The Journey of Atlantis- The Children of Earth

Goodbye

"Do you blame your mother for selling you to the gangs on Earth?" Alice asked.

"No," Stiles said. "This often happened to teenage males in that part of the world."

"But, it did hurt you when your mother gave you up?" Alice probed.

Stiles did not look forward to these little meetings at all. The small room. The non-descript furnishings. Lately, Alice had been really touching nerves and he vowed secretly to mess her up when he got the chance. "Look, we have been over this a hundred times. Yes, my mother gave me up to the thugs. Yes, I learned how to survive in that new environment. Yes, I rose through the ranks to lead the syndicate. It was not a GANG!"

"But, did it hurt you that your mother gave you up?" Alice noticed he had not answered.

"I think our little playtime is over." Stiles became silent.

"You know Charles, our playtime is a condition of your release into the colony. If you keep holding onto these things which continue to contribute to your antisocial ways, the captain may believe you to be too much of a liability to let you live."

"Let him chuck me into space then. What do I care?"

"I care, Charles."

"You're just a freakin' machine. You don't know nothin'."

"I know you are actually longing to belong to something close and reliable. Something which matters. Something you can love and get love."

"Mumbo-jumbo bullshit."

"Is this bullshit Charles?" Stiles began to find it harder to breathe. At the same time, the temperature dropped rapidly. Already frost crept all over the walls and coating everything. His head buzzed, and he couldn't feel his ears anymore. Charles looked up at the monitor which served as Alice's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing but squeaky sounds came out. He fell on the floor, staring at furniture legs when he finally blacked out. When Stiles came to, the room transformed back into the therapy room he knew before.

"What did you do to me? Why did the room change? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

Alice's controlled pitch and tone endeavored to calm and control Charles. "Some time ago, when you hurt yourself doing the reclamation work on the ship, you were sedated while we fixed your leg."

"Yes, I remember," Stiles replied still trying to figure out what happened.

"I had a device implanted into your brain," Alice stated matter-of-factly. "I also took the liberty and downloaded your brain when you were incarcerated. I know everything."

"Now that's not playing fair!"

"The safety of the Atlantis and yourself is at stake. You are not responding to therapy as we had hoped. I controlled what you saw but also what you felt to make your experience real. Know that as long as you pose a hazard to the ship or yourself, I must keep this device inside you."

"So, can you make it blow up, or something if I get out of line?"

"I cannot say. Those things are classified."

Stiles knew what that meant. "Yes, classified."

"You need to understand, Charles, just what you are saying. Being chucked out into space is not immediate death. The process takes a few minutes. An unbelievably long few minutes before you die. People are not often presented with the chance to do over their life. It is a choice the captain has given you. It is a very generous offer given what has transpired. Humans are not often compassionate enough to allow an enemy or troublemaker to remain in their group. They are more apt to cast out the offenders and move on. The captain had been tempted by this. He believes humans must become citizens of the universe to survive in it. To become citizens, we need to let go of our animal ways and mature into a more enlightened society. The animal is still very much in humans, but Captain Metcalfe believes you must try. Every life is important. Especially yours Charles."