The Gods and the Builders

by Brandon Hale

  “Really?” Jerry said. “I would think it would make them even more suspect.”

  “Of course you would,” Alice said with a groan.

  “What better way to win our trust,” Jerry said. “If you ask me, this looks more and more like the perfect plan to get us to do whatever the hell they ask.”

  “When are you going to let this go?” Alice asked. “They’re curing humanity of all disease. My God man.”

  “You weren’t abducted by them,” Jerry said. “You’re treating them as if they have enormous compassion. I’m telling you now, they don’t. When I was on that ship, I felt nothing. No hatred, but no compassion. They did not care about my suffering at all.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Arthur said. “I think it goes back to what I said last night, about their inability to understand gratitude. I don’t think they’re doing this because they feel compassion. I think they’re doing this because to them helping others is the natural state.”

  “Don’t you have a commune to start or something?” Jerry said.

  “Nonviolence,” Arthur said, “is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time. The need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

  “Wow,” Alice said.

  “I can’t take credit for that,” Arthur said. “It was Martin Luther King, Jr. And I think this is exactly the state these aliens have achieved.”

  “When I was on their ship,” Jerry said, “I felt no love.”

  “I think you’re confusing love with passion,” Arthur said. “You may not have felt any passion from these people, but their love and respect for life is inarguable. Without such love and respect for life, they would not have developed the ability to do what they‘re doing right now.”

  “That’s faith-based nonsense,” Jerry said.

  “That’s logic,” Arthur said. “And I must admit, I’m starting to agree with Alice. This stubborn insistence to ignore every indication that these are good beings is growing a bit tiresome.”

  “Yeah?” Jerry said. “Well, you’re a poopy head.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Crap,” Lauren said as she stood up. “Can somebody get that? I have to go put on some real clothes.”

  Alice walked to the door and looked through the peep-hole.

  She turned around and looked at the others in the room. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide.

  Lauren came back into the room, wearing a pair of jeans. She looked at Alice, and said, “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s an alien at the door,” Alice answered.

  Time to Go

  “What do I do?” Alice asked.

  “Open the door?” Arthur offered.

  “You open the door,” Alice said.

  Jerry walked to the window and peeked through the curtains. “There are others,” he said. “At the other houses. They’re fucking everywhere.”

  There was another knock on the door.

  “When did they learn to knock on doors?” Arthur asked. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Just calm down,” Lauren said. “Obviously, it’s not an invasion. They’re knocking on the door, for crying out loud.”

  Another knock.

  “I’m going to answer it,” Alice said. She threw a sideways glance at Arthur. “Since chivalry has clearly died.”

  “They have children with them,” Jerry said. “I can’t see the one on our porch from here, but the one across the street has a little girl standing beside it.”

  “They’re done waiting,” Alice said. Her voice trembled with excitement. And a hint of panic. “It’s time to go.”

  “No way,” Lauren said. “I’m nowhere near ready to make that decision.”

  Another knock.

  “Someone should really answer the damn door,” Arthur said.

  “Why?” Jerry said. “Maybe they’ll go--”

  Jerry screamed and fell back.

  A face had appeared on the other side of the window.

  “What is it!” Alice yelled.

  “A kid,” Jerry said between breaths.

  It was a small boy, about five or six. He tapped on the window.

  “I see you in there,” he said. “Can you open the door?”

  “Where are your damn parents?” Jerry asked.

  “On the spaceship,” the boy said. “Come on. Open the door already. It’s time to go.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Arthur said, looking at the television. “It’s happening.”

  The reporter on the television was standing in the middle of a city street with an almost terrified look on her face. Behind her, crowds of people were walking in various directions.

  Aliens were among them.

  “…all over the globe,” the reporter was saying into her microphone. “And most of them have children with them. Human children, that is. Show the sky, Larry.”

  The view on the screen moved from the chaotic city streets to the sky above the city, showing hundreds of hovering pyramids.

  “Most of those ships,” the reporter said, “are full of people. It seems the efforts to cure disease were the final preparations for the journey.”

  The scene changed to a man sitting behind a desk. “We’ve just received word that the President will be speaking within the hour.”

  “Open the door!” the boy yelled from the porch. “Gosh!”

  Arthur looked up from the television. “We don’t have enough information.”

  “Funny,” Jerry said. “Half an hour ago, you were ready to build them a shrine.”

  “We need more information,” Arthur said as he walked toward the door. “We need more time.”

  “I think time is the one thing they can’t offer us,” Alice said.

  “Go away!” Jerry yelled through the window.

  “Okay,” the boy said.

  “Are you nuts?” Alice yelled. She ran to the door and pulled it open. “Wait,” she said.

  The alien was already in the yard, but it stopped and turned around.

  “Are you coming?” the little boy said.

  “How much time do we have?” Alice asked.

  “They said it’s time to go,” the little boy said. “It’s your turn to get on the spaceship. They have other spaceships waiting to come down.”

  “Can we take one of them?” Alice asked. “And let somebody else get on this one?”

  The little boy looked at the alien, then back at Alice. “Yeah,” he said. “There’s going to be a bunch coming down. But they’re not coming back to your house. If you want to go, you have to be on the road.”

  “Okay,” Alice said.

  “It’s neat,” the little boy said. “They don’t have steering wheels.” Again, he looked at the alien then turned back to Alice. “I gotta go to the other houses now.”

  “Okay,” Alice said. She closed the door and turned to face the others. “I’m sorry Jerry. I panicked.”

  “It’s okay,” Jerry said. His voice was distracted and empty.

  “It’s more than okay,” Lauren said. “It was brilliant. Thank you, Alice.”

  “We need more information,” Arthur said again.

  “Think,” Lauren said to herself as she sat on the recliner. “Think.”

  “We need more information,” Arthur said. “Really. This is absurd. We need more information to make a decision like this.”

  “Well, we don’t have more information, Arthur!” Alice screamed. “We also need those asteroids to be headed in another direction, but obviously that isn’t happening either!”

  Arthur pointed the remote at the television. “Maybe there’s something on the ne--”

  “Fuck the news!” Alice yelled as she smacked the remote from his hand. “You want the news? Well, here it is. We have an hour or two--at best--to get ready to
leave this world forever.”

  “Alice,” Lauren said soothingly, “try to calm down.”

  “No!” Alice screamed. “I won’t calm down! I’m the only person in this room that seems to realize what’s going on here.”

  “I assure you,” Arthur said, “we’re all very aware of the situation.”

  Alice fell back onto the couch. “I’m not talking about the aliens, asshole.”

  “Really?” Arthur said. “Because those aliens are foremost on my mind right now. We have to make a decision of biblical proportions, and we have almost no time in which to make it.”

  “You’ve already made that decision,” Alice said, significantly calmer.

  “I’ve made no decision, Alice,” Arthur said.

  “Yes, you have,” Alice said. “We all have. You’re just freaking out right now, but that’ll pass. And even if it doesn’t, you’re still going with them. We all know it. You’ll pretend it’s the only logical decision, which is probably true. But it’s not really why you’re going. You’re going because you’re a whore for knowledge. I’m sure you’ve already had fantasies about joining up with some research group on the new world.”

  Arthur didn’t reply, so Alice continued. “And we all know that I’m going. Hell, I’d have gone without the whole asteroid thing.” She looked at Lauren. “And they cured you of diabetes, for heaven’s sake.”

  “I understand,” Arthur said. “You’re upset about Jerry.”

  As soon as Alice looked at Jerry, the tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “If I’d had more time,” she said. “I could have changed your mind. But I can’t do that in an hour. Or even two. And that means you‘re going to stay here.” Her breath was panicked and erratic. “And that means you‘re going to die.”

  Decisions

  The President sat behind his desk, looking into the camera across the room. “I don’t know how to begin. I have nothing prepared. I was not going to waste valuable minutes writing a speech, and I certainly wasn’t going to ask someone else to do that for me. I’m not here to offer you advice. The decision before you is one that only you can make. I wish we had more time, but we don’t. My son has explained to me that we have to make this decision immediately. They’re leaving, with or without us. Several people have already made the decision. Ships are leaving this planet by the hundreds, and most of them are filled with human beings.

  “I’m not here to give you additional information. To be completely honest, we have no additional information to give you. So why am I here, giving this speech?

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. I suppose I just want to say thank you all for electing me. Thank you all for believing in me.

  “And I want to say goodbye to the people that have decided to stay on Earth.

  “I wish I knew what the right decision is here, but I don’t. And please don’t think I’ve based my decision on information you don’t have. I have no such information. Honestly, I have chosen to go with the aliens for two reasons.

  “First, it is becoming apparent that the overwhelming majority of Americans are going with our new friends. Really, this is true all over the world. A few moments ago, I looked at satellite photos of Detroit. It was an empty city. I don’t even know how many of you are watching this. Several television stations across the country are off the air.

  “Since most of you have chosen to leave, I feel it is my duty as President to go with you. The will of the people and all that fun stuff.

  “The second reason I’m leaving is because my son asked me to. I figure he’s one of the real experts on this situation, so I’ve decided to believe him. “

  The President smiled. “I’m not going to waste any more of your time or mine. You need to be with loved ones right now. Good luck. Don’t let go of Hope. I’ll see you at our new home.”

  Alice stood on the street, waiting for the next ship to land. “Let’s go back inside,” she said. “We can‘t break up the team. We’ll all go to Richmond together.”

  “Don’t be goofy,” Jerry said. “It’s my sister. I’m not dragging you and Art along on something like that. My sister asked me to go with her, and I gave her my word. I think I can handle the drive to Richmond. The news said it could take days to get everyone on a ship. I can make it to Richmond in four hours. Hell, there’s no traffic on the interstate. I bet I can make it in two. I‘ll be on one of those ships by midnight.”

  “You’re lying, Jerry,” Alice said.

  “Alice,” Jerry said. “I’ve never broken a promise to you. Ever. I even went to that stupid support group because I promised I would.”

  “You still haven’t promised me that you’re getting on a ship,” Alice said.

  Jerry looked into Alice’s eyes and said, “I am getting on a ship in Richmond. With my sister.” He smiled. “I promise.”

  “Then why,” Alice said, “won’t you let me come with you? I love your sister.”

  “She has a point,” Arthur said. “I don’t mind going to Richmond.”

  “You’re not helping, here, Art,” Jerry said.

  “That’s because you’re obviously lying,” Arthur said. “Your obstinate refusal to let us come with you pretty much proves it.”

  “Just come with us,” Alice said. “Please.”

  “I’ll see you on the other side of the galaxy,” Jerry said. “I gave you a promise. Besides, I’ll just ruin your good time. You know I won’t be a pleasant person to be around during that flight.”

  “I don’t care,” Alice said.

  “Alice,” Jerry said, “I need you to be okay with this. I need to know that you’re on that ship having a joy-gasm at the sights and the sounds. You have to go, Alice. You said it yourself. You’d have gone even without the asteroid. I have to know that you’ll be okay.”

  Alice began to cry. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more supportive.”

  “You were more supportive than I ever deserved you to be,” Jerry said.

  “I’m sorry about Arthur,” Alice said. “I betrayed you.”

  Jerry looked at Arthur. “Do you love her?”

  “Yes,” Arthur said. “I do.”

  Jerry turned back to Alice. “He’s a good man, Alice. He has integrity and he has strength. He’ll be a powerhouse on the new world. And I believe he will always show you the respect I never did. You both believe in these aliens, and you both want to go with them. I want to give you that journey. You should enjoy it together. I‘ll catch up to you on the other side.”

  “And I’ll make sure he does,” Lauren said.

  “It’s fucking absurd that you’re not coming with us, Laurie,” Arthur said.

  “Alice was right about me,” Lauren said. “I pretty much have to go with them. They gave me a new life. I’m not going to throw that away by staying here. I’m just staying to make sure this guy gets on a ship.”

  “And what if he doesn’t?” Arthur said. “What will you do?”

  “I’ll go by myself,” Lauren said. She turned to Jerry. “But that’s not going to happen, is it.”

  “No,” Jerry said. “I don’t break my promises.”

  “If you two just want to be alone,” Alice said, “We can give you space.”

  “Remember when I kissed him on the cheek?” Lauren said.

  “Yes,” Alice said. “I remember.”

  “That was just to annoy you and Art,” Lauren said. “You can believe me when I say that I have no interest in Jerry on any kind of a romantic level. I’m going with him because I want to make sure he keeps his promise. And I happen to agree with him that you guys should go now. We’re adults. Really, we just met. There’s no reason we have to go together.”

  “This is making me sick,” Alice said. “Physically sick.”

  “Your ride’s here,” Jerry said, pointing to the ship landing in the street.

  Alice wrapped her arms around Jerry. “I’m not going. If you’re staying here to die, I’m staying with you.”

  “First and foremost
,” Jerry said, “I’m not staying here to die.” He pushed her back enough to look into her eyes. “And secondly, I want you on that ship. I’m sure the ships will still be leaving Richmond after I get my sister, but if something happened and you didn’t make it on board because you came with me, I would never forgive myself. Ever. If I see you get on that ship, I’ll be able to focus on my sister. And as long as Arthur is with you, I know you’ll be okay.”

  “I’ll take good care of her,” Arthur said. “I give you my word.”

  “Some parting advice,” Jerry said. “She may act like it, but she’s not a delicate little flower. She doesn’t need you to take care of her. She just needs you to love her.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” Arthur said. He turned to Lauren. “Change your mind. Please come with us.”

  “No,” Lauren said.

  “Do you forgive me?” Arthur asked.

  “Yes,” Lauren said.

  “I love you,” Arthur said.

  “I love you,” Lauren said.

  Alice placed her hands on each side of Jerry’s face, then leaned in and kissed him. “I’m choosing to believe you,” she said. “I’m choosing to believe that you still keep your promises.”

  “Good,” Jerry said. “Because I am keeping this one.”

  Alice turned to Lauren. “I’m sorry about what I did to you,” she said. “But I’m glad it happened. Otherwise, I would have never had the privilege of knowing you.”

  “Stay pure, Alice,” Lauren said. “It’s more powerful than you know.”

  “Get him on a ship,” Alice said. “He is a delicate little flower, and he does need someone to take care of him.”

  The platform lowered to the ground and several people began to line up to go inside. Arthur and Alice stepped into the line. Eventually, they were beside the platform. Arthur stepped onto the platform. “This is it,” he said. The platform began to rise, taking him inside.

  When it lowered again, Alice stepped onto it. “I’m choosing to believe you,” she said.