Earth To Nole: It begins at the end

by Kumar Lomash

  Kevin wanted to share Holum’s optimism but was too bogged down by what Francis had told him the previous night. He decided to confront Holum after all, “Why is that? Why can’t this all be a ploy to trick humans into their own destruction? With technology so advanced that we brought the whole humanity to a different star system, couldn’t we have fixed Earth itself? That could have saved the rest of the humans who are now left to perish on Earth”, Kevin asked.

  “Yes Kevin, that could have saved everyone but it was not possible. The problem was not technology but humans themselves. Earth will survive but it needs time, it needs some time without human infestation. And nature would have given that chance to Earth one way or the other. If we did not leave Earth, we would all have perished. All the simulations we ran showed no recovery of Earth till the human population was reduced to a few hundred thousand people, living a stone age life. Moving to Nole has multiple angles to it. First, it allows us to appreciate the gift of mother nature and reminds us of what we once had. The handful of people on Nole would grow into a civilization which respects its planet and protects it above all other interests. Those left on Earth would perish, I agree sadly with you, but not all of them. Our simulations showed that after being reduced to a small population, humans would be able to survive after all, with whatever resources were still left on the planet. Earth would also recover eventually because a small population of humans would not have the same impact on the environment.”

  “So, you are saying the decision to move to Nole was completely ours, humans’?”, Kevin asked.

  “No Kevin. We were never so concerned about the planet, even when it meant our own extinction. We made mistakes after mistakes, some times out of selfishness and at others out of sheer foolishness. We owe this to our friends among Hums who have always helped us in making the correct decision.”, Holum answered.

  “Is it a coincidence that they need us as much as we need them? This could be a trick to get us here.”, Kevin asked.

  “It could be. I guess we'll just have to find that out.”, Holum replied with a smile.

  Kevin realised that he was asking too many questions. He settled for what Holum had to say and started looking at the monitor again.

  “Do you remember your parents Kevin?”, Holum tried to change the topic.

  “Yes, I do. But their image in my mind is getting fainter by the day.”, Kevin replied.

  “I can understand. You were very young when you last saw them.”, Holum replied.

  “Yes sir, I was.”, Kevin replied.

  “The key, Kevin, is to remember their names even if their faces have faded away. And that is the last thing I am going to tell you today. Hope to see you soon.”, Holum smiled and started walking towards the exit. He did not stop or turn around, just kept walking.

  Kevin didn’t know what to make out of Holum’s visit. He couldn’t help himself from seeing Holum’s point of view and was not sure whether Francis was right or Holum. Maybe they both were right and ultimately wanted the same things. Kevin continued to look at the monitor and tried to make his mind up before he met Joti and Gollow that evening.

  Holum went straight to Ibu’s office and indicated that he wanted to have a conversation.

  “I just met Kevin. I think he is ready”, Holum said.

  “Do you think he believes you?”, Ibu asked.

  “I am not sure, but he would come around.”, Holum replied.

  “You know that our arrangement with Hums depends on him believing in our story, don’t you?”, Ibu asked with concern. Holum looked him in the eyes and nodded in affirmation.

  “There is some other news as well.”, Ibu said.

  “So, it is time then?”, Holum smiled.

  “I don’t feel good about it.”, Ibu showed his concern.

  “It was inevitable, my friend. I am just glad it didn’t happen earlier.”, Holum said.

  “I hope they don’t put you into custody.”, Ibu said.

  “I don’t think Francis will go that far. Even if he does, Joti would not let it happen”, Holum sounded confident.

  In a meeting room not many minutes later, ministers and officers of the Union were sitting. Joti began with the agenda, which was Holum’s impeachment. It surprised a few but most people seemed to understand that the situation called for it. Joti began the voting procedure,

  “So, I request all of you to vote. By a show of hands, how many vote for the motion?”

  Many people lifted their hands. A hover-bot announced, 57. Another hover-bot repeated 57.

  Joti knew what this meant, her voice shook a bit when she said the next line,

  “Now, by show of hands, how many vote against the motion?”,

  Few lifted their hands. The hover-bots announced 13. Ibu was not one of them.

  This is what Joti wanted but now that it was happening, she felt guilt for reasons not apparent to her. She continued anyways, she knew it was the right thing to do.

  “I regret to report Mr. President that you have been impeached.”

  Holum stood up and looked gently towards Joti. He showed respect for her and accepted the results of the voting completely.

  “Thank you Joti.”, he then turned towards the room and said, “Thank you for your support throughout my tenure. I recommend that Joti become the interim President until a time when elections can be scheduled and conducted.”, Holum sat down. He knew it was not his place to speak any longer.

  Joti quickly jumped in and indicated that she had full faith in Francis ,that he would be wiser, had more experience and that he would fit better as the interim president. She requested voting on the motion which concluded with Francis being chosen the interim president. It was decided that Francis would be notified through an official communication about his new appointment and pending his acceptance, he would join the Union as soon as possible. Holum stood up and requested that he may be excused from the rest of the meeting, to which Joti agreed.

  After Holum left, Joti asked the communications leader to turn on all communications and to keep an eye on all of Holum’s communications. Ibu looked at Joti and she looked back at him. She said with a heavy heart, “I wish it had not come to this.”. Ibu looked concerned and appeared to not approve of it but kept his concerns to himself as the room was overwhelmingly against Holum at this point. He asked, “Will you be placing him into custody too?”

  “I don’t think that is necessary at this point.”, Joti replied confidently.

  After the meeting Joti rushed to see Francis, who was concluding a voice call as she waited for him to finish outside his cabin. Francis opened the doors when he was done. Joti asked indicating towards the phone, “Angels?”

  “Uh.. Yes”, Francis answered with some hesitation.

  “I am sorry Francis, you have asked me a lot of times to not peek into your angel stuff but I get very curious when I think of angels. I respect them a lot, you must know that.”, Joti clarified.

  “No worries, my dear.”, Francis replied.

  “So, tell me. Are you up for it?”, Joti asked in an excited voice.

  “I guess so.”, Francis replied with a smile. Joti was relieved at hearing this. They both hugged and she told him about the official invitation that he would get from the Union and that he should accept it. She would then arrange other formalities.

  That evening Joti, Gollow and Kevin were sitting together. Joti and Gollow both looked a lot more relieved than they were the previous night. Kevin on the other hand looked confused and talked much lesser than he usually did. Joti finally thought it was a good time to engage him with the pending discussion.

  “Kevin, how do you feel about Francis replacing Holum.”, Joti asked.

  “I hope you guys know what you are doing.”, Kevin replied.

  “I am happy about it.”, Gollow went ahead and disclosed his feelings.

  “I trust your judgement guys, we all need to do what we need to do.”, Kevin said.

  Joti sensed that Kevin was still not fully convi
nced.

  “It seems you are not completely on board, Kevin.”, Joti said.

  “It is not my place to challenge your decision, Joti. You are better placed than I am to decide on affairs of the Union. But yes, personally I still believe that Holum is not evil. I just cannot see him that way.”, Kevin said.

  “Even I don’t think that he is evil Kevin. He might be in a compromising position, maybe Hums have some control over him after all. We cannot be sure with all the technology that they have.”, Joti honestly believed that Holum in his right mind would not have brought this upon humans.

  “Maybe. As I said, I don’t completely understand the affairs of the Union. Can we talk about something else?”, Kevin wanted to change the topic.

  Gollow sensed that Kevin wanted to be with Joti alone. He knew they had had a bit of a tussle over the past few days and wanted to let them talk it out. He finished his dinner quickly and left.

  Joti and Kevin walked around the canteen for sometime. She had not been feeling like herself around Kevin lately but was relieved today. She knew the problem wasn’t solved but that night things were better off than they had been for quite some time. She was prepared to indulge in her feelings for Kevin again in the open. She held his hand ever so gently, as if it was the first in many days. She knew she had maintained a distance from him for many days and appreciated him for understanding her position.

  Kevin was glad that Joti still felt this way for him. He was worried he had put a wall between them by not agreeing with her about the hums. He knew it was a difficult position for Joti, to be with a man who seemingly supported the only enemy humans had. He was aware that they still believed in different things but also wanted to keep those differences out of their relationship. He hoped they would be able to still have each other without having to convince each other of their beliefs. Eventually, the truth would be out and the only thing that mattered now was to hold on to each other till such time.

  After spending some quality time with each other they prepared to get back to their cabins. Joti had a busy next day scheduled for her. She was also looking forward to Francis’ appointment. They kissed each other goodnight and went to their cabins feeling what can only be described as bliss. She remembered that this was their first kiss in many days. Little did she know that it might also be their last for many more days to come.

  It was around midnight when the elevator on level 20 opened and a concerned Boris exited out alone. He rushed towards Kevin’s room and knocked on it repeatedly. He was usually a patient man but not tonight. Kevin woke up and was surprised to see Boris outside his door.

  “You have 2 minutes to pick up your belongings, we are leaving right now.”, Boris implied urgency as Kevin opened the door.

  “What? Why?”, Kevin didn’t understand.

  “I don’t have time to explain. If you trust me, come with me.”, Boris was to the point. He looked worried and Kevin had never seen him like this before. A thousand possibilities crossed Kevin’s mind as he began collecting his things slowly.

  “Hurry up, Kevin. I said two minutes.”, Boris reminded Kevin. He kept looking around to make sure they were alone. Kevin hurried and quickly gathered a few things in his backpack.

  “Did you take the pendrives Holum gave you?”, Boris asked.

  “Yes.”, replied Kevin.

  “Those are important for you to have, please don’t leave them here.”, Boris said.

  “I already have them. Let's go!”, Kevin was ready.

  “I suppose you know the key to those pendrives?”, Boris asked casually as they began walking towards the elevator.

  “No, I don’t”, Kevin clarified.

  Boris stopped and turned to Kevin. He asked in a pleading tone, “oh, please tell me that Holum met you today.”

  “Yes, he came to see me in my room. We talked for a while and then he went back. No passwords or keys were given to me.”, Kevin replied honestly.

  Boris seemed relaxed on hearing that Holum visited Kevin. He said as he pressed 1 on the elevator, “If he met you today then you have the key. We will work it out later.”

  “Would we be able to exit the spaceship? Armbots are guarding the gates and they allow only people who have been chosen by the Union.”, Kevin asked as the elevator raced towards the ground floor.

  “You and I have been chosen today, it's 3 a.m. so a new day, right?.”, Boris answered quickly. He indicated that he had managed to get the passes for both of them.

  “You still have contacts in the Union? I thought Holum was the only one.”, Kevin asked.

  “Yes Kevin, I still have contacts.”, Boris answered.

  “Who?”, asked Kevin.

  The elevator stopped at ground floor. Ibu stood in front of the elevator when the doors opened and Kevin had his answer.

  “An LSC is waiting for you two towards the south of the spaceship.”, Ibu handed over the passes quickly to both of them.

  “Can I make a small voice call, please? I need to say goodbye to my friends.”, Kevin realised this was it. He wanted Joti or Gollow to know the circumstances in which he was forced to leave.

  “No, Kevin. I am sorry, you cannot. With every second, the danger grows.”, Ibu sounded afraid.

  “What danger? Are the people on this ship in danger?”, Kevin hesitated to leave his friends behind.

  “The people are safe, I promise.”, Boris tried to reassure Kevin. “Now follow me, please.”

  Kevin looked at Ibu and he knew what Kevin wanted. He assured that he would let Joti and Gollow know everything as soon as he had a chance. Kevin turned and started following Boris.

  They walked towards the exit where two armbots stopped them. Kevin wanted to ask Boris more questions but armbots were now too close for that.

  “Please look into my eyes.”, an armbot asked Boris.

  The armbot confirmed that Boris and the pass in his hand matched. It said, “Sir, you are allowed to go outside but please be advised that it is not recommended during the night.”

  Boris ignored the warning and walked through.

  The same routine was carried out with Kevin and he walked out too. Boris was waiting for him outside. Seeing Kevin, he started walking quickly towards the LSC.

  “Tell me what is happening, Boris.”, Kevin insisted.

  “Not now Kevin. The armbot which allowed you to go outside would update the central presence system in a minute or so. The roco party which is looking for you inside will then start looking for you outside. We have to leave Nole as soon as possible.”, Boris kept walking towards the LSC as fast as he could. “I will tell you everything as soon as we leave Nole’s atmosphere. For now, have faith in me.”

  Early morning, Gollow rushed to Joti’s cabin. Joti seemed to be enjoying a nice morning and was getting ready for the day. Gollow shouted as soon as he saw Joti.

  “Joti, two hum spacecraft have landed behind the mountain during the night.”

  “Are we under attack?”, Joti asked straightaway.

  “Not sure. There are no reports of any intrusions or attacks from any post.”, Gollow confirmed.

  “Let’s get into my office and look at our options.”, Joti said shocked. She didn’t expect hums to attack this early, it had only been a day since they had landed. But if not an attack what could this be? Could this be a meeting? Maybe they wanted to meet but if so why not send a communication first? A lot of thoughts raced through Joti’s mind as she rushed towards her office.

  “And Joti…”, Gollow wanted to say something else. Joti stopped and turned. She found Gollow struggling with the next piece of information that he wanted to give.

  “What is it, Gollow?”, Joti grew a bit impatient.

  “...Kevin is gone. He is not in his cabin. I searched for him in the presence system and it reported him outside the spaceship.”, Gollow finished his sentence.

  Joti thought for a while and rushed in a different direction. Joti and Gollow rushed to Holum’s cabin where Holum had just woken up. They thought he
would definitely know what was happening.

  “Sir, is this it?”, Joti asked.

  “Is this what, Joti?”, Holum seemed oblivious to the situation.

  “Sir, we have identified two alien spacecraft on the other side of the mountain. They seemed to have landed during the night.”, Gollow explained.

  “Where is Kevin?”, Holum asked almost as a reflex.

  Joti and Gollow were curious that Holum’s first reaction was to ask about Kevin.

  “You tell me, he is nowhere to be found.”, Joti answered with a question. “Is it safe to assume that he has finally chosen a side? That this is nothing but hums coming to pick up their new friend?”, Joti was now completely overwhelmed by emotions.

  Her worst fears were realised. She could have borne the attack of hums but not the fact that Kevin was, after all, on their side. She felt cheated and confused.

  “Yes. He has finally chosen a side, Joti. You are right.”, Holum smiled.

  She turned around to go to her office but Holum started his next sentence before she could leave, “He has chosen our side.”. Holum implied that Kevin was on the side of the humans and hums both, these were the same side after all.

  She didn’t know how to respond and continued walking after hearing what Holum had to say.

  She left his cabin in a hurry and upon reaching her office ordered Gollow to launch a full offensive against the two Hum spacecraft.

  “Please have your best men and a few armbots capture the spacecraft and make sure that nobody leaves Nole without my orders.”, Joti shouted in anger.

  Gollard entered the room and advised that they should also put a few spacecraft into orbit so that any incoming threats are also dealt with. Joti agreed. Gollow left with his orders. Gollard assured her that his teams were prepared for dealing with any surprise attacks.