by Adair Hart
Dr. Snowden moved to Evaran’s left side and hunched over, with Emily in tow.
Evaran put his arm around Dr. Snowden. Emily maintained her death grip on Dr. Snowden’s arm.
“This isn’t real! This is preposterous!” said Dr. Snowden over the deafening noise.
“Dr. Snowden … focus!”
Dr. Snowden and Emily shut their eyes and focused on blanking their minds. The deallocation was almost on them. Dr. Snowden peeped out and braced for impact. Although he could feel no pain, he felt himself beginning to slip away.
Dr. Snowden winced as pangs shot through his body. They passed as quickly as they came. It was enough to make him try to open his eyes. He immediately shut them due to the blinding light. His nostrils flared as the smell of sweat poured through them. He could almost taste it. He tried to talk, but his throat did not move. His stomach tumbled, and disorientation set in. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they were heavy and unresponsive.
He heard the distant, yet distinct, voice of Evaran. “Do not try to move just yet. Your bodies are readjusting after a few weeks of being under. Even with the periodic maintenance done to you, your bodies are still in need of repair. The nanobots are repairing your bodies now. It will be a few minutes or so.”
Prickles ran throughout his body. His hip region had the most intense prickle sensations. His mind swirled as he tried to focus on Evaran’s comment about nanobots. He was able to move more every passing second. He squinted hard and then peeped out, letting his eyes adjust. He watched as the environment around him became less blurred. Sounds became clearer. He heard Emily coughing and moving around on her bed. The pace at which he was recovering struck him as odd, like a cold car engine warming up.
He heard Evaran still talking. “These nanobots are a remarkable accomplishment. They can repair damage, fight off diseases, and even have rudimentary sensory aspects to them. I have seen other nanobots before, but never this advanced. They have integrated themselves quite well. Interesting. I will need to download the schematics for these before we leave.”
Dr. Snowden attempted to open his eyes completely. His throat unclenched, and the initial disorientation passed. He tried sitting up, but his arms gave out. The prickle sensations were gone now, and in their place was a warmth spreading throughout his body. He knew these sensations were real. In the virtual simulation, his aches felt disconnected from the realization of them. He heard Emily and two men groaning. They must be going through the same sensations he was.
After several minutes he tried sitting up again. His vision was sharp now, and he could move his body around better than he could ever recall. How could he go from such a debilitated state to one of such strength so quickly? He sat up without a trace of weakness and swung his legs off to the side of the table. He placed a hand on the cool slab. He glanced down and ran his other hand over the metallic dots on his white robe. Looking to his left and across a pathway, he saw two others on metallic slabs like the one he was on, groaning and moving around. One appeared to be a fair-skinned man in his mid-thirties, and the other was a darker-skinned man in his early twenties. He turned around and saw Emily beginning to get up. She had the same robe on that he and the others had. He turned back around and saw Evaran, but the blue suit with silver pinstripes was gone. In its place was a very different outfit. His breath slowed, and his eyes widened.
Evaran’s outfit looked like a padded light-armor suit. It was pale gray in appearance with highlights of blue, white, orange, and silver. The pads were spread out across the suit in various patterns. The suit covered the whole body except for the head, neck, feet, and hands. The pads were larger on the chest and legs and smaller and more spread out on the abdomen, arms, and shins. The suit also had a utility belt, boots, forearm covers, and a neck guard.
The silver segmented utility belt had various attachments on it. In the center of the belt was a dark-gray buckle with a button in the middle. He saw what appeared to be a cardholder on the right side. Behind that, a cylindrical rod hung off the utility belt. It was metallic and had intricate designs on it with several buttons. He thought it looked like the grip of a sword, but without the rest of the parts associated with a hilt. On the left side of the belt, various small metallic pouches and orbs were attached.
He slid off the slab and scrambled over to Emily. She was sitting on the edge of her slab, looking around with wide eyes. He verified that this was the medical room he recalled in what he thought was a dream. It was apparent this was not a typical medical room.
Emily slid off the slab and grabbed his right arm. She hunched over. “Uncle Albert, what’s going on?” she said with a wavering voice.
He cleared his throat as he wiped the sweat from his hands on his robes. His right arm tingled as Emily’s shallow breathing coursed over it. He wiped the sweat off his face with his left arm. Evaran had said this is where they would be when they awakened. “I don’t know, but this is the medical room from the dreams.”
The two men on the other slabs had sat up on the edges of their slabs. They rubbed their eyes and looked around.
The older man slipped off the slab. “What the fuck, man?” he said with a rising voice.
Dr. Snowden stepped in front of Emily with her still gripping his right arm. It was evident this man was unhinged.
The younger man had also slid off the slab. He jerked his head around and took off past the older man and Evaran. He reached the end of the lab, where he pounded on a light-blue smoke-filled doorway. “Help! Someone help, please!”
Evaran glanced at Dr. Snowden with furrowed eyebrows, then softened his look as he then turned to the older man. He raised his hand toward him. “Jay, please calm down. You are safe here. No one will hurt you.”
Jay focused on Evaran and walked aggressively toward him. “Damn right, they won’t. Who the fuck are you, man?”
Evaran stepped back. “I am Evaran. You have been through a traumatic experience, and I am here to help you.”
The younger man stopped screaming and slid down to the floor with his back to the shielded door. He grimaced with wide eyes and sunken eyebrows. His trembling hands were balled into fists and pulled close to his chest.
Dr. Snowden licked his lips as he watched the two men’s actions. These men were clearly in distress. He did not want to interfere, but it was apparent they were not forewarned about this awakening like he and Emily had been.
Jay stepped toward Evaran and then tried to push him, but Evaran didn’t budge.
“I said, who the fuck are you!” said Jay.
Jay tried to push Evaran again. Evaran sidestepped the push effort and brushed Jay’s arms to the side, causing him to stumble. Evaran spun Jay around and lightly pushed him to the nearest slab. Jay hit the slab, and his upper half spilled across it. He glanced at Dr. Snowden. His mouth was open, and his eyes widened. He stood back up and wheeled around to face Evaran, placing both hands on the edge of the slab.
Dr. Snowden noted that the push was fairly light, but Jay hit the slab with far more force than the push should have generated. He calculated that it would be impossible unless Evaran’s strength was off the charts. He figured Jay must have calculated this too based on his expression.
Dr. Snowden winced as a pain shot up his arm. He glanced over at Emily, who was trembling and white as a ghost. He tapped her hand.
Emily looked up at Dr. Snowden and relaxed her grip. She moved behind him, put her arms around his midsection, and then buried her face in his back.
He remembered she used to do that as a kid when there was a big bug flying around the room. He turned back to see that Evaran had pivoted and was looking at the younger man.
“Sanjay, please join Jay by the slab,” said Evaran. He then pivoted to Dr. Snowden and motioned at him to come forward. “Dr. Snowden, please come over here with Emily.”
Emily released her midsection hug on Dr. Snowden and grabbed his left arm as they inched toward where Jay was.
Dr. Snowden eyed Jay and Evaran as they stopped a
t the end of the slab. He didn’t want to stand too close to Jay. Or Sanjay for that matter.
Evaran twisted around toward Sanjay again and pointed to where Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Jay were standing. “Sanjay, these three are in the same predicament you are in. I can explain this, but I would prefer to do it once with everyone together. You are not in any immediate danger. Please, come stand by the slab.”
Sanjay rose to his feet while scanning Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Jay. He crept along the wall toward the slab, flattening himself as he passed Evaran, and arrived at the opposite end of the slab where Dr. Snowden and Emily were.
Evaran raised his finger. “Before I begin, let us pause for a few moments and focus on breathing. Your adrenaline levels are high.” He held out his hand directly in front of him. “When I raise my hand, breathe in. When I lower it, breathe out.”
Dr. Snowden felt more relaxed after a few minutes had passed with Evaran raising and lowering his hand. He glanced over at Sanjay and noticed he was no longer hunched over, but standing straight. Dr. Snowden noticed that Sanjay’s face was no longer one of doom, but a mix of confusion and contemplation. He glanced at Jay and saw that the lines on his face had settled. Gone were the wild looks he had seen earlier.
Emily loosened her grip on his arm.
He glanced at her and noticed her skin had returned to its normal tone, and she seemed more settled. His heart slowed, and his breathing returned to normal. Everyone seemed calmer to him.
Evaran surveyed them with taut lips and furrowed eyebrows. “Good. We should all be feeling a bit more relaxed. Now, I know this is rough, but I believe introductions are in order.” Evaran pointed to himself. “My name is Evaran. I would be what you term an alien, but it is more complicated than that. I am a traveler, and I help those in need, such as yourselves.” He pointed at Dr. Snowden. “This is Dr. Albert Snowden, a professor of astronomy at a college in Columbus, Ohio, and to his right,” he said, pointing to Emily, “is his niece, Emily Snowden, who is a history student at the same college.” He then pointed to Sanjay. “This is Sanjay Chandrakar, a computer science student at a college in Cincinnati, Ohio.” He then pointed to Jay. “And finally, this is Jay Beerman, a former military member who is now a truck driver and lives in Southern Indiana.”
Jay shuddered and glanced at Dr. Snowden, then at Sanjay, then turned toward Evaran. He flung his right arm into the air. “You’re an alien? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Evaran raised a hand out to Jay. “I am not done yet. Bear with me.” He stared at the ground for a moment before speaking, then looked back up to them. “This is going to sound incredible, but here is the situation. On February 4, 2012, around 6 p.m., you were all abducted from a small stretch of highway I-70 by an alien race known as the Krotovore. They put everyone into a virtual simulation for research purposes. Your minds were altered so the transition was seamless. While in the virtual simulation, they injected nanobots into everyone to help maintain your bodies. Then on February 25, 2012, three weeks later, they sustained some damage before entering a space-time rift that instantly took them to the Andromeda galaxy. However, it ended up being one year into the future as well, with the date being March 2, 2013. I followed them through the rift and boarded their ship, and here we are.”
Dr. Snowden’s eyes blinked rapidly as he fixed his gaze on Evaran. “That’s utterly ridiculous.”
Emily’s shoulders slumped as she looked down. “They abducted us on our way back from Dad’s grave,” she murmured.
A pang shot through Dr. Snowden’s body as he remembered the day Dan died. They had buried him in the town they grew up in. It was one of the hardest days of Dr. Snowden’s life, but this day was shaping up to be a close second. He gritted his teeth at the thought of the possibility that the Krotovore abducted them on their visit to Dan’s grave on the anniversary of his death. Dr. Snowden put his left arm around Emily and gave a light squeeze.
Jay shook his head. His eyes were wide, eyebrows raised, and lips slightly parted. “What?”
Evaran extended his hands and did a calming motion with them. “That is the current situation. I have no reason to lie to you. You will be able to verify for yourself once we leave this room.”
Dr. Snowden’s eyes narrowed. “You want us to believe that?”
“I do. I know you have questions, and now is a good time to ask them.”
“What the hell is a virtual simulation?” asked Jay, rubbing his left cheek.
“A computer program, right? That tries to simulate reality?” said Sanjay, motioning with his right hand as if shaking an imaginary ball. Everyone turned to look at him.
Evaran half grinned with furrowed eyebrows while tilting his head toward Sanjay. “That is correct. You were all connected to it.”
Dr. Snowden exhaled sharply. “I think a more likely explanation is that we’re part of some failed drug experiment. Maybe a government thing.”
Jay nodded his head and wagged a finger at Dr. Snowden. “Yeah, yeah. I’m with Doc on that. I’ve heard about shit like this in the army.”
Dr. Snowden drew his lips flat and shot Jay a look. He didn’t like being called Doc.
Evaran sighed and focused his gaze on Dr. Snowden. “How would I have been able to appear to you and Emily in the virtual simulation then?”
Dr. Snowden shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was a shared hallucinogenic effect or the power of suggestion or something.”
Evaran shook his head. “No, and I do not think you believe that either.”
Sanjay looked at Dr. Snowden. “You saw Evaran? In the virtual simulation?”
Dr. Snowden cleared his throat. “Me and Emily did, yeah.”
Jay smirked and exhaled sharply through his nose. “I didn’t see him either.” He looked at Sanjay. “Maybe we weren’t special enough.”
Dr. Snowden snorted and shook his head at Jay.
Sanjay looked at Evaran with furrowed eyebrows. “Why didn’t me and Jay see you?” He bobbed his head and pointed at Dr. Snowden and Emily. “It woulda been nice to get a heads-up like they did.”
Evaran sighed and pursed his lips. “I was short on time. The systems sustaining the virtual simulation were ending. I decided to get at least two of you, rather than just one. It was nothing personal, more a matter of efficiency. I figured the nanobots would have helped you and Jay adjust quickly. It took a little longer than I expected.”
Sanjay cleared his throat and gestured with his right hand. “I see. I do feel calmer. More stable than just a few minutes ago anyways.”
“The nanobots are engineered to protect your body. You do not have anything to fear from them. Your well-being is their main goal. They sensed your heightened states when we paused earlier to breathe and tried to normalize it,” said Evaran.
“Not sure I like the idea of these things in us,” said Emily as she looked at her hands.
“They don’t sound harmful. Nanobots are just tiny machines at the nanometer scale,” said Sanjay. He looked at Emily while putting two fingers together with a small gap to indicate tiny.
Emily glared at Sanjay. “Uhh … yeah. I know what a nanobot is.”
Dr. Snowden smirked and chuckled. “Don’t worry. I don’t think there are nanobots inside us making us magically feel better.”
Evaran shrugged. “Whether or not you believe they are there is not relevant. Any doctor would be able to confirm their presence. I did not think you would dismiss your healing rate so easily. As I mentioned earlier, you will feel stronger and faster along with some other side effects from here on out.”
A small metallic orb with a blue indented groove that crisscrossed it vertically and horizontally flew to the right of Evaran’s shoulder and, in a monotonic voice with a digital rasp, said, “Correction. They are functioning at one hundred fifty-six percent of optimal human operating capacity.”
“Whoa,” said Emily.
“What the heck?” said Dr. Snowden, leaning back a bit.
“Now what the fuck is that
?” said Jay, pointing at the orb.
“Oh, wow,” said Sanjay, leaning forward.
“That,” said Evaran, pointing at the orb, “is my variable utility artificial intelligence orb, otherwise known as VUAIO, but I call it V for short. Think of it as a mobile assistant.”
Jay turned toward Dr. Snowden. “Doc, you ever seen shit like this before?”
Dr. Snowden clenched his jaw. “It’s Dr. Snowden to you, and no, I haven’t.”
Evaran half grinned. “I would imagine not. It took a while to build, and the voice synthesizer still needs some work, but V is highly functional and, more importantly, very handy.”
“It’s a strong AI? Or weak?” asked Sanjay.
Evaran tilted his head at Sanjay. “A very good question. V is self-aware and what you would classify as a strong AI.”
“That’s impressive,” said Sanjay.
Dr. Snowden furrowed his eyebrows. He did not know much about artificial intelligence, but it seemed Sanjay did. Looked to him like Sanjay was trying to butter Evaran up.
Jay snorted and crooked his thumb at V. “Okay, enough about ol’ Blue Ball. If all this shit you’re saying is true, then who’re these assholes that abducted us?”
“Designation Blue Ball has been added,” said V.
Jay crinkled his eyebrows, with the left side of his lips upturned as he looked at V.
Evaran stepped back. “Another good question. Your abductors are an alien race known as the Krotovore. V, display Krotovore species.”
“Acknowledged. Displaying Krotovore species,” said V.
V flew out a bit and then projected a holographic display of a three-foot-tall creature. It had six eyes on a bulbous head; two were larger than the four surrounding them. Where a mouth would be, a short proboscis protruded. The body looked like a kidney bean covered in short hairs. The back had segmented armor plates. Four legs supported the body. Two arms on each side of the body hung to the side. Each arm had a hand section with three slim fingers, one of which was opposable. Small antennae extended from the head, which had small bumpy ridges around the top.
