“Yes sir.”
“We were just talking about you the other day. We were asking LeAnne how we could get in touch with you to thank you.” LeAnne’s father Carl walked toward me while extending his hand. I felt a deep sense of relief. At least I knew I was welcome there. The cab driver tooted the horn once and Carl went ahead and waved him off. “You can stay for a while, can’t you? LeAnne isn’t home.”
“Yes Mr. Pearson.”
“You can call me Carl. Now that you’ve met Ulysses, let’s go in and you can meet LeAnne’s mom,” he said as he patted Ulysses on the head. “LeAnne should be back in an hour. She went to Walmart.”
“How is LeAnne doing Carl?”
“She is fine, thanks to you and your people. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart Luke.”
LeAnne’s mother Madeline was already at the door and recognized me right away. She stepped forward a little reluctantly to give me a hug. I assumed she felt a little awkward touching an alien. LeAnne’s brother Roy appeared next and quickly figured out who I was and what was happening. He seemed completely comfortable with the notion of having an alien visitor. “Thank you for everything Luke. Should we call you Luke or Naos?”
I was impressed. Roy had remembered my real name. “Either name is fine Roy.”
We sat in the dining room and talked while we waited for LeAnne. It had been about two weeks since the public announcement was made asking Ranjisi to return home. Protests and small riots had popped up across the globe and some people didn’t like the presence of Ranjisi. But the Pearsons sure were welcoming and glad we were there.
I could hear the sound of the front door opening. My heart stopped for a few seconds and then began to beat like a machine gun. We all turned to face the living room and watched LeAnne quickly pass through the living area and into the kitchen. No one said anything and LeAnne didn’t look over toward the dining room. We listened quietly as she put some groceries away. It looked like she was going to make another trip out to the car when she glanced toward the dining room. She took a few more steps and stopped short. As she turned to face me, her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. She appeared frozen for a second and then took a few steps toward me. I stood up and it seemed LeAnne flew into my arms in one long leap.
“I can’t believe you’re here. But I did have dreams about you coming here and when they made the announcement, I wondered if they released you from prison. We didn’t actually see any interviews with Ranjisi. We just saw President Hawkins and Russian President Pasternak. How long have you been here? I’ve missed you so much.”
“Thinking about you was the one thing that got me through those long boring days in prison. I missed you too. You look wonderful. You feel wonderful.” We kissed until we both became aware of the Pearson family sitting there watching us.
“I confess LeAnne. I’ve been here all along. I came with the Phase III delegation. I just wasn’t sure if I should contact you. I figured you went on with your life. It has been a few years. I thought that in the long run, you would be better off without me.”
“I understand Naos. I’m just glad you decided to come here. Now you know. I wouldn’t be better off without you. I’m better off with you, much better off. There hasn’t been anyone else in my life since you left.”
“On the news, they showed videos of the Tellis and the twin races and pictures of Ranjisan,” LeAnne said. “In the beginning, after the big announcement of your arrival, they said some of you went to work in Africa. They showed some pictures of Ranjisi working with African doctors, curing Ebola. But they didn’t show any pictures of you. There were no close-ups of anyone and everyone was wearing masks. Were you with the group that went to Africa?”
“Yes. I was with them. I was there for almost two years. I am so sorry I didn’t contact you LeAnne.”
LeAnne hugged me tightly again. “It’s okay Naos. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
“Can you stay for a while?” Roy asked. “What are your plans?”
“I can stay as long as I am welcome. I’ve decided that I won’t be returning to Ranjisan with the big exodus. They won’t look for me. I’m somewhat of a celebrity on Ranjisan and I can pretty much go where I want.”
“So what do you think of the protests?” Carl asked.
“I guess it was to be expected. Things will settle down eventually,” I said. “When we have more time, I’ll explain the protests. There is more going on behind the scenes than people know. There are those who don’t want our medical and technological systems here. It all has to do with money.”
“I’m not surprised to hear that,” Roy said. “But we can talk about those things over time. For now, we just want you to know that you are welcome and we want you to be comfortable here.”
“Yes, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want. There is an extra bedroom you can use,” Carl said.
“Thank you Carl. I would like that. Thank you for making me feel welcome.”
When I turned back to face LeAnne, I noticed her joy seemed to be hiding some other emotions. Her smile had faded and she looked concerned or worried. The rest of the Pearson family grew silent as I looked at LeAnne, expecting some kind of bad news. “Naos, can you sit down. There is something I need to tell you,” LeAnne said.
I sat down wondering what it could be. I wondered quickly if the cancer had returned. There were no reports of cancer returning from any of the treatment centers but LeAnne was the first patient. For a brief second I wondered if maybe it took a longer period of time for the cancer to return. It seemed impossible but we didn’t have much experience with humans. Perhaps there was something different about humans that we hadn’t considered. My thoughts were spinning wildly when LeAnne’s words brought me back to reality. “Wait here a minute Naos,” LeAnne said before leaving the room.
When LeAnne returned two minutes later she was holding the hand of child that looked to be about four or five years old. He appeared to have been woken up from a nap and was leaning into LeAnne’s hip, falling back to sleep. “Meet Carl Luke,” was all LeAnne said.
I stood up and leaned into the small child to get a better look. “He is yours? How old is he?” I asked thinking that she had definitely moved on and met someone.
“Sit down a minute Naos. He is five years old,” LeAnne said. “You’ve been gone a long time Naos. You’ve been gone just over five years. Do you remember the first night at the Mesquite Lodge?”
“Of course LeAnne. It’s the most wonderful memory of my life.”
“I always knew in my heart that you would return someday Naos. You would return to me and to your son. He isn’t mine. He is ours.”
It was a good thing LeAnne had asked me to sit down. Even sitting down I felt like I was going to pass out. I leaned forward and put my head between my knees until the feeling passed. When I looked up, LeAnne was standing there and Carl Luke was wide awake and looking at me. I reached slowly for Carl’s hand. He smiled shyly and took my hand. Anyone who has touched their own child for the first time knows what it feels like. It’s kind of like the opposite of dying. Your life passes through your mind except that when you hold your child for the first time you are overwhelmed with all the extraordinary and selfless things your parents did for you. I hugged Carl Luke. I didn’t want to scare him so I just hugged him quickly and gently for a moment. In that moment I made that personal vow to myself that all new parents of all races make. I made a vow that I will love and protect the child unconditionally for as long as I live.
“He is beautiful.” I wasn’t sure how to ask the question. I wanted to know if he was healthy. After all, it was the first time that I knew of that two people with completely different internal biology conceived a child. He was the first interplanetary, multi-racial child. He was half human and half Ranjisi.
LeAnne already knew what I was thinking. “He is healthy Naos. The doctors said he may be prone to infections during his early development due to the fact that he has no spleen. As
ide from that, he was a bit anemic but he has gradually outgrown that.”
“And your health?” I asked.
“Perfect.”
“When it comes to parenthood, we are all universally the same,” I thought. “Even the cold Greys of Eusebeia must bond with their children. As I smiled and talked to Carl Luke about anything and everything I realized that all life forms throughout the vast universe have been feeling for eons, what I was feeling at that moment. It’s an instinct that is deeply embedded somewhere inside us. It’s what adds meaning to life.”
***
The protests and riots continued on for months before they finally began to subside. It took about that long for LeAnne and I to decide what we wanted to do next. We wanted to be part of the Phase III Medical Division but that option seemed less likely to become a reality when the official announcement was made requesting all Ranjisi to return to Ranjisan. There would still be a small percentage of Ranjisi who remained on Earth. It’s not like we were going to be criminals and they would be hunting us down. Actually, the Ranjisi government was not too concerned about it since they knew we would return little by little, over time.
I had hoped we could work in one of the new human-managed research facilities that they had built. I submitted our applications to the facility located just north of New York City and it wasn’t long before we received our acceptance letters. They weren’t going to accept my application but when I talked to them on the phone and told them LeAnne and I were going to be married eventually, they accepted it. After that, we just had to wait for a starting date. The timing was good for us. We spent our days relaxing and teaching Carl Luke everything we could. We spent many warm nights sitting out on the Pearson’s rear deck, looking up at the stars.
“This is where it all started,” LeAnne said one night.
“Yes. It was an odd coincidence that it was our ship that harassed you here on your deck that night,” I said with a sly smile.
“Your people can harass me anytime they want Naos. Ranjisi are good people,” LeAnne said, paused and continued, “and here you guys are again.” LeAnne was looking up toward the same mountain where our ship had appeared several years earlier.
We both stared at the ship that was slowly coming closer. It wasn’t saucer shaped. “Don’t tell me that’s the Greys?” LeAnne said.
The ship moved closer. It appeared to be about four hundred yards north and about one mile high as it slowly and quietly descended. It was definitely not Ranjisan. “It’s not us and I don’t think it’s the Greys.”
“Then who is it?” LeAnne asked.
“I haven’t seen anything like it before. The Greys’ ships are chevron or ‘V’ shaped and dark in color. They are almost invisible except for their lighting. When seen at night in a dark sky they appear to be triangular. But this shape reminds me more of a trident spear.”
We watched as the strange ship descended until it was about fifty feet off the ground. The ship had a central body which came to a sharp point at both ends. A wing which ran the length of the body protruded from each side of the main body. The wings pointed toward the rear and looked like the wings of a bird, narrowing to a sharp point at the end. The curves of the ship were soft and looked aerodynamic but the sharp points of the wings and nose of the ship made it look threatening. As I looked closer I could see that the end points of the wings had additional protrusions that actually made them look like the blades of a sword. This made the whole experience of being near the ship, more unsettling. All in all, the ship looked like a war ship. It was dark metallic in color and the only exterior lighting was a band of dim white lights that ran down the two sides of the main body.
We sat quietly watching the ominous craft which didn’t move or make a sound until a section of the property was lit up with white light. But the light wasn’t a projection coming from the ship. It seemed to have its own source. The lighted area which was about one hundred yards off to the left, slowly began to sweep around toward the house. “Let’s get back in the house,” LeAnne said.
“Yes. Now I know what you felt like when our ships scanned you.”
“But this feels different. It feels wrong. I get the feeling they have bad intentions,” LeAnne said. “It’s frightening.”
Everyone else had gone to sleep. Carl Luke was sleeping quietly in the downstairs bedroom. We turned out all the lights and watched from the dining room sliding glass doors. The ship light which I assumed was some sort of remote scan, stopped directly over the house. When we looked up, we could see the bright light, lighting up the entire house. The light sat atop the house for about twenty minutes before it suddenly became dark again. A few minutes later, the ship began to turn slowly while the nose began to point upward. We quietly stepped back out on the deck just in time to see the ship move away slowly. We watched until the ship was far away and out of view.
“So what do you suppose that was all about?” LeAnne asked.
“Earth and the human race have caught the attention of at least one other alien race in addition to us and the Greys. We don’t really need to worry about the Greys. They just do their odd little experiments and they don’t seem to have any truly bad intentions. I’m not sure about these newer visitors. I have a bad feeling about them.”
“The Earth and the rest of the universe have definitely entered into a new era of intergalactic contact,” I said. “I’m not sure where it will all lead. At least the human race will be better prepared for it now than they were before we introduced ourselves. The appearance of these new visitors is also further proof that the human race needs to come together. I think that is happening now. If these new visitors pose a threat, at least the human race will be better prepared to act as one race to defend themselves and the human race will now have help from our alliance.”
“Maybe they will find the human race to be a useless waste of time. Maybe they will leave and never come back,” LeAnne said.
“I hope so. Things are going well now for the human race, in spite of the fact that many people still don’t trust us. Cancer and other infectious diseases will be completely wiped out within a year. A new team of specialists are working on an adaptation of the attorobobiotic application that will attack blood clots in the same manner that it attacks cancer cells. This will eventually become a preventive treatment to prevent heart attacks and clot-based strokes.
The environmental team will help to reverse the damage that has already been done to Earth’s atmosphere. From what I’ve seen since the announcement, ‘cease fire’ agreements are being reached all over the planet. In short, the human race is entering a period of enlightenment. The last thing we need now is interference from a hostile race.”
“I like it when you use the word, ‘we’ to refer to the human race Naos. You are indeed one of us.”
“And I am happy here LeAnne. There is no place I would rather be than here with you.”
***
We rarely talked about the strange warship that hovered over the house, but the mental images of the event were never far from our thoughts, especially if we were sitting outside in the evening. After that night it seemed we unconsciously scoured the night sky for the strange ominous ship. We searched the internet nightly and found nothing. It was hard to believe that we were the only people who saw the strange ship. We were so scared and excited that night that we never thought to photograph the ship. LeAnne and I both hoped that they had found the human race primitive and useless.
Life was good on planet Earth. War and disease were becoming a thing of the past. LeAnne and I were happy living in beautiful upstate New York. Carl Luke seemed to outgrow the health problems he was born with and was developing normally.
We never did see the strange ship again. They probably decided that humans were a waste of time. That’s good. The sight of that ship left me with a bad feeling. Something just felt wrong about it. I felt quite sure that they did not come to Earth to form an alliance and to cure Earthly diseases. I convinced myself that t
hey would never return. But I wondered if I was kidding myself. With all of the habitable planets in all the solar systems throughout the vast universe, the truth is that it is just a matter of time before some highly advanced, hostile race stumbles upon the beautiful blue planet.
To this day when I take Ulysses out for his bedtime walk I instinctively look up at the sky before I do anything else. Without realizing it, I look in all directions. I still get a slight twitch in my gut each time I look at the beautiful star filled night sky of the mountains. I breathe a sigh of relief when all I see are stars.
LeAnne and I always found things to talk about during our evenings out on the rear deck although there were nights when we just sat quietly, waiting to catch a glimpse of a shooting star. But the weather changes constantly and without warning in upstate New York.
“It’s starting to drizzle,” I said. “Shall we go inside?”
“Yes, but there is one thing I want to talk about before we go in. It won’t take long,” LeAnne said. “It is amazing to think that after all these years of human suffering, cancer is finally losing the battle to medicine,” LeAnne said. “Algol never did explain exactly how the cancer serum works. Algol promised to explain it to me but he was arrested before he had a chance to explain it. When he started the serum infusion, he used a laptop to do something. Now that is weird. What could he possibly be doing on a computer that has something to do with the cancer serum? We have time now. Can you explain it?”
“It’s actually a fairly simple process. The human race would eventually get there, assuming they could overcome all the sabotage initiated by the greedy pharmaceutical industry. Here is a brief explanation of how the cure for cancer and other diseases works:
The Good Reaper Page 25