by Amwhere » Sun Aug 15, 2004 7:57 pm
"We won't try to, Tim." Although, if this had been two months ago, I would have of had to. "What I think we should do is find your belongings. Surely there is proof of the truth in there."<p>"I'm certain of that... and don't call me Shirley." Tim smiled.<p>"Huh?" Miun said, "I didn't call you Shirley."<p>"It's from an old Earth movie. Anyway, want do you plan to do? The box has been out there for three months."<p>"Tomorrow, Mieu and I will try to find any clues as to its whereabouts. Then I'll go out and rent a vehicle and we can find where the box is."<p>"I'm not sure that I can remember anything about where I was when I woke up on this planet, though..."<p>"Sleep on it and see if you can remember in the morning," Mieu said.<p>Tim nodded. "I'll try. When do I move into my apartment?"<p>"Tonight," Miun replied. "Mieu will bring you your meals until you know enough about Palman food to cook for yourself." I hope that'll be alright with you, Mieu.<p>Mieu answered with a minuscule nod.<p>"Well, what about furniture?"<p>"A bed, couch, table, and chairs will be delivered later today."<p>"Thank you for everything," the Earthman said, "I'd never though I'd meet such a pair of nice people, android or otherwise."<p>"You are as different from the Palmans as we are," Mieu said, "it's the least we could do."<p>"Ummm..." Tim said with a pensive look on his face, "I shouldn't tell you this, lest it change history, but..."<p>"Change history?" Miun asked, quite puzzled.<p>"A decade before I left Earth to come here, a Palman ship visited there."<p>"Yes, you told me that." Mieu said.<p>"Yes, but there's more to it. The passengers on that ship were refugees from Palma after this planet was destroyed."<p>"Destroyed!" Miun exclaimed. "How?"<p>Tim shook his head. "I don't know how it happened, only that it did."<p>"Why couldn't you tell us? Even Miun and I, powerful as we are, can't stop something that will destroy the world."<p>"What I shouldn't tell you is that both of you will be on that ship."<p>"Us?" The girls blurted simultaneously.<p>"Yes," the Earthman said, nodding, "for awhile, both of you become quite famous, but then you fade from the public eye."<p>"I guess we would be," Mieu said, "we are both aliens and intelligent robots."<p>"Yes, to a point..." He frowned. "I've said too much already, but I'll tell you one last thing. Mieu, you'll become good friends with my younger brother. You'll know him when you see him, because he looks a lot like me."<p>"Thank you," Mieu said, "for at least a glimpse into our future. There's nothing we can do about right now, anyway."<p>If he's telling the truth. Miun transmitted, to which Mieu responded with the electronic equivalent of a glare.<p>"Indeed," Tim replied. "So, do you want to learn poker? Miun, that's a card game."<p>"Sure," Miun replied, "what do you need?"<p>"A deck of fifty-two printed cards."<p>Miun stood up and went over to the room's computer and motioned for Tim to stand beside her. "Explain to me what you need." The Earthman told her, and Miun's fingers flew over the keyboard in a blur. Before long, Miun handed a stack of freshly printed cards to him. "Will these do?"<p>Tim looked them over and nodded. "Yes, these will do fine. Now, do we have anything we could use as play money? Poker is a betting game."<p>"I've got something," Mieu went into the kitchen and returned with a bag of dry pasta. "This should work."<p>"Alright." Tim began to shuffle the deck. "Give us each about a third of the pasta."<p>"I'll do better than that," Mieu said as she opened the bag, "I'll split it exactly into thirds."<p>The Earthman set the deck on the table. "Miun, go ahead and cut the deck."<p>Miun extended her claws and cut towards the deck, stopping a fraction on an inch above the topmost card.<p>"No, no!" Tim yelled. "You're supposed to take a part of the deck and put it on the bottom, like this!"<p>Miun grinned. "I know. I was just messing with you."<p>"The pasta's divided." Mieu pushed Miun and Tim's piles in front of their respective owners.<p>"Ok, the object of poker is to have the best hand." He explained the rules to the androids and then asked them if they understood. The girls nodded.<br>