LtCmdr Azura Ada - bananaphobia
Azura Ada
((
A "Trusty" Diner, Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, Earth ))
Ada:
I'm fine, thanks. ::The server left.:: This is going to be
great. So many good birds, and forest critters. ::She took
a bite of her breakfast.:: And bears. But they'll leave us
alone. S'Rorr:
::piling
his bacon onto his pancakes:: What's a bear? Ada: Well...
::she debated it but decided to give him a sincere
answer:: Large mammal, omnivore. But honestly pretty
docile and not interested in hassling people. S'Rorr:
Really?
How big do they get? Ada: Oh
sure, but luckily they're the smallest bear species on the
continent, black bears. About 2 meters long, maybe about a
meter tall. Sometimes they weigh over 250 kilos. So, big
but not huge. S'Rorr:
I
might need to replicate some extra food before we get
started. I'm not sure I packed enough and locals tend to
get a little weirded out if I eat wildlife. Humans are SO
strange sometimes. Oh, I mean no offense, Commander. Seleya:
Is this trail popular enough that we will often come
across others hiking it as well? Ada:
Oh,
I'm sure we'll run into some other hikers, but it's not a
typical day trail so there won't be too many. S'Rorr:
A human friend from medical school took me to his family's
home in São Paulo, down in the Ribeira Valley, where they
grow these huge banana trees. That man would peel a banana
and put it in his MOUTH and eat it ::said as if this was
the most unthinkably horrendous thing a person could do::,
and I mean, all day, think nothing of it, but I pick up
Brazilian wandering spider out of a bunch and eat that and
suddenly everybody's gagging and looking at me funny? Seleya:
Perhaps it is not common on Earth. Ada: ::laughing,
shaking her head:: No, not common on Earth. Not unheard
of, but not common. Earthers can be a bit...
narrow-minded. Too many of them don't leave the planet
enough. But what's wrong with a banana? S'Rorr:
What.. ? bananas are creepy.. they're just.. ughg.. and
they smell.. and the.. uh uh. I don't even like being near
them. That whole trip was kind of nightmare fuel, haha.
What about you two? Got any "funny" fears? Seleya
raised an eyebrow. Seleya:
I would not classify it as a fear. But I do not understand
the practice of having pets. And the idea of containing
wild animals, or once wild animals in one's home seems odd
and unsanitary. And I prefer to not have their animals
approach me. Ada: Aw.
I miss having a cat. But they have long since been
domesticated, and have a symbiotic relationship with
humans. But I hear you, there are human cultures that have
similar attitudes. I, for one, am terrified of heights.
Seems kinda funny to me, at least. S’Rorr:
Response Seleya:
My
people do not have pets. On Kazletzin we did have several
domesticated animals that evolved naturally with us. And
my people tried to conserve as many animals as they could
aboard the ship called the Iltiliu. However after several
decades of wandering and without holodeck technology,
animals were having health issues, depression, and
reproduction rates had plummeted. It was decided that it
would be crueler to keep them alive. So they,
unfortunately, had to euthanize those animals that were
suffering, and let the rest live out a comfortable life as
they could. When we finally landed on Taithros, it was
decided we would respect the wildlife of our new home and
interfere as little as we could. So we don’t really do
pets. However it is not uncommon to see wild animals
wandering through the cities as if they were residents
too. Ada: I
didn't realize that your people had to endure all that.
I'm sorry, and sorry for my ignorance. S’Rorr:
Response Seleya:
Taithros
has strict laws regarding hunting, and trading in animals
is outlawed, even offworld ones, and so is trapping. There
are a couple holographic zoos for animals from Kazletzin,
Taithros, and even around the galaxy, but no live animals
are allowed to be kept in captivity, unless for medical or
rehabilitation purposes. There was an animal called
Rhriakzra on Kazletzin, there were hunting companions.
Several of our kin now living in the Klingon Empire took
them over to the planet they now call home. So there are
still some animals alive, however it is my understanding
they’ve become somewhat of an invasive species. Ada: Introducing
xeno-species is always complicated. I've overseen some
terraforming projects over the years, and it never goes
smoothly. There's just too many variables. S’Rorr:
Response Seleya:
Apologies if I over explained it all. What’s the story
behind your ‘fear’, Commander?
Ada: Not
at all. Thank you for explaining, I value the opportunity to
learn more about you and your people. But ::she looked
Seleya in the eye, with a slight smirk:: call me "Commander"
again when we're off duty and see what happens. ::She
laughed:: Call me Azura, because that's my name.
Seleya/S’Rorr: Response
Ada: I get it. I had to adjust to Commodore Rajel's insistence to be addressed as "Jalana" at all times. Felt weird. But you asked where my fear of heights came from, but I don't know actually. I couldn't point to any events in my childhood, but I know that getting blown off a mountain in a research station when I was on sabbatical didn't help with that. ::She pat her abdomen.:: Still have the scars from that one. How about you, S'Rorr? Lose a fight with a banana split sundae?
Seleya/S’Rorr: Response
-- Lt Commander Azura Ada Specialist Science Officer USS Chin'toka IDIC team member ASDB team member C239510LD0 (she/her, character) (she/her, writer) “For the wise person looks into space and knows there are no limited dimensions." --Zhuangzi