The Tenant's Wrath

By GABRIEL NOMBO

Happy New Year 3309!

Make a tour to a strange planet. The Tenant's Wrath is a funny research report on how wrathful aliens live on their planet. Tussled Platters, the researcher from Earth, familiarizes himself with the aliens' techniques of conducting research. He performs thorough research on how aliens' wrathful nature affects them when they live together in their buildings as landlords and tenants. He reports it to Earthlings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: GABRIEL NOMBO
• Release date: Mar 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393833673

GABRIEL NOMBO

Gabriel Nombo is an Information Security/Information Technology professional. He is CISA, CISM, and has a master's degree in Information Security. Apart from his interest in space technology and exoplanetology, he is interested in communication between a landlord and a tenant when they dwell in the same building.

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My thanks to all who contributed their skills and time in improving this work. This is not limited to my book proofreaders/editors, image designer(alien city), cover designer, and book reviewers (those who posted their reviews and those who opted to inbox me).

ABOUT THE TENANT’S WRATH

The Tenant’s Wrath is a funny research report on how wrathful aliens live on their planet. It is written in the 34th Century, one century after the detection of the first signal indicating the aliens' presence.

Aliens are very advanced in science and technology. They are well-disciplined and have their wisdom but it is not the same as Earthlings’ wisdom. Their natural wisdom makes them naturally angry.

However, in the 34th century, when Earthlings start to interact physically with aliens, some aliens take advantage of interplanetary mobility. They neutralize their wrathful nature by using the wisdom of the Earthlings who visit their planet.

Tussled Platters, the researcher from planet Earth, faces several obstacles to familiarize himself with alien policies and techniques of conducting a research. These are compulsory for any research to be conducted on the aliens’ planet.

The researcher observes the aliens' daily lives, science, food style, theology, education system, and other topics. He then conducts thorough research on relationships between an alien landlord and tenant when they both live in the same building with their wrathful nature.

He succeeds in gathering research data through the support of research respondents like Setifokasi, Kilagano and other aliens. The researcher then sends his report to his mother planet, Earth. Due to advanced technology, it takes only a month for the emailed report to reach Earth.

1

OUTRAGEOUS HUMANS ON EXOPLANET

My name is Tussled Platters. I am a tourist and private researcher from planet, Earth. Memento Morians call me an alien because I am not a native of their star system. I also call them aliens as their planet, Memento Mori, is so far from our solar system.

Some of my fellow Earthlings who also visit this planet believe it is even far from our Milky Way Galaxy. In short, Earthlings and Memento Morians are aliens to each other.

I landed on the Memento Mori three years ago. My experience on the aliens’ planet is good enough to make me report something.

I write this report according to the aliens’ standard of report writing. Hence, you will see a slight variation in areas like grammar, dialogue, vocabulary, composition, structure, spellings, and others. The Earthlings’ style is irrelevant here. I often smile when I remember the report I wrote when on Earth. I will explain it later.

After I landed here, I took a three months’ course, learning how to research on this planet. It is a mandatory course for any researcher who comes from Earth. I didn’t face any communication barrier as aliens speak almost all Earthling languages. I will also detail it later.

The course aimed at ensuring that any research work that goes outside the planet fulfills all requirements specified by the Association of Memento Mori’s Researchers (AMR). The association also controls the methodology used in the research.

I remember when I was on Earth that my fellow Earthlings told me that the methodology dictates the outcome. My research question is, to what extent does the behavior of the wrathful landlord/landlady affect the mindset of the wrathful tenant when both dwell in the same building?

Several researchers may do research in this area; however, the results of their work may differ, depending on which methodology is used. On Memento Mori, a researcher is not free to select a methodology. They don’t want different research results from the same research area.

In this research, I have to interview several aliens. But, according to the aliens’ principal, I MUST have the direct involvement of all the respondents. I MUST invite all of them. I am serious. It is mandatory to ensure that I physically involve them in all areas of events.

It means I should write the report while I visit each house and place where my respondents had once lived. My respondents should physically present the data to me at the actual scene.

Failure to adhere to this Memento Mori standard means I cannot be allowed to send this report out of the planet. Furthermore, Memento Morians will not permit me to call it a report.

A distinction to note; on Earth, some software applications were used in previous centuries to present a research report. For instance; Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), R Foundation for Statistical Computing (R), and Minitab.

On Memento Mori, it appeared that several senior researchers were too busy to support junior researchers. Research reports were produced using unreliable and poor quality data. The AMR noted the risk and established several guidelines and principles. It then came up with the standard tool in reporting research work. It’s this device! It is known as the Vqrtxheqp. It is hardware and software.

I MUST use it to enforce Memento Mori’s standard and increase the possibility of permission to send the report out of the planet. My aliens and I have to talk only. Then, this sophisticated device instantly converts our voices and gestures into text in a style you see in this report.

This powerful device not only uses video or audio data to write and design the layout of the report in this way, but it also draws complex and relevant graphs, tables and charts. It can generate research reports for various purposes: academic, social, and others. For instance, I have set it to make this report for social purpose. In all situations, users have only to talk or input video and audio data to the device.

The device has a complex camera that captures all verbal actions and gestures but needs a direct line of sight. Note: I have to direct the camera to me. This enables it to capture my body gestures as I have to explain what my respondents are doing. My aliens have to speak near it as quality of input voice is highly desired. I have to carry this device to every house and scene where my respondents were once present.

Any Earthling might ask, why don’t you send us the video file of your report? The answer is simple. It takes four Earth years to send the entire video report to Earth. It takes less than two months (Earth months) to send the whole text file of this report.

To adhere to AMR guidelines, I have to allow my respondents themselves to explain how they live. For instance, when I want to gather data concerning a quarrel between a landlord and a tenant, no one has to answer my questionnaires or respond to an interview.

The concerned tenant and landlord/landlady have to meet physically and quarrel in the same way they did in the past. AMR taught me that it enforces research data integrity and eliminates biases. I have to ensure my research device is working well to automatically capture the generated audio and video data. It is very important to note, when aliens talk the Vqrtxheqp uses symbol to show that these are not my data but data from research respondents.

However, AMR requires me to narrate in some areas that need explanation. Something to note: aliens may try to imitate the Earthling terms I use when I narrate about them. This aims at reducing the number of alien words as this report is also for you, my fellow Earthlings.

But we also manage our time. So, when they fail to imitate Earthling terms, or when I don’t mention those terms in my narration, they don’t have to be stranded. Instead, they may use vocabulary uncommon to Earthlings. Under this circumstance, I have to interrupt them to clarify anything strange to my fellow Earthlings.

Interruption will be in two ways: by halting them from talking or I may use my both hands in this way ‘( )’ when I intend to mean I am clarifying while my respondents are talking.

How will halting be done? By requesting you to listen to my clarification or I may directly command my respondents to wait. In both cases, my respondents will be allowing me to clarify something. When I command them to proceed, they will proceed although, in some instances, they will not continue until I narrate something about them.

In learning aliens’ communication style, I have witnessed several strange words that are common only on Memento Mori. In this report, I try my best to ensure that I use the minimum number of them.

Thus, in most cases, I will not be mentioning the exact name of each strange object. Instead, I will resemble aliens objects with their counterparts on Earth. Sometimes, aliens will imitate me in this approach, as I said. So, I will avoid the necessity of including a dictionary in this report.

Why is it necessary to make a resemblance? This planet is so strange, and all visitors from Earth know it. A lot of things need to be clarified. Thus, the entire report could cover only clarification of the aliens’ vocabulary. OK! Before the aliens present for themselves how they live, let’s describe them, their planet, and remind ourselves how these aliens discovered us - a little history.

Memento Mori is one of the planets entirely outside the world’s known solar system: an exoplanet. This exoplanet has features that resemble stars. Among those features, one is very big and similar to the world’s sun to give life to the natives. There is another feature, resembling Earth’s moon, but it’s not very similar to that moon.

This exoplanet is quite distinct from the one that orbits the star named, Kepler-1649. I mean Kepler-1649c. It’s not similar to the one that orbits the star named, Gliese 581, specifically, Gliese 581 d. I’m referring to those exoplanets discovered by Earthlings.

Of course, I’m still baffled. Earthlings’ disclosed exoplanets, likeKepler-452b and HD 209458b, are more than 55 light-years away from Earth. However, exoplanet, Memento Mori, is only 23 light-years from Earth. Why did the famous technologies of Earth from previous centuries, like that of the 21st century, totally fail to discover it? Alas, it’s too late now. Our fellows have already done it.

Earth’s thirty-third century was wonderfully accompanied by a drastic revolution here on Memento Mori. Before the incident, no one knew that on Earth there were also humans as here on Memento Mori. The very high advancement of internet technologies on this exoplanet impacted communication interference between websites or servers of these aliens and those found there on Earth.

Consequently, natives of this exoplanet were marveling at websites whose owners perplexed all Memento Morians. Some of those websites were displaying very annoying pictures! The pictures were more unpleasant than those that exposed Earth’s naked humans. Those pictures were worse than those of Earth’s twenty-first century.

Observing the negative outcomes of those pictures to Memento Mori generations, nations of this exoplanet united to expel websites hosting those pictures. Memento Mori’s international police organization, MENTAPOL, was assigned to arrest those website owners.

They had to reconnoiter for years and years; then, they realized that those websites were not launched on this planet. This was the start of their search for a planet with that information. For half a century, they scratched their heads, looking for that planet.

Finally, they found the Earth. There, they saw some creatures that seemed somehow similar to the worst pictures. They instantly perceived that Earth’s humans were the ones who owned the websites with those pictures.

When they landed there, on Earth, for the first time, they were in spacesuits. Those spacesuits were linked to some features that looked like gas bottles. However, one of the crew risked himself by removing his spacesuit to taste Earth’s air.

Fortunately, that air didn’t cause biological problems for him. Thus, they all started to breathe Earth’s air. That was the beginning of inter-civilization contacts between residents of this exoplanet and those from Earth.

Although the humans of the exoplanet Memento Mori are outrageous, however, they could no longer manage to arrest their criminals. Their presence on a bizarre planet, Earth, for the first time really fascinated our fellows.

Unexpectedly, they postponed their goal. They concentrated on enhancing communication with Earthlings as their languages were not an obstacle to them. They also found it better to spy on Earth’s science and technology.

One of the extraordinary things present on exoplanet Memento Mori is that

almost all countries’ names found on it, resemble those present there, on Earth. Memento Mori’s inhabitants considered sending all Earthlings to a court for imitating their countries’ names.

As they lacked supporting evidence to prove beyond doubt, ‘who imitated whom?’, that tension was automatically neutralized. They, instead, compromised to collaborate with Earthlings in fostering space technology.

The collaboration led to a notable revolution in space technology. Earth’s space technology and the technology from here on Memento Mori were unified. It resulted in a very advanced space technology, which enabled the engineering of spacecrafts that could transport people between these two planets.

As a consequence, the International Space Station, ISS, initiated by Earthlings and positioned in a low Earth orbit, was tremendously improved. It became among the nine thousand and five passenger rest centers.

Most of the passenger rest centers were constructed in areas with zero gravity. Passengers from either planet could travel safely. Gravitational force among universal objects like moons and planets never induced obstacles to spacecrafts. Passengers enjoyed them. The force just increased touring entertainment!

In previous centuries, for instance, the Earth’s twenty-first century, voyaging between the two planets would be very fictitious. The fastest Earth space shuttle would take three hundred thousand Earth years. Then, it was to add two more Memento Mori years to complete a journey between them. For, according to how this exoplanet revolves around its sun, one year here on Memento Mori has fifteen months.

Any Earthling not lucky enough to visit Memento Mori would have a difficult time accepting that this planet is very far from Earth. But my fellow Earthlings who are physically on Earth at the moment, please don’t let anyone deceive you. To be honest, Memento Mori is really far from you.

Its distance is such that for a spaceship that had to move at a low speed - as that of Earthlings’ known sunlight, 299,792,458 m/s, would make us fatigued on the voyage. With this speed, that light takes twenty-three Earth years to travel from Earth to Memento Mori.

The unification of Earth’s astronomy and Memento Mori’s astronomy in a breakthrough of Earth’s thirty-third century exposed lots of phenomena. Earth’s scientists joined with aliens to strongly reject Albert Einstein’s formula: E=MC². Hence, that oft-sensed headache of utilizing an infinite amount of energy(E) to exceed the speed of Earthlings’ known sunlight was totally cured!

They reached a consensus that a relativistic mass(M) of a body doesn’t necessarily increase as its speed(C) increases: special relativity absence. Thus, the integrated technology empowered passengers to travel between these planets within fifty-four Earth months. My fellow Earthlings, let’s end this famous history. After all, every historian is aware of it.

My voyage from there on Earth to here on the aliens’ planet took only four Earth’s years through this hired transport. A leased spaceship that had been recently innovated on Memento Mori, Atlantis 979, made my odyssey so short.

My friend there on Earth doubtlessly would wonder why I opted for the greatest speed although it was very expensive and risky. It’s because I was very ambitious to arrive in the shortest possible time.

Later, I will explain what forced me to flee from planet Earth and decide to land here on Memento Mori as a tourist and researcher. For, no Earthling had ever given me a clue about the fascinating scenery of this exoplanet.

It is a real ecstasy to secure an opportunity to tour this exoplanet. It has an infinite number of extraordinary things! Those termed Earthlings’ extraordinaries are just kids. You can completely forget that its aliens are very dangerous.

As I highlighted, they are naturally outraged. If you are used to hurting humans awkwardly, please just remain there on your planet. Here on the aliens’ planet, there are guiding laws. However, to these aliens, wrath first and the law is coming next.

Why do they behave in that way? Let’s look at the alien biology behind it. Aliens look the same as Earthlings in general appearance, their skin colors, their complexions, and other traits. An exception is their blood: an alien has blue blood cells and something like the hemoglobin (the part of Earthlings’ blood that carries oxygen). Millions of blue blood cells make the aliens’ blood look blue.

The alien’s brain has a large quantity of something that resembles the amygdala (the part of Earthling’s brain that deals with emotions and behavior). It does not separate left and right like the Earthling’s amygdala.

The alien’s brain has a single and large amygdala that has only one task: to make anger. It makes a wave of anger in several scenarios. The most common is when two or more aliens disagree in their talk. Under this circumstance, the amygdala of each involved alien automatically makes an outrage. Another distinction is that aliens do not have cortisol (the hormone that helps Earthlings handle stress).

Calculating from the first day I landed here to the moment, I’m now among the hosts of this exoplanet. I’m jubilant when I keep on admiring its attractive sceneries. For your information, I’ve visited several aliens’ countries. I’m presently in a country known as Byeveni (BienVenue).

Byeveni is among the luckiest countries here. It behaves as if it’s at the center of the planet. It’s also bounded by all other countries!

In the interior part of the country itself, Byeveni has a thousand regions. Among those regions, one encloses the entire country. The head of that region is accountable for protecting all the borders of the country.

The geographical location of this country befriends many. The reason is that anyone who lives in Byeveni has the advantage of visiting any other country without crossing the unplanned country. Alternatively, all other countries here on Memento Mori are neighbors of Byeveni.

This situation has forced Byeveni to be very illustrious. Many countries are struggling to invest here in Byeveni. Byeveni’s land is a very expensive asset to secure. Several guests have already invested in it.

Thus, it’s normal to spot an average Byeveni citizen who can speak more than ten international languages. Regardless of these endowments, still, a large population of this country doesn’t take advantage of a variety of economic opportunities scattered throughout Byeveni.

Setifokasi (SetFocus) as a modern teenager here in Byeveni found this fracture. He is endowed with a broad scope of thoughts. He loves to be among those who successfully have figured their lives. He is a young boy who is enriched with daydreams; yes, he thinks about issues that may currently seem implausible.

This morning, I am here with Setifokasi at his parents’ home. We have come to repeat everything that occurred to Setifokasi. We also pay attention to the time the events happened. Thus, I fulfill AMR conditions.

Setifokasi, how are you?

I’m fine!

This young alien launched thinking about tenancy as soon as he graduated, something similar to Earth’s secondary education. This was due to his perception.

I’ve already completed my quatzrehrhr. I’ve not been selected to join the cinqbnogbchr. So, what can I do now?

Setifokasi found himself reasoning it, especially at the time when he woke up in the morning.

Wait: "quatzrehrhr is just a vocabulary. It means something that resembles the Earth’s ordinary level education.Cinqbnogbchr" resembles the Earth’s advanced level education. Here in Byeveni, a single academic year lasts for fourteen months.

My fellow Earthlings may also tour here: the alien is physically talking now, in front of me, to imitate everything that occurred in the past. Since my respondent is repeating things he did years ago, the AMR demands me to use the past tense in clarifying about my respondents. This is very important to note in this report. Setifokasi! Proceed.

"It’s better you fail, but you qualify parameters for cinqbnogbchr rather than you pass and miss those parameters. I’ve done well in poliqrehrmthgr (similar to the Earth’s civics). I got excellence in religion! But all combinations are imbalanced. Why? Ah! It’s true; these are tortures."

He paused to think as he was responding something to his father.

Therefore, getting second grade is meaningless. Setifokasi resumed his thoughts. For how long shall I continue to stay at home? Living with only my parents, like this, may only squeeze my mind in a bottle.

He then took a toothbrush and cleaned his teeth.

I eat freely! I sleep freely, he continued, brushing his teeth. Shall I be able to invent an idea that will enable me to employ my country’s richness properly? Byeveni has various economic opportunities.

Good morning, he said after he saw his mother.

I had better occupy a tenancy, he resumed his thoughts. As I’ll be self-reliant, I’ll also be aware of various life-figuring skills. Hence, it will, in turn, disclose to me all techniques to employ the opportunities that our neighbors merely harvest for their benefit. Although they say go slowly, if there is a chance to fly, why should you crawl?

Setifokasi kept on sinking into a chasm of thoughts as he asked himself more and more questions. The more the days went on, the more fatigued he felt, relying on his parents.

Let’s share some information: the exoplanet Memento Mori rotates on its axis for twenty-two hours only, in each rotation. Hence, one Memento Mori day has only twenty-two hours. Thus,  Earth’s day is distinct from Memento Mori’s day. Now, proceed with the alien.

If I go to rent a house and become self-reliant, what shall I eat? Setifokasi advanced his thoughts. Where shall I get necessary needs like soap, fuel and even clothes to wear? I’d better continue to escort my father in his daily home tasks so that I maintain a ‘no payment’ policy in eating and sleeping.

Another geek: the environment and chemicals present here on Memento Mori tune all soaps to be foam-free, but they are very good at removing dirt. Now, continue with the alien.

Setifokasi found himself thinking and criticizing. No, if my father had similar thoughts, it means I would now be living in my grandfather’s compartment? Let me invent a way that will allow me to live an independent life as a tenant.

He went on thinking like that for two months. He finally thought of seeking temporary employment to achieve a self-reliant life.

Setifokasi was eager to capture a job as it happens to many young graduates. Should I wait for job vacancy advertisements so that I cast my applications? No, I’ll delay! After all, my brother captured a job that was not publicized.

He tried to remember how his brother made it, then he continued. My brother told me that some companies or organizations find it very costly to advertise a job, especially minor jobs. What they do instead is use friends, relatives or employees of that firm. Let me try my luck. I’ll supply my ‘temporary work’ application letters to every reachable place.

He kept on encouraging himself through those thoughts.

Setifokasi acted the way his ideas commanded him to. He wrote many application letters. He treated them as Earth’s brochures by distributing them to almost every organization or company found in his Delo district.

His ideas came to life when he received a letter from Delo Tea Processing Company Limited. Most people abbreviate it as DTL. This company was dealing with the processing of a product that was similar to the Earth’s tea. Its true alien name is twehrhrgh.

An interesting fact: in contrast to Earth, all young leaves, here on Memento Mori, have black colors. They lack chlorophyll, for chlorophyll is present only in water. When these leaves dry up, they become gray.

Science books here on the aliens’ planet state that a plant makes its food with the support of only two things: sun and water. When the energy from sunlight reaches those black leaves, it creates a gas that is utilized by many creatures here on Memento Mori. This gas is somehow like Earth’s oxygen. For even I can freely breathe this gas here in a strange environment. Now, let’s turn back to our alien.

Setifokasi was required to weigh some tea being harvested by laborers. Various laborers were harvesting tea from company estates. Thus, to Setifokasi, this letter was like dawn. His dreams were now starting to come true.

Instantly, Setifokasi started to work hard in DTL. This made him very popular among the other employees. He was loved due to his steadfastness in weighing tea with great caution. Thus, many laborers were surrendering their tea to him to be quickly examined so they could return for another harvest.

By using distance measurements found on Earth, there were five Earth kilometers from his parents’ house to his job. Contrary to it, Setifokasi was never late at his workplace. There were motor vehicles like objects resembling Earth’s mini buses. They simplified the transport of Delo residents who were as busy as Setifokasi.

I ought to use the Earth’s distance measurements. For, one kilometer here on Memento Mori is equivalent to eleven kilometers there on Earth.

At the end of a month, Setifokasi was visited by new thoughts. Now, I can buy my own personal needs. Let me start hunting for a room that is close to my workplace so that I improve my work efficiency.

Setifokasi fell into those ideas as soon as he earned his first salary.

Thus, he immediately began to search for a house with a room that suited him.

Let’s get closer: a moon here on Memento Mori orbits its planet for thirty-five days per revolution. Months are neither leap nor short; all are equal! However, calendars have never been in contradiction with the different phases that the moon undergoes as it orbits Memento Mori.

2

THE FIRST HOUSE

Setifokasi, tell me what happened next?

I managed to acquire a room in Mama (mother) Ndezi’s house. This building was close to the DTL factory. Hence, it rescued me from that burden of squeezing in a minibus with other passengers. This also eliminated my travel budget to and from my workplace.

Setifokasi, my research needs physical presence of involved respondents and places. You know it. Can we visit the house please?

Yes! Let’s try to visit her tomorrow.

OK, that is a nice idea.

My fellow Earthlings: I have to pause my research device until tomorrow. I have to switch it off to let it cool.

WE HAVE MANAGED TO arrive at Mama Ndezi’s house this morning.

Can we see the landlady? Setifokasi asks.

The landlady is out of this region for two weeks now, one of the tenants in this house responds.

When will she be back?

She told us that she would be back after three months. So, two months and about two weeks remain.

OK! We shall come when she arrives. Setifokasi, let’s go.

Goodbye! Setifokasi says as we quit the house.

The researcher!

Yes! Setifokasi, come on.

I think you have to prepare your respondents in advance. I have to tell you about all the events and houses I once rented. It would make you know key people needed in your research to be able to communicate with them in advance.

My friend Setifokasi, that’s a nice idea but AMR does not allow a researcher to