The Return
Somewhere in Siberia, the present day:
For an event of this magnitude, there was surprisingly little in the way of panic.
Half an hour previously an engineer working in the flaring gas fields of Russia pointed skywards and gasped. Many of his workmates employed on the huge network of pipes and terminals also downed tools and stared.
For out of the leaden grey sky appeared a large saucer shaped object, with orange and white colouring and strange markings etched around the circumference. Slowly but surely it grew larger and larger as it descended like an old elevator, quite clearly hoping to land.
But the vessel, with a vast array of piping underneath it and five circular engine nacelles, did not land. Instead it hovered several kilometres above the snowy wastes before audibly shutting down.
Nothing happened for days. Some theorists proposed that it had come to siphon off the gas from the ground and fly away again! But, after nearly a week, there still had been no movement from the craft. Had it broken down?
No matter, the Russian government wanted answers and sent the military to enforce an exclusion zone around the ship. Mindful of a similar event occurring in South Africa decades before, Moscow was keen to avoid the pitfalls of that experience. On the day when the vessel had been here for exactly a week, and anxious to restart the production in the gas fields, Russian army troops and engineers broke in to the ship. They were backed by a number of scientists from several prestigious academic institutes.
Using a shape charge device of high explosive, they blew off what looked like a door into a huge hangar space.
And what a space it was, dark, cavernous and empty.
A second hatch in the roof of the ship was pulled off by a helicopter with giant hooks. Then the first troops went inside.
Torch beams cut through the darkness as armed soldiers methodically searched the ship, finding nothing. It was completely empty! Each section appeared to be divided into what looked like holding pens and a strange slimy substance coated the floor. Odd symbols, of a kind unknown to any of the scientists, decorated the walls. If they were looking for any intelligent life from other worlds, then there was no evidence of any. It was as if the vessel had arrived on Earth automatically and unmanned.
But for what purpose could it be here? The scientists did not know whether to be thankful for the bounty they had or full of disdain owing to the lack of any crew on board…
But the scientists were wrong. A lone pilot HAD actually come with the craft.
Serak-Vek was his name and he was presently mulling the read outs from this mother ship with some confusion, mouthpieces wiggling and antenna flipping too and fro. This WAS the place called 'JOHANNESBURG', it had to be. But how could there be some industrial installations on the surface instead of an urban conurbation? And why was the outside temperature at minus fifty degrees instead of plus thirty? As much as he did not want to doubt his instruments or his own ability to pilot this vessel, something had gone wrong.
Serak rested back in his chair, alone in the command module and clicking in thought.
The command module sat in the centre of the ship, like the hub in a huge wheel. It was also able to detach and operate as an independent vehicle. For a moment Serak thought of flying down to the surface to explore this world for him self.
Instead he pulled up a holo-map and rotated the display with his three claws, tracing his journey back through the different galaxies and solar systems. In the blink of an eye they rushed past, mere moments in time. Literally thousands of planets had been mapped out but Serak was looking for one in particular.
This was called Earth and the computer told him that this was the correct planet, so he had that part right. The computer also old him a large population of his brothers existed on this world, in a place named 'SOUTH AFRICA: LARGE URBAN TYPE COLONY JOHANNESBURG'
So in a big city somewhere there could be found millions of his fellow workers, but where?
The cursor meanwhile blinked accusingly at him.
He moved the display onto Earth, getting the computer to zero in on his current location. Recalibrating for a moment, it compensated for any drifting off course or other problems…
Finally the holo-map pulled up a country called 'RUSSIA', which in relation to the Earth colony was thousands of miles too far north. He was dead in the centre of the vast frozen land believed to only have a few million human inhabitants.
Serak slammed his palm into the display, shutting it down. He cursed the outmoded technology that brought him here. Some form of atmospheric or solar disturbance must have thrown the vessel off course.
Then he heard a detonation somewhere on board the ship and the computer sensors told him there had been a hull breach from OUTSIDE.
Just like what happened to his brothers a few cycles ago, humans had somehow cut into the vessel.
He grabbed a weapon from a rack and went to find the culprits. He had to leave soon but it would be interesting to finally meet some humans after hearing so much about them.
The scientists took samples of the air and some of the stuff coating the floor. The soldiers were beginning to get spooked though, this place was silent, DEATHLY silent and it unnerved them slightly.
Some of the personnel here knew about the alien space ship which had landed in South Africa, and what had been inside that when they opened it up like a giant tin can.
But here there was nothing but a slightly stale atmosphere.
Somebody had brought a digital camera and recorded the interior of the ship with a running commentary.
Another government scientist, once approached by an organisation called MNU, stood with a tape recorder in hand and was just about to state how amazing a discovery this was when one of the soldiers pointed his rifle into the moist semi-darkness and fired.
Startled the scientist dropped the recorder and dived onto his face, hands covering his ears.
'What the hell are you doing?!?' he demanded.
The soldier stood for while, slowly taking steps back.
'Thought I saw something moving, tall it was!' he said.
His colleagues then began to laugh.
'You are seeing ghosts my friend, nothing more'
They turned to leave, radioing for their helicopter to land in the cavernous space next to the blown out door.
But they didn't make it any further as strange arcs of lightning cut through the vessel, simply disintegrating the bodies of each man. Turning to fire, the remaining soldiers had been cut down in seconds.
Now the cowering scientist was alone and a figure, actually more of a creature stalked towards him with weapon in hand.
It cocked its head to one side then another, as if studying him. It seemed to be speaking and using hand gestures.
'I…I don't understand you…' the scientist said.
The red-and-gunmetal grey coloured being (with twin antenna and curious small arms inside his torso) seemed to be angry and pointing outside.
Taking the hint, the scientist backed up and then began running at full pelt, fearing he too would be wiped out. But nothing more happened and the scientist heard the welcome sound of rotor blades echoing inside the chamber.
At the same time he felt the floor and walls of the cavity begin to vibrate, as if alive.
The vessel must be restarting!
He got out just in time as the ship sent out great jets of exhaust, blowing the snow from the trees and shattering the glass from the helicopter windows. As cold Siberian air howled through the helicopter, he watched as the vessel began to move.
It had been unfortunate that Serak had had to kill the humans, but they had been intruders on his vessel and that could not be permitted.
No matter, he chirped, he was on his way now.
Instead of going straight up into space however, the mother ship had commenced a horizontal course over Russia and south across Asia. The holo-map suggested crossing the 'INDIAN OCEAN' and turning inland upon reaching the southernmost point of Africa.
Strange blue and white way finders led a virtual 'safe' route round the globe.
Johannesburg had been marked on the holo-map in the language of his species as a 'Place of the Fallen'
Serak knew his vessel would not be equipped to defend itself should trouble arise, so had planned a route away from continental landmasses. At a modest three hundred and fifty miles an hour, Serak reckoned that he should reach his destination in a few hours time and sat back to relax.
The community of Richards Bay, on the east coast of South Africa, was a quiet and pleasant retreat for many people from the cities keen to escape the rat race and pollution. With pretty views of an azure Indian Ocean, nearby vineyards and with a thriving fishing industry, Richards Bay was the place to go and truly unwind.
But today something truly extraordinary and unexpected would happen, something not expected to ever happen again.
A huge shape had been spotted by the fishermen moving across the water at a rapid rate. Looking up, a gigantic alien mother ship of the kind formally seen over Johannesburg once again cast a shadow over the land. This shadow moved inland, making landfall over Richards Bay. Tourists stood open mouthed at the sight, stopping their cars and staring. Not because the alien vessel had actually come here but because it had returned at all. The people of South Africa had been somewhat used to hosting an extraterrestrial population but thought they had seen the last of their ships when the first one left.
Adrian Cranmer knew something was amiss today with his friend, Eugene.
He had not been his usual jolly self, like he normally was even after a hard day in an MNU meat packing facility.
He seemed distant somehow, distracted…
Adrian and his two friends, Eugene and Lawrence, often came together to play a recently discovered board came humans called 'chess', which Lawrence had salvaged from a newly delivered pile of rubbish. A pack of cards and a single tennis racket also completed the haul of loot from the tips.
Life in District 9 had become mundane and boring for the non-humans and so the trio looked for new ways to entertain themselves apart from the usual eating of cat food and getting into fights.
Adrian had a modestly sized shack which offered a surprising number of creature comforts, not least being fully furnished with an odd assortment of plastic and metal chairs and a three legged table propped up by piles of books.
A torn strip of fabric served as a 'carpet' and the holes in the walls and ceiling had been patched up with cardboard and old newspapers.
Behind the three aliens, washing rippled in the pleasant afternoon breeze as the sun shone on them and they quite enjoyed the tranquillity of their time together.
Recent days had been made even more bearable with the unexpected detention of Adrian's unruly neighbours by MNU and the break which the Nigerians had given them from the daily harassment.
But something was still wrong with Eugene, Adrian could sense it.
Come to think of it, Lawrence was acting a bit odd as well.
Adrian had yet to hone his telepathic abilities so he came out and asked them both what was wrong.
'Is something troubling you guys?'
'Something isn't right around here, in the air I mean' Eugene said cryptically.
'You mean more evictions are on the way like before?'
'No I sense we are being protected somehow, that salvation is coming…' Lawrence answered.
'Christopher Johnson is coming back perhaps?'
Eugene picked up a set of battered old binoculars, placing them the wrong way to his eyes.
'I don't see it!'
Lawrence angrily snatched the instrument from his friend and used them himself.
'That's because you aren't operating them properly idiot!'
'You are like a petulant youngling, are you in season?' Eugene quizzed.
But Lawrence didn't answer and just stood dumbfounded at the vision before him.
'What is it?' asked Adrian.
After a short time a distant rumble, like muted thunder, cut through the air. And even Adrian had to admit his hyper sensitive antenna had gone hay wire, flapping to and fro. It both excited and scared him; he had only felt like this once before.
Running and running, where are you going? Don't leave us!
The ship had spontaneously come to life above our heads, so I ran through the district, chasing it…then I saw it rising from the ground, a smaller vehicle…a command module!
Hurry!
My legs cannot carry me, I am tiring. The command module reaches the mother ship as I stand right underneath it, falling soil showering me from the used up tractor beam…I am too late.
All of the surrounding non-humans stopped what they were doing and paused looking skyward and chirping excitedly in unison. With great majesty it finally appeared from behind a cloud and District 9 erupted into ecstasy! A mother ship coasted to a halt over the city, far bigger than the first and with an air of foreboding. This is the place! The computer beeped in triumph, detecting millions of matching DNA profiles for the missing brother workers down below in the Place of the Fallen. Serak shut down the ship and prepared to detach from the craft and touch down on the surface.
'Oh my god have you seen the size of that thing?' the panicked MNU operative shouted to his boss at headquarters.
'It has to be bigger than the last one…and the prawns are going wild, we need help down here!'
Already a gaggle of news choppers swarmed around the new ship and Johannesburg once again looked up to the sight of an alien vessel parked above the city.
Breathless with excitement, Adrian roused all of his friends and told them of the news.
'Salvation has come!'
Noiselessly the module detached from the main ship, sunlight flooding through the cockpit window as it sunk away from the mother ship. Serak guided the vehicle towards the surface, kicking in the engines. The excitable chatter between MNU workers continued unabated.
'A secondary craft has exited the ship and is flying towards the district, do we have authorisation to shoot it down?'
'No, stand down, I repeat stand down!'
The battery of missile launchers nevertheless continued to track the vehicle until it pulled back and made to land like a helicopter. A sizable crowd of non-humans had gathered around the large open space Serak had selected to land in, jumping up and down and waving. The craft touched down with a puff of dust and Serak opened the side door.
Elbowing his way to the front of the crowd, Adrian mentally thanked the occupant for selecting a sector close to him for his landing. The craft settled and a hush descended on the ground. MNU troops stood idly around their armoured vehicles, guns at the ready but making no move to attack.
Serak stepped out of the module and waved to his fellow aliens.
'Oh my brothers, how you are missed' he whispered solemnly to himself.
The crowd went wild and surged round him.
'You are our saviour!' they chanted in unison.
Hands reached out to touch the messiah-like figure and the crowd began to move around him.
'Can we go home now?'
'Please come and visit my sick youngling'
'Are there others in the ship to rescue us?'
'Let us show you how we have to live here'
The last statement, from a pinkish-brown non-human wearing some odd eye contraption, caught Serak unawares.
Adrian froze as the regal looking Elite paused to glare at him, assessing him. Then it stepped forward and touched both antenna too his own. A blur of horrific images flooded into the brain of Serak; injuries, misery and pain, all inflicted by the humans.
His telepathic ability had been newly honed but after that he knew it worked properly. He laid a claw on the shoulder of this individual.
'Come brother, you must show me the colony in its entirety. What is your name?'
'Adrian…, well it is Gemok actually, cursed human names…'
'I am Serak, brother Gemok and I have come here on a mission of great importance'
The new King-Queen had been told much of a 'lost colony' somewhere in a distant solar system. Serak had been dispatched to find out more about this with a view to recovering the lost workers.
This colony had been reported to be fragmented and leaderless, living in decay and suffering mistreatment from the host species.
But what Serak was shown simply shocked him, piles of human filth everywhere, with great numbers of his people finding sustenance from it!
Even more of his kind simply lay in the dirt, inactive and delirious from a chemical substance. He bent down to examine a metallic object, complete with traces of the said chemical substance inside. He scraped a piece of the brown goo with a finger and tasted it.
The stuff was simply foul!
'It is called cat food, brother'
Gemok explained when quizzed.
'It provides nourishment for a type of human pet known as a cat; it also has a certain…hypnotic effect on our people'
'Are there any of these 'cats' here in the colony?' Serak exclaimed, tossing the can away.
'There are none brother'
What was going on? Had the colony found ways of using a mind altering substance to sustain productivity? This would be a revolutionary discovery for future generations.
'So why are these brothers in a catatonic state, is this an unfortunate side effect?'
Adrian/Gemok looked around him for the answer, finally removing his battered old sunglasses and then speaking.
'This is THE overall effect of the substance brother, mindless inactivity or enhanced aggression. It has caused no end of problems in the district!'
Serak was horrified as he walked on. The previously euphoric crowd had mysteriously thinned out as he toured the colony, now only him self, Gemok and a few others remained.
'Our brothers part with our sacred artefacts to pay for the cat food substance, sold by unscrupulous human pirates at soul destroying prices'
Serak came across some of these artefacts outside one of the dwellings. A veritable arsenal of weaponry propped up carelessly against the wall. He shook his head, bewildered and growing angrier by the minute. A half-assembled exo-suit lay under a cover, baking in the sun, inert and useless.
'One official set of humans used to confiscate these articles routinely, but some of our brothers would trade them for this cat food you have seen to another group of humans'
But through all of this Serak was most astonished by the appalling health of this colony, malnutrition, breathing problems and substance addiction.
Moving on, the group spotted a larger gathering of their fellow non-humans who seemed to be watching something on the ground. Approaching the group, Serak could see a pair of non-humans rolling around on the dusty floor, attacking each other and wrestling.
Far from trying to stop the battle, the onlookers actually encouraged this activity, holding pieces of printed money in the air and swigging from cans of this infernal cat food substance.
'CEASE AND DESIST!' barked Serak in his most authoritative voice.
'Who the fuck do you think you are then?' one of them said, squaring up to Serak.
'Yeah this is our fun so go and screw your self!' another added.
'You heard him MNU boy, just leave'
To his surprise a weapon was levelled in his face. Serak did not want any trouble, but why had his brothers treated him so badly?
'I am sorry Serak, they…'
'Something is amiss here, take me to the substance providers, I want to see them peddling their poison myself'
Like most days and despite the extraordinary events this day had brought, the Nigerians were making a killing selling cat food and other meats. Serak studied the goods on offer and a look of disgust crossed his face.
The merchant spread his arms over the table, listing off the produce.
'You see anything you like prawn?'
'What is the meaning of this word 'prawn', I am not a crustacean' Serak said.
'You are a smart ass prawn eh boy?'
The merchant raised his butcher's knife at Serak, who grabbed his wrist and threw the man backwards at his friends, breaking his arm.
Adrian and friends growled at the other Nigerians to stay back, with arc guns fully on show.
'So these are the ones who peddle their filth on my brothers?'
Adrian nodded.
Serak ordered his followers to mow down the meat sellers.
Serak was sickened and appalled at the condition of the workers here. In his mind they were beyond saving. He had to leave and tell the King-Queen the grave news.
'But wait' said Adrian 'I want to come with you, I want to see our planet again and tell our majesty how it is for our people here'
Serak thought for a short time, looking around him at the desolation. The eyes of Adrian pleaded.
'I am so hopelessly lost and unhappy here, what you see is a mere taste...'
'Enough' Serak commanded 'you have been a most loyal servant to me here. We shall both go together but you will never return here again'
'But what of my friends, can I not bring them?'
'You will be the only worthy member of this destitute colony to be considered to restart another, as a true Elite should'
Leaving here meant abandoning his friends but what was he to do? He should have gone the first time round but had been left behind.
The mother ship rose through the atmosphere and cleared the orbit of Earth, setting out for deepest space. On board Adrian, Gemok now, thought sadly of his friends back in that horrible place. Maybe he would be able to come back and rescue them.
He hoped so.