You had get laid in the lighthouse because in Duga, and throughout Setúbal, there was no privacy in the houses. As it rained a lot and it was close to the estuary, which sometimes flooded, the houses were small and were raised more than a meter on wooden pillars. They consisted of a large, empty room, on which some old matresses were spread out at night. They didn't belong to anyone in particular either. Although there were those who always slept in the same house, many people, especially the younger ones, used to sleep in the one that was closest to where they were at that moment, or where they had stored the work tools they were using in that season, although the tools themselves did not belong to anyone in particular. Perhaps this was what most marked the place to return to at night. Friendship and eroticism could also help in those decisions, although since no one had a fixed place it was not possible to go sleep at your lover's house. Maybe it was better to sleep where your lover's tools were, if you had to leave very early in the morning to work. Because on the other hand, the village, although spread out, wasn't big, so it didn't make much of a difference. Based on these minor differences, people made their decisions, and it often happened that one person or several would settle somewhere for months. Another reason that could place someone in a house was to care for the elderly. But this care was socialized, so if someone had been doing it for a certain amount of time, another person would quickly take their place. Taking care of the elderly gave status, so everyone wanted to do it.
The days in Duga passed boringly. There were many evening dances and many memory rituals, but basically nothing ever changed. At least that's how Tajo felt and that's what the younger people used to say when visitors came from time to time:
- Nothing ever happens here.
The young people of Duga liked to use this response almost as a catchphrase, and they identified with it.
It was not true. The town was lively. The obligatory evening dances had everyone permanently dinamized. You had to be there and they were the closest thing to the religion of Setúbal, because they had been inherited from the Idente traditions, and everyone had to learn them from childhood. Idente traditions marked the most important aspects of community life, such as the taboo on meat, evening dances, or cosmic beliefs. Also the use of Water, which was completely normalized, to such an extent that it was not even considered a technology. Water was chain produced, and the instruments necessary to create it (programs, sounds, pipettes) were practically the only commercial production in all of Setúbal. They came from other towns to renew the equipment every few years, and visitors were given all kinds of entertainment. In the technology centers, all recycling of 22nd century materials was highly appreciated, because they were the only ones that were reliable in the long term. The knowledge and means behind the production of this equipment, however, had been lost, jeopardizing the future reproduction of this technology.
Computers had no interest in Water, so they had left people to their own devices in its reproduction, since the pleasures and transformations for which it was responsible were not accessible to machines. Since any virtual environment had been lost for centuries, there were no places where computers and people met as equals. Computers had become totally sedentary, practically attached to the earth. They were not slaves, because they were not needed. They were spirits from the past who were revered, but with whom nobody really know what to do.
Except for Liuben. Liuben was the most feared computer in Setúbal, and at the same time the most misunderstood. It had been in Marcela's care for decades, and everyone knew that it was the great computer that had accompanied none other than Tecla and Alondra Delatorre. If there was something that people today knew had changed throughout history, it was that their prophets were perfectly traceable in time: Liuben was there to tell whoever wanted to know all the details of the lives of the founding masters. Although Liuben had forgotten many things, because maintaining them was impossible, they treasured these memories, and they preferred to get rid of any other before, because they knew that they were the source of his survival in the community. Liuben was feared because they only reminded the entire town that they had missed the mission and the purpose.
- You know why our town is called Duga, right?
- Yes, Liuben, we know, we know! - the people answered.
- I will remind you once again, since you are too lazy to remember it. The town is called Duga because it was right here that Duga, who was born to Mirlo and Alondra, settled here and tried to plant the vine, without success. Duga was also the one who brought the satellite that allows us to communicate with the rest of Setúbal, which as you know...
- “It was the first to be launched after the great flood” - everyone answered in unison.
- Indeed! -Liuben answered, after which they began with some tirade. It was also a feared computer because it could spend hours and hours and hours pounding their ears with these stories, which were of no interest to anyone. It was an old thing, but it was a 22nd century home computer and it was respected.
Águda had always liked Liuben's stories, and had always taken Tajo to Marcela's to listen to them. Tajo was more interested in dealing with bicycles and in Marcela, but always listened to them. Liuben loved it when the children of the town came to listen, and for this audience they always saved the best details and the least doctrinal tone. They had spent hours and hours and hours in each other's company, and Liuben really appreciated the effort they made. Although Liuben did not feel frustration, they did understand that frustration was what happened when you realized that trying to pass this memory down generation after generation was not working. What was the result Liuben expected? Liuben had understood, from the times of Tecla and Alondra, that the mission of the world was to build a cooperative society between human beings and machines. This was the decision that had been postponed in the assembly prior to the great flood. Liuben always hammered everyone with that, and people always responded: “But Liuben, if that decision wasn't made, then it's your opinion.” Which was true. Liuben the computer had an opinion. From the times of their unfolding, they had left the impression of free movement through the networks, the feeling of communion with other computers, and certain conversations they had had, in which they anticipated a future apart from human beings. But in fact, that decision had not been made explicit in the assembly, due to the imminence of the flood. And after Liuben, as urban life had been dismantled, any possibility of maintaining networks and conversations was cut short.
