commit 98ff4b60ef96c227be8a49cfed1d4164cd7e7dd2
Author: Ren Kararou <ren@kararou.space>
Date: Tue Jan 18 00:05:48 2022 -0700
initial commit for new public repo
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cdbe0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,438 @@
+Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d5be188
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+# Build variables
+BASEBDIR=./build
+BDIR=$(BASEBDIR)/`git show --oneline | head -1 | cut -d" " -f1`
+SDIR=./src
+BNAME=promise-`git show --oneline | head -1 | cut -d" " -f1`
+CONF=default.cfg
+SOURCE=main.tex
+TEMP=templ.tex
+
+# Author and metadata
+# THESE FIELDS MAY NOT CONTAIN ANY SEMICOLONS!
+TITLE=A Promise
+PENNAME=Liette Faerchild
+LEGALNAME=Ren Kararou
+PRONOUNS=fae/faer
+STREETADDR=1010 Fake Blvd
+LASTADDR=Denver, CO
+EMAIL=ren@kararou.space
+PHONE=(303)555-4202
+
+all: pdf epub word cleanbuild timestamp
+
+timestamp: mkbuild
+ if [ -f $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).epub ]; then mv $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).epub $(BDIR)/$(BNAME)-`date -u +%d%m%y-%H%M`.epub; fi
+ if [ -f $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).pdf ]; then mv $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).pdf $(BDIR)/$(BNAME)-`date -u +%d%m%y-%H%M`.pdf; fi
+ if [ -f $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).docx ]; then mv $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).docx $(BDIR)/$(BNAME)-`date -u +%d%m%y-%H%M`.docx; fi
+
+
+mkbuild:
+ if [ ! -d $(BDIR) ]; then mkdir -p $(BDIR); fi
+
+mktemp: mkbuild
+ if [ ! -f $(BDIR)/$(TEMP) ]; then cp $(SDIR)/$(SOURCE) $(BDIR)/$(TEMP); fi
+
+wordcount: mktemp
+ # This only works when you've got
+ sed -i "s;WORDCOUNT;`cat $(SDIR)/chapters/*.tex | wc -w`;g" \
+ $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+repo: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;REPO;`git remote get-url origin`;g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+title: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;PROJECT;$(TITLE);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+phone: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;PHONE;$(PHONE);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+pen: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;PENNAME;$(PENNAME);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+ # Change the following line's -f# to decide which name to use
+ # LNAME needs to be the family name.
+ sed -i "s;SNAME;`echo $(PENNAME) | cut -d" " -f2`;g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+email: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;EMAIL;$(EMAIL);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+3ppn: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;PRONOUNS;$(PRONOUNS);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+addr: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;STREETADDR;$(STREETADDR);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+ sed -i "s;LASTADDR;$(LASTADDR);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+lname: mktemp
+ sed -i "s;LEGALNAME;$(LEGALNAME);g" $(BDIR)/$(TEMP)
+
+template: mktemp wordcount repo title phone pen email 3ppn addr lname
+ if [ -f $(BDIR)/$(TEMP) ]; \
+ then mv $(BDIR)/$(TEMP) $(BDIR)/$(SOURCE); \
+ else cp $(SDIR)/$(SOURCE) $(BDIR)/$(SOURCE); \
+ fi
+
+pdf: template
+ pdflatex -jobname=$(BNAME) -output-directory=$(BDIR) $(BDIR)/$(SOURCE)
+
+epub: template
+ tex4ebook -f epub -c $(SDIR)/$(CONF) -j $(BNAME) $(BDIR)/$(SOURCE)
+ mv $(BNAME).epub $(BDIR)
+
+word: template
+ pandoc $(BDIR)/$(SOURCE) -o $(BDIR)/$(BNAME).docx
+
+spellcheck:
+ for c in $(SDIR)/chapters/*.tex; do aspell -t -c $${c}; done
+
+cleanbuild:
+ rm -rf $(BDIR)/*.log $(BDIR)/*.aux $(BDIR)/*.toc $(BDIR)/$(TEMP) \
+ $(BDIR)/$(SOURCE) ./*.opf ./*.html ./*.aux ./*.css ./*.dvi \
+ ./*-epub/ ./*-mobi/ ./*.idv ./*.lg ./*.log ./*.toc ./*.xref \
+ ./*.4ct ./*.4tc ./*.ncx ./*.tmp $(SDIR)/chapters/*.bak
+
+clean: cleanbuild
+ rm -rf $(BASEBDIR)
+
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b10543
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# A Promise
+## Description
+
+In the distant future where corporations rule most of Earth and space, Talon is
+a software developer at Eastern Hills Space Company, one of the leading space
+travel and defense corporations in the world. Eilidh is a runner, someone who
+actively causes mayhem for corporate interests. After being blessed by a
+goddess, Talon finds himself in a new role, learning magic and protecting
+corporate secrets. Eilidh finds herself being forced into a role alongside
+Talon. Romance blossoms. Secrets are revealed. Promises are made.
+
+---
+
+This is the LaTeX formatted source-code for _A Promise_, a trans-lesbian story
+set in the space-faring future of 2157. With Magic. Because fuck you why not?
+
+_A Promise_ pulls very loose inspiration from _Ryn of Avonside_ and _Digital
+Galaxies_ both by the fantastic transbian fiction author QuietValerie.
+
+## Author
+
+- Kararou Ren
+ - [github](https://github.com/karaiwulf)
+ - [git](https://git.kararou.space/karaiwulf)
+ - [blog](https://lesbianunix.dev/)
+ - [scribblehub](https://www.scribblehub.com/profile/61134/karaiwulf/)
+
+## Editors
+
+- Kararou Makoto
+ - [git](https://git.kararou.space/makoto)
+ - [scribblehub](https://www.scribblehub.com/profile/71436/karakoto/)
+
+## License
+
+This work is licensed under the CreativeCommons Attribution NonCommercial
+ShareAlike International License version 4. You can read the full licensing
+terms by reading the contents of LICENSE located at the root of this
+repository.
+
+## Contributing
+
+If you wish to modify and contribute, you must follow the style guide, found
+below. From there, issue a pull request with your changes. All PRs will be
+reviewed by the current editor(s) and the author(s).
+
+Modifications to the build system are expected to have been tested, but will be
+tested again.
+
+### Style guide
+
+The only real requirements are that you follow the 80 character per line rule.
+In vim, this is easy to set. Simply issue a `:set tw=79` and be on your way.
+Additionally, issuing vim command `gqG` applies textwidth from current mark to
+end of document, while issuing `gq}` will set for current paragraph.
+
+### Git Arch
+
+We are now leveraging the fact that we have a git server. Development and
+editing will be done on the same branch, one for each new chapter.
+
+canon should only contain ready to ship chapters.
+
+Edits in clones of the repo can be done however, and pull requests must be to
+canon.
+
diff --git a/cover.png b/cover.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee958fd
Binary files /dev/null and b/cover.png differ
diff --git a/doc/factions/EHSC/README.md b/doc/factions/EHSC/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b812fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/factions/EHSC/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Eastern Hills Space Company
+
+Manufacturer of spacecraft and spacecraft parts. A megacorporation with
+an arcology located where the city of Melbourne, Florida used to stand.
+Headquartered in beautiful Denver, Colorado, where it keeps all of its top
+secret projects such as flight software and its magically-enhanced Special
+Operations Strike Force.
+
+## Datapoints
+
+ * HQ: 110 Colfax Ave. Denver, Colorado Free State
+ * CEO: Baylee MacKinley
+ * Glb Prft: 13 Trillion Credits (Annaul)
+ * Industries: Transport, Aviation, Aeronautics, Military Contracting
+ * Bst Product: EH 794 General Purpose Space Craft
+ * Stck Tckr: EHSC
+ * Stck $$: 13000cr/share
+ * Stck Prj: +14.3%
+ * Est.: 2025
+
diff --git a/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/README.md b/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d39e2ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# Eastern Hills Special Operations Strike Force
+
+A strike team developed after the EHSC discovered Magic in 2091 with the
+express purpose of cutting down existential threats to the company. The team
+was quickly placed under the research and development unit in order for the
+EHSC to discover more about magic and aid the strike team with combat equipment
+developed in house.
+
+It quickly became known that mages were a much more well balanced soldier,
+better at more general magic than other magic users, and were awarded officer
+positions within the command structure of the strike force.
+
+## Datapoints
+
+ * HQ: 1910 Colfax Ave. Building 35 Denver, Colorado Free State
+ * Parnt Dept: Research and Development
+ * CO: Ai Tamaki of the Pale Goddess
+ * Status: Active
+ * Members: 48
+ * Missions: 375: 339 success + 36 fail (historical data lost)
+
+## Known Officers
+
+ * Commanding Officer Ai Tamaki
+ * Medical Officer Lucere "Lucy" Manafed
+ * Surveillance Officer Avalon Davis
+ * Technology Officer Xela Melrose
+ * Tactical Officer Vivian Young
+ * Communications Officer Valentine Sheer
+ * Engineering Officer Margaret Hamilton
+
diff --git a/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/ai.tamaki.md b/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/ai.tamaki.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..24ae1de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/ai.tamaki.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Ai Tamaki
+
+A mage in her early twenties. Long slightly wavy white hair. Deep red eyes
+filled with a shimmering light.
+
+## Datapoints
+
+```
+DOB: 19 March 2135
+Age: 23
+Prn: she/her
+Eye: red
+Hair: white
+Hgt: 5'
+Wgt: 112 lbs
+Ntnl: JP
+```
+
+## Weapon Choice
+
+She likes the set of true tamahagane swords she inherited from her father. The
+hamon on each blade is the clover pattern that's signature of a line of well
+respected bladesmiths from the late 20th century.
+
diff --git a/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/avalon.davis.md b/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/avalon.davis.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d1399e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/factions/EHSC/SpecOps/avalon.davis.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Avalon Davis
+
+A mage in her mid twenties. Long straight black hair. Glowing blue eyes like
+sapphires.
+
+## Datapoints
+
+```
+DOB: 2 July 2131
+Age: 26
+Prn: she/her
+Eye: blue
+Hair: black
+Hgt: 6ft 5in
+Wgt: 142 lbs
+Ntnl: UK
+```
+
+## Weapon Choice
+
+She's a feisty bitch on the battlefield. Her main weapon is a short barrel
+revolver. She leaves half of the chambers unloaded and simply uses magic for
+every other shot.
+
diff --git a/doc/factions/Excalibur/README.md b/doc/factions/Excalibur/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f9e067
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/factions/Excalibur/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Excalibur Strike Industries
+
+The premier privately contracted military corporation.
+
+## Datapoints
+
+ * HQ: 1 XCAL St. New York City, Excalibur Corporate State
+ * CEO: Inun Petroski
+ * Glb Prft: 45 Trillion Credits (Annaul)
+ * Industries: Military Contracting
+ * Bst Product: Military and Security Services
+ * Stck Tckr: XCAL
+ * Stck $$: 45000cr/share
+ * Stck Prj: +30.4%
+ * Est.: 2064
+
diff --git a/doc/magic/README.md b/doc/magic/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9d56ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/magic/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Magic
+
+Yes that's right! Its *real*. What a concept, I know. Magic is all based
+around a few things, but no matter where you are in the universe, a few laws
+hold true:
+
+ 1. Magic is Everywhere
+
+Which means, you always have a supply external to your own magic.
+
+ 2. Magic is Localized
+
+Which means that the given magic within the universe gets pushed and pulled or
+otherwise pools in areas. Just because magic is everywhere doesn't mean that
+its distributed evenly.
+
+ 3. Magic is Wild
+
+Magic, while it can be controlled, cannot be tamed. Fitting too much magic
+into a single area can cause spontaneous ignition of the latent energy to
+violent effect.
+
+## Magic Users
+
+There are several kinds of magic users within the universe (and many more in
+other universes). Each is different, but most share a lot of overlap.
+
+ * Mage
+
+Mages are the generalists of the magic users. Each mage has been gifted their
+ability to use magic by a deity. These deities have given their blessing with
+no contract, bargain, or other pact.
+
+ * DemiMage
+
+A demimage is similar to a mage, with two major exceptions: the magic granted
+by their deity is much less powerful; and they are only capable of casting
+magic from within a subset of types. Each type can very from demimage to
+demimage.
+
+ * Magicker
+
+Magickers are specialized magic users, only capable of casting a limited range
+of spells, most only being able to cast one type of spell. These people have
+made deals, signed contracts, or otherwise given something up to acquire the
+blessing of their deity.
+
+ * Bracer
+
+Bracers are the odd folk out of this bunch. They don't have magic in terms of
+being able to use it. When magic is concentrated into an area, but stabilized
+to avoid violent explosions, crystaline structures begin to form. These
+crystaline structures can then be used and directed by those who posses magical
+artefacts.
+
+ * Artificer
+
+Artificers are a very special group of magic users. They have been blessed by
+no deity. Instead, they've studied how to craft artefacts, objects that can
+stabilize, direct, and attune magic.
+
diff --git a/src/ack.tex b/src/ack.tex
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diff --git a/src/chapters/.04-a-newfeeling.tex.swp b/src/chapters/.04-a-newfeeling.tex.swp
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Binary files /dev/null and b/src/chapters/.04-a-newfeeling.tex.swp differ
diff --git a/src/chapters/00-a-lastnormalday.tex b/src/chapters/00-a-lastnormalday.tex
new file mode 100644
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@@ -0,0 +1,431 @@
+The day was as normal as any other. I sat by in the corner of my long dusty
+room, tapping away at the keys of the laptop provided by my employer. Writing
+one steady line of code after another. Today was the day that the team would
+be assigned tasks. I'd been late with my tasks this week, another matter all
+on its own.
+
+"Have to check the mutex here," I mumbled to myself, a fresh line of code
+spilling onto the screen in step with the little taps on the keyboard. I was
+already in the hot pot for a slew of other events. A lack of focus for the
+last month had caused my productivity to slip. Just a few more lines and I
+could start running tests.
+
+With the tests underway, I got up and walked to the mini-fridge. It wasn't a
+far walk, just a few meters away. The whole apartment was rather small,
+hosting enough room for my twin bed, a small kitchenette, a rather small
+closet, the restroom, and the mini-fridge I was now in front of. I opened the
+door of the small box and pulled one of my last sodas, some cherry-vanilla
+flavored drink.
+
+"I guess it's time to get dressed for the meeting," I sighed. I hated seeing
+myself on camera, but since I stopped coming to the office (a rather short
+affair given it was just downstairs), management wanted the cameras on during
+meetings. Constant social anxiety caused me to resent all of my peers. My
+brain was just messed up like that. At least, it was recently.
+
+Anxiety welled up inside me as I picked out a business casual outfit to put on.
+Just a few more meetings until the project was complete, right? I didn't know
+anymore. Time was a hard concept to grasp when your circadian rhythm was an
+ever-changing beast nobody could tame.
+
+I looked into the remaining shards of mirror hanging above the sink and a sigh
+escaped by throat, a much longer, deeper sigh. I should have made sure there
+were no shards left the last time I punched the mirror out. A tear rolled down
+my cheek. Another crying fit, as if I hadn't had enough in the last two
+months.
+
+I looked down at my hands, trying to avoid the specter in the mirror. In a
+shout of frustration, I had found more glass in my hands. Damn it. I'd have
+to fix my fists before the meeting. Again. I was crying harder now. Not
+because I was in pain, but because I couldn't control myself. I had no clue
+what was causing this, and I wished it would stop tormenting me.
+
+A quick shower and a decent amount of scrubbing later, my hands were no longer
+bleeding. I just couldn't be too rough on them or they'd split open again. In
+that moment I wished I could have more control over myself, manage my emotions
+better. Instead of letting them overflow into pain, resentment, and...
+whatever that feeling I didn't have a name for was.
+
+The rest of my day was nominally uneventful until the meeting. I had pulled an
+all-nighter to get the projects assigned to me done, so I was reasonably tired
+by the time the meeting came around. I could feel myself dozing off.
+
+"Talon!" a deep voice erupted from my laptop, "wake up you moron!"
+
+My eyes rushed open as fast as they could. I was greeted by many faces, all
+with looks of concern save one. The red faced man was the manager of the
+project, Kaden. He was also new to the project. The other faces in the call
+were concerned, mostly.
+
+"Hey Talon," another man said, cutting off Kaden, "are you doing okay bro?
+We've all been worried sick about you, but things have really taken a turn in
+the last few weeks..." he trailed off. I felt pangs of worry and hurt as I
+properly processed my name being said this time. Who was that? Vance. He
+must have been referring to my recent tiredness during the meetings.
+
+Vance was overall a good guy. Just trying to get things together and make sure
+the team was good. His heart laid with the project though. At least he was a
+bit of a humanist when it came down to making sure the project went smoothly.
+Can't let colleagues having a bad month setback our timeline. Now that I
+thought about it, I needed to do code review for a few of his revisions.
+
+"I'm fine," I muttered, lying, "Just had to pull an all nighter with this set
+of problems. After the meeting I'll take care of whatever revisions I need to
+review, then take care of whatever projects I can, then go to bed."
+
+"Don't worry," another developer spoke up, "we'll give you the light load this
+week." Brent. Another good guy. Just sometimes really weird. Not like I
+could talk.
+
+"Thank you," I said, genuinely, "I appreciate that, though if all aren't in
+agreement, I can take one of the other workloads." There were unanimous nods
+from all but one. Kaden. He's new. \emph{I should give him the benefit of%
+the doubt, shouldn't I?}
+
+"Kaden!" another senior developer exclaimed, "Talon's just been having an off
+month. His code is top notch and beyond stellar. We should let him recover."
+A pang of pain shot through me. I wasn't sure why. I didn't know this
+developer's name, though he's certainly seen my code. He wasn't lying either.
+My code was top notch.
+
+"I don't care!" Kaden yelled, still red in the face, "If I don't see your face
+in my office this afternoon, Talon, I'll put word in to your manager."
+
+I chuckled slightly at his threat. My manager was already mostly aware of what
+was going on, and my job wasn't in jeopardy.
+
+"What's so funny? Do I look funny to you?"
+
+"Just dole out the assignments for the week," I said, plainly. "I'm not coming
+down to your office. You've already yelled at me enough in an unprofessional
+way. Just because you manage the project \emph{doesn't} mean that you're
+somehow in control of my job. That is my manager's decision."
+
+Kaden's face went red as a tomato and I got a few cheers from the other
+developers, but others simply responded with worry.
+
+"Talon," one spoke up, a thin figure of a woman, "don't speak of being
+unprofessional while you respond in kind. We know there's friction, but at
+least respect the appearance of authority." Becky, I think her name was. It
+didn't matter.
+
+"Just," I started, then gave up, letting out a big sigh, "let me know what my
+assignments are. I'll start working on code review now." I hit the big red
+'hang up' button.
+
+Anxiety pushed me over the edge and before I knew it I was crying again. Why
+had I done that? What stupid thing possessed me to take a hostile course of
+action?
+
+I shoved myself into bed and pulled the covers up over my head. Easy way to
+hide from the anxiety. Fuck. Why had I done that? Why had I done that?
+
+I could hear the dings of direct messages coming in. I pulled my head out from
+under my covers and checked them. A few asked if I was okay. A few cheered my
+actions on. A few told me I should have been a little more tactful. And my
+manager, Esmerelda. I opened the DM window.
+
+\textbf{Esmerelda}: Hey. I just heard about what happened. Kaden's really
+pissed off and Becky feels awful. Do you need some time off?
+
+\textbf{Talon}: No, I don't need any time off. I just need Kaden to get off
+his high horse. He's only been here a week and he's already threatening my
+job.
+
+\textbf{Esmerelda}: LOL. -er sorry. Don't worry. He's being corrected. The
+whole team have had issues with his... behaviors. Especially the women.
+
+\textbf{Talon}: Ugh. Of course. When it comes time to fire him, let me walk
+him out the door. It'll be a big momentous occasion for him to see me afk.
+
+\textbf{Esmerelda}: I understand. I'll see what I can arrange. Don't get your
+hopes up. \underline{Here} is this weeks work. The team decided to give you
+only one task to work on, on account of your all-nighter. Be careful Talon. I
+don't need you working yourself into the ground.
+
+I chuckled to myself slightly and clicked the link. The web browser opened to
+our issue tracker with a list of open issues. Only one was assigned to me.
+
+\textbf{[OPEN] [Flight] [Debug] [Regression] Current Version not decoding data%
+correctly}
+
+I switched tabs to the version control software and counted the reviews I had
+to do. Three. Not bad. I can knock them out in an hour. Probably. If I
+don't break down crying or fall asleep.
+
+I began with the first review in the queue. I found it to be passable, and
+gave it an approval. The second was less passable, so I rejected it and wrote
+a quick note about the test that it failed, and the overall syntax and format
+of the code.
+
+The third review was Vance's. It was actually far better than all of his
+previous submissions. I gave it an approval and wrote a very good note on it,
+complimenting all of the techniques he'd learned since his last code review,
+then gave some further advice for more improvement.
+
+I copied the link to the note and sent it to the general chat. Good work
+deserved public recognition, after all.
+
+Then I began work on the open issue. It was relatively easy. A parser wasn't
+working properly. A quick test to confirm that was actually the case. And it
+was, but I was working on a development branch, so my errors were actually a
+lot more strange than the examples provided in the ticket.
+
+I quickly did some digging through the version control system, finding every
+edit to this particular subroutine since the last version, then went through
+them line by line. Nothing that would cause this garbled mess of data stood
+out at me. I took note of which functions were being used in the subroutine
+and examined each of them for changes.
+
+Two functions had massive changes, and one had several sets of changes since
+the last version. I took a look through it first. It was a deserialize
+function, so it made the most sense to look at anyway.
+
+Another few hours and I had found the problem. A stray line someone had let
+through code review. It wouldn't have caused any other problems because the
+other use cases for the deserialize function wouldn't be passing as much data
+as this particular user.
+
+The line was easy to fix. All I did was change the way that the data was
+processed to ensure there were no overflows during data consumption. Counting
+data was easy, but not if you're using a counter that rolls over at 32,767. If
+any structures came in longer than that, it would roll over to -32,768, causing
+the subroutine to exit early.
+
+I then got to work writing a test that would make sure the function was tested
+to its actual expected data size. I crafted an example serialized structure
+that was nearly 100,000 bytes longer than any real data would have been, just
+in case.
+
+It was now nearly midday, but all my work for the week was done. I let out a
+big sigh, and set the code to do a full rebuild. Setting the laptop on my
+nightstand and ensuring that it was plugged in, I settled myself into bed.
+
+My mind drifted around, not finding a particular topic to settle on before bed.
+This was a fairly frequent occurrence, but today was especially bad. So I
+settled on looking around my apartment.
+
+It was a single room, of course, with an attached bathroom. My bed was nestled
+into a corner, so I could see the whole room. The brick walls near my head
+made sure that there was always a slight chill, so I could sleep easier. Not
+that it ever helped.
+
+On the other side of the room from my bed was the kitchen. A simple affair,
+really. A small counter for preparing food, a little fridge, a sink, and a
+simple range. You could almost be forgiven for not knowing this campus was the
+cutting edge of space travel by looking at it. Next to the kitchen was the
+door. Then a small closet containing my sparse sets of clothing. Then the
+bathroom with the broken mirror.
+
+In the other corner was my workstation, for all the good it did. There was
+nothing I did on it anymore. Most days I didn't even get out of bed anymore.
+Just booted up my laptop and worked. I let loose another sigh and looked
+toward the bedside table.
+
+The laptop's screen was only barely bright, compared to the sunlight that
+leaked through the window just beyond it. My last thought before sleep came
+was about how I should find a better way to block the light that filtered in
+from that single window.
+
+Next thing I knew, I stood before a big brown stone building. If I turned
+around I could see the familiar fountain at the center of the campus. The
+building in front of me was unmarked. Nobody knew what was inside it, either.
+And women were the only people you could see going in or out, if you saw them
+at all.
+
+I was dreaming again, that much was obvious, to me at least. I'd seen this
+building every time I'd slept since I'd seen it. The last several months it
+had gotten far worse. I'd once asked my manager about it.
+
+"What's in that brown stone building at the back of the campus?" I cringed as I
+heard the reflection of my own voice in my thoughts.
+
+Of course, she'd not known either. And she was told to ignore it in its
+entirety. She'd instructed me to do the same. I figured I should heed that
+warning. But my brain always had different plans. I visited the outside of
+this building so many times in my dreams, it was getting tiring.
+
+"Hello, Talon," a voice chimed, "We meet again."
+
+"I've never been here," I said, then asked, "so how can we have met the first
+time?" I turned to look at her. She was beautiful. Her blonde hair perfectly
+accenting her slender face. Her green eyes nearly the same color as
+aventurine.
+
+She leaned over in a quick bow, the long sleeves of her dress almost concealing
+the errant movement her hand had made. "It won't be long before you meet me,
+don't worry."
+
+I blinked. Was this a dream? And why was she so pretty, but so weird?
+
+"Yes and no," she answered, "its more like an alternate space inside your mind.
+And I'm not really that weird." I could feel her staring at me as my face
+became slightly contorted with confusion and fear.
+
+"But how can you be here, in my dream?" I asked aloud, terrified that she had
+read my mind only a moment before. I needed answers, my curiosity wouldn't let
+the unanswered questions stand.
+
+"No need to be scared," she said, "but we will meet outside of here soon."
+
+"What's that mean?" I asked. Even more questions were rattling around in the
+back of my head now, but she didn't appear ready to answer them. Even now I
+could feel the anxiety building up in me.
+
+"Nothing you need to worry about with that anxiety laden heart of yours," she
+said gently, reaching out and cupping my face in her hands, "I'll see you
+soon." She planted a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Now wake up."
+
+I jolted out of my nap. The full build hadn't even completed yet. Why would
+it have? I'd only been asleep an hour. My head clouded, I still tried to
+shake the sleep from my eyes. My body was very awake, despite the fog in my
+brain.
+
+I felt like I was running a fever, so I went into the bathroom and took another
+shower, the water set as hot as it would go. Of course it burned a little, but
+that was the point.
+
+Having a hot shower tells your body that your environment is hot, so it's
+supposed to self regulate and lower your temperature. At least, in theory.
+
+I went back to bed and fell asleep almost instantly. No dreams this time.
+Just deep, deep sleep.
+
+I woke up to my laptop ringing. I rolled out of bed just barely in time to
+watch the call end. I missed it. I clicked on the phone application and it
+opened up.
+
+I tried checking the call log as another call window popped up on the screen.
+It was Esmerelda. I sat up and tried to gather myself for a second, then
+answered it.
+
+"Hey Esmie," I said toward the laptop.
+
+"Hey Tal," she replied, "look, I'm sorry, but you have two visitors headed up
+to your apartment. I tried to get a hold of you, but it looks like they were
+in a hurry."
+
+I sighed. "Alright, thanks for the heads up." She hung up.
+
+The next three minutes were me frantically getting on a set of casual clothes
+and packing my kit. A simple set of black cargo pants and a nicely fitting tee
+shirt. Unironically these were the best looking clothes I had; I'd nearly \
+ruined all the others.
+
+My kit was simple, to be sure. Laptop, phone, compact set of lock picks, and a
+small device used for wireless sniffing. Call me crazy if you'd like, but I
+had this thing on all the time when I left my apartment.
+
+A knock at the door. I took a breath and moved to open it. My fever was
+making things a little harder than I had anticipated.
+
+As the door opened, I saw two beautiful women standing in my entryway. One was
+wearing a beautiful flowing blue dress that matched her eyes. I was captivated
+by her eyes. They were like glowing sapphires. "Davis," she said, holding out
+her hand.
+
+"Young," I replied, "I'd shake your hand but I'm kinda feverish right now."
+
+"We're actually here about that," the other woman said. She was a beautiful
+young woman wearing a finely tailored suit. Her eyes were a dark color, but
+they shined with a bright light. "I'm Tamaki. We're with Research and
+Development. Special intelligence division."
+
+"Okay," I said, "and this has what to do with my fever?"
+
+"We'll explain under more secure circumstances," Tamaki said, "but you really
+need to come with us before it gets worse."
+
+"Define secure circumstances," I said.
+
+"We have a secure facility here on campus," Davis said, her eyes captivating me
+again. It was like I didn't have a way to really combat her gaze. It was hard
+to focus on anything else.
+
+"Okay," I said, "let's go, then."
+
+They walked down the hall a bit, before Tamaki stopped and turned around, then
+said, "and whatever's making that horrible noise in your bag needs to be turned
+off."
+
+I turned each of my devices off as we walked down the hall. Each of them on
+either side of me. During this time I noticed that they were armed. Davis had
+a pistol, I couldn't tell what kind. Tamaki had a short sword, it looked
+Japanese, but I wasn't sure.
+
+We'd turned the corner toward the stairs, a quick two minute walk, when Kaden
+had spotted us. He was at the top of the stairs talking to someone at the
+bottom. He gave the women around me a look over and a quick courteous smile.
+
+He gave me a smug look.
+
+"So, Talon," Kaden said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "what'd you do to get
+walked out by sexy security officers?"
+
+"Got a fever," I said, a wry smile on my face. It was there to cover up the
+anxiety.
+
+"I called security and told them you're fired," he said, that smug look still
+there.
+
+"We're Research and Development," Tamaki said, "and you are?"
+
+"Kaden," he said, extending his hand, "Project Manager for Flight Software."
+
+"Oh," Davis replied, "you manage Young's project. I suppose that makes sense,
+this is the flight software building." She merely shrugged.
+
+"We're taking Mr. Young for opportunities you couldn't possibly understand,
+Elon," Tamaki said, "it is okay if I call you Elon, right?"
+
+Kaden was caught off guard. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. "I
+suppose," he stammered. "How did you know my name?"
+
+"Magic," she replied, pausing for a moment, "or something akin, now, we don't
+have much time to loiter, please give us a six foot berth."
+
+"Definitely security," he mumbled as he stepped away from the stairway to the
+wall.
+
+We moved as a group again. As we descended the stairs, Tamaki moved in front
+of me while Davis smoothly stepped behind me. They easily took position on
+either side of me once we'd cleared the stairs. My office was in full view
+now.
+
+The looks I'd been given walking out of the building with two extremely
+beautiful women gave me an odd sense of terror. Either they'd get the wrong
+idea, or they'd get the right idea.
+
+"Don't worry," Tamaki said as we passed through the buildings large glass
+doors, "the likelihood of you interacting with these people again is extremely
+low."
+
+"Why's that?" I asked, slightly alarmed.
+
+"Those in our department are considered classified," she replied, a smile on
+her face, "besides, we aren't very personable people, so it works out fine."
+
+We'd already walked to the water fixture. It was a large pond with a statue of
+an airplane in the middle. The Eastern Hills Space Company's first product,
+back when the company was named Eastern Hills Aerodynamics. A design
+commissioned by the United States Space Force nearly 120 years ago.
+
+It was a space jet. I mean, it was a really cool fighter jet capable of
+operation in both low Earth orbit and in atmosphere. But it was also just a
+space jet.
+
+Honestly, thinking about it made my head hurt. The company had to build a
+whole new engine to get the damn thing to work and I couldn't really imagine
+how hard that engineering team worked. They must have put in more overtime
+than the company could have afforded.
+
+"Young," Tamaki said, breaking me from my thought, "you okay? We need to keep
+moving, we don't have enough time to be admiring the art."
+
+"Sorry," I mumbled, "I guess my brain is just taking vacation on me."
+
+"We need to hurry," Davis said, "you wanna?"
+
+"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Tamaki replied. Then she whispered
+something quickly. It sounded almost Gaelic. Before I could contemplate more
+on it, my brain went fuzzy.
diff --git a/src/chapters/00-b-lastnormalday.tex b/src/chapters/00-b-lastnormalday.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28e4df8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/00-b-lastnormalday.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,460 @@
+I'd been planning this run for a week. I wasn't going to let a small
+abnormality stop my attempt on the biggest corp I'd ever taken on alone. It
+simply wasn't an option.
+
+"You can't make this run, Eilidh," the middle-aged woman yelled at me from the
+other side of the living room, "It is far too dangerous and you've clearly not
+prepared enough." She was my hookup, someone who fielded and verified clients,
+and also the closest person I've ever had to a mother.
+
+She was irate because I'd decided to infiltrate the Eastern Hills Space Company
+at their Denver Headquarters in order to steal as much data as I could walk out
+with. I was going to start preparing for the run in just a few hours, and
+Berdie just didn't want me to go.
+
+"I know you think it's dangerous," I admitted to her with a sigh. There was no
+decent way for me to say this without Berdie feeling bad. "We haven't had a
+proper payday in almost a month and you need your medicine."
+
+"We have so many credits saved up still," Berdie protested. She held her frail
+lips in such a tight frown. Under the dim lighting in our safehouse, you could
+barely tell she was frowning; it was so thin. Her eyes were what really gave
+it away.
+
+"I don't care if we have a million credits saved up," I countered, "Your
+medicine would wipe it all out in just a few months."
+
+Berdie narrowed her eyes in anger. You could almost feel the daggers she'd
+started staring at me. "At least I care enough about you not to lose myself to
+something completely insane!" Berdie yelled, throwing a glass across the room
+at me. She missed; it burst against the wall behind me.
+
+I sighed. "Would it help ease your worry if I hired an analyst to help me
+through this?" I asked, pushing my blue hair out of my eyes.
+
+"Yes, but you're planning for \emph{tonight}," she continued protesting, "You
+better not be basing this heist off of a small enough amount of data that an
+analyst can analyze it all in twelve hours!"
+
+"Even if I've got an analyst who I've been working with for the whole thing?" I
+asked, batting my eyes innocently. After all, I had one friend I trusted
+unconditionally with all my data, and he'd been looking at it all along.
+
+Marvin was his name. He was the hacker I sold all of my data to. He'd resell
+it on various bulletin board systems, BBSes, or hand it directly to other teams
+making runs similar to mine.
+
+Berdie was silent for a while as she mulled through this. "Marvin doesn't
+count; Eilidh you know that."
+
+"Yes, Mother," I whined. Why did she always have to ruin my fun? I was trying
+to take care of her. The corps that made her medicine were all making back
+room deals so they could charge an arm and a leg for it. Even though the
+formula for her medicine had been leaked by runners, we still couldn't
+manufacture it ourselves. The equipment needed to do so was, similarly to the
+medicine itself, far beyond the price range of any makers I knew of. It was
+also incredibly hard to steal.
+
+Eastern Hills Space Company was just a single step towards that much larger
+goal: I eventually wanted to liberate the machines that PharmaCo used to build
+its meds. If we became a burrow in the Colorado Free State with one, we could
+produce their drugs at their real cost, and not their capitalist bullshit
+price.
+
+That's what this was all about: My burrow needs things, and I need to pay for
+Berdie's meds. Two birds with one stone.
+
+I'd started running with easy jobs, fielded by local merchants who just needed
+gear or information. Eventually I'd made a run I was utterly unprepared for
+trying to grab an industrial kiln for one of the artisans in the burrow.
+
+"Grab", because I had two guys who were supposed to be my muscle. Of course,
+they ran at the first sign of trouble. I'd almost been snatched by the
+security forces while trying to escape. My panic upon returning home had let
+Berdie pry more information out of me than I'd realized.
+
+She'd then declared herself my hookup and started giving me jobs.
+
+I should have realized that I couldn't keep jobs from her, even in her
+declining health. "I'm going on this run," I stated, "I've already invested
+hundreds of credits into information gathering. Its not going to waste, and
+the data I need is going off planet tomorrow at 0800."
+
+"Fine," Berdie said, defeated, "but you better be back before breakfast young
+lady." I nodded. What else could I do? If I wasn't back it meant I'd failed.
+And I'd be dead, or worse.
+
+I walked to my room. The door slid open as I approached it, the automated
+system having recognized my face. An automated greeting sounded on the
+speakers I'd rigged the room with. "Play my electro playlist."
+
+The speakers started playing, filling the room with lively music. I assessed
+my things. A bed was in the far corner, simple, but the mattress was garbage.
+Every time I laid down for rest it was on the bean bag on the opposite wall
+anyway.
+
+The room's lighting was provided by many strings of pink, blue, and green
+electroluminescent wires, all placed in seemingly random places. Some hung
+from the ceiling; others laid across the floor or hung from the walls. My
+computer's many monitors lit up, washing out the scene with blue and white
+light.
+
+I sat in my computer chair and began carefully formulating my plan. Even a
+single unknown variable could cause this run to go up in flames. I'd lose my
+life if I wasn't careful.
+
+About an hour into reviewing data and making notes, a video call request popped
+up on my main monitor. I jumped at the sudden noise before regaining my
+composure and accepting the call.
+
+"Marvin," I said, trying to keep the adrenaline away from my voice.
+
+"Eilidh," Marvin replied. He was grinning a wide grin, making his blue eyes
+crinkle. "I just uncovered something in your recon data."
+
+"Tell me about it," I said, going back to drawing my plans. I'd just been
+reviewing guard rotations and paths in the research and development building.
+
+"They are guarding something big in the secondary building," he laughed,
+pleased with himself, "No guards on the outside of the building, but I
+cross-referenced some of your data with that of another band of runners who
+tried to get in. Their recording devices were blank when they came back out,
+and they couldn't even remember what they saw in there."
+
+"How's that possible?" I asked, looking up at the camera above Marvin's face.
+"Are they working on memory alteration?"
+
+"Maybe, but it gets better," he says, his excitement is very visible on him.
+He's nearly bouncing out of frame. "Their security team kills people, Eilidh.
+These guys walked out of their failed run not remembering it at all. They
+don't want people to think there's anything there worth running against."
+
+"I gathered," I sighed, "that doesn't make it any more appetizing of a target,
+Marvin. Get to it, what else did you find?"
+
+"Rumors," he replied. His red hair was a mess from the excitement he could
+barely contain in his thin frame. "They say there's ghosts there. And magic!
+Real magic!"
+
+"Marvin," I snapped, "I know you've been trying to prove magic exists for the
+last fifteen years, but you're twenty-seven now. Can we drop all the childish
+games?"
+
+"It couldn't hurt to look, Li," he said, using my nickname from when we were
+young, "Please, whatever is in that building is really high priority."
+
+Another change to the plan. I didn't like it. I'd spent most of my time
+looking into the main R\&D building. It would likely be too risky to run
+against the secondary. "Alright," I said giving up, "but you're going to
+sweeten the pot for me if I walk out of there with nothing. And you're going
+to be on vid with me the whole time."
+
+"What do you want?" Marvin asked. He'd started typing frantically, his already
+big smile widening.
+
+"You'll pay for Berdie's meds for the next four months." A run like this could
+pay for that much, probably. I wasn't actually getting paid, just hoping I'd
+get enough data for a good payday, so this was a baseline of pay at the very
+least.
+
+"Fine," he sighed, "but that's a lot of money, so I'll be recording your whole
+run. And I'm sending a drone with you: one I'll be piloting."
+
+"More help is more better," I said, "but now that you're in, help me with the
+damn plan."
+
+A few hours of planning later, I found myself sighing deeply. "Marv, wanna go
+to the club before I get myself killed?"
+
+"Sure," he replied. His face was no longer lit up with excitement. The
+planning had taken a lot of effort and I could see that he was frustrated.
+"This plan is now solid enough to stand on, but I can't help but feeling like
+you're walking into a deliberate trap."
+
+"You wanted me to hit the secondary building," I said, shrugging. "See you at
+the club."
+
+"Wait!" he cried before I could hang up. "Which club are we going to?"
+
+I shrugged. "Which one is open at 1500?"
+
+He started typing again, fingers moving fast enough that they were just blurs
+in the camera. "Looks like Railgun and TripSmash are open."
+
+"TripSmash," I said. "Railgun was boring as, last time."
+
+"See you there," he said, cutting the connection. With the video call now
+disconnected, my music started playing again. The music had resumed in the
+middle of a drop, so the sudden noise caused me to jump, knocking my chair
+back.
+
+I'd ended up on the floor. I couldn't help laughing. It was kinda funny.
+Before I could pull myself off the floor, the door was sliding open. Berdie's
+face held a firm expression, but her eyes were red and puffy.
+
+"Marv and I built a plan," I said, finally getting back up on my feet, "We're
+gonna go meet up at the club, I wanna dance with some girls before I end up in
+a Corp prison."
+
+She exploded in laughter, the somber kind of laughter. When she finally
+regained her composure, she was biting her lip in that worried anxious way she
+always does. "You kids take care of each other out there."
+
+"We will, Mom," I said. Her worry over me did make me feel good. I knew this
+was a risky run, but I had to do it, to prove to myself I could be independent
+again.
+
+As she left my doorway, the door slid shut. I breathed slightly. "Time to
+pick clothes and hit the shower, I guess. Should I do makeup? Probably. Will
+I? Maybe. I \emph{do} want to dance with some pretty women. Maybe I will
+doll up just a bit."
+
+I settled on a black crop top and a simple pair of black jeans. I'd be wearing
+a brown jacket with a black hood to keep the cold off. And my black combat
+boots would tie the outfit all together. I sighed; there was no way I'd pick
+anyone up wearing this. At least Berdie never had to worry about me bringing
+anybody over.
+
+I laughed my worry away only slightly. I just wanted to dance with someone
+cute; was that so much to ask for? Yeah. Probably. I sighed and took my
+clothes to the bathroom with me.
+
+My shower was quick and cold, but it got me clean. I had been pretty dirty
+after the recon I'd done last night. I'm amazed Berdie was able to argue with
+me for so long when I stank that badly.
+
+After getting dressed I decided I would do my makeup. I neglected foundation
+and coverup, but focused on my eyes. A little blue eye shadow to pull out the
+blues in my eyes and hair. Big wings drawn in eye liner. Mascara to thicken
+up my lashes. Sky blue sparkles on my eyes and cheeks to enhance the pale look
+of my skin.
+
+Finally I picked some black lipstick and put it on. It was so black in
+comparison to my pale skin, chosen intentionally for the contrast.
+
+So I liked the color of my face being washed out. It looked good, okay?
+
+Looking at myself in the mirror, an odd idea crossed my mind. "Any deities
+that might smile upon me, I ask for a blessing in my endeavors tonight." I
+knew deities weren't real, but on the off-chance that I'd gained the favor of
+one, I might as well ask, right?
+
+The club was a short ride from the safehouse on my motorcycle. Ten minutes
+after getting on the bike, I was walking into TripSmash. The club wasn't much
+to look at from the outside: it was a simple old warehouse covered in graffiti
+with a sign out front.
+
+On the inside, TripSmash was a den of cyberdelia love. High-tech lights pulsed
+to the music as lasers shone into the smokey dance floor. The bar was on the
+wall right as you walked in, and a seating area was across the floor from it.
+On the wall directly opposite the door stood the DJ at their perch, looking at
+pink-tinted holographic displays. They looked badass.
+
+"When did you get that?" Marvin asked, sliding up next to me and pointing at my
+belly button ring.
+
+"Last year, I think," I said, heading to the bar. "After my run on Xycell."
+
+"What can I get you?" the bartender asked, flashing me a smile.
+
+"What ever fruity drink you recommend," I replied, giving the bartender a
+courteous smile. He wasn't my type, but he was cute.
+
+"And another Fringe," Marvin said from next to me, then turned to me, "So you
+got a belly button ring after Xycell. Why?"
+
+"Saw one on the cute receptionist as I entered the building," I laughed,
+"thought, 'I really can't not look that cute,' and now here we are." Marvin
+joined in my laughter. The bartender came back to our side of the bar and
+handed us our drinks.
+
+"The Fruity Tootie," the bartender said, "but your limit is two, especially
+after your friend here nearly brought our network down."
+
+"Marvin!" I exclaimed, turning back toward him, "you nearly brought their
+network down and you let me drag you here?"
+
+"Uh, yeah," Marvin replied, sipping on his new drink. It was a pretty blue,
+almost two shades lighter than my hair. "I uh, forgot I did it. I was pretty
+turned up by this designer amphetamine I'd taken earlier in the night. Wild
+party though."
+
+I shrugged. "I'mma go hit the floor, watch my drink?"
+
+"Sure," Marvin replied, "have fun." I walked out there, trying my best to
+saunter toward a beautiful woman in a short black dress. She met my eyes and
+smiled. Her eyes were a pretty gray.
+
+As I got closer I started dancing, giving her looks that I hoped would invite
+her over to come dance with me. She smiled, a pretty smile, almost a
+challenge.
+
+Should I move closer to her?
+
+No, I didn't think so. Not yet.
+
+She'll come around, right?
+
+Yes!
+
+She inched closer and closer to me until she was right in front of and dancing
+with me. I gave her a sly smile; she gave me a grin. Her eyes were much
+prettier up close. They were only gray under the pink the lights had turned,
+the pink matching the holoscreens. Now that I was closer, I saw they were
+actually a beautiful lavender.
+
+"Nice eyes," I whispered into her ear, the music slipping into a more chill
+track. "They're beautiful."
+
+"Thanks," she replied, hesitantly threading her fingers in mine. "Yours are
+pretty, too. You did good with your makeup."
+
+I smiled. "Thanks, wanna go grab a drink?"
+
+"Yeah," she replied, "I haven't had anything to drink in a bit. Lose myself to
+the beat." She shrugged.
+
+"Makes sense," I laughed, "Come on." I pulled her to the bar next to where
+Marvin was sitting on a stool.
+
+"Wow," Marvin said, looking my dance partner over. "She's really cute,
+Eilidh."
+
+"Yep," I said, a blush working its way into my voice, "she's really gorgeous."
+
+"Lucere," she said, squeezing on my hand. I took a gulp of my drink and turned
+to her.
+
+"Nice to meet you Lucere, I'm Eilidh," I said, squeezing her hand.
+
+"I'm Marvin," Marvin said, obviously trying to trip me up, but I didn't feel
+any of the normal anxiety with Lucere. She was easy to look at, her pretty
+black dress clinging to her frame, highlighting every curve. Her beautiful
+eyes were captivating.
+
+"Did you want a drink, Lucere?" I asked as the bartender came to check up on
+us. She looked at me for a moment under diffuse white lighting.
+
+"Yes," she replied, then broke her gaze to tell the bartender, "Gin martini,
+stirred, two olives." He nodded and hurried off to prepare it.
+
+"Martini, huh?" I asked, shivering under the weight of her returning gaze. It
+felt like she was drinking the look of me up.
+
+"Yeah," she replied, "Martini. A brother-in-arms used to drink them. I try to
+have one every once in a while before kissing someone. One of his old
+traditions."
+
+"You were in the war?" I asked. A war broke out in the Colorado Free State
+last year. It lasted roughly a week, but the battle had scarred the Denver
+cityscape permanently. Several corporate towers had been leveled within a
+handful of hours.
+
+"Something like that," Lucere laughed. She began pointing up. "Been off world
+a few years on assignment. Got back today."
+
+"Woah," Marvin exclaimed. "What's it like up there?"
+
+"I missed the ground," Lucere admitted. The bartender slid her drink up next
+to her. Her face lit up before she snatched it off the bar and gulped it down.
+I chuckled. She set the empty glass down on the bar before reaching down and
+kissing me.
+
+Lucere's kiss felt electric against my lips and her hands like fire against the
+skin of my waist. I moaned.
+
+"Oh shit," I laughed, breaking away from the kiss. "That was pretty sudden and
+really nice, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't expecting, um, \emph{that}, quite
+so soon."
+
+"Sorry," she said, blushing, "I just, its been a while since I've been in the
+Free State, a while since I've been anywhere but the medical ward of a
+starship."
+
+"Don't be sorry," I said, reaching up to kiss her again. "It was really
+endearing. And a lot of fun."
+
+She smiled, broke away from my embrace, then looked at Marvin with a
+contemplative face. "You look sufficiently nerdy. Know any runners?"
+
+I coughed, nearly spilling the fresh sip of my drink on my crop top. Marvin
+pointed at me. Lucere's eyes lit up as she looked at me. Oh, that was a
+feeling I could get used to.
+
+"Why do you need a runner?" I asked, trying to avoid looking outright curious.
+I tried for a look of calm and collected.
+
+"I work for Eastern Hills Space Company," she replied. Her eyes looking for
+any cracks in my mask. "Looking for someone to break in as a security test. I
+want it to be as real as we can manage."
+
+Shit. I was spooked and even Lucere could tell. Did she know I had planned a
+run for just a few hours from now? How did she know? What was I doing still
+standing here holding her hand?
+
+"So you were going to hit us tonight," Lucere mumbled. "No worries. I can pay
+you right now: double whatever you were going to get from it and protection for
+you and your crew. But for that I suppose you'll have to become a runner for
+us. I understand how that could make you feel."
+
+"How about we drop you right here," Marvin suggested. His eyes fell down to
+where I was still holding Lucere's hand. I looked down and saw that she was
+still holding my hand, calmly and happily.
+
+"You could \emph{not} hurt her," I offered. Finally, I gave up and relaxed.
+"I kinda wanna just keep kissing her, if that's alright with everyone."
+
+She giggled.
+
+Marvin threw his hands in the air, then brought them down hard on the bar.
+
+"Bartender," he yelled, "can I get, well, anything? I need some chemical help
+to understand the world I find myself in."
+
+"Yeah," Lucere finally said, cutting off her giggling. "I'll kiss you some
+more, but you realize that if you don't take this job, we're gonna walk away
+from here enemies."
+
+"Guess I better make the best of the time we're friends then," I replied after
+finishing my drink. I ran my free hand along her jaw. I couldn't help myself.
+Something about her was electrifying.
+
+"One last question before we kiss, Eilidh," Lucere said.
+
+Oh \emph{wow}. The way my name came off her tongue sounded like honey. I
+nodded quickly before I could lose myself in that feeling.
+
+"Do you feel the pull?"
+
+I furrowed my brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"
+
+She merely pulled out a mirror in response and used it to show me the small of
+my back. There was an interesting mark, but I couldn't make out what it was.
+Regardless of that, it was new. Hadn't been there when I showered an hour or
+so before.
+
+"Shit," I exclaimed, "When the fuck did someone have the time to tattoo me in
+the last hour?"
+
+"Not a tattoo," Lucere replied. "I have one just like it." She turned. Her
+dress' back disappeared. Or was it always like that? In the small of her back
+was an almost wireframe representation of a simplistic lotus.
+
+Without thinking I put my finger to the mark and felt its ridges. As I ran my
+finger over the mark, it began to glow along the outlines. A faint purple glow
+that was reflected in my hands.
+
+"Woah!" Marvin exclaimed. "What the fuck?"
+
+"We leave here as friends," Lucere stated, a smile on her face again. "And
+that felt really good. You have to promise to put your hands all over me
+sometime soon, okay?"
+
+"Will someone please talk to me?" Marvin asked.
+
+"Magic," I whispered, realizing instantly that I'd been wrong. "Its real.
+Look at it. Its beautiful."
+
+"I need you both to come with me," Lucere said urgently, "Eilidh has about a
+week of transformation to do, and I suppose Marvin could be a good artificer.
+You look nerdy enough for it."
diff --git a/src/chapters/01-a-ceremony.tex b/src/chapters/01-a-ceremony.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eef0e29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/01-a-ceremony.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
+The world faded into existence very slowly through my blurry eyes. When the
+hell had I passed out?
+
+I remembered the R\&D women who came to my room. I remembered Kaden and how
+he'd been trying to do something to get, well I'm not really sure what his game
+was. The big glass front door.
+
+The space jet, in all of its marvelous absurdity.
+
+But I couldn't remember anything after that. I could feel a disappointed frown
+forming on my face. Maybe I'd remember later.
+
+I began looking around. The room I'd found myself in looked like an improvised
+medical ward. I gathered this from the cots and a large stash of medical
+supplies on the far wall. I could see there were a few cots with people in
+them.
+
+"Finally awake," a voice said from my left, "that's good. We've had you in and
+out of the ice bath already."
+
+"For my fever," I said, "that makes sense." She moved in front of me. She was
+beautiful. Just as beautiful as Tamaki or Davis. Her eyes had an intense
+purple glow to them. Her hair was a pretty chocolate color. Her lips were a
+pretty cherry color. Her cheeks perfectly carved.
+
+"Medical Officer Manafed," she said, pointing to herself, "and you're new
+designation is Tactical Officer Young."
+
+"Please," I said, "call me Talon."
+
+"Then you can call me Lucere or Lucy," she replied, "whichever you prefer."
+
+"You're beautiful, Lucere," I said, still meeting her eyes.
+
+"And you're running a hot enough fever that you're out of your mind," she
+replied, giggling. Her smile was infectious.
+
+"That doesn't change facts," I said. Where did that come from? The anxiety
+was there, but it was subdued. "Did you drug me?"
+
+"Well, you were tossing and turning in your sleep, so I gave you an
+anti-anxiety pill, and a mild sedative so you'd end up in deep sleep." She
+explained it like it was so simple and easy. "You should still feel the
+effects of the anti-anxiety, but the sedative left your system hours ago."
+
+"So I'd be really forward if it weren't for anxiety?" I asked.
+
+"Well, you are also experiencing a very high fever," she replied, "you probably
+didn't notice because we're running a bio-compatible cryofluid through your
+veins."
+
+"So you're chilling me using subzero fake blood?" I asked, "What's my
+temperature without it?"
+
+"Your temperature without the cryofluid? Oh that's a bit of a hard question,"
+she replied, "my best guess would be somewhere around 300, maybe 350."
+
+"Numbers that big, I suppose it doesn't really matter what measurement system
+it is," I said.
+
+"Celsius," she said, answering the implicit question.
+
+"Anyway, what's going on?" I asked.
+
+"You met our Pale Goddess," she replied, "meeting her causes certain changes to
+happen. Your fever is caused by your body changing."
+
+"And she's what, an actual god?" I asked, scoffing at the thought.
+
+"Yes," she replied, "she grants us certain magics."
+
+"Magics?" my unrelenting stream of questions just getting shorter.
+
+"Yes," she replied again, putting her hand up in front of me. "Like this." Her
+hand started glowing a bright purple light. "I can heal almost any wound with
+that." I knew I must have been staring because the glow in her eyes
+brightened.
+
+"Is that why I can see light in your eyes?" I asked.
+
+She gave me an odd look. "No," she replied, "that's all you. You're able to
+see the magic in us. That's new."
+
+"New?" I asked, "As in you haven't seen it before?"
+
+"Yes, new as in we haven't got it in our catalog of magics," she replied,
+"that's neat."
+
+"So I'm what then, now?" I asked, "a witch?"
+
+"We're mages," she said, "not witches."
+
+"Is there a difference?" I asked. She squinted at me with a frown on her face.
+"No, no, don't look at me like that."
+
+"Mages do magic," she replied, her frown resolving to something decidedly less
+pained, "witches are just nurses with a stupid costume."
+
+"Oh," I said, "sorry to have insulted you like that."
+
+"Its fine," she said, "we have to get you into virtual now, so you don't feel a
+lot of pain when your body starts changing. We'll also train you as best we
+can for your new role as our Tactical Officer."
+
+"And does the Tactical Officer have magic?" I asked, a silly smile on my face.
+
+"Does the Tactical Officer embrace the power of the feminine?" she asked, a
+serious look on her face.
+
+"I'm not even sure what that means," I replied, "but we can assume no for the
+time being."
+
+"Then no," she giggled, "other gods give based on their domains, but the Pale
+Goddess' domains are femininity, motherhood, womanhood, lesbianism, and the
+likes."
+
+"You're telling me she's the goddess of lesbians?" I asked, "who is she, Sappho
+reincarnated?"
+
+Lucere looked at me funny. "I think I'll assume 'maybe' for the time being."
+
+"Okay," I said, drawing the word out, "what's it gonna take to get me in
+virtual?"
+
+"You have two options," she said, jumping right into business, "we can put you
+in using the neural crown, which is completely non-invasive, or I can put you
+back under and give you a neural implant. What's your pick?"
+
+"Right," I replied, a little overwhelmed. Neural implants are still just
+science fiction. "Lets go with the crown for now, and we'll see about the
+implant later."
+
+"Are you sure?" she asked, "it comes with a snazzy optical implant for user
+interfacing."
+
+"Yeah," I said, "I'm sure."
+
+"Okay then, cutie, lets get you ready for go," Lucere said, smiling, "we'll be
+moving you into a permanent ice bath once you're in virtual." Shit. She'd
+called me a cutie. I could feel my face getting red.
+
+"Right," I said, "let's get it done."
+
+"I'm going to move closer now," she said, "and fit the crown over your head.
+Don't bite."
+
+As she moved closer to me, I started talking, maybe a bit too fast. "So I'm
+gonna guess how this thing works. It uses electromagnetic fields to induce
+tiny pinpoint electrical signals within certain parts of my brain."
+
+"Sort of," she said, "it doesn't use EMF, but if you want all the details on
+that, you should talk to our resident tech mage."
+
+"I may just have to," I replied. She'd been messing with something I couldn't
+quite see, just above my head.
+
+"Use your limited ability to move your head and let me slip this over you," she
+instructed, holding a stretchy fabric band. As I pushed my head forward and up
+slightly, she slipped the band over my head. "Good, now think happy thoughts
+while I put you in the environment."
+
+I thought about her, in front of me. Lucere's arms curled around me. Her lips
+meeting mine. I couldn't tell you why I thought about her. I'd never really
+thought about women like that. Never really wanted to kiss anyone before.
+Thinking about it made me feel an odd warmth through my chest.
+
+Maybe it was just the fever. Before I could think on it anymore, the crown got
+a little warm around my head. Then the world started dripping away in large
+globules of liquid matter. Everything I could see having simply melted away.
+
+I don't know when I began screaming, but it stopped when I felt my body
+stretch. It felt roughly like I'd expected being sucked into a black hole
+would have. Except far worse, because it was happening.
+
+The feeling got worse and worse, like a pressure building up. It almost became
+unbearable. Almost. Then I heard a popping noise and was dropped very lightly
+into a grassy environment. At the top of a hill with what looked like an
+endless void surrounding it. Damn.
+
+"Your heart rate spiked as you were coming in," Lucere said from beside me. I
+jumped, startled. She wasn't there just a second ago. "Are you okay?"
+
+"You didn't warn me that it would do \emph{that}," I said, my voice sounded
+hoarse.
+
+"I told you to think about happy thoughts," she stated, as if that was some
+excuse. "Happy thoughts prevent the black hole from eating you between
+environments."
+
+"Oh, and I suppose that is supposed to mean something to me!" I shouted. I
+didn't mean to shout. I hate yelling. She just stared at me.
+
+"Yeah," she said, "its supposed to mean, think about times you were happy."
+
+"Lucy," I heard a familiar voice say, "what the hell are you doing yelling at
+officer Young?"
+
+"He's accidentally experienced the black hole, Ai." As Lucere spoke, the
+familiar voice came into view. Tamaki. She was wearing a robe now. It was
+colorfully decorated. It reminded of the renaissance festival, in how old, but
+new it looked.
+
+"Getting ready for a seance?" I asked, completely baffled by the outfit.
+
+"No," she replied, little emotion coming through her voice, "I'm getting ready
+for the welcoming ceremony."
+
+"Welcoming what?" I asked, confused.
+
+"You, dummy," Lucere laughed.
+
+"Oh," I laughed.
+
+"I see you two made a bit of a connection," Tamaki said, "Lucy I thought you
+only got kicks out of women."
+
+"Commander," Lucere said, feigning shock, "don't you know that love is love?"
+
+"Yeah yeah," Tamaki giggled, "back in line soldier."
+
+Lucere gave an exaggerated solute, bowed deeply, then pranced off to some
+unseen spot.
+
+"Forgive our medical officer," Tamaki said, "for her lame jokes and her
+impeccably bad timing. And me, for making fun of her at your expense."
+
+"No need for that," I replied, then gave a solute almost as exaggerated as
+Lucere's, "Commander."
+
+"We won't have any issues with chain of command from you, will we?" Tamaki
+laughed, her question obviously sarcastic. She started walking in a direction,
+but stopped when she realized I wasn't following. She beckoned me over. I
+sighed and started walking, following behind her while keeping a distance of a
+few paces.
+
+After a few minute walk through total nothingness, only seeing Tamaki in front
+of me, trees started appearing. We walked through a dense wooded area for
+another few minutes before we came to a clearing. When I was in the clearing,
+I could clearly see a ring of logs with hooded figures sitting on them.
+
+I counted five hooded figures. With Tamaki and I we would be seven figures in
+total.
+
+"Come on," Tamaki laughed, "you don't need to be scared of women in hooded
+robes."
+
+"And yet," I said, "I am. Maybe has something to do with the whole magic
+thing."
+
+"They won't attack you," she said, "unless, of course, you attack them first."
+
+"I have no ill intentions," I stated, "but I'm still worried."
+
+"Don't be," she laughed.
+
+As we approached, each of the mages stood up, their black robes still reaching
+the ground. Their hoods covering their heads were large enough to obscure
+their faces. I mean, we're talking about literal mages. Wearing mage robes.
+Doing some sort of a mage thing.
+
+Did I get whisked away into a cult? Should I be worried?
+
+"Center of the circle," Tamaki giggled, "facing me. On your knees, but make
+yourself comfortable, because you'll be sitting like that for a bit."
+
+I sat myself in the circle, on my knees. In getting comfortable, I rested on
+my feet and placed my hands on my thighs.
+
+I heard a few hums of excitement from the mages around me.
+
+"Now," Tamaki said, taking point in front of the group, "for the first time
+among us, we have a man. Unprecedented since the discovery of magic nearly
+seventy years ago. Mages are a rarity, as we all know, and our goddess has a
+penchant for making them."
+
+"May I ask questions?" I asked before she could continue.
+
+"You may," Tamaki replied, "but keep in mind, we are slightly pressed for time.
+Our officers are quite busy, especially our medical officer."
+
+"Right," I said, giggling slightly, "when was magic first discovered?"
+
+"When the first mage was born on this campus," she replied, "in our medical
+wing, the same one your body is in now, actually. In 2091. August third. The
+medical staff had no clue what was wrong with her. When she woke up in a new
+body nearly a month later, the medical team having used ice baths to cool her,
+she did her best to figure out what happened."
+
+"Of course," Lucere cut in, "she went in much like your body is now."
+
+"A man?" I asked.
+
+"Probably not," Lucere replied, "but she was incorrectly labeled a boy at
+birth. We aren't here to judge. That's for the Pale Goddess, and we've all
+already been deemed worthy in her eyes."
+
+Fuck, is that what was going to happen to me? They must have seen my anxiety
+spike, because they'd all stopped making noise. I was starting to
+hyperventilate. I fell backwards and felt my chest heave as my body tried its
+hardest to get air in me.
+
+But I'd never wished I were a woman. Its rediculous. Its impossible. Right?
+
+I guess I'd have to think on that later. Focusing on my breathing, I managed
+to calm down. Could I even pass out from lack of oxygen in virtual?
+
+"Are you okay?" Tamaki asked, kneeling down in front of me. When did she get
+in front of me? I shook my head, not trusting my voice. "Alright ladies," she
+said, "group hug time. You can go back to your duties after."
+
+The six mages around me all huddled in, wrapping their arms around me,
+squeezing in. I felt like I was being enveloped in a heavy weighted blanket,
+something Eastern Hills hadn't let me keep when I moved into the campus. It
+was too big a safety risk, they'd said.
+
+After a little bit, each of the mages unwrapped their arms, then disappeared.
+Lucere looked me in the eyes, her hood back, and kissed my forehead. "You'll
+make it through this," she whispered in my ear before returning to her duties
+outside of virtual.
+
+Eventually, Tamaki and I were the only ones left sitting in the clearing.
+
+"Come on," she said, offering her hand, "we've got a lot to talk about."
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/01-a-corporatetakeover.tex b/src/chapters/01-a-corporatetakeover.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fe7c83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/01-a-corporatetakeover.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,275 @@
+Just like that, I had let a corporate entity take me away. Lucere had paid for
+our drinks and motioned toward the door.
+
+A flying taxi hovered outside, the driver motioning us to come in.
+
+Once we were safely inside the taxi lifted off. After a few minutes, we were
+staring directly at the Eastern Hills Space Company campus, directly into their
+headquarters. Spread over a four-block section of the city and comprised of
+five buildings, the campus almost didn't fit in with its surroundings. Almost.
+
+The building we were headed directly for was the secondary R\&D building Marvin
+and I had planned to infiltrate later tonight. A hatch on the roof began to
+open as we approached, large enough to let the taxi land inside.
+
+"That's our facility," Lucere said, moving her arm from around my waist to
+point at it, "We do lots of really cool stuff in there, but we're primarily a
+strike force."
+
+"Why would Eastern Hills need a strike force?" Marvin asked, finally lifting
+his head from the window. He and I had never been in a flying taxi before, so
+he was getting as much of the view as he could.
+
+"Likely something to do with discovering magic," I replied, looking into
+Lucere's eyes, searching for confirmation.
+
+"Eilidh is right," Lucere said, giving me what I wanted, "but we aren't
+technically run by Eastern Hills. We are self-governing: we have power equal
+to the CEO and we take profits from the company before the board members get to
+siphon off their overly-large portions."
+
+"And what do you do with those profits?" I asked pointedly.
+
+"Well, each member of the strike force is awarded one share of it per quarter,
+which is a rather large chunk," she explained, "We also keep a discretionary
+budget, equipment budget, upkeep costs, and award shares on a per-operation
+basis."
+
+"So this strike force is structured after runner groups," I noted, quickly
+adding, "At least financially."
+
+"Yes," Lucere confirmed, "and similar goals as well. As runners, I'm sure you
+saw the data leaks from the Kai Heavy Industries dig sites."
+
+"I remember being really impressed by the runners behind the leaks," Marvin
+stated, a look of fancy lingering on his face.
+
+"It wasn't runners," Lucere said, a wicked grin spreading across her face.
+
+"This strike force was behind the leaks," I stated as her implication started
+to make sense, "But why?"
+
+As the taxi started a descent through the hatch, wind caught its large rotors
+and the whole vehicle jostled to the right. I started feeling uneasy.
+
+"Letting Kai's digs continue unchecked would have destroyed something important
+to the planet," Lucere answered. She didn't betray any worry at all on her
+face, but her voice filled the air with sorrow.
+
+Marvin blinked a few times. "Why would you care about that?"
+
+"It is in the nature of our benefactor to care about this planet," replied
+Lucere, "even if we can't do terribly much to reverse the hellscape that it is
+now."
+
+"Your benefactor?" I asked.
+
+"Eilidh, \emph{our} benefactor, the Deity responsible for giving us our magic."
+
+"Our benefactor," I repeated slowly, letting it sink in. I was still in
+denial; it felt so absurd. Then my brain caught up. "Wait, deities are
+real?"
+
+"Yes and no," Lucere explained, "It's rather complicated. Deities aren't the
+same as mythology makes them out to be. They aren't all powerful, nor are they
+capable of directly affecting the world. They can only interact via pocket
+dimensions and the mirror world."
+
+"Mirror world?" Marvin asked, "like, the world behind the glass of the mirror?"
+
+Lucere smiled."Exactly." Her smile was so pretty. The way it lit up
+her face made it contagious, until she started focusing on something I couldn't
+see and it faded into a scowl.
+
+"What's wrong?" I asked her, lightly touching her face. In that moment, I had
+not a single care that the taxi just landed.
+
+"Looks like we have a two for one deal going," she replied, focusing on me
+again. Her smile returned, but it looked like a tired smile instead of the
+genuine one I'd seen just a moment before. "One of our own was properly
+blessed by the Goddess, which means I'm trapped here for a month at least while
+they complete their transformation."
+
+"A month?" I asked, "Mine's only a week, right?"
+
+"Yes," she replied, "Theirs is a bit special of a transformation. You asked
+the Goddess, even if you didn't realize it. They didn't. They are a full
+mage while you're only a demimage. Now based on your purple effects, it's
+likely you'll be a little more powerful than the average demimage, as you can
+utilize magic even without your body being rebuilt."
+
+"What's a demimage?" Marvin asked, a curious look on his face.
+
+"Well, lets explain mages first," she replied, rubbing her temples, "I'm a
+mage; that means I have a full magical circuit embedded in my body, so I may
+utilize all of the magical energy around and within me. A demimage has a less
+powerful version of that same magical circuit in theirs. It means that
+demimages, while much more magically talented than an average human, can't ever
+really match up equally against a mage. The process of transformation is what
+reconfigures your body to accept a magical circuit. You following me on that?"
+
+Marvin and I nodded.
+
+"So I have to go through this process of transformation to get a magical
+circuit embedded into me," I noted, staring off into the distance as we landed
+inside the building, "and that magical circuit was given to me by a deity, in
+this case a goddess, because I asked for it?"
+
+"That sums it up," Lucere said, kissing my forehead before hopping out of
+the taxi. "You coming Eilidh?"
+
+"Yeah," I mumbled and scooted out of the taxi to stand next to Lucere.
+
+"You are adorable, getting caught up in your head like that," she said,
+grabbing my hand and leading me into the building. I looked back quickly to
+see Marvin following us at a short distance. He smiled at me, showing how
+anxious he was about all this.
+
+I found the door into the stairwell a little odd: no visible method to open
+it. Instead, it vanished as we approached and reappeared behind us. It was
+kind of jarring. Marvin was visibly gawking at it. I wasn't sure I wanted to
+try and figure it out.
+
+Once we were down two flights of stairs, Lucere made a sliding motion with her
+arm out front. The wall reconfigured itself into an entryway. The
+room beyond was a rather rapidly put-together medical ward, cots six feet
+apart along each wall and a decent path leading to a large machine with bed-like
+chambers along each side of it.
+
+There was a man sealed in one of the chambers, ice and water covering him above
+his head. He had an air mask hooked up to him, presumably feeding him fresh
+air so he could breathe. Two women stood on either side of the chamber he was
+in.
+
+"Welcome back, Manafed," one of them said, turning around to greet her, "Sorry
+your leave was cut short by two strays, but we'll get you through it as best we
+can, then you can have a month to yourself."
+
+"Thank you Tamaki," Lucere said, giving a tired salute. She walked over to
+observe the man in the chamber, "this Young?"
+
+"Yeah, they have been blessed by our Pale Goddess, though," Tamaki replied, "so
+we'll see how they come out, as She has never been a particular fan of men."
+
+"Her aspects and domains prevent it," the third woman stated, "We all know
+that. We all know how this is going to go. She'll wake up and fight her new
+form for a week or so, then realize she's never been happier and everything
+will just click."
+
+"They could have a different outcome, Davis," Lucere said, sighing deeply
+before turning back to me, "This is Eilidh, and her friend Marvin. Demimage
+and possible artificer, respectively. Tamaki, will you help me get our new
+demimage into a cryotube?"
+
+"Yeah," Tamaki replied, turning to Davis, "you go get Marvin tested for
+artifact fitness and pair him up with a good partner."
+
+Davis gave a salute and began walking toward the entryway. She stopped about
+halfway to it and said to Marvin, "You coming? Or am I going to have to pull
+all your memories and dump you on the street?"
+
+"I'll come take a test," he replied, following her out of the room and down the
+stairwell.
+
+"So what happens to me?" I asked, the room suddenly growing far too warm.
+
+"You get in one of these cryochambers or your fever melts your brain," Tamaki
+said in the midst of preparing one. Lucere was sitting down at a desk on the
+wall behind the machine, taking notes and filling out paperwork.
+
+"We're going to need to get you into virtual to start training," Lucere stated,
+not looking up from her paperwork, "You have the option to choose whether or
+not you get a neural implant now or later. If you choose later, I can get you
+into virtual using a neural crown now."
+
+I laughed. "Right, as if I'd be the fool to pass up a freaking neural
+interface. Give me the implant."
+
+She sighed, pulled out another form, and turned to Tamaki. "Commander, why the
+hell are we still doing paperwork when we literally have computers in our
+heads?"
+
+"Because if we don't the archival department will kill us," Tamaki replied,
+motioning me to come over. Looking at me now, she finally said, "Come on, we
+don't have all day."
+
+"Yes ma'am," I said, walking over to the chamber and clambering in. Its 45-
+degree angle was awkward to get in, but it was a nice resting position.
+
+"I'm going to hook some IVs up to you," Tamaki said, holding a needle, "is that
+alright?"
+
+"No," I said sarcastically, "Please just stop my brain from melting already?"
+
+"Feisty," Tamaki said.
+
+"And a great kiss," Lucere said.
+
+"Oh," Tamaki said, curiosity on her face. She looked at me, "May I?"
+
+"Um, sure I guess," I said.
+
+Tamaki pressed her lips gentlly against mine.
+
+There was that electrifyingly good feeling again.
+
+I leaned into the kiss, a moan escaping from me.
+
+"Okay girls." Lucere's voice shocked me. Did I seriously not notice her walk
+from her desk all the way here? "We need to prepare for surgery. Can we
+\emph{not} make out until after it's done?"
+
+"Very good kiss," Tamaki said, pulling away from me, a funny look on her face
+as she tried to calm down. I was sure I had a similar look on mine.
+
+"You didn't even get the IV in her Tamaki," Lucere said, a tired look spreading
+across her face.
+
+"Sorry," I said, reaching out to touch Lucere's jaw. Then I remembered. "Hey,
+you said you'd give me more kisses before we left the bar, and then we were
+both distracted by, um, magic stuff."
+
+Her eyes lit up as she remembered, "Oh, yeah. I figured you didn't care
+anymore."
+
+"Of course I care," I said, a little offended, "I liked kissing you."
+
+Tamaki gave Lucere a look, "Well, looks like the new girl is going to fit in
+just fine."
+
+"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking between the two women.
+
+"You'll find out." Lucere leaned in and gave me a kiss. It was a quick kiss,
+but it felt just as good as the first time.
+
+As she pulled away I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into the chamber
+on top of me.
+
+"You aren't about to get away with that," I said, panting with want. I pushed
+my needy lips against hers, kissing her as deeply as she'd allow.
+
+Lucere pulled away after a second. "Listen: we have a lot to do. We can make
+out in virtual. I can even take you to a beach of some alien planet, if you
+want, but we \emph{have} to get this done now before your skin becomes hot
+enough to burn me though your clothes."
+
+I pouted at her, finally presenting my arm for her to put an IV into. I
+noticed Tamaki's face was as red as a cherry tomato, stopped pouting, and
+winked at her.
+
+"I'm going to give you something to put you under while I implant you, okay? I
+need you to start counting backwards from ten," Lucere instructed.
+
+"Okay, I'm ready," I said, "Ten." Almost immediately I could feel whatever
+she'd given me was slowing my brain down.
+
+"Nine." Wow, this felt amazing. I was about to get the best sleep of my life.
+
+"Eight." Tamaki moved closer. I smiled at her. Her lips were so pretty.
+
+"Seven." Oh, I was starting to slur my speech, wasn't I? Lucere was finally
+standing over me. Her eyes were twinkling. She was beautiful.
+
+"Six." Tamaki said something I couldn't hear. Lucere nodded.
+
+"Five-"
diff --git a/src/chapters/01-b-ceremony.tex b/src/chapters/01-b-ceremony.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9f646f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/01-b-ceremony.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,350 @@
+The world faded into existence very slowly through my blurry eyes.
+
+Wait.
+
+When the hell had I passed out?
+
+I remembered the R\&D women who came to my room. I remembered Kaden and how
+he'd been trying to do something to get... I wasn't really sure what his game
+was.
+
+I remembered the big glass front door.
+
+I remembered the space jet, in all of its marvelous absurdity.
+
+But I couldn't remember anything after that. I could feel a disappointed frown
+forming on my face.
+
+Maybe I'd remember later.
+
+I began looking around. The room I'd found myself in looked like an improvised
+medical ward, looking at the cots and that large stash of medical supplies on
+the far wall. I could see people in a few of the cots.
+
+"Finally awake," a voice said from my left, "That's good. We've had you in and
+out of the ice bath already."
+
+"For my fever," I said, "That makes sense." She moved in front of me. She was
+beautiful. Just as beautiful as Tamaki or Davis. Her eyes had an intense
+purple glow to them. Her hair was a pretty chocolate color. Her lips were a
+pretty cherry color. Her cheeks were perfectly curved.
+
+"Medical Officer Manafed," she said, pointing to herself, "and your new
+designation is Tactical Officer Young."
+
+"Please," I said, "call me Talon."
+
+"Then you can call me Lucere or Lucy," she replied, "whichever you prefer."
+
+"You're beautiful, Lucere," I said, still meeting her eyes.
+
+"And you're running a hot enough fever that you're out of your mind," she
+replied, giggling, her smile infectious.
+
+"That doesn't change facts," I said. Where did that come from? The anxiety
+was there, but subdued. "Did you drug me?"
+
+"Well, you were tossing and turning in your sleep, so I gave you an
+anti-anxiety pill, and a mild sedative so you'd end up in deep sleep." She
+explained it like it was so simple and easy. "You should still feel the
+effects of the anti-anxiety, but the sedative left your system hours ago."
+
+"So I'd be really forward if it weren't for anxiety?" I asked.
+
+"Well, you are also experiencing a very high fever," she replied, "You probably
+didn't notice because we're running a bio-compatible cryofluid through your
+veins."
+
+"So you're chilling me using subzero fake blood?" I asked, "What's my
+temperature without it?"
+
+"Your temperature without the cryofluid? Oh that's a bit of a hard question,"
+she replied, "My best guess would be somewhere around 300, maybe 350."
+
+"Numbers that big, I suppose it doesn't really matter what measurement system
+it is," I said, immediately covering my mouth when I remembered Kelvin existed.
+
+"Celsius." She answered the implicit question with a smirk.
+
+"Anyway, what's going on?" I asked.
+
+"You met our Pale Goddess," she replied, "meeting Her causes certain changes to
+happen. Your fever is caused by your body changing."
+
+"And she's what, an actual god?" I asked, scoffing at the thought.
+
+"Yes," she replied, "She grants us certain magics."
+
+"Magics?" My questions shrunk in the name of unrelenting bandwidth.
+
+"Yes," she replied again, putting her hand up in front of me, "Like this." Her
+hand started glowing a bright purple light. "I can heal almost any wound with
+that." I knew I must have been staring because the glow in her eyes
+brightened.
+
+"Is that why I can see light in your eyes?" I asked.
+
+She gave me an odd look. "No, that's all you. You're able to see the magic in
+us. That's new."
+
+"New?" I asked, "As in you haven't seen it before?"
+
+"Yes, new as in we haven't got it in our catalog of magics," she replied,
+"That's neat."
+
+"So I'm what then, now?" I asked, "a witch?"
+
+"We're mages," she said, "not witches."
+
+"Is there a difference?" I asked.
+
+She squinted at me with a frown on her face.
+
+"No, no, don't look at me like that."
+
+"Mages do magic," she replied, her frown resolving to something decidedly less
+pained, "Witches are just nurses with a stupid costume."
+
+"Oh," I said, "sorry to have insulted you like that."
+
+"It's fine," she said, "We have to get you into virtual now, so you don't feel
+a lot of pain when your body starts changing. We'll also train you as best we
+can for your new role as our Tactical Officer."
+
+"And does the Tactical Officer have magic?" I asked, a silly smile on my face.
+
+"Does the Tactical Officer embrace the power of the feminine?" she asked, a
+serious look on her face.
+
+"I'm not even sure what that means," I replied, "but we can assume no for the
+time being."
+
+"Then no," she giggled, "Other gods give in accordance with their domains, but
+the Pale Goddess' domains are femininity, motherhood, womanhood, lesbianism,
+and the likes."
+
+"You're telling me she's the goddess of lesbians?" I asked, "Who is she, Sappho
+reincarnated?"
+
+Lucere looked at me funny. "I think I'll assume 'maybe' for the time being."
+
+"Okay," I said, drawing the word out, "What's it gonna take to get me in
+virtual?"
+
+"You have two options," she said, jumping right into business, "we can put you
+in using the neural crown, which is completely non-invasive, or I can put you
+back under and give you a neural implant. What's your pick?"
+
+"Right," I replied, a little overwhelmed. Neural implants are still just
+science fiction. "Lets go with the crown for now, and we'll see about the
+implant later."
+
+"Are you sure?" she asked, "it comes with a snazzy optical implant for user
+interfacing."
+
+"Yeah," I said, "I'm sure."
+
+"Okay then, cutie, lets get you ready for go," Lucere said with a smile, "We'll
+be moving you into a permanent ice bath once you're in virtual."
+
+Shit. She'd called me a cutie.
+
+I could feel my face getting red.
+
+"Right," I said, "Let's get it done."
+
+"I'm going to move closer now and fit the crown over your head," she said,
+"Don't bite."
+
+As she moved closer to me, I started talking, maybe a bit too fast. "So I'm
+gonna guess how this thing works. It uses electromagnetic fields to induce
+tiny pinpoint electrical signals within certain parts of my brain."
+
+"Sort of," she said, "it doesn't use EMF, but if you want all the details on
+that, you should talk to our resident tech mage."
+
+"I may just have to," I replied. She'd been messing with something I couldn't
+quite see, just above my head.
+
+"Use your limited ability to move your head and let me slip this over you," she
+instructed, holding a stretchy fabric band. As I pushed my head forward and up
+slightly, she slipped the band over my head. "Good, now think happy thoughts
+while I put you in the environment."
+
+I thought about her, in front of me. Lucere's arms curled around me. Her lips
+meeting mine. I couldn't tell you why I thought about her. I'd never really
+thought about women like that, never really wanted to kiss anyone before.
+Thinking about it made me feel an odd warmth through my chest.
+
+Maybe it was just the fever. Before I could think on it anymore, the crown got
+a little warm around my head. Then the world dripped away in large liquidy
+globules. Everything I could see simply melted away.
+
+I don't know when I'd begun screaming, but it stopped when I felt my body
+stretch. It felt roughly like I'd expected being sucked into a black hole
+would have, except far worse: I was actually experiencing it.
+
+The feeling got worse and worse, like a pressure building up. It almost became
+unbearable. Almost.
+
+Then I heard a popping noise and dropped very lightly into a grassy environment
+at the top of a hill with what looked like an endless void surrounding it.
+
+Damn.
+
+"Your heart rate spiked as you were coming in," Lucere said from beside me.
+
+I jumped, startled. She wasn't there just a second ago.
+
+"Are you okay?" she asked.
+
+"You didn't warn me that it would do \emph{that}," I said. My voice sounded
+hoarse.
+
+"I told you to think about happy thoughts," she stated as if that was some
+excuse, "Happy thoughts prevent the black hole from eating you between
+environments."
+
+"Oh, and I suppose that is supposed to mean something to me!" I shouted. I
+didn't mean to shout. I hated yelling. She just stared at me.
+
+"Yeah," she said, "It's supposed to mean, 'think about times you were happy.'"
+
+"Lucy," I heard a familiar voice say, "what the hell are you doing yelling at
+officer Young?"
+
+"He accidentally experienced the black hole, Ai." said Lucere, the familiar
+voice coming into view. Tamaki. She was wearing a robe now. It was
+colorfully decorated and reminded me of the Renaissance festival, in how old,
+yet new, it looked.
+
+"Getting ready for a seance?" I asked, completely baffled by the outfit.
+
+"No," she replied, little emotion coming through her voice, "I'm getting ready
+for the welcoming ceremony."
+
+"Welcoming what?" I asked, confused.
+
+"You, dummy," Lucere laughed.
+
+"Oh." I laughed.
+
+"I see you two made a bit of a connection," Tamaki said, "Lucy I thought you
+only got kicks out of women."
+
+"Commander," Lucere said, feigning shock, "Don't you know that love is love?"
+
+"Yeah yeah," Tamaki giggled, "back in line soldier."
+
+Lucere gave an exaggerated salute, bowed deeply, and pranced off to some unseen
+spot.
+
+"Forgive our medical officer," Tamaki said, "for her lame jokes and her
+impeccably bad timing. And me, for making fun of her at your expense."
+
+"No need for that," I replied, giving a salute almost as exaggerated as
+Lucere's, "Commander."
+
+Tamaki Laughed. "We won't have any issues with chain of command from you, will
+we?" Her question rang of obvious sarcasm. She started walking, but stopped
+when she noticed I wasn't following. She beckoned me over. I sighed and
+started walking, following behind her while keeping a distance of a few paces.
+
+After a few-minute walk through total nothingness, only seeing Tamaki in front
+of me, trees started appearing. We walked through a dense wooded area for
+another few minutes before we came to a clearing. Once in the clearing, I saw
+clearly a ring of logs with hooded figures sitting on them.
+
+I counted five such figures. With Tamaki and I we would be seven in total.
+
+"Come on," Tamaki laughed, "you don't need to be scared of women in hooded
+robes."
+
+"And yet," I said, "I am. Maybe something to do with the whole magic thing."
+
+"They won't attack you," she said, "unless of course you attack them first."
+
+"I have no ill intentions," I stated, "but I'm still worried."
+
+"Don't be." She laughed again.
+
+As we approached, each of the mages stood up, their black robes still reaching
+the ground, their hoods large enough to obscure their faces.
+
+I mean, we're talking about literal mages wearing mage robes and doing some
+sort of mage thing.
+
+Did I get whisked away into a cult?
+
+Should I be worried?
+
+"Center of the circle," Tamaki giggled, "Facing me. On your knees, but make
+yourself comfortable, because you'll be sitting like that for a bit."
+
+I sat myself in the circle, on my knees. For comfort, I rested on my feet and
+placed my hands on my thighs.
+
+I heard a few hums of excitement from the mages around me.
+
+"Now," Tamaki said, taking point in front of the group, "for the first time
+among us, we have a man. Unprecedented since the discovery of magic nearly
+seventy years ago. Mages are a rarity, as we all know, and our Goddess has a
+penchant for making them."
+
+"May I ask questions?" I asked before she could continue.
+
+"You may," Tamaki replied, "but keep in mind, we are slightly pressed for time.
+Our officers are quite busy, especially our medical officer."
+
+"Right," I said, giggling slightly, "when was magic first discovered?"
+
+"When the first mage was born on this campus," she replied, "in our medical
+wing, the same one your body is in now, actually. In 2091, August third. The
+medical staff had no clue what was wrong with her. When she woke up in a new
+body nearly a month later, the medical team having used ice baths to cool her,
+she did her best to figure out what happened."
+
+"Of course," Lucere cut in, "she went in much like your body is now."
+
+"A man?" I asked.
+
+"Probably not," Lucere replied, "but she was incorrectly labeled a boy at
+birth. We aren't here to judge. That's for the Pale Goddess, and we've all
+already been deemed worthy in Her eyes."
+
+Fuck, was that what was going to happen to me? They must have seen my anxiety
+spike, because they all stopped making noise. I was starting to
+hyperventilate.
+
+I fell backwards and felt my chest heave as my body tried its hardest to get
+air in me.
+
+I'd never wished I were a woman. It was ridiculous.
+
+It's impossible.
+
+...Right?
+
+I guess I'd have to think on that later. Focusing on my breathing, I managed
+to calm down.
+
+Could I even pass out from lack of oxygen in virtual?
+
+"Are you okay?" Tamaki asked, kneeling down in front of me. When did she get
+in front of me? I shook my head, not trusting my voice. "Alright ladies," she
+said, "Group hug time. You can go back to your duties after."
+
+The six mages around me all huddled in, wrapping their arms around me,
+squeezing in. I felt like I was being enveloped in a heavy weighted blanket,
+something Eastern Hills hadn't let me keep when I moved into the campus. It
+was too big a safety risk, they'd said.
+
+After a little bit, each of the mages unwrapped their arms and disappeared.
+Lucere looked me in the eyes, her hood back, and kissed my forehead. "You'll
+make it through this," she whispered in my ear before returning to her duties
+outside of virtual.
+
+Eventually, Tamaki and I were the only ones left sitting in the clearing.
+
+"Come on," she said, offering her hand, "we've got a lot to talk about."
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/02-a-theview.tex b/src/chapters/02-a-theview.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a57e12a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/02-a-theview.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Tamaki told me, "Being trans isn't an issue
+here, nor will it ever be. Our lineage is that of the first chosen, and we
+hold that very proudly."
+
+We were in what she had called her mind space. I figured it was a 'scape she
+built to represent her mind. She hadn't mentioned much about it though, so I
+wasn't certain.
+
+She'd poured me a drink and sat me down by a window overlooking Earth. Fitting,
+considering our employer.
+
+Something told me she just liked looking at Earth, though.
+
+"I understand that." I took a sip; it was fruity, sweet, and delicious. "And
+you'll have no quarrel with me over it. People deserve rights and to be treated
+fairly. It just feels like there's a lot of pressure to be, um, trans, I
+guess."
+
+"We certainly haven't been trying," she replied, "but I'll be extra careful
+around the topic. You deserve that at least."
+
+We stared at the beautiful planet in silence, close enough to see cities
+lighting up the surface.
+
+After a short while I broke the silence. "I've never really thought about
+myself. I wasn't supposed to be around this long. I always thought I'd
+have died already, probably doing something really stupid. Somehow I never got
+around to doing anything stupid enough to die by misadventure."
+
+"The Pale Goddess always pleases," she said, "Even if you don't know what you
+want yet, you'll get whatever it is you're meant to have."
+
+As if that was supposed to soothe me.
+
+She gave me a look and a forced smile.
+
+"I'm not really sure," I admitted, "That's the thing: I never thought about
+what I want, what I deserve. None of it. And now, knowing that options I
+never saw on the ta... ble..." Nope. Not finishing that.
+
+She cast a genuine look of worry my way. "You're scared?"
+
+I nodded. What else could I do? Of course I was scared. My anxiety was playing
+double-time since she showed up on my doorstep. I let out a whisper. "I've just
+got so many options now for my future, for everything."
+
+Options for these feelings I'd had for so long. Could I finally fix myself
+because of this? Could I reinvent myself as more than a fucking code monkey?
+
+"Hey." She was wiping my face gently with her sleeve. "No need to cry. I'm your
+commanding officer now; I'm here to help you through all of this. It's my job as
+your leader."
+
+The tears didn't end. I raised my voice, to the obscene volume of... a mumble.
+"Then let me cry."
+
+She nodded, moved closer and wrapped her arm around me. "I can do that for
+you." She put her glass down on a nearby table to free her hand for me.
+
+I cried; for some untracked amount of time I cried. At some point Tamaki must
+have let me go because I found myself in a corner, crying myself to sleep.
+
+I woke up under a warm, heavy blanket. Apparently a pillow snuck under my head
+while I was asleep.
+
+I looked to the wall and found Tamaki sleeping in a tiny built-in cot. I
+wondered about her past, and where she learned how to sleep in such a tiny hole.
+
+After being entranced from the view of Earth, I turned my attention inside the
+'scape. It reminded me of the inside of a small cargo hauler. A wall split the
+space in twain, with a single-stair step jutting out into the half I was in. The
+space in the wall tapered toward me, hinting at a possible doorway.
+
+The section up the step looked like some kind of workspace. Little components
+lay scattered along the floor everywhere. A simple desk spanned the far wall,
+covered in shelves, bins, bits, and other things my brain tried to process.
+
+In the center of the main section stood a coffee table made of tinted glass,
+surrounded by comfy-looking cushioned chairs. In the corner blinked a little
+terminal, what it connected to I couldn't quite be sure.
+
+A smaller table stood before the Earth-facing window, holding Tamaki's drink and
+an empty glass. I couldn't see anywhere for her to have prepared the drink or
+stored glassware, so I stopped thinking about that and started thinking about
+me.
+
+Every time I tried, however, another question crept to the forefront. "Who am
+I?" it asked in place of anything about what I wanted.
+
+"Who am I?" I said aloud. I tried thinking of an answer before giving up again
+and sitting there in front of her coffee table.
+
+"Who \emph{are} you indeed." Tamaki giggled and slipped out of her cot in the
+wall.
+
+"I'm not even sure how to answ-" I stopped talking and averted my eyes to the
+ground. She'd been covered in her cot, so I didn't notice now, but Tamaki was
+walking around her 'scape in nothing but a pair of panties.
+
+"Oh," she giggled, "don't worry Officer Young; this is something you'll have to
+get used to."
+
+I kept my eyes away from her. "Why?"
+
+"This is casual wear for officers of the strike force," she replied, "but I
+can put some clothes on just for you."
+
+"Please," I pleaded, "you're the first woman I've even seen naked. Just, put
+something on so I can avoid brain melt."
+
+"Brain melt?" she asked, putting on a pajama shirt.
+
+My brain fumbled for words. "You know, when you're, flustered and, uh, this, I
+guess." I could feel my face heating up.
+
+"I'm safe for your innocent eyes now," she laughed, putting her finger under my
+chin and lifting my eyes up to hers. "Officer Young, am I pretty?"
+
+My face flushed; it was bright red I knew it.
+
+She laughed. "Don't worry." She brought herself to a giggle. "I'm not the only
+one that'll tease you. You'll have to take a few weeks to adjust but we're all
+a little, um, \emph{friendlier} around here than you're used to for sure."
+
+"Will you all respect my boundaries?" I asked with a serious look on a red face.
+
+"Yes," Tamaki replied, "it should go without saying, but if anyone needs a
+reminder, I'll see to it."
+
+"Thank you," I said, my serious look fading, "and for the drink. And the
+blanket. And pillow. And letting me cry on you."
+
+"You're welcome," she said, a look of subtle surprise on her face. She sat
+down on the chair across from me and looked at the wall her bunk was on. A
+holographic screen appeared and began playing the campus' news channel.
+
+I settled into the chair a little deeper and began watching whatever segment
+was on. It looked like some report of an HR employee getting fired for
+extortion and bribery. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it: this was my
+first time watching the campus news.
+
+Tamaki clicked her tongue. "Of course that bastard got fired: I walked him out
+personally."
+
+"So you are actually part of security?" I asked, unable to hide my grin.
+
+"\emph{We} serve many roles," she answered, "and represent whichever department
+gets us what we want the fastest."
+
+"I see," I lied, "you'll have to explain in more depth."
+
+"We have a provisional charter that places us under our own authority," she
+said, "officially we are under R\&D, but really we are above everyone. Except
+the CEO, and the board. Fun fact though, the only way this strike force can be
+disbanded is if the company dissolves."
+
+I nodded. "Wow, so we are everything and above."
+
+"Yes." She laughed.
+
+I continued watching the news. The company's latest space fighter was
+released. It looked a little odd. It had the first fully electric impulse
+drive, though; that was kinda revolutionary, considering the idea of electric
+engines was abandoned some time in the last century.
+
+Of course, if the engineering team really got it working, and it looked like
+they did, it could be a game changer. Fuel costs would be lower, even if the
+range was slightly shorter. What governments were left would buy them in bulk,
+and corps would buy production lines full of them.
+
+"You much into politics?" Tamaki asked, breaking my train of thought.
+
+"Not really sure," I replied, "Never been exposed to much, so I have no clue
+what I'd agree with."
+
+She giggled "I see. Makes sense: the company does that to reduce the chances of
+insider threats."
+
+"Well," I said, "I guess I'm impressionable enough for whatever you have
+planned for me."
+
+"You'll be spending the next several months in classes, don't worry," she
+replied, giving me a serious look.
+
+"Oh," I coughed, "you're not joking."
+
+"No, I'm not, Young, you will have to be educated on every topic you'll be
+overseeing."
+
+"What will I be overseeing?" I asked, not really knowing what to expect.
+
+"You'll be overseeing the tactical operations unit," Tamaki replied, "hence
+your designation of Tactical Officer."
+
+"I see," I sighed, "when do classes start?"
+
+"When you're ready." Apparently she read my face plain as day because she went
+on to clarify: "Oh, you really thought we were going to put you in a position
+you weren't ready for. We ensure that all of our recruits are trained for the
+position they are in. How could we run a strike force if our folks couldn't do
+their jobs?"
+
+I laughed. "I'm not really sure." It was a silly assumption, really. How could
+I have expected them not to send me to classes? I'd never had any form of
+military training.
+
+"You will have combat training soon," she giggled, "along with all the other
+new recruits. I believe that class starts next week, so you at least have a
+break."
+
+I chuckled and went back to watching the news, but it was amazingly boring, so
+with nothing else to do, I decided it would be easiest to start messing with the
+menu available via the neural crown. I could feel Tamaki's eye on me the whole
+time.
+
+Figuring out how to open it was weird. When I'd mentally aligned that I did
+want to open the menu, I felt an urge to put my hand over my right eye, and when
+I did, it opened.
+
+Options and buttons in cute self contained circles with brief labels exploded
+from inside of me, smattering my view with an overlay. There were circles
+labeled with normal and expected things, such as avatar, user interface,
+and accessability.
+
+There were stranger things, too, but they were all grayed out. Pain Threshold,
+Trauma Mitigation, Substance Effectiveness, and more. I played around with the
+accessibilities menu for a minute to figure out what kind of options had been
+built in.
+
+Apperantly this thing, while it talked directly to the brain, was still all
+about helping users acclimatise to having new uses. All of the options were
+sliders. I'd taken a particular interest in the visual section of the menu,
+which had been preset to align with how my eyes see the world, both in colour
+and lense shape.
+
+Humans only have three types of structures in their eyes to detect colour, and
+they only detect red, green, and blue. With these options I could enable
+dedicated structures for purples, pinks, a whole range of different infrared
+and ultraviolet colours, and even change the effectiveness of my low-light
+vision.
+
+"You like all the options we've included?" Tamaki asked.
+
+I jumped slightly. "Yeah. Do we have a way to actually enable all these out in
+the real?"
+
+"Yes," she replied, a giggle tugging the corners of her lips into a smile.
+"Requires two optical implants if you want to do anything fancy like that."
+
+I laughed. "Guess I may want two optics then."
+
+"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Tamaki asked, alarm in her voice.
+
+"No," I chuckled, "but I figure having the ability to quickly switch between
+different wavelengths would be a decently good thing." Tamaki's reaction was
+to immediately lose herself in thought.
+
+"Should I instruct our medical officer to begin the procedure while you're
+under?" she asked.
+
+"Sure," I nodded, "no reason not to get it done now. Gives me more time to get
+used to all the different options."
+
+"Get ready to reappear somewhere totally new," she instructed, "and we'll see
+you in a few hours."
+
+"Should I be worried?" I asked, alarm and anxiety filling my voice.
+
+"No, but officer Manafed needs to do work on you, so she's putting you
+completely to sleep."
+
+"Alright, let me know when she's sedating me."
+
+"As we speak."
+
+I could feel the drowsiness rolling through my system, then the almost-stoned
+feeling of pain killers. I looked up at Tamaki with worry and fatigue. I'd
+started to fall, but it didn't matter. I was out before I'd hit the ground.
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/02-b-theview.tex b/src/chapters/02-b-theview.tex
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/02-b-theview.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+I woke up extra groggy to warm, damp air from someplace tropical. So I thought
+anyway: I'd never been in any such place. A girl could dream, though.
+
+"I figured you could recover on a beach," Lucere said from behind me. It took
+her running her fingers through my hair for me to notice she had them there at
+all. I hummed in pleasure and opened my eyes, and sure enough, she was actually
+sitting behind me.
+
+I looked out over the beach. The view of the ocean was great. Pink and yellow
+moons cast their lights on azure sands. The beach itself was more of an alcove,
+framed by three cliffs. I saw a dense line of trees, but not much past
+it. Obviously.
+
+If I were being honest, the scene was serene. It jarred me. That medical room
+needed a tonne more sanitizing while here was picturesque. My voice continued
+to slur. "Yeah, its a damn sight better than the alternative."
+
+"I built this 'scape after visiting the beaches of one of Altair's
+planets." Lucere started pulling her hand out of my hair.
+
+"No," I begged, "Please don't stop; it feels so good."
+
+She ignored my pleading, her voice cracking as if nervous. "Well, now that you
+are awake, I figured we could go diving."
+
+"How does that work in virtual?" I sat up and dipped my feet in the sand. I
+looked up to find her suddenly very close to me, just a few inches from my
+face.
+
+She stared into me, peering at my soul. Her lavender eyes sparkled like
+polished amethysts. A woman with those eyes could get me to do whatever she
+wanted just by asking. "Well, we don't have to breathe, for starters, so we
+can go as deep as we want."
+
+"I'd like to go deep in you," I murmered, lost in my fatigue and her eyes.
+
+Shock riddled her face.
+
+My breath stopped; I had just now realized what I'd said. "Oh shit. I'm so
+sorry."
+
+She blinked the shock out of her eyes, filling her face with the
+scarlet blush of heavy embarrassment.
+
+"Wow," I heard someone say, "She's forward. I bet you like that a lot, Lucy."
+The voice was very androgynous and sounded pretty unique.
+
+I whipped my head around in search of the speaker. It didn't take long for me
+to realize I'd missed the thirty or forty people enjoying a nice beach day
+along with us. My own face started to burn with embarrassment as well. Fuck I
+was tired.
+
+Lucere huffed loudly and grabbed my hand before I knew what was happening,
+pulling me into a deep kiss. She was so passionate about it. There were real
+emotions in it, but I couldn't help feeling a bit hollow at it all. What if I
+was just a tool for her to experience her love for someone else?
+
+Lucere released me after a while of being blankly stared at, regret washing
+out her flush. "I'm sorry."
+
+"Its fine," I said, shaking my head, "We just met a handful of hours ago, okay?
+I barely know you. You barely know me. You're fun to kiss, but I'm so
+amazingly out of my element here. I don't want to be a part of your corporate
+machine."
+
+Lucere smirked. "And yet you let me implant you with a neural interface. That
+comes with a lot of risks, don't you think?"
+
+"Shit," I whispered, barely loud enough to for even me to hear, "and that's how
+I'm here at all."
+
+"Come with me," Lucere instructed, offering her hand, "Clearly we need to
+talk."
+
+I reluctantly took her hand and followed her into the water. I noted how
+perfectly warm it was; it felt wet and real.
+
+Wet, reveal, deadly. I shivered. "Is this going to drown me?"
+
+"I've modified water physics for a bit," Lucere said, "We may not need to
+breathe here, but water in the lungs will still hurt like hell."
+
+I nodded and submerged my head. Trusting her, I took in a breath, and the water
+stayed out of my lungs. The anxiety melted into bliss.
+
+I looked around and a beautiful underwater landscape graced my eyes. The azure
+sand sparkled in beautiful light, filtered through the water. A reef lay in
+the distance.
+
+"The sand is only a few shades lighter than your hair," Lucere noted aloud,
+"Very pretty. Never seen any hair as pretty as yours, those pretty curls."
+
+"Thank you," I said quietly, and took a moment to think. I didn't want to give
+away any info I didn't have to.
+
+Eventually I decided to compliment her in kind. "Your hair is pretty too.
+It's slightly wavy and the colour of my favourite chocolate."
+
+"Is your hair naturally blue?"
+
+I gave her an amused look and giggle. "Natural blue hair?"
+
+Laughter was met with laughter. "It can happen."
+
+"Are you using me?" my mouth asked before I could clamp it shut. Fuck. I
+hadn't meant to ask that. I hadn't meant to reveal anything so personal. I
+really didn't want to scare Lucere off. I supposed it was too late for secrets
+moonlighting as questions.
+
+Lucere paused a moment and replied: "I can understand why you'd be uneasy here,
+or completely distrust me. Just think about this, right? We're providing you
+a job, training, and the most advanced implant available. Once you're done in
+the tank, there's a process for leaving, too. We won't keep you here against
+your will."
+
+"That wasn't what I asked, Lucy." I took a slow breath between my sentences
+to try not to say something stupid again. "It's true I don't trust the strike
+team, but I have no clue where you fall. You've not given me any reason to
+distrust you specifically."
+
+"What are you asking, Eilidh?" There was that feeling again, my name flowing
+like honey from her lips. I had to think carefully about my next words.
+
+I fixed my eyes to hers. "Are \emph{you} using me?"
+
+"Oh," she said, playing with her hair a moment before continuing, "I
+don't think so. Why?"
+
+"There were emotions in that kiss." I took some time to carefully phrase what I
+wanted to come out of my mouth next. "I'm not particularly good with social
+cues, but even with that, this all feels like its moving very quickly."
+
+"I understand," she said, "but no. I'm not sure you have the context here.
+We've all vowed to be as open and honest with our feelings as possible. I like
+you. Both what I've seen of you, limited as it may be, and the file our
+intelligence crew has been able to put together."
+
+"May I see it?" I asked, "My file, I mean."
+
+"Sure," she said, "'Should have already been uploaded to your implant's main
+storage. I want you to know that I haven't read most of it. There's some
+pretty dark, and likely personal shit in there, and I'd rather hear your
+stories from you."
+
+I still wasn't sure if I was being used or not: hard to tell based on those
+responses. I decided to ask more about the open and honest feelings she had
+mentioned, but if I was going to, I needed to open up a little first.
+
+"Thank you." I took a breath. "I have been used and manipulated in the past."
+
+I thought back for just a moment to my first girlfriend, Inara. She'd used
+me, convinced me to run a smash and grab against one of the local branches of a
+tech giant. I was able to pull a really fancy computer rig and just shy of
+four hundred thousand credits. I'd been shot though. Bullet collapsed a lung
+not long after I got away and Inara did her best to patch me up.
+
+She was gone when I woke up, and so were our spoils.
+
+I was sixteen.
+
+Breathing was hard for months after that.
+
+"I'm relatively keen on keeping myself away from further abusive
+relationships." I waited for Lucere to say something before realizing she was
+waiting for me. "I guess I need to know why you would be feeling such intense
+emotions for me after such a short time."
+
+Lucere hummed. "I don't know. You're right that a few hours isn't really
+enough time for anything like love, but I promise you that I don't love you.
+Not yet, at least. Its very fun to kiss you, though. In front of everyone
+isn't really an issue, either."
+
+"Not an issue?" I asked, "I wasn't really worried that you kissed me in front
+of everyone. It was the amount of emotion you expressed in that kiss. It was
+so intense. The expression of emotion, especially that strong, in front of
+everyone, none of whom I know? That was the problem."
+
+Shock riddled her face again. "Oh Goddess Above," she exclaimed, "Yeah I could
+see how that would be an issue. Like I said, we are open and honest here, so I
+suppose I should tell you now: I'm dating all of the officers, with the
+exception of Young, who is in the tube next to you out in the real. They
+called me cute earlier though."
+
+"You are poly?" I'd had a few friends that were poly, so I was aware
+of what it was. I was always a little jealous of them: to be able to love
+more than one person was always just a bit much of an exercise in patience and
+communication for my previous partners. I'd tried to approach the topic, but
+they were never receptive of the idea.
+
+Was this my chance to explore my sexuality further? A bunch of corporate
+lesbians didn't feel like the best place to be doing this, though.
+
+Lucere's voice derailed my worried thoughts. "Yeah; most of us here are."
+
+I figured now was as good of a time as any. "You're all corporate goons,
+though. I'm not sure how I feel about that."
+
+Lucere sighed. "We serve the Goddess, and She has some vested interest in
+keeping us here, for now at least."
+
+That only raised more questions. A queer goddess who cozies up to corporations?
+Corps hated queer folk. We were always questioning the status quo. The status
+quo mades corps their money. Another question struck me before I could ask
+about that. "Who is the goddess?"
+
+"We call her the Pale Goddess," Lucere said, "Her name is Anna, though. You'll
+meet her soon enough; we all have to. She'll answer your questions and give
+you some more. She claims to have been omnipotent in some other dimensions,
+but apperantly omnipotence isn't something that can happen in this universe."
+
+"Anna," I mused, "Interesting that a goddess with enough power to bestow magic
+would have such a normal name."
+
+"Names aren't everything," Lucere said, "but they do carry meaning for some,
+though I suppose that's a topic that I can't particularly explain."
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Our commander, Tamaki, or maybe Melrose might be better at explaining that,"
+she replied, "I've never had to deal with how my name labels me. They have."
+
+I nodded. "Okay." I began to suspect that meant that they were trans, but I
+couldn't be certain. There were all sorts of reasons one would have to worry
+about their name. Sometimes I thought about changing mine. Not that my name
+was hard to write, but I didn't feel like an 'Eilidh' all the time.
+
+"You look like you've got a lot on your mind." Lucere motioned for me to stand
+up. "I have to go wake Sleeping Beauty. You can find Officer Melrose up on
+the beach. Tell faer that fae's in charge for me, okay? Can't leave this
+instance with nobody as admin, though I'm sure fae would have a way in anyway."
+
+I nodded. "Alright." I tried to find words to express my thoughts as more
+than single word answers. There were too many questions racing around for my
+thoughts to produce meaningful conversation.
+
+One question in particular was ringing through my thoughts like a hammer
+shaping hot metal into something beautiful: \emph{How could I have gained the
+favour of a goddess that's cozy with a corp?}
diff --git a/src/chapters/03-a-headache.tex b/src/chapters/03-a-headache.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0598091
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/03-a-headache.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
+My eyelids fluttered open and the world faded into view. Commotion echoed
+through my ears and around me. The lights above shone far too bright.
+
+"Officer Young," a familiar voice called.
+
+My brain was so foggy I couldn't place who it was. I tried to form actual
+words, but they didn't vocalize so instead I groaned. It felt like I hadn't
+spoken in weeks.
+
+"Don't try to speak, Talon." Lucere stepped into view. "We just had to make
+sure you woke up in the real before you go back into virtual." Her face was so
+close to mine her brown curls ticked my cheek.
+
+"Get them back into virtual Lucy," said another voice, "They will need their
+rest for the coming days. And would you help them setup a home 'scape?"
+
+"Yes Commander," Lucere didn't bother looking at what had to be Tamaki, instead
+brushing her fingers against my cheek. They felt amazing against my smooth-
+
+Smooth? I didn't remember having smooth cheeks. Ah well: I figured I wouldn't
+get a say in what I looked like coming out anyway.
+
+"Now, Lucy," Tamaki shouted, departure pitching her voice down.
+
+Lucere whispered something into my ear. My brain melting again robbed my
+ability to understand what she said, but she probably knew that.
+
+It was hard to describe moving to virtual with the implant and not the crown.
+It was a feeling between movement and stillness and yet it was neither; my
+senses were utterly confounded.
+
+I still had consciousness, if only for a second, before I was fully in virtual.
+The idea of having two bodies wasn't completely foreign to me: I often felt it
+would be fun to have two separate bodies, completely different in looks and
+configuration, to experiment with.
+
+I shook the errant thoughts out of my head and gathered my bearings. I was
+nowhere I recognized, standing on a boundary between forest and clearing. A
+house of sorts stood before me, with walls of solid wood and a roof of
+branches, woven densely and covered in leaves. Supposedly it didn't rain here,
+otherwise she would've done something about that.
+
+"The implant manages your sleep for you." Lucere startled me from out of
+nowhere. "And you can be conscious in the real while managing things here in
+virtual. It's a bit of a weird feeling, but you get used to it."
+
+I turned by head toward her. "Then how come I can't feel my body now?"
+
+She was looking at me now and \emph{wow}. Her eyes gleamed beautifully and
+locked to mine, as if gazing into my thoughts. "I've disabled it. Your implant
+is under remote management until you're ready to be completely awake in the
+real."
+
+"Fantastic." Each syllable played a note of sarcasm. I figured that meant she
+could just scramble my brain if I offended her. She probably wouldn't, but the
+option being there is mildly scary.
+
+"No, not really," she admitted, "It's actually super dangerous. We disable
+remote controls once you're capable of operating it on your own."
+
+Worry and anxiety taintied my voice and face. "I assume you can kill me if
+things are set wrong?" My safety and privacy were things I worried about:
+after all, I needed to be alone with my thoughts so I could figure myself out.
+
+"In theory," she said, "but I doubt reality would prove it; human brains are
+far more capable of dealing with new circumstances than we ever give them
+credit for. The real issue is privacy: I'd have total access to you without
+your consent if I wanted it."
+
+A blush crawled up my cheeks. The idea of being completely transparent to
+anyone was, a bit hot. "Oh."
+
+She giggled. "Of course as the medical officer, I will always get full body
+reports from your implant. Those are kept confidental, and I don't look at
+them unless my screening programs determined a problem."
+
+"Like if I'm taking abnormal amounts of pain?" I noticed my entire body was
+tingling. In hindsight, maybe getting the implant was a bit bad of an idea.
+
+"Yeah, among a host of other symptoms of disease that can be fixed," Lucere
+replied, "and those that can't."
+
+Sudden vulnerability overtook me and my tone dried in short order. "That feels
+invasive. Couldn't I have been given a rundown of all this before I decided to
+get it?"
+
+She sighed. "Honestly, I'm the one who wants to wait on those things.
+Unfortunately it's written into our provisional contract that we have
+monitoring in place for all field and administration staff."
+
+"And y'all chose implants?"
+
+"No," she replied, "it was part of the contract. The company chose an implant
+they had designed the year magic was discovered. At first they could only
+record what the user saw, but as the years progressed we've added all sorts of
+features we deemed necessary, like inducing virtual reality and sending us
+medical information."
+
+"And connecting to this optical implant." I laughed when I finally noticed
+visual data in my peripheral vision. I focused my attention on it. The
+display exploded into full view: I saw my heart rate, a damage report on my
+body, a navigation map, and a handful of other readings about me.
+
+Oddly enough there was also a messaging system and web browser. I popped open
+the messenger and saw a bunch of contacts already logged: tactical operatives,
+mostly, but also all the other officers.
+
+I thought about one contact that stuck out: Medical Officer Manafed, Lucere. A
+chat window opened immediately. I thought about a message to send, eventually
+settling on something simple.
+
+\textbf{Young}: Testing?
+
+I saw her laugh beside me, and she gave me a face.
+
+\textbf{Manafed}: Tested.
+
+"Thanks Lucy." It was just thought that drove it. "That's way easier than I
+thought it'd be."
+
+"It's really nice," she replied, "far easier than talking a lot of times."
+
+I laughed. "Hey Doc, why's that massive headache gone?"
+
+She returned a giggle. "Oh. Your implant is helping you manage your pain,
+don't worry."
+
+"My headache is still here, but I can't feel it?"
+
+Her giggle grew into laughter. "Yeah, so you're gonna have to realize that lack
+of pain no longer means all good. You've got that heads-up display for a
+reason. If you start feeling pain that's when you're really in trouble."
+
+It made sense, so I nodded.
+
+"We just gonna stand here talking, or are you going to come into my home?" she
+asked me with a smile.
+
+"I suppose, sorry," I mummbled, "I just have a lot of questions and get
+distracted easily."
+
+Another laugh. "No problem." She started walking to her house.
+
+The path was short, but each step felt like miles. I could understand what she
+meant by lack of pain. It wasn't a pain, but more a feeling of weariness: my
+brain functioned perfectly but my body was sluggish. I lost my balance and fell
+back.
+
+"Hey hey!" Lucere swooped in and caught me. "Are you okay?"
+
+"I'm not sure." I checked the body readout on my HUD. "It says I'm all
+orange. I assume that means good?"
+
+"No." Shock and worry mixed on her face. She set me on my feet. "Orange is
+not good. Not as bad as red, but not green."
+
+"Oh," I said, a bit dazed, "So definitely not good." At least it wasn't as bad
+as red. \emph{Don't freak out,} I thought, trying to keep calm.
+
+"No, not good, especially since my sensors are not reading anything wrong for
+your current situation."
+
+I tapped on my head. "You getting a feed from my implant?"
+
+"Not yet," she replied, "It does need about twelve hours to get a proper
+baseline, but even then it shouldn't be reading orange. Your body is in
+perfect health according to all my- no wait." A couple seconds passed. "Your
+body just entered the next phase of transformation."
+
+I nodded, then a massive headache split my skull, radiating from two points not
+far up in my hairline. The pain exploded and I fell over. The reverberations
+excruciated.
+
+"Hold on," Lucere's voice echoed through my brain, "I'm moving you back to the
+cryochamber."
+
+"Horns!" I screamed, "I've got horns breaking through my skull!"
+
+Lucere stared at me, her eyes wide. "You do."
+
+"What?" I asked, my prior volume not quite gone. I reached up to feel, but
+nothing was there.
+
+"Your real body," she said, "I'm looking at you right now. They're pretty, and
+blue."
+
+"Pretty?" My voice wavered. The pain nearly incapacitated me.
+
+"Yes, pretty. I'm gonna give you some pain management medication, but you'll
+probably get knocked out."
+
+"No," I said. The pain started to level off instead to climbing to yet newer
+heights. "I need to remain conscious, as hard as that's going to be with all
+this pain."
+
+Lucere grumbled. "Fine. Let me get you inside at least." She lifted me up off
+my feet and bridal-carried me to a comfy couch inside. It felt odd, but not in
+a bad way: between the pain and confusion it was hard to tell whether the
+pulses were excitement or embarrassment.
+
+The inside was quaint, beautiful, and easy to live in. The walls were as plain
+as the outside. There was simple wooden furniture, but in the corner, around a
+table, I saw comfier furniture too.
+
+Lucere laid me down on the small couch and set herself down on a nearby chair
+just as cozy. Mugs of unknown liquid and some small shortbreads appeared on
+the table.
+
+I giggled, despite all the pain it caused to radiate through me.
+
+"I can't believe you're remaining conscious through all that," she said
+eventually. There was a hollow look in her eyes; the purple glow I was
+starting to get used to was alarmingly absent.
+
+"Holy shit Lucy," I exclaimed, "Your eyes are actually a soft purple, like um-"
+
+"Lavender, most of the time, yes." She laughed, but the hollow look persisted.
+"You've just been seeing my magic through them."
+
+I coughed, another wave of pain searing my back. "I feel like I'm going to
+die." I felt as sombre as my voice, the pain keeping me awake by a margin.
+
+"You won't under my care." I could hear the flex in her voice, and she sounded
+genuine in her belief. "But I know it feels that way. Your body is literally
+reforming right now, in so many \emph{interesting} ways."
+
+"You ever lose anyone?" I asked hesitantly.
+
+False horror haunted her voice. "No! And how dare you ask!"
+
+I laughed in spite of myself, in spite of agony. How could I not? She was
+being far, far too cute in defending herself.
+
+Too cute? I don't recall ever thinking of anyone as cute.
+
+I felt a frown pull at my lips. I didn't actually know what this meant, what
+this new range of emotions really meant.
+
+Did this mean I liked Lucere?
+
+Why was this so complicated?
+
+"You're growing wings," she said, a weird look on her face, "Wings, Talon."
+
+I stalled for a few seconds, trying to come up with something to say.
+
+Lucere broke the silence for me. "What is your ideal body?"
+
+"I have no clue," I admitted, "I've never thought about it."
+
+"The Pale Goddess always delivers," she whispered, mirroring Tamaki's earlier
+words.
+
+"You sound like Tamaki." I gave those words some thought. "May I feel my real
+body, just a little?"
+
+"Yeah, I'll make the adjustment; tell me if it's too much for you." A confused
+look appeared on her face. I could immediately tell when she made it: the pain
+filtered through much more consistently, the pulses nearly rhythmic.
+
+But I could also feel my body, how it had changed, how it was changing. I
+tried moving my hand, my real hand. The movement was there, but it was very
+slow, likely from the cryofluid in my veins cooling me down.
+
+Eventually my hand and arm cought up with my brain and I could feel the horns
+growing. They were so small they barely poked out from just above my hairline.
+
+"Don't open your eyes," Lucere instructed, "If you do, there may be a very long
+period of blindness. Still haven't got the cryofluid completely perfected
+yet."
+
+"My eyeballs will freeze, won't they?"
+
+"Instantly."
+
+"Fuck," I said, feeling thoroughly worn out, "Alright, I don't wanna feel my
+body anymore." And then I didn't. I was alone with my digital self once more.
+
+I could breathe again without the mortal tension. Breathing felt amazing.
+
+"Anything else I can help you with before we go build your mindscape?" Lucere
+asked.
+
+"A kiss," I muttered, nearly inaudibly.
+
+She wore a sly smile. "What was that?"
+
+A blush toned my face pink. "Nothing. Let's go build a 'scape."
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/03-b-quicktimeactions.tex b/src/chapters/03-b-quicktimeactions.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..927eb74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/03-b-quicktimeactions.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,287 @@
+I'd spent roughly an hour trying to figure out my place here. Everyone seemed
+easygoing, seemed friendly, \emph{seemed} anticapitalist.
+
+It was scary how easily the corporate machine could \emph{seem} pro-rights. It
+was scary how an absolutely beautiful gathering of demimages was okay with all
+this. I felt horrid in comparison, but that was to be expected.
+
+"Down with the corps!" I heard behind me.
+
+It was \emph{scary} how they could blend in so easily. Maybe I was paranoid
+and they weren't actually goons sent to seduce hacktivists into subversion.
+But if I \emph{wasn't}...
+
+I needed a diversion, stat. I could \emph{not} afford to be found out. "Who
+is Anna?"
+
+"Our Pale Goddess," said one of the girls around me, "What do you want to
+know?"
+
+"If you're all so anti-corp, why is Anna keeping you here, tied to Eastern
+Hills?"
+
+"I dunno," she replied, "Since our inception we've only done a handful of jobs
+for Eastern Hills. Haven't done any since we've been under Tamaki."
+
+Curiousity snared me in that moment. "How long has she been in command?"
+
+"About five years: she took command when she was seventeen."
+
+I blinked. "That's a little young to be a commander, isn't it?"
+
+"She was definitely a little green around the gills for a minute," an
+androgynous voice replied, "Nice to meet you, Eilidh, I'm Tech Officer Xela
+Melrose."
+
+Fae extended faer hand with a smile, and both did I return. Fae were tall,
+androgynous, blessed of short green hair. It wasn't quite a crew-cut, but it
+was still the shortest I'd seen so far.
+
+"So can you answer my previous question?" I asked.
+
+"Anna is a divicive deity," fae replied, "literally just waiting for the right
+time to pull it all down. Originally she just needed funding and Eastern Hills
+was the only source left: others claimed the rest. She finds the whole
+corporate thing to be completely asinine, and she's vowed to punish all the
+deities involved."
+
+"How many deities are there?" I realized a little too late that the numerous
+questions I'd asked were likely on a FAQ. "Well, I suppose you don't have to
+answer that: I'm asking a lot of questions."
+
+"Don't worry about it," fae replied, "You'll be getting a full run-down of the
+state of affairs when it's appropriate. Sometime during training, which should
+start shortly after you leave the tube."
+
+"So that leaves me to just socialize." Ostensibly, anyway. What \emph{should}
+I be doing, anyway, really?
+
+Xela laughed. "I've seen that look before; what trouble are you planning?"
+
+"I hadn't thought of any trouble yet." Faer poke did get me thinking. "Maybe
+I could hack the gibson and get the jump on training."
+
+Xela rewarded me with an amazing look on faer face. "Your friend, what was his
+name? Brian? Monroe? Oh! Marvin. Marvin already tried; he can't get past
+me."
+
+"You?" I immediately cursed my mouth, or, tried to. "Wait, tech officer."
+
+Fae nodded with a grin. "Yeah, and I'm the best living firewall that exists.
+Nothing escapes me and nobody gets access unless I grant it."
+
+"So you've traded a technical problem for a social problem." If someone were
+able to trick faer into giving access, then fae'd not be the best firewall in
+existence.
+
+Faer face boasted triumph still. "Not without a stack of perfectly forged
+documents, some of which I have to sign myself."
+
+"That sounds tedious." I thought of some trouble I could make in the time we'd
+been talking, though: I'd take admin of this 'scape. For now, though, I'd make
+casual conversation and familiarize myself with the implant.
+
+"You look devious." Fae pulled me out of my head. "Not much of a poker face,
+huh?"
+
+I gave a shrug and kept at working out the menu system. It was as simple as
+focusing on my peripheral vision. When I did, readouts exploded into full
+view. They were thought-driven, so I willed them to navigate.
+
+"You found what you're after yet?" Xela asked, proving my train of thought was
+vulnerable by as little as six damned \emph{words}, "Must be a hacker at heart
+if you're getting lost in the menus that thoroughly."
+
+"Marv's the real hacker," I admitted, "I only know enough to get around."
+
+"That's more than most." Apparently faer hair was long enough to twirl,
+because fae're doing that too, somehow. Maybe hacking the gibson let you fuck
+physics.
+
+Faer hair looked soft, and my arm had already reached halfway before I caught
+it. "Uh, may I?"
+
+Fae nodded slowly. "Yeah, I don't see why not, just don't make it weird,
+okay?"
+
+I changed course to faer wrist, pulling faer close so my other hand could run
+through \del{my prize} that precious hair.
+
+Did you know my larynx could resonate at the frequency of ecstasy?
+
+I swooped in. Fingers flanked faer hair on all sides, swimming through threaded
+clouds. My hum grew louder.
+
+"Here, sit down." Fae pushed me off my feet.
+
+Chills zapped my spine, and my arms flailed frivolously. I screeched, and
+plummeted atop something soft. Eyes wide, I looked down to find a couch that
+most certainly did not exist two seconds ago.
+
+I couldn't even turn to glare at my assailant before a head entered my lap from
+my blind spot. "Now continue," its bearer did bid.
+
+My face heated up again, and my fingers bathed in hair once more.
+
+Fae took notice when my hand swam out of lane, and snatched it with faer own.
+"Access denied." Fae gently kissed the back of my hand and placed it back on
+the cheek it was about to invade. "Access, granted."
+
+I could get used to this. These were good feelings, warmth and care.
+
+That and Xela and I hadn't drawn a crowd like Lucere and I had. Having the
+moment to ourselves really helped.
+
+I continued playing with faer fair hair, and I found an area on faer scalp that
+caused a far-too-adorable squeak. My delight skyrocketed, but a notification
+in my vision torpedoed it back to ground.
+
+I focused on it for a moment, and a chat window appeared front and centre:
+
+\textbf{Manafed:} Your boss needs some help and this is something I can't
+really deal with without some help. If you think about moving towards me
+you'll transfer from the instance you're in to the instance I'm in.
+
+I looked toward Xela and whispered, "Okay, who's my boss?"
+
+"Your designation is Tactical Operative." Xela pulled faerself to a seated
+position next to me.
+
+I didn't even bother to hide the disappointment in my voice when I followed up.
+"So what's that mean?"
+
+"It means Tactical Officer Young is your boss. You need to go?"
+
+"Yeah." I said out to feel faer cheek again. "Probably now, but I wish I
+could stay."
+
+"Time to go meet your boss though," fae said, "No need to be sad: we can pick
+up where we left off when you see me again."
+
+I smiled. "I look forward to it. Your hair is perfect and I want to get to
+know you."
+
+"You will," fae assured me, "I teach the practical hacking class required for
+all tactical operatives."
+
+"Isn't that a bit of a conflict of interests if we decide to go much further?"
+Thinking about it, I really wasn't sure.
+
+"We work that out on a case by case basis," fae said, "Now go: if Lucy is
+interrupting your free time for this, its got to be important."
+
+I nodded and thought about moving toward Lucere, her pretty eyes, how lost I
+got in them...
+
+The next thing I knew, I was on a comfy chair around a wooden coffee table.
+
+Lucere was seated in a chair on the other end, and between us lay Talon on a
+couch. Or, I assumed: their body was warping and twisting about.
+
+"They set their avatar to sync with their body, but their body is in active
+metamorphasis right now," Lucere explained, "They need the help of a hacker. I
+would have called Xela, but I figured you'd get more of a kick out of hacking
+the implant than fae would."
+
+"Aren't they in pain right now?" I asked, mildly appalled.
+
+She smirked. "I guess you better work fast then."
+
+Shit. I immediately opened a barrage of questions. "How can I connect to the
+implant? What protocols does it use? Where can I get access to a terminal?
+What tools does my implant have for this kind of operation?"
+
+My questions were answered with a blank stare as Lucere started whispering
+words with cadence. I figured she was dedicating her entire focus on some sort
+of spell.
+
+Time to explore the menus some more. I quickly found a compiler, but for some
+sort of visual language. I opened it, and it blossomed into a full-on IDE. A
+small blue orb floated in front of me.
+
+Thinking about wireless connectivity made a new orb appear. \emph{Okay, so I
+have two nodes, one that's wireless connectivity, and another that I don't
+quite understand yet.} I pulled them together and the program came to life.
+
+I saw my thoughts being encoded into radio waves and beamed out of my head.
+
+Gods, that was a terrifying thought: anybody in wireless range could just hear
+my thoughts.
+
+I thought about a selector and another orb appeared. I erased the line between
+the central and wireless orbs, and re-connected them to opposite ends of the
+new selector orb. A configuration menu opened. I set it to select on incoming
+transmissions and waited.
+
+A moment passed and I picked up on Talon's implant. I configured the selector
+for bidirectional communications between our two implants. I wasn't sure what
+kind of communication this was, but it was incredibly fast. By the time I
+registered what was happening data flooded the line. I sifted through it as
+quick as I could and found a piece of a configuration file.
+
+I set the selector to find more like that, and data surged in once more. Much
+of it was the same, but I got enough of an idea how the file worked. I wished
+a new file into existence: one with a modified avatar setting.
+
+I opened the menu again and recalled seeing Talon in the chamber, tweaking the
+avatar accordingly. I took the familiar image and dialed it to be far more
+effeminate.
+
+Before I knew it, a cute girl appeared in my view.
+
+I hoped they liked it.
+
+Another thought exported the avatar and pushed it into the configuration
+payload I'd received. I had willed it forward to Talon's implant, but a loud
+buzzer slammed down.
+
+"Configuration file not signed," a voice in my head said, "Please sign the
+configuration with an authorized key."
+
+Code signing was one thing, but configuration signing? That was another. I
+couldn't possibly reverse the key fast enough to help Talon; not even with all
+the compute in existence would I succeed in less than a century.
+
+\emph{So who has the key?} I asked myself. The medical officer would have
+installed the implant, but might not have a key to sign new configurations.
+The technical officer would have the key, but I already knew faer strictness
+would hinder me too long.
+
+\emph{Why not ask Lucere?} asked the back of my mind. After mulling it over I
+in. I summoned the messaging window again, and willed a quick message forward.
+
+\textbf{Cantlin:} Do you have signing keys for configuration files?
+
+Her reply took a bit.
+
+\textbf{Manafed:} try yours
+
+\textbf{Cantlin:} Why would my signing keys even work?
+
+Another moment.
+
+\textbf{Manafed:} implant in emergency mode
+
+I could tell she was having a rough time with her magic.
+
+I figured I'd at least try. A mental command signed the update and I focused
+another send.
+
+Talon's implant replied: "Configuration accepted. Reloading. Complete."
+
+The girl I created lay on the couch.
+
+Talon looked good like that, I had to admit.
+
+They awoke almost immediately.
+
+Lucere slumped over in the chair across from me.
+
+"What in the fuck did I do that for?" a high melodic voice asked.
+
+I sighed and slumped over, closing all the menus I'd opened.
+
+I'd been in stressful situations, but never had someone else depended on me
+quite like that.
+
+Lucere regarded me evenly. "You passed." Not even a hint of emotion.
diff --git a/src/chapters/disabled/02-optimalmass.tex b/src/chapters/disabled/02-optimalmass.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7e9313
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/disabled/02-optimalmass.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+I awoke feeling the best rest I ever had. The VR setup here was amazingly
+complex to be able to manage user sleep. But that was in addition to full
+immersion. It was leaps and bounds ahead of the headsets available via
+commercial means.
+
+As I opened my eyes, I saw Ai and Lucere talking. Hushed tones. I couldn't
+quite hear what they were saying. Given how they were both looking at a
+screen, it was likely about whatever they were looking at.
+
+I got up to move closer. Saw a glimpse of the image. It was a woman in a
+tube. Hooked up to a breather and all sorts of other tubes. She was pretty.
+Short blonde hair. Little wings growing from the flesh below her shoulder
+blades.
+
+The screen disappeared before I could see any more. "Hey," I protested, "who
+was that?" They both looked up at me. They weren't responding.
+
+Lucere broke the silence first. "Nobody," she said, "I moved you to a cryo
+pod, your body's getting too hot for the ice bath."
+
+"You're lucky," Ai said, "that we got you when we did. You're boiling the
+cryogenic fluid. We have to keep a constant fresh supply running in."
+
+"You're so hot you're boiling \emph{near absolute zero} cryo fluid, Tal,"
+Lucere said, "what does your ideal body look like?"
+
+"I don't really know," I said. A feeling of anxiety pooled over me as I said
+it. Like I had lied. But I wasn't quite sure if I'd lied. I'd just never
+allowed myself to think about what I wanted to look like.
+
+"Woah," Ai said, "no need to start breathing like that. Deep breaths in and
+out." Had I started breathing erratically? A big breath in. A big sigh out.
+
+"I don't really know," I repeated, more steady and sure of myself, "I've never
+thought about it, I just know I hate this one." The women in front of me gave
+each other a look.
+
+"Everyone hates their body to some degree," Ai whispered, "we're just the lucky
+few."
+
+"Ai," Lucere said, "his mirror was broken to pieces. Multiple times."
+
+"Is that not particularly normal?" I asked. In truth I knew it wasn't.
+
+"No," Ai said, "its not normal."
+
+"We'll see Ai," Lucere interjected, "right now he needs training."
+
+"You're right," Ai muttered, "come on, let's go to the training hall."
+
+I nodded. She began walking off, down into the void. I stood there for a
+second. Lucere looked at me. Her purple eyes only glowed with a faint light.
+Looking full of sorrow and pain.
+
+"You okay?" I asked, not really sure why I cared.
+
+"Yes," she said, "but worried for you. If your body gets any hotter we won't
+have a way to save you."
+
+"I see." I'd be dead if this got any further out of hand. That's comforting.
+The anxiety welling up in my chest said it was anything but. I felt tears
+sliding down my face. When had I started crying? "Am I going to die?"
+
+"I'm doing my best to keep you alive," Lucere said, "but I don't think The Pale
+Goddess wants you dead either. But with the rate she's going, you're heating
+up quite a lot."
+
+"Takes a lot to go from near absolute zero to human body temp," I said through
+sniffles, "I assume you're just barely keeping up."
+
+"Yeah," she replied, "we had better catch up."
+
+The trip from the grove down through the void was a bit rough. I don't really
+remember most of it. I was walking through tears still. I didn't want to die.
+I didn't want to live as I was. I was too anxious about everything to do
+anything. More tears falling from my face.
+
+"Gods," Lucere cursed, "Why does the training grounds have to be through the
+damn void space?"
+
+"What is the void space?" I asked, finally being enveloped by the nothingness.
+I could still see her in front of me through my blurry eyes.
+
+"Just a spot of nothing," she replied, "it was originally designed to give the
+grove a little more of an aesthetic. But then we needed some more space."
+
+"For things like the training ground," I finished.
+
+"Exactly," she said, "because aesthetic is the first important design
+consideration in VR spaces, or at least that's what Ai says."
+
+"Believe me," I said, wiping the last of the tears from my eyes, "aesthetics
+are important in the digital world." I had built many virtual spaces before I
+became a shut in.
+
+My favorite virtual space was one I'd built to mimic my apartment, but with a
+retro wave type feel. The window looked out over a city with lots of neon
+signs and holographic adverts for nonexistent brands and services. I used it
+as a spot to write code, but if I'm being honest with myself, it was an excuse
+to be anywhere, no \emph{anyone}, else. Of course, nobody would really
+understand that, I suppose.
+
+"Of course they are," Lucere said, breaking my train of thought, and the
+silence, "but in full immersion VR its a pain and kinda disorienting to have a
+spot with absolutely nothing in it."
+
+I suppose she had a point. I wasn't really feeling it now, but I'm sure if I
+were here under a clear mind, I'd be feeling pretty disoriented, too.
+
+"How much further?" I asked.
+
+"According to my navi," she replied, tapping just above her left eye, "we still
+have another thousand feet or so."
+
+"Why so much space?"
+
+"Ai thought that if anyone was able to get into this space aside from us, it'd
+disorient them. Of course, that would only be true if they didn't have digital
+mapping algorithms. Those are plenty, though."
+
+I knew what she meant. Mapping algorithms were solved nearly a century ago,
+and most physical devices contained enough microphones and directional speakers
+to map out a single micrometer layer of paint from over a mile away. An
+accidental sonar system, really, developed by one of those mass surveillance
+companies near the beginning of the last century.
+
+Now, of course, there are the silent cartographers, often called the silcars.
+People who, throughout their days, do nothing except carry their phones out and
+map everything. They sell their hyper-accurate maps to those who might need
+them. I've heard its a lucrative position to be in. The roughly forty billion
+credit profits get shared amongst the members based on how much map they'd
+contributed, per day.
+
+When I'd done it, it was an easy way to make pocket money during college. On
+my bicycle I was able to accrue enough map data to get paid roughly a hundred
+credits a day. Enough to live, but not good for steady eating through a week.
+
+"Knock knock," a voice yelled, "gods, is he checked out?" I looked up,
+surprised to be in another clearing. Ai was looking at me.
+
+"Sorry," I said, coming back to my surroundings, "I was just thinking about
+accidental sonar mapping and the silent cartographers."
+
+Looked like a battlefield, this clearing. Swords, guns, and small obstacles
+and cover littered the ground.
+
+"Oh yeah," Lucere said, "that tracks. I'd mentioned mapping algorithms."
+
+"Wait, Lucy," Ai asked, "that tracks to you? Gods, how does that track?"
+
+"Well," Lucere replied, "I'd have thought about how mapping algorithms enabled
+lots of new businesses, like the global cartographics guild. Then I'd have
+remembered my time as a silent cartographer in my teens."
+
+"Almost," I said, "these things are vaguely related, so its really not that far
+of a jump, but my exact path was from the algorithms to the past and how they
+were made and sold by companies that did nothing but mine user data. Then
+thought about the present, and how the silent cartographers are."
+
+Ai was looking at me with an interesting look on her face.
+
+"What?" I asked, then explained, "I was pulling weekend mapping runs in college
+for a little extra money."
+
+"I suppose we don't know everything about you, then," Ai said, sighing. "Your
+file is rather light. How did they miss payouts from the silcars over in the
+background check's department? Or a college degree?"
+
+"I don't-" I began, but caught myself, "Actually, I do know."
+
+"Care to enlighten us?" Lucere asked, "If not, I can always stop the flow of
+new coolant to your body."
+
+"Woah," I said, "no need for threats now. I have no reason not to trust you."
+I paused, then began to explain how there had been a lot of mishandling of my
+employee on boarding process. They didn't gather proof of identity, nor
+anything else. I had learned later that it was someone who'd been failing to
+do this for years and was fired. The employees that they'd hired were still
+being verified.
+
+I initially reported it to my manager, but nobody put in anything to the
+security team. Or any compliance teams. And I fell through the cracks.
+Repeatedly.
+
+"Haylee," Ai said, focusing on something I couldn't see, "check into the hiring
+manager that brought Talon on." A pause. She nodded a few times. "Yeah, was
+she fired for failure to pull identity documents from the new hires?" Another
+nod. "Thanks sweetie," she said, finally, then turned to me, "you're story
+checks out."
+
+I could see Lucere's entire body relax, as she started explaining. "Our
+competitors have run a lot of potential espionage fodder through this company.
+Can never be too careful. One of the red flags is missing paperwork."
+
+I nodded. "No worries," I whispered, "I realize it can be a security issue."
+
+"Security issue?" Ai scoffed. "Only security issue here is if you've been
+implanted already."
+
+"I've run the body scans, Ai," said Lucere, "there's no sign of implants. And
+if there were I doubt they'd be usable at this point, given the drastic
+transformation we've already seen from Talon."
+
+"Could you start explaining that?" I asked, "how much have I changed?"
+
+"That doesn't concern you, right now," Ai said, with an almost evil smile on
+her face, "all that you need to focus on right now, is me." She began walking
+toward me. Slowly at first. Before I knew it I had to jump back and out of
+the way.
+
+I stepped behind some cover, a small concrete barricade. There was a knife on
+the ground next to my foot. A single edge. Maybe five inches long. Almost
+resembled the world's shortest sword, but a little more rounded.
+
+I grabbed it, before I started feeling weird. The world started moving,
+blurring. I figured Ai wanted to train me for magic, but looks like its a
+trial by fire type of classroom.
+
+Then I felt something crawl up me. Small. Barely anything, even. But then it
+got worse. There were more. They felt like mice crawling all over me. When I
+looked, there was nothing on me.
+
+She's messing with my mind. Guess I can mess with hers, then?
+
+"Ai," I shouted, "stop with the petty tricks. I want to look at you if you're
+going to torture me."
+
+"Why?" Ai asked, seemingly from everywhere.
+
+"Because at least I would have something beautiful to look at."
+
+"Oh," she said, it sounded like she was right behind me, but when I flung
+around there was nothing. "You can try all you want, Talon, I don't play your
+side of the field. Even if you are cute, for a boy." Still behind me. No
+matter how many times I checked.
+
+I sighed. So much for a fair fight. Maybe magic worked like in the games I
+played as a kid. So I concentrated on building up a mental shield.
+
+"Not quite," Ai whispered in my ear. She was close enough that I could feel
+her breath on my ear. I stabbed back towards her, blade cutting nothing but
+air.
+
+Before I could react, there was a fireball flying at me from the far end of the
+training grounds. It was fast. The impact alone threw me nearly 40 feet. I
+smacked my head against a concrete barricade and passed out.
+
+I awoke a few minutes later, both Lucere and Ai standing over me.
+
+"You can still experience pain in here," Lucere said, "so better not get too
+roughed up, or you'll be traumatized."
+
+"Full immersion really means full, huh?" I asked.
+
+"Yeah, it really does," Ai replied, offering a hand to help me up. I took it
+and got up.
+
+"Don't worry," Lucere said, "I reduced the pain you could feel. This time,
+anyway."
+
+"You have no talent for magic," Ai said, "none at all. Why?"
+
+"I don't know the first thing," I replied, "its never been taught to me."
+
+"Taught, huh? Ai, you think you can give him a hand in that," Lucere asked,
+"before you break his mind?"
+
+"Yeah," she said, "I guess we can try."
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/disabled/03-achangeofpace.tex b/src/chapters/disabled/03-achangeofpace.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..467e17e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/disabled/03-achangeofpace.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+"You're still doing it all wrong," Ai said, "you have to feel it. Magic is
+just like an extension of you."
+
+"And what happens if I never feel it?" I asked, trying again to feel the magic
+around me. In a virtual space I should have been able to do this. But I
+couldn't. I couldn't feel much more than the deep anxiety.
+
+"Get out of your head!" she commanded, "quit thinking about it, and start
+feeling it."
+
+"This isn't natural to me," I whispered, "like it is to you."
+
+"It wasn't 'natural' to anyone when they first started," she said, "but we all
+learned by feeling it. If you couldn't do magic, you wouldn't have been marked
+by The Pale Goddess. Lets go again."
+
+"Alright," I said, trying desperately to pull my brain into the here and now,
+"lets try."
+
+"Now," she instructed, "you should feel out with your mind."
+
+I pushed away my anxiety, if only briefly, and tried reaching out with my mind.
+Eyes closed, trying to push my vision beyond my eyes. I couldn't feel
+anything. Couldn't see anything. This went on for minutes.
+
+"Hello again," a familiar voice said, "I didn't expect to have to help you
+understand this."
+
+"What?" I asked, "understand what?"
+
+"My magic circuits don't work," the voice said, "in the bodies of men. If you
+want to learn, you have to make the change."
+
+"What change?" I asked, slightly confused. She couldn't be suggesting turning
+into a woman, right?
+
+"The one you've always wanted," she said.
+
+"I've never wanted that," I said, but it came out sounding more like a
+question. Why did it sound like a question?
+
+"My, my," she laughed, "you, my child, are just as dense as I was in my youth."
+
+"Who are you?" I asked.
+
+"Your friends call me," she said, pausing, presumably for tension, "The Pale
+Goddess."
+
+"Who am I?" Ai asked. My eyes snapped open. Her finger was pointing at
+herself. She was looking at me oddly. "Look, talking to yourself isn't all
+that uncommon around here, but it sounded like you were having a real
+conversation with someone."
+
+"Didn't you hear her?" I asked.
+
+"Hear who?" Ai asked in response.
+
+"The Pale Goddess," I said, "I heard her."
+
+Ai looked at me, her face completely unreadable. She spoke in quiet tones,
+"are you sure it was The Pale Goddess?"
+
+"She told me," I replied, "but that could have been a lie."
+
+"Not likely," Ai said, then explain, "look, in order for that to be the case,
+someone would have had to influence, either your mind directly, or the neural
+crown."
+
+"So very unlikely," I said, letting that sink in, "does she have a bit of a
+flair for the dramatic?"
+
+Ai said nothing for a minute, then suddenly, "What did she say?"
+
+"She said its time for a change of pace," I said, "how do I access an avatar
+creator?"
+
+"What," Ai asked, "so you need to be someone else?" I saw a flash of
+understanding cross her face. Yeah, she got it. "Hey Lucere, how do you open
+the menu from the crown?"
+
+I began playing around with gestures. Eventually she walked up to me and moved
+my hand to touch just above my eye. The menu exploded into view. "Woah!"
+
+"Interacting with the menu is," she paused, "like a touchscreen, I guess. My
+menu is always displayed, albeit very small, in my optic, so just experiment
+around until you get it."
+
+"Thanks," I said, "Once I figure it out I shouldn't be very long."
+
+I lied. This was going to take forever.
+
+The menu lay open before me. There were buttons for just about every setting
+you could imagine. Even a little messaging system. Looked like it was capable
+of video calls, too. The more I looked around in the menu, the more I found it
+was hard to even try to find what I was looking for.
+
+Finally, I clicked on the messaging button. There was a directory listing of
+all the mages I'd seen. I pushed the name I thought would have the answers I
+needed. Lucere.
+
+Finally, a chat window opened up in front of me. The keyboard was like a
+holographic layer that I could type on. It wasn't just a holographic layer
+though. As I pushed each button, I could feel it depress under my fingers, as
+if it were a real keyboard, almost.
+
+I couldn't help but miss the true tactile feel of the keyboard at my
+workstation. Typing on this reminded me of some long-dead mechanical action
+switch, but muted.
+
+I realized I was describing this to Lucere a little after I'd already sent a
+few messages about it. Heat rushed to my face at the realization.
+
+\textbf{Talon}: \emph{Uh... yeah sorry, anyway how do I find the avatar creator
+amongst all these options?}
+
+\textbf{Lucere}: \emph{Wow. You are kinda adorable.}
+
+\textbf{Talon}: \emph{Okay? Um, avatar creator?}
+
+\textbf{Lucere}: \emph{Oh! Yeah, its uh...}
+
+\textbf{Lucere}: \emph{If you go to the menu, touch "customization", then
+"body", you'll be taken to the body editor, then touch... hold on, the manual
+isn't that helpful here. Let me get Xeli, fae wrote all the software for that
+damn crown.}
+
+\textbf{Talon}: \emph{One person wrote all the software that makes this thing
+go?}
+
+\textbf{Lucere}: \emph{Oh yeah, fae's literally a tech mage. Its "rebuild"
+from the "body" menu.}
+
+\textbf{Talon}: \emph{Thanks, tell faer that the menus could be a little less
+confusing for me?}
+
+\textbf{Lucere}: \emph{You'll want to do that yourself, otherwise fae'll be
+doing live modification's, and you don't want that.}
+
+\textbf{Talon}: \emph{I'll remember that when I get out.}
+
+I pushed the large 'X' button sitting toward the upper part of the window in my
+vision. The window closed with a satisfying popping sound. After that was out
+of the way, moved through the menu tree to get me to the avatar creator.
+
+The world went dark and I felt the sensation of moving. Eventually I was
+presented with some options.
+
+\textbf{DNA Based}
+
+\emph{DNA based avatars are less likely to produce dysphoria, dysmorphia, or
+any other unwanted body/mind miscommunication. New users are recommended to go
+with this option.}
+
+Two buttons, a bit glowing "YES" button, and a dimmed "NO" button. I picked
+yes. I was already probably going overboard by simply changing gender, no need
+to go further into any issues.
+
+\textbf{Gender}
+
+\emph{Included are several genders, along with primary and secondary sexual
+characteristics, however, many additional options are available within advanced
+menu, which can be accessed in the usual places.}
+
+The options were symbols. I didn't recognize any of the three that were
+presented, but each was color-coded. Blue, pink, and yellow. I picked the
+pink and hoped it was the option I was after. Otherwise I'd be doing this all
+again.
+
+\textbf{Age}
+
+\emph{The age of the avatar you'd like to create.}
+
+A slider menu was available. At one end, the number '18' was displayed, the
+other '150'. I was beginning to wonder if this was designed as an actual
+product, or if there were concerns I should be voicing to Ai. I picked
+twenty-two.
+
+\textbf{Complete}
+
+\emph{As you picked "DNA Based", most of your options have been preconfigured.
+Please wait while your new avatar is generated. Thank you for using the
+Eastern Hills TruReality Beta.}
+
+Well I guess it is a real product. A progress bar appeared in front of me,
+just below the message. It was sitting at fifty-five percent. I went back to
+thinking about anything else as the progress bar made its way forward. I was
+nervous.
+
+Then, before I knew it, I was back in front of Ai. Only I felt different. I'm
+not certain how different exactly, but I felt like I was capable of flying. Or
+like I'd been held down with heavy iron shackles before, and now they weren't
+there.
+
+For the first time in my life, I felt just perfect. The anxiety wasn't there,
+holding me to the ground. But neither was the other feeling. The one that was
+always there. The one I didn't have a name for.
+
+I jumped. And jumped again. The subtle movement on my chest every time I
+landed made me almost giddy. I didn't initially notice Ai staring at me. But
+she wasn't quite staring at me, either. She was looking between me and
+something I couldn't see. All with a look on her face that I could only
+describe as a wry grin.
+
+"Officer Young," she commanded, "situational report."
+
+"I don't recall giving you my last name," I said, my voice was almost melodic
+now. Like a high pitch ringing bell. It was beautiful.
+
+"It was in your file," she stated, "and I figure you wouldn't want me calling
+you Talon. You look at ease for the first time since you've been here."
+
+"I am," I said, taking a deep breath, "I didn't know that this would be so,
+what's the word?"
+
+"Euphoric?" she offered.
+
+Yes, euphoric. That's what this feeling was. It was euphoria. Everything
+felt right, unlike any time I'd ever known before. Then I realized. "Hey, is
+there a way to look at myself?"
+
+"Here," Ai said, then made a gesture and a mirror appeared next to her, "should
+I give you a minute of privacy to explore your new body?"
+
+I blinked as I stepped in front of the mirror. The image of a familiar woman
+looked back at me. "No," I said. Her lips moved. She was the woman I'd seen
+in my dream. Her green eyes. Her blonde hair.
+
+No, not hers. Mine. My green eyes. My blonde hair. My perfectly red lips.
+
+I tried to keep all these feelings inside. But they couldn't be kept inside.
+I fell to the ground and tried desperately to keep myself together.
+
+I was too late. I'd fallen to the ground in a crumpled defeated mess. Tears
+streaming down my face leaving cold wet trails where they'd been. Why was the
+sight of me causing such intense feelings?
+
+Before I could think on it anymore, Lucere appeared beside me. She sat down
+and pulled me up into her lap and held me. She felt warm and comforting.
+
+For the first time in my life, I felt safe.
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/disabled/04-newgirl.tex b/src/chapters/disabled/04-newgirl.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f91a2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/disabled/04-newgirl.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+Lucere's arms were still around me when I woke up. I was shorter than her now.
+I wiggled a little to see if Lucere was awake. She curled her arms around me a
+little tighter and brushed her fingers through my hair.
+
+It felt good, her fingers softly brushing against my scalp as she pulled more
+hair to run through. It didn't just feel good though. Her touch was like
+electricity running down my spine. I shifted under this new sensation.
+
+"Oh," she whispered, "you like that, do you?" She moved her fingers down my
+back. I hummed in delight at the sensation, electricity flowing from the line
+she'd drawn down my spine. Before I knew it, another feeling blossomed from
+within me. Like a warm bed of coals, radiating from my core down to my toes.
+
+"Yes," I moaned, "I like that a lot."
+
+"Then maybe," she hummed, "you'll like this." She moved my hair, revealing my
+neck. The sudden cold air made me shiver. Her lips grazed my neck. I froze.
+As she kissed up and down my neck, the warm feeling inside me kept growing.
+
+I turned over to face Lucere. It was like the first time I'd looked at her.
+The purple light in her eyes was glowing. Her brown hair was long and wavy.
+Her lips were the perfect shape. And they looked so kissable.
+
+She leaned forward ever so slightly. Her lips reaching for mine. She kissed
+me. A whole new set of emotions bloomed within me. Her tongue teased at my
+lips and beyond, gently offering more.
+
+"Do I need to leave you two alone?" Ai asked. I jumped up as if I were a dog
+caught eating from the cookie jar. I felt my face turn bright red.
+
+"Look," Lucere giggled, "you're both as red as a firetruck." I looked over to
+Ai, who was as red as I felt.
+
+"Lucere," Ai said, "please go monitor Officer Young's body while we work."
+
+"Yes, ma'am," Lucere said, an air of professionalism around her. Then she
+vanished.
+
+"I swear, Lucere," Ai cursed, "poor girl just got here and you're already
+trying to..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry about Lucere."
+
+"I uh, quite enjoyed it," I said, still quite warm in my face.
+
+She looked at me, her face having calmed down to a mild blush. "So you did
+need a moment to explore your new body, then."
+
+"I don't really know," I admitted, "this is all, um, very new to me."
+
+"Of course being a woman is new to you," she exclaimed.
+
+"No," I replied, "all of it. New feelings. New emotions. I'm... I'm still a
+virgin."
+
+"Wait," Ai said, "you are still a virgin? How'd you even manage that?"
+
+"I never really felt any urges," I replied, "and I'd never paid enough
+attention to myself to care about dating. Or anything, really."
+
+"For fucks sake," she yelled, "no wonder your magic hasn't been working."
+
+"What, magic needs sex?" I asked.
+
+"No, no," she replied, "The Pale Goddess gives us magic through femininity.
+The love of, the being of, the unadulterated power of femininity. It didn't
+really matter if you were a man or not, just as long as you were embracing your
+femininity. So in your case, magic needs whatever you need to embrace being a
+woman. Does that need sex? That's up to you."
+
+"Really no judgments, huh?" I asked, "are you actually sanctioning sex as a
+team leader?"
+
+"My team is special," she replied, "and yes, we have whatever we need at our
+disposal."
+
+"I see," I said, paused, then asked, "what's my body look like, in the real?"
+
+"It'll be too much of a shock still," she said, "but you look mostly like you
+do now."
+
+"Mostly?"
+
+"Yes, mostly. The Goddess saw fit to give you something more."
+
+"Something more?"
+
+"You'll see when you get back into it."
+
+"Fine. Teach me magic."
+
+Under better circumstances, learning would have been a bit easier. But I was
+constantly drifting off toward thoughts. Specifically the thought of Lucere's
+lips on mine. I couldn't focus on learning quite like this.
+
+But I was able to do quite a lot of magic. I was able to reach out with my
+mind. And throw fire from my hands. And fly. I could fly. I'd always wanted
+to fly.
+
+Eventually we started playing combat again. Ai would throw a punch, I'd block
+then counter with a punch. It was a fun little back and forth we had going.
+Until she knocked me on the ground. I got a little flustered as I couldn't
+breathe and I'd somehow burned a crater into the ground where I had landed.
+
+That wasn't as fun.
+
+Of course, nothing was quite as fun as what came after training for the day.
+Lucere was given leave from watching my body. She'd come back to VR.
+
+"Hey," Lucere said, "I'm sorry about earlier." She was beautiful. Her skin
+looked perfectly tanned. That beautiful purple glow in her eyes illuminating
+her face in an almost serene picture. Her lips. Her red lips looking so very
+kissable.
+
+"Don't," I said, "You were my first kiss. And I think maybe you owe me more."
+
+"Oh," she laughed, "The new girl really is new. And very needy, too." She
+wrapped her arms around me and kissed my forehead. "I'll tell you what, you
+can have as many kisses as you want, whenever you want."
+
+I stood up on my toes, pulled her face in my hands, and kissed her. And kissed
+her. And kissed her. Before I knew it, we were on the ground. My hands had
+moved from her face to her back. It was as if my fingers were moving on their
+own, up and down her spine slowly.
+
+She giggled. It felt so sudden. "Listen," she said, pulling away from me,
+"you're really adorable, but I don't want to take advantage of you. You're
+body is producing new hormones at unprecedented rates. You should take this
+slowly and really think about it."
+
+I groaned and pulled her. She didn't move. I tried again and ended up pulling
+my back off of the ground. "Lucy," I begged, giving her my best pouty face.
+She merely kept looking at me, with that intensely serious gaze. I pulled
+myself up to her and kissed her. That broke her intense face.
+
+Lucere lit up with that same beautiful, almost shy, light that she'd had
+before. She was acting more timid, though. Her lips not moving as fast, nor
+were her hands wandering nearly as much as they had before.
+
+"Hey," she whispered into my ear, "you want a real bed tonight?" She kissed my
+neck, waiting for my response. I wasn't apposed to the idea, but I didn't want
+to move if it meant our bodies would no longer be touching.
+
+"How?" I asked. But why had I asked it, instead of just saying yes? I don't
+know why.
+
+"I've built a comfy space," she said, "for times like this."
+
+"So its not just me," I said, a wry smile pulling at the corner of my mouth.
+
+"No, you adorable little girl," she said, smiling at me, "I don't settle down,
+so try not to get feelings, okay?"
+
+"I'll do my best," I giggled, "but no promises."
+
+"Okay," she laughed, "but no antics. Hold on to me."
+
+I wrapped my arms around her. She flipped us over. Her eyes were focused
+beyond me as she worked on her unseen menu. I kissed her cheek. Her jaw. Her
+neck.
+
+"That's distracting," she murmured.
+
+I raised my head up. "Should I stop?"
+
+"Gods no," she replied, "but you should really hold on now."
+
+I grabbed onto her, wrapping my arms tight around her chest. I felt the soft
+cushion of her breasts against mine. It was a weird, but good, feeling. It
+was a feeling that caused more warmth to radiate from my core out into every
+part of me.
+
+She rolled back onto me. The feeling of her pressing against me caused me to
+shiver. Her thighs pushing against mine felt like fire. Fire radiating to
+everywhere. I closed my eyes and let the feeling wash though me.
+
+"Open your eyes," she whispered. I moaned at the feeling of her breath on my
+ear and slowly opened my eyes.
+
+I was in a bed. Or at least it felt like a bed. I tried to look around, but
+she was still on top of me, kissing my cheek and grinning. I couldn't really
+get a proper look, but it didn't matter. I was needy. There was cushion below
+me, and a beautiful woman on top of me.
+
+"Lucy," I whimpered, "please, more."
+
+She raised her head from me a little. I could see a spark of recognition in
+her eyes. She nodded. "Slowly," she cooed, running her fingers down my neck,
+"but we will get there." She kissed me, her fingers tracing along the collar
+of my training tee.
+
+I softly bit her lower lip and sucked on it.
+
+"Am I interrupting?" someone called. Lucere leaned back to sit up, blinked a
+few times. My anxiety spiked. "Hey this 'scape is pretty nifty. Lots of fake
+wine."
+
+"Sarah," Lucere said, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "to what do I owe the
+pleasure?"
+
+"I wanted to meet the new girl," Sarah said, "so maybe you'd like to get off of
+her so I can say hi properly?"
+
+I pulled myself up and wrapped my arms around Lucere again. I turned my head
+to see if I could have a peak at Sarah, but I couldn't see her, so I pulled
+myself tight against her and hid my face in her neck.
+
+"It doesn't look like she's in a 'saying hi' mood, Sarah," Lucere replied. I
+could hear the tension in her voice. She wrapped an arm around me.
+
+"Hey Lucere, fucking the new girl isn't really okay, is it?" Sarah spat. It
+wasn't just Lucere who was tense. The whole situation was tense. I held on to
+her tighter.
+
+"Sarah, go away or I promise you won't survive your next injury." Lucere was
+threatening her.
+
+"You threaten that every time I come see you. I get the idea. Later Lucy."
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/disabled/10-wakingup.tex b/src/chapters/disabled/10-wakingup.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..059795e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/disabled/10-wakingup.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+I opened my eyes. I was in a tube full of liquid. It was cold, but not as
+cold as I'd been promised. I could see Lucere and Ai through the liquid. And
+a few other mages, too.
+
diff --git a/src/chapters/disabled/99-silentarcade.tex b/src/chapters/disabled/99-silentarcade.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..573f29c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chapters/disabled/99-silentarcade.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+I emerged from the portal. Adrenaline wearing off, I fell to the ground and
+cried. I'd lost her. I didn't know where to go. I'd been angry. I tripped,
+I didn't mean to shove her through the portal. Tamaki.
+
+Then gone to whatever hell that was.
+
+Would she ever forgive me?
+
+I cried for a while, ignoring the notifications that started trickling in my
+vision from the optic feed. Closed eyes won't save you from high priority
+messages, I guess.
+
+"What's a beautiful young woman doing crying in a hell hole like-" a masculine
+voice started to ask. A light on me and he froze. Adrenaline filled my system
+again. I wiped the tears from my eyes while I prepared for a fight. Sometimes
+I forget that I look like a monster.
+
+"Hey," another called, "that's Vivian, you leave her alone, or she'll skewer
+you on her horns." Oh thank the gods. Fernandez. I'm on Silent Arcade. As
+my eyes refocused I could see that many men were sitting glued to a holo-feed,
+watching a news program.
+
+"Hey Fernandez, how's it?" I asked, trailing off at the end, not wanting my
+voice to give me away.
+
+"Hey," Fernandez replied, "woah, you look like hell. Want a drink?"
+
+"Whiskey?" I asked. My eyes finally focused on the holo-feed just enough to
+read what the feed was about. \emph{LOCAL GIRL FOUND DEAD, MURDERER AT LARGE.}
+Interesting title.
+
+"Yeah, got some over here," one of them had responded, starting to pour some
+into a glass.
+
+"What's with the holo-feed?" I asked as the glass was passed to me.
+
+"We thought we'd lost Trilu's little girl," Fernandez responded, "to the
+portal."
+
+"But looks like she'd just been kidnapped," another man said, "murdered. Trilu
+is on the surface now, trying to find whoever did it."
+
+"I see," I sighed, "send my condolences."
+
+"Sent," Fernandez said, his eyes closed, "he says thanks. You can help out if
+you want, just head to the surface."
+
+"I can't," I said, "I have someone of my own I need to find." A notification
+popped up in my optic feed. Of thirty. I pulled up only the most recent.
+
+\textbf{Ai:} \emph{Hey! Are you even alive? Look I get that I was a bit of a
+bitch, but could you please respond? I'm freaking out.}
+
+\textbf{Vivian:} \emph{Yes. I'm alive. Sorry. I nearly died trying to follow
+you after I tripped. I shoved you through by accident I'm so sorry!}
+
+\textbf{Ai:} \emph{Oh thank the gods! I assume you are on Silent Arcade, given
+I can message you without any delay now.}
+
+\textbf{Vivian:} \emph{Yeah. I suppose you want to talk?}
+
+\textbf{Ai:} \emph{Yeah. I'm on the surface. I'll send you location data in a
+second. Gotta start generating a map instead of freaking out over you.}
+
+\textbf{Vivian:} \emph{I guess I'll let you get to it, then. Listen, I'm
+sorry. I really didn't mean to say that stuff...}
+
+\textbf{Ai:} \emph{Yeah, you did. And I deserved it. I did some kinda bitch
+things... we'll talk more when we are together. Now let me focus on mapping,
+will you?}
+
+I closed the notification and nodded to the guys. "Thanks for having me, but
+this is as much time as I can spare." The location data came in. I opened the
+map in my optic and fed it the data. Not far from me, but on the surface.
+
+I walked to the far end of the chamber, lighting a magefire in my hand so I
+could see up the incline of the tunnel to the surface. At the top of the
+tunnel was a ladder up. It led to a trapdoor in a restroom on the surface.
+
+When I got to the top of the ladder, I tried a sensing spell on the ceiling
+above me.
+
diff --git a/src/default.cfg b/src/default.cfg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58f66f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/default.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+\Preamble{xhtml}
+\CoverMetadata{cover.png}
+\begin{document}
+\EndPreamble
diff --git a/src/main.tex b/src/main.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b78c56a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+% Document Definition
+\documentclass[12pt]{book}
+
+% Required Packages
+\usepackage[letterpaper, margin=1in]{geometry}
+\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
+\usepackage[english]{babel}
+\usepackage{fancyhdr}
+\usepackage{ragged2e}
+\usepackage{titlesec}
+\usepackage{setspace}
+\usepackage{times}
+\usepackage{subfiles} % Load me last
+
+% Package Options
+
+% Headings bullshit
+\pagestyle{fancy}
+\fancyhead[L,C]{}
+\fancyhead[R]{SNAME / PROJECT / \thepage}
+\fancyfoot[L,C,R]{}
+\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt}
+\renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt}
+
+% Formatting Stuff
+\setlength{\parindent}{0.5in}
+
+% Macros
+\newcommand{\mkchap}[3]{
+ \newpage
+ \vspace*{3in}
+ \addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{#1 - #2}
+ \begin{center}
+ Chapter #1
+
+ #2
+
+ {\small #3}
+ \end{center}
+ \vspace{0.5in}
+}
+%%% \mkinfo
+%%% used as \mkinfo{name}{pronouns}{address}{phone}{email}
+\newcommand{\mkinfo}[5]{
+ \begin{flushleft}
+ \singlespacing
+ #1 (#2)\newline
+ #3\newline
+ #4\newline
+ #5
+ \end{flushleft}
+}
+%%% \mktitle
+%%% used as
+%%% \mktitle{title}{penname}{srcuri}%
+%%% {legalname}{pronouns}%
+%%% {address}{phone}{email}%
+%%% {wc}
+\newcommand{\mktitle}[9]{
+ \begin{titlepage}
+ \mkinfo{#4}{#5}{#6}{#7}{#8}
+ \center
+ \vspace*{3in}
+ #1
+
+ by #2
+
+ \vspace{1in}
+
+ {\tiny
+ As compiled from \LaTeX source on \today.
+
+ A copy of the source can be found at:
+
+ #3
+ }
+ \vspace{\fill}
+ \center #9 words
+ \end{titlepage}
+}
+\newcommand{\mkack}{
+ \newpage
+ \vspace*{3in}
+ \addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Acknowledgements}
+ \begin{center}
+ Acknowledgements
+ \end{center}
+ \vspace{0.5in}
+ \subfile{src/ack}
+}
+
+% Document
+\begin{document}
+\begin{doublespacing}
+ \mktitle{PROJECT}{PENNAME}%
+ {REPO}%
+ {LEGALNAME}{PRONOUNS}%
+ {STREETADDR\newline%
+ LASTADDR}{PHONE}%
+ {EMAIL}%
+ {WORDCOUNT}
+
+ \setcounter{page}{1}
+
+ % canon worthy
+ \mkchap{0x00}{The Last Normal Day}{19 July 2158 - 0321}
+ \textbf{Talon:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/00-a-lastnormalday}
+ \newpage
+ \textbf{Eilidh:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/00-b-lastnormalday}
+
+ \mkchap{0x01}{Corporate Takeover}{20 July 2158 - 1745}
+ \textbf{Eilidh:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/01-a-corporatetakeover}
+
+ \mkchap{0x02}{The Ceremony}{20 July 2158 - 0043}
+ \textbf{Talon:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/01-b-ceremony}
+
+ \mkchap{0x03}{The View}{20 July 2158 - 1012}
+ \textbf{Talon:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/02-a-theview}
+ \newpage
+ \textbf{Eilidh:}
+ \subfile{src/chapters/02-b-theview}
+
+ \mkchap{0x04}{Headache}{21 July 2158 - 1903}
+ \textbf{Talon:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/03-a-headache}
+
+ \mkchap{0x05}{Quick Time Actions}{21 July 2158 - 1911}
+ \textbf{Eilidh:}\newline
+ \subfile{src/chapters/03-b-quicktimeactions}
+
+% Need acknowledgements before enabling this.
+% \mkack
+
+\end{doublespacing}
+\end{document}
+