Bed...
Not much but I'm tired and it's bedtime. Enjoy
Wordcount: 23,292
“Adjusted, my foot. Get him out of there,” Mara said, snatching his tool and pointing the handle at him meaningfully.
"No, it would compromise the experiment," said Yuyu. "That's kind of the idea," Mara said. He'd taken the tool and put it back into his belt. Mara had half a mind to try and do it herself, but this was beyond her understanding. She would probably hurt Chris if she tried to just pull him from the machine.
Just then, a strange sound filled the air. It started as almost a soft moaning sound that climbed in tone till it sounded like an airplane going up, stopped and began again. It wasn't translating for Mara, so it wasn't words. But she knew an alarm when she heard one.
"They have learned you are no longer with the computer," Yuyu said, looking back and forth down the corridor at both ends.
A sharp whistle spun them around to face another alien, taller and holding a gun weapon on them. "Here!"
Mara could hear others coming up behind her and raised her hands up in surrender. She was bracing herself for being shot once again, hopefully not fatally, when Yuyu moved in front of her. The top of his head barely came up to her chin but he blocked the way between her and the guard alien with his three fingered hands up like hers. "Move aside, you will be questioned later," the guard told Yuyu without lowering his weapon.
Mara could see a few other guards with their weapons aimed at her back behind her in the corridor. They really couldn't run anywhere, they were trapped from both sides.
Yuyu's real voice was shrill as he said, "This one was ill and had to be removed from the computer. It is in the experiment manual."
The guard looked like he was about to just shoot the both of them but he hesitated. Mara hoped the manual, whatever that was, was important enough for them not to get shot right now. "She is better now," Yuyu said. "And has not harmed me. She should not be put back in the computer or she will become ill again. She does not seem to be compatible with the current programming."
The expressionless face of the guard didn't tell much but Mara could imagine he was thinking it over. Finally, he relaxed his weapon stance slightly. "Are you able to bring the human with us?" he posed the question to Yuyu.
"I..." Yuyu seemed to hesitate to say. "I can, yes."
"Bring her then," the guard said, stepping aside, his gun still pointed at Mara. Yuyu began to walk forward, turning to gesture as Mara had done earlier to get him to come along. Though his gesture was more of an imitation and was a bit wooden. Mara got the message though and with the four guards trailing behind, she followed Yuyu down the corridor. She gave Chris one last look before they got too far away. I'll be back for you, she said to herself.
It seemed to take a lot of explaining and negotiation on Yuyu's part to the scientists as to why he did what he did. Meanwhile, I stood over in the corner of the small meeting room under constant guard, listening in on their conversation. By the end of it, my head was starting to ache. But I had learned a few things from their going back and forth with explanations. They kept referencing the experiment, as if it was a set of rules they were to follow to the letter. I found out there were a few others, not just Chris and I, but they were not a part of the computer program simulation. Apparently, Chris and I were a part of a specific set of experiments that the others weren't having to do. I know, not fair, right?
The meeting room was a bit interesting. A large black polished table was in the middle where two or three scientists at a time could sit on one side and talk to the person on the other side. The walls were made of panels of blue and black plastic. It probably wasn't really plastic but that was the only thing I could relate to it for a comparison. The lights for the rooms seemed to be built right into the ceiling. The entire ceiling would glow with light that would light up the room below it. Most of the rooms I saw while on the ship were like this. These lights always stay on, no matter what.
I was grateful for Yuyu standing up for me, but I was worried that it was going to get him into even bigger trouble.
Yuyu had finished talking with the group of scientist aliens and was logging his testimony of sorts with the computer built into the table. Mara waited till the scientists were talking among themselves and Yuyu came over towards her. "Well? What happened?" Mara asked.
"They have agreed not to put you back into the computer experiment," said Yuyu. He was removing his belt and placed it on the table in front of one of the scientists. Mara pointed at his belt. "What's that for? They didn't fire you, did they?"
Yuyu understood that she wanted to know about his belt. "They only agreed if you are to use the landing section with mine when we reach our planet. We are to go there now."
The guard was motioning Mara to move and she fell in step with Yuyu out the door and down a similar paneled hallway. "Landing section? What's that?" Mara asked but Yuyu didn't understand enough to answer. Instead he started talking about their planet. "We will reach Aodru soon. If we are not ready by then, we cannot land safely."
They paused at a door and Yuyu placed his necklace crystal in a small slot to unlock the door. "Aodru..." Mara said, turning the word over and over in her head. She thought it was interesting that the translator had given the name of their planet but it couldn't translate their own names. "Well, I guess I'm all for landing safely," she said. Yuyu turned to her as the door slid open. "I do not understand," he said.
Mara waved it off, "Ah, forget it. We have got to get this translator to do two way, this is getting silly."
She stopped short as they entered the next room. It was incredible. There was a long row of plastic pods running in front of her all the way down as far as she could see and along the other wall as well. Mara got up closer. Inside each were two aliens, very quiet and nonresponsive. They were facing each other and were strapped in standing up, similar to how Mara had been in the computer. But this seemed a little more voluntary than her situation. “Oh boy,” she said under her breath. “I don’t like where this is going.”
Wordcount: 23,292
“Adjusted, my foot. Get him out of there,” Mara said, snatching his tool and pointing the handle at him meaningfully.
"No, it would compromise the experiment," said Yuyu. "That's kind of the idea," Mara said. He'd taken the tool and put it back into his belt. Mara had half a mind to try and do it herself, but this was beyond her understanding. She would probably hurt Chris if she tried to just pull him from the machine.
Just then, a strange sound filled the air. It started as almost a soft moaning sound that climbed in tone till it sounded like an airplane going up, stopped and began again. It wasn't translating for Mara, so it wasn't words. But she knew an alarm when she heard one.
"They have learned you are no longer with the computer," Yuyu said, looking back and forth down the corridor at both ends.
A sharp whistle spun them around to face another alien, taller and holding a gun weapon on them. "Here!"
Mara could hear others coming up behind her and raised her hands up in surrender. She was bracing herself for being shot once again, hopefully not fatally, when Yuyu moved in front of her. The top of his head barely came up to her chin but he blocked the way between her and the guard alien with his three fingered hands up like hers. "Move aside, you will be questioned later," the guard told Yuyu without lowering his weapon.
Mara could see a few other guards with their weapons aimed at her back behind her in the corridor. They really couldn't run anywhere, they were trapped from both sides.
Yuyu's real voice was shrill as he said, "This one was ill and had to be removed from the computer. It is in the experiment manual."
The guard looked like he was about to just shoot the both of them but he hesitated. Mara hoped the manual, whatever that was, was important enough for them not to get shot right now. "She is better now," Yuyu said. "And has not harmed me. She should not be put back in the computer or she will become ill again. She does not seem to be compatible with the current programming."
The expressionless face of the guard didn't tell much but Mara could imagine he was thinking it over. Finally, he relaxed his weapon stance slightly. "Are you able to bring the human with us?" he posed the question to Yuyu.
"I..." Yuyu seemed to hesitate to say. "I can, yes."
"Bring her then," the guard said, stepping aside, his gun still pointed at Mara. Yuyu began to walk forward, turning to gesture as Mara had done earlier to get him to come along. Though his gesture was more of an imitation and was a bit wooden. Mara got the message though and with the four guards trailing behind, she followed Yuyu down the corridor. She gave Chris one last look before they got too far away. I'll be back for you, she said to herself.
It seemed to take a lot of explaining and negotiation on Yuyu's part to the scientists as to why he did what he did. Meanwhile, I stood over in the corner of the small meeting room under constant guard, listening in on their conversation. By the end of it, my head was starting to ache. But I had learned a few things from their going back and forth with explanations. They kept referencing the experiment, as if it was a set of rules they were to follow to the letter. I found out there were a few others, not just Chris and I, but they were not a part of the computer program simulation. Apparently, Chris and I were a part of a specific set of experiments that the others weren't having to do. I know, not fair, right?
The meeting room was a bit interesting. A large black polished table was in the middle where two or three scientists at a time could sit on one side and talk to the person on the other side. The walls were made of panels of blue and black plastic. It probably wasn't really plastic but that was the only thing I could relate to it for a comparison. The lights for the rooms seemed to be built right into the ceiling. The entire ceiling would glow with light that would light up the room below it. Most of the rooms I saw while on the ship were like this. These lights always stay on, no matter what.
I was grateful for Yuyu standing up for me, but I was worried that it was going to get him into even bigger trouble.
Yuyu had finished talking with the group of scientist aliens and was logging his testimony of sorts with the computer built into the table. Mara waited till the scientists were talking among themselves and Yuyu came over towards her. "Well? What happened?" Mara asked.
"They have agreed not to put you back into the computer experiment," said Yuyu. He was removing his belt and placed it on the table in front of one of the scientists. Mara pointed at his belt. "What's that for? They didn't fire you, did they?"
Yuyu understood that she wanted to know about his belt. "They only agreed if you are to use the landing section with mine when we reach our planet. We are to go there now."
The guard was motioning Mara to move and she fell in step with Yuyu out the door and down a similar paneled hallway. "Landing section? What's that?" Mara asked but Yuyu didn't understand enough to answer. Instead he started talking about their planet. "We will reach Aodru soon. If we are not ready by then, we cannot land safely."
They paused at a door and Yuyu placed his necklace crystal in a small slot to unlock the door. "Aodru..." Mara said, turning the word over and over in her head. She thought it was interesting that the translator had given the name of their planet but it couldn't translate their own names. "Well, I guess I'm all for landing safely," she said. Yuyu turned to her as the door slid open. "I do not understand," he said.
Mara waved it off, "Ah, forget it. We have got to get this translator to do two way, this is getting silly."
She stopped short as they entered the next room. It was incredible. There was a long row of plastic pods running in front of her all the way down as far as she could see and along the other wall as well. Mara got up closer. Inside each were two aliens, very quiet and nonresponsive. They were facing each other and were strapped in standing up, similar to how Mara had been in the computer. But this seemed a little more voluntary than her situation. “Oh boy,” she said under her breath. “I don’t like where this is going.”