“He zapped me,” Walter said, “Made me like this.”
“Oh, why’d you go and do that?” Kendra asked.
“I’ll get to the why soon enough,” Mike said, “but maybe I should tell you who I am and where I come from.”
“Maybe that would be a good start.”
“For starters, my name isn’t really Mike, but since you aren’t capable of speaking my language, we’ll stick to yours.”
“You seem to speak English well enough. Where’d you pick that up?” Franklin asked.
“I am…what is your word for it…I study alien cultures. I’ve been coming and going here for centuries, among other places.”
“And you can speak English but we can’t speak your language?”
“You’re not physically capable of speaking it. There are sounds your body simply can’t produce.”
“I’ll take your word for that. Did you say centuries?”
“Yes. We have a bit of a longer lifespan than you do. Most of us live what would be 1200 of your years.”
“How old are you then?”
“Only 620.”
“Well, you look darn good for your age,” Kendra said with a wink.
“Thank you, young lady. The same could be said for you.”
“Why, thank you. Where are you from then, not close by I would gather?”
“My home planet is much as yours, third rocky planet from our star, roughly the same size and same atmospheric makeup. The gravity isn’t quite the same, but close. You could survive there just fine. In fact, our solar system is extremely similar, even with the larger gas giants farther out that protect us from stellar debris.”
“How far is it from here?”
“We’re on another edge of the galaxy, 54000 light years from here, as the crow flies, to use one of your expressions.”
“But what about relativity, faster than light travel and all that?” Kendra asked, “From what I’ve learned in school…”
“What you have learned is correct, but we don’t really travel faster than light. There are…how do I explain it in a way you would understand…shortcuts through space. What some of your science fiction writers call hyperspace. Those can get us within a light year and then we use a warp drive for the last bit of distance. The ship doesn’t really move faster than light, but warps space around it and goes along for the ride.”
“Sounds cool.”
“Yes, it rather is. Not many cultures have the capability. Most that we know of are in different stages of technological development.”
“How many other people are out there?”
“Counting your planet and mine, there are eighty four inhabited planets that we know of. Many of them are like yours. They have no contact with anyone else and think they’re the only ones in the universe.”
“But your folks know of them and have been studying them?”
“For the most part, yes. We don’t want to interfere and we just let them take their own course with technological development.”
“If that’s the case, then why the threat here? You’re saying that this other dude is here and there might be trouble?”
“We’ll get to that.”
“This is all out there,” Franklin said, “If there are all these other alien planets with beings on them, what do they all look like?”
“I’m afraid all your science fiction books and movies have it wrong on that account. They all look like you and me, with the usual different color shadings you have here.”
“Man, so you’re saying we don’t have weird looking aliens out there?”
“I’m afraid so, but why is that a shock to you?”
“I don’t know. I just always imagined…”
“Your holy book says that you are made in the creator’s image, does it not?”
“One of our holy books, the Bible…yes it says that,” Kendra said.
“Then there you have it,” Mike said, “If the creator is making people in his image, then why does he need to make all sorts of different images? You already have a vast diversity on this planet, and most others are the same. There’s one that has a group of somewhat blue tinted folks, but for the most part everyone looks human. There are other physiological differences based on different gravity levels, but you don’t see the crazy differences that your movies let on.”
“I always thought the bit about his image was…I don’t know…in a spiritual sense.”
“Perhaps it is. I’m not a theologian.”
“But you’re a believer?”
“I suppose you could say that, but it may be different from your definition of that word. Do I believe there is a creator? Sure I do, and oddly enough our holy books are strikingly similar.”
“The basics are all there. The creator set up a standard, we fall short of it, and there is a price to pay for that. Well…and he provided the sacrifice. Our planet is much like yours though. Some believe that, some follow other spiritual paths, and some follow nothing at all. It does seem to me that there is one creator over the whole universe, if you ask my opinion.”
“You’re rather sure about that?”
“Look. This planet, my planet, the others that have life…what are the odds? Everything has to be fine tuned to an overwhelmingly exacting standard. The odds of there being one planet that can support life are long, but there are several. I just don’t see how there could not be an intelligent creator behind all of it.”
“That’s all rather fascinating, but what’s up with this potential threat, the reason you zapped me?” Walter asked.
“Yes, the one we shall call Jack. Jack represents another…what is a word for it you would understand…faction, on my planet…similar to what you would call another country, but not quite the same. His group is more militaristic than we are, even expansionistic. We fear that they have designs on other planets, to exploit people for forced labor, to take resources, or to just take over. We’re not entirely sure what his ideas are for your planet yet. It could be anything I mentioned. I thought it best that you would have a champion to defend against whatever he tries, which is where you come in.”
“But you said you hit me by accident?”
“Yes, but it turned
