Free The Good Reaper by Dennis J Butler Page A

engineering. Even standing about fifty yards from it, it
was difficult to see. The mirror cloaking system made the ship appear as an
assortment of boulders and trees, similar to the surrounding valley.
    I boarded the ship and noticed the woman I had seen at the
airport who I suspected was Ranjisi. I was right. I thought it was too bad we
had to be so secretive about getting from the airport to the CIPE base. We were
two people coming from the same place and going to the same place and we had to
travel separately. But since we planned to be there on P3 for many years, I
agreed with CIPE’s obsessive secrecy policy.
    My second trip to the CIPE base was more enjoyable. I had
learned a lot about the human race and I felt much more confident about
everything. I was much better prepared to appreciate CIPE’s engineering
masterpiece.  The docking station underneath the mountain was actually the
top level of the base. From there, a three minute ride on a monorail took us
east, away from the shoreline and deeper into the inside of the mountainous
region of the island. The monorail docked at an enormous arena where I could
smell Ranjisi foods cooking. Rachel was saying goodbye and wishing us luck as
we stepped onto the ramp leading to the main floor.
    “Doesn’t that smell good?” It was the woman from the
airport. She was standing behind me looking up. There were six levels of
balconies overlooking the monorail docking station. I guessed the woman’s Earth
age to be about twenty to twenty five. She seemed on the short side for a
Ranjisi. Her eyes were brown and I assumed she was wearing contact lenses and
it made her seem even more human. She was friendly enough although she seemed
kind of formal and businesslike.
    “Yes, it appears this entire first floor is one big buffet,
but what are the upper floors for?” I asked the woman.
    “I’m Olivia,” she said as she extended her hand.
    “You speak English. Excellent. I
finally have someone to talk to. I’m Luke.”
    “The upper floors are like a hospital and research lab plus
some administrative offices. The second floor is just elevators, mostly going
down to the living quarters and classrooms.”
    “I sort of remember that from when I first came here last
year but I was kind of overwhelmed by everything then.”
    “So this is your first tour here?” Olivia asked.
    “Yes, how about you?” I asked.
    “I’ve been here several years. I keep extending my tour.”
    “So you are happy here? What kind of work do you do?”
    “I’m in the environmental study group. How
about you?”
    “Medical science research.”
    “How do you like it?” Olivia asked.
    “I do like it but it is sometimes very painful.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I work in a hospital. It’s hard not to care about people,”
I said. “It’s also hard not to get attached to them sometimes. I work in
patient transport and I often take cancer patients to and from the cancer
treatment room. Sometimes they stay at the hospital for a long time and I get
to know them. Watching them die a slow and painful death is difficult. It is
more than difficult. It is sometimes devastating. It is especially hard for me,
knowing that I could end their suffering or in some cases, I could even cure
them. But since we are not ready to make our presence known here, I can’t do
anything.”
    Olivia was quiet and just stood there looking at me for a
long and awkward moment. Her facial expression had an odd, thoughtful look and
I wondered what she was thinking. “I have a friend who is also in the medical
team. He also speaks English. You should meet him. His name is Cooper. I can
introduce you to him at orientation tomorrow morning if you would like to meet
him.”
    “Yes definitely. I’ll look for you tomorrow morning,” I said.
“Are you eating now or are you going to check into your room first?”
    “I’m heading for my room. I just feel like a shower and a
bed in that order.”
    I said goodbye to Olivia and