“He is not simple,” Tristan said. “I’ve fought in battle beside him, he is quick-witted and I know his worth.”
“Battle’s not about brains, is it,” says the Blevins. It’s not Magnus he’s looking at when he says it, but Tristan, and I can see well enough from that what sort of history lies between these two men. “Tristan, we’re done here. Gráinne needs to be shown every kindness—whether by Erszebet or the rest of the Sea Cod Staff, it’s no concern of mine—or of yours. We’ll get her into the ATTO as soon as we can. As for Hagar the Horrible here, I suspect he’ll end up a useless drain on our resources and our hospitality. But he seems an amiable sort. Once we’re satisfied he has a decent level of impulse control—enough that we can take him off premises without causing an incident—I’ll wager he’d be susceptible to a shock and awe sort of treatment.”
“It’s going to take a lot to shock him or awe this dude,” Tristan demurred.
“Viking!” echoes Magnus, and wasn’t his face beaming.
“Wait until he gets a load of modern video games,” the Blevins insisted. “We’ll get him some toys to play with, settle him down a little, and then see what he can do for us as a trainer.”
INCIDENT REPORT
AUTHOR: MAJ Isobel Sloane
SUBJECT: Magnus and Gráinne
THEATER: C/COD (present day)
DTAP: Bio-containment ward
FILED: Day 1880 (late September, Year 5)
Pursuant to the Sexual Harassment Policy, information is hereunder presented about a series of incidents in the bio-containment ward involving recently arrived Anachrons Magnus and Gráinne (no last names provided). Technically these do not constitute sexual harassment per se since all activity took place between consenting adults in what they believe to be a private setting. However, DOSECOPS personnel, part of whose job is to continuously monitor the video and audio “feeds” from the room in question, have raised a number of complaints that need to be addressed.
Without getting into overly lurid details, the basic situation is that after a few days during which she complained of fever, chills, aches, and low energy (all typical for newly arrived Anachrons going through the inoculation protocol), Gráinne has bounced back and returned to a level of vitality and vigor that, though it might be normal for her, is exceptional by our standards. Magnus, of course, had a three-day head start on her in this department, and the inoculations never seemed to make much of a dent on him anyway. They are in adjacent beds, separated only by a curtain, twenty-four hours a day. No one else is in the ward, and they are blissfully unaware of the existence of modern surveillance technology. Beginning three days ago and building from there, the two of them have been engaging in a wide range of sexual activities, as often as four times a day. These activities are quite obviously consensual, so there is no issue where that is concerned. Gráinne, as it turns out, exhibits a pattern of loud, prolonged, and repetitive vocalizations while engaging in such activities—in the vernacular, she is what is known as a “screamer.” All of this comes through in full Dolby 7.1 on the security consoles that DOSECOPS personnel are expected to monitor as a condition of their employment. While it may have had some novelty value at first, it is now to the point of posing a serious distraction at best. At worst it is creating an actively hostile work environment, particularly for female employees and for those whose religious convictions make such viewing problematic.
Accordingly, I have muted the audio feeds from the bio-containment ward and encouraged security personnel to leave the cameras off most of the time, making occasional spot checks only. Since Gráinne and Magnus are locked in, escape is physically impossible, and since our long-suffering medical personnel are on the other side of a door, only a few yards away, with access to the no doubt spectacular bio-monitor readout infographics, there is zero chance of either of these two Anachrons suffering any kind of medical emergency without our knowing of it immediately.
These measures, which I unilaterally placed into effect this morning after stumbling into the ops center during a particularly egregious transaction between Magnus and Gráinne, have already lifted morale among security staff and eased a tense situation. Lieutenant [name redacted], who first drew my attention to the problem, has been placed on medical leave and assigned to a counselor.
Exchange of posts by DODO staff
on “Department Heads” ODIN channel
DAY 1881
Post from LTC Tristan Lyons:
Not to nitpick, but Gráinne’s not a “screamer” in my experience.
Reply from Dr. Melisande Stokes:
Could you clarify that please?
From LTC Lyons:
Hahaha, yes, happy to clarify (thanks, Stokes!). During various DEDEs in settings where Gráinne was engaged in sexual activity WITH OTHER PEOPLE, I did not observe the vocalizations mentioned in Sloane’s incident report.
From Dr. Stokes:
Maybe she simply wasn’t enjoying herself—there’s no reason a sex worker would.
From LTC Lyons:
Can someone tell me how to retreat from this minefield? All I’m saying is: archive the recordings even if they’re not being live-monitored.
TRANSCRIPT (EXCERPT)
CONVERSATION BETWEEN GRáINNE (G)
AND MAGNUS (M)
DAY 1884 (LATE SEPTEMBER, YEAR 5)
NOTES: Video recording was made automatically by a motion-activated security camera system in bio-containment ward at DODO HQ, Cambridge, MA. In the wake of subsequent events, the file was salvaged from a secure server by DODO personnel and transferred to the ad hoc GRIMNIR backup system, where it was later transcribed. Excerpt below begins at approximately 14:12 local time. Subjects are engaged in “missionary position” style coitus with faces in close contact and so audio is of low quality. Dialog is in a mishmash of languages; this is an approximate translation into modern English.
G: I asked Erszebet about “shock and awe.”
M: The words the Pigeon used?
G: (slapping Magnus on the buttock) Blevins, lad. His name is Blevins.
M: What is their meaning?
G: ’Tis a phrase used by soldiers. From one of their sagas. A tactic to break the will of the enemy, so it is.
M: I understand this tactic well and moreover have used it. In fact I am using it now!
[REDACTED]
G: Oh, there’s more. In one of their wars, didn’t they face an enemy that was poor, ill-equipped, with bad weapons and low morale. To make the war be over fast, they used many of their best weapons in a great show of force. This was shock and awe.
M: So Erszebet thinks that the Pigeon means to use this tactic on me. To fuck my mind like I am fucking your pussy.
G: You’re fucking my pussy? I hadn’t noticed.
M: Notice this!
[REDACTED]
G: Be getting your mind off of Erszebet, now.
M: That is difficult.
G: Then close your pretty eyes and pretend it’s her you’re fucking.
M: Okay. Mmm, that’s very nice!
G: (pinches Magnus’s nipple)
M: Bitch!