by Drew Briney
“If that is true,” Blaze surmised, “Dr. Boyd doesn’t need to be exploring other planets to look for an ecosystem to start a new colony,” he continued, intently gazing at Evelia as he spoke. “The radiation must be as low as I suspected and … there are other people right here.” With the last comment, he trailed off, considering the merits of his observation.
“But maybe they are all like the natives around here,” Evelia contradicted. “Maybe they are primitive in thought and in behavior; maybe they would just engage us in warfare; maybe …”
“To a degree, I concur,” the magic woman boldly reinforced Evelia’s thoughts. “Your species’ communitarian thinking patterns are relatively dormant. Consequently, they have a degraded tendency towards dishonesty and violence. Perhaps Dr. Boyd’s ideas are not so different from my own people’s ideas – and we have proven to be quite successful as a society. Each generation finds fewer and fewer people requiring exile; genetic therapy has all but obliterated bad behavior and we have had no wars or contention in thousands of generations apart from issues generated by a few individuals who are determined to become exiles despite training, therapy, and encouragement.”
“But that can hardly work when the founding member is himself bloodthirsty and treacherous,” Evelia corrected. “You must remember that Dr. Boyd was willing to kill his lifelong friends and he all but threatened to kill me as well …”
“From a certain point of view, you are correct,” conceded the magic woman, “but you must also consider that he was simply trying to impose his own … moral standards. I’m not sure I understand why but he believed his technological ability to correct the sterility problem was inadequate; his ability to correct the poor behavior of the remaining healthy persons was next to zero; he simply tried to minimize the pain of the situation – misguided as that may have been; in short, he chose a team of the best behaved members of your species … to start a new colony where he apparently intended to create a societal system somewhat similar to my own.”
“How can you say that?” Evelia protested, “You yourself cried for hours this morning. He intended to kill you and your people. He …”
“Well,” the magic woman interjected, “we don’t know that for certain – although it seems highly probable at this point in time. I will have to review his memories more carefully before I make that determination. It is fair to say that he certainly does not have the highest moral values when it comes to dealing with other species. His actions would be completely unacceptable among my people and would lead to immediate exile without any effort to rehabilitate at all. However, given his limited understanding, I have to at least consider that he may have been a well intended pioneer for creating a utopian society and for that, he has my qualified respect. Of course, given what he actually did, I cannot have any genuine respect for his methods. Besides … he clearly has the intention of establishing a colony on our moon and I sense that our rejection of his efforts would ultimately lead to no good end. But, as we discussed earlier, he will be powerless by the time we get to my home so that will not even matter.”
“Do you really think he was choosing members of his team whom he thought were best behaved?” Evelia asked, changing the subject because she felt uncomfortable about following through with the plan. It made sense to her but it sounded scary so she really didn’t want to discuss it any further. “It seems more likely to me that he was just taking the people who were most healthy.”
“Young one,” the lithe little alien purred, “he was taking the healthy people that he thought would be most agreeable to his plans to colonize. He had a list of fifteen healthy people that he left behind because he didn’t think that they would follow his leadership. These were the few people he felt worst about euthanizing but he couldn’t see any rational way around that ultimate end. Mostly, he was looking for healthy, loyal followers with skills needed to colonize a new planet, people he couldn’t live without.”
Here, the magic woman paused, recognizing that Blaze was feeling uncomfortable about her habitual use of contractions and considering that Blaze and Evelia represented a tragic error on the doctor’s part of choosing who would be his most loyal followers. Very softly chuckling at these observations, she continued. “There are only two team members that he was planning to take who were not healthy – two members who have skills no other healthy members have. Of the entire crew,” she added, “perhaps only a few dozen would really be suitable to creating an ideal community for your species to start afresh.”
“What do you mean?” Evelia queried. “Are you referring to our infertility problem?”
“Oh no child,” the alien woman answered. “I’m not talking about your physical bodies at all. I can heal whatever physical impurities are keeping your bodies from making children. That is of little consequence. I’m speaking of here,” she finished, pressing her small open hand upon Evelia’s chest near her heart and holding it there for a few moments. “Some members of Dr. Boyd’s team will ultimately cause your species to fall into the same condition they fell into before.”
“Who?” Evelia nearly interrupted, not considering that she probably didn’t want to know the answer nor considering that most of the people on Dr. Boyd’s team were from different Orders – people she didn’t even know.
“The better question is who are the most suitable people for giving your species a new, fresh start?” the magic woman countered. “Who would be suited to creating a more perfect society? If you would like my assistance in determining which members of your species would be ideal for colonizing a new area – either on this planet or on another – I would be happy to help you with that endeavor as I find you two quite delightful and as Blaze has freely allowed me to read his mind; I have found him without treachery or other moral blemishes that could destroy a society.” Pausing for a moment, she looked over at the young warrior before adding, “and I know how you struggle with your temper under these strenuous circumstances – but this will pass.” Then, turning to Evelia, she added, “I suspect I would find the same with you lady Evelia, but I have not tested you so …”
“How would you determine who would be suitable for a new colony?” Blaze accidentally interrupted. “Would you read all of their minds and memories?”
“More or less,” she answered. But before she could conclusively answer that question, Evelia interrupted the flow of things once more.
“Can you really heal our people who are infertile?” she interjected with excitement. And then, realizing the implication of this question continued, “there was no reason for all of those people to die …” For a moment, the threesome fell silent and languished in the uncomfortable atmosphere Evelia created with that very simple question. Everyone knew the unescapable answer. Then, she posed another question, “How could you heal them? How do you do it?”
The magic woman’s immediate answer was a gentle smile followed by a fluttery flapping of those prodigious eyelashes. Only after a good deal of pondering did the eccentric little alien answer, “Well, this is a matter much too complicated to explain until you become a good deal more conversant in these things you call magic. Until then, rest assured that it can be done if it does not encroach upon your primitive ideas of modesty.”
“So you can teach us?” Evelia tentatively asked, unconsciously swinging the baby a little more energetically than before.
“If you are patient enough to learn.”
Although the magic woman was willing to discuss and teach much more, the threesome was distracted by their previously agreed upon cue that it was time to leave: Dr. Boyd was waking up. “Don’t worry,” the alien reminded them. “He will do everything I ask him to do.” And with that statement, she raised her voice to the wind and called to her feline friend.
“GOOD MORNING FRIEND.” She said that like there was nothing unusual about an enormous, flying feline with gigantic canine teeth diving from the sky at breakneck speed and then pumping its wings furiously to prevent a harsh landing. Fearing an
attack, Blaze may have shot the creature down before the little alien offered any salutation but for two things: first, the magic woman let out a delightful sound as she reached towards the creature and second, he recognized that familiar peaceful feeling envelop him as he fastened his gaze upon the majestic silvery white beast in the skies. Somehow, he felt bonded to it as if they had been best friends for a very long time – he just couldn’t seem to remember.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so surprised but Evelia gasped as she felt the breeze coming from the strong flapping of the beast’s powerful wings and turned her head, squinting a bit and tensing her shoulders. Sensing her fear, Elayuh began fussing a little until reassuring tones of comfort soothed her concerns. After the initial surprise, Evelia relaxed as she watched the magic woman genuinely smile at the griffon without appearing to say any words for quite some time.
As a few moments passed, Evelia looked upon the beast with great admiration. Its long fur certainly didn’t fit this tropical environment. It looked like it might belong in some mountainous region where cool seasons were not uncommon. But the silvery tips flashing in the sunlight this early afternoon were stunning and didn’t fail to impress Evelia who was always searching for something beautiful to feast her eyes upon. Its stellar blue eyes instantly betrayed intelligence to her mind and she had no doubt that the beast was capable of higher levels of cognition normally restricted to humans. Its wing muscles appeared more powerful and bulky in proportion than any creature she had ever seen – yet, they remained indisputably graceful in appearance. The feathers on those muscled portions of its wings blended seamlessly into the matching fur – they seemed to have been doused in silver the same as its coat and mane. After several moments looking over the griffon and considering all of its beautiful features, Evelia noticed the tip of its tail twitching, jerking. She had seen this behavior in housecats preserved by her Order – it betrayed anxiety, stress.
The telepathic conversation between the alien and her captive beast was silent but the important portion went like this:
“I’m leaving, perhaps never to return but more likely, to return many moons from now. Thank you so much for all that you have done for me. I’ve felt it an honor to have spent these last several moons in your company. You are free from your service to me excepting one single task that will bind you to me for many seasons to come.”
This is where the tail twitching that Evelia observed began.
“The earth wills you to …”
The griffon silently suppressed a growl. It hated how she couched many of her commands under the almighty authority of whatever she claimed the earth desired – what about his desire? What about his will?
“You will fly to a place where you will feel comfortable, where you will feel most at home, where you will find great joy.”
So far, this wasn’t sounding so bad.
“And as time passes in that land,” she gestured with her left hand, “you will journey to the lowest cavern you will find there, a cavern created by great earthquakes during the Second Holocaust, a cavern that has no end. Every few moons, you will visit this cavern and look for this young boy,” she gestured again – but this time towards Blaze.
The tail twitching started again. Evelia didn’t fail to notice that the gesture towards Blaze coordinated with the swathing of the griffon’s tail. Blaze didn’t miss that either. Dr. Boyd, in contrast, missed all of these details and looked like he was annoyed by the interruption – he was in a hurry to get back to the ship.
As the conversation continued, the griffon’s visage seemed to soften – almost as if it was grateful over something the little alien was telling it. It seemed to smile for a time. Then, just as Dr. Boyd seemed unable to resist his impulse to interrupt the conversation, the beast sat very deliberately in an upright position, front legs powerfully straightened in front of it, chest pushed outward, head held high, and wings spread to their full length. Then, slowly retracting its wings to their folded position, the griffon stood up on all fours, bent its forelegs and its head until it was clear to everyone that it was bowing to Blaze, and then met eyes with the young warrior. After they held one another’s gaze for quite some time, the griffon quickly stood up, pumped its wings, and roared a roar that terrified everyone present – excepting the petite alien woman. Elayuh began to cry again.
The griffon began trotting slightly away from the company – and in the direction the magic woman gestured towards earlier – until its mighty wings lifted its body off of the ground. When it was sufficiently far enough away from the motley group of traveling companions, it contorted its body enough to face them all directly and blew a huge gust of bluish flames towards them. None of them felt any significant heat from those flames but each of them retained that memory for the rest of their lives. Something about that act did more than physically warm their already warm bodies. Somehow, it warmed their hearts.
Without any explanation, the magic woman turned towards her companions and said, “Hurry! We need to move quickly. There is little time to lose if we hope to make it back to the ship before nightfall.”
And although each member of the company was furiously curious as to what the silvery-white griffon had to say to the magic woman and while each individual seriously craved the opportunity to ask about their silent conversation, no one said a word about it – because Dr. Boyd began downloading lots of information that everyone needed to know.
He named many individuals of his new team by name; he told them a few personal details about each of them, including their talents, specialties, and skills – he told them his personal concerns about a few of them, his personal aspirations for some of them, and his beliefs about the weaknesses and strengths of some of them – including Blaze and Evelia. Dr. Boyd also expounded upon his plans and expectations – including his most carefully guarded considerations of colonizing the magic woman’s parent planet with or without a peaceful agreement to do so.
His ramblings continued for nearly two hours before taking a significant pause, at which point the magic woman turned around and smiled at Blaze and Evelia who were carefully following on her heels. With a forced wink that only someone culturally unaccustomed to making this gesture could make, the petite alien smiled at her companions and silently but enthusiastically informed them: That ought to give each of us a head start in getting to know the crew! I’ve reviewed some of his memories while he has been rambling. Everyone will have uniforms to wear – be cautious around anyone with a small black star near their team insignia.
Then, as if that little morsel of information was going to satisfy the eager young couple, she jogged ahead of everyone, jumped up on a large boulder, and took a deep breath. They were not far from the ship now. In fact, she could see it so well that she guesstimated that it would only be another twenty minutes until they reached its resting pad. “Come!” she excitedly ordered. “Come see!”
Dr. Boyd seemed oblivious to her words as if he was still on zombie autopilot. Blaze ran ahead until he realized that Evelia would probably have a difficult time scaling the boulder with full hands – it was her turn to carry Elayuh. So, returning to help her, Blaze took the child.
As he climbed to the top of the boulder, carefully navigating the rock with only one hand, he kept an eye on Evelia who was not particularly accustomed to these sorts of activities. The last little bit required a large step so after he reached the top – and before he took in the view of their new home – he turned around and offered Evelia a helping hand. As their hands locked, he couldn’t help feeling that electrifying sensation of helplessly crushing on someone and felt himself blushing somewhat in excitement. But as he tried to cover his feelings with an expressionless face, he caught Evelia’s huge smile and gave in to his instinct to return it. Things are going well, he silently congratulated himself.
Then, as he turned around to take in the view, he began to loosen his grip only to feel Evelia hold on a little tighter. So there they stood, side by side, holding hands, a
s they looked at the most incredible sight either of them ever expected to see.
In front of them, framed by the beginning of a colorful sunset, sat the most magnificent spaceship either of them had seen in any of the database archives. It had the appearance of an oversized, flattened fighter plane, cast in dark greys, dark blues, and black colors. Its angular features gave it both an intimidating appearance and an inviting aesthetic. Perhaps large enough to house a few hundred crewmen, the ship was gargantuan – possibly as large as the Order Blaze and Evelia had grown up in. It was hard to tell as their shapes were so entirely different but the young duo was certain that regardless of its size, it would easily house the new team. As Blaze looked upon the massive vessel, he wondered how many Orders had worked on it and how many generations it had taken to build such a breathtaking spacecraft.
The last jaunt to the ship seemed to pass by without any time whatsoever and soon, they could see the troop of men keeping guard outside the ship. And soon, they made the hearing distance of a tall but rather slim man wearing a slightly different uniform than everyone else and wearing a number of patches that set him apart from the rest of the crew standing next to him.
“Vardn!” Dr. Boyd called unexpectedly. “Gather everyone into the ship post haste!”
“Yes, sir!” the young man answered, nearly shouting orders into a communication unit that lit up when he spoke. In an instant, flashes of light appeared on the shoulders of each soldier on the outside of the ship and they began making their way to its various entrances, lowered stairways raising back into the ship after the last soldier of each unit entered the ship.
