OLIVER: Can you say your name and your age?

BENJAMIN: I'm Benjamin, and I'm 8 years old, 4 Mars years.

OLIVER: What did your parents do?

BENJAMIN: They left, and then they got electrocuted.

OLIVER: No, I mean before, what did they do?

BENJAMIN: Oh, they worked.

OLIVER: Sure, but do you know what they did?  Like, what their jobs were?

BENJAMIN: Oh, yeah.  Um, they made cloth.

OLIVER: Building 16?

BENJAMIN: Maybe.  Yeah.  They made sheets and curtains and clothes and stuff.

OLIVER: Did you ever see them work?

BENJAMIN: Is that thing listening to us?

OLIVER: What?  Yeah, it's taking down what we say, so I don't have to type it.

BENJAMIN: Can it play music?

OLIVER: Music?

BENJAMIN: We should have it play music.  I like it when Charlotte sings.

OLIVER: Yeah, that's pretty great, isn't it?

BENJAMIN: I even like it when Isabella sings.

OLIVER: Wait, seriously?

BENJAMIN: Yeah, she looks so happy.  I like her singing. It makes me happy.

OLIVER: Oh, ok.  Well, great.  Hey, did you ever see your parents at work?

BENJAMIN: I don't think so.  Did your parents ever sing?

OLIVER: Mine?  Uh, hmm...I don't remember that ever happening, no.  They liked to play music, but I don't remember them actually singing themselves.

BENJAMIN: My parents used to sing.  My dad would sing low, and my mama would sing higher up.  They used to sing a lot.  When they were cooking, or when they were putting me to bed, or when they were working.

OLIVER: I thought you said you never saw your parents working?

BENJAMIN: What?  Oh, well they were singing.  That's different.

OLIVER: Wait...

BENJAMIN: I don't think they thought of it as work while they were singing.

OLIVER: Ok...so, but you did see them making cloth and sewing it into things in Building 16 though?

BENJAMIN: Sure, that's what their jobs were.

OLIVER: Right, so, did you ever notice how they did it?

BENJAMIN: If they were singing a happy song, they did it kind of fast, and smiling.  With their eyes, anyway.  They couldn't always smile with their mouths, because they were singing.  But they smiled with their eyes.

OLIVER: Sure, but...

BENJAMIN: Sometimes they sang different songs, though.  They said they were religious songs, from the old times on Earth, and they were in other languages sometimes.  They were kind of slow, but they were pretty.  Then they would move slower.  They chose those songs when they were getting more tired, and needed to move slower, but they wanted to keep working.

OLIVER: Ok, that's cool.  Did you notice anything about how they worked the machines, though?

BENJAMIN: Not really.  I don't think it really affected their singing.  They just did it.

OLIVER: I see.  Is there anything you would like to ask Earth?

BENJAMIN: About what?

OLIVER: No, I mean, that's what I'm asking you.  What would you like to ask them about?

BENJAMIN: Can they send some more snack bars?  We're almost out.

OLIVER: Oh, I don't know if they could do that before we run out, but I'll ask.  Anything else?

BENJAMIN: Um...no.

OLIVER: You sure?

BENJAMIN: Yeah...

OLIVER: Is something wrong, Benjamin?

BENJAMIN: No.  Is it?  Maybe ask Earth that.  Ask them if it's gonna be ok, or if there's something wrong.

OLIVER: Ok, I'll find a way to ask that.  But you know what, Benjamin?

BENJAMIN: What?

OLIVER: We know that better than Earth.  Because we're here, so we know better than Earth does because we can see what's going on.  And we have some problems, but you know what?  I think we're going to be ok.

BENJAMIN: Yeah?

OLIVER: Yeah.

BENJAMIN: Cool.