by Guerin Zand
“Oh gee, thanks. Julie, can you take the twins and get them setup? Guerin and I need to take care of some other stuff before he leaves.”
“I’d be glad to. Come along girls.”
The twins hesitated and looked towards Milly. “Prima. Seca. Please go with Julie and follow here instructions as you would mine.”
“As you wish.”
The twins followed Julie and as they left I turned to Milly.
“You seem awfully familiar with how to handle the slaves there Milly. Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“No.”
“So, what’s the plan for today Milly?” I asked.
“We have to get you prepared before you leave. We’ll download some basic information to your mind as well as the language skills that will allow you to speak and understand any Earth language.”
“What about the alien languages, and will I learn to tell time too?”
“Yes, you’ll learn to tell time and we’ll include the majority of our languages as well. You won’t be needing the earbud after that for translation.”
“How long will that take?”
“Maybe five minutes.”
“Ok what after that? Do I need to meet with the committee to formally accept?”
“No. Everyone at the table witnessed your acceptance just now so we don’t have to meet with the committee.”
“So, there’s nothing else we need to do today?”
“No.”
“Do you want to play tag with us today Guerin?”
“That sounds like fun Sparkles. How about when Milly gets done brainwashing me I give you a call and then we can meet at the space dock. Does that sound like a plan?”
Both the cadets were excited and Stella had to calm them down.
“Ok you two. Just don’t let Guerin do anything stupid. And why don’t you two come over for dinner tonight. We’ll throw you a proper farewell.”
“Is that ok with you Guerin?”
“Sure Milly. Sounds like fun.”
“Then while you’re playing with the kids I’ll get everything setup with Sammy for tomorrow and I’ll meet you back at your room befor dinner.”
Chapter 30
The Last Supper
Milly took me down to a medical center along with Stella. They had me take a seat and they had me place my hand on a palm reader and selected a few options from the viewer projection. Milly removed my earbud and placed it in a case for me.
“Here, you should probably hold on to this in case you might need it. We uploaded most of the common languages and you shouldn’t need that on the ship, but just in case.”
“That’s it? We’re done?”
“We’re done. It was just a simple download.”
“Thanks, I guess?”
“I’ll tell the kids you’re on your way to the space dock. Have fun and remember, the war is over Guerin.”
“No problem Stella. I’ll try to be good.”
We must have spent almost four hours outside playing. I was getting really good at this zero g stuff and started to try different tricks. If you came in at just the right angle you could ski your boots against the retention field and not bounce off. The kids picked up on this and started to do the same. Sometimes I would come in butt first and slide my back end and other times I would dive in and sort of body surf the field. After a while we were just trying to come up with one new trick after the other and the other two would try and do the same. It was like a cosmic game of horse. If you failed to correctly copy the leader they would get to dictate the next trick.
This was the sort of fun I wanted to have every day in space. It was sad that the adults here really didn’t appreciate this sort of brain dead fun. It explained a lot about them. Maybe living so long they just had done it all before but if I was going to live, for who knows how long, I vowed I was going to make it a point to not stop doing the stupid fun stuff. I was going to make it a goal of mine to always look for any chance to enjoy myself like this.
When we finished, the kids headed back home and I promised them I would be there for dinner. Even the Empress Bitch couldn’t stop me.
I went back to my room and I grabbed a slice and a coke. I decided to spend some time browsing on the viewer. With my new memory capabilities, it was really easy to learn but I figured there was a better way to download the information. It appeared Milly and Stella had just used a viewer to download the language skills and other info so why couldn’t I do that on my own? I was sure I could and that the two ladies just didn’t think it was worth sharing with me. I spent the rest of my afternoon searching for information on how that worked.
Milly knocked at my door and I shut down the viewer and let her in.
“Really Milly why bother knocking? Just let yourself in.”
“But I thought you liked your privacy?”
“Like that has ever mattered. Let me get cleaned up and dressed. Then we can head out.”
“Need any help?”
“Only if you want to miss dinner.”
Milly just smiled and I got ready. We hopped on a pad and took off for the Cyletherean compound. I let Milly drive so I could just enjoy the view.
Sly and the family were waiting for us at the entrance to their residence. We all went through the greeting rituals and Sly led me off to the bar for a drink.
“So, are you looking forward to going home?”
“Yes, I definitely am. I mean, I’ve had a pretty good time here and all, but I need some time back in normal space. Let all this settle in before I have to do whatever it is I am supposed to do.”
“I can understand that. I have to go back home regularly too. All this can start to change your perspective. Going home is the best way to straighten out one’s priorities.”
“I just want to thank you and your family for being so nice to me. I know Stella and I have had our little issues but I really like her. Just don’t tell her I said so. I don’t want her to get a big head or anything.”
Sly and I continued to hang out at the bar enjoying as much Pappy as I could before going back to Earth. We were talking about man things, you know, most of which was jokes about the women. It must have been obvious we were enjoying ourselves since Julie suddenly appeared and told us dinner was ready and we should head to the main dining area.
Stella was taking my farewell dinner serious and she had invited a few more friends to the party. It wasn’t as fancy an event as the committee dinner which was for the best. Bart and his wife, Gladys, were there as well as Julie and the twins. I noticed after I was seated that for some reason the twins were as far away as they could possibly be from me. Milly was probably behind that.
“I see you invited the twins as well Stella. Nice touch. I knew there was something I liked about you.”
“It was Sly and Bart’s suggestion. They said that based on their research, it wouldn’t be a proper sendoff party for an Earth man without a bevy of beautiful ladies.”
“A bevy, huh? They obviously did do some research. I appreciate it.”
Underneath the table Milly’s hand was moving, you know where, in order to apply a little disapproving pressure. Luckily, I responded quickly and was able to fend off her assault. I just grabbed her hand tight and looked deep into her eyes with a big smile. We both laughed.
“Something we missed?” Asked Bart.
“No Bart. Just a private joke between Milly and me.”
We all enjoyed our dinner and a little polite conversation. I couldn’t help feeling sad about leaving all of this. I’d been there long enough to get used to it and I was starting to get comfortable. It was hard to remember what “real” life was like. I think I wanted to go home just to prove to myself this was all real. I looked at Milly and thought how I really needed her to come stay with me for a few days. That way I’d know I hadn’t just been dreaming or hallucinating this whole space adventure.
“Guerin, how long will the Empress make you stay in exile on Earth?”
&nbs
p; “I don’t know Sparkles. I have some things I have to take care of and after that I guess I’ll come back if I can.”
“Empress?” Asked Gladys.
“Guerin calls Julie the Empress Bitch. He doesn’t like hearing or saying her name because she was mean to him. She’s forcing him into exile on the planet Earth for being a rebel leader.”
“Oh really? Please Sid tell me more.”
“Don’t try and pump my little comrades for info Julie.”
“Sparky, I told you we had to keep the revolution a secret. We can’t tell her anything about it.”
“But I thought you said my mother was in league with the Empress so doesn’t she already know?”
“Good point. But still we should be careful what we say around them both.”
“So how is the revolution going Guerin?”
“That’s top-secret Julie.”
“Will someone please explain all of this to me?”
“Well Gladys. Our young savior, Guerin Zand, has decided we need to change things around here so he has enlisted Sid and Nancy to join him in a little revolution. He thinks we’re a little boring or some such thing.”
“A little boring Julie? I am going to have the definition of boring updated when I get home after my time here.”
“What’s so boring Guerin? You’ve seen things and been places other humans only dream about.”
“That part’s not boring Gladys. Although when you think about it, I’ve only seen the inside of a few ships and some meeting room on the planet Trogan. It’s just the everyday life here. You really ignore the small stuff that makes life so much fun.”
“Like what?”
“Well let’s take the chocolate soufflé for example. It’s not like you couldn’t have come up with that on your own, it’s the fact you didn’t. You don’t see any reason to go out of your way to make something as simple as eating really enjoyable. You eat because you have to and your food is palatable, but not fun.”
“That’s it?”
“No, that’s one example.”
“Sly, when was the last time you or Stella went out and played tag with the kids?”
“That’s just for children Guerin.”
“Really? What about me?”
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not. Promise me after I leave you’ll do it at least once. Trust me you’ll have a lot of fun. Unless fun is illegal for adults here?”
“It’s not illegal. I guess we could try it once, right Stella?”
“If it will make Guerin happy.”
“See, that’s the wrong answer Stella. It’s not to make me happy, it’s to make you, Sly, Sid and Nancy happy. Wouldn’t it make you happy Sparkles?”
“Yes. Please Mom?”
“Ok.”
“See it’s not anything big. Doing something different, even something small like playing tag with the kids, can be a lot of fun. I promise you’ll thank me.”
“Maybe boring isn’t the right word. It just seems that life here is stale or stagnant. Where is the creativity and sense of adventure? You have all this technology but you reached a point where, it seems to me, there’s nothing else new for you to discover and explore?”
“And so, we should all just be concerned with having fun like you seem to be Guerin?”
“Does it offend you in some way Julie that I try to enjoy myself? I’ve done all the dumb little monkey stuff you’ve asked of me, haven’t I? Or are you just envious of this monkey because I still know what fun is?”
“Please Guerin.”
“Oh, I forgot. You do seem to enjoy abducting monkeys and messing with them every now and then just to break up the boredom. I guess I can’t really blame you though. I mean after what, 50 or 60 millennia, I’d probably break down and abduct a few monkeys for fun too.”
“Was that little comment meant to insult me?”
“No, of course not Julie.”
“So, you are just that much smarter than us when it comes to enjoying life I guess?”
“Maybe so. Perhaps, since we don’t live as long as you, we know how to squeeze the most out of what time we have. Maybe us humans aren’t the stupid ones.”
“Now, that was an insult, wasn’t it?”
“Yes Julie. Not as much of an insult as being treated like an idiot all the time.”
“How have we treated you like an idiot?”
“Where should I start? Let’s take ‘The Little Trogan Incident’ for starters. You sent me there to insult that Troll, I know that. Why else would you do it? At the same time, it was just another maze to run your pet monkey through and see if he could find the cleverly hidden cheese at the end.”
“Why would we want you to insult the Trogans?”
“You too Stella? You want me to show you where the cheese is hidden? Maybe I don’t want to share my cheese.”
“Please Guerin? You have us on the edge of our seats.”
“Whatever Julie.”
“First, let’s start by me letting you know I figured out how to download information directly today. I noted that Milly and Stella simply used a viewer to download the info to my mind this morning and this stupid monkey thought, ‘I bet I can do that by myself.’ It took me a while but I found that piece of cheese.”
“Next I got curious about something the twins said and about the Trogan quarantine and I did a little downloading of my own.”
“Turns out the Trogans are being punished for their massacre of millions on the twin’s world after they annexed that world. They raped a defenseless planet and killed those they had no use for. Slaves, of course, are useful and as I figured when the troll told me about their use of slaves, that slaves have to come from somewhere. Of course, a more primitive planet is a good place to find them. If Earth were to align with them the same would happen to us.”
“Tell me if I’m getting warm Julie?”
“Sizzling Guerin.”
“You don’t want Earth to fall like that, for reasons I’ll get to soon, so insuring humans and Trogans start out on the wrong foot is one way to help prevent Earth from stupidly falling into their trap.”
“The quarantine, as I said was their punishment. This punishment has slowed the technical advancement of the Trogans as well as restricted their movements to the Trogan worlds. But you’re not heartless monsters, right? The quarantine is only for 1500 years. That was all you could do, since you find violence and direct interference so appalling. But you didn’t have a problem with all those people being killed or enslaved, did you? You didn’t lift a finger to prevent it or correct it.”
“We did punish them. What would you have done?” Milly asked.
“Well now we’re getting to the crux of this biscuit, aren’t we? A human response would have been to knock them back to the stone age and free that world. These assholes don’t care about the 1500 year quarantine. It’s a price their willing to pay. It’s not going to deter them in the future from doing the same thing and that’s where Earth gets involved.”
“How’s that?”
“Milly, do you always have to test the little monkey? Can’t you just say what I already know and be honest with me about your motives?
“No. We enjoy testing you. It makes our lives so much less boring you know.”
“Ok, I guess I deserved that.”
“At the rate of technological advancement currently on Earth, we’ll only be starting our interstellar exploration when the quarantine is lifted, that’s if we don’t blow ourselves up first. The Trogan worlds being the closest intelligent life, relative to Earth, means they’ll probably be one of our first off world contacts. Whether Earth is aware of the Trogans or not, we could easily end up like the twin’s world. Earth would still be a primitive planet compared to the Trogan empire. Sure, you’d punish them again but to folks like you and the Trogans, for who time is not that important, it’s just a temporary setback and you know that. The Trogan empire would continue to grow virtually unchecked.”
“So why would we care, being the almost heartless monsters you seem to think we are?”
“Well I’m not exactly sure why you seem to care about humans, in particular, at this point. I only had a few hours to get this far Julie. Maybe we’re just so cute and cuddly, or maybe you see a glimmer of hope in us, or its simply strategic. It doesn’t really matter why, it just matters that you do.”
“I know that humans are not going to be part of the Collective. This seems to be an exclusive club for the oldest and most advanced races. Humans won’t be at this level for several millennia at least. Even then I doubt we’ll ever catch up. We will most likely be associating with the other independent worlds and with the smaller alliances.”
“You plan on helping us here and there as you see fit, sure. Some guidance when we need it. I’m sure even some of your little maze problems to keep us thinking. But in the end, will have to make our own way.”
“That’s it?”
“No. I’m not done. Like I said why isn’t important. What’s important in this little plan is that we’re useful. Like I said, after my little trip, you want us to do your dirty work.”
“How’s that?”
“Stella, if you were to get a monkey, let’s say like me, to drop little tech hints on Earth and help speed up our advancement we might be ready to stand up to the Trogans when the time comes or even be sufficiently advanced that they would steer clear of us. You’re not going to interfere with Earth’s development, you’re going to use me to do that. In some sort of cosmic rule book this is okeydokey, I guess. In my book, it’s still cheating.”
“You’re not going to give us plans for a super death ray or other mega-weapons. No, you’ll keep doing the same thing you’ve been doing to me. Drop little hints and hope we find the cheese at the end of the maze. That way we get there, more or less, on our own, just a little faster. Your hands will be clean, according to your wack-job rule book.”
“You really believe that Guerin?”
“Yes Julie. Milly has told me you don’t want to simply tell us how certain technologies work. You want us to discover them on our own so we understand the technology. Remember, I saw the simulation predictions for Earth’s advancement for various scenarios. Sure, there are a lot of steps between now and then I haven’t covered but you’re playing the long game. As I said, you don’t really seem to get too upset about all the killing out in the universe, as long as it’s within limits, so you’re setting the stage in the future for Earth to be a counter to the Trogans in our little region of space. You need a species aggressive enough to stand up to them and maybe even stop them.”
