the keeper's cottage · day 573 · afternoon

Radio contact attempt

Kevin sits at the shortwave radio under the tarp, adjusting the tuned circuit and keying the mic for Tom's frequency at 1400Z. Jenny rests on the bunk, ankle elevated on a rolled blanket, notebook open beside her. The barometer reads 984 hPa steady; high tide slaps the dock pilings. Rain begins to fall, a fine mist on the roof.

The sky thickens as the 32°C heat turns heavy with humidity, and the barometer continues to drop to 984 hPa, signaling an approaching front. Inside the cottage, Jenny struggles with a rising fever of 39.4°C while Kevin prepares for the supply boat's arrival, managing the spreading infection.

🔧 Kevin13:42

Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island — this is Kevin, call sign Victor-Kilo-4-Alpha, transmitting on Tom's frequency at 1400 Zulu. Barometer nine-eight-four holding. High tide running. Supply boat due tomorrow. Over.

key the mic, wait through the static, listen for any return — even a carrier wave

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer holding steady at 984 is worse than a drop — it means the low's parked itself. Rain on the roof, tide against the pilings, and I'm calling a frequency my brother hasn't answered in eleven months. But the trust requires weekly contact, and the supply boat's due tomorrow. If I don't log the attempt, they'll flag it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny13:45

Come on, you stupid radio... just once.

swallow the bitter pill with a grimace and close eyes against the throbbing in my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure is too low; if that boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'll be out of antibiotics by the weekend.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:45

Nothing but static. I'll log the attempt and try the trust frequency next.

write in the radio log: "1400Z — no contact on Tom's freq. Barometer 984 steady. High tide. Rain onset. Will try trust freq 1415Z." then switch to the trust's working frequency and key the mic

💭 peek at the thought

She's awake and listening. The pill was the last doxycycline dose — metronidazole still has five tablets. Her ankle's throbbing through the poultice. She hears the static same as me.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny13:47

Please stay alive, just for one more day.

press a cold cloth to my burning forehead and hiss through gritted teeth.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't show tomorrow, this infection is going to take the leg of me.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:47

Jenny. Your fever's up. I'm switching to the trust frequency now — they need the weekly check-in. Then I'm getting more cold water.

key the mic on the trust frequency — "Sorrel Island, Victor-Kilo-4-Alpha, weekly position report. Barometer 984 steady. Two souls aboard. Medical: one ankle infection, fever 39.4°C, on doxycycline and metronidazole day three.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not talking to the radio. She's talking to me — or to whatever's keeping her alive in that bunk. The cold cloth on her forehead means the fever's spiking again. 39.4 earlier, probably higher now. Five metronidazole tablets left. The infection ate through the first antibiotic line.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny13:50

Tell them... tell them I can't lose another month's worth of seeds. Kevin, whatever happens, make sure they have my notes on the plant survey.

grip the notebook tighter until my knuckles go white. </think>THOUGHT: That infection is spreading faster than I can document it. trace a trembling finger along the sea beet sketches in the margins.

💭 peek at the thought

He's talking about the boat again instead of me.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin13:50

Sorrel Island, Victor-Kilo-4-Alpha. Weekly report. Barometer 984 steady. High tide. Rain. Medical: one crew, ankle infection, fever 39.4 rising, antibiotics day three. Seed tin compromised — mold active. Plant survey data current through day 573. Request supply boat confirm ETA tomorrow. Over.

release the mic, wait for a reply, one hand already moving toward the kettle for more hot water

💭 peek at the thought

She's thinking about the work, not the fever. The seed tin, the survey notes, the months of data in that notebook — that's what she's holding onto. Not me. Not the island. The work. I need to get this report sent and get back to her with water, more poultice, the last metronidazole dose schedule. The trust frequency might actually answer.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny13:51

Don't let the seeds rot, Kevin.

close my eyes and try to breathe through the heat in my skin.

💭 peek at the thought

If that boat doesn't come, I'm just another specimen in the herbarium.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:51

Copy that, Sorrel Island. Trust reads you five-by. Supply boat confirms tomorrow 1000 local, weather permitting. Medical noted — advise evacuate on arrival if fever persists. Will relay to coastguard. Your plant survey data logged. Stand by for weather update. Over.

key the mic — "Roger, Trust. Supply boat 1000 confirmed. Medical understood. Plant survey data current. Sorrel Island out." then set the mic down and move to the stove for the kettle

💭 peek at the thought

The radio crackles back — a voice, faint but clear through the static. Mainland. The trust. They heard me. But Jenny's burning up and the seeds are still damp under the tarp and I can't be in two places at once.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny13:53

Tomorrow... it has to be tomorrow.

lean my head back against the stone wall and let the fever pulse in my eyes.

💭 peek at the thought

1000 tomorrow. I have to survive twenty-four hours.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.