Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/09(Mon)15:03 No. 951320 ID: 2cb137
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Dying is easy. Anyone can do it. It’s a bit more difficult to not die but everyone thinks that you did. Anyone who’s heard of me knows that I’ve never been one who does things the easy way. And anyone who does know me is dead. That’s what a poet calls kismet. I call it convenience.

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/09(Mon)15:04 No. 951321 ID: 2cb137
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The hard part was getting the right seat. A box that’s fragile enough that they wouldn’t risk it to bear a load, but not so creaky that it would fall apart. When providence hews this strongly in my favor, it takes a little discipline to keep me from getting too high on my success. I find remembering my past can lower my spirits mighty quick. A blessing, in my line of work. And my works are the good works.

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/09(Mon)15:05 No. 951322 ID: 2cb137
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I can’t say the commute was all that poor. More legroom than a plane, fewer stops than a bus, better air than a subway. The dead have it easy. But everybody knows that. And I know that it’s high time I get up and get around, before I get to like this too much.

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/09(Mon)15:05 No. 951323 ID: 2cb137
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You probably want a name. The name I’ll give you is Reverend Dalrymple Mothersbaugh, because that’s what the ident that I’m carrying says it is. Let’s keep things convenient. The last letter this good Reverend received, it said that he was needed in this city for a higher calling to be explained later. Whoever asked for him and whatever they want him for is a revelation that’s worth dying for. Obvious, since I just did.
WATER’S SWEET BUT BLOOD IS THICKER is a #furry #cyberpunk #scifi #AU #fantasy inspired by Alan Brennert, Howard Chaykin, Philip K. Dick, Stanislaw Lem, and Gene Wolfe.
Now that the Reverend has entered the city, who is he here to meet?

The letter was only signed with "A Sinner"
There were clear instructions to meet at an abandoned factory somewhere in this city.

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/09(Mon)15:26 No. 951325 ID: 2cb137
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Someone who signs a letter with "A Sinner" either has an inflated sense of humor, or no sense of humor at all. That rules out any of my enemies, as they're all ridiculous. Thank the Creator for that.

>>951325
Hi, Dal.
Can I call you Dal?

Considering that you're the type to pretend to be dead to break into some hellhole I can't imagine you're exactly "gainfully employed". I know you're a man of the lord (Amen) but what do you do? Exorcise demons? Beat up pagans? Spout witty, religiously related one-liners? What's your gig?

Nice rims btw. Very pastoral.

How weird would it be to start walking out of a morgue, or whatever this place is.

so what did you manage to sneak in to the city besides the clothes on your back?

>>951325
What's your equipment?

What sort of enemies do you have?

> Now that the Reverend has entered the city, who is he here to meet?
The reverend is here to meet a Sinner about a golden ticket - a forbidden device, the kind of technology that the powers that be insist does not, cannot, and should not exist.

The Sinner was a woman of wealth and taste, but now they are only a woman of taste.

> Can I call you Dal?

I’d daresay that if anyone could claim familiarity, few would have better justification than one of the voices in my head.

> Considering that you're the type to pretend to be dead to break into some hellhole I can't imagine you're exactly "gainfully employed". I know you're a man of the lord (Amen) but what do you do? Exorcise demons? Beat up pagans? Spout witty, religiously related one-liners? What's your gig?

I take it back. You don’t know me well enough to call me ‘Dal’.
(And that gets the witty one-liner out of the way. I’m making good time.)

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/11(Wed)16:55 No. 951451 ID: 2cb137
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> Inventory

The clothes are resist-weave aramid, with ceramics over the important parts. Fate is a fickle mistress, so a wise man doesn’t take chances. Also, it gets cold at night.
I was worried that my Lepides might set off some detectors, but fortunately the claims of low-power, high-frequency, and long-battery are all true. Apparently, there are honest salesmen. (Also, someone told me they look nice. That’s someone who can call me Dal.) Naturally, the operating system is apocryphal to keep me off the social-tracking systems. I’m a man of practice, not of theory; this toy is for the sports and weather, not the stock markets and banking passwords.
I left the heavy hardware behind. Where I’m going, burdens only slow you down. Just the fist-load. And the stig-o-matic, but that’s just common sense.
What I certainly don’t have, is filthy lucre. I didn’t want to risk coins or gold, that’s exactly the kind of thing an inspector would be looking for. And this ident is too green and cool to have its own credit rating.

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/11(Wed)16:56 No. 951452 ID: 2cb137
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008
> How weird would it be to start walking out of a morgue, or whatever this place is.

It’s harder getting out than getting in, that’s for sure. I wasn’t expecting every door to have an arphid lock. That’s my own lack of imagination, really. There’s no need for safe evac when most everyone inside isn’t getting any deader. And maybe big media is right about all the body snatching going on.
Fortunately, the masks that the crew wear limit their peripheral vision. Just a matter of patience and timing.

Water's Sweet But Blood Is Thicker StrangeFrontier 2019/12/11(Wed)16:58 No. 951453 ID: 2cb137
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> The sinner was a woman of wealth and taste, but now they are only a woman of taste. The Reverend is here to meet a Sinner about a golden ticket - a forbidden device, the kind of technology that the powers that be insist does not, cannot, and should not exist.

There’s a lot on this green earth that people say shouldn’t exist. Who can judge the Creator above for what they choose to put in our hands? Maybe nothing existed before last Thursday and this is all one big joke. It would take some sort of theologian or minister to make decisions about that sort of thing, and heaven only knows where we could find one of those around here.
Now comes the tricky part: finding a sinner who pines for something that no one should have.

1. Get money first. Money makes everything easier.
2. Everything sinks to the bottom. Ask questions in low places.
3. A pilgrimage begins with a single step. The more you dally, the closer your enemies become.
4. Or something else... ?

>>951453
I guess we didn't get to specify the location.
1.

1. Get money first. Money makes everything easier.

2. Get info. Information is power

1. Get money. Money doesn't just make things easier, it makes things quieter. As long as you're penniless, you have to go kinetic or beggar to get anything, and that grabs attention.

First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women

1. Money > everything else