Noir

The frail man was compelled to kneel. Shivering, his palms pressed against the white marble, he stared at his pale reflection. Beside him, already kneeling, was his life partner. Dry-eyed with a face devoid of emotion, she stared straight ahead.

Their bonds were unbound. Still they did not move. The woman, Olivia, lowered her eyes. The man, back hunched, turned to watch the guards fade back into the shimmering hall. As one, The Council thought, what a terrible ordeal they must feel they are in. However, the capture of the Human expedition was a necessity. Humans. Homo Sapiens. What they called themselves, Arbiter thought, privately. He smiled. I guess we are all “human” in some way.

A half-billion cycles after the Council came to third planet and planted the Lifeseed, these two humans were about to break the boundaries of time and space and leave their solar system. It was a truly remarkable achievement. It took the original seedlings twice that time to attempt such a feat. So many things that the humans of Earth accomplished spoke to their success as a species. But so much more suggests that they are a failure as well. Not necessarily all their fault. Perhaps the Council’s errors are to blame as well.

The woman, Olivia, had informed the Council that their point in time was the 2,185th cycle around their Star. They were sent to colonize a new world. Of course, the Council knew this already, but Olivia’s truthfulness was a point of interest to the Council. Muse saw it as a sign of strength. To Hunter, it was a weakness. But to Arbiter, it was foresight. The truth more likely begets further truths, and lies could bring vengeance. Interesting, indeed.

The Humans of Earth were to think that Olivia and the frail man, Victor, were dead. It was decreed that they appear to have been obliterated by a rogue asteroid as they passed the Fourth planet. A second ship, which would have followed Olivia’s remained grounded as all of humanity collectively tried to determine what happened to the first ship. Hunter’s men awaited the craft’s passage, hidden undetected in the asteroid field. In all haste they were brought before the Council’s vessel, in far orbit outside their system.

The spread of Earth Humanity was unexpected. The Council did not think it would occur so quickly. Arbiter knew immediately that the lethargic Council would overlook the incredible and exponentially increasing speed of which the humans took to the cosmos. Arbiter knew this as soon as they achieved manned spaceflight, a mere 58 cycles after they overcame the limitations of gravity by ingeniously employing the thick earth atmosphere to achieve heavier than air flight. It took the first seed centuries to achieve such a feat. The Council truly admired the second seed’s adaptability. However, certain aspects of their species called into question if it was wise to allow such a thing as colonization to happen. It was to be decided here and now, before the judgment of the full Council, together for the first time in millennia. Muse of the Art, Creation, Life, and Regret, sat to the left. Hunter of the Shield, Protection, Death, and Mercy, sat to the right. And Arbiter of Truth, Foresight, and Order, sat between the two. All thought as One, and one thought for All.

This solar system was chosen for the Council’s experiment because of its remoteness. It lies in the outer reaches of the galaxy, in the fourth arm. In terms that the Humans would comprehend the easiest, their solar system was a proverbial “deserted island”.

The Council sat in silence, for a long time and observed these Earth humans. The two, out of pride or spite, did the same. They would not give their captors the pleasure of speaking first, for the inquirer would always be at the mercy of the ones who held the answer. For an hour they watched each other. Their resolve was most impressive, if not disturbing. Muse broke the stillness.

“Speak.” His voice echoed through the glistening hall. “We wish to give you answers.”

“Most assuredly,” Hunter supplied. “You wish to know what circumstances you are in?”

Olivia spoke, neutral in tone, a sign of reserve or submission, the Council did not know. “Who are you?” Arbiter raised his eyebrows. ‘Who’ she referred to us. It did not occur to her that in her first encounter with aliens she would look upon beings so similar to herself.

“Who, are we? What, are we? We are, simply, you. Your fathers, mothers, brethren. Your observers. Your ancestors. Your Gods, whatever you may wish to accept us as.” Hunter answered.

“You are Human?” Olivia asked, stress rising in her voice. Was she afraid that we are alike? Did she fear her own species, as many under the council’s rule did? Victor looked down.

“What is Human? How do you define ‘Human’? If you mean are we ‘Persons’, yes. If you mean are we genetically identical, yes.” Arbiter said in turn. Victor slowly shook his head.

“It was not supposed to be like this.” He muttered, face flushed. “I- I can’t understand…”

“No, you would not.” Muse said. “That is how it was made to be.” Then Hunter spoke.

“Any unnecessary interaction with the seed would contaminate the path of its evolution and render you without purpose.”

“And what is our purpose?” Olivia said, aiming a look of pity at stunned, shaking Victor.

Arbiter is to answer this question when it arises, but he pauses for a second. Is it wise to tell them? Once their mass knows the truth there would be no turning back. They are upon the next great cusp of discovery that will alter their species forever, and this time, unlike fire and Law, the outcome is undetermined. But it would be unwise to underestimate the Human’s resolve to know the truth. They are like curious children. It is best to tell them now rather than have them find out themselves farther down the path of time. If then who knows how they would react? “You are an experiment. Our experiment.” Arbiter explained with a hint of remorse. “You’re not the first. We wished to know more about how we came to be. The best way to understand us is to observe ourselves, you.” Victor gagged and coughed. “Obviously he was having trouble dealing with the realities of this concept. I am sorry that you must learn this now, with your species at such a tender age.”

“Our ‘species’?” Victoria pressed, kneeling upright now. “Do you consider us different from you? You seem to have trouble making up your mind, mister…” A request of the assignment of names, a trait of simian sociology. So similar to us. She asks, and she received answers.

“Forgive me, but you must understand that we are different and the same,” Arbiter apologized, “there is no answer that tells us if we are different or not. It is regrettable though, that such a prideful… people…such as Humans must now know that your role in the universe is not prodigy child, savior, or overlord, but experiment. We watched what you would do, technologically and socially, while being isolated from the rest of the galaxy.”

“It was a chance for us to learn new, wonderful things from a separate people. Essentially you were our version of artisans, because you thought and existed on a different set of rules than us. Your Mozart and DaVinci were most enjoyable to behold, for example.” Muse added.

“It seems only fair that we tell you what we know, after you have taught us so much. A fair trade. But it seems your period of invention is coming to an abrupt delay.” Hunter said

“You said we were not the first?” Olivia asked.

“The first experiment was to test completely independent evolution. No interference on our part. We wished to study the organism’s evolution. Because of an absence of natural predators and competition on this world the species became a natural extension of their world. Had they not encountered an … uncontrolled variable- they could have prospered and lived as long as their sun had shined. They were a truly successful species and a perfect fit for their world. We then could hypothesize that we too, were also a perfect fit for our world.”

“What became of them?” Victor inquired.

“Their planet was… unstable. The center of their civilization was built right on top of a vast geometric hotspot. It lay dormant for millions of years, but we could see that was destined to become a violent release of pressure from the planet. A super-volcano so massive its eruption would destroy the planets atmosphere and cause the species a slow, agonizing death.”

“Mars.” Olivia gasped. “Olympus Mons.” She turned to Victor. “It killed them.”

“You are correct. The fourth planet in this system was the home to the species Eppohc, as they called themselves. Or that is how it would sound with our tongues. They are telepathic. The first seed knew their planet’s demise was upon them. In desperation they began an exodus to the third planet to escape the toxic gasses that had begun to envelope their world. But their civilization was so crippled by the preliminary eruptions that they did not have the means to save most of their species. It was then that we decided that their species was a success and intervened. We could not save the planet but we did move the Eppohc to the core worlds, where our species truly began. We gave them a world of similar size and warmth, and transferred most of the secondary species of Mars as well. They are very happy, and have come to take an active part in the Galaxy’s government.”

“I don’t see any here.” Victor observed, gaining confidence to make eye contact with Arbiter. “Are they subservient? Do you enslave the species you save?”

Hunter explained, “The Council, is millions of years old. Older than the entire Eppohc species. They understand that the wisest and most experienced must be in charge. The oldest Eppohc is several million years old. Older than your entire species. Would you see them as more experienced than any human? When we feel the time is right we end our lives and others take our place. There is no hierarchy in our Government, only consent.”

“You presume we consent.” Olivia pressed. “If we do not, would you save us?”

Arbiter smiled. “An interesting question. One we hope to answer here and now.”

Victor shook his head. “Humans are too diverse in opinion to agree. We still cannot do it. You cannot use two humans to represent several billion others.”

“You are more alike than you realize. Your species imagine this diversity in order to promote advancement. It is where you draw one of your greatest strengths. But how would you know that all of humanity would or would not become united with the discovery of us ‘aliens’?”

“I just know.” Victor said after a pause. The Council collectively smiled.

“The second experiment took place on Earth because it was more similar to our home planet. It was volcanic and still undergoing changes when we decided upon it but once the atmosphere and oceans formed we saw its incredible potential. We saved Earth especially for controlled evolution. It is no accident that we are genetically identical. After we aimed the gene pool in the right direction we withdrew and watched Earth become one of the most beautiful planets in the entire galaxy. The form and function of its ecosystem is unparalleled.”

Something occurred to Victor. He whispered. “Here you compare us to another species, all of a sudden, but all throughout our history your kind watched us? The Holocaust? The Black Plague? AIDS? Famines? War?… And you did nothing? Did you cause these things? How can we be a successful species if you allow such suffering?”

“Yes, our kind watched you and allowed it to happen. Us specifically, as well. The Council is millions of your years old; we exist as an entity being transferred to new cloned flesh after its usefulness deteriorates. You yourselves know the flesh it not important, for you have treated your bodies as accessories and possessions for centuries. In fact, sadly, we are partly to blame for your suffering. Our choice of your solar system caused your species to violently turn on yourselves because once you established yourselves as the dominant species; there simply was no other enemy to fight. Being place here with no explanation of your existence or purpose, you accelerated your sense of a divine Creator, which only increased the violence. Disease was also partly our fault. It’s a consequence of small flaws in your genetic code. But this is not why we are reserved about you humans.” Muse said and looked to Hunter to continue.

“Humans, unlike the Eppohc, do not act like an element of the planet’s ecosystem. Some attempts were made, but essentially Humans operate much like a Virus. A Cancer. They consume a natural resource and move on, without recycling any of the energy back into the world. There is not give and take in Humans. Oil, Forests, Air, Food. You refuse to fit Earth and instead continuously make Earth try to fit you. You are indirectly killing yourselves by killing your planet.”

“Such lack of wisdom has been questioned for centuries.” Olivia pleaded. “That was why we were trying to start over on a new planet. To do it the right way.”

“What make you so sure that would even be possible? That would have required you to become a new species altogether. From the start your drive to advance had been stronger than your drive to fit in. You would do the same on another world as you had done to earth. The Human Virus spreads.” Hunter countered. Victor winced at the logic

“Maybe we shouldn’t have been on earth in the first place. We were changed to be like you right?” Olivia pressed. “In essence that makes us the aliens on Earth, how can we be expected to fit in?” The council nodded.

“That may be but Earth was chosen because it is very similar to our home world. That is why you had come to dominate and expand, not die out. You were built for Earth. The fact remains that the Earth experiment should last forever, if successful. Most sentient species would realize that their goal is longevity at a critical time and act accordingly. Your response to this question was unfortunately, to outlast and/or kill your enemies, as in other humans. You will die if we do not end the experiment here and now. By your own hand or by trying to escape to another planet. Some of us wish to forever quarantine you. Some wish to kill you out of mercy. Still others wish to eliminate you to preserve Earth itself, possibly for settlement.”

“Your species neglected an astoundingly beautiful planet. Earth is a wonderful place to evolve. It made you tough. But your species have selected a path that will destroy it, and you cannot turn back now and live your lives as you know them. Tragically you may not be fit to travel among the stars with us. However-” The Humans held their breaths. “Like your ancient China, isolation accelerated your self dependency and advanced your culture. Democracy and Art. Your self expression and desire to mimic your Earth through art bodes well. Your sciences may be flawed somewhat but so advanced for the small amount of time you’ve had to grow. Computers invented so unexpectedly early in your history, changing the experiment so drastically that you may have become unique enough for us to declare you different from us. You are incredibly adaptable and curious. Your emphasis of your future and fiction over history, ironically, is the inverse of our emphasis. You may be a virus, but you are very close to being an unstoppable virus, like your common cold. Only a lack of sustenance will end your advance. In fact, you Humans are so formidable, you are slightly feared among the galaxy. Your war tactics are fearsome. Blitzkrieg, radio communications, and urban warfare. The Cold War phenomenon. At war you are quite the creative bunch. You have even created your own companion species- Robots, to further advance your culture. The fact is we, like you, are advanced in some ways, but deficient in others. For millennia The Council has watched you grow and we have learned much, despite all the bad publicity you have been given by other species. I believe, as well as you do I’m sure that a proper balance can be achieved by teaching you all we know. Your war-like behavior need not prevent you from joining the rest of the galaxy. You are a rabid dog that can be shown the error of your ways. For this I, Arbiter, decide that you are a successful species and worthy of the councils blessing. Please, rise and let us accept each other.”

“It is the Councills will.” They said as one.

Muse and Hunter turned to Arbiter and nodded to the pair of Humans. A pause. Please, get up. Arbiter thought. Olivia rose, and Victor soon after. They took a step forward. Stopped and turn their backs on the council. No. Arbiter thought, holding his breath. The sound of whispers echoed in the hall. An hour before they knelt trembling before the Council. Now, with their backs turn they plotted amongst themselves. Remarkable. Who knows, maybe they are to be a prodigy child. Only time will tell. Then, with wide eyes and broad smiles, the Humans from Earth turned to approach the Council.