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Dark Sunrise, part 9 Although most of the crew had their own quarters or only shared with a single other person, Janice didn't want Elinor given a private room. Cierra had explained that the reporter grew up in what was equal to the late fifties and early sixties and needed to be brought into modern times. The captain thought about it and paged Rachella to her cabin. A polite knock on the door let Janice know the young woman had arrived. "Come on in, Rachella." The young black woman from NYC entered the room. She was a soft-spoken woman and smiled shyly at her captain. She accepted a cup of tea from Janice and joined her at the small dining table. "So, your face tells me I won't like this, Captain." Janice laughed silently. Rachella was too good at reading her face. "You probably won't but I think you're the best person for this task. You're sweet-natured and patient." Janice expected her crew woman to question her but the young woman sat there quietly and waited for her to continue. "You know about the reporter Cierra brought back with her?" Rachella nodded and waited. "Well, she's a few decades behind us socially. Just think about the old South and their attitudes towards anyone not white." "Lord all Mighty, I can see the writing on the wall," Rachella said dramatically. "Of course you can. You're a smart cookie." "You want her to work with me?" "Well, not that, exactly. I want her to share quarters with you. Sometimes the only way to learn to swim is to get thrown into the water. Now, before you say no, think about it. Cierra sees potential in this woman. She can't be all bad." The fight left Rachella. "Fine. I'll make nice with her and teach her that not everything she was taught as a child was right." "You're the best, Rachella. I mean that." "Yeah, yeah. But you'll owe me one or two." Janice chuckled, knowing she did indeed owed her for this favor. ******* Elinor looked at the woman she had just been introduced to and wondered how she got into these messes. She was to share a cabin with a Negro? The crewman who had escorted her to her new home had closed the door and left. Now she was alone with her new room mate. She was very uncomfortable and placed her bags on the bunk. The Negro woman, Rachella, began chatting away. What could they possibly have in common? "You don't say much, do you?" Rachella commented. "Not unless I'm writing. That reminds me, is there a typewriter I could use on board?" "Typewriter? I remember those. My mother had one. We use word processors now or computers. We have three in the library for everyone to use. We don't have the power to spare for everyone to have one in their cabins." "Computers? Those things are huge, why would anyone want to have one?" Rachella smiled indulgently. "Things change. Let me show you." Reluctantly, Elinor followed her room mate down the passageways until they reached what had to be a reading room. The shelves had many books and chairs and sofas could be found in every nook and cranny. "Over here," Rachella instructed, pulling out a chair so Elinor could sit. "Is this a consol to the computer?" The navigation officer chuckled. "No, this IS the computer. Let me show you how it works." Thirty minutes later, Elinor felt very ignorant and could only imagine how the others viewed her. Her roommate had to show her each step and explain things several times. Listening to Rachella made the reporter realize that the Negro woman must be better educated than herself. Elinor didn't know what to feel about that. She was only accustomed to dealing with colored people when they were menials, such as janitors and housekeepers. What did you say to a well-educated Negro? "I think I've had enough of this computer today. Perhaps I'll work with it again later," Elinor said, pushing away from the desk. "How about a tour of the ship? It might be helpful when they begin your training." "Training?" "Of course. Anyone living on the WaveDancer has to know the basic drills and help with chores." "What do you do on the ship?" "I'm a navigator. Someone has to make sure the guys don't bump into things," she teased. Elinor looked uncomfortable. "We have so little in common. I wonder why they placed us together?" Rachella decided a white lie was best. "Probably because I'm one of the few single and straight women on board. Most of the women have a fella or two dangling and I keep to myself most of the time." "Aren't you interested in getting married and having children?" "Whatever for? I'm happy here. I love the sea and traveling. Besides, the way the lesbian couples are popping out babies, the world won't have shortages of people." "They have lots of children?" "Sure they do. You saw that Cierra has a baby. I think at least half of the same-sex couples have at least one kid. Even the male couples. Then the other clans have kids." Elinor began asking questions about Mother Earth. Her roommate answered them patiently as they strolled about the ship. She was surprised to learn that Cierra herself was part Native American. She learned the history of how it all began to the present day. After several hours, Elinor realized that she had forgotten about Rachella being a Negro and just saw her as Rachella, her teacher. Now that she realized it, her eyes once again saw her as colored. It was a strange experience. She needed time to think and a meal. She felt the gnawing hunger pains in her belly and asked when dinner would be served. "Any time you want to eat. We all work so many different shifts that the kitchen always has something heating. Let's go get a bite to eat. I could use something myself.' Her first impulse was to refuse. She could almost hear her mother's shock at the idea of sitting at a table with a colored woman. But then she felt bad about the impulse. Rachella had been patient and kind and didn't deserve to be rebuffed. She bit back her words and agreed to go together to the dining room. Rachella was pleased. Although she didn't live through the turmoil of the sixties, she remembered the stories from her older relatives about those times. She had expected Elinor to find an excuse to walk away from her hours ago and to avoid her company. Instead, the reporter just kept asking questions. Elinor had been stiffly polite but had loosened up during the afternoon. Just maybe they could get along as long as neither pushed the wrong buttons. ******* Elinor was lost and wasn't bashful to admit it. She walked up to a group of men to ask for directions, looking at the only white man in the group. "Excuse me, could you tell me where to find the Captain? She wanted to speak with me." The man she had looked at shook his head and looked confused, speaking a few words of a language she didn't know. A hand touched her. The Negro male smiled at her kindly and pointed down towards a passageway and gave her directions. Elinor couldn't even remember what he said. He touched her. Where she came from that wouldn't have ever happened yet he did it without a concern. Elinor didn't even thank him. She hurried away from the men and fought the impulse to look behind her while her heart thumped hard and fast. Thankfully the Captain stepped out into the passageway or she would have never found the room. Janice looked at the newest passenger on her ship and noted how pale she appeared. "Are you all right?" Elinor master's mouth opened but no words were said. "Come on in, Ms. Masters. I'll fix you some tea." She led Elinor into her own cabin. Luckily, she and Jeren kept a few things in the cabin. She told Elinor to sit down while she put water on to heat. "You look shaken. Do you want to talk about it?" Elinor looked at her with her huge blue-green eyes and seemed lost. "I...Captain, um, tell me something. Are our worlds so different? I feel like Alice in Wonderland." "Ahh, that's the problem," Janice said with a wry smile. She sat down opposite of Elinor and told her to continue. "Where do I begin? First I'm whisked off to another world, then I'm given a Negro woman as a room mate, homosexuals make no attempt to hide their...life style," she mentioned, avoiding the word perverted. She already had a clue that would be taken badly. "Then just now, a Negro man touched my arm. In my home town that would get him at least beaten, but he didn't even look concerned!" "Of course he wouldn't unless he was sexually harassing you. Then I'd personally see that he'd never do again. Now, to the other matters. Yes, we are a lot different but by no means are we enlightened if that helps. There's still lots of hatred and intolerance out there. That's why Cierra and her friends started this. They wanted a society where people were accepted as they were." "About forty years ago our world, in the US at least, began the equal rights protests and Civil Rights movements. Then there were the protests against the war in Vietnam. It was pretty wild back then." Elinor nodded. The war had already begun on her world. "How did the war end?" Janice sighed, "Everyone lost really. The way it ended on our world means little to yours." The water kettle began whistling and she stood up. She was preparing the tea when Jeren returned to their cabin. The voluptuous woman kissed Janice before noticing that they had company. Elinor's eyes widened. It figured that the Captain was one of the homosexuals on board. At least she had good taste. Her girl friend looked like a lot like Elizabeth Taylor with the same dark hair and blue eyes. She nodded and returned the polite 'Hello' when Jeren greeted her. "Want some tea, love?" Janice asked as she pulled cups from the tiny cabinet. "Would love some." Jeren sat down on the love seat and kicked off her shoes. She had just gotten off her shift from the observation deck. Janice placed a tray on the small table between them all and graciously served the others. "Are the two of you having a nice visit?" Jeren asked after taking a sip. "Well, an interesting one at least. We were speaking of the differences between our worlds." "I'm sure that makes for an interesting diary. I heard that you were a journalist?" "Um, yes, I am." "How fascinating. I never had any talent at that myself. I struggled terribly when it came time for my term papers." "Well, I only wrote for a small newspaper. Nothing fancy. I covered charity events and such." "But you had the talent to get hired. That says something. Have you ever written any fiction?" The conversation turned to creativity. Janice smiled indulgently and allowed her partner to control the conversation. Without knowing it, Jeren spoke about several of the concerns Elinor had brought up and even a few not mentioned yet. Jeren brought up her own family's background as immigrants newly arrived to the United States. Janice noticed as the two women spoke, Elinor looked less uneasy and more focused, as though trying to learn every nuance of Jeren's personality. That was it. That was what Cierra saw in her. The ability to put everything aside and get lost in someone's story. People fascinated her. Elinor might be the product of her upbringing but that could be unlearned if given the right opportunity. Janice nodded to herself, glad to have solved that mystery. ******** Next Chapter |