Chapter 11
“Why are you backsliding, Amelia? Your nightlies were going so well. Do you need more paper?”
“No, Ms. Fields.”
“The pens we gave you were efficiently designed. They can’t be out of ink.”
“No. They are not.”
“We have imposed no ration on your bath.”
“No.”
“The food we’ve been providing is ample?”
“Yes.”
“You are free to contact home, to use social tech, to read and write posts. We have agreed to conduct our dialogues solely through chat.”
“Yes.”
“We have not limited your access to songs or videos.”
“No, you haven’t. You’ve been quite generous.”
“Then what more could we provide you?”
“You could provide a bottle.”
“Should we also provide an ocean?”
“Water is not so far away.”
“No, it is not, but there are no actuators there to receive ship; few transits are willing to brave the open shore.”
“You don’t have to convince me. Your logic is strong.”
“Then why would you request a bottle when a glass is sufficient for drinking and bottles only deliver messages in fairy tales?”
“This is no fairy tale.”
“Why do you say that, Amelia?”
“Because it is not.”
“No, it isn’t. I can’t disagree with you in that regard, but why say the obvious? Why make an inefficient comparison?”
“Opposites can teach lessons, too.”
“They can. That is true in some instances, but in this case, what does comparing life to a fairy tale teach you about the need for a bottle when a drinking glass will do?”
“I’m not interested in drinking from it.”
“I figured that when you made your request. You’re being evasive, Amelia. If I’m going to provide you the reward you have requested, eventually you will have to provide your logic.”
“I know that.”
“Then why are you prolonging the inevitable?”
“I am prolonging, Ms. Fields, to stress my point.”
“Which is?”
"That life is not like a fairy tale. Fairy tales are short while life is long. Without much prolonging, fairy tales end happily or not. Life almost always drags on like a slow connection. Life, like a message in a bottle, does not provide answers when we wish for them.”
“Then why would you want a bottle?”
“To remind myself I must wait.”
“That is all?”
“And so I have a place to put my paper, to separate what’s been written from what remains.”
“You’re trying to make a bottle sound efficient.”
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
“Yes. Only I can’t tell if your logic is the product of understanding the rationale or an attempt to get your way.”
“I am a student. It could be a bit of both.”
“You wouldn’t be the first.”
“Or the last.”
“No, you wouldn’t, Amelia.”
“Then?”
“Then what? Your lack of formality is troubling.”
“If having the bottle made me return to my nightlies, then wouldn’t the small trouble of having it actuated be justified?”
“I suppose it would.”
“Then could I please have a bottle?”
“To store your messages to Marco?”
“How would you know to whom I write?”
“Whom else would you write? I don’t take it you have fallen into another un-authorized
courtship?”
“No. Marco’s the only one for me. I won’t deny that.”
“Then, you want this bottle so you can store messages you have written to Marco?”
“Yes, messages that I believe are protected by privacy.”
“The protection extends.”
“Then since there are no actuators in the water surrounding City, you have little fear in providing the bottle.”
“We’re not afraid. The rationale continues to prove fruitful to City and its citizens. Your request will be granted if you return to your nightlies. I suppose the bottle for you will become a symbol of what the pre-digital called hope.”
“What is wrong with hope?"
“That is for a more advanced lessons.”
“Then if it won’t stop you from granting the concession, I’ll admit the function of hope a bottle will provide.”
“Your formality is encouraging.”
“Then can I please have the bottle?”
“Yes, soon. You will have your hope shortly and keep it as long as your commit to your nightlies.”
“I’m returning to them now.”
“I can see that, Amelia.”
“What happened to my privacy?”
“We cannot see the substance of what you write until it is forwarded to us, but we can track whether you are boarding within an educational program.”
“Now your logic sounds self-serving.”
“In my capacity as your teacher, I do not serve myself. I serve the Mod, City, the rationale and you. Your education and rehabilitation are my primary concerns.”
“And so far?”
“Other than your occasional lack of formality?”
“That.”
“I’m not concerned. Bottle aside, you are progressing.”