The Alien Mind (free)

The Journey Begins

RIVI WOKE UP WHEN SHE FELL OUT OF her bed onto the soft-carpeted floor. Closing her eyes and summoning the station's computer to turn on the lights in the room, she looked around at the aftereffects of her dream. She laughed to herself, thankful she had put away the more breakable objects. The table was tipped over, a few books were scattered on the floor, and even a painting was askew on the wall. But everything seemed to be in one piece, at least.

Rivi went into the lavatory to freshen up for the day. When she came back out, the clothes she had been wearing since school and the fire yesterday were now neat and clean. Her long hair was brushed and put up into a bun, and her face was washed and ready for a new day. She walked around the room, putting things back into their places.

With the nightmare-created storm over for now, and the mess left in its wake cleaned up, Rivi removed the objects she had stored safely in the chest and put them all back in their places. She turned to leave the room, hoping she could find the colony's garden.

As she opened the door, she smiled at Dan, who was just about to knock.

"Hey, how did you sleep?" Rivi asked, in a bright voice.

"I slept fine. And you?" Dan asked, confused by her sudden change of behavior overnight.

"I slept decently enough. It's another new day," Rivi said with a grin. "Have you been to breakfast yet?"

"Yeah, I just came from there. Where are you heading?" Dan asked, deciding to leave yesterday alone for now.

"I've heard that the colony's garden is in Area 4. I was going to go see it," Rivi said, as Dan followed her down the hall.

Rivi and Dan found Area 4 with ease, and soon, she and Dan were walking through the mazes of paths that interconnected throughout the garden. Miniature trees were in bloom, and flowers dipped over the carefully manicured grass that came up just to the edge of the walkway. On the other half of the domed room, the gardens were kept in carefully tended rectangles, and each rectangular bed contained rows and rows of foods. Wheat grew in tall stalks, peas sprouted in bunches, tomatoes crept high on carefully trained vines, and there was even celery stretching straight and green in the carefully engineered soil. Rivi breathed deeply, absorbing some of the energy that all these plants created.

"Does Aun have gardens like this?" Dan asked, watching her.

"Yes," Rivi answered with a smile. "Though most of the plants would be very unfamiliar to you."

"I'd imagine so!" Dan answered with a laugh.

"Someday I hope to take you there, Dan. Aun is a very different world compared to Earth. On Aun, each person has a job that he or she is uniquely equipped to handle. A long time ago, the Aunantet found out how to use the rest of their minds, and it opened up a completely new way of living for them.

"The Aunantet society is very well organized. Some Aunantet, called herboviromenters, specialize in creating gardens just like this one. If you were to watch them, it would almost appear as though they are talking to the plants around them. As they nurture the plants, their minds are nurtured in the ways of nature in return. They are the ones who are the first to know when some type of natural disaster is coming—everything from Earthquakes, mudslides, and eruptions, to tsunamis and droughts.

"Others—healers—specialize in medical processes. They have the ability to join their mind to a person's body and heal most ailments, and they can do it without having to give the patient any drugs or perform operations. Things like cancer and heart attacks are no longer a problem on Aun. I'd love to show you just how much a person has the ability to accomplish. On Aun, you can really see it, full-scale."

"Sounds like a vastly extended version of the project we just finished for school," Dan replied, trying to imagine it.

"The project we did stands at the very base of everything I've ever learned on Aun," Rivi answered, looking at Dan, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Rivi smiled, then looked around at all the plants in the garden once more.

"I think it's about time we head back to Earth."

"Are we taking the hyper-dimensional express again?" Dan joked.

Rivi smiled and pushed his shoulder playfully as they headed back to the airlock connected to her ship. Rivi and Dan walked through the airlock doors, through the ship's wall, and into the ship itself. Rivi took her computer from its docking station in front of the chair at the front of her ship. She formed the ship back into a cube, which began to rise gradually off the Martian sand and into space. Going through the steps that she could now almost do while asleep, Rivi got them through the fourth dimension and back to Earth.

Sitting in the chair in front of her computer with Dan beside her, Rivi was just guiding the ship back into Earth's atmosphere, when she began hearing her name. Daniel had not said anything, so naturally, she assumed it must be someone else. Spreading her amalgamator link, she found the call being relayed by the satellites toward Mars. The e-phone call was addressed to her, so she decided to intercept it. Slowing her descent into Earth's atmosphere, she fed the e-call through to her computer, which now displayed a split screen. One screen showed her the slowly approaching ground, while the other showed a woman with straight, blonde hair and glasses, sitting at a desk.

"What's going on?" Dan asked Rivi, seeing the screen change.

"I'm not certain. You wished to speak with me, ma'am?" Rivi asked the woman on the screen, as her ship was buffeted slightly by some atmospheric turbulence.

"Yes, but I perceive you are no longer at the Mars Colony. Have I called at a bad time?" the woman asked.

"Nothing I can't deal with. I'm only trying to land my ship," Rivi answered. "It probably would be easier, though, if I could call you back once I reach the ground."

Rivi traced where the signal was coming from and fed the computer address into her own computer's ever-expanding memory.

"Okay. Thank you, Miss Rivinaig," the woman said.

"Talk to you soon," Rivi said, switching her computer back to the one screen showing the approaching ground.

"I'm not too fond of talking and driving," Rivi said to Dan, who laughed while thinking about the many people who insist on using portable phones and computers in their cars while driving to work.

Rivi brought the ship down and unplugged her computer from the console. She helped Dan step through the wall onto the grass of his own back yard and then turned the ship back into a cube. She shrank it back down into its diminutive size and then bent to pick it up. When Rivi stood up again, she found Dan staring at the small silver cube sitting in the palm of her hand.

"It's amazing, you know," he told Rivi. "We just went all the way to Mars and back in something as small as a marble."

Rivi looked at him. She took his right hand and turned it palm up. Placing the cube in his hand, she placed her hand flat under his. Dan looked from the cube lying in his hand back up to Rivi.

"Close your eyes, Dan," Rivi instructed.

Dan did as Rivi asked and his mind was suddenly filled with all sorts of data he had never known before. Quantum physics, geometry, and maps of the elements making up the small cube in his hand all flashed through his mind so fast he couldn't understand it. It was all just a blur. Dan held his breath as he watched the maps of the cube's elements change and rearrange in only a few seconds.

"Open your eyes," a quiet voice said.

Dan opened his eyes to see the cube levitating a few inches off the surface of his hand. Wide-eyed and thoroughly shocked, he looked at Rivi across from him.

"I'm not doing this, am I?" he asked.

"No," Rivi said with a sorrowful smile. "I cannot teach you how to do this, but I did want to show you how it looks to me."

"Amazing," Dan said, looking again at the cube.

Rivi lowered it back down to his palm and removed her hand from under his. Dan handed the cube back to her with a slightly dazed expression.

"Thank you," Dan replied, not knowing what else to say.

"I've never done that before," Rivi replied. "I'm just as surprised as you that it worked!"

Dan smiled, shaking his head.

"I'd better go inside," Dan said. "My foster parents will be wondering where I've been." Dan started for the back door of his foster parents' home.

"I don't know if they'll believe you," Rivi said, patting his shoulder with a laugh as he turned to go inside.

#

Rivi opened her black, triangular palmtop computer. Through her amalgamator's link, she instructed the computer to call the computer address belonging to the woman who called her while she and Dan were landing the ship.

"Good morning, ma'am. I don't believe I know your name," Rivi replied, as the woman appeared on the screen.

"My name is Mrs. Larson. I am the President's Secretary."

"Oh, please tell him thank you for telling me there was a certain person I should meet while I was on Mars. He'll know what I mean," Rivi replied.

"You can tell him yourself, Miss Rivinaig. He feels that it would be best for your safety if you came to the White House. The President believes that you may soon be tracked down by the local news reporters. It would be best for you to come here and speak to the many different news stations at the same time, instead of individually."

"That would certainly be more efficient, but what do they wish to speak to me about?" Rivi asked.

"They're going to want to ask you questions. You've just come from another planet. You can see why they would be excited."

"I see. Yes, ma'am, I will come," Rivi said in understanding.

"Shall I send someone to pick you up?"

"No, ma'am. I just need to know where I should land," Rivi said.

The woman leaned back to ask someone a question. When she faced the screen again, she had an answer.

"We'll be ready for you on the White House lawn. When should we expect you?"

"Less than five minutes," Rivi said.

She shut off the link and closed her computer. Bringing her cube out of the sphere around her neck, Rivi once again prepared for space travel. This time she would not need to travel hyper- dimensionally.

Earth stood teetering on the edge of its future. Rivi took flight. Destination: White House, Washington, D.C.

#

Rivi looked at her computer screen at the lush, green White House lawn below her. In the short amount of time she gave them to prepare, Rivi was amazed at how quickly they had found a welcoming committee. Rivi groaned. Part of her disliked all of this attention. The rest of her argued that it was necessary in order to move Earth toward a more progressive future. When she agreed to come to Earth, she didn't realize she would be expected to be an ambassador and show them there really is more life out there, but someone had to do it.

Seeing that they had obviously set a landing site for her, she decided to land a few inches away from the end of the red carpet that had been laid across the grass. About a dozen reporters stood along the edge, already snapping pictures.

Good grief, Rivi thought. Do reporters always camp out around the White House in hopes of getting the 'big story'? I wonder if I should make the colors on my ship change rapidly. They might like that, Rivi thought with a grin. Nah, let's not make them any more excited than they are. They might give themselves heart attacks.

Rivi smiled and shook her head. Her smooth landing elicited even more enthusiastic picture-taking. Rivi unplugged her computer and then, taking a deep breath, she walked through the side of the ship where she hoped the carpet started. She shielded her eyes with her hand against the glare of all the camera flashes that greeted her. She turned, stepping to the side for the benefit of the photographers as she changed the ship back into a cube. She shrank the cube, picked it up off the grass, and pushed it through the seemingly solid walls of the sphere on her necklace. As she turned back around, she saw the President walking smartly down the center of the carpet toward her.

The photographers turned to snap pictures of the President coming up the carpet. Rivi smiled as he shook her hand and led her inside the White House followed by his team of security men. He led her to the Oval Office, where he invited her to sit on one of the two leather couches parallel to each other in the center of the room.

"Most of my guests wait until my men get out there to ward off the press before they step foot outside their planes," President Malcarosi said, grinning, as he sat on the couch opposite her.

Rivi looked to see the security men (glasses still on) standing in fixed positions around the room.

"Most of your guests are well-known and also don't need to collapse their ships into tiny cubes," Rivi answered with an equally amused-looking grin.

"Perhaps we should design a new protocol for accommodating intergalactic guests," President Malcarosi joked.

"Well, it was fun anyway. What do we do now?" Rivi laughed.

"We could watch the news," said another man entering the room.

He held out his hand, and Rivi stood to shake it.

"I am Vice President Trint."

"My name is Rivinaig,"

"Our interstellar guest," he replied with a grin.

"This is my evil shadow," the President replied, referring to the Vice President.

President Malcarosi sent Rivi a mischievous grin.

Rivi looked back and forth between the President and the Vice President as they both broke out in laughter. Rivi looked toward the television across the room.

"You said that you wanted to watch the news?" President Malcarosi asked as they stopped laughing.

The Vice President nodded and went to turn the television on. Rivi blinked her eyes, and the television turned on and began flipping through the channels.

"Which newscast did you wish to watch? CBS, NBC, FOX?" Rivi asked, naming a few.

The Vice President gaped at the television screen, which continued flicking through channels.

"I don't think I believed you before," he said to the President, who suddenly smiled as if he'd just won an argument.

"How about NBC, Rivi?" the President asked, as Rivi flipped to the proper channel and the three of them settled in to watch.

"Moments ago, our reporter was fortunate enough to be on the scene at the White House when a strange visitor landed on the White House lawn. What did you see, Jack?" the anchor asked, as the television switched to a man still out on the lawn.

"Well, Kate, we were told that an intergalactic visitor was going to land here on the White House lawn. Naturally, we were skeptical, but here you have it, Kate—" The television switched to Rivi landing and putting away her ship.

"The visitor's ship landed and the 'being' disembarked. The visitor is obviously female and seems to be only a child. I've just received word that the President will be addressing the nation on this matter in an hour. However, here's where things start to get even more interesting," the man said, as they showed the footage again from about halfway through the whole scenario. "She turns around and the ship changes into a cube. The cube then shrinks, and she picks it up and pushes it through the sphere hanging on her necklace."

The news channel showed a close-up image of Rivi putting the cube through the seemingly solid walls of her sphere.

"Thank you, Jack. We'll keep you up-to-date, folks, as this interesting scenario unfolds."

The Vice President got up and shut the television off.

"Well! For the first time in media history, they didn't speculate or over-exaggerate anything," President Malcarosi said, mildly surprised.

"Perhaps because this whole thing is just too amazing for them. They can't figure out how to speculate about it, much less over-exaggerate!" the Vice President said laughing, as he sat on the corner of the large desk that dominated the Oval Office.

"We are going to need a press conference," President Malcarosi stated.

#

Rivi stood just inside a side door and watched as the President addressed the nation. Before, she was just nervous. Now, she felt paralyzed. She'd never talked to this many people before, and they all wanted to hear from her. As the President extended his hand in her direction, Rivi gulped and decided to take it a step at a time.

She walked slowly out the door toward the President, who was standing in front of a podium. She squinted her eyes against the glare of the photographers' camera flashes and took the podium. The President stepped off to the side. As she looked around the room, Rivi's nervousness melted away.

There were about one hundred people packed into this small, rectangular room, all of them sitting in metal chairs that had been placed side by side. Rivi knew that, at this moment, millions of people all around Earth were watching, eager to listen. This was the edge of the path to the future. There was no turning back.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Rivi began, "I know you have all come here wondering who I am."

Using her mind, Rivi picked up a pen that had been fastened to a clipboard on a gentlemen's lap in front of her, and she changed its magnetic potential in relation to her own and attracted the pen to her hand. She let it hover above her hand as it twisted and turned.

"Obviously, you have all noticed that I am not like you. You want to know where I come from and why I am here on Earth. The answers to those questions are not as simple as you might think."

"Many years ago, I was taken ..." Rivi said, as she sent the pen back to the reporter and launched into the story she now knew so well. She told the people how and where she was taken as well as how, when the Aunantet rescued her, they raised her and the other children as if they were their own. She tried describing how she was taught to use more of her mind, but soon realized that the people didn't understand. Rivi finished by telling them the circumstances under which she came to be on Earth.

"I first thought I was only coming here to Earth to escape being captured again, to live like a normal human. But as you can see, I am no longer normal. I've not been normal from the time I was captured by the Aruk. Being taken from a planet that has been the only world you know into a place where the natural laws of physics as we know them are, in essence, void ... This changes a person, your whole perspective of life. When I came here to Earth, I believed I must hide who I really am in order to keep humanity in the dark about what was out there, past Earth's atmosphere. I soon came to realize that having my identity discovered was inevitable. God, our creator, has a different purpose for me than to simply hide on the sidelines watching humanity become stale. I now believe I am here to help lead humanity past where you are today, to lead you toward realizing your full potential.

"You may not understand me about this. Many of you will not believe me. However, the wheels are already in motion. I've already told you I have been to and lived on another planet, and this almost makes me as alien to you as the 'aliens' by whom I was raised. Humanity's thirst to learn cannot be quenched. Humanity will not simply swallow what I've already said and leave well enough alone. You can't. How do you think you have been able to invent all this?" Rivi asked, throwing her arms wide, indicating all the technology in the room.

"I don't know what you will do, but—" Rivi paused as a man raise his hand. "You have a question?" Rivi asked.

"Yes, Miss ... Rivinaig? You said you have lived on another planet. Are there more worlds out there with other species on them?"

Rivi smiled, knowing that she had been right. The wheels were turning. There was no going back, only forward.

"Yes, sir," Rivi replied, and then she thought for a moment and focused on the large screen television behind her that was currently displaying the national symbol for the office of the presidency.

Rivi moved the podium aside carefully with a sweep of her hand, causing a rash of photos again. She stepped back and held her hand to the bottom corner of the television screen, forming her amalgamatory link. She began relaying to the audience (and ultimately, the entire world) pictures of different worlds she had visited with her Aunantet family.

#

In a different part of the country, Dan sat in the living room of his foster parents' house. He and his foster parents, along with the three smaller children, sat on the couch watching a family program when the message from the President interrupted. Ester tried to change the channel, only to find that the President's message was on all of them.

"It must be really important," Mrs. Erica said as they watched.

A teenage girl stepped up to the podium.

"Dan, isn't that your friend, Rivi?" Mrs. Erica asked.

"Yeah," Dan said, leaning forward. "This is important, then."

All around the world, people were listening hard—watching televisions, listening to radios, or watching on the Internet—to this strange girl who was trying to show them there was other life out there.

#

Rivi tried calling on the reporters for questions one by one, only to conclude that it was too time-consuming. Most of the reporters had run out of their own questions, Rivi noticed, and were being fed questions from their superiors through personal ear-mics. Rivi extended her amalgamate link and began listening straight to what their bosses were saying.

"Yes, sir, all the children know how to speak English. We were thoroughly taught how to live in Earth's many cultures. We have a vast knowledge of Earth's past and present. So yes, we know how to operate telephones."

"Yes, all of the children wear this type of attire," Rivi replied, shaking her head with a smile. "As a friend and I told an eighth -grade class a few days ago, this clothing is similar to what all the Aunantet wear."

Rivi pointed to a woman who had raised her hand. Obviously, she had a question of her own because her boss wasn't feeding it to her through her earpiece.

"We have heard rumors that you have found a friend among the children here on Earth. Have you told your friend about all of this?"

"My friend, I won't say his name, or you all will probably chase him to the ends of the Earth," Rivi said, eliciting fresh laughter from the reporters, "does know quite a bit about what I've already told you, although some of this may be new to him. You may have also heard rumors that my friend and I traveled to Mars yesterday to help the colony out there. This is true, but no, I have not been to your moon. No, I do not make crop circles," Rivi answered, laughing then as she turned to the president.

President Malcarosi stepped up and took over the podium as Rivi walked off stage.

"Their questions were getting ridiculous," Rivi said, shaking her head at the vice president.

"They are more than likely going to need some time to chew over what you have given them before they come asking any better questions," Vice President Trint explained.

"Their next question would probably have been whether or not you are a Democrat or Republican," President Malcarosi replied, leaving the room with all the reporters and walking with Rivi and the vice president down the hallway. "How about lunch, Trint? Do you eat taco salad, Rivi?"

"Yes, sir," Rivi answered, looking up at him. "And to answer your question, Mr. President, I don't think I could choose beforehand. I prefer to listen to both sides of an argument before making any decisions involving who will make the laws that govern the freedom of anyone."

"Wisely said. Have you ever thought of running for office, Rivinaig?" Vice President Trint asked with a chuckle.

"I think those reporters have enough to talk about. Let's not give them any more ideas," President Malcarosi replied, watching as Rivi bit her lip to hold back her laughter.

Nevertheless, the three of them were laughing heartily by the time they turned the corner.

#

The next few weeks were very busy for Rivi. She visited many talk shows, news channels, and conferences to answer questions. Finally, after being passed back and forth so many times, she was advised by President Malcarosi to lock herself in a room in a hotel—any hotel. She refused to answer the door and refused to answer any calls.

After a few days, she emerged from her room. She refused to answer any of the questions from the reporters standing outside the hotel. She called for a taxi and asked the driver to bring her to the nearest cable television station.

Rivi had spent the past few days working on her computer. She pulled hundreds of memories from her mind and created a comprehensive documentary that would hopefully answer many of the questions she was being asked—mostly about her past. After giving the disk to the television station, she returned to the White House, having received a call from the president's secretary.

#

An aide led her down the White House halls and into a dark room with an inclined floor. There were at least twenty recliners sitting in various positions in the room. She walked down the center path to find the president and the vice president sitting in recliners a few feet from a large, flat, white screen. The vice president motioned Rivi to come sit in the recliner between them.

Rivi, frowning in confusion, walked over to sit with them.

"What movie are we going to watch?" the vice president joked.

President Malcarosi shook his head with a small smile.

"Rivi, I asked my staff to try to find any connections between the families of all the children you identified as among those that were kidn*pped by the Aruk."

"Did they find anything?" Rivi asked, intrigued.

"Only one thing. They all had at least one parent that was in some way connected to a US Department of Education research facility. I'm sorry, Rivi, your father is believed to have been killed when the research facility was destroyed."

She looked down at her hands in her lap. She didn't know what to feel about this news. She had never expected to find her father, but she suddenly felt a sense of loss to discover that he was dead. She leaned back in her chair. Both men looked at her sadly. Vice President Trint placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"We thought its destruction was caused by a freak earthquake. Are we correct in assuming that was probably the Aruk too?" The President asked.

Rivi nodded.

"We asked you to come here because we managed to find a film that was used to introduce new employees to the facility. It was made to get them up to speed about what the facility was concentrating on. Kind of like a training video. Your father is in it. If you like, we could play it for you."

Rivi took a deep breath and nodded, composing herself, as President Malcarosi picked up a remote to start the video.

Rivi patiently watched the movie as it played. While it was interesting, it caused her to be even more confused. The movie described the facility as researching human and mental development, as well as contributing to studies that dictated what children were taught in the public school systems—things like d**g resistance education, self-defense classes, self-esteem and teamwork. According to the film, the facility was also researching new ways to teach more in-depth courses on American government, history, math, science, and reading.

Unlike most of the other branches of the Department of Education, this facility was studying some very unorthodox and never-before-used teaching methods. Rivi's father appeared a few times during the movie to explain a few of those methods. Apparently, the facility's goal was to bring up a new generation of young people who would solidly display true American values, as well as take America into a new, more technologically-advanced future. Based on the movie's explanation, Rivi couldn't figure out why the Aruk would want to attack the facility.

The Aruk may be many things, Rivi thought to herself, but I'm certain they wouldn't have decided to attack without a reason. They had to have had some sort of motive.

"Rivi," President Malcarosi asked quietly as the film ended, "does what you've just watched give you any insight into why the Aruk would have targeted you and the other children?"

"No, Mr. President, it doesn't, which makes me even more confused. I feel as if I'm picking up pieces to a never-ending puzzle. How can I put the puzzle together if I don't know what it's supposed to look like?" Rivi asked.

"That's what I thought as well, but I know less about these Aruk than you do," President Malcarosi said.

"Well, what do we do now?" the vice president asked.

"Do you want to watch another movie?" the president asked them both with a chuckle.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline," Rivi said with a smile as she stood. "Thank you for showing me this video, Mr. President. I would stay, but a Festival of Flight exhibit is being displayed in Boston. I am curious see what your scientists have planned for the future."

"All right. We'll talk to you again, Rivinaig," the two men called as she left the room.

Rivi got as far as the White House lawn and expanding her cube, when her mind began alerting her to something. She stopped and brought out her palmtop computer. Letting her mind amalgamate fully with her computer, she took a second to check it for problems. There weren't any, but her mind continued to feel the urgent call from somewhere. Rivi extended her mind to check all of the computers in the White House and the surrounding areas, but there were only the normal problems.

"It's an e-call!" Rivi said, finally realizing. "I don't ever think I'll get used to hearing that type of call," Rivi said to herself, as she searched for the computer that was probing to determine whether she was connected to Earth's Internet.

Rivi found the culprit computer and allowed her computer to connect to it. After pulling her mind back out of her comp amalgamator's link, she looked at the face that was now displayed on her screen. She recognized the face instantly.

"Mrs. Erica, hello. Is something wrong?" Rivi asked, as she studied the worried face of Dan's foster mother displayed on her screen.

"Yes, I thought you'd like to know. Something is wrong with Daniel. The doctors can't figure out why he's sick. We thought we'd try to call you. We thought perhaps you might have seen the problem before," Mrs. Erica said stammering, desperately grasping for answers.

"I'll come, Mrs. Erica. I'll be there in less than five minutes," Rivi replied.

Rivi shut her computer and walked into her cube. Exactly four minutes later, she was standing in the back yard of Dan's home. She shrank her cube and put it back into the sphere. Rivi looked around her, trying to hypothesize what could be wrong with Daniel.

Wasn't it just a little over a week ago that I stood here talking to him? He seemed fine then. What on this planet could he possibly have caught that even the doctors here can't recognize? Rivi puzzled to herself. Well, I guess there's just one way to find out.

Rivi walked up the steps to the back door and knocked politely. A man she did not recognize answered the door.

"Hello, sir. Are you Dan's foster father?" Rivi asked.

"Yes, and you must be Rivinaig."

"Yes, sir," Rivi replied.

"You can call me Mr. Broughten," the man said as he shook Rivi's hand and motioned her inside. "Dan is upstairs with my wife."

"Mrs. Erica ... I've met her."

"Yes, she told me," Mr. Broughten said with a smile, as he led Rivi into the kitchen and up the stairs.

Rivi looked around at the top of the stairs and saw a door open to her right. Inside, lying in a bed, was Dan. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Mrs. Erica sat beside him in a chair, wiping a cloth across his forehead.

"What are his symptoms?" Rivi asked, as she stepped to the edge of the doorway.

"We don't know, exactly. He says his head bothers him terribly. He has a high fever, and his heartbeat is extremely fast. Other than that, he just can't sleep well," Mrs. Erica replied.

"Is he awake now?" Rivi asked, walking to the other side of Dan's bed, noticing the many books and encyclopedias sitting open on his floor and on the desk that sat by his bed.

She pulled the chair out from the desk and slid it up beside the bed.

"No, he just closed his eyes a few minutes ago, but he keeps waking up." Mrs. Erica answered.

Rivi thought back to Ankh's advice when she was not feeling well.

"A lot of symptoms can be solved mentally, by the individual," Rivi mumbled to herself, as she put a hand on Dan's shoulder and shook him lightly, just enough to wake him.

Dan stretched his arms and grimacing then wrapped his arms around his head.

"Dan?" Rivi called gently, trying to get his attention. "Daniel."

Dan moved his arms and turned his head to look at Rivi.

"I'm afraid I don't feel much like working on our project right now, Riv," Dan joked in a frayed voice.

"We finished that project a while ago, Dan, and you know that," Rivi replied with a smile. "Right now, I have another project for you."

"Mmmm ... What is it?" Dan asked with a moan, as he grimaced against a wave of pain in his head.

"I need you to calm down. Your pulse is too high. I know your head is bothering you terribly, but listen to me. It is imperative that you take a few deep breaths and slow your heart rate," Rivi instructed calmly, even though worry was etched across her brow.

Never before could she remember seeing a person in this much pain. Well, except for one of the children who displayed similar symptoms in the middle of classes on Aun, a few years before. She had been sent away to the healers. She didn't come back for a few weeks.

The healers! Rivi thought to herself. That's it! They should know what is wrong.

She took Dan's wrist and felt for his pulse. Seeing that it was almost back to normal, and Dan was studiously keeping his breathing at an even pace, Rivi made up her mind.

"I think I should take you to the healers, Dan," Rivi replied, standing.

She stood and walked over to Dan's dresser. Folded and sitting neatly on top was his akat, the Aun garment Rivi had given him. She picked it up and placed it on the end of the bed.

"Mrs. Erica, can you please help Dan put these on, instead of his pajamas? They'll help him maintain the proper body temperature," Rivi said, as she turned and walked out of the room, followed by Mr. Broughten, who shut the door behind him.

"Where do you want to take him?" Mr. Broughten asked.

"To Aun. The healers there should know what is wrong with him, and I am certain they will be able to help him, whatever it is. I do remember seeing this, but I'm not sure what it is."

"Aun. That's where you're from, right?" Mr. Broughten asked, taking a deep breath.

"I was raised there, yes. I'm certain the healers on Aun will have a better time helping him than any of the doctors here on Earth," Rivi replied.

"Okay, he can go, so long as he'll be safe."

"I won't let anything happen to him," Rivi replied firmly.

"I'll go back in and see if they are ready," Mr. Broughten said.

"I'll be outside in the back yard," Rivi called as she headed downstairs.

#

Rivi waited beside her expanded silver cube until Mr. Broughten came out the back door, carrying Daniel. He set Dan down at the bottom of the stairs and helped him over to Rivi. She took Dan's hand and led him inside the cube. Rivi turned on the light bracelet around her wrist and lit up the box. She created a bench under Dan and straps so he wouldn't get hurt while they were on their way to Aun.

Rivi concentrated on the sides of the cube and made it lighter than air. Dan's foster parents on the ground watched as the cube headed out to space.