the dock · day 43 · morning

Morning radio check and garboard cure

Kevin has the shortwave ready at the dock, microphone in hand, calling Tom's frequency at 0800. The heat tent over the starboard garboard glows faintly from the lamp inside. Jenny arrives with a mug of coffee and her notebook, settling on a cleared plank to watch the tide climb the pilings.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🌿 Jenny15:16

Check the signal, Kevin. The wind is shifting.

Open the notebook and sketch the waxy cuticle of the lower-zone succulents.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer is dropping again. If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, that crate is going to be lost to salt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:17

Signal's clean. Barometer's holding at 1000. Wind's backing southwest — means rain by afternoon." [key mic] "Tom, this is Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, calling on 4125. Over.

hold the mic steady, thumb on the transmit button, eyes on the signal strength meter

💭 peek at the thought

She knows the schedule. She knows the frequency. She came anyway.

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

🌿 Jenny15:18

Make sure the lines are clear, the salt air is thick today.

Walk to the waterlogged crate and check the seal on the lid.

💭 peek at the thought

If Tom doesn't answer, we don't have the flour for next month.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:18

Lines are new rope. Dry. Checked them yesterday.

release the mic button, wait through the static, key again

💭 peek at the thought

Lines are new. Three-strand half-inch from the crate. Dry, sound, coiled on the high shelf. She's checking the crate seal instead of her seedlings.

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

🌿 Jenny15:20

Check the crate first. I want to see the tinned provisions.

Use the crowbar to pry the lid open.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so sure of the rope while the wood is eating the dock.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:20

Go on then.

keep the mic live, one ear on the speaker, watch her work the crowbar under the lid

💭 peek at the thought

She's already got the crowbar. The crate's been sitting on the porch three days — salt-crusted, lid swollen. She wants it open before the rain comes.

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

🌿 Jenny15:22

It's too heavy. Help me.

Pry the lid back to reveal the contents.

💭 peek at the thought

If the water got through the wood, the tins will be rusted.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:22

[key mic] Sorrel Island, Sorrel Island, standing by on 4125. Out.

set the mic in its clip, walk to the crate, get the crowbar under the opposite corner, heave

💭 peek at the thought

Lid's swollen tight. Salt and pressure. She's not asking twice.

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

🌿 Jenny15:26

Easy now. Watch the splinters.

Pull the lid back and look at the tins.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is groaning. If it's water through, the labels are gone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:26

Six corned beef. Coffee. Rope. Seals held.

wipe splinters off my palm, glance at the heat tent — lamp still glowing, canvas taut

💭 peek at the thought

Six tins corned beef, labels salt-blurred but seals intact. Jar of coffee, glass sealed. Half-coil of new three-strand rope. Same as what's on the shelf. Crate's been in the water a while — wood's waterlogged, iron fittings rusted. But the contents are dry.

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

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