For Each and Every One of Us

Fiction by Ariom Dahl

 

Close your eyes; let my words work on your imagination and take you where and when you have never been.

We shall go into the future, into a far, far distant time. It is a future where many people have forgotten God, if ever they knew Him. Many of those who have not forgotten Him, have changed the way they perceive Him. Some have even tried, for their own comfort, to recreate God in their own image. There are those who do not believe in the possibility of His existence. Many follow other gods. And, as always, some are undecided about what they believe.

 
 

A starship hurtles through deep space. Aboard are six people, although not all are humans, and the vessel is controlled by a computer of extraordinary capabilities. The starship was stolen from its last owners. Some of the current crew are from a small planet called Earth by its people, although they are now scattered all over the cosmos, in many galaxies and places. Three of the crew are aliens; one appears almost human, and the other two not at all. From their point of view they are all political dissidents. To the authorities against whom they fight they are nothing more than common criminals. Either way, they have killed a lot of people, and many others would like to see them dead. By many, they are considered to be heroes, akin perhaps to Robin Hood, William Tell and Che Guevara. They are not nice people to know. But then again, neither are the authorities against whom they fight. 

One of the crew is sitting on the flight deck. He resents being here, and alone, while the others sleep, but he is weak and used to being dominated by the rest of the crew. He is from Earth and his name is Dorn. Being weak, he has sought solace from his loneliness in alcohol, or whatever its equivalent may be in this time and place.

 

Suddenly, right there on the flight deck in front of his astonished gaze, there are people - strangers - where clearly they have no right to be. Dorn has no idea how they have come to be there. So maybe he did doze off for a few seconds - who could blame him? Midnight watch is always boring. But surely he has not dozed so long enough that intruders have been able to come aboard? Alarmed, he leaps up, reaching for a weapon and also for the ship wide alarm to call his companions to his defence.

Before these not very nice - in fact, downright dangerous - companions come rushing in, allow me to introduce them to you.

 

Leila, one of the aliens, escaped and fled the planet of her birth when she was imprisoned because the authorities had discovered she was a telepath. They were afraid of her, and at the same time they wished to use her abilities to control others. She did not wish to cooperate then and she does not now. She is incredibly lonely, as only a telepath among the ungifted can be. Her race is feline; she is furred and has a tail but walks erect and, like humans, has opposable thumbs. All her fingers are clawed. Her ears are pointed and the fur on her body is a deep chocolate brown, with touches of grey and cream. She seldom smiles, unless in threat or rage, and then she shows sharp white teeth.

 

Raad, one of the aliens, is not even remotely human in form, but is of a reptilian race. Her voice, when she chooses to use it, is harsh and unpleasant to human ears although to her own kind it is melodious in the extreme. She has never understood the effect of its grating horror upon human ears. Like Leila, she is telepathic to a certain degree, being able to project her thoughts and occasionally receive those of others. The others far prefer her telepathic voice to her vocal sounds. Also, she can fly. A formidable and frightening foe.

Elda, the other alien, is Raad's closest friend, as much as any of these people will admit to having friends. Elda and Raad were accused - correctly - of working against the rulers of their planet and were sentenced to death. They were rescued by Tenya and Zillan, who escaped their prison planet and acquired - illegally, of course - the starship in which they all now roam the galaxies, doing either good or evil, depending on one's point of view. Zillan has often claimed to have no feelings, yet deep within he harbours resentment and hatred towards a woman he now knows betrayed him, but whom he once loved. One day they will come face to face again, and then one of them will have to die. He doesn't plan on it being him.

Elda's skin is green, the colour of grass on a hillside on far away Earth, and her body hair is white. On each hand she has three fingers and two thumbs. If you met her in the dark you would never know she was not human. There would however, be no doubt about Raad's alienness.

Tenya, who is human, loves Zillan, but no one else, and she would never even tell him, for fear of rebuff and scorn. Zillan is a greedy man, but all his greed has ever brought him is pain and the life of an outcast. Tenya feels something like companionship but not friendship, for the others aboard their ship. For all other people however she has nothing but dislike. Not hatred, that is too strong an emotion. Merely dislike.

Back to Dorn....

 

When he sees the strangers before him, his first thought is that they must have some kind of instant transport, for he can see no other way they can have come aboard the ship. They look harmless, but Dorn never considers anyone harmless. It has been his sad experience that everyone he has ever met has been out to get him, one way or another. So he stares at the man and the woman, and at the baby she holds cradled in her arms, as if they pose a threat to his very life.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you get here?"

The woman smiles at him gently, but makes no response. The man with her looks around worriedly. They appear to Dorn to be primitives, their clothes plain and low tech, the man's only means of defence a solid wooden staff.

"And where," he asks, his expression dazed, "is here?"

Beside him, the woman looks down at the baby, and smiles slowly.

"Don't be afraid," she says, but she says it to Dorn, almost as if she is aware of his fears. Then the rest of the crew come rushing onto the flight deck, armed to the teeth and ready for any threat to their safety.

Zillan arrives first, a weapon in his hand and ready to use. He was sleeping and dreaming, an unusual dream of long ago safety and security, and some of the well being from that dream still remains with him. At the sight of the intruders he comes to a halt, and behind him both Tenya and Leila also stop, armed but bewildered.

At the sight of the woman and the child however, and to Zillan's astonishment, both women put their weapons away and step forwards to stand regarding the child with quite uncharacteristically gentle expressions. Dorn is staring, frankly open mouthed. These are not the type of women he would have expected to show any interest in babies, children, or anything maternal.

Raad and Elda also arrive together. Neither carries any visible weapons, but then, Raad, with her sharp claws and sharp teeth, does not require weapons. Elda, like all her people, scorns weaponry, preferring the strength of her own muscles and limbs.

The woman turns to regard them all, her expression calm and unafraid, in spite of their totally threatening attitudes.

"There is no reason," she says gently, for you to fear us."

Zillan stares at her.

"I fear you?" he demands. "I rather suspect it should be the other way around."

Tenya shakes her head, from where she stands near the woman. For the first time in her life she has encountered people for whom she unaccountably and immediately cares. Knowing nothing about this trio, she would go with them anywhere, and would lay down her life for their protection. If Zillan threatens them, she knows she will oppose him unhesitatingly. It is a disconcerting discovery, but brings a warmth and comfort she has never anticipated.

"No, Zillan," she says slowly. "These people are more than they appear to be. Much more."

"Explain," he says flatly, and the man shakes his head.
"I don't know. Where are we?" He turns to look at his companion. "And when are we?"

"When?" Dorn echoes. "That's a funny question to ask. Um, let me see...." He taps at the controls before him and then looks at them. "According to the information I have, back on Earth - that's where most - uh, some - of us come from - it's the month they call December. And the actual date is - " He smiles. "Christmas Day. December the twenty fifth. The year - "

"The year does not matter," the woman interrupts him, her voice low and soft. "We are in the wrong time and quite definitely the wrong place." And she smiles down at the baby, as if sharing an unspoken joke with it. "Thus even the greatest of plans can go astray, it would seem." She is thoughtful. "Or maybe we have not gone astray after all. Maybe there is some reason for us to be here." And she smiles. "I do not know."

"So what do you plan on doing?" Zillan demands. She returns his stare serenely.

"Nothing. He will provide. He always has, and he always will. Soon we shall be where we should, by the will of God. He has brought us here, for some reason, and by his hand we shall return eventually to the right place, and the right time, for us all."

Unworried, she walks about the flight deck. Dorn scuttles down from his place and shadows her, fascinated by the child she carries. He had several siblings, long ago and far away, back on Earth, but his mother never regarded either him or any of them with the obvious tenderness and love this mother holds for her baby.

"This is a starship," he tells her. "Do you know what a starship is?" Privately, he thinks it highly unlikely; the strangers look very low tech to him. She says nothing, but gives him a smile. It is a smile that reassures him, and takes away much of the fear he daily lives with. Dorn feels he never again needs to be thoughtlessly afraid of others. The feeling strengthens him.

Raad and Elda have come onto the flight deck prepared for action, preferably in the form of a fight. Unaccountably, even though the violence they have wished for has not eventuated, they both feel pleasure and satisfaction in their current situation. This feeling is foreign to them both. Gentleness is to be abhorred, and softness despised. The two aliens regard the strangers, and then each other, and both edge closer to the child. Raad hums very quietly, a harsh and discordant sound, and in its mother's arms the baby stirs, but does not cry. Elda wishes she had something of value to offer, but she has nothing, and knows she has nothing, so contents herself by allowing Raad to perch on her shoulder as the ugly reptile croons her alien lullaby.

Alone on the other side of the flight deck, Leila is aware of a sense of total well being, of acceptance and security she has not known since fleeing her home. She is somehow fully aware that this feeling is emanating from the strangers, and she is as afraid of them as the authorities on her home planet had been of her. At the same time she feels drawn to them, to something she cannot understand.

Zillan has followed the woman and now he confronts her, his expression threatening.

"God?" he says unbelievingly. "You expect God to help you? Don't you know who we are, and what we could do to you if we wish? You should be afraid of us. Very afraid," he repeats. In fact he is more than a little frustrated. These strangers have no right to be on his ship, calm and unworried. He is not used to people being unafraid of him.

Leila steps forwards, unexpectedly.

"Be quiet, Zillan!" she says sharply. "There is more here than any of us know or understand." And she also comes closer to the woman, her hands outstretched as if to touch the child in her arms. Felinelike, her claws remain sheathed as she bends to ruffle the soft hair of his head.

"This is my son. My first born child." There is pride in the woman's voice, but something more than that, as if she also knows his importance. And there is grief in her voice too, as if she knows his future.

Leila smiles, and in her peculiar mind catches a silent and unspoken communication between the woman and the man. Clearly, he has expressed some kind of doubt and concern. The woman's silent voice is reassuring and definite.

//Yes, he comes for all these too, for each and every one of them, and for all the others too, in this place and in all other places, and in all times. Yes.//

The woman now has paused before the silver oval on the wall that houses the main computer control of the starship, and she addresses it, in a foreign language. Unbidden, the computer's inhuman tone responds, in the same unknown language, and the woman nods and smiles. She turns back to Raad, who is still humming discordantly but quietly, and looks from her to Leila.

//You both have gifts. Use them well and wisely. Gifts are not given so you can cause harm, but good.//

Leila catches her breath, then flashes a rare smile, her mouth however closed. It is not proper to show one's teeth in a smile of happiness among Leila's people. The others of the crew stare. They have never seen this expression before, and it transforms her face completely. Leila is beautiful. Then the woman returns to her place beside the man, facing them.

"We return now to our own time and place." Her gaze rests almost ironically upon Zillan's face. "He provides for all of us his children." For the first time Zillan wonders how it is that he and the others have been able to understand this woman's speech to them. He also wonders in what language she has addressed his ship's computer, but knows these are not important matters. He has the uncomfortable feeling he would get no satisfactory response from the computer were he to put these questions to it; it is a personality in its own right, with - strange to describe a computer this way, but it is true - a mind of its own.

She smiles, and the expression warms him unaccountably. //For all, even for you and all these with you. And he brings not hatred and vengeance, but love and forgiveness. Hold that in your heart.//

Zillan blinks. It is almost as if she knows everything about him. Strangely, this concept is nowhere near as repugnant to him as he would have expected. He lets his own expression soften in an unaccustomed smile, one without bitterness or derision in it, and he realises maybe their future is not as bleak as he had expected. Then she speaks again. "Goodbye - to you all."

They start to shimmer and disappear. Leila takes a step forwards, holding out her hand entreatingly.

"Wait! Who are you?"

And as the three disappear the woman's voice echoes back to them, far distant now in time and space.

"Mary. My name is Mary."

 

the end

  

Posted 01/03/2009 

 

  Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.

 

 

ariom@westnet.com.au
http://members.westnet.com.au/ariom