The Next Thing I Knew (Heavenly)

by John Corwin

  I wondered how they kept crazy people from submitting crap to the SCCC all the time. It seemed like committee members would spend every minute going through a slush pile of crap a mile deep. The implant, of course sent me the answer. If an individual submitted two bills in a row that failed either by vote or by basic computer analysis vetting, they'd lose submission rights for a year. Their version of a computer vetted every submission before the committee received it by using some complex algorithm I didn't want to know about.

  After my brush with Shaval Politics 101, I knew we were in even more trouble than I'd thought. I had hoped to find out who the central authority was for making stuff happen and controlling them. A president, dictator, or some kind of royalty would have been easier to deal with. Our team could take control of key people and change the policy toward Earth. Make it off limits. But since everyone got a vote and there was no one single authority everyone bowed to, there was no weak link to fix.

  I thought about controlling the central committee and sending out a bill that would put Earth off limits. Several hundred Shaval had done that very thing over the centuries. Some bills tried to ban interference with alien life, some banned exploiting Earth by name (in the Shaval language of course) and others tried various legal maneuvers to ban the practice of classifying creatures as non-sentient. All failed by billions of votes. After a time, the computer automatically rejected bills with language even remotely similar and would continue to do so until a successful paradigm shift vote was taken on the matter. It made my head spin. I'd thought human politics were confusing.

  So the matter was crystal clear if that crystal were bathing in a mud pit. I gritted Diana's perfect teeth and dug back into the seemingly endless amount of information on Shaval politics. Over ten thousand Earth years ago they'd had a monarchy which had been amicably dissolved and evolved into the democracy they had today. On the one hand they seemed so very enlightened and on the other three hands crazy Medieval. I looked through the data on Earth compiled by hundreds of committees over hundreds of years.

  The Committee on Shaval Extraterrestrial Defensive Initiatives had recommended immediate eradication of humans due to our rapid advances and warlike nature. The Committee on Intergalactic Nature Preservation asked for Earth to be kept pristine, sans humans, of course. The Committee on Extraterrestrial Sentience declared humans intelligent but non-sentient which gave the green light to the Committee on Selective Eradication to tell the Committee on Eradication Implementation to come up with a suitable method for ridding the universe of humans. Then a Committee on Earth Matters was formed after the fifty plus other committees which dealt with extraterrestrial affairs reached consensus on the size and scope of that committee.

  Considering that humans had bred out the first attempt at DNA poisoning, they'd likened humans to the Shaval equivalent of a cockroach.

  It was ridiculous. Especially after finding an audio file and hearing Earth pronounced as warble, warble, chirp, trill, warble, trill. In their symbolic language, Sym, Earth's name literally translated into numeric coordinates based on the Shaval Known Universe or SKU. Oh, and they used acronyms for everything. If I'd thought acronyms in English were irritating, it was even more so translating them from Shaval spoken and Sym languages. In other words, finding a solution meant digging through the digital equivalent of reams of information and then reams of definitions for acronyms. I trilled in exasperation. Coming from Diana's throat it sounded cute instead of angry. I tried to growl, but sounded like an irritated sparrow. My research seemed pointless.

  Then I found the weakness.

  I laughed and clapped all four hands in glee at the discovery. It was so simple and right in front of my eyes the entire time. Well, most of the time. The SKU (Shaval Known Universe) was kept in the CD (Central Database) on Zalista. Multiple copies propagated to thousands of different locations like planets and bases, but the CD was considered the authority. Once a change was made, it would trickle out to the other cloned databases located on Shaval controlled territories. If we simply erased data about Earth from the SKU in the CD then the SCCC and every other acronym the Shaval could throw at us wouldn't matter. We could make pretend Earth never existed and the Shaval in all their terrible awesomeness might never find us again.

  The kicker, of course, was finding the right people who could change the SKU. That meant a field trip to Zalista landed on the agenda. I dug around in the implant for information about the SKU. The advantage of the Shaval democracy was that nothing was top secret or hidden. Freedom of information was top priority amongst citizens and since no committee held broad or absolute power, it was nearly impossible to keep anything a secret. On the other hand, things could take forever to progress. If the Shaval weren't such monsters I would marvel at their wonderfully open form of government. It didn't translate. How could such a seemingly perfect society have no regard for any other intelligent life?

  They didn't even have religion bogging them down. No superstitions frightened them into taking up torches and pitchforks against monsters. They were logical but still colored by emotion. They were more kind to dumb animals than to intelligent species. Or maybe they had contempt for species with potential that hadn't risen to their level. Maybe they simply wanted to win. It made me feel ill, like finding out the perfect couple next door are brutal assassins and hate dogs.

  I eventually found the names of those Shaval who controlled the Committee on Central Database Updates. Another committee controlled the information for the SKU, but after studying the duties of that committee, I knew the update committee was the right one. All 13 members had to agree on changes and updates. Each would provide an individual random encryption key that was used by the database administrator to update specific items. The administrator himself had no access to the data without those encryptions keys. Every major section of the database had a controlling committee that would submit their own token symbols to the database update committee.

  I studied the flow of data until my brain ached. Unless I was terribly mistaken, which was a frequent enough occurrence, we needed to control the database update committee and one of the database administrators. We would issue a maintenance command and use that to remove information about Earth. We weren't without hackers in our midst. A couple in Alpha were really good. But this was alien technology. We'd have better luck assimilating a Shaval hacker if such a being existed. With the total freedom of access to information they enjoyed, there might not be Shaval malcontents lurking behind holographic keyboards, drinking Shaval soft drinks, and munching on Cheezy Poofs.

  The hologram console lit up, bathing Diana's room with reddish light. The symbol for "emergency" flashed. I answered without thinking. Azriel shrieked something about insanity and disconnected. I used Diana's magical clothes wand and materialized a simple green gown to preserve her modesty. I opened the portal to the hallway and rushed down it. Other Shaval emerged from their room, eyes bleary and confused. Azriel shouted again, motioning us outside. I followed.

  Missy's host, Cassiel, was struggling with Chris's chubby host, Gabriel. Cassiel was yelling that he knew what was causing the dreams, and pointing in the direction of the Rrilk cube. He had something in his hand that looked like a black pen, similar to the silver one I'd used to make clothes for Diana. Gabriel was trying to grab it from him. My implant spat out an answer to my subconscious query. The black pen was a weapon. A remarkably deadly one. Diana's knowledge of Cassiel was limited, but she knew he was not irrational. None of them would touch a weapon unless the guardian, i.e. Azriel, told them it was necessary.

  My heart thumped. I focused with my ghost eyes, looked around, and saw Anil and other alpha team members standing there. Chris wasn't present. Anil gazed at me.

  "You in there Lucy?"

  I nodded. It might look crazy to the other Shaval if I spoke to thin air.

  "Chris is in Gabriel. Something went wrong. Missy lost consciousness during the merge and when she came to, Cassiel was running for a weapon, sayi
ng he knew why he was having strange dreams."

  I couldn't speak to Anil, not there. He could understand me if I spoke in Shaval, but the other Shaval were too close now. I saw a lone figure watching from behind Anil and the others. It was Harb. He looked amused. I wanted to scream at him, tell him to get off his ass and do something. But I couldn't leave Diana without her waking up and wondering just what the hell she was doing outside with her hair looking such a mess.

  Cassiel broke free of Gabriel's grip and stomped toward the Rrilk cube. The other Shaval followed, too confused to know which course of action to take. I wished I had a weapon. My implant told me where to get one in the ship. I raced back inside and pulled a black pen device from a rack. It really was no larger than a ballpoint pen to Diana's large hands. To human hands it might be the size of a drumstick--the musical kind, not the tasty chicken part. I caught up with the others as they entered the cube's cryo-chamber.

  What was he doing?

  He activated a retrieval unit. The robotic arm grabbed a container and placed it on the floor. I realized with a shock what it was. It was the container with our bodies in it.

  "The beings here are not completely dead," Cassiel said. "The dreams we have, they are caused by the quantum energy imprints of these beings. They are trying to take over our bodies."

  My mouth dropped. I looked at Anil. "How do you know this?" I asked.

  "One of them confided in me and told me their plan. She said she didn't agree with it and told me everything of their plot. At first I thought insanity or sickness was infecting me, but she convinced me otherwise."

  "This is not logical," I said. "What is in the container?"

  "Their bodies."

  "I recommend he be evaluated," I said. "These beings are dead. Are you suggesting they exist in some afterlife? Preposterous." I tried to used Diana's somewhat haughty tone to my advantage. The others seemed to be leaning my way.

  I saw Anil tap into his host, Hadriel. He hovered for a moment, then merged. Hadriel slumped ever so slightly during the switchover. Anil turned to me and winked.

  "I agree. You may be sick, Cassiel."

  Cassiel narrowed his eyes. "Some of you may even be under their control this very moment. We'll find out soon enough." He aimed the weapon at the row of gel-encased bodies inside the container. "Because I know how to kill them for good now."

  "No!" I shouted and dove for him. My wings flared open, knocking everyone aside. I stumbled and fell against the container in time to see a blinding white light lance from the weapon and into the first gel-encased body. I had no idea whose it was. The laser vaporized it to nothing.

  Hadriel gasped and slumped. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Anil floated free of Hadriel. His eyes locked with mine. I felt the weight of that look, almost as if in that split instant he transferred a mountain to my shoulders. He vanished.

  Chapter 24

  I screamed.

  Hadriel dropped to the floor unconscious.

  Chris, using Gabriel, punched Cassiel in the face. Cassiel dropped the weapon and fell over backward. The rest of my team merged into their hosts. Some couldn't take control but managed to stun them or lock them out.

  I fell to my knees and sobbed over Hadriel's inert form. We had lost our real leader, the one who knew how to teach; the one with infinite patience. Most important, the one we could all trust with our lives.

  Kyle walked over to me in his host, Bob. He didn't think the Shaval deserved angelic names. Well, it was his host. He could name him anything he wanted. Bob laid a hand on my shoulder. He remained silent for a moment, then squeezed my arm.

  "We need to lock them up, Lucy."

  "Do what you want. Leave me alone."

  "For what it's worth, I'm gonna miss him too."

  I stood and shrugged his hand off my shoulder. I looked blankly into the distance. "He was the best of us. I don't know what to do now."

  "I'll take care of this mess."

  "Find that traitorous bitch and bring her to me."

  "Missy? She can't be the traitor."

  "She was in control. Cassiel clearly identified a female as telling him what to do."

  "I'll take care of it. Maybe you should rest."

  I nodded. Diana's body was thirsty and hungry. The weight of her flesh pressed against me. I needed a break from her. I went into the ship and had it prepare breakfast. It was ecstasy being able to eat--really eat--once again and it helped me escape from the horrible weight in my chest. Anil, I miss you already. After I was full I walked back to the Rrilk ship. Kyle had fashioned part of the cargo area into a prison. His Rrilk host, Ciirr controlled access to it. I walked Diana into an empty cell. They locked her inside. Kyle abandoned Bob in his cell as well. I checked each cell until they were all accounted for. I noticed even Azriel was locked in his cell. I'd been afraid Harb might not cooperate. He, however, was nowhere to be found.

  After resting for a while, I merged with Zhrrii and filled her in on the grim news. Phiirr, Anil's host, was particularly sad. He'd had many interesting philosophical discussions with Anil during their merges.

  "Anil may have been human, but he thought like Rrilk," Phiirr said. "And I never found out what a Twinkie was."

  Considering how gentle and noble the Rrilk were, I considered that a compliment of the highest order.

  The Shaval, on the other hand, were pissed. Diana still didn't know what had happened. Only Azriel and a few others had witnessed the fiasco while in full control of themselves. As a result, they had quite a few questions. Zhrrii and her people herded the Shaval into one room. The Rrilk were deathly afraid of the weapons and refused to use them so Kyle and Mike merged with their Shaval hosts to do the loathsome duty.

  "Your race has committed a horrendous crime against mine," I said to the gathered Shaval. I had merged with Diana and kept her consciousness awake so she could hear what I had to say. "Without thought or care, genocide was perpetrated against my people so you could use our planet as a plaything."

  "What are you talking about, Diana?" One of the less-informed Shaval said.

  "The former sentient beings on this planet," I said, placing an emphasis on "sentient".

  "There were no sentient beings here," Gabriel said. "The committees studied it with care."

  "As the life force of a former inhabitant, I'm telling you to forget what the committees said. We can take control of you whenever we wish. We could make you kill yourselves and be done with it."

  Gabriel's eyes widened and his wings looped protectively around his torso. "What do you want?"

  "To be left alone."

  "Nonsense," Azriel said. "We killed you once and we will finish the job."

  "Brave words, guardian." I gave him a contemptuous look. Diana had some awesome facial expressions for that. "Maybe you'll be the first we kill."

  "Then get on with it, fiend. No matter what your powers, you're not sentient. You're abominations, weak underdeveloped monstrosities, small of body, small of mind, and empty of the spark of sentience."

  I really wanted to hit Azriel. Right in the crotch. What would a sentient being do? "I don't know how your people define sentience, but we came back from the dead. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, bub."

  Azriel looked confused by the last part. I guess Earth idioms don't translate so well into Shaval.

  "We're in the hands of animals," Cassiel whined. "We're doomed, I tell you, doomed."

  At least I knew who the optimist of the bunch was.

  "None of you are doomed. Not unless you really piss me off. Then I'll introduce you to the Committee on Whoop Ass."

  Bethany's host, Laylah, gave me a sour look. "How do we know Diana hasn't simply sided with these…creatures?" She waved her hand at the Rrilk. "Filthy things. I don't know why--"

  She started dancing a jig. Laylah's eyes grew wide and she trilled out a scream. I'd had a few of my team prep for merges in case I needed to prove anything. The other Shaval backed away from Laylah until their backs were agains
t the walls. Laylah started walking like an Egyptian and I stifled a laugh.

  "Enough," I said, motioning for Bethany to stop. "Over the next couple of days, we're going to share our pain with you. You'll get a real education about Earth and what you've destroyed. At that point, you'll be asked to help us willingly."

  "Never," Azriel said, slashing his hand in the air.

  "I'll help you," Gabriel said.

  I waited a moment until Gabriel shook his head. Chris was in there, checking him out.

  "Gabriel, quick hint: Don't lie while you have a mind-reading ghost inside your head."

  His face turned red and he looked away.

  I left Diana's body and waited for the others to join me in one of the cargo bays. The cavernous bay was empty, save for scattered gray containers a few hundred yards away.

  "What do you think?" I asked, once everyone arrived. Missy was conspicuous in her absence.

  "I don't think they're capable of allying with us," Kyle said.

  Chris nodded. "Agreed. Just like the Rrilk have no concept of lying, these guys have no concept of any other species being their equal. It would be like us letting monkeys tell us what to do."

  "Maybe we would be better off flinging poop in their faces," Kyle said.

  I raised an eyebrow. "Um, let's try to educate them anyway," I said. "Maybe after they've lived with an active human mind in their heads they'll identify."

  "Who's taking Hadriel and Cassiel?" Mike asked.

  I glared at him and he looked away. "Where's Missy? I want to ask her some questions, face-to-face. Like why she betrayed us to these elitist bastards."

  "She claims she lost consciousness, Luce," Kyle said. "I don't think she did it."

  I fought to maintain control of my emotions. I wanted to tear into that stupid incompetent girl. "I want her brought to justice."

  "You don't have to look far," Missy said, walking into the circle. "I didn't do it."

  I flitted right up to her and chest bumped her like some testosterone-fueled retard. "Like hell you didn't. You killed Anil." I slapped her with everything I had.