by Maia Starr
I hadn’t been able to focus on anything after that, and the calculations I had done throughout the rest of the day had apparently suffered. Tremendously. Just as they always did when I was feeling stressed out.
“Maybe you just shouldn’t be doing mathematical calculations,” Mary said diplomatically, pushing the glasses on top of her head and revealing her gentle brown eyes. “I wouldn’t mind doing the work.”
“I can do math just fine,” I sighed. “But when I’m stressed out I do better out in the field. I need to work with my hands.”
“Well our work can’t be dependent upon how you feel, Alice,” Lauren scoffed. “What we do here is far more important than that. Feelings are biological. It’s all in your brain, not in your heart. Either get it together, or I’m going to tell the group leader to send a letter to the president asking him to reconsider your position here.”
Hot tears began to spring into my eyes, but I turned away before anybody could see them. I took a deep, wavering breath and then turned back to face Lauren, determined not to show anybody how I truly felt.
“I understand. I will do better from now on. I’ll just work in the field and let Mary do the calculations.”
“That suits me,” Mary said, walking over to the table where I was working and glancing down at my notes. “You can fill me in on what you’re working on. I was outside studying plant samples. Perhaps we can trade tasks for now. Once you are feeling better, you can try calculations again.”
It was the closest thing to compassion that any of the others had shown me since I arrived. The truth was that all of us were the types of people who were more comfortable in our own skin and in an isolated room full of books. We were the loners of the world, and although we could socialize just fine, we felt more fulfilled pursuing our intellectual interests.
“Thanks, Mary,” I said, sighing inwardly. “It would be nice to get outside for a while.”
Mary nodded at me. “Sometimes plants understand us better.”
I gave her a small half-smile, confused and touched by the small act of kindness, and then headed outside, feeling better for the first time since the beaker incident.
***
“You guys, come here! This is insane!” I shouted, getting up from where I had been perched in the dirt and scrambling inside the lab. “There’s a plant outside that I can’t identify! It looks like it may be extraterrestrial in origin!”
Everybody’s eyes widened, and the group of women drew a collective breath. This was exactly what the Committee had been waiting for. We had been looking for alien life on Earth for decades now, rarely finding any, but coveting the life we did find. Our job was to uncover the source of these plants and their impact on native Earth life. Rather than considering the plants that were alien in origin as an invasive species, for the most part, the Committee observed that alien plant life actually contributed to Earth’s ecosystem and provided much-needed nutrients to the soil that made it easier for plant life to thrive.
It was a discovery that was still very much new, and the research on it was limited. That was why the team had been chosen. There were roughly 30 women on the Elite Research Team, and each of us had an incredible aptitude for science and mathematics. We had nicknamed ourselves the Golds, after the Fibonacci sequence. The Golden Ratio was something we all found mesmerizing and beautiful, no matter what our chosen field happened to be, and were curious what that ratio might be like in other worlds.
Unfortunately, despite being brilliant scientists, we were still women, and because of difficulties in the women were refused a chance to go on missions in space to explore alien planets. Far too many incidents had happened before we had fully understood the high demand for females throughout the galaxies, and many women had been abducted and sold for their ability to reproduce. Since then, the government had officially banned women traveling into space. It posed too much risk both to the human women themselves and to national security. Women who were captured and tortured were more likely to give away secrets about humanity that could prove ultimately fatal should it come down to confrontation.
Soon, all the women in the lab that day were following me outside. I held up my hand, so they would know to stop before they trampled the poor little flower bud, and then cautiously stepped forward.
“It’s here,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “And you can tell by the strength of the stem that it’s probably been here for a really long time. The soil here is rich, and it’s probably kept most of these plants alive even when the area is covered in snow.”
Slowly, an unofficial line formed and, one by one, each woman came forward to study the tiny plant. It didn’t look very out of the ordinary to the naked eye. It was easy to overlook; it was small and petite. The petals were white and perfect teardrop shapes, and the leaves were wild and scraggly as if it had been left there by some fateful wind current and allowed to grow and thrive, simply by chance.
But the Committee had different theories about these little plants. Some believed that yes, they had come on the backs of asteroids that broke through the Earth’s atmosphere and found the habitat hospitable. Others, however, were not so convinced that it was nothing but a pleasant coincidence.
A different group out of the Committee actually believed that the presence of these alien on Earth was rather malicious. Their theory was that the little plants had been deliberately placed upon Earth to make the environment more suitable to be inhabited by an invasive alien species. Those in this school of thought believed that these little flowers were slowly changing the atmosphere and the biological makeup of the planet to better suit the needs of whatever alien race had sent them. The race was unknown, as it was just a theory, but those who believed this were very outspoken and voracious about making sure there were procedures being implemented that would prevent the usurpation of our planet.
One other theory that was lesser known, but one I particularly enjoyed, was that the little flowers were, in fact, their own species, and they hoped to come to Earth in order to enjoy the warm sunshine and the abundant minerals. These plants were thought to be sentient and intelligent, but nonverbal, and did their best to give back to the Earth tenfold what they took to sustain themselves.
Though the little flowers were often different in aesthetic appearance, their overall makeup appeared the same, and they were relatively difficult to kill, even when they had been uprooted for days at a time. My personal hope was that this third theory was the one that had the most truth to it because the thought of coexisting with such a sweet, peaceful species seemed rather comforting in a way. They gave our planet something extraordinary in return for their residence here.
“Look at those adorable little petals,” Mary said when it was her turn to view the flower. “I really hope that these guys come in peace.”
She caught my eye, and we smiled at each other: the first time any of the other girls had smiled at me past the initial greeting stage. I was beginning to really like Mary; she seemed to have my back that day, and it was something I had really been in need of.
“They are beautiful, aren’t they?”
Just as I was about to tell her that the little plant might be able to understand us, the sky grew suddenly dark. I frowned, and Mary and I both looked up at the same time. What we saw made my blood curdle in fear. Directly above us was a sleek, silver ship: one unlike anything I had ever seen in my life. We had been educated for many years on the different types of alien life in the universe and how to identify them, but all knowledge seemed to go out the window as the fear began to lock up my brain.
The women around me all began to shriek in fear as the ground began to quake and the air suddenly grew heavy. We were all forced to the ground in one crushing wave of gravity, and I strained my neck to try to look up at the sky and see what in the hell was going on.
All that filled my eyes at that moment was a foggy purple light, and soon the world seemed to be filled with its haze. I tried to cry out, but it felt as if m
y windpipes were being crushed, and the only noise I could make was a pathetic groan. The ray that was on us hurt tremendously. Then, almost as suddenly as the weight had been placed on us, it was lifted, and the air became filled with weightless human bodies floating effortlessly into the sky.
We were all too scared to make a sound, even if we could, and instead stared at each other with wide eyes as our bodies were lifted from the ground and up, up, up, until we were floating in what seemed like an impossibly tall room. Once all of us were gathered inside, the beam suddenly released its grip on us, and we all came crashing down to the floor. It caused a huge commotion, and several of the women cried out in pain and surprise as we landed.
I stayed silent, however, terrified of what might be lurking in the darkness of the room. It was impossible to see until a dim light began to flicker on above our heads and we head a terrifying, grating voice bark out, echoing off the walls of the chamber and causing the metal beneath our bodies to vibrate with the force of it.
“Human females. You have been abducted by the Petchuvian race for purposes of breeding. This will be your cell for the duration of our flight. There is a relief chamber in the back, which you are all to share. If you do not comply, you will be killed immediately. That is all.”
I peered through the crowd of bodies, trying to see the alien that was speaking. But before I had the chance, he had disappeared. I was relieved in a way, knowing that whoever could speak with such a fearsome voice was surely going to look just as awful as the way he spoke.
The lights went out, and we were suddenly crushed once again by the gravity beam. The engine beneath us began to rumble, and I felt a hopeless surge of fear paralyze me as I realized that I was never going to see the planet Earth again.
“I had a bad feeling about going out today,” one woman somewhere whispered. “If I had known we were fated for abduction, I would have stayed inside.”
I frowned. I was a firm believer in the fact that we all made our own way in life. Fate had little to do with it. Sure, there were variables along the way, but when it came to our lives, we had a lot more agency than most people were willing to admit. I had never been a particularly superstitious person though, so I kept my mouth shut.
The last thing we needed was a philosophical debate roaring amongst a group of women who had been imprisoned on the cold floor of an alien spaceship. I sighed, trying to make myself as comfortable as I possibly could, though the effort seemed futile. It was going to be a long enough night as it was.
***
“Treachery! Human scum! Away with them! Kill them all!”
We all froze in place, terrified by the sight of the Petchuvian man who was stomping down the corridor of the ship and toward our cell. We had been flying for three days now, according to the calendar on my watch, and since then had been allowed a small stream of light to keep us complacent.
The Petchuvians were even more gruesome looking than I had first imagined. They were covered in thick, spider-like hair, and their arms were lanky. They had no hair to speak of, but bulbous, oval-shaped heads with deep-set maroon-colored eyes. The way they looked at us was chilling: as if we were just a new form of livestock to be exploited.
They had been bustling about, speaking in a language that made my skin crawl. It was like a lot of hissing and whispers, but with a malicious intent. When they finally chose to speak in English so that we could understand what it was they were so excited about, we were informed that the breeding room was finally prepared, and the first session was about to commence.
From there, they had grabbed the closest available human, a woman whose name I didn’t remember. She worked in a different area of the lab than I did, and, just as the rest of us tended to, kept to herself.
Still, it was heart-wrenching to see her pulled away like that, two of the terrifying aliens holding her still so that she couldn’t escape. Now, she was thrust back into the cell with us, looking terrified and disheveled. A couple of women ran to her aid, pulling her away from the aliens and into the faux safety of our group.
“Kill them all!” the man who shoved her inside demanded again.
The commotion had attracted the attention of the main alien in charge: one who was much larger and scarier than the others. All of them made me sick to my stomach, and I longed more every day for a chance to return home. If one of these terrifying creatures touched me, I would feel scarred by it forever.
“Kill them all?” he exclaimed, gripping his comrade by the neck. “That’s preposterous! We’re going to go past the Black Zone in just a short time. We can deposit them on Hexa. You will get the vengeance you seek there. I know he was your brother, but I will not have these humans destroyed on my ship. Should the Earthlings find out about that level of genocide, what’s left of our planet will surely be destroyed.”
The Petchuvian that had been demanding we all be killed howled in anger and grief, then disappeared down the corridor. We could hear him shrieking and banging against the walls all the while, and I felt a chill creep through me. Something had happened. But none of us dared to ask what. At least, not with the commander of the race there in front of us.
“Rest now, humans. You will need it. For tomorrow, you will find yourselves on the planet Hexa.”
The words hung ominously in the air as the commander disappeared, leaving us all in a stunned silence.
***
That night, we managed to get the full story of what had happened out of the poor, traumatized girl that had been chosen to breed first.
They had taken her to a small room and given her a humiliating sterilization bath. From there, she was taken to yet another room, where a group of the aliens were standing around a small table. After a painful and humiliating session whereupon the alien forced itself upon her, he began to scream in agony. He pulled away from her and began convulsing, then dropped to the ground, dead and unable to be revived.
We were all in awe of the story, and it played in my mind all night long as we lay on the floor together trying to sleep. The woman who had had a hand in his demise was whimpering all night long, with a few women nearby to pet and comfort her.
It seemed like an eternity before morning came, but it was one that we were all dreading. Although it was an exciting prospect to be rid of the alien menace that had abducted us, the commander of the ship hadn’t made it sound like Hexa was a place we wanted to be.
“All right, Earthlings, last stop.”
The floor suddenly opened beneath us and we fell violently forward, the beam gripping us only as we were about to land on the surface of what was presumably the planet Hexa.
We landed hard, but not hard enough to kill us. When I finally caught my breath, I staggered to my feet and took a deep breath of the sweet air. It was beautiful there. It wasn’t Earth, but it was full of huge botanical wonders of the kind Earth used to have back when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Everything here seemed gigantic, and the air smelled fresh and clean, as if pollution were a concept that it had never even considered.
“This doesn’t seem so bad,” Mary said, coming up beside me. We had landed in nearly the same place, and now that she was there, and we felt comfortable speaking again, it was comforting to think I might have someone who was friendly nearby. It had been hard to connect with the other women, most of whom were condescending and volatile. It seemed like they were all used to competing to be recognized for their gifts and talents and passions. That didn’t always leave a lot of room for kindness.
“No,” I said quietly, unable to shake an unsettling feeling creeping in the pit of my stomach. “It might not be. But we should probably try to be on our guard. There’s no telling what kind of things might be here.”
“You’re right,” Mary sighed. “There’s only one thing we can do about it in that case.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Study!”
Her naturally inquisitive nature and quick passion made me feel a little bit more at ease. If Mary could try t
o see the bright side in the situation, then there was no reason why I couldn’t.
And so, I spent prepared myself to explore this strange new world, determined to find a way back to my home planet. We were a group of scientists after all. Intelligent humans coveted on Earth. If anybody could find a way out of this mess, it was going to be us.
Chapter 2
Commander Kecha Thornax
“That can’t be right!” I exclaimed, staring down at the gage on my control panel. Pressure was dropping. The ship wasn’t going to make it much longer. We were going to need to find someplace safe to land or the entire crew was going to perish. “Baarda, man Yeg’s station. Now!”
Baarda ran to Yeg’s panel, and together we made every possible effort to gain control of the situation. But it was futile.
“Lorth, I need you to check for viable landing options. We don’t have much time. If there isn’t somewhere nearby, we’re all going to die.”
“Already on it, Commander Thornax. There’s a planet just a few lightyears away. We have enough fuel to reach it, and at the rate of the decline in the ship’s trajectory, we should just about reach the surface.”
“Just about?” I yelped.
Frankly, the idea of dying was not one I had expected to encounter. This had been but a simple cargo run: one that should have resulted in an easy come, easy go, and a happy reunion back on our home planet of Yala. What hell had I invoked to have this happen to me? My crew deserved better than this. They were good men!
“It’s going to depend on fate, Commander,” Lorth replied, trying to remind me of one of the core beliefs of my race. “We simply have to surrender control to the universe in this particular matter. We will do all we can to influence fate to work in our favor, and if that is not enough, then we have another purpose elsewhere.”
