by Steven Oaks
When I reached the library I began wandering the shelves that were filled with books behind glass. The elegant Victorian room still had its red velvet couch that I had found so comfortable earlier. The soft lush oriental carpets still covered the dark stained hardwood floor. The walls similarly were outlined in the dark wood, as were the bookshelves, and the dark green of the floral wallpaper gave the room the sense of home I had always wished for in a room filled with books.
I felt very spoiled at that moment. I had everything I needed and wanted within Athene, and could live very happily with just her as a companion for years. However the need to help others still drove me forward. If I had just been given this ship, and I felt mankind did not need me, I would have taken Athene's offer to leave Earth far behind. Perhaps to explore the universe, or perhaps just to read until I ran out of books.
I struggled picking out a book I thought might help me deal with my situation and would also be entertaining. Any book written by Heinlein might calm my nerves and help me process my situation. However I felt I simply did not have the time to pour over any of his longer novels, and those were the ones that always settled my nerves the most.
I decided I would simply read through a couple of sections of my favorite novel Time Enough for Love that were later published as The Notebooks of Lazarus Long. It simply lists insightful sayings and observations by the main character in the novel, Lazarus Long. A man who was nearly two-thousand years old, and was just pointing out what he thought life was about, and what it means to be human. Whether or not I agree with everything put down by this man, it does help me ponder my particular view of the world against another. If at some future point you get the option to read this, I recommend it highly. I would quote some of his words to you, but I would find myself just listing most everything. It would be best if you can track down a copy of it somewhere.
Pulling down my well worn copy of Time Enough for Love, I made myself comfortable by laying out on the couch. As the words I had read multiple times washed over me, I felt more at ease, and filled with hope.
One quote struck me when I read it. It was about how a villain is never one in his own eyes. Knowing this can help you become his friend, or get rid of him without hate. I thought of the Outsiders, and what possible motivation they could have to push their particular religion, or the way they dealt with death. I had certainly thought about why they would collect the dead, and I still could not wrap my mind around it. They seemed to be motivated in a religious sense, at least that is what we had all been lead to believe. In my mind however, a society built on belief alone would not have accomplished such advances. Now I am not down playing the role that religion can have in everyone's life, but advances have not come out of religion, they have come out of logical thought. A religious person can be an advancer for society. In fact that had been the recorded case for hundreds of years. However only during a time when religious views were not dogmatic, and one was allowed to explore the possibility of understanding God or gods not as others see it, only then had it been possible to make advances. The Outsiders, or at least this group, held a single unifying belief that the dead must be sent to another dimension. Had there been a question as to why? Or did they simply build a machine that seemed to accomplish this, and begin pushing the departed through?
It is possible the whole matter was a lie, and the collection of our dead was for some other purpose. I still could not think of what it might be, and I hesitated to bring it up with Athene as I was sure they would not have shared any other information about themselves with her. They were sure to know I would question her. Why risk their goals by giving her any knowledge that was unimportant to her goal of simply flying me about to collect the dead?
As I could think of nothing else at the moment, I turned my mind back to consuming more familiar knowledge from the book in front of me.
There is something to be said about treading ground you have trod before. Even following an old familiar path you can still be surprised by things you have passed before, but have not noticed. I always feel I pick up something new, or something I did not recognize from the last time I read anything by Heinlein. Perhaps it is my own maturity, or having a different perspective as I grow older. It seems when I look at myself in the past I always appear so immature, so young and lacking experience. Of course how am I suppose to gain experiences if I just lock myself away from others? I like to think reading helps me expand my horizons. Even if I limit myself to a few people, which it seems my group of conversationalist will be limited, I can still internalize and process all that is said and come to conclusions. Usually these conclusions are based upon situations an author has come to, or perhaps the antithesis of what they have written based upon my experiences. However watching a story unfold and seeing how another person expects others to act makes me feel I have a seemingly accurate picture of the world. That is of course if these authors are unlike me. I think this simply because if you restrict your interactions with others your sample group of personalities are limited. I assume there is an infinite variety of types of people. That being said if you can grasp key components and recognize them in others, you should be set on how to respond.
These thoughts lead me to think about the Outsiders. I was trying to understand their motivations based upon other people, or other characters I had read from multiple books. I was outlining in my mind what I understood of these Outsiders.
Abihail seemed a cold logical being with little to no emotional response. Given a situation it would reach forth with its emotionless mind and come to a conclusion immediately. Whatever it was, Abihail would simply do what is best for their goal. It was the most inhuman of the Outsiders and its reactions were hard to follow without knowing their true plan. If I were to simply look at the gathering of the dead as their end goal I felt I would miss something.
Ava was very hard to read as you would be enthralled by her very presence. She had an unrivaled angelic beauty that evoked all desires in any who saw her. Mesmerizing at any distance, but the closer one came to her the greater the influence. She also had a motherly aspect causing one to feel safe and protected. You could not help but want to reveal every thought. Strangely she had a sexual appeal one would think would be incongruent to her motherly aspect, however it enhanced one's desire to be near her. Bewitched as I was by her physical presence on their ship I could not tell if she was intelligent or otherwise. However her lack of any questions of depth during my time with her lead me to believe she either was less than intelligent, or perhaps had no curiosity regarding anything other than what she needed for her immediate goal. Had she but asked I would have happily exposed myself, Athene, and Jennifer to the Outsiders. Our plans for escape would have died there with me.
Adam seemed the most human of the three. As he had not come out and said he was an Outsider, I could only speculate. However from what Athene and I had observed it is likely he was one of the three shown to us when the Outsiders first arrived. His anger was his only distinguishing trait from another human. While the original interview with him did not show this, once I was employed it rarely subsided. It seemed to be the driving force behind all his actions. When calm though, he had the appearance of any high powered businessman. He had confidence of self that I had hardly ever seen and a commanding presence. He used this to his advantage and utilized his anger to bully you into an action. I had interacted with him the most and his motivations were obvious. It was to deliver the dead to their ship no matter what, and force your way in if you had to. If the others are logic, and empathy, he is simply force.
There they were, three alone of their species, and yet so similar in features to humans. Athene and I had already discussed they were probably created beings. So where were the true Outsiders? Were these three simply to get the ball rolling before they revealed their true nature, or did they plan to hide until their goal was completed?
“Michael I have noticed you are no longer reading and are staring at the wall. Is everything alright?”
Athene suddenly asked out of the silence filling the room, though my mind was shouting.
I shook myself out from my trance and replied, “Yes, I'm fine. I'm simply thinking about the true nature and goals of the Outsiders. We know so little, and yet here I am working with them. The same can be said of all humanity. Ava's spell must have been a powerful one to entrance all of us into doing their bidding so quickly.”
“In my observation of humans, and investigation into their literature, it seems that is not unusual for people to follow the crowd. If they were simply to hypnotize key people who have a following, such as world leaders, it would be very possible the rest of humanity would simply follow in line, as it would be seen as normal,” Athene said in a lecturing tone.
“There still seems to be a few who stand against their intrusion however,” I observed.
“That is true, and is likely normal as well. However if there were to be a riot by the disenfranchised, it would more than likely be seen as a gathering of crazy people. In somewhat recent times there were gatherings at key places throughout the United States where people were protesting the rich. The masses took that small minority of people calling themselves activists as simply a fringe group. The media strongly reinforced that opinion by showing only the most unintelligible portion of the crowds. The same was done when there was the Tea Party movement on Washington D.C., only those whose opinions were least intelligible were shown by the news media. Certainly both situations were filled with people who had the best of intentions in mind for everyone, but it was hardly shown anywhere. It is even possible the ones interviewed at either type of event where planted there to seem crazy. This is of course what people would call a conspiracy theory, but logic dictates those in power wish to stay in power. It has been observed they are willing to do anything to maintain its grasp. Even if it was not the case in the past, they still have the ability to do so. Now we currently have a group of, shall we say, brainwashed people. They will indeed do anything to maintain the situation as laid out to them by Ava. They will control the media, and in so doing control the majority of public opinion. Truly there will always be a group of people who will resist such control, but they would be in the minority. Given enough time the public at large will hardly think about any incongruity the news feeds them, as it will be normal. This is not to say in the next five years or so, but if you expand upon the notion, it will be within a normal human lifespan,” Athene said with force and no sound of doubt in her tone.
“Athene you paint a very grim picture of humanity. While I may have thought from time to time that politicians would use their influence and money to shape public opinion, hasn't it always been the case? They want to keep getting elected, so they tell the public what they want to hear,” I said.
“Not only do they tell the public what they want to hear, they shape the public opinion so that what they want to hear is what the politician is saying. As long as they keep their ear to the pulse of the public, and use those key components, they can simply press on with whatever they want. The longer they are around the easier it is to tell the public what is best for them. Words have power, and the use of media is a very powerful tool to charm the mind of individuals,” she said.
“I don't know Athene. That seems rather too elaborate for someone to do just to maintain power,” I said skeptically.
“They of course do not work alone, they have a large staff. Remember if they are booted out, so are all the employees under them. It would make sense for their staff to help keep them in power. To gain more money and influence they are sometimes called upon by corporations who wish to further their agendas as well,” she said.
“I hardly think anyone would believe this. You are indeed shaping conspiracies where none may exist,” I said, becoming shocked at her statements. She was a being with more knowledge than I, but to hold these thoughts as true seemed to undermine the idea that we had lived in a democracy.
“It is true few would believe, and that is exactly what I am saying. Given enough time no one will believe having the Outsiders take the dead is strange. They will not believe we were somehow forced to do so. You are living a conspiracy right now. Who could have imagined aliens would descend upon humanity and hypnotize its world leaders into giving up the dead? It sounds so strange that the public would not be able to believe it. That is why they never will. You and I, and of course those who join with Jennifer, will be the only ones who will be able to fight against their influence,” she said, becoming more passionate as she spoke.
“Athene you sound more world weary than I. And you know my lack of fondness for interacting with others,” I said feeling drained.
“Michael I am only stating things from what I have observed. While everything I said may not have happened, or be true, it is possible. We do not have to like it for it to be true, but we live in a world of self-interest and greed. Certainly there are those that are kind and goodhearted, but that does not imply there are no people who wish power above all else. It is likely most people in the world are the kind goodhearted ones, but those few who seek personal gain tend to be the powerful and influential. They ruin a world where we can trust and rely on one another. There was a time when their kind were needed, before the world had been given free trade across all countries, but there is no reason for us to expand now. It is a world economy in which we exist. The lines between each country blur with each passing year. I am not saying that is the greatest outcome. I am saying it is coming,” she said with what sounded like a satisfied tone.
“Be that as it may, it changes little in how we are going to handle this. I would say even if the government, and through them the media, are corrupt, we still have the same task of gathering people to our cause. We have Jennifer and her group to call upon, so we should not have an issue doing so. However as the pool of individuals that see the Outsiders as a negative force come with us to another planet, it's likely then those left behind on Earth will fall into the trap of believing what they are told as you have outlined. I am unsure whether we should take everyone with us, as I think it might be best if we leave instigators behind so the public is less likely to remain passive to any intrusions into their lives,” I said thinking aloud.
“Is there reason to think we will have an opportunity to take anyone off planet?” she asked.
“Well if they stop keeping us confined it should be doable. I was thinking, instead of using our plan for me to go out shopping, or going to a baseball game, or even a bookstore, how about we use the storing facilities as our rendezvous point? I mean we are picking up bodies anyway, and if what you tell me is correct, when we store them we are cryogenically freezing them anyway. Can you bore down under the facilities with another tube and load them from underground, and then seal up after yourself when we pick them up?” I asked.
“That is a thought, however when we pick up the deceased we are bound to unload them at the Outsiders ship. I believe they would be able to tell if we were to not unload everything we carried up with us. Our original plan was to do this just before you were shipped out to a new colony so as not to have to be in direct contact with the Outsiders,” Athene responded.
“That is true. Damn, how are we going to do this if they do not let me have a day out?” I gritted my teeth angrily.
“They may indeed keep us confined except for the collection process. However it may just be temporary. If we get too anxious we may risk the entire venture we have set for ourselves,” Athene said.
“Well, there is nothing we can do right now. So let us make the best of it,” I said finally.
We were indeed not let free upon the world. Adam had convinced the rest of humanity, with the help of the governments of the world, that they needed new pilots. There was another interview process, and while that went on I began to see more ships fill the hangar where Athene and I were based.
In only a few days they had recruited a new batch of people and acquainted them with their corresponding ship. The day before I was allowed back out
into the world for simple pick up jobs again, the new ships and pilots had made their maiden voyages to test out their vessels. I was jealous of their freedom as my first day had been a joy. Visiting Japan had been the pinnacle of my existence up to that point.
Eventually they let me and Athene out to collect the dead. The day was very similar to our first outing, but this time we knew the people who ran the facilities. I did not fall for poisoned food and drink this time, and while the day seemed nearly as long as the first, it did not end with an explosion.
Our first stop was at Jacob's facility and I was not met by him. I was only greeted by the faceless black clad figures who attached their tube to Athene. I had no desire to see him again so this worked out for me. Though his absence caused me some curiosity, I did not linger to waste time thinking about it.
Later I got to see Jennifer again, but she kept her distance as I did not ask her to once more enter Athene. I felt it best to keep our distance until I had a concrete plan. Her long blonde hair was tied back this time, but the breeze atop the building still had it flapping in the wind. Her brown eyes had pierced mine with a stare that told me she still was not sure of my motivations. I did not say anything other than a greeting, and this time she had the familiar black clad people hooking Athene up to the large tube they pulled behind them.
When we flew away I still saw her standing on the rooftop staring up at us. I hoped she still trusted me, but I could understand if she did not. There simply was not an opportunity to tell her what we were up to without drawing suspicion upon either of us.
Seeing Derick again was a joy. It had been a month since I had first met him, but he seemed as jolly as ever. His face did seem more tired this time however. I knew he only had a little while longer to live so I spent the time it took to load the bodies into Athene talking with him.