by Mike Driver
“Cantor?” Where had I heard that name?
“Cantor,” he repeated. “You know, home of the garloks.”
My fists clenched as I tried to control my anger. Now I remembered Cantor. The garloks. The mere thought of them turned my stomach. And now my wife was with them. “How do you know? I mean, why? How?”
Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out a disk. “It’s all on here. Sorry, Mr. Garland. Apparently your wife was running from something. And frankly, it appears to be you.” He looked at me, clearly wondering what it was about me that had sent my own wife to the farthest reaches of known space into the arms of the most revolting alien species known to humankind. It was, of course, none of his business. Not that I could have told him if I wanted to. I had no idea, and it was about to make me explode. It made no sense. We were so in love. We were perfect together, I thought.
I slipped the disk into my desk and opened the door to my office. “Thank you, Matthew. I have no further need of your services. Your last payment will be transmitted tomorrow. Thank you very much for your efforts.”
Matthew nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Garland.” As he walked out the door, he turned and said, “Mr. Garland, one more thing. If you don’t mind my asking. Do you plan on going to Cantor yourself?”
I nodded.
He nodded in return. “I would recommend familiarizing or educating yourself before you go. You know, very few people ever leave. For some reason, they always elect to stay. It’s really quite controversial.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Matthew.”
I closed the door and sunk into my seat. Why had Tia done this? She had mentioned the garloks a few times, but only in passing, and only when they appeared on the news. What had she said about them? I tried to think back. Memories of my own distaste of them were vivid.
Yes, I remembered. We had discussed them. I had told Tia how I felt about the garloks. And she had told me that she found them fascinating. How could I have forgotten that?
Still, it didn’t explain why Tia had left.
After reviewing the disk and reading everything known about Cantor and the garloks, I hesitated. Controversial. That was an understatement of galactic proportions. Cantor had seemed familiar to me because the garloks, one of the largest-sized sentient species known, were frequently in the newscasts. Humanity was flocking to the planet in large numbers. Too large for some people’s liking, especially when one considered the…odd relationship between humans and garloks. Certainly it was unique. And no matter how you looked at it, grotesque.
Sure, I was afraid to go, afraid I would never come back. But this was my wife. Tia. I knew she still loved me. I knew it. I had to go. I had no choice. I had to at least try. I had to find out why she had left me.
Throw away anything you’ve read about the garloks. The holos don’t do them justice either. For starters, you don’t know how unbelievably gigantic they are until you stand next to one. They are the size of a small mountain. And the smell, ugh…earthy is not the word. Musty, dank, foul. And yet, you somehow get used to it very quickly. You start to like it.
There was one outside the port where we landed. The tourist guides led us to it, reminding us that we should meet several garloks before we made our decision which one to join. This one was here mostly as an introduction. It was already full and had no more room for new humans.
While everyone else oohed and ahhed and crowded around the garlok, touching it, laying their faces and bodies against it, trying to communicate, I pulled a tourist guide aside. She looked at me with a pleasant expression.
Unfortunately I was not in a pleasant mood. “I’m not here to join the garloks,” I said. She nodded, smiling slightly. “I’m here to find my wife, Tia Garland.”
“I understand,” she said. Her expression screamed pity and sympathy. “I see many people like you. Looking for their family. Hold on just a second. I will locate her for you.” She stepped toward the garlok.
“Just like that?” I asked, surprised.
She smiled dryly. “People always underestimate the telepathic abilities of the garloks. They are in…ah…perfect communication with each other, and with us. The symbiosis between our two species is more complete than most people realize. It’s almost as if we were made for each other by God Himself.” She stepped forward, pressed her face against the garlok and closed her eyes. Its brownish lizard-like hide rippled slightly against her.
She opened her eyes. She was slightly disoriented and it took a second for her to catch my gaze. “Your wife is in the Trangor sector. She is with the garlok we call Senedor. In reality, they do not actually have names. These names are for humans only. I have sent for a car to fly you there. While we wait, perhaps you would like to talk to your wife here, through Perandon.” She pointed to the garlok.
“No, thank you. I will wait.”
If you’ve seen one garlok, you’ve seen them all. Try to imagine a pile of dinosaur crap the size of star-ship, covered in a thick scaly hide. No face, no features at all. But it does live. In fact, it is the third largest known sentient species, and the largest land-dwelling one.
I stood in front of Senedor, the garlok that had eaten my wife. I know, I know, welcomed is the proper vernacular, but that’s not how I saw it. This thing had swallowed Tia, absorbed her, stolen her.
I knew Tia still needed me and I was going to get her back.
A crowd of humans was already pressed around the garlok. I waited. First I wanted to watch somebody become “welcomed” before I got too close. I didn’t have to wait long.
An older woman began to undress. She pressed her nude body up against the creature. A thin long slit opened up. She slipped inside headfirst, and the slit closed behind her, oozing a pinkish liquid.
I had seen the same thing in holos many times now, but in person, it was…different. I tried to imagine Tia making this decision, tried and failed.
I pressed my face against the thing. The communication was instant.
“Hello,” it said, playfully, loving, wise.
I could feel its mind against my own. Its enormous mental power was undeniable. It felt…God-like. Now I was beginning to understand why they were so popular. It stroked my mind, evoking feelings of pleasure, peace, joy, ecstasy. I trembled like a kitten before it. “How may I help you?” it asked. “You would like to speak with Tia?” The voice in my head was soothing….so soothing.
“Jeffrey.” Her voice was crystal clear in my head. She appeared in my mind’s eye in my best memory of her. “You came.”
“I had to. You know I had to.”
“You found me. I knew you would find me.”
“I would follow you anywhere,” I said, and meant it. “But I don’t understand what you’re doing here. Why didn’t you tell me? What made you do this?”
The image in my mind smiled weakly. Tia never could lie. “I did it for you. For us.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “I thought we were happy.”
“Come inside, and you’ll understand.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? We could have worked it out.”
“Please, Jeff. Everything will be explained. Just come inside.”
“No!” I snorted with revulsion. The garlok’s hide rippled beneath me. It hit me with a blast of its mental power. In a split second, everything changed. I was bathed in the light of its divinity and I fought to stop myself from stripping off my clothes. Already, I could hear a slurp as the garlok devoured…sorry…welcomed another person. I wanted more than anything to get closer to the garlok, to go inside it, to be with Tia.
“I’m not ready,” I said, but I could already feel myself losing the fight against the garlok. It just felt so damned good. So right. Perfect.
“Come inside, and I will tell you why. I will show you. I’m sorry, baby, it’s the only way.”
It was unfair, and she knew it. She was the only person I could never say no to. I told myself that I wouldn’t be dead, that I could always leave the garlok anytime I
wanted to. Forget the fact that almost nobody ever did, and those that did came out shells of their former selves, like babies, having to re-learn everything. But the lure was too powerful to resist. Perhaps if it had been just Tia. Or just the garlok. But the two of them together— they had tag-teamed me. Tia had baited me. And I couldn’t resist the bait. Against, my better judgment, I stripped off my clothes and approached the opening slit. I could always leave, I chanted to myself. I could always leave.
I was almost inside. It would be so easy. Why resist? They were calling my name. All of them— everybody inside— they called in unison. “Come to us, Jeffrey.”
I could sense Tia. She was happy, excited. They all were, and especially the Garlok.
I can’t explain what happened next other than to say that I wasn’t thinking clearly. Seeing Tia there, with all those other people— all of them inside that putrid creature— they had stolen her from me.
I had come here to save Tia, not join the garlok.
The garlok began screaming. It sensed what I was about to do.
With all my will, I broke free from the creature. I found my pants and retrieved the hidden weapon: a miniature laze-gun. Disguised as a personal recorder and guaranteed to pass all customs, it had cost me a fortune. In one swift movement, I turned and fired. A bright blue beam flashed and the garlok emitted a deafening shriek. I watched the gaping wound appear in its side with a loud sizzling sound. A cloud of smoke rose up and the sickening odor of burning flesh filled the air. The entire creature began trembling.
I vaguely noticed the people around me screaming. I fell to the ground as several guards tackled me at once.
I hardly noticed. All I could think of was Tia.
I sat in my cell, brooding, waiting for word of my fate. Somewhere outside, a team of expensive lawyers fought for my defense, though I doubted it would help. I was being accused of attempted murder. I had not only hurt Tia and the garlok and everyone inside it; because of the garloks’ advanced communication abilities, practically everyone on the entire planet had felt the pain I inflicted. I had caused anguish for literally millions of people. How could I have been so stupid?
No amount of money, I knew, would get me out of this. I had really screwed up this time. Tia would never forgive me. The authorities wouldn’t let me anywhere near her or the garlok. The chances were good, I was told, that I might get a brain wipe, or at best, life imprisonment. What could I say? I deserved it.
Finally, my lawyer Hansen showed his greasy face. He grimaced at me. “I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“Tell me the bad,” I said.
“You’re going to be tried for murder.”
I nodded. I couldn’t have expected anything less. “What’s the good news?” I asked.
“You’re not going to believe it,” Hansen shook his head in shock. “The garloks are speaking in your defense. They don’t want you tried.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No,” said Hansen. “They understand you made a mistake. I spoke with your garlok, Senedor. I have to say, it was quite an experience. I can see why many people want to join them. Honestly, I was barely able to pull myself away. Scared the daylights out of me.”
“Tia!” I gasped. “How is she?”
“She’s fine,” said Hansen. “They’re all fine. They want to speak with you.”
“What?” I asked. “But I thought I wasn’t allowed.”
Hansen flashed an oily grin. “I’ve arranged a meeting. You get to see your wife, Garland. Now, don’t mess this up. Apologize, do whatever you have to do. This is your only chance to make this right.”
“Just take me to her,” I said.
Senedor was surrounded by guards and caretakers. The wound in its side was covered in some kind of bandage. I felt sick inside as I was led toward the garlok. Guards on either side of me assured that I wouldn’t do anything stupid.
They needn’t have worried. The closer I got, the more ashamed I felt.
The garlok towered overhead. At a signal from Senedor’s caretakers, the guards stepped back and allowed me to approach.
I breathed in the dank odor of Senedor’s body and felt the electric thrill of its presence. I pressed my face against its skin.
Instantly Senedor entered my mind. There were all the others. And Tia! She looked so beautiful.
I wept and told everyone how sorry I was, how stupid I had been. “I only want to be with you,” I told Tia. I was acutely aware now, how many others were listening.
“Come inside,” she said. “Please, baby.”
“I can’t,” I said. “I hurt you.”
“Please. It’s the only way you’ll understand why I left you. Please, Jeffrey, for me. I love you.”
“Why can’t you come out?” I asked.
“It’s better this way, my love. Trust me. Please, come inside.”
“You won’t come out?” I asked, pleading in my mind.
“No,” said Tia. “Come inside, and you will understand.”
I cried openly now. I hardly noticed the large pink slit as it appeared in front of me.
“Come,” said Senedor. “Join us!”
I couldn’t resist any longer. I needed to be with Tia. Before I knew what I was doing, I was shedding my clothes. The guards jumped forward, while at the same time, the caretakers tried to stop them. It was too late either way. I was inside. I had been welcomed.
Forget everything you’ve read about being inside a garlok. It was…exquisite. The symbiosis between us was perfect. We meshed. The way it pressed up against my skin. As it sealed my eyes, nose and mouth, I could feel it pierce my umbilical, providing me with a steady flow of oxygenated blood. There was a brief moment of panic and minor pain, but I didn’t care. It felt natural— womblike. Nirvana. I didn’t care at all. My worries dissolved. I was finally safe. I could live like this for the rest of my life and be happy. I was home.
But I had come for a reason. Even as I remembered, I could feel it slipping from my mind. What was it that had seemed so important? Whatever it was, it could wait. How could it matter compared to with the way I was feeling? It was like being back with…Tia; that was it! Tia, I had come for Tia.
My mind reached out for her. Instantly she was there. I had no breath to be taken away, but if I had, she would have taken it. She filled my mind, my soul with her presence. I could feel every particle of her essence blend with mine. We were together, as one. It was a level we had never been able to reach when we were together. Together! It was a word couples threw around loosely, I realized now. I thought we had been together, Tia and I. I could see now, we had not. Sure we had loved each other. Yes, we had connected intimately. But compared to this connection, we were strangers. This was living! Everything outside the garlok was just a shadow. The true reality was inside.
“Now you see,” she said. “You would never have believed me if I had tried to explain it.”
She didn’t need to explain. I didn’t need to ask her how she knew. Our communication was perfect. Now I realized why she had left and joined the garlok, why so many people join. It was the only way we could truly be together. Inextricably, indivisibly, truly together.
I thought we had been happy before. So had Tia. But when she heard about the garloks and their incredible abilities, she became interested. She showed me what she had learned, that the love between us could only be perfected through them. No longer would we have any misunderstandings. We would be able to see the world from each other’s point of view. Finally we would truly understand each other.
She hadn’t told me of her plan was because she knew I would try to stop her. But she also knew that I would follow her, that our love for each other was strong enough that nothing would keep us apart.
As usual, Tia was right.
We’ve been together now inside Mother— that’s what we call our garlok— for I’m told fifty years. Human lifespan is nearly doubled by joining, tripled if you join young. It’s something I would now highly reco
mmend to anyone. Mother currently holds forty-three of us, and I’ve come to know them all very well. And Mother is amazing, so full of knowledge, which she freely shares. The stories she tells! Tia and I, we’ve never been happier.
KERNEL OF TRUTH
by Fraser Sherman
6:30 p.m.
Heedless of the drenching rain, Hal Whitcomb tried to fling wide the 11th-story window of the GreenLife conference room, remembered the window didn’t open and vomited up a $15 calzone in the wastebasket instead.
“Your first time?” Arms folded, Detective Anna Suarez watched Whitcomb puke, her face expressionless. “Sorry I can’t be gentle.”
“You could have warned me before I got here!” He stayed where he was, hovering over the basket in case anything else came up. Besides, if he moved away, he’d see the body again. All he could see now was some of the blood clotted in the carpet behind Suarez, which was bad enough. “What if I’d vomited on the floor? Wouldn’t it contaminate the crime scene?”
“Wow, the suit watches cop shows. Don’t you have kind of a weak stomach for a security guy?”
“I’m not a ‘security guy,’ I’m vice-president in charge of security.” He straightened up, turned slowly, once again taking in the red-splattered walls, the police photographer snapping away and the disfigured corpse of Senator Terrance Bayles on the teakwood conference table. “I don’t deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis!”
“I’m homicide, five years.” She stared past the photographer at the hole in Bayles’ chest, the popcorn kernels stuffed into his mouth. Whitcomb saw her stiffen. “This kind of shit, nobody deals with on a daily basis. Let’s get out of here and leave Murai and her people to work, okay?” She nodded to the photographer and headed for the door at the end of the long conference room.
The corridor outside the boardroom wasn’t an improvement. The rigidly contorted corpses of GreenLife’s corporate security team lay close to the doors, with Big Macs and fries scattered among them. CSI guys— was that what they called them in real life?— were examining the bodies, the food, whispering their findings. Beyond them the corridor stretched empty to the top of the stairs, where more cops were crouched around another corpse, bullet-ridden and blood-drenched. Whitcomb’s eyes fixed on the bloody lump clutched between the man’s hands, the blood-soaked knife on the carpet next to him, beneath it a crumpled paper drenched with scarlet…
