[Fiction][Season 2] Distance Learning

[robkelk]

This is an on-again-off-again story; I won't be updating it as often as Dartz updates stories. But I want to do some writing despite my suddenly-increased workload at the office, so here's a project I'm making public ... -Rob

---

15 January 2022
Ultima Station

Well, this was it! I was finally going away to college. And you couldn't get farther away than I was going!

I checked that my harmonica was still in my pocket - Dad gave me that harmonica years ago and I didn't want to lose it! - then I picked up my suitcase in one hand and my computer bag - with my letter of offer poking out the top of the outside pocket - in the other, and walked down the jetway to the airlock.

Oh, wow - the captain herself was waiting at the airlock! Unless there was somebody else around here who had wings and was less than a foot tall. "Ship's supernumerary Brooklynne Bridges, reporting for duty, Captain ... what is your family name, ma'am?" Oh, I could have died of embarrassment!

But she just smiled. "Welcome aboard, Ms. Bridges. If I must have a family name, 'Noahsdottir' will do, but I prefer simply to be called Safety."

That's why I couldn't find it out ahead of time - she didn't have one!

Captain Safety kept on talking. "I expect you want to stow your belongings. You're billeted on deck two, near the mess hall. We've done what we could to give everyone as much privacy as we could, but nobody except myself and the ship's surgeon has a private room; you're sharing a room with Ms. LaCroux. At least you aren't hot-bunking, the way the bridge crew is; we know you need someplace relatively quiet so you can study."

I'm rooming with Destinee LaCroux? The ship's chief scientist? "Oh, thank you, ma'am!" That was better than I had expected!

"We decided that all four of the students would be sharing quarters with the four section chiefs. You are here to learn, and who better to learn from than the top people on the ship?"

"Yeah... but they're busy people, aren't they? Wouldn't it make sense to put us with people who have time to teach us things when they're off-duty?"

"We thought of that, but then we realized that the section chiefs will be out of their quarters more often than they're in their quarters. You'll have more chances to concentrate on your studies this way."

"Oh, yeah, I can see that. But I wasn't expecting to be doing a lot of book learning, Captain."

She looked taken aback at that. "Didn't you read the entire prospectus, Ms. Bridges? We have a special arrangement with the Nekomi Institute of Technology to treat the Rinna Kazamatsuri as a satellite campus, and NIT has some very strict rules about their required courses. You're going to be taking all of the mandatory first-year courses while you're aboard. Do you want to change your mind about joining the crew? You haven't officially signed in yet, so there wouldn't be any penalty if you leave now."

Leave? And pass up the chance to be paid to attend my first year of college? "No, ma'am! I just thought I would be getting a hands-on education, that's all."

The captain laughed. "You'll be getting that as well, Ms. Bridges. This won't be a pleasure cruise."

Oh, boy.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

updating it as often as Dartz updates stories

The benefits of being incapable of sleeping for more than 3-4 hours a night. If I'm lucky.

Brooklynne Bridges? Either she has very cruel parents, or she'd used to people doing their best not to wear dopey smirks any time she introduces herself for the first time.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

That's not an "or" statement, Dartz... but she usually goes by just 'Lynne.

An image of this scene (and a larger version on the wiki), giving a much better idea of just how big Safety isn't:

[image]http://www.fenspace.net/images/thumb/6/ ... aboard.png[/image]

(And, yes, that is a Moonbase Alpha commlock on Brooklynne's hip. Consider it a clue as to where her family lives.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

While I was looking for my bunk, I found the mess hall. It's a nice place - kind of a cross between Ten-Forward on NextGen and Meg's in Stellvia. Gagarins are build by the Feds and this one was owned by Stellvia, so it made sense. The menu on the wall said they weren't serving today, and we'd get the lunch special at Miela's free if we showed them our contract. I'd just left Ultima and I didn't really want to turn around just to get something to eat, so I looked around for the cooks to ask if I could use the galley on my own - but I couldn't find them. I guess they were busy loading supplies on deck 5 or something. So I turned around and kept looking for my room.

Lucky! I'm two doors away from the mess hall - close enough to grab a midnight snack, but far enough to not hear everyone else having fun. I knocked, just in case Ms. LaCroux was there.

"Oui?"

She was - good thing I knocked! "I'm Brooklynne Bridges. I'm supposed to be sleeping here during the voyage."

The door opened. "Entrez, s'il vous plaît. Bonsoir, mademoiselle Bridges... ou dois-je vous appeler Brooklynne?"

While I put my bags beside the door, I looked at my commlock's screen, which told me what she had just said. "Please, just call me Lynne. That's what my friends call me."

As my commlock translated what I had said into French, Ms. LaCroux frowned, then said in English, "Your device's accent is atrocious, Lynne. And you need to know at least one language other than your native one in order to graduate. What do you speak other than English?"

I'd forgotten all about that requirement. "Well, I know some Spanish, but not really enough to have a conversation in it. But what's wrong with machine translation?"

"Le ver vert rampe vers le verre." My commlink's screen was filled with question marks, and not just because she had spoken quickly. "That is what is wrong with machine translation: it takes too long to be practical in a conversation."

My commlock finally showed what she had said. "That wasn't a fair test. How often would that happen?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It only needs to happen once. And you may complain about the fairness of a test after you have passed it. But we will build upon what strengths you already have; I will ask Chief Engineer Garcia to tutor you in Spanish, and you will refrain from using your device to understand what we say to you."

Oh, good - I was afraid I was going to have to learn French as well as everything else while I was aboard. Good thing Spanish was accepted as a second language for my diploma! But no commlock help? That's not fair!

But she's my teacher. I put my commlock back on my belt. "Ma'am, you mentioned accents earlier. I'm having trouble figuring out your accent. What is it?"

"If I am to call you Lynne, then you are to call me Destinee. Do not make me feel old by calling me 'ma'am.' I was born and raised on l'Île Saint-Louis, Lynne; I speak Parisienne French. My English accent is not so good, I admit. I learned the basics in school, and more from the BBC World service, but I did not learn conversational English until 2015. That was when we explored Zeta Tucanae for the first time. I took in the accents of the other people in the exploration team, so I am a Frenchwoman who speaks English with a German accent. Perhaps I could sell beer?"

It took me a moment to remember the commercial she was referring to. "Maybe!"


--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

META: Whoops, forgot to kill the specular and change the color on the displays on the Beta-5 unit in the background... We'll just pretend the terminal is powered down for in-port maintenance. The story even supports that, sort of.

Here's what it should look like, in the background of Brooklynne's character-page image:

(Of course, now I have to write a character page for her...)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[HRogge]

Even with Fenspace computer power and AIs, live translation will be sometimes bad... or quirky... or both!

[robkelk]

META: ... (Of course, now I have to write a character page for her...)

http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?titl ... ne_Bridges]It's started. Have a few background details that might or might not make it into the story...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Ross Van Loan]

I should think that Fenputers  would make Microsoft products seem sane, viable and bug-free by comparison.
Good opening, Rob : I like the implied future conflict between spunky, allegorically named youth ( What gulf will she bridge, I wonder?) & upfront Fate...uh, Karma...uh, Lachesis. Will Lynne survive her Destinee with her spunk intact? If you find your story developing darkly I can arrange for Lynne to be rescued by a surgical Shegoth strike.

[LynnInDenver]

Ross Van Loan wrote:

---

I should think that Fenputers  would make Microsoft products seem sane, viable and bug-free by comparison.

Oh, Fen computers are viable, they won't make Microsoft look better by comparison on at least that front... the jury is still out regarding the sane and bug-free, though. (After all, Handwavium quirks can be considered "bugs" in that they are effectively undesirable operation, and some of them definitely aren't sane at that.)
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[robkelk]

I should think that Fenputers would make Microsoft products seem sane, viable and bug-free by comparison.

Good opening, Rob : I like the implied future conflict between spunky, allegorically named youth ( What gulf will she bridge, I wonder?) & upfront Fate...uh, Karma...uh, Lachesis. Will Lynne survive her Destinee with her spunk intact? If you find your story developing darkly I can arrange for Lynne to be rescued by a surgical Shegoth strike.

I hadn't even noticed that... consciously, at least. As for the Shegoth strike, they might find the trip a bit long. Ultima station is one of the major jumping-off spots for interstellar trips.

Oh, yes - I'm enjoying creating the images for each scene... so I'll keep doing that.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[HRogge]

I hadn't even noticed that... consciously, at least. As for the Shegoth strike, they might find the trip a bit long. Ultima station is one of the major jumping-off spots for interstellar trips.

Ultima is the last stop before the limit. Nostromo is the first one afterwards.

[robkelk]

I hadn't even noticed that... consciously, at least. As for the Shegoth strike, they might find the trip a bit long. Ultima station is one of the major jumping-off spots for interstellar trips.

Ultima is the last stop before the limit. Nostromo is the first one afterwards.

Which is why I said "one of"... but, at least in 2022, Ultima is also the Rinna K's home port.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[HRogge]

Which is why I said "one of"... but, at least in 2022, Ultima is also the Rinna K's home port.

Ultima is also the only "shopping area" in easy range for Nostromo... everything else is days away. *G*

So they can expect to get quite a few visitors.

[robkelk]

In the last scene, Brooklynne said:

While I was looking for my bunk, I found the mess hall. It's a nice place - kind of a cross between Ten-Forward on NextGen and Meg's in Stellvia.

If you look carefully at the image for this scene, you'll discover Lynne (a) isn't a Trekkie, and (b) might be an Unreliable Narrator. Aren't you happy I gave you this clue so early in the story?

---

After I finished unpacking - Destinee helped! - I took off to find out who else was already aboard. I made it to the mess hall and stopped. Somebody was in there, and I was looking for somebody, so I went in.

Aw, man - is every other girl aboard this ship a hot blonde? I'm never going to get a date! No, wait - the Captain isn't a blonde. There's hope yet! But I didn't say any of that out loud! "Hi there! I'm Lynne Bridges, ship's supernumerary. Pleased to meet you!"

She smiled and stood up. "Tiffani Jones. That's Tiffani with an i, not a y. Also a ship's supernumerary."

"So we're classmates!"

"That we are. Picked a major yet?"

I shook my head. "I'm using this year to find out what I like best, and I'll major in that."

"That works. I'm majoring in medicine."

"EMT, nursing, or doctor?"

"GP, with a psychiatrist specialty if I can swing it."

This girl aims high! "With that major, wouldn't it make more sense to take your first year at NIT, though?"

"I did - this is my second year." Oops! She's a year ahead of me. But either she didn't care, or she wanted to put me at ease, because she changed the subject right away. "Okay, Lynne - what do you play?"

Ooh, a trick question! But I'd been asked that one before, so I was ready for it. "Harmonica and Half-Life, but not at the same time."

She grinned. "I'd be impressed if you could! I play the violin, myself."

Oh, good - I'm a lot better at the harmonica than I am at Half-Life. "What style?"

"Something from Tasmin Little, something from Lindsey Stirling, something from Regina Carter, and something from everybody else."

"Oh, yeah! I utterly know what you're saying; I'm like that with the harmonica, too. How about we get together sometime, you channel your inner Regina Carter, I'll let my inner Toots Thielemans loose, and we'll improv for a few hours?"

Tiffani's grin got wider at that. "I'm down with that, sure!"

There was a voice at the door, which made both of us jump. "Please do; there's a long tradition of people making their own music on long trips. But don't neglect your studies, ladies."

"Yes, Captain!" Hey, we'd said that in unison! Without practicing!


--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[HRogge]

Ooh, a trick question! But I'd been asked that one before, so I was ready for it. "Harmonica and Half-Life, but not at the same time."

I think making music and playing an old computer game at the same time will be difficult to master.

[robkelk]

Ooh, a trick question! But I'd been asked that one before, so I was ready for it. "Harmonica and Half-Life, but not at the same time."

I think making music and playing an old computer game at the same time will be difficult to master.

So does Tiffani...

Edit: Oh, and Lynne is still stuck in the seventeenth room in Half-Life 5.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Ross Van Loan]

Putting a violin & harmonica in the same room is probably how Ennio Morricone got his musical start. If you include an Ozark harp, a soprano and moonshine bottle-blowers, you can enter the same Spaghetti Space currently inhabited by Shego & the Shegoth (Not a Runaways cover-band).