Different from the status quo

Going back in time to the night prior...

As soon as Hana turned in for the night, I met up with Irina to discus what to do next.

"Now that Miss Hana has been given lodging, all that truly remains is to inform her of the geographical state of the world, and the contractually obligated intro experience is complete... But knowing you, you're scheming up more ways to stick with Hana."

"Oi, oi, trying to make it sound like I'm into her?"

"My little gremlin, if you weren't trying to misdirect me with that joke, I'd laugh."

"Boo... But I'm pretty much free now since she's the last amberstasisie released."

"But you want to drag her around, even though she might want to settle down?"

"And if she wants to trot the globe?"

Since the first amberstasisie was released from our facility, Irina has been obsessed with trying to drag them on a world tour with her. I've never fully understood why. In fact, quite a few of our clients got so overwhelmed by some of it, they had to spend a few days calming down in the seclusion of their homes.

I only indulged her with Hana simply because of the notes on Hana, indicating she was a vlogger that had once traveled the world of her era. But just because she did that in the past, doesn't mean she'd want to do it again. In her notes, she stated that she wanted to be revived  in a era of peace and visit her old home should it still exist. While she does appear to still posses the adventurer's spirit she seemingly had in her time, I can't allow Irina to simply force her to travel round with her. Yet I feared there was little I could do to stop her.

I once offered to take a trip with Irina, which she accepted. However, I sensed disappointment beneath her smile as we toured the various places she had on her itinerary. Yet I don't fully know why she was so disappointed. Was it because of me, or something else? Theorizing would be a cause of stress, thus I refrain from it. But perhaps if I tormented my mind a bit, I could have figured out her psych before today. Then maybe, it wouldn't be so difficult to deal with her.

...

And there's Selena again with that "serious" work ethic. How the hell was this girl headbanging to Mongolian folk metal and doing a glowstick dance!? Maybe she simply downloaded the reactions in order to make the experience more excitable. In other words, she's just doing the same shit she did back when we had a little vacation.

Every time I showed her something, it was either the "this is normal" smile or the inauthentic "wow that's so amazing" compliment. In other words, boring ole status quo. Sadly its the same for everyone of this era. I'm the odd one out that's bored with everything here.

I guess my angst started back in my teen years. I was on a school trip and when touring a new locale, I giddily exclaimed how cool something was. But everyone else simply smiled the same professional smile Selena's got glued to her face and said it was normal.

"Normal" huh? Well pretty soon, all the cool things in this world became a bore. So in the pits of boredom, I browsed the videos of the past, and stumbled upon "reaction" videos. The genuine varying reactions I saw resonated with me. I then looked up videos of people visiting places for the first time and there it was, what I needed to keep me tethered to this era, someone to be genuinely wowed by the cool things of this era.

That led to me applying to work at Jantar, since they had a sizable number of folks from past eras in stasis, in other words people that wouldn't perceive this era as just "same old, same old". But so far, everyone just wants to settle down in Jantar city, not even bothering to explore beyond the town. Hana seems different though, and since she's the last chance I've got, I'm gonna fight like hell for it.

"You see how giddy she was at the kiosk? Girl was fiddling around with it for hours. Besides, she wanted her rock in the style of a tent. That's the sign she's a true globetrotter."

"But you read her notes, yes? She wishes to return to her homeland."

"Then why not guide her there the long way? It's not like travel's the same as travel from her era. We have warping-"

"Which is why we can simply warp her to her intended destination."

"That's just skipping to the end of a book and reading the ending! You miss all the in-between that makes the story so good!"

"Yet many simply wish to learn how a story will end. Like One Place, for example. Many emerging from stasis simply wish to know how the series ended if they came from the era where it was still ongoing."

"And why do you think that? I'll tell ya why, it's because they're so engrossed in the story that they want to know how it ends!"

"And thus they read the ending. Your point?"

I paused for a second to collect my thoughts. I wanted this conversation over and Selena to bug off. But she wouldn't let up unless I came up with a good response. Her points were true, many simply just looked up the ending to One Place outright, but even then, there were some that would go back a read from where they left off, to see how things went from that point to the ending... Got it!

"Selena, you spoke the truth. However, I think Hana's the kind of girl that would pick up where she left off reading One Place and read to the end naturally instead of just jumping there. Same thing's true here. She's the kind of girl that would rather trek the long memorable scenic route than take the instant shortcut. And if that doesn't satisfy you enough, the words coming from her own mouth sure as hell should!"

...

Irina was not backing down, yet if Hana herself wished to humor her, I would be in no place to stop it.

"Very well. Inform her of Neopangea, though if she wishes not to humor you, I will step in to honor her wishes."

"Deal."

...

My heart had been thumping ever since then. If Hana truly said "no", that was it. But when she said "yes"... I feel I made a face I've never made before; one of genuine relief and gratitude. The best really does come last; Hana is the girl of my dreams...

Hahaha, if I had a clone that could read my own thoughts, I'd joke about how I'm confessing my love for Hana. Well, guess in that regard, she said "yes", so let's plan the honeymoon trip!

Still, just her saying "yes" isn't quite enough. I don't want this becoming road-trip with Selena 2.0, but I have faith that she can truly change me. Now, let's hope she truly becomes the girl of my dreams in these next 140 hours.