The MetSche Maelstrom

By Stephen A. Theberge

As the story begins, there is deep discord in the MetSche Alliance. In addition, a rogue MetSche hybrid, Padma, is determined to escape her place of birth and rule Earth with the cruelty that she herself experienced in youth. Andre, the human recipient of the profound MetSche message that was delivered in the prequel to this book, is wracked with guilt concerning his previous drug addiction, as well as with grief following the death of his long-time lover, John.
Attempting to come to his aid is Min, a kindly MetSche hybrid disguised as a cat. Andre, knowing that he must have further training before he can seek employment and attain stability, finds himself strongly drawn to the somewhat mysterious Jared at a vision rehabilitation center. Is there any hope for a relationship with him? And what of the beautiful planet with the yellow sky and the turquoise moon? Who are the benevolent but non-corporeal beings who show all this to Andre?
In this sequel to The MetSche Message, the author presents us with a true maelstrom of emotions and conflicts. Journey along with him to the surprise ending for all the main characters, both human and alien.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen A. Theberge
• Release date: Aug 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463628768

Stephen A. Theberge

I was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1963. Shortly thereafter, I moved to Attleboro, Massachusetts with my parents and my siblings, Denyse and Remy. In 1968, I began attending Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts as a residential student, graduating in 1982. I enrolled at Rhode Island College in 1982. I graduated from there in 1987 with a BA in computer science and a second BA in English literature, with a focus on creative, technical, and analytical writing. In the late 1980s through the early 2000s, I tried my hand at my own business, which focused on software for the blind and visually impaired. I have done various types of work in Web testing, computer programming, and usability studies. I am currently living in Attleboro, Massachusetts. I work for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority as an ADA Compliance Tester. I also work for companies as a Usability Tester for the blind and visually impaired.

Book preview

Dedication

To my dad, may he rest in peace. He was instrumental in sparking my interest in books. I’ll never forget how exciting it was to see his books come out in print.

He will never know how instrumental he was in sparking my interest in science fiction. He always sacrificed his time in taking me to movies he’d rather not have seen, and he suffered through many science fiction shows and movies when he’d probably rather have been watching old−time boxing matches.

To Anthony Ackerman, my high school English teacher, who made literature come alive in the drama club. Thanks for bringing literature alive in your years of teaching. Your zeal for the printed word was contagious.

Prologue

i.

I am here, celebrating my 13,456th birthday. We never really paid much attention to this fact on my home world. Only when visiting Earth did we find many so proud of how many years they had lived. I imagine that since their lifespans are so comparatively short, they have much to be grateful for if they live to 80, 90, or a bit beyond.

It’s not that we, the people of Metamo, take our long lives for granted. We just assume that an average life of 10,000 years is a given. I am the oldest living Metan on record. I’ve heard that someone lived to 12,345 years. I certainly am thankful, yet I do know that shortly my life will end. It will be very soon, as recently, I have rapidly gone into bad health and have begun experiencing multiple aging−related issues.

It was nearly four and a half millennia ago that the MetSche Alliance discovered the planet Earth. We had jointly explored two or three planets in the preceding century. One or two of them had very rudimentary life, mostly of the microscopic variety. Naturally, Earth being the first humanoid world we found gave it a special place in our hearts.

Our Alliance has always been curious as to how these beings would develop and deal with the rapid onset of technological progress. It was also a concern as to how they would fight or avoid conflicts. Much of their history mirrored our past. We could sense many periods of great violence in their past which were eerily similar to ours. We had nearly destroyed our own worlds 50,000 years before.

Since we discovered the Earth so long ago, we’ve found many planets all over the galaxy. I am told we’ve found nearly 5,000 planets with life, but the Earth is unusual. Many worlds have simpler animal and plant life. Humanoid civilizations are very rare. Only a half–dozen worlds other than Earth and the Alliance’s two worlds have similar races. The Earth’s development is far ahead of these other worlds.

It is a blessing that our prized planet Earth is only eleven light years away. We can make the trip very quickly. There is much literature devoted to how we can travel about one light year in an hour. It would not be possible to explain this concept to anyone on Earth. We have a 50,000−year head start on them in terms of evolution.

It is also notable that Metamo and Schegna, the dual planetary system from which I come, is the only example we have found where two humanoid races have developed in the same solar system. It is rare enough to find humanoids, and we believe a binary humanoid development in the same system is almost impossible.

One reason for this has been explained by the Goldilocks effect. That is, in order to support humanoid life, the planet must be a certain precise distance from the sun, which results in a specific range of temperatures. In our solar system, we are fortunate to have two nearly Earth–like planets orbiting the sun. The sizes of the planets and their atmospheres have made us fortunate. The only comparison is that if one of Earth’s neighbors had the right atmosphere, it might be possible to have humanoid life, or any kind of life, develop there.

As I feel my life ebbing away, I want to record my thoughts so that others may take heed of my warnings. We have had great success in forming a dual planetary alliance. This is rare, as many worlds have enough trouble with even one race getting along. On Earth, even though all humanoids came from a single source, they have had issues regarding ethnicity and race. They have had difficulty with understanding similarities and have put negative emphasis on differences which are not really important in the grand scheme of things.

I am truly fearful for our future here on Metamo and Schegna. I have no empirical evidence to back up my misgivings, but I fear that a big change is coming to our worlds. Much of this trepidation stems from our experiment with cross–breeding Metans and Schegnans to improve ourselves and forge a new coexistence.

I imagine that at the time, millennia ago, the idea was appealing. Now there seems to be a new reason for concern. Many of the MetSche, as the Metan and Schegnan hybrids are called, have been very vocal.

First of all, the hybrids feel they had no choice in being brought into our Alliance. Many of them feel that they should be autonomous from our governing body. The Council doesn’t necessarily object to this idea. It is just that many of the rogues have taken to violent protests rather than taking a more democratic approach.

Secondly, I think our MetSche Council, which is made up of half Schegnans and half Metans, but on which no hybrids are represented, is becoming obsolete. One has a right to opinion, but I feel much more strongly than that. I question whether or not we have been productive.

Some of my Schegnan colleagues have reported to me that many in the Alliance feel similarly. There is also an undeclared power struggle. The Council likes to believe, or at least portray to the outside, that they are united. I am fearful that a great rift has been unaddressed for at least two centuries. I would have liked to serve on the Council but have been too ill for the past few centuries.

Finally, I am grateful that I was on the first planetary missions we started nearly 5,000 years ago. I fondly recall returning to Earth many times. The day we discovered a primitive civilization there was such a joy.

It is laudable that the Council is concerned with the development of said planet. My health has not allowed me to return there in a couple of centuries. I would love to have witnessed the beginnings of their technological age—even though they seem to have a strange and fearful desire to annihilate themselves.

I wonder if our infatuation with Earth is becoming unhealthy. We do acknowledge our emotions, but I sense that many on the Council don’t want to admit that our obsession with Earth is merely hubris in discovering a race similar to ours. I also feel that we can somehow change the course of their development. Yet, at the same time, we don’t want to interfere.

As if all these concerns weren’t enough, our own worlds are undergoing massive changes in terms of ideas and beliefs. I wonder if not openly talking about these changes is due to fear. Or perhaps some actually believe that denial will make it all go away. Very few on our worlds agree with me. Some have said my mind is playing tricks on me in my old age. I hope they’re right, but I can’t shake the feeling that Earth, Metamo, and Schegna are at a great crossroads. I also think that another, more advanced race has a stake in this unknown future. In any case, it is a grave sense of dread which has kept me up late these many nights.

Now it comes. I am fading fast. I am not afraid. I am so thankful for my full and long life. At least now I will have peace from these great concerns of mine. Most of all, though, it is my hope that others will listen to my warnings and try to stop the terrible future I fear for our worlds.

ii.

Here I am on Luggahro. I have been traveling through space for what humanoids would call millennia. As we have no physical bodies, we are soon to leave our planet. We no longer need it for sustenance. We are creatures of space, now, traveling through the limitless vastness and sustaining our lives through the stars themselves.

It is thought by those with physical bodies that those of us who are noncorporeal live indefinitely. But we have death as well. We aren’t all–knowing or omnipotent. We believe in the possibility of eternal life after death. We believe in what one using words would call a god.

We are nearly one million years ahead of the humans and Schegnans. The MetSche unification is about 750,000 years behind us in terms of time and evolution. I witnessed many marvelous developments in the many centuries I wandered through space and fed on starlight. It was such a joy to see the Metans and Schegnans survive the horror of 50,000 years ago and form a new alliance.

We love to observe nature on a universal scale. Yes, we can travel almost instantaneously from one physical place to another. Since we are merely energy and very much developed, we obey many laws of nature that are not even imaginable for one with physical form.

Recently, great concern has been raised by me and my fellow travelers in the ether. The trinity of Metamo, Schegna, and Earth is troubling to us. It appears that the MetSche Alliance and the hybrids are at a very serious crisis. We will hope for the best, but we can’t do much.

We have limited powers to communicate with the afore–mentioned races. We don’t have any way to effect change in the physical environment. We can observe and hope that some will read our concerns. It is very difficult to connect with one so different from oneself.

The hybrids of the MetSche are especially worrying to us. It appears that the two races didn’t consider the possibility that they were going to have problems. Many of these hybrid beings are somewhat defective. They seem to be impulsive and prone to anger. So, rather than having improved on the Metans and Schegnans, the hybrids seem to have regressed to a more primitive animal form. Of course, there are also quite a lot of MetSche humanoids who captured the hopes of the Alliance when they embarked on this venture centuries ago.

It will be very interesting to see how all these facets play out. I fear for the worst. Many of the hybrids have meddled with Earth in the past, and the council only recently became aware of this horror. I hope the wrongs can be set right.

The MetSche Alliance has only just begun to map the galaxy, let alone the universe. If they can survive the upcoming crisis, they will soon discover scores of humanoid life forms on many planets. There is such a diversity of humanoid life all over the universe. Perhaps the MetSche hybrids who have actually improved on the Metans and Schegnans, and not the bad mutants, can assist in averting this worry of mine.

Chapter 1

Despair

I no longer hear John calling my name. He used to say, Andre, I love you. So much has changed. I am so disenchanted. Many doubts fill my mind. The future is dark and hopeless. Dejection is what rules my thoughts now.

John is just a shell of the man he was before his breakdown. The medicine has squelched his wild paranoia, but it has also dulled his former vivaciousness. It is good that he is no longer ranting about imagined plots against him on the part of the neighbors, nor does he worry about them having him under surveillance.

His days are lived routinely. It is almost ritualistic. He varies little in what he does. It is as though he is a machine programmed by someone. The drug that has controlled his illness is now making him a zombie. Sex is just an act; there is no longer the old spark. I only engage to relieve myself and to satisfy his muted remaining physical need. I love John, but it is not as it used to be.

I have found a neighbor who has morphine. I have heard how nice the high can be. I realize that it is expensive and addictive, but I feel I must have some escape from this drudgery and despair. Even John still smokes pot. Perhaps it gives him a lift, but I suspect it is just a leftover habit from his past life; that was the time when he had a lively soul.

I find the euphoria from the morphine so nice. It makes me forget all my bad feelings. I can escape from the terrible life I’ve inherited. Never before have my dreams been so filled with wonder and such a variety of activities. I love my high, but almost prefer my nocturnal life to reality.

I realize that this drug is only there to give me escape. Addiction is not in the cards. The drug is expensive. I will never have enough money to be an addict. I surely deserve this release from reality. What does my future have to offer?

I have read about Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Now I know why this drug was named after him. I have such pleasant, vivid reveries of people in the past, but lucid dreaming is my goal. I have been able to know that a dream was happening. It has been possible for me to fly away when a nightmare was about to explode in my mind.

Where are those aliens who contacted me so many years ago? I know they will return some centuries from now. It is my understanding that the choice I made to stay on Earth with John, my friends, and my family was correct. I am doubtful that the aliens’ message of tolerance and kindness is of any use to anybody.

I saw the beauty of both of their worlds, Metamo and Schegna, when the extraterrestrials showed me those planets. I longed so badly to go, but knew that the home I was born to was where I must stay. Perhaps the dreams that this wondrous new drug I’ve discovered is giving me are just as good as the dreams on the two alien planets.

The dreamscapes that are in my nightly life may be even better. I could never have imagined anything so wonderful. I now understand how certain writers could be inspired by the use