{"id":2142,"date":"2020-12-12T20:12:17","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T03:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2142"},"modified":"2020-12-19T19:11:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-20T02:11:58","slug":"constant-cloud-in-the-land-of-the-midnight-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/12\/constant-cloud-in-the-land-of-the-midnight-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Constant Cloud in the Land of the Midnight Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Start your story with the line, \u201cIt had been twenty-four years since she\u2019d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,\u201d and end it with, \u201c[\u2026] and that was all that mattered.\u201d…<\/em><\/em>
available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The short, forty-story blocks in a cluster at the head of the inlet. Below, the dock and boat launch, and even the fish farm boats seemed to have been frozen in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wind on the rooftop park blew Jak\u2019s tangled curls of dark blue hair into a halo around her mahogany face and bright brown eyes. She put an arm around Sina. \u201cThis is pretty much the same as when I left here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It feels so small,” Sina said. The afternoon sun gave her olive skin a warm glow, her jet hair tied back in a braid shone like silk and her dark green eyes sparkled. \u201cThe blocks are so short, and there’s so few of them. This block is really only forty stories?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s never been a need for full, hundred-story blocks here. Welcome to Maud City, Antarctica.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought there would be snow,\u201d Sina said. \u201cI mean, yeah, it\u2019s summer and all, but I thought there would be, like, mountains with snow or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStill excited for the job?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, yeah! I don\u2019t know much about the area, but the people I talked to in the interviews were nice, and it seems like a good position. They want me to make murals for them,\u201d she said, barely stopping for a breath. \u201cIt\u2019s not like I\u2019ll be climbing up the buildings painting them, but I\u2019m to design them and then the robots will do the painting. They\u2019re neat little things, look kind of like bugs, but not as icky, and they climb up the building and each one paints only one color. Hundreds of them at once, and they say they can do an entire side of a block in just a week. It\u2019s like\u2026,\u201d she blushed and dropped her head. \u201cSorry, I\u2019m babbling again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak kissed her forehead. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. I like seeing you excited like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut you didn\u2019t have to come,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s no construction here, where will you work?\u201d Her eyes shot wide. \u201cI\u2014I\u2019m not saying I don\u2019t want you here, not at all. I\u2019m glad you came, but what will you do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak pointed at the boats in the harbor. \u201cSee all those boats? They go out to the fish farms every day, and there\u2019s never enough mechanics to maintain them all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, you must have checked ahead.\u201d Sina shook her head. \u201cWhat am I saying? Of course, you checked ahead. And you grew up here? I mean, at first\u2026 when you were just little.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t check ahead, but I remember what it was like.\u201d Jak chuckled. \u201cLet\u2019s go back to our flat and change. We\u2019re going to the Cold Cod.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bar and grill. Heritage site. Been here since before the Federation.\u201d Jak took Sina\u2019s hand and led her to the lift. \u201cThe original was built during the end of the water wars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe original?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt burned down a few times. At least the insides did. The outside of the building is stone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s still a heritage site?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Jak said, \u201cthe current interior was built about two hundred years ago. The outside hasn\u2019t changed in over four hundred years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, is it a museum?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCould be,\u201d Jak said, \u201cbut it\u2019s a working bar. Ever had real fish?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho can afford that? Besides, fish is bland and mushy, even the lab-grown kind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPromise me you will try real fish, just this once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it will make you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They stepped out of the taxi in front of a low stone building with a sign bearing a silver suit of armor with a blue crotch sporting icicles. Sina stopped and stared at the sign. \u201cI don\u2019t get it. Why armor? Although, that looks like it would be really<\/em> uncomfortable to be cold there<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak gave her moment to figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! Cod, like codpiece.\u201d Sina laughed. \u201cI thought it was named for the fish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, when this was built there was no fishing here,\u201d Jak said. \u201cJust the last rush of ice mining.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s that little building over there with all the antennas, behind the big gates?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the Federation Defense Force Signals Intelligence base. We always just called it \u2018The Cave,\u2019 though. Rumor has it that it\u2019s actually really huge, but all built underground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Jak said, \u201cthere\u2019s never enough soldiers around to fill anything bigger than what you see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd inside was noisy, the holos displaying a football game between two teams from far-flung colony worlds, with some people cheering when others booed and vice-versa. Jak led Sina to a large communal table where there were a few seats left. She selected two real cod and chips meals and a pitcher of beer with two glasses from the tablet menu and scanned her ident to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJak,\u201d Sina said, \u201cthat\u2019s too expensive! You should\u2019ve gotten one and I could taste it. I\u2019d be okay with a ham-style protein.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Jak said, \u201ctonight is a celebration! Your big break in the art world!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their food and beer were brought to the table by a small, pale, bald man, sharp blue eyes peering from beneath heavy blonde eyebrows over perpetually pink cheeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh gods! Mister Marcus,\u201d Jak said, \u201cyou\u2019re still here!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am,\u201d he said. \u201cYour mother told me you were coming today. I\u2019d hoped you would stop in, and it seems my hopes were well-founded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to see you, Mister Marcus. You haven\u2019t aged a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shook his head. \u201cNot true, but look at you, all grown up, a handsome woman. And you don\u2019t need to call me Mister anymore, just Marcus. You look so much like your mother it\u2019s unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak laughed. \u201cMarcus, this is Sina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNice to meet you, Marcus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPleasure to meet you, Sina. Take care of Jak now, she likes to get herself into trouble,\u201d he said with a wink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA\u2014actually, I think that\u2019s more my thing,\u201d Sina said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He laughed. \u201cI\u2019ll leave you kids alone. Stop in any time, even if it\u2019s just for a subsidy meal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, Marcus,\u201d Jak said. \u201cDig in, Sweets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina took a hesitant bite of the batter-fried fish and her eyes went wide. \u201cThis is\u2026 good. It doesn\u2019t taste like fish, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, this is<\/em> fish. \u2018Fish-style protein\u2019 doesn\u2019t taste like fish, and neither does the lab-grown stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They finished their meals and the pitcher of beer. \u201cI like this place,\u201d Sina said. \u201cI can see why you would have fond memories of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, you showed me your childhood hangouts, now I get to show you mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, but a rooftop play yard on Block 214 isn\u2019t as cool as a 400-year-old bar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut my name\u2019s not carved in any walls here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina leaned her head on Jak\u2019s shoulder. \u201cI think maybe this place carves itself into you, instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCould be. Let\u2019s get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They stepped out into the early evening light and Jak belched, the sound echoing off the buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy do you have to be disgusting?\u201d Sina asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt least I didn\u2019t do it inside<\/em>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, you\u2019re learning.\u201d Sina took her hand and led her to the taxi stand. \u201cMaybe Marcus is right, and I\u2019m meant to keep you out of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak laughed. \u201cJust as soon as I get you domesticated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy? I\u2019ve got you to pick up after me.\u201d Sina stuck her tongue out and waved her ident at the taxi door to open it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, this was supposed to be my treat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome on, grumpy. Let\u2019s go spend the rest of the day laying around watching the holo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou do know it\u2019s almost 23:00, right? Your appointment is at 08:00 tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the sun\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWon\u2019t set any time soon. Land of the midnight sun?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh,\u201d Sina said, \u201cthis is going to be hard to get used to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot really, unless you get a flat with a window. If you have one, though, the summers aren\u2019t so bad, but the winters get real<\/em> dark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The automated taxi dropped them off in the minus one floor at the lift closest to their flat. They rode up in silence to the 30th<\/sup> floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you imagine what it would cost to get a 30th<\/sup> floor flat in Bamako?\u201d Sina asked. \u201cIt would take most of our income. I wonder if we can get a third floor flat for that here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI doubt it,\u201d Jak said. \u201cThere\u2019s far fewer of the non-subsidy flats. Besides, I think the rent rates are set by the Fed, so they\u2019d be the same everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They settled into bed and the long day of travel overtook them. By the time Jak awoke, Sina was already dressed and had coffee waiting. Jak sat up and looked at Sina\u2019s clothes from the previous day, strewn about the one-room flat. She was going to say something but thought better of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoffee for you,\u201d Sina said. \u201cI ordered from the grocery and had some stuff delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a goddess,\u201d Jak said. \u201cMessy, but a goddess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen you\u2019re my high priestess.\u201d Sina handed Jak her coffee and gave her a quick kiss. \u201cWell, the goddess has a planning meeting to get to, and the high priestess needs her caffeine. I\u2019ll call around lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee you later.\u201d Jak watched Sina leave, then jumped out of bed. She put Sina\u2019s clothes in the cleaner with her own, made the bed, showered, cleaned up Sina\u2019s mess in the bathroom, dressed, and finally, sat down to enjoy her now-tepid coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sent off a quick message to her mother, then checked the grocery situation. \u201cTypical Sina.\u201d The groceries she\u2019d had delivered included instant coffee, ready-meals, chocolate, ice cream, creme cakes, and hard candies. Since she needed to register with the jobs office on floor zero, Jak decided she\u2019d pick up some real<\/em> groceries on the way home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the jobs office she found at least one thing had changed since she\u2019d been here last: there were far too many mechanics for the jobs available. Still, she put her name on the list. They didn\u2019t need the money, as the flat was a subsidy flat, and basic food, health care and clothing were guaranteed to all citizens, but she couldn\u2019t sit around doing nothing, and she couldn\u2019t handle living on subsidy ready-meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak strolled through the grocery, far more concerned about the remaining credits in her account than she had been just an hour earlier. She bypassed several luxuries that she would have enjoyed, focusing instead on staples and less expensive alternatives. Instead of herbs and spices she selected flavoring packets; instead of lab-grown meat she selected pork-style protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she perused the produce section, looking for the lowest-cost potatoes and onions, a deep red caught her eye. Fresh raspberries; Sina would love them<\/em>. They were natural raspberries, grown locally outdoors. The year-round, hydroponic variety across the aisle were cheaper, but inferior by a wide margin. With a determined huff she added a tray of the good berries to her bag. She winced internally when her comm showed how much she\u2019d been charged for them but carried on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in the flat, she put the groceries away and straightened up the kitchen. She spent the next hour wandering in circles around the flat, trying to figure out what to do to keep herself sane. Maybe I should\u2019ve stayed in Bamako<\/em>, she thought, then realized she\u2019d miss Sina too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina called just after 13:00 and Jak put her on the holo. Sina was beaming, her normally bright smile turned up to the max. \u201cHey Jak! Hope your day is as good as mine!\u201d she chirped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jak tried to force a smile. \u201cSigned up at the jobs office and picked up some groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina\u2019s smile dropped. \u201cYou don\u2019t sound good. What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more mechanics than jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina winked. \u201cThat\u2019s okay, you can be my stay-at-home high priestess. The goddess is making enough to keep you<\/em> entertained now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that,\u201d Jak said. \u201cI don\u2019t really care about the money. I just don\u2019t know what to do with myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, we know I\u2019m a slob, so\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the place clean less than an hour after left,\u201d Jak said, \u201cand now\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the week played out very much the same. The constant cloud hanging over Jak took all the air out of the flat. Sina tried everything she could think of to cheer her up, but it never lasted to the morning. Jak began to worry that her mood was going to force Sina to send her back to Bamako.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On her sixth straight day of work Sina called, and before Jak could say anything said, \u201cMeet me at the Cold Cod at 17:00. My treat this time, and we\u2019ll figure something out.\u201d Sina looked at Jak with one of her rare, soft moods. \u201cWe\u2019ll make it work, promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love you, too.\u201d They disconnected and Jak flopped onto the bed. She set an alarm for 16:30 to give herself time to get there. She checked her comm to see how much time had passed\u2026 twenty minutes. The next time she tried to wait longer and checked again; only twelve minutes had passed. Jak closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, trying to will the whirling thoughts away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alarm jolted her to consciousness, and she jumped up, about to get ready for work, then remembered where she was. She worked out her curls with her fingers the best she could, then headed out. Instead of taking a taxi she hopped on a bus. It would take longer to get there, and wasn\u2019t a direct route, but at least it wasn\u2019t costing any credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she stepped off the bus at the Cod, Sina was talking with Marcus out front. He motioned her over and said, \u201cI hear you\u2019re having trouble keeping busy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d she said. \u201cI never would\u2019ve thought there\u2019d be too many mechanics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat only lasts until winter,\u201d he said. \u201cThen it\u2019s more work than you can handle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan\u2019t come soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the meantime, Sina tells me you\u2019re a good cook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m okay, I guess. For cooking at home, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have an offer: you come in here, cook whatever the two of you want for dinner and it\u2019s on the house. If I like the way you work, and you want to work here, I can give you as many hours as you want\u2026 until winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina\u2019s eyes were wide, expectation clear on her face. \u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you set this up?\u201d Jak asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina nodded, a concerned look crossing her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStop that, you. I\u2019ll take you up on that, Marcus.\u201d Jak smiled. \u201cYou have steak, mushrooms, beef stock, and egg noodles?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course. Lab-grown steak, not steak-style protein.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow does beef stroganoff sound?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly if you make three,\u201d Sina said. \u201cMarcus should eat with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeal,\u201d Marcus said. \u201cNow, let\u2019s get you in the kitchen and make sure you don\u2019t burn the place down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the kitchen was automated, including the fryers and grills. Jak moved away from those to the unoccupied manual section of the kitchen. Marcus watched from a distance as she sliced, saut\u00e9ed, and made the sauce while a pot of water waited for the noodles. She added the noodles to the water and the beef to the sauce, and in just a few more minutes it was done. Thirty minutes start to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She plated three large servings and looked to Marcus for approval. Cooking at home was fine, but it felt better, somehow, to be cooking in an industrial kitchen. Still, it took her a while, and she didn\u2019t think that would be something that would be okay in a busy place like the Cod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three of them sat down to eat. Sina and Jak watched for Marcus\u2019 reaction. He took the first bite and nodded. \u201cI would\u2019ve added a touch more garlic, but this is very good. If you want a job here, you\u2019ve got it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know the first thing about your fryers or any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can learn,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have the basics, and your timing is good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it takes me so long\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat comes with practice. I bet you weren\u2019t a fast mechanic when you first started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Jak said, still unsure about it all. \u201cIf you\u2019re just doing this because you know my mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHush. I\u2019m doing this because I need help, and Sina needs help keeping you out of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sina grabbed her hand under the table. \u201cCan I start tomorrow?\u201d Jak asked. It wasn\u2019t her first choice for work, but it would keep her busy until the winter, and she wouldn\u2019t have to leave. She could stay here with the woman she loved, and that was all that mattered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Start your story with the line, \u201cIt had been twenty-four years since she\u2019d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,\u201d and end it with, \u201c[\u2026] and that was all that mattered.\u201d…available …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[213,210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-federation","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-yy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2143,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142\/revisions\/2143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}