Bigger Brother. Matthew Vandenberg
Scientist, CO2-guzzling bacteria made in the lab could help tackle climate change, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2224908-co2-guzzling-bacteria-made-in-the-lab-could-help-tackle-climate-change/, ["The bacteria [E. coli] could use CO2 generated by the steel or concrete industry to make insulin, for example."]
4 Mayo Clinic, E. coli, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/e-coli/symptoms-causes/syc-20372058
5 The Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, Role of Partner Novelty in Sexual Functioning: A Review. Abstract, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25222339/
6 The Economist, In the past, America was not as unequal as it has become, https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2019/10/24/in-the-past-america-was-not-as-unequal-as-it-has-become
7 New Scientist, Science’s fake news problem: How funding pressures drive bad research, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24432594-700-sciences-fake-news-problem-how-funding-pressures-drive-bad-research/
8 Billie Eilish, Khalid - lovely, https://youtu.be/V1Pl8CzNzCw
9 Dawin - Go Off (Lyric Video), https://youtu.be/wYj5WsSZ6Ng
Twenty Twenty Now
'They're coming,' the voice above says.
These words are followed by so much silence that Matt questions the initial utterance.
'Did you hear that?' Matt asks Sayuri.
'What?' Sayuri asks.
'The voice,' Matt says. 'People are coming.'
'You're c'lazy*,' Sayuri says. 'It's twenty twenty now, so you have a vision at the expense of your hearing.'
There's a climate of suspicion that's rapidly changing.
'A vision,' Matt says, nodding. 'Imagine we're in the rural reaches of Spain, waiting for company like lonely farmers, and then we see a "love bus [1.]" full of single women looking for partners. That may be crazy, but it's so hard to see a woman there, let alone a female therapist. Call it the States [2.]. There's no insurance against loneliness. A broken heart can be the reason a person who's only human is placed in suspended animation [3.] [4.] for months to years, and all the while so very cold. But then can loneliness enjoy a revival of the twenty first century, it's popularity an ironic way to bring people closer together to exhale to live well and reach new animated heights as they welcome religious revivals of understanding democratic floors?
'How many "love buses [1.]" would it take to make bullets obsolete? Heavy traffic with women on the roads can encourage understanding when you get stuck in straightaway like moving into food rather than paying rent. Otherwise, when do men ever have time to talk? Restaurant traffic need to be more talkative. Again, revive understanding democratic floors to own better buildings with them. Eventually see floor to floor (or room to room for more) already jammed with women singers. Expressive. Impressive. What did they say? And what did they mean? Likewise with the voice from above.'
'"Do people get to choose whether they are put into [the house] [3.]?"' the voice asks.
'Now I hear it,' Sayuri says.
'The answer is actually NO,' the voice continues. 'After all, there are many people whom would choose to be here but are not. Is that any different from people being here against their will, from an ethical standpoint? Obviously anyone here is free to leave at any time, but this is food for thought since no one had breakfast today. It's too hot. Everything's being naturally overcooked.'
'Great point,' Matt says. 'What if it were mandatory to board a "love bus [1.]" in rural areas of countries, for mental check-ups and conversations? The low population of such areas in rural Spain for one, means it's easy for acting therapists to see everyone. They could be paid to be animated with a sense of direction changing in line with traffic. Less traffic and greater direction going hand in hand like one's making their way to an isolation chamber to urbanize it by, ironically perhaps, putting their hands together for fewer cars everywhere. But more buses. Of course, urban areas - especially in the States - will need to become more rural in relation to crime rates [5.]. So there's a need to encourage rural people to teach urban people how to be more successfully social, also ironically, but work with people here.
'If you look to traffic in drugs for guidance maybe you're simply looking for people surrounded by their natural odors. Those in rural areas may be well versed in anti-cancer therapy to fight the cancer of corruption, with those in urban areas well versed in anti-cancer therapy to fight the cancer of bigotry. Anti-cancer therapy is indeed more important than simply talking about looking to traffic in drugs FOR MONEY. That's absurd! Cancer, and NOT money, should be on everyone's mind. With rural leaders for urban areas and vice versa, and ethnic leaders for plain areas also, there can be diverse leadership to tackle cancers.'
'Is s'ere such s'ing as f'lee will?' Sayuri asks. 'Maybe being a victim of some cancer isn't a choice.'
'Seems so obvious now, doesn't it?' Matt states. 'Mental health is important. And hostilities and animation can be suspended equally when there's no hostile animation to speak with (maybe it's not unhealthy to dream about being animated like a former enemy).'
'The housemates have arrived,' the voice says.
The introduction was curious to say the least, because figurative dead cats are everywhere and we honestly didn't know what was going on. Many are koalas. And firefighters. Rest in peace. But the leaders of Australia (dead cats) should be held responsible for the devastating bush fires now ravaging the country.
The approaching housemates are acting firefighters, and true valiant leaders of a necessary protest group to take Australia by storm. A Royal Fire Service coup would be an incredible performance to stage.
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*Japanese speakers: 'th' as 's'; 'r' as 'l'; no 'of'
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References
1 Is a Busload of Single Women the Answer to Spain's Rural Depopulation Problem?, https://youtu.be/olbK1Fdkq4E
2 Why It’s So Hard To Get Mental Health Care | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix, https://youtu.be/1tEuU_1ZGSY
3 New Scientist, Your questions about suspended animation answered, https://www.newscientist.com/?post_type=article&p=2224949
4 New Scientist, Exclusive: Humans placed in suspended animation for the first time, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2224004-exclusive-humans-placed-in-suspended-animation-for-the-first-time/
5 2016 NCVRW Resource Guide: Urban and Rural Crime - Office for Victims of Crime, https://www.ncjrs.gov/ovc_archives/ncvrw/2016/content/section-6/PDF/2016NCVRW_6_UrbanRural-508.pdf [PDF]
6 EMERGENCY! Why Australia is Burning, https://youtu.be/Qt-coJH2X8Y
7 Australia's Burning: The Blame Game, https://youtu.be/17cxH9p-xps
8 KOALA EXTINCTION: Why it's happening, https://youtu.be/WVJRAV6bBWs
9 2020 - The Herd, https://youtu.be/n65x_cSHSHE
10 Kate Miller-Heidke - Zero Gravity (Lyric Video), https://youtu.be/D2WGWG9RkeA
Responsive Tug
The Freedom Firefighters enter the house like a cool breeze. They're not really responsible for fighting fires, that's left to the professionals. And the professionals' trustworthiness is not in question, unlike that of Australia's responsible leaders [4.], and the traditional sense of the adjective is not the adequate 'responsible' for describing them.
Some of the acting actors present presently are Chinese. A full third, in fact. Like the proportion of foreign students who are Chinese studying in the States [1.]. They have no issue with talking about fires, especially Australian ones. In fact, the repression of anger at their own government is fuel for their drive to raise awareness of Australian towns razed to the ground. Their goal is to win international acclaim now, to impress the masses over and above their leaders, to