by Richard Sosa
From out of nowhere someone stepped in their path and raised a weapon with propeller-like blades that spun rapidly making a chirping sound. Rik froze in a defense stand with his hand instinctively slapping his side for his weapon and pulling Iris protectively behind him all within a split second. She smiled. The person checked his instrument, nodded to Iris and walked off.
Rik looked side to side, heart racing and then he turned around and watched the person walking away and conferring with others. “What the hell. What just happened? Who's following us? Crap. Are you safe being with me? Let’s get back to your place. I need to focus on finding my brother.”
Iris shrugged.
Rik felt his pockets and dread covered him like night, making him stop abruptly. “Oh, Gods. I lost it. I lost something. Damn. I am a jackass. I lost it.”
Iris watched his frantic hand movements through all his pockets as he repeated the search and then knelt to rummaged through his backpack. Talking into the bag Rik said, “God damn it, damn it to hell, I lost it. I can’t believe I lost it,” he looked up at Iris, “can we walk back the same way to retrace our steps?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong? Don’t worry we’re safe. What is it that you’re looking for now? Did you lose a weapon? What’s a Jackass?” Rik ignored her as he continued to search, she frowned, “Afraid? Now I get it. Are you afraid of us? Why? You just can't be. No one wants to hurt you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Rik said as he frantically searched his pockets again, “how could I have lost it?” he dumped his backpack on the ground and inspected the contents, “I lost it. I can’t believe I lost it.”
“We have everything we need let’s go back to my flat,” Iris said as she inspected the contents of his bag scattered on the ground.
“We didn’t go into any stores. We haven’t done any shopping,” Rik continued to search
but was confused, “how can we be done?”
“Speak for yourself,” Iris said, “I’ve been running our order and it
should be waiting for us when we get home.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Can we retrace our steps back to your house then? But first I need to do this,” he walked over to an out of way area and dumped his bag on a cleared spot on the ground, then carefully accounted for all the contents, “Damn it. It’s gone,” he said in disbelief.
Chapter Eight
A large drone flew close overhead as Rik and Iris walked toward her porch. Rik ducked wildly. “What the hell is that?” The drone hovered at the porch and dropped a pouch and then flew toward another unit.
“Gezz, calm down Rik. What’s wrong with you?” Iris said.
Inside Iris put away supplies and noticed Rik looking at her messy kitchen table with her futuristic looking tools littered on it. “I know, sorry I don’t have a lot of guests these days the place is a mess. Why were you looking on the ground walking home and not paying attention to anything else?”
“I lost something important. I can’t figure out how and I don’t know how to recover it.”
She eyed his locator technology on the table. He picked it up and started tinkering with it, “maybe if I can modulate the receiver, it can connect to the nano-isolator seven range and magnify it for my DNA. It’s a long shot but I need to try.”
Iris sat at her terminal and started typing then read quickly all the recent information gathered about Rik. Turning from her computer she said, “If someone finds this cube thing, they can return it. What exactly is it?”
“it’s a cube. A square.”
“Duh, Yeah, we know that already but what is it?”
“Wait, how the hell do you know it’s a cube?”
“From the general scan, according to the records I am reading, there was a cube thing in one of your pockets. What is it?”
“A family heirloom.”
Iris blew a breath out hard and rolled her eyes as she typed. “O.K. if someone happens to find it, they will return it to an Owner’s Collection Sort Center Unit close to here and it will be shipped. But what is it? I need to type in the description.”
“I can’t say.”
“You can’t or won’t”
Iris finished typing and reading on her terminal and she smiled to herself. “I entered a large finder’s fee so if it gets returned to us, you’ll need about five thousand credits.”
“I don’t have anything or credits. Is that currency or something? I don’t have it. My technology hasn’t been able to replicate your currency for me.”
Iris turned around and started typing while speaking. “I have a massive headache because of you. You’re evasive. You’ll owe the government a ton of credits if they pay for you because they add a fee. You’ll end up in a retaining camp for a long time while you wait for a court appearance. If they know what it is, they can waive the fee. If they find out you’re making credits through your technology, well that’s another crime.”
Rik’s expression was terrified. “No, I am not a criminal.”
“Well damn it, you act and sound like one,” she slammed her IARI device down. Silence. Rik looked at the door to escape.
She smiled. “Just messing with you. I am making that up, relax.”
“You sure know how to twist me up and you enjoy it. You’re a complete bastard,” Rik noticed his hands were sweaty.
“Seriously now, Rik, we all know you are not from this planet and you can’t deceive anyone about that. Why are you here?”
“I sorta followed you home and –”
“No. Damn you. You didn't just follow me that’s a stupid response. Why the hell are you here? What planetary system are you from? What is your purpose in coming here? Why? Simple. Just tell me.”
Rik was frozen and stopped tinkering with his locator on her kitchen table and said. “I’ve never had that question put to me before. You're supposed to be afraid and maybe violent toward me not ask me what planetary system I am from. This must be some very bad dream.”
“Snap out of it then and start talking and being truthful. I am losing patience with you. At first, it was fun playing with you but violence toward you is starting to be a better option for me.”
“I don't even know how I got here.”
Iris turned and typed into her device roughly and showed the screen to Rik. He looked at it, but the symbols were gibberish. She crushed her head in her hand in frustration and continued. “Everyone's applying Rathsam's Test and they are reaching conclusions. I have a few myself.”
“What's Rathsam's Test?”
She stared at him for a long second and then typed. “More evidence. If you are from this planet you would know at least that,” Iris continued to type and spoke out loud as she typed, “dumb ass doesn't know RT method. Access file seventeen seven-five. Dumb ass is non-cooperative and a complete liar.”
“Dumb ass? Did you just call me dumb ass? Right, O.K. show me what people are saying about me. I can’t read text unless someone speaks the words first and helps my translator begin to apply the syntax and pronunciation rules.”
Iris handed her IARI to him and he pointed to the first word concentrating his translator. “O.K. read each word slowly as I point to it.”
Iris followed his finger on the words reading, “Command operations concludes that the gamma radiation indicates a higher than the currently known speed at a ratio of 4598 by 7485. The pod has traces of spectrum element Ragnin-Tid Seven and deep space iron ore.”
“O.K. I got it from here I can read the rest of this.” Rik sat back, hand in his hair, as he read silently the information on the IARI and then said, “Is this a secret document for military eyes only?”
She re-looked at the text and information. “No, that’s the common net. This is information everyone is reading, sharing and adding to the original data. The researcher from Tram-Sec Institute of Weights and Measures who scanned you with the Gramphar 805 Separator at the village center today and the people who collected the data on the material on your jacket and my hands are forming theories ab
out that polymer substance and its origin.”
“Everyone cleared for this information already knows about me?” Rik frowned and continued to read the IARI screen.
“Yeah. What do you mean ‘cleared’?”
“Allowed or approved to have the information.”
Iris confirmed her agreement with a slight nod and stretched. “With something this basic everyone is participating in this information-gathering project and reaching time-dependent conclusions. There are no clearances for this type of information, it’s too generic.”
“There’s no wide-spread panic or killing each other in the streets? People aren’t freaking out. I am surprised by that.” Rik said.
“Why would there be panic?”
“O.K. Well your world just found out a visitor from another planet has arrived.”
“Why would that create a panic?”
Rik frowned and said, “well your world just found out a visitor from another planet arrived…”
Iris stared at him with a blank expression.
“I’ll tell you everything,” Rik said as he ran his hand through his hair while frowning.
Iris scooted up next to him. “Can I record this? I’ll share it on the common web, and anyone can add information.”
“O.K. but you’re going to think I am crazy—”
“Oh, no worries I already do.”
Rik gathered his thoughts. “I've traveled maybe thousands of years in time to get here. My home is in the Vega System, but I am not sure if you can locate it from here. My last location was called Da-earra by its residents but astrologically on the star system, it is known as Teroibiu 7487 ASL. It has one small sun and eight planets and three hundred sixty planetoids in the gravity of the sun. It sits in the gravity draw of three large primary stars, with sixty similar solar systems with eight thousand planets and three million sub-level planetoids.”
Iris typed on her device as he spoke, adjusting controls to add 360 imaging. “Nice. Continue.”
“I don't know why I am here maybe fate or something. Is that unbelievable to you, the traveled thousands of years in time part?”
Iris read instant responses on her device. “The fate comment is not accurate. You know, you’re just not saying, right? The data doesn’t support thousands of sun cycles in time, at least that is what the academics are saying. They believe that your ‘years’ might mean about two-point-one of our solar cycles so maybe a three hundred of these ‘years’ maybe less. The common net is fielding lots of theories and now I get to add a few of mine also. But the most probable theory is what your gamma signatures indicate about your pathway to here. Your trajectory was planned or programmed precisely. Statistically, according to Doctor Rahtha-jec, your arrival was directly linked to your prior location.”
Rik looked over at Iris’ IARI. “Who’s saying what? What the hell is Rathsam's Test? What is the Common net thing you keep talking about and who the hell is Doctor Rah something jec?”
She rolled her eyes. “Doctor Rahtha-jec. Astrophysics and chief scientist using his calibrations to position our long-range telescopes. Aren’t you listening, how many times do I have to tell you these things? ‘RT Process’, starts with the simplest explanation then creates a hypothesis, then you gather objective data, test the hypothesis, then formulate a theory. Repeat testing and formulate a working theory.”
Rik was immediately interested. “I understand, that’s Pregrom method for science and Grermati cluster gathering method for social science.”
Iris ignored him. “Replicate conclusions share with criteria and assumptions. Everyone else does the same and as a result in the common net morphs with a ranking of statistically probable best working theories as more and more data informs it. Simple.”
Rik sat back and put his hand through his hair. “A rational science aware process. Maybe I don't have to run or be afraid of people with torches and religious fervor chasing me and dragging me off to the castle tower to face the gallows. I don’t have to run and hide.” Rik thought for a long moment as Iris watched him and said, “I do that a lot, running.”
Iris’ facial expression turned harsh and angry and she typed on her device with forceful keystrokes again. “Gods, you’re maddening. What a lot? You're making my head hurt again. Running? Torches? Castle tower? Start again. Did you think we would harm you?”
“Running. Yeah, I need to find my brother I can't leave without him.”
“Leave? You, want to just leave? Let me get this straight you show up when you want and make a mess of things all over the place and then leave? Damn typical.”
“Typical? Of what?”
“You know. It’s as if I am talking to a Galiput.”
Rik looked at her confused then concentrated on the data from his translator in his brain. “Wait, Galiput, a bovine. You think I am a cow?”
“Whatever, start again. I don’t know what a cow is, torches, a cow? Who’s going to harm you? We need to know that part the most. Do the cows have weapons? Are the torches some type of tracking device? What groups are going to harm you with torches? God’s, is the Castle tower a weapon also? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?”
Rik stared at her and smiled. “I am just fooling with you.”
“Not funny spaceman asshole, I have a mind to kick you.”
“I think we’re both confused. Let’s start over. First, forget about the torches and the castle tower and cows, those are words from old Da-earra movies about monsters scaring the backward villagers and the scary monster being killed by a mob of frightened religious people.”
Iris understood some words but remained confused. She frowned and then read from her device. “Tell me about the harrowing and give me details please.”
“How the hell did you know that? There must be more data gathering here than I realized.”
“Come on you can tell us. We’re not afraid.”
“You should be,” Rik looked away at a corner of the room, “you should be.”
“Tell us. Damn it.”
“What the hell? Leave me alone.”
“O.K. Settle down Rik.”
“You settle down.”
Iris folded her hands and looked up at the ceiling frustrated. “We can stop. If this is too much for you. You appear nervous. I’ll stop questioning, you need some meds to calm you down?”
Rik inspected the carpet and Iris’ shoes. “I don’t need meds. A harrow is unlike a harvest. A harrow has no regard for the land or the gift it is providing. When a harvest occurs on these planets it’s a happy time, gifts from the land to survive and hope for the future. Harvest is the potential realized.”
“Shut the hell up, I know what the hell a harvest is.”
Rik didn’t lift his head. “A harrowing is rape and destruction of both life and potential as beings. You will be eradicated and replaced by a new slave corp and your purpose will end. When the harrowing starts it's too late. Too late to change things because everything is going to be destroyed with nothing left to begin again.” Rik wrung his hands and wiped them vigorously on his pants. Iris watched. Rik looked at her face, “I can't stay long, and I have to find my brother. There, done. I said what I need to say.”
“What are you saying? You're too self-centered to change things, you’re too powerless to help or you’re just an asshole? It’s an important difference.”
Rik looked at her angry eyes. “If you weren’t so cute, I’d wring your neck.”
“Go for it, I’ll break your arms.” Iris stood prepared to fight. Rik stood up lazily but ready. They watched each other for a long moment.
“Just shut up about the asshole part. I am trapped in this thing like you. My people acquired technology to time travel—”
“Blah, blah, tell the truth”
“I am. Damn you. Sit down. You want me to talk than listen.”
Iris sat, folded her hands and deferred to him.
“The technology turned out to be a curse,” Rik said, “we never the hell bargained for th
is. I am a soldier. Was, am, I don’t know anymore. We’re supposed to help these worlds, but—"
“But?”
“Let me talk. But the on-going war is kicking our ass. Our technology is aging. Most of us are dead now. It's done and we’ve lost.”
“Done? Like complete. Harrowing? Like Travsik (rape)? Hurmar is our harvest time but you’re babbling on about something much different, aren’t you? It's not Hurmar Season yet.”
“What? Hurmar?” Rik frowned.
They stared at each other confused then Rik spoke. “I guess I have to show you because you won't want to believe this,” he paused. “I shouldn't show you this. This must be our secret. Promise me. No one else can be allowed to view these images.” Rik stared at Iris for a moment, “turn off any recording.”
Iris keyed data in her IARI and looked at him expectantly. Rik reached into his backpack on the floor and pulled out his laptop computer. He cleared a space on the table, opened the laptop as Iris watched his strange technology closely for the first time. He tapped to display and a three-dimensional image that slowly spun around appeared. With a ‘blip’ sound the unit began to build images that floated above the Laptop. Iris held a pen-like instrument connected to her IARI in remote status hidden from Rik. The images began to form in the laptop screen and transferred to a halo three-dimensional image projected from the screen. First, there was static as the technology found a host and then the display came into focus. Iris jumped back by the sudden screaming from the streamed images but recovered and held her scanner to capture the scenes. Rik’s Laptop streamed images with a timeline in an unknown language that flashed rapidly below the images. The Orbs were advancing into a city and the planetary defenses were being defeated and vaporized. The chaos compounded as panic and death came into full view with the defenseless population unable to stop the invasion. Many humanoids began to kill each other, and futuristic flying machines fell from the sky in a failed attempt to halt the advancing Orbs. Fires consumed everything. Another timeline came on and the images blinked then flashed and the same scenes repeated for other planets powerless to fight. These defenders used jets with propulsion engines and solid-fuel rockets that did not affect the Orbs. Iris almost fell backward when a blinding white light flashed on the halo images as a nuclear bomb exploded on top of the Orbs.