trans_9 | Idleness (Open)

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Idleness (Open)

Lately Ben had been kind of restless, and thus had been buzzing around the city. It was way too quiet with everything going on, and as much as he hated being idle, there was really no helping it at times.

He had gotten a RideVendor remote from Philip and had taken out one of the cycles for a spin. A few false starts and he was roaring around the city at a breakneck pace before pulling up to the park. Removing his helmet, he brushed his hair of sweat. "I really like motorcycles," he declared to no one as he got off and began to do a few warm ups.

While training in the sensoriums was always fun, he was often finding himself preferring the city more and more, and he selected an alien from his watch, an old standby favorite.

"CANNONBOLT!" yelled Ben as he began to roll and bounce all over the place.

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"That's a little daunting, actually." Was this ship trying to make its crew more heroic?

Did Stacy really think that would work?

"I don't think I have anything like that in my background. I still get the feeling sometimes that I was just standing next to someone else who was important, and got snatched up with them."

Hopefully, not instead of them.

"Everyone's got something to contribute, even if it's not seen immediately," pointed out Ben. "Just gotta keep looking for it y'know?"

"I'm definitely still looking. I thought it was a medical database, but that was incomplete. Then I thought it was helping out in Medical, but Stacy started sending me on missions."

She shrugged, hands out. "I wonder if I'll end up doing everything once. Like - what's the program called on Earth? Apprenticing, or work study, or something."

"Apprenticing is a good way to learn what you really want to do," said Ben, perching himself onto a low wall. "A lot of people do it, well into their 30s back home, and sometimes we change majors."

Anwei sat down as well.

"My species has a sort of - compressed - adolescence," she said, gesturing with her hands as though squeezing time between them. "A very small window for learning things. And once you learn, you're not suppose to change." She put her hands down on the wall, and kicked her heels. "Well. I changed before. Time to change again."

The question was, would she ever be able to change back?

"Well, that's something you need to answer for yourself then," said Ben. "Changing will give you the opportunity to give a second chance at everything."

She smiled. "A chance that many don't ever get. This is a very strange classroom to learn in, though," she said dryly, indicating the maze of mismatched buildings, and the artificial sun glowing overhead.

"That's life for you. Or for me at least. This is pretty old hat for me." replied Ben. "I haven't seen anything yet that surprises me."

She blinked, surprised. He'd been here a long time, and nothing had surprised him? What sort of a life had he led before he got here?

She looked at him sideways. "Old hat? I can't tell if you're serious or not. If you are, I wish I could figure out how to get some of that equanimity bottled and distributed. It would make arrival here a lot easier."

"I'm just being oblivious to most things. It's not hard. I mean, if you're going to worry, then worry in general. But getting worked up about every little thing? Not worth it." And he leaned back, placing his hands on his head in relaxation.

Anwei was definitely a worrier. But that wasn't doing her much good here.

"Any tips on deciding what are little things, and what are not? I'm used to have someone else keep track of things around me, and now that he isn't here, I'm trying to adjust."

"That's something I can't say for certain. Different people are always finding their own priorities and all," remarked Ben. "But finding what is important to you, often helps support the decision on what's important or not."

"Trying to keep myself alive, and not harm others unnecessarily, was usually first on my list. After that..." After that, what was important to her? Keeping her oath to her God, she supposed. How else could she hope for her God to find her here?

"For a long time what was important was give the greatest happiness, the most life, to the greatest number of people. Hence, the medical database. And then the universe went away." She drew up her legs, propped her chin on her knees. "So now I work in Computing, and Medical, and hope that my efforts help support everyone else. A rather subtle and low-key flavor of heroics."

"We need heroes like that though," said Ben, serious again for a brief moment. "Without them, we wouldn't be in the state we were in now, able to fight when push comes to shove, and find what needs to be done."

"You can be the arms and legs, and the brain. And I'll be the backbone, passing along the messages, and reminding everyone when to eat," she chuckled.

"That's pretty much the truth right there," remarked Ben. "Easy isn't it?"

"Easy? You've tasted the slop, haven't you?" Unless he didn't need to eat, like Zouichi.

"Imagine trying to convince someone to eat it, when they're so very busy, and have so many other things to do right now - oh, and also, they can run rings around you. Or roll them."

"Yeah but I go to the sensoriums for dinner. It's easier for me that way. And just force it on them if they forget. It's not too hard to do." said Ben.

Anwei considered the perils of trying to feed a superpowered person who was delirious, or possessed, or just believed they were being poisoned. Or simply, stubbornly refused to eat because they were preoccupied.

Hmm. Horanckk would simply have stunned her unconscious and dragged her to where an IV could be stuck into her. Which didn't' work if you couldn't get a needle through the skin, of course.

"Maybe we could convince Stacy to open a sub-Sensorium in Med Bay, that just transforms food. Hey, she'd have the franchise license! Stacy's Savories, anything you can imagine, free for the thinking."

"That would probably be a good idea," replied Ben, nodding. "There should be something like that at least."

"I get the impression, though, that Stacy doesn't have that much self-control." Her eyelids drooped for an instant, brooding. "Asking her to create a new Sensorium, or even just dispense slop directly down into Med Bay, might be like asking me to grow another head."

Or change shape!

"I wonder sometimes how she feels about all this? Rebuilt by the Daligig, sent to rescue people from the boiling void, charged to watch over us and help us fight this war." She sighed. "I hope that there's some safe place for her, at the end of all this."

"Who knows. Sometimes there`s more mystery on the ship itself than it is here with the rest of us. People are less harder to figure out in my experience than mecha."

"I get the impression that she would be a very complicated person to know, in civilian life."

She smiled. "And think of what a biography she could write!"

"No doubt. I'm sure we'd have something of a long talk with her too," chuckled Ben.

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Idleness (Open)

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