The Starlink Incident

The seagulls have remained aboard far longer than anyone invited them, and today they made their position on hospitality rather plain. They covered the Starlink terminal in an amount of waste that exceeded both expectation and dignity. I am reluctant to describe the appearance in detail. It was enough to make the terminal look less like communications equipment than a strongly expressed objection.

The connection failed before lunch. This gave the problem a directness that mere ugliness had not achieved. It is possible to disapprove of birds at a theoretical level while continuing with one's day. Losing the internet encourages a more practical interest. I looked at the situation and arrived, perhaps too quickly, at the conclusion that I could be useful.

I volunteered to clean it. Priya looked at me for several seconds. The pause was not empty. It contained an assessment of my competence, my enthusiasm and the likelihood that I had confused a wet upper deck with somewhere one might solve a problem by restarting a laptop. I began to appreciate that volunteering can happen much faster than understanding.

She asked whether I understood that this was on the upper deck, wet, unpleasant and not a laptop problem. I said yes. Her sternness had the reassuring quality of someone making certain that good intentions did not become additional work for her. She found me a harness. There was kindness in that, although it was kindness wearing a very practical expression. I had offered to restore a connection and acquired a more immediate one.