Chapter 19 of 78 · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

Chapter 19 — Miss Beatrice

Book: The Butcher's Masquerade · Part: The Vengeance of the Daughter · Previous: Chapter 18 — Ten minutes, Odette · Next: Chapter 20 — Viva la revolución · Floor: Floor 6 — The Hunting Grounds · Series: the series

Opening

Lexis had us already sitting on the couch when the show started.

Summary

No studio audience, a sombre tone, the river roaring behind Carl's eyes. A censored segment explains the walk-on list and the bounty hunters to the audience; Zev leaves for the office. Odette tells the official story — kidnapped, sold at an inner-system black market, rescued when Borant nobly turned the pirates over to the Syndicate, a shootout, one pirate dead, now a full Syndicate citizen in hiding — and brings her out: thin, hollow, ten years older, in a backless red gown with Princess Chonkalot's tattoo showing on her lower back, her Aries anklet, heels she cannot walk in, drugged to the gills. Her hug passes through Carl; her hand passes through Donut, who licks her paw and does not look up. 'Why aren't you wearing pants?' Bea's memory has holes: the tent, the fighting, a cube, a small alien who recognised her and shouted, a ship full of hyena faces. Odette pokes at her own lie and gets nothing. To her former owner Donut says only: buy the wet food, don't conspire to sell her, don't pretend to love her. Carl: 'Got nothing.' 'Carl, are you going to be able to come to me?' 'Nope.' Off air, Odette concedes — 'Well played, Carl' — and at least the naga was scooped. Then Donut asks whether they are off air, hisses, and says it all: 'You danced with me. You sang to me. You made me feel loved. I didn’t do anything wrong, and you were going to give me away […] You’re not my person anymore […] Carl is. He’s always been.' Carl: 'Get her out of here.' Bea vanishes from the couch. 'I'm glad we got that out of the way. I feel so much better.' Then two announcements while they are still in the studio. An admin message: 'Due to a system regency change', the Valtay Corporation is removed as Carl's sponsor for conflict of interest, a replacement to be auctioned in sixty hours. Then a planet-wide one: a Syndicate court has declared the Borant Corporation an independent, non-governmental entity, which automatically executed a prior ruling granting the Valtay 51 per cent of it; the Borant System Government no longer has any stake in the planet, its resources or the production; all contracts, including indentures, are honoured. Odette: good news for Mordecai and every tenner — 'Too bad it's the Valtay. You poor bastards.' Donut, whispering: 'She did it.' 'Viva la revolución, Carl.'

Characters

• Princess Donut — Licks her paw on air; off air, says everything; 'Carl is. He's always been.'
• Carl — 'Got nothing.' 'Nope.' 'Goodbye, Beatrice.'
• Bea — A hologram in a red gown with holes in her memory; gone from the couch.
• Odette — A story she knows is horseshit; 'Well played, Carl.'
• Lexis — Runs the floor.
• Zev — Called back to the office before the interview.
• Mordecai — His contract survives the regency change.

Locations

• Production trailers — No audience; an empty seat between Donut and Odette.

Motifs

• The show — The official version of Bea; a scoop over a naga's program.
• The Walk-On List — Explained to the audience, censored to the crawlers.
• Staying human — 'You don't deserve how sad I feel right now.'
• The river in Carl's head — Roaring behind his eyes on the couch.
• The Valtay Corporation — Fifty-one per cent of the Borant Corporation; dropped as Carl's sponsor.
• Borant — Severed from its government by a court; 'She did it.'