Did you know that high-stress situations are remembered more clearly and with more detail by your brain? I think this is why I remember the events that occured on that spaceship so vividly. Of course, I remember this entire story well, thanks to the keen memory I recquired,but I remember this scene particularly well. I could draw for you a picture of the room, tell you what clothes I was wearing at the time, or even tell you what position I was in as I woke up. Face-down with my left forearm beneath my face.
Cosmo sat up from this position. He saw his glasses had fallen off, so he picked them up and put them back on.
"Who was that peculiar blue man?" Cosmo asked himself.
"I'm still here," the man said. Cosmo turned around and saw him.
"Where am I?" Cosmo asked.
"You already know that. We are in space," the man said.
"Why am I here, then?" Cosmo asked.
"You are here because I want you to be here. If I didn't want you to be here, you'd still be at home. You seem to be quite fond of wasting words," the man responded. Cosmo sighed impatiently.
"Through what means was I made to enter this spacecraft, and what goal is meant to be achieved through my being here?" Cosmo asked. I've never had to make my sentences more complex before, Cosmo thought. The man grunted.
"Your question could have been more succinct, but I guess it gets the job done. You chose to enter this spacecraft. It is, in fact, the same vehicle as Mr. Theodore's car." Cosmo started to speak, but the man cut him off. "Please do not interrupt me. In some places, that is a capital offense and you could be killed for it. Anyway, you are in this spaceship to go to school, just not the school you expected."
Cosmo paused for a moment to sort through the informantion he had been given.
"I possess several questions that I would like to ask," Cosmo said.
"Well, then it is good that we have a while," the man said.
"Why is Mr. Theodore absent if this spaceship is in his possession? Why does Mr. Theodore have possession of a spaceship? What form of school will I be attending? Finally, why are you the same hue of blue as the multitude of other things I have seen?
“First off, I am not the same shade of blue as all of the other things you've seen, they are the same shade as me. I am the origin of these things. Secondly, Mr. Theodore does not exist and was merely a disguise I made to persuade you to come with me to your new school. This school is beyond anything you could have ever imagined, and it is an extreme privilege for you to be attending, especially since you live on such a technologically impaired planet. This 'school,' per say, is not as much a school as a rigorous private tutoring course. What you will be taught, Cosmo, by myself and others, is how to be the next head diplomat of the universe, after I retire of course, as I fill that position currently,” the man said. Cosmo's head was spinning.
“Every time you answer one of my questions, it just results in my having several more, and the answers become perpetually more incredulous,” Cosmo said.
“I can assure you, my answers are absolutely true. If you are only coming to more questions, perhaps we should stop the questions and answers, and I should simply explain everything to you,” the man said.
“That would be excellent,” Cosmo said. “Before you commence in doing so, however, may I ask one final question?”
“That has already gotten us nowhere, but if you really must, then go ahead.”
“If you are to be teaching me, what shall I address you as?” Cosmo asked.
“That is not a very straightforward answer,” the man said. “You see, even though I have learned your language, it is not my native one, and my name does not translate into your language. The way my language, called the Higher Language, works is that it can be understood by everyone. It does not convey words as much as it conveys an idea. I will tell you my name, and it is up to you to put this idea into words. Are you ready to hear it?”
“Yes, I am,” Cosmo said, and the man began relaying his name. The sound moved sinuously, flowing into Cosmo's ear like water into a funnel, and Cosmo was relayed an idea. The idea was vastness. What this man had shown when he took the appearance of Mr. Theodore was only an antechamber; his full aura was a mausoleum. Cosmo felt shrunken against this vastness. The man finished telling Cosmo his name, and Cosmo immediately knew what he would be called.
“Brobdingnagian,” Cosmo said. “A larger name for a vast presence,”
“Quite a large name, is it not? Why don't you call me Brob?” Cosmo nodded. “All right then. I will begin explaining.”
“For a very, very long time, I have been keeping my eye out for a successor to my position as head diplomat. You see, I am employed directly under the, shall we say, ruler of the universe. I shall tell you his name,” Brob said, and told Cosmo his name. Cosmo felt dwarfed once more, by a presence that would dwarf even Brob's presence, but it was different than his. This presence made Cosmo feel warm with a familiar warmth, and Cosmo immediately liked the owner of this aura.
“Amante is his name,” Cosmo said. Brob looked amused at this.
“Interesting,” he said. “Anyway, I work directly under Amante, who presides over the universe. Even though he is a just and benevolent leader, there is occasionally a problem somewhere in the universe, and whenever there is one such conflict, I go sort it out. Now I am ready to retire, and after talking it out with Amante himself, we decided that the time was right for me to take on an apprentice. There are forty-two intelligent races in the universe, so I selected one youth from each planet who had the most potential. You were chosen on Earth.
“I then began testing assessing each of these youths. I distracted their brains with a dream, unique for each youth, while examining their thoughts.” That explains my nightmare, Cosmo thought. “Slowly, they were all eliminated but you. That is why you are going to be taught.
“What are you going to be taught? Well, a diplomat's arsenal has several tricks in it, each of which will be taught to you by an individual teacher. I will be teaching you, among several other things, the Higher Language.
“I showed you three of the most important things you will be learning today. First, disguise. You will learn to be able to disguise yourself flawlessly. This is how I became Mr. Theodore. Second, the manipulation of aura. Very useful in formal meetings. This is how I was able to project a portion of myself to you and not to your parents. Third, suggestion. Very useful in making agreements. This is the technique I used to get you to fall asleep, just by telling you that you could. We are heading towards your new home where you will learn presently,” Brob concluded. Cosmo was silent for several minutes, processing the information.
“For how long will I be tutored?” Cosmo asked.
“Oh good, you said something. I was afraid I had accidentally made you mute because f an information overload. Your time being taught solely depends on how quickly you grasp the concepts being taught,” Brob replied.
“Will I be permitted to communicate with my parents? For if I do not, they will fear something is awry,” Cosmo asked.
“Do not worry. Letters, synthesized to appear as though you wrote them, are being sent to your parents periodically,” Brob explained. Cosmo nodded.
“When will we arrive at my place of education?” Cosmo asked.
“My goodness boy, I explain everything and you still have questions! We first will go refuel on the planet Zoophilophilous, which we will arrive at in approximately an hour, and it will take about four hours from our departure from there to arrive at our final destination,” Brob answered.
“I see. Thank you. I am questionless,” Cosmo said.
“Not for long I assume. I'm going to go back to the front of the ship. If you get hungry, that's too bad. We'll be eating on Zoophilophilous,” Brob said, then he turned around and walked through a wall. Cosmo walked up to the wall and felt it. It was completely solid. This has been a long day, and it's barely even halfway done, he thought.
