The Children of Time (The Children of Time Trilogy Book 1) (3 page)

Nicolas didn’t know what was going on and was perplexed taking in
the revelations. He looked at Sivoc with attention, waiting for the promised
explanations, and trying very hard to understand what was being said. But what
he wanted the most was to know why he was there.

“In fact, Nicolas, you have an organic defense that’s completely
different from the other human beings.” Sivoc said. “This unique feature made
you became the object our future studies.”

The boy became bewildered with the revelation!

“
How come he was different from the other human beings?”
Nicolas thought.

“The information about you contained in the medical files and shared
in networks made you known as the bearer of the most powerful biological
defense among all earthling beings on Earth.” The commandant continued his
explanations while the boy looked at him with attention, avid for more. “Your
blood contains an extraordinary series of lymphocytes, like no one else. Such
series was called X-Lymphocytes, and it makes you immunologically strong
against infections and diseases of all kinds.”

Everything suddenly made sense to Nicolas. After all, while many
colleagues had flu and other diseases, so common during childhood and teenager
years like viruses, he had never got sick. He even pretended some indispositions
to ditch classes, but the truth was that he had never been sick.

“The future scientists concluded that some genetic mutation had happened
in your defense cells, which would explain how your organism managed to develop
this healing power.” Sivoc explained.

“I guess I already know what they want with me. They would certainly
want to make experiences with my blood in their planet. I don’t want to travel
with them. I need to find a way to get out of here. I can’t lose the family I
love so much! But how will I escape?”
Nicolas
considered.

There was an explanation for such healing ability, but it would be
revealed only in the future, and the group would still experience many
adventures, before the secrets of the X-Lymphocytes were unraveled. Zara noticed
the boy’s affliction and asked Sivoc to continue to explain everything to him.

“Please, tell Nick about our purposes. He’s a good person and will
understand we’re being sincere.”

And then he continued:

“We came for you as a request from the governor of our planet, the
king Zador II. The princess Isadora, daughter of our king, contracted a rare
disease caused by a virus. Not even the most modern resources available in the
planet Vida were enough to cure her. However, we knew you existed and we also
knew about the X-Lymphocytes. Since we owned the technology necessary to travel
to the past using the gap of space and the mechanisms of fold space, we decided
to reach you, the earthling being with the strongest immunologic defense. Even
in our time, there was no other human with such capacity.”

Nicolas had no idea of what was happening, especially because the
strength of his immunological system would be discovered only a few years
later. He noticed that he was somehow special, but he couldn’t understand how
much. And he still feared what they could really want from him, because he didn’t
want to become a laboratory rat and go through numerous and painful
experiments.

“King Zador II would certainly feel very pleased with those who
could help to cure his daughter, and a large reward was offered. Thus, in a
meeting with his counselors, he asked us to prepared two teams to travel to the
past and find you.”

“The team I am charge of was chosen by the counselor Kenan, very
loyal to the king. He elected us based in our scientific and technological
knowledge. They gave us the ship Science II, this one in which we’re right now.”
At this moment, Sivoc opened his arms making Nicola’s eyes wander around the
ship. “The other team was chosen by Mirov, a counselor who plans to steal the
throne behind the king’s back, based in his military skills. They received the
ship Challenge I, and his commandment Merko is a very experienced military ambitious,
who is capable of anything to achieve his goals.”

“Luckily, Challenge I had to go through some repairs and we were
able to leave first. That’s why we reached you before them. Our purpose is
simple we want to take you to our planet so you can donate a small quantity of
your medulla cells. These cells are our only hope to cure the princess.”

Nicolas was impressed with revelation.
“So I won’t need to be a
bait of experiments? They only need a donation?”
the boy thought. While still
thinking, the commandant continued:

“Our biggest problem is that if the princess dies, the king will
have no successors. The rules of our planet are clear. The new governor will
have to be chosen among the members of the council. That was why Mirov wanted
to separate a team, as a way to earn more prestige. We fear that the real
intention of the crew Challenge is to eliminate you, destroying the only chance
to save the princess. So, we want to protect you and assure the survival of our
future queen.”

At this moment, Zara decided to speak and tell him some more
compelling arguments.

“The virus that attacked Isadora seems to be a fairly aggressive
mutant of the same virus that had already taken her mother’s life. It attacks
the blood cells and can’t be fought by any of the traditional forms known by
doctors. The princess is anemic and getting weaker every day. We believe that
only the lymphocytes of your medulla may save her, because they’re very strong
and resistant.”

Nicolas felt himself very satisfied for being able to contribute in
some way to help Isadora. At first he feared what they could do to him, but now
that he knew they only wanted to save another life, and that he could help with
a simple donation, he couldn’t deny the request. The sensation of saving a
little girl life is a unique and he could barely wait to do it. Zara was
introducing to him not only a completely different world, but also a way to be
a better human.”

“Tell me about her.”

Nicolas knew that there were more important questions to be asked;
all of them were fighting inside his mind. But at that moment, that was the only
question that came out from his lips.

“She’s a beautiful 7 years old girl, with lovely and kind face. She
likes to play and really hopes to be cured.” Zara answered. “So, Nick, will you
come with us? Please, help us to save our princess.”

After knowing the real reason of the trip, Nicolas began to think
how good would be to save a person, especially a girl’s life. He loved his
sister and he could never think about her being sick and not helping. He had
already decided. They were asking so little of him and it would be a pleasure
to help in Isadora’s cure. He said:

“If it is up to me she will be fine. I’ll do everything I can.” He
said, with his altruistic spirit. “But promise me that you’ll bring me back. I
need to take care of my mother and my sister. I’m the only one left in their
lives and I can’t stay away from them.”

“We’ll bring you back, I promise.”

The boy was relieved after hearing from Zara the promise that they
would bring him back home. He thought he would live the biggest adventure of
his life, and then he could return to his family, on Earth.

Nicolas had thousands of questions to make, but while he thought
about them, a little robot, in the shape of a dog, leaned at his feet.

“What’s that?” he asked, smiling, finding everything incredible. Now
that his fears had vanished, he was very calm, and the curiosity returned in
full swing. The robot’s approximation helped to relieve the mood, which was a
little heavy because of the fear for the princess’ life. “I was scared when
this thing touched me.”

“We have some robots in our planet which are just like the old pets.
They serve as companies, friends and also as weapons. This is Little Wolf.
Sometimes he even participates in missions with us. But normally he stays inside
here taking care of the ship and not allowing anybody inside.”

“He’s scratching his head in my legs. It seems that he likes me.”
Nicolas said, petting the head of the small creature, just like a dog from
Earth.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t save all of the Earth animals. However,
those we could not save from extinction, we managed to clone using the DNA and
the robotic technology, creating bionic beings with some features of the
extinct animal. Little Wolf had the gene responsible for that kind and domestic
attitude, very peculiar to the Earth dogs. But don’t be fooled, Little Wolf’s
eyes fire a laser of high precision and range. His bridle is equipped with infra
and ultra sound hearing. He can be very useful in some missions. And he is a
good companion, but also a very useful weapon.”

Immediately, Nicolas moved away from Little Wolf, thinking it would
be better not play with him. On Earth, the pets were definitely less dangerous.
Zara smiled, reading his thoughts.

The boy was much calmer and also happy to be able to help these
people. And that robot made him sure that there was a lot to learn with that
team. He would donate some cells to save a child, and he would be glad to do
some good, and was sure he would learn a lot with during the trip.

Sivoc knew they wouldn’t be able to stay there for long. The danger
was stalking them in more than one form and it was necessary to think of a safe
place to stay. The Earth government was eager to capture them, targeting the advanced
technology they possessed. On the other hand, Merko and its soldiers were also
on the way and would never work together with them.

While Sivoc, Drako and Tibor talked about the best strategy to
protect themselves, Nicolas and Zara stayed away from the discussion. Zara knew
the commander’s desire to tell the young man about the transformation of the
human being, the way it had evolved until what it was about to become in the
future. She thought that was the best moment to begin to tell her story:

“Nick, I’m so glad you agreed to help us. While the rest of the crew
is busy I would like to tell you a bit more about the evolution of the human species.
Would you like to hear?”

Nicolas’s eyes beamed with expectation of learning!

“Please, Zara, I’d love to hear more about what happened. However, I
imagine that the human being hasn’t changed much, since you have the appearance
of a normal person.”

The geneticist laughed with his statement. It was funny, but made
sense, after all, he haven’t seen the real shape of the crew yet.

“You are wrong, but I will start this story from the beginning. We
know all the biological mechanism of the species in this planet, so we don’t
need to make experiments with humans. When we perform our missions, the main
purposes are to collect gens so our planet can recover extinct breed by
cloning. The Science II has an immense database with most of the terrestrial
genomes.”

“I’ll explain briefly how we develop ourselves from the modern Homo
sapiens.

The human brain has a surprisingly capacity for data storage. With
the advance of information technology and the increase of the human knowledge,
brain development was accelerated by each generation.”

The boy listened to what Zara was saying and felt completely
immersed in an unknown and fantastic world. Every moment, he became more and
more curious.

“Therefore, the inventions and technologies grow exponentially, and
the human mind has developed more quickly, making the brain and, consequently the
skull, a lot bigger in comparison with the face.

Due to changes in the eating patterns that have already started in
the last two centuries, the jaws began to atrophy because of the lack of
chewing food, since became more industrialized and soft. Without the movement
of chewing the last teeth of each series of arcades, incisors, premolars and
molars have disappeared, becoming only dental elements for residues. The jaw was
reduced to the size we have in the future because of the reduction of its
function.”

Nicolas had never heard about that in his short life existence.
‘What
is Zara referring to? Will we become bigheaded with small chins?’
He
thought. With her telepathic abilities, the geneticist noticed
that he clearly understood how human evolution had occurred. And she decided to
continue the conversation telepathically:

“Your conclusion about the future is correct. That’s why I said that
we are the future of the human race.”

“Zara, you’re reading my mind and talking to me telepathically. This
is simply fantastic. I’d love to do that too!” He was really impressed with
such ability, but also confused. “I don’t understand! How can you be so evolved
if look exactly like the people I know?”

She smiled and, telepathically, began to tell Nicolas about how man
destroyed the terrestrial ecosystem:

“
I’ll get there, but first I have more things to tell. We know
that the sun around which the Earth still moves will last around 6 billion
years, but in order to preserve the planet is necessary that the humans are
aware of the renewal of ecosystems. In a few decades, man will begin to use
nuclear energy more often, since there will be no alternative to supply the
lack of oil. He will dominate the technology of nuclear fusion, which will
allow a multiplication of energy sources and increase of radiation. However,
with the ineffectiveness of the methods of radioactive control, mainly by countries,
which will use this method without total understanding, there will be a greater
destruction of the ozone layer. Consequently, a greater amount of solar
radiation will enter the planet and will drastically modify the climatic
conditions. This will make it hard on the planet survival and a search for
another planet to become a base will start. It will become necessary the use of
domes with filtered oxygen and protection against solar and cosmic radiation. With
this, the work of heating the air through the nostrils, to better absorb the oxygen,
will be extinct, determining the nasal atrophy and reducing the nose into two
small holes in the middle of the face.”

Nicolas tried to imagine how this human being from the future would
be, but it wasn’t easy. And Zara still had things to say:

“The binocular vision of the humans also suffered some adaptations.
When the man finally began to live in space, his vision had to be adapted to
this new lifestyle, improving perception of depth to see well and to see the
most distant objects. This made the eyeballs becomes more distant and bigger.

Human fingers also have atrophied due to the modification of the
labor methods because with the automation of the productions there was no need
for manual work. Across the generations, the function of the fingers was lost
and the hand was left with only three fingers, without fingernails.

With the use of telepathy to communicate, the ears degenerated and reduced
the size for the entrance of sounds.”

The boy imagined himself with the mentioned features and feared that
what he had just heard was true. Maybe if he told it to his college friends, he
would be called crazy. Nobody would believe, even if it were the truth. He
looked at the aliens and couldn’t see such changes.
‘Are they using some
kind of costume?’
thought the boy. It was difficult to accept everything
that took place in several millenniums in just a few hours.

While Zara and Nicolas talked about the evolution of the human
being, Sivoc and the others decided to leave the exosphere and hide the ship at
sea. They were trying to deceive Merko and find the best moment to return to
the planet Life. They needed to leave the ionosphere with safety and this was
the best alternative. Listening to the conversation between the two, Sivoc
decided to interfere, summarizing the matter:

“When you get to our planet,” said the commander, “you’ll see how we
value the environment. We recycle everything that’s possible and take care of
our race, animals and vegetables. Besides, we don’t make war with other
species. The military force exists to protect the planet against possible alien
threats, meteors or problems involving the planet, like epidemics or environmental
disasters. Are you ready to see the appearance of the human being of our time?”

Nicolas just nodded, agreeing. Telepathically, the captain asked
everyone to put some kind of sunglasses in their eyes. Then, he ordered that
they assumed their real appearances. That was when the young boy really
understood everything. They were using a different appearance not to scare him,
since their original form was really impressive, so different than what he was
used, just the way Zara explained with so many details.

Minutes after watching them, the boy looked at Zara and a tear fell
from his eyes. He thought:
“Like had ever happened in my life, when I think
I will have a serious relationship, everything ends. Zara and I have nothing in
common; I just now see how different we are.”

She noticed Nick’s disappointment when she saw his sad semblance and
told everyone telepathically to become human again. She felt something new for
the human, an emotion she had never experienced before. After returning to the
form of the beautiful woman for whom Nicolas had fallen in love, she saw him
smile with the same innocence of young man she met in college. Somehow, seeing
her as a human being, similar to him, gave him some hope of perpetuating the
love he felt.

However, the young man was amused with the use of this transmutation
technology and pondered:
‘Would it be also possible for me to use these
glasses and turn me into whomever I want to be? It’s unbelievable!’

Sivoc ordered Drako to take the ship into the Atlantic Ocean, the
Gulf of Mexico, at a latitude and longitude next the city of Tampico. While the
ship was moving there, he showed to the boy how gravity worked:

“With the knowledge initiated by the Theory of Relativity, by a
scientist of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein, it was possible to
understand the balance of space-time-gravity. Scientists managed to study the
changes that large celestial bodies, with mass and weight sufficiently able to deform
the space-time, can cause in the universe, creating gravitational fields.

The propulsion engines of folds we use are able to create a bubble
around the ship, contracting the space in front of it and expanding the space
left behind. This allows achieving large intergalactic distances respecting the
law of general relativity that doesn’t allow that objects with large mass travel
almost at the speed of light. We managed to create an artificial gravity using
discoid ships which have rotational centrifuge speed, which creates a
gravitational force similar to the Earth and to the Planet Vida, and benefits the
structure and the blood circulation of the human body.”

We traveled through wormholes formed from the space-time curvatures
between opposing gravitational fields forming passage bridges between distant
galaxies.”

Nicolas was a Physics student and loved those issues about time
traveling, life in other planets, and the law of relativity, energy sources and
artificial gravity. To listen and to know that those explanations were actually
used was just wonderful.

Zara enthusiastically showed the galaxy where they lived in the
virtual screen. She pointed her planet, which was located at a similar distance
to our Earth to the sun. That was Vida, the planet where they all lived.

She accessed a few images, and Nicolas could observe that the planet
had some resemblance with Earth, because there was a lot of water and of green
areas with different types of forests.

“Andromeda is a spiral galaxy and is located about 2.9 million light
years away from the solar system, to which the Earth belongs.” Explained the
geneticist. “It’s the closest galaxy from the Milky Way and it was named is due
to the Constellation of Andromeda, which the galaxy belongs.”

This constellation has its name originated from the mythological princess
Andromeda. This galaxy is also known as Messier 31 and its number of stars is
twice bigger than in our galaxy.”

She finished by saying that with the environmental degradation of
the Earth, the man was forced to look for other places in the space to live,
and conditions of other planets in the Milky Way weren’t adequate to the terrestrial
life. First the human being created a colony on the moon, then in Mars and,
with the knowledge he was acquiring, he could go farther and farther.

“This place was the best we found.” She explained. “Since we could
produce water from large glaciers and we managed to heat the planet with sources
of energy from nuclear fusion. This caused a cycle of evaporation of water, which
added to forest plantations, genetically designed, and established a continuing
photosynthesis, also due to a privileged position of the planet Vida, in relation
to the sun of our system. We also managed to save some species of animals and
plants that we take with us on our trips throughout the space. There are still
several domestic animals on our planet, which in the future are also different
from how you know today. They all have suffered changes with the evolution
process. With a quite diverse database of DNA, it became possible to clone several
extinct species and recover much of the lost biodiversity.” Said the doctor,
who at that time was no longer the simple beautiful woman he had met while
trying to escape the rain, but someone who captivated him more and more.

***

While the crew of the ship was talking, the Multinational Space
Station observed on its radar the presence of an UFO in the Earth’s
stratosphere region.

“Attention, control mission on Earth. There is a presence of a ship
near the Siberian region. Is there any air-fighter available in the area?” Asked
the French commander, Raonut, head of multinational space station.

“Listening loud and clear, orbital station command. Here speaks the
commandant of the Russian space mission, in Moscow. We have two Sukhoi fighters
ready to intercept. Please confirm the order of destruction.” Said the head of
the Russian space mission, Sergey Yurich.

“We have two F16 fighters near Germany. We’ll send it immediately.” Said
Lieutenant Colonel Smith, from American command.”

“Try to capture the ship and the crew and. It would be a milestone
in human history. If they are hostile, you can destroy the ship.” Raonut
confirmed.