by Joe Vizanko
Chapter 11 “Homeward”
Joe let out a big sigh of relief that they had made it through the wormhole. As they approached the homeworlds he felt the knots in his stomach tighten again. The years of planning were behind him and he felt like a rollercoaster cresting over the edge. I hope this works, he thought to himself. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the ground.
Dr. Becker looked over at him. She needed some answers. She sat down on the floor in front of him. “We need to talk,” she demanded as she settled on the floor. “I’m confused about our roll in all of this. Why exactly did you contact us?”
“Okay” Joe pulled his knees up. “I knew that when I exposed Earth to the larger human community without the council’s permission they’d be blindsided. Only such a bold step would force them to react.” Joe rubbed the back of his neck still feeling the effect of the wormhole. “Being a former member myself, I know how they think. I had great influence in the past but I fell out of favor after a similar attempt to reorganize the makeup of humanity.”
“But why Earth? Why’s it so important?” Dr. Becker was still confused.
“Think of Earth as the grand experiment. It proves that freeformed humans cannot only survive, but excel. Earth is the key to the evolution of humanity.” Joe raised his eyebrows with a radiant grin. “Like I said, I used to be part of the council. Believe me, they’re not used to this kind of insurrection.” Joe looked around and realized that the entire group was listening to him. “The first thing I need to do is convince them that freeformed humans won’t take over the council. All this change needs to take time. But it has to start. Emotions can be dangerous and they need to be monitored.” Joe noticed that Dr. Becker looked disturbed at what he had just said. “I mean, emotions need to grow and evolve, dampening them is not the solution. We may be technologically advanced but it’s the emotional condition of being human that we know very little about. We are infants in that regard.”
“Emotions are what define us, they are what make us human, the good and the bad.” Dr. Zanagar replied as he stood, leaning against one of the benches crossing his arms.
“Exactly. That’s exactly what we need to learn from you.” Joe replied, wide-eyed in agreement.
Dr. Becker nodded her head, that made sense to her.
“What’s this council you keep talking about?” Dr. Zanagar inquired.
“Well, I call it a council,” Joe rubbed his eyes. “But it’s more like a club. The council used to be more organized with an actual agenda. You see, the council used to appoint the leaders of each Outpost, overseeing the colonies as well as maintaining tight control over them. In a sense that’s the real power, maintaining traffic and communication between the colonies and the homeworlds.” Joe paused again, and looked off into the distance, as if remembering better times. “Now the council has become a slow and lethargic body with no real influence. They remind me of a group of old people, out of touch with reality and living in the past. Always debating nonsense and getting nothing done.” Joe shrugged his shoulders in frustration. “Many of the members are probably unaware of the sad state that humanity is in. They can’t see the forest through the trees.”
“What about body farming? How does this come into play?” Dr. Becker asked bluntly.
Joe paused, he was not ready for that question. “A very straight forward and direct question requires a very straight forward and direct answer,” Joe looked sullenly down at the ground. “Control. That’s probably the greatest power the council has over people.”
“You mean body farming is how they control people?” Dr. Becker curiously pried.
“Indirectly.” Joe answered flatly.
“How does it happen? How does it work?” Dr. Zanagar leaned forward on the bench.
“Unofficially, we call them resurrection machines. These are devices that are believed to have been left by the creators. They allow the transfer of one person’s consciousness to another body. You can live forever, kind of. You see, it’s not like a computer where you wipe out the hard drive and dump new memory in it. It doesn’t work that way. When a transfer occurs, the hosts’ consciousness is not entirely deleted. An echo is left over and absorbed, so it’s more like a fusion or mixing if you will. I should know I’ve done it many times. I’m not the same person anymore, that’s why I’ve changed so much. Hopefully for the better.” Joe pushed himself up slowly, grabbing his back like an old man. He turned away from the group, it was obvious body farming haunted him. “After my insurrection, they banished me.” Joe turned toward the group desperately trying to change the subject.
“Banished?” Tom asked.
“Well, they don’t like change. You can’t blame them though, most people are terrified of it. I guess they perceived it as losing control. I just wanted humanity to grow, evolve and be free, not tied to body farming, drugs and lethargy. They thought I had gone nuts, so they sent me to the Outposts. In a way, I wanted to leave. I had grown weary of it all. So I went to Earth to live a normal life. Whatever normal is.” Joe leaned over, looking into the globe for a second.
“Many years later a similar ‘rebellion’ took place,” he continued peering into the globe. “This time many freeformed humans that lived on the homeworlds wanted to do the same thing, change humanity. Most of the freeformed humans on the council were a part of it. The council clamped down and banished most of them. Since then things have rapidly decayed into neglect.” Joe looked up from the globe to glance at a monitor. “The council became paralyzed and many members have joined the linies. Dampened humans are not violent or forceful, in fact, these people are very docile. There are no jails or prisons because there is no crime. Everything these people need to live is handed to them. There’s no real government on the homeworlds or the Outposts. Everything is provided by the machines.”
“The machines must get energy from somewhere, don’t they have an off switch?” Dr. Becker rose to her feet.
“We’re not exactly sure, but we do know they are tied into the planets core as an energy source which is virtually unlimited. As for an off switch, well, that’s starting to happen. Several energy sources have shut down on the homeworlds and no one knows how to fix them. All they know now is pleasuring of the senses through sex, drugs or both.” Joe pulled away from the globe. “When people are desperate and need direction, they can turn to external influences. On Earth this is sometimes called religion. The linies are a form of a religion and have become a powerful influence on the homeworlds. They used to be a very small group and I considered them harmless.” Several lights started flashing on one of the screens. Joe casually turned and looked back into the globe, then he looked back up at the group.
“I’m shocked at how powerful the linies have become. I fear humanity could plunge into the depths of this bizarre cult. The only way to get the councils attention was to force the introduction of Earth. And now, here we are.” Joe spread his arms wide with a sarcastic grin. He turned and looked back into the globe, the knot in his stomach tightening as they approached the homeworlds.
The ship landed without any fanfare, no one seemed to care they’d arrived. They got off the ship and people were just milling about, basically ignoring them. It’d been a long time since Joe had walked these grounds, but things looked exactly as he remembered it. Nothing had changed. The beauty of this place struck everyone. Like a beautiful day on Earth. White clouds blotched across the clear blue sky. The fresh air smelled like spring time in the mountains, almost too good to be true.
As they departed, Dr. Becker could have sworn they were back on Earth. A row of small one-story buildings had the appearance of an open-air shopping center lined with café’s. People sat outside at little tables haphazardly dotted about. On the surface things looked peaceful and Dr. Becker wondered if Joe had been exaggerating. But as they got closer she could see the blank vacant stares on people’s faces, most of them seemed unaware a ship had even landed. Reality sank in as the memories of the past week’s
events hit her.
Joe went up to a group of people standing around the tables huddled together.
“Does anyone know if the council’s in session today?” Joe asked the group who were passing around a reen inhaler. They ignored him.
“Well, well, well. I didn’t believe you had the nerve to actually come back here Joe.” An older, distinguished looking lady walked up to the group and the way she looked at Joe, it was clear they had a history. Joe extended his hand but she didn’t extend hers. She acted like a school teacher, disappointed with one of her students. “So it has finally happened. You have completely lost your mind.” She stood straight up with her hands behind her back.
“Hello Avery, it’s good to see you too.” Joe tried not to act surprised. “What’s wrong? Are you going to deny me permission to see the council?” Joe replied sarcastically.
“Now what makes you think I would do a thing like that?” inquired Avery.
“That’s your job right? Controlling access to the council. I’ve been out of touch for a while. Are you taking bribes now?” Joe was the only one who laughed at his joke. Avery glared at him, stoned face. Joe realized he had gone too far and put up his hand. “Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood.”
“You’ve spent too much time on that planet of yours, what’s it called? Earth?” Avery’s facial expression never changed. She was like a statue.
“Are they from Earth as well?” She glanced at the Earth group.
“Well yeah,” Joe was cut off in mid-sentence.
“Spare me.” She turned and walked away. The group just stood there stunned. She stopped and looked back. “Well come on, the council is waiting.” She walked to one of the doors of the building they had landed by.
“The council can’t wait to hear your explanation about all this.” Avery held the door open.
“Yeah, they’re probably going to stone me.” Joe replied with a forced laugh.
“If they do, I’ll be the first in line.” Avery’s face broke into a grin.
They walked through the door into a well-lighted hallway. It was very quiet and it felt like a library. Joe seemed in a hurry and the rest had to walk briskly to catch up.
Tom tapped Joe on the shoulder. “Who was that?”
“Avery is one of the people who control access to the council members. Like a secretary back on Earth, you have to go through her to get to the boss. You know, in a way, it’s people like her who control access to the decision makers that have power as well.” Joe looked back at Tom. “If you want a certain answer, you have to ask the right question.” Joe pointed over his shoulder with his thumb in Avery’s direction. “She is very crafty at getting the answers she wants.” Joe stopped and turned. “You know what’s really funny.” Joe smiled and raised his eyebrows. “She used to work for me.”
Joe made his way down a long corridor that led to the council chambers. It had been a long time since he’d been back here. He paused for a second as a flood of memories washed into his mind. It felt good to be back, but somehow he knew that his destiny lay before him. He’d forgotten how beautiful and striking this placed looked. As he walked into a large circular room the conversations died down and all eyes were upon him. Slowly, he headed to the center and onto a raised platform to address the council.
Everyone stood in the council chambers; there were no chairs. He looked up at the large oval ceiling glass, almost like a bubble above him. He recognized many people but there were others he had never seen before. Odd, he thought. Most people on the council were members for life and the makeup shouldn’t have changed that much.
“Greeting council members. It’s been too long since I’ve had the honor to address this body. Many of you are angry with me and probably don’t agree that I should be here. Please, listen to what I have to say. I have informed the people of Earth of our presence and told them the true nature of their role in the human community. I’ve told them that they are here to help us, to help us restore our soul. I’ve explained that while we may not be a naturally occurring creature, we may be a creation of some long ago race. We may not know the reason we are here, but that doesn’t make us any less of a being. The past is the past and it doesn’t define us. The past is a tool, a tool to help us grow into a better being. It doesn’t matter where we came from, what matters is where we are going. If we only look at the bad things that humanity has done. If we only concentrate on the negative aspects of our past, then that is all we’ll ever be.” Joe paused and looked around the room. All eyes were upon him but the faces looked different and they were listening now. Joe knew that deep down inside, many of them felt the same way. When he had tried to change the council with radical ideas so many years ago, a seed of change was planted. As time went on it grew and now it might have the chance to bear fruit.
“I am guilty,” Joe raised his hands. “I’m ashamed of the things I’ve done. I’ve resurrected probably more times than any member here. I’m ashamed, but like I said, the past is a tool, a tool to better one’s self. I choose to look at my ugly past and learn from it. I’ve learned that I’m not perfect. I’m flawed. I’m human. I no longer fear the future. I no longer fear the unknown. I will never resurrect again. I accept my fate. I welcome it.” Joe paused as there was a low mumbling in the council as the members looked back and forth at each other.
Resurrection was a taboo subject never spoken of in the council chambers, a black stain that everyone tried to ignore. Joe rubbed his face as he pondered what to say next. He thought they would’ve kicked him out by now. When he looked over at the group of Earth people, they looked back and Dr. Becker smiled. He thought to himself, hold nothing back.
“These people are from Earth and they hold the key to humanity’s survival.” Joe pointed in the direction of the Earth group. “They have a history like no other world. Throughout their history they’ve suffered greatly, but they always bounced back. Not only have they bounced back, they’ve thrived.” Joe had become animated, clenching his fists and walking around. “We thought they would never survive periods of their history, yet here they are. Their planet is like no other, it’s unique in the human community. Yes, we have helped them. At times we have interfered during the course of their history. Sometimes we made it worse and sometimes we made it better. The point is that they always came back together and grew stronger than before. We can learn from them, their spark, their quest for knowledge, their life. Together we can move forward.” Joe stopped but no one said a word. He felt uneasy and a little confused at the silence.
Out of the back a voice said, “What about the Krell system? That colony is under attack.” Everyone turned to see Jead, a new member of the council that Joe didn’t know. The crowd split as Jead walked toward the center, stopping just in front of Joe. “You saved the Earth system so many years ago and now the same invaders are back attacking Krell.”
Joe didn’t like the wolfish expression of Jead’s face. “I know,” Joe nodded his head in reply. “We need to talk to the attackers, find out what they want.”
“What they want? What the hell do you mean? They want to kill us! Don’t you know? They’re the base creatures we’re made out of and now they’re out for revenge!” Jead answered in a defiant tone as he turned around so everyone could hear him. A low murmur spread throughout the council.
“We need to talk and make peace, or eventually we will be destroyed by them.” Joe lashed back but the council had erupted into shouting. Some people were yelling to fight, some were yelling to run, other stood in silence. Joe raised his hands and the crowd slowly calmed down.
A lone member came to the front and yelled, “They are freeformed humans like you! The animals will eat us alive. They can’t control their emotions.” The member shouted, pointing at Joe and Jead. “You are the problem!”
The council erupted again and Joe tried to calm them down once more. Joe kept his hands raised until everyone fell silent.
“Please listen. We’re all in this together. I’ll go
to Krell and make contact with them.” Joe pleaded.
“Will you destroy them if they won’t talk?” Jead demanded.
“I will do what I must to preserve humanity.” Joe answered flatly.
“I will go with you, brother.” Jead sarcastically replied making sure everyone heard him.
Joe nodded his head and forced a smile, there was something about Jead that rubbed him the wrong way.
Jead was a mysterious figure and new to the council. He had come from the Outposts and risen quickly through the ranks, almost too fast. He was heavily involved in the quasi-religious group of the linies and as their influence grew, so did he.
Joe didn’t know what to make of this guy, but he needed to find out more about him. He didn’t know if Jead was going to be an ally or an adversary.
Steve, Alizia and Sam boarded the ship with Omney. Stan would catch up later after Joe, Dr. Becker, Dr. Zanagar, Bill and Tom made it safely to the homeworlds. The trip back to Earth was uneventful and after they landed they headed back to the hotel. Steve thought he would brief the President and then take a few days off to spend with Alizia. All Sam could talk about was seeing his family. As they walked into the hotel, they were immediately confronted by the secret service.
Men in black surrounded the entire group and whisked them out of the lobby and into a waiting black van. How cliché, Steve thought. He protested but the secret service insisted they were there to protect them. After a short drive the three of them were separated and Steve ended up in what looked like a police interrogation cell, complete with a one-way mirror. He sat in an uncomfortable steel chair that was bolted to the floor. He leaned forward on the table putting his head in his hands. He felt like they were being treated as criminals. He feared for the others, especially Alizia. He wanted to see her and hoped she wasn’t scared. The more he sat there alone, the angrier he got.
“Come on, let’s get on with it. Who the hell are you people anyway and why do you think you can treat me like this? As soon as I can, I’m calling my lawyer.” Steve raised his arms as he yelled at the one-way mirror. He spun around startled by a short, old, fat guy standing in the doorway with one eyebrow raised. He clutched a cup of coffee in one hand and some paperwork in the other. The oversized cowboy hat on his head didn’t look like it could fit through the door.
“Who you talkin’ too son?” The man spoke with a southern accent.
“Oh, I didn’t see come in.” Steve was embarrassed. “It’s annoying being treated like a criminal.”
“Well now, it’s just for your protection. You see, the worlds’ g’tting' it’s panties in a bunch about your new found friends.” The guy sat down and took off the hat setting it down like a newborn baby. His comb-over failed to cover the enlarged, shiny bald spot all over the crown of his head.
“Sit down son, we need to go over some details. The names’ Hank.”
Steve sat down and put his elbows on the table and his face in his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm down. He started to talk but Hank stopped him.
“Watch the hat son, it’s a Charlie Tweddle, custom made.” Hank carefully picked it up and moved it closer to him. “Bought this beauty on credit, still got two payments left.” Hank proudly proclaimed.
Steve stared in disbelief. He raised both eyebrows and thought, how in the hell did I get stuck with this guy. “Look, where are my friends? Why are you treating us like this? I need to talk to someone from NASA or JPL.” Steve leaned forward looking directly at Hank who seemed more concerned with his hat as he brushing off a piece of lint that was stuck to it.
“I demand to see someone from the White House.” Steve pounded his fist on the table.
“You through son?” Hank replied after a long silence. “Let me give you the run down on what’s been happin’ in the last week.” Hank cleared his throat. “The lid blew off this thing when a leak to the press confirmed that the Mars rover had been brought back to Earth. JPL could no longer deny it. Hell, leaks were even comin’ from the military. The President’s in a secure location and the NSA is taking the lead on this thing. The stock market’s down 50%, people are stuffing their mattresses with cash and gun sales have gone through the roof.” Hank took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “Within the next day or two it’s suspected that the President will call all the military reserves up and declare martial law. Nationwide.”
Steve’s face grew pale, the blood draining away from his head as he felt the room start to spin. He always wondered how something like this would go down. He felt guilty for just being involved.
“Look son, it’s imperative you tell me everything you know, and I mean everything.” Hank leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, waiting for Steve to starting talking.
Steve’s mind went blank; he didn’t know what to say. Rubbing his head he began to talk, “well, I don’t know where to begin. Can you tell me what you know?”
“Look son just tell me what the hell happened when you left here, I haven’t got all day.” Hank could not hide his frustration.
“OK, OK, um, let’s see.” Steve scratched his head.
“Take your time son,” Hank sarcastically interjected.
“I’m sorry. Okay. We got to the Outpost Bill, Tom and I went to this”
Hank interrupted him. “Outpost? What Outpost?” Hank leaned forward on the table and began to write something down.
“Oh, it would seem that the planet Pluto is a monitoring Outpost.” Steve shifted in his chair trying to get comfortable.
“Military Outpost?” Hank continued writing, not looking up.
“No, no, I didn’t see anything that would suggest it’s military. On the contrary, it’s there for our protection.”
“Protection from what?” Hank stopped writing and looked up at Steve.
“Meteors and other objects that could harm us.” Steve shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s what they told you huh? How many were there?” Hank squinted his eyes suspiciously.
“I don’t know, I think they said a total of around 10,000 people live up there?” Steve leaned back scratching his cheek.
“10,000 huh.” Hank frowned as he continued writing.
“Look, you’re taking this the wrong way. Let me start from the beginning.” Steve began to describe to him about the freeformed humans and how these people had had their emotional centers dampened. He told Hank that emotions were feared and only a few people were allowed to freely form. Earth was one of the only planets where humans were allowed to grow naturally. He also told Hank about how these creatures called the creators and how they had made humans so they could experience human emotions. These creators were no longer around and no one really knows what had happened to them. He went on about the homeworlds and how humanity had become stagnant and was no longer growing.
Hank held a blank look on his face, tapping his pen on the table.
“They needed our help to get out of this rut that they’re in, and basically, we’re here to help them, not the other way around.” Steve ended with a sincere look on his face.
“You bought that crap? They fed you that bullshit story and you ate it up?” Hank threw his pen on the table and leaned back in his chair. “If you believe that, then I have some ocean front property in Arizona I’d like to sell you.”
“It’s true.” Steve answered flatly.
“Look son, it’s imperative you tell me their military capability. We need to know their true intentions. Do they have weapons? How many soldiers did you see?” Hank demanded.
“Hold on a second, I’m telling you the truth.” Steve leaned forward on the table.
“Oh come on, I don’t believe that hippie crap.” Hank sighed.
Steve looked down and shook his head, realizing he’d never get through to this guy.
“You expect me to believe that a race of beings, capable of space travel, came all the way here for our help?” The wrinkles in Hank’s forehead popped ou
t as he raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, I believe them.” Steve replied. “Look I don’t fault you for your skepticism. I also had my doubts, but when we went to the Outpost it became very clear that they were telling the truth. The only way you’re going to believe me is by going up there as well.”
“Son, I won’t get on a plane let alone a spaceship. This kid’s staying on tera ferma.” Hank pointed to the ground.
“Well, the commander of the Outpost is coming here to help smooth things out. I guess they knew we would run into trouble.”
“When?” Hank sat straight up in his chair.
“I don’t know exactly, a few days. He needed to make sure the others made it to the homeworlds.”
“So, that’s your story and you’re sticking to it?” Hank looked sternly at Steve.
“Yep, you can water board me all you want but I’m telling the truth.” Steve sat back crossing his arms.
“Water boarding. I always liked that one. After a few rounds, you’ll tell us what we need to know.” Hank got up and gathered his papers.
Steve’s face went pale. He froze and began to stutter. “Wa, wa, wait, I, I ” He couldn’t speak.
“Ha, Ha, just kidding son.” Hank slapped his knee. “You should see the look on your face, hehehe” Hank laughed.
“Jesus Christ, you scared the hell out of me.” As Steve got up, he bumped the table. Hank immediately reached for his hat.
“Careful son, it’s my favorite one in my entire collection.” Hank carefully put the hat on his head. He turned and looked Steve dead in the eye. “You never mess with a Texan’s hat.” Hank opened the door, being extra careful not to bump his hat as he walked out.
Hank poked his head back into the room. “Well come on son, it’s time to meet the General.”