From Petra's diary
Hope: Does it mean that kid is my cousin? Can I play with him sometime, can I?
Hope may be the happiest person about the recent family news. She is visibly excited about George, she'd been talking about him a lot for days and can't wait to play with the kid she already considers like a friend of hers. For us adults, however, the implications are much clearer.
Sitting here being unable to help is so frustrating for us all, but Alec asked us to wait and let him solve the matter on his own, and that's what we're trying to do.
Petra: (cautiously) Hope, honey… I think it will take a while before we can invite George here to play…
Hope: But why?
Petra: Well...
Emma: This is a big change also for George, making him suddenly meet the whole Miller family before he's ready to could be a little difficult for him, right? For now, he's starting to spend some time with uncle Alec, then we'll see what he wishes to do.
I exchanged a grateful look with Emy, when it comes to giving a complicated explanation like this, she's much more capable than I am.
Little Hope, however, didn't give up.
Hope: Um, maybe you're a little right, yes… But ugh! Can't I at least write him a letter?
And, at that point, we gave in. I don't know if that child's mother, Stefany, would accept any letter from us. She still seems so annoyed by Alec and all of us after all. Hopefully she'll be at least a bit understanding for a kid trying to be friendly, though, right?
And so we spent the evening helping Hope with her letter, even Nacho wanted to participate. I really hope that George will be able to read it sooner or later, there are so few children around here and Hope wants so much a friend to play with.
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The next day, I had to roll up my sleeves and get ready for a long work day. CO2 capture systems don't just build themselves, do they?
First stop: Henford.
Nico: Oh, so Hope wrote him a little letter? Sure, I can give it to Alec, but I can't promise you anything. Stefany seems rather, how shall I say… reluctant about everything Alec suggests, you know.
Petra: I was hoping you'd tell me something different… But I had the same feeling, you know?
What a bad situation… But, unfortunately, I didn't have time to take care of it at the time, I was already behind schedule.
Petra: Thanks for letting us have this little corner of your yard, it'll be perfect for covering this area!
Nico: So we'll just have to change the filters every now and then, right?
Petra: Yes, that's easy! Move the full ones to the stack to the right of the device, shortly after they should be teleported by the Sixam robots, and after a few minutes they should reappear in the stack of usable filters on the left!
Nico: And then just pull the lever to start it, right?
Petra: Exactly, like this!
Having said that, I pulled the lever and the suction turbine activated.
Our main challenge right now is exactly this: to quickly reduce the concentration of CO2 in the air ew couldn't just focus on the main greenhouse gas emission spots, but we had to place point devices scattered over a much larger surface. And, even if I wanted to, I would not have been able to manage them all alone. My colleagues and I are actively looking for volunteers right now, and of course my siblings immediately accepted the task.
And that brought me to my second stop: Evergreen Harbour.
Petra: When was the last time I came here again? It seems like ages ago...
The Evergreen Harbour recycling centre, the one near the house where I grew up and which Techna still takes care of, seemed like another obvious location for me. Both Techna and Atlas know the CO2 capture device as well as I do, and I was sure that this installation would be particularly quick.
Techna: Don't worry, we don't need the instructions booklet for this.
With great relief, I was then able to teleport to my third stop: the Tech Sixam University, where I spent my college years.
Sonia: The roofs above our labs seem like the best place to put it. Do you think we could test out some new materials for the capture filters while we're at it?
Petra: I don't see why not, actually.
Sonia: That's exactly what I wanted to hear!
Sonia: I know you have a lot of work to do, but sooner or later, you have to tell us about what you've done on Sixam! How did you convince the robots to help us?
Petra: Um… It's a long story, actually.
And so I reached the last stop for the day, Sim City. Finding someone willing to take care of it down there had been a real pain, eventually it was Techna who proposed to contact the owners of a store named in the family diaries, apparently my grandma was one of the founders. I don't really know the current owners, but I think we can trust them. They did deal with teleportation devices after all, it probably won't be hard for them to take care of the CO2 capture system as well.
Michael: The air here is really awful today…
Petra: A couple of smog filters wouldn't hurt, actually, but I'm afraid those will need to wait for a bit longer...
Emma: Aren't the shop owners here?
Petra: No, but they say they had no problem understanding the instructions and are going ahead anyway.
Emma: I see...
The fact that Emy and Mike had decided to join me for that last placement had left me a bit perplexed at first, there's nothing exciting to see and they also have a lot to do with their respective jobs.
But I understood that it was one of Emy's attempts to organise something nice a little later, when she said:
Emma: Listen, would you like to go out for dinner tonight, like in the old days?
Michael: Why not.
Petra: Of course I'm in! Are we celebrating something special?
Emma: (vague) You'll see, you'll see...
So I hurried to finish the last adjustments, before pulling the lever to activate the aspiration and following the other two back to New Sixam.
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A little later, Tech Sixam
The old restaurant in the neighbourhood where we live also suffered damage during the last tornado, and together with the neighbours we helped build this new meeting place. There's not much else to do here anymore, and even though it's made up with a few old containers stacked on top of each other, it's always quite crowded.
Petra: Are you sure you're not too sick, Mike?
Michael: I'm not worse than usual, don't worry... Rather, Emy, can you tell us what you had in mind before I fell asleep on the table?
Emma: Oh, I really think this is the kind of news that will wake you up for good. In short, at the hospital we've just started clinical trials of a new medication against the Selvadorian fever!
Michael and Petra: (in chorus) What, seriously?
Emma: I swear, I'm dead serious!
Emma: The participants seem really motivated. It will take a while before we have statistically significant results, but-
Michael: Let me participate too.
I barely had time to fully understand what Emy was telling us, when Mike immediately stepped forward as a volunteer. Did he really think it through?
Petra: Wait, are you really sure? I mean, Emy is talking about trials in the very early stages, it's not a given that they'll actually work. And if there were to be side effects instead-
Michael: I know that well, but I can't stand this infection anymore. Doctors have been doing whatever they could to keep my liver together for years now, and honestly, the life expectancy of a person in my state of health isn't great. I know it's a risky bet, but I don't want to miss any opportunities either. The scenario I'd be most afraid of, honestly, is ending up in the placebo group.
Emma: I imagined you'd react like this, you know?
Emma: In any case, before being admitted to such a study, it is necessary to speak to several doctors, undergo tests to ascertain the participant's suitability, and so on. If you really want to participate, you will have the opportunity to carefully evaluate all the details.
Michael: (determined) I ask for nothing more!
I was quite upset during that conversation. Thinking back now, while writing down about that dinner and after thinking well about what has been said, I think I understand better why Mike made this choice. Also, it's Emy and her colleagues organising the trials, I know for sure they'll do the best job possible at it.
For sure any trial like this brings some risks. It's a bet, like Mike said, after all.
He is not the type to complain, but in our college years he risked his life because of this parasite, and since then not a day has gone by without him looking exhausted and tormented by strong migraines. Emy has just given him a small glimmer of hope, and he is willing to take the risk so as not to waste any little chance of improving his health at least a little bit.
I won't lie, if I were in his position I would probably make the same decision. As his friend, however, I can't forget that his condition worsening as a side effect of the medication is also a possibility.
Am I too pessimistic? Maybe... But it's also true that luck has often turned its back on us. I really hope the luck wheel finally started to spin a bit in our favour, you don't know how much, my dear diary...
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