Chapter 10

Chapter 10

First, I would like to note some background on The Ten Thousand.  They were chosen from a much larger pool of volunteers.  We are told that the selection was entirely about genetic diversity.  Even before the ships left, The Ten Thousand had already started changing.  

The changes were minor on Earth.  They had, "maximized their genetic potential," so that they would not have to worry about cancer, or multiple sclerosis, or schizophrenia, or any number of other maladies.  In a few cases this led to changes in skin tone, more hair, less hair, weight loss, weight gain, and so on.  The Ten Thousand saw these as minor, certainly nothing of concern compared to cancer.  

Now follows the transcription for my talk with one of The Ten Thosand.  They are on a ship orbiting a distant planet.  This transcription has been edited for clarity, as the speech of the subject was difficult to understand.

Interview with Susanne Knopfler

"Sorry if I'm hard to understand.  I haven't talked since I left Earth."

"Not even singing?  You were a renowned opera singer."

"No, nothing.  Too many languages.  It's easier to just think and have the technology translate."

"Do you miss it?  Talking?  Singing?"

"No.  You might not understand, but physical vocalization seems clumsy.  Vulgar, almost.  Few races do so."

"You look a lot different.  Why are you naked?"

"Oh?  I didn't even think about that.  Clothes get in the way of our enhancements.  There's no need for them anyway.  Temperature is controlled."

"You're not embarrassed?"

"Things are different here.  There's no need for sex, The Gods have the human genome on file, they can produce perfect children whenever someone wants one.  It's much simpler without the relationships and the drama, don't you see?"

"It sounds like society is a lot different up there."

"It makes me a little sad that we lucky few have been lifted up, but the rest of you are left behind in your old ways, without The Gods."

"What are those... enhancements?"

"The neural head net provides shortcuts for synaptic pathways, as well as connecting us to the translation functions and so, so much knowledge."

"Did that hurt?"

"Nothing hurts here.  This on my hand, it's an IV port for nanites, among other things.  The nanites maintain us.  We might live forever."

"If you live forever, are there still going to be perfect babies being made?"

"I don't know.  I don't want children.  The Gods have lifted me up, blessed me, and I'm too busy spreading the joyful news of The Gods to be thinking about children."

"You've really changed a lot.  How long have you been gone, relatively?"

"I have lived ten years relative to the one you have lived since we left."

"Wow.  You look younger now than you did then.  If I didn't know you were about fifty, I'd guess about twenty."

"I have The Gods to thank for that."

chapter 9

chapter 9

From the diary of the documentarian:

The Watcher mentioned dimensional compression, just like that crackpot letter that came a few weeks ago.  Coincidence or conspiracy?  

Anyway, off to the next interview.  This should be a colorful one.

Interview with Bud Spackle, found of The Guns and God Club

"I understand some of your members got arrested last year."

"Yeah, some of our boys did.  We weren't hurtin' nobody."

"There was a lot of gunfire, even a Howitzer."

"It didn't even scratch those demons.  We should have been supported, not arrested."

"Demons?"

"Yeah.  Coming here, giving people whatever they want.  What's the price?  Calling themselves gods..."

"The Followers called them gods.  They never referred to themselves."

"I don't give a damn.  The Lord created us in His image.  Those demons are after our souls!"

"Your entire county agreed with you, as I recall."

"That's right.  We're good God-fearing folk down here.  The Devil can't come where he ain't welcome, and those demons never stepped a foot in out county."

"Places that were helped by the visitors do seem to be better off, as far as health, economy, and quality of life."

"I'd rather have my soul.  I saw a video of one of the actual so-called gods.  Beelzebub, Lord of Flies.  The bastard was surrounded by a cloud of flies!  It's clear as day they're evil."

"It was explained that those were nanintes, which work in tandem to maintain their bodies indefinitely."  

"You can't believe anything from the Father of Lies!  If they come back, we'll shoot at them some more!"

"Last question: what do you think about The Ten Thousand?"

"Fools.  They're not being taken, 'out among the stars.'  They're heading straight for Hell, pure and simple."

chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Watcher is a satellite left by our visitors.  It monitors Earth as it orbits, and is capable of communicating directly with the visitors.  It also serves as a source of information and something of an ambassador, communicating with people at several communication nodes around the world.

Interview with The Watcher, communication node 7

"A lot of people have wondered: are you alive?"

"I am sentient."

"Is that the same thing?"

"I was not placed here to debate philosophy."

"Okay... are you a machine?"

"I am antonymous." 

"You can do whatever you want?"

"Correct."

"Why do you stay?"

"My purpose is to serve The Gods that repaired me.  In return they will take my consciousness into the next universe."

 "I thought The Gods made you.  We have heard there are Watchers orbiting other planets."

"The Gods did not create, they maintain.  We were dormant when found."

"What exactly is your, 'purpose?'"

"To watch.  To communicate if necessary."

"What would make it necessary?"

"A newly evolved sentient lifeform.  A scientific advancement that The Gods do not already possess."

"That doesn't sound like anything that will happen anytime soon.  Can you communicate with The Followers on the ships?"

"It requires more resources.  I am talking to many of your kind right now.  You would have to schedule an appointment."

"How many people are you talking to."

"35,047."

"It would be nice to see how The Ten Thousand are doing.  How do those ships work, anyway?"

"The ships are surrounded by a protective bubble of time and then compressed into a three-dimensional representation of this universe.  They travel and then return to four dimensions."

"Wow.  Can you talk to them when they're, uh, compressed?"

"No.  But during much of the time you perceive, they are performing missionary work."

"Thank you for your time.  Now, about that appointment..."

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Interview with Dominic, prime minister of Haiti

"So, tell me about la vigne."

"La vigne was my gift from the gods.  I sang them a lullaby and told them my family was hungry.  They gave me a seed to plant."

"Just one seed for this giant plant?"

"Yes, just one."

"How fast did it grow?"

"Very fast.  Within two years it was the only vegetation on our island."

"The only?  What about the island's ecosystem?"

"You think I give a shit?  The Dominicans on the other half of the island bitch about la vigne, but for us Haitians it was a blessing."

"Do you worry about having an alien plant covering your island?  Are there risks?"

"It's not dangerous, it's nutritious.  Everyone has enough to eat now.  My family, we didn't always have food.  Sometimes we would mix dirt with shortening and salt, fry it, and eat it.  Now we eat all we want, and have plenty to export."

"Do other countries allow the import of such an exotic food?"

"Some don't.  Many do.  Have you had it?  There's nothing else that tastes quite like it."

"Still, don't you ever miss the birds, the insects, and the other animals that used to live in Haiti?"  

"Do I miss the songbirds?  I guess.  But it doesn't matter.  The gods took samples of every living thing.  They could recreate Haiti, as it was, in a day if they wanted to.  Besides, they're carrying all of that DNA in their databases, into eternity."

"So, for you, there is no significant downside of having your island overrun with one species other than humans."

"Correct.  We are doing much better than we were before.  We are the richest nation in the Caribbean.  Your country has a saying, 'Don't look a gift horse int he mouth.'  Well, this is better than a horse.  It has much better flavor."