Free The Good Reaper by Dennis J Butler Page B

headed for the food station.
The foods smelled like Ranjisan foods but they were different. Apparently all
of the Ranjisi spices were brought to P3 and some of the herbs and vegetables
but the meats were replaced with Earthly meats. Everything looked and smelled
the same as back home but it tasted different. It was okay with me. I was
hungry enough to eat raw fish.
    My assigned room on floor S4 was quite different than the
room I had stayed in when I first arrived on P3. It had a panoramic screen that
ran the entire length of one wall and curved around on both ends, covering about
a third of the two walls to the right and left of the screen. The screen slowly
came to life so I assumed it was motion activated. A soft blue message appeared
in the center of the screen, “Touch or say Menu to begin.” The center of the
screen filled with category labels in the form of buttons with pictures in the
background. They were mostly educational to help Ranjisi learn about Earth and
the human race. “Biology,” was my first command which displayed a list of
sub-category buttons. “Human Anatomy.” Another
selection of sub-category buttons appeared. “Digestive System,” I stated,
“Play.” I could see some differences between humans and Ranjisi right away but
I was too tired to pay too much attention and navigated back to Main Menu where
I dug down into the “Music” category looking for “Classic Rock.” I preferred to
learn about newer music but I also knew that if I experienced the evolution of
Rock & Roll on Earth I would have a greater appreciation for the newer
alternative rock. I also knew this wouldn’t help me much with my Earthly
medical research but I didn’t care.
    The following morning I looked for Olivia in the huge dining
hall. She recognized me first and walked up behind me. “Come Luke. I’ll
introduce you to Cooper.”
    As we walked around the perimeter of the dining hall I could
sense that Olivia was looking at me. “I see you like the rebel punkish look.” I
got the impression that she didn’t care for my hairdo much. That meant that
there were at least two attractive Ranjisi women who didn’t like the punk look,
Alexis and Olivia. I figured that if Olivia liked it, she would have said
something nicer. “Are you planning on getting tattoos or piercings too?” Her
voice had a slight bit of sarcasm in it.
    “I may when I learn more about what they symbolize,” I
replied.
    “I doubt if they symbolize anything. I see young people with
tattoos with Chinese writing and I can’t help but wonder if they actually know
what the tattoo says.” I had no response for Olivia. I could see that she was
on the conservative side and not very open minded so I just let the
conversation linger and die.
    A young Ranjisi who looked to be twenty years younger than
me was sitting at a table smiling at Olivia as we approached him. “Good morning
Cooper. I would like you to meet Luke. He also works in the medical division
and he speaks English.” Cooper reached across the table and we shook hands in
the human tradition.
    We talked about the CIPE base for a while and about our
lives and families back on Ranjisan for a while and then on to our specific
assignments. Cooper worked at a Cancer Center in Tucson so it didn’t take long
to get to the topic of death and the suffering that comes with many illnesses
found on P3. “Luke here has also had quite a bit of experience with terminal
illness,” Olivia said a little apprehensively.
    “Yes. It has been the worst part of this assignment.
Watching people suffer for days, weeks, months or sometimes
even years is devastating,” I said, paused and continued, “Especially
since I know it is unnecessary.” Cooper didn’t respond. He just stared down at
his plate eating. Olivia sat quietly staring at Cooper. It was a bit awkward.
After a long awkward silence, Olivia began talking about the arid deserts of
planet Earth which were slowly spreading in every direction.
    The