Meredith, of course, didn't come in until Jan Jaap began to fear she
would leave him alone in that overpriced restaurant. Jan Jaap wondered whether
in that case he should leave without ordering anything, in order to keep costs
somewhat under control.
Finally she entered the restaurant and Jan Jaap spotted
her glancing around searchingly. His mouth fell open at the sight of the
professor. He already had admitted to himself that he found her attractive in a
very unprofessional way, but now she was truly dazzling. Elisabeth Meredith had
taken the trouble to get her makeup done and had put on the most flattering
dress available for rent on the space station. Jan Jaap took it as a gesture on
her part to sign the peace. She even smiled at him for a moment.
Her chair was pulled up by the waiter and she was handed
the menu. “Have you chosen something yet?” Meredith asked, scanning the menu.
Jan Jaap shook his head. "I'll take what you
take." he suggested.
"How unwise." Elisabeth smiled.
"I'll have a carpaccio of marbled Ceres ham and chicken Kiev style,
please."
Jan Jaap looked relieved. She hadn't taken the
most expensive items on the menu. “And what can I offer for drinking along with
it?” asked the waiter.
"Bring something appropriate." Jan Jaap said carelessly. He
knew that any self-respecting waiter would now bring the most expensive bottle
in stock. He smiled at the professor. "Nothing is too good for you."
"Lickspittle." said Elisabeth. But she
did smile. Jan Jaap decided to interpret this as an innocent tease.
"Did I mention I'm a big fan of your
work?" asked Jan Jaap, after the waiter had turned around.
“You did say that.” Elisabeth admitted graciously.
“And I took note of that.”
"I hope you don't think I was
criticizing your work yesterday. On the contrary.' Jan Jaap pointed out.
Elisabeth looked the other way. "Maybe we can
leave that subject alone." she suggested.
Jan Jaap nodded. "Of Course. I just didn't
want you to think I had anything bad to say about your thesis."
Elizabeth looked at him intently. "I would like
to think so. Can we now drop it?”
They were interrupted by the sommelier who returned
with a bottle of wine. Jan Jaap, as the man of the company, was forced to look
at the label and have himself poured a sip to approve it. Jan Jaap had no
understanding of wine at all. To him it just tasted like fruit juice that had
expired. He swallowed it impatiently and nodded to the politely waiting sommelier,
who then poured each of them a glass.
“I understand that we are both on the staff of the
colonization department on this expedition.” Jan Jaap said. “We will work
closely together on this. I want you to know that I look forward to that. I
think many of our colleagues envy me the opportunity to work under your
leadership.”
“You would indeed be wise to realize that I dare
say” said Elisabeth, looking out the window with a sigh. She tried to enjoy the
majestic sight of the largest planet in the solar system. She examined the
rings and the huge red spot that took up much of the view. It was said it was
again growing in size.
“I see it as a great opportunity to familiarize
myself with all the
details of your theory and then build further on it.” Jan Jaap
continued.
Elisabeth almost dropped her glass. “What did you just say?” she gasped.
Jan Jaap looked at her with a pleasant smile.
“Just like Newton once said. I am not a giant; I merely stand on the shoulders
of giants. You are my giant.”
Elisabeth stared open-mouthed at the young man.
Her gaze turned icy. “Are you really so arrogant as to think you have something
to add to my thesis? My thesis?” she said hoarsely.
Jan Jaap realized in surprise that she said all
this with her teeth clenched. He blinked. "That's how it works, isn't
it?" he asked anxiously. "Every generation adds something. We are all
providers of that little bit of extra insight that is strung on the chain of
science. You would not disagree with that, would you?'
"Never!" snapped Elisabeth. "My
work is unique and mine. If you think you can take it from me, you're sorely
mistaken, little boy. You cannot really think I would allow some guy to steal
my work and appropriate my efforts and my insights. That I, as always happens
with women in science, would allow myself to be pushed aside. Denigrated to a
footnote, a muse, perhaps?”
Jan Jaap was suddenly aware that Elisabeth's
bright red nails looked very sharp. He didn't know how to react anymore. He
looked around in panic. "Ha. The waiter.” he remarked with relief.
The waiter did indeed arrive with two plates on
his fingertips. Jan Jaap was grabbed by his collar. He felt the dangerously
long fingernails dig into his skin. Startled, he looked into the woman's
distorted face. “Aboard the ship, you are my subordinate." she hissed.
"You do what I tell you and you don't interfere with anything else.
Understood?'
Jan Jaap nodded quickly.
"I'll never hear about you stealing my work
again. I never notice you doing something like that behind my back, I will
immediately demote you to the ship’s recycling unit. Is that clear?'
Jan Jaap hastily agreed. He wanted to say
something, but Elisabeth pushed him back into his chair. Without realizing it,
the frail looking professor appeared to have pulled him up from his chair. Elisabeth straightened up to her full height. “It was no pleasure.” she
snapped. She turned to walk away. she changed
her mind and took a step towards
the waiter with the plates on his hands. Jan Jaap watched in astonishment as
she took one of the plates from the waiter and carried it with her to the exit
of the restaurant.
The waiter and Jan Jaap looked at each other. The
waiter was visibly struggling to keep a straight face. "Something tells me
your table lady hasn't hurried off to her cabin to get into something a little
more comfortable." he remarked dryly.
Jan Jaap refused to see the humor in that.
Saddened, he set himself to the task of eating the overpriced food all by
himself.
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