The last of the cats emerges from the other side of the island just as the sun is starting to set. Since we’re past the last of the islands and we’ll be able to stick together in a convoy for a while, I rebuild the walkways between the cats so the non-fliers have easy access to wherever they want to go. I also help Andrea make some modifications to her boat in the middle of the fleet, giving it an extended deck. It’ll be nice to be able to all eat together without being cramped. Plus, now we can fit everyone for morning exercises tomorrow.
Andrea nods approvingly and sets to furnishing the newly enlarged space with chairs and tables. She’s just finishing up when Simok pulls up in the speedboat with dinner. He sets out bowls with a sampling of a whole bunch of dishes on one of the tables. I try several of them with the sticky rice that’s supposed to go with everything. The citrusy fish is really good, it reminds me of ceviche that Mom and I had at a restaurant one time. Ooh, memory trigger. Into the index it goes. The one that looks like little pieces of fried chicken suspended in paste is way too spicy for me. The slaw-like mix from the next dish gets the heat level just right. I think it’s made from some kind of fruit or vegetable, but I can’t quite tell which. It’s sweet and savory and salty and hot all at once. I ask Mek about it and she tells me it’s shredded unripe papaya. Who knew that was a thing? But I like it.
It’s fun eating together with everyone. The only rough part is when Chad throws up over the side after Simok tells him the sauce he just ate was made of duck blood. Some of my sibs can’t handle spicy food, a side effect of the bland diet they served on campus for years, but the Geologist guys get into a contest over who can eat the most of the tiny, fiery peppers. The Geologist girls all sit back and laugh every time they chomp one and freak out. The show gets really good when Stan accidentally touches his face and starts yelling that his eye is going to burn out and the other two guys pin him down to pour water on his face.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Once we all stop laughing, Lisa breaks out some music. It’s a party on deck, with my sibs chatting, feeling the groove and munching the little bundles of sweet rice that come wrapped in leaves. Stan pulls up a chair next to mine and picks my brains for code. He’s trying to figure out a good algorithm for getting his bots to catch things midair. I’m tempted to tell him not to worry about it, since the full version of the interface makes it so trivial, but Father was right, implementing some of this yourself is a good exercise to make you really appreciate and understand the way the cloud works.
Marc and most of the girls are engrossed in a deep analysis of which Hillside High characters should date each other. I guess the weekly ritual is still alive and well back home, though I couldn’t say for sure since I haven’t cared enough about it to mention it in any of my logs for a long time. Chad is sitting between his girlfriends against the railing on one side, having a quiet conversation. He has one arm around Keeya, with Lucie leaning against his other arm, her hand resting on his thigh. They’re actually a cute throuple just sitting there like that. Evan and Louise are talking about putting medbots in the bloodstream again, it sounds like they figured out how to get the kidneys to leave them alone so they can just circulate indefinitely. Phil and Erik are standing against the rail across from me, pointing things on the shore out to each other and popping a power pole now and then.
It’s all so perfect.
I want to go see Lin, and I know there’s a whole lifetime of work ahead that we need to do once this trip is over, but if every evening on the river could be like this, I’d be all right just staying on these boats forever.