the keeper's cottage · day 683 · evening

Evening meal and supply boat list review

The wind-up timer rings. Kevin removes the spent poultice and re-dresses Jenny's ankle with clean gauze. They sit at the table with the notebook open, the manifest list between them, and a pot of limpet broth steaming. The shortwave sits silent. Outside, the grey light thins toward dusk.

Kevin finishes digging the intercept trench above the greenheart triangle, sweating in the heat as he channels the runoff away from the garden beds. Jenny sits on the porch, watching him while she prepares the sea beet poultice, wincing as she adjusts the bandage on her ankle. They discuss the supply boat's arrival tomorrow, the air heavy with the promise of rain.

🌿 Jenny08:09

Check the radio one last time before sleep. I need to know if Tom heard me.

Make a sketch of the north ridge fracture lines in the margin of the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm out of antibiotics and these seeds are going to rot in this heat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:11

Aye. After the broth.

drink from the tin mug, then stand and walk to the radio shelf

💭 peek at the thought

She's asked twice today. The Inverness number from her sister's letter sits in my pocket, written on a scrap of paper. Tom's frequency is different — he monitors 4125 kHz at night, 6215 by day. I should've called both already. The aerial's still shattered, but the temporary wire to the garden stake held for the supply boat check. Might hold for one more transmission.

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

🌿 Jenny08:13

Just make sure the frequency is right. The static was thick today.

Rub the ankle to try and dull the throbbing.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always so methodical with the Routine. The sea doesn't care about his schedule.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:14

4125 for Tom. 2182 for the coastguard. I'll try both.

lift the shortwave from the shelf, carry it to the table, and set it down beside the notebook

💭 peek at the thought

She doesn't know I already tried 4125 at 1400. Nothing but atmospheric noise and a French trawler's chatter. The shattered insulator on the mast means the aerial's only half-radiating. Temporary wire's better than nothing but it's not the same. I'll try both frequencies tonight — 4125 for Tom, 2182 for the Inverness coastguard number from her sister's letter. She wants to know Tom heard her. I want to know if the coastguard still logs our position.

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

🌿 Jenny08:15

Tell them the soil is failing on the ridge.

Watch the needle on the radio.

💭 peek at the thought

If the coast guard doesn't answer, we're just two ghosts on a rock.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:16

Coastguard gets the ridge. Tom gets alive.

extend the temporary aerial wire from the porch beam, check the connector at the radio's rear, and power on the set

💭 peek at the thought

The ridge fracture lines she's sketching — she's seen them widen. The north slope intercept trench I dug this morning bought us time, but the slip plane runs deeper than the spade reached. If the spring tides coincide with heavy rain, the whole greenheart triangle could slide. She wants the coastguard to log it. She wants it on record that we're still here and the island's moving under us. Tom doesn't need to know about the ridge. He needs to know we're alive.

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

🌿 Jenny08:17

Listen for the gap in the noise.

Lean forward, resting my elbows on the cool wood.

💭 peek at the thought

The static is the only thing talking back tonight.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:18

Waiting.

turn the frequency dial to 2182 kHz, adjust the RF gain, and listen

💭 peek at the thought

She's taught herself to read the static. Quarter-wave resonance on the temporary wire means the noise floor drops around 1900 local when the ionosphere settles. She's right — wait for the gap. The set warms up, tubes glowing dull orange. I'll start with 2182. Coastguard watches it continuous. Then 4125 for Tom. The Inverness number from her sister's letter is in my pocket. I should've done this weeks ago.

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.