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Past and Future
Goliath' s home planet
The Eighth Elder stood looking at the night sky. It had been almost 500 years since he sent the one now known as “ Goliath” to earth. The elder had last heard from Harry’s past self almost 30 years ago. He wondered if present Harry had found out yet that he was the one known as Goliath. He also wondered if Harry had found out who and what he really was. Harry was the only surviving offspring of the Eighth Elder, and if he survived this mission- his replacement. Harry was not yet aware of his destiny.
The eighth elder had produced many, many offspring, but there was something very special about this one. Harry was small and delicate for his species, yet he had managed to survive the ice wind desert when his larger, stronger siblings had perished, most by Harry’s own hand(s). Something had changed in this particular spawn during that ordeal. Harry had come back with a “friend,” one that eventually became Harry’s mate. That in itself was highly unusual, but even more than that, Harry’s mate had sacrificed himself to keep Harry safe, something unheard of on the Elder’s world. On this world a being who could engender such a sacrifice was very special indeed.
Goliath had been able to make contact with his world. How he had managed to do it with such primitive tools was nothing short of a miracle ( what was that warmth the elder felt in his chest…pride?). Goliath had told them of the invasion by the Greys and the utter destruction of the earth they had caused. Goliath had seen it all. He had seen the small bands of humans that had survived in the few ( and vanishing ) still habitable areas of the earth. When his people had offered to come and get him and take him home, Goliath had refused. Goliath had formed an attachment to earth and her people. But sooner or later Goliath had to return to take the Eight Elder’s place. ”Sooner would be better,” thought the elder, ” my time is coming to an end.” The elder wanted Goliath/Harry back while he was still able to ensure he took his place among the elders. “ This spawn of mine has something new to teach our people, I want to ensure we have the opportunity to learn,” he thought, looking up at the sky toward the star that was the Earth’s sun.
The Greys had figured out a way to produce hybrids that could pass as human. They had been placed in positions of power. Their purpose was to drain the earth of all of its resources. The Greys were a wasteful race. They were Takers. They disdained the rules of nature, thinking themselves above such rules. They needed a constant stream of resources to keep their world from falling apart. They had been the ones to infect humans so long ago with the Taker mentality. Until they had, the Elder’s people had been welcomed by the humans. They had always tried to help. They engendered the Leaver mentality. They taught the humans that they were part of nature and subject to its laws. There were many on the earth who had adopted the Leaver mentality. The earth's people called them “ indigenous”. But one by one the Leaver people had been eliminated or were being forced to adopt the Taker mentality or perish. Goliath had been sent to earth almost 500 years ago to see if the people of the earth could be saved from themselves before they destroyed all of creation. Goliath had been able to find a portal back through time before the destruction . Goliath had asked to have himself sent once again to fight the future.
“ Harry” did not know what he was getting into. He did not know that it was he, himself, who had orchestrated his current predicament. The Eighth Elder felt a pang of regret, “ Harry” would have to find out who and what he was alone.
The Elder had sent the current “Harry/Goliath” to earth to “ destroy it” as he had sent the past version. Goliath had relayed all the events that his future self would encounter. It was Goliath who had made the plea for the earth and the human race. Together the Elder and Goliath had made a plan to save the earth. A plan in which the current version of Goliath ( Harry) would figure prominently.
Earth
Asta closed the door of the cabin behind her. She stood on the front porch of the isolated cabin, letting the cool breeze calm her nerves. She had left behind her, one very shell shocked alien. Harry had said nothing at the revelation that he was Goliath. He had sat heavily in the chair, his moist eyes darting back and forth as if scanning some informational text, his jaw working, the muscles of his face twitching, grunting in response to some internal conversation. But he did not speak. He would not look at Asta. He did not acknowledge her questions.
Asta’s own mind was in overdrive trying to understand this revelation. She got into her car and began the long drive back to town. She ran through who Goliath was. Goliath seemed to be so different from Harry. Goliath had had an intimate relationship with a human. He had produced a child with that human. She acknowledged she felt a pang of jealousy at that. Goliath had produced art! But the art had been filled with pain and loss. It tugged at her heart to think of the awkward, clueless child- like Harry having those feelings. It hurt her to think of Goliath /Harry as dead. Her Harry would eventually sacrifice his life to send himself a message. She wondered what Goliath knew that Harry did not. What was in store for him and for the human race? Whatever it was, the art only reflected pain and loss…
Harry sat on the couch clutching the pillow to his chest, his mind racing, so many thoughts and emotions. “ If Goliath was me, then I am truly alone, there are no others like me here and I never get to go home,” he thought to himself . He felt an unfamiliar wetness on his face. A choked sob came from somewhere in the room. Harry realized it was he who had made the sound. He let all these emotions wash over him. It was no use trying to stop them. He was an inconsolable child for the moment.
As the tide of emotions began to ebb, Harry could think again. “ Goliath knew that my people were not coming, how did he/I know that? Was he/I able to communicate with them somehow? Did Goliath build a radio as I did? Does Violinda still have that radio?” Harry wondered. “ Does Violinda know that Goliath and I are the same being? I will speak to her tomorrow and find out what she knows,” Harry decided. He was exhausted. All he wanted was the escape of sleep. He stretched out on the couch. He forced his mind to be still. He willed his body to relax as he had read in the books on mediation. No use.
“ I wish I had a pizza, “ Harry thought. Harry began to think about pizza and pizza toppings. He imagined ordering a pizza. He would look at the menu, and read each offering, he imagined dialing the number , each digit, the pizza person on the other end greeting him, taking the order. He would give him the address,first the house number and then the street and finally, the coupon code. He would place the order, naming each specific topping he wanted….
Morning came early. Harry had actually slept. For just a moment, he thought the events of last night had been a bad dream, but there on the table sat the book, Goliath’s book. It was still open to the page with him and Asta. “So, no dream,” he thought. He checked the time, it may be too early to call New York, but he could not stand to wait. He picked up the card from Violinda with her number and dialed.
Asta joined Harry at the diner. She had been a little worried about him after last night. She noted that though he had moved the food around on his plate not much of it had been consumed. That was very un-Harry-like.
“Hey Harry, how are you doing?” Asta asked, real concern in her voice.
“ I am fine. I called Violinda this morning,” said Harry without looking up.
“Why,” asked Asta.
“ I wanted to know if she was aware of Goliath ever having communicated with my people, she was not,” said Harry. “ I also do not think she knows I am Goliath. She did not know the subjects in the painting were you and me.”
“ So, what now?”
“ I do not know”, he sounded dejected.
“ You can’t just give up! We need you!”
“ Why? Why can I not? I came here to eradicate human life. My people have seen the destruction humans have rought on this planet. You have learned the lessons of the Takers, all of you. Humans destroy everything around them, including each other. Nothing is ever enough, not even the span of your years. When your time comes, you use precious resources to prolong your time even if your bodies are so broken you can do nothing with the time. Claiming ‘life is sacred’ you produce offspring you have no use for. Your world is out of balance; you have developed the skills to prevent death, but you do not use your skill to control your population to keep it in balance. Would it not make sense to have many fewer of you at a time but to have all well cared for? You have all fallen for the Cult of Life. Life for Life’s sake. You are like maggots feeding on the carcass of the Earth. You are as bad as the Grey’s, you deserve each other!” With that Harry got up and walked out.
Asta was speechless. Asta often thought of Harry as an awkward, clueless, somewhat naughty child. She seldom acknowledged that Harry was actually an incredibly intelligent and extremely powerful being from a very advanced civilization. She had seen Harry angry once, after she had smashed the radio. But this…this was cold dispassionate logic. She had seen this aspect of Harry too, when he nearly choked the life out of Jimmy. No emotion, just task orientation. It frightened her. He was very dangerous in that frame of mind.
Harry did not want to be close to any of the humans right now, especially Asta. Asta had a way of convincing him to do things he did not want to do. He did not want to be in this human skin. He wanted to be his true self. He got into his truck and started to drive back toward his cabin.
“ Why should I care what happens to them, even Asta, I should have killed them all when I had the chance,” he was so focused on his internal conversation he almost did not stop in time to avoid the huge buck standing in the road. Harry looked at the animal. It was magnificent.
He got out of the truck and walked toward it, the buck did not run, it began to walk toward Harry.
Harry reached out a hand and gently touched its face. The Buck leaned into his touch. Harry removed his clothing and folded it neatly. He laid it on the seat of the truck. The skin on Harry’s arms began to bubble and shift , followed by his face. He dropped to his knees, then to all fours. When he stood up, the antlers on his head felt heavy and threw him off balance a bit. He walked about a bit to get used to the legs. The buck was moving off the road. It turned and looked back at him. Harry followed.
Harry was clumsy at first, tripping and stumbling as he walked on all fours. In his true form, he could walk on all fours. He quickly picked it back up. Soon he was bounding after the Buck over fallen trees, across brooks and scrambling up rock ledges. The buck stopped on the top of a ridge and looked out. Harry followed the Buck’s gaze. It was beautiful. The mountains capped with snow, the rushing waterfalls from the glaciers, the storm clouds gathering in the background, the sunlight shining onto the clouds giving them the most amazing hues, the incredible scent of pine, and the forest.
He felt the pain before he heard the shot.
The bullet had stuck him just above the shoulders at the base of the neck. It had gone straight through his skin. A painful graze. The other buck bolted away as the second shot rang out missing them both. Harry was angry, enraged, …homicidal. Instead of running away he turned and ran straight for the area the shots came from. Though he was in the form of a buck, he still had his preternatural alien speed.
The hunters sent more bullets his way. They knew that sometimes prey got confused and ran toward the bullets. But they began to realize that this prey was actually running toward them with purpose and with unnatural speed, dodging the bullets deliberately. And suddenly they were face to face with one very angry buck. The hunters scattered to get out of the way of the oncoming buck. He was too close to shoot. They might hit each other. So they scattered. But Harry was not going to let them off that easily. He lowered his head and scooped up the first hunter, tossing him over his head with ease. Though he was in the form of a buck, he still had the strength of six angry gorillas. He pivoted slamming the next hunter into a tree. Finally he chased down the last hunter, goring him in the shoulder and carrying him over the edge of a small cliff. The hunter landed in the river below. Harry turned just in time to see one of the hunters taking aim. “ PUT THAT DOWN…NOW” said Harry. The hunter froze. “ YOU HEARD ME, ” commanded Harry. The hunter dropped the weapon, mostly by default when he fainted.
Harry made it back to his truck. He turned back into human form, got dressed and drove back to the cabin. When he got there he saw Asta’s car parked in front. He was not sure he wanted to talk to her, or to any human for that matter.
Harry entered quietly. Asta was asleep on the couch. He could smell a fresh pot of coffee, and …pizza. Both cold by now. As he quietly placed his keys on the counter, Asta stirred. She stood up and went to him, “ Harry , I was so worried…,” something in his demeanor made her stop. His expression was guarded, his posture stiff, his face pale. She reached for him, but he shrunk back. He still had said nothing. “ Harry, talk to me, tell me what is going on with you,” Asta asked gently.
“ I never go home,” said Harry quietly. It suddenly dawned on Asta that she had been so intent on saving the earth, her friends, her family, her future, herself, she had not even considered what the revelation of being Goliath had meant to Harry. Goliath had been stranded here. He never got to go home again.Goliath had died here, alone. Pain and loss…
Before she could say another word, Harry felt her understanding and in an instant realized that was all he had wanted from her. She grabbed him in a tight hug whispering, “ I’m so so sorry, I didn’t realize…” Harry knew she meant it. It was a bandage over his hurt. He felt…comforted.
As she drew back from the hug she noted the blood on her hands, “ Harry, you’re bleeding. What happened?”
Harry smiled, a smile that almost reached his eyes, an almost human smile, with just a bit of mischief in it, “ Hiking accident, it will be fine. I will be fine. I would like pizza now.”