Chapter 10

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Fibbilioparu Vexglycemianix. I’m the facilitator for the intermissions. Now, let’s see here.” A sprite appeared and floated before the hammerhead dude. “Oh, they aren’t on file. That’s kinda weird.”

Perry felt like his lungs were about to explode. Alarm bells went off in his mind.

“I guess I’ll just talk to them then.” Fibby turned from the sprite and continued to address the general area that contained Perry. “So, we don’t have your species on file. Sparky, turn off the stasis.”

As soon as he said it, Perry found he could move again. His back fell backwards. He wasn’t resting against a wall anymore, or maybe he was resting against the stasis field, or whatever was holding him like that. The first thing he did was gasp for air. That’s when he realized what the panic he felt was, while in stasis, he wasn’t even able to breathe.

He looked around the room to see his companions reacting the same way he was. Falling on the ground in one way or another, and all taking deep breathes.

“Alright, so what do you guys need or want for the intermission?”

“We ... want to go home,” said Heather.

“No, no, no. I meant like, do you guys eat? Do you need food? Some species have a sleep process. Do you need to sleep process?”

“We need water. H-2-0,” said Perry.

“Yeah, water. And yes, we need food and sleep,” said Shane. Shane got back into a sitting position, and Perry did the same. They were all a few meters apart, enough space for Fibby to walk between them.

“So, it sounds like water is the priority. How do you consume water?” Fibby, surrounded by Perry and his friends, looked solely at Perry. It must have decided Perry was their leader.

“We drink it.” Fibby just stared and tilted its head. “Um ... with our mouths. We drink it using our mouths.”

“Alright, sparky, give them some water in their mouths.”

It was a sudden and weird sensation. To have water suddenly materialize in their mouths, mid-breath. They all reacted as if they had swallowed their own spit, coughing uncontrollably. Perry opened his mouth letting the water fall to the ground.

“Christ!” shouted Perry. His eyes watered.

“What?” Fibby asked.

“I guess I misspoke. We consume water through our mouths, but we need it in a container. A cylinder container, about this big.” Perry used his hands to demonstrate the approximate size of a cup.

“You mean a cup? Why didn’t you just say a cup? How many you want?”

“Six cups, and a large container of water we can refill our cups from,” said Shane.

“You heard em’ sparky.”

A light came from the sprite, like a laser from Star Wars, hitting an empty area and materializing the agreed-upon items. Six cups, made of metal, and an open-top metal container filled with water. Perry picked up a cup and scooped out some of the crystal clear water. Here goes nothing, he thought, as he downed clear liquid he hoped was water. It tasted like the sweet nectar of the gods, like that drink of water when you wake in the middle of the night and head straight to the fridge. The cup was empty in just a second.

“Ahh. It’s water, that’s for sure,” said Perry. He scooped another cup-full and began drinking again. Everyone else grabbed a cup and took turns to get water. Everyone gulped it down enthusiastically.

“We need to ask about going home,” said Heather, staring straight at Perry.

“Hey, Fibby, was it?” asked Perry.

“Yeah, but that’s a strange question to ask. You are using an artificial intelligence translator, right?”

“I think so.”

“So, obviously, you thought of me when you said my name, how could you have gotten it wrong?”

“Oh, I see. Well, Fibby, would you mind letting us go home?” Perry stood out front of the pack, somehow being designated the spokesman. He felt it was a terrible way of thanking him for saving them and killing that minotaur.

“Sorry, that question translated weird. Did you say you are concerned about my mental state in the circumstance you go home? Don’t worry, I just met you. I meet people all the time. You people must form fast bonds. Currently, I have no attachment to you.”