Voice

[foundafamily]

Is anybody here a fan of Poe? I got this in my locker last jump:

[There's the sound of a paper rustling. Firo clears his throat.]

"Thy soul shall find itself alone
‘Mid dark thoughts of the gray tombstone;
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy..."

[He continues to read, impatiently speeding up at the end so the lines of the last stanza run together.]

To be honest, I never really got the end back when my friend used to read it. But it’s creepy, isn’t it? Really suits this place.

What I'm wonderin' about is if it's supposed to be some sortta threat or message. 'Cause just comin' out and sayin' it would be too easy, right?

Comments

[foundafamily]

Not especially, but I guess he's all right. My friend is; he could probably say half of his stuff just from memory.

[That's something of an exaggeration, but Luck is a genius.]

[jilt]

Is he aboard?

[foundafamily]

Not as far as I know, and we woulda' found each other by now if he was here.

It's good, I guess. Who'd wanna drag their friends into a place like this?

[jilt]

You'd be surprised.

[ though it's selfish to want, but irene's a selfish creature by nature. ]

Do you have any takers for the book?

[foundafamily]

The book? It's actually just a copy of the one poem, not a whole book of 'em. Why, did you want it?

[jilt]

If no one else does. There's such a lack of reading material aboard, I often find myself at loose ends.

[foundafamily]

Yeah, that "library" thing's a disappointment.

I wasn't exactly plannin' on gettin' rid of it, but I could copy it down for you. My handwriting isn't that bad.

[He may not be fond of the poem, but it's a connection to Luck and home.]

[jilt]

If you'd oblige me, I'd appreciate it. And if there's something I can do in return, you'll have to tell me.

[foundafamily]

It's no problem. Anything I can do to keep somebody from goin' crazy with boredom in this place doesn't need payment.

I think there was a guy lookin' to put together some real books, if that helps too.

[jilt]

There always is. I've known a few people undertaking such projects, but I've sadly read most of what they have.

I appreciate the poem though. I love poetry, and there's hardly enough of it abaord.

[foundafamily]

Too bad. You can only read books so many times over, even the good ones.

Really? Who's your favorite?

[Like he said before, it's not really his thing. Thanks to his friends there are some poets out there he can recognize.]

[jilt]

You know, I once told someone aboard I was fond of Byron and he mocked my tastes?

[ hal's a butt txt it ]

[foundafamily]

Hey, isn't he one of the really famous ones?

[Firo doesn't have an opinion, but he still sounds surprised. He figures that a poet he's actually heard about is probably a good one.]

What was one of his?

[jilt]

I've been told he acquires quite a bit of fame, yes.

Are you asking for a specific poem he wrote?

[foundafamily]

Yeah.

[He laughs, a bit sheepish.]

It's easier to remember 'em by what they wrote--all the big names kinda blend together for me.

[jilt]

Do you know a poem called She Walks in Beauty?

[foundafamily]

Um... "She walks in beauty, like the night"? I've heard of it. I thought it was kinda weird--not very exciting, either.

[jilt]

Byron's interested in a different sort of excitement than I think you're after.

What are you fond of? What do you find exciting?

[foundafamily]

I guess. If starin' at someone like that can even be called excitement. Just seems weird to me.

I think actual stories are better than poetry if you're looking for "exciting." Like Treasure Island; stuff actually happens in that.

[jilt]

It's not the staring, it's the reason for the staring.

Maybe you'll be lucky. Maybe the ship will gift you a copy.

[foundafamily]

Reason? I think that's called rudeness.

[Not that Firo's blameless on that front, but he considers staring excusable when the person you're staring at is randomly slaughtering others.]

Maybe, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up. I think I used up all my luck just gettin' this.

Is there a book you'd want here if you could get it?

[jilt]

It's called infatuation, if we mean to be concise in the definition.

I could never pick just one. I'd have them all, if I had my choice.

[foundafamily]

If that's what you wanna call it.

[He doesn't remember the whole thing that well anyway, but he still sounds doubtful.]

You don't have a favorite? Even if it was a choice between one or nothin'?

[jilt]

Is that so surprising?

[foundafamily]

Maybe not that much. I can see it bein' hard to pick, but would you really want every book you've ever read? Didn't you ever get one you didn't like?