I'm waking up in E2Kansas, although we're not actually in Kansas. I feel the light of dawn on my closed eyes. I've never been a morning person, and now I sleep the hours that feel right to my body. Laying there, letting the sleep drift out of my mind, I think over my day... Oh yeah, today I get to write this really cool system for simulating waves on the water in the new game we're working on. It came to me last night as I was helping to paint one of the new buildings, a clever hack that should make for really realistic wave motion, without slowing down the game at all. Thank heavens for the hour of time I have to work with my hands, and just meditate, let my mind empty. I do my best thinking at those times. This is exciting, draws me out of bed. I laugh at how I used to have to force myself out of bed.
My family is already up. My lover is gone already, and I remember she was going to help get the community theatre group organized. They're supposed to decide on a play to perform today. I would join them, but the game project is just drawing too much of my time. I heard they were leaning towards one written by one of the noders, but I forget who... I help the kids get everything ready for school, and walk with them down to the school building.
On the way back, I watch a couple of noders bike past, on their way to jobs in the city. Not everyone wanted to work on the internal projects, and that's fine. I love how quiet it is. The only motor I can hear is the muffled sounds from the machinist shop. It's exciting how clever some of the people have been. Our water filtration and distribution system is really brilliant, and the geniuses behind it are at work on something else. I'm sure it will be equally amazing.
I can smell people in the Kitchen, cooking up the day's lunch. Ever since our first harvest, the food has tasted... cleaner, than I'm used to. I think I'm not the only one who's felt the difference, felt more energetic, less sick. And man, the folks who run the Kitchen are coming up with some fantastic recipes. Apparently the few sets of the cookbook we printed for sale have already been snapped up at health food stores in town.
Of course, you can tell our roots by the fact that our satellite internet connection was one of the first things to go up. I pass the fire pit where we held a bonfire last night. I'm a little surprised I have no hangover, it was a crazy night. You haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of half-drunk people jumping over a bonfire to live music, interspersed with half a dozen people sitting on logs, huddled over laptop computers. You can take the noder out of the nodegel, but you can't take the nodegel out of the noder. My lips smack at the memory... the people running the microbrewery are making some amazing concoctions. I think the paperwork for our licensing to start selling some to local pubs is just about done, and I'm sure whatever the team decides to sell will be a huge success. They get better with each batch.
It is truly inspiring to see some of the art that our community has produced. This place is alive.
I walk into the "sweatshop", affectionately called that by everyone working on the game. Everybody in this room is full of passion. I hear the other projects have the same mood permeating them. People are sitting at desks decorated with toys and fantastic sculptures. The walls are lined from top to bottom with concept art. I marvel again at the incredible jobs our artists are doing. The designers came up with a brilliant world and storyline, and the artists have really taken it to task. Things are quiet today... Someone gestures to me to be quiet with a finger to the lips. Ahh yes, voice recording today. I forgot. I can hear one of our thespians shouting strangled death cries in the recording room, and I have to suppress a chuckle. On my way to the programmers area, I notice an artist working on an easter egg for the game, animating a pair of female monkeys feeding each other tofu. I groan. It's going to be a humorous day.