Page 42 of Whoops-A-Mate From Outer Space
He nodded. “We have seasons, the same as Earth. However, they are less extreme. The clouds block much solar radiation, and also work to retain and redistribute heat.”
“I see.” I bit into the fruit. The flavor was reminiscent of a cross between an apple and a blueberry, but the flesh was soft and juicy like a ripe peach.
“Well?” Eashai asked, then took another bite of his.
I chuckled. “It’s good. It tastes like a blend of several Earth fruits.”
He laughed. “And I felt that some Earth fruits were lacking flavor complexity. If you do not mind, I would like to try the blend of what it reminds you of.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
We resumed walking—in silence until we finished our treats—then we disposed of the pits in convenient rubbish bins.
“You have to go to your lab this afternoon, right?” I asked.
“That is correct. New samples were sent with us. I must confirm that there were no issues, then I will discuss testing parameters with my team here.”
“I thought you’d already done most of the testing that we’re doing on Earth.”
“We have, though we will occasionally revisit based on your results. Our work here is now focused on ensuring the safety of the baby girls who will be born. We do not wish to separate our volunteers from their families. To that end, we are conducting every test possible to verify that the disease that killed our women has been eliminated.”
“How are things looking?”
He paused and looked at me. “Hopeful. However, we are cautious. Even with our advanced technology, we cannot prevent the degradation of records over the course of two millennia. Systems fail or become outdated. Handwritten records have been carefully preserved, but are still incomplete. We are attempting to piece together information lost to time. In many ways, it is almost as if we have started the search anew. We look to the past for guidance, but we do not let it restrain us. Wemust either develop a cure or prove beyond any doubt that the virus failed to survive once our women were lost. Those are the only outcomes we will allow ourselves.”
“Like looking for a needle in a needlestack.”
“Pardon?” he asked with a confused expression.
I chuckled. “The phrase is normally ‘like looking for a needle in a haystack.’ It means you’re looking for something small and very hard to spot in an abundance of something else just similar enough to make it a challenge. But I had a friend who owned a puzzle of a needle in a needlestack. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with jigsaw puzzles, but they’re images printed on cardboard, then cut into interlocking pieces. They come disassembled, and the challenge is to put the picture together. Usually, with puzzles, you can approximate where a piece goes by color, what elements are on it, and other context clues. But there were no context clues in the ‘needle in a needlestack’ puzzle. Every piece had parts of the photo of needles. So completing that puzzle consisted of much more trial-and-error.”
He had a thoughtful expression, then nodded. “I believe I understand your analogy now. Both the puzzle and the… needle in a needlestack… itself. The research is trial and error, but among all the potential viruses we must test to determine if they are mutated from the one long ago, we do not know which… needle… we are looking for.”
I grinned. “You get it!”
He smiled. “I must remember that phrase for later.”
I laughed. “Just remember that it’s normally a needle in a haystack. I don’t know how many would get the reference of a needle in a needlestack.”
His eyes crinkled around the edges as he echoed my laugh. “I will keep that in mind.”
I bumped his shoulder with mine as we started walking again. “So do I get to see your lab?”
He hummed. “I would not be opposed. However, due to the technological differences between us, I must seek approval.”
“Oh…” I sighed. “I get it, though. Maybe not at the university, but I’ve been in labs where visitors had to get clearance before.”
“I should know by tomorrow,” Eashai stated.
“So I should just hang out at your place this afternoon?”
“I would rather you enjoy yourself. There is a beach not far from here, and a regular transport makes access easy. Or…”
I chuckled.
“What is funny?” he asked.
“I’m kind of lost without you. I don’t speak the language, have no idea where I’m going, and I doubt any businesses here take credit cards.”
