Eric's Journey

Beware the woman with appearance fair

For she’s the kind who’s least to care

Seek out the woman less pleasant to sight

Her presence more likely to serve delight

Tuesday 15 October, 2235.

The Sunny Brooke mall is fantastic! I’ve never seen so many different kinds of foods, clothing, and merchandise. I even saw a few chantinas in the mall. I rarely got to see any aliens on Earth. Here, things were different. When did seeing an alien species become so common place that no one even stares any more I wonder? There were synths here as well, but that’s nothing new.

I can smell pork being cooked at a restaurant nearby. Some placed called River’s Bounty. I decided to check it out as I haven’t eaten in several hours and we leave Sol in about an hour. I begin to walk but a woman blocks my path and smiles at me.

“Hello…” She says. “New here?”

She just smiles and stares at me for a few seconds. Perhaps she knows me from somewhere. We are still in Earth orbit after all.

“Greetings. Stranger. I’m new to the ship but it’s not my first time off world. What brings you to the Morningstar?”

I’m not really into blonde female, but this woman was gorgeous. Her face was almost perfect. A friendly employee like Luther? She wasn’t in uniform and her clothes were very stylish. A business intern perhaps.

“I’m here to get away. You could say that this is a kind of vacation from my normal abode, but I’m also working. I can’t help it. Some of us are … slaves to our destiny.”

“Well, if you don’t really like your job, perhaps you should give it up although, you probably wouldn’t be able to afford those clothes. What exactly is it that you do here?”

“Oh, you misinterpret me – I enjoy my work. Sometimes a little too much. I help keep people safe. I allow people to be happy by keeping everything in balance, you understand?”

“Ah…hospitality management. That explains a lot. I’m Eric.” I extend my hand to greet her but for some reason she hesitates. She smiles and simply looks at my hand for a moment. I slowly retract my hand and try to look as friendly as I can so I don’t seem offended, which I am.

“I … don’t like to shake hands too often. I hope you aren’t insulted, Eric. What brings you onto the ship. Do you miss Earth already? Why are you leaving?”

“Aren’t you the curious one? We did just meet, you know? I’m here to work…and to meet new people. I also needed to get away from Earth, if you know what I mean”

“I understand more than you know, and I can tell that you’re here to meet people…or explore anyway.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re looking around the place like you’ve never been in a mall before. At least not this one.”

“So I stand out like a …tourist then?”

“So to speak ...”

“Is that why you approached me Miss…???”

“Oh, you have to earn my name, handsome.” She raises one eyebrow.

“Um…excuse me? You approached me lady. I’m not here looking to fall in love. Why talk to me if you're not going to at least tell me who you are?” I grin at her to let her know that I'm not really upset but it seems strange.

“Nonesense. Everyone is looking to love something…including me. But that’s not why I came up to you.”

“If you are part of ship’s hospitality team, you should provide a name. Isn’t that the professional thing to do.”

“I never actually said that I was an official ship’s employee.”

“Oh, I see so you just do this in your spare time? Walking up to incredibly intelligent and attractive men on the ship?” I ask with a smile.

She begins to laugh hard and even covers up her mouth as a shy little girl would. “I do actually.” She replied. “And sometimes women, but not for romance.”

“Why then are you keeping me from my food?”

She turns behind her to glance at the restaurant.

“River’s Bounty, huh? Good choice. Been there a few times. Most of the meat is synthetically produced but they’ve mastered the art of escarumgen, using organics from waste material combined with computer engineering to synthetically produce food.”

“You aren’t really helping my appetite, blondie.”

“Oh sorry…I’m still learning that some people are easily grossed out by things that seem totally natural to me. I just enjoy the taste of food. As long as the nutrition isn’t wasted. I’ve eaten some things that you wouldn’t imagine.”

“On this ship? I don’t doubt it. So you won’t tell me your name even though I just told you mine.”

“That was your choice, Eric. I simply choose not to tell you mine at this juncture. I don’t like lying to people. What do I look like to you?”

I look at her clothes, her fancy shoes, and her long blonde hair for a moment. There weren’t many blondes in North America anymore.

“I’m guessing you’re from Epsilon, right? I’ll call you Sydney … for now.”

“Fair enough, handsome.”

“And how do you know that my real name is not Eric?”

“Your systolic blood pressure and heart contractility force remained constant when you informed me of your preferred title. Also, your dermal electrical conductivity did not fluctuate. Were your actions mendacious, I would know it. You haven’t told me a single lie since we began conversing.”

I tilt my head in amazement but also shock. “That was strangely detailed and a bit monotone. Are you a synth? You don’t have the look. I mean if you are, it’s cool. it’s just that…”

She interrupts me with a giggle. “No, I’m not an android. I just know stuff.”

I must admit that her mysterious nature was a bit of a turn-on. As we were talking, I continued to check her out a bit with my eyes. All men do it. She was almost certainly from another star system. Her teeth seemed unusually straight. In fact, they were flawless. It’s not just that they were well-aligned, but they were shiny. Her skin had no blemishes or moles to be seen, but as far as cuteness goes, she was about an 8 on my zero to ten scale. I’m more into women with darker hair. She did smell nice though.

“For instance, I know a place much better than River’s bounty called Danby’s…”

“Are you wearing perfume?” I interrupted her.

“Scented lotion. Why?”

“Listen…I’m actually pretty hungry. You wanna join me for some chow?

“Let’s go for a walk first. I like you. You’re a nice man. Not an ecosystem burden like some others. I’m here to learn…and to make new friends.”

“Um…far be it from me to harm the ecosystem.” I say with a grin. "I want to ask you something but I don't want it to come off as creepy or weird."

"You can ask me whatever you want but I can't promise you'll get an answer."

"Fiair enough. How old are you?"

"How old do I look?"

"Only someone as pretty as you are could be this circuitous and get away with it."

"Not true. Ugly women get away with evasive talk all of the time. Trust me, I know. But ugly people have very poor ... taste." She laughs at her own joke.

"I only ask because you ... seem young. I mean your mannerisms. You look nly a little younger than I am though. Twenty-five?"

"I'm at least 25 years old. Let's leave it at that."

"Are you an only child?"

"Oh, God no. I have many siblings but they're all spread out. Some of them are probably in star systems you've never even heard of."

"Do you all get together for a reunion?"

"No ... they're very different from me. VERY different. I still respect them though. Maybe I'll bump into some of them as time goes on. There are none on this ship though, I can tell you that."

"Where are your parents from?"

"Terra....Earth...whatever."

"What did they do?"

"They were scientists. Some of the world's best actually."

"Oh, really? What are their names? Are they still alive?"

"Now, who's being noisy?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. You're just so weird.

“Okay…where are we walking to, Sydney?”

She shakes her head. “I think I actually preferred blondie over Sydney. We can walk any where as long as you tell me about yourself, Eric.” She smiles at me with those perfect teeth.

“Oh, and um…keep your hands to yourself.”

I glance at her.

“Not that you aren’t cute...it’s just…”

“I get it. You’re a sociopathic, bipolar, germophobe that needs a male escort to walk you around the mall so that men aren’t constantly approaching you all of the time and possibly attacking you. I think I figured out what’s really going on here.”

She laughs really hard and again seems forced to cover her mouth.

“Nothing gets past you, does it, Eric?”

“Nope. And don’t worry, blondie. I’ve got an eye for danger. I can spot it a mile away.”

“Is that right?” She asks.