by G. L. Argain
“Hey, bastard,” said Andrew.
Voriaku swiftly turned around to face Andrew, preparing to raise his alien fist as he did so. He did not have time, however, to react to the punch that Andrew delivered right to his temple. Within a fraction of a second, Bill punched the other temple as well, creating a heavy reaction force onto Voriaku’s skull. The alien had fallen down to his hands, still retaining his consciousness. Andrew knocked him out with a fully forced kick to the chest. Voriaku showed no signs of waking up soon, from the looks of it.
“That was too easy…I know it,” said Andrew.
Bill responded, “Who cares? He’s down, let’s go!” and ran out of the room.
Andrew was hesitant to follow him, making sure that Voriaku didn’t just let them win. He needed to keep sight of Bill, so he ran out of the room as well. He and Bill had turned at the nearest left and hurried down some stairs.
Voriaku opened his eyes seconds later with ease and stood back up as though he was just sitting down. He brushed himself off as he heard the voice from the ceiling.
“I was hoping that was just a setup,” said Commander Fall. “Those humans should have been killed by a single hit each from your muscular modifications.”
“I know what I’m doing. I’ll take care of the newcomer first.”
“Very well. And make sure not to waste too much time. We have given you a time limit for a reason.”
Voriaku kept his eyes on the ceiling for a few seconds, then he walked out of the room at a steady yet leisurely pace.
Chapter 21
After ten minutes, Bill stopped due to a lack of energy. Andrew had plenty of energy and caught up with him a while ago. His nose had even healed itself up a bit. What an odd thing for a power-hungry alien to help out his foe with that neon-green pill. And yet, at the same time, he had convinced himself even more that Voriaku set him up by doing so.
“Hey, why’d you stop?” asked Andrew.
“I’ve got a stitch,” said Bill. “I guess I haven’t been in as much shape as I hoped to be.”
“Well, we’ve been running for…ten minutes now, I suppose. Maybe we should think this through and find a room with a door that will actually open.”
“Too bad all these doors have no handles on them or anything.”
“Probably opened only by that wristwatch thing Voriaku had.”
“Who?”
“The alien from just earlier.”
“Oh.”
After a matter of seconds, the two humans walked on until they found themselves in a curved hallway; in the direction they were facing, the hall curved to the right.
“Hey, you think that this hall is just a big circle?” said Bill.
“Probably.”
“Then would there be a hall to our right at some point that would take us to the center of the ship?”
“But what if there is none? And what if anything between here and the center of the ship is closed off with doors? That we can’t open, by the way.”
“…Shit.”
“Although we can at least try. And if we find a hall to our left, then we would end up on the outermost hall, where we could find some escape pods!”
“Aw, hell yeah! Now that sounds better! Then we can get off this ship!”
Andrew opened his mouth, then he slowly closed it back up as he was crushed by a fact of reality. “What if the doors to the escape pods won’t open either?”
“…You know what? Let’s just go find out already! It’d probably do us good to at least try and find out.”
Andrew remained silent, then he nodded after a few seconds.
As they both found out, the hall they were already walking through was the outermost hall on the ship, and all there was to their left were closed pod doors. However, when they had just gone in a complete circle, a door to their right had suddenly opened, unknown to the both of them why. Beyond the door was a room containing large cylindrical tanks in the center and storage containers to the sides. All of the tanks were filled with a green liquid that was more transparent than opaque. What was within the liquid had varied from tank to tank. Some of them had only a flexible tube that went halfway up the center of the tank, and attached to that tube was a little alien embryo slightly larger in diameter. In other tanks were Selentors that looked young—perhaps the equivalent of four- to six-year-old human children, and there were no tubes. All of the beings in the tanks had their eyelids closed, but plenty of the more developed beings had moved before the humans’ eyes.
Andrew and Bill were both speechless for many seconds unaccounted for. Bill broke the silence by saying, “Is this real? Is this really what I think it is?”
“It’s some kind of mass production, made just for living beings.”
“I was thinking more like an alien army. You know, clones that are made to be perfect so they could be the best in the universe. Like no one ever was!…” Bill chuckled a little as he said his second sentence, trying to accept the idea of it as a joke. But Andrew accepted the idea of a biologically-perfected infantry as a realistic truth. Perhaps this mass production of the Selentor’s own species was for both civilian and military purposes, he thought.
Voriaku walked down a straight hall up to a door to his left. He peered through the little window on the door for a brief moment, then he continued with his stroll. Beyond that little window were dozens of inactivated robots, all lined up and hanging on racks.
“God, this is horrifying,” said Bill. “There are so many things that are fucked up about this.”
“But the Selentors see nothing wrong with it. They think that everything they do and think is right.”
“Why? Why the hell is that?” Bill raised his hand toward one of the tanks. “These guys aren’t even really…real!”
“Nothing here is real! Not here, or anywhere else in the universe!”
“Yeah! We…wait, what?”
“The only place that really counts would be Earth…and maybe some of the planets around Earth. Do you know that this isn’t the first time I’ve been on an alien ship like this?”
Bill developed an expression of bewilderment. “Well, I did hear something from earlier, like how you contacted someone or something?”
“The AOIB.”
“Yeah, that’s it. So are they like another alien species, or what?”
Andrew kept his mouth closed for a couple seconds before responding. “They’re an intergalactic organization—some dominant superpower in the universe that’s pretty much at war with the Selentors. And I don’t think they’re that much different.”
“What do you mean?”
“I landed on one of their planets, and they treated me fine, but I felt like they were hiding stuff from me. I remember going onto the roof of a skyscraper, and all I saw were more skyscrapers. There was nothing but gray buildings and flying cars and people everywhere. And from what I heard, that kind of place took up ninety percent of the planet.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah. And the remaining ten percent was mostly ocean…and a giant volcano. That was the only place that I saw something green there.”
“…Damn. But it doesn’t sound like they were hiding anything from you. I mean, you got to see the only untouched place—sort of—in the whole planet! Am I right?”
“No, it’s not like that. It’s just that…when I was on top of that skyscraper, I could see thousands of aliens with my naked eye. And yet the only people that I met were the members of the AOIB. And maybe some bald squirrel-dude, but I don’t know what that was all about. I think it was just a dream.”
Bill kept his mouth open without uttering a word until he could put this puzzle of ideas together.
“It was like I was the alien, being held captive while hidden to the public. Maybe I was just some tool—no, more like some bio-weapon under their control. Do you know why I’m taller?”
Like any befuddled human, Bill could not respond immediately. But he did give an answer: “Because of those gene
tic mods the alien was talking about?”
“Yeah. He wasn’t the one who modified me—mostly. It was the AOIB.”
Bill rubbed his hands on his face. “Ugh, this really is a pain in my head. I just wanna go back to Earth—” He jerked his head up. “Why the hell are we still here anyway?!? We should just find some way to open those doors to the escape pods, and then we can go!”
Andrew said nothing.
“Don’t just stand there! Help me look for something! Maybe there’s a device in one of these cabinets here…”
Still standing in his place, Andrew remained speechless.
“God fucking dammit, they’re locked!”
“Of course they would be.”
Bill turned around to see Andrew’s eyes meeting his, the latter’s hopeless and melancholy.
“Everything that’s going on here,” said Andrew, “is under the Selentor’s control. They know what they’re doing, and they sure as hell aren’t going to let us go.”
“What are you talking about? We found this room, didn’t we?”
“DON’T YOU SEE?!? This door didn’t open up on it’s own! We were led here on Voriaku’s own will—”
“That guy’s dead, though!”
“Then it’s the commander’s doing! He’s the guy in charge of the ship, watching our every move, making sure nothing goes out of hand for him…everything that these people do is based on control.”
Bill began to look horrified.
“Whether they’re robots or organic beings, they still think of themselves superior to us, for reasons that I still don’t really understand…there were robots at the AOIB, as well. Androids, too.”
“…How do you know that?”
“There were two guys that I saw get destroyed by Voriaku, and their insides were metallic and electric. I didn’t see any blood.”
Bill squatted down, his fright more overt now. “So what, you think that we’re all just doomed? That mankind is just gonna end up like all these aliens? I’m sure as hell not gonna kill myself now just because you say it’s hopeless. We will get through this! Earth will get through this!”
“And how the hell would that work?!? Even if by some miracle we get back to Earth in one piece, there’s still going to be an intergalactic war that’ll suck all of humanity into it! You heard Voriaku mention that, didn’t you?”
“We can warn people! We could tell them the aliens’ plans!”
“Do you even hear yourself? We’d just be called a bunch of lunatics! There’s no hope in helping them, and there’s no hope in helping me! Why did you even come here to save me, anyway?”
“Because we’re friends!”
“No! No we’re not! We never were in the first place! You bullied me and tortured me in high school! How the hell have you changed?!?”
“I got tired of my life—”
“So did I! I hated Earth! I hated all of the artificiality and the hypocrisy and all of the dumb people that resided on that planet!”
“Not everyone’s dumb!”
“Well, it sure seemed like it! Nobody seems to care about one another at all unless they know each other! For years I wanted to talk to some random stranger to see if they had something interesting to say. I always thought that every person was special, that everyone had a story to tell. At one point, I talked to somebody on the bus, and you know what I got? ‘Could you please just get away from me? I just wanna get through my day.’ I wasn’t even rude or awkward about it; I just walked up to him and said, ‘Excuse me, could I talk to you for a moment?’ …It just shows that we’re so pent up in our own lives that we’ve lost touch with each other. All that everyone seems to care about anymore is time…and money…and fame…and I…I just don’t see that as living.”
Bill felt compelled to say something, but nothing would come out.
“So I would rather die on an alien ship in the middle of space than to live on through some empty life on such a planet. Not just Earth, but any other planet with people on it. All I’ve learned from being abducted was how big and terrible the universe was…and how insignificant I am in comparison to everything else.”
“Don’t…please don’t say it like that.”
“AND WHY NOT?!? Compared to everything else in the universe…compared to the rest of the people on Earth…I don’t matter! I’m just some…pebble in the middle of a mountain. Why would I be so important when everyone else is looking for gold?”
“That’s…a weird way to put it.”
“Well that’s all I can think of! I just don’t see why anyone that I don’t know well should care about me…why anyone should care about anyone else that they don’t know.”
“…I know you well. And I do want to help! I’m not some bastard on the street who just wants to get by! I’m here right in front of you, and I would be the worst fucking person in the world to not do anything to help out! We’re in the middle of space, for God’s sake, and we’re the only humans around by a long-shot! I know I’ve been a bastard in the past, but haven’t I shown that I’m not like the rest of humanity like you think it is?”
Andrew said nothing.
“If I’m just some dude that you don’t know well or don’t care about, then I’m just some stranger that came from the rest of humanity, right?”
A pause filled the room.
“If I show that I’m good and helpful, that I don’t care about time or money or whatever, then would I show that humanity is not as shitty as you think it is?!”
Still no word from Andrew, although the emotion in his eyes seemed to change a little.
“We can get off this ship! We can bring people together to stand up against these aliens! We humans stand up and act whenever there’s trouble, don’t we?! We will—”
Voriaku appeared right at this instant beside Andrew, who looked surprised but not scared. Bill, however, was overwhelmed with fear. And Voriaku, his black eyes staring with contempt, said, “You sir, are the stupidest fucking being I have ever known.”
The Selentor stepped towards Bill, each step causing Bill’s heart to pump harder and faster. The human stepped back in response until he bumped into a cabinet, then the alien’s pace got quicker. Bill reared his fist for a defensive attack, and Voriaku pulled out his plasma blade. Seeing that his chances of taking out Voriaku without Andrew’s help would be close to none, he directed his fist toward one of the tanks. If he would die, then maybe one of these aliens in the tanks should, he thought. He struck, only to find that the glass did not budge and his knuckles were now broken. He looked briefly at his knuckles, then he directed his attention back to Voriaku, who was now right in front of him.
Without saying a word, the Selentor raised his blade with both his hands above his head, and the next instant seemed to endure for an eternity. The plasma blade sliced right into Bill’s skull, leaving a torrent of electric sparks as it went down to his neck and then his heart. Andrew, still standing on the other side of the room, stared in utter terror without moving a muscle. The blade cut all the way through Bill’s body, which was officially no longer living as it was split in two.
Chapter 22
Silence filled the room for what seemed to be hours, even if it had only lasted seven seconds. The human’s eyes were slowly changing with sentiment, from fear and horror to rage and vengeance. Voriaku showed neither remorse nor satisfaction—he had the same feeling that one has when killing a bothersome insect.
Andrew bared his teeth and began to breathe heavily. His fists were clenched and his veins showed themselves through his skin. At last, he charged after Voriaku in a fit of rage for his fallen friend. Screaming, he threw his fist directly onto Voriaku’s head, which did not budge. In an instant, fear sprouted up within Andrew again. Voriaku threw one punch that slammed the human straight onto the ground, cracking his head open. Pain spiked within his skull. It would heal in time by regeneration, but Andrew would have most of his energy spent from it, and he was quickly losing consciousness as blood streamed out. Voriak
u dragged him by the feet out of the room.
The human woke up lying on his back, still feeling the pain from his fractured skull. He was in the middle of a hall—there was no telling where this hall was or where it led to—and Voriaku was staring down at him. The alien was satisfied to see the human regain consciousness.
“Your time is near,” the Selentor said. “Can you understand me?”
The human looked up with tired eyes, responding with a single word: “Huh?”
Voriaku shook his head, then he took out a bottle of orange liquid, opened the bottle, and emptied the liquid down Andrew’s throat. Andrew coughed as some of the liquid entered his windpipe. The human slowly became more and more aware, and after several seconds he tried to sit up. However, his body did not cooperate.
“Why can’t I move?”
“You’ve lost a lot of blood. Doesn’t matter—we have important matters to get to before time is up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was only supposed to toy with you for so long until I finally had to kill you. If I don’t kill you by the time Commander Fall shows up, then I will die by his hand.”
Andrew remained silent, showing little surprise with all facts considered.
“Now then, I want you to ask me three questions. They can be whatever questions you want them to be, and I will answer them regardless. However, the questions that you ask will determine whether you’re anywhere near to being an intel-being. They will be the last things you will ever say, remember, and do. So be precise.”