Kara's Journal

5 – 28 – 7092

            Today I went back up to Dad’s lab. It’s been a week since the accident, but traversing the wreckage, knowing that this is where Dad died, still made me tear up a bit. However, I had to return to the lab. I had to catch my first glimpse of sunlight in two weeks, even without Dad around.

            I found the charred crater that used to be Dad’s office. The accident destroyed almost everything in that office, including all the journals Dad kept about his experiments, but the ladder that led up to the observatory remained.

            The sunrise was as beautiful as ever, and I lamented how I couldn’t share this experience with Dad. It was eerie being alone in the observatory, on top of the West Mountain looking over the rest of the island. It was also cold, since the accident had broken some of the observatory’s windows and it was still technically nighttime. As lovely as the sunrise was, it wasn’t long before I decided to leave the observatory and return to the warmth of the catacombs in the mountain below.

            Sophie was waiting for me when I came back home. She asked where I had been, and I told her I was watching the sunrise. I insisted that I was getting over Dad’s death and that she didn’t have to worry about me. “I believe you,” she answered. “But just in case, how about we have some dinner? Mom’s got some kod stew cooking up right now.” I said yes, grateful to know that even though Dad was gone, I still had Mom and Sophie around to encourage me keep on living.

6 – 1 – 7092

            I made another trip to the observatory to confirm that even though the sun now was fully visible on the horizon, it was still cold outside. Fog was already forming on the ocean and I knew that it would be another day before it was warm enough to leave the catacombs.

            It was a typical day at school for the most part. I got an assignment to write a 5-page paper about the Emor-Marba War. Once again I was reminded how much I missed Dad. I remember spending so many hours reading through the journals in Dad’s office. My favorites were the ones about the other civilizations in the galaxy, and I remember fantasizing about leaving this island and visiting those foreign worlds. I also recall that his journal about the Emorian Empire was more detailed than what in my school’s history books, and it’s a shame that it was destroyed alongside the rest of his research. I always wanted to see an Emor in person, see if they were truly as horrible as everyone claimed. They have such a rich culture, and besides, why would someone hate people my family and me just for existing?

            We had leftover kod stew for dinner. There’s still a decent amount of food left in the cellar, so it could last a few days before we have to go out to get some more. That said, two weeks of nothing but dried food, pickled food, and MREs is enough to leave me itching for something fresh. 

6 – 2 – 7092

            The fog has cleared and the weather is warm enough for us to finally leave the catacombs. Most of my day was spent helping Sophie and Mom move into the tree house, which included repairing the bridges that connect our house to the rest of the village in the forest. We also spent some time preparing to reopen Mom’s knife shop in the merchant district, where the sight of Dad’s empty clinic served as another reminder of what I had lost.

            Still, the day wasn’t just all work and no play. I managed to find some time in the afternoon to go to the shore and do some fishing. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that fish seem attracted to the glow of the force fields I can summon. I stuck a hand in the water, created a small field around my fingertips, and waited. Whenever a fish got close enough to the light, I expanded the force field into a bubble in an attempt to trap it. The results were hit and miss, but in the end I did manage to catch 5 crabs and 2 small fish.

            Between the seafood I caught and the fruit Sophie had foraged, it was the best dinner I had had in weeks, though Mom seemed a little disappointed that we didn’t bring in more food than we did. Personally, I don’t mind going back out to the shore again and catching some more fish, and I’m sure we have enough food to keep us happy until the Four Pillars Colony shows up.

            Sophie’s stopped playing the violin. I should probably get to bed as well since I’ve got school tomorrow. It’s great to be able to sleep to the sound of leaves rustling in the trees, even if the sun is going to be up all day for the next two weeks.

6 – 3 – 7092

            I got my new Pro Bowl uniform today and decided to try it on after getting home from school. Like the previous outfits, it was met with Sophie’s mockery. She teased me about how tiny the shorts were, to which I responded that they allowed for greater freedom of movement. “Freedom of movement,” Sophie said. “So that’s what they call fanservice these days?” I conceded that she had a point and that I was actually a little uncomfortable wearing the outfit. Sophie chuckled, “Face it Kara, you’re going to be running around that field with no pants on.” I was blushing at that point. “Don’t sweat it,” Sophie continued. “You look great in that outfit. Plus, if anyone looks at you the wrong way, they’ll have to deal with Mom.”

            Mom seemed to be doing her best not to get involved in our conversation, instead focusing on maintaining her knife shop. Judging by how she’s reacted to my previous uniforms, she would probably react to this one by berating me for wearing something so revealing and then telling me only to wear it while playing Pro Bowl.

6 – 4 – 7092

            School was typical, though it was nice to be able to once again play Pro Bowl in an open field. I noticed that my uniform was quick to dry and didn’t stink of sweat after practice, so I decided to do a little test after school. I took a quick swim in the ocean while wearing the uniform and then headed home. Everything, even the boots, was bone dry by the time I got home, and nothing smelled of sea salt.

            At this point in time I was certain that my uniform was made out of a higher grade of smart-cloth than the rest of my clothes, so I decided to ask Mom about it. She confirmed my suspicions, explaining that Dad had managed to purchase it during the Four Pillars last visit. Unfortunately, she quickly figured out that I had been walking around town wearing the uniform and was as unhappy about it as I had expected, though she only settled for scolding me.

            Speaking of the Four Pillars, I’m a little worried that they haven’t shown up yet, especially since clouds are starting to form. My fishing and Sophie’s foraging will keep us fed for a little longer, but it won’t be enough. The supplies we purchase from the Colony are as important to our survival as anything we gather from the island. I’m also worried about how they’ll react to Dad’s death, since he was the one that convinced the Colony to support our island in the first place.

6 – 5 – 7092

            A colony finally showed up, but it wasn’t the Four Pillars. Instead of four elegant spires rising out of the ocean, there was only a single black spire that looked like a massive pile of welded scrap metal. It was kind of scary.

            When I got back home from school today, the village elders were in the living room, talking to Mom about the appearance of the black spire. Apparently, the spire didn’t react to their attempts to communicate with it, so they were thinking about having the village evacuated to the Fortress. They wanted to know if Mom could operate the Fortress’s cannons, and she assured them that she did. She also advised to stay calm and wait for the spire to take some kind of action, though they should get ready to evacuate in the meantime.

             Many times I’ve looked at the island’s East Mountain from Dad’s observatory, but I’ve never been inside the fortress that he built underneath that mountain. All that I know is that he built it with some help from the Four Pillars. How would our little village be able to fight off an entire colony of robots like the ones the black spire? Would it even be possible, even with the fortress?

            I’m seriously worried about what’s going on. Why did the black spire show up? Where did the Four Pillars go? Are they safe, or did something happen to them? And when I think about it, nobody has ever told me why Dad’s lab blew up. Could his death have something to do with what’s going on right now?