Genova (Re-uploaded after editing)

Chapter 4

 The next morning I was awakened by the morning announcement.

"Good morning citizens of Genova. We are pleased to inform you that the cooling systems have been successfully repaired and it is now safe to leave your homes. On the agenda for today are some other minor repairs that could cause temporary power outages in some areas of the Middle Ring. Aside from that, the functionality of the Middle ring will be business as usual."

"Oh, thank goodness," I said as I sat up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I turned to Zuri who was still fast asleep. I looked at her for a moment as she snored surprisingly loudly before getting up. I showered and got ready for the day. As I left the bathroom I saw Zuri stir before slowly sitting up.

"The cold's back on," I told her once she seemed ready to comprehend language.

"Oh, joy," she said while rubbing her eyes. It was weird seeing Zuri so sluggish. Usually, it seems like her energy will never be used up. She slowly turned to face me and sat cross-legged, cradling her head in her hands.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked her.

"Nyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehh..." She replied, "I could use a couple more hours."

"You sleep, then. In the meantime, I'm going for a run." I said as I left the apartment.

As I ran through the ring, the air was distinctly warmer than usual, but not unbearable. The humidity is what began to kill me after a few minutes. I ran past Tonni's bakery and noticed a sign on the door announcing that it was closed for the day. "No air conditioning ruined today's products," was the reason. The glass windows at the front of the shop were dripping with condensation, similar to how I was dripping in sweat. I continued onwards, noticing the stark lack of people in the ring. People gawked at me through open blinds, but nobody seemed comfortable stepping out of their air-conditioned houses. Because of the heat, I didn't run much, only a couple of kilometers total, and upon returning home I heard the shower running in my bathroom. Zuri had decided to get ready while I was away. A few minutes later, she poked her head through the bathroom door.

"Can I use one of your stones?" she asked, the towel on her head wobbling with each syllable.

"Sure, I'm not sure which ones are clean, though. I don't keep track of the ones I've used already."

"That's fine. I'll just wash it before I use it. Thank you!" She said before closing the door once again. A few minutes later, she emerged fully clothed, chewing on the rock, and a question popped into my head.

"Have you ever wondered where we get those rocks?"

"Nope."

"Well isn't it a little weird? We don't have a planet to get them from, and every single person on this ship probably goes through one every week."

"Well, yeah. I always assumed that they were from asteroids, but thinking about it, asteroids are mostly iron so I have no idea."

"Do you know what they're made of?"

"Either some kind of super hard sandstone or a soft kind of andesite."

"Why not just normal sandstone?"

"Because sandstone is pretty much just sand stuck together. It's still pretty grainy and breaks apart easily. It would have to be something strong enough to hold its own against our teeth for at least a little while."

"Huh. Maybe they are fabricated from the sand in the resource ring."

"Probably."

And with that, our incredibly boring conversation about rocks was over.