The Visitors (4 page)

Luke held out his hand next. “I'm Luke.” He said it to Noah, but he gave me a weird look as he introduced himself. I couldn't think of an instance when Luke ever had to see me show interest in a guy. Back home, I stayed focused on my schoolwork, putting my extra energy into working with my dad whenever possible. I didn't have time for dating, and even if I did, I hadn't found anyone who piqued my interest enough to consider it. But Luke knew me well enough to pick up on my fascination with this guy, and I knew he wouldn't like it. I was sure the last person he ever expected to compete for my attention with was an alien.

Noah nodded to him, shaking his hand quickly and then looking back at me. There was a very tense, awkward moment between the three of us, and I decided to try to lighten the mood. “So, Noah, tell me about your life here. I'm so fascinated with everything. I want to learn all that I can about your world.”

His eyes narrowed a little. “Why?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Um, because I'm visiting another planet for the first time and I want to see what life is like in other places.”

He seemed to relax a little as he laughed. “Well, I'm seventeen. I work at a training facility.”

I nodded. “Training facility? Training for what?”

“For work,” he said simply. I waited for him to go on, but he did not.

So, I prodded him further. “What kind of work?”

He shrugged, furrowing his eyebrows. “All kinds.”

I nodded, thinking it might be like what we call
college
. “So, you train other people for their professions? Which ones do you train them for?”

“All of them,” he said, looking at me as if I had three heads for asking that question.

I shook my head in awe. “But you're only seventeen. How can you know so much about all the jobs? When did you learn how to be a trainer?” I knew my incessant questions would get annoying, but I didn't care. He was so vague. I wanted some more thorough answers.

He clenched up slightly, but then tried to give a relaxed smile. “I guess I'm just ahead of my years. We only go to school here until we're fifteen, as far as general education goes. You then go to a training facility to begin prepping for your career. I learned to become an instructor by age sixteen, and now, here I am, prepping others for their careers.”

“How do you know what career you want when you're fifteen years old? I still don't know,” Luke butted in, tilting his head so that his hair fell into his eye. I resisted the urge to move it back.

“We don't choose our careers. Our careers are chosen for us. We have people whose job is to observe students in school until the age of fifteen. Based on aptitudes and abilities, those people choose the career that would best suit the student being observed,” Noah explained. Suddenly, his mouth clamped shut. He sat back, and a cold expression came over his face. His stony appearance did not invite us to ask any more questions.

That was okay with me – he had given me a lot to think about. Their careers are chosen for them? On one hand, that made a lot of sense, and probably worked well for many people. I had several older friends who were in college and still didn't know what they wanted to do – it would be nice to have someone watch you and decide, based on your personality and talents, what you should do with your life. On the other hand, I already knew what career I wanted – I was going to be an astronaut. If someone observed me and decided I was good at math, which I was, and therefore should be an accountant, I would be pretty upset. I wondered to myself if any of the people here were ever unhappy with their assigned careers. I would be sure to ask someone as soon as I had the chance.

As I was lost in my imagination, Sir Andrew stood up, bringing me back to the present moment. “We hope you have enjoyed your dinner. We will now escort you back to the visitors' chamber so that you may retire for the night. You surely need your rest after your travels. Tomorrow at eight a.m., I will meet you in the same place I met you tonight to bring you here for breakfast. We will then discuss your agenda for the day. Thank you for joining us.” With that, he motioned for us to stand up.

My dad raised his hand to get the attention of the crowd. “We would just like to thank you all for your hospitality. We are confident that there is much we can learn from you, and appreciate your welcoming attitude.” The rest of us nodded our heads diligently, murmuring in agreement. The audience smiled at all of us, but no one spoke. Sir Andrew bowed his head to all of us with a smile, and turned to lead us out the door.

Luke turned to walk in front of me, but before I followed him, I turned back to Noah. “It was really nice to meet you, Noah. I hope I get to spend more time with you while I'm here.” It was a bold move, but I had to do it. After all, if I was rejected, I would be heading home in just ten days, never to see him again. Besides, ignoring the fact that he was incredibly good-looking, he was smart. And he was around my age. If I could really get a feel for what life would be like here, he was the one I wanted to show me.

He stared at me for a moment, and then nodded his head politely. “It was nice to meet you too, Jady.” With that, he turned toward the girl who sat beside him and joined the conversation she was having with the man next to her. I scurried to catch up to Luke, who was almost out the door.

I didn't know what to think of Noah. One minute, he was staring at me; the next, he was avoiding me. He could smile at me and then look irritated by me in the same sentence. I wasn't sure how to decipher his strange behavior.

When we got back to the visitors' chamber, I was still trying to analyze him. As I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, I could still feel the burn of his exquisite green eyes. I squatted down, leaning over the strange sink bowl, and found his face etched into my mind. I couldn't help but to imagine what it would be like to touch one of those too-cute dimples while I carried my toothbrush and face wash back into my room, and again laughed at myself for my stupidity. It was so strange the way I had developed quite the schoolgirl crush on this person who often seemed annoyed by my existence.

I climbed into bed, thinking how difficult it would be to fall asleep with all the excitement. I had barely finished that thought when I was out cold, exhausted from the events of the day.

When I went back to my sleeping chamber, I had a lot on my mind. I knew it was a bad idea to attend that dinner, but I knew better than to argue with Sir Andrew, who had insisted that I be there. He wanted all of us who had been gifted to be in attendance. I knew he counted on me to read their emotions and report back to him if I found anything unusual. For some reason, that thought left me with an uncomfortable feeling I couldn't quite explain. Using my gift against them felt invasive.

I didn't read anything from the humans that felt out of the ordinary. Each one of them exuded happiness and gratitude. From what I could tell, there wasn't an ill intention in their bodies. Of course, in my distracted state throughout dinner, it was possible I had missed something.

If Sir Andrew could read the thoughts going through my head, he probably would have decided against my invitation to the dinner. I could not get the girl called Jady out of my head. She obviously had some sort of gift, one that she was being equally secretive about, that was causing me to feel all these strange feelings for her. Even her emotions – exhilaration, glee, and for whatever reason, sometimes embarrassment – charmed me.

As I got into bed, I couldn't help thinking about the funny way in which she ate her food. She was not at all dainty and proper, but she genuinely enjoyed the food and appreciated it. It wasn't disgusting or sloth-like, as Sir Andrew had said many of the humans were. It was not a bad thing at all; in fact, it drew me to her even more. I considered going to Sir Andrew to discuss the strange thoughts I was having and the way my body responded to her, but I didn't want him to think I was weak in getting under her spell. No, I couldn't go to him. These feelings would have to be endured – and fought – with everything I had.

But strangely, there was a really big part of me that did not want to fight it. I wanted to be around her, to talk to her, to hold her hand the way Luke had done. I had never felt such an urge to touch another being before. I didn't understand what was happening. It had to be a spell. Members of our society did not hold hands with or touch one another, and didn't feel the desire to do so. Not only did I feel the desire to hold her hand, I felt a strange surge of jealousy at the thought of Luke getting to do so. That was just absurd. Jealousy was something I had never actually experienced in my life; I had learned the term when I was young, but members of our society were immune to it. Supposedly. Was I the only one who wasn't?

I needed to go to bed and forget she existed. My best plan was to avoid her at all costs and hope that they left sooner rather than later. The only thing in my focus had to become continuing my normal life and not doing anything that would jeopardize it. After all, I was gifted and therefore received the highest honor a member of our society could receive. I couldn't let some human girl enchant me like this and cause me to throw that all away; I had to resist.

Those were the last thoughts on my mind before I fell into a restless sleep, a sleep in which I saw her face repeatedly. I fought it throughout the night, and was extremely frustrated when it became time to awake for the day and she was still the only thing on my mind. Now, I was confident she had done something to me. That was the only explanation for her invading my sleep along with all of my thoughts. I planned to confront her.

I ate breakfast in the eating quarters in solitude, rather than going to the dining hall where I knew the humans would be eating. Though I figured Sir Andrew would not be pleased, he had not given me direct orders to join them in the dining hall for breakfast; therefore, he could not punish me. I needed time to plan my tactic. My approach would be direct and firm, confronting her not in front of others, but by ourselves. Maybe if I could get her alone, she would be easier to crack. Then again, her powers might be stronger, and if we were alone, I wasn't sure I could trust myself not to follow the strange urges I was having.

Maybe I just needed to see her again to try to gather more information. Last night she had interrogated me, but I hadn't gotten the chance to ask her any questions. That was what I needed. I knew I would get that chance at dinner, as long as I didn't blow it beforehand. Planning my attack for dinner would give me the entire day to think about what I would say to her. Knowing I had time gave me comfort as I pulled on my solid white coverings, fastened them in the front and headed to the training facility. Much to my dismay, I found myself wondering if Jady would wear the same strange, brightly-colored coverings she wore the day before. A picture of her in dark blue pants and a red sleeveless shirt plagued my thoughts once again. I shook my head violently, trying to erase the picture.

Unfortunately, I didn't have as much time to avoid her as I thought. After being at the facility for only an hour, Sir Andrew and the humans arrived. He looked around the room until he spotted me, and then waved me over to where they were standing. My first reaction was to panic. Did he know something was going on? No. That was impossible. Would he be able to figure it out now? Not if I could be convincing enough in my behavior towards her…

I walked over casually, keeping my eyes on Sir Andrew. “You needed me?” I asked him, avoiding the stares of the humans and especially of Jady.

“Yes,” Sir Andrew replied, turning to address the humans. “This is Noah. He is one of the trainers here at our facility. Don't let his youthful appearance fool you. He is quite intelligent.” He gave me a knowing smile. “Noah, I was hoping you could quickly debrief our visitors on what happens here at the facility. They would like to see our education system. I am taking them later to our general education facilities, but I thought they could start by seeing some of the specialized training.”

The look he gave me told me to be selective in the information I gave them. I gave him a nod, and then turned to the humans. “Well, welcome to our facility. We have multiple training sessions going on, as you will see when you look around.” I gestured toward one corner of the room. “Over here, if you'll follow me, you'll see our air travel instruction. This is where our pilots and crew members are trained for air travel.” The humans followed me, watching the session with fascination. Their bodies leaked enjoyment and awe. Two instructors gave directions while the trainees sat at computers, viewing simulated air travel situations and navigating their way through the sky.

“Is air travel the primary means of transportation around this planet?” asked one of the men.

“Yes,” I said. “We have ground-based transportation which is primarily used within our society. Air-based transportation can take our members out of society and into the rest of our world. This is useful for collecting resources.”

“Do any others live outside of your society?” Jady's melodic voice rang out.

“Outside of our society?” I didn't turn to face her as I asked for her to clarify.

“Well, I know how much smaller this planet is in comparison to ours, but from what our satellites could tell, you only utilize a small portion of it to live on. So much of it lies empty.”

“Well, yes, we confine our living quarters to one area. We try to leave our natural resources as untouched as we can.” I paused before I turned the tables on the humans and questioned them. “Are there any areas on Earth that are not inhabited by people?”

Another man fielded my curiosity. “There are a few, but our massive population does not allow for many. I'm sure in your studies of Earth you have learned that our ever-growing number of people is a concern of our planet.”

His last statement flustered me. “Yes, yes, of course,” I said, turning away to direct them to another area. Naturally they assumed we knew about them. Why wouldn't we? Frustration pulsed through me as I once again wondered how much was out there that stayed hidden from us.

“What is the population here?” Luke spoke up for the first time.

“Eight thousand, four hundred fifty-seven at last count,” I said over my shoulder. “And on Earth?”

“Nine billion,” one of the women answered.

Wow
. Sir Andrew was right. They so vastly outnumbered us. I tried briefly to imagine what life would be like on our planet with billions of residents. It seemed ridiculous. No wonder they had problems with food shortages and lack of resources. Why would their government create a population of that size?

We arrived in another corner of the room. “This is where our menders are training. These apprentices will eventually be able to mend those who grow hurt or sick.” Again, we watched as the three instructors gave orders to several trainees, who used computer-generated situations in which they had to repair ill or injured citizens by choosing the correct ointments and liquids. This session seemed to fascinate the humans even more than the air travel.

Jady spoke up again. “What types of illness do you deal with here?”

I shrugged. “Well, we heal incidents such as lacerations or burns, as you see here. We also heal any headaches and stomach discomfort.”

“Yeah, we have remedies for those things too. But what about terminal illnesses? Things such as cancer or AIDS?”

I stared at her for a moment. “I am not familiar with either of those two terms,” I told her honestly, which caused the other humans to gasp. Immediately they began whispering to each other, “No cancer?” “They don't have AIDS?” “How are these things avoided?”

Before we could tour the facility any further, it was time for lunch. Sir Andrew was back at the front door, ready to lead the group to the dining hall. The humans thanked us over and over again for allowing them to tour. They were especially impressed by the simulators used to train for each job. I couldn't help but wonder what other options existed for training; our novices were given real-life virtual situations in order to learn how to perform their duties. How else could teaching be accomplished?

My curiosity got the best of me, and I had to ask more questions of my own. In front of me, Sir Andrew was engrossed in conversation with the captain. He wouldn't hear me to berate me for my inquisitiveness, and I just couldn't resist. In a forward outburst, I moved to stand beside Jady and inquired, “What kind of simulators do you use for training on Planet Earth?”

She studied me carefully, obviously surprised by my question. “Well, once you finish general studies, either online or in a public school system, you have options. You choose what you think you want to do, and depending on what that is, you have a path to follow. Some careers require college. Some require training programs. Some allow you to go straight to work.”

I considered this. “How do you know what to choose?”

Jady smiled. “Many people don't. It depends on what you're interested in, mostly. And some people choose based on how much money you will make. People make the wrong choices sometimes, but then you can always change careers.”

I was flabbergasted. Humans received money as compensation for working? Some received more money than others? How could you choose the “wrong” career? And if you chose wrong, then you were able to just start over, doing something completely different? In all of our studies of other societies, I had never heard of this concept. Were there other societies out there with similar methods that were “hidden” from us as well?

Before I could form a response, Jady spoke again. “So, you have the responsibility to train all of these people in all of these different jobs,” she said skeptically as we walked back over towards Sir Andrew.

I tabled my own questions for the time being. “Yes. That is my given career. I specialize in anything in the science industry, but I am capable of preparing for any career our society offers.”

“So you're a genius,” she said matter-of-factly, just as we approached Sir Andrew. “You have to be if you're only seventeen and you know enough about every single one of these careers to actually train these people.”

I paused, unsure of how to answer that question. Luckily, Sir Andrew stepped in. “Yes, you could say our young Noah is a sort of genius. His aptitude for math and science, in particular, is impressive.”

One of the men on the crew leaned forward and caressed Jady's shoulder. “Our Jady here also has an aptitude for math and science. In fact, it was her scientific theory that finally made it possible for us to visit this lovely society of yours.”

While pride and affection drizzled from the man speaking, waves of humiliation rolled off of Jady's body. “Dad, stop,” she hissed, before adding, “It was Luke's theory, too.”

“Ah, Jady, so it is you we have to thank for this visit!” Sir Andrew said, his dark eyes burning into her before he turned back to me. “Well, I did not mean to imply that Noah's talents are limited to math and science. He has a real gift for teaching others, which was why he was assigned the career of trainer…”

One of the other female humans interrupted. “How does the career-assigning work?”

Sir Andrew turned patiently to her, even though I knew that if one of us would have interrupted him, his response would not have been so pleasant. “Our citizens begin undergoing an observation process at age four that lasts eight to ten years. They are studied for their aptitudes and interests, and based on those criteria, a career is assigned to them. It is always decided in the best interest of the citizen, but most of all, of the society.”

The captain's mouth dropped a little. “What happens if a mistake is made?”

Sir Andrew's eyes squinted slightly. “What do you mean, a mistake?”

“You know, what if a citizen is given the wrong career, and then they do not perform adequately? Do they receive a new career?” The rest of the group was listening intently as the captain interrogated Sir Andrew.

“Mistakes are not made. The selection process is very thorough. Our citizens accept their assignments happily, and perform their duties to the best of their ability. Now, we must get to the dining hall for lunch. Noah, why don't you join us at the hall today, rather than dining in the eating quarters here? You can help field their questions further.” Although Sir Andrew had framed it as an invitation, I knew it was a demand. So, although I would have rather eaten at the training facility, I nodded to Sir Andrew in obedience and followed the group to the dining hall.