ENCOUNTER by Hep Aldridge (bill gates books recommendations .txt) 📕

be Jeannie’s doing. I was thinking about how hungry I was when I went to sleep last night. Getting tired of the MREs.”

Dimitri lapsed into his Boris speak, something he hadn’t done since the big boom. “Da, is good, make you grow up strong, like bull,” he said, beating his chest with his fist.

Reggie said, “Well, I don’t know about the bull part, but it’s magically delicious compared to protein bars, powdered eggs, and Tang.”

I looked at Eduardo and said, “You haven’t said much lately, Eduardo; how are you holding up?”

He was enjoying the meal as much as any of us and looked at me, grinning. “Senor Colt, this is all amazing. I feel like I am in a dream, and I don’t want to wake up.”

“Well, it’s no dream, so enjoy it while you can. You never know when things might change,” I said, continuing with my meal.

As we were sitting there, a thought came into my head, “I am glad you are enjoying your meal. This is somewhat typical of the food in the Citadel.”

It was Jeannie’s voice, and I looked up as everyone else did. They got the message too.

Dimitri held up his cup of liquid to the sky and said, “Thanks, Jeannie, this is great. Best room service I’ve ever had.”

There was no answer, but I swear I heard a soft laugh. But then, it could have been my imagination.

We finished our meal, wrapping what was left and tucking it into our packs, just in case.

We grabbed our day packs and headed toward the building that housed the chair and Jeannie. As we were walking, I realized mother nature was calling, and in a mild panic, started looking around for a bush that needed watering. When we were hiking through the jungle, these moments weren’t as critical. Trees and bushes were everywhere, but now we were in the middle of a city…” I wondered how the others were dealing with this little dilemma and blurted out, “Hey, anybody besides me gotta go?”

We were passing a low building on our left when the message came through loud and clear, “In here,” and the lettering over the doorway began to glow the all too familiar blue glow. As I looked at the others, I could tell they had gotten the same message, and we all entered. There was a medium-sized anteroom and two doorways on either side of the rear wall with the strange lettering we had been seeing in the Citadel above them.

Things were now getting urgent, and I bolted for the door on the right and immediately got a big “No,” and stopped in my tracks. “The other one,” came the thought, loud and clear, and I headed in with the other guys on my heels as the ladies made their way through the doorway of my first choice.

Inside, it was pretty easy to determine the functions of what we saw in the room. What was really impressive was the appearance of accessories, as if by magic, in the room. Tapestries and artwork on the walls, chairs and lounges appeared, and subdued lighting began illuminating the room. Water was flowing through a trough on one side; on another, there were individual cubicle spaces with an obvious toilet-type fixture and a series of larger cubicles on the opposite wall with a niche next to each. There were five spigots along the wall above the trough, spaced at regular intervals along its length, dispensing a continuous flow of water.

It was obviously a washing facility. Bowls of a creamy blue substance were placed at intervals along the trough’s edge next to a small stack of towels at each. It reminded me of drawings I had seen of Roman bath houses but with upgrades.

I stepped into one of the smaller cubicles, and an opaque wall appeared behind me, providing a level of privacy from the rest of the room. Calling them small cubicles is relative only to the size of the others in the room. They were probably five feet wide and, from the height of the fixture inside, were made for a taller person, and I’m six foot five. Thankfully, I managed without incident, as did my companions. As I turned to step out, the opaque wall disappeared. I stepped into the room and received another message from Jeannie. “If you wish to cleanse and refresh yourselves, the larger spaces will accommodate you. Place your clothing in the space provided, and it will be cleaned as well.”

While we had been doing a relatively good job of addressing personal hygiene on our trek, I was not about to miss the opportunity of a real cleansing. So, I stepped into one of the eight larger cubicles along the wall. Once again, an

opaque wall appeared behind me, offering all the privacy one could ask for.

Stripping down, a small section of the wall opened with enough space for all my clothes and boots. As it closed, I was engulfed in a warm spray of water, followed by a spray of what I guessed was a cleansing wash from its faint spicy floral fragrance. Next was another warm water spray for rinsing, and then it stopped. The whole process took about ten minutes.

I stood there dripping, not sure what to do next when a warm breeze filled the cubicle. The water evaporated and was immediately followed by another slightly scented vapor. A blue glow filled the cubicle, and I felt tingling over my entire body. These aliens must love the color blue, I thought. The cubicle that held my clothes opened, and I started getting dressed. My clothes smelled clean and fresh—even my socks and boots.

Now, that was impressive.

As I finished dressing, the opaque wall disappeared. I stepped into the room, looked back at the cubicle, and thought, hmmm, my first alien cleaning. I felt rejuvenated and much more energized than I had earlier. The doors were still closed on the other cubicles, so I headed to one of the lounge chairs in the