Teal

Hello?

(No response.) Is anyone —

This is a [studio]. Business runners sell you what you want, and studios tell you what you actually [need].

Your gait is uneven. Left boot worn thinner than the right. You favour the hip. Old injury or bad habit. Doesn't matter. Sit.

There's nowhere to —

Crate. Behind you.

Now. Stand.

Turn.

Why?

Because I asked.

(The Player turns. Slowly. TEAL watches. Her eyes measure without a tape.) Disastrous.

You're dressed for disappearing. You may think your outfit keeps you alive - its lack of style erases you before you've started.

I'm only doing this for [survival]. I've been crawling in caves, fighting spiders, and...

(She crosses to the Player. Plucks a frayed seam. Drops it.) Clothing speaks first.

Before your mouth opens. Before your hand extends. The fabric walks in, sits down, and makes its argument. Yours is arguing for nothing. For no one.

I didn't come here for fashion advice.

No one does. (She smiles. Brief. Like a door opening and closing.) I'm Teal.

I dressed the three wealthiest systems from Lissenne-9. Governors. Admirals. People whose names bent rooms when spoken.

And now you're here. On a ruin.

(A pause. The smile doesn't waver. But something behind it shifts — a curtain drawn tighter.) Now I'm here.

Why?

Next Question.

Really? You don’t feel like talking about it?

Everyone in {world} has their own [story] of how they got here. Mine? [Not today].

Hold steady. (She drapes the silk across the Player's shoulder. Steps back. Studies the effect.)

Better. See? One piece of cloth. The posture changes. The shoulder opens. You're already someone different.

I'm the same person.

No. You're a person who now [expects] something from the room. That is a different species entirely.

(She takes the silk back. Folds it. Precise.) You've grown a network among the others.

How do you know that?

You're alive. Fed. Armed. Informed.

That takes at least three people investing in a stranger out here. Do you know what it tells me?

That I got lucky?

That you're worth investing in. Luck is what people call inevitability when they don't understand the force in play.

Have you noticed the thing about them? The people here. Lord M. The merchant. The fish chef. The musician activist.

You are surely well informed.

They're extraordinary. Every single one. On a planet that should attract only the desperate and the broken.

Maybe the two groups coincide.

The thing about genius: if you found one genius on a forgotten rock, call it an accident. Two is curious. This many? (She holds up her fingers, counts silently, puts her hand down.) That's a signal.

A signal of what?

Resonance. Talent has gravity. Real talent — the kind that changes a room's temperature. It doesn't scatter.

It [clusters]. It pulls. The brilliant find the brilliant the way a tuning fork finds its frequency. Not by searching. By vibrating.

Every golden age. Every great court. It was never one person. It was a [gathering].

The universe's yang is pulling genius toward genius. And the universe's yin comes [crushing] their potency. Holding it down. Static.

The powerful see brilliance and they [fear] it. They pin it down. Keep it under control.

Sounds like you're talking from experience.

(without turning) I'm talking about physics.

You're on the right path. I don't say that lightly. The cause you're walking toward — it's righteous. The people around you know it. You should know it too.

If you want my guidance — and you will — the first step is simple. Be open to change. Not just what you wear. What you [do].

What you call yourself. Identity is a garment. Most people put one on at twenty and never take it off. It rots on them. They don't notice. Everyone else does.

And you're going to dress me for — what? A revolution?

Or a re-[solution]. When it arrives, you will not be dressed like a person the room forgets.

What do I owe you?

Bring me a material. Something I haven't seen. Something this planet grew, or broke, or buried. Surprise me.

That's it? No money?

Only when you can spare. How much we spend on things informs how much they will eventually grow on us.

Not bad.

That's it?

Do you know what the oldest argument in fashion is?

On one hand, there are conventional councils. On the other, independent designers.

That doesn't sound new.

No, it doesn't. All truly informative arguments are [as old as time].

So, what do they argue about?

They argue who's qualified to [decide] for others what should be trending next season.

What about you? Which side are you on?

Me? You know what? Before the next season starts, the fashion councils and independent designers will still sit at the same table.

Like the artist and merchant over there.

What does it have to do with Chili and Rohen?

That [stage artist] had his fabrics chosen for him the moment he was born.

His vision, taste and the way he speaks were all given to him [for free] by the old world.

He holds a free ticket from the [old council], but refuses to go in as told.

He insists on wearing his [ideals] on the outside. The good thing? You know what his attitude is with one simple glance.

The bad thing is, others also know where to aim right away.

Sounds like you hold him in high regard.

I'm saying he has something that few men of his stature can keep... A [heart].

It's dangerous, but also helpful.

Then what about Rohen?

Rohen is different. He's like a [photographer vest] fitted with practical [pockets] from head to toe. It has the least to do with beauty and grace...

But if you've ever tried to survive in the wild, you'd wholeheartedly agree: Pockets! I need more pockets.

You think very highly of him.

I think highly of [practicality].

So, are you going to be working with Rohen?

All I'm saying is a [photographer vest] might also become trendy.

What about you?

I haven't decided yet... I'm a variable.

A variable? You make yourself sound a bit [scary].

Variables aren't scary. [No variables]? That's what I'd call scary.

So, do you wish to keep an [unknown] in {world}?

Are you saying you're staying?

I'm saying I don't think a little enthusiasm is enough to persuade me to [settle] here.

A fine [tent] does not only need traditional craft, but also [funding].

So, money's what you need.

I need proper startup funding. A belief with no budget is the cheapest.

I'll take what you've brought. I'll give serious thought to staying once the funding's in place.

You've got some really specific principles.

[Choosing] is more honest than explaining. Think of it not as a quest, but a choice...

I used to think {world} was just a place I passed through. Later I found out it wasn't.

You make it sound like you were choosing where to stay...

Well, we should always be more careful picking places to stay than picking our outfit of the day.

There's one good thing about being a wanderer. It teaches you that some kindness is [unnecessary].

You were a wanderer.

I simply left a place that was no longer worth my time or taste.

Those who actually lost their [places] in the world wouldn't be talking like me.

Sounds like you used to be in high [places].

(Ignores) I already sent the blueprint to the [mainframe]. You can take your time deciding whether to build it...

Interesting.

What's interesting?

I'm talking about... the [Amethyst Hook].

Do you really want to go into the desert so much?

I haven't decided yet.

What comes to mind when you think of the [desert]?

The Machine? The Machine that lost its mind.

The Machine? People mistake the [majority] that they see for the [whole] truth.

You mean there's something else there?

Yes. Some other [creatures].

I may have known some of them in the past. But now... they don't know anyone.

Do you want me to look for them?

I'm leaving you a thread—a lead. It's up to you whether to [follow it].

There are a few old houses in the desert. Inside are some of my old [assets].

[Legally], they probably don't belong to me anymore.

That means they don't belong to anyone else either.

A recipe for the [engine] should be at one of these places.

Isn't that what you need at the [ruins] that Marvin's guarding?

You sure know a lot.

I just care about what's [not whole].

So your advice is that I go to the desert, find these old assets, and get the recipe for the engine.

My advice is just to go to the desert.

You might get the [engine]. You might get something else.

Or you might not even follow my route, and that doesn't matter.

An interesting web leads to the same result, no matter which direction it's woven in.

As for the reward... there's a [sniper rifle recipe] in one of these places.

And it's for me?

It's for whoever gets to it first. You can read it yourself, and you're free to share it with anyone afterwards.

I don't need to [monopolize] it. That's usually for the small-minded and [corporations].

You hardly strike me as someone who uses a gun.

I didn't say it was for me.

I brought the [sniper rifle] recipe as you asked.

Oh.

You're not going to make one?

No. I don't need real firearms to fight my battles.

Then why did you ask me to bring you this?

Because I wanted to try something.

I once sent an investigator to {world}; it was planned for a long time.

Then he disappeared in the [desert] and became a [variable].

The fact that you [made it back alive] from there is more interesting than the recipe itself.