Children's Control

11-06-2030

When I wake up, I quickly notice Alice staring right through my eyes. I try to get out of the chamber, but Alice tries to keep me in, as she takes it outside. When she removes me from the chamber, I'm a little surprised by what I see. The spacecraft is still right in front of me, but I also see several octopus-like creatures walking around it. They slowly crawl to Alice and stand up. All but one of them crawl away, and the only one left starts a conversation with Alice. I literally can't hear what the two are saying, as the conversation is in a language I never heard of, and no one can or even wants to help me to understand it.

When I have a look at the creature, it quickly reacts by turning itself towards me and biting me right in my legs. I try to run away, but another octopod quickly floats right behind me. The octopods quickly overwhelm me, and I don't have anywhere to go. One octopod captures me with its long arms and floats right back to Alice. It then lets me fall right to the ground, from a very high altitude. I don't break any bones, but it still feels very painful. Alice finally tells me how the planet is called: Chentema Alpha. She then takes all adults on a little tour of the city the spacecraft landed in.

I'm very surprised at what I see. It looks very much like a city on Earth, only much more advanced. I see all the high skyscrapers, higher than anything I ever saw on Earth. I see the ingenious ways the roads are built, and the large hover-cars floating over them. It really seems like the octopods are way more advanced than humans. Alice confirms this, as she has seen a large spherical body very close to Earth, almost circling around it. I never even noticed that sphere, even when using a telescope. I don't know why that is, but when I ask Alice, she tells me it's a communication device that is somehow designed to only be visible for children.

Then, she takes us out of the city, and everything still seems much more advanced than anything I had ever seen on Earth. A small octopod comes in our way, but it only shows when we come too close. I then try to grab it, but it jumps right off me, towards Alice. She comes right to me and yells at me for not realizing the octopods are the main species on Chentema. I try to run away, back in the city, but Billy comes on my path and takes me right back to the group of other adults. He also comes to lead the group and to prevent other adults from escaping.

I end up back in the spacecraft, which takes off to another city, where Alice then has a great look at a laboratory, in order to learn more about the planet and the life-forms on it. She tells me there are so many more life-forms, everything seems like Earth, but vastly different. One octopod comes to me and tries to tell me about something, but I still don't understand what he's saying. I try to run to Alice as fast as I can, but the octopod then grabs me and takes me right to Alice. I quickly notice small bags floating right above me. One of them comes down bit by bit and allows Alice to step on it. When it gets up, it quickly disappears. I run right under it until I'm very tired.

She takes me to a large hospital. Once there, while Alice has a good look at the octopods, and asks questions about their bodies, I have to put several dead bodies of octopods in strong water. Alice doesn't tell me why, but I think that is so she can return one to Earth. That is confirmed, when Alice comes to me to take the bottle from me, just when I'm about to put the lid onto the bottle, and remove as much air from it as I can. I still don't know why Alice wants to take the bottle back to Earth.

She then also forces me to take several ground samples, and then take them to Alice. I have to go literally everywhere I can go near the hospital, and beyond. She tells me this is to check if there's at least some water hidden in the ground, though she's sure there's lots of water on the surface, as otherwise there can't be any life at all. She also tells me I have to take several samples of the native flora. After all that, she pulls me right on a larger gasbag, which then takes us both back to the spacecraft, where there's a small onboard laboratory. I have to take all samples and preserved octopod bodies inside.

Then, I come right across Izzy, who takes me inside the spacecraft, and has a deep conversation with me. She then even gives me a small hug, as we have never seen each other for so long. She then proceeds to give me a good kiss, but Alice steps in and takes Izzy out of the spacecraft. She then gives Izzy several slaps, right in front of my eyes. It almost seems like I'm no longer afraid of children, and I find their violence very normal. After that, I'm taken back inside the chamber, and that is put inside the same room as before. However, I can't fall asleep for some reason.