Aliens: Human perspectives
written by David Verbeek
"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere,
the ceremony of innocence is drowned.
And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?"
Brother Nathan lay the old book aside and looked upon his audience. There was silence in the church. The silence of a thousand monks.
"So my dear fellow brothers. Any questions?"
Brother Edward slowly rose his hand.
"Yes, brother Edward?"
"I...I was just wondering, brother Nathan. 'The Beast'...It's the aliens, isn't it? I mean, when you read the words 'Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world' you mean the incidents on LB27 and Fiorina 161, right?"
"I wish I did, son, I wish that was what I meant. But what it really meant is something that comes from inside. We can fight aliens, but this...Well, that'll be enough for today. I'll see you at the same time tomorrow, and may God's will be with you."
Brother Nathan left the stage and walked to his room where he found brother Edward waiting for him.
"Edward, what can I do for you?"
As Nathan looked at him once more, he saw the goodness in the young man. His sensitive face with his always troubled brown eyes looked at him as if he was the symbol of all the need for knowledge within the soul of humanity.
"Well, to be frank, your answer to my question has left me rather puzzled, brother."
"...Yes, maybe I was a little unclear, Edward, but I'm sure it's just because I'm being transfered in two days."
"You are leaving? Why?"
"It's at my own request."
"But why would you want to leave the church of Rome? There is no place in the universe closer to God than here."
"My wish is not just to be close to God, but also to do what must be done. Right now there is a place where evil is challenged, and those who are strong in their faith are needed to protect."
"To protect what?"
"The universe itself, Edward...the universe itself."
Bishop watched over the planet's surface, trying to see the horizon. He couldn't. It was still too dark. The surface was dark brown and so was the sky. The horizon was impossible to detect. It was still night. He was so excited! He was finally on the planet where night turned into day in a matter of minutes.
"It wouldn't be long now." Bishop 24 said.
"How often have you seen this?" Bishop asked.
"This is my third time."
"So what..."
"No, look! Here it comes."
There was one bright point of light, then around the light was a purple glow that slowly turned into red, then yellow, then there was one bright ball of white light coming from behind the horizon. At the same time, the two moons went down. The light climbed up the sky with the speed of a starship and then just stopped. The surface was now green. The world had changed.
"My God!" Bishop cried out.
For a minute the two androids stood silent. Then the two walked back to the compound.
"You got any faith, brother?" Bishop 24 asked.
"No...Not now anyway. In a few hours I'll be getting a memory upload. Maybe that upload will contain the memories I need to believe in God. But I don't think so. This upload should contain the memories of one of our brother androids, one that got deactivated in a crash landing on Fiorina 161."
"Oh, I heard about that! They say it had something to do with aliens."
"What?"
"It's not like I know the details of the story but I heard he was torn apart by an alien queen, or something."
"I don't want to remember that!"
"Sorry brother, but you will. But tell me more. Then what?"
"Then I'm being send on an mission to Diserato."
The two androids entered the compound. After saying goodbye to his brother 22, Bishop went to the room where the data transfer would take place. He was nervous. After all, this was his first memory upload. Maybe these memories would make him a whole new person. The tech-doctor entered the room.
"Good morning, Bishop. How do you feel?"
"Actually I'm a bit nervous, sir."
"Well, I guess that's understandable for someone who's getting his first memory upload. Just relax and you'll be just fine."
"Do you know what memories I'd be getting?"
"No. I'm just here to do my job, ok. Now just lay back and I'll take care of the rest."
Bishop was not surprised. Humans still didn't see him as a real person with feelings. He lay back.
He heard a sharp loud noise and then he was gone. He opened his eyes. Blue? He was in a room. There was no door, no window, only blue light...
Now there was a voice.
"You are in a realization room. In two standard hours you will be free to go. Until then all you can do is become one with yourself."
"What!?" Bishop shouted, not knowing where to shout at.
There was nothing, only silence, only blue. A realization room? Become one with myself? Bishop got on his feet. A blue environment helps androids to visualize their thoughts. So why was he in a blue light room?
As he moved through the small room he kept seeing black flashes before his eyes. Was his visual system damaged? The flashes were getting longer. Was there something within the darkness? A face? It...it was Ripley! Suddenly he remembered. he had been on a mission with a group of marines on a planet called LB27. But there was also a special person, Ripley. And they found a girl, Newt. But there was more. They all died, except Ripley. There had been darkness, a predator, something pure, something with simple but clear motivations...Bishop remembered liking Ripley, but in the beginning she didn't like him. He remembered wanting respect, but had never become more than just a robot. All memories where becoming clear now. There was a dark feeling. He felt pain, a horrible pain. He didn't want to remember! No! He sat down in a corner of the room, putting his head between his knees. His head hurt as he felt his artificial brain visualizing the horror of it's new past. He had forgotten the blue, now there was only the black and the beast.
There was light, the kind of light that could only be after a hundred years of darkness.
"Mr Morse? Mr. Morse, can you hear me?" The bright white light asked.
"Yeah, I can hear you just fine. So what the fuck is it this time, more company questions?"
"What is he talking about?" The voice asked another person.
"Seems like he's from the time when 'The Company' still existed." Another voice said.
"Could you please turn off the fucking light. I'd like to see the assholes I'm talking to. Or is that a new company policy? Not letting the bad guy see how ugly is interviewers are."
"We're sorry, Mr. Morse, but we can't turn off the light. Simply because there is no real bright light in this room. You've been in hyper sleep for more than two hundred years. The blinding bright light you see is a natural side effect of long term hyper sleep."
Morse was silent. First he wanted to say it was all bullshit, but somehow he knew it was true. He really had been gone that long. It was almost as if there had been some sort of sense in his head, counting the years while he was gone.
"We understand this is a shock for you, but we have to tell you even more."
"Great."
"Look, we don't know to tell you this...but no one knows who you are. We can't find any data on you. You see, when the company went out of business, it was a rather ugly situation and they sort of dumped all their belongings. It wasn't until recently that we discovered this cargo depot. All the display on your cryogenic tube is showing your name. And one mysterious note saying 'To be used in Alien Encounters.' Mr. Morse, have you any idea what that could mean?"
"Now wait a minute, you're saying, no one knows anything abut me?"
"That's correct."
Suddenly a big smile appeared on Morse's face. No more jail. He was finally free!
"What seems to be so funny?"
"Oh, nothing."
Morse's sight was getting better. He was in a small room, there was red light. And those two assholes stood over him, just watching him. He hated that!
"So where are the hookers?" Morse asked.
"What?"
"'What?', is everyone as smart as 85 these days? You know, red light...like the red-light district."
The two men above him gave eachother a surprised look.
"Never mind...idiots."
Suddenly an animated voice said: "Call from 'United Systems Military' priority level alpha."
"Ok, we'll take it here, patch it through 'Father'."
"Hello?" A voice coming out of the wall said.
"Hello, this is lieutenant John Dovani spaking." one of the assholes said.
"Good morning lieutenant, this is general Morden speaking."
"Good morning, sir!!"
Morse started laughing.
"Lieutenant, who is that?" The general asked.
"That's Morse, sir. He has just come out of a two hundred year hyper sleep and seems to be extremely...unpleasant to be around with." The lieutenant said, looking Morse straight in the eyes.
"Hey look, pal. You can't take away people's right to be assholes." Morse said, obviously still very amused.
"Ah, good! Mr. Morse happens to be the reason why I called." The general said.
"We don't know who he is, sir. Has the USM data we don't have down here?"
"Yes, we do, and it's all classified. The only thing you need to know is that you are to send him on the next shuttle to the transport ship 'Zelda'."
"Affirmative, sir."
The irritating smile had been removed from Morse's face.
"Hey, hey, now wait a fucking minute here. I don't have to go anywhere! I'm still a free civilian! I don't have to go along with all this military bullshit. Fuck you!"
"Oh, but I'm afraid we know exactly what you where, Mr. Morse. Whitch enables us to see to that you will become a little more...systemized this time. So no more rapes, no more slaughtering and no more digging up corpses from the cemetery."
"Oh, fuck you! I already did time for all that crap on Fiorina 161!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid we lost your prisoners record, so we can't tell wether you either did or didn't do your time...Well, I guess I'll just have to do it all over again. In the service of the USM this time. Have a nice trip, Mr. Morse!"
"END TRANSMISSION" The animated voice said.
"FUCK!!" Morse cried out.
"Earth...what a shit hole."
Johner said it after every glass of Whiskey. He couldn't believe he was still stuck here. No money, no transport home. Johner got up and walked away from the bar.
"Hey!! You didn't pay for your last four glasses, mister!"
"Sue me, bitch."
As he walked out of the front door, he heard her call the manager. He would probably have to fight his way out of this one again. Well, let'm come. Noone was bigger and meaner than him, with all his monkey style fighting moves.
He walked trough a dark alley. If someone attached him now, it would be a big mistake. All the bums were his friends. Suddenly he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned around expecting a fight, but when he saw the person he got confused. Military?
"Are you Johner?"
"Yeah, who the fuck are you?"
"General Morden, USM."
"A general? In this part of town?"
"Oh, I've got enough security. You just can't see them. They're well trained. And besides, you're drunk."
"Still, I bet I can punch your nose through your brain before they can do Jack shit."
"Well, yeah. But why would you want to do that?"
"Just making conversation."
"How would you like to do a job for us?"
"Fuck you."
"Well, ok. Then stay here if you like. A transport to Mars costs 1274 credits. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it looked like you couldn't pay your last four drinks. A Whiskey is only half a credit."
"Yeah, so?!"
"So, do one job for us and continue your life on Mars with enough money for 10 000 Whiskey's."
"What do I have to do? Fly into a sun?"
"Actually, a dead sun, Diserato." Johner looked around thinking it over. "Earth...What a shit hole." He finally said.
Introduction Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII
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