Heart-shaped Protector

Like many children growing up in traumatic circumstances, I had an imaginary friend. Mine was a giant armor-clad woman with gorgeous amber hair and tired blue eyes. Her armor was sleek and beautifully ornate, primarily painted red with white and green accents. Midst my dreams, she’d take me on adventures to stunning garden worlds with the most breathtaking alien flora and fauna. I’d ride atop her shoulder admiring the endless fields of flowers and curious creatures as she told me stories of her battles amongst the stars. Lanora would tell me to never forget that I was part of a brave and noble race. And that she was doing everything she could to earn our salvation. For many years, those dreams were the only place I ever felt safe.

Eventually though, I outgrew Lanora. The last time I dreamt of her, she told me that her battles wouldn’t let her visit anymore. I was so upset, angry even. Without Lanora, the world was so frightening. Endless war and disease. No mother. Father at war. I couldn’t stop weeping. That was the only time she ever took off her armor, it hissed with air then opened to reveal a towering woman with powerful muscles and covered in scars. I wasn’t afraid. She was my protector. Kneeling down she held me in her arms until my tears had dried. So patient and gentle.

“Here. I want you to have part of this.” Lanora produced a tiny silver heart-shaped locket from beneath her shirt. Inside was a split picture of us.

“Do you remember this? You gave it to me on the 3rd time I visited you. You were maybe 6 years old at the time. I’ve kept it with me and cherished it ever since. To me, it was like having a little piece of you wherever I went... You’ve given me so much strength, little one. You’ve reminded me why I do what I do. I promise I’ll come back to you. Until then, keep using that brilliant mind and glowing heart of yours to help others. I believe in you.”

With that, she broke the locket in half and handed me my share. “What a wonderful day it will be when we can reunite these pieces.” Inside my half of the tiny heart was a close-up of her smiling face, it was the type of smile a mother shows a child when they’re trying to make them smile too. When I showed Dad my proof that Lanora was real, he dismissed it as something that came with one of my fantasy games. But I knew she was real and that she would be back someday. So, I wanted her to be proud of me when she did.

My early adulthood came at the end of our third World War. That’s when I decided to dedicate my life to science. I had hoped to help repair some of the leftover damage that still ravaged our planet. After nearly half a century of virus bombs, drone armies, hostile A.I., and extreme weather, the planet has devolved into a dire, and at times feral, state. We’ve even lost the entire continent of Africa to radiation, the price of ending the war and stopping a supposed A.I. uprising.

Now a retired General, my father was proud when I told him that I’d decided to become the world’s finest microbiologist. After losing grandma and pa to the first wave of virus bombs, neither of us were ever the same. But we made that pain our strength. Dad did his best to keep the military from using any more virus bombs where he could, but much of the damage had already been done. The world was full of designer viruses that began to mutate at a furious pace. After a decade of absolute devotion, a team of experts and I had at least managed to contain the worst of it.

Late last spring, Dad passed. After the funeral, I was approached by a grizzly old man I didn’t recognize.

“Your father sure was one hell of a General. Hi, call me Frank. You don’t know me but I worked with your father for several years during the war. I promised him that I’d contact you once he passed.”

“Contact me about what?”

“About hope, of course. Hope for our species. How would you like to become part of the greatest scientific discovery ever made?”

“Ha, you’ll have to give me more than that.”

“Hmm, yes. Well, do you still have that little heart-shaped locket you used to wear all the time?”

“Uh, how do you know ab-”

“If I can guess the name of the woman in that photo, will you consider coming with me to discuss this opportunity further?”

“Do you usually recruit this hard at funerals?”

“Lanora.”

None of it made sense but I needed to know more. At the back of the graveyard, we followed a short service road to a very high-tech-looking helicopter. I’d seen a lot of military vehicles over the course of my life but nothing compared to this thing. Stranger still, it was near silent when we took off. Frank told me we’re headed for Mount Rainier, just north of the city. Says there’s a hidden entrance in the side of the mountain, like the ones you used to see in those silly Bond films.

Frank was right, the side of the mountain slid open to reveal a small hanger. Once inside, we took an elevator deep underground.

“Now, I know you specialize in microbiology but keep an open mind to your potential here. Ultimately, you’ll still be working to solve our virus issues just in different ways.”

“How so?”

“First contact. We think. See, you’ve been identified as a “contacted individual”. You’ll find several others here with similar experiences, all brilliant in their own way.”

The elevator opens up to reveal a massive cavern full of plants, people, buildings, and workstations. At the center was a stone monument with several names and geometric shapes carved into it. Frank takes me over to the stone and tells me that it came from outer space - with the names already on it. Frank holds a finger over my name. The stone also includes a date, time, and location only 4 months away.

“Still no clues about what’s going to happen on that day, but if these other participants are any indication then it’s sure to be something absolutely brilliant. Every person, whose name is carved into that stone has had their physical ailments cured and their IQ scores sore once they’ve come into contact with it. We’re making medical and technological breakthroughs down here that should have taken us at least another century to understand.”

“What do you mean? What’s it doing to them?

“We don’t know. We have no clue what or how it’s doing what it’s doing. We can’t really seem to get a good analysis of it. But from what we CAN tell, the purple stone is made out of a collection of elements completely unknown to us. Extraterrestrial in every sense of the word.”

“Is it safe?”

“So far. Our first round of participants are coming up on their 2-year mark for exposure and still no known ill side effects.”

“You said that you knew my father, how? Did he know about all this?”

“As I said, I served with your father during the war. I was his contact at the pentagon when we started making moves against the state’s virus bomb tactics. Admired that about him, wasn’t afraid to go against the grain. And no, he didn’t know about this. Not really. Before he passed, I told him I’d be recruiting you for something noble and world-changing. He approved, even seemed to like the fact that someone he knew would be sticking with you.”

I accepted Frank’s offer after he explained that their little secret organization doesn’t belong to a singular government or corp but rather a “financial pact” or “investment into our future” between a variety of governments and corps. I had all my belongings moved to the base by the end of the week and prepared to become one of these “participants”. It was a quick and easy move. No family and I don’t own much since I almost always live at whatever lab I’m working for.

Turns out I’m part of the last wave of participants. By the third wave, they devised a rather corny ceremony around our first contact with the stone. A bubbly woman aptly named Summer helped me get into a beautiful yet complicated robe. Primarily red with white and green accents, this can’t be a coincidence. Hm, I never did ask Frank how he knew Lanora’s name.

“Summer, have you heard anyone talk about a Lanora here?”

“The protector? Of course, we all know Lanora. Our shared memories of her are what inspired these colors, even the ceremony. We all want her to be proud of us when she returns, I’m sure you feel the same.”

“Yeah… I thought she was just an imaginary friend of mine growing up. Some coping mechanism, you know?”

Summer stops folding my robes for a moment and stands in front of me, holding my hands.

“Most of us felt the same until we came here. But there’s no way 42 of us had the same imaginary friend. Don’t you feel her when you’re near the stone? At times, I can even hear her humming that deep but gentle tune.”

Summer returns to dressing me while humming a tune that I had long forgotten. It brought me to tears as a feeling of longing washed over me, I needed to feel Lanora like Summer did. I’m so desperate to feel safe again. The ceremony was full of candles and cheerful singing. They all called me sister and hugged me as I made my way to the stone. The moment my hand made contact, I felt her. I had forgotten what safe felt like, but never again. Her strength and confidence came rushing back and from then on I held my head high, my heart full of purpose and love.

Four months later, my siblings and I are waiting at the set location for whatever is coming. To our sides were a handful of journalists and foreign representatives. Back in the cavern, we were compelled to build a boson cloud exciter or “catcher’s mitt” so we’re expecting visitors.

I’ve always dreamed of witnessing FTL travel and bam! There it was. Faster than the eye could see, our boson cloud exciter worked perfectly. The ship was magnificent and glowed with a feeling of tranquility. A door opened and outstepped the aliens. Not little green men but humans. Much taller and larger but human nevertheless. Each of them wore uniforms of red, white, and green. Then finally, she emerged. Lanora! She was even bigger than I remembered. Still clad in the same mighty armor, now only more scarred. As she begins to talk, every device on the planet that could project sound began to echo her voice.

“The day of reunification is finally upon us. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors left this planet to voluntarily join the ranks of a galactic war. Our galaxy had begun to be invaded by terrible creatures from dark space. For centuries we have waged that war for the Federation in the hopes of not only protecting this, our home planet, but to gain respect among the other advanced races. Before you stands the champion of that war, Battlemaster Lanora. Your brothers and sisters among the stars triumphed. Our prize, guaranteed planetary protection by the Galactic Federation and access to advanced technologies. But let me be clear. You have mistreated this planet and each other. Therefore you have lost the right to rule. At least, until we’ve elevated you out of these dark ages. This is not a campaign against you for we shall stand side by side facing our shared issues together. Trust the experience of your star kin for we shall bring peace and prosperity to all.”

Speech over, Lanora drops her solemn expression and directs her attention towards us. Her armor hisses as it opens and we watch as sheer joy washes over Lanora’s face the moment her barefoot touches the earth. She then kneels down and opens her arms wide.

“See. I came back just like I promised, little ones.”

We surrounded Lanora. Hugging and crying and laughing and dancing. Around her neck, I spotted a tiny silver heart-shaped locket with a picture of me as a child looking up with a huge glowing smile. Lanora grabs hold of the locket and looks at me with watery eyes.

“My family. My strength.”