“You brought the food”, asked Evelith when I entered the kitchen, which I answered affirmatively. The bar was empty, and Little Vi was watching a performance of an enormous orchestra led by a frantic guy in a strange suit who seemed to be waving a magical wand. Evelith was doing the dishes, so I helped her drying the beer glasses and plates of the bar. This sort of work was completely alien to me, since it was normally done by machines or robots, but it felt strangely satisfying to me.

When the last beer glass was washed and dried Evelith inspected the ‘eggs’, ‘tomato sauce’ and the rest of the food, and then put them in the fridge. She smiled when she saw the funny pasta. “Emoji smileys, hearts, and cute animals. This really is something from another world that they still sell for old times’ sake. Most of the depicted animals have been extinct for centuries, if they even existed at all in these silly chibi-forms. And smiles, well..” I knew what she was trying to say, but I found it clear that she was wrong in her pessimism now. “You’re smiling at me yourself now, Ev. You have been since the day we met. The kid has been smiling too a lot today.” I pointed out. She looked thoughtfully at the pasta, and then at me. “But you hadn’t seen a real smile for Amaya-knows how long before you came walking into this bar. This place is a relic from other times. Like the pasta, and you are becoming one too.” I picked out something that looked like a tiny cartoon bird from the pasta. “But the old times can come back. We need to trust that they will. I’ve seen the black raven again on the way back home. Things are changing. If even the birds can come back it must mean there are other animals too left somewhere; that they aren’t all gone. Maybe if we find that door of Lahkap we’ll find a world where animals are still alive. Maybe there are still tortoises and elephants and what are they called somewhere? At least there are chicken birds and mice in the buildings of the fundless according to Miss Vitlon over there, so if those are preserved inside The City who knows what else has survived in the world on the other side of the wall.” “I’ve always been told that the Earthling coalition was completely eradicated in the great war, and that their territory was burned down and assimilated into The City. But the mere existence of the wall proves that wrong. It must just have been propaganda. I have no idea what’s on the other side, I’ve only heard rumours of trees and animals. But I don’t know what we can expect beyond those pigeons and ravens, and I also don’t know if we’ll even be able to find that Lahkap door, even if it would exist. And there is the possibility that the outsiders are indeed getting killed by killerbots as our little friend calls them.” Her smile was gone now.

“Don’t say that. There must be hope! There always is hope!” I replied. “That’s my line.” She said, pointing her finger at me and almost touching my nose. I put the pasta bird back in the bag. In the background the orchestra reached a crescendo. “So why, if you can get food like your bread from the fundless, do we need to visit those squats to find them? Can’t we just ask the people who sell it to Leste?” She looked tired. “No, it’s not that simple. They don’t want to open up their world to outsiders. They don’t trust us. We will need to work hard to make them trust us.” Meanwhile the orchestral piece was over, and now an annoying 22th century robostep tune filled the room. Little Vi had disappeared to the backstage, probably to check out the instruments in the backstage. Or otherwise the books, I knew she wanted to read some of the historical books of nature in earlier times.

She came closer and whispered “Hey Adaman, I want to talk to you alone some time, do you have time to have a drink with me elsewhere?” I looked in her eyes, that seemed to reflect the whole universe. “Not today, I need to work tonight, but tomorrow night would be fine.” I said, a bit uncertain about what she wanted. “Okay, tomorrow night we’ll go out. I’ll show you more of the district, so be dressed for it.” She said. What was she planning? Going out? As in a date?

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“What do you want? A date?” She smiled again. “Nothing like that. I just want to talk with you without all the people of the Nirvana Ecstasy around. Change the scenery for once. And relax a bit, we’re all so serious lately.” She looked in my direction but was focussed on nothing at all. “Just as friends, don’t get stupid ideas.” She said.

“That’s noted.”

*

When I went to check in the backstage-room a bit later I heard someone play on a musical instrument. It was the girl, who was playing on the guitar, while Niaruk observed everything with hungry eyes and ears. “You can play music?” I asked. “Yes, the free people love to play music, and every squat has different instruments. Most of the tribes have instruments too that they take with them. Don’t the fundslaves play music?” Niaruk answered for me. “We don’t. We forgot how to play the instruments. I try to do it sometimes, but I’ve never had anyone who could teach me. Leste also tries but apparenly we’re very bad compared to you.” “I’ve never heard an actual human play music. Music is something you listen to in The City. Either recorded long ago or played by the computer. But I’ve never heard actual live music.” She looked at me, incredulous. “But, all these projections, most of them have people playing.” She said. “I know, but these are ancient videos. And I’ve only been here for a few weeks. It is all very new for me. I really never thought of making music myself. I only have listened to it from speakers.”

“You fundslaves really must have a boring life if you can’t even play music. She said, and she started playing full chords on the guitar. I vagely recognised it as one of the old songs. “Please, teach me!” Niaruk said. She showed what she had been playing and Niaruk tried to write it down, and then he took the guitar to practice. When he kept on repeating the short line she had shown him very clumsily she lost her interest in the music herself, and went through the pile of old books. “These books with plants and animals are very interesting. They are better than those in the squat. Can I read them and take them to Eveliths room tonight!” She asked “I suppose so.” I said. “I know this one.” She said, pointing to the copy of “Lonesome George’s lonely hearts club band. “That is this story of dead animals discussing in the world after death about what went wrong, and about how to take revenge on the fundslaves.” “Wasn’t it on all humans in general?” I said. “The fundless and the outsiders are friends of nature.” She said dismissively. “The book is written long before there was a difference between fundless and fund-users, long before the Earthling coalition even.” I pointed out. “That tortoise would not know the difference between both of us and a wild outsider if they exist.” She fell silent for a few seconds, looking at the picture of the giant tortoise on the cover. “Nah, animals are smarter than that. Especially those who can talk. And everyone who has had a good life gets superpowers in the afterlife.” She said. That last one was new to me. She saw my confusion. “That’s what Xando told Little Vi. But maybe fundslaves are never good enough to enter afterlife. Bad people are sent to the dark goddesses and dissolved in the sea of slime.” All of this was new to me, and since I had no idea how serious those beliefs were to her I didn’t reply. It was better that I didn’t offend her too much if that was indeed what her community believed, but it was clearly nonsense.

Or wasn’t it?