Volunteer (Selected Book 3)

by Robin Roseau

"Well, I'm surprised, but I'm not scared. Should I be?"

  "No." She smiled. "When I walked in, I was the most human-appearing alien you would be likely to meet. I'm not anymore, am I?"

  "No. But we see all sorts of you aliens at the restaurant. You're not that weird. They look like octopus tentacles. They even have suckers."

  "But they are dry," she said. "Well, most of the time."

  "Why do you hide them?"

  "We find looking as human as possible makes it easier to interact with the humans."

  "What would you have done if I had freaked out?"

  "Well, you wouldn't become a mating candidate," she said. She offered what sounded like a laugh. "And then I'd have made you forget."

  "You can do that?"

  "Yes."

  "Oh." I thought about it. "They're kind of cool."

  "You realize if you become a mating candidate, it could be to someone who looks like me, for instance, or even far stranger. Imagine me touching you, wrapping around you."

  "Would it hurt?"

  "No."

  I smiled. "I think it's sexy."

  "Very good." She pulled her shirt back on, hiding the tentacles, and began buttoning it. She finished before she spoke again. "If anyone asks, you are being Tested, but I want you to downplay it. Don't talk about it unless anyone asks, and then say as little as you can. Do not discuss meeting me or anything else."

  "Okay." I rattled my arms. "Are you going to let me go now?"

  "The guards will release you when they come to collect you. It will be a few minutes. I hope we'll meet again, Skye Andrews. It has been very interesting."

  "Are you going to give me to another Catseye?"

  "I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Skye Andrews. I may not decide for some time."

  Testing

  I actually received the written notice of Testing that looked the same as everyone else's. When Mom saw it, she frowned, and that night she came to me in my room.

  "Darling, you know what Testing is really about."

  "I know, Mom."

  "It's possible to cheat the Test," she said.

  "I don't want to cheat."

  She sat down on my bed, looking down at me. "You know if you pass their Test, they're going to take you away. You'll become one of the people I make meals for."

  "I know what would happen, Mom."

  "If you don't want that to happen, here's what you should do." And then she explained how I should let the aliens believe I was afraid of them, that they disgusted me, and that I couldn't stand the idea of one of them coming near me.

  I let her finish, then I said, "Mom, is that how you felt about them before they offered this job?"

  "Darling, the reason I got this job was because of your sister. They knew I'd do anything for Audra, accept anything they demanded if they could cure her."

  "But you hate them anyway?"

  "No, I don't hate them. I'll be forever grateful. But you've seen what happens in that arena. Is that what you want to happen to you?"

  "It wouldn't be so bad," I said.

  "Darling, it would be horrible!"

  "I'm not going to cheat," I said. "We owe them, Mom. They saved Audra. We owe them."

  "We've paid them."

  "Mom."

  She sighed, bent over and kissed my forehead. "I owe them. Not you."

  "I love Audra, too," I said. "She's my sister, and they cured her! So I'm not going to cheat. I'm sorry."

  With that, she hugged me tightly. She hugged me tightly for a long time.

  * * * *

  Friday was too long in coming. It was really hard not to tell people I was being tested. I had to tell my teachers, but I would only miss a few hours of school, and no one argued with the aliens. No one questioned my timing.

  And so, it was at lunch that the principal herself found me. She came to a stop next to my table and said, "Skye?"

  I looked up at her. "Mrs. Soto?"

  "Are you done eating?"

  "Almost."

  "Please finish."

  I just had a few more green beans waiting for me, and a half glass of milk. I finished them both and stood up, intending to clear my plate. "Leave that," Mrs. Soto said. "Tammy can take care of it today."

  "I'm sorry, Tammy," I said to my friend.

  "It's fine, Skye. Is she in trouble, Mrs. Soto?"

  "If she were, I wouldn't talk about it in front of other students," said Mrs. Soto. "Collect your things and come with me, Skye."

  She led me to the office. There was a woman from The Center there. I recognized her. She was Mrs. Higgins, Rachel Higgins' mother. Mrs. Soto took my backpack from me and said it would be waiting at home for me. Then she wished me luck.

  Everyone here knew what Testing was about.

  Mrs. Higgins showed me her identification, which seemed silly. I knew who she was. But she told me she was there to drive me to Testing. And so I followed her from the school building and to the waiting car. She helped me into the car before getting in herself.

  "There are things I must tell you."

  "I already know."

  "Still, I must tell you. This car is automated and nearly unbreakable. If you engage in violence against me, you will still be delivered to The Center."

  "I'm not going to do anything like that, Mrs. Higgins."

  "I am still obligated to explain, Ms. Andrews." She then explained what would happen if I tried to escape Testing. Except I had no interest in escaping, so I just told her I'd behave.

  "I know you will, Ms. Andrews."

  And then the car began to move.

  We took the same route that I'd taken earlier in the week. Along the way, she chatted with me. "We don't do very much Testing here, just a few people a month."

  "It's a small village."

  "Yes, I suppose it is," she said. "Skye, you know why they Test us."

  "I know. I already had this conversation with my Mom, Mrs. Higgins."

  "All right. Then I won't say anything further." She grew quiet.

  "Mrs. Higgins? Can I ask you something else?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you know about my sister?"

  "Audra? The aliens cured her, but I don't know what she had."

  "She'd probably be dead now if they hadn't. She had brittle bone disease. Mom says that's why she got the job."

  "Ah. And you want to know why I work here."

  "You don't have to tell me."

  "It's not really a secret, but Rachel might be upset if you make a big deal of it."

  "What did she have?"

  "She was deeply diabetic."

  "They cured her."

  "Yes."

  "Do you hate your job?"

  "I hate what they make us help them do. It's not so bad for the men. But the women who come are so scared. Most of them feel their lives are over forever. Some of them aren't as upset when they leave, but some leave looking very broken."

  "I've seen the shows."

  "The shows don't let you see everything, Skye."

  "Do they torture the women or something?"

  "No. But I wouldn't want to go through what they experience. I don't know what I would do if the aliens had told me everything."

  "You'd take care of Rachel, Mrs. Higgins."

  "She wasn't dying."

  "People can die of diabetes," I said.

  She didn't respond to that. Instead she said, "You're a sweet girl, Skye."

  "Thank you, Mrs. Higgins." I liked that people thought I was sweet or perky or bubbly.

  * * * *

  We arrived at The Center. I didn't try to hide my excitement, although I managed to avoid flaunting it, or so I thought so, anyway.

  Mrs. Higgins helped me from the car then led me through a door. She didn't put a hood over my head this time. We arrived in a room that looked amazingly like a medical clinic waiting room, complete with a receptionist wearing a white nurse's uniform. Mrs. Higgins led me to the desk, and I recognized Ms. Campos. Ms. Campos wasn't married a
nd didn't have any kids, but she ate at the restaurant sometimes. She was a good tipper.

  "Hello, Ms. Campos," I said.

  "Ms. Andrews," she said. "Hello. You're here for Testing."

  "Yes, Ms. Campos. But you always call me Skye."

  "Today you are Ms. Andrews," she said. "It's a formality, but I need to ask you some questions." She asked for my full name, date of birth, and a few similar details. She verified I was here for Testing. She verified my mother knew where I was so she wouldn't worry. I answered all her questions.

  I already knew I shouldn't wear any jewelry, so I hadn't put any on that day. Ms. Campos asked me to hold out my wrist, and when I did, she wrapped something that looked like a watch around it. But it shrunk to fit snugly, and I knew it was an alien watch. When I looked at it, it had my name and a long number on it.

  I didn't say anything.

  "All right, Ms. Andrews. In a moment, a door to your left is going to open. You will step through. Once the door closes, you will remove everything you are wearing and change into the clothes you see waiting for you."

  "A hospital gown."

  "It's more like nurse's scrubs," she said. "Place the clothes into the waiting drawer, and once you've completely changed, take a seat."

  "All right, Ms. Campos," I said. I turned to Mrs. Higgins, standing nearby. "Thank you, Mrs. Higgins."

  In response, she took my arm and turned me to the left, and that was when I saw the door. It hadn't been there before. I was sure of it. Mrs. Higgins tugged on my arm, leading me to the door. Once there, she released my arm. "Good luck, Skye."

  "Thanks." I stepped through the door.

  * * * *

  The room was white, pure white. Along one wall was a bench, and next to it, a small table. They both looked like they were formed from the wall. Sticking out of the table was an open drawer, and on top of the table was a small pile of clothing.

  A voice began speaking to me, giving me the same directions Ms. Campos had.

  I followed the directions. I was told to remove every bit of clothing and jewelry and put them into the drawer, so I did. Then I pulled on the clothing that was waiting for me. When the voice told me to sit, I sat.

  Another door opened a minute later, and Ms. Campos walked in. I started to rise, but she held a hand up. "Please sit, Ms. Andrews."

  "All right." I sat back and waited. She stepped up to me.

  "Please verify you are only wearing the clothes that were waiting for you."

  "I even changed underwear," I said. "Everything fits perfectly."

  "Good," she said. Then she withdrew a pair of glasses from a pocket. They looked just like the ones I'd worn on that flight from Cleveland, all those years ago. "Do you know what these are?"

  "Glasses."

  "We call them a visor," she said. "I'm going to put them on you. It's a little disconcerting at first."

  "I've worn them before," I said. "It's fine, Ms. Campos."

  She knelt down so her eyes were on the same level as mine then carefully slipped the glasses -- the visor -- over my eyes, careful to avoid jabbing my ears. A moment later, the visor adjusted its fit, covering my eyes entirely. The little ear buds slipped into my ears, and for a moment I could neither see nor hear anything. Then my vision came back, and I could see Ms. Campos looking at me.

  "I can see now."

  "Good," she said. "Is everything clear?"

  "20/20," I said.

  "I must tell you this. You cannot remove the visor. Neither can I, actually. It will come off when your Testing is over."

  "All right," I said slowly.

  "If you do anything you aren't supposed to, the screen will go dark, and you'll be blind."

  "Oh. I'm not going to do anything wrong, Ms. Campos."

  "I know you won't, Ms. Andrews, but I have to tell you anyway." She gave me a few more rules. Then she asked if I had questions. When I didn't, she took my arm and asked me to stand.

  We didn't go far. We came to a room with a chair that looked a lot like the chair from the flight on the spaceship. She helped me into it and then warned me the chair was going to swallow me. I'd been through all of that before, so I lay quietly and let the chair do what it wanted.

  Once I was fully engulfed, I heard a new voice in my ears. It wasn't Ms. Campos. "Skye Andrews." I recognized the voice.

  "Hello, Administrator Brighteyes."

  "Most people who go through Testing have no idea what it's really about. You do, so we're not going to pretend otherwise."

  "All right."

  "We Test a great many things. You won't recognize or even remember most of it. We start with a medical exam."

  "So I'm going to meet an alien doctor?"

  "Actually, no. The chair performs the examination. It takes some time. We can give you a little entertainment."

  "Through the visor?"

  "Yes. Perhaps you would like to attend a musical concert?"

  "Anyone I know?"

  "I doubt it, and I don't know if you'll enjoy the music."

  "Whatever you want, Administrator," I said.

  "All right then. Here we go." The screen began to brighten, and it looked like I was in some sort of theater entrance. All around me were aliens, aliens of all sorts. I turned my head, and I could look all around.

  "This is so cool!" I said. Administrator Brighteyes didn't respond.

  Then I stepped forward, and there was someone beside me. When I looked over, it was another Catseye, and she turned to look at me and smiled. She was wearing a shiny purple blouse, but her tentacles were free, and as I looked, it was as if she wrapped the two nearest around me.

  And I could swear I could feel them. I shivered a little, but smiled.

  "Who are you?" I asked.

  "I am a construct," she responded. "But consider me your date for the evening. Does my touch frighten you?"

  "No. I just wasn't expecting to feel anything. I know I'm in this chair."

  "The chair is very clever," she said.

  "What do I call you?"

  "Will you allow me to call you Skye?"

  "Yes. I'd like that."

  "Then you should call me Aster."

  "That's a type of flower, isn't it?"

  "It is," she said.

  Then we stepped forward, and she was holding our tickets, handing them to another alien. He took them, and we stepped through.

  "I wouldn't have expected to use paper tickets."

  "We don't, but this is modeled after the opera house in Sydney, Australia."

  "Oh. Really? I've never been there. That's the one that looks like clam shells stacked together."

  "Quite so," Aster said. Then she led the way deeper into the opera house. She seemed to know where our seats were. We took our places with Aster to my right. We had what I felt were the best seats in the house, the first row of the balcony, right in the center.

  "These are great seats." I grinned at her.

  "Only the best for you," Aster said.

  "Are you real, Aster? Is there a Catseye somewhere in another chair?"

  "I am a computer construct," she replied.

  "Oh. Not a real person."

  "The definition of 'real person' may require a little adjustment. Do I seem like a real person?"

  "Yes, but you just said you weren't."

  "No, I said I was a computer construct."

  "So you're not a real person."

  "Is Jasmine Brighteyes a real person?"

  "Of course."

  "So one does not need to be human to be a real person."

  "No, of course not."

  "Could a computer be a real person?"

  "No."

  "Why not?"

  "Because a computer can't think."

  "Doesn't it seem like I can think?"

  I didn't have an answer to that.

  "You think through biological processes, which when you break them down are nothing but chemical and electrical reactions. I think through purely electrical reactions. Are w
e really that different?"

  "You can only say what someone programmed you to say."

  She smiled. "Are you sure? Most of my hardware and software are produced by humans, but not all of it, Skye. If the aliens could cure your sister, don't you think they can make a computer that thinks?"

  "I guess I didn't think of that." I paused. "But this isn't why I asked if you were a real person."

  "So you concede the point?"

  "I don't know."

  "Why did you ask?"

  "Well, if you aren't like some sort of avatar for a Catseye somewhere, I wondered why my date is a Catseye instead of something else."

  "You would prefer another species?"

  "Not necessarily. I'm just curious."

  "Administrator Brighteyes didn't explain her reason for me to take this form. Do you find me pleasing?"

  I studied her. "You're beautiful. Do you look like any particular Catseye?"

  "You understand that different species mature at different rates."

  "I guess I never thought of that, but sure."

  "I appear as a Catseye with the equivalent maturity of a human woman of twenty years old, but not any particular Catseye. Would you like to see differences?"

  She didn't wait. Her eyes changed color. They were still big orbs, but they went from purple to blue. Her hair grew longer and became as white as mine. Her skin also became more pale, and the mottled look of her tentacles faded.

  "This would be an unusual look for a Catseye," she said. "I now look like a famous fashion model from the Catseye home world several decades ago."

  I thought about it. "Do you have feelings?"

  "Are you worried you are about to offend me?"

  I laughed nervously. "Yes."

  She smiled. "You won't."

  "I liked you the other way more."

  She shifted her appearance immediately then asked, "Why? Didn't you find me beautiful?"

  "I did, but I want to get to know Aster, not some woman I'll never meet."

  "We can continue to talk if you like, Skye, or the concert can begin."

  "It would be a shame to be at the Sydney Opera House and not listen to the concert."

  While we'd been talking, my awareness of the others around us had faded away. But Aster nodded, and my awareness seemed to expand. Someone sat down in the seat next to me, and he was huge. I had no idea what species he was, and he shouldn't have fit in a seat designed for human proportions, but this was all a computer simulation, and the computer cheated, although I didn't see how.