From Venus's diary
Steve: Are you really in such a hurry to keep working from home?
Venus: Well, yes, we are tremendously late on a few deadlines. Our boss didn't forget about the resources in the Sixam's star, you know, and he wants us to find a way to reach them before Arizhel does. As if it was easy to take away material from a star...
Cassy: (thoughtfully) Maybe we're using the wrong approach, even if that star is much colder than others we can't treat it like any other rocky object we can walk on...
And here's our problem. Our boss would like us to come up with a plan to open a mine on a star whose coldest point is still above 1000°C, and without roasting anyone in the process. Even the robots would melt at that temperature, and we would need a lot of them to get the job done.
No matter how much we think about it, at this point I'm getting more and more convinced that the content of stars will remain out of reach. Too bad Cassy still seems distracted thinking about Arizhel's speech and climate change, we could really use one of her brilliant ideas right now...
---------------------------------------------------
From Sirio' diary
Lately Florian and I have spent quite a lot of time together, he's been feeling down since when his mother left the Earth looking for another planet to colonize. In a situation like this, I think to be one of the few people around who can really understand how difficult this situation is for him, so I have no intention of leaving him alone.
Forian: You weren't kidding when saying you could draw all day long! Do you want to fill the whole wall?
Sirio: Bah, it'll take a while before I reach that point...
Sirio: Rather… How are you?
Florian: (resigned) Do you really need to ask? Clearly the atmosphere at home is not cheerful at all, but it's not like we can do much to change the situation, can we?
Sirio: …
Florian: I have the impression that you have other questions about it, though.
Sirio: Yes, actually yes.
Florian: (resigned) Just ask, then.
Sometimes I'm told I worry too much about other people, but it's also true that usually the people who make those comments don't have any clue about how the people I worry about are really doing. I may be labelled as weird, but I can't avoid being like this.
Sirio: You said many times that Arizhel has never been very present for you. However, you also often say that you are sure that deep down she cared about you. But how can you tell if she was never around?
Florian: Ahm… I can't think of any real example, it's more like a feeling… It's a bit strange, thinking about it.
Sirio: Uhm…
Florian: Why are you suspicious now?
Sirio: I'm just thinking, don't worry…
Florian: I should return back home anyway, so...
Sirio: If you and your father feel alone, remember that you can come here whenever you want!
Florian: I know, I know. Rather…
Sirio: Rather what?
Florian: … have you ever been told that you hug people a bit too often?
Sirio: A couple of times, actually.
---------------------------------------------
That conversation with Florian had left a lot of doubts in my head, the kind of doubts I think Toq could help me resolve.
Toq: Good evening, Sirio. I see you have a question.
Sirio: Well, actually yes. How can you tell if someone's memory has been erased or changed?
Toq: (Thoughtful) There is no univocal answer, it depends on many other conditions... Where does this sudden interest in telepathy come from, by the way?
Sirio: I had this impression talking to Florian... He says he doesn't remember almost anything about Arizhel, but on an unconscious level he seems to "remember" that she cared about him instead, in some way.
Toq: … This sounds like the kind of discontinuity which may be caused by the deletion of a portion of memories, yes.
Sirio: So you think that Arizhel could have erased the memory of Florian and Edward, before leaving?
Toq: (serious) I cannot rule it out.
Sirio: Uhm…
“I cannot rule it out” which, translated from Toq's way of speaking to ours, means: “I think that's exactly what happened”. Even just considering this hypothesis makes me so sad, what could Arizhel have thought before deciding to make her whole family forget about the time they spent together?
Toq: Sirio, your question reminds me of another matter.
Sirio: What kind of matter?
Toq: Have you ever considered learning about telepathy from me? I do not think I can teach you everything I know, but I am sure you could assimilate a significant portion of it.
Sirio: What, seriously? I had never seriously thought about it… But it seems cool!
Toq knew I agreed with his proposal already before I could give a complete answer out loud, so he asked no further questions. Instead, he just told me:
Toq: I only know one way to teach telepathy, so try to stay still for a few moments…
Toq: I advise you to go to sleep, so that all the new information has time to settle down.
Sirio: (a bit confused) Wow… Our teachers should learn how to do the same, it would be so much faster, you know?
Even Toq had smiled at that joke, just before wishing me good night.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Comedian on TV: Yes, that's weird, but what can you do about it? They're just squid heads, aren't they? (audience laughs)
Steve: Techna, what about that face animation?
Techna: I'm so sorry for Sirio, and also for Toq… Since when Arizhiel made that announcement on TV they've all started making fun of them again and calling them with that silly appellative...
Steve: Yes, you are absolutely right about this.
No matter how much time passes, but sometimes I still struggle to understand what's passing through Techna circuits... No one would expect it from a robot, but they often demonstrate to be more understanding and compassionate than many other people around us.
And also this time they are absolutely right. Nowadays many of the ancient sixamians have decided to follow Arizhel, but those who remain here are often the object of jokes and insults, and the same treatment is given to me, Florian, and a few others like us.
We've tried to endure it for a while without complaining, but we can't take it anymore. It's time to find some turnaround, even if I have the impression that mom and Toq won't appreciate it...
Toq: Why are you wearing a hat, Sirius?
Sirio: Well...
Cassy: Hey, what's going on? And what is that horrible hat for? It's so hot today!
Sirio: I'm tired of drawing so much attention to myself and being called "squid head" by random people, that's all.
Toq: ...
Cassy: But putting a hat on won't solve anything!
Sirio: … I'm late, we'll talk about it tonight, ok?
Cassy: Hey, wait a minute…
But I had already walked away, as fast as I could, along the sidewalk in front of the house. I already knew that mom would discuss about it for at least an hour, even without reading her mind I could sense it from her reaction.
Toq's instantaneous telepathy course certainly worked, now I have the impression to perceive much more complex emotions than before from the people around me.
Also, dear diary, have you ever noticed that sixamians glow in different colours when they experience very strong emotions? Well, now I just need to focus a little to see those same colours around anyone, at any time. Sometimes the shades are so complex and surprising, maybe I should try to paint them, don't you agree?
But not today, because I have other plans! Halley is still inviting me and a few other schoolmates to various activities, and so that I sort of go along with them I don't want to be late for this appointment.
Sophia: Hey, since when are hats in fashion again?
Halley: Since never, what are you two up to?
Florian: People don't stare at us as much this way.
Sirio: Yes, that's all.
Halley: (sceptical) Bah, if you say so…
At least Halley and Sophia didn't insist too much, they seemed more interested in checking the music in an old jukebox.
Just at the right moment, I would add. I could already sense that Florian had sensed from me I had something more to ask him, we had to talk.
Florian: You seem even more worried than last time, did something happen? And go straight to the point this time!
Sirio: Well…
Yes, what Toq taught me really helped. I can't perceive whole thoughts and images the way he does, but the discontinuities in what I could perceive from Florian were much clearer than ever before. If I had any doubt before, that wasn't the case anymore.
Sirio: … I'm pretty sure that some memories have been erased from you. Quite a few memories, actually.
Florian: What?
Sirio: It's like what's in your head sometimes stumbled and missed a step, you know?
Florian: …
I didn't tell him who the person I suspected to have erased his memories was, there was no need for it.
Sirio: This is too complicated for me, but maybe Toq could retrieve some of those memories. You should just...
Florian: I have to think about it, ok?
Sirio: Okay, as you wish.
Florian seemed frightened at that moment, as anyone would be when realising to have lost part of their memories. But it wasn't just that… I'm afraid he was also frightened of what he may have remembered, in the case he managed to recover those memories.
Our conversation must have gone completely unnoticed by the other people who came to that club together with us, because out of the blue Halley and Sophia had turned to us saying:
Sophia: That jukebox's music seems just horrible, but there's a violin here! Can anyone play it?
Halley: Sirio can, he's always playing at home!
Sirio: What? No, look, I'm not that good as…
Before I could protest, Halley had already put the violin in my hand and started to drag me off the couch to start playing. And she didn't seem at all willing to take no for an answer, she can be very authoritative at times.
Well, in any case, I'd told Florian what I had in mind already, at that point it was up to him to decide what to do.
As for the rest instead, I wasn't sure to be able to make anything which can be defined as real music with that violin, but that was more of a problem for those listening than for me, I guess...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From Cassy's diary
Steve: My calculation is over, there is just no way to take any material from that star without melting the equipment, we just aren't quick enough.
Cassy: (focused) Uhm…
We have been trying to find a solution to this problem for weeks now, both at work and here at home, and everyone else seemed to have resigned to the impossibility of the project. Yet I kept having the impression that we were ignoring something very obvious, that we just need to change a little bit our point of view to reach the answer. The obtainment of new sources, the contrast to climate change, the growth of New Sixam... I can't believe these aspects can really be seen as separate, they are so clearly bonded one to the other...
Turning my viewpoint upside down... If it can't be us to reach for that star, what if instead...
Cassy: (thinking out loud) What if we used a teleport machine to reach the core of the star instead?
Venus: (perplexed) Why should we teleport anyone to the centre of that star? That would be crazy!
Cassy: No, of course that's not what I meant! Think about it, teleport machines are designed to open a channel to move instantaneously matter from point A to point B. We have always placed the teleport machine at point A to teleport whatever is placed into the portal to point B, but once the teleportation channel is open, wouldn't it be possible to do the opposite as well?
Venus: What do you mean?
Cassy: I think that, technically speaking, we could point the of a teleport machine to the centre of that star, and then teleport anything from that point into the teleport machine here in New Sixam.
Steve: (reasoning) If the teleport machine was made with a material ultra-refractory to high temperatures, and we waited for the matter to cool and expand in a controlled environment, it could actually be possible to retrieve the material we need!
Cassy: And all that extra heat could fuel, I don't know... an electrical plant, or something!
Steve: Yes, teleportation over those distances used quite a lot of energy, but the net energy gain should still be in our favour, let me calculate it...
At that point I couldn't help but smile, the more we talked about that idea the more the details seemed to emerge. There could have been a way to use the Sixam's star to both generate electricity and recover rare elements after all, and all using technology we already have and without causing more pollution!
I think more and more often that the original Sixamians made a very strong point when saying that teleport was their greatest invention, it's much more versatile than one might initially think…
At that point even Venus, who had been the most sceptical about the possibility to really getting any idea, at that point couldn't keep staring at us speechless anymore, and finally blurted out saying:
Venus: You're a genius! We have to immediately share it with our boss!
-------------------------------------------------------------
§HermioneSims§ corner:
Sci-fi or not I've basically invented a way to create free energy, I don't gasp the details of teleportation physics and yet I have a strong suspicion I'm breaking the energy conservation law :P
Well, I forgot about physics a lot of chapters ago anyway, so...
Also, I want to spend a few lines about Sirio and Florian. I don't know what impression you could have had while reading the chapter, but I think there is quite an important point about them which was never risen in the story and that now may be quite important: in-game, those two are actually cousins. In the story no one is really aware of this because the society of the ancient sixamians doesn't really take into consideration any kind of family relation, but in-game many of the first ancient sixamians I identified were actually siblings (including Toq and Arizhel), which in turns means that also Sirio and Florian are related.
As if this family wasn't messed up enough already, uh?
Wow. Toq and Arizhel siblings! What a reveal - it's funny that they both ended up in relationships with non-ancient sixamians and with sons. I really like how Sirio and Florian can relate to each other. I'm curious about Florian's missing memories too. The climate change issue is a big problem... it's really hard for people to work together on something that's not imminent.
ReplyDelete