It wasn’t until morning that we dared to leave Cooper’s house. Yamagush begged to stay longer, but the captain would not agree to anything.
Escaping Felicity’s murder cost her dearly. She looked gloomy , withered, and her hands were shaking . She gave orders to the ship angrily. I knew she was going straight back to the ship, and I knew she wouldn’t come back, ever. She did what she could for me and paid a heavy price for it.
I offered to accompany her back to the ship so that I could provide Yamagush with some more materials. She rejected me. Yamagush and I argued.
Although she was unwilling to do this, she finally gave in to our wise arrangement. I can provide Yamagush with valuable information, yes, I can. She also thought I was trying to stall for time and continue our relationship. She was wrong, so wrong.
We were twenty yards from my office when the large man who was not in confinement suddenly stopped.
Lillian alertly drew her weapon.
“Shoot,” she growled. At this moment, she saw what we all saw, and she took her hand away from the weapon. We all stood silently, not even daring to breathe for fear of making any noise.
Just thirty yards ahead of us was a stream that flowed from the nearby woods. The charming Chloe was drinking water by the stream, but she didn’t hear our voices.
Her skin was as white as milk, her hair was chestnut, and her long and slender legs were surprisingly beautiful. Her small nose turned upward. Her eyes were extremely large, incomparable to human eyes. When she blinked, it was like someone’s face flickering in and out.
“What is she?” Yamagush asked.
Suddenly, Chloë’s back stiffened. She leaned her head forward, then tilted her head to the side, her ears pointed upward. She was like a statue, blending into the beautiful scenery around her. She spotted us and ran away. No one could have imagined that her slender legs could run so fast, and she disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“She is a woman,” I said defiantly, “even though her ancestors were deer.”
All Lillian said was, “Very beautiful.”
Sam grinned from ear to ear in amusement. I nodded towards him, thinking, what’s the use of being happy for a moment? Yes, Sam, these strangers appreciate Chloë’s beauty, but does that guarantee that her children won’t be sent to the zoo? Does that guarantee that they won’t be treated like second class? Are citizens discriminated against? Does that guarantee that they will not be abused ? I think there’s no guarantee.
I spent three days on the ship answering Yamagush’s questions. I gave truthful answers to irrelevant questions, but when necessary, I also told lies. During this time, the captain and I rarely saw each other. By the third night, my mission was accomplished. I told them that Felicia should have calmed down, that I would go home and make peace with her now, and that there would be no danger.
Before I left, Lillian came to me. What she said then still lingers in my mind.
“Alexandre,” she said, “we are going to break through the distractions of the sun and report to headquarters outside of Heidu and tell them about Sam Houston. Dear Ericsander, I promise, I will Go and tell them what you want, and I will tell headquarters about China Davison, about your bold experiments, and about your beautiful women. We will treat your women well, I promise.
I want the headquarters to know you and respect you.” I saw fear in her clear blue eyes. That could have been a fear of Felicity, which would have been understandable. That could also be the fear of falling in love, which is understandable.
Lillian Dalhout, however, was the captain of a ship. She has seen many things scarier than Felicity, and I suspect that Lillian is satisfied with what is going on between me and her.
Yes, I am more inclined to think that Lillian has guessed the truth of the matter. I think she has guessed that China Davison never believed that blood could play a decisive role. I think she guessed that while our women would become more and more human, our men would become more and more animal-like.
I think she may have fallen in love with me, at least a little bit , and I think she was afraid that she would fall in love with something that was not a human being. They belong to an advanced race. We were never as smart as they were.
Compared with us, they are simply resourceful and intelligent giants. However, their thoughts may be disturbed by emotions, such as love , fear, etc. I think that’s why she didn’t expect me to plant that bomb on her ship.
I regret killing Lillian, Dr. Yamagush, and the others, but I can’t let them tell headquarters about us. We are inferior to them, and I cannot let them laugh at us, ridicule us, associate us with lower animals, or even put us in cages.
I don’t think they will send another ship right away, because I believe that after losing two ships on the planet Werner, they will never take the risk of sending a precious ship. In the future, maybe they will come, but who dares to say what our place will be like by then?
Perhaps Dr. Zana Davison will be proven wrong. Maybe, after a period of time, we can really evolve into pure humans instead of just between humans and beasts. Until that time comes, however, these strangers are destined to be our enemies.
The above is the record about the headquarters light spacecraft Sadat.
I folded this record and looked up at the shining metal fragments that landed one after another. Those fragments were once the Sadat spacecraft. Felicity… must be waiting for me. If not at home, then maybe on the road somewhere. I smiled thinking about her. I picked up the crutches, straightened my tie, and walked straight home.
Maybe she would forget what happened recently. Tonight, we’re going to make love , make love . Or maybe, she will kill me, her feelings are fickle and unpredictable. Yet she drives me crazy, she is my wife and I have no choice.
