Re: Train tracks: Oliver & Gwen
"I'm sure about tangible things. Things that can be quantified and examined under magnifying glasses. Germs and microbes and the energy expended by the body at rest and in movement. Things you can be sure of, those are the things I'm sure of." That last bit was super circular, and you couldn't use something to prove itself, but she thought the sentiment clearly expressed life's certainties. "I'm sure we're dying, both of us, standing here beneath the night sky and converting oxygen to carbon dioxide. I'm sure about biology and genetics, and even theories are sure in this weird science way, even if they're totally unproven. Abstract stuff isn't as easy to figure out. Like your facial expressions, which make sense if I attribute a word to them, but that word still doesn't really tell me anything, because it's an arbitrary construct."
She didn't actually expect any bad stuff to filter into her existence. Her brief life had included the vehement assertion that she was Important (capital I), and that gave her a youthful sense of security. She didn't think she was immortal, because she knew the relative speed of all the experiments and tests being conducted was due to her expected brevity of existence, but she didn't think there would be any outside agency that hurt her. The only thing she feared was time and cellular degradation, which was a common fear. In her, it was just kind of super pronounced and sped up.
His question came as a surprise, because she didn't think there were any outward indicators of her state. "Do I look sick?" She sounded way upset about that, because she kind of wanted to look like a normal girl. Okay, so she totally wasn't a normal girl, but it would super nice to be perceived as one by a (kind of) cute boy on train tracks.