His Little Earthling

by Katie Douglas

  She got to the final line then went back and stared at the one above it. It looked fine, but felt wrong. She went through every single character, then nearly kicked herself. There was a capital letter O where she’d needed a zero. With that settled, she hit save, then sent the finished file to her boss.

  On her way out of the office, she turned the lights off, then she pressed for the elevator. It was slow, and she was about to take the stairs when her boss appeared from a side office.

  “Going down, Bryan?” he asked with a bright smile.

  “Sure.” He pressed the button again, and they waited.

  “Great work on that project. I just saw that you finished it.”

  Sarah smiled and nodded. Davis could see everything that anyone did on their workstations. They normally specialized in banking software. In their cutthroat industry, where everyone was terrified of copyright infringement and corporate espionage, paranoia wasn’t unusual.

  “Now I can do something more normal, like the Thyme update.”

  “We’ll see. I might have something lined up for you, but I can’t tell you about it just yet.” The elevator arrived and its doors opened, looking brighter inside than out on the hallway.

  “Hey! How did you get the elevator to arrive from the ground floor so quickly?”

  “Guess I’ve just got a magic touch.”

  They got in and the silence became tense.

  “Sarah, about that project you were doing…”

  She looked up at him, but he didn’t continue the thought. When they reached the ground floor, she got out and saw two security guards at the entrance.

  “We got new security, Davis?”

  “Not that I know of.” He looked uncomfortable.

  “Sarah Bryan?” one of the men asked. Sarah nodded. “Your car has arrived.”

  Sarah stepped outside into the warm evening, and saw a black stretch limo.

  “Carolyn’s gone all out for the party, hasn’t—” Sarah turned to talk to Davis about his fiancée, but he had disappeared. One of the men from the foyer was walking behind her instead. She moved a little more quickly to the car, hoping she could lock the doors from the inside, as the beefy man was making her feel uncomfortable. She pulled open the door and got in.

  When her eyes were accustomed to the darkness, she realized someone was already sitting inside. They wore an expensive black suit and she recognized them as the person who had briefed her on the government project. Sarah was about to get out of the car, but she screamed as something solid pressed into her back. She tried to stay calm. If they wanted her dead, they could have done that already.

  “Ms. Bryan, please, there is no need for alarm. Take a seat.” The man in the suit indicated the white leather seats beside him. She shook her head, certain that if she stayed, she would regret it.

  “You don’t have a choice.” The man behind her pressed the gun harder into her back. She heard the door slam, then the engine started.

  “Listen, I have literally no idea what was on that program.” She gripped her clutch bag tightly, wondering if she could get to her pepper spray in time to blind the man with the gun before he could shoot her. She slid a finger under the flap that held it closed.

  “I merely wish to discuss your options.”

  “What options are those?” A second finger joined the first.

  “Whether you would prefer to be shot by my associate, or whether you would prefer to live.”

  “Please, you don’t want to do this, I have a—”

  “No. That is the only choice.” He cut her off before she could explain. With trepidation, she moved toward one of the seats, followed by the man with the gun. She got the purse’s clasp to unfasten as she sat down.

  The limo went on a long journey, during which the man in the expensive suit told her absolutely nothing useful. Sarah very slowly moved her hand further into her purse the whole time, and when the vehicle stopped abruptly, her fingers closed on the pepper spray. She yanked it out of her bag and pointed it at the face of the man with the gun.

  “You’re going to let me out, now.” Her voice was steely as she spoke. The man with the gun reached his hand toward the pepper spray. Reflexively, Sarah squeezed the pump with all her might. It hissed, then a tiny amount of spray spat onto the leather upholstery as the spray nozzle got jammed. When it didn’t have the desired effect, she realized she was out of options. He grasped her wrist and squeezed it painfully until she dropped the spray can. Sarah suppressed a cry of pain, determined not to show these men that they were hurting her.

  “Undamaged,” the man in the expensive suit remarked, as though this was nothing of interest to him.

  They got out of the car and ushered her into what looked like a factory of some sort. Inside, there was a huge, gloomy space with several shipping containers stacked side by side. Sarah was taken into one, which was filled with glass pods.

  “Oh, no, you can’t do this.” Sarah shook her head when she saw that there were people inside the glass pods… people frozen in liquid.

  “It was part of the agreement. One exemplary employee. The last contract they would ever work on. If your company didn’t explain that to you, you should take it up with your HR department.” He chuckled at his own joke. “Remove her dress. We can use it to make it look like she fell off a bridge.” The man in the expensive suit opened his briefcase and retrieved a hospital gown.

  The man with the gun ripped Sarah’s dress off, baring her, then he tied a hospital gown around her. She kicked out at him with all her might and was rewarded when he grunted and bent double, before he lashed out at her in retaliation.

  He hit her so hard, she connected with the wall. She saw a flash of white, then she felt something trickling down her face. He pinned her arm behind her back painfully.

  “I had hoped you would see reason,” the man in the expensive suit drawled. He took a needle out of the briefcase. Sarah watched in horror as he stuck it into her arm, then pressed the plunger. She tried to fight them, but something was making her muscles floppy.

  “Horse tranquilizer. Shouldn’t cause too much brain damage. Not that it matters. You will be revived once your knowledge of the program is no longer a threat to us.” The man closed the glass pod then pressed some buttons on a computer panel nearby. Before Sarah could do anything else, the pod filled with liquid, then she passed out, feeling very cold.

  * * *

  The revelation hit her like a train, but she didn’t have time to dwell on the injustice. It had chilled her to the bone. Had anyone even known what happened to her? She instinctively put her hand to her head where she’d hit the wall. It felt more like she relived it rather than remembered it. Was the tranquilizer responsible for that, or was it normal for cryogenic revivals? She realized she was totally zoned out when the teacher shouted her name.

  “Yes, Mr. Tarik?” Sarah racked her brain to think whether he’d just asked a question or something. This would be such a bad time to blow the sleepover.

  “Can you offer an alternative point of view to Riela’s?”

  Sarah stared around the room, all eyes were on her, and there was nothing on the interactive board to indicate what he was talking about, so she decided to not even try.

  “No, sir, I… I don’t really understand this whole thing.” She felt herself blushing but maybe it was better than trying to bullshit her way through this question and answer session. Anyway, if Ral heard that she’d pretended she knew something that she didn’t again right after he’d punished her for it, he would probably spank her worse than last time.

  “Perhaps you can see me after class, so we can catch you up.” His voice was silky smooth, but it still gave Sarah a chill that was nothing to do with the room’s temperature. When he turned away, she pressed her lips together to avoid giggling nervously, as several eyes were still turned her way. She resolved to pay attention, but the thread of the class had slipped out of her fingers a while ago and the next twenty minutes were more to avoid getting
into trouble than to increase her understanding of mime-poetry.

  When the music played for the end of the lesson, Sarah walked to the teacher’s desk and stood before it, hands clasped in front of her, waiting for him to be ready to speak to her.

  Mr. Tarik rearranged the papers on his desk and changed the image on the board from his tablet, then rested his chin on his fingers and stared up at Sarah; he had piercing near-white eyes with black pupils, that made her blood run cold.

  “You dislike literature.” He spoke softly.

  “No, I like a good book, but—”

  “Be silent. You dislike literature, you fail to see its relevance to your existence, which currently revolves around inane conversations with your friends regarding boys and makeup. You do not understand its purpose.”

  Sarah just stared at him. What purpose did it have?

  “Without understanding the things which drive characters—people, Miss Bryan—how do you propose you could solve a homicide? Or if you were unaware of the things that people reiterate in story form over and over again, how would you see through a criminal’s lie if you became a law enforcement officer, or how would you interpret a parchment in a museum, should you become a curator? Without knowing about what makes people better than the sum of their foibles, how could you justify the existence of humanoids, if you were on a diplomatic mission? Failing to understand literature, Miss Bryan, puts you at a distinct disadvantage as a functional humanoid. Your literacy, your reading and writing, follow all the rules; I cannot fault your spelling, your punctuation or your grammar, or the way you read aloud, beyond those interpretative differences which everyone possesses, but you lack that soul, that beating heart of meaning that all educated and enlightened beings should strive to cultivate. You will read Radcliffe’s Udolpho, Bergensmith’s Voyages, and Grandil’s The Passage of Time by our next lesson, which is on Monday, and I seek to see an improved attitude also. Get out of my sight.”

  Sarah turned and fled, not needing to be told twice. Mr. Tarik terrified her; she had no idea what Laila saw in him. Still, the day was finally over, and she hurried eagerly outside, where she waited with her two friends until Ral arrived in a cab and sped them all to his apartment.

  Chapter Nine

  “Ohmigosh, your place is so amazing!” Laila had barely stepped through the door and she seemed pretty taken with the apartment. Sarah exchanged a glance with Riela, as Ral put their bags in Sarah’s room.

  “It’s not really my place, it’s Ral’s.”

  “Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.” Laila waved a hand dismissively, as if the assets of two entirely unrelated people would just naturally be shared between them.

  “Laila, do you understand the concept of property?” Sarah asked.

  “Of course I do. There’s a quiz if you become someone’s slave.” Laila winked at her then ran off to the window. Sarah shrugged and showed Riela the beanbags for sitting on.

  “Yeah, you’ve got the full set of standard furniture there, Sarah,” Riela remarked wryly. Nonetheless, Riela perched on a beanbag, looking like an anime heroine with her long purple hair and matching eyes.

  “Your view is lovely!” Laila returned from the window and took a second beanbag. “What’s the plan for the evening?”

  “Girls, I expect you all to be on your best behavior at my home. I thought you might like to watch some films, so I picked a selection of ones that were age-appropriate and you can choose from them, just tap any of the titles on this tablet’s screen.” Ral showed them how to put a film on, and turned on the projector on the back of his tablet, which projected its startup image onto one of the walls of the den.

  Sarah took the tablet, then nearly dropped it in amazement.

  “You filled it with old princess movies! I can’t believe it! Where did you find these?”

  “They were online. It wasn’t complicated. There were enough young people evacuated from Earth when it was destroyed that many children’s movies survived the cataclysm.”

  Ral had brought her a little piece of home. She parked herself on a beanbag on the other side of Riela. The familiar opening music of Beauty and the Beast started to play, giving her chills of excitement.

  “This film must be so old! It’s not even in 3D! I’ve never seen anything flat before!” Riela declared.

  “Shh! It’s starting!”

  As Sarah tried to get Laila and Riela to focus on the film, Ral disappeared to the kitchen area, returning a few minutes later, as Sarah was singing the first song in time with the sequence on screen. He brought a tray of hot chocolate, which he set down on the low table.

  “Ahhh… isn’t this amaaaaziiiing…” Sarah sang at the top of her voice. Laila and Riela giggled.

  “What? That’s the words!”

  “It just sounded really funny when it got translated. That happens a lot with songs because they try to keep the length the same,” Laila explained.

  “It’s the meter, Laila; they try to match the meter,” Riela added. Laila responded by throwing a cushion at her.

  Sarah took her hot chocolate and licked at the mallow on the top as the singing ended.

  “So… she wants more? Than the guy in the red top? But he’s huge!” Laila’s commentary was too funny and Sarah nearly spat her drink.

  “Just wait till you see how big the other guy is.” Sarah decided to be cryptic.

  Sure enough, when the Beast made an appearance, Laila giggled.

  “Ah, okay, that makes sense now. He’ll definitely be able to hold her up against a wall.”

  “You’re so bad!” Sarah couldn’t believe Laila was allowed to talk like that. Apparently, Ral, who now sat beside Sarah, was equally surprised.

  “Young lady, if I hear you saying things like that again I might have to wash your mouth out with soap. My cousin Flin has allowed me to discipline you if I deem it necessary, so less of the impolite talk, please.”

  Laila colored red. “Sorry,” she said, looking ashamed. Sarah wondered if it was genuine or if Laila was merely trying to look apologetic.

  As the film ended, Riela was wiping her eyes and trying not to ruin her makeup.

  “You okay?” Sarah leaned sideways and gave her a hug.

  “Yeah, it was just so beautiful!”

  “The ending was a bit rubbish. He should have been allowed to stay gigantic.” Laila might have commented more regarding the Beast’s size, but she glanced over at Ral, and Sarah knew she was choosing her words carefully. It was a good thing, because this was one of Sarah’s favorite films and she didn’t like how dismissive Laila was being.

  “Dinnertime; would you girls like to eat hot dogs with sketti and dough balls?” Ral got up from his beanbag and went to the kitchen area. There was general agreement that this would be great, so they helped Ral to cook the food. The dough balls actually had some sort of fruit or vegetable in the center.

  “It’s called physalis. It’s from Earth.” Riela held one up for her to see.

  “Weird, I never heard of it before.” Sarah stared at the thing that was half-fruit, half vegetable as it got rolled into some dough.

  “Earth had a lot more biodiversity than most of the planets people inhabit these days; its size and weather extremes led to some interesting adaptations. The smaller planets tend to have fewer varieties of plants and animals because they don’t need to survive in the same range of habitats,” Ral, ever the astro-archaeologist, explained. Sarah smiled and shook her head; it was like being back in science class. Then she remembered that Earth was destroyed, and she’d only survived because she’d been frozen against her will. She was still angry about everything she’d remembered in literature class, but she tried to put it out of her mind.

  “Who wants more to drink? I’ll get the cups and make some hot chocolate.” When Sarah heard her voice, it was overly cheery. She busied herself making hot chocolate and ran through the process of what she was doing, to drown out her thoughts about Earth, until she had successfully distracted herself.

&
nbsp; Dinner was delicious, and they put The Little Mermaid on afterwards, which was accompanied by another round of hot chocolate. When the mermaid started declaring that she wanted more, Laila burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Sarah stared at her friend as she laughed through a deeply emotional scene.

  “All the princesses from your time, they all seem to want more,” Laila giggled.

  “I’ve learned about this in sociology. It was a highly consumerist society which conditioned children from a young age to be perennially dissatisfied with what they had, so they would buy more things. Marketing messages from that time period all focus on trying to meet needs that people didn’t really have,” Riela said, waving a hand dismissively.

  Sarah shook her head, slightly surprised by Riela; she wasn’t usually this talkative or opinionated. “Shows how much you know about Earth. It was actually an empowering feminist message aimed at showing little girls that they didn’t have to settle with the one-size-fits-all bland life their friends and family had, that it was okay for girls to go out and find what made them happy, even if everyone thought they were wrong. Keep watching, you’ll see.”

  “Can’t it be both?” Laila looked uncomfortable with the way Sarah and Riela were speaking to each other. The other two shook their heads.

  “It’s consumerism.” Riela dug her heels in.

  “Empowering.” Sarah glared at Riela.

  “Girls, there will be no arguing in my home,” Ral said. “Anyway, you’re both wrong. The message of any film is whatever the viewer takes away from it. There is no ‘absolute’ when it comes to interpreting meaning, and I will hear no more about it from either of you. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, Daddy, sorry, Daddy,” Sarah said. She was eager to avoid getting into trouble. The idea of being spanked in front of her friends from school was very unappealing.

  “Sorry, Doctor Rowardennan,” Riela said contritely.

  “Good, now watch the film and don’t let your hot chocolates go cold. I need to go and find a pair of scissors.”