"Uh... A.K.?" "What is it, Red Line?" "I just got your draft for your next book and—" "If it's about the cover I know it's rough, I put it together in an afternoon. Just get that kid who normally does the covers to do her magic." "We were going to do that, but that's not the issue here." "Oh? What is it, then? Is it because I'm not on the cover? I told you I don't care what marketing says, I want the pyramids to be the focus here." "A.K., listen. The cover art is fine, that's not why I called you." "Well, get out with it. I have to finish the third act, and I want to get to it while the memory is still fresh." "Okay, here's the thing. PR wants you to change the title because they feel it'd cause needless controversy." "I... Wait, what?" "Yeah, since the story takes place in the Zebrican continent, they want to avoid any type of backlash regarding the title." "Wow, I don't even know where to start." "You can change it for any synonym. I think [i]Obsydian Curse[/i] has a nice ring to it." "What? No, Red Line. That's dumb." "[i]Dark Curse[/i] sounds too cliché." "By all means, keep pretending you don't know what I mean, but I'm not going to change the title of the book." "Please. You know you have a lot of young impressionable readers." "Okay, first of all, it may be the Zebrican continent, but the pyramids are Saddle Arabian. I don't know how you could confuse the two. Celestia, I think that's even more racist than if the title actually was an off-hand mention to the color of a zebra's stripes." "PR wants to minimise the—" "[i]Second of all[/i], its name is the Black Curse. Check a history book. That's what ancient Saddle Arabians called the curse that would befall anyone who would dare enter the pyramids." "I know that..." "Then what's the big deal? You're acting like I used a racial slur in the title." "I'm just doing my job, A.K." "Oh, I thought your job was being my editor, not bending over whenever the PR department asks you to do something." "That was uncalled for." "Ugh... I'm sorry, Red. It's just that... Well... I haven't done anything wrong! I'm just being faithful to history, it's what I do as an archeologist." "I know you haven't, A.K. But try to see it from their perspective. You remember what happened when 'The Mad Gryphon Anthology' came out last month." "I don't think those two are even remotely comparable, Red." "Tell that to the PR guys." "I'd do it if I thought it'd change something." "What will you do, though? You know they're not going to let this go." "Hmmm... They just objected to the title, right? Not to actually calling the Black Curse by its actual name." "The memo I got only mentioned the title, yes." "I wonder if they even read the damned draft... Okay, how about this, the Curse is mentioned in the background for the first third of the story, and only kicks in halfway through the second act. Proportional to the rest of the story, I think the pyramids themselves are featured more prominently. I could title it after them." "So... [i]Daring Do and The Mystery of the Pyramids[/i]?" "A bit bland, but we can work with that for the time being. You think they'll object to that?" "Most likely, but at least they won't bring up the racial issue." "Here's hoping." "..." "Say it, Red Line." "Yeah, it's about the donkey merchant you meet in chapter two." "What about him?" "Do I have to..." "[i]Fine...[/i] I'll tone it down." "Thank you, A.K. The West has different sensibilities, it's just how it is." "It's a shame really. Golden Shekel was a really nice guy." "I don't doubt he is, but it's better this way." "Yeah, yeah. I already agreed. See you next time, Red." "Take care, Yearling."