The Good Reaper (4 page)

When I first arrived at the CIPE center I didn’t notice the
small craft docked at the far end of the underground port. But when I arrived
at the dock I remembered seeing them. They were small and pencil shaped so I
assumed they could only fly in one direction. I was happy to see Alexis waiting
at the same small shuttle craft I was assigned to. There were two other men
waiting there who seemed to be speaking Italian or French. I wasn’t sure but
the soft sound of their speech made me think it was Italian.

“The sea craft looks more like the commuter shuttles back
home,” Alexis said as I was about to say good morning. “It’s too small to
attract much attention.”

“The downside is that it isn’t multi-directional like the
big ships,” Alexis said. “It only goes in the direction the nose is pointing.
But that’s okay. We only have to go a few miles in one direction.”

“Ranjisi deep space ships are perfectly round and saucer
shaped which is the reason humans have been dumbfounded for decades wondering
how an aircraft can change directions without arcing,” I replied.

Alexis and I sat together on the shuttle craft flight. It seemed
to move much faster than the large saucer ship. It sliced through the water
underneath the mountains of Easter Island and shot out of the surface of the
Pacific Ocean like a human designed rocket. I was amazed at how fast it changed
directions and flew so close to the surface. “It’s hard to believe that humans
haven’t seen this,” I said to Alexis as the ship approached the land mass of
Easter Island.

“These smaller shuttles have a cloaking system,” Alexis
said. “It’s simple. Back at the port it wasn’t noticeable but the exterior is
made of a reflective material. It’s kind of like a mirror so when you look
toward it, you see a reflection of the surrounding area. Flying over the sea,
it just looks like water. The craft’s structure is soft and rounded so the
reflection is more natural. When it’s flying low over the sea, it is impossible
to see it. Over land, the closer the ship is to the ground, the more effective
it is. You would really need to be fairly close to the ship to notice it and
you would need to be almost on top of it to figure out what it is.”

I was amazed by the ship design but I was also amazed at how
smart Alexis was. She was also quite pretty but she had a kind of cold demeanor
about her. She rarely smiled. She had a husband back home but no children. But
then I figured she didn’t want to get to be too friendly anyway since we would
probably never see each other after we parted ways at the terminal.

It took about five minutes to reach the rendezvous spot in
the middle of the mountains. A plain looking minivan was there waiting for us.
On the way to the airport the five of us broke the rules and talked in Ranjisi.
I knew it would be the last time I spoke in my native language for a long time.
As we approached the airport curbside drop point I grabbed Alexis’s hand and
wished her good luck. She leaned into me and gave me a light hug. The four of
us walked into the terminal together and then we gradually went our separate
ways. Alexis was taking a different flight that was headed toward Houston. My
flight was going to Miami.

I had listened intently to Alexis talking about the ship’s
cloaking device while we were on the shuttle going to the rendezvous point. I
listened as she told me how she didn’t think that humans had any idea we lived
among them but I wasn’t really buying it. I wondered as I boarded the plane at
Mataveri International Airport if the coming and going of Ranjisi had ever
aroused suspicions. I was thinking that humans may not be too advanced
technologically but they weren’t stupid. There must have been some humans that
knew we were there. We didn’t appear identical but we all had similar physical
traits. I supposed we looked mostly like humans from Earth’s Scandinavian
areas.  I assumed people thought I was Swedish or Norwegian. There was one
other English speaking cadet traveling to Miami but we couldn’t sit together. I
had never actually talked to him but I remembered passing him in the hallway a
few times at the CIPE center. We honored the CIPE ruling that Ranjisi should
not be seen in public together.

Although the island where the secret Ranjisi base is hidden
is part of a Spanish speaking country, most of the people on the plane looked
to be from other parts of the planet. A man and woman smiled at me as they took
the two seats next to me. They spoke to each other in a language I didn’t
understand. After a few minutes the woman turned to me and spoke English with a
strong accent I wasn’t familiar with. “Are you on holiday too?”

It was my first conversation with a human and I realized my
very first sentence would be a lie. “Yes, I came to see the statues.” I hadn’t
actually visited the famous statues of Easter Island but I had read about them.
“Where are you from?” I asked

“We’re from Germany,” the woman said as she introduced herself
and her husband. “Easter Island is an amazing place, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s probably the most amazing place I’ve ever been,”
I replied, trying to sound confident.

It was the first time I used my human name. It felt strange
but I forced the words out of my mouth. “I am Luke Riley. I am from the New
York area in the US,” I said, a little reluctantly. I realized my speech
probably sounded stiff and robotic. I remembered I should be using
abbreviations whenever possible. I quickly panicked wondering if they were
going to ask me any questions about New York. Fortunately they had never been
there and they didn’t ask me anything about New York. It dawned on me at that
moment that I should do some sightseeing when I arrive in New York so I am
familiar with the area. At that point, the only thing I knew about New York was
that there was a big statue in the harbor that was a gift from a European
country; that and the fact that they loved a sport called baseball. As the
conversation continued, I realized that speaking with someone who spoke English
as a second language was perfect for me. I was practicing while gaining
confidence.

When we exited the plane at Miami I caught the glance of the
other Ranjisi as he was walking toward the departure screen. I smiled and nodded.
It was a quiet way of wishing him luck on his Earthly journey.  As he
disappeared into the crowd, I felt a sudden loneliness. It was the finality of
knowing that I was alone in a strange world that hit me. I knew I was not an
outgoing person. I decided I would be myself except that I would be a new
version of myself. I would be human. I would start immediately. “I am human,” I
whispered in my mind.

The flight to New York was slow, at least by Ranjisi
standards but I knew I would have to learn to be patient with human technology.
I was thinking that it could be much worse. I was thinking that there may come
a day when we are observing a planet with no technology at all. On those
primitive planets, Ranjisi observers may be required to walk or ride exotic
animals to get from one place to another. But as I thought about more it dawned
on me that it would be a long time before observation of a primitive planet
reached Phase II. We would most likely just observe the planet aerially for
centuries.

My contact was standing near the luggage conveyor belt
holding a sign that read “Luke Riley.” A momentary feeling of unreality came
over me. At first glance he appeared to be Ranjisi although his skin seemed to
have more color than we normally did. I assumed that was due to the ultraviolet
rays of Earth’s sun. His hair and eyes were certainly Ranjisi. He had the usual
non-unique brownish hair and pale bluish, greenish eyes most common on
Ranjisan. But as he moved, he seemed more human. He appeared strong. He caught
me looking at his legs and immediately knew I was the person he had come to
greet.

“I’m Luke Riley,” I waved as I approached him. As he came
closer to me, I became convinced that he was human. For a second I wondered how
many humans knew of our existence. I wondered how many humans were assisting
us.

“I’m Frank
Hargitay
.” Frank
extended his hand. I had practiced handshaking many times and the gesture felt
natural to me. I noticed my one and only bag moving along the conveyor belt and
reached for it. The next thing I knew I was sitting on the ledge of the
conveyor belt feeling disoriented. I looked up and Frank had already grabbed my
luggage with one hand while he was helping me up with his other hand. A few
people were looking at me as I stood up.

“Just felt a little dizzy.” Frank didn’t say anything. He
just looked around to see if people were looking at us. We took the elevator up
to the roof of the parking garage where Frank’s car was parked. A stiff breeze
was blowing up on the roof and the sky was gray and overcast. I wondered if the
sky would always look like that. As soon as we closed the car doors, I couldn’t
help but ask, “You’re human?”

 “No, but I’ve been here for four years. I go to a gym where
I’ve strengthened my legs. I’m not ready to play football but my legs are a lot
stronger than when I first arrived here.” I was thinking as we drove that I
would need to learn about football which was just as popular as baseball.

As the car weaved between the other cars on the highway, I
looked out in amazement. It was all so different than Ranjisan where most of
the transportation was done in the air. The people and structures were
completely different. Frank could easily see that I was amazed and overwhelmed.
“Everything is different here,” Frank commented.

“The buildings are so block-like. Everything is square and
tall. Do people live in those tall buildings?”

“Generally if you see glass doors and balconies, they are
apartment buildings where people live. If the buildings don’t have any outside
doors on the high floors, they are most likely office buildings where people
work.” Frank paused for a moment and continued, “Actually, you will be living
in one of those high-rise apartments with the balconies. We’ll be there in a
few minutes.”

A few minutes later we pulled into a parking garage and took
the elevator up to the 14
^th
floor. “This is it. Apartment 1408,”
Frank said as he opened the door and handed me the key. The apartment was
sparsely furnished but it looked comfortable. Frank spent a few minutes showing
me around and explained how everything worked. We sat at the kitchen table and
he explained how I would commute to the hospital and who I would see when I
arrived there. According to the Earth calendar, I arrived there on a Friday and
I was due to report to the hospital the following Monday.

“I’m going to give you a very basic explanation of the
monetary system here. You should already be familiar with it. Next week I’ll
help you set up a bank account but for now I’ll leave you with plenty of cash.”
I wondered what I would need cash for.

Frank stayed for a few more hours, talking about anything
and everything he could think of that would be useful. He explained about the
biological differences between humans and Ranjisi, in case for some reason I
was hurt and had to be admitted to a hospital. However there were very few
reasons I would need to go to a human hospital. If I had a non-emergency
medical problem that needed a specific procedure done, we were instructed to
contact CIPE and a Ranjisan CIPE doctor would be dispatched. For minor
emergencies like sprains and wounds, Ranjisi could be treated at a human
medical facility without arousing suspicion. However, if a blood transfusion
was necessary, we would need to contact CIPE. It was complicated and when I
considered all the possibilities, I found it hard to believe that our presence
on Earth was not widely known.

A complete physical exam would quickly reveal all the
differences between humans and Ranjisi. They weren’t really dramatic
differences. Most of the differences were in the digestive system. While
learning about human biology I had also learned more about Ranjisi biology.
Apparently we once had organs similar to the human spleen and appendix. Over
the course of millions of years Ranjisi organs had gradually adapted. Ranjisi
were almost 100% immune to internal infections so the spleen had gradually
become smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared. For the most part we
believed that if a Ranjisi had to have extensive testing as a result of a
medical emergency, the biological differences would be viewed as an oddity but
it wouldn’t be anything that would make them
think
we
were aliens from another planet. It’s not like we were reptilian beings like
some of the aliens depicted in human science fiction movies.

Medical research on Ranjisan had been a priority for
centuries. Our life expectancy was around 160 for men and 173 for women. I
guessed that Ranjisi and humans were similar in many cultural ways. Men always
seemed to eat bigger portions of food and usually chose the least healthy thing
on the menu. I guessed that resulted in the different life expectancies for men
and women.

Virtually every contagious disease on Ranjisan had been
wiped out. There were cures for most biological conditions. Immune disorders
were rare on Ranjisan and researchers believed that the sharp increase in blood
disorders of humans was due to toxins in the foods. Most Ranjisi would live to
their natural expected age. At some point, the walls of our blood vessels thin
out and the blood begins to seep into vital organs. The vessels can be
strengthened with medication but after a number of years the medication doesn’t
do the job anymore. Although organs can be treated and transplanted, even an
advanced race such as ours is not capable of replacing a complete circulatory
system. When the patient reaches this stage, they begin running a fever that
gradually gets higher and higher.

Most Ranjisi who are in their mid-160s know when it’s time.
Rather than suffer with fever and body aches for weeks or months, Ranjisi opt
to begin the two-step process of passing over known as Tseen Ke. Tseen Ke
consists of three simple medications which are taken at the same time. The
first two are powerful drugs that will reduce the fever and body aches for 3 to
5 days. The patient feels fine and it gives them a chance to tidy up loose ends
and say their goodbyes. The second medication will cause the patient to fall
asleep about 4 to 5 days after they take it. All bodily functions will end and
the patient simply doesn’t wake up.