ataraxion | text;

Entry tags:

text;

[ No exceptional rants or helpful PSAs from Nathan this month. He put off talking to Peter, and now he can't, and as much as he knows that this has happened before, he can't help but feel like it's something different this time, something more sinister. He's worried, and his natural defense is to work it off. ]

Departments check in. Let's see what we've got to work with.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Agriculture. Only a handful of us still about, from what I've been able to gather. The most important information of note, though, may be that we're lacking our lovably cantankerous leader.

Ned's asleep? Again?

Perhaps he needed the rest. We do have a history of head of departments burning out.

Still. Do you happen to know Takeshi?

Doesn't ring a bell, no.

It's alright, I'll try calling the kid myself.

Now, the gardens. Is there anything you need to keep things running smoothly down there?

Less people treating it like the local park without actually contributing to its care, for one, though that's an ongoing problem. I don't imagine Ned expects me to have it solved when he wakes up.

We should be fine. I've been in charge of system maintenance for months, and we have enough hands remaining to keep up with produce turnover. Unless there's suddenly an increased demand beyond our usual estimations, but if widespread stasis comas are happening again then I very much doubt that's the case.

Alright. If the power fails, or we get attacked again, Bail Organa in my department is in charge of communicating emergency procedures with yours, usually he'd be in touch with Ned, but I'll give him your number instead.

[Excuse Josias while he just stares at his comms in horror for a minute.]

I really hope you didn't just make me substitute head of agriculture.

I made you my contact. The details are up to you and your colleague.

Oh, thank God for that. Right. I'll keep that in mind.

And if you change your mind about help, call me. Who knows what might happen this month.

Let's try not to jinx it. We've had enough excitement and uncomfortable breaches of privacy over the past few months.

Expect the worst and the best might surprise you.

Words for pessimists and cynics to live by, I'm sure.

Works for me, I'm both.

I suppose that bodes well for the future of our populace.

It does. Human survival hinges on the pessimistic, the kind of people who build nuclear shelters in peacetime. It's the optimistic ones you have to worry about. The ones who think they can't die or be defeated--those are your sadists and despots, your dictators.

And here I thought optimism would lend itself more to hope. Leading things onward to a bright future, etc. Human survival, as obviously important as it is, is rather a base level of existence, don't you think?

I can work with a base level of existence. The future will happen when we get there, but only if we get there.

The future always happens, whether we want it to or not. But keeping the bar low should make it rather easy to achieve, I suppose.

It's as good a plan as any, I think.

And there's that dramatic lack of ambition again. I thought you were in politics?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only