Chapter 6.5: Chain reaction

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From Sirio's diary

Second week in Sim City

Techna: Hello Sirio! According to the art gallery's website, tomorrow there will be an inauguration party for a new exhibition about stereoscopic painting, do you plan to go?

Sirio: (thoughtfully) It seems interesting, but…

Yes, this exhibition sounds exactly like what I came here for. But the only thing I can think of is that there are going to be a lot of people staring at me, and throwing on me all their hostility and distrust.

It's been weeks since when we arrived here in Sim City, but I'm starting to be afraid I undervalued how hard it would have been to get used to this place. 

I mean, I expected locals to be suspicious of me, the fame sixamians have abroad is very well known. Yet, I thought to know how being surrounded by suspicious people felt like, because of the way people treated me back home when noticing my head. Yet, in here somehow the treatment I receive is way, but really way, worse than that. 

It's hard as hell… Why do people judge me every time they notice I'm blue, instead of just ignoring me like they do with everyone else? Sometimes I wish I couldn't perceive at all what other people are feeling, especially when there are so many hostile and ill-intentioned people around me… 

I promised myself I would never do it again, I know it wouldn't take much to cause troubles of epic proportions. I didn't want to repeat what happened on the Granite Falls trip.

But I just want to visit an art exhibition in peace and without being at the centre of attention all the time, just for one time... I don't think I'm asking for something impossible, isn't it? What consequences could there ever be if I put on a disguise for a few hours, being careful if anyone decided to ever talk to me?

Techna: (Whispering) I keep thinking this isn't a good idea, you know? The probability of a catastrophe corresponds to...

Sirio: (Whispering) Continuing to talk about it can only increase the chances someone overhears us.

Techna: (Whispering)  This is true, but aren't you worried they would recognize me, though?

Sirio: (Whispering) Maybe we shouldn't stick to each other all the time, then.

Techna: But...

Sirio: Hey, look at this other painting!

Sirio: I've heard of this painter, they say he was the one who started this new artistic movement!

Techna: Um…

Techna is right, what I'm doing is wrong, but it's so easy to forget about it... Nobody, absolutely nobody, is paying any unwanted attention to me, I can finally mind my own business in peace!

???: What do you think the artist wanted to express with this painting? It's so cryptic!

? ?: Well… this drape has something ethnic, almost historical.

Sirio: The colours are very bright, I think the painter was having fun when painting it.

???: Oh. That's an... uncommon interpretation. But I like it.

Techna: Well, at least you're having fun…

Sirio: Of course I am!

Actually, I was having such a good time I had to pay attention not to start glowing, chances were the others would have found it a bit suspicious. 

 ? : So, are you enjoying the exhibition?

? ?: Everything is perfect. You really did an excellent job with this, Maki!

Maki: Thanks!

???: There also seems to be a rookie around, that guy who hangs around with the robot. He seems to have a lot to say about any painting that he sees.

Maki: Oh, good to know…

Maki: Hey, hello! I'm quite sure I've never seen you before, what do you make of this exhibition?

Sirio: It's wonderful, I've never seen this painting technique before!

Maki: Well, I'm glad to hear that! You know, I've worked a lot to organize everything.

Sirio: Oh, so you are the curator of the exhibition?

Maki: (proud) Yes, it's the first exhibition I organize, you know?

Maki: Well, there's still a whole floor left to see. All modesty aside, I think it might even be more interesting than this one!

Sirio: Oh, okay. Thanks!

Maki: You're welcome!

Techna: According to my database, it is not considered as very polite to stare at people like that, you know?

Sirio: (muttering) W-wait, what?

Techna: In particular because, calculating the trajectory of…

Sirio: I-I was looking at her tattoo, don't be mistaken...

Sirio: (changing subject) There is still so much to see, let's get moving!

I admit that that girl stuck in my head quite a bit, but not for the reasons Techna thinks. That girl can really appreciate the beauty of whatever surrounds her, and this is channelled in the incredible amount of colours swirling around her, all the time, mixing so much that it creates shades that I've never seen before. Usually it's easy for me to understand other people's emotions, but in her case they seem so complicated and elusive…

We met her again at the exit of the exhibition. Actually, to be more precise, I suspect she may have been looking for us.

Maki: Oh, here you are! I was afraid you left already. There's just one thing I'd like to ask you.

Sirio: (perplexed) Okay… what is it about?

Maki: Many people have heard you talking about the paintings, everyone thought you knew a lot about it. You're an artist too, aren't you?

Sirio: Well… sometimes I paint something, yes.

Maki: Then we have a lot to talk about! Let's meet somewhere in an hour, at the local just in front of here, okay?

Sirio: …

That was a bad, bad idea. I had my disguise on, and I couldn't help but think of all the things that could have gone wrong. But she didn't give me time to argue before saying:

Maki: Perfect, see you soon then!

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The local she was talking about was actually a few blocks away, at the top of one of the skyscrapers downtown. I don't know enough about the city yet to be sure, but it really looks like a quite fancy place.

Maki: I may be a bit late, sorry, but the exhibition closure took longer than expected!

Sirio: (on edge) … Don't worry, I've just arrived too.

Yes, I was late too because I got lost twice, but I didn't think it was the case to highlight it, either.

Maki: Are you new in town? You really seem lost!

Sirio: Well… yes. Actually, I moved in here very recently.

Maki: And where are you from?

Sirio: Um… from the south of the country. There isn't much apart from sand and desert over there.

Maki: Oh, it sounds really boring.

Maki: Oh, wait, don't tell me I didn't even introduce myself, did I? My name is Maki, what about you?

Sirio: Sir… Simon. Simon Mills.

As long as I'm wearing this disguise, I suppose it would be better to keep my real name hidden as well, right?

Maki: Well, Simon, I'm really curious to see one of your paintings. It's not so easy to find new artists really able to bring in something totally unseen before… How would you define your art?

Sirio: Well… I try to paint things the way I see them.

Maki: Hyperrealism, then?

Sirio: No, not exactly…

It got me talking quite a bit, about what I paint, what I do here in Sim City, what I used to do back home, and even when I met that robot. Finding an explanation which would not have blown up my cover was more and more challenging as she kept making questions, but I think to have made a good job. I will just have to remember what I exactly told to her now, I guess.

On the other hand, she told me very little about her, and I had to use all my intuition to grasp some details.

She suddenly lights up whenever she starts talking about her work and new ideas, glowing with green, pink and aquamarine strokes. But, at the edges of her aura, there is always some darker shade, almost black at certain moments, which seems to be lurking to take over the rest at any moment.

Even though she tries to hide it and show herself as very confident and carefree, I think she has also been through a lot, and she hasn't quite recovered from it yet.

Sirio: Just for curiosity, do those tattoos mean something?

Maki: um…

That question made her feel troubled, she would have tried to avoid it. Toq always told me so, sometimes I was just too direct with people, I had to be more careful...

Meanwhile, as the bar area started to become more and more crowded upon the arrival of new customers, Maki proposed to move to one of the tables to keep discussing without being bothered by the others. Maybe she didn't want to answer my question about her tattoos, but she still had a lot of questions about my paintings. 

Sirio: ... well, I would rather say that it takes a second for me to decide I want to paint a certain subject, but then it takes much longer to actually find a way to represent it properly. What I look for can be quite... elusive. 

Maki: Um... On the one hand, I think I understand what you mean, but on the other one, I'm totally lost... You have a quite peculiar way of describing your creative process, you know, Simon?

Sirio: ...

It's really evident that art is her world, the moment she starts focusing on anything related to painting currents, colour choices, or contemporary artists, the colours around her suddenly change to reflect her passion for the topic. One moment she was elaborating a complex thought, and the colours around her were a slow swirl of purple and light blue, and the second after they exploded out in a green propulsion as she founds her answer. I wonder whether it would be possible to represent it on a static painting, or if instead...

Maki: By chance, are you planning on returning to the art gallery in the next few days?

Sirio: Well, actually, I, um...

I stammered confusedly for a while, taken aback. I didn't expect that question.

What did she actually mean? That she would have liked to see me again? I could read quite a lot about her true intentions in the colours around her, in the unfamiliar shades of green and fuchsia that swirled all around. But how should I have interpreted them? They meant she wanted to be my friend? Or what if, instead, she was considering to...

At the mere suspicion that she might have been even just remotely interested in me, I felt overwhelmed by so many emotions, all together, that I couldn't say anything anymore. 

But that whirlwind of emotions could only have a precise outcome: I glew like a light bulb, my disguise was compromised! So, snapped back to reality by the fear of her discovering my secret, I jumped up and said:

Sirio: (upset) I'm sorry, I remember about, ehm... Something really urgent I have to do. Gotta go. 

Maki: (confused) Hey, are you sure you're okay? 

Sirio: ... sure, don't worry. Bye. 

I didn't want to make her worry, but what really I wanted to avoid at all costs was to be obliged to wipe her memories. For sure she thought I was a total weirdo, but I really had to leave as soon as possible. And hope she wasn't familiar with sixamians' glows.

What a mess, what a mess, what a mess! What should I do, now?

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