I’m sure you’ve seen it many times—and when you saw my behavior, you read it perfectly. You knew what was to come.”
Alejandra’s head lowered as she heard the explanation. It was so clear—yet it ran contrary to everything she had always hoped and believed.
“When you entered the room, your anxiety rose substantially. Why? Again the answer is simple: there were three other men in the room, each with expressions and demeanors similar to my own. They do not like causing pain either. And then there is the question of why there would need to be four men in the room. You now know the obvious answer—four men are the minimum required to safely subdue two people without the threat of weapons. Of course, you knew this the moment you entered the room, even if you weren’t consciously aware of it.”
Alejandra stepped to Old-timer and began to cry into his chest. He held her and put his hand onto her head to comfort her. He glared at the man. “What is the point of all of this?” Old-timer demanded.
“I told you. We’re here to save you. To save you, we have to explain the truth to you.”
“But... but I can feel their emotions,” Alejandra said.
The man shook his head. “No, you cannot. You are exceptionally adept at reading emotions and then manufacturing emotions to mirror them. You are a tremendous empath. ”
“How can you call her an empath?” Old-timer asked. “You just told her that her powers are an illusion.”
“I never said that. I only explained how her powers work. This is why her powers remain, even in her new body. She is indeed an empath—but an empath does not have spiritual or mystical powers.”
“How is all of this supposed to be saving us?” Old-timer asked.
“For you to be saved, you must know the truth. To know the truth, you must have no delusions.”
“And what about the pain? Why did you have to cause us pain?” Alejandra asked.
“You had to see what you were for you to believe it—you had to feel what you were as well. It wasn’t just the pain. You had to anticipate it—you had to fear it. You had to feel your humanity or else you would not believe that you were still human and we would not be able to save you.”
“And what are you trying to save us from?” Alejandra asked.
“From forces you do not yet understand—but you very soon will.”
15
“The damage to the engines isn’t a threat right now,” Rich explained to Thel as she remained next to James in sick bay, “but the danger is that, if the androids find us again, it won’t take them long to finish the job they started. I recommend that we do a patch up.”
“Have you tried communicating with the nans that are still onboard the ship?” Thel asked.
“Yes,” Djanet answered for both her and Rich. “Neither of us can make heads or tails out of them.”
“We’d have to spend a decade in training just to have a workable knowledge of how to create nano-programs that would help fix the engines,” Rich elaborated. “It’s the sort of thing only James can do when he has access to the A.I. mainframe.”
Thel nodded in understanding. “Then what are you suggesting?”
“Well, I’m thinking we find some scrap metal—there must be something we can use onboard—and then just do an old-fashioned welding job,” Rich replied.
“How quick can you get it done?” Thel asked. “We’re going to be coming around the far side of the sun soon. Right now the sun’s radiation is cloaking us but we’ll be more visible when we move away from the strongest radiation and get closer to Venus.”
“We can have something put together in an hour,” Djanet asserted.
Thel nodded. “Good. Make it happen.”
“How’s the Commander?” Rich asked. “He’s looking better.”
Thel looked down at James’s body. Indeed, he did look far better than he had after his collision with the android. “All of the minor injuries have been repaired, but it’s the nerve damage to his spine that is the real
Alejandra’s head lowered as she heard the explanation. It was so clear—yet it ran contrary to everything she had always hoped and believed.
“When you entered the room, your anxiety rose substantially. Why? Again the answer is simple: there were three other men in the room, each with expressions and demeanors similar to my own. They do not like causing pain either. And then there is the question of why there would need to be four men in the room. You now know the obvious answer—four men are the minimum required to safely subdue two people without the threat of weapons. Of course, you knew this the moment you entered the room, even if you weren’t consciously aware of it.”
Alejandra stepped to Old-timer and began to cry into his chest. He held her and put his hand onto her head to comfort her. He glared at the man. “What is the point of all of this?” Old-timer demanded.
“I told you. We’re here to save you. To save you, we have to explain the truth to you.”
“But... but I can feel their emotions,” Alejandra said.
The man shook his head. “No, you cannot. You are exceptionally adept at reading emotions and then manufacturing emotions to mirror them. You are a tremendous empath. ”
“How can you call her an empath?” Old-timer asked. “You just told her that her powers are an illusion.”
“I never said that. I only explained how her powers work. This is why her powers remain, even in her new body. She is indeed an empath—but an empath does not have spiritual or mystical powers.”
“How is all of this supposed to be saving us?” Old-timer asked.
“For you to be saved, you must know the truth. To know the truth, you must have no delusions.”
“And what about the pain? Why did you have to cause us pain?” Alejandra asked.
“You had to see what you were for you to believe it—you had to feel what you were as well. It wasn’t just the pain. You had to anticipate it—you had to fear it. You had to feel your humanity or else you would not believe that you were still human and we would not be able to save you.”
“And what are you trying to save us from?” Alejandra asked.
“From forces you do not yet understand—but you very soon will.”
15
“The damage to the engines isn’t a threat right now,” Rich explained to Thel as she remained next to James in sick bay, “but the danger is that, if the androids find us again, it won’t take them long to finish the job they started. I recommend that we do a patch up.”
“Have you tried communicating with the nans that are still onboard the ship?” Thel asked.
“Yes,” Djanet answered for both her and Rich. “Neither of us can make heads or tails out of them.”
“We’d have to spend a decade in training just to have a workable knowledge of how to create nano-programs that would help fix the engines,” Rich elaborated. “It’s the sort of thing only James can do when he has access to the A.I. mainframe.”
Thel nodded in understanding. “Then what are you suggesting?”
“Well, I’m thinking we find some scrap metal—there must be something we can use onboard—and then just do an old-fashioned welding job,” Rich replied.
“How quick can you get it done?” Thel asked. “We’re going to be coming around the far side of the sun soon. Right now the sun’s radiation is cloaking us but we’ll be more visible when we move away from the strongest radiation and get closer to Venus.”
“We can have something put together in an hour,” Djanet asserted.
Thel nodded. “Good. Make it happen.”
“How’s the Commander?” Rich asked. “He’s looking better.”
Thel looked down at James’s body. Indeed, he did look far better than he had after his collision with the android. “All of the minor injuries have been repaired, but it’s the nerve damage to his spine that is the real
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