TIME : September 13, 2016 11:00 A.M.
PLACE : Yopela
Children were everywhere. Some were playing games, some were sing songs, and others were just sitting quietly in the shade. They represented a wide variety of races, cultures, and economic levels yet they were happily playing together. They seemed happy and care free, far removed from the worries and troubles of the adult world. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A little girl was watching a group of older children playing catch. She was barely aware of the things that were wrong with her planet and hadn't even heard of the Ruler. Unfortunately, the Ruler has heard of the unusual circumstances on the planet Yopela. It was a situation he hoped he could use to his advantage.
"Could you get the ball for us?" the oldest child asked her.
"Certainly," she chriped eagerly and ran after it as fast as she could go.
By the time she caught up with it, the ball had rolled all the way down hill and into some bushes. The little girl crawled under the bushes thing it would be easy to find. Suddenly she froze in her tracks not daring to make a sound. There was someone on the other side.
"What's your name?" said the man who was at least in his thirties.
"Gu-guatamire," she managed to stammer.
"I believe this is what you're looking for, Guatamire," he smiled handing her the ball.
Guatamire looked up at him fearfully. He sounded friendly enough but there was something about him she didn't like. She smiled in an attempt to hide her fear. She wasn't very successful.
"Hurry up!" yelled one of the children.
"Y-you speak remarkably well for someone your age," Guatamire remarked ignoring the other children.
"I come from another world," the man explained. "We would like to help you."
"How?" wondered Guatamire, her curiousity overcoming her fear.
"My planet can share its technology with yours," he proposed. "and in return you can help us with our problems."
"We don't have anything we can give you," Guatamire protested.
"You have plenty of things you can give us," the man assured her with a grin she didn't trust. "I'm sure my people can learn a great deal from you."
"Can you find it or not?" the older child shouted more angrily than before.
"You shouldn't keep them waiting," the man advised. "I'll talk to you later. In the meantime don't tell anybody you saw me. It will be our little secret."
Finding herself unable to speak, Guatamire nodded and hurried back to the others. On the way back she debated whether or not to tell them about the strange man on the other side of the bushes. Fortunately for all of them, she did.
TIME : 11:30 A.M.
PLACE : M.W.G.D. Headquarters
Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa were hard at work discussing things that had absolutely nothing to do with their job. The Milky Way Galaxy Defense, or M.W.G.D., was an organization dedicated to protecting all planets in the Milky Way from all major threats, both internal and external. It was no small task especially considering the fact that very little was known about most of the planets in the Milky Way and some planets hadn't even been discovered yet. M.W.G.D. did not discriminate. They would go anywhere they were needed, even Altair 7.
Altair 7 was a former prison planet that had been taken over by the Ruler. His goal was simple, he wanted to rule the entire galaxy. M.W.G.D. had defeated him many times, yet his empire still stretched over almost a quarter of the galaxy. If they stopped trying to stop him, even for a moment, the balance of power might shift enough for the Ruler to achieve his goal.
People from all over the galaxy had joined M.W.G.D. to help defeat the Ruler, including some from Earth. Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa were talking about what they missed most since leaving Earth.
"Friends and family," declared Peter. "it's hard to stay close to somebody when you're travelling all over the galaxy, not counting present company of course. I'd like to go home just to let them know I'm still alive."
"You know what would happen if you went home," Hank reminded him. "The Ruler would follow you and enslave the people of Earth, including your friends and family."
"I know," sighed Peter. "I'll be glad when the Ruler's empire finally collapses. Maybe then we'll get some peace and quiet."
"What if the Ruler's empire never collapses?" Lisa wondered fearfully.
"It has to collaspe eventually," argued Peter. "On Earth the empires of Napoleon and Hitler was built in only a few years and disappeared just as quickly. Even if we can't defeat the Ruler, he won't live forever and no one seems capable of taking his place."
"I miss Earth's peace and quiet," Linda cut in. "Earth had its wars too, but it didn't affect our everyday life. I want a chance to relax without worrying about what's happening to the rest of the galaxy."
"I think the simple things are what I miss most," Hank began. "I'd like to go exploring in the woods. Maybe I could see a sunset or listen to the crickets chirp."
"Do you know what I miss most about Earth?" interrupted Lisa.
"I have no idea," replied Hank.
"I miss the children," she explained. "Children aren't normally allowed at M.W.G.D. Headquarters. About the only time we see them is when we go to other planets and even then only briefly. I'd like to spend the day with a child just to see what I've been missing."
"I didn't think children would be something you'd miss," admitted Peter.
"Why?" countered Lisa. "Because my parents were millionaires? They were always pushing me to be somebody I wasn't. That's why I changed my name from Elizabeth to Lisa. Elizabeth was my mother's name. I loved her but I didn't want to be a carbon copy of her. I wanted to be different."
"I'm sure your mother never left the planet," Peter chuckled.
"I'm sure she didn't either," agreed Lisa. "I feel like I've been robbed of my childhood."
"The feeling is mutual," said a voice behind them.
"SHAWN!" exclaimed Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa in almost perfect unison.
"I wish I had better news for you," he told them. "but I don't. We received a distress call from the planet Yopela. Very little is known about that world so I don't know what we're getting ourselves into."
"Is this mission dangerous?" inquired Lisa.
"I don't even know that." Shawn continued. "They said one of them had met a suspicious man from another planet. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be anything to consern ourselves with, but this is the first direct contact we have received from Yopela since M.W.G.D. was created. Even if it's a false alarm we need to establish contact with them. We need as many allies as we can get."
"I don't think it's a false alarm," reasoned Hank. "If we don't know much about Yopela, it would be an excellent place for the Ruler to strike."
"It may be even worse than that," added Shawn. "Yopela may possess a technology totally unknown to us. If the Ruler can get his hands on that technology it could mean trouble for the entire galaxy."
"When do we leave for Yopela?" asked Peter.
"As soon as possible," answered Shawn. "We can't afford the slightest delay. I'll take you there personally. I need two of you to volunteer to land on the surface first to make sure it's safe for the rest of us. We could be walking into one of the Ruler's traps."
"I'll go," announced Peter before anyone else had a chance to speak. "It may be dangerous but it beats the boredom of everyday life at M.W.G.D. Headquarters."
Hank, Linda, and Lisa looked at each other waiting for someone to speak up.
"I'd like to go too," Lisa said at last.
"I expected Peter to volunteer, but it's so unlike you to volunteer for something like this," Shawn remarked in genuine surprise. "Why have you decided to be so brave all of the sudden?"
"I just need a change of pace," Lisa retorted with a mischievious grin.
"I take that back," laughed Shawn "You are acting like you usually do. Get anything you might need for the trip. I don't know how long we'll bo staying. We'll leave in fifteen minutes and I'm leaving with or without you. If you don't show up I'll simply find someone to take your place."
Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa quickly hurried off to their rooms to gather their things together.
TIME : 3:30 P.M. (15:30)
PLACE : A small city on Yopela
Peter and Lisa landed on Yopela first as promised. After orbiting the planet several times they found a city that looked like a good place to land. They asked whoever was in charge for permission to land, but there was no responce. They waited a few minutes before deciding to land anyway.
Peter got out of the ship and looked around. Several dozen men and women had gathered together and were approaching the ship. They wanted to look at the spaceship. It was as if they had never seen anything like it before.
"Hello," Peter began nervously. "I'm Peter Buckwell and this is my friend Lisa Givens. We mean you no harm. We came in response to your distress call."
The group just stood where they were and looked at him. They seemed confused by what he had said.
"Maybe they speak a different launguage," suggested Lisa.
"We come in peace," Peter told them speaking slowly and raising his right hand.
The people in the crowd began to raise their hands too. Some of them raised their left hand and some of them raised their right but they seemed to understand the general idea. Eventually they put their hands down and began to approach the ship again.
"Peace," a young man managed to say with a great deal of difficulty.
Peter looked at Lisa and then back at the crowd. Lisa was close. They didn't speak a different language, they just had trouble speaking at all. Peter had assumed they were intellectual equals. This was obviously not the case. Most of what he had said had gone completely over their heads.
"Pe-ter," he said pointing to himself and then to Lisa. "Li-sa."
"Pe-ter," copied the young man. "Li-ka."
"Li-s-s-s-a," corrected Peter.
"Li-s-s-s-a," repeated the young man.
He smiled at them and laughed a little bit. Peter pointed to the tall buildings behind the young man. The young man turned and looked at them.
"City," explained Peter. "We want to go to the city."
The young man looked at the other members of his group and then back at Peter and Lisa. He paused trying to think of the right word to say. At last the word came to him.
"Come," he commanded.
Peter and Lisa left the ship and followed the group back to the city. It wasn't yet time contact Shawn and tell him it was safe to land. Too many mysteries had to be answered first.
TIME : 3:45 P.M. (15:45)
PLACE : Beside the tall buildings
Peter and Lisa had gone from person to person trying to find out what they know, but none of them could speak more than a few words and most of them couldn't speak at all. Most of what they heard was grunting and incoherent babbling.
"They're not intelligent enough to communicate," conceded Lisa. "at least not the way we communicate."
"Someone on this planet bad to be intelligent enough to send us that distress call," argued Peter. "Besides, these buildings didn't appear by themselves."
"The buildings are old and beginning to crumble," Lisa remarked removing a piece of the building next to her to emphasize her point. "Whoever built them died a long time ago."
"If their life span is the same as ours," Peter reminded her. "As far as we know they could live for thousands of years."
Peter stopped speaking when a little girl came up to him trembling. He hadn't thought about it much but she was the first child they had seen since landing on Yopela.
"Don't be afraid," Peter stammered finding the situation almost as awkward as she did. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Follow me," she insisted pulling on Lisa's arm to make sure she had her attention too. "The mayor wants to speak to you."
"Hold on," snapped Peter. "One thing at a time. What's your name?"
"My name is Guatamire," she replied letting go of Lisa and trying to push Peter in the direction of one of the buildings. "I was the one who met the stranger.. .the other stranger I mean. The mayor told me about you and told me to bring you to him when you came."
"What happened to all these people?" demanded Peter.
"Don't expect them to understand you," she cried as if they had some sort of disease. "They've long past the point of puberty. It may be different on your world but on my world puberty is the time our minds slowly begin to deteriorate until we become mental vegetables. They like to live together. We don't like to talk about it much."
"Why net?" inquired Lisa.
"This is what I'll become in another ten years," she sobbed. "I don't want to become one of them. Even death would be better."
Peter and Lisa decided not to bother her with any more questions and followed her to a building at the edge of the city that was smaller and newer than the other. On the other side of the building children were playing and laughing like they would at a typical playground on Earth. None of them wanted to remember what the future had in store for them.
Guatamire led Peter and Lisa into the newer building and up three flights of stairs to the top floor.
"This is where the mayor lives," she told them.
Guatamire ran down the stairs to join the other children before Peter and Lisa had time to ask her any more questions. She had done her job and didn't want to get involved in the situation any more than she had to. She didn't like working with adults. They reminded her of puberty and what lay beyond it.
"Wait! Come back!" Lisa called out after her.
"Let her go," commanded Peter. "She's terrified of us. If we want her to trust us we'll have to let her do what she wants."
As soon as Guatamire was out of sight, another child appeared. This one was a boy in his early teens. He looked a few years older than his height would indicate.
"Let me introduce myself," he began with a formality well beyond his years. "I am Zicon, mayor of this city."
Copyright MCMXCIV, MCMXCIX
