Alien Genes 1: Daughter of Atuk

by Petra Theunissen

  He could see that she could hardly contain her excitement, but he didn't share her enthusiasm.

  No, he said impassively, put the binoculars down and got up, whacking the sand off his clothes, And I don't want to know.

  She grabbed him by the arm, perplexed by his lack of interest

  Eqin, don't you know what this means? She is generating some kind of force field. We have to test it. This is something that we haven't seen before. Imagine what that would mean for our own people if we could harness it.

  Eqin avoided her eyes. No.

  She was passionate in her argument. Don't be a fool, Eqin. You're letting your emotion dictate your mind. Again.. Imagine the knowledge we could gain by studying her.

  His response was curt. No.

  S'Tha's expression turned into one of anger, and her eyes flashed as she spoke. You can't allow this knowledge to bypass us.

  His eyes were cold when he looked at her. He wasn't prepared to compromise. Not even for his own sister. No, S'Tha, we are not subjecting her to any more tests. I gave her my word.

  You gave your word to a human?

  S'Tha's revulsion at the notion was almost tangible, and for a moment Eqin saw a side of his own sister he hadn't seen before—and he wished that he hadn't seen it right then. To her humans were simply lab rats. Nothing more and nothing less. You are becoming as narrow-minded as Hasan, she added argumentatively.

  Eqin's face turned pallid. Being compared with Hasan was more than he could handle at that precise point in time and he struggled to keep his anger in check. He considered describing some of her lesser qualities to her, then decided it wasn't worth it. Instead, he simply walked away towards the beach.

  S'Tha seemed surprised by his reaction, packed up the tiny binoculars and hurried after him.

  Eqin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to compare you to Hasan. I was just angry with you for letting such an opportunity pass us by. We are scientists, Eqin. It's what we do. That's why we came here in the first place. We don't owe these humans anything. They're not even on our level of development.

  Eqin had had enough. Be quiet, S'Tha, and I'll pretend that you never said that. I don't want to discuss this ever again.

  She persisted. How can you say that? I have a right to my opinion.

  He stopped for in his tracks. She clearly didn't know when to quit.

  Yes, you do, and if you ever express those particular opinions again in my presence or do anything to harm her, I have the right to have you sent back.

  The menace in his response was quite unmistakeable.

  This human has twisted your priorities. No, worse. She has meddled with your brain. She paused and then added viciously, Are you sleeping with her?

  Eqin couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned to his sister with eyes as cold as ice and a tone to match. That's none of your business.

  Her reply was equally frosty.

  It is, because if you have slept with her you've broken the law. If you think that you're going to have me sent back, think again. I'll have you sent back before you can blink.

  He could almost taste the sadistic satisfaction in her retort. You're talking rubbish.

  But he was suddenly not sure anymore. There was no doubt she was serious.

  Am I? Her smile was triumphant. The Council has already inquired about your performance. Apparently they're sending a Truth Seeker to see if your record is adequate, and you know what will happen if they find it to be ... unacceptable...

  His face was as colourless as the clouded sky. Never in his life had he been so angry. He had been betrayed—by his own sister.

  You're not touching her, S'Tha. That's an order.

  Without further discussion he turned towards the old house.

  Furious, she sent more words after him as he stalked away:

  I won't let it go, Eqin! This is too important to ignore. It will make my career. You mark my words!

  Hiking over the sand and rocks towards the house, he could see even from that distance that there'd been a change. It seemed more alive than he'd ever seen it.

  When Anya hinted to him that the house was designed using biotechnology, he was surprised. He'd been aware that the Antediluvians had used the technology in the past, but he'd never seen it first hand or at least, he never thought he'd seen it. He hadn't thought that their technology had survived on Earth at all. After all, it had been thousands of years since the last surviving Antediluvian was brutally murdered in her sleep.

  He'd always found the house intriguing, but hadn't realised the reason for its curious aura. Strange that none of them ever detected that the old house had been built using different technology. Perhaps the reason was that no-one had used it for generations. What he'd found more surprising, though, was that a young and inexperienced Algidan like Anya had detected its presence. When he mentioned that detail, Anya simply scoffed it off, saying she learned about it from her sage. And when he made a comment that it had to have been an exceptional sage, she simply shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something about ‘...really old'.

  He did find it strange that Anya would have had a sage who trained her. It was unusual for an Algidan to be trained by one of the Masters, but not impossible. After all, he'd spent a few years with a sage himself.

  He wondered if Cathy had been aware of the unique features of the house. Even if she were, it didn't seem to unsettle her.

  He looked up at the darkening sky. There was a storm brewing. There had been many storms lately, which was curious for this area of the planet. His people had chosen that location because of its mild average temperature, but wide-ranging planetary climate changes seemed to have affected the island's weather too.

  Long before he reached the house, he noticed Cathy was still on the beach and made towards her. She looked more frail than when he had last seen her, and he was instantly troubled. Had she been ill without telling him? S'Tha had promised she would take care of her, but he doubted she'd been doing a good job if her comments earlier were anything to go by.

  He had to admit that S'Tha's attitude had worried him lately. He knew she'd been angry with him for not allowing her to continue her experiments on Cathy, but her reaction was abnormal even for her. He'd never known that she was so ambitious; that she would harm another being in her quest for success and recognition. Had anyone suggested that to him when they were younger, he would have been shocked, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. Although he hated admitting it, he knew S'Tha was up to something. He could see it in her eyes. The question was what, and how far she'd go to reach her ambition.

  He caught up.

  “Cathy."

  Cathy stopped and turned. The wind blew her long sun-bleached hair in her face, which was drawn and pasty. There were dark rings under her eyes, and he wondered if she'd been sleeping at all.

  “Eqin,” she said more like a statement than a greeting. Her voice was carried off by the wind, but he'd seen her face light up when she recognised him.

  Worry was etched in his face as he asked, “Are you alright?"

  “Yes, I'm okay."

  “You look pale."

  “I haven't slept much lately.” She avoided more questions skilfully by asking one. “How was your assignment?"

  He'd been gone several days on an assignment—something he'd tried to avoid but couldn't get out of. He was, after all, still the Commander of the Facility.

  “It took a bit longer than I expected. I'd hoped to be back earlier,” he said vaguely.

  Cathy looked out over the sea. “What were you and S'Tha doing on the dunes?” she asked.

  He was unprepared for her frank question. She hadn't looked in their direction once. How did she know they had been there?

  “We were watching you,” he answered honestly. Besides the fact that he didn't want to lie to her, he suspected she already knew but was simply testing him to see if he was truthful.

  “Why?” The gaze from her blue eyes met his, and for a few moments, he was struck by their sh
arpness.

  Without saying a word, he gestured at the tiny waves around her feet. She looked down, and then turned her head away. “Oh."

  He could sense the revulsion she felt for herself and stepping forward, held her face, gently turning it towards him. He could read her thoughts, and his heart wept for her. “It's alright, you know,” he said kindly.

  “How can you say that? Look. The waves are breaking away from me instead of around my feet. It's not normal. I'm turning into some ... thing. What's next?"

  “It doesn't matter what's next. I'll still love you,” he said. Cathy looked at him surprised, and opened her lips slightly to say something, but instead, he saw tears well up in her eyes. He could read her unspoken question, and nodded. “Yes, you heard right. I love you."

  She touched his cheek, stroked it tenderly. “Thank you for saying that,” she whispered.

  Eqin could feel the emotion behind her words. “I'm not saying it to make you feel better, Cathy. I mean it,” he said.

  “I know,” she replied softly. He saw the look in her eyes and knew his love wouldn't be reciprocated. She couldn't love him. Not just yet. Not while she had no idea what she was becoming. Although he was disappointed, he knew that it had to be.

  For a while, they stood like that in the face of the storm building over the island—their bodies close together as if in unity.

  As the first raindrops whisked over their heads, they both looked up at the same time, then hurried to the old house. As they reached it, there was a flash of lightning, followed by rolling thunder before the rain came lashing down. They had made it just in time.

  The house was warm and welcoming, and Eqin couldn't help but comment on it.

  “You did a great job with the house. It looks almost like a home,” he said.

  “Thanks. It is a home. Mine."

  They went inside, and instantly the room was lit and the curtains drawn over the windows even though Cathy hadn't touched a switch. It was astounding. The house's biotechnology seemed to respond to Cathy as if in unison with her. It was uncanny how it had bonded with its human inhabitant.

  “Coffee?” she asked

  “Yup,” he said. He still couldn't resist the brew. It was one of those things he loved about Earth—drinking their coffee. He had developed a bit of an addiction for it, tasting the different types wherever he went on the planet. His own people were revolted by the smell, and would never even taste it.

  He followed her to the kitchen and sat down at the heavy oak table. He couldn't remember ever seeing it previously. It had to be new, like most of the furniture in the house. He wondered where it had come from, but assumed that S'Tha had organised furniture while he was away on an assignment. Watching Cathy as she made the coffee, he noticed that her hands trembled slightly.

  “Are you sure you are alright?” he asked.

  She hardly looked up. “I'm fine, thanks,” she said.

  He wasn't convinced. “Are you still getting those pains?"

  “Sometimes.” He caught her eye, but she immediately averted hers. “Not that often anymore, though,” she said.

  He didn't have to read her mind to know she was lying. She evidently didn't want to add to his concern, but he didn't want to make the situation more complicated than it already was by probing. When she finished making the coffee he took the two huge mugs—real earthy versions of their own more delicate glass mugs—and walked in silence with her to the lounge.

  Once again, the room lit up as they approached it. It was a strange experience even for him to see the ancient biotechnology in action. Although it was a bit sinister, it was not entirely unacceptable.

  In the lounge he stopped, and looked around. “I really like what you've done with the place. Even I wouldn't have been able to fix it up the way you did,” he said.

  She smiled. “Thank you. I like the house; its style. It's simple and yet very comfortable. It's strange. The house seems to adjust to my every need. If I get too cold, it suddenly gets warmer. If I get too hot, the temperature drops a degree or two. I can't describe it, but I know it's alive in some weird way. What do you call it ... biotechnology?"

  He struggled to hide his surprise. “You know?"

  This time the smile reached her eyes. “Don't sound so surprised. I've spent many months with a group of aliens; and I'm probably becoming alien myself. Besides, I live here. It's pretty hard not to notice there's something different to the house. Did you really think I wouldn't?"

  “Well, no ... Humans have visited here in the past. They've never noticed anything out of the ordinary,” he admitted.

  “It probably didn't react to them like it does to me."

  “It's not just humans. Even my own people hardly ever noticed anything unusual. It never reacted to anyone in the same way as it seems to react to you,” he said, feeling just a smidgen of apprehensiveness about her affinity with the house's technology. Sensing her puzzlement, he sat down on the couch, facing her. “That was one of the reasons why the Antediluvians stopped using it. Biotechnology as they used it, had too many hiccups. They had difficulties making it apply generically. It adapted to individuals only, and sometimes with dire consequences when it adapted to the moods of their inhabitants. It's unusual that it would adapt so well to you, especially since you're human. It's almost as if it had been waiting for you."

  He could see that his words seemed to make her uneasy, and suddenly wished he'd been more tactful. She made a curtain swish open. Outside the sky had darkened as the sun set.

  “What is it like where you come from? Is it anything like Earth?” she said, changing the topic.

  He hesitated before answering. How could one explain his home world? It was like Earth and yet it wasn't. Their level of technological advancement was much higher than the human's and because of that, many—if not most—believed that they were also socially more advanced. Given, their societal structure and culture was definitely different. They lived under different laws, answered to different authorities and yet, living here on Earth had made him realise that even their society had a lot to learn.

  “It's different,” he said.

  “Is it beautiful?"

  He thought for a moment. “Yes, it is. Our skies are blue like yours, but we don't have sunsets like yours because we have no pollution. We have seasons similar to yours but because most of us live in highly advanced cities, we hardly notice these changes. Our temperature remains at a comfortable level all year around,” he said musingly.

  “That's a pity,” she said.

  He didn't immediately catch what she meant, and said, “What?"

  “That you don't notice the seasons,” she said.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I've never given it much thought. It's comfortable, so most people don't complain."

  “Each season brings something different. It's representative of the cycle of life. We're born, we live, we get older and then we die, but then the cycle starts over again,” she said pensively.

  He glanced at her sideways. “We know about the cycle of life, but we don't believe in it the same way you do. Most of us are Algidans. We cannot entertain what we cannot explain. Besides, our concept of time is different to yours."

  “And yet, you're looking for answers in the past."

  Her statement surprised him. “What do you mean?"

  “The scrolls. The ones Hasan is looking for—they contain ancient knowledge, don't they?” Changing the topic almost immediately, she continued. “Personally I still prefer spring, because the climate is more tolerable."

  The conversation was making him slightly uneasy—particularly the way she changed topics in mid-sentence. She still had habits that made him wonder how mentally stable she really was. Nevertheless, her insight had surprised him. There hadn't been a single moment in the last few months that she hadn't at some point surprised him by her knowledge or understanding. In some ways she was still the same person he'd met many years ago—but in other ways, she'd changed and grown almost be
yond recognition. Not that he wasn't pleased with it, but anyone who would call her a primitive creature was making a huge mistake. There was nothing primitive about her insight or intellect.

  He wanted to ask more about what she meant by the scrolls Hasan was looking for, but he could see by her demeanour that he shouldn't venture into that topic.

  Answering her earlier question, he said, “There are a few tribes that live outside the cities. They're the ones who prefer to follow what we call the Antediluvian Ways. They embrace technology like we do, but they have a different societal structure and laws."

  He could see he'd pricked Cathy's interest because her face suddenly seemed to come alive. “How so?” she asked.

  “Well ... it's hard to describe really. They keep pretty much to themselves. Some call them the descendants of the Antediluvians—the ones who first started travelling the universe. Others just refer to them as the Caretakers. They focus most of their energies studying the ancient scripts.” He paused for a moment. “There are also those who live outside the city walls because they were expelled by the Algidans. A lot of them live in Infitalis, the City of the North."

  “Have you ever met any of them?” she asked inquisitively.

  He hesitated. “Yes, a long time ago but I don't remember much of it,” he answered. He really didn't want to go into that discussion. His relationship with the Caretakers and the others living outside the cities had been awkward, to say the least.

  “Is Anya one of them?"

  Her question staggered him. “I don't know. I haven't given it any thought. I suppose it's possible. Sometimes Caretakers join the Algidans but it doesn't happen often,” he said. “Why are you asking?"

  She shrugged her shoulders. “There's something different about her. I can't place it. She's not like the rest of you."

  He tried to recall Anya's face in his mind. Was she different? He couldn't be sure. It hadn't crossed his mind. To him, everyone who joined the Algidans was an Algidan—whether born that way or not. Anya certainly had never been on his mind. She was only an assistant.

  “It's possible, but very rare,” he said. “We don't really mix. Our views are fundamentally different, and it's hard for an outsider to adopt the Algidan way of life."