The Clarence was still mostly silver. A thin strip of sunlight had reached the far bank. Purple flowers lay across the footpath. “Beautiful,” said Kate. “Slippery,” said Jo. They slowed beside the river. Somewhere behind them a ute started, reconsidered, then started properly. “Australia’s batting, eh,” said Kate. “I was having a nice morning.” “Yes,… Continue reading Sprung
Tag: Sustainability
Wizards
The morning had started with the sort of optimism that generally accompanies men who have purchased expensive fishing equipment and have not yet attempted to use it. Early spring had arrived in Norway, although nobody had informed the mountains. Snow still filled the gullies above the fjord, and a cool breeze came down through the… Continue reading Wizards
സ്ഥിരീകരണം
The wind had finally dropped, which was a considerable relief to everyone except Tony, who had spent most of the afternoon complaining there wasn't enough of it. They were sitting behind a low wall of coral stone at the edge of a beach near Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka, where someone had assembled a bar out of… Continue reading സ്ഥിരീകരണം
¨Rare Earth”
By late afternoon the heat had started coming off the yacht club. Kids were running around the tables, gulls were working the chips, and the water slapped under the dock. Nobody was sailing. Tony came back from the bar with four beers. “Forty-eight fucking dollars.” “Market forces,” said Mitch. “Fuck off.” “Supply and demand.” “There… Continue reading ¨Rare Earth”
Danmark
Silje had been at the table for perhaps ten minutes before Isobel asked what she did. “Mostly weather and atmospheric modelling.” Greg looked interested. “Weather lady?” “I suppose, if you want to make several years of university sound like I own a raincoat.” “I was thinking more pretty lady on the telly.” “No telly.” “Shame.… Continue reading Danmark
All good things are three
Kristin arrived already annoyed, which was useful because the rest of them had been drifting toward optimism. “The whole thing is most appalling,” she said, putting down her glass. Adam looked up. “That’s very English.” “I’m Norwegian.” “Then we’re in real trouble.” She ignored him. “We are degrading the conditions of continuity to optimise the… Continue reading All good things are three
Shift
They were halfway down the Oslofjord in a thirty-foot wooden sailboat that creaked like it remembered better fishing. Kristin sat near the stern, one hand on the tiller, sunglasses pushed into her hair, looking like she’d been born knowing knots and disappointment. Marcin was trying to gut a mackerel with the seriousness of a man… Continue reading Shift
Truth IV
Anna put her pint down with the careful violence of someone who had just found the problem hiding in plain sight. “Right,” she said. “We’ve been saying this wrong.” Adam looked up from his crisps. “Always a good sign when a sentence starts like a workplace investigation.” “No,” Anna said. “We keep talking about AI… Continue reading Truth IV
Bunkering down
The snow along the fjord road had that grey, exhausted look,the kind it gets when it’s been asked to cover more sinsthan even nature thinks reasonable. Albert kicked at a frozen clump and muttered,“So Silicon Valley’s digging bunkers now.”Marin didn’t look up. “Of course they are.They think the world’s falling apart.”“Isn’t it?” he asked.She shrugged.… Continue reading Bunkering down
Ethically suspects
Reith lecture this morning on the commute Albert kicked the snowdrift outside the old server farmand muttered that the machines had finally learnedto gossip worse than people.Marin just shrugged — she’d known that for years. The platforms weren’t evil, she said,just overeager dogs chasing whatever smellwas strongest: fear, envy, loneliness,that sickly-sweet scent of validation going… Continue reading Ethically suspects
