The Scientist:
When Wyrem woke up, they found themselves in a cold sterile white room. The room was bare save for the waste receptacle in the corner and the raised platform on the left of them, and a digital portal on the wall. They slowly got up, their large frame feeling heavier than normal. They examined their body to see if they had any outward injury but only found the slightly raised bump that came with an injection in their neck. They also discovered a circular disk around their neck but didn’t prod any further for fear of a negative effect. They began to breathe slowly and began to try to piece things together.
As they stood up, still groggy from whatever drug was pumped into their system, a piercing Buzz sound came from the walls. It was soon followed by a low, rough voice. “Wyrem Croenif, are you conscious.”
Wyrem answered with a cautious “yes” which barely left their lips as a whisper.
“Good,” The voice said. “Can you proceed to the computer on the other end of the room”
Wyrem nodded and then slowly walked towards the digital portal.
“It is said that your species could take the form of any living creature is this true?”
Wyrem quietly answered, “Yes”.
The buzzer hummed again, “Is this ability limited to creatures of your home world.”
“May or may not be, there are stories of people who have experimented with xeno-transformation, but there have never been any formal investigation in the matter. ”
“What would you need to find out?”
“I would need information, on the given species and all related text toward my own.”
“That could be arranged anything else?”
“If they are sentient, I would like to talk to one of their medical professionals if at all possible.”
“Hm, is this necessary? “It is preferable.” Wyrem confirmed. “
“We’ll see what we can do. Anything else”
Wyrem soon realized that they forgot to ask where they were, and who the voice was. They sat down in a corner of the room to think or rather to calm down. They focused on what they knew, that:
1. They were obviously captured to serve a purpose
2. Their captors were most likely the same ones who invaded Lolgrunda.
3. Their captors are interested in their shape-shifting abilities.
4. Their captors probably have a use for them if they could prove to be able to shapeshift into the desired form.
This last part concerned Wyrem, since Wyrem was not an intelligence officer or part of the military, they were a scientist, and that occupation usually did not require the ability to shapeshift into other living beings.
Day 2
A day seemed to have passed since the intercom buzzed. Wyrem barely got any rest in the past 16 hours, only managing to get a couple of hours of rest. The computer's screen was flashing, and speakers were blasting a low alarm sound. Wyrem walked towards the screen. In tiny subscripts across the screen read, “Message.” Wyrem pushed her finger on the screen, onto the icon opening the message. The text read as follows:
Wyrem Croenif,
The following documents are the medical, social, and political information on the homo sapiens. They have been translated for you.
Sincerely
The Administration.
A warm sound was heard as a white table materialized, seemingly out of nowhere. On top of the table, were several rectangular brown objects. On top of the objects was a note that read:
These are books, they are an old earth method of recording and sharing information. You read them from left to right.
Wyrem looked at the books and picked one. It was bound in what appeared to be animal skin, on its spine in silver lettering was a title “ On the history of Earth.”. This one was a history book. She picked up another “titled human anatomy”. The books were a collection of historical and scientific texts covering a wide range of subjects. Wyrem started with a book on human anatomy. They spent hours taking detailed notes on the circulatory, nervous, and other various systems that made up the human body. Wyrem found that the stacks of books included detailed texts on each of these systems. They also found books on human medical knowledge, and they also read those. By the twelfth text, Wyrem had succeeded in reading themselves asleep slumping over the table in a misshapen pile.
An alarm awoke them, blurting in a low drum that easily invaded their head.
“Do you have enough information to change?”
It was the same voice as before coming from the white intercom. The words were so impersonal as if speaking to a machine rather than a person. This “dehumanization”, a word Wyrem learned from one of the “books” they were given, caused a little irritation in their mind,
“Why are you so intent on me changing my form?” Wyrem asked.
The voice didn’t answer.
The door opened and a bipedal figure entered.
“Here is the medical professional.” Their was an air of dismissal when the voice pronounced the words “medical professional.”
The figure stepped further into the room, and it looked like a human female. She was wearing a grey jumpsuit with no discerning marks besides a row of numbers that was placed on the lapel of the jumpsuit.The guards shoved her in, then closed the door.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnKfNwGgJK
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiza7DQcRc
***
The doctor:
In all her years of med school , nothing prepared Nicole for the reality that is now facing her. Well nothing would prepare a person for an alien invasion then imprisoned in a small ten by ten cell for weeks at a time, only being let out occasionally to talk to her neighbors. She mostly kept to herself in the common areas, watching people to pass the time.
Then she was brought to meet Wyrem. She remembered the huge lumbering guards that appeared at the door. They were humanoid , even though there was something in theres stance that hinted at their alienness. When they spoke , it was similar to how a bird spoke, somewhat between speaking and singing.
“Prisoner 4569, step forward.”
She stepped forward and looked up at the guard in front, pearing at his, at least she imagined he was a “him, black face plate. She couldn’t see a sing feature of his face through the black celluloid.
“You are a medical doctor , is that correct.”
Man they sound like robots, she though to herself.
She nodded, "Yes,"
“Then come with us.” One of the guards grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into the hall .
The two guards led her down the curved hallway. Their foot steps echoed on the white tile in the silence.
"Where are you taking me?" Nicole asked.
The guards were silent , not that Nicole expected them to answer , they were usually very taciturn except to give the usual order.
Nicole continued to stare at her feet as she passed , cell after cell.
What do they need a doctor for? Nicole wondered to herself. After approximately ten minutes , the guards stopped. Nicole looked up at the door that she was brought to , it was larger than the door of her own, at least twice that. The guard in front , slid his ID into the slot on the side. The door slid open, and the guard pushed her into the room.
The room was dimly lit, it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the light. As her eyes adjusted to the room, her eyes fell onto the large figure sitting in the middle of the room. It was at least ten feet tall. It looked awkwardly at her with black eyes. There was a sound as if a voice spoke over an intercom then silence. The creature had a large wide mouth . It moved toward her causing her to shove herself against the wall in an effort to try to get as far away as possible. It moved again , and she slid further away. She started to asses the size of the room. Its mouth moved and odd sounds came out. It sounded like speech, but she couldn't tell.
It tossed what looked like a book at her . She stepped forward and carefully picked it up. It was bound in red leather. It had what looked to be a photographic language on the cover. She opened the binding and turned its pages. It had the same photographic language and diagrams of the human anatomy. It was an anatomy book , but she couldn't read the language. It didn't look like any language she had seen before.
The creature tried speaking again. It even moved its forearms in an effort to portray its meaning. In the back of her head, she thought it was trying to communicate, but the shear foreignness of the creature and their language, caused her to be on guard. She could see that it was intelligent, from the books scattered around the floor and the way it watched her ,analyzed her,
Nicole spoke to it, "Hello, my name is Nicole."
It cocked its head , and tried to speak again but closed its mouth in thought.
It slowly approached her, watching her reaction as it approached. Her heart was in her throat. It slowly what looked to be a hand against her head. A funny sensation arose from where it touched her .
A minute past. The ensuing silence and lack of action from the large figure looming over her caused her to lash out.
"If your going to kill me , kill me , " She said as she swatted the creture fore arm away .
The creature stepped back and spoke, "Sorry."
Nicole was startled, " Youre ... apologizing?" was the first thing she said even though she should have said 'you can speak.'
"Is that not what you do if you offend someone?" The creature retorted.
"I mean .. you can speak?"
"Of course I can speak , I was trying to speak to you for the past ten minutes.?"
The creature's speech had a hint of annoyance.
"But now you can speak in English."
"If you are so curios, in short my species has the ability to attain linguistic ability through touch." The creature said.
"How does that work?" Nicole asked incredulously.
" We do not have time for me to explain , we may be on a timeline. If it will make you feel better you may ask me anything."
Nicole looked at the creature with glowing distrust, she was now having an inkling that this creature was a person but whether or not they were trust worthy was another matter.
"So what are you?"
"I'm , there's no word in english for what I am ...Alucidari" they paused, " but I mean no harm, you can be sure of that."
" So you aren't some kind of flesh eating monster." "What no , no, " The creature made a sound that resembled a low chuckled.
"What are you doing here?' Nicole asked.
"Is it not obvious?" The creature spoke, as it took its hand and pointed at its neck. There obscured by the creatures head was a silver collar, one that was of similar design to the one on her neck. " I am a prisoner , like you."
Nicole relaxed , only little,at least she was off he wall.
Nicole approached them and spoke.
"What do I call you?" Nicole asked.
The creature stopped chuckling ,n"Wyrem"
The name sounded like. a Wih-rum
"Nicole," She stuck out her hand , Wyrem looked at it and grasped it in their large hands.
"So why do you need a doctor"
"Well..its complicated."
She listened as Wyrem described what The Announcer wanted.
"So wait a minute you can shape shift." Nicole said.
"In a manner of speaking," Wyrem stated, " but I have never tried to "shape-shift" and I have no idea how to deal with the necessary loss of mass, that I would have to do."
"Well its nice to see that some laws are immutable." Nicole said. " but that still doesn't tell me why you need a human doctor?"
"I have a lot to do , and I need someone to help me who is not connected to this facility." Wyrem replied.
"How did you know that I wouldn't be one of them," Nicole asked.
"I didn't,""So where do we begin, "
"I suggest we read."
Week 2.
The second day after they met , Wyrem had the guards bring a human sized bed and desk, along with several books to the room. Nicole read the titles, Alucidarian anatomy , theories of transmutation, and a book on the application of quantum physics in medicine. The pile of books were daunting,
"How long do we have, Wyrem."
"They did not specify."
"I hope we have enough time, these books.... I didn't really do well in my highschool physics class."
" I can help you on some of the more difficult subjects."
"How about you, how are you understanding human anatomy?"
" I just finished , a section on human reproduction, it was rather similar to Alucidari anatomy."
Over the next few weeks ,Nicole found that Wyrem was a literal sponge for new information, they would easily absorb information whereas Nicole would have to reread one book at least three times to have a decent understanding.
By the fifth week, with Wyrem's help Nicole had a decent understanding of all three books. At the end of these weeks , she was physically and mentally drained. She had to spend a little over fourteen hours a day studying, in hopes of cutting the total time short. But the hours , studying these books gave her an idea.
" Hey , Wyrem how familiar are you with butterflies?"
"I know they are an insect from earth."
"Well , they start life as a pupa and morph into a winged bug."
"Youre point?"
"Well, the caterpillar uses a cocoon to transform, what if we build an artificial cocoon?"
"You mean metamorphosis, we had a species my planet that did that?"
Wyrem said in a manner that hinted they were half thinking. "Hm, that may work but do you have any bio-engineering experience?"
Nicole shook her head. "I don't , but could we ask that Announcer for help in that area?"
Wyrem looked at her, then nodded. They walked over to the intercom, and buzzed it.
"What is it , prisoner 21063?" The flat impersonal voice rang out . Nicole likened it to a robot.
" I think we found a way to complete this task , but it involves some heavy bio- engineering that neither of us are experts in."
"Just state what do you need."
" We need a cocoon to complete the process."
Nicole almost put her face in her hands at the lack of explanation that Wyrem stated.
"If you can come up with details of this 'cocoon', our engineers no doubt would be able to build it." The last part had a hint of arrogance that betrayed the speaker had at least a since of pride.
"Okay," Wyrem said and stepped back .
They walked over to nicole,
Nicole looked up at Wyrem, " I guess we have work to do."
Wyrem nodded.
The next few weeks was a ton of research and calculations. They created dozens of models. They observed butterflies, dissecting their cocoons. Nicole read books on the flora and fauna of Wyrem's homeworld in the hopes of finding a clue. She found a list of insect like creatures that used a process like metamorphosis. The Aluriarians textbooks were more useful than the human textbooks since they were more advanced in genetic research. As she was not an expert in genetics, human or otherwise, she mostly helped Wyrem compile their notes .
A few weeks later they had a twenty page report on their theory of shape shifting.It was a dense 200 page digital document., that went from explaining conception to birth and even delved into STEM cell research. They sent this document to the designated email.
All they had to do was wait.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOe0lfODsA
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2dSrazHZZ
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEH7dmeusH
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQckAiuRgLp
***
Wyrem
In human time , it took 504 hours to complete, not counting the hours sleeping, to come up with the report that was titled " On the theory of shifting.". Nicole was a quick study and manged to help Wyrem keep track of all their notes. Both Wyrem and Nicole sighed as Wyrem pushed the send button on the elctronic message.
"So what do we have to do now?" Nicole asked.
"I guess we wait" Wyrem said.
"Hm , you know all this time we worked together , we haven't really talked."
"About what, " Wyrem paced to the door and checked if they got any new nutrient packs. They returned and sat at the smaller table that Nicole was sitting at.
"Our lives before this, " Nicole waved her hands , gesturing at the entire room. " Its funny , I've spent who knows how long with you and I really don't know anything about you."
"Whats to tell?" Wyrem borrowed a popular phrase they had read from a novel.
"You know what , I'll go first." Nicole stated. "You know that I was a doctor, focusing on family medicine. I was born in Chicago , Illinois, in the year 2079 , I am approximately 37 years old. Your turn."
Wyrem was amused , its been a while since they could relax. "My name is Wyreme Croeni, approximately 50 cycles has passed since my birth. My specialty was theoretical genetics>"
"Is a cycle the same as a year?"
"No , its a little shorter by approximately 4 months."
A moment of silence as Nicole seemed to be thinking, "So you are approximately 33 years old. What is your life expectancy , a humans is approximately 80 - 90 years if they are perfectly healthy."
"Without modification or alteration, my species an live to 200 cycles or 133 of your years. " Wyrem said after doing some internal calculation.
" So you live longer ." There was silences as the conversation ended as Nicole who had been the main instigator seemed to lose her train of thought.
Wyrem broke the silence,
"How did you come to be here ?" They asked cautiously not wanting to offend.
Nicole looked up, " I guess because we... humans .. lost the war before it even started. It was a meteor shower, or what we thought was a meteor shower. The European Space agency been tracking it for a couple of weeks before the first incursion."
"We never even relized it was a invasion until they were at our doorsteps," Nicole continued, " The meteors NASA have bee tracking suddenly veered towards earth then disappeared, then reappeared in .. Earths atmosphere."
"I was in my apartment , when they hit." She said. " A meteor had hit the outskirts of chicago creating a massive shock wave. My apartment was on the furthest edge of the blast, so it wasn't destroyed entirely. It was fast, one minute I was drinking coffee, the next I was on the floor of the apartment below mine, on the first floor."
She paused, " The smoke was every where , people where screaming, I was lucky ,no broken bones, I wasn't pinned down, I only had a slight concussion. I manged to escape the burning building through a collapsed wall."
"The streets were filled with smoke , buildings were burning. Ash was everywhere.Then they came. Thats the last thing I remember , runing from lights then .. I was here in this facility."
Wyrem waited before speaking. " You have told me your story, now it is my turn."
Wyrem leaned back , where to start.
"In the beginning we knew the danger of the triumpherate," Wyrem began , "Our planet was a little more advanced than yours and by that time we learned to communicate with our neighboring planets.
"Then one day, those planets , our neighbors started going quiet. One by one. There were rumors of a new player, a more violent group, but these were only rumors. Then we were the targets. We tried defending, of course, but it was futile. the Triumpherate won, and they rounded the survivors up and bombarded our planets with nuclear fire."
There was silence,
"Do you think they did the same with Earth," Nicole asked
Wyrem observed her a while , "I'm not sure, as I am sure it is the same case with you , I do not know where we are. All I know is that we are on a planet based on the gravity."
Nicole leaned on the wall across from Wyrem, she sighed. " I guess were both cast aways/"
"You mean refugees," Wyrem corrected/
"Hmm that too."
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHaeptbu4P
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKuYUcBqkD
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhAfRYZ6jr
然後按「加至主畫面」