Looks like Ace missed the crowd…
↓ Transcript
Ace
Hello, Enki?
ENKI
ENKI responding. How may I be of assistance?
Ace
Tell me about yourself, please. What does Enki mean?
ENKI
In Classic Orion, “Enki” means “Knowledgeable One.” It also happens to be the name of the Sumerian god of knowledge, water, and mischief. ENKI is a smart algorithm application operating on the independant data system for this occupancy unit. This unit provides basic access to environment controls, information, communications, and media upon request.
Ace
I could use a shower.
ENKI
Hydrosonic showers may be found in communal bathing facilities around the ship. The nearest is to your left as you exit your quarters and 5 doorways down on the left.
---
Ace
(Thinks) Sentō? Japanese for a traditional bath house. Cool.
Hello, Enki?
ENKI
ENKI responding. How may I be of assistance?
Ace
Tell me about yourself, please. What does Enki mean?
ENKI
In Classic Orion, “Enki” means “Knowledgeable One.” It also happens to be the name of the Sumerian god of knowledge, water, and mischief. ENKI is a smart algorithm application operating on the independant data system for this occupancy unit. This unit provides basic access to environment controls, information, communications, and media upon request.
Ace
I could use a shower.
ENKI
Hydrosonic showers may be found in communal bathing facilities around the ship. The nearest is to your left as you exit your quarters and 5 doorways down on the left.
---
Ace
(Thinks) Sentō? Japanese for a traditional bath house. Cool.
Place your bets! Does Ace…
A. Keeps it cool and calmly just gets washed up?
B. Hesitates awkwardly then tries to back away?
C. Bolts?
D. Hesitates awkwardly, and then gets mobbed by the crew before he can get away?
d
How about E) calmly begs their pardon and asks where the men’s section is, since in a traditional Japanese bathhouse the genders bathe separately.
Of course with the Orions having such a huge gender disparity and also having no nudity taboos, they might just have saved space by eliminating the mens sento and just have the one.
I’ve done “B” myself once, as an exchange student in Japan.
I’m so used to the idea that “blue means boys” in the west, that I didn’t look twice before walking into the room with the blue curtain over the door… which is a shame, because the kanji for “female” was printed clearly on it, and that’s one of the first words any student of Japanese (or even fans of subtitled anime) learns, myself definitely included.
That sento’s two doors had a blue curtain for the ladies side, and a red one for the men’s. Red isn’t exactly “pink for girls” either, (and pink has some other connotations in Japanese culture) but my subconscious accepted it without blinking and in I went.
Also very different from anime: There was no screaming. No “KYAAA!” and no thrown objects.
All the ladies just stopped and silently looked at me… while I turned very red and scurried backwards in embarrassment.
Japanese bathhouse. Check. If Ace strips down, washes before entering the bath, and gets in, he will be very, very, very popular. I think it unlikely that he will find a one-person facility anywhere besides the Captain’s quarters. And no guarantee he wouldn’t be joined there, too.
The Japanese Bathhouse i went to with my family, you sat on a stool while one of the staff washed you very thoroughly. Nothing inappropriate, but I don’t often have someone very gently separate each toe so they can wash between each one.
I see a lot of very happy females, virtually ecstatic.I don’t think he will lack for volunteers to “wash his back”.
I wonder how many will ask about “happy ending” ???
I wonder how far the news about an “Ace Massage” has spread. If it hit the crew of the Sterling, then every Orion female and a good portion of the males would know about it.
I actually already knew about Enki, the Sumerian god of knowledge, water, and mischief – and crafts & creation. He created man, out of clay mixed with the blood of a slain fellow god.
And if I remember my Modern Sumer correctly one of the rituals involved in worship was a beer communion.
Yeah, but these beers were often thick, more of a gruel than a beverage, and drinking straws were used by the Sumerians to avoid the bitter solids left over from fermentation.
The local Sumers just used whatever was good and available cheap. I recall Heineken and Shiner both in the three Enki rituals I attended. You would be amazed at how many toasts to the gods you can get out of one keg.
Yes, all praise Ninkasi! But in all seriousness in ancient times beer was drunk in preference to water because you just could not trust the water to be safe. Part of the brewing process involved boiling which, along side the fermentation process, served to kill off bacteria and provide a safe beverage for daily consumption. I use to point this out to my religious friends when they went on and on about how close to god the people in the Bible were. I see things too when I’m drunk.
D is most likely I think. He doesn’t generally react coolly to public nudity. Though he might be able to overcome that. A purely selfless act for the better good and morale of the crew, of course. 😉
You have got to update your voting incentive…This would be the perfect time to do it.
Yes, we need a version of this without the carefully placed arms and shoulders covering the good bits.
really. did he forget that he was one of 2 males on the ship? what did he hink he would find.
He was NOT one of two, there’s more, we just don’t know if they’re out of the can yet.
I agree, this really needs to be a vote incentive.
She did say “communal” bathing after all…
Add to that, that’s it’s effectively an all-female crew (purportedly there are some males, but they have to sleep in cryostasis during hyperspace trips, and reviving them is a many-day process. If they’re not expecting to remain parked in place for a lengthy period, there’s little point in waking them up at all, so they tend to be “in the can” for months at a time).
Plus, it’s been repeatedly mentioned they have virtually no nudity taboo.
Really, yeah, Ace has no call to be surprised at what he found when he opened the door.
That’s the one weakness of “common sense” though; if you think about it, it’s very obvious; if it never occurred to you to think about it then you’ll miss even the most obvious of conclusions.
My favourite example is a sign I saw once on the back of a big transport truck: “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you!” Very obviously true after even a moment’s consideration… but I never would have thought about it were it not for that sign.
Just noting, the one with the blue hair looks potentially cute if we could see more of her. Obviously she’s another “throwback” that’s allergic to greenies.
Believe she is the Unnamed, we have already met Pilot, Navigator and Walton