Earth To Nole: Return of the Prince

by Lomash, Kumar

  “I don’t eat that often, Kevin. In fact, hums eat only once every 3 or 4 days. Twice a week, mostly.”, Boris replied.

  “Please tell me that you are joking. Back on the spaceship, I saw you sitting in the canteen all the time.”, Kevin was surprised by Boris’s revelation.

  Boris defended himself, “I only sat there so that we could talk without anyone noticing us. And I ate only half the times. That too because travel makes me anxious and anxiety makes me hungry.”, Boris confessed.

  “Suit yourself. I need some food real soon, do you have anything here?”, Kevin was getting grumpy. He needed his meals.

  Boris turned around and called Keele inside. A bot walked in. He introduced Keele to Kevin. Keele looked much sophisticated than any bot Kevin had seen. He looked very much like a person. He had a face with eyes, nose, ears and hair - everything designed to look like a male hum. He wore clothes, very similar to what Boris wore. His face was capable of showing complex emotions. For example, he smiled in a friendly manner when Boris introduced him to Kevin. He went ahead and sat down on one of the chairs.

  “Keele has been with me since my childhood, Kevin.”, Boris continued after Keele’s introduction. “He is a very sophisticated being. Although mechanical on the inside, he has organic parts too, which primarily drive his psychological and personality modules. You should be able to make friends with him, he might turn out to be a very useful ally to you. He knows what I know and mimics my personality for the most of it. The best thing about him is that he will stay with you long after I am gone.”, Boris paused.

  “Don’t say that, you are still young.”, Keele said in a friendly manner.

  “That is not true at all. I am almost 800, 793 to be precise. I like to think that I am in a good shape and my body is still healthy. But even with optimistic calculations, I do not have more than 50 years. Once the old age hits, I will be gone in 20 to 30 years.”, Boris said.

  There was a silence. Kevin didn't know what to say. He was not sure what to think of an 800 year old man. Boris looked much younger on the outside though. He looked like someone who was in his 40s. His hair was still not grey and his skin had no signs of aging. But, maybe that’s how hums aged.

  “I gather that you are hungry, Kevin?”, Keele asked, finally breaking the silence.

  “Yes, famished.”, Kevin replied almost as an instinct.

  “What would you like to have?”, Keele asked.

  “Sandwich, burger, fruit, anything at all”, Kevin didn’t know what to ask for.

  “Cheese omelette and bacon?”, Keele asked.

  “Are you toying with me, Keele? Do you really have that?”, Kevin couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “Why not? Most of the things that humans eat were introduced to them by hums.”, Keele replied.

  “Great!”, Kevin sounded happy and relieved.

  Boris said, “Kevin, why don’t you freshen up and then finish your brunch while I get back from an appointment that I have. We need to talk more about our next steps.”, and then he walked away into his room.

  “Your food will be ready in 15 minutes. Freshen up, my prince!”, Keele walked away too.

  2. From Bad To Worse

  Meanwhile on Nole nothing had changed much since Kevin left. Most of the humans still believed that Nole was all theirs to claim. Their major concerns were resources and compatibility at this point. Or maybe that a new pathogen native to the planet would make them sick. “Hostile aliens” was still a theory most didn’t want to believe in and the word “Hums” was unheard to the most of them. Ignorance is bliss, thought the officers of the Union who knew about hums. They wanted the rest of the population to settle properly before having to reveal any facts related to the neighboring civilization.

  Nobody had noticed that Kevin and his other ‘K’ friends were long gone. After all nobody knew them personally anyways. Everyone was busy settling on the new planet. However, it was not the same for Joti and Gollow. They missed Kevin. Kevin might not have been as bright as Joti or as strong as Gollow but he did have something which made him their favorite. Joti fell for him the first time she saw him back on earth. Kevin always had the kind of self confidence in him which is not easily found in people. The world is full of people who calculate their each and every step and execute ever so cautiously but not Kevin. Kevin always seemed to know what the right thing to do was. Joti knew it had nothing to do with his smartness or bravery but rather his simplicity.

  Most people are confused because their personal interests are often at odds with the rest of the world. They calculate their every step because they need to strike a balance between doing what is right and difficult versus what is selfish and easy. They don’t want to do something extremely selfish and get exposed as self centered, nor do they want to do something extremely selfless and hamper their personal agenda. The reason Kevin’s decisions were simple for him to make was that he had no personal agenda. He had always found pleasure in serving others. Gollow too knew this about Kevin. Gollow is a man of honor and he recognizes honor in others when he sees it. The first day he saw Kevin, he knew what he was made up of.

  Gollow and Joti both knew Kevin too well to categorize his actions as selfish or coward. It didn’t make sense to them at all. The more they thought about it the more confused they got. It had been 3 days since Kevin left Nole but they still had difficulty believing it. Being in this situation brought them closer during these last few days. Their responsibilities in the Union and their relationship with Kevin, together surmounted to sufficient reasons for them to become fast friends. They did what good friends do in the morning, drink coffee together.

  “Aah, I love a good cup of coffee in the morning. I just hope Nole’s soil is good for growing more of it.”, Gollow said as he sipped his coffee.

  “We have plenty of stock to last years. But coffee is least of my worries.”, Joti replied.

  “I hear Francis is planning a meeting after lunch, what is he up to?”, Gollow moved to a more serious topic.

  “Yes, he is going to propose some changes in the ranks of the Union.”, Joti replied.

  “What changes?”, Gollow was curious.

  “I don’t know. We’ll see.”, Joti replied

  “Will he hand out punishments for Holum and Ibu?”, Gollow asked.

  “I don’t know. But I would be surprised if he does. The most he should do is, bar both of them from the Union and its affairs. There are a lot of decisions which need to be handed out, now that we are on Nole. I don’t think Francis has time for punishments.”, Joti clarified in a casual manner.

  “I know. It’s been almost a week since stage 12 began. The level 2 emergency should be called off to begin with. I am tired of being guarded by armbots all the time.”, Gollow said.

  “There are other things too, much bigger things than lifting the emergency.”, Joti tried to indicate that there were other important things planned to happen in stage 12 but Gollow seemed to be oblivious to them.

  “Like what?”, he asked.

  “I shouldn’t share with you if you don’t already know. I thought you would know. Haven’t you read the stage 12 memo? It must be accessible to you now that you are second in command.”, Joti was trying to be careful before divulging more information.

  “I might have overlooked a few documents amidst the mess that we have been in for the last few days. I will look at them as soon as I am back in my office.”, Gollow admitted.

  “Ok, since you already have clearance I might as well discuss them here.”, Joti found it safe to go ahead.

  “After our arrival on Nole some of the rules of the Union are scheduled to change, primarily to accommodate the requirements for survival on this new planet. I believe these changes are important. They are designed to allow us to adapt to our new environment. I was part of the committee which recommended them. It was part of our master plan all along.”, Joti said.

  “What kind of changes?”, Gollow asked.

  “Relaxation of t
he emergency is one. I believe we should go down to level 4 now. There is no need for armbots to escort us everywhere. Other things like rationing of resources and fair usage policy would exist for obvious reasons.”, Joti explained.

  “I understand that, what else?”, Gollow was curious.

  “Hunting for food might become legal. Cooking in the open, cutting down trees for wood, carrying personal weapons around, traveling without declaring reasons or destinations…”, Joti started going over the things she remembered from the list but Gollow interrupted her.

  “Yeah, it makes sense to loosen up a little.”, said Gollow.

  “We might see natural pregnancy becoming legal again.”, Joti said.

  “That’s huge! We have not reproduced naturally for centuries. Do you believe it is possible?”, Gollow asked.

  “I think so. We saw cases of accidental pregnancy all the time back on earth. I believe it is still possible for us to reproduce naturally, I think it is necessary too for our survival.”, Joti said.

  “Why is that? We have brought 100 birth pods with us if I am not mistaken.”, Gollow wondered.

  “Oh, you Gs are so thick in your brains.”, Joti smiled. Gollow was slightly offended but he was talking to a friend, he smiled back and asked curiously, “What?”.

  “Birth pods would only give us a linear population growth. For example, 100 births every year. But natural reproduction would give us exponential growth. That is 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. Moreover, 60% of our population on Nole are women. Do you think that is by accident? This was the plan all along. We did simulations and concluded that reproducing naturally was the best way forward when planning the whole thing out.”, Joti replied.

  “So the women are your birth pods now?”, Gollow joked.

  “This is no matter of joke, Gollow. We need to have a healthy population growth here on Nole. There are many threats to our continued survival here. Aliens, diseases, compatibility, you name it. Having a large population is the best strategy we could have. And, what is so bad in reproducing naturally? It is the perfect way of bringing a child into this world. “, Joti explained.

  “Hey, I don’t mind at all. I like the good old ways if you ask me. But what about the gene pools?”, Gollow had a genuine argument.

  “I know. But I think it will be alright. We cannot be selective right now.”, Joti replied.

  “What else is going to change?”, Gollow asked.

  “Self defense and arms training for all is going to be compulsory.”, Joti said.

  “What else?”, Gollow wanted to know more.

  “Just go and read the documents on your own. Or wait for the meeting. Francis will make these announcements today, he shouldn’t delay it anymore.”, Joti was tired of listing things down for Gollow. She knew he was being lazy not reading on his own.

  Gollow exited Joti’s office and went into his own. He pulled out the document on his monitor to read but got bored in a matter of seconds. He looked impatiently around the room trying to find anything which would interest him but he couldn’t. He finally walked up to the window and pressed a button which made it transparent. He looked outside the spaceship and saw the beautiful mountains straight in front of his window. The mountains seemed to be inviting him. It was clear to Gollow that nothing inside a room could ever interest him. He looked at a group of young men and women just outside his window who were preparing a trek, most likely to those mountains. Another group, at a distance, prepared a boat to take into the large lake on his right.

  “What am I doing here, in an office, behind a desk?”, Gollow wondered. He remembered how excited he was when he first learned that he was selected for this voyage. He had packed camping and trekking equipments in the hopes of exploring Nole, if he ever reached there alive. He wanted to discover mountains, lakes and rivers and name them after himself. He wondered if he would have been better off if he didn’t know about the aliens at all. What if he never joined the Union?

  As he scanned the landscape outside his window he noticed Holum and Ibu sitting by the lake, further from the spaceship. They seemed to be engaged in a discussion instead of enjoying the scenery in front of their eyes. Those old men seemed to have more purpose than anyone else around them. Gollow knew deep down that honorable men like Holum and Ibu could never let their people perish. Maybe right now all the evidence appeared to be stacked against them but this could all easily be a misunderstanding on his and Joti’s part. After all, they didn’t appear to be celebrating the success of their conspiracy. They looked rather concerned. It appeared they were trying to come up with a plan to defend what they loved above all.

  Gollow concluded that he and Joti had more responsibility than the rest of the humans. They knew something was not right. Moreover, he was never convinced of Francis as the president. He couldn’t leave right now. Not when his people needed him the most. He had to know that the Union is in the right hands before he could start his exploration. He pressed the button again, the window went back to being opaque. He sat down on his chair and started reading the documents on his screen.

  “This is getting from bad to worse each day!”, Ibu looked concerned after hearing what Holum told him. Holum was not surprised, he expected this reaction from him. He kept staring at the beautiful lake in front of him. They both looked horrified, now that they both knew what lay ahead of them.

  “What would Igogo gain out this? This is madness. Pure evil.”, Ibu said as he tried to understand the situation.

  “Hums are far more complex being than we are. It is difficult to understand their motivations, my friend. Take Boris for example, he has spent the last three and a half centuries away from home. He has sacrificed a good part of his life for this cause. What is in it for him?”, Holum asked back.

  “He is a good person. He wants to do good to the world.”, Ibu told what was obvious to him.

  “Then Igogo is just his opposite. He simply wants to cause pain.”, Holum replied.

  “Or maybe we are too naive to understand their motives.”, Ibu murmured.

  ###

  Back on Peele, Kevin was almost done with his breakfast. He looked satisfied. Keele was a good cook and an entire encyclopedia in himself. He was the perfect bot. Kevin enjoyed talking to him. Keele sat happily too alongside Kevin while he finished his breakfast. Kevin was not nearly finished with his questions though. He asked the next one.

  “When did Boris leave for Earth? and why?”, Kevin asked.

  “He has been to Earth several times. Too many to count honestly. It is not that difficult for us to travel deep into space. It takes us 3 days to reach Earth, not 3 centuries. And most of it is spent travelling from moon to earth.”

  Kevin looked puzzled so Keele began to explain.

  “If you don’t know yet, the moon is like the airport and the earth is the city. You take a superfast flight to the airport and then a slower taxi to the city. Sometimes, the taxi ride to the city takes longer than the flight itself. The first time he went there, it was purely out of self interest. Humans were not doing good and as part of his paper he decided to go there and understand what didn’t work out for your civilization. Soboro, the last prince of hums, was one of his close friends. They went to the same school. Although they studied different subjects, they shared the same ideologies. They both believed that Hums can learn a lot from humans’ mistakes. It was seven and a half centuries ago, I remember precisely, when he first went to Earth. Earth was a mess back then too. Human civilization looked like a train running without direction. His paper cited many reasons for the failure of your civilization but if you ask me to summarize, I would say you people developed technology before wisdom. And I am not saying that it was by choice. I don't see this as your fault. It is just the way you evolved. He came back after spending 2 years there. He published his paper and got placed with the government in the planning department. That changed everything.”

  “What do you mean, it changed everything?”, Kevin asked.

  “Life was good for a
few decades, Kevin. But hums were not doing that great themselves and this in turn troubled Boris. He observed while in the planning department that hums were in a downward spiral. Corruption was on the rise and mediocrity was promoted all around. His own research and that of many others indicated that democracy is doomed to fail in the long run. We were already seeing symptoms of that but it is infinitely more difficult to convert a democracy into a monarchy than it is the other way around.”, Keele explained.

  “Wait a minute…”, Kevin had to interrupt. This was making no sense to him. “...are you saying that you wanted your civilization to get converted into a monarchy?”

  “Yes, it might sound counter intuitive to you but it's true. And it's not like a Monarchy on earth, it’s more like a meritocracy. We call it ‘the king’s rule’. We have always had king’s rule on Peele. It was nothing new for Boris to propose back then. What else could he have done? The data was overwhelmingly stacked against democracy. He had access to all of it from the inside.”, Keele explained.

  Kevin looked confused.

  Keele said, “Let me explain our political structure first.”, he knew it wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.

  “We have a royal bloodline which you already know of. Individuals with royal bloodline are the wisest and the smartest and they…”, Keele spoke with passion but was interrupted.

  “This sounds wrong. Are you saying that a particular family has claim to rule simply because they have a certain blood type and they belong to a certain gene pool?”, Kevin sounded disgusted.

  “Don’t be naive Kevin. And don’t judge before you see the complete picture.”, Keele wanted Kevin to get rid of his Earthly measurements and think outside the box. He continued, “You say ‘claim to rule’ as if being elected is similar to winning a lottery. Take my words on this, those who consider being elected as winning a lottery, should never get elected in the first place. We don’t need rulers. We need leaders, Kevin. Your understanding of democracy is trivial at best. But I don’t blame you. A civilization which is struggling to redistribute power sees democracy as the only viable option. What you fear the most is the concentration of power in a few hands. But democracy is not without its side effects. Corruption being one of them. Corruption is like rust, Kevin. It slowly eats through the foundation of any democratic system.”