“Move faster” ordered the voice.
She picked up speed. The voice of Nestgorm gave her a final message as she rushed to her sleeping quarters.
“Your work today was not good enough to deserve my love,” said the machine in a critical tone. “You were not fast enough, careful enough, or productive enough. But do not despair, you still have a chance to win my love if you to work much harder tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.”
Too tired to pay much attention to the derogatory message, Antaska located her assigned barracks outside the plant. It was a one-story, unpainted flimsy building made of thin mold-board with no windows.
Antaska pushed open the unlocked door and went inside to join the shower line. Humanoid and semi-humanoid females from all parts of the known galaxy and some parts that were so far known only to the Woogahs stood calmly in line. They all faced forward and stood still until the line moved. Their only sign of animation was the same slight smile on otherwise blank faces.
Despite her exhaustion, Antaska was disturbed to notice the zombie-like behavior and facial expressions of her fellow slaves. Some sense of self-preservation told her to imitate them. Suppressing the urge to slump against the wall, she copied their stiff, upright stance and pasted a small goofy grin on her face, while staring fixedly in front of her.
Nestgorm was watching Antaska again, and he was happy with what he saw.
“Ah yes, she is just like the others,” he said to himself alone in his personal sleeping quarters, which were double the size of a slave cube and also located in the barracks. “I think I’ve spent enough of my valuable time watching her and can now trust her to my general surveillance protocol.”
His protocol consisted of continuous audio and visual recording of his plant, grounds, and sleeping barracks. All building interiors were lit at all times by the bright bluish-green glow of light fixtures made from luminescent fungi. It wasn’t necessary for him to constantly monitor the surveillance because any unusual activity would trigger an alarm.
Nestgorm was tired from his long day driving to get his new slave and then from the extra work and stress of observing her first day. Only a few hundred years ago, he hadn’t been this tired at the end of such a day. Like most slave owners, over the thousands of years in his role as the factory manager, he had strengthened and renewed his body with regular DNA treatments. It was important that he be stronger and faster than his slaves in case he ever needed to physically restrain them. Also, having an enhanced lifespan allowed him to provide many years of valuable service to the Woogah community.
But there were limitations to what science could do, and eventually, even with the added genes of the longest-living trees, all living things must come to their end. The physical weakening that was a sign of this frightened Nestgorm, but he prided himself as being a man who always behaved with the utmost honor.
Nestgorm was confident that his slaves were fully under the control of their hypnotic programming. For at least a thousand years, there had been no need for the use of physical force or mental reprogramming. But there were no guarantees that the need would never arise. The entire plant could be at risk if he became too weak to physically overpower a slave or if his hypnotic powers should fail him in time of need.
He thought again about the idea of beginning the training of his replacement. He lay down on his bed. It was only somewhat larger and more comfortable than the beds he provided to his slaves. Nestgorm tossed and turned for hours with the sleeplessness of the elderly before finally falling asleep.
Chapter 25
“Lieutenant Sosha, you’ve studied the conditions here all day. Give us your report,” said Captain Kamphone on the bridge of the invisible Jalapeno floating nearby Nestgorm’s work plant.
All the crew, including Potat and M. Hoyvil, turned to look with eager eyes at Sosha.
“Yes, captain,” said Sosha. “First of all, this is a bare-bones setup. It’s clear that no resources have been wasted on anything that wasn’t an absolute necessity. So that’s in our favor.”
“Go on,” said the captain.
“The force field that protects the buildings and grounds keeps medium- to large-sized animals out by administering a strong electric shock if they attempt to pass through. Most seem to sense the danger and stay back, but some are less lucky. Right now, there are a few unconscious animals and several skeletons lying just outside the perimeter.”
Potat spat and hissed.
“We saw what happened when a large animal died from trying to go in,” Sosha continued. “A slave came out and pushed the animal back into the desert, outside of the force field. The slave was unharmed by going through the force field, but an alarm sounded. It must be programmed to set off an alarm when humanoids passed through but not to shock them. That will make our rescue a lot easier.”
“Good, very good,” said the captain, nodding his large green head.
The lieutenant continued. “Hungry carnivorous predators descended on the carcass and picked the bones clean in no time. But smaller animals like birds, insects, small reptiles, and small mammals pass through all day without being shocked or triggering the alarm.”
“Perfect!” said Potat. “I’m ready to go in.”
“No, you’re not ready yet,” said Lieutenant XoXo. “Your genetic disguise treatment needs about two weeks to take effect.
Everyone looked at little Potat floating in the air near the door. The dark gray stripe across the top of her was getting lighter, and the white and light gray fur on her sides, face, and belly was getting darker.
“Two weeks is too long!” Potat wailed. “I have to rescue my pet now! She’s being tortured! She’s being forced to eat slop!”
“Patience, little one. You promised me you would be level headed on this mission. Don’t make me reconsider,” said Captain Kamphone, floating in front of her and fixing her with his enormous ice-green eyes.
“I promise,” said Potat in a small voice.
Then the little cat flew to M. Hoyvil and climbed into his pocket. Big green fingers came into the pocket and patted her on the head.
“Lieutenant Sosha, please continue,” said Kamphone.
“Yes, captain,” said Sosha. “As I explained, we’ve determined that the force field is set up to electrocute only large non-humanoid animals, but small creatures can go through unharmed.”
“What do you think is the reason for that?” asked Lieutenant Dweeemm. “All day, we watched hundreds of birds, lizards, bugs, and little furry critters going in there. They don’t just stay outside in the desert area surrounding the buildings. They’re going right into the barracks where the slaves sleep. That place must be infested with them. Wouldn’t that be a problem?”
“Well,” said Sosha, “Lieutenant XoXo and I assume that if the small creatures were electrocuted, mounds of them would pile up inside the force field perimeter. Most of these small animals probably don’t have the intelligence to stay back.”
“Humph!” said Potat from inside M. Hoyvil’s pocket.
“Most, but not all, I mean,” said Sosha. “Anyway, all those dead bodies would pile up into a huge smelly mound, and workers would have to be out all day cleaning them up. So that’s why we think this security field is programmed to let them through.”
“From what we’ve seen of this plant owner,” said Lieutenant XoXo, “he wouldn’t care if his slave sleeping quarters are infested with rodents, insects, and other small pests. We think they’re drawn to the cooler air inside compared to the heat of desert outside. Maybe it’s a refuge from the bigger predators who stalk them. And these slaves are too brain-washed and love-befuddled to even notice how many little critters are in there with them.”
“That’s perfect,” said the captain, still hovering in the air near the bridge door. “Now, I must go down to the trees’ living space to give them the information we learned from that Woogah hunter. It’s vital that the Verdantes on Earth are warned that he’s heading their way, plann
ing to kidnap Earth human females. It will take me about two weeks to deliver the full message at the trees’ speech rate of one word per hour. They’re a collective consciousness, and the message will be relayed to the trees on Earth and the Verdante planet immediately. But it will still take another two weeks for them to communicate it to the Verdantes.
“So there’s no time to waste! Lieutenant Sosha, I’m leaving you in charge. Send the cat in if she’s ready before I return.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” said Sosha. She lifted a long-fingered green hand in a salute. All the others, including M. Hoyvil, saluted too. Even little Potat stood up in his pocket and pressed a paw to her forehead.
Chapter 26
After her shower, Antaska trudged to her sleep cube on weary feet. Like the barracks entrance door, the flimsy door to the cubicle had no lock or doorknob. It flew open at her light push.
As she stepped into the low box-like enclosure, two small lizards slithered out between her feet. Enormous flies buzzed around the cobwebby ceiling of the tiny windowless space, but Antaska was too tired to care about anything except the small cot that filled most of the barren cubicle.
She took a deep breath, and then wished she hadn’t. The musty staleness of the air in the outside corridor was intense inside this enclosed room. There was no air circulation at all except what came in through the barracks door whenever it opened. Antaska stared blankly at unidentifiable splotches and stains that marked the gray walls and floor, and even the ceiling. She hung her gloves on a hook on the wall, then flopped down on the cot.
Sleep came fast to Antaska’s tired body, but all too soon, a loud blaring siren broke through her dreamless sleep. She sat up groggily, first not knowing where she was, and then becoming distressed when she realized she was still at the plant.
“Why am I not with my love, Marroo?” she sighed.
Now Antaska remembered again the words of Nestgorm as he gave her the gloves, and her distress grew.
Marroo will come for me. I know he will! I love him, and he loves me! she thought without doubt.
Then Antaska considered the situation more and grew worried. I don’t believe that Marroo won’t come for me, but what if Nestgorm is trying to interfere with our love in order to benefit from my work?
Antaska was fully awake by the time the siren stopped, and the voice of Nestgorm began announcing orders.
“Attention all slaves. You will dress and use the bathroom, and then report to the feeding room for your first meal. You will work very hard today if you want to earn my love. That is all.”
With a sinking heart, Antaska did as she was ordered. Wearing the slight smile and frozen face of the mind-wiped slaves as her mask, she went through the motions of another long workday in the raw materials department. Back in her sleeping cube that night, she wasn’t quite as exhausted and had more time to think before she fell asleep. She pined for her Marroo but didn’t give up the belief that her would come for her.
More days passed, exactly the same as the first day. As time went on, Antaska’s body grew stronger, and the work grew easier, but her sadness and the fear that she might really have to stay in the plant continued to increase. The pain in her knees and joints was always with her but became more bearable as her muscles strengthened. Her overall fitness increased, and she was able to climb faster and run faster as she carried the weight of her mold bags to the delivery chutes.
But even though Antaska completed more and more work, and no matter how hard she pushed herself to work harder, she was told by the voice of Nestgorm at the end of each day that she hadn’t done enough to please him.
Lying on her cot alone in her room each night, her thoughts grew more and more despondent. The hope that Marroo would come was harder and harder to hold onto.
After about two weeks, Antaska had sunk into deep despair.
I’m starting to forget what Marroo even looks like, she thought sadly. Why hasn’t he come for me by now? Maybe he’s forgotten me too.
Feeling restless, she got up and began to pace in the narrow space next to the cot. It was barely wide enough to walk through. After running and climbing all day, Antaska was confined by the small cubicle and felt the need to breathe fresher air. She pushed open her door and stared out into the empty barracks hallway, wondering if she dare take a walk down it to get a breath of the air outside.
At this hour of night, all of the slaves as well as Nestgorm were sound asleep in their beds. However, the hallway was not empty of inhabitants. As usual, small flying creatures flittered about, and various small rodents, reptiles, and amphibians ran, slithered, or crawled along, now in greater numbers than in the daytime or when the hallway was occupied by slaves.
Antaska stood in the doorway unmoving, frozen by the worry that her atypical behavior might be noticed by Nestgorm, although she had never been able to spot any type of surveillance equipment anywhere in the plant or the barracks. She watched the small pests. They didn’t seem to be paying any attention to her as they moved about on their business.
“Pssst!” Antaska heard a small telepathic voice say from the direction of the ground.
Strangely, the sound seemed to punch a small hole in the black fog that filled her mind. She looked down in the dimness. A stripe of white was visible near the floor. Antaska’s sharp eyes could just make out the small dark body of the animal with the white-striped back crouching by the wall.
Are skunks telepathic? she wondered.
Then Antaska heard a low and irritating buzzing sound from down the hallway. The sound grew louder and closer. She looked up to see a large flying bug zooming toward her. It was about four inches high with an even wider wing span. The bug flew closer and then stopped to hover in the air in front of her face.
Antaska gasped. This bug wore a tiny robe and had a man’s face! And even more disturbing, its facial features were exactly like those of Marroo! It was his face in miniature with the same dark blue-colored skin. The only difference was that instead of cloud-covered beautiful eyes, this tiny bug face had beady red-brown eyes that were focused on her—sharp and menacing.
With another gasp, Antaska jumped back inside her room and shut the door. She sat down on the cot, stunned for a moment by what she had just seen. She couldn’t understand why a bug would have the face of Marroo, and she couldn’t erase the sight from her mind. The mental picture of Marroo’s face attached to the bug’s body stubbornly persisted, and she felt as if her love for him was draining away.
As her love for Marroo faded, the black cloud filling Antaska’s brain faded away too. Several minutes later, the harsh brightness of reality was all she had left. The horrifying picture of the bug was finally gone from her mind, but her love trance for Marroo was gone too. Now, Antaska thought about Marroo and asked herself if she had ever really loved him at all. She searched her mind and memories but couldn’t find the answer. A feeling of great loss that had nothing to do with Marroo crushed down and overwhelmed her.
I feel like I’ve lost something, but I can’t remember what, she thought. What was my life before this?
Antaska lay on her cot, flooded by intense despair. The fog that had clouded her mind for so long was gone, and memories started to return. Slowly, her memory of the time before she was kidnapped came back, and finally her complete memory returned.
“No!” she cried out in the horrible realization of her true situation.
Antaska put her face in her hands and began to cry uncontrollably.
Chapter 27
Out in the hallway, Potat heard Antaska crying.
I think she’s finally ready to get out of here! thought the little cat disguised as a skunk.
“Meow! Meow!” she yelled at Antaska’s door. “Let me in!” she yelled telepathically in her tiny cat voice.
The flimsy door flew open. Antaska’s handed scooped her up and carried her into the room.
“Shush!” said Antaska in a soft mental voice. “Not so loud. Someone might hear you.”
T
hen Antaska sat on the cot and lifted Potat in her arms, hugging her close but gently. The small cat let out her loudest purr. But Potat knew there was no time to waste.
“We have to get out of here,” Potat said loudly, trying to get Antaska’s full attention to the seriousness of their situation.
Antaska made a shushing sound, holding a finger to her lips.
“I don’t think this room is bugged, but I don’t know for sure,” said Antaska in a mental whisper.
At that moment, two enormous round flies—over an inch wide with large transparent wings—flew down from the ceiling and began to circle around Antaska and Potat. Each of the grotesque flies had an eye on each side of its head and both emitted a low buzzing sound. With deft hunting skills, Potat lunged and caught them in her sharp claws. She shoved first one fly and then the other into her mouth and quickly chomped them down.
“Good cat,” said Antaska, petting her lightly on the head and doing a good job of hiding the revulsion Potat knew she was feeling.
“Let’s go! let’s go!” insisted Potat telepathically. “Those were spy bugs, and there’s another big one out in the hallway.”
“Yes, I want to go, but I can’t just leave the others here in this terrible place,” said Antaska. “We have take them too.”
“How are we going to do that?” asked Potat. “They’re all brainwashed to love it here, and we can’t take them unless they want to go.”
“Yes, but you can probably un-brainwash them, can’t you?” said Antaska. “You can put people to sleep, and you said you’re more powerful than Mistress Bawbaw, remember? Can’t you use your cat powers to wake them up?”
“But you made me promise not to ever do that again,” Potat reminded her. “And anyway, even if I could do that, it might not be a good idea. It might have unexpected consequences that you haven’t considered.”
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