<\/p>\n
– A week!? \u2013 This is me, and I am not glad.
\n– Seven days. \u2013 My host.
\n– A week\u2026
\n– But what do you mean by \u201ca week\u201d?
\n– Seven days.
\n– A week then, that\u2019s it.
\n– I won\u2019t be able to go back for a week?
\n– No, you won\u2019t.
\n– That\u2019s impossible, I\u2026
\n– Stay calm. The time is a bit different here. You arrived in a other part of the universe.
\n– Could you be more precise?
\n– Seven days here\u2026
\n– One week\u2026
\n– And only a few hours on Earth.
\n– How do you know that?
\n– Our databases.
\n– You told me I was the first Earthling\u2026
\n– We\u2019ve done some research since you arrived. We are travellers too and we have relationships with other worlds which have given us information. When I went out of the room a few moments ago\u2026
\n– It was the Major, eh?
\n– Yes, he gave me all sorts of information and recommendations. Among this information, he told me that the Great Council won\u2019t be able to meet before seven days, due to a diplomatic shifting on Yurdiva.
\n– Oh you see, Yurdiva.
\n– It\u2019s one of our partner planets\u2026
\n– So for one week I have to wait until those ladies and gentlemen come back from travelling\u2026
\n– Diplomatic shifting\u2026
\n– And I have to stay calm\u2026
\n– Yes, for 7 days, if possible.
\n– All week long.
\n– We don\u2019t have any weeks here.
\n– Really?
\n– We have days, moons, and gold rings. There\u2019re 20 days in one moon and 15 moons in a gold ring. Would you like to see our moon? It\u2019s in the sky at the present time. There is a moon rise, a moon set, it changes shapes during its cycle.
\n– We have one like that too. But where I live, time is not counted in moons.
\n– And what do you count by?
\n– Months, years. One year is 12 months.
\n– And what about the week?
\n– Er, a month is at least 4 weeks. Or a little bit more, but not always.
\n– It sounds complicated. There are a variable number of days in a month?
\n– From 28 to 31.
\n– And how do people get through this?
\n– With calendars. And your gold ring?
\n– It\u2019s a shiny planet which crosses our sky every 15 moons. It stays for one moon. Now we are at moon 5.
\n– You told me I can see it.
\n– Yes, it is time you go outside. This disembarkation room is austere, isn\u2019t it?
\n– To be honest, I had no time to think whether the place is austere or not.
\n– Shall we go?
\n– Let\u2019s go. Oops.
\n– What happened?
\n– Nothing. Headache. A very fleeting one. It\u2019s done.
\n– Let me help you with your first steps.
\n– It will be ok. Don\u2019t worry. What do you think I did when you went out earlier?
\n– I asked you to rest.
\n– But I felt like moving.
\n– Are all humans like you?
\n– How am I according to you?
\n– Impossible!
\n– In my world, generalizing is very impolite.
\n– I was just asking a question.
\n– I have no answer.
\n– So what did you do? A stroll around the room?
\n– I simply walked. By leaning first on anything I could. And then without the hands. Bingo!
\n– Any dizzy spells?
\n– Just the first moments. I didn\u2019t release my supports before it went away.
\n– But when I came back you were sitting where I left you.
\n– Yes, I ran to my seat when I heard you coming back.
\nAt this point, my host shakes his head.
\n– She ran.
\n– She\u2019s right here.
\n– Let\u2019s go outside without further delay.
\n– Excellent idea.<\/p>\n
I have to say a huge surprise is waiting for me outside. I begin to whisper.
\n– Star Shining in the Vastness of the Universe, what are all these people doing here?
\n– They came to see you.
\n– Oh.
\n– Aren\u2019t you going to say hello?
\n– It\u2019s very embarrassing.
\n– Believe me, it can only improve your image.
\n– What about my image?
\n– You came without a body.
\n– I\u2019ll end up knowing it. What do I have to say?
\n– Hello, will be a good idea.
\n– Won\u2019t it be a little short?
\n– Sorry, I had no time to write you a speech. Come on.
\nOur whispered private conversation ends there and he says out loud:
\n– Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honor to present you our Earthling visitor.
\nHe gives me a poke in the side along with an insistent \u201cyour turn\u201d.
\n– Hem. Hello, everybody. My name is Beth\u2014I hear whispers in the crowd\u2014and I come from the planet Earth. I was told that here the names are longer, but where I live, it\u2019s different. I just came outside to see your moon, that fantastic moon in your sky\u2014and I point to a big, round, bright and ginger disc high above.
\nI came here accidentally. I wasn\u2019t aware of the existence of such a world, where travelling without a body isn\u2019t the done thing. In mine, there is no other way to travel\u2014whispers in the crowd again, strongly disapproving this time. But this is because we don\u2019t know how to use the disembarkation body. We live in a part of the universe where this hasn\u2019t been discovered yet \u2014an \u201coh\u201d of surprise\u2014. But I can tell you that this is a sensational experience. And talking about sensations, I think I am hungry.
\nAnd the crowd laughs gently.
\n– Ladies and gentlemen, this was Beth from planet Earth.
\n\u201cOh\u2019s\u201d and applause. People applaud here too.
\n– I\u2019ll take you home to have a snack, says my host.
\nMy satisfaction is brief.<\/p>\n
– What\u2019s that?
\n– Our means of transport.
\n– Are you kidding?
\n– How do you move around on Earth?
\n– With shuttles
\n– Is it a mechanical collective transport?
\n– It is.
\n– We don\u2019t need a shuttle.
\n– Why?
\n– Because we\u2019re not going that far.
\n– Oh, and when people don\u2019t go far, people use\u2026 these things?
\n– Yes. They are horses.
\n– That? A horse? This might be a saddle, here the reins, stirrups, but this thing below, this hairy thing looks like an enormous\u2026 cat.
\n– Translations are sometimes rough. It seems that here the function was the point: your horses are transport means, with saddle, stirrups, and reins.
\n– Er, they are more for pleasure if you live elsewhere than in a city.
\n– I think our cats are quite different.
\n– Let me guess, small pets eating and sleeping all the time, and asking to be caressed?
\n– Yes, we have one at home. I\u2019ll show you. Come.
\nAnd then he jumps on his horse.
\n– No way am I getting on this!
\n– Come on. Don\u2019t you want to test new feelings with your new body?
\n– The Major asked me not to damage it.
\n– Oh? Are you going to do what you\u2019re expected to?
\n– Am I mistaken, or is this sarcasm? I find you very Earthling, mister. By the way, it is mister, right?
\n– Yes, obviously.
\n– Nothing\u2019s obvious to me here.
\n– The plait. Only men have hair long enough for a plait.
\n– And so the smaller persons with shorter hair are women?
\n– You understand everything. Get into the saddle!
\n– I am not very determined.
\n– Let\u2019s try. Come on!
\n– Let\u2019s go easy\u2026
\n– We\u2019ll go slowly. Put your right foot in the stirrup in front of you, and use the pommel of the saddle to take your place.
\n– Ok, ok. He\u2019s not that tall.
\n– She. Nobody can ride the males. They are unpredictable.
\n– Don\u2019t you sterilize them?
\n– What?
\n– Nothing. In two minutes, you\u2019ll call me a barbarian. Just forget it.
\n– It\u2019s what you do to transportation animals on Earth?
\n– We do it to lots of animals.
\n– I won\u2019t call you a barbarian, but aren\u2019t you a bit savage, the Earthlings?
\n– Savage? Oh that\u2019s much better. Shall we go now?
\n– Giddy up!<\/p>\n
I have to say that this so-called horse is very comfortable while walking.
\n– Fancy some speed?
\n– Frankly, I don\u2019t know.
\n– Try the psychic bond.
\n– Yeah, and what\u2019s this the psychic bond?
\n– You have to feel the mind of your mount. And when she\u2019ll begin to run, your body will be able to anticipate each movement and stay stable.
\n– I can do this? I am an Earthling.
\n– Your body is connected with your mind like we are. You\u2019re like us in this body. You can have this psychic bond. You\u2026 don\u2019t need to be told twice.
\nMy horse begins to run at full speed the moment I think of leaving my host behind. I have to slow it down, because only my host knows where we\u2019re going. And here he is, caught up with us.
\n– I see\u00a0 that merely making the psychic bond was not enough.. You controlled it. We need lots of training to have that kind of connection, you know.
\n–\u00a0 So much weird stuff has happened to me today. I think of something, and then it happens. When I was just a mind, and now too.
\n– It isn\u2019t like that on Earth?
\n– Not at all. Fancy a race?
\n– You\u2019re impossible.
\n– You\u2019re smiling.
\nAnd then he darts off. I have to stay a bit behind him because I still don\u2019t know where we are going. But I can\u2019t stop going ahead from time to time. It pleases me and my mount too. I can feel it.
\nFinally my host stops.<\/p>\n
– Here we are.
\n– Is this your home?
\n– Yes.
\n– It\u2019s\u2026 It\u2019s\u2026
\n– You don\u2019t like it? You find it ugly?
\n– Not at all. On the contrary. It\u2019s magnificent. The whole universe is inhabited with artists. Believe me. We are amateurs on Earth. I have to etch that in my memory to be able to draw it later.
\n– Draw it?
\n– Yes, that\u2019s my little hidden talent; I am good at drawing. I\u2019ll be able to show the Earthlings what I saw here.
\n– To show the Earthlings?
\n– Yes, I\u2019ll have an experience to share.
\n– Beth, I have to say\u2026
\n– Oh, I don\u2019t like the face you\u2019re showing now.
\n– It\u2019s almost certain that you\u2019ll forget anything you\u2019ve done here, upon your return to Earth.
\n– Why?
\n– Well\u2026
\n– It\u2019s the time stuff, isn\u2019t it? It passes differently here, so memory can\u2019t remain the same way.
\n– That\u2019s it.
\n– What are you two doing?
\nThe door just opened and out comes\u00a0 a short-hair specimen. Very\u2026 pregnant.
\nAnd, believe me or not, but they are now purring.<\/p>\n
– What are you looking at? he asks. If you could see your face!
\n– You have just purred, I answer.
\n– It\u2019s perfectly normal between spouses, the wife says.
\nOh my head\u2026
\n– And I, in this body, can I purr too?
\n– You\u2019re not a complete male, but you have the mind, the feelings, so, a priori, you certainly can, he answers. And his wife adds:
\n– You have to find a good girl to be stirred with.
\n– Sweetheart, this is not a man.
\n– Of course this is.
\n– Believe me, I am not. On Earth, I\u2019m a girl, but there wasn\u2019t the right model to fit me on the shelf.
\n– Ha ha, he\u2019s funny.
\n– She, corrects the husband.
\n– Really? You\u2019re a girl? Poor you!
\nAnd she pushes me inside.
\n– Over there, that\u2019s the cat.
\nAn Earthling cat would laugh out loud if it saw that; it looks like a rat. A big one. But a rat. With a shorter muzzle. Oh, and now it\u2019s yawning. Cat\u2019s teeth, though, as far as I can see.
\n– Beth is hungry.
\n– Beth?
\n– That\u2019s me.
\n– Fragrant Flower from Isadora Plain, she presents herself.
\n– Very nice name.
\n– Yours too.
\n– Don\u2019t you find it ridiculously short?
\n– You\u2019re not from here and I like the sound. It\u2019s easy to imagine that all the universe isn\u2019t like us.
\nAnd I personally like Fragrant Flower from Isadora Plain.
\n– What do you want to eat? she asks frankly.
\n– Well, in fact, I don\u2019t know anything about your cooking\u2026
\n– Oh naturally. Silly me. I\u2019m going to see what I can cook for you, and you\u2019ll tell me what you think of it.
\nAnd I have to say, after the meal I thought lots of good things.
\n– Sweetheart, Beth\u2019s going to stay seven days among us. Do you think she can have our guest room?
\n– Sure. Beth, will you follow me? I\u2019m going to show you your bedroom. It\u2019s upstairs, she says, pointing to some stairs.
\n– Sure, really? I ask, embarrassed.
\n– Absolutely, she answers.
\n– On entering the room, I have a shock. I haven\u2019t seen myself yet, and I am facing a mirror.
\n– It\u2019s the first time you\u2019ve seen yourself, isn\u2019t it?
\n– Yes. I noticed the clothes.
\n– Military. Closer fitting.
\n– We call them overalls on Earth.
\n– Here too.
\n– I don\u2019t have any hair.
\n– That\u2019s military haircut: shaven.
\n– Oh, I didn\u2019t have the time to see it on the Major. He wore a cap actually.
\n– Do you fancy having a cap too?
\n– I dunno.
\n– If you don\u2019t know, it means you want one.
\n– You\u2019re reasoning sounds strange to me.
\n– I try to imagine myself without any hair.
\n– And in a man\u2019s body?
\n– No chance. Look at me, in my state? she answers with a smile. I\u2019ll leave you for a moment. Come downstairs whenever you want.
\nI nod, lie on the bed, and fall asleep.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
– A week!? \u2013 This is me, and I am not glad. – Seven days. \u2013 My host. – A week\u2026 – But what do you mean by \u201ca week\u201d? – Seven days. – A week then, that\u2019s it. –… Continuer la lecture