Alien Saviour

Alec always knew he was different, but discovering he was an alien came as a surprise. Alec lived all his young life in foster homes. He was an abandoned baby found in the carpark of the Brisbane Royal Hospital. He took the family name, Smart, from his first Foster parents. He thought Alec Smart was a great name even though he got a lot of teasing from other kids at school. The Smarts didn’t adopt him unfortunately and he had to live with a number of carers. Being a foster child set him apart from most others but he was sharp as a tack and did well academically. He had a special aptitude for science and technology. Alec’s difficulty was connecting socially. Wherever he went his peer group generally didn’t appreciate his nerdish behaviour and tended to avoid him. Now eighteen years of age Alec worked at the local hardware store and he was making enough to pay the rent on a one bedroom unit in Arana Hills. The last Foster parents couldn’t wait to be rid of him. They were nice people but he was costing them quite a bit through high school. He finished school with not many friends – only one really, Millie. She liked his quiet quirky ways and she liked the way he looked. Alec was tall, slim, with a sparkle in his brown eyes, and a cheeky smile. He had natural brown skin, unruly dark hair, and a happy temperament that defied his troublesome upbringing. He also had an unusual physical feature that Millie didn’t know about. He didn’t have a belly-button.

 

The knock on Alec’s apartment door was loud.

Okay don’t break it, Alec thought as he went and opened the door. The man standing there was tall, taller than Alec. He had short dark hair, a trimmed beard, wore a grey uniform buttoned up to the neck. There was a small oval shaped insignia with a black dot on his chest. It resembled an eye with a black iris. Alec thought the man looked to be aged about 50.

“Hi… Alec, I’m your Uncle Fredrick. I have something important to tell you. Can I come in?”

Fredrick was in a hurry. He pushed past Alec and, after gazing from side to side, went directly to the lounge room and sat down.

Alec turned and followed, trying to work out what was going on. “Excuse me, what did you say?” He was beginning to think this was some sort of home invasion. “I don’t have an uncle. You need to leave.”

“I’m sorry to barge in like this. If you can allow me to explain. It’s very important,” Fredrick said, looking up pleadingly. “I am your biological mother’s brother and you need to know who you are, for your sake and the sake of this planet.”

Fredrick continued before Alec had time to respond.

“There is no easy way to tell you this, Alec, so I’m going to lay it all on you and then you can ask me whatever you like.” He took a breath. “You are not a human you are Zypian. Your home planet is Krobar in the Alpha Centauri system, not Earth, and you were placed here as a baby by the Krobar Interplanetary Service with the blessing of your mother Krayolla.” Fredrick looked at Alec’s stunned face and decided to continue.

“You are a placement here on Earth who is to be trained as an agent and correspondent for the KIS. However, we have an emergency that requires your assistance immediately.”

Alec stood there, in the middle of the lounge, staring at this strange man sitting on his sofa and he didn’t know what to say.

“Alec… are you okay?” he asked.

“This is a joke, right… Krobar, seriously. Did Millie put you up to this?”

“It’s no joke. As well as your uncle, I am your allocated mentor and I have been keeping track of you all your life. You have a microscopic implant behind your left ear that you can’t even feel. It allows me to find you anywhere. The time has now come for you to do your duty.”

“Oh C’mon, pull the other one. I’m not a bloody Zippy-whatever.” Alec said, rubbing behind his ear.

“Zypian… yes you are,” Fredrick said, unbuttoning his coat and pulling aside his shirt to display a bare midriff uncluttered by a navel. We Zypians have no navel as humans do. We procreate through the shelled egg process, similar to echidna on this planet. We are, however, humanoid, or humans are Zypianoid if you like. We have both evolved from mammals in an almost identical environment.”

Alec sat down beside Fredrick and put his head in his hands.

“Okay, let's assume for a minute that what you have told me is true,” he said, lifting his head. “How did I get here and where is my mother… Crayola?”

“Her name is Krayolla and she is the chieftain of the McKarno clan on Krobar. It is the custom of this clan for the Chieftain’s selected offspring to be posted off-planet with the KIS. You were deposited here by our fusion drive Interstellar Space Transport Service.”

“So, she abandoned me?” Alec asked.

“She gave you a great opportunity to serve your planet. You need to understand that Krayolla has had 36 children with many going to other worlds. The mother-child bond cannot be too strong for the sake of necessity.”

“Why do you need me all of a sudden? You’re here.”

“Well… firstly I’ll explain the problem,” Fredrick said with a serious tone.

“There is a race of intelligent Saurians called Crokomorons from the Proxima Centauri system that has been in conflict with Krobar for millions of years. Currently, it is a standoff and I guess you would describe it as a cold war.”

Fredrick took a deep breath. “Yesterday I received an intelligence update message from Krobar Interplanetary Service High Command. The Crokomorons are heading here to colonise and set up a military base. This is bad… very bad. They are intending to eradicate all humanoid life on the planet. They are expected to enter the earth’s solar system within three days.”

“C’mon Fred, humanity eradicated by lizard people. I think I saw this one on TV a while ago,” Alec asked with a smile. “So how do I save the world?”

“The name’s Fredrick,” he said sternly and continued. “You and I must locate the Zypian back-up defence equipment left here millions of years ago for just such an emergency. Then you must assemble and activate it. We need you Alec, because you have a special ability that only the selected Zypians from the McKarno clan have. You are endowed with an inherent understanding and skill with Zypian mechanics and technology. It is built into your DNA through millennia of selective breeding. Do you understand?”

“Ahh, I think so … and how would we find this equipment?” he asked.

“I have been advised that it has been well hidden in central Australia – under a big rock.”

 

Alec insisted that Millie could keep a secret and he should confide in her. He thought that if she was convinced by Fredrick’s yarn, then maybe he wasn’t going insane. Amazingly, Millie was excited that her friend was an alien. She appeared to have no doubts that Fredrick was trustworthy and demanded that she accompany them both to Uluru. Alec made arrangements for leave from work and Millie hadn’t started her first-semester university course, so Alec booked travel for the three of them.

The flight from Brisbane to Uluru took around four hours and this gave Millie the opportunity to interrogate Fredrick thoroughly. Millie was petite with mousy short hair, big grey eyes, and energy to burn. She looked like a pixie between giants in her seat on the plane between the two men. She had ensured that she was seated next to Fredrick and was itching to ask questions. As soon as the seatbelt sign was off she started.

“Hope you don’t mind Fredrick, but can I ask you a couple of things about Krobar?”

“Yes, of course,” he said with a smile.

“Do you have wars and strife, like we do here?” Millie was an ardent pacifist and this was an important issue for her.

“We’re past all that. Our race has matured and we have eliminated the problems – no countries, no religion, no race issues, and free antidepressant drugs. The main worry for us currently is the declining fertility of Zypian women - problem with thin eggshells.”

“Sounds like they need calcium. Crushed oyster shells worked for our chickens,” Millie said.

“Afraid it’s more serious than that. But we’ll work it out.”

“Okay, next question, why does the Krobar Interplanetary Service put agents on other planets?” Millie asked.

“Our galaxy is an immense place and it is difficult to keep up with the important news and changes happening on civilized planets. The Agent-Correspondents job is to advise KIS of any political developments – like world wars or serious uprisings, planetary disasters – like comet strikes, and technology developments. Any of these events could have a future impact on Krobar.” Fredrick looked across at Millie.

“Even though our Zypian technology is far in advance of yours, we have actually picked up a few useful things from you humans,” Fredrick said condescendingly.

“Really, like what,” she asked.

Well, the hills hoist was one… blu-tack, um… cement, now that was a good one.”

“Wow! That’s amazing. How long have you guys been coming here?”

“We’ve actually been visiting for millions of years but only leaving agents for the last couple of thousand. You’ve probably heard of Jesus who got a bit of a reputation. He was one of our first, but he went off the rails trying to impress the locals and had to be recalled. You also may also know about how dinosaurs disappeared around 66 million years ago - we did that.”

“What, you sent a comet to earth?” she asked.

“No, no, that’s just a human theory. We fumigated them. The Crocomorons put some of their lizard species here in the early days and they just took over the place. We wanted the mammals to have a chance so we got rid of the lizards. The Crocomorons were pretty pissed off I might add.”

Millie sat staring wide-eyed at Fredrick, thinking that what he was saying must be true. No one could make that stuff up. Alec snoozed for most of the flight ignoring the other two while they chatted.

They landed at Yulara at 5 pm and checked into the hotel with a hire-car arranged for an early morning start the next day. Time was of the essence.

 

The pale dry grass rippled and undulated on each side as they sped along the single lane bitumen road to Uluru. Alec was driving with Fredrick in the front passenger seat and Millie in the back. Alec was still half expecting the whole thing to be exposed as an elaborate charade.

“We are getting close to Uluru, Fred. Can you explain more about this defence device that I am supposed to set up?” Alec asked.

“The name’s Fredrick,” he said through clenched teeth. “All I know is that it is called a Neurochromatic-crokotech-disrupter. It can emit a radiation pulse that interferes with Saurians detection technology. If the radiation reaches them before they get here, our solar system should become invisible to the Crockomorons, like an invisibility cloak, and they will not be able to find Earth.

“Hey, that’s clever,” Millie quipped from the back seat.

“Yeah, we have to find the equipment first,” Alec said, as they pulled into the carpark with the massive furrowed, orange-ochre Uluru rock in front of them, a monolithic reminder of their insignificance.

“I have a plan for that,” Fredrick said. “We ask one of the local Anangu people. They’ve been around here a long time and probably know a few things.”

 

Alec asked a young aboriginal tourist guide who was with a tourist group if she could help. She directed the three of them to an older man nearby, dressed in long sleeve shirt, a wide-brimmed hat, jeans, and boots. Eddie was one of the elders and worked as a ranger at the rock. His skin was bronzed-black and he had a bushy grey beard. They approached with smiles and Fredrick did the talking.

“Hi, my name’s Fredrick. We were wondering if you could give us some information about Uluru. The guide over there said you would be the one to ask,” he said as he pointed back towards the tourist group.

Eddie looked at each of them in turn with his piercing dark eyes.

“Marlee the guide knows everything,” he said.

“No this is apparently secret business. She said only an elder would know. We’re looking for a hidden entrance that leads to a place under the rock. Do you know of such a thing?” Fredrick asked.

“It’s a big rock mate. You know how hard it would be to dig a hole under there?” Eddie asked.

“Yes I know, but this was done by ancient star travellers millions of years ago with advanced technology.” Fredrick thought he may as well tell it straight.

“Shit, you one of those UFO nuts?” he asked.

“No, we just need help. I guess you don’t know anything. Sorry we bothered you.” Fredrick said.

At that moment Eddie noticed the insignia on Fredrick’s tunic.

“What’s that on your shirt?” Eddie asked pointing at the oval shape with a black spot design.

“It’s the insignia of Krobar Interplanetary Service from my home world,” he said.

“Shit, are you a Zypian?” he asked with enthusiasm.

“Yes, I am,” Fredrick replied with a big smile.

“Why didn’t you say so. Our legend tells of the return of the Zypian to protect Uluru. That mark is on the rock in a sacred place at the most eastern point.” Eddie’s white teeth glinted in the sunlight as he grinned. “Come, I’ll take you.”

They headed off along a walking track around the rock’s base with Eddie in the lead. Within a few minutes they reached Uluru’s eastern point and Eddie walked to the rock face and put his hand on the carved insignia.

“This is it. I’ll leave you to it. This is a forbidden place for our tribe,” he said, turned and walked away back along the path.

“Thanks Eddie,” Alec called to the receding figure and turned back to examine the carving with his two companions.

“Where’s the doorknob?” Millie asked.

“No doorknob but there a suspicious looking slot in the rock here,” Alec said as he poked his fingers into the letterbox size opening.

“Ouch! A prick” Alec yelled as he whipped his fingers out of the hole and looked down at the spot of blood.

“What?” Fredrick asked.

Alec was about to say how he thought he’d just had a blood sample taken when a rock section the size of a door in front of them suddenly moved inwards and began to slide upwards.

“We found it,” Millie squealed, peering into the opening. “Let's go in.”

The three of them went through the door and down the wide, gently sloping set of steps carved from the rock. Fredrick led the way with Millie and Alec behind. There was plenty of light inside from glowing panels in the ceiling and walls. Incredibly there was no sign of a join anywhere in the rock. It was all smooth and rounded like moulded clay. Once inside the door closed behind them.

“I hope there’s a blood test to get out’” Millie said looking over her shoulder at the disappearing piece of blue sky.

The stairway ended at a large archway into a cavernous, well-illuminated room. On each side, there were long rows of three-level shelving. The shelves were filled with pieces of multicoloured, variously shaped metal components. Each piece was, more or less, the size of a Rubik's cube but with connections and weird markings. On the far wall, there was a large white screen attached at about eye-level and in the middle of the room was a black metal box the size of a filing cabinet with slots on every side.

“This must be the equipment to build the Neurochromatic-crokotech-disrupter, but where are the instructions?” Fredrick said gazing around the room.

Alec and Millie were standing at the shelving inspecting pieces of equipment.

“We don’t need instructions, Fred. I know I can do this. I don’t know how I know, but I do. All these components have a place on the main console and I can see in my mind where they fit. But I need you and Millie to help. I can fit the pieces if you guys find and bring each one to me when I need it. That would be the quickest way, okay?” Alec asked and looked around.

“Of course, whatever you say. You're the only one that can save us Alec… and it’s okay if you call me Fred,” he said with an insipid smile.

Millie was standing beside Alec nodding furiously. “Let’s do it.”

They worked tirelessly for over five hours with Alec connecting each component into place on the black central console with Fred and Millie bringing them as required. Luckily they had brought water and snacks in their backpacks to sustain them.

Finally, Alec had the last component. A rod about 500 mm long with radiating fine metal filaments on one end. Sort of like a metal toilet brush. He slotted the rod into the waiting slot in the top of the console.

“Okay, that’s it. I just need to switch it on,” Alec said as they gathered in front of the fully assembled machine which had doubled in size with the added components.

“Go on, do it,” Millie said.

Alec looked at her then reached for the blue start button on the front panel… and pressed it.

A faint backlight lit up the start button. What happened next no one was expecting. It was nothing, nothing happened. The machine was supposed to be radiating some sort of powerful pulse. It was completely silent.

“What’s wrong with it?” Fredrick asked.

Alec was walking around the console examining it up and down. “I don’t know. I think I’ve connected every piece in its correct slot. Give me a minute I’ll recheck,” he said.

Two hours later the machine was still silent. Millie and Fredrick had curled up on the floor to get some rest while Alec inspected and prodded every component.”

“Shit, I give up,” Alec said with exasperation. “And we’re running out of time. Those Croko-bastards could be here anytime now.”

Millie and Fred sat up bleary-eyed.

“Hey, Alec… have you tried switching it off and on again?” Millie asked.

Alec and Fred both stared at her and then at each other. Alec reached for the blue button and pressed it off, then on. The machine started to hum with blue pulsing radiation emanating from the toilet brush looking rod on the top of the console. The screen on the wall also sprang to life showing what appeared to be an astronomical map.

“Yes… it’s working,” Alec yelled, raising his hands in the air. The other two jumped up for a group hug with beaming smiles. Alec and Millie continued to hug much longer than was appropriate for friends.

Fred began staring at the wall screen. “Have a look at this. It’s showing the solar system, and here’s earth,” he said pointing at the screen. A blue halo was expanding from Earth out past the sun as they watched in amazement.

“We are now invisible to all Crokomorons who may invade our space, well done. The Device will now stay on auto mode and activate whenever it detects them,” he added.

 

With the mission successfully completed and the human population of Earth unaware how close they came to annihilation, Alec and Millie returned to Brisbane. Fred headed off to Stonehenge in England to meet with the next Interstellar Space Transport from Krobar. Apparently, the Zypians had put some stones there to mark the landing area.

 

It was almost twelve months later that the side effects of the Neurochromatic-crokotech-disrupter radiation became obvious. Alec and Millie had moved in together and were having their Sunday morning bacon, eggs, and coffee on the apartment balcony.

“Alec, do you think the radiation from the machine we turned on has anything to do with this fertility problem?” Millie asked as she flicked the pages of the morning paper. The headlines for weeks had been postulating about why the male humans on earth had suddenly become infertile.

“It had crossed my mind,” he replied.

“There’s lots of doom and gloom in the news about the end of the human race.”

The knock on the apartment door was loud. Alec jumped up startled. He went to the door and opened it.

“Fred, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you’d gone home. Come on in,” Alec said as they both walked through to the balcony.

“Good to see you guys,” Fred said smiling.

“Hi Fredrick,” Millie responded.

“What’s going on Fred, why are you here?” Alec asked.

“A courtesy call and I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” Fred replied and sat down. Millie poured him a coffee from the jug on the table.

“Ok give us the bad news first,” Millie said.

“The radiation from our device at Uluru has destroyed the ability of Earth’s male humans to produce offspring. They have been made completely and irreversibly infertile.”

“Shit Fred,” Alec jumped up. “We were thinking that may be the case. The timing was too much of a coincidence. This is not just bad news, it’s bloody devastating.”

“Wait a minute, let me finish. I know that has made the human blokes a bit unhappy but to compensate, I have been delivered from Krobar the first batches of Zypian sperm. I have squillions of these little suckers ready to impregnate any Earth ladies who are willing. These batches will be made available to all medical fertility facilities. Do you know what this means?” Fred was as animated and excited as they had ever seen him.

“Both our races, Homosapiens, and Zypians will be saved, and a new hybrid race will emerge – Homozypians perhaps.”

 

When Fred had left, Alec and Millie sat quietly contemplating the gravity of his words.

“Do you think Fredrick knew all along what the radiation would do here? I mean, was there really a threat from the Crokomorons. We didn’t ever actually see any evidence, did we?” Millie asked.

“Don’t think about it,” Alec replied and they began to realise that they were witnessing the dawning of an evolutionary leap for their species.