Authors: David Sloma
He came up to the doorway and slowed down. The lights were still dimming and it was almost dark. He looked into the doorway but saw nothing much, only a faint glow from the room down the hallway, which he had been in.
He put his back to the metal wall beside the door and looked out to the field. He didn't see any stars in the sky. He didn't like that, but there were some nights that it was very black with no stars where he was from, so he didn't panic.
The computer picked up on his emotional state and where he was looking. It deduced that the man was searching for the stars and the moon. It made a note to construct some things that were similar for him to look at. The computer knew that would make the man feel better and likely it would make the other animals and plants more comfortable, also.
It would take the ship a little time to have its robots fashion such lights, but they would be put to work on the task as soon as their current duties were completed.
The man fell asleep.
CHAPTER 3
On the home planet of the Watchers a signal arrived at their command center. It said that one of their sampling ships had reached a planet with viable life called Earth and had managed to land there to obtain samples.
The message was relayed by a deep space probe that constantly surveyed the region of space that Earth was moving through. The probe's job was to keep track of the many sampling ships that passed by it, reporting of their condition and progress. This was necessary as the distances were so vast that signals had to be relayed from one ship to another. In this way, the Watchers were able to blanket entire galaxies with their communication system; looking, listening, and recording everything they could.
The message continued: the ship was in good shape and was continuing its mission of collecting life forms to transport back home.
A Watcher who was very old, but also ever-young due to their advanced technology and understanding of biology, stood in the command room and looked at the data on the wall screen. The data was also sent telepathically to his brain, and to any Watchers who wished it, where it could be reviewed at anytime. But, he sometimes liked to come here where it was empty of any others, with just the machines.
The screen flashed with different colours, and he'd learned to read the patterns in the lights. The patterns told him how their massive fleet of ships were doing on their missions all over the universe. This pleased him. He made small adjustments to some of them simply by thinking it.
He saw it as a form of art to manipulate the ships, coaxing them this way or that, or tweaking the programming of their computers to achieve different patterns of light on the screen. He smiled and ran his hand over the console, feeling the smoothness and fine workman ship of the materials used; materials only produced on his planet. There was no need to touch any of the controls; he did it purely for pleasure.
He sighed and looked over the screen, happy with his artwork for the day. He'd made some changes in the programming of several ships yesterday, and it had taken some time for the instructions to reach the ships, as they were so far away—and his days were very long. Even the Watchers were bound by certain laws of time and space, but they were working hard to get around them. They weren't sure who made the laws, or created the universe, but they knew that some Supreme Intelligence did. They accepted their place as beings inside the Creation.
But not all beings did, like the Dark One. This self-centered being was angered greatly that they were not the ultimate power in the universe. In their drive to become the supreme God themselves, they had forgotten about the real Creator. They wanted to be the Supreme Intelligence, even if it was an impossible task. But that didn't stop them from trying.
Some said the Dark One was insane, but the Watchers didn't share that view. They knew that being was a powerful one like themselves, just one who had lost his way. The Dark One tried to destroy all who stood in his way. He and his servants had killed many and had more on their list. The Watchers shielded those they could from the wrath of these beings. It was an on-going, ages old struggle.
The Watcher in the control room was part of the group-mind all of the Watchers shared. It was said by other races that the Watchers had lost their individual souls eons ago and now lived as one being, controlled by an artificial mind in another universe. The Watchers denied this claim to any who challenged them, knowing they were free beings who led themselves, even if they could share one single mind at will. The false claim had been put in motion by their enemies, the evil beings, who did all they could to perpetuate it.
But the evil beings were the ones being controlled by their master, the Dark One, who was skilled at hiding his influence over his minions. He had crippled the minds of his servants so that they could not find the source of their control, no matter how hard they tried. The lesser evil beings thought they were the smartest beings, and the most powerful. Little did they suspect how wrong they were. In turn, the Dark One believed himself equal to the Creator, the dark counterpart to the Creator's light, and strived to make himself just as powerful; how wrong he was, also.
The Watchers went on with their work, through their days that stretched years on Earth, sending their creations, their intelligent ships, into the farthest edges of any galaxy they could find, so they could observe any life forms from a distance. The Watchers always hoped to find life forms in pristine states, so they could preserve them before the dark forces had a chance to influence them. The Watchers would exert their protective control over the fragile life forms before they could defend themselves. This was the mission of the Watchers, their passion, and their soul's journey.
Every time they succeed in protecting a life form it made the patterns on the screen most pleasing. This was happening now, as life forms had been taken from Earth. It was a joy to behold for the Watcher who now stood in the control room looking at the dancing colours on the screen, representing the sections of the universe that had been protected so far. Many of the other Watchers joined in to enjoy this pleasure, via their telepathic link.
But there were dark patches on the screen too, which spread like an infection across many galaxies. There was much work yet to do to stop the evil, so the Watchers didn't enjoy their small victory for too long.
CHAPTER 4
The Earth man woke up, startled to find himself out of the room and on the edge of the open field.
He looked around, senses alert to anything other than stillness. It was light now. He looked up and saw the lights in the ceiling, in what he thought was the sky, back on. Yet, it was not like the sky he had known for his many years of life—years that he had survived, due to his always being aware and careful of his surroundings.
Slowly, he moved and got to his feet. He looked around some more, this time behind. The doorway was still empty, and he could see the room beyond, also empty. He didn't like the look of that, nor the thought that he might be taken back into the room, so he walked quickly away, across the field. His mind went to the pond he had seen before. He wanted to drink some water and then see what he could find to eat.
As he bent down to drink some water from the pond, he found it strange there were no other animals at the pond or humans. Usually at the water sources he used to frequent there were others there, too. But not here. He drank his fill, tried to grab some fish and missed. He tried the stick, but he missed the fish with that, also. He was still sleepy, so he gave up on fishing and rubbed his eyes, yawning and trying to wake up. It was hard without some food to give him energy, like fruit he liked.
In the mornings he liked to mate with a female. That was good to do early in the day when it was cool, and not so good to do in the heat of the day. He looked around and again wondered why there were no others. He thought about the female he used to mate with, who had borne several children from him. Where was she now? He didn't know, and fear began to set into him again. He felt panic rise in his chest.
He left the pond and walked fast across the field, determined to get to the other side, miles away, and see just where he was. He thought he must have gotten lost and needed to find his way back to the places he was familiar with and the others he knew. This being all on his own was fine for a short while, but now it was not so good, he felt.
He walked until he came to a grove of fruit trees like he was used to eating: bananas, papayas, and other fruits that grew in the tropical climate in the ship, very much like the place the man used to live in on Earth. He was happy to find this fruit in its natural state, and it was good to eat.
Once he’d eaten his fill he collected some fruit and carried it along in the fur he had been wearing; he’d taken it off, as it was now hot in the “day” on the ship. There was still a way to go to the other side of the open space, and it was slow going, as there were many hills, rocks, and streams to cross.
Finally, the man made it across the two difficult miles of the field and stood looking at a metal wall.
This frightened him, as there was nothing like that back in his home, and it reminded him of the room he’d been stuck in on the ship. He looked both ways and saw that the wall stretched as far as he could see. There were areas of the wall where it was covered with vines and also rocks piled up in front of it. But the man could still clearly tell the wall was there.
He was curious and wanted to touch it, so he moved between some rocks and put his hand on the wall. His first touch was quick, then he pulled his hand away. But it was enough to tell that the wall was cold. It was not like the walls in the room he’d been in; this wall was much colder. Those walls had been a bit cooler than body temperature, but this one was so cold it hurt his skin. So, he didn’t touch it again. He just looked closely at it, and the ice forming where the sweat from his hand stayed on the wall.
Confused and wary, he stepped away from the wall and found a place on the grass amoung some trees to eat more of the fruit he had been carrying. It was pleasant to sit in the warm grass and eat. He felt pretty good, despite the confusion that came at times from being in this strange place.
After he had eaten, his thoughts once more went to the woman he used to mate with. Emotions overcame him, of missing her and of being lonely. A sad expression formed on his face, and he lay down on the grass, covering his eyes with his arm. He tried to blot out the bright lights, and didn’t want to be there anymore. Tears sprang from his eyes.
The computer watched the man’s reactions and recorded them. It also sampled his brainwaves, then searched for a match on such behavior from the vast database on the ship. It analyzed the results and concluded that the man must be in distress; that he was exhibiting sadness. It surmised that he needed a companion so he would not feel so isolated and alone. The computer knew what to do.
Soon, the man got up and went to the metal wall again. He touched it at different spots, working up his courage with the cold metal. Little did he know that it was cold due to it being on the other side of the outer hull of the ship, moving through the freezing temperatures of space.
He pounded on the metal, and the sound echoed.
He jumped back and stopped in place.
That sound he wasn't expecting, but it only scared him slightly, as he was getting used to unusual things around there. But the wall didn't yield.
He moved down a few steps and hit it again. Same result.
And again. Still the same.
He kept going down the wall, walking and hitting it as he went, hoping to find a weak spot. What he would do if the wall did happen to open up, he didn't know, but it was better than laying on the ground and crying, he thought.
CHAPTER 5
In another one of the small metals rooms was a female human from Earth. She had been taken near the same time the first Earth man had been taken, from a region not that far away. The computer suspected they might have even met before, seeing as how these life forms liked to roam about at times.
She was getting used to the cleaning schedule of the room and stood by as the machines got rid of her waste, sprayed the room with jets of water and a soapy mixture, then also sprayed her with the jets. At first the machines with their flying water and strange-smelling soap caused her alarm. She thought they were trying to kill her the first time it happened.
But then she mellowed, as she saw the cleaning machines did something good, leaving her room in a better state than it had been in before the cleaning session. Every time it happened she’d feel better about being in the room, even though she longed to get out. She did not share the same aggression as the man, and so didn’t pound on the walls nearly as much.
The computer noticed this and studied her more closely, as she was different than the man, not just in her body but in her emotions and actions. Though not so different that she didn’t exhibit some of the same emotions and think some of the same thoughts as the man did. She didn’t like to be kept in the room either and looked for a way out, in her gentler way. She also showed signs of sadness that she was alone.
The computer knew all this by studying her body language and also by reading the frequency of her thoughts, which it had been programmed to do; the Watchers were vast in their knowledge. The Watchers would be very interested in these humans and their advanced emotions, the computer thought.
The computer decided the Earth woman and the Earth man should meet, and see if they would be happier together. If the meeting was successful, the computer might do the same thing with the many other humans it had in other rooms, en-route to the Watcher’s world. But for now it would try the experiment with just the two and see how it went. The computer didn’t want to risk its entire collection of humans on an action that could go wrong. No, it would test it first.
The door to the woman’s room started to open slowly.
The noise made the woman jump, as she had been nearly sleeping, dreaming of what it used to be like when she was not kept in a metal room. She had much the same reaction as the man had, the computer noticed; scurrying away to the back of the room, as far away from the moving door as possible. She put her arms against the back wall, trying to move it, or just get away, but she couldn’t.
The door rose up to its full height and stopped. Silence once again reigned.
The woman looked at the opening the door had left, and she immediately wanted to run through it. But where did it lead? She didn’t know and wondered. It may be worse out there, she thought. But it was too much for her to resist, and so she slowly took an exploratory step towards the door, then back again. But the door didn’t move.
She did this a few more times, and still there was nothing, no movement from the door.
Finally, she ran through the doorway, thinking she would take her chances with what was on the other side, rather than be stuck in the room any longer. She was glad she did, because after the dark corridor she ran through, she could see green ahead. Trees and grass, she thought. She hoped.
She was right, and she stepped out of the dark, metal corridor onto green grass, with brightness shining down from above. But it was not like the Sun she knew, and not like the Earth she knew. Still, it was better than being in the room, and there were no things that were attacking her. And it was daytime, it seemed.
She cautiously took a few more steps onto the grass, peering around. It felt good on her feet, and the suns, or whatever they were, felt warming and nice on her skin. She wondered why there was more than one sun, now, and why they were smaller—but she didn’t worry about it too much. She sighed, as she felt a measure of freedom and relief that she’d not had since she’d been taken on the ship.
She moved around the field and took some fruits to eat that she could find. She saw some of the small animals and thought about how they might be to eat. She felt a craving for meat, as she had not had any in some time. Neither she nor the man had been given any meat since they had been on the ship. That would mean killing the animals the ship had taken for samples, and that was too risky to do, as there were not a lot of backups of the animals.
There were live animals of each type the ship could find, and also some had been put into cold suspension for safekeeping. The ship was able to synthesize amino acids into a protein food substance that was grown from algae on the ship. This it fed to the humans and the animals onboard. The ship kept careful watch over its charges, scanning them, seeing that their basic bodily requirements were met, despite what they might have been used to eating.
The woman sat in the tall grass, eating an apple and looking around. She saw some larger animals running through the field, some buffalo and gazelles. She looked for any lions that might come by and kill some of them for a meal, but saw none. And she would see none; the ship kept the predators quarantined so they would not kill off the rest of the animals that had been set out in the field.
The man, who was on the other side of the field, heard the hoofs of the animals and also looked up to watch them. He thought about hunting them, but he had no spear or rock to throw. It would be very hard to catch any of the animals without those. He did still have his stick. Maybe if he could make it sharp on the end? He tried, but the stick was thin, likely to break if he tried to use it to hunt.
He felt dejected and was about to give up and have a nap when he saw a naked woman walking in the grass, coming his way.
His first reaction was to duck down and hide. He lay down in the tall grass. Who was she? What did she want? Was she carrying any weapons?
Slowly, he moved his head up until he could see her again, hoping she could not see him. He wanted to be able to surprise her and jump out when she got close. Then he’d see if she were friend or foe.
Through the tall grass he watched her. He liked the way she looked. She was an adult but on the younger side, slender and attractive. She moved with grace, running her hands over the grass as she walked. She looked happy to be walking there. He didn’t blame her, as it was better to be walking there than to be stuck in the room. He wondered if she had also been kept in a place like that, and if she had also been dragged in here by terrifying creatures. Then, she was only a few steps from him.
He jumped up and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her down.
She screamed and hit at him with her fists. He let her go and threw her away from him a few feet. He watched her, and she backed up, afraid. He raised his hands to show her he had nothing in them, no weapons. He saw she carried nothing. Feeling less afraid of her, he sat down and watched her. She was good to watch.
She moved back farther, staring at him, her mouth showing her teeth. She made hissing sounds and spat at him. But she missed him, and he looked at her, amused. They sat like that, looking at each other for a while.
Finally, when neither of them was attacking the other, they both relaxed a bit. He got up and looked around, wanting to see if there were any others coming their way. There were not. He also looked for animals, but there were none close by.
He looked at the woman and waved for her to follow him, then he walked off in the direction of the pond. He wanted a drink and to take a swim; it was better to get cleaned off before mating, he knew. He walked across the field and looked back at her.
She had stuck her head up in the grass and was watching him go. She looked around and saw no one else. Feeling a bit scared to be left alone, she slowly, and reluctantly, stood up. At least he had not hurt her, and she didn’t think he would. He looked kind of friendly, she thought. Also, she wouldn’t mind mating with him, if it came to that.
She followed him to the wooded area and was nervous to go in, as it was darker there with the dense growth. But the man turned back and waved to her again, so she went.
When they came to the pond her heart filled with joy, and she saw the man go and jump in. He came up to the surface with a big smile on his face, and she had to smile back. She took a running jump and flung herself into the water, feeling better instantly as it covered her. It was the first time she had been able to swim in what felt like a long time—she didn’t even know how long she’d been kept there, it was hard to tell.
They swam, and the man saw she was enjoying herself. He moved closer to her, and she swam away, still wary of him. But he kept coming, slowly, until she had nowhere to go, cornering her against the bank. He touched her shoulder with his hand. His touch was soft this time, gentle.
She liked how it felt to be touched by him, and she let him put his arms around her. He hugged her, and she hugged him back. She put her head on his shoulder and cried a bit, as she didn’t know where she was, or why she was there and just wanted to go back to her home and her people. He kissed her head, and that felt good.
The computer registered that tears were falling from her face, and both of their heart rates and respiration were up. It seemed they were agitated or excited, or both. The computer sent a puff of tranquilizer into the air vent near the humans. They breathed in some of the gas and did get a bit more relaxed.
Then the man had her by the hand and was pulling her out of the water, as she seemed to be falling asleep. He took her to a shaded place under some tree boughs, where she started to recover. She put her arms around him, and they kissed for a while. Then, excited, he proceeded to climb on top of her and began mating with her. She did not resist him and didn’t want to; she enjoyed what he did with her. It felt good.
After, he lay beside her, sleeping. She enjoyed his arm being around her, happy that he was there. He was one of the few things she liked about being on the ship, even if she didn't know it was a ship. She just thought it was a strange, new place.
And then she was able to relax more, with him near her. He felt warm and this comforted her and made her want to sleep. She closed her eyes and slept, too.