Muted Trilogy: Mute Part 3

After about a minute, her phone buzzed.

Was worried when I hadn't heard from you. Day is fine otherwise.

She sighed again. Sorry. Didn't mean to worry you. Glad your day is going well. I've got to get back to work. I'll text you again when I get home. Gotta hit the grocery store first.

Reminded of a task she'd been meaning to accomplish, Jemma quickly typed up a new set of hours for the library, ones she could handle on her own. After a moment's hesitation, she factored in a lunch break, giving the library two sets of hours, six days a week. Her weekdays would be a little shorter than library patrons might be used to, but the library would be open a little later on Sat.u.r.days. It would remain closed on Sundays; she would probably regret it if she didn't take at least one day off a week, and it made sense to stick with the day on which the library was normally closed. Excluding lunch break, she figured she could handle forty-eight hours a week. She sent in the obligatory advance request for overtime pay, but she didn't expect there to be an issue; even if the city could currently spare enough people to monitor that closely, she was doing the work of at least three employees. If they didn't approve the overtime, she'd decide whether she was willing to work anyway.

She printed the hours and slipped back to the staff room's laminator, hurrying back to the desk when she heard the library doors. The library remained fairly busy for the rest of the afternoon, and there wasn't a chance to hang the adjusted hours without leaving the desk unattended with patrons present, so she ended up staying a little later than she'd meant to. Jack was the last to leave, looking out at the darkening parking lot and then back at Jemma. After pausing for a moment on his way toward the door, he changed directions, approaching the desk instead, shifting his computer out of the way so he could write.

Safe here by yourself? Getting late.

Not so late, Jemma wrote back. I'm just running one last report, then I'll leave and lock up.

I can walk you to your car.

Jemma erased the board so she had room to answer. I'm fine. Thanks though.

He looked at her one last time, his brown eyes measuring, and nodded. He waved and left.

Jemma walked around the library, making sure n.o.body was still there, that no books were overtly out of place. She put the report she'd printed in the staff room, locked that door, then left through the main entrance, taping the adjusted library hours on the door on her way out. She got in her little blue car and drove to the nearest Publix, parking after she verified it was open.

The store was nearly deserted. One cashier worked at the front, and another seemed to be trying to handle everything else himself. A few customers browsed the shelves, but it was nothing like she was used to seeing on a Sat.u.r.day evening. She grabbed a cart and went down each aisle, selecting her usual staples. She found herself getting a frozen pizza for that night, not something she normally craved. When she had put her purchases on the conveyor belt and stood by the machine used for payment, she saw a tablet had been taped down to the area usually used for writing checks. Open on the screen was a writing program, the keyboard facing the clerk.

How are you tonight? he typed before touching a corner of the screen. It rotated so it was oriented toward her.

Not bad, she answered. Been busy? She pressed to rotate the display.

Not today. People went nuts at first and the few of us that showed at work couldn't keep up with demand. Slowed down the past couple days though. Which is good 'cause the theft slowed too.

Get a lot of that? she asked when he turned the screen back to her.

Not as bad as some other grocery stores. One across the street had to shut down. Lost too much inventory.

She winced sympathetically. The cashier stopped typing, seeing another customer get in line. Unlike when they'd been able to use voice, it was no longer very easy to chat while ringing up items.

Back in her car, trunk full of groceries, Jemma turned on the radio. A few stations were still working, though not as many as on the television. She avoided the presets with deejays who used voice synthesizers and skipped straight to a college station that was playing music without interruption. She relaxed, the drive automatic, allowing her mind to wander.

There were adjustments to this lack of voice, yes, and some she still needed to get used to. In all, though, now that she wasn't surrounded by barely restrained panic, she found herself enjoying it. She'd always communicated better in writing, and it was a relief to not have to struggle with verbalizing things to strangers. It had certainly cut down on idle chitchat. At the library, she'd been thrust into the head position, for however long that would last. She didn't care to lead, didn't like to try to work around other people's emotions through her tendency to say the wrong thing, but books? She could take charge of books, of the library computers, of helping patrons as she usually did.

If she'd been asked two weeks ago, she'd have been unsure of her ability to cope with running the library branch. Instead, she felt more confident in her abilities than she ever had. Changing the hours had been a good idea, she decided.

She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel after making a turn. The tablet being used at the grocery store was a good idea. Her little branch didn't have any tablets, but the downtown branch did. Tomorrow, she'd see whether they could spare one, maybe see how the larger library was doing. It could make things easier; typing was faster and easier than writing, and if anything complicated came up, the little dry erase board that fit so well at the counter might not have sufficient s.p.a.ce to explain.

She could also install an instant messenger on the few public computers they had and set them up to be able to message the main desk's computer. That should cut down on people needing to come to the desk to ask a reference question, and it would reduce the times that Jemma needed to leave the circulation desk unattended.

Parked in her driveway, Jemma felt like she'd had a successful day. Tomorrow would be focused on making the following days even better. She unloaded groceries, put the pizza in the oven, and sat down on the couch with her phone.

I'm home. No issues. Good day? she texted her mom.

The response was immediate. Finally! A few seconds pa.s.sed before another text came through. My day was good. Can we talk online? Easier.

Let me get my dinner first. Talk to you in a few minutes.

Jemma got back up and stretched, then went about getting ready for dinner, reminding herself that she could crawl into bed with a good book as soon as she'd eaten and talked to her mom.

CHAPTER FIVE:.

Adjusting Jemma left her house the next morning around the time the main library had typically opened. The first thing she noticed after getting out of her car was how quiet it was downtown. There were fewer people out and about than usual, sure, but there were enough people that it would normally be a little louder than she liked. Without noise from voices and with less traffic around, people seemed to be walking more lightly, on edge and atypically aware of how much noise they were making. Inside the library, the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed.

She approached the main desk, smiling at Betsy, a librarian she recognized. She looked around, but instead of the expected whiteboard, she saw a large sign on the counter informing her to text the number provided. When she did, there was a chirp at the phone Betsy held expectantly.

Not using the tablets?

Betsy typed a response, and Jemma's phone buzzed. This has been working well enough. Carson's looking into it.

Carson was the library IT guy, the resident expert in all things electronic.

Who has shown up? Jemma asked.

It's me, Carson, and Jessica T.

Jessica was the head of the downtown branch, effectively in her own line of supervision since the main branch had priority over the smaller libraries. Jemma typed again.

Is Jessica in today?

Betsy nodded, and Jemma pointed toward the office, raising an eyebrow. Betsy nodded again, so Jemma walked toward the office with a wave. Jessica sat at her desk, a "Mrs. Thomas" name plate glistening proudly on the almost-empty wood. When she saw Jemma walk in, Jessica retrieved a whiteboard from a drawer.

Have you been into work? She put the board at the edge of the desk, pushing her name plate out of the way. Jemma sat and picked up the board and marker.

Yes. I can't quite keep up with our normal hours on my own, but I've got it as close as I can, she wrote.

Just you?

That answered whether anyone at the city headquarters was monitoring their emails.

Yeah. Haven't been able to get ahold of Susan or Cecily, though honestly I've been too swamped to even get through my inbox. Have you heard from them?

Jessica shook her head. We can't spare anyone to help, either. I'm sorry.

It's fine, Jemma rea.s.sured her. There is something you might be able to help with, though. When Jessica lifted her brows questioningly, Jemma erased the board and continued. Can you spare a tablet? It might help communication at the circulation desk.

Have you tried using phones?

Not all my patrons have cell phones. If you can spare a tablet, I'd rather try that.

Jessica watched her a moment, thinking, then nodded.

Okay, she wrote. Ask Betsy for the one we keep behind the counter. Email me directly if you find anything particularly helpful. I'll send the information on to Carson.

Jemma nodded, and Jessica held out her hand for a shake. After a quick, silent farewell, Jemma left, acquiring the expensive Surface tablet and clutching it tightly as she walked back to her car. When she'd sat down and locked the door, placing the tablet on the pa.s.senger seat, she texted her mother.

Mind if I come over for a bit?

When Jemma opened the door to her parents' house, she was immediately wrapped in a hug. She caught a whiff of her mother's vanilla perfume before she pulled back.

She waved with her right hand, her left occupied with holding the tablet. Her mother looked her over before raising an eyebrow questioningly. Jemma held up the tablet and gestured to the table.

Jill? mouthed Jemma, holding up the tablet. Carolyn nodded and walked toward the bedrooms, and Jemma set up the tablet PC at the dining room table.

Her mother and Jill came back a minute later, as Jemma finished getting the tablet ready to use. Jill looked excited when she caught sight of it, coming to sit next to Jemma, who opened Word so she could type.

I'm looking for ways to communicate with my patrons better, she wrote.

Oh! This will be fun, wrote Jill after setting down her phone, leaning over to type on the keyboard. Carolyn looked between them, then left the room.

Ok, so, we can either just type, which is fine with me, explained Jemma, or we can use some sort of talking app. You know I handle tech stuff fine usually. But you're way better with this stuff than I am. I was going to try talking to Carson, but they're just texting!!

Expected Carson to have something better than that, wrote Jill. Carolyn came back into the room carrying a book and sat down across the table from her daughters.

Me too, wrote Jemma. Even some of the grocery stores have got better than that. I was thinking maybe one of the apps that makes text turn into words, but one that isn't too obnoxious. Also need to be able to understand it even if the volume is kinda low.

Have you tried anything yet? asked Jill.

Not yet. Came here first.

Jill smiled and cracked her knuckles. She dragged her finger across the screen, switching the Word doc.u.ment to a half-screen size, then opened up the app store in the other half of the screen.

Okay, she wrote, give me a sec. I know kinda what to look for, but I'm way more used to the Android ones. Not sure what Windows has so far.

Jemma nodded, letting Jill keep control of the keyboard. She watched as her sister scrolled through apps, soon realizing she read almost as quickly as Jemma herself.

Jill pointed a finger at the screen without touching it, and then she switched back to Word. Okay. This person or company or whatever, they're making the best apps. They used like celebrity voices for their speech programs. They aren't free, but if it's for work, maybe you can get a refund from your boss or something.

Jemma peered at the list of apps showing. $9.99 each wasn't too bad, as long as they worked. She shouldn't need more than one, anyway.

And this is the one you'd use? she asked her sister.

Yeah. I mean, he got like instafamous overnight. It sounds JUST like when they talk, and this says that it'll work on any program, so you just have to have Word open or whatever, don't have to type into the program itself. And then if you've got enough money, you can even get one personalized. If you've got recordings of yourself, of course.

And then it's your voice?

Yeah, Jill answered. It's pretty cool. I mean, it costs like megabucks. I think I heard it was ten grand for the most basic one? But then it sounds just like you. I'd totally get it if I was rich.

Doesn't sound too bad. She looked over the list of celebrity voices. Who would you pick? David Tennant probably wouldn't be the easiest for most people around here to understand.

Ha! n.o.body would be able to understand him except you and the people who watched that show. I dunno who I would pick. You want someone easy to understand, right? What about like Oprah? Jill typed.

Jemma thought. She'd start with one app, and she could get more if she got tired of the voice. She scrolled down the list, then smiled, pointing. Jill nodded, grinning back, and clicked to download the voice app for LeVar Burton.

While Jemma entered her payment information, Jill picked back up her phone and started typing. Carolyn glanced at the girls, then went back to her romance novel. When the download had finished, Jemma opened the program and went into the options. She told it to read anything typed into the computer, and she agreed to the standard pace of speech for the celebrity. She minimized it, as the directions indicated, then switched back to Word.

"Testing," blared Burton's voice, and Jemma jumped, quickly fumbling for the volume b.u.t.tons. When she looked up, Jill was glaring at her, and her mother had her hand over her mouth, book hanging loosely from the other hand. Jemma checked the volume before typing again. "Sorry!"

Carolyn looked intrigued, if still a little too pale, and she got up to come see. Jemma typed again.

"Hi, Mom."

Her mother smiled and reached over her to type on the keyboard. "Never expected to be the mother of Geordi." She paused. "Oh, this is weird. Are you planning to talk this way?"

"Just at work," answered Jemma.

Jill typed furiously on her phone again, then reached over to the keyboard.

"OMG, there's totally an angry librarian version," said Burton's voice, and Jemma laughed silently.

"That might not be the most soothing. Reading Rainbow voice, this works," Jemma typed.

Matthew came into the room, looking curiously at his family around the tablet. Jill reached over and pulled it more firmly in front of her, slowly enough that Jemma didn't worry about the expensive electronic.

"Dad, you said I could be whatever I wanted to be when I grew up, so I grew up to be the Reading Rainbow guy!"

Their father smiled and joined them.

"Pretty neat," he typed, "But I think I'll stick to writing. At least I can picture the real voices that way."

Jemma nodded. It felt bizarre, her words being spoken by the voice of someone else, even if it was a familiar voice from multiple childhood favorite shows. She looked at her family members to see whether they had anything else to say, then deactivated the speaking app. She would try this tomorrow. She put away the tablet and grabbed the whiteboard from the center of the table.

You guys have anything planned for the day? she wrote.

Three heads shook, and Carolyn reached for the board. Stay for lunch? Tuna melts.

Okay, Jemma answered. Matt went back to the living room, and Carolyn and Jemma followed. When her parents both sat down with books, Jemma took her e-reader out of her purse and curled up on the loveseat.

After a few minutes, her father reached for the remote and turned on the television. Jemma looked up and saw it was the news anchors they'd settled on that first night.

Still no updates from WHO regarding whether this was a disease, whether it has affected us physically in any way. So far, studies have shown that everything is functioning perfectly, read Gina's speech bubble.

There appears to be an undetectable film at the back of the mouth, but it isn't showing on any tests. Sound shot into the mouth disappears there, and a microphone inserted into the throat catches no noise, from either lungs and throat or from the mouth, wrote Rob.

Riots have finally been completely quelled in major cities in the US, though some of these might be only temporary as many larger cities remain under martial law, wrote Gina, looking at the camera rather than at the keyboard.