10:06 06/04/2587 –(8734/663/40/23)

Gabriel checked his watch for the fifth time, shuffling on the uncomfortable bench he had picked. He hated to keep people waiting and loathed being kept waiting in return.

Nish and Pista, he could understand, children were famous for taking an hour to put their shoes on. Erilur and Risoti had less of his sympathy. The only reason he could think they would be held up is that they had taken some time to canoodle.

Tapping his foot against the floor, Gabriel checked his messages. Understandably, there were very few of them, not just because he was almost three hundred light-years from Earth, but because no one would contact him outside of work.

The first three were confirmations from Nish, Erilur and Risoti that they would definitely be there. Others were messages from the zoo confirming the various tours Gabriel had taken were booked. It was the last one that took the most of his attention.

It was from the mayor's office, and at first, he had thought it was spam, but if it was just an attempt to get him into a surprise interview or something, whoever had sent it had indeed put the work in.

The email requested a meeting between Gabriel and the mayor, it was far more flowery than that, of course, crammed full of corporate-speak, but if he was reading it right, they wanted to apologise for what had occurred.

Legitimate or not, his first instinct was to delete it. He was still frazzled from the interview, and another official meeting might just suck the life right out of him. Gabriel decided that he would talk to Nish about it. If it were genuine, then Nish would have gotten it as well.

“There he is!” Pista cried as she galloped towards Gabriel as fast as possible and leapt onto him. Had she been a human child, Gabriel might have been injured by Pista’s little stunt.

Instead, Gabriel grabbed her by the waist and lifted her above his head. “Someone needs to be a lot more careful,” he said, standing up and holding her as high in the air as he could.

Pista hummed happily as she did so, she rarely got to fly outside of the apartment, and she longed to be able to flitter about as she had done back home.

Gabriel placed Pista back on the ground, and she let out a noise of disappointment.

“Sorry we’re a little late; Pista wanted to go out naked today,” said Nish, approaching Gabriel.

“No, I did not,” retorted Pista stamping on the ground.

“Then why didn’t you get dressed when I told you to?” responded Nish, clapping her hands together.

Gabriel supposed that was similar to a human shaking their fist, but that was not what took up most of his attention, “speaking of clothes, you’ve put a bit more effort into yours today.”

Nish had indeed put more thought into her outfit than before; Gabriel could not call what she was wearing a dress exactly, but it was definitely far more elegant and flowing than her other garments. What's more, it was covered in a pattern that matched, though did not mimic, the ones on her wings.

The Tufanda fidgeted slightly before replying, “It’s something grown Tufanda do when they go out in groups.”

“I see,” replied Gabriel; he wasn’t sure if it was true; her reaction to him mentioning it was strange, but then again, maybe asking about someone's clothes was seen as rude amongst her people. Gabriel supposed he could have asked about it, but he did not want to push her more than she was willing and to be honest, he did not really care.

The fact that Pista did not question her mother about it gave Gabriel the impression that his assumption was correct, as Pista’s theory of mind was clearly still developing.

“I take it Erilur and Risoti are not here yet,” stated Nish, glancing around the area. The lobby of the Learning Centre was enormous, easily as big as five football pitches, and vast windows surrounded half the building, allowing the early morning light to shine in.

Many interactive displays dotted the area, providing games and educational content for the various visitors.

“No, something tells me Erilur is not one for keeping appointments; I have no idea how she can be a successful phycologist,” replied Gabriel, shaking his head. Upon seeing how it moved, Pista grabbed his skull with four arms and began rotating it in place, chirping to herself as she did.

“I would guess it’s because all her patients come to her,” said Nish, looking up at the ceiling. A vast skeletal replica of some enormous ocean creature, the size of the largest whale, hung above them.

Gabriel chuckled; that was most likely it, and followed her gaze. It was an impressive beast; he wondered if there were any swimming in Minagerad’s oceans. There were numerous ocean tours, both surface and submersible. Gabriel would have to check when he got back to the penthouse.

Minutes ticked by, and Gabriel’s patience began to wear thin, not just because of the time he was wasting but also the looks he was getting. Erilur’s deduction had been correct; where once he had passed through the city unnoticed, now everyone recognized him, or rather his suit.

Almost an hour after they had agreed to meet, Erilur and Risoti finally arrived. As the two approached, Erilur’s arm wrapped around Risoti’s shoulder, Gabriel got to his feet, “Forty.”

“What?” asked Erilur, looking at Gabriel through her mask.

“We agreed to meet at forty, and it is now forty-one,” he said, his voice flat and his feeling impossible to ascertain.

“I told you he would be upset,” said Risoti, trying her best to hide behind her girlfriend, who was smaller than her.

“We’re already running late. Let’s get going,” said Gabriel, turning on his heels and walking towards the front desk. Erilur was feeling a mix of annoyance and respect. Gabriel had made her feel like she was a naughty little girl being scolded by her father in under ten seconds.

There was no charge to enter the Learning Centre, but you needed to press a button so administration could track how many people visited the place. The five did as the sign kindly asked and were free to explore.

There was a linear path set up through the building, and seeing as their tour would not start for a few more hours, they were left to their own devices.

Entering a large antechamber with several other visitors, Gabriel and the rest stood at the back, and an employee instructed them to wait. Slowly, the room went dark, and Pista took hold of Nish’s and Gabriel’s hands.

A screen then came to life and displayed images of the planet, mostly of nature, but there were also pictures of the settlements and photos of the sky and stars.

As the images and video continued to play, a calm, commanding voice was added: "You are about to experience the history of Minagerad. From its beginnings as an idea in one man’s head to the first tentative steps seeding a world with life, to the diverse and beautiful world you see today.”

“Please take your time to explore the Centre, and we hope you enjoy your day; adventure awaits,” the voice explained.

One of the walls was revealed to be a door. As the door panel retracted, they exposed a room that made the antechamber look puny by comparison.

A vast lattice of floors ran up to the very top of the building, crowned with a domed glass ceiling. Gabriel knew there was far more to the building than he could see. Each floor contained a vast complex of activities for just about every sapient race in the galaxy.

“Over there!” Pista said, pointing at a model of Minagerad; the size of a small car, though it was almost unrecognisable, it was just a world of bare rock and barren oceans.

A ring of what Gabriel supposed was graphene surrounded the figure and on it was a large green button; Pista pressed it. The same voice from before said, “this is Minagerad, two thousand years ago, back when it was first discovered and called S-32434 (SW-6).”

“Back then, the world that would one day be called Minagerad was a sterile ball orbiting Illohu, the gas giant above your heads right now,” they added. “The process of turning the planet into a world with a breathable atmosphere took over one thousand years and involved the seeding of billions of genetically engineered photosynthetic bacteria.”

“As the atmosphere slowly filled with oxygen, more life was added to the moon until a simple but stable biosphere was established,” the voice stated.

“It was at this moment the history of Minagerad could have gone down two paths. Along one road, it was made into another colony for the Cosryl, but Ewolu Notis Tex had another idea. Though extinction rates are normal on worlds home to space-faring people, what if some unavoidable event were to occur, you would need a world that kept examples of hundreds of thousands of different species to repopulate the world.”

“So he approached his government with the proposal, and after years of gruelling campaigning, he got the green light,” the voice explained. At that point, Gabriel noticed that the ring around the display was covered in written information, providing more specifics about the whole ordeal.

Ewolu Notis had argued convincingly that Minagerad would need to be fully independent if it were to serve its intended function, unburdened by political allegiance. So it had been granted the status as an unaligned world on the condition that the populace maintains the populations of animals it was given and, in the event of a catastrophe, be returned to their homeworlds free of charge.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

In 7596, a planetary constitution was written up, and Minagerad was officially born.

Pista quickly lost interest when she realised the voice was not returning, so she immediately wandered to the next display. This one was an interactive game that said in bright yellow letters, “can you turn Minagerad into a life-bearing world.”

Pista spent several minutes adding random elements to the planet and failing each time; it seemed she had not paid much attention to the previous exhibit. As Pista asked her mother for help, Erilur asked, “are you mad at me?”

Gabriel looked at her and then turned back to watch Nish do all the complex parts for Pista, “no, though I am a little annoyed that you made me wait,” he explained.

“It wasn’t that long,” Erilur pointed out.

Gabriel nodded; he did concede that in the grand scheme of things, it was not an overwhelming amount of time; even so, Gabriel pointed out, “it was still rude of you; you could have called and said, “hey Gabriel, were gonna be running a little late, so we’ll meet you an hour later.”

Erilur ground her teeth, but he had come to learn that it was the Ponut’Kild’s equivalent of a resigned sigh, “I’m sorry, it was my idea.”

“Yes, I thought it was. Apology excepted,” replied Gabriel, glancing at Risoti, who was also helping populate the digital Minagerad with life.

With that spectre dispelled, their day continued, and Gabriel actually found himself enjoying their company. He never disliked any of them, but he had always found he preferred doing things independently. Enjoyable or not, they were still exhausting, and when their guided tour started, he relished the distraction their guide provided.

They explained the strange biology of an animal that looked like one of those metal wire puzzles brought to life; that was the impossible life you got on a Class 2 (H). Gabriel did find it interesting, but his attention was drawn elsewhere to a large tank partially filled with water.

Approaching the tank, his suspicions were confirmed; floating on the surface was a large mass of gelatinous material.

“What is this? Why the hell is a Dreamer locked in this thing like an animal?” Gabriel asked, raising his voice, anger bubbling to the surface.

***

“Mr Ratlu, please lower your voice,” the tour guide said, trying their best to diffuse the situation.

“I will not; why is a Dreamer imprisoned in a tank?” he demanded, his fist clenching in disgust.

“Such… Passion… Such… Fire,” a synthetic voice called out from the tank; Gabriel turned and saw the Dreamer flashing in bioluminescence. “You… Are… A Shatterer, Aren’t… You,” the speaker.

“Yes,” replied Gabriel, looking at the person confined in the tank, “why are you trapped in there?” he asked.

The Dreamer was silent for over a minute, but this was to be expected; their thought patterns were far slower than any other sapient race. If Gabriel looked closely, he could see a dark mass at the centre of its body. This was a highly dense bundle of pseudoneurons that functioned similarly to a brain.

“I… Was… Invited,” the Dreamer replied.

“I know your people have very delicate requirements but aren’t you mad being in a tank like that?” asked Gabriel, his rancour rising once again.

More silence as the alien’s glacial mind got to work, “I… Do not know… What anger is.” Gabriel recalled something about this; The Dreamers had no concept of fear, anger, hate, nor any true desires as any other sapient would understand them.

“Why are you inside a glass box being gawked at?” asked Gabriel.

“I… Was… Invited,” the Dreamer repeated after another lengthy pause.

“Aren’t you insulted, you had the whole of Qorl to drift along, and now you are left with nothing more than a ten-metre box,” explained Gabriel, hoping this would get his point across.

“Gabriel, what exactly is that?” asked Nish, pointing towards the Dreamer.

“They are a Dreamer, the only sapient race to evolve on a Class 1 Habtiableworld,” explained Gabriel. “They were known about for centuries since Qorl was first discovered, but it was not until a group of humans set up a research station on the planet that they were identified for the people they were.”

“No,” the Dreamer replied, finally answering Gabriel’s question, “I… do not… know… what… an insult… is.”

“Are you satisfied now, Mr Ratllu, we did not kidnap them, and they are free to leave whenever they want,” the tour guide said, pleased and not least amazed that the Dreamer had said anything at all, while they knew it could talk, they had never heard it before.

“Why do you call Gabriel a Shatterer?” asked Risoti, finding her courage.

Another lengthy pause before the Dreamer explained, “They shattered… The veil.”

“What veil?” asked Risoti.

“Of... Ignorance,” the Dreamer added after some time.

Realising that the alien would take far too long to describe the history of first contact, even if it was so inclined, Gabriel felt that the Dreamer was only genuinely interested in him. However, that could be his ego talking.

“My people let them know they were not alone in the universe. I recall an article about it. I believe one of the Dreamers said it, “created a new sea to drift in,” Gabriel explained, accepting that the alien's response was cryptic to anyone who was not informed.

“It looks like a massive wad of sick,” Pista said, tapping the glass.

“Pista, don’t be rude,” hissed Nish, chastising her daughter for her ignorance and removing her hands from the glass.

“But it does,” stated Pista defending her earlier statement.

“What is that word Gabriel used for your people? I noticed that you have no voice of your own, so it must have been given to you,” asked Erilur, who was both enraptured and a little disturbed by this truly alien person.

At first, the Dreamer said nothing, and Gabriel wondered if they were ignoring her, but then it replied, and he realised it was preparing for its longest sentence yet. “We… Do Not Sleep… We Are Always Awake… We Dream While We Are Conscious… Hence The Word… Dreamer,” explained the Xenos.

“What’s Kol like?” asked Pista, rubbing her face against the Dreamer’s tank and mispronouncing the name of their homeworld.

Gabriel tried to recall what he could from biology and explained, “Qorl is an ancient world, so old that all geological activity has ended and ended a long time ago. The planet is covered in a massive world-spanning ocean; it orbits a gas giant, which in turn orbits a red dwarf.”

“Shouldn’t Qorl have frozen over if its carbon cycle has shut down?” asked Risoti, she was not well-versed in habitable worlds' lifespans, but that was one thing she did know.

“Normally, yes, but the biosphere has taken over from the geology. The planet is also protected from having its atmosphere blown off by the low activity of its star, and the magnetic field of Host, much like Minagerad is,” answered Gabriel; he hoped this would be the end of it as that was pretty much all he knew.

“I thought red dwarfs were very temperamental,” said Erilur, recalling a physics lesson from her childhood.

When Gabriel did not respond, their tour guide chimed in, “normally yes, but this particular one, Esu, I believe it is called, is very well-behaved. It is quite the mystery.”

Gabriel was almost startled when they spoke. He had forgotten they were there at all.

He did not know their name. Their species only used names with those who were close to them. Asking a Goligres their name was similar to asking a human to strip naked. So the tour guide asked to be called Tour Guide.

Their biology was far less interesting, looking remarkably like gazelle, minus the horns, standing on their hind legs, and having a close approximation of hands on the forelimbs. Gabriel supposed he had gotten somewhat spoiled by moth people, giant bat women, and tree-like echinoderms.

“What do you do all day?” asked Pista, rubbing her face on the glass.

The Dreamer did not respond, so Gabriel said, “I am curious as well.”

Eventually, the Dreamer explained, “I… think.”

This lined up with what Gabriel knew about the Dreamers. Qorl was so perfect, so peaceful, so utterly devoid of predators that the life that swam, or more often than not drifted, in its oceans knew no fear, anger or misery. Literally, they were physically incapable of feeling these emotions, or any emotions at all.

Which is what made the Dreamers so improbable. What possible reason would lead to a lifeform developing sapience in a world where it was completely unnecessary? It was ironic that the habitable worlds were the least likely to produce intelligent life, and yet, despite this, they utterly dominated the known galaxy.

“Sounds boring,” stated Pista, stepping away from the tank and stepping on Gabriel’s feet, attempting to balance on them.

“I don’t think they can feel boredom,” Gabriel explained as she hung off Gabriel's arm and swung on her heels.

“How long do you plan on being here?” asked Gabriel.

“I do not… know… I will remain… for as… long… as the currents… will,” explained the Dreamer.

***

There was one thing that Gabriel did not like about his suit, and that was while wearing it, he was forced to consume only liquid meals.

Sitting in one of five restaurants the Learning Centre possessed, he gazed out at the sky; as it slowly turned a distinct shade of grey, it looked like rain was on the way.

“Are you sure you two are ok with just that?” asked Nish, pointing to Gabriel and Erilur’s drinks.

“Don’t have a lot of choices, really,” replied Erilur, taking a slurp of her meaty broth through a metallic straw. Though it was, in reality, a fairly advanced piece of kit, its inner and outer surface was covered in a particular nanoscopic layer that prevented bacteria and other pathogens from growing and even killed them outright.

“You could have chosen something other than pureed meat,” stated Gabriel, trying his best to stop the sick from climbing up his throat.

“Like you’re one to talk, you’re drinking liquid morel,” retorted Erilur pointing to the bottle of coke that gently fizzed in front of him.

“Morel?” asked Gabriel confused; she had used another Ponut’kild word without providing any context.

“It’s a recreational drug back on Bosd, perfectly legal, but it can cause some serious problems in the quantity you have,” Erilur explained.

It took a few moments, but he realised what she was referring to, “you mean the caffeine.”

“Is that what you people call it?” asked Erilur rhetorically. “And what are the bubbles in aid of?” she asked, this time genuinely curious.

“They burn my tongue,” explained Gabriel, taking another gulp of his drink. “Want a sip?” he asked, sliding the glass over to Erilur.

Erilur eyed the beverage and then glanced at Gabriel; it seemed she was seriously considering taking what to her was a drug and poison to most others and in a public space nonetheless. “Just a little taste, like you said, it is perfectly legal,” said Gabriel, having fun playing the tempter.

“You can have a nuggy as well,” said Pista offering one of hers to Erilur; it seemed a ground meat lump covered in breadcrumbs or batter was almost universal.

Erilur’s eye shifted; it was not a grand gesture, but it was definitely there, and Gabriel supposed she was smiling, or at least her equivalent. “Thank you, but I can’t fit them through my mask, see,” said Erilur pointing at the port.

She brought the coke to her mouth and slotted the straw into her mask. There was a faint hiss as any possible contaminants were removed.

The liquid had barely touched her tongue before she nearly threw the bottle to the ground. As Erilur began hacking, Gabriel said, “Yeh, most people don’t like it at first, but it quickly grows on you.” He reclaimed back his drink and took a swig.

Erilur did the same with her meaty soup as Risoti put her hand on Erilur’s shoulder and asked, “are you ok?”

Erilur coughed and said, “yeah, it doesn’t leave much of an aftertaste, but I’m probably going to be jittery in a few hours.” “It tastes like pure sugar,” she added, dearly wishing she could wipe her mouth.

“More or less, just water and sugar,” explained Gabriel.

“Horilitr,” said Nish, who had been quiet until now.

“What?” asked Risoti, wondering if this was some new game they were suddenly playing.

“That’s what my people call it, Horilitr. It’s medicine for my people. They inject it into people's hearts when they are flatlining,” Nish explained, putting her P.D.A down.

“So many uses,” said Gabriel tapping the table, resting his head on his hands. Gabriel saw something move in his periphery, and he almost screamed as Pista put the straw to her lips. Reacting as quickly as he could, Gabriel ripped the bottle from the Tufanda’s grasp.

“Are you insane? This will melt your insides!” Gabriel yelled as he held the bottle in the air and far out of her reach.

Pista immediately recoiled and hunkered down as low as she was able. Everyone in the restaurant was now looking at Gabriel because of this outburst and feeling the eyes burning into him, he said, “I am sorry I shouted, but you need to be careful. If you had drunk this, you would have ended up in the hospital just like me.”

Pista relaxed as Gabriel sat down, stroked her head and explained, “you need to be careful.”

“He’s right; that’s twice he’s saved you,” said Nish tickling Pista’s antenna with her own.

“No, it is my fault. I knew it would be toxic to your kind, and Pista is a little girl. It was inevitable that curiosity would get the better of her, especially after I offered it to Erilur,” explained Gabriel.

Everyone was immediately distracted by the roll of thunder. Looking through the large windows, they saw dark clouds on the horizon.

“I do hope that doesn’t hit before we get back to our apartments,” said Nish; her people did not do well with water.