by J. Benjamin
“Let’s also not forget we have several gammanauts who have made mental and physical journeys to the Aquarian worlds from Sol,” Seiji chimed in. “With all the humans now living beyond Sol, who is to say none of them will ever come back? Do we really want to take any chances?”
“We are not killing it!” Thomas said defiantly. “And for the very reason you said, Kosuke. The host is more dangerous than every nuclear weapon combined.”
“Okay,” Kosuke raised his hands defensively. “Look, it was just a suggestion. I just want what everyone else here wants, and that’s for us to get out of this situation safely.”
“Understood,” Minister Endo said. “So no more talking about killing it.”
“Now then,” Thomas said. “As I was saying before, we have one option. We have to board the host.”
For several moments silence hung in the air. They considered the weight of Thomas’ words and what it meant for all of them. Val questioned whether Thomas’ proposal was any safer than Kosuke’s.
“Is it possible to speak to the two humans who’ve done this and who are in the same star system as us?”
“Not an option,” Thomas replied. “Kiara Lacroix and Matt Ashford want nothing to do with any of this. Last we heard, they’re off the grid.”
“What’s the plan?” Ty asked. “Is somebody going to just suit up and walk through the front door?”
“That’s part of the plan,” Thomas said. “Physically, somebody or somebodies will have to go inside. In addition though, we will need gammanauts communicating via a local host. Now, I know we discussed in-person missions before. That was with the port in place. Now, it’s much different because the host is inviting us in and on their terms. We don’t know what to expect. With that in mind, we are making some changes to the old plan.”
“What does that mean for us?” Val said, pointing to herself and Ty.
“We need the two of you as our gammanauts,” Minister Endo said. “Unlike the 2082 sequence, this will be much safer. You’ll be hooked to a local host. You’ll be able to enter and leave safely. In fact, we think given that there is no wormhole involved, you may have a bridge that lasts all of a nano-second.”
“And we will take excellent care of you while you’re in the sequence,” Seiji said.
“Okay,” Ty answered. “I’m comfortable with that.”
“You are?” Val asked.
“It’s a local host, and I’ve studied the sequencing technology front and back,” she replied.
“If Ty is down, you don’t have to sell me,” Val said. “But I don’t get it. I thought you guys wanted me to go inside, physically. If I’m not doing it, then who?”
“I am,” Thomas said casually.
“You?” Val said, surprised.
“Mr. Secretary-General?” Ty said in equal surprise.
“Val. Ty. Everything that has happened here is because of me. I green-lit the mission to send Lacroix and Ashford halfway across the universe when I thought they’d come back in one piece. I almost sent them to their graves. Thank the stars they made it back alive, but they did so with the help of that behemoth sitting in the research bay.
“Ever since the day a living alien ship entered the physical space of humanity, nothing has been the same. Our lives have been turned upside down from that thing. GSF, gone. Earth’s alliances, in flames. I helped create this mess, and now I will fix it.”
Val stared dumbfounded at the frosted glass wall obscuring the views of the outer hall. Fog was a perfect metaphor for how she felt upon hearing Thomas’ revelation. Thomas Adler, a former head of state nearing his seventies, just volunteered for a dangerous undertaking with potentially grave implications for all of humanity. While Val had a difficult time understanding the logic of Thomas boarding the host, the fact that he offered to do it without batting an eye was one of the many qualities Val admired about him.
He was a man who had survived brushes with death more than once. This included an assassination attempt which took out former Secretary-General Katelyn Lew and elevated him to his previous position of power.
“It’s settled,” Minister Endo said. “Val and Tyriana, your dream-net training starts tomorrow.”
Chapter 14
Agamemnon
Edie and Alex moved along the turquoise path. In actuality, their consciousnesses were the only thing moving. Their physical bodies remained in the human section. Their minds found themselves in a room of white marble ceilings and floors. Miniature moats of water carved through the floors, only to defy the laws of physics and slowly ascend up to the ceiling in what could only be described as reverse waterfalls.
Agamemnon waited for them patiently, or what they assumed was indicative of patience for an Aquarian. Its tentacles were motionless. The light of the room reflected the floating water onto its mantle.
“Welcome, Edie and Alex,” the host said in its high-pitched, static, alien voice. “We take it you found the food sufficient?”
“A-ok,” Edie responded. She turned to Alex and whispered, “What the fuck Greek temple shit is this? You come up with this one?”
“Don’t look at me,” Alex said. “You know they like to scan our minds and come up with ideas.”
“We should probably talk about why you are here,” the large alien interrupted, towering over the humans. “You probably wonder why we took you away from the comforts of the colony.”
“I remember what you told me, or what your counterparts in the Universal Crescent told me,” Edie said. “The fate of the human race depends on it.”
“Correct,” Agamemnon said.
“Where are we?” Alex asked.
“What does it matter?” Agamemnon said. “It is a part of space as yet to be discovered by your species. We are far from Earth and far from the colony.”
“Okay, then can you at least tell us what involves the fate of our species? What required us to uproot our entire lives?” Alex demanded. Edie nodded in agreement.
“Of course,” Agamemnon said.
The temple disappeared and now all three beings stood in a void. At first it was pitch black. Then, an infinite number of stars filled the horizon in all directions. Unlike the stars they laid their eyes upon throughout the journey, these were ones Edie recognized.
“The Milky Way,” she said in wonderment.
“Are you sure?” Alex asked.
“Positive! I know these constellations from anywhere.” She pointed to a pattern of three bright stars. “That’s Orion’s Belt, and see that giant cloud? That’s the arm of the Milky Way.”
“My gosh, Edie,” Alex replied. “I think you’re right. This is the Milky Way.”
“And that giant mess over there is the Betelgeuse Nebula. Remember? Went supernova just a few short years ago.”
“How could I forget? I was watching it from the Shetland Islands when it happened.”
They continued staring with wonder at a sky neither of them had seen in a very long time. To Edie, it evoked positive memories of home. That is, whatever positive memories she had of Earth. As she examined the heavens, a subtle detail caught her eye.
“Well . . . that’s strange.”
“What’s strange?” Alex asked.
“Something is off.”
“About the Milky Way?” Alex asked.
“It’s our home system alright, but something doesn’t seem right. The stars don’t perfectly align. Some of them seem further apart and others look closer together.”
Before Edie could continue, a massive body swept into the projection. It was a planet, and not one of the eight found in the Solar System.
“Kennedy!” Edie and Alex said simultaneously.
“You were correct that it was the galaxy you refer to as the Milky Way,” Agamemnon said. “You were just five light-years off.” Edie was amazed that the Aquarians were able to comprehend human measurements and describe them as accepted vernacular.
“No wonder everything looks off,” Edie said.
“Fi
ve light-years is a relatively short distance,” Agamemnon said. “For most species, it would take their entire existence just to discover how to even leave their atmosphere. Humans became one of the rare species to not only leave your planet but to also leave your home system.”
“Believe me, it was a lot more difficult than it looked,” Edie said.
“Perhaps,” Agamemnon said. “While it took your technology several decades to cross stars and arrive at what you call the Wolf 482 system, this was not the first contact with our planet. As both of you know, the humans at the Universal Crescent made the first contact before the first of your drones ever arrived.”
“You’re talking about the first spacetime sequences,” Edie said.
“That is correct,” Agamemnon affirmed. “But let’s go back even further than that.”
“You mean before First Contact?” Edie asked. “You’re saying we weren’t the first?”
“No, your group was the first,” Agamemnon said. “We are speaking of the many times your species spoke to us, but did not realize it was speaking to us.” Next to Agamemnon, a hologram appeared. This time, it played an assortment of images and sounds familiar to the two humans.
First, it started with noises of what sounded like early radio. Then, it changed to black and white film from the early twentieth century. Eventually, it showed a clip of the moon landing and of other human achievements like the artificial heart and the Internet.
“As you know, we knew about humans long before you knew us,” Agamemnon explained. “We followed your cultures. We got an in-depth understanding of your different languages.” As they spoke, the projection took a much darker turn.
“And yes, we studied the way your species turned on itself,” Agamemnon said as video clips of wars, bloodied corpses, and violence played. “At first, we didn’t make much of it. We anticipated humanity, like many species throughout the cosmos, would wipe itself out of existence. That is, until a certain event.” A clip of a massive nuclear explosion played for all to see.
“Our nukes?” Edie asked, surprised. “That’s when you started paying attention?”
“Indeed,” Agamemnon replied. “After events which transpired well over a century ago, we started paying much closer attention to what was unfolding on Earth. Once humans became a space-faring species, our concern grew.”
“What can we say?” Alex said. “We are a violent and destructive bunch. Sadly.”
“At the beginning of your twenty-first century, we were beginning to give up on humans,” Agamemnon said, this time with a clip of the events of the September 11th attacks playing back. “With your environment in ruins, your planet perpetually at war, and thousands of nuclear weapons able to destroy your civilization multiple times over, we wrote humanity off as a failure.”
The projection showed the harrowing images of Second Revolutionary soldiers committing mass genocide in the former United States and the nuclear detonation over Phoenix. Edie, having witnessed the war in person, looked at her feet in discomfort. The marbled micro-streams of water cut beneath her soles.
“It was during this third planetary cull that our species became convinced you were on the verge of annihilating all life on Earth,” Agamemnon explained. “But then, there was a singular event which forever altered the trajectory of the human race. One event which saved your species from utter doom.”
The smaller projection vanished, and twelve giant stars filled the expansive horizon around them. Each star carried a familiar ring which Edie and Alex knew all too well.
“The Zelthrati,” Edie said. “Our discovery of alien life is what ended that world war. It showed us just how petty we were. It gave us something worth living for, a universe at our disposal. Even if the Zelthrati themselves turned out to be lifeless abominations.”
“Once your drones went dashing toward the stars, we knew it was only a matter of time before you made first contact with another civilization.”
“Did you think your species would be the first?” Alex asked.
“We considered it a possibility,” Agamemnon said.
“A possibility? Wait a second!” Edie disrupted. “You mean to tell us you weren’t the only civilization on the block? There are others close to Earth?” The alien paused.
“As we mentioned, we discovered you long before you discovered us,” Agamemnon answered plainly. “However, since you ask, yes. There were others. Humans were sending signals in every direction. It was inevitable others would receive the messages. We were but one.”
“More than one?” Alex asked. “How many?”
“At last count, three,” Agamemnon said. “That just includes the ones within 160 light-years of Earth. There are more beyond the expanding communications sphere. Like us, their interests in humans grew at the revealing of your nuclear weapons. The interest in humans is significant.”
“You’re seriously telling me nobody in the Milky Way figured out how to split atoms or enrich uranium?” Edie asked.
“They have,” Agamemnon answered. “But when they did, they destroyed themselves before they posed a threat to others. Yours . . . did not.”
“Oh my God!” Edie said. In that moment, an orchestra of lightbulbs erupted to life in her mind. Now she understood perfectly why the Aquarians warned her about the fate of humanity. She looked to Alex, light shining onto his bald head. Both were aghast at Agamemnon’s revelation. They long knew the Aquarians were one of many sentient species around. That part was not news. The most shocking was that humanity’s penchant for war had now garnered the attention of civilizations unknown.
“So, what does that mean for humans?” Edie asked nervously. “If word of our technological achievements is already out there, I imagine this can’t be good news.”
“You are correct,” Agamemnon said. “It is indeed very troubling news for life on Earth. We believe the three local species have contacted others throughout the galaxy. Earth is now known to many, and we fear the consequences for your entire species could be grave.”
Edie knew Alex’s expression all too well. His eyebrows raised, hands covering his mouth in disbelief. Edie shared his fear. Death was imminent and there was nothing they could do. Feeling as though she could vomit, Edie turned back to Agamemnon.
“So what now? Surely you have a plan? That’s why you brought us here,” Edie said. Suddenly, a different thought came to her. “Is this why you settled us at the Universal Crescent? To protect us?”
“The Universal Crescent was a temporary measure,” Agamemnon said. “It will remain a human colony, but by no means is it our only plan.”
“What are you talking about?” Alex asked.
“We have a contingency for humanity,” Agamemnon said.
“Are you going to send a fleet to defend the Solar System?” Edie asked. “Surely if you send hosts there, we could protect Earth from what’s to come. We could stop these hostile forces from invading before it’s too late.”
“You will learn and understand our plan in due time,” Agamemnon said. “And once you understand it, then we will be able to help protect the human race from untold doom.”
Edie needed time to absorb the full impact of what her Aquarian host just revealed. Humanity stood in the spotlight, naked and exposed. Not knowing how it would end or what such an end would even look like, made the situation far worse.
A feeling washed over Edie like when she was a young girl and escaped aerial raids on her home city.
Chapter 15
January 12, 2083
Val opened her eyes. She stood in a wide open field of grass. The sun was nearly invisible behind the wall of fog that blanketed the horizon. Her wife was by her side.
“We’re here,” Val said. “What is this? English countryside or something?”
“I’d say whoever designed this didn’t have time to draw up something more original,” Ty explained.
“I still don’t get why we’re here,” Val said. “We’re not journeying across the universe. We’re
just logging into a local dream-net host.”
Ty’s eyebrows raised.
“Come on Val,” Ty quipped. “A local host which will be connected to an alien mind so powerful, it could probably surpass every human alive.”
“Right, alien superbeing,” Val replied, palming her forehead. “I guess my question is, how bad can it be? It brought Kiara and Matt back alive.”
“Sweetie, just because it brought them back doesn’t mean it was doing them a favor. For all we know, it could have been using them to find a way to our planet.”
“It hasn’t killed us,” Val said.
They walked through the fog, unsure of which direction to head. Ty, who had been a few steps ahead of Val stopped.
“Stop! I think I feel something.”
“What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. Almost like a game of hot/cold? I just felt the sensation increase.”
“What direction do you . . . Oh, I feel it too!”
“Feels like a pulse. Right?”
“Where do you think it wants us to go?”
“This way!” Ty said, pointing to Val’s left. They followed along as the pulsing intensified. It wasn’t exactly a physical pulse. Rather, the pulse was a sensation they felt in their minds.
As they followed the intensifying pulse, they heard another more familiar sound.
“You hear that or am I imagining it?” Val asked.
“No, it’s definitely real,” Ty said, surprised. “It sounds like rushing water.” They picked up the pace and sure enough, the pulsing stopped.