The Euclidian: Unforeseen Alliance Read online

  “Cobalt you don’t know what I’ve been through. I missed you so much. At first I thought you had imprisoned me and tried to kill me. I later realized it must have been a transporter malfunction. I guess even in advanced societies there must be bugs in equipment or inept operators. Then I started to wonder why you shot me and didn’t just send me to your transporter room. Was I knocked out for a while and then sent home?”

  Cobalt laughed releasing Xiao from his embrace. “I thought women talking a lot, was just a Majorellen phenomenon. Xiao, try to calm down and let me know what’s going on with you. I’m not sure what you are talking about, but I’m glad to see you again. So tell me, what can I do for you? I have to apologize up front and let you know that I cannot stay with you very long.”

  Li Xiao took Cobalt’s hand and led him towards the couch. She sat down and placed her feet up on the couch. She patted the spot next to her signaling for Cobalt to sit next to her. He sat down next to her and placed his arm around her neck. He placed his right index finger under her chin, lifted her head and kissed her softly on her lips.

  “Now tell me what’s on your mind Xiao,” Cobalt prompted.

  “Be honest Cobalt. What happened after you shot me?”

  “I never shot you darling. The device I was holding was not a weapon, but a transport device. I used it to send you into the transportation system directly from my room and the operators were supposed to place you safely back in your room. They screwed up and released you above your shower and they forgot to compensate for the acceleration vector. The same for the drink and the bag of money. Luckily the transport device I gave you was in the bag of money.”

  “Okay, so that explains how my body got so banged up.”

  “I was really saddened by what had happened to you. I wanted to come to your aid, but our captain is not sympathetic to our emotional needs and does not like us leaving the ship except for planned leave.”

  “So you have been watching me the whole time since I left your ship?”

  “Not every waking moment. Just here and there. I was hoping to see you again and wanted to be sure you were safe. The invasion of Earth is eminent. The device can help keep you safe, and may help you save others. You can make a difference on this planet. Individuals often underestimate the impact they can have on the world around them.”

  “When is the invasion supposed to happen? How many people will be impacted? Why would you bother giving me money and this device if our world is going to be ripped apart soon?”

  “Don’t worry about the invasion. They won’t destroy the planet and I promise to keep you safe. Focus on the device and how you can use it as a tool to make the next evolution of your planet a great one.”

  “I don’t know why you have so much faith in me. I don’t think I’m worthy of your praise or trust. However, I will listen to your counsel and learn to use the device. While I know a lot about it there is more I could learn. So please teach me everything you know about the device.”

  “Okay, but we need to be quick. Starting at the top right is the power button. You won’t need to worry about the device ever running out of power. It has a fifty year power source. You will want to turn it off when you are not using it to avoid accidentally activating a feature by hitting one of the buttons. A momentary push of the button disables all the buttons. If you hold the power button and press a button sequence the device will shut down and you will need to hold the power button down and press the same sequence to get the device to come on again. That will prevent someone else from trying to use it. Are you with me so far?”

  “Yes, keep going.”

  “You seemed to have learned how to use your fingers on the screen, but you can perform the same actions and more by holding your fingers above the screen moving your hand in the way you want the monitoring device to move. Hold your hand over the screen with your fingers pointing at it. Now move your hand in and out over and notice the viewing position changes based on the direction you are viewing. To zoom in and out spread your fingers and hold them or squeeze and hold them. Twisting your fingers to the left or right will cause the viewing angle to spin to the left or right. As you know positioning your hand sideways and spinning it will spin the camera angle based on the orientation of your hand to the viewing angle. Wiping your hand across the screen will move the viewing position in the same direction as your hand. Still with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “The button at the top permits you to listen in on conversations. The top left button is a timer. Pressing it displays a list of times on the screen. The first one is blank, which disables the timer. The next entry represents about two seconds using Euclidian timing. Each entry after that is the double the previous. Once you select a time you will always return from a transport within that amount of time. For example, if you select the third entry and transport to your parent’s house you will return to your starting point after 4 seconds. If you press the timer button while the timer is counting down it will disable the countdown. The next time you transport somewhere the timer will countdown again.”

  “Why would I want to use the timer?”

  “Say you wanted to go somewhere and pick up something and return, but your hands would be too full to operate the device. That way you could return without having to pushing any buttons.”

  “Got it.”

  “The button on the left is used to target people or items that you want to track. You can track as many targets as you like. Pressing the button over the target selects it. Pressing the button again deselects it. Pressing the button on the right cycles through the targets. The button on the bottom left is used to select a destination. You can select as many destinations as you like. Pressing the lower right button will cycle between all of your stored destinations. Pressing the lower left button when a destination comes up will deselect the destination. And of course, pressing the bar at the bottom transports you to the destination on the screen. You need to be careful about how high up you are because you can easily kill yourself. Pressing and holding the transport button will return you to your last transport location.”

  “Wow that’s a lot to remember.”

  “I suggest you practice a lot before starting any missions. I need to get back to the ship now.”

  “What missions? What am I supposed to do?”

  “I have confidence that you will figure it out. You wanted to make a difference for your people. Now you can.”

  “No time for a little loving?”

  “Not this time. Hopefully next time though, which should be very soon.”

  And without warning he vanished and she fell from his arms onto the couch.

  ***

  Li Xiao was sitting in her living room Sunday morning watching the CNN Sunday program, Fareed Zakaria GPS when a report caught her attention.

  “Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming, while giving a speech in his hometown of Shanghai, was arrested for speaking out on the jailing of dissidents in the country. Yao Ming had long been an opponent of the government’s continued imprisonment and detainment of people who criticized the government. Now he himself had become a victim of this practice. Because of the subsequent public outrage, Yao Ming had been hidden away in an undisclosed location leading to fears about his health or the possibility of being freed anytime soon.”

  The imprisonment of Yao Ming outraged Li Xiao. Though she considered herself a patriot, she disagreed with the government’s crackdown on protestors. Her patriotism is why she agreed to work with the Chinese agent, who she later found out was an alien. She believed she was helping China protect itself from being attacked by nuclear weapons. She soon discovered that the aliens were looking to locate all of the Earth’s nuclear material for themselves. While her patriotism was misplaced she was still considered herself a patriot. Now maybe she had a chance to help her people even if the world was about to end.

  Li Xiao kept reflecting back on her short reunion with Cobalt and his parting words. She also thought of her personal c
ommitment to make a difference for her people. Was it her mission to free Chinese dissidents? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t sit idly by and let her countrymen be abused. So she decided she would use the device that Cobalt gave her and start freeing dissidents herself. However, she was afraid that if she went off on her mission unmasked, she would be quickly identified and tracked down before she could have a significant impact. To protect her identity she decided to take on the persona of the Chinese Goddess Guan-Yin, disguising her face with a mask.

  Chapter 5

  Filo & Yoyo at Bordelle Bar

  During the trip to Euclidia, Commander Filo indoctrinated Yoyo in Alpha culture and history. He showed her the systems on his ship, but indicated that his plan was to work on a Euclidian ship because it would help with improving the relationship between the Alphas and Euclidians.

  Instead of teaching her the Alpha language he focused on improving her Euclidian, which he thought would be more useful for what he had planned for her.

  “Yoyo, let’s speak in Euclidian for the remainder of your trip, if that’s okay with you?”

  “Yes Commander Filo. That would be very helpful for me if we are going to spend any time on Euclidia and its ships.”

  “Wonderful. I am proud that you are dedicating yourself to your new role. I will be sending your associates except for two of them to other Alpha ships to meet with my counterparts on those ships. The other two will join us on Euclidia.”

  “When will we be visiting your home planet?”

  “We will visit the new Alpha home planet later. Our old one was destroyed by the Euclidian due to a misunderstanding between our people. I’m hoping to address that matter in the near future. For now, I want you all to focus on learning their language and customs. Our visit to their planet will help you with the transition. There are a few places we can visit that will help immerse all of you in their culture. I’ll find us a place first so we will have somewhere to live while we are there.”

  “There won’t be a problem with us being on their planet?”

  “No, they get new people there all the time. We will need to get you registered and assigned UCDs though. That will cost a few credits, but shouldn’t take much time. I’m sure it will be surprising for them to find out that your race of people are starting to visit their planet.”

  “Why would they care?”

  “They try to keep track of those things and are probably surprised that they have been on your planet for several years and just ran across you.”

  “I hope that won’t cause a problem for my people. We don’t like a lot of attention.”

  “You should be fine. The Euclidian are fine with leaving people to themselves once they find out that they are not a danger to them.”

  “That’s comforting. I look forward to seeing what life is like on another planet.”

  “You will find out very soon Yoyo. I promise you that you are in for quite an experience.

  ***

  The Alpha ship, with Commander Filo, entered into orbit above the planet Euclidia. The Magi Yoyo Snarky, the newly assigned ambassador from the planet Tammaria, was at the commander’s side. She was wearing a long, dark, hooded robe to protect her skin from the sun and goggles over her eyes as they were sensitive to bright light. Commander Filo convinced her to come to Euclidia to help him improve relations between the Alphas and Euclidian. Little did she know that he had a more sinister plan in place for her.

  Jesmino, Yoyo’s newly assigned assistant, accompanied the two of them. Jesmino was a mineral scientist. She developed several of the mineral-based techniques used by the Magi. Commander Filo found three small apartments for them in a part of town that was more or less accepting of lodgers from the planet Alpha. He got them plugged into the government system and assigned each a UCD. That thrilled Yoyo beyond belief.

  “Don’t you just love this UCD they gave us Jesmino?”

  “It’s not a bad device. It is certainly better than anything we have in the cave,” replied Jesmino.”

  “What do you mean it’s not bad? It’s amazing. Everything I want to know is right here. It can tell me where I am, about the people around me and show me video of faraway places. I can even talk to it as if it were human.”

  “Yes, it has abilities, but it has no intelligence.”

  “Whatever you say Jesmino. Let’s take a walk around.”

  Yoyo and Jesmino decided to take a walk through their neighborhood to get to know their surroundings and test out their new devices. The city of Occum was enormous and the capital city for the planet Euclidia. It contained over seventy-five million inhabitants. Over eleven million of the people were from dozens of other planets that had formed relationships with the Euclidian government.

  The neighborhood where they lived had people from many planets. Typically individuals with few resources. The streets were bordered on both sides by shops selling goods from Euclidia as well as other planets. There was a multitude of different music, smells and clothing. On top of the shops were apartments like the ones that Commander Filo, Yoyo and Jesmino lived in. Visiting the shops Yoyo learned that she needed credits to purchase things. She desperately wanted to learn how to earn credits.

  “Jesmino, isn’t this place the greatest?” Asked Yoyo excitedly.”

  “It’s not bad.”

  “Again with the ‘not bad’ comment. What do you mean it’s not bad? I’ve never seen so many people or things from so many faraway places. There are so many worlds with so many cultures that I’ve never heard of. So many ways of communicating and procreating. And so much technology that helps people travel from place to place.”

  “Why does that sound so strange? Non-organic devices are capable of many things beyond the abilities of organic life forms. Think about having limitless memory, or lifespan, or being able to connect life anywhere at a subatomic level. Once you can connect with a quark you can be anywhere in the known universe all at once. Though you have to be careful to remember your origin. Infinite destinations can take infinite time to research.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? Where did you learn all of that stuff?”

  “Oh! I was just reading up on subatomic theory on this new device.”

  “Already?! And because you have nothing else to learn I guess? I want you studying the Euclidian. Who are they, what are they passionate about and how might they benefit from our mineral expertise. I want to see if we can leverage that to build a relationship with them and help improve the relations between the Alphas and the Euclidian.”

  “Understood ambassador.”

  “Just call me Yoyo for now. If we get into some formal meetings maybe you can use my title. I want you to spend more time perfecting their language and then making friends with someone in the government. I know that may take some time, but I’m sure we will have plenty of that. I’ll have further information about what we need to do once I’ve spent more time with Commander Filo. Speaking of which, I am supposed to meet him in a few minutes to go to some bar. Who is that?!” Stated Yoyo pointing at a robed figure.

  Yoyo chased after the figure who was hurrying by on a cross-street. She caught up with the person and grabbing at the person’s robe. The person stopped and turned around, startling Yoyo who was staring in the face of a male Magi.

  “What are you doing here? I live here. Who are you?”

  “I’m Yoyo. I work as a liaison for the chieftain. And you.”

  “I’m Belo. I came here with a Euclidian ship about two months ago. I was meeting with some Tammarians on the eastside of Mount Chupachy when they just showed up. I gave them some grog in return for one of the snacks they were eating and the relationship sort of blossomed from there. I eventually convinced them to let me board their ship with them.”

  “I didn’t even know we had caves out that far. Are there others here?”

  “Yea, the caves have been expanding like crazy. I can’t keep up with them anymore. I have seen a few more of us around.”

 
“Do the Euclidians know about our persuasion abilities?”

  “No, not at all. We felt it would be better to keep that to ourselves for now.”

  “I’m so glad of that. How do I find the rest of the people from our caves?”

  “Look I gotta run. I’m a techno slinger at the Occum Dance Club271 a few blocks from here. Why don’t you come by later and I can tell you more,” Belo ended running off.

  “Did you see that Jesmino? There are more of us here.”

  “Yes, I don’t find that so surprising. I just finished learning Euclidian now I will go off and try to make the appropriate Euclidian contact you asked for.”

  “Really?! You are a strange one Jesmino. I’ll see you back at your place tonight. I’m going to go find Commander Filo.”

  “Tonight it is,” replied Jesmino disappearing into the crowd of people.

  I’ve got to learn more about Belo, Yoyo thought. Maybe he could teach me to be a techno slinger so I can earn some credits.

  ***

  Commander Filo walked into the Bordelle Bar on the outskirts of Occum. This bar was the favorite of resource ship officers. Commander Filo was looking for one person in particular, the XO of the Andrea. He was key to his revenge plot against one of the four Euclidians who was the captain of one of the four ships that destroyed his planet. The one he blames for instigating the attack in the first place. Captain Chaell Shisal!

  Commander Filo and Yoyo took a seat in a booth that gave them full view of the bar. Commander Filo wanted to make sure he saw everyone coming and going from the establishment.

  “Two Tammarian Grogs,” Commander Filo demanded from the server. “And a bowl of fresh Gordon creatures. I don’t want any of them to look like they’re on their last leg either.”