Chapter 1

“What are you doing here again, Low Scientist Imalnay?” The voice of the Grand High Scientist Ronjiku came from behind Imalnay as she sat in the chair that faced the Wall of Human Destinies.

“I’m examining the specimens, sir. To see if there is any change in the state of their world, after the events of this morning.” Imalnay hoped he would take the excuse at face value. There had been some events worthy of note that morning: the Prime Minister of Britain had been abducted by terrorists; a tsunami had wreaked havoc on Hawaii; two more nations had declared war on each other.

Ronjiku smiled. “These humans are strange indeed. Ever since I became the director of this experiment, I have been routinely surprised and disgusted by how much turmoil exists in their world. It’s just never-ending. But I guess that’s what happens when you possess an inferior intellect. What little inspiration you do have can only be used for destructive purposes.”

“Yes, indeed.” Imalnay smiled in response.

“Well I suppose I’ll leave you to it then. You work too hard, Imalnay. The work is important to be sure, but so is spending time with your Pod. I’m sure they miss you.”

Imalnay looked down. “Of course, sir.” Her pearl white nails dragged nervously against her dark green skin. She supposed the director hadn’t heard about her Pod yet. No matter. He would, soon enough. “Good night, sir.” Ronjiku nodded and exited the hall.

In the silence that remained, Imalnay thought about the events of the last few 100 star rounds (days, in their world). Her Pod had originally consisted of her and her Podmate, they had been together for hundreds of thousands of star rounds, almost as far back as she could remember, now. They had been set up by the High Council, as all Podmates were, to maximize duplication potential. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. Other Pods typically held 20 or 30 individuals, but Imalnay and Josan learned to be content without duplication, and found joy in having only each other. Imalnay didn't mind too much. She had been part of a particularly large Pod in her youth (around 50, one of the largest ever), and she hadn’t cared for the noise and crowding in the overflowing Pod.

Josan had recently risen to the rank of High Scientist, working on the Human Experiment. He always had a special interest in humans in particular. He had studied other more advanced species in his career, but he kept going back to those simple bipeds.

“They have amazing rebound abilities,” he would often say. “If you stress them enough, they’ll rally against any adversary, even to their own end.”

Imalnay’s personal thought was that there were a great many other species with far more interesting abilities. What about the specimens on Andaraden that could teleport, or the ones on Barasnia that could read each other's minds, with some of the more powerful ones being able to manipulate millions to do their bidding? The humans on Earth’s only abilities were to breathe, eat, do their small and insignificant works, and die.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

But even basic life forms are useful for studying, and this is why the Scientists worked hard to stretch the humans’ mental and physical capabilities, and to test the societal cohesion and moral limits of their world. That was the purpose of the Wall of Human Destinies. It was not only a window into their world, but also an interface by which scientists could manipulate the events that occurred in the human world, at the micro and macro level. The random collapse of a bridge. The rise of a dictator to analyze the effects of propaganda and group think. The assasination of a beloved national figure to measure humanity’s capacity for empathy and desire to memorialize. The pardon of a dangerous felon, to study their thirst for justice and revenge. A nuclear disaster. And the sudden departure of a sweet child to test the capacity for grief and ability to cope with tragedy. But only the Grand High Scientist could approve of any interference with the humans’ world.

Imalnay shook her head. The Grand High Scientist would definitely not approve if he knew what she was about to do. But she had no other choice. Things hadn’t gone as planned.

It had all started with an innocuous interest in one of the humans, a man who was not a part of any of the experiments being run, but who sparked a particular interest in Josan. Perhaps Josan felt a sense of kinship with him, seeing as the man was also a scientist with a great enthusiasm for his field of research. Josan loved to come home with stories of the going-ons of this human scientist. Imalnay remembered the day that the scientist had cracked a problem he had been stuck on for a very long time, and Josan’s smile of affection as he recounted all the paths the poor man had gone down that had all led to failure, until finally he had his great breakthrough.

But one day, Josan came home troubled. “She’s dying,” he said sadly, when Imalnay asked what was bothering him.

“Who is dying, my love?”

“His wife… She has a rare cancer. Her likelihood of survival is very low.” Josan paused, considering his next words carefully. “I would be able to help, though.”

“What??” Imalnay was shocked. “You know we can’t interfere in any way with the human world, outside of our specific project goals. You know the consequences if we do anything outside of what we’re authorized to do. Why are you so willing to risk your career for these lower life forms?”

“They’re not so different from us, Imalnay. They have joys and pain, triumph and trouble, just as we do. I’ve been watching Jacob for a long time. What makes him different from me in any way? He has a passion for his research and a wife he truly loves. Sounds exactly like me, actually.” Josan smiled and took one of her hands in his own. “If you were in his wife’s situation, I would hope that if there was someone looking over us with any ability to help, they would.”

But Imalnay wouldn’t hear of any interference on behalf of the human scientist and his wife. The consequence of unauthorized interference was social and career suicide. She should have known, however, that he wouldn’t be able to let it go.

When she woke up the next morning, there was a letter next to her, perfectly centered in the indent that his body had made during the night.

Imalnay, I love you. But I must help if I can. I’ll be back within a week. The bosses think I’m traveling out in the Outerlands on business, they won’t be expecting me back for some time. I promise I will be careful and return to you soon. I’m sorry to have taken this choice from you. I love you always and forever, no matter where I am.

Love,

Josan

Acid burned rivlets down Imalnay’s face as she read these words. How dare he talk of love, she thought. How dare he leave me like this for a human.

And that was when she resolved that if he did not return in a week, she would follow him, and see to it that if he was still alive, he would feel her wrath in full.