Procedures! So many procedures for everything and we had to learn them all until we could remember them in our sleep. Those kinds of things were new to me. We didn't have any procedures on my island, not even for diving. It's okay, though, because school was fun also. We had mixers, competitions in our fields, and physical education games. We were required to participate, but still, everyone enjoyed it. I met people from all over the world, not just Asians, and learned to cook in many interesting ways and with many new foods. Yes, it was exhilarating.
Then I came to space. We boarded a shuttle, much like the ones that visited my island. There were about fifty people from my school. The trip took a few hours. I never felt any turbulance or anything at all really. It was like we were sitting in a plane that wasn't moving. Until we were in space, then I felt myself rise out of the seat. The seatbelt caught me, but we laughed and giggled like children. The co-pilot laughed with us but told us to keep the seatbelts on. They were very lovely people.
We went through a few days of orientation, which included a tour of the space station—not every part, but many of them. This place is quite large. In my head, before I came, I thought "how big can it be," but I was wrong. It's huge, like a city. It has everything: theaters, shops, gardens, family housing, schools, and even some recreation spaces in Zero G. Of course, the military side is off-limits to me, but that's okay.
The contract I'm on is for two years, It's my second contract. I got a bonus to rehire. Part of that bonus was a free trip home to visit family. I love it here, and I'm making good money.
I work a forty-hour week with rotating weekends and get some input on what I want to cook. We usually serve Asian, western, or Latin meals for the buffet, so there will always be something someone likes. I cook mainly Thai food since it's my specialty, but I can cook almost everything.
Are you concerned about being attacked?
We already have been, at least a small one. I had only been here a few months when the battle station's siren went off. I was playing cards with some friends at the time, and we all thought it was a drill. Still, it's been drilled into us so much that what to do is like second nature. My station in that event is here in Mess 2, which turns into a hospital, if needed. We push all the tables together, stack the chairs, and get dressed in our X2s—that's our spacesuit. Not in that order though. We've done it a hundred times, so we were very fast. We can leave our helmet off until we hear the imminent damage siren, but that's never happened. I think it was another scouting run by the Veech, but the pilots met them far from here. I waited with the others for six hours, but then the all-clear came, and it was back to business.
Concerned? Yes, I'm concerned, I mean, who wouldn't be? But I have faith in TSC. I know many of them, and they are very good at what they do. No, I think I'll be staying up here for a while. I might even bring some of my family next time.
Dr. Orly Attia
Phoenix Station
Deck C
Dr. Orly Attia is a sturdy, older woman who carries herself with an indomitable will. She moves through the halls of Phoenix station with a sense of urgency, daring anyone to get in her way. She directs me into her clinic.
The clinic, despite its name, is vast. A reception attendant looks up in greeting, but the doctor passes her without a word. We pass multiple examination rooms until we come to her office at the end of a hallway.
Oh yes, I remember Invasion Day and precisely what I was doing. Who doesn't? I was working. I was examining a child who had breathing problems when someone barged in my office and said, "There are aliens in the sky." I whispered to the fool that if he didn't get out, I would circumcise him a second time. There I was with a little one, and they upset her with those stories. So what if it was true? Was I going to leave this little one alone? Fools. I finished examining her and three children after that. The world did not stop, and neither did I.
But yes, there were aliens. What can I do about it? People were screaming in the streets, pulling their hair out as if they'd suffered some great calamity. Why not sackcloth and ashes on the head, I say? If you're going to be this dramatic, why stop with a little hair-pulling? Such childish behavior! It's a wonder any alien race would be interested in these simple minds.
I hope, young man, you reacted better. (She looks over her glasses at me.)
I lived outside of Jerusalem, which was spared. All of Israel remained unmolested by the aliens. Maybe these aliens don't enjoy olives, who can say? It was a gift. Yes, we had the same internal problems that most of the world experienced but all in all, we were quite fortunate. Both the Jews and our Arab cousins saw this as divine protection. (Laughs.) Another gift that day: we agreed together.
I spent most of the war in Jordan. I patched up those boys and girls as they fought the aliens that infested Amman. Terrible, terrible war. I met and worked with another pediatrician there. A Jordanian. He always tells me, "With the children of Abraham working together, these aliens have erred." (Laughs.) What a fool, but the best of fools.
