The ten of us divided up into two elevators that looked different from what we had on the ship but apparently functioned just the same; the door opened and closed quickly and soundlessly and there was no sensation of movement.
All of our hostesses and been pleasant and smiled the entire time but I realized what was missing when Julie spoke. She said, “I don’t think I caught your name?”
Our hostess briefly glanced at Captain Silva and then responded to Julie, “I am called Tunica.”
Julie told her it was nice to meet her and asked her a few polite questions about her work and even complimented her on her dress. By the end of the short conversation not only had our elevator arrived but Tunica was beaming; she had obviously felt flattered by the attention.
“Major Reagan,” Captain Silva said. “I have been in communication with Semi and she has invited you to join her at her personal retreat. It’s located on one of the moons of the fourth planet in this system and with the ship we’ll be happy to provide it will take you only a few hours to reach her.”
The Coridian compound apparently encompassed at least this floor of the building and was as beautiful as it was large. The entire floor plan was open with thirty foot ceilings and an entire glass wall that was rippled like waves on the surface of a mild sideways sea.
The view over the valley floor was incredible and it was much easier to see how the city was laid out. We were high enough on one of the valley walls that I was able to estimate the geographical size of the city to be similar to Wichita, Kansas; the town I grew up in. There was no way however, that there were 350,000 people in this city; I’d be surprised if there were 20,000 people here.
“Can we take the entire team?” I heard Major Reagan asking.
“That would be difficult,” Captain Silva responded. “The ship is probably big enough but the retreat is not. I would suggest that you take a contingent like what you have here, eight to ten people.”
“I’m not real big on the idea of splitting my team up Silva.”
“I understand that Major…” Captain Silva was hesitating to say the rest but went on, “I would just like to suggest that it would be a great sign of respect from you not to force her to break her retreat. I am certain that you going to her in this instance would not go unnoticed; please believe me when I say that in our culture Semi is highly regarded and would be a great friend for Earth to have.”
I turned from the window and stepped over to the group.
“Major Reagan? If I could interject? I wouldn’t mind staying here at all as long as I could have access to the Stigerian people. Several of us have been invited to spend the day with Tunica so we can get a feel for the local lifestyle and I don’t know how many more opportunities like this might present themselves…”
The Major made a quick decision. “Ok, I want Dr. Decker, Julie, and Captains Hiromi and Kamiko to accompany Silva and me to this retreat. How soon can we leave?”
Before Captain Silva could answer I said, “Major, could I suggest you switch out Julie and Anzio? I could use her expertise here while trying to understand these people and Anzio would add a lot of observational value to your team.”
Julie was nodding as the Major said, “So be it. Now, how soon can we leave?”
It turns out that Tunica had no real concept of a ‘full-time’ job. As a matter of fact I was beginning to think the word ‘job’ wasn’t going to be an accurate description for anything either.
“Do you mean to say that on your world everyone does basically one thing; the same thing every day, all day, for years at a time? But why?” Tunica said as we nodded.
“Well, I suppose it’s not everyone on our planet but close enough. Tunica, on our world people need to work so they can earn currency to pay for the things they need; like food and shelter,” Julie said.
“I still do not understand,” said Tunica. “We occasionally have someone that will get so focused on an area of interest or study that they kind of forget about everything else for a few months or sometimes even a few years but how is it that your whole society is so passionately interested in only singular pursuits?”
“Ah, well,” I jumped in. “It is true that some of us are passionate about our careers but I think most people just do the work so that they can put food on the table for themselves and their families.”
“Do you mean that many people are devoting most of their waking lives to doing stuff they would rather not do?” she asked.
When I nodded she continued, “Are they being punished?”
We explained that no, on our world people had to earn currency in order to buy things… but I still don’t think she was getting it.
“If they are hungry why don’t they just go to a restaurant?” She asked.
It further turns out that Tunica led a very active life. She had a number of things she did on a regular basis; things we might call jobs.
Her work at the Coridian enclave was one example of that.
“How much time do you spend working with the enclave?” Julie asked.
“I devote a few fourthdays a week,” she replied. A fourthday was equivalent to about six hours.
As Julie inquired further we learned that Tunica was fascinated by the Coridians and stories of far-off cultures and places. She thoroughly enjoyed her work there and planned to stay with it until she no longer did.
“What will happen then?” Julie asked. “Will you just walk away?”
Tunica looked at Julie rather strangely and said, “Of course not. I would let them know I wished to move on and I would help them find and train someone to take over my responsibilities.”
“So you do have responsibilities,” I said? “You don’t just show up when you want and do what you want?”
“No silly, I coordinate with Trikki who organizes the maintenance of the enclave, just like I coordinate with Erdo who manages the restaurant where I want both of you to join me for dinner. Actually there will be a whole bunch of my friends there that I would love to introduce you to. Our local Rik-Tor team has a match with our strongest rival today and everyone will be excited to talk about it.”
“So you’re going to watch the game from the restaurant?” I asked.
“No, of course not,” she said. “Everyone usually finds a quiet place to watch it virtually and then we will all get together to discuss it. The restaurant will be busy but since I devote several fourthdays a month to helping out there I am sure we can get a table…
“There. We have our reservation,” she stated after a moment.
All of this conversation was taking place as we walked from building to building and through canopied areas full of tables, chairs, and Stigerians sipping tea or in some cases demonstrating goods and products.
It was as if time had come full circle; I could have been looking at a marketplace in ancient Mesopotamia except that it wasn’t noisy, crowded, or dirty. Simple and clean were better words. The feel of trimmed grass and smooth stone under our feet complimented the clean feelings. The lack of any dust combined with a slight breeze made for a cool and pleasant afternoon. I felt more like I was at a picnic party in the neatly trimmed backyard swimming pool patio of my favorite Dean at school than I did a market bazaar in an ancient city.
The most striking difference though was the lack of much color. Most of the city seemed to be colored in pleasant but dull shades of white, beige, or light-grey. Even the universal form fitting clothing of the population was in these drab colors.