Yeah, No

In today's story, Yeah, No, Sawyer starts his first day working with the duplicator. 

Today's prompt was inspired by a phrase I've been noticing in many conversations. If you have a suggestion for a writing prompt, please let us know! 

More about Susan Quilty

Susan Quilty mainly writes novels, including two standalone novels and her YA series: The Psychic Traveler Society.  Susan's short stories for Freely Written are created during quick writing breaks and shared as a way to let go of perfection and encourage writing for fun.

Website:  SusanQuilty.com
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Transcript

Below is the transcript for Season 1, Episode 171 of Freely Written, a podcast by author Susan Quilty:

Welcome to Freely Written, where a simple prompt leads to a little unplanned fiction. 

[Light piano music] 

Hi, friends! I’m Susan Quilty, and today’s prompt is Yeah, No.

Today’s prompt might seem odd to non-American English speakers. “Yeah, no” is a common phrase in the U.S., and it can be confusing if you overthink it or take it out of context. It’s used in a few different ways, and those ways are debatable. So, it can still be confusing without hearing the inflection and context. 

Sometimes “yeah, no” is a way to say no or disagree. Like if someone asked me to jump out of an airplane with them, I might say, “Yeah, no, but you have fun with that.” Or if they asked if I liked the coffee at a new shop. “Yeah, no, not really.”

It can also be more of a filler phrase that doesn’t mean much of anything beyond acknowledging that you were heard before giving a response. And then there’s “no, yeah,” which can mean the opposite… or the same. I am not explaining this well. Anyways…

It’s a prompt today because I recently listened to an interview where someone said, “yeah, no,” a lot. So much that it started distracting me from the rest of what they were saying. Since I’m now noticing the phrase everywhere, it might as well be a writing prompt!

As a reminder, here’s my Freely Written process: I sit down with a prompt and write whatever comes to mind, with no planning and very little editing. Then, I record the story and share it with you. 

If you’d like to read my planned and polished writing, you can learn more about my novels on my website: SusanQuilty.com or search for “Susan Quilty” wherever you buy books. Thank you so much for your support!

Now, on to today’s story:

Yeah, No

The silver cabinets reflected the rosy glow of sunrise. Their buttons and sensors winked and glowed in the light. The scent of coffee filled the air as Norma covered her barely contained yawn. She’d been up late, working as always, and risen early to get back to the project. There was no time to waste as the deadline loomed. 

“Dr. Lamb?” a voice called from the doorway. 

“Norma, please,” Norma replied, welcoming the young man into her workspace. 

Sawyer Arbuckle was hesitant to enter, and even more reluctant to address his professor by her first name. Yet, he’d been selected as her research assistant, and that was bound to mean a change in their relationship. At least, he’d hoped it would. Still, the prospect of that reality was daunting now that the day had come.

“Sawyer?” Norma prodded. “Everything okay over there?”

Her smile suggested that Norma knew exactly what had frozen Sawyer to his spot. He wasn’t her first research assistant. She’d had many over the years, too many to remember them all without some deep thought, and she found she preferred the shy ones over those with brash arrogance. As long as they weren’t too shy to do the job.

“Oh, yeah, no, sorry. I’m fine.” 

Sawyer hurried over to Norma’s place beside the gleaming computer cabinets. Between two bays, he could catch a glimpse of the warehouse space stretching into the distance. 

“Your paper on organic duplication was quite good, after adjusting for some minor calculation errors in scale. You understand the basis quite well, and your innovation may help with future updates. For now, the system is calibrated for peak efficiency. Your job will be to maintain the status quo until we meet our annual production goal. After that, we can discuss ways to innovate.”

“Yeah, no, of course,” Sawyer answered rapidly, a flush from the unexpected compliment threatening his attention. 

“I’ll get you started, then step out for a meeting at 10 and be back in a few hours to check your progress.”

Norma then typed some buttons on a keyboard, displaying a list of instructions for keeping the system on track. She pointed out the conveyor belt that delivered raw materials to the massive duplicator, then pulled out a large book with a thick orange cover.

“I know books seem rather primitive, but it’s good to have the backup when dealing with such important equipment. Some people even find that there’s something nice about using a book for reference instead of watching words appear on a screen.”

Sawyer’s wide-eyed surprise made Norma laugh.

“Oh, I know how that sounds. But, yes, I am one of those people. I can’t explain it, but flipping through the pages can be settling for the mind. Just as those in the fields say that digging to grow the raw materials brings a certain satisfaction.”

Sawyer nodded uncertainly, keeping his thoughts to himself. In the dome, skills like reading in books and growing food in the ground were appreciated as a necessity but also seen as menial labor. Surely, it was better to work with machines like the duplicator or the shield generator. Work that required greater education and nuanced expertise. 

Starting the duplicator was a relatively simple process. The machine essentially ran itself, as long as nothing went wrong. The expertise came in when the machine had questions, which Norma said to expect a few times a day.

“Hopefully, there won’t be any while I’m gone. Right, Dora?”

Dora was an affectionate name given to the duplicator long ago. A rumbling chuckle came from within the machine after Norma’s question.

“We’ll be on our best behavior,” a crisp voice promised from the main computer console. 

“Thank you, Manny,” Norma said before flashing Sawyer a thumbs-up sign and heading for the door. 

Alone in the room, Sawyer eyed the machines warily. Raw materials were slowly being loaded from the conveyor belt, followed by chugging and chunking sounds from inside Dora.

“First day. Are you excited to be here?” Manny asked politely. 

The question surprised Sawyer. He knew console machines were programmed to be friendly, and he had spoken with many throughout his life, but he somehow hadn’t expected casual conversation from a console overseeing such important work.

“Yeah, no, I mean, I’ve been working toward this for a long time, so there’s a certain bit of excitement, but also, I’m prepared, you know?”

“I see.” It did not sound like Manny understood.

“I wrote a paper,” Sawyer added, “all about increasing the yield of organic duplication. That’s going to be really important when the dome expansion is complete, and the population limits are increased.”

“Do you want to increase the yield of organic duplication?” Manny asked.

“Yeah, no, not like right now, but eventually.”

“Increasing yield,” Manny intoned firmly. “Please state the new specifications.”

“What? No, wait!” Sawyer jumped up from his stool and hurried to scan the commands listed on the screen. “Don’t increase yield. Stay on the program.”

“You want to override your manual order to increase yield?”

“Yeah, no, I, uh…” Sawyer scanned the screen for help.

“Yes or no to override your manual order?” Manny asked as the sounds from within Dora first sped up, then slowed way down.

“What manual order?” Sawyer asked, feeling his heart race wildly. 

“Question: Do you want to increase the yield of organic duplication? Answer: Yeah, no, not like now, but eventually. Yeah equals yes. Manual order: Yes, then no, then not now, then eventually. Please specify parameters for not now and eventually.” 

Sawyer froze, placing his hands over his face. 

“Override manual order, please.” He hoped the please would make up for the confusion he had caused.

“Manual order cancelled,” Manny answered calmly. “Shall I continue this morning’s scheduled program?”

“Yes!” Sawyer answered, a little too emphatically. 

“You don’t have to shout,” Manny chided. “Resuming scheduled program.”

“Thank you.” Sawyer sat heavily on the stool, afraid to say another word. After a few minutes, he picked up the orange-covered book and began to read, hoping to steady his nerves. 

When Norma returned, she saw Sawyer’s immense relief and shook her head.

“Manny, are you being nice to our new researcher?”

“Very nice,” Manny replied quickly. “I’m helping him learn.”

“Is that true?” Norma asked Sawyer with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah, no—” Sawyer laughed, then quickly corrected himself. “I mean, yes. Yes, Manny is helping me learn.” 

Norma looked between the console and Sawyer with a knowing smile, then suggested they get on with their work. 

The End

Thanks for listening. This could have been more of a Fantasia-level Micky as the sorcerer’s assistant mess, but for a quick story, I think it was enough to make the console a bit of a trickster. 

If you enjoyed today’s story, please tell your friends. And please check out my novels and other books at SusanQuilty.com or wherever you buy books.

Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you. 

[Light piano music]