Post by Admin on Sept 23, 2009 4:50:36 GMT -5
Tisoc:
Tisoc got up the next morning and went down to one of the restaurants in the yeerk pool. It was like a city down here though she still didn't understand why they couldn't just move into the city above them. I guess it's because all this stuff is already built.
She had spent the previous night getting to know some other human controllers in the area but she hadn't dropped any hints that might get her a contact in the yeerk peace movement. She figured it was too soon.
But the previous night she had decided that her next course of action should be to check out the small cafe where voluntary hosts hung out while their yeerks fed. The yeerk peace movement was comprised of voluntary hosts and it would make sense that some of them would be in the cafe unless they were pretending to be involuntary just to keep their cover. But if the movement was really as widespread as she had been told at least one or two would be found there.
She walked into the cafe that was on the opposite side of the gigantic yeerk pool from where she had spent the night. I should also go looking for a real house today.
The cafe was called Starbucks. Yeerks didn't put much stock in names so they had just taken one. When she walked in she again had the momentary feeling of not belonging but she dismissed it and went up to the counter and ordered coffee.
The person behind the counter gave her a blank stare. "Coffee? Um, I'm not sure we have coffee."
For a moment Tisoc panicked. Had she gotten the human custom wrong? She was supposed to be a momentarily free human and if the others were going to believe her she needed to know details like that.
"Sir, I can offer you a latte or a grande or a mocha, but I don't think we have coffee on the menu."
"I'll take a...a latte. Thanks." Tisoc hoped that she had ordered the right thing and was about to turn around when the young man behind the counter called out to her.
"Wait, I need your name."
"T-Bryan."
"OK. It'll be with you soon." Tisoc went and sat at a table. A minute later she heard 'Bryan' called out and went and picked up a cup with the B-R-I-A-N written on it. First task accomplished.
She sat for a while at a table and sipped at the coffee. To someone who was used to eating bark this stuff tasted almost disgustingly sweet but she choked it down anyway. She was about to try another restaurant when a human walked in and ordered a mocha.
She waited till he got his coffee and then waved him over. "Hey." He looked confused at being addressed by a stranger but he brought his cup over anyway.
"Hi."
Tisoc stood up. "Hi, my name is Bryan," this time she didn't forget, "I'm new here. I hope you don't mind but I was hoping you could tell me how to find an apartment in this city. Um, my yeerk wanted to know and, I mean, we both wanted to know, so yeah, I thought I'd ask." Tisoc stopped talking. I think I messed that up. The human was looking at her oddly but instead of questioning her motives he just answered her.
"There is a building a couple of storefronts down from here. They give out the human housing assignments." He turned to leave, but he was Tisoc's only human connection so far and she couldn't just let him walk out.
She ran up beside him, conveniently forgetting her disgusting drink on the table, "can you show me? That way I'll know for when my yeerk is done feeding. We get along well, my yeerk and I." Now he was looking at her like she was insane. She hoped she hadn't been too obvious.
"Riiiiiight. I'll show you. Just follow me." Tisoc nodded. OK, this isn't going too bad.
She followed him out of the coffee shop and back into the huge cavern that was the yeerk pool. Tisoc remembered the days when caverns like this would be filled with screams. Now they were mostly filled with sobs. The humans were losing heart and the Hork-Bajir had long ago been broken. Proud race we are. Tisoc thought traitoriously. But this is the lot she had been given, the life she had been born into so she just followed the human. He stopped in front of a small building. Tisoc couldn't see inside because the small windows that were facing her were covered with an odd white curtain that seemed to be made out of plastic and split into horizontal bars. She searched Bryan's mind for the correct word. Blinds, meant to keep out light. "Why are there blinds on the windows even though we are underground?"
The man shrugged. "Beats me, the whole building looks like they just picked up some small time travel agency office and dumped it down here. Yeerks don't seem to be ones for creativity. They just take what works." Tisoc looked at him in surprise. What he said could be considered treason. But of course he thinks he's speaking to another temporarily free human. Maybe I've gotten lucky and this is one of the Peace Movement.
She quickly hid her look of disbelief and hoped the human hadn't seen it. She searched for a not-insult to use as a reply. She looked around the yeerk pool. "Mmm, well maybe the yeerks could have borrowed our interior heating systems. This place gets cold sometimes."
"Yes it does," he said quietly. "Anyway, good luck Bryan."
He turned and started to walk away. "Wait. Um, what's your name?" Tisoc believed it was customary to exchange names and the man knew her's or at least Bryan's.
"Tom. Name's Tom. Seeya around I'm sure."
"Yes, I think so." Tisoc smiled, or at least she thought that's what she was doing. In actuality spending so much time as a Hork-Bajir made the smile look more like a scowl. Tom gave her a confused, though not suspicious look, shrugged his shoulders and walked away, taking a sip of his mocha.
Tisoc walked into the building after Tom was out of sight. It wouldn't make sense for a yeerkless human to walk into that office but Tisoc really did need a place to live so she went in.
Inside she found a middle aged woman sitting at a desk. She was wearing glasses and a headset. She might have been a receptionist from before the invasion except for the fact that the headset she was wearing and the computer she was operating where much more advanced than normal human technology.
"Excuse me. My name is Tisoc 286 and I'm looking for a place to live while on assignment in Vancouver."
The receptionist didn't even look up. She just continued to work. At first Tisoc thought the woman hadn't heard her but then she handed Tisoc a piece of paper with an address on it. "Here, that place is open. You have 3 hours to move in or else it will be considered vacant and given to someone else." With that the receptionist went back to whatever she had been doing before Tisoc had come in. Tisoc picked up the piece of paper and walked out.
Tisoc was beginning to fear that her apartment was going to be given away. It was two hours later and she was still wondering around Vancouver trying to find the place. This is idiotic. Humans had ways of finding their way around their cities, but yeerks don't? Of course if Tisoc had been higher ranking she would have been delivered to the spot right away but she wasn't that important yet. She looked up at the unfinished airway that they were building. When it was done airways were long tubes of air, similar to raised subway tracks, but instead of trains there were sideless platforms that zipped along the tube's length. The platforms went 300mph and up and if she had been able to get on one someone would have been able to tell her how to get where she needed to go but the airways weren't completed yet so instead Tisoc was reduced to walking.
Finally she found herself sitting on a park bench staring at the piece of paper with the address printed on it and feeling pretty discouraged when she heard someone call Bryan's name.
"Bryan! Is that you. I apologize, I don't know your proper name but I know that is the name of your host." Tisoc looked up to see Tom, or the yeerk that was controlling Tom looking down at her.
"Tisoc 286. And yourself?"
"Yant 457. You look lost. Are you new to Vancouver?"
"Yes, I am and I don't know how to find this address. She held out the piece of paper for him."
"Well, fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, you are very close." He pointed to a building a little farther down the street. "It's right there. If you had kept going for a minute you would have found it."
Tisoc looked at the building in disbelief. "I've been in this area for at least a half and hour. I have walked past that building three times."
"Oh, well, there it is. I live right there," he said pointing to the building right across the street.
"Thanks," Tisoc said gruffly and got up to leave. She knew she should be nicer to this potential contact but she was in too much of a bad mood to worry about it.
"Hey, Tisoc hold on. Do you have anything to eat? For your human body I mean. They don't give us food, we have to make it ourselves."
Tisoc turned to him. "This is a joke? A human joke? We were always fed before, at least when I was- I mean controlled a Hork-Bajir they gave me my food."
"Nope, no joke. There are too many of us to feed so we have to feed ourselves. I'm guessing you don't have any food yet, or cooking skills for that matter. Why don't you come back with me. I'll get you something."
Tisoc looked at him with suspicion. "Why are you helping me? You don't know me."
"War's over, " Yant/Tom said as he turned and walked towards his building. "All yeerks are supposed to be working together now for a bigger and brighter future for the yeerk empire." The words were said with a slight tone of sarcasm. The sarcasm might have been missed by someone else, especially because Yant/Tom was turned away from her, but since it was just that type of tone that Tisoc was looking for she picked up on it.
"Yes, you are right. We were together." She followed the Contoller to his apartment.
Tisoc got up the next morning and went down to one of the restaurants in the yeerk pool. It was like a city down here though she still didn't understand why they couldn't just move into the city above them. I guess it's because all this stuff is already built.
She had spent the previous night getting to know some other human controllers in the area but she hadn't dropped any hints that might get her a contact in the yeerk peace movement. She figured it was too soon.
But the previous night she had decided that her next course of action should be to check out the small cafe where voluntary hosts hung out while their yeerks fed. The yeerk peace movement was comprised of voluntary hosts and it would make sense that some of them would be in the cafe unless they were pretending to be involuntary just to keep their cover. But if the movement was really as widespread as she had been told at least one or two would be found there.
She walked into the cafe that was on the opposite side of the gigantic yeerk pool from where she had spent the night. I should also go looking for a real house today.
The cafe was called Starbucks. Yeerks didn't put much stock in names so they had just taken one. When she walked in she again had the momentary feeling of not belonging but she dismissed it and went up to the counter and ordered coffee.
The person behind the counter gave her a blank stare. "Coffee? Um, I'm not sure we have coffee."
For a moment Tisoc panicked. Had she gotten the human custom wrong? She was supposed to be a momentarily free human and if the others were going to believe her she needed to know details like that.
"Sir, I can offer you a latte or a grande or a mocha, but I don't think we have coffee on the menu."
"I'll take a...a latte. Thanks." Tisoc hoped that she had ordered the right thing and was about to turn around when the young man behind the counter called out to her.
"Wait, I need your name."
"T-Bryan."
"OK. It'll be with you soon." Tisoc went and sat at a table. A minute later she heard 'Bryan' called out and went and picked up a cup with the B-R-I-A-N written on it. First task accomplished.
She sat for a while at a table and sipped at the coffee. To someone who was used to eating bark this stuff tasted almost disgustingly sweet but she choked it down anyway. She was about to try another restaurant when a human walked in and ordered a mocha.
She waited till he got his coffee and then waved him over. "Hey." He looked confused at being addressed by a stranger but he brought his cup over anyway.
"Hi."
Tisoc stood up. "Hi, my name is Bryan," this time she didn't forget, "I'm new here. I hope you don't mind but I was hoping you could tell me how to find an apartment in this city. Um, my yeerk wanted to know and, I mean, we both wanted to know, so yeah, I thought I'd ask." Tisoc stopped talking. I think I messed that up. The human was looking at her oddly but instead of questioning her motives he just answered her.
"There is a building a couple of storefronts down from here. They give out the human housing assignments." He turned to leave, but he was Tisoc's only human connection so far and she couldn't just let him walk out.
She ran up beside him, conveniently forgetting her disgusting drink on the table, "can you show me? That way I'll know for when my yeerk is done feeding. We get along well, my yeerk and I." Now he was looking at her like she was insane. She hoped she hadn't been too obvious.
"Riiiiiight. I'll show you. Just follow me." Tisoc nodded. OK, this isn't going too bad.
She followed him out of the coffee shop and back into the huge cavern that was the yeerk pool. Tisoc remembered the days when caverns like this would be filled with screams. Now they were mostly filled with sobs. The humans were losing heart and the Hork-Bajir had long ago been broken. Proud race we are. Tisoc thought traitoriously. But this is the lot she had been given, the life she had been born into so she just followed the human. He stopped in front of a small building. Tisoc couldn't see inside because the small windows that were facing her were covered with an odd white curtain that seemed to be made out of plastic and split into horizontal bars. She searched Bryan's mind for the correct word. Blinds, meant to keep out light. "Why are there blinds on the windows even though we are underground?"
The man shrugged. "Beats me, the whole building looks like they just picked up some small time travel agency office and dumped it down here. Yeerks don't seem to be ones for creativity. They just take what works." Tisoc looked at him in surprise. What he said could be considered treason. But of course he thinks he's speaking to another temporarily free human. Maybe I've gotten lucky and this is one of the Peace Movement.
She quickly hid her look of disbelief and hoped the human hadn't seen it. She searched for a not-insult to use as a reply. She looked around the yeerk pool. "Mmm, well maybe the yeerks could have borrowed our interior heating systems. This place gets cold sometimes."
"Yes it does," he said quietly. "Anyway, good luck Bryan."
He turned and started to walk away. "Wait. Um, what's your name?" Tisoc believed it was customary to exchange names and the man knew her's or at least Bryan's.
"Tom. Name's Tom. Seeya around I'm sure."
"Yes, I think so." Tisoc smiled, or at least she thought that's what she was doing. In actuality spending so much time as a Hork-Bajir made the smile look more like a scowl. Tom gave her a confused, though not suspicious look, shrugged his shoulders and walked away, taking a sip of his mocha.
Tisoc walked into the building after Tom was out of sight. It wouldn't make sense for a yeerkless human to walk into that office but Tisoc really did need a place to live so she went in.
Inside she found a middle aged woman sitting at a desk. She was wearing glasses and a headset. She might have been a receptionist from before the invasion except for the fact that the headset she was wearing and the computer she was operating where much more advanced than normal human technology.
"Excuse me. My name is Tisoc 286 and I'm looking for a place to live while on assignment in Vancouver."
The receptionist didn't even look up. She just continued to work. At first Tisoc thought the woman hadn't heard her but then she handed Tisoc a piece of paper with an address on it. "Here, that place is open. You have 3 hours to move in or else it will be considered vacant and given to someone else." With that the receptionist went back to whatever she had been doing before Tisoc had come in. Tisoc picked up the piece of paper and walked out.
Tisoc was beginning to fear that her apartment was going to be given away. It was two hours later and she was still wondering around Vancouver trying to find the place. This is idiotic. Humans had ways of finding their way around their cities, but yeerks don't? Of course if Tisoc had been higher ranking she would have been delivered to the spot right away but she wasn't that important yet. She looked up at the unfinished airway that they were building. When it was done airways were long tubes of air, similar to raised subway tracks, but instead of trains there were sideless platforms that zipped along the tube's length. The platforms went 300mph and up and if she had been able to get on one someone would have been able to tell her how to get where she needed to go but the airways weren't completed yet so instead Tisoc was reduced to walking.
Finally she found herself sitting on a park bench staring at the piece of paper with the address printed on it and feeling pretty discouraged when she heard someone call Bryan's name.
"Bryan! Is that you. I apologize, I don't know your proper name but I know that is the name of your host." Tisoc looked up to see Tom, or the yeerk that was controlling Tom looking down at her.
"Tisoc 286. And yourself?"
"Yant 457. You look lost. Are you new to Vancouver?"
"Yes, I am and I don't know how to find this address. She held out the piece of paper for him."
"Well, fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, you are very close." He pointed to a building a little farther down the street. "It's right there. If you had kept going for a minute you would have found it."
Tisoc looked at the building in disbelief. "I've been in this area for at least a half and hour. I have walked past that building three times."
"Oh, well, there it is. I live right there," he said pointing to the building right across the street.
"Thanks," Tisoc said gruffly and got up to leave. She knew she should be nicer to this potential contact but she was in too much of a bad mood to worry about it.
"Hey, Tisoc hold on. Do you have anything to eat? For your human body I mean. They don't give us food, we have to make it ourselves."
Tisoc turned to him. "This is a joke? A human joke? We were always fed before, at least when I was- I mean controlled a Hork-Bajir they gave me my food."
"Nope, no joke. There are too many of us to feed so we have to feed ourselves. I'm guessing you don't have any food yet, or cooking skills for that matter. Why don't you come back with me. I'll get you something."
Tisoc looked at him with suspicion. "Why are you helping me? You don't know me."
"War's over, " Yant/Tom said as he turned and walked towards his building. "All yeerks are supposed to be working together now for a bigger and brighter future for the yeerk empire." The words were said with a slight tone of sarcasm. The sarcasm might have been missed by someone else, especially because Yant/Tom was turned away from her, but since it was just that type of tone that Tisoc was looking for she picked up on it.
"Yes, you are right. We were together." She followed the Contoller to his apartment.