♻ 005 | audio

[tucky]

Okay, I got a question - why's there so many kids here? You can't turn a corner without running into an imPort kid.

[This... may be a slight exaggeration. It almost does feel that way to Tiffany, though; she came through the Porter from a totally kid-less environment. She'd seen child visitors to the prison in passing, but hadn't interacted with one in years until coming here - and that's not even touching on her own vague Kid Issues, which are currently heightened after her conversation with Jesse about her past.]

I mean, it just seems kinda cruel, you know? Porting in a bunch of kids without anyone to look after 'em. I mean, unless the people here are meant to look after 'em, but come on. How many of us are the type? And I know I would've missed my mama something fierce if I was taken to a whole new world when I was little; some weird fucking stranger wouldn't've cut it.

... Hell, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong; I could be wrong. Never really knew what to do with kids myself, so it ain't like I know how they think - how y'all think.

So never mind, maybe.

Comments

[tucky]

Mm.

[NOT THAT SHE KNOWS THIS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR ANYTHING, GOSH NO.]

I guess you're right. Maybe.

But working in faith ain't always a bad thing.

[lackey]

No, not always a bad thing.

[Mike may not consider himself religious, but he also doesn't consider himself anti-religious. Religion is just one of a great many things he doesn't think about much.]

Name's Mike, by the way. I know it's on my messages, but... Feels weird not to say it at some point.

[tucky]

I'm Tiffany. I guess I'm still kinda new. I haven't been here for years or anything.

[lackey]

Nice to meet you, Tiffany. I've been here a while. It'll be a year in August, minus one month. Said some things about the gov in December, got sent home, and then brought back in January. Missed Christmas.

[tucky]

... What did you say? I thought that didn't send people back on purpose.

[lackey]

I just said some stuff about like... Gov doin' whatever they want to do and havin' secret groups and plans and shit... Dumb shit I was totally wrong about! But I got kicked out right when I was sayin' all that. Maybe it wasn't on purpose. Some people told me it wasn't. Sure was the craziest bullshit timing if it wasn't, though.

[tucky]

Well, that's... I don't know.

I don't like that. And I definitely don't want that to happen to me.

I weren't planning on talking shit about the government, anyway.

[lackey]

Don't want to go home, huh?

[tucky]

Uh-uh. I wanna stay here. I like it here.

[lackey]

It's not bad here, that's for sure. You from some place real sucky?

[tucky]

Yeah. Uh... yeah. Pretty sucky.

[lackey]

Let me guess, let me guess... Uhhh... War? Big war?

[tucky]

Nope.

I don't think it's that easily guessable.

[lackey]

Okay, so somethin' weirder... Robots take over the world?

[tucky]

It wasn't really weird.

[lackey]

Huh... Oh! Get killed?

[tucky]

You know, even if you guess it, I ain't gonna tell you.

[Though her face probably would.]

[lackey]

Aw, that's no fun.

[tucky]

It's just kind of... I don't know.

[lackey]

Secret-y. I get it. Still no fun, but I get it.

[tucky]

We get a chance for a new life here, right? So that's what I'm doing.

[lackey]

Yep. You doin' the hero life or your own thing?

[tucky]

I'm trying to be a hero. I want to be.

[lackey]

Got any hero experience from your secret sucky life?

[tucky]

Kind of.

But I don't know if that's the kind of hero I want to be no more.