The Good Reaper Read Online Free PDF Page B

know each other
quite well over the two weeks. We were kind of like a private little club and
we were becoming friends. We knew our friendships would end at the end of the
two weeks but we kept each other entertained during our orientation and
training.
    “Have you been to Earth before Luke?” Jason asked. “You
already look like you play in a band.”
    It seemed I was the only one who knew what Jason meant as
Jason and I laughed a little. “No I have just arrived here, like you. While
doing research leading up to our deployment, I became interested in Earth’s
young counterculture. I especially like the music. I do plan to learn to play
the guitar while I’m here.” I paused for a moment and asked, “Do any of you
like human rock & roll?” No one responded so I assumed that no one else was
interested in the topic.
    The time we spent in the dining room was fun and relaxing
but most of our time was spent learning about our upcoming assignments.
Although I was thoroughly familiar with my human persona, I still needed to
learn about the job I was assigned to. I was assigned to work at a large
hospital in New York City where I would work in the patient transportation
department, transporting patients to different parts of the hospital. The two
weeks at the CIPE center flew by. I didn’t have much time to do anything but
eat, sleep and attend training classes.
    The person in charge of the medical team training class was
an elderly man who introduced himself as Jonah. The last few days consisted of
mostly role playing so we could become comfortable with casual interactions
with humans. The exercises were customized for each student. Jonah called us up
to the front of the class, one at a time. When it was my turn, I went up to the
front of the class and a beautiful female who was sitting quietly off to the
side stood up and approached me. She looked directly into my eyes as she spoke. “Hey handsome. Are you looking for a date?” It caught
me by surprise and I stood there looking and feeling foolish. I didn’t know how
to respond. After a few moments Jonah looked impatient as he proceeded to scold
me. “Did you not read about prostitutes?”
    “Oh yes, I didn’t realize that’s what was happening,” I
said.
    “Remember, if you don’t react correctly, you could wind up
in trouble. In the case of a solicitation by a prostitute, if you don’t say the
right thing, you may wind up in jail.”
    “Sorry about that. Can we try again?”
    The same pretty woman approached me again but her demeanor
changed as she spoke. “Do you know how to get to the subway that goes
downtown?”
    I didn’t waste any time and tried to “think on my feet” as
the humans sometimes say. “I am new here but I think I saw a policeman just
around the corner. He should be able to help you.” Jonah and the pretty woman
both smiled. I had reacted quickly and accurately.
    Jonah told me I could take my seat but I raised my hand
slightly to get his attention. “What did you mean before about getting in
trouble if I don’t react to a situation correctly?” I asked.
    “Prostitution is illegal in most places. The woman could
actually be a police officer testing you to see if you are actually looking for
a prostitute. If you were to answer the woman in a way that indicated you wanted
to solicit her services and she was really a police officer, you would be
arrested,” Jonah said. “Also note that we have not disseminated our infectious
disease treatments so if you do solicit a prostitute, you may be sick for a
while.” The group all laughed and it seemed it was at my expense so I laughed
along with them.
    “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t know what to do with a prostitute,”
I responded which produced another round of laughter from the group.
    The role playing exercises continued and they seemed to get
easier. By the end of the two weeks, I felt ready. I knew there would be times
when humans would think I was odd but I figured as time went on