WEBVTT - CZM Book Club: Hermetica, by Alan Lea, Part One 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:10.680 Cool Zone Media book Club book Club book Club. Hello 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:12.880 and welcome to cools On Media book Club, the only 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:14.560 book club where you don't have to do the reading 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:17.720 because I do it for you. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:21.520 and I've been promising you big things the coals On 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:25.760 Media book Club for months now. I've been saying big 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.920 things just around the corner, and you're starting to think 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.159 Margaret's just saying that to have something to say, but 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:37.120 it wasn't true. I was thinking about big things and 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.800 the main purpose of those big things is that I'm 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.880 excited about a bunch of new content that we've got 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:48.640 for you. And we're starting that new content this very 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.239 week because this week I'm going to be reading you 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:55.680 and novella. Well, okay, over the next several weeks, I'm 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.440 going to be reading You and Novella. And I didn't 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.960 even write it. I'm going to be reading you. Hermetica 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.600 by Alan Lee and it was published by Detritus Books 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.199 in twenty twenty one. Alan Lee is a pen name. 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.760 It's the speculative fiction pen name for an author you 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:16.360 might already know about, and if you don't, you could 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:21.800 come to know about. Named Peter Gelderlos and Peter Gelderlos 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:23.840 is the author of a bunch of nonfiction books you 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.880 might have already read, including The Solutions Are Already Here 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.480 and How Nonviolence Protects the State, and a lot of 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:35.759 stuff that talks about the formation of states and movement 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:39.839 strategy and all kinds of things. But this is Alan 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:43.280 Lee's debut novella. But if you want to find more 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:46.280 from Peter, you can find his essays, his rants, his analysis, 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:50.760 and his missives on substack at Surviving Levia Fan or 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:54.560 if you just search Peter Gelderlos, which is Peter g 0:01:54.720 --> 0:02:00.240 elder Loos, and you can find all that on somebs stuck. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:06.000 It's a good substock. I subscribe to it. Hermetica by 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:12.000 Alan Lee one. It was when Days found a sheet 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.200 of tree fiber inside the wall, stamped with black ink 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:19.640 and the likeness of words, words referring to Earth, that 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:23.040 they realized things did not add up. Why had they 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:25.440 pried open the wall panel in their module in the 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:30.520 first place. Destruction of one's module was destruction of hermetica itself, 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:36.919 And no behavior was more selfish, more dangerous than sabotage. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.680 Of course, Snookums had started it scratching at the panel, 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:43.600 not that that would count as a mitigating factor in 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:47.280 any reconciliation processed. Days might be invited to join to 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:53.120 address the sabotage. Snookums was a cat, a fugitive, almost 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:56.840 certainly inexplicable, at least for the moment, but at the 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.079 end of the day, a cat, therefore not a citizen, 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:07.960 therefore not party to reconciliation processes. In fact, the relevant 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:12.800 agreements would probably class Snookum's misdeed as negligent sabotage on 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.840 Day's watch, even though Snookums was not assigned to Days 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.080 did not even appear to be in the system. Days 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.400 had permitted the cat into the module, had watched as 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.600 the cat scratched fervently at the wall, had joined in 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:31.520 the destructive enterprise, and now everything was unraveling at a 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:37.080 terrifying speed. When Days was younger, they knew they wanted 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.800 to work on the sky. The day Snookums appeared. The 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:44.280 sky was a perfect azure and argent dome. It was 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:48.280 oppressive in its glory. Days wanted to reach out to 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.680 touch it, to paint a little wisp of cloud just there, 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.400 but they were not allowed. The sky was the domain 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.880 of others who had been judged and found more worthy. 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.960 Summarily unfair that a single exam had reduced Days to 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:08.280 a peon. After staring a moment longer at the exquisite sky, 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:12.640 Days let their head fall chest to chin and trudged 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:18.080 off down the block. Days had dosed that morning, but 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.760 still they could not summon the will to smile a 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.880 greeting to the people they passed. The mere thought of 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:27.960 this failure brought the tears a growing weight, begging release, 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:32.280 a release they could not allow. Some moisture around the 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:36.480 rim could fall within the probability shadow of allergies or sleepiness, 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.880 not likely in their file, but still possible, But a 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:45.320 whole fat tear rolling down a cheek would definitely result 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.279 in Days getting sent home, marking up another sick day, 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:54.120 which in itself wasn't a problem. Even at fifteen percent productivity. 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:58.240 Days would not be classed for permanent reconciliation unless they 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.880 also logged a couple anti social, but it would ineluctably 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:07.599 feel like another failure, one more in an unbroken train, 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:10.760 going as far back as they cared to look, as 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:15.159 far forward as they dared to imagine. Perhaps working on 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:19.880 the sky had been an unpragmatically ambitious dream. Designers required 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:24.160 the highest aptitude in esthetics, mechanics, and maths. They had 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:27.320 to be team players. The sky formed a joint project 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:32.039 with Engineering, Life Sis and Mattillo. Days's high aptitudes and 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:36.280 intuitive low scores and teamwork and fine appreciation for suffering 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.160 had tracked them into palliative therapy. Yet wasn't that, on 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:44.240 another level an affirmation of their feelings. Days had the 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.640 unshakable feeling that it was their destiny to touch the sky. 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:50.839 What other dreams could one have condemned to die in 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:57.560 transit for Days's cohort. There was no final destination. Days's office, 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:01.039 like all health centers on her Medica, was at the node, 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:03.880 just at the end of the block. They paused before 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.919 going in. It was so low today, the sky as 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.520 though it began just at the top of the section walls. 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.400 The walls didn't end Days new Every block was itself 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.760 a sealed module, but the designers gave them something beautiful 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:19.200 to look at overhead, so they wouldn't have to stare 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:23.200 at gray walls on all six sides. Days would give 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:27.520 anything to climb into that deep, rich blue. They sighed 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:31.760 and walked through the double set of sliding doors, passing 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:36.159 through decontamination, Days went straight to their office. Lingering in 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.000 the common area would all but force the other therapists 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.760 to ask them how their day was, and Days couldn't 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.800 bear the thought of that, how's it going? The cruelest 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.800 question there was. They sat down and let out the 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:54.120 tears when they could. They focused on breathing, deep breaths. 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:58.480 It wouldn't do to see a patient like this. Every 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:01.719 work assignment brings us close to all of us or 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:05.320 none of us. That's what they had been taught. Days 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:07.760 was supposed to feel proud of their work as a therapist, 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.240 but it was impossible not to see the assignment as 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:13.360 some kind of failing. They had been early selected for 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:15.800 placement in a science cohort, and at the end of 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:19.040 it all, Days was barely a technician, while the others 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:22.720 had gone on to great things. True, only one person 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:25.160 in the cohort had been selected as a designer, and 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:29.560 last they knew, sidetracked into an entertainment project is as 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:32.520 far from the sky as Days themselves. And it was 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.160 also true that officially all jobs were equally valued and 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:40.680 prestige ranking was discouraged. Appreciative commentary on this or that 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:45.280 work category was boosted or muted accordingly, and even palliative 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:49.520 therapists and cleaning bought repair. Overseers got their digital love, 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.640 but people could still distinguish what was PSA, what was forced, 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.880 and what was generally admirable. It was even worse than 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.040 a science cohort because the peer reviewed structurally could not 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:03.640 use the same metrics as the social and if your 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.480 name never dropped in a PrV, you were definitely nobody. 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.520 But it was not the lack of name recognition that 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.400 chafed days. They could not help make the sky every 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.960 single day, and in exchange, they had to be classed 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.880 as permanent reconciliation on their profile for all the cohort 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.440 to see. If no one ever knew that they made 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:27.600 those colors, those moon rises, those soul hemorrhaging sunsets, they 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:30.880 would be perfectly happy. It was the fact that they 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.280 spent three and a half days a week guiding point 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.319 prods and air jets over the knotted backs and shoulders 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.360 of those who did the real work. That they coached 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.680 the creators of beautiful and important things on corrective posture 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:47.880 that stifled their spirit. Once they were breathing normally, Days 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.080 called the console to life and clocked in. The first 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.160 appointment came in seating and undressing on the other side 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:57.240 of the plexi. They were a young person in mechanics 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.160 from the next blockover who had started seeking therapy be 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:03.680 a few months ago for soreness and migraines. The two 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.400 had talked on other occasions when Days was on the up. 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:10.360 They had a decent job and reducing distribution loss between 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:14.040 blocks the unending quest to make her Metica more efficient. 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:17.839 It wasn't genius work, but anything that might accelerate the 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:22.559 arrival window was considered at least a little prestigious. Honestly, 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:25.080 anything that involved working on the ship and not just 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.000 on the bodies that filled it or the secondary machines 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:32.400 that serviced it was considered decent. Days had never worked 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:35.200 on anyone who had worked on the sky or the 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:38.559 engines for that matter. It would be illicit, but Days 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:42.839 wondered whether those job descriptions were tracked to higher grade therapists. 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:46.960 The scan was complete, and Days began directing their array 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:50.040 of instruments over the patient's back, keeping half an eye 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.760 on the display that Mr. End all the neural activity, 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:55.480 but mostly just following their own feelings on what the 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.360 other body needed, how it responded to the probing, the vibrations, 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.880 the digit pressure, the heat and the cold of a 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.439 dozen different appendages they kept in motion on the other 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:09.360 side of the plexi. Days supposed they were pretty good 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.280 at what they did. There had even been comments on 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.880 social that spoke of a magic touch that didn't seem 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:19.160 to be PSA. They were pretty sure they had been 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:21.959 written by real patients and weren't just machine love to 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:25.400 cheer them up for all its prosaic lack of glamour. 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:28.319 Therapy was something Days could do when they were down, 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.280 and when they were up, they could feel what other 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.079 people were feeling in a way it had surprised Days 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.280 to learn most other people could not. And that was 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.440 the world. Days inhabited a jungle of raw feelings in 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:43.680 which they were at the same time cold and alone. 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:46.880 But do you know what will keep you, dear listener, 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:52.920 from feeling cold and alone? The cold alone embrace of advertising, 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:57.240 because you and the advertising can be alone together. And 0:10:57.280 --> 0:11:01.199 can you really say that you're alone listening to advertising? 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:19.880 Probably here's that, and we're back on a prior appointment, 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:22.840 Days had asked this patient if they knew anything about 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:26.040 the arrival window, But the mechanic wasn't that high up, 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.080 and there wasn't really anything else they could ask someone 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.280 like that, Certainly nothing that had any bearing on their block. 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:35.400 The power worked except when it didn't, but it always 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:39.640 came back quickly, and emergency systems never failed. Every now 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:42.160 and then a PSA went out and they were all 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:46.040 asked to minimize usage between such and such hours. Surely 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.280 there was a lot of work involved behind the scenes, 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:53.360 but what to say? So Days conducted the session in silence. 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.880 The thought of the arrival window stayed with them, though 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:01.800 the arrival window was all always narrowing and widening based 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:05.080 on the complex interaction between the colleagues and FIZZ and 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:09.080 the ones in engineering in interaction Days was not privy 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:12.720 to and would not understand anyway. But as it stood 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:16.040 most recently, her Medico was scheduled to arrive in two 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:21.440 to three hundred years at best. Unless bioen COGFIZZ and 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.720 Metaphizz made some huge advancements, Days would live just past 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.559 the halfway point. They would never arrive. They would spend 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.240 their life correcting the knots and cramps of engineers and 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.000 designers who would put those knots right back in place 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.439 with their next week of desk work. Even the ones 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:41.760 who had complete HF interfaces, no typing, all verbal in 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:45.640 gestural commands had posture problems. After all, many of the 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:49.360 high tier specialists voluntarily worked seven days a week to 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:52.800 keep their heads sharp. As the old saying went, so 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.320 as probably an NBS a problem that would never be solved, 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.960 which meant that Days's entire purpose was to keep fixing 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:05.600 those reappearing knots forever and ever unto death, and that 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:09.440 was all there would be. After two more appointments, Days 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:12.439 went home for the day, and that's when snookums appeared. 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:16.199 Crossing the block almost back to the module. They saw 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.080 movement out of the corner of their eye. Days turned 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.000 and there was a cat. None of their neighbors had 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.920 cats like that. Well, Days couldn't actually be sure. Weeks 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.440 passed before any one person had the chance to spend 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.120 time with even half the people on their block. But 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.080 getting assigned a new cat that was something people bull 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:39.079 horned on social every time, VIDs, anecdote and a flurry 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:42.240 of commentary. Days would have noticed a cat like this, 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:47.319 ash and coal and tiger stripes with peach cream undertones. 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.640 The cat had a peremptory gaze, set over a broad, 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:54.000 majestic nose that came to the perfect little floor delise 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:58.920 pawprint of a tip, a sculpted kiblet of marzipan perched 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:02.600 over a pursed mouth, flanked by long fans of whiskers 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:07.240 that bespoke a scornful elegance. The mystery cat ran up 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.840 to the nearest wall, shoring up its confidence, perhaps, but 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:16.800 also inciting attention. Hey snookums, Days said on a whim, 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:20.680 not knowing why. They lowered their mask, not strictly permitted 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:23.120 out on the street, but no neighbors happened to be 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:27.880 traversing the block at this hour. Hey baby, Days made 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:32.400 kissing sounds, and Snookums as it were, came hither. The 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.360 feel of its fur was so warm and soft. Some 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:38.680 kind of liquid pleasure flowed through Days's body, and they 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:42.360 drank it up, parched like one coming in from the desert. 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.920 They immediately felt their trapezius relax, releasing weeks of built 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.200 up tension. They should have noticed it was, after all, 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.400 in the center of their limited feel of expertise, but 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:57.680 while a patient begged a diagnosis, the self always demurred. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:03.440 Having rubbed thoroughly against Day's leg, Snookums ran suggestively ahead, 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:07.160 right up to the door of the module, Day's module. 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.720 I don't suppose it's any harm if I borrow you 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:14.680 for a bit. As they approached, the module, door slid open, 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:19.040 and Snookums waltzed right inside, as though it owned the place. Well, 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:23.720 they joked, they can't say I kidnapped you. The bed extracted, 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:27.160 and Days plopped down on top of it. Snookums jumped 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.880 up and soon was atop their lower back, purring and 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:34.000 kneading away. Even more tension dissolved, as though chains had 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:37.440 been wrapped around Day's lungs, and they re encountered the 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.880 tears forced down that morning and so many other mornings. 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.440 Now there were no more walls and no need to 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.840 man them, and Days surrendered every last tier to the 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:52.000 bed sheets. By the time Snookums jumped off, Days felt 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:57.160 dry and clean, lighter. They let the cat hang around 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.400 until well after the beginning of the night's cycle, stroking 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.040 its head and flattering it with a progression of increasingly 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:07.400 ridiculous superlatives and then let it out the door. Snookums 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:11.080 disappeared into the dark. Later they scrolled through all their 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:16.320 neighbour's socials. None of them had a new cat. Days 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:18.800 woke up with a certainty that it was a special day. 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:20.880 As soon as their feet hit the floor, the bed 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:24.920 retracted and the smell of coffee infused the air. Good morning, 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:29.560 they chirped, Good morning, Days. The blinds rolled up with 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:33.160 a satisfying rustle, like a whisper in reverse, and Days 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:37.760 saw that the designers had outdone themselves again, another beautiful 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:41.240 day aboard her Metica. By the time they fell to 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:45.160 a crouch, the floor panel had tranced to sturdy foam, 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:49.480 and Days launched themselves into a dozen short reps of crunches, squats, 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.760 and burpies. As they came down from the final leap, 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:56.600 fingers almost touching the module's roof, they were panting joyfully. 0:16:57.560 --> 0:16:59.880 They did a few stretches while their breathing came down. 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:04.120 Heel up on the windowsill, the shower extracted the moment 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:08.120 they pulled their underpants down right on cue. The jets 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:10.679 were hot and precise, and Days found bliss in the 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:14.160 barrage of water. They didn't exactly have time to think 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:18.560 before the leader ran out, but to feel. Certainly, they 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:22.760 felt a wonderful day stretch out before them. They toweled 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.880 off and tossed it, along with yesterday's clothes, into the chute, 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:30.080 which closed and backed them away. The shower dehumidified with 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:33.480 a gentle roar as Days selected a new set of clothes, 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:37.520 a loose baggy shirt and some snug elastic pants that 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:41.720 would offer no objections. They thought capriciously if later they 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:44.880 felt like dancing. As soon as they took a seat, 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:48.600 the mr shooted out onto the table, piping hot its 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:51.680 farther edge, making a perfect tangent with the coffee mug 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:55.080 at its side, just the way they liked it. Would 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.040 you like a dose this morning? No thanks, I'm ready 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.600 to meet the world on my own today. Module had 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:05.960 already predicted that response based on Days's vitals and visuals, 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.760 but it also knew that being asked and saying no, 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:13.159 affirming their ability to go without chemical supplementation, increased the 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:18.080 average time before Days would again need a dose. Breakfast 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.959 was pretty good. A palette of flavors with names like bacon, mango, 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:27.080 and plantain cast across a satisfying diversity of textures. As 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:31.040 they finished up the last bites, they decided, Hell, they 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:36.440 could go all out. Calendar Yes, Days, who's my social 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:42.680 appointment for today? Milty? Oh good? Send a confirmation, also 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:47.520 a message recording, Hey, Milty, I'm looking forward to seeing 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:50.040 you today. Do you feel like coming over? I hope so, 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:53.679 I'm cooking, don't bring anything, see you at nineteen h 0:18:54.440 --> 0:19:00.200 buye sending thanks. Shall I set your default to pre 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:05.040 confirmation on social appointments? Whaho module, let's not get ahead 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:08.800 of ourselves. Days chuckled, Wait and see how we're feeling tomorrow. Yeah, 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:13.400 of course, Days. They stood up, pushing the empty mre 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:18.040 and mug into their chute. Oh, Days, Milty has confirmed 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.800 for nineteen h great. It had been about a week 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.920 since Days had kept a social appointment. You only got 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:27.760 one a day, plus the malty on Sundays and the 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:30.520 block party four times a year for everyone in good health. 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:33.560 It had been like that ever since the new safety 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.200 was implemented, back when Days was an infant. It turned 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:40.560 out that the population on her Medica, ideal for rapidly 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.840 settling a new home world, was also the perfect ecosystem 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:47.800 for the evolution and incubation of new viruses, and twenty 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:50.399 five years ago an epidemic had raced through the close 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:55.800 quarters of the ship. ARPV, popularly known as the Choking sickness, 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:59.800 had infected millions. It was only deadly in extreme cases, 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:03.720 but it spread asymptomatically, making it exceedingly hard to control. 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:07.880 The engineers and medicals had perfected the module and block layout, 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:12.600 restricting transit across the entire system. Every cohort in every 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:16.280 block was composed of people of the same age, preventing 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:20.280 cross generational contagion and protecting the more vulnerable age groups 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:24.359 while streamlining health services. And since then there have been 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:28.560 no serious emergencies. They had adapted. What had become vigilance 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:32.560 became custom, and life went on. But do you know 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:38.160 what is a serious emergency. The amazing sales and deals 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:42.520 that are available to our listeners through these advertisements, every 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:48.199 single one of them a serious life altering emergency. And 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:52.320 you're thinking, but, Margaret, wouldn't it have made more sense 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:56.240 to use as an ad transition that what had been 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:01.679 vigilance became custom and how life goes on despite these advertisements. 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:05.200 Well you might think that, but I'm holding by serious 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:10.680 life altering emergencies. Run, don't walk to probably just press 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:25.200 forward fifteen seconds, probably with four times or so, and 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:30.600 we're back mask on and out the door. Days looked 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:33.119 around for snookums, but saw no sign of the cat. 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:35.919 A number of their neighbors were out and about, and 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:39.720 they sang out one good morning after another. The sky 0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:43.479 was projecting puffy white clouds and a strident sun, and 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:47.000 Days relished in the wind whipping about their face. The 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:49.639 membrane that closed off the top of every block was 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:53.439 permeable to air and precipitation, as her Medica's life support 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:57.639 system needed to cycle oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor on 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:02.040 a shipwide basis. System was far from perfect, and occasionally 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:07.399 there were simulated weather events to equalize pressure and chemical distribution. Fortunately, 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:10.600 the designers could always anticipate weather occurrences with the data 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:13.600 they got from Mettio, and they made sure the sky 0:22:13.760 --> 0:22:17.360 was always dressed for the occasion. So today the clouds 0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:19.760 moved from left to right in the same direction as 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:23.680 the wind, coming to the center of the block. Days 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.639 saw they were building something on the green. As a 0:22:26.680 --> 0:22:30.520 couple drones hovered about, movers deposited bundles and a couple 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:33.600 bots erected a tall pole almost as high as the 0:22:33.640 --> 0:22:37.879 tallest modules the family units. Was it already time for 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:40.840 the next block party? Days wondered what the theme of 0:22:40.880 --> 0:22:43.920 this time would be. The last one was Chinese New Year, 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:46.720 but Days hadn't been feeling well and gave it a miss. 0:22:47.840 --> 0:22:49.880 Staying out of the way of the bots, they crossed 0:22:49.880 --> 0:22:52.600 the green The health center was straight ahead, but the 0:22:52.640 --> 0:22:54.919 supply node was to the right at the end of 0:22:54.920 --> 0:22:57.879 the cross street. They had to get ingredients if they 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:01.000 were going to cook for Milty tonight, but then they 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:03.399 might be late for the first patient and certainly too 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:06.880 excited thinking about dinner to focus on work. They could 0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:11.320 stop by on the way home. It was a fortuitous decision. 0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:15.240 First in the queue they got a new patient, one 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:19.520 who worked in mettio. Bubbling with curiosity, they bit their 0:23:19.560 --> 0:23:22.159 tongue until the patient was comfortable and the ensemble of 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.840 machines were whizzing and worrying over their back. It would 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:29.320 not do to stress them out, compound whatever muscle problem 0:23:29.320 --> 0:23:31.800 had brought them here, and get a low rating on 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:34.680 top of it all. Some people loved to talk during 0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:38.960 the sessions, but others flat out fell asleep. So you're 0:23:38.960 --> 0:23:42.280 a meteorologist. Days ventured after the patient let out a 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:49.800 particularly appreciative groan. Me, no, days frowned. Nope, I work 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:53.639 in meteorology, but I'm actually a botanist. Oh good, a talker. 0:23:54.400 --> 0:23:57.680 I thought all the botanists were an alimentation, most of us, 0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:00.320 but not me. You know the bushes and shrubs grow 0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:03.399 on your block? Uh huh, Well every block has a 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:07.679 botanical cohort, you see. To complement the human population spread 0:24:07.720 --> 0:24:10.760 across our Medica, we actually have quite a biodiversity in 0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:14.040 plant species. Of course, everything will need to terraform is 0:24:14.040 --> 0:24:16.760 in the gene bank, but there's a hypothesis that after 0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:20.200 a certain stage of KEMPREP we'll have better luck transplanting 0:24:20.240 --> 0:24:25.120 adult specimens. In any case, with livestock, we have a redundancy, 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:28.040 and it's also proven to improve air quality and mental 0:24:28.080 --> 0:24:32.600 health for the passengers. Wow, well that makes sense. So 0:24:32.640 --> 0:24:36.359 what's the connection with meteorology. Media's primary job is to 0:24:36.400 --> 0:24:40.480 monitor the atmosphere aborder Medica. Of course, the atmosphere belongs 0:24:40.520 --> 0:24:42.879 to life systems. Their prime directive is to give us 0:24:42.880 --> 0:24:45.560 air de breathe, but any changes they make have shipwide 0:24:45.640 --> 0:24:48.720 ramifications and they have to work closely with METEO to 0:24:48.880 --> 0:24:51.919 roll out those changes and monitor any feedback. Think of 0:24:51.960 --> 0:24:55.640 METIO as like a shock absorber for life sys AH 0:24:56.000 --> 0:25:00.000 in botany, well, we're the shock absorbers for the shock absorbers. 0:25:00.560 --> 0:25:03.159 A meteorology rollout is designed for the health of the 0:25:03.200 --> 0:25:07.399 passengers while minimizing the kind of discomfort systems ripples can cause. 0:25:08.080 --> 0:25:10.480 No one's thinking about the shrubs. So that's where I 0:25:10.520 --> 0:25:13.400 come in. Weather events an atmosphere in general spell life 0:25:13.480 --> 0:25:15.919 or death for our botany cohorts, and they're not very 0:25:16.000 --> 0:25:19.080 high up on the priority chain. Now, your maintenance blocks 0:25:19.080 --> 0:25:21.600 are collecting chemical data every time they go by, and 0:25:21.640 --> 0:25:25.200 the block analyzes it and sometimes can make a change autonomously. 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:30.320 Schizophrogma needs more watering done, but I combine that with 0:25:30.440 --> 0:25:33.919