1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Cool Media. 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 2: Book Club The Club The Club. Hello, and welcome to 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 2: the Cool Zone Media book Club, the book. 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: Club that I started introducing by chanting, which made sense 5 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: back when I was reading to other people and they 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: would chant with me, And no longer makes sense because 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: I no longer do that, but I feel compelled by 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: inertia to continue to introduce book club by chanting. 9 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 2: Book Club, The Club, The Club. I'm Herst Markert Kiljoy 10 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 2: And this is the only book club that you don't 11 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 2: have to do the reading because I do it for you. 12 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 2: There are probably other book clubs that do reading for you, 13 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 2: but they're not read by me, are they? Unless I 14 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: have other book clubs, but I'm not aware of that. 15 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 2: But you know, if you're listening to this in the future, 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 2: who knows what would happen. But do you know what 17 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 2: else is in the future is our story, our story Hermetica, 18 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,279 Speaker 2: which seems to be set in the far future, and 19 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 2: it is taking place on a generation ship. It's called 20 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 2: her Medica. It is by Alan Lee, which is the 21 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 2: pen name of the usually otherwise nonfiction author Peter Gelderlos. 22 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 2: And we are on part three of this book and 23 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 2: it's getting good. Yeah, I'll just wait, it's coming in. 24 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 2: We got all that set up. What's gonna happen with it? 25 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 2: Well you'll find out, all right. Here's part three of 26 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 2: her Medica by Alan Lee, published by Detritus Books. Oh yeah, 27 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: by the way, if you're like, wait, what just happened, 28 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 2: Days had just pulled out a piece of newspaper hidden 29 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: behind a panel in the wall, and okay, I'll just 30 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 2: read the last sentence of the last weeks. Along the 31 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 2: top there was a date June twelfth, twenty twenty three. 32 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 2: Below a yellowing margin, an article began as vaccine Hope's 33 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 2: falter choking sickness here to stay. All right, now we're back. 34 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 2: Days looked closer at the sheet, twisted an edge of it. 35 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 2: It seemed to be made of some kind of fiber, 36 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 2: and not one they were familiar with. Well, they'd have 37 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 2: to do this the old fashioned way. Squinting health officials 38 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 2: warn that America may have to get used to semi 39 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 2: permanent confinement measures, as results from the latest vaccine trial 40 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 2: at the University of Washington failed to deliver good news 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 2: to a nation that is still grieving the catastrophic mismanagement 42 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 2: during the first two years of the ARP v twenty pandemic. 43 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 2: Recent studies confirm early fears that the virus may mutate 44 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 2: too quickly to allow for long term immunity. Officials underscored 45 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 2: the confinement is a positive measure compared with the inferno 46 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 2: the virus left in its wake during the period of 47 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 2: governmental inaction. We will not go back to the horrors 48 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 2: of the party system, putting the comfort of the few 49 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 2: before the survival of the many, said doctor Goa, speaking 50 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 2: from the steps of the National Health Administration. We are 51 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 2: currently expanding the parameters of our modeling, looking for innoative 52 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 2: solutions to this crisis. Believe us when we say increasing 53 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:12,239 Speaker 2: human life expectancy across the board for all Americans is 54 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 2: our number one metric. If we have to delete elements 55 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 2: from the old system in order to fulfill that promise, 56 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 2: we will do so. We ask all Americans to walk 57 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 2: with us boldly into the future we are building. We 58 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 2: will respect tradition, but we must cast aside the harmful 59 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 2: habits that hold us back. Officials are worried about a 60 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 2: resurgence of last year's unrest amidst an uptick in terrorist incidents. 61 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 2: All incidents linked to the loss of life have been 62 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 2: connected to market extremists and traditionalists, who even after a 63 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 2: million deaths, still deny the pandemic exists. More worrying for 64 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 2: the administration, however, is the increase in sabotage incidents carried 65 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 2: out by social extremists relative to the denialists. Social extremists 66 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 2: have more influence among the general population, and experts worry 67 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 2: they could lead people astray with unrealistic demands or magical solutions. 68 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 2: Speaking from the White House, Doctor Hennessy, chair of the 69 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 2: Planning Commission, warned that social extremist proposals were quote nothing 70 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 2: but vestigial, anti scientific superstition. They claim to speak for 71 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,799 Speaker 2: quality of life, but by adding archaic, non quantitative metrics 72 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 2: alongside quantitative metrics, they wreck the whole system. It doesn't compute. 73 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 2: Tell me what is fifteen times orange. This is intellectual anarchy. 74 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 2: It's idealistic. It doesn't work. They need to get with 75 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 2: the program. This is the twenty first century. If you 76 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 2: can't model it, don't propose it. Increasing quality of life 77 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 2: metrics before the trial period ends will be necessary for 78 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 2: the administration to carry the referendum early next year. Otherwise 79 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 2: the state of emergency will expire and the old constitution, 80 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 2: which most experts agree is unworkable, would come back into effect. Meanwhile, 81 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 2: the growing pool of pandemic orphans has required officials to 82 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 2: increase social spending beyond what was ear marked for the 83 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 2: fiscal year. Social officials promised to look into innoative solutions. 84 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 2: Speaking from the nssay's offices in Omaha, doctor Ventura gave 85 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 2: journalists a hint of a new project the social administration 86 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 2: was exploring at the NSSAY. We believe all life has value. 87 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 2: Under the old system, orphans were just warehoused and sub 88 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 2: standard facilities until a family with means could come along 89 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 2: and adopt them. Need and capacity were inversely proportional. In 90 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 2: a recession, more kids get abandoned and fewer families can 91 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 2: adopt them. We are rolling out a new system in 92 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 2: which the parentless are given everything they need, including a 93 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 2: top of the line education, and in the meantime will 94 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 2: track their performance, collect data and produce intellectual value that 95 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,799 Speaker 2: will be immediately useful for the rest of society. Everyone 96 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 2: wants to contribute. Will give these kids the opportunity to 97 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 2: contribute from day one from the cradle. Ventura's comments provided 98 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 2: a rare optimistic note at a time when the scientific 99 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 2: solutions promised by the Planning Commission seemed unlikely to bear 100 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 2: fruit given the poor results of the vaccine program. Commission AIDS, 101 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 2: speaking on condition of anonymity, say that the plans for 102 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 2: defunding the police will be delayed again given expectations of 103 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:32,239 Speaker 2: a spike in civil rest. Continued on page twelve. Days 104 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 2: flipped over the sheet, but page twelve, whatever that was, 105 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 2: was nowhere to be found. The backside had a large 106 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 2: illustration of some kind of wheeled vehicle and the beginning 107 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 2: of another article, Planet Earth Our only hope. Mars probe 108 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 2: results lead to pessimistic conclusions. In a much delayed report, 109 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 2: NASA conceded that permanent human habitation on Mars seemed unlikely 110 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 2: given the results from the last probe sent to the 111 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 2: Red planet. Obstacles include the toxicity of the Martian regolith 112 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 2: with its high concentrations of percolites, difficulties in filtering out 113 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 2: the ultrafying Martian dust particles also toxic, and strong limitations 114 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 2: on the availability of energy sources and organic chemicals needed 115 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 2: for terraforming. The report is grave news for sectors of 116 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 2: the scientific community that have proposed accelerated terraforming on Mars 117 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 2: as an answer to the cascading chain of catastrophes adversely 118 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 2: affecting Earth's own biosphere. We will just have to accelerate 119 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 2: the terraforming of Earth, as it were, to doctor Stewart, 120 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 2: chairperson of the Climate Advisory Council, that means aggressively re 121 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 2: engineering the biosphere to design agricultural ecosystems compatible with five 122 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 2: degree warming, rather than waiting for one to two million 123 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 2: years of evolutionary adaptation to play catch up. The report 124 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 2: may also be a death knell for the Space Agency itself, 125 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 2: one of the few to be kept on from the 126 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 2: prior government, perhaps realizing the report would spell trouble. NASA's 127 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 2: leading scientists have been lobbying the Planning Commission to change 128 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 2: the agency's mandate to a focus on orbital space engineering 129 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 2: with an eye towards climate mitigation. One of the agency's 130 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 2: most popular proposals centers on the deployment of orbital mirrors 131 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 2: to fine tune the quantity of solar radiation that reaches 132 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 2: the planet's surface. Continued on page seventeen Days was thoroughly confused, 133 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,359 Speaker 2: Shostakovich declaimed ominously, like a fist on the door, Snookum 134 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 2: sat watching. The dating and the geographical references were all 135 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,079 Speaker 2: Terran Earth was an archaic name for Terra, Yet the 136 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 2: choking sickness had been an event on Hermetica. Where was 137 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 2: this sheet from? What was it doing here? The events 138 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 2: described were a muddle, some of them lining up with 139 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 2: what they knew of Terran history, and others contradicting it flagrantly. 140 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 2: Days decided to reach out to a friend, message Zimp, 141 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 2: Hey are you still up? Do you remember from history? 142 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,319 Speaker 2: What year did her Medica launch? The reply came back 143 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 2: a moment later, announced by an amiable rising tone, Days, 144 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 2: how's it going? What a question? Zimp had been assigned 145 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 2: to a different block after the Aptitudes, but they still 146 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 2: saw each other on video every now and then, The 147 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 2: recording continued. You know, you could just ask library, but 148 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 2: that's an easy one. Technically, it's a trick question. Her 149 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 2: Medica never launched. It was assembled in orbit, but it 150 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:40,319 Speaker 2: departed in tearin year twenty twenty two, Seven years later 151 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 2: we left the Solar system. And what year is it 152 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 2: now on Terra? Zimp replied, I guess it must be 153 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 2: twenty fifty. Why do you ask? Oh, just trying to 154 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 2: work some things out. Hey, do you think we could 155 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 2: do a video call like soon? Sure? Good night, zimp, 156 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 2: good night, Days talk soon. And do you know who 157 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 2: else would like to wish you a good night and 158 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 2: would love to talk to you so soon? It's the 159 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 2: sponsors of this show. They always are there to tuck 160 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 2: you in at night. And we're back the bed extracted 161 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 2: with fresh sheets, and Days plopped down, cradling snookums against 162 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 2: their chest. Sleep came fitful, and late the next day, 163 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 2: Days messaged that they wouldn't be going into work. They 164 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 2: tried sleeping longer, but it was impossible. Their brain wouldn't quit. 165 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 2: After half an hour of tossing and turning, they found 166 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 2: themselves locked in the reenactment of a fierce argument with 167 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 2: the examiner the day of the aptitudes. It was all imagination. 168 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 2: They never actually confronted the examiner or anyone else. But 169 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 2: since the day the results came back, thwarting their dreams, 170 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 2: whittling their future down to nothing, they had spent many 171 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 2: hours inside their head protesting the unfairness of it all. 172 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 2: Who was to say that the examiner's tardiness had not 173 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 2: disadvantaged them relative to other testing groups as far as 174 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 2: Days as low teamwork scores, Surely there was more than 175 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 2: one way to measure teamwork on the aptitudes. At three 176 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 2: different moments, people's screens were linked in groups of five, 177 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,359 Speaker 2: and each group had to solve a common problem communicating 178 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 2: over their devices but not speaking directly. Days had not 179 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,880 Speaker 2: integrated effectively into the problem solving, but building an effective 180 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 2: team could play out differently if people were allowed to 181 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 2: talk directly, make eye contact, if they didn't have a 182 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,719 Speaker 2: ticking clock hanging over their heads. Other aspects of the 183 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 2: aptitudes were borderlines shoddy Days could only remember one error 184 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 2: aside from the examiner arriving late but still in error 185 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 2: on such an important test did not give a good 186 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 2: impression in a problem. On a mission spectra, video of 187 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 2: an experiment appeared on Day's screen showing an unidentified compound 188 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 2: burning bright green. Before anyone had gotten to that problem, 189 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 2: the examiner had made another verbal announcement. On problem forty one, 190 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 2: there was an error and experiment preparation substitute the flame 191 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 2: color you see on your personal console with the flame 192 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 2: color pictured here. They gestured and a video of a 193 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,320 Speaker 2: dark red flame appeared on the main screen, but the 194 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,840 Speaker 2: exams were computer evaluated. How could Days be sure the 195 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 2: examiner was not the one who was mistaken? Puzzled, annoyed, 196 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 2: they had skipped the question and gone on to the 197 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 2: next one. How could it possibly be considered fair for 198 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,839 Speaker 2: their future to be determined on the basis of such 199 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 2: an errant instrument in their head? They always won those arguments, 200 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 2: but when it was over, they still had to face 201 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 2: up to the same reality. Annoyed, they got out of bed, 202 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 2: called for a coffee, reluctantly declined the dose model offered, 203 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 2: and then squared off again against the wall screen. Take 204 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 2: me to the library. The wall screen came on, Show 205 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 2: me her Medica. A grainy schematic appeared, showing the image 206 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 2: Days knew well from school. Her Medica was an immensely long, 207 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 2: slender cylinder with a rounded nose and a bulky tail 208 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,640 Speaker 2: where the propulsion reactors were housed. Arrayed sequentially along its 209 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 2: length were four rings, each connected to the central cylinder 210 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:35,559 Speaker 2: by gossamer spokes. Given the dimensions of the ship, Days 211 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 2: knew that each spoke must be incredibly thick, but in 212 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,079 Speaker 2: the schematic they always looked so delicate. The rings were 213 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 2: modified Stanford tauruses, rather than being a continuous loop like 214 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:51,559 Speaker 2: a doughnut as in a standard Taurus. Each ring held 215 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 2: three immense platforms, evenly spaced about the circumference. It was 216 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:58,600 Speaker 2: like a Taurus, but with three parts of the loop 217 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 2: symmetrically blotted out In profile, they looked like circular arcs 218 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 2: with theta of thirty degrees. The rings rotated slowly, and 219 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,520 Speaker 2: all the blocks, every module every person Days had ever 220 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 2: known were housed on the inside of one of those 221 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:17,560 Speaker 2: twelve platforms, held in place by the pseudo gravity created 222 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 2: by centrifugal force. If it weren't for the sky, they 223 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 2: would have been able to look up and see Hermetica's 224 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 2: central cylinder about ten kilometers above them, bisecting their view, 225 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 2: and on either side of it, even farther away the 226 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 2: other two platforms on their ring. Actually, Days supposed they 227 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 2: would only see any of that if they turned off 228 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 2: all the lights on their platform, and if the material 229 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 2: closing off the top of the platform from their frame 230 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 2: of reference the inside of the ark was transparent. Otherwise 231 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 2: above them they would see a massive reflection or glare. 232 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 2: In any case, Before Hermetica had even departed, its builders 233 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 2: knew that mental health stats improved greatly if a sky 234 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 2: were projected diffusing light in replicating the heavens people had 235 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 2: evolved under on Terra Days tried to remember which of 236 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 2: the twelve platforms they lived on had that been taught 237 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 2: in school. Zoom in. The perspective shifted virtgenously, diving in 238 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 2: close and suddenly dazed. Was looking at their block and 239 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 2: the eight blocks that flanked it, four of them sharing 240 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 2: a node with theirs. It was not much wider of 241 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 2: a view than the one they were stuck in every day, Library, 242 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:33,120 Speaker 2: Can I get a more intermediate view ship schematics? Since 243 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 2: the destruction of the wiki, access to precise schematics for 244 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 2: her Medica are compartmentalized on a need to know basis. Yeah, 245 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 2: the wiki disaster and the infamous NTK Days had heard 246 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 2: all about that. They sighed, well, can you show me 247 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 2: where we're going? Library switched to a live feed from 248 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 2: a camera. Part of the screen revealed the observation window 249 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 2: at the tip of Hermetica's nose. Most of it was 250 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 2: the blackness of space, dotted with a million pin pricks. 251 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 2: Three of the pin pricks directly in front of them 252 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 2: were noticeably larger, one of them twice as bright as 253 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 2: anything else on the screen. Still though, just a pin prick, 254 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 2: and Days would never get there, never see its planets 255 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 2: up close? Can we get a view of Terra? The 256 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 2: solar system is not currently visible from the cameras on 257 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 2: the rear ring. Would you like the rear view anyway? 258 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 2: Days sighed again, No, that's all right. Another thought occurred 259 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 2: to them, bring up Terra in history the decades prior 260 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 2: to departure. A list of topic headers appeared on the screen. 261 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 2: What do you have on epidemics? A long list scrolled by, 262 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 2: listing names, dates, locations, death tolls. Days saw some they 263 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 2: remembered from basic history, others that were unfamiliar. Dengi fever, ebola, cholera, 264 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 2: swine flu, yellow fever, AIDS, Spanish influenza, typhus. What about 265 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 2: choking sickness? Library paused? Choking sickness was not a Terran event. 266 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 2: Choking sickness ARPV was an event here on her Medica. 267 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 2: Would you like to see the entry? No, that's all right, 268 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 2: I'm looking for Terran epidemics. Was there anything else that 269 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 2: might have been similar? What does ARPV stand for Acute 270 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 2: respiratory passenger virus passenger virus? Well, that certainly sounded like 271 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,119 Speaker 2: the name of a disease that would break out on 272 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 2: a ship. What's the last year you have entries for 273 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 2: in terran history twenty twenty two. Days looked at the 274 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 2: sheet in their hand. One year before the article was published, 275 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 2: one year there had been a reference to something that 276 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 2: had happened a year earlier. There it was unrest. Tell 277 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 2: me about political unrest from twenty twenty two in America. 278 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 2: Here is the disambiguation on America. Please specify? Oh, scroll down? Yeah, 279 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 2: that one United States of America. There are no entries 280 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,440 Speaker 2: on significant political unrest in the United States of America 281 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two. Hmm, what about denialists? Here is 282 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 2: the disambiguation on denialists? Please specify. There weren't many choices, 283 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 2: and the first one seemed to be a simple dictionary 284 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 2: definition one who denies an empirically demonstrated fact. How about 285 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 2: climate denialists. Climate denialists were political pressure groups funded by 286 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,679 Speaker 2: hydrocarbon extraction industries who claimed that the significant increase in 287 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 2: heat trapping gases in the planet's atmosphere would not trap 288 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 2: heat in the planet's atmosphere. Hydrocarbon extraction industries in the 289 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 2: United States began funding climate denialists sometime after nineteen sixty eight, 290 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 2: when their research demonstrated conclusively that their product was, in 291 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 2: fact changing the chemical composition of Terra's atmosphere in a 292 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,920 Speaker 2: significant way. That didn't sound like what the article was 293 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 2: talking about. It sounded like bad fiction, but the reference 294 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 2: had to do with a pandemic, not with the atmosphere. 295 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 2: Days shook their head, not sure if they were amused 296 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 2: or appalled by the concept of a global hydrocarbon energy system. 297 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 2: They thought back to basic chemistry. Sure it made sense 298 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 2: to transport hydrocarbon fuel for the use in remote locations 299 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 2: not reached by an electrical grid if none of the 300 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 2: vehicles involved were large enough to house nuclear reactors, but 301 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 2: systematically burning hydrocarbons, and vehicles that traveled standard routes, each 302 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 2: lugging the weight of its own combustion engines or to 303 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:47,399 Speaker 2: power the entire electrical grid burning the stuff they had 304 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,360 Speaker 2: put tens of millions of years of sequestered carbon into 305 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 2: the atmosphere in a century. What a relief her Medica 306 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 2: had left that place behind. Days felt bad for the 307 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 2: segment of humanity that stayed behind. Still, the present conundrum 308 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 2: had not become any clearer. Days had come up against 309 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 2: a wall. The information in the article and the information 310 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,120 Speaker 2: in the library did not add up. Then they remembered 311 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 2: the second article, the one on the back of the sheet, 312 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 2: from the talk of failed probes. They inferred that Mars 313 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 2: had not been settled in the terran year twenty twenty three. 314 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,880 Speaker 2: But if Mars had not ever been settled yet, how 315 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 2: did they manage to send off for Medica a full 316 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:32,199 Speaker 2: year earlier? Library tell me about the human colonization of Mars. 317 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 2: After the first unoccupied probes landed on the Martian surface 318 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy one and nineteen seventy five, work began 319 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,160 Speaker 2: on a larger spacecraft that could transport human astronauts. By 320 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,160 Speaker 2: the time an assembly and launching platform had been manufactured 321 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 2: in low Earth orbit in nineteen ninety eight, further probes 322 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,920 Speaker 2: to Mars had carried out all the mapping and chemical 323 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,439 Speaker 2: analysis necessary to begin planning the logistics of a human mission. 324 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 2: Supply drops to the Martian surface began the next year, 325 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,240 Speaker 2: and the first occupied spacecraft was launched from the orbital 326 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,960 Speaker 2: platform in two thousand seven, arriving safely with its twelve 327 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 2: person crew ten months later. They remained for two Terran years, 328 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:17,440 Speaker 2: overseeing construction of the research station and launch platform, returning 329 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 2: safely to Terra in twenty eleven. By that point, it 330 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:26,360 Speaker 2: was clear that Mars's chemical and circumstellar characteristics were unfavorable 331 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 2: to terraforming, and it was calculated that it would actually 332 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,439 Speaker 2: be cheaper and faster to terraform an exoplanet in the 333 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 2: Goldilock zone of another star system, even accounting for a 334 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,240 Speaker 2: journey of several hundred Terran years. Activity based out of 335 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:44,120 Speaker 2: the Mars Research Station continued, carried out remotely or by 336 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 2: subsequent human teams. Days scratched their head. They supposed the 337 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 2: probes mentioned in the article could have been from subsequent 338 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 2: attempts to explore other avenues of terraforming on Mars, in 339 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 2: parallel to preparations on the WIKI and her Medica missions. Still, 340 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,640 Speaker 2: it didn't say anything about a research station or any 341 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 2: human presence on Mars, nor did it mention the two 342 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 2: ships that had departed the year before, with millions of 343 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 2: passengers between them. Something didn't add up. But do you 344 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 2: know what does add up? All of the joy and 345 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 2: satisfaction guaranteed to you by these products and services and 346 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:38,679 Speaker 2: We're back. Days looked crossly at the strange printed sheet. 347 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:43,159 Speaker 2: All published material was vetted and peer reviewed by pertinent experts. 348 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 2: Affirmations of fact were always qualified. Results that had not 349 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,160 Speaker 2: been rigorously replicated included margins of error or the probabilities 350 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 2: of some flaw in the design fiction. The old volumes 351 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,440 Speaker 2: of literature stored in the library was clearly marked as such. 352 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:04,440 Speaker 2: To deliberately publish things that were untrue, that was censurable. However, 353 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 2: stamping words and ink on some non electronic sheet and 354 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,919 Speaker 2: stashing it behind a wall panel at that stretched the 355 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 2: bounds of what could be considered publication. An uneasy feeling 356 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 2: crept up, and a word sprang to mind, sabotage no now. 357 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 2: Days was getting worked up, trying to find connections to 358 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 2: explain something that didn't feel right. Their coping mechanism came 359 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 2: to mind, like a mantra. Name the pattern, break it, 360 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 2: and change your mental scenery so you can relax. Days 361 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 2: needed to move around and put the conundrum out of mind. 362 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,400 Speaker 2: They slid on their mask and went outside. The air 363 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 2: was crackling oppressive. They could tell the atmosphere was getting 364 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 2: out of sync. The meteorology people would have to do 365 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:53,400 Speaker 2: an intervention soon. Weather events were always scheduled and announced 366 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,159 Speaker 2: at least a day in advance, but days never checked. 367 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 2: They liked the feel of intuiting. When they were coming, 368 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 2: other people on the block didn't seem to notice. A 369 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:07,400 Speaker 2: dozen were out enjoying the hot, bright day. Keeping their distance, 370 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,880 Speaker 2: Days made their way to the green colorful bunting had 371 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 2: been stretched between the taller bushes. The pole stood in 372 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:18,439 Speaker 2: the middle. What's the theme, they asked their neighbor, seated 373 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 2: on a bench. Mayday, it's a Scandinavian tradition. The neighbor 374 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 2: tossed out the phrase like it was a truly interesting 375 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 2: bit of information, though the careful way they pronounced the 376 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 2: word suggested they could not quite remember. From cursory geography 377 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,119 Speaker 2: lessons long faded in time, where exactly on Tera Scandinavia 378 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:44,680 Speaker 2: had been Days nodded, recalling something about a dance. Flowers, 379 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,240 Speaker 2: white dresses, colorful lengths of cloth wrapped around a pole. 380 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 2: They wondered if they'd feel up for it. The day 381 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 2: the block party came around, The air seemed to pulse angrily. 382 00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 2: They nodded and turned around. Some days Days enjoyed spontaneous 383 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:04,680 Speaker 2: socializing but today was not one of them. The regulation distance, 384 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 2: the superficial topics, their neighbor's pleasant apathy, all of it 385 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,679 Speaker 2: got on their nerves. Walking back to their module, they 386 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 2: heard raised voices from one of the family units. That 387 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 2: was unusual. The modules were effectively sound proofd someone must 388 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 2: really be shouting screaming. In fact, the sound was faint, 389 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 2: but the tone was unmistakable, not the low growl of anger, 390 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,960 Speaker 2: but the high shriek of desperation. Days stopped looking at 391 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,479 Speaker 2: the door four down from their own. Another neighbor passed 392 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 2: by homeward, head down, politely, giving them all the birth 393 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 2: they could, since Days was standing in the middle of 394 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 2: the street. A minute later, another neighbor passed by the 395 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:50,680 Speaker 2: other way. No one acknowledged the screaming. Trembling a bit 396 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,679 Speaker 2: in the pit of their stomach, Days drew themselves up 397 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 2: and headed for the door. Something wasn't all right, screaming 398 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 2: like that they should check in, at least offer some health. 399 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 2: Just as they raised their hand to buzz, an electronic 400 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 2: warble sounded from the direction of the green. It was 401 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 2: a safety drone, worrying agilely past the maypole and down 402 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:14,960 Speaker 2: the street. Please return to your modules, a therapeutic intervention 403 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 2: is in bound. Days backed away from the safety drone, 404 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 2: which took up a position at the door, the bitterness 405 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,160 Speaker 2: of early panic welling up from the pit of their stomach. 406 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,240 Speaker 2: They backed away. The drone repeated its admonition, and Days 407 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:32,199 Speaker 2: retreated a little farther. Farther down, Module opened their own 408 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,919 Speaker 2: door invitingly, but Days cannot bring themselves to surrender the 409 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 2: street just yet. They caught the gentle sound of a 410 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 2: claxon from the far end of the block, and a 411 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 2: moment later glimpsed a sled and two medics coming out 412 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,880 Speaker 2: of the health center. They had trouble getting the sled 413 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 2: past the green, what with the benches, the maypole, and 414 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 2: a park container probably full of decorations for the upcoming festivities. 415 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 2: One of them spoke a command, and they pulled the 416 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 2: pole out quickly and efficiently, laying it on the ground 417 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 2: beside the benches. A warm body pressed against Days's ankle. 418 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 2: They looked down to see Snookums rubbing anxiously. I know, sweetie, 419 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 2: it's scary. They rubbed the cat along its cheeks, mouth 420 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 2: to ear, and it exuded appreciation. The medics were at 421 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,879 Speaker 2: the family unit. Now. The door opened up and they 422 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,360 Speaker 2: went inside, followed by the drone. A minute later they 423 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 2: came out, supporting one of Daze's neighbors. Between them one 424 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 2: half of a couple Days did not know so well. 425 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 2: They had never kept a social appointment, though Days had 426 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 2: seen them bubbling away in the middle of the crowd 427 00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 2: at block parties. The person had a wild, exhausted look, 428 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 2: their eyes unfocused. The medics helped them onto a sled 429 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:46,960 Speaker 2: and strapped them in. The other neighbor came to the 430 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 2: doorway head bowed, eyes wide, exuding worry, embarrassment, and fear. 431 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 2: We'll take good care of them. Days heard a medics say, 432 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:57,239 Speaker 2: if all goes well in a week or two, they 433 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,400 Speaker 2: can come back here. The neighbor nodded on so certainly, 434 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 2: looking at their module mate, who by now was somewhere else, 435 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 2: eyes pasted on the sky. We'll send a therapist to 436 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 2: evaluate later in the day, the medic went on, just 437 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 2: for secondary effects, stay home and try to relax. You're 438 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 2: r and art from all work assignments and social appointments 439 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 2: until you get an all clear. The medics and the 440 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 2: sled set off back towards the node. The safety drone 441 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,720 Speaker 2: flitted off. Once the neighbor went back into the module, 442 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 2: the streets were empty. Days went in and had a 443 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 2: long cry, cuddling snookums on the couch. It happened every 444 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 2: now and then someone broke down. Interstellar travel was hard 445 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 2: on the human psyche, and her Medic was the first 446 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 2: crew to ever do it. They had to learn as 447 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:49,479 Speaker 2: they went, designing the best most supportive environment possible despite 448 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 2: being trapped together in a crowded ship with scarce resources. Once, 449 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 2: when Days was an adolescent, an older person who worked 450 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 2: as an instructor had a break down and had to 451 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 2: be trained and supported out of the school by an 452 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 2: emergency team. It was an important moment for Days because 453 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 2: of the group counseling that came afterwards. The instructor heard 454 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 2: voices that other people could not hear. They had been 455 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 2: told by therapists who came to talk to them and 456 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 2: help them process the troubling event. Some kids in their 457 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 2: cohort had snickered, even though it was strongly discouraged to 458 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 2: mock or disparage the mental state of other passengers. Encourage 459 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 2: your fellow passengers. Coping mechanisms create a mutually supportive environment 460 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 2: and only report those behaviors and views that might enable sabotage. 461 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:35,160 Speaker 2: Those were the watchwords as far as mental health was concerned. 462 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 2: What had been so important for Days was to hear 463 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 2: acknowledgment that someone could have different perceptions than those around them, 464 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 2: that even though such difference could be problematic, it was 465 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 2: something that happened to people. The fact that therapists could 466 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 2: speak about divergent experiences in a soothing way help Days 467 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 2: understand the stark, unmentionable differences they had been perceiving between 468 00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:00,080 Speaker 2: themselves and their peers. From there, it was only a 469 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,240 Speaker 2: a few more steps to realize that maybe what they 470 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 2: experienced was legitimate, could even be healthy, if there were 471 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 2: a way to integrate it with the experiences and perceptions 472 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,479 Speaker 2: of their cohort. What had the instructor been shouting? We 473 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 2: should tell them, We should tell them. Maybe if they'd 474 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,000 Speaker 2: been able to share what the voices had been saying, 475 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 2: they never would have had a breakdown. But that was 476 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 2: an optimistic view. That instructor never returned, meaning they had 477 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 2: never been able to reintegrate. They had been submitted to 478 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 2: a permanent reconciliation process. Hermenica tried to take care of 479 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,680 Speaker 2: all of its passengers, but some simply could not cope. 480 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 2: Perhaps the dominant unspoken view was accurate. It was the 481 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 2: weakest passengers who broke down, and though they all needed 482 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 2: to support one another, in the end, the only ones 483 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 2: who would arrive at their destination were those who were 484 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 2: fit to days. Could be pretty sure their genes would 485 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 2: not be used in any of the restock cohorts that 486 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,719 Speaker 2: would make up her Medica's future generations. They wondered how 487 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 2: much longer they could last, When would a medic team 488 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:08,800 Speaker 2: and a safety drone show up at their door? Dun Dun, dun, 489 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 2: Catch us next time on Cool Zone Media book Club 490 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 2: if you want to hear more from Allen Lee. That 491 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 2: is the fiction pen name of the nonfiction author Peter Gelderlos, 492 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 2: and Peter Glderlos has a substack called Surviving Leviathan and 493 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 2: so Yeah. You can check out more of their writing 494 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 2: there or check out any one of their many number 495 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 2: of books. Their name is spelled g E L d 496 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 2: e R l Oos Gelderlos. All right, I will see 497 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:44,680 Speaker 2: you all next week when we continue Hermetica. Dun Dun dun. 498 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 2: That should be officially in the title of the book. 499 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 2: The Dun dun Dun. I actually don't know. 500 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: It must have been a typo that Detritus Books forgot 501 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: to include the dun Dun Dunn Bye. 502 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 2: It Could Happen Here as a production of pool Zone Media. 503 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,360 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media we have visit 504 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 2: our website coolzonemedia dot com or check us out on 505 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 506 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: You can find sources for It Could Happen Here, Updated 507 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,479 Speaker 1: monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening,