interested in spaceships.â
âI would be delighted to show you around,â she said. âJust promise that if I go into too much detail, youâll stop me.â
âThat wonât be a problem,â I said. âIâd love to see how things work, what your crew does, and how you travel through space. As much as you or your crew have time to show me.â
She jabbed in my direction with her trunk. âYou Iâm going to like. I can see that already. After your breakfast tomorrow morning, come up to the bridge, and weâll start your tour there. We operate on a Confederation-standard twenty-six-hour day here, so meet me at about 0800. You can check the time on your data bracelet.â
âIâll be there!â I said, maybe a little too enthusiastically, but I decided I deserved an honest nerd-out. I was going to see the real functioning bridge of an alien spaceship.
She stopped in front of a door. Unlike on science-fiction shows, this wasnât an electric door that opened with a satisfying and futuristic hiss. It had a grip handle and folded open like an airplane bathroom door. âThese are your quarters, room four-twenty-one. The door has already been biometrically matched to you, so only you can gain access.â
I opened the door and looked inside. It was small but serviceable with a cot, a desk built into the wall, and a swivel chair bolted to the floor. On the wall above the desk sat a viewscreenâclearly not an actual portholeâwhich provided a view of the Earth below.
âIâve made sure you all have quarters with species-appropriate latrines,â she said, gesturing to a small door in the corner.
âThatâs the way I like it.â
âAcross the hall,â the captain said, âis a common room. We like to provide a space where each species can bond, though of course you can also invite the Ganari to join you once they are on board. Additionally, you may socialize with any of the crew who are off duty. Your data bracelet is automatically linked to the shipâs communication network, so it can provide you with a map or directions if you get lost. It is not possible to gain access to any sections that are off-limits, so feel free to explore.â
âThat sounds great,â I said. I looked at her weird, alien features and felt a strange affection for this creature who did not know me at all and who was making such a concerted effort to make me feel comfortable. âYou clearly like your job,â I said.
She snorted. âCaptaining an interstellar ship is about thebest thing I could imagine doing with my life, but some tasks are better than others.â She patted me on the shoulder. âThis is one of the good ones. Now, I must return to the bridge. Thereâs a visitorâs mess at the end of the hall that will accommodate your species, and youâll find mealtimes via your data bracelet.â
âGot it. Thanks.â I was secretly hoping she would invite me to dinner, but instead she clumsily shook my hand, perhaps having read about the custom, and left me in my room.
I set down my bag and sat on the bed for a moment. Then I began to go through the tutorial for the data bracelet, which I figured Iâd need to understand to survive. I opened up the HUD, found the tutorial, and started it. There was no voice and no instructions; a kind of understanding washed over me. It was like getting kung fu uploaded into your head in The Matrix . I didnât know how to use the data bracelet, and then I did.
I was so overwhelmed by it all, I didnât really feel social. I wanted to lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling or look at the Earth through my fake porthole. On the other hand, I didnât want to seem unfriendly. My fellow humans were across the hall, and getting to know them seemed like the smart move. They had already been hanging out together for days, and that made me a little uneasy. Moving