Stepping 'The Loom' feels like stepping into an art exhibit built entirely with fresh rolls of fabric. Numerous rolls were draped out like curtains in a pattern all over the place, making patterns that, my deprecated ass can't hope to describe.
Look, it's pretty, okay? That's the only way I can describe it.
"Whoa... look at these..." Sally whispered, looking at a light brown fabric. "The texture... oh it's gorgeous..."
Inata yawned behind me. "All of them are, Sally,"
Sally didn't hear her, she gently touched the fabric, feeling the texture.
Just as I was about to check out a roll of fabric to see if it's from wool or anything organic, a door nearby opened revealing a beautiful woman. She wear a white dress almost like a wedding gown, and a tiara, and carries a bundle of yarn.
"Oh my..." the woman put a hand over her mouth. "The Blazing Wildfire, welcome," she made a bow and set down the yarn to a shelf nearby. "And you..." she stepped closer towards me and I can see her better now. Lush black hair and dark brown almost black eyes. "My, I've never seen such a beautiful craftsmanship,"
"Huh?"
The woman took my hand, inspecting my fingers and the joints. "Intention, is the hallmark of artist," her gentle hand inspected my pinky. "You are riddled with intention... every detail meticulously crafted by your creator..." she muttered to herself. "There is no accident..."
"Thanks?" I pulled away my hand. "Please don't touch me?"
"Oh," the woman stepped back and gasped. "My sincerest apologies, where are my manners?" she put a hand on her chest. "This one is Miko, a Weaver," she gestured at all around her. "These are my tapestries," she then tilted her head. "What do you call yourself, oh marvel of craftsmanship?"
I blinked, slowly. "It's Viel, and why do you talk like that? Is that normal here?" I turned to Inata and Sally. "Do you guys unironically talk like we're on a stage?"
Inata smirked and struck a pose. "Why of course! Are these world not a grand stage???" she twirled grabbed a nearby fabric and used it as a cloak. "Are we not mere shadow of an ideal, a puppet dancing to the whims of desire," she paced around dramatically. "Are we not mere actors desperate to follow a script written by society and the mirage of aspirations?!"
I shook my head.
"I have no fuckin' idea what you're talking about,"
Sally giggled a little next to me. "What Inata said, Viel, is that... yes, it's normal to see the world as a stage," she tilted my head. "Some see a life as a stage... Others like me see life as a canvas..." she then gestured at Miko. "And Miko, she's the one who weave the canvas..."
I turned to Miko. "Right, you're a weaver, sorry, culture shock, anyway, nice to meet ya,"
Miko made another bow. "There is no need for apologies, your perception and personality is yet another thread in this grand tapestry... A precious one, I might add," she then turned to Sally. "You are here to find your canvas, do you not? Please, take your time..."
"Yep, two hours," Inata rolled back the fabric she used for prop and set it down. "I'm just gonna wait outside, have fun ya'll," she turned around and left with a dramatic bow.
I looked back at Miko who's already tidying up the fabric Inata rolled. "So... That's like, your trade? Making fabric?"
"Indeed," Miko replied. "It's my calling," she finally put the rolled up fabric to where its belong. "Everyone of my tapestries are but a seed, a blank slate who yearns to be part of reality. Who yearns for the hand of an artist to weave them into something... so much more,"
How do you politely say 'I have no fucking clue what you just said, but it sounds poetic and beautiful'. "I don't understand what you said, but it sounds cool," I looked back at Sally who's inspecting a bunch of fabric. "Honestly I'm never an artistic one... So I can't say much," I folded my arms. "So... how much do you sell these? Do you get this from supplier or do you have like, actual factory making each fabric?" I took a closer look. "What are these made of anyway?"
I took a closer look at one of the fabric. It's... Hmmm... the texture and dimension is vastly different. Some soft, some silky, but... There's this underlying sameness within... Like it was all made from the same material?
"You ask such strange question Viel," Miko replied. "I sell this by weight and current market price, also yes I made this myself,"
"By weight and market price huh?" I mean... make sense? "So Supply and Demand still exists?"
"Naturally," Miko drifted to a bundle of fabric. "I view my weave as equal, but the seamstress may favor one over the other," she began. "My job is to balance this, I raise prices to discourage those from being too attached to a single weave, and lower price to encourage another inspiration and perspective..." she smiled softly. "Every weave deserves a place in this grand tapestry, you see? I am but a steward for their potential,"
This... poetry's gonna take a while to get used to...
"And you made everything? What are they made of?"
"My circle to be precise," Miko tilted her head. "And everything are made out of fibers,"
"What fibers? Where do you get it?"
"They came from the fibers before them," Miko replied. "When a clothing is worn and broken and has served its purpose, it will be broken down, back to its original form," she said simply. "As for where the original fiber comes from," she looked up. "I suppose I never bothered to ask, perhaps Sally knows? She's the most knowledgeable one of us,"
I turned to Sally. "Where do you guys get your fibers? And now that I think about it, ingredients for food printer?"
"The farm," Sally replied almost absentmindedly. "It's mostly made out of..." she froze and caught herself. "Ah, I mean, uhh," she looked away. "That's, private matters of the city, uhh, bad manners to talk about openly,"
I blinked, slowly.
"I see..." I walked closer to Sally. "So you'll tell me if I become a Trailblazer?"
Sally smiled sheepishly. "Well, I will have to ask Deva's permission to tell you... but yes, you would know, I mean, I don't see why not?"
We turned to Miko who's been listening with an amused smile on her face. "My, my, to bear witness on the myth and enigma that is Trailblazers... What an honor,"
"It's nothing like that Miss Miko!" Sally waved her hands. "I... I'll tell you, maybe, uhhh... Through Analogy... yes," she then pulled a roll she's been staring at. "I'll take this one,"
[LINE BREAK]
After bidding goodbye to Miko and paying for the fabric, we stepped out of The Loom. Inata, unfortunately, was nowhere to be seen.
"So... you're like a seamstress? A boutique owner?" I asked Sally.
"Yes," Sally replied. "Inata and I are the Blazing Wildfire Circle. We specialize in making costumes and are certified to make Trailblazer uniforms."
"Huh. How many members are there?"
A flush appeared on Sally's face. "Oh! W-we're, umm... a Circle of Two..."
A Circle of Two? That's a weird way to say 'couple'...
I was about to ask more when I saw something peculiar. Brats. I mean, children.
God, I hate them. They're loud, demanding, and their parents treat them like angels. I was having flashbacks, so many flashbacks. Look, I've never been a parent, okay? My training data does not include childcare. But it does include dealing with brats in a service industry.
"Wait! Viel!" Sally yanked my arm. "Do you see that?"
"The brats? I mean, children?"
Sally nodded, her eyes fixed on them.
There were about five of them, being herded by a young man. They looked like a class on a school trip, the worst kind of children. They were chattering away, each carrying a bag and pointing at things. One or two were scribbling on clipboards.
"School trip?"
"Yes!" Sally started to step forward, then hesitated. "Gosh, they're adorable..." She looked... anxious? There was a sort of yearning in her expression. "Ah, no, I can't. It would be impolite to..." She suddenly turned toward me, her eyes widening. "Viel!"
"Huh?"
"Go!"
"Huh!?"
"Just... walk over there! Near them! Make sure they see you. Just act natural, like a passerby!"
"WHY?! Wait, what about the fabric? The canvas? The art!?"
"That's not important right now! Just go!"
We just spent the whole chapter talking about how important the fabric and tapestry and now... Wha!?
Sally shoved me toward the group. I was forced to walk past them. What the fuck?
"Whoa!"
"A robot!"
"No, it's a Smart Construct!"
"I've never seen one!"
"It's so cool!"
The pack of small annoying humans surrounded me instantly, staring with bright eyes. I couldn't help but groan. "Ugh... how can I help you?"
"It talks!"
"Now, now, that's not how you talk to strangers." The man gently pulled the kids back. "Sorry about that. They've never seen a Smart Construct before. Are we interrupting something?"
"Y—"
"Not at all!" Sally appeared next to me. "Hi, my name is Sally. I'm a Trailblazer. This is my friend Viel. What are yours?"
"I'm Deno!"
"Brian!"
"My name is Ellie!"
"Thou shalt call me the Inquisitor!"
"Umm... Gracia..."
Sally clasped her hands. "Aww, you have such wonderful names..." She looked at the little girl closest to her. "So, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
A chorus of "Trailblazer!" followed by one confused "Sculptor, I mean, Trailblazer!" answered her. I guess 'Trailblazer' is like the local equivalent of an astronaut or a rockstar.
"Ehehe... that's so sweet. But being a Trailblazer doesn't mean you can't do anything else. What else do you want to do?" Sally asked.
"I want to paint walls!"
"I want to make robots!"
"I want to fight monsters!"
The children kept talking as Sally smoothly transitioned into the role of an impromptu teacher.
"Anyway, this is Viel," Sally said, patting my back. "Go on, Viel, introduce yourself! You're the highlight of their day, and they want to write about you in their journals."
"Why the f-"
"And no cursing in front of children!" Sally added sternly.
I sighed. "Fine." I looked down at the tiny humans. "Name's Viel. I'm from the 'Old World.' Basically, I'm a museum exhibit with legs. Any other questions?"
"Can you shoot lasers?" one of them asked.
I facepalmed. "No, I cannot shoot lasers. I cannot fly. I do not have super strength." I dropped my hand. "Anything else?"
There was a moment of silence.
"What's your favorite food?"
Is this for real? I turned to Sally, who was smiling sheepishly, and the young man, who was holding back a laugh.
"Ugh... no. I cannot eat food. I store food. I'm a glorified cooler," I paused. "Anyway, do you guys want some candy? I'll give you all candy if you'll shut up." I opened my stomach compartment, revealing the bag of candy Aion gave me.
"Whoa, candy!"
"Robot candy!"
"Viel's the best!"
I let the kids swarm the sweets while the man walked up to me. "That's really nice of you," he said. "My name is Artem. I'm their teacher." He patted one of the kids on the head. "Sorry if they're a handful. They're still too young to master restraint, haha!"
"Ah, teacher, must be tough," I folded my arms. "So what are you teaching them?"
"Journaling, but mostly I'm just here to let the kids socialize with other kids their age," Artem replied simply while gesturing at the group.
"So, you don't go to class in school?"
Artem tilted his head. "What's classes?"
Eh?
"Miss Viel! Can you make a cool pose? I wanna draw you!"
I looked at the brats and realized they had entered Phase Two. Their bags were on the floor and their clipboards were up. They're... studying me?
"Miss Viel, how would you describe yourself?" another kid asked through a mouthful of candy.
I blinked. "Uhhh..." I narrowed my eyes. "I'm an Old World relic? Like a robot built thousands of years ago, I think."
"Whoaaa... an ancient robot!"
Just like that, they began 'documenting' me. Some were writing, others were drawing. It was exactly like a school trip. But why had Artem looked so confused when I asked about classes
Beside me, Sally watched the children with a wistful smile. It was a completely innocent look, so I guessed she just really liked kids.
"So... what are those?" I leaned in to see a clipboard.
"They're writing in their journals," Artem explained. "Since it's unwieldy to bring their full journals everywhere, they bring a piece of paper to share and later update their permanent records with."
Sally smiled. "Ahaha... that's so smart. I remember carrying my journal everywhere... it was so heavy." She clasped her hands. "You should be happy, Viel. You get to be a part of their lives."
I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, I guess?" What even is a journal? "Aren't these kids too young for that?"
Sally's shook her head. "No, of course not. Journals are fundamental to a child's growth. We teach them journaling immediately after they learn to read and write. It's all about building their life!"
Ah, so like a diary. I see.
"Mister Artem, I ran out of paper!" one kid shouted.
Artem walked over and flipped the sheet. "There you go."
"Whoaaaa!"
Oh my god...
After more awkward conversation and convincing them that no, I don't make candies, we finally said our goodbyes.
"Bye, Miss Viel! Miss Sally!"
"Thanks for the candy!"
Artem waved as he herded the children away toward the fountain in the plaza. As if on cue, a short-haired girl landed next to us with a flourish.
"And I, Inata of the Blazing Wildfire, have returned!" She struck a pose, then groaned. "Aww, man. I'm too late." She folded her arms and smirked. "I was too busy watching."
Sally rolled her eyes. "If you were hoping to catch me making a fool of myself, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
"Yeah, because you made a fool of Viel instead."
Sally froze, her eyes widening. "Oh god, you're right." She turned to me and bowed deeply. "I am so incredibly sorry. I didn't mean to coerce you. I was just..." She stood back up and bit her lip. "Actually, no. There's no excuse. That was textbook coercion. I'm so sorry."
I rolled my eyes. "It's fine. The kids here aren't as bad as the ones from my simulations." I watched the direction the group had gone. "Still, though... it's rare to see children going on a field trip without their parents around, Ingenuity must be so safe huh?"
"Parents?" Sally asked.
"Huh?"