Galileo (Battle of the Species)

by Meaghan Sinclair

  Renn told them about everything his dad had explained, though something kept bothering him and he couldn’t shake it. He kept glancing at Leo, taking longer and longer gazes.

  “What?” Leo asked.

  “Why are your clothes dirty, and why are you so hungry?” Renn asked.

  Leo shrugged and kept eating.

  Renn stared at him. Despite how hard someone tries to not think of something, there inevitably comes a point when they think, “I better not think of…” (and then they think about it.)

  “Oh my gawd, you went to another planet instead of going home!” Renn said.

  “What?” Dylan said wide-eyed, looking at Leo.

  Leo stopped eating. “You know, sometimes I hate that you can read minds.”

  “Why not just tell us?” Renn asked. “We’re your friends. I don’t get all the secrecy.”

  “Because I don’t want you guys to know that I don’t want to go home, all right? That I would rather spend two days wandering around some random planet, starving, than to go home and spend even a minute with my dad, who would just stand there and point out everything that I’m doing wrong with my life.”

  “It’s not as if we wouldn’t understand, Leo,” Renn said.

  “Really? You both talk about your dads all the time. I had no idea that there were even dads like that. Who don’t yell at you every time they see you and say ‘you’re worth nothing.’ I’m sorry, but there are some things I don’t want to talk to you two about.”

  The three fell silent, trying to eat, until Renn tried to change the conversation. “Will you at least tell us where you went?” he asked.

  “Lucia,” Leo replied.

  Renn and Dylan looked at each other.

  “That’s actually kind of cool,” Dylan said. “I’ve never been to Lucia.”

  “Me neither,” Renn said. “How was it?”

  “Well…it was kind of great,” Leo said, as a smile crept across his face.

  “Come on, man. Tell us about it!” Dylan said.

  “Well, I went to Curta.”

  “Never heard of it.”

  “Yeah, neither had I, but I asked Cybernex where the coldest city on Lucia was this time of year and it spat up, Curta. Turns out the winters there get so cold, they evacuate the entire town till the Spring. It was beautiful though. It was by this sea, with white cliffs and black sand.”

  “Snow?”

  “No, but the ground was frozen solid and it was really difficult to find food, because the shops were closed and all the animals had migrated. Cybernex stated that I could eat the bark from a Yun tree, but it didn’t warn me that Yun bark tastes really gross.”

  The bell chimed and the three of them headed to physics class, trying to get back into the groove of school.

  When Desh walked into the physics class, he passed Renn without acknowledging his presence, and instead, sat next to Etienne as usual.

  Etienne slyly slid a clear memory stick over to him.

  “What’s this?” Desh asked, looking down at it.

  Your homework, Etienne thought.

  Desh slid it back. “I already did it, goofball.” He booted up his tablet, nodding to Kia who sat down in front of them.

  “Yeah, well, you did it wrong,” Etienne said.

  “You don't even know what I wrote!” Desh said, looking at Etienne in disbelief.

  “Just take it,” Etienne insisted.

  “No, get over it,” Desh said, putting an end to the conversation.

  Professor Ozrot walked in, with a pleasant smile on his face as Sensati always had. “Okay class, let’s begin please,” he said, setting his teaching materials down. “Everyone slide your homework to the left for grading. Move along, move along, we’ll do this as a class and discuss.”

  Desh realized he hadn’t even looked to his left since he sat down, when the other students began sliding their homework to their neighbors. He turned his head to find himself looking into Lux’s blue eyes.

  “You got your homework?” Lux asked.

  Desh froze, wondering how long she had been sitting next to him.

  “Move along, move along,” she said, giving a dead on impression of Professor Ozrot.

  Desh grinned before he could stop himself and looked down at his memory stick, hesitating. Etienne slid two sticks over, both of which Desh reluctantly took. He slid one over to Lux, causing Etienne to snicker until Desh gave him a nudge in the ribs.

  At the end of class, Lux handed Desh his memory stick back. “Hundred percent,” she said, smiling.

  “Imagine that,” Desh replied under his breath.

  “See you around.”

  “Yeah,” he said, as if seeing her again were no big thing. He frowned, watching her walk out with Renn, Dylan, and Meta. Renn put his hand on her back, letting her walk through the door first.

  “He doesn’t know any better,” Etienne said in a consoling tone.

  Desh nodded.

  ***

  Professor Zaneer walked around the class, while the students listened to various degrees.

  “On the news this morning,” Professor Zaneer began, “there was a story about two aliens from different species who mated, creating a third species that resembled neither parent. This new species then killed both parents and massacred everyone in its path. The infant then had to be put down by the Federation and the body is now being studied to see what effects the crossbreeding had created.

  “Crossbreeding has occurred for billions of years, throughout the universe, despite most species having a law against it. There are species who will go so far as to kill their own kind in order to prevent it from happening, and other species who don’t mind it at all. Now, for argument’s sake, we’re going to assume the species we’re about to discuss would accept crossbreeding, since this isn’t philosophy class; rather we’ll just be discussing the science of it. Can someone give me an example of two species that have been known to safely mate?” The professor asked, looking around the room and seeing a human girl named Shelly raise her hand.

  “Humans and Mindeerians,” Shelly said, looking over at Desh with a flirtatious grin.

  Desh dropped his eyes to his tablet, trying to ignore her, like he had been doing since the first day of school. He had never said a word to her and yet from overhearing her thoughts, he knew she thought they were destined to be together. It made him very uncomfortable every time he saw her and wished he could just hand her a pair of thought blockers so he didn’t have to listen to her daydreaming about them together.

  Kia snickered at the exchange.

  “Very good example. I believe we even have a half human, half Mindeerian in the class,” the professor said, motioning to Renn as an example.

  Renn waved awkwardly to the class as everyone turned to look at him.

  “There are some species that are so similar in form, it’s easy for the cells to merge,” Professor Zaneer continued. “Then there are others whose cells are so different it isn’t even possible to procreate. The male simply cannot fertilize the female’s egg. Can anyone give me an example of a species that would be impossible for another species to mix with?”

  Katie raised her hand.

  “Yes, Katie.”

  “Crystallians can't mate with warm-blooded species,” Katie said, glancing over at Leo, matter-of-factly.

  Leo looked down, embarrassed.

  “Very good, Katie,” Professor Zaneer said. “Cybernex compiles a list of species with a database showing either studies or examples of species mating in the past. Now, I want to make it clear that I am not promoting crossbreeding, but I want it to be known that this list exists, if one of you one day finds yourself in love with an individual that’s not from your world. The catastrophe like the Massacre at Half Moon Harbor that recently transpired, could have been avoided had they referenced the list.”

  At the end of class, the professor informed the students that First Years would be taking their annual field trip the next week, but that they would no
t know to which planet until they got there. “Pack for cold weather” was the only hint they were given.

  Leo looked around, excited by the clue, but found himself to be the only one smiling.

  “A cold-weathered planet in the Federation?” Etienne said under his breath. “Well, that narrows it down to about a quadrillion planets.”

  “I’ll hand out translation earpieces and transfer the data once we arrive, so bring your wrist-tablets with you,” the professor continued. “You’ll have all of the information about the planet and the species on it, so if you have any questions, please refer to your tablets.

  “We will spend one night on the planet in tents, each tent separated by sleep pattern. You are to ALL abide by your species’ sleep patterns,” Professor Zaneer warned.

  Katie raised her hand. “You mean girls and boys are sharing the same tents?”

  “Yes,” the professor replied. “There won't be enough professors there to double the tents,” prompting everyone to talk at once. “Quiet down, class. There will be a professor in each tent with a different sleep pattern than the students, which means an adult will be awake at all times, so no funny business. One year a boy thought it would be funny to put a live Pathnet in a girl's sleeping bag and when he got back to the ship, he found that he had been expelled. All the rules that are on the ship will be followed off the ship while under our supervision. Understand?”

  “Yeeees,” the students groaned.

  ***

  Renn walked into the simulation room and put on his gloves.

  “All right, let’s not waste time,” Paro said. “Ava, initiate Mindee…” Paro began, but stopped mid-sentence to turn to Renn. “You don’t want target practice today. You want to learn how to block your thoughts…”

  “Yes,” Renn replied. What else was he going to say? Paro was obviously reading his mind.

  “Okay,” Paro nodded. “Have you ever said one thing, but thought another?”

  “Yeah, of course,” Renn replied.

  “Mind blocking is the same concept. You can’t stop other telepaths from entering your mind. What you can do, however, is send them in the wrong direction. It’s like the thought blockers the humans wear. What do you hear when they wear them?”

  “Static,” Renn replied.

  “Exactly, but you are hearing them. The device is only covering what you want to hear. You will have to do the same, by providing them with a facade,” Paro explained.

  “And what sound are you giving them instead of your thoughts?” Renn asked.

  “Silence,” Paro said.

  “But silence is the absence of sound,” Renn said, not getting it.

  “And cold is nothing more than the absence of heat, but you still feel cold. Darkness is the absence of light, but you still see blackness, which is how you block your images, by creating a black screen. Sound works the same way; you are creating silence and pushing it forward, while hiding the sound of your thoughts,” Paro said. “Understand?”

  “…yes,” Renn said, about 70% sure that he did.

  Paro smiled. Don’t worry child, you will with practice. Sit, Paro projected, then sat on the ground, cross-legged.

  Renn followed suit, sitting opposite his great uncle.

  “Let’s begin,” Paro said.

  For the rest of the class, Renn tried to think of nothing but blackness and silence, and then imaged different people behind it. Whenever Paro saw or heard something, he would say the name, “Meta…Dylan,” …nothing…, “Leo…,” until Paro was silent and a grin crossed his face.

  When it was time to leave, Paro walked Renn out of the simulation room. “Just remember that you can’t mask a projection. Once it’s in the open, any telepath can hear it.”

  “When do I learn how to take over someone’s body?”

  Paro stopped and looked at Renn, a little taken aback. “You don’t learn how to take over someone’s body,” Paro replied. “Why would I teach you something so barbaric?”

  “Wh…I…,” Renn stuttered. “It’s just that, at Searsmont…there were a couple of minutes where my mom fought the enemy alone. She cut off their thought blockers, entered their minds, and then used their bodies as puppets to fight the enemy. It was kind of brilliant actually. I just assumed it was a Mindeerian thing.”

  “No, that’s not a ‘Mindeerian thing’,” Paro replied. “That’s a warrior tactic when he or she is horribly outnumbered and ready to kill every last one of their enemy. Taking over someone’s mind and body takes every last choice away from them. There’s no mercy in that.”

  “But they do that at Styx, don’t they?” Renn said, thinking about the Federation’s prison.

  “Yes. They do take over the prisoners’ bodies. Their minds, however, are left untouched. Forget about mind and body control. If Hollen wants you to learn that, she’ll have to teach you herself.”

  Renn and Paro separated in the hall, leaving Renn to think about Searsmont and his mother. He was so focused that he hadn’t noticed a ship android trying to walk beside him and having a difficult time keeping up.

  “Sir…” the cheap robot said, trying to pick up its metal feet and increase its speed. “Sir…” the android persisted, “Sir…sir…” The android finally gave up and tapped Renn on the shoulder as a last resort, making the young Mindeerian jump.

  “I’m so sorry to startle you, sir. You have a phone call trying to connect from Earth,” the automaton said.

  “Oh! Thanks,” Renn said, running back to his dorm room.

  He walked in and flopped himself on the bed, clicking “Accept” on his computer screen.

  Adam’s face lit up when he saw Renn appear. “Hi, I got your message. Are you all right?” Adam asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Renn replied. “There’s just one thing though, Dad.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I need some money.”

  “Go ask your mom,” Adam replied, attempting to keep a straight face.

  Renn laughed. “Seriously, how long have you been waiting to say that?”

  “Your entire life. What do you need money for?”

  “Well, we’re going on a field trip and everyone’s talking about shopping, getting souvenirs, and eating at restaurants and I can’t do any of that without it.”

  “Yeah, all right. I’ll send some silver quints. Where are you going on this trip?” Adam asked.

  “No clue, they’re very mysterious about it.”

  “That's Galileo for you. The entire ship’s a mystery.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing, nothing,” Adam said.

  Adam attempted to change the subject, when something finally occurred to Renn. “Dad, where did you go to school?”

  Adam forced a smile. “The Galileo, all right? Now, no more questions about my past.”

  Renn smiled back, but tried not to gloat in his minor victory.

  They spent another few minutes talking until the bell chimed and Renn had to go to his next class. It was hard to say goodbye, not knowing when they’d talk to each other again, feeling the distance between them in spades.

  ***

  When the bell chimed in English class, Professor Nicita looked around the room. “Who’s up next?” she asked.

  All the students looked around, in every which direction, avoiding eye contact with her. A large Zorgre, named Grus, hadn’t yet learned that evasive technique, and looked Professor Nicita straight in the eyes.

  “Grus, let’s hear your speech,” Nicita said.

  Grus flustered, unprepared to be called up. He fumbled for his tablet and held on tightly for fear of dropping it in front of the class out of nervousness. He made his way to the front of the class and stood before them, shifting his weight on the heels of his feet.

  “What’s your speech about Grus?” the Professor asked in a soothing voice.

  “Visiting Ea...Earth,” he said, fidgeting with his baggy pants and looking around.

  “Good,” the Professor said, encouraging
him to keep going. “What did you do while you were there?” she asked.

  Grus looked down at his tablet, stuttering and stammering, then looked up at the professor.

  “It’s okay, Grus. Let’s just talk for a moment, all right?” she said. “Did you do anything fun?”

  Grus nodded again. “We went on a…picnic.”

  “Great. Keep going.”

  “…and we had…” He looked down at the tablet. “…crab cakes and mashed potatoes, cookies and chicken,” he stopped reading, thinking about the chicken. “…but I didn’t like chicken. The feathers kept scratching my throat and the feet got stuck in my teeth when they kicked.”

  Some of the humans giggled, causing Grus to fluster even more.

  “Quiet down, class,” the Professor said. “Go ahead, Grus. You’re doing great.”

  He went back to the tablet, ignoring the laughter. “I especially liked the hot dogs…” but the professor stopped him.

  “That’s good Grus, but how did you feel?” she asked, in an attempt to avoid the laundry list of food Zorgres always seemed to give in their speeches.

  Grus thought about it for a moment. “Hungry,” he said, making the class laugh again. He looked around the room, missing the joke.

  “Okay,” the professor replied with patience in her voice. “What else did you feel?”

  He thought about it a moment. “Frustrated,” Grus said.

  “Good!” Nicita exclaimed.

  Grus smiled at finally getting something right.

  “What were you frustrated about?” she encouraged.

  “Not enough food,” Grus replied.

  “Oh,” the professor said, as her smile faded. “Was it a good trip?” she continued.

  “No,” Grus said.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “Because Achim died.”

  “I’m sorry? Who's Achim?” the professor asked.

  “My brother,” Grus said, looking away.

  It was the first time he had spoken about him since he passed away, and Grus felt overwhelmed with emotions he wasn’t prepared for.

  It explained why Grus was always alone and sometimes walked around, looking lost. Zorgres were always born as twins. If one died before the other, the surviving twin usually wandered off into the forest, sat down, and waited to die, unable to handle the loss.