Chapter #6The New Teacher: First Meeting by: Unknown He was very large, even for an alien. That's what Gordon had been told. He wouldn't mention that, however, if it was never brought up. Ever since the first contact size had been a pretty sore subject between the people of Earth and the intergalactic community. Humans were used to being the biggest beings on the block, after all, and it was a severe shock to find out they weren't even close to it once you got off good old terra firma.
Gordon was in a waiting room that looked like any other. It had white walls with pastel green flowers patterned on the paper, matching chairs that you didn't want to sit in for very long, a modest coffee table with old copies of news and education magazines. There was no one else in the room, not even the secretary. She had gone to make sure that Chlik was ready to receive company. Neither of them had any expectations that someone would show up in her absence.
He sat there, on one of three chairs in front of the coffee table, purposefully ignoring the magazines. All of them featured the aliens prominently on the cover, either in photographs or in artist's renderings. And all of them, consciously or not, emphasized the vast difference in size. One featured a being that looked like a perfect blend of man and fox leaning against a building and smiling roguishly at the photographer. Another showed a human being craning his head back to look up past the frame of the picture. He was next to an enormous, furred foot.
The articles inside would talk about the aliens and their impact on human culture since the arrival. Cities were being refitted to allow them to visit, movies and television shows were scrambling to add them to casts, the world's governments were scrambling to put up a united diplomatic front to a cosmic civilization that just became a reality for them a year ago. This didn't even mention the vast scientific, philosophical and theological debates that were storming through their respective communities. These were perhaps the most uncertain times in human history. One thing, however, was for sure – nothing would ever be the same, and humanity needed people to step up and be the trailblazers that were so desperately needed.
Gordon considered himself just such a man. When the call went out for humans to travel the galaxy and become a part of the very first knowledge exchange program between Earth and other planets, he was one of the first to sign up. The screening process was intense, and it took the better part of a year to make it through. All the pain and effort had lead up to this moment, however; he was about to meet his very first alien, something that only a few thousand people had ever done.
The door to the meeting area swung open, and the secretary entered. She looked around briefly before she found him. “Gordon,” she said, and gave him a rather shy grin. “Are you ready?”
He looked her over once, and deduced that she hadn't had much contacts with aliens either. You can always tell, he'd learned, by the flushed faces and slight breathlessness people always had from the encounter.
“As ready as I'll ever be, I guess.” He smiled back, sure he must have looked nervous.
The secretary nodded. “Then Chlik will see you now. You remember the protocol?”
“Of course.”
“Excellent. All you need to do is step into the decontamination room, wait five seconds for the light above the door to turn green, and then step forward. You'll step out onto his table.”
Gordon nodded. “Great. Thanks so much.”
The secretary ducked her head and stepped aside. “No problem, Mr. Shumway. Enjoy the meeting, and buzz me any time if you need anything.”
He stepped into the decontamination room, his heart pounding. The door shut behind him, and the entire room buzzed. Five seconds later, millions of nanites had removed all harmful pathogens from his body. Just one of the many breakthroughs in technology humanity has enjoyed since the aliens came. The light turned green. He took a couple of deep breaths, and tried to steady his hand as he reached for the doorknob. He gave it a short twist, and it swung open.
A vast concrete surface spread out before him, extending from the door for about fifty feet. It looked off to him for some reason, and he couldn't quite figure why until he noticed the oversized silverware scattered about. There was a plate the size of a carousel off to his left, and a matching teacup to his right. There were forks and knives the size of small hills scattered close to them.
“Hello,” thundered a voice inside his head. Even though he had been trained to expect this, he jumped. He hadn't even noticed the alien yet, but it already knew he was here. Something outside of his field of vision moved, and the table darkened.
Gordon looked up to see the biggest...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.
Flangies has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
