How many diseases would they be able to cure? Disorders they could erase? Cancer. They could finally make headway against cancer.
She shook her head.
Now she was bringing back an alien?
Not the breakthrough she was looking for.
She crossed her arms and glared at Re-lee and Polly.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Polly said.
“I’m pretty sure you don’t,” Jenny replied.
“Actually, if anyone does, it would be her,” Re-lee said. “She was a surprised-mate as well. And while we rarely allow any humanoid to be entered in the database against their consent, it does occasionally happen.”
“Sounds like a bug you need to work out,” Jenny said.
“We are. Circumstances that brought Polly, as well as other Earthlings to the Intergalactic Dating Agency have been rectified with Polly’s assistance.”
“Still doesn’t explain this,” Jenny said, gesturing to her and Karuk. “The database would only allow those of us here to be entered, for testing.”
“And we did test it. We ran our network over the local data, and that is where we are,” Re-lee replied.
“So how broad is this database? Will everyone here find a mate now that we all have been scanned?” Karuk asked.
“We are not yet connected to the galactic system,” Re-lee said. “These are merely local to this station, and those we scanned in. Honestly, the pool is so small, I didn’t expect anyone to find a mate here. There are not nearly enough humanoids to create an intact collection.”
“Obviously, there is,” Jenny muttered, wincing at her word choice. “And don’t call us a ‘collection.’ We have free will.”
“Of course, I meant no disrespect. I referred only to it from an analytical and data-built point of view.”
“Earthlings are touchy about ownership and being owned. Just for future reference,” Polly said to Re-lee.
“Noted. Again, I apologize.”
“Forgiven,” Jenny said. “Now, since your program did this, what’s the results? What do we have to do?”
Polly snapped her fingers and then pointed at Karuk. “You’re the one, from that first day, who came over to all of us Earthlings in the cafeteria.”
Re-lee smiled one of those knowing smiles.
And Jenny wanted to smack it.
No, this wasn’t what she wanted.
No.
She’d just gotten out of Phil’s grasp. Now she was stuck with Karuk? He was nice enough, but every guy started out nice. Phil did. And look how that turned out.
Jenny waved her hands. “It doesn’t matter. He just, well, he just came over. That means nothing.”
“And he talked to you,” Polly countered. “To me, that says that he may have been drawn to you upon first sight. Other species have different chemistry. Sometimes they justknowwho their mate is.”
Karuk blinked. “I thought she was a telepath. I could hear her thoughts, even with my earpiece. Her fears. I believed it was hers, initially. It led me to investigate. It turned out to be her pet’s.”
Polly blinked. “You can hear her cat’s thoughts.”
Even frustrated, she couldn’t help a brief grin at that one. “Yeah, my cat’s a talker, on the telepathic level, anyway.” She glanced at him. “I let Mr. F out to roam last night, just so you know.”
