Spade almost trips as he misses a step in his long stride. One moment, he'd been walking through the heat of a San Fransisco afternoon, the next
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"I think loony bins have more padding on the walls."
Her tone was light, though not overly cheerful. For most people, waking up in Taxon was an unsettling experience. DG felt obliged to try and help the new arrival, instead of making the situation worse.
Despite herself, DG smiled when the new arrival called her 'kid'. The word reminded her, in way that was both pleasant and painful, of Cain. She missed the stoic tin man and his comforting presence.
"No one knows where it is," she replied, "But that's where we are. It's a city in the middle of nowhere."
Or, more accurately, on a rock in the middle of nowhere.
"Huh. It's a one way in, no ways out kind of deal?" Spade frowned. Joking aside, he didn't think he'd gone crazy, but he also couldn't make heads or tails of anything that had happened since he'd blacked out.
"One handy label," she answered with a wry smile, "It stands for Dorothy Gale."
Although she'd possessed that knowledge for a few weeks now, the sense of awareness it gave her - and the way it allowed her to connect with her mother - still delighted DG. It was a small piece of the puzzle, and hadn't been her most significant missing memory, but it was still an important thing to know.
"Wow. Can't say I've ever been to Kansas, but I imagine this was as much of a shock to you, then." He could tell there was more the girl wasn't saying, but Spade couldn't much blame her. After all, she didn't know him from Adam, even if she was a victim too.
"There's not much to do there," said DG - who had spent most of her life dreaming of somewhere else - with a slight smile. "And I think coming here has been a shock for all of us."
Life in Taxon was unpredictable. She'd been here for a few months now, but she had no way of knowing what the next few days would hold.
"You can get out of that room, if you want," she added, "The door opens when you pick up the tablet. That's the machine we're using to talk."
"I can still hear you," DG reassured him, "But I could come to the Sanctuary and meet you, if you like? It might be easier for me to explain Taxon in person."
Easier for her. There was very little she could do to make it easy for Sam, especially when she had to start mentioning hamsters, aliens and glitches.
"If you want. Or we could meet later on, if I don't get myself hopelessly lost meanwhile."
This whole thing was weirdly like one of those radio serials where the hero gets a clonk on the head and then finds himself in the middle of a setup. Or possibly fighting men from Mars. On the other hand, DG'd been nothing but pleasant to him; wasn't her fault that pleasantness tended to make Spade paranoid.
"I don't mind," said DG, in a genial tone, "There isn't much to do in Taxon. Why don't you pick the time?"
She spent most of her time hanging out with Glitch, working on her bike or practicing her magic. Helping a new arrival was a break from the monotony, as well as a chance to do some good. Taxon was a difficult city to live in. People usually needed all the help they could get.
"You can pull up a map on the tablet," she added, "You might have brought something with you from your world."
"Yeah, the kidnappers kindly provided my office for me. Not like I needed a vacation or anything." He wasn't really keen on fiddling with the tablet too heavily, given that he had no confidence at all he could fix a setting if he changed it. But he had managed a small inset of the map, at least.
Her tone was light, though not overly cheerful. For most people, waking up in Taxon was an unsettling experience. DG felt obliged to try and help the new arrival, instead of making the situation worse.
"Welcome to Taxon."
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"No one knows where it is," she replied, "But that's where we are. It's a city in the middle of nowhere."
Or, more accurately, on a rock in the middle of nowhere.
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"That's it. I've been here for a few months now, and I still haven't worked out how to get home."
A pause.
"I'm DG, by the way."
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Although she'd possessed that knowledge for a few weeks now, the sense of awareness it gave her - and the way it allowed her to connect with her mother - still delighted DG. It was a small piece of the puzzle, and hadn't been her most significant missing memory, but it was still an important thing to know.
"Where are you from?"
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But she didn't intended to go into details at the moment. When she told Sam her own origins a moment later, she left the O.Z out of the story.
"I'm from Kansas. I found myself here a couple of months ago."
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Life in Taxon was unpredictable. She'd been here for a few months now, but she had no way of knowing what the next few days would hold.
"You can get out of that room, if you want," she added, "The door opens when you pick up the tablet. That's the machine we're using to talk."
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Easier for her. There was very little she could do to make it easy for Sam, especially when she had to start mentioning hamsters, aliens and glitches.
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This whole thing was weirdly like one of those radio serials where the hero gets a clonk on the head and then finds himself in the middle of a setup. Or possibly fighting men from Mars. On the other hand, DG'd been nothing but pleasant to him; wasn't her fault that pleasantness tended to make Spade paranoid.
Reply
She spent most of her time hanging out with Glitch, working on her bike or practicing her magic. Helping a new arrival was a break from the monotony, as well as a chance to do some good. Taxon was a difficult city to live in. People usually needed all the help they could get.
"You can pull up a map on the tablet," she added, "You might have brought something with you from your world."
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