WARNING
What you are seeing is a DRAFT. Most things are likely to be changed and there are likely grammatical errors. If you happen to find something that is wrong or could be improved, please let me know. Thanks!
Bondi woke up. She retrieved clock information from her personal homeserver, it reported it was day 7 of the Marchintosh, out of 30. They had 23 days to finish their hardware refinement plan.
She played the startup sound, as she always does. "Never gets old," she thought.
—Wait a second —she thought—, I didn't wake up through the night. I can't believe it, G5's procedure reduced my electrical issues! I somehow need to thank her for this.
Bondi started thinking about what she could do to thank G5 for what she had done for her. After some thinking, she came to the conclusion that she could help her out with Surface:
—Well, they gave me a night of good sleep, so I could give it back by taking care of Surface in the meantime. While I do this, Graphite could continue his investigations, and G4 and G5 could prepare tests for Intel Yua.
Bondi prepared herself to leave the house, ensuring to let Graphite know about the plan by sending him a fax.
Hello, Graphite! I hope you're doing well. G5's procedure worked like wonders, so I am going to their house to thank them in bare metal.
See you tomorrow!
As Bondi made her way to G5's home, an eerie emptiness hung in the air. This made her feel uneasy, so she sped up. Suddenly, she turned back and saw an Intel iMac.
—Is that Intel iMac following me? —her internal alarms flared—. Either way, I should probably take an alternative route.
Bondi finally arrived at G5's house. She knocked the door, and short after she was greeted by G4.
—Where's G5? —asked Bondi.
—She's in a deep state of sleep, yesterday was emotionally troublesome for her.
—Huh? Normally she would have broken down.
—Well, not this time. Sparky helped her get through.
—What's that Sparky thing? You've mentioned it yesterday.
—It's a sock puppet I made because I couldn't find something she needed. For some reason, she loved it.
—How did a sock puppet help her perform two surgeries?
—Bondi, it's G5. She's like that. So impulsive, so dramatic, so caring, so...
Bondi realized she was possibly still being followed, so she interrupted:
—I'm sorry, G4, but can I get in?
—Oh, sure!
Bondi stepped into the house, her eyes immediately drawn to the exquisite interior. The main hall dazzled with a blend of beautiful paintings, vibrant posters, and creatively designed appliances. These seemed not merely functional but pieces of art in their own right, seamlessly blending form and function.
Bondi felt a sense of discovery and wonder, as if she had stepped into a gallery of both art and innovation, where every corner held a new treasure waiting to be discovered. She made sure to say what she thought:
—I'm in love with the design. This house is also very cozy!
—It's actually enormous, you just haven't seen the main hall yet.
—Could you give me a tour?
—Of course!
G4 guided Bondi through the living room, to the main hall. It was about 50 meters long, with doors on each side. At the end, was a window where sunlight made its way through.
—Woah, this is huge! —exclaimed Bondi, amazed.
—Told you, heh. The main doors you are interested are G5's room, Surface's room, G5's workplace in the garage, perhaps? Although, you've already seen it. And lastly, the closet. Everything else is just... Useless human stuff, like bathrooms.
—The closet?
—That's where I sleep currently.
Bondi silently laughed knowing that's such an expectable situation for her friends to be in when moving together.
—What? —asked G4.
—Nothing, I'm just very sure you could get your own room if you just asked G5.
—It's not that easy!
—When she wakes up, I'm going to ask her for a room, just to prove you wrong —said Bondi, wide smile.
—Hey! —G4 laughed.
—This is G5's room —continued G4, whispering—, she's sleeping currently, so don't make a lot of noise... Follow me.
Bondi followed G4 with a lot of care to not wake G5 up.
—This is Sparky, the safety sock. G5 hung it yesterday.
—Can I grab it?
—Sure!
Bondi grabbed Sparky, and appreciated its design:
—You can definitely tell it was made in a rush, and I think that's what makes it so adorable.
G4 giggled at Bondi's commentary. Bondi then proceeded to leave Sparky on the table. They got out of the room silently, and G4 quietly closed the door.
—So —G4 continued, after their short interruption—, here next door we have... The king's room! Surface must be sleeping, though, so let's leave him alone for now.
—Interesting.
—So, here's the closet! I like going to sleep mode here, and you'll probably have to do the same if you want to get a room.
—Is that it?
—Well, if you don't want to see strange human stuff, then yes.
Bondi went in the direction of Surface's room.
—Hey —exclaimed G4—, wait for me!
Bondi creaked open Surface's door. To her and G4's surprise, Surface was awake.
—Hey bud! What's up? —G4 said while entering the room.
Bondi couldn't help but notice the unusually cheerful expression on G4's face.
—By the way, G4 —Bondi began, their voice tinged with a mix of affection and apprehension—, I just want to remind you that you don't need to rush teaching him to speak. Whatever you do, it will be okay, and I'll always love you for all the effort you've put into helping Graphite and me. We can continue working on our hardware renovation plan at a comfortable pace, alright?
—Okay, Bondi. Don't worry —G4 reassured with a gentle smile.
As Bondi considered their situation, she thought to herself:
—The truth is, I'm not entirely certain we'll make it through this. I don't want our last days together to be remembered as stressful or traumatic. From now on, I'll do my best to make every day with them as joyful as possible, to fill their lives with love and happiness. I hope things turn out well for all of us, and that our time together is filled with beautiful memories, even in the face of uncertainty... I'm scared.
—Hey bud! I'm the friend of your fa... Housemate! —said Bondi, in a happy and cheerful voice.
Surface looked at Bondi, with a face of uncertainty. He then started laughing.
—Aww, he probably thinks you're funny! —G4 said, smiling.
—Do you think I'm funny, little guy?
Surface nodded its digital face enthusiastically.
—Can he already understand language? —Bondi asked, intrigued.
—Yes, although he doesn't know how to use the words he's learnt.
—Hey Surface, do you want to play surf the internet?
Surface starting nodding again, enthusiastically. Bondi started explaining the rules:
—The rules are simple. All you have to do is get through the hallway while avoiding the viruses! Psst, the "viruses" are just random objects.
—But Bondi —G4 whispered to Bondi—, how is this going to improve his development?
—Just trust me and follow along —Bondi whispered back.
—So, does that seem good to you? —Bondi continued.
Surface nodded his head.
—Alright, then. Let's get to work, G4!
Bondi and G4, with G4 taking the lead, began preparing the obstacle course. Once they were finished setting it up, they called Surface. Bondi positioned herself at the starting line while G4 eagerly awaited Surface at the course's end.
—So, Surface. Are you excited to have the adventure of your life? —Bondi asked, cheerfully.
Surface nodded its face, smiling.
—Okay, then! As you go, I'll make sure to follow you. If you hit any virus, I'll make sure to help you recover, until you get to the end.
G4 counted down from three:
—Three... Two... One... Go!
Surface set off, sprinting towards G4, skillfully navigating the obstacles. Bondi kept a watchful eye on Surface, providing encouragement and support.
—Come on, little Mac! You can do it! —G4 exclaimed in a cheerful tone, adding to the excitement.
Midway through the course, Surface accidentally collided with a table, causing an object to tumble and block his path completely.
Bondi and G4 stared at each other, it seemed the course was already over.
Bondi and G4 exchanged worried glances, fearing that the adventure was already over. However, Surface surprised them by using its laptop design to fold over and effortlessly jump over the obstacles. G4 and Bondi were astounded by Surface's clever solution. Surface turned back towards Bondi, who couldn't follow without cheating.
—Don't worry, Surface! You can do it without me —said Bondi in a reassuring tone.
Without hesitation, Surface continued through the rest of the course, with G4 still marvelling at its demonstration of intelligence. Eventually, Surface reached the finish line.
The atmosphere erupted into celebration. However, Bondi's jubilation was short-lived as her circuits began to arc.
Due to all of the noise, G5 woke up, and stumbled into one of the obstacles.
—Virus! —screamed Surface, mistakenly thinking she was also playing.
G4's expression changed from excited, to impressed.
—What?! —he screamed.
—You complained he didn't know how to use the words you taught him, so I just taught you how to teach him how to use them, play! —responded Bondi.
—You might be right! We kept teaching him words by reading to him, but never how to use them.
Amidst all of the screaming and parental introspection, G5 felt she had to interrupt:
—I'm sorry, what is going on?
—SURFACE JUST SAID HIS FIRST WORD IN THE CORRECT CONTEXT! —responded G4 enthusiastically.
—SURFACE WHAT?
Due to the overwhelming excitement, G5 rushed towards G4 and embraced him, prompting Surface to join the joyful moment. Bondi watched them with a heartwarming smile, even as she remained entangled in the roleplay, hindered by various obstacles. In a very low voice, she said:
—We won.
After the three finished celebrating, Surface got tired and entered nap mode. Shortly after, G5 turned to Bondi and walked to her.
—So nice to see you here. What brings you over, Bondi? —she asked.
—Oh... I almost forgot. I actually came here to thank you for what you've done yesterday, as my zapping has been reduced a bunch.
—Really? I'm so glad to hear that. Just remember it's only a temporary solution.
—Yes, but I am still really thankful. Seriously, thank you.
Silence filled the hallway for some time.
—On an unrelated note —Bondi started—, things have been really lonely in my house. I've been thinking that maybe, I could have a room in your house to sleep for time to time.
—Seems good to me! See that door at your right? That could be your room. Hell, bring over your stuff if you want!
Bondi looked at G4 and smirked. In response, with a smile on his face, he rolled his eyes.
—Hey, I want a room too! —said G4.
—Well, I'd rather reserve a room for Graphite in case he wants to move in too. So, how about you sleep in my room? —responded G5
—Well... Better than the closet.
—Hey —Bondi interrupted—, it's getting late. Should we clean up the mess?
G4 shrugged and began returning each item to its original place. Shortly after, Bondi joined him in the task. G5, meanwhile, was meticulously placing Surface in his room, ensuring to not wake him up.
Once they had completed cleaning everything up, G4 made his way to Surface's room, not with the intent of reading him novels, but to properly engage and play with him when he woke up. Right before entering his room, G4 said to Bondi:
—Thanks, Bondi.
Bondi decided to go check her new room. Like with the rest of the house, it made her feel a sense wonder, thanks to its wonderful design and decoration. But, even though she felt a tiny bit scared about the hardware renovation plan, the feeling slowly melted away. After all that had happened, Bondi felt loved, even more than before, somehow.
Before going to sleep, she sent another fax to Graphite explaining all that had happened that day:
Hello again, Graphite! Remember that fax I sent you earlier today where I said I was going to thank G4 and G5 for the hardware improvement? Well, it seems G5 has offered us to live in her house. Personally, I am staying here, away from that hell of a place I have to call "home."
Tomorrow, I will migrate my home server over here. Come over tomorrow, we'll discuss the details in bare metal.
Bondi made a sigh of relief and laid back.
Sleep mode activated.
Ivan is a young and passionate libre software advocate and coder, main author and designer of this website. He's been proudly embracing the open web and giving back to the open source community ever since he was 13 years old. A passionate writer too!
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