Fracture

 I am not happy.

Very not happy. Enough to break radio silence just to say how I am as Not Amused as Queen Victoria.

I recently found out that Fracture had come into possession of Zero's sword. Naturally, I wanted to know why. For good or ill, it's a Runner item with a very long and storied history, and I didn't appreciate his magpie hands all over it. Konaa, I trusted to hold it, and hold it safely. Fracture, I distinctly do not.

I still had his number from the time I sent him attack drones. Seeing as I didn't want him noseying about my hideouts, I went into the Port Hills to call it. Back in WWII it was feared Japan would attack New Zealand shores, and bunkers were made to overlook the sea. Even with the one I was at now a grey concrete remnant, it had a fantastic view.

He appeared from nowhere behind me, as he does. I didn't bother with any preamble. I started yelling at him, what was he thinking, why did he think he had any right, etc etc. I believe the words 'cultural misappropriation' may have surfaced at some point.

You know the answer he gave me? His entire reason? That it was too dangerous for Runners to have, and that he was hiding it in a Loop to keep it safe. Like he was a dutiful mother taking a razorblade from a toddler. Like we were incapable of recognising and safely dealing with the danger ourselves. Like that was even his decision to make, or his right to carry out.

 I counted to ten. Loops are not foolproof. They can decay and collapse. More importantly, they can be pierced, and not by Runners. I do not want this passing hands between proxies. If he wanted it out of the ability of anyone to misuse it, there were safer and far more effective ways to do this, and they should be done by Runners. I told him of one such method, which I won't detail here because I still want cause to use it.

"For now, you just need to trust that its where it needs to be."

"And I don't trust you, Fracture. Get off your high horse. It may work for your underlings, but I am not one, so don't think you can give me vague platitudes and think I'll walk away satisfied. The sword is not yours. I have a better claim to it than you do. And you are not listening."

"If you were listening you might have this half way figured out. I'm not on my high horse. I'm doing my job. This isn't a matter of claims. Your job, my furious little sword, is to find a way to stand and fight. My job is to keep everyone alive. Our titles are very different. The kind of claim yours gives you over the sword will bring ruin."

"My job? And who do you think you are, my employer? The lack of any sort of pay could have fooled me. And trust me, I am fully aware of what happened the last time a Sage held that sword. So I won't hold it. I can get another to dispose of it. But it's not for proxy hands either, Fracture. And however you're hovering on the brink of becoming a runner, you're not one."

"I can't be a runner. That'd be suicide."

I shrugged. "Your Boss isn't pleased with you. You can't be a proxy and do runner things. That's equally as suicidal. Tip one way or the other, why don't you. But we're straying from the point. The sword. Relinquish it. I get what you're doing, Fracture, I really do. But it's not for you to do."

"It's something I have to do. I wish you could see the world like I do. The seas of possibilities. But that's my burden and so is the sword. I'm sorry kiddo, I really am. I'll make it up to you... probably."

And then he was gone in an instant, as he does, the dick, and I was standing alone in windblown tussock.

"Idiot." I kicked one. "Make it up to me, pfeh."

He'd said he was a Guardian, and that was why. But he forgets; a title only has as much power as others give it. He may have named me a Sage, but it was the ratification of the epithet by the Runner community that has truly made me one. You're not a Guardian for us, Fracture. That's not your burden, or your task, and you are so, so arrogant if you don't realise this.

There's no way this can end well. Maybe I can't see "seas of possibility", but that's something I can.

The Resistance

So, I’ve been chatting with Shadow online, about his plan to build Runner sanctuaries.

It’s a great plan. But, and you knew there was a but coming, Runner sanctuaries don’t often last long. Too many people in one place for too long. Even if you have some method of protecting the place, that often isn’t enough.

Hope generally being cited as the ur example of this.

On the other hand, I want to smack anyone who says a Runner organization can’t exist and won’t work. The state of the blogosphere is proof of concept; we have bartering going on, communication, training, team ups. It’s messy and requires you to be following a lot of people, but it works better than being alone and unaware there is even anyone else out there who has seen the same thing you have.

The key to an effective Runner society is decentralization. A physical network similar to the electronic one, where if one site is taken out its tasks and people can be redistributed to the others, and where there is a constant rotation between sites. Ideally each site would be no more of a greater target than the others, would work in a similar way, and a new one could be cheaply and quickly rebuilt in a different location if another was destroyed. Something similar to Pilgrim’s Houses, or the hut system here.

This safety in numbers plan gets more effective the more sites there are, of course. This is where I’m coming in. Every so often, someone has an opening at their house. Again, finding who is currently willing to temporarily shelter Runners is an exercise in blog checking, so I’m creating a ‘master list’ which you can see over on the right there, and will be keeping it updated. Adding to or updating the list is both appreciated and easy; all you have to do is email me or comment on one of my posts saying so. In addition, if I follow you and you say in a post that you have a vacancy, up on the list it goes. Unless you’re a Proxy. Sorry, but you’ll probably be vetoed; I don’t like the idea of sending people into a meat grinder.

As a general rule, the format is:

Name

Contact Details:  A way for people who want to take you up on your offer to discuss things like the precise location and logistics privately. Email addresses, that sort of thing.

Location: Nothing ‘Proxies can find me’ detailed, just a general idea of state and country so that no one has to go halfway across the world when there’s a site not far from where they are.

Vacancies: A general idea of how much room you have.

Notes: Anything else that might be useful, such as ‘right next to the forest’, ‘willing to train in combat’ or ‘has lab access’.

Let’s see how this goes.

EDIT: It’s New Zealand Music Month here. Have a song, before I forget and it’s no longer May anymore.