18 - Future history

[no_fastolfe]

[Necessarily generous friends filter: if you've had one non-hostile conversation with her, you're on it.]

I have graduated. [She still sounds kind of surprised about this, a little lost.]

In three days I will be leaving to visit some of my friends who have left the barge, and to return to my household on Aurora to implement what I have learned. In the meantime, I would like to see you again. Many of you have been important to me.

[It's stiff and formal, since she still doesn't know exactly how and what to say, how to convey how important her friends have been.]

Comments

Spams

[nolongerhollow]

Vasilia. [A brief soft smile, and then he somewhat awkwardly motions with the little pot.]

These are...Alpine pinks. I cultivate a little patch of them. They bloom very early in spring. The original flower was given me by a close friend, and so I give a portion of its descendants to you.

Spam

[no_fastolfe]

Lovely. [She accepts them carefully] I'll make a place for them in my estate.

This-- I had no idea it would be so soon. As much as I've wished to leave this place.

Spam

[nolongerhollow]

[He starts cleaning his hands carefully in a floor fountain near the entrance.] I won't lie...I'll miss you very much. But what I told you is true. I will find a way to visit. I will earn the ability.

Spam

[no_fastolfe]

I know you will. [There is a certainty in her voice, a spark of intensity.]

I ... there is the option to return to the barge. I must weigh my alternatives.

Spam

[nolongerhollow]

[He swallows and looks down.]

Take your time making the decision. There is no reason to be hasty. Either way I'll...see you again.

Spam

[no_fastolfe]

You will.

[She sighs] We both have our futures before us. I could have wished that we could be partners in research-- but neither of us can leave our timelines.

Spam

[nolongerhollow]

...Partners in research.

Of course.

[His smile becomes a bit ironic.]

Well, never say never. We are both very long lived, after all.

Spam

[no_fastolfe]

[Her own smile becomes a little pained.]

Were you a woman, count. Perhaps in more than research. I am sorry.

[An awkward dynamic, one poisonous to her for so long. Now only regrettable.]

Spam

[nolongerhollow]

...oh.

Well, that just figures.

Worry not about it. Your friendship satisfies me well enough.

Spam

[no_fastolfe]

I love as I can. [Said without guilt, but with some regret.]

Once I would have denied the word even applied to my feelings. But if a robot can find meaning in the word then I must admit some variant to myself.

[She shifts the pot of flowers into one arm to reach for his hand.]

Your friendship has been defining. I would have you in my circles only for that, but it seems even more selfish than ambitions of research.

Spam

[nolongerhollow]

Then by all means, be a little selfish. [He clasps her hand very gently.]

Spam

[no_fastolfe]

You hardly need tell a Spacer! [She squeezes tightly.]

Come, Count; you must tell me how to care for this plant. It will be on a strange planet, after all.

Spam

[nolongerhollow]

Ehm...well...it requires full sunlight and is used to stony soil, so it prefers a great deal of drainage. The blooming time is brief on a normal world, but it grows very well if tended.

You saw nothing

[no_fastolfe]

Do you think perhaps you would be able to recall any illusive details over tea? [She's teasing.]

You saw nothing

[nolongerhollow]

I'll even be able to drink some of it. Let us go. [He takes his brand new key from his pocket and lets them both out.]