Okay, they’re bad. But in the grand scheme of the universe, there is worse.
In the center of the pyramid are rows of rotting pods, shaped like wombs. All of them have opened long ago, split down the center. The outside flesh has started to decay. A liquid has dried below each “womb.”
Curiously, I step near them and peer inside. It looks like actual skin, designed and perfected to house life. “I don’t get it. They grew children in these?” I ask.
Lök nudges me back. “The experiment didn’t work.”
“Why?” I ask.
Rekker bites his top lip. “The children came out as mutants,” he says.
“Let’s not talk about it,” Vraik growls.
Akron groans. “Why? It’s been twenty years since I’ve seen you run away from the truth. Why not revisit it right fucking now?”
None of the aliens look comfortable with this place. I’ll admit it – it’s not exactly five-star quality. But it’s a million times better than sleeping on the streets with the sentinels on constant patrol.
I continue walking through the hall to another room. There are gold statues, alien goddesses with many arms and pregnant bellies. The statues have collected dust from years of neglect, but their expressions can still be seen, proud and defiant.
“They’re beautiful,” I say, circling around the gold figure.
“This pyramid is ancient,” Lök says. “It was only in the last thirty years they tried to turn it into an Empire facility.”
Akron stops near the doorway. He chuckles angrily to himself. “Lök, you bastard,” he mutters. “You took me here for a reason, didn’t you?”
Lök straightens his spine and cracks his neck. Every muscle in his body flexes. “We need a witness,” he says.
There are those words again. Witness. Breeding facility. Jesus, I should have known where they were taking me and what their plan entailed.
My time is running out. They are going to breed me. This is the place where everything changes.
Akron faces Lök, breathing. “After what you did to me? My life is over,” he screams.
His voice reverberates throughout the pyramid. It seems to trail off in my heart.
My life is over.
“You have left your old life for a better future,” Lök argues.
Akron crosses his arms, remaining defiant. “There is no future. I refuse to bear witness.”
While they argue, I eye a section of the room that leads into a dark tunnel. It appears to track to a hidden side of the pyramid, circling downward into an underground area.
If this were just a few days ago, I would take the opportunity to run. But things have changed. I don’t fully trust them, but there is nowhere to escape.
Maybe this can work…
This is a planet rife with inequality. I have seen the squalor in which their race is forced to live. I can see why they want to end the Empire.
I understand why they invaded Earth.
Oh, God. Is that so wrong to think? I know it’s my planet, but I’m starting to see it from the other side. Everyone is suffering, just trying to survive. Are they so different from us?
Angrily, Akron turns to leave the room. “I’ve been working all night. Now I’m going to sleep. Do not try to wake me.”
Akron leaves, and the aliens turn silent. I meander to a spot against the wall and lower myself down.
For the first time, I look at them as equals. “I think you owe me an apology,” I say.