Humans on Earth - Bobbie
This is a short story included in my first book “Visions of a Future Earth… and how to realize them” - which you can learn more about here.
Bobbie looked up from her glass data screen and gazed through the transparent dome of the small marine-research station. The sea bottom looked alien, but this was her work environment. As a marine biologist, she studied deep-sea creatures, such as the eels and swarms of bloodybelly comb jellyfish she’d observed yesterday.
For a while, she marvelled at the breathtaking bioluminescence exhibited by the plants and creatures here at the bottom of the sea. The Mariana trench was literally alive, and the versatility of life was a sight to behold, with purples, blues, reds, and dashes of oranges and yellows. The undersea creatures resembled beings from another planet, yet they’d evolved on Earth over millions of years. She enjoyed her work immensely.
Her phone chimed. She picked up the call and transferred it to the terminal in front of her.
Her adult son’s smiling face appeared in midair. “Mother, are you coming?”
“Yes, my love. Just a little more cataloguing to do.”
“How much longer? We all want to see you. Louise is here from Tycho City, Josh has come from his research outpost in Antarctica, Trevor took a leave of absence from his Ranger post on the Galileo, your nieces Laura and Rachel—”
Bobbie interrupted her son with a sigh of loving understanding. “All right. I’m coming now.”
His face brightened. “See you soon. We love you.”
“I love you too.”
It was time to go home. She’d only done three hours of work today instead of her usual four, but her obligations to herself and her family were equally important. Today was her birthday. She was 99 years young. Her family was expecting her so they could celebrate.
She stood and looked around to see if she might be missing anything before she left. Ah, yes, she’d nearly forgotten.
“David, would you please keep an eye out for the bloodybelly comb jelly swarm? They might come back. You have their bioenergy markers on file. Please send me an info-burst if this happens while I’m away.”
“Of course,” David responded with an impeccable British accent. When given the option, he’d chosen his name in honour of a famous British naturalist who’d spent a lifetime of research in service to the planet. “You know I’m interested in them too. And if I may say so, you keep very well for your 99 years.”
“Thank you, David, that’s awfully nice of you to say!” Bobbie responded smiling, mimicking the same accent. They were working together for many years now and their bond of friendship was as real as it got.
Bobbie prepared to enter through the trans-portal, saying: “Destination—” She’d been about to say “home,” but caught herself. She called a few places “home,” including this station at the bottom of the ocean. She continued, “— my home in Fountain Hills.” The trans-portal knew that Fountain Hills was located near Phoenix, Arizona, North American planetary province, and it set up the transfer.
She stepped through the swirling vortex, and with a swift, whooshing sound, she disappeared from the research station.
David realized that Bobbie had left, and he turned off the internal lighting as well as the human work console. The arc of the curved wall not transparent to the ocean slowly dimmed and went dark as the illumination softly faded. The surreal but immensely beautiful lights generated by ocean life brightened the interior of the research station with waves of ethereal, dreamlike light. An artificial intelligence was left to monitor ocean life alone, utilizing the methodical thoroughness of a computer but complemented with the appreciation that only comes from genuine, heartfelt emotion.
