HavinFunAgain
Experienced
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2014
- Posts
- 53
(Closed.)
"Humans are the Aliens"
A stone on stone grinding sound woke "Blue Eyes" from a fitful nightmare. He rolled quickly to his feet in a defensive posture, an arrow notched in his recently acquired bow.
Since he'd been captured and brought to this enclosure, he'd been repeatedly tested on his ability to defend himself against a number of dangers.
Every so often, the Yuza -- the dominant species on this planet -- had opened a hatch in the ceiling or a door in the wall and added something to his cage. In the beginning, it had only been food and water. A short time later, they dropped wood and twigs with which Blue started a fire, using a friction technique he'd learned as a child. Soon, live animals were sent through the doors for Blue to hunt. Naked since his capture, he made a loin cloth, then moccasins, and finally a full set of clothes.
Then things began to get dangerous. Larger, more ferocious animals were added, creatures -- some familiar, others not at all -- that could very well have killed and eaten Blue instead. He survived these tests as well, eating much better and creating bedding of their furs, necklaces of their claws and fangs, and tools of their bones, tendons, and such.
Then, all of that was taken away from him. He passed out one afternoon, not realizing that his latest water delivery had been tainted with an anesthetic. He awoke to find himself in nothing but his loin cloth and owning nothing more than his bow and a handful of arrows.
That had been yesterday, and today Blue was staring at a now fully open door to ... to what? What was out there? For so long he'd known nothing but this stone and steel prison.
What Blue couldn't have understood was that the Yuza were doing all of this to him to prepare him for being part of their new exhibit at the The International Zoo of Alien Life.
Blue had never been to an Earth zoo, of course: he'd been born here on Yuza III, just as his father and his father's father before him had. Blue's great-grandfather had been born en route to Yuza III, making Blue's great-great-grandfather the last in his family line to be considered an actual Earthling and not just a Human.
Blue knew very little of Earth or the cultures from which the Humans here had come. The Yuza Humans had been on this planet for 50 years -- almost 100 Earth Years, he'd been told -- meaning, simply, that Earth was no longer their home. Yuza was.
But if he had ever seen an Earth zoo, he would have recognized this new, larger enclosure as something akin to a lion or tiger enclosure. The crescent moon shaped exhibit was much larger than the typical enclosure back on Earth, though, with the longer, outside curve of the crescent almost 100 yards in length. The inner curve of the crescent was a tall, realistic looking cliff of sedimentary rock with a shallow cave at its bottom.
A waterfall fell from high above, spilling into the first of a trio of pools that themselves were connected by a stream. The water eventually descended to a wet lands at the base of the tall outer wall, at the top of which -- standing behind a railing and, unbeknownst to Blue, an invisible security shield -- were several hundred Yuza visitors.
(OOC: Ignore the near nudity and imagine them in clothes.)
Blue had only seen a Yuza three times before. His village had been deep inside the southern jungle, more than a thousand miles from the nearest permanent Yuza settlement. The indigenous people rarely ever ventured to the jungle, making the three visits by their air ships almost as unbelievable as the presence of Humans on their planet.
He'd been told that there were Human serving in the homes and businesses of the Yuza. But those were just tales to his village. They'd never met such a Human before.
Blue stood in the opening for several minutes, studying the aliens. Their faces were filled with great awe as they waited anxiously for him to emerge. IZAL had been advertising the opening of the Human Exhibit for months. In addition to the hundreds of Yuza at the railing, there were tens -- possibly hundreds -- of thousands more in their homes watching the opening on their Home Viewers.
Despite knowing nothing of zoos, it was pretty obvious to Blue what was taking place here: he was on display. After several minutes of scanning the alien faces, he considered not satisfying the crowd at all. He could simply return to his cage, couldn't he?
That question was answered when a door at the back of his home opened. One, then two, then three of the lion-like creatures that had been his biggest test to date entered, sniffing the air for their prey. Blue rushed out into the larger area, ignoring the cheering of the crowd. He was searching for a place in which he could either hide or from which he could defend himself.
He located a section of the cliff that had been intentionally crafted with foot holds. He hurried up it, turning to face the lion-creatures when he was out of their reach. He notched an arrow and drew his bow just as the first of the lion-creatures leaped up the cliff. It managed to get a grip in the hand holds, but it was to no avail. Blue let the arrow fly, striking the animal in the chest. It fell to the rock surface, turning to present it's side, into which Blue put a second arrow.
Blue turned his attention to the second animal as the first began to diebut very quickly realized that this other animal's attention wasn't on him. He looked to his right to find--
A female! A Human female!
Blue hadn't seen another of his kind in months! And he'd never before seen one this ... naked! She wore only a loin cloth, much like Blue's, as she huddled behind a small array of rocks, about to be killed by the lion-creature.
"He-e-e-e-e-e-re!" Blue called.
He repeated his call as he descended to the rock plateau, but it took a third call to get the animal's attention. Blue had an arrow notched and drawn, and letting it fly, he put it right through the lion-creatures' rib cage and into one of its hearts. A second arrow barely missed the second heart but did succeed in severing the animal's main supply artery. The lion-creature wavered, then stumbled, then fell to the rocks.
Blue ensured that both of the animals were dead, then looked to find the third had been cut off by the now closed door. It was then that he became aware of the furor of applause and calls coming from high above at the railing. He didn't know what to think. They were applauding his actions, weren't they? He'd fought hand to hand with other men from other villages once, and while he'd been showered with praise afterward, it was nothing like what these Yuza were doing. It didn't make any sense to him.
He turned to the unknown woman, stepping around the rock display to find her hiding as much as she could from the crowd. He didn't know whether she spoke his dialect, but -- as the Ancestors had all spoken one language when arriving here -- he knew she would understand him.
"I am Blue Eyes," he said, moving very slowly toward her, his hands outward in a peaceful gesture. "You are safe. I will not hurt you."
"Humans are the Aliens"
A stone on stone grinding sound woke "Blue Eyes" from a fitful nightmare. He rolled quickly to his feet in a defensive posture, an arrow notched in his recently acquired bow.
Since he'd been captured and brought to this enclosure, he'd been repeatedly tested on his ability to defend himself against a number of dangers.
Every so often, the Yuza -- the dominant species on this planet -- had opened a hatch in the ceiling or a door in the wall and added something to his cage. In the beginning, it had only been food and water. A short time later, they dropped wood and twigs with which Blue started a fire, using a friction technique he'd learned as a child. Soon, live animals were sent through the doors for Blue to hunt. Naked since his capture, he made a loin cloth, then moccasins, and finally a full set of clothes.
Then things began to get dangerous. Larger, more ferocious animals were added, creatures -- some familiar, others not at all -- that could very well have killed and eaten Blue instead. He survived these tests as well, eating much better and creating bedding of their furs, necklaces of their claws and fangs, and tools of their bones, tendons, and such.
Then, all of that was taken away from him. He passed out one afternoon, not realizing that his latest water delivery had been tainted with an anesthetic. He awoke to find himself in nothing but his loin cloth and owning nothing more than his bow and a handful of arrows.
That had been yesterday, and today Blue was staring at a now fully open door to ... to what? What was out there? For so long he'd known nothing but this stone and steel prison.
What Blue couldn't have understood was that the Yuza were doing all of this to him to prepare him for being part of their new exhibit at the The International Zoo of Alien Life.
Blue had never been to an Earth zoo, of course: he'd been born here on Yuza III, just as his father and his father's father before him had. Blue's great-grandfather had been born en route to Yuza III, making Blue's great-great-grandfather the last in his family line to be considered an actual Earthling and not just a Human.
Blue knew very little of Earth or the cultures from which the Humans here had come. The Yuza Humans had been on this planet for 50 years -- almost 100 Earth Years, he'd been told -- meaning, simply, that Earth was no longer their home. Yuza was.
But if he had ever seen an Earth zoo, he would have recognized this new, larger enclosure as something akin to a lion or tiger enclosure. The crescent moon shaped exhibit was much larger than the typical enclosure back on Earth, though, with the longer, outside curve of the crescent almost 100 yards in length. The inner curve of the crescent was a tall, realistic looking cliff of sedimentary rock with a shallow cave at its bottom.
A waterfall fell from high above, spilling into the first of a trio of pools that themselves were connected by a stream. The water eventually descended to a wet lands at the base of the tall outer wall, at the top of which -- standing behind a railing and, unbeknownst to Blue, an invisible security shield -- were several hundred Yuza visitors.
(OOC: Ignore the near nudity and imagine them in clothes.)
Blue had only seen a Yuza three times before. His village had been deep inside the southern jungle, more than a thousand miles from the nearest permanent Yuza settlement. The indigenous people rarely ever ventured to the jungle, making the three visits by their air ships almost as unbelievable as the presence of Humans on their planet.
He'd been told that there were Human serving in the homes and businesses of the Yuza. But those were just tales to his village. They'd never met such a Human before.
Blue stood in the opening for several minutes, studying the aliens. Their faces were filled with great awe as they waited anxiously for him to emerge. IZAL had been advertising the opening of the Human Exhibit for months. In addition to the hundreds of Yuza at the railing, there were tens -- possibly hundreds -- of thousands more in their homes watching the opening on their Home Viewers.
Despite knowing nothing of zoos, it was pretty obvious to Blue what was taking place here: he was on display. After several minutes of scanning the alien faces, he considered not satisfying the crowd at all. He could simply return to his cage, couldn't he?
That question was answered when a door at the back of his home opened. One, then two, then three of the lion-like creatures that had been his biggest test to date entered, sniffing the air for their prey. Blue rushed out into the larger area, ignoring the cheering of the crowd. He was searching for a place in which he could either hide or from which he could defend himself.
He located a section of the cliff that had been intentionally crafted with foot holds. He hurried up it, turning to face the lion-creatures when he was out of their reach. He notched an arrow and drew his bow just as the first of the lion-creatures leaped up the cliff. It managed to get a grip in the hand holds, but it was to no avail. Blue let the arrow fly, striking the animal in the chest. It fell to the rock surface, turning to present it's side, into which Blue put a second arrow.
Blue turned his attention to the second animal as the first began to diebut very quickly realized that this other animal's attention wasn't on him. He looked to his right to find--
A female! A Human female!
Blue hadn't seen another of his kind in months! And he'd never before seen one this ... naked! She wore only a loin cloth, much like Blue's, as she huddled behind a small array of rocks, about to be killed by the lion-creature.
"He-e-e-e-e-e-re!" Blue called.
He repeated his call as he descended to the rock plateau, but it took a third call to get the animal's attention. Blue had an arrow notched and drawn, and letting it fly, he put it right through the lion-creatures' rib cage and into one of its hearts. A second arrow barely missed the second heart but did succeed in severing the animal's main supply artery. The lion-creature wavered, then stumbled, then fell to the rocks.
Blue ensured that both of the animals were dead, then looked to find the third had been cut off by the now closed door. It was then that he became aware of the furor of applause and calls coming from high above at the railing. He didn't know what to think. They were applauding his actions, weren't they? He'd fought hand to hand with other men from other villages once, and while he'd been showered with praise afterward, it was nothing like what these Yuza were doing. It didn't make any sense to him.
He turned to the unknown woman, stepping around the rock display to find her hiding as much as she could from the crowd. He didn't know whether she spoke his dialect, but -- as the Ancestors had all spoken one language when arriving here -- he knew she would understand him.
"I am Blue Eyes," he said, moving very slowly toward her, his hands outward in a peaceful gesture. "You are safe. I will not hurt you."
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