“No. I don’t actually know her that well,” I said. “Were you able to give her blood?”
“We gave her the universal blood type ‘O’ but a few minutes after the infusion started, she started having an allergic reaction. We were terrified for a few minutes but then as fast as the reaction started, it just stopped and she was fine.” Doctor Mulroy paused and continued, “What nationality is she?”
“I think she’s Scandinavian, originally from Finland or Sweden.”
“It was the strangest thing I’ve seen in almost thirty years. But everything is fine now so there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll tell the nurse to come down and get you when she’s assigned to a room.” The doctor left and I wondered if they would notice anything unusual in her x-rays. I wondered if they would notice she was missing a few digestive organs.
“I appreciate all you’ve done,” I said to Officer Flynn. “You don’t need to hang around any longer. I’ll give you my phone number if you want to give me a call in a few days.” Office Flynn had switched off his police emergency mental state and seemed relaxed enough to let his civilian emotions out. He gave me a quick hug and left. I sat there thinking that eventually everything would work out. Chara would recover and we had plenty of time to make it to the Azores. We would plan the announcement to the human race and our mission would be completed.
“What then,” I mumbled quietly as I was deep in thought. The situation with Chara had calmed down enough for me to think about LeAnne. “LeAnne doesn’t even know I’m back here,” I thought. “She has probably moved on with her life. Perhaps I should contact her,” I wondered quietly.
I was stunned out of my deep daydream by the sound of my phone. It was Assistant Director Abbott. I figured he was calling to see how things went with Officer Flynn. “Luke, I have some shocking bad news.”
“More bad news?” I asked. “Well I do have some good news about Chara. She will recover and be released in a few days.”
“Thank god. That’s a relief,” Director Abbott said.
“So, what’s the bad news? What else can go wrong?” I asked.
“It’s Atik. He’s been killed.”
I was speechless for a few moments. I felt a mix of emotions. I felt anger and sadness but I also felt violated. We came to Earth to help the human race and we were getting killed for our efforts. I snapped out of my state of shock and anger as fast as I had sunken into it. “But they left for the airport before us. We didn’t hear anything so I figured they boarded their plane and they were well on their way before we left for the airport. What happened?”
“They got to the airport okay and they even checked in. Gomeisa said that Atik went to the restroom just before they started boarding and he didn’t return. They held the plane up for twenty minutes while Gomeisa searched all the restrooms. They found his body underneath the monorail bridge that goes from the terminal to the gates. He was shot multiple times.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on Director Abbott. Why would someone want to kill us?”
“Our suspicion is that there was a leak and some religious fanatics got wind of it. This is going to be a big deal to the religious fanatics. I expect that when the announcement is made, there will be demonstrations and maybe even riots for a while. You know how we humans are.”
After Assistant Director Abbott hung up I began thinking that maybe humans weren’t ready for Phase III. They still are violent and territorial, I thought. I didn’t really know Atik that well but I knew he had a family back home. I thought it was such a terrible waste. I imagined that the kind of people that would kill someone because they were afraid of having their religious beliefs shaken up are the same people that are probably opposed to assisted suicide. I thought they were hypocrites and closed minded fools.
On the way to Chara’s room I realized I didn’t know her very well either. We had spent some time together and never actually had a personal conversation. It reminded me that no matter what planet you are from or what race you are, life is very fragile and it can change or end in an instant. I thought about all the things I liked about Chara. I decided I would get to know her better. When I got to her room, her eyes were open and although she looked groggy, she was awake and looking at me. I made a few quick decisions as she tried to smile at me. First I decided I wouldn’t tell her about Atik yet and secondly I decided there wasn’t much point in asking her how she was doing. I knew how she was doing. She was feeling a numb sense of dull pain in her neck and chest, masked by the pain killers.
I was able to tell Chara what Assistant Director Abbott had said about the religious fanatics. Chara just listened quietly for a while before echoing my own thoughts. “Do you think this whole thing was a mistake?”
“I don’t know Chara. I think that even if we had waited two hundred years, it would have been the same. It will be a difficult transition for the humans. But I didn’t expect this. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
“The doctor did say you will make a full recovery,” I said.
Although Chara was sedated, she knew I was hiding something. “What aren’t you telling me?” Her words were slow and slurred.
I was actually thinking of Atik but I figured I could tell her about her blood instead. “The doctors were perplexed about your blood type,” I said. “You actually had an allergic reaction to the universal type blood they gave you. The doctors were worried for a while that the blood transfusion was going to kill you. They asked me if I knew anything about your health and what nationality you were. I told them your family was from Finland and I didn’t know anything about your health.”
“So what happens now?” Chara asked.
“We have plenty of time to make it to the conference in the Azores. We’ll just hang out here for as long as it takes. Do you need me to get a message to your family?”
“I suppose they will hear something about it on the nightly events broadcasts back home so it would be better if we sent a direct message to my family,” Chara said. “Tell them that I was the one injured in the shooting and that I am making a full recovery and I will be discharged from the hospital in a few days.”
I knew right away that I couldn’t deliver that message without modifying it since Chara was not “the one” injured in the shooting. She was one of two and there may be some confusion so I decided to tell her about Atik. “Chara I will need to modify the message slightly.”
“Why, what do you mean Naos?”
“There was another shooting. I have to be careful what we say so the two incidents don’t get mixed up. It’s Atik,” I said. “He has been murdered. They found his body near the airport terminal.”
23 - The conference in the Azores
Officer Flynn had become something of a friend. He stopped by the hospital every day after his shift. When Chara was released on the fifth day, Officer Flynn took us to the airport. When we said goodbye I felt guilty about not telling Officer Flynn the truth. But I knew Assistant Director Abbott was right to make up the story about us being in the Witness Protection Program.
We still had at least a week before the conference but we decided we would bypass all the extra traveling and go straight to São Miguel in the Azores. We figured we could do some sightseeing and get to know the town of Ponta Delgada. Planet Earth was full of surprises and Ponta Delgada and the entire island of São Miguel were yet another amazing surprise. Ponta Delgada was quaint and bustling, historic and modern and always beautiful. The view from the Vista al Océano hotel overlooked the great blue Atlantic. The foreground consisted of rolling hills with white stucco buildings and red tile roofs that swept down to the shoreline. São Miguel was paradise.
Guests from all over the world started arriving the following week and we were able to move from the Océano to the conference center and resort. Gomeisa and our Russian team also checked in on a busy Monday. There was a line of people stretching out the door, waiting to check in. Chara and I waited with Gomeisa as the check-in line slowly moved forward.
It felt odd being in a large group of Ranjisi. We did get plenty of odd stares from the local people but I figured by now, they already knew who and what we were. The people of the Azores were the first to know the truth and they seemed to be taking it in stride. I figured the fact that we looked human and we seemed well mannered and peaceful helped the locals to accept us.
While Gomeisa was checking in I gave the desk clerk the list of names for the Russian team and he told me they were already checked in and gave me their room numbers. I was thinking that since Atik was gone I would take charge. I began by calling the Russian team to ask them to meet us for lunch. This began a series of meetings and discussions where we figured out exactly how we were going to make our presentation to the world leaders. We decided that instead of slowly explaining why we were all there, we would start out shocking them.
About two thirds of the international guests were there when we made our first presentation. The resort had an indoor sports stadium that was generally used for soccer. Even with only two thirds of the guests, the stadium was full the first time I walked out onto the stage. My Ranjisi legs felt weaker than usual but at least there were seven of us. We had decided that it would be better if we introduced ourselves rather than having a human dignitary introduce us. It was more impressive and more shocking.
The stadium had an enormous high definition screen that stretched almost half way around the stadium so some of the guests did need to turn sideways to see the screen. But it was still a total overwhelming shock when the first videos appeared on the screen. It began with a video of the inside of a Tellus underground mall. The video was taken during the Tellus “sleep time,” so there were only a few figures walking in the darkened distance. The Telli live underground but over time they built thousands of skylights to give the people a sense of day and night. The lighting of the terminal and mall gradually changes from bright white to soft, dim blue as night falls. This helps the Telli to keep a healthy sleep routine. Although the terminal and mall looked very modern, it didn’t appear too unusual to the guests.
The seating of the stadium included touch-screen tablets on the back of each seat so guests could submit questions. As the video of the mall moved along, a handful of submitted questions began appearing at the bottom of the screen:
“Is that mall in South America?”
“Is this why we’ve been asked to come here? Are you looking for investors for a mall in a developing country?”
“Is that Thailand or Hong Kong?”
The time had come for one of us to speak. I looked around at the other six of us, waiting for someone to step up to the microphone. My legs felt so weak I thought I would collapse but somehow I made it up to the podium. “Greetings everyone. Thank you all for travelling all this way. I will introduce our group shortly. First I want to switch to the next video. Before I do, I want to say that this mall is not in South America or Asia. It is one of hundreds or perhaps thousands of underground streets, malls and terminals of the planet Tellus. Tellus is about 21,000 light years from Earth.”
I let that sink in for a moment. Like “the wave” at an American baseball game, a soft rumble of laughter began to slowly swell across the crowd. After a few minutes the laughter reached a low, dull peak and began to subside. When it became quiet, I switched to the next video. This was my “knock-out” punch. It consisted of close-ups of the Telli going about their daily routines. It was difficult at first to tell that they were legally blind. They see shapes and shades of color but they use their other senses to function. They don’t use walking sticks or guide animals. They move slowly, guided by their highly sensitive hearing which is believed to be stronger than Earthly dogs. As the camera zoomed in on their boney horn-like ears, the audio gradually faded in. Soft vowel sounds are woven into the melodic language of the Telli which I considered pleasant enough for human opera. The Telli are very much in tuned to audio and sound and their speech is a reflection of that. They don’t actually sing when they speak but they always speak in musical tones. They will generally speak in one note or tone for four or five words and then raise or lower the note for the next four or five words. The tones are not vital to the meaning of their words but the rise and fall of the tones are how they express emotions in their speech. When you hear a group of Telli talking for the first time, there can be no doubt. They are an ancient race and they are not human.
When the video stopped, the crowd was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I could hear a few people off in the distance, clearing their throats. The next video showed the surface of Tellus. “As you can see, the surface of Tellus is a vast barren desert. The atmosphere is thin and the surface is so hot, most animal life including humanoids would die in a few hours if they were caught outside in the middle of the day.”
“The clever Telli have made good use of the harsh surface of their planet by building factories and terminals on the surface,” I said as the video panned over some of the factories. They never have to go outside. They take shuttles, monorails and modern multi-passenger elevators to the surface.”
The crowd seemed to be interested and focused. One of the questions submitted by the crowd caught my eye: “We’ve known about alien visitors for years. So why is this so important to us now? Why are we here?”
I read the question to the crowd. I had their attention and I thought it was the perfect time to begin the real discussion. “Now I would like to introduce myself and my colleagues. I am Naos Oriel-Achernar. I am 54 years old. I look pretty good for 54, don’t I?” I was trying to lighten things up and get a laugh before continuing. It didn’t work and I briefly felt like a comedian who was “bombing out.”
“That is because I am from the planet Ranjisan. The gravitational pull on Ranjisan is much lower than here on Earth. On Ranjisan, we don’t need face lifts or neck pulls. Gravity is kind to us.” Reading the crowd, I got a sense of mixed emotions and thoughts and a few laughs. I was merely looking at body language and facial expressions. Some of them seemed skeptical and others seemed intensely interested.
I proceeded to introduce the rest of the Ranjisi group. “Gomeisa Oriel-Angetenar is a well-known cell disease specialist on Ranjisan. His Earth name is Gary. Gomeisa stood up for a second and waved to the crowd. Chara Arial-Ophiuchus is a disease specialist. She is famous on Ranjisan for helping to eliminate several infectious diseases. Turais Oriel-Torcularis is our government representative from the Council of Provinces (CP) in the capital Maasym.” Turais stood up and took a shy human-like bow.
“Enif Arial-Zavijah is also from the Council of Provinces (CP) in the capital Maasym. I guess you would call Turais and Enif over-paid politicians,” I got another laugh from the crowd. “Azha Oriel-Canopus is a famous cell disease specialist and Mesarthim Oriel-Matar is a renowned infectious disease specialist.”
“What is your specialty?” or “What do you do?” read the next dozen lines on the scroll on the bottom of the big screen.
I thought quickly and decided to go for another laugh. I wasn’t sure how the jokes affected the audience but they did help me relax a little. “I’m what you would call here, an ex-con.” I got a few laughs but mostly the crowd grew quiet.
“I came here a few years ago to observe human behavior and I broke Ranjisi law by helping to cure a cancer patient here. I was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison back home. But the details of the case prompted our government to renew discussions about making our presence here on Earth public. When they decided to proceed with Phase III of our program, they released me.”
Several variations of “How is the cancer patient doing now?” scrolled across the bottom of the screen.
“She has been permanently cured. She is fine. Much of what we wish to share with you are our medical advancements. In fact, we have brought with us, a cure for one of Earth’s most deadly and contagious diseases. There is no need to worry about biological contamination since this and many of our disease treatments are not biological. They are what you might call, nanorob
obiotic. That’s kind of a simplistic explanation. In due time, the smart people like Gomeisa and Azha can explain it much better than me. But first I want to continue with our overview of extraterrestrial life forms. What I can tell you here today may seem overwhelming but it is just the tip of the iceberg. We only know of four alien races, plus humans and Ranjisi. There are currently four races in our alliance. As soon as the human race is with us, there will be five. That is our purpose. That is why we are here.” I let that sink in for several long moments.
“Are the Grey aliens with the big eyes part of your alliance?” several similar questions scrolled across the bottom of the screen.
“Why do you look like humans?” scrolled across the bottom of the screen.
“I’ll get to the Grey aliens with the big eyes and more about our own biology. But first I want to tell you about the other two races that are part of the alliance. Earth is located between what your scientists refer to as the Orion and Cygnus arms of the Milky Way. Ranjisan is relatively close, located near the edge of the Sagittarius Arm. The planet Tellis is closer to the center, within the Norma arm. Our other friends and allies are located closer to the outer edge of the Milky Way in the Cygnus arm. Finding the twin planets of Ophiucha was an extraordinary discovery. Ophiucha and Aegialeus exist within the same solar system.”
Remembering how I had explained the unique and wonderful relationship between the Ophiucha and the Aegialeus to LeAnne, I rambled on about how kind and peaceful the superior Aegialeus were. I found I could talk about the Aegialeus for hours but the questions scrolling along the bottom of the monitor all seemed to point to curiosity about the Greys. I knew it was a justified curiosity. The Greys were there on Earth, they were very creepy and no one knew what their real intentions were.
“I can’t tell you a great deal about the Greys. They are from very far away. We think they are from what you call here, the Andromeda Galaxy which means they travel over 2,500,000 light years to get to Earth. So, we know that they are technologically much more advanced than we are. It makes you wonder, how long does it take to travel that far? We can only imagine what kind of world they live on that has made them so odd and non-humanoid. They did come to Ranjisan many years ago but they were only seen for a few years. For some reason, whatever it is they are looking for, they did not find it on Ranjisan.”
The Good Reaper Page 22