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Meta (Book 5): New Empire

Page 7

by Reynolds, Tom

“Why should they wait? The more time that goes by, the more rumors about their intentions will spread. It’s public relations 101.”

  “Do you think aliens have PR people?”

  “Why not? You don’t jump in a ship and travel however many light-years to a foreign planet without thinking about how they’ll receive you.”

  “Exactly! They’re an advanced alien species. Why talk to us? Why not just wipe us out and take over?”

  Derrick takes his attention off the road and pops open the storage compartment under the center armrest to grab a pad of paper and a pen.

  “What are you doing?” I yell as the car veers wildly all over the road. I grab the wheel to steady it and barely avoid hitting a fire hydrant.

  Rather than help, Derrick scribbles onto the pad as I attempt to drive with one hand.

  “I’m writing that down. That’s one of the first questions I’ll ask them.” He finishes writing and retakes control of the wheel. “This is it, up ahead.”

  We crest a large hill, and the bay comes into view. At the end of a long pier is something I can say with complete confidence wasn’t there a day ago. It’s the large opaque cube, and it’s hovering a few feet above the water. The end of the pier disappears into the cube, barely visible through the frosted glass exterior. I strongly doubt it’s frosted glass, though, since frosted glass doesn’t float in the air.

  Derrick pulls up to the pier and puts the car in park. There isn’t a single person around. The city is emptier than I thought, because this would normally attract attention. Derrick hops out of the car, but I hesitate.

  He bends down and sticks his head back inside. “Coming?”

  “Yeah. Are you sure this is okay?”

  “They said I could bring my assistant, but I understand if you want to wait in the car.”

  Every cell in my body is telling me to stay in the car, or run, or hide, but I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I passed up the chance to be among the first human beings to ever meet an extraterrestrial.

  I reluctantly open my door.

  “I’d leave the suit here, though,” Derrick says.

  “But what if—”

  “Connor, if they want to harm us, that little piece of magtonium won’t stop them. Plus, it’s technically stolen property. If you brought it inside, they might know it’s there.”

  Now I have to keep my magtonium in the car in case they have an alien anti-shoplifting system installed at their entrance? This is a terrible idea. I want to call Midnight first, but I’m afraid Derrick will tell me to wait in the car if I’m that worried. I can see it in his eyes; he would run into that cube even with a fifty-fifty chance it’d kill him. That’s how curious he is.

  I step out of the car, reaching into my pocket to pull out the magtonium disk. Derrick hits a button on his side of the dashboard, and the glove compartment pops open.

  “It’ll be safe in there,” he says.

  They could probably jimmy open a glove compartment, but it’s still safer in there that out in the open. I throw the disk inside, underneath Derrick’s registration paperwork, and slam the passenger side door shut.

  “Shall we?” Derrick asks as he gestures to the pier leading to the cube.

  It’s completely silent, surely utilizing the same technology that’s keeping their ship suspended overhead too. At the front of the cube is an open doorway. While the outside of the cube is semitransparent, the inside is metallic and silver, similar to the ship.

  We pause at the entrance. If it’s a trap, then surely going through this doorway would represent a point of no return. Derrick’s impatience takes over, and he steps through. I follow, mostly because I don’t want him facing whatever’s inside alone.

  The effect of walking through the doorway is surreal. All outside light is blocked. There’s a sudden change in temperature and humidity too. It feels refreshing, not too warm but not too cold either.

  The space is mostly barren. The only furniture present are a couple of couches facing each other, with a small coffee table in between. The table is made of the same material as the interior of the cube. It may even be part of the cube. The couches, surprisingly, are made of wood, leather, and cloth. They’re fashioned in an antique style but look brand new.

  But those details are far from the most interesting aspect of the room. That distinction belongs to the entity sitting on the couch farthest from us. She watches as we walk into the cube and rises to her feet.

  “Welcome, my name is April Allard,” she says.

  Seventeen

  As we walk toward April Allard, I notice two things. The first is that, thankfully, the doorway behind us remains open. I figured there was a strong possibility that a huge iron gate might slam down the moment we stepped inside.

  The second thing I notice is that the woman in front of us looks ageless. I can’t tell if she’s twenty-five or sixty-five.

  “You must be Connor Connolly,” she says.

  I stiffen up, wondering what she knows about me.

  “And you must be Derrick. I’m glad you brought Connor with you. Family is very important.”

  I smile and offer an awkward laugh, unsure how to respond, and pray she doesn’t know about my little trinket in the glove compartment.

  Derrick reaches out to shake hands with her.

  She stares at his hand quizzically for a moment, then says, “I’m afraid I can’t shake your hand.” Despite this, April reaches out and her hand passes right through his. “I’m not really here, you see. I’m on a craft that is still deep in outer space. The rigors of faster-than-light space travel aren’t very forgiving on the human body, so a hologram will have to do. The craft above your city is unmanned and completely autonomous. It was the only way to travel quickly enough to speak with you.”

  Remarkable. The hologram is indistinguishable from the real thing. It looks like the Volarians really upped their holographic technology game since they sent the first ship to Earth.

  “Before we begin, I would like to offer my heartfelt apology and condolences for the fatalities caused by our ship’s automated security system. The system is intended only for defensive purposes. I’m not sure why so many sought to attack, but I am sorry nevertheless.”

  “I’ll make sure to mention that in the article.”

  “Thank you. Please, have a seat. May I offer you water?”

  A silver pitcher and two silver cups sit on the table between us. I could have sworn they weren’t there a second ago.

  “No, thank you,” Derrick says. He pulls a small digital audio recorder from his front pocket and asks, “Is it okay if I use this?”

  She looks at the recorder strangely.

  “Oh, it’s just an audio recorder. I’ll be taking notes as we talk, but I’ll use this to double-check any direct quotes for my article.”

  “Ah, yes, of course. Accuracy is very important, but please, no photographs.”

  Derrick smiles and places the recorder down on the table. “Um, first off, can you tell me your name again?”

  “My name is April Allard. Allard is spelled A-L-L-A-R-D.”

  “Thank you, I guess the obvious place to start is by asking how it is that you speak perfect English?”

  April smiles. “I speak perfect English because I’m from Earth, America specifically.”

  “Huh?” I ask, unable to contain my bewilderment.

  Derrick glances at me and continues.

  “Well my next question is obvious then. How is it you came to live on Volaris?”

  She takes a deep breath and exhales. “Before I came to Volaris I was an astronomer here on Earth. For my entire professional career, I was fascinated by Volaris and the idea that it contained an advanced civilization. Volaris had never been directly observed by telescope at the point. Calculations based on Alpha Arcturus’s light and gravitational path led a handful of scientists to believe the planet existed, but that was as far as they went. They ignored the incredibly unusual energy signatures coming from the reg
ion of space Volaris inhabited. These energy signatures could not possibly be explained by anything other than extraterrestrial life, but I was still laughed out of the scientific community for my ideas. I became profoundly depressed, and that’s when I found them, my metabands.”

  “Are you going to tell us you teleported to Volaris? Because that’s nuts. Hitting a target like that from Earth is impossible,” I blurt out, perhaps letting on more than I should about how much I know about metabands.

  “Connor, please. I’m sorry, Ms. Allard, please continue,” Derrick says.

  “The timing seemed too perfect to be coincidental. The day before I had discovered something profoundly disturbing. A rotating black hole, mere hundreds of millions of miles from Volaris, was on a collision course with the planet. Because of the angle of approach, the Volarian people would not see it coming until it was too late. I needed to do something. I couldn’t stand idly by as an entire civilization was wiped out. When I found my pair of metabands, I took it as a sign from a higher power. I had spent my entire career working to determine the orbit and positioning of Volaris within our galaxy. I knew exactly where it was, I could picture myself standing on its surface. I felt destined to travel to Volaris and warn them before it was too late.”

  “And did you convince them?”

  “No, unfortunately. It took time to convince the planet that I was telling them the truth. By the time they were ready to listen, time had run out. Their only option was to seek out a new home. Our ship launched shortly before the planet was completely destroyed. Of all the planets we observed, Earth was the closest match. They have since elected me as their emissary for obvious reasons. They’ve asked that I broker a deal for them to stay—just until a more suitable permanent home can be found.”

  “Why should the people of Earth share our planet?”

  “They do not expect charity. They understand that it is human nature to expect compensation. They share this point of view, in fact. In exchange for a small piece of this planet for them to live on, they can offer scientific breakthroughs the likes of which you could not imagine. Indeed, you have already observed a number of these capabilities. I promise these are merely the beginning of the gifts they are eager to share if Earth grants them permission to rest here.”

  “Why seek permission? Surely a civilization advanced enough to fly across the galaxy could conquer Earth without breaking a sweat.”

  Nice, Derrick. Maybe they hadn’t thought of that. Way to give them an idea.

  “You’re correct, but that is not a path they desire. They find Earth beautiful and humans to be endlessly fascinating. However, there are plenty of suitable planets out there. If Earth does not wish for them to be here, we will move on. They do not want to stay where they are not welcome. That would only lead to resentment and hostilities. After escaping the destruction of their home, they do not wish to bear witness to more violence. As a species, their generation has endured more heartbreak than we could ever know.”

  “The Volarians are putting an awful lot of trust in you.”

  “That trust wasn’t built overnight. At first, they were afraid of me because of the powers I possessed.”

  “Your powers continued to work on Volaris?”

  “Yes. I understand that metahumans disappeared from Earth soon after I left, but I was fortunate. I suspect it may have had something to do with the large amount of continuum present on Volaris.”

  “Wait, I’m sorry,” Derrick says. “Continuum?”

  “Yes, that’s what they call it. As far as I can tell, the element does not exist on Earth, but it is abundant on Volaris. The Volarians used it as fuel, and it was the driving factor in almost all of their technological advances over the past century. It also appears to be extremely similar, if not identical, to the element found within metabands.”

  “So, Volaris had the ability to make metabands?”

  “Attempts were made after studying my metabands, but Volarian physiology does not interact with the material in the same way we do. Their bodies have adapted to this element and therefore they see no effects from it. Human beings, however, were never exposed to this element until recently.”

  “Fascinating. Did the presence of this energy affect you?”

  “Yes, it had a very profound effect. It amplified my powers. Understandably, this frightened some of the population. Those who feared me reverse-engineered my metabands and discovered a way to destroy them. They claimed Volaris needed a means of defending itself should more metahumans visited their planet. But that was not their true goal. Their ultimate desire was to eradicate metahumans. They thought we were too dangerous.”

  “They sent the scout ship to Earth containing magtonium?”

  “Correct. Their plan did not work, and for that we are grateful. On behalf of the Volarian people, I wish to convey their deepest apologies for the actions of a small group of rogue separatists. They hope you will understand that the actions of one group do not reflect the intent of an entire planet.”

  Derrick takes a moment to write this particular quote down in his notebook before continuing. “So, this other ship, the one that you’re actually on, it’s a life raft?”

  “An escape vessel. A lottery was held, and a portion of our population was spared from certain death. Our only hope was charting a course to the nearest neighbor with a compatible atmosphere—Earth.”

  “Why should anyone trust you? Especially after news of the initial ship and the origin of magtonium becomes known?”

  April glances at Derrick’s recorder on the table, taking extra care with her words now.

  “When I came to Volaris, the people had no reason to trust me, but eventually, they let me in and accepted me as one of their own. They did not prejudge me. They’re merely asking that you extend to them the same good faith they once extended to me. They know your trust will not be given easily, but they hope they will have the chance to earn it.”

  Derrick flips through his notebook, looking for another question to ask, when April abruptly stands up.

  “I’m sure you have many more questions, and I hope I am given the opportunity to answer them in time, Mr. Connolly. I trust you can find your way back to your vehicle?”

  “Um, yeah,” I say. “There’s only one door.”

  Derrick shoots me an angry look. Sure, he’s allowed to joke with the human emissary of an alien planet, but I can’t. Typical. He picks up the audio recorder and shuts it off.

  “Thank you very much for your time, April. I’ll be publishing our interview this afternoon, and I anticipate it’ll receive quite a bit of attention.”

  “I look forward to reading it.”

  April smiles serenely before her hologram blinks out of existence.

  Derrick and I exit back onto the pier. The instant we’re clear of the cube, it rises at a speed that would have squashed April like a pancake if she wasn’t a hologram.

  “Holy … Oh my God … Wow,” Derrick says, dropping the veneer of professionalism he’d put on for April. “Connor, do you understand the significance of what we just did? We are the first people to speak with a human being who has traveled to another planet. We’re going to be in history books.”

  “Technically, we only spoke to a hologram, and I was already going to be in history books.”

  “The real you, Connor Connolly, will be in history books. That doesn’t excite you?”

  “I’ll be excited when I’m confident humans will still be around to put us in history books.”

  “Don’t think that I bought everything April told us, but we have to maintain an open mind and give her the benefit of the doubt. I mean, just look at that thing.” Derrick gestures up at the ship. “If they wanted to, they could annihilate us and take Earth for themselves. The fact that they’re reaching out says something about them as a species. If the situation were reversed, I’m not sure we would do the same.”

  “Hopefully, we won’t have to find out.”

  Derrick stares at the shi
p, smiling, before he shakes himself out of his trance. “Okay, I’ve got to get to the office to write up this interview and assign researchers to dig up everything they can about April Allard. No one’s ever committed inter-galactic libel, and I don’t want to be the first. I should stop home and shave too. There’ll be a lot of outlets that’ll want me on their shows tonight. Are you okay to get back home by yourself?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I say as I unlock the passenger side door of Derrick’s car. I reach inside and pop open the glove compartment to retrieve my magtonium. “I’ll talk to you later, Derrick. Good job today.”

  “Thanks, Connor. I appreciate that.”

  Eighteen

  “Hmm,” Midnight says.

  It’s the most he’s said since I arrived at his hideout. I just finished giving him every detail I could remember about April, the cube, and everything she told Derrick.

  “You don’t have any questions?”

  He doesn’t respond. Instead, he remains in the same position, staring into the distance, thinking.

  The water tower hideout is far from spacious, but it offers a clear view of the Volarian ship from the outside. I’m guessing that the inconspicuous antennas dotting the rooftop are attempting to gather radio transmissions and other data from the ship, even if previous attempts have proven fruitless so far. Midnight doesn’t give up easily.

  “Do you believe her?” Midnight asks.

  The question is surprising since he’s asking for my opinion.

  “I don’t know. Why are you asking that? You’re usually not big on gut feelings.”

  “I’m also usually not in situations involving aliens. Gut feelings have their uses sometimes. Meeting someone who claims to be from an alien world would be one of those times.”

  “The whole thing was surreal. The cube hung in the air without anything holding it up.”

  “You can hang in the air without anything holding you up.”

  Huh. I hadn’t thought about it that way.

  “Can’t we check to see if Volaris is still there? April said it was destroyed, and you said yourself that the planet doesn’t exist in the future.”

 

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