'Eating right now or drinking is like playing Russian roulette without a gun.' Nora thought and felt giddy from the danger. Nora sipped the fluid in her glass. It was a delicious herbed drink, and she finished it quite quickly. Liem quickly refilled her glass and then sat down to start his own meal. Nora looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"I am grateful for you taking such good care of me," Nora said. Liem watched the translation scrawl across his own display, his face twitched. He restrained his face from reacting in complete surprise. He had seldom heard gratitude or a kind acknowledgment from his mother or sister when they were served food. Their traditional attitude was very true, and the opposite of the values that the rest chose. He felt at ease around her, like she was a man. He was excited and impressed that they had survived so long. He noticed her mimicking the way he held the Tongs in his hand.
'These are large kitchen tweezers or the ultimate cheater chopsticks. Easy.' Nora said as she held them and started to eat. She chewed and swallowed a vegetable on the plate. She waited for a reaction.
"How did you end up in that hunting area? It is a trap only area for Dozin and very dangerous," Liem asked.
"I don't know myself, I just fell, I went unconscious from my injuries. Then I ran from a pair of animals. I found myself lost and walked to look for help. My supplies were burned, and I had vomited everything inside me from the poisoning. I was delirious. I did not see the trap. I would have preferred to use a stick to trigger it. It was very painful." Nora said with a shudder.
"Though, I guess I should be grateful for the trap, or I would have died without help. I am thankful to those doctors and my rescuers. It would have been death for me if those Hunters had not laid that trap. Is there any way I can send thanks?" Nora said, acting like hoping that seeming pitiful and grateful would prevent him from prying into her origins further until she had some time to research. She picked up a different vegetable and carefully chewed it slowly. The vegetables were all touching, so chewing them thoroughly would help her. She waited, there was still no reaction. She was thrilled.
'Next,' Nora thought as she picked up another vegetable.
This guy seemed to be thinking about something. Liem felt bad for her. It was such a lost opportunity that her people were dead and that she could not figure out where she came from. Although they had thought all the tribal people had died out hundreds of years ago due to a lack of resources and numbers, here she was.
'It would have been fascinating to study how their language progressed to this state. Was it an amalgamation of the five different northern countries' languages or something new?' Liem thought. It was fascinating.
"We are grateful to have you here in Callor. I hope the food is to your taste. The kitchen here is lacking. You can eat with less restraint. Your system will alert both of us for now if you start to have a reaction to it", Liem said, encouraging her to eat.
'So they can run medical diagnostics on me at any point. It is ingenious but so violating. I do not have to be careful with food for now.' Nora thought.
"I will tuck in then," Nora said, ignoring his look of confusion. She picked up a piece of sliced meat dauntingly. She put it in her mouth, praying that she would not be allergic to it. It tasted like beef steak. It was cooked medium rare and had a nice crunchy crust from being grilled. By the second piece she picked up, she had received a dopamine hit as her brain rewarded her for eating such a rich and fat marbled cut of meat. It was like a Wagyu Steak. "Oh wow, that is so good," Nora said and let out a sigh of appreciation as she enjoyed the food. She grabbed a piece of root vegetable, like a golden beet or parsnip. "That was very much to my taste," Nora said. Just because they could detect an allergic reaction did not mean she should not be careful. Luckily, this was the last piece of variety in the meal. As she finished it, she waited. Nothing. Relief washed over her. The food was not poisonous. He had table manners. He finished completely chewing.
"Very good, I am glad to see that there was no reaction. We will add foods to your diet slowly. You ate Ronga, and the vegetables were Nata, Chea and Morn." Liem said as he pointed to the items on the plate. She was very observant.
'That had to be beef or bison. A cow-like creature. The vegetables were two different forms of gourd and Jicama?' Nora thought.
'That map was eerily similar in some ways geographically to the planet Earth, but there were many differences. The Toba eruption could not have taken place, the same would have to be said about numerous other volcanic eruptions. So accounting for some of the variety of different features in the men I saw. Humanity has faced extinction on Earth various times. Perhaps it was different for these people? The asteroid that led to the extinction of dinosaurs could have hit elsewhere. The air I breathed in from the open windows was clean. He called nuclear radiation a dirty fuel. They must have clean energy. It is going to be fascinating to learn everything. I have a lot to learn.' Nora thought. She should have been pleased, but it was too overwhelming.
The climate could be different due to their technology as well. Maybe they made their own mistakes like her own world. It could be natural as well. Her mind was busy thinking of all the variables and possibilities in this new world. She had not felt this curious in a long time and was pleased about the opportunity to learn. Liem quietly ate his meal and worked at the same time, taking the time to register her identity with the government and update them of her status. He had more questions for her. Before he could open his mouth, Nora decided to ask something in turn that was eating at her.
"My health, were they able to heal me completely. Will I be able to have children?" Nora asked.
"Yes, but it will take some time for it to start functioning normally again. Two cycles at most. You have medication to take before I leave," Liem answered.
"Where are all of the other women?" she questioned Liem.
"This is just a Delegate and Dignitary Station. So it is usually only used by males. You are currently on one of the dignitary floors for security purposes. '' Liem answered and then elaborated. "We have thirty-five hundred women in Callor, my Matriarch; Allurai Allari is the provincial leader and will meet you after we finish your naturalization. The rest you will meet at events," Liem answered. Nora choked on the sip of juice she had just taken. Her mind tried to grasp what he was saying. There were so few women in a large province.
'Callor is roughly the size of China, from what I viewed earlier. No wonder I'm being treated like a dignitary and with care. They will probably not kill me, but they might expect me to have children. I wanted children, lots of them originally. Would that even be a possibility now with these human-looking men? The Neanderthals and Dennisovians interbred with Homo Sapiens, so I have a chance at a normal life. But if I can not conceive, if they investigated deeper. Would they know? It would be fun trying while it lasted.' Nora thought, as she appreciated the sight in front of her.
"Your mother is the political leader for Callor?" Nora asked, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible to veil her shock, and the implications of the rarity of women.