{"id":1792,"date":"2026-04-05T10:01:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/?p=1792"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:28:09","slug":"a-call-from-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/a-call-from-mom\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 2 – A call from Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"

My mobile phone rings. I wake up to see Mum<\/em> on the screen. Oh no! What am I going to hear now? Haven\u2019t called for a long time. First it will be the recriminations: \u201cWhy do I have to call you for news, why don\u2019t you do call me yourself? I was so anxious. I am always anxious when you don\u2019t give me news. You know it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, I know it, but when I call, it is to hear complaints about me not calling often enough, or about neighbors not being nice enough, about mum\u2019s life not being like she had wished it were, politicians being\u2026 politicians. And I can\u2019t say even one word. \u201cDon\u2019t you have anything to say?\u201d she always asks at the end. I wish I did, but after 30 minutes, I don\u2019t want to talk anymore. These calls are so demoralizing. But today, I won\u2019t let it get that way. I am going to stop her. A big breath. One more.<\/p>\n

– Hello Mum, I have great news for you!
\n– Beth, I was anxious. Why don\u2019t you call me from time to time?
\n– Mum I won the lottery!
\n– What?
\n– I won the lottery!
\n– What lottery? Don\u2019t tell me you won that stupid space travel thing!
\n– Oh, I\u2019m afraid I did. Actually, I\u2019m not afraid at all. I feel very happy! Mum it will be fantastic. It\u2019s my dream. My biggest dream. Since forever. You know it is!
\n– But Beth, you can\u2019t do it. You mustn\u2019t. I forbid you! It\u2019s dangerous. Haven\u2019t you heard all those things about space travellers? They become mad. They lose their minds.
\n– Oh Mum, they\u2019re just stories. Babble from fearful people. There is absolutely no evidence of any big trouble with space travel. Nothing real, anyway. Nothing proved! Thousands of people have done it already. There are plenty of testimonies. It\u2019s\u2026
\n– Listen to me sweetheart. I won\u2019t let you go!
\n– No, you listen to me Mum. You\u2019ll never stop me.
\n– Please darling\u2026,
\n– Mum, if you want, I will bring you someone who has travelled to space. You will see for yourself if this person is mad or not.
\n– Who?
\n– I\u2019ve chatted with some Snoopers you know. We can have a video conference with one of them.
\n– Oh you\u2019ve never seen one of them for real, have you?
\n– They are real people in a real time video stream, Mum, not cartoons or puppets.
\n– They could be liars.
\n– They could be honest.
\n– I will show you files a friend of mine sent me a few months ago.
\n– Who?
\n– You don\u2019t know him
\n– Him?
\n– Beth, I have to go now. Take care sweetheart. We\u2019ll talk about this another time. Bye.
\n– Mum…<\/p>\n

She hung up on me!
\nYou see? Always negative. And elusive too. I am so angry now. She is going to search for everything she is able to find against space travel. She won\u2019t spare herself. But the fact is, there is nothing. Nothing serious. She thinks it\u2019s about the drugs. But, those who think it is just a matter of drugs are the mad ones. We have testimonies from those who have returned describing entire civilizations.\u00a0 Drug ravings would be more confused. It\u2019s true, you are given a catalyzer. It awakens each person\u2019s travel ability and they can go. Everybody has this ability, but it is a dormant one. The catalyzer is a complex gas which works only under specific conditions. It is why you need those conditioned units, where temperature, hygrometry, pressure and air composition are strictly controlled. And that is why all this is so expansive. I wonder if I will be a good traveller, one of those that can go far, far away.
\nBut for the moment, I think I will go for a walk. To calm down. I really need it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My mobile phone rings. I wake up to see Mum on the screen. Oh no! What am I going to hear now? Haven\u2019t called for a long time. First it will be the recriminations: \u201cWhy do I have to call… Continuer la lecture →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-think"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/telephone.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4u88f-sU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1811,"url":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/chapter-5-the-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":1792,"position":0},"title":"Chapter 5 – The Training","author":"Annie","date":"5 avril 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"- Did you plan to tell me? - Listen, Colin, I just wanted to have you back from your trip so we could discuss this face to face. I\u2019ve already had an unpleasant conversation with Mum about it. I don\u2019t need to have another one with you. - Well, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "I - When you think about it"","block_context":{"text":"I - When you think about it","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/category\/fiction-en\/think\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/building.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1925,"url":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/chapter-14-the-day-of-the-great-council\/","url_meta":{"origin":1792,"position":1},"title":"Chapter 14 – The Day of the Great Council","author":"Annie","date":"5 avril 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"When Star Shining in the Vastness of the Universe\u00a0 tried to convince him, he literally lost his temper. There was no question of telling me the truth nor of asking for my memory to be kept. This was impossible. The law was the law. \u201cBelieve me, her departure will be\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "I - When you think about it"","block_context":{"text":"I - When you think about it","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/category\/fiction-en\/think\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cadenas_coeur.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1868,"url":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/chapter-10-the-wait\/","url_meta":{"origin":1792,"position":2},"title":"Chapter 10 – The Wait","author":"Annie","date":"5 avril 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"- A week!? \u2013 This is me, and I am not glad. - Seven days. \u2013 My host. - A week\u2026 - But what do you mean by \u201ca week\u201d? - Seven days. - A week then, that\u2019s it. - I won\u2019t be able to go back for a week?\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "I - When you think about it"","block_context":{"text":"I - When you think about it","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/category\/fiction-en\/think\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/calendrier.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1852,"url":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/chapter-e-a-new-attempt\/","url_meta":{"origin":1792,"position":3},"title":"Chapter \u00e8 – A New Attempt","author":"Annie","date":"5 avril 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I am on my way to my second attempt at a first travel. It freaks me a bit out. I received a letter from the lottery telling me that my tests didn\u2019t show anything abnormal. Thus, I was invited to book another travel session which would be considered my first.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "I - When you think about it"","block_context":{"text":"I - When you think about it","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/category\/fiction-en\/think\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/minuit.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1864,"url":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/chapter-9-the-passage\/","url_meta":{"origin":1792,"position":4},"title":"Chapter 9 – The passage","author":"Annie","date":"5 avril 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I had my third travel. The two Smiths welcomed me as usual. I got into the travel chamber and then waited for the gas. I arrived in a world under a blue light. As if the sun, or something, hadn\u2019t succeeded in rising... I think it was the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "I - When you think about it"","block_context":{"text":"I - When you think about it","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/category\/fiction-en\/think\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/vitesse_lumiere.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1799,"url":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/2026\/04\/with-friends\/","url_meta":{"origin":1792,"position":5},"title":"Chapter 3 – With friends","author":"Annie","date":"5 avril 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Walking was not enough. So I ran. As fast as I could. I ran through the park and its high trees until I was out of breath. I sat on a bench, and texted my friends to go for a drink. I am in the bar now.\u00a0 They are arriving\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "I - When you think about it"","block_context":{"text":"I - When you think about it","link":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/en\/category\/fiction-en\/think\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/biere.jpg?fit=340%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1792"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1816,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792\/revisions\/1816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annierun.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}