Misplaced - Chapter 5
The human - and T’aka still doesn’t know its name - is just as relieved as T’aka is. Considering the circumstances, that’s not surprising at all. But despite that relief, there’s an itchy feeling growing around them, of which T’aka can’t quite determine the source. It is a feeling akin to sensory overload - maybe because they’re connected to the human’s electricity-run nervous system now? After so long without being directly stimulated like that, it’s a shock to T’aka’s core.
But that’s not all of it. Underneath, there’s a sense of wrongness. It’s maddening that T’aka can’t figure out what it means. They want it to end!
Information first, though. They ask T’epai to explain how their kind ended up on a planet inhabited entirely by solid life forms, on a planet that only features unfamiliar constellations in its night sky.
T’epai then talks about overlapping realities and how their home planet and Earth have enough mass that they managed to weaken the barrier that keeps their realities apart when their orbits converged.
Jordan’s confused expression is an odd contrast to T’epai’s confident narration. Even T’aka needs a moment to process. Does that mean that both their planets are currently inhabiting the same space?
“Not exactly. The barrier still keeps them apart. But because we are not corporeal, we slipped through. And over here, we accidentally attached to the humans, whose energy signature turns out to be closest to ours.”
“You said this is temporary?”
“The moment the planets start drifting apart again, our connection to our planet will be stronger than our connection to this reality’s humans. Everything will go back to normal. And according to my calculations, something like this won’t happen again for several thousand Earth years.”
T’aka wonders how T’epai could have come to such specific conclusions in such a short amount of time. T’epai’s answering laugh is terse and bitter.
“I’ve known long before I crossed over. At home, I am what humans call a scientist. I specialize in space observation. The signs have been there for a while, and when I realized what they meant, I also realized there would be nothing that we could do to prevent it. None of those I notified of it believed me anyway.”
What was worse? Getting thrown into this completely unprepared, like it probably happened to most of them? Or knowing what was about to happen and having to let it happen? Unthinkable! How much longer would they have to live with it?
T’epai tells them that the divergence starts in sixteen Earth days, and the itching feeling grows a lot stronger, all of a sudden. T’aka is afraid they can identify it, in this context.
---
That the human doesn’t want anything to do with them has been clear from the beginning. But now that it had an end in sight, having them around seems to have become unbearable. ‘Too close! Too close!’ echoes around them, mixed with revulsion, desperation, helplessness…
Is this about overriding the human’s will to keep T’aka silent? It’s a perplexing concept to them since their kind is rather pragmatic, usually achieving their goals through any means available to them. It’s efficient.
But apparently, it’s traumatic for this human. As close as T’aka is to itfs conscious mind, right now, they get a front-row seat to its feelings on the matter. It is evident from that alone that the worst one could do to a self-determined being, is to take away their autonomy. Again, not a concept T’aka’s kind is familiar with, but they’re beginning to see the point - if only because their own freedom is restricted as well, as long as they’re trapped here.
There’s only one way to even begin to repair the damage.
“How do I return my control to the human?”
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The connection can’t be closed completely anymore, though. The human can’t isolate T’aka as thoroughly as it did before. They feel how that grates on the human’s nerves and decide not to engage for the moment. T’aka would like to send some reassurance but knows it wouldn’t be received very well, so they settle on presenting themselves as non-threatening as possible.
And they’re okay with letting T’epai and their host leave, now that they know it won’t take that much longer until the orbits diverge again and that everyone will be back where they belong, soon.
T’aka is looking forward to it. Being stuck in a solid vessel is not at all how they’d want to spend the rest of their days. Especially not when human emotions and beliefs are tied to it. There’s so much in the human culture that still makes no sense to T’aka at all, and because of that, they realized too late how much they were violating the bodily autonomy of their host. Their kind has no body that can be violated, after all. Instead, the worst one could do to one of their kind is isolating them - the way that T’aka had been isolated.
… and no, T’aka knows this is not a contest on who has had it harder. This is what makes the whole situation so tricky.
---
When the human wakes up, it’s almost a full day later. And all relaxation from sleep is gone immediately, the moment it feels T’aka’s presence. That… is not an ideal reaction, but it will have to do. At least the human acknowledges them, which is already much better than before.
“So you’re still there,” the human grouses.
Yes, they are. For at least a couple of weeks longer, as T’epai said. The human knows that.
“Alex.”
What?
“That’s my name. Start using it. Being called ‘the human’ all the time is demeaning.”
T’aka doesn’t know what the emotion they’re feeling right now is. Gratitude? Maybe. A little. It’s the first personal detail that the human… Alex has volunteered, and it seems like a monumental event. T’aka wants to reciprocate.
“Thank you for trusting me with that information.” Alex doesn’t seem to know how to answer that, so T’aka continues: “And I want to express my deepest regrets for not honoring your wishes, yesterday.”
Alex goes completely still and asks very, very cautiously: “My wishes?”
“You did not want me to control your body, and yet I did.”
There is silence for so long that T’aka fears Alex has managed to shut them out again. But then Alex says, albeit hesitantly: “I accept.”
And maybe T’aka has spent too much time in a human mind, but they are glad for this reply. It’s okay, T’aka thinks. These last few days don’t have to be so hard if they spend them as equals. Because while T’aka swears not to take over again, Alex promises company. That is all that T’aka wants anyway.
1126 words
AN: This is for LuxKen27's 2017 Summer Mini Challenge ( table 2, prompt 5: cautiously)
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