As she worked, she hummed a tune Susan had taught her, something from Earth that she’d never been able to place in any of her music archives. The melody filled the kitchen, weaving around the clatter of utensils and the sizzle of eggs hitting the hot pan.
She was plating her meal when ARIS’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“Good morning, Liora.”
“Good morning, Ari,” she said, carrying her plate to the table by the balcony doors.
The AI had been a constant presence her entire life. Susan had explained that ARIS was a sophisticated system designed to manage the tower’s functions, but the disembodied voice had always been more like a companion, especially since Susan’s death.
“You were in the greenhouse forty-seven minutes longer than your average morning routine,” ARIS continued. “I will need to adjust your afternoon schedule accordingly.”
“The tomato plant flowered.” She picked up her fork and took a satisfied bite as Pip glided over to join her. “I wanted to document everything properly.”
“Your dedication to empirical observation continues to be admirable. Although I must remind you once again that I am quite capable of recording the information.”
“It’s not the same.” She swallowed another bite. “I need to write it down. It’s how I learn.”
ARIS didn’t respond, but she could almost feel its disapproval. She’d never understood why the AI encouraged her research but disapproved of her methods. Perhaps it was simply its inherent nature to prefer automated systems over manual ones.
“The solar panels are operating at ninety-eight percent efficiency today,” ARIS continued after a moment. “I will need to perform maintenance on the secondary generator this afternoon. There may be temporary power fluctuations.”
“Fine,” she agreed. “I can work in the garden then.”
She ate in the usual silence, watching the play of light and shadow across the jungle canopy. Sometimes she imagined what it would be like to walk among those trees, to touch the strange purple-tinged leaves and see the colorful birds up close. Susan had promised to take her when she was older, but then she was gone, and ARIS had explained that it wasn’t safe.
The outside world is dangerous, Liora. The tower is your sanctuary.
She’d accepted that for years, finding contentment in her experiments and the vast library of knowledge at her fingertips. But lately, a restlessness had taken root in her chest, growing stronger with each passing day. She would find herself staring at the jungle, wondering what lay beyond the visible trees, or standing at the tower’s base, pressing her hand against the sealed doors with an inexplicable longing.
“Weather report,” she said as she finished her breakfast and gave Pip his portion.
“Current conditions: partly cloudy, temperature twenty-eight degrees Celsius, humidity ninety-two percent. Wind from the southwest at twelve kilometers per hour. No precipitation expected for the next forty-eight hours.”
She pulled her notebook from the pocket of her dress and recorded the data. She’d been tracking weather patterns for as long as she could remember, looking for trends, trying to understand the rhythms of the world outside. Susan had called it her “scientific obsession,” but she’d always said it with a smile.
“Barometric pressure?”
“One thousand and twelve millibars, stable since dawn.”
She noted that as well, then flipped back through her records. The pressure had been dropping for the past week, which usually meant a storm was building somewhere out over the ocean. But the prediction said no rain for two days. Interesting.
“You appear distracted this morning,” ARIS observed.
“Just thinking,” she said, putting her notebook away. “Can you display the satellite imagery from this morning?”
“Displaying now.”
A section of the wall shimmered and transformed into a screen, showing a bird’s-eye view of the region. The tower was a small gray dot at the edge of the jungle, where the green gave way to the rocky coastline and the deeper green of the ocean beyond.
She’d asked ARIS once why they’d never received any visitors. ARIS had explained, in its calm and patient way, that the tower’s location was not recorded on any maps and that the surrounding jungle was too dense and dangerous for travelers.
She had accepted the explanation because she’d had no reason to doubt it. But sometimes, in the quiet hours between waking and sleeping, she wondered what it would be like to meet another person. To hear a voice that wasn’t Ari’s measured tones or Pip’s chattering or her own words echoing off the stone walls.
“Magnify the coastline.”
The image zoomed in, showing the rocky beach below the tower where waves crashed against dark stone. The resolution was high enough that she could see the tide pools she’d studied through the observation scope, the places where seabirds nested in the cliffs, and the cave system that Susan had told her was full of wonders she’d never see for herself.
Why can’t I go outside?
