Alien Masters (10 Book Bundle of Sci-Fi Romance Tales)
Page 15
Neither species had ever dreamed that their first meeting would go so well.
The aliens claimed to have known about humanity since the first cavemen began to utilize the resources of planet Earth, but instead of making themselves know to the humans, they had chosen to stay away. In their seemingly infinite wisdom, they thought that if they were to come to the human race before they had even realized their own existence, the result would have been far different from the amicable relationship the two completely different worlds had built since their first encounter with one another.
Still, that all seemed like ancient history, even though the majority of the human generation that was alive when this all came to fruition, as well as all of the alien race remember it well and speak frequently of what has become known by both sides as the time of uncertainty.
Once the two sides realized that neither was going to harm the other, though, they began to work together. Humanity did not have much to offer these amply intelligent beings, but the reason that the aliens claimed they were willing to help humanity was because of what the aliens knew that humanity would become.
They claimed that while the earthlings would never live as long, or be able to accomplish as much as their kind, regardless of how well they advanced, humanity as a whole would always be resilient, so long as they did not get ‘a confidence that overstepped their intelligence,’ as the true leader of Xebus once said.
That might have been insulting, if the aliens had not already proven themselves to humanity. Their capabilities and solutions were something that Earth needed in order to survive; that humanity needed to survive and therefore, humans were very willing to put up with a few left-handed compliments.
Ever since Sharon was a little girl, she dreamed of an opportunity like this and now that she was now deemed to be a legal and consenting adult, she was able to take the next step in living out her intergalactic dream.
After working all night on the perfect resume, explaining her skillset and why she would be an excellent candidate for this opportunity, she sent in the application and hoped for the best.
By the next morning, she received word that she was hired and that a drone would be coming to her home later on that afternoon to take her to her new life.
That meant that she only had four hours to enjoy her life on Earth. So, she did as many of her friends had done, who had taken the same path, she went to her parents and told them what was going on, so that when she was gone, they could explain the urgency in the matter.
Her parents were thrilled that she was able to get the opportunity so soon after her eighteenth birthday, but of course, they were sad to see her go.
Sharon spent the last hours she had on Earth with her parents and sister, who was younger, but had no interest in leaving Earth and then went outside in order to wait for the travel pod.
It was strange, knowing that she was going to be leaving. Even though this wasn’t forever, she could go back and forth a few times a year, if she wished, just as previous generations went across the world, or across their country for vacations, she still could not believe she was actually going.
It was extremely odd to her that a whole lifetime had actually boiled down to a period of twenty-four hours.
While she waited for the pod and took in her last glimpses of Earth, at least for a little while, she reveled in the fact that if she had not applied for that job, just the night before, or if she was not picked for the job, her day would be so regular now.
Sharon had dreamed of this day for years, but now that it was actually coming to fruition, she thought that it was very strange how distant everything felt.
She had thought that she would be overcome with joy and excitement and it wasn’t that she wasn’t looking forward to it, but it just still didn’t seem real.
Sharon supposed that it was true what they say, even though the aliens had helped humanity tremendously by speeding up the process of virtually everything that they did on a daily basis, the human mind remained the same; therefore the pace to which they could comprehend information could only advance so much.
They say that the reality of every human being is actually eight seconds slower than the actual reality, while the collective unconscious of aliens had advanced to even that scale to 0.08 seconds, which automatically made them able to comprehend every aspect of reality faster than any human.
Sharon supposed that must have something to do with it, since for as excited as she had always been to do this, it still did not seem like a reality that was actually happening and she wasn’t sure that she would understand it all completely for a while[KC1] .
She just hoped that her meager human mind would not disappoint her new employers. After all, this was her dream and it was also her chance to shine; that she was sure of.
***
The travel pod appeared at exactly two o’clock in the afternoon, decelerating at such a rate that it only became visible when it ground to a halt within touching distance of Sharon.
Sharon smiled, even though her stomach was beginning to churn with nervousness. The eye scanner confirmed her identity quickly before the door opened and a friendly, robotic voice welcomed her into the pod.
It felt strange, not having as much as a bag to bring with her, but the aliens had explained in her acceptance announcement that she did not need to burden herself with anything; they would be able to provide all that she needed in order to survive.
As she stepped into the travel pod though, Sharon wished that she had brought something to remind herself of home. However, she didn’t want to appear weak or overly connected to Earth, so she had opted to follow the directions she was given in the letter.
The travel pod was roomy and filled with entertainment for the trip, but right now, Sharon did not feel like utilizing any of it. She just wanted to enjoy the ride and try to calm her frantic nerves.
As the door closed, and the engines began to rocket to life, preparing for the trip, Sharon drew a long breath.
“Are you alright, Sharon?” The friendly robotic voice asked in an impressively concerned fashion, “Your vitals are high and I am sensing intense nervous energy emanating from your core.”
At first, Sharon looked around for the speaker, but quickly realized that the pod was an essence in itself. It was complete and therefore, there was no centralized location that she needed to communicate with. The robotic voice that was speaking to her was all around her, probably taking a far more detailed assessment of what was going on inside of her than she could even fathom.
“I’m fine,” she answered. Even though she was used to speaking to robots with varying functions, she was still searching for eyes, or some vantage point to address when speaking, but she found nothing. “Thank you.”
“If you need anything, just ask,” the robot answered, “The people of Xebus have had their eye on you for quite a while. They are sure that you are going to do well.”
Even though Sharon knew that she should be thrilled to hear that the aliens were basically just waiting for her to come of age so that they could bring her to the planet that she hoped would one day become her home, she now felt a little strange, knowing for sure that the aliens were watching her.
Still, she had waited her whole life to be able to have such an honor and she was going to enjoy every solitary moment of it.
So, she sat back on the bed and got comfortable, before she took another deep breath and let it out before she answered, “Thank you very much! I have been looking forward to this day for a very long time.”
“We know,” the voice answered, before adding, “Make yourself at home,” then, Sharon felt the buzz of the engine as it moved into hyper drive.
She smiled as she closed her eyes and tried to get some rest. Already, it had been a long and exciting day, filled with a slew of emotions and Sharon knew that it was still far from over.
On the way there, she mostly rested, trying to calm herself and mentally prepare for what she was about to do.
Why am I so nervous? She thought to herself as she realized that there was something strange going on with her emotions. She had never liked Earth all that much and she couldn’t wait to leave it, but on her way to Xebus, she had the feeling that with all of the time she had spent researching the planet on which she hoped to spend her life, she now regretted not taking more of an interest in her experience on Earth.
Sharon knew now that she wanted to have things to miss about Earth, but since she had never really enjoyed her time there, she knew that there were a lot of experiences, about the entire planet that she had missed.
In fact, the more she thought about it now, the more she knew how disconnected she had always been to Earth and how drawn she had always been to Xebus. Still, she suddenly began to wish that she had spent a little more time learning about Earth, rather than just trying to get away from it.
[KC2]
It did help, knowing that her home planet was not completely lost to her, but it was still discouraging to her to know that she had basically wasted eighteen years on Earth studying a whole other planet.
However, when she tired of regretting how she had spent her life thus far, she made it a point to try to think about what she was going to be hired for once she reached Xebus.
She knew that she was going to be placed in something of an assistant or secretary job, but she had no idea for whom or to what capacity she would be needed.
She hoped that whatever job she was given was going to become a gateway job to a lifetime on Xebus, because she really hadn’t enjoyed Earth and thought her talents lay among the stars, which was why she had always wanted this opportunity, but now she wondered whether or not she had tried for the right position. After all, she knew very little about being a secretary and although she had conducted a lot of research about the opportunities that awaited human women in Xebus, she had never seen the planet for herself.
But before she could freak herself out too much, the travel pod stopped and she was invited to step out.
***
The air was far crisper than anything she had experienced on Earth. It was thin and made her feel slightly lightheaded, but as she stepped out onto this new planet, she was handed a mask with a small canister attached to it by a woman with two heads coming out of her neck.
“Hello Sharon,” the woman’s right head said as they both smiled. The woman appeared almost human, but besides having two heads, she was also purple, “That is Earth air. Only take it as necessary, but don’t pass out. Eventually, your body will acclimate.”
“Hello…” Sharon answered, taking a breath of the oxygen and trying not to give into the feeling of pressure and nervousness that was mounting inside of her. With a little bit of effort, Shannon managed to pull the mask away from her face and smile, remembering that she had read about this race. The scientific name for them was very long and hard to pronounce, but the short nickname that they had given humans so that it was easy for them to say was Duples. They were like Siamese twins, but it was in no way a mutation of their form; rather it was the way these aliens were supposed to be born.
This made perfect sense to Sharon once she had a chance to think about it, because they normally were attracted to being hosts of some kind.
“My name is Sahara,” the first head said.
“And my name is Farah,” the second head continued.
“We are so glad you are here. Sephron is anxiously awaiting your presence,” Sahara explained and led Sharon towards what appeared to be elevator doors.
Sharon almost stopped, but realized that the two of them were making their way towards the elevator eagerly and she did not want to appear slow and so, she ran to catch up.
“Doesn’t Sephron own the company?” Sharon[KC3] asked when they entered into a place that resembled the travel pod, but without all of the entertainment.
“Yes,” Sahara answered just before the doors opened into a large room.
Sharon was impressed, because she had not even felt the pod move.
The room was a little bit strange, considering everything seemed to revolve around circles, where on earth, there were far more corners and squares, but Sharon[KC4] knew that the reason was that aliens were convinced that corners by their very nature ended and changed direction. They were not fluid and that was a concept that Sharon[KC5] guessed, in a way, was something of bad luck.
“Excuse me, Sephron,” Sahara asked when she and Sharon approached the large desk, which was made out of some organic material, which was a great economic alternative to wood. It was only found on the planet Xebus, but could easily be manipulated to regenerate at a very fast pace; one of the many long-term solutions that the aliens had brought to Earth.
However, this particular desk was beautiful and probably expensive, considering the amount of work it took to make it so intricate. There were few on Earth who knew how to manipulate it properly, as to come out with such a complete project.
“Is she here?” A man’s voice came from behind the round chair.
“Yes, she is here,” Farah answered.
“Leave us,” the man answered and Sharon grew even more nervous.
“Yes, Sephron,” Both heads answered before they hurried away, back down the strange elevator and were gone in a moment.
***
Sharon had tried to get the attention of either head, but the female alien had vanished before she had the chance.
“Is she gone?” The man’s voice asked again and Sharon nodded.
“Yes,” she answered him.
“Excellent,” he answered before the large, round chair spun around, revealing a man that Sharon could only describe as a strange, yet intriguing mix between a dragon and a human. His face was pointed and masculine, with deep green scales that ran throughout the length of his face and a large mustache-type style flowing down from his snouted nose.
His eyes were intense and deep with slits for pupils and yellow encompassing him.
Despite his unusual appearance, with his muscular arms permeating through his earthly overcoat and his claw like hands clinking against one another, Sharon did not feel threatened by him.
The alien watched Sharon’s reaction for a moment before his thin lips curved into a smile and he asked her, as he stood, spreading his arms out evenly and easily over the width of his desk, “Are you scared?”
Sharon thought about this for a moment, before she shook her head, “No,” she answered carefully, “I am not.”
His eyes, which were devoid of eyebrows, but still did not look strange on his face, raised and widened as he took in the sight of her, “You’re perfect,” He answered.
Sharon was not sure what he meant and so, she narrowed her eyes to ask, “I’m sorry, Sir?”
“So proper,” He teased, “So…human. My name is Sephron, just as your name is Sharon. On this planet we have innate respect and therefore, we do not need any other idiom in our speech to show it.”
Even though she knew how their language worked, that they spoke in such a way that anyone could understand and they knew any language that was ever recorded, it was still fairly odd for her to be speaking so flawlessly with an alien, on another planet, light years away from her home. Still, she did not want to come across as ignorant, especially because she had worked hard not to be and so, she just continued on with the conversation, “I’m sorry, Sephron. What is it that is so perfect about me?”
He chuckled and answered, “You do not belong on Earth, Sharon. You belong here. You always have.”
Sharon wasn’t sure how to respond to this and so, she answered, “But I am human…”
“And I am Drackotheloidon, the only one of my kind on this planet and yet,” he raised his strange
ly human-like arms and extended his claws before he answered, “I have all of this. I am in a position that I could never have aspired to be in back home, but I belong here and that is why I have prospered.”
“So, you think I belong here too?” Sharon continued, trying to keep up with the conversation, even though she was becoming increasingly confused.
“I know you do,” he answered solidly, “It is rather just a matter of whether you are able to accept the truth sooner or later.”
Sharon smiled and moved towards Sephron as she asked, “What is the truth?”
“That you aspire to be far greater than the basis you were brought here for,” He answered with a cheeky smile, “You are destined to unite the human race and the alien race.”