Chapter 3 #2
He nodded, then sighed. “I imagine there was much heartache when the Lalylltiar and humans first interacted because of it.”
“Hmm? Why?”
“The lifespans were vastly different. The humans were shielded from diseases that would have existed on Earth at that time, and records show most lived around sixty Earth years. However, the Lalylltiar lived for close to three hundred Earth years.”
“Three hundred?” I squeaked.
He nodded. “According to records, yes.”
“If… if you’re a hybrid…” I started, letting my voice trail off.
He laughed. “My age is eighty-six of your years.”
My jaw dropped. “Did you say eighty-six?”
He grinned. “That is correct.”
I shook my head. “My initial thought was either late forties or early fifties.”
He laughed again. “Our average lifespan is between one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty Earth years, with some living even longer.”
“Wow…”
“But you, of all people, should understand that longevity is only part of youthful appearance. Medical science and lifestyle are also important.”
“You have a good lifestyle? On… Lyll?” I asked, tongue tripping over the unfamiliar word.
He gave me a sad smile. “I was happy there for many years.”
Something about his tone told me there was more, but it also seemed like something he didn’t want to talk about.
“So what happened to the Lalyllsh…” I paused, trying to remember the pronunciation.
“Lalylltiar.”
“Yes. You speak of them like they don’t exist anymore.”
“That is because they have been extinct for nearly three thousand years… Earth years.”
“Really? What happened?”
“A disease swept the population. It was highly contagious and fatal for the Lalylltiar. But it was mild for those with human genetics. Less dangerous than what you call the common cold. Those early Lalyllte worked feverishly to save their counterparts. They were healthy enough for research, but time was against them. The pathogen mutated quickly, and by the time they would isolate a way to fight it, the method was less effective than hoped.”
“It wiped them out?”
He sighed. “Close enough. Their population was decimated, including colonies on other planets. What is the phrase…” he paused.
“Ah… in a bubble. In a bubble, they might have been able to recover, but even that hypothetical assumes the best outcomes. Viability was questionable given the number of survivors.”
Another pause. “They did try to rebuild. There were efforts made to sequester themselves and only reproduce with each other. But our population grew faster with our lower lifespan, and continued interbreeding led to their eventual extinction.”
“I’m sorry…”
He smiled that sad smile again. “It is the way of the universe. Everything must eventually perish. There is no way to know how many civilizations rose and fell across the cosmos long before the Lalylltiar came to be, and how many will come after and never know of them.” He shook his head.
“But we still carry traces of them, and we strive to honor their memory. Even to this day.”
“Were they an all-male species?” I asked. “Is that why you engineered yourselves to be all-male?”
He shook his head. “There was a second calamity. Several hundred years after the pathogen swept through the Lalylltiar, another virus evolved that was able to act on human genetics, but only for females.”
“How did it work?”
“Records are sparse, but they seemed to think that it was able to take advantage of immune system differences between men and women. Hormone responses also seemed to have been something they were concerned about. However, they did not have much time to study it. At first, they tried to find the cause, but as the situation worsened, strategies shifted to prevention, then to attempts to slow the progression. Researchers continued to work to isolate the cause, but more and more were lost to the scramble of trying to save the remaining women and girls. Even sequestration only provided a short buffer.”
He paused. “Genetic modification was… somebody explained the term ‘Hail Mary’ and I believe it fits. It was a Hail Mary. Even if they could have saved the women, there were not enough left to rebuild. We were also potentially facing extinction.
“It was a desperate move, but it worked. Women who had been sequestered understood the stakes, and they allowed scientists at the time to make changes to their babies in utero. Fetuses at the earliest stages of development were altered at a genetic level so that males would also have the ability to become pregnant and bear offspring. Young men volunteered to have their bodies altered so that they could pick up the torches of childbearing. An entire society understood that we would perish if drastic measures were not taken.”
He leaned back and stared at the sky. “It was meant to be a temporary solution. Scientists of the era wrote that they hoped it would give them the time they needed to save the women and girls. It was a means to ensure the population could continue long enough to find the cure.”
“They never found it, did they?”
He shook his head. “They were eventually able to find a virus that seemed to be the cause, but as the remaining females fell victim, the ability to continue research disappeared with them. At some point, lab-grown samples offered no additional insight.”
“And no females were born after that?”
He frowned. “They were, until grieving parents asked for more modifications. Baby girls were birthed, usually to perish before their first birthday and in pain. Of course, tissue samples were taken, but the cost was too high. Another decision was made. We would not sacrifice babies in the name of research. There were other all-male—and all-female—races in the galaxy. Some had evolved that way, others—like us—had to make difficult choices.”
“I’m sorry…”
He smiled softly. “Thank you.”
“Did women survive longer on your colonies?”
He shook his head. “After the loss of the Lalylltiar, we were unable to maintain their colonies. As a hybrid species, our population was thriving, but not to the level that it takes for extraterrestrial colonization. We were also vulnerable. Rather than find ourselves at the wrong end of conflict, we used diplomacy. Colony planets were traded for protection. Species that had been friendly with our predecessors continued their stance with us, and those relationships were invaluable through both crises.”
“But they were unable to help you find cures?”
He nodded. “Even the best advances in medical science cannot predict the future. There will always be new viruses and bacteria. More outbreaks can be prevented as knowledge grows, but there are still times when things progress too quickly.”
I sighed. “I guess some things never change.”
“That is an unfortunate truth.”
There was a moment of silence before I spoke again. “So that explains how you came to be an all-male species, but not why you decided to contact us now.”
He let out a long sigh. “Having the ability to get pregnant and bear children was only one challenge. Fertility was an issue in those early years. As scientists worked to increase fertility rates, we believe they inadvertently affected virility.”
“They didn’t notice?”
He shook his head. “It was subtle. Nothing more than a statistical anomaly in their time. But it grew worse over the generations. Eventually, the disparity grew to where we can get pregnant easily. However, our sperm counts are quite low. Now, even with reproductive assistance, our birth rate has been below replacement levels for many generations.”
I frowned. “You couldn’t fix it?”
He sighed. “Many attempts have been made. Once our genetic engineers exhausted the avenues that they identified, we consulted with other species…”
He paused, stood, and started pacing behind the bench seat, wringing his hands. “In our desperate attempt to save ourselves, we messed up. We overlooked some of the long-term biological impacts of women and failed to account for them. Now, it has been so long that we do not know what we lost.”
He let out a long breath and sat again, hands clasped in front of him. “If we had had more time… If we had been able to properly plan… Those are the questions that plague us. Would we be here if things had been different?”
I reached over and rested one of my hands on top of his. “From everything you’ve told me, your people did what they had to.”
He gave me a weak smile. “And now we are doing it again. Humans are the species with which we are most genetically compatible, since we are mostly human ourselves. It is our hope that, if nothing else, we can reintroduce some of what was lost to us.”
He looked down at where my hand was still on his, and I pulled my hand away. “Sorry…” I coughed. “I must ask, how do you expect to get human genetics back? I was told there are no women here because you’re that concerned about their health.”
He laughed. “Doctor… Gene… did you forget that we are an all-male species? We can mate with human men.”
I blinked, then slapped my forehead. “Oh my God… I’m an idiot.”
His laughter increased. “It is an understandable lapse.” He took a moment before he spoke again. “There are… other considerations.”
“Oh?”
He sighed. “Most of our population has never seen or met a woman. It is more common among those who travel to other planets, but we tend to be an isolated species.”
I considered the statement for a moment, then nodded. “I imagine it would be uncomfortable to be expected to impregnate a gender you’re unfamiliar with.”
He returned the nod. “And that is in addition to the reason we have come is due to virility issues. It would be devastating for our men to take women as mates, then be unable to father children.”
A long pause before he continued. “Then there is the fact that fetal DNA can remain in the birthing parent. If a situation arose where we had to leave and could not take mates, that could have unintended consequences.”
“If…” I started, then the meaning sank in. I sighed. “Human xenophobia.”
“Correct… unfortunately.” He sighed. “And homophobia. There were a handful of countries that refused to work with us—all of which have outlawed same-gender relationships. We were willing to work with them… take the men whom they had imprisoned simply for the… crime… of who they loved. But they felt so strongly that they decided to forsake not only their own citizens, but from what I have been told, the representatives from one country seemed gleeful to refuse just to spite us.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “It was expected. We had hoped they would see the benefit, but…”
I let his words hang in the air for several seconds before responding. “They probably have agreements with other countries to share technology.”
He nodded. “That is likely.”
The sound of a cadence as the group of running soldiers got closer.
I tilted my head back and stared at the sky, giving myself a moment to process everything. It was after a minute that I realized I hadn’t heard or seen a plane since my arrival.
“Is this a no-fly zone?” I mused.
Eashai chuckled. “It is. Mostly to keep the public from seeing the base, but also so that we can safely come and go as needed.”
“We?” I asked, looking at him. “As in… your people?”
He nodded. “Correct.”
“What’s it like, interstellar travel?”
He cocked his head to one side. “It is… unique. Before coming here, I preferred vessels that utilized stasis fields for passengers. It is an uncommon side-effect, but I get nauseous in subspace. The ships offering stasis fields are popular for reaching tourist locations because one merely gets into their assigned berth, goes to sleep, and awakens at their destination. However, those are not used to reach Earth, so I have had to…” He paused.
“I believe ‘tolerate’ is the best description. I have had to tolerate standard space travel.”
“So people are prone to sea-sickness even in space?”
He laughed. “That is correct.”
“Eashai,” a voice floated across the grass.
Both he and I turned to see a man with mint green skin striding toward us.
The man called out again in a lilting language I didn’t recognize, and Eashai responded in kind.
He stood. “Excuse me, Gene. One of my superiors wishes to speak with me.”
I nodded. “Ok.”
He started to turn, then paused. “Will you be able to find your way back to the lab or your room?”
I smiled, noticing how the sunlight danced across his blue skin. “I think so.”
He nodded. “Then I shall see you later.”
“Later,” I echoed.
He strode off and into the building.
I turned around so I could lean back against the table and stare at the sky. Things were starting to make sense, and after talking with Eashai, I was more comfortable that I was a good fit for what they needed.
However, I also had the feeling that I wouldn’t be leaving the base as soon as I’d intended.