BOOK PREVIEW - THE GHOSTS OF EIGRIL

Planet: Gizmok - year (79)889 - the month of Pikkar - 15th day

PROLOGUE

A shadowy figure emerged from out of a darkened recess of the building she’d just come to.  It gave her a start, but she shouldn’t have jumped.  She’d already expected it, and there was nothing she could do.  It was too late to back out now anyway.

Naelmii took a deep breath and waited.  A voice came to her in a rough whisper, grating on her nerves as the sound wrapped around her ears.  

“Who goes?  Say your piece, or run now.  I will will not speak twice.”

“I am Naelmii.  The qaalumii gives food to all.”  She spoke the code words slowly so there would be no mistake.

“Come, be quick about it.  The enemy is ever present.”  And the shadow disappeared.  

Naelmiii hurried after it.  She knew it would not wait for her.  They expected her to have her wits about her, and not hesitate for anything. As much as it ramped of her sense of wrongness, she entered the recess and was suddenly pitched into complete darkness.   

She felt her way along the wall until her hands found an opening and followed it.  The sound of  shuffling footfalls ahead of her was her only guide through the darkness.  

It seem to go on forever, the air smelling dank and musty, leading downward into something cold and ominous.  Far ahead there was a pinprick of light, and strangely, it gave her a small measure of comfort.  There was nothing comforting about the utter blackness she found herself in, and she began to question her choices of the last few days.  What made her agree to this insane plan anyway?  This was normally something she wouldn’t have done, but desperation had a way of moving the perimeter of her boundaries into uncharted territory.

As she moved ahead through the dark, the pin prick of light grew, until she could just make out the rough texture under her hands.  It materialized into a mildew-covered, stonework wall, probably from an older part of the city deep underground.  Then, in front of her there appeared a partly open door, made of rough wood with rusty hinges and an old-style latch.  

She gave it a tentative push, but it held in place, probably rusted fast already for years. The opening was just wide enough to let her through, and the cloth of her tunic scraped along the edge of the door.  The sound of it reminded her of the last time she’d heard her father as he was dragged out of their flambatix while she lay hidden in the storage space under the bridge.  The memory of him spurred her on, determined to see this through to the end, whatever the outcome held for her.

“Stop!” The command filtered out from another doorway ahead.  She’d found herself in a claustrophobic space barely high enough to let her stand up straight, and she hoped that the next room was a little more spacious than where she waited now.  Her breath was already coming in short gasps from the pressed-in confines of the space.  She did not like small areas.  The hours of hiding in the storage space while her father had been roughly questioned and then taken, had left a permanent scar on her psyche.

But, she stood resolutely and waited.  “Who goes, and what say you?”  Again with the code words?  “The qaalumii gives food to all.” she said impatiently, willing the voice in the next room to hurry up and let her pass.  Her impatience didn’t seem to have any impact on whoever was in the next space and without thought, she took a step forward as the overwhelming sense of suffocation dropped over her.  She needed air, space, anything to lift the dreaded claustrophobic sensation.

“Move forward, and let me see who you are.”

Without another moment of hesitation, Naelmii lunged for the open door and stood blinking in the light that suddenly flooded her eyes.

“So.  You come.”

Before she could get a good look at the apparition that sat on the other side of the room, the light from an overhead glow-light hanging from a ceiling beam briefly blinded her.   She squeezed her eyes into slits until she grew accustomed to it.  The lamp guttered and flared periodically, as if the fuel flowed to it only intermittently.  As her eyes adapted she took a relieved and deep breath.  Whatever else, it felt good to suddenly breathe again, until the apparition shifted in its seat and spoke again.

“I did not expect that you, of all people, would come to our way of thinking.”

For the first time Naelmii had a good look at who or whatever it was that sat in shadow in the corner of the room. The entity sitting there was not a floog, one of her own kind.  She couldn’t identify it, but it was definitely alien.  

Squat and lumpy, it had a bony portion that bulged in a T-section over over two beady eyes and ran down the front length of its face.  Two elongated holes seemed to be all there was for a nose.  Protruding from the mouth were yellowed coarse strings; presumably teeth.  Large disk-like extensions sat on either side of its head, and above each of the round purplish humps flopped two lobes. At the very top of its head were two fleshy antenae.  It was difficult to decide what of anything functioned as ears.  The rest of the body was covered in a drab robe.

  It seemed to have no substance about itself, shifting and fading in and out as she stared.  She could see parts of the wall that rose behind it, coming in and out of focus.  The thing almost looked like a ghost as it wavered in front of her.

Up to now, Naelmii hadn’t given much thought to what would happen next, or who else would be involved in the plot she’d uncovered in her search for her father.  Nervous again, she thought about it now as she listened to what the apparition had said.  Quickly, she reviewed the ideas she’d concocted in her mind, in order to infiltrate the mysterious group she’d discovered.  She swallowed nervously, and said in a quivering voice, “I’ve come to understand a few things.  I think I have the right to change my mind if I want to, do you not think?”

“My, you are a feisty one, aren’t you?”

There was a pause and they stared at each other.  Naelmii shrugged, and gathered her wits about her.  “So, I’ve been told.” she replied tersely.  “And who are you?” she asked as an afterthought, growing braver.

The apparition began to laugh, “Indeed, who am I.”  It was not a question.  Naelmii waited, continuing to stare at the ghostly thing that sat in the corner.  

“Come closer, and sit.  We should have a nice talk, and find out what you are all about.”  Naelmii sat on the only other stool available, never taking her eyes off her host.

It began, “I imagine you have questions, but first, let me get a sense of who you are, and what you have…”   Naelmii cut in, “I know what I am, but I have never seen anything quite like you before.  You keep fading in and out of my sight.  Are you a hologram?  What are you?”

The apparition leaned forward abruptly with an angry twitch to its nebulous form, glowering at her, “Never interrupt me again,” it hissed menacingly, “never do that again girl!  Do you understand me?  In good time, you will have your answers.”  Naelmii swallowed and sat back further on the stool.  Fine.  She could wait.  It had taken this long already.  She could wait as long as she needed to.  The apparition began speaking again, calmer this time, as if nothing had ever occurred.

“I am an Egrillian.  I may look a little strange to you but, I am what I am.”

So this is an alien from Eigril?  As far as she knew, nothing much was known about the mysterious planet called Eigril.  She’d never seen an Egrillian on Gizmok, and she wondered why this one was here now.  She thought maybe she should let the authorities know about this.  But how?  Was it a smart thing to do just when she was closer to her goal?

Breaking into her thoughts, the Egrillian continued, “The filthy hu-mans grow more numerous in this sector as we speak.  Even now, there are more scheduled for arrival.  You spoke of ways to get rid of them, and I am very interested in hearing what you have in mind.”

Naelmii quickly rehearsed the points she’d devised which might interest them enough to let her join.  She needed to infiltrate this group.  They knew where her father was, if indeed, he was still alive.  The Egrillian in front of her sat up expectantly, eager to hear what she had to offer.  Naelmii only hoped that what she told to this one, would be enough to finally lead to her father, or get answers to what became of him.

Naelmii took a deep breath, and in her most convincing voice, began to persuade the alien to let her join their cause.

Chapter 1

Planet: Earth - YVR International airport, Vancouver, Canada

 - interstellar travel concourse year AD 2048

 - the month of August - 18th day

Milly stood, hopping impatiently from one foot to the other as she inspected each face coming through the gate at the inter-planetary arrivals/departures wing at the airport.  She could hardly wait until Lewis stood in front of her.  She had so much news to tell him, she was almost bursting, as she imagined her newly minted class 7 Novice driver’s license almost thrumming with a life of its own in her wallet.

Lewis’ interstellar flight was due in any moment, and Milly’s dad, Graham, who was still nervous about letting his little girl drive all by herself, stood smiling at her enthusiasm.  Her life-long friendly rivalry with her older brother was well documented.  He knew the young man was going to get a sister’s double whammy this time.  The new driver’s license wasn’t the only thing she was going to crow about over his head.  Unfortunately, she had very little time to do it.  She was scheduled to leave on the same flight back, and it left within the hour from the next gate over.

Lewis stood in the entrance to the arrivals hall, looking over the few heads that stood waiting for inter-planetary travellers.  Milly began to jump up and down in earnest then, and she gave a shout.

“Lewis, Lewis!  Over here!”

Then, he stood smiling in front of them as he grabbed his dad’s hand, “Hey Pops!  It’s great to be back.  Howyadoin’ little sister?” He grinned at the excited young lady, rubbing his hand through her curls.  She pulled away, annoyed, and tried valiantly to get right in his face.

“Ha!  Got my driver’s license and I’m leaving on the same flight you came in on.  Hope you kept my seat warm!”

“You’re going?  Like, right now, this instant?  I’m not even going to get the chance to curl your hair with all my exploits and derring-do?  Really?  You’d take that away from me?”

Lewis feigned hurt as he teased his sister, whose already overly curly and slightly reddish-blonde hair, which she’d tied behind her head in an effort to tame it, bounced around  in abandon.

“I don’t want my hair any curlier than it already is,” she griped, “and, for your information, I’d rather partake of all that supposed ‘derring-do’ first-hand, if you don’t mind!”

Graham cut in on the teasing to remind her that she needed to get to the departure area.  She pulled her phone out of a pocket and pulled up the ticket.

“Got it!  I’m gone!  ‘Bye Daddy!  See you in a month!”  She gave Graham a tight hug and quick kiss on the cheek, stuck her tongue out to Lewis in passing, and disappeared down the hall.  He grinned at her back as she ran for the departure gate.

“Same old Milly, huh Pops?”

“Oh yeah.  Nothing’s changed.” He shook his head, then moved on to more important things.

“How were the talks with …” he hesitated, searching for the proper titles for the floog dignitaries Lewis had met with.  Lewis laughed, sensing his father’s difficulty, “Yeah, I know.  They’re called the Etefing.  It means council.”

“Yeah, that.  How did it go?”

“Not bad, actually.  They want me to set up an outline of a trade agreement between Awatto and Vancouver.”

He stopped to set his bag down, opened it, pulled something out and handed it to Graham.  

“I wanted to give you this before Mom saw it.  It’s from Xerix and Qantuu.”  Lewis handed him a tiny wrapped package.  

“What is it?”  Graham stared at it, and carefully peeled the wrapping off.  He stared at a small, colourful, curled-up object in the palm of his hand, almost resembling a knot of thick string.  

“It’s an enamelled Oomor seed, given to intended mates before marriage, something like a ring.  I think they don’t consider themselves properly paired off until they get one.” 

Graham stared at it for a moment.  “So, they don’t consider me properly married until I have one of these?”

Lewis laughed, “You’re supposed to give it to Mom.  And, you might be right, who knows?  Krikkel-na Qantuu just thought it would be a nice gesture, Mom’s dad being raised as a floog and all.

“I think Qantuu wanted Mom to have it as thanks for all the chocolate she sent along.  As it turns out, the floog just love our chocolate, among other things, so they’re eager to have a trade agreement...”  Lewis began to laugh.  “…and I have a sneaking suspicion that Krikkel-na was behind the chocolate angle.”

*********

Milly took her seat in the saucer-shaped space craft.  She found it unbelievable to finally be inside the very thing that she’d heard about many times in Grampa’s stories, and seen with her own eyes only once.  She was sitting in a flambatix, a real flambatix.  Most floog referred to it as a flam.  She seen them from the outside lots of times, but had never been inside one until now.

There were several others sitting in the seats around her and she looked at them shyly, wondering what they were going to Gizmok for. Vacation?  Business?  She’d been told Gizmok was a beautiful planet, with an even, balmy temperature year-round due to the angle of the planet in relation to their sun, Loo.  Eternal summer, at least in the broad equatorial zone, where most of the population lived, sounded like heaven to her.

As she sat, a gourd-shaped and uniformed alien from Gizmok - floog came around with small electronic devices, handing one to each passenger.  They were universal translators meant to be worn in the human ear.  When the floog came around to her she took it, smiling at the small, blue alien as she did.   She inserted the device as the alien waited, then heard the words, “Test.  Please, say something.”

Milly complied, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The floog broke out in a wide grin. “Yes!  I understand you perfectly!”  Milly found it a little disconcerting at first to hear an alien language coming from the attendant in front of her, while in her ear English was being spoken.

She, for the floog was a blue female, moved on to the next passenger and repeated the procedure.  When all the passengers were likewise supplied, the floog flight attendant stood smiling in front of them and announced, “Now that we all understand each other properly, I will inform you of a few things.”

The entire spiel sounded almost like the last time Milly had flown on an airlines flight, with the flight attendant giving much the same thing; safety procedures, pertinent flight regulations, upcoming meals or snacks - all the regular trappings of air travel.

She remembered Lewis’ account of his first inter-stellar flight on board a purloined flam six years ago.  He and Grampa had to stay on the bridge during the flight, as there were no accommodations for passengers.  Since then, new flams had been reconfigured to accommodate rows of passenger seats on a lower level, with added viewing windows so they could enjoy the view of space.  She wished she could see it all from the bridge and upper dome, which offered a spectacular panorama of space through its completely clear half shell.

A humming vibration started, and they were instructed to fasten seatbelts.  Hers had been done up the moment she sat.  Her heart began to beat a little faster in anticipation of her first-time flight into outer space.  She’d seen images and videos of views and experiences of astronauts working on the International Space Station over the years, but she imagined the real deal would be one hundred times more spectacular.

The humming increased, but there was no sensation of lift as Earth’s surface began to recede in the view-port.  This was so different from taking off in a plane.  She’d heard Lewis talking about something called inertial dampeners.  That must be it, she thought, something to negate the feeling of being pressed down in your seat.  

That thought led to gravity, or, the lack of, in space.  Lewis had never described floating in zero gravity while in flight, and she wondered if there would be an artificial gravity system on board.  As she thought this, an announcement came over the system.  

“Pseudo-grav will be engaged shortly. Please do not retract safety restraints until instructions to do so.”

A few passengers had reached for their seat-belts as the announcement came on, but quickly pulled their hands back.  Outside, the light filtering into the cabin was growing dim, the sky had turned a deep purple, almost black and she knew they were close to outer space.  Interior lights grew brighter. 

The black grew complete a few moments later, and she felt a tiny lurch in her stomach, then nothing.  A computerized voice intoned, pseudo-grav engaged.  She was free of Earth’s gravity well.  She was in space!  At that moment, the pilot’s voice came over the system again.

“Ladies and gentlemen hu-mans, welcome aboard the inter-stellar flam, Zarno.  We hope you enjoy your flight to our beautiful world of Gizmok.  This is pilot, Targan speaking to you from the bridge.  Please feel free to remove your restraints now and relax.  A meal will be served shortly.  Time to our destination is approximately twenty Earth hours.  Your seats will fully recline and your personal overhead lights can be dimmed, if you wish to sleep.  A covering and head-pillow will be provided.  Let your attendant know of your needs.

“Please be aware that we will be passing through a worm hole in space as we pass Mars.  For some of you this might generate some uncomfortable sensations, and we will assist in mitigating this if you request assistance.  We will announce the worm hole passage at the appropriate time.

“At this time I would like to give a special welcome to one of our passengers.  I understand that the granddaughter of our own hero, E-fan, is a passenger on this flight.  Welcome aboard Miss Reesh-mon.  We hope you have a pleasant flight indeed!”

As Milly scooted down in her seat in embarrassment at being singled out, the passengers all applauded.  The attendant approached her, laughing as she did.

“Well that was rather unexpected for you, wasn’t it?”

Milly agreed.  The attendant, who’s name tag read “Floriin” in English, laughed again, “You didn’t think you’d take your first flight to Gizmok, and have it go unnoticed, did you?  Did you not know that your Krikkon is much revered in our society?  You should be able to take advantage of that just a little.”  

Milly thought that it wouldn’t hurt to take advantage of a little notoriety at certain times, as long it didn’t get too crazy.   Another thought ran through her head, How do I remember all the unfamiliar names I’m hearing?   So, she thought of Floriin as “flowering”, although she hoped she wouldn’t inadvertently call her that.  The pilot, Targan she thought of as “target”.  I’ll remember their names that way, she hoped.  

Floriin broke into her thoughts. “The pilot would like to invite you to come up to the bridge.  Are you interested?”

Was she interested?  “Oh yes!  Please!  And thank you so much for inviting me.”

She got up eagerly out of her seat.  A few passengers looked on with a little envy in their eyes, while others smiled at her as she went by.  A short flight of steps at the front of the cabin led to the bridge above, and the view opened up completely with the clear dome above her head.

It took her breath away.  There was utter inky black, set with points of light everywhere she looked.  She could see the thick and glowing swath of stars, gas and dust smeared across the ink that gave the Milky Way Galaxy its name.  Earth was a glowing blue ball surrounded by wispy white, and hanging in nothing.  An unnamed emotion rose up in her as she took it all in, almost filling her eyes.  

She swallowed hard and blinked a few times, staring instead at the grinning crew who stood as she entered the bridge area.  The pilot, co-pilot, two engineers and first officer standing at their stations all turned to her.

The attendant whispered into her ear with a smile, “Ask permission to board the bridge.”  Some customs spanned cultures and worlds.

She cleared her throat, “Permission to board the bridge?”

The pilot smiled, “Well, I did invite you, did I not?”

Milly laughed out loud, “Just following instructions, sir.”

“Welcome aboard Miss Reesh-mon.  We hope your flight is pleasant and memorable.”  The pilot, Targan paused for a moment, and gestured her over to where he stood at the helm.

“Would you like to steer?”

Milly gave him a pretend-startled look, saying, “Do you trust me?  I just got my driver’s license, so I’m still very new at steering anything.”

The entire crew burst out laughing at the joke, and the co-pilot, standing a few feet away at his own station piped up.  “Do not worry young hu-man, none of us will let you steer us into the wrong planet.”

Milly took the helm and felt the hum of the engine under her hands.  “Don’t you have auto-pilot?” she asked.

“Of course we do, but where is the fun in that?” laughed Targan.  “Watch this!’

He put his right hand over top of hers on the helm, pushed ahead slightly, and ran one of his two left-hand fingers over a smooth panel next to it.  The saucer swung sideways in a swoop as the stars fell across the dome in a dizzying trajectory.  At a finger-slide back the other way, the vista outside the dome swung back again.  

“You cannot do that on auto-pilot!  It is very boring.”

Milly giggled in her nervousness.  “They’re going to look at me funny when I go back down below.”

“Tell them their pilot has just earned his driver’s license, and he is still very new at steering anything.” he grinned mischievously.  The crew laughed uproariously.

Milly was beginning to like this pilot, as well as his his crew and their collective wicked sense of humour.

Finally, after almost an hour of demonstrations and explanations of what each of the instrument panels were for, and how they worked, she went back to her seat to a hot meal.  She tasted a mixture of familiar food, with a strong hint of something exotically savoury, and she wondered if the chefs had devised dishes that blended the foods from both planets.   Whatever it was, it was delicious.

She was getting a little tired after all the excitement and her eyes felt heavy.  She’d been up since six that morning in her excitement to be off to another galaxy.  Finding the button that eased her seat into a recline position, she signalled Floriin over to ask for a blanket and pillow.

“I’d like to take a nap, but I don’t want to miss going through a worm-hole … and I want to see Mars!  Could you wake me up before we go through?” she asked the attendant.  

Floriin smiled indulgently at her, “Certainly Miss Reesh-mon, I will wake you in plenty of time to experience the event.”

As she buried her nose underneath the soft blanket and closed her eyes, her last thought was, I don’t believe this.  I’m dreaming, and I’ll wake up in my own bed.

*********

A gentle touch on her shoulder had her instantly awake.  “We will be entering the wormhole shortly.”  a voice whispered, blending in with a lingering dream, while Milly looked sleepily at the blue face that spoke further, “If you wish to see Mars, it will be in view very soon.”

She pushed the blanket off and peered out at the view.  Floriin explained, “If you direct your gaze to the front, Mars will appear very soon as a small red point of light, and grow quickly.  Keep watching.  It goes by fast.”

The attendant left and came back a few moments later, with a large, silvery mauve box floating in front of her.  “May I offer you some refreshment?  I have juice, water, tea and kajuku, which is similar to your coffee.”

Milly ordered some juice and a tea, continuing to keep an eye out the window as she took the drinks.  The attendant pushed a button on her arm rest and an ample tray rose from the floor in front of her.  There was plenty of room between her and the seat ahead of her for it to rise unimpeded.  

“Push it again when you want the table to retract.” said Floriin.

“I think our airlines could take a page or two out of your book.” Milly laughed.  Floriin smiled, “Yes, I have heard some stories of your airline amenities.”  They both laughed, knowingly.  Earthly economy class travel stories had already reached Gizmok space.

Then suddenly, a red glowing ball of light through the window caught her eye.  “Is that it?” she asked excitedly.  Without looking, the attendant glanced at her wrist comm, and replied simply, “That is it.”

Milly stared, her drinks forgotten, as the red glow grew larger.  She could see the famous ‘roads’ now, the lines criss-crossing the planet that ancient astronomers had believed for years were real roads.  The nearer they approached the planet, the less the ‘roads’ were noticeable, until they turned into wide and deep valleys.  Before long the red planet took up the entirety of the view-port, then was gone.  The flam made a slight turn and it was behind them, out of sight.

“Another computerized voice intoned; “Worm-hole entrance imminent, please fasten safety restraints.”

She buckled up quickly as the attendant again stood at the front of the cabin. “Please be advised that you may feel an uncomfortable sensation as we enter the worm-hole.  If you need it, we can provide a medication that will alleviate most of it.  Please let me know.”  She looked intently at her wrist comm and began a count down.  “Twenty seconds …. Eighteen ….”

As she counted, Milly wondered what she’d feel.  Some of the passengers had stated that they never felt anything going through, others mentioned a dizzying or nauseous feeling.  For everyone it was slightly different.

“… nine …. eight … seven … six … five … four … three … two …one.” A very slight wobble that was barely perceptible to Milly occurred on the one-count, and the view outside suddenly blanked out.  There was nothing out there, like a dead black curtain had been drawn over the window.  Floriin began handing out small tablets from a vial to a few passengers who’d raised their hands.  Milly felt nothing except a tightening and prickling of her scalp.

“Huh,” she thought out loud, “I have ‘worm-hole immunity’!”  She grinned to herself, hooda thunk?  The attendant gave her a questioning look, something Milly always wondered about, how floog could do that, considering they had no eyebrows, and Milly shook her head in response.  She was fine.  Floriin gave an approving nod and moved on.

After finishing her tea and setting aside the juice for later, she snuggled back down under her blanket, since there was nothing to see, and dozed off.  She had no idea how much time passed, but the next thing she knew, an announcement came over the system again about snacks.  She wasn’t one to pass on snacks, so roused herself long enough to accept a generous package of sweetened, dried urckberries, another drink and a small wrapped loaf of something that looked like reddish pound cake.  Maybe they had their own version of Red Velvet cake.

Milly stirred another cup of tea, unwrapped the loaf and took a small bite.  A sensation exploded in her mouth and her eyes widened.  “What is this?” she exclaimed out loud, “It’s fire!”

Floriin ran over to her in alarm.  “Is everything all right, Miss Reesh-mon?  What is wrong?  Is the gamdok cake not to your tastes?”

Milly looked at the attendant in confusion, not quite understanding why she would be alarmed, and then began to laugh when she understood.  The shocked look of the attendant disappeared off her face.

Milly explained, “OMG, no!  It’s RAD!  Awesome!  It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted!  Fire is slang for amazing, that’s all.  Guess I should be careful with words around floog.  But I’m sure gonna get the recipe from my Krikkel-na! 

The two of them laughed over the mistranslation of words, and Floriin promised herself that she’d learn more of this Earth slang to further educate herself.  She also noted the use of contractions of words in their language, and wondered if she would ever get used to it.

Before Milly knew it, thirteen hours had gone by from the time of lift-off.   Another meal had been served, and she wondered what the new galaxy would offer in the way of scenery.  It would be another seven hours before they reached Gizmok.  It wasn’t long before the attendant again stood at the front of the cabin to warn passengers of the worm-hole exit.  Milly stared at her watch, wondering how much longer to Gizmok.  As they passed through the exit, the same scalp sensations again prickled over her head, the same passengers as before requested meds.  Snacks, drinks and another hearty meal was served before they finally approached their destination.  It all whizzed by in a plethora of sights that made up the Klaxarian galaxy, that was almost overwhelming.  

And then the passenger craft, Zarno was parked on the tarmac of another world; the one her Grampa had grown up on and talked about forever and ever.

*********

Somewhere on another part of this same world, in a dank cell, a mysterious figure slid into the chamber that made up his favourite room, the one he did his best work in.  A figure cowered in a dark corner.  At the sight of the door opening, the prisoner shrank back even further.

“Who are you?” he rasped, his throat parched from lack of water.  Vuu-tak turned up the light just enough to make himself partially visible.  Not too much.  The low light made his form transparent, and he adjusted the lamp to make it gutter.  It would look like he was fading in and out, serving as a powerful trigger in the mind of the one under his tortuous administrations.  The mind would break soon.

Silently he signalled a guard to bring the prisoner to the platform in the centre of the room, and adjusted one single light source above it.  After the floog had been fastened down and immobilized, Vuu-tak approached from behind and leaned closer.  “Have you thought on what I’ve requested from you?” he hissed in the floog’s ear.  The exhausted creature shook his head. 

“I will not.  I will not.”

“Foolish floog, like all of you are.  You do not know when you are beaten, when it would be wise to give up.  Stupid, stupid.”

The floog continued to shake his head, moving side to side like an automaton.

“Here, perhaps this will persuade you.”

A long thin instrument was inserted slowly into the sensitive part behind the vestigial finger on his wrist.  The floog screamed, a high-pitched wail that pierced the air.  The ear dampeners Vuu-tak wore did their job, and the higher-decibel of the scream did not penetrate the finer ear-bones that would have picked up the vibrations.  Vuu-tak enjoyed the muted sounds of the screaming, and did it again, pushing in a bit deeper this time.  The floog passed out.  He snapped his fingers and a guard came with a container of water, threw it in the floog’s face, and waited.  He came to moaning, “Please, please, no more.”

“Ahhh, you wish to agree then?”

The floog shook his head again, eyes closed, breathing hard.

Again and again, the instrument was inserted, a different place each time, just behind the vestigial finger, where floog were most sensitive.  Again and again, he screamed, all the while shaking his head, no.  It baffled Vuu-tak to no end.  This never occurred.  Everyone he had ever ‘persuaded’ had come completely under his control long before this.  He didn’t understand it at all.

Against his better judgement, Vuu-tak took a different tack.  If this next bit didn’t work, it would be the first time he’d failed.  N’Aa-bool would be very disappointed.  Vuu-tak was the best, and he did not want to dwell on what would be done to him if he failed.  He could not.

“I know you have a daughter somewhere.  How would you like to have her enjoy my ministrations, hm?”

The floog opened his eyes wide and a wildness took hold that set Vuu-tak momentarily back on his heels.  

“You touch my daughter, and I will find a way to blast Eigril out of this galaxy, and send it into the depths of abaddon, and every miserable Egrillian with it!”  the floog rasped slowly at him.

“I will take that as a ‘no’ then.  Perhaps I should leave you alone for a bit, and let you think about the consequences of your refusal.  I am nothing if not considerate.”

So saying, Vuu-tak left the room, seething.  This had never happened and he needed to devise another plan.  Perhaps persuading the daughter would do the trick after all, if he could find her.

Chapter 2

Awatto - capital of Gizmok

year (79)889 - the month of Dattom - 29th day

There were so many hugs Milly had trouble catching her breath.  Krikkel-na Qantuu had thrown her arms tightly around the girl and exclaimed, “You have become so tall now, I will have to carry a ladder around with me!”  Milly giggled, picturing it.  It was true literally.  She stood at a little over 170 cm now, and the average floog was only 104 cm.  On average female floog at least had the advantage of a taller physique than the males, but still, the humans towered above them all.  It was rare for the two species to stand eye to eye, except those humans who were height challenged, like those afflicted with dwarfism.  The floog treated those individuals in particular with great respect.  Seeing “eye to eye” in the literal sense was highly valued.

“You have come at a very opportune time, Mee-lee!” Krikkon-da Xerix beamed up at her.  “We are making preparations to move to Awatto, and Krikkel-na could really use your help.”  Qantuu’s eyes lit up at the implied promise of help, until Xerix added, “Kikkel-na is not as young and spry as she used to be.”  

Milly glanced at her great-grandmother, read the look on her face, and tsked at Xerix over his dig on her age.  She waggled her finger in his face and chided him on the unwanted reminder of a lady’s advancing age.  That was never done, no matter which world they were on.   Xerix grinned, “I am always in trouble anyway, so I might as well make it worthwhile.”

Milly had noticed that both of them were a little greyer looking than the last time she’d seen them.  In the excitement of the reunion, however, she was only dimly aware that they were getting old.  Both still had that gleeful sparkle in their eyes, that she loved about them.  Rix, the town where they lived, was not far away, by torv, a rail-car, perhaps half an hour.  Of course, that would be half a Gizmok hour, which would be about forty-five minutes.  

Milly wondered how she would make out with the longer days and time here.  Lewis had warned her after his first visit, that it might take a week before she was accustomed to it.  She decided to ditch her watch and go with the flow.  Jump in with both feet, as it were.  It was pointless to try calculating what time it would be on Earth.  

She could feel that the gravity had more pull here as well.  She felt heavier than ever, and she wasn’t exactly a lightweight on Earth either, with her chunky build.  She wished she had the slenderness of Lewis and her grandfather, but she was stuck with the mystery genetics she’d inherited from Grampa’s biological parents.

Chunky genetics was still on her mind as they finally pulled in at the house where Qantuu had already laid out a feast of sorts that Qantuu’s neighbours had helped put together.  Raahsi and Selfat still lived next door, growing old in the home they’d had since just before Grampa Ethan had come to live with them.  Settled floog apparently didn’t move around much.  Raahsi stood now in her doorway, having heard the vehicle turn in.  She gave Milly just as tight a hug as Qantuu had done, and Selfat wasn’t too far behind.

“Grampa has told us so much about the two of you, and your son, Zigmin too!  I’ve heard the stories my whole life, so I feel I’ve I’ve already known you forever!” Milly exclaimed to the pair.

Selfat stood back and frowned, “I hope he did not tell too many stories about me in the early days.  I was not exactly friendly to him in the beginning.”

Milly laughed, “Don’t worry Mr. Selfat, They were more funny than bad.  We always had to laugh at them, and they made good lessons too.”

Raahsi nodded knowingly, “I’m quite sure Selfat’s behaviour made for a few very good teaching moments.”  Selfat smiled a little sheepishly at himself.  “I probably deserved it.”

Milly patted him on the arm, “It’s the ‘now’ that counts.”

“Ah,” observed Selfat, nodding, “she has the same streak of wisdom as E-fan.”

“I am sure you are hungry after your long trip!” Qantuu remarked, as she steered them all deftly inside.  The dining table was already laden, thanks to the assistance of Raahsi while the elderly pair had gone to the spaceport.  A variety of dishes, all of them unfamiliar to Milly, were spread across the table.  The smell, however was so tempting that her mouth began to water.  Sitting among all the delectable food was a loaf she instantly recognized.

“Is that gamdok cake?  I love gamdok cake!” she exclaimed.

“Qantuu looked surprised, “Your Maamel makes gamdok cake?  I do not believe I have ever given her the recipe.”

“No no, I had a piece on the flight here.  It was so good, I will definitely twist your arm for the recipe.”

Both Qantuu and Raahsi looked alarmed.

“Oh dear, I must remember to watch my slang and English sayings around you.  ‘Twisting the arm’ simply means persuasion with emphasis.  I’m sorry for any confusion and I promise never to actually twist anyone’s arm.”

Qantuu started to laugh.  “Oh my.  This brings me back to the years when I was raising your Krikkon.  He had so many of those, that I never quite knew what he was talking about, but scaring me to no end.”

Milly had to laugh just as hard. “He still does it, only in floogese.  It drives my mom crazy …. oh … sorry, that’s another saying … she’s really not.”

The laughter continued, while dishes were passed around.  As the comfortable chatter and family  ambiance washed over her, something occurred to Milly.

“Krikkon-da, why are you moving to Awatto?”

There was a pause in the table conversation.  Xerix answered , looking a little sad. 

“We are getting old, Krikkel-na and I.  This house and property require work that we can no longer do with any ease.  It is time for us to …” he searched for a word .. “sizedown … be nearer to family.  Wazo,  Qiin and their families all live in Awatto now.  We wish to be nearer.”

Raahsi looked a little crestfallen at the turn of the conversation, and remarked, “We will miss you when you go, being so close by has been good.”

“My grampa is 87 years old now.  How old are you, exactly?” Milly asked.  She’d never thought about Xerix or Qantuu’s age before, but it suddenly occurred to her that these elderly floog must be ancient.

“I am 153 years old now.” Xerix shook his head.  “I only have a few years left to me.  It is time to think of living a simpler life.”

Milly gasped. “One hundred and fifty-three!  Are you kidding me?  I’ll be lucky if I live to one hundred!”

“Floog live long lives,” Qantuu smiled, “the average age for floog is one hundred seventy-five.”

“One hundred seventy-five.” Milly repeated the number in awe.  “And your years are longer than Earth years …” She did a quick calculation in her head, “That would be about …. 210 Earth years?!”  She stared incredulously at Xerix and then Qantuu.  “Wow!”

The conversation turned to age and years and the productivity of those years.  Selfat joked that if he’d be given another one hundred years he’d be making sure that somehow they’d find a way to pull ‘Urf’ and Gizmok’s galaxies closer together, except for the planet Brak and those excruciatingly annoying ghimbob.  They’d gladly leave that planet behind.  Milly had long ago heard about the last ghimbob epidemic during Grampa’s boyhood years, and she also knew of a secret that Brak held for them.  

The conversation faded into the background as she thought about it.  James Robert Jones; a 1960’s hippy and free-spirit, stow-away on Xerix’s flam before it headed back to Gizmok after an excursion to Earth, banished to Brak after stealing a flam to go travel and ‘do his own thing’ … and the biological father of her Grampa.  She wondered how he’d fared on that planet in the years following, probably long dead by now. 

“… helping your krikkel-na pack up, perhaps you want to visit Zigmin.  He would love to meet you.”  Raahsi’s voice beside her brought Milly back to the present with a start.

“I’m sorry, pardon?”  Milly apologized.  “I .. my mind was somewhere else for a moment,”  

Raahsi laughed, “You must be getting tired.  I was saying Zigmin and his family would love to meet you.  He lives near Awatto, in Kremsim.  They could not be here today, but if you like, he wishes that you come and visit them for a few days.”

“I would love to meet Ziggy .. Zigmin.  Grampa talked lots about him!” Milly clapped her hands in delight.  “I grew up on those stories!”

“Wonderful!  I will arrange it after our friends are settled in Awatto.  Zigmin will be delighted!”

That night, as she finally laid her head down on the pillow, Milly’s mind was still whirling with all the events of the last number of hours.  There had been so much to take in; things that had previously only seemed like fairy tales and make-believe, even though she knew that they were actual, still took on its own bona fide reality now.  Like when she’d finally gone with her family to a famous theme park that she’d only ever heard about from other people.  All of it became substantial to her only now.

She started a journal at the beginning of the trip, and as usual she spent the last hour before bed putting all the experiences and impressions down on paper.  Normally it would be on her laptop, but the battery and electrical systems wouldn’t be compatible here, so she resorted to a very old analogue system, the same one most previous generations had relied on for years; pen and paper.

*********

The next few days were spent sorting, packing and throwing out or giving away the things Xerix and Qantuu didn’t wish to take.  Qantuu had made a start on the work long before Milly had arrived, and she dug into the rest of the packing with gusto, while Qantuu continued the sorting and making decisions on what to do with the stuff she didn’t want. 

Finally, it was done, and they watched as the last of the packed goods were loaded on the air conveyance parked in front of the house.  A shuttle to the torv station stood waiting an hour later.  

Raahsi and Selfat stood with them, still hugging.  Floog did not have the ability to cry, but Milly could almost see a little dampness below Raahsi’s eyes.  Maybe it was only her imagination.  A lump had formed in her own throat as she watched two life-long friends and neighbours cling to each other until the last moments.

A new home in Awatto waited for two elder floog, a simpler living arrangement, and their neighbours promised to visit often.  Perhaps there was another move in the offing, if Selfat could talk himself out of his ‘set-in-stone’ ways.  Raahsi would see to that, if Qantuu knew her as well as she did.  

As Qantuu stepped into the shuttle there was a long, last look behind her at the home and gardens in which she’d spent her entire life with Xerix.  Then they were gone.

Chapter 3

Awatto - new home of Xerix - scientist-retired

year (79)889 - the month of Troo-ei- 11th day

With the move behind them, and all but the most unimportant household items in place in their new home, Xerix and Qantuu had had a surprise visit from Biik-Taar, who wanted to welcome them to Awatto as permanent residents.  What made the visitation so special was the fact that Biik-Taar was the Grande Floogonitel, the elected Leader of all Gizmok, and who also happened to be personal friends of Xerix and Qantuu.  

Milly couldn’t quite wrap her head around it all.  The last time she’d seen her great-grandparents, they been criminals on the run from Biik-Taar’s law enforcement agents.  She knew it had ended in Xerix and Qantuu’s favour, but still, to end up as personal friends was a little unusual to say the least.

When the Biik-Taar and her entourage had left, Qantuu suggested that Milly make time to visit Zigmin’s family in the next town, after a vid-call from Raahsi telling them that Zigmin’s grand-daughter anxiously awaited a visit from a “real hu-man”.  Milly had to laugh at that.  She’d never heard of an “unreal human”.

“Her name is Laah-Ya.” Qantuu told Milly, the same relative age as she was, and just as lively and curious, but a little shy around those she didn’t know.  Like Grampa Ethan, Zigmin had told her the stories of his hu-man friend who’d finally gone back to Earth.

She took the torv to Kremsim fifteen minutes away, where they lived.  She’d been given a wrist-comm, much like a cell phone from home, with all kinds of apps on it to help her navigate.  Some were written in floogese, but she was surprised to see some in English as well.  The floog had been hard at work, adding English translations to much of the tech, to entice humans to come visit their world.  With the icons self-explanatory, she didn’t need to do much to navigate through the device.  She’d also been given another ear-worn translator.

At the drop-point in Kremsim, a number of floog formed a small crowd waiting for those on board.  Milly tried to pick out which one would be her Grampa’s friend.  A greying-orange floog accompanying another with medium-hued denim blue skin stood a little apart from the crowd, eagerly watching her as she stepped off the car.  That could only be Zigmin and his granddaughter, Milly thought.  They both began grinning at her as they approached.  Well I can’t be that hard to pick out of a crowd of floog, she smiled inwardly.

“Greetings Mee-lee!” Zigmin hailed her with an upraised arm as he approached, a young floogel hiding shyly behind him.  “I am Zigmin and this is my krik-eltemi, my gran-dow-ter, Laah-Ya!” he said, struggling valiantly with the English word, as he brought the youngster forward.  

She was a slightly paler blue than a mature floog, and her pale coloured outfit set off the soft blue of her skin beautifully, Milly thought.  She’d finally noticed that all females wore shades of pale colours, as opposed to the male’s bright hues, and when she asked Qantuu about it, her great grandmother had explained that it was custom for females to wear pale colours.  

Looking at Laah-Ya’s skin, Milly wondered if it was close to the shade of a mature female floog.  She was curious to know if she’d be able to witness a Maa-Toor ceremony while she was here.  She’d not yet heard the beautiful whistle-piping that mature floog could produce with their odorits when they reached maturity.  It was reported to be quite lovely.

Grampa claimed he’d been able to do it himself with his own nose when he was young, but it was the one story both her and Lewis were sceptical of.  Neither of them had ever been able to produce a sound out of their noses that resembled anything close to a tune, and they’d finally given up trying, much to their mother’s relief.

Laah-Ya made an odd half-turn towards Milly, and she remembered the custom of hynblut upon an introduction of one new acquaintance to another.  She turned her hip and they bumped together briefly.

“Your Krikkon E-fan has taught you well!” Zigmin remarked happily.  “I had to warn Laah-Ya that you might not know, so I taught her the hu-man han-shayk custom as well.”

Laah-Ya stood now with her right hand out towards Milly, and she took that as well, shaking it and grinning.  “I’m Milly, and I’m very pleased to finally meet both of you!”   

She turned and gave Zigmin a bump, and then her hand as well, making the observation,  “We’re off to a good start then!  Both customs have been satisfied.”

It seem to break the awkward tension caused somewhat by Laah-Ya’s shyness, as the three of them laughed at the absurdity of the custom requirements.

“Come, we will go home for a wonderful visit.  You can tell me all about what your gran-fawder is doing these days.  The translator in Milly’s ear picked up Zigmin’s attempt at the English word as “unknown term”.  She laughed, and told him to just use his own words for whatever he wanted to say, and let the ear-bud do the rest.

Zigmin looked a little crest-fallen.  “But, I would like to practice my Urf words.” 

“Well, in that case, maybe I can teach you some more. How about some popular sayings like …. like …” Milly screwed up her mouth and thought hard, but all the sayings fled her mind, the harder she concentrated.

“..or maybe the latest slang words?” she compensated.

On the way to Laah-Ya’s home she recounted the small difficulties that had been caused by her automatic use of slang on the trip to Gizmok.  

“It would be useful, with the popularity of Gizmok visits by humans, if some of the slang and adages could be taught, to avoid misunderstandings.” she explained.

Laah-Ya, who had stayed relatively silent so far, piped up, “That is an excellent idea!  I am in my last term of specialized studies in techcomms.  We have been assigned to devise and create a program of our own making, using language-learning as a base.”  Laah-Ya beamed at her.  “You have just given me the idea for what kind of application I will develop as my final project!”

“And that is ..?” Milly was curious.

“I will create a portable program to apply to a wristcomm, listing all Urf slang terms and sayings, translated to floogese!”

“All of them?”

“Of course, all of them.”

“I could teach you some of them .. a lot of them, actually, but you might need to come to Urf…uh .. Earth to learn them all.”

Milly’s head suddenly filled with all sort of plans and ideas then.  “You could come to us and spend time on one of our computers to gather as much info as you wanted.”

Laah-Ya’s shyness was no longer evident as she beamed at the invitation.  “Oh yes, and it would be great fun to spend time with you as well!”  And so, an instant friendship was born. 

Zigmin shook his head in wonder, as the similarities of the little exchange in front of him brought him back to his own close youthful friendship with a small human boy.  It seemed like they’d come full circle.

The girls talked back and forth non-stop after that, and Zigmin could no longer get a word in edge-wise.  He sighed in relief.  He’d envisioned running interference between the two for the duration, trying to combat Laah-Ya’s shyness and making it all less awkward.  But Milly seemed to be able to draw her out with ease.

He settled back in the private ground car and let them hash out their future plans, and explanations of what interested them.  He listened as Milly explained how she was beginning her university studies as a journalism major.  Her ultimate goal was becoming a journalist, and maybe an author as well.  His own Laah-Ya wanted something in communications technology, where language was essential.  Their friendship would do them  both good.

He wished that the means to travel between planets had been available when he and E-fan had been separated by the galaxies.  They were still good friends but the practical applications had been lost.  Now, their different age-spans stood in the way.  He was still considered late middle age.  As a human, E-fan would be an old man.  He tried to calculate how old his friend would be, but could not.  He turned to Milly and asked, “How old is your krikkon now Mee-lee?”

“Grampa?  He’s eighty-seven now.”

Zigmin understood that eighty-seven Urf years was old for a hu-man.  He would have to make the best of whatever was left to them.  The old boy had always been sharp and it would have to do.  At the thought, he decided to make a few trips back to Urf before it was too late.

Chapter 4

Office of the Grande Floogonitel - Awatto

 - year (79)889 - the month of Troo-Ei - 11th day

Second Election Week

Eminence Biik-Taar read the reports of the pre-Vasta polls on her comm-screen with alarm.  Ten years and all she had done for her people, and now they want this?  She shook her head at the changes seemingly prevalent in people’s viewpoints.  Never before had she considered that they wanted the overbearing authority and stifling rules that the upcoming election’s opposing candidate, Klumf threw out at them in his speeches.

Did they now want restrictions on where families were allowed to live?  Changes in how voting was done?  Loosening of laws to permit arrests and charges on just about any type of anti-social behaviour?  For years everything had worked seamlessly, but slowly a faction had grown louder that change was needed.  They were not happy with the status quo anymore.  

If she asked anyone on the street, they would all answer, no, everything is just fine the way it is, but still there were rumblings, and now, with the sudden emergence of this new candidate they seemed to grow louder.  The half truths, exaggerations and outright lies that were evident in his speeches were almost sickening to hear.  It kept her awake at night, her stomach roiling with frustration.

Today, her aide,  Bilat had mentioned the worn-down look she’d taken on during the last week.  She needed to be on her best footing these next days if she wanted to make a good, solid, and reliable impression on the voters.  She needed this second term to finish what she started.  

If she lost, the entire trade agreement and excellent relations with the Urf  hu-mans would be destroyed.  She knew Klumf would rid Gizmok of every hu-man and send them packing.  He’d promised arrests for anyone who favoured any kind of relationship with hu-mans.  The elderly Xerix and Qantuu were in his sights already, simply for having their own adopted hu-man family.  No, she needed to win for everyone’s sakes.   How could anyone think like this?  Where did people like this come from? she asked herself. 

Bilat walked into her office and stopped dead in his tracks.  Your Eminence!  You are doing it again!” he chided her.

“What? What am I doing?  Biik-Taar jerked her head up and away from the screen.

“You are reading poll reports again, are you not?   You should never go by polls.  They are unreliable at best.  At worst, they will make you sick!”

She closed the screen and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.  “Yes, yes, you are right, but I cannot help it.  The people that want the kinds of changes being talked about seem to be too many for comfort.  What can I do to persuade them that they desire a kind of change that will hurt them?” she pleaded with him.

“Be yourself, be honest.  Remind them of what you have already done, and all you’ve accomplished in the last ten years.  And just think!  We are on the precipice of something even greater; interstellar trade with another planet!  Think of it!  You are making history; something that is historic, something good that will have a lasting impact!”

“Hearing it from you makes it all sound so good, but there are those who spread a far grimmer outcome; war, disease, religions that subjugate instead of enlighten.  The hu-man’s own history tells us this!”

“True, but people, both hu-man and floog can and do change, and we can be selective in who we admit as well.  If our own rules and standards are firm and enforceable, we can make it easier to keep the unsavoury at bay.  It is always a careful one step at a time we should follow.”

He laid a tablet in front of her and pointed to the display.  “I have set your itinerary for tomorrow, Eminence.  You have a meeting of the Council at the Awatto Celebration Centre.  They have opened it up for the public to attend, and it would be a good idea to include the points I’ve already spoken about in your speech.”  He paused, and added, “How was your visit to the retired scientist, Xerix and his mate?  Their guest from Urf seems to be a fine young hu-man by all reports.”

Biik-Taar’s face brightened, “It was a relaxing activity for once.  And, I would expect no less from that family than a fine young hu-man.  If only all people were like that.”

She glanced at the tablet’s contents one more time.  “I am glad that I paid a visit to them at their new abode before now.  This looks as if my time will be completely taken up for the next  while.”

Her itinerary showed a solid week and a half of travel to all major cities in a last push before Vasta, the election.  It had been the only chance she’d had  to visit them for the immediate future.

*********

“The Grande Floogonitel was at your house?!”  gasped Laah-Ya, her mouth open.  “That is so .. so .. fy-yer!” she breathed.  Milly clapped her hands in delight.  “You’re learning!” She congratulated Laah-Ya at the correct usage of ‘fire’, the slang word for amazing.  Laah-Ya’s parents and brother were equally impressed, the mother deciding that perhaps an extra helping of gambok cake might impress the young hu-man sufficiently in return.  Milly did not complain.

For the last two days, while visiting Zigmin’s family, Milly had the floogel practicing a dozen words in her new human slang vocabulary, in preparation for her assigned class project.  They had already determined that during the end-year break at Cuyckerfling, in almost four month’s time, Laah-Ya would travel to Earth to do a crash course in slang terminology and aphorisms on Milly’s home computer.  

The two girls had become the best of friends, and they could hardly wait to spend more time together.  Milly was anxious to show her around her own home planet the same way they’d done for her these few days.  

Yesterday they’d toured Awatto, the planet’s capital.  She’d seen all the museums and statues that Grampa had told them about, and she was ready to experience more of their actual social life.  All of it was entered into her journal, recounting everything, hoping that some day she could use the material to write a great novel.  She hoped all her writing would become useful for the university’s journalism courses.  Future days looked exciting and bright.

“A few of us are gathering to practice our joyodor skills after the night meal tomorrow.  Would you like to come with me?”  Laah-Ya asked her.

“Would I ever!  Absolutely yes! I’ve never heard floog sing with their odor.. its? … uh .. als?  I’m sorry, I can’t remember which is the female one.”  Milly looked a little sheepishly as her friend.  She should know by now.

Laah-Ya laughed. “The female’s is called the odoral.  You’ll remember which is which soon enough.”  She added as an after thought, “I am not very good at it yet.  My friend Tendik is so much better.  I’m sure he will win the competition at the next Maa-Toor celebration.  You seriously have never heard a floog perform Maa-Toor?  Ever?”  Milly shook her head.

“There will be Maa-Toor celebrations the month after Cuyckerfling.  If I can perform well, I will be considered Maa-Toor, an adult.  I hope I do well.”

Milly patted her friend’s arm, “I’m sure you’ll do very well.”

“You can tell me how I sound, when I sing tonight.  I hear that the hu-mans are very good at making their own kind of music.”

“Yeah, some are really good at it and some, not so much.  But, everyone has their own talents.”

“Yes,” sighed Laah-Ya, “that is what my Pomas always tell me as well.”

That evening, as the two of them walked to the popular gathering place that the younger set seemed to enjoy, Milly noticed colourful banners with floogese writing on them.  “What do those say?” She asked.  “I’ve been seeing the same ones everywhere I go.  Is something special going on.”

“Oh yes, our Vasta is coming in about three weeks.  It is usually a very joyful time, and there will be a great feast for all when it is done!”  

Vasta was translated as ‘election’ in Milly’s ear, and she’d heard this term a few times from Grampa as well.

“Usually?” Milly wondered at the qualifying word.  She understood floog looked on elections as a time of great celebration.

“There is a new type of candidate this year, one who is against aliens, especially hu-mans on Gizmok, for one thing.”

“Sounds like someone with a case of Xenophobia.” remarked Milly.   

“Oh!  You have a word for it too?  But you are all hu-man on Urf.  How can hu-mans not like other hu-mans?”

“Very easily.  Skin colour is all it takes. Or simply a different culture or religion.  Xenophobia doesn’t have to only mean fear and hatred of aliens.”

They arrived at the gathering and the conversation immediately turned to all things Maa-Toor as other floog gathered around to meet Milly.  Several gawked at her and backed away.  Milly thought she detected a bit of distaste in their faces, but she found it a bit hard to read them, and chalked it up to ‘first contact’ nerves.

The evening progressed as one after of the other, young floog stepped up and demonstrated different methods to get sound coming out of the appendage on the tops of their heads,  Some sounded fairly melodious and others squeaked.  Laah-Ya fell somewhere in the middle, but to Milly’s ears it didn’t sound too bad.

While her friend spent some time being coached, she began conversations with some of the other young adults in the hall, introducing herself and telling them who she was.  She half-way hoped that dropping her grandfather’s name, and her relationship to him would help.   For the most part, it worked, and they crowded around eager to ask her questions about ‘Urf’, her social life and habits.  A table of snacks stood to the side and some came with plates of food, urging her to try this or that.  Here were more friends to be had, and Milly was enjoying the evening.

It was winding down, and Laah-Ya, still desperately trying to up her game with her joyodor technique, was away in a far corner with some older adults, going through some exercises.  Milly found herself sitting alone, something she didn’t mind.  After all the questions and the talking, the breather felt good.  Abruptly five young floog crowded around her, blocking her view of Laah-Ya and the few that were still left.  They were  the same ones on whose faces she thought she’d detected some distaste.  

Now the air suddenly seemed to cool and she felt a small shiver go down her back.  The crowding felt almost menacing, but she still wasn’t sure if she was reading the room correctly.  She didn’t want to raise an alarm over nothing.  That was the way misunderstandings occurred.

She smiled at them and said, “Hello, my name is Milly.  What’s …” one of them interrupted her rudely with, “You should go back to where you belong, hu-man.”  The others nodded briefly  in agreement and the one who’d spoken continued, “There are many things not enjoyable that could happen to an alien on a world where they don’t belong.  It would be for your own good to go back soon.”