Chapter 4- the larger picture
Judy tossed and turned in the large bed, her hair was plastered to her damp body as she dreamt .
She was standing in hallway of beautiful home, that looked like it had come from one of those period dramas she loved to watch. On the high ceiling a beautiful chandelier of sparkling crystals threw rainbows of colour around the room . This was a home she cherished, a safe place where all was well.
Another centrepiece of the hallway was the spiralling marble staircase that led to the two stories above. On the second step of that staircase stood her two year old twins. They loved to climb high up the staircase then slide themselves down the bannisters at the side. She knew she should really stop them doing this, as it could result in an accident. But hearing their squeals of laughter always touched her heart so much that she could not spoil their fun.
Judy watched as her children skipped hand in hand higher up the staircase. For some reason an uneasiness began to rise up within her then. Was this feeling a sign that the children were about to get hurt. She imagined trying to tell Don that she had not intervened and swallowed hard.
Hurriedly she ran to the base of the stairs, almost tripping over her long flowing dress. For the first time she cursed her romantic tendancy of wearing floor length garments, they were hardly practical. It was just that she felt like a princess in a castle as she walked about her home.
Finally stumbling to the base of the stairway she saw that the children were almost out of sight now, on the 10th stair. Hadn't there only been nine wide marble stairs from the bottom, floor to the second. Surely after all these years of counting stairs, she could not of been mistaken. When she shakily did the count again, it ended on 10 once more.
Sweat beaded its way down her head as she craned her neck upward, searching for her children. All she could see was a blinding light. Why was she suddenly so afraid of the children continuing upward to the top level. It felt like there was some type of monster up there, waiting to devour her precious children.
There was only one thing to do. "Stop", she screamed in a voice that dripped panic. Any child, that heard that type of tone should stop still with fear, instinctively knowing something drastic was wrong. Her twins did not stop, appearing out of the light and stopping on the small balcony above. Then they were running faster along the balcony toward the second level of stairs and laughing in a way that she could only describe as cruel and taunting. She could no longer see them , just taking comfort from hearing them continue the climb. As they reached the bottom of the second part of the stairs their footsteps just faded away. An unnatural silence remained. Surely two little children could not keep quiet for long. Yet the minutes of silence lingered on.
Now she was approaching terror, sure that something was wrong. In her mind she could almost see that monster, a huge mass of hair that was 9 feet tall. In its oversize jaws rested hundreds of long glistening razor sharp teeth. Of course it was a meat eater .
Hitching her dress upward Judy, began to run up the stairs. She counted them in her head as she ran, 1, 2, 3, and kept going until she realised she'd reached 14 without making it to the second story. It must just be her imagination that something was keeping her from her children. There was no way anything could. She gritted her teeth and kept on climbing. Now she passed 20 steps. So perhaps the monster had some type of magic. "You will not beat me", she screamed into the light. She forced her legs to move even faster, screaming her defiance with every step. It took 140 painful steps to reach the spot where her children stood ,so still they could be statues.
Judy looked around, searching for the cause of her fear. There was no large monster, everything was the familiar and ordinary . Even the bright blinding light was just the rays of the sun shining through the windows. So all of what she'd been through had just been her imagination. The only thing that had caused her distress was the actions of her children.
Suddenly she was angry with her offspring. Why were they playing this game with her, did they not realise she was actually afraid. "You two stop right there and turn and face me. I need to talk to you", she said. This was one of those times she was going to unleash her growly voice. It was a tone she knew her children dreaded. They had faced away from her this whole time not once looking her in the eye. That too was highly annoying. She gritted her teeth and waited for them to move. Her face probably resembled that monster lingering in her mind. The twins slowly turned to face her.
It was at that point that Judy awoke screaming. She sat bolt upright trying to shake the image of two faceless children from her mind. It's alright, you are safe, she told herself.
Finally her panic stilled and she found herself breathing normally again. That dream had seemed very real. But it was not. Most likely her inner thoughts about struggling with motherhood , were manifesting into nightmares.
She reached over and turned on the light, and looked around the room., slowly analysing every dark space. Then she lay over the bed and looked underneath. It was something she had done as a child after a nightmare to reasure herself there were no monsters. Sitting upward again, Judy finally noted the absence of her husband. That was not unusual as she knew how restless her nights could be. Don must be far enough away to not hear her scream otherwise he'd already be here, mostly likely with a gun in his hand.
Needing a warm cuddle to help chase the lingering effects of the dream Judy got out of bed and padded into the main area. Don was wondering around the room looking at the walls intently. "What are you doing", she asked him curiously.
"Oh just trying to figure out how they walk through walls", Don said calmly. Of course he'd been looking for cameras but did not want to tell his wife that. Turning toward her, he noted that her hair was plastered solidly to her head, and was dull and lifeless. That was not the most disturbing thing, her eyes had a look that could only be described as 'filled with terror' . It was a look that always gave him chills because he knew something bad had happened. He rushed to her and enfolded her in his arms. Judy sunk into his grip, digging her nails into him harshly as if to reassure herself he was alive. He ignored the pain of her nails, and asked gently, "what's the matter".
'Judy could feel his warmth and vitality. She felt a burst of love for her husband . "It was just a bad dream Don. I saw my twins, but they ran away from me laughing. Then when they turned toward me they had no faces". It was horrible", Judy said shakily. She sighed heavily," I think my dream was telling me I am going to find motherhood difficult". Don rubbed his hands down her arms. Once he would have struggled to know what to say to Judy. He knew he had his own inner fears about fatherhood. Instead of adding to her own fears by broadcasting his, he said the ones that would help them both. "You are not alone in this Judy. We have each other, and we have your parents. Heck I even think Smith might try his best." He took her hand in his, "I think talking to some other expectant parents might help us both. I have yet to explore further ,so why don't we do that together".
They moved through the living area and other the other side, where there was a long corridor. It seemed to get darker, the further down it went. Get all those horror movies out of your mind, Don told himself firmly. He must not be the only one who found it a little creepy because he could feel Judy's hand shaking in his own. "Where is everyone", she said nervously. "This is a maternity wing and I expected to see other parents. But it seems too quiet and a little deserted'.
Don was trying to think up a logical explanation for that when an opening in the corridor just appeared and a couple stepped through to great them. This unfortunately just cemented the idea they were being monitored further into his head because it seemed like a rather strange coincidence the meeting had happened the minute they had started asking questions.
"Hello", the couple said warmly. Judy was smiling widely. The lingering traces of the nightmare were fading away. "Hello, it's good to finally meet someone, I thought we were all alone here". "Of course not", the woman said gently. 'You just do not have the ability to use our technology. There are rooms all down this corridor and each one is occupied. Soon this place will ring with the cry of babies".
"At the moment it is rest time, thats why it seemed so quiet.". Why don't you come into our room if you want to talk". Judy did not hesitate, following the woman. Don did not step into the room, as he felt again like he was just doing what these aliens wanted. Maybe it was all in his head and the lack of any drama was causing him to make up scenarios that did not exist. He could definitely feel his rebellious streak surfacing. That side of him annoyed John on more than one occasion. Maybe a little rebellion would help dismiss some of his concerns.
Now the alien couple to look back at him, "you do not want to come inside ", they asked. "I have been inside a lot lately, Don replied calmly. "Is it possible to go outside and have some fresh air". His question was a little test to see how restricted their movements were. There should not be a problem with them walking somewhere else.
"Not at the moment , it is work period for the City and thus a time of productivity and not leisure", came the reply from the male. Don swallowed, that sounded rather harsh, but could just be a trait of this culture. Or a way to keep you inside and contained, his cynical inner voice said. "There is a leisure area, here in the maternity wing", the male continued, "it is for the exclusive use of expectant parents, so rules do not apply. "Come I will show you ".
Nobody had ever mentioned this leisure area before, so it was yet another coincidence that when he got a little twitchy, a way to pacify him had been mentioned. He really wanted to grab a gun and wave it in their faces and demand to be let out of this place. It was beginning to feel claustrophobic. But causing a scene might cause the aliens to forceable separate him from Judy. There was no way he wanted to leave her side.
So he just followed the couple, through yet another hole in the wall that just appeared, and into an amazing indoor park.
Judy had wonder in her eyes as she looked at the towering trees with orderly rows of flowers underneath. "It is amazing", she said. Indeed it was ,Don thought. This should definitely shake your mood, he told himself. But it didn't, it only raised more questions.
He noted that Judy had seated herself under the tallest tree, with the alien woman beside her. That woman was touching Judy's stomach with a look of wonder. "Twins , that is something magical in our culture, their parents are bestowed many honours", she said. Don could feel his eyebrows rising in surprise, "why', he asked. "Just because it rarely happens. One of our founding couples , Hylia, and Heffod, were expecting twins when they came to this world , one hundred and fifty years ago. They were the last ones to have a multiple birth. So yours is very exciting to us. We will be fussing over both of you", the man told him.
"You don't need to treat us any differently to other expectant parents", Don insisted.
The alien man and woman just smiled at him. He knew then that they planned to ignore their own wishes. It might take all of his self control to not start yelling at them.
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Will had often felt a stab of loneliness at school. He ,as a gifted child, had never been with children his own age.
Those older children had treated him like he some type of unpleasant specimen. He had made friends with others who were also deemed as 'unusual".
As he'd walked into the alien classroom he had imagined a similar thing happening. This school also put similar age groups together.
It was weird, that you could travel such a long way from home, yet still see traces of your own culture. Their ways were mirrored in the furniture of the classroom, desks. Made of slim white metal they glistened brightly. Those desks were spred out across a wide area, giving enough space between, that several people could walk by each desk and not touch each other. It also meant that the children seated at the desks would not be able to talk to each other.
So much for this school, providing him an opportunity to make friends. Will felt a stab of lonliness surface again. Don't let it bother you, he told himself firmly. There will be other opportunities to talk.
His guide just pointed to a vacant desk at the back of the room then went and sat at his own.
Will counted heads, 50 children, all of different species, spred across the floor space. All of them were quietly awaiting the teachers appearance. This quiet was a little unnerving to Will, who remembered loud voices, paper missiles and occassional fights in his own classroom.
So there must be some tough rules at this school. Will was comfortable with that, he'd never been the type to rebel.
He mirrored the other children waiting quietly for the teacher.
When he appeared Will awaited the moment he'd be singled out as 'the new boy'. Every eye would then be upon him. Once that uncomfortable moment passed he was sure the normal routine would be begin.
The teacher was from the 'founding species of this world', and was similar to Myer. Perhaps the genetic bank had initially been a small one and there had been some bondings within the same families that had led to this similarity of appearance.
This man did not bother to introduce himself. His eyes swept across the classroom, and did not stop upon him. That felt strange, it was like he was not even there. Maybe this was simply how they welcomed newcomers, by treating them as part of the unit. He was fine with that.
"Today we will be exploring Makon Infusion", the teacher announced. What the heck was that, Will wondered. Everyone else, was nodding, so they must know. Will did not want to seem like the odd one out, so did not ask any questions. He just waited for the explanation, expecting that he'd know and understand everything.
The teacher, , wrote a serious of symbols in the air, that lit with a glowing light, making them look 3 dimensional. "As you see this beginning calculation, will begin the Makon sequence, now can anyone tell me the follow up calculations".
Will looked around at a whole classroom of raised hands. Suddenly he felt like the outsider, he had no idea what the symbols even meant, let alone what came next. Now the teachers eyes were upon him and he could feel his discomfort rising. "Will Robinson, do you know the answer", was the most embarrassing question that followed.
That unfamiliar word popped from his mouth then, "no". Everyone in the room was now staring at him. He could feel their gazes burning like fire.
The teacher nodded, solemnly, 'You have heard of Makon Sequencing", he asked.
Will felt a red flush appear on his cheeks, as he became more uncomfortable . What would happen if he said no again. Would he be thrown out of class, and deemed incapable of learning .He could imagine that happening and it would feel more painful than anything else he'd been through in his life. Will could feel unfamiliar tears threatening to burst loose. That would simply not do, he would not cry because he did not know the answer. So he lied, "of course, but I am a little out of practice". Please continue the lesson, so that I can refresh my mind".
All the eyes snapped back to the teacher and Will felt himself relax again. "Very well", said the teacher.
Will almost collapsed into a heap on the spot. However he did not want to give the impression of being afraid. So he sat upright and stared at the glowing symbols while the teacher continued to talk. He still had no idea what the lesson was about. Idly he wondered how Penny was getting on, in the class next door.
"The aspana alterix is entwined by the central core until day 150 , can anyone tell me what happens then", her teacher asked.
Penny had no idea what an aspana alterix was. "The core expands to allow a complying matrix that binds the alterix and causes a cascade', came the answer.
Oh yeah that's right, I knew that, Penny answered sarcastically in her own head.
"I would like you all to now draw the aspana alterix on day 160", came the next impossible instruction.
Penny could not even cheat and look at what someone else was doing, because she could not see the desktop of the person next to her.
There were 46 children in her classroom. They had yet to even make eye contact with her, which felt very unfriendly. The urge to run out of the room pressed in upon her. She'd rather go and find something fluffly to cuddle than be here in this room. All that kept her there was imagining her parents faces once they learned she had skipped school.
She'd just have to make the best out of this awkward situation. Alright, well I know I can draw and my style will just have to be interpretive, she decided.
Penny chose all the bold coloured pens and began by just drawing lines all over her large piece of paper. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed the teacher coming around, and stopping at each desk. Oh no, was the thought that came into her head.
Her hands started shaking as she added more colour. She could not even look the teacher in the eye when she stopped, just focusing upon her feet.
"That is very interesting Penny Robinson, would you like to expalin your interpretation to me",came the request.
"Not really", Penny thought to herself. She bit her lip. If she continued to be silent then it'd just draw attention to the fact she had no idea what she was supposed to be drawing. "Well I think my Alterix is more of a transformative one and that is represented by my drawing", she replied.
Penny was rather proud of herself for that answer. The teacher said nothing, just moving onward and Penny finally relaxed.
When a siren went off Penny lifted her head from her bright picture. It had been so relaxing to just sit and draw. It was almost possible to believe she was at home on Earth. Yet one glance upward shattered that illusion.
Noticing all the children leaving the room ,she hurriedly followed them. Holla was right behind her and reached out to take her by the back of the arm. "It is now recreation time Penny Robinson. We are all going to the recreation area. Once there you will have a choice of activities ."
It seemed like her guide was now being friendly again. She felt like Holla was just doing a job, and that meant only engaging with her on some occasions. The girl had no real interest in being her friend. That was a major disappointment to Penny. She felt like she needed a break from people for awhile. "Do you have animals on the world", she asked.
Holla, looked at her strangely. It was a stare that made disappointment rise up, as it seemed to indicate a lack of knowledge about animal life on this world. Maybe though it was just a fault of the translation devices . So Penny clarified her question, "I mean creatures other than people". On my world we have a variety of animals, some are wild and others domestic. We even keep some as pets.
"Ah, I think I understand. The founders did have animals but they all succumbed to the harsh environment on this world."
Penny sighed heavily, all that left her with was the people. As she walked into yet another room, she stopped in place. This place also had a familiarity too it, there were many places like it on Earth. She felt a tap on her arm and turned to find Will behind her. He was smiling. Will loved places like these. "
"So how was your class Will", Penny asked. She wanted to find out if he had struggled to understand the lesson.
Will did not want to admit he had not understood, even to his sister. So he shrugged and said "fine". Penny studied his face, noting a little red flush appearing. Will could never get away with lying. "Oh, she said calmly, "so tell me what is an aspana alterix ?" She watched as Will's mouth dropped open slightly. He had no idea. That was amazing, and embarrassing. She could see the redness in his face increasing and suddenly felt very sorry for her brother.
"It's alright Will, I don't know either", she said softly. She pointed over to the rows of arcade games, "at least we understand this and that gives me hope that in time, we will know the answers at school as well".
Will felt relief hit him. Penny was not going to tease him."Let's find something to play", he said. Approaching an vacant games machine , Will pressed the big red button, that must obviously be how the game was initiated.
He watched as a confusing mass of symbols, came across the screen. After a few seconds of this ,the screen went red and the game ended. Will tried again and the same thing happened. It seemed like the games were just as confusing as the lessons.
Gretan approached with a smile upon his face. "So you tried our most basic game Will. What did you think", he asked.
Will looked down at his feet, rapidly thinking up and answer that did not show his ignorance. A sudden idea came to him. "It's not as exciting as some of the games from my planet. In fact I think your arcade would be enhanced by a few of those games. If I could be given the parts I could make some of those games for you".
He had other plans for the parts. The robot could definitely help him understand this world. He would also not feel so isolated.
"It is our makers job to build things Will Robinson", Gretan told him firmly. Drat, thought Will, these people seemed determined to make his life harder. Maybe though he could convince them. "Certainly the makers could build a whole lot of machines. But I could build the first one, just so they have a template to follow. Our designs will be unfamiliar to the workers on this world." Will thought his proposal sounded fair enough.
Gretan nodded, "that does make sense". "Alright Will Robinson, give me a list of the parts you desire and I will arrange their purchase."
Will smiled widely. He noticed Penny frowning at him . She would definitely be able to guess why he wanted the parts. Then his whole plan could be foiled, if she chose to tell their parents.
"Penny", he began. She touched his hand, "stop Will", she said softly, "I know that you are planning a speech on why you should reactivate the robot. Yesterday I would have tried to stop you. But not today. We need expert help. So your plan is a good one. However it still has one major problem. How are you going to get back to the ship." Penny nodded over to where Gretan and Holla stood watching them. "I think they are going to follow our every move".
Unfortunately she was probably right. "We will just have to find a way Penny", Will stated.
