I cringe when I think of how young I must now look and how that would affect my career.
If we ever get off this planet, let alone get me back to Earth.
Plenty of people would literally kill someone to go back to looking this young but I've worked hard to get people to trust my judgment.
If I went back to the ER looking like this, I don't think anyone would listen to me.
It was hard enough to be taken seriously as a female in my thirties. I think any advocacy for my fellow nurses would just be scoffed at now that I look like I'm barely old enough to drink.
But no need to burden him with that. "I'm older than I look. How about we find some food?"
He blinks at the sudden topic change, but doesn't press the issue. "This plant can be eaten raw by many species. I'm certain your nanites will make it safe."
I look at the plant he's pointing to, then walk closer to it. It's a light lime green with a variegated white pattern.
"Do I eat the leaves?"
"Yes, and the stem if you would like. The roots are likely too hard for your blunt teeth."
Blunt teeth, huh? I raise an eyebrow at him, but he just keeps looking at me with his normal expression. So I guess there was no joke or insult intended and he also has no idea what a raised eyebrow means.
Of course.
Fancy tech swimming around in my head only gets us so far.
I look back at the plant. Good thing I like salads.
"Hmm. Raw or cooked?"
"Both."
I grab a leaf, turn it over to check for bugs and then cram it in my mouth before I can overthink it.
I'm starving and can't afford to be picky.
It has a tart, slightly bitter flavor that reminds me of lime mixed with kale except nothing quite like either.
I grab several more.
"Do you know the protein level?"
"Moderate," he explains, "but there are several other plants that in combination would provide what you need."
I nod, and finish chewing what's in my mouth. "How do you know the wild plants on a planet you've never been to?"
"These were introduced. The planet was a failed colony before the genali claimed it. The colonists broadly distributed food crops so they would naturalize."
A failed colony doesn't bode well. "Did it fail because of the technology interference or something else?"
"As far as I know the braceaaer colonists simply didn't want to make the dramatic cultural shift it would take to live with basic technology. Windmills and water generation work here, but not if you want to store the power or do anything more than simple things like milling grain. No instant communication. No power. Few are interested in such a primitive existence."
Interesting. "Braceaaer?"
"You know what they look like, actually. They've been abducting humans for hundreds of years and your journalists have provided accurate portraits."
My jaw drops open. "Little Green Men are real?"
Luckily he knows it's a rhetorical question so I don't feel like a fool.
