Star date 3300.5.16
“Squeeee!”
Bean! Calm down!
[Fearful squeals continue]
Seriously! Stop spazzing out and tell me what’s wrong!
“M-m-m-BLORP! Monster!”
What?
“Monster!”
Monster? Where?
“BLOOP! In the window!”
In the window…
There’s nothing in the window, Bean. Would you relax already?
[Sound of wheels franticly scraping against the metal floor]
Or, fine, go ahead and hide under my bed. So long as you’re not out here bothering me. I swear, if it wasn’t for my horrible caffeine addiction, I would have turned that bot into scrap a long time ago. This is the third time he has startled me from my work with crazy claims of monsters watching us from outside the windows. My poor sketches. There is a huge line I need to erase from where he bumped my arm, causing it to jerk across the page.
I have been doodling more and more as a way to kill time. I’m not that good I admit. Practice makes perfect, or so they say. I decided to make a compendium of all the plants, animals, and unique crystals that make up the fabric of this planet. With the help of the computer, I was able to pull up some images to use as a reference for some of the less common varieties.
My sister, Jess, now she was a real artist. She could look at something once and make a sketch from memory, a talent she inherited from my father. I wish they were still alive. Maybe then she could help me with shading and perspective, neither of which I have a firm grasp on.
Mm, that reminds me. I have a drawing she made for me just months before she… you know.
It was of our cat, Zoomy.
Jess used to laugh herself silly watching Zoomy run up the walls after eating catnip. It was how she got her name. Sometimes I get the urge to look at that drawing and think back to when things were simpler. Back to a time before the plague, the academy, and all the lockdowns. It always makes me miss the freedom I didn’t know I had until it was gone. The ability to travel, to be around the people you love. Those moments, along with all the little things you take for granted, can’t always be regained once lost. Before long, I have to put the picture back to keep the tears from coming. “That’s not a good coping mechanism,” you might say. I never said it was… but it's mine.
Besides, the time for tears has passed. I cried enough for several lifetimes, and it hasn’t brought them back, has it? It hasn’t helped find a cure or treatment so what’s the point? Tears can come later when we have the luxury to cry.
[Rattling against the lab doors]
Looks like the wind is picking up again. A storm is on its way. The weather comes in cycles on this planet. It usually goes clear day, stormy day, very cold day, then back to clear. This is not a definite formula, but close. That means I’ll be staying in tomorrow, working on my sketches while trying to keep Bean from going postal.
In fact, Bean!
“Y-yes, Jax?”
Get in here. I need a cup of something strong.
“BLORP! What flavor would you like?”
Let’s go with classic vanilla. I don’t need anything fancy today.
“Brewing.”
Oh, that smells amazing! I should have cleaned your valves months ago.
“Brewing complete. Please take your mug from the receptacle. ZOOP!”
Okay, that voice box needs to get repaired. I’ll have to send a request to command. Ahem, computer.
“Yes, Jax.”
Put in a requisition for an audio control unit to command. Make it for a coffee unit S-9 series.
“Request sent. Will there be anything else?”
You know what, yes. Put on some music, something soft and soothing.
[Classic tune plays from speakers]
That’s perfect. I got a sharp pencil, a warm cup of bean juice, and some low-fi music. This is Jax, signing off.
ns3.235.25.27da2
