The Pundits

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. It’s a simultaneously horrifying and comforting thought when the closest life is lightyears away, but it just isn’t true—I can hear her screaming.

I can hear the rhythm of energy as gravity takes dust, gas, and stars and holds them together in a new galaxy. I can hear the dance of orbits; the collision of asteroids, worlds, and nebulae; and the last gasp of stars as they burst into brilliant supernovas. I can hear the music of the right ingredients coming together to create life on a miraculously beautiful planet with seasons, wonders, and a myriad of heavenly landscapes and seascapes.

I can hear the rhythm of energy, and when a planet is being unconsciously, unnaturally destroyed, I can hear her cries too.

The magnificent planet we head to now is crying out; she is in pain. A humanoid life-form was created after billions of years, and (though so many species came before) they were proving to be malignant. It’s unclear how much longer she has, but she cannot take much more—

“Veles, are you focusing?”

“Of course I am,” I reassured, peeling my eyes from the planet in the window.

“Why do I feel like I am the only one who wants to be here?”

“You’re not! I don’t just want to be here, I need to do this.”

“Stop acting so righteous, Llenu”, Ahura chided.

“I’m not!”

“Well, that’s how it sounds.”

“[Err] You need to stop, especially”, Llenu warned, waving a finger at an irritated Ahura.

“And what does that mean?”

“You know what that means!” Llenu exasperatedly sighed, tilting his head back, closing his eyes, and flexing his hands as if it were the only way to maintain his composure. “I have never seen a species do this to their home. They are so blind: they experience calamity and attribute it to a god rather than recognizing their own hand—”

“We all know that”, spurted from my mouth.

“Then we must remember our assignment!” Llenu gestured to Ahura, who stared out the vast window at the head of the ship, and, almost pleadingly, said, “You cannot, if it comes to it, stand in our way—not again. If this species isn’t willing to change, then they must be eradicated before the planet is rendered uninhabitable.”

“I know”, Ahura managed, accepting the warning.

The door slid open and an excited Moko entered singing, “We’re here!” Sensing the tension in the room, however, he turned around while announcing, “We [uh]… we should get ready to enter their orbit and take fire or whatever the hell they’ll do.”

The door slid closed, again, and, after a brief moment of silence, Llenu made a final warning: “Then you better not forget it, Ahura. We cannot have what happened last time happen again.”

Llenu pushed his hands in his coat pockets and too left the room while looking at his feet, leaving Ahura and I. Turning from the window and moving to Ahura’s side, I patted her on the shoulder, trying to console her, but murmured, “He’s right, you know? You should listen to him…”

Ahura pursed her lips and nodded slightly, then turned without a word and too left the hull. I, now alone, turned and stared out at the world growing ever closer.

She has done what she could to warn them: the ground has trembled beneath their feet with the quake, the avalanche, and the mudslide; rain, hail, and even molten lava has showered on them from above; wind, hurricanes, and tornadoes have torn through and ravaged them; disease and sickness have devastated their billions; and they are being swallowed up in the depths of the expanding sea, but, still, they will not listen.

If they will not listen to her, they will be made to listen to us. “You will have your relief, O Earth.”

—— —— ——

“Hey [uhh] Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s that?”

Mike strode over to a screen where Stan sat, pointing at a dot at the edge of the screen that showed the east parking lot. “That is [ummm]… interesting… I don’t know what that is. Seriously, Stan, what am I looking at? It’s probably just some dust on the camera or something.”

“Shut up, Mike—“

“Then what are you showing me?”

“Be quiet and just watch! Geez! I can’t explain if you talk over me.” Stan looked up at Mike and threw his hands open, contorting his face to ask for Mike’s silence.

“Okay, sorry… what is it?”

“This is video-playback—this isn’t live. This is just where it enters.” Stan smacked the space bar and the video began playing. The dot began moving from the edge of the screen toward the center, expanding in a line on both sides as it did until both sides came to a point, revealing what appeared to be a thin, rounded ship. The ship moved slowly to the center of the parking lot and then stopped, hovering.

“What in the world?” Mike’s mouth fell agape, his eyes transfixed on the screen. “Are you messing with me?”

“No, Mike, I promise I’m not.” After a couple of minutes of the ship sitting in its place, a truck came onto the screen, stopping about forty yards from ship.

“Wait… that’s Nicole. Did you hear her radio?”

“No, Mike, watch this.”

“But where did she—“

“Just watch!” Nicole opened the door to the truck, radio in one hand and using the other to brace herself with the door, and stumbled out. She held the radio to her mouth and spoke silently, banged it a couple of times with her hand, then, realizing nobody was listening, began cowering. She made a clumsy move to the car, but, before she could take so much as a step, an arm shot from the ship, wrapped itself around Nicole, and snatched her into the ship.

“Oh… my…”

“Mike… What is that?”

“I have no idea!” Mike began pacing hurriedly back and forth, running his hands through his hair. “Oh my God! How… how long ago was that?”

“That was, like, twenty minutes ago, I think.” Stan spun around in the chair, crossed his legs, and folded his arms across his chest.

“Why aren’t you freaking out‽ What happened to Nicole‽”

“Isn’t this so cool‽”

“What‽”

“Aliens! [haha] Aliens! They’re real!”

“Oh my God! Oh my God! What‽” Mike continued pacing and mumbling while Stan turned back to the screen, gawking at the ship. Suddenly, Mike stopped. “Wait… Is this a prank?”

“A prank?” Stan turned his head back to look at Mike.

“Yeah! Is this a prank‽ This is insane! Come on. Aliens? Do you really think I’m that dumb?”

“No! No! Look!” Stan took the mouse and began clicking, pulling up a new window. “This is the camera live, and the ship is still there!”

The ship sat in the parking lot, hovering just below the lights. The security truck that Nicole drove sat idling, the driver door still open. Mike wagged a finger at Stan, stuttering, “Alright. Alright. If this is real, let’s go to the roof and see it.”

“No way! And get kidnapped too? Not a chance!”

“[ha HA] So it is a prank!”

“Nope, unfortunately it’s not. Nicole… is… gone.”

“Then prove it!”

“Mike! I’m not going up!”

“Then how can I believe this‽ I don’t believe in aliens.”

“[Huh]”, Stan smirked at Mike. “Alright! I guess. I don’t wanna get taken too, but this is too big to turn down a chance to see. Let’s go up!”

“Oh... [uhh]... alright. Let’s go, I guess.”

“Wait, what about watching the cameras?”

“My God, Stan, nobody ever breaks into here and, now that there’s supposedly aliens outside, we’re gonna just sit here?”

“Alright!” Stan slapped his knees and sprang to his feet, then led the way out of the video room. With Stan leading the charge, Mike followed closely, palms and neck sweating, through the hall and up the flights of stairs until, at last, they reached the roof.

As they stepped into the cool, breezy night, Mike first noted the purr of a diesel engine, but also the eery stillness. Mike held his gaze outward as they walked in the direction of the east lot, letting out a soft whimpering gasp as, true to the camera’s telling, a gleaming shadow of a ship began revealing its self beyond the roof’s edge. Mike whispered, terrified yet amazed, “What… in… the world‽”

“Not of this world at all, actually”, chortled Stan, who then tucked both hands into his arm pits and chuckled to himself.

“This isn’t funny”, Mike scolded, taking a couple steps forward, crouching all the way, to spot Nicole’s truck, still running, below in the same spot she had been taken. “Oh my God! Nicole is really gone! She’s… Oh my God!”

“Mike!” Stan spat through gritted teeth. “You need to get back here! You don’t want to be taken too!”

Mike shuffled back to Stan, stumbling and almost crashing to the roof, only just catching himself by twisting and falling on his hands. Standing straight again, Mike pointed out at the ship, talking through his panting—“What…? What is going on? How is this real? How…?”

“I dunno… How what?”

“What?”

“What are you saying how to?”

“Oh… I guess… How is it floating? I don’t hear anything, like an engine or a turbine or anything.”

“Mike [haha] they’re aliens.” Stan turned to Mike and gave a him a half shrug and a questioning grin. “Haven’t you seen any movies about them or anything? Obviously they have advanced technology.”

“Okay [umm] well, I guess, why are they here?”

“Mike… I’m not an alien. They’re the aliens.”

“Okay… okay… Well, where’s the government then?”

“Maybe they don’t know it’s here? Maybe the aliens have a thing that blocks the signal or something?”

“[huh]. Yeah… I guess.” Mike turned back to the ship, questions looming in his head that he wanted answered but not wanting to talk to the ones that had the answers. The two men stood there in silence, minds too busy for words to escape, while the ship too stood there in silence, looming. It was only when Stan reached up to scratch his beard that Mike broke the silence: “So… what do we do? Do we call someone?”

“Who? Who would we call?”

“I dunno… the cops?”

“The police? You want to call the police?”

“Why not?”

Stan turned to Mike and grabbed his shoulders, shaking them slightly. “Mike! Do you know what they would do‽ Nobody would ever hear about this because they would probably bury this (or something) and people would think we were crazy because we are the only ones who have seen this—well, besides Nicole, but that’s besides the point—and then we would get locked up in some hospital or insane ward and—“

“Okay! I get it!” Mike bounced on his feet a little and bit his lip. “So who?”

“The news, Mike, we call the news and everyone sees this!”

Mike threw a hand up, flexing his hand, “Why would they believe us about this‽”

“…I dunno.”

The men stood again in silence, but this time with a new problem to think upon. Mike snapped his finger (resulting in shushes from Stan), face lighting up as he began, “What if we called them both at the same time‽”

“Who?”

“The news and the cops! We’ll call the cops about witnessing a kidnapping (technically true) and be vague on the details and then we’ll tell the news that there’s a standoff between the cops and someone happening (should eventually be true). They should at least send one camera out and then we’ll have the government and the news. BOOM!”

“[huh]… let’s do it. I’ll call the news, you can call the cops.”

“Do you have the number for the news?”

“I’ll just look it up…”

Stan and Mike fumbled their way through their individual phone calls, the listener whispering suggestions while the caller waved the listener off. Again the men stood there, waiting until a couple sets of blue and red lights flashed closer and closer, accompanied by sirens. The police vehicles rolled into the entrance of the parking lot, spotted the floating ship, and slammed immediately on their brakes. A few moments later, a van donning a local news symbol stopped behind the two police cruisers. Then, two more police arrived on the scene. The initial police and reporters called-in and begat others. All the night, the two men stood on the roof, watching as a myriad of vehicles, some government while some news, filled the lot and the street, keeping their distance.

—— —— ——

We interrupt your regular scheduled program to bring you this breaking news update:

Something very peculiar—and rather alarming—is unfolding in the north Houston area. A foreign ship from an unknown origin was spotted by some security guards working the night shift at the Houston Memorial Mall.

Authorities arrived on the scene some time after 2AM after the security guards called claiming to have witnessed a kidnapping. Currently, a two block perimeter has been blocked by authorities from each of the mall’s four entrances, but that perimeter is expected to grow as more authorities arrive at the scene. Apartments, homes, and shops in the area have been evacuated and the airspace over the entirety of Texas has been suspended. While the ship is currently out of view, one of our crews (one of the first crews on the scene) was able to capture this video of the craft:

As can been seen in the video, the craft appears to be levitating without the use of engines nor rotor—technology that experts called heretofore unheard of. The ship shows no signs of life, sitting motionless and with no view inside. Our very own Tiffany Lawrence is live at the scene now. Tiffany:

“Yes, hello. I have never seen anything like this before, Janice. The scene out here is hectic with many still evacuating and fleeing to presumed safety, while still others have come to get as close to the craft as possible, under the hope that our visitors are otherworldly. It is a mixture of fear and excitement possibly never before experienced. More than anything else, however, everyone here is feeling one thing in common: confusion.

“I spoke to one officer hoping to clear some of the questions. One thing that was made clear was that the situation was under control and that any major updates would be made available to the public as they come. He also said that the perimeter around the scene could be pushed back another block or two in the coming hours.

“Right now it is unclear whether contact has been made with the craft. There have been no signs of a struggle between the two sides, with the only distress coming from citizens at the scene. The question on everyone’s mind: who is responsible for the ship being here? Back to you, Janice.

Alright, thank you, Tiffany. There are so many questions yet to be answered: Who is inside? Why are they in Houston? What will happen when contact is made? We will remain on the air, keeping you updated on the situation as it unfolds more. Right now, we will hear from Hunter on how this has impacted traffic, then we will be hearing from a retired general about how citizens can stay prepared for whatever may come.

—— —— ——

Her shrieks of pain shall be met with our shrieks of fury. How could they treat her this way? How can they see her protest and feel the glory of God?

There is no subtle extinction: if men are allowed to continue to their own ways, their destruction will be apportioned to so much more. There is no time for learning. This planet is demonstrating her pain and is signaling her potential end, but she is scoffed at.

I hear you, O Earth. I hear your quaking pain, your poisoned cough, and your growing fever. You shall continue forward! You Must! I am here for you, and none else. I hear your malady, and I shall rid you of it. No wind shall howl without carrying with it the cries of man; no tremor shall shake without shaking the soul from its core; no fire shall sway without licking flesh; no wave shall crash without the cascade of remorse; a single raindrop shall not fall without the hue of justice imbued in it; and, if lightning is to strike, it will do so with a pure annihilation. They have elected to ignore your wrath, but they must now face ours. From henceforth, O Earth, I am your mouthpiece and your right hand.

Heels clicked together from behind. Turning on the spot, I found Ahura just behind me. “You worry me, Veles”, she informed me.

“But why?”

“You only want to see this kinds destruction.”

“So…?”

“So that is not our first goal! It was made quite CLEAR to us before we left that we are supposed to attempt to teach them first!”

“Ahura—“

“No!” Ahura threw her hands up in protest. “You know what we were commanded—“

“Ahura! You do not hear what I hear!”

Ahura sighed and hung her head, came forward to me, then placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I know I don’t Veles. I wish I could. I only know what I have seen, and what you have told me about what you hear, but what I have seen gives me hope. I have seen good among them—I see it now. They want her to survive.”

“[Argh] They are more interested in their own survival.” I turned hard, frustrated, and walked a few paces to the window. Men were in the distance, busy, chattering and clamoring. I could hear their agitation, along with some of their aggression. Ahura came to my side and too looked out at the people.

“They’re scared.”

“I can hear it… What have you seen?”

“Now?”

“No, what have you seen that gives you hope?”

“Oh… I have seen… beauty…”

“Of what kind?”

“Of every kind.” Ahura and I stood there muted for a few moments, watching, then she began in: “I have seen a child collecting a bumblebee that had found a way inside her house, who then brought the bee outside into the sun and gently set it upon the petals of a yellow dandelion; I have seen a father sewing together a blanket for his daughter’s birthday, though he had no experience sewing before then; I have seen a mother holding her son as he sobbed after hearing of the passing of his wife; I have seen a previous felon serving meals to the hungry and needy. I have seen so much good, so much beauty, and so much love. And, believe it or not, they too have love for this planet—they just can’t hear her as you can.”

“I know that.” My head hung, remorseful of my vexation.

There was a cough from the door. “Are you two ready to introduce ourselves? We must be ready for any response from them.”

“Yes, Llenu, we will be right there.” Ahura again turned to face me, placing an arm around me. “We can help them hear and see, Veles.”