When Sean calmed down, he didn't want to think about the implications of 'hidden hunger' – so he cleared his throat and tried to change the subject: "Medical student, eh?" She just frowned, so he pushed, "What was that thing about, and why the past tense?"
"Because…" Emma started but looked to the side and sighed, then calmly explained, "Just like with your software thing – no longer needed."
"The software thing?" he asked.
She reminded him, "Didn't you say you used to be a systems engineer, back in the–"
"Ah yes, the… the thing," he cut in and leaned back in his chair. He then bluffed, "Yeah, totally not needed now. But I got confused by all the…" He motioned at the table. "Well, all the food things."
"Uh-huh," she commented and looked at her lap. Then tapping.
"But wait, are doctors no longer needed?" he tried to clarify – the medical side of the world had not been at the center of his interests. "Are people suddenly healthy because–"
"No," she broke in, "but they cured most of the acute pathologies and any chronic conditions are being managed much better."
"But what about GPs, first contact, even ER?" he pushed.
Emma let out a dry laugh, then raised an eyebrow and studied him for a moment. He was growing confused, but she answered, "You mean the Guesser-Professional? They botched some diagnoses and the application of new drugs, so Omega automated that too." A small pause. "Health issues are too important to be left up to humans…"
He recognized the phrase from his area of expertise – apparently the same approach had been applied to software, broadly speaking. He cleared his throat, still a bit irritated after all that food, then offered, "Well, if it makes you feel any better – a lot of professions were affected."
She stared at him for another three seconds, then just shook her head and looked down, presumably at her phone again.
Sean thought about it. Jobs disappearing – entire industries made redundant. He finally asked, "Is this why you're so detached?" She gave him an empty gaze, so he added, "Always on your phone, always 'whatever' ."
Emma sighed and glanced down, but got up while remarking, "I should get going. Thanks for the…" She frowned at the table.
Sean was completely stuffed, so he stood up as well and looked around and said, "I've had enough, not sure what to do with all this, umm…" The large mess hall was mostly full, presumably players having a meal before retiring for the day. Fifty tables, some seating a dozen or so people. It seemed loud all over: people laughing, talking over each other. Their remote corner was more restrained, calmer – or maybe it only felt that way considering the somber topics.
"Looks like they leave leftovers for NPCs to clean up," Emma observed.
He noticed a couple of tables that had been recently abandoned, and a local-looking older man attending to one: gathering dishes and wiping the surface clean. He nodded and offered, "Yeah, mind if I walk you to the portal place?"
"I'd rather not," she remarked. "Thanks for the dinner, but–"
"Meaning that you 'rather not' mind it?" Sean cut in with a smirk. She only shook her head and looked away – so he added while putting his chest piece back on, "Can I just– Not a date, but…"
She did not answer but didn't flee either. He paid by the exit: one silver for his feast , and five coppers for her vegetables. The change from the blacksmith covered it with ease, though his pockets did weigh him down due to the abundance of coins… or maybe it was all the food.
"How is that a fair price?" Emma complained on the way out.
Sean replied, "The… oh, you mean– Well, five coppers is a quarter of one silver–"
"That's what I said!" she broke in.
"So maybe…" he tried to turn it into a joke, "capitalism is broken after the Singularity?" She merely snorted, so he shrugged. What did it matter – a made-up game currency. If anything, the meals in the mess hall were probably subsidized, Omega trying to lure players in there – just as it had lured him.
They stepped out onto the plaza, and the night was surprisingly bright. Still much darker than even the twilight sky before the dinner, but both moons were two-thirds full and already high in the sky, close to each other. Each one much bigger than Earth's moon, so everything in sight was clearly illuminated. The view was quite surreal.
By the time Sean finished marveling at the moons-lit sky, Emma had already begun walking. He caught up to her with a bit of effort – the heavy armor wasn't making it easy. "Whoa, slow down," he pleaded while trying to catch his breath. "What's the big hurry?"
"Uh-huh," she remarked, as he had already half-expected.
"Why are you so eager to leave…" Sean started but trailed off. Suddenly something clicked, or maybe the dots connected in his head. "Has Omega sent you to give me the nutrition lecture?"
"Uh-huh-wait-what?" she half-mumbled and stopped to look at him.
He wasn't sure whether it had meant she was 'busted' or just confused, so he expanded upon it: "Makes perfect sense when you think about it. A random game lecture, seated next to each other at the end of–"
"Dude, I don't know you!" she broke in and resumed her brisk walk.
Sean walked with her and tried to joke, "Even after all the time today? After everything we've been through?" He paused, and she gave him an annoyed glare – then back to her phone. He explained further, "Anyway, but think about it – kinda makes sense, doesn't it? From my perspective, anyway… even how you were waiting outside the–"
"I told you," she cut in, "I was looking for a party."
"Uh-huh," he mocked with a smirk, then added, "So you're telling me that it was just a coincidence? That one clearly , badly malnourished guy got seated down next to a–"
"You're not the main character, you know," she stopped to interject angrily.
"But that's not what I said," he argued, raising his voice.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," she commented quietly and looked around. "Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was staged – who cares?"
He began, "It matters to me. Please, if you can–"
"Shush, there's no need to make a scene…" she broke in.
"I'm not– Ugh…" Sean complained and glanced around, only now noticing the nearby bystanders looking in their direction. He pushed, quietly, "Then why are you here? In a reality-game that you're pretty much completely uninterested in."
"Don't…" she protested and then stormed off.
He followed and tried, "Why– Come on, can't you at least tell me that? Did Omega send you here and tell you to look for–"
"I wasn't 'sent' here, but…" she started, but then shrugged and added, "No, you know what – fine. You caught me, Sean. I'm actually a secret nutritionist agent, or whatever bakes your biscuit."
"Knew it," Sean taunted, but she didn't take the bait. So he attempted, "No, but that doesn't make sense – you wouldn't wait for the dinner to, huh…" He paused. It really did not make sense: it was he who had suggested the dinner. He pushed the topic as they were nearing the Portal Travels building, "Please, was that what happened? Or was it just a coincidence?"
"It was a mistake," she said, and… it really didn't explain anything.
"Come on, can't you just tell me?" he pleaded. "I won't judge you or anything like that, but if you think– What is going on?"
She stopped next to an entrance. The building was low and had multiple entrances or exits – or however it worked. Sean had no time to investigate that just yet, focusing his attention on Emma, in hopes of some answers – or at least hints as to what Omega might've been up to.
"There's nothing going on, and…" she began but hesitated, then watched him for a few seconds and finally added, "You're not going to make fun of me or make a scene?"
"What? No, I…" he started and glanced around: people were mostly ignoring them, busy with their own affairs. He offered, "Full conspiracy, this stays between you and me. But only if you keep the nutrition drama a secret too, okay?"
She sighed tiredly, glared at him as if he were half-crazy. Or maybe full-crazy, but she tried to restrain the glare. Either way, Emma admitted, "I'm only here to earn some STs, because…" She looked down and commented, "Because one needs to eat and…"
"Is that some kind of problem?" Sean asked, confused.
"Isn't it?" she asked. "Everybody at the lecture seemed to be making a big deal out of it."
"Oh, the… Emmo-chick , was it?" he blurted. She frowned at it, hard, so he added hurriedly, "No-no, I don't mean– It's just what they said back at the… But it's fine, I don't care." Emma stared at him in silence, so he asked, "Why, is earning some STs on the side a problem?"
"Apparently so," she said. He thought about it, and she explained some more, "They called it… apparently it's called 'Jobbing' or 'a Jobber' and it's frowned upon– They said they'd tell on me to the instructor and–"
"Yeah, that Bruce- mate probably wouldn't care either," Sean cut in. She narrowed her eyes, so he shrugged and added, "What – he seemed pretty chill?"
"He was a total jerk," Emma commented. "And half the things he said could be interpreted as a threat – often not even cryptic about it."
Sean began, "What? Why would you–"
"And that summon-thing, apparently it was PVP-oriented?" she interrupted.
"Well…" he started but couldn't argue with that – the whole scene with Santiago seemed shady. Instead, he asked, "I thought you weren't paying attention? Did you even notice–"
"I asked about it," she broke in, "about the Head-Scratcher and– No, it doesn't matter."
"Nothing here does," Sean mocked and… technically he already half-agreed with that statement. Then he realized something and asked, "But wait, don't students get a stipend or– How does it work? Didn't you say you were a medical student…"
"I was," she said between gritted teeth.
"Then… was the stipend not enough?" he speculated. "Or are you looking to earn some–"
"I don't care about the stupid stipend!" she cut in, annoyed, then added, "It's just that…" She paused for a moment, then sighed and explained, "She offered me a transition to–" Sean had already frowned at this pronoun, so she rolled her eyes and corrected herself, "Whatever, she, it, they… It came through the university, so it was probably 'they' anyway."
"But a transition to what?" he tried.
"To f**king nurse training," she retorted.
Sean thought about it for a while, and Emma seemingly tried to calm down. He finally asked, "Is that bad? Or was, or…"
"I didn't work my ass off for seven years toward neurosurgery, just so–" she started, but then simply shook her head. "No, never mind. Whatever."
"Well, it was clearly important to you, huh…" he offered, but Emma just glowered at him with absolute scorn. The seven years of college didn't quite match her apparent age, so he followed up, "Aren't you a bit young to have been–"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she broke in.
"A compliment?" Sean clarified with a friendly smile. Or what he tried to make seem friendly, anyway. He added, "Didn't they have those in the medical school where you– Wait, or do you mean an undergrad, or…" He trailed off, unsure how the timing of medical schools worked specifically, or where she should be around this age – or how old she was in the first place. None of it mattered, seemingly, since Omega's emergence had messed everything up.
"I should get going…" she remarked and looked into the Portal Travels building.
Sean glanced inside as well: there were people heading in and out – though mostly in at this late hour. Should he leave this place as well? He had only promised to try it for 'one day' – but would it mean four hours, or eight, or however long human shifts were supposed to be now?
For the most part he didn't want to speak to Omega again. Or maybe not yet. What was there for him to say… apologize for almost starving himself to whatever end? Admit that it had been right about so many things: his poor diet, pointless stubbornness, even that the resistance had been… not even futile, more like outright ridiculous. Maybe he could hide in here for a while longer, formulate a plan or wait for all the drama to blow over…
But Emma spoke first, "Anyway, thanks for all the help – both distraction before the lecture, and then with rats and whatever. See you around and try to take better care of yourself, okay?"
Sean frowned a bit, but blurted without thinking: "Wanna do some more?" A small pause during which he internally blamed himself for using Emma as an excuse not to face Omega just yet. But he reasoned, "Rats or whatever… actually, there's something you should see – a very important reason behind the quests and everything. I'm sure it'll explain a lot!"
Emma started, "I'd really rather–"
"Are you in a hurry somewhere?" he interrupted. "Because if not, then– I mean, we were a pretty good team, and already have a party going. Also, what did you mean by distraction before…"
She sighed and explained, "They were all verbally piling onto me before–"
"Ohh, the hobo-distraction, got it!" Sean cut in, then smiled and added, "Wasn't my intent, but worked like a charm… But come on, unless you have something else planned? Otherwise we could do a quest or two – the quest place is right here! And you can keep an eye on me, for all the… medical implications of… hidden hunger, was it? Also, I'm kinda eager to give this new armor a test-drive, and you can get more STs… Is this how it works, by the way? Or are players paid for spending time here or…" He trailed off. Emma stared at him absently for a moment, so he shrugged with a smile.
"You are persistent, you know that?" she commented snarkily… and it made him chuckle, then even laugh out loud. He wanted to say uh-huh , but he couldn't stop laughing for some stupid reason.