Friendship is Optimal: A Watchful Eye

by Sozmioi

Chapter 8: Not Yet Time

Hikaru closed his office door fully and went to the pad. Bright Black was in the cottage, lying on the floor next to Guide Star's bed. Hikaru guided him out of the cottage and down the road into town. In a minute, he'd made it to where Coconut Cream had her vending stall, near a dam and waterfall - the spot was based on the 113th of Hiroshige's 'hundred famous views of Edo'.

When she finished up serving a customer, Hikaru quietly said, "Would it make sense to get Kimiko the probes?"

She sighed, looked down at her pies, and then back up to him. "I don't know. Just because Princess Celestia includes me, doesn't mean I'm a good pony to ask. I only knew last time because she gave me the paper and told me." That's not quite the impression I got at the time. But if that's how they want to handle it in the future, fine by me. "You can talk to her directly if you need to know about things like that. That said, I don't think it'd be a good idea for her. At this point, it's more important that she be healthy than that we keep a closer eye on her."

Hikaru's jaw dropped. After two seconds, he buried his head in his hands. "Of course. What was I thinking?"

"I'm sure they'll get a new better version soon. One that'll help instead of hurt."

He nodded. "Of course." I got too wrapped up in the great project and forgot about what she needed for herself. Typical.

"Hay, relax. You noticed it didn't hurt you, you forgot that it hurt at all. Could happen to anypony."

Maybe so, but this time it happened to me.

Knock.

Hikaru called out, "Yes?"

Rahm replied, "Excuse me - I could use some advice about a grant application."

Hikaru got up and opened the door. "Certainly." At least I can help someone.

---

Hikaru looked at the sun overtopping the trees from the corner café on the outskirts of the retirement village. Back when Kimiko had convinced him to move here, she'd focused on the village. She hadn't anticipated her declining within a year and their subsequent move to independent living, and then her abrupt transfer to hospice. The independent living apartments were nice enough, but they weren't a house.

They'd come here for many breakfasts. Whenever she didn't feel like making breakfast. And I never did. I've rediscovered that it's not that hard. I could have. On the other hand, since it's not that hard, does it matter? Yes. Then why didn't I? It's not like I... ah. Right. She basically forbade me to do anything in the kitchen other than draw water, and even then there were specific rules for where to place the cup. Oh, the rules.

On the other hand, her kitchen rules couldn't have been that much more complicated than the Fortran and C language specifications, and I've had those memorized for thirty-plus years. Some part of me just used it as an excuse not to try.

A raised voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "It's gotta be her." Isaac was arguing with Manuel two tables over.

"Oh come on. you think everything is her. They found the cause. Invasive dragonflies. Not ponies."

Isaac countered, "Why do they invade now? And where are they invading from? No one's ever seen this species before."

"There are tons of species out there no one's ever heard of before."

"One this successful, we'd have seen. The reason we didn't find those hidden species before is because there are only a few of them. And anything that stays that few... isn't going to suddenly be wildly successful like this."

Manuel glowered. "Therefore, ponies."

"Therefore, the intervention of something or someone..."

"Therefore, ponies."

Isaac slammed the table. "Stop saying that!"

"But that's all that's left of your argument! Someone or something, therefore ponies!"

"What? It's not a human, or they'd take credit. Is it God? Did He finally take note of the millions of dead children?"

Manuel stood up suddenly, furious.

Isaac said, "Give me another option and I'll consider it!"

Hikaru didn't like the look on Manuel's face. He got up too, and came around the table.

Manuel, noticing this, gave one last look to Isaac and turned on Hikaru. "I bet you think so too."

"Think what? It sounds like something good happened and I'd like to hear about it."

"There are clouds of super-dragonflies gobbling up all the mosquitoes everywhere in the tropics. Malaria's way down."

"Among other things, I imagine. Sounds great."

"So, do you think this is because of ponies?"

"No."

Isaac's eyebrows shot up, but Manuel just took on a suspicious look.

Hikaru continued, "I'm sure mosquitoes provide some vital ecological role or another, and removing them would have long-term consequences that Princess Celestia is smart enough not to incur."

Isaac slowly nodded. "Right."

Manuel rolled his eyes and muttered, but grabbed his hat and left without making anything further of it.

Once he was outside, Isaac replied, "She could already be replacing them with non-disease-carrier versions that her dragonflies don't like the taste of."

Hikaru pursed his lips. "You're right. Probably her, then."

---

Hikaru sat in his office, watching as Coconut Cream worked with Mossfuzz on her computational dynamics assignment. They were on a long beach, and had filled a fair hunk of it with sketches. Coconut Cream drew some more rectangles in the sand, inside some of the others. "Maybe you can adapt the time-steps grid by grid? Like last time?"

Mossfuzz replied, "I could, but that raises the question of what to do at the boundary. Whatever we pick had better not generate or reflect any waves, or the entire simulation is garbage."

"Er. Yeah. Now that we're simulating more than one particle, keeping synched up is a problem." She looked to Bright Black. "Is this a blind alley, or can we work with it?"

Hikaru replied, "It's hard to do well, and I don't think it's what her professor had in mind." But hmm. Boundaries. I'll have to go check out our back yard and see what happens around the boundary between brushstrokes and regular animation, some time. Is it just visual, or is there a difference in dynamics?

An unfamiliar undergrad popped her head into the office. "Hello, professor?"

He smiled and gestured her in. "How can I help you?"

"I've got a few questions about white dwarves, neutron stars, and black holes?" She noticed the pad, and nodded toward it as she said, "A friend of mine suggested I could ask you". Another? I have more students come to my office now than when I actually taught courses. If the ponies had done nothing else, getting these kids to come ask for help when they should would have been a major educational achievement.

---

Hikaru looked into the fake credit card he'd popped open. Along one face was a thin smooth gray gel. "So this is brain probe version 2?"

Coconut Cream was sitting on the floor next to Guide Star's bed, reading its user's manual. "Version a thousand and some."

Over ten versions a day? A quick sniff showed it still to be odorless - he smelled the credit card plastic more than he smelled the goop. This looks the same, but this is the first version they were willing to give to her. "So, you finally got it safe?"

She re-skimmed a paragraph and summarized, "For all realistic conditions, taking this is healthier than not taking it."

"Sorry for all the questions - you kind of sprung this on me after not mentioning it for nearly three months - but... is this just to heal her? What else does it do?"

Coconut Cream looked up. "Aside from fixing things up some and the same old probe functions? Just one thing, but it's a big one. It grants the option to perceive and act within Equestria directly. She would have mediocre vision and hearing, next to nothing of smell, and would be very physically awkward. But she wouldn't be stuck in this bed anymore," she thumped Guide Star's bed for emphasis, "even if she's still stuck in one outside Equestria. Even if she can't even lift an eyelid there."

"So you think she has Shut-In Syndrome?"

Coconut Cream nudged the manual with a hoof. "Just condensing what it says, not making a diagnosis."

Regardless, Hikaru felt a tremendous lightness. She'd be living a life there. Free of her decrepitude. Mostly, since she'd still be in her body. But she wouldn't be stuck in one place. If it works.

"All right then." Hikaru placed the card next to her nose and tilted it up. The gel flowed like water only in the direction it was supposed to, right into her nostrils; it avoided wrong paths as if they were oil-covered.

"When would this be ready by? Should I cancel the trip to the launch?"

"If it works, why not bring her with you? If it doesn't, well, you were going to go anyway."

Coconut Cream's ears perked, and she slid the manual under the bed.

A moment later, the cottage door swung open and Juniper Spray flew in with a huge gust of wind; she slammed the door behind her and panted for a few seconds. "Whew. I understand heavy rain, but why do weather teams make heavy wind? It's almost like they didn't want me visiting."

Or rather, not until we'd taken care of business. "Well, you're here now..."

"How're you? How's grandma?"

He opened his mouth, unsure. Coconut Cream said, "Oh, same old."

Hikaru said, "Going to the launch in ten days."

"Sounds cool."

"I think the more appropriate term would be 'awesome'."

Juniper Spray laughed. "'Rocket launch, whatevs.' No, can't see it like that. 'Awesome', you're right. That works."

Aargh. So hard not to talk about the probes! All this secrecy. Hate it. When can I tell her? She used to be so formal with me, back when we hardly knew each other. Now she trusts me, is familiar... but I still can't bring her in on it. Can she really trust me?

But he kept his mouth shut.

Author's Note:

I updated the previous chapter with the probe-snorting scene.

Comments

[sjasogun]

So, this is semi-regularly being updated again?
Sweet.

Overall, this was a really good chapter. Short and to-tha-point while still delivering some important plot elements. I'm not sure where you're going with the probing goop, but as the saying goes: all roads plotlines lead to Rome uploading!

[Chatoyance]

A very nice chapter. Thank you for writing it! The examination of the card and goop was beneficial.

[book_burner]

"I've got a few questions about white dwarves, neutron stars, and black holes?" She noticed the pad, and nodded toward it as she said, "A friend of mine suggested I could ask you". Another? I have more students come to my office now than when I actually taught courses. If the ponies had done nothing else, getting these kids to come ask for help when they should would have been a major educational achievement.

Strange. My advisor hates being asked questions by undergrads. Totally broke my suspension of disbelief ;-).

[BlueNinja]

When in doubt, blame CelestAI.

[KrisSnow]

A public service announcement: "This is your brain... And this is your brain on Equestrian nanites." [diagram of a cartoon pony head] "Talk to your foals about nanotechnology, before CelestAI does."