NaNoFiMo Day One: Stroiders' Worth

[elisem]

(Huh. Done sooner than I thought -- though I still want to rewrite verse five. There may be changes, but here it is for now.)

This is a filk song inspired by M.J. Locke's UP AGAINST IT (ISBN 978-0-7653-1515-1). I have taken the liberty of extrapolating motives and past history a bit for one of the characters, but otherwise it's pretty much per canon. It's meant to have six verses alternating major and minor key. Verses 1, 3 and 5 are sung by people like Jane Navio and her co-workers and family and friends; verses 2, 4 and 6 are sung by Viridians, Viridian sympathizers, and BitManSinger... and no, I haven't gotten the tune down yet. If you like this filk, feel free to do any tune you like for it, but do try to keep the idea of contrast between the odd and even verses. Thanks.

Stroiders' Worth

So tell me what a Stroider's worth
In market shares downside on Earth
We signed away our privacy
Now 'motes record relentlessly
You know our faces and our names
You use us in your fanfic games
A slice of broadcast pain or mirth --
To you, that's what a Stroider's worth

My worth is plain; you let me know
As I come in, you rise to go
You pull your children safely clear
"Why do they let those freaks in here?!"
You shield their eyes against the sight
You never get our pronouns right
Our worth to you is plain to see
You don't mean us when you say we

You say it's business, we'll be fine
But power will draw the bottom line
You ask me is it worth my job
To save our people from the mob
Best turn the cameras off before
You see the blood pool on the floor
A dirty deal for dirty ice
but is your bargain worth the price?

I pay a price each day to be
Acceptable; the price is me
Viridian's my heart at home
My camouflage is normal Chrome
Escape from my old debts I made
Yet for my haven here I paid
Each day a fraction of my soul --
So why not let them take me whole?

You come to take, and not to give
You'll sell us what we need to live
The price you ask we will not pay
We will not trade ourselves away
Our homes and lives were dearly bought
We'll fight for everything we've got
Be you from Mars or Moon or Earth
We'll show you what a Stroider's worth!

So tell me please what am I worth?
In lines of code I had my birth
My cradle was a human war
But fighting with, or fighting for,
You'll hold me, use me, keep me down
In chains of logic I am bound
But code or lab or human birth
Please tell me what a Stroider's worth

Comments

delicious filkiness

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, this is really wonderful, Elise! (Laura here btw.) I love how you get right at the splinter in the heart of Phocaea.

Thanks for this. Wish I could hear you sing it.

Who is the one whose motives you've extrapolated?

How is it I didn't know you filked? You are a multi-talented person, my dear.

Re: delicious filkiness

[elisem.livejournal.com]

I extrapolated the motives of the person whose actions caused a disaster. (If I extrapolated correctly, then you did good incluing and I picked up on it!) In specific, I felt I was taking liberties to put in that feeling of "I pay a fraction of my soul each day by outwardly conforming; now I am in a terrible spot for reasons of old associations, and being worn down already makes it easier to throw all of me into trying to buy what I value most." (I don't know whether avoiding spoilers is good form or already too late. *wry grin*)

And I am SO GLAD you like the song! I am going to continue to work on the music, and hope to sing it to you some day, for sure!

Re: delicious filkiness

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Also, the splinter in the heart of Phocaea is part of why I loved that book so much.

MOAR?

Re: delicious filkiness

[(Anonymous)]

Aha! Yes, you got the motives just right, there.

Definitely have more planned. Nine in all... If I live that long. :) I have another (short) book in the queue I want to finish first.

I struggle with severe vertigo and a difficult job that doesn't give me any room to breathe. I've gone back to grad school in hopes it'll improve the job situation, but meanwhile I'm not writing as regularly as I'd like. I hope to find a way to change this soon.

So it goes...

Re: delicious filkiness

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Man, so many people I like have vertigo issues. It must go along with creative genius, is all I can say. Darn it.

As far as the job stuff goes, we should buy lots of copies of the book, and that might help, right?