Shipp: The Alien Wars of Earth Read online

  Shipp

  &

  The Alien Wars of Earth

  A Novel by

  John Edward Love

  Copyright September 22, 2015

  TXu 1-957-704

  Chapter 1

  First Contact

  I am not sure exactly how or what I should tell you! I guess as good a place to start is to try and explain how old I am. I am told that despite my actual age I appear to be in my late twenties, maybe thirty, I am actually forty-four. Not that big a deal, you say! This was not the case a year ago, I looked and felt like I was in the mid-forties, but I have since stopped aging. Yes, you did understand me, I am not aging and the process that made that possible has also turned back the clock more than a decade or so and holding. Well, the reasons for these phenomena are pretty damn fantastic! Maybe relating and organizing the experience will help me to understand it better myself as I try and explain it to you! Your disbelief will be no less than mine has been at times, a statement I am sure you will come to understand better as my story unfolds!

  It started with the first weekend I had been able to break away from my new auto and small truck repair business since moving to a small town in Idaho from Southern California. We had decided we should move to a smaller community in a less densely populated state when our first child was born. Only took us seventeen years to make it happen. I finally had enough expertise in my chosen profession to have the confidence that I could run a successful business on my own, so when I found one I thought was perfect, in a place I thought was perfect, I took the leap. I had spent the first few months buried in work, but I finally realized that I needed to enjoy and embrace the beautiful area I lived in, so gave myself a weekend off. I decided to use that time to explore the countryside around our new home. Things had been so hectic, what with the moving in chores and my new business that this was the first time I’d had time to take a breather. I had been looking forward to taking a day and checking out the wooded area surrounding our property, and I was especially keen on checking out a stream just a mile or so from my house, which I had been told has some of the best fishing around. I did say our house. My wife Cheryl, daughter Samantha, son Robert, called Sam and Rob by most everyone, also made the trip. Wife by acclamation, children under protest. My wife was, or is, oh hell she looks like she is in her late twenties now, so we won’t go into any discussion about her actual age. The whole family is not aging, son and daughter included. Daughter and son were seventeen and fourteen respectively when the events that reshaped our lives began! They, like my wife and I, aged differently in the last year than any human on the planet, but as they were so young when this adventure started, they actually appear older, say mid-twenties now, which, as I stated, is quite a few years older than they actually are, but they will not age much more over the years! But I am getting ahead of the story!

  After the first couple of months, I finally found time to check out the terrain around my new home, especially that stream I’d been hearing so much about. The kids had ridden their bikes the three miles to town that morning, supposedly to check out the school and library, as the summer had just seemed to evaporate without notice, we were so busy. The truth was they wanted to make sure they were far enough away not to get a rake or a paintbrush handed to them! Our new home was a bit of a fixer-upper, and Cheryl and I had kept them pretty busy.

  I wandered around the local woods for a while, enjoying the bountiful natural landscape around me, and after a while came upon the stream that was my real reason for taking this particular route. As soon as I arrived on the bank of the stream I unpacked my gear and began trying my hand at fly-casting, a relatively new experience. The stream fed the Salmon River, and it was a spawning ground itself for the very fish that river had been named for, but none were to be had this time of year. I had been told that I could expect to catch some Bull trout or maybe some Rainbow. The stream itself was fairly large, more of a small river, but there had been a fight between two trappers who both claimed to have named it first, so the locals had just called it the Stream to stay neutral, and it had clung to that name ever since. I had been engrossed in my new activity, which included catching a Tamarack tree and a few odd bushes with my new fly rod and reel. All this without a decent cast after a dozen tries into an eddy caused by a large tree trunk that had fallen into the river. I was just about to start again after untangling my line from yet another bush I had captured when I noticed a young man dressed in impeccable hiking attire making his way toward me along my side of the bank. He looked like something right out of an LL Bean catalog! As he approached I called out a greeting, he stopped a few yards from me, smiled, appeared to be checking his watch when the lights went out!

  Chapter 2

  FRACK!

  I awoke in a fog, not sure where I was or how much time had passed! The same guy I had mistakenly assumed was a hiker was staring down at me with the same disarming smile on his face, however, I wasn’t lying on the bank of a stream as might have been expected! I seemed to be in a room with no windows, lying on a bed of sorts. Within my limited range I could see a desk with what appeared to be an elaborate computer console. Scattered along the walls and on the desk were aerial pictures of my new home, and what I think was the surrounding countryside, pictures of my family, some from California, some from the area around my new home and business, none of which I remember taking! The hiker was standing over me where I lay; he looked like a clean-shaven young version of a television character I used to enjoy called Magnum, minus the mustache.

  “Where am I?” I mumbled as I struggled to sit up.

  “All in good time,” my smiling hiker answered. “You are in no danger, and I am here merely to answer your questions and explain things as best I can. You may address me as Daniel.”

  “Well then, Daniel,” I spat, “explain away, I can hardly wait, and you can start by telling me where the hell I am, and why the hell you have kidnapped me” I bellowed! The bellowing seemed to have little effect if any, except maybe to add to the migraine I seemed to be suffering from!

  “If you promise to stay calm,” he said, apparently not rattled in the least by my outburst. “I will explain everything to you and answer any and all questions you certainly will have. You, on the other hand, must try and stay calm as the questions you ask will have answers you will not like, and certainly not believe, but I am also prepared to offer indisputable proof of all I tell you. I know this will be hard to believe at first, but we intend you no harm. But first, would you like some of this tea I prepared for you?”

  “What’s in it?” I asked, trying to calm myself as he had suggested, glancing around the room, trying to take in everything in at once. It looked like a combination living quarters and workspace combined. I was later to find out that it was my captor’s personal quarters that I was being held a prisoner in.

  “Just tea, I will be glad to taste it first, if that will set your mind at ease.” He turned, reached into a little cupboard, removed another cup, sloshed a little tea from the cup he had offered me into it, and immediately downed it. “You can wait and see if I topple over, but I assure you that the only thing you will discover is that your tea will get cold,” he said, as he handed me back the cup.

  I realized that my mouth was so dry it hurt, and I figured if dead was what he wanted; he could have already accomplished that much easier when I was unconscious. So I took a tentative drink, and found that it was very good, and doing something as simple as sipping tea did seem to be allowing me to focus on my surroundings a little better.

  “So now,” I said after a couple of sips, trying to keep my voice down so as not to increase the throbbing behind both temples and obviously not as calm as I had hoped for as the tea cup was sloshing the contents all over my hand, obviously I was still scared shitless! “Tell me where the hell I am and why the hell I am!” Well, so much for the calm part!

  “I think I should tell you who, and what the hell I am before we get into the where and why the hell you are,” my kidnapper replied in a controlled but forceful voice! The guy seemed unflappable! At some point he had changed clothes and was wearing some kind of utility uniform that looked to be adaptable to many different uses.

  “What the hell do you mean, what the hell you are, what kind of asshole statement is that!” I said this as my voice rose to almost a shout and stood up, trying to look as menacing as I possibly could, but he just stood there, with no discernable change of demeanor, except I kept getting the distinct idea that he was amused by my antics!

  “If you would quit yelling and calm down, I will explain everything to your satisfaction!” His voice was stern but still controlled. “As I said, I am here to answer all of your questions, and given the time, I will,” he stated, still sporting that big grin I had already started to hate!

  “Then get to it! Or I might decide to see if I can whip your ass!” He had no weapon I could see, giving me some false hope as it turned out! Then maybe I’ll like the answers I get a little better,” this said in the most menacing tone I could muster at the moment!

  “I’m not armed,” the smile disappearing instantly, apparently he could read my mind, “and trying to whip my ass, as you put it, would be an error in judgment on your part. Not only because you would only lose in any physical attack directed at me, but also because you will have the answers to your questions, if only you will shut your mouth long enough for me to explain! Or I could just leave you locked up in these rooms for a few days until you’re a little more
receptive?”

  He had said this in a very measured tone of voice, but the look in his eye had more than a little hint of threat in it! I paused for a moment, taking in my own condition at the moment, trying to ascertain if there was anything I could use as a weapon. There did not appear to be anything unless I attacked him with a teacup. I had not noticed until he said rooms but there did appear to be a hallway going somewhere next to what might be a small kitchen area, although it did not have a stove or anything like a microwave I could see and there appeared to be some kind of door with transparent panels in it, blocking access to that hallway with no discernable knobs or latches to open it with. As if someone had just read my mind it slid open, but I was not in a position to see more than a few feet down it. I was still in my fishing clothes except I appeared to be barefooted and my belt was missing off of my pants! I didn’t even want to think about what that said about my captor or what he thought about me!

  “Please do go ahead,” I finally said, feeling dangerously sarcastic and trying to imitate his measured tone and glare, but failing miserably.

  “I would be happy to, thank you, as I was about to explain who and what I am! For starters, by all outward appearances, I am human.”

  “Oh shit!” I whispered.

  “I am in reality a humanoid clone that has been extensively modified by; well let’s just save a lot of time by describing me as an android of alien construct.”

  “Oh shit!” I repeated, a little louder.

  “Sent to Earth to study, monitor, and select a specimen of my choosing.”

  “Oh shit!” I shrieked, while taking a wild swing at the side of his head. “You crazy son-of-a”-----

  I woke up a few moments later, lying flat on my back, with the same guy, with the same stupid smile looking down at me with an amused look and trying his best not to break out in a fit of hilarity! He looked even taller and more impressive from my vantage point on the floor!

  “I told you any physical attack would be useless.”

  “What the hell did you hit me with?” I hurt all over but could not identify any particular point of impact.

  “Actually nothing, Shipp is programmed to stop any aggressive moves on your part; she stunned you before you could complete your attack, not that you could have harmed me in any case.”

  “Ship”, I mumbled?

  “Why don’t we get you up off the floor and into a chair before I continue?” And yes, to answer your question, Shipp, an intelligent self-aware entity, she spells her name with two p’s if it should come up!”

  Wow, Thomas speculated, this guy is crazier than a loon, but he thought better of actually saying so.

  “Okay, maybe listening is better than unconscious,” was the response I decided on.

  “A very sensible attitude, especially as I am really very anxious to explain the full nature of your visit.”

  “This is what you classify as a visit?” I said, scrambling up off the floor.

  “It can be, it all depends on you, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I really need to at least get some of the basics down.”

  Depends on you suggested a hundred or so more questions, but I decided to listen for a while. I had sat down on the end of the bed so he turned a desk chair around backward and straddled it facing me.

  “As I was saying, I am, for lack of a simpler explanation, for now, an Android of alien construct, and I have, after much study, selected you, for what I hope will be a positive experience for us both.” He said this in a tone, which suggested he was telling me what was in my sack lunch, but my brain was whirling around a myriad of thoughts much like a Kansas tornado might sort through a pile of straw. I realized this thing was still talking to me, and maybe I should try to pay attention, information might be a useful weapon later on. As I was refocusing my attention on my kidnapper the pictures on the desk suddenly registered as they fell into my field of vision again, sparking a thrust of adrenaline through my body!

  “What about my family”, I bellowed at the top of my voice! “How long have I been missing?”

  “Your family is completely safe and well,” he replied, with what appeared to be a sincere tone and look. “They are here with Shipp, same as you,” he added.

  “They’re here!” I exclaimed. “They must be scared out of their minds!”

  “Your family is in a sleep chamber and not aware of their surroundings,” he stated in a matter of fact tone.” As I started to open my mouth, he stuck a finger in front of my nose which made me hesitate and then said softly, “I assure you that no member of your family has been harmed, nor are any of them under any duress. They are merely in a deep restful sleep. I couldn’t deal with all of you at the same time, so I decided to forego that by not awakening them until I had finished getting you acclimated and somewhat calm, so that it would be you they saw upon reacquiring consciousness and not just me.”

  I was extremely upset that my family was evidently sharing in my nightmare, asleep or not, but was also reassured by the tone and demeanor of my abductor, and also that he seemed anxious to make it clear to me that we were not going to be dissected in the next few minutes. So I decided to ask a question designed to provide me with some potentially valuable information.

  “You said that you couldn’t deal with all of us at the same time. Does that mean there isn’t anyone else in your crew allowed to interact with us?”

  “Shipp and I are all there is”, he responded, tilting his head to the side and giving me a look I had only seen on a teacher from time to time when they suspected I had asked a question I should have already known!

  “What do you mean? How can you handle a spacecraft I’m assuming travels across vast distances with just the two of you?” I wasn’t sure exactly who Shipp was, or when I had decided I was on a spacecraft, but my host made no objection to my use of the word!

  “I don’t. Shipp is not an android as she does not resemble a human or any carbon based life form, she is not an AI, and of course, she exists on a much grander scale as she is the spacecraft you just asked about.”

  I am sure my lower jaw hit the floor at that point, but it went unnoticed.

  “She is self-aware and a completely independent entity,” my abductor continued, “probably wouldn’t accept my help even if I offered,” he uttered with a wry grin. “I am sorry, I forgot you would not know who or what Shipp is. I am used to her existence, but I see now some explanation is needed.”

  I made note of the (she) he used in reference to the ship, for some reason It seemed like a reference to the female sex, not the (she) commonly used by sailors when speaking of the ships they sailed on.

  “So you, me, and my family are the only so called passengers on board?”

  “Except for squadrons of specialized maintenance bots which help Shipp and me with various endeavors, some are simply highly advanced computers; some have decision-making capabilities, however, none of them are self-aware, but strictly robotic AI’s. I do tend to think of them as crew, much as humans consider highly trained dogs to be part of the police or armed forces they serve. There are many AI’s or if that abbreviation is confusing, computers with artificial intelligence that are scattered throughout the confines of what you would call Shipp’s hull, and some designed to withstand the rigors of open space. Some can control parts of Shipp, with her permission of course, but are used mainly to monitor certain systems and the bots that are interacting within that system. They also can control certain auxiliary spacecraft that are stored or docked with Shipp.”

  I now realized that he was using the word ship with an extra p, as a name, not a description. I wasn’t sure exactly what that implied or what I was prepared to believe about what he had just said, but decided to keep my thoughts to myself.

  “I see,” I said slowly, thinking that with a little time and careful planning I might be able to turn the tables on this android! “When can I see my family?” I said, changing tack.

  “As soon as we finish our talk, and I am satisfied you understand and accept what is being asked of you,” he said with finality. “I can’t risk all of you running amuck at the same time. It will be your responsibility to calm and control your family once they are awake. You, however, must yourself be calm, in control, and armed with as much information about your surroundings and situation as possible. I need to make sure the guy I take to them is not the guy who just tried to lay me out. So, with that in mind, I would like a few minutes of uninterrupted time to explain what that situation is.