Chapter 10

“What does she like to do?” Drie asked.

“I don’t know,” Jeden said.

“She must like something. Give her more food?” Drie asked.

“You want to go to the zoo?” Jeden asked.

“There’s a zoo?” Enedelia asked.

“Yes,” he said, grabbing at her hand. “You miss animals. We go.”

Enedelia followed, becoming more alert and taking notes of the stores they passed. Drie snapped pictures from time to time. A store selling spaceships caught her attention. A sign said financing available. Jeden saw her pause by the store.

“Not good. Financing very bad. Bad to the point of being evil. Only pay for what you have money,” Jeden said, pulling her along.

“Are there other humans on board Indigo station?” Enedelia asked.

“Yes,” Jeden said. “Servants, or workers like you. Some are slaves.”

“Slaves?” Enedelia asked.

“Yes. They have contracts, like workers, but they have more debt than they can pay off in a life time. No hope of ever being free agents,” Jeden said. “Some are slaves by choice, through deliberate purchasing beyond their means, or by just bad book keeping. Some committed crimes and must pay society back. Some are slaves by accident. Some are slaves by force. Some are slaves by birth. Like Grays, humans are very useful. We are valuable commodities, having opposable thumbs and sufficient brains to train into technologies. Too valuable to risk being on just one planet, with extinction potential. So, humans were harvested to perpetuate the species. Just like Grays. Like most intelligent species with opposable thumbs. There are many species with much better brains, but because they have no limbs, or ways of making tools, they are less valuable. Like your whales. They will never be considered for anything other than food, because they won’t develop technology or write languages. Of course, had they enslaved you humans to make the technology for them, they would be very valuable indeed.”

“You know about whales?” Enedelia asked. “And Earth?”

“Yes. Drie and I thought we could go there with you when you retire. However, our research suggests that would not be a good move for us. If you like, you can retire to our planet, or we can find another planet altogether. There are many colonies that are multi-special.”

Enedelia hadn’t thought that far along. She hadn’t thought about retiring. She had only been focused on getting through the weeks, one day at a time. The zoo brought her back to life. The animals, though encaged, seem quite happy with their habitats, and were playing. They were actually able to pet many of the animals, which had been made docile through genetic manipulation, or by constant handling. After the zoo, Jeden took her to a public pool and she swam the length of the pool several times. She felt so refreshed that she wondered how she could have ever thought of returning home. The pool attendant had offered her swimming attire, which made her happy, because it fit so well, but the only reason it fit so well was because it was sprayed on. It went on like a thick syrup, and on an ultraviolet light hardened it, and she had no problems being naked for the application because she was the only human present. She could have just swam naked, but decided she wasn’t ready for that level of confidence, as many of the inhabitants of Indigo Station apparently were. The suit, when finished, simply peel right off and could be reused. She wondered if perhaps being shy of her anatomy was part of her American culture. She had read Europeans were less hung up on nudity than Americans. But somehow, she suspected it was more than that. Compared to the media she wasn’t ‘all that.’ She knew she wasn’t bad looking, only her brother called her peculiar looking, but she was definitely not Shakira.

As she swam, she thought about owning a spaceship. Having a spaceship would give her the freedom she believed she wanted, more so than the dreams she once had of having her own car. She made a mental note to return to the spaceship store just to inquire into the nature of their financing plan, and find out what sorts of ships they had available. Maybe one big enough to live on, like an RV camper type trailer home. Oh, the places she would go, she thought, thinking of the book by the same title.

As they headed back to their cubicles, Jeden said, “I took liberty and purchased you a present.”

“Really? You didn’t have to,” Enedelia said. “Um, where is it?”

“I had it delivered to your cubicle,” Jeden said. “Much thought went into this purchase. I see how much the animals cheered you. I think you miss animals. You miss caring for something other than yourself. I have my brother. You, you are alone. Now, you are not alone.”

She opened her cubicle and was greeted by the curious faces of two ferrets. They had both been exploring her cubicle, but when the door opened, they came to see what new things awaited them.

“The shop proprietor recommended buying them in pairs, so they are not lonely when you work,” Jeden said. “They are small, furry, and cute. This meets human qualification for pets, right?”

“Oh my god,” Enedelia said, picking one up. Inside her cubicle was a small hammock for the ferrets to sleep in, a recess had been opened and a food dish and a watering bottle was hung. The only thing missing was a litter box. “Where’s the litter box?”

“Litter box?”

“Yes, so they can poop and urinate?” Enedelia asked.

“Oh, these pets are modified,” Jeden assured her. “They have matter to energy converters inside their bodies that will turn all waste material directly into energy. This energy runs some of their implants and the lights on their collars. All excess energy is beamed to the space stations grid.”

“Talk about beam it up, Scotty,” Enedelia said.

“I don’t understand?” Jeden said.

“Never mind,” Enedelia said, hugging him. “Maybe I should get such an implant. What a time saver that would be. Oh, Jeden. Thank you. This is the best present I have ever received. Thank you.”

“You are welcome, Ene,” Jeden said. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Enedelia said, slipping into her space with her two new friends, careful not to squish them.