video; un: Hob

[100more]

[The video shows Hob, sitting at home on a balcony of his apartment. He smiles, but there's a little uncertainty to his attempt at pleasantness. Something is bothering him.]

Hello, all. Uh, I don't mean to alarm everyone, but...

[That's usually how people cause alarm. Good work, Hob.]

I noticed something strange during my recent walks. I have a path I routinely take as I explore the city, walking different areas each day in case there's something out of the ordinary. Well, I typically stop in the same shops for some water or food, or to carry something home. When I went into one of the stores I frequent, I noticed the things I helped myself to previously haven't been replaced. It always was, before.

[It's hard to mask his concern.]

As more people typically arrive about once a month, if resources get scarcer... shouldn't we think of something?

[A quick smile.]

Or maybe it's all a fluke! A temporary disruption in services. That's all.

[That could be it, right? Hob doesn't have to eat to live, but starving is not a lot of fun.]

Comments

@Alhaitham, audio

[justscribing]

Hadn't replaced or was slower to replace? [These are important distinctions in how the parameters of their prison have changed.]

Another district of this city has become accessible and its stores with it, but there's only so far it can continue to expand.

[But it would be odd to offset their increased resources when it had been limitless before. Either something is straining the current system, or this is the next phase of the experiment.]

What are your thoughts on gardening?

[100more]

It hasn't been replaced yet. Maybe it will be. I hope so. I'll check back again tomorrow, and I only just noticed some things were still gone.

[Maybe they will be replaced, eventually.]

I am very much in favor of gardening.

[justscribing]

That's good, because if our resources start to get outpaced by our consumption you're going to need one.

[Hope it's worth living on nothing but tubers and lettuce, given the lack of pollinators.]

[100more]

[ Given that Hob is not really a gardener or a farmer, that's a bit concerning. ]

What about you? Won't you need to secure food, as well?

[justscribing]

Of course, my advice applies to everyone in this city. [Or close enough to "everyone" he doesn't need to make the distinction. Living things require sustenance and the population trends human.]

[100more]

Ah, of course.

[ It sounded a little like he was excluding himself in that. Hob knows not everyone here is human, so not everyone probably relies on the sustenance provided. ]

We're going to have to look out for each other.

[justscribing]

[That's the kind of thing Kaveh would say: they need to look out for each other. They need to work together. Societies are built upon people congregating, compromising, cooperating. They are torn apart by conflict. The ebb and flow of both is inevitable.

It isn't that Alhaitham intends to turn his back on everyone. Needing other people, whatever the scale of the need, is inevitable. But he has often stood at the edge of it all, to look after himself first, witness second, and engage third. He'll start a garden, but not a farm.]

Until now, we haven't had to with everyone's basic necessities taken care of. If that shifts, do you intend to take upon the work you're familiar with, or whatever is most needed?

[100more]

[ Hob smiles, a gentle expression of acceptance. ]

I don't think my 'familiar' skills will do us much good if the food runs out. I'll do whatever is needed, of course. Whatever I can.

[ Hob's not afraid of hard work, and he's not above manual labor. ]