by Josi Russell
“Such impudence! Such a waste of time!” Traxoram rapidly opened and closed his large, barbed claw, but he relented. “I must say, your peculiar ability to speak our language has intrigued me. It is possible that your species is even more capable of adaptation than we had previously predicted. Or that you are a unique anomaly. We shall see.”
He then gestured to the chamber. “It has long been known that civilization class advancement is an evolution. It is, essentially, a resequencing of genetic material in response to environmental triggers. When an aquatic planet begins to dry up, the gills of the species that live there transform into lungs. Mental and emotional transformations take place during the process, as well. As civilizations advance beyond mere physical beings, they seem to develop the genetic markers that make possible the control of matter, suggesting that mental advancement is also an evolution. Species that evolve far enough also gain control of emotional responses, allowing them to make decisions based on logic, which gives them yet another advantage in the competitions between species. We have advanced to the point which further improvement is considered impossible. There are physical laws that restrict us from evolving further. Or so it is thought.”
Traxoram seemed to smile that grim smile again. “Other Class 15 civilizations have given up the study of class advancement. They seem to accept that they will not evolve any further. This means that all Class 15 civilizations, including ourselves, have reached an impasse. There is no more competition for territory, knowledge, or dominion between us. There is no more striving. My brothers and I are not satisfied with this. We believe that further advancement is possible. We have devoted vast ages to the exploration of this possibility. Your species is amazingly adaptable. Though you may not realize it, you have advanced through the civilization classes more quickly than any species yet known. We have studied your current genetic material, and it holds more promise than we had hoped. In this chamber, we are prepared to attempt a modification of this genetic material, an enhancement of it. By so doing, we can isolate the triggers and the markers essential for class advancement. Once we have done so, we can apply the knowledge to our own species, making it possible to advance to realms of civilizations never imagined.”
Traxoram peered at Ethan with an amused look on his face. Ethan could tell he was not expected to understand what the creature had explained.
“Will the genetic material not naturally evolve? In such a great civilization as yours, surely—”
Traxoram cut him off. “This takes several generations, many spaces of time, and very specific conditions. My brothers and I will be here for a long time, but perhaps not long enough to see such advancement. We are not satisfied, like others, to believe that these things must be left to nature or to chance . . . we wish to experience class advancement for ourselves.”
“But what about—”
“Enough!” Traxoram thundered. “I told you you had no hope of understanding. You know it well enough. Now you are simply stalling. The tests will begin now.” Traxoram waved his hand and several of the Alorans took a step toward Ethan. He held up his hands in surrender and stepped into the chamber.
It was spacious enough when he first entered, but once he was inside, a panel slid across the opening and the chamber resized itself to fit snugly around him from head to toe. A cool breeze began to circulate through the chamber.
Ethan looked out through the smoky silver and fixed his eyes on Kaia. Hers were wide and brimming with tears. She had, at some point that he hadn’t noticed, changed into one of the white robes herself, and he saw, through the walls of the closet, her engineering coveralls piled atop his own clothes. He found her face again and tried to smile at her. This seemed to make her cry harder. He tried to raise his hand to the side of the chamber, but found that he was immobilized.
Ethan became slowly aware of a light green mist filling the chamber. It tasted clean and cool as he breathed it in, and his body felt very relaxed. In spite of the cool breeze still blowing, Ethan began to feel a warmth. It occurred to him that it was not an exterior warmth. The surface of his skin still felt cool, but within him the heat was growing. At first, he felt as if he’d just had a hot bowl of soup, but then the interior warmth spread down his legs and arms. It was as if his bones were heating up. Within seconds, he felt the heat throughout his body. A few more seconds, and it was no longer a pleasant vague sensation. Rather, it felt like hot needles were penetrating every cell of his body.
He tried to move away from the pain, but he couldn’t. It intensified. He felt himself trembling and then shaking violently. The chamber filled with intense green light, and he realized that it was shooting out of his pores. A wailing filled the chamber as he faded into unconsciousness.
* * *
Shadowy figures materialized around him. He was lying on his back, floating, he realized, about waist-high to the creatures surrounding him. It seemed to him that they were speaking from a vast distance away.
“ . . . obvious progress at a cellular level . . .”
“ . . . modifications were successful . . .”
“ . . . undetermined amount of advancement.”
At that point, the creature he recognized as Traxoram barked impatiently, “Well, what about the brain? Has the procedure brought about the desired cortical development?”
“We are not yet sure. It may take some—”
Traxoram thundered, “What are you waiting for? Split the creature’s skull and check for proof of advancement!”
“Ruler, the specimen may not yet have reached the stage of advancement allowing him to regenerate. If he has not, the procedure you recommend may kill him.”
“So? We have thousands more! Get on with it. I must know if this procedure works!”
“Ruler, I must protest again. If the procedure worked at all, we will see some behavioral and mental advancement. The cortical development would be a final stage of advancement. Any small advancements would be valuable. We could recalibrate and attempt the procedure again, providing us with valuable information about the microstages of advancement. We must finish our preliminary tests to see if we are moving in the right direction. If we do away with the specimen now, we will have to duplicate the tests thus far. We will lose valuable time. Any advantage you have gained will be lost.”
The foggy figure of Traxoram spun away from the group. “Fine. Continue with haste.”
Ethan saw the other Alorans turn back to him. He felt heat on one arm, cold on his cheek, and realized that their testing had begun again. Suddenly, from somewhere behind the group around him, the bright green light filled the room again, and he heard Kaia screaming.
His head snapped to the left and he saw, between the figures surrounding him, Kaia inside the chamber. She was suspended somewhere in the green light, her face a mask of incomprehensible pain. He reached for her with his left arm, knocking into one of the Alorans, who quickly and efficiently put him back in the darkness.
Chapter 23
When Ethan awoke again, he immediately sensed Kaia’s presence. He turned and saw her lying beside him on the same clear, soft surface as he was. The Alorans were in the same room, but their interest was momentarily diverted to some screens off to the right.
Ethan reached for Kaia’s hand and found that there was an invisible barrier between them. He watched anxiously as she began to open her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw recognition in them.
Traxoram was standing a few feet away. “Is there no way to tell for sure? The auction is only a short time away!”
“I’m sorry, Ruler. We must have more time to interpret the data.”
Traxoram cursed. “We will be forced to continue with the contest. Are there other teams who may be as close as we are?”
“None, my Ruler, unless I have been deceived. I have investigated every laboratory, and I have found no evidence of progress like ours.”
“We may still have some time, then. You will continue to work. I will attend the auction with thes
e specimens, but they will be available for further testing at your direction afterward.”
The creature nodded, and Traxoram spoke again. “I will go ahead. Send them with my guards.” The air where he was standing began to shimmer, and he disappeared.
The Aloran to whom he’d been speaking glanced over at Ethan. When he saw Ethan’s eyes open, he walked over. “Can you move?”
Ethan tried. His feet, arms, and torso all seemed to respond normally.
The Aloran keyed something into the holoscreen he was glancing at. “Can you stand?” the creature asked.
As Ethan rose, he saw Kaia being quizzed in a similar manner behind him. Though the Aloran working with her seemed to be gesturing instead of talking to her. She was on her feet as well. After keying in more information, the Aloran waved a claw dismissively before walking away. “You may dress in your native clothing.”
Ethan glanced toward the closet and saw the pile of clothes still inside. He was relieved that the Alorans had not gone through them. He crossed the room, and the closet door slid open for him. He entered and dressed quickly and carefully. He liked the heavy feel of the energy pistol against his chest as he exited. Kaia was standing outside the door with her back to him.
“Your turn,” he said.
She went in, and he surveyed the Alorans moving about the room. When Kaia came out, the two big creatures that had brought them to the laboratory moved toward them again, and all four began transport again.
Chapter 24
A dazzling blue-grey hall expanded around them as they re-materialized. They were kneeling on a soft, navy circle in the middle of the hall. Tiers of Alorans rose around them, and Traxoram stood to the right of their platform. At their appearance, a deafening roar went up from the crowd.
The sheer number of Alorans stunned Ethan. He doubted he could have moved even if the shackles had been removed.
The two thuggish Alorans who had transported them raised their claws to the crowd, and then they backed away and stood on either side of Traxoram. He stepped up and raised his own claws, causing the frenzied crowd to scream in responsive cheering.
“Welcome! Welcome, my friends!” he said.
Ethan listened carefully, trying to decipher the accented words as quickly as possible.
“Every Aloran here witnesses today a historic event. We have received a shipment of the most highly adaptable creatures in the known universe.”
The crowd howled, and Traxoram waited with amused pleasure for them to quiet.
“These creatures are our path to . . .” he paused, letting the crowd’s anticipation of his next words build, “complete control.” The last syllable was nearly lost in the cheering, but Traxoram continued theatrically, “Imagine! Imagine unlocking the secrets to civilization class advancement. The contest has, as you all know, come to a standstill. We have run out of options with the other species we’ve acquired. This race gives us . . .” Another theatrical pause. “ . . . new hope! The human race has advanced through the classes more quickly than any species on record! If we can capture this evolutionary power, harness it, we can force our own evolution and become the most powerful civilization ever known!”
The crowd erupted in cheers.
“We have determined that this race makes it possible for us to anticipate—within our own lifetimes, mind you!—an evolution beyond the imagination of those who have called us inferior.” The crowd had settled somewhat, and Traxoram used the moment to lower his voice conspiratorially. “So, my friends, shall we get on with it? Shall I show you the stock we’ve received? We have 4,000 perfect breeding specimens. Males and females. Healthy, hearty animals such as these.”
Traxoram gestured toward Ethan and Kaia and they felt the weights fall off of them. In fact, as they straightened at the absence of the weight, they felt themselves lifted and suspended in the air, rotating slowly under bright lights.
The Alorans went wild.
After a seeming eternity, they were lowered to the cushioned platform again. This time, they remained unshackled and stepped instinctively together, slipping their arms around each other. Traxoram went on.
“Choose carefully the best specimens you can. Remember that the Aloran who achieves class advancement first will reign with me in the new system to come! If you manipulate the genes of your specimens to advance them past their current civilization class, you become, with me, a ruler of all known civilizations!” The Alorans were at a fever pitch when Traxoram finally gave them what they wanted. “We will now begin the auction. May I remind you that you must have previously purchased accommodations in the human enclosure for any specimens on which you bid this afternoon.”
A screen appeared in front of the platform upon which they stood. On it was an image of passenger 0001, a young man named Galan Sidford. He was in his stasis chamber, sleeping, unaware that his picture was being shown to thousands of aliens.
“We shall start the bidding!” Traxoram called, “at—”
“Away with this small-time auctioning!” a voice bellowed from the front row. A huge purple creature was on his feet, waving a dismissive hand. “I will take the first 200 specimens!”
Traxoram’s voice was delighted. “Ahhh, Yanthaarles! You waste no time! And you have, I assume, ample accommodation for such a number?”
“You know I do! I own the entire upper sub-quadrant of the enclosure!”
Traxoram’s face plates shifted into what Ethan thought might be a smile. “Very well, then, my old friend! We shall begin the bidding on the first 200 human specimens!” He consulted a small screen in front of him. “This lot includes 103 male specimens and 97 female specimens. If you want pairings for all of them, you may want to purchase more females from the random lots at the end of the auction! We will begin the bidding!”
Ethan felt his head swimming. This could not be happening. As the photographs of his passengers flashed in front of him, superimposed with the images of the gruesome creatures beyond, he felt hopeless, powerless. He saw the lots of passengers auctioned off for vast sums of Aloran currency. 300, 200, 50 passengers at a time, the screens burned their images into his brain, and he felt himself falling and crumpling to the floor.
In the darkness, he heard Kaia’s voice. “What have they done to you?”
He felt her soft palm stroking his forehead and opened his eyes to find her looking anxiously into his. He felt a strange sensation of relief at his own recovery. His eyebrows drew together as he stared into Kaia’s eyes.
“Oh, Ethan, I’m here. It’s all right.”
Ethan’s senses were returning. He heard her voice again and felt a strange sensation of pain and fear.
“There are so many of them.”
He reached up with one hand, brushing her lips. They had not moved when he heard her voice. As he touched them, he felt intense longing, both familiar and new.
Her voice came again as she continued stroking his hair gently. “I’m so glad we’re together. I couldn’t do this by myself.”
He froze. Could this be possible? He looked into her eyes again and thought, very deliberately, “Kaia?”
She looked down at him. This time her lips moved as she spoke. “Yes, Ethan. I’m here.” He shook his head slightly.
“Kaia, can you hear me?” he thought.
“Of course, Ethan,” she said quietly into his fingers.
In the background, the Alorans’ voices were muted.
“Kaia, look at my lips,” he thought to her. “I’m not speaking to you. I’m thinking.”
Her eyes grew wide and her thoughts fragmented. “How . . . that’s impossible . . . you can hear me?”
He nodded.
“Now?” He saw that her lips were still and lowered his hand.
“Yes. Can you hear me?”
She nodded almost imperceptibly.
“What’s happening, Ethan?”
He thought quickly. “The testing must have done something to us . . . some kind of telepathy.”
He felt
her fear. “Can they all hear us?”
Their attention was drawn out to the vast Aloran crowd, who went on with their horrific business with seeming disinterest in the two figures. Traxoram and his guards seemed focused on the gathering of bids and dispensing of lots.
Ethan thought Traxoram’s name as he looked at the big creature. Traxoram showed no sign of recognition.
“I don’t think so, but we have to be careful,” he thought to Kaia. “We need to be sure, and it may be that they are just too distracted right now.”
“Ethan, it’s more than hearing you . . . I can feel—”
“My emotions?”
“Yes. I felt it as you realized what was happening.”
“I know, I . . . feel you too.”
Suddenly, powerfully, a surge of confidence and connection surged through them both. He realized that they were both feeling the same relief and affection, and the strength of their emotion was multiplied because they shared it.
Kaia was smiling at him, and he sat up, leaning against her for support. “Ethan, what if we can really read each other’s thoughts?”
He was considering that possibility himself. “It could give us an advantage.” He was feeling stronger, and he shifted away from her for a moment.
“We could—” Her thoughts cut off when he lost contact with her. The feeling of confidence subsided and she looked at him in a panic.
He reached for her hand. Once the connection was restored, their thoughts flowed together again.
“We have to be touching each other!” she exclaimed in her mind.
“It seems like it.” The Alorans’ voices faded when the mind bridge was open between Ethan and Kaia.
It was somewhere in the midst of their telepathic conversation that Traxoram’s voice caught Ethan’s attention.
“Thank you, my brothers, for your generosity and your commitment to our cause. You have not wasted your time nor your money.” He waved graciously to the crowd. “You will be well rewarded for your efforts. We have one last lot to auction, and then our business here will be at an end. Your specimens are currently in stasis, but over the next few days they will be awakened and delivered to the quarters you have purchased for them.” He paused dramatically. “And now, my friends, for the final lot in the auction. This is the most valuable of the specimens: the jewel of the collection, if you will.” Ethan looked at the screen, which flickered, blank, as Traxoram went on. “This specimen is a female. She is, at this moment, carrying young. This means that the Aloran who obtains her will have the unique opportunity to study more than one generation of advancement. We could learn more from these two specimens than from the entire ship.”