Lethargy

Chapter 3

The next day, Olívia felt like lying in bed until noon. Her entire body ached since she had stopped by the multifunctional sports field after running and exercised with her own body weight. She returned home late in the afternoon, and the twins begged her to go out for ice cream with them and then watch the latest episode of "What's in the Universe." The show about space exploration filled her with a certain unease. Colonies had existed on the Moon for over sixty years, and mining teams were active on Mars. They transported precious ores to Earth using spacecraft with the latest propulsion systems, allowing them to achieve speeds of up to ten percent of the speed of light. The fuel source they used was a strictly guarded secret.

Olívia would have preferred watching the news, where they broadcasted reports on terrorist actions. Secret religious factions plagued mostly underdeveloped regions of the world. Thousands of people died every day, and for what? Earth was getting richer, diseases were decreasing, thanks to the latest advances in medicine, doctors could cure almost every illness or deformity. No one was sick, and terms like cancer or AIDS only existed in old textbooks. The average lifespan was one hundred and twenty years. Elderly people peacefully passed away in their homes without suffering from senile dementia.

Olívia was also interested in history, especially the period before and after the Third World War, called the nuclear war, which took place in the year 2130. After the death of sixty percent of the population, a unified government was finally established with its headquarters in Bern, Switzerland. The greatest minds joined forces to restore a sense of purpose to humanity. All nuclear warheads were destroyed, new agreements were made. English was designated as the global communication language, compulsory in schools. Scientific teams received unlimited financial and material resources to try to mitigate the environmental impacts of the war. In this dark period, the fight against various militant movements began. Their leaders tried to disrupt the fragile balance in the emerging world and create new states.

She was eventually pulled out of her sweet idleness by the twins. Without knocking, they burst into her small room, and Monika excitedly waved a flyer.

"In an hour!" she shouted. "The Scientific Institute."

"What about it?" Olívia yawned.

"We have tickets for a school field trip. However, entry is only allowed with an adult," explained William, sitting on a chair. "Mom allowed us, and you promised to go with us."

"Is that today?"

The twins looked disappointed at each other, and Olívia sighed. She simply forgot about it.

"And where is mom?"

"She went to buy you..." he blurted out, but Monika immediately nudged him in the side. She glared at him angrily until he realized his mistake.

„...something to eat," he mumbled, turning entirely red. Birthday. Eighteen years. Olívia knew that they would celebrate in the evening with champagne, pastries, and looking through old photos in the family album. The thought of it tightened her stomach. This tradition was introduced by her father. Without him, it was never the same, but her mom insisted on maintaining this tradition. They also didn't expect any family visits. Mom only had a brother, Richard, whom they hadn't seen in ten years.

"The door. In ten minutes, lineup," announced Olívia, as if she were at the Academy's training ground. She briskly got out of bed. "What is the field trip about?"

"Scientific discoveries in the twenty-second century!" Monika giggled. Olívia theatrically rolled her eyes. She resigned herself to the fact that she would be terribly bored.

They stood at the bus stop, waiting for the bus that would take them to the Institute. It didn't take long before a dark blue bus stopped in front of them. They found empty seats, and the vehicle smoothly started, the hum of the electric motor barely audible. The independent control system in this model didn't require a driver; the computer took care of everything. Public transportation was free, so they didn't have to worry about tickets.