reverienet | un: thief

Entry tags:

un: thief | video

[A shitty-looking teenager appears on-screen, wearing sunglasses despite the obvious lack of sun in his cabin, dressed in a white tracksuit rather than the standard-issue uniform, smoking a cigarette like he's not even on a space station with maybe limited oxygen supply. He gestures at the camera as if he's already mid-conversation with the audience, amicable and Balkan, just like his accent:]

You miss some shit from back home, right? Whatever you had before whoever-the-fuck ripped it off you. Or, like, maybe some shit you didn't even have before, but you want it now, anyway. What I'm saying is: What're you missing? If your genie or your fairy godmother or whatever came around, what would you ask for?

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[ in direct contrast to that mess, this shitty teenager is perfectly poised when he answers with video; sitting upright, his fingers laced together and his chin resting atop them, smile pleasant but utterly bland. ]

Considering you clearly have some means by which to acquire these things, is this a hypothetical question, or are you looking to rope people into bartering?

Hey, if somebody wants to barter, I'm open to it. Speaking for myself, I was dying for some smokes when my ass landed here, you know?

How fortuitous that you were able to procure them for yourself, then.

[ it doesn't seem like he's being sarcastic or passive aggressive. but either he must be, or he's just that genuine, because nobody else smiles that much. ]

But then I have to wonder, what would anyone on this station be able to offer you in payment? The rest of us are without our personal effects, after all.

[Kavinsky nods a few times, as if this guy just brought up something he hadn't already considered. Yes, yes, yes, good point.]

That's true. I guess that sucks for you guys. But payment ain't always cash money, you know? People can get real creative if they want something bad enough. You ever been to prison?

I can't say that I have, but I get the idea of what you mean.

So what would you be interested in, yourself? If I wanted, say... [ he hesitates, pretending to think — puts a hand to his chin and everything, like a good detective. what he wants is a handgun, but first he has to decide if it's worth Kavinsky having that information. ] ... something small. A journal. Am I simply going to give you an IOU?

[Kavinsky tosses his head back with a laaaaaugh.]

I'm kidding, man. I can get you a little diary, no sweat. You don't have to suck my dick unless you want to.

How generous.

[ his smile gets a little sharper. ] And if I wanted something less harmless than a diary?

[Kavinsky laughs again, because his own first concern was to pick up something much less harmless than a diary. He ducks offscreen for a second, then returns, holding up a handgun so shiny it hardly looks real.]

Something like this, baby?