Promises of Enlightenment

                                                              By Todd DeGroot

                Sihng Lee stood on the veranda, his caramel colored hand wrapped around a martini glass. He stared out at what used to be the capital of the United States of America and sighed a long bitter-sweet sound of remembrance.  His crisp, white suit and designer shoes were a throw-back to days long gone and better forgotten.

 His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of fireworks popping off in the distance. Humans loved the flashy things when they celebrated; they reveled in things that sounded like conflict. Generations of people made a fortune from that simple axiom.

 He sipped the alcohol from the frosted glass and felt a perverse sense of pleasure from the decadence he was experiencing. For a brief moment he strained his vision to see the small group of people in the street below dressed in party clothes and apparently having a good time.

 “I miss the old days.” He said aloud to no one. The martini glass was put down on a small round table and he exited the veranda for the warmer climate of the adjacent lounge.

 His nose itched. That meant one of them was near. It was like an allergic reaction, except it never went beyond the nose itching stage. Sihng stared at the door of the condo waiting for it to open. He counted in his head: 1…2…3…4...at 5 the door whooshed open.

 “Mr. Lee!” the young woman seemed to shout his name. “There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She was bright and cheerful and Sihng hated her for it.

 “I haven’t been everywhere, Ms. Wright,” his tone was disdainful “I’ve been here, enjoying the view. You can still see the Washington Monument from here.” He dropped unceremoniously onto a long leather sofa and stretched out.

 She gave him a quizzical look and then smiled anyway “Wouldn’t you rather be celebrating with friends down at the plaza?” The room looked sick to her. It was an old fashioned, museum from a by-gone age, not like the social meeting places to which her generation had grown accustomed.

 “Nope.” He flung both arms across the tops of the sofa’s cushions. “I can’t take the smell. I’m an old man and things like that bother me.” He thought for a moment and then quickly added “Besides, it’s too damn loud.”

 The young woman tilted her head slightly and then sat down next to him and gently patted his knee. “Mr. Lee,” her voice was patronizing “Surely you realize that you are expected to be there. Why, the whole world will be watching.”

 He moved her hand and flashed an irritated look. “Screw the world!”

 “I don’t understand what that means.” She shook her head.

 “It means, my dear Ms. Wright that I don’t care about the celebration.” Despite his efforts not to, he raised his voice. “I don’t care about it and I don’t care about them!”

 “You don’t mean that.” She scolded him “You don’t even have to make a speech. Other people will make the speeches; all you need to do is smile and wave at the cameras.”

 He pulled himself into the corner of the sofa as if he was trying to distance himself from her. The alcohol had gone straight to his head, which had started to throb.

 “What are you, my publicist now?” he tried to shoo her away. “I’m not going.”

Ms. Wright stood and fixed a firm expression on her small face. “I am not your publicist; I am your care-giver. You have a duty. You have an obligation. You need to shape up and deal with those facts honestly and immediately.” There was a hint of anger in her voice.

 “Care-giver? ‘More like handler,” He turned his head away, refusing to look at her.

 A quiet pause filled the room as the two humans stubbornly refused to agree on a course of action.

 “Where is it?” Sihng finally broke the silence in a quiet, irritated tone.

 “I told you,” Ms. Wright said “It’s down at the plaza.”

 “Not the celebration,” he was so irritated he could spit “It…him it, not place it.” He struggled for the right words in his alcohol fueled head. “My nose itched a minute ago, that means one of them is near.”

  As if on cue, the door whooshed open again. The large, bulky creature that entered had little in common with the human race. The floor creaked as it moved into the room and stood before the humans, its arms gesturing dramatically.

  “Mr. Lee,” the creature spoke “What are you doing here? This is no safe place. We should be celebrating at the plaza.”

 “Agone-Ee?” Sihng looked at the purple and gold creature that stood in front of him “What are you doing here? You are the last one I expected to come looking for me.”

 The gas sacks on Agone-Ee’s sides half inflated and flushed with color, his five eyes blinked in unison as he thought about what he would say next. He extended a flipper like finger and pointed it at Ms. Wright and then spoke.

 “Your care-giver is quite persuasive.” His voice boomed with authority “I don’t enjoy coming to these old ruins. They smell horrible, as do you from spending so much time in them.” He paused for a moment as the filaments on his neck vibrated. “Still,” he continued “You are an important human individual and the effort on my part to retrieve you will not go unnoticed. Now come along.”

 “Politics?” Sihng stood up and gave the alien a sickened glance. “You came looking for me because it makes you look good to your cronies? That’s pathetic.”

 Agone-Ee looked offended, but then drew back his mouth in a curl that approximated a human smile. “My dear Sihng,” his voice bellowed less this time “I came to find you, because…despite your prejudice against my species and your obvious obsession of this nation-state’s decadent past…well, I like you. There I said it. I like you Mr. Sihng Lee and I think you should give both our worlds a chance at a better future.”

 “You aren’t going to make a speech are you?” Sihng retorted “You should save that for the plaza.” He brushed off his suit coat and adjusted his tie.

 Ms. Wright was standing behind him holding his overcoat as if she anticipated all of them leaving. Her brown eyes went back and forth between the two others in the room.

“Let’s go, Mr. Lee” she held up the overcoat so he could slip his arms into the sleeves. He complied without putting up a fight. He gave the lounge a final look over, doubting he would ever get to return.    

 They left the building and approached the long red hovercraft that had been waiting for them. Sihng never got over the sight of the vehicles. As a boy in Bangladesh he would occasionally see American movies in which hovering vehicles were used, but they were flights of fancy…optical effects meant to amuse and intrigue the audience. They were not real, until they were real.

 The hovercraft in front of him was very real. Like all the others he had experienced over the last four years, it was nearly silent and quick and had that “new car smell” on the inside, but smelled like hand sanitizer on the outside (probably due to the alien lubricants used on the vehicle’s moving parts). It bounced slightly under their weight as they climbed inside. Ms. Wright made a point of sitting between Sihng and Agone-Ee.

 It made a slight electrical whine as it accelerated and pulled away from the old building. Sihng took one last look out his window and wished he had another martini so he could toast the ruins.

 “Is that alcohol I smell?” Ms. Wright asked “Where did you find alcohol? You know that its contraband, right?” She stared incredulously at Sihng.

 He raised a finger to his lips and smiled mischievously. “Sorry, Mom” he mocked her “I’ve been doing a lot of things that I shouldn’t.” He turned back to look out the window and watched glumly as the old ruins of Washington D.C. whizzed into the background on the way to the plaza.

  The plaza hovered above the ground, a little closer to the ground than usual, thought Sherman Brownly. Never had so many people been on the plaza at one time. The noise was louder than he had suspected and he wished now he had upgraded his ticket to the celebration.

 The moving staircase deposited him on the upper deck and he glanced around the plateau for the row with his seat. One of the processions had just finished and he was being jostled by the crowds looking for food or rest rooms. Off in the distance he could see someone waving to get his attention. He thought it was probably Miriam from accounting, but couldn’t be sure.

 With careful attention to where he was heading he slowly made his way through the oncoming tide of humans and aliens. The noise was nearly overwhelming and he tried to blank it out.

 “Sherman!” It was Miriam shouting at him “Right here! This is your seat.” She seemed frantic with her waving.

 “Hello Miriam,” he smiled at her, happy to be out of the aisle of people “Where is everyone?”

 “Let’s see,” she thought and then answered “Carlos is down about four rows with Deirdre, Mi and Blake and what’s-her-name from human resources all went to find the toilets and the rest went to find food.”

 “When does the next segment start?” he asked, feeling foolish he hadn’t invested in a program.

“’Looks like we have 12 minutes yet.” She smiled affectionately at him and adjusted her data-goggles. “You didn’t miss much,” she continued “They did the lowering and burning of the flags of nations and the raising of the Flag of Peace and then we sang the Anthem.”

 “So,” he sat down in his seat “just the usual stuff. Okay.” He felt better knowing that he hadn’t missed any of the promised spectacle. He craned his neck and looked down at the hovering stage.

 A half circle of human and alien dignitaries stood amongst small fountains of light and broadcasters, their images floated holographically above them. A female in the center seemed to be soaking up most of the attention during the lull in the ceremonies.

 Sherman did not immediately recognize her. He still had trouble telling the female aliens apart from each other, accept for the obvious differences. She was a 20-Egg and proud of it. Glittering birds, not native to Earth, held up the edges of her fabric and silicone tunic as they fluttered about her shoulders and head. The filaments on her neck glowed a healthy color and her fingers were adorned with baubles and rings made from glowing gems.

 “Isn’t she beautiful?” Miriam noticed that he had been watching the stage. “I wonder how long it took her to get that look.”

 “Who?” Sherman gave her back his attention.

 “PoePer-Zhun,” she pointed at the alien center stage. “I can’t believe she is actually here!”

 “That’s her?” Sherman was genuinely surprised “Wow! I’m surprised she isn’t watching all this chaos from orbit. I wish we were closer.” He flipped down his data-goggles and zoomed the lenses in on the stage to get a better look at the living legend everyone had heard so much about in the last four years.

  While he watched he saw three more people mount the stage and take position alongside the other dignitaries, an alien who could only have been Agone-Ee with all his ornate cloaks and gilded clothing, a woman whom Sherman did not recognize and a human man in an archaic white business suit, who seemed familiar.

 “Miriam,” he nudged her elbow with his “Who is that man that just walked up on stage? The human…looks familiar.” He tried pointing, but with her data-goggles on she couldn’t see the gesture.

 “I think that’s Sihng Lee, the inventor.” Miriam said it like an excited school girl with a crush. “This is a really big deal event if it brought both him and PoePer-Zhun out.”

 “It is him!” Sherman had heard all the stories of the great human inventor responsible for being able to communicate with the aliens. “This is a day I’ll have to tell my kids about…someday.” He blushed a little when he noticed Miriam smiling at his comment.

 People started to file back into the row to be seated as, what sounded like trumpets blared, announcing the beginning of the second phase of the celebration. Sherman flipped the data-goggles back up and focused on the holographic display floating before him. Miriam tucked her arm under his and snuggled in close to him. He was surprised by the forward gesture of his co-worker, but figured it was due to all the excitement.

A human stepped to center stage and the broadcasters focused on him. He was a short, balding man in his late 40’s who wore an orange and yellow suit, the shoulders of which were decorated with the embroidered likeness of several Terran animal species, a formal arm band signified his importance and he cleared his throat with near regal authority.

 “Beloved creatures,” he began “We are gathered here today in remembrance of the most significant moment in our combined histories: Talking Day.”

The crowd cheered so loudly the speaker stopped and waited for the noise to die down before continuing, gesturing with his hands that they should bring the noise down.

 “It was just five years ago when our two species began communicating and the promise for a bright and amazing future started.” He looked up at the audience, a tear of joy visible in his eye.

 “Now, on this day,” he motioned at the other dignitaries “we have gathered to celebrate yet another advance for our combined culture. Today we give the world a gift!”

 The audience was on its feet applauding and cheering so loudly that Sherman thought he would go deaf. Miriam’s arm bumped into him and his data-goggles fell over his eyes, disorienting him for a moment. He re-focused the lenses and looked at the stage. His vision landed on Sihng Lee, who looked completely disgusted by the frivolity around him. He was about to put up his data-goggles when he noticed one of the broadcasters bump into Sihng, tripping him and causing him to fall towards PoePer-Zhun. The human put his arms out to brace himself and grabbed one of her arms.

 The alien turned her head toward Sihng and blinked her yellow-green eyes and wrapped her hand around his, a symbol of unity, and smiled at the broadcaster.

 Sihng looked even more disgusted than before, but did nothing to resist the gesture. Instead he looked away from the famous alien and out at the crowd.

 Sherman was fascinated by what he was watching. Agone-Ee was about to step onto center stage to quiet the audience when the same malfunctioning broadcaster spun in front of him. The alien tried to grab the hovering camera but instead it pushed in on him, knocking him sideways into PoePer-Zhun. Another broadcaster struck Sihng Lee and he too stumbled hard into the female.

 Caught between them, she had nowhere to go and was squished at her egg sacks. A horrible crunchy popping noise went over the plaza’s sound system as her egg sacks burst and she slumped in front of the dignitaries.

 The two men were pressed together by the broadcasters and they struggled to free themselves, stumbling over the fallen female.

 A hush filled every level of the plaza. The audience; who moments before roared in celebration, now stood dumbfounded by the terrifying tableau before them. The quiet was only softly broken by the alien chirping of PoePer-Zhun’s garment birds.  

 Dignitaries rushed to PoePer-Zhun’s aid and tried to separate Sihng Lee and Agone-Ee from the ruined broadcasters. A number of humans and aliens began surrounding the stage trying to help secure it.

 Miriam was screaming in Sherman’s ear. “Oh God! What just happened?” she was trying to see through the throng of beings that all wondered what they just witnessed.

Five paramedics had arrived on stage and began assessing the female’s condition. They gently placed her in a stasis pod and floated her off the stage. The human male in the orange and yellow suit regained composure and stepped in front of one of the functioning broadcasters. He rubbed his forehead and motioned at the audience to sit.

 “Beloved creatures,” he choked back shock “we are going to take a short recess in these proceedings to determine the severity of our sister PoePer-Zhun’s injuries. Please remain calm. The celebration will continue shortly.”

 Miriam was crying into Sherman’s shoulder as he put up his data-goggles. He used his finger to prod her chin so that she would look at him when he spoke.

 “It was those broadcasters…they just went haywire.” He said. “How can that even happen?”

Miriam wiped her tears away and bit her lip. “She has to be alright. Please tell me she’ll be alright.” She nodded at him to reassure herself that he would.

 “I don’t know.” He whispered and then hugged her close.

 On the stage, Sihng Lee was trying to answer a hundred questions at once. The remaining broadcasters had been shut down and no holographic display was conveying what was happening to the audience. Dignitaries and security alike tried to make sense of the strange tragedy.

 “It smashed into me” Sihng said as he rubbed his bruised chest and shoulder. “I have never seen one do anything like that.”

 The two broadcasters were damaged beyond repair, having continued smashing themselves into each other after the men had escaped from between them. They were at Agone-Ee’s feet looking like debris from an explosion more than anything else.

 “That poor female,” Agone-Ee kept repeating as he shook his head in disbelief. “How could this happen?” His gas-sacks were flushed with color and the filaments on his neck barely glowed. He was devastated. “She was a 20-Egg…a beautiful, perfect creature. Never in recorded history has such an awful thing occurred.”

 Sihng glared at Ms. Wright and tried pulling her away from the bereaving alien’s side.

 “Let’s go Ms. Wright,” he said quietly “I really don’t want to be here for this.” He had sobered up during the crushing attack of broadcasters, but was in pain from the injuries.

 “How can you be so cold?” she snarled at him “Do you realize that one of the most important people in our combined culture may have just been killed…or worse?”

 “She’s not dead, she was injured, and so was I.” he indicated his chest and shoulder “I’m going to go seek medical attention, care-giver.” He snarled back “Are you coming, or not?”

Reluctantly Ms. Wright followed Sihng off the stage and over to a waiting med unit, glancing behind herself every other step to ensure she didn’t miss anything transpiring on the stage.

Sihng sat at the edge of the ambulance while they dressed his injuries. They gave him a lozenge for the pain, which after a moment in his mouth rendered him unconscious.

 “Mr. Lee!” Ms. Wright yelled at him. “What did you give him?” she asked the paramedic who had been treating him.

 “It was a pain killer. It shouldn’t have had that effect on him unless he had some other form of medication already in his system.” The paramedic shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve heard stories of people mixing pain killers and alcohol and having a bad reaction, but I know that can’t be it. Alcohol is illegal.”

 “He will be okay when he wakes up, right?” she hoped.

 “He probably just passed out from the shock of what just happened.” The paramedic justified. “I’m sure Mr. Lee will be fine.”

“About that,” Ms. Wright prodded the paramedic “will PoePer-Zhun be alright? How bad is it?”

“It’s too early to tell” he whispered “but I think she lost all her eggs. I hope not.”

The balding man again took center stage as the broadcasters reactivated and the holograms again floated in front of the audience. His eyes were moist from tears and his voice cracked as he spoke.

 “Beloved creatures,” he said “we must continue the ceremony. As soon as we have word on PoePer-Zhun’s condition we will pass it on to you. Please welcome to center stage Vongg-Sta.”

 Vongg-Sta was nearly as bulky as Agone-Ee, but shorter. His head was adorned with a brightly colored miter and he wore a scarf about his neck that indicated he was a medical scientist. A silvery belt with pouches was secured around his upper torso and he seemed to shake nervously as he approached center stage.

The audience remained silent for a moment, and then slowly began to applaud the alien. Sherman sat back down, Miriam practically in his lap. He felt badly for everything that had transpired and hoped the female would recover.

 “I bring the gift,” Vongg-Sta began “A gift to those of Earth, a cure for all forms of human influenza, fevers and virus. Inoculations will begin in three days. You will no longer suffer from common sickness.” He reached into his belt pouch and removed an ornate flask and held it aloft for the audience to see.

 They applauded as before the day’s tragedy, on their feet and roaring with approval. Miriam seemed emotionally spent and clung to Sherman while he clapped and hooted.

 When the applause died down again Vongg-Sta continued. “It has been my great honor to deliver this cure to our beloved brothers and sisters of Earth. Please welcome to center stage Dr. Nyla M’batu.”

 The crowd again applauded as Dr. M’batu took the center position. She smiled at the audience and clapped as Vongg-Sta moved back to the semi-circle of dignitaries.

 “Beloved creatures,” Dr. M’batu said “I bring the gift,” She held aloft another, but different ornate flask. “a gift to those who have come to Earth, a vitamin supplement that will increase their life span. Injections will begin in three days.”

 Again, deafening applause broke out. Sherman shook his head from the noise. Miriam was covering her own ears.

 “It is my great honor to render this gift.” Dr. M’batu finished. She left center stage and dramatic music flared through the sound system, accompanied by a beautiful holographic rendering of combined cultural unity and the symbolic peace flag.

                                                                   Chapter Two

 Sihng Lee opened his crusted eyes and moaned. It had been two days since the Talking Day Ceremony and he had been unconscious the whole time.

  He felt around for his eye-drops on the nightstand next to his bed and couldn’t find them. Frustrated and rubbing his eyes he opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of spectacles that he had managed to hang on to over the years. His bones cracked as he sat erect in the bed. His silk pajamas were askew. Someone had wisely placed an old fashioned bed pan beneath him.

 “Ms. Wright!” He shouted, irritated beyond his ability to articulate. “Ms. Wright! Damn it! Where are you?” He was as loud as impatient and would have continued to yell but for seeing the data-cloud flashing the date at him.

 “Two days?” He quieted himself and looked towards his shuttered window. Slowly standing he pushed a button in the data-cloud and the shutters pulled back revealing a bright, sunny morning. He shielded his eyes while they adjusted and then grumbled as he tried to fit his feet into slippers.

 He walked over to the window and looked out and down. The city of tomorrow it had been called just six years ago. Arlington, Virginia looked peaceful these days. The pollution that once hung in the air had been replaced with crisp, clean and breathable. The colors were so vibrant that Sihng thought he’d be sick.

 From his floating penthouse he could see what used to be the Pentagon, which had been converted into a museum of military history and learning center. It pained him what he felt the world had lost since the advent of communication with another species. What he loathed most was that it was all his fault.

  His hand found the command-stick and he depressed the call button. Wherever Ms. Wright was, she would get the beep that he was awake and needed her. He walked over to an old rosewood wardrobe and opened it. On a tiny, ornate shelf inside was his bottle of eye-drops that would correct his vision. He grabbed it, removed his spectacles and put two drops in each eye. It felt refreshing and he much preferred the drops to his glasses for seeing clearly. He silently swore to himself his frustration at Ms. Wright putting things away where he couldn’t find them.

 The door to his room whooshed open and Ms. Wright stepped in. She was dressed in casual clothes, the likes he had not seen her wear before that moment. He cocked his head quizzically.

 “I see you are awake at last.” Ms. Wright crossed her arms and gave him an unapproving look.  

“I wasn’t sure if you would sleep through today as well. What do you need Mr. Lee?” her voice was sharper than she normally allowed.

 “I can’t tell,” Sihng said “Are you being disrespectful?” He straightened himself as if to show he still had some type of authority. He waved her glare away and walked closer to the young woman. “My head hurts. What did that moron from the ambulance give me?”

 “Something for the pain, that apparently does not mix well with alcohol.” She smirked at him and then went back to being serious. “I decided to take the day off and let the monitors and staff look after you while you slept…but that didn’t work out so well, did it? You had to go and wake up and ruin all my plans.”

 “You made plans?” Sihng was slightly dumbfounded by the fact that she had a life outside of caring for him. “Huh.” He grunted.

 She threw her arms up and paced away from him. “What do you need Mr. Lee?” She leaned backward to take in what she thought was a pathetic excuse of a historical person and sighed.

 “Tell me what is happening.” He ordered. “What did I miss?” He waved his hand back at the data-cloud that floated above his nightstand.

 “You could just access the data-cloud yourself, sir.” She tried to sound pleasant again. “You do not need me to spoon-feed you information you can check for yourself.”

 “Someone hid my eye-drops.” He mumbled. “Did I make the news or did they keep me out of it?” He coughed. His throat was dry from two days of sleeping.

 “Oh,” Ms. Wright replied “You are all over the broadcasts. They keep repeating the footage, looking for clues to determine if what happened was a tragic accident or a deliberate attempt at murder.”

 “Murder?” He was stunned “She died then? PoePer-Zhun is dead?”

 “No,” the color went out of Ms. Wright’s face. “She is alive. She probably lost at least half her eggs. No one is saying anything yet. They have her isolated in a private medical ward while the investigation continues. It is all anyone is talking about.” She paused for a moment and then added “Well, that and the gifts. Inoculations begin tomorrow.”

 “That’s it?” He worried. “Nothing else made the news? Hmmm…” It was his turn to pace. He felt a little slighted at the fact that no one had reported his injuries or seemed to care that he was comatose for two days.

 “Find me some clothes,” he said standing in front of the still open wardrobe. “We should pay our respects to our ‘sister from space’ right away.”

 Ms. Wright was stunned momentarily. He never volunteered to be around the aliens, let alone visit one in her sick bed. She reached into the wardrobe and withdrew a dark blue suit that was as archaic as the one he had worn to the Talking Day Celebration.

 “I told you she was in a private medical ward, correct?” she walked over to the cleansing station on the other side of the room and hung the suit on a rack nearby.

 “Please,” Sihng smiled “We both know that any alien kept in a private medical ward is going to be off-world.” He removed his pajama top as he walked over to the cleansing station. “The only place a celebrity of PoePer-Zhun’s status would be taken is Silver Wing Medical Clinic in orbit above Vermont.” He stepped into the cleansing station before removing his pajama pants; something he didn’t like to do in front of his care-giver, affording them both some dignity.

 He waved his hand in front of the sensor and was instantly sprayed with cleansing powder, the yellowish material ate and absorbed all the dirt and filth and bacteria there was on his body and then were vacuumed off in an instant; rendering him clean and fresh.

 She handed him the suit over the small wall separating the cleansing station from the rest of the room and decided to ask the question she knew she would regret. “Why are we going to visit PoePer-Zhun in the hospital?”

 “To show our love for universal communication and friendship” He sounded giddy, which made her uneasy. “She is supposed to be my friend, right?” He dressed in the blue suit and stepped out of the cleansing station.

He looked her over and raised an eyebrow. “You will need more suitable clothing for this little adventure Ms. Wright. Go change.”

 “Yes sir.” She said. What she really wanted to say was “I hate you for ruining my day off.” But instead smiled demurely and exited the room.

 A mere fifteen minutes later Sihng Lee was comfortably seated in the suite aboard his private plane the Gilded Gadfly. He fastened himself in to his chair and smiled at the smartly dressed Ms. Wright across from him. She wore an expression of despair and worry and he loved it.

 “Relax Ms. Wright,” he said with a sly grin “I’m sure there will be very little turbulence once we hit space.” He tilted the seat back and crossed his legs at the ankles.

 His pilot, a thin wiry man in his early thirties entered the cabin and stepped up to where Sihng was seated.

 “We will be leaving for Silver Wing Medical Clinic in just a few moments, sir.” He spoke politely. “We are waiting for clearance from Port Horizon.”

 “You don’t need to wait for clearance, Captain.” Sihng said with an air of confidence “My plane goes where it wants, whenever it wants. No questions asked. Inform them that we are leaving right now.”

 “Yes sir.” The pilot bowed and retreated to the cockpit.

 “You really enjoy exploiting your power, don’t you?” Ms. Wright was feeling brave asking.

 “That is what it’s all about.” He smiled smugly and shut his eyes.

 The Gilded Gadfly shook only slightly as it broke the Earth’s atmosphere. The entire trip would take less than forty minutes from leaving Virginia on Earth to arriving at the space station where the clinic was housed in orbit above the state of Vermont. The sleek plane docked without incident and the crew called the clinic ahead of their arrival to let them know of Sihng Lee’s visit.

 “Mr. Lee, sir” the pilot had reentered the cabin and spoke softly and respectfully to his employer “we’ve docked and informed the clinic that you have arrived. Someone should be waiting for you.”

 “Naturally” Sihng said smugly. “I’m sure there will be a dozen people waiting for me on the other side of that door.” He unfastened himself from the restraints and slowly stood. Ms. Wright was already up and waiting to help him should he require it.

“Let’s do this!” he said, again in his giddy voice. He stretched first and walked to the airlock door.

 Ms. Wright gave the pilot a worried glance and followed Sihng through the portal. She entered the facility she had never seen before. True to his allusion, a dozen people had swarmed around the entrance to wait on Sihng Lee, asking him how he was feeling and what could they do for him. A nurse was laser scanning him discreetly while trying to look like he was checking records.

 “There is nothing wrong with me” Sihng said loudly to the medical staff “Well, nothing new anyway.”  He smiled at one of the prettier doctors and walked slowly to the registration desk.

“I am here to visit my dear friend PoePer-Zhun” he said it sincerely enough that Ms. Wright almost believed him “Which of you fine people would care to tell me which room she is in?”

 The medical staff fell into silence for a moment, looking at each other for reinforcement. Finally, the Doctor that Sihng had smiled at spoke “What makes you think she is here?”

 Sihng gave her a withering look and focused his attention on the staff member next to her.

 “She is in Suite 100 one floor up” the man said awkwardly “But, you can’t get in there. The entire floor is for aliens only and the security is very tight.”

 “Who is her attending Doctor?” Sihng seemed unconcerned.

 “BuupTah-Ue, She’s the best there is. She flew out from Luna Base as soon as she heard about the tragedy and volunteered her services.”

 “I’m sure she did” he said and then turned to his care-giver “Ms. Wright, if you would please?”

Ms. Wright withdrew a command-stick from her sleeve pocket and spoke quietly into it. A voice on the other end spoke quietly back to her and she nodded to her employer. His contented smile still unnerved her, but she ended her transmission and almost instantly seven alien security officers escorting BuupTah-Ue appeared from out of the lifts.

 “Mr. Sihng Lee” BuupTah-Ue’s voice was melodic and nearly falsetto. “What an honor that you have troubled yourself to visit our crude facility. This is unexpected.” The female tucked her hand into an abdominal pocket as if searching for something. “I regret I have no gift to honor you today.”

Sihng’s nose itched with a fierceness he had rarely experienced, but he refrained as he always did from scratching it. “BuupTah-Ue,” he pronounced her name perfectly “I did not come for gifts. I am here to see my ‘sister from the stars’, PoePer-Zhun. Would you take me to her, please?” He looked directly into her middle eye as he spoke and watched the pupil dilate.  

 “Of course” BuupTah-Ue’s mouth curled up into a human-like smile “It is so kind of you to make time for your beloved friend.” She turned and put a long fingered hand between Sihng’s shoulders and proceeded to escort him onto the lift.

 Ms. Wright quickly fell in step with the alien security and stepped onto the lift as well. The doors closed on the stunned looking faces of the human medical staff that had greeted them.

 “Why do you need all the security?” Ms. Wright asked it as innocently as she could. “I understand the need to have a team of specialists and doctors, but why all the security?”

 One of the security guards narrowed all five of his eyes to near slits and gave her a look over, then grunted. She stepped back from him and focused on BuupTah-Ue.

 “We are affording her every caution” BuupTah-Ue spoke “You would be surprised by the number of people that would try to get in to see her if they knew she was here. She deserves a little privacy while she recovers, wouldn’t you agree?

 Ms. Wright nodded and looked back at Sihng Lee who was grinning like a guilty child. She doubted the aliens could tell the difference between the look on his face and any other grin or smile he could give, but to her it sent shivers through her body. The last time she had seen that look was right before he had disappeared for a week. She had found him in a drunken stupor on the steps of the old Lincoln Memorial, half naked and insane with rage for his fellow man.

 He had claimed that he had gone to meet some old friends from the days before the aliens arrived. They were to talk about the bygone era of the human condition and complain about the new universal condition of “enlightenment”. He was bitter and had been for a long time. There had been no sign of any ‘friends’, but he did have several holo-images of old men wearing the same kinds of archaic clothing that her employer was so fond of wearing. It was not the best day of working for him she had ever had.

 The lift came to a stop and they all disembarked. The security team hung back to give BuupTah-Ue and Sihng Lee a chance to speak.

 “How is she, Doctor?” Sihng’s voice had an element of real concern in it.

 “As well as to be expected in such a tragic case as this” She spoke softly “As you can imagine, the real damage is psychological. I am confident she will recover from her physical injuries, but the mental stress that she is experiencing and will experience…that is positively dreadful.”

 “I’m so sorry to hear that” Sihng feigned “She was…is such a wonderful person. I pray for a complete recovery.” He paused and spoke even more quietly than before “How many eggs did she lose?”

 There was a momentary look of offense and horror that swept across BuupTah-Ue’s face. She recovered and responded in her best professional voice “Let’s not discuss that now. Come in here.” She gestured into a large silver room that resembled an opulent palace more than a medical facility. Alien medical staff hurriedly walked about, busying themselves with whatever care they were providing the celebrity in their midst. Holographic displays showed a number of physical statistics and symbols in the aliens’ own language. Sihng could read some of it, but not enough to gage PoePer-Zhun’s condition.

 “This is the outer chamber to her suite” BuupTah-Ue said, including Ms. Wright in notice “From here we monitor all of her vital signs perfectly without having to intrude on her privacy.” She stepped around a small desk that looked like it had been grown out of the floor and waved her hand over a control button. “I am afraid I will have to ask you to wait a moment while I inform…mmm… announce you to PoePer-Zhun.”

 “Of course,” Sihng smiled graciously “We understand.” He turned to Ms. Wright, who was trying to maintain her professional composure. Sihng felt so good about making his care-giver uncomfortable it bordered on senseless.

 BuupTah-Ue pushed a control button and cleverly hidden doors opened in the wall revealing the magnificent room PoePer-Zhun had all to herself. The doors whooshed shut again after the alien Doctor entered.    

 A few minutes passed and then BuupTah-Ue returned from the chamber and formed a smile on her blue and gold face. She gestured toward the wall and spoke in her regular melodious tone.

 “She will see her dear friend, Mr. Sihng Lee now.” She said “I am afraid your care-giver will have to stay here. We wouldn’t want to overwhelm her in such a delicate condition, would we?”

 “That is fine” Sihng said “Ms. Wright will be available if I need her, I’m sure.”

 “As will we all” BuupTah-Ue informed “You have but to depress the call button on your command-stick and we will be right beside you.”

 The doors opened and Sihng stepped inside the spacious room. The doors quickly shut behind him as he looked over the fine conditions of the suite. It was silver, like the outer chamber and yet, had been decorated with a number of elaborately woven and colorful fabrics and textiles. A holographic display was showing some form of alien entertainment that he didn’t understand and the floor glowed with shimmering color changing patterns meant to soothe.

 “PoePer-Zhun” He announced himself by saying her name “Are you well?” He looked toward the sling she rested in and forced a big smile to his face.

 “Hello, Mr. Sihng Lee” the alien spoke with a hurt tone in her voice. “It is good to see my ‘star brother’ in my hour of crisis.” Her head turned for a moment to the holographic display as she powered it off.

 The sling kept her upright and fabric hid her upper shoulders and back, hiding any look at her ruined egg sacks. She was dressed in what Sihng realized was a hospital gown, but it was the most elaborate and unnecessarily fancy one he had ever seen. Her rings and glowing baubles had all been removed, but she wore a strange tiara like device on her head that seemed to be equally and ridiculously ornate.

 “I hope you will pardon my intrusion on your privacy” Sihng spoke clearly “I was worried about you and came here as soon as I could get here.” He found an alien sized chair next to her sling and sat in it. He gave her a gentle smile and reached for her hand.

 “Thank you” the alien mustered “I understand that you were injured as well, my friend.” She accepted his hand and held it tightly. “I am so glad to see that your wounds were not as grievous as mine.” Tears welled in all five of her eyes and she cocked her head toward him sympathetically.

 “Mine were significant enough to incapacitate me for two days” he said “Which is what prevented me from getting here sooner.” Her hand felt warm and soft.

 “My poor ‘star-brother’” she almost hummed “Why did this happen to us?” She let go of his hand for a moment to wipe away her tears.

 “Your Doctor says you are recovering” he rested his hand on top of hers when it was returned. “Thankfully, you won’t have to be here long. There are lots of people who are concerned for your welfare and would be gladdened to see your beautiful face again.”

 She made a long sad sounding, whale like noise from deep within her upper abdomen. She put her other hand on top of his and leaned closer to him.

 “My doctor is a good woman” she said sincerely “Do you know she was a 12 egg? Very respected and loved throughout the solar system. They’ve all hatched a long time ago, but can you imagine? She was quite popular when she was younger, I’m sure.”

 Sihng looked confused as he listened to the celebrity ramble. He tried to focus on what she was saying, thinking he would have use for it later.

 “Her first hatchling,” PoePer-Zhun continued “Became the head of the medical elite in Sector Section back on my home world…and her youngest is a 12 egg too, though I don’t think she has been fertilized yet. I’m certain she hasn’t had any hatchlings.”

 Sihng looked directly into PoePer-Zhun’s middle eye, a technique he had perfected over the years in his dealings with the aliens, and waited for her pupil to dilate. He spoke as gently and sincerely as he could manage.

 “Did you lose all your eggs, ‘star-sister’?” He waited.

 A long, pregnant pause surrounded man and female. All of a sudden PoePer-Zhun began weeping uncontrollably. Her entire body writhed in the med-sling, the filaments on her neck raged with color and her gas sacks inhaled and exhaled deeply accompanied by the whale like moan she had made before.

 “I am so sorry.” Sihng bowed his head and gently squeezed her hand “I am so very sorry for your loss.” He forced a tear to well in his own eye, determined to show his sympathy.

 Her sobbing continued for several more minutes, finally subsiding into a heavy wheezing. Sihng stood and hugged her, keeping her face close to his own. “Somehow,” he tried “you will get through this…horrible event. I will do whatever I must to make it better for you.” He gently rubbed his cheek against her upper mandible, which made his nose really itch, and waited to feel her face flush. “If I have to move the Earth for you,” he whispered “it will be done!”

 At last she let out a sigh and hugged him tighter. “Thank you ‘star-brother’, you are like family to me. How is it we were not hatched together?”      

 “Only the Divine knows.” He managed and then pulled back from her embrace. “Be well beloved ‘sister’.” He looked once more around the room and took it all in. He decided he would need to remember it all later. It was quite an amazing facility when he thought about it.

 “I should go.” He turned for a moment towards the door. “You need your rest.” He said in a sweet voice.

 “You are my heart, beloved ‘brother’.” PoePer-Zhun spoke with admiration.

 Sihng left the room and entered the outer chamber where Ms. Wright sat in the only human sized chair. She lifted her eyes to him as he slowly approached her, an almost evil gleam in his eyes.

 She stood and looked around at the alien security to see if they had caught his gaze. They did not seem to notice and just stood at attention as the human retrieved his care-giver.

 “Come along Ms. Wright” Sihng ordered. “We have a lot to accomplish over the next few days and I am sorry, but you will have to bear the weight of it all.”

 “Typical,” she said under her breath and then louder added “We should get started than, Mr. Lee.” She followed him back to the lift.

 They were left alone on the lift and when the doors opened on the lower level, all but one Doctor ignored them as they headed towards the airlock. The Doctor was the one he had flirted with when they arrived. Now she looked at him with curiosity and awe stitched on her face.

 He waved at her as he and Ms. Wright left through the airlock. Ms. Wright remained silent the entire way back to the Gilded Gadfly, though she desperately wanted to know what had transpired between Sihng Lee and PoePer-Zhun.

 The pilot met them in Sihng’s cabin and informed them both that they would leave as soon as they both were secure in their seats. Sihng smiled at this, relieving the Captain’s anxiety.

 As the space plane headed back to Earth, Sihng began to relax, but couldn’t resist teasing his care-giver further. “Ms. Wright,” he started “I will need you to start on this…project as soon as we land. You will have to cancel any plans you have made for the rest of the day.”

 She scowled and looked at her feet “What would you like me to do?” she asked.

 “Have you heard of Myron Astor?” he was genuinely interested if she would know the name.

 She shook her head “No,” she looked back at him “I’ve never even heard you say that name. Who is he?”

 “Someone you are going to find for me as soon as we land.” His voice was filled with confidence “It won’t be easy, but you will find him and have him report to me immediately. Nothing is more important than his being in front of me in the next 24 hours.”

  “Where will I look?” there was a slight sound of exasperation in her voice.

 “Start with the data-cloud” Sihng said. “You may be able to find some history of him there. After that, use whatever resources you need. I don’t care how many people you employ or how much it all costs, as long as Myron Astor is here tomorrow evening. I cannot empathize how important this is for you, Ms. Wright.”

 She slid in her seat to adjust for comfort and let her mind wander on how she would accomplish her new task. “I understand, Mr. Lee.” She said at last.      

 “He may be difficult to convince to come with you” Sihng leaned toward her from his seat “But, I know you can do it. Tell him it is a matter of life and death…his, if he doesn’t come with you.”

 “And if that doesn’t work?” she rubbed her face with her hands. Not everyone responded to death threats the way Sihng Lee would like she thought to herself.

 “Bring some back-up. I’m sure you could hire some local goons to break his legs if necessary. He doesn’t need to be able to walk for us to get what we need from him.”

 She didn’t like where her task would be taking her and tried to figure a way out of having to be ‘intimately’ involved. The idea of having someone’s legs broken seemed as archaic as the suits Sihng wore. She did not have the willpower to resist his orders however, and knew she would do whatever he asked of her.

 The Gilded Gadfly broke atmosphere and thundered across a cloudy landscape of storm activity. The Captain was prepared for the bad weather and expertly piloted the craft through the trouble spots, reveling in the near miss lightning strikes around the plane.

 “Port Horizon is signaling us, Captain.” The co-pilot said “They say we should be aware of heavy traffic over Arlington.”

 The Captain checked his instruments. “Really? According to my readings there is very little traffic.” He looked again and verified that they were being read correctly. “I don’t know what they’re talking about, but keep it in mind just in case we have faulty instruments.”

 The cloud cover broke and the plane easily navigated back to its landing bay. The instruments never detected the alien craft that had followed them all the way from Silver Wing.

 It wasn’t long and Sihng Lee was back in his floating penthouse. He hadn’t felt this excited in years. In fact he felt like he had when he was in primary school and had developed an interest in girls. There was something mysterious and to him, wonderful that was going to happen and he couldn’t wait to be the harbinger.

 He changed out of the blue suit and found another pair of silk pajamas to wear. He sanitized his hands and face twice to be sure, where he had come into contact with the aliens. Now that it was no longer irritated he hesitantly scratched his nose as if it would somehow prevent it from being irritated again.

 He had sent Ms. Wright directly out on her task, reminding her to be discreet and careful while she pursued the investigation into Mr. Astor’s whereabouts. He chuckled softly to himself as he climbed back into his bed, this time propped up on pillows. His data-cloud was filled with unread messages and information and he scanned over the junk, looking only at the things he deemed worth his time.

 Several hours passed and he finally depleted the data-cloud’s information cycle. He pushed the button for the lights and moved his pillows back to a reclining position. His head hit the pillow at just the right angle for his maximum comfort and he smiled.

 “I have become Shiva, destroyer of worlds.” He mumbled aloud to himself and drifted off to sleep.

                                                            Chapter Three

 Sherman Brownly had skipped breakfast and had wished he hadn’t. The sight before him was incredible, but he knew what he had to do would be time consuming and take a lot of energy he didn’t feel like he had.

 “They seem so strange now.” He said to his Team Leader, Carlos. “They can’t even be that old, but they seem like they’re from another world.” He pushed through the sticky cobwebs that covered the opening and stared at the room full of automobiles. The paint on them appeared to be unblemished despite the layers of dust that had accumulated. They were arranged in an aggressive display, or at least that’s how Sherman viewed it; their front ends angled in towards one another. A couple of larger cars sat away from the others. They were big and more extravagant looking.

 “Do you think they still work?” Sherman approached a sleek, black automobile and wiped some of the dust away from the hood.

 “Who knows,” Carlos shook his head “You would have to find some fossil fuel to power them and it would depend on the condition of the electronic parts.” He let his hand drag along the roof of the same car, knocking clumps of dust onto the show room floor. “I think this place used to sell these things.” He continued “It looks like all the signs were taken down. Someone stripped this place, but left these.”

 “I can’t imagine anyone wanting one when they could use a hovercraft.” Sherman said as he pulled some stray cobwebs out of his hair. “There is something oddly attractive about the designs, though.” He walked quietly around the vehicle as if making any sudden movements would wake it from some sort of slumber and cause it to attack.

 “A Geo-Therm team found this place.” Carlos had started walking the other direction to examine another vehicle. “They called Resources once it was obvious they couldn’t tap from here.” He said. “We get the fun of salvaging this…junk.” He knelt to examine a headlamp on a sporty green car.

 Sherman began unpacking the kit he had been wearing on his back. He removed a light source and turned it on illuminating the large semi-circular room. Shadows played against the far wall giving the area a spooky, uninviting state. Next, he removed a small tube and examined it for a moment and then flipped open the plastic top. He squeezed a pasty liquid out onto the floor in a short line and then stepped back.

 “Look at them go.” Carlos smiled as the line of paste fizzed into bubble form and started attacking the dust and filth in front of it. The dust eaters travelled across the floor and swarmed over the automobiles, consuming cobwebs and dirt as they went.

  “I can’t believe they didn’t tear this down before they built Port Horizon.” Sherman said aloud “It is right above us, you know?” He admired another automobile as he spoke.

 “Everything happened so fast after the aliens arrived.” Carlos had removed his own pack and had released some dust eaters back in the direction they had come in. “All the reconstruction and knocking down of old edifices and getting rid of things that were harming us took less than a year. Do you ever think about that?” He looked at Sherman and stretched. “Does it ever seem strange how quickly we dismantled our society and embraced a completely different culture?”

 Sherman was using a vacuum device to clean up the dust eaters. He tilted his head the way he always did when he gave some idea his consideration. “Sometimes,” he answered “when I am all alone at night trying to fall asleep. I think about it.”

 “Do you ever miss the old world, Sherman?” Carlos had finished vacuuming up the dust eaters he had released and now stood closer to him.

 “Not while I’m awake.” Sherman smiled.

 Six hours later the two men walked back into the offices of RESOURCES. Sherman felt hungry, thirsty, tired and even dirty, though he was not covered in any filth. The “memory” of the cobwebs in his hair still lingered.

 Miriam had heard them come in and rose from her seat to greet them. It had been three days since the events of Talking Day and in that time she had regained her composure over the apparent tragedy. She was dressed in a colorful outfit and wore her data goggles on her head (Sherman couldn’t remember a time of seeing her without them). Her smile broadened when she looked at Sherman.

 “Hello Sherman. Hello Carlos.” She said as they hung up their kits on a spindle. “How was it out there today?”

 “Brutal.” Sherman groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He turned his head and it made a cracking sound.

 Miriam flinched like she felt it and gave him a sympathetic pout.

 “Don’t mind him,” Carlos dismissed the comment “he’s just tired and hungry.” He hung his work jacket on the spindle before continuing “It was a lot of work. We had to dismantle sixteen preserved automobiles, identify materials and catalog everything.”

 “The place had been picked clean.” Sherman interjected “No records of any kind. No signage, not a thing.”

 “Wow.” Miriam was interested “Automobiles, huh? That is weird.” She stepped closer to Sherman as if she meant to rub his neck for him, thought better of it, clasped her hands together and stepped back again. “Whenever I see wheeled vehicles I think of them as toys. I know they used to be everywhere, but that seems so long ago.”

 “I was amazed by how many parts they had.” Sherman said. “It took us forever to tag everything for proper re-use and breakdown. You should have seen the look on Abdul’s face over at reclamation when he hauled it all in there.”  He smiled a tired smile.

Carlos walked over to a desk in the corner of the room. It was covered with various tools and another kit rested against its side. A data cloud floated above one corner and he reached over and pressed a virtual button in it.

 “Take a break, kid.” He said nodding at Sherman. He was only four years older than his subordinate, but loved to chide him with the moniker.

 Sherman dropped down into a chair on the other side of the desk and sighed. He rubbed his eyes and then looked up at the Team Leader who was busy going through the data cloud. Miriam was still looking at him and he began to wonder what he had done to garner so much affection from her. He smiled weakly at her and she smiled back and then turned and left the room.

 “Quite the haul today, wouldn’t you say?” Carlos spoke and looked over the data cloud at Sherman. His dark eyes darted back and forth between the information he was entering and the younger man.

 “I would say so.” Sherman leaned forward in the chair “It seems weird, though” he paused “that nothing was said to the news about a find like that. Usually, that sort of thing has broadcasters all over it, talking about the past and people swarming around trying to take that stuff to a museum or something.” Carlos had stopped looking at the data cloud and was paying attention to the comments.

 “Instead, Geo-Therm calls us in to dismantle and clean up everything, no questions asked.” Sherman continued. “I don’t think those cars were so worthless, do you?”

 Carlos shrugged. “I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. We had a job to do and we did it. Tomorrow we’ll have another one and the day after that…”

 Miriam walked back into the room with a bundle covered in a white cloth in her hands. She reached over to the desk and pushed some tools out of the way, clearing a spot for the bundle. The white cloth came off, revealing a hot, delicious smelling lunch that looked homemade. She handed eating utensils to Sherman and winked.

 “Eat up.” She said “You need your strength.” She blushed at his incredulous expression and then nervously exited the room.

 “Thank you!” Sherman exclaimed after her, genuinely grateful for the meal. He looked at the food in front of him and nearly giggled at the thought of satisfying his hunger with it.

 “How long has this been going on?” Carlos asked with mock concern.

 “What?” Sherman tried to answer through a mouth full of food. He wasn’t sure how to read his superior’s expression.

 “Miriam is making you lunch now?” Carlos chuckled. “Is there something going on you want to talk about, Sherman?”

 Sherman swallowed the food before answering. “I don’t know.” He said honestly “She has been like this since we sat together at the Talking Day ceremonies.  I’m not sure how I’m supposed to react…I never did anything, I mean…”

Carlos laughed at the flustered man’s response and nodded his approval. “Typical.” He joked “You don’t know what to do when a beautiful young woman flirts with you? Why don’t you ask her out on a date? It could be like repaying her kindness for making you lunch.” He sat down in the chair opposite Sherman and looked at the food, which was already half gone.

 “’Looks like she is a good cook too.” Carlos teased. “She may be a keeper, kid.” He leaned back in his chair and stared off into space.

 Sherman looked toward the door where Miriam had left and noticed her shadow on the wall beyond it. She was in ear shot of the entire conversation, but he wondered if she had heard any of it. The shadow moved away as the door chime sounded, signaling a client had entered the front office.

Carlos was again looking at the data cloud. He wore the expression of a man trying to remember something or solving a puzzle in his head. Sherman wasn’t sure of what to make of him and continued to finish his lunch.

 “Right this way, please.” He could hear Miriam’s voice say. She walked back into the office, this time with a young, familiar looking woman, whom she introduced.

  “Mr. DuCamp, Mr. Brownly, May I introduce you to Ms. Wright?” she asked in her polite and professional voice.

“Hello.” Carlos said as he stood.

 “’Pleased to meet you, Ms. Wright.” Sherman stood and offered his hand, which she shook.

 “The pleasure is mine.” Ms. Wright smiled at the two men “I am told you gentlemen are the best in the business when it comes to locating things from pre-combined culture times.”

Carlos nodded “If we don’t have it catalogued already it may take a while to track down a particular piece. I guess it depends on what you need to find.”

 “Our record speaks for its self, Ms. Wright.” Sherman added. “Resources has found and reclaimed a lot of items over the last five years that have been repurposed or broken down to reusable material. What is it you need?”

 “It is not a thing I need to find, but a person…A person who has not been seen since the first Talking Day.” Ms. Wright looked the men over as she spoke.

 “A person?” Carlos asked “We don’t find people, just objects. I’m sure a private detective would be better suited to help…”

 “I have tried that.” Ms. Wright interrupted him. “They aren’t willing to dig back further than the first Talking Day, telling me that all the old records were destroyed or have gone missing. I need you gentlemen to help me establish a trail that will lead me to a very important man.”

Miriam continued to smile as if she anticipated a positive response from her co-workers. Carlos scratched his head while he thought.

 “Who would we be looking for?” Sherman finally asked.

 “A man named Oscar Isaac Astor. He is the brother to Myron Astor.” Ms. Wright said “Have you heard of him?”

Carlos looked at Sherman and then at Miriam as he went over the names in his head. “No,” he stated “I can’t say I’ve heard of either of those gentlemen. Who are they?”

 “Apparently,” Ms. Wright continued “Myron Astor was technology advisor to the President of the United States pre-Talking Day. He died about a week after.” She seemed bothered by the fact. “His brother, we believe may have been committed to an asylum before first contact occurred. We need to know if he is still alive, and if so, where he can be found.”

Sherman shook his head and tried to make sense of what was being offered. “If he was in an asylum, chances are he was taken for neuro-treatment by the aliens, or he’s dead, or…he got let out and has been wandering around undocumented for a long time…”

 Ms. Wright’s face turned deathly serious for a moment, her eyes pleaded. “Can you help me? At least establish a trail. You must have records from all the old institutions around here somewhere, right?”

 “Possibly,” Carlos interjected “It is going to take some time to go through them all. We may have to take on additional personnel for this type of search.”

 “I’ll help.” Miriam said happily as she smiled at Sherman.

 “Whatever it costs is unimportant Mr. DuCamp.” Ms. Wright stated “As long as we find out where Oscar Astor ended up, dead or alive.” She stopped for a moment and then added. “We need to find out soon.”

 “Soon?” Sherman smiled a bewildered smile. “I can’t guarantee ‘soon’ Ms. Wright, but we will work as quickly as we can to find any documentation that may help.”

 “That would be wonderful.” Ms. Wright smiled “What do you need to get started?”

 The five people entered the old Washington Elementary School with a little trepidation. While the structure was still intact the building seemed to give off an air of decay and ruin. The walls were spotlessly clean from the dust eaters, but broken glass and tarnished metal trim made things unpleasant. A hole in the false ceiling had water dripping from it onto the floor that echoed strangely in the entry vestibule.

 “Wow.” Carlos said softly as he reached into his kit for another light source. “This place has certainly seen better days.” He turned on the light and watched a small rodent quickly retreat to the shadows down the hallway in front of him.

 Sherman lit the hallway that branched off to the group’s right and then turned back to his supervisor.

 “Which one?” he nodded at each corridor and waited for a response.

 “We’ll try this one first.” Carlos pointed in the direction he had seen the rodent. “The room should still be labeled as a library. The school isn’t that big that we can’t find it quickly.”

 “Tell me again why we are searching here?” Ms. Wright looked at Miriam, who was looking around at the facility. “Why would an old elementary school have records on a mental patient?”

 Miriam looked back at Ms. Wright almost absently and then responded “It happened during the institutional collapse a few years ago. The schools had gotten to be more like prisons, the prisons more like mental institutions, the mental institutions got to be more like hospitals and all the old hospitals had basically become libraries or schools.” She looked directly at her. “Everything changed when the aliens came. All the old paper and book records had to go somewhere. Historians were not going to let them all be destroyed, so they started storing them in these abandoned schools. You would be surprised what we’ll find here.”

 “I hope so.” Ms. Wright sighed and brushed non-existent dust from her coat sleeve. She glanced over to Fred, the large muscle-bound man she had hired to accompany her on her search. Fred was still wearing the same non-expression on his face that he had when she hired him. He was very serious and quiet, yet his presence made her feel more secure.

 The group explored the first hallway, stopping at each door to peer through the glass at the contents of the room. None were the library they hoped to find.

 They turned back and began exploring the second hallway and almost instantly came across a door signed with a plaque that read LIBRARY. Sherman smiled and lightly prodded Carlos with an elbow.

“See,” he said “I knew we should have gone this way.” He turned the doorknob and pulled the door open.

 A large clump of dust and dirt fell on him as he walked into the large room. He coughed and turned back toward the small group. “We should let the dust eaters feast first.” He coughed again. “We can wait outside while they clean it up.”

 He removed the tube of paste from his kit and released the tiny creatures to do their work. Miriam waited for him to stand and then took a position alongside him. She seemed nervous and excited at the same time.

 “How long do we have to wait?” Ms. Wright asked Carlos. She tried not to seem impatient, but it was difficult. Mr. Lee had been very angry that Myron Astor had passed away. The fact that his missing brother, Oscar may have whatever information the old man wanted was a long shot.

 She needed to ascertain quickly if all her investigations would be for nothing. She hated wasting time almost as much as her employer.

 “It only takes the dust eaters a couple of minutes to do their job.” Carlos smiled at her. He was shyly enamored with her attractive appearance. “In fact,” he added “We can probably vacuum them up now.”

 He nudged Sherman and the two men walked into the room with their collection devices activated. The room had been cleaned spotless in less than five minutes.

 The library was of course, filled with books. The books were everywhere: on shelves, on tables, stacked on chairs and in piles on the floor. The place had been a dumping ground for manuscripts and old tomes, some of which seemed so old and fragile that they may disintegrate when touched.

 Miriam led Ms. Wright and Fred into the library and made her way toward an archaic card catalog. The rest of the group spread out to search through the books.

 Sherman found that the old light switches still worked and smiled when the room was illuminated. “That’s better!” he said looking at Ms. Wright, who hadn’t decided where to start with the stack of books she was examining. “It looks like the shelves are labeled at least.” He noted “I’m not sure how accurate those labels are anymore, but it may help.”

 “This card catalog is useless.” Miriam informed the rest of the group. “Half the cards are missing and the rest are out of order or vandalized.” She moved across the room to be closer to Sherman and started looking through books on a shelf. “This may take a while.” She said.

 Quietly and methodically the five people began rummaging through all the books and manuscripts for any information that seemed helpful. Four hours passed in the gloomy room before the discovery was made.

 “What about these boxes?” A deep man’s voice broke the silence. “They are labeled Orchard Valley Rest Home.” It was Fred, who had been so perfectly quiet throughout the day that Sherman was actually surprised that the man could speak.  Fred pointed at eight large cardboard boxes that had been labeled and taped shut. The boxes had been hidden under a stack of books nearly as high as the boxes themselves.

 Miriam broke the tape seal of the top box and pulled off the lid. Inside were files and records of the institution. She rifled through them quickly and nodded at Fred.  “This could be it.” She turned to the others “Everyone grab a box.”

 Another hour passed and Miriam had started on a second box when she at last found something. A broad grin turned into a giant smile as she held the file over her head like some prize she had won. “I found something!” She looked at Sherman for approval.

 “What is it?” Sherman asked.

 “This is a chart for medications and activities for Mr. Oscar Isaac Astor. It shows a regular schedule and regiment that was followed for four months.” Miriam looked again at the report. “It abruptly ends with talk of a release date, but it’s unclear as to when that date actually occurred.”

 “That’s interesting,” Sherman said. “I found some reports with a lot of names on them that aren’t in the rest of these files. I wonder if patients who were taken for cures by the aliens had their records removed or stored somewhere else.”

 “Possibly,” Ms. Wright added “I know that a lot of criminal records were removed from storage for those considered reformed. That all happened after the second Talking Day Celebration. It was like a ‘release’ to have that information expunged and destroyed.”

 “Does any of that matter?” Carlos walked over to where Miriam was holding the file. “This is the man we are looking for, right? Oscar Isaac Astor?”

 “Yes.” Ms. Wright nodded. “Does it mention where he would go once he was released?”

Miriam looked over the documents again. “I don’t see anything. I’m going to scan these so we have a second copy if we need them.” She said. She flipped her data goggles down and activated the scan mode while passing each document in front of her eyes.

 “At least we know he was still alive at that time.” Carlos took each original document from Miriam and placed it back in the folder after she scanned them. “Perhaps, if he still needed his medication after release we can track it back to a pharmacy or med-center.”

 Miriam finished her scanning and flipped her data goggles back up onto her head. She handed the last of the papers to Carlos who put them with the others. “That shouldn’t be too hard to trace. All of the medical files where uploaded to the data cloud years ago.

 Sherman watched her as she spoke. For the first time since he had met her, he really looked at her. She was cute in her brightly colored outfit. The rainbow colored poncho like jacket she wore remarkably, did not clash with the rest of her ensemble. He looked past the clothing and thought about the woman beneath and began to feel affection blooming in his chest.

                                                                 Chapter Four

 The broadcaster zipped back and forth in front of the floating building. The lens adjusted its focus as it tried to get the most dramatic view of the place. Two more dived and bobbed to give the best possible camera angles of the structure and its surroundings.

 Inside, Agone-Ee bellowed at a young male aid as he switched off the holo-display. The filaments in his neck seemed like they would burst as they vibrated and raged with color.

“When did this air?” He demanded. “How long ago?” The aid quivered in front of him.

 “Just a few moments ago,” the young male threw an arm up to defend himself, just in case the dignitary was not satisfied with his answer. “It is on all the networks and the data-cloud is buzzing with the news.”

 Agone-Ee paced about the opulent room, his shiny fabric cloaks billowing like storm clouds behind him. He stopped and felt a moment’s pity for the young aid. He gestured for him to lower his arm and the youth complied.  

 “Why was I not informed of Mr. Lee’s desire to announce this…information?” The alien craned his hands together and looked around for his control-stick.

 “To my knowledge,” the aid was trying to sound calmer “He never contacted your office or made any arrangements.”

 The door wooshed open and a smiling Sihng Lee entered. He wore a black suit with an old fashioned neck tie. As ancient as the clothing seemed, Agone-Ee could still perceive that it was meant to be elegant and worn only for special occasions.

 “Hello ‘Star-Brother’!” Sihng nearly laughed the words. “I was hoping you would join me for an impromptu press conference.”

 The aid stepped quickly to intercept the human guest who had so unceremoniously entered the dignitary’s private sitting room. Sihng gave the alien a withering look and handed him his overcoat that he had draped over an arm.

 “Be a good boy,” Sihng forced a smile “and hang that up for me.”

The aid gave the human a look not unlike that of a whipped dog and quickly departed with the overcoat.

 “Mr. Sihng Lee,” Agone-Ee smiled at the human “I am surprised you didn’t call first before you got here. What would you have done if I had been…out?”

 “I was just so overwhelmed with joy of the news I have learned, that it must have slipped my mind.” He paused as he took in the sight of the elegant sitting room, noting the many rare artifacts that the alien had a penchant for collecting. “Besides,” he continued “I can’t imagine you ever wanting to leave this place.”

 “A press conference?” the alien blinked his five eyes and tried to appear wistful. “What could I possibly say at a press conference today?”

 Sihng had found a chair he liked and was already sitting with his legs stretched out before him, feet crossed at the ankles. He tilted his head back and yawned while he stretched his arms across the back of the chair. “I have good news. I thought you would want to hear it in person.” He looked back at the alien who was looming over him with anticipation.

 “How did you do it?” Agone-Ee asked. “How did you find where they had taken her? How did you get in to see her? What were you doing?” He was flustered and his hand gestures amused the old man, who just kept smiling at him.

“Easy, big fella,” Sihng put up a hand for the questioning to stop. “It wasn’t hard to figure out that SILVER WING would be the closest and best facility to take her too. I was concerned for her. I had just spent two days recovering from my own injuries, and my first thoughts were of her and what I could do to help her.”

 “Unprecedented,” Agone-Ee stared “and impressive that you would go through so much trouble to visit and look after one of us.” He moved to another chair across from the human and sat in it.

 “It was the least I could do.” Sihng looked the broad shouldered alien over closely from where he sat. It was easy to “read” a human’s body language, but watching the aliens, with all their overwhelming physiology was more difficult.

 “What is this good news you bare?” The alien had begun to relax, albeit slightly, for the first time since watching the broadcast of Sihng Lee announcing to the world and galaxy that he had visited PoePer-Zhun.

 “Our ‘Star-Sister’,” Sihng looked the alien directly in his middle eye. “is going to have a full recovery. She didn’t lose a single egg! Isn’t it marvelous?”

 Agone-Ee sat back in his chair with a surprised look on his broad face. The stunned look made Sihng want to laugh, but he suppressed the urge. The alien stroked his forehead briefly and carefully formed his next words.

 “That is, indeed marvelous.” He spoke slowly “In fact, I don’t know how that could be the case. We both heard eggs pop in her egg sacks when those broadcasters were crushing us. You say that she didn’t lose even one?”

 “Not a single one.” Sihng retained a sincere tone with his voice “We must have heard something else. Her Doctor is one of the best ever. Have you heard of her? Her name is… BuupTah-Ue.”  He watched the alien shake his head to the negative and continued. “Well, she informed me that PoePer-Zhun had received some injuries, but she will have a full recovery and will be back in front of the broadcasters within a month. I was so worried for her. It makes my heart glad knowing she will be well.”

 Agone-Ee listened and then smiled. It was good news, and good news always meant new opportunity. He stood again and interlaced his flipper like fingers with one another across his upper abdomen. He felt younger than he was and he liked that feeling.

 “This is the most excellent news!” he exclaimed “But I don’t see why it concerns me giving a press conference with you.” His head tilted towards the human as he got more serious.

 “We were there when this event occurred.” Sihng nodded “People will want to know how we are doing as well. Together, we can reassure all of combined culture that all is well. We don’t even have to go far; there are broadcasters outside your home right now.”

Agone-Ee looked towards a large concave window and then walked over to look through it. The three broadcasters were still whizzing around the building and he could see one of them focusing its lens on him through the window.

 “I believe that that is a good idea, Mr. Lee.” He said more quietly “Shall we go?” He gestured toward the door that Sihng had entered earlier as the old man stood.

 After the brief but exciting press conference, Sihng Lee decided to take a walk on the city street below the floating alien building. His nose itched fiercely and he couldn’t wait to be among his own people again. He also wanted to gage the public’s reaction to the lie he had just told all of combined culture. The same long, red hovercraft he had ridden in to the Talking Day ceremony whisked him down to the clean avenues below.

 He smiled at the driver and ordered her to wait there for him while he took a brief walk. She nodded and smiled back. He climbed out of the vehicle and looked around at his surroundings.

The air was clean and so were the streets. People milled about, going through their daily routines, hovercrafts zipped near silently along and he spied a young couple, both of whom were engaging their data-goggles, walking hand-in-hand along a pristine sidewalk. For a moment he thought he would be sick.

 Sihng walked along the street and then turned down a small hill towards a children’s playground. He could hear the laughter and sounds of the kids before he could see them. A young mother stared at him for a moment and then waved shyly as she recognized the man she had just seen in a holo-broadcast.

 He waved back and smiled at the children playing as he walked through the playground to get to the street beyond.  An alien female, a six egg, eyed him carefully and then approached.

 “You are her Star-Brother, aren’t you?” she asked excitedly “Is it true that PoePer-Zhun will have a full recovery?” The six egg stood directly in his path.

   “She will!” Sihng replied. “In fact,” he added “I wouldn’t be surprised if she chose a mate soon to fertilize those eggs. An accident like this really puts the whole concept of family into perspective, wouldn’t you say?”

 The female alien nodded her head and curled up her mouth into a smile. “Yes, I would.” She said “Thank you, Mr. Lee. You are a great human man.” She stepped away from him and graciously let him continue his walk. Sihng felt like the Devil.

 He found his way to an older building that had been solidly constructed long before the first Talking Day. It appealed to him, like many of the pre-alien structures did. It was only three floors, made of brick and had lovely bay windows on the ground floor. It had probably been used for some small business at one time. The windows now had plants in them and the old wooden doors had recently been given a fresh coat of paint. That was the part that bothered him…the fresh paint. It was probably some alien dye that was completely organic and non-toxic that had been used, not old-fashioned outdoor house paint. He approached the building and tried to peer into one of the bay windows.

 “Can I help you, sir?” a youthful voice came from behind Sihng and he turned to see who spoke.

 “I’m just admiring this old building,” he said looking at the teenage human boy that had addressed him “They don’t make them like this anymore.”

 “They really don’t.” the wavy haired youth replied. He was shorter than Sihng, but was built broader and more muscular. Sihng thought the boy could probably lift him over his head and carry him away if he was so inclined. “My family lives here. We have for years. I don’t remember living anywhere else actually, though my folks tell me we moved in when I was four.”

 “Your family occupies the entire building?” Sihng was interested. “How many of you are there?”

 The boy laughed and pointed to the bay window. “No, we just occupy that apartment. There are other families living in the others.”

 “Oh,” Sihng was slightly embarrassed by his mistake “Of course.” He looked at the structure again and then thought about his own youth in Bangladesh. It seemed so long ago.

 “Wouldn’t you rather live in one of the newer buildings, or maybe in a floating penthouse in the sky? Do you like living here?” Sihng asked.

 “We don’t mind.” The boy replied “We have what we need and there is enough space. I think I would worry about my home falling out of the sky if I lived in one of those. The newer buildings don’t have any character. They are all the same. It’s boring.”

Sihng was surprised that someone so young could recognize the character of a building and nodded approvingly at the teenager. “You are right. It is boring. Still, there are several advantages to having the latest technology at your disposal.”

The boy rolled his eyes as a way of saying “Of course” and flipped his data-goggles over them and started to walk away. He stopped and turned back to Sihng.

 “Hey,” he realized “You’re that guy aren’t you? The one from the broadcasts…”

 “I am Sihng Lee, Yes.” The old man smiled.

 “Neat.” The boy smiled back. “See you around Mr. Lee.” He turned away again and walked away. Sihng just shook his head.

 He walked around the block and back to the waiting red hovercraft. Most of the people on the street hadn’t even noticed him, which irked him. He paused for a minute before climbing back into the hovercraft and gave one last glance around the neighborhood. Once secured inside, the hovercraft began its ascent to the sky. Sihng looked out the tinted window and wondered what it was like growing up in the post contact world. The next generation of humans would never know the isolation of the world he grew up in. They would always be aware of other intelligent life in the universe…on their own planet too. The days of struggling to get by would turn into myths that future children would never appreciate. He wondered what, if anything they may strive towards.

 His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden swerving of the hovercraft. He was thrown towards the middle of his seat and was about to curse his driver when he saw why. Another, larger hovercraft had nearly side-swiped them. It was a delivery vehicle of some sort and its movements seemed very calculated.

 “Hold on tight, Mr. Lee!” the driver shouted from the front. The vehicle lurched again as another delivery vehicle actually struck the hovercraft. Sihng braced himself and wondered where he had put his command-stick.

 Both delivery hovercrafts were in contact with the limo, one on each side, trying to force the other craft down. The red vehicle made a sound that Sihng had never heard before and shook, trying to resist. Sihng’s driver tried accelerating from between them, but they matched her speed exactly. She cursed and tried hitting the brakes. That failed too. She had no choice but to direct the craft down to the street below.

 “Who is doing this?” Sihng yelled from his compartment as the vehicle came to a thud on the ground. He looked out his window, but all he could see was the side of the delivery vehicle.

 “I don’t know!” his driver yelled back “I can’t stop them. We don’t have any way of getting out of this.” Lights flashed on her display informing her of the breach to the integrity of the vehicle and she looked around her cabin for something she could use as a weapon. There was a flash of red light through her window and she fell over dead.

 Sihng instinctively ducked down as another flash penetrated his window and erupted out the opposite window. He could feel a searing heat pass overhead.

 “No!” he yelled and flipped open a small box built into the back of his driver’s seat. He pushed two red buttons and grabbed his command-stick that had fallen to the floor.

The roof of the red hovercraft blew off and Sihng’s seat ejected straight up into the air. He felt his heart skip a beat as he was rocketed up alongside a small building. He swallowed and hoped he wouldn’t die.

The seat hovered above the wrecked vehicle eight meters in the air and Sihng tried to see what had happened. The red limo was crushed between the two delivery vehicles and something was moving inside of it.

 Suddenly, a small flying robot came out of the top of the hovercraft and flew up towards the seat that was now slowly lowering itself to the ground. It bristled with some sort of weaponry and the old man felt his stomach knot up.

 He unfastened his restraint and threw himself off the seat just as another red blast of light ripped through it. Sihng tumbled off an old fashioned awning and onto the sidewalk not far from the vehicles. People on the street were screaming and running in all directions as the elderly inventor tried to regain his footing. He could barely stand and watched through bruised and bloodied eyes as the tiny weapon-bot changed direction and swooped back towards him.

His hand depressed the call button on his command stick and he thought about cursing himself for sending Ms. Wright away. He knew he couldn’t escape another blast from the weapon aimed at him.

 “Get down!” a voice yelled from behind him. He was struck and fell over. A pair of arms wrapped around him forced him to roll towards the building and away from the vehicles.

 Sihng tried to look at his rescuer as another red blast ripped a hole in the sidewalk, but couldn’t make out the person. He felt a tug in another direction and tried again to stand. A large arm picked him up and pushed him forward. “Run!” he heard the voice command and made an effort to move as fast as his old legs could carry him.

 He recognized the teenager he met earlier then and thought that if he lived through this, he would have to reward him in some way. Then he noticed another arm pulling him along and it belonged to the young mother he had waved at in the playground. She was carrying her toddler under her other arm and pulling him along by his sleeve.

 Sihng was already out of breath, but kept running the direction he was being pulled. He felt the teenager pick him off his feet and carry him straight into the building he had admired. The woman and her child followed, slamming the door behind them.

 All he could hear was his own heartbeat thundering in his ears and he slid to the floor, stumbling into furniture on the way down. His head struck an old sink and he cursed and tried wiping the blood from his face.

“Dad!” He could finally hear the teenager yelling “Dad, we need your help!” it was repeated twice before the man appeared.

 He was short and strong looking like his son, but wearing glasses and his balding head gave evidence to being older. Otherwise, Sihng thought they could be mistaken for brothers.

 The man rushed to Sihng’s side and tried to help with his wounds. He was speaking to him, but the old man couldn’t make out the words. He tried looking him in the eyes and then passed out.

 When Sihng Lee woke later, it was dark. His wounds on his head and arms had been dressed and he found himself in a smallish bed covered in a comforter that sported the likeness of cartoon characters. His left arm throbbed, but he could see fine.

 “Where am I?” he asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

 “You’re safe Mr. Lee.” A woman’s voice informed him. The young mother was standing on the other side of the bed watching him. “You gave us a scare. We thought you had died for a minute there.”

 Sihng painfully turned his head to look at her. “What happened?” he coughed.

“I was hoping you could tell me.” She tried to smile at him “We watched those machines try to kill you. I’ve never seen anything like them before. They shot up all of Wilson Avenue trying to get you.”

 “I don’t know why.” He tried to sit up and regretted it. “Wait, did you say machines? Plural? As in there was more than one of those little assassins?”

 “Yes,” she brushed a hair away from his face for him “There were three of them. They stopped following us when we came in here. I don’t know why. It was like they just gave up.”

 “Unlikely,” a deep man’s voice declared. The teenage boy’s father had entered the room and walked over to the other side of the bed. “I think they are probably still out there waiting for you to show your face again.” He extended his hand towards Sihng “I’m Warren Smolenski. It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Lee.”

 Sihng took the man’s hand and shook it. “You’ve already met my son, Ernie, and this fine woman who helped you is Ginger Holenstock and her daughter Corrine.” He smiled a worried smile at the old man. “Why were those things trying to kill you?”

 “I really couldn’t say.” Sihng was starting to get his senses back. “Thank you all for your help. I would have died if not for your son and this woman.”

 “I couldn’t let anything happen to you, Mr. Lee” Ginger patted him on the head lightly. “You are such an amazing and important man.” Her eyes had welled up with tears.

 Ernie walked into the room carrying Corrine and walked to the foot of the bed. “Hey,” he smiled “Mr. Lee…It looks like you are going to be alright.” He turned to his Father and his face got serious “Dad, it is on the data-cloud. The broadcasters are up and down the street trying to figure out what happened. No one seems to know what those machines were or where Mr. Lee went. Do you think we should tell them?”

 “Not yet, Son,” Warren said without even looking at the boy. “Mr. Lee will be safe here until he is ready to go.” He gave Sihng a curious glance and continued “I wouldn’t want to expose him as long as those machines are out there.”

The teenager nodded and handed the toddler off to her mother. “May I get you anything, Mr. Lee?” he asked.

 “I could really use a drink.” Sihng sighed, grateful for the small band of urbanites who had rescued him.

 Ernie left the room and Sihng started to observe his surroundings more closely. The room was clearly decorated for a small child, not a strapping teenage boy or his Father. The dollhouse in the far corner of the room satisfied him that the family was larger than he had realized.

 Warren noticed Sihng looking the room over and interjected. “You’re in my daughter’s bedroom. Both my daughters went with my wife to visit their Grandmother today. They won’t be back until late. This was the closest bed we could get you into after you passed out.”

 “I appreciate that.” Sihng desperately wanted to feel better “The bed is actually quite comfortable.” He smiled at the man, which put them both more at ease.

 Ernie returned, smiling, with a large glass of water which he handed to Sihng. Sihng faked a smile at the teenager and took a drink. “Not the kind of drink I had in mind.” He mumbled quietly under his breath. “Thank you.” He raised the glass as if toasting the young man and spoke clearly.

 “You are welcome.” Ernie was proud of himself. Sihng watched the small group of people fawning over him and suddenly realized that they were both concerned for his welfare and giddy for having a celebrity among them at the same time. He groaned. It was going to be a long night.

 Ginger was still smiling at him when he looked over at her. She had adjusted her hair as if she could make herself more presentable and perked up at his attention. “Can we get you anything else, Mr. Lee? Are you hungry?”  She asked.

 Sihng thought about it. It had been several hours since he had eaten anything and all the running around should have made him hungrier, but he did not feel the need to eat. “No thank you.” He said and tried to sit upright. He had no intention of lying in a child’s bed all night.

 His legs felt stiff as he dragged them over the side of the bed. Warren backed up and acted surprised that the old man was trying to get up. Sihng saw his concern, but waved him off and tried to stand. He grabbed the dresser next to the bed and used it to steady himself and pulled himself to his feet.

 “You see?” He said to his new fans “I’m perfectly alright.” As he said it he felt his nose start to itch. He glanced around the room, wondering who had let one of them in.

 There was a knock at the door and the small group of people turned, startled by the sound. Warren motioned to his son and quietly spoke. “Ernie, go see who that is. Don’t tell them about Mr. Sihng.”

 The boy nodded and left the room. Sihng had a feeling about who was knocking on the apartment door. It had to be an alien with the way his nose itched. He looked at Ginger who was holding her daughter and then back to Warren.

“Is there another way out of here?” he asked quietly “Just in case the person at the door came here to murder me.” He tried to make light of his predicament, but it came out flat.

 “There is the hallway door,” Warren said “Next to the bathroom…It takes you to a hall that leads out to the recycling bins.” He looked Sihng over, not convinced the man could make it very far on his own.

“Thank you.” Sihng replied. He heard something bang in the front room and got ready to run. Nothing happened. The entire group was on edge. Ernie’s voice shouted from the front door “Dad! Dad, you need come here, please!”

 Warren motioned for Sihng and Ginger to stay put and left the bedroom. It was quiet for a moment and then Sihng could hear voices speaking. One of the voices belonged to Warren, but the other had a resonating cadence to it that could only be alien.

 “If you see him,” the alien voice was saying “be sure to let us know. Agone-Ee has posted a reward to anyone who has information as to the whereabouts of Mr. Sihng Lee.”

“We’ll be sure to do that.” Warren replied. Sihng could hear the alien leaving and Warren closing the door. He let out a sigh of relief.

 What was Agone-Ee thinking? He wondered. The alien wasn’t exactly a friend, yet he had already put a reward out to anyone that could locate him. Was Agone-Ee somehow behind the attack and was using the reward to flush out his prey? Sihng did not know what his next move should be, but did think that going back to see Agone-Ee was probably a bad idea.

 “Has anyone seen my command-stick?” It suddenly occurred to him to ask as Warren and Ernie returned to the room. “I think I dropped it while we were running.”

 “Actually,” Ginger reached into her pocket as she spoke “You sort of put it in my hand while I was pulling you along. Here it is.” She handed Sihng the command-stick. He noticed the call button had been activated. The little red light told him that it was still broadcasting his co-ordinates.

 “I wonder why no one has responded to my signal.” He shrugged and then tried to stretch.  His back made a cracking sound as he straightened his vertebrae.

 “I am sorry to have been so much trouble.” He said to the small group “I should really get out of here and let you get back to your regular lives.” He stepped towards the door.

 Warren stopped him and smiled politely. “Are you sure you want to leave just now? You still look a little unsteady and we still don’t know who was trying to kill you.”

 “My people will come and get me. They will keep me safe.” Sihng replied “Besides, I can’t take up your daughter’s bed. That wouldn’t be right.”

 “There is plenty of room at my place.” Ginger interjected “You wouldn’t be a burden at all. You could rest in the spare room.”

 “Please, no.” Sihng smiled gently at her. “I have already derailed your lives enough for one day; don’t tempt me to compound that mistake.”

Warren patted Ginger on the shoulder and then had an idea. “At least let my boy wait with you until your people come to get you. He could be your bodyguard…temporarily I mean…make sure that you’re okay.”

 “Fine,” Sihng didn’t want to argue with the people who so generously risked their lives for him. “Ernie can wait with me.” He looked over at the teenager, who was trying to look serious, though Sihng could tell the boy was excited.

 Sihng put the control-stick close to his mouth and spoke. “Ms. Wright.” Then he waited. A second light, this one yellow, began blinking at the end of the device for a few seconds and then stopped.

 Ms. Wright’s voice came out of the stick. “Mr. Lee, Where are you?”

 “I’ve been broadcasting my co-ordinates for some time now. Will you please stop what you are doing and come retrieve me?” Sihng tried not to sound irritated in front of his rescuers.

 “I haven’t been getting your signal.” Her voice came back “You must have some type of interference on your end.”

Sihng looked around the room to see if he could discern a cause for the blockage and then grunted into the control-stick “Hold on!”

 Ernie picked up on the conversation and lightly tapped Sihng on the shoulder. “Follow me. I’ll take you outside by the recycle bins. You should be able to get a stronger signal there.”

 Sihng nodded his approval and the two men waved good-bye to the others as they exited through the hallway door.

 “Just a minute Ms. Wright,” Sihng spoke calmer. “You should be getting my signal any moment now.” They walked out into the dark recycling area behind the apartments. A single overhead light illuminated their surroundings.

 “”I am getting it now.” Ms. Wright’s voice came through clearer than before. “What are you doing there?” she asked.

 “Never mind that,” Sihng was already irritated with her “Just come and get me.” He gave Ernie a glance. The youth had taken up a position beside him like a security guard, a stern expression on his face.

 “I will be there in ten minutes” Ms. Wright said “Do you think you can stay out of trouble that long?” Sihng grumpily shook the control stick.

“I’m sure my bodyguard will keep me safe until you get here.” He looked over again at Ernie as he spoke. The teenager was trying to suppress a smile.

 They waited. At precisely the ten minute mark a sleek, blue hovercraft landed across from Sihng and Ernie. The side door opened automatically to reveal Ms. Wright who waved at the pair.

 “I guess this is where we part ways.” Sihng said to Ernie, extending his hand. “Thank you for everything you and your family did for me today.”

 “It was my pleasure, Mr. Lee.” Ernie’s smile was broad. He shook Sihng’s hand vigorously and then stepped back.

 Sihng climbed into the hovercraft and waved one final time as the door shut. He turned towards Ms. Wright and glared.

 “I hope you found the information I need.” He started “You better have some good news. I have had one Hell of a day.”

 “Well,” she countered “Hello to you, too.”

                                                                  Chapter Five