Chapter 17:
So you are telling me that the Hero of Time was reincarnated as a short, fat NEET in Japan?!
Former USA
Former Texas
Free Academic City of Austin
2023.11.07
07:07:07 Central Time
A week had passed since Rosa had left her parental home, and her 18th birthday was quickly approaching.
She lay sound asleep in a small hotel room, but the serene silence of her slumber was rudely disturbed by Terra.
"Hey, dummy, wake up!" said Terra, "You have a scheduled meeting with Selena less than an hour from now, and based on prior metrics, you won't make it if you don't get up within the next ten minutes."
"Eh, leave me alone, I'll be fine," protested a half asleep Rosa.
"Can't do, It is my duty to make sure you don't cause any problems, dummy" said Terra.
"And what's with that attitude?" asked Rosa, annoyed as she got up slowly, "I have had enough of this, call customer support."
"Now calling customer support. Dummy," said Terra.
"Hello?" asked Rosa, "I am calling because of my Terra. I am getting all the 'Tsun', none of the 'Dere', I think she is broken."
"I think you are broken. Who hurt you?" asked Terra.
"Wait, why aren't I getting through to customer support?" asked Rosa.
"I'll have you know, that I. AM. Customer support!" said Terra.
Rosa sighed, "Great... judge, jury and executioner, all in one person. Talk about digital nepotism..."
"Anything else I can be of service with?" asked Terra with a smile on her face.
"Eh... I am good." said Rosa.
"Then get out of bed and get ready for the meeting already. Dummy," said Terra, "Tell you what, I'll reset the personality option once you have taken a shower and are dressed and ready to go, deal?"
"Fine," said Rosa as she slowly got out of bed.
---
Rosa arrived just in time for the meeting with Selena.
They met at a small café.
"Am I late?" asked Rosa.
"No, I just got here too," said Selena.
They walked towards the café's replicator station.
Selena arrived there first.
"I'll have... Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. With milk and sugar," said Selena, "and then some... Pancakes. Warm. Fluffy. With Maple Syrup and a mix of Fresh Berries please," said Selena.
"You are quite the sweet tooth, aren't you?" said Rosa.
"I am sweet, so I like sweet stuff, nothing strange about it," said Selena, "What will you grab?"
"Coffee. Java. Hot. With milk and sugar," said Rosa, "As for the food... a full English breakfast please," said Rosa.
They sat down at a nearby table.
"I still can't get over how cheap everything is." said Rosa "I haven't even used up a fraction of this month's Street Credits. Especially the food, I know it's all synthesized, but it tastes like the real thing."
"It technically is the real thing, down to an atomic level," said Selena. "Meat consumption is still high, but even then, it is mostly designer meat, not copied from existing animals, the reason most food was so expensive in Dallas, was that they usually refused accepting deliveries of non plant products and couldn't source their meat from factory farming, since it was outlawed soon after the universal replicator found widespread adoption. Turns out you can make an omelet without breaking any eggs, the road to getting there is just devilishly hard and requires technology we wouldn't have gotten our hands on for decades, or even centuries, on our own."
"So, what do you do with your leftover Street Credits?" asked Rosa.
"I usually donate them to projects I care about," said Selena, "but you can also save up some, after all, it's not like they all instantly decay. As for the reason for today's meeting, did you think about my proposal?"
"Well, I did think about traveling the world for a while..." said Rosa "but joining a corps would result in this later anyway."
"You do have the aptitude for the Psi Corps, but you could also join the Engineering Corps or any other subdivision if you fulfill the requirements, pass the exam, and make it through the trial period."
"I guess I'll accompany you to the moon then," said Rosa.
"Do you have any other questions?" asked Selena.
"Just one," said Rosa, "It's fine and good to know that the Psi Corps thought polices the world, but who thought polices the thought police?"
"The thought police," Selena began in a fashion similar to reciting a zen koan, "thought policies all those, who do not thought police themselves."
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