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Click here"He wants what he can't have, and you are the fucking gold standard for that. If you put some effort into being what he expects from a girlfriend, then he will get off your back. If you start being a kind and affectionate girl, stop playing hard to get. If you don't, he will never leave you alone. For Christ's sake, just let him fuck you, then he will let you go in peace. Just one simple blow job and it's all over. Just stop this insanity, will you? I can't believe you are too dumb to figure this out yourself..." Lucy said.
Lucy held her head back and sniffed. Her tirade was over, only a few regrets were left in the bottle.
"Oh, and you're going to tell him all this, and I'm going to join Ricky, Judy, and the others, jobless and never to work anywhere in hospitality ever again."
Rachel was undone.
"Look, I won't talk," Rachel said softly. She put her hand on Lucy's hand. "But why didn't Charlie tell me all of this?"
Lucy, still fighting back the tears, sniffed. "Ha. Risk losing you again? She's not dumb. Last time you left, the only thing that stopped her from going to Alaska was that it had a bigger idiot running it. She knows she's tied to your star. She's running the entire West Coast operation now. Levant is tied down because of you, so she's practically running the whole operation. If you go, well, she might be back to running the Thornbury, if she's lucky. Did she help you with the contract?"
"Yeah, sure," said Rachel.
"She figured out what she did wrong herself and lucked out with you," Lucy said.
Rachel looked thoughtful for a second. "Did she sleep with Douglas?"
"Oh, I need a cigarette," Lucy said. "Yes, of course she did. It was like the first thing she did. She would have to use a boy's name on her resume, I would have made sure she didn't get anywhere near him if it wasn't for that mistake. She Didn't last long, didn't expect it to. She's desperate. Her boyfriend back east is rising fast, sucking every dick between Times Square and the Village to push his career. He'll be in Hollywood in a year. The worst thing is, all her college friends are much further up the corporate ladder than she is. She's falling behind them and feeling it. They're all hyper-determined career people, much more ruthless than she is. Even her friend Samantha is doing better than her, and all she has is you wearing her fucking dresses."
Rachel moved closer and put her arm around her. Lucy took a breath and exhaled deeply.
"Is it true she didn't tell you about Levant threatening to shut the Thornbury down if she couldn't find you again? I can't believe the bitch didn't want to guilt you into coming back. Honestly, what's wrong with that woman?"
It was clear that Lucy was just rambling. Fortunately, all the time Rachel had spent with Dr. Cooper now came into some use. Rachel put her arm around her.
Lucy continued, "Yeah, Charlie is struggling with how to create the right distance. She's been interviewing for other jobs, I can tell. Nothing yet. He doesn't know. You can see the desperation in her eyes. And another thing. You're killing him. You know he's completely lost control because of you. You and this project Zeitgeist are a total and utter distraction. He can't focus on the business. It's suffering. Charlie is doing a good job, but she doesn't have his instincts. You're clouding his judgment. Sorry, I'm rambling now..." Lucy took a deep breath before saying, "Like you, this project Zeitgeist is like an obsession..."
At that moment, the door opened. Lucy desperately pulled herself together.
"Lucy, Cinnamon, thanks for waiting," Levant said, looking fairly pleased.
Levant glanced at Lucy, who was sitting upright.
"You OK?" he asked.
"It's just the cold," Rachel said. "Let her sit up front near the heater with the driver, she'll be fine."
"Ólafur Traustadóttir and I were just about to have a look at one of the servers, then we can go," Levant said.
Rachel stood up eagerly. "Oh, can I have a look? I'd love to see a server farm."
Ólafur Traustadóttir looked over. "You would? Beautiful woman in there. That's new for the server."
They walked down the corridor while Ólafur Traustadóttir reached out to grab a huge, thick coat from a stout peg. Rachel followed as he donned it on his shoulders, giving him the appearance of a swift, jovial bear. The back door opened to another door, which led to a rapid drop in temperature. The wind stripped away what little heat there was from their bones. A few yards from the house, there was a door to an old, rusting container. Over their heads, metal ducting carried a thick power cable woven with others through a rough hole cut in the container's metal. It gave the setup a feeling of high sophistication.
Ólafur Traustadóttir said something to Levant, but in the wind, Rachel couldn't discern what he said or even what language he spoke. Ólafur Traustadóttir unlocked the container door with a large bar, which clanked loudly as he struggled with it.
They stepped from the bitter cold into sweltering tropical heat. Ólafur Traustadóttir closed the door tightly against the wind and moved his coat to a new peg. The wind fell silent, but the drone of thousands of fans took over.
"Wow," Rachel said, but her voice was barely audible.
The container was filled with cables that emerged from rack after rack of computers.
"You like my women? All Bitcoin," Ólafur Traustadóttir said, pointing at the racks. "Those Bitcoin, these Bitcoin."
"Are you doing Bitcoin mining?" Rachel asked Levant.
Levant looked around, puzzled. "What?"
"Are you doing Bitcoin mining?" Rachel shouted to Levant. In her excitement, her voice sounded more like a shout, resembling Denver. She quickly covered her mouth, feeling embarrassed.
Levant turned around and gestured to Ólafur Traustadóttir, holding his hand up. "Yes, sort of. I'm repurposing them for other uses, but primarily Bitcoin. Ólafur Traustadóttir built it."
"Icelandic power," Ólafur Traustadóttir said in his strong accent. "But the cooling, yeah, the cooling is free. Mother Nature, right? These are all my own work. I built them myself," he added as they walked down the corridor of cables. They reached the far end, passing rows of blinking lights that Rachel recognized as modern, top-spec servers. They arrived at a nook filled with screens and a keyboard. "These are the latest machines. All very good."
"Wow," Rachel said, impressed. At this end, the drone noise was less intense. "You must have ten thousand machines in here," Rachel said.
Ólafur Traustadóttir chuckled. "Twenty-three thousand in here."
"WOWWWW," Rachel exclaimed. "Your Discord server must be amazing."
Ólafur Traustadóttir laughed. "She's good, Douglas Levant. I like her," he said, typing in his password to log in.
"This is impressive," Levant said, looking pleased. He looked around. "Very good. The best. My people will get back to you with a contract. Okay, how about we move on? The plane is waiting," Levant said. He walked up and shook Traustadóttir's hand"
Rachel smiled. "Go Italy!"
They left, leaving Traustadóttir sitting at his machine, waving. They stepped out into the cold, enveloped by the mist surrounding the lone clapboard house. The ground was covered with dark dirt and gravel. The view would have been more reminiscent of the moon or a distant planet. In the sheltered area beside Ólafur Traustadóttir's house stood the massive SUV. Inside, Peter kept watch, sitting in the front with Lucy in the passenger seat.
Rachel hurried towards the SUV, but Levant passed her and opened the car door for her. Rachel quickly entered, feeling the heat from the container dissipate as she rushed in. She found it amusing, considering it was the opposite of her life in California--rushing from one air-conditioned space to another, with brief bursts of heat, hoping her makeup would stay intact.
In many ways, she didn't need the makeup now. The hormone replacement therapy had softened her skin, and subtle changes in her face had significantly framed a feminine appearance. Nevertheless, Douglas still preferred her in heavy makeup, and in their world, that was sufficient to make things happen.
The car started up, as the engine had been left running to provide heat for the luxurious SUV. Lucy appeared to have composed herself, attaining a fairly neutral state as they got in.
Rachel sat in the back and gazed out of the windows as they pulled away, slipping on the gravelly soil. "I wonder what Levant wants with twenty-three thousand servers," she asked herself. As they traveled, the mist began to dissipate near the car, and they passed another rusting container with a power cable connected to it. "Forty-six thousand servers," Rachel corrected herself. Then they passed another container, this time displaying a faded blue logo on its side. And another, as the SUV descended into a hollow that resembled a lunar crater. They continued to encounter container after container, with the order becoming more organized. Containers were now arranged in longer and longer rows on either side of the car. Rachel lost count of the number of containers they passed. As they drove, the mist cleared, revealing more of the vast expanse of machines. Row after row, like a formidable army of containers standing ready for battle.
As they pulled out of the hollow, Rachel gazed at the array of containers. Levant was up to something. She unfastened her seat belt and moved closer to Levant, pressing against him.
"Does anyone know what a Hallveig is?" Rachel asked.
"No, sounds like a girl's name. Why?" Lucy replied.
"Oh, I just saw it," Rachel said.
Then she continued in her mind, "being typed into the master control server."
- COMMENTS
Laceyboi2 days agoStill hoping Douglas is the good guy after all and they have their happy ever after l❤️
Kathryn6511 months agoOh my the intrigue is intensifiying something wicked and Im loving every sentence you share with us as I feel there is something terrible going to happen around every corner ... More please xxx
racheprice11 months agoAuthor@annika_unknown. Nice to see the occasional Easter egg I like to throw into the text be noticed, like a hand grenade. I'm more of a fan of classical mythology, and there has already been one reference that went unnoticed (see chapter 23 for more). I won't say much more about Hallveig as it would spoil things, but it will become clear in the last chapter.
Clearly, Lucy dislikes change. She's used to running his empire as it was. She and Charlie don't know what is actually happening on this side project. She wants to go back to the way things were.
I'm with you when it comes to Cormac McCarthy. I've always liked his language and the moral ambiguity of the characters. I'm a big fan of the spoken word. If you listen to speech literally, I'm always amazed at the maze we untangle when we naturally speak to each other.
As for the Southern Baptist cauldron of evil, I'm with you there. Obviously, the reverend Fitts is a reference to this mold. Personally (nothing to do with the story at this point), I'm worried about the undoing of the Founding Fathers' separation between state and religion. DeSantis, who was raised Catholic, has expressed optimism that the U.S. Supreme Court will take steps to expand the role of religion in public life, including school prayer. It feels like the great American experiment is coming to an end. It's worth noting that a site like this does support LGBTQ+ people, which is good, and I appreciate the links to various free speech locations on the entrance of Literotica. Again I could muse on your comments for hours.
I could go on about Ayn Rand all day... perhaps more later.
racheprice11 months agoAuthorWhat a feast the comments are.
University of Lund! Proud creators of SIMULA, the first computer simulation language that inspired Alan Kay to invent Object Orientation and the Dynabook (Sorry, I've been doing research for the next book). Also, the discoverers of Dopamine, that little chemical in our brains that lights up when playing games, checking Facebook, and engaging in other activities. Once we had the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and now we are in the Dopamine Age. Each age is defined by the most important substance exploited by it. What a delight to study there!
What is Douglas planning? Yes, something with dark partners, lots of money, and more computing power than the NSA, not to mention links with tech people like Volk. As you might have guessed, my favorite film from a writing point of view is "Chinatown" by Roman Polanski. There are two threads: the global and the local personal. I feel Rachel's transgender experience (and transgender experiences in general) represents this local/global dynamic. There is the woman in the head (local) and the body & society outside (global), defining how people act. The conflict between the two creates sadness, while the interior of the head creates acceptance. Is Levant creating a synthetic outside (manipulating the people around Rachel), or is the conflict within Rachel, with everyone simply expressing their own perspectives? As FernVilla asks, is Lucy expressing her own thoughts, or is there a double bluff? We all live through this. So, being transgender becomes a metaphor. Almost like questioning if we have free will (can we decide who we are, the local answer) or if it's determined by external factors - the global. Do we determine our own gender, or does gender and society determine us?
So, we are all really facing Rachel's dilemma, and there are zero hints here regarding Rachel's final outcome (Levant or someone else).
The global part will develop, and as you will see, it is definitely a core element in pushing Rachel closer to her conclusion. The high point of "Chinatown" is the scene where the sister/my daughter/my sister revelation occurs. "Do you understand, or is it too tough for you?" is the kind of big emotional reveal that resonates with me. Just like I mentioned earlier, the ending of "Rise" will stay with you.
annika_unknown12 months agoOh, let's give it SIX stars! And I know what I'd do, as I mentioned earlier.
annika_unknown12 months agoOops! I just missed a VERY important clue. At the end of Part 23, Rachel asks, "Does anyone know what a Hallveig is?" (That's pronounced ":HAL-vay") Lucy answers, "No, sounds like a girl's name. Why?" Rachel answers, "Oh, I just saw it," sounding non-committal, I'm sure. And to herself, she adds, "...being typed into the master control server." Rachel's full response is anything but non-committal. The full sense is, "Oh, I just saw it being typed into the master control server."
Hallveig may not be familiar but it's the first name of legendary founder of Rekjavik's wife. His name was a Ingolfr Arnarson (sorry, no available diacritical marks) and his wife's name was Hallveig in Old Norse. (If you'd like to do some research you can read the landnamabok. Yes, it's available in a translation." The significance of "Hallveig" may well be that Rachel's name is a translation or substitute for Hallveig. Hmmm. It could be that our Douglas is familiar with those old Norse legends in Iceland. The remainder of the legend, briefly, is that Ingolfr Arnarson, Hallveig along with his children sailed to Iceland in 874 CE along with Ingolfr's brother, Hjorleifr Hrodmarsson. Hjorleift was murdered by his Irish slaves. According to the legend, Ingolfr Arnarson then hunted the slaves and killed them.
This must be more than a parallel. I can hardly wait to see if the "Great Man" theory fits in with Ingolfr Arnarson's legend. And whether Rachel's presence might be a key to the Zeitgeist project.
Wow! Old Norse legends come back to haunt us!
annika_unknown12 months agoAnd now, Lucy. Lucy levels harsh comments on Rachel. Because we know Rachel's thoughts from inside her character we may feel Lucy's harshness is undeserved. Although some of Lucy's charges are true according to Rachel, we can see not all of them are true.
Ricky and Judy? Apparently Rachel doesn't even know who they are. Is Rachel responsible to the champagne or any of the other decisions made by Douglas? Not many of those Douglas decisions were made by Rachel but Douglas so caught up in Rachel that his words confuse the issue for Lucy and others. No one is responsible for those supposedly Rachel-based decisions as Douglas. Douglas is so captivated by Rachel that he projects his decisions onto Rachel. The tragic thing about Lucy is that her perspective has become warped by her regard or fantasized love for Douglas that other possible perspectives have become blocked. That can happen to anyone, of course, but in this story those opinions and resentments can have tragic repercussions. Alcoholics often admit that resentments serve no one but the drinking patterns of the alcoholic. In other words, Lucy resentment serves no one but herself. If she was interested in discovering Rachel's motivations she would need to ask Rachel and then listen, carefully for her answers. By not doing the discovery she makes assumptions.
The next phase of Lucy's diatribe exposes Lucy's mistaken notion. She thinks that if Rachel only allows Douglas to fuck her all will be OK since than Rachel will no longer be mysterious. And Lucy continues by denigrating Charlie. Some of that may be true but Lucy has put herself way out on a limb, and a weak limb too. Lucy realizes that Douglas isn't as focused on business as much as she would like. It may be, however, that Zeitgeist and Rachel are a distraction but it's also the case that Douglas wants to go in that direction. Douglas is in charge here, not Lucy and Lucy wants to pull the business in her direction. If Lucy is honestly worried regarding these issues then she needs to voice them to Douglas as an honest business disagreement. It's quite possible, even likely, that Levant is moving in a direction that is a mystery to Lucy. After all, Lucy is an employee not a partner. Lucy is wrong about Rachel and she may well be resentful enough to imagine she can accurately gauge Douglas' business directions. If Douglas is the "Great Man" as in the theory (and you'll need to read earlier posts about that) then Ayn Rand's theories may come full circle and Douglas is becoming that "Great Man."
Rachel has an opportunity at this point. As I pointed out earlier, Rachel could recognize Douglas' fascination and run with it. But that would be my temptation, not Rachel's. The "repurposing Bitcoin for other uses" is another hint and we still don't know what those uses might be. Evidently those "other uses" require a huge revenue stream, so large I can't imagine it since it seems to be the size that matches the economy of France.
So we seem to be at another turning point in the story. What is Douglas planning? I don't know but these parts of "The Rise of Rachel Price T Girl" are intriguing. Will Rachel be left with control of the enterprise? Will she be left selling socks from a push cart in Manhattan? And how will she resolve some of the issues tearfully announced by Lucy?
Great writing. I'm still clueless whether Rachel will have sex with anyone besides Charlie!
annika_unknown12 months agoFernVilla has it right. Lucy may be double bluffing but the story arc makes that unlikely. Douglas may be devious but it doesn't seem like that's likely based on his actions and words up to this point. I suspect I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and Douglas is in love with Rachel. That would mean that at this point he sees a future with a post-op Rachel.
I want to turn to a theme that's global, that is, one that applies to North Americans generally. Some of you may know that Cormack McCarthy died yesterday. He's the famous author whose books included, "No Country for Old Men," "Blood Simple," and "All the Pretty Horses ". You'll be familiar with films made from his novels. His books are often violent and bleak. It's not these themes that catch my eye but his language. In two sections of "The Rise of Rachel Price, T Girl," I've commented that it's the human and realistic language that makes this story stand out.
There are two trends in American life affecting all of us. One is symbolized by the Southern Baptist denomination's removal of women as pastors. The other is the continued use of LBGTQ characters in movies and literature. These two don't seem to have connections with each other, I know. The first theme represents those in the U.S. who want to deny reality, that is, they want to pretend that women generally and LGBTQ people in particular don't exist and if they do, they are morally ill. There are others in that Southern Baptist cauldron of evil, of course, including people of color, and all Democrats. (Sorry, just a joke). Just as McCarthy pictured the violence in American culture as a reality in a world turning toward the post-apocalyptic, many face those unreservedly harsh toward LGBTQ people as morally unfit.
I know the space here is not long enough to develop this theme but what I see in racheprice's language is a harbinger of stories that include sex but that also include character development. It's her ability to develop Rachel, Douglas, Hunter, and Charlie that sets this story apart. No, this story isn't publishable in this form but it can lead to much better stories on sites like this one.
I'm out of space here. And now back to Lucy!
racheprice12 months agoAuthorLucy always does Levant's bidding. The question is did he tell her to do it? She's certainly smart enough to double bluff but she knows a good lie should be buried in a mountain of truth. The only reality is for you to know.
As for Rachel's state. Remember Rachel is now nearly a year after starting. She's been Rachel 24/7 the HRT has been physically transforming, and Dr Cooper has been challenging her thoughts. Also, paranoia is a side effect of the cocktail. To an extent, Rachel's been having an excellent time. She has a good number of friends (including Samantha and Charlie), activities, and Instagram fans. she can do what she wants, when she wants. If she wants to go skiing over the weekend she can call up a posse and ask for the airplane. Douglas is not around all the time, so her current situation is quite enviable.
I guess the question is always - what would you do?
Well, another chapter is in the pipe. Thanks for all the Five Stars!
annika_unknown12 months agoThis is the chapter I needed to read! No, not final solutions nor answers but mysterious underpinnings, the backstory so necessary for comprehending everything. It's a good thing that Douglas and Rachel escaped since we would have needed to wait 15 years for the case the wend it's way through the federal court system!
At the end point we discover either that Douglas Levant is up to some major international evil, or that he's attempting to do some monumental good by some massive digital scheme, or he's beginning to worship ancient pagan Norse gods! I've read the old legends in the landnamabok. I understand Iceland as a very rare place in the world for a giant server farm although I've never heard of such an installation of this size. There's so many electrons flowing into those servers that it's very difficult to wrap my mind around such a thing. Obviously, this isn't a Discord server for game play unless Levant is planning to monetize game play across the universe.
Much of this is somewhat familiar. Among other things I've consulted with international telecommunications firms. The scale and scope of Ms. Price's digital network is both confusing and awe-inspiring. Rachel's intelligence and experience is a necessary thing here and it's no wonder Douglas is so addicted to her. I'm curious about how this is going to be resolved! The issue that Mx. Price uncovers here is an old Norse legend and some details appear in the Landnamabok (sorry. I studied at U. of Lund and became fascinated by Icelandic literature).
It's time for Lucy's soliloquy and wow it's a real disclosure in depth! But beware the situation and Lucy's words. Certainly Lucy's feelings display Lucy's devotion to Levant and her love for him. Her words also reveal some truths regarding Douglas' feelings for Rachel. Those feelings reflect some deep unresolved conflicts in Douglas and his willingness to place so much trust and devotion toward Rachel. If Rachel is really wise she will take Lucy's words as hints and act on them. Lucy is brutally emotional towards Rachel but Lucy can't possibly know all of Rachel's thoughts, feelings, and background. I'll need to read Part 23 again but to parse more meaning.
If Rachel's anxiety has poisoned the relationship with Douglas she will regret it and she will be in great danger. He will be broken-hearted. If Hunter is wrong the risks to Rachel are not only physical but emotional and tragic. And Charlie? It's difficult to know if Lucy is right about all those relationships. My anxiety is now fueled by a worry that Hunter knows less than he says. Security and the FBI are not ironclad. J. Edgar Hoover was never free of the intrigue that was part of his life and security analysis is never ironclad either. I'm going to read this again. Once thing is certain, beyond Rachel's uncertainty regarding sex with Douglas, it exposes to themes in Rachel's life right now: if she has any portal into Douglas and can fall in love with him, she needs to act on her feelings. If she is only playing out a "Mission Impossible," then Tom Cruze needs to be involved to save her skin!
