Pod Life: LSMB

Geocache Delight

// All AI use strictly prohibited

Across the fence the group can now see many massive natural gas fueled generators attached to the AI data center. Each would have sounded like a jet aircraft taking off.

Running most of the generators 24/7 like the data center had been doing reportedly shook the forest with sound waves in addition to all the chemical and carbon pollution it was throwing into the air.

Erich breaks out the compass and paper map. Using the compass he gets a couple bearings with mountains and the nearest corner of the massive data center complex. Via triangulation he locates where the group is standing and where to head for the geocache location he'd marked on the map before the trip.

They could use GPS to find the clues, but where's the fun in that? Lots of geocachers like the challenge of hand-navigating. Many just like wandering around and looking for hidden treasure. Those who go furthest afield from the parking spot tend to be most likely to be using maps and compasses.

A group of scientists is certainly going to jump at an opportunity to use instruments, especially if the other tool is polluting the night sky.

Geocaches have a log book and maybe small pieces of treasure. Albeit the treasure is usually cheap tchotchkes. The geocaching site says this particular cache is a hidden silicon weatherproof container.

When the data center was announced the geocache became a log of the state of the destruction as chunks of forest were cut down. There were lots of references to the final phrase of a particular Canadian rock song, “by hatchet, axe and saw”.

Independent media had daily news coverage of the protests out on the main road. The destruction of pristine forest near a critical river had not gone over well locally. Being on a tech bro's private property hid the destruction, but didn't prevent discontent. But, independent media didn't have much impact on the general public in the provence.

For the nightly news the protests were too far off to see the forest eradication. Drone coverage gave an overhead view, but it didn't have people in front of it, so didn't get many clicks or airtime. Robot drones taking pictures of a new robot complex didn't have the human interest touch, so the news stuck with personal interest topics like ice cream trucks and cats in trees.

There was also the one ice cream truck in a tree story. A gig worker fell asleep at the wheel of an ice cream truck and went over an embankment. The truck got stuck in a tree and they needed a crane to rescue the driver and then lower down the wreck. While waiting for a tow truck the local police gave the ice cream away rather than letting it all melt.

The children declared a city holiday in name of the poor guy who got a hefty ticket. He might be broke, but Ice Cream Gary is famous in that small town. He's also named in one of the bills that reigned in gig work in British Columbia. They used both his holiday moniker and his actual last name in the bill language.

The geocache was created years ago at the edge of the forest boundary to encourage people to respectfully visit and use the public forest. It's one of several in the forest and closest to backside of the private land where the data center was built.

The cache objects mostly became postcards and pictures of unadulturated rivers, lakes and forests. As a protest it was small, but the steady stream of reports reminded local council of what they'd allowed when they approved rezoning the private property for industrial use. They were consistently shown pictures of the destruction from the public forest perspective.

The tech bro put up taller fences. The geocachers got longer sticks to hold up their cameras or climbed trees. There were also wide area shots from nearby mountain sides. Not to mention the aerial photography.

The generators, their air pollution and their noise were only permitted in case the main power went out. But, the data center used 50% more power than it was permitted for, so always had generators running. Discovery from lawsuits showed that was intentional, they knew permits didn't allow enough power and they had always planned to run the generators.

That con worked in the US, especially in Texas with its unregulated and unhinged power grid. It did not work in British Columbia. Alberta might embrace that kind of pollution and burning of fossil fuels, but BC does not.

With no neighbors the tech bro figured there wouldn't even be complaints. Plus he could steal from and pollute the river that passed by his property. Just like he didn't seek copyrights to ingest books, he didn't seek water rights to ingest water.

He hadn't counted on park rangers. Tech bros learned early to be cautious of librarians because librarians are resourceful, dedicated and organized. Worst of all, they help people without exploiting them. Librarians are the antithesis to the self-centered tech bros.

This tech bro hadn't realized park rangers are the nature equivalent of librarians. They're do gooder geeks who prefer hiking to books. They like books too, just often prefer to enjoy them outdoors rather than indoors. When those fossil fuel engines turned on and stayed on. It took the park rangers a few months, but they got the noise pollution machines turned off.

Then, in an electoral rebuttal to the council's data center approvals, the voters helped several council members free up time in the evenings as they no longer needed to attend meetings. One lost that free time and the rest of his time after being convicted of taking bribes. It might be allowed in the US, but Canada still prosecutes bribery.

Another council member fled to the US where he reportedly gets food poisoning a couple times a month. Vancouverites hope he's learning the value of government safety regulations.

Emily spots the rock formation described on the geocaching site.

As the group walks towards the rock formation DQ points at some large black birds among the trees, then says in a hushed tone, “Look, day shadows from the peaks of the Bollywoods on New India.”

“They live in the third level of quadruple canopy where they always have shadows for cover. Males grow webbing between their tailfeathers, using it to catch insects. They fly into streams of light netting insects to take back to the nest. Seeing one is a good omen. Not seeing one is a good way to get a face full of bugs and bird net. A group of day shadows is called a fishing village.”

They all watch the birds watching them. More birds join alight in the treetops. The scientists give the village some space.

From the rock pile Erich shoots a new azimuth and paces off 42 meters. From that spot he shoots yet another azimuth and paces off in in that direction.

When the tech bro found out geocachers were giving updates he had some goons go out and steal the metal box used for the cache. Another metal geocache was created. He had that one stolen. Geocachers started putting in the redirections using basic rot13 encryption and some simple math for the numbers.

That was too complex for the goons. They went out with metal detectors and started just kicking over everything in the area looking for the hidden cache. That got the park rangers involved.

Several of the goons were banned from public lands in all BC. The tech bro got a finger waggle, but also had to stop construction for two weeks. The rangers needed time to investigate the criminals who had entered from the data center destruction area. The start of the investigation had to wait for couple of days of national holiday.

Now that the data center is closed the geocache is safe and gets updates on local conditions.

DQ finds the cache. Logs from a couple weeks ago confirm there's still an opening in the fence off to the right. They'll write a log entry about conditions when they leave. DQ adds an inexpensive rainbow ring in the cache. Erich adds a photo from Stargate Atlantis showing the base surrounded by water.

The group heads to the fence, then off to the right. A few meters later they find a large hole cut in the fence. Craig goes through, then Erich and Emily hold the sides open wider so DQ can get through without snagging anything snazzy.

Marina is encouraged to go next, then Emily suggests Erich go next as her holding the fence might help his large frame. She didn't say anything about Marina's large frame, though Marina is almost as tall as Erich. Emily's short, muscular body easily fits through to join the rest.

Erich walks in the direction of the security entrance. At the security door he confirms the lock model. He spent the last several weeks practicing picking that model. It's a difficult pick, but he's confident he can get it in a few minutes.

Off to the side, Craig reminds everyone of the ground rules. They are there to check out and document the current conditions, but no souvenirs. Emily mumbles about a student budget. Craig laughs, but notes stealing something exposes everyone.

Emily says requiring a student to choose between tech and Hortons is certainly a violation of her human rights.

Craig offers to skip a Hortons run and buy her some RAM, then she can avoid needing to call the Hague. Besides, the server RAM in the DC won't fit her laptop.

She smiles and says deal.

DQ makes a noise.

Craig sighs a little, “Yes DQ?”

DQ blubbers, “But, but, but what if I find some really cool insects or other animals? Gold-seeking moths of Teledosia will be in the US going after the surveillance cameras, but there might be magnesium mites or copper consuming caterpillars. The rare earth minerals might have drawn some Dickinsonian Squabblers or the shiny metals might have attracted some Mercurial Mockingbirds.”

Craig stares at DQ, “I don't think taking flora and fauna samples counts as stealing.”

DQ mumbles “Darn”, then louder, “I mean cool, I have specimen jars in my bag.”

Craig winces, “But I fear a scream off between those two birds.”

Emily volunteers that Erich certainly has enough new earplugs in his backpack for everyone.

With ground rule reminders complete and that reminder, they all turn to watch Erich.

Feeling their gaze he says he's going as quickly as he can, then loses his grip on the tensioner and has to start again.

DQ announces there's more likely to be insects outside than inside and asks everyone to quietly help her find some bugs to inspect. They all move away from the security entrance giving Erich room to work. There are a surprising number of spider webs in the bushes. DQ observes them from afar referencing the wraith spider from Stargate that would drain your life force.

Marina spots a blue and black bird on a branch.

DQ uses binoculars for a closer look, “Oh, that's an Aldebranian cult of the sabbath jay, named after the famous tour of Blue Őyster Cult and Black Sabbath by the great-great grandson of Ozzy and Sharon.”

DQ continues, “He discovered the bird and was also the first in the Osborn family tree to finish grade school before going on to attend the Saturnian School of Ornithology. Such a strange place for a school of ornithology since Saturn and its moons have no birds.”

Craig chuckles, “Well, keeps you from being distracted from your studies by real world experience, kind of like being a theoretical physicist.”

DQ perks up, “Right you are!”

“Got it.”

They all turn to see Erich opening the security door.

Into the DC

// All AI use strictly prohibited

A rather foul air escapes the room as Erich swings the door open and steps back away from the stench.

Craig hides behind DQ in case something comes flying out to attack them. DQ assumes some sort of Charlie's Angels pose.

Emily shrugs and walks over to the door. Marina again wonders what she's gotten herself into, then follows Emily.

Assured by the bravery of their compatriots and their lack of being attacked, DQ and Craig follow into the building.

Erich made sure everyone got their N95s and goggles on before letting them in. He dons his own and follows last.

Erich gets his normal flashlight out. Everyone else turns on their phone flashlights as they enter the dark, windowless room.

It's dusty and smells of stale food. There's a ginormous monitor still on the wall. Too much of a good thing to be carried out, but most of the smaller monitors are gone. The security station mini-PCs are also gone.

They stir up dust as they slowly move about the room. Craig says he's glad they masked for protection from heavy metal poisoning.

DQ responds that Missus Roboto is fun to perform.

Emily looks confused.

DQ elaborates, “It's a song from the 80's.”

Emily, “Oh, my parents weren't born yet.”

Craig acts like he's been slapped, “Oh that hurts. My parents were born in the 80's and my grandparents used to play Styx all the time. They had actual CDs and insisted listening to entire albums. Not sure why they were albums because there's no A in C or D.”

“But there is one in AC/DC and Highway to Hell is a great Halloween drag song!” quips DQ.

Erich says, “Duuuudette, no joke. You really do a great job in the black light for that one!”

Craig does a bad Shaggy impersonation, “Speaking of spooky, there's a granola bar floating by the wall.”

They all turn to look where he's pointing. Sure enough there's a granola bar on the wall. It's offset like it's floating.

Craig takes a look and announces it's on a hard drive magnet.

To test he pulls on the granola bar. It comes off pretty easily, so it's not glued.

Craig says, “The magnet is holding it up, must be a US product with metal shavings in it.”

Marina blurts out, “What?”

Emily responds, “Yeah, we feel sorry for y'all, having to bleach your fruits, vegetables and meats and use metal detectors on processed foods.”

Craig adds, “You can't even trust the bleach. I mean, how do you contaminate bleach? Multiple times.”

Emily says, “What kind of bacteria are they cultivating that it survives in bleach?”

Craig strikes a pose and says, “That's why I only clean with pure Canadian maple syrup. Sure, everything's sticky, but it's tastefully shiny.”

Erich laughs and almost drops his flashlight.

Marina mutters about no meat for most people in the US.

Through a big window they can see into the man trap. Customers visiting the data center would have had to come in that way.

Security on either side of the trap would have searched people before they were allowed into the man trap hallway. There are doors at the either end of the hallway. The doors can't be opened from the inside and only one end can be open at a time. Once in the man trap people can't get back out until security opens one of the doors.

This setup allows security to constrict entry and exit from the data center. It also allows them to search everyone on the way in and again on the way out.

Rumours have it that after the DC shut down someone broke in on their own via the front door and got stuck in the man trap. With no one in security he couldn't get out. He was in bad shape when some other thieves found him a few days later. They grabbed the parts they could carry, then one of them called in anonymously about him once they were back in Vancouver.

Today's expedition entered from the security office to avoid needing to enter the man trap.

The lock from the security office to the cages would be easy for Erich to pick if they needed, but it's been left unlocked.

Emily announces the lock has been superglued open and says to cross the data center off the list of places to seek refuge in case of zombie apocalypse.

Craig counters that there are probably more granola bars packed with iron here somewhere, part of a nutritious breakfast.

In the data centers cages some complete systems are missing. Nearby are some that were opened and left hanging or pushed back without their covers on.

Craig asks if they just shoved servers in backpacks and carried them out, or maybe they had wagons.

Erich says the first round of thieves were probably gig workers ordered to shut the place down. They probably loaded the missing computers with as much loose ram and GPUs as they could fit and filled up car trunks before heading back to the main gate. The gig worker security guards might have already been gone. If not a bag of RAM worth 6 months salary was probably rather convincing to just go with the flow.

Further in they find servers that are just missing components like RAM and GPUs.

In one room the mother boards, power supplies and other guts are also missing. That takes up a lot less room than a full chassis and a used chassis is rather cheap.

DQ sadly doesn't find any heavy metal or radiation evolved animals.

They notice all the security cameras have been removed or taped over. The cables have also been cut, so the microphones won't work either.

Many of the walls are covered in grafiti. One of the empty cages has a removed door with a curtain hanging in the doorway. Inside the cage there are cushions, candles and empty wine bottles. There are also art supplies. Emily reiterates the DC is not a haven against zombies as the scientists are all certain bohemian artists will be the first to be infected.

Having had enough stale air and tired of needing to turn their phone flashlights back on every five minutes they head back out.

As they head back to the geocache they note the black birds are still there. One flies over and drops a key. Erich picks it up and says it would have been convenient to have that earlier. He spreads out three shiny loonies on a tree stump for the birds and turns back to the cache. Black birds definitely have a favorite colour, shiny.

DQ pulls out some colorful pens and a sticker kit to add a log entry. Erich puts the key in the cache and takes a postcard from Sequoia National Park in the US. It's an antique since the forest it depicts doesn't have huge chunks burnt down.

This data center was bad enough, but in the US they poisoned waterways and dried out entire ecosystems by stealing the water.

While DQ illustrates a log entry the rest have some snacks. Empty-handed Craig gladly accepts the apple and an energy bar.

DQ finishes writing, drawing and stickering, then puts the log back in the cache and closes it. They take a group photo and head back up the trail towards the car.

DQ and Emily forge ahead while the other three take their time.

This gives Marina a chance to ask what's up with the exobiology.

Craig says DQ's non-drag personality is gravely afraid of bugs, but Albert and his wife have kids who are in the bug loving stage of childhood. The group came up with the exobiologist idea to help DQ be enthusiastic about bugs hoping that would make it easier for Albert to conquer his fear.

“Albert?”

“DQ's scientific name.” responds Erich.

Marina looks puzzled.

Erich laughs, “When not in drag DQ is a scientist named Albert, so we call Albert their scientific name.”

Marina asks, “Wife and kids, DQ isn't gay?”

Erich shakes his head, “Not in the slightest. Well, hmm, DQ might be, but Albert is decidedly not.”

Erich continues, “Albert is as much a science geek as the rest of us, but had no life and no personality outside of science. He was really happy, but becoming less enthusiastic about the non-science parts of life.”

Craig interjects, “Hum drum and bored, not depression. Just the monotony was slowing him down. He didn't have anything outside of science.”

Erich nods, “Yeah. A friend from the research group invited him to a drag show event one night. He said no, but his friend insisted.”

Craig adds, “Albert loved it. He had unbridled enthusiasm for learning and for science and hadn't ever seen that kind of response in non-geeks for anything exept maybe sports. It was like finding his people again.”

“Albert's wife is OK with Albert also being DQ?” asks Marina.

Craig chuckles, “They met at a drag show. DQ was performing and she was in the audience. After the performance DQ walked the crowd and when Alex smiled at DQ her chiffon melted.”

Erich adds, “Yeah, Alex is fine with DQ's double-life and loves them in both personalities. The kids love Albert becoming DQ for Drag Queen Story Time at a local cafe. The problem is finding time to do it all.”

Craig notes, “At the conference DQ will be Albert. Not embarrassed by being DQ, but Albert is quiet and very serious.”

Marina cocks her her head, “So, opposite of DQ?”

Craig shakes his his head, “No, not opposite, but decidedly different.”

Erich adds, “Both roles are intelligent and very passionate, just in different ways.”

Craig changes the subject, “Speaking of value”, Craig indicates Erich, “we were talking about how poorly the dollar values to the loonie. Can you afford food while you're up here? Especially eating out, each meal has to be a week's worth of expenses for you.”

Marina says, “I got a sponsorship from a Canadian foundation for my travel expenses. It's the only reason I only got to come to the conference. I get a food allowance as well. It even includes beer.”

Craig smiles, “As a brewer I can confirm beer is food.”

Erich ribs Craig, “Especially a brewer who is half-Scot and half-Canook.”

Craig parries with, “Two halves make it double!”

Craig puts his hand in the air.

Erich shakes his head, but reluctantly doesn't leave his friend hanging.

Marina says, “Breakfast this week is the first time I've had eggs in years as they're too expensive and too unsafe back home.”

Erich mutters, “Sheesh.”

Marina says, “The sponsorship is enough to pay for two small meals out and the hotel has free breakfast, so I'm one of the few Americans who gets three meals a day this week.”

Marina adds, “I'm also one of the few who gets coffee since the conference has sponsored coffee breaks.”

Craig to Erich, “She really had the zooms the first couple days.”

Craig to Marina, “Did you come up early so you get more meals?”

Marina shakes her head, “Helping with the setup is covering my conference fees, but yeah, I would've come up early just to get extra meals.”

Erich exhales, “Damn.”

Craig smiles at Marina, “Well, I'll buy you lunch today.”

“And I'll sport you for dinner and drinks with the gang tonight,” adds Erich.

Marina shakes her head again, “No need, I have to spend the food allowance here. It's only good in Canada during the week of the conference. The limits are part of the visa exception for letting an American in.”

“US citizen”, Erich and Craig say in unison.

Marina looks down sheepishly, “Yes, that.”

Craig asks, “Can you use it at grocery stores?”

Marina shrugs, “Sure, it worked for snacks at a convenience store on the first night, so I think so.”

Craig responds, “Cool, then, as said, we'll buy you lunch and dinner, you save your food money.”

Marina objects, “It's use it or lose it.”

Erich nods, “Yup, so use it to buy groceries the last day and take those home on the train. Craig said you took the train, did you?”

Marina nods, “Yes, the trip from Seattle to Vancouver was beautiful as it's on the coast for most of the route.”

Craig adds, “You also told me you live with your sister who is a college student, so this way you can help her out.”

Marina gives a guilty look.

Erich plows past it, “You can take extra suitcases on the train, they'll even check them for you, so it's not even more work for you.”

Marina objects again, “I don't have extra suitcases.”

Erich offers, “I can give you my suitcases. It's easy to just put my stuff away in my container, so I don't really need them.”

Craig asks Erich, “Why do you even have suitcases?”

Erich shrugs, “I can pack ahead of time and it saves trips in an out of the container. Plus, I already had them, so used what I had. They don't really help on the way home and I have several duffel bags at home. Those will work just fine for future trips.”

Craig back to Marina, “So, save your per diem and take care of your family.”

Marina whimpers, “Everybody's been so kind all week. I'm a visiting foreigner, I feel like I'm imposing.”

Erich shakes his head, “We all took turns buying Emily meals her first couple years. She was a student with a part-time job.”

Craig chimes in, “And people helped take care of us at the beginnings of our careers.”

Erich laughs, “Except Albert, he had pre-planned everything including budget and didn't need help.”

Craig “Yeah, but we had to help Albert a few years in when he discovered drag and was spending all their money building up DQ.”

Erich nods, “True. And the reward has been worth it!”

Craig smiles, “Indeed.”

Erich turns back to Marina, “So, we'll get your lunches and dinners. We'll even spot for coffees or bobas if we go out as a group. It's a nice conference center, but there's a lot more to Vancouver.”

As they approach the car Marina notes DQ has re-donned the morning's dress. she suspects that's why Emily and DQ hurried back, to give DQ time for a costume change.

On the drive to the city they agree to listen to Erich's science play list. It has lots of They Might Be Giants, so DQ still has opportunity to perform in situ.

Back at the hotel Emily says she needs to call the kids and prepare for her presentation in the morning. DQ says a long bubble bath awaits.

Erich, Craig and Marina agree to meet down at the restaurant for dinner and drinks in an hour.

Hotel Food

// All AI use strictly prohibited

Erich goes down to the bar early. It's a typical hotel bar, dark and noisy with lots of large screens.

He chooses the table on the left in the far back. Though somewhat in an alcove it can be seen from the door.

Most importantly he has access to control the speaker volume and the nearby screens. The welcome packet says it's a perk of having the primary pod suite. It also has a reserved sign on it, so he doesn't have to worry about anyone else grabbing the table.

A waitress comes by and he tells her he's waiting for couple friends.

“Are you new?,” asks Erich.

The waitress says she's been there ten months.

“I'm in town once a year, so that's new for me,” he grins, “I'm Erich, what's your name?”

She answers, “Wilma. And the bartender already let me know you're allowed to use this table.”

Erich says, “Nice to meet you Wilma. Yeah, it seems I've got a standing reservation for this table, well sitting anyway.”

“By the way, I'm covering for my group tonight, so please bill for all three of us to my room at the end.”

She nods.

“I'm early. Go ahead and ignore me until they show up. Then please bring us waters as we'll need to hydrate a little before the beers start.”

“OK, do you want a water now?” she responds.

“Nah, I'm good for now.”

Erich flips on the black lights as she walks away. His automations had already switched the speakers to music and turned it down when he arrived. Not that Anne Murray was loud to begin with. The nearby TVs were already on science streams, so nothing to change there.

Though in a public setting, Erich is hoping for some quiet time to recharge some more.

Craig shows up 15 minutes later as Erich is catching up on Science Media. Erich gets up and gives him a big hug, not near as good as DQ, but hopefully still reassuring for him.

Both are wearing science t-shirts, blue jeans and sneakers. Their shoes glow under the black light. Erich has his hair back in a ponytail. Craig is straining the limits of his t-shirt. Erich is concerned about what he sees of Craig's health since Sam died. He was struggling on the light hike today.

Craig has long had a belly, Sam could cook and Craig didn't mind. Craig is a brewer and Sam didn't mind. Sam said they were perfect for each other, making sure they could make it through the cold mid-continent Winters. But Craig seems to be packing it on now. Another good reason for them to work together, getting out will help reduce Craig's depression-eating.

The speakers start singing of working for the weekend, but it's only Thursday night.

Marina walks in and the two men wave her over. She is also wearing a geekly t-shirt, but hers is a colourful image of the Horsehead Nebula rather than geek-snark. It sparkles as different colours luminesce in the black light. She is also wearing a dark skirt with ruffled sine waves. The guys aren't sure they're supposed to be sine waves, but that's what they look like.

Her hair is volumous and puffy like Erich wishes his hair would still do. The hair doesn't block her ears, so it's easy to see the DNA double-helix earrings. Nerd fashion credentials on display Marina sits down in an open chair at the table.

Erich quickly mumbles greetings, then motions to the waitress as she's delivering drinks to another table. She nods.

Erich says that as promised he'll cover dinner tonight, “It turns out I'm getting a surprising amount of discount at the hotel this year.” Craig looks at him. “Part of remuneration as a consultant it seems.” Craig smirks.

Erich mentions an article he'd just seen on Science Media. Craig says he saw it before coming down. Marina hadn't seen it. As Craig starts to describe it the waitress comes by. She sets down the waters and asks if they're ready to order drinks.

Erich orders a shot of whiskey from him favourite local distillery and whatever Weizen they have on tap, then looks at Craig and asks, “IPA?” Craig nods, “Of course.” Erich turns to the waitress saying “That and whatever the young lady would like as well.”

Marina mumbles thanks and says she'll also take a Weizen.

The waitress repeats the order and asks for a room number. Erich gives her his. She then heads to the bar as Craig gets back to the science news.

A moment later Erich says, “I forgot to order that neat,” and heads after the waitress.

Erich catches up to her and amends his order. He mentions the woman at the table and asks Wilma to arrange for all of the her food orders for the week to be billed to his room. He also orders a small, fresh Canadian welcome package to be delivered to Marina's room in the morning. The package will have a variety of maple sweets, a Hortons gift card and some Canadian flag themed items. It will also have an assortment of fresh fruit.

Erich figures she can eat the fruit while at the conference, but some of the snacks might make it home to share with her sister.

“Thanks Wilma,” Erich waves across the room to greet the bartender and heads back to the table.

Craig and Marina are discussing the article when Erich returns. At a break Erich asks Marina what her specialty is.

Marina says she's an astrophysicist, “Luckily there's decades of data waiting for research, so loss of the space-based telescopes hasn't left me idle.”

Craig shakes his head, “So stupid that they just turned them off.”

Marina “Yeah. Luckily Europe had built out some space net capacity and bought control of the Voyager missions, so we haven't lost them. Also, since the US economy is now that of a third world country Europe outsources to me at a significant discount.”

Marina adds, “We're cheaper to Europe and Canada than Mexico or India ever were for us.”

Craig whistles.

Wilma arrives with the drinks. Erich thanks her and the three commiserate with a toast to the science that shall not be, then Erich holds up his shot to toast the science that is still underway.

Marina “What do you do?”

Craig sighs, then jokes, “Well, that's going to be the conversation for a while, might as well take a pee break,” and heads off to the restroom.

“I'm an LSMB specialist.”

Marina wrinkles her forehead, “LSMB?”

“Less space more boom. I get improved energy yield from fuels.”

Erich continues, “Mining companies want me to work for them. As you can imagine, the military industrial complex really wants my work. The space billionaire industrial complex desperately wants me because rocketry is controlled boom, especially if one of them can get me on an exclusive contract.”

Marina asks, “Who do you work for?”

Erich says, “I do research, so I insist on being at a university.”

Marina rejoins, “Is there really still work in that? Don't they just get AI to do the physics?”

Erich shakes his head vigorously, “The US tried that. AI LSMB is why the Yuma Proving Grounds is now the fourth largest hole in Arizona.”

Continuing, Erich adds, “AI LSMB is why you can no longer get a peanut butter hamburger at the Mohave Spaceport. Or anything at all.”

Marina eyes widen, “I remember seeing that explosion all over the news for weeks.”

Erich, “From several angles.”

“Yeah.”

Erich says, “Over 500 people died in that explosion.”

“What?”, exclaims Marina, “I never heard about that.”

Erich affirms, “Big boom was sexy and got people to watch, but dwelling on the death of 500 people didn't sell and was bad for business, so the death toll got swept under the rug.”

“If it wasn't reported, how do you know all those people really died,” asks Marina.

Erich takes a deep breath, “It's my field, so I looked for information. I read reports. Heck, we got some scientific papers out of it. I read those too. And, well, several of my friends died in the blast.”

Marina looks aghast and stammers, “O-o-h, s-s-s-orr-ry, I didididn't mean any “

Erich reaches across the table and pats the back of her hand reassuringly.

Erich responds, “It's OK. This is my field. I had friends there. It was smaller, but I also have good friend who got really messed up when Yuma went up.”

Erich says, “Look, in my field you don't trust the science and maths to someone who doesn't understand it. You definitely don't turn it over to a guesstimate engine, but as Yuma and the Mojave Spaceport proved, it's not just your own work that you have to be cautious of.”

Erich takes a breath, “The fundamentals have to be solid from the base, so AI doesn't help when it comes to the actual experimentation. It's untrustworthy and unfit for that. Also, someone signs off on the work.”

Erich looks down at the table, “At Mohave the primary engineer and his manager died in the explosion, along with a company VP. Several other managers and VPs took the rap for the incident. AIs don't go to jail and in the US neither do famous tech entrepreneurs.”

Erich shrugs, “We sometimes use it for audits. When AI flags something my grad students get an opportunity to research what's wrong with the AI's result. Once in a while the AI audit actually finds something worthwhile, but mostly it builds training scenerios on what can go wrong with maths.”

Changing topics Marina asks, “What was that bit about peanut butter hamburgers?”

Erich smirks, “The on site restaurant was well-known for having peanut butter hamburgers on the menu.”

Marina incredulously asks, “They were famous for their peanut butter hamburgers?”

Erich smiles, “No, no. They were famous for having them on the menu. Pretty sure the burgers themselves were not a source of fame.”

Marina laughs, “Ah, OK. But why were they testing a rocket next to the restaurant?”

Erich responds, “They weren't. They were testing a new AI formulated fuel in one of the businesses near the spaceport, but the explosion was big enough to cross the spaceport and blow down the restaurant, the terminal and the museum. It also caused a large fuel tank to blow, which was the post-explosion fireball you've seen in the news.”

Marina shakes her head, “That fireball was a secondary explosion?”

Erich nods, “Yes, that small secondary explosion. My field does big boom.”

Craig returns and suggests they order food before he explodes from hunger.

Erich has known what he's ordering since he tried the lemongrass chicken last year. Craig says he's getting a vegetarian protein bowl. Erich is happy to hear that. They give Marina some time to study the menu.

Marina decides on a soup and salad, saying both would be courting danger in the US. Erich shoots Craig a thin, supportive smile. Craig silently takes a breath, smiles back, then waves to Wilma.

They put in their food orders, Wilma asks if they want more drinks. Erich and Craig look at Marina, she says she'll gladly get good beer while she can. Erich tells Wilma, “Three more beers, please.”

The three of them talk about how cool the forest was. The data center was meh and a waste of natural resources, but the forest was beautiful. None of them know any of the trees except the pines.

Dinner and drinks arrive and they dive in sating the hunger from the day's activities.

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