The next morning, Nisha awoke to the familiar sound of coarse granite sand crunching under feet. Only this time she only heard one set of feet instead of those from a crowd.
“Rachel,” Nisha whispered. “Someone is outside.”
Rachel rubbed her eyes to wake herself up.
“Bok? It’s been a few days since the General arrived and Bok has physically stayed away. Perhaps he thinks it’s okay to visit us now.”
Nisha poked her head out of the tent and sure enough, Bok was standing outside investigating some night vision goggles which had been left on a table next to the tent. She smiled.
“Hey, what are you doing with those?”
“I am inspecting them and then I planned to place them back where I found them. I’m sorry if—”
“I’m joking Bok,” Nisha said as she gave him a big smile.
Bok paused.
“Humor. I don’t understand it.”
“I’ll help you. I’ll explain later. Those night vision goggles are old fashioned, but I still use them when my eyepiece is low on power,” Nisha said.
“Yes,” Bok said. “They’re primitive but I understand why they’re useful. Our natural vision functions this way at night. These goggles are as sensitive as my eyes, which see the infrared part of the spectrum. My star is small and red.”
“I’m happy you’re here Bok,” Nisha said. “What brings you here today?”
“Would you be interested in seeing Priya?” Bok said.
Nisha opened her eyes wide, then let out a joyous shriek. She had to control herself so nobody else heard.
“I want to visit her. When can we go?” she said as she turned on her live video broadcast.
“We can go now,” Bok said.
His monotone voice didn’t show his excited emotional state, but his vibrant orange and green colors did. He began to understand humans a little more, especially as he neared the age of maturity.
Rachel glanced at Nisha and asked, “Can I go too?”
“Yes,” Bok said.
Nisha frantically gathered her things.
“Okay, let’s get something to eat from the mess tent for breakfast and we’ll be on our way.”
Rachel, Nisha, and Bok ran into the mess tent where other military personnel and scientists were eating their breakfast. Everyone became silent as they walked over to get their trays and food.
Nisha looked around at everyone staring at them.
“Everything’s okay folks. He’s with us.”
She expected everyone to come over and ask questions, but they stayed away.
As they walked past the serving counter Rachel asked, “Would you like to try some human food?”
“No, I recently consumed my allowance of food,” Bok said. “I’ll admit I find the odor of your food to be appealing and repulsive at the same time. What’s in that tray on the counter? I find that to be repulsive.”
“Oh, that’s pork sausage,” Nisha said. “And bacon is next to that.”
“Are those substances from deceased earth animals?” Bok said.
His skin turned gray, and his flexible nasal openings closed in disgust.
“Yes,” Rachel said. “Nisha and I don’t eat animals, but some humans still do. Some cultured meat is on that platter. That didn’t come from a live animal. I don’t like the taste of any type of meat.”
Bok turned his attention to another tray.
“What’s that over there?”
“Those are potatoes baked in olive oil with salt and herbs. They’re plant roots. No animal remains are in there,” Nisha said. “Would you like to try some?”
Bok sniffed the potatoes with his long rubbery nose. “I’ll admit the odor is pleasing. Let me scan this food item and I’ll consider tasting this at a future date.”
Bok scanned the potatoes and several other food items.
Rachel glanced at Nisha, pointed to her eyepiece, and gave the x sign. Nisha muted the audio of her broadcast.
“Do you think it’s a promising idea to broadcast? We don’t know what we’ll find out when we visit Priya.”
“Yeah, I think it’s important to show the world what’s happening. Should we broadcast our visit, Bok?”
“Broadcasting is always okay unless I tell you something that’s private,” Bok said. “We wish to be transparent. We have nothing to hide. Let’s go to the colony.”
They finished their breakfast. Nisha turned on her audio and told the audience of over 100 million about her impending visit with Priya for the first time since she had been abducted. They walked over to Nisha’s government issued car.
“Bok, would you like to ride with us in the car down to the colony edge?” Nisha said.
“Yes, I would like to experience this mode of human transportation,” Bok said. “It’s primitive.”
He glanced over and spotted a few dozen troops approaching with large guns drawn. Nisha and Rachel stopped walking and turned to the troops. Bok pulled out his smooth hand-held device which pulsated with a low throbbing sound. He stopped moving and watched the troops. Both eyes focused on different things. Soon the troops surrounded the three of them. They were careful not to point the guns at Bok, but they did point them at Nisha and Rachel.
“What’s happening here?” Nisha said.
“I’m sorry Dr. Chandra, but you and Dr. Feynman must come with us,” announced the first officer to arrive.
“Why? What’s the problem? We’re going to visit my daughter,” Nisha said.
“You must come now.” the officer said.
Nisha wasn’t one to take orders from anyone, and especially when she was about to be reunited with her daughter.
“I’m going to visit Priya. Everything will be okay. I’m going.”
Nisha turned around to go to her car when she heard the power-up of several pulse rifles. She turned around and they were pointing right at her and Rachel. Nisha glanced at Bok who did not seem alarmed.
“Bok?”
“Let’s go,” Bok said. “Don’t worry.”
Nisha and Rachel heard the rifles powering down. The troops tried to power them up again, but they weren’t responsive.
“All is okay, let’s go,” Bok said.
They walked to Nisha’s car as the frustrated soldiers tried to fix their weapons. One of them moved towards Nisha and right when she flinched, the soldier stopped in his tracks and clutched his chest.
“I’m getting hot,” he said.
Bok watched the troops and said, “The closer you get, the hotter you’ll become. My advice is to go, now.”
He glanced towards Nisha and Rachel.
“Go into your car. Let’s leave this place.”
They got in the car, looking anxious. Rachel laughed.
“Bok, are you having trouble?”
Bok’s shrinking tail got in the way of him sitting down.
“Will you be okay Bok?” she said.
“Yes, I’ll adjust. Your non-adaptive seats are primitive,” he said.
They laughed nervously like schoolgirls.
“You know Bok,” Rachel said, trying to contain her laughter. “Tails are considered a primitive appendage here on Earth,” Bok flashed flickering shades of blue and purple. “You’re embarrassed, aren’t you?”
“Why do you think I’m embarrassed?” Bok said. That’s a primitive human emotion.”
Nisha laughed.
“I’m not sure about that. You sure are putting on quite a color show for us. Something is happening in that computerized brain of yours.”
“I’m only—” Bok tried to say something, but nothing came out of his translator.
“It’s okay Bok,” Nisha said. “We’re teasing you. It’s humor.”
“Teasing?” Bok said.
He paused silently for several long seconds as they drove to the edge of the colony, which grew larger and more imposing by the day.
“You were teasing. Oh, I understand. Ha Ha.”
His voice sounded flat.
Nisha smiled.
“I think you can learn some things from humans,” she said. “We haven’t accumulated as much technical information as the Omanji, but we know how to enjoy a fun time.”
“You know how to enjoy a fun time? I don’t understand.”
“We’ll teach you Bok,” Rachel said as they came to a stop at the edge of the colony.
They stepped out of the car and walked a few hundred maters across the crunchy desert sand, to the edge of the colony’s artificial surface. The pavement resembled concrete, but a substance mixed in made the surface feel slightly soft and pliable. The morning light behind them cascaded through the towers and reflected across the pavement in front of them creating myriads of colored shapes and forms. They walked in silence into the colony for a minute or so. Nisha began to fear the worst. That Priya was no longer the beautiful young girl she remembered. A human girl.
“It’s beautiful,” Rachel said as she turned around to take in the entire scene. “I once considered being an architect, so I can appreciate the thought which went into this design. Everything seems to blend, yet each element seems unique. How is that possible?”
“It’s simple,” Bok said. “I’ve noticed humans are developing the techniques to make this possible. The drones build everything. They operate from their own unique and shared plans based on their programming. Everything is printed in three dimensions on site. Each drone contains tiny amounts of the raw materials to create portions of everything here. Some material is distributed so the drones don’t have to travel up and down repeatedly. For example, do you notice that large trapezoidal art structure over there?”
“Yes,” Nisha said.
“Approximately 1,000 drones created this over a 30-minute period. The drones share work and know what part they’ll play in the construction of the object. There’s nothing special about this. Humans are creating the components for this technology, but they haven’t fully integrated them. Perhaps there’s hope for humans to create a civilized society.”
Nisha looked and Rachel with one raised eyebrow and smiled.
“Yes Bok, someday humans will be there. What are these?”
They studied a line of silver cubes with rounded edges about eight meters on edge.
“These are transit cubes. We’ll take one to our destination. The colony is too large to walk across. Especially for humans.”
Rachel walked in front of one and stopped.
“How do you get in? Where are the doors?”
“Follow me,” Bok said.
He was swallowed whole by the skin of the cube. Ripples extended outward, as a stone makes ripples on a calm pond.
The rippling effect startled Nisha.
“Oh, that’s how Priya disappeared into the abduction sphere. I don’t know if I can do this, but Priya is close now. I’ll close my eyes and walk.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Rachel said, holding Nisha’s hand. “Whoa, that’s weird,” she said once they were inside.
“You’re right,” Nisha said. “The sensation is like diving into water, only it’s dry. I wanted to hold my breath. The air smells different in here. It’s humid and salty.”
She looked around the cabin of the cube, seeing nothing but a console with some odd-looking symbols on a screen in front, and empty space behind.
“Bok, where do we sit?”
“Watch me,” Bok said as he leaned back.
They expected him to fall to the floor because nothing visible was behind him. However, his descent slowed as though he fell into a large soft pillow. An opaque shape appeared behind him with an opening for his wiggling tail flashing vibrant shades of blue.
“Do the same,” Bok said.
Nisha looked around and said, “But there’s nothing to stop me from falling. And I’m not Omanji.”
“This isn’t magic Nisha. This is a form field. Fall back and the field will catch you,” Bok said.
Nisha fell back. At that exact moment she stiffened up in anticipation of her impact with the metallic floor, something soft caught her. She sat on what seemed solid but had no substance.
“What is this?” she said. “Is a magnetic force acting against my body?”
“You’re close to being correct, but it’s not entirely magnetic. I shouldn’t tell you,” Bok said. “You’re intuitive for a human.”
Nisha and Rachel rolled their eyes and smiled. Rachel fell back with more confidence than Nisha and became enveloped in the field.
“It’s soft and flexible when you move around. How does the field know to catch you?”
“Sensors detect a weight distribution imbalance in your body, and a field forms to correct the imbalance. That’s all. It’s simple childhood physics.”
Again, Nisha and Rachel rolled their eyes and smiled
The cube whisked through the colony.
“How does the field work? How is it created?”
“I’m sorry Nisha but I can’t tell you. The elders instructed me to not educate the humans. We don’t wish to disrupt the native species on Earth.”
“I think you’re way too late for that.” Rachel said.
“I agree,” Nisha said. “Even if all Omanji were to leave tomorrow, the course of human history has been altered forever. You’ve set things into motion that will have unpredictable consequences. I hope this doesn’t lead to the extinction of the human species or other species.”
“I can’t predict extinctions, but we hope to prevent that from happening if the process begins,” Bok said.
“Well, I’m glad for that,” Rachel said. “Where are we going? How does this device know where to take us?”
“All devices we create including this transit cube are connected to all of us. I thought about traveling to the domestication tower, so we’re going there now.”
Nisha glanced at Rachel and shrugged her shoulders
“Of course. I knew that.”
“How are we moving?” Rachel said. “Is this a magnetic levitation device?”
“Yes. It’s like how some of your human mass transit systems operate. It’s no big deal.”
“Bok is anything a big deal to you?” Nisha said.
“Yes, many things are beyond our capabilities. We can’t stop the slowing of the daily rotation of Oma. Our planet will go into tidal lock, leaving both continents mostly on the dark side forever. We tried to capture a Moon from a nearby planet and place it in orbit around Oma to speed up the rotation but failed. We left Oma against our will due to our inability to master physics. We feel incompetent because of our inferior technical abilities. We had to leave Oma now because the winds are becoming too strong to modify. We can discuss the other reasons later. We’ve arrived at the domestication tower.”
They exited the cube. Rachel gazed up at the sleek and twisted 2,000-meter-tall tower.
“You know Nisha, by itself, this tower is beyond anything created by humans, but somehow within the colony, it’s integrated perfectly.”
Nisha nodded silently in agreement as they walked behind Bok to the base of the tower. She felt deeply inferior for the first time in her life. A group of unfriendly looking Omanji congregated near the entrance.
“Follow me in,” Bok said. “Don’t look at them.”
They walked past the Omanji as they inspected Nisha and Rachel.
They surveyed the interior of an Omanji building for the first time. The air was caustic and difficult to breathe. Ironic considering the Omanji thought our atmosphere was caustic. Everything appeared sleek and white. Many objects were on display serving unknown purposes. Nisha noticed her broadcast signal to the world had failed. However, she still recorded everything so she could rebroadcast later.
“Normally I’d be excited to inspect every inch of this place, but right now I can only think of Priya.”
“You’ll talk with her soon,” Rachel said.
“Agreed,” Bok said. “Follow me to a lift cube.”
The center of the building was hollow and open, stretching upwards to infinity. Many dozens of cubes were silently moving up and down, like elevators flowing in traffic. They melted into a reflective elevator cube and fell back into their invisible chairs.
“Priya is on the northeast side of level 327,” Bok said. “We’ll arrive shortly.”
The cube accelerated rapidly, pushing Nisha and Rachel firmly into their invisible but cushy seats.
“Whoa.” Nisha said. “I don’t think I would be able to stand up against the g-force of this acceleration. The transparent floor makes me feel dizzy. What will happen when we decelerate as we approach level 327? Oh.”
“I thought we’d hit the ceiling as we decelerated but there’s another force holding us down in this seat-thing,” Rachel said.
“Yes, a force like the seating in reverse prevents you from floating weightless in deceleration. We’re here. Follow me.”
“Something pushed me,” Nisha said.
“Yes, it’s as though the seat pushed me up,” Rachel said. “The field detected that I shifted my body weight in preparation of lifting myself up. We don’t possess the same body configuration as an Omanji, but it knew I wanted to get up.”
Bok turned and watched in amusement.
“I’m happy you’re enjoying the properties of the seating algorithm, but we must exit now.”
Nisha smiled as they walked out of the cube.
“Yes, we’re coming Bok.”
They suffered a mild effect of vertigo as they peered over the edge and down at the 326 levels below them and up at least 200 levels above them. They walked down a long corridor full of Omanji walking back and forth into different rooms. They reached a large open room with a tall and curving view to the outside. At first, they only noticed the dozens of Omanji looking at them with those eyes. They felt safe with Bok walking in front of them.
“Incredible,” Nisha whispered
“Hundreds of our children are here,” Rachel said.
“Over 80 human domestication locations like this room are in this tower. Each location has least 300 humans. I’ll locate Priya.”
Bok seemed to fall into a momentary trance.
“I’ve noticed he does that when he communicates remotely,” Rachel whispered.
“Yeah,” Nisha said. “They’re all doing the same thing. It’s strange to witness so many beings being quiet. Even the human kids are quiet. They must be communicating via their implants. They’re around Priya’s age. I can’t believe she’s sixteen now.”
Bok emerged from his trance.
“I’ve located Priya and her friend Sophie. Follow me.”
They walked around to the massive, curved window, which was made of a glass-like substance with a silvery translucent force field covering the exterior of the buildings. It dimmed the bright desert light coming from outside.
Rachel studied Bok as they walked along the window.
“Where do you get the power to maintain these force fields? They must consume an enormous amount of energy.”
“We use several energy production methods,” Bok said. “I can’t explain them to you in detail for reasons I mentioned earlier. We don’t want to disrupt your culture any more than is necessary. Also, I’m not allowed to access all information in the Omanji collective until I merge with the collective awareness when I’m an elder. I’ve been experimenting with nuclear fusion lately. I have some innovative ideas.”
“There’s Pree,” Nisha whispered.
Priya and Sophie stood in the middle of the crowd of high-school aged humans. They faced each other in small groups but were silent. Nisha stood frozen as she watched them from across the gymnasium sized room.
“Go talk to her,” Rachel encouraged. “I’ll stay here close by unless you want me to come.”
She waited for a reply, but Nisha said nothing.
“What’s wrong?”
Nisha continued to closely watch Priya for a minute or so. She began to fear the worst.
“She’s different. They’ve done things to her.”
Nisha had left her audio recorder on, and she didn’t want to edit out her comments later, so she held back a few thoughts.
“They aren’t speaking. They’re communicating telepathically with their implants.”
She watched for a few more minutes in silence.
“It’s okay to visit with Priya and the others,” Bok said. “We have permission.”
“I’m sorry,” Nisha said. “Even though it’s been only a few weeks since the abduction, I’m afraid of what I might learn about her now. I’m afraid she isn’t my Priya anymore.”
Bok turned to Nisha, turning comforting shades of orange and blue.
“She’s in good mental and physical health. She still has her personality and she’s the same human child you raised. She’s more intelligent now and doesn’t need to use air vibrations to communicate. She is an improved human. There’s an empty room to your right where we can go. Is this okay?”
“Okay,” Nisha said.
Bok walked over to Priya and Sophie and guided them into the empty white room. Nisha and Rachel followed. Priya didn’t seem to recognize Nisha. They saw no furniture or other items in the bare room. The windows curved beautifully, showing off the expansive view of the colony. Priya and Sophie walked over to a spot near the window, leaned back and fell. Nisha wanted to run over and catch them, but the instantaneous appearance of energy field seating broke their fall. Nisha walked over, chose a spot, and leaned back. Bok and Rachel stood back and watched. Nisha focused on Priya and Sophie. They made eye contact.
Nisha had trouble breathing, but she forced herself to speak.
“Pree, do you recognize me?”
All three of them stared at each other in silence. Nisha felt a chill go down her spine.
“Pree, are you saying something?”
Nisha waited for a response, but none happened despite their eye contact. She turned to Bok.
“Why won’t she speak with me?”
“She is speaking Nisha,” Bok said. “However, you can’t listen because you don’t have an implant. They’re learning how to speak without using air vibrations.”
Nisha looked back at Priya.
“Okay Pree, answer yes by nodding your head up and down and answer no by shaking your head side to side. Do you understand?”
Nisha studied Priya for a long time. Eventually, she indicated yes.
Nisha turned to Bok.
“Are you sure she’s okay, she’s not very responsive.”
Bok said, “She’s adjusting to the changes, but she’ll be an improved version of her old self within a few days or weeks. Remember, most cells in her body have been modified for a much longer life span, and most cells in her brain are modified for higher intelligence. You’ll understand how that was done eventually.”
“Why did you lengthen the lifespan?” Rachel said.
Bok turned to Rachel, glancing with one eye.
“We want our pets to live for a long time to avoid the pain of death for the owners. Does that make sense?”
Nisha paused for a moment, staring at Bok.
“I’m not sure whether to be impressed or disgusted. Yeah, I’d like my dog to live a long time. No, I’m disgusted. For now, I want to talk with Priya and Sophie too. What should I do?”
Bok paused.
“At first, I thought of making a translation device for her, but that would take a few days. The trainers would not like me doing that. My access to the domestication rooms might be severed. The other problem is they’re training the humans to not communicate with air vibrations, but I think if you whisper, we’ll be okay. Nobody else is around and the trainers won’t pay much attention to you humans or me.”
“Even you? What do you mean?” Rachel said.
“Juvenile Omanji such as me aren’t regarded as being fully Omanji until maturity and until we’re merged into the collective awareness. That means I can do things an adult would not be allowed to do because I’m ignored. Humans are ignored too. Go ahead and whisper to Priya and Sophie.”
Nisha walked over to Priya, who silently spoke with Sophie. She wanted to cry but she tried to restrain herself so she could talk with the girls. She studied Priya.
“Pree, it’s me. How are you? Are you okay?”
Priya glanced at Nisha and didn’t say a word.
A tear rolled down Nisha’s cheek.
“She’s not saying anything.”
“It’s okay,” Rachel said. “Keep engaging her and get her to warm up to you. She has been through the most traumatic experience of her life, so she’ll need time. She needs you too.”
“Yeah, you’re right Rachel. Thanks.”
She ran her fingers through Priya’s short, newly cut hair.
“Pree, I’m here. Everything will be okay.”
For a second, Priya looked into Nisha’s eyes and Nisha noticed a glimmer of hope. However, Priya’s eyes seemed to glaze over.
Nisha became infuriated and walked over to Bok.
“What did you do to her, you monster?” she whispered.
Bok looked confused, turning several shades of dark blue. He didn’t know what to do. Rachel ran over to Nisha and held her as she broke down sobbing.
“It will be okay Nisha. You need to be strong for her. Keep trying. Priya is right here in front of you. Take advantage of this opportunity.”
Nisha sobbed for a few more moments and pulled herself together.
“I’m sorry Bok, you’re not a monster,” she whispered.
He turned a lighter shade of blue.
She glanced at Priya and walked over to her.
“Pree, do you remember me? Tell me how you are. Bok tells me it’s okay for you to whisper. You won’t get in trouble here. You can whisper to me.”
Priya turned to Sophie and Nisha. Nisha felt a little glimmer of recognition like before.
“Mommy?” Priya whispered.
“Yes Pree, it’s me,” Nisha whispered back.
Priya gazed at Nisha, expressionless.
“It’s difficult for me to speak. I’m trying,” she said.
“It’s okay Pree,” Nisha said.
She hugged Sophie and stroked her cropped hair.
“Take your time. Bok told me what’s been happening to you and the other kids here. Take a deep breath and tell me how you are. Are you okay?”
A minute passed, but it seemed like forever.
“Mommy, I’ve never felt better or worse in my entire life. They did things to us. They injected me with something, and I felt a tingling sensation inside of my entire body. The next day they stuck a needle into me and gradually the tingling went away. They told me they improved me. Every one of my 40 trillion cells is different. They implanted a small device in my head, so now I can communicate by thinking. My neural network will grow around the implant. I can already talk with Sophie telepathically. We’re practicing. I’m still me though. My head feels hot. They’ve assigned me an Omanji family, and I’ll be living with them once I’m domesticated. they’re not abusive but they treat me like I’m a dog or something. Some of the other kids say we’re being adopted, but I think we’ll be their pets or slaves or something. They don’t tell us much, and we’re learning their language.”
“Priya,” Nisha said. “I’ve always been honest with you and I’m not going to stop now. The Omanji like you and they want you as pets, but not slaves.”
“They don’t respect us, do they?” Priya whispered. “They think we’re primitive because we talk out loud and aren’t self-aware as a species. Right?”
“Yes Pree,” Nisha whispered.
“What are you doing with that Omanji?” Priya said.
“This is Bok. He’s a youngling and he respects us. Younglings are more open minded than the elders. We’ve had many good discussions. I think he’s learning a few things from us.”
“That’s good,” Priya said. “But some of those big trainers in the other room are real jerks.”
“Did they hit you?
“No, but they turn red when we don’t do what they say. When they’re red, they’re angry and they act nasty like they want to kill us. That’s enough to keep us in line. Nobody wants to be here. They say they’ve made us super-smart so we can understand them, but now we’re arguing with them more every day. We won’t make good pets. Can we go home now?”
“You can’t go home yet Pree,” Nisha said. “I’m working on that now. For the time being, don’t let them push you around and keep your identity intact. Maybe if you don’t make good pets, they’ll let you go. They claim to be an advanced species. We’ll see about that.”
Silence.
“Why are they here Mom? What do they want?”
“Pree, their entire home-world population of 81 billion is moving to Earth. One side of their home planet will permanently face their sun. Most of the land on both continents will end up being always on the night side of the planet. That means most land life will go extinct. So, they’ve come to Earth to live here. We can’t stop them, so we must live with them. Soon, over nine times the number Omanji as humans will live on Earth. Fortunately, they’re mostly leaving us alone for the time being, but I’m increasingly anxious about that.”
“What can we do Mom?” Priya whispered quietly. “I don’t want to be here. I’m not going to let them make us into pets. I’ll never accept that. Not only will I not let them make us pets, but I’ll also make them leave the earth forever. This isn’t their planet. Now I know how the native Americans felt. The aliens are a bunch of—”
“Shhh,” Nisha whispered.
“Jerks.”
“Now that’s the Pree I know and love. They may be monitoring your thoughts so be careful. For now, don’t let yourself become a pet. Resist, but not past the point where you suffer abuse. I’ll work on getting you set free. I’m not sure how I’ll succeed, but best chance is if you don’t cooperate. Be a bad pet. Then, they might let you go.”
Rachel turned towards Bok.
“Can I take a blood sample from Priya?”
“Yes,” he said.
Rachel pulled out a needle and drew a sample of blood from Priya’s arm. She put the cap on the needle and put the syringe in her pocket. Several unfriendly looking Omanji walked into the room. They walked up to Nisha and Rachel, inspecting them closely.
Nisha turned to Priya and whispered, “I think we should go but I’ll be back. Don’t say anything back to me right now. I love you and I know you love me.”
Nisha hugged Priya and Sophie and they were led out of the room by the adult trainers.
Tears streamed down Nisha’s face as she watched them walk into the crowd of what on the outside appeared to be normal high school students.
Nisha said to Rachel, “I wonder if they’ve been wearing the same clothes for three whole weeks?”
“I can’t tell. Knowing the Omanji, they probably had the clothes replicated several times, so they’ll always wear clean clothes.”
Nisha laughed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“You’re correct Rachel. The clothing is precisely duplicated so the humans will be comfortable. Soon they’ll choose clothing based on the most fashionable human designs we observe in clothing stores.”
“You guys think of everything, don’t you?” Nisha said.
She gazed out of the huge window, surrounded by 2,000-meter-tall twisted silvery towers. Even on the 327th floor, the tops of the surrounding towers soared more than 200 levels above them. She could only see a sliver of ground when she looked down.
“It’s important in Omanji culture to be comprehensive and complete,” Bok said. “We should leave now. A friend of my father let us in here and I don’t want to push my luck, if you know what I mean.”
Rachel smiled.
“Bok, you’re speaking increasingly like a human. Don’t you agree Nisha?”
“Yes, we seem to understand each other better now too.”
“Agreed. We should exit now,” Bok said.
They walked out to the central core of the tower and into one of the lift cubes. Nisha fell backwards with reckless abandon. The resistance of the energy field seating caught her fall. Rachel followed suit. They giggled like children, even though they had tears in their eyes. Bok flashed pleasantly, in shades of green and blue as he sunk into his invisible seat.
“I’m happy I got to visit with Pree,” Nisha said. “Thank you so much Bok.”
“You’re welcome, Nisha,” Bok said. “Humans are closely bonded to their young just as Omanji are. I understand.”
“Someday when you raise children, you’ll understand. Hmm, that makes me wonder. Are you planning on having children?”
Bok flashed a pure shade of light blue.
“Yes, a mate has been chosen for me and we’ll join together when we merge with the collective awareness.”
“You don’t get to choose your own mate?” Nisha said.
“No, it’s more efficient to be assigned a mate based on the highest correlating genetic and intellectual match. The resulting children are more intelligent and are easier to train. Society benefits from genetic matching. As you can see, our system works well.”
“Perhaps too well,” Nisha whispered to Rachel.
“How can something operate too well?” Bok said.
“I was being funny,” Nisha said.
“I still don’t understand humor. Okay we are at ground level.”
They walked outside of the tower. Nisha began broadcasting to her followers what she recorded on the inside of the tower, omitting comments about how 80 billion Omanji are moving here permanently. While broadcasting, she talked with Bok.
“With genetic matching for mate selection, the individual in Omanji society counts for nothing. All that counts is whether society benefits?”
“The individual does count, but in general that’s correct,” Bok said. “We like order in our lives. The idea of choosing our own mate would cause chaos in society. We had a violent past, so we created this structure to build a peaceful society.”
“What about you Bok?” Rachel said. “Have you ever considered choosing your own mate? Did you ever. How do I say this?”
Nisha was never one to beat around the bush, so she cut in.
“Bok, do you like females other than the one chosen for you?”
Bok hesitated. His skin changed to a vibrant green, but he said nothing.
Nisha smiled as she muted the audio part of her recording which she planned to broadcast after the events in the tower were broadcast to her followers. She excluded the intimate parts with Priya from the broadcast.
“Bok, you can’t hide your emotions from us, we can see them. Tell us the truth.”
“Yeah,” Rachel added, trying to pry an answer from him. “We won’t tell anyone. The audio is muted.”
“Humans are more sophisticated than thought.” Bok said.
He turned down the volume on his translation device and placed it next to their ears.
“There is this one female I like very much. We can talk all day about every subject imaginable. We agree on many things. I like the way her nose wiggles.”
Nisha and Rachel glanced at each other and gave the thumbs up sign.
“Nisha, I think we’ve been handed the first piece of interstellar gossip.” Rachel said.
Bok wouldn’t look directly at them. He said nothing.
“Look, he’s shy.” Nisha said. “It’s okay Bok, you can talk to us. We’re joking around and having fun.”
“Yeah, now give us the details. Don’t hold back.” Rachel said.
“Okay. Her name is Beedee. She’s, my age. We were best friends when we discovered we were opposite sexes as we decelerated towards your solar system not long ago. Did you know we traveled so fast that we had to decelerate for ten years? That’s because—”
Nisha smiled and interrupted.
“Bok don’t change the subject. Normally I’d be fascinated about the details of near light speed interstellar travel, and I want to learn more about this topic later.”
Bok glanced at the ground. Nisha continued.
“Okay, so you like this girl, Beedee. You think she’s cute and you enjoy shared interests. This sounds like a human love story. Do you love her? Do Omanji experience love?”
“I hoped I could distract you, but you two humans seem to be determined to obtain this information,” Bok said.
“Yes, we are, so tell us.” Rachel said as she smiled at Nisha.
“Bok, we’re scientists and we’re naturally curious. It’s okay to tell us about love on Oma and about the one you love.” Nisha said.
“There is love on Oma,” Bok said. “Often love takes decades to develop after a match is assigned and offspring are produced. Usually, a couple will grow to love each other as they get to know each other. We aren’t encouraged to love our mates as though we had chosen them. That’s immature and primitive love.”
Nisha and Rachel glanced at each other with wide open eyes.
“What would your life be like if you could choose Beedee instead of having someone genetically matched to you?” Nisha said.
Bok paused for a long time. First, his skin became a vibrant blue, and then turned a dark and somber gray.
“It doesn’t matter,” he answered. “One has been matched to me and that’s how my life will be. She is acceptable and will be a good mate. We have a general commonality score of 0.87, with 1.00 being the highest possible. Beedee and I took the test and only scored a 0.74.”
“Bok, forget logical reality for a second,” Nisha said. “Tell us how you would feel if you could choose Beedee to be your mate. You do have emotions, don’t you?”
Bok turned a dull red. Nisha and Rachel knew the Omanji can get angry, but they had never seen Bok and the younger ones turn red except that one-time Nisha slapped one.
“I’m sorry Bok,” Nisha said. “We pushed you too far. We’re sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Bok said as his skin turned a more neutral and brighter gray. “I don’t know what happened. I understand anger can happen as we approach maturity. You are only humans asking questions. I got angry at my society, not you. I should not be angry. Let me think about your question.”
Bok stopped walking and became silent for a minute.
“I do have primitive human-like feelings for Beedee. I enjoy her company and I wish I could enjoy her company for the rest of my life.”
“Bok, what would happen if you refused your genetically matched mate selection and made your own selection?” Nisha said.
She briefly glanced over at Rachel.
Bok paused again and his skin turned a paler and darker gray.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never known of this happening. Wait a moment.”
Bok was a trance again for several seconds before he awoke.
“I asked my parents. According to them, I wouldn’t be allowed to join the collective awareness if I chose my own mate. They told me not to worry. All younglings go through this phase and later most agree that the genetic based choice is the best choice. It’s for the good of society.”
Nisha shook her head.
“Bok, 500 years from now you’ll likely be dead. Society will live on regardless of your choice. Don’t you have a right to live your life as you wish?”
“No individual has a right to upset an entire society,” Bok said.
“In most Earth countries, society doesn’t have the right to tell an individual how to live his or her life,” Nisha said. “We value the rights and lives of the individual. Humans can be messy, and we aren’t fully aware of each other, but we have a history on this planet of society trampling personal rights.”
“Yes, we learned about human history,” Bok said. “The rights of country sized groups usually dominate over the rights of the individual. That led to wars. We’ve learned to avoid them. You can see how far we’ve come now. In only a few thousand years, we’ve gone from an existence like humans today to an existence free of war and hardship. We’re free to explore the possibilities of the universe now. I’m sorry but my parents are calling me.”
“Those are good accomplishments for a species Bok,” Nisha said. “However, at what cost were those accomplishments made? I hope we can talk again tomorrow. In the meantime, I want you to think about a future with Beedee and your rights to self-determination. Think about how you feel about her. What’s that worth to you?”
“I’ll consider your ideas,” Bok said. “We’re on the edge of the colony now. We can talk tomorrow. Goodbye.”
Nisha and Rachel admired Bok as he walked back into the transit cube. He sped away into the depths of the colony.
“I broadcasted everything we saw in the tower,” Nisha said as they got into the car to drive back to their tent. “I left out the personal stuff. I’m not going to broadcast this conversation with Bok. It’s too personal. Hmm, I wonder what will happen when people learn about the children becoming pets. People won’t like this. I know I don’t. However, I think I need to be as transparent as possible. Are you checking the news Rachel? What’s happening?”
“Well, the pace of Omanji development is increasing. Approximately 500 more spheres arrived in the past day. That makes 1,500. That’s 500 million new Omanji today.”
Nisha’s eyes opened wide. None of this seemed possible. She kept hoping she would wake up from this nightmare.
“Every time things seem as intense as they can get, they pick up the pace. I remember being worried about the first sphere in orbit as though it was the end of the world. What else is happening?”
“There’s another new cult that camps outside the military barrier. It’s led by a charismatic leader called ‘The Telepath.’ The leader claims he’s in telepathic contact with the Omanji and if his followers donate all their possessions to the cult, he will make sure they all get genetically modified. His selling line is people who are modified are smarter and will live 300 years. They could learn about God faster by memorizing holy books, so they would therefore go to heaven more quickly. He also makes vague promises of riches here on Earth. The cult only has 5000 members, but it’s growing quickly via a website where one can sign up to be genetically modified if you donate your house or other large possessions.”
“No way,” Nisha said. “People are giving away their money to that crackpot? I thought this couldn’t happen in this modern day and age.”
“Sorry, but it’s true,” Rachel said. “They’re building tent-churches in the desert as close to the colony as they can get. They made several huge billboards with quotes from holy books. Here’s one from the Christian Bible. Hold on. Okay here’s the quote. It’s from 1 John 2:18. The billboard reads: Children, it was the last hour; and just as you heard that Antichrist was coming, even now many antichrists had appeared; from this we know that it was the last hour.”
Nisha arrived at their tent.
“That’s real old-time fire and brimstone stuff.”
She paused to make sure audio and video recording continued.
“Everyone out there, please don’t fall for charlatans and poseurs. They want your money, and they’ll give you nothing in return but false hope. Nobody has a direct connection to the Omanji. It’s best to rely on real science and the knowledge obtained from experimentation and observation. Hmm.”
“What?” Rachel said.
“Most established religions are taking a moderate approach. They’re saying the Omanji are subject to the same God rules of good vs. evil as humans are. I find it amazing that the visitation of an alien species has exerted little influence on the world’s major religions. Not even one is altering their core message. There’s this one guy saying the aliens are all going to hell because they can’t be saved by God.”
They washed up in the sink and walked to lunch in the mess tent.
“What else is happening in the world?” Nisha said.
“Everywhere I look, you’re the biggest news story in history aside from the aliens themselves. 80% of all people on Twitter follow you and your tweets and video feed. No matter where I look, stories are being written about you and your quest to take back your daughter and the rest of the children. Remember those old reality-based TV shows?”
“Yes, vaguely from old episodes on Netflix from childhood,” Nisha said. “Actually, I vaguely remember TV.”
“Well,” Rachel said. “We’re the stars in the most highly rated reality show of all time by far. Have you checked your messages lately? I’m seeing dozens of big offers to advertise on the feed you send out. I’m not saying we should take them though.”
“Yes, we should not make money off the misfortunes of others,” Nisha said. “It’s our duty as human beings to disseminate all the information we can safely obtain.”
They ate as they gazed out over the enormous colony.
“What else is happening in the world?” Nisha said.
“Well, let’s see.”
She browsed her news feed on her eyepiece.
“Watch this video taken in a dance club in Hong Kong. They’re wearing skins that turn colors like the Omanji. They’re becoming popular and they change color according to the mood of the wearer. Back in the 1970’s mood rings were popular. They responded to heat only. These modern skins respond to the wearer’s emotions.”
“Halloween is only a few weeks away. I think we both know what will be the most popular Halloween skin this year.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Rachel said. “While you were washing up, I gave Priya’s blood sample to the lab people for analysis. We’ll know the results in a couple of hours. Here comes General Sherman. Good afternoon General.”
“Good afternoon,” the General said.
He overlooked the colony from the perfect vantage point.
“We haven’t seen you in a couple of days,” Nisha said, muting the audio portion of her broadcast. “What’s happening?”
“Well, I’ve been spending all my time trying to control the crowds. Who knows what would happen if people got through the perimeter fence? I’m sure what would happen if someone fired a projectile or a missile into the colony.”
“That’s suicide,” Rachel said.
“Perhaps, but sometimes people don’t make the most rational decisions in times of stress. It’s a major task to keep things under control. We’ve positioned 50,000 troops here strictly for crowd control. That’s my job now, ever since the Omanji handed me that threatening note and I spoke with the President. Nisha, you’re now in charge of communicating with the Omanji. I watched some of your broadcast. You have a way with them somehow. Continue what you’re doing. Getting those kids back would be a huge accomplishment.”
“I’ll do my best,” Nisha said.
The General left and hiked out to the perimeter where people were shooting fireworks at the colony. As the General left, Nisha gave Rachel a thumbs-up off camera.
Rachel smiled back and said, “Oh, here is another news item. The stock market advanced 5% today on news the children are alive and you’re making progress communicating with the Omanji.”
“How are the children correlated with stock market activity?” Nisha said. “Sometimes I don’t get the market at all. The children don’t affect the economy.”
“That may be true in the short term,” Rachel said. “However, the market is a psychological indicator of the anticipation of the general mood of the population up to a year from now. The stock market has dropped total of 75% in the past three weeks. The 5% gain today means there’s a little less hopelessness today. Prices are so low that any amount of good news, no matter how small, is enough to push the market higher. The Omanji are weighing down our hopeful nature. When I read the news, everyone seems depressed.”
“Sometimes I’m depressed,” Nisha said. “But I don’t think all is lost.”
“Why would you think that?” Rachel said. “I’m depressed for humanity right now. We’ve lost control of our future. The Omanji rule us. We’re the runner up in the evolutionary contest. There’s no way out. In the last 20 minutes, another million Omanji landed on Earth. We don’t control our future. As an astrobiologist, you know how life works. Every life form does its best to dominate and spread itself over widest area. We humans did this, and now the Omanji did it on Oma and now on Earth.”
Nisha thought about this for several seconds.
“That’s true, but life also resists being dominated. A concrete and stone city can be built over what were once fields and streams. Soon after, plants appear in the cracks of the concrete and grow on rooftops. It’s hard to imagine that someday the plants could ever dominate the area again. However, plant life has overtaken ancient cities in Cambodia and Central America. In Hawaii, lava destroys forests and later the forests return. We need to act like plants and never give up.”
“You’re right, but it’s hard to see this colony and feel hopeful. How can we stop them?”
Nisha surveyed the colony, which stretched beyond her view. It was silent except for a low throbbing noise in the distance where the new towers were being constructed at a rapid pace. She didn’t feel hopeful, but she thought if she acted optimistic it might increase her chances. She was not normally one to resort to stuffing her feelings.
“I don’t know how we can stop them, but I’ll never give up. We need to live each day as it comes and go where things take us. We need to search for cracks in the 3D printed concrete.”
Nisha turned on her audio. Rachel received a message.
“I’m receiving some preliminary test results on Priya’s blood and tissue samples. Hold on. Okay, though we expected some of this, it’s still incredible.”
They selected their dinner in the mess tent and walked outside to view the colony.
“What’s incredible?” Nisha said.
“As we expected, the Omanji modified DNA in most blood and tissue cells. It will take a long time to understand the goals of the changes, but parts of the genome they changed correlate with longevity, and nutritional absorption. They also modified some vulnerable areas which correlate with various cancers and diseases. They said they want their pets to be healthy and live long lifespans. Bok mentioned intelligence enhancement, but we haven’t tested brain cells.”
Nisha tried not to cry. She wanted to say Priya is no longer human, but she held back because she wanted the audio broadcast to remain on.
“Their technology is advanced beyond ours,” Nisha said. “They’ve modified the DNA in trillions of cells in tens of thousands of unique individuals. We know a small DNA modification which benefits one person can harm another person. These changes may be custom made for everyone. They all looked healthy to me when we saw them. On top of all that, the Omanji took our DNA samples only a few short weeks ago and learned how to modify it. We’re an alien species to them. It’s mind boggling that from scratch they can learn so quickly. What are we going to do with this knowledge Rachel?”
She didn’t reply at first as she read more about the results. They gazed out over another colorful October sunset behind the colony.
“We can’t release the DNA test results to the public. We want to give all companies an equal chance to learn and develop what may be cures to many diseases. If we ever get brain cell samples, we may not release those. We don’t want anyone creating artificial races of super smart people. That might terminate our species, as we get replaced by who knows what.”
“I agree,” Nisha said. “Things are bad enough now. A longer lifespan will change the human species forever. Perhaps that’s our destiny. I’d like to live 300 healthy years.”
They finished eating and walked back to their tents as the last light of the day faded to blackness. The night sky was dark enough that our galaxy could be seen in the sky above the enormous colony. However, sunlight reflected from the 2,000, Omanji spheres orbiting the earth. People called them celestial fireflies. The lights were beginning to drown out the view of the stars. Only 6,000 stars can be seen with the average human eye.
Nisha contacted Quinn to discuss the events of the day.
“I’m excited because I visited with Pree today. Did you get a chance to watch my video broadcast?”
“Yeah,” Quinn said. “A few hundred million of your closest friends also watched the broadcast. You’re one of the most recognized people on the planet now. You’re even more popular than that hot contemporary music group. Um, ‘the trans-humans’ I think they’re called. So, what did you think about Priya? I’m sure you didn’t say everything, so you could broadcast to the world without editing.”
“Well, I didn’t say a few things out loud. Once I got her talking, I could tell she thinks differently now. She’s intelligent in a new way. She studied me with her eyes. I felt intimidated. I didn’t want to make a big deal about this on my video broadcast, but she’s been changed. As you know, the DNA in most cells in their bodies was modified. We didn’t get a sample of brain cells, but Bok told me every brain cell has also been modified. They performed extensive DNA modifications to the body cells. If they did the same to the brain cells, Pree and the other kids are no longer fully human. Maybe a new species. I hope her memories and personality are intact. They seem to be.”
Nisha cried after holding back all day.
Quinn said nothing for a full minute and let her cry.
“Neesh, I’m sorry. I know Pree will be okay. Maybe she will be smarter and better adapted to the new order of the world. She might be like a new species, and we’re the old species. Maybe we should be sorry for ourselves.”
Nisha stopped crying. She had been thinking the same thing.
“I’ll admit the Omanji know what they’re doing. What you say is encouraging and scary. I want you to be right for Priya’s sake and wrong for our sake.”
She breathed deeply.
“So, how is Sanjay?”
“Oh, he’s fine. I’m teaching him everything in the lesson guide and a lot more. He’s smart about many things despite the autism. He’s been telling us more about the bullying. I thought the schools had done away with bullying after we were in school.”
“No,” Nisha said. “Priya and Sophie told me about the bullying that goes on. It’s not ignored by schools like when we were kids, but it’s subtler and sometimes more insidious. Kids are still hateful to those who are different. It’s an age-old problem. I’ll tell you more about that later. I’m super tired so I’m going to sleep. Okay?”
“Okay Neesh. I love you too. Bye.”
Nisha and Rachel slept soundly out of sheer exhaustion.