Forgotten Friday #198 - Redacted

 I am doing Animober again this year, so I need to make sure that my October is completely free! So I'm working extra hard to get articles written. I've even cut my nails, which really helps with typing!

-->

The owner of this utau has requested this page be removed. All information has been stricken, but the page itself remains up so that the story can be read in order of publication.

 

On this installment of A Spectrum of Apple Skins, we are inside a flashback of a flashback!

Jeanette Carl took a deep breath as she pushed her way into the principal's office. Having nine children meant that she was being called to help chide them almost constantly.

"Mrs. Carl," a portly woman sitting behind a massive oak desk let out a small chuckle, "This is about your good one."

"Cricket Huck?" Her eyes widened. "Who tanned his hide this time?"

"No, no," the principal waved her hand as if she were swatting at invisible flies. "This is about us not doing good by him."

Jeanette slowly nodded as she took a seat. "Why ain't we doing Cricket Huck right, Sue Ann?"

"Now, it took all sorts to run a nation before the robots showed up." Sue Ann sucked her teeth for a moment before continuing, "But in normal society after the robots showed up, you have two classes. Them that can't be replaced by computers, and those that are. We make places like this. Places where you cut your fire wood and skin your food, because the alternate is cramming ourselves in apartments barely big enough to move around and doing nothing."

"You're saying we're holding him back?" Jeanette shifted her weight awkwardly. For a woman who had given birth over a dozen times, she was still youthful and slender once you looked past the dark circles under her eyes from chronic lack of sleep. Her six foot height meant that her knobby elbows and knees could never find the right place to rest themselves. It drove her mad to try and sit properly in furniture built for the average new age Appalachian who averaged five-foot-six.

She had tried modeling in the big city, but her classic beauty was no match for the stunning robots that now walked the runways and the imaginary women inside of computers who posed for magazines and advertisements. She had felt held back growing up, but she had learned quickly that no matter what was holding her back… there was nothing for her on her other side.

"Now, Mrs. Carl," Sue Ann cleared her throat. "Something you should know about schools in places like these is that there's nothing here we teach you can't learn from video games. We don't mean to stunt nobody, but it just ain't logical to teach advanced math when…  well…"

Jeanette sighed and looked behind Sue Ann to the window. Even with the perpetual clouds, the mountains were still stunning. Even with almost every family using wood stoves, carbon emissions overall were extremely low. The air was cool and crisp and every tree looked like it belonged in a family's living room for Christmas. "Ya ain't gotta Kitty-foot around it. Y'all told me I was prepared, but I flunked outta nursing school. Every day I saw the ads on the TV. Quick and easy. Just two years of studying and you'll be one of the last people to not be replaced by robots. Two years any old person with a GED could do. I know it was a lie, because ain't everyone smart like the city folks."

"It's not a matter of smart," Sue Ann sighed. "It's a matter of genes, I reckon. Almost every kid here has severe dyslexia. Ain't no federal government here making us teach them right. We're failing them… but what's it matter when they'll be happy building furniture and churning butter for the city folk?" She paused as she saw the utter disillusionment on Jeanette's face. "Cricket Huck has dyslexia also. It ain't like it skipped a generation. But he's got fight in him. He is smart, and that's why I called you here."

I really like world building. The flashback inside a flashback continues next week!

The owner of this utau has requested this page be removed. All information has been stricken, but the page itself remains up so that the story can be read in order of publication.

On this installment of A Spectrum of Apple Skins, we are inside a flashback of a flashback!

Jeanette Carl took a deep breath as she pushed her way into the principal's office. Having nine children meant that she was being called to help chide them almost constantly.

"Mrs. Carl," a portly woman sitting behind a massive oak desk let out a small chuckle, "This is about your good one."

"Cricket Huck?" Her eyes widened. "Who tanned his hide this time?"

"No, no," the principal waved her hand as if she were swatting at invisible flies. "This is about us not doing good by him."

Jeanette slowly nodded as she took a seat. "Why ain't we doing Cricket Huck right, Sue Ann?"

"Now, it took all sorts to run a nation before the robots showed up." Sue Ann sucked her teeth for a moment before continuing, "But in normal society after the robots showed up, you have two classes. Them that can't be replaced by computers, and those that are. We make places like this. Places where you cut your fire wood and skin your food, because the alternate is cramming ourselves in apartments barely big enough to move around and doing nothing."

"You're saying we're holding him back?" Jeanette shifted her weight awkwardly. For a woman who had given birth over a dozen times, she was still youthful and slender once you looked past the dark circles under her eyes from chronic lack of sleep. Her six foot height meant that her knobby elbows and knees could never find the right place to rest themselves. It drove her mad to try and sit properly in furniture built for the average new age Appalachian who averaged five-foot-six.

She had tried modeling in the big city, but her classic beauty was no match for the stunning robots that now walked the runways and the imaginary women inside of computers who posed for magazines and advertisements. She had felt held back growing up, but she had learned quickly that no matter what was holding her back… there was nothing for her on her other side.

"Now, Mrs. Carl," Sue Ann cleared her throat. "Something you should know about schools in places like these is that there's nothing here we teach you can't learn from video games. We don't mean to stunt nobody, but it just ain't logical to teach advanced math when… well…"

Jeanette sighed and looked behind Sue Ann to the window. Even with the perpetual clouds, the mountains were still stunning. Even with almost every family using wood stoves, carbon emissions overall were extremely low. The air was cool and crisp and every tree looked like it belonged in a family's living room for Christmas. "Ya ain't gotta Kitty-foot around it. Y'all told me I was prepared, but I flunked outta nursing school. Every day I saw the ads on the TV. Quick and easy. Just two years of studying and you'll be one of the last people to not be replaced by robots. Two years any old person with a GED could do. I know it was a lie, because ain't everyone smart like the city folks."

"It's not a matter of smart," Sue Ann sighed. "It's a matter of genes, I reckon. Almost every kid here has severe dyslexia. Ain't no federal government here making us teach them right. We're failing them… but what's it matter when they'll be happy building furniture and churning butter for the city folk?" She paused as she saw the utter disillusionment on Jeanette's face. "Cricket Huck has dyslexia also. It ain't like it skipped a generation. But he's got fight in him. He is smart, and that's why I called you here."

I really like world building. The flashback inside a flashback continues next week!