i am the oncoming storm

[autokinetic]

There are three Bells in Milliways.

They want a fourth. A fifth. A sixth. A seventh.

And then Downside is going down.

Comments

[she_sells_seashells]

And Shell Bell's is dark blue and worn as a ring.

[mind_game]

Jane puts the matching halves in the Belltower installation.

[pythbox]

Pretty, comments Sue.

[ending_of]

"While you're here," says the administrator, "would anyone for whom this is not already the case like to be awarded the torching mechanic with all their current magic permanently included?"

[luminous_regnant]

"Yes," says Golden, "please."

Everyone else agrees, except Juliet, who's already covered, and Amariah -

[dark_light]

"If you aren't hooked into my world - do you know how it'll affect my daemon?" She feels safe enough here, for now; Path comes out in a shower of gold, sitting on her hand.

[ending_of]

"If either of you is killed, you will both torch, in the usual way."

She provides a prototype-light so Amariah can examine the effects for herself. Meanwhile, she grants everyone else's request.

[dark_light]

"Okay, me too, then."

Path hops up to sit on her shoulder.

[luminous_regnant]

"And," says Golden, "it would probably be more convenient if we could bestow that, too, so we don't have to get Jane to jump people we like or need past the queue should misfortune befall them."

[ending_of]

She considers this. (The prototype-light reports that it has been implemented, and disappears.)

[dark_light]

"Especially since I can't, apparently, just do that," Amariah says. "If something happens to my parents, my boyfriend, my teacher, my favorite cousin, I'm shit out of luck until we figure out what Alethia has instead of this, right? And we're going to do that but in the meantime I don't want to lose anybody I'm close to."

[cross_and_bow]

"How does this interact with the judgesight stuff?" Juliet asks. "Because that shit is creepy."

[mind_game]

I haven't judgesighted any of you!

[ending_of]

"I've looked at all of you," says the administrator without a discernible trace of apology. "You," this to Golden, "blocked me when I tried, but would not block me now if I tried again."

[luminous_regnant]

"...Is there any realistic chance of you politely refraining from trying again?" asks Golden with a bit of a hiss.

[cross_and_bow]

Juliet shudders. "What about Shell Bell?" she thinks to ask. "I guess a judge already looked at her when she died, but what about what happened since?"

[ending_of]

"Shell Bell would also be visible if Jane or I looked at her with judgesight. I have no reason for or intention of looking at you again," she says to Golden.

[luminous_regnant]

"Are there going to be judges other than Jane walking around I should worry about, or will they be deprived of this power when she informs them that she's automating them out of a job?"

[ending_of]

"I have already dismissed and disempowered the judges."

[luminous_regnant]

"All right. I will take it very much amiss if you peer into my head, although I suppose that doesn't have to mean anything to you."

[self_composed]

"I'm pretty damn creeped out myself."

[ending_of]

"And yet," she points out, "you have asked me to give this power to your ally to be used indiscriminately on ten trillion people."

[self_composed]

"There are," Stella points out, "ten trillion of them."

[autokinetic]

"Was there a flicker of anything," Aegis asks, "resisting it from me or Juliet or Stella so we could special-process anybody who's as attached to their mental privacy as us? Is there a partial version of the power, maybe. Because that is a point."

[jovahs_heiress]

"If we were willing that it take a little longer, the standard lie-detection could augment a modestly prolonged interview process."