From Petra's diary
Petra: Hey, hi Mike! And Haruka is here too, I didn't expect to see you!
Haruka: When he was leaving the office, Michael said he would stop by, and I thought I'd pop in to say hello too. I hope I'm not bothering anyone.
Emma: Of course not, you're welcome!
Mike and Haruka are still spending a ton of time together even after college, they're still colleagues at work. Actually, they're spending so much time together that some people started asking a lot of questions.
Honestly, I'm quite curious about what's going on too, but I'm even more sure I don't want to become the annoying nosy friend. Mike is always complaining about how annoying those questions are, after all.
And I think Emy thinks the same, because she immediately changed the topic in a totally different direction.
Emma: Rather, Petra, what's that rash? I don't think you had it this morning.
Petra: It's nothing, it's just a little itchy...
Emma: Uhm... It looks a lot like one of the rashes of Selvadorian fever, you know? Maybe you should stop by the hospital for a moment, to update a bit your prescriptions.
Petra: I know, I know...
The acute phase of Selvadorian fever had passed years ago, but every now and then I still happened to have a few small relapses of this type. That little rash was nothing compared to the anaemia I suffered from in the past, or the symptoms Mike still fights every day, but after all this time I'm really annoyed that I'm still dependent on those medicines. I'm starting to think I'll never get totally off them.
And I've also heard Emy say several times that I'm not the only one to have such long-lasting after-effects, apparently it's a pretty common situation among her patients.
She works mainly in the pediatrics department, and even there the cases of Selvadorian fever, acute or chronic, are far more common than one would hope for.
This disease has been endemic in many warmer regions for ages, but the Tech Sixam labs started to seriously search for a definitive cure only now that this region got hit. Many earthling laboratories have attempted the challenge, but no one has ever tried to apply the Sixam technology before. So who knows, maybe they can really find a way... As for me, I know perfectly well how much effort Emy is putting into it, so I'm sure that, if a solution really exists, then she and her colleagues will find it for sure.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time is ticking, it's incredible to think it's Winterfest already. Our first Winterfest since we moved to this neighbourhood, to be precise. This year we decided that Emy and I would be the ones to throw a party, so here we are.
Snowy winters have become a rarity even where we grew up, in Evergreen Harbor, but here in this desert it's hard to even understand that it's really winter.
Petra: Hey, hello! You're Diya, right? Do you want to decorate the tree too?
My whole family participated, and it's the first time Nico brought his girlfriend to a family meeting too (yes, he finally admitted they're in a relationship, and quite serious about it too).
Alec: Wow, it's floating in the air!
Petra: Um, we don't have much in the pantry, just some flour and vegetables, what can we prepare for lunch?
Emma: Um, I don't know…
Nico: Even on the farm in winter we don't have much, but we managed to bring some eggs and milk.
Petra: Really? Thank you so much! We can make some omelettes with vegetables like this, or even crêpes!
Nico: By the way, is there no water? The faucet in the bathroom was running dry.
Petra: They've been rationing water for months now. The drought, you know.
So we started cooking. Maybe it wasn't the usual roast (tofu)turkey, but the drought of the last few years is making many foods increasingly expensive and hard to find. All in all, we're lucky to have my brothers in Henford, just a quick teleport jump away, to get milk, eggs, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Petra: This will take a while to cook... In the meantime, can I ask you, how are you guys doing in Henford?
Nico: For me, it's not bad at all, you know I like the countryside. I have nothing to complain about.
Petra: And what about Alec? Is he still bored all the time?
Nico: Um, maybe farming isn't really his thing... But he's started working part-time at the local farmers' market, basically selling stuff from the farm.
Petra: Oh, that sounds much more like him! I'm sure he's chatting with everyone in the market!
Nico: Yeah, that's quite true... And then the market is near the pub, he's making some friends there as well.
Petra: Good, I'm glad you're all doing well!
Nico: And you? Haven't you finished inventing what will save the world?
Petra: You don't know how much we wish we did, but it's even more complicated than expected...
We talked a lot, and for once we even managed to really fill our bellies and laugh out loud. For a day, we managed to forget about all those things that had been going wrong for years.
Petra: Mom, there are a couple of things I'd like to talk to you about...
Gaia: Sure, darling. Did something happen?
Petra: In a way... Well, you may have noticed that Emy is here too, and I wanted to let you know that, how to say... She's actually living here too now, because, ehm... we're basically a couple, now.
In response, mom made the biggest smile ever. She didn't seem surprised at all, for sure she understood it already. And what she then said mostly confirmed it:
Gaia: Great, so now can we talk about it? I'm so, so happy for you! Also...
It actually took a while before I managed to change the topic. Probably I should have expected it, it's since when I was a teen that she's holding back her questions because she was afraid to cross my boundaries again. Also, the more time she spends with Diego, the more chatty she becomes.
Gaia: (cheerful) By the way, is there anything else you want to talk to me about?
Petra: Yes, actually, yes. Why didn't Techna come?
Gaia: We tried to insist, both Diego and I, but they said they were too busy at the recycling centre. Now that the prices of everything are so high, many people are asking to use the matter recomposer to continue using their old stuff.
I can't believe it, with the crisis we're having now we all think twice before buying anything. Many people continue to wear old clothes even when they're full of mending, or they prefer to invest in a good work suit and wear it all day. I also recovered a couple of Nico's old shirts, which no longer fit him and which otherwise would have been thrown away. Not to mention phones or computers, it's been years since I've heard anyone say they bought a new one.
I understand that the recycling centre is in demand like never before, but I also feel sorry for Techna: I know they're a robot and working hard isn't a problem for them, but I still wonder: don't they feel lonely? Does it mean they don't actually feel loneliness, even if in so many other instances they behave a lot like a person?
The party was over, but I kept mulling about it. By now I can say I know a little about robots and artificial intelligence, who knows who produced Techna and with what kind of technology...
Techna certainly has an extremely powerful processor and can process data at an absurd speed, but they are still a very peculiar machine, different from any prototype in our laboratories. My colleagues would think I was crazy if I said this out loud, but I grew up with Techna, so I think I know them well. Their responses are often so emotional and human that you forget you are dealing with an artificial machine, while some other times what they say is just... puzzling.
Are all the robots on Sixam like them, I wonder? And, if they are... would it be stupid to hypothesise they may decide to help us?
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