"Stand by"
"…okay let's change the battery of Ich1 before moving forward… huh? My opinion? Well, I agree, I was raised around old people with personal treasures, some older than them, like collector's items, clothes, even ink jars and bottles, and of course I broke some by accident and I saw the faces of the owner as the glass broke, so, yes I agree with the Van Gogh rulings to protect history not only from dumb kids like me but from other countries… okay let's keep going…"
"…the first time I heard about those was before a visit to a local museum near my town, I made an exam, or rather I aced it because I live near a lake where once natives lived and actually met some of them when I found a pouch of dried seeds and other goods, gave them to them, so of course by then I knew more than my peers at school, and actually enjoyed my time there; and for once being the smarter kid of the class, and a funny one that got few smiles from the people working there, by actually being interested in their work at the museum."
"Here they try to show it by displaying the local art at the top of the floor, under it goes the modern art from in and out of the country, each taking a floor for themselves since some were made by artists from this country ages ago and others came from donations, or from sells that Armand made; then it came the replicas and the classics all mixed for the next two floors to dare you tell them apart; until we reach the last floor where the exhibits are…"
"…those also go down to the next floor, then at underground level, so to say, we still have some exhibits, like those of the old days at 'The Factory' or trying, even while adapting the floor to make it look like the old days, a railway station, a tourist boat along the Thames made with light and smart glasswalls, at this point the upside down floors are distributed around two towers, that now work on behalf of people looking for experts opinions and restorations, but a fun part of the upper floor are the interim tiers…"
"…as for the underground levels, those can be categorized as secret levels if you like, since only certain people have access, some students can, and it is not that hard for me to ask for a pass, but I need a good reason, I promise I will find one, and even ask if I can take you along, maybe, if not, you will get some photos, for the mall you would need a work ID of Mage-eCo I would guess, making those pretty much basement levels, office spaces, or heavy transport, specialized rooms, so not secrets on those areas."
"But things are different in this building, and the next, let's just say that they are a little complicated, hard and impossible for me to explain; on this one, the Deep Learning facilities, I can walk freely, I have a student ID and all that, but I don't really need to walk in, the library is downstairs, but again, it's only to be at a quiet place or to be surrounded by books…"
"…after all, as it is in some countries, my phone is able to connect me to the library base of information, as well as to give me the daily lessons and studies; of course all of those also with actual teachers that might be even giving classes at that moment or just give Esm3 the lessons to be able to walk me through them for any doubt or clarifications Esm3 can contact teachers from the building or from elsewhere if they agree."
"Or I could be more active and proactive and walk into the building like kids do and have my lessons there, after all they need to keep a closer eye into their development, via their first IA that instead of throwing the information, it asks the kids to teach the Intelligent Assistant once the teacher has given the lesson, the monitoring helps the teacher a lot, as it does having the kid do the writing directly on the device with the overload of work from teaching more than fifty kids."
"yeah, no kidding, who ever got that idea of writing instead of typing was a genius, their IA already knows the penmanship of the student since they were part of the kid's training, to the point that not even trying to copy the letters would work, yeah, 'The Dread' is no joke, even more so here where it has more control over others IAs, that algorithm reach, and I will try to explain it to you other time… for now I will park at the amphitheater it is the best place to look around this area…"
"…yes I guess most school districts have one of this, is a classic around fancy manors too, here, it is also a fountain as you can see, putting a little show with water and at night it becomes a light show, people say that during celebrations it becomes a bonfire, but I'm nearly sure is another light show of a sort, at times they are bit of a scaredy-cats, if I were to light up a match right now people would look my way in shock… not gonna do it… exactly, who carries those any more... well, only BAZ5, he loves fire."
"Anyways; for me it looks more like a coliseum, now under water… well you'll see, later today some students will bring their drones to play around, recreating battles or simple competitions of warships, submarines, and airships; those are really cool, but the tour is more about the buildings than the shows, so, the main building is that, right in front of the sphere again, and of course the biggest building on this area right at the end of the of them all…"
"It holds again the two towers, one for basic knowledge, which means, education for until the age of eighteen for that tower on the left, if you have fell behind on your studies you can get back to them via online, the program started during the times of struggle, and now is still popular when you try to get a specialty to do at the other tower or if you don't live near the vase, and even if you live at other countries that use the tech of Kuo'SAR, and even at some other school at countries where they loath Armand they use this system…"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm taking some lessons… I didn't mention it; well, do you remember I had a neighbor who had a collection of old gaming consoles? Yeah the one who passed away and gave them to this art historian, well I will try to fix some, keep one of each, and donate others to museums, sell others to other museums, or collectors, huhuhu… no, no; he wouldn't mind, he treasured them, if you remember, but after a while we had to do a lot to keep them safe from dust, floods, time… yeah, that stream was good, how long did it lasted?"
"The stream of November 12th of 2044 named "ol'timer's times" lasted six hours twenty-three minutes and twelve seconds until S¡lverlocks gained momentum stopped losing lives and you passed out and I ended the transmission."
"Thanks Esm3, BAZ5 stop… yes, I am familiar with the gaming auctions, but from afar, but as many of you I have never had something of value to offer; no, all are back home, in a storage unit, he had every console, but not all worked, and some pieces are no longer made, which means that the moment I open them up and put some self-made the value will drop, unless the gaming curation be willing to send me some help…"
"…yes, it is kind of urgent to get my electronics degree, my business partner is helping me pay for the storage unit since it means extra room for our business of rental xmass decors and installation… if you want to brighten your especial celebration, go to… just kidding, I have no need to promote my business, we barely make due with our client list and we don't have enough decorations to cover most, but it pays the bills, back at my country…"
"…no BAZ5 stop that… huh? no, nonononono, I'm not gonna mention the games, there are drawers over drawers filled with them, that took S¡lverlocks his entire old-timer's life to organize, and it took me a month to read through, and make a list of those I know and want to play that is all I will say about them; anyways, the point is that I want to learn how to fix old consoles, but all that costs money back home, so it is easier to learn here were is free instead of finding a third job to maybe be able to pay a curator…"
"…well yes, I could find a curator… here… wait no, there at the museum, or at both buildings; I'm not sure yet, but I will find out. But I would still need to pay for the transport of the consoles. Armand's company can transport goods between his companies and buildings, but he cannot move them as a delivery service between countries, it is a political game turned into a company's affair, which means that if I want my stuff here, I would need to make another rich guy richer…"
"I will probably need to head there, to the tower on the right; in there we have the college level programs, master's degrees and PhD's for the exact sciences; no, no, it is not small, it only looks that way because I'm only showing you the main building, but this whole area, with its basement levels, is the third biggest infrastructure of the flower and the vase, I'll tell you why, because it involves this second building on my left…"
…the stadium, for me looks fine, it does the job, is more for Olympic games, but it works for every sport where you need a green field… Ha, yes, maybe even golf, surely mini-golf… maybe not horse racing. yes of course, I have seen some games, but I'm not the best person to judge how good they are; no, their fame is based solely on the scientific approach of the sport, not a new concept nowadays, but it is made for the actual game and not for the competition, fame and money; perhaps a bit for the glory…"
"…no, I don't watch a lot of sports, I do like the Olympics, but only after I found out that during the initial years there were art competitions… What?! Was it new information for some of you? Well it was from 1912 to 1948; you only needed your work to be about sports, in the form of paintings, sculpture, literature, architecture and music; I bet that if it talked about the Olympics it would have done better, since the idea was to call in the Muses blessings…"
"…no, no; the idea went a miss because the competitors were pros, at least those on the art sections, and the core purpose of the games was and is to have amateurs giving us a glimpse of the future of mankind; still, we were left something way cooler, no, there is something cooler than art at the Olympics… it was art from the sport competitors, some even awarded medals, can you imagine Bolt playing an original piece in the piano for us? Or the intensity of Biles' strokes on a canvas? …"
"…and now I feel like everything else I had to say about the stadium and the tower is uninteresting after the talk about the Olympics… like, would you like to know that the country cannot participate on any international tournament? Yeah, Armand's money made it impossible for them to participate, despite all the research, development, machinery, energy and will of the people; all because Armand's company is still private and the country depends a lot on that money and reach…"
"…was it? A nice safe to get back on track with the stream? I really hope so, after all, it is really interesting how much they try to block, ignore or fight Armand off, in this case it was easy to do so, an yet they cannot stop athletes from here to join another team or even the Olympic team, which is the most popular option here, Armand had said it is the best opportunity to show the achievements the athletes have made, and I think they do pretty good, as of late, for the last two games…"
"…yes of course, the athletes do some promotion for the country as well, which has paid off by bringing players from other countries to try out their training all that jazz… well is the IA, that had always been Kuo'SAR's best growing achievement, its data almost never fails, it has some issues when the facts had been wrong the whole time, but not when it comes to sports and the information is directly fed to the databank…"
"…and I'm saying to much already, we are nearly there, once we walk through the vase, see the birdcage and walk inside the nest we will go through the technology series… for now we are at the sports section… sure, I can record some training sessions for you, as part of the bio video sections, maybe… yes, I kinda lost interest in sports and then I learned how to make excuses because I cannot or rather couldn't do much exercise, so I just know the basic of most…."
"…maybe I could show you Armand's talks about sports and the games, how science would change the way we play and see it, to the point where the Paralympics would become more interesting than the Olympics, and now I have created a concept for a video… oh right, yes, that was another part I wanted to tell you about the stadium, it has other three fields undercover of the same width and length as the one under the sun, one for basic training, lunch and as a gym, and the other two as fields for regular matches…"
"…you want a list of athletes that have come here? I have no idea where to search for those, I'm sure about some players of the winter games, and some gymnasts, some do it for their socials, but I don't know the names right now; and same thing goes for artists looking for inspiration and help…"
– Okay, read it Ell3. – for Elaine it was no surprise to get a message form the security department of the tower, on many subjects, one as a perpetrator, when her crazy ideas, that even if it did not fail, lacked the proper safety, and caused her injuries and broke few other equipment; then as a rioter calling out her boss at every corner of the engineering department and for not doing the work as she was meant to do so, or rather said to do so, therefore she became very vocal about it; and then there was the third cause, some of her inventions used all around the country.
"The security department is requesting five engineers to join them for an operation into the towns at the inner edge of the border, the reasons are classified at the moment, but the area is known to have the most troubles…"
– …yes, yes; if the security team is asking it's because they might get into a fight, or the one I think is most likely, they are being paranoid, when do they need me?
"They need you to confirm within the next hour and to be present at the heliport number twelve…"
– Oh nice, I would love to ride a helicopter, make a request to be able to work from the inside, no matter if the helicopter is on the ground the whole time; inform them that I'll be there in half an hour, just need to grab a few things, secure some others. – for other things Elaine had to do before leaving was her usual work of fixing pods, which only involved making sure that the IA prediction of possible failures based on scanners of her area of the base that was located in one of the residential areas of the vase, so for now those would need to be put on stand by and make one of the interns do the basic patch up on any mechanical issues, then she would need to call off any repair she intended to do on the repair drones working in her floor.
But the main thing she will had to put behind was her experiments, one was an attempt of a ventilation system for cooling down a laser-based battery and a magnetic one as a plan B, which neither had work since they consumed to much energy and the machines still require a solid battery as a backup which meant little sustainability for the required work, so, she went to big, as usual, and was not able to modulate the power either of the batteries produced, which, at the end, meant that attempting to power up something smaller like a fridge or a prosthetic arm was not yet possible; but that needed to be put on hold, alongside all the other requests her sisters and brothers had for her, and of course the preparations for her sisters' birthday party in a few weeks, since now she had a chance at having some fun outside. – Ell3 call Art, before I forget.
"The call is not reaching him."
– Hmm; okay, leave him this voice mail. Art, I will be leaving the tower for a few days, I think, all I'm sure is that I might miss your call tomorrow, I'll be going to a dangerous place at the border, probably it will all go well; Thy will know where I am eventually in case I leave for more than a day, you can reach out to him to get some updates on what will happen at the border; I will be sending you the instruction of how to fix your land scanners if you are in a hurry and cannot wait for me that is… and… you still need to tell me where are you, don't expect me to keep fixing your problems from afar, so, you either come to visit or tell me where to find you, Thy made an observation and well, all I got from it is that I need to be more spontaneous, or at least get some unfiltered sunlight, so, you will get a visit once I deal with this thing at the border, and you cannot say no, I can find out where you are just by the way the live feed of a videocall works and connects, so, you are warned, oh, and don't forget Lily, they would love to see you, well us, all of us; so, do try to speed up your travels and buy them something good, a couple of books, and some photos, maybe some traditional toys to go along with a story or a book, now they are into heroes, for the last year they have been reading comic books online, after finishing with the myths and legends of heroes from other countries, Thy thinks they are avoiding to read history for a reason only they know, including Thy; call me when you have the chance and now I have to go, I'm already leaving my place in a rush, so I expect your call, bye…
"Voice message sent, should I call Thyberius next?"
– Yes, do it, set a videocall. – It was easy that way since Elaine had programed a drone to follow her when video calling, since she was packing up, moving around her work place under the residential area of the vase where she had decided to live, even if she wasn't aware off it, but at times she was so immersed into work to notice the passing of time, that was the problem that most people had inside the tower, the hours passed unnoticed.
Of course she had a place up, around the same area where she shared a place with the twins, and the rest of her brothers and sisters, but only Them and Thy used it, he only step out when he needed to take the twins to school, and then stayed out to work around, and returning once the girls where back from school; but in reality, not even Thy was needed there at the house, he only served as a company that his sister appreciate, and the adults approved since he was their legal guardian; since even the girls were able to take care of themselves as the rest of the Doppel's did when they were younger.
"It is set."
"Hey sis, what's up? Want me to drop by and help you with the party? Did you make my hoverboard? Did you miss me already?
"Let her talk… hey Ela, how you've been? Packing up?"
– Gisel, shesh, you could use some sun, and some sleep, and to get off the screen…
"The pot said to the kettle…"
"Shut up Thy!"
– Shut up! Haha… I'm actually about to leave, so, take care of the flowers while I'm gone, for desertic pastures, to see some guys about a bird and some presents stored for everybody…
"Wait… are you going to the border?"
"Sis! Seriously? What's the point of a coded conversation now…"
– Calm down, it is not a secret mission, or they would have not made a public request to engineers, but it feels a bit rushed, perhaps something went wrong with a machine and want to be extra careful since it is at the border, I will let you know once I'm able.
"Okay… but you are packing up the good stuffs…"
"Wait, what was that about a bird?"
"That she will fly there… and apparently she is going on an expedition."
– Not only that, I thought flying there was the obvious part since it is too far away for a rushed work, is more about seeing the bird up close, and have a chance to play with it…
"Okay that makes more sense, take care, and call me if you need anything…"
"Ummmm… I feel like I need to tell you something… it is not a secret since he is always traveling, but Armand is travelling to the border as we speak, he must be an hour away or so…"
"Well, that makes sense, in a paranoid way, something must have happened over there, and of course we will not find out until the event actually happens, they want a redundant security team to follow the one already there, at least one of them, if I remember correctly, Armand prefers to use local security from each place he visits; perhaps taking into consideration all of his arrangements, but, it will be only one, my guess is that your team will try to pass over the towns to catch them while they try to move the kidnapped and gagged Armand to their underground town at the blank zone, do you have the drones you made for Art on you?"
– Part of them, thought it would be a good opportunity to check how they worked, I have the scanner, but I will need to assumable it before landing, and I will need to move with them since my signal is not that strong and haven't asked the tower to let me run it in their satdrone…
"I see, well that's all I have to help you out, I have no idea how the security drones work, but it is likely the Blankers do know all about them, do those are able to look underground? If the answer is yes, then you will have to consider they might have found a natural pathway close to one of the towns, perhaps more than one, to move in an out fast, and away from the sensors and with plenty routes to follow, Art once told me that those natural pathways could run deep and for miles…"
– Well, that is actually helpful, I thought you only knew people…"
"Perhaps it is that, he has studied the people living at the edge of the border, like a fan boy…"
"Come on, are you not curious? In some ways they are like us, well not like our current self-living at the tower, but like us three and the girls when we lived on the streets, searching for a purpose…"
"Only you would get excited about that."
– eeeh,,, well, it is not a pleasant memory, only slightly better, like the beginning of my memories, or perhaps just the loudest, like worse than thunderstorms on metal walls, but still better…
"…ugh, I only remember how loud it was, and the smells, and then your smells, having to live with them, at times I even regretted and forgotten why I wanted to get out of my place…"
"Oh, come on, it was not that bad, it didn't take us that long to find help…"
– You are forgetting something Thy, we are talking to royalty, our princess here left a castle to meet us…
"Shut up…! Don't start…"
– Oh right, I always forget that part… well not really, but I always forget how to bully you about it… okay, okay, I've got one; it was not to meet us, it was to get some help, to clean the castle and do the dishes, and keep you entertained…"
– …ugh, don't kill the vibe, don't call it before saying it… even if it sounds like the truth, perhaps you needed somebody to fix your tv, and needed a buffoon at your court, but a good one like Thy.
"…seriously? I was being honest; I wanted to meet somebody like me…"
"Wait hold on, why would I be a buffoon and not a knight? I could also repair a tv…"
– Aaaaannddd?
"Yeah, what else could you do, beside party tricks?"
– Ha… party tricks; that even my drones can make… – Elaine said as the last piece of equipment was put in place in her toolbox as she stood in front of her door ready to leave, contemplating if anything was amiss, or could be used later, but it only took it a second to decide moving out and into a pod going down since her place was near the balcony and few meters close to where the transit of workers, pods, drones and deliveries began.
"…even your current work could be done by 3sther, you are only two percent more efficient than it…"
– Heard that? Two percent, you should pick up a book and go back to school, or you should have picked another trade, like farming…
"He did try, remember? he wanted to be a civic aid, but failed to get his law degree…"
"haha… that was not my fault, they wanted to run the lessons based on the laws of the western world, using past rulings, the awful ones, and those that helped evil rich people…"
– …so you didn't do the reading material…
"He hated to go through the reading material."
"I could have, I chose not to… and not because I was being lazy…"
"And he tried to guess all the answers, which of course didn't work…"
"Of course it worked, instead of giving the civic answer, I gave the crueler answers, and It worked in general, but not in particular when I was made to give the word for word case description with names and dates…"
"Seriously? That was why? Ugh… you are so dumb…"
"…I was not; I got all the way to the finals for the penultimate year…"
– …and then they caught you during a practice trial, right?
"I was the genius of the lessons, never having to use rhetoric nor double meaning, so in theory I was winning, but I lacked the so-called alpha predator ruthlessness, and hunger to win… or so they said my teacher, one in particular."
– …sooo… what could you bring to the round table of the princess' castle then? Again, I could just have set some cameras, tighten the areas with more weaknesses, get some drones to cover the doors…
"What will you do when the lights go down…"
"Certainly not sending you to fix it…"
"Come on, I have been your aid, to both of you, I would know what to do to help out…"
– Verdict? Would he be needed at the princess' castle?
"Unknown…"
"Come on…!"
– Hahahaha… and just like that you are banned from the kingdom… okay I'm out; got to go, the crew is already waiting, see you soon, tell Lily all, including how unreliable you would be at a princess castle…
"Ha Ha… I will, take care sis…"
"Yeah, take care, I will talk to the girl…"
– You better don't quit on their birthday party, we need you there, as much as they need you at work, bye.
– Not you, I saw your name and thought it was another conduct and security report.
– Do you want my help or not? – Elaine looked confused but with a smirk on her lips as she stood in line in front of the security commander of vase near a truck and an RV parked between the bird cage and the vase where the parking lot park right behind a canopy.