Page 107 of The Genius
“Sure, but I get so competitive and I don’t want to hurt one of them by accident.”
“Raven doesn’t look like she’s holding anything back.”
We both took a second to look at the game, where Raven was the only woman playing with the men and the children.
“Did you talk to her yet?” I asked him. “You two were always fighting. Hopefully you can laugh about it now.”
“Nah, it was mostly in the beginning. It got better after you left.” He turned to face me. “I read some of your articles. The one about using fish to grow plants was very interesting.
“Yes, I’m very passionate about finding ways to grow food with a minimum amount of water waste. I’m in regular contact with some of my friends that I got to know while studying to be a biologist. One of them is working on a very interesting project down in the Yellow Zone.”
“One of the articles said that you did your dissertation on the subject of awkwardness. Is that true?”
“Yes, but not while studying to be a biologist. That was my psychology degree.”
Nero tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I figured as much.”
“Right.” I smiled. “Awkwardness seemed like a fitting subject for me to dive into and understand better at the time.”
“Are you admitting that you’re a perfect research subject yourself?” There was humor in his voice.
I kept my face straight. “No, but back then I came straight from the Northlands and had been with enough of you Nmen to know awkward behavior.”
His brow rose and he pointed to his chest. “Are you sayingwe’rethe awkward ones?”
“Some of you more than others.”
Nero looked a bit confused and it was hard not to laugh at my own joke, but his next question made me tingle with excitement. “And what did you find out? Is there a formula for awkwardness?”
“Well, I discovered that every society has a set of rules and limitations that we operate within. First there are laws of science and biology that tell us basic things like we can’t go without sleep, we can’t spread our arms and fly, or jump back in time to correct a mistake. You get the point, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then there are human-made laws that we submit to, and those vary between the Motherlands and the Northlands, of course. In some cases, what is legal here is illegal there and vice versa.”
Nero nodded. “Like hunting.”
“Exactly. And after the criminal laws comes etiquette, and that’s a different beast since it’s not written down per se. It requires training and social awareness to read a situation and know what is expected of you. What makes it even more tricky is that etiquette varies across the world. Breaking the etiquette could get you shunned or ostracized socially, which is a high price to pay because it means isolation and loneliness.”
“So what? A little isolation can be nice. I have a cabin that I sometimes go to when I need some peace and quiet.”
“Sure, but long-term loneliness affects your immune system and can cause depression, which makes it a big deal, Nero,” I emphasized and continued my little lecture. “Of course, breaking etiquette can vary depending on who judges. It takes a lot more to be rude here than in the Motherlands but generally speaking we’re dealing with categories from rudeness, to mean and disgusting behavior, followed by the subtlest of all, which isawkwardness.” My voice was a bit eager because it always gave me a buzz when someone showed an interest in something I was passionate about.
“I find this so interesting,” I continued, “because awkwardness is connected to awareness and is used to adjust the finer details of social behavior that etiquette doesn't define. It's not a violation of the laws of physics to laugh too loud, over-share personal information, or congratulate someone on being pregnant when they’re not. There’s no law against it either. It’s just very awkward.”
“True,” Nero agreed. “You know what else is awkward? Coming back to see your old classmates and realizing that the girls that you used to make fun of have turned into beautiful women and now you wish you’d been nicer to them.” He laughed.
“Anyone specific?”
“It goes for all the women. You included.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you’re very beautiful, Shelly.”
I looked down. “Thank you.”
“We need people on the food team!” Kya shouted from the doorway to the school.
