Words Of The Ancients by T. Lucas Earle

Author:T. Lucas Earle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: alien, alien culture, alien archaeology, archaeology, alternative history, alien sickness, future world, meat eathing
Publisher: After Dinner Conversation
Published: 2020-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, a group of aliens came into the barn, checked her vitals, shone lights into her eyes. She repeated Kessler’s name until they brought him, along with the gray alien.

“I’ve been thinking all night, and I believe I have some understanding of the problem we face.”

Kessler stood quietly while she spoke. She had never seen him so still.

“I understand that to be able to digest any food on this world you must also eat...” She took a breath. “You must also eat the human brain.”

Kessler nodded.

“And I think I know why,” she said. “The disease that killed my people is very similar to Kuru. It’s caused by a prion, which is a type of protein. You may not understand any of this but, what I’m saying is that the reason you have to eat ... us ... is because of the disease. You’re actually eating the disease itself. A healthy human brain would not provide you the necessary protein and you would all starve.”

Kessler and the other alien fell into a hurried conversation of clicks and hisses.

“I understand that you couldn’t have known,” she said. “I know how you must feel. To you, we were just beasts.”

Kessler drew close, his head bobbing up and down.

The other alien clicked. Kessler translated.

“Can you cure the sickness?”

Sara nodded. “I can.”

“O'eee can kee – keet you alithe and in health thor long tine. And you can cure the sickness.”

“You would let me do that?” she asked.

Kessler and his colleague clicked for a moment. “Oth course.”

“Kessler, if I cure all the humans then what would become of your people? You will starve.”

“You could just cure sone oth the hunans.” Kessler said. “And o’ee could still hath thood.”

But Sara was already shaking her head. “We can’t have a world where your people eat mine. We couldn’t live with that. You couldn’t live with that.”

“O’ee hath scientist. So do you,” Kessler said. “O’ee could renove the... 'rion.”

“The prion cannot survive outside the human brain. There is absolutely no way to remove it.” But even as she spoke, Sara began to formulate theories. Maybe she could grow the prion in another mammal. With enough time, if they woke up the other scientists, maybe she could find a way. But she knew what would happen next. People, her people, would kill every last alien. She could clearly imagine how they would justify the genocide after seeing barns like this one.

It was a dilemma with no solution. The fate of her people was now inextricably bound to the fate of the aliens, and it seemed neither could live while the other existed.

Leaves rustled in the wind. She thought of the world, before she had fallen asleep hundreds of years ago, before humans had made diseases into weapons, weapons so effective that the only survivors could hardly be called human at all.

Before they had made the prion.

The solution settled upon her. It was so much simpler than she could have imagined.

“Kessler. I want you to put me back to sleep.

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