077. Metamorphosis, 8

(Uri)

We returned exhausted in the middle of the night by the sleeping child. Still sleeping. Looking more human though, with enough water and nutrients pumped into its veins.

What we've seen previously we can't really explain. Again.

Our crystals are indeed made mostly of gold atoms by all metrics, but here and now, they've grown to foamy overly expanded structures. It's way more hollow now. What could cause that?

It's not even cubic lattices anymore. The samples return to normal structure and aspect after melting.

We don't have any idea of ambient condition processes that could cause this phase transformation. That should be impossible. It's transmutation.

We broke open a few boxes to check their content of gold used for the microscope, and even computers to check their gold circuitry, and noticed nothing special.

We don't know what this really means, but my friend has an intuition it is correlated with what happened to the world back then. It just didn't reach sealed environments.

U - Well, at least the child is getting better.

She looks well.

I start coughing. My head hurts like my eyes are going to pop out. I leave the care to him and I go outside to breathe.

I eventually catch my breath again. My body is trembling. It's not straight decline but ups and downs, oscillating and gradually deteriorating.

I'm already sick anyway...

We didn't find anything in the facility's medical bay, and I'm fairly sure the hospitals in the city here have already been looted.

I'm trembling because I'm scared.

Fuck...

A little while later my friend comes to check up on me.

M - How's this looking?

U - Retirement? Not that great... And how's our new recruit? Promising?

M - I... She's getting well. She was stained by that... gold. So her liver is still not great, but she's on the mending.

U - Good. Good... I'm happy to hear that.

I really am.

U - So what's next? Now that gold can be expanded at room temperature and air pressure, which is new to me and counter intuitive. Where should we look for the next clue?

M - I was considering the usual.

U - The university it is then next. I'm going to lay down for a while. I'm a little tired.

M - See you tomorrow.

I leave. I check my vitals from my handheld computer. These little things I injected my body with are also supposed to help to some extent, but it doesn't amount to much at this point.

I'm getting eaten by microscopic things. Maybe I should... No, that's stupid.

~

Sometime later, Mushio's driving us to the campus. The road is tricky as it's mostly gone under dirt and rubbles now. Some abandoned cars and another of these odd flowery trails hint us to where it once was.

A weird animal cowers from us and hides.

There's still some wildlife. That's somewhat reassuring.

We reach a campus that is partially crumbling. There are fissures all over the walls and ground.

Let's do our best...

We head to the communication tower that holds both satellite dishes and solar panels.

We try to connect to both, to reactivate what matters.

As usual, it takes hours longer than a few circuit breakers to shift.

U - Patience is a virtue my parents used to say.

M - Really?

U - No.

We laugh. I hold my cough until I can't anymore. I expel more mucus, thicken with dead microbes and immune cells, and most likely also other cells from my lungs.

I'm losing. I breathe slowly in and wipe my sweat.

The mucus dries rapidly outside. Facing mortality is not fun. Pain grows.

I swallow another painkiller.

We work. Keeping focus on something meaningful is nice, even if I don't feel any motivation nor pleasure from anything anymore.

I've reached the point of weakness where reason has to take over for everything emotional and otherwise easily flowing to be done. Moving, eating, working, thinking...

I'm in full manual mode now, and it is draining...

I hurt myself as I trembled with the tools. I yell. I cuss as blood drips. I let some anger go against the machine we were trying to repair. My friend is concerned. I do my best holding on not to take it on him.

U - I need a break... Try connecting the power.

M - ... Okay.

I go explore another building to change my mind and clean my open wound.

I realise I will be dead before this cut will fully heal, and I start crying.

I don't want to die...

It's not about choice. It's not about entitlement, nor pride, nor justice, nor karma. It's only about luck.

I'm out of luck and there's nothing left to do.

Well, there's one thing left to do.

Trying to find meaning in what time and power I have left, as it's dwindling.

Mustering resolve, and facing what is the purpose I want to make progress. I bash open the next door and try to find more about the new reality to the world. As if my life depended on it.

Because in a way now, it does.

I don't want to die bitter, so I will do everything I can to uncover what happened...

~

My friend is concerned. I'm not looking good.

I'm abusing the drugs. And the alcohol.

U - You got a smoke?

He chuckles, and actually goes out of his way to find some tobacco for me.

I bend a pipe to makeshift a... pipe. One to smoke from, like in much older centuries.

I did that because that keeps my hands free to work, without putting ashes everywhere.

U - It took the end of the world, but now I finally understood why these things existed. Let's call it progress.

Mushio coughs. He's keen to laugh with me still at least.

We make the system reboot finally.

The dishes move. The computer boots the communication systems as I aimed.

U - I'm a genius.

M - Now that's the alcohol talking.

U - Jealous punk. Check the screening signals? We're going to get a satellite this time I swear.

We try. At least we get some more data from the local network from before it collapsed.

M - Let's emit on broader frequencies that we're looking for data.

U - Yes. We're looking for peers. It's funny, it's as if we were at sea.

Lost at sea for a while now...

Looking for other ships to help each other, or lighthouses to reach shores.

Yet again, all we receive is silence unfortunately.

~