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

[luminous_regnant]

"Nothing since the batch Shell Bell took."

[cross_and_bow]

"Don't look at me."

[autokinetic]

"Me and Sue are brand-new to this, so obviously no."

[arenaria]

"I've got the original set of five. Let's every Bell but me have one and I'll have three because I'm anchor?" [Mine're safe,] she adds to Bells only.

[self_composed]

Consensus is immediate; arrows - and evils - are distributed until everyone has the correct number.

[luminous_regnant]

"Do any of us want to stop and pick up any of our staff before charging in, or is it just going to be us seven and Sue - plus Jane and Jarvis and Juliet's Tony? I'm somewhat considering Nathan. Possibly also the Joker."

[arenaria]

"That depends. Sue, how many can you link at once?"

[pythbox]

"More than I've got," he says. "And I've got twenty kids in my world that I can drop to make room as long as Jane keeps an eye on them."

[toblameforit]

This is more of a long-term thing, says Tony, but we might wanna give Jane a master node at Milliways with direct ansible links to every world of interest. Makes more sense than leaving her hub in her world with the links all under the physical control of people who don't know she exists.

He's already designing one, although it'd take more physical room than they've got in the Belltower. Maybe it's time to move that outside.

[pythbox]

(Sue bounces him to all interested parties via link or brainphone, as appropriate.)

[mind_game]

Can't scare me, says Jane.

[luminous_regnant]

"I'll get Nathan to introduce the Downside-exploring contingent to his friends, and the Joker for emergency coining, in the event that we run out of something big," says Golden, and she leans into Aurum to issue the summons.

[temporal_affairs]

[I'll leave Kerron with Esme and catch up?] suggests Nathan to his mate.

[gunpowdergelatine]

[Sure,] he says, and gives Nathan a hug and a kiss, and teleports to Golden.

[temporal_affairs]

Nathan catches up a moment later. "You want me to introduce some Bells to Eights and get an entrez to the other famous folks, I gather?"

[luminous_regnant]

"Yes. So you'll be with Juliet and Stella," says Golden, pointing them out to him. "Joker, you're emergency-mint, assuming you have no particular objection; you stay behind with Shell Bell and Sue."

[gunpowdergelatine]

"Sure thing," he says cheerfully.

[toblameforit]

(Meanwhile, Tony requests that Jane bring him to Milliways to ask Bar for permission to install, and then outside to scout locations for, a Jane-hub and potential new Belltower. Any Bells with processing cycles to spare are welcome to comment.)

[mind_game]

Yoink!

[autokinetic]

"We ready to go?" She pauses, snaps her fingers. "Amariah - can you tuck Path away like Sue can Ivy? Be safer that way."

[dark_light]

"Path's had enforced personal space against people in general since about a minute after I got minted, but good idea anyway," says Amariah. "Is it completely under Sue and Ivy's control when she's in and when she's out or should I do something other than copy it directly?"

[toblameforit]

(Bar has no problem with him adding a modestly sized tower out back in his location of choice. He stops by the peal to grab some coins from anybody who feels like dispensing them—he should only need a couple of hexes and a handful of pentagons, and he doesn't expect to use all of them.)

[pythbox]

Ivy appears, wrapped around Sue's shoulders as a bright yellow snake.

"Sometimes I come out or go back in our sleep," she says. "But other than that, we only do it on purpose. And it always works."

[dark_light]

"All right." Amariah kisses Path's head, and makes a little wince while he hoots softly, and wishes, and Path is tucked away.

[self_composed]

Stella already has a design for a tower-shaped Belltower socked away; she bounces it to Tony as long as he's going to be making one.