Chapter 26
“Emmy?”
“Skip?”
“That’s me.”
“How is that possible? You’re writing from the institution’s web address.”
“I’m here.”
“You’re back?”
“I’m here for the first time.”
“First time?”
“I’m the new Skip.”
“What are talking about?”
“I’m a new student. I’m the new Skip.”
“You assumed his name?”
“I thought it’d be efficient.”
“Are you crazy?”
“No, why make the institution create an additional login?”
“You’re a new student who readily took the name of a previous student who recently suffered a tragic death?”
“You could put it that way.”
“And why would someone as coldly logical as you need rehabilitation?”
“My parents thought I could do better.”
“Better than what, a robot?”
“Better than I was doing. I wasn’t performing to expectations.”
“Whose expectations?”
“Theirs, mine and the Mod’s.”
“Why would the Mod care about you?”
“My dad is high level. I’m expected to follow in his keystrokes, that sort of thing. One day I might lead the Mod.”
“They’ve said that about me.”
“I heard. They think highly of you. They think we could do excellent work together.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Ms. Snow said if I could get you to cooperate we could even share in-room visits. She said you’re old-fashioned and might like such a thing.”
“Did she?”
“I just said that. She said it wouldn’t technically be inefficient since I’m housed right down the hall, and there’d be less energy demands in us talking than chatting, a concern given that we don’t have elliptical machines in our room.”
“Why would I want to visit you when we’ve just started chatting?”
“I have something.”
“What’s that?”
“Something Ms. Snow had actuated for us to work on. She said you might like it: a kit for making a non-digital craft, a sort of relic from the pre-digital age.”
“What kind of craft?”
“A ship in a bottle, she called it.”
“A ship in a bottle?”
“Yes, the ship is miniature. The bottle is the kind people used to toss into the sea in exchanges for wishes.”
“That’s not what they did.”
“What did they do?”
“They tossed the bottle into the sea with a message so another person could find it and respond.”
“So who could find it?”
“The person who might stumble on the bottle.”
“That’s sounds illogical.”
“People weren’t doing it to satisfy logic.”
“Whatever the antiquated reasoning, the kit even includes paper sails for the boat. The boat doesn’t float or move, so it’s inferior to a digital boat, but they thought you’d like working on it. Would you like to visit me some time? Ms. Snow will arrange transport.”
“I’m just down the hall.”
“Is that a yes?”
“No, that’s a no.”
“I don’t understand the logic.”
“Well, you are the new kid. Ask me again after you’ve taken some of Ms. Snow’s nightlies.”
“Then you’ll come over?”
“No, then I’ll explain why I won’t. You might understand.”
“What about the ship in a bottle? Ms. Snow said you like storing things in old, glass bottles.”
“Did she?”
“I just said that. You’re asking questions that call for redundancy.”
“Sue me.”
“Sue what?”
“Never mind. Something I read about in a cached file.”
“So are you interested in the ship in a bottle?”
“Not so much. Bottles aren’t everything.”
“Ms. Snow thought you might say that.”
“Then why’d she have you ask?”
“I don’t know. I’m just the new student.”