“That’s the reclaiming unit. All matter is reduced to its base form and reused by the system.”
I thought about it for a moment, looking around the room. There were no drawers for clothes, no boots on the floor, no half-eaten food on the small table next to the bed. “You use everything once and recycle it?”
He smiled. “Yes. The subatomic particles that made your towel might be used to create shoes tomorrow, or a bowl of soup the day after that. Everything onboard the ship is recycled this way. No one goes hungry. No one goes thirsty. No one suffers from poverty. As long as the ship has energy, we can create anything we need.”
Holy freaking wow. I looked down at my new clothes. They were great, but I had one little problem. I’d worn leotards and other one-piece articles of clothing many times, and they were a complete pain in the ass when it came time to use the restroom.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen a toilet in the bathing room. I looked around. There didn’t appear to be one anywhere. I hadn’t needed one yet, so it had slipped my mind. Which seemed weird, and wrong. Was there something wrong with me after all? Had the transport messed up my kidneys or something?
“What is it, mate? You can ask me anything.” Dare lifted his hand to my cheek and I held still, allowing his touch. Already, he felt so familiar. Easier to deal with than Zane. But, for some reason, I was worried about the commander. He was so hard, so strong. He had so many people, a whole fleet of warriors, relying on his strength and I’d hurt his feelings. Little old me, Hannah Johnson, preschool teacher from Earth. I’d wounded the mighty commander with a few honest words.
Great. No toilet, and now I felt like a heartless bitch. This was just getting better and better. I sighed. I might as well ask Dare now, no matter how embarrassing it was to talk about. “I don’t see a toilet.”
Dare wrinkled his brow. “I don’t understand, and my stims have no word for that. What do you need?”
Holy shit. Was I really going to have to explain it to him? I felt my cheeks grow hot, and this time it wasn’t from arousal, it was just plain embarrassment. “You know, a place to go when you need to get rid of your body’s natural waste? Don’t you guys ever have to, you know, empty your bladder?”
Understanding dawned on his handsome face and he actually laughed at me, which both pissed me off and made my face feel even hotter. “Didn’t Doctor Mordin explain this to you?”
“Explain what?”
“Everything is sent to the S-gen reclamation system. Even your body’s biological waste.”
“How?” What the hell was he talking about?
“Do you feel the need to empty your bladder?”
I thought about it for a moment, taking stock of how I felt. “No.”
He smiled, looking relieved. “Good. You had me worried, mate. But it appears the implants placed during your medical exam are working properly.”
“Implants?”
“Yes. During your processing, your internal waste systems were implanted with reclamation devices. This is done to our children at birth. The system will clean your blood, as well as transport and remove all waste from your body as it is generated.”
Holy hell. I would never have to use the bathroom again? “So, I’ll never have to—you know—ever?”
“Not unless you travel outside the range of the ship’s system. If you were to explore a new world, and lose contact with our system, then your body’s old biological processes would still function normally.”
Weird. Not that I would miss that particular task, but I suddenly felt like an alien. Or a robot. Or something weird and not human. My hands were shaking a bit as I smoothed the front of my plain uniform.
“So the plug—”
“Can stay in as long as your mates see fit,” he replied.
Time to think about something else.
The boring color of my clothing was better than being naked, but the basic brown and black pattern left something to be desired. I liked to wear bright red and blue and purple. I liked a flash of color. “Does everyone wear clothes like this?”
Dare tilted his head as if confused by the question. “Of course. Why would they not?”
I shrugged, not wanting to offend him, or his people. “Even the women? And the kids?”
He crossed his arms over his massive chest and frowned at me. “Yes. Does your clothing make you unhappy, Hannah? The uniform is designed to protect your body from extremes in temperature as well as protect you from wounds during an attack. The material is impenetrable, just like the armor of my uniform. Is this not how women dress on your world?”
I tugged at the end of my black sleeve where it settled against my wrist and tried to smile. Black. Every day. Forever.