Cryogenic Evacuation

Students spoke in whispers about him, casting the occasional side-eye to survey for suspicion among the others. They spoke of his ornate, hairy body, how the ink wriggles across his skin, and his odd, earthy skin tone. They laughed at his lack of antennae, and some snickered at the idea that his were misplaced under his clothing. Most importantly, they were awestruck by the idea of how he happened upon their planet. However unsure they were, he never failed to captivate the attention of anyone in the room. He moved fluidly, with a hint of swagger and a pinch of gusto, as he paced the front of the classroom. His low, slow drawl carried to the back of the room and reverberated in the ears of his students.

“Remember, your homework is due tomorrow after class. Don’t forget! Have a good day, y’all.”

The students filed out into the hall as the final bell rang. The teacher took sigh of relief until seeing a student left in the wooden desk in a corner of the room. The student cleared his throat. The teacher caught his eyes, he faltered and instead of speaking, cocked his head in a confused manner. The child was dazzled by the teacher’s piercing black eyes.

“Need something, Uzo?” the teacher said.

“Oh, uh, never mind,” Uzo said before skittering out of the door and into the hall with his classmates. The teacher was used to these kinds of interactions; he had a certain effect on these kids, but he was never sure if it was positive or negative. He knew he intrigued everyone, being a human on a foreign planet. It irked him how their antennae raised instinctively upon his arrival and not knowing if it meant excitement or danger.

The principal walked in the room, pacing in thought, murmuring under his breath.

“Hey, doc. How ya doing?” asked the teacher, frowning in confusion. The principal looked up with a jump of his antennae and extended his hand.

“Smith! How are you? Still enjoying the scenery?” the principal asked, gloving his hand around the entirety of the teacher’s. It’d been three years since the teacher’s arrival on Namek. The principal, also an archeologist and archivist, was the first to find Smith, his pod crashed just beyond the central forest.

“Loving it. Everything is so lively and welcoming, thank you,” Smith began, “what brings you up to the third floor?” The principal looked up, opened his thin-lipped mouth to speak, closed it and shook his head. The pale purple hue of the principal grew lighter as he paced under the fluorescent light of the classroom. “Doc?” said Smith. He stopped pacing and turned towards Smith.

“What do you remember about your arrival here, Mr. Smith?”

“Nothing beyond what you’ve told me, Dr. Galnu,” answered Smith. Galnu mumbled angrily, sprinkling in expressive, native clicks. Smith had been told his arrival was a unique celestial event, coinciding with the double new moon. His ship was originally mistaken for a comet or asteroid until a signal was picked up from the weather station radar hidden within the central forest. His ship sparkled against the dim-lit night sky before crashing.

“Well, it’s happening again – we’ve picked up another signal. A ship is traveling through the atmosphere as I speak and should crash land overnight.” Smith was stunned, the thought of seeing another human seemed unreal, it had been God knows how long. “You must come to the facility at once. Your earthly experience is requested, and you will be a liaison to our newcomer.” Smith nodded his head, still in a daze.

The pair quickened out of the door to an assigned hydrogen-powered vehicle. Car number three plotted its automated course to the weather station, deep within the forest, winding between vivid shrubbery and absurdly altitudinous trees and screeching wildlife. The flora on this planet were all a yellow-ish hue until the season changes in which all plants begin to glow from the arrival of bioluminescent leeches departing the earth from hibernation. The teacher craned his neck to see the blond tops of the trees; they had to be over two hundred feet, he thought, taller than the esteemed redwoods of Earth. His stare was distracted by the spiky, dotted shrubbery sticking out of the ground surrounded by tiny, capricious leaves covered in a poisonous velvet, only to be eaten by the wildlife.

Not quite doglike creatures with agile joints and purple and green scales roamed free along the roads and occasionally ran alongside or jumped over the cars on their automated course. The teacher could see them jump from the pads of plants to the thick bark of the trees, running from large, long necked animals with wide, thick bodies covered in segments of plating as hard as titanium along the spine. These creatures ate from the lowest layer of leaves littering the tops of the trees. One of the few warnings the teacher had been told when he arrived on Namek was to never leave the car during its travels as the animals are not as playful as they seem.

“They will kill you and toss your body around like a ball” rang clear in his head during his ride as Galnu reminded him, as he did over the announcements every day at school. This forest was the only danger that resided between the homesteads and the school with the outer ring of this country being surrounded by natural springs with no natural predators and further beyond that, a fantastical clear sea reflecting light from the two suns that never completely leave the horizon.

The automated car passed a closed off section of the forest, used specifically for entertainment. Entertainment on this planet was of sordid fashion for the teacher: Namekians loved to scamper quickly across the forest for prize money and scale trees and other tall buildings with their suctioned hands without regard for life. Smith watched on horrified, and Galnu chuckled, as a sage-colored citizen fell from the top of a tree and a cheery announcer said, “OOF, what a bummer! Better luck next time!”

Smith and Galnu arrived at the towering, metallic weather station. As they approached, the doors opened to an elevator. They stepped in, and without hesitation, it took them to the top floor, housing advanced radar technology and a satellite pointed towards a gap in the trees.

“As you can see,” said Galnu pointing at the large monitors showing the trajectory, an estimated time of arrival, and random, blinking lights, “something will be landing soon.” Smith only nodded in agreement, still trying to understand the complex mathematics unfolding before him. “And it just so happens to fall on another celestial event,” the doctor continued, gravity in his voice, “the double full moon.” Smith, unsure of what this meant, said nothing. Silence rung in the air as, presumably, another human hurtled towards Namek, landing in t-minus three hours and eight minutes.

A loud clatter next to the stair exit shook the two back to attention.

“Who’s there?” said Smith. No response. He crept forward, the hair on his arms and neck standing on end. He peeked into the space where the noise came from.

Hidden in the shadows along the opposite wall of the monitors was a curious student, lured by the obscene presentation of his teacher and a desire to see deeper within the forest. The student, petrified from fear of being caught, could only observe from afar. His glowing antennae gave him away in the dark.

“Uzo? Is that you? What are you doing here?” the teacher said.

“What is that?” the child asked wide-eyed and glowing, pointing to the monitors counting down.

“We actually don’t know yet,” Smith said, glancing at Galnu.

“What’s this small one?” Uzo asked, pointing at another screen. On the screen was Smith’s home, built for him in exchange for his cooperation and assimilation to Namek. All angles of the hexagonally built home with improvised kitchen – since Namekians don’t cook their food – two sprawling couches and one bedroom filled blocks of the screen. Smith’s eyes grew wide as Galnu quickly shut off the screen.

“That’s quite enough, child. Time to go home,” demanded Galnu, avoiding the eyes of Smith. He guided Smith, a light hand on the back, and grabbed the child by the arm and led them to the elevator. “The car will take you back to each of your homes, goodbye,” Galnu finished quickly, rapidly pressing the down button as the elevator doors closed.

“Why did you leave,” the child suddenly asked, “your home I mean?”. The teacher was jarred by this question and stood quiet for a moment, searching for an answer that would appease the curious child.

“They decided I needed to find a new home, so they sent me away. I’ll tell you more one day, but now it’s time for us to go, Uzo.” The teacher led the stunned child to the car. “Let’s go home, buddy. I won’t tell your parents if you promise not to tell anyone what you saw. Our little secret.” The child sat quiet in his seat, still ingesting all the monitors and blinking lights bestowed upon him the past few minutes.

“I like you,” the child said with a confirming nod of the head, antennae now back to normal. The rest of the ride was spent in a satisfied silence. For Uzo, he had something to tell all his classmates. For Smith – betrayed – he really thought Galnu had come to trust him.

The car dropped Uzo off at the front of the first neighborhood beyond the central forest. He looked back and waved as his skinny green legs stumbled him to his home. Smith smile and waved back as the car hovered on to his own home in the furthest neighborhood from the central forest and the nearest to the outskirts of Namek. Looking out at the clear semi-night sky, Smith saw the usual two suns, one north, the other south, peeking just above the horizon. However, the white blaze of two full moons illuminated the sky and ground. And much closer, falling across the sky, a fiery ball plummeting towards the open fields of the outskirts.

“Please exit the vehicle, please exit the vehicle,” the automated car rang repeatedly as it stopped at its last stop. Smith, still focused on the falling star, climbed out and stood on the path leading to his front door. He turned towards his home, took a few steps then stopped. Looking around, he raised two middle fingers and bolted.

He ran towards the falling ship, he could see the definitive shape now, small and compact, silver with traces of blue and red. It was going to land in the field about a mile from his doorstep. Five minutes at most, Smith thought to himself. Over and around the mounting terrain, grass turning to gravel, then open field. Smith stood above the field, the ship cratered in the ground, yet undamaged. He sprinted through the tall grass, sloshing about in the mud and bugs. As he neared, he could see the shining dome of the cockpit sticking out of the tall grass – empty. Just as he reached the edge of unflattened grass, he heard commotion.

“We have you surrounded, put your weapon down,” came the amplified voice of Galnu. Ten pale green and purple bodies lined the edges of the crater, pointing laser-equipped barrels at their target. A woman, stout, brown-blonde hair and sun-kissed skin, and a space suit with the helmet removed stood next to a ship, a large pistol in hand, aiming at Galnu.

Smith came out from the cover of the tall grass. Galnu and the astronaut looked in his direction and received him in suspicion. Smith put his hands up and walked between the middle of the two.

“Ah, perfect timing,” said Galnu, “our mediator.” The smirk on Dr. Galnu’s face bothered Smith, but he persisted on peace. “Tell the human to put down the weapon and come along peacefully, or else.”

“Or else what?” the woman shouted across the crater. Galnu raised his hand and the weapons of his soldiers lifted and clicked. She furrowed her brow, pistol still firm in hand.

“Where do you come from?” Smith asked.

“Earth by way of Titan V, Commander Maggie Marshall,” she said proudly, motioning towards her ship.

“Well, Commander. Come along with us, and we shall take care of you. We’ve done the same for another of your kind,” Galnu said, pointing to Smith. “We will provide adequate housing and nourishment, and placement for human application and assimilation within our society.”

“And then what?” Maggie said. There was no immediate answer. The silence lingered on for an uncomfortable amount of time. “I’ve come to retrieve Commander John Smith of the Titan III, and I still continue to do so.” She lowered her gun. The soldiers lowered theirs.

“You have every right to do so. Mr. Smith?” Smith, not quite understanding what was happening, slowly shook his head. “Then it is agreed, until your departure, you are a Namekian citizen.” The humans were ordered to return to Smith’s home until they could be properly received.

“So now what?” Smith whispered, hardly moving his lips as they entered his home.

“Well now we leave. Go back home, duh.” Smith flinched at the idea. He hadn’t thought of returning to his homeland. It didn’t seem possible when he arrived upon this planet, given the absent ending to his past life. He had even started to feel at home on Namek. Maggie saw the apprehension in his eyes. “Don’t you wanna go home?” she asked. Smith shushed her vehemently, motioning his eyes behind him to the corner of the room where the walls met the ceiling. Maggie squinted her eyes and furrowed her brow, still unsure of what Smith was signaling.

“They’re watching us,” Smith squeezed out of the corner of his mouth. Maggie finally nodded her head in understanding. They sat on the furniture staring straight ahead and continued their conversation through the sides of their mouths. “There’s nothing left there for me anymore,” Smith continued, “what year is it there now?”

“I don’t know, time warps when we jump through the wormhole. I left in 2192, who knows what year it is now.” Smith turn his head.

“I left in 2087,” he responded, more to himself than to Maggie, and he sunk his head in his hands.

“We leave tomorrow night,” Maggie said abruptly, seemingly making the choice for Smith. The teacher didn’t respond, just sullenly shook his head. A knock on the door made the pair flinch and Smith rose to his feet to answer it. Galnu, followed by a purple soldier, marched through the door.

Galnu, in a sense of renewed hospitality, smiled and more appropriately welcome his new guest to Namek. Pulling out and pressing a button, a full course meal materialized in front of the company, table and dishes included. Leagues of earthly meat including, steak, chicken, and pork piled on top of each other complemented by yellowberries and other seedlings native to the planet. It’d been years since either of the humans indulged in earthly delicacies, so they dug in, absent of thought. The comatose stupor as a result of the feast was inevitable. As they ate, Galnu spoke.

“It looks to me that you have two options: you stay here on Namek with your kind and assimilate or leave empty handed.” Maggie paused mid-bite.

“I’m leaving with Smith, we’re going back home,” she said through a mouthful.

“Smith is a Namekian citizen now, Commander. If he leaves without our permission, we will be forced to take action.” The humans stopped eating.

“What action? Who says you have that authority?” he asked.

“Why, you Mr. Smith,” replied Galnu with a malicious smile. He pulled out a small tablet and played a video. It was Smith in a metal chair, chained to the ground, donning a NASA spacesuit.

Do you agree to the terms of Namek? You will be assimilated, placed in a job of our choosing, and surveilled as property of Namek. Part of this agreement is that you accept you will not remember the events of your arrival nor this interaction, a man said off-camera. Smith, eyes with heavy bags, blood trickling down his face, defeated, nodded and signed.

Namekian Smith looked on in horror as his own hand scribbled across the tablet. The face of Galnu encroached the lens of the camera and spoke: Subject 1 has agreed to the terms despite tendencies of earthly stubbornness and violence, commencing experimentation. The screen went black.

“You see, Commander, we do this for the protection of our species, our planet. Mr. Smith arrived just as you had, armed and ready to kill, experiment, capture, who knows what else. Do you understand?” Maggie shot a look at Smith, then back to Galnu. “You earthlings have a predisposition to hunt, that’s not how we do things here on Namek,” continued Galnu, “we can do this the easy way with you leaving and never coming back, or the hard way, becoming subject number 2. Of course, we noticed the silly flaws of indecision, unadaptable DNA in poor Smith here, you surely would not suffer the same fate.”

“New and improved, huh,” Maggie snapped back, sarcastically. Galnu smiled and laughed haughtily. Her nostrils flared in frustration. “I’ll leave,” she finally said. Smith snapped his head towards her, why give up so easy he questioned to himself.

“Then it’s settled. You leave, tonight.”

“Deal.”

The accompanying, silently still the entire interaction, moved suddenly. He gathered Smith by the arm and led him out of the door and into a much larger automated car, shining in armor.

“I trust you’ll find your ship in good condition. We shall be present for your departure, Smith included. He’ll be coming with us for now, however.” Maggie watched as Smith struggling body was thrown in the armored car, stabbed with a needle, and his body going stiff. She winced as his head hung and swung, hitting the window, as the car drove away with a smug Galnu.

Smith awoke in a daze, next to Galnu and one soldier, Maggie preparing her ship blurry in the distance. He rubbed his eyes, unsure of the events of the past thirty minutes or so. So, she really did agree to go, thought Smith to himself. Maggie turned one last time towards her captive acquaintance. Quicker than Smith could raise his hand to wave goodbye, Maggie drew her pistol and shot the soldier standing next to them in the head. His blood, a glowing aqua blue, splattered Galnu’s face and Smith’s shirt.

“Run, motherfucker!” Maggie shouted across the crater. Smith stumbled and crawled to a stand as his feet moved under him. Galnu reached out to grab Smith but only caught a kick to the face. As he was reeling, Smith gained ground and reached the ship despite his wobbling, doe-staggered run. Galnu, stamping his feet, holding his face, called in reinforcements.

At the base of the ship, just short of the ramp inside the ship, a familiar not-quite-dog like creature sliced at the neck. It oozed blue goo and its scales were dulled as if it had been dragged a great distance. “What’re you waiting for? Let’s go,” hollered Maggie as she stepped into the ship.

“What is this?” he said, pointing at the not-dog, “Why?”

“I collected a couple specimen on my way. Don’t worry, that one was already suffering.” Smith wasn’t so sure. He hesitantly climbed aboard the ship. What he saw lining the shelves and windows of the ship confirmed his suspicions. Glass jars of tongues, eyes, phalluses, and bags of fur, hair, and scales covered the ship. Each from different planets, each a different species. “Here,” said Maggie, handing Smith a jar containing dog-like appendages, “put this over there.”

Smith noticed a trail of the blue ooze and followed it into the center of the ship. In the middle of the room stood a cage. A familiar voice and face sat inside, whimpering, antennae glowing. “Mr. Smith? Is that you?” the voice said.

“Uzo?”

“I found this one lurking outside your home. Took care of him for you,” interjected Maggie.

“N-no, you can’t do this. He’s just a kid.”

“He’s a Namek specimen, potentially a threat. He’s coming with us for further analysis.”

“No. You can’t. Let him go or I won’t go with you – you’re proving Galnu right.” Maggie made preparations to take off. The ship began to shake, and sequencing beeps rung in the air. Smith stumbled around the cabin as the ship began its ascent. Looking for any tool to aid in his escape, Smith found a bloodied axe buried under Maggie’s space suit she donned upon her arrival. Smith grabbed the cage, sprinted the length of the cabin, and snagged the axe in one swift motion. When he turned for the exit, Maggie stood in the way, closing the bay doors. As the doors were closing, Smith could see a mass of green and purple bodies, holding guns, waiting to fire.

Mr. Smith ran headfirst into Maggie and swung the axe. He missed and ran right past her. His momentum carried him forward and he fell, losing grip of the cage. It tumbled toward the bay doors but didn’t make it out. It was pinned in the gap between the ship and the door. Mr. Smith crawled to the door on his hands and knees and as the ship moved further in the air, Smith began sliding towards the opening. The ship lurched forward stopping Maggie from apprehending him and Smith flew through the opening.

Determined not to leave Uzo, Smith held tight to a handle on the doors, feet dangling in the air, axe in the other hand. Galnu gave the order to fire as he saw Smith’s body emerge from the ship, refusing to let him get away. Red hot lasers scorched the ship, one catching Smith’s leg. He screamed in agony as he attempted to swing up and back into the ship. Maggie, fully recovered, grabbed Smith by the arm and attempted to pull him back in the ship. He swung his axe-holding hand, narrowly missing her wrist. Still, she pulled, and with one final lurch, swung Smith’s body back into the Titan V. In the same move, Smith swung his feet and kicked the pinned cage and sent it tumbling back down to Namek ground. Maggie snatched the axe and raised it to swing but thought better of it.

“Come with me, idiot,” she said, fuming and out of breath. She dragged Smith, who was limping, and placed him in an extra supply closet and locked it. “Mission Control, if you hear this message, Titan V is on the way home. I repeat, Titan V is on the way home with John Smith of Titan III. Mission success.” No one answered.