Distant Lands

“Adira!” Isa yells and follows her. Nina and the guys get up to leave as well. Everyone looks at me, concerned as they go. I stay quiet, not knowing what to say.

“I’m so sorry, Elizabeth; Adira can be harsh at times,” Rita tells me empathetically. Ethan looks at Ivan and me.

“I’ll let you two speak in private,” Ethan goes over and pats Alan’s shoulder, “Let’s go, son,” he says. The boy gets up and leaves the room with Ethan.

Ivan stands up. “Please follow me, Elizabeth,” he says. I follow Ivan out of the dining room, leading me through a hallway; he opens a door.

“Come on in; this is my office,” he says, holding the door open.

“Please, sit down,” He motions to one of the chairs that are in front of a large desk. I sit down, and he goes around the desk and sits in his office chair.

I observe the room. Behind me, there’s an oversized couch against the wall and a coffee table in front of it. The rows of trees are visible from the floor-to-ceiling windows. I smile and chuckle softly.

Ivan looks at me with a questioning look on his face. “I’m curious; what do you find amusing?” he asks.

“Oh, it’s just that, I find it funny that I’m on a different planet, and I’m finding a lot of similarities between your planet and mine,” I say.

“Oh, did you expect flying cars and green men?” he asks, smiling.

“Well, yes, actually,” I say. He leans forward in his chair, “Elizabeth, we do have flying cars, but no green men, well, at least not in Azure we don’t,” he says.

“Flying cars? Really!?” I say, wide-eyed and excited, ‘But I didn’t see any flying cars outside,” I say.

“That’s because we can’t fly them in the Academy, but we can drive on the roads outside the Academy,” he says. He sees my questioning look. “They don’t work in the countryside?” I ask.

“They do, but It’s the way we designed our system. The road is like a computer, and it has sensors that keep track of how people are driving. The car and the road communicate, well, similar to what you guys call Wi-Fi. It stores the driver’s information. In the countryside, we didn’t equip the road with technology; we try to leave it as natural as possible,” he says.

“Wow, so that way, you don’t need traffic police; it just catches infractions on its own?” I ask.

“Yes, since our currency is digital, it subtracts the infraction from our banks, but the police are still on the lookout,” he says.

“That’s some evil genius tech you have here,” I say, impressed.

“Yes, it keeps people safe,” he says.

I think about what Adira had said to me before she had left the dining room. She had looked at me with hate in her eyes. Like she blamed me for something terrible that happened in her life.

“What did Adira mean when she said the Earth was dying?” I ask.

“She said it very bluntly. As you know, Earth naturally goes through many changes, But Earth is like a microorganism; it’s a living thing. If you don’t take care of it, in a way, it is dying. If it cannot regulate itself anymore, it will die. The weather will be extreme. Either too hot or too cold, it will kill animals, plants, and people. It will try to reset itself or die out,” he says.

“Is it our fault that the Earth is dying?” I ask.

“Humans are contributing to the disbalance of the Earth. The survival of Earth will depend on humanity working together to advance your technology, use it as a tool, and help regulate Earth. Humans are very bright, and I still have hope for your people,” he says.

“Working together? That is very hard for us to do,” I say. He smiles.

“My planet went through a similar dilemma centuries ago. My people were suffering the consequences. We had to change our ways, and we did. Have faith, Elizabeth.” he says, getting up from the chair. He walks towards the windows and stares out into the orchard.

Let’s say I do believe all this. The thought of exploring this world seems exciting. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity. The letter Diego had written to me explained a lot. I can’t stay here while my family is back on Earth and in danger. I sigh, looking down at the floor.

“Ivan,” I say; he turns to look at me. ‘When am I going home?” I ask. He looks back out the window.

“That is something I’m working on,” he says. I get up and stand next to him.

“You mean like you’re charging the portal, getting it powered up, ready to go?” I ask.

“Something like that. I will let you know when it’s ready,” he says, sliding one of the large windows open, which is a glass sliding door to the outside. Suddenly, Ivan seems bothered, but I need him to understand that my need to get home is urgent.

“Okay. I don’t mean to tell you what to do, but I need you to please hurry. I need to get home as soon as possible. My family is in danger,” I say.

He turns to look at me, “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but I won’t be able to get you home quickly. I can’t travel to Earth whenever I feel like it. I need permission from the Council,” he says apologetically.

“How long is it going to take?” I ask.

“I need a reason for my trip. I can’t reveal that you are here. I don’t know what the Council will do to you if they know you are here without permission,” he says.

“But it’s not my fault. I came here by accident; won’t the Council understand that?” I ask.

“But you now know you know we exist. Humans haven’t been able to find intelligent life forms on their own. We cannot disrupt their development,” he says. I can’t believe this. First, he said he’s preparing the portal, giving me hope, and now he’s saying I might not be able to go home at all? I start to feel anger and frustration bubbling in my chest, and it’s threatening to spill out.

“Our development? Screw our development; who the hell is going to believe me anyway?” I ask angrily.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but I need time to think of a way to help you, without both of us getting caught,” he says.

“You know what, forget about helping me. I’ll find a way back home on my own,” I mutter, and I step outdoors onto the orchard.