Unwanted Power

Home

Heather went home and fired up her work computer from the house. She sent a note that she had a headache from the eye exam and was going to work from the house for the rest of the day. She already wrote more code in one morning than, strictly speaking, is her total daily average. She could just lay down and submit to the project what she had as her daily output and no one would question it.

Heather could not allow herself to be that kind of person though, so she worked the rest of the day in the dark, with her laptop screen turned all the way down. Her laptop still chattered away at her, but at least there were far fewer devices at her house that did that than in her office, where all the computers on all the surrounding desks bugged her for attention. It was like being the sole adult at Day Care, and all the kids think you have ice cream.

Distance from her devices helped. Further: Laptops 'felt' quieter than desktops. Being away from her chatty car, and the chatty kitchen appliances also helped although the way her car talked is a wash like waves against the shore: thousands upon thousands of little sounds that added up to white noise, layered over the top of the way she felt like the battery. That ran the entire length of the bottom of her car. It is not like Bill's car where the battery sat up under the hood and did not tug at her soul unless she was near it. The huge and much higher voltage e-car battery was more akin to the way the Mercedes battery 'acted' but without all the 'tiredness'. It was also directly under her. Almost all around her, it seemed. The giant thing was a constant 'pull' at her attention. The appliances are very different. 60 cycle hums. Little nervous systems buzz saws.

Getting as far away from her wireless access point helped. Its mental buzz was utterly different still because it had the 60 cycle part far in the background, plus a strangely patterned high pitched vibration. Heather finally took her laptop to an unused bedroom, perched herself on the bed, and felt the soothing joys of minimal environmental stimulation.

Her fingers flew unbidden over the keyboard as she coded without thinking and worried about what is wrong with her.

When Cristine came home, she called out for her mother when she could not find her in her normal at-home places.

Heather sighed, closed her computer, and took it back to the main part of the house.

"Hey, honey. How was school?" Heather asked.

"Fine: Why are you home?" Cristine asked.

"Headache at the office. I decided to work from the quiet of the house. Got all kinds of things done from here though." Heather said. "Open-plan offices are the worst."

"I suppose. That's like sitting in crowded classrooms, and having kids talking during class, right?" Cristine pulled her mother's leg a little.

"Pretty much. Fewer spitwads is all." Heather said.

"No one shoots spitwads, passes notes, or dips girls ponytails in inkwells. That was your school, not mine." Cristine told her mother with exasperation.

"Well, that's progress I guess. What do you all do?"

"Mostly sexting." Cristine said, but could not keep a straight face. "Ok. I'm lying. Mostly text each other gossip. 'Oh, did you hear? Brad is going out with Sheila this weekend' kinds of stuff. Boring."

"Sounds lovely. Is Brad going out with Sheila?" Cristine asked.

"Dunno, mom. I never heard of 'em..." Cristine said. "Dad going to be home for dinner?"

"No idea. I have not heard from him today." Heather said.

"I guess it's early. I'll go work on homework then." Cristine headed off to her room.

"Ok. Let me know if you need any help. I'm done at work." Heather said.

When Bill got home, he did not come directly into the house. Heather peeked out the mudroom door and saw him carrying a battery over to the 300SD.

While Heather was sure of the outcome, she decided to wait and see what happened. Sure enough, in a few minutes, the car started up immediately. Bill got out, closed the hood, and stood looking at his car for a moment, and appeared for all the world to be confused by the fact that it is working.

He said as much when he came inside. "You called it, Heather. I swapped out the battery. That other one was seven years old. New one works perfectly. I still don't get how you knew that and how it worked so well that one time. It's weird. I am NOT saying you know nothing about cars. I am saying your chain of logic has a hole in it where the car started like nothing is wrong. Yet there was something wrong. That battery.

"Sorry. It just seemed like that was the problem." Heather said. "What do you want for dinner? My night to cook."