"Well, that's the language barrier taken care of. Shame magic couldn't come to the rescue, isn't it, Rythian?" Lalna chuckled.
Rythian only shrugged. "Magic – unlike your little scientific toys – is not so easily applied to the artificial intervention of a person's psyche. I wouldn't call that a downside." He said, barely disguising the scathing tone of his voice.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. I'll just say science one, magic nil, okay?"
Zoeya, who was sitting next to Rythian, found the whole exchange rather amusing. Lalna beamed at her giggling, and even more so when Rythian turned his head away in frustration. The mage really was too serious for his own good.
"Guys, sshh. He's trying to sleep, poor thing." A pretty young woman in an owl hat said softly, in the midst of stroking a silently staring grey owl who was perched on her shoulder.
"Relax, Lomadia. This glass is soundproof." Lalna said, tapping on his creation impressively. The Spaceman inside stirred slightly before settling back down into his slumber, making everyone tense for a moment before he was still again, and everyone allowed themselves to breathe.
"Well, uh…mostly soundproof." Lalna squirmed.
"Well, he is an alien, isn't he? Maybe he's got super hearing or something?" A small Asian girl said, twirling a lock of her black hair thoughtfully.
"Maybe..."
"You know how we could solve this?" A new voice said.
"Sips, please…"
"Dirt." Sips said defiantly.
"Sips…"
"C'mon Sjin, let's show these jokers. We line this thing with a couple of layers of dirt, that guy in there won't hear a thing."
"Hell yeah, Sips!"
"Yes…but Sips, we won't be able to see into the tank then, will we?"
"Ah, they've got expensive taste, Sips!" Sjin said, glancing at Sips knowingly.
"You're right – cheapo opaque dirt is for losers. I can see that you know a quality product with no quality when you see it. For a little extra, then, how about Sipsco's new and improved transparent dirt?"
"As clear as a block of air!" Sjin piped up, holding up a block of the new product.
"You liars – that really is just a block of air!"
"How dare you!" Sjin cried.
"No dirt for you, transparent or otherwise! Lock that shit up, Sjin; don't let any of these jokers get their filthy mitts on it."
"Aye aye, Sips." Sjin said, giving a salute.
"Look, we're losing focus here…" Lalna tried to say, but was quickly interrupted by a booming command.
"Silence, all of you!" Ridgedog bellowed, terrifying everyone into cowering silence as he emerged from the shadows, hovering just slightly above the ground as usual. "I did not invite you here to bicker and squabble. I invited you here to decide what we should do with this creature, this Spaceman. Now, take it in turns. Miss Lomadia, since your owl friends found him, I suggest you have first say, and we'll go clockwise from there."
"Well…" Lomadia was suddenly aware of everyone's eyes on her. "We should see what he wants first. If he's hostile I guess we have to do something about him, but he doesn't have any weapons, and he was in a pretty bad way when Mr. Owl found him. We should try to help him as best we can, and treat him like everybody else, especially if he's friendly."
A couple of people nodded, and there were some murmurs of approval amongst the others. Ridgedog nodded too, deep in thought, and turned to look at Lalna, who was next in the misshapen circle. The scientist glanced about him uncomfortably, pulling at his collar.
"Well…I…look, in my opinion, this is a fabulous opportunity to learn about life on planets other than our own. And I don't think something like this is going to come round again any time soon. I know he looks like us, but I did a quick analysis of his biology earlier, and his genetic make-up is completely different from anything I've ever seen before. Further tests could…"
"You stick your nose in where it is not wanted, Lalna." Ridgedog said coldly, slicing through the scientist's proposition. "I will not allow any scientific research to be done on this creature." Ridgedog was fully aware that the scientist would not perform fatal tests (he was limited to performing only very dangerous ones) but any revelations regarding the Spaceman's true nature would never allow him to live a normal life as his mother – and as Ridgedog – wished.
"Yeah, he's a man – or at least, a pretty close approximation – not some piece of gunk you stick between microscope slides. Show some respect." Lomadia scolded.
"Fine. You're the boss, Ridge." Lalna said begrudgingly, sliding his scalpel back into his pocket in a sulk.
"You know what I'm the boss of? Sipsco." Sips said.
"Well, we're joint CEOs, actually, Sips…" Sjin pointed out, but it fell on deaf ears.
"And this alien dude ought to have super strength, or something else that's pretty cool about him, right? That makes him a perfect potential Sipsco employee."
"Hey, hey, hey!" A voice with a thick Scottish accent piped up. "Are ya having a laugh? I turned up for a bloody interview and you didn't give me the job! In fact, you killed me and stole all my stuff! This guy has done jackshit and you're ready to hire him!"
"Jeez, Nilesy, calm down. We only did that stuff because you were Scottish. This guy's an alien."
Lomadia interrupted. "We're getting off the subject." She said impatiently, her tone far from pleased.
"Thank you, Miss Lomadia." Ridgedog said, glaring at Sips and Nilesy in particular. "Let's get back to the topic at hand."
"What do you think we should do with him, Ridge?" Nilesy asked, genuinely curious. The others stopped their bickering and turned to face the hovering man, also interested and keen to hear the answer from someone so powerful, and so respected. Ridge paused for a moment. Should he tell them the truth, about his and the newcomer's demonic nature, well aware of the consequences that could mean for both him and his brother? Or should he at least establish that the two were familiar with each other? Ridgedog hated to lie to people he had grown so close to, but concealing the truth from them would perhaps be the best, if the most painful move; the safest option for the Spaceman and himself, not to mention these mere mortals. Ridgedog glanced warily around the room, at the mage Rythian in particular, who surely would be familiar of myths and legends and even real life accounts of demons, and how they were naturally the enemy of someone like him. Ridgedog had seen the fire and fury in his eyes when he fought with Endermen, but they were only low-level demons. How would he react – how would they all react – when they found out that the newcomer, and Ridgedog himself, were the spawn of the most powerful demonic being known to man?
A soft tapping noise interrupted him.
"Fr…frie…friend?"
Ridgedog zoomed up to the glass, where he could see his brother knelt down on the floor, a hand pressed against his side of the glass, his bright blue eyes gazing up at him. "Frie…friend?" the Spaceman said again, slightly more fluidly than before. Ridge gazed down at him, aware of the sheer number of eyeballs burrowing into his back, awaiting his response.
"Do you know him, Ridge?" Lalna asked from behind him.
"No." Ridgedog said firmly, staring at the Spaceman. He crossed his legs and sat down on thin air, floating just slightly above the ground, still at the Spaceman's eye level. "It is probably just an effect of the antibiotics."
Lalna nodded in agreement. "I guess he must be pretty tripped out. He's probably just saying anything, unaware of its meaning."
"Exactly." Ridge said, grateful for the excuse to mask his true identity, though he felt truly sorry that he had to distance himself from his brother, to pretend they didn't know one another, when the Spaceman called him a friend, not absentmindedly, unaware of its meaning, but as a way of expressing a feeling of gratitude and companionship towards the only thing he recognised in this strange new world.
He turned back to the specimen. "Are you alright?" He said slowly, allowing the words to sink in, since it was a new thing for this creature. The Spaceman nodded slowly, giving a wan smile.
"What is your name?" Ridge asked.
"I…am…Xephos."
