From Luna's diary
It was the middle of the night, so late that even the guys of the disco club who lived next to us were already sleeping peacefully. But there wasn't any way I can sleep too, how could I?
Orion is so stubborn sometimes, at that point I was sure he had decided to stay on Sixam willingly.
He would have had a lot to explain to me, and he would have been better to have a good explanation too, because I had every intention of grabbing him by the ear and dragging him back to...
Hermes: Luna ...
Luna: What else did you expect me to do?
Hermes: Exactly this, actually. And I want to come with you.
Luna: Well, this could be a good idea. In case we have to drag him away by force, you know.
Leo: Then you wouldn't mind some more arms, isn't it?
Hermes: Weren't you sleeping already?
Aster: It was obvious you were planning, how could we sleep?
We were all a bit nervous, as every time we travelled to Sixam before. What would we have found on the other side of the black holes generator? Since when the planet had turned into the base of those chaotic rebels, any bad scenario seemed plausible.
On the other hand, none of us would have accepted being left behind in such a situation. Thus, without further hesitation, we just walked into the black hole generator, hoping for the best.
Orion: (amused) You arrived even earlier than what I expected, you know?
(* the more time passes, the more they resemble each other: from left to right there are Luna, Hermes, Orion, Leo and Aster *)
Luna: You better have a good explanation for this! Did you start abducting innocent people with those rickety spaceships too?
Orion: Most of the time we do something completely different, actually.
Luna: Like what?
Orion: (ironic) Let's see if you can guess it on your own... What's left here on Sixam?
Leo: (perplexed) Nothing, apart from rocks, withered plants and ruins of some old building...
Orion: Bingo! Even if I wouldn't call them ruins, it doesn't do them justice.
Orion left us a few more moments to stare at him with a confused expression, before deigning to give us a clearer answer:
Orion: The technology hidden here is impressive, but since we moved to Earth it has been completely abandoned and left to rot. Now there is no one left trying to carry on the knowledge behind the technology of teleportation, that of the elementary recomposition of matter, or even that medical technology so advanced that it can induce pregnancy even in males. And who knows how many other things they knew, but which we have already completely forgotten...
Nobody had interrupted him, the picture was becoming incredibly clear. So the real objective of those rebels was...
Orion: We can't know exactly who could decide to use these technologies in the future, especially on Earth and with politicians like Mr S. ... But, in the meantime, we want to put together as much information as we can from the databases left here, and also understand how all this machinery works before it breaks down completely.
I'm sure Hermes was thinking the same things as I was. A lot had changed since the aliens moved en masse to Earth, when he and I were still very young. Since then, what had been the Elders' Council who used to govern us had completely crumbled when we decided to expose ourselves to the earthlings, as the same had happened to the military and scientific research bodies. The coup de grace was given by the introduction of the rules that prevented the use of any alien capacity or technology, led by Mr. S. and his analogues in other countries. Nowadays we aliens are in complete disarray, divided into small groups and without a united guide, and all our knowledge was gradually being lost.
Orion was not wrong, we shouldn't ignore what is being forgotten and let it be lost into oblivion. However...
Hermes: Orion, I can understand what you mean, but please remember that what you are planning to do is extremely dangerous: on Earth you are considered criminals, and here the rebels are ruled by pure anarchy. You don't have the right tools for such a difficult task.
Luna: Basically, do you really think you can really achieve something? Be realistic.
Orion: I never said it was going to be easy.
Aster: So you really want to stay here? But there is hardly anything left, how would you even just find food?
Orion: We have a few contacts with people on Earth, they supply us with all we need.
Leo: You seem to have thought well about this...
Orion: You won't make me change my mind easily, that's for sure.
Luna: ... your grandfather, Stuart, would have signed anything to be able that technology so closely. Maybe you inherited this from him, you know?
Hermes: The stubbornness instead is all from your side, Luna.
Luna: Touché.
Orion: ...
Luna: Thinking about it, your grandfather left us some of the notes he took at his laboratory. They contain all the blueprints he used to build the black hole generator we have at home, and also a couple of other devices he invented on the basis of what he had learned about alien technology. I think they may be more useful to you than to me.
That said, I had retrieved that old little book which, very conveniently, I was used to keep in a pocket of my alien suit. When I handled it to Orion, he seemed surprised as I had rarely seen him before.
Orion: ... thank you.
Hermes, at my side, seemed thoughtful like never before. I had no idea about what was in his mind, until he finally said:
Hermes: I have several notes, on what they taught us when the Elders' Council still planned of conquering the Earth, and about the following years during which I wrote news for them. Probably those notes won't be very useful to understand the way Sixam machinery work, but you could still try to use them to understand what kind of people the aliens who came before us were, and how they lived.
Orion: ...
Hermes: I will need a few days to put together the material, I will make sure to send it to you as soon as possible.
Orion: ... thank you, really.
I had gone to Sixam to bring my son home, even by force if it was necessary, but his choice had been unexpectedly understandable and rational. He had grown up into a very smart and brave man, I admit I was quite proud of him at that moment.
However, I could not help but say goodbye to him by saying:
Luna: I'm sure you know which are the coordinates to our domestic black holes generator, so remember to come to visit us from time to time. Got it?
Orion: (relieved) Ma'am, yes Ma'am!
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