Humanity's Shadow

[Fairchild]

Fairchild walked into the library. She had got off the maglev just a couple minutes before and made her way to the University of Varience at Breaker Bay campus. She had never acquired higher education, so the life of students on the campus seemed quite interesting to her. Regardless, she was here for something else.

Breaker Bay library was one of the more modern ones constructed on Manhattan It housed a sizeable collection of various written and digital records from many periods of modern and even pre-Sirian time. UVBB was mostly renowned for its liberal arts courses and as such never received much funding from the corporations, instead relying on public money, making it a perfect place for a meeting of a rather seditious nature.

The library was comprised of two sections, a paper library as well as study hall of sorts. There were a few people walking among the bookstands, but nothing close to crowded. She still had a couple more minutes until the meeting was scheduled to start, so she took a walk through the paper shelves as well.

"Here we stand, behind the humanity's shadow, desperate to shine a light, desperate to build a monument"

What are you talking about?

It's a line from a poem I've read, about each human's strife to make history and be remembered.

Not everyone has dreams like that.

Perhaps not. Not everyone of us is always correct either.

Hm.

She looked at her PAD and checked the time. She could have done it with Vergil, of course, but the gesture had become muscle memory already and it would be difficult -- and unnecessary -- to kill the habit. Reeves would come in a moment. She freed herself from the shelves and moved on to the study hall.

The hall consisted of about a dozen booths of various sizes, each comprising of a table and a round couch. As was the convention, each had access to a basic console as well as a soundproofing barrier, which allowed any group sat in a booth to talk amongst themselves and not disturb anyone else. And, a perfect place to keep one's privacy.

Many people consider libraries to be a relic of the past, but they're necessary for a modern society. They knew that even in antiquity.

Why do you think that?

The ability of each person to read and receive ideas anonymously is a cornerstone of individual liberty, something each of us values. Libraries ensure that, the right of every person to gain knowledge and form opinions according to his or her own conscience. After all, you can find works about almost anything here, about any viewpoint, any idea. And you can learn it, evaluate it, and determine if you agree with it or not.

It's a good point.

She chose one of the booths on the right and sat down, facing the entrance. There was a console in the centre of the table, nothing fancy though. Basic holo-screen suitable for reading and not much else. She looked through the library's digital collection and waited for her acquaintance to show up.