Ghostwriter

The one in blue clothes was born offworld, stranded here as an infant. The briefcase contains a memento of their homeworld - but it also has the capacity to serve as a beacon, informing the homeworld of their location.

The one in blue is hoping to take the beacon to a high place so that its signal will be strong enough, intending to ask for aid. The one in colorless clothes fears that this will only result in a second, larger invading force.

Of course, it's not up to me to decide which of them is correct. Perhaps neither is.

I enjoy this a lot.

To elaborate, the one in blue clothes is named Belfry-- her origin differentiates her not just by lineage, giving her the common family name Retting, but she is an entirely different species, one which possesses family names and a much stricter, more organized society, one brutal in its stiffness and whose dictation by laws might be so crooked that they see Belfry Retting's new home as deserving of their fate. But she trusts them. They are her people, or at least they could have been... and they're the only hope she can see for the world.

In both literary and color contrast, we have Dime the Lost, a born idealist who has spent the last forty-two growths having his love for the beauty of the world beaten down by its realities. He dresses like the crowd not because he likes to, but because blending is his hobby, it's his only salvation. Unlike Belfry, who stands out in every way imaginable, Dime has done his best to eradicate that possibility. But now, in this moment, he feels like he must be the hand reaching out of the crowd, the one to stop the well-intentioned Belfry from reaching higher ground.

He sees some of himself in her, despite so much difference. He also wants to believe that calling more aliens will solve their issues. But this world has led him to be jaded beyond any reasonable measure, where Belfry's hope to bridge the gap between her new home and her species has made her ever-optimistic.

Neither of their plans lack flaws. It's impossible to know which route will lead where. Perhaps in a universe so fickle like mine or yours, their story would end in tragedy, in a lack of serendipity, and we would have no opportunity to see the other option.

But we are de-facto gods of this universe, and we may see it through as a story, one with twists and intrigue and beauty. As this chase progresses, they have a moment to shout to one another.

Where does this go? How might they end up-- and how do things begin to go afterwards?