The Good Reaper

by Dennis J Butler

  “It’s okay. I wanted to give you something.” Syrma handed me a small sparkling silver box. I looked suspiciously up at Syrma as I opened it. Inside was a chain that matched the box. It shimmered and seemed to change colors as I lifted it out of the box. At the end of the chain was a small pendant in the shape of a Shelyak. A Shelyak is a tiny winged animal that had been brought back from near extinction on Ranjisan. It was known as the most valued vegetation cross-pollinator on Ranjisan. As the Shelyak began dying off, many families of trees and flowers began to disappear. When the Shelyak made its comeback, Ranjisan went through the most amazing and beautiful period of plant growth. Hundreds of new families of colorful flowers and flowering trees began appearing. The Shelyak became known as the symbol of life, love and rebirth.

  The pendant had a tiny button on the bottom. When I pressed the button I was speechless when I looked inside. There was what appeared to be a tiny hand-painted portrait of Syrma and me holding hands. I was speechless and somewhat awestruck. I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant. I knew we were friends for life but I was suddenly faced with a haunting question that had never occurred to me before. Did Syrma think of me as more than a friend? We hugged tightly for several moments before I hopped into the shuttle. I would have two years to think about that very question as I began the next chapter of my life.

  The voyage to planet Earth was primarily a period of rest and meditation. I had been to the ship several times during my training so I felt completely ready for the journey. We have several ship designs but most of them are circular and saucer shaped. Humans have been photographing them for decades while their governments deny our existence. I confess, we haven’t been very good at being stealthy, certainly not as clandestine as the Greys. But at least as far as I know, our physical forms have never been photographed by humans. Not so for the Greys who seem to be photographed all over the place. But that is because they apparently land and perform experiments on humans, always without consent. The Greys are indeed a strange race. I’ll tell you more about them later.

  I sometimes go off on tangents but I wanted to say a few things about the ship, crew and passengers. The ship was one of our smaller transport ships in the Shuja series. It holds about twenty passengers comfortably. The crew consisted of the Captain Oriel-Meissa, Second Captain Arial-Alterf, Engineers Arial-Kuma, Arial-Baham and Chef Oriel-Ascella. The passenger list included me and eight other Phase II cadets. I was disappointed when I learned there were no other medical team cadets. The others were all part of the cultural-tribal study group so I was a bit out of the conversation loop. But I did find it interesting listening to all the conversation about Earthly wars.

  “I just can’t seem to comprehend the American Civil War.” Adara Oriel-Situla argued. “It was people of the same country fighting each other. They couldn’t come to an agreement so they slaughtered each other.”

  “It was about slavery and about the southern half of the country becoming a separate nation, wasn’t it?” Zavijah Arial-Unukalhai said. “If they had waited instead of rushing to war, perhaps they could have come to an agreement. Perhaps all those people didn’t need to die.”

  “It seems that’s the way humans are. The have a disagreement and if they can’t resolve it quickly, they kill each other,” Adara Oriel-Situla said.

  “And how about World War II?” Adara Oriel-Situla asked. “They burned people in ovens because they followed a different religion.”

  “Are we sure we really want to live among humans?” Zavijah Arial-Unukalhai asked with a nervous laugh.

  I finally entered the conversation which only resulted in strange looks from the other cadets. “Humans have passion. It is what causes them to fight. It is also what causes them to be capable of producing some of the most wonderful music and art in the entire universe. I am anxious to meet them.”

  3 - Landing

  As we began our orbit of P3 (Earth), I looked at the beautiful bluish planet and tried to imagine all the different variations of people going about their lives. Life on Ranjisan had existed for millions of years so the physical differences in our people had gradually melded together. It is very rare to see a Ranjisi person who is overweight so I was prepared for the physical variation of Earth humans. I had been studying all the different geographical regions of Earth and I was looking forward to seeing in person, the wide variety of humans.

  The captain of our ship was considered one of the best. Captain Arial-Meissa had made over 200 landings without detection by Earth systems. Our destination was a rocky cliff on the western coast of a place known by humans as Easter Island, Chile. Captain Meissa powered down all the ship’s exterior lighting as we sliced our way into Earth’s atmosphere. We were all looking out the ship portals but we couldn’t see anything.

  Captain Meissa spoke over the ship’s communication system. “We’re descending through a thick layer of clouds and the sun is setting where we are going. You should be able to see more in a few seconds.”

  “Wow,” I whispered out loud. The other cadets were awed and speechless watching the dramatic scene coming to life outside the portals. Just as the captain had said, the ship broke through the bottom of the cloud layer and the view was overwhelming. On the far horizon, the sky was layered in shades of red and orange and looked like it was on fire. Looking to the opposite direction, the sky was pitch-black and we could see a slight bluish glow over what looked like a vast sea beyond the island. It was overwhelming and beautiful. Our ship descended quickly but I did manage to get a view of the land mass before we reached the ocean. It looked so much more rugged than the shores of Ranjisan. The shoreline appeared to be a rocky cliff and there were no signs of civilization. I caught a glimpse of waves lapping the shoreline just as Captain Meissa skillfully dipped the ship into the ocean about an Earth mile from the shore.

  All Ranjisi space crafts are waterproof and capable of navigating in air or water. We descended down about a quarter mile and slowly headed toward the land mass. I continued looking out the portal, hoping to see a whale or shark but it only took a few seconds to reach a depth where it was too dark so see anything. It was pitch-black.

  After about ten minutes, the ship began to ascend and as we continued to rise, the water outside of the portals began to brighten. Finally, with one big splash we broke the surface of the water. The six of us crowded around the portals and tried to see as much as possible while the captain maneuvered the ship to a docking area. We were in some kind of huge underground hanger. I immediately began to wonder if there were humans who knew of our presence. Even with Earth’s lesser developed science, I found it hard to believe that there weren’t high-level humans in government who knew we were there.

  When the door to the exit ramp opened, my senses were immediately overloaded. My clothing felt heavy and it felt as if my shirt and pants were sticking to my chest and legs. I began pulling at the fabric as I walked down the ramp. When I reached the bottom of the ramp, I placed both feet on the ground and stopped to quietly celebrate the moment. I was standing on an alien planet and it only took six Earth months to make the voyage.

  Ranjisi scientists knew that P3 would not be capable of venturing very far into space until they understood the concepts of electromagnetic and possibly even symbiotic propulsion. But the evolution of P3 knowledge was as it should be. Humans would not be ready to interact with advanced races for years to come. Before they could become a part of the inter-galactic community, tribal and geographical wars would need to be just a part of their ancient history. That day was a long way off. Before humans could accept the concept of life outside the human race, they needed to evolve to the point where they realized their own race was one.

  “Take slow deep breaths,” was all I heard as I had a sudden impulse to sit on the damp ground. I looked around to see that four of the others were already sitting down looking disoriented. “Go ahead and sit down. You will start feeling better in a few minutes.”

  After a short rest, the six of us stood up, lo
oking and feeling a little wobbly and disoriented. “My name is Tom Saunders,” the same voice said. “No need to know my real name. I will be assisting you with your first level of assimilation here.”

  “As you already know, the air here is heavier and contains more moisture but the gravitational pull is the thing you will need to adjust to.”

  “It’s supposed to take a few days, correct?” One of the cadets asked.

  “Yes. Some of you will adjust quicker, however, the heaviness in your legs is somewhat permanent,” Tom said.

  “I’ve heard you can strengthen your legs while you are here,” I said.

  “That is correct but it would take your full two-year deployment to get to the point where your legs are strong enough for light exercise.”

  Two of the men in our new group of volunteers were speaking in Ranjisi when Tom held up his hand and asked for everyone’s attention. “Listen. From this point on, you should not speak in Ranjisi. I realize that most of you will not be able to converse because you have learned different Earth languages. But you need to begin thinking and speaking in only your assigned language. Unfortunately, I will have to speak Ranjisi since my only other language is English and I think there are only two of you who will use English as your primary language.” A rumbling of acknowledgements in several different languages came from the group.

  I looked around, wondering who the other English speaking cadet was. A woman with auburn colored hair who appeared to be about my age caught my glance and smiled at me. It was a stiff smile but nevertheless it was a smile. I had the feeling that her smile was telling me that she was the other English speaking cadet. I smiled and nodded my acknowledgement.

  “The second thing we will do is assign you to your temporary living quarters,” Tom said. “Most of you will be here for two Earth weeks for a final orientation to learn about your cover assignments.” Tom paused for a moment and continued, “But the first thing we need to do is feed you. Come with me.”

  Tom continued speaking as we followed him. “Think of everything you do from this moment forward as part of your learning and assimilation process. That includes eating and learning about Earth foods.” We followed Tom into a large dining hall. My senses were overloaded again as a variety of strange odors passed through my senses. I knew it was the smell of food cooking but it didn’t smell anything like the foods back on Ranjisan. As I was about to enter the dining area I stepped to the side and tried not to be too obvious as I waited for the woman with the auburn hair to walk by. Without looking directly at her, I felt her passing. She had an overconfident swing to her walk and I got the feeling she was an executive of some kind, back home.

  “English?” I asked. The auburn haired woman was looking at my hair. I got the impression that she either didn’t like my punkish hairdo or she just didn’t like me.

  It took her a few moments to respond. “Yes, I’m going to California.”

  “I’m Luke. I’ll be going to New York.”

  “I’m Alexis. Pleased to meet you.” Alexis extended her hand to offer a handshake. “Let’s sit together so we can practice our English.”

  “Excellent idea Alexis. Have you thought about what you are going to order for dinner?”

  “I was thinking one of the more popular foods like hamburger or pizza.”

  Alexis stepped up to the counter to order. “Hamburgers please.”

  The counter person corrected Alexis’s slightly off dialogue. “You can ask that way but it would be better if you say, ‘A hamburger please,’ which implies ‘one’ hamburger.”

  “A hamburger please.”

  “Good. Do you want French fries?”

  “I guess so,” Alexis answered.

  I ordered spaghetti. I remembered Tom mentioning that we should try it. I was only able to eat a small portion of it before feeling full. The food seemed heavier and more concentrated than the light air-cooked foods we eat on Ranjisan. I did manage to get the red liquid topping all over my shirt.

  Alexis and I agreed to meet each night for dinner. On the second night, a middle aged man approached us and introduced himself as Carlos Rivera. He told us he was assigned to a work at a shipping port in Tampa, Florida in the US. “Spanish is my primary language and I will be speaking both Spanish and English,” Carlos told us.

  On the third night, two more English speaking cadets joined us. Jason was assigned to a job in London but CIPE had decided his London accent sounded off so they changed his bio to an American working in London. Yvonne would be on her way to Canada when the training was finished.

  By the fourth night we could see that almost all of the new cadets were doing the same thing. Small groups were formed based on their assigned human language. If we sat quietly and listened we could hear at least six different Earth languages being spoken. It was exciting and fascinating listening to all the different languages. The five of us got to know each other quite well over the two weeks. We were kind of like a private little club and we were becoming friends. We knew our friendships would end at the end of the two weeks but we kept each other entertained during our orientation and training.

  “Have you been to Earth before Luke?” Jason asked. “You already look like you play in a band.”

  It seemed I was the only one who knew what Jason meant as Jason and I laughed a little. “No I have just arrived here, like you. While doing research leading up to our deployment, I became interested in Earth’s young counterculture. I especially like the music. I do plan to learn to play the guitar while I’m here.” I paused for a moment and asked, “Do any of you like human rock & roll?” No one responded so I assumed that no one else was interested in the topic.

  The time we spent in the dining room was fun and relaxing but most of our time was spent learning about our upcoming assignments. Although I was thoroughly familiar with my human persona, I still needed to learn about the job I was assigned to. I was assigned to work at a large hospital in New York City where I would work in the patient transportation department, transporting patients to different parts of the hospital. The two weeks at the CIPE center flew by. I didn’t have much time to do anything but eat, sleep and attend training classes.

  The person in charge of the medical team training class was an elderly man who introduced himself as Jonah. The last few days consisted of mostly role playing so we could become comfortable with casual interactions with humans. The exercises were customized for each student. Jonah called us up to the front of the class, one at a time. When it was my turn, I went up to the front of the class and a beautiful female who was sitting quietly off to the side stood up and approached me. She looked directly into my eyes as she spoke. “Hey handsome. Are you looking for a date?” It caught me by surprise and I stood there looking and feeling foolish. I didn’t know how to respond. After a few moments Jonah looked impatient as he proceeded to scold me. “Did you not read about prostitutes?”

  “Oh yes, I didn’t realize that’s what was happening,” I said.

  “Remember, if you don’t react correctly, you could wind up in trouble. In the case of a solicitation by a prostitute, if you don’t say the right thing, you may wind up in jail.”

  “Sorry about that. Can we try again?”

  The same pretty woman approached me again but her demeanor changed as she spoke. “Do you know how to get to the subway that goes downtown?”

  I didn’t waste any time and tried to “think on my feet” as the humans sometimes say. “I am new here but I think I saw a policeman just around the corner. He should be able to help you.” Jonah and the pretty woman both smiled. I had reacted quickly and accurately.

  Jonah told me I could take my seat but I raised my hand slightly to get his attention. “What did you mean before about getting in trouble if I don’t react to a situation correctly?” I asked.

  “Prostitution is illegal in most places. The woman could actually be a police officer testing you to see if you are actually looking for a prostitute. If you were to answer the woman in
a way that indicated you wanted to solicit her services and she was really a police officer, you would be arrested,” Jonah said. “Also note that we have not disseminated our infectious disease treatments so if you do solicit a prostitute, you may be sick for a while.” The group all laughed and it seemed it was at my expense so I laughed along with them.

  “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t know what to do with a prostitute,” I responded which produced another round of laughter from the group.

  The role playing exercises continued and they seemed to get easier. By the end of the two weeks, I felt ready. I knew there would be times when humans would think I was odd but I figured as time went on I would fit more naturally into human society.

  The Ranjisan ship had taken us from Ranjisan to the secret CIPE center on Easter Island but for all future transportation we would have to use human transportation. Traveling from the CIPE center to our various destinations on Earth was a complicated process. We couldn’t all just hop on a bus and get dropped off at the airport which would obviously arouse curiosity. Each cadet had a customized exit plan to spread out the timing of our arrival at the airport.

  When I first arrived at the CIPE center I didn’t notice the small craft docked at the far end of the underground port. But when I arrived at the dock I remembered seeing them. They were small and pencil shaped so I assumed they could only fly in one direction. I was happy to see Alexis waiting at the same small shuttle craft I was assigned to. There were two other men waiting there who seemed to be speaking Italian or French. I wasn’t sure but the soft sound of their speech made me think it was Italian.

  “The sea craft looks more like the commuter shuttles back home,” Alexis said as I was about to say good morning. “It’s too small to attract much attention.”

  “The downside is that it isn’t multi-directional like the big ships,” Alexis said. “It only goes in the direction the nose is pointing. But that’s okay. We only have to go a few miles in one direction.”