The Nature of Predators - Farsul Abductee (7/8)

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Memory transcription subject: Danny Palmer, Human Law Enforcement

Date [standardized human time]: February 6, 2137

The sunlight felt like a wonderful infusion of warmth into my skin; natural light was a mystical sight, after all this time trapped in the Archives. How long had it been since I’d seen the gorgeous blue sky, or looked for patterns in the clouds? The breeze in my hair was refreshing, and the mere feel of a sidewalk beneath actual sneakers grounded me. However, the artificial peculiarity around me was snapping me out of my reverie. There was something bizarre everywhere I looked to distract me from Earth’s beauty.

The doctors had been mystified when I asked them for something as simple as a map, in order to navigate by foot to Veiq’s detention center. They’d offered me a ride there, but I preferred to walk and get some fresh air for the first time in years. Besides, I had never gotten to see the sights of Europe in my past life. After conferring among themselves, the hospital staff offered to load up a digitized map on a holopad.

My frustration was about ready to boil over then and there; how were these intelligent people unable to give me a paper map? Did they really read directions by electronic means, stuck to that small screen with no sense of scale? I demanded to know how they got from place-to-place, with the narrow window that was visible. A nurse zoomed out, and then explained that they put two points into a computer…which spit out step-by-step directions of when to turn and how long it’d take to get there.

“What about traffic?” had been the obvious question, but the omniscient technology was somehow aware of the traffic patterns of every address and road on the globe. It could map multiple routes in a fraction of a second, and tell you the local speed limit. I couldn’t fathom how people these days had any sort of directional awareness, or what happened when the computer malfunctioned. With a frustrated sigh, I got them to hook up a holopad and a distress signal if I got lost.

Turn left at the next intersection, then turn right! A female voice declared through the prongs they’d jammed in my ears.

I wasn’t sure I trusted this contraption; how could it even tell where I was in relation to a turn? What if it was leading me on a wild goose chase? I squinted at the highlighted line on the screen, ignoring the sound of a motor getting closer. My head snapped up when it drew too near for comfort, thinking a motorcycle was coming to run me over. A teenager was rolling down the sidewalk on a strange two-wheeled pedestal, perched on a narrow metal strip. It was rolled forward on its own, seemingly without any input or way of stopping.

“What the fuck?” I dove out of the way, gritting my teeth at the hooligan with neon green colored hair. It was obvious this kid was up to no good. “Are people in the future too lazy to walk?! It’s like skateboarding…without the damn skating!”

Everyone was staring at me like I was the crazy one; I gave a man the stink eye in return, noticing that he had metal bits sticking out all over his face. The guy looked like some punk, missing only the mohawk and black leather jacket. Scoffing to myself, I continued to follow HAL 9000’s directions. This “GPS” thing was telling me to walk into oncoming traffic, so it couldn’t have my best interests at heart. I waited at the crosswalk, noticing that most people I passed had their eyes glued to a screen.

Sedated, like zombies! They don’t even look up as they walk down the street. How do they not run into people? Maybe America is different.

I checked the street for traffic, and noticed something that made my blood run cold. There was no one behind the wheel of a car moving parallel to me, and my legs tensed to dive out of the way if it veered off-course. Fortunately, it stayed in its lane, and I huddled on the opposite street corner with a shaking body. My adrenaline-fueled gaze studied the rest of the traffic, noticing that many vehicles had empty driver’s seats. It dawned on me that these cars must be computerized too; these people did nothing for themselves!

“Sir, are you alright?” A man in a blue uniform which read “POLIZEI” approached me, carrying a blue cap with red-and-yellow stripes under his arm. The utility belt was recognizable across field law enforcement from any century. “I must ask, are you on any drugs or substances at this time?”

I hurriedly dusted myself off. “Yes, I’m fine, and as for drugs, nothing illegal. I…just got out of the hospital.”

“Do you need medical attention?”

“No…thank you. Say, is the United Nations headquarters nearby?”

“Continue two blocks ahead, until you reach the blue sign with the arrow. You can’t miss it.”

“Appreciate the help, Officer…I was law enforcement in the States myself. Have a good one.”

“You as well. Be careful out there.”

The police officer returned to patrolling the sidewalk, and I did my best not to give any further impressions of being a crazy person. I’d assume the news must’ve gotten wind of a human from the past being awakened, but no cameras were here to ambush me. If the public wasn’t aware of my forward leap through the centuries, saying I was from 1974 would probably get me thrown in an asylum. My hand tested that the newly-issued ID was still in my pocket.

The American government listed my birthdate as 2107, an estimate of my true age based on my bloodwork. If they listed it as 1948, any reasonable person would think it was forged.

The GPS issued its mechanical advice in my ear; I didn’t know how people got used to having rubber jammed into their ear canals. I followed the arrow on a massive sign, with directions written in multiple languages including English. Heavily-armed soldiers waited at a security checkpoint; I could see a building labeled as the Venlil embassy, with more human guards patrolling outside the fence. Aliens were visible through the window, making my fists curl instinctively.

“Good morning! All visitors must be cleared by the respective embassy they are visiting, and accompanied by a UN soldier at all times; this is a weapon-free zone. Social media pranksters are not welcome, and as such, all filming and recording is prohibited here,” the security soldier recited, a glassy look in his eyes.

I squinted in confusion. “Social media? Never mind…I’m Danny Palmer? I’m told you have a Farsul named Veiq in custody.”

“Ah yes, we’ve been expecting you, but you look quite different from your picture. From the 20th century I’m told.” The man swept a strange wand over my form, and I resisted the urge to shy away. “Had you really not invented social media yet? Computers were invented in like World War Two, and I don’t see what the point of them was without it.”

“I’m getting the sense that computers do everything here, but back in my time, they did basic calculations and data storage. They didn’t…think for us!”

“I meant no offense to you, Mr. Palmer. Social media is just a platform for sharing well, media, and information over the internet…you know, the worldwide info network. Really, you didn’t have that either? I don’t know how you communicated without it!”

“By telephone and by letter.”

“Actual snail mail, of course, you didn’t have email without inter—”

“With respect, may I see Veiq?”

“Right, sorry, I was just curious. But you could make a killing, explaining what it was like to live without modern conveniences. Follow me.”

The security guard waved me through a tall set of turnstiles, where another officer was waiting to escort me from the other side. A circle of flags was clustered around a five-story building, the unmistakable symbols of each nation on Earth. I noticed that a few had changed, and that the flag of the USSR was missing. The American flag was present, but there were more than fifty stars. A handful of other banners I didn’t recognize at all, though I hadn’t known every symbol across the globe.

My escort turned away from the main building, gesturing with a hand to the “International Alien Detention Center.” I lumbered through another security checkpoint that appeared to have complex scanning features, and a prison guard showed me the rest of the way. We passed a series of cells, most of which held giant blue birds that I assumed were Krakotl. There were a handful of Farsul, though none were Veiq. I hustled after the guard as we passed a massive insectoid with soulless eyes.

Creepy. It’s like that Tarantula movie when I was a kid, except this is a demon-possessed spider.

I shivered, slapping myself in the cheeks to refocus. The guard steered me into a room, which was separated in half by a thick pane of glass. There was no sign of the Farsul on the other side. My human chaperone ordered me to stay put, and circled back down the hallway, likely to retrieve Veiq. I flopped into a wooden chair, drawing deep breaths to quell my nerves. My head found its way into my hands. Why hadn’t I given more thought to what I planned to say?

Mere minutes later, a metal door buzzed open, and the human shoved a cuffed Farsul inside. Veiq had silver patches around her muzzle, but I still recognized her facial features. She looked panicked as the door sealed behind her, until she turned around to face me. Her fear evaporated, replaced by tears as she threw herself up against the glass. Disbelief flashed in her deceiving eyes.

“Danny? It’s really you…they brought you back!” the archivist exclaimed, wagging her tail. “You have no idea how much I missed you. I’ve mourned you for years…watching you succumb to your bloodlust was horrible!”

A scowl overtook my face. “My bloodlust? You dumb bitch—you gave me a fucking vitamin deficiency that rotted my brain. You kidnapped me, and lied about it! You claimed you wanted to help, to save humans, but you want to control us! How dare you?”

“Danny—”

“NO! You let Greg die; you killed my brother! FUCK YOU! Not only did you think we’re animals—you treated us like it, locking us up and slowly killing us for no fucking reason. Whatever you think love is, it’s sure as shit not that. All those years, nothing you said was true. Don’t go acting like you cared now, because I’ll never believe a fucking word you say! I hope you die just like Greg did!”

The Farsul slowly melted against the glass pane, as if she were ice cream that had been flung onto the surface. The sheer hurt on her face was palpable, before she broke down bawling. I felt zero sympathy for this sniveling liar, who used me in her twisted experiments. A sadistic grin spread across my face, and I rose from my chair. I crouched opposite her by the glass, staring into her with wild eyes.

“You were never trying to cure me of the disease. All the humans you killed, knowing you were killing them, but not caring because predator. It wasn’t the rest of the galaxy that thought we’re not sapient and deserve to die. It was you; you did everything you could to rob us of our minds and our lives, until you killed us in the worst way possible. Then, that wasn’t enough…you attacked Earth! My home! All because we need Vitamin B12 to live,” I ranted.

Veiq’s face scrunched together in hideous fashion. “T-that’s why? No, it…it can’t be. I didn’t know, I didn’t kidnap you, I j-just tried to do everything in my power for you to survive. Really! So…humans, a predator species, genuinely can live on plants with this vitamin? That was the answer?”

“Yes. How, a hundred years after our time together, can you freaks not understand that?!”

“It hasn’t been a hundred years…it’s been just over ten. They kept you asleep post-abduction while they were conducting other research.”

“WHAT?! Fuck! Another lie, that fucking figures. You won’t even apologize for any of this, which further proves you don’t care. I’m wasting my breath.”

Veiq sniffled. “I do care, Danny, more than you’ll ever know. If they caught me sneaking you back to the pod, or ever found out what I did, they would’ve killed me. What else could I have done to help? You know the base was under the ocean. I kept your memory alive, all these years, and I told the UN soldiers where to find you.”

I placed my hands on my hips, and paced through the corridor. After all the conversations I had with the Farsul, thinking I’d known her so well, nothing she said could be given any credence. My jumbled consciousness as she helped me back to my pod lingered in my head; those three words were what infuriated me the most. Could Veiq really have it in her mind that we were close, and that she’d been helping humans? It stung to know I was only alive for successfully convincing this thing that we weren’t animals.

“Why? Why did any of this happen?” I croaked.

The Farsul tilted her snotty head back. “Predators are dangerous. If we did nothing, you could kill us all.”

“Not would. Could.”

“Yes. Danny, even if humans wouldn’t, there’s at least one sapient predator that’s more than willing to eat, maim, and kill people. The Kolshians did want to kill you—ask your own soldiers—but the Farsul saw another way. We tried to make you one of us instead of ending your civilization, not because we hated you, but because we thought you’re worth saving.”

“You’re crazy. You’re fucking insane. How does bioengineering us not to eat meat make us any less dangerous?”

“It’s worked before.”

I recoiled in horror, as one particular phrase rushed back to me. “The Krakotl. The aggressive Krakotl, who needed…‘civilization-compatible behavior.’ I finally understand what you meant by that. You monsters did this to them, didn’t you?”

“They didn’t die. Conversion was a much quicker process. It isn’t usually like this. I’m genuinely heartbroken to know we could’ve fixed this; we failed humanity. You deserve the same chance as anyone else.”

“…oh my God. You’ve done this to lots of people; you told me! All those species on Founders’ Day, with the exhibits to digest their history in a palatable way. Your ‘commitment to assimilating all cultures.’ That carries an entirely different meaning in retrospect. That was your favorite thing about Farsul culture!”

“You’re being cruel, Danny. It was a beautiful holiday, and it celebrates the largest peacekeeping activity in the galaxy. I thought you would understand…”

“Oh, I understand plenty. You said you questioned if what you were doing is right, and yet you still don’t get it. Drunk words are sober thoughts. I don’t know how you live with yourself, but I hope it rots you from the inside out. Goodbye, Veiq.”

I tapped on the door, and a guard unlocked the exit for me to leave. The Farsul scrambled onto her feet, begging me to stay and to hear her out. Every hour we’d spent together and every iota of friendship I regarded her with lingered in my memory like an unwelcome houseguest. I spit behind me in a final gesture of disgust, shooting her a glower of contempt. Veiq slammed her cuffs against the glass, irrational with anguish.

Departing from the visitors’ room, I stormed out of the prison with swirling emotions. My resolve to make the most of whatever time I had left stuck with me from the Archives; that dialogue had been an invaluable reminder to live for today. While Earth was a radically different place, and I had no idea what to do next, I did know I needed to leave the Farsul behind. I was due to return home and try to start a fresh life…perhaps it wasn’t too late to make something of myself.

As an oddity, a man from another era, there could be fortunes at hand just by sharing my experiences. At the least, I should ensure that nobody forgot what happened to Greg and dozens of humans like him. I was going to discover what happened to our loved ones on Earth after we were taken, and carry their memory in my heart for the rest of my days. The Farsul abducting us wasn’t the end of our story.

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A/N - The penultimate episode! Danny finds himself on an unrecognizable Earth, with ubiquity of computers in daily life and oddities, but manages to navigate to the prison holding the Farsul he was once friends with. He confronts Veiq about his betrayal, telling her the words she least wants to hear from him, and also giving her the reason for "the Hunger." What do you think of how our archivist feels and reacted? Was how Danny reacted fair...and where does he go from here?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!