Microstory 2375: Vacuus, October 13, 2179

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Dear Condor,

I trust that you’ve been getting my daily health updates. I think that’s all I’m going to do, just forward my morning vital stats. It’s a lot easier, and the system is already set up for it. Of course, the feature is typically meant for patients to update their doctors, but if it makes you feel better, then I can do it. Yes, I do have other people to help me when I’m having trouble, be it with my health, or anything else. Like I was saying, it takes a village, and we’re a tight-knit group here. Some are closer than others. Some have more friends than me, but overall, I feel like I could count on just about anyone on this base. I’ve been reading about it, and other colonies are facing similar issues, living in these controlled environments. People don’t ever get just a little sick, so when something happens, it runs rampant. No one knows what the solution might be, though I’m guessing that your domes make things a little safer. If you have plant life growing in them, you have bacteria growing on them. All those variables are making illness a real concern, but hopefully, a manageable one. I have been taking vitamins my whole life, which include more than one immunity booster, so that’s always helped me. It’s probably part of what staved the disease off for as long as it had been. Anyway, I’m okay now. Bray has been great, and if you don’t know how to interpret vital sign trends, I’m back to the way I used to be before all this. It was a scare, but I think I can safely say that I’m out of the woods now. You’re right, testing twins for this sort of thing could be a good idea if it weren’t horrific, and we probably weren’t the first to think of it. I’m sure our observers did too. I bet they were indeed studying the physiological differences between us, living in vastly  different environments, or at least they were trying to. We’ve mentioned that it makes little sense, trying to study anything in fraternal twins, but whatever. It’s over now, and we don’t have to worry about those people anymore. I hope you took my advice, and sent a message to Velia. I know that she’s looking forward to it.

Ta-ta for now,

Corinthia

Microstory 2374: Earth, October 7, 2179

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Dear Velia,

My twin sister, Corinthia gave me your contact card. She’s talked about you a little. You’re the one who made the matching outfits that we all wore to our interplanetary birthday party, right? I know you read my open letter to the base, but if you want to talk and get to know each other personally, here’s how you can reach me. Tell me about yourself. I don’t have that much experience with what you do, and have never met anyone with your job. Things are a little different here on Earth these days, but I think they’re becoming more like they are on Vacuus, now that society is coming back. We have garment fabricators like you here, but it was a change for me, wearing new clothes. In the past, when we needed replacements, we had to trade for them at whatever market we came across, or even scavenge them from the ruins of the old world. It’s not really something I thought about a whole lot growing up. We were just trying to survive, and as long as you were protected from the elements, that would have to be good enough. If you were in the midst of the toxic fumes, it really didn’t matter what you were wearing unless it was a hazmat suit, because you weren’t going to make it out there for long. Also, when we were busy traveling the world, we were limited to how much we could carry, which was par for the course for a lot of people at the time, certainly everyone we were dealing with. In some instances, it was a rule based on who you were with, and in others, it was a practical necessity to stay light and unburdened by too many belongings. I’ve only recently begun to collect personal possessions. It just wasn’t worth it before, when I was on the road, and in the air. Before we came to this platform, I only had a few shirts and a couple of pairs of pants. Socks and undergarments were the most precious due to their heavy impact on hygiene. I’m sure there’s more to you than your job. You may not even like clothes. Not everyone gets to work in their preferred field. In case you are into fashion, though, here’s a picture of what I’m wearing today. What do you think?

It’s nice to kind of meet you,

Condor

Microstory 1911: Shift Laws

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Senior Guard: Jail Guard, could you come into my office?

Jail Guard: Yeah, boss?

Senior Guard: I noticed that the male jail cell is empty at the moment.

Jail Guard: Oh, you’re right. It is, isn’t it?

Senior Guard: Why do you think that is?

Jail Guard: Looks like they broke out, sir. Happens about once a year.

Senior Guard: True. Care to hazard a guess as to the number one way detainees and inmates find themselves capable of breaking out of whatever lock up facility they’re in?

Jail Guard: Bad craftsmanship?

Senior Guard: Help from the inside. You were posted at that cell earlier today.

Jail Guard: I suppose I was. I did have to go out for coffee.

Senior Guard: How long were you gone?

Jail Guard: Only about ninety minutes.

Senior Guard: [...]

Jail Guard: I didn’t help them escape. I just didn’t watch them.

Senior Guard: Of course. Were you aware that the law states that at least two guards are required to be posted at a holding site where five or more detainees are being held?

Jail Guard: I think I did know that. Does that mean you erred?

Senior Guard: It does not. My roster is sound. It was a proctor who brought in the fifth detainee, which means it would have been the proctor department’s responsibility to supply your backup. Just for confirmation, did they fulfill this requirement?

Jail Guard: They did not. I was alone.

Senior Guard: And you are allowed to leave for food, beverage, and personal hygiene reasons once every two hours, correct?

Jail Guard: Correct. That is also the law.

Senior Guard: When you left for coffee, and...personal hygiene reasons, had it been two hours since your last break?

Jail Guard: *frowns* No, it had only been about an hour.

Senior Guard: No. No, look at this, see? You logged your break at 17:00 earlier this evening. I have it right here on the records. Those are your initials, aren’t they?

Jail Guard: Impossible, sir. I eat my dinner at exactly 18:00. I’m on a particular diet.

Senior Guard: Yeah, I remember, but something was different about today. You were so hungry, you took a break at 17:00, and then at 19:15, you needed another break, and since you were alone, you had to leave the detainees alone. And that’s not your fault. It’s not my fault either. It’s the proctor department’s fault. Do we understand each other?

Jail Guard: I think so, sir.

Senior Guard: *sighs* I know you have trouble remembering things sometimes, so when the fugitive department questions you regarding this matter, just tell them that you do not recall, and ask them to defer to the records, because you may not know much, but you know that the records are one hundred percent accurate. Okay?

Jail Guard: Okay, I think I can do that.

Senior Guard: Perfect. Now go finish your shift. They won’t come until tomorrow.

Microstory 316: Disease Prevention

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Sleep

Disease Prevention is one of the hardest things to accomplish. The work is never finished, and not everyone has access to the same resources. The impoverished population often has ways of finding shelter, water, and even food. They can make clothes out of something, and can carve out some time for sleep. But cleanliness and preventive healthcare are two things that cannot be achieved if the wrong environmental factors are at play. Healthcare professionals have outlined five levels of disease prevention, each subsequent level being more difficult to attain than the last. The first step in creating a population, not entirely free from disease, but protected against preventable medical conditions, is education. People must be aware of the risks they face when engaging in certain activities. They need to know that bacteria can thrive under unsanitary conditions. They need to know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of diabetes, heart disease, and sexually transmitted diseases. They need to know the dangers of alcohol consumption, why smoking is unhealthy, and why exercise is important. This all may see obvious to you, but you probably grew up in a developed nation, and were exposed to a degree of education. But just being aware of the risks of certain lifestyle choices, and knowing what diseases you could contract, is not enough. There is so much conflicting information out there that it’s either hard to trust anyone, or it’s easy to choose whatever lines up with your preconceived notions. One thing to remember is that literally everything causes cancer, so unconditionally cutting out anything you read about that in an article isn’t practical. Preventing disease comes from exercising regularly (steadily, not necessarily intensely); eating natural foods (but not shying away from anything that tastes good: that doesn’t mean it’s bad); and seeking medical check-ups, as feasible. Completely avoid recreational drugs, relieve stress as possible and legal, and—above all—find balance.

Quality of Life

Microstory 312: Cleanliness

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Intuition

Unlike other stories I’ve written for the Stepwisdom series, for this one, I’m going to be a little bit more personal. I have something called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This gives me a lot of ticks and unnatural habits, but it also demands I be excessively clean. I’m constantly worried about cross-contamination. I don’t like touching something I deem unclean, and then touching something that is clean, because then I have just polluted it. I remember the day I first learned about hand sanitizer; it was as if God reached down and gave me a little kiss. Unfortunately, this discovery also enhanced my need to be clean, because suddenly, it could be achieved instantly, and at pretty much any time. I keep a small bottle of it attached to my hip, and this tends to freak people out, so I just have to ignore their judgments. I grew up in a clean household, though, so I always understood it. We don’t wear our shoes in the house, and we shower before bed, because if you shower in the mornings, then your whole house is perpetually dirty, and how the hell do you not even realize this? I know I have a condition, but come on, you sleep in dirt? That doesn’t bother you? Cleanliness is an indicator of a developed society, one that not every culture has the luxury of. Uncleanliness leads to poor hygiene, and thus disease, but to a certain degree, it can also lead to immunity. It is said that “you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die”. This is true figuratively, but also literally. I always knew that exposure to dirt was important so that my immune system would know how to fight off disease, so I make a point sullying my hands on certain occasions. Always keep your children clean, but let them get dirty first.

Vitamins, Minerals, and Proteins