The Face of Earth

by Kirsty Winkler

  Megg stood and stretched. “I’ll be in my quarters, Luvian,” Megg informed him as she left the bridge. “Let me know when we reach the Olympian Solar System.”

  “Yes, Megg,” Luvian acknowledged. As Megg left the bridge, Luvian felt himself relaxing. Being around Megg set him on edge. He had to hide how he felt about killing in the name of research, and he found it difficult to maintain his impartial façade. But it was important that he keep up the pretense until the experiment was over. The deaths of a few were an acceptable loss to save a species. He hoped Megg would allow the Earthlings to live and he wouldn’t have to resort to extreme measures, but given her personality, he didn’t think that was likely.

  It had taken PEST centuries to infiltrate this project, and the only reason they had been able to do so now was because they had recruited him. His family was respected by all Stelairians, and several of his ancestors were still involved in the government. His family’s position put Luvian above reproach.

  Luvian grinned at the finesse that PEST had used to open this job. They had arranged for his predecessor to be promoted, leaving Megg with the burden of finding a new assistant quickly. Luvian had been the only assistant available at the time, and his family had encouraged Megg to take him on in the hopes that he would make something of himself.

  He stared at the viewscreen as the ship passed stars and nebulas. It would take a few hours to get to the Olympian Solar System. He sat back, thinking. If he had to kill Megg in order to stop her, it was likely that he would die as well. Their immortal souls would be released and they would have to journey back to their planet in order to be reborn into new bodies. This far from their galaxy it would take centuries for their souls to travel back to Stelairius, and once they were reborn, they would lose the memories of their previous lives. He grinned maliciously. He was barely one thousand years old; he didn’t have much to lose. Megg, on the other hand, was billions of years old; it was staggering how much she’d lose.

  Even though Stelairian science had found a way to determine whose soul inhabited a child’s body, the child would have to relearn everything that was lost. It would be millennia before Megg could reclaim even part of the knowledge that made her one of the most powerful Stelairians alive today. It would be a coup for PEST, and he would be the one to give it to them. He chuckled as he watched the stars stream past.

  * * *

  Once she reached her quarters, Megg sat at her research console and reviewed the file on the Earthling situation. It seemed the experiment had taken an unforeseen turn. Instead of continuing to evolve, the Earthlings had stagnated. They had reached a point where they could manipulate DNA, and were playing with their own DNA in an attempt to improve individual attributes. Mutations were remedied in the womb to avoid any change in the Earthling species.

  Megg sighed. The whole point of the experiment had been to create a new intelligent species with the capability of retaining a soul beyond corporeal limits. Instead, many Earthlings were born without souls, and none born with souls were able to keep those souls beyond the death of their bodies. They needed to continue to evolve to reach that point, but they had taken steps to ensure their DNA would remain the same, believing they were already at the pinnacle of their evolution. Megg knew from experience that a species evolving technologically without evolving biologically would be a danger to other species.

  Scrolling down the screen, Megg examined the forecast charts that predicted what would happen if the Earthlings continued on their current path. The results made her shudder. If the Earthlings managed to leave the Olympian Solar System before evolving immortal souls that could reincarnate and mature with each life, they wouldn’t be prepared to deal peacefully with extraterrestrial species. Their innate violence would never be bred out of their mortal bodies, and they would wreak havoc on the galaxy. As head of the project, she couldn’t allow that to happen. She would have to terminate the experiment.

  Megg sighed again and sat back. Although her government would support her decision, an underground movement in Stelairian society fought to gain rights for experimental species. They believed it was wrong to annihilate a species, even if their creation had been orchestrated by science. It was becoming increasingly difficult to discover the sympathizers who infiltrated the experiments and used guerilla tactics to halt the termination of experimental species.

  Megg thought about her assistant, Luvian. He had come highly recommended, and had passed all the tests involved in becoming a research assistant, including the loyalty tests. But this particular project was never in danger of termination before now. Luvian was a recent addition to this experiment, and had only joined her around three hundred years ago when she had lost her last assistant to a promotion. Forced to find a new assistant quickly, Megg had allowed herself to be swayed by Luvian’s family, an ancient and revered line of Stelairians. Although Luvian was descended from that noble line, it didn’t necessarily mean he could be implicitly trusted. She still waited to see where Luvian’s true loyalty lay.

  Megg leaned forward and resumed her work. She had lived for billions of years, but her eons of experience didn’t prevent her from making mistakes. She must have overlooked something when she created the Earthling DNA chromosome. She turned on the holovision next to her screen. After tapping a few commands onto the screen, a 3-D diagram of a DNA chromosome appeared, floating above her work console. She tapped in a few more instructions and it began to slowly rotate. The image of the chromosome seemed to mock her, hiding its flaw. After examining it from all angles for several hours, she rubbed her eyes and tapped the screen, shutting the holovision off.

  Sitting back, she rubbed the base of her skull, running her fingers through her hair. The occipital fontanel indented slightly with the pressure of her fingertips. She paused, touching it gently. It had always bothered her to have a vulnerable point on her body. Stelairians were immortal in that they could potentially live forever, but they were mortal in that they could be killed. She found this juxtaposition ridiculous.

  Stelairians had a solid and indestructible skeleton that completely protected their internal organs, but it had a flaw that allowed them to be killed instantly. The soft spot at the base of their skulls was the only opening to the inside of the skeleton, and it led straight to their brains. If a sharp, narrow weapon were pushed through at that point, a Stelairian would transform to fluid and die. Megg had killed other Stelairians using this method when she felt their deaths were necessary, but each time she did, she was reminded of her own vulnerability.

  She remembered when she was young, and her species had been hunted for this death fluid by a neighboring species. The Konas coveted the fluid for its life increasing properties. If they ingested it, it kept them youthful and dramatically increased their life spans. When the Stelairians had been hunted almost to the point of extinction, and the death fluid was in danger of being lost forever, the Konas began breeding them in captivity.

  One day Megg had escaped with her parents. Konas hunters tracked them down, and Megg’s parents died protecting her. As the hunters were about to kill her as well, a group of rebel Stelairians swooped in and slew them. She gratefully joined the rebels, and after centuries of war, the Konas were finally defeated.

  The Stelairian rebels formed a government, and their first act was to commit genocide on the Konas species in order to protect the secret of the fontanel. Although other species knew of the Stelairian youth elixir, the knowledge of how to obtain it was lost with the extinction of the Konas. The Stelairian survivors carefully guarded the secret, choosing not to share the knowledge with anyone, not even their descendants.

  Megg rubbed the back of her skull again, wondering why Stelairian physiology had evolved this way. Not that she was complaining. She enjoyed the immortality that allowed her to live outside the confines of time. With the exception of her fontanel, any blow to her body wasn’t fatal and healed almost instantly. She still felt the pain of any damage to her flesh, but nothing could penetrate past h
er skeleton. Only the lack of oxygen or ingestion of poison could kill a Stelairian naturally.

  She wondered if it was painful to deteriorate into fluid. The transformation was instantaneous; perhaps there wasn’t time to feel pain. She had seen the bodies of Stelairians who had died accidentally. Some had died in space, others underwater. Some had inhaled chemicals or choked on food. She had even seen someone who had eaten a poisonous fruit. Their expressions had shown intense pain. She had tried to ignore their faces as she collected the bodies and punctured their fontanels to collect the death fluid. They made her think that maybe it was better to die by a punctured fontanel. Megg preferred not to die at all.

  The vibration of the ship increased slightly, indicating a change from the star drive to the system drive. Megg frowned. Luvian was supposed to call her before entering the Olympian Solar System. She sighed, irritated. Luvian was the worst assistant she had ever had. If she hadn’t needed a new assistant so quickly, he wouldn’t have gotten the job. When they returned to Stelairius, she intended to replace him.

  She stood and stretched before leaving the room, enjoying the movement after sitting still for so long. She went to the bridge and entered. Luvian sat at the helm, watching the viewscreen as they passed Mars. He appeared preoccupied.

  “Luvian, you were supposed to inform me when we reached the Olympian Solar System.” Luvian jumped at the sound of her voice.

  “I thought I was supposed to call you when we reached Earth,” he said, feigning stupidity. He had been hoping she wouldn’t notice the change in drive and he could have a little more time alone.

  Megg stared at Luvian. How in the universe did he pass the research assistant tests when he couldn’t even remember a simple command? “Never mind,” she said, sitting in her chair. She watched as they approached Earth. “Enter the atmosphere on the day side, and head for a mountain range.”

  “Yes, Megg.” Luvian steered the ship down to the planet toward some mountains that showed a few life readings here and there. He reached an area where his scans told him he would find a small group of Earthlings, and hovered silently above the treetops, just out of sight.

  “There are five Earthlings here, Megg.”

  “Good. Find a place to set down and go get them.”

  Luvian moved the ship slowly back until he found a large enough clearing to land. He set the ship down and shut off the drive. He stood up and followed Megg to the lab section of the ship. She opened the outer door and sunlight streamed into the room.

  “Here.” Megg gave Luvian a thin, cylindrical gadget with an automatic needle on the end. “Press it against their necks to render them unconscious. It has enough serum in it for ten shots.”

  Luvian nodded, took the gadget, and exited the ship. He crept quietly toward the Earthlings, using the foliage as cover. He peered through the brush, his dark eyes scanning the campsite. All but one Earthling had gone inside the soft shelters. He could hear a female bustling around in one, and the whispering of a couple in the other. A lone male lounged by the fire pit, humming. Luvian stared in wonder at the size of the Earthling. He was at least two heads taller than Luvian, and more muscular. Luvian was glad he was strong. The Earthling looked heavy. He snuck up behind the large male and pressed the gadget against his neck. The Earthling fell forward to the ground, unconscious. Luvian lifted him and carried him back to the ship. He boarded and saw Megg sitting at a research console, tapping the screen rapidly. She looked up at his entrance.

  “Big, aren’t they?” she commented. “It’s probably due to the Earth ape DNA I used.”

  “Yes,” Luvian agreed, “but they aren’t as heavy as they look.”

  “Well, not for you,” Megg said, “since you’re stronger than the average Stelairian. How many more are in this area?”

  “The scan indicated five before we landed, but now there’s only four.”

  “Hmmm. The fifth one couldn’t have gone far. We’ll find it after we get these ones on board.”

  Luvian nodded in acknowledgement and took the large male into the next room, depositing him on the floor next to a resin cradle. He turned and left the ship to get another Earthling.

  When he returned to the campsite, the couple was still in their shelter, but the female had exited hers, and was sitting next to the fire pit. He approached her from behind, but apparently not quietly enough, for she asked him something in a rudimentary language. He quickly melted back into the brush, concealing himself before she turned around. When she turned back he quickly stepped forward and pressed the gadget against her neck. He tried to catch her, but she fell into the fire pit before he could get a grip on her. He lifted her up, slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her back to the ship.

  After leaving the female next to the previously captured male, he made his way back through the trees to get the last two Earthlings. They had left their shelter and were embracing in the clearing. Just as Luvian was wondering how to separate them, the male grabbed a couple of cloths off some boulders and walked into the woods. Luvian followed.

  This Earthling was more aware of his surroundings. Luvian could tell the male knew something was wrong. The Earthling stopped and looked around suspiciously. Luvian deliberately rustled the bushes to get his attention. The male spun around to face the noise, and Luvian quickly moved in behind him and pressed the gadget against his neck. The Earthling dropped the cloths as he fell to the ground.

  Luvian picked him up and carried him to the ship. This male weighed less than the first, even though he was taller. Luvian dropped him off and returned to the campsite for the final female. When he arrived, she was conveniently searching through her bag, her back to him. He stepped forward and injected her with the serum. She slumped down and he picked her up, carrying her through the woods to the ship.

  “This is the last one,” he informed Megg as he boarded.

  Megg looked up from her work. “Good. Check them for souls while I scan for the missing Earthling. Join me on the bridge when you’re through.” Megg closed the outer door and headed to the bridge.

  Luvian got to work, setting the female down in the resin cradle. The other three Earthlings lay nearby. He stared at them. Other than their size and crude form, they looked similar to Stelairians. He frowned, and his brow wrinkled in confusion. Actually, they looked exactly like the Yalsan species. He wondered what other DNA Megg had used in the mix when she created their chromosomes. He probably should have read more of the literature Megg gave him, but there was such a lot and he didn’t like to read. Anyway, his main reason for taking this job was to prevent genocide, not to actually contribute. He turned his attention back to the job at hand. He didn’t want to give Megg any reason to be suspicious of him.

  * * *

  Megg steered the ship over the treetops, scanning the area for the missing Earthling. Or any Earthling, for that matter. She had discovered on earlier trips that there was a higher percentage of souls among those Earthlings who spent time in the wilderness, so she usually preferred to get her subjects there. The proximity alarm sounded, startling Megg. As she quickly took the ship up into space, Luvian rushed onto the bridge.

  “What is it?” he asked, breathless.

  “Nothing to worry about,” Megg replied calmly. “Their military detected us and sent jets to investigate. We’ll return when they leave.” She slowed the ship and hid it behind the moon. “Go back to your task. I’ll take us back down in a little while.”

  “Yes, Megg.” Luvian returned to the lab section to finish preparing the Earthlings for Megg’s test.

  Megg busied herself with the evolution projections on her other experiments. So far they were all progressing satisfactorily. She lost track of time, and it wasn’t until Luvian reappeared on the bridge that she realized they had been in space for half the day.

  Luvian sat at the helm. “Should I take us back to the same area?” he asked Megg.

  “We may as well resume our search there. Go ahead,” Megg agreed.

  Luvian
took them down to the previous coordinates. Night had fallen, and the wind moaned across the granite domes. Lightning flashed, giving sharp glimpses of ghostly mountains. He scanned for life readings and found one just south of them. He steered the ship toward it, setting down on top of a dome just north of a small lake. As he was getting up to go get the Earthling, lightning hit the top of a tree south of the lake. It burst into flames.

  “Wait, Luvian,” Megg said, and he sat back down. They watched as the fire spread to the other trees, coming toward them.

  “What do you want me to do, Megg?” he asked.

  “Is the Earthling still alive?”

  Luvian scanned the area. “Yes, and it’s headed this way.”

  “Take us above the trees and toward the fire. We’ll use the system drive to create an artificial gravity well on the surface of the ship and use it to draw in the flames. Don’t spin us too fast, though,” she cautioned, “we don’t want to lift anything off the ground.”

  Luvian did as he was told. Once the ship was in place, he began spinning it until the inner walls showed a considerable increase of gravity due to the centripetal force. Then he reversed the polarity of the electrogravity field beyond the anti-gravity limit to increase the gravity on the positively charged outer skin of the ship. The surface sucked in the clouds, followed by the flames. Within minutes the fire was out, and Luvian reversed the process to bring the ship’s gravity back into balance.

  “Scan for the Earthling again,” Megg said.

  “It’s a female,” Luvian replied. “She’s on the lake.” He moved the ship toward the Earthling, who moved away from them. “She’s escaping,” he informed Megg. The Earthling disappeared into the trees, and Luvian hovered over the bag she had abandoned in the boat below.

  “Set the ship down, and get her bag. She’ll come back for it, and when she does, we’ll have her.”