Children of the After: The Complete Series

by Jeremy Laszlo

  Taking specimens of your ancient relatives, we began splicing our own genes with that of primitive humans. In the span of a single generation they began to evolve. It was impressive, to say the least. On this world our genes could thrive, so we encoded as much of our race as was possible into human DNA. We couldn’t stay long, however, and as such we left your world again as the atmosphere made us weak and subject to sickness. We left, taking a substantial population of the altered species of man we had made, and deposited variations of your race on every suitable planet we could find. It was more than a simple experiment, it was for our survival. We knew that if our heritage was to survive, it was best to give it a hold on as many planets as was possible. What we didn’t calculate, was how differently man would evolve on each planet.”

  The narration paused and Jack found that he was no longer struggling against the bindings that held him fast. Instead he listened and pondered their words. It actually made sense. Kind of. The missing link was missing because it didn’t exist. Man had been altered synthetically by DNA manipulation. Historically it was possible. Wasn’t it? Could all they said be true? The geneticist with the resistance said they all shared a common ancestor with every race of aliens that had come to Earth. Was it possible that the common ancestor was the very invaders themselves? Jack’s head began to hurt. So many ideas and thoughts tried to make themselves known at the same time and he went into overload. It was the same when taking a test at school. The answer was there, just he couldn’t find it among everything competing for his attention. Fortunately he wasn’t looking for an answer. Not this time. Instead, he was being given the answers and Jack found himself actually shaking at the revelations as all the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.

  “Over time, your species and every other one we created began to evolve independently of one another in order to best survive the worlds where you were placed. As our race continued to fail without a home or the proper technology to sustain us, we worked for any solution or technology we could to keep those of us that remained alive. As our technology improved, the likelihood of our survival on a planet such as your own improved. We visited all of the races often and at times shared minor technologies and engineering ideas. The many races of man prospered and advanced. Some, such as your own, developed technologies to rival what ours had been before leaving our homes. Others remained primitive, but their populations still thrived. Over time our own technology saw advancements from necessity, and our hope was rekindled.

  We believe that we are now at the point where we can implant our thoughts, our emotions, and our history into another body and so preserve our race for all time within new flesh, but which is the most resilient? Which race of man was the strongest? We didn’t want history to repeat, and so we developed a simple plan to decide which race of man was superior. We built planet ships and gathered the races we had created millennia ago and with only a handful of our race still living we brought them here. In order to make it a controlled test we had to eliminate your human technology.”

  “So you destroyed everything and killed those we loved for a test?” Jack demanded, his anger fully restored.

  “It was a necessary evil. If it had not been for our technology, your race would still live in trees and walk on four limbs. It seemed an even trade to take that which you would not have had to begin with, in order to perform our test. Cruel perhaps, but over the expanse of time it is a minor crime to your race should it survive. In any case, our test was flawed. In preparation for this test and with the creation of the world ships and the weapons we devised to destroy your technology, we overlooked how our advancements would affect those who were subjected to them. The radiation pulse drives developed to destroy all that humanity had built, affected your race on a genetic level. Many of your adults fell victim within weeks. Nearly half of adolescents fell ill weeks later and succumbed shortly thereafter. But there were some that persisted. Some who not only survived, but thrived with their rearranging DNA. The very genetic code we implanted within you to advance your race and preserve our own had turned against us. It began to mutate. Fortunately not all humans were exposed. A great many were spared the effects of our pulse drives and have been isolated. Only those who managed to evade our collection were either altered or destroyed. Most of those fell to the other races of man we returned to their native home. You yourselves are growing ill due to the exposure. Tests have shown that you are no longer adequate examples of possible host bodies for our new technology.”

  Jack spat on the floor.

  “Why even tell us this?” he demanded.

  “Because you asked,” the robotic voice replied calmly. “You see, although we intended to see which race was the strongest and which would survive when pitted against each other, we inadvertently created a genetic offshoot that was unanticipated. Those like you were a mistake. A miscalculation. Something that we intended to eradicate quickly in order to preserve our experiment. But then you came here and we sampled your DNA and your molecular structure. The mutation has accelerated your ability to evolve. With nurturing, we believe we can guide such evolution towards a race of man even better suited for the re-establishment of our race than any that exist now. You see, because of you, we can save our race as intended simply by exposing all of your race to our radiation and keeping those that survive as our new flock.”

  Jack felt sick. The aliens saw them as animals for the slaughter. They intended to destroy humanity for a handful of specimens who survived like him and his siblings. Even if they destroyed this alien spire and these aliens, there were likely more, all around the world, and there was no way to beat them all.

  * * * * *

  Sam’s breath had caught in her chest. If they had simply stayed away from the spire there was a good chance humans would have survived, but not now. Because of them, their entire race would be subjected to radiation poisoning and would die over the weeks to come as they slowly went blind, with both their teeth and hair falling out. They had done this to their race. They had failed.

  With her stomach twisting in knots, Sam couldn’t help but wonder what the aliens intended after eliminating humankind. Would they move on to settle upon another planet or stay here? Would they continue to play God with the many races of man they had deposited here, or leave them in peace? Though she knew she should be worried about herself and her siblings, not to mention her entire race, the questions were relentless. She needed to know more.

  “So what then?” she asked, looking from one giant glass vial to another.

  Before the synthetic voice came again, all three alien heads swiveled in her direction as six huge eyes focused on her. Being under their scrutiny sent a shiver up her spine. It felt gross to be looked at as property.

  “When we have selected those best suited for manipulation, it is likely we will return to the world ships and exit Earth’s atmosphere as it interferes with our health. Once in orbit we will calculate the time it will take to successfully alter the remnants of your race into suitable hosts, and prepare to travel to another planet of our choosing.”

  “Why not just stay here once you have created suitable bodies to survive?”

  “Because you have ruined your planet. It is on the brink of an ending the like of which you cannot even fathom. There is nothing left for us here.”

  “So you would destroy an entire race just to save your own? You would do to us what you did to yourselves? Genocide?”

  “There is no other way.”

  “And if there was?” Sam demanded.

  “There is no time.”

  “What if there was time? What if there was another way?”

  “Your plight is understandable. The outcome is… regrettable. But you must understand, you were created in our image as a means to save us from extinction. You were made for a purpose and you are fulfilling that purpose. Your lives have meaning.”

  “What if we don’t want to serve your purpose? We are our own people, not yours. You don’t own us. You can’t
own life. You can’t own the will of another.”

  “Through your sacrifice, and our own, all will be mended once more. The evils of both of our races will be expunged and we can begin anew. Surely you must see the logic?” the synthesized voice replied in a tone that almost sounded pleading.

  Did they have a conscience? Did they have morals? Could they see that what they were doing was evil? Did they struggle with the knowledge that they were dooming a species to extinction? Sam had to know.

  “What gives you the right to exterminate us? What gives you the right to use us for your own gain? Who are you to ask understanding from those you intend to murder?”

  “Without our intervention, humanity will destroy itself. Already your planet suffers. You create food to sustain your expanding population, but the very sustenance you create poisons your bodies, creating disease. Your pollution chokes the air and water near past the point of repair. You wage wars for resources that cannot sustain you. Earth is a lost cause.”

  “Who gives you the right to make that decision?” Sam asked, her body shaking as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “It is not a right, it is a necessity,” the voice replied.

  Sam couldn’t take it. If they were remorseful, if they had hearts, such a thing wouldn’t even be conceivable. They were evil. They had to be stopped. Apparently Will agreed.

  “Set us free and let our people go. Go back to where you came from,” her little brother demanded.

  Sam watched, waiting expectantly, but they did not comply. For some reason Will’s gift didn’t have an effect on them. Maybe they were immune, or maybe it was because they were floating in jars like Grandma’s pickles. Either way, Sam realized that she was going to have to be the one to make them see. Taking a deep breath, Sam focused straight ahead and blinked out of her restraints.

  * * * * *

  Though Will didn’t witness his sister vanish, he somehow instinctively knew she was gone when a slight gust of air swept past him in what would have been her direction. Before he could even process the realization, however, he watched her reappear in the most unlikely place on the planet.

  Like a small explosion had gone off inside one of the giant green vials, liquid spurted out of vents at the top of the canister as Sam materialized within it. Will’s breath caught in his chest as he watched Sam thrash and kick for a moment, getting her bearings, as her eyes bugged out of their sockets. Within a second, perhaps two, her panicked thrashing ceased and, bracing herself to the sides of the container with her legs, she reached out to grasp the alien within. Will was helpless to do anything but watch as the robot guards in the room turned to train their weapons upon her. But they couldn’t shoot, not without taking the chance of killing one of their own masters.

  All eyes in the room were on Sam, including those of the aliens in the tubes that she did not occupy. Watching as his sister grappled with the creature, unable to breathe, he saw as she wrapped her small arms around its neck and began to squeeze. Thrashing and kicking, in an attempt to free itself from her grasp, the alien’s chest tubes tore free and the greenish fluid in the tank began to grow a darker color, somewhere between copper and brown.

  On the alien fought, squirming and thrashing, but Sam held tight, small bubbles of air escaping her mouth and nose as she struggled to hold her breath. With each passing second Will watched as Sam’s eyes grew larger, panic beginning to set into his sister. Then, just as quickly as it began, the alien stopped moving, falling limp in Samantha’s arms. Will sighed in relief, though his sister’s plight was not ended. If she exited the giant vial, the robots would surely attack her and if she remained within she would drown.

  Filled with fear for his sister, Will knew that any decision she made would be folly, but watched as she vanished from the vial, the darkening fluid crashing down to fill the void she had created. One instant she was there, the next she was gone. For a moment it seemed that Sam had left them, until a loud clang echoed from the passageway beyond the aliens. Watching the robots turn and begin towards the corridor, Will nearly peed himself when Sam appeared just inches from his face, holding her finger up to her mouth. With a nod he signaled his understanding, and watched as she reached up to remove the restraints from his head before unstrapping his wrists.

  Listening intently, Will could hear the robo-guards’ metallic footfalls moving further down the corridor before coming to a sudden stop. Leaving him to unbind his own legs and feet, Sam moved on to Jack. Ahead, beyond the fluid-filled tanks, the footsteps began anew, only this time they grew louder.

  Bending at the waist, Will undid the straps that bound him at the knees. They were simple things really, something between what you would find on a belt and the adjustment for his backpack’s straps. With a tug on one side and a flick of his finger, the strap securing his knees fell slack as he moved on towards his ankles. In seconds he was free, and looking towards his brother, he watched as Sam vanished into thin air once again, leaving Jack to free his lower limbs as well. The footsteps of the robots continued to near, and Will realized that they needed a plan.

  Looking about the room he knew that the only means of escape lay beyond the aliens and their mechanical protectors. They would have to defeat the robots to escape, but these were but a pair of the hundreds or thousands that roamed the vast spire. No, they still needed to defeat the ones controlling the robots. They needed to defeat the very beings within the vials in front of him. But how? His power was of no use against them. His pack was missing. He had no weapon. Will was useless here. Or was he?

  “Jack. We have to destroy them, it’s the only way,” Will said, turning to face his bigger brother.

  Receiving a nod in return, Will turned back to the room as Sam appeared atop one of the giant canisters just as the bots re-entered the room. Blasts from both of their weapons crackled across the chamber, but Sam was quicker. Watching his sister vanish yet again, Will grinned as both blue beams missed their mark only to crash into the ceiling with a dazzling display of sparks. His grin was quickly wiped away when Sam reappeared. Sapped beyond her limit, Sam’s legs crumpled beneath her as she collapsed to the floor in a heap just mere feet away from the robot guardians. She was exhausted. Spent. The robotic invaders turned their weapons on her just as they both rocketed up and back, sailing into the wall above the corridor’s entry with a crash. Down they came a split second later, slamming into the floor of the room with a sound that made Will’s ears ring.

  Smoke rose from the ruined, mechanical beings, and turning, Will watched as Jack’s shoulders sagged. Walking towards him, it was apparent that he too was tired beyond measure. It was up to him to save them.

  * * * * *

  Pain lanced down Tammy’s arm, carried down by the nerves from her shoulder. Inside her wound the mechanical torture device darted this way and that, scraping and squeezing and pulling at her ruined flesh. She could feel the sweat beading on her skin, yet she felt cold. Too cold. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she winced as the arm began to move the device about yet again and then extracted it. Several loud snapping sounds split the air, sounding as if they came from only inches away from her face. With each one, more pain erupted in her shoulder. Why torture her still? She had answered their questions.

  Several seconds passed and no new device came. No new pain was inflicted to replace the last. Opening her eyes slowly, she found the robot leaning in over her. Was this it? Was this when it intended to finish her off?

  “Should heal,” the robot proclaimed.

  Not understanding the robot’s meaning, Tammy twisted her head down as best she was able and gasped in shock. There, where a gaping wound had been, her flesh had been pulled together neatly, stapled closed with an unknown material, and cleaned. Already, she realized that the pain was subsiding. Something beyond her comprehension was happening. She needed answers.

  “Why did you fix me?” she demanded.

  “You were injured.”

  “Yes, but why heal me just to make me a slav
e or lock me away like you did my people?”

  “It has occurred to us, that we all remain bound together,” the robot replied.

  “Who is us? What do you mean?”

  “Your understanding of your people’s prophecy is flawed. Even after eons, it appears that the webs of all of our fates are intertwined. We share DNA. We share life. And it seems we too share a future.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Why do we share these things? How is our understanding flawed?” Tammy asked as the straps that bound her suddenly fell slack.

  Something was going on. Perhaps it was a trick. She needed to be cautious, ask the right questions.

  “Long ago our race was combined with another to create many species of man. Your race was one of those created. As your people fail, so do the humans and even our own race,” the robot answered.

  Tammy mulled it over quickly. Parts of what it said seemed true. The crazy scientist had said they were all related. Her people were dying. The humans’ world seemed okay, though she supposed that it too could be beginning to fail. Still, something major was missing from this puzzle. She needed to know what the thing had meant.

  “What about the prophecy?” she asked the robot, rising to a seated position.

  “Those you have guided to us are not the Star Children you have prophesied. You see, you have interpreted it too literally. This mechanical body that accompanies you is controlled by a separate entity with nothing but thought. Our ships are navigated and can leap through space by thought alone. We can move entire races from one world to another with nothing more than a thought. You see… We are the real Star Children, those you led here to destroy us are a mistake. They are a side effect, an accident. Already they fight to destroy us. If we do not survive, all of us will die, you, your people, every race of man brought to this planet will perish.”