Seabourne

[Jonathan Seabourne]

"He's reading?"

"Yes, at quite the pace. The same text, over and over, though I hesitate to call it that."

"Why, what's he got?"

"A 'copy' of the Principia Discordia."

"Never heard of it."

"It's the holy book for the Temporary Autonomous Zoners, though given what I understand about them "holy" and "the" are both very nuanced in their usage in this case. Given the state of the pages in front of him, "book" is also currently up for debate."

"Why'd you give it to him?"

"I didn't. No one knows how he got it. It just sort of... appeared. Were I a more spiritual man, I'd ascribe it to a miracle."

"Have we tried giving him something more orthodox to read?"

"He expresses no interest in anything other than that binder and the collection of odds and ends within. For a while I entertained the possibility that it was something he had written himself, the ravings of a madman. But he's on sharps restriction so there's nothing to write with, let alone the assorted writing implements used to make whatever it is in front of him. For example, one of the chapters alternates between crayon and ink calligraphy, and he has access to neither."

"So you don't think he wrote it?"

"No, even conceding the logistics of it all, the style and voice doesn't match his work in Wanderlust at all. Besides, the text is a word for word copy of what online sources I can track down."

"He might have remembered it from his time shuttling pilgrims to Baffin."

"He's not an idiot savant. That level of recall would be impossible for him. Someone gave it to him or it somehow got in the room, we just have no idea how."

"That doesn't concern you?"

"The security of this facility is your problem, not mine. I see a formerly catatonic patient finally engaging with the world. If he starts talking, we can start trying to unpack things and figure out next steps. Anything that nudges him closer to that is welcome."

"What if it nudges him over the edge into full blown madness? You don't have any idea what you're nudging him closer to!"

"Well, as the captain liked to say, if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."

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Orbital Spa and Cruise

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