We Are NOT Alone
Chapter 21

“Peter, why?” Josh finally said falling into a ball on the floor and weeping madly. Muriel rushed over to console the grieving young father who had just hours before delivered this unexpected miracle baby into this world, but he was inconsolable. Josh’s heart had just been torn in two. Tears of anger, fear, torment and fatal sadness consumed him. Until, right before his eyes, Peter placed their baby Hunter into his arms.

“Mintaka, you know me better than that. I would never give up our baby to anyone, ever.” Josh held Hunter to his chest nearly squeezing the very life that was just saved out of him. In that same instant, all of Josh’s emotional being flipped back and all of those thoughts of rage disappeared.

“But, Peter, how? We all saw you hand him over to that darkness.”

“No, you only thought you saw that. When you gave me Hunter, I put him in the sink and grabbed the baby doll. That’s what they got, a $39-dollar baby doll. Oh, I think it can open and close its realistic eyes and wet its diaper if you give it water.”

Hunter was looking up at his two fathers and Muriel clearly listening to the story intently, and then sure enough, he grinned and giggled like the whole event was a make-believe story just for him.” He flexed his little feet and toes and wiggled his hands as no two-day-old should, but now they knew why. Now, they knew how. They knew far more than they had known an hour ago not just about who and what they were, but about the entire history of humanity. They also witnessed the extreme lengths to which apparently all species will go to survive no matter the degree of atrocity or malice. They also knew that their friend Muriel, Hunter’s fairy U-mother was way more important than they had ever known. Immediately, they formed a group hug. No one could believe the quick thinking of Peter who saved the day.

Josh stood up holding Hunter and moved over to the table. “We’ve got a lot to learn,” Josh said. Hunter tried to nuzzle his nipple but just kept getting the taste of his shirt. Josh pulled his shirt off to make it easy on the little guy who started suckling as if he had not been fed in his life. “There you go little man, drink up.” Josh giggled. He was starting to feel more natural about this feeling. Muriel joined Josh and Hunter at the table, while Peter opened the fridge to look for some things for the grownups to nibble. He took out three plates of finger food including pineapple, of course, and set them out. Josh seized quickly on a few bites in succession. “Thank you, Pumpkin!”

“Of course, Babe,” Peter said.

“Ok M., you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” Josh was blunt. After all, all this time he had felt like she was really Peter’s friend more than his. Yet, all this time, she had been there to watch over him, and he never knew it. Peter brought over three celebratory glasses of their new favorite elixir: blended pineapple, passion fruit, and coconut juice. They clinked glasses toasting Peter’s daring move that saved Hunter, and then Muriel took a deep breath.

“Ok, Princes, so first, I’m sorry I lied to you all these years.”

“Well, you didn’t actually lie, I guess,” Peter said.

“No, that’s true I tried my hardest never to lie, but I never told you the truth, and I evaded or ignored some nuance in your questions. By the way, Prince Peter, I think you made the right choice as much as you destroyed the main part of the reason for my mission which was to save my home planet with any baby my second cousin once removed might ever produce not just to preserve the line of succession, but also because biologically he is a miracle and may hold the genetic key to preserving the existence of Amans.”

“Thank you, M. For saying that, and I am sorry to blow up your mission.”

“No, no, no, you made the right choice. Any true and good parent would have done the same if they could. In any case, so, I arrived in the next cycle.”

“What’s this cycle all about?” Josh asked.

“Well, our ancients discovered a way to bend and fold space-time. To be honest, how the technology actually works we don’t now understand. It’s kind of like how most people use a microwave oven, but they really don’t know how it works at all and many falsely believe that it heats up the air really fast and blows it on the food.”

“It doesn’t?” Josh asked. “I see your point.”

“So, all we know is that they set these points which we call portals and created an entire network so that when the proper numerical codes are entered into the transponders devices, they can open the portals in sequence to allow us to travel to any world on our chart.”

“And this can only happen in some cycle?”

“Yes, because many things in the universe from planets to solar systems to entire galaxies rotate and spread apart with time. Some program in the transponders accounts for this, and much like how windows of opportunities open and close, the alignment of the portals goes in and out over time. The window between earth and Ama stands right now at seven years. So, no one from Ama can transit between here nor transit back for the next slightly less than seven years. It’s impossible as far as we know. One thing we do know is that the interval is increasing by a certain factor. In another thousand years, the time will grow by approximately 4.8 months.”

“Interesting,” Josh said. “So, we have seven years to figure out what to do before, I assume, they will come back and try again.”

“Well, I know my cousin and his, what you call his forever partner, King Björn, and I would say yes, they will try again, and they will plan a different approach. I am not sure what. They are also going to be none too happy with me feeling I betrayed them and our houses.”

“Don’t worry about that M. we’ll protect you too,” Josh said.

“Don’t worry about me, Prince Joshua, I am fully dedicated to you, Prince Peter, and Grand Crown Prince Hunter.”

“You don’t need to call us Princes, M.,” Peter said, at least not me.

“No, I agree, we are just ourselves here on earth.” Josh giggled replaceing that a strange thing he never thought he would say.

“Thank you, your royal highnesses,” Muriel said. “I will follow your guidance on that protocol and abide by your wishes. I was raised with the protocols, but I’ve fallen out of touch with them being here so long, so, it’s more natural for me with your permission.”

Peter laughed, “We’re just normal.”

“So, back to my point, as much as I appreciate your protection, and trust me when I say I know that you mean that with all of your hearts, the powers we face are unimaginable, and the threat is not just from those of my people on Ama. That dark force you saw, that was not coming from Ama, that was coming from here. Agents of the other houses use some equally ancient technology that allows for transit to locations on one planet using a dark cloud. It allows for very limited but targeted interaction and the transport of matter and energy for a brief time. You better believe they will try to target you again. The good news is that it appears their transponder is malfunctioning probably due to a power failure — basically, the battery is dying out and there is no way on earth to recharge it. So, they probably cannot transit again, but they can still use it to locate you, communicate with you, and shock you with energy waves that can put you into a catatonic state where you will feel nothing but dark fear, dread, and coldness.”

“Can it kill you?” Peter wondered.

“No, but it can paralyze you temporarily. So, if they locate you, they can use it to overpower you and take Josh or Hunter. Having either is all they need. With Josh, they can get another child. They now know he’s capable of reproducing. All they need is another willing human or they could even try artificial insemination. With Hunter, they can then complete some procedures to replace out if he’s carrying the genetics necessary to introduce back into Amans and perpetuate their lines.”

“My gosh, why does it all have to be so menacing? Why cannot they just take a DNA sample from his blood or cheek cells?” Josh said slamming his hand on the table and startling Hunter who, for the first time since he took his first breath started to cry and fuss. Josh apologized to him and cuddled him back so that he was calm. He started to suckle again, but Josh was empty. “You ready, papa,” Josh asked Peter.

Peter smiled, “So, I’m papa and you’re daddy?”

“Well, I was just thinking about the perfect papa Peter Pumpkin alliteration for you, but if you want to be daddy, I’m ok.”

“No, you’re right, that is perfect!” Peter pulled off his shirt and held out his hands to take Hunter over and nurse him. Hunter nestled into Peter’s arm and started suckling joyously. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this feeling,” Peter said.

“I think you will,” Josh smiled.

“Ok, so, how do we protect Hunter and ourselves from these agents and their dark force and my parents?”

“Well, there is good news and there is bad news.”

“Start with the good news, I think,” Josh suggested.

“We are not at home. So, they may not know where we live.”

“Um, that might not be the good news.” Peter interrupted.

“What do you mean, Peter?” Josh inquired.

“Well, Mintaka, I didn’t tell you this because, well, at the time, I kind of thought it was my imagination or something, but I was visited before by the dark force, and it told me to give them the child. When it spoke tonight, I recognized it and it brought back the memory very vividly. The good part is that it also brought back the fear which is what made me think of handing over the baby doll instead.”

“What the…bleep! Peter, you didn’t tell me that?” Josh seemed genuinely angry in a way that Peter had never seen before.

“Calm down, no of course I didn’t, and even if I had so what? It would have done nothing but worry you about things that neither of us could have done anything about.”

“Boys, cut it out. The LA area is huge. So, you move. I can have you in an upscale bungalow in Santa Barbara tomorrow, I just got the listing.”

“But is that far enough away to be safe, M.”

“Well, to be honest, Boys, nowhere on earth is 100% safe. I’m sorry that’s the bad news. The agents can, do, and will move around. They have one mission, and that is to replace you. I’m guessing they found you before and then determined that you hadn’t had a baby yet, so nothing to do but wait and observe.”

“So they were watching us?” Peter said.

“I guess so. I didn’t know. Nothing came up on my transponder.”

“Wait, so you have one of these transponders?” Josh said surprised.

“Of course, no Aman would come to earth without one. Without one, you can never go back, right? Well, I mean you can wait and hope you are at the right place at the right time when the portal opens, but otherwise.”

“Oh, I get it. So you plan or planned to go back sometime?” Peter asked.

“Of course. As much as I have loved living on earth for a time, getting married, adopting children, as I watched over you Josh, and then Peter,…”.

Peter interrupted, “So, we didn’t get that house by accident.”

Muriel laughed. “I hate to break it to you both, but you didn’t fall in love by accident.”

“What?” Josh exclaimed.

“You may not remember this, Josh, but you used to chat infrequently with a girl you met online during high school. Share your problems, you know, because she didn’t go to your school.”

“Aqua-dame was you?”

“What are you two talking about?” Peter interjected.

“Yes. I’m sorry, it was a really low-impact way of keeping up on what was really going on with you. I had been your crazy cookie-lady neighbor for a spell when you were between ages 2-5, your second-grade art teacher, and your sixth-grade swimming coach. I worried you would eventually see through all of my disguises and figure out something. So, I created the fake profile and, sorry catfished you.”

“Oh my gosh, M. I told you everything.”

“Yes, I know. It worked far better than I ever imagined when I got the idea.”

“Aqua-dame, you were the coolest. You always listened to me, asked the right questions, and supported me.”

“So, when you sent me Peter’s photo, well, of course, I vetted him fully, and then, what did I tell you?”

“He’s the one!” Josh admitted. “You also suggested I invite him to the dance.”

“Well, I don’t know how I feel about this,” Peter said. “I’m just a pawn in some intergalactic space soap opera!” Josh giggled and giggled. It was a delightful sound they all needed at that moment. Hunter got into the action stretching out his arms and legs and feet and hands and cooing like he was part of the conversation.

“Wow, M. all this time. It’s really amazing.”

“Yes, so as you got older, and I found that you were looking for a place to live, I dropped the flyer for the house into your mailbox, and the rest is history.”

“Wow! You’re not just Hunter’s fairy U-mother, you’re all of ours.” Josh said.

“I agree.”

“Thank you, Boys, I’m glad you see it that way, and I truly am sorry about the many years of subterfuge, but it was for your own safety. Also, I could never be too near you for too long or increase the odds that you could be found.”

“That’s why you befriended Peter more,” Josh finally understood why she seemed to like Peter better.

“Of course, I have a direct line to you, but your bio signature stays out of it.”

“So, how did those agents replace me with their dark force if I don’t share your bio signature?” Peter asked.

“That is a very good question. I don’t have a good answer, but it definitely concerns me. The other houses have their own smart people and scientists. Who knows exactly what technology they have, or they may even have developed here on earth? Even though the technology is thousands of years behind in some ways, it is ahead in others. Especially right now, the current technology is well understood by the scientists of the time. Whereas we have thousands of years of technology we know nothing about how it works. When things finally break, we have no way to fix them. Fortunately, most of our most useful and advanced technology was designed on platforms that self-repair accept updates, and even some can adapt. We don’t know how to make them do these things, but we don’t need to know. We can push out code, and the devices can take it in.”

“So, could they have modified a transponder?” Peter asked.

“Anything is possible. My transponder will likely be able to detect if they have any kind of tracking device implanted in you to emit a signal.”

“Can you check me now?”

“I cannot.”

“Why?”

“Because, Peter, my transponder is in a safety-deposit box in a bank in Switzerland. I cannot risk having that thing found or fall into the wrong hands nor run out of batteries just in case we ever need it.”

“So, to scan you, we have to go to Switzerland.”

“Ok,” Peter said admitting this was a good reason.

“Now, I’ve answered a lot of your questions, answer one of mine.”

“Sure,” Josh said.

“Anything, M.” Peter echoed Josh.

“Why did you both lie to me yesterday and say you hadn’t experienced anything strange leading up to Hunter’s rapid growth and birth?” Josh and Peter both looked at each other and scratched their heads looking like little kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar.

“I cannot speak for Peter, but, …” Josh started to answer.

“I bet our answers are the same. We wanted to, but we didn’t want to tell anyone at the time because we weren’t really sure what these strange things were.” Peter said apologetically.

“Boys, that would have been very useful, and maybe I could have prevented the event today from ever happening,” Muriel said.

“So you did experience strange things like waking up in strange places and lost time?”

“Yes.” Josh and Peter said.

“Oh, dear. Please in the future, you have to be honest with me. I don’t blame you because you didn’t know what you know now. But now you do.”

“So what was it?” Peter asked.

“I’ll definitely need my transponder for this, but I think Josh was implanted with a codex by his fathers.”

“A what?” Josh asked.

“A codex. How to explain it? You have heard about nano-bots?”

“Maybe,” Josh said. “Like little robots that can go into a person and do some surgery?”

“Yes, exactly. That is kind of like how a codex works. It can receive a signal and then subsequently perform tests and transmit it back. It can also receive a signal and perform some genetic manipulation. So, I guess it is how the Kings knew that Josh was pregnant and then activated Hunter’s growth so he would be born in time for the window so they wouldn’t have to wait another seven years for the next alignment.”

“But, how can it communicate without the alignment?”

“The beauty of energy. It can travel faster than matter, and it can bounce around until it just happens to hit on a portal and then bounce within the portals until it comes out of the right one. Think of it this way. If you have 100 piggy banks all over the house, but they have tubes connecting them and you throw up 1000 coins, most will fall flat, but anyone that just happens to line up properly with the piggy bank can now travel around from bank to bank.”

“Ok, that works. Good job teacher.” Josh complimented Muriel on her analogy.

“Thank you, but it’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s the best way I can think of how to explain it. So, it is possible to communicate with Ama with a transponder. And it’s also possible for me to remove the codex from Josh, assuming that’s what caused this.”

“It all makes sense now,” Peter said. “They needed Hunter to grow fast, but not to continue to grow fast. Once they had him, that was all they needed.”

“Well, I wish they had just come and explained themselves years ago, and we could have worked things through together rather than their shock and awe and abduction plan for today,” Josh said. “I’m thoroughly disgusted to be related to these people.”

“Josh, don’t say that. First, they are looking out for their houses and a lot of Amans among them, second, they are looking out for their planet, and though you haven’t seen it, I can promise you, it is a planet and even with our flaws which, sadly I see the humans following down our same paths in many ways, is still a beautiful and magnificent planet with people worth saving, but I do agree, their tactics today were very misguided.”

“Ok, so back to our plans for now. I think it would be best to wrap this up for tonight, and then tomorrow, we write up an action plan.”

“Sorry, Boys, we are lucky we’ve had this much time. We cannot assume the agents won’t come back here. They could be en route as we speak. I wanted to give you time to process, but we’ve got to leave here tonight, even if we just go to another part of the island, we cannot stay here. And, it would be best if I don’t stay with you. In that sense, I should not have come. We still don’t know what Hunter’s bio-signature is. We cannot risk there could be three and maybe Peter is being tracked as well. I suggest I fly home. If they have locked on to my signal, the further it gets from yours, the fainter it will be and they will lose me, and the same goes for you. Your signal will get fainter as we move apart. Hopefully, it will be enough that they cannot track us. I will contact you with where we should meet up within a few weeks. I think I better go to Switzerland and get my transponder. We need it now, and we may need it to be nearby later. We also need to talk to your parents, Josh. Even though they seem evil now, they deserve to know that the other agents did not get Hunter.”

“Wow, ok,” Peter said looking at his smartphone travel application. “Um, there’s a redeye out of Honolulu for Orange County that leaves at 12:30 am? How does that sound to you.”

“Perfect! I’ll go pack and get ready.”

“As for us, well, unfortunately, it looks like we are out of luck to leave the island tonight or tomorrow morning. I can book us another hotel room with no problem on the other side of Oahu, and then we can fly back later tomorrow afternoon. Let’s pack up, Mintaka.”

“I’ll do it, you cuddle our kid, Papa Pumpkin.” Josh leaned over and kissed Peter full of gratitude. “What a day?”

“What a couple of days!”

“As horrible as going through that was, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Josh said rubbing the back of Peter’s head.

“Oh, no, I bet you loved seeing me stuck to the ceiling like that,” Peter kidded him.

Josh giggled. “Actually, no, I was very scared and angry at the moment, but somehow, I felt everything was going to turn out alright.”

“You are always very sure of that, aren’t you?”

“No matter how helpful Aqua-dame was in match-making us, I picked you.”

“Hmm…seems to me the other way around,” Peter said smirking.

“How so?”

“You asked me. I could have said ‘no’.” Peter said. “But I said ‘yes’. Therefore, I picked you.” Josh decided to leave it there. Peter picked him. He honestly did not care about anything other than the truth of those words. Peter had picked him. Josh rubbed the back of Peter’s neck and head again, running his finger through his hair. Hunter was fast asleep in Peter’s arms. He leaned down and kissed Hunter’s huge forehead, and then he kissed Peter’s.

“Ānuenue wailele, Prince Peter.”

“Ānuenue wailele, Prince Joshua.”

THE END