by David Sloma
And there were trees not far off, too! He got up and ran to the trees, touching their trunks, and bark, and the green leaves as he ran among them. He breathed in the oxygen rich, sweet air deeply. It was a small forest with trees of many different types and sizes. As he was going through the trees he saw water! There was a large pond in the forest! He knew he had smelled it!
He came up to the water and looked into it. It seemed deep, as he could not see the bottom. He saw movement and fish in the water! And seaweed moving as the fish went by. It looked like good water to him. He touched the surface, and it was cold. He bent over and scooped some into his hands, and it was clear. Tasting it, he found it was pleasant and quenched his thirst.
The man then felt happy and excited, and had an urge to swim in the water. He wanted to feel the pleasure of the water over his skin and move in the water. He looked around and made sure he was not in any danger from anything, then lowered himself into the water, suddenly wondering if there was anything in the water he needed to be wary of; any fish that might bite or sting him. Too late, now!
He sunk into the water up to his neck and started swimming, encountering no fish that bit or stung. The water made him feel good. He swam around the pond, looking at the shoreline. There were weeds and reeds growing there; these he could eat. He could also probably eat the fish if he could find a way to catch them. So far, each time he'd gotten near any fish they had darted away. He started to wonder about other animals, now that he had some moments to relax in the water. He'd not seen any on the field, but maybe he had scared them, he thought.
He swam slowly to the edge of the pond and peered up and over the field. He saw some squirrels running down from trees! They were good to eat, if he could make a fire. Surely, there must be other animals, he reasoned. He looked for a long time, but he didn't see any more animals.
The ship had many other animals kept in rooms, like the man had been kept in a room. They were all part of the ship's vast sampling of life forms from the planet Earth. The ship was busy studying them and making sure they were in good health before releasing them into the “nature preserve” area of the ship, where the man now found himself. Like the man, the animals would have their DNA sampled, cataloged, and stored in the vast database the ship was assembling.
The man was getting cold in the water, and his skin was starting to shrivel up. So, he climbed out and lay on the grass. He took off the animal fur he had been wearing, as it was wet. The lights shining onto the field were warm, so he had no need of the fur at that time. He spread it out on the grass near him to dry. Then, he closed his eyes and dozed off for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of the warmth on his skin, of being clean, and of having had enough water to drink.
But his belly soon woke him up with its growling and need to be filled. He sat up. He was hungry and wondered what he could eat. The food he'd been provided with in the room hadn't been much to his liking, so he didn't want to go back to the room to see if there was any more. No, he would search around this new place and see what he could find.
First, he got up and slung the fur around his shoulders, but didn’t put it on, as he was still warm. He walked slowly over to where he had seen the squirrels, so as not to frighten them too much; he might be able to catch one if he surprised them. He found a branch from one of the trees on the grass and picked it up. The branch could help him catch a squirrel, or a fish, and it might even be good for defending himself from whatever he might encounter in this new, strange place.
As he was standing at the base of a tree looking up at a squirrel and wondering how he was going to get to it, and how he was going to cook it if he did catch it, the lights above started to dim out.
He was startled and gripped the tree for protection. What was happening? Was it getting dark now? But he'd not seen the sun, or suns, move at all! They had not traveled across the sky and dipped below the horizon, slowly, leaving a brilliant display of beautiful colours like they should have.
He peered up at the sky, or what he thought must be the sky, and sure enough, the things were not as bright and many of them were off. More went off as he watched. This concerned him greatly, as he was still out in the open without a cave to hide in for the night. He supposed he could climb up into a tree and wait out the night there, as it would provide some protection. But not from the big animals like bears and large cats that could climb—not to mention other humans that might have evil on their minds...
He looked back towards the doorway and the room. He could still see the doorway and the hallway beyond in the dimming light. If he went now he could make his way back before it got dark. There was nowhere else close by that would offer him as much protection as the room had. The field was large and went far, as far as he could see. There was no time to find another place before the darkness came.
He turned back and walked quickly to the doorway with the stick in his hand, glancing this way and that as he moved. He listened but heard no sounds from animals or humans that alarmed him, just some sounds from the ship that he had no reference for; fans and metal parts moving. He had heard strange sounds in the room too, and they had frightened him, but they hadn't hurt him.
He kept walking towards the door, thinking of the room and how its enclosed space would be good for the night. But did he really want to go back into that room he had been trapped in for days?
No.
Maybe he could stay in the hallway and not enter the room unless he had to—unless he was in further danger. But just going into the hallway might as easily trap him inside, too. He decided to stop just outside the outer doorway and stay there.
He came up to the doorway and slowed down. The lights were still dimming and it was almost dark. He looked into the doorway but saw nothing much, only a faint glow from the room down the hallway, which he had been in.
He put his back to the metal wall beside the door and looked out to the field. He didn't see any stars in the sky. He didn't like that, but there were some nights that it was very black with no stars where he was from, so he didn't panic.
The computer picked up on his emotional state and where he was looking. It deduced that the man was searching for the stars and the moon. It made a note to construct some things that were similar for him to look at. The computer knew that would make the man feel better and likely it would make the other animals and plants more comfortable, also.
It would take the ship a little time to have its robots fashion such lights, but they would be put to work on the task as soon as their current duties were completed.
The man fell asleep.
CHAPTER 3
On the home planet of the Watchers a signal arrived at their command center. It said that one of their sampling ships had reached a planet with viable life called Earth and had managed to land there to obtain samples.
The message was relayed by a deep space probe that constantly surveyed the region of space that Earth was moving through. The probe's job was to keep track of the many sampling ships that passed by it, reporting of their condition and progress. This was necessary as the distances were so vast that signals had to be relayed from one ship to another. In this way, the Watchers were able to blanket entire galaxies with their communication system; looking, listening, and recording everything they could.
The message continued: the ship was in good shape and was continuing its mission of collecting life forms to transport back home.
A Watcher who was very old, but also ever-young due to their advanced technology and understanding of biology, stood in the command room and looked at the data on the wall screen. The data was also sent telepathically to his brain, and to any Watchers who wished it, where it could be reviewed at anytime. But, he sometimes liked to come here where it was empty of any others, with just the machines.
The screen flashed with different colours, and he'd learned to read the patterns in the lights. The patterns told him how their massive fleet of ships were doing on their missions all over the universe. This pleased him
. He made small adjustments to some of them simply by thinking it.
He saw it as a form of art to manipulate the ships, coaxing them this way or that, or tweaking the programming of their computers to achieve different patterns of light on the screen. He smiled and ran his hand over the console, feeling the smoothness and fine workman ship of the materials used; materials only produced on his planet. There was no need to touch any of the controls; he did it purely for pleasure.
He sighed and looked over the screen, happy with his artwork for the day. He'd made some changes in the programming of several ships yesterday, and it had taken some time for the instructions to reach the ships, as they were so far away—and his days were very long. Even the Watchers were bound by certain laws of time and space, but they were working hard to get around them. They weren't sure who made the laws, or created the universe, but they knew that some Supreme Intelligence did. They accepted their place as beings inside the Creation.
But not all beings did, like the Dark One. This self-centered being was angered greatly that they were not the ultimate power in the universe. In their drive to become the supreme God themselves, they had forgotten about the real Creator. They wanted to be the Supreme Intelligence, even if it was an impossible task. But that didn't stop them from trying.
Some said the Dark One was insane, but the Watchers didn't share that view. They knew that being was a powerful one like themselves, just one who had lost his way. The Dark One tried to destroy all who stood in his way. He and his servants had killed many and had more on their list. The Watchers shielded those they could from the wrath of these beings. It was an on-going, ages old struggle.
The Watcher in the control room was part of the group-mind all of the Watchers shared. It was said by other races that the Watchers had lost their individual souls eons ago and now lived as one being, controlled by an artificial mind in another universe. The Watchers denied this claim to any who challenged them, knowing they were free beings who led themselves, even if they could share one single mind at will. The false claim had been put in motion by their enemies, the evil beings, who did all they could to perpetuate it.
But the evil beings were the ones being controlled by their master, the Dark One, who was skilled at hiding his influence over his minions. He had crippled the minds of his servants so that they could not find the source of their control, no matter how hard they tried. The lesser evil beings thought they were the smartest beings, and the most powerful. Little did they suspect how wrong they were. In turn, the Dark One believed himself equal to the Creator, the dark counterpart to the Creator's light, and strived to make himself just as powerful; how wrong he was, also.
The Watchers went on with their work, through their days that stretched years on Earth, sending their creations, their intelligent ships, into the farthest edges of any galaxy they could find, so they could observe any life forms from a distance. The Watchers always hoped to find life forms in pristine states, so they could preserve them before the dark forces had a chance to influence them. The Watchers would exert their protective control over the fragile life forms before they could defend themselves. This was the mission of the Watchers, their passion, and their soul's journey.
Every time they succeed in protecting a life form it made the patterns on the screen most pleasing. This was happening now, as life forms had been taken from Earth. It was a joy to behold for the Watcher who now stood in the control room looking at the dancing colours on the screen, representing the sections of the universe that had been protected so far. Many of the other Watchers joined in to enjoy this pleasure, via their telepathic link.
But there were dark patches on the screen too, which spread like an infection across many galaxies. There was much work yet to do to stop the evil, so the Watchers didn't enjoy their small victory for too long.
CHAPTER 4
The Earth man woke up, startled to find himself out of the room and on the edge of the open field.
He looked around, senses alert to anything other than stillness. It was light now. He looked up and saw the lights in the ceiling, in what he thought was the sky, back on. Yet, it was not like the sky he had known for his many years of life—years that he had survived, due to his always being aware and careful of his surroundings.
Slowly, he moved and got to his feet. He looked around some more, this time behind. The doorway was still empty, and he could see the room beyond, also empty. He didn't like the look of that, nor the thought that he might be taken back into the room, so he walked quickly away, across the field. His mind went to the pond he had seen before. He wanted to drink some water and then see what he could find to eat.
As he bent down to drink some water from the pond, he found it strange there were no other animals at the pond or humans. Usually at the water sources he used to frequent there were others there, too. But not here. He drank his fill, tried to grab some fish and missed. He tried the stick, but he missed the fish with that, also. He was still sleepy, so he gave up on fishing and rubbed his eyes, yawning and trying to wake up. It was hard without some food to give him energy, like fruit he liked.
In the mornings he liked to mate with a female. That was good to do early in the day when it was cool, and not so good to do in the heat of the day. He looked around and again wondered why there were no others. He thought about the female he used to mate with, who had borne several children from him. Where was she now? He didn't know, and fear began to set into him again. He felt panic rise in his chest.
He left the pond and walked fast across the field, determined to get to the other side, miles away, and see just where he was. He thought he must have gotten lost and needed to find his way back to the places he was familiar with and the others he knew. This being all on his own was fine for a short while, but now it was not so good, he felt.
He walked until he came to a grove of fruit trees like he was used to eating: bananas, papayas, and other fruits that grew in the tropical climate in the ship, very much like the place the man used to live in on Earth. He was happy to find this fruit in its natural state, and it was good to eat.
Once he’d eaten his fill he collected some fruit and carried it along in the fur he had been wearing; he’d taken it off, as it was now hot in the “day” on the ship. There was still a way to go to the other side of the open space, and it was slow going, as there were many hills, rocks, and streams to cross.
Finally, the man made it across the two difficult miles of the field and stood looking at a metal wall.
This frightened him, as there was nothing like that back in his home, and it reminded him of the room he’d been stuck in on the ship. He looked both ways and saw that the wall stretched as far as he could see. There were areas of the wall where it was covered with vines and also rocks piled up in front of it. But the man could still clearly tell the wall was there.
He was curious and wanted to touch it, so he moved between some rocks and put his hand on the wall. His first touch was quick, then he pulled his hand away. But it was enough to tell that the wall was cold. It was not like the walls in the room he’d been in; this wall was much colder. Those walls had been a bit cooler than body temperature, but this one was so cold it hurt his skin. So, he didn’t touch it again. He just looked closely at it, and the ice forming where the sweat from his hand stayed on the wall.
Confused and wary, he stepped away from the wall and found a place on the grass amoung some trees to eat more of the fruit he had been carrying. It was pleasant to sit in the warm grass and eat. He felt pretty good, despite the confusion that came at times from being in this strange place.
After he had eaten, his thoughts once more went to the woman he used to mate with. Emotions overcame him, of missing her and of being lonely. A sad expression formed on his face, and he lay down on the grass, covering his eyes with his arm. He tried to blot out the bright lights, and didn’t want to be there anymore. Tears sprang from his eyes.
The computer watched the man’s reactions and recorded the
m. It also sampled his brainwaves, then searched for a match on such behavior from the vast database on the ship. It analyzed the results and concluded that the man must be in distress; that he was exhibiting sadness. It surmised that he needed a companion so he would not feel so isolated and alone. The computer knew what to do.
Soon, the man got up and went to the metal wall again. He touched it at different spots, working up his courage with the cold metal. Little did he know that it was cold due to it being on the other side of the outer hull of the ship, moving through the freezing temperatures of space.
He pounded on the metal, and the sound echoed.
He jumped back and stopped in place.
That sound he wasn't expecting, but it only scared him slightly, as he was getting used to unusual things around there. But the wall didn't yield.
He moved down a few steps and hit it again. Same result.
And again. Still the same.
He kept going down the wall, walking and hitting it as he went, hoping to find a weak spot. What he would do if the wall did happen to open up, he didn't know, but it was better than laying on the ground and crying, he thought.
CHAPTER 5
In another one of the small metals rooms was a female human from Earth. She had been taken near the same time the first Earth man had been taken, from a region not that far away. The computer suspected they might have even met before, seeing as how these life forms liked to roam about at times.
She was getting used to the cleaning schedule of the room and stood by as the machines got rid of her waste, sprayed the room with jets of water and a soapy mixture, then also sprayed her with the jets. At first the machines with their flying water and strange-smelling soap caused her alarm. She thought they were trying to kill her the first time it happened.
But then she mellowed, as she saw the cleaning machines did something good, leaving her room in a better state than it had been in before the cleaning session. Every time it happened she’d feel better about being in the room, even though she longed to get out. She did not share the same aggression as the man, and so didn’t pound on the walls nearly as much.