Te’rnu smiled again, brilliantly white teeth catching the glare of the sun. ‘That is OK, we all need to look out for each other in this world. You think the Iyr would not have helped you?’
‘I suspect not,’ I replied.
Te’rnu nodded. ‘I think not too. But do not tell the Elders I said this.’
‘Elders? There’s more than one?’
‘Yes! The Elder you have met, Elder Ra’ntu, is a gifted doctor, but there are others too. All the older Arellians in this village are Elders. That is… all except me.’
Te’rnu’s furrowed brow gave away how irritated this fact made him - a strangely Terran trait.
‘Why’s that?’ I asked.
‘They do not trust me.’
He shook his head - as if ridding himself of these thoughts.
‘Can I ask you questions now? I’ve always wanted to meet a spaceman.’
‘Go for it,’ I replied, ‘Seems like a fair trade for saving my life, after all.’
‘How many? How many questions would be a fair trade?’
I smiled; there was an endearing level of innocence about the Arellian sitting in front of me. ‘Loads.’
‘But how many? I shall have to prioritise.’
‘I’ll tell you when you’re running out.’
This seemed to satisfy Te’rnu as an answer, and he jumped straight into the questions.
‘How many planets are there?’
‘Oh, err, countless. Hundreds of thousands. Millions, maybe, even.’
Te’rnu’s eyes widened like a child seeing a magic trick for the first time.
‘Only a small handful actually support life, though.’
‘What is your planet called?’
‘Terra.’
‘Terra? That’s a pretty name. And, erm…,’ Te’rnu paused, a sudden shyness overcoming him. ‘And what is… what is your name?’
Whoops. I’d forgotten that bit.
‘It’s Syl. Syl Raynor. Sorry. I should have told you that already, really. I’m still a bit out of it, I guess.’
‘Syl-raynor is a pretty name too,’ Te’rnu added, no longer making eye contact.
‘Just “Syl” is fine.’
‘Syl.’
‘Yeah.’
He went quiet for a moment, processing everything that I had been telling him, and then question after question began to escape his lips.
He asked about Terra, about what life had been like there. He asked how we travelled amongst the stars. He asked why I looked different to him, and whether other aliens looked different too. He asked and asked and asked until I was seriously considering telling him there actually was a limit to how many questions he was allowed.
Finally, a ringing noise came from outside. Te’rnu’s eyes lit up again.
‘Dinner! Do you have dinner on Terra?’
‘We have dinner, yeah. My favourite part of the day,’ I answered.
‘Mine too,’ Te’rnu replied, grinning. He stepped over to where I was laying, grabbed my hands, and pulled me to my feet.
‘Thanks, Te’rnu.’
As he led me towards the door, I glanced back at my bag, which was being left alone, at the side of the bed.
‘Oh, Te’rnu, will my bag be OK in there?’
He looked confused. Again. This was becoming a real regular occurrence.
‘Yes. Why would it not be?’
‘Nobody would steal it?’
Te’rnu didn’t reply, only maintaining his perplexed expression. I took this as an answer.
Out in the centre of the village, the inhabiting Arellians were sat in a large circle. All held food bowls in front of them, some full, some about to be filled. Te’rnu handed me an empty bowl, and we sat down at a gap in the circle.
To the side of the circle, I noticed, was a tall antenna - next to some kind of screen. It stuck out like a sore thumb in this Arellian village; they were centuries off this kind of technology. It had to have been placed here by the Iyr.
On the side of the antenna, I noticed, was a big red button. Every fibre of my being immediately wanted to push it - how could someone resist a temptation like that?
I turned my attention away from the Iyr technology and back to my hosts. The Arellian who was serving the food poured it into my bowl with a kind smile on his face.
‘This is Elder Or’ane,’ Te’rnu told me. ‘They are in charge of meals.’
I thanked Or’ane, and then, when they were further away, Te’rnu leaned in close, and whispered, ‘That is the role I wanted.’
I poked timidly at the food. It was curry-like in texture, viscosity, colour, like the dhal that an old boyfriend of mine used to make. I sipped a mouthful. It didn’t taste like dhal, but that didn’t mean it was bad. There was a sweetness to it, that Terrans wouldn’t normally have in their savoury dishes.
‘You like it?’ Te’rnu asked, eyes wide with hope.
‘I do. It’s very sweet. If this is how sweet your main course is, then I can’t imagine what your second course will be like.’
‘What did you say? Second course?’ Te’rnu asked.
Whoops.
I shook my head. ‘Nothing. Ignore me.’
He happily did, and instead continued to sip away at his bowl. I finished mine, too, and resisted the urge to burp. There was no knowing what was offensive to different cultures, so I tended to play it safe when it came to this sorta thing. Maybe they didn’t even know what burping was! I kinda liked the idea of the whole circle seeing me do it and wondering what on Terra that was all about.
No, Syl. Resist. Resist!
‘Te’rnu, I… I have to ask.’
‘What is it?’
‘I’m curious, I’ve never met a species without gender before.’
‘You want to know how it works? Biologically?’
‘Yeah, like… can you get pregnant?’
‘I can.’
‘And you can also impregnate people?’ I asked, and then, in order to diffuse the awkwardness that maybe only existed in my mind, teased, ‘Not that I have anything planned.’
‘I can impregnate people too, yes.’
‘So is that all in one organ? Or do you have, like two different things, each with their own purpose? And you just choose which one you’re going to use? Sorry if this is weird to ask. I’m just interested.’
‘Maybe we don’t talk about this at dinner,’ Te’rnu suggested, and suddenly it seemed like he was the more mature out
