A New Beginning

Where am I? thought Celeste. Her head was pounding. She pushed herself up, one hand against the cold metal wall. Am I kidnapped? The thought came in a rush of terror, and with it a flood of every horror story she had ever half-heard on the news. Calm yourself, she told herself, at the sight of the many others around her. They all looked afraid, and the silence in the room was unnatural. A good number of them were only now stirring awake. How long was I out? she thought — and then she yelled: "Does anyone know what's going on?" Most of them turned to look at her. One by one, she could see, they were all fearfully shaking their heads. She checked her pockets. Empty. "Does anyone have anything on them? A phone — anything?" Most were too frightened even to check; the few who did only shook their heads.

Celeste looked around, trying to think. This can't be a prank. The last thing I remember was... I think I was walking to Lutri's place... Her thoughts broke off at the light that suddenly flooded the room. It was far larger than she had guessed. There must be over a thousand people in here, she thought. A holographic figure blinked into being in a dozen places at once. It was one of them — one of their own kind.

"Welcome to your new beginning," said the figure, in a calm and friendly voice. "There is nothing to fear. You have all been chosen — by chance — for an experiment unlike any before it."

Celeste could not help but feel that whoever stood behind this must be immensely arrogant, and immensely selfish.

"My name is Spirto," the hologram went on, "and I will be your host for the length of this experiment." Before he could continue, the fear on some of the faces swelled so sharply that he had to stop. "There is no reason to be afraid," he said again. "No harm will come to you. We will reach your new home before long — a planet full of life, with conditions perfect for your species."

For our species? thought Celeste. Are we in space? Her mind flew to every film she had ever seen in which aliens came and stole people away for their experiments. She could not keep herself from wondering whether this was some sick joke. "Where are we now?" she yelled, and everyone around her turned again to look.

"You are, at present, a few thousand solar systems away from your planet," said Spirto.

Now, almost certain this was a joke she said "You know what? Don't tell me. This joke has gone on long enough. Release us now, and I'll consider not calling the authorities on you," she said, sharp-voiced.

The room began to shake. Not violently — but enough to force many to sit. It went on for a time, and then, for a single second, it lurched hard, as though it had dropped the height of a ball and settled again to rest. The whole of one wall opened up, and a magnificent natural world spilled in. A small star washed the sky in every hue of red; it was the hour just before sunset, and the scent of flowers and turned soil, and the damp of a living atmosphere, filled every set of lungs in the room.

"This can't be real," said Celeste, walking bravely out. She looked up, and knew at once that this was not the sky of her world. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Home," answered Spirto, standing suddenly beside her.

She spun, fear in her eyes. "Why?"

Spirto smiled at her, then turned to face the rest. "These crates hold tools. Use them as you see fit. And this," he said, gesturing to Celeste, who could not hide her confusion, "is your leader. You may change your leader whenever you wish; you may build any system you please. This is your land — from here to the border of your neighboring species."

No one had found any words yet. Every one of them had been lifted, as far as they could tell, straight out of an ordinary life and into an extraordinary adventure that none had asked for, and none had wanted.

"I have questions," said Celeste.

"Which is exactly why you will be their first leader," Spirto smiled.

The rest began to explore the scenery, without venturing too far. Some opened the crates, and to their surprise found hammers, pickaxes, and every kind of non-powered hand tool. Many began, slowly, to take in the reality of the picture before them. Still, some clung to the idea that it was all a joke — keeping their composure as a shield against the unknown.

"This is ridiculous," said one. "We're expected to survive like this? I've never touched a tool in my life!"

Celeste looked at them, then stepped away with Spirto to speak. "We can't stay here," she said.

"You can, and you will," said Spirto, calmly.

"Why are you doing this to us?"

"There is no need — and no way — to make you understand it now. Try to trust me when I tell you that you will not be able to leave this planet for a very long time. But it is a blessing in disguise. You will be the builders of a future people. You will live in peace, in an endlessly complex world, full of the species I have brought here."

"You look just like us," said Celeste, almost certain of the answer to come.

"I can look like anyone," said Spirto, with an almost arrogant tone.

Celeste drew a deep breath. She looked around at the marvelous world, and thought to herself: A new beginning. A forced one — but this is what I have wished for all my life. I shouldn't complain. Then she looked at Spirto, and asked, "Is there a goal?"

"There is," Spirto answered. "You are to find your way back to your world. Perhaps not you — but your descendants."

Celeste's curiosity piqued. "And what is the purpose of it? Is it only a test — to see how quickly we can grow into a space-faring civilization?"

Spirto turned and regarded her, curious. "I have brought many into this system. Most remain in shock for the first hours. You are abnormally quick to reckon with the reality around you."

"How many have you brought here?"

"A little over two hundred species have arrived, so far. I am bringing more — but they are spread across several planets and moons of this system."

For all that Spirto's calm voice let Celeste speak with a certain bravery, she was panicking within. Her mind raced, though the confusion of it all kept her from any clear thought. "I see," she said, almost mechanically. "Will we have to fight one another? The other species, I mean?" Her mind was already hunting the dangers that seemed to press in from every side.

"You will not have to fight anyone. I will see to it that all cooperate. Every species must work with every other; and every species has something to offer, in the endless pursuit of knowledge."

"Are you searching for answers — and did you bring us all here to find them for you?"

"Where did that come from?" asked Spirto, almost in shock. "You are impressively perceptive. Is your entire species like this?"

Celeste thought for a moment. "I am not sure I am perceptive, but I have read a lot of fiction." She said with a calm voice and continued “People who feel imprisoned by you, will not work to advance science as you hope.”

Spirto Looked at Celeste with eyes that betrayed positive emotions “But you underestimate the speed with which people forget — the speed with which they build new stories over the old. All you must do is keep from spreading the truth until it is lost. Then you will rediscover it. The absence of fossils alone will make it plain, in the end. But until then, the story of Spirto must be lost. That is all I ask of you: that this be the last time they ever hear of me."

"I think I understand," said Celeste, her head low. Then, like a child learning the rules of a game it does not like, she looked up. "Is every leader, of every species, told everything you have told me?"

Spirto frowned. "I am not quite sure what you are reaching for — though I confess I like it a great deal. No. And your species does not age. Yours was also the most technologically advanced of any I have brought here. Some asked the right questions. Some asked nothing at all, and only bowed and prayed at my feet." He drew a breath, and went on as though a weariness had settled over him. "All of them deserve the same. All of them hold the same potential. You need only be part of the unity."

And with that, Spirto was gone. Celeste looked around, trying to take it all in. So — we have been brought here by an alien who will tell us nothing. We must advance, and find our own way home. That is the story we will live by. Not so far from the truth. And with that thought, Celeste set herself in order. She found water, and sources of food, and began the work of building a home. The others followed.

The years went by, with Spirto rarely intervening. The new kings of each species had never heard his name, and war was brewing. The hatred these peoples bore one another meant it was only a matter of time before some of them were annihilated outright. Keeping the balance would demand that Spirto show himself once more.

And so, at that crucial hour, he gathered all the kings, and — after impressing upon them the sheer scale of his power — set them a new goal. They would build a technology of transport, and of communication, one that could carry the kings off the planet to a smaller world within the system. From there, Spirto could master every message sent between the planets and the moons, and hold their wars at bay — until education and advancement rendered those wars obsolete.

Or so he thought.

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