29th September 2012
18:23 GMT +3
We decided not to simply call the town 'Bournville', because that could get confusing. And I suppose that Tanaville is the least bad of the various alternatives, despite implying that they grow tea and not cocoa. Certainly anything that explicitly mentioned
me was right out. I may be fine with 'Jamestown' and 'New York' and 'Londonderry' but there's a limit to how much imperialism even
I can hear without cringing.
"Do they have showers?"
"The barrack accommodation the farm workers use or the actual hotel I booked us into?
"
Jade stops for a moment to mop her brow. Having rejected my offer of an environmental shield, two days' marching through the Kenyan winter heat has left her encrusted in her own dried sweat and her hair's the flattest I've ever seen it. It doesn't look like it's bothering her even slightly.
If it was me, I'd have called a ring after the first half hour.
"They have hotels?"
"Not like.. four star hotels or anything. But this is a major agricultural supply hub. That's why we built all the roads and other infrastructure. Plenty of people come through here all the time.
"
"I'm not sure we're getting the full
experience."
"My Blue Lantern alter-ego spent his honeymoon on Odym, if you want something a little more back to nature.
"
"Where's that?"
"It's a planet in Sector Two Six Two Eight. Beautiful place. No intelligent life, no real predators, just a few scavengers to keep the place tidy. Amazingly colourful plants and animals and no intelligent life at all.
"
She smiles faintly.
"Or hotels."
"Or hotels, hot running water or toilets, and I've got no idea how he was planning to leave afterwards.
"
"Who did he marry?"
"Their version of Zatanna. Her name's Zorina.
"
"Didn't she set Mister Scott on fire?"
"Didn't you drug me with poisoned lipstick?
"
Her smile
broadens.
"Yes, but it ended alright for the Asian girl."
I put my hands on my hips.
"I'm not sure what offends me most: the fact that I'm merely 'alright', or that despite the fact that it was a pivotal moment in our relationship you've forgotten that I said 'woman' and not 'girl'.
"
"Under twenty, it's 'girl'."
"Is it? I thought that psychological and emotional maturity were more significant. I know your father called you-.
"
Ah, shouldn't have said that. Jade looks away.
"That annoyed me because
he meant it as an insult. With you… It's different."
"I'm in my thirties. Acknowledging your maturity makes it easier for me to forget about the chronological age gap, as well as encouraging me to remember that you're a strong-willed self-determined individual with her own wants and desires.
"
"How does an empath
forget something like that?"
"My empathic abilities were far more limited back then, and I had to make an
effort to see inside someone.
"
"I remember your snake eyes. You don't need to do that any more?"
"I have to make an effort not to have stronger empathy than that
all the time. I can still
do it, it just signifies that the Ophidian is personally looking out of my eyes.
"
She looks at me thoughtfully for a moment.
"Since we were talking about what
I wanted to do with my life that didn't involve killing people…"
"Yes?
"
"What did
you want to do with your life that didn't involve being possessed by a giant snake?"
"Ah, well, as I said, my degree is in contemporary ethics and political philosophy, so… This, actually.
" I look around the mostly-newly constructed town.
"The part I remember of the whole three year course was learning about the rapid industrialisation of Japan and Taiwan.
"
"What were you planning on doing with that degree?"
"I wasn't. My parents expected me to go to university, I didn't have a particular profession in mind, so I picked something that sounded interesting.
" I shrug.
"It wasn't. Lesson learned.
"
"I don't know how student debt works in England."
"Oh, we moved off the mass grants system before I went to university, but I'd paid my loan off before I came to this Earth.
" I snort.
"It's stupid, really. Student loans are issued by the government, but you don't have to pay them back until you're earning over a certain amount of money, and anything you haven't paid off before you're… I don't remember how old. Fifty or something? Gets written off. Which means that the student loan company is going to go bankrupt eventually because people aren't going to pay back the full value of their loan, so the government might as well have kept the grant system and saved themselves the cost of administering it. It's basically just a system for giving rich students who don't need it a cheaper-than-market-rate unsecured loan.
"
"So no private loans?"
"Private unsecured loans
exist, but if the government is going to give better terms, why would anyone want one? Banks want to be paid
back.
"
"What happens when the system collapses?"
I smile, snorting.
"A socialist revolution, probably.
" I wave my right hand dismissively.
"I imagine that the government will bail it out with taxpayer money. We
might get some sort of reform, but I'm not hopeful. How did the League pay for its operatives' education?
"
"Ubus were educated by their parents. Their scholastic education mostly comes from their mothers. Most other operatives got educated in their civilian identities. I got an in-house tutor for most subjects. Payment was covered by the League's cut of our contracts once we were cleared for fieldwork."
"See, a system of grants for a limited number-. Oh, hang on.
" I slow to a stop outside of the local medical centre.
"Our man in Tanaville works here. I want to see if I can catch him.
"
"Who is it?"
"An Irish doctor called
Finnbar Brady. He's in charge of the local clinic. I've never met him, but he had excellent references.
"
She cocks her head slightly to the left, gazing at me interrogatively.
"Does that count as 'work'?"
"I… Wouldn't have thought so? Do..?
You think it does?
"
"That depends on whether he's secretly a supervillain or not."
I shake my head.
"Come on Jade. That's not very likely, is it?
"
