Recorded here for posterity.
And for the sake of those of you not on the Board but who still follow the PPC. This was posted today (May 1st, 2008) by Ella Darcy:
~~~~
The Agent looked around her nearly empty response center-only one large duffel bag lay on the floor, with a few assorted weapons from various fandoms lying on top of it.
How long had it been for her? Nearly ten years, if she was remembering correctly. She had been ten when recruited, and had lived through some of the most harrowing moments of the PPC-betrayals, wars, friends coming and leaving, and had come to find that the world of the PPC was passing her by. Few people even remembered that there was a response center #6666 anymore, and even less knew that the Department of Author Correspondence was still active.
Well, it had been, in its own way. There had been brief stints of fieldwork, but most of the job was simply talking to authors, the ones who just needed a little nudge in the right direction. For the past several years, it had only taken one Agent, sadly, to deal with the stories that fell into the aforementioned category. Now, this final Agent was retiring.
Agent Ella Darcy, age 19 by now, took a deep breath and tried to control the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She’d done a first year of college by correspondence (ironically enough), but was planning on finishing it in person, and making her way in the Real World.
She lay her CAD and RAD-still older models, since she rarely used them-on the desk, along with the mini-replicator that had been so useful to her over the years. Really, she’d always wondered why they’d never caught on.
With a last look around the room, she shouldered the duffel bag and distributed the weapons on her person. Ella walked into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
Inside the room, the computer let out a single, mournful beep.
She wandered aimlessly through the corridors until she reached the office of the Sunflower Official.
"I’m leaving, now. I’m portalling back to the Real World. If anything catastrophic happens here... well, there are better people for you to pull out of retirement, but I don’t suppose I’ll disappear from the Agent records," she said simply.
The SO nodded, as best as he could. Thank you for not asking about a pension. Still, it’s unfortunate that someone who understands how things work around here must leave.
Ella smiled. “You love telling people they can’t have a raise. Who am I to rob you of that joy?”
True. Good luck, Agent Ella Darcy.
With that, she left the office, meandering until she reached a rather unassuming looking door, labeled only as "Outside."
She walked through.
~~~~
The Agent looked around her nearly empty response center-only one large duffel bag lay on the floor, with a few assorted weapons from various fandoms lying on top of it.
How long had it been for her? Nearly ten years, if she was remembering correctly. She had been ten when recruited, and had lived through some of the most harrowing moments of the PPC-betrayals, wars, friends coming and leaving, and had come to find that the world of the PPC was passing her by. Few people even remembered that there was a response center #6666 anymore, and even less knew that the Department of Author Correspondence was still active.
Well, it had been, in its own way. There had been brief stints of fieldwork, but most of the job was simply talking to authors, the ones who just needed a little nudge in the right direction. For the past several years, it had only taken one Agent, sadly, to deal with the stories that fell into the aforementioned category. Now, this final Agent was retiring.
Agent Ella Darcy, age 19 by now, took a deep breath and tried to control the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She’d done a first year of college by correspondence (ironically enough), but was planning on finishing it in person, and making her way in the Real World.
She lay her CAD and RAD-still older models, since she rarely used them-on the desk, along with the mini-replicator that had been so useful to her over the years. Really, she’d always wondered why they’d never caught on.
With a last look around the room, she shouldered the duffel bag and distributed the weapons on her person. Ella walked into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
Inside the room, the computer let out a single, mournful beep.
She wandered aimlessly through the corridors until she reached the office of the Sunflower Official.
"I’m leaving, now. I’m portalling back to the Real World. If anything catastrophic happens here... well, there are better people for you to pull out of retirement, but I don’t suppose I’ll disappear from the Agent records," she said simply.
The SO nodded, as best as he could. Thank you for not asking about a pension. Still, it’s unfortunate that someone who understands how things work around here must leave.
Ella smiled. “You love telling people they can’t have a raise. Who am I to rob you of that joy?”
True. Good luck, Agent Ella Darcy.
With that, she left the office, meandering until she reached a rather unassuming looking door, labeled only as "Outside."
She walked through.