The Ice Warrior

Chapter 14

As Silv narrated her adventures to her grandmother, she was surprised by the lack of reaction from Rose. It worried her that perhaps she was going into shock or whatever it was that happened when SABs were overwhelmed.

It often appeared to Silv that Rose had the level of tranquility and wisdom that could only come with age, with being a SAB. Yet, that didn't explain the complete lack of response from her grandmother upon learning all about the horrific experimentations taking place in area 51.

The only instance in which Silv noticed any emotion on her grandmother's face was when she mentioned the video and what the alien in the video had done to their planet. There was a flicker of surprise that was gone before Silv had the chance to properly register it.

"So, your people are the reason we live in this perpetual winter?" Rose asked Wir Eis with harshness.

It was as if her mind went straight over the cruelties of humanity and their morbid experimentations to focus on the suffering of the same humankind who had brought the punishment upon themselves by their thoughtless behavior.

"No. Planet become ice. Father make it ice sooner." Wir Eis said.

That was when Silv realized that perhaps the alien from the video was not as powerful as she had first believed him to be. It would make much more sense for him to expedite the ice age than to create it out of nothing.

After all, if they were powerful enough to turn the whole planet into a never-ending winter, they surely wouldn't have needed Silv's help to return to their home planet. She felt stupid for not realizing that sooner.

Climate change had played a major role in what had happened. It made it possible for Wir Eis's father to even begin to create the frosty world. If the humans had taken better care of their planet instead of torturing other sentient beings the catastrophe could have been avoided was the realization that Silv came to while her grandmother studied Wir Eis, trying to decide if he was telling the truth.

"You trust this alien?" Rose directed her next question to Silv.

"At the moment, I trust him more than I trust most of the humans," Silv said.

"I see," Rose said with a distant look in her eyes.

Silv knew that look very well. Rose seldom had it, but Silv knew her grandmother's face well enough to recognize it.

It was the same expression behind which she hid when she told little Silv that her mother and father wouldn't be able to come to her birthday party because they were busy with work. Even though both Rose and she knew that her parents saw birthdays as meaningless dates and thus very early on stopped pretending they cared.

Still, Rose had lied to the tiny girl, trying to compensate for the parents who didn't even think about putting their daughter's emotions first. It was as if they too were brainwashed into putting their family last, yet Rose knew the horrible truth, that they chose to do so.

Although Silv had always known when Rose lied, she played along, knowing that her grandmother was trying to protect her. But, this time, there was no way she could endure being lied to, not again, not by the person she loved the most.

"What are you hiding from me, grandma?" Silv asked.

"Why would you think I was hiding something?" Rose asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Because I know you. I can always tell when you are lying to me, no matter how rarely you do it." Silv said.

Wir Eis just sat there, staring around the kitchen, as if the odd conversation didn't interest him in the slightest. Silv assumed that he found the kitchen more intriguing than their family squabbles.

"Alright, alright, but I wouldn't say I was lying to you. I just haven't told you everything I know. When you think about it, it's understandable I didn't, because I know so much that if I told you everything even your brain wouldn't be able to take it all in." Rose said defensively.

"Fine. What have you not mentioned to me for my well-being?" Silv asked.

She knew her grandmother well enough to know that arguing with her led nowhere, but accepting her point of view, being patient was the key.

"Long time ago, before you were even born, I started hearing rumors about videos they discovered in some of the old archives that were thought long lost. Archives that dated back to the days when four seasons were still the norm." Rose said.

Her eyes strayed towards Wir Eis, wondering how much attention he was paying to their conversation, but her voice never wavered. Silv needed to know the truth, and Rose was willing to tell her all she knew.

"It was said that those archives contained proof of extraterrestrial life which at the time was a common hoax that no one paid much attention to. Yet, I was curious. Though there are many different ways to fake a video, I was the only one who wanted to waste her time to find out if it was a so-called, deep fake or the real deal. At the time when those were made no one knew how to tell the two apart, but with the technology available to us, I was sure I could learn the truth." Rose said.

"What did you find?" Silv asked sure that she already knew the answer.

"There was a video marked 'top secret' that shows human scientists conducting experiments on beings that did not look human. However, they didn't look like your friend either." Rose said.

"What do you mean? We made contact with more than one alien species and proceeded to torture them?" Silv asked horrified.

"I am afraid so. As far as I can tell at least a dozen other species," Rose answered.

"How can there be so many different species without us knowing about them? Even now that we have all this advanced technology?" Silv said.

"Universe full of life. Earth dangerous. Many don't come." Wir Eis suddenly said.

"My dear Silv, you are a soldier and yet still so naïve. Of course, we know about them at least the highest levels of government do, and they have decided to keep it from us. What if the aliens showed us a way to stop being dependent on the technology provided by the government? What if we rebel? They can't allow for that to happen." Rose said.

Silv was barely able to listen carefully to what her grandmother was saying since she was dismayed that she had missed so many things in the world she thought she knew so well. It was strange to realize that she might know more about Wir Eis' ship than her planet.

"Also, your friend is right, the ones humans did catch, spoke of the ban they broke by entering the Earth's atmosphere. 'Territory of Savages Do not Cross' was the rough translation of the warning." Rose added.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why keep it from me?" Silv asked, her cheeks burning in anger.

"It was something you couldn't change, and I didn't think you needed to know. You don't seem to realize how dangerous knowledge can be. Even I made a mistake when I decided to look into the archives. I just didn't expect I would find something as dangerous as that. Now, that's relevant for your life, I had no choice but to tell you." Rose said.

Silv wished Rose's explanation didn't sound so logical, but since it did, she decided to let it go and proceeded to fill Rose in on the rest of the plan.

"Alright then, you'll need all the help you can get," Rose said as Silv finished telling her their plans.