---- THAGHNEEL ----
Neel wasn't used to the lap of luxury that the campus had to offer. The ambient music in the background was soothing. Everyone seemed classy and sophisticated. On her home planet, coffee was something you only got at home. Her mother's was really tasty, but the smells which wafted through here seemed to put mother's to shame. It made her feel slightly guilty when she said "I'll have the same." Even though she'd never tried a Dirty Central Chai, she was practically drooling when it came out.
She followed the routine of Zeke and lifted her lid up promptly. It was spicy and sweet, but she could still tell there was black gold inside. She lifted the cup to her nostrils and took a big whiff. Nutmeg, Syrr spice, and something she couldn't place, which must've been the chai itself. "Excuse me, could you tell me -" She grabbed the pseudo skin of the android server. "What exactly is chai?" Neel said in a hushed tone. "Certainly! It is a black tea with several different aromatic spices in it. The dirty chai also contains two shots of espresso." Neel blushed, bowing her head to let the android know she was pleased. "Well, thank you." She smiled. The android gave a smile as well. "Certainly!" And wheeled itself back towards the baristas.
When Neel turned her head back to the table, she noticed the archaic book in front of her. Eyes widening, she delicately traced her fingers along its spine. "The Bye-Ble?" She stretched out vowels where they didn't need to be accentuated. "I'm pretty sure I've heard of this one before." She carefully opened it up to small text and flipped through verses. "It doesn't have a light or anything?" She grinned, looking back at the spine and the back of the book.
"If I'm remembering correctly, this is a book that has been translated for basically every ancient Earthican language. In fact, it has caused many problems because of poor translation." She squinted now, reading above her finger as she traced along verses. "It reads a lot like poetry!" She smiled.
"It's funny that people would think this was fact, when it is obviously heavily influenced by intoxicants." She continued to read, not looking up at Zeke, but taking a sip of her chai. It was super hot, but she rolled her tongue around a couple of times to let it cool in her mouth. A small gasp and she continued. "They drank wine as ritual. Some even think they had a special drink which caused hallucinations. While I'm not sure if that's fact, its obvious that these people were trying to scrape away at the human condition and what happens after death." She skimmed through the old testament, filled with revelations and fear tactics. "Plus, they had a real problem with women." She pursed her lips, looking up briefly to blow on her drink before sipping. "This is really good." She muttered, pointing at the cup.
"But uh, I've only read small parts in my English and Arabic class." She closed the book. "I'm surprised you were able to get a hold of this gem. It shows us how far humanity has come." Though Neel was not human, she was just like many other outworlders, a distant cousin to these primal beings. "Imagine how scary it must've been to believe you were alone in the universe..." This was the only rationale Neel had for creating a God. It was what they covered in their basic Mythology class. Many cultures begin with rituals and often they have deities to cope with a lonely existence. Perhaps this was no different than the idols many of the Pleiades inhabitants worshiped. Maybe the new age of intergalactic space travel was just as lonely as the first world.
---- MEEQA ----
When in good health, Meeqa would only sleep two hours every five days. If the synthetic weather was particularly hot or bright, she might sleep more. She was used to a cool, tranquil blue which would wrap around her and comfort her. Back on Parush, instead of sleep, Meeqa and her family would float in a circle to photosynthesize the little amount of light their planet received. This would charge and prepare them for travel.
Here in Outurn, there was sufficient light, even if it was synthetic, that she barely even tried to photosynthesize. She had so much energy, which made her feel great most of the time. She came to sleep once a week out of routine. And the soft blue light of their sleeping chambers almost reminded her of home. When she'd wake from her chamber, she'd be calm and renewed.
Meeqa and Magali made their way towards the lifts and were vacuumed down to the main level. "Just wait til you see them though. The art in the morning is amazing. It wouldn't surprise me if you ended up being one of them." Meeqa stuck her tongue out playfully, teasing the idea of Magali being a nutjob. The main level of the Poppy complex was still quiet at this time of day. However, you could start to see the red of sunrise start to emulate wakefulness.
At the front of their dorm was a stop for the shuttle. It stopped every two minutes. They'd gotten there just as the shuttle arrived. It was a rectangular metal box which hovered six inches above the ground. The doors slid open, revealing a short line of Poppy residents returning to their dorms. The sliding sign showed their next stop "Poppy - Information District". They would get off at the Art District.
Meeqa weaved between the few arrivals and slid her card into the automated driver slot. It flashed green to let her know that she was valid. She motioned for Magali to follow. Once the girl was on the firs step into the shuttle, she let the driver eat her temporary pass. It flashed green but did not return anything. Meeqa nodded and smiled. They walked towards the back of the bus, even though there were plenty of seats. The shuttles were nice and private. A soundproof screen would enclose them into their four-seat area. Once in a while, there were always troublemakers. But the shuttle was fairly safe in transit.
"So, there's our dorms. Building's a lot bigger than it seems." She craned her neck to try to see the top of it. "Next to us is the bookstore. So if you need books for your classes, its real convenient." Glued to the window, she continued to give travel guide information. "Then after the bookstore, there's the library. Oh and behind the library, see the buildings? That's where your classes will be. So they're easy to walk to. Well, unless you're still taking prereqs. I still need to take robotics, so I'll need to shuttle to the Orchid sector a couple times a week." She rested her chin on her hand now, a little bummed that her vacation was nearly over.