SPECIAL REPORTER SIMILE SPRATTGADGET -
A WOMAN ON FIRE (POSSIBLY THRUSH) LOOKING AT THE CORONAVIRUS. FROM A LONG WAY AWAY.
First of all, everybody calm the fuck down. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. Unless you have any objections to dying. Sure it looks like we're headed into a global pandemic of epic proportions, which will kill millions of people. Relax. It will only kill those stupid enough to catch it. I've looked into this matter deeply. Researching the true facts, on this antivax, flat earth website I found. The coronavirus is completely harmless until you catch it and it kills you. So there's nothing to worry about. What you really need to worry about, is not the diseases that kill you, it's the vaccinations. Measles, polio, ebola and bubonic plague have never killed anyone, apart from the millions they did kill. They're all dead now, so what do they know? Stop worrying about this new coronavirus. Instead start worrying about the vaccine they will eventually produce. I've seen the top secret hidden studies on publically available pdf files. They all prove beyond doubt vaccines are 12,000% lethal. That's right if you vaccinate one child it kills 120 others, just because. The government and big pharma are hiding the truth from us in order to kill everyone. You see if everybody is dead then they'll be able to sell even more vaccines to all the dead people. Thus making much more money than they would by keeping people alive. According to the figures I've seen, from the research they destroyed all evidence of and then published on a website, they did a study of 12 kids in Borneo and found that vaccination kills 75 billion people a year and leaves all the survivors dead. Worse still, vaccinations will make you autistic for the rest of your life. If they don't kill you. Which it's 12,000% guaranteed they will. No two ways about it. If you've ever been vaccinated you will die. Eventually. Decades later, that's how they hide the true death toll. Only the conspiracists will cover it up and say you died of old age. At the age of 97? Who do they think they are kidding? It's a cover up. If it wasn't for vaccinations no one would die of anything. That's a fact according to this antivax website I found. I've no reason to doubt any of the hard evidence they didn't provide to support their claims. Vague references to things they don't understand is all I need to believe them.
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Neither of his rivals was where he'd last seen them. Several hours ago according to his best estimate. Scarlet's name was still up on the main screen. Biggest overall winner so far. Her total of almost a quarter of a million would take some beating. It was over twice as much as she'd had when he'd spotted her head behind that mountain of chips. It was more than three times the person in second place. She'd certainly set down a marker. Intentionally, if he knew her. It was all just fun of course. That's why he was taking this so seriously. Pip had dropped out of the top ten. Down to number 15 if he was reading things right. He thought he was, but since it wasn't up on the main display he'd had to use a terminal to find out. As far as the table where she'd been playing, along with Kaisha and Chaska, her position was number one. Honors even with her. She'd won more money, but he'd beaten a general. Of course they wouldn't agree with his estimation. He'd need to figure out another angle. That was their peak winnings according to his understanding. Meaning they could have lost the lot.
They might have moved on to other games of chance and skill. He decided not to go in search of them. Or had he. There was an option on the screen to check the locations of people. Either through typing in their name or simply speaking it. No one was around. He checked again. Merely as an experiment he requested the location of General Kumalo. Only to be politely brushed off. She'd initiated privacy mode. Her last known location was where he'd met her. It flashed on the projected map. Now that he knew how to use it, Jake left. He'd just spotted someone going into an area he hadn't known about. He'd go and explore. He might discover something no one else in his circle knew about.
The entryway was cleverly concealed from a distance. It was only when he drew closer he could tell there was a wall behind which another room was concealed. No signage. Was it secret or forbidden. Didn't seem likely. Another person strolled behind the wall and a woman walked out talking to her communicator. Nobody tried to stop him. So he walked along the corridor behind that false wall. The noise from the casino faded rapidly. Then he truned at the end to find himself in bright sunlight. It was a balcony. A very long one. There were tables and chairs. A small proportion of them occupied. No one he knew as such. Despite the blazing sun, it was cooler out here. A lovely breeze wafted along the balcony's length. The view wasn't bad either. He was half way up a truncated pyramid that had to be 50 meters high. Purple, gold and green. It looked out over the ocean. Off to both sides were areas of vegetation. Closely cropped lawns, surrounded by shrubs and flowers. No people that he could see. A few robotic drones flew below and some ground based vehicles. Everyone must be at this system wide party.
The atmosphere was very relaxing. He'd had a strenuous strategic battle with the general. He'd beaten her. Even though she'd won more money. Best to keep that on the down low. Credits were no measure of success. Particularly when they were worthless. He took off his jacket and placed it over the back of a chair. Before his ass was on it a droid took his drink order. As he lay back the glass was waiting for him. Jake took a long draft of it. Perfect every time. Chilled to exactly the right temperature. It wouldn't get warmer either. Unless direct sunlight made any difference. Feet up he took in the vista. That looked like a good beach over on the headland in the distance. It struck him he didn't actually know where on earth he was. Equatorial was as close as he could reckon. It was early afternoon, possibly of the fourth day of this Kameerah. Nearly half way through the first bit.
No one disturbed him. No one even greeted him. Apart from the odd nod or smile. Now that he was paying attention, it seemed that without exception everyone out here was alone. This must be some kind of solitude place. Where you could quietly contemplate before returning to the celebration. The total absence of conversation indicated those here weren't even using their phones or other comms devices. He checked out his own. No signal. Notifications would be sent if the user was being contacted. He wasn't. This was great. If only they'd had something like this at one of the few parties he'd attended before. Jake could just sit here, relaxing. Even if someone he knew saw him they wouldn't bother him. Half an hour later this began to bother him. Nothing happened here.
Thinking back to Pip this morning, or possibly last night, it dawned on him he might be evolving to. A lifetime spent as a cynical recluse was being eroded. Jake Halliday was adapting. To the point where he was tempted to seek out company. Having that meal he'd planned at the restaurant was a possibility. He could have ordered exactly the same thing out here of course. Others were eating. He'd just go take a look at the gaming tables. See if the leaderboard had changed. Now he knew of this place, he could always come back later. Maybe he could bring along Pip or Scarlet. Only this was a place of solitude. Couples didn't come here. Not that he'd seen. Although over on the other side there might be a more communal and less solitary balcony. This Matriarch palace had everything. Anything it didn't have, the old variable geometry would take care of. Sharing this couldn't be shared. Or words to that effect.
He was back inside before he knew it. Standing on the raised area which surrounded the gaming area. His eyes moved over the throng. No sign of Scarlet or Pip. No sign of anyone he knew more than casually. Would they have gone off somewhere else without telling him? Leaving him all on his own. Of course they would. Without even thinking about him for a second. He could very easily check the whereabouts of anyone he knew. That would be admitting defeat. As in him seeking out the company of others. Not something a lone wolf did. They wouldn't know he'd searched for them. He would though. Well he was standing at a terminal now. Maybe he could think of something to ask it. Something completely unrelated to finding his friends. There was a list of topics. All about the casino. He'd learned a couple of tricks from Pip and Scarlet. Coming up a couple of menu's would help. God damn there was a lot here. History was supposed to be his subject. He selected that.
Then other legends appeared. He hadn't seen any Neanderthal's other than Kulathorn. What had happened to them? Well, it appeared they'd been on the road to extinction when the People arrived. World population of only a few tens of thousands. They'd been brought back from the brink. Enlightened as they put it, and now most of them were on Mars. Millions of them in fact. Jake had possibly seen them and not noticed when he was there. It was confusing when all you did was attend functions and ceremonies. His extended digit hovered over the Locate icon. No. They'd be doing their stuff. Whatever that was. Even finding out where they were would be intrusive. If only he could evolve or adapt himself around all these internal barriers he'd set up. Life would be so much easier. His inner nosey parker had almost taken over there. Sneakily as well. It hadn't wanted to use verbal commands. It was learning. He chuckled at a his own joke. One he would never tell to anyone else. They wouldn't get it anyway.
Now if he just randomly wandered downstairs, then casually walked around, the odds were he'd bump into someone from the ship. At the very least he'd encounter a known face. He might even be able to put a backstory and name to it. Unless Scarlet and Pip were still up here. There were 4 sides to this large room. That meant there could be 3 other balcony's. He'd have inquired, but his feet had already taken him away from that information portal. Going back now would make it obvious he hadn't a clue what he was doing. No one was watching him. No one would be interested in his movements. Yet he still had that mild paranoia.
On the basis there was bound to be someone on the lower level, he took the elevator down. Stepping out he saw Toopher and Amara had surfaced at some point. They were eating and looked happy. Morag and Hermes must have been very entertaining in the sack. They weren't in sight. No reason he couldn't go over and say hi. Halfway there a reason popped up. He'd never actually met them. Jake was only the guy they might have seen with Scarlet. Them noticing him being highly unlikely, he altered course. Before they'd had the opportunity to fail to notice him again. Close shave. This socializing was far more nuanced than he'd first thought. And he'd thought it was bloody impossible for him. Tamsin was sat alone at a table. Remembering casually, he pretended to notice as he faked walking past.
"Do you mind if I join you?" He smiled.
"Yes I do. That seat's taken and I'm just waiting on the man who fills it to use the facilities. He should be back shortly."
Oh right.
"Anybody I know?"
"Doubt it. I barely know him myself. We only met a few minutes ago. I accidentally bumped into him as I came out of the lift." She winked at the word accidentally. "The party spirit has taken hold so it didn't take long to get him interested. People try to pace themselves at things like this. Instead of jumping right in."
She looked over her shoulder. A handsome man waved at her. She nodded back.
"Soooo. Have you seen any of the others?" He fished.
"Probably. Could have been hours ago. Like I said I've only been here a few minutes. My attention has been centered elsewhere. Now will you bugger off. You might queer my pitch."
Despite his disappointment, Jake had to smile. He moved off debating whether to warn the poor guy she'd ensnared. He'd find out soon enough, exactly how deeply he was in her clutches. Tamsin had a point. This was possibly almost half way through the first 9 days. Everyone would be in full party mode. Those who needed a rest and some refreshment would have headed to quieter parts. Those who'd either managed to snag a partner or brought one along with them, were probably taking advantage of that. If Scarlet was among their number she might not surface for days. His thoughts shied away from contemplating Pip. Not distaste or disapproval, he just wanted to avoid any intimate details. It was alright making fun of her kissing and cuddling. Beyond that line he wouldn't tread. Not until she was far more experienced.
It was a shock to his system when he entered the disco. Heading there unconsciously, because it was where he had more chance of seeing someone he knew. The shock was two fold. First the music was nothing he'd heard before. Second Ursella and Gungthor were dancing to it. The tune and the dance were what he'd have classed as medieval or early Renaissance. The brother and sister would dance towards each other. Do a few bows and turns before dancing apart, then coming together again. People were watching. Some of them, had learned the steps and were joining in. He was pretty sure there weren't any more of his friends here. Pip for one, would have been up and dancing. It occurred to him there was a very strong possibility that he and the two sorcerers were the only ones not enjoying some bed based activities. A bit of a downer. Good luck to them if they were, but he was now on his own. The nerds were a possibility. He could track them down and sit there open mouthed while they talked science. On the other hand eating alone wasn't as awful a prospect as he'd first thought.
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