Space Ride

            “This is war!” said Dr. Autry Brooks, viewing the Earth two hundred miles below through his optic zoomer. The small square image could be prompted to appear, overlaying a section of the low thermal expansion glass picture window. The floor-to-ceiling, segmented window spanned the length of the fuselage offering each rider a luminous textured view of the Earth through their window segment.  

All five hundred and two riders on the space jet used their zoomer frequently. From their window segment, they zoomed in on Earth objects. Every passenger either occupied a bucket seat facing the window or floated, tethered to the partition between their window segment and their neighbor’s.

Autry’s weightless body drifted slowly in front of his windowpane as he felt the tug of his tether at his belt. Not given to display his emotions, a somber expression spread over his face contradicting the spectacle of a radiant curved Earth’s horizon flooding the window with azure light.

            “War? What are you talking about?” asked Chester, grimacing as he unbuckled himself from his bucket seat, feeling his body float. He remembered exchanging business cards with this black guy. He actually had the nuts to hand him a phony card labeling him as some astrophysicist named Dr. Brooks, who works at the California Institute in Technology. I’m not a racist but give me a break! I should remind myself to tear up that card and throw it away, he thought.

“See for yourself,” answered Autry, frowning.

Chester attached his belt to the tether next to his window segment. He placed his hand on the surface of the window, prompting the zoomer to appear. Still incredulous, he zoomed in on the Earth’s surface and scrolled around unsure of what he expected to view.

            “I mean nuclear war, world war! I mean mutually assured destruction! Your daughter Manda brought it to our attention. She asked about all the mushroom cloud clusters; she noticed through her zoomer. Remember? I wondered what she could possibly mean. Then through the zoomer, I could see the multiple billowing blasts appearing almost like eruptions,” Autry added.

            “War is dumb. Why do we have wars anyway? I hate them,” said Manda.

            “It makes no sense to me either, no sense at all,” replied Autry, glancing over at the thirteen-year-old who now appeared to be launching a 3D projection from her smartphone. She kept herself buckled into her bucket seat to keep from floating while she played her favorite phone game.

            To the right of these three, and more than a dozen seats away, a tethered old man using his zoomer began pointing out the window and speaking in a trembling voice. Autry watched the man, though he could not make out his words. To the left, a small girl, barely a toddler began screaming in reaction to the shouting match between her parents.

            Chester gasped. He spotted an enormous incandescent cloud shooting up and billowing into a massive mushroom. The light pierced through the zoomer and he covered his eyes, pausing as he teared up. He started scrolling again and caught sight of several blast clusters sucking gale-force winds from their surroundings. He did not know the location.

            “I guess you saw it. It’s not a good idea to stare at it through the zoomer for too long. It’s like watching from a few miles away. It could blind you. I think we’re orbiting over the midwestern United States, based on what I can see of the landmass under the clouds below,” said Autry.

Chester wiped his eyes and looked sadly over at his daughter.

Many riders on both sides of the threesome frantically unbuckled and coasted about the cabin shouting and screaming.

            “People see it now. It’s a wildfire of hysteria spreading through the riders. Everyone wants to reconnect with their loved ones on Earth. I know I do and you must also. In truth, going back is suicide. We’ve got to keep level-headed. We are actually in about the safest place we can be. We observe the war unfold below us but we are not exposed to any of the adverse effects,” Autry solemnly remarked.

            Chester’s thoughts raced. He did not want to upset Manda by speaking his mind. My wife and my two sons, are they safe? Are they alive? Brooks is a lying S.O.B. We will land. We have to.

            “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? This is your captain speaking. It has come to our attention that missiles are being deployed in a three-way conflict between the United States, Russia, and China. Events are transpiring rapidly on the ground so we lack many details. It is unclear who or what instigated the conflict, but we do know that the missiles all carry nuclear warheads,” announced the captain over the P.A. system from his cockpit.

            A loud gasp fanned out among the passengers followed by angry shouting.

            “LAND US BACK ON EARTH NOW!” shouted a large man floating against the ceiling of the cabin. 

“WE HAVE FAMILIES!!” shouted a woman from her seat.

            “Some of you may have observed the clusters of mushroom clouds appearing across the globe which began approximately eleven minutes ago. For others, this announcement is the first you have heard of it. As we learn more about the situation, we will provide you updates. Let me be the first to assure you that your safety is our first priority.  Orion Earth Orbiter will not take any unnecessary risks which could endanger you.  That’s why we have the safest record in the space tour business…”

            “OH, CUT THE CRAP! WHEN WILL YOU GET US TO EARTH?” Chester shouted as he looked out the window.

            “At the moment we are traveling at 17,229 miles per hour at an altitude of two hundred thirty-seven miles above the Earth. This trip is scheduled to last six hours and we have completed three and a half hours. We are into our fourth orbit circling the planet. When we complete our tour, we normally return to the Orion Earth Field in New Jersey.

We have just lost radio contact with them. But they instructed us not to land there, right before we lost contact. Be assured that the copilot and I are working diligently to locate the safest place on Earth, a place where we can land, and where we believe hope exists for our survival.” At that point, the captain signed off.

The passengers exploded into chaos. Children were screaming and people wept. The roar of shouting consumed the passenger cabin.

“WHAT ABOUT OUR FAMILIES?” cried out the same woman still sitting in her bucket seat.

 Autry’s round, moist eyes connected with Chester’s and then Manda’s. Chester tried to hold back tears but Manda seemed curiously withdrawn and emersed in a 3-D projection game. Autry wondered what ran through her mind,

Does she comprehend the graveness of our situation? he wondered.

“What game are you playing, Manda?” he asked.

Manda didn’t immediately respond, so Autry asked again.

Autry could see through the translucent colored moving forms of the projection. Manda’s facial expression changed from passive to alarm. She began turning her head away from the images and tried to focus on him.

“Err…Did you say something? Do you like 3D games?” she asked.

“Sure, I like games. Never played one in 3D. I asked what game you are playing. Maybe I would like it if I knew what it was,” said Autry.

“Isn’t much. You might think it’s stupid. It’s called Trust an Alien.  I downloaded it last week,” she replied.

“What are the rules?”

“Well, like your spaceship breaks down on a planet and you don’t have parts to fix it.   And like then, five aliens show up and they all say they have the parts and they will help you fix it. You have to pick the one telling the truth. If you guess wrong, you will die. If you guess right, the alien fix’s everything, and you are rewarded with gold. Then, the next level of challenge is harder. Each level gets harder and harder,” she explained.

“I get it,” said Autry.

Manda smiled and nodded.

“How can you talk to my daughter about phone games when we are faced with this?” Chester snapped.

“Sorry. Sometimes talking about games to relieve tension and fear is exactly the right thing to do. But I will stop if you say so,” said Autry.  

Still tugging from his tether, Chester focused his attention on Manda.

“I wanted this to be your birthday present! I wanted you to be so happy! You kept asking me when we could take the tour. The fares dropped back in 2032.  Everybody in the whole damn country wanted to try this. You were only five but you were so excited about it. At that time, I managed to reserve two seats on the waiting list for your thirteenth birthday. Now it’s all ruined! It’s all my fault I’m sorry, honey.”

“No, no daddy! Don’t say that! You didn’t know there would be this mushroom war. You gave me the greatest…”  

Manda paused. Something looked different out the window. Autry saw it also.

“Is the jet changing direction? We would begin our descent if they were going to land. Instead, the jet is turning out toward deep space. But why?” Autry asked.

As the Earth disappeared from the windows, the large passenger cabin was left in darkness. The crowd noise exploded.

“Maybe the pilot went crazy,” replied Chester.

“There’s something even more peculiar. To change direction and propel the jet anywhere, the pilot uses the jet engines. Yet, I hear no sound from the engines! How is that possible?”

 Suddenly the seatbelt signs blinked in unison above every seat.

“Please return to your seats immediately and fasten your seatbelts. Please return to your seats immediately and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you for your cooperation,” the lifeless voice repeated the message over the P.A.

Chester unfastened his tether and drifted to his seat.

“Jeez, this is creepy. What happened to the Earth?” asked the woman sitting next to Chester, her face filled with panic as she buckled her seatbelt. Chester looked at her with bewilderment but said nothing.

“Don’t be scared, ma’am. It’s cool. Dr. Brooks is this guy right here sitting next to me. He is some kind of a brainiac. He can explain it,” Manda replied. She leaned forward in her seat to see the woman and pointed at the doctor.

Autry viewed the terror in the face of the woman sitting to his right past Manda and Chester. I know nothing that can comfort this poor woman, he thought.

“Well, our jet has gone out of its orbital path around the Earth. The nose of the jet is now pointing out into deep space. But I don’t think we know the reason yet,” he explained.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this your captain speaking. It is my duty to inform you that we have temporarily lost control of the jet and it has moved off its orbital path. Please do not be alarmed. We expect to restore engine power and pilot control shortly.

As soon as this occurs, we will be reversing our present course and returning to Earth’s orbit. You have my personal assurance. The jet has plenty of fuel in reserve and the return trip will require very little. Please remain seated at all times unless you need to use the comfort station or require special assistance.”

            After the captain signed off, deep space darkness shrouded the cabin. The only light came from the seatbelt signs and the tiny pinhole stars visible out the picture window. Autry watched three men unbuckle themselves and lift out of their seats,  He puzzled, watching them perform summersaults in midair and laughing heartily. It’s like they don’t care if they survive, he reflected.

            “WE MUST RETURN TO BE WITH OUR FAMILIES! WE MUST!” It was the same woman shouting now as she had earlier.

            “DAMN RIGHT! I’M FOR GOING TO THE COCKPIT AND DEMANDING THIS CAPTAIN TURN THIS CAN AROUND NOW!” Chester shouted out as he unbuckled himself. He drifted out of his seat and quickly several dozen other passengers did the same.

 Riders floated from each end of the bucket seat row holding onto the back of the seats until they reached Chester. He tethered himself at his window segment, waiting as they all collected around him.

“Chester, you’re being very foolish. Don’t you know the captain is doing all he can…?” Autry began.

“SHUT UP!”  Chester roared.

“GUESS YOU LIKE THIS DAMN TRIP TO NOWHERE! MAYBE YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT FAMILY BACK HOME. THE REST OF US DO!”

Having the harsh words screamed at him stung, but Autry had no opportunity to reply. At that moment, bright azure burst into his eyes like a tsunami. He looked down, squinting, blinking, and rubbing his eyes. He looked up, to discover everything cast in azure blue light. The azure made a radiant opaque surface on the window.

“Is this some kind of stunt? The whole room is blue,” said Chester.

“So Awesome!” replied Manda.

“Incredible, even the view out the picture window is a solid azure blue!” said Autry.

“This must be some kind of trick. The captain must think he’s cute!” Chester replied, angrily.

“YEAH, IT’S THE CAPTAIN! HE’S USING TECHNOLOGY TO CONFUSE US!” said a heavyset middle-aged man floating near Chester.

“Of course, just like he created the nuclear war! We’ve been watching computer-generated images all through this trip. Can’t you tell? We never left the Earth,” said a younger woman wearing thick-rimmed glasses.

“My God! It’s a conspiracy! Anybody can see it. The captain has to be behind it, ”  said a slumped-over elderly man. He clung tightly to the back of a seat to keep from floating away. 

Then Faintly, Autry detected a noise and looked around in the blue glow to find the source. Gradually, it grew louder and riders started screaming again.

“Do you hear that?” asked Manda.

“Yeah. I don’t know the source but it seems to be a white noise. I don’t think you’d call it unpleasant,” answered Autry.

“What is a white noise?” asked Manda again.

“A mixture of many sounds into a smooth tone. Like the sound of rain or waves splashing on the shore,” he answered.

“Dr. Brooks must be the smartest person in whole the world,” Manda smiled.

“People please understand that the war we saw on the Earth was real and I don’t think the captain created all the color and sound we are now experiencing. Also, we’ve been weightless for hours. Why would anyone bother to create such an elaborate hoax?” asked Autry.

“I can see you’re quite naïve,” replied the elderly man, raising a shaky finger in the air.  Autry didn’t reply. He and Manda remained buckled into their seats. He looked back at

the many passengers floating behind him along the long seating row.

“If that captain doesn’t make it happen, who does?” asked Chester. Several other passengers chimed in, repeating the question.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Autry replied tensely holding up both of his hands in surrender.

“We created the noise by combining all of the noise you call music. We received this in your signals and made it into a heterogeneous mixture. We assumed that if you liked this music noise, combining it would bring you even more enjoyment. We created the blue to match the color emitted from your planet. Since such a color is so prevalent where you live, we assumed it would make you feel more at home,” said a disembodied voice.

Now an unaccountable voice, an odd voice clearly understandable yet delivered in a curious harmonic triad. It couldn’t be human. What then? Perhaps A.I.? Nothing adds up, Autry considered.

“Did you make that weird voice?” asked the little girl.

 “I didn’t. But I wonder who or what did,” replied Autry. They both looked around the cabin as did many others.

“We have no doubt but what you are quite confused. You want answers about what you are experiencing and please be assured, that they will be provided. First, be assured, that you have nothing to fear from us. Our intentions are more than friendly, they are compassionate,” said the voice again.

“Who is “we” you keep mentioning and why can’t we see you?” asked Autry.

“We will try to explain that in your language which does not translate well on certain points. We do not employ any language to communicate. We have no use for it. But as a species you are dependent on it, so we have acquired your language. Among your words, the best term we could come up with to describe us is sentient beings or perhaps simply sentience.”

“I knew it! You’re aliens! Awesome!” Manda called out raising her fist into the air.

“No, no, dear. This is a trick by that pilot sitting in the cockpit. Don’t be fooled, honey,” said Chester. The din of the other passenger grew louder.

“We are not fooled by this childish charade, captain. Stop this nonsense and take us home now!” said the middle-aged man.

“What is charade? We don’t know the meaning. Childish. By that, you must think we are acting immaturely. The average lifespan of your species is between seventy-five and eighty-five of your years. Our average lifespan is between twenty-five and thirty-million years. No, we don’t think you can call us immature. We will show you the sense in what we do,” replied the voice calmly.

And little one, you are quite close. But we are not quite like the aliens in your 3D graphical movies or books, but your way of mind works similar to our psychic transfer and we like that!”

“Sentience, do you read minds?” probed Autry, his eyes looking searchingly at the solid azure picture window. The answer to his question interested him less than what it might expose about the legitimacy of this anomalous entity.

“In your manner of words perhaps, but we read only our own. We are a multilevel collective of sentience which is interconnected,” continued the voice.

“Why can’t we see you? Are you hiding?” Chester asked, derisively.

“We hide nothing from you, sir. You are a species requiring a body. We are not. We are pure sentience and our mission here is to help you. Your species is now endangered. We are here to prevent your extinction. How can we state the purpose of this journey more clearly?”  

Is it possible this whole experience could be a group hallucination? People are stressed. It can’t be ruled out, Autry thought.

“Then, you intend to turn us around and help us find a safe place to land on Earth?” he asked.

“Yes and no,” answered the voice calmly.

“We will help you land on a very safe place, but it won’t be on Earth. There is no safe place remaining on Earth. Your entire population died out along with many other species. Where cities and towns are not destroyed, the land and water are contaminated by nuclear fallout. There is no place on Earth which has been spared.”

“THIS JOKE AIN’T FUNNY NO MORE! IT’S TIME TO TURN THIS CAN AROUND AND GET US HOME, DAMN IT”! Chester’s voice shook with rage. Many passengers floating near him shouted in agreement.

“GET US HOME! GET US HOME!” they shouted in unison repeatedly.

Autry leaned forward to view Chester better. Luckily, the tether still holds him in place. But the man gets more unhinged by the minute. He is likely to do anything and this angry mob poses a danger to our survival, he thought.

“Chester and all my fellow passengers, I know it is difficult, but please try to calm yourself. We are all in this together so the best way is to sort this out together,” said Autry.

“Mister, I don’t know who the hell you are but if you can’t see the obvious conspiracy being instigated by the captain of this jet, you are either a fool or a coconspirator!” said the younger woman in thick-rimmed glasses.

Several Riders shouted out their agreement.

“LET’S HEAD FOR THE COCKPIT NOW AND DELIVER OUR MESSAGE TO THE CAPTAIN!” Chester blurted. He turned to unfasten his tether.

At that moment, the riders toward the front of the cabin broke into a loud chaotic uproar. Autry caught the image of a man in a uniform talking with a group of passengers but could not hear the interchange. He realized this man must be the captain.

“Hey, wait daddy! I think I see the pilot coming.” Manda tugged her father’s sleeve.

The entity began to seem credible to Autry. It did not strike him as impossible that such beings existed somewhere in the universe. He decided to adopt this as a working hypothesis.
            “If you are as you describe yourself, how did you learn about us in the first place? It appears you have taken complete control of this jet from the pilot. If you are taking us somewhere besides Earth, it is highly doubtful this jet can go very far away from the Earth. It isn’t designed for deep space travel. You will kill us all. Is that your intention?” Autry tested. He caught the expression of fear on Manda’s face and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“We would never have known of your request for help if it were not for the distress signal sent to us from your vessel. Let us repeat our assurance that we are here to rescue you. We are here to bring back your species from total extinction. Your protection and survival are our first priority,” answered the sentience.

“The pilot sent out some type of distress signal and you received it?” asked Autry with a furrowed brow.

“It came from this vessel, you are correct, but not from the pilot. It came from the little one called Manda,” said the sentience.

“You leave my daughter out of this! This whole thing is a trick. The captain’s days are number! If we have to take control of this jet ourselves, we’ll do it,” said Chester.

“Daddy, please stop! It’s not a trick. This invisible thingy wants to help.” Manda looked sadly at her father.

“We mean no harm, sir. We are here for your benefit. Your daughter sent a message from one of your devices. We believe you call it phone? Something like cellphone or smartphone? By using an app to select a friend on the device, she reached us with her distress call,” said the voice.

“What distress call? I just played a game,” said Manda.

“Game. Yes, we knew you used that word to describe it but we don’t know the meaning. What is game?”

“Don’t worry about it for now. Where are we going? Where are you from?” asked Autry.

“We reside at the edge of this galaxy. Using your measurements, our home is about 25,000 light-years away. There, we occupy vast dimensions of space. Unlike you or many other intelligent entities, we do not live on a planet, moon, or asteroid.

The captain reached the crowd gathered around Chester, and everyone seemed to be sizing him up. He grabbed the back of Chester’s seat to hold himself in place.

“TURN THIS JET AROUND NOW, BUDDY… OR YOU CAN EXPECT A GREATLY SHORTENED LIFESPAN!” screamed Chester.

“Knock it off, Chester. I believe he has something important to tell us.

Uppity black punk! We may need to kill him too, just to shut his trap, Chester thought.

“Well, I guess everyone knows I’m the pilot. My name is Captain Sellers. I have left the cockpit to tell everyone face-to-face that the Orion Orbiter has been entirely out of pilot control for more than two hours.

Neither I nor the copilot knows a way to recover control of the jet. Believe me, we’ve tried everything in the book. My copilot remains in the cockpit just in case the jet is recoverable at some point.

We can’t account for the abnormal blue light or sound which apparently everyone experiences. It’s the same in the cockpit. But there is no evidence that this is harmful to anyone. Much more troubling is the fact that this jet continues accelerating steadily. It now travels at a speed far beyond what is possible for it to attain, even with the jet engines operating – which they are not,” said Sellers.

“Well, shoot! How fast is this can going?” asked Chester.

“Once we left Earth’s orbit, the Air Speed Indicator became useless…” The captain shook his head, dejectedly.

“Then, how do you know? How do you know?” Chester pressed.

“A video camera pointed out through the cone of this vessel offers the captain a view of the stars we are passing,” The voice injected.

The captain glared suddenly at the opaque blue window, his face full of confusion and alarm.

“The captain’s 3D view allowed him to perceive the rushing toward a point in space while stars hurled past on all sides. He inferred the vessel speed to be far faster than anything he ever experienced,” continued the sentience.

“Our velocity relative to the constant speed of light is 204,795 kilometers per second, or 127,254 miles per second, depending on which measurement system you use. The vessel is nearing the speed of light. It will soon pass it in the next few minutes.”

“That’s impossible. Besides, this jet is not designed for long-term travel in deep space. Our supply of oxygen is limited and the structure of the jet is not strong enough to protect against the asteroid belt,” retorted the captain still looking around for the speaker.

“Captain Sellers, I sincerely hope you don’t think us all crazy, but we have each been interacting with visitors of some sort. They are not visible, but can communicate using our language,” Autry explained.

Without notice, everyone felt the pull of gravity for the first time since the tour began. Several floating passengers hit the floor of the cabin on their stomachs with a loud grunt and a stream of obscenities. Sellers watched his feet hit the floor with a confused expression.

“You need not worry about this vessel. We have sealed it hermetically and created a reverse energy field surrounding it to deflect any object moving near its path. We know your science insists that nothing can move faster than the speed of light but as we speak, this vessel has already attained a velocity twice that amount.

The black hole we have just entered produces the gravity you now feel. Accessing the powerful G force propels the vessel at this velocity and shortly we will attain velocity seven thousand times the speed of light. We have calibrated this G force to a much-reduced level for the inside of this vessel so you can walk normally and we will supply all the oxygen you require,” added the sentience.

“This is all B.S. I’m headed for the cockpit now to turn this can around,” said Chester pivoting toward the front of the cabin.

“You are most welcome to try, sir. You will never succeed and you should be grateful for that. From this distance, your journey to your home planet poses a great danger to everyone on this vessel. Your death, your daughter’s death, and the deaths of your fellow human beings on this vessel are all but inevitable. But even if you somehow miraculously reached your planet, it resembles nothing you remember. Centuries have passed since you lived there.

Chester stood motionless staring with round eyes at the blue window. Abruptly, he raced toward it, raising his fists in the air and pounding on the glass.

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO US! YOU CAN’T! YOU JUST CAN’T,” he screamed nonstop as he pounded the glass with all his strength. Manda buried her face in her hands.

At that moment, nearly one hundred passengers gathered around Sellers. Autry unbuckled himself and stood up. Chester bellowed above the noisy crowd and this made it difficult for Captain Sellers to speak. He finally gave up.

“Now humans, we carry you to the edge of this galaxy you call the Milky Way. We will arrive at our destination in fourteen of your minutes. It will be your new home!” The sentience seems to have the power to silence everyone, thought Autry.

The captain stepped into the middle of the crowd, and most of the riders stepped back to give him more space.

“You have everyone’s attention. I can only guess you are somehow real, but as captain of this jet, I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of every rider. If it is your intention to do us harm in any way…”

“Quite the opposite, Captain Sellers. This group of five hundred and two passengers represents all that is left of your homo sapiens. As an intelligent species, you are officially placed on our endangered list. As such, it is the duty of our race to prevent your extinction.

 We have handled many more cases like yours and are very experienced. Your home planet is uninhabitable for the foreseeable future. But don’t worry because we have created another wonderful model of the first! We set it in motion orbiting a new star. It will be your simulated habitat enclosure planet for many of your generations.”

“You are saying that we are on our way to a new artificial home. What do you mean by this? What do you mean when you say you have handled many more cases?” asked Autry.

“Your word that best describes what we do is zoologists. We are the Zoo Collective of sentience. We are the professionals who maintain zoo enclosure planets and moons to preserve endangered species and to provide enjoyment for the rest of the sentience. As zookeepers, it is also our duty to find and capture as many endangered intelligent life forms throughout our three-galaxy precinct. Thanks to the little one named Manda, we found you quickly.”

Standing among the passengers crowded behind the bucket seats, Chester pushed through to the open space where Captain Sellers stood.

“NO WAY YOU’LL STICK ME IN SOME DAMN ZOO! IF YOU’RE SMART ENOUGH TO SHIP EVERYONE TO SOME FAKE  ZOO PLANET, THEN YOU ARE ALSO SMART ENOUGH TO TURN THIS CAN AROUND AND DUMP US BACK ON EARTH! IF NOBODY ELSE IS DEMANDING IT, I’M STILL DEMANDING IT!” shouted Chester.

“It is our understanding that increasing the volume of the spoken word is quite commonly correlated with an experience of strong emotion in human communication but let us assure you Chester sir, we have no difficulty hearing anything you say at normal volume.

You are very lucky we captured you. Of all the intelligent life forms we are working to save, homo sapiens are by far the most aggressive and cruel. You have no hesitation but to use this…I believe your word is “indiscriminately?” You murder millions of your own species, indiscriminately. No other intelligent species within our galaxies engages in the systematic horror against their own species. As intelligent as you seem to be, you don’t seem capable of controlling this impulse. Need we point out that your near extinction resulted only because of this?”

The sentience paused and no one made a sound, including Chester. After several minutes, the voice began again.

“Once we place you in your new planet enclosure, we will begin the breeding process as we do with every other species. But for your future generations, we will remove genetic coding in your hypothalamus that programs you for aggression. It really is the best thing for you.

Finally, for the amusement of the larger sentient collective, we will train you in some animal tricks and stunts that will keep them wanting to come back and see your shows. We hope you don’t mind this minor inconvenience.

Oh yes, we almost forgot. It is impossible to leave your enclosure. There is no point in trying,” concluded the sentience.

Through the picture window, the dense blue thinned and the passengers perceived a bright sphere gradually becoming clearer to see. It bore a remarkable resemblance to Earth.

“At last, your new home! We have arrived!”

THE END

Bio: Abbott Seldon, pen name of Thomas Wells; The fiction of Thomas Wells has appeared in Alien Skin, Baltimore Lite Literary Magazine, Intuitive Explorations, and The Lake Superior Review. He is a employed as a freelance ghost writer and is a member of the San Jose Writers Center. His poetry credits include Caesura Poetry Journal, The Opiate Journal, Dissent Voice, Tuck Magazine, and PS: It’s Poetry, a print anthology of PoetrySoup.com available on Amazon.

E-mail: Abbott Seldon

Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum

Return to Aphelion's Index page.