As the vibrations began to subside, Richard saw that a spark of green light had suddenly appeared somewhere ahead of him. The spark then started to grow until it had become as large as a soccer ball. Then it divided into three separate balls of light of different colors. Richard could identify red, blue, and white.
These balls of light began to separate from each other until they were about two feet from each other. After they had separated, the balls began to grow larger and larger until they were much bigger in size and having the forms of humans.
Gradually, the human forms began to take shape until three physical beings replaced them. Their bodies, which were about seven feet tall, were glowing brightly. They also had noticeably long ears and very wide eye sockets which seemed to bulge out of their heads as they walked and looked around Richard’s spacious office.
Richard immediately recognized them. At this point, Richard stood up from his chair.
“I should be the happiest man alive to see you all here once again,” Richard said.
“Happiest? Why are you so excited to see us, Richard?” one of the aliens asked.
Richard sighed. “My apologies. Did I say happiest? Maybe that should have been relieved. Yes, I am the most relieved man alive.”
“Why do you talk in this manner, Richard? Did you for once think that we would never turn up anytime you called our attention through the ball?” one of the aliens asked.
"Why do you sound agitated, Richard?" another alien asked.
“Agitated? Am I sounding agitated? Well, you know what? I think I should not be just agitated but very agitated,” Richard replied.
“What is the cause of your agitation, Richard?” one of the aliens asked.
Richard snapped. “Can you please recall the deal that we had?”
“Which one are you referring to exactly, Richard?” one of the aliens asked.
“The deal that we concluded, of course,” Richard replied.
“The one which involved your exchanging your Planet of Ice with one of ours?” another alien asked.
Richard nodded. “Exactly. And if I can recall the exact details properly, we had both done our due diligence and pre-negotiation reviews, right? Everything was perfect on paper and on review. Am I right?”
The three aliens nodded in unison. “Of course. Yes, Richard. Everything was in order. You gave us one of your planets and we gave you one of ours. I vividly recall that what attracted us to your Planet of Ice was its abundance of snow and ice, where it snowed every day. That suited our purposes very well. What is wrong with that?” one of the aliens asked.
Richard shook his head. “You don’t yet know, do you? I mean, you really are in the dark about what has happened, right?”
“In the dark? What exactly are you talking about, Richard?” another alien asked.
“Before I proceed, I’d like to find out from you if the planet that I gave you has any sort of problems, maybe defects or abnormalities? Perhaps something that you never envisaged?” Richard asked.
The three aliens shook their heads in unison. “No, none whatsoever, Richard. We are very happy with that planet,” one of them replied.
Richard looked at them. “Is that so? Well, I am glad. Or, I think that I should be. Unfortunately, I am not. And I can really never be. Do you know why?”
The three aliens glanced at each other. “What is the matter, Richard? Why are you not happy?”
“Look, when we first decided to enter into this business deal, I never anticipated that I would be so agitated and full of anger like this. In all my years of doing business, I have never, ever felt so at a loss and confused at the same time,” Richard said.
“At a loss and confused? Please, Richard. You are talking in riddles and pushing us all further into the dark. Why not tell us what is happening,” another alien said.
Richard held his head in his hands and groaned aloud. “It is your planet. The planet that you gave me. Dan-X34.”
The three aliens glanced at one another. “Planet Dan-X34? What about it?”
Richard sighed heavily. “You people should have given me some sort of briefing on what to expect with such a new planet. I mean, this is not my first time to take charge of a new planet. But this is indeed the first time I have ever encountered such an experience!”
“What is wrong with Dan-X34, Richard?” One of the aliens asked.
“Are the resources more than you can handle?” one of the aliens asked.
“I wish I could put it that way,” Richard replied. “I had to evacuate all of my men and personnel, every single member of staff. Thirty-five percent of my facilities and equipment and what we built are lost.”
“Lost?” one of the aliens asked.
“Yes, lost,” Richard repeated. “Maybe that expression is wrong. Not lost, but destroyed, by very angry giants.”
“Giants?” one of the alien beings asked. “Did you just say giants?”
Richard nodded. “Yes. Seven giants. That is why I had to contact you right away. Can you please explain to me what is going on? My facilities and structures have been decimated by seven angry giants and I do not have the faintest clue why that should happen. I mean, I thought that this planet was a virgin and uninhabited planet, just like you said.”
The three aliens were silent. In their moment of silence, their ears kept on fluttering like the wings of a butterfly or bird, while their eyes were closed.
“Come on, just tell me something that can help my anxiety to subside. After all, you are the intelligent beings who know how everything works in this universe and why it works the way it does. You gave me the planet. And you said no one owned it,” Richard said.
“Did you say giants?” one of the aliens asked again.
Richard nodded. “Yes, almost thirty feet or more in height. And they had green hair, blue skin, and gold bracelets on their wrists,” Richard said.
“This was our greatest fear,” one of the aliens said.
“Your greatest fear? But you are intelligent alien beings. How can you be afraid of anything?” Richard demanded.
“Contrary to what you believe, we are not the most supreme of alien beings, Richard. Our powers are limited in certain situations. And one of those situations is this. We cannot challenge other supreme beings like those giants that attacked your planet,” another alien said.
“What?” Richard exclaimed. “Are you telling me that you cannot do anything? You cannot be serious. You gave me the planet. We had a good deal. I gave you a good planet. You promised me that everything was all right. Why are you now telling me all of this?”
“Richard, we need you to relax and listen to us,” one of the aliens said.
“Please tell me how I can relax. My company has suffered monumental losses on that planet. All our investments are at stake!” Richard exclaimed.
“Richard, we need to explain some things to you. Can you give us a moment of your time?” the third alien asked.
“Time?” Richard repeated. “Sure, of course. Why not? I can give you time. Do I have any other choice? My company’s reputation and everything I have worked so hard to build is at stake here.”
“First of all, we must apologize for the setbacks that you must have suffered as a result of the attack of the giants,” the first alien said. “Initially, we thought that you might be having difficulties adapting to life on your new planet. However, from what we know this was not the case. You made tremendous progress on the planet, and have also gone to great lengths to preserve the planet and its resources, habitats, and ecosystems as well.”
“Yes, I have been doing everything possible to maintain this planet,” Richard said. "I gave you a good planet, the Planet of Ice. And from what you have said, you have not experienced any problems with it. So, on my part I have been straightforward with you. I have been very sincere in all of our business dealings.”
“That seems to be a very scarce quality to be found in most of your kind—sincerity,” one of the aliens said.
<
br /> Richard sighed. “So what do I get after everything, all the dedication and sincerity? Losses, setbacks, and disappointments?”
“It was not intended, Richard,” another alien said. “We never anticipated that these invaders would locate this planet and attack it.”
“But who are they? Where did they come from? Why can’t you do anything to stop them?” Richard asked.
“Unlike us, those giants are not builders, but destroyers. They come from planet Tarvia. Unlike us, they go about looking for new planets to colonize. Once they discover inhabitants, they chase them away and then take over the planet,” another alien said.
“So those things are going to come back?” Richard asked, horrified at the thought.
Another alien nodded. “Yes, Richard. Unlike us, the Tarvians are ruthless, merciless, and very vengeful.”
“Unlike you, unlike you,” Richard repeated. “Come to think of it, who are you, really? I mean, before now I have always had the impression that you were very strong, intelligent alien beings. But now you are not only making comparisons with other beings, but you are claiming that you are helpless and powerless against them?”
“We apologize for not telling you more about ourselves, Richard,” one of the aliens said. “But this should be an appropriate time to introduce ourselves formally to you.”
“My name is Intaaku,” the first alien said.
“I am Joseeba” the second alien said.
“While I am Nevoaru,” the third alien said.
Richard nodded. “Intaaku, Joseeba, and Nevoaru. Some names you have there. I hope you don’t mind if I keep asking who is who over and over again. I mean, it’s not as if your names are that simple to pronounce or remember.”
“We understand,” Nevoaru replied. “You can take your time to memorize our names.”
“So, now that I do know your names, maybe you can tell me a little bit more about yourselves?” Richard asked.
“Definitely, Richard,” Joseeba replied. “You are still very much aware of what happened when we initially approached you. We already knew that you and your company, GEI, were into the business of trading and development of planets. All we wanted was a human business partner who was not only willing to do interplanetary business, but one who was sincere and straightforward.”
“And by providing you with this planet, which you eventually named Planet Dan-X34, it further proved to you who we really are,” Intaaku said.
“Really? Because you failed in fulfilling your part of a business transaction, I now should have a better idea of who you really are?” Richard asked.
“It was not our intention that things should turn out like this, Richard. Honestly, believe us when we say we were not aware you would encounter such an incident on Dan-X34. That is not the kind of people we are. Never,” Joseeba said.
“Is that so? Okay then. Tell me, who are you?” Richard asked.
“We engage in business affairs, Richard. Just like you on your own Planet Earth. We are businessmen, Richard,” Joseeba said.
“Businessmen?” Richard repeated.
“Yes, Richard,” Nevoaru replied. “We come from the Upper Plane, in a completely different dimension that is at variance with yours. We are businesspeople who engage in the business of buying and selling planets and their resources. We equally engage in the development of such planets as well. This was the main reason why we requested your Planet of Ice. It is because we desired to develop it and make use of its abundant, naturally occurring resources of ice and snow.”
“Buying and selling planets?” Richard asked.
Intaaku nodded. “Yes. Whole planets and their entire resources, Richard. We buy, sell, and protect our planets.”
“Really? Well, if that is your business model, can you protect Dan-X34 for me against the giants?” Richard asked.
“We are sorry, Richard. But we are not fighters. We are only businesspeople,” Joseeba said.
“But that is not fair, is it? I mean, you gave me this planet, and we all can see that it has some serious defects. As businesspeople, shouldn’t you be thinking of getting me a replacement, or at least thinking of getting rid of the defects in it?” Richard asked.
“By defects you are referring to the giants?” Intaaku asked.
Richard nodded. “Yes. Giants. Gigantic defects they are, aren’t they?”
“Look, Richard. We do not operate like that. When we complete a transaction and hand over a planet to its beneficiary, we hand off that planet,” Joseeba said.
“I see. You work like a one-transaction kind of business system, because you do not think that there is a… well, I don’t think that is a very good method of running a business. Especially not from my point of view,” Richard said.
“What point of view are you referring to, Richard?” Nevoaru asked.
“Do you remember what happened when you first came to me with your business proposition?” Richard asked.
“Yes, we clearly remember that day. We gave you an Earth-like planet in exchange for the Planet of Ice, or Dan-X28 as you call it,” Intaaku said.
Richard nodded. “Thank you for remembering that, Intaaku. But, when you got in touch with me, and I agreed to your terms of sale, I fulfilled my part of the bargain. Why could you not fulfill yours?”
“Yes, we agree that is what you did, Richard. But what are you trying to say here?” Joseeba asked.
“It is just one thing—I need a refund,” Richard said.
“You need a what?” Nevoaru asked.
“I need to be refunded for all that I have expended on that planet. That is, if you refuse to help me deal with the problem at hand,” Richard said.
“We do not do refunds, Richard. How do you expect us to be involved with such things?” Intaaku asked.
“But you just informed me that you are businesspeople. And a refund is the easiest and simplest way to get a dissatisfied customer happy and satisfied. That way, they do not have to be left with a product or service that is seriously defective,” Richard said.
“Whoever said that this planet was defective?” Joseeba asked.
“But it is! Those giants were never a part of the bargain. And have you even seen the damage that they caused? Thirty-five percent destruction; that is over a third of all that I had put up there!” Richard said.
“Richard, the best we can suggest to you is that you evacuate the planet while we reach some sort of solution,” Nevoaru said.
“And because of how you have handled this Planet Dan-X34, we will not hesitate to consider you for a second planet,” Intaaku stated.
“I am really grateful for the promise of better things to come,” Richard stated. “Who knows; maybe you might consider me for an entire solar system. But right now I am very much more interested in salvaging my Dan-X34 from the hands of these giants.”
“You mean the Tarvians,” Nevoaru said.
“The who?” Richard asked.
“The Tarvians are what those giants are referred to as,” Joseeba said.
“The Tarvians? I am sure they must really have a bad reputation,” Richard said.
“Yes. The Tarvians are a race of intergalactic marauders and invaders. They are feared across all galaxies and universes. And because they were created from a different plane and dwell in different dimensions, we as businesspeople cannot stop them in any way directly,” Nevoaru said.
“Directly? Wait, are you saying there is a way, as in indirectly?” Richard asked excitedly.
"Yes, Richard. There is a way that you could use to deal with the Tarvians, but everything will depend on you,” Joseeba said.
"Wait, did you just refer to me? What can a mere mortal man like me do against such beastly giants like those Tarvians?” Richard asked.
"Yes, Richard. You are going to handle them if you are willing to. However, before we proceed any further with this discussion, we would like to know if you did come across the gold on that planet,” Intaaku asked.
"The gold? Did you just a
sk about the gold?” Richard asked.
Nevoaru nodded. "Yes, Richard. We are referring to the gold that is under the mountains. Did you find it?"
"Yes, of course I did. But what has that gold got to do with all of this? I thought we had other more urgent, critical, and pressing issues, like salvaging the planet and fighting off those giants?” Richard said.
"Just be patient, Mr. Daniels. Now, tell us, did you find a way to extract it?” Joseeba asked.
Richard shook his head. “No, not yet. You see, the only way to do that is to demolish the mountains. And I just cannot do that to my planet. I cannot destroy it just because I want to extract gold from it.”
"I see. What about the technologies you have?" Intaaku asked.
"Well, we have tried all that we could, but we were not yet successful. We were still working on it before the invasion. Apparently, we don’t yet have the required technology to perform such a feat. It just does not exist as of now,” Richard replied.
"Well, Mr. Daniels, we know that with you, and all that we already know about you, that should not be a problem,” Joseeba said.
“What do you mean? Are you talking about extracting the gold on the planet?” Richard asked.
Nevoaru nodded. “Yes, Richard. We are confident that you are surely going to find a way to extract the gold on your planet.”
Richard shook his head vigorously. "Now, just hold up a second. What has all this got to do with the giants and getting my planet saved?”
Intaaku smiled. “It is simple, Richard. We want the gold.”
Richard blinked. “What? You said you want what?”
“Yes, you heard us right, Richard. We are very interested in the gold on your planet,” Nevoaru said.
“Really? And how does all that relate with the problem at hand?” Richard asked.
“Well, the actual truth is that for a while now, we were the owners of this planet. We have always known about the Tarvian giants. But we really didn’t care about them. They were always coming and going as they liked and were not a problem to us,” Joseeba said.
“So you knew about them all this while, even at the point of handing over the planet to me?” Richard asked.
Planet DAN-X34 Page 10