CHAPTER 51: TOMORROW

  Drake and his father, Bill, walked down the seemingly endless maze of well-lit hallways, all appearing identical to one another except for their lengths. They would have gotten lost had it not been for the arrow signs guiding them. There was not a single living being to be seen, filling the atmosphere with tension and mystery.

  We’re already lost and haven’t seen our enemies yet, Drake thought. What a way to start our adventure.

  Finally, they arrived at a plain door that the arrows had led them to. Before either could doubt whether they were at the right place, the door automatically opened.

  Stepping inside, they saw there was a glass partition in the middle of the room. On their side were two cushions on an elevated platform on the floor, and on the other side was one more. Seated calmly there was an alien woman. She had slightly—but not repulsively—green skin and brown dreadlocks flowing to her shoulder. Her face had surprisingly human-like features, which were sharp, her long eyelashes giving off her presumed gender. She had an air of dignity that gave off that she was more than just the scientist she appeared to be in her lab-coat type attire.

  Despite trying to mentally prepare himself for weeks, Drake still couldn’t believe that he was face-to-face with an actual alien—it was just surreal!

  As the door closed behind the two, the lady unfolded her arms and pointed to the cushions as she spoke in perfect English: “Welcome. Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

* * *

  The two did as they were told.

  “I’m Tocarris Kardusi. I’m sure the two of you, Drake and Bill Vandigg, have many burning questions, such as why I called you here, or where the crew of the ship are…”

  As Drake sat down, he couldn’t help but wonder:

  “Excuse me, how are you able to speak English.”

  “That’s what’s on your mind right now?!” She was dumbfounded.

  Drake noticed that the way she moved her lips didn’t match the words he heard, even though they felt like they came from her direction.

  “Anyway, as little as I understand your mental state right now,” Tocarris continued, “or even care, I have other things to do, so I can’t spend all Earth-revolution answering your questions.”

  She swiped on her electronic clipboard, seeming too busy to even face the two envoys.

  “Long story short, I was the one who intentionally created the ‘MAYHEM virus’, as you might call it. After releasing it on a spaceship designed to spread it far and wide across the surface of the planet, it created the Apocalypse and those beautiful creatures you all know and love. After that, I’ve been sitting back and watching the population dwindle, but there are of course groups of survivors, like Rencia. You guys are a particularly special case I’ve been observing carefully. It’s made me reevaluate some of my decisions…”

  She noticed Drake clenching his teeth and furrowing his eyebrows.

  “Do you hate me?”

  “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t…”

  “Drake!” Bill admonished.

  “…but I’m putting that aside for now. I’m here as an ‘emissary’,” he remembered his training. If only he knew what that term meant.

  “Haha,” Tocarris appeared to laugh. “How official. That’s unlike you.”

  Drake shrugged, wondering how she knew him so well. “I’ve changed. This job has a lot of responsibility.”

  “I can’t blame you. I’ve changed, too.”

  She still didn’t regret killing all those humans, apart from destroying an opportunity to study them, nor did she feel obligated to help what’s left of them, however, she’d begun to question the perceptions that she’d been raised to have, wondering how much of an effect her family had had on her, growing up. This was what had led to her recent decision.

  “Here’s how this will work: in ‘Steve’s’ honor, we’ll have a little Q and A session. You two will get the chance to ask five questions in total, and I’ll answer them to the best I can.” It sounded like the biggest constraint to her answers was her own laziness.

  Drake was slightly annoyed. He had so many questions: Who are you? Why did you create the virus and drop the meteorite? Why were you observing us? How do you know so much about me? Why didn’t you kill the remaining humans like those in Rencia? Etc. There was no way he could get all his answers this way.

  After a minute, he realized that he should instead be grateful that this lady patiently waited for them and was willing to answer their questions instead of choosing to destroy what was left of the planet.

  “May I consult with my father?”

  “Sure, but keep in mind, you just used up one of your questions.”

  “Ah! Shoot! That counts? No, wait, don’t answer that.”

  He turned to his father. They whispered for a few minutes, deciding which questions to ask. They had to cover as many answers as possible, especially the ones important for Rencia’s future.

  Keeping that in mind, he asked his first actual question: “Are you or your… the other aliens… enemies of humanity or Rencia?”

  “Hmm… I was, formerly, having created the virus, but I won’t interfere anymore with what happens to Earth. Most aliens aren’t aware of the presence of intelligent life on Earth. The knowledge is basically exclusive to the company I work for, PVC, and the governing body of the galaxy, UnIF.”

  So that’s what PVC is, Drake remembered Steve mentioning it in his diary.

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  “PVC has deep connections to UnIF, however, which is why they turned a blind eye to this ‘cleansing’ of you Earthlings. I don’t know if they’ll want to finish the task and kill whoever’s left, or even when they’ll hear the news that I failed to complete my task.”

  So, PVC did want humanity extinct. Drake still didn’t know why they wanted this genocide, nor why this crazy and depraved witch implemented it in such a way.

  “Can you elaborate?”

  “Sure, but that’s another question gone. You only have two left.”

  “Darn it!” He slapped his cheeks.

  “Once upon a time, there was a foolish Sartoogian boy who had been doomed by fate many a times—whether it was being arrested by the government for breaking into a secure spaceport, killed by the many guards aboard this very Base Ship, or eaten by Mutants or killed by humans on Earth—but he struggled against his fate every time and survived it for surprisingly long. He not only went against it, but he thrived doing so, making friends with humans and nearly… trusting them before his luck had run out, giving way to his unexpected demise at their hands.

  “By the way, I see the same determination in you. And you’ve made it through the same, if not worse odds than him.

  “Watching Steve break his fate, survive in Rencia, and make friends and live a happy life inspired me to try to change my own destiny.”

  She wanted to no longer be bound to her family, but do what she wanted, even though that didn’t guarantee safety from others. She had been practically given a path to success in life by the House of Kardusi, but she wanted to create her own path, no matter the difficulties and dangers; it felt freer.

  She would rather not be a slave to her fate of constant work and immoral actions for the sake of her family’s name, an intangible object that hadn’t benefited her more than it hurt her from a lifetime of career training. After pondering for months while watching Steve’s success and happiness, she’d decided to gather the courage to try to escape them.

  “So, I’m quitting my job at Paradise and I’ll travel the galaxy.” She thought about her childhood dreams. Perhaps, she would observe some exotic animals. “Though, I don’t think PVC will like that.”

  “It’ll take a while for PVC to come here and figure out how to rid Earth of humans without damaging the environment, so that shouldn’t be your primary concern.

  “Next question please.”

  She didn’t even ask if the explanation was enough. Drake knew she wasn’t willing to divulge further. The only thing he’d gotten from it was a bit about Steve’s backstory, the fact that PVC somehow regarded the environment as far more important than people, and the cause for this lady’s change in plans.

  “Um… who was Steve… and what was your relationship to him?” Although it was selfish of him, he was dying to know more about his friend. He thought it was smart to combine two questions.

  “Just an acquaintance. We were sort of enemies, but he did help me in carrying out the annihilation of Earth, as you know, by launching the virus from the meteorite, though I forced the job on him as a punishment. He was stuck on Earth after that. I left him to his inevitable death there, but it was surprisingly prolonged.

  “I’m curious: do you want to know whether he was good or bad? I won’t treat it as a separate question.”

  Drake looked down in thought. “… No, I’d rather not.”

  Tocarris shrugged. “Your wish. Last question.”

  Hold on, you didn’t give away much in your last answer, Drake thought, irritated.

  Bill spoke up before Drake could waste all of their questions. Having one left was alarming. “Since we asked one question about the past and one of the present, let’s make our last question about the future.”

  Drake nodded and allowed him to proceed.

  “How can stop the mutants? I mean, there has to be a better way than trying to kill all of them.”

  Tocarris smiled. “I’m glad you asked, though it took you four questions to reach the most important one.” She pointed to a table. Bill went to it. “You’ll find a standard Data Cube. It contains info on how to create something to counter the virus. Present it to your city’s biologists. They'll know what to do.”

  Drake wondered how she had technology from Earth like the space-cube.

  “There should also be an envelope. Present it to your highest Authority… I assume that would be your ‘President’.”

  Bill took both.

  “Well, that’s a wrap.” She stretched her neck. “I expected you to ask why I brought you here, why I created the virus, or what PVC’s goal on Earth is. Oh, well.” She said without answering.

  “Thank you, Miss Tocarris,” Drake appreciated. “We’ll use this information to save our species and take back the planet.”

  Although her small help now didn’t redeem her past actions, something was still better than nothing.

  “Don’t mention it.” Tocarris was now looking back at her clipboard. “Now, get off my ship before you contaminate it. You can take the same pod back down.”

  Bill and Drake got up and walked to the door.

  “Oh, and Bill,” she got his attention. “Although I was confused at first, I can now understand and respect your decision.”

  Bill stared at her with a stern expression before softening it and slightly nodding.

* * *

  “What was she talking about, Dad?” Drake said as he bucked his seatbelt on the space-pod.

  “Beats me.”

  The pod detached from the ship and descended back to Earth. Outside the window, the pitch-black canvas with specks of white and yellow turned purple and traces of flames could be seen. As Drake watched the magnificent view, he smiled and remembered his last conversation with Tocarris from right before leaving the room.

  Tocarris had looked up from her clipboard at Drake and suddenly asked: “Why are you so optimistic about humanity surviving?”

  He’d looked back and replied seriously: “Humans have always found a way to survive, no matter the conditions we’re subject to. Humanity has already survived the Day of the Apocalypse and has gotten back up and fought.

  “As long as we have a will, we will survive, prosper, and soon, we will come back for revenge.”

  He now wondered if he should have said the last part. Going to space is far away, but for now, they would rebuild civilization, better.

  Tocarris had commented: “True, I guess. If they’ve still managed to survive on Earth, humans should be able to survive anywhere and in any conditions. Reminds me of those cockroach Sartoogians.” Cockroaches apparently also existed in space somehow.

  She’d almost said something else, but stopped herself. She decided she would let them face it when the time comes.

  Drake now turned to his father and grinned optimistically.

  “Looks like we have a clean slate now, and time. Now, we can start developing and expanding!”

  “You look excited.” Bill laughed.

  “Of course I am. It’s not every day that we get to build a civilization, outside of games. You’re working with me too. It’s going to be hard, but we can do this! First, we gotta start off with fixing the Authorities…” Drake rambled on.

  As the space-pod descended to Rencia once again, the once-bleak future was looking bright and hopeful.

  Because this is not a story of tragedy. The story may start with it, but it is not its main focus.

  This is a story of humanity’s determination to survive and prosper against the endless adversities and challenges hurdled at it. A story of the despair that a civilization encounters, and its response to it.

  This is the story of a species that is given a chance to start over, or give up… and it seems to have made its choice.

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MAYHEM ON EARTH: Part 1. / End.