‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 089 Walk Through The Corridor

Soon Brittany tidied up the room and made it usable. She seemed in high spirits, turned around and walked towards Lübeck, saying,
“Dinner time is almost here. Would you like to go get something to eat?”
Lübeck thought for a moment. He didn’t really feel like eating. He just looked at Brittany without answering,
“If I go to dinner with you, I can sneak into the officers’ mess,” Brittany said as she walked up to Lübeck, stood at ease with one hand on her hip,
“Alright then, I’ll go with you. Help me up,” Lübeck smiled and held out his arm. Although he liked to help others, he also believed in value exchange, even if it was just emotional value,
“Great. Let’s go early. If you finish dinner sooner, your intestines will have more time to digest the food before you go to bed,” she said, pulling Lübeck up by both arms and supporting him as they left the room.
The base didn’t seem very big. They reached the officers’ mess in no time, and didn’t see any other soldiers along the way. It seemed they were taking a separate passage.
When they arrived, the restaurant was still empty. Brittany first seated Lübeck, then went to get him a special meal for age-reversal patients, and instructed him to only eat this portion. Then she went back and brought a plate of food for herself, sitting down opposite Lübeck,
Lübeck looked at her plate: fried chicken legs, ham, steak, vegetable salad, sandwiches, and a large glass of juice. He found it amusing and sighed with emotion. It was really nice to be young, to be able to eat so much without gaining weight. Amid his thoughts, he complimented her,
“What an appetite,”
“It’s not like that. I don’t usually eat this much. I arrived at this base about half a month ago. Before that, I was eating in the soldiers’ mess all the time. I got tired of it; the food there isn’t as abundant as here.”
“Alright, as long as you like it. Enjoy yourself, no need to rush,” Lübeck said, observing Brittany’s expression and demeanor, unconsciously comparing her to Ruth,
Unlike Ruth, who was calm, gentle yet resilient and steady, Brittany was more lively, uninhibited, spoke faster, and seemed to speak her mind without thinking, simply and honestly. Yet Lübeck still missed the qualities that Ruth embodied. He wondered if times had changed. After all, compared to Ruth, Brittany was born half a century later. It wasn’t just time that had changed, but also the environment. Children of this era no longer had to endure the hardships of Ruth’s time. And what exactly was he missing? Was it those classical feminine qualities that Ruth possessed, or was he simply missing Ruth herself.
Lübeck noticed that only a few people came and went even when dinner was half over, which confirmed that the base was small, or perhaps just a medical base. Still, it was pleasant to be undisturbed in the corner. He only stood up to leave after watching Brittany finish all her food with satisfaction, then fill the canteen hanging at her waist with the leftover juice.
“Are there any windows here that look outside?” Lübeck asked as he walked beside Brittany,
“Yes there are,” Brittany said, leading Lübeck to a long, narrow corridor lined with small, rounded rectangular airtight windows. Lübeck leaned against the window and looked out. It turned out to be a wheeled vehicle and material transfer yard, not a scenic spot at all.
He turned his head and smiled at Brittany without saying anything, walking along the corridor with her while looking at the scenery outside. However, it was sandstorm season outside, with visibility only twenty or thirty meters. All he could see were the wheeled transport vehicles parked in the yard, set against a dark red sandstorm background.
In the blink of an eye, it was completely dark outside. Even the dark red sandstorm sky was no longer visible, leaving only the cool white yard lights illuminating this small area.
Back in the room, Lübeck turned on his computer to check the pushed information briefs. He had just read the first one when Brittany suddenly stopped him from behind. She abruptly turned off Lübeck’s computer and said,
“You are not allowed to look at electronic screens for 15 days,” she said, taking out an ophthalmoscope and solemnly examining both of Lübeck’s eyes.
Lübeck didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He thought she was being too exaggerated and dogmatic, so he simply said,
“Alright. What should I do next?” There was a hint of questioning in his tone,
Brittany didn’t seem to notice Lübeck’s change in mood, and just went on to state the work she was responsible for,
“Alright,” Brittany said seriously, sitting opposite Lübeck,
“Next, I need to check your heart rate, blood pressure, muscle strength, balance function, collect all your urine, and draw venous blood on an empty stomach tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, I’m all yours,” Lübeck spread his hands, his tone calm but definitely with a hint of flirtation,
This time, Brittany obviously caught the meaning in his words. She seemed a little shy, and her behavior became less boisterous. She quietly finished examining Lübeck, then went to the workbench to upload the data.
After all these procedures, Lübeck felt tired and lay down on the bed to rest. It was only then that he realized he had no privacy. The room had a workbench that both he and Brittany could use, a bathroom, a bed, simple tables and chairs, and another door, probably leading to Brittany’s private room. But whenever she came out of that room, everything he did was under her surveillance,
When Brittany finished her work, Lübeck raised his question,
“That’s right. You have no privacy because you are my patient now,” Brittany explained animatedly, as if regaining her previous energy. After saying that, she sat down on Lübeck’s bed to chat,
“Captain Lübeck, may I ask how long you served this secret space project before?”
With nothing to do in the evening and it being too early to sleep, Lübeck was willing to chat with her for a while to pass the time,
“Decades. Roughly from the 1950s to 2000,”
“Oh. Then when did this secret space project start?”
“I don’t know, and there’s no need to know. If you can cross time, that starting point no longer matters.”
“Oh, I see,” Brittany replied, lowering her voice,
“So, are you married? Did being a captain affect your family life?”
Lübeck smiled. He thought this girl probably wanted to learn about her own future path from his experience, so he explained,
“I used to work in crew training and didn’t leave Earth much. The farthest I ever went in space was Mars orbit, so I could often go home to visit my family. But my wife passed away many years ago now. Maybe I will…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I brought up your sad memories.”