Jo-el

Chapter 4 CONTENTS

It was almost three o’clock, I was drinking English tea with milk, sitting in my usual spot on the sofa. The container was resting on the coffee table like a rotten, pumpkin, squashed down from the top. Further examination had elicited no clues as to how it would come apart. Ka-el had said that the video wouldn’t continue until I had placed the container close to the computer. I guess he would instruct me on how to retrieve the contents, assuming there were any, as I was still not convinced. I opened the lid of my laptop and pressed the ‘On’ button. My computer did its thing and Ka-el’s face appeared once more on the screen, his wide, circular eyes now beaming with confidence. My hands were sweating and my pulse raced. The events of the last day were disturbing at least. My rationalization of a hack or hoax were still my primary belief. But as things moved ahead those answers were less plausible and the bizarre notion that this man, Ka-el, was actually telling the truth tugged at my inner soul. It was quite simply frightening to allow my thoughts to believe that I had been contacted by an alien race. That Ka-el was an extraterrestrial. Every time my mind drifted in that direction I fought hard to return it to what was real in this world. The basic physics that I understood. Mysticism and magic was the stuff of books and stage shows. It was all trickery with simple explanations that could be practiced by anyone. Yet, I was beginning to doubt any plausible justification for the events that were now unfolding. Here was I, just a regular guy, edging passed middle age, thrown a curved ball that was impossible to hit and I could honestly say it scared the shit out of me.

Almost immediately Ka-el came to life and said. “Congratulations David.” He smiled warmly and seemed to rotate his head in the direction of the container, or so I imagined. The container split into two, the top raising up slowly. I gasped, my throat suddenly dry. It floated above the lower section then moved to the side and came down to rest on the carpet next to the coffee table. I gulped dry air, frozen for a moment in shear disbelief.

“David, inside the container you will find several items. I want you to remove them and place them carefully.”

I was motionless, immobilized with fear. I breathed heavily, reaching inside myself for the courage to continue. I placed the computer on the coffee table next to the container and peered inside. Everything was neat, perfectly packed with no space between the items. I lifted the first one, a small red box, like a pencil case, or a tin for cigars and placed it on the table. Then I took out a curved, glass looking vessel that was tucked carefully into the front, or maybe it was the back of the main container. There were three other items, which I also removed. Each one felt heavier than the whole container together. There was a large box and a very small item, like a jewelry case for a single ring. A small box the size of business cards was the last thing I removed. Nothing else was removable, the main container was raised at the bottom but it was part of the structure.

“Good,” said Ka-el. I was startled, how did he know I had removed all the items? I didn’t understand what was going on and I was fearful. “Now I will explain what we have sent to you and what you must do. The explanation will be difficult for you to grasp and will stretch your beliefs. Please be patient. You were chosen because of your reasonableness. There are many men and women of your planet who will envy you, but they have visions that are self-serving and in contrast to the work you must perform. You must be strong in your resolve to do what you will realize is the right thing. Your world has many flaws; we know you are very aware of them. Violence and crime of varying degrees infest all levels of your society. The cost of fighting this human disease is immense, both in human suffering and resources. With the tools we are providing, you will have the opportunity to end much of this suffering.”

I’m listening with disbelief. What the hell was going on? I was wondering if I had a choice here? Maybe I’d like to be asked before being cast as the world’s savior? If that is what I was being asked to do? Yet, there was also an incredible fascination, a colossal feeling of pride that little old me had been chosen. I was getting wrapped up in Ka-el’s words, enjoying the compliments and swelling with self-importance, in contrast to my normal self. Mary had remarked many times that I was a simple man, content with my family life, yet vocal about the injustices around the world. My success financially had not driven me, as so many do, to believe I was special and could repeat my success and parlay my good fortune into more riches. I was content with what I had achieved and intently proud of providing such a comfortable life for my wife and children.

“We discovered your planet more than three hundred million years ago. At that time there was no human life, but we recognized that at some point in time intelligent life would likely develop. Organisms of more than one cell were appearing and the atmosphere was conducive to an expansion of diverse life. For fifty million years our people monitored your planet. We would not know what or how fast life would develop. All the elements were in place, so we did what we have done on more than two hundred planets. Approximately two hundred and fifty million years ago we dispatched robots to set up a computer system around the planet and observe the development. Equipment, that you might imagine as computer servers were embedded in and around Earth in hard rock, strategically placed away from the edges of the tectonic plates. Energy would be obtained from the sun. We monitored your planet and have been doing so ever since.”

I’m trying to believe. I’m listening carefully and I’m flabbergasted. Do I trust Ka-el or not? I’m torn. Truly, I want to jump on the Ka-el train and ride it to the next station, but holy crap, it’s way out there. Patience, Dave, go with the flow. Let’s see where it takes me. I slurp the remains of my cold tea, spilling most of it on my shirt.

“The item in the curved container is a belt attachment that will connect you to the computer system we set up many years ago.”

Whoa! What did he say? It wasn’t a major leap to figure out that my alien friend here wants me to hook up to their computer system. You’re kidding, right? What happens then? I become some sort of zombie for this guy. Next stage, no doubt, I’m tasked with recruiting more of ‘my people’. Then bingo, Ka-el takes over the world and yours truly was the catalyst. No, sir! I don’t think so. I reach out and pressed the computer screen and Ka-el’s image freezes. Phew! Just saved the world. I jump up from the sofa and felt drips of sweat running down my face. I began wandering around the room, glancing sideways at the computer, keeping an eye on the evil thing, as if Ka-el would suddenly leap out and fasten his hands around my throat.

It was four-thirty, a little early for a Scotch, but I needed one and I needed it now. Black Label to the rescue. My usual two finger measurement became three. I told myself it was the volume of ice. Yea, right! The first slugs burnt down my throat, exploding inside me. Delightful. I breathed deeply, sucking air through my teeth, inhaling the whisky vapor deep down. It was magic. Three more large gulps and I leant forward and brought my alien buddy back to life. He explained, carefully, that I had to place the curved item around my waist, like a belt, bring the ends together and then it would do the rest. He said there would be no pain, just a tingling feeling at the back and sides where it met my skin. I fetched the item to the sofa and examined it slowly. It was clear, like plastic, seemingly innocuous. No leads, no connectors, no buttons or lights. I played with it for a while, wondering if there was a right way round. What if I put it on upside-down? It wasn’t clear. I guess it didn’t matter. Two more gulps of Black Label, which left ice-cubes resting against my top lip. I took another long breath, pulled up my shirt and placed the belt around my waist just above my pant line, bringing the stub ends together at the front.

Nothing! Or for a moment nothing. My heart flipped with disappointment as I suddenly thought that maybe it didn’t work. It was too big. There was a gap between the belt thingy and me. I unconsciously looked for holes to tighten it. Ha! Then it moved. Whoa! On its own. It closed around my waist and locked together at the front, though there was no visible mechanism. Then it tightened and I breathed in, sucking in my middle-aged mid-drift, which I suddenly remembered I was instructed not to do. Shit! I felt failure. They would move on to the next candidate. The belt molded itself to my body and stopped moving. Immediately I began to feel a tingling sensation at the back of my hips. Maybe a little warmth, certainly not uncomfortable. That lasted a short while, then nothing. I waited, standing between my sofa and the coffee table, unsure what to do next. Even though I was the only person in the room I felt conspicuous. Should I sit down? Earth to Cirion, ‘what do I do now?’

Ka-el chirped up, as if he’d heard my thoughts. “There is a small box about three inches by two inches. Remove the lid and take out one of the slim cards inside.” I did what he asked. “Hold the card out in front of you and to the side and let go.” That felt weird. Wouldn’t it just drop to the floor? I did it anyway and the card remained where I’d placed it in mid-air. That was disconcerting.

The doorbell rang.

Damn! Damn and more damn.

I speedily rearranged my clothing, clicked off the video feed and shut the door to the family room. I hurried down the corridor to find Betty beaming at me from the threshold.

“What?”

Betty was startled backwards by my curtness and almost tripped and fell off the top step. I tried to calm myself and took a deep breath. Her usual charming smile replaced by a look of concern.

“Are you sick, Dave?”

Oh, thank-you, Betty. Of course, I was.

“I think so.” I hoarsely replied, faking a red-raw throat.

“I’ve got the best thing for flu.” She said, her face lightening up once more.

I raised my hand like a stop signal. “Betty, I’m taking stuff, I can’t take anything else.” I croaked.

Disappointment leaped across her face. “Thanks anyway, I really need to be alone for a bit.” I continued.

She was lost for words for a moment, then decided to retreat. Yes!

“I’ll catch you later, Dave.” She left. Short and sweet, what on earth would she think. Not much of a friend.

Back in the family room, the card thing was still hanging in the air where I’d left it. Luckily my alcoholic intake was just kicking in and I accepted the strange phenomenon as perfectly reasonable. I opened the computer and restarted the video.

“Ask the computer to turn on.” Said Ka-el.

I foolishly looked around the room as if some other computer had suddenly appeared. For a moment I was dumbfounded and just stared at my laptop screen. I’m sure if Ka-el had been watching me he’d have thought I was a raving idiot and they’d picked the wrong guy for saving the world. Ha! A moron, you chose a moron.

Nothing happened and I stood staring into space. What did he mean, ‘ask the computer to turn on?’ I was lost. How many times had that happened to me with simple instructions? Maybe I was over thinking it. Gingerly I said to no one. “Computer, turn on.”

The business card sprang to life. I fell backwards and landed on the sofa, dumfounded once more. When I say, it sprang to life, it just lit up and projected a three-dimensional image in front of where it was hanging in mid-air. Ka-el’s was center stage, a calming smile across his thin lips. Behind him was a vision of what seemed like his world, taken from space. What was truly amazing was the definition. It was as though he was there, standing in my family room, the three-dimensional image was quite simply perfect. He held out his arms and turned his palms towards me, like he was defending his speech and indicating that he was not a dangerous person.

“Good.” He said, mechanically. “You can shut down your computer, you are now attached to our system. Everything from now will be explained from our system. You can use voice commands to operate the new system. It is vastly superior to what you have on earth currently. It will understand everything you say and query you if there is any ambiguity. I will no longer speak to you directly. The system can speak to you and show you whatever you need to see on the screen. When you have set up the eye-buds you will have a holographic screen in front of your vision that can only be seen by yourself. To shut the computer down, simple tell it and then carry the card with you. There is much to learn and it will take many days to master the system. Good luck David.” And woosh! Ka-el disappeared.

I gulped! No, I really gulped, a giant swallow.

Time for another Black Label.