On my private mailbox:

Hi from the beautiful Adriatic,

it is nice to hear from you in these times. The last few weeks have been grinding us down. I miss the old times. The kids and I are staying at the beach house. We’ve all more than earned a time by the sea. Why don’t you come here?

--

Austrian food is good. Even on highway rest stops. I am feeling outright nostalgic thinking back to earlier trips during more innocent times. Should I feel so good? Should I be horrified that it is getting easier? Probably yes. But I refuse to. I had fought for that stoner, who had the nerve to call me uncivilized. I am not going to lose sleep about an entitled asshole.

Two nondescript men are drinking tea.

2: Do you find him easier because he has no pride?

1: No, I find him easier because he is nostalgic and a realist.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

2: How does that go together?

1: Consider how short their lives are. For them things often were better in the past.

2: So this is just the route of least resistance?

1: No, among those who combine potential attunement and the right abilities, he is the strongest.

2: But he shows no pride or independance.

1: Precisely.

2: What?

1: You are too young to understand certain truths. Pride is a delusion. Spite, which comes from pride, is irrational. Both, spite most of all, are weaknesses, if stakes become high enough.

2: But we are proud.

1: You need to listen. I said „if“. We are expendable at the end of the day. With us stakes are rarely so high, that the weaknesses of spite and pride hit. We can use the propaganda value.

--

They are offering free WiFi. I can risk checking my mail.

This is a nice offer. I answer in the affirmative.

Let’s check the news while we are at it.

» Russia has released reports that show that the aliens of Kostroma

» are identical to the erstwhile residents and visitors to the city, most of

» whom have been transformed to lion people.

» The Russian government has declared that until all the implications

» of this incident will have been investigated, it will be necessary for

» the involuntarily transformed to stay inside the city.

» It is unclear at this time whether any EU citizens have been caught up

» in the Kostroma incident. Due to disruption in communications no

» foreign diplomatic representatives of the EU have reached Kostroma