Chapter 2: Settling In
TOLC and TALAS
Frrek motioned Tolc to follow them and they headed for the sleeping room with Bolic in the lead.
Just as they entered the room, the alien on the bed sat up. Her eyes were panic stricken as she saw Bolic and Frrek approaching her. She put up her hands to ward them off. Upon seeing this, the men stopped and put up their hands as well.
"Greetings, Talas." Bolic said softly. "You know me. Remember? I am Bolic and this is Frrek. We will not harm you. We would like you to meet someone else." He moved aside so that Tolc could come forward. Bolic continued the introductions. "This is Tolc. He may look familiar to you. He will not harm you, either."
Tolc's eyes were riveted on the figure on the bed. He slowly approached her and knelt in front of her. He put out his hand as if to touch her but then drew it back.
"I'm Tolc." He said. "Who are you and how did you get here?"
Tears glistened in her eyes. She gasped, "I can understand you! She visibly pulled herself together and continued in a stronger voice. "They call me Talas, but I don't know who I am or how I got here. I can't remember anything before I woke up in the hospital. I was there for a long time. Please," she pleaded, "can you help me remember?"
Tolc's dark eyes, too, were glassy with emotion.
"I don't think that I can help you, Talas. You see, I can't remember anything either. I, too, woke up in a hospital. They brought me here after my injuries were healed. I've been here for months, I think. If I understand them correctly, they found me in a small starship that had come through a wormhole. The ship was destroyed, but they managed to rescue me. They didn't tell me there were two of us. I'm so.very, very glad to see you." This time he did reach out and touch her cheek.
Talas put her hand up to cover his. "Don't leave me."
"I won't." promised Tolc. "We'll stay together now. It won't be so bad with two of us." Tolc flashed her a reassuring grin, his handsome face dimpling.
Talas managed a small smile in return.
Bolic and Frrek were busy writing on their notepads. They were overjoyed that Talas had responded so well to Tolc. Bolic was especially elated over the smile he saw on Talas' face.
Frrek turned to Bolic and said, "I think this will work out, Bolic. It is always easier when we have two of a species to integrate. Now, I think they should eat something. Watch this."
Frrek walked over to Tolc who was still kneeling on the floor and tapped him on the shoulder. He then moved his arms one at a time up to his mouth in a gesture of eating. Tolc looked at him and did the same thing. Then he turned to Talas and said, "That means it's time to eat. Let's go into the kitchen and have dinner."
Talas held back. "I hate those food pellets they give us. I can hardly choke them down. How do you do it?"
Tolc laughed. "I've found a way around them. How do grilled fish and steamed vegetables sound to you?"
"Like heaven," Talas responded, her eyes round with wonder. "But how.?"
"Come, I'll show you." Tolc held out his hand and helped Talas up. Then he led her into the room they used for cooking and sat her at the table on a rough stool that he had made for himself.
Frrek and Bolic followed, busily scribbling notes the whole time.
FRREK
NOTES ON MALE ALIEN ((¥¤¤ð¬? KNOWN AS TOLC
Tolc is in his 8th piot in the rehab center. His progress has been phenomenal. The turning point seems to have been the introduction to our program of the female alien, Talas.
The bond between them is very strong. They are always together. They now share a sleeping pad. We have observed them in what we think is a procreation ritual but have had to discontinue the observation due to their negative reaction to our presence.
Our greatest concern is still language. Although we still cannot understand what they are saying, they are making some progress in understanding us.
Tolc will soon be ready to be introduced into our society and trained in a profession.
BOLIC
NOTES ON FEMALE ALIEN KNOWN AS TALAS
Talas has gained 4 nuyar since coming to the Mt. Luwar Rehabilitation Center four piots ago. Her skin has darkened from exposure to the sunlight. (Special Note to Dr. Pruwath: At first exposure, her skin became a reddish color with many brownish spots appearing. However, over time her skin has taken on a more brownish hue but the brown spots remain. She does not appear to be ill.) She is eating the food that Tolc prepares and has also, like Tolc, started eating one food cube with each meal.
Her mental health has improved greatly. She appears very happy, but not always content. She has been observed sitting quietly, staring sadly up at the sky or falling into a temper when she becomes frustrated. Tolc has been very patient with her. He can soothe her when we cannot.
She has shown a great interest in our technology. Both she and Tolc spend much of their time studying our tools, our building methods, our furniture, our ground car and even our plumbing! Her intelligence cannot be questioned.
Frrek and I will be introducing them to our cultural vids this piot. If they show an interest and their progress continues, we will consider a trip into Kilto City soon.
TOLC
Who's that? Oh, it's Talas calling me. There she is, crossing the meadow.
Now what has caught her attention? Ah, she's checking on the "corn" in our garden. She has practically taken over the gardening job. She says she finds it "satisfying." Huh, I find it hard work!
She's spotted me now. She's waving back at me. Can't seem to break away from her garden, though. Do I sound jealous of a garden? Ridicules! I'm glad she's found an interest.
I love to watch her. She's changed so much. Her face glows with health. Her smile is as bright as twin stars.
She has also changed my world. Her enthusiasm for discovering even the smallest bit of information has made me see this world, really see it, for the first time. With Talas here, with her in my arms at night, I think I could find peace with our circumstances. If I had the words to thank Bolic for bringing her to me I would use them over and over again.
I hope she likes the fishing pole I made for her. (I wish I could fashion her a fishing temperament as easily!) It'll be great if we can build that boat we've been talking about. We can explore the river. But.I doubt we'll be allowed to venture so far away.
I know that Frrek and Bolic observe us constantly-sometimes at the worst possible moment!-but at least they don't make us feel like prisoners.more like.specimens in a lab experiment. They really are kind and patient with us and very excited about our adjustment to living here. I just wish...I just wish that we could communicate more easily. I have so many questions to ask them.and I'm sure that Talas has her share of questions, too!
Here she comes. Uh oh, she has that look on her face, now. She's got something on her mind and I have a feeling we won't get much fishing in today.
TALAS
There he is. Down by the river. Fishing again. I shouldn't complain. I certainly don't want to have to live on those disgusting food pellets again! It's lucky that he's such a good cook. I've found that I can't cook a thing!
Wait! Did I just see a bug on the corn? Nasty little creature. Off. Off.
Wonderful! This corn is almost ready. Yum! I'm getting just the least bit tired of fish. I won't mention that to Tolc, of course! Dear, sweet man.
Now where did that come from? Well, he is a dear, sweet man. Actually, he is so much more than that. What would I do without him? We're a team of two. Partners in every way. Just us, alone in an alien world.
An alien world --Or is it? Sometimes.sometimes something will feel so familiar. Like the other day.planting those tomato seedlings.how do I know how to plant tomatoes? It was the funniest feeling! I wonder if I was a farmer on the other side of the wormhole?
Hah! That doesn't feel right! Farmer, indeed. More like a.what?
I can't help wondering. Why were we on that spacecraft? Were we the only two on it? Why can't we remember anything? Wait! If Tolc and I were both on the spacecraft, then maybe we knew each other on the other side. Maybe that's why we're so easy with each other here. We could even be.married! Oh! That would explain a lot!
I think Tolc and I need to look more closely at those pictures Frrek and Bolic keep showing us. We need to find some answers.
If only we could ask some questions!
TOLC and TALAS
"Tolc, Tolc, are you down here?"
"No, I left an hour ago."
She stopped as another wave of familiarity swept over her. Then shaking herself she continued. "Idiot! Here, help me down. This bank is slippery."
Tolc held out his hand and grabbed hers as she slid down the bank and landed next to him.
She held on to his arm as she steadied herself. He looked down at her until she looked up at him. Their eyes locked for a moment and then, realizing that they were probably under observation, they both pulled back.
"All right," Tolc said with a grin, "I know you have something on your mind, but before we start that discussion, I have something I want to show you."
He reached around the back of the tree growing beside the river and brought out the fishing pole he had made for her.
She looked at it and raised one eyebrow.
"It's for you. Remember we talked about building a boat so that we could go out fishing on the river?" At her nod he continued. "Well, you can't go fishing without a pole. So, I made this for you. I hope you like it," he finished shyly.
"Oh, Tolc. Thank you."
She took the pole from him and looked at it admiringly.
"This is great!" she enthused. "As soon as you teach me how to fish, we can start on the boat. I bet I'll soon be catching more fish than you can!"
Tolc laughed. "I'm not taking you up on that bet, Talas. Once you set your mind on something, the rest of the universe might as well step aside. I'm glad you like it, though."
"I do, Tolc. Thank you so much."
Talas hugged him. He was surprised, she usually shied away from displays of affection outside of their sleeping pad, but that didn't stop him from hugging her back.
They pulled back so that they were looking at each other and Tolc said in a teasing voice, "Now, what's on your mind? I could tell you were thinking hard about something when you came down here."
Talas frowned.
"Let's find somewhere to sit down. You're right. I do have something on my mind."
They walked along the river until they found a spot where the bank wasn't so steep. They clambered up and sat down on a grassy patch of ground.
Talas hesitated. Then she frowned in disgust at her own indecisiveness. Squaring her shoulders, she turned to Tolc with determination in her voice.
"Don't you ever wonder how we got here? Who are we really? What were we doing before we were dragged here? Did we know each other in that other existence? Were we friends?.Were we lovers? Or were we enemies? Were there other people on the ship with us? Did anyone else survive?"
Tolc held up his hands.
"Whoa, whoa," he chuckled. "You really have been thinking hard." He grew serious. "Of course I've asked myself those questions. Well, maybe not all of those questions, but most of them. I don't know if we'll even learn the answers. It's so difficult trying to communicate with Bolic and Frrek that I guess I've given up trying."
"We can't give up," Talas said intensely, pounding her fist into her palm. "Don't you see. We must have people out there. They may be looking for us, while we're hiding out here." She waved her hand towards the peaceful meadow. "We may have family who are missing us. We owe it to them as well as to ourselves to find those answers."
Tolc was nodding his head. "You're right, Talas. We do have a past. A past that will always be calling to us until we find the answers to our questions."
He looked over at her serious face. "So, what's your plan?" He grinned. "And don't tell me don't have a plan because I won't believe you!" He shook an admonitory finger at her.
She grinned lopsidedly.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a plan.more like a course of action. She faced him, her hands moving decisively as she talked.
"First we need to learn more of their language. For some reason, they don't seem to be able to understand anything we say in our language. But I think that we understand a great deal of their language. So, although we can communicate with them on a surface level, that's not good enough anymore." She paused thoughtfully. "I know that when they talk they use their three arms along with words and, obviously, we're not equipped to do that. But we've got four arms between us so we can.share.an arm," she said, laughing at her own suggestion.
He laughed too at the image that produced.
"The second thing we can do," Talas continued, "is look more closely at those pictures they used to show us. See if anything in them can jog our memories."
Tolc could feel his enthusiasm building.
"Okay. Here's something else. Why don't we go beyond our two minders and seek out the people who rescued us. Oh, and the doctors who treated us, too. They might be able to tell us things that weren't in the official report.
He stopped a moment and lowered his head in thought. He looked up at her and said slowly and thoughtfully, "We could ask to see the clothes we were wearing when they found us. Maybe they could give us a clue."
"Agreed." Talas jumped up. "Let's start right now!"
Tolc grabbed her hand as she turned away.
"Whoa," he said squinting up at her. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to ask Bolic to find out the names of the people who rescued us. Then we can go and talk to them and." her voice slowly trailed off as she realized what she was saying.
"Damn it!" she frowned. "I forgot. We can't ask them anything until we learn their language." She put her fists on her hips and glared down at the ground.
Tolc jumped up and put his arm around her.
"Hey," he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze, "don't get discouraged already. We'll learn to communicate. That can be our first priority. And we can still look at those pictures. Come on. I'll bet Frrek and Bolic will be tickled pink when we start studying their language again.""
Talas shook her head and grinned ruefully. "Were you always the voice of reason?"
"Don't remember," he grinned back at her. "Were you always so gung-ho?"
"Don't remember," she laughed up at him.
She grabbed him by the hand and tugged. "Come on, Reason, let's get started with our plan."
"Lead on, Gung-ho," he laughed as she started dragging him towards the house. (TO BE CONTINUED) Chapter 3 coming soon.
TOLC and TALAS
Frrek motioned Tolc to follow them and they headed for the sleeping room with Bolic in the lead.
Just as they entered the room, the alien on the bed sat up. Her eyes were panic stricken as she saw Bolic and Frrek approaching her. She put up her hands to ward them off. Upon seeing this, the men stopped and put up their hands as well.
"Greetings, Talas." Bolic said softly. "You know me. Remember? I am Bolic and this is Frrek. We will not harm you. We would like you to meet someone else." He moved aside so that Tolc could come forward. Bolic continued the introductions. "This is Tolc. He may look familiar to you. He will not harm you, either."
Tolc's eyes were riveted on the figure on the bed. He slowly approached her and knelt in front of her. He put out his hand as if to touch her but then drew it back.
"I'm Tolc." He said. "Who are you and how did you get here?"
Tears glistened in her eyes. She gasped, "I can understand you! She visibly pulled herself together and continued in a stronger voice. "They call me Talas, but I don't know who I am or how I got here. I can't remember anything before I woke up in the hospital. I was there for a long time. Please," she pleaded, "can you help me remember?"
Tolc's dark eyes, too, were glassy with emotion.
"I don't think that I can help you, Talas. You see, I can't remember anything either. I, too, woke up in a hospital. They brought me here after my injuries were healed. I've been here for months, I think. If I understand them correctly, they found me in a small starship that had come through a wormhole. The ship was destroyed, but they managed to rescue me. They didn't tell me there were two of us. I'm so.very, very glad to see you." This time he did reach out and touch her cheek.
Talas put her hand up to cover his. "Don't leave me."
"I won't." promised Tolc. "We'll stay together now. It won't be so bad with two of us." Tolc flashed her a reassuring grin, his handsome face dimpling.
Talas managed a small smile in return.
Bolic and Frrek were busy writing on their notepads. They were overjoyed that Talas had responded so well to Tolc. Bolic was especially elated over the smile he saw on Talas' face.
Frrek turned to Bolic and said, "I think this will work out, Bolic. It is always easier when we have two of a species to integrate. Now, I think they should eat something. Watch this."
Frrek walked over to Tolc who was still kneeling on the floor and tapped him on the shoulder. He then moved his arms one at a time up to his mouth in a gesture of eating. Tolc looked at him and did the same thing. Then he turned to Talas and said, "That means it's time to eat. Let's go into the kitchen and have dinner."
Talas held back. "I hate those food pellets they give us. I can hardly choke them down. How do you do it?"
Tolc laughed. "I've found a way around them. How do grilled fish and steamed vegetables sound to you?"
"Like heaven," Talas responded, her eyes round with wonder. "But how.?"
"Come, I'll show you." Tolc held out his hand and helped Talas up. Then he led her into the room they used for cooking and sat her at the table on a rough stool that he had made for himself.
Frrek and Bolic followed, busily scribbling notes the whole time.
FRREK
NOTES ON MALE ALIEN ((¥¤¤ð¬? KNOWN AS TOLC
Tolc is in his 8th piot in the rehab center. His progress has been phenomenal. The turning point seems to have been the introduction to our program of the female alien, Talas.
The bond between them is very strong. They are always together. They now share a sleeping pad. We have observed them in what we think is a procreation ritual but have had to discontinue the observation due to their negative reaction to our presence.
Our greatest concern is still language. Although we still cannot understand what they are saying, they are making some progress in understanding us.
Tolc will soon be ready to be introduced into our society and trained in a profession.
BOLIC
NOTES ON FEMALE ALIEN KNOWN AS TALAS
Talas has gained 4 nuyar since coming to the Mt. Luwar Rehabilitation Center four piots ago. Her skin has darkened from exposure to the sunlight. (Special Note to Dr. Pruwath: At first exposure, her skin became a reddish color with many brownish spots appearing. However, over time her skin has taken on a more brownish hue but the brown spots remain. She does not appear to be ill.) She is eating the food that Tolc prepares and has also, like Tolc, started eating one food cube with each meal.
Her mental health has improved greatly. She appears very happy, but not always content. She has been observed sitting quietly, staring sadly up at the sky or falling into a temper when she becomes frustrated. Tolc has been very patient with her. He can soothe her when we cannot.
She has shown a great interest in our technology. Both she and Tolc spend much of their time studying our tools, our building methods, our furniture, our ground car and even our plumbing! Her intelligence cannot be questioned.
Frrek and I will be introducing them to our cultural vids this piot. If they show an interest and their progress continues, we will consider a trip into Kilto City soon.
TOLC
Who's that? Oh, it's Talas calling me. There she is, crossing the meadow.
Now what has caught her attention? Ah, she's checking on the "corn" in our garden. She has practically taken over the gardening job. She says she finds it "satisfying." Huh, I find it hard work!
She's spotted me now. She's waving back at me. Can't seem to break away from her garden, though. Do I sound jealous of a garden? Ridicules! I'm glad she's found an interest.
I love to watch her. She's changed so much. Her face glows with health. Her smile is as bright as twin stars.
She has also changed my world. Her enthusiasm for discovering even the smallest bit of information has made me see this world, really see it, for the first time. With Talas here, with her in my arms at night, I think I could find peace with our circumstances. If I had the words to thank Bolic for bringing her to me I would use them over and over again.
I hope she likes the fishing pole I made for her. (I wish I could fashion her a fishing temperament as easily!) It'll be great if we can build that boat we've been talking about. We can explore the river. But.I doubt we'll be allowed to venture so far away.
I know that Frrek and Bolic observe us constantly-sometimes at the worst possible moment!-but at least they don't make us feel like prisoners.more like.specimens in a lab experiment. They really are kind and patient with us and very excited about our adjustment to living here. I just wish...I just wish that we could communicate more easily. I have so many questions to ask them.and I'm sure that Talas has her share of questions, too!
Here she comes. Uh oh, she has that look on her face, now. She's got something on her mind and I have a feeling we won't get much fishing in today.
TALAS
There he is. Down by the river. Fishing again. I shouldn't complain. I certainly don't want to have to live on those disgusting food pellets again! It's lucky that he's such a good cook. I've found that I can't cook a thing!
Wait! Did I just see a bug on the corn? Nasty little creature. Off. Off.
Wonderful! This corn is almost ready. Yum! I'm getting just the least bit tired of fish. I won't mention that to Tolc, of course! Dear, sweet man.
Now where did that come from? Well, he is a dear, sweet man. Actually, he is so much more than that. What would I do without him? We're a team of two. Partners in every way. Just us, alone in an alien world.
An alien world --Or is it? Sometimes.sometimes something will feel so familiar. Like the other day.planting those tomato seedlings.how do I know how to plant tomatoes? It was the funniest feeling! I wonder if I was a farmer on the other side of the wormhole?
Hah! That doesn't feel right! Farmer, indeed. More like a.what?
I can't help wondering. Why were we on that spacecraft? Were we the only two on it? Why can't we remember anything? Wait! If Tolc and I were both on the spacecraft, then maybe we knew each other on the other side. Maybe that's why we're so easy with each other here. We could even be.married! Oh! That would explain a lot!
I think Tolc and I need to look more closely at those pictures Frrek and Bolic keep showing us. We need to find some answers.
If only we could ask some questions!
TOLC and TALAS
"Tolc, Tolc, are you down here?"
"No, I left an hour ago."
She stopped as another wave of familiarity swept over her. Then shaking herself she continued. "Idiot! Here, help me down. This bank is slippery."
Tolc held out his hand and grabbed hers as she slid down the bank and landed next to him.
She held on to his arm as she steadied herself. He looked down at her until she looked up at him. Their eyes locked for a moment and then, realizing that they were probably under observation, they both pulled back.
"All right," Tolc said with a grin, "I know you have something on your mind, but before we start that discussion, I have something I want to show you."
He reached around the back of the tree growing beside the river and brought out the fishing pole he had made for her.
She looked at it and raised one eyebrow.
"It's for you. Remember we talked about building a boat so that we could go out fishing on the river?" At her nod he continued. "Well, you can't go fishing without a pole. So, I made this for you. I hope you like it," he finished shyly.
"Oh, Tolc. Thank you."
She took the pole from him and looked at it admiringly.
"This is great!" she enthused. "As soon as you teach me how to fish, we can start on the boat. I bet I'll soon be catching more fish than you can!"
Tolc laughed. "I'm not taking you up on that bet, Talas. Once you set your mind on something, the rest of the universe might as well step aside. I'm glad you like it, though."
"I do, Tolc. Thank you so much."
Talas hugged him. He was surprised, she usually shied away from displays of affection outside of their sleeping pad, but that didn't stop him from hugging her back.
They pulled back so that they were looking at each other and Tolc said in a teasing voice, "Now, what's on your mind? I could tell you were thinking hard about something when you came down here."
Talas frowned.
"Let's find somewhere to sit down. You're right. I do have something on my mind."
They walked along the river until they found a spot where the bank wasn't so steep. They clambered up and sat down on a grassy patch of ground.
Talas hesitated. Then she frowned in disgust at her own indecisiveness. Squaring her shoulders, she turned to Tolc with determination in her voice.
"Don't you ever wonder how we got here? Who are we really? What were we doing before we were dragged here? Did we know each other in that other existence? Were we friends?.Were we lovers? Or were we enemies? Were there other people on the ship with us? Did anyone else survive?"
Tolc held up his hands.
"Whoa, whoa," he chuckled. "You really have been thinking hard." He grew serious. "Of course I've asked myself those questions. Well, maybe not all of those questions, but most of them. I don't know if we'll even learn the answers. It's so difficult trying to communicate with Bolic and Frrek that I guess I've given up trying."
"We can't give up," Talas said intensely, pounding her fist into her palm. "Don't you see. We must have people out there. They may be looking for us, while we're hiding out here." She waved her hand towards the peaceful meadow. "We may have family who are missing us. We owe it to them as well as to ourselves to find those answers."
Tolc was nodding his head. "You're right, Talas. We do have a past. A past that will always be calling to us until we find the answers to our questions."
He looked over at her serious face. "So, what's your plan?" He grinned. "And don't tell me don't have a plan because I won't believe you!" He shook an admonitory finger at her.
She grinned lopsidedly.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a plan.more like a course of action. She faced him, her hands moving decisively as she talked.
"First we need to learn more of their language. For some reason, they don't seem to be able to understand anything we say in our language. But I think that we understand a great deal of their language. So, although we can communicate with them on a surface level, that's not good enough anymore." She paused thoughtfully. "I know that when they talk they use their three arms along with words and, obviously, we're not equipped to do that. But we've got four arms between us so we can.share.an arm," she said, laughing at her own suggestion.
He laughed too at the image that produced.
"The second thing we can do," Talas continued, "is look more closely at those pictures they used to show us. See if anything in them can jog our memories."
Tolc could feel his enthusiasm building.
"Okay. Here's something else. Why don't we go beyond our two minders and seek out the people who rescued us. Oh, and the doctors who treated us, too. They might be able to tell us things that weren't in the official report.
He stopped a moment and lowered his head in thought. He looked up at her and said slowly and thoughtfully, "We could ask to see the clothes we were wearing when they found us. Maybe they could give us a clue."
"Agreed." Talas jumped up. "Let's start right now!"
Tolc grabbed her hand as she turned away.
"Whoa," he said squinting up at her. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to ask Bolic to find out the names of the people who rescued us. Then we can go and talk to them and." her voice slowly trailed off as she realized what she was saying.
"Damn it!" she frowned. "I forgot. We can't ask them anything until we learn their language." She put her fists on her hips and glared down at the ground.
Tolc jumped up and put his arm around her.
"Hey," he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze, "don't get discouraged already. We'll learn to communicate. That can be our first priority. And we can still look at those pictures. Come on. I'll bet Frrek and Bolic will be tickled pink when we start studying their language again.""
Talas shook her head and grinned ruefully. "Were you always the voice of reason?"
"Don't remember," he grinned back at her. "Were you always so gung-ho?"
"Don't remember," she laughed up at him.
She grabbed him by the hand and tugged. "Come on, Reason, let's get started with our plan."
"Lead on, Gung-ho," he laughed as she started dragging him towards the house. (TO BE CONTINUED) Chapter 3 coming soon.