by Les Broad
EPILOGUE
The years passed quickly on Aupes. Nikki's son, David, was joined by a sister, but not before Alison had a son and Patlu a daughter. Eventually Alison produced another son while Patlu outdid the rest of the family with another daughter and twin sons. Plisfou astounded everyone when an invitation to join Scott's family was made and accepted. That family proved just as prolific as the others, helping the population of Gifford to grow rapidly.
That, of course, was just as it had been planned before they left Earth. The Silomiala also produced its fair share of offspring and the artificial insemination programme was a resounding success. As time passed, the Aupesians looked more and more favourably on the family way of life and it soon began to supplant the old ways.
Central to the development of the joint communities was the extraction of information from the computer systems. It was an exercise that took years to complete, but that and the commitment to paper of knowledge brought from Earth allowed an efficient education system to be established, teaching both Earth and Aupes history and language. Almost all children were comfortably bilingual and during Nikki's lifetime neither language showed any sign of dying out.
A transport infrastructure was gradually built, connecting all the Botijjo cities by road and Sarrijjo by sea. Several large solar powered vessels were built and the whole planet was explored and mapped properly. It took a long time, but eventually the concept of holidays became accepted with trips to purpose-built resorts becoming popular.
All this was done with no financial system at all and nobody missed that way of dealing. People just did what was necessary and each could be relied upon to use whatever talent he possessed to the best of his ability. Nikki watched this evolving with a huge amount of pleasure through her advancing years as she gradually accepted the role of the respected matriarch of Gifford. She retained the position of Jukkakique at Botijjo #2 throughout her life, gaining as much respect from the Aupesians as she had from those who came with her from Earth.
There was an alarm when a vehicle was detected entering the Aupes system. At the time Louise was at Botijjo #2 visiting her son's family and Plisfou was at Gifford, so there was just a little mild panic until Plisfou, heavily pregnant, flew up to watch the progress of the alien. She asserted that it was no more than a periodic visit by a race known to the Aupesians to a planet further out in the system, but Louise insisted on a constant watch anyway. The craft landed where Plisfou said it would, stayed for eight days and then left. Plisfou was completely unruffled by the whole affair, whereas Louise was mightily relieved when the aliens disappeared.
Otherwise life on Aupes proceeded in an entirely orderly fashion. Sporting and recreational activities increased as leisure time became ever more available thanks to the robotisation of many tasks previously carried out manually. Naturally, in time death had to be faced as the original settlers grew old. Nikki, Alison and Patlu bore Bryn's death stoically; the more so because he was the first of them to die. He was given a secular but moving funeral, attended quite voluntarily by the whole population of Gifford and surprisingly large numbers of people from all the Aupesian cities. Nikki felt a swelling of maternal love as her son spoke eloquently and confidently to the vast gathering about his pride in his father. At twenty five years of age David exhibited his mother's ability to lead as well as his father's engineering aptitude and his performance that day earned him an ovation from those attending the funeral.
Perhaps the maturity of her son surprised Nikki. He was not the oldest of the children born on Aupes, although many had been born after him. Even so, his mother felt a little jolted when she realised that the next generation were already taking over. But, she thought, if David is typical of those into whose custody we bequeath the planet there is nothing at all to be worried about. Of course, the succeeding generation did slowly take over, producing in their turn grandchildren of the original settlers. There was a little confusion as the Aupesians, and the children born of Aupesian mothers and genetically modified human fathers, had a much greater life expectancy than the humans and children of human fathers and genetically modified Aupesian mothers. With each succeeding generation, however, the difference became less marked and the genetic modification that was necessary became, overall, less. It was a constant task for the biochemists to monitor each individual and concoct specific modifications for each family, but gradually the need for any changes at all to genetic make-up would disappear.
Nikki was in her seventy sixth year when she was told that the means now existed to undertake space travel once again. She was, by now, a good deal less sprightly than in her youth, but her mind was still sharp enough to realise that Earth would be the prime destination. Yes, she was informed, there was capability to reach Earth and return. Would it be safe on the surface, she asked, and was there any evidence from the satellite that vegetation was growing? The answer she received was vague and noncommittal. She insisted on looking for herself, but could see no green growth on the surface of Earth. She wasn't surprised by this but was by her reaction, which was one of disappointment. She counselled against an expedition, but it left anyway, expecting to be away for a little over four years. A crew of six, which included Plisfou's younger daughter, had been chosen to go on a mission whose objective was to return with a representative selection of Earth culture. Paintings, sculpture, books and music were the main targets.
Nikki watched as the rebuilt Aupesian ship left the planet, and she wondered if she would live to see the return. Of course, they might not return at all.
The four years passed in a routine of births, the inevitable deaths and yet more progress in developing a technologically advanced society. Eventually the time came when the expedition should return and Nikki, a little more frail but constantly accompanied by the devoted Patlu, took to spending hours every day watching the satellite warning for any sign of the returning ship. One day she even admitted to Patlu that she could only die happy once the travellers had returned safely. But still the days and weeks passed with no ship entering the Aupes system.
The time came when Nikki could no longer spend her days watching the warning system. She began making arrangements to hand over the klupixij, the symbol of the Jukkakique's authority, to Fejoq, who had held the position temporarily on Masaya's death. Fejoq, who still expected to live for another century, was willing to accept but was clearly upset at seeing Nikki descending quickly into despair. The handover was conducted with all due formality and the new Jukkakique tried to do everything in her power to make Nikki's fading life as comfortable as possible.
Nikki knew, deep within herself, that she had been right to advise against the expedition to Earth, and that another six bodies now lay there, poisoned by the same toxic clouds that killed everyone left behind over half a century before. Her final thought as she drifted from life into death was that Earth was just as hostile to the Aupesians now as it had always been.
Nikki was buried next to her beloved Bryn a week later.
Again, David, flanked by Patlu and the now so delicate Alison, spoke to the assembled crowds, comprised of almost the entire population of Aupes.
"My mother is dead," he said, his voice trembling just a little, "and I think I can safely say that we will, each and every one of us, miss her. There are six of us, however, who will not have the opportunity to grieve for her and she would have wanted me to spare a moment to remember them, the last victims of humanity's madness on Earth, and to offer our sympathy to their loved ones." David stopped speaking and lowered his head, the silent crowd following his example.
"Throughout her life my mother said many things to me that I will remember, just as she did to so many of you. In particular there is one thing that I want this day to be remembered for, and it is this.
"Over a long period the Aupesians visited Earth regularly and interbred with humans. Stories of alien presence on Earth were either ignored or ridiculed, but those who knew they had come and had bred with them were, without knowing it, the m
ost important people on Earth. It is because of them that my mother was able to choose such dedicated people to come here - it is no coincidence that almost all were the results of the Aupesian experiments on Earth. That those people were so dedicated is a testimony to the Aupesians, and it enabled us, when we arrived, to do what we did to correct the terrible wrongs that humanity had inflicted on its guests. We are surely one race now, whether of human or Aupesian origin, and now let us go forward as one, living in peace and harmony without ever again unleashing death on the scale seen both here and on Earth.
"Let us continue the work she started, in the spirit in which she worked, so that the society we create here is a living memorial not only to a civilised race but also to the dream of a truly great woman."
THE END - OF THE BEGINNING
GLOSSARY OF SELECTED AUPESIAN TERMS
akkuzu - herbal beverage
Aupes - homeworld
Aupesian - Intelligent human-like species
bokkaxel - robot
bokkaxen - robots
Botijjo - Aupesian continent
dey - and
dijjixol - apartment
gaggoxol - office or place of work
jaril - man
jarilen - men or males
jeje - to fly (v.)
jejevejil - aircraft, vtol
Jukkakique - strategist Commander
kamiaxxiz - breeding table
kekkenz - wheat cake
klupixij - small mace, symbol of Jukkakique authority
kulgnik - urine
omia - female member of breedstock
Omiakique - Breedstock Commander
Paxavorra - Aggressive human-like species
ravtapijj - tapijjux used for construction
rekkazixij - laboratory
Roxtamol - Attack troops
roxx - to attack (v.)
Roxxakique - Attack Commander
Sarrijjo - Aupesian continent
sil - woman
silen - women or females
Silomiala - Breeding stock
tapijjux - metallo-plastic raw material
tekrajej - satellite
Vixtamol - Defence troops
vixx - to defend (v.)
Vixxakique - Defence Commander
zaxtapijj - tapijjux used for clothing
zijjek - intoxicating drink
0 - el
1 - vo
2 - na
3 - be
4 - zu
5 - te
6 - ov
7 - mi
8 - pe
9 - ko
24 (example) - na-zu
153 (example) - vo-te-be
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Les Broad is originally from the deep south eastern corner of England but insists that at least a quarter of him - the left arm, perhaps including the shoulder - is by historical accident Welsh. He says that his affection for the written word has its roots in a schooldays French lesson one wet winter Wednesday: that lesson included an introduction to the writing of Albert Camus and it has been but a short step, accomplished in a mere four decades, from that point to becoming a writer himself.
His first love might be science fiction, albeit the sub-class of the genre that he calls 'believable sci-fi', but he has on occasion wandered into other areas: some have been generous enough to call his funny stuff humour.
The point has been reached in his life where, whenever he is passed by a big, slow-moving, black, estate car, he asserts that he actually feels quite jealous of whoever is lying down in the back. If, therefore, he is to attain his ambition of being an answer to a crossword clue in one of the better Sunday newspapers he really needs you and all your friends to buy copies of this book!
Until the point arrives where he actually gets his ride in that big black car he expects to carry on living in North Wales, where his life is dominated by a wife and lamenting the loss of his border collie bitch.