Authors: Dennis J Butler
“I just can’t seem to comprehend the American Civil War.”
Adara
Oriel-
Situla
argued. “It
was people of the same country fighting each other. They couldn’t come to an
agreement so they slaughtered each other.”
“It was about slavery and about the southern half of the
country becoming a separate nation, wasn’t it?”
Zavijah
Arial-
Unukalhai
said. “If they had waited instead of
rushing to war, perhaps they could have come to an agreement. Perhaps all those
people didn’t need to die.”
“It seems that’s the way humans are. The have a disagreement
and if they can’t resolve it quickly, they kill each other,”
Adara
Oriel-
Situla
said.
“And how about World War II?”
Adara
Oriel-
Situla
asked. “They
burned people in ovens because they followed a different religion.”
“Are we sure we really want to live among humans?”
Zavijah
Arial-
Unukalhai
asked
with a nervous laugh.
I finally entered the conversation which only resulted in
strange looks from the other cadets. “Humans have passion. It is what causes
them to fight. It is also what causes them to be capable of producing some of
the most wonderful music and art in the entire universe. I am anxious to meet
them.”
As we began our orbit of P3 (Earth), I looked at the
beautiful bluish planet and tried to imagine all the different variations of
people going about their lives. Life on Ranjisan had existed for millions of
years so the physical differences in our people had gradually melded together.
It is very rare to see a Ranjisi person who is overweight so I was prepared for
the physical variation of Earth humans. I had been studying all the different
geographical regions of Earth and I was looking forward to seeing in person,
the wide variety of humans.
The captain of our ship was considered one of the best.
Captain Arial-Meissa had made over 200 landings without detection by Earth
systems. Our destination was a rocky cliff on the western coast of a place
known by humans as Easter Island, Chile. Captain Meissa powered down all the
ship’s exterior lighting as we sliced our way into Earth’s atmosphere. We were
all looking out the ship portals but we couldn’t see anything.
Captain Meissa spoke over the ship’s communication system.
“We’re descending through a thick layer of clouds and the sun is setting where
we are going. You should be able to see more in a few seconds.”
“Wow,” I whispered out loud. The other cadets were awed and
speechless watching the dramatic scene coming to life outside the portals. Just
as the captain had said, the ship broke through the bottom of the cloud layer and
the view was overwhelming. On the far horizon, the sky was layered in shades of
red and orange and looked like it was on fire. Looking to the opposite
direction, the sky was pitch-black and we could see a slight bluish glow over
what looked like a vast sea beyond the island. It was overwhelming and
beautiful. Our ship descended quickly but I did manage to get a view of the
land mass before we reached the ocean. It looked so much more rugged than the
shores of Ranjisan. The shoreline appeared to be a rocky cliff and there were
no signs of civilization. I caught a glimpse of waves lapping the shoreline
just as Captain Meissa skillfully dipped the ship into the ocean about an Earth
mile from the shore.
All Ranjisi space crafts are waterproof and capable of
navigating in air or water. We descended down about a quarter mile and slowly
headed toward the land mass. I continued looking out the portal, hoping to see
a whale or shark but it only took a few seconds to reach a depth where it was
too dark so see anything. It was pitch-black.
After about ten minutes, the ship began to ascend and as we
continued to rise, the water outside of the portals began to brighten. Finally,
with one big splash we broke the surface of the water. The six of us crowded
around the portals and tried to see as much as possible while the captain
maneuvered the ship to a docking area. We were in some kind of huge underground
hanger. I immediately began to wonder if there were humans who knew of our
presence. Even with Earth’s lesser developed science, I found it hard to
believe that there weren’t high-level humans in government who knew we were
there.
When the door to the exit ramp opened, my senses were
immediately overloaded. My clothing felt heavy and it felt as if my shirt and
pants were sticking to my chest and legs. I began pulling at the fabric as I
walked down the ramp. When I reached the bottom of the ramp, I placed both feet
on the ground and stopped to quietly celebrate the moment. I was standing on an
alien planet and it only took six Earth months to make the voyage.
Ranjisi scientists knew that P3 would not be capable of
venturing very far into space until they understood the concepts of
electromagnetic and possibly even symbiotic propulsion. But the evolution of P3
knowledge was as it should be. Humans would not be ready to interact with
advanced races for years to come. Before they could become a part of the
inter-galactic community, tribal and geographical wars would need to be just a
part of their ancient history. That day was a long way off. Before humans could
accept the concept of life outside the human race, they needed to evolve to the
point where they realized their own race was one.
“Take slow deep breaths,” was all I heard as I had a sudden
impulse to sit on the damp ground. I looked around to see that four of the
others were already sitting down looking disoriented. “Go ahead and sit down.
You will start feeling better in a few minutes.”
After a short rest, the six of us stood up, looking and
feeling a little wobbly and disoriented. “My name is Tom Saunders,” the same
voice said. “No need to know my real name. I will be assisting you with your
first level of assimilation here.”
“As you already know, the air here is heavier and contains more
moisture but the gravitational pull is the thing you will need to adjust to.”
“It’s supposed to take a few days, correct?” One of the
cadets asked.
“Yes. Some of you will adjust quicker, however, the
heaviness in your legs is somewhat permanent,” Tom said.
“I’ve heard you can strengthen your legs while you are
here,” I said.
“That is correct but it would take your full two-year
deployment to get to the point where your legs are strong enough for light
exercise.”
Two of the men in our new group of volunteers were speaking
in Ranjisi when Tom held up his hand and asked for everyone’s attention.
“Listen. From this point on, you should not speak in Ranjisi. I realize that
most of you will not be able to converse because you have learned different
Earth languages. But you need to begin thinking and speaking in only your
assigned language. Unfortunately, I will have to speak Ranjisi since my only
other language is English and I think there are only two of you who will use
English as your primary language.” A rumbling of acknowledgements in several
different languages came from the group.
I looked around, wondering who the other English speaking
cadet was. A woman with auburn colored hair
who
appeared to be about my age caught my glance and smiled at me. It was a stiff
smile but nevertheless it was a smile. I had the feeling that her smile was
telling me that she was the other English speaking cadet. I smiled and nodded
my acknowledgement.
“The second thing we will do is assign you to your temporary
living quarters,” Tom said. “Most of you will be here for two Earth weeks for a
final orientation to learn about your cover assignments.” Tom paused for a
moment and continued, “But the first thing we need to do is feed you. Come with
me.”
Tom continued speaking as we followed him. “Think of
everything you do from this moment forward as part of your learning and
assimilation process. That includes eating and learning about Earth foods.” We
followed Tom into a large dining hall. My senses were overloaded again as a variety
of strange odors passed through my senses. I knew it was the smell of food
cooking but it didn’t smell anything like the foods back on Ranjisan. As I was
about to enter the dining area I stepped to the side and tried not to be too
obvious as I waited for the woman with the auburn hair to walk by. Without
looking directly at her, I felt her passing. She had an overconfident swing to
her walk and I got the feeling she was an executive of some kind, back home.
“English?”
I asked. The auburn
haired woman was looking at my hair. I got the impression that she either
didn’t like my punkish hairdo or she just didn’t like me.
It took her a few moments to respond. “Yes, I’m going to
California.”
“I’m Luke. I’ll be going to New York.”
“I’m Alexis.
Pleased to meet you.”
Alexis extended her hand to offer a handshake. “Let’s sit together so we can
practice our English.”
“Excellent idea Alexis.
Have you
thought about what you are going to order for dinner?”
“I was thinking one of the more popular foods like hamburger
or pizza.”
Alexis stepped up to the counter to order.
“Hamburgers please.”
The counter person corrected Alexis’s slightly off dialogue.
“You can ask that way but it would be better if you say, ‘A hamburger please,’
which implies ‘one’ hamburger.”
“A hamburger please.”
“Good. Do you want French fries?”
“I guess so,” Alexis answered.
I ordered spaghetti. I remembered Tom mentioning that we
should try it. I was only able to eat a small portion of it before feeling
full. The food seemed heavier and more concentrated than the light air-cooked
foods we eat on Ranjisan. I did manage to get the red liquid topping all over
my shirt.
Alexis and I agreed to meet each night for dinner. On the
second night, a middle aged man approached us and introduced himself as Carlos
Rivera. He told us he was assigned to a work at a shipping port in Tampa,
Florida in the US. “Spanish is my primary language and I will be speaking both
Spanish and English,” Carlos told us.
On the third night, two more English speaking cadets joined
us. Jason was assigned to a job in London but CIPE had decided his London
accent sounded off so they changed his bio to an American working in London.
Yvonne would be on her way to Canada when the training was finished.
By the fourth night we could see that almost all of the new
cadets were doing the same thing. Small groups were formed based on their
assigned human language. If we sat quietly and listened we could hear at least
six different Earth languages being spoken. It was exciting and fascinating
listening to all the different languages. The five of us got to know each other
quite well over the two weeks. We were kind of like a private little club and
we were becoming friends. We knew our friendships would end at the end of the
two weeks but we kept each other entertained during our orientation and
training.
“Have you been to Earth before Luke?” Jason asked. “You
already look like you play in a band.”
It seemed I was the only one who knew what Jason meant as
Jason and I laughed a little. “No I have just arrived here, like you. While
doing research leading up to our deployment, I became interested in Earth’s
young counterculture. I especially like the music. I do plan to learn to play
the guitar while I’m here.” I paused for a moment and asked, “Do any of you
like human rock & roll?” No one responded so I assumed that no one else was
interested in the topic.
The time we spent in the dining room was fun and relaxing
but most of our time was spent learning about our upcoming assignments.
Although I was thoroughly familiar with my human persona, I still needed to
learn about the job I was assigned to. I was assigned to work at a large
hospital in New York City where I would work in the patient transportation
department, transporting patients to different parts of the hospital. The two
weeks at the CIPE center flew by. I didn’t have much time to do anything but
eat, sleep and attend training classes.
The person in charge of the medical team training class was
an elderly man who introduced himself as Jonah. The last few days consisted of
mostly role playing so we could become comfortable with casual interactions
with humans. The exercises were customized for each student. Jonah called us up
to the front of the class, one at a time. When it was my turn, I went up to the
front of the class and a beautiful female who was sitting quietly off to the
side stood up and approached me. She looked directly into my eyes as she spoke.
“Hey handsome.
Are you looking for a date?” It caught
me by surprise and I stood there looking and feeling foolish. I didn’t know how
to respond. After a few moments Jonah looked impatient as he proceeded to scold
me. “Did you not read about prostitutes?”
“Oh yes, I didn’t realize that’s what was happening,” I
said.
“Remember, if you don’t react correctly, you could wind up
in trouble. In the case of a solicitation by a prostitute, if you don’t say the
right thing, you may wind up in jail.”
“Sorry about that. Can we try again?”
The same pretty woman approached me again but her demeanor
changed as she spoke. “Do you know how to get to the subway that goes
downtown?”
I didn’t waste any time and tried to “think on my feet” as
the humans sometimes say. “I am new here but I think I saw a policeman just
around the corner. He should be able to help you.” Jonah and the pretty woman
both smiled. I had reacted quickly and accurately.
Jonah told me I could take my seat but I raised my hand
slightly to get his attention. “What did you mean before about getting in
trouble if I don’t react to a situation correctly?” I asked.
“Prostitution is illegal in most places. The woman could
actually be a police officer testing you to see if you are actually looking for
a prostitute. If you were to answer the woman in a way that indicated you wanted
to solicit her services and she was really a police officer, you would be
arrested,” Jonah said. “Also note that we have not disseminated our infectious
disease treatments so if you do solicit a prostitute, you may be sick for a
while.” The group all laughed and it seemed it was at my expense so I laughed
along with them.
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t know what to do with a prostitute,”
I responded which produced another round of laughter from the group.
The role playing exercises continued and they seemed to get
easier. By the end of the two weeks, I felt ready. I knew there would be times
when humans would think I was odd but I figured as time went on I would fit
more naturally into human society.
The Ranjisan ship had taken us from Ranjisan to the secret
CIPE center on Easter Island but for all future transportation we would have to
use human transportation. Traveling from the CIPE center to our various
destinations on Earth was a complicated process. We couldn’t all just hop on a
bus and get dropped off at the airport which would obviously arouse curiosity.
Each cadet had a customized exit plan to spread out the timing of our arrival
at the airport.