Lost Past

by Teresa McCullough

  Saxant was on his transmitter, listening to something. Ms. Saunders and Saxant Bud were on computers. They only glanced up enough to identify Jorxt and the two men, but went back to paying attention to whatever they were doing.

  Saxant Bud gestured to Saxant and the woman, asking for attention. They both came and looked at a screen. The Bud had to write down instructions and scan them in, of course. Hand printing was slow.

  Whatever they found interesting, Jorxt wasn’t going to watch. He wasn’t invited, and he wouldn’t let them have the satisfaction of asking what was going on. IX gestured a question and Jorxt gestured the affirmative. IX started forward, but Saxant saved Jorxt the humiliation by saying, “There’s startling news about Bud conspiracies.”

  Jorxt didn’t want to walk over there, but Saxant mouthed some words to the computer, saying afterwards to Jorxt, “I’ve sent you the link.”

  The news site that Jorxt visited wasn’t as polished as it was before, not having the logo on it, just a name. The headline screamed, “Six conspiracies found of Buds imprisoning mouthed Plict and forcing them to bud.” It gave horrible details of illiterate Plict kept in poor conditions and budding too frequently or else being tortured. In one case, the Buds were used as labor in a mine and in a second case they were used to dig ditches.

  The search was on for three more conspiracies, because famed Earth scientist Arthur Saunders predicted nine conspiracies. A brief comment was made saying that he was found alive by some Plict in Aipot and was unavailable for comment.

  Ms. Saunders would be happy to hear that her father was alive. He couldn’t let her be happy for another minute.

  “Jorxt,” said Hernandez urgently. Jorxt ran to the entrance to the thorn-surrounded landing site above. Wilson came down the stairs, his clothing ripped to shreds. There were bloody scratches on him, but the clothing took the brunt of it.

  Hernandez pulled out his weapon and aimed. Jorxt saw he was going to take his time, making Wilson aware he was going to die. Ms. Saunders came in and was going to see it. Instead of tackling Hernandez, she swung her purse, hitting his head. Hernandez fell to the ground, stunned. How could the purse be heavy enough to knock him down? Hernandez tried to get up and she swung again, hitting his head again with the full force of the length of her arms and the purse strap. She then tossed the purse toward Wilson. Why? Was she trying to hit him? Had Jorxt misjudged the situation?

  The other clone pulled out his weapon to fire at Wilson, but Wilson’s hand was in Linda’s purse and a gunshot rang out, blowing a hole in the purse, killing the clone. Where were the other two clones?

  Franz brought Cara in. He released her and pulled out his weapon. Finally someone would shoot Wilson. When the weapon fired, it wasn’t Wilson who fell, but a bloody Goran, who fell from the stairs, covered in scratches which tore away most of his skin. He landed on Wilson who was pinned under him.

  It wasn’t another clone, it was John Graham with Cara. John Graham was like the clones, but even Jorxt could tell the difference. Jorxt pulled a weapon and aimed it at Wilson, confident that John was no threat.

  ***

  Linda saw John shoot Jorxt through the head to save Wilson. John dropped his weapon in shock. Linda felt a wave of thoughts coming from John. What have I done? How could I? This is wrong! But the thoughts calmed down to a more reasonable trend: This was justified, I did the right thing, I can live with this.

  Jorxt Bud IX picked up John’s weapon, aiming it at John. Linda and Cara threw themselves at the Bud. The weapon clattered to the floor. Linda felt a kind of determination from John, he started toward the weapon, but revulsion at killing Jorxt stopped him.

  The Jorxt Bud IX threw Cara aside and put his hands around Linda’s neck. The channel with John closed, since Linda was too desperate for air to think of anything else. Linda was losing consciousness while her attempts to fight the Bud were increasingly feeble. Since she didn’t have the strength to push his hands away, she tried to claw his face. She felt water pour over her, and then the Bud was hit repeatedly with John’s fists. The Bud’s hands let go of her, letting her get a short gasp of breath. Other Plict hands grabbed Jorxt Bud IX and pulled him off. Finally, Linda was freed and lay on the floor gasping for breath.

  “The Bud should wash off immediately, or the pine might kill him,” John said. “It closes blowholes.”

  Saxant and his Bud left the room. Linda looked around and saw Cara on the other side of the room, holding a chair with one hand, trying to stand. She moved stiffly, as if injured.

  Linda looked at Jorxt Bud, who had tried to strangle her. John was staring at him, but made no move to either help him or confine him. The Bud struggled to get up, but the struggling slowed down. The Bud stopped moving. John went over to the Bud and licked his finger and put it next to the Bud’s blowhole. After almost a minute he said, “He’s not breathing.”

  Wilson disentangled himself from the body of the bloody clone and came toward Linda, first picking up weapons as well as her purse, which left a trail of M&M’s.

  “You came for me,” she said, looking up at his face. His right eyebrow would probably always show the track a thorn made in it.

  Wilson ignored her words and kissed her briefly, although he held on to the weapons he collected. Linda noted this, and was glad he cared for her, but was pleased he was careful with the weapons.

  Cara interrupted them by saying, “Hernandez is getting up.”

  Hernandez appeared to be searching for a weapon. Wilson said, “Hands up,” and Hernandez complied, looking around the room at the carnage created in the last few minutes.

  Saxant returned, putting handcuffs on Hernandez, then gesturing to John to follow him. They left the room.

  Before closing the door, Saxant said to Linda, “Don’t worry. We’ll be out shortly.”

  Cara said to Linda, “John told me your father is here.”

  “I know,” said Linda, forgetting that Cara didn’t know how she knew.

  “And your mother and sister.”

  “What? My mother’s dead, and I don’t have a sister.”

  “John said they found them. They’ve a ship and they’re waiting for us.”

  Mom is here! What has she gone through all these years away from Earth? I hated her for leaving me. Can she forgive me for that? A sister. I always wanted a sister, but she’s going to be a stranger to me. I wonder what she’s like.

  Linda decided to deal with the present first; she walked over to Cara, while Wilson searched to see if he found all the weapons. “How are you?” Linda asked.

  “Broken arm and cracked ribs, I think,” she responded.

  Linda helped her to a chair. Saxant Bud came out and showed both of them a slate with the words, “I can help. Follow me.”

  While Wilson stood guard over Hernandez, Linda briefly watched Saxant Bud care for Cara and decided to see what was going on with John. She found the room he was in by the process of opening every door she found until she saw him.

  Saxant didn’t even turn around when he heard the door, but said, “A little privacy, please. I’m reversing his vasectomy.” Linda was glad Saxant was between her and what would have embarrassed her to see. “Call it my gift to Earth, since his genes are desirable. I’ll even make that an order. John, be fruitful and multiply. We tried to make you think of us as gods, and I’m giving you a godlike order. Fortunately, you’ve demonstrated you don’t think of us that way, and will be able to disobey if you choose. I certainly wouldn’t want you to run through the thorns like that poor clone you shot. Wilson was much more sensible. He crawled through carefully, even to rescue his lady love.” Linda turned and left the room far enough to be out of sight, but not too far to hear. She blushed at being called Wilson’s lady-love, but was pleased.

  “There. You’re done,” Saxant said. “What’s the fuel situation on that ship you stole?”

  When John told him, Saxant said, “That’s not enough. There’s a refueling tank here, and I’ll give you enough fuel
for a one-way trip. I really don’t want you coming back.”

  Saxant Bud escorted John down to the ship and they brought it up to the thorn-surrounded landing site. Saxant removed the translation disks from Linda, Wilson, and Cara, saying it wasn’t good to have them indefinitely and he didn’t know if they could remove them safely on Earth. “Besides, you have enough of our technology to play with on the ship.” His English was accented but understandable, making Linda wonder if he learned it the hard way, or had some kind of translation disk.

  When Linda climbed into the ship, she saw her mother. “Mom?” she said tentatively. Mom had more gray in her hair and more lines on her sun-browned face. Linda spent years resenting Mom’s absence, but she could hardly complain about her mother leaving her, since Linda knew from personal experience that being kidnapped by Hernandez and his clones didn’t allow one much choice. At least Mom managed to break a lamp, which suggested she fought. The tentative threads of telepathy opened, and Linda received a fleeting thought, “She’s beautiful.” Only to Mom, she thought. Only my mother would find me beautiful. Linda looked at the child near her and was pleased to see the child was more attractive than Linda remembered herself to be at that age. Maybe her sister wouldn’t go through the agonies of unpopularity as an adolescent.

  “You are both beautiful,” Mom said. From now on, Linda realized, she would be on the other side of telepathy. It was fair, and maybe she could use that knowledge to help Wilson deal with her.

  Her father hugged her, saying, “I was worried about you and unhappy I couldn’t help you, but you saved me. I’m so proud of you, and I love you.” Linda smiled at her father, who said, “Meet your sister, Patience. I just met her a few hours ago and look forward to learning to know her better.”

  “So do I,” Linda said, smiling at her sister. She turned to her mother and said, “I guess I’ll have to get to know both of you better.”

  “And I you,” her mother replied. “Arthur told me what a wonderful daughter you are. I thought I would never see you again and worried what your life would be without me, but you’ve grown up to be a sensational adult. I couldn’t be happier.” Her mother had tears in her eyes, as did Linda. Patience gave a shy smile to Linda, who smiled back. It will take time, Linda thought. I will learn to love her, but it will take time.

  When the ship was refueled, Saxant said, “You’ll need a pilot, since the beacons are down. My Bud will take you.” Linda trusted Saxant enough to believe this would be a good idea. Saxant and his Bud brought up several boxes, which they loaded on the ship. “Supplies to keep him alive. This won’t last a year, so someone will have to synthesize more. Instructions are in there. I’m not giving you enough fuel to come back, because I think it is safer for both our worlds that you don’t do so, and I don’t think you’ll be able to refuel the ship with your technology.”

  Hernandez was placed next to a goat, with the statement from Wilson, “Perhaps you would like to get to know what real animals are like.”

  Just before they left, Saxant spoke to Hernandez, “You are to give complete cooperation to the human authorities on Earth. You must admit all that you’ve done and tell the complete truth, reserving nothing. You will never kill another human.”

  He spoke to the group, “I wish I could say you will be safe, but I don’t even know if you won’t be followed. I doubt it will be soon, but in five or ten years, someone will decide humans are dangerous and attack. We have so much chaos here to deal with, I doubt there will be a coordinated attack for some time.”

  “Five years would be a problem for us, but if you can delay it until ten or fifteen years, there’s little to worry about. The wormhole is closing,” said her father. “In three years, it will take twenty-five percent more fuel to get through. They’ll see confirmation if they wait that long. We won’t be a threat to you.”

  “The calculations. . .” Saxant said. “Where are they?”

  “On my computer in the caves in the bird sanctuary. I also put a handwritten summary with the food.”

  Saxant then turned to Linda and said, “Goodbye, Linda Saunders. I wish I had the opportunity to know you better.”

  It was Hernandez who asked the general group, “What did Saxant mean about the chaos?”

  Linda replied, “The Plict were used to trusting their computers for everything. With them down, and hints of conspiracies, they started actually looking at what was going on. They’ve found all sorts of conspiracies. The most startling is that some Buds managed to do some interesting genetic engineering and gave birth to a baby Bud. It took a lot of technology, but they aren’t dependent on the mouthed Plict anymore.”

  The ship took off with Saxant Bud as pilot and Linda looked at what she expected to be her last view of this planet. As the ship ascended toward the wormhole, Linda was almost certain she imagined the feelings of wistfulness coming from Saxant.

  EPILOGUE Five years later

  John was with his last patient of the day when Eric interrupted him. Eric apologized to the patient, saying, “Sorry, there is an emergency.” Before they were out the door, Eric said, “Grab your coat.”

  Instead of leading him down to his car, Eric led him up to the helicopter-landing site. It was the first time John visited it since he was abducted five years earlier. It brought back reminders of that time, although John’s memory dwelt more on how decisively Eric acted in his absence than of his abduction. Eric warned Jun and Pedro, allowing them to escape Hernandez’ attack, and went into hiding himself.

  “Saxant Bud is dying and wants to see you,” Eric explained as they watched the military helicopter land.

  John knew that Saxant Bud’s room would be as monitored as the rooms in Vigint City, but he was prepared to ignore that. He found the Bud propped up in bed, with a keyboard in his lap. His color was bad, but he had no problems typing. Saxant knew English, and his Bud took a surprisingly short period of time to learn keyboarding, developing his own system for his three fingered hands. The text-to-speech program was how he communicated with all the government scientists who wanted whatever information he could give.

  “Thank you for coming,” Saxant Bud said. “They promised me they would get you here while I could still type.”

  “Do you have any regrets?” John couldn’t resist asking. Saxant ordered his Bud to come, but John couldn’t help but wonder if the Bud resented his progenitor after his loyalty waned.

  “No. You don’t understand. Saxant wanted to come and live here, at least for a while. He wanted to see things for himself, not just through reports. He knew it wasn’t possible, not without a continuous supply of food. Supplies for a Bud could be duplicated. The mirror-image sugar would keep me alive, along with other things they could synthesize. But food would have to be imported.”

  “Or grown,” John said.

  “Like Natalie’s farm.” This gave John a vision of purple plants surrounded by green ones. It would probably be surrounded by protesters as well. Saxant Bud lived on a military base because there was constant turmoil wherever he went. If it weren’t religious nuts protesting, it was sci-fi nuts wanting to meet an alien.

  “I guess I have one regret. Saxant will never know what I felt here.”

  “I didn’t think Buds felt that way about their progenitors,” John said. Saxant Bud told many stories about his society, which the military eventually published. The stories about how Buds resented their progenitors were part of the picture John gained from reading them.

  “That’s because of the motivation of the progenitors. Saxant didn’t bud to exploit me, he budded to give me, or, in a way, himself, an opportunity to live on Earth. I am not saying it’s all been wonderful, but I’ve lived in a new world, a world which he’s only seen from the outside.”

  When John left, a man he didn’t know was sent in. If John could give a one word description of the man’s mood, he would have said grief. Saxant Bud made friends on Earth.

  While John was wondering how he would get back, a young man in a u
niform approached him, saying, “Are you going to wait for the end? The doctors think it will come tomorrow or the next day. Something about the level of something in his blood being too high. Saxant Bud told us what a lethal level was, and that it would kill him in a couple of days.”

  “I don’t think so. How can I get back?”

  “You got the helicopter because it was so close to rush hour. We can give you a car and driver to get back. It’s been arranged. Oh, Special Agent Wilson and Dr. Saunders are in the lobby. She asked if you were here. Perhaps you’d like to see them before you go.”

  John identified “Dr. Saunders” as Linda not Arthur or Tom. She published a paper on Plict computing, which many considered should be her doctoral thesis. Others complained it wasn’t original research, and she should hardly get a PhD because she was kidnapped. However, she never submitted it for a PhD, and completed the other requirements, then wrote a brilliant thesis on computer security.

  They offered to drive him home, and John took them up on their offer so he could talk to them, since he hadn’t seen them since their marriage a month ago. They said little until they got into the car. Then Wilson said, “We waited for you. Linda said you were coming in too fast for it to be by car.”

  “I trust you didn’t explain to them why you waited,” John said.

  Wilson snorted and looked at his wife with a fond smile. Turning back to John, he said, “Have you heard that Hernandez’ lawyers are trying another appeal? It was on the radio when we drove in.”

  John grimaced. “I hope no one wants my testimony again. It’s embarrassing to get up there and say that Hernandez’ attitude toward everyone on Earth was normal for his society, but no, I don’t remember living there.”