Chronicles of Jake 1: My Return to Planet Earth

by Peter Lewis Atkinson

  A short while later they returned, Alenna telling me that they had been issued with their chores for the day, and after collecting some items, Minty and Jenna left straight away. Alenna had collected this so-called education unit, but first we were about to go into star drive, which compresses space so that it would take us just a week to travel the same distance that light could in fifty years. I was warned that there would be a strange effect as the star drive was engaged. Alenna then went on to explain and demonstrate the education unit; it was a small box with a couple of buttons. When she activated it a three dimensional Alkarren woman appeared; she looked so real. Alenna then activated a display waving her hands over it and touching the screen a few times then the women spoke in English, asking if I was ready for my first lesson in Alkarren.

  I hesitated before saying yes. To my surprise the woman replied. Wow I thought this was a very advanced unit that could almost think for itself and react to questions and answers. At that moment Alenna said that I should just whisper and it would do the same. ‘‘I must go now but one of us will pop back at times throughout the work period.’’ Just as she went out the door the star drive was engaged. This was indeed a strange effect; everything went narrow and squashed. It only lasted a few seconds and then all seemed normal again so I got back to this education unit. I was started on some easy objects and sayings that I recognised; if I pronounced it wrong, I was told to try again until I got it right. It was not that easy remembering everything but some things did stick.

  Now I was hungry and thirsty; I had some food but I wanted to try out some Alkarren on the girls, so I asked the hologram women to teach me to say: “Hello, have you anything to eat and drink please?” Whoever came back first I would put their name after the hello, so I just kept practising until I had it right. Jenna came back first so I tried it out on her. She smiled then put her arms around me and gave me a kiss. I was not expecting that. Then Alenna and Minty walked in together and saw her with her arms around me and they both then joined in. Now I had three girls hugging me. Just like waiting for a bus you wait for ages for one then three come along at once.

  After a short time, well a very short time that is, they stopped. Jenna told them what I had said. They were very pleased that I had started to learn Alkarren. Alenna spoke to Minty. She then left before returning within just a minute or two; she had some food and a drink for me. I had not learned how to say thank you so instead kissed her on the cheek, which made her smile and go a little red in the face; she seemed a little shyer than the other two. They had a short break from their chores so I took this opportunity to ask about their family, but first I asked, ‘‘Do you have boyfriends?’’

  Alenna sniggered and replied, ‘‘Alkarren girls don’t have boyfriends. We would be lucky if we managed to get within a few feet of a boy.’’ She then asked, ‘‘Have you anyone special back on earth?’’

  I replied, ‘‘Yes.’’ you should have seen their faces drop. I told them that it was my sister Rachael, much to their relief. Alenna then went on to tell me about the house system they lived by, explaining on Earth you have roughly equal male to female births, which was not like that on any of the other planets; in fact, there are many different species and all have a very low male birth rate. On Alkarr for instance the male birth rate is just under three percent and a male is chaperoned from cradle to grave, at first by their mothers then when married by their wives, they are never allowed to go out alone. They do get to choose their first wife, but this is often heavily influenced by their mother; after that the first wife always selects all successive wives. The first wife, known as the prime wife, is responsible for all business and all decisions in the house. The next two wives are known as the deputy wives and they are responsible for arranging appointments for the prime wife to meet other prime wives over business. These are very often sisters of the prime wife; the prime wife gets to wear a flat gold bangle around the head. It’s worn between the top of the ears and the ponytails. If a prime wife commands up to fourteen wives she has a single emerald mounted in the centre front. From fifteen to twenty-nine it’s two emeralds; if it’s thirty or more then there is also a ruby mounted between the two emeralds. Deputy wives just have a plain gold head bangle, whereas additional wives have sapphire stud earrings to denote they are married. As for the male, he gets to choose the house name for example we are from the house of Motok. The male also gets to name the children and finally all the wives are known as mothers to any children but of course you always have a special relationship with your birth mother.

  Although they had not told me everything at this time, they had purposely neglected something very important which I would soon find out, but for now they had to go back to their chores and I my language tuition; they then all kissed me and left. All Alkarren children learn by these education units; there are no schools on Alkarr but they are tested twice a year to make sure the children are up to standard for their age, those who want a specialist career can go to university as they do have these. This system works especially well for the girls’ family, who spend a lot of time in space making cargo runs between alliance planets. In the cabin were four bunks, four lockers and a small table and chair with a mirror. On the table were hair brushes and various other hair maintenance items, and at the end opposite the entrance door was another door leading to the en suite toilet and shower. I am not a nosey person so I did not look in the lockers but assumed they had the girls’ clothes in anyway.

  I spent all day attempting to learn some Alkarren and also making sure especially that I had learnt how to say thank you. The girls had been returning on and off all day bringing me food or just to see me for a hug and kiss. Now at the end of the day (although there is no day or night in space but it does make it easier to say day when awake and night when in bed and time by earth standard and not Alkarren) anyway they all returned with my last meal that day. They eat a lot of vegetables and fruit but this is often supplemented with fish of some kind, this meal being no exception rice with fish plus a fruit drink. They watched me eat the meal and soon after I had finished they were talking and giggling to each other. They then turned the chair round and invited me sit on it; what happened next could only be described as a teenage boy’s dream.

  They all undressed completely. I did not know where to look (well, I did but I am trying to be modest), then Alenna said something to the others and they all turned around. This was not the signal for me to get undressed but what I saw I could not believe. It was a total shock to discover that they all had tails. Now these tails were long, about an inch diameter at the base, tapering to about half an inch at the very end and had hair only on the last six inches. They also had full control over them and could also lift light objects with them; they were regarded as an intimate area so were hidden from view by curling them up inside their jumpsuits in a way I had not noticed. Incidentally adding to this they also had webbed feet. They all turned back round and now it was my turn to undress, which they were only too willing to assist with, then into the shower and how we all fitted into that shower is still a mystery; finally, I spent the night with Alenna.

  The next day went much like the day before. I did ask the girls if their mothers might look in their room but they said from the age of sixteen your room is your personal space and mothers do not enter without invitation to do so, which is why they had not been concerned to leave me there alone. The only thing that changed that day was that I spent the night with Jenna then again the following night only this time it was with Minty.

  Now the day had come when the girls were to reveal me to their mothers and sisters; every time they came back to see me that day, they seemed a bit more apprehensive. Finally, Alenna said she would make an announcement at the final meal that day in the galley, which was when they would reveal me. I was given a cloak to wear and was to keep hidden under it until Jenna removed the hood. I also learnt a greeting along with a r
espectful bow, which was by bowing my head at the same time stretching my arms out in a slight V-shape and turning my palms up. It was time; they were so on edge and were very jittery.

  We left the cabin and made our way to the galley, Alenna first peeping around the corner to confirm everyone was there. She took a deep breath and went in. She asked for everybody’s attention as she had a special announcement to make. She went on to say that the day had come that she was to be a prime wife, and that she wished to introduce me to everyone, which was greeted by roars of laughter. Her mother told her that it was time she grew up and that she would never be a prime wife. Alenna said, “You have little faith in me.” Then she snapped her fingers, which was the sign for us to go in. The room went completely silent as we entered. Jenna and Minty stood either side of me, and the family could now see there was an extra person on board. Jenna removed my hood; I then gave my greeting and bowed. Telnar, who was Alenna’s birth mother, screamed at her: “What have you done? How did he get on board? He is human! We scanned the area to make sure there were no humans within miles!” Somehow they had missed me; perhaps the tree I was next to masked me or perhaps the person who did the scan got distracted-how is now not important, I was here.

  Telnar and Alenna continued to rant. Alenna knew there could only be one outcome and stood her ground, staring at each other as it continued. By now Jenna and especially Minty were starting to sob. I pulled each of them on to my shoulders as to comfort them. This act of affection did not go unnoticed by the other mothers; such affection from an Alkarren male would be very uncommon as they had a stiff upper lip, well more of a steel upper lip in showing affection in public. Anyway when Telnar also noticed this her mood changed holding her hands up saying, “You done what you done we will have the marriage registered on our return to Alkarr, but now you must assume the full responsibility of a prime wife and have one of you with him at all times. Also I must set an example to your younger sisters and you will all go back to your cabin without your last meal of the day. I will discuss the matter with your other mothers so you may leave now.”

  Alenna having the last word as we left saying, ‘‘His name is Jake.’’ It was done. Alenna got what she wanted; her chance on Alkarr of ever becoming a prime wife was almost zero as males usually marry between sixteen and eighteen, their first wife may have been chosen some time before, from the highest status house as possible. This is not a class system but the high status refers to influential house. We returned to our cabin; yes, it was my cabin as well now and the fourth bunk was mine though I did not expect to use it. Alenna now needed to translate and inform me that I was married to the three of them, as up to now I had no idea how marriage worked with Alkarrens. You see marriage is not a ceremony for Alkarrens but an act; all an unmarried girl has to do is be alone with a male and then they are regarded as married. Alkarrens live by an honour and shame system and there lies the only outcome of what the girls had done, they all had to be considered married to me or it would bring dishonour to the house and that was the worst thing an Alkarren could ever do.

  Alenna was now going to break the news to me that I was married to the three of them, so she sat me down then started by saying, ‘‘You know when you said you would be so lucky if you married us, well, err, you have.’’ She then went on to explain how Alkarren marriage works to me. I was dumb struck and did not know what to say at first, being a human from a place that one wife is normal any more would be frowned upon, this was indeed a different culture. I found the girls stunningly attractive and very kind, and if I had the choice of just one of them over the other two, then I would find it impossible to do so. I was going to live with Alkarrens so I had to live by their rules and customs and I had no choice but to accept the fact that I was indeed married to all three of them, besides what could I do about it anyway, I was stuck in outer space.

  The girls were very excited and pleased with themselves, but they had to face their mothers including the deputy prime wife the next morning. What normally happens is that they would live at the male’s house for a few years before they all move out into their own residence. This was going to be difficult as I had no family to live with. Their family could not throw them out as this again would bring shame on their house. The problem was the girls had a number of unmarried sisters older than they were that would be needed to be kept away from me. The option they saw was that we would live on the cargo ship as all the sisters on this ship were well below marrying age. The house of Motok run three cargo ships; the prime wife commands one, and the deputies, each of the other two. The family is split between the three ships. They try to arrange cargo runs so they can always meet up for a few days after each run; they also have a large residence on Alkarr. The girls’ father Rolf has twenty-three wives and thirty-six children, one of which is a male. Alenna then asked me, ‘‘What is our house to be called?’’

  Replying, I said, ‘‘I will give that some thought.’’ After a while I had come up with a name so I informed her. She now had to do a search to make sure no other house had this name. As for the name, I wanted something to remind me of home and had come up with one, but I would have to wait for now to find out if we could use it.

  Now, because the girls had not had their final meal of the day they were getting somewhat hungry. Jenna and Minty were making it known, Alenna on the other hand was putting a brave face on it and pretending she wasn’t hungry. I thought now is my turn to repay their kindness shown to me. I went and took from my backpack a packet of chocolate biscuits that I had been saving, giving each of them two to start with; it was like giving them something very strange indeed. They looked at them, they smelt them and very gingerly they tasted them; straight away you could see they liked the taste. They then gobbled them down in double quick time, staring at the rest of the packet saying, they had not tasted anything so delicious. Very soon the pack had been devoured. We talked about various things including that I would have to learn yet another language called Zeln, which was used to communicate with other species. It’s a made up language and takes words from each of the seven full members of the alliance, but the gist of it is an Alkarren would need to learn six out of every seven words. I said it’s a little like Esperanto on Earth that’s a made up language, but I don’t think anyone speaks it though. The girls said they wanted to learn English as well, which pleased me. Very soon it was bed time (all I can say is my bunk never got used).

  The next day we all went to the galley together where we had first meal of the day. I was definitely the centre of attraction; their younger sisters kept giggling as they were finding something amusing about me. Alenna told them to stop being rude and show some respect; we had to stay behind after the rest had left for a talk with the mothers of the three girls plus the deputy wife. The meeting began with the deputy wife Elma saying to Alenna that she had been very cunning in doing what she had done and that as a result they would live on the cargo ship, which was as the girls expected. She then told them that their work duty would increase and their allowance would now also increase as they had commitments. By how much was down to Helena their prime wife. Elma then gave them their work duty for the day, which would start with cleaning the galley, then all the corridors, followed by the entertainment room, while making sure I was with them at all times.

  Telnar spoke saying that they needed to be measured for the head bangles later. After the mothers had left, the girls started on the cleaning; I began helping, however, they stopped and looked at me as apparently I was not expected to do any work. Most Alkarren men did not do any work at all and definitely not cleaning. The girls found this amusing, but being human I was not going to behave that way, so I was determined to do my fair share. The girls continued cleaning also expecting me to stop at any time, but I worked as hard as they did. While we were cleaning the corridor the girls’ mothers came to check on them; they were flabbergasted that I was busy helping and had summoned the oth
er mothers to see, and soon we had an audience. I just smiled at them and got on with it. Alenna told me later that her mother said she wished Alkarren men were not so lazy. Now as men are chaperoned this means when you want to go to the toilet you are accompanied, although they stand outside by the door. Their toilets are not designed with men in mind, the seat is an integral part of the toilet and you have to sit on the toilet for the chute to open anyway so I had to go as the girls do or the way I like to think, as doing a number two. To add to that there is no paper, the toilet has a bidet built in with three buttons on the wall and it’s important you push the correct buttons. Two are for wash, its these buttons that a man must select the correct one or he will get washed where you would not expect it, the third button is blow dry and when you stand up the chute closes then the auto flush is engaged. That is enough about toilets, well I thought it was, but one of the afternoon jobs was to clean all the toilets on the ship, that is one in each of the eight cabins plus one off the entertainment room plus two off the cargo hold. As cabins are personal we had to ask permission of the occupant before entering, often having an audience watching us. Yes I also helped clean the toilets at the total bemusement of their mothers who have never ever seen a man ever clean a toilet. Now that is definitely enough about toilets. It was not just cleaning the ship but also jobs like stacking items in store rooms re-filling dispersers and washing clothes. Each day this would continue but we did get rest periods and the time after last meal of the day. After a few more days I was informed we had almost arrived at Alkarr.

  We were summoned to the bridge, as was everyone else, and going to the bridge this was exciting in itself as I had not yet been on the bridge. We entered the bridge. Alenna indicated to me to sit in one of the seats, Jenna and Minty sat next to me then Alenna sat on the end, while all the rest of the family had sat down on their seats. The bridge was actually an escape capsule should anything happen on re-entry and landing the cargo ship. Elma now told everyone we were about to come out of star drive. We all waited in anticipation, then the same strange squashed effect as I had experienced previously, before returning to normal. In front through the bridge windows was a new world. We had arrived at Alkarr.