§HermioneSims§ warnings:
Also this time I can't go too much into details to avoid spoiling the plot. What I can do, however, is a generic warning about some incoming very sad conversations.
From Petra's diary
It took a while to find Techna at the recycling centre, they were sitting in complete silence in the dark. They hadn't given up their work, but they seemed intentioned to limit any unnecessary contact with anyone.
Just when I got close enough to see their face-screen I realised they looked... sad? I immediately felt like an idiot: it was since when my mom passed that Techna started isolating themselves, why did I wait for so long before checking on them?
Techna: Why did you come?
Petra: We didn't have news from you in weeks, we were starting to worry!
Techna: ...
Petra: (cautiously) By chance, are you... sad?
Techna: I'm a robot, what you call sadness shouldn't arise from my processing unit.
Petra: Why use a conditional tense, then?
Techna: Because some other evidence is pointing in the opposite direction.
Techna left me puzzled several times already, more or less each time I tried to understand the way they elaborated on information, actually. Everyone always took for granted that robots were only imitating human emotions following their software, but what if at least some of them really experienced them?
The metaphysical consequences of that hypothesis were wild. What really is our mind if a computer can replicate it? A "robotic mind" is a complete replica of ours, or does it develop in a different direction? Does at least Techna understand it, or is this obscure to them too?
Writing them in this diary, trying to think logically and rationally, makes all my perplexities look so obvious. How could a robot be any other way?
Even if it seemed absurd to say it out loud, however, interacting with Techna it was often so easy to forget I was talking with a robot and not with a person...
So I ended up treating them as I would have done with any other person, asking:
Petra: By chance, are you missing my mom, Gaia, too?
Techna: ... I have to admit I'd rather skip experiencing this again.
Petra: ... again?
Techna: At first it happened with Steve, the person who built me, and the rest of his family. Then it was Sirio, his nephew. I have known him since he was a little kid, he called me his best friend more than once. And then his child, Helios, did the same. The latter was reaching a worryingly old age when I left for Sixam, so technically I wasn't present when he passed. But now, here I am at it, again...
Petra: Wait, so you joined the other robots on Sixam to avoid seeing your human friends pass away? Didn't you leave because of climate change?
Techna: Technically, the two statements aren't mutually exclusive.
Petra: ...
Techna: Also, whatever my original motivations to leave for Sixam were, they were all proven pointless by now. Having to hide on this planet, I won't be able to avoid climate change, and if I keep sharing the household with humans, those around me will keep dying at an alarming rate. Maybe I should just stay on my own, and wait for the inevitable...
Interacting with someone who is used to thinking at such a different time scale than us is wild, they seem to be already worrying about something that is supposed to happen in 50 years at least as I would about the bills next month. On the other hand, however, if I try very hard to imagine how it may feel to be them, I find it so relatable to be painful.
Petra: I'm afraid I don't have a solution for our limited lifespan. However, I haven't lost all my hopes regarding climate change yet, and I think that someone like you could make an important contribution. Would you consider moving in with us, in Tech Sixam, and joining our labs?
Techna: ... I'll evaluate your proposition.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know exactly what absurdly complex simulations Techna ran before making their choice, but it didn't take so long before we received an answer this time.
Petra: I'm glad you decided to join forces, really.
Techna: According to my calculations, this was the best solution by a margin of 0.3264%. I'm able to provide more decimal digits, if needed.
Petra: I see... Rather, do you need me to guide you around the neighbourhood?
Techna: No, that won't be needed. I lived 15.6 meters from here for 22 years, 5 months and 26 days. In fact, this is the last neighbourhood I lived in before I went to Sixam.
Petra: Oh. I see...
The more time passes, the more I realize I know very little about Techna. But I think that I can trust them. Or, better, that I want to trust them and their ability to help us.
So Techna quickly took over our matter recomposer. I can't say I'm sorry at all, I never really liked that thing. They're still running at the recycling centre in Evergreen Harbour and they're also considering opening new ones around the rest of the Sim Nation and in New Sixam. In addition, they also agreed on running simulations for the lab where I'm currently working.
Petra: You're really working very hard, are you sure you don't need a hand?
Techna: I'm just following the schedule I optimised.
Petra: If it takes so much time to keep up with the recycling centre, why don't you hire an assistant? Or you could even build another robot just like you, you could do that, right?
I regretted asking that question before I even finished pronouncing it, as I noticed Techna losing their usual composure and turning to me without saying anything.
Their face is made up of an LCD screen that can display different expressions, but I've rarely seen them show anything other than the expressionless little blue lines that are supposed to represent their eyes. This time, their expression flickered for a barely noticeable instant, and yet there was something in their motionless stare that made me think: "What on earth could be going through their mind?" What if I accidentally stumbled upon another one of those topics they don't want to talk to us about?
Petra: (cautiously) Or I could just let you work as you prefer. See you later, okay?
Techna: ...
How puzzling... But I didn't have the time to investigate, I had to catch up with Emy. From the messages she sent me at lunchtime, I got the distinct impression she wanted to talk to me about something important. I didn't want to put it off any longer.
Petra: Hi! Did the power go out?
Emma: A few seconds ago, yes. Are there still faults to repair in the electric grills, to your knowledge?
Petra: That's probable, the tornado left a lot of damage to the infrastructure after all...
Petra: But that's not so important, what did you want to talk to me about?
Emma: It was crazy at work today, really...
Petra: Are you still working on treating the people who got injured during the tornado?
Emma: Yeah, and that's kind of the point, actually.
Emy doesn't often beat around the bush so much, unless it's something big. What could she be thinking about?
Emma: (cautiously) I think we should get back to that conversation, the one about having children.
Petra: (taken aback) Oh.
She took me completely by surprise, so much so that I didn't know what to say. But at least she seemed to be prepared for my possible reaction, because she immediately began to explain what she meant.
Emma: I know, I know, it sounds crazy after the tornado and everything, but that's kind of the point, actually. You said you didn't feel like having a baby if it meant throwing it into this kind of world that seems like it's falling apart, and after the scare the other day I agree more than ever on that point, but…
Emma: … see, today an eight-month-old baby girl arrived at the hospital, the social services took her for a check-up. It's a long story, and a very sad one too… In short, however, they say she was orphaned during the tornado.
Her voice was starting to shake as she spoke, and in the meantime I thought I was starting to understand where she was going with this. I really wanted to hug her tightly, but she seemed to want to finish saying what was on her mind first.
Emma: … when I picked her up she didn’t want to let go, I think she didn’t want to go back to the social workers, and I… Well, don’t you think we could try to adopt her? I don’t know, maybe you’d like to get to know her first, and the paperwork would probably be terrible, but...
Just hearing that story and seeing Emy's state made me want to cry too, I could barely imagine how shey could have felt when leaving that baby at the hospital alone with the social services.
Rationally I didn't have a plan yet about to possibly handle it, but from the bottom of my heart I could only answer:
Petra: ... Okay, let's try.
And that's how we adopted our little girl, with the name that I sincerely wish will bring us at least a little luck: Hope.
She even looks a little like us. Don't you agree, dear diary?
It's difficult, more than I thought. Given the emergency situation and the cuts to the social services funding, the paperwork was reduced to the bare minimum, and it took us just a few weeks to get custody of the little girl. In those days we barely had time to reassemble the furniture she needed and get a few toys.
Hope is often in a bad mood, she hasn't gotten used to us yet. We're quite sure she's missing her original parents. Luckily, day by day she seems to trust us a little more, and we are becoming more and more attached to her too. She likes a lot Nacho, too.
She is so little, yet she has already been through so much. From now on we just want to make sure we give her the best, and that she won't lack anything despite the circumstances.
After the first month, we decided to introduce her to our friends and relatives too. If there is one thing that she surely won't miss, that's having a lot of aunts and uncles.
Nico: Hey, hi!
Hope: He!
Nico: Wow, she bites!
My brother Nico seems to be her favourite uncle for the moment, every time she sees him he insists on being picked up. I think it's because he is much taller than us, and the little girl seems to enjoy having such a high point of view over other people. In any case, whatever the reason, Nico certainly doesn't hold back. In fact, both he and Alec are always fighting for her attention by bribing her with the funniest toys they can find just to gain the crown of "favourite uncle".
And that's it for today, my dear diary. The little one just fell asleep, I want to take advantage of this little time to get back to work on that project I started a few days ago… It seems like a promising approach to our old prototype, but who knows if it will really work.
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§HermioneSims§ corner
I know, I know, though chapter...
With this final thoughts corner, I want to make some lighter comments, which are more game-play related.
First, you surely noticed that Hope entered the story as an infant, and that's the first time an infant shows up in this legacy. Actually, I played this part right around the time infants were introduced into the game. Also, I'm very glad they were introduced so late and I actually ended up playing with them only in Gen 10, as they're way too demanding for my play-style preferences. I mean, can you imagine situations like early Gen 9 with 3 kids of a similar age who had to pass from the infant life stage? I had Techna for help, but even that way it would have been way too much for me!
Second, I want to comment on the joke I added to the chapter about how "Hope looks a lot like Petra and Emma, albeit being adopted". Well, the main reason why there weren't other adoptees in this legacy is that I wanted to test the genetics in this game (this legacy is my first save in TS4 after all, I had a lot of experiments to do), and to test the genetics and its implementation properly I decided to follow the self-imposed rule of only having bio children in the legacy. But then Gen 10 arrived.
As usual, the sim-days were advancing and I had to hurry up to give birth to the last heir in this legacy. How could Petra and Emma decide to have a kid just after a tornado, though? Maybe by adoption... But how to match it with my self-imposed rule of bio-kids only? My final solution was: to have a science baby from Emma and Petra and say she was adopted in the story!
I'm actually not sure my experiment about genetics implementation in this game really worthed the effort, it's quite boring in comparison with earlier games... Anyway, yup, Hope will look quite a bit like her mums.
Also, at this point I finally obtained this achievement:
^ Translation:
"Comparing Generations"
Play with the same family for at least 10 generations
This to me was the first I really realised that it was actually happening, the legacy really was approaching its ending!
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