Ivaylo asks Callum some odd questions
As a cut up my food and put it into my mouth I was constantly aware of the eyes that were looking at me.
They belonged to Ivaylo, the representative from Bulgaria.
She was sitting opposite me resting her head on her right hand, her long hair swept over the side of her head and covering her forearm. She had not had it cut yet and it had grown very long. There was a robot on board that could cut hair to any style. Mine was fresh off a trip to the robotic barber, the clean cut edges felt comforting and crisp, I had not had a haircut for months, plus while on Earth during its last days I couldn't wash, since there was very little water. It was nice that it was no longer greasy.
Ivaylo was looking at me move the food from my plate to my mouth and she wore a small smile as if she found each bite amazing, or was surprised that I could feed myself.
She had not spoken for a while and I knew what that meant, she was building up to a question.
"Hey Callum?" she began.
Here it comes, I thought.
"What do you think human tastes like?" she asked.
Somehow I was able to snort the food I had just eaten, out of my nose.
My sinus was killing me and I dabbed my face with a serviette. "What kind of question is that?" I almost screamed at her.
"I don't know I was just thinking about..."
"Eating me,” I interrupted.
"Well sort of, I was just thinking what if all the food runs out? Would we have to start eating each other to survive?"
"I don't think that's going to happen Ivaylo," I responded, I then realised that I wasn’t completely certain that was true. We were on an alien space ship hurtling through space with finite reserves on board. If anything went wrong with the alien technology, about which we only had an intermediate level of knowledge, then her scenario was entirely possible. Also, what if the planet we were heading to was further away than we thought. The idea of eating my friends just to prolong my life until I reached a planet with actual animals on it, was depressing as well as horrid.
"I saw some cannibals once," she said.
Against my better judgement I asked "W- wh- when?"
"While my family were being escorted across Europe to safety in England, we passed through a bad part of town in Germany, I'm pretty sure I saw some people eating human meat."
I pushed my dinner away from me after that. There was no way now that I could eat when my brain kept imagining that the food I was eating was human.
"Lost your appetite?" she asked.
"Yes, Yes Ivaylo. Because you started talking about cannibalism," I practically yelled.
Conversation came to a stop around me on the other tables.
"I'm not saying I want to eat humans," I had to clarify to everyone in an exasperated tone.
"Can I finish it?" she asked pointing at my food.
"I've eaten half of it!" I said.
"I think when I lived in earth with very little food for so long, I got into the mode of eating any food I could," Ivaylo said.
"Fine, fine," I said pushing the meal all the way across the table to her.
"You didn't answer," she pointed out, with a mouth full of food.
"Answer what?" I asked.
"What do you think humans taste like?" she asked.
"I don't know, chicken," I replied.
"Since animals taste different when you feed them different things, surely humans would taste something different too."
"What do you think the vegans on board taste like vegetables?" I replied.
"You're English right?" she asked. "You guys eat a lot of fish and chips," she said.
"We won't taste of fish and chips," I said.
"No, but you will taste fishy," she said.
There was a brief pause in the conversation.
"Just so you know Ivalyo you can't eat me," I said.
"I won't eat you Callum," she said, "Well not first," she added then took another mouthful of food.
"This is a surreal conversation," I asked.
"Don't worry I won't eat you until after you died," she said.
"That’s comforting however I still forbid it," I said.
"When those cannibals tried to eat me they were going to do it alive."
"I'm sorry what?" I asked.
"Those cannibals I told you about, they blockaded the road my convoy was on, they tried to get into the cars and take people."
"Did that really happen?" I asked.
"Sure the representatives from other eastern European nations were in that convoy too."
"What happened?"
"The mob seemed to be frenzied somewhat, like those zombies in that classic film Zombieland or something. They were slamming their hands on the bonnets or windows. One of them smashed the window next to me and actually bit me on the arm."
She rolled up her sleeve and showed me the bite mark.
"I had to get some injections after that," she said
"You know what Ivaylo?" I began.
"What?"
"You're a lot more normal that you should be."
As a cut up my food and put it into my mouth I was constantly aware of the eyes that were looking at me.
They belonged to Ivaylo, the representative from Bulgaria.
She was sitting opposite me resting her head on her right hand, her long hair swept over the side of her head and covering her forearm. She had not had it cut yet and it had grown very long. There was a robot on board that could cut hair to any style. Mine was fresh off a trip to the robotic barber, the clean cut edges felt comforting and crisp, I had not had a haircut for months, plus while on Earth during its last days I couldn't wash, since there was very little water. It was nice that it was no longer greasy.
Ivaylo was looking at me move the food from my plate to my mouth and she wore a small smile as if she found each bite amazing, or was surprised that I could feed myself.
She had not spoken for a while and I knew what that meant, she was building up to a question.
"Hey Callum?" she began.
Here it comes, I thought.
"What do you think human tastes like?" she asked.
Somehow I was able to snort the food I had just eaten, out of my nose.
My sinus was killing me and I dabbed my face with a serviette. "What kind of question is that?" I almost screamed at her.
"I don't know I was just thinking about..."
"Eating me,” I interrupted.
"Well sort of, I was just thinking what if all the food runs out? Would we have to start eating each other to survive?"
"I don't think that's going to happen Ivaylo," I responded, I then realised that I wasn’t completely certain that was true. We were on an alien space ship hurtling through space with finite reserves on board. If anything went wrong with the alien technology, about which we only had an intermediate level of knowledge, then her scenario was entirely possible. Also, what if the planet we were heading to was further away than we thought. The idea of eating my friends just to prolong my life until I reached a planet with actual animals on it, was depressing as well as horrid.
"I saw some cannibals once," she said.
Against my better judgement I asked "W- wh- when?"
"While my family were being escorted across Europe to safety in England, we passed through a bad part of town in Germany, I'm pretty sure I saw some people eating human meat."
I pushed my dinner away from me after that. There was no way now that I could eat when my brain kept imagining that the food I was eating was human.
"Lost your appetite?" she asked.
"Yes, Yes Ivaylo. Because you started talking about cannibalism," I practically yelled.
Conversation came to a stop around me on the other tables.
"I'm not saying I want to eat humans," I had to clarify to everyone in an exasperated tone.
"Can I finish it?" she asked pointing at my food.
"I've eaten half of it!" I said.
"I think when I lived in earth with very little food for so long, I got into the mode of eating any food I could," Ivaylo said.
"Fine, fine," I said pushing the meal all the way across the table to her.
"You didn't answer," she pointed out, with a mouth full of food.
"Answer what?" I asked.
"What do you think humans taste like?" she asked.
"I don't know, chicken," I replied.
"Since animals taste different when you feed them different things, surely humans would taste something different too."
"What do you think the vegans on board taste like vegetables?" I replied.
"You're English right?" she asked. "You guys eat a lot of fish and chips," she said.
"We won't taste of fish and chips," I said.
"No, but you will taste fishy," she said.
There was a brief pause in the conversation.
"Just so you know Ivalyo you can't eat me," I said.
"I won't eat you Callum," she said, "Well not first," she added then took another mouthful of food.
"This is a surreal conversation," I asked.
"Don't worry I won't eat you until after you died," she said.
"That’s comforting however I still forbid it," I said.
"When those cannibals tried to eat me they were going to do it alive."
"I'm sorry what?" I asked.
"Those cannibals I told you about, they blockaded the road my convoy was on, they tried to get into the cars and take people."
"Did that really happen?" I asked.
"Sure the representatives from other eastern European nations were in that convoy too."
"What happened?"
"The mob seemed to be frenzied somewhat, like those zombies in that classic film Zombieland or something. They were slamming their hands on the bonnets or windows. One of them smashed the window next to me and actually bit me on the arm."
She rolled up her sleeve and showed me the bite mark.
"I had to get some injections after that," she said
"You know what Ivaylo?" I began.
"What?"
"You're a lot more normal that you should be."