video/voice.

[rathercommon]

[ This is a video that features no people: instead, what's filling the screen is artfully-arranged sweets. Lots and lots of sweets. The dragon boat races were a grand success for the restaurant Kitty works for, and so they were contracted to cater a party in exchange for work from a construction firm for an expansion of their floor space. What you're seeing is the catering before it goes out. And Kitty, whose voice is cheerful and bright and rather thickly London-accented, narrates: ]

Some of you stopped by our booth at the race the other day, so you already know, but this is what we've got to offer at Restaurant Modak. And believe me - all of this looks pretty, but that doesn't even compare to how it tastes. Forget going into a simulation or a Matrix to get the absolute height of a dining experience. This food surpasses anything you'll find out there - and it's got the added advantage of being really, absolutely real.

[ Another pass over the food. She continues. ]

Some of you might be thinking that you haven't got what you need to trade for food of this quality. How could you possibly? Well - you'll be really glad of this next bit. Our going rates are beyond reasonable. We'll even give a good meal for nothing more than a vase of flowers, a bit of sugar - or even just you helping with the washing up. Right here, on the network, you can tell me what you've got for barter and I'll tell you just what sort of meal that'll get you.

[ And then the video switches off, like a cruel tease. ]

Remember: Restaurant Modak. Reasonable prices, food so good you won't even believe it's real. All on layer forty-four.

Comments

[ex_spins462]

[ It reminds Natasha with a pang of Ellie, cramming her face with sweets and filling up her shirt with more for later. ]

How long does it last?

[rathercommon]

[ She tilts her head slightly to the side, trying to pull apart this latest text. The people on the network tend to be...odd. To her way of thinking. It takes effort to understand them, and to make herself understood.

Weirdly, she sort of likes that. Maybe because it's such a keen reminder of how her circumstances have changed. ]

How long does what last? The food?

[ex_spins462]

The food. If I kept it in a container or something.

[rathercommon]

[ Oh. What a sensible question. She nods with approval. ]

Most of it we keep it for up to three days. But I expect it'd last a little longer - it's just that we throw it out when it passes its peak.

[ex_spins462]

You throw it out?

[rathercommon]

Give away what we can, throw out what we can't. Yeah. Mostly us workers end up taking it home.

[ex_spins462]

Would your boss agree to sell anything that would otherwise go in the trash? Whatever it is that's left over. At a reduced price, obviously.

[rathercommon]

[ Hm. ]

SHE might not. She and Chef are awfully prideful. They don't want anything that's less than excellent getting out and ruining the restaurant's reputation.

[ But, hint hint, it's the workers who take home what they can carry... ]

[ex_spins462]

How about you? Maybe your family gets unplugged, you have a lot of mouths to feed?

[rathercommon]

[ Hah. Her family getting unplugged. If someone tried to unplug Mum or Dad, they'd kick and scream and weep and beg to be allowed to go back to their illusion. Fat chance. ]

Not quite. I have got a good appetite, though, definitely. And one that's always improving, ever since I got unplugged.

[ex_spins462]

I may need more than that story covers.

[rathercommon]

[ Huh. ]

For what?

[ex_spins462]

Redistribution on the ZDG level. Don't worry, I won't charge. And I can namedrop your restaurant if you want.

[rathercommon]

[ Oh. That makes a lot of sense. And seems like...an opportunity, honestly. But...Would Lizzie allow it? And Kitty definitely doesn't want to lose this job. It's really useful. ]

I don't know. That sounds like a proper business deal. I don't know that I wouldn't want to get the restaurant owners involved.

[ex_spins462]

Maybe I'll ask her, then. But she wouldn't want the restaurant namedropped, for subpar goods, if she's prideful like you said. So I'll keep that in mind when I swing by.

[rathercommon]

No. You ought to flatter her - that's the way to go. Talk about how generous it'll be for her to share, and how you're baffled that she's throwing out even the older stuff because it's so good. Actually, wait a day or two to speak with her - I'll put the notion of charity in the back of her head.

[ex_spins462]

Thank you.

I'm Widow.

[rathercommon]

I'm Lizzie. Widow's your code-name, right? Not your real name.

[ex_spins462]

We're in the real world, so it's my real name.

[rathercommon]

[ ...huh. That actually gives Kitty pause a moment. ]

You've picked it for yourself, so it's real? Is that it?

[ex_spins462]

That's what people do here.

[rathercommon]

Does that make it real, though? More real than what we're given in there?

[ex_spins462]

Is your food more real than what we're given in there?

[rathercommon]

My boss thinks so!

But...It's not altogether the same thing, is it? After all, names aren't physical objects. They're mental constructions, aren't they? So - it's sort of like how when you stub your toe in there, the rock is fake, and the pain is fake, but the sympathy your friend gives you is as real as it would be on the outside. What comes from other people is genuine.

God, is that making any sense at all?

[ex_spins462]

It is. Our sense of self is retained once we unplug, even if we lose everything else that made it up: our world, our history, our culture, our appearance, sometimes even our species. But if we want to free ourselves from the ties to those things that weren't real, we need to create a new self.