* * * * *
I tried but failed. Fortunately, it was a relatively short walk, for someone who was giant-size. Just three or four city blocks. But, I still had a pretty extensive campus to cross! Luckily for me, the gravity of this planet was somewhat lighter than Earth's. Perhaps somewhere between that of Mars and Luna. In any case, I saved myself some travel time by putting a (hopefully inconspicuous) spring in my step.
And, it paid off. I finally reached the campus library of Tannhauser Gate University.
At first glance, it seemed no different than an American library, back home. A centrally located main desk, surrounded by diverse sections of books and non-print media geared to different types and ages of people. It was while I was giving everything the proverbial "once-over" that I was approached by one of the younger staff members. A female one, at that!
She was a rather pretty blue-eyed blonde, wearing a very officious black blazer with matching midi-skirt and shoes. And, with her hair pony-tailed. As to her height? Well, if we were on Earth, I'd say she was about four inches taller than me. So, if my normal height was five feet/seven inches, she'd be 6'1".
In any event, her first question was the inevitable one.
"May I help you, sir?"
"As a matter of fact, yes, uhm..."
I looked at her name tag.
"...Lyroo! Could you show me how to use the computers, here?"
Her eyebrows arched in amazement.
"You've never used a library computer, before?!"
I shrugged: "Not since the ones at my hometown library had to be discontinued due to budget cuts."
I have to give her credit. She allowed incredulity to show on her face for only a micro-second. Then, she was once more the stalwart professional.
"Well, if you'll follow me, I can give you a quick refresher, over here, on this terminal."
Suffice it to say that Archavian library computers had voice-interface capability just like the starship computers on STAR TREK. So, with only five minutes of tutelage, plus a hands-on demonstration, I was soon surfing the Archavian equivalent of the World-Wide Web. Allowing a satisfied Lyroo to return to her in-house duties.
"Computer," I asked (now that I was safely alone): "Find me the latest news on a celebrity named Gruja."
Almost immediately, there were abstract references to a man named Bruno Gruja. Following the first half-dozen up, I eventually discovered that he was the Archavian equivalent of a rock star! And, that he'd been entertaining teenage Titans for the past twenty planetary years.
[Oh! Did I forget to mention that I'd had Lyroo give me the general history of this planet, as part of her tutorial? That's how I knew that Archavia's sun was a red giant. That the natives referred to themselves as Titans. And, that their aging process was a whole lot slower than most Earthlings!]
I then inquired about Gruja's children, if any. It turns out that he had one daughter, Lihsah, by the second of his three wives. And she was presently attending TGU as a music major.
So, after that, I naturally when to the TGU website. So, I could learn where the students resided on campus. Consequently, I learned that TGU's leading sorority was Omega Mega House. The Archavian initials for which were identical to those I'd seen on Lihsah's blazer back on Titan Station!
For the first time since my reawakening, I felt a ray of hope was shining down on me. Unfortunately, that ray was literally eclipsed, a second later, by four shadows that enveloped both me and the computer terminal.
"Move it, Shorty! This work station is for upper classmen, only."
tbc
Giantess World
