As the TV plays and we eat our pizza. The occasional idle chatter appears between us.
"Hey this pizza is actually pretty good!" I couldn't help but exclaim.
It really is good. The sauce is nice and thick, it has tons of flavor from all of the spices. The cheese is a beautiful golden brown from the oven with a delightful gooeyness that most cheese dreamed it could have. The one con is that it is kind of hard to bite through.
"I know right! I tried a sample at the store and thought well if it is this good at home then it is money well spent." Mom said with delight.
"Yeah, and they come in a pack of 3. Which is kind of weird" I questioned who would buy 3 pizzas all at once, missing the hypocrisy of my words, considering that we usually buy 4 or 5 frozen pizzas at a time.
"Yeah that is kind of weird but I would guess that it is for parties?" My mom guessed.
"Or people who eat more than us." I stated a very real fact. Both my mom and I are people who hate to cook, and we are more than happy to go hungry than cook. It really is a problem, because when it comes to eating, we will just eat whatever is the easiest to make.
Hence all of the frozen food.
"Haha, yeah exactly." Mom laughed out.
The occasional chat like this is common for mom and I. I feel like there isn't a lot of talking, it's more like we exist in the same house and talk every so often. But we usually just keep to ourselves.
"By the way, what were you testing with the thing in the yard?" She cautiously questioned.
"Oh well you know how I was interested in coding and AI?" I started with a well known fact. Because I took a coding class in high school and the teacher said that I had a real talent for it. Plus, I genuinely find it very interesting.
"Yeah." Mom acknowledged.
"But Erik said that it would be impossible to get in because it is so dominated by wealthy people that can get in through the back door?" I reminded her of what he had said ages ago about the field, because I wanted to try and get in.
"Yeah." She acknowledged for a second time.
"Well I Foolgled the AI source code and found a few different versions so I downloaded them. After I got them, I changed some of the code and it seems like the AI is running better than before. But I still need data and to run tests, to optimize the AI to make it better. So I got StarConnect to gather data and to run tests on the satellite.
Anyway long story short I managed to use the AI to change the software of the StarConnect system and now it runs a little better. I know it's worth something, but the undercurrents of that industry make me scared to really try and make anything off of it." I explained in a vague way to muddy the waters a bit, since I can't really explain how I have done what I have.
"Oh, really! That's great to hear, I always knew you could do it, if you really tried. I would probably hold off on doing anything with it for a while. At least until we talk to Erik about it first." She patronized, not really understanding the weight or depth of what I just said.
She probably doesn't believe me or thinks what I did wasn't really of much value. Also don't think I didn't notice her first instinct to talk to Erik about it. I'm an adult but she still needs the opinion of Erik because he is the one seen as knowledgeable about the world.
"No. Don't tell Erik for now. I want to progress a lot further before I do anything." I ask, fully knowing she will still tell him about it later.
"Ok. I'll respect your decision." My mom said that but would she really?
"Yeah, thanks." I replied.
"Then what are you doing with the solar panel?" She asked another question.
"Same thing trying to make it more efficient, but I need to let it run without interruption to get the best data. So it has to run overnight because it still works on moonlight. Just very poorly."
"Oh, OK, that makes sense, well good luck with that." Mom, kind of encouraged.
"Yep, thanks."
The rest of dinner passed uneventfully, just watching a bit of tv and eating pizza.
After which I put my plate into the dishwasher and headed back to my office.
I wonder if that was the right thing to do? I mean, I at least don't have to worry about hiding anything besides my ability. However I might have shared a little too much.
I could have kept her in the dark, and simply said I wanted my own internet. But given how emotionally she reacted earlier in the day, I don't think that would have been the best call.
I certainly don't want to build up any animosity with my own mother. She has done a lot for me, like letting me live at home rent free, and just generally taking care of me. So if I don't have to do something to anger her, then I won't.
Now, I have to worry about what she will tell Erik. He knows what I told mom would be worth, so he would rightfully have a significant reaction.
Or the more likely thing to happen is he won't believe my mom. Because either my mom is lying or misunderstood something, and / or I am lying because there is no way he would believe I could do something like that.
I suppose the real question is what would actually come from him knowing? It's not like he could stop me, nor would he or anyone in my family even try to stop me.
I think the most that would happen is him talking to me in private about it. But I don't really want to put up with that.