The Builders' Day

Episode 3

The Builders resumed their work on the third day. When they arrived, the Doctor gladly explained our village's wonderful position to us, with me taking care of the translation. On the darkened tent's wall, he had slides projected. He went over each of them individually, describing what they knew about my people, why they came here, and how their research may impact both paleontology and anthropology at the same time. They were impressed by some of the elders. Fearful and intimidated, some of them. Only two of them reacted angrily, slamming into what appeared to be telecommunications equipment and throwing it away.

Flesh is dry, commented Tiago, one of the elders who had refused to allow the Builders into his house for a long time. The flesh is drained. The human body is always imperfect and unable to conceal the signs of a***e. Become a part of the conversation. We can only carry so much at a time. This isn't the place for these builders. Behind their necks, the boils will appear. They'll get boils right on their skin. The legacy will be passed down to their children.

Ridika, the god of pestilence, was cursed. When spoken in full by an irate elder, my people knew what it could do. One of the elders approached him from behind and tackled him to the ground to keep him from finishing. It took the rest of the elders all night to settle Tiago down.

Two children died three days later as a result of the Builders' disease. They simply didn't get up. Along the length of their arms, there were tiny boils. On the young victims that had only died a few hours previously, there was also a distinct smell of putrescence. My people and I bathed and wrapped our dead children's bodies, prayed over them, and brought them out of the valley to be buried. As we buried our dead, we were watched by the summer's savage creatures.

Only the beginning was in the making. Another sixteen of my people were ill and died as a result. Tiago was the first to die among the elders who disagreed with him. Only those who had nothing to do with the Builders were spared the disease. We made it. It was assimilation that we were able to achieve.

It didn't take long for us to stop looking untidy and start looking buffed, polished, and polite. My people slowly began to speak the language of the strangers. Learning their arts, sciences, and ways of seeing the world would be the next step. We no longer considered it an act of violence when we met each other's gaze. We no longer regarded it to be insulting when the Builders walked ahead of us.