More, Like Her

More, Like Her

Xerxic groggily opened one of her many eyes. What is that noise? she wondered, as she struggled out of a deep sleep. It took a few moments to realize that is was the sound of her own sobbing. Bending an eyestalk, she could see her lip flaps vibrating in the early morning light that suffused her cavern.

How strange! This was the first time she had ever experienced "sadness." The concept was foreign. Her race knew loss and this was very similar – but different, somehow. It's that song, she thought. She worked at the Ministry of Social Science and they had recently intercepted a transmission as part of their Search for Extra-Aquatic intelligence (S.E.A.) program. They had discovered there were two layers to the message; one was musical in nature, the other, a series of sounds that were thought to be a message. "More Like Her" Xerxic tried forming the strange sounds but they tasted wrong in her mouths and yet, the combination had somehow affected her. Infected is more accurate, she thought wryly. Very strange indeed!

She extended a tentacle and let it slide over the vacant sandy surface next to her. Small silica particles, disturbed by the motion, danced in the rising light as a counterpoint to the emotions she felt. "I miss you, Hydra," she murmured.

She glanced at the chronographic projection on her ceiling. "Oh darn!" she uttered as she realized that she had overslept. She stretched her tactile members and, unburying her lower extremities, drifted over to the hot springs and rinsed the sleep off her sleek form.

Grabbing a few remnants from her leftover dinner, she hurried out the entrance. "I can still make it to work on time," she said to no one in particular as she sucked in a pouch-full of water and ejected it, propelling herself into the stream of traffic.

Once into the flow, Xerxic went on autopilot, barely noticing her surroundings. The tall spires of Emcity gleamed in the pale green light, giving it a jeweled appearance. The parks, with their swaying forests of kelp, slid by unseen. Xerxic was focusing on the strange events of the morning, almost missing her stop. Pull yourself together, she admonished herself as she swam free of the current and headed into the M.O.S.S. building.

Xerxic nodded perfunctorily at the guards and entered the hot water shaft that carried her upwards to the tenth floor. As she exited, she caught site of Hydra at the end of the corridor. He was disappearing through the doorway to Biological Sciences ... and he was not alone. A sleek female, her soft gray skin and purple markings gleaming suggestively, was with him. That must be her, came unbidden to her mind.That dog-fish!

Xerxic took a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching the small bubbles carry away her anger. Her meditation was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

"Ah, there you are Xerxic," said Nereus, the head of the S.E.A. project. Noting her dark shading, he asked, "Is everything all right?"

Xerxic felt a flush and her color lightened perceptibly. "Good morning, Nereus. Yes, I was just clearing my mind before tackling that message again. I can almost feel that it has meaning and it's just frustrating that I can't find a way to understand what it's telling us."

"I understand what you mean," he replied. "But, don't lose sight of the fact that this from an alien source. There's no reason to think that whoever sent this is anything like us so even if we can decode it, it might not make any sense to us."

"Have you been sleeping well?" he continued.

"Why do you ask?"

His voice lowered. "Well, it's probably nothing but I've been having strange dreams and these ... feelings ... afterwards. I don't know if it's something in the current or ..." His sentence trailed off.

"It is algae bloom season," she said. "Maybe it's just a touch of allergies."

"Yes, maybe," he said without conviction.

"Well, I need to get to work. I'll check back with you later and update you on any progress I make." She reached out and touched him lightly, hoping to reassure him. The small suckers on the end of her arm made a small popping sound as she pulled back, making them both chuckle and breaking the tension.

Xerxic entered her small office and drew back the gorgonian that served as curtains for her window. She turned on the recording, settled onto the floor, and just let the sounds envelope her. There's such plaintive sound to this, she thought. Clearing her thoughts, she allowed the music to carry her deeper inside.

She's beautiful in her simple little way
She don't have too much to say when she gets mad
She understands she don't let go of anything
Even when the pain gets really bad
I guess I should've been more like that.

As the sounds found resonance within her, Xerxic's eyes strayed to the window. Across the way, she could see into the Biological Sciences wing of M.O.S.S. Movement captured her attention. She was looking at Hydra. "What's he doing?" she murmured to herself.

As if in answer, a ray of sunlight pierced the gloominess and seemed to light up the room she was looking into. Hydra was standing, surrounded by one, two, three, four females! And, they're all attractive ... and young! With a start, Xerxic sat up and focused all her eyes. She peered at the scene, thinking, there's something familiar about this ... about them, Like a shock from an eel, it came to her in a bold of clarity – they were identical!

Xerxic turned away in distress from the discovery. She'd heard rumors that M.O.S.S. had been working on trying to improve the breeding program. There were even a few stories that they were developing "air-breathers" although the idea was seen as ridiculous and was easy to dismiss. What would be the purpose on a planet that was seventy-five percent water?

As these questions swirled through her mind, Xeric caught her reflection in the monitor and stopped. Staring, she became acutely aware of her own appearance. The sleek gray skin, the purple markings ... it was only then that she realized she'd been looking at replicas of herself! Hydra had left her ... for her -- only better, younger, and perhaps less independent! She had been cloned by the man she loved! She had been betrayed by the man she trusted.

The realization was like a blow and she folded, sinking down to the floor, her mind totally blank with shock. The one section of sounds, that seemed to repeat, filled her mind.

I should have held on to my pride
I should have never let you lie
I guess you got what you deserve
I guess I should've been more like her.

She still wasn't sure of what exactly was being said but, suddenly, she felt sure that she understood the meaning behind the sounds. A sad smile formed. Maybe we're not that different, after all.


Notes
An entry for "Invalid Item" 
Prompt: Write a story based on Miranda Lambert's song More Like Her  

Word Limit: 2000
Word Count: 1190

gorgonian – sea fans

A big "Thank You" to Fyn for helping me clean this up. When it comes to stories, I need all the help I can get.

Thank you for taking time to read my words. I would appreciate it if you took a moment and left a comment. Your reaction, impressions, criticisms, - yes, even praise - are all equally welcome.

Ken