"You need to get it into your head. You are inferior to them."
"To them? What about you?"
"I do not have an opinion either way. I admit I do pity your race, but that doesn't mean I think you should be given extra privileges."
"Extra privileges?" How tiresome. Exasperating. I need sleep. This has been going on endlessly for three days, and I've hardly rested. That is mostly because I'm currently living among aliens who only need to sleep twice a week. Remai was especially tiresome. He was merely a scientist, but he was the only person who would actually look at me when I talked to him.
"The factions in this Alliance have populations in the tens of billions. You came from a country that believed in representational government. Guess what? We also believe in that. You're vastly outnumbered, and you'll be 'inferior' because of it."
My head hurt. I was tired of having the same argument over and over. Hey, Remai, what about those Quadarians? They don't number in the billions, but they seem have an equivalent seat in UA conferences. But I knew what he would say. "Sure, once Humans can prove themselves to be as invaluable as the Quadarians, then maybe things would be different." I told him about when I saw a Quadarian. It was chilling, to say the least. The way it looked. The way it walked. How it moved. When it spoke. Everything about it was just... alien. He can call me prejudice if he wants. I don't care, for I'm only human, and it's only natural.
"Humans are supposed to go to sleep every day, aren't they?" Remai had a smile. It was strange, the way he smiled. So friendly, yet somehow fierce. It was almost human-like, but not quite.
"Yes." I couldn't help yawning. He had reminded me that I was tired.
"I can't imagine what it must be like to live for only eighty years and spend half of that time sleeping."
"We can dream, though. You don't have dreams."
He waved a hand in the air. "I don't understand the appeal of dreams. Why the Hirah want to study your REM cycles, it goes over my head. I prefer doing over imagining..."
After a few more minutes of uninteresting conversation, I said goodbye to Remai (he didn't understand the appeal of goodbyes, either) and walked to my dorm. As I was assigned to a different room almost every day, it was still hard to call this ship my "home". The debates over what planet becomes the new Human Homeworld will take years, from what it looks like, so since we've now been refugees for almost a month, some here have actually started to notice us. Wow, we get our own rooms now? Human civilians can sleep in beds now? Thank you, Great Alliance! You're the best!
Of course, I didn't hold any real grudges against the aliens. Others might be upset that the Alliance didn't try harder to save more of us. Billions died over a political argument, they would say. Some wished they had more time to preserve Earth's culture. Some may be cynical, but I'm not. How can I be? They saved our species from extinction. And they tried to save more of us, but there were too many factors weighed against them. They came a long way from home and there was no way they could have known the time on our countdown clock.
My head rested on my pillow on my bed in my room in my dorm hall. This room only contained a bed, my suitcase and a window. But I loved the view. All of my previous rooms were "aisle seats" and the only time I could look at the constellations was when I went to the mess hall. Now, with my own private window, I'd occasionally spot a lone star or a nebula in the blackness of outer space and then I'd ask the handy computer what I was looking at. "Dokei 559, Human Name: IC 5146 - Cocoon Nebula," it once told me when I asked about a beautiful red cloud that was lightyears away. A lot of times, though, a star had no human name, and so it gave me the option to assign it one. I always declined. I didn't feel qualified for that. Besides, there is only one name I'm considering to use, and it must be saved for an incredibly unique star.
I didn't use a blanket. I wore my pajamas, but it was warm enough in here to sleep naked. Not that that was allowed, of course. Someone must have found out about our operating temperatures and started to worry that the humans could freeze, so they kept the heaters running constantly. It was like a retirement home in here. I guess that's fitting...
A voice on the intercom awoke me from a groggy haze. "Ms. Mariano?"
"Uhh... Yeah?"
"You're needed in the laboratory."
Those words made me nervous. I'm not any scientist, so being "needed" in a lab makes me think about what they could possibly need me for. Regardless, I got dressed and headed down the hall. I passed the washrooms and considered a shower. No, I'm "needed". I better be urgent.
Remai greeted me at the lab entrance. "You kept us waiting." Good morning to you too.
"Relax, Remaius." An unfamiliar voice came from inside. "She only kept you waiting."
Remai led the way into the large, round room that had sophisticated equipment and fancy monitors all over the walls. I had been in this room once when I first got here, but I then had to leave the room in handcuffs.
"Hello, Elizabeth." The source of the voice was now visible from behind a holographic projector. He was a Nae Taraxian, as most of the scientists on this vessel seemed to be. But he was a lot older than Remai. He had authority. Three more people in white coats stood behind him on a platform, observing. Two were Hirah, one was... Human? "Welcome aboard the Aurora." His welcome was about two weeks too late, but I guess I should be polite.
"Hello..."
"My name is Terrus. I would appreciate your cooperation in the following experiment." Wow, he gets right down to business. "Don't worry, you won't be harmed. We'll need you to sit in that chair over there and be very still while we scan your EM activity. Can you do that for us?"
"Uhh..."
"We believe you might have important data stored inside your brain. There is post-traumatic stress affecting your memory, so you probably don't remember that."
"Data?"
"First, we only wish to determine whether your unique EM signature matches the one we've been searching for. It's a simple scan."
"Umm... Terrus, is it? Why do you look familiar?"
Terrus let out a single laugh. No one else did. "You have spent a lot of time with Remaius, so I'm sure you've seen my brother's face in pictures. He died honorably above Earth. His name was Tex."
"Oh. Right." That name was very familiar. "Sorry, then." There was a short silence. The other human in the room coughed. "Shall we get to it?" I was afraid to waste this guy's time.
"There's an attitude I admire in humans. No questions. You just get it done." He brought me over to the chair and strapped me in.
"Well, actually, I have plenty of questions..." Remai gave me a look. Right, I'll shut up.
There was a humming sound coming from something above me, but I couldn't move my head to look at it. Besides, I was told not to try to move. Terrus was at a panel directly in front of me; Remai stood behind him at a secondary panel. Terrus hit a few switches, and then the humming sound was accompanied by a clicking sound. The two Hirah on the platform were leaning on the railing, watching with excitement. The human seemed to be biting his fingernails. The clicking noise was getting louder and louder. My scalp was starting to feel tingly. Terrus turned around and looked at Remai, who nodded and said something I couldn't hear. All of a sudden, the human was yelling something and running for the staircase, but one of the Hirah grabbed his arm. The clicking noise grew louder. It became piercingly high-pitched. The tingly feeling spread to my neck, shoulders, arms, fingers. Then everything went black. I didn't notice that I was shaking violently...
"...Peter!"
"Get out of here!"
"What are you doing?! Peter!!!"
"It's the only way..."
It took a while for me to realize I was awake, for my eyes had opened but I still could only see black. There was no light in this room.
"Don't try to get up."
The strange voice startled me, but I found that I couldn't move my legs. He sounded close, whoever he was. I tried to speak, but a hand covered my mouth.
"They can't know you're in here," he whispered. His other hand was on my leg. I didn't like this so far. But I slowly nodded.
"What happened?" I spoke softly, weakly, but I could probably scream if I tried to.
"They're looking for you."
"What? Who?"
"Terrus' men."
"What?" It took a slow second for me to process that. "Are you kidding me?"
"Shh. Wait." He apparently heard something I didn't and tensed up. Then he relaxed.
"Why are you grabbing my leg?"
"Hmm? You can feel your legs?"
"Yes. It's quite... uncomfortable."
"Oh, that's good. You're recovering quickly." He let go of me. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I'm still learning human behavior. Is it because I'm male that I made you uncomfortable?" He was very calm.
"Umm..." I found that "awkward" was not quite the right word that described this moment.
"If I was female, would that be more comfortable? I could be female if you wanted, but it would take some time. I prefer being male, though."
Changeable sex? Or... Shapeshifting? From what I'd learned of the Alliance races, I did not recall any with that particular ability. "Who are you?"
"You can call me Ess. Like the letter S."
"Okay, S. What's, umm... Your species? If you don't mind me asking..."
"Just consider me Mactchan." His accent pronounced "Mactchan" gracefully.
"Oh." I had read about the Mactchan, but hadn't met any. They were supposedly very human-esque in appearance, especially the sub-race called Quirillians. Humans preferred Mactchan food. The chefs in the mess hall were still trying to figure out Earth-cuisine, so many people avoided an unnecessary risk to their health and commonly ordered Quirillian or Qua menu items. My current favorite was Garala soup. But that's all irrelevant. In the texts I read, all of the Mactchan races had anatomical descriptions of both male and female sexes. I don't remember anything about asexual reproduction. But maybe I didn't read enough. "What are you, Quirillian? Acadian?" I was trying to guess based on his voice alone.
"You've done some research." He laughed softly, seemingly amused. He paused for a moment, then: "I'm a Myan, I guess you'd say." Huh. I read about Myans, too. They weren't part of the Alliance. There was some sort of banishment or whatever. If he's Myan, is he even allowed to be on this ship?
"Myan?" I persisted. "Are you a crewmember? A civilian? A stowaway?" Why couldn't I let it go? He can kill me, remember?
"I'm guessing you're suspicious." Well sir, I could very possibly be your hostage option.
"Oh, well... No. Of course not. You're only holding me in a dark room. I'm only slightly paralyzed." I wondered for a second if he understood my sarcastic inflection. Most aliens didn't.
"Well, you can relax. I'm not going to hurt you. And if you stay quiet, you'll make it out of here alive." He didn't mean to phrase it quite like that. Still, I gulped. "Sorry, I don't mean it that way. I know you have no idea what's going on, but I need you to trust me."
"Okay..." I was quiet for a while. I tried to listen to what he was listening to, but all I could hear was my own subtle breathing. He was as still and as quiet as a statue. I felt the blanket underneath me and only now realized I was lying on the floor and not on a bed.
"Hey..." I thought of my next words. I wished I could see him. Something was giving me the impression that this wasn't a very large room. Where was I? And what does Terrus want with me? "...You say Terrus is looking for me. That machine... What did he do to me?"
"He was trying to rip something out of your head. He could have killed you."
"Did you... save me?" He didn't respond. Things seemed to make more sense now. "What about Remai? Was that what he wanted all along? The data in my head?"
"I don't know how long he knew you had it, but he takes orders from Terrus," he said assuredly. Perfect. I thought I had a friend here. Oh well, I guess. Would you like to be my new friend, Mr. S? But then I remembered the observers in the room:
"Who was the other human in the lab? He was yelling something at Terrus just before I blacked out."
"That would have been Dr. McAden. He was there to ensure you were treated fairly. He obviously failed. I doubt he's alive now."
I couldn't believe this. "He's dead?!"
"Probably. Terrus isn't a very good person."
"What the hell... What the heck is going on?"
"I'll have time to tell you later. Somebody's coming." I didn't hear him move, but suddenly the room lit up as the door was slowly cracked open. "Stay here and don't make a sound," he whispered. I realized I was in a supply closet. Cleaning supplies. I didn't see Mr. S's face as he crouched by the door, but he had brown hair and was wearing a gray-blue uniform. He was a janitor. And he had no tail. Don't Myans have tails?
He slipped out the door and I was alone. All was silent. And it was dark again.
This multi-part excerpt is brought to you in part by Sumodudesalad's twentieth blog entry!
What I've written of this story is in sporadic chunks. Part of it is in a notebook, part of it was on my laptop, and part of it is on typed paper. What you will see on this blog is a filler between two of my major chunks, both of which I have lost due to hard drive failure. Hopefully, this is will still be entertaining and easy enough to understand. Part two will come soonish.
TerraEversio was a game-changing event. Before the Gian War, the Alliance was in a state of prosperity and peace. They didn't fear that some unknown civilization could seriously threaten their power. Then after being helpless to defend Earth, the Alliance fully realized they had many weaknesses. Most of Earth's survivors lived aboard Alliance vessels for up to two years before they were moved to Tellura. Some who didn't help colonize Earth II remained space-bound and were able to observe and take part in Alliance affairs. As for the few who neither colonized nor stayed aboard Alliance starships...
Well... Nobody really knows what happened to them.
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