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interacted with warring clans in the age of territorial acquisition. The fighters had found that Zen mindfulness could prepare them to enter battle fearlessly and more strategically. Again his planet shared a similar history. “A Zen warrior was a victorious warrior!” was a rough translation of his planet’s most quoted saying.
         But as he accessed the data compiler further, the similarities disappeared. Here Japan discarded its cultural ties to a warrior code and lost confidence in the benefits of meditation. It seemed to become a copycat culture with a diminished sense of itself. The Alien was coming to believe that he had less to learn on the streets of Tokyo than he had hoped. And what he was observing was not redemptive.
         The Alien realized he was hungry and selected a busy restaurant where he could blend in easily. He ordered by pointing at menu items while saying little and he was unsure what food would be served. When it came he was happily surprised – much superior to their shipboard fare. He also found it amusing to figure out how to use the wooden sticks he was provided as eating utensils. He observed the other diners using them and found he could get most of the food to his mouth.
         In the bustle and din of the restaurant he overheard snatches of conversation and watched the animated expressions on the faces. Watching people eat communally was very informative he believed. So much of cultural values and social customs were on casual unprompted display. He found he felt good sitting amongst these people. Interestingly, they seemed happy and involved in their own personal affairs. He sensed no general awareness of the risks and dangers that existed on their planet. He remembered a quote from this planet’s great playwright, “Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.”
         It became clearer to him why this planet might be doomed. 
     
     
     
     
     
         Back at his apartment, David started his search for Ben Planck. He began by trying to remember every detail he had ever known about the young man that David and his friends had just called Planck. Then he Googled every data base he thought at all possible. He checked for civil and criminal actions, financial records, obituaries, and social networks and even dating sites. He used all the skills he had acquired while hunting down facts for his writings.  He did find some Benjamin Plancks but they just turned out to be clearly not the one he was looking for – but he realized they were already being harassed by virtue of their names – David was clearly not the only one now looking for someone named Benjamin Planck.
         Hours went by. Somewhere in the middle of his search he recalled that Planck had loved to watch baseball and always seemed to be wearing a Yankees baseball cap – But he never attended a game at the stadium, only watched on the TV in his small apartment. And he never went to sport bars to watch – in fact he never went to bars at all.
         And Planck knew every baseball statistic! Planck loved to present before any action occurred the statistical probabilities of a hitter advancing a runner or a pitcher getting a batter to ground out as opposed to striking out. So David searched baseball references to find a Planck somewhere mentioned. Nothing.
         Then he remembered something else about Planck, he loved weather forecasts! He would track the statistical probabilities associated with the weather. He was fascinated with the popular example of Chaos Theory where the butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil and storms develop in Florida – or some such thing! Twenty minutes chasing down that rabbit hole got nothing too.
         David’s head hurt and his back hurt. Gabriela had arrived home and had gone about making dinner; that is calling for take-out which tonight was to be Italian. She called out to him from the kitchen whether he wanted a drink? Definitely!
         When she