Into the Lost Universe

Chapter 4 - Arrival

Chapter Four

The day before we arrived at the IGS, the sixth day, Alina wrapped up our lessons.

"You now know everything there is to know about the cosmos." She shut her eyes briefly, her dark, long lashes a contrast against her pale face. "Or at least everything they teach us."
"What do you mean?"

She gripped my shoulder, an intense look coming over her face. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise."
She sighed and relaxed a bit, the tension draining out of her shoulders. "They don't tell us everything, Aydan. We don't know how much is truth and how much is propaganda. One of my friend's brother came on this mission, and when he came back, he was unrecognizable."

Goosebumps caressed my skin, and I felt the hair at the back of my neck raise slightly. Somehow, I knew that this was a taboo subject. "Care to elaborate?" I asked.

"He said that exohumans treat people from Earth with disdain and contempt. The other attendants bullied him, and there were some people that wanted to kidnap him to perform some strange tests."

"What?" I forced the question out of my throat.

"When he came back, he was paranoid, delusional, and jaded. He always felt like someone was out to get him. Eventually, the government took him."

I felt light-headed, and words seemed to be coming out of Alina's mouth in slow-motion.

"He was never seen again."

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Arriving to the Intergalactic Space Station was nothing short of surreal. It was very difficult to hide the expression of awe that came over my face at the sight of the station. Landing was very smooth, and we could barely feel it, which was quite a contrast to the taking off. It felt like what a virtual reality experience could be, if I ever tried one of those. We as soon as we landed on the platform of the space station, the diplomats exited the spacecraft, and we waited until every single one of them were off before we got off.

Asides from the slow, slight humm of the IGS, it was very quiet. Our footsteps echoed in the hollow chamber of the landing pad. It was mostly dark in the hallways, with a dim, green, light among the edges of the floor. People spoke in hushed whispers, and all the attendants, including me, remained completely silent. Alina flashed me glances from time to time, but I couldn't really tell what she was thinking. We then entered a circular room, and was greeted by a person with long green hair that went down to her hip, and slightly blue-tinted skin. That probably meant that she was from the Andromeda galaxy, and the blue-tinted skin meant that she was used to cold temperatures, which was probably useful in cold temperatures, as the IGS isn't close to any suns. She flashed us a smile. Her teeth were blindingly white. "Hi, my name is Erlishixa, but since people from Earth have trouble with that name, you can call me Shix. I'll be guiding you to your rooms and make sure you have a pleasant stay at the Intergalactic Space Station." She gestured off to the right, and started walking in that direction.

We walked for a long way, with many twists and turns, that I ended up getting a bit dizzy. That was probably their purpose, to disorientate us. We ended up in a section that was quite isolated from the rest of the station(I wonder why?), and we had to walk through a narrow, transparent hallway to get there. It was unnerving to see all the stars around me, even below my feet.

Shix left us at the doorway. She gestured to a touchpad on the wall. "Touch this and speak into it if you need any help. Breakfast is at nine hundred hours tomorrow morning. Have a pleasant night." She promptly left.

Well, that was friendly of her. I wondered if all the other delegations from other galaxies are treated the same, or if it is just Earth. Well, we'll see. But I didn't like the feeling of it. What if this will end up being a diplomatic failure?

Alina tapped on my shoulder. I looked at her. "We are sleeping over there," she said. I looked at the bed room for the attendants. It was tightly packed with 6 bunk beds. Compared with the luxurious rooms that the diplomats have, complete with a shower and a bath, it felt claustrophobic. "Alright," I replied. "Coming."