Have you had a productive weekend? Still working on my third novel and the first chapter is complete. The working title is "How to be rich by Hurricane Nisto." Here is a scene from that first chapter.
As usual, I like details about everyday things so I spend a lot of time making notes and researching ideas. In this scene, company names, ad copy, blurbs, timetables, and rates for Deep Delivery by Ocean Express and EcoPicks were generated by ChatGPT.
The software worked as my research assistant for this scene. And because I love concept art, I also designed some realistic graphics to go with this post. I hope they pull you deep into the scene. Thank you for reading.
Hurricane woke up from a nap in her room and checked her smartwatch. She was expecting to see the time but her eyes widened when she saw an ad pop up on the screen. The ad read, "Are you tired of waiting weeks or even months for essential supplies to arrive? Get quick and reliable deliveries in the Southern Ocean area."
With a flick of her wrist, she sent their website's URL to a browser on her tablet. She rolled over and sat up to take a closer look. She could see that the company, Deep Delivery by Ocean Express, was headquartered in North Island, Aotearoa. On the services page, she could hardly believe the prices for delivery to Skartøya. At only $1.25 in local currency, she would only need to pay $375 or 2435 kroner to have nearly half a metric ton of products delivered. Hurricane had spent twice that amount on cosmetics alone. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the delivery time: Three days. Three days?!
Hurricane grabbed her tablet and hurried into the common area. Kai, Luca, and Lars were sitting on the floor, around the low table. For an awkward moment, she stopped as she remembered she was supposed to avoid Luca. He looked relaxed wearing a thick, red puffer coat in a shrug around his shoulders. Underneath, he was wearing all black: a fitted polo neck sweater, stretchy jeans, and wool socks.
The men were huddled around a large tablet and were playing with a 3D simulator app. Luca must have been happy or distracted because he was not complaining at all. Hurricane looked around for Maya, then she checked a wall panel for her colleague's bio signature. Her avatar was not glowing red, which meant that she was probably outside.
"Submarine delivery in three days? I can't believe we didn't know about this service earlier," Kai said. He was tapping the screen of Hurricane's tablet excitedly.
"It's a new service," replied Hurricane. "I think they are just launching. Their ad was designed for this weather station. They found me through my Map app. Let's be their first customers and try them out."
"Are they aware of the potential increase in the carbon footprint they are creating with a submarine delivery service?" Lars asked. He sounded frightened. "The ocean's ecosystem is already so fragile."
Kai was still looking at Hurricane's tablet. He scrolled down a web page. "They definitely care about that, Lars. Their submarines are powered by ocean wave technology. No wonder the service is so cheap. I am looking at the shipping options, and they use only biodegradable packaging. And they have a recycling program. It looks like EcoPicks is a partner with them for that."
"Nice," said Lars. He seemed happy. "Nice."
Luca groaned. "Why do people always go on and on about sustainability? Not everything has to be about ... that."
Kai interjected, "If I had my way, there wouldn't be any humans living in the Southern Ocean area. Humans produce too much waste, and rarely consider the long term impact on our ecosystems. We are starting to have warm days here in Skartøya. Believe it or not, what people have been doing in other areas of the world affects the environment here."
Luca shrugged his shoulders and pulled his coat around him. "I get it, you're all about saving the world. But it's not going to kill the planet if it's only the five of us. H, maybe order a pizza or get an espresso machine? I will pay for it."
Lars said, "An espresso machine needs space, and takes energy to operate. We watch the energy we use here because it is generated by wind or biogas. We already have a coffee maker so it's not necessary to install another one, even if we are happy to be gifted one. And what Kai is saying is that we look for ways to enjoy everything this island has to offer without adding unnecessary waste to it."
Hurricane smiled and interjected, "Actually, pizza is a good idea, Luca. We have a lot of designer grain flours here. We have teff, freekeh, barley, farro, and amaranth. We can make a gourmet pizza with a combo of those. We have vegetables from the greenhouse, and processed cheese and canned meats in the pantry. Besides, who wants to eat food with three days of bacterial growth on it?"
Luca rolled his eyes. "I kind of meant frozen pizza but fine, whatever."
Kai and Lars fell into a comfortable silence, leaving Hurricane and Luca to look at each other awkwardly. Presently, the door opened, and Maya entered the habitat. With her arrival came a gust of fresh, frosty air. It filled the space with a reminder of how lucky they were to be warm and comfortable indoors. Kai greeted Maya and gave her an update about the new submarine delivery service. Hurricane frowned and headed to the pantry to fetch the ingredients for their gourmet pizza. Lars followed closely behind.
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