Sometimes it was amazing to see what kinds of rumors cropped up on various places on the Internet. Some of them were new, but every now and then old nuggets would pop back up, including wild claims of having seen deceased individuals very much alive. Elvis of course, but also individuals of a more unsavory sort, the dark side of fame.
Autumn Belfontaine was never sure how much credence to give any of them. On one hand, a susceptible mind could spin a chance resemblance into an encounter with an incognito historical figure. On the other hand, the existence of human cloning raised the possibility that someone had in fact seen a clone who had gotten missed during the Expulsions, especially if that clone were about the age the individual in question had been during the period of their fame or notoriety.
All the same, she considered such reports useful mostly as filler, “news of the weird” items that would inject a little levity in news reports that were becoming ever more depressing. People needed something to lighten their moods, but right now the usual forms of humor felt more like mocking matters that ought to be treated with the utmost respect.
A movement at the edge of her field of vision caught her attention. She turned to see Spruance Del Curtin slouching his way down the corridor, looking as if he really wanted to avoid being seen.
What is he up to now?
She cleared her throat to catch his attention. “Aren’t you here early?”
Was that a hint of a flinch? “Just made better time getting down here than I’d expected.”
No, that did not sound the first bit believable. But if she openly called him on the lie, he’d just clam up on her.
“Sprue, if there’s something you want to talk about, we are family.”
Sprue came over to lean against the doorpost, although he didn’t actually enter the newsroom. “Just getting tired of feeling like I’m being watched all the time.”
Autumn considered how to respond to that one. “You do realize that there’s a lot going on right now, and not all of it is for public dissemination. There’s been some concern about just how much you’ve been trying to find out things, especially with you having access to broadcast media.”
Yes, that got his back to stiffen. “Hey, it’s not like I’m going to go blabbing it all over my air shift. But you’ve gotta admit that knowing that there’s information out there but I can’t get at it is something of a challenge.”
“True. Every good reporter has that newshound’s nose. But you’re not on the news team.” Should she make it into a directive to stay in his own lane, or would it be better to extend the offer to let him join? Sprue could be difficult, and she wasn’t sure how she’d handle dealing with him that closely.
It didn’t matter, because the program director picked that moment to come out and want to talk to Sprue about something. Still, Autumn continued to ponder the question as she went back to her own work.