Passage to Paradise

Chapter Two – Paradise Revealed

Chapter Two – Paradise Revealed

“WHAT IS THE MEANING of this behaviour?” A voice resounded in Carrie’s mind. She had taken the translator from Dave and was gripping it tightly, her other arm linked with her friend’s to provide the contact that meant he, too, would hear the translator’s broadcast. The two humans sat close, knees raised, while the bronze insect loomed over them. A dribble of mucus from the creature’s mouth hit the floor. Carrie squirmed and eased away from the splatter as it steamed.

Looking up from beneath, Carrie noticed for the first time that Gavin had an opening at the centre of his abdomen, surrounded by soft tissue and leading to darkness within.

“I’m sorry, Gavin, I didn’t expect you to talk to me with pheromones, I—”

“Gavin? Who is this Gavin?”

Carrie frowned. “But...aren’t you...?”

The alien loomed closer, until its knife-like inner mandibles were filling Carrie’s field of vision. “I will ask you once more. To whom are you referring? I know no one of that name. And who is this other human accompanying you? Who gave you permission to bring him with you? Are you aware of the laws regarding the use of transgalactic gateways? I authorised only one entity. Why are there two of you?” The jaws retracted and the head lowered and tilted, bringing the multitude of eyes within an inch or two of Dave’s face, which turned a ghostly white.

“C-C-Carrie, I did say this wasn’t a good idea.”

Carrie squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed. “Right, let’s sort this out. Come on,” she said to Dave, grabbing his arm and pulling him up as she rose to her feet. Recalling Gavin’s cultural misunderstanding of the human need for body space, she said, “Would you mind stepping back a bit, please? You’re crowding us.”

The insect shuffled marginally backwards, and Carrie and Dave simultaneously exhaled.

“Gavin,” said Carrie, “what’s going on? Why aren’t you speaking English?”

A vanilla odour crept into the spicy scent and the creature’s head reverted to vertical. Its antennae became still. “I believe I understand your mistake, though it is hardly credible. You imagine me to be your former manager.”

Carrie’s eyes widened. “You aren’t Gavin?”

Antennae wildly waving, and bobbing up and down on its long spider-like legs, the bug said, “If that was the Earth name of your previous manager the answer is no, I am not him. Of course I am not. Do you have some kind of visual sense dysfunction? I had heard that humans had excellent eyesight. Are you unable to perceive the clear difference between myself and your former manager? ”

Peering at the creature’s head, body and many legs, Carrie said, “Umm...no?”

The creature scuttled around, turning full circle.

“Ow,” exclaimed Carrie, and unfastened Dave’s vice-like grip on her arm.

The spicy vanilla odour became laced with a growing stink. “I am female,” spat the creature.

In the following pause, a flush crept up Carrie’s cheeks. “Whoops, sorry.”

The bug turned away and reached out, touching a recess in the floor with a claw. “We will speak further in here,” she said as the door melted away and she disappeared through the entrance.

Carrie peeped over the edge and down into the room below. The drop was about two metres, but there seemed no other option but to follow. She sat down, dangling her legs beneath her, and lowered herself down as far as she could before jumping the rest of the way.

Dave followed and landed heavily next to her. “Ouch,” he said as he stood uncertainly, rotating his ankle. “I think I twisted it.”

Inside the room the lighting was dim, and the insect’s many eyes glimmered in the glow from the passageway above. Carrie held the translator out to Dave and they gripped it together. The alien seemed to have forgotten Carrie’s earlier request for some body space. As she approached them closely once more the two humans moved backwards until they could go no further, their backs pressed against the wall.

“Your confusion results from your expectations,” said the alien. “My name is Errruorerrrrrhch.” A stench of rotting fish filled the air.

“I—I’m sorry,” said Carrie.

“I said my name is Errruorerrrrrhch.”

“No, I heard you, I just...never mind.”

“You expected to meet the manager who formerly held responsibility for your assignments, but he is investigating the threat posed by the placktoids.

“For the foreseeable future you are under my management, and I can see that you require close supervision. Your previous manager was unreliable and I doubted his glowing recommendation from the outset. I see my suspicions have been confirmed. Your failure to perceive the clear differences in appearance between myself and him are evidence of poor observational skills. You will need to work hard to remedy this.

“You were also so late in attending our meeting that I was forced to roam the corridors to find you. Thirdly, you have brought with you an unauthorised companion. Your previous manager informed me of this human, but I did not give permission for him to attend your briefing. He is not to accompany you again. Unauthorised persons moving through gateways is a serious transgression of transgalactic law.”

“I told you,” murmured Dave.

“Now that I have given you your formal warnings, I will explain the nature of your forthcoming assignment, though I am uncertain of your ability to complete this task.”

Carrie’s heart sank. All her life she had failed at her jobs, but she’d thought she was beginning to turn the corner. Her work as a call centre supervisor was going quite well, and she thought she’d made a great impression in her first assignment for the Transgalactic Council. Now it looked as though her new manager had a low opinion of both Gavin and her. She sighed. Just as things were starting to improve she was back to square one.

Dave nudged her. “Wow, look at that.”

Beyond the alien bug’s imposing body, in the centre of the shadowy room, a hologram was forming. A wide landscape spread out. A snow-capped mountain range, surrounded by deep blue, wide lakes that disappeared into the horizon. Lush, verdant trees and plants cloaked the mountainsides up to the snow line, and on the lake beaches were tiny figures. The hologram zoomed in and showed people frolicking, laughing and chasing each other along the shore, swimming in the clear, turquoise water and relaxing on the sand.

“This is the planet Dandrobia, the site of your next assignment” said Errruorerrrrrhch.

“They’re aliens?” blurted Dave. “They look like us.”

“Your observation is correct. The dandrobians’ resemblance to humans has been noted and widely studied as a remarkable example of convergent evolution.”

Carrie recalled the beautiful Belinda, the stuck-up bank manager Gavin had called in to replace her when she wasn’t doing too well on her first assignment. Belinda had said she was half-dandrobian. Gazing at the idyllic scene, Carrie became lost in thought. What a wonderful place. I wonder what it would be like to live there?

Her insect boss’ tone cut through her musings. “Dandrobia is a prison planet.”

“Prison?” said Carrie. Prison? What had the dandrobians done to get sentenced to confinement on their home planet? As a Transgalactic Council Officer, after ten years’ service she could retire to the world of her choice. Dandrobia. She made a mental note of the name and wondered if they allowed dogs and cats.

“The necessary information is in your briefing documents, but I can tell you what you need to know. Dandrobia’s gravity is 80 per cent of Earth’s, but this won’t have any long-lasting physical effect on you for the brief time you will be there.

“The dandrobians have been confined to their planet for thousands of Earth years. They are one of the oldest civilisations in the galaxy, and they once ruled it, invading, colonising and terrorising its citizens to its farthest reaches. After a long war the dandrobians were finally defeated and the Unity took over, founding the Transgalactic Council to facilitate the day-to-day running of galaxy affairs. After their defeat all dandrobian technology was confiscated and their society returned to a pre-industrial level of development. They are strictly prohibited from developing new technology.

“Now, your assignment involves one of the species tyrannised by the dandrobians, the squashpumps. Some time ago this species demanded a formal apology and reparations for the wrongs they suffered under dandrobian rule. As is usual in these cases, the settlement was reached only after a long period of negotiation. Unfortunately, the Liaison Officer assigned to mediate has been called away to help deal with the placktoid crisis, and could not witness the final agreement. That is your task.

“This is an easy, straightforward assignment, appropriate for an officer still within their probationary period, as you are. In view of your inexperience, I summoned you here to speak to you face to face. Your behaviour today has confirmed my reservations were correct and your previous manager overstated your abilities. Are you aware that if you fail an assignment during your probationary period you must attend remedial training, and if you fail that you are dismissed? Perhaps you concur this task may be beyond you?”

Carrie did not answer. She always struggled to pay attention when people spoke to her at length, and she was distracted by the beautiful scene playing out in the hologram. Dave elbowed her, snapping her out of her trance.

“What?”

“She thinks you can’t do the job,” he whispered. “She’s offering you the chance of turning it down.”

“Oh no,” Carrie said, her eyes on the people laughing and having fun on the beach, “I can do it, no problem. Don’t worry about me.”

Dave sighed and rolled his eyes.