Away Saga

by Norman Oro

  Dr. Rys relinquished most of the field energy at his command, only keeping control of the human collective, then notified the council that he would extinguish what remained of the Grell personally. He materialized on Praxis outside the fortress that served as the targeting group’s headquarters then walked through its walls. When he arrived in Envoy Kessler’s battle chamber, he found him alone, sitting in his chair. As he swiveled around to face him, Dr. Rys briefly noticed something strange about his appearance; however, he paid it no mind. He closed his eyes, morphed humanity’s field energy into that of the Grell’s, sliced into their collective then forced billions within the Domain to displace themselves into space just as they’d done on Earth. However, by doing so, he instantly learned everything they knew. It was a single fragment of information that set off a panic within him. His heart suddenly racing, he started returning as many Grell as he could to the surface. Horrified at what he was about to do, he could only quietly mouth the obvious.

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  The Grell had assumed that to cure themselves, they needed to extinguish the human race. It was that assumption which cost one hundred million people their lives. Their scientists had since confirmed that simply linking their shared consciousness to humanity’s immediately rendered the sickness permanently inert. In the instant when Envoy Kessler saw himself through Dr. Rys’s eyes, the Grell were cured. Looking more closely at him, the ambassador realized what it was that struck him as being so strange. He could see the whites in Piers Kessler’s eyes.

  “We were given a chance to prove something, Ambassador. I know that now. The Earth. You. It was a test. A chance to prove who we truly are. And I fear we did just that.”

  In all of humanity, Dr. Rys was the only one who could truly understand what those words meant. And consequently, he was the only one who could even consider clemency for the Grell after what they’d done. Although his own desire for vengeance still burned, he forced it under control. He then urged calm among his people and guided them through what he’d experienced as a Grell on Onav. After that, he connected them to the Domain’s shared consciousness. Instantly, the cries of despair, of profound and irreplaceable loss, echoing within the human collective grew a hundredfold. That was enough, just barely enough, to stay calls for extinguishing the Grell.

  Possibilities

  The wounds inflicted upon the Earth and her cities took several years to fully heal. Those inflicted upon the human race took much longer. Decades of gradual reconciliation had to pass before humanity completely let go of its resentment towards the Domain. After almost a century of concerted resistance from Earth’s representatives, the Grell were finally granted a permanent seat in the Alliance Council just months before the two hundredth anniversary of Earth’s accession.

  The festivities took place after a day of remembrance for those who perished a century earlier. Ide Meadow, who’d since become president of the council, gave the opening address on a bright, crisp February afternoon that was strikingly reminiscent of the day when diplomatic relations first began in New York City. The Alliance’s rebuilt headquarters, as well as a monument to what came to be known as the Battle of Wounded Earth, now stood in the heart of San Francisco.

  By then, the memory of the conflict had faded to the point where the Earth was once again filled by multitudes returning home to attend the ceremonies. Every great city on the planet was alive with the bustle of humanity. And for the first time, the Grell were there also. Within a year after having been cured, their appearance had reverted to what it was before the Test, making them indistinguishable from humanity, the Cley, the Ta’oh or any other Alliance race that had evolved human features. Dr. Rys made certain their new guests were made to feel welcome. Ultimately his well-intentioned efforts proved unnecessary as the desire to let go of the long-standing enmity between the Earth and the Domain had already taken root throughout the Alliance. To signify that historic transition, it was the newly elected Grell representative to the Alliance Council, Pret Zin, who spoke during the closing ceremonies.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, honored guests, I am deeply moved by your graciousness in having me speak before you today. I’d especially like to thank Ambassador Rys, whose selfless efforts helped to heal the decades-long rift that existed between the Grell and humanity. As most of you know, I have seen and been many things in my long life. However, I can honestly say that this moment I am living together with all of you, here and now, is unlike any other I’ve ever experienced. I am both humbled and inspired by its possibilities. You can probably tell, but more than anything, that’s the artist in me speaking. You see, long ago, I was once a sculptor. Like my father and his father before him, I loved the feeling of slicing into a slab of metal, and harnessing often contradictory impulses, principles and ideas to realize its inherent possibilities, to give that piece of metal life. And perhaps that’s what this moment in our shared history calls for. Not just diplomats, or representatives, or sovereigns, but artists, people skilled at reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable then making something of it. One of the most striking aspects of immortality is that it seems to thwart all attempts at consistency. Sometimes I wonder if that isn’t the point. Consistency would demand that the Domain and the Alliance be eternal foes. Consistency would have us still be at each others’ throats. Consistency would, strangely enough, be the enemy of reconciliation. As someone who has personally witnessed and dealt out so much death and suffering, I reject any such consistency. I reject the straitjacket of the past. I am tired of death. I am tired of war. All I wish for now is peace. Peace as we close an ages-long and troubled chapter in my people’s history; and peace as we begin a new one together within the Alliance. Thank you all once again. Go with God.”

  -End-