I have changed the pivotal scene in the compendium short story to Hearsay fifty-seven times. It has gone from the first time the young Seti Sepp and the darling Messenger meet that had no communication between them, to having sex, back again, to touching and talking only once, or maybe a couple of times briefly. It is giving me a headache. Even though this story can stand alone and Hearsay as a book can stand without it, I've always liked this chapter, because it is a little bit more naturalistic and linear and personal than the rest of the book. In this story, which actually takes place only weeks after the Messengers first arrive to Samudra, in the year 3007 or so, and Seti Sepp is just a zealot young SUN graduate, running errands to prove himself. Coincidentally the ship they are both on crashes and events follow so that at some point they are sitting next to one another and thinking it's okay to be alive, but it would be okay to just (finally) die, also. In that scene is later decided the whole relationship that brings about the end of City of Startracker: why did young Sepp decide to hate and hunt down other Literates so personally, and why did Paper always feel like she fucked up before she even started her job. A simple scene, one that both could be without and lives would be easier, but one that did happen and did draw attention and did ultimately make such a big mess of things. I have re-done that scene more often than I can recall lately. I go to the bathroom and think of a new word to replace the old one... Seriously. I feel like a NASA engineer.