A celebratory dinner was hosted on Citali's battleship that he had taken from the Prince. Nahuel respectfully appeared honoring his first brother. The battle had been won but many Yautja warriors had been killed. It was the greatest loss of Yautja life that Lex had ever experienced. Still, the royals and officers celebrated their victory and gave token toasts to the victorious dead. Lex felt distracted during the dinner. Her faith and beliefs had been challenged by the reality that thetans existed to deceive sentient beings. These brainwashed entities were sent out into the galaxy to create false religions and ideas to create discourse in the universe. The Prince's views were quite simple. He was going to continue to believe in his Yautja religion and hope the Creator respected his dedication. For Lex, that wasn't good enough.
When the dinner was over, the Prince took Lex aside. "We are going to visit an old friend. Do not have a grudge against him."
"I know how to handle a grudge," she replied.
The Prince ignored Lex and continued the festivities. Lex went to bed early and prepared for the long trip ahead.
The Prince and Lex came into the presence of the Collector. "I see you have brought me a new specimen. I have waited a long time to collect one such as this," the Collector said taking the small metallic box holding the thetans.
"Your invention was most hopeful in capturing them," the Prince complimented.
"The thetans were created only one hundred million cycles ago. For me, it seems like a short time ago," the Collector smiled.
"What is the truth?" Lex asked out of turn.
"What do you mean?" the Collector asked gently.
"Did the thetans invent all the religions of the galaxy?" Lex asked.
"No, many cultures existed and died before the thetans were created. Many more cultures were never exposed to the thetans. Some resisted the thetans," the Collector said. "The question you really want to ask is whether your religion is true."
"I'm asking it," Lex said directly.
The Collector smiled amused. "I wasn't there. Earth was of little concern to the galaxy except for the Yautja who enjoyed hunting there. The story of a savior is very familiar throughout the galaxy. I can only give you one consolation: the thetans never colonized the Earth or Yautja-Prime."
"Then how did they know Earth religions?" Lex asked.
"Information exchange works two ways. You learn from them, but they also learn from you. It is part of their deception," the Collector replied.
"I was hoping you could allow my wife to see the specimen," the Prince said changing the subject.
"Ah yes," the Collector said amused. "Follow me."
The three walked past halls of alien lifeforms and then to an elevator shaft. Each floor seemed to represent a different time period. The Collector then led them through a cold environment where all living specimens were frozen in ice. "These are all the specimens that I do not have currently on display. I have them cryo-frozen to preserve them," the Collector said.
The Collector brought them to a container and immediately Lex identified the creature. It's skin was a cross between bird and reptile, it was two meters long, a long snout filled with razor sharp teeth, intelligent looking eyes, a tail, and sharp claws on its feet. In front of her was a Velociraptor. "Unfortunately, a comet impacted your world creating an extinction event. I preserved as many species as I could before they died off," the Collector said.
Lex simply stared at the frozen creature. It had the familiar shape of the raptor but was covered in feathers. "It kind of looks like a bird," Lex noted.
"Such is evolution," the Collector replied. "Perhaps they would have become the dominant species of your planet."
The Collector then led the two through a number of extinct species exhibits. Finally, they came to a primitive ape creature. Lex stared at the half-human half-ape looking figure. "This was collected rather recently a few hundred thousand cycles ago," the Collector said.
"You saw the evolution of humans?" Lex questioned.
"The Yautja as well," the Collector replied.
The Collector stared at the creature intently. "Tell me, when does a creature, such as this, have a soul. At what point in their evolution does an animal become a "being" with a spirit and soul capable of receiving salvation?"
"You don't believe in God or spirits," Lex realized.
"I do not subscribe to beliefs. My wife was haunted by these questions, and it resulted in her destruction. I was merely curious," the Collector said.
"I don't know," Lex admitted.
"Such humility!" the Collector bowed his head impressed.
"How do you know the Prince so well? You two work together often?" Lex asked.
"We have a long history relative to his lifetime," the Collector said. "Shall I tell the tale?" he asked the Prince for permission.
"You may. I will be in the exhibit sampling your work," the Prince said leaving the two alone.
"The Prince was not always a skilled warrior. He had a great interest in species analysis, biology, and archeology. He had heard rumors of my existence and discovered my fortress. He proposed a partnership whereby he would collect intriguing artifacts and species in return for my help," the Collector said.
"What kind of help?" Lex wondered.
"My body has lasted for billions of years, but I am not a fighter. There is a species I collected that was hostile to all life. It won every single battle against its enemies. It had never been defeated. I sought to discover its secret. What I discovered was that the creature's blood had tachyon properties. Using biological engineering, the species could manipulate time itself. Whenever it died, it would come back to life the day before, and when it died again, the process would continue indefinitely until it was victorious. The species could live a thousand days fighting a thousand different ways until it succeeded, and it would only be one day for the outside observer," the Collector explained.
"How did you capture it then?" Lex asked.
"The ability can be transferred to another organism. Once it circulates through the blood, the individual will repeat the the same day continuously every time they die. The only way to stop the ability is by losing the blood," the Collector said.
The Collector brought Lex over to a large container holding the alien life form. It was dark blue with light bluish arteries and veins. The creature stood on tentacle limbs and had a large jaw without eyes. Its whole body appeared to be a collection of dark vines fastened tightly together. The creature was frozen unable to die and come back to life in another timeline.
"If it ever managed to kill itself, it could alter the galaxy's past," the Collector mused.
"What does this have to do with the Prince?" Lex asked while staring at the beast.
"Ah yes, the Prince, as I have said, was not a skilled fighter. Many warriors at his age were killed. Of course, his first opponent would be the Xenomorph," the Collector said.
Lex recalled how all three of the Yautja warriors were killed by the Xenomorphs on Antarctica. One Xenomorph happened to killed two Yautja warriors in quick succession. "The Prince came to me for help for his trial. He believed he would live a great destiny if he could only survive this hunt. So, I gave him this blood. When he returned victorious, he gave me a memory recording of his hunt," the Collector said.
"How many times did he die?" Lex asked curiously.
"I do not recall the exact number, but it was more than a year of memories. For a year, he trained his mind on how to best use his weapons, his body, and his equipment to hunt the Xenomorph. He studied their habits, their instincts, and their weaknesses. Finally, he successfully killed their queen but even so his two other comrades died every time. So, he killed himself replaying the same hunt continually in an attempt to kill the queen while also keeping his comrades alive. Eventually, he learned the most important lesson of all: to finally let go. He returned the only survivor," the Collector said.
"So, basically he cheated," Lex realized.
"The Prince does not believe in a no-win scenario," the Collector replied. "He then extracted the blood from his body but occasionally he comes back for more. He does not use it only for fighting. I remember him using it to court a female. She had rejected him, so he replayed the same day continually until he was able to win her heart."
"Has he done it on me?" Lex asked concerned.
"I was not aware you were even his wife. Had I known, I would not have put you on display," the Collector said embarrassed.
The Collector hadn't answered her question to her liking. Lex continued with the inquiry. "Tell me how he did it."
Yautja Prime, September 1979
A young Prince, fifteenth living son of the King at the time, slept in the royal transport as it approached the capital. The transport made its way through the busy highway system on its way to the King's palace. Upon its arrival, the Prince woke up lazily. Taking his time to exit the transport, he walked up the ancient steps to the palace's entrance. The King had many children and paid little attention to any of them except for a few.
He was a youth without a wife at this moment. His life, up to this moment, was one of luxury and elite education. In his head were many ideas, theories, and facts. However, he lacked the combat training of a hunter. The Prince walked down the halls of statues of former kings.
Finally, he came to the King's throne. He knelt before his father and bowed his head. "Rise, my son," the King said pointing his staff at him.
The Prince looked up and stared at his father and King. "What is your wish, my King?" the Prince asked respectfully.
"You will face a trial by combat against the Xenomorph," the King told him.
The Prince was stunned not believing what he had just heard. As far as he knew, none of his older brothers had faced this trial before. "Father, have I displeased you?" the Prince asked.
"No," the King said.
"This is a death sentence. I am not suited for this task," the Prince admitted.
"That is why you are being sent. You will return with honor or not at all. You will learn to hunt just as I have and your forefathers," the King said.
The Prince felt flustered by this. "Where shall I be sent?" he asked.
"You will be sent to Earth on an uninhabited island," the King said.
The Prince felt even worse. Earth was a backward planet with a primitive species dominating the land. Only a few cycles ago were these humans able to set foot on their own moon. "How much time will I have to prepare?" the Prince asked.
"You will leave in two weeks," the King ordered. "You will be assigned two others of your age to accompany you."
The Prince noted the common approach of having a group of three in a hunting party. It was likely the other two would be sons of high nobility. Still, the Prince felt it likely that all three of them would perish. The Prince placed his hand over his heart. "I will make you proud, father," he pledged.
"Learn from your teachers and be humble, my son," the King advised.
The Prince left the palace believing he had only two weeks to live. In his desperation, he decided to entertain an unorthodox way of achieving victory.