The Autobiography Of An Alien

Chapter 17 - Change

Draft #78 - Change 

Inevitability was something that I had to learn from a young age. It was inevitable that the planet would change from night to day. It was inevitable that the years would pass. It was inevitable that I would someday grow up. It was simply the way things were. There were some things I could change, and there were some that I could not. 

I have always tried to control what I could, and perhaps, I got overzealous in my attempts. Wrestling with something and trying to make it stagnant when its nature was to evolve would only make it so I could not mitigate the consequences, good or bad. It was always something I did, and most of the time, it went badly.

Still, I have learned from my mistakes. I have come to realize that I must bend when something inevitable comes to me, and not bend it to my will instead. 

***

They were staring at the sky like it held all their answers. Faces pointed in the direction of the Milky Way Galaxy, Shrrsk, Kohgrash, Fhora, and the Earth ambassadors (that he definitely hadn't forgotten the names of) stared almost unblinkingly. It was a little unnerving. Especially when something unexpected made a noise in the distance and their heads swiveled in the direction of the distraction before quickly returning back to the sky. All. In. Sync. 

"You're the expert," Trosk whispered to him. Shrrsk looked back reflexively at her voice but returned to watching the yellow sky when he saw that she wasn't speaking to him. "Why do they do that?" 

"What makes you think I'm the expert?" Rulshkka asked, shifting on his feet. The jewelry he normally wore to the most formal events followed his movements with jarring clinks and twinkles in the quiet atmosphere. Kohgrash was the one to look backward this time.

They were outside. It was a mild day, as it normally was on A1-308. There was no breeze, but Rulshkka could swear he heard the leaves on the trees rustling, bringing his own eyes to the sky with each instance. 

They were all out here for a reason. A very specific reason. 

"How long will this take?" One of the ambassadors, Tala he thought, asked. Kohgrash did a half-shrug, glancing over at Shrrsk. 

"Maybe a few hours. They launched just a little bit ago," the man responded, propping his hands on his hips. Other than that, he didn't move. It was as if they were all cast in stone. "It's all very new, y'know. This is the first run." 

"And they're sending humans?" another, the male Alex (or was it Allen?), asked. "It seems unsafe to travel so far." 

Shrrsk shrugged, watching the sky. It hadn't changed. Earth had clouds, Rulshkka knew, but his planet had none. There were too many species on the planet that took in water from the air for it to linger long enough to condense. "I read that they hopped around the Solar System a few times." 

The humans had mastered the Drive. Specifically, they had mastered their version of it. The Vokkrus Drive was too harsh on their bodies. Lowering the speed had done the trick, but it was still slow. The humans had wanted to put the Drive in their spaceships, so when the Vokkrus had shared their technology with the newly fledged space-faring species, they had taken to it with reckless abandon. 

Rulshkka supposed he should have expected it. Everything he's learned from humans has astounded him. Space travel should have been no different. And yet, here he was, still shock-shelled. 

Rukka was the one in charge of keeping up human relations. While Rulshkka would always have a claw in every crevice, Rukka was the Vokkrus to speak to when it concerned humans, Earth, and their System. She had handed over all sorts of technology - harmless things, really; from what Kohgrash had told him, there was really no need to hand over any weapon schematics as well. If humans were to be attacked, they could handle themselves, even if the Vokkrus would be legally obliged to give some assistance, too - and they had run off with it.