Page 36 of As You Wake, Break the Shell
“Fine,” he replied, crossing his age-spotted arms in challenge. “Tell me your favorite puzzle right now.”
Signy considered. “I have a new customer,” she said. “She’s . . . an interesting one.”
“How so?”
Signy leaned back against the counter, facing him as the kettle warmed. “I haven’t handled her particular condition before. It’s doable, but it’s going to be a tricky grow.”
“How so?” he pushed.
“Well, for starters, I’m going to need to engineer a plant that isn’t covered by my license.”
“Oh, Sam can sort that out, I’m sure,” he said. By relation, Sam was Henry’s niece. By profession, she was a software engineer, and Signy’s introduction to her had been Otto’s lifetime payment for his medicine (and the start of her less-public business). Every other week, Sam stopped by to see Otto. She’d pick up groceries for him, or run small errands, if needed. Additionally, somewhere in the bookends of her visit, she’d duck into the J Street Plant Shop and doctor the seed printer reports. She’d then leave with any plant starters she liked, free of charge. It was a perfect setup for all parties involved. Otto got his meds, Sam got fresh herbs at home, Signy didn’t have to worry about the Ag Bureau. Win, win, win.
“I’m sure the reports will be an easy fix,” Signy said. “But aside from that, I’m going to need to tweak this template so that it looks like a different plant, just in case I get a surprise inspection.”
“Can you do that? Make a plant look like a different plant?”
“Depends on the disguise. I’m going to have to experiment.”
“How terrible for you,” Otto said with a grin. “You’ll hate that.”
Signy chuckled, then grew thoughtful again. The grow wasn’t the only thing keeping this project on her mind. The customer in question was equally distracting. Cora. It had been bold as brass for her to walk in and ask what she’d asked, no pretense or pretending. Signy thought her an idiot for it, honestly, but part of her also admired the nerve. And mindbleed—that definitely wasn’t something Signy had expected to encounter face-to-face. Mindbleed was fantastical, almost, the sort of thing you might read mention of or hear about on the radio but never had to consider as something that actually existed in the world. Nobody really had that. Mindbleed wasn’t something that just walked in off the street, hiding behind a cheeky smile and a bit of swagger and a thick crop of hair that had been fussed over that morning.
Not that those details mattered, of course.
Otto got to his feet, putting his weight on his cane. “I need to use the facilities,” he said. “Meet you in the living room?”
Signy nodded as he walked out of the kitchen. She measured three flat scoops of chicory grounds into the pot, her gears beginning to turn. She flipped through her mental catalog of common plants, searching for species that could be tweaked to disguise something else.
Chapter 778 Signy & Cora, Cypsela
Cora [16:41]: this fucking guy I swear
Signy [16:41]: who
Signy [16:41]: Noah?
Cora [16:41]: yeah
Cora [16:42]: he doesn’t respond to three emails and now he’s telling me he sent that replacement part out this morning
Cora [16:42]: drone’s on the way right now
Signy [16:44]: well
Signy [16:44]: at least he read your emails
Cora [16:45]: sure but fucking tell me that you did, man
Cora [16:45]: anyway I’ll bring the drone in when it gets here, you can ignore the landing alert
Signy [16:45]: okay
Cora [16:45]: how are the carrots
Signy [16:45]: oh I’m not with them right now, I’m sorting that print for Lodestone
Cora [16:46]: but you have gone to look at the carrots again, right?
