Three hundred years earlier, Earth made first contact with its first alien race. The sounds coming through the satellites were unmistakable and information soon streamed in through radio towers located around the globe. Conflict ceased and for the first time in its history, the planet worked together in order to translate and use the information they were being sent. Suddenly the concerns of the past seemed so trivial and the only interest was communication with a species other than themselves. When the aliens arrived, they were shocked at the amount of destruction that had been caused and promised to work with humans in order to fix past mistakes.

  The plan succeeded for the first hundred years and slowly the planet regained its natural beauty and scientific advancement and technical achievement flourished. But humans are what they are and after the initial push for progress, divisions again appeared in society. Rather than racial or ethnic tensions, conflict arose among groups of scientists who wanted final say in how resources would be used and regional governments composed of followers of various philosophies began to form, causing rifts in the unification.

  The Liagro returned and were furious that their efforts were being wasted. For millennia, they had managed to successfully unite and improve the inhabitants of the planets they encountered, but humans refused to overcome their weaknesses. They chastised the warring factions and warned that if they had to return, drastic measures would be taken in order to regain the peace and prosperity that was needed for long term survival.

  Their return was inevitable and this time, they ensured that a utopia for all would be realized permanently. The humans were put in camps where their aggressive natures were forcefully removed with a simple surgery and a gentle spirit of peace and logic ruled supreme, for those not yet born, the procedure was completed in utero.

  Most of the human race was able to advance but many were resistant to the alterations and had to be removed to prevent unwanted dissent. Rather than being culled, they were sent to a colony on Io, to benefit Earth from a distance.

  A ringing woke me from my nap and I answered.

  ‘Cloe?’ I was desperate.

  ‘No, it’s Ammet. Did you get in touch with Manuk Kai yet?’ I was still groggy.

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  ‘Not yet, I was waiting on... something.’ I didn’t want to get into too many details.

  ‘Look, you’ll need to do it soon. I spoke with him earlier and gave him a head’s up about what’s going on. He’s willing to speak with you but he doesn’t want to wait.’

  I understood that there was a rush for this whole thing, but why the sudden push? He had told me earlier that he didn’t want to speak until the deal had been done. Why was he even calling?

  ‘Yeah sure. I’m going to look for him now.’ I heard a familiar noise behind me and couldn’t wait to get off the call.

  ‘Do it, Aia. This is a good opportunity.’

  ‘Thanks Ammet. Gotta go- bye.’ I turned around and jumped out of my seat.

  ‘Cloe- perfect timing!’ I hugged her as much as I could, considering her fluctuating state and she seemed pleased.

  ‘Aia, I am also happy to see you.’ She stood there for a moment. ‘Did you need something from me?’

  ‘Yes, yes I did, uh, I do.’ I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted her to do. ‘When you go back into your, uh, dimension, can you take stuff with you?’

  ‘Yes, I can return to my plane of existence with items from this reality.’ That was good.

  ‘And once you have the items there, can you bring them back here?’

  ‘Yes, that is also possible.’ Ok, this was fantastic news.

  ‘Now, when stuff goes with you, does it change in any way, like molecularly or..’ I couldn’t think of how to phrase it ‘or whatever.’ My limited education was really rearing its ugly head here.

  ‘No. What happens is that I form a protective bubble around the object that shields it from any adverse conditions that may exist in my reality such as lack of atmosphere and extreme gravitational anomalies.’

  ‘So you’ve done this before?’

  ‘Yes.’ she paused. ‘I once took a small, and very cute rodent back with me. I named it George. It lived for, mmm, seven...teen...ty years?’ I couldn't be sure how accurate that was but it sounded promising. I took her hand and yanked her into the rear of my ship. She followed obediently and I pulled back the blanket. ‘Oh, Oranium. I was hoping it was a dog.’

  ‘A friend gave it to me.’ The dead Nollers popped into my head. ‘They, uh, he wanted me to... have it, but I’m thinking about giving it to another friend. That’s why I need you.’

  ‘You want me to hold it in my home until you find someone to sell it to?’ Cloe surprised me.

  ‘Yes, exactly.’ I paused and looked at her. ‘You are actually the only person I can totally trust.’

  Her smile filled the ship and she looked like she would burst with joy.

  ‘We’re friends?’ She hugged me and I patted her back.

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘I’m so excited, I have a friend!’ She spun in circles.

  ‘Don’t start singing yet. Can you take these with you? I’ll be in touch when I’ve spoken with my guy and you can bring them back to our meeting place.’ I began gathering the bricks, but a moment later, they all disappeared, along with Cloe.

  I hoped I had done the right thing.

  Now on to Manuk Kai.