Chapter 10 (Whitney)
After Sam and I got back from the first visit, we had to sit down and try to sort through all the details. Neither of us actually knew what the hell was going on.
"So, do you think the Ellimist is to be trusted?" I asked. Usually, I could figure out people very well, but this wasn't a person. Sam, on the other hand, could be a psychiatrist.
He shook his head, then answered. "I am not sure. He acts like he is being honest, but doesn't really seem to want us to know anything. Like we are inferior." He said.
"But what if he is telling the truth? Will you accept the offer?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Not a chance in hell." He sad defiantly. "I have things to do here."
"The yeerk thing?" I asked. I was kind of disappointed with him. Sure, he felt the need to defend his planet, but why do that? He could leave. Visser three would no longer have to be his problem. He didn't need to look for a fight around every corner.
"No. Not that at all. I really don't see the need to jump to such a conclusion so early." He said. "And on top of that, I feel there are too many layers to deal with. He said we would take our family and friends so we wouldn't be lonely."
"Right." I nodded.
"Well, what about our family and friends's family and friends. Where would he draw the line? What would be fair? It could very well lead to the entire planet going."
"I guess." I didn't know what to say. I hadn't really thought about that. But him saying it did make me think of a few different points. Like what we would do if we were taken there. "What about when we got there?" I asked.
"I know, it wouldn't work." He said.
"No, I mean, what would we do? Do any of us know how to smelt metal, make fire, or start a civilization from scratch? I know I couldn't." I said.
"Good point." He said.
We both sat back, thinking about the points brought up. They were both right, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized they were right. There was no way we could successfully pull this off. At least I couldn't. There was too much to think about. And besides, it wasn't like me to just give up.
The Ellimist is out of luck, if I can help it. But that brought up another point. "Sam, what if we don't want to go, but the rest do? Will we have to go too?"
"I don't know. I sure as hell hope not." After that, we pretty much went to bed. It wasn't all that late, but we were tired as hell.
The next day, we were both sitting around, discussing what would happen. Mostly whether or not we should go to meet them at the barn like they said.
"Sam, we should really go down and tell them what we think. I don't want to be forced to pay for a decision I didn't make." I said.
Sam just shook his head. "Don't worry, the Ellimist will be back, I am sure of it." He said.
So we went on through our day. I was just hoping they didn't go ahead and make the decision. I was hoping Sam was right, and the Ellimist would come back to allow us to make a decision together. I hoped a lot of things.
But rest assured, alter that day, the Ellimist came to talk to us again. Out of the sky, he appeared like a cloud of blue mist, forming out of nowhere. As usual, the worlda round us stopped.
"Your friends are having difficulty. They cannot decide whether they should or should not trust me." He said.
"Why would we trust you. We don't even know who you are. Only what you tell us. Are you simply trying to manipulate us, or help us, we don't know." Sam said. And he could very well be right either way.
"I understand that, is there any way I can make you trust me?" He asked.
I shook my head. "No, not indefinitely. There is almost always an underlying plot, and when we can only see what you want us to see, then you could be hiding a lot of information."
The Ellimist smiled and looked at me. "You are clever. I can see that." He said, "but there is much you need to learn."
I blushed. I didn't know what to say.
"Well, you could allow us to talk to the rest of the group. See what they have to say." Sam suggested. "It would allow us to make a more informed decision."
"No. Instead I have decided to show you what needs to be seen. I will allow you all to see what the future holds in store for all of you. Especially you." He looked at Sam. "Are you sure you want to know the consequences of your actions?"
"What actions? Ones I have made, or will make?" Sam asked. But the Ellimist just smiled and allowed the world to dissolve.
We were instantly transported to a world not unlike our own. Actually, something told me it was our own.
The world was barren, dead. And the sky was filled with slightly yellowed clouds and the world had a haze over it. It was gross.
Beside us, the rest of the Animorphs were there. All of them, Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, Ax, and Gordon. All waiting. Tobias was even human again. He just shrugged as Rachel stared at him with resentment.
"Good to see you again." Gordon said as he waved. "So, any idea where we are?"
"I think we need to look around before we make any decisions." Cassie suggested. And so we did. There seemed to be nothing around. Just half buildings and a yellow sky. I, of course, didn't recognize any of it.
"I think we would do good to start exploring, it doesn't look like standing here will amount to anything." Jake said. And I agreed.
We began to walk. Which must have been awkward for Tobias. He was now used to flying. He was stumbling a bit over the rubble that lined the ground.
"You alright?" I asked as I helped him up.
"I'm fine. This will just take a while before I will perfect it again." He answered.
We continued to explore. I could see buildings all torn down. It looked like someone had set off a bomb downtown. Actually, the more I looked, the more I realized where we were.
"Guys, we are home. Well, not home, it looks like the place has been destroyed." I pointed out.
"Good work, genius." Marco said. I just laughed. I guess he was right. It was pretty obvious. "Any other remarkable observations?" I laughed again.
"Well, I think this is the future." Rachel said. "I think. I mean, look at that. that looks like the construction site, kinda. And that is the mall." She pointed out.
I looked over and saw the mall, because that was what it was, only the giant 'WAL*MART' words were gone, and in it's place were many holes. Holes which Taxxons crawled in and out of like a taxxon hive or something. It was gross.
And from it came a giant tube. That tube burst from the roof and led to all kinds of places. Like a hamster environment. In it I saw people, hork bajir, and Taxxons fleeting through it. Like a drop-shaft that went in every direction.
"What is that thing?" Gordon asked. "The tube, I mean."
"I think it is a mode of transportation. Maybe if we see where it goes, we can learn something." Jake said. And so I did. I looked in many of the directions it went. Actually, it surprised me because I hadn't noticed it before.
"Sam, why don't you fly up and see where some of it leads? We can't see much from here." I said. A building was in our way.
"Alright, you guys can go and look around that mall, I will see what I can see from up there." Sam said as he jumped up into the sky, superman style.
Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Let's go, we have nothing better to do."
But Marco put his hands up. "Whoa, let's look at some facts here. In case you haven't noticed, this world has been taken over by yeerks. Look around here. It is exactly as Ax said it would be."
{Not exactly, but similar.} Ax said.
Marco shot Ax a look. "Whatever. Either way, this is yeerk territory now. I say we find a way to not get ourselves killed and stay away from all the yeerk infested areas."
But cassie stopped him. "Marco, I understand what you are trying to say, but we can't just stay in one place. The Ellimist wanted to show us something, I don't think staying here is the best way to see what he had in mind. And considering he claims to want to help us, I don't think he wants us dead."
Cassie's argument hit home. Marco looked like he was going to say something, but he stopped, seeing we weren't going to listen to him anyway. He just crossed his arms and went with us.
We continued on our journey.
After Sam and I got back from the first visit, we had to sit down and try to sort through all the details. Neither of us actually knew what the hell was going on.
"So, do you think the Ellimist is to be trusted?" I asked. Usually, I could figure out people very well, but this wasn't a person. Sam, on the other hand, could be a psychiatrist.
He shook his head, then answered. "I am not sure. He acts like he is being honest, but doesn't really seem to want us to know anything. Like we are inferior." He said.
"But what if he is telling the truth? Will you accept the offer?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Not a chance in hell." He sad defiantly. "I have things to do here."
"The yeerk thing?" I asked. I was kind of disappointed with him. Sure, he felt the need to defend his planet, but why do that? He could leave. Visser three would no longer have to be his problem. He didn't need to look for a fight around every corner.
"No. Not that at all. I really don't see the need to jump to such a conclusion so early." He said. "And on top of that, I feel there are too many layers to deal with. He said we would take our family and friends so we wouldn't be lonely."
"Right." I nodded.
"Well, what about our family and friends's family and friends. Where would he draw the line? What would be fair? It could very well lead to the entire planet going."
"I guess." I didn't know what to say. I hadn't really thought about that. But him saying it did make me think of a few different points. Like what we would do if we were taken there. "What about when we got there?" I asked.
"I know, it wouldn't work." He said.
"No, I mean, what would we do? Do any of us know how to smelt metal, make fire, or start a civilization from scratch? I know I couldn't." I said.
"Good point." He said.
We both sat back, thinking about the points brought up. They were both right, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized they were right. There was no way we could successfully pull this off. At least I couldn't. There was too much to think about. And besides, it wasn't like me to just give up.
The Ellimist is out of luck, if I can help it. But that brought up another point. "Sam, what if we don't want to go, but the rest do? Will we have to go too?"
"I don't know. I sure as hell hope not." After that, we pretty much went to bed. It wasn't all that late, but we were tired as hell.
The next day, we were both sitting around, discussing what would happen. Mostly whether or not we should go to meet them at the barn like they said.
"Sam, we should really go down and tell them what we think. I don't want to be forced to pay for a decision I didn't make." I said.
Sam just shook his head. "Don't worry, the Ellimist will be back, I am sure of it." He said.
So we went on through our day. I was just hoping they didn't go ahead and make the decision. I was hoping Sam was right, and the Ellimist would come back to allow us to make a decision together. I hoped a lot of things.
But rest assured, alter that day, the Ellimist came to talk to us again. Out of the sky, he appeared like a cloud of blue mist, forming out of nowhere. As usual, the worlda round us stopped.
"Your friends are having difficulty. They cannot decide whether they should or should not trust me." He said.
"Why would we trust you. We don't even know who you are. Only what you tell us. Are you simply trying to manipulate us, or help us, we don't know." Sam said. And he could very well be right either way.
"I understand that, is there any way I can make you trust me?" He asked.
I shook my head. "No, not indefinitely. There is almost always an underlying plot, and when we can only see what you want us to see, then you could be hiding a lot of information."
The Ellimist smiled and looked at me. "You are clever. I can see that." He said, "but there is much you need to learn."
I blushed. I didn't know what to say.
"Well, you could allow us to talk to the rest of the group. See what they have to say." Sam suggested. "It would allow us to make a more informed decision."
"No. Instead I have decided to show you what needs to be seen. I will allow you all to see what the future holds in store for all of you. Especially you." He looked at Sam. "Are you sure you want to know the consequences of your actions?"
"What actions? Ones I have made, or will make?" Sam asked. But the Ellimist just smiled and allowed the world to dissolve.
We were instantly transported to a world not unlike our own. Actually, something told me it was our own.
The world was barren, dead. And the sky was filled with slightly yellowed clouds and the world had a haze over it. It was gross.
Beside us, the rest of the Animorphs were there. All of them, Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, Ax, and Gordon. All waiting. Tobias was even human again. He just shrugged as Rachel stared at him with resentment.
"Good to see you again." Gordon said as he waved. "So, any idea where we are?"
"I think we need to look around before we make any decisions." Cassie suggested. And so we did. There seemed to be nothing around. Just half buildings and a yellow sky. I, of course, didn't recognize any of it.
"I think we would do good to start exploring, it doesn't look like standing here will amount to anything." Jake said. And I agreed.
We began to walk. Which must have been awkward for Tobias. He was now used to flying. He was stumbling a bit over the rubble that lined the ground.
"You alright?" I asked as I helped him up.
"I'm fine. This will just take a while before I will perfect it again." He answered.
We continued to explore. I could see buildings all torn down. It looked like someone had set off a bomb downtown. Actually, the more I looked, the more I realized where we were.
"Guys, we are home. Well, not home, it looks like the place has been destroyed." I pointed out.
"Good work, genius." Marco said. I just laughed. I guess he was right. It was pretty obvious. "Any other remarkable observations?" I laughed again.
"Well, I think this is the future." Rachel said. "I think. I mean, look at that. that looks like the construction site, kinda. And that is the mall." She pointed out.
I looked over and saw the mall, because that was what it was, only the giant 'WAL*MART' words were gone, and in it's place were many holes. Holes which Taxxons crawled in and out of like a taxxon hive or something. It was gross.
And from it came a giant tube. That tube burst from the roof and led to all kinds of places. Like a hamster environment. In it I saw people, hork bajir, and Taxxons fleeting through it. Like a drop-shaft that went in every direction.
"What is that thing?" Gordon asked. "The tube, I mean."
"I think it is a mode of transportation. Maybe if we see where it goes, we can learn something." Jake said. And so I did. I looked in many of the directions it went. Actually, it surprised me because I hadn't noticed it before.
"Sam, why don't you fly up and see where some of it leads? We can't see much from here." I said. A building was in our way.
"Alright, you guys can go and look around that mall, I will see what I can see from up there." Sam said as he jumped up into the sky, superman style.
Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Let's go, we have nothing better to do."
But Marco put his hands up. "Whoa, let's look at some facts here. In case you haven't noticed, this world has been taken over by yeerks. Look around here. It is exactly as Ax said it would be."
{Not exactly, but similar.} Ax said.
Marco shot Ax a look. "Whatever. Either way, this is yeerk territory now. I say we find a way to not get ourselves killed and stay away from all the yeerk infested areas."
But cassie stopped him. "Marco, I understand what you are trying to say, but we can't just stay in one place. The Ellimist wanted to show us something, I don't think staying here is the best way to see what he had in mind. And considering he claims to want to help us, I don't think he wants us dead."
Cassie's argument hit home. Marco looked like he was going to say something, but he stopped, seeing we weren't going to listen to him anyway. He just crossed his arms and went with us.
We continued on our journey.