singing open the great gates

[middlingalong]

The following day, very little happens, except for Vorreedi mentioning that Yenaro has been arrested (by the civil police, for theft, on charges from a ghem-lord Miles has never heard of, as opposed to by Cetagandan security for treason).

Also, Ivan gets bored - with all the bodyguards Vorreedi now requires for them after the incident at the bioestheties exhibition, the possible spontaneity of going out with his ghem girlfriends is much reduced.

But the next day they get to attend the Singing Open of the Great Gates.

And oh, is there ever singing.

Comments

[thisvorlunatic]

"I see."

[isthisart]

"It occurs to me that I have no idea what other people imagine haut day-to-day life as being like."

[middlingalong]

"Oh, you know, contemplate the mysteries of the universe, break to drink rosewater and eat meringue, set aside the afternoon for internal political jockeying and telling the ghem to conquer something, go to bed."

[isthisart]

"...That is inaccurate as a description but very charming as a parody. Except for the rosewater and meringue bit. Haut actually eat a lot; some of the earliest gains to be made in genetic engineering involved removing the biological expectation that food scarcity was always just around the corner."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I was wondering," admits Miles.

[isthisart]

"Oh." She looks at her plate. "Yes. It's not a huge difference, I think, but it's there."

[middlingalong]

"Not just hungry, mutant hungry," mutters Ivan.

[isthisart]

"I am literally the exact opposite of a mutant."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Common Barrayaran usage disagrees," sighs Miles. "Nevertheless: Ivan, shut up."

[isthisart]

"...I was aware of the Barrayaran prejudice against mutants. I was not aware that this was accompanied with complete ignorance of what mutants actually are."

She doesn't sound pleased.

[thisvorlunatic]

"'Mutants on purpose are mutants still', is I believe the phrase," says Miles, baring his teeth at Ivan. "Hell, most of the really bad ones won't even let go of their problem with me when they learn it's not a genetic defect."

[isthisart]

"So you can probably give me a guess, then, about how bad it's going to be?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"It's more complicated with you, because you're haut - you get prejudice about 'mutants' coming one way and prejudice about Cetagandans going the other. The fact that you're stunningly beautiful is mostly going to help, I imagine. A higher proportion of snide remarks to people trying to beat you up in alleys. But... I still recommend not visiting any alleys without a bodyguard. I'm sorry - you said you looked me up, I thought you knew."

[isthisart]

"It makes some semblance sense that people would mistake you for someone with a real, random, harmful mutation. I'm - I'm an art project, no part of me happened randomly, anyone who knew what the word mutant meant wouldn't be able to assume I was one. I knew being Cetagandan was going to be an issue because of lingering feelings about the war, I just didn't expect a - double dose."

[thisvorlunatic]

"The Barrayaran problem with mutants is... complicated. It's half about - defects and peculiarities," he gestures at himself, "and half about unusual genetics," he gestures at Linyabel. "And during the Time of Isolation there wasn't a way to tell the difference - something in the genes was just the assumed explanation for any defect, it's not like they let the visible ones stick around and breed to see what happened - so when we emerged into the bright new world of the wormhole nexus, human nature being what it is, of course certain people decided genetic engineering was just... mutants on purpose. Deliberately tainted, as opposed to accidentally. Maybe it wouldn't have gone that way if it hadn't been Cetaganda that invaded us, I don't know, but here we are."

[isthisart]

"Here we are. All right," she sighs. "Bodyguard. That will be new, the bubbles obviated the need..."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I wouldn't personally have an objection to you reinventing yourself a bubble and bubbling around in it, although I imagine the Cetas might fuss."

[isthisart]

"I could probably do it, but it would take a while, and - I went and got used to the idea of leaving it."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Okay."

[isthisart]

"Do you suppose it will be easy on Barrayar to find a bodyguard who's interested in making a sincere attempt to protect a Cetagandan," eyeroll, "mutant on purpose?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Look no further than the Vorkosigan armsmen," says Miles, with inexplicable sadness.

[isthisart]

"...Are you okay?"

[thisvorlunatic]

He sighs. "Yes. Sorry. I - my childhood bodyguard died a few years ago."

[isthisart]

"Oh. I'm sorry."

[middlingalong]

Ivan politely refrains from mentioning that Miles was Obviously Pining after said bodyguard's daughter who has since vanished into the broader galaxy.