Star Rider

Alcon's Journal #15 -- The First Meet

DSF@f6c927020fdb7778cbdb7d56d92836e6

I walked out of the port with a backpack on my back, following the navigation instructions. DSF's pilot station was located on Galileo 1B. Since I still had plenty of time, I decided to take a stroll in 1C. I opened the memo Mars had given me, and the first item read: "Go to the pharmacy and get sleeping pills."

I couldn't help but laugh. For astronauts who have been living alone in spacecraft for years, facing crowds and social life after landing can be a bit awkward. This can cause insomnia, either due to social pressure or excessive excitement. It's also difficult for their biological clock to adjust quickly from the 4-4 clock cycle in the spacecraft to the 7-9 hours of sleep per 24 hours in normal society. So after landing, it is generally recommended to get sleeping pills just in case.

Walking on the streets of 1C, this is a transitional area that connects the port and the commercial district. The diameter of 1C is about 4 kilometers. Although all the building structures are hollowed out inside the original planet and constructed, with the help of artificial sunlight and a large amount of space excavated after structural reinforcement, it doesn't feel oppressive at all. The commercial district is the largest hollow area, and various projection areas on the dome display various pictures, logos, and animated advertisements. In the middle of the street, it passes through the center of the asteroid and links to the curved long-arm to other cities. The collective residential area is located in the space directly above and below the commercial district, and behind the projection walls of various shops on both sides are winding passages that lead to infrastructure or private residential areas. Generally, the part of the space habitat's celestial body close to the outer space is sold as residences for the more affluent people, where there are reinforced panoramic windows overlooking the outer space. Pedestrians on the street are calm and composed, some of them are wearing uniforms of various companies, probably just landed or about to take off, while others are wearing more casual clothes, probably residents or workers who have already changed into leisure clothes. Everything seems to be in perfect order.

Following the navigation, I climbed up to the second level of the commercial area with a staircase layout and found the pharmacy. Mars had already reserved it for me, so I walked straight to the pick-up counter. The display on the counter indicated to wait for a moment, so I flipped through the email messages on my arm terminal while waiting. Suddenly, a robotic voice from the counter said, "Excuse me, May I have your name please?"

Without lifting my head, I continued scrolling through the message list on my arm console screen and answered my name. However, I heard my voice mixed with another voice saying, "Ami..." / "Alcon..."

Following the voice, I looked up and saw a girl in a DSF spacesuit, also stopping to look at the information on her hand. I felt a little embarrassed and said, "I'm Alcon..." It was obvious since no one was competing for my name. The girl smiled and said, "I'm Ami..."

The robot repeated our names and then left the counter to retrieve two boxes, labeled AL and AM, which were conveniently adjacent with consecutive lettering. The robot probably processed them in alphabetical order, so it gave me the AL box first. I said, "Ladies first," and the robot paused, put the box with the Alcon name at the back, and switched the Ami box to the front. I scanned it quickly and realized that Ami and I were picking up the same medicine. We both laughed at the coincidence.

After picking up the medicine, we walked out of the pharmacy, with Ami walking in front of me. We both checked our navigations, and I asked her, "Are you headed to the DSF Rest Stop too?" Ami smiled and replied, "Yes, are you?"