A/N: Takes place after the movie Enemy Mine, within a few months of the finale.
Yore Name Here
"Uncle?"
Jariba Zammis, the only Drac in modern time that had not been raised by his own kind, was always asking questions. Willis Davidge, ex-human fighter pilot and adopted father of Zammis had learned that some questions were a lot easier to answer than others. He hadn't married and had no children, so his role was as much mentor, teacher, and ambassador as it was father. He had taken the title of Uncle for lack of a more suitable name while Zammis grew up.
"Yes Zammis?" They could converse in English or Drac, and Willis tried to switch it up to keep both in practice. Negotiations between the Drac and human empires were going well and Willis would soon be able to fulfill his promise to take Zammis home to Dracon.
"I have been studying my lineage but have not succeeded yet in learning all of it. I must learn 171 names when it is time to present my child."
"Don't be in a rush, Zammis; it's going to be a long time before you have a child. Take your time, and learn it right."
"I will" Zammis answered. "But why do you know so little of yours? Even with two parents, you only know the name of your parents and their parents and their parents. Do your ancestors mean so little to you?"
"Of course not! But we have a lot to remember."
"Like what?"
"You only have five names in the Jariba line, so all you have to remember is the order they came and what they did. My family probably has a hundred and more names, both first and last. There are other important things too, like…sports. Remember that game football I taught you? All of our sports have lots rules to remember; each has its own talmon that teaches us how to play. And we have school, our jobs, trying to find a mate, friends and cousins…"
"Cousins…they are like brothers and sisters?"
"A little like them, but you don't have to like 'em as much because they don't live with you. Or maybe you like 'em better because they don't live with you, it all depends; it gets pretty complicated. Dracs don't have brothers or sisters because each parent has just one child. Just because we don't remember the details doesn't mean it isn't important; we have it written down in files somewhere if we need to know it. Sometimes it just happens that you know somebody's name, but you forget after many years."
"How can you forget? That is like forgetting your four five fingers." Zammis still referred to Dracs having only three fingers while humans had five. It was the most striking difference between the two races to his young mind.
Willis had to think about that one. "We don't want to forget, but we just don't practice remembering. Do you remember what you had for lunch today?"
"Yes. I had 'chicken soup'; that is what you called it."
"Well, it was made to taste like chicken soup even if there wasn't any real chicken in it. But what did you eat for lunch twelve days ago?"
Zammis thought for some time. "I am sorry Uncle, I do not remember."
"And you shouldn't have to remember. It was important while you were eating it, but it's not important now. Some things you just forget over time, while others you will remember the rest of your days. Even while I was stuck on Fyrine IV all those years without a single blade of grass, I could still remember what it felt like to walk barefoot on a lawn."
"Will the children of your children remember your name, Uncle?"
Willis sighed. "Zammis, it works a little different for us humans. When the time comes for a Drac, you have a child. You do it all by yourself and don't need anybody's help to get things started. Like I told you before, for humans it takes two; one male like me and one female. I think I'm just getting too old to go through the process of starting a family. I've been alone for so long, I'm probably unfit to be a partner to any woman that would even want me. No, I think my line ends with me. My sister has a couple of kids, but her last name is Boreas. No more Davidges."
Zammis started to cry. "Uncle, do not say that! It is the worst thing in our society to end a lineage. The name dies and no one will sing its history in front of the Holy Council on Dracon. It will be as if it never even existed!"
"Zammis, come here." Zammis came close and Willis gave him a big hug. "Now you listen to me. The important thing is that I remember you and you remember me. We teach each other, and when my life is over I will be happy that I helped raise a fine kid. If you want something to remember me by, get me one of those tombstones I showed you a picture of and put it where they bury me. Now, go back to studying your lineage. I want you to be able to recite all the way up to Islane the great architect by dinner."
"Yes Uncle." Zammis returned to his studies. With Uncle nearby, he hatched a plan and modified his practice slightly. The name of Willis Davidge was not going to be left to some cold piece of stone, but to the living and rich history of the Jariba line; the name would live forever, he swore it.
The End
A/N: I generally enjoy Dennis Quaid movies, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. It seems to me that Willis would have objected to having his named added to the lineage, but Zammis would have insisted and managed it somehow even if he had to keep the plan secret.