Devin Planet

Chapter 4

     4178 was thankful that 3007 was so willing to go to the Dana with him. He turned towards the balcony's edge and ordered a car. 3007 walked towards him and stood beside him, too close for him. Shoulders and arms almost touching, he didn't want to move however, noting that they could take offense to it. "Why are you interested in knowing why Devins are protesting?" They asked, puffing the cigarette and blowing the smoke down to their feet.

      4178 watched as a white car flew towards them and closer to the parking spot. "I want to know how long they want to protest... If they decided to stop working for a long period of time, when will new food be made? When will the hospitals, schools, and energy factories open again? It's all very dangerous... not having those items." 

     3007 had trained themselves to smile when one needed to. Smoking the blue flower in succession dampened the emotions more and more. In order to continue to be empathetic, they had to smile or force a pout. They forced a smile, "Makes you think how lucky it would be to have farms, animals, a river, and stairs." They opened the car door and allowed 4178 to enter before they did.

     "Thank you!" He got comfortable in his seat, right in the middle, then remembered another person would join. He scooted over to the furthest corner and watched 3007 get in. "Yeah... but if we had that, more land would be used to cultivate food and Devins hardly fit in the planet. Overpopulation is on the rise." The Devins had no natural predators and most of them lived to be over one-hundred years old. With so many Devins reproducing and the population living longer as technology advanced, the population was surging upwards.

      3007 always wished they could live in a different timeline. Where Devin's didn't use factories and mass production to create fake food with all the nutrients. It would be nice to have nature, organisms to live alongside the Devin's. Go hunting and harvesting to eat food made from the natural elements. But what the council did was for the better. "I guess... It's also good that there's no more famines, wars, or poverty. I just wish we could integrate both the past and the present." 4178 found it strange how 3007 talked about something they were passionate about but there was no smile, dreamy eyes, and they kept their speech monotone.

     "What is your destination?" 

     4178 answered, "Dana." 

     The car moved forward and skewered right to make a full turn before heading upwards and straight. 4178 wanted to keep the conversation moving, wanting to learn more about his neighbor which he never spoke to until just now. "Can I ask something? It's kind of personal... so, if you don't want to answer it's fine." 

     3007 turned their eyes towards 4178 and then turned all their head, "Go ahead."

      He cleared his throat, wanting to phrase this in a non-judgmental and respectful way, "You smoke Blue Flower cigarettes. Why?" 

      They stared at him with a blank expression and didn't answer for a few seconds. 4178 noticed but didn't feel any awkward tension between them. "Why is it you get drunk every night?" They put one leg up and hugged it with both arms. Staring behind 4178 and towards the buildings which slowly turned to The Dana. The white building was unlike the rest. It took architecture from the ancient times where buildings were one or two stories tall, when there were no skyscrapers. Instead, it was made to be one story, and it was a fourth acre wide and long. Pillars and intricate designs filled the walls, and the roof slanted upwards and towards the middle, a dome shaped roof set in the middle, tall enough to house a second story. 

     4178 noticed 3007's eyes which stared beyond him, causing him to turn towards Dana. "I'm not an alcoholic. I don't need to drink every night. But from a young age I began drinking, so, it's kind of like eating... or drinking water. Something I find normal."