Chapter 7.18: Interference

 <-- Previous Chapter

Meanwhile, at Helios's house

Helios: Hey, did something happen? You have a face...

Kate: (Frustrated) This was another totally wasted day, that's it! I feel so close to find out who the culprit is, but every time the answer seems to slip away just before I can catch it. I've been working on this case for years now, I even managed to retrieve your memories, yet I can't understand who erased them!

Helios: Your dedication to your job is admirable, but...

Kate: (ignoring him) I think they're using a memory reading method different from the ordinary ones, something that interferes with the usual telepathy. And I think it's some of your friends' fault, I get such a headache every time we're gathering all together... It is that kind of mind-reading-gone-wrong headache, you know?

Helios: How could I forget about it...

Kate: And then— 

Helios: (interrupting her) Ehy, you've already done an excellent job, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself.

Kate: Well... But at this point don't you want to find the culprit as soon as possible too?

Helios: Of course I do! But... but I'm also starting to think that we shouldn't be thinking about it all the time. It just drives me crazy, at least.

Kate: Uhm… What alternative do you have in mind, then?

Helios: well, it's Saturday evening, why don't we have some fun? I assure you that people work much better after taking some rest.

Kate: Well, that's actually true, I know many studies to back up this. But starting from Monday I have every intention of interrogating all your friends, one by one!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

From Alba's diary

Time passes for everyone, and I am certainly not an exception.

Alba: Sorry Nacho, but this isn't for you!

Nacho: (offended) Meow...

Olivier: Happy birthday, Alba!

Alba: Thanks!

Also this time we celebrated a birthday alone, while Rowan was sleeping. Back in the days I would have done my best to at least invite my siblings, is this situation really making me drift away from them so much? I don't know what to think, I'm so tired that just thinking about it gives me a headache...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Rowan doesn't sit still for a moment and always asks us to play with those cards used to learn new words. I don't know where he gets all that energy from, we always struggle to keep up with him, but we're happy to see how happy about learning he is.

Drew: Is he still memorizing cards?

Alba: He always asks for it.

Drew: I see...

So Drew took a quick note on his phone, before moving downstairs for yet another "conversation". At that moment I couldn't even worry about it as I should have, that headache made it difficult to focus. So I just followed him, together with Olivier.

Olivier: Rowan, can you play a bit with Rino? We need to talk for a moment.

Rowan: Rino!

Alba: So, what's happening?

Drew: I fear that we will have to further increase the level of caution, Kate and her colleagues are starting to approach a bit too much to us. Above all, we have to keep her away from the memories of all the people in this room, at all costs.

Olivier: (tired) And what should we do to avoid it?

Drew: I didn't want to get to this point, but I'm afraid I have to give one of these interfering watches to you too.

Alba: What watches?

Drew: Interfacing watches, like the one on my wrist. They can generate a signal that interferes with telepathy, effectively preventing mind reading.

Alba: Oh, so that's why...

Drew: "That's why" what?

Alba: Nothing important, forget it.

Olivier looked at me with a puzzled expression, but that explanation had to wait. The more I look at that watch Drew gave to us the clearer it seems to me: it was because of his watch that I couldn't understand if Drew was lying or not, it managed to interfere with my "lies-detection sixth sense".

I honestly didn't think anything like this could be done with an electronic device, even more so with one so small and easy to hide. I guess this could be another invention of the secret laboratory with which Drew collaborated. And if they kept the "interfering watches" secret for so long, then who knows how many other things we are not yet aware of ...

---------------------------------------------------------------

Drew left in a hurry as usual, and we started wearing those watches he gave us mostly out of fear of what could have happened if we didn't. I'm pretty sure they are working as intended, as now I can no longer tell when Olivier is lying to me or not. It's so weird... But we are in no position to protest, either.

So we go on with our lives, waiting for Kate and Helios's investigation to reach us.

Anyway, today is Easter and Rowan is eager to collect as many hidden eggs as possible. So we really can't afford to lose sight of him, today more than ever.

Olivier: How many Easter eggs did you find?

Rowan: (counts on fingers) one, two… three!

Olivier: Good job!

The weather was so beautiful that it also became our first swim of the year. Rowan was so happy when we told him he could finally jump into the water, to just abandon his Easter eggs and learning cards to rush into the ocean.

It was such a beautiful day... If it wasn't for that new weight on our wrists. 

Next chapter -->

-------------------------------------------------------------

§HermioneSims§ corner

Also this time I want to close with a funny picture. This time, however, it is not something I took while playing, but a screenshot I took just the other day after noticing that the "my first pet" stuff pack was being given for free on EA app.

Nacho and hamsters, too bad the legacy was already over when they eventually met...

Chapter 7.17: Rowan

§HermioneSims§ corner

I want to start with a small justification this time. I did it again, I decided to change the skin colour of the newborn sim in the legacy out of boredom.  

As you saw at the end of the last chapter, Rowan was born with the same light blue skin colour as Alba, but I found that idea very boring. If you think about it, I played that shade of aliens with Misty (gen 4), Cassy (Gen 5), Sirio (Gen 6) and Alba (Gen 7), and I really wanted some more variety. So I decided to cheat his skin colour to make it match with Olivier's as soon as I was able to modify him in CAS (i.e. when he turned into a toddler).

Also, I want to point out that also this generation was played well before the infants update in the game (early 2021!). Actually, the only generation where you'll see infants is the last one, because the save is just that old.

This said, let's go back to the chapter!

 <-- Previous Chapter

From Alba's diary

Despite the years we spent taking care of Iris and River, the first weeks with Rowan had been quite an adventure for us. We had never taken care of a newborn before, after all. Objectively it takes a lot of energy, considering that little Rowan wakes up every few hours and that we're still learning to interpret the meaning of his every cry.

But, after all the effort and sacrifices we had to face to become parents, we certainly won't let a few sleepless nights stop us. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days after the birth of little Rowan, it was also time for Olivier's birthday. We were too busy with other things to throw him a proper party, but we were just too tired to feel sorry about it.

Alba: Hey Nacho, hi! I didn't notice you!

Nacho: Meow!

Alba: Happy birthday!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The months pass, and little by little we are managing to enter this new routine.

The more time passes, the more little Rowan seems to resemble his father. He seems greener and greener, don't you agree, my dear diary?

I heard it sometimes happens with sixamians, probably I don't have to worry too much about it.

Olivier: Ehy, good morning!

Rowan: Daddy!

Olivier: Breakfast is almost ready, don't worry!

Alba: Ehy, that smells good! Are you preparing French toast?

Olivier: Yes. They're almost ready, actually.

Alba: Thank you very much!

Like every morning now, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, fed Rowan, put on our work clothes and rushed to bring the little one to the nursery before going to our offices.

Alba: When did you shave the last time?

Olivier: I don't remember exactly, you know? It could have been three days, or maybe a week...

Alba: I think it suits you. Even if it is a bit ticklish.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rowan is a very curious and energetic child, always asking to play something new or listen to stories.

Sometimes it's more tiring to keep up with him alone than with Iris and River together, Rowan just never stops for a second.

And, as time passes, we're more and more convinced that he is very intelligent. He learned how to speak very quickly and immediately started bombarding us with questions about how this and that other object work.

Everything would seem perfect, as long as we manage to forget about a certain person still periodically showing up at our place...

Drew: His growth seems regular to me, excellent.

Olivier: (tense) Good to hear...

I really don't understand why he's still keeping an eye on us, it's now clear that the pollination machine worked properly and that Rowan is a healthy child, what else does he need to study?

Yet Drew continues to come to us practically every week, always asking us the same questions.

Alba: (worried) Do you think something could still go wrong? Is that why we continue to keep an eye on us?

Drew: The parameters of you all seem perfectly normal, I really don't see how anything could go wrong. This is simple scientific punctiliousness, you have nothing to worry about. The only thing that was still puzzling me was your headaches actually, but if they are getting less frequent it most likely means that everything is going as expected.

Alba: Uhm…

Drew: By the way, is it normal to see so many bees in your garden?

Alba: Well, I put a hive in the garden, that must be why.

Drew: Stupid insects, I've never liked bees...

Maybe we really don't have anything to worry about, just like he says, but since I still don't perceive any nuance in his voice that could confirm to me that he's telling us the truth, I just can't avoid worrying either.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Time passes, we have now reached the end of the year. When we were younger we always celebrated with our friends by attending some party, but at the moment we don't seem to have the time or the energy to do that.

So we just played and sang together a little while Rowan was sleeping in his room at the other end of the house.

… and then followed the midnight countdown on the small TV upstairs.

Olivier: (ironic) We're really getting old.

Alba: Yup...

-------------------------------------------------

Living in a place like Sulani, little Rowan certainly couldn't ignore the sea. Now it's winter and it's too cold to enjoy a nice swim, but that doesn't mean we can spend entire afternoons playing with the sand, which is certainly not lacking on these beaches. 

Actually, to be totally precise, Rowan tried to jump in the water ignoring the high waves and the cool water at least three times, it took quite a lot of persuasion to convince him to build a sand castle instead.

Rowan: (curious) What is it?

Alba: Um, let's see... That's a coconut palm, I'd say.

Rowan: It's big!

Alba: Yes, it's really big, you're right!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The following week, Lily decided to surprise everyone. Without telling us anything she managed to give all of us a temporary visa to enter Sim City for one day, so that the whole family could visit the city with her together at least once. I never thought too much about it because I've a double passport anyway, but I have the impression that this is also a symptom of a softening of Sim City's foreign policy, in the past it would not have granted us access so easily.

So Lily took the opportunity to take us to the flea market. Mom used to talk about it so often that it was almost strange to see that little square in person, even though we had never been there before it all seemed so familiar...

Olivier: Hey guys, I haven't seen you for a while, you're grown a lot!

Iris: Hey, it's all because you've stopped visiting us in Tech Sixam since the little brat was born!

Alba: Well, maybe it's partly true, but it's not nice to call him that, don't you agree?

Rowan: Hi!

River: But it's true, he's so little!

Alba: And he's also a great listener. So please be careful, he quickly learns everything he hears!

Rowan: Rino!

Iris:… And now what does he want?

Alba: I think he wants to show you his favourite toy.

River: Oh, okay… Um, nice puppet. I guess.

Rowan: He's Rino! 

So we had fun wandering around the stalls and kiosks selling foods with names I can't really pronounce, and also playing music at one corner of the square.

I haven't had this much fun in a while. This city is the exact opposite of Sulani, for better or worse. Here life goes by so fast that it seems impossible to get bored.

Olivier: (cautiously) Are you okay, Helios? Is that too spicy?

Helios: What? Ah, no, sorry, I was just thinking about a few other things...

The thing that worried me the most was seeing my brother, he still seems so sad... When River and Iris are around he always avoids talking about it, but he and Kate are still working together looking for whoever erased his memory. However, from what he tells us, I'm quite sure they haven't found any clues yet.

In these moments I feel so guilty, because Olivier and I now know many things we're obliged to keep secret, but which could also help him so much. Above all we know of Drew's involvement: if it wasn't him to personally wipe my brother's memories, quite surely it was someone close to him. But we can't afford to say anything, especially considering that Rowan is at least as involved as we are.

These dark thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Iris jumped up to say to us:

Iris: Hey, I heard that Sim City is famous for karaoke, and that aunt Alba and uncle Olivier are very-very good at singing! Come we go, can we?

Helios: Well, why not?

So Olivier and I continued to hide behind that calm face, to follow the others towards the next place.

Of course we missed singing like that, I couldn't say we didn't have fun. Olivier also won the karaoke competition of the evening, I was sure he would have succeeded. However, deep down, now when I am together with the rest of our family and our friends I can't help but feel like I'm living inside a huge lie: essentially, we are now playing the part of innocent people unaware of everything, when the reality is the exact opposite to. We did all this just to be able to become parents, and we couldn't imagine our lives without Rowan now, but will this guilt ever go away?

Next chapter -->