Allan took the offered food tray from the dispensary and looked over the canteen to find a free space. It was the lunch hour, so there were very few free spots.

“Over here, Human Allan!!” Klonk shouted, standing up and waving while nearly toppling the table in the effort.

Heading over to the table across the room, Allan settled into the free spot Klonk had saved for him. Putting the tray down, he settled in for what would be an interesting lunch. Less because of the bland food paste and more because of the company. The lot arrayed at the table always got into discussions about all manner of things. Looking at Klonk, the giant ball of muscle that he was, Allan slid the dessert to him as a thank you for saving him a spot.

“So, what is the subject today?”

“Well, Human Allan… The subject was Plinko’s hatchling brood.” Dost replied, sipping from a fruit juice pack.

Allan’s eyes widened in surprise. “You got kids?” In all their discussions about family, Plinko had never once mentioned having children let alone a mate.

“Yes, but only very recently. My brood partner was pleased to birth many healthy children.” Plinko let a goofy grin spread across his face as he showed Allan a picture of the mother holding half a dozen children, all giving peace signs to the camera.

“I taught them that gesture you taught me. They are so clever they can already calculate a planet’s gravitational effect on FTL travel.”

Allan sagely nodded. Plinko’s race was one of the smartest in the universe. Most, if not all, could match a fully educated adult human by the age of three.

“Though Grontah,” Plinko paused to flick through dozens of photos till he found the one that solely showed the child in question, “asked me, ‘Daddy, what happens after we die?’.”

“Hoo boy…” Allan let out a whistle. “Not an easy question to answer.”

“No, it is simple. All physical functions cease, and we begin to decay. But he then asked me, ‘Where do our minds go?’ I’ll be honest that one has less research on it.”

“It is obvious, is it not? We move on to the Great Nebula,” Dost declared, thumping a claw against the table.

“Is that so?” Plinko asked.

“My race believes we go to a paradise,” Klonk added as he struggled to get the lid of the dessert pot off.

“What about you, Human Allan?” Plinbko asked. “I understand your race has many ideas of the nature of what happens.”

Allan failed to restrain a chuckle at the observation. “Far too many ideas. Some cultures believed, like Klonk, we went to a paradise. Others believed that bad people would go to a place for eternal punishment. Some even thought you had to die fighting to get to the good place.”

Klonk looked up, having finally won his battle with the lid. “Seems nice.”

“Personally, I subscribe to the idea of reincarnation.”

Plinko tilted his head in confusion. “Re-in… I’m sorry, Human Allan, I am unfamiliar with the term?”

“It means when we die, our souls are reborn, and we live another life.”

“And you retain memories? No wonder why humans are as crafty as they are.”

“No-no… Plinko, the general rule is you don’t keep your memories. Each life is like a fresh start. Though there are a few examples of people claiming to have memories from past lives.”

“How intriguing.”

“Some cultures believe that you can even become a different species. That depending on the life you lived, you can become better or worse on the scale.”

“So, by that logic, I might have been a human at some point?” Dost asked.

“Possible. The ultimate goal for many of these faiths is to find a way to escape the reincarnation cycle. But that is a whole other point. But personally, I think when I die, I will start anew.”

“I shall relay this idea to my brood. They have been looking for something to write a thesis on for kindergarten.”

Republished with permission from the author, Random3x. Image created using Stable Diffusion.