Fear and Aggression (22 page)

“
Are you saying that
Aspiria is a human, just a different genetic translation of a
human?” asked Mike.

“
I don’t know about that.
I know she is human-like. I mean she is
completely
human-like. But, as far
as I’m concerned, she can’t be human without human genes,” said
James.

“
Tammy, could her species
breed with humans—with earthlings?” asked Kenny.

“
No, I checked for the
possibility of fertilization, as well. The two genetic codes are
completely incompatible. This is a completely alien species, and
there can be no interbreeding between them and humans.” She glanced
at Steve and gave him a dirty look. Tammy had been extremely
occupied over the past couple of weeks, but it had not gone
unnoticed: all of the time that Steve was spending with Aspiria—not
to mention how much they both seemed to be enjoying themselves. She
had also noticed, in general, that she was not the female that was
getting the most attention on this ship. Aspiria had turned every
man’s head, and because of that and her workload she was not
getting the attention that she had been used to. Still, she was not
truly jealous. She was not uncomfortable in her relationship with
Steve—but he deserved, at least, a dirty look.

No reaction from Steve, though. He looked
lost in thought. She turned back to the rest, who were beginning to
debate and consider the new revelation. Danny walked in, and said,
“I think Aspiria is getting used to my cooking. I think she likes
the meatloaf.” The others began to inform Danny about Aspiria’s
genetics.

Steve felt a tinge of
concern. They were all, that is all the humans, in the dining area.
The alien was left alone. Security measures had been relaxed
greatly over the past few days. It was his fault. He had begun to
feel very unconcerned in regards to that. He almost told Danny to
go back and stand guard, but thought better of it. If, with the new
information, he jumped back into high security mode, the others
might become alarmed. They might also question his choices over the
past week. Steve had been feeling bothered inside ever since he had
left Aspiria a few hours previously. He had been debating as to
whether or not he would let her go on a walk outside of the lab. He
was concerned that she had made that request—partly because he felt
it represented a new attitude on her part—
She doesn’t know her place
—and
partly, because he had not offered this, and other comforts to her.
She had been completely compliant with everything. She had never
posed the slightest bad attitude or brought any concern. She was
even becoming his
friend
.

Steve didn’t have feelings
for Aspiria that were similar to the feelings that he had for
Tammy. Sure, she was beautiful, but over the past few days, he was
seeing her for the
person
that she was, and not her external beauty.
Person?—but she’s not a person,
he thought. Still, he did have feelings for her.
The closest that he could compare them to, was the way he felt for
his departed mother. Aspiria reminded him of his mother, especially
as she tried to teach him her language. It was both her way, and
the loving kindness that simply emanated from her being.

He had already decided
that he would take her for a walk around the ship the next day. But
now this news, as to how genetically alien she was, had cut him to
the core. He began to distaste the good feelings that he had felt
for her. In fact, a feeling of enmity was beginning to swell within
his breast. He started to see everything in a new light and from a
different perspective.
She sure is curious
about our language. She’s dedicated to learning everything. Yeah,
she’s sharing information, too. But that may be so that she can
learn more. She has everyone, including me, wrapped around her
finger. She gets whatever she wants. We’ve already let down most of
our guards. She pays so much attention. Sometimes I’m shocked at
what she has discovered about us. I think she knows more about us,
than we know of her
.

Beyond this, he was concerned about Central
Command. He had been in talk with his superiors daily. So far, they
were giving him a lot of rope. They had been pleased about
everything, except the failure of the initial genetic testing. The
prevailing thought was that this was a human or near-human colony.
Far-flung space travel, though new to earth, had always been
possible; and so, although unsuspected up until this point, it
appeared to have been going on from before. Because Aspiria had
been willing to share so much, they were okay with the guard being
let down to some extent. Trust often brought more than force or
torture did. But when the genetic results became known, it would be
clear that this was a completely alien species. They were not
connected with earth or humans in any way. The ground rules would
be different. Not only would they have to be more careful, but in
all likelihood additional ships would be dispatched. As interesting
as a colony of humans on a distant planet was, it would now be more
interesting that they were actually unrelated aliens. Steve was
very concerned about his place in history, and how his handling of
this mission would be perceived.

Whether or not to take
Aspiria on a walk around the ship seemed pretty small compared to
his other worries.
No, she, or it, won’t
be going on any walks around this ship. I’m going to tighten the
guard. We’ll continue to get as much information as we can, but we
will have to minimize how much info we give to
her
, he resolved.

Steve stopped short as he
walked into the lab. Tammy was at work, as expected. But Aspiria
was standing next to her, and not in her cell. Plus, Aspiria was
wearing a dress—but not
her
dress. Her hair was styled, he could see from the
back. The woman turned around as he walked into the room. Aspiria
looked stunning!—even compared to her usual beauty.

“
I let Aspiria borrow my
cosmetics and hair dryer, and I let her borrow my dress. How does
she look?” said Tammy with pleasure.

Aspiria smiled—she was
actually glowing. “She looks… uh, great—really great.” Steve looked
at Tammy in amazement.
What is going on
here
? he thought.
Tammy has never treated Aspiria as more than a subject in her
experiment. She treats Aspiria as a caged animal. I’ve never even
heard Tammy refer to Aspiria by anything other than: it, or that
creature, or that specimen. Now she is hanging out with her,
letting her use her make-up and her dress? And this, after we just
got the results. This is an alien creature. Now she’s treating her
like a lady?

“
Aspiria and I were
talking last night. She said that she was hoping to go on a walk,
out of the lab. She told me that she asked you yesterday, but that
you told her, ‘not today.’ I told Aspiria that you were probably
too busy yesterday, but that you might let her today. She was
excited, and I thought that we should get her dressed up for her
tour.” As Tammy explained, Aspiria looked on, still
beaming.

Steve was dumbfounded, to put it mildly.
Tammy was conscious of the change in her demeanor towards Aspiria,
but not fully. She had dreamed of the moment of discovering an
alien life form, and was beside herself when the moment of
examination began. However, when this creature, from an alien
world, seemingly turned out to be no more than a highly attractive
woman, she felt threatened. Not directly by the ‘woman,’ but more
by the situation. Discovering an alien world and examining an
inhabitant would certainly seal her place in scientific history.
But the degree to which it that would be lessened—by the fact that
the alien was a human—was beyond devastating to her.

Deep inside, she could not
allow herself to project anything other than inhuman respect
towards this creature. Subconsciously she was holding on to her
alien, no matter what the physical findings had shown. If she
treated
it
, and
discussed
it
as
an alien, perhaps it would be so.

In addition to this, Tammy had enjoyed all
of the attentions of being a very attractive woman on a crew of
men. Sure, she was only in a relationship with Steve, but she still
enjoyed her favored status. From the moment that Aspiria had gained
consciousness, it was clear that she had been relegated to second
place. Now, of course, any alien would have been the most
interesting creature on board, and she accepted that. But this
alien was getting the attention for more than the fact she was an
alien. The men were mesmerized by her. She did not doubt Steve’s
devotion and affection towards her, nor did she disagree with the
value of him learning to communicate with Aspiria; but she didn’t
appreciate just how much he was enjoying himself. Tammy was not
overtly jealous, but she had some jealous feelings, and it added to
her need to treat Aspiria with coldness. Add to this the stress of
her supposed equipment malfunction, the countless hours of work,
and just feeling emotionally off—she had no reason to become
girlfriends with Aspiria.

Everything changed
yesterday with the results of the test. Aspiria was a
bona fide
alien! She was
the real deal! Tammy had everything that she could have ever
wanted. Her place in scientific history was secure. She was likely
to be world-renowned—beyond the scientific community. At first
blush it might’ve seemed that a strange—non-humanoid—alien creature
would garner more worldwide attention. But, as she considered it,
Aspiria could not be improved upon. One hundred percent human-like,
and yet completely alien—beautiful beyond measure—as beautiful as
the most beautiful human being. And, this alien’s personality—it
was magnetic. Aspiria would be the most intriguing thing that could
possibly be brought back from outer space. The world would love
Aspiria, and Aspiria was hers. Every bit of love and adoration that
the world would show to Aspiria, Tammy could call her
own.

As far as the men on the
ship went, let them be mesmerized by her. Tammy could now own that
as well. Aspiria was not a woman, she was an alien. So whatever
attention or adoration that was bestowed upon Aspiria didn’t count.
Tammy was still
the woman
on this ship that was getting the most attention.
Of course, the ship would be fascinated by the alien; that was
bound to be the case. Let them be fascinated—even Steve—what was
wrong with that? There was no one here to be threatened by. The
more the men were intrigued by Aspiria, the more this case study
showed how the world would also be fascinated by her.

Tammy was overjoyed. She felt a profound
sense of relief as she had walked back to the lab the night before.
Aspiria was the most prized possession in the entire universe, and
Tammy was swelling with this newfound affection towards her. As she
walked into the lab, she walked over towards Aspiria. She had not
focused on Aspiria’s countenance in the past, but she had gleamed
enough to know that Aspiria was down. She had begun to talk with
her, something that she had not attempted in the past—other than
short commands. She was amazed at how well Aspiria was already
communicating in English. Aspiria warmed up to her rather quickly
as she tried to acquaint herself with her. She discovered that
Aspiria loved to go on walks, and that Steve had told her no.

Tammy looked at this beautiful creature, and
saw that she, though clean, was not being allowed to keep herself.
She was showing some signs of her captivity. She was wearing this
on her face, though her beauty disguised it to a large extent. It
was time to help Aspiria get her glow back. A make-over couldn’t
change the fact that she was in captivity, but it couldn’t hurt,
either. Aspiria enjoyed the make-over as much as any woman could.
They laughed, and talked, and had fun together. The first dress
that Tammy had brought for Aspiria was short, cut low on top, and
with skinny straps. She learned quickly that this alien had, what
Tammy considered, fairly antiquated ideas of modesty. But, she
found a nice gray dress that Aspiria, not only found acceptable,
but that she was in love with. Aspiria had been ready for only a
few minutes, when Steve walked in.

“
Is it okay if we all go
on a walk together?” Tammy asked, breaking the silence.

“
Yes,” was the only word
he could muster. He had been over powered by this one—two punch.
Aspiria smiled angelically, but with an increased air of
submission. Tammy caught Aspiria’s arm, in a friendly and not in a
controlling manor, and they began to walk towards the door. Steve
turned to go also, and he led the way to the door. “Are you excited
to see the ship?” he asked, trying to pull his chin from off of the
floor.

Aspiria’s command of the English language
was amazing, for how short of a time that she had been working on
it. But, she did not seem to comprehend the word, ‘ship.’ “Ship?”
she said and looked towards Tammy.

“
You’ll see,” said Tammy
smiling.

The threesome walked out into the corridor
and turned to the left. Steve fell in line with the two women, such
that Aspiria was in the middle and on his right. He was still not
feeling conversational, so the group walked for several steps in
silence. Footsteps could be heard coming towards them. In a few
moments Mike could be seen walking into the corridor.