Interlude

The survey team stumbled across the alien during a routine inspection of the planet.  They had just climbed a small hill looking for a spot to set up their equipment when they spotted it down in a hollow formed by the rolling terrain. The sight of the alien paralyzed everyone in the group for several moments.  The being also saw the team at the same time, but it made no move in response to their intrusion. It appeared to be resting.

The ship orbiting overhead had not detected intelligent life on the planet during its mapping sweeps. The team's follow-up exploration of the surface had confirmed those findings--until that moment. They were on a young planet teeming with vegetation and primitive animal organisms that they knew was still millions of years away from evolving intelligent life. Yet, in contradiction to all of the team's knowledge and technology, there the alien was, right below them, its bright eyes staring up at them with undeniable intelligence as it lounged against a tree.

Heea, the Kith, was the first to speak. "This entity does not register on my sensor." He tapped the device with a free tentacle.

"Nor mine." Worr, the Perff, attempted to adjust his apparatus with the stubby digits of his paw.

Miof, the Donay--and hence an empath--stared at the being below them.  "I do not sense its existence," she said, at a loss to say anything more. Her skin color faded to dull white.  For a Donay not to be aware of the presence of an intelligent creature in the immediate vicinity was unprecedented.  The team members debated their course of action.   Most urged caution before proceeding.  Some even advised returning to the ship until an armed escort could be provided. 

Finally, Llus, a Loped and the team leader, spoke. "We are not going anywhere until we fulfill our mission," he said through all three of his mouths, drowning out the others.  "Obviously, this being is not a native of this world.  It is a visitor, just as we are.  We have every right to be here as it does."  He waved an eye stalk back and forth for emphasis.  "We can tell just by looking at it that it is not a totally new life form, but rather some kind of primate, though of an unknown species.  That will be the starting point for our investigation.  We will establish communications with it and express our peaceful intentions."  He blinked all his eyes in sequence.   "We must also discern its purpose here as soon as possible."  

Llus eyed all the members of the team with a separate eye stalk.  "I think we are all in agreement that this being comes from a race far more advanced than any of ours.  Its ability to shield itself from both Miof and our instruments testifies to that.  But this is no time to get cold pseudo-pods.  The mission comes first."   The Loped's air-sac bunched up into what the others knew was a frown.  He then brought all of his eye-stalks to bear upon Rasthu, the Teil, and the lone primate in the survey team. "It appears this is a job for you, Rasthu," he said. 

The other did not hear him.  The Teil stood apart from the team and gazed at the ground with a bowed head.  He pawed the grass under him with the toe of one boot.

"Rasthu!"  

"Yes!"  The Teil snapped to attention.

"This is no time for skylarking!" Llus said.  "I have work for you."

Rasthu shook off his lethargy and jogged back to the group.  "I am ready."

"Perhaps you have returned to the team too soon after your loss,"  Miof said,  her skin glowing blue in sympathy.

"No. It is nothing, I--"

"Counsel him on his own time, Miof," Llus said.  "We have our duty to perform now." 

"I am fine." Rasthu avoided looking at Miof's large, translucent eye and turned to Llus.  The Teil straightened his posture.  It was his passion for duty and the neglect of his home life that was responsible for his loss.  So be it, he would now lose himself in duty, too.  "I await your orders," Rasthu said.

Llus squinted half of his eye stalks at the Teil and the other at the alien below them. "Interrogate that strange primate according to protocol and find out who it is and what it is up to. We will stay here and establish an uplink to the ship's data base to try and obtain information on this unknown being. Please don't frighten it away."

"As you wish." Rasthu said.  He took off his possibly suspicious appearing survey equipment, although it seemed to him that all of the apprehension lay with the team and not with the placid entity below them. He also removed his outermost protective garment to allow the creature to see that he did not have a hidden weapon.

Pyt, the Sodee, began to complain that he could not obtain a video image of the entity for transmission to the ship. The Teil nodded at Llus and began his descent from the hill.

Rasthu took advantage of the time it took to feel his way down the slippery grass to study the alien below. Yes, the being was a primate like himself, but it was not a very impressive looking one. The thing was lean and lacking in muscular bulk. It was completely hairless except for a  light-colored patch on its head and its groin. Its pale, washed-out skin was tightly stretched across a bony frame like a poorly constructed box kite. The creature was tall, true, but the fact that it was stark naked didn't help its appearance. It was a scrawny mockery of a true primate. The alien looked like a dead Cronee washed up from the depths of the oceans of Ney, his home world. Rasthu just hoped it wasn't sick with an unknown contagious disease that his inoculations couldn't handle.

The wretched-looking slug should have fled in terror at the sight of the stout, fur-covered Teil coming his way, but the thing just remained where it was, sprawled against a tree, chin resting in the hand of an arm, the elbow propped upon a bent knee. It chewed on a stalk of vegetation as it watched the Teil approach. There was no trace of curiosity in its emerald green eyes;  it regarded Rasthu like he was a bug crawling upon the ground.  The Teil shuddered despite himself as he came to a halt only a few steps away from the entity.

An awkward silence followed. Rasthu towered over the alien. He noticed it was a male. The creature glanced up at him with no expression and then stared off into space. Was it indifferent, or just rude? The Teil cleared his throat and said, "I am Rasthu, a member of a scientific body attached to a multi-race organization known as the Collective. I and my colleagues came here to survey this world and determine its suitability for future colonization. We are on a peaceful mission and wish to remain so, barring any violent interference. May we inquire as to your origins and intentions, sir?"

He was speaking Collective 3B/Revision 2/Change 4, the common language of all the races that made up the Collective. Rasthu didn't expect the being stretched out before him to understand, but protocol demanded an attempt at verbal communication before resorting to sign language.  His companion did not appear willing to make the first move.

"Yes, yes.  I know," the alien replied, waving a hand in the air. "Could you move to one side, please? You're blocking the light. I'm trying to get some sun." The Teil did as it requested before he realized that he had been addressed in his own native tongue.

"You speak my people's language!" Rasthu said.  His voice broke halfway through the sentence.

The entity shrugged. "I know all languages." 

The Teil swallowed to bring his voice under control.  "Sir, are your people an associate member of the Collective, or perhaps in private alliance with Ney?" It was impossible to keep track of all the intelligent races in the galaxy. Rasthu barely knew all of the full members of the Collective.

"No." 

The Teil shifted his feet. The damn thing didn't have to be friendly, but at least it could be civil.  "May I again inquire as to your mission here, sir?"

"I'm waiting."

"I see. Um . . .  for what?"

"For the rise of civilization."

Rasthu couldn't suppress a chuckle. "I see that you are not aware of the Collective's colonization methods, sir.  Please let me explain: if we find this world suitable for one of our members, only small settlements will be established at first, and all subsequent growth will be kept to a minimum while we study the impact to the ecosystem of the planet. It will be quite some time before 'civilization,' as you put it, arises. I respectfully suggest that you allow us to place you in contact with the Collective's ruling body for the mutual benefit of our peoples."

Rasthu knew that rogue races existed who disdained association with the Collective for one reason or another. Perhaps this ugly creature was from one of those.  Protocol demanded that all such independent races be treated with courtesy in hope they could one day be persuaded to join the Collective. Especially if they were advanced enough to become a potential threat, as this species was. Not that you could tell just by looking at the pathetic example beneath him, though.

"No, no, no," the alien replied.   Then it yawned.  "I don't mean you. I'm talking about the native population."

Rasthu guffawed. "Assuming one arises, sir," he said. "That is, of course, millions of years away." Was the skinny, hairless worm trying to be funny?

"I have the time."

The Tell shuffled his feet again. This was getting nowhere. Some races were just inexplicable that way. There was no use trying to understand them. It was time to move on to something more important.  If only he had followed that advice in his own life!  How could he not have seen--  He cut off the thought.

"Be that as it may, sir," Rasthu said, "it is entirely your business and we in the Collective have no desire to disturb you, unless of course, a dispute arises between us over this planet. Are your people claiming a proprietary right over it? If so, I suggest that both sides submit to binding arbitration by the--"

"Your survey team will not find this planet suitable for colonization. There is still too much seismic activity taking place." 

Rasthu took a deep breath. The smugness of the thing! "Well, sir, that is one of the factors we will take into consideration when reaching a conclusion. But we must make the final determination ourselves, you understand."

"I will not interfere."  The alien began to whistle.

The Teil clinched his fists and counted to ten. The arrogance! But at least it had conceded something. "Thank you, sir. Now, while my team conducts its survey, may I extend an invitation on behalf of the Collective for you--and all who may be accompanying you--to be welcome guests aboard our ship. There you will be shown every hospitality and it will be an excellent opportunity for our peoples to--"

"That will not be necessary. I would not find it interesting, I'm afraid."

Rasthu felt like kicking the pompous bastard. To hell with this humiliation! He would try to cajole just a few more bits of information out of the cursed thing and then leave it be. "Are you alone, sir?"  It was difficult to keep his voice even.

"Yes."

"I see. Very well then, sir." Rasthu tried to sound matter-of-fact. "Please be aware that as we conduct our survey, we will make every effort not to intrude upon your privacy. Be advised, however,  that we find our inability to detect you on our instruments disconcerting and potentially hazardous. May we offer you a transponder to carry on your person, sir, for your own protection and as a means to prevent any future misunderstandings?"

The creature dismissed the request with a gesture. "Your instruments can pick me up now." A gasp from the team up on the hill seemed to verify the claim. The entity smiled and looked up at him. "But that damn empath of yours will still be stumbling around in the dark!" Then it resumed its contemplation of the air.

The Teil felt a little tingle at the base of its spine. "Sir, if I may ask? How did you do that?"

The alien's smile returned, although it did not bother to look at him. "I'm afraid there's no easy way to explain that to you."

Rasthu began to fidget. He was at a loss on how to bring the encounter to a close without appearing intimidated. Was the little pest so dangerous that a show of weakness would encourage it?  He resolved to try and draw only a couple of more facts out of it and then just walk away. Carefully.

"Where is your ship, sir?" he asked. "In orbit or down here? Have you also rendered it detectable?"

"I have no ship."

"Then how did you get here?" Rasthu blurted out, aware of the prying nature of the question. He tried to soften it. "I mean, were you stranded?  Is someone concerned about you?"

The entity looked up at him with a quick jerk of its head.  Its eyes grew dark. "There isn't a person in the whole universe who gives a damn about me." Rasthu involuntarily backed up. The alien frowned at that. "As for how I got here, I'm afraid there is no easy way to explain that to you, either."

The creature shifted its position against the tree and its tone became muted. It stared at the ground.  "Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you.  You have nothing to fear from me."  It then looked up at Rasthu as though hoping to find something in his face.

The intelligence in those bright eyes made the Teil very nervous despite the entity's protestations. Yet, he couldn't deny his curiosity. "Very well, sir.  No offense taken.  Only a couple of more questions, if you don't mind. What is the name of your people? For our records."

"I have no people."  The alien bit its lower lip.  "There is only me."

Rasthu was dying to ask more, but he restrained himself to a final inquiry. Every instinct was telling him to run. "And your name, sir. This is a historic occasion, perhaps the very first contact between our peoples. I mean between we and you. I would be proud to call you my friend and go down with you in history." He offered his hand. Come what may, at least nobody would say that he hadn't gone the extra step in trying to establish good relations with the insolent being at his feet. But the Teil did not expect the reaction that his question provoked.

The alien tilted its head back and laughed. Then it jumped to its feet and shook the Teil's burly forearm. Its grip was strong. "Very well Rasthu, my new friend. Believe me, I could use a friend just now." The creature finally let go of his hand after much wringing and shaking and took a few steps backward. "My name is unimportant. Just know that I am--" it paused for effect, "the last philosopher!" The entity spread its arms wide as if to embrace the sky.

Rasthu wanted to run more than ever now. Was it insane? A rogue member of a rogue race?  He bowed formally and said, "The pleasure is mine.  Good day, sir. Now I must really be getting back--"

But the alien would not let him leave. It bounded forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Rasthu, stay put! I will answer all your questions. But you must be patient with me, my new friend; company is not something I am used to lately."

The Teil's initial urge was to knock the disgusting thing down with a well-placed right fist, but he demurred. The entity was especially dangerous if it was unbalanced. It was best to humor it awhile. "I am happy to hear that, sir," he said. "Of course I will stay. The Collective is always interested in compiling data on new races."

His new "friend" released him and had another good laugh. Then it sat back down and resumed leaning against the tree, this time with both of its hands cushioning its head. The alien looked up at him with a smile. "Sit, my friend, sit," it said. "Take a load off. I would offer you a beer, but I suspect that producing one right now would scare you away."

Rasthu knelt into a crouch. "Sir, we are not allowed to consume alcoholic beverages while on duty, however," he puffed his chest out, "let me assure you that a Teil does not frighten easily." The alien wasn't the only one who could boast.

Rasthu suddenly found himself kneeling on an empty beach in a cove of rocks. The surf was breaking on the sand only a few feet away. His companion was reclining in the same position as before, with his hands behind its head, only now it was leaning against a moss covered boulder. The entity was still smiling at him.

Rasthu slowly rose to his feet.  By all the demons of Ney!  He felt dizzy. "Where are we?" His stomach was doing somersaults.

"On an island in the middle of this planet's largest ocean."

The Teil's throat was dry. He found it hard to speak. "How . . . how did you do that?" he asked.

"Please, sit," the alien said. "Relax. Enjoy the view. There are several choice locations on this world that I commute between  depending on my moods. When you found me I was in the mood for grassy meadows. Now I feel the need for sea air." The creature breathed deeply.

Rasthu collapsed. His large rump impacted the sand with a thud. He was in the clutches of a deranged alien with undreamed of resources at its command! He must not antagonize it any further. "Sir, I would very much like to return to my colleagues." He hoped his statement did not sound too much like what it was: a helpless plea.

"All in good time," his companion said. "They know where you are. Your ship's instruments are tracking us both. Plus, I have increased the sensitivity of that empath of yours. She's locked onto you even though you're half-a-world away. She knows you're hale and hearty." It snickered. "Not that she can register me, of course. That'll be the day! I just thought you needed a break from your duties. All work and no play, you know.  I can sense that you are distracted by something."

The Teil didn't have the nerve to look at his host. He stared out at the horizon instead. No one spoke. After awhile, the wide expanse of the ocean fading into the distance and the repetitive booming of the crashing waves lapping at the shore lent Rasthu a measure of calm. "You have harnessed an incredible technology, sir," he said, when his heart rate had dropped to a manageable level. "We could learn much from you." If the fiend didn't destroy them first!

"My friend, I could have whisked us both to a world on the other side of the universe just as effortlessly. You are impressed much too easily. This is nothing."

The Teil did not know how to reply to that. The creature liked to brag, but it could certainly back up what it said. Rasthu remained silent and continued to stare at the ocean. He resigned himself to whatever happened next. His fate was in the hands of a-- Of a what?

"Charming, isn't it?" the alien said. "I never grow tired of the ocean. Whether it's made up of water, ammonia or liquid helium, an ocean is a palliative for the soul. Even watching a nebula roll and tumble as it expands into empty space cannot match the allure of a secluded beach."

Rasthu felt like an infant. He turned to look at the strange being. "What are you?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Who are you?" Would he understand the answer if he got one?

"I am a Human Being." Another smile played across the alien's lips.

The Teil thought for a moment. "I have not heard of that race.   What part of the galaxy are you from?  How many of you are there?" 

"My home world was in another galaxy far, far from here, my friend," the creature said. "By now it is long gone. Countless suns have been born, grown old and died in the interval. As have countless peoples. As for mine, I am their last representative, and have been so for quite some time." The entity dug into the sand with the heel of one foot. 

"Oh, there were a few others, very few, but I have not seen any since-- Well, let's just say that it's been a good, long while, since that, too. I imagine they all chose dissolution one by one, eons ago." The creature groaned softly.

Rasthu could not comprehend what he was hearing. A near immortal being? Impossible! But considering what he had just seen . . .  "Did your race suffer some great catastrophe?" he asked. "Is that why there were only a few of you left?"

The alien laughed. "My friend, when the best exists, what need is there for the rest? For the mediocre? They served their purpose and were dispensed with. When I assumed my present state, there were barely a hundred that emerged with me. A hundred out of the trillions and trillions that once existed. Now I alone am left out of those hundred. I am Humanity. I am the Human Race. I am Man. The perfect man. Man as God. I have given the universe its validation; it has created me. And I have lived as no mortal  has ever dreamed." The entity rubbed its cheek with one hand.

"The adventures, the hardships, the joys, the sorrows, the achievements . . ."  It paused for a moment while it looked out over the ocean. "Even the failures I have experienced are entirely beyond your comprehension." The alien shook its head. "And the knowledge! My friend, such knowledge would kill the wisest, most intelligent individual your race--or any other race--could produce. I'll say it again. As far as you are concerned, I am God."

The Teil felt very cold despite the intense sun shining down on them both.  This was unimaginable! "If that is true, then why are you here on this nothing little planet?" He felt like crying.

The creature sighed. "I came here to meditate--and to decide something.  You see," it began to crack its knuckles one by one, alternating between one hand and the other, "I have exhausted my possibilities. There are limits to even a god.  I know all there is to know. I can do anything conceivable by the laws of nature on any scale short of universal creation or destruction. And I have done it, my friend--with a vengeance!"  The being gave him a hard look before returning his attention to the ocean. 

"How I once reveled in my accomplishments! Believe me, the universe bears my signature. Much of what your puny Collective's astronomers study from distances of unfathomable light years is my handiwork." The creature quit cracking its knuckles and scooped up a handful of sand and let it seep through its fingers.

"But that same universe is my prison, you see; I cannot escape it. I have explored every nook and cranny of this accursed claustrophobic box over forgotten billions of years and I have grown sick and tired of staring at its blank walls. I know it like the back of my hand now." It examined its own and spat into the sand. "But escape is impossible, my friend. Infinity exists only in time, not in space. And an infinity of time does not leave you with a chance to ignore the one fundamental question of existence." The entity lapsed into silence.

"The 'why?'" Rasthu muttered to himself, but the other heard.

"Exactly!"  Spittle flew from the other's lips. "The why of everything. I can not answer that question, my dear friend, and never will. But, alas, all I have left to do with my life from now on is ponder that one tormenting question over and over again. Why, why, why?"  The creature raised its arms higher with each repetition. "I have done everything but answer that, the unanswerable."  It dropped its arms.

"So, instead of a gradual lapse into insanity, I have decided to choose the only type of relief possible to a prisoner beyond all hope of freedom, right here on this 'nothing little planet' as you so aptly put it." The being did not elaborate, but merely wiped its arms clean from the sand.

Rasthu played with a pair of stones. He tried to approach the matter delicately. "Sir, self-destruction is an abomination to most of the races in the Collective. Please reconsider. There is so much you could teach us." He barely whispered, not sure of the other's reaction.  Or if he could trust his own voice.  If only his host knew!

The alien spoke softly, too, at first. "To what end, my friend? So that one day an heir of yours could wind up like me? Please, spare yourself the agony!" It raised its voice. "Frankly, I doubt that any of you would make it in the first place. I have seen no evidence that any others races have achieved what we Humans have. Or I should say, what I have. I am all of Humanity now, remember." The creature kicked sand into the air with its foot. 

"It must have been a fluke that led to me. An unrepeatable fluke. The other primate races are hopelessly inept. Everywhere! And I have seen them all. It's the damn lizards who should be lords of the universe, not a cousin of the monkey!" The being calmed down with a struggle. Rasthu thought it best to let the slight against he and his fellow primates pass unremarked.

"I am profoundly alone, you see," the creature went on more evenly, hugging itself across the chest. "Too many eons of solitude have passed by. The things that I have done--and oh God, the things that I have done!--do not compensate for the despair, the hopelessness, the futility one finally comes to feel when all that can be done has been done countless times and in countless ways. 

"One can only form so many super-clusters into gigantic sculptures as a celebration of existence before it becomes mere repetition. One can only catalogue the endlessly intersecting fields of force that make up what your crude science knows as sub-atomic particles 'X' number of times before ennui sets in.  One can only dam and alter the flow of time so many . . .  Well, you get the drift, my friend. None of it is worth the pain in the end. Better you go the way of most intelligent species: moderate success, then a rapid die-off." The entity sunk its head upon its breast.

The Teil tossed one of the stones into the surf. It skipped a couple of times before sinking. His own thoughts were sinking, too.  How could he relate to any of this?  He was talking to a literal god! Still, he did see some common ground between them. "What happened to the others like you?" Rasthu asked.  "Did they seek this same 'freedom,' too?" He knew what it was like to be left alone. His own loss ate at him like an inflamed organ.

His host blew its breath out. "They felt what I now feel, only first. Maybe that made them superior to me in some way, I don't know. I am now to the best of them as you are to a single-celled organism. I have outgrown and outlived them all, even Jane." Tears ran down the alien's cheeks. "I am so all alone!" it said in a cracking voice. "I have no equal, no intimates to relate to anywhere in all the universe!" The being looked at Rasthu, the streaks under its eyes reflecting the sun's light and imparting to the unhappy creature a radiant glow. The alien stretched out its hand to his arm. 

"I mean no hurt, my friend, but you could never be a real companion. Only a pet. And I am so tired of pets! I have created numberless worlds of them. But how could a man be satisfied with only a dog for a friend? A dog who turned around and made a farce out of existence by insisting on worshipping him. He who knows himself to be only a--"  The alien choked off the sentence. "So it is with gods and men," it concluded. "The gulf is too great." It let go of the Teil's arm. 

Rasthu threw his other stone into the water. It sank immediately.  Fate forbear that the Teil race ever be represented in the end by a self-pitying megalomaniac!  Was this child the summit of so called Humanity? Was this the be-all and end-all of intelligent life? Never! Something deep inside of him rebelled against the idea. Yet, it was impossible not to feel some sympathy for the thing, especially in light of his own situation.   Rasthu tried to think of a relevant observation.

"I suppose," he said, "that grief, and loss, and loneliness, and a questioning of purpose is common to all intelligent life. If the joys we feel do not make up for those things, that too is life. I have known both joy and sadness in my own years, and would not trade my experiences for anyone else's. Not even the bad ones."  Rasthu had to pause a moment to gather himself before going on.

"Perhaps it is necessary to experience everything," he continued, "in order to gain maturity. Then we learn to accept that, for us, the why is not to be given and the how is something we must each decide for ourselves. That is what makes us Teil--and Human." Rasthu ground his teeth at the stale clichés. Who was he to preach to this god, child or not?  But even a cliché contained some truth. It was the best he had to offer.  Not that it had worked for him, of course.

The alien did not respond to his remarks. "What will you do, now?" Rasthu asked.  He was greeted by more silence. Had he saddened or enraged his host?  He held his breath for a moment and then tried again. "My people teach that the ending is more important than the beginning and can even reclaim a bad middle." Rasthu was afraid of what he might hear, but he had to know.  If only he had talked like this with--  He could not think of her.  "What do your people. . . I mean, what do you say?"

The entity looked at the ocean for a long time before speaking. Its voice was that of someone facing the ultimate penalty for a great crime. "I am going to wait here until a Human civilization arises. It will be a Human people who appear on this planet because I will make it so." The being glanced at him and smiled. "Yes, my friend, I can do even that. And I am not yet so selfish in my misery to refrain from bringing another Human Race into existence." The creature turned to the ocean again.

"When a gloriously barbaric bronze-age society has developed, I will join it as a mere mortal, taking its most beautiful princess for my own and become its king. I will be a warrior-king, my friend, one who expands his empire to all corners of the world by the chariot and the sword. There will be no rest for me regardless of the power I accumulate or the lands I bring under my dominion. I will feel more accomplishment in the routing of some rag-tag band of heathen spearmen and the subjugation of their two-bit nation than I ever felt in demolishing even the most voracious black hole." The alien raised its chin.

"I expect that I will die in battle one day at the head of my army leading it on to new conquests. But not before leaving behind many strong sons and lovely daughters to carry on my legacy. I will live and die as a man should, immersed in the great struggle!" The entity pounded a fist into the sand. "My death will be permanent, yes, but my name will live on as long as the race that this planet produces survives, maybe even longer, considering that I still remember the name of Alexander."

Rasthu wished that he had paid more attention to his philosophy courses at the academy. How could he hold his own with this all-wise, all-knowing creature? But he tried. "My race has a strong martial background itself," he said, "although we believe that it is better to be the king defending his land and people from invasion, than the tyrant marching against it."  Rasthu did not want to provoke the alien, but he felt compelled to speak the truth.

The creature slumped down and buried its face in its hands. "Or I will wait until a humanistic religion arises, become a monk in its faith and spend my last days praying for forgiveness of my sins.  I have much thinking to do."

Rasthu turned his head away. The entity was openly sobbing now. "Such a choice also has a counterpart in my people," the Teil said to the empty ocean."  Now that was lame!  But what kind of consolation could he offer a being who only thought in terms of one fantastic extreme or another?  Rasthu looked at the weeping creature.  He had to try, of course.  She would have wanted him to reach out to this lost soul the way he had never reached out to her.

"Perhaps there is such a thing as too much thinking," he said.  "Life is really very simple: we work, we rest, we worship and then we die.  If we are lucky, we also love.  Why not spend our time as the husband of a good woman and the father of fine children, dedicated to one's god, family and society. That is enough for any worthy Teil--or Human."  And that was all he had wanted out of existence, the self-proclaimed god sitting next to him be damned. As it appeared to be.  Rasthu cringed.  As was he.

The creature laughed through its tears. "Live a life of respectable banality you mean," it said. "The very thing I have dedicated my life to overcoming!" The alien wiped its eyes. "Thank you, in any event, my fine friend, " it  continued. "How pleasant it is to unburden oneself to such a good listener. But a few minutes conversation with you has come close to undermining my entire philosophy. A philosophy painstakingly constructed over billions of years! Another example of the danger of friends to a philosopher; one begins to value happiness over knowledge. Temptation never sleeps!" 

The alien clasped his arm. The Teil didn't know what to say, was he being complemented or insulted? He could only shrug and smile. The other gripped him tighter.

"And now my friend, it is time for you to return to your colleagues and me to return to my lonely vigil." The entity squeezed his arm as it spoke. "I will continue to allow your team to monitor my location during your survey, but please do not try and approach me again. It will be better for both of us that way." The being released him after one last squeeze and then stood up and stretched its limbs.

Rasthu also stood, but remained motionless. Was all this to end so soon?  He was as confused as he had ever been in his life.  "Sir, if you please, there is more I would like to know.   And . . ."  The Teil blushed.  "I want to help."  He couldn't let this happen again.  He had been blind before, but not now.

The creature smiled at him. "You have already helped me immensely, my good friend. I desperately needed contact with a fellow man, just now. Either to remind me of my roots as a Human and lead me on towards salvation," the being looked over the Teil's shoulder and down the deserted beach towards the far horizon, "or as one last great opponent to struggle against in my quest to overcome the humble clay that  fashioned me. Whichever course I choose, I will follow it with my eyes wide open, now."

The alien looked at Rasthu again. "I will never forget you, Rasthu--my most true friend--for you have given me much to think about. The true question is not why, but how? I had forgotten the lesson of Humanity's most sage philosophers until you came along. We must concern ourselves solely with trifles--for only they are significant!  A grin sprang up on its face. "Please accept a token of my appreciation. Ciao!" Rasthu found himself back on the hill, surrounded by his fellows.

"Rasthu!" Llus said with all of his mouths, his eye-stalks flapping. "Report!  What happened while that beast held you hostage? The only information we were able to obtain on it is contained in certain myths of the Collective's most ancient races.  We cannot confirm the truth in any of them.  You must report! Oh, by the way," he added, "this personal communication came in while you were away.  It's marked urgent, otherwise I would have filed it."

Rasthu turned on the message logger he had been handed by the Loped.  Canad's image suddenly sprang up before him.  She smiled and told him how much she missed him and that she couldn't wait until his present mission was over so he would come home and they would be together again. Just before she winked out, Canad pressed her hands to her stomach and giggled.  "We love you, Daddy," she said as her image vanished.  It had been recorded that very morning.

The Teil staggered and dropped to his knees. He felt like he was falling off of a cliff.  The wind roared in his ears and his eyes burned so much that he had to clamp them shut.  He breathed in ragged gasps.  This couldn't be!  Canad was . . .   She had taken       those . . .  He had buried her only last . . .  Rasthu sobbed out loud.  How was this possible?  Then he thought he heard the alien whispering in his ear, "My friend," it said, "you are impressed much too easily.  This is nothing."

The team gathered around Rasthu.  Miof the empath reached out to touch him.  Her skin was bright purple.  "You are so happy," she said, "yet so sad, all at the same time. Please tell us what has happened."

"Yes, Rasthu!" Llus said. "Congratulations on your offspring, but now you must report!"

Rasthu opened his eyes and took a deep breath.  "I'm afraid there is no easy way to explain it to you," he began.

Bio:Mark Stanley is an avionics technician, a dedicated bachelor, a former Marine and an amateur writer.  He has been reading SF for thirty-five years and writing it for five.

E-mail: markthewriter@hotmail.com

URL: www.geocities.com/Area51/Shuttle/7881

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