“So now I’m seeing the benefits of joining the tribe,” Stephen said, spreading a sleeping bag in the thicket of trees. “Camping out in the park with a second-hand sleeping bag.”
“People would stab you for that bag if you were on your own,” Michael said. “And if you somehow even had it in the first place. Anyway, it’s a warm night.”
“Warm?” Stephen protested. “It’s like fifty degrees.”
“That’s what I said,” Michael said, smiling ruefully. “You’ll find out what a cold night’s like in the next month or so, unless maybe this whole ‘global warming‘ thing starts pulling its weight. That would be a bit of a convenient truth. You chose a hell of a time to hit the streets, you know?”
“I didn’t really choose it so much as it chose me,” Stephen said.
“Why, that was almost clever,” Michael said.
“You two want to put a sock in it over there?” somebody else called.
“Yeah, go to sleep!” somebody else added.
“I wish I could,” Stephen whispered. “But I slept all afternoon. I thought I was going to be on sentry duty all night.”
“Me, too,” Michael said quietly. “You want to get out and do something?”
“Out of where?” Stephen asked, gesturing around.
“Out of here,” Michael said. “Moving around will keep you a lot warmer than lying here not sleeping.”
“What happened to safety in numbers?” Stephen asked.
“Nothing’s going to happen to us,” Michael said. “We’re minor characters, stumbling around the periphery of the action like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.”
“Didn’t they die?”
“Yes, but only because they got involved with the main plot,” Michael said. “If we stay away from anybody and anything that looks important, we’ll be fine.”
“You’re crazy, you know that?” Stephen asked.
“The thought has crossed my mind, yes,” Michael said. “So, feeling adventurous?”
“Let’s avoid adventure, if we can. And what do we do with these?” Stephen asked, gesturing to the sleeping rolls.
“Simple,” Michael said. “Hey! Who wants another blanket?”
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I want Michael to become a main character, just because of how clever that was.
“That would be a bit of a convenient truth.” Ha. =P
Have you watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead?
Now I really like Michael.
I’ve been reading Tribe since you started writing it, mainly because of how much I like your writing – I love Void Dogs, and ToMU owns my soul – but I hadn’t found anything that really hooked me into Tribe. Michael, though… Michael might accomplish that. I hope he becomes a regular.
….
Your going to kill him, aren’t you? Just my luck. Dangit.
Speaking of Global warming, one of my local news shows had a 30 second segment at the end of an hour long show that said that ‘the ice caps will melt and flood the world in 7 years time’.
This reminds me of the fact that in 1998 I was told that we would ‘be completely out of Oil in three years’.
Doomsayers suck and should be executed.
In other news I like this story. Tribe sounds good for those who need it.
I’m with Kegan here – I’ve read all of tribe, and I liked it, but not in the same way I love Tales of MU. But Micheal might get me to love this story. Don’t kill him! Or, kill him if you want. But in a good way
Moridain,
in all reality we have already hit peak oil. that means gas just goes up from here, if you want to think of it that way.
we will probably take thousands of years to run out of it — but by the end it will all be used for… plastics!
Chemists always say oil is too valuable to burn….
“Nothing’s going to happen to us,” Michael said. “We’re minor characters, stumbling around the periphery of the action like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.”
“Didn’t they die?”
HAHAHA nice. I’m really enjoying tribe.
And anytime a character in a book/play/story/whatever says “If we stay away from anybody and anything that looks important, we’ll be fine,” they should be very afraid…
Narrativum working overtime…
Heehee, one of the cleverest chapters, for certain. Much enjoying this arc, despite being mildly disconcerted with the turn it was taking at the outset. I liked the fantasy elements of arc one, and surprisingly enjoyed the setup of arc two. I suppose I should just be used to surprises from Tribe.
I actually think it’s whiny Stephan who’s being set up to come to a bad end.
That kind of bad end usually consists of getting his friends killed and knowing it was cause he was a complete idiot
Hmmm…. ::taps fingertips together, looks over them with pursed lips::
/insert bad accent here/
Yiss, und vat vill appun nest?