Chapter 20

Later that night, Potat and Antaska lay on their backs on the round bed in their room.

It’s really my room, but I’m willing to share it with my pet, thought Potat.

They both watched the slow-moving hologram of space displayed on the ceiling.

Potat spoke to Antaska telepathically.

“So, if I talk to you now, are you going to listen? Or are you going to keep pretending that you don’t hear me?”

“No. I hear you. I can’t deny it any more,” Antaska answered her out loud. “My cat talks to me. I might be crazy, but I won’t pretend I don’t hear you.”

“Right. But will you listen when I tell you what to do?” asked Potat. “Because I’m always right. You know that, right?”

Annoyingly, Antaska didn’t answer that question. She changed the subject and said, “I hear the Verdantes talking too. Do you think I should tell M. Hoyvil about that?”

“No! You can’t let them find out you’re telepathic now!” Potat insisted. “You heard them saying they value humans as companions because they’re not telepathic. If the Verdantes find out about this, they might not let us travel with them.”

“Would they send us back to Earth!” Antaska asked.

“No, I don’t think they’d do that,” said Potat. “But we might have to stay on the Verdante planet with all those strange giant adult people.”

“That would be awful!” said Antaska.

“So don’t tell him yet,” Potat advised. “Do you want to be stuck on one boring planet for the rest of our lives?”

“OK, I’ll wait, but I hate deceiving M. Hoyvil like that,” said Antaska. “I hate hiding it from him. I was so proud of him tonight, and I know we can trust him.”

“Yes, I picked the right one, didn’t I?” said Potat.

“What are you talking about?” asked Antaska.

“You know. Back on Earth when we were picking out our Verdante. You were going to pick those other two, but I made you wait to get the best one,” said Potat. “The same way I’m trying to make you wait for the best mate. I told you not that Eegor, but you didn’t listen at first. At least you figured it out after a while.”

“You’re right,” said Antaska. “I do need to wait to get the best mate. Maybe I’ll meet a hot alien guy in outer space when we get there.”

She reached over and petted the striped gray fur on the top of Potat’s head.

“Be careful what you wish for,” said Potat. “Anyway, don’t tell M. Hoyvil yet. You’re not deceiving him, you’re just waiting till the time is right—like as soon as we get moving in warp space away from the Verdante planet,” said Potat.

Potat didn’t worry about Antaska telling M. Hoyvil. The little cat knew she would get her way. Potat had always been able to persuade Antaska to her point of view even before Antaska became telepathic.

Then Potat thought about M. Hoyvil, her new pet. It would be extra work for her to care for two pets, but Potat had decided to adopt him anyway. He’d proved his worthiness by protecting Antaska, although he’d been slow to understand that there was a problem. Of course, like all humanoids, M. Hoyvil had some weaknesses. Like Antaska, he needed a cat to look after him and provide guidance.

It wasn’t long before Potat could tell that Antaska was asleep. She waited a few minutes more. Then she padded over and curled up next to Antaska’s fluffy pink hair. The little cat settled in and was soon asleep too.

In his room, M. Hoyvil stayed awake longer than Antaska and Potat. He lay in his larger Verdante-sized bed and stared up at a holograph display that was similar to what played in Antaska’s room.

With his super-powerful hearing, he had heard something puzzling a while earlier. It had sounded like two women talking—one out loud and one telepathically. M. Hoyvil remembered his wish that Antaska was telepathic.

Could that be possible? he wondered. I know Potat is telepathic, but everyone knows Earthlings aren’t. But then, all humanoids evolve toward telepathy at some point. Could Antaska be at that point now?

M. Hoyvil thought about the implications of that possibility for a moment. His eyes followed the colorful stars and galaxies that flowed around him, but his mind was somewhere else. He knew that if Antaska was telepathic, it would be dangerous for her to go into space.

It’s my responsibility to keep her safe. What should I do? M. Hoyvil asked himself.

He pondered the possibilities.

Should he tell the adults and ask for their advice? No! That would be the worst possible thing to do. The adults would make Antaska stay on the Verdante planet and probably dissect her to further their knowledge of Earthlings. They might dissect Potat too while they were at it. Then they would tell M. Hoyvil he could just pick out a new pet and go to space with that one.

Some people might be OK with that, but I’d never do that, M. Hoyvil realized.

Or the adults might say, “because you’re so attached to your human pet, we’ll be compassionate and just give her a lobotomy instead of dissecting her.”

M. Hoyvil had heard about that before. Sometimes on the trip from Earth to the Verdante planet, humans did things that bothered their new owners or the adults. A quick brain “improvement” procedure was performed on those humans while on the Verdante planet. Then, subdued and submissive, they took off to space with the adolescent Verdantes.

M. Hoyvil shuddered at the thought of that. Antaska had already come under the adults’ radar! It was clear that they thought she was flawed, and they blamed her for what had just happened with Eegor.

No! Never! There’s no way I’d let them cut out part of Antaska’s brain! thought M. Hoyvil. I can’t go to the adults. I’ll have to figure this out on my own.

If traveling in outer space was as dangerous for telepathic females as people said it was, should he keep Antaska on the Verdante planet and stay there with her? It would be a sacrifice to wait 300 years—the rest of her life—to go to space. But M. Hoyvil would make that sacrifice if it was best for her. But was it?

If she’s telepathic, it would be hard to keep that a secret from the adults for 300 years, he realized.

M. Hoyvil’s primary gene contributor, Mistress Bawbaw, was particularly astute about finding out things like that.

No. That’s no good, he thought. But then the only option left is taking Antaska to outer space. And that’s dangerous, right? I’d have to protect her from the Woogahs if any showed up. Would I be able to do that?

M. Hoyvil tossed and turned on his bed. The glow of the holographic star view floating around him had grown steadily dimmer all this time, but he hadn’t noticed. It was timed to fade to complete darkness during regularly scheduled sleep hours. But M. Hoyvil still couldn’t fall asleep.

Now that his eyes had less to focus on, M. Hoyvil noticed another source of sensory input. The low, comforting hum of the telepathic trees that were planted in the center of the space ship. He’d heard this familiar sound as background noise all of his life, either on the Verdante planet or on space ships.

“Too bad I can’t hear you trees talking, like the adults say they can,” he addressed the trees telepathically with only half his usual sarcasm when speaking about this subject. “What should I do, trees?” M. Hoyvil continued. “Should I stay on the Verdante planet? Or should I take Antaska to outer space?”

It was the first time he had ever spoke to the trees. M. Hoyvil felt kind of silly and was glad there was no one around to hear him.

Can they even hear me? he wondered. Can they only hear adults? The adults say the trees talk at a rate of one word per hour. Am I talking too fast for them? Why do I expect that I’d be able to understand them anyway? Everyone says only the adults can hear them.

But M. Hoyvil didn’t give up easily. He focused his mind on the low telepathic humming noise, trying to make some sense out of it. After a few minutes, he began to hear something distinctive within the steady hum. A tone that he focused on. And as he focused, the tone developed into something that sounded like the beginning of a word.

Now, instead of a static-filled buzz, M. Hoyvil heard, “Taaaaaa…”

Could that be part of one of their one word per hour words? Or am I just fooling myself because I want to hear them talk to me? he wondered.

M. Hoyvil didn’t know the answer to that question. But he knew that if the trees were really talking, it would take hours for them to speak even a short sentence. He kept listening. He focused on the sound and waited for the next word. As he listened and waited, he fell into a deep sleep.

In that sleep, M. Hoyvil dreamed he was back on the Verdante planet. Not underground where the Verdantes lived but up on the surface standing beneath its towering trees. A gentle wind cooled his face and ruffled his hair. In the whisper of the wind, he heard voices. Many voices that spoke the same words but in different tones that harmonized with each other. The musical message wasn’t delivered one word per hour. It was slowed down just enough that M. Hoyvil could understand.

“TAAAAAAKKE…HERRRRRRR…TOOOOOOO…SPAAAAAAACE.”

 

End of Alien Pets