Tiera still couldn’t see anything, since her phone was pointed uselessly at a white wall, but she heard a sudden hiss. That’s the door.
“What’s that?” she heard herself ask in English.
There was a bit of silence, then Tiera heard the professor respond in Original. “It’s alright. Nobody here will hurt you—I’ll make sure of it. Just come with me.”
The video showed movement as Tiera exited the “generator” with the professor and the younger man, then it showed the different sculptures and bits and pieces of the small group that stood in this room. I wish I had pointed it at them at least. She saw seamless shoes and pants in varying colors, and occasionally a set of folded arms or a confused-looking face. Is that woman Byrani? Tiera thought, catching a glimpse of the almost-Polynesian woman again.
A male voice broke the silence. “You should send it back.”
“The professor knows what he’s doing.”
“What are you doing, Professor?”
“She looks just like us! How is this possible?”
“We should get security in here now, shouldn’t we?”
“Parliament will want to hear about this! This changes everything!”
“What if she has some sort of infectious disease? Are you going to test her, professor?”
“Where are you taking her?”
These were the only comments Tiera could make out in the din that assaulted her phone’s microphone—any others were lost as different students spoke over each other. The questions were suddenly cut off at the same time that the video showed the door shut behind her.
So why did he take me here? Why didn’t he send me back? Why teach me his language instead of test me for diseases? This video was raising more questions than it was answering for Tiera.
For a while, the video only showed the white wall of the hallway, occasionally interrupted by an indentation that Tiera now recognized as a door. Tiera heard her flats slap against the smooth floor, and saw the wall brighten a bit, then darken. I think I’m passing the window here.
Tiera heard a soft whoosh that sounded like the door to this office, then watched as the video showed her enter the room. The camera was pointed a bit behind her, so Tiera saw the door slowly slide shut—something she hadn’t noticed before. After a moment of listening to the professor set up the monitor, Tiera heard her own voice again.
“What do you want me to do with this?”
“You’re probably wondering what I want you to do,” the professor responded in Original. “I need your help to calibrate my language-learning software—you’ll need to read that later. But first I need to figure out what letters make what sounds in your language.”
I knew it, Tiera thought, listening hard through the silence that followed.
“It’s water,” Tiera heard herself say. “Are you asking if I’m thirsty?”
“It’s a cloud.”
“A lightbulb.”
“A sink. A toilet. A—” Tiera paused the video and skipped ahead a bit. She had already spent three days using the language learning software—she definitely didn’t feel like going through all of that again. She used the preview that the cursor gave her to try and guess when it was that the professor picked up her phone. When she found a promising place to skip to, she pushed play.
Tiera heard nothing, but the camera angle jolted upward and she saw herself for the first time since the video started. She looked very out of place in her gray and blue USU Aggies shirt, jeans, and gold pleather purse. Her purse matched her flats, as well as the highlights in her meticulously messy hair. The worst thing was the expression on her face though. I look like a zombie! And—oh! Tiera saw the metallic stickers on the side of her head in the video, remembering that they were still on her now. She peeled them off carefully with one hand, never taking her eyes off her phone.
Finally, the professor turned the phone around so it would record his own face. “My name is Dr. Kert Yematoro, professor at Faroa Technological University. I am what you Origin aristocrats would call an insurrectionist,” he filled the word with spite, “but we are so much more, as you will soon see. I hereby denounce Origin’s right to rule—its claim to government. I have placed in this woman’s unconscious mind the key to our revolution. She does not know it, but she and her planet will be your downfall.”
Chapter 6
The video was over.
Tiera stared at the phone in her hand, unsure how to interpret what the professor—Kert—had just said. Do I really know the language? Did I translate all of that wrong? Tiera wasn’t sure that was possible—Original felt just as familiar to her as English always had, thanks to whatever voodoo technology Kert was using. And everything else she had heard in the video made sense, from the Byrani woman over the intercom to the group of disgruntled researchers. Or are they students? I guess this is a university.
Her phone’s screen went black, still on the camera app, locking itself because of disuse. Tiera set it carefully on the floor and stood up, watching it like it might bite. He said he put something into my unconscious mind. What does that mean? Tiera walked back to the desk and gingerly laid a hand on it. He put an entire language into my unconscious mind—but that couldn’t have been it. What did that have to do with a revolution?
Tiera turned around suddenly, then marched over to her phone. He wanted someone else to see this. Someone in the government. That means this could get me into trouble. Tiera looked around the room again, wary of cameras or any other indication that she was being watched. She only briefly glanced out the window, more concerned with the office she was in, but what she saw outside made her freeze in place.
Almost every office window of the wing adjacent to her own was completely see-through now, and in every one she could see multiple occupants—all of them staring directly at her.
Tiera slowly picked up her phone, then backed away from the window. Why are they all looking at me? Do they know I’m not from here? She looked at the phone in her hand. Will this get me into more trouble? Should I delete the video? She remembered how much she wanted to catch the light sphere on video—how much she needed the video to prove what had happened to her when she got back home. If she got back home.
After a moment of deliberation, Tiera put her phone into her purse. If Kert can make software that can teach you a new language in three days, he can definitely make another video. Deleting this one won’t matter.
A hollow pounding resounded from the door to the hallway, and Tiera thought she could see the shadow of someone’s fist on the other side of it. It must be made of the same material as the window. Tiera approached the door, anxious. She thought she remembered how Kert had held his hand on it so it would open, but who knew who was on the other side?
Tiera had an idea. She put her right thumb and index finger on the door and slowly slid them apart from each other, hoping a translucent circle would appear between them, like a peep hole. But nothing happened, and whoever was at the door began knocking again—this time more urgently. Tiera tried again. And again. Then leaned forward, trying to squint through the foggy material to make out whoever was on the other side.
Once her face was a couple inches away from the door, two translucent circles appeared in front of each eye, and she could clearly see a group of five people in plum-colored uniforms just outside. Each one of them looked directly at her.
Now that her curiosity was sated, Tiera’s anxiety got the best of her, and she stumbled backward and into the chair she was all too familiar with. “Nobody’s home!” Tiera said to herself, hoping they would go away. But they didn’t. Tiera heard something clang against the door, and the next instant it was open.
“Where is Kert Yematoro? How did you get into Professor Aldeda Sivia’s office? What are you doing in here?” The man who barked all of these questions took the point position in his pack, and the rest of the uniforms filed in behind him until they surrounded Tiera—though one of them went to the window and touched it, turning it opaque on
ce more. Everyone wore the same purple jumpsuit, a uniform not unlike the white suits that Kert and his companion wore, though these seemed much more militant—and at the same time more elegant. The half collar, the pant legs tucked into tight gray boots, the long sleeves coming to a point at the knuckle of the middle finger. It all took Tiera by surprise.
“Answer me!” the man barked again. Tiera could tell he was the leader, if not by his demanding language then by the silver crest on the left breast of his fitted uniform. He looked like he was in his early thirties, he sported a jet black buzz cut, and he had heavy-lidded eyes that somehow made him look even more intimidating. Like the others, he kept his right hand at his hip, and Tiera realized they all had light gray batons of some kind. No guns then. Good.
“Leon,” a female officer with platinum blond hair addressed the leader, “if what Kert’s students told us is true, then this woman can’t understand us. She isn’t even from our galaxy.”
No no no no no no! Tiera tried frantically to pretend she heard something else. I have to be on Earth. This isn't possible!
“She was the last . . . person to see Kert Yematoro,” Leon responded, apparently unsure of what to call Tiera. “Or she was the last person he was seen with. We need her to tell us where he went. Especially after that . . . message.”
“What message?” The words were out of Tiera’s mouth before she could stop them.
All of the officers but Leon regarded her with a look of surprise. “Well never mind,” the blonde officer said, mostly to herself. She didn’t miss a beat however. “Answer Chief Uedent’s questions,” she demanded, though not unkindly. Tiera guessed that she was referring to Leon by his professional title, now that she knew Tiera could understand them. “Where is Kert Yematoro?”
“I . . . I don’t know. He left me here,” Tiera explained. “What message?” Is it the same message he left on my phone? Did he somehow take the video off of my phone? Tiera didn’t want to give them access to her phone if they didn’t already know what Kert said about her.
“So he brought you here,” Leon said, ignoring Tiera’s question. “Why?”
Tiera looked at the officers around her, weighing her options. She slowly stood up, and they all tensed. Leon even took his baton off of his belt. “Tell me what the message was first,” Tiera told him. Everyone in the room was watching Leon, his expression cool and calculating.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. “Everyone in the city saw that message. It was on every piece of smart glass, every holo-box.” (They had a unique word in Original for “smart glass,” but Tiera mentally replaced it the English phrase she invented.) Leon looked at her for another moment. “You didn’t see it?” He sounded incredulous.
“No, I didn’t.”
After another calculating pause, Leon pulled out his smart glass and held it out so that Tiera could see. It displayed an image of her face, then skipped to Kert’s. He started speaking.
“My name is Dr. Kert Yematoro, professor at Faroa Technological University.” Tiera recognized the opening line of the message that Kert left on her own phone. The rest of the message was the same as well.
When the video finished, Leon put his smart glass away. “Why did Kert Yematoro bring you here?” he asked again.
They already know what he said about me. Tiera frowned at Leon, thinking. “Here,” she said simply, reaching into her purse.
“Stop! What are you doing?” Everyone had their batons out at this point.
Tiera took a deep breath. At least they’re not guns, she thought, then she slowly put her hands up. “My phone,” Tiera stopped, realizing she had used an English word. “I mean, my smart glass is in my purse. It has the rest of the video that Kert’s message came from.”
“Take it,” Leon ordered, nodding to an officer on Tiera’s right. Tiera wasn’t sure if the officer was male or female, but that didn’t really matter—the officer took her purse and started to carefully sort through it.
“Is this it?” the officer asked, finally finding Tiera’s phone. The officer, thin eyebrows furrowed, sounded genuinely confused.
“Yeah, that’s what they look like on—well—on my planet,” Tiera said. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to referring to her home as her planet.
“Activate it,” Leon said curtly. The other officer handed the phone to Tiera, and she unlocked it. The screen had locked on the video, so all she had to do was press play and hold it out for everyone to see. Tiera struggled to keep still for the entire video, so when it was finally over she dropped her arm in relief.
“That explains why she already speaks Original,” the blonde officer said, folding her arms. “When did this all take place? Kert was last seen three days ago.”
Tiera appreciated her kinder tone. At least it’s kinder than Leon’s.
“It was three days ago. I’ve been here ever since—the language program took that long.” Tiera shook her head. “I wasn’t really aware of the time. I feel like I just woke up.”
Leon looked Tiera up and down, then looked around the room. “How did you stay in this one room for three days?”
Understanding what he was implying, Tiera pointed to the bedpan on the chair next to her.
“Oh.”
Tiera remembered something from when all of the officers first entered the room. “Leon—or Chief Oo-eh-whatever—you said that this was a different professor’s office, right? Why didn’t that professor find me? I just assumed it was Kert’s office.”
Leon didn’t look like he wanted to tell her, so the nice blonde officer spoke up. “Professor Sivia is heading up an environmental study on Hyran, and she isn’t due to return for another two weeks. That’s why when the window opened—and when the witnesses recognized you from Kert’s message—we came here. No one is supposed to have access to this office.”
“Right,” Tiera said. “Is Hyran another—?”
“We’ll need that for evidence,” Leon interrupted, gesturing for Tiera to give him her phone.
What is his problem? Tiera felt like he was being unpleasant on purpose. “Well I need it for evidence too,” she said. “For when I get home.”
“You’re not going anywhere until we learn the ‘key to revolution’ that Kert Yematoro put in you. And until we’re certain that you aren’t some sort of insurrectionist agent,” Leon said with such a tone of finality that Tiera immediately balked.
“What? Of course I’m not one of their agents—how could I be? I couldn’t even speak your language until today. I need to go home! I have rights! I have parents! I have a roommate!” Tiera wasn’t sure what else to say, but in her panic she was ready to say anything.
“She’s right, Chief Uedent,” the blonde officer said quietly to Leon. “There’s no need to scare the girl.”
“We have to be absolutely sure, and you know it.” Leon spared the blonde officer a glance—he had been intent on Tiera this whole time. “I won’t risk putting any other lives in danger of those terrorists if I have any power to stop them. Or to at least learn of their intentions.”
“I doubt Kert did anything important here. And the insurrectionists hardly put anyone’s lives in danger—”
“You’ve never been to Rencin,” Leon told the officer. “I won’t waste another moment arguing with you. Take the girl to one of our holding cells—that’s an order,” Leon was talking to all of the officers in the room at this point. “I’ll interview her personally after I’ve reported to the Bureau.” Leon made for the door, but pivoted as if he remembered something. He marched up to Tiera and took her phone from her hand before she could think to tighten her grip.
“Hey!” But he was out the door before Tiera could say anything else. A holding cell? Am I going to jail?
“You’ll be home before you know it,” the blonde officer tried to reassure her. She gave Tiera a tight-lipped smile, then began to lead the others out. “Let’s go.”
Tiera opened her mouth, trying to think of anything that could help her case.
She couldn’t.
“Move,” one of the quieter officers said as he nudged Tiera with his police baton. Tiera started walking, and the officers surrounded her, escorting her out of the room and into the brilliant white hallway.
This is really happening, Tiera thought, trying to sort through everything that had occurred since she stepped through that sphere in downtown Salt Lake. I’m going to jail. I’m going to jail in another galaxy.
Chapter 7
Tiera stared at the bright green garments that had been set on her bed. They took my clothes too. They had taken her purse shortly after she arrived at this little jail, so now she had nothing left. I didn’t even hear them come in. She stepped out of the shower adjacent to her cell and looked around the room warily, but then realized she might not even recognize a camera if she saw one, so she changed as quickly as she could from her fluffy white towel to the green prison clothes. It’s not even a bad color, she thought, tugging on her shirt. Just like it’s not a bad cell, and it’s definitely not a bad shower. Tiera wondered if it was because they treated their prisoners well here or if this cell was just bad according to their super-advanced standards.
There was no mirror, so Tiera couldn’t exactly know what these clothes looked like on her, but they fit fairly well. The shirt fell loosely to her thighs, with a slit up each side that reached her waist; the pants were slightly baggy, but, again, they fit well. All of it felt like some sort of jersey material—except the underwear, which was a bit thicker. And Tiera didn’t have to worry about a bra as much as some girls did, so she didn’t mind the absence of one.
Tiera sat gingerly on her bed (she was still sore from her three-day Original lesson) and felt the single, green blanket they had given her—it was just the right temperature for the chilly room. She wondered if the blanket wasn’t somehow high tech as well.
The room itself was a simple one: it had a slab of a door, a single bed, a small desk with a chair, and no windows of course. The furniture looked like it might be metallic, but it felt more like plastic, so Tiera wasn’t sure. It didn’t take long before she had looked at her furniture as much as she could. So, with little else to do, Tiera stared at the white walls—which had the same crystalline sheen as the rest of the city’s buildings—until her eyesight tinged green. Then she’d close her eyes and look at the green afterimage of the wall projected onto the inside of her eyelids.
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