Interlude 1

R-1: We're standing in front of the Palace where the people responsible for the new series, The Human Experience, have been granted the honor of honors, a personal audience with the Queen.

R-2: The Queen is a big fan.

R-1: Big fan is an understatement!

R-2: Absolutely! We are proud to announce the Queen is carrying the heir to the Fair Throne.

R-1: Palace sources tell us the Queen, herself, will confirm the heir was conceived after a session with an experience machine.

R-2: A royal success will drive even more subscribers to The Human Experience... as if it needed help.

R-1: A carriage is approaching the gates.

R-2: Could it be Aglaea or Hephaestus?

R-1: Neither! It's the dra-produzent of The Human Experience, Coeus.

R-2: Coeus! Coeus! A couple of questions for Fair Channel E-News.

Coeus: Of course. I always have time for a subsidiary.

R-1: Coeus, is it true Fair Channel signed away the rights to The Human Experience prior to Achilles being chosen.

Coeus: That's not an accurate statement. The Experiment was created as a trust of the Fair Folk--no one owns The Experiment.

R-2: But Hephaestus does own all rights to Achilles and anything in The Experiment associated with him.

Coeus: Well...

R-1: If Hephaestus didn't, he could not have opened bidding for experience connections.

R-2: Is it also true Fair Channel lost the bidding war to the Royal Consort's Elfen Channel?

Coeus: I'm not privy to the financial dealings of Fair Channel. My job is to ensure The Experiment is used as intended.

R-1: Coeus...

Coeus: We're here to celebrate the success of The Experiment. The Queen has conceived an Heir through use of the experience machines.

R-1: Of course.

Coeus: If you'll excuse me, the Queen is waiting.

R-2: Yes. Yes. Shouldn't keep the Queen waiting!

R-1: That was Coeus, dra-produzent of The Human Experience.

R-2: How would Achilles say it?

R-1: Sounds to me like Fair Channel's Experience subsidiary is in the Land of Cave-Suck!

R-2 laughs

R-1: Coeus was right about one thing. The Experiment is a trust of all the Fair Folk.

R-2: An entire planet terra-formed to match environments with the human home world.

R-1: Can you imagine the funds required for such an endeavor?

R-2: The best minds of the Fair Folk brought together by Royal Decree. The Royal Treasury emptied!

R-1: But with Queen's conception...

R-2: And a statistically significant spike in conceptions after Achilles became the dra-stern.

R-1: I love science-speak, 'statistically significant'!

R-2: Another carriage is pulling up.

R-1: With those colors, it must be Aglaea.

R-2: Aglaea, student and assistant, of The Human Experience dra-schmeid.

R-1: Aglaea, Aglaea!

Aglaea: Hello, I was instructed to speak with you.

R-2: That's not a very friendly start.

Aglaea: I apologize. I haven't been out much lately.

R-1: Aglaea, how are you handling the overnight success of The Human Experience?

Aglaea: The Human Experience is not an overnight success. There were a number of false starts: three by Hephaestus, not to mention attempts by other dra-schmeids with access to The Experiment.

R-2: Of course, of course.

R-1: Tell us, Aglaea, any hints about what the future holds for Achilles and the Anue Women.

Aglaea: I can't discuss any of Hephaestus's plans for Achilles.