"...Did you just call me Greek??" Jean's more confused than offended. They're very confused. "Okay, wait, I have a notebook..."
Notebook they say, it looks more like a diary; they produce it from a pocket (from the shape of their other pockets, there are Only More Notebooks) and page through it before getting closer to Lev to show them a map drawn in pencil, meticulously labeled. They look up (and up, and up...). "The City; six billion people, give or take, in twenty-six Districts divided between Nests and the Backstreets. I'm from here," they tap District 12 ("L"). "There's lots of libraries there, usually owned by various corporations or the Wings that rule each District and set its taboos. Lobotomy Corporation ran District 12 until it...exploded, and the Library of Ruina was raised from the shell of headquarters. We're not hellenists, we're...oligarchs? What's the name for the powerless citizen of an oligarchy? Nevermind, the Library..."
They slip into an easy cadence, maybe familiar; someone who likes to explain things, who feels at ease when they can. "The Library is...it's not a normal space. Bigger on the inside than on the outside, always room for more books no matter how many go in, with the Floors separated by topic and headed up by the Patron Librarians. From the ground floor roughly upwards - some of these are on the same or similar 'level' insofar as there's an elevation humans can recognize, hahaha, hahahahaha, oh there's so many fucking stairs, anyway, those are the Floor of History under Patron Librarian Malkuth, the Floor of Technological Sciences under Patron Librarian Yesod, the Floor of Literature under Patron Librarian Hod, the Floor of Art under Patron Librarian Netzach, the Floor of Natural Sciences under Patron Librarian Tiphereth, the Floor of Language under Patron Librarian Gebura - that's where I worked! - the Floor of Social Sciences under Patron Librarian Chesed, the Floor of Philosophy under Patron Librarian Binah - her and Chesed always argued about tea versus coffee - the Floor of Religion under Patron Librarian Hokma, and then the Director's personal assistant led up the Floor of General Works, a man by the name of Roland, but people usually call that level 'Keter'."
Jean looks up, all hopeful smiles. "We stayed pretty busy."
no subject
Notebook they say, it looks more like a diary; they produce it from a pocket (from the shape of their other pockets, there are Only More Notebooks) and page through it before getting closer to Lev to show them a map drawn in pencil, meticulously labeled. They look up (and up, and up...). "The City; six billion people, give or take, in twenty-six Districts divided between Nests and the Backstreets. I'm from here," they tap District 12 ("L"). "There's lots of libraries there, usually owned by various corporations or the Wings that rule each District and set its taboos. Lobotomy Corporation ran District 12 until it...exploded, and the Library of Ruina was raised from the shell of headquarters. We're not hellenists, we're...oligarchs? What's the name for the powerless citizen of an oligarchy? Nevermind, the Library..."
They slip into an easy cadence, maybe familiar; someone who likes to explain things, who feels at ease when they can. "The Library is...it's not a normal space. Bigger on the inside than on the outside, always room for more books no matter how many go in, with the Floors separated by topic and headed up by the Patron Librarians. From the ground floor roughly upwards - some of these are on the same or similar 'level' insofar as there's an elevation humans can recognize, hahaha, hahahahaha, oh there's so many fucking stairs, anyway, those are the Floor of History under Patron Librarian Malkuth, the Floor of Technological Sciences under Patron Librarian Yesod, the Floor of Literature under Patron Librarian Hod, the Floor of Art under Patron Librarian Netzach, the Floor of Natural Sciences under Patron Librarian Tiphereth, the Floor of Language under Patron Librarian Gebura - that's where I worked! - the Floor of Social Sciences under Patron Librarian Chesed, the Floor of Philosophy under Patron Librarian Binah - her and Chesed always argued about tea versus coffee - the Floor of Religion under Patron Librarian Hokma, and then the Director's personal assistant led up the Floor of General Works, a man by the name of Roland, but people usually call that level 'Keter'."
Jean looks up, all hopeful smiles. "We stayed pretty busy."