Chapter 6

Visitors Part 3

Author's Notes: So here's the final installment of Chapter 6. It took two sessions to write this one, I hope the length is okay with you because the next two chapters will be quite long as well. Sorry it took so long to write, guess I have to come to a certain mood to write. Eh, well next chapter is going to have an exciting beginning and should be an interesting read over all. I wonder how long it will be since it will be chronicling 10 years of the new character's lives. Yes, new character introductions coming up! Tell me what you think!

A black man dressed in a white wife beater and black jeans hanging low on his jeans bristled with power. He was 6'5" and 245 pounds, his skin pulled taunt over the sinew and muscle making up the majority of his weight. He went to a pay phone, and received instructions on where the deal was going down. There was a car already parked for him to drive, the keys hidden under the car. He needed to bring the crack from one side of town to the other and then distribute the product to the various dealers working the neighborhood. If he could pull it off he would be good with the boss, the question is could he do it without getting caught? As soon as he found the car it was a disaster. He needed to back up and merge into regular traffic, but instead he slammed forward and smashed into the wall in front of him, leaving a popped hood and smashed headlights as a clear witness to incompetence. He finally figured out how to go into reverse when someone smashed into him as he was backing out. People start yelling at him as he drives off and cop sirens are heard.

"Maybe you should try stealing another car?"

The man gets out of the car and pulls out a gun from the back of his pants and points it at someone stopped at a red light. He throws the man out of the car and steals it. Then he starts driving and can't stay in between lane lines to save his life. He hits poles, and runs people over. "Is this how driving is like?" The screen turns red and a siren bleeps. Next thing AJ knew he was dead. GAME OVER flashed across the screen.

"Can I play? I want to play!" Edwin cried. "Let me try." Edwin was mixing Poleepkwa speech with English, but AJ did not know whether to encourage it or scold him. Melissa and Emmie already encouraged it since that meant they could understand him. Though even then they did not know whether it was good or bad since it inhibited them from learning the Poleepkwa language.

"No, you are not old enough to play a game like this." While AJ enjoyed playing it he wasn't sure if he should either. It felt rather freeing to play a game where he could run people over, take them hostage, shoot them, and strike terror that could never be reciprocated, but he felt at the same time since there were good humans he shouldn't feel good about feeling delighted to kill their pixilated forms. Then something strange happened. Some older woman had unlocked the door, saw him, let out something between a scream and a squeak and slammed it.

"Who was that?" Edwin asked.

"I don't know! But I will have to talk to Melissa about this!" At this rate MNU would be smashing in the door at any moment. Melissa and Emmie were a comfortable presence, helping him while he was injured, but then they revealed his presence to James, a colleague they both worked with. AJ wasn't certain if he did not like James' character or simply did not like any other humans knowing where he was staying but he felt threatened by James. And now some strange woman popped her head in. The next surprise visit would be leaving the door in splinters, AJ thought.

Amanda ran to the taxi and told him to drive back to her hotel as fast as possible. She felt jarred by the discovery she made. On the one hand, she felt proud for her daughter helping another species, but at the same time she had never seen one so closely. It was… alien, simply a life form so completely different from anything she had seen that she could only scream when she saw one mere feet from her. But as the taxi drove her back to the hotel the story came to her quickly. Her daughter lied, she had sensed that from the phone call. She did not hit any animal, she hit an alien. And then when Melissa brought Amanda to the apartment she did a very convincing job at trying to present it as her own place, but the way the furniture was arranged was in a way Melissa would never approve. Some of the pictures hanging on the wall were clearly Emily's as well. Amanda was able to distract Melissa by asking for a cup of tea and found some mail with Melissa's real address.

When Melissa went to school the next day Amanda went to Melissa's real apartment and found a potted plant next to the door. Amanda taught Melissa to put a spare key in a pot under the plant so that in case there was an emergency no matter what she would have a key to her house. Amanda shook the potted plant and removed the plant from the pot and found the key under the plant. Once she had the shock of her lifetime and returned to her hotel room she thought. Of course she did not condemn her daughter for keeping a Poleepkwa in her household, in fact Amanda commended her for it. What she did not understand is that her daughter knew she did not have to lie. Why did she? Amanda decided to talk to Melissa about it, and also ask Melissa to introduce her patient.

The four of them had started a sort of daily routine, where Melissa and Emmie would go to school in the morning and study until about six, would go to the grocery store, go to Melissa's apartment and cook dinner. The Poleepkwa, being carnivores, would have some sort of meet either raw or lightly cooked and the humans had a balanced meal of meat and vegetables, fruit and starch. Then they would practice conversation where the poleepkwa would instruct the humans on the details of their language. Then they would clean up and Melissa and Emmie would review the material covered in class until about 11 or 12 and then they would leave for Emmie's apartment to sleep.

Melissa felt quite happy that day, since she was able to start her morning off with a five mile jog. Emmie and Melissa where progressing rapidly in their classes, especially in language, and that day were able to clear up some misunderstandings they had about the respiratory systems. They went shopping for some groceries, and since Melissa was in such a good mood she opted to buy some steaks. However, when they got home they found an angry alien. AJ screamed about how they were endangering the life of his child, how their indiscretion would alert the MNU and how Melissa's carelessness with her vehicle had trapped him in her dwelling. He was at their mercy and she was letting strange people into her house.

Melissa started to apologize but could only understand some of what he was saying. Then he started to get violent. He threw the table into a wall. And then smashed his fist into one of the cabinets, breaking the dishes inside. Emmie let out a scream, Melissa took a protective stance in front of Emmie. "CALM DOWN AJ!" Banging on the wall started. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OVER THERE!"

Seconds passed and then banging started on the front door, "OPEN UP IMMEDIATELY OR I'M CALLING THE COPS!" Melissa gestured for Edwin and AJ to go into her bedroom and shut the door. The next door neighbor, a man in his mid forties, erupted, "What the fuck is going on? I've been hearing some weird sounds since you moved in. And now you're going to bring the whole building down? You have a lot of explaining to do!"

Melissa sighed, "uh, we had a huge accident in the kitchen. My friend is a klutz and dropped a bunch of dishes on the floor. She also screamed when she dropped them."

"Ok, what about the weird talking, it's like you're speaking with aliens. Do I need to call MNU?"

"Actually, we work for MNU. What you've been hearing is us learning their native language so that we can best serve our clientele."

"Serve prawns? What are you talking about?"

"Sir, we mean provide medical care for the Poleepkwa, because I, as a doctor, believe that all patients should receive the best care possible. In fact, I believe that MNU is trying to serve the poleepkwa better by hiring physicians such as myself that truly feel compassion for our visitors."

"Uh…ok. I respect that, I do. Think you can keep it down from now on?"

"I will do my best, sir. Thank you."

The door was closed. Emmie clung to Melissa and started sobbing; Melissa drew all her weight into the wall, holding onto it for dear life, as she started to feel dizzy from what just took place. The phone rang. A soft jazz buzzed… it was her mother. Melissa let herself slide to the floor and answered the phone.

AJ sat on the bed, wondering what he just did. He had gone berserk, he felt that his child's life was in danger and almost attacked Melissa and Emmie, and they saved him again. But did they really save him, or was he simply at risk again? He opened the door and listened to Melissa talking on the phone, "I understand now. Yes, I'm sorry for lying to you…. It's just …. Who I work for you know, they can't know about this. I could lose everything if I was caught. Yes, please come over."

"AJ, let's talk…"

Emmie and Melissa sat on the couch. Edwin went and sat upon Melissa's lap as she started talking. AJ stood there, realizing that, with one wrong move he would be locked up, and Edwin would be placed in a one meter by one meter crate until he reached maturity. "I realize you're upset about seeing a stranger come in here, but you must realize that was no stranger to me. That woman you saw is my mother. I did everything possible to make sure she couldn't find out about you or this apartment or this situation. But she is my mother, she can tell when things are off, she can tell when I'm lying, and she knew that I was hiding something when I picked her up from the airport. That's why she came here, because she knew that something was wrong. Look, she's coming over because she's worried. Please know that she is one of the best people on earth, and please …. I don't know…. don't freak out."

Emmie burst out, "No! She shouldn't come. In fact we should just leave and let them fend for themselves! They waste so much of our time."

Melissa asked, "Is it a waste of your time to come here?"

"Oh, what the fuck ever, but you shouldn't let mom risk her safety to see this. Let's just go."

Emmie got off the couch and was heading to the door.

AJ spoke, "I'll make it easier for everyone. I'll leave. I'll leave Edwin in your care and fend for myself."

"YOU TWO, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Melissa screamed. "AJ, would you just relax, meet my mother and decide what to do after that. Can you do that? And Emmie, just keep quiet."

There was a knock on the door. Melissa opened it, and let Amanda in. "My dear, what happened, your shaking!" Melissa started sobbing, and Amanda held her close. "What happened?" Amanda looked at the kitchen. The cupboard collapsed to the floor, and there was broken glass everywhere. The table made an indent into the wall. Emmie was on the couch with her knees to her chin, her arms hugging her legs.

Melissa said curtly, "he freaked out and went on a rampage because you came here earlier and he doesn't know you. The only reason he calmed down was because the neighbor threatened to call the cops."

"Is that his child, Emmie? I believe he could have reacted so violently because he felt his safety and the safety of his child were threatened."

Emmie exploded in rage, "How the fuck can you excuse this? Amanda, he was going to ATTACK us! If the guy next door didn't threaten to call the police where would we be now? Would our entrails be decorating the ceiling?" She stared at AJ in a deathly gaze, "If this is a common trait for your species then there is no mystery why you cannot be accepted, be integrated into human society. I'm getting the fuck out of here. Melissa, I'm going to seriously consider withdrawing from this residency and going back to California." Emmie grabbed her back and went for the door.

"Emmie, wait…" Melissa called.

"Melissa, I'm a doctor, not some martyr. I'm not here to die for my patient. This…" she waved at the destroyed kitchen, "is insanity." Emmie slammed the door.

Melissa's jaw tightened, "I want you out. Get out of my house or I will call the authorities." She pronounced coldly.

"Melissa, please think more deeply on this situation."

"Mom, Emily's right! What is there to think about? I came here to help an ailing and misunderstood species. I hit him, and I have done everything possible to fix that. I've risked my job, I've paid for food, I've let him have my apartment, and I've been checking up every day to make sure everything is well. This has cost me time, money and I've risked my livelihood and reputation. If you think you can solve this it's your problem. I can't take this anymore!" Melissa went in her room and put on some running shoes.

As she went to the door Amanda asked where she was going.

"I'm going to run to Emmie's."

"At this time of night?"

"I need air." Melissa slung a bag over her shoulder and went outside. She just didn't care anymore. She would have normally stretched but she felt the need to just move. Her system felt overloaded with anxiety, anger, adrenaline, panic, despair and she started moving. Melissa had been running since she was a junior in high school and as the years passed she grew more and more passionate about it. Every year she did a marathon, and her training was intimately ingrained in her daily schedule. The accident took a lot away from her, including her running and she felt light and full now that she could return to her routine.

Melissa was frightened of the sky. In order to get onto the plane to get to South Africa her and Emmie had to plan something that could knock her system out. Emmie was an expert on medications so she gave Melissa a set of tranquilizers that could knock her out once she was in the cabin. Melissa insisted that it was not a fear of heights, it was having a high respect for gravity. And perhaps it had something to do with her personality, for Melissa was a very caring, but also a very practical person. She did not try to establish a connection with people, as her mother did, and instead did whatever action she could to help those who needed it. Whether it was connecting desperate people with the right contacts or researching someone's legal rights or referring them to the right agency or giving them items that they needed Melissa constantly went out of her way for others, but she remained grounded. Perhaps that is why she placed so high on marathons.

Melissa's mind felt tight and knotted, her head starting to pound from muscles and teeth clenching. Thoughts flowed and her imagination raced. Her feet pounded against the concrete and her breath came in easy gasps. She easily crossed a mile, and a second. Her strides were wide and steady and as the miles went past her mind began to ease. As she reached eight miles a slight fatigue set in, and she felt euphoric. She decided she would simply stay away from her apartment, and let her mother handle it. She felt a bit guilty and feared for her mother's safety but if anyone could solve it, Amanda could.

Over an hour passed, and she was nearing Emmie's house. She was past eleven miles by the time she reached her destination and knocked on the door. Emmie answered it, "What took you so long. You ran here?" Emmie noticed Melissa's Nikes.

"I'm leaving it to my mom. It's her life and if she wants to sacrifice it that's on her. Are you really going to transfer?"

"I've already been working on getting a residency at Oakland Children's Hospital. After that I don't think I can work with aliens."

Melissa came in and sat down at the kitchen table. Emmie sat down as well, "what about you, are you going to stay in the program? Whatever happens two years from now I'm pretty certain the residency will shut down. If there are no aliens there's no point in having doctors for them."

"How much risk is associated with working with them?"

"Pretty high, I heard."

"Yes, but how much?"

"Oh, God, Melissa. Who cares? They're reactionary, unpredictable. I think that's been well established tonight."

"Because if they truly are unpredictable then why would I stay in the program? I want to make an informed decision as well. As you said this program won't last more than two years and to be a qualified physician I need at least five. Perhaps I should reconsider this decision, but I need to research more to do that."

"You should come to San Francisco with me! They have the best clubs there, and my parents would love to see you more often!"

Miranda and James ate at an upscale French restaurant in downtown Johannesburg. They talked about their family and college, how their father was doing, and where their mother would travel next. After a half an hour an uncomfortable silence settled. Finally James broached the question, "Sister, I know perhaps it's out of my place to ask, but why are US forces being deployed to South Africa?"

Miranda sighed, "I am only telling you this because you're family, because you're my brother and it is only an accident that you don't know yourself. I think part of it is obvious. As everyone knows, while most of the Prawns-"

"Poleepkwa."

"Aliens, crustaceans, whatever. We know they've spread worldwide, but the majority are still held here under the care of MNU. And we expect a strong force from their home planet to arrive in two years directly in Johannesburg, where the highest concentration is located. We expect violent force will be used which is why the strongest military in the world has a stake here, and that is why our presence is required. There is more to it though."

"Wouldn't that cover everything?"

"It covers what the public knows. The truth is deeper than that. We are actually working with the South African military to test the capabilities of our weapons."

"Wait, why wouldn't you know the capabilities of your weapons?"

Miranda sighed, "Here's a history lesson, some of which you already know. In 1982 the aliens landed here and since have been a burden to the locality. Shortly after their landing MNU took over their care, expecting that through offering good hospitality and possession of the aliens and their equipment they could gain new weapons technology. What they quickly found out was it wouldn't be so easy. To their dismay they found out that the aliens did not know how to operate any of the equipment on the ship because only the laborers survived the catastrophe that landed them here. They also found out that all the weapons were equipped with a genetically based security system that only activated with prawn DNA. On top of that the ship didn't work, they couldn't find a way to get it running no matter what experts they brought in or how much research they did. They ended up finding themselves caring for over a million prawns with no way to send them home and no new technology as a payoff. In other words, they became the wardens."

"Are you saying if the ship worked they would have sent them home?"

"Despite the harsh living conditions the prawns are in a lot of money is actually put into their upkeep. MNU has to pay for a high degree of security, for basic water, food, sanitation, and housing. MNU is actually losing money by taking care of the aliens. If they could have shipped them off they would have years ago. MNU is now breaking even by using the aliens as cheap labor for mining operations and by convincing whole nations that they are the secret to a safe coexistence with them. Governments pay MNU to have forces established and a worldwide hotline running so that if any prawns are spotted they are caught and returned to District 9. They keep researching weapons in hopes that if they can unlock them they could actually sell them and have a payoff."

"So MNU treats them like shit because it costs them so much."

"That's how corporations work. Anyways, they ended up losing a lot of money in the beginning and in 1986 they ended up going to the US Pentagon, offering to sell us weapons. They needed the money, and they gave a high price. But we saw the advantage in it and bought the offered goods. It took years to reverse engineer the fucking guns but we were able to break through. We had to come up with new theories in physics to successfully do it but in 1997 we could reproduce them and claim them as our own. MNU is full of idiots, the way they are trying to bypass the security system by doing medical experiments on the aliens. It's no surprise they still haven't gotten anywhere."

"So you're saying you've been able to use alien weapons for the past 13 years?"

"Yes, and we are now working with the military of South Africa to train our soldiers to use them and to see how powerful they are and what limitations they have."

James felt outraged, he couldn't believe it! "But, that's the whole reason why they would attack in the first place! CJ left to tell his home world that we were doing experiments on them! Who knows what MNU did to the Poleepkwa to try to gain access to the weapons! Had you shared your information with MNU that would have never happened! There would be no doomsday, apocalypse, war of the worlds, whatever looming over us!"

"Brother, you know that our nation is the most powerful, and in order to maintain that power we have to keep our technological advancements secret! To relay our advancements to MNU would mean that MNU would have sold those secrets to enemy nations. MNU must be held for their violations of ethics, not the United States."

James felt sick. His sister was telling him that America needed to do whatever it could to keep in power, even if the world turned into a cinder. He had learned one of the greatest secrets of District 9, and felt there was nothing left to the future but to despair.

End Notes: The military had Poleepkwa weapons since 1997! MNU actually doesn't want the aliens around! I hope you're surprised. AJ's rampage was totally unexpected even for me. These stories really do write themselves. Now I have to change some of the plot due to this twist of events.