Mid-afternoon. You are waiting for Carol at
the Mason-Montgomery Road Kroger's after a late lunch (salads) at Piada Street
Italian and two kids' cups at Graeter's. Let's put chapter fifteen down. -
Amorella
1532 hours. Fine with me.
** **
Fifteen nfd ©2017, rho, Soki's Choice
The six
have private apartments. This chapter we listen in on Friendly and Blake's
conversation. Chapter Sixteen resumes with Hartolite and Justin; and Chapter
Seventeen proceeds with Pyl and Yermey in discussion.
.
"What
are you rubbing in your hand," asks Friendly.
Caught
off guard Blake, standing, opens his left hand while slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, this? It is a gift from my father. He was a hunter. This is supposed
to go on a key chain but I keep it for good luck -- much like a rabbit's foot.
Here.” He hands it to her.
Friendly
holds and feels the smoothness of the claw, thinking this is like a ThreePlanets
primate's fingernail. "What animal is this from?"
"A
bear. Dad killed the bear in the Canadian Rockies about twenty years ago. He
had a silver clasp and hook made to hold the claw so it could be used on a key
chain." Blake continues with a sheepish smile, "It is not the kind of
luck you use for navigation on Ship, I am sure."
"Luck.
Dr. Blake – sometimes luck is all we have."
Blake
Williams smiles with instant relief and responds, "Luck is something I am
glad we share."
Friendly
dryly comments, "Good luck is better."
Blake
laughs and shakes his head asking, "Where's Ship's electronic luck
located?"
"Here,
have a seat," says Friendly. The chair rises. "The technology is packed
in the floor and wall in the insulation if you will. Ship's N-an-P is built
into the outer shell much like skeleton and nerves. There are many safety
redundancies."
Seated
and relaxed Blake asks, "What is N-an-P?
"NavigationanPower."
How many redundancies?"
"Nine."
“There
are nine safety redundancies in everything; very impressive," adds Blake.
Nine.
"All
are interconnected with lifesaving apparatus for every individual on
board." She pauses, "with you three given priority."
Blake
is silent then quietly replies, "Thank you."
"Our
culture is built on being polite even when it is not necessarily
expedient." Poker-faced, Friendly adds, "You may take this as a
weakness."
Blake
breaks into laughter, "The thought had not yet come up." In a more
serious tone, he says, "You don't want to stay on our planet. This is a
very dangerous place — very, very dangerous."
Friendly
comments assuredly, "We feel you three are not a threat."
Again,
relief. Blake realizes how very fortunate he is and to be with two other fellow
human beings he loves very much. He unconsciously wipes his right eye lid, and
in his quietest polite manner says, "Thank you again, most kindly."
"Do
you have more questions, Dr. Blake."
"Call
me Blake Williams, please. It is more informal." A pause. "This is a
more personal question."
Friendly
smiles, "Yes, Dr. Williams. I was attempting to be more informal myself. I
have read that some of your doctors try to relax their patients by having them
call them Dr. and then their first name; but I thought Dr. Blake might still
sound too formal and thus, 'Mr. Blake' because 'Blake' alone would be impolite
as we have just met as we are."
“None
of us are medical doctors,” he quips. Blake looks into her eyes for better
understanding and says, “Do you feel bad about your clever ruse with us early
on?"
“Yes.”
She lowers her guard. “We could not decide what to do. We came here to meet
with Earthlings but who to meet with first?" We assume Ship alone made the
decision to single your plane out.
"
Why would Ship do this? Surely his skills could do with better. We are not
leaders."
"But
you are a family of adults."
Blake
smiles warmly, responding, "We are not always adult-minded."
"Neither
are we." Friendly smiles almost as if Blake were one of them. "I feel
our species are playful when we are at ease."
Both
fall into a relaxed and easy common quiet for a moment.
Friendly
speaks, "Ship decided you three were fine for the purposes of our first
meeting." She hesitates and eyes brighten, "Would you like to know my
last name?"
Blake’s
eyes lighten, "I didn't know you had one. Yes, of course."
“Lakenladybytherightstreamanfork."
She laughs, "That's a translation. Here it is the sound in Marsupialese --
QUANdomIX."
"Friendly
Quandomix."
"Friendly
would be Ar."
"Ar
Quandomix."
She
smiles friendly, "Yes. It is strange hearing you speak in a Marsupialese
voice. You note the guttural German-like resonance."
Blake
comments, "I do. I am surprised how it is that your language has a
characteristic similar to one of our Earth languages. I want to know."
Friendly,
with eyes wide, shakes her head slightly, "What about Ship?
"Ship
too, but people first," declares Blake politely.
I
like this Dr. Williams, thinks Friendly. With our men, the focus is almost
always about efficiency, technology and safety or cuddling, standard cuddling.
Man-children they are -- focused or cute.
.
I, the Soki, say that at this point,
Blake's mind is deeply stuck in the nine safety redundancies built into each
necessary piece of Ship. Blake cannot get over the fact these aliens care so
much about their marsupial humanoid lives as to go to this extreme in this
excess. I, the Soki, find it quite noble. As far as we and souls are concerned,
there are no redundancies, none for human or marsupial humanoids hearts and
minds either. Each is an exception unto itself.
75.7 reading ease;
4.9 grade level; 893 words
***
**
**
Evening. You watched the ABC/NBC news, "Major
Crimes" and "Blue Bloods". You have
not had time to watch the tutorial on your new BrainLink program. Carol is
upstairs reading and you are thinking about going to bed even though you had a
morning as well as an afternoon nap. - Amorella
2148 hours. I am not fully recovered from my
recent illnesses. We are leaving either Wednesday or Thursday for Madeira Beach
for a week with Kim, Paul and the boys. I hope to be more 'fully' healthy (in my 74
year old self) before the trip.
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