Alien Research

CHAPTER 98

I WAITED. THANKFULLY, some of the audience chuckled. Chose to take that as a good sign and forged on.

“I’m not going to apologize for our Supreme Pontifex. Frankly, when you’ve lost three family members in about a week, if you’re able to stand and dress yourself I think you deserve a medal. And I realize that Michael’s family is getting that medal. But I want to tell you all that it’s not enough.”

The chuckles stopped, which was fine.

“Every family who’s lost someone to war or terrorism or any other kind of heroic sacrifice knows that all the medals, all the accolades for the dead, while nice, aren’t the same thing as having that person back.”

Heads in the audience nodded, and not just from the A-C section.

“But we still carry on, because that’s what’s expected of us. Even when the terrorists escape, or get off on a technicality, or flat-out have connections that allow them to waltz out of a secured holding cell and continue perpetrating their evil, we carry on. Even if your loved one dies from friendly fire, you carry on. Even if you’ve lost your only child or all your children to war, you carry on. Because that’s what we do—we carry on.

“I’m going to be really honest. We of American Centaurion have all wondered this past week if carrying on was worth it. I’m sure every person whose career puts them in the line of fire in some way—police, military, fire, covert or clandestine ops, and similar—has wondered at some point if it’s worth it. To risk their lives for people who, very often, aren’t even the littlest bit grateful.”

The policemen who’d escorted us were standing as a group at the entrance. Saw them all nodding. “And yet, they all carry on.”

Risked a look at Jeff. He gave me a small nod. Hopefully that meant he approved of what I’d said and where I was going. Oh well, no time like the present to find out.

“Since the world discovered there were aliens living on the planet we’ve had a lot of haters. Many protests against us. Because we’re different. And there have been a couple of groups who were more vocal than the others. I’m sure you know who they are and I’m not going to give them any promotion or acknowledgement by naming them. But they’ve been cheering about Michael’s death. And why? As near as I can tell, because he’s an alien and his brother, our religious leader, has the nerve to love and be married to another man. Sorry if that was a spoiler for any of you out there, by the way.”

Oh, good, some chuckles were back.

“In the A-C’s culture and religion, the sexual orientation of who you love isn’t important. Neither is the color of their skin. I guess that makes the A-Cs quite alien in some ways from a lot of humans, more so than their having two hearts. And it certainly makes them more advanced. Oh, they’re not perfect, no one is. But they’re all smart, and they’re all smart enough to know that skin tones and sexual orientation aren’t what actually matters about a person. How they live their life is what matters, what they do when faced with evil, what they do when no one’s looking.”

Chuckie and Caroline were sitting together and, as I looked at them, both gave me the thumbs up sign.

“Michael wanted to go to the stars and that’s where he served his country the most. But he also served his country by facing evil and fighting it. He died trying to protect his best friend from being tortured. He died trying to protect his sisters and his aunts from being kidnapped and terrorized. And he died trying to avenge the senseless murder of his loyal pet, an animal that loved him so much it’s in the coffin with him, so they can be together forever.”

Could spot the animal lovers in the audience—they were wiping their eyes.

“And yet, the people who hate Michael because of his skin color, his brother’s sexual orientation, and the fact that he wasn’t fully ‘human’ will tell you that he deserved to die and that he’s rotting in Hell.

“Well, I happen to know differently. Michael’s not in Hell, he’s with his God. And that God isn’t here to encourage hate. He’s here to encourage us to use our free will to make the world a better place for everyone, not just for a select few who think their way is the only way.”

Looked at White. He gave me a small smile. Chose not to look at Christopher lest I get a Patented Glare. I was rolling and wanted to remain that way.

“It’s a big universe out there and we’re not alone in it, and by now everyone knows that. But I’ll tell you, today, we felt very alone. Driving past so many people protesting our very existence, we felt alone, surrounded, outnumbered. And we wondered if it was worth it. We’ve lost lots of people over the many decades the A-Cs have been on Earth, and there comes a point when you ask yourself if you’re done losing. We were at that point today.”

All the American Centaurion section was nodding.

“But it’s funny. Just when you think things are at their worst, someone can show you that most people aren’t like those protestors who hate in the name of God. And we were shown that today.”

Thankfully, the A-C section was still nodding.

“They’re still outside, and I doubt they can hear me, but there were hundreds of people we’ve never met before today who came to form a chain to keep the bad people out and let us come here to honor Michael’s life and his death.

“And those people are why we do this. Because they didn’t have to come. It was an inconvenience, and a risk. But they came anyway. Because it was the right thing to do and, at their cores, they’re decent people trying to do right in the world and light a candle in the darkness. Just like the A-Cs. And they knew we needed them, just as they’ve needed us.

“So, to our enemies, I want to say that, despite your best efforts, we’re not going anywhere. We will continue to fight you and the evil you perpetrate. You can and will kill more of us, we know that.

“But we will persevere. Because there are more people worthy of our protection and love than there are not. You are in the minority, and we will ensure you stay that way. You can and will throw your worst at us, but know that we will not go quietly and we will not leave the good people of this world at your mercy, any more than they left us.”

I looked around at everyone in the Amphitheater. “In a little while we’re going to put Michael’s body in the ground. Something the A-Cs don’t normally do. But they’re doing it because it matters to our President and our country that Michael’s sacrifice be commemorated in this way. And because we do love this country and world, we’ve acquiesced.

“Once his body is in the ground, though, you’ll all start to forget him, this day, and what he died for. Only we won’t forget.

“And I won’t actually allow all of you to forget, either. Because Michael is representing every A-C or Centaurion Division agent who’s died over the years, unsung and unlamented by most of you.

“He’s more than himself now—he’s representative of all of our fallen, all our unsung heroes, all our Unknown Soldiers. And he’s also the reminder of why we fight and protect—because when we visit his grave, what we’ll remember in addition to Michael are the faces of the people who stood against evil and hatred for us to be able to honor him today. We’ll see the faces of our brothers and sisters.”