Tom said, “Hi, Mrs. Smith. How are you doing, and how are Sam and others doing with their training?”
“All of them are fantastic students. They absorb everything we teach them. I am honored to be able to work with so many wonderful people on Imagine. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Sarah jumped in. “That is good to hear. I have never properly thanked you for providing such a terrific education for my three children.”
“Thanks, I look forward to teaching them for another hundred years or as long as it takes to find a new home.”
Sam then said, “That will make you the oldest teacher ever and us, the oldest students ever.”
Everyone smiled.
At that moment, Tom started to relax and smile also. He probably should not have done that. All of a sudden, two people came out of the kitchen screaming at each other. Luis, the chef, and Ruth Sparrow, one of the passengers that Tom recognized as the mother of one of Sam’s friends who attended high school with him, were having a heated debate. They were heading straight to Tom. When they reached him, both started to talk or scream at the same time. Tom could not understand them, as each was talking loud and fast.
Everyone else was staring at them, hoping they would calm down. After all, they had recently had enough excitement to last a long time.
Finally, Tom said, “Luis and Ruth, please be quiet now!” His very stern and demanding voice stopped Luis and Ruth from yelling. Then, Tom said, “One at a time, please explain to me what is going on. Luis, you go first.”
Luis started talking, “Dr. Burns, I am happy to be the chef for you and Imagine. However, this woman, Ruth, has complained about my chicken enchiladas. She claims that her recipe is better than mine and she can cook it better than me. First of all, I am Mexican and have cooked chicken enchiladas for twenty-five years. This woman is a white person who knows little about the ingredients I use to make my food. Yet, she insists that we must use her recipe from now on, as mine is not good enough. Dr. Burns, please tell her to leave me and my kitchen alone.”
“Thank you, Luis. Now, Ruth, please explain to me why you are arguing with Luis about his chicken enchiladas.”
Ruth said, “Luis cannot cook Mexican food very well. Yes, I am a white female, but my family has been cooking enchiladas for nearly a hundred years with the same recipe handed down by my great grandmother. I was merely trying to improve the taste of his food, but he is too stubborn to listen to me. I am asking you to tell Luis that he needs to learn from others also.”
Luis jumped in. “I will not use your recipe. I do not need it. I have several assistants working with me, and we will provide the best food we can and not be forced to use your great grandmother’s recipe.”
Ruth responded, “I demand a chance to show that my chicken enchiladas are better than his. I want a cook-off with this imposter of a chef.”
This made Luis mad again. His face reddened.
Tom said, “First of all, you need to be nice to each other. Luis is a terrific chef. That is why I hired him to come with us. I actually ate his food in his restaurant in Chicago, and it was delicious. Nevertheless, I don’t want to throw your great grandmother under the bus, and if Luis will agree, you can have your cook-off.”
Luis said, “Anytime is fine with me. Let’s do it now for the Burns family.”
Ruth said, “Bring it on.”
Tom then said, “I will use my family and five others to taste your food. We will not label who cooked each dish with your names. Each taster will note which enchilada they liked best. Whoever gets the most votes will be the winner. How long does each of you need to prepare your food? We can come back then and taste it.”
Both Luis and Ruth said two hours would be enough time.
Ruth demanded, “If more people like my cooking, then I expect that recipe to be used from now on.”
Luis said, “One more thing, Ruth. The enchiladas have to be made through bioengineering. I am sure you know everything about this procedure to prepare food.”
Ruth said, “What are you talking about? My great grandmother’s recipe had nothing to do with bioengineering. What kind of a joke is this?”
Before Luis could respond, Tom interrupted, “Luis is right. All of our food is made through a bioengineering process. Remember, we are on a spaceship and we have adapted to find ways to provide edible food. As a judge and commander of this ship, your food will have to be made using this principle.”
Ruth looked very frustrated. “Until I learn how to do this, I guess I cannot have this competition now.”
Tom said, “I guess not. However, I do know who you are from reading your file. It seems that you actually were a drama teacher for many years. Is that correct?”
Ruth said, “Yes, I taught drama in college for twenty years. I had some very devoted students who went on to work on Broadway and other places.”
“Then perhaps you would like to teach drama on board Imagine. In time, maybe you could get some of the crew to put on a show. It does not have to be anything extravagant. I am sure some of the younger people here would enjoy doing this. It could be a traditional play or one that you create on your own.”
Ruth said, “Thank you for trying to make me feel better. I will let you know in a few days if I want to be a drama teacher again.”
Tom said, “Thanks for considering it. Would you mind shaking hands with Luis? I expect there will be conflicts between people on board regarding almost anything. It is part of human nature and cannot be avoided. However, we have a thousand people on board who are not going anywhere for a long time, I hope. We have to learn to resolve our conflicts diplomatically. I am responsible for any decision that will impact everyone here, but you cannot depend on me to resolve every personal situation on board. Please try to think about that. I will have to post guidelines and procedures about personal conflicts on board soon. I suggest that both Ruth and Luis would be great to have on this committee given we’ve resolved this. What do you think?”
Ruth and Luis agreed it would be a good idea. They shook hands and went their ways. Tom put his hands on his head and breathed a sigh of relief. He was really hoping for some relaxation before they broke orbit. He ate some ice cream to enjoy the moment.
One minute later, Tom knew he could forget about relaxing. Zeke, the botanist, came running toward him, out of breath.
“Dr. Burns, I can’t find Billy. I have looked everywhere.”
Tom said, “Who is Billy? I did not think you brought any children with you.”
Zeke said, “Billy is a tortoise, not a child, although I do think of him as one.”
“What do you mean one of your tortoises is missing? I thought you only brought one with you.”
Zeke said, “No, I brought two. We need a male and female if there is going to be any reproduction. As you probably know, these tortoises may outlive everyone on board, as they can live as long as a hundred years and they don’t need cryopreservation to do it.”
Tom said, “Does anyone else on the Imagine know you have two of them?”
“Yes, Dr. Sato knows as well as Luis and many other people on board. They all love my tortoises.”
“Well, a tortoise certainly can’t go that far and can’t walk off the ship, so it must be here somewhere. I will make an announcement for everyone to look for it.”
While Tom went to make the announcement, he was thinking about the tortoises. If they had baby tortoises, the animals could live longer than anyone on the ship. Maybe they would be the real Ninja turtles or tortoises. Five minutes later, every off-duty passenger was looking for Billy. How difficult could this be? This tortoise was huge, and it would be difficult to find a space to hide.