Outcast

by Guerin Zand

  “Well, yea. Where is it written that I’m not allowed to do whatever it is that you think I did? I’m not asking for any stone tablets personally engraved by God, or anything like that. Although, that would be really cool. I’m just saying if you’re going to claim that I broke some law, or rule, then produce the rule book and state clearly what chapter and verse I violated.”

  I think this judge realized I had some issues with authority at that point.

  “Your contempt for the Collective’s rules are obvious to us all, Mr. Zand. That does not exempt you from those rules.”

  “Well, I think it does. I’m not a member of the Collective and I don’t recognize your authority over me. If interfering with primitive cultures is a crime, then isn’t the Collective the biggest offender in this universe? Perhaps I’m the one that should be asking the questions, and you’re the ones that should be judged.”

  “Maybe in your next life, Mr. Zand.”

  It was worth a shot. I guessed that a swift dismissal of the charges was out of the question. It sometimes worked in a few episodes of Law & Order I had watched.

  “You’ve been entrusted with access to Collective technology, the Ryvius, as you call it. As such, we expect you to follow the rules and use that technology responsibly.”

  “And I have. If I actually took the time to read the whole manual I probably could figure out a few ways to do some real damage with that ship. I could probably toss whole planets about like in some cosmic game of bocce ball. But I didn’t.”

  “To any objective observer, your giving a primitive like me such technology, one who you consider a child, was just plain stupid. It would be like me giving a 3-year-old a nuclear warhead to play with, and even I’m not that stupid! Instead of giving me a rash of shit about nothing, I’d think you might be a little impressed that I haven’t pressed the wrong button and destroyed the known universe.”

  “Enough, Guerin!” Julie, realizing that the clown they had chosen as a judge was getting his ass handed to him, decided to take charge. “You knew the Taes system was under our protection, did you not?”

  “Sure. There were all sorts of really nice symbols on the display making that obvious, even to a child such as me.”

  “Then why did you go there?”

  “Well, because I was invited for one thing.”

  “And who invited you?”

  “The ones the Taesrins call the Guides.”

  “How did you receive this invitation.”

  “You know very well how, Julie. I don’t see any point in going over all of that here. If the members of this inquisition couldn’t be bothered to prepare for my trial, then perhaps we should adjourn until they have the time to do so.”

  “That won’t be necessary. We are all aware of this so-called message and how you believe it to be real.”

  “Then why bother to ask me?”

  “I’m trying to make it clear why you violated the protection of the Taes system. So, you believe that message was real?”

  “Yes. If your next question is to ask me to prove it, then I’ll save you some time. I can’t. There’s a whole lot of shit in this universe I can’t prove, but I know is real. Well, real to me. We’re not going to get all tied up in a discussion of what reality really is now, are we?”

  “No. For argument's sake, let’s say the message was real. It still doesn’t explain why you would violate the protection of the system. So, why?”

  “I guess, right off the top of my head, there is the question of who actually has jurisdiction over that system. Is your protection of that system absolute? If, as you have just stipulated, the Guides and their messages are real, what says that your rules supersede theirs?”

  “As you say, off the top of your head. So, that’s not really why you went there?”

  “There were several reasons. I was invited, there was the question of which of you really controlled that system, and most of all, I didn’t agree with what you were doing.”

  “How so?”

  “You were going to allow the Bayru and Maricindi to do as they pleased on Taes, even if that resulted in the end of the Taesrin race. You say you protect developing races but, in this case, you were going to allow one to be wiped out by two technically superior races. Why? Because technically, you were protecting the system and allowing the system to develop naturally. I didn’t agree with that. I was asked to help, and I did.”

  “So you thought you knew better than the Collective, is that it?”

  “I didn’t think I knew better, I did know better. Where does the Collective get off thinking they are the supreme deciders of right and wrong? I can name more than a few mistakes you’ve made in the little time I’ve known you.”

  “For instance?” Bob finally jumped into the mix,

  “Well Bob, if I made a mistake, isn’t it ultimately your mistake? Doesn’t it mean you made a mistake in choosing me, in trusting me? Since that’s what we’re trying to figure out here, let’s skip that for now. How about the Trogans?” I always loved throwing that one in their face.

  Then Sly also decided to join in the fray. “So, you’re not responsible for any of your mistakes, we are?”

  “No, but I’m not the one who’s pretending to be perfect here, am I?”

  “So, you admit you’ve made your share of mistakes?”

  “Yes, Sly, but I’ve paid for those mistakes. More than any of you can imagine. I’ve lost family and friends. I’ve lost my home.”

  “Let’s try and stick to the topic at hand, the Taes system.” Milly knew pushing me on the prior subject would probably push me over the edge. She was right. “What about your new wife?”

  “Scirla? Well, she’s cute and not half bad in the…”

  “That’s not what I was asking.” I gave Milly my bad boy smile and she couldn’t help but smirk a little back. “Wasn’t your marriage a mistake?”

  “A misunderstanding, perhaps. If you people were as perfect as you seem to think you are, then you would have had a better translation database for me to reference. Which, by the way, I’ve corrected a lot of errors in. Anyways, if I had a better reference at the time that little misunderstanding could have been avoided.”

  “But you took her as your wife in the end, even after you figured it out, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but that was a group decision. Based on the information we had, if I rejected her, she would have been worse off than if she was married to me.”

  “HUH!”

  “Whatever, Milly. The fact is, I didn’t pop down on Taes, find a hot looking babe, and ask her if she wanted to see my spaceship. I wasn’t trolling for alien chicks dumb enough to fall for my bullshit, unlike some other aliens I know.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, I remember one day. I was just walking my dog, minding my own business, when some hot space tramp came down to entice me onto her spaceship. When she got me up there, she tricked me into the medical center where her friend screwed with me, making me hornier than a bunny on Easter Sunday. All in order to further entice me to do their bidding. Then her friend screwed with my body, even more, turning me into the mutant I am today. Then I was dumped back on Earth to interfere with the development of human society. And I mean, dumped! I was left broken hearted and then sent to prison where I was physically tortured.”

  “Hell, that’s low even by my own fucked up standards. In comparison, I don’t think Scirla would complain in the slightest as to how I’ve treated her. I’ve been nothing but kind and caring as far as she’s concerned. I mean, I didn’t just use her for my own purposes and dump her back on Taes to suffer the consequences. In case anyone is keeping score, it’s Guerin 1, Collective 0. Actually, your score should be negative, but I’m feeling generous today.”

  “And your point is?” Milly was a bit pissed, but she wasn’t hurt by what I said.

  “My point being, we considered the sensibilities of the less primitive culture rather than trying to impose ours on them. I
think that makes it Guerin 2, Collective 0.”

  Another direct hit! I had just sunk their battleship. It was Bart’s turn.

  “Were there any casualties, Guerin?”

  “Only their feelings and pride got hurt, Bart. I’m talking about the Maricindi and Bayru, of course. Before we arrived, there had been several casualties on the Taesrin side. All at the hands of the Bayru. The Bayru were also using some Taesrin as slave labor to build their outpost.”

  “What about transfers in technology? Did you help any of the races involved to advance their current technological level?”

  This person was new to me. He looked to be Shrilikean.

  “No, I mean at least to the extent we could limit it. Obviously, all the races saw some of what we were capable of. We destroyed all Bayru and Maricindi technology on the surface and in orbit around Taes. We didn’t eliminate all traces of advanced materials left behind, but the Taesrin had already been introduced to those materials over the last few years of occupation. We didn’t see that as a complication, at least not one of our making, or one we could reverse.”

  “According to the recordings we reviewed, you did hand the Maricindi leader something before he left Taes. What was that?”

  “A present. The Maricindi were cooperative, for the most part. Their leader only threatened to kill me, he didn’t actually try. The leader of the Bayru did try but obviously failed. I gave the Maricindi leader the knowledge they needed to counter the Bayru nano-weapon, but only using their current technology.”

  “What about social or cultural influences?”

  “Again, there is the obvious influence on the Taesrin from the occupation before we arrived. The Bayru and Maricindi are both advanced enough to realize what we were, so I don’t think meeting us was a big surprise. They all knew about the Guides, and to the Taesrin, the Guides are the biggest influence. I can only assume that the Guides explained our presence to the Taesrin to minimize our effect. They were expecting us, and in particular me, when I got there. I was also the only one of our crew that the Taesrin met.”

  It looked like Bob was waiting for this opportunity. “But, if you were to continue to prevent the Bayru and Maricindi from traveling to Taes that would obviously affect their advancement of space travel, wouldn’t it?”

  “I don’t think we can say for sure, Bob. It will obviously make them change their current plans, but I don’t know that it really makes a difference. There are other terrestrial planets, just outside the Goldilocks zone, on both sides. There are also moons around other planets as well that they could explore. It might make sense for them to change their focus in the direction opposite of their competitor. It might prevent, or at least delay, further confrontation between the two.”

  “But your intervention, regardless if the results are positive or not, will affect their future development. Do you agree?”

  “Yes. I don’t believe I ever said my intervention wouldn’t have any effect on the three civilizations in the system. What I am saying is that those effects, compared to the extinction of the Taesrin civilization, are insignificant.”

  “Maybe to you, Guerin.”

  “That’s true, but hasn’t the Collective been betting on my good judgment all along, Julie? Can we stop dicking around here? The issue isn’t what I did in the Taes system. What I did was right. You may not agree with me, but nothing I say, or you say, will change any of our minds.”

  “So, what is the issue, Guerin?”

  “The future relationship between the Terrans and the Collective, Stella.”

  I think that surprised quite a few of the jury, not just Stella, so she asked, “Could you explain what you mean by that?”

  “The time when the Terran system is no longer under Collective protection is coming soon. We’re going to be out here on our own, and whether we have a friendly, cooperative relationship with the Collective, or not, is going to depend on how you treat us. If you continue to try and keep us on a leash, we’ll eventually sever our relations with the Collective.”

  “How are we keeping you on a leash, Guerin? We’ve given you the freedom to run around the galaxy doing as you please. We’ve given you access to Collective technology to allow you to go farther than it would have been possible on your own. We even encouraged you to form the group, you call the Rangers, to get a head start.”

  “We exercised that freedom and went to the Taes system, and right now you’re all yanking on that leash, aren’t you?”

  “We don’t see it that way, Guerin.”

  “And that’s the problem, Stella. You chose me as your emissary because you thought I represented what you believed humans are. Any one of my crew, or any of the Rangers, in fact, probably any reasonable human, would have made the same choice in the Taes system that I did. Did I make a mistake? Who the fuck really knows? My point is, we’re going to make mistakes just like you have, but we won’t tolerate the Collective telling us what is right or wrong. That’s for us to decide. That’s freedom.”

  “So, you don’t think you need our advice?”

  “Telling us what we can or cannot do is not advice, Julie. Why do you think I didn’t ask any of you, even the ones I consider close friends, for advice about what I was planning to do on Taes? Because, I don’t believe any of you would have given me advice without going to the Council or the Collective. You would have prevented me from going there rather than advising me.”

  “You couldn’t even trust me, Guerin?”

  “No, Milly. Before you start acting all hurt, why don’t you tell me why you couldn’t trust me?”

  “I don’t understand?”

  “The ASTN contacted the Collective for help with the Trogan raids before my team left, didn’t they?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you didn’t trust me enough to come to me and ask if I’d help. Instead, you pulled that little shit stunt when you replied. You told them I was going there to help, without telling me first. I was more than a little pissed when I heard about that. You put us in an impossible situation. If we didn’t help, I would be turning my back on my friends. If we did help, all the ASTN worlds would simply see us as the Collective’s stooges. You interfered with the relationships we were trying to build with the worlds of the ASTN.”

  “I didn’t ask because I knew you would refuse. You would have told me that it was the Collective’s problem.”

  “When have I ever refused the Collective when they’ve asked for my help, Milly?”

  “But you’re always complaining about us manipulating you and if I had asked, you would have resisted.”

  “But we would have done it, and we did do it, even after all of your bullshit. And the fact is, you did manipulate us. Maybe I’d stop complaining about it and resisting if you’d stop doing it. Instead of this shit show, this inquisition, why couldn’t one of you have simply talked to me about Taes?”

  “Because we’re trying to impress on you the seriousness of what you have done.”

  “And how does that appear to be working out? Do I seem impressed, or just pissed off again?”

  “What is it that you expect us to do, Guerin?”

  “That depends, Stella. What do you expect from us? I know you have plans for us, or that your plans depend on what we do. If you try to manipulate us, use us as your henchman, enforcers, or puppets, then we’ll turn our backs on the Collective just like so many other races have. You need to rethink this relationship and consider what it is that we want as well.”

  “And treat you as equals?”

  “Why is that so unacceptable to you, Julie? Just because your knowledge of the universe makes us look like idiots, it doesn’t make you superior. Yes, you are more powerful than we can possibly imagine, but that doesn’t make you always right. Ask yourselves why you are so upset with my actions on Taes? Perhaps it’s because I was right, and your arrogance won’t let you admit that, or even consider it. The fact that this stupid monkey might be right would mean you’re not so superior, wouldn’t it?
That’s what you can’t accept. You think the idea of humans being your equals is a joke, therefore I must be wrong.”

  “Are you done, Guerin?”

  “Well, I could probably go on for hours talking about all the shit you people have pulled that has pissed me off over the years, but I won’t. Hopefully, I’ve made my point, Julie.”

  The room went silent for a while. The leader of the inquisition looked around at his peers and said, “If there are no more questions for Mr. Zand, then perhaps we should adjourn to make our decision?” He waited a few moments for any members of my jury to respond. Since there was no response he added, “Very well. We will adjourn to discuss the matter. Let’s clear the room and end the feeds to the stream. If you would wait here, Mr. Zand, we will send a representative to inform you of our decision when we have one.”

  “Mind if I go grab a sandwich or something while I wait?”

  “Yes, we do mind. This shouldn’t take that long.”

  With that, my jury got up and left the little auditorium. The room cleared leaving me alone. It sort of reminded me of those meetings in the void except I was actually somewhere, and time was ticking. I made my way to the edge of the stage and took a seat with my legs dangling over the edge. I stayed like that for fifteen minutes or so until I realized they weren’t coming back with a decision anytime soon. That pissed me off. I had plenty of time to run out and grab a bite, and maybe a few drinks. I was bored, so I just laid back with my hands clasped behind my head, and I took a little nap. It was probably a couple of hours before someone woke me. It was Milly, and she had given me a swift kick to wake me up.

  “Seriously, Guerin? Did it seem like a good time for a nap to you?”

  “I wanted to grab a bite, but NO! What else was I going to do?”

  Milly just shook her head and took a seat on the stage next to me. She passed me a flask and I gave her a look as I took a sip.