Sem Lockdown, Day 4
Miles sat in his room of the radio station, his hands knitted behind his head,
"Come on Schafer, script these questions as best you can, the people of Sem deserve it."
He lifted a fountain pen, always a man for the classics, and started to write, scratching out rejected questions and sentences as he went. He barely paused for breath. This was how he always preferred to work, locking himself away and burying himself in paper and ink until he was finished.
The research room he was staying in had been emptied of all equipment, with the research team now working from home. The only real remnants of it being an office was the large strip of wood stretching round the room which had been used to maximise the space, one forgotten earbud and a random cable still left on it. Miles was presently sitting at this to write, in a particularly modern swivel chair with an interactive call and clock feature. One of the walls was also just a screen, which the strategist was hoping he'd get to use for more than just calling his teammates. He fantasised about pulling up a map and talking about different medical strategies across Sem on livestream.
The rest of the room was empty save for one of the army's camp beds and a makeshift bedside table. This was made from a recycled box with a small but powerful torch and an empty cup of tea sitting precariously close to the edge on top. There was a window, which was thankfully new and utilised new technology which prevented the sunlight shining through from overheating the room.
His teammates called from their separate rooms at 1400 hours, making him jump. He tapped the green button on the arm of the chair to answer it and looked back down at his paper.
"Hi everyone," said Kain, leaning backwards, "How's it going?"
"It's going well, thanks," the corner of Akira's mouth rose into a fatigued half-smile, "How's everyone else?"
"Things are all fine, thank you," Tristan said. Miles still didn't turn round. "You sure are a hard-worker Mr Schafer, and one of the few people I know who doesn't just type out or say what they want to write anymore."
"Apologies, sir. I'm just trying to get this as perfect as I can... Can anyone else smell cheese?"
I shall now pass you over to Kain Douglas with the latest news."
"Come on Schafer, script these questions as best you can, the people of Sem deserve it."
He lifted a fountain pen, always a man for the classics, and started to write, scratching out rejected questions and sentences as he went. He barely paused for breath. This was how he always preferred to work, locking himself away and burying himself in paper and ink until he was finished.
The research room he was staying in had been emptied of all equipment, with the research team now working from home. The only real remnants of it being an office was the large strip of wood stretching round the room which had been used to maximise the space, one forgotten earbud and a random cable still left on it. Miles was presently sitting at this to write, in a particularly modern swivel chair with an interactive call and clock feature. One of the walls was also just a screen, which the strategist was hoping he'd get to use for more than just calling his teammates. He fantasised about pulling up a map and talking about different medical strategies across Sem on livestream.
The rest of the room was empty save for one of the army's camp beds and a makeshift bedside table. This was made from a recycled box with a small but powerful torch and an empty cup of tea sitting precariously close to the edge on top. There was a window, which was thankfully new and utilised new technology which prevented the sunlight shining through from overheating the room.
His teammates called from their separate rooms at 1400 hours, making him jump. He tapped the green button on the arm of the chair to answer it and looked back down at his paper.
"Hi everyone," said Kain, leaning backwards, "How's it going?"
"It's going well, thanks," the corner of Akira's mouth rose into a fatigued half-smile, "How's everyone else?"
"Things are all fine, thank you," Tristan said. Miles still didn't turn round. "You sure are a hard-worker Mr Schafer, and one of the few people I know who doesn't just type out or say what they want to write anymore."
"Apologies, sir. I'm just trying to get this as perfect as I can... Can anyone else smell cheese?"
******
"Good evening, fellow citizens. It's been a long day of work for some of us here at Alpha Radio Station 1, hopefully you enjoy tonight's broadcast and Miles' conversation with one of our medical officials, Barbara Solovyova.
Thank you for sharing your own mental health tips in the comments section of our website after our broadcast last night, I'm sure they will help a lot of people.
Thank you for sharing your own mental health tips in the comments section of our website after our broadcast last night, I'm sure they will help a lot of people.
I shall now pass you over to Kain Douglas with the latest news."
******
"Good evening Sem. I hope you have all had a nice day, despite recent developments with the Sterculian cheese scenario. I'm afraid the worst has happened, just as we expected, and you can probably smell the result. In light of this, we have made some new guidelines as to which areas should take further cover. Basically, if you live in the South of Secat or the centre of Simul Santu, consider doing your exercise indoors for the time being while the military resolves this issue, unless you wish your house and clothes to reek for the next four months.
In crāpulavirus terms, we saw the same rise in cases in isolated areas of Sem today as we did yesterday, which is positive. All of you should have your first aid kits by tomorrow, so Miles and I will be posting our demonstration of how to use them online tonight. This should help us to understand more about the spread of this disease.
Our medics have asked me to thank those of you who hacked into their interactive walls to send smiley face emojis last night and have pleaded that they would appreciate receiving them a different time as they mostly use them to watch old episodes of medical shows they can scoff at during their twenty minute lunch breaks.
Here's Miles with the latest medical advice and Dr Barbara Solovyova."
******
"Thank you Kain, I shall look forward to swabbing you tonight... That didn't sound too good, did it?
Anyway, good evening to you all. I hope you're well. Joining me now is Dr Barbara Solovyova. Hello, Barbara."
"Good evening," Barbara replies with a thick accent, sort of a combination of Russian and American.
"Could you explain a bit more about the origin of the virus outbreak we are experiencing right now?"
"It originates, as you mentioned in your first broadcast, from our neighbours "Liberty! Angst! Freedom! *and booze. They are also experiencing a severe strain of the virus right now. As we are unfortunately aware, every night is Friday night there, so we reckon the outbreak originally spread through late night partying and spread here via our imports."
"That would make sense, thank you Barbara. What else can you tell us about the outbreak?"
"Not much, to tell you the truth. However, it is unlikely we will be sending air fleets like the Rising Star Battalion to other nearby planets anytime soon, and if we refrain from going outside and having late night parties like our noisy neighbours, we should hopefully be in control of this disease as quickly as possible."
"Bad news for those of us who enjoy flying I suppose," Miles chuckles, "What are you hoping the new test kits will reveal?"
"Well, ideally, that some people have the virus. That way, they will know to stay indoors and we can limit the effects of this quite horrendous issue, I've had the diarrhoea and vomit symptom combo before as I have recently recovered from the virus and let me tell you, it ain't pretty."
"Oh, right. I'm glad you've recovered. Before you go, may I just ask you to repeat the two most important pieces of advice?"
"Of course. Stay inside and wash your hands."
"Thank you Barbara. I shall now pass you onto Akira with the weather."
******
"Thanks, Miles.
If you live in the Secat or Simul Santu, I'm afraid that the weather is going to be warm tomorrow, accentuating the smell of the cheese. Perhaps spray a nice scent on some clothing and tie it round your face like a balaclava? I hope that helps.
Piscanturia will be drier than it has been over the past few days and it will have a temperature of about seventeen degrees centigrade. For those of you who were complaining last night about struggling to put measurements into betareadings, please use a calculator... It is a measurement of eight point five though.
The weather at all three poles will remain unchanged, however the second moon, Greg, is due to cause an effect to that soon so stay tuned for my scientific explanation to the change in weather over the next few days.
Back to you, Captain."
******
"Thank you, Akira.
That's all from us for tonight. Do stay safe in the face of the crāpulavirus outbreak and, indeed, the Universe's Smelliest Cheese. Thank you as always for your attention and co-operation.
To play us out tonight, here is a song from Akira.
To play us out tonight, here is a song from Akira.
Goodnight fellow citizens, and we shall be back with more news and updates tomorrow."
Author's Note: I'm going to be taking breaks in writing to have a rest over the weekend. I hope you understand, and I will be back with you on Monday.
Getting into your flow, another great episode xx
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