From Petra's diary
Leaving the campus after graduation left me with a lot of nostalgia, for better or worse I lived in that place for several years and I certainly won't forget about it. Luckily I plan to move nearby, in the residential areas of Tech Sixam.
I barely had time to find a nice little house to buy (for it I honestly have to thank my mom and Techna for giving me the money to afford it), that I had to look for a nice birthday present. You're wondering present for whom, isn't that so dear diary? Well, obviously, this time it's my brothers' turn!
Petra: Happy birthday!
Diego really outdid himself with the cakes this time. I don't know where he got the ingredients, and to be honest I'm not even sure what he used either (could it have been the official beginning of his cricket flour creations?), but they were the best cakes we've had in a long time.
It was a fun afternoon, but I couldn't help feeling a bit on edge too. When mom saw me arrive together with Emy, she put on an expression that made me fear the worst questions were about to come. I know mom can't wait to talk about it and would be happy for us, but we want to take our time before telling others. Especially Emy still really needs it.
So we did our best to steer the conversation towards the twins, who have a lot to talk about too. They're planning on moving to Henford in the next few weeks, and Nico especially seems to be looking forward to it a lot. I have to admit I'm not a real fan of that village... but I can also understand their choice, and I wish them the best.
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It's been a few weeks since the party, and my brothers keep sending us updates from Henford. They live on a small farm just outside the main village, and they say there are lots of rabbits and foxes around.
When I saw this picture I was immediately worried about the little rodent's safety, but apparently the local foxes aren't particularly fearsome predators. According to Nico, the locals are feeding those foxes enough food to make them lazy when it comes to running and fighting to get their own preys.
And the foxes aren't the only local creatures they keep talking about. According to Alec, who remains the least enthusiastic of the two about the arrangement, all Nico has on his mind is their new neighbour Diya.
I'm very happy for Nico, no doubt about it, but I can't help but worry about Alec. So far the twins have always done everything together, but it seems like their attitudes diverged a lot over the years. Will living together in Henford really be the best choice for them both?
Alec never liked taking care of the chickens we had at home, will he really get used to a farm?
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In the meantime, I too have finally managed to move my boxes into my new home in Tech Sixam. It's so modern, I love it!
Nacho also immediately expressed his satisfaction, jumping on top of the fridge to observe the new environment from his favourite spot.
Mom suggested I take him in, she says it's a family tradition by now. Sometimes I get a little weirded out thinking about how old our house cat could possibly be... But then I always come to the conclusion that, whatever the reason for his unprecedented longevity is, I certainly won't be the one to complain about it.
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Emy and Mike are also looking for places to stay nearby. They often spend the night at my home, house pricing is quickly rising and it's taking a while for them to find a place where to stay. I actually prefer it when they stay with me, after basically living together in college I find it so weird to live apart!
So, obviously, we're doing our best to use our little free time to still spend some time together.
Michael: (Jokingly) Are you sure I'm not an annoying third wheel tonight?
Petra: We told you already, of course you're not!
Mike sometimes makes comments like that one. According to him, they're just jokes, but I and Emy actually worried about the matter quite a lot. Given the situation, I and Emy clearly want to spend more time on our own than before, but we don't want to make Mike feel excluded either!
Michael: The last Maxis movie just went online, do you want to watch it?
Emma: I missed that news, of course I want to!
Our group dynamics are clearly changing. I don't have a clear image in mind of how it will end up settling down, but as long as we're still all enthusiastic about watching Maxis movies together I don't really worry about it.
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Here at Tech Sixam, I work in the engineering labs of a startup near the campus, whose goal is easy to explain but hard to achieve.
By now it's clear to everyone that epidemics, famines, extreme weather events, and the resulting economic crisis, are all direct causes of climate change caused by gaseous emissions from human activities into the atmosphere: in this framework, our goal is to revert climate change. But, as I mentioned before, this is easier said than done.
We've done calculations and calculations, and it's now clear that even if we reduced emissions to zero starting tomorrow, we'd still be too slow. We've waited too long: with the amount of CO2 currently in the atmosphere, it would take centuries before the atmosphere rebalances to pre-industrial levels.
But if reducing emissions to zero isn't enough, the only remaining alternative is to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Many departments have been focusing on this for some time. Biologists are working with algae and cyanobacteria to boost photosynthesis, while park rangers have been tasked with planting new trees and punishing anyone who starts a fire even more severely.
We environmental engineers, on the other hand, are working closely with the materials science department: they're synthesizing materials that can effectively separate CO2 from the rest of the air, and we're thinking about how to implement them in various filtering devices and facilities.
I'll repeat myself, but this too is much easier said than done. Any machine requires energy to function, and more than half of the world's energy is still produced with fossil fuels. Many nations are already taking action by planning to build new star-core power plants, but it will take time before they become operational. Time that we are not yet sure whether we actually have at our disposal right now...
Well, I probably shouldn't think about these things in my free time, I will have time to fill my head with them tomorrow at work.
Emy is finishing her shift soon and will come over here to spend some time together, I don't want her to find me upset because of work. She has already enough things to worry about right now, I don't want to add any more problems to the list...
Emma: Yesterday I was at my parents' place, but... I just couldn't say anything! I know what they expect from me, I'm afraid they'll be disappointed, that's what...
Petra: ...
Unfortunately, Emy still had a lot of worries in her head, often I didn't know what to say to her. I mean, she isn't wrong to be worried about her situation. My coming out to my family had been an embarrassing mess, but once they knew they immediately fully accepted me for who I am. Emy's family on the other hand... Well, let's just say that the chances of them reacting the same way as my mom and siblings aren't very high.
Emma: (taking courage) At least, my parents aren't here in Tech Sixam. Here people don't care, probably I shouldn't worry so much when I'm here, right?
Emma: You said your friends from the cafeteria usually meet up on Wednesdays, right?
Petra: Yes, but they've moved to a restaurant nearby.
Emma: What would you say if I came too?
Petra: (surprised) Are you sure?
Emma: Yes, I think so. I'd be curious to meet them.
Petra: Okay then! This week they organised a karaoke night too.
Emma: Oh, that's perfect! I love karaoke!
In response, I nodded and smiled. I wasn’t expecting this proposal from her, but I’m glad she wants to meet my friends. After Mike, they are the people I least expect inappropriate comments or judgments from.
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The following Wednesday night...
Sonia: Hi Petra, how are you?
Petra: Um, I’m not complaining.
Sonia and a few others remembered about Emy from college, and didn't really ask any details. Above all, they seemed interested in learning about her favourite song, given that later that day we had booked the karaoke machine for a small competition.
I had a lot of fun, and later Emy told me it was the same for her too. The chances to have a fun evening with our friends like this are becoming slimmer and slimmer as time passes, but really hope we'll manage to repeat this night. Everyone deserves a bit of fun sometimes, isn't it, my dear diary?
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§HermioneSims§ corner
So many changes this chapter, isn't it? Not many disasters though, at least not for now...
As you noticed, there are a lot of fancy Tech Sixam buildings in this chapter, that of course I didn't build :P
So here is Petra's new house's gallery entry:
And here is the building I started from for the new restaurant:
The rest of Tech Sixam remains the rest of my remake way back, for chapter 6.21.
(PS: I noticed now that probably I should pay more attention to including also the creator names in the gallery screenshots, ops... If I get the chance, I'll update them)
