Bennu Station, 194:6
The pills they gave me for the trip here must have been incompletely specified. I was too sick to work yesterday, and now have a lingering cough. I guess it's probably impossible to have a full complement of illnesses captured back at 山峰 for an interface station like Bennu, but it's unsettling.
I've never been too sick to do something. I haven't even been around someone who was sick before. The videos at school were the closest I've come, and until now it had seemed impossible to be confined to a bed due to a communicable disease. Illness simply doesn't exist in the core, and I'm not old or poor enough to be confined to a transition centre.
Coughing itself is a brand-new experience, but Bennu sees its share of disease. Ships coming to port with agents too new or obscure to make it into the monthly medipills.
Shah thinks its hilarious that I've never had a cough before, and gave me my one day off half out of pity and half because it was a novel experience. He said I'll get used to the feeling. He also told me to visit the medi when one of the ships come to port with casualties from some harvesting mishap. He said it would make me feel better about "sniffles", but I'm not sure how witnessing limb reconstruction is supposed to help. I could just pull up a viewing if I cared, and even in school I didn't.
I still can't believe getting sick used to be an everyday experience for people. I wanted to hide in my room out of embarrassment, and I was genuinely worried they would cancel my contract. In my restless, sweat soaked sleep, I imagined waking up in a transition centre. I'm paid up with the core, but still, you hear rumours of it happening.
Anyway, the novelty of the view from the office hasn't worn off yet. Huge ships, and a piece of the universe that hasn't been spoiled.
Shah says I get to do my own unassisted compliance letter later this week. Hopefully I don't fuck it up, because they might just cancel my contract over that!