By Ingvar: Trigger Snowflake walked through the doors to the Coffee Emporium, it was definitely time for a lunch cuppa. He’d been amply assisted by Drip-Matic 3000 in getting his morning cup of coffee, but now it was time for something delicious, from the makers and machines skillfully tended by Mx. Ologist.

“Sheriff Snowflake!”

“Ah, Mx. Ologist. Good day to you!”

“I have prepared a special blend for you to try, today. It is a mix of dark-roast High Plains Martian, and a small amount of blond-roast Swedish coffee, from Earth. Should pair well with one of Barbara’s special danishes, with the chocolate on.”

“Thank you, Mx. Ologist, that does indeed sound delightful. Could I have a copy of the Systems Literature Letters of Comment, as well?”

“Certainly, it will be with you in a few minutes.”

:::

> Overheard in a hotel near LunaCon — by Q. Ravenform
> 
> It is said that not only did Javier Finch go to Luna, despite his
> dis-invitation, he was also spotted in the foyer of a nearby hotel.
> 
> As rumours have it, he was approached by a woman, wearing a fabulous
> fascinator, who had a multitude of things to say to him, none of them
> good.
> 
> Apparently, one of the things she wished for him was a long life,
> mostly interrupted by stepping on Brio-Mek.
> 
> No actual report of the woman’s identity is forthcoming.

:::

“Sheriff Snowflake!”

“Good day, Ms. Dimatis.”

“I see you are perusing the Letters of Comment?”

“Yes, I think yourself and beloved Coraline have finally gotten me into the habit.”

“Did you see the LoC from Q. Ravenform?”

“Oh, yes, apparently Javier Finch was spotted on Luna, during LunaCon.”

“I have heard, but I am not sure it is true, that the lady with the fabulous fascinator was actually Jill Werner.”

“But? Doesn’t she LoC as Q. Ravenform?”

“She does, indeed.”

“How curious. One wonders why she didn’t just say she wore the fabulous fascinator?”

“Oh, you know Lunarian libel laws. They’re all over the place.”

“Can’t say I do, I have only had to bring one suit of law to Luna, and that was plenty for me.”

“Well, at least some seem to have had, on the balance, a good time there.”

:::

> My SysLiCon adventure — by Morrigan ni Leabhar
> 
> Luna is far from Mars, where I live. But, SysLiCon is such an event
> that now that it was closer than last year, I felt I had to go.
> 
> I started my travels on the interplanetary liner “Drag Betty II”,
> boarding at Phobos, and offboarding at Luna City. I had booked a cabin
> in “steersperson” class, but actually got upgraded to “gentles” class
> (not quite as good as the first class cabins, but it was still pretty
> good). My upgrade also gave me access to the “gentles and scholars”
> mess hall, where three buffets were served every daycycle, one for
> breaking fast, one for mids, and one for lates. The food was very very
> good.
> 
> Other than having a lot of time to read and write, the travel was
> pretty uneventful. I did complete a minor poetic cycle, which should
> now be available on POAOU, for those that partake in non-commercial,
> for-the-love-of-poetry, commentary and poetry.
> 
> When I arrived at LunaCon, I was overwhelmed, this was after all my
> first SysLiCon. So many people! So many fabulous clothes! Such a long
> queue to registration!
> 
> The queue was surprisingly quick, though. And gave rise to many an
> interesting conversation. One of those who joined the queue when I did
> was a lawyer, there on Luna. Emmanuel, if you read this, ‘Hi!’.
> 
> I went to many panel discussions, which were all very interesting. I
> cannot possibly do them justice in this short a form. But rest assured
> that I am more than happy to have been to every single one of them.
> 
> While I was there, I did observe one curious incident. A woman,
> wearing a wondrous small hat was yelling a stream of creative insults
> at a man. That, in and of itself, was not too surprising. What was,
> was that she kept it up for three, maybe four, minutes, without once
> repeating herself. Such a masterful command of Common is seldom seen,
> and even more rarely demonstrated in such a fashion. Brava!
> 
> Unfortunately, on the way back, I (as many others) ended up testing
> positive for SOVID, this somewhat annoying disease that has been going
> around this last half-decade. But, it was a mild case, and I could
> self-isolate in my cabin on the way back. And the purser kindly
> brought me three meals per day, after I’d selected what I wanted from
> a video feed of the buffet.

:::

“Well,” said Trigger, “this all seems quite exciting.”

“Yes, I have tickets to the next SysLiCon, the one on Rhea.”

“I should inquire if beloved Coraline would be interested.”

“Oh, I am sure she would be.”

“Well, as usual, Ms. Dimatis, thank you for the chat. But, alas, I need to return to my patrolling.”