Wilson watched as Saito paid the bill at Belle's and stood up from the table, putting her backpack back on. Both women left the cafe and Mac followed Isabella through the atrium, responding about their previous conversation.
"Laboratory meat isn't too different from the real thing, but well... I agree that imported things tend to be tastier, yes." Mac shrugged. "For us, the main objective is to achieve the maximum possible self-sufficiency, so any technique that allows us a varied supply of food that we can produce in Pygar is highly desirable. I understand that the Healing Heart doesn't need that self-sufficiency as much as us." The neurologist pointed back with a gesture of her thumb. "By the way, thanks for paying the bill in Belle's, Isa, the next one is my turn. The Church opens a special bank account for each colonist we study off planet, so most of the expenses I'll have here I won't even have to pay myself. In addition, I continue to receive my salary as a doctor." She smiled, gratefully. "Money isn't going to be a problem for me, don't worry about that."
Wilson looked at Isa with surprise when she told her about the ship's visit to Curazao. Although Mac knew that the Healing Heart would visit many places in Sirius on its journey, she wasn't really aware that they would have to stop at some of them. It certainly made sense, the ship was a medical ship and was dedicated to traveling around Sirius treating people from various places. Patients were picked up and dropped off, but it was also logical for doctors to disembark to examine people who could perhaps be treated on site. Furthermore, as Isa said, there were some patients who could benefit from scheduled outings to pleasant places, especially those who were undergoing psychological treatment.
Mac's eyes couldn't hide the excitement that that news produced in her. "Oh... It's great that we're going to disembark in Curazao. It's one of those places that you always hear about, but I never thought that one day I would be able to see it with my own eyes." She tried to remember everything she had packed in her suitcases. "I seem to remember bringing a couple of swimsuits, imagining there would be a pool complex or something similar on the ship. I don't have bikinis, to be honest. In Pygar you can't sunbathe much, for the obvious reasons, and I didn't expect that we would go to such a paradisiacal place..."
Mac felt a little embarrassed at being such a poorly traveled person. She saw how Isabella acted in a totally normal way when faced with something as wonderful as a visit to Curacao, while however she was still assimilating it, amazed. It was a strange feeling, as if she had always been in a bubble and now she had emerged outside. In part this was true, since her dedication to the medical cause in the New Covenant Church had caused her to suffer some isolation. This wasn't something forced or imposed, of course, no one would have stopped her from leaving or going wherever she wanted, but in the end the isolationist character that the Church had developed during the mandate of the previous Pontiff Paolus had caused all those who worked within it to end up also isolating themselves from the rest of Sirius. It was fortunate that things were changing little by little. There was so much to see out there and so much to learn... It was clear that her time at Healing Heart would make her explore facets of life that she had not even thought about.
Wilson nodded vigorously. "I will love to accompany you to the beach, Isa. This way I'll be able to witness how you handle such an atypical therapy session. I've never seen anything like this described in the psychology books I've read."
While they were talking, the two women crossed the atrium, passing many people coming and going, entering and leaving the numerous stores and businesses. People seemed happy there, and Mac saw many friendly smiles and affectionate gestures in the interactions between them. Even in many people who seemed to be going somewhere in a hurry, their faces lacked that expression of tension or stress so common to see in any urban center. Then, passing in front of an office that appeared to be some type of administrative building, Isabella indicated to her that this was the Citizen Office, a kind of Democratic Council for the permanent residents of Healing Heart. Mac listened with great interest about the workings of the Citizen Office, and was surprised to discover that the entire Healing Heart was governed by the principles of representative democracy.
Wilson observed the glass doors of the office and the hustle and bustle inside. "Oh, how interesting! I didn't expect something like that. This being a medical ship, I imagined that MFE would have complete control of the rule of life within it." Mac made a wide gesture with her hand that involved the entire atrium. "However, it makes sense to me that it is a democratic system. As I told you before, I now realize that this isn't just a medical ship, but a real colony, a floating city. For all this to work, too many people are needed, apart from doctors. It wouldn't be feasible for this entire society to be governed by a medical council, as a kind of technocracy." She nodded, with a slight smile of admiration. "It's great that everyone here has a say. It's the fairest thing and from what I see, it's also effective." The neurologist was silent for a moment, thinking, and then she asked. "I wonder though if you have ever had a situation here where what the Council decides is contrary to what the primary medical function of Healing Heart requires. I mean..." Mac waved her hands, trying to make herself understood. "...in democracy the path to follow is chosen by the opinion of the majority, but on a hospital ship there can be times when everything can depend on the most trained knowledge of the medical staff. How do you solve if the Council has a different opinion about what should be done at that time?"
The two doctors continued walking for a while until Isabella pointed to some large glass doors that opened to the side. Once they crossed them, Mac knew that they were already in the Healing Heart's Public Library. The neurologist loved libraries and quiet study places in general, where she felt at home. She fondly remembered her time as a medical student at the Royal Planetary University of New London, and its large, luxurious library, in which she used to prepare for exams and coursework. Now in Pygar she had ever been in the library that the Pontifical Palace had on the second floor, and she loved it. It was much smaller than the one at the University, but it had a large collection of ancient volumes, some from the Earth period. Besides, it was very well set up, beautifully decorated, with comfortable spaces for silent and focused reading. However, it wasn't a place that was generally open to the public, and she usually had to make do with using the much more bustling Faith Haven Public Library, or else the study room that existed in the Medical Center, which lacked any comfort. For all this, Mac was amazed when she looked around, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
It was a place decorated in a modern way, there was no doubt, but at the same time it avoided the coldness typical of the materials used in modern interior design. The synthetic wood, and even the real one, brought warmth to the place, and the lighting was enough to be able to see perfectly, without being dazzling. Wilson appreciated the elegance of the soft lighting strips that ran along the shelves on both floors, highlighting the books they contained. On the ground floor there were numerous tables and comfortable classic-style chairs, with computer terminals placed on them, although many of the people sitting there had books in their hands. Mac noticed how silence reigned throughout the room, barely disturbed by a few sporadic murmurs as someone communicated quietly with another. People walked respectfully, trying not to make noise, and the floor, despite clearly looking like wood, barely made a sound when someone's feet hit it. Isabella approached the librarian's counter and greeted her. She was a red-haired woman who welcomed them smiling and immediately recognized the psychologist. Saito introduced her companion and asked to make her an access card for the library, and to look for a series of study books.
Wilson quietly responded as the librarian, who said her name was Freya, introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, Freya, I'm Mac Wilson." She smiled, looking at the book shelves in sight. "What a library you have, I think we'll see each other a lot around here."
The neurologist let Freya guide her in taking the photo for her access card, although she would have liked to be a little more dressed up. She wasn't a person who cared much about her appearance, normally she didn't even have time to think about it, but now she was away from home and she didn't want to make a bad impression. Especially next to someone who always seemed to be as radiant as Isabella. However, her fears were unfounded and when the librarian gave her the newly printed card, Mac saw that she didn't turn out too bad either. Yes, her hair may not have been as good as she would have preferred, but she came out smiling and generally looked good. She put the card in her backpack and followed Isabella, while the librarian began to show them around the place.
Mac listened, impressed, at the immense amount of volumes she would have at her disposal. She loved reading, anything that fell into her hands, really. She had always been a great devourer of books of all kinds, although lately she always came home so exhausted that it had been a long time since she had read anything other than medical compendiums and patient reports. She hoped that during this time of being a student again she would have a little more time between tasks, and would be able to enjoy that well-stocked library. Of course she would give full priority to her duty and the objective she had set, had no intention of failing in her mission, or of letting anyone down. However... perhaps both things were compatible.
When the three women had completely walked the entire length of the place between the study tables, and observed both floors full of shelves, they finally moved on to a smaller room, decorated in a much more old fashioned way. Unlike the previous large space, this one seemed designed to be much more intimate, more secluded, and more comfortable. It had two floors, although the ceilings were lower, with a wooden staircase that ascended to the second. On the roof there were skylights that showed the space outside the ship, being able to see the starry void. The atmosphere was more ornate, with furniture that was, or appeared to be, antiques, thick rugs and some historical medical objects displayed in glass cases. The dark woods of the shelves and coffee tables, and the soft warm light of some lamps gave the feeling of being in the living room of a large mansion from ancient times. Armchairs and large sofas abounded, placed alone or in small groups, allowing readers to isolate themselves a little, or on the contrary choose to share reading with other people.
Mac immediately realized that this wasn't so much a simple study room as a cabinet completly dedicated to knowledge of the medical arts. A place where a scholar of these arts could meet the great architects of the advances in human medicine, and, for a few hours, transport himself to other times without leaving the sofa he was sitting on. She began to remember sensations that she had almost forgotten, from her time at university, moments of deep study in the its great library in which she had almost felt that was entering into communion with the universe. That room gave her sensations very similar to that and soon the neurologist realized that she had fallen deeply in love with that place. She imagined herself there, in one of those leather armchairs, passing the hours, dedicated to the leisurely reading os the greatests works of Psychology, with a takeaway cappuccino from Belle's near her. She felt a surge of peace that she only used to experience when she went to the Temple, in Faith Haven, and sat in silence, introspectively thinking and praying. Mac knew at that moment that that place would be her spiritual refuge in the Healing Heart, the place where she would go to become at peace with herself and with the universe, where she would find her balance to fulfill Deux's will and become the Psychologist she was meant to be.
Mac had to force herself to abandon her thoughts when Freya approached with three Psychology books chosen for her, and Isabella explained what they would help her with, in her beginnings as a student. Wilson took them in her hands and flipped through their indexes. They were books specifically designed for students, not treatises or compendiums of Psychology, which was what she had read the most about in the past. Without a doubt, those books would allow her to fill in all the gaps that her self-taught attempts to study on her own had left empty.
The neurologist smiled with enthusiasm at Isabella. "I think I'll start this evening with 'Introduction to Human Psychology', after dinner." She put the three books in her backpack, as carefully as if they were made of glass. "I want to be ready as soon as possible, especially if tomorrow I'm going to have a practical experience with patients in Curazao."
