[color=007236]RONTO[/color] -- from viewpoint of GLENDA DOREN

"It's all there," Glenda huffed, kicking the scuffed and ancient suitcase away from her and towards the trader.  She glanced nervously over her shoulder, across the water and back towards home, before turning her attention back towards the woman clad in tattered rags who had knelt and was peering over the contents of the case.  They stood on a ruined dock on the edge of what once was a great city.  Husks of high rises and the rubble from others that had fallen loomed in the near distance, stretching out for as far as the eye could see.

"Indeed it is," the trader purred, taking one more moment to scan through the contents, before slamming the cover shut and standing with it in her hand.  "Aren't you going to inspect the trade?"

Glenda looked down at the old plastic dairy crates jammed full of pre-war bed sheets and small glass vessels.  Her quick estimate showed that everything they agreed upon was present.  "You're trustworthy, or this exchange wouldn't even be happening."

"Mm, well, the flattery is precious, but means nothing when push comes to shove.  Or, to caps," the trader chuckled.  "When do you leave?"

Glenda froze, having bent to pick up the crate nearest her feet.  "What?"

"You know what I mean.  I've only ever spoken to you, and that's because you like coming out here.  You want nothing more than to get off that hulking, ugly mass in the middle of the water, and see the real world."

Glenda swallowed, before stooping further and picking up the crate.  "You sound like a pre-war fantasy novel.  Fantasy is what got our world into the state that it's in.  I have no desire to see any more of the decrepit, hollow place it has become."

The trader was already strapping her case of assorted poisons onto the back of her overloaded brahmin.  "It's not all decrepit and hollow, child.  There are all kinds of other societies, like your coveted Ronto, you know."

"We've heard," Glenda replied cooly, "and we don't care."

"Ah, but you should, and soon."

Glenda clenched and released her hands multiple times.  "Well, what do you mean, then?"

"I mean that there are all kinds of organized groups of folks, just like yours -- huh, that is," she paused, a glimmer in her eye, "not quite [i]like[/i] yours, y'all seem to be unique, but anyways.  My point is, the land stretches far, and wide, and there are many groups of people who consider themselves sovereign.  Many of them, yet, are having a meeting right now, far to the south and west, to discuss how they might all live peacefully together."  

The young woman plunked the first crate on top of the second.  "They can have their meeting.  We have the water."

"Whatever you say," the woman waved.  "Thanks again for the trade.  See you in a month, for the same?"

"In a month," Glenda repeated.  She lifted the crates and stood, watching the trader wander back into the ruins, disappearing into the fallen concrete and steel.  Glenda gently loaded the crates, one at a time, into her waiting rowboat.  Standing on the edge of the docks, facing the steel island, she made a series of high pitched and rhythmic sounds.  After a few seconds of quiet, a similar, though rhythmically slightly different response was heard.  Glenda stepped into her rowboat and began pulling herself back home.

"I don't know how you can deal with them," sighed Horace as he helped secure her rowboat to its tether.  Glenda walked up the makeshift ramp carrying her crates, followed by Horace.  He flicked a lever which released the counterweight and pulled the ramp back up, sealing Ronto to the outside world once more.

"It's easy," Glenda purred, "I give her really deadly poisons, and she gives us raw materials we have basically run out of and would have to scavenge for ourselves."

"Totally not what I meant," Horace replied, rolling his eyes and popping a tablet of [i]Slick.[/i]

Glenda nearly slapped it out of his hand.  Instead, she clenched her jaw.  "Thanks," she managed to mutter, before walking off.  "My mom needs this stuff in the lab, so, see you later."

She threaded her way through the winding corridors and up and down ramps until she reached the chemistry lab.  "I have your vials," she called, plunking the crates onto the nearest table.

"Glenda, [i]please,[/i]" Wendy chided, using a tone as if Glenda were still a toddler.  She instantly removed the crates from where Glenda had placed them and tucked them onto another shelf, nearby.  She swiped some stray hair off her forehead.  "It went all right, though?"

"Hm?  Oh, yes.  Of course."  Glenda pried her eyes off of some impressive looking set of test tubes, tubing, and bubbling concoctions.  "She said something weird this time, though.  Something about there being more nations, and that they were gathering --"

"Obviously there are other nations.  It would be foolish to think we were the only survivors who managed to organize ourselves intelligently, Glenda," Wendy replied dismissively, scribbling some notes on a page on a clipboard as she observed one of the bubbling vials.

"What would they meet for?"

"Self serving, selfish reasons, no doubt.  For history to repeat itself.  Nothing good comes from straying out from here, Glenda, you know that."

"Do I?"

Wendy shot her daughter a glance of daggers.  "Our predecessors nuked each other nearly completely to death.  They all thought they were entitled to more than they had.  We know better."

Glenda rolled her eyes.  "I wasn't saying we try to check out this meeting.  I don't even know where it's happening.  'Far to the south and west,' the trader said."

"So what are you saying?  I'm in the middle of something, here."

"Just that maybe we be...aware of it."

"Aware of the existence of the outside world?"

"Mother --"

Wendy waved her off.  "I'm busy."

Glenda spun on her heel and nearly ploughed directly into Kenneth as he was entering the lab.

"Watch it," he growled, raising his arms to protect a bundle he had been carrying.

"You watch it," Glenda spat back.  "Horace MacGillivray popped one of your pills just after closing the ramp a few minutes ago.  He's one of the posted watch.  You think it's a good idea the Ronto perimeter guard are mellowing out while on duty?"

"I don't think that that's my job nor responsibility," Kenneth purred in response.  "I'm not about to dictate to grown adults what they can and can't be doing with their lives, Glenda.  Perimeter guard sounds like a stressful job, I definitely don't blame anyone for wanting to take some edge off such a high stakes position."

"You're ruining our society, Kenneth."

"That's quite the accusation.  I think our so-called 'society' was on the path to ruining itself, don't you think?  Closed doors, xenophobia.  Did I not just hear you suggest we participate in some meeting of nations?"

Glenda stomped her foot.  "No, you didn't hear me right at all!"

"You should bring it up at the next council meeting," Kenneth continued, finally entering the lab proper.  "I have an experiment to check up on, right now."

Glenda huffed and left the lab, winding back through the corridors to return to the perimeter wall.  She took her place at the north turret guardpost and looked out to the waters once more.