story_aroma_1_1

Aroma, this is to notify you that you have passed the evaluation period.

The Recruitment and Assessment Section's application records show that due to your excellent performance, you've also received invitations from other departments.

That said, you will get to decide which department to join.

I...

When will I have to make my decision by?

You just have to let me know by the end of the week.

Choose carefully.

...Okay.

I'll think it over. Thanks.

Rubber, what's going on? The laundry room's under maintenance again?

Sorry! The laundry machines malfunctioned. Sorry about the trouble.

Logistics and Engineering will have it fixed as soon as possible, and we'll make an announcement about when it'll be open again.

But I was in the line for so long...

Alright, alright. These things happen. Let's just head back.

Sorry, we'll try to get it fixed ASAP.

*sigh*...

Look at the time. Where's Aroma?

She's not here to help with the laundry. What should I do...?

But it'll probably give her a headache when she finds out there are so many last minute laundry orders, right?

Oh well, work takes priority. I'll head to the dorm and see if I can find her there.

How's the water temperature?

Can we make it a little hotter?

And the pressure?

Hm... Pretty good. It feels really nice.

Can you go a little higher? Right, help me with that spot there.

Okay, I'll keep the brush at this height.

If anything feels at all off, feel free to give me a call.

Oh, okay...

Aroma, isn't this tail hydrotherapy equipment great? It's Engineering's latest masterpiece!

I think it's really helping.

But is testing out the hydrotherapy machine all there is to today's seminar?

Well, it's important. It's a product that's gonna be servicing people, so of course we need user feedback!

Okay...

Of course, that's just part of the seminar.

You've been working so hard over at Logistics, Aroma. It must be tough on you, huh?

Feel free to come relax any time you want, even after the seminars are over!

Huh? Can I really?

I'll stay for a little longer while it's still my lunch break, then. I'll have lots to do in the afternoon.

You're more than welcome to. And if you have any more suggestions, all the better.

All this R&D work is necessary for Engineering to provide everyone with even better beauty treatments.

Um, if I remember correctly, beauty treatments should be the responsibility of Logistics.

So why did you choose Engineering when you formally joined Rhodes Island?

Aroma—

...She's not in her dorm room either... Weird. Where did she go?

Hm? There's a copy of <i>Hair Care and Maintenance Techniques</i> on her desk.

Look at all these notes... She's really been studying up on these techniques.

Huh? Something fell out of the book... A notice about the Engineering Department's seminar?

Wait, the Engineering Department?!

Her trial period's almost over...

No way... Does this mean she wants to leave Logistics?

Hey, Rubber, is Aroma here?

Hey, Purestream. What's wrong?

The communal bath's scheduled for a routine cleaning today, and I wanted to ask if she has time to help out!

The bath? Why Aroma? Isn't there somebody else in charge of cleaning that?

Huh? A-Actually, that's me.

Are you telling me it's not just the communal bath, but... Every single place that needs cleaning on this entire landship has been trying to get Aroma's help?!

Not only does she help deal with oily messes after the kitchen's cooking mishaps, she also helps pick up the splinters from broken training dummies?

She even cleans up the Convalescent Garden's baitbugs? She's terrified of bugs!

When you put it like that, she must be way overworked...

Hm, but she always makes it look so easy when helping out. She really helps with our efficiency.

But...

You know, now that I think about it, my first thought is to get her to help with the pile of dirty laundry every time the laundry room's closed for maintenance...

*sigh*... Aroma's been the backbone of Logistics for a while now but we've never actually talked to her about joining us officially.

She knows so much, picks everything up so quickly, and is such a meticulous hard worker... Engineering might actually be trying to poach her.

Wait, what do you mean...?

This won't do. I need to get the laundry orders divvied up, on the double. I can't keep loading Aroma with so much work.

We can't afford to lose her.

So Roberta... you chose to join Engineering because technology can help reduce everyone's workloads?

Right. I mean, we can only do so much ourselves.

I could be a hundred times more energetic, but I'd still never be able to give every single operator a makeover in one day, right?

Similarly, you wouldn't be able to clean all of Rhodes Island in one day, right?

But with an auto-modeler, or some kind of automatic cleaning machine, everybody's work gets that much easier.

And then more operators could enjoy our services faster, right? Even getting the wait times under a day isn't out of the question.

I want to provide a faster, more convenient service to more people. That's why.

That's true...

But Roberta, will these machines ultimately replace people entirely?

Huh? Where's this coming from?

It just suddenly occurred to me that... maybe machines would be much better at repetitive daily work than me.

That's not how this works, Aroma.

Although machines have been replacing people after many, many iterations, I still think they each have their own advantages.

'Sometimes, only a person knows why something needs to be done.'

My grandma said something similar once.

Oh, that reminds me. Siracusans do seem to trust human handiwork more.

The famiglie would take an obedient carwash worker over an ice-cold set of automatic carwash equipment any day.

Kinda brings me back.

If I remember correctly, you were born in Siracusa too, weren't you?

I left when I was still very young, though.

Me too. I haven't been back for a long time.

I've heard from our Siracusan operators that the country has changed a lot.

So you want to go back and have a look?

Eh?

Oh, I just got a notification on my terminal.

What's wrong?

It's a schedule change notice.

That's weird. All my work for this afternoon has been canceled.

Is this a holiday or something...?

Let me ask Rubber.

Busy...? How come... Never mind.

Since you have time, want to try another product?

The hydrotherapy's auto mode is almost done. I also have a makeup applier while-you-sleep and a supersonic tooth cleaning machine currently under development.

Oh, that's fine. Thank you, though.

But there's actually something else I wanted to ask you about.

Take a look at this.

Is this... an application to submit an engineering blueprint?

Yep, all the cleaning work's been reassigned. Purestream and I will help her take care of the some of the other things she was supposed to work on.

I was surprised there was so much non-cleaning work, though. Not only does she make herbal dishes at the cafeteria, she was also scheduled to install anti-static equipment in the corridors...

*sigh*, never mind. I'll cancel all of them for her and ask other Logistics operators to cover those.

Next, we have the tough part.

Hello, is Aroma here?

Oh, she just took an engineering blueprint to Roberta.

A blueprint?

That's right. She asked Weedy to teach her how to draw one.

I've seen her bringing all sorts of data here lately, and leaving with large stacks of blueprints.

Data...?

That reminds me. She asked me for all these weirdly specific details about the laundry room.

The current diameter of the piping... The maximum flux of the drainage... and something about the water usage during cycles...

Oh no, I've been so worried about the maintenance these last couple days, I forgot all about that!

Hold on... So she's already good friends with Weedy, one of Engineering's most senior operators?

Weedy's always so busy, but even <i>she's</i> paying so much attention to Aroma. Look at me, though... Not only have I been overlooking her contributions, I even forgot about her request.

No wonder she never talked to me about what comes after her formal employment. It's already a done deal...

It's too late. It's all over...

Huh?

But...

It's okay. I understand.

I respect her decision, but at least let me do one last thing for her. After all, we've worked together at Logistics for so long now.

Is this... an application to submit an engineering blueprint?

Hold on, why do you have the early design drafts of the hydrotherapy machine?! It even has the magazine publisher's phone number that I scribbled on there...

Oh, actually, I saw it over at Weedy's.

I came because I heard about the hydrotherapy machine from her.

Take a look at the documents in the back, too.

A research report on the hair growth of operators of different races... This is so detailed!

You researched all this by yourself? Amazing...

It's all thanks to everyone's help.

Please take a look and tell me if the improved design on the document is viable.

Yeah, I took a look at the application. There's nothing wrong with making modifications based on the hair characteristics of different races, but the hydrotherapy machine is still in testing. It hasn't been through final inspection yet.

Whether it can be mass-produced after the modifications, and whether it will be installed in the changing rooms and the communal bath, all depends on Closure's approval.

No need to worry about that. I've already checked with Weedy, and there's room for new equipment in the bath.

I'll keep working with you to test it, and there are plenty of operators willing to volunteer to test the improved version.

...But why go this far for this?

This is just a beauty treatment I designed for the experiment section. How come this is so important all of a sudden...?

What's this about, Aroma?

Actually... Rhodes Island is going through a hair loss crisis.

Wait, Purestream, what are you moving?

I don't remember seeing anything like that on the trash disposal manifest...

Huh? But I reported it!

All of this is our operators' hair. I got it from cleaning up around the landship!

You mean... this entire pile is hair?

Yep! You just got here, so you probably don't know about this yet, right?

Lots of people onboard Rhodes Island shed hair every day.

If we don't get this taken care of promptly, it'll take over both the water pipes and the air vents!

But this seems kinda... excessive.

No, if anything it's not enough.

These pipelines go through Rhodes Island's power plant and propulsion systems. They aren't things you can redesign on a whim.

Let's try some other methods to take care of this.

Like, say... Wait, what's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?

Weedy... where were you just now?

Huh? I just got back from the cafeteria.

Were there a lot of people there, and you had to squeeze through the crowd?

Yeah...

Don't move. You have a lot of hair on your shoulders. It must be from other people's tails...

Okay. I got it all.

You don't look so good, Weedy...

Hey, don't point that disinfectant spray gun at me like that.

Sorry, Aroma!

Okay... I got it. I'll do this pile of laundry.

But isn't this is the third time this month...? We can't keep closing the laundry room for maintenance.

So... did Engineering ever say what's behind it?

This probably sounds silly, but...

Actually, it's because the drainage pipes under the laundry machines keep getting clogged with hair. Every single one of them.

I'll ask Engineering and see if there's any way the sewage system can be modified.

Until it's completely fixed, we'll need to clean the laundry machines before we use them, every single time.

I see... That's quite troublesome.

Yeah... It's not a problem we can realistically solve completely, but I still want to figure out if there's any way to reduce the hair we need to clean up.

Which is why I've been observing the operators while I'm working in different areas.

And I realized that some people shed hair just from having it touch their zippers when closing them. And others carefully pull their tails from their pants before carefully grooming them every day.

And it's not just tail hair, there's also head hair, ear hair, hair on the back of your necks... All of this gets on their clothes.

Other than that, there are some who use lint rollers to remove the hair on their clothes before putting them in the laundry machines. If they notice me watching, they even give me an embarrassed smile...

It was only after that that I realized... there's a much more important truth behind this crisis: a lot of operators are worried about their shedding.

Although we've been trying to deal with the hair every day, we've never truly tried to take care of their worries.

I... want to do something for them.

So that's why you want to improve and promote this hydrotherapy machine... But I don't think that's going to be enough. We'll need a lot other ways to go about this, won't we?

Yeah, absolutely.

The cafeteria now has a couple of dishes that help with hair maintenance, and there will be even more choices in the future.

Logistics is also going to introduce new shampoos that are formulated for the hair of different races, too.

And the work I had scheduled for this afternoon was to check on the anti-static equipment in the storage room.

...Okay, Aroma.

I now completely understand just how persistent you can be.

Do you remember what we were discussing earlier?

What...?

When I apply makeup, I always look for the part of the face most worthy of jazzing up first. That's the most important part.

And whether I leave it all to the auto-modelers or grab a makeup brush myself depends on the situation.

Huh? What's with that response? Isn't that what you've been doing?

Actually, I'm not really sure about that...

I might have been thinking about it in a much simpler way... I just want to help solve a problem and make everyone's life better.

I think that's what all of us Rhodes Island operators should be doing.

...Well, thanks to you, I just got a new design idea. What do you think about adding a hair dyeing module to the hydrotherapy machine?

You mentioned in your report that there are a lot of people who aren't happy with their hair color...

Anyway, I'm so glad we've got you around in Engineering now. No wonder Weedy's been taking such good care of you.

What? Me, in Engineering...?

Hold on...

Aroma!

Rubber? Why are you here...?

H-He-Here are the laundry room's full specs, structural diagrams, and detailed usage statistics! I brought everything for you!

I'm really sorry; I forgot all about it! I hope I didn't delay your R&D work with Engineering!

Umm... Okay... but...

I've already reassigned all your work at Logistics to our other operators!

...All my work? Huh?

Yeah, that's right.

No wonder my schedule this afternoon's so empty... but why?

You see, we're planning a party at the cafeteria to celebrate you passing your evaluation period and formally joining Engineering!

Be sure to head over once you're done talking with Roberta. You won't be disappointed!

...Is this some kind of misunderstanding? I'm not joining Engineering.

Huh?

Starting next week, I'll be a formal member of the Logistics Department.

So... you chose us?

Yes.

But aren't you participating in Roberta's seminars? And these schematics...

Oh, that's actually for my work at Logistics.

But... didn't the other departments invite you to join them?

...That was actually just Procurement.

And it was only because my family's been sending lots of our workshop's shampoos here, so Procurement thought I had some kind of special channel for purchasing them...

I haven't so much as dabbled in engineering before, and I definitely don't compare to the professionals here... I know I'm not cut out for it.

It's okay, Aroma. Even if we're in different departments, you're welcome to come chat and work with me any time.

No, scratch that... You absolutely <i>need</i> to come. I just realized there's a lip gloss that might be absolutely perfect on you.

Anyway, this is all part of my research too... Ahem... Think about it, okay?

O-Okay...

So I got it all wrong.

Thank goodness... I had no idea how I was going to explain this to the department chief.

Huh? You're leaving already?

I gotta share the good news with everybody! Maybe there's still time to switch the word 'Engineering' on the banner to 'Logistics'!

*sigh*... Thinking about it, this is kinda a shame. Here I thought I was getting a new lackey I could count on.

I'm sorry I didn't explain myself properly.

It's okay. Nothing to worry about. Just leave the hydrotherapy machine's modifications to me.

I mean, it's for everyone onboard Rhodes Island.

...Mm. Thank you.

Right, you asked me earlier if I ever want to go back to Siracusa, to my hometown. I think... Once all my work is all over and I have time for a vacation, I might go and have a look.

There were things I couldn't overcome before that I should be able to now. And I trust that that's how it is for Siracusa too.

Sounds good. Maybe we could go together, even.

I'm looking forward to it.