Alien "Essay" (Actually short story)

"Essay" I wrote for English class. Topic: If an alien came to earth to destroy it, and you had one week to show it why earth was worth saving, what would you show it?

 

            I feel the weight of the president’s arm around my shoulders. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and try to push down the dread building up in my stomach. The world depends on me, and if I mess up who knows what would happen. Suddenly a collected gasp escapes the crowd, and I look up apprehensively. It isn’t a scam like I had hoped; there, emerging from a slight haze, walks a beautiful woman, with hair the color of silver, and an unblemished face. I feel like running away, hiding from my duty. I can’t do this!

            It all began yesterday morning, when the scientists in Houston finally discovered life on Mars. Their Rover robot entered a cave, and discovered an alien. The alien informed earth that if I couldn’t show that life here was worth saving the earth would be destroyed.  The president was forced to find me and bring me to the White House lawn, to meet her. I had a week.

            Now the alien is walking… No, not walking, more like gliding out of the hazy port. She looks strangely human, yet un-human at the same time. She seems to be almost glowing, like a light is shining from within, yet she seems cold and distant. She stands still, and speaks. Even the birds silence as she speaks, in a rich, powerful voice used to giving commands.

            “Where is she?” She asks. No more camera shutters click. There is dead silence as she scans the crowd. “You, girl, come here.” My feet feel leaden as I walk toward her. “Lead me.” She says as I walk up to her… We’re off.

            Risha, that’s the alien's name, refuses to board the most advanced helicopters of our time. She calls them childish toys, unfit for her grace. Instead she insists we use her technology, a machine that looks like a watch that can get you anywhere in the blink of an eye, turn you invisible, and serves as protection as well.

            I choose our first stop to be the school I had left just the morning before, though it seems like ages ago. We turn invisible as we arrive, so we can observe the school population without their noticing. First I lead her to a classroom, where a teacher is teaching students with disabilities. She clenches up as she sees them, “Imperfection.” She growls, “Why were these not killed at birth?”

I am shocked. “How could you.” I slowly and calmly say, my voice filled with anger. “They are human too. You can not just kill someone because they are imperfect. Is that how they do it on your planet?”

“No, there is no imperfection on my planet. We have a technique of cloning the perfect, so that the weak never exist. Everyone is as perfect as the next.” She replies rather smugly.

“Well, on our planet a person is a person, even if they have slight blemishes. A person is treated like a person, and imperfection is our perfection.” A slight frown creases her brow. I lead her away, for lunch period has just begun.

On our way to the lunch area a guy pushes another guy, and a fight is started. We stop to watch. “See, imperfection ruins all. On my planet they would never do such a thing” She seems relieved, that her earlier revelation wasn’t true.

Two teachers come running up; each grabs a boy, and restrains him. “Violence isn’t the answer, boys. Come on, to my office.” The principal leads them away. Once again Risha questions her idea of wrong and right.

“Why weren’t those boys shot down? They could be a danger to us all!” She exclaims.

“On earth people get second chances to do it right. They will be talked to, punished, and will get another chance to prove themselves worthy of being an adult.” I explain to her, happy that our earth isn’t like her planet Mars.

We continue our escapade to the lunch area, and she suddenly sees the different groups of friends sitting, each group an island apart from the rest. “Hah! Humans exclude each other. They are only concerned about themselves.” Suddenly a lonely girl walks by, her head down, tears streaming down her face. She seems not to belong anywhere. She sits down by herself, and picks at her sandwich. A group of kids walks by, and one girl separates herself from the rest. She sits by the crying girl and comforts her.

It looks like they are the best of friends when suddenly the second girl introduces herself to the first. “Hi. I’m Molly. Would you like to sit by us?” The first girl, who has now stopped crying, smiles shyly, and lets herself be led toward the group Molly was with.

“What was that girl doing? There was water running out of her eyes, and down her face. Is that normal?”

“It is called crying. It is what you do when you are sad, or in pain. The water is called tears.”

“On my planet we don’t feel sadness. Why did Molly comfort her? Why was she nice, when they didn’t even know each other?”

“She was being compassionate; she used the power of empathy. She has probably made a life long friend now.”

“Friend?”

“Yes, a friend. A friend is like an acquaintance, but you know each other better. You trust each other, talk to each other, and often share similarities.”

She ignores me, and instead asks me where we go to next. I feel nauseous as the city buildings pop up around me, and the strong scent of gasoline hits my nose. We are on the sidewalk in the middle of a huge city. On the corner a beggar sits, huddled in blankets for warmth.

“Why is that man sitting there?”

“He has no home, and no money. He doesn’t have anybody to turn to.”

“That would never happen on my planet.” She would have continued, but silences to hear the conversation that passes between the beggar and an important looking business man, that has stopped by him. The important man is kneeling beside the beggar.

“What is your name?” He asks.

“Wilhelm Patrick Waynes,” The beggar replies in a scratchy voice. As we come nearer, I can tell he smells like rotting garbage. The business man seems not to notice.

“Come with me.” He demands, and helps Wilhelm up. “Let’s get you something to eat.” Risha is touched. I can tell. She tries to hide it, but the ever deepening frown on her brow is still noticeable. The force that kept us invisible suddenly turns off, but nobody in the crowds rushing past seems to notice two people suddenly showing up in a before empty spot.

Suddenly a man about 25 bumps into Risha. She turns around, raising her watch, ready to protect herself if necessary, or make a snide remark about the foolishness of humans, when suddenly she stares as if she had seen a ghost, and her hair changes color, but such a small change, it is barely noticeable. It has become a light, light violet. The young man turns around and smiles. “Sorry.” He says “Can I make it up to you? Come have a bite to eat with me. Take your young friend.” Risha can only nod.

The man leads us to a near by Starbucks, talking all the way, gently steering Risha by her elbow. “I’m Jason Roger. I’m awfully sorry about that. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“It’s okay.” The cold, powerful note has dropped out of Risha’s voice. Now she seems just like any other shy, love-sick girl. “I’m Risha.” She says, dropping her eyes, sweet smile playing her lips.

“Well, nice to meet you Risha.” Jason smiles back.

Risha ushers me outside after we have ordered and asks, “What is this I’m feeling?”

“Love,” I say.

“Love.” She repeats, savoring the word.

It wasn’t her confused tone, the one she had used when she had asked about friendship but I begin to try to explain. “Love is a…”

“No. You don’t have to explain. I understand. The word and feeling just say all… Can we stay here tomorrow? I want to stay with Jason Roger.” She is still glowing, but somehow the glow seems different somehow, warmer, happier, like love. So I give in. What harm can it do?

We go in and tell Jason we will be here tomorrow as well, and he seems as happy as Risha about it.

On Risha’s third day of being on this planet, we leave the city. Jason promises to meet us again, and hands me a crumpled piece of paper. Risha is reluctant to go, but understands. She tells Jason to meet us on the White House lawn on her last day on earth, and we leave the city.

Next we end up in the Amazon Rainforest. All around us are trees and flowers, and their aroma hangs heavy in the air. The tropical heat chokes me. Wildlife is everywhere, surrounding us in a strangely fragile world.

“The Amazon Rainforest? What an interesting choice.” All the feeling that had been in her voice in the city had left. She seemed a whole different person, and her hair is back to the silver steel color it had been before. “Why did you bring me here?”

“To show you it won’t only be us you’re killing. Do you see all the animals here? Do you see all the plants and the trees living here? How could you even think to kill all of this? Humans have only begun to discover what is here; we have only begun to touch the surface of this place. Do you want to destroy all the innocents? Do you?” My voice was rising, and I had to take a break to calm down.

“I don’t have to. You humans are already doing it for us!” Her eyes glow “We would only end their suffering, keep them from living in the horror they are.” I reach to push the button on her watch.

Around us spring buildings again, but this time crowds are streaming the streets. Picket signs are in the air, and a woman is talking loudly into a bullhorn. We are at a protest to end the destruction of the rainforest.

“See. Not all humans are bad. Some people, no, many people, are actually against the killing of the Amazon. They are against being murderers. They are trying to save the world we just left, and want to stop the people trying to destroy it. There are good people out there, even if they aren’t all too easy to find.”

“Touching,” She sneers sarcastically. “Is that all? Then we can go back to the White House.”

I nod. It hasn’t been a week yet, but I can’t think of anything else. If who we are can’t save us, nothing can. But… An idea suddenly dawns on me. “Wait! I need to do one more thing before we go back.” I run to a pay phone, and grab out the piece of paper. I knew it. There is a phone number scribbled on it, along with a name.

 Back at the White House the reporters already know she is leaving early, though how I haven’t a clue. The president is waiting there, and looks questioningly at me. I shrug my shoulders. I am lost. The world is lost.

Risha speaks like she had last time we were standing there. “I have made my decision. Your pathetic world…” Suddenly she stops. A man is running up the lawn, chased by the president’s body guards; A man of about 25.

“Risha!” He screams and suddenly she smiles. A slow, sad smile; one you can barely notice.

“Jason,” she whispers. He runs up to her and takes her in his arms.

“I knew there was something out of this world about you,” he whispers. Her smile is hidden in his shoulder. She turns around, and Jason backs up.

“… Your pathetic world… Has something my perfect world can never have. It has imperfection, which leads to change, and leads to people reaching out to each other, helping each other.” she announces. “You humans, lowly in you intelligence, and eons behind our technology have something we don’t. You have an amazing thing called emotion, something that can get you through thick and thin, something that just saved your world, and will hopefully change mine in the future.” She turns around again, to face Jason, and he presses her once more against him. She pulls out of his arms, tears streaming down her face. Slowly, reluctantly she walks toward the space ship. She turns toward the audience again. “Now I have another mission I must complete.” Her words are slurred by the tears. “I must go back, and change my imperfect world.” She is gone, light violet hair streaming behind her.

 

Reviews

[Amanda]

This was a very creative and well-written peice. I get the themes and message you're trying to portray, about imperfection, compassion for man-kind, etc. I would hammer out some of the inconsistencies; e.g. you say that the aliens cannot feel sadness, yet she leaves in tears; also, at the end of your second paragraph, I would change "I had a week," to "I have one week." The way you have it worded now makes it seem like there is inconsistency in the timeline of the story as well as the writing tense. Overall, I enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!

[fionnaiscool]

Please critique!!! I got a 4 (Highest possible) (95/100), but would like to know some ways I could make it better...