Chapter 18

  Alternate Life Forms

  “Hazing can come in many shapes and forms at the Academy. One of the biggest things to note, is that if upper classmen are gathered and looking around, seemingly waiting, know they are expecting you or other Freshmen to break an unwritten rule. Know that there are punishments for these unwritten rules.” -Warnings of Marcon on Academy Life.

  The day was over, mostly.

  The sun in all its brilliantly blazing red glory was setting off in the horizon. While the red coloration did dictate that the solar body was nearing its inevitable end, it had only begun its final processes. Despite its relatively new status as a still transitioning red star, the rise in temperature was apparent.

  Subtle things gave away the increasing temperature ranges, everything from the increased electrical fields that produced a protected biome of what most civilizations consider stable life bearing temperatures, to even the stone statues that littered the grounds.

  “Wow, they are so lifelike,” a male student exclaimed as he looked directly into the eyes of one such statue.

  Hearing the comment, Arla paused her steps as she looked at the massive stone structure. Then with what could only be considered shock, or unbridled stupidity on the male student’s part, he proceeded to not only touch the lifelike female statue but then proceeded to put his finger in her open mouth.

  To her shock and surprise, the statue didn’t move, didn’t even flinch at the unwanted caress of an inner orifice.

  “Wow, it’s slightly damp in there,” the boy exclaimed excitedly.

  “Probably from the blood of the last person who stuck their finger, or maybe something more within the statue’s maw,” Arla quipped.

  At this, the boys who had all gathered around the statue to see the antics of their fellow Freshman just paused to look at Arla.

  Arla for her part just continued forward, but only enough to fully make out that four boys in all were nearby. A quick glance of their uniforms all confirmed that they were Freshman and likely missed the warning speeches about the characteristics of alien species.

  Looking around, Arla saw that there were other students who had gathered in this open walkway and training area. This was one of the open courtyards that both served as ambiance, fields to exercise in, and areas to ultimately relax in as well.

  All around the area were statues, many looked like this one, humanoid and extremely lifelike, while others looked to be images of famous moments or people from the Academy’s history.

  In this case, the statue was of Female Admiral Gibson who led the 43rd Fleet to Victory. That information was freely available, and even provided on the listed plague that the boy was currently standing in front of so that he might caress and fondle the smooth lines of the stone statue.

  Startled.

  Hearing Arla’s words, the boys all paused as they looked at her on her approach. For her part, Arla was going to choose a spot within this quadrant to begin her own evening set of exercises.

  A quick look around and scan of the area showed that there were no security cameras or electronic devices nearby.

  That alone should have been a warning to anyone attempting to do a spot of mischief, especially on such an advanced campus like this one.

  “Yeah, she might just bite it off if you keep it there, she does look a little hungry,” a second cadet responded mockingly.

  At that, Arla just shook her head, still she felt it appropriate to at least give one last warning to these cadets before anything unfortunate were to occur.

  “The Geminoids do not eat carbon-based life forms, despite their ability to mold their outer shell to any form desired,” Arla commented.

  “Geminoid? What the heck is that?” Another of the boys quipped.

  By now, many of the older students who had been secretly eyeing the activity suddenly seemed to deflate at Arla’s words. Not that the gaggle of first years seemed to notice. For to the other first year cadets, the only person who had their interest was Arla.

  “They are myths, old rock people that allegedly existed and died out thousands of years ago,” yet a third boy quipped. He was clearly the smartest of the pack, but that didn’t set him apart by much from what Arla was now seeing.

  Hearing that, Arla just shrugged.

  “You were warned,” Arla admitted reluctantly.

  Then before leaving, she turned to the statue and spoke. Or rather, she let out a few long sharp piercing caw-like shrieks. As she made these sounds, she held out a pinky finger before rolling it away.

  Silence.

  For a moment, there was complete silence, before the boys quickly reacted to her seemingly random outburst.

  “Okay, she is completely mental,” the fourth cadet piped up, a look of complete horror on his face as he tried to understand the girl that was cawing at the boy with his finger in the statue.

  RUMBLE.

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  Then at almost that exact moment, the statue began rumbling. The movements so violent and extreme that all of the gathered Freshmen seemed to react as if it was a minor earthquake. Those older students who pretended to also not be paying attention also reacted with fright.

  Especially after the solid stone eyes of the statue began to roll forward in their sockets. Now the stones that had appeared to be a bronze like brown color changed to reveal solid pearl like orbs with a dark vertical slit.

  “What?”

  “AHH!”

  The boys who had been gathered around the statue suddenly backed away quickly. The one who had been brave enough to violate the statue’s mouth with his finger snapped his finger back so quickly, that he ended up tearing off a layer of flesh. All of this was before he backed away quickly, only to then trip over the commemorative plaque that noted Admiral Gibson’s numerous achievements.

  This of course elicited the reaction that many of the upper classmen had all been waiting for, the moment when the statue would snap back and frighten away the Freshmen who didn’t know any better.

  While this was happening, those pearl-like eyes, spun around and seemed to quickly scan the area, before darting forward and locking onto Arla.

  At the same time a slight smile began to form and break the outer shell of the statue that had up to that moment been perfectly formed for Admiral Gibson’s stoic face, as she was caught in the act of yelling out a final command to an unknown and long forgotten crew.

  Feeling the eyes, of the one Geminoid statue on her, Arla could feel the weight and pressure that was held within that gaze. The gaze of a massive silicon-based life form. One that was at one point considered an unstoppable force on the battlefield, often capable of withstanding the fiercest of energy and kinetic attacks. Only their exceptionally slow breeding rates caused them to ultimately fall into obscurity.

  These were of course one of the alternate races that Arla had been instructed to find and document from an earlier class. Though she had already been warned about them.

  Well not these in particular, but on the characteristics of these odd creatures that were considered humanoid, but only because they could change their outer shells to look and appear like any form they saw. Truly the universe’s ultimate changeling race.

  What always made Geminoids interesting to Arla was the fact that they were nearly indistinguishable from one another by carbon based life forms, but even while appearing exactly the same, they all supposedly seemed different to fellow Geminoids. Truly fascinating.

  Even the biometric scanners that were made, could not be altered or enhanced enough to distinguish between different Geminoids.

  Finally given the chance to view one up close, Arla herself just strode forward, never letting her gaze slip away from the statue.

  Instead, she let her mind and other senses reach out and try to analyze the Geminoid before her.

  “You speak the language of the Providers?” The statue commented, using the Federation Standard equivalent Provider for the race that at one time had a symbiotic relationship with the Geminoids.

  The Geminoids language itself was too tough and grinding for any carbon life form to mimic, at least without the use of specially crafted tools. The tools in this case often resembled grinders that would be spun and moved in such a way to produce sounds. While Arla felt she could mimic the sounds with proper grinders, she herself didn’t have any such grinders on hand. Thus, her option to go for the second language, that of the Providers.

  “Yes,” Arla replied back in Federation Standard.

  “Well met, young Provider,” the Geminoid statue spoke.

  By now, many of the upper classmen who had just been idly watching, waiting for the obvious jump scare, or even more likely the lost of a digit suddenly found themselves drawn forward at the way the statue was now conversing with someone.

  “Well met,” Arla responded with a bow.

  “Provider? What is this?” One of the boys asked, he looked like he was talking to the other boys of the group, but his eyes ultimately landed upon Arla.

  Arla for her part just continued to stare at the now active Geminoid, trying to memorize this entire experience to gain as much information as she could. This was a childhood dream come true, one that she intended to make the most of.

  Clap, clap, clap.

  By now one of the upper classmen with multiple cords wrapped around their left bicep strode forward and began providing an answer, as if he was exactly waiting for this precise moment.

  “Providers, is the Geminoid name given to the Lostarians. The birdlike race on their initial home planet that developed a symbiotic relationship with the Geminoids in order to survive. See on their initial homeworld, the lands were very chaotic and filled with large cliffs, and deep watery depths. All the food the Lostarians could eat was fish, but the largest and most delicate fish lived deep under water, far away from the reach of the Lostarians. Yet, the Lostarians worked out a system where they would offer Gems and other rare metals to the Geminoids, in order for them to go down into the waters and force the fish upwards for a feast. Since the Geminoids don’t breath oxygen the way carbon based lifeforms do, this was a perfect relationship. The Lostarians could fly around finding and mining invaluable resources that the Geminoids couldn’t otherwise reach, while being able to survive due to the fish forced to move by the Geminoids.” The upper classman stated.

  As he spoke, a clear ding rang out on his omnipad, this was the completion chime. Arla figured this was likely due to a command cord requirement, which was the large red cord that was being worn currently by the officer candidate.

  Suddenly, the gaggle of upperclassmen also made sense, as many more had lesser braids that all depicted the same color, but at different intensities and sizes.

  “That was to help maintain your leadership cords?” Arla asked the upperclassman.

  “Indeed it is, though might I ask who you are, cadet?” The upperclassman asked, a note of curiosity in his voice.

  Hearing him, Arla instantly went to parade rest, feet apart, hands clasped behind her back as she spoke, “This one is Cadet Proma.”

  “At ease, Cadet.” The upperclassman noted, instantly removing the tension in the area. Then turning to the other freshmen cadets, the upperclassman continued, “you would be well advised to understand the potential threats and pitfalls that exist in and around campus. Also know, that when you see an area without monitoring equipment, that you are not free to act openly. In fact, it is likely best to realize that in such areas, like this, that you are being watched more heavily than if you were just being surveilled electronically.”

  Buzz.

  With that, the upperclassman received yet another vibration to his communication’s tablet. Indication that he had likely received even more mentorship points, at least that is what Arla figured.

  While it was her and her fellow Freshmen’s job to go around, explore the campus and find out more information. It was the upperclassmen’s job to offer guidance, and also try to deescalate potential problems that might arise.

  In this case, Arla figured that the statue moving was initially seen as a problem, thus the movement. But then after they were able to see that the statue seemed to be more curious than defensive about its personal space, the upperclassmen decided to back off.

  Taps.

  At the sound of music, everyone paused what they were doing. Then slowly everyone turned towards the center of the Academy and saluted, as the final song of day sounded, signifying that everyone was to get back and prepare for a new day.

  Frustrated exhale.

  Arla for her part had wanted to sneak in another workout, but it seemed that she was unable to, given her distraction.

  Yet, she couldn’t help but turn back and see that the statue of the Admiral was once again standing perfectly still. The only movement was that of the eyes that tracked Arla’s movements.

  Seeing the intensity of those eyes, Arla flinched for a moment.

  But then she did something that the statue had never expected, for she stared back with equal intensity.

  “I think I can recognize you,” Arla spoke in that same strange cawing language of the Lostarians. At least that is the best translation her mind could come up with.

  Long slow rumble.

  Hearing the words, the statue called out in its native tongue, not the fake and mimicked language that it had somehow been able to pull off thanks to its doppelganger abilities, but the actual native language of the Geminoids. Hearing the sounds, it spoke of power, rolling boulders, and above all nature at its most primal level.

  Hearing the sounds, Arla could only nod, before responding, “so we shall see. But that will have to be a challenge for tomorrow.”

  With that the statue began to crackle and shake as the outer skin of the neck region broke away, allowing the statue to move and nod its head in agreement.

  Once the acknowledgement was over, the pearl like eyes lingered on Arla for just a moment longer, before rolling back and once again only showing a statue that was all one bronze like color.

  “What was that?” An upperclassman asked.

  “It offered a challenge,” Arla responded as she began to leave the area.

  “What kind of challenge?” One of the Freshman asked, falling in beside Arla as she made her way towards the Freshman dorm rooms.

  “One to see if I could do as I claimed, to see if I could tell that Geminoid apart from the others,” Arla stated.

  “Why is that a thing? Can’t you just look for her at the same spot?” Another Freshman noted.

  With that, the upperclassmen that had apparently taken it as their role to walk the freshmen back to their dorms on time answered.

  “No, the Geminoid, despite how they show themselves can change their shape and forms quickly. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if every statue in the park changed by this time tomorrow just to test out Cadet Proma here.” One upper classman added.

  “Still though, good on you for getting them to at least talk to you. That is the most I have seen them interact with people in my entire four years here.” A female upperclassman noted.

  Hearing that Arla just nodded. Though in her mind she was already trying to memorize the resonance and energy vibrations that she felt from that statue, as opposed to the others. She was almost certain that she could distinguish them, based on their energy resonances alone, but would have to find out tomorrow.

  “What do you think would happen if she could distinguish them?” One of the Freshman boys asked.

  “Yeah, would she get a rock badge?” Another Freshman cadet joked.

  “No, but there are benefits towards being accepted by the Geminoids,” the female upperclassman noted.

  “Like what?” The first freshman cadet asked, the one who was still nursing his still raw finger in his hand.

  “Like…”