A slightly sad day made it hard for me to get into the swing, but having written 300 words of blog post (http://six-old-cars.livejournal.com/29542.html) about that I did then manage 700 on the novel this evening.
There's some name place-holders in today's snippet. It's from the "sole developer plan" memory Catherine chose, and [Elise] should be Elise's surname when I've thought of one...
Elise knows what he really means. They want to take the project away from her, give it to some pure-bred Arcturan with no feel for the complexities of what she's already achieved. They didn't interrogate anyone after Arlan's breakdown or Johann's rampage. “I can continue the work,” she says. “I work best alone.” The guy nods, condescendingly, disbelief plastered over his face. “We realise that,” he says, fake charm on full. “Nobody's suggesting we replace you. But the few written minutes we have mention the importance of peer review. Surely you need an observer, at least. Just a second set of eyes.” “Garbage!” Peer review indeed! Does he think she's stupid, not to see through that? “Only one observer is needed, and that's me. I don't know who said otherwise but-” “It was you, Doctor [Elise].” For a moment, Elise has no idea what he's talking about. What did she say, when? And why? She thinks back over the conversation and it's like a dream, like the engram replays, like watching somebody else's thoughts. “Multiple observers,” she says, “would be essential in application. The perspective...” She tries to order her thoughts but everything's hazy, double-exposed. “No one person will ever be guaranteed to catch every nuance,” the colonel reads off his pad. “That's what you said.” “Yes.” She has a sense of deja-vu. “Arlan might be convinced he can catch everything by repeatedly reviewing the same memory but he won't. Karl and I definitely spot things he doesn't.” “But Karl isn't around any more, neither is Arlan.” “What?” She feels hollow from the news, the sense of loss. Like she had when she first heard the diagnosis. She knows they're gone. How could she have forgotten? “Are you okay, Doctor [Elise]?”
(The problem with this is I'm trying to portray a mind that's on the edge, and I don't know if it works)
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2014-11-21 09:20 pm (UTC)There's some name place-holders in today's snippet. It's from the "sole developer plan" memory Catherine chose, and [Elise] should be Elise's surname when I've thought of one...
Elise knows what he really means. They want to take the project away from her, give it to some pure-bred Arcturan with no feel for the complexities of what she's already achieved. They didn't interrogate anyone after Arlan's breakdown or Johann's rampage.
“I can continue the work,” she says. “I work best alone.”
The guy nods, condescendingly, disbelief plastered over his face. “We realise that,” he says, fake charm on full. “Nobody's suggesting we replace you. But the few written minutes we have mention the importance of peer review. Surely you need an observer, at least. Just a second set of eyes.”
“Garbage!” Peer review indeed! Does he think she's stupid, not to see through that? “Only one observer is needed, and that's me. I don't know who said otherwise but-”
“It was you, Doctor [Elise].”
For a moment, Elise has no idea what he's talking about. What did she say, when? And why? She thinks back over the conversation and it's like a dream, like the engram replays, like watching somebody else's thoughts.
“Multiple observers,” she says, “would be essential in application. The perspective...” She tries to order her thoughts but everything's hazy, double-exposed.
“No one person will ever be guaranteed to catch every nuance,” the colonel reads off his pad. “That's what you said.”
“Yes.” She has a sense of deja-vu. “Arlan might be convinced he can catch everything by repeatedly reviewing the same memory but he won't. Karl and I definitely spot things he doesn't.”
“But Karl isn't around any more, neither is Arlan.”
“What?” She feels hollow from the news, the sense of loss. Like she had when she first heard the diagnosis. She knows they're gone. How could she have forgotten?
“Are you okay, Doctor [Elise]?”
(The problem with this is I'm trying to portray a mind that's on the edge, and I don't know if it works)
no subject
on 2014-11-21 10:53 pm (UTC)I think you got the sense of breakdown happening with Elise. It's not extreme, but it's there.
no subject
on 2014-11-21 11:42 pm (UTC)And I hope Harry will be cherished in his new home :)