The first interplanetary detective

Chapter 2. Old acquaintance

Travelling always had been Alisa's main passion. She could not sit still for a couple of months. At the first opportunity, she grabbed a backpack and hit the road. She even enjoyed trip troubles, admired the incredible views and adored meeting amazing people.

Then, four years ago, the Gates appeared on Earth. Alisa's life had changed. She rushed to explore the Worlds. One of the first she visited Tornor, then went to Goska, spent an unforgettable three days on Frio. The last trip was special because Alisa discovered the simple truth: it is not necessary to translate texts during the night and save money for travelling. Travelling itself can be a source of good earnings!

She didn't dare to confess to her parents that she had been working as an interplanetary courier for two years now. Her mom and dad were terribly afraid of the Gates. They voted against the Earth joining The Intergalactic network and condemned those who have journeyed through the Gate at least once. Alisa had to lie.

That's why she made up the job as a translator at an international real estate agency. Alisa told parents that she should go abroad frequently and tried to warn about trips in advance. She asked not to call because of expensive roaming.

At first, the parents grumbled. Dad even learned the fashionable word "viber" and offered to communicate through the Internet. But Alisa insisted that they'll survive a few days without calls. Of course, she would feel more comfortable if there was any connection between the planets. But on the other hand, who would need for interplanetary couriers then?

Just a few hours ago, Alisa was admiring the orange sky of Irbug, the blue trees, and pale pink lakes. Now darkness was doing its job: dazzling bright pretexts became dull and grey. Through the window in the Kramina's living room, Alisa was looking at the light in the house opposite. Street lamp lit a blue lawn.

The rounded walls of the house shined amber. There were frozen yellow drips on the ground. The roof curved as if it was melted by the Irbugish sun that did not tolerate straight lines.

Alisa had read about Irbugish buildings. The metal frame was their basis. Flexible grids were installed instead of walls, roofs, and floors. The builders poured everything with a viscous, rapidly hardening substance of amber colour. Grids sagged, and the houses took a curved shape. The buildings were really sturdy and stable despite the external clumsiness.

Working as a courier, Alisa visited almost all the Worlds, but she had never been to Irbug before. Sometimes she thought about going to this fantastic planet but rejected her idea remembering the quarantine zone. Maybe someone liked to chill out under the dome for three days. But Alisa didn't.

Irbugish claimed that they were afraid of unknown bacteria and viruses. However, in the quarantine zone, the visitors just waited. Nobody didn't measure their temperature, did not force them to take medicine, didn't do the lab tests. Maybe Irbugish discovered remote technology determining illnesses? Who knows? Anyway, the pink-skinned aliens did not hurry to share the find.

Humans, of course, also did not enjoy thoughts about unknown diseases but they preferred to follow the example of other civilisations and believed the Creators, who promised that the Gate would not let in anything wrong.

Alisa turned away from the window and looked around once again. Who guessed to paint the ceiling in crimson and the floor in yellow? Not a living room, but a circus arena. There were an incredible amount of photos on the blue wall opposite: square, round, rectangular. They clung to each other, the little ones covered for the big ones, which blocked the middle ones. Alisa tried not to look at this mess of pictures, but photos inevitably attracted her eyes.

Finally, Kramina returned from the kitchen. She placed a decanter with a dark brown liquid on the table and occupied a red pouffe opposite.

"This is padman," she said, pouring a hot drink into pot belly mugs.