Syra began to laugh at James’ expense because she did not warn him beforehand.
James heard the voice instruct him to spread his legs and arms and he did so right away. He was suddenly engulfed in warm air and his hair lifted straight up and then fell into place. Before he could think, a form fitted second skin had wrapped him up like a neat package!
The exit room from the cleanser asked him for a style of clothing, he selected in according to the screen and he was dressed in a flash.
After he stepped out of the cleanser, the first thing he saw was Syra blushing and then she finally explained how the Cleanser and second skin works.
“But what if I have to urinate?” James sheepishly asked.
“The second skin responds to all your needs and will react accordingly!” Syra said as she tried to hold back the giggles, she knew was building up in her.
Once fully dressed, both went outside and walked away, then stopped into the little diner next door and James ordered them food.
It was difficult for Syra to try something new to eat other then what she was so accustomed to, but she ate quietly and let James take charge.
After dinner, the two sat on the dock and watched the water slosh. They watched the sunset together. The breeze was incredible and Syra learned a lot about how to have recreational time on Earth. Both had very little to say, and James enjoyed watching Syra as she experienced a new world, she was growing accustomed to.
James was learning about Syra and her world of Zhian in every chat they had, Syra was learning about James and his world called Earth. This was exactly what her trip was meant to do, and she was content.
As soon as they got back to the camper, James started to yawn. He finally had to just come out and ask! “How does one get any sleep in this place?” and he went on to say, “I don’t see a bed too lay down in anywhere!”
“Oh, let me set the command for you. You want a bed or a pod to rest in?” Syra asked.
James replied, “I prefer a bed. It’s all I have ever known.”
“Oh, I always sleep in a sleeper pod, but we can’t do both, so a bed will do because there isn’t enough room in here both.
“Oh, I hate to ask you to sleep differently, that doesn’t seem fair!” James said.
“Oh no problem, I’ll try your bed and see how it works for the both of us,” Syra replied.
Syra made the command and a bed was instantly displayed. Both were terribly exhausted after driving all day. James trying to adjust to all this new technology and Syra learning to trust a human with her life.
“I hope you don’t mind but I can’t sleep in this skin thing, it’s gotta go!” James went on to say, “I sleep in the nude!”
“That’s fine,” Syra answered and remarked, “You humans look exactly like us Zhians without your bodies being covered.”
No sooner than their heads hit the pillows James had requested, both slept a sound sleep.
The next morning the alarm went off with a woman’s voice first thing in the morning saying, “Rise and shine, time to start your day.”
That alone got James straight up out of the bed. For all he knew, someone was watching them sleep and was waking them up. This whole vehicle seemed alive to him.
James and Syra began talking about what she had learned and observed so far, and it was a good chat that morning. Syra showed James how to tune in to different channels from a satellite and to check to see if there were any new reports about Syra or Zee10, and there was none.
A few buttons to push here and there but mostly voice commands. That is when Syra realized James needed to be added to her operations, so the system would run smoother.
Syra asked James, “What can I do to make this place more like something you are familiar with?”
“Make it all look like my camper I have back at the ranch, and I don't feel like I am in a spaceship,” Then James began to laugh.
Syra knew she could learn a lot from James, but he needed to feel like he was in a familiar place. She quickly pulled up the schematics of his make and model RV on her com system and suddenly everything was just as he remembered, and he felt right at home.
Also, James just had to mention, “If you are going to be living on Earth, you need to learn to eat our food.”
“You are correct James,” Syra answered and also stated, “We need to take your small vehicle and get some food in here you are familiar with.”
“Well, I’m sure I am going to have to cook and that’s good because I am quite versed in very tasty cuisine,” James replied with pride in his ability to cook exceptionally well.
From that moment on, their day was all planned out. Syra had never gone grocery shopping so this was going to be a good learning experience. He knew she needed to learn the cost of items and not leave a $1,000 tip ever again.
Syra understood and followed James’ advice and was starting to do some things without even being directed or reminded too.
As soon as they were cleaned up, Syra wrapped her head in a pretty scarf, grabbed her sunshades and dressed up just like a Florida tourist and James loved it.
They unhooked his hummer and off they went to the grocery store for supplies.
Syra was like a child in a candy store and wanted everything in the store. James had to remind her, when you shop, you are shopping to fill a list of items you would need to cook the meals planned for that week.
“I forgot,” Syra said and she smiled with that look that always drove James crazy. She was the prettiest girl he had ever met but he was not about to make a pass and mess his chances up. He would wait for her to come to him if it took his entire life.
They started to load all the groceries up in the hummer and James had suddenly realized something. “Will that imitation refrigerator keep all this cool?” James asked.
“Of course, silly!” Syra replied.
“Good because it wouldn’t do me much good if the appliances didn’t work like real ones,” James laughed and felt a little silly for not asking her before.
They had grabbed a bite to eat at a drive-through restaurant and all Syra would eat was the French fries.
Well, James didn’t blame her for not eating the burger, the burgers did not look like they did on the ordering screen. Syra did enjoy the idea of ordering food from a screen, it was what she had done all her life from the Nutritional Charge unit.
Once they got back to the camper, they noticed plastic pink flamingos all over their campsite. Out of the blue everyone came out from their campers and all at the same time said, “You’ve been flocked!”
There were so many folks laughing so hard even Syra could not hold it back. At first sight, she thought those things were alive and nearly had a panic attack.
Right away James knew he and Syra were fitting right in. James had already explained to most of his neighbors that his wife Sarah was shy. They were good folks and went along with it and that made things a whole lot easier for James and Syra too.
That evening, James cooked dinner and the one thing Syra could not have enough of was a salad. She had never seen or ate vegetables on Zhian. But they were her favorite and she was not in any way ready to try meat. It just did not seem right to eat it and she would avoid it for now.
James informed Syra that tomorrow they would take a walk on the beach and then they would be ready to move farther south to some other campgrounds; he believed she would enjoy seeing and learning more about the places and people on Earth.
Already Syra had met many races of folks in Florida and she began to wonder if this was a place all aliens visited. What she found most interesting was many couples were of mixed race and most spoke many different languages and that was something she found incredibly interesting.
The next morning just as the sun came up, Syra and James were on the beach barefoot and she loved it. Syra had never felt this before, except in the Holocom Chamber back on Zhian. She had not used that mode since she launched the Zhian Sphere.
James and Syra sai
d their goodbyes and all the other camper folks told them they sure were going to miss them. Their neighbors loved how shy Sarah was and that is all they knew her by.
With the hummer back on its tow and Ohtron constantly checking in on what he observed outside the vehicle they pulled out and headed south.
Ohtron had become a permanent invisible fixture and sent back a lot of information to the Zhian Sphere.
Meanwhile, back at the Zhian Sphere, life went on as usual. Zee10 kept operations running smoothly. The council was well pleased with his decisions and directions.
More and more of the women aboard the Zhian Sphere were now with child and Zee10 believed it was the sunshine and time they spent outdoors. All citizens were happier than they had ever experienced on Zhian.
Zee10 only interrupted Syra when it was absolutely necessary because he did not want to interfere with her learning experience of this planet Earth, they now called home.
Then when a meeting was called to find out how the citizens felt and what they wanted to do, all agreed they wanted to live outdoors now and live like humans. They wanted their own structured habitat.
That was understood and Zee10 and the council promised they would talk to Syra about this and find a home for them to raise their new families on.
All the citizens of Zhian Sphere understood it would have to be a place protected from outside its boundaries. A place they could call home and feel safe outdoors. Zee10 began a search for such a place but he was not convinced that where they were, was where they should be. So, a decision would be made as soon as the discussion could happen between Syra and the council.
With that said, all citizens went on about their daily lives knowing that soon they too could be outdoors every day without worry just like Syra was.
Daily broadcasts were sent back to Zhian Sphere of Syra and James travels and every day the citizens got more and more excited. They were slowly adjusting to the idea that being outside was safe and okay.
For some time, James and Syra continued to visit campgrounds along the coast of Florida.
They had traveled all the way to the southern-most tip of the State of Florida and were now headed northward and Syra’s confidence was showing.
The citizens were now getting restless and seeing the travel feeds from Syra’s journey made them long for more sunshine and outdoor time.
Zee10 and the council called upon Syra with James to explain what was going on with the citizens and their restlessness.
It was to be expected, but it was an issue Syra needed to address. With further discussion, she would make a better decision. Syra ended the call with, “I will talk it over with James for some ideas he may have and let you know as soon as I can.”
All the way up the east coast they talked about possibilities, but nothing sounded feasible.
Then suddenly, James came up with what he saw as the perfect idea. An idea he had had back when he first heard of Syra and had been so preoccupied he had totally forgotten about it.
They could relocate the Zhian Sphere to James ranch which was large enough and private enough to allow them to roam freely and live out their lives in happiness and contentment.
“Are you sure?” Syra asked.
“As sure as I am sitting here, Syra,” James replied.
James knew that if this plan was going to work, they would need to head to the ranch as soon as possible to set up some cabins on the property and have them ready for their new occupants and this information was sent back to the Zhian Sphere.
It was then agreed that Syra and James would get back to his ranch as fast as possible.
This was a trip James was not prepared for. But he was warned to sit back and hold on!
Once they found a place they could pull over and not be seen, Syra took over and within moments they had lifted high into the sky and launched forward.
Before James could decide whether he was dizzy, sick or dazed and confused he saw his property from a different view than he had ever seen it before.
James would show Syra where she could park her vehicle which was next to the real RV James owned and he pointed out where and what to do.
Her vehicle slowly landed and gently touched the ground. She pulled her vehicle forward and into the bay next to James’ RV and she turned off her shroud to reveal the real vehicle she and James were traveling in.
When James got out and stood back, he could not believe his eyes.
“That thing looks like a spaceship from another world!” James said. Then he added, “Oh it is!” and laughed.
Ohtron was released and landed on the top of the same building. He was ordered to make his rounds of the property and to report back anything and everything he saw.
At some point, Syra had to explain what that order meant, and it did not include every dog that barked.
Meanwhile, when the citizens aboard the Zhian Sphere got the great news they immediately started to get prepared for the quick trip it would be to their new home.
The council was not comfortable staying where they were because of the risk of being discovered. Farmers were not that far away, and they knew of the risks and they were mounting quickly.
Meanwhile, Ohtron set up a safety net around the 5000 acres of the Ranch Caldiron. James was so impressed at the things Ohtron could do, he just sat back and watched!
The safety net was now tested, and it worked perfectly. James was surprised at how you could not see anything around or over his land, but it was no doubt there.
With no neighbors for many miles from the ranch, this gave them the seclusion and privacy they needed and would most definitely buy them more time on Earth.
The next phase to get ready for the Zhian Sphere was setting up tiny cabins and there was at least two dozen needed for now with those that have newborns. Males and females would be paired up and those with children already would get the larger cabins while the other cabins could accommodate until an expansion was needed.
This would be a learning experience for all the citizens of Zhian Sphere because these were real cabins with all the luxuries of Earth and not Zhian. In moments of desperation, though, Zhian technologies, of course, were available!
In many ways, James wondered how it would feel to be from an advanced race from another world who finds themselves, pioneers, starting over.
While the work was being done to prepare for the Zhians on his ranch, James realized Syra had not even had a tour.
Syra and James jumped on his four-wheel drive and off they sped around the property and she was nearly overwhelmed at its beauty.
After the land tour, it was time for Syra to see the inside of his ranch home. It appeared archaic to Syra compared to anything she had ever known, yet it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
James led her to her private bedroom and explained she could decorate it any way she wanted. She could set up as much of her Zhian amenities she was accustomed too and it would be fine with him.
For James, this was the greatest day of his life. He had the woman of his dreams now living in his home. It didn’t matter that she showed no signs one would look for in a man and a woman attracted to each other.
As curious as James was about how Zhians courted each other, went on dates and even got married, that was something he would not bring up until the time was appropriate.
While Ohtron was still frantically setting up the grounds for the Zhian Sphere and its citizens, James and Syra started to relax and have fun.
Syra had all her amenities moved into her room; the cleanser unit, a replicator, the nutritional charge unit, a portable shroud unit, a restore pod, restore portable unit, holocom unit and chamber, the core com system and com screen and even an image identifier!
All James could do was watch in amazement as Syra made each item appear as something else. To his eye, nothing had changed within moments of her moving in that room. With all intents and purposes, it was in a way, her ship in a small room.
James had to explain
what a closet was for because Syra was about to convert it to an emergency transport room! But after she explained its usefulness, James said, “Well, you can keep your clothes in my room, I have a walk-in closet you know.”
When asked who serviced him, James was completely baffled. “Serviced me?” James asked.
“Yes, who takes care of your cooking, cleaning, repairs or do you live all alone in this big house?” Syra asked.
“Oh, I do it all myself. I don’t like strangers in my home,” James replied.
“Well we have service bots you can trust, medical bots, repair, and maintenance bots and can fill any need you have,” Syra said.
“I need to think about that, but you are right, they would be trusted more than any human that I know of,” James replied.
James had hired housekeepers in the past and things always kept coming up missing. Plus, they would gossip in town and if there was anything he hated more, it was gossip.
And as far as maintenance work on his lawn, he did it himself. No one was ever allowed to touch his roses or any of his believed flowers.
That evening James had the groceries brought in from that vehicle of Syra’s and was cooking dinner. If she was going to start living like a human, she did need to learn to like their food. At least pretend to do so in public thought James.
Since the Zhian Sphere would not arrive until early tomorrow morning, James cooked dinner and invited Syra into the dining room. This was the day Syra was to learn how to eat spaghetti.
“Now that didn’t go over so well did it Syra?” James asked.
“No, it did not and stop laughing!” Syra stated loud and clear. She went on to say, “Why would anyone create food that you can’t decide which is the proper way to eat it!”
With half the spaghetti in her, the other half in her hair and sauce all over that pretty dress James recommended she wear for dinner, it was time for her to clean up.
Syra left the room to get cleaned up and get dressed for bed. Tomorrow would be a big day when the Zhian Sphere arrives, and she was so looking forward to that.
Ohtron would work through the night to make sure it was done right and would complete the work once the Zhian Sphere arrived because there was help aboard and he was going to need it.
The Chronicles of Syra Omnibus Page 7
