Chapter 9: Zebedee
Humans began looking at stars, not as prizes for colonization but as a way of reaching deeper into their evolutionary roots. The earth is just but a country of the Solar System. They were united for the first time after thousands of years. Along the way, with everyone in semi-suspended state, the control computer of OWNS Genesis experienced a glitch. It encountered something along the way that was not supposed to be there. That something, a warp in time-space became more than just a warp. That intense concentration of energy, a singularity in time-space, a blackhole - the entrance into a wormhole, unsuspectingly placed there from the future by their distant evolutionary successors. So the OWNS Genesis ventured into a wormhole, into a place more than twelve thousand years ahead and two million light-years away.
***
The first thing that Zebedee saw was a face peering from outside a glassy cage where he is in. Although the face is alien to him, the dizziness, fatigue, overall numbness and confusion overwhelmed the curiosity and fright generated by seeing such a peculiar face.
The face is round, almost like a globe, with small, beaky nose and large, round, protruding eyes. Its folded wings show that it has four limbs, two of which look like arms. Although it looks intelligent enough, its appearance does not show it. He is not aware that he is staring at a Kersian, an Oinowe assigned to decontaminate him.
Lah Repoi revived the human in the decontamination chamber without much help. He expects the visit of the Prince any moment now.
For Zebedee, the cylinder where he in now felt like the capsule except that this one shows at least three scanning devices running the entire length of the crystal cylinder. Strapped inside a machine that does not produce any noise at all, feeling better every second, he knew that the creature may have saved him from something. But from what? The hideous creature seemed like he is reading something on a small console standing at the center of the room. He saw it talk to a device strapped on its body when it noticed that he is awake. Later, it went out of the room.
Left alone in the room, he looked around, knowing fully well that the spaceship he is in now' entirely different. The room looks spartan. The walls are plain gray and there are no visible controls. The 'door' does not have any door at all. A curtain of translucent white fabric cover the door instead. But the creature passed through it like it is a force field just a moment ago, which means that it serves like a door or divider of some kind.
Memories slowly returned as he looked around, memories of places, events, people and the emotions along with it. A sudden feeling of loneliness crept in his mind. How long had he been here? What is this place? Where are his companions? Where is Maria?
Maria! Where is Maria? What happened to her? Zebedee felt so empty that tears welled-up in his eyes. He was still in tears when Emmer entered through that curtain-like door.
Zebedee saw a human enter, a strange looking human. Like a giant human on plain and white cotton clothes. But unlike the giants who look old, mature, and sometimes ugly, this one looks like a boy. Just as children have proportionately large head compared to adults with the same body size, this one matches the proportion of a boy less than ten years old. But his body seemed well developed, and powerfully built as well. The genuinely curious gaze of the person outside the cylinder tempted Zebedee to move, so he can be attracted further. Sure enough, the man-boy moved closer. Then someone else entered the room. A creature possibly nine feet tall, huge and even more powerfully built entered the room suddenly. The Oinowe Kersian that he saw may have frightened him a bit, but this one looks more horrifying. The hairy monster, with large hands and claw-like nails is even made more frightening by its large protruding fangs, small eyes and large nose. From Zebedee's point of view, the being entered with such quickness that he thought Emmer will be attacked. Zebedee struggled from his straps, shouting at the top of his lungs, he tried jarring the cylinder, shaking it. He tried with all his might to get out but he failed.
"Look behind you, look behind you!"
By that time, Emmer himself was troubled by Zebedee's violent action. Something is troubling the human, Emmer thought. He looked behind and saw Xamai standing behind him, as expected from an Imperial bodyguard.
"I should have warned you not to enter this room. Humans easily react from fear of unknown or perceived threat. This one must have thought that you are a threat to me or him. He had never seen anything like you, or maybe even me too."
"I am sorry, master. I will be careful next time."
"You should. Had he been on a bed, he could have attacked you, and you could have killed him in self-defense."
"Shall I leave now, sir?"
"Please do. There is no threat on me here."
"The human, sir could be a threat. He has violent tendencies, which unusual for a human."
"Andromedan humans are not earth-humans. Anyway, he has been decontaminated. He can be mentally deprogrammed later."
Leeh Xamai saluted before he went out.
Zebedee stopped struggling when he saw them conversing. Although he could not hear them, the vibrations he felt on the cylinder wall obviously mean that they are talking loudly. Then to Zebedee's amazement, the bigger one left the man-boy, obviously following an order.
Emmer assessed the danger of the human. This human's danger is his cunning, not strength, and Emmer felt secure enough to approach the man. He knows it is not possible to talk to him, even mentally, although it is possible to send or get from him mental images. Another way is to make him use the Mother Tongue. All humans can talk the Mother Tongue, given the proper stimulation or mental condition. The prince looked at the reading registered on the cylinder and it read ninety-eight percent complete.
"I will wait for a few minutes, before I can talk to you properly. I hope you feel better now."
The decontaminating chamber not only removes all traces of virus and bacteria in the human system, including the brain, it also destroys pollens and other foreign particles outside and inside the human system. The system purifies him from all forms of microbial infection by destroying those microbes and viruses.
Zebedee saw the man-boy speak but the cylinder prevents him from hearing him. The gnawing feeling of curiosity, of worry and other questions in his mind made him hungry for at least a listening ear.
Emmer knew that the cylinder effectively revived and even strengthened the human, otherwise he wouldn't exhibit such strenuous activity from someone who just died an hour ago, and was in a suspended state even earlier than that. He seemed strong enough for a human to survive such ordeal, and even bothered to think of his own safety.
Zebedee heard something click. The man-boy heard it and inspected the cylinder before pressing some buttons. Even his hands are as chubby as a child's hands. If he were smaller, he could have been a rather cute looking boy. But his real size is intimidating, probably seven feet or more. He has seen humans with that height, but not with that size. Zebedee himself is six feet tall and he thought he is big enough.
Emmer looked inside again. The naked man is possibly Malay, although he is hairy enough to pass as an Indian or dark-skinned Arab. His eyes are black, almost jet-black, surrounded by a rather long set of curly eyelashes. The straight hair's peculiar growth is curly at end of his sideburns. His skin is brown, like bronze and the color is almost evenly distributed. His skin is quite clear, almost without blemishes - unusual for humans with that age. The fact that his midsection looks lighter means that the man stays under the earth-sun for minutes. This man is not ruggedly built although he seemed powerful enough to wrestle Emmer.
Then the cylinder opened.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone