Humans and other Aliens: Book 1

by Winzer, Alexander

  Suki was startled out of her musings when Jon opened the door to the meeting room. Suki took a seat at the opposite side of the table. She didn’t like having the door at her back. She wanted to see people’s faces when they first entered a room. Suki believed that first impressions were paramount and that everything else would normally unfold based on this first intuitive connection.

  Ezrah was just about to knock at Chris’s door when it suddenly slid open. “Hey, Chris, it’s time to…”

  Chris stood there, looking very different.

  “What happened to you?” Ezrah wouldn’t have recognized Chris if it hadn’t been for all the tattoos.

  “I felt it was time to get rid of the beard. I don’t know, there was this need to change something… and then I found these clothes in the wardrobe. Someone must have thought I needed them. Well… what do you think? How do I look?”

  Chris wore straight pants and a slim-fitting T-shirt, both black, with a hint of a silvery line running down the side of his torso and legs. The silvery ARC symbol that was embroidered on his chest stood out as the most prominent feature of his simple new outfit.

  Ezrah didn’t know what to say so he kept it short. “You look… good. More approachable.”

  Chris laughed. “More approachable… Come on, let’s go. We’re already late.”

  Just before Chris entered the room Suki looked up from the display that was set into her table. She was surprised that he didn’t at all fit Jon’s description. Was he the same man? She felt it had to be him, but what was Jon going on about that he looked unkempt? He was a handsome guy, in his late twenties, no sign of a beard, and his clothes were… well they looked simple, but stylish at the same time.

  “Chris?” Jon seemed to be equally surprised at the man’s appearance.

  “Yes… sorry if I’m causing confusion, but I thought I should… well… try to blend in a bit.”

  Suki laughed. “Hi, Chris, it’s nice to meet you. You do blend in nicely.”

  Chris smiled at Suki. “Hi, Suki, nice to meet you… sister?”

  Now Suki was surprised, but after a few seconds of Chris and Suki gazing into each other’s eyes, both started laughing out loud. “Hello, brother!”

  Suki remembered how it felt when her brother was still alive. How they had this invisible bond that linked them in so many ways even though they took every possible opportunity to argue about the most superficial things.

  Standing next to Chris felt different. It was more like finding a missing piece of herself that was meant to fill an empty spot in her heart, something that she hadn’t known she was missing until she finally found it.

  Chris held Suki’s hands, still staring at her. “I think you can let her go now,” Ezrah interjected, ripping Chris out of his trancelike state that staring into Suki’s eyes had provoked.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  Suki pointed to the chair next to her. “Don’t worry. It was beautiful.”

  Chris’s cheeks now displayed a healthy glow. A colorful evidence of affection that previously would have been well concealed by his bushy beard. Suki enjoyed his insecurity, smiling like a little girl.

  Jon had been observing the display of affection. “It’s good to see that you like each other. I guess that’s a positive sign.”

  When Suki entered Delta’s room she felt that she had to get closer, that she had to touch this superhuman being. She completely forgot that she was still holding onto Chris who looked less convinced that it was a good idea to approach the unknown being without previous introduction. She kept dragging him along until they were within an arm's reach of Delta.

  “Hello, Delta. I’m Suki and this is Chris. We are very happy to meet you.”

  Delta smiled, reaching out to her. Suki placed both her and Chris’s hand into Delta’s hands. He closed his eyes. Suki and Chris’s bodies suddenly lost all tension, but somehow both managed to stay upright. Their eyes were closed but the pupils under their eyelids moved fast, similar to the REM phase of a vivid dream. After only a minute Delta opened his eyes and broke the physical contact. Suki’s knees gave way, but Chris supported her weight, guiding her to the closest seat.

  “What happened?” Jon was sitting on the edge of his chair.

  Chris recovered his composure quicker than Suki. “I’m not sure how to explain this. We’ve been away for… many lifetimes. Delta was showing us our past, the present and… ”

  Suki seemed to have regained her strength. “And a potential future. He has shown us why the attacks are happening by letting us live the life of multiple animals, other human beings, and even plants. I’ve been a tree that was cut down and I was the human that cut off its branches and turned the stem into planks used for a war machine. I’ve been a bird that was drowning in an oil spill off the coast of Mexico and I’ve been an overweight man dying from diabetes.” Suki had tears in her eyes when Chris took over.

  “I’ve been a spider killed by chemical poison, I was a man working in a coal mine, dying from lung cancer, and a shark in the ocean, caught by a trawler in a massive net, fins cut off and thrown back into the sea, dying a slow and horrible death. I was a child who played war on a computer screen and a soldier who got killed in Vietnam.”

  Chris seemed to be equally shocked by what Delta had shown him. It was the full madness of human civilization lived out personally, inhabiting the different perspectives of human and animal, of torturer and sufferer.

  “What did you see about the future?” Jon asked. Suki understood he needed to know what was in store for them. Was it too late or was there still a glimmer of hope?

  She took a sip of water. “Delta showed me two different paths. Two potential future scenarios. The first ended in the complete annihilation of humankind. I saw millions dying, killed by a huge beast dwarfing the high-rises beneath. I saw nature taking back the cities of man, massive tree roots breaking up the concrete surfaces, and I saw the sad inheritance we left behind. It took thousands of years for nature to clean up our mess. I saw a green planet from space, there were no lights visible at night, and all was at peace.”

  Chris grabbed Suki’s hand as he continued. “And we saw a new kind of man. A true, compassionate being. A being that is in tune with nature as well as itself. We have seen a society that values the synergy between earth and mankind; a society that has overcome greed and the striving for personal gain, and has replaced it with selfless compassion and true love towards life. People were clever, not ignorant and selfish. Mankind thrived without the need for exploiting nature. We saw that we already have it all. We’re just blinded by selfish desire and fears.”

  Jon stared at Chris, hopelessness written all over his face. “Option two sounds beautiful, but look at mankind. Look at where we are now. How do you propose to make mankind realize that the current path will lead to their certain demise? I lost the belief in the goodness of mankind a long time ago. I’ve no idea how you expect us to change humanity in such a radical way.” Jon now looked at Delta who had been listening attentively.

  Delta replied, “There are many ways, but most of them would require time that we no longer have. We will have to accept help when it is offered.”

  Jon looked unsure. “What help are you talking about, Delta?”

  Delta just smiled and turned his attention back to Suki and Chris. “I think you two should have some rest. I see that you are very tired. It is not surprising, as you have seen things from a cosmic perspective. Celestial bodies work on a completely different timescale than your human bodies. Connecting with the universal consciousness that integrates everything outside your concepts of time and space can be exhausting when one is not used to it.”

  Suki nodded, holding on to Chris as they walked out of the room.

  Delta smiled at Jon. “Do you think I could have a few more of these salmon sushi?”

  Jon laughed out loud. It was uncanny how Delta was able to move from world-shaking, momentous insights to simple food requests. “Sure, I’ll h
ave some delivered.”

  Jon’s phone rang. It was his boss Iris. She looked better. She seemed to have regained her composure and was now presenting her usual professional façade. Iris swiped her hand, transferring two files to Jon’s device. “I received a call from Dr. Eva Ouspensky. You know the Russian scientist that’s in charge of RISA’s research on the Green Egg? She said that she and Ivan… I’ve forgotten his surname… would like to offer their help. She was the one who…”

  Jon was amazed. Was this the help Delta had been talking about?

  “I’m familiar with her work. It’s utterly mind-blowing what she has achieved. I’d love to have them here with us.”

  Iris’s face didn’t change, but Jon thought he could make out a flash of astonishment moving in her eyes. He was normally very protective about his work and only rarely even discussed it with other scientists, but this was different… Iris smiled as she continued, “I’ll tell them that they’re most welcome.”

  Twenty-Two

  Eva

  Mov knew Iris well. They had spent quite a bit of time together at the California Institute of Technology when they were still young and full of crazy ideas of how to change the world by integrating the new achievements in quantum mechanics into daily applications. Mov went back to Russia after finishing his studies and ended up founding the Russian Institute for Supernatural Artifacts, RISA, which triggered a similar development in the US where ARC, a huge governmental research organization, took on the idea and established a department that was solely concerned with supernatural events. Iris was the logical candidate to spearhead this endeavor and was made an offer that she could not refuse.

  “Hello, Mov, it’s Iris. How are you?”

  “I’m OK. At least as OK as one can be in times like these. How can I help?”

  Iris was surprised to see how much Mov had changed in the last few months. His face looked thinner, drawn, and his short beard was now more white than black. “You know that Ms. Ouspensky called me earlier asking if she and her colleague, Ivan, were allowed to meet our team in charge of crossing human and alien DNA. I’ve been talking to Jon Adams who is the brains behind this program; he was very positive about meeting Ms. Ouspensky. He believes that combining our findings may be one of the last true opportunities for winning this fight. I can’t think of any reason why they shouldn’t meet. If they don’t get along then nothing much is lost, but in case they do…”

  “You know that I can’t say no to you. I’ll tell Eva about our discussion. I’m sure she’ll pack immediately and be with you first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Iris already liked this girl; there was nothing more tedious than people who talked but didn’t act. “Thanks, Mov. I wish you all the best. I hope our young protégées will do us proud.”

  * * *

  Ivan was already in front of his holographic workstation when Eva entered the lab. “You’re in the lab when I leave in the evening and you’re already here when I get back in the morning. Do you sleep in here?”

  Ivan pretended to think about this for a few seconds before answering, “I guess sometimes I do sleep in here. I’ve been working on this new program. It connects to the Orbital Ring and reads the live stream of the tracking data flowing to our servers in St. Petersburg.”

  Eva inspected Ivan’s mobile device, which displayed a perfect copy of the holographic representation of earth rotating in a section of Ivan’s holo display. “And what’s so special about that?”

  Ivan grinned. “It links the data from the Ring with the current location of the device and generates an alarm if one of the alien ghosts materializes a certain distance from it.”

  “Interesting. Have you tested it?” said Eva, a mocking expression on her face.

  Ivan blushed. “No… testing it would mean that I’d have to be close to one of the ghosts. I’d rather not test it.”

  Eva laughed. “So what’s it good for? Sounds like a tsunami warning device that tells you about the event when it’s already too late, a few seconds before it hits you.”

  “Yes, yes… I agree with what you’re saying, but so far we haven’t been able to measure the delay between the initial detection of the signal materializing and the time when the alien has been fully embodied. Who knows, maybe there’s just enough time delay to—”

  Eva nodded “—to run as fast as possible… and save your skinny ass?”

  Ivan felt like a coward. Was this really the reason why he had been building this app? “Well… yes, maybe, or one could even try to save a few people while running away at the same time.”

  Eva patted Ivan on the shoulder. “I know you’re no coward. This is probably the most promising thing we’ve achieved over the last few weeks. I’m sure Mov will love it. He might be able to show it off at the next press conference and placate a few reporters with another success story.”

  Now he felt even worse. “I didn’t want to…”

  Eva quickly took his hand. “I know Ivan, I know. You’re doing your best. We both are, but it seems our best is just not good enough.”

  * * *

  Mov looked tired as he called Eva. The last months had been difficult for him. He was a man who was used to being in full control of every situation. He had built this institution based on the dream of being able to deal with events like this. Well maybe not exactly like this, and now that one of these situations was at hand he was lost. He didn’t have the means or the power to defend and save his country, his people; he couldn’t even protect his closest family. There seemed to be nothing he could do besides tell lies and play down the gravity of the situation, something he didn’t like but was fast becoming part of his makeup. He was doing something that displeased him greatly, but there was no other way. What else could he do?

  Mov didn’t feel like chatting so he kept it short. “I’ve been talking to Professor Iris Bell. She told me that she’d like to invite you and Ivan to meet with her and Jon Adams at ARC in San Francisco. Go if you want. You have my blessing.”

  Mov was in a state of resignation. His best scientists had not been able to find a solution for the alien problem and it didn’t look like any solution could be found anytime soon.

  “That’s wonderful! I promise we won’t disappoint you. We’ll find a way.”

  * * *

  “Ivan, pack your things, we’re leaving for San Francisco tomorrow morning.” Ivan didn’t hear Eva. He was fully immersed in checking a strange-looking signal spike on his workstation. “Eva, look at that.”

  Eva hurried over to Ivan’s desk, which was projecting a three-dimensional graph of the signals emitted by the Green Egg over the past day. “What is this… thing… at the end of the curve?”

  Ivan frantically combined and analyzed data. “It looks like a massive version of the signal spikes that have been coming from the Green Egg at fairly regular intervals, only that this spike is a few thousand times stronger and what’s even more confusing is”—now Eva saw it too—“that this was the last signal for by now about an hour. What has happened? Has the Green Egg given birth to its last magnificent creature? Has it finally run dry?”

  Ivan initiated the depth scanner he had been developing over the last few weeks. “It looks like the Green Egg has laid its last… chicken… ghost.”

  Eva smiled. “This might win the race for good news of the day. The Green Egg has stopped producing, but not before ejecting approximately ten thousand alien ghosts into our atmosphere and eventually finishing it off in good old fireworks tradition by saving the best for last.”

  Ivan smirked at Eva’s attempt at black humor. “Yes, the best always comes last. What did you say when you came in? Something about San Francisco?”

  Ivan didn’t like what Eva had to tell him. He was not much for traveling and he had only ever been outside of Russia once, when his older brother got married in Prague a few years ago. He didn’t like traveling. He didn’t like masses of people, and foreign cultures made him feel uncomfortable. He simply didn’t like what he cou
ldn’t translate into a computer program.

  “Don’t forget to pack all your toys. Bring as much as you can carry and don’t forget the Amphibian. I don’t think the Americans have anything like that.”

  Eva mentioning the Amphibian made Ivan feel better. Compiling his collection of technical equipment would be a fun thing to do. Suddenly the trip seemed to be not such a bad idea after all.

  * * *

  Very impressive, I could get used to this, Ivan thought when skimming through the Virtual Gourmet application on his personal in-flight tablet. “I’d like the steak, medium rare, the Australian Shiraz, and a nice glass of the Finnish vodka.”

  Eva stared at Ivan in disbelief. “What are you doing?”

  Ivan felt that he might have overdone it slightly. “Ahh… cancel the vodka, thank you.” Ivan had never been on one of these hypersonic jets, but now he was traveling business class to San Francisco and he thought he might as well enjoy it.

  The flight was uneventful and soon Eva and Ivan were sitting in a CATI travel pod taking them to ARC headquarters in San Francisco.

  When the pod’s sliding door opened Professor Iris Bell greeted them; a man stood next to her. Ivan judged him to be in his early thirties. He was a fairly tall man with brown eyes and short brown hair.

  Eva jumped out of the pod and shook Iris’s hand. “Thank you for inviting us. This is Ivan, our technical genius.”

  Ivan blushed, awkwardly climbing out of the pod, holding on to five different bags stuffed with his most precious toys. “Hello, Iris, Jon. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Don’t know about the genius, but I hope I can be of some help.”

  Jon led his guests to their quarters. “I’ll come and collect you in an hour. I’ll tell everyone to be ready so you can meet them all.”

  Jon had assembled the team, as he had started calling the group of people who had been arriving at his second home over the last few days, to welcome the new arrivals. Chris sat next to Suki looking like he was lost in thought while Ezrah sat next to Zoe who didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet the Russian scientists. Jon wasn’t sure if her interest was based on pure curiosity or if there was a different reason at play; anyway, he didn’t care as long as she was supportive of his activities.