Oopsies.

Shinza's mission was supposed to be eight years long, not two years. I forgot to change that in the last chapter...


"This is crazy. Just reminding you all of that." Sarap announced five hours later. "This is like trying to revitalize a mummy. You know…are either of you considering the fact that this guy looks like a dinosauric carnivore at best? Perhaps he'll be rather ill tempered when, and if, he wakes up?"

"Relax." Detec reassured as he examined his instruments. "His neurons are being flooded with inhibiting neutrotransmitter. He won't have any voluntary muscular control."

Shinza didn't comment on this. Foolish as it was, she wasn't considering the danger that this obviously large and predacious creature represented. She was too marveled at the fact that she was going to bring it back to life…

The creature was still suspended in the membrane sac, but it had changed. Now, an overhead tower had lowered onto it, and no less than a dozen devices had inserted themselves into the sac this point. The medium in which the thing was now floating was nutrient rich and sterile, and prepped with several other compounds. It was what they normally subjected critical condition patients to in hospitals on their world. It was a rather miraculous substance, able to keep dying cells from progressing into scar tissue or apoptosis, and immersing the subject in a medium in which they would not need to eat to obtain nutrients. It would respond to the needs of a living organism instantaneously with changes in pH, temperature, and other essential factors.

This was only one item, however. The creature's organs were shot, even if they could work again. Because of that, stints were inserted into his flesh in his chest region. They were wired up with electrodes and circuitry to keep the muscle in the heart moving, even though most of it was atrifuted scar tissue at this point. A nozzle was fixed over his desiccated mouth, which was already pumping and removing supersaturated oxygen from his body. Special devices were fixed over the end of his eye sockets, covering up the horrible fate that they had endured in the decompression of space. This, in addition to other life support items and interventions, strung the creature up in a bizarre format as it floated in the sac.

However, all preparations were at last completed. Detec finished adjusting his last few instruments, and then turned and began to walk over to join Sarap and Shinza. Both of them were at the console, although Shinza was the one occupying the only seat. Both of them stared earnestly up to the creature. Shinza trembled with excitement again at the thought. Her one crazy gamble had been right. Perhaps…they could somehow awaken this creature using the same methods to the entire organism. She wasn't sure, but that was what had been set up now. The stints injected throughout his torso, as well as the nanites circulating in his tank of fluid, were all moving throughout his cells as they sat here, and by now had to have nearly penetrated the entire organism. Once they were engaged, the small machines would give every cell in the creature's body an injection of nutrients, as well as a potent dose of light energy in the form of energized photons. After that, they would be discarded. They would shut down, and the normal waste processes of a cell would eliminate them like urine or feces…which the tank was also prepared to deal with if, and when, they occurred. Once they "jump started" the cells, the tank's occupant would be bathed in high density ultraviolet light, the kind that they had concluded, by now, that the proteins best acted upon. They would be protected, of course. The membrane surrounding the organism blocked out any harmful radiation effects. The nutrients would begin their feed at that point, and the air compressor would start removing and filtering any carbon dioxide it picked up from the lungs. Last but not least, the stints in the chest cavity would give the creature a powerful defibrillation that would hopefully start up his nodes…assuming they were still intact. In any case, the machine would begin to pump the organism's heart for him if it fell short, although it would only do so if it detected signals attempting to do so on the thing's part. Hopefully, after all that was done…the EKG sensors that now dotted his brain and nervous system would register activity. If so, then the creature would live again.

Live again… Shinza thought. The idea was amazing. Never before had anyone in history attempted this on what was, for all purposes, a fossil. But they were actually going to do it. If they succeeded, then this large organism would snap out of its hibernating stasis and would actually live again. Something this large…coming to life. It excited her more by the second.

The three gathered around the front console. They quivered with anticipation. Nervously, they looked to one another and gave anxious grins. Shinza looked back to her screen. The last few nanites integrated, and the screen announced it. Now, it only offered the chance to commit. Nearby, the EKG and brain activity sensors read totally flat. Shinza tightened her fists once and relaxed, and then turned back to her assistants.

"Ready?"

Detec gave a nod. "Let's do it."

Shinza turned back to the screen. She licked her lips nervously…trembling with excitement. But at last, she spoke the word.

"Computer…initiate the program."

Immediately, the liquid inside the sac fizzled. A cloud of air bubbles was generated, and with a hiss a great flash of light suddenly erupted and bathed the interior of the sac in a soft glow. For a moment, the wired-up creature vanished, as a bright blast of light enveloped it. However, that died down soon enough. It lowered its intensity and diminished to a steady, yet softer, glow around the organism. The bubbles rushed to the top of the fluid, and disintergrated. Moments later, the creature rippled once violently, as the stints delivered a powerful shock to his inner body. After that, they began to softly run.

Shinza and her assistants turned down to the console. A great blip went out once from the shock…but then it went flat. Nevertheless, they hung on. Shinza wrung her hands together and prayed once again, just as she had before. She hoped what she saw wasn't a fluke. She desperately hoped that it would hold. For a few fateful seconds, there was still nothing. The EKG was flat, and showed no activity from the brain or nodes.

But then…very softly…the line began to squiggle. It quickly widened over the next few seconds, and then, with a sudden snap, became the regular curves expected from the heart nodes. Not only that, but the waves for the brain activity began to enlarge, and soon began to become quite distinct. The creature's motor functions were arrested for the most part, but still, the researchers gaped at this in astonishment, and then looked up to the creature itself. Shinza felt enthusiasm begin to surge within her…and great joy began to come across her face.

"Oh my god…" Sarap announced in a breathless whisper.

"It's really happening…" Detec added in much the same way.

"He's alive…" Shinza murmured aloud, staring at the thing. Slowly, a smile began to spread across her face. Her volume grew. "He's alive…he's actually alive! This is the greatest-"

WHAT ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!

The joy of the three researchers disappeared as a powerful, monstrous voice ripped through their heads with such force that it flung the two assistants back and to the ground. As for Shinza, she was thrown back in her own chair, and her smile was swallowed up by sudden surprise. The two assistants landed with a heavy thud on the ground. After doing so, however, their faces quickly turned from interest to fear. They scrambled up and looked to the creature before them.

"What…was that?" Sarap suddenly sounded.

"I…I think…it talked to us…" Detec answered, trembling and nervous now.

Shinza blinked at the organism. It hadn't moved at all. Yet that voice…it had been so powerful and strong…it had actually thrown her body with its might. She couldn't deny she had heard it. Even now, she heard it echo through her mind. "But…that's impossible…" She slowly answered. "He has no vocal chords. Even if he did, he couldn't…"

Where am I! The voice suddenly blasted in their minds.

Shinza silenced immediately, and was flung back again. The young men slid back on the ground, staring in terror at the thing. However…it still hadn't moved.

Why can't I move? It continued. Why can't I open my eyes? What am I floating in? Who are you people! You're not humans… You don't even have the same energy as that from Gaia…

The three were petrified. They didn't know what to do. They just heard a powerful voice rippling through their minds now. They couldn't deny it again. There was a presence in their heads…and it was talking to them. Shinza quivered and sat where she was. She stared again at the thing. It hadn't moved…it couldn't move… Yet there was little doubt in her mind that it was what was talking to her. But before she could ponder this any longer…she suddenly gasped once, and bent her head forward. She felt…strange. Something was happening. She couldn't tell what…but she continued to lean over and gasp a moment. It was like…something was running through her head. Not something physical…but something none the less. It was running through her mind…looking into what was there…uncovering the emotions she was feeling…opening her recent memories…and eventually pushing its way to somewhere behind her eyes…

Abruptly, the tone went violent.

My body… What are you doing to my body! Are you trying to dissect me!

Shinza recoiled in fear again. She found herself suddenly released from whatever came over her, and was free to lean back at this point. However, the voice was growing aggressive now. She was stunned. She wasn't sure what was going on exactly…but she began to understand. This creature…somehow, it was telepathic. Even after immobilizing its body, it was able to reach out and talk to them through their minds. Yet she had little time to worry about being excited for this new finding. As the voice grew angry…she felt herself seized again. Only this time…she felt a physical presence suddenly grabbing her. She looked down in shock at this, but saw nothing. Yet the feeling grew stronger. A grip was tightening on her. Suddenly, she felt her body yanked out of the chair and into mid-air. The assistants gasped, and looked to her as her body suddenly hovered over the console, being held in the air by an invisible force. It became clear at that point to Shinza that this creature was also telekinetic…and now, it was attacking her even without a body.

Detec had seen enough. Both of the young men were terrified now, terrified of the invisible force that was reashing out and attacking them. They stared in growing terror at Shinza. But finally, Detec managed to get enough courage to move. He suddenly sprung up from the ground. In another moment, he would have reached over and pressed the emergency abort button, instantly shutting down the devices that were keeping the creature in the sac alive. It would have killed it instantly.

Yet before he could, Shinza managed to call out to it.

"Please! Stop!" She cried. "We didn't do this to you! Let me explain! Please!"

Detec, struck by the sudden urgency of Shinza's voice, froze. Sarap was already staring at her, but both of them now turned to her and looked in puzzlement. If she could cry out, why didn't she cry for the computer to shut the systems down? Kill the thing now? It had her in its grip, and there was no telling what this monster could do to her… They had to get rid of it now before it did something else.

And yet…after she said this…everything paused for a moment. No more screams of anger. No more telekinetic attacks. No more anything. Just silence and stillness for a moment. The assistants didn't move. They stood there and nervously waited, while Shinza's own wide-eyed, fearful stare looked forward. Her feet dangled above the ground, and her body trembled in growing anxiety.

At last, something did happen. Slowly…Shinza's body was lowered back to the ground. But it wasn't thrown back on the floor or tossed down roughly. It was gently lowered back into the chair which it had been in a moment ago. Shinza slowly came to a rest, and she felt a force loosening on her as the telekinesis released her. She blinked and looked around in confusion at her body after this happened, and then sighed in relief.

Talk. The strong voice ordered, although not nearly as aggressive this time. And as for you two…don't even think about shutting down these systems. I'll be on you before the words leave your mouth.

Both Detec and Sarap leapt back at that. Shinza herself was surprised, and turned and looked to them in shock. As for them, they soon stared at the creature with even more anxiety than before. Detec shrank away a bit from the console himself. The doctor immediately understood. Of course…he was telepathic. That's what he was doing before. He had gone into her mind…saw through her eyes. That was how he knew how he looked like right now. And he knew what they were thinking. Apparently…they were wrong. This creature was dangerous even now. However, she dared not anger it again. She turned back and spoke up as ordered.

"Alright…we didn't do this to you. We found you like this, adrift in space." Shinza began. "We're a research vessel. We were looking for strange lifeforms. We were en route to a nebula to investigate particulate matter that came from it when we encountered you."

There was a pause from the creature. Actually…one couldn't tell if it was thinking or not. It lacked the ability to even form a thoughtful expression. In fact, there was really no telling whether or not the mostly lifeless mound of flesh in the sac was actually the one making all of these noises and forces. He showed no signs of life, for certain.

Yes… The voice finally answered, seeming to be musing over. Yes…I remember now. Wyvern…he took my limbs… But…I can see my body through your eyes. I am in far worse condition than I was at the end of that battle… Another pause. The voice seemed to be going off on its own stroll down memory lane at this. What did I do? How did that end? I remember flying…feeling myself dying… I wanted to go to space, take my body from Gaia… I thought it better if humanity was never able to research my flesh… I remember…being so strong that I actually survived as I broke the world's atmosphere…but then nothing. My wings continued to bear me after I passed out…

Shinza hesitated a moment. She was calmer now. The voice was in a much less violent tone, and seemed to be growing calm as well. He seemed to remember the bits of damage that had happened to him as well, which helped their case. The assistants were still nervous, but Shinza was relaxing, and managed to speak more easily.

"Your body… I don't know what happened to you, but somehow your body ended up in space. I'm not sure if your people had spacecraft or not…but somehow it did. When it did, the decompression caused internal hemorrhaging throughout your body. It blew your eyes out of your skull. It turned your lungs into wounds. It destroyed most of what was left after whatever damaged you last. Your body dessicated while adrift. Your dead cells began to turn into dried matter. Anything could have snapped them off. That's why your body is so deteriorated."

The creature hesitated at this again. This part, no doubt, was quite a shock to it. It had to take a moment to process this stunning amount of information. Again…Shinza felt a presence in her brain. This time it went right to her eyes. When it did…she, amazingly enough, found herself helping the creature out by looking up and to his body again. She felt a cold ripple at that…from inside her brain. The consciousness there was disturbed. Now…it looked at itself much closer than before, examining itself.

…I don't believe it. The voice finally answered. I should be dead… Look at me… I'm barely even recognizable as a creature… How am I still alive?

Shinza couldn't help but smile nervously at that. "To tell you the truth…I don't know. Somehow, your body must have had a great deal of potential ATP inside it. As crazy as it sounds…even with all the damage that happened to your body, you didn't die. You slipped into some sort of inactive state. And because you were in space, your body was preserved from rot and pathogens. Even though you were dried out and frozen, being in space didn't kill you…but somehow preserved your body. We thought you were a corpse, initially. We brought you on board to examine you, and we found that you had proteins in your body that reacted to sunlight, only needing that to work. Because of that, we thought that if we rehydrated your proteins…supplied you with nutrients…and gave you high enough intensity light, we could actually reanimate you. We did that just about three minutes ago…and, as you can see, you woke up."

The creature didn't answer this. Shinza didn't detect any change in mood, either. In truth…her species was somewhat "mentally inclined" as well. Her race had evolved that ability in this stage of evolution. However, the ability wasn't nearly as well developed as what she was experiencing now. Her species was somewhat empathic, but nothing more. Still, it seemed to be the same. When it spoke again…the violence was gone. Now, the creature was quiet…and sounded bewildered and confused.

But…all of these things you've attached to me…

"You're on heavy life support right now." Shinza responded. "Your heart and lungs are shot. You need machines to operate them for you. The medium you're floating in is nourishing your cells and filtering out wastes. Your eyes are only sockets now, so we covered them to prevent further damage. And you have so little functioning alveoli left that we need to keep you breathing purified oxygen."

In response to this, Shinza received a surprise. The creature paused a moment…but then gave a snort.

…Hmph…a living corpse…He slowly muttered. Another brief pause followed that. Again…death had it out for me…and again I escape him…although not without consequence this time…

Shinza blinked for a moment at this. She had no idea what it all meant. However, she had totally calmed down at this point. And because of that…she felt somewhat excited. She was actually talking to the strange creature that had been a fossil not five minutes ago. This was amazing… Detec and Sarap, however, didn't seem to share her sentiments. They continued to stay backed off, and looked to him nervously every second. A long pause occurred between the two sides. Shinza licked her lips, but after not hearing anything new from the creature for some time, she spoke up again.

"We theorize…that you've been adrift for at least 500 years. We're amazed. We've never heard of anything able to hibernate in space, much less for this long. The fact that you could be revived is amazing. It means you still had intact cells even after all that time. Frankly…you're one of the most fascinating creatures I've ever-"

Leave me.

Shinza found herself cut off. Her growing enthusiasm was quenched, and she looked up in puzzlement to the creature at this. As for the assistants, they too looked up in confusion. They leaned in close and stared at the beast after making this statement.

"…Excuse me?"

I wish to be alone to think. Leave me in peace for a time.

The three researchers continued to look puzzled at this. Shinza finally looked away from the creature, and turned to those behind her. They simply stared back, likewise puzzled. In the end, she turned back to the creature and shook her head. "We…we did have some things we wanted to test first. And, since we can talk like this, I'd like to tell you more-"

Young lady. A somewhat stern voice suddenly sounded, a bit annoyed and tired. I'm sure that this is all very fascinating and wonderful to you. But to me…this is humiliating and depressing. I thought I would die in peace 500 years ago. Now, suddenly I am alive and I am some sort of lab specimen for the fancy of some overly eager college students who are eager to make a name for themselves as winners of some award in Biology that I have very little care for.

Shinza was taken aback by this. Of course…the thing was reading her mind. He was reading all of their minds. He knew their desires…the hopes they had running through their heads when they stared at him. And in truth…Shinza realized…that until she realized this thing was intelligent, she intended on keeping it as a specimen. Tissue cultures…DNA analyzing…metabolic rate tests… She had planned to do this all if they could have made the thing live. After all, shouldn't she try to know all about her specimen? But now that the specimen was talking back to her…and was actually sophisticated…she realized, in tension, that such things no doubt had to make the creature rather mad. No wonder it had accused her of trying to dissect it…when it knew those thoughts in her mind…

"I…I didn't mean…"

No, you simply didn't think. The voice curtly cut off. Shinza was surprised at this sharp rebuttle. You thought that because I wasn't a creature like you that I was just some prize for your laboratory, not a sentient being with thoughts, concerns, and feelings. All you thought about was how my body was going to further your career. I will answer you one question right now… The reason that I was in space when you found me was because I was trying to keep my body from being used by curious, amoral scientists such as yourselves who would have turned my organs into works of art at best or engines of destruction at worst. I now find myself 500 years removed from my world. I have no friends or family left. The only woman I ever loved has long since passed into the Lifestream. And now…I am a barely conscious, mostly eroded piece of flesh floating in a tube to be gawked at by researchers like you for the rest of my remaining years. I am rather upset about all of this. So if you have any decency or respect for me as a sentient being…you will leave me alone to try and begin to accept what has happened to me.

Shinza, where moments ago had been intrigued, and before that scared, and before that joyful…now found herself humbled. She swallowed a little, and bowed her head slightly. The creature was right. She wasn't thinking. How would she feel if she suddenly woke up without arms, legs, or functional organs in a laboratory years after she had died…to be a sight for the eyes of scientists? What if she could read their minds, and they had no concern for how they had brought her back or her state…but thought only of what she could do for their careers? That was a horrible thought…and she realized, in abashed shame, that was exactly what she had done. The creature was right.

The young professor licked her lips once, but then rose from her seat. She didn't say a word to the creature again. She merely turned and looked to her assistants. They had frozen now. They heard everything that the creature had said to Shinza in their own minds. However…they were nervous. They knew the creature was telekinetic. What if he tried something while they were away? What if he had other powers they weren't aware of? They weren't so eager to leave him alone. They looked down to Shinza as she neared them, and hung back. They implored her with their own silent stares to stay.

However, Shinza refused. She continued to back up to them, and spread out her arms silently as she did so, pushing against them to lead them back. The young men frowned. They looked back up to the creature a moment, and then back to their professor. She continued to force them along. At last…they realized they were getting nowhere. Sighing, they turned and allowed themselves to be guided back to the turbolift. Shinza followed right behind them, and stepped in last and shut the door. Moments later, they were on the way to A deck.

The creature was left alone in his sac, wondering, if he still had eyes, if he would be crying now at his own dismal fate…


"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea in the first place…" Sarap asked nervously. "I mean…what if it attacks us again?"

"We should knock it out. Keep it unconscious while we run the tests." Detec suggested. "We could put it into a coma…but we'd have to get close enough to it to do that…"

"I think it's just plain dangerous." Sarap responded. "It'll never let us examine it now…not after that."

Shinza didn't answer any of this. She continued to stare out in space, and thought of their new arrival downstairs. It was later now. They had been up at the table for hours. None of them had said or done anything for a while. The assistants were terrified to act too much in one direction, thinking the creature, though below, would sense them and react. They couldn't even clean up breakfast. But now, it was much later than that. The table was clean, and the three sat at it and pondered these latest events. Sarap nervously exhaled again and again, while Detec wracked his brains for a solution. But none of them said much. They didn't risk saying anything out loud. Shinza herself simply stared out into space, and thought about what was going on…

"We could try and kill it." Sarap suggested after a while.

"In the words of the old fable…but who will bell the maus?" Detec answered. "I don't even like thinking negative things now."

"What if it tries to kill us in our sleep?" Sarap asked. "What if it tries to decompress the atmosphere? It can move stuff with its mind. Who knows what else it can do?"

Detec frowned and let out a sigh. He, for one, still believed this to be a great specimen. He didn't want to blow it on fears. But Sarap's own notions were well founded. What if they couldn't control it? What if it somehow acted against them? What if it became violent again? Both choices represented a threat to them, but especially in the implementation. They were at a loss. At last, Detec turned to Shinza.

"Professor, what do you think?"

Shinza was snapped out of her staring into space, and turned back. "Huh?"

"About the organism. What do we do about it?"

Shinza hesitated for a moment at this. Her mouth hung open and moved, but not sound came out. After a long hesitation, she finally swallowed and gave a shrug. Her mind seemed distant, and she seemed like she wasn't focusing on the conversation…which, in fact, she wasn't. "Oh…well…how about we just let things go for right now. We have an eight year mission, after all. And he doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Detec frowned and sighed again at this. He turned back to Sarap. His fellow assistant looked to the table and nervously drummed his fingers. He had one nail in his mouth and bit it uneasily as he looked down. One of his legs were shaking, showing his anxiety. At last, Detec sighed, and then pushed away from the table. "Fine then. I'm going to bed. It's getting late anyway."

Sarap snapped his head to him at this. "Are you serious?" He asked incredulously. "You actually want to go to sleep with that thing poking around in our brains?"

"Well, we can't stay up forever." Detec answered. "Besides…I don't think it's interested in us right now."

Sarap continued to nervously sit a moment. He was still shaking. However…with an anxious look, he began to rise from the table as well. His own anxiety was taxing his reserves and making him tired. "Yes…but still…"

"Good night, professor." Detec interrupted, looking to Shinza. She had not moved, and had resumed staring out into space once she had said her piece. However, she looked again to Detec at this, although she still was distracted-looking. "You should probably come to bed too. We've had a long day."

Shinza blinked and stared back a moment. But in the end, she gave a nod. "Oh…" She said, in a somewhat distant voice. "Alright…yeah. That's probably a good idea. I'll just have some tea and then I'll turn in."

Detec looked back to her a moment, but in the end gave a nod. He turned and began to move away from the table and back to the rear exit. Sarap hesitated a moment, still looking uneasy. But in the end, he sighed and left as well. The two young men were soon leaving the central kitchen area and descending the short staircase. After that, they soon returned to their rooms, and after two sets of door slides, the deck was silent.

The lights were dimmed now to give the crew a better feeling for night. In truth, time was a bit relative when journeying through space, but the crew kept a 30 hour day, just like on their homeworld. Shinza herself folded her hands and stared out once again. She was alone now, and the area was silent, leaving her completely secluded with her thoughts. She inhaled deeply once, and then exhaled. At length, she did rise from her chair, and went over to the cooking area. With somewhat rehearsed movements, she reached into a half-opened box resting on the counter and produced a small dark disk. She inserted this into a nearby device and pressed a button. In less than three seconds, a steaming cup of tea was dispensed onto a cup below, which Shinza took and sipped. As she did, she leaned her body against the counter…and continued to stare out.

At last, she could take it no longer. Still holding her tea, she turned and walked off of the raised kitchen platform as well. But she didn't make for her room. She went for the turbolift. Once there, she quickly passed through the automatic doors, and inside she requested to go to B deck. The door shut soon after, and her body was soon whisked away down below. Her face continued to stare out with a preoccupied look all the while.


Seconds later, the doors opened again. Shinza found herself in the darkened lab. Keeping with the "night" motif, the power had dimmed here as well. She could request it to light up, if necessary, but she didn't at the moment. She didn't even notice the dim lights. Instead…she turned all of her attention to the one bright spot in the laboratory…the glowing tank that held the strange creature.

Shinza hesitated here, and quivered. She was nervous. Did the creature sense her? If so, would it be impatient and want her to leave? Would it strike again? She didn't know…but as it turned out, none of these things happened. The creature remained still in his tank, and no sound waves echoed through the woman's brain. The body was motionless as it floated in the medium. However, the life support devices continued to register, signaling that the creature yet lived. Seeing this, Shinza at last moistened her lips…and walked forward into the room.

She was on the console in a moment, but she stopped only to set her tea down. The click of the cup on metal sent an echo through the silent room. Everything was quiet here…and it unnerved her slightly. She was left to anxiously wait for some sign of life from the creature, which would shatter the silence and her nerve in one fell swoop. However, the creature didn't react. It continued to silently float inside of its tube. Shinza stared at it for a long while…before she finally found herself moving. Slowly, she stepped around the console in front of her, and made straight for the tank itself. She did so until the glow of the lights came over her as well, and she stood right next to the massive sac and the creature within. She hesitated again for a moment…before she suddenly lowered herself to the ground and sat. She reached her arms out and wrapped them around her legs as she tucked them in. There, she halted.

The professor stared earnestly at the creature for a few moments. She no longer drifted off into space, but was transfixed on the beast himself. She swallowed again.

"…Hello? Can you hear me?"

…Yes.

Shinza couldn't help it. She leapt back a little, and felt a ripple of fear travel through her. She hadn't been expecting that strange way of talking. However, she calmed down and leaned in after a moment. "I…I didn't know if you were asleep…"

Neither did I. The voice answered, rather calm but not friendly. I can't very well tell if I am asleep or awake when I can't move any of my body.

The professor hesitated here. "…You should be fine by tomorrow. We gave you a paralyzing agent…just to arrest your movement that could tear out life support…but it will wear off by then. You should be able to move…whatever you can." She finished this last part a bit lamely.

I see. The voice replied, again calm and unfriendly.

Shinza clutched in for a moment, and bowed her head slightly.

"I…I want to apologize again…for earlier." She finally managed to say. "You were right…I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry if I insulted you. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you…"

Shinza heard a snort in her mind at this. I can think of very little that anything could do me for good at this moment. The voice answered. But out of possibilities…I do have one that I find myself leaning more and more toward as the hours pass. I might request that you shut off the life support, and let my already dead body rest...

Shinza sat upright at this, and looked to the beast in surprise. Her eyes widened and she clutched her hands to her chest. "Oh no!" She called out to him, imploring in her voice. "Don't talk like that!"

Hmph…"talk", you say… The voice sardonically replied. And why not? Look at me. I'm a brain in a useless body. I have nothing left. I don't know where I am, and I don't know anyone else. I have nothing else. I'm not even home. The very place I'm in right now is a mechanism meant for me to cheat death. And you may not know this…but I've already been alive for over 6,000 years. I haven't much left to do…assuming I could do anything in this body…

"But you can't want to kill yourself." Shinza insisted, pleading with the creature. "You may not be in the best shape…but you're alive. You're talking. You can interact with people. If you give us enough time, we can build prostheses for you to get around with…"

Do you really care about my quality of life? The thing suddenly retorted. Or are you just worried about losing your precious specimen?

Shinza was cut off at that. She hesitated a moment, and nervously licked her lips again. Her head bowed, and she trembled slightly. However…it only lasted for a little while. In the end, she inhaled deeply, and raised her head to look at the creature again.

"Alright…I'll be honest." She finally said, her voice becoming firmer and stronger. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in studying you. Right now…there is nothing more on my mind that I would like to do. You are the most unique organism I've ever encountered. Your way of staying alive is different from all other creatures known on record. You could rework the phylogeny of life based on your species alone. And yes…my people would be fascinated by this. Yes, I and my assistants would probably become famous for publishing these results. You are a biologist's dream.

"But I swear to you, I don't want to just make you a specimen in a glass jar. And after this morning…after seeing how you felt about it…I'd never try to put you on display for people to gawk at. Perhaps I would have up until the point we revived you…but now, you're a living, sentient creature. You're intelligent. You deserve the right to life the same as any of us, and to live the way you choose.

"I do want to study you…but I don't care if no one else ever sees you or tests you. My main interest regarding you is knowing more about you. You are so fascinating…so new…so different… I've been thinking about you all day. Already, what we discovered is remarkable. I can only imagine what else I can find out. But mostly…I care about it myself. I'm curious about you. I'm interested in you. I want to satisfy that curiosity, yes…but I don't want to make you a freak. I want to just know about you…everything about you. Even if no one ever saw my results but me, I'd still love to learn about them.

"But that's not all I want to learn about. I mean…you just said you've been alive for at least 6,000 years. That makes you the oldest living thing on record. And you're intelligent. I can hardly begin to comprehend the knowledge you have to have. You have 6,000 years of history of an unknown planet in your mind…a complete data set about another world we've never encountered before. You've experienced mental growth and emotional changes that none of us have ever fathomed would be possible due to short life. You…you're like a living ledger…a history of a world. Everything that you know…it's just as valuable…maybe even more valuable…than what you are. And I want to know about it too. I want to know all about your world and where you come from, and what sort of environment makes creatures like you. You can teach us all so much just by what you are."

The voice didn't answer any of this. It didn't show a response in positive or negative. It merely continued to float motionlessly. Shinza hesitated again, looking to the creature. She nervously stared a moment longer, but then spoke again.

"Can you please just give us some time? A few months…a year…then I'll do whatever you want. There's so much we all want to learn about you. There's so much in terms of history and biology that we can learn…and who knows what else. You won't have to be on display or anything. We're in space on a research voyage. It will be another seven and a half years before we return to civilization. No one will be around you except me and my assistants. No one ever has to see you or gape at you or anything. Please…just give us the chance to examine you…to find out what kind of creature you are. Tell us about yourself. About your world. About everything you know. Share some of your knowledge with us. You are such a great opportunity…you're such a fascinating creature. I've got to have the chance to find out about you…to find out what things you know and what makes you able to live for so long under such stressful conditions." A pause afterward, and then Shinza added more. "It will at least give you something to be left behind…some record of who you are and where you come from, if you really want to die. Just please…give us some time. I can't bear the thought of missing a chance to learn about a creature like you."

Silence reigned after this phrase. Shinza was done. She was nervous about this. The creature, for all purposes, didn't give a care about what she liked or thought. It probably just wanted to get out of its horrible situation. She still prayed that he would give her a chance, however. She didn't care nearly so much about publishing results and getting awards…so long as she just had the chance to learn about this marvelous organism before her…to get some idea of the things it knew. At last…a dark voice answered.

Normally…I would say no. You see, I can still see into the minds of you and your assistants. Both of them are filled with fear, and yet are desperate to make names for themselves as scientists. They see me…and see an easy way into getting renown, a scientific career, and all the grant money they could ever need. Trust me…if I read your mind and saw the same things…I would use my telekinetic power to rip this stint from my chest and rob you of your "prize" right now.

Shinza trembled at this and swallowed, growing anxious again at the thought that the creature would kill itself. And yet…that only lasted a moment. Afterward…the voice grew lighter.

However…as I said before, I can see into your mind. And you do seem to be genuine. While your assistants go to bed thinking how they could work around the problem of me being sentient and capable of acting out on them…you came down here to apologize. And I can tell that your desires are true…that your primary interest in me is to satiate your own great wonder and curiosity. If you do want to learn from me, then you want to do so for the sake of knowledge and not for your own glorification.

Another pause went out. Shinza felt a bit more hopeful now, and she eagerly looked to the creature. Did this mean he'd agree? After a moment longer…the voice finally sounded again.

Very well. I'll give you some time.

Shinza face immediately brightened. "…Really?"

It's not like I can do much else. And I haven't lived for 6,000 years to easily want to embrace death…yet. Seven and a half years is nothing to me. I'll give that to you. Afterward…I might want to die simply to ensure you don't make me a sideshow freak for the rest of my days. However… The creature paused here, and grew grim. I will have conditions.

Shinza hesitated, but then gave a shrug. "Alright then…what do you want?"

I'm not going to go through this impersonally. The creature answered. I wish to know who you are, and likewise I will not submit to any tests being known only by a serial number or "the specimen". I could go into your mind to ask you who you are and what you are. I know enough to know that you are not human. Your energy reading is totally off, not identical to Gaia's in any way. And you seem only humanoid, but not a true human. And so…who are you?

The woman hesitated again at this. This was a bit unexpected, but in the end she figured it was essential. After a pause, she finally gave a nod. "Well…my name is Dr. Shinza. I'm an Ettecan."

Alright. My name is Bahamut. I am an esper.


To be continued...