When you're ready to talk, Dave will know where I am.When you're ready to talk, Dave will know where I am." She stormed out. Home can be a very cold place when bereft of the people who make it so very important to you. It ceases even being a home, really, becoming a mere house, repositories for possessions, the body being one of those possessions. Two days had gone by since P'nyssa and Aaden had left; M'ress was treating me coldly, and Paul and Carroll haven't been around. I'd been drinking somewhat steadily, but at the moment I was reasonably sober, staring at myself in the mirror and wondering about my last encounter with a shower. "Ken?" Dave broke my reverie. "Yes, Dave?" "Aaden and Khai have called off their friendship." "That's nice," I grumbled, tottering back into bed and collapsing. "I don't want him back until he gives up fucking children." "Ken, you at times have accused me of excessive heavy-handedness in the way I make my suggestions." "Sort of, Dave," I said, rubbing my temples and feeling hung over. "I said that when you agree with me you keep silent, but when you disagree with me you say you agree with me in a very... conniving way." "Four people I care very much about suffer right now because of your decision," Dave said slowly. "You, Nyss, Aaden and Khai spend the day in their own private Hells because of you. Aaden and Khai broke up because Khai realized your argument with Aaden involved him, and he didn't want responsibility for the destruction of what some people consider the most important love affair on the Ring." "Go on." "I want to resign." "Huh?" "I want to resign. I do not... feel... comfortable as the AI of Shardik castle any longer. I cannot in good faith serve you any longer. It was only the next bit of data to come down the pike and trash my life. "Dave? Why?" "Because you refuse to listen to Aaden, Ken. Even if you believe his behavior unreasonable, you have always in the past listened to the other half of the argument before making up your mind. This time you refuse to even listen. To use a phrase that has seen too much use in the past three days, you are not the man I thought I worked for." Home can be very cold indeed. "Hal?" "Yes, Kennet?" I groaned softly, hating the sound of that voice. |