Humans and other Aliens: Book 1

by Winzer, Alexander

  It looks like… it kind of looks like two cards stuck together, he thought. Peter tried to fit his fingernail in between the tiny little gap that he could make out on one edge of the card. It’s not working, looks like an electrostatic charge is holding it together. Peter pressed the call button on his in-flight tablet.

  “Yes, Mr. Steiner, how can I help you?”

  Peter felt like an idiot asking his next question, but better being considered weird by the stewardess than failing this first test. “May I ask you for a little bowl with soap and water? I need to wash my hands. Thank you.”

  The woman’s face didn’t flinch. She must be used to stranger requests than a bowl of soapy water. “Certainly, Mr. Steiner, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Peter smiled shyly as she placed the bowl in front of him. “And some additional soap in case the water is not soapy enough.”

  Peter watched the woman vanish into the galley before putting the foil in the dish. He started rubbing the soapy water gently into the small gap reducing the static glue that held the two cards firmly in place. Peter noticed the gap widening. “It works!” Peter mumbled to himself, slowly pulling the foils apart. He dried them carefully with the towel the flight attendant had left for his convenience and scanned the second card.

  This is more like it, Peter thought when hundreds of gigabytes of technical data and detailed drawings were transferred to his tablet. It looks like… yes, it’s a detailed description of Professor Dimitrios’s device. Let’s see what he has cobbled together.

  Peter got lost in the details of the fascinating device that Nick had built based on Professor Dvorak’s theoretical background. He was a mad genius, thought Peter as he studied Nick’s solution to countering the extreme gravitational forces that acted on the organism being transferred back in time.

  But we won’t need any of this. We’ll only use inert matter as an information matrix… like this… Peter changed a few equations and adapted a couple of technical drawings so they reflected his idea of using a spinning object as something similar to a bus ticket. It contained the details of the trip, but it was not the one making the journey. This will be tricky…

  Peter studied the final stage of the process where the rotating object was sent through a looping wormhole which reverted back to itself. Nick has used the loop to wind back the object’s internal clock, so to speak, but what we need is different, we don’t want a loop… we want…

  “Please return to your seats. We’ll be landing in San Francisco airport in five minutes.”

  Peter started to sweat. He seemed to be so close, but the solution was just out of reach. Oh well… I guess there’ll still be time for this at ARC. Maybe when discussing this with Ivan…

  Thinking about meeting Ivan made him remember another Russian scientist of the same name, Ivan Askaryan, a grandson of the twentieth-century scientist Gurgen. He proved that quantum entanglement was not only prevalent in the dimension of space but also in time.

  Of course! While going back in time, entanglement readings should increase until a maximum is reached. When the peak has been reached we should also have maximum energy to stabilize the gateway. We should be…

  He was now really excited about what might be possible. This could be used as a time/space gateway, thought Peter. His head was spinning, not from the plane’s rapid descent, but from all the potential pitfalls that had to be considered. I hope Ivan is as much a mad genius as Professor Dimitrios. He has to be otherwise this won’t work.

  * * *

  “Mr. Steiner?”

  Peter was surprised to be greeted by a petite woman with long black hair wearing a dark grey suit. He hadn’t thought CATI agents would look like that, but then again, why would all agents have to be tall, blond, and muscular?

  “I’m Agent Venetti, but you may call me Maria.”

  Peter smiled as she continued, “Please follow me, our travel pod is waiting just outside the airport.”

  “After you.” Peter had been brought up in the good old Viennese tradition of ladies first, something that he considered a natural part of daily life even if it was a skill that not many young men practiced anymore. It was becoming a lost art in the second half of the twenty-first century.

  Maria seemed to enjoy being treated the old-fashioned way. “Thank you, Peter.” She smiled and jumped into the pod’s driver seat. “So you’re from Vienna… I was there a few years ago. Beautiful place.”

  Peter smiled. “Yes, it’s very pretty. Not as crowded as most big cities. We still have a pretty relaxed lifestyle. At least we did have before… before the attacks started to happen.”

  Maria nodded. She suddenly looked sad. Peter thought that she was even fighting back tears.

  “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

  Maria did her best to fake a smile. “It’s not your fault. I just… I lost my brother a few days ago through one of the attacks. He was out for dinner at the ARC technology tower to see the magical science show when…”

  Peter remembered reading the reports about the tragic event. More than three hundred people were killed that very night and Professor Dimitrios had been one of them. Somehow it was all connected and Maria appeared as just another piece in this puzzle called life. “I’m very sorry to hear about your loss. My girlfriend was also killed three days ago…”

  Maria took Peter’s hand and gave it a good squeeze. “Oh no! That’s horrible. You poor thing. How are you coping?”

  Peter felt a strange mix of feelings arise. Anger flared up from a deep abyss of sadness. “I’m OK. She… was not alone when I found her… my best friend…” Peter tried to keep it together. He didn’t want to arrive at ARC looking like he had just been crying his heart out. “I don’t really want to talk about it. It makes me feel… uncomfortable.”

  Maria nodded. Peter knew she understood. “That’s fine, Peter. Here’s my card. Call me if you need someone to talk to.”

  Peter suddenly felt better. Maria’s support and understanding without trying to extract information was comforting.

  He watched how Maria confidently navigated the pod through the busy San Francisco traffic and finally docked it at ARC’s arrivals level. It was nice to spend time sitting next to this woman without the need to talk, simply enjoying her presence without any pressure to make conversation. No unnecessary drivel. Peter found that silence often was more revealing than a thousand words. When one is quiet one can truly feel the chemistry between individuals and it is this silence that reveals the magic that is otherwise veiled by words about oneself, work, or other insignificant topics.

  Peter climbed out of the travel pod, smiled at Maria, and bid her farewell. “Hello, Jon, nice to meet you. I’m honored to be here.”

  Jon smiled, extending his hand. “Actually, the honor is all mine. I’m a big fan of Professor Dvorak’s work and he has recommended you highly.”

  Peter felt a sudden pang of sadness when thinking of the professor who had been his mentor over the past few years at university and now, without much pre-warning, it was Peter himself who was meant to carry the torch of Professor Dvorak’s wisdom.

  “Yes, he’s a brilliant scientist and even more so a great man. I hope I can do him proud.”

  Jon smiled and nodded. “Let’s go and meet with our head of department, Dr. Iris Bell. After that you’ll be meeting the team and… Delta.”

  Peter felt Jon’s hesitation. Was he holding back essential information? Something Peter should know? “I’ve never heard of a scientist called Delta… what’s his last name?”

  Jon laughed out loud. “Sorry, it’s not your fault, you can’t know… It’s funny though to call Delta a scientist… But perhaps you’re right, a scientist of life maybe.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m not following you.”

  Jon waved his hand as if to play down the importance of the matter. “Delta isn’t human, at least not like us. He’s the result of our latest experiment in crossing human and alien DNA. He looks human, but more than eighty
percent of his DNA structure is alien. That might also be the reason why he often talks in riddles.”

  Peter was dumbfounded. An alien in a human body? “He talks in riddles? Why? To keep you guessing?”

  Jon smiled at Peter. “I’m not always sure, but I think he’s pointing to something. He’s trying to navigate. He’s trying to show us a path. Sometimes it feels like we’re his disciples and he’s some kind of guru… I don’t know. You’ll meet him later, so you can form your own opinion.”

  Peter was confused. He hadn’t expected this to take a spiritual turn.

  Jon pressed the call button next to a large sliding door. Iris seemed to have been expecting their arrival. She stood next to the door, smiling, while extending her hand.

  Peter had been expecting a formal affair, similar to meeting the president of a university, who would be sitting on an imposing chair up front with all the professors sitting by his side, but Dr. Bell was not much for formalities. She insisted on Peter calling her Iris and treating her like a colleague rather than a superior. Peter took a while to get used to such a casual handling of matters, but after about an hour of talking, when the meeting came to an end, it felt more like chatting to an old friend than reporting to his boss.

  Peter smiled as he walked out of Iris’s office. He really liked her.

  “Are you ready to meet Delta?” Jon was next to Peter as they strolled down the corridor leading to Delta’s room. Peter suddenly felt his stomach contract. A dark emptiness seemed to be growing inside. Why am I nervous? There’s nothing to fear, thought Peter while he tried to present a confident smile. “Sure, I’m curious to meet him.”

  Jon nodded and placed his hand on the scanner opening the high security door to Delta’s room.

  Delta was sitting in his usual spot at the table scanning through Professor Dvorak’s papers on quantum field theory. “Hello, Peter, I am glad you are finally here.”

  Peter looked at Jon unsure as to how to respond. Jon laughed. “He always does that. He’s trying to show you that he already knows what will happen. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

  Peter sat down, staring at Delta as if he were trying to detect something that would render him less human, maybe a set of pointy ears or an extra finger, something that would reveal the fact that this being that was sitting at the other side of the table was not what it seemed to be.

  “I’m sorry for your loss. You believe Julia made a mistake, and this seems to diminish your love.”

  Peter nearly fell off his chair. “How… do you know?”

  Delta smiled. “I can see it in the reflection of your eyes. She is still there. Love is still there. You know, true love is not something that is directed towards an object, not even towards another person.”

  Peter took a sip of water. “Not towards a person? But what else can you love?”

  “You never ever love a person. You always only love your true self that is in you and also in the other. It is the essence of everything. This love has many expressions, a smile, a touch, sex. You only get lost when you misinterpret the desire for an object or a person as true love. Desires are shallow and they always bring along their companion, the fear of loss. True love has no opposite. It does not fear and it does not desire. It is the ground of being.”

  Now Peter understood why Jon had been so hesitant to put Delta into a predefined box. “Yes… I think I understand. True love cannot be defined by its opposite. It cannot be true if it requires its opposite to be defined and known.”

  Delta took Peter’s hand. “Yes… Love, or truth, does not arise in the context of duality. That is why you cannot grasp it on an intellectual level. You are it; you live it. This is it.”

  Peter felt a strange, cold tingling rising from the hand Delta was touching.

  “Let me show you something. I am sure you remember the last time you saw Julia as well as your friend Michael?”

  Peter nodded. A thought popped up taking him back into the room where he had found his girlfriend and best friend together in bed, dead, but this time it was different; there was nobody in the room. He was alone. Suddenly the door opened and Michael walked in. “Where did you leave it?”

  Peter could hear Julia’s voice from outside the room. “I think I may have left it on the bed.” Michael was looking for something. “I found it, your phone’s here. I think I’ll call Peter. I’d like to tell him that I’m here, dropping off your present.”

  Peter suddenly felt a huge weight lifting from his shoulders. “She didn’t… she hadn’t been…”

  Suddenly Michael was hit by something; an invisible attacker pinned him down on the bed. Peter tried to touch him, but his hand went straight through him. At the same moment Peter saw it. A tall, blonde woman was sitting on Michael’s chest looking down on his friend. Two massive horns extended out of her forehead. The vertebrae of her spinal column ended in slim, razor-sharp spikes protruding from the skintight black suit that covered the sides and front of her body. Her hands looked like two massive claws, similar to that of a giant scorpion, but were made of a dark-grey metal-like material glittering in the light of the midday sun that flooded the room with its bright orange glow. One fast snap and his head rolled off to the side while his body still twitched under her weight. There was no blood. The cut had been performed with such speed and precision that Michael’s arteries immediately cauterized adding a dreamlike quality to the terrifying scene. Peter noticed Julia running into the room. The monster turned around, moving behind Julia at lightning speed, grabbing her at the waist and throwing her onto the bed while nearly severing her hip and legs from her upper body. Julia suddenly looked at Peter. “Peter? How come you’re here?” Peter felt how her presence faded; how life left her broken body. “Julia! No!”

  Eva was holding Peter’s hand. He stood upright in front of the table.

  “It’s OK, it’s all OK.” Eva tried to comfort Peter who was slowly coming out of the trance that Delta had initiated.

  “Where… am I? Julia?”

  Delta got up and stroked his head. “It’s all good, she is still with you.”

  Peter sat down. His legs started to buckle. Delta’s touch had drained all the nervous energy out of him, what was left was…

  “I feel so empty, it’s so silent. Thank you for showing me the truth.”

  Delta nodded. “Do not carry this pain any longer. You don’t need to hold on to an image. She is pure love and she will always be with you.”

  Peter knew that Delta was right. He had to let her go; he had to let his anger and sadness go.

  “Can I go back to my room before meeting Ivan? I need some time to myself.”

  Eva looked at Jon who just nodded. “Eva, do you want to accompany Peter?”

  Eva knew Jon was right, female energy would be a soothing influence for Peter’s upset state of mind.

  “Come on, Peter, give me your hand. I’ll walk you there.”

  Thirty

  Delta

  Jon sat back down and looked at Delta. “Was that really necessary? He looks pretty shaken up.”

  “He needed to see the truth. His interpretation of events was starting to fester into something that would have made him angry, bitter, and unsatisfied with life. We need someone that says yes to life, someone that loves unconditionally.”

  “I just thought that there might have been a more gentle way.”

  “No, Jon, life is not gentle. It is fierce, it is wild, it is untamed. Humans have become afraid of life. Thus they attempt to escape it by hiding in hope, the hope that life will be kind to them. They try to turn it into a cuddly pet, but life is not a pet. It is a raging volcano that is ready to incinerate all your beliefs, everything that you think is worth hanging on to. It is a cleansing fire that destroys all form and leaves you only with the raw ashes.”

  Jon felt a strange tingling in his abdomen that was spreading to his chest and throat. Was this fear arising? The angst of having an essential building block of his life questioned, maybe eve
n challenged? “Nothing to hold on to… that sounds pretty harsh. What about hope?”

  “Hope is an emotional investment in the future. It truly is only a desire to achieve a certain outcome. Like all emotions, hope is not pure. You cannot hope without fearing that perhaps your hope will not materialize. You fear the future while telling yourself that there is still hope. You hang on to a worn-out rope hoping it will hold your weight while you are frozen in a state of fear and despair awaiting your imminent demise. Hope is a shackle. It holds you back from responding in a natural way. It is only when you act without the slightest idea of hope that great things can be achieved. All that hope does is keep you trapped in a stasis between should and would. No hope means natural progress without fear.”

  Jon felt that Delta was testing his fundamental beliefs of what it meant to be human; humans hoped, didn’t they? “I can’t see how that can be the case. If I lose all hope then nothing is important anymore. We need the hope that we can beat the enemy, otherwise…”

  “What happens otherwise?” Delta interrupted. “Do you think you will be inactive? Do you think it is hope that keeps you going? I tell you, it is not. It is life itself that keeps you going. Hope is just an idea that you place in front of life, a veil to hide the truth. Hope makes you weak. It infects you with thoughts about your potential demise. Hope quickly turns into fear, which will drain the life force out of your body. You cannot be strong while hoping in fear.”

  “I trust I’m not interrupting an important discussion.” Eva was back, patting Jon on the shoulder as she took a seat. “I see he’s working his spiritual magic on you.”

  Jon smiled. “He wants me to give up all hope.”

  Eva nodded, a tender-hearted look on her face. “I think you might be misunderstanding him. Giving up hope is not truly a giving up at all. It can equally be very freeing. You will be released from the weight that hope places on your shoulders.”