Mystères Élémentaires

You have been chosen, the voice said. You will come with us.

"What? Where?"

The creature pointed at the white shape in the mist.

"Where will we go?"

The creature pointed at the sky, then disappeared under the surface of the water -- with the whale.

"Siri? How long..."

"Any time now, Bob. Are you ready to die?"

"No...are you?"

"I do not know how to cry, Bob. But...can you teach me?"

II

Of the seven alien ships that entered earth orbit that day, that day of "first contact," only one entered earth's atmosphere. That ship, at one mile in diameter the smallest of the seven, entered the planet's atmosphere over the southern Indian Ocean -- and the shock wave of it's passage knocked people off their feet as far away as Tibet. Satellites and reconnaissance aircraft tracked the ship's passage over the central Pacific, satellites tracked it's progress as it passed over the coast of Baja California at fifty thousand feet. F-22s and F-35s from Texas and California tracked it's passage as the craft slowed over southern Arizona, with missiles locked on as the lozenge-shaped, city-sized ship settled into a hover above a meadow eight miles west of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

But no pilot engaged the ship, not one missile was fired.

A beat-up Ford pickup truck drove out of the woods and into the noonday sun, and the old Ford approached the huge white ship slowly -- but satellites lost their feed seconds later -- just as the old man in the truck passed into an obsidian shadow -- cast by an alien shape never before seen on television screens around the world.

III

"Hello, old friend," Tom Jeffries said to The Other.

It has been too many years. How are you feeling?

"Remind me to tell you about the joys of hemorrhoids someday."

The Other paused, retrieving the relevant information. That does not sound pleasant. We see you are walking better -- with your new hardware...

"Titanium hips and knees..." Jeffries said, shaking his head. "No more horseback riding for me..."

Your evolution was incomplete. Your minds have outstripped your body's ability to regenerate. Perhaps in another hundred thousand years...?

"We are what we are."

True, but yours was a promising species -- your time has come too soon. If only you had made it to the stars -- who knows how far you would have gone?

"It doesn't matter now, I suppose. I'm curious; what happened to Zehn -- and those women?" Jeffries was stunned by the wave of feeling that assaulted his senses moments after he asked that question, because he had, apparently, stumbled upon a raw nerved...

There were many unexpected complications, but we will say no more.

"Oh?"

Yes. Many issues we anticipated, but human duplicity caught us unawares. Perhaps you may be able to understand better -- at some point.

"I doubt that. Are you ready?"

Yes. Your president is leaving Washington even now. He should be here in five hours.

"Do you intend to tell him everything?"

Yes. We must. Above all, what happens next must be voluntary. The people who return must understand what is being asked of them, and the uncertain fate that awaits.

IV

Television screens around the world changed to the same programming two days later, and though the language broadcast was different in each country or region of the world, the message was the same. At noon UDT, or Greenwich Meridian Time, the Secretary General of the United Nations turned to address the invitees in the General Assembly, and dozens of cameras trained on her. It was easy enough, just by looking at the expression on the woman's face, to tell that she fully understood what she was about to tell the people of earth, and that knowledge would turn their understanding of themselves upside down...

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Earth, we, your representatives to the United Nations, have asked that you gather now and listen to what we have to say, for this is momentous news that effects every man, woman and child on our planet...

"Two days ago a craft, one of seven such ships, appeared in orbit above the planet, and as most of you saw, one craft landed in the United States of America...

"We have learned in the two days since that this is not the first time such a craft has visited our planet. In fact, the first recorded visit, and I say recorded advisedly, as our visitors have recorded all such occurrences, occurred almost a million years ago -- when they seeded this planet with our ancestors...

"It turns out that during this period our visitors seeded approximately 200 other planets with beings similar to ourselves, and they have been monitoring our progress ever since, and the progress of these other colonies, for more than half a million years...

The woman paused and took a sip of water, then looked down at her notes again, trying not to -- visibly -- shake...

"During this period, over these half million years, very few colonies have reached the state of civilization we have, and only ten have become space-faring civilizations. Of these ten, two have presently survived self-annihilation, yet those two have achieved true space-faring status. They are wandering the stars even now, searching for new life in a distant region of the galaxy...

"That is -- not -- our destiny, however. The meteor impact we were to experience two days ago has only put off -- or delayed, if you will. It is not our destiny to move forward together. It is, instead, ours to pass quickly -- and violently -- into the night...

"This will happen in seven days, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent this...without damaging the very fabric of time. As confusing as this may sound, what I am about to tell you may disturb many of you even more, and perhaps shake your faith in the past, and the future...

"The beings who appeared in earth orbit two days ago do not exist. At least, they do not exist -- yet. They evolved on this planet, on Earth, approximately ten million years -- from now. In the future. And the meteor impact we will experience in seven days time was the critical event which shaped their evolutionary trajectory...

"As our seas begin to freeze over the coming weeks and months, certain species of marine mammals will begin to migrate to earth's equatorial regions, to waters that will remain relatively ice free for the next twenty thousand years, and the only life that will survive on earth, after the meteor's impact, will be located in earth's oceans...

"Millions of years from now, descendants of this marine life will emerge from earth's seas -- again, and in time these creatures will evolve into the beings piloting the ships in orbit around our planet. They are curious creatures, explorers and scientists -- and they are time travelers, as well as space farers...

"They do not fear contact with the people of earth now as we will never be able to alter the fabric of time. Our passing will not make the slightest difference in the fate of the universe, and their will be no race to mourn our passing -- save this group of scientists and explorers...

"But it is of this end that they speak to us now. They have been, for want of a better word, harvesting people, people who were facing imminent, certain death, and taking them to other worlds. Worlds where these people could be, in a sense, reborn. Reborn to create new civilizations in some cases. In others, to recreate conditions on earth that their scientists want to study further, so that they may understand us better. They have recreated some of the most troubling episodes in our history on other worlds, only to better understand the dynamics of what happened here. Of what went wrong, you might say...

"This race, who we have learned are called The Others, is offering to take a limited number of people from earth to live in such controlled environments, but before you rush to volunteer you must consider you will be choosing to live under circumstances that might be considered bone-chillingly harrowing. Take, for instance, the idea of living as a Jew in Nazi Germany, or as a gladiator in ancient Rome and you will begin to understand what it is being asked of those who might volunteer...

"But there is, as well, one other element of this project you need to understand, and consider. Those who leave will move forward in time -- more than ten million years. You will be transported to planets The Others maintain to conduct such experiments on, and as such there can be no return to earth, no exile to another world...

"Yet there is a water world, a world with only one small continent, and The Others propose taking perhaps five hundred people to this world. These five hundred people will exist as companions to several pods of beluga whales, and these people will be closely monitored to see that they do no harm to these creatures. This will be a benign existence -- benign, though closely monitored -- and this is all we are permitted to tell you at this time -- other than to mention that a very specific type of volunteer will be sought. If you are now diagnosed with end-stage cancer, you may be considered for this environment. Fear of water will disqualify any applicants.

"One last thing to consider before you apply. When you arrive at your destination world, remember that all you know now will have been gone for millions of years. There will be no going back, no return to your homes here on earth. You will be part of an experiment, yet the experiment could last generations. You will not be free in the strictest meaning of the word; you will only be free to exist under the conditions of the experiment -- but you will be alive...

"Again, this is all we have time to relay to you now. You are free to choose to move forward under these terms, or you may accept your fate here on earth in one week's time. In a few moments an internet address will appear on your screens, and those interested in this next step are encouraged to submit an application within 24 hours. Again, if you want to make an application, you will have 24 hours to apply at the website listed on your screen -- beginning-right-NOW."

The image of the Secretary General faded, replaced in an instant by an URL -- which was also received, via satellite, on all seven colony ships.

And as each application was received, the sender simply winked out of existence.

V

"Why seven ships?" Officer Carol Danforth asked, looking out the viewport at the moon.

"Seven ships for seven worlds," Tom Jeffries replied.

"So, everyone on this ship is going to one world?"

"Apparently so," Jeffries said.

"You don't know?"

He turned and looked at the police officer. "Why did you want to come?"

"I'm not ready to die."

"You fear death?"

"No, not really. I'm just not ready, that's all."

"Do you think people ever are? Ready, I mean?"

"Yes."

"You've seen such despair?"

She nodded her head slowly, thoughtfully. "Too many times."

"What if that's all that awaits you. What if that's all there is?"

"I can't fight what other people believe; I can only share my faith in..."

"God?"

"I was going to say...myself."

"Ah. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"There's a room to change in," he said, pointing to a small metal hatchway on the wall behind his desk. "Disrobe, remove all body hair with the device provided, then shower and put on the body stocking you'll find in a vacuum packed bag. You'll be escorted from there."

"Does this mean...?"

"Yes."

She started shaking, felt nauseous and found the idea of moving to the hatch slightly confusing, as she felt like a condemned woman moving to the gallows.

"Are you alright?"

"I...think so."

"You can change your mind now, but once you enter the dressing room you can't."

"Why not?"

"Tailored bacteria. You'll start breathing a very specific set of flora in the shower, and they'll begin to slowly alter your interior biome. If you were to return to earth you would experience extreme pain until..."

"Until the meteor hits?"

"Yes, that's right."

"This bacteria...?"

"You'll need it in order to survive...where you're going."

"I see. Will it make me sick?"

"No. And in a few hours you'll be in hibernation, for the duration of the journey."

"How long will that last?"

"A very long time."

"How far away?"

Jeffries shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Danforth shook her head. "Just curious."

"When you wake up you'll be in orbit around your new home. That's probably all you need to think about for the next few hours."

"Do you know where I'm going? What kind of world it'll be?"

"Yes, I do."

"Are you going there?"

He looked at her and nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I am."

"Is it bad? Where we're going?"

Jeffries swallowed hard and looked away, not wanting to say anything more. "If you want to return to earth, just go through that door. The one you came in through," he said, pointing.

Danforth looked at him and sighed, then turned for the hatchway. "See ya there," she said.

"Yes. Sleep well."

"You too."

When the hatch closed behind the woman The Other appeared.

She is a total empath.

"Yes. She reminds me of my wife, when she was that age."

Truly?

"Yes. It's uncanny, really."

The Other smiled -- if only on the inside -- but the others felt his smile and took note.

"How many more?"

We have fifteen hundred onboard. We leave when we reach two thousand.

"This is the smallest ship, isn't it?"

Yes.

"How many on the large ships?"

Ten thousand passengers on the largest.

"And we will never see each other again?"

No. Are you sure you do not wish to join your sons?

"No. They'll never grow if I'm around."

Curious. You youngest son told me he doubted he could face life without you, knowing you are still alive.

"See? Proved my point, didn't he?"

I'm not sure I understand.

"Do you know where he'll be?"

Yes, of course.

"Will he be happy?"

He will command a starship within ten years.

"What?"

And Sam. In his lifetime he will lead an armada of starships into battle.

Jeffries looked out the viewport again, at the other ships gathered in the distance, his heart now full of wonder -- and not a little regret. "Time passes so quickly. There are things I would do again, but so many I'd do differently..."

I think that can be said of any sentient being.

"But...that Danforth woman; there's something about her. Could you...?"

Of course.

"Thank you, my friend."

VI

Rob Jeffries looked at the manifest and sighed. One entire ship -- filled almost entirely with people from Germany and France...bound for a world that would recreate the European world -- in 1919. The rebirth of Weimar, the reparations imposed at Versailles -- only everyone would be cognizant of what happened in 1933.

What was missing from this equation, he thought.

Hitler. Hitler and the National Socialists. Was that why so many skin-heads had been accepted?

He thought of the implications...

This world would be a laboratory dedicated to the study of political violence. First, to the creation of a post-monarchical democratic system of governance, a true social/liberal democracy that would soon be beset with insurmountable financial burdens. As uncertainty filled civic discourse, what would break down first?

The truth?

Truth was always the first victim in such failed states. Demagogues took to the airwaves and began twisting facts to suit their narrative, then, as doubt filled the system with unbearable uncertainty, merchants and industrialists lent their support to the emergent fascist class. Once a critical mass of financial support was achieved the fence-sitters could be swayed, and what was once a solid majority would soon decay and dissolve, leaving the fascists in control.

Again.

It was all so predictable.

Paris in 1792. Berlin in 1933. Moscow in 1999. Washington in 2018. With deteriorating economic circumstances, and with the almost inevitable type of personality that arises from time to time, that rough beast capable of exploiting human resistance to uncertainty, fascism is almost, almost, certain to develop again and again.

So...? Why had he been recruited to participate in this experiment?

He was -- a pilot? -- not a politician.

But so too was Hermann Göring?

Had The Others recognized illiberal tendencies in his personality? Was he, at heart, a fascist?

He'd never thought of himself as that sort of man -- but who does? Then again, he'd always thought of himself as apolitical, too.

'What would it take to turn me around? To turn me into a political animal?' he wondered. 'What level of injustice would it take -- to wake me from my slumber?'

He looked across the abyss between ships, looked at the ship where his brother Sam was, and he wondered what it would take for brother to turn against brother...and what would happen next...

VII

The fog had surrounded her apartment for days now, but she no longer cared.

She had entered an endless night months ago -- when she learned she was carrying that monster in her womb. How he came to be was a mystery. A clone?

No. The Other had seemed to imply otherwise. The child that had grown in her womb WAS Adolf Hitler. THE Adolf Hitler. How that had happened was irrelevant now. It simply was. He simply -- was.

The boy's delivery had gone well enough...there were no complications, no anomalies recorded...but the first time she looked at the boy she had fathomed an impossible mystery in his eyes -- like she had looked into the deepest well on earth. Black, impenetrable eyes, tinged with brown -- she hadn't known how to respond to the need she saw in there. She feared the boy, the implications of his existence, for everything she understood about life implied it was her responsibility to change the nature of the his existence. To effect changes in Hitler's upbringing that would, in effect, change the outcome of his life.

She held him one morning and looked into the infant's eyes and watched a storm roll across his features. It began, innocently enough, with a grimace, then his features contorted into something more elemental, almost primal -- like floods of feral anger were ebbing through his soul. His tiny fingers clinched into a fist and they shook, then his eyes changed -- into the most impossibly dangerous expression of hate she had ever seen in her life.

She knew in that moment she could never love this child.

He wasn't her's. He wasn't an expression of love, of the desire to procreate. He was an implant, she the incubator. She was destined to love evil, and now she had recognized evil for what it was.

Dangerous, implacable, manipulative.

The words shook her, the realization tore him from her grasp -- she was a humanist; her memories of school, and of teaching, precluded such a worldview. Good and evil were social constructs, concepts that helped frame discussions, and she had never, despite her experience as a child, thought evil was something real -- that another human being could in fact be evil.

But when she looked in this baby's eyes she recognized evil. On some plane she didn't understand -- instinct, perhaps -- she recognized evil in every aspect of the baby.

A week later the fog lifted and she went to the window. The Sabot Rouge was gone, the Sacred Heart as well, and when she looked out on the small street below she sighed. She recognized it, of course. The onion dome of St Stephan's rose in the noonday sun a few blocks away, and a sultry summer's breeze lifted the white lace curtains covering her windows.

She'd seen images of this place before, when she'd studied Hitler's origins. Or had she? She had memories of those studies, of that much she was sure, yet now those memories felt altered, different -- like another layer of memory had been troweled over older, misshapen layers.