The Embryo of the Star

by Elberto V Badon

  “Uhmm, it sounds interesting,” the emperor replied.

  Two days later the Earth patrol craft spotted the unusual activities of the visitors. “Sir, the visitors have been digging the ruins of Swiss banks, also in London, Frankfurt, Rome, and some other Western cities. If we aren’t mistaken, they’ve already hauled tons of precious metals in the last twelve hours; their spaceship has turned into a transformer excavator,” the patrol reported. “Do they have permission to carry on this scavenging work?"

  The emperor and the Privy Council were furious at this development.

  “They’re a bunch of bloodsuckers! Not classy tourists!” the emperor exclaimed.

  “Sir, the space eye is still on the line,” his secretary reminded him.

  “Hello. . . yeah . . . OK, make contact first with their leader. Refrain from any intimidation that may trigger into a premature war. . .. Approach them gently and provide them with food, beer, and other things they needed, OK?” the emperor stressed, “Let them feel that we’re bribing them not to attack us.”

  “Your Excellency, you mean we should let them continue what they're doing right now?” asked one hardliner.

  “Yeah, that general was indeed playing poker with us. He is trying to provoke us. Let's play his game. The venue of war is not always the battlefields,” the emperor stressed. “Miss Kareen Sandover is making some brilliant moves. In the past, public opinion has crumbled walls and successfully executed dictators.”

  XV

  Naked Power

  The amazing sight of Tikhoven greeted young Kareen Sandover, who felt a lot of excitement. The temperature was perfect for her taste, moderately colder. The surroundings were dominated by evergreen shrubs and ornamental gardens. I t’s a man-made paradise, Kareen thought. The metropolis was interlaced with wide streets and pedestrian lanes.

  Kareen entered the university compound and scanned the names of faculty and staff posted in the corridor. She then asked at the information counter, “Madame, where can I find Dean Theodory Park?”

  “Please . . . register your name first. Also write down the name of your planet or address in the solar system and the purpose of your visit,” said the lady at the information desk.

  Kareen then filled up the registry book using an electronic pen and a liquid digital pad.

  “You’re a refugee from Earth?” the secretary asked.

  “Earth, yes. I came here with a purpose, not as a Runner,” Kareen replied.

  “I’m sorry. I thought you were one of those soliciting for aims,” the secretary answered.

  This comment was heart-wrenching for Kareen.

  The secretary depressed a button and a smiling lady robot appeared. “At your service Madame,” the lady robot said.

  “Kitty, this is Miss Kareen Sandover. Please take her to Dean Theodory Park,” the secretary ordered.

  The lady robot ushered Kareen to the dean’s office. A pretty lady occupied alone the fully furnished plush executive office. “I’m Kareen Sandover from Earth, editor of El Mundo magazine,” said Kareen.

  The pretty educator then shook the hand of her visitor. “What can I do for you?” the dean asked.

  “I have an introductory letter from Professor Kalavich. He said that he knew you personally during your good old days,” said Kareen. “He said that you could help me.”

  “Oh . . . Mr. Kalavich, he is a very nice guy; how is he?”

  “He is OK, but lately a lot of the problems that face our planet have been dumped on him. He’s totally exhausted.”

  “Kitty, please give her something to drink.”

  “You want coffee or tea, ma’am?” the lady robot asked. “just plain coffee will do, without sugar please.”

  Kareen watched the lady robot operate the coffeemaker and take one cup and politely give to her.

  “Thanks a lot, Kitty.”

  “Don’t mention it,” the lady robot replied.

  “You can leave us, Kitty,” said the dean.

  “Thank you, Kitty.” Kareen waved her hand.

  “Bye-bye.”

  The dean opened the missive and read its contents and shook her head.

  “No, not again," the dean muttered.

  “Something wrong, ma’am?” Kareen asked.

  “Yes. I was one of the prime movers of the peace crusades and an environmentalist on the Earth during the pre-nuclear holocaust days. It was very disgusting, you know. Millions of us marched the streets of Bonn, Sydney, New York, and other major cities of the Earth, urging the leaders of the Earth to stop the war, but our heroic efforts met their deaf ears and, worse, they charged us with radicalism, as extremists. The military had a crackdown on our movements. They had jailed the core members . . . while some others suffered from the Gestapo-type torture. It was too late, you know, before those leaders witnessed with their own eyes what really had happened to the Earth,” recalled the famed street parliamentarian.

  “Can I count on you, ma’am?" Kareen asked. “We shall revive your patriotic movements."

  “I’m not against your initiative, Kareen. It’s worth a tough fight against the authorities. What worries me is . . . I’ve got a weak body structure now. Compared to my prime it’s really different. It doesn’t respond well to my desire; in short, I’m incapable of facing the truncheons again!"

  Kareen was very much disappointed in her hostess. This wasn't worth her bone-shaking travel, she thought.

  “Thank you very much, ma'am. I’ll just return to the Earth and join my compatriots to fight the aggressors if they come.”

  The educator extended her hand to Kareen for a handshake and said, “Miss Sandover, I admire your courage. What I can offer you are just simple words: ‘it just needs a match in order to inflame the entire city.’ "

  Kareen left the office rushing as if out of herself, so she almost bumped into a young guy walking along the lobby.

  “Hey! What’s wrong?” the young guy asked.

  Kareen just looked at the man without a word.

  “Hey, wait! What happened?" The young guy blocked Kareen’s path. “Why are you sobbing? If my guess is right, you're an Earthling space crew member, aren’t you?”

  “Well, you get out of my way. This is none of your business! Leave me alone, OK?" Kareen yelled in a fighting mode. The young guy rushed to the office from which Kareen had exited. Kareen passed through the park where hundreds of students were taking their rest. Others were spending their time reading, playing word games, sketching, or discussing the Earth crisis.

  “Hey, lady, wait! " the young guy shouted at Kareen. She just ignored the young guy and continued walking, but the young guy got hold of Kareen’s left arm and said, “If you don’t mind, shall we talk for a moment? . . . I’m Bennie Park; currently I’m the president of the Students’ Supreme Council of the University . . . the only son of Dean Theodory Park,” the persistent guy said.

  “Don't tell me that you've inherited the weak heart of your mother. . . a has-been!” Kareen said. “We on the Earth idolized your mother for her exploits in the past. Her name sounded like music to our ears; it appears in our history texts. I’m sorry I’m just wasting my precious time here.” They didn’t know that many ears had tuned into their conversation.

  The young university student gripped Kareen’s arm. “You want to know why I came here?” Kareen asked. “I came here from a long trip with a prime belief that your mother could assist me in bringing the case of our planet Earth to your people, but she just refused my initial overtures!”

  More students now turned their attention to the Earthling, who was talking very loudly. Kareen's face turned red. She looked straight at the young student leader with punitive eyes while her space suit zipper was whizzing downward, dropping the silvery space suit to her feet, leaving her totally naked.

  “Look here, man, this is the only asset I have to dramatize my protest of what they intend to do with my beloved planet Earth. I’m ready to give up my guarded dignity, just to extend her life!" the furious
lady cried.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” the stunned young student leader asked.

  More students now gathered around Kareen, listening to what she said. It so happened that a media patrol was passing by and the anchorman with his mini-camera curiously sneaked into the growing crowd. “Young lady, I’m from the broadcast media; what’s this all about?" the anchorman asked, focusing his camera on the young woman in the spotlight.

  “I'm Kareen Sandover, editor of El Mundo magazine on Earth. I came here to bring the case of the Earth to the Interplanetary Organization, but they don’t give a shit! They belittled the Earthlings’ hard effort to save the Earth and go on with their resolute commitment to destroy the Earth, and their ultimatum is drawing near. What I ’m asking is to give the Earthling scientists a chance to prove their points. They’re not that stupid as what some scientists here perceived. At this moment we’ve an ongoing expedition to get the ultimate energy to propel our planet back to its normal orbit. Since time is of the essence… at this hour we need an extension of the ultimatum date for another ninety days, and let’s say, that it after this grace period nothing happens, then the people of the Earth shall be on the side of the IPO-orchestrated coalition, eliminating the Earth from the solar system." Kareen had won a big propaganda blitz; her message reached the Uranian living rooms.

  “She is a flamboyant speaker, a brave lady. Her naked body creates magic . . . and her words are patriotic idealism." A plain housewife grinned. “Her cause needs our moral support. The Earthlings should be given a chance to save their planet; politicians are again behind this bloody mess.”

  “Yeah, their present crop of scientists is also brilliant, if not better than ours,” her husband answered. Classes were now disrupted. Students poured into the park; likewise, other citizens came in droves. “I’ll support your cause, Kareen! " a kiosk owner volunteered, undressing. “Me, too!" said one student. “I’m also an open book.” With a trace of a blush she undressed, too. “Count on me, too, Kareen!" said a young transgender, who displayed her newly transplanted female organs. “See . . . we’re the same breed, Kareen."

  Kareen was flabbergasted. Thousands of women displayed their bodies in the park, more still pouring in. Fraternity members pedaled their way to the park fully naked, chanting, “Let’s give Earth a chance to exist!” Placard-bearing citizens also came, with signs reading: “Remember: our forefathers were also Earthlings!” The artistic-oriented students painted the walls nearby with different types of graffiti supporting the Earthlings’ cause.

  “This is an unprecedented gathering in history of Tikhoven. A sea of humanity is filling the park. Some are climbing the light posts and some have also brought in their entire families. This is a phenomenon,” said the television anchorman.

  Student leader Bennie Park got a megaphone and climbed atop the high pedestal that served as an important landmark and said, “My fellow students, citizens of Uranus, what we’ve witnessed now is how we Uranian citizens respond if our fellowmen needed help. . .. We are in solidarity, yes! We’ve pitied our Earthling brothers from their present ordeals, not of their own makings but due to our fool leaders in the past who ruined the Earth! It the great physicist Albert Einstein’s soul was watching the runaway Earth, perhaps he would take a dose of toxin and poison himself because his discovery concerning atoms was misused! It doesn’t serve as it was intended to-that is, to power industry-but it has landed in evil minds! They’ve developed it for destructive purposes.

  “Today, there is another group of those leaders and scientists around who have developed a more dreaded atom bomb . . . the Omega bomb! It is capable of penetrating deeper into the skin of the planet before it will explode. Now imagine this scenario. If planets possess the technology to manufacture this type of bomb, what will happen if conflict among planets comes? There would be massive destruction!” the young student leader paused for a while, while people were silent, with their ears open wide. “If we could not do something to destroy this evil weaponry, then the solar system would no longer be a safe haven for children. Today Earth . . . tomorrow Uranus!”

  The people were carried away by the latest extemporaneous speech of the student executive from Uranus Foundation University. People were chanting, “Destroy the nukes!”

  What had transpired in the park had likewise reached the IPO secretariat. They’d been monitoring the speeches of Kareen and some student leaders who were passing the megaphone around.

  “Shit! They’re trying to disrupt our invasion program! There’s no way they can succeed; the Earth is a dangerous planet! . . . it’s a hazard to the solar system,” the secretary-general, Dux Perlisius, reasoned out.

  The massive crowd marched toward the IPO headquarters. Nude women were in the forefront; as they passed along the elite section of the capital, confetti were showered upon them. The secretary-general sensed a massive explosion about to erupt, so he called the military for protection. Soon thousands of antiriot police had arrived and secured the area surrounding the building. The secretary-general could hear people chanting, “Give Earth a chance to exist!” and “Destroy the nukes!” For two hours the crowd grew bigger while continuously shouting their demands.

  The secretary-general called up the president of Uranus. “Your Excellency, your people are demanding very impossible terms."

  “We will observe maximum restraint, Mr. Secretary. . .. I don’t want to happen to my people what occurred in the past. There’ll be not a single drop of blood shed. Why not talk to their leaders and explain the reality? Maybe they’ll understand. They're just misinformed, Mr. Secretary."

  “Yes, I’ll talk to their leaders, Your Excellency."

  Then the secretary-general sent his emissary to the street to talk to their leaders. The young idealistic leaders responded immediately. Young nude women swarmed the IPO Conference Hall, some standing along the aisles.

  “Girls, will you please cover yourselves?” the secretary-general demanded after seeing hundreds of the nude women. “This is the place of civilized people, not barbarians.”

  “No! . . . We won’t!” the ladies chorused.

  “We came here with the assumption that we’re on equal footing with anybody else here, including yourself, Mr. Secretary, not to be dictated upon!” said one young lady student leader. On the other hand, the male students just kept a low profile, letting the girls run the show.

  “And now why are you here in the first place?” asked the secretary-general. “You wouldn’t come if you had no case to present. Who is your spokesman?”

  The girls’ eyes focused on Bennie Park.

  “Mr. Secretary, we come here for two reasons. First, we would like to convey to you that our Earthling sister here, Kareen Sandover, is asking you to extend the ultimatum for the destruction of the Earth for a ninety-day grace period. And second, we, the citizens of Uranus, demand the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons, which pose a great danger in the solar system." The young student leader paused after stating their demands. “I think these demands are peanuts for you to handle, Mr. Secretary.”

  The IPO executive became silent for a few minutes and took a tissue and wiped his face.

  “Your demands aren’t feasible. First, what you’re trying to say is we should delay our schedule for the Earth’s destruction. . .. Yes, you pitied the Earthlings for their predicament, but you don't understand how grave the situation is right now. For those who are innocent why do we intend to take this harsh measure? ’Simply because the Earth is a moribund planet; any moment it may slip from its course, and collision with Mars is inevitable. . .. Let's say that it misses Mars by a hairline; then we can expect Russian roulette in the offing. It will barrel to Jupiter, or if it is still lucky, it will proceed to Saturn, Uranus, Neptune . . . I don’t think that it will reach Pluto,” the secretary explained and paused for a few seconds, “Now, Miss Editor, have your scientists on Earth determined that your planet won’t slip if the IPO grants your demand?” The protesters were shaken by
the disclosure of the secretary-general. Kareen had a deep thought recalling the analysis of Professor Kalavich and she decided to unload it.

  “Mr. Secretary, is there a reliable astrophysicist on your staff?" Kareen asked.

  “Yes, lady. I’ll introduce to you Prof. Jiff Summer from Jupiter. He has a doctorate in astrophysics. To his right is another astrophysicist from far Pluto, Dr. Jake Shoul, and here near me is another distinguished professor of astrophysics from Saturn University, Prof. Roy Flien.”

  “It’s a great honor to meet you, gentlemen. Perhaps, we will understand each other now,” said Kareen. “Honorable gentlemen, do you agree with the disclosure of the secretary-general?”

  The astrophysicists nodded, affirming the Secretary’s explanation. “That’s our collective analysis," said Prof. Roy Flien, the oldest of the three.

  Kareen trained her eyes toward the artist’s rendition of the solar system in the wall situated behind the secretary-general.

  “Honorable gentlemen, if you don’t mind, tell us what are those tiny dots between Mars and Jupiter?” Kareen inquired.

  “Those dots are asteroids, billions of them forming a belt in the solar system,” Prof. Jiff Summer answered.

  “Do you know how big some of them are?” Kareen asked.

  “The biggest among them is about 600 miles across,” Prof. Jiff Summer replied. “Ceres, followed by Pallas.”

  “And others, maybe 100 or 50 miles,” said Kareen. “You’re right, Miss Sandover,” Dr. Jake Shoul answered.

  “Isn’t it right also possible that if the Earth misses Mars it will pass this asteroid belt?"

  The IPO astrophysicists were caught by Kareen’s trap.

  In the dean’s office, Theodory Park cheered for Kareen’s swift maneuver, “Give them hell, Kareen! ” while hoisting her fist.

  The IPO astrophysicists conferred with each other together with the secretary-general, while the protesters flashed their thumbs up sign to Kareen.

  “You’re right, Miss Sandover,” Prof. Jiff Summer replied after ten minutes of consultation with his colleagues. “The Earth would ram across the minefield …It has a very thin oceanic skin of just 11 kilometers!”