Part 2 - Part 01

When he was done showing us the mess hall our guide took us out and down the left side of the corridor. I felt a sensation. He said something. “The ship started moving,” Ruzha translated.

We walked down the corridor and at the end we boarded an elevator and went up. When we came out we went straight ahead and stopped

behind a silver metal door. Our guide said something and Ruzha translated.

“We are going to the ship’s bridge to meet the captain and his officers. You must stay in the designated area and not wander off.”

The door suddenly opened and I could see bright light beaming in through a very large curved window. It appeared like we were heading towards the yellow sun. The bridge crew sat in their chairs and monitored their holographic panels. A big bearded man standing directly in front of us turned around and came over. He looked at me from top to bottom and said something. Ruzha translated.

“This is the ship’s captain,” she said, “He is happy to meet you.”

“I’m happy to meet you too Sir,” and extended my hand. To my surprise he grabbed it, shook it and said something. Ruzha translated.

“He said he likes your tradition of shaking hands. From what he understands, by shaking hands you show that you are not hiding knives.”

As soon as Ruzha translated what he had said the captain cracked up laughing. I too began to laugh, I couldn’t help myself. He said something.

Ruzha said, “We are invited to the captain’s cabin tonight after his shift is over.”

I told him we would be there. After that each of his officers came over and shook my hand. I just shook my head at them and smiled as each said something to me. Ruzha didn’t translate.

“We are invited to be with the captain yet we haven’t brought anything to offer him,” I said.

“It’s not in our tradition to offer him anything. He won’t be expecting anything.”

“I don’t feel right going empty handed,” I replied.

When we were done meeting the captain and the bridge officers our guide took us to meet the scientists and visit their laboratories. I wasn’t familiar with their work but shook my head with enthusiasm as Ruzha desperately tried to translate what they were saying.

When we were done she apologized and said she didn’t know the Macedonian words for most of the things they were telling us. I told her not to worry because the Macedonians probably didn’t have the vocabulary for most of the things they were talking about.

When we were done with that part of the tour our guide took us to the ship’s botanical garden where fresh fruits and vegetables were grown. The area was high and large with many plants and fruit trees. It was really brightly lit inside and quite serene. I felt at peace and so did Ruzha when we were inside.

After spending a few hours sightseeing our guide took us back to the mess hall and showed us to our seats. I sat side by side with Ruzha. The mess hall was packed with people. Our food was already set on our table when we arrived and we began to eat as soon as we sat down.

When we were finished eating our guide came over and took us to an observation deck. From there we could see outside the ship and observe the stars in the distance. The ship was moving quite fast but felt like it was standing still. All the seats in the observation deck were occupied when we arrived.

Ruzha asked our guide a question and she translated his answer for me. “The air is kept inside the bay by a force field which squeezes around the ships to let them pass but keeps the air from blowing out.”

A few minutes later, people began to leave the observation desk and freed up some of the seats. Ruzha and I sat side by side but our guide preferred to stand. We sat silently for a long time watching the flickering stars in the distance surrounded by dark space.

Our guide received a call on his communicator. He excused himself to attend to an urgent matter and said he would be back in a short time.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” I asked Ruzha.

“I thought I had a million questions to ask you but now I can’t even think of one. I think the captain is quite interested in you and I’m sure he has many things to discuss with you. Are you looking forward to meeting with him?”

“Yes. It should be an interesting experience.”

About an hour later our guide returned and took us down to a lower level where the schools and nurseries were located. Next to them were all sorts of shops and various services. There were no children outside in the play area. They must have all been inside the classrooms. The place was practically empty. Our guide told us to hang around here until dinner time. He would come back and get us then.

I asked Ruzha to ask our guide if there was a place where I could get a haircut, shave and shower.

He explained to Ruzha how to find the place and to charge the service to our rooms using the door key. Vieria had apparently opened an account for both of us.

As soon as our guide left Ruzha and I went looking for the place. When we found it and she explained to the proprietor what I wanted he went to work immediately.

I got a 70’s haircut so that I wouldn’t look weird when I got back to earth. Ruzha waited for me in the hair salon lobby.

“You look like a different person without your beard, much younger,” she said as we walked out of the hair salon.

There were many shops and services all built in a circle around the school area that catered to the needs of the ship’s crew and

passengers. Some of the proprietors stared at us as we passed by their establishments.

“Why do you think they’re looking at us?” I asked Ruzha

“I don’t know? Perhaps they’re hoping we’ll go in and give them some business. Or perhaps they have seen your face on the video screen. Or perhaps because we are people of working age and aren’t working. Who knows?”

“I doubt that they recognize me, I just got a shave, and I doubt that they want our business because if they did they would have invited us in. Perhaps we look like loiterers to them. But we could be vacationers or off duty crew people?”

“Perhaps we look like loiterers because there is no one around, everyone is working.”

An older woman stared at us at the next shop and we stared back. She looked away.

“Let’s go inside and ask her why she did that,” I said.

“What should we ask her?”

“Be nice and ask her why she and the other shopkeepers are staring at us.”

Ruzha asked her and the woman answered. Ruzha translated. “Well, it’s your clothes, you look like outlander vagabonds from the outer zones and the shopkeepers are wondering why you are here and if you’re going to rob them.”

Ruzha got red in the face and was about to say something. I grabbed her by the hand, took her outside and we sat on a bench.

“We need to talk,” I said. “Don’t blame people for what they are feeling. They must have their reasons for feeling this way. You know and I know that all outlanders are not criminals yet these people treat them like they are. Thieves don’t need to be dressed as

vagabonds to be thieves. They can be dressed as anything. It would make more sense if a thief was dressed in white to blend in. It makes no sense for a thief to dress as an outlander and risk being spotted. There are hardly any outlanders on the ship anyway. So, what makes these people fear them? More precisely why are they afraid of people dressed as outlanders? How many people have actually robbed a shop inside the ship and how many were outlanders? I bet you none of the shops were ever robbed! Besides, where would the robbers go after they robbed a shop, fly out into outer space? No, they would remain inside the ship where they would easily be caught. So, why then are these people so afraid of the outlanders? Let me put it this way, we can’t deal with people’s fears until we find out what causes them.”

“You’re right.”

“From what I know from my short time being here on your planet the people who settled the underground wronged the outlanders when they threw them out of the middle zone without a care for whether they lived or died. Since then they have ignored the outlanders and abused them, a practice that has survived for a long time and exists today. The outlanders are victims and have done nothing wrong yet they are feared and despised like they have done something wrong. The outlanders are made to look like they are the bad people. Why?”

“I don’t know, but it’s wrong. When I was younger I was always told to avoid the outlanders because they were bad people and would cause me harm. But that never happened; not to me or to any of my friends. No outlander ever caused harm to anyone that I know. And you’re right, I was afraid of them but I never hated them.”

“So, what changed to alleviate your fears?”

“I began to think for myself. Also you and the movement you started helped me move along. It was something my friends and I, and generations before us, were thinking about but never had the nerve to do.”

“I didn’t start anything. I was merely caught in an existing situation. I just helped it along.”

“Yes, I understand that. So, where do we go from here?”

“Well, our immediate problem is to examine where the prejudice against the outlanders is coming from.”

“How do you suggest we do that?”

“The way I see it the people in the middle zone have been lied to by their government for many generations. The fear of Mother Nature has been hammered into them all their lives; to be afraid of the outlanders because they supposedly are bad people. So, these shopkeepers don’t know anything except to be afraid of them. And as you know fear breeds hatred. Getting mad at them and yelling at them won’t help. It will only reinforce their fears and they will fear and hate the outlanders even more. There has to be a better way to deal with the problem.”

Ruzha looked through a shop window and said, “Look at them staring at us, all dressed in their pure white dresses thinking that they are better than us. I’m angry all right, very angry.”

“You told me you’re from the middle zone, didn’t you?”

“Yes! But I never liked the way we lived, that’s why I wanted to study alien cultures and find out how they lived and how they dealt with their problems. That’s why I wanted to be chosen for this mission. I wanted to learn more. Vieria wanted a man for the job, it would have been more appropriate she said, but I am better than any of the men in the academy, plus not too many people want to study Macedonian so there weren’t many to pick from.”

“Yes, learning about other cultures is a good start but you will still need to deal with the internal problems inside your planet, especially with the inequality between the elite in the middle zone and the cast out outlanders.

“So, what do you suggest we do?”

“I don’t know. From what I know from our experiences on earth, inequalities have been dealt with through violent revolutions because those who have the power don’t want to share it. So it had to be taken from them by force. The equalizer on your planet was my ship. Your society managed to shift the balance of power by using the ship as leverage. Mothballing the ship and sending me away I think was a mistake. But it wasn’t my decision to make. But to answer your question, after Asora wins the election her government must admit the wrong the people from the middle zone did to the outlanders years ago and apologize to their descendents. Asora’s government must then accept the outlanders as equal citizens and guarantee their human and national rights. Her government must also pass anti-discrimination laws to protect their rights.”

“Perhaps that’s what Asora will do.”

“Asora is one person and she will need a lot of help, especially from sympathetic youth like yourself. You should write her and tell her some of your ideas and give her your support.”

“Oh, no, why would she listen to me?”

“You would be surprised. She listened to me and I’m not even from here. Remember the two men who came to say goodbye to me on the surface? The older man is her husband and he not only speaks Macedonian, he was in Macedonia on a mission and wrote an anthropological report based on his personal experience. You should look it up. Inquire about it through Vieria.”

“Wow, that’s great.”

I looked around and noticed the people passing us by kept staring. They were making me nervous.

“Perhaps we should change into different clothing so people don’t stare,” I suggested.

“No, I am not changing my clothes. I am not going to let them define me by the clothes I wear, let them stare.”

Moments later our guide arrived and took us to supper. After that he took us to the observation deck for a while and then to see the captain. The captain had a large cabin with a large table in one room that could sit a dozen people. Sitting around his table were six of his senior officers, three men and three women, his wife and himself.

They all stood up when we walked in. Our guide closed the door and left. The officers appeared to be older than me and waited standing until we sat down. I sat near the captain and Ruzha sat between me and the captain. His wife sat opposite me.

All eyes were on us, which made me a bit nervous so I kept smiling while looking at everyone. The captain spoke first and introduced his wife. I smiled, stood up and offered her my hand. She took it and shook it firmly. The captain then said that I had already met the officers as he made a circular motion with his hand.

A moment later the captain rubbed his hands together, smiled widely and said, “It’s nice to have you here with us.”

“I am happy to be here,” I said.

“You know, I was thrilled when I got the call from Aunt Vieria asking me if I could take you back to your home world. I thought what a privilege it would be to meet the captain of our mightiest warship who my uncle, Voskot, had personally trained.”

I gave him a curious look.

“Oh, let me explain,” he said. “My mother and Voskot are first cousins. His mother and my grandmother were sisters. My mother married an alien from another galaxy. My father was a big man, even bigger than you… and that is why I am much bigger and look different from other people on this planet. My father was sent here as an ambassador.”

The mention of Vos instinctively made me sad and I looked down at the table.

“I can see that you liked the man. I liked him too; he was my favourite uncle and my commander and chief. He personally came to the academy to see me graduate. But after that I don’t know what happened to him, he just disappeared and didn’t want to see anyone.”

Just as the captain finished talking one of the women officers said something. The captain replied and the six officers got up, waved goodbye and left.

The captain’s wife said something and we moved to another room and sat on soft chairs. The captain disappeared for a moment and came back with two bottles in his hands. One was green, the other clear. I could have sworn the clear bottle looked like one of Delche’s bottles. The moment he came back his wife went to the back and brought four small drinking glasses and a box of pastries.

The captain said, “These were given to me by the galaxy trader captain of the 2nd destroyer. He told me that he had met you and was very impressed with you… but not so impressed with our ambassador. He told me you gave him the clear liquid which he called rakia. So, when I heard you were coming to my ship I thought I would have a drink with you,” and handed me the bottles.

“Thank you,” I said. “I would be honoured to have a drink with you. Have you tried the rakia?”

“Yes, I had several drinks with the captain before he gave me the bottle. I understand you gave him several bottles.”

“Yes, from what I remember we gave him three bottles,” I replied and turned to the captain’s wife, looked at her and said, “In my culture it is customary for the hostess to serve the rakia. Would you mind?”

By the look on her face she was thrilled with the idea but said she didn’t know how. I showed her. I poured a little rakia in one glass

and then added some of the green stuff on top. She then did the same with the other three glasses and passed them around.

“In my culture we sip the rakia a bit at a time but before we start drinking we clink our glasses and make a toast,” I said, and then clinked my glass with the captain’s to show everyone how it was done and we toasted.

“To our health,” I said.

“To our friendship and may we all live long and healthy lives,” the captain said.

The four of us then brought our glasses together and clinked them again.

The captain’s wife said, “To our young captain who today taught us something new.”

Ruzha said, “To our health and to all the people on our planet and may their future be bright.”

The captain’s wife and Ruzha found the drink a bit strong so I added some more of the green stuff to their glasses. They both approved of the flavour. I then added some more rakia to mine and the captain’s glass. We smiled, clinked our glasses and took a satisfying gulp.

“I’ve had all kinds of ales in my lifetime but outside of our firewater I have never tasted anything so strong, how do you make it?”

“We make the ale first by fermenting the juice of a fruit; we then boil the juice and distill its spirits to make the rakia. In Macedonia, where I come from, we make our ale from a fruit called the grape and when it’s fully fermented we distill the rakia from it. It’s a very simple process.”

“Well, to be honest with you, the reason the galaxy trader captain gave me the bottle is because he is interested in purchasing a lot of this stuff. When I told him I had never heard of it he gave me the bottle and asked me to find him some. I asked around but no one

seemed to know what I was talking about. I know it’s illegal to make the stuff on my planet but it seems somehow it found its way there. How did you get a hold of it? Did you bring it from your planet?”

“I know a person who makes it here on your planet. I will give you his name if you promise me that no harm will come to him. I know it’s illegal to make it here so I’m sure he will get into trouble for making the stuff if the authorities find out.”

“I promise you no harm will come to him. I just want him to make some for me.”

“His name is Delche. You can get in touch with him through Vieria.”

“Is he Asora’s husband by any chance?”

“Yes he is.”

“I know the man and he knows me. He used to be a navigator in one of our older science vessels. I was with Uncle Voskot at his trial when he was sued for being associated with his wife when she was charged with committing crimes against the government. What a farce that was. I think Uncle Voskot was really disgusted with how that family was treated.” The captain paused for a moment and then said, “Thank you for that, I will certainly contact Delche and have him make some of that stuff for me. And who knows, some day we might even find a market for it.”

The captain looked at his wife and at Ruzha who seemed to be disinterested in our conversation and our drinking. He decided to change the subject.

“So, tell me, was it exciting to pilot the mightiest ship on our planet?”

I looked at the two women. They were looking at me with anticipation. I looked at the captain. His mouth was wide open with a big smile, his eyebrows were raised and his head was slightly

shaking back and forth encouraging me to say something, perhaps something exciting.

“Yes, it was very exciting. With my two beautifully dressed women guards I was the centre of focus everywhere, especially at King Velion’s party. When I looked around every young woman was looking at me with a big smile. And when the king offered me one of his daughters in marriage, oh, I became the envy of every young woman...”

“Go on,” said Ruzha.”

“You’re messing with us, right?” asked the captain’s wife.

I laughed out loud and they all cracked up laughing.

“Seriously, tell us how it really was, how did you outwit the old galaxy trader captain? He is an old fox you know, we met him several times. He is retired now; he took his defeat very hard. But you, you’re a legend among his people. They are strange, but good people,” said the captain’s wife.

“If you see him again please apologize for me. But to be honest with you there was no outwitting. I anticipated he would use classic maneuvers that had worked for him in the past. His ship was designed to attack big, slow moving targets at a distance but not fast moving little ships. Our ship would have been obliterated had we stood still. He made a couple of simple mistakes. One, he attacked us with his big cannons and two, he didn’t launch his little attack ships early enough. We knew we could not withstand an attack if he spotted us because his long range cannons would have destroyed us before we had a chance to get near enough to fire, so we had to hide and surprise him. One, we didn’t reveal our position until he was on top of us. And two, we fired at him to momentarily blind his sensors so that our ship could slip away out of his reach undetected. The captain acted appropriately by aiming all his guns at our last known position where the flash came from thinking that our ship was still there hiding in the debris. He had no idea we had slipped away, circled around and began firing at his cannons. It took a lot of pounding to disable the giant cannons and we had to do it one by

one, which took a lot more time than I thought. When the captain realized his cannons were disabled he immediately ordered the launch of his little attack ships. But by then it was too late. He should have launched them the moment he detected us. But by then we had torpedoed his launch bay and he couldn’t launch them. One of his little ships however did manage to get out and fired at us but missed us. It was a shame we had to destroy it killing its pilot, ending the life of another young man, ruining the lives of his family, and leaving his mother to mourn.”

My last words must have made the women sad. They seemed to have lost interest in my story and were now looking down at the floor. The captain looked at them and at me and said something. Ruzha didn’t hear him.

“Ruzha, what did the captain say?”

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and then looked at the captain.

“War is a dirty business, there’s nothing romantic about it. I’m sure it’s a big burden to carry for such a young man as yourself. Thank Mother Nature for keeping me out of the wars, I have never experienced war and I hope I never will,” said the captain.

“There is no glory in war, only sadness, pain and tragedy, that’s why soldiers don’t want to talk about war,” I replied.

“Well, in comparison, my experience has been rather bland but I can’t complain. I have met many people in my travels and as a result have made many friends,” said the captain.

“As the captain’s wife, I too had the privilege of meeting many people which has enriched my life. Many of my friends think my life is boring sitting around the ship for years at a time but we do a lot of visiting and not just with the crew. Sometimes we go down to the planets and spend time. But best of all is that we get to try the various foods of other cultures.”

“Well, all this is new to me; I haven’t been outside of my planet. In fact I haven’t been outside of my home and the academy. So, to be out here with you is a great privilege,” said Ruzha.

Just as our conversation began to warm up there was a knock on the door. The captain answered it. It was our guide; he had come to take us back to our rooms. We apologized for having to leave so early. The captain said he would invite us again another time. We said our goodbyes and left.

The next morning there was a knock on my door. I opened it. It was Ruzha. She said it was time to go to breakfast. I asked her what had happened to our guide. I was under the impression we were not allowed to roam around the ship unescorted.

She said, “Our guide had something important to do and was going to be late. He gave me the okay to go on our own.” She also said that technically we weren’t allowed to walk around unescorted but if we didn’t we would miss breakfast.

Some of the meals served on the ship were similar to the fruit jellies and dry foods we had eaten on the planet but once in a while the kitchen staff cooked unusual cuisines depending on food availability. This particular morning, in addition to jelly and cookies we were served something that looked like strips of bacon but tasted more like fish. I asked Ruzha what it was but she didn’t know.

Before we were finished eating our guide arrived and apologized for being late. He then asked us where we wanted to go. Both Ruzha and I were caught off guard because neither of us knew anything about the ship and what activities were available.

When our guide saw Ruzha hesitating he apologized and said he would take us down to the shopping concourse and we could either wander around or rest on the available benches in the open areas. Ruzha reluctantly agreed and our guide took us back to where we had been the day before.

We sat on the same bench as the day before and we both strained to find something to talk about. Ruzha spoke first.

“I haven’t thought about it much but wasn’t it awesome that we spent time with the captain and his wife last night? None of my friends will believe me when I tell them.”

“Well, you should have taken pictures. Someday when you write your autobiography you can include them to give more meaning to your story. When someone says ‘get out of here, stop messing with me,’ you pull out the picture and show them.”

“You’re right, you know, I should have done that but I don’t have a camera.”

“Why don’t you buy one? You can charge it to your room. We should go and look for one.”

We walked around for a while but couldn’t find any store that sold cameras.

“There has to be one, the scientists surely need cameras to record things, right? Where do they get them?” I asked.

Ruzha figured we should ask someone. Unfortunately everyone we asked couldn’t help us. We then spotted a woman, who looked familiar, coming our way and decided to ask her. She was one of the scientists we had met the day before. After Ruzha had a chat with her she waved for us to follow her. We walked behind her silently. For some reason I didn’t want to ask and Ruzha didn’t want to tell me where we were going.

After going up a few levels and walking down several corridors we entered her lab where she had many cameras.

She said she was the official photographer for one of the missions and could certainly use some assistants if we were available for the job. Ruzha had to explain to her that I was leaving in a few days and going back to my home planet, but she was certainly available.

The woman said, “So, you’re the cause of my delay getting to my mission?”

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. She smiled back and waved her arms as if saying “don’t worry about it”.

Ruzha and the woman talked for a long time and practically looked at every camera before they chose one. When they were done, the woman escorted us out of her lab and closed the door behind us.

“Well, how much did it cost you?” I asked.

“She gave it to me on loan for free so that I can practice taking holographic still and moving pictures. After she sees my pictures she will decide if I get the assistant job or not. She even has money in her budget to pay me. Isn’t that great?”

“Wow, that’s great, you must be very lucky. What a great opportunity.”

“I think I will film all our meetings with important people, perhaps starting with the captain.”

“If you want to be a good journalist you should interview all kinds of people who have something important to say, especially unimportant people who have something important to say like how they have been neglected by the system. You should also make a record of the prejudice some people have over others and expose that prejudice every chance you get. That’s what a good journalist does.”

“Yes, you are right but first I have to learn how to use the camera.”

“You will also have to learn how to ask questions without putting people on the spot. Most people would want to know why you are recording them and asking them sensitive questions. You will need to tell them the truth and you should always get their permission to record them.”

“You’re already making things complicated and I haven’t even started,” she said.

“There are consequences to everything you do regardless of how good your intentions are. If you want to be good at what you do you need to be prepared.”

“Like you, who destroyed one hundred Karon ships in which many lives were lost?”

“Yes, I have to live with that for the rest of my life and learn how to cope with it. In a similar way a journalist could do damage to themselves and to others if they aren’t careful.”

“You’re right. But for now let me take your picture and interview you. Tell me some stories. How about the history of your planet?”

“I would love to be your first subject but as you know I don’t speak your language. Also, I don’t know my planet’s history. All I know is the Macedonian people’s history.”

“For the time being none of that matters while I learn how to use the camera but you just reminded me of something. Imagine how important it would be to the academy to have the Macedonian people’s history taught in Macedonian to the students who are learning the Macedonian language?”

“Yes, I can imagine. Now can you imagine how many more projects like that you can do with that camera once you learn how to use it.”

“Why don’t I take a still picture of you and see how it turns out.”

“Do you want me to smile or look serious?” I asked.

“Smile, people like to see people smile, it makes them happy.”

“Okay, I’ll smile but that doesn’t reflect the mood I’m in at the moment. Your subjects should look natural.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now stand still.”

After she took a holographic picture of me she came over and showed it to me. I was surprised and amazed at the kind of

photographs this camera was capable of taking. I stared at a small image of myself that looked almost alive. Ruzha rotated a knob and the projected image became smaller. When she rotated the knob backwards the image became larger.

“Wow,” I said, “I’ve never seen anything like this. That small camera can do that? Where does it get its power?”

“It’s self-powered, it has a mini generator built-in and it probably costs a fortune. The woman told me to be careful with it because it’s very expensive.”

“Can it take moving pictures? How about you take some moving pictures and let’s see what they look like?”

After looking at the camera for a while she asked me to go some distance away and walk back towards her. When she was done she showed me the results.

“I walk like that?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s how you walk.”

After looking around for something to mount the camera on so that Ruzha could interview me, we decided to go back to the scientist’s lab and ask for a tripod. I’m glad Ruzha remembered the way because after we took a few turns in those endless corridors I was lost. When we knocked on the door the woman answered and apologized for not thinking to give us the camera’s tripod.

“That was easy,” I said.

“Yeah, I was surprised too. I figured she was going to give us some grief.”

When we got back to our bench Ruzha set up the camera on the tripod and pointed it at the bench.

She said, “The camera self-adjusts and focuses the images automatically.”

“How do you know all these things?” I asked.

“The camera has files and files of written instructions. The first thing I read was how it self-adjusts for focus, distance, sound and light. In fact there are so many instructions in the camera it would take me months to go through.”

When she came over she sat on one end of the bench and asked me to go to the other and face her. She then pushed a button on what looked like a remote control and asked me to start talking. I didn’t know what to say so I cracked up laughing. She started laughing too and said, “You are great at giving advice but terrible at taking it.”

“Aren’t we all?” I asked.

She pushed the little button again and the camera stopped recording.

“Watch this,” she said and pushed a few more buttons. A whole bunch of writing appeared on top of the camera. She made a few selections and we got to see ourselves talking and laughing.

“Is that what I sound like?” I asked.

“Yes. What about me, is that what I sound like?”

I smiled and shook my head.

“See, I told you, you shouldn’t put your subjects on the spot. You should talk to them and explain what you are going to do and then ask specific questions. The person should know beforehand what you’re going to ask,” I said.

She cracked up laughing and said, “If you know so much, then why don’t you do the interview?”

After she turned on the camera I said, “This here is Ruzha and today she will tell us something about her life. Ruzha tell the audience how old you are.”

She cracked up laughing and said, “This here? What is that? And don’t you know you never ask a woman her age in public?”

She played back the recording and was surprised at the images and reactions it captured.

Just as we were about to set up the camera again, our guide showed up and told us it was time to go to lunch. Ruzha explained how she got the camera and what she was planning to do with it. To her surprise the guide volunteered to do an interview for practice.

After we ate our lunch our guide took us to the botanical garden. He told Ruzha to set up her camera in a certain spot and record the various fruit trees. While she recorded each tree the guide said something about it. The man was very calm. It looked like he had done this before. He also helped Ruzha with the finer things of operating the camera like zooming and rotating, both of which had to be done very slowly and steadily. After the interview was done our guide left. He told us to wander around in the botanical garden and warned us not to touch anything.

Ruzha couldn’t wait to play back the recording. It was so well done it looked professional.

“If you do a couple more recordings like this one you’ll impress the scientist and she will give you the job for sure,” I said.

She smiled, collected her camera and sat on one of the steps leading to the top of the garden and said, “Here I thought he was a stuffed shirt but he turned out to be a nice man, helping me like that.”

“Well, when you become a famous photo-journalist he can boast that he gave you your first lesson,” I replied.

She grinned at me in a sarcastic way and then said, “You really think I can do this and become famous?”

“I have no doubt,” I said.

While she sat on the step and looked into the distance I decided to walk up and admire the flora in the big garden. The garden was located on the outer left top side of the ship and was covered with a transparent material that looked like glass windows. The ceiling was very high and dotted with bright yellow lights. There were hundreds of fruit trees loaded with flowers and fruit. It was very aromatic inside which gave me a sense of peace. Every metre or so there were thin pipes running down and releasing small droplets of water. With the exception of a certain type of bee there were no other creatures present in the garden. Below the trees were rows and rows of vegetables, none of which I recognized. Below that were the smelly grasses (spices). Some had very beautiful flowers and a superb aroma. Despite the warning to keep away, I bent down and smelled every one of the spices.

By the time I was done I had forgotten about Ruzha and for a moment I had forgotten where I was. When I looked up I saw the camera pointing at me and Ruzha was grinning.

“What, you thought I would let a moment like this pass me by?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Come and have a look,” she said.

She had recorded my entire experience in the garden with every facial expression I had made. I saw things in the recording which I did not remember doing.

“Why did you close your eyes when you smelled the grass?” she wanted to know.

“I closed my eyes to turn off my other senses so that I could focus my full attention on taking in the aroma of the spice. I also do that when I drink ale (wine).”

“How interesting,” she said and sat down on the step. I sat beside her.

“This will be the second piece of my recording which I will name ‘the sensitive side of Captain Otsiron’...” she added.

I was about to burst out laughing but suppressed it. This was something she had done on her own and I wasn’t going to mock it, downplay it or do something negative to discourage her.

“What, no witty comeback?” she said.

“No,” I said. “You did well and deserve to be praised but, as you are finding out, I am a little short on giving praise.”

We both sat and looked into the distance, trying to look beyond the transparent roof and into the dark space beyond but found it impossible in the face of the many bright lights shining on us.

We heard footsteps. I turned and looked but couldn’t see anything. My eyes were blinded from looking at the lights. I recognized the voice, it was our guide.

“It’s time to go to supper,” said Ruzha.

My blindness was temporary and my full vision came back before Ruzha had packed her camera.

On the way to supper our guide spoke at length. Ruzha didn’t translate.

After we arrived in the mess hall our guide left. We ate our bland dinner in silence. When we were done we went to the observation deck. Ruzha led the way.

“I suppose you can call it good news but at the same time it’s bad news. The day after tomorrow we will be separated. I will be attending the academy on the ship and five days from now you will be briefed for four days about your new life on earth. Sadly, we will not be together. So, I suggest we do my interview with you tomorrow. We can go to the botanical garden first thing in the morning and spend the entire day recording you telling me the history of your people. I’m very sorry about that.”

“Well, I’m very sorry too but this was inevitable and we both knew it.”

I was feeling a bit anxious because the news reminded me that another great change was about to take place in my life over which I had no control. I stared into space looking sad. Ruzha sat close to me and I put my arm over her shoulders. I couldn’t believe how close we had become in such a short time.

We sat there for hours in silence staring at the flickering black space, knowing that words or looks could make the situation worse.

Finally Ruzha stood up grabbed my hand and we both walked back to our rooms in silence.

The next morning I heard a knock on my door. It was Ruzha and before I had chance to say anything she said, “We are on our own today so let’s make the best of it. Let’s go eat and go to the botanical garden.”

I just shook my head, grabbed her camera and followed her to the mess hall. We ate in silence. The only thing she asked me was if I was prepared to do the interview. I said I was.

When we arrived in the garden she set up her camera and we both sat on the same step at an angle half facing each other and half facing the camera. She spoke in her own language first facing the camera and then looked at me and asked me a question. When I was finished speaking she looked back at the camera and translated what I had said. While she was translating I too looked at the camera. We continued to do this uninterrupted for what seemed like hours. We completely forgot about lunch and continued with the interview until it was done. After that she asked me to tell her the story of how I had gotten here and what I had done during my stay on her planet. I did that too.

She then packed up her camera and we went to supper but it was too late, the mess hall was cleared. We both went to our rooms hungry and without speaking to one another.

The next morning there was a knock on the door. It was Ruzha and she was crying.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Nothing!” she said. “I’m so sorry I acted like a jerk yesterday.”

“Don’t worry about it, we are friends and friends forgive each other.”

She then lunged at me and gave me a big hug.

“Where did you learn to do that?” I asked. “Your people don’t like to hug.”

“I learned it from you,” she said. “I saw you doing that with your two friends before you left our planet when I first met you. I thought it was cool.”

We walked side by side to breakfast. She was quiet but seemed happier than the day before. Then, just as we were about to finish our breakfast, she told me the interview turned out great and very professional. She asked me what I was going to do when she was in school today. I said I would find something. I might go hunting for an ehsib (wild pig). She cracked up laughing and got the attention of the entire mess hall.

“You’re very funny,” she said. “How would you like to escort me to school today?”

“I would be happy… but what do I do while you are in class? You know I will get lost the moment you leave me alone.”

“You can stay outside and wait for me all day,” she said and broke out laughing again.

“Okay let’s go, lead the way,” I said.

“Are you serious?” she asked. “You’re going to wait outside for me?”

I didn’t answer her.

When we arrived we entered the lobby of her school building. She went straight to a panel and punched a few buttons. She turned to me and said, “Look, they registered me as Ruzha without a last name, isn’t that funny?”

“No, not at all,” I said. “They probably did this to protect you and your family because what you’re doing is considered dangerous, you know, aiding me, a known criminal on your planet.”

She seemed to be confused by what I had said but then a woman walked into the lobby, looked at her and asked her something. She also looked at me and asked me something. Ruzha answered her. The woman smiled and waved us to follow her.

“Who is this woman and where is she taking us?” I asked.

“I think she may be my teacher but I have no idea where she is taking us.”

After walking a little while we entered a big room full of people Ruzha’s age.

She said something to Ruzha and Ruzha said yes. That much I understood. The woman then brought up some writing on her panel, looked at it and then looked at me and said something. I looked at Ruzha.

Ruzha must have explained that I was not a student and when I heard her say “Otsiron” there was uproar in the crowd in front of us. The young people were yelling, cheering, jumping up and down, looking at me.

The woman pointed at me and then at the door without saying anything. There was a big protest from the young people.

I asked Ruzha what was going on. She said, “This is my class, that’s my teacher and these people are her students. She wants you to leave but they want you to stay.”

“Why would they want me to stay?” I asked.