Entry 20

It’s been months since that fateful day when I was abducted by the Society of Anthropologists. In that time I have seen many things I could never have imagined or dreamed. I have seen nebulas more beautiful than anything Earth contains. I have seen jewels so rare that I could purchase Earth with them. I have met aliens so exotic that I still have trouble believing I have actually met them. Ven was right that once I knew the universe I could never be contained by Earth again, but he was wrong to think I will ever consider myself “Earth liberated”. Despite its faults and ugly parts, Earth is my home. It always will be. I will always long to be back on Earth. I will always wish I could visit and see the blue sky one more time. I will always want to be home. Ven can never understand that, because he has never been to Earth.

“Have you ever even been to Earth?” I demanded, very much distracted from my surroundings by this topic of conversation.

“No, that would be contaminating Earth’s culture, wouldn’t it?” Ven responded. “My great-grandmother is the most recent Earthling we’ve had. From her stories, I don’t ever imagine I would want to visit.”

“Well, World War II was a horrible time,” I agreed, “but things have changed.”

“Really?” he asked. “Seems to me that Earth is filled with wars: World War II, World War I, the Franco-Prussian War, the American Civil War, and more I don’t even know about. The human colony is much more peaceful.”

“How is it you know so much about the wars of Earth?” I demanded. It seemed to me that a man who had never set foot in Earth should not know half as much.

“Most of the time humans are liberated because of wars,” he answered. “The Society of Anthropologists doesn’t like taking specimens out of the native environment. They prefer to remove the androids once their owners have died after long natural lives. However, in wars the androids are often drafted, the androids get injured, and the human has to be removed because of the cultural contamination laws. You are the first human in hundreds of years not to be removed because of a war.” He paused. “Why were you removed?”

“Not in a war,” I snapped, not pointing out that I was removed because of another act of violence. It seemed to me that having people only come out during wars had created a very skewed view of Earth to the humans who had never been there.

“Well it must have been something that compromised your android,” he said. “Androids are programmed not to let themselves get injured, and they’re made more durable than organics like us. It takes a lot to hurt one.” His words made sense. I had seen John take hits in football that would have seriously injured any normal human. However, John had always laughed them off, picking himself up as if it had simply been a tap. John was certainly more durable than I was.

“Earth is a wonderful place,” I responded, not wanting to talk about John getting shot. “You shouldn’t judge a place you have never visited.”

“When people tell me that a planet is full of voracious carnivorous plants I think I have the right to judge whether or not I think it’s a place I should like to visit,” Ven said with a shrug. “There is a directory terminal up here on the left.” He veered off from our straight path, weaving amongst the aliens to the wall. I followed close behind him, not wanting to be trampled or get separated from the one ally I had.

Ven stopped in front of the wall much to my confusion. The walls were smooth and white, reaching over twenty feet up before curving into an arched ceiling. I could see nothing different about this stretch of wall than any other part of the wall other than there was a raised square about the size of the palm of my hand. Surely that small area could not be a directory.

“This is the directory?” I asked, my voice laced with impatience and annoyance. Ven shot me a silencing look and then touched the palm sized square.

Suddenly the portion of the wall eye level with us shimmered and turned black. An image appeared that looked like a floor plan with a lime green dot marking one section.

“That’s us,” Ven said, pointing to the lime green dot. “This shade of green is the universal color of importance, something that deserves attention. It’s often used on warning signs, so you should be aware.” I stared at Ven incredulously.

“Lime green is the warning color?” I asked. “Not red?” He frowned but did not glance my way.

“Why would red be a warning color?” he responded. “Seems odd you would use such a comforting color associated with newborns in many cultures to signify danger.” He shook his head, as if completely baffled by my words.

Red was a comforting color? Could Earth be such a completely opposite place from the rest of the universe? It made no sense. However, I did not want to make sense out of it. I only wanted to find my brother. So I did not argue with Ven. Instead I waited patiently for him to discover where they were holding John.