Chapter 3: What a Curious Feeling

As Rosa drove back to the office, Naomi was taking in the scenery along the 280. She was so immersed, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Rosa’s phone rang over the in-car system. 

“Do you mind if I take this?” asked Rosa. “It’s my mom. She worries.” 

“Please do. I know the drill.” 

Rosa answered the phone, “Hola, Mamá.”

A voice came over the car speakers speaking in Spanish. Naomi tried to make out what Rosa’s mother was saying (she had taken some Spanish in college, after all) but Rosa’s mother spoke too quickly, and Naomi’s Spanish was too rusty. The only thing she really understood was Rosa repeating, “Está bien, Mamá. Está bien.” (It’s OK, Mom. It’s OK.) 

Naomi estimated they were 10 minutes into the conversation before Rosa could get in more than 5 words at a time. They were nearly at the office when Rosa finally ended the call. 

“Sorry about that. Like I said, she worries. She had heard about some big computer problems in the US and wanted to make sure I was OK. She heard it was shutting down whole companies and was afraid I might lose my job.” 

“Lose your job?” asked Naomi. 

“I wouldn’t let that worry you too much. She’s always predicting that I’ll lose my job. She grew up poor and it was always a fear. Now she sees pink slips around every corner.” 

“Yeah, I get that. My mom worries, too. She’s just a lot louder about it.” Naomi laughed. 

“How so?” 

Naomi launched into a salty tirade, presumably doing an impression of her mother, “Computers? Why do you want to work in computers? Rich people just use those things to create cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and a bunch of other nonsense nobody can understand. What good do they do for people like you and me? No thank you. You’re a smart girl, Naomi. You should find something more sensible to do.”

Rosa laughed, “I think my mom would like your mom.”  

“The thing is,” Naomi continued, “She does understand it. I mean, she’s not a quantum engineer, but she has a pretty good handle on the basics. She can tell you what cryptocurrencies, quantum computers, and artificial intelligence are, and give you a solid explanation of how they work.” 

“Interesting,” said Rosa with a smile. “My mother could not do that.” As she said it, she pulled into the parking lot next to Naomi’s car. 

“I’m not sure, but I suspect my mom doesn’t really think this stuff is nonsense. She seems pretty interested in all of it. I think maybe she’s just unimpressed with the systems built up around it.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Rosa. 

“You know,” said Naomi. “The money and politics and stuff.” 

“Ah, yes. It does complicate things.” said Rosa. 

Rosa’s response was non-committal enough that Naomi thought it best to change the subject. Money and politics are touchy subjects, and the last thing she wanted to do was rage-bait her boss. It’s not like she loved talking about these things either, come to think of it. 

“Well,” declared Naomi, “we’ve got our homework to do. I’m going to start here in the office. Things are pretty noisy back home.” 

“Sounds good,” said Rosa. “See you tomorrow.” 

Naomi let herself back into the building, made a strong cup of coffee, and went back to her desk. For a few minutes, she just chilled. 

Eighteen months ago, she had moved back to her parents’ house in San Jose. There was always something happening there. Relatives and friends were always coming in and out. Food was cooking. Music was playing. People were arguing about a book or article that they had recently read. It was a whole thing; chronically interesting, but also completely overwhelming sometimes. Despite having grown up with it, she never fully got used to it.  

After college, she had her own apartment for a few years. It was nice. If she wanted to mellow, she could stay home. If she wanted some deep lore, she could just stop by to see her fam. No invitation was required. 

But then her little brother Owen was accepted to UC Berkeley. She and her fam were very proud of course, but they couldn’t afford the tuition. She had attended San Jose State herself and lived at home to save money. But she still had to take out loans. Without help, he would have to take out loans too, and the debt would be beyond the algorithm. She didn’t want him to be saddled with all that. So, she offered to move back home and use the extra money to help pay for his tuition. Sure, he still had some debt, but not nearly as much. 

She really was happy she could make a difference, but she missed the quiet. Particularly on days like these when she needed to think. 

She took another sip of cup of coffee, pulled out her phone, and decided to start her investigations with her brother. It would be interesting to see how the virus was impacting the college campus.

As she opened up her contacts in the phone, a white rabbit darted across the screen. 

That was new. 

She set the thought aside. She would have to investigate later. Instead, she took a deep breath and called Owen. Normally, she would just text him, but this called for a chat. 

Owen picked up on the third ring. 

“Sis, what’s up?” 

“How’s my favorite little brother?”

“No complaints. You good? You don’t usually call.” 

“All good. I just wanted to ask you something.” 

“Sure, what’s going on?”

“Has your computer or phone been tweaking at all lately? Any viruses?”

“Uh, not really,” he responded. “What type of virus are we talking about?”

“You’d know if you had it,” she said. “How about any of the other kids on campus?” she asked. “Have you heard of them dealing with any sus viruses?” 

“Uh,” he paused. “Well, there’s a rumor going around about some glitched app floating around the business school, but that’s probably not what you’re talking about.” 

“What’s the app?” she asked. 

“Sounds off to me. A bunch of animal emojis or something popping up on people’s phones.” 

“That’s it!” exclaimed Naomi. “Do you know any more about it?” 

“Nope. I don’t really hang around the business kids.” 

“If you hear more, can you tell me?” 

“Bet. What’s going on?” 

“Nothing you need to worry about. Just some work stuff. So, tell me. Are you making all A’s?” 

“You know I am.” 

“You’re allowed to take a break every now and again. You know that, right? The world isn’t going to cook if you get a B.” 

“And let you get better grades than me in school? Not a chance!” 

Naomi laughed. 

Just then, she heard someone clearing their throat. She turned around to see the CEO, scowling and tapping his foot. 

“Owen, I’ve got to go.”