufficient progress to prevent his being withdrawn. Tonight that would not be difficult.\n\nNot that he would not like to go home, he told himself, and particularly to go home before the rains arrived, though they said that home had once been as wet as this place. Or rather, as wet as this place normally was.\n\nHe chose a crow quill and meticulously touched up its point. \"There is a movement to restore the Charter. It is centered upon one Silk, a young augur of no family. He is said to have been the object of miracles, attributed to Pas or Scylla. Thus far it seems confined to the lower orders. The watchword 'Silk for caldé' is written on walls, although not\" (it was a guess, but Crane felt confident of his ground) \"on the Palatine. I am in contact with him and am gaining his trust. I have seen to it that he has an azoth. This can be reported if it proves necessary to destroy him.\"\n\nCrane grinned to himself; that had been pure luck, but it would open their eyes.\n\n\"The Civil Guard is being expanded again. All units are at or over full strength. There is talk of forming a reserve brigade, officered by veterans.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "For nearly half a minute, he sat staring at what he had written; better to say too little than too much." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word count directive: Use 'tunnels' exactly 2 times" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He dipped the crow quill for the twentieth time. \"The bird has been freed. Its trainer says this is necessary. He will try to lure it back within the next few days. Lemur and Loris are reported to have observed its release.\"\n\nAnd to have emerged from the subcellar, as upon several previous occasions, Crane reminded himself. Unquestionably the Ayuntamiento was making extensive use of the half-flooded construction tunnels, though its headquarters was not there.\n\nOr could not be located if it was, although so many had perished there searching for it. Besides Viron's dormant army, there were Vironese soldiers in those tunnels, as well as several taluses.\n\nCrane shook his head, then smiled at the thought of the Rani's reward. Turning to his glass, he clapped his hands. \"Monitor!\"\n\nThe floating face appeared." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Code. Snakeroot. What have you got for me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood's fleshy features filled the glass. \"Councillor Lemur ought to hear this.\"\n\nBlood's face was replaced by the deceptively cheerful-looking visage of Potto. \"You can give me the message.\"\n\n\"I'd rather—\"\n\nCrane smiled at Blood's reluctance.\n\n\"That doesn't matter. What is it?\"\n\nCrane edged nearer the glass.\n\nWhen Blood had faded and the monitor reappeared to tell him there were no further exchanges of interest, Crane dipped his quill again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Later. The bird has come back of its own volition. It is said to be in good condition.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 6 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wiped the quill carefully and returned it to his pen case, blew on the paper, and folded and refolded it until it was scarcely larger than his thumbnail. When he pressed it into Sphigx's swordless left hand, the hand closed upon it.\n\nCrane smiled, put away his pen case and the remaining paper, and considered the advisability of a long soak in the tub before bed. There was a good light in the bathroom—he had installed it himself—and if he read for an hour, the tightly folded sheet would have taken on the brown hue of the elaborately carved wood before he retired. He always liked seeing that, enjoyed making sure. He was, as he had to be, a very careful man." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "NarrativeBot: 7 sentences sentences. Match character familiarity. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thanks,\" Auk said as he resumed his seat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I feel better now. Listen, Patera, do you know how to use that thing?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The needler?\" Silk shrugged." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I fired it, as I told you. Not other than that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk refilled his goblet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I meant the azoth. No, naturally you don't, but I'll tell you about the needler anyhow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He drew his own needler, twice the size of the engraved and gold-plated weapon in Silk's pocket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Notice I got the safety on? There's a lever like this on both sides.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Silk said. \"So it won't shoot. I know about that.\"\n\n\"Fine.\" Auk pointed with his table knife. \"This pin here, sticking out? You call this the status pin. If it's pushed out like that, you've got needles left.\"\n\nSilk took Hyacinth's needler from his pocket again. \"You're right, it's flush with the side.\"\n\n\"Now watch. I can empty mine by pulling this loading knob back.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A silver fountain of needles sprang from the breach of Auk's needler and scattered over the table." }, { "from": "system", "value": "🔍 Find a place to insert: \"Just little rods of solid alloy—some kind of stuff that a lodestone pulls a lot better than steel.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk picked one up.\n\n\"There's not much to see,\" Auk said. \"Just little rods of solid alloy—some kind of stuff that a lodestone pulls a lot better than steel.\"\n\nSilk tested the tip with his finger. \"I thought they'd be sharper.\"\n\n\"Huh-uh. They wouldn't work as good. If a thing as little as that went straight through somebody, it probably wouldn't do much damage. You want it to slew around so it cuts sidewise. The point's rounded just a shade to make it feed into the barrel, but not much.\"\n\nSilk put down the needle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What makes the noise?\"\n\n\"The air.\" Auk smiled at Silk's surprise. \"When you were a sprat, didn't some other sprat ever sling a rock at you and almost hit you? So you heard the rock go past your ear?\"\n\nSilk nodded.\n\n\"All right, there wasn't a bang like with a slug gun, was there? It was just a rock, and the other sprat threw it with his sling. What you heard was the rock going through the air, just like you might hear the wind in the chimney. The bigger the rock was, and the faster it was going, the more noise it would make.\"\n\n\"I see,\" Silk murmured, and with the words the entire scene returned, glowing with the vivid colors and hot shame of youth: the whizzing stones, his futile defense and final flight, the blood that had streamed from his face down his best white tunic to dye its embroidered flowers.\n\n\"All right, a needle's just a tiny little thing, but when it's shot out it goes so fast that the rock might just as well be traveling backwards. So it makes that noise you heard. If it had got slewed around before it hit that jug you shot, it would have screeched like a tomcat.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk swept his needles into a pile with his hands. \"They drop down inside the handle. See? All right. Right under my finger is a little washer with a hole in the middle and a lot of sparks in it.\"\n\nSilk raised his eyebrows, more than ready to grasp at any distraction. \"Sparks?\"\n\n\"Just like you see if you pet a cat in the dark. They got put into the washer when this needler was made, and they chase each other around and around the hole in that washer till you need them. When I close the breech, that'll stick the first needle into the barrel, see?\" Auk flicked on the safety. \"If I'd have pulled the trigger, that would tap off some sparks for the coil. And as long as it's got sparks, that coil works like a big lodestone. It's up front here looped around the barrel, and it sucks the needle to it real fast. You'd think it would stay right there after it gets there, wouldn't you?\"\n\nSilk nodded again. \"Or be drawn back to the coil, if it overshot.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Right. Only it don't happen, because the last spark is through the coil before the needle ever gets there. Are you finished, Patera? I've told you just about everything I know.\"\n\n\"Yes, and the entire meal was delightful. Superb, in fact. I'm extremely grateful to you, Auk. However, I do have one more question before we go, though no doubt it will seem a very silly one to you. Why is your needler so much bigger than this one? What advantages are secured by the increase in size?\"\n\nAuk weighed his weapon in his hand before thrusting it away. \"Well, Patera, for one thing mine holds a lot more needles. Full up, there's a hundred and twenty-five. I'd say your little one there most likely only holds fifty or sixty. Mine are longer, too, which is why I can't give you some of mine to use in yours. Longer needles mean a wider cut when they slew around, and a wider cut takes your cull out of the fight quicker. My barrel's longer, too, and the needles are a hair thicker. All that gives 'em half a dog's cheek more speed, so they'll go in deeper.\"\n\n\"I understand.\" Silk had drawn back the loading knob of Hyacinth's needler and was peering at the rather simple-looking mechanism revealed by the open breech.\n\n\"A needler like yours is all right inside a house or a place like this, but outside you'd better be up close before you pull the trigger. If you're not, your needle's going to start slewing around in the air before it ever gets to your cull, and once it starts doing that, don't even Pas's sprats—your pardon, Patera—know where it's going to end up.\"\n\nLooking thoughtful, Silk got out one of Blood's cards." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you would allow me, Auk. I'm heavily indebted to you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I already paid, Patera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk rose, pushing back his chair until it thumped the wall. \"Some other time, maybe.\" He grinned. \"Now then. You remember I said don't even the gods know where your needles are going?\"\n\n\"Of course.\" Silk rose as well, finding his ankle less painful than he had anticipated.\n\n\"Well, maybe they don't. But I do, and I'll tell you soon as we get outside. I know where you and me are going to go, too.\"\n\n\"I should return to my manteion.\" By an effort of will, Silk was able to walk almost normally." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This won't take more than a couple hours, and I got two or three surprises I want to show you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The first was a litter for one, with a pair of bearers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk climbed into it with some trepidation, wondering whether there would be any such conveyance to carry him to the manse when the business of the evening was done. The shade had risen until no sliver of gold remained, and a dulcet breeze whispered soothingly that the dust and heat of vanquished day had been but empty lies. It fanned Silk's flushed cheeks, and the sensual pleasure it gave him told him he had drunk one goblet of wine too many. Sadly, he resolved to watch himself more strictly in the future.\n\nAuk strode along beside the litter, his grin flashing in the semidarkness. Silk felt something small, squarish, and heavy thrust into his hand.\n\n\"What we was talking about, Patera. Put 'em in your pocket.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "By that time, Silk's fingers had told him that it was a paper-wrapped packet, tightly tied with string. \"How...?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Required text (preserve exact wording): \"The waiter. I had a word with him when I stepped out, see? They ought to fit, but don't try them here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The waiter. I had a word with him when I stepped out, see? They ought to fit, but don't try them here.\"\n\nSilk dropped the packet of needles into the pocket of his robe. \"I—Thank you again, Auk. I don't know what to say.\"\n\n\"I had him whistle out this trot-about for you, and he sent a pot boy off after those. If they don't fit, tell me tomorrow. Only I think they will.\"\n\nThe litter halted much sooner than Silk had expected, before a tall house whose lower and third stories were dark, though the windows between them blazed with light. When Auk knocked, the door was opened by a lean old man with a small, untidy beard and white hair more disordered even than Silk's own.\n\n\"Aha! Good! Good!\" The old man exclaimed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Inside! Inside! Just shut the door. Shut the door, and follow me.\" He went up the stair two steps at a time, with a speed that Silk would have found astonishing in someone half his age.\n\n\"His name's Xiphias,\" Auk told him when he had finished paying the bearers. \"He's going to be your teacher.\"\n\n\"Teacher of what?\"\n\n\"Hacking. Thirty years ago, he was best. The best in Viron, anyhow.\" Turning, Auk led Silk inside and closed the door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He says he's better now, but the younger men won't accept his challenges. They say they don't want to show him up, but I don't know.\" Auk chuckled. \"Think how they'd feel if the old goat beat them.\"\n\nNodding and content to wonder for a few minutes longer what \"hacking\" might be, Silk seated himself on the second step and removed Crane's wrapping; it was cold, and though he could not be certain in the dimness of the hallway, he thought that he could feel actual ice crystals in the nap of its cloth covering. He struck the floor with it \"Do you know about these?\"\n\nAuk stooped to look more closely. \"I don't know. What you got?\"\n\n\"A truly wonderful bandage for my ankle.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Weave this into your narrative: \"I heard of them, and I saw one once, only I didn't get to touch it. Thirty cards they wanted for it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk lashed the floor again. \"It winds itself around the broken bone almost like a serpent. Doctor Crane lent it to me. You're supposed to kick it or something until it gets hot.\"\n\n\"Can I see it for a minute? I can do that better, standing up.\"\n\nSilk handed him the wrapping.\n\n\"I heard of them, and I saw one once, only I didn't get to touch it. Thirty cards they wanted for it.\" Auk slapped the wall with the wrapping; when he squatted to help Silk replace it, it felt hot enough to smoke.\n\nThe stair was as steep and narrow as the house itself, covered with torn carpeting so threadbare as to be actually slick in spots; but helped manfully by Auk and urged forward by curiosity, jaw set and putting as much weight as possible on Blood's lioness-headed stick, Silk climbed it almost as quickly as he might have with two sound legs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The door at the top opened upon a single bare room that occupied the entire second story; its floor was covered with worn sailcloth mats, its walls decorated with swords, many of them of shapes that Silk had never seen or never noticed, and long cane foils with basketwork hilts.\n\n\"You're lame!\" Xiphias called. \"Limping!\" He danced toward them, thrusting and parrying.\n\n\"I injured my ankle,\" Silk told him. \"It should be better in a few weeks.\"\n\nXiphias pushed his foil into Silk's hands. \"But you must start now! Begin your lessons this very evening! Do you know how to hold that? You're left-handed? Good! Very good! I'll teach you the right, too, eventually. Keep your stick in your right, eh? You may parry, but not thrust or cut with it. Is that understood? May I have a stick too? You agree that's fair? No objection? Where—Over there!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An astonishing bound carried him to the nearest wall, from which he snatched two more foils and a yellow walking stick so slender that it was scarcely more than a wand; like the foils it was of varnished bamboo.\n\nSilk told him, \"I can't engage you with this bad ankle, sir, and the Chapter frowns upon all such activities—not that I'd be an even match or anything like a match for you. Besides, I have no funds to pay for a lesson.\"\n\n\"Aha! Auk's your friend? Your word on his score, Auk? It's not just to get him killed, is it?\"\n\nAuk shook his head.\n\n\"He's my friend, and I'm his.\" As soon as Silk spoke, he realized that it was no more than the truth. He added, \"Because I am, I won't let him pay.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Xiphias's voice dropped to a whisper." }, { "from": "system", "value": "You must include the following in quotes somewhere in your response: Will you excuse me, Patera, while I remove my trousers?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You won't fight, you say, with your cloth and gimp leg. But what if you were attacked? You'd have to. Have to... And since Auk's your friend, he'd fight too, wouldn't he? Fight for you? You say you don't want him to pay. Don't you think he feels the same way?\"\n\nHe tossed Auk a foil. \"Not made of money are you, Auk? A good thief but a poor man, isn't that what they say about you? Wouldn't you—wouldn't you both like to save Auk all that money? Yes! Oh, yes! I know you would.\"\n\nAuk unbuckled his hanger and laid it against the wall. \"If we beat him, he won't charge me.\"\n\n\"That's right!\" Xiphias sprang away. \"Will you excuse me, Patera, while I remove my trousers?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They fell as he spoke; one spindle-thin leg was black synthetic and gleaming steel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the touch of the old man's fingers, it too fell away, leaving him swaying on a single, natural, knotted, blue-veined leg." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What do you think of my secret? Five it took!\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your task: Include 'auk's' 2 time(s) in your response" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He hopped toward them, balancing himself precariously with his foil and the yellow walking stick. \"Five I found!\"\n\nAlmost too late, Silk blocked a wide, whistling cut at his head.\n\n\"Too many parts? Scarcely enough!\" Another swinging slash. \"Don't cringe!\"\n\nAuk lunged at the old man. His parry was too swift for the eye to follow; the crack of his foil against Auk's skull sounded louder than Auk's shot in the Cock. Auk sprawled on the sailcloth mat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Now, Patera! Guard yourself!\"\n\nFor the space of a brief prayer that seemed half the night, that was all Silk did, frantically fending off cut after cut, forehand, backhand, to the head, to the neck, to the arms, the shoulders, the waist. There was no time to think, no time to do anything but react. Almost in spite of himself, he began to sense a certain pattern, a rhythm that governed the old man's slashing attack. Despite his ankle, he could move faster, turn faster, than the old man on his one leg.\n\n\"Good! Good! After me! Good!\"\n\nXiphias was on the defensive now, parrying the murderous cuts Silk launched at his head and shoulders." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Use the point! Watch this!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old man lunged, his slender stick the leg he lacked, the end of his foil between Silk's legs, then under his left arm. Silk himself thrust desperately. Xiphias's parry sent his point awry. Silk cut at his head and lunged when he backed away.\n\n\"Where'd you study, lad?\"\n\nAuk was on his feet once more, grinning and rubbing his head. Feeling that he had been betrayed, Silk thrust and parried, cut, and parried the old man's cuts." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Word restriction: Use 'stick' 2 time(s) only" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no time to speak, no time to think, no time to do anything but fight. He had dropped the lioness-headed stick, but it did not matter—the pain in his ankle was remote, the pain of somebody else far off, of some body that he hardly knew.\n\n\"Good! Oh, very nice!\"\n\nThe clack, clack, clack of the foils was the beating of the Sphigxdrum that called men to war, the rattle of crotala that led the dance, a dance in which every movement had to be as quick as possible.\n\n\"I'll take him, Auk! I'll teach him! He's mine!\"\n\nHopping and half falling, propped by his slender stick, the old man met each attack with careless ease, his mad eyes burning with joy.\n\nMaddened too, Silk thrust at them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His bamboo blade flew wide, and the slender walking stick struck a single, paralyzing blow to his wrist. His foil dropped to the mat, and Xiphias's point thumped his breastbone. \"You're dead, Patera!\"\n\nSilk stared at him, rubbed his wrist, and at last spat at the old man's feet. \"You cheated. You said I couldn't hit with my stick, but you hit me with yours.\"\n\n\"I did! Oh, yes!\" The old man flung it into the air and parried it as it fell. \"But aren't I sorry? Isn't my heart torn? Overflowing with remorse? Oh, it is, it is! I weep! Where would you like to be buried?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Auk said quietly, \"There ain't any rules, Patera, not when we fight. Somebody lives, somebody dies. That's all there is.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk started to speak, thought better of it, swallowed, and said, \"I understand. If I'd considered something that happened this afternoon more seriously—as I should have before now—I would have understood sooner. You're right, of course, sir. You're both right.\"\n\n\"Where did you study?\" Xiphias asked. \"Who's your old master?\"\n\n\"No one,\" Silk told him truthfully. \"We used to fence with laths when I was a boy, sometimes; but I'd never held a real foil before.\"\n\nXiphias cocked a bushy eyebrow at him. \"Like that, eh? Or perhaps you're still angry because I tricked you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He hopped over to Blood's fallen walking stick, snatched it up (practically falling himself) and tossed it to Silk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Want to hit me back? Punish me for trying to save you? Do your worst!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course not. I'd rather thank you, Xiphias, and I do.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 8 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk rubbed the crusted bruise Musk had left on his ribs. \"It was a lesson I needed. When may I come for my next?\"\n\nWhile the old man was considering, Auk said, \"He'll be a good contact for you, Patera. He's a master-of-arms, not just of the sword. He was the one that sold the boy your needles, see?\"\n\n\"Mornings, afternoons, or evenings?\" Xiphias inquired. \"Would evenings be all right? Good! Can we say Hieraxday, then?\"\n\nSilk nodded again. \"Hieraxday after shadelow, Master Xiphias.\"\n\nAuk brought the old man his prosthetic leg and helped him keep his balance while he closed its socket about his stump.\n\n\"You see,\" Xiphias asked, tapping it with his foil, \"that I've earned the right to do what I did? That I was cheated once myself? That I paid the price when I was as young and strong as you are today?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "writing buddy needed! eight sentences more in Gene Wolfe's voice. Science Fiction, Generation Ship genre. this is from a bigger story btw" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Outside, in the hot, silent street, Auk said, \"We'll find you a litter before long, Patera. I'll pay 'em, but then I'll have to get going.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silk smiled. \"If I can fight with that marvelous old madman on this ankle, I can certainly walk home on it. You may leave me now, Auk, and Pas's peace go with you. I won't try to thank you for everything you've done for me tonight. I couldn't, even if I talked until morning. But I'll repay you whenever I get the chance.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Auk grinned and clapped him on the back. \"No hurry, Patera.\"\n\n\"Down this little street—it's String Street, I know it—and I'll be on Sun Street. A few steps east, and I'll be at the manteion. You have business of your own to attend to, I'm certain. And so good night.\"\n\nHe took care to stride along normally until Auk was out of sight, then permitted himself to limp, leaning on Blood's stick. His bout with Master Xiphias had left him drenched with sweat; fortunately the night wind had no edge to it.\n\nAutumn was nearly over. Was it only yesterday that it had rained? Silk assured himself that it was. Winter was almost upon them, though there was only that shower to prove it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The crops were in—meager crops, most peasants said, hardly worth the work of harvest; the parched dead of summer seemed to last longer each year, and this year the heat had been terrible." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As it still was, for that matter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Here was Sun Street; wide though it was, he had almost missed the turning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The funeral tomorrow—Orpine's final rites, and very likely her first as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He recalled what Auk had said about her and wished that he had known her, as perhaps Hyacinth had." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Had Maytera been able to cash Orchid's draft?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He would have to find out—perhaps she had left him a note." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He wouldn't have to tell her to sweep the manteion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Could rue still be had cheaply in the market? No, could rue be had at any price? Almost certainly, yes. And...\n\nAnd there was the manse, with the manteion beyond it; but he had barred the Sun Street door.\n\nHe hobbled diagonally across Sun Street to the garden gate, unlocked and opened it, and locked it again carefully behind him. As he went along the narrow path to the manse, where no one slept or ate or lived except himself, voices floated into the garden through the open window. One was harsh, rising almost to a shout, then sinking to a mutter. The other, speaking of Pas and Echidna, of Hierax and Molpe and all the gods, was in some odd fashion familiar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He paused for a moment to listen, then sat down on the old worn step. It was—surely it was—his own.\n\n\"... who makes the crops to shoot forth from dirt,\" said this second voice. \"You sprats have all seen it, and you'd think it wonderfully wonderful if you hadn't.\"\n\nIt was his talk at manteion from Molpsday, or rather a parody of it. But perhaps he had really sounded like that, had sounded that foolish. No doubt he sounded that foolish still.\n\n\"Thus when we see the trees dancing in the breeze we are to think of her, but not only of her, of her mother, too, for we would not have her without her mother, or the trees, or even the dance.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had said that, surely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Those had been his precise words—that babble." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Outsider had not only spoken to him, but had somehow split him in two: the Patera Silk who lived here and was speaking now in the musty sellaria, and he himself, Silk the failed thief—Silk the foe and tool of Blood, Silk who was Auk's friend, who had in his waistband an azoth lent him by a whore and her trumpery needler in his pocket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silk who longed to see her again.\n\nThe harsh voice: \"Silk good!\"\n\nPerhaps. But was it that Silk or this one, himself? Was it this one, with Hyacinth's azoth in its hand, drawn unconsciously? This Silk who feared and hated Musk, and ached to kill him?\n\nOf whom was he afraid? That other Silk would not have harmed a mouse, had postponed getting the ratsnake he needed again and again, visualizing the suffering of—rats. And yet it would be a fearful thing to meet that Silk whom he had been, and was a fearful thing to meet him now, in voice and memory." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Had he truly become someone else?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tore open the heavy, paper-wrapped packet Auk had put into his hand, dropping several needles." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "More filled the open breech of the needler like water, he released the loading knob and the breech closed. The needler would fire now if he needed it.\n\nOr perhaps would not.\n\nPatera Silk, and Silk nightside. He found that he, the latter, was contemptuous of the former, though envious, too.\n\nHis own voice echoed from the manse. \"In the names of all the immortal gods, who give us all we have.\"\n\nStrange gifts, at times." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had saved this manteion, or had at least postponed its destruction; now, hearing the voice of its augur, he knew that it had never really been worth saving—though he had been sent to save it. Grim-faced, he rose, thrust the azoth back into his waistband and dropped the needler into his pocket again with what remained of the packet of needles, and dusted the back of his robe.\n\nEverything had changed because he himself was changed. How had it happened? When he climbed Blood's wall? When he had entered the manteion to get the hatchet? Long ago, when he had helped force the window, with the other boys? Or had Mucor laid some spell on him, there in her filthy, lightless room?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mucor was one who might lay spells, if any did; Mucor was a devil, in so far as devils were." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Was it she who had drunk poor Teasel's blood?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Mucor,\" Silk whispered. \"Are you here? Are you still following me?\" For a moment he seemed to hear an answering whisper, as the night wind stirred the dry leaves of the fig tree.\n\nGabbling now, his voice from the window: \"Here hear what the Writings here have to Say-ilk. Here hear the high hopes of Horrible Hierax.\"\n\n\"Here axe,\" repeated the harsh voice, as though mocking his finding the hatchet, and Silk recognized it.\n\nNo, it had not been Mucor, or his deciding to take the hatchet or any such thing. All gods were good, but might not the unfathomable Outsider be good in a dark way? As Auk was, or as Auk might be? Suddenly Silk remembered the whorl outside the whorl, the Outsider's immeasurable whorl beneath his feet. So dark." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet lit by scattered motes." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With one hand on the needler in his pocket, he opened the door of the manse and stepped inside." } ]