[On air—Jackie's calm, steady, almost poetic voice]“I’ve read Saga of Code, too.
All three volumes.
It’s… somewhere around seven to ten thousand pages.”
[Dick nearly chokes on his own breath]“Jesus, sweetie…
I can barely handle my contract with Todd
and political bullshit posts.No wonder you’re… you know… a little… different.”
[Jackie, warm—but teasing]“You know why I tolerate your grumbling…
your… exhausted-baritone nonsense…
and your ‘I know everything but actually know nothing’ attitude?”
[She laughs]“You remind me of Marcus.
You two are… similar in some ways.
I think if Marcus from Saga of Code hosted a radio show—
he’d be just like you.”
[Dick squints, trying to figure out if that was a compliment or an insult]“Marcus?
Some bastard who’s like me?
And you still like him?
The way you say it…
Huh.
Don’t know if I should feel offended or flattered.”
[Jackie stretches the air with her smile]“Oh, Dick…
Honestly, I love Eleonor the most.
And Sophia, of course.
But Elle… she’s just… wonderful.
Between us—
I really wish I could be at least a little like her.”
[Dick lets out a low grunt]“Hold on a second…
So I’m Marcus.
You’re Elle.
Todd is… what did you say… Sophia?”
[He blinks]“And all three of them hated each other too?”
[Jackie laughs]“Hah!
Read it yourself—you’ll understand.
Or ask your AI assistant…
Galactic Post-trained Transformoroids?..
Have it summarize it for you. It’s good at that, heh-heh.”
[Dick, with the expression of a man who just won an argument and the universe's karma along with it]“Baby, I’m not you.
I use Grok.
Now Grok—yeah—that thing gives you a proper overview:
short, vulgar,
no philosophical bullshit—
none of your ‘deep subtext for brain-breakers.’GPT?.. ha!
Sure, it’d summarize it…
then write ten more pages explaining why the summary wasn’t accurate,
why it apologizes for any mistakes,
what it really meant to say,
how it didn’t want to offend anyone,
and how it misunderstood the word ‘brief’ in a non-literal sense.”
[Jackie raises her hand, gently shutting down the flow of Dick's nonsense]“Dick… let me play something else.
A song. A real one. From the Saga—
Born of Pain™ by Braden Steelhart™.You think everything modern sounds like ‘a fart in a jar’…
maybe this will change your mind.”
[Dick snorts, pretending he doesn't care, but his eye shifts slightly—he's curious]“Alright, sweetie… play it.
You got me curious—now impress the old man.”
[Jackie smiles faintly, presses the terminal. Her fingers move carefully, like she's starting a prayer, not a track][The music flows into the broadcast—heavy, sincere, resonant. The very first notes hit Dick at a genetic level, even if he pretends they don't][Dick lights a cigar—calmly, like he's trying not to set his own nervous system on fire. He takes a deep drag. Slowly lifts a glass of Johnnie Wanker™, takes a long sip. His head sways slightly, eyes closed—not listening, but absorbing]“Sweetie…
Holy shit…
this…
this feels like six big guys taking turns ripping my soul out…
but… beautifully…”
[His voice soft, slow, almost human]“Play stuff like this…
and I…
damn…
I’ll be happy.”
[He exhales a thin stream of smoke. It rises, blends with the studio lights, and for a moment it feels like Dick got ten years younger. Or maybe it's just the music]“Alright…”
[He taps the glass lightly, gathering his thoughts]“After that… nice little brain reset…
let’s get back to the story.”
“Let’s roll.”
[He leans back in his chair, putting the grumpy-host mask back on,
but there's still a faint warmth in his voice—like he actually enjoyed that story a little]