Marga

By Jeevan Gopalan

Was this their last goodbye?

The Marga's decision to leave Prithvos was difficult.  They had been here for thousands of years, spanning thousands of generations.  After leaving their home planet Ishkoe, they discovered Prithvos (Earth), a paradise.  

They had grown accustomed to the good life because many of their generation had spent their lives on Prithvos.

Even though they had known from the start that they would have to leave once Homo-Sapiens, the only native Sentient, became intelligent, they found it difficult to leave Prithvos. 

It was a tearful farewell because they were saying goodbye to some of their friends whose memories had been erased for a reason. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeevan Gopalan
• Release date: Jul 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223177593

Jeevan Gopalan

Jeevan Gopalan earned a finance degree from the University of Mysore.  His passion for books and science inspired him to quit his job and pursue writing, and this is his second book.  His previous book, written under a pen name, was a psychological thriller about how the right belief can help mental health in scientifically proven ways. This is the first book in a planned series about aliens.  Despite the fact that it is fiction, he has included science that may soon become a reality. Facebook:  @jeevangopalan Instagram: @jeevangopalan Twitter: @jeevangopalan

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JEEVAN GOPALAN

DEDICATION

My gratitude goes to my parents, who instilled in me life values and their DNA.

PROLOGUE

The Marga’s decision to leave Prithvos was difficult.  They had been here for thousands of years, spanning thousands of generations.  After leaving their home planet Ishkoe, they discovered Prithvos (Earth), a paradise.

They had grown accustomed to the good life because many of their generation had spent their lives on Prithvos.

Even though they had known from the start that they would have to leave once Homo-Sapiens, the only native Sentient, became intelligent, they found it difficult to leave Prithvos. 

It was a tearful farewell because they were saying goodbye to some of their friends whose memories had been erased for a reason.

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of author’s imagination and are or used fictitiously.  Any resemblances to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2023 by Jeevan Gopalan

All rights reserved.  No part of the book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

ALIEN DNA DISCOVERY

Dr. Ingrid researcher at Vredefort was shocked by the findings she made using DNA samples taken from tribals of African descent.

For several months she studied the samples.  But only now was she taking a break, or is it just her imagination?

She could not believe she had found a non-coding pseudo-gene in the sample that did not belong to any known human genome. 

The hardest thing for her to believe was that the code was active when it should not have been.

She took an interest in the subject from whom she obtained the sample and found that he had a very high IQ that rivaled most great scientists of the past and present around the world.

Subject displayed a very high level of scientific knowledge despite having no formal education.  The high scientific knowledge of the subject had promoted her to test subjects' IQ.

She was one of the foremost scientists in her field of DNA and she had a very high IQ.

Still, she was not ready to accept what she found.  So, she had thought of compare and check with her own DNA sample.

In her life as a researcher, she had never done anything like this, nor used her DNA as a sample for her research purposes.

She was again surprised when she found the same code in her own DNA that she found in the subject she now calls Kigeni (an alien in Swahili).

Apparently, some kind of intuition or some force led her to study here and compare it to her DNA.

She was afraid to share these findings with anyone.  Because she wondered if people would think she had lost her sanity by working long hours.  So, she decided to do some more research on her discovery first to make sure it was correct and not fantasies she had lost in her childhood.

Dr. Ingrid was married to a scientist named Stephen, not as famous as she was; she was one of the world's best in DNA and genomics.

Stephen was also multi-talented.  He was also an avid geek and had developed many software programs for his research works.

Their marriage produced a cute five-year-old girl named Betty.

Since last five weeks Stephen and Betty watched Ingrid ignore them.

They noticed that she had barely eaten for a week and that she had not slept well as she was so involved in her research that she did not even notice.

This has become clearer since she discovered the pseudogene code.

Three weeks have passed since the discovery.  She did not tell anyone about it, but she continued with her work only taking a break for a quick meal.

She had very short naps because she was physically unable to withstand her constant work.

It was June 11th, and her face looked happy with a contented smile as she found evidence to support her findings.

She found sequences of code that have been engineered into her DNA.

She was baffled because she found that this codification and incorporation into her DNA occurred at least 80,000 years before her.

She was convinced that this was impossible as human civilization was still in its early stages and no human being could manipulate or tamper with human DNA to that level.

At that time, humans did not have the basic knowledge to make their own stone tools, let alone modify human DNA.

It is virtually impossible for something like this to happen, so she began to doubt her own abilities and acumen.

That was why she did not want to draw any conclusions yet.

Because of this, she had to spend another two weeks double-checking and confirming her findings.

After investigating further for two weeks, she came to the same conclusion as before.

Now she was convinced that her own findings were true.

She pondered for a long time, contemplating her next course of action based on her findings.  Until she decides that she was not daydreaming, and that her discoveries were such that she needed the help of others to confirm that what she has discovered is in fact true.

Her first thought was to publish her findings in a scientific journal and open them up to the scientific community around the world for validation.

However, she soon realized it would be wrong to do so, as her own soul mate was one of the brightest in her field of DNA research.

This got her to think about the positive and negative consequences of her findings.

This made her realize that her discovery could have such a serious negative impact that even her discussion with Stephen could destroy her life. 

This worried her, and she did not know how to explain to Stephen that part of her own DNA came from an extraterrestrial species.  She did not know how Stephen would take it.

She loved him dearly and did not want to lose him or her child because of her discovery as her love for Stephen and her child was unconditional.

As she thought of Stephen and Betty, her mind raced through memories of her past.  She had met Stephen at a conference in Boston eight years ago.

It was love at first sight for her. 

She was a noted DNA researcher, at the time working at (MCBGR) Research Center the Institute for Biomedical and Genomics in Massachusetts, USA.

She could not believe the love she felt for Stephen at the first sight of him.  Since then, as everyone said she was a cold woman without such feelings.

Those who knew her would say she was only interested in science and research.  Neither men nor love affairs suited her.

Originally, she was very friendly to everyone, very talkative and made friends very quickly.

No one in her life had to introduce her to someone new.  Yet she was speechless in front of him, and could not believe it because she was the type who would not keep her mouth shut for 10 minutes outside of work.

Despite all these qualities, she did not dare to approach Stephen, even though she wanted it with all her heart.

Luckily for her, her friend David introduced her to Stephen.

For Stephen, meeting her was love at first sight too.  Although he hid it well without showing it to her.

They had common interests in DNA research, which made it easy for them to talk to each other and hide their true feelings for each other.

That day, they spent an hour discussing the DNA research that helped them unwind.

He invited her out for coffee, and she readily agreed.

That evening, when she said her goodbyes to Stephen, she said so with a heavy heart.  She wanted him to take her out to dinner.  But it did not happen.

It was just a goodbye.

He got her phone number the first time he met her, but he did not call her for a week.

She remembers that date and it was April 15th that he called her and asked her to dinner because he wanted to talk about her DNA research.  He laughed and said the reason for the dinner was that it was difficult to discuss serious research when hungry.

Her first thought that came to her mind was that she would not accept the dinner right away but should let him try it for a while before accepting it.

But the idea was only a flash in her head.  Her heart was in control of her and she could not refuse.  She immediately agreed to dinner.

Eight years later, she can still remember her emotions that day. 

It was the best moment of her life.  A meal and time spent talking while hiding each other's true feelings using DNA research as a shield.

That day she realized that this was the best thing that could happen in her life as she had never felt earlier as happy as she felt that day.

He invited her to dinner next week as well, which continued for several more weeks.  Dinner was just an excuse; we really wanted to talk and stare at each other.

She really wanted to propose to him.  But she did not dare to do it.

In September, during dinner, he suddenly knelt and offered her a diamond ring.

Darling, I love you.  Will you be my wife? I cannot live without you

For months she wanted to say or hear those magic words from him.

It did not take her a minute to think about it, but she happily accepted it.

She could still feel the tremor in her knees that she felt that day.  That was when she lost control of her emotions and found herself madly in love.

In the months that followed, they were spotted together in most of the top restaurants.  This went on for another three months.

Four months after he proposed to her, they decided it was time to get married.

She was the only child for her parents.  She lost her mother in a car accident when she was young, and her father assumed the roles of both mother and father.

He never remarried nor had a partner because he felt that spending time with his daughter was more important.  He devoted all his life to raising his daughter and spent no time on anything else in his life.

This created a very strong bond between his father and daughter.

Her father, Clive, was a recently retired physics professor, and the two lived in New Jersey.  It was where she grew up, and she grew up to be a kind-hearted, beautiful woman with a very high IQ.

She attended school in New Jersey.  However, she had to go to Massachusetts to get her college education.

She had to move to Massachusetts alone because her father did not want her to leave the home of her mother's memories, a very difficult time for both her father and daughter

For her, it was the first time in her life to leave her home and her father.  They talked on the phone every day. 

This was followed very strictly as her father cared for her too much.

Gradually he got used to her being away from him and his confidence grew that his daughter could fend for herself.

She had graduated with honors and her father felt he was the proudest father in the world.

Until now, she had nothing to hide due to the nature of her relationship with her father.  When she and Stephen decided to get married, she told her father that she was dating Stephen and wanted to marry him.

He asked her to visit with Stephen because he wanted to see his future son-in-law. 

Stephen had heard a lot about her father since they fell in love, and it was not hard to get along with him when he first visited with Ingrid.

Stephen knew how much Ingrid loved and respected her father.  He had heard so many good things about her father from her that he came to respect her father.

When they visited her father's house, her father asked her when she wanted to get married.  A date had not yet been set, so they told him that once a date was set, they could share it and plan their wedding accordingly.

They decided two months later and it confirmed they would get married on January 1, 2015.  She called immediately and told her father about the marriage date they had planned.

He was very happy to hear that and told her that she would marry a very nice man and that Stephen was a good man who would care of her for the rest of her life.

Stephen and Ingrid had decided to get married in her hometown of New Jersey.  When her father heard about it, he promised that every preparation would be taken up by him to make it a wedding she would never forget.

She shared the guest list so that he could add to it his list as he was making all the preparations for the wedding.

His father also had an apple and pear export business.

Ever since he was a child, Stephen has traveled extensively with his parents, both nationally and internationally.

His father was a strict father, but his mother was the complete opposite.

He had his sister, Margret, who was an astronomer and served on the space station for several months.

Ingrid had visited his parents before, and his parents were on good terms with Ingrid and were pleased with his son's choice.  Once the wedding date had finalized, they visited his family again.

His parents prepared a celebration for him.  She and his family had arranged to meet at Ingrid's home on December 20th to celebrate Christmas, New Years, and upcoming wedding.

She still remembers how quickly those days passed and for her it was like she was watching a movie in fast forward. 

For her, the wedding was like a dream, and she still remembers the movement. 

The day after the wedding, the couple left for their honeymoon in Paris.  The honeymoon was so good for them that they had stayed in Paris for two weeks.

That is when she realized that her own love for Stephen knew no bounds.  She still remembers how he expressed the same feelings he had for her.

Of course, the result was that she had an unexpected pregnancy within six months.

Soon they became proud parents of a beautiful girl whom they named Betty. 

ALIEN DNA IDENTIFIED AS MARGA DNA

Ingrid's anxiety grew as happy memories of her past raced through her mind.

She did not want to tell Stephen that part of her DNA included DNA of aliens.

Many questions and doubts came to her mind because she was worried about how Stephen would receive it.

Will he be able to accept reality?

Will he change his feelings for me?  Will I continue to be his undisputed lover for life? 

If he changes his mind about me, will he break up with me?

If part of my DNA is alien, our daughter too will be having it too.  Will he be able to love his child like he used to?  Will this cause him to distance himself from his child as well?

She finds that her love for Stephen has increased 100 times after learning about her DNA.

She now realizes that her life and that of her child depend on how he handles everything.

She also knew that he was the only one to whom she needed to tell the truth and she could not tell her father, his parents, her friends, or family about this because this knowledge as it would destroy her life.

As not only would it change her life forever, but it would destroy her life with many people just likes her around the world who has DNA partly alien. 

She was convinced that not only she, but many others in the world, would have some alien DNA.

She recalled that the world already had superficial divisions based on race, religion, and borders.

Add this alien DNA knowledge to humans and the world splits in two.  One human and other half-alien.

This knowledge will also split Families.  As a result, divorce would become more common, children live with one parent, and many more such parents will abandon their children’s.

She realized that humans have always felt they were a special species created to rule the Earth.

People have wondered and tried to find extraterrestrial life on other planets, but had not found any evidence to prove it.

The question now as was not just about her and her kid.  It was about the welfare of all humanity as it will destroy the very structure of human civilization and thought.

She did not know that part DNA of the alien in her originates from one of the most mature alien species in the solar system, or perhaps the only such mature species in the entire universe.

These extraterrestrials had such noble qualities that if we humans met them, we would have mistaken them for divine qualities.

That was the reason her thoughts were un-selfish and she was thinking of the benefit of all humanity and the world.

She began weighing all the pros and cons of letting Stephen know.

If I do not inform Stephen, I would be cheating on him and my soul would not allow me to do that.

Therefore, she decided to let him know whatever the outcome was and here too her thought was unselfish.

Well, if he leaves me after knowing the truth, I will ask him to keep the secret to himself and not tell anyone because it will destroy the whole world.

She was going to tell the truth in bed after Stephen was in her arms.

She hoped that if his negative feelings surfaced, being in her arms would soothe him. 

Another reason was that she wanted his pure love one last time in her life, in case he left her.

They had dinner and Betty had slept.  She slowly entered her bedroom only to find that Stephen was already in bed.

The sight of him made her emotional with a feeling that weighed heavily on her mind, and moreover the toll of her to working without rest and without proper food for months was showing now.

She snuggled up to him.  Stephen could differentiate that his beautiful wife in bed that night was not her usual.

He senses that she is nervous and investigates her wet, crying eyes, at first mistaking it as the result of a good time in bed.

But she held him tight and he felt her sobs.

Darling, I have never seen you like this what is it?

She replied, Honey, I must tell you the secret that has been in my mind for the past few weeks.

I do not know how to tell you because I feel like I will lose your love forever when you hear it and this made me to hide it.

Stephen was shocked.  As he thought that these words spoken by his wife now was usually spoken by someone who had cheated on their partner. 

But he soon realized that it was impossible for his beloved wife to do that as her love for him and their relationship was too strong for something like this to happen to her.

Suddenly another thought crossed his mind and fear took over his mind.

Is she diagnosed with an incurable disease and which she had been hiding it from me?

What did she hide from me? 

He asked her in a trembling voice: Darling, why are you hiding it from me? tell me your secret.

There were never any secrets between us.

We been married since many years already? 

Is our love so weak? 

You know my past life like your own and I know your past life like mine.

I assure you that nothing in the world can tear us apart.

She replied: Honey, I feel like I've discovered something that will change the world forever.

Now he was staring at her with a mix of anger and grin as to what had caused him to have such terrible thoughts seconds before.

Without looking him in the face, she continued, I feel like we're not alone in the universe. Somewhere in the universe aliens has existed before and might still exits.

Stephen laughed aloud, darling, it is time to rest.

God, you have caused me so much pain and worry these past few minutes.  I cannot believe it is you. 

Over the course of about six to eight weeks, Betty and I noticed that you were not eating and sleeping properly, but preoccupied with your lab work.

We did not want to argue with you because we thought that arguing with you would affect the continuation of your work and we wanted to protect your privacy.

Now, please take a good rest.  Also, stop watching science fiction movies.

If you do not, you will end up with something