“Hey, you're supposed to be drinking, not kissing,” Aza chided Jakav, intensely relieved that he was alert.

  “Thank you Aza, you saved my life.”

  “That was mainly Magdalena.”

  “Who?”

  “The alien female who brought you back with your kill.”

  “I remember hearing something, and I saw fur, then there was pain.”

  “Three days ago, the red splotched pack leader decided it had a personal vendetta against you. Your fast reactions saved you, but it crushed you. She brought you in, dumped you in front of Mum, and expected her to check your heart was beating, give you injections of blood and nutrients and things.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “She showed me what I guess was like a theatre show set in a hospital. They are multicellular organisms. They all look roughly the same, they all have five fingers, they kiss, and they wear cloth to hide their sexual organs, and I saw uncovered, undeveloped male milk glands and hidden female milk glands.”

  “I hope you're not going to cover yours,” he said, punctuating it with another kiss.

  “Not if you can stop treating them as kissing targets and drink some more.”

  “I don't think I need to drink more, Aza.”

  “You let me be the judge of that. Your bones haven't fully absorbed their dead yet, and your poor crushed digestive system is still a bit of a mess.”

  “How do you know that?” Jakav asked.

  “Because I've been flooding you with mix-hormones, and I can smell the pheromones your organisms are giving off in reply, even if you can't. The basic message is 'not strong enough' but you're a lot better than you were three days ago, when it was 'am I even alive?'” Aza thought about telling him that she also knew where his ready-cells were, how very ready they'd been to tell her where they were. She decided that wasn't really appropriate. Embarrassed, she stopped herself stroking that part of him, again.

  “Aza, why did you stroking me there feel so nice?” Jakav asked when she moved her hand away.

  “Because I need to talk to your mother. I think her book is wrong in part.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You really want to discuss mixing while you're still being my beloved parasite? Drink up, I need to go and eat something.” Deliberately, she tried excreting some sleep hormone into her milk. It worked.

  “Jana, can I have a word?” Aza asked, knocking on her door.

  “Of course. Kov is out. How's Jakav?”

  “Healing. He remembers being landed on by the predator.”

  “That's good, very good.”

  “But if you don't mind me asking... your book. You said we've forgotten so much about sexual reproduction, did you find any old records? Or how much urm, personal experience went into it?”

  “I didn't find anything, even at the great library. It seems it was just a taboo subject. I wrote it just after Jakav was podded. Why?”

  “Mum tells me that Jakav was further gone than anyone she's heard of who survived, that most people recover after a day or two. After two days of my milk, Jakav's ready cells weren't whispering, they were practically shouting at me. By this morning, they'd started moving.”

  “Moving? They always move.”

  “They've clustered together, and are just under his skin where I was supporting his head, saying 'here we are, here we are'. He's not very aware, but he knows he likes it when I stroke him there. If I change where I'm stroking,

  they go there”

  “You mean, you think if he thins his skin then there they'll be right there?”

  “Yes,” Aza said, “And you remember that nursery rhyme about the days of the week?”

  “'Oneday's child is sure to kill, Twoday's child is quiet and still, Threeday's child is loud and bold, Fourday's child will warm the old, Fiveday's child is eager and quick, Sixday's child is sure to trick, Sevenday's child is.... I can't remember the last one.”

  “I've heard different versions,” Aza said “Sevenday's child is at your chest, or Sevenday's children are in your chest. And there's that old story about the many-mother, who podded a new child every two months from her chest. Might that actually be possible if some male's ready cells ended up implanting themselves in a female's milk gland?”

  “You'd have to ask your mother, I don't know. You think... you think the rhymes are all about mixing?”

  “I wonder. If it was, that'd explain why there's nothing written, wouldn't it? If it's was common knowledge?”

  “I hope you're not planning to carry on much longer then. Podding every two months would really tire you out.” Jana gave a little smile, “Leave that sort of experimenting to married couples, Aza. But I have just had a wonderful idea. I'll see what folklore books say. I inherited some from my mother.”

  “Aza,” Kov said, “Thank you for saving Jakav's life.”

  “As I keep telling everyone, the alien Magdalena saved his life.”

  “Nevertheless, you're the one who looked after him. But anyway, Jana and I have reached a decision. We're going to the city. There ought to be time to get there and back before harvest if we go quickly.”

  “You were right, Aza. You were entirely right, and I feel like a fool for risking Kov's life and other's, just because I didn't read those old books. I need to get the text changed before they reprint.”

  “I understand,” Aza said, hoping that Jakav would say something.

  “Mother, father, I understand,” Jakav said, managing to get up from his sick-bed. He was healthy, but many of his muscles had been badly torn and cut as he was crushed. He was weak. “But before you go, will you give us your blessing?” He pulled Aza into a fierce embrace, “I think I've been drinking Aza's love potion enough to decide now, but she says she wants to know I'm not just on an enzyme high. We've compromised on the idea of me using my convalescence to build a house, and marrying when we've a usable room.”

  “So you can try to pod a child just after harvest?” Jana asked.

  “Yes, mother.”

  “It's got a lot of sense from my perspective,” Jana said, “What does Uza say?”

  “Mother said she's not surprised.”

  “We'll talk to her and the pastor before we go,” Kov said.

  The space probe was hovering outside Aza's home as Jakav left it, finally able to walk unaided. “Hello.” Jakav said, “Thank you for saving my life.”

  It bobbed up and down, and moved away a little. Then it stopped and bobbed up and down again. The sun was shining, but he saw two figures being drawn on the ground.

  “Aza!” Jakav called, “I think you're wanted!”

  The probe bobbed up and down like budlings did when they were excited.

  Aza came down and came to stand beside Jakav, “Problem?” she asked.

  The probe tilted from left to right. “Magdalena?” Jakav asked.

  The probe hopped up and down again.

  “I think that means 'yes',” Jakav said, needlessly.

  “Well, lead the way, wonder of alien technology.” Aza said.

  The probe led them to the town square, and then, surprised them by hopping over them. They felt something nudge them in the back of their legs.

  “What?” Jakav exclaimed, looking round in confusion.

  “I think it wants us to sit on it.”

  “You're joking.”

  “That's how Magdalena got you here without injuring you. And she sat on it too. It's a circle.”

  “So do you want to fly away to who knows where?”

  “Not really. But we can always lock wings and glide down.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “What are you planning to do if they don't get on board?”

  “Leave them a map, I guess. Or just leave it for some explorer to find.”

  “I still don't really understand why we did this,” Rachel said.

  “Because, firstly, there's no firm guarantee we'll get home in one piece. Secondly, in a few years time people will say, ha alien visitors, pull the other one. Thirdly, I always wanted to scratch my name in some cave or something like that, didn't you? What better than having a purpose to do to so.”

  “And the Biblical quotes?” Rachel asked.

  “A promise I made my brother.”

  “But they're never going to understand them.”

  “And that is the other reason I'm asking them to sit on the probe. It's a trust exercise. They might work it out.”

  “Where's it taking us?” Aza asked.

  “Urm, it's following my rounds of the field. I don't know why,” Jakav said, “Oh, now this is where I turned aside where the One led me.”

  “So it's replaying the past?”

  “Maybe. I don't understand why.”

  “That's the tree I killed the predators from.”

  “Not much of a tree.” Aza said.

  “No. But it was big enough,” Jakav pointed out.

  “Did you go this way?”

  “Into the desert? No! I've never been here, have you?”

  “No. It's predator land, isn't it?”

  “Probably. I wonder what it's going to do with us.”

  “Nervous?” Aza asked.

  “Not very.”

  “I woke this morning sure the One was with us. Don't be afraid now, Jakav.”

  “Oh! There's a cave!” There was an opening in a low hill which seemed to be made of broken rock.

  “I wonder why we're going to a cave.”

  “Maybe she doesn't know we're not married and has planned a romantic get away for us?” Jakav suggested.

  “Oh wow, it's enormous!” Aza said as the alien machine took them in, close to the ceiling.

  “Big enough for small village, anyway. Shame about the predators.”

  “And there's water, too.” Aza said, seeing a small stream making a waterfall

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  and flowing away into a crack.

  “It's not natural,” Jakav said. “Look, at the corners, at the walls. Right angles. And hey, look, there's a defence ditch in front of it.”

  “Could a predator jump it?” Aza asked.

  “I doubt it,” Aza said. “Look, one didn't already.” There was a dead predator in the trench. It had been shot through the head with an arrow.

  The probe settled down near the defensive ditch.

  “Who makes arrows like that?” Jakav asked, looking more closely at the dead creature.

  “Her, probably.” Aza said, pointing to a picture of an alien woman engraved on the wall, with a wicked knife and a bow and arrow. “Magdalena.” There were some strange symbols underneath it.

  “Oh come on, who'd bring a bow and arrow when you can fly light-years and cut up rock like this?” Jakav asked.

  “She scared a lot of people with that knife,” Aza said.

  “Fine. If that's Magdalena, who's this then?” Jakav asked, looking at another picture. Another alien woman, sitting at a desk, obviously writing.

  “Look at what's in front of her, Jakav. Someone up a tree, spearing predators.” There was more writing underneath it. If only they could read it, they'd have seen it said Rachel Ngbila, daughter of Hannah and Rupert.

  The next picture was clearly Jakav up a tree, then there was a picture of Jakav drawing triangles. Beside it, the alien numbers, with dots to make them clear, then some geometrical equations, and then more numbers.

  “Multiplication, division, addition, subtraction,” Jakav said looking at the text engraved a finger deep in the wall. “It's so we can understand their notation, I guess.”

  “And these little unfinished triangles?”

  “Bigger and littler?”

  “Why are they dividing one by zero?” Aza asked. “You can't do that.”

  “You'd get a really big number if you tried. Maybe that's what this symbol means.”

  “Or maybe it just means stupid.” Aza countered.

  “Hey! They've drawn a pendulum!”

  “What good does that do?”

  “Time. Look, there are these marks on the wall as well. Fractions of their unit of time, I guess.”

  “What are these pictures of?”

  “The suns and our planet, maybe?”

  “Look, it is. And there's our village!” Aza said, looking up. The planets were near the bottom of the wall, and above them was a ball, and above that there was a map of the livable lands, and above that, their village.

  “What does that dotted circle mean, there where your house is?”

  “I guess it means Aza lives here.”

  “Then... look at this one, Jakav.” There was another solar system, and two planets circled. Then beside that, there was an unfamiliar pattern of dots, with one circled, and then beside that there was a picture of the night sky, with one bit of space circled.

  “Jakav, I bet that's where they came from. That bit of sky there,” Aza concluded.

  “Wow. Long way away. What's next?”

  “Periodic table, I guess. With lots of extra numbers.”

  “Hmm. Yes. I wonder what we can learn from those. And then some animals from their planets maybe?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Aza, tell me what this looks like to you?”

  “Seven days? The creation story?”

  “And there's that funny sign. And the sign of the One. Are they saying the One is stupid?”

  “I hope not. I think they're saying the One is big. Very very big.”

  “And then what's this? Two aliens in a garden? One taking fruit?”

  “You've missed a panel. Look, here two aliens in a garden, and one tree with a skull sign on it. That must be bad, surely?”

  “I assume so. But why did.... Jakav! It's saying they disobeyed the One! Look, here the One is in the garden, but here they are outside, with the high wall there.”

  “They also fell. The imagery is different, but they fell. Aza, there's no way we should understand these images so well, but I'm sure you're right.”

  “What comes next?”

  “I don't know. Lots of little pictures. I don't know what they mean.”

  “I sense they are not so important as this one.”

  “Aza, isn't this like in my mother's book?” Jakav asked.

  “Yes! A male and a female can produce male and female, but a female.. Oh! A female alone cannot. Let's go back to those animal pictures. Look!”

  Aza excitedly showed Jakav. “These animals, sperm and egg, sperm and egg. This one just egg, but all the rest are sperm and egg. This thing buds, see the budlings! But hardly any of the animals there can bud, and hardly any can even reproduce at all without sperm! How strange!”

  “Why is this important?”

  “Look Jakav back at this female — egg only — but a male offspring. It cannot be!”

  “A miracle.”

  “And the male is marked with the sign of the One!”

  “I hoped, I asked, I prayed, that they would tell us what the One has done. And they tried. But I do not understand these images.”

  [Hey, Maggie!] James thought to her, [After more than a week of not letting me get in contact, God's told me to think to you, and say don't go further from home. What's up?]

  [We're about to leave and tell the solar system we've found intelligent aliens. At the early radio stage of development.]

  [Wow!]

  [And keeping my promise to Mick, I've tried to tell the aliens about God. Who is wonderful, even though I turned away from him when Mick vanished. But I don't know if they understand the pictograms we left. Can you try to talk to them?]

  [I can try. You think they're thought hearers?]

  [I've absolutely no idea. But they're certainly weird to us. They're collective organisms, made up of lots of different sorts of single-cell organisms. Please try to talk to them, James.]

  [OK, Maggie. I'll try.]

  [They know me as Magdalena. It seemed right. ]

  [My name is James,] they heard, and looked around in surprise and fear.

  [Do not fear. Magdalena who drew these pictures, hoped you would understand them. I am no angel, I am a male friend of hers, perhaps I will even marry her, I know I like her. I have a gift from God, who made the universe and all who live in it, a gift of hearing the thoughts of people across worlds, and to some, such as Magdalena, I can send my thoughts. Among the billions of us on my planet, there are only about sixty of us with this miraculous spiritual gift. I do not know if I will ever be able to talk to you again, so I will try to explain Magdalena's pictures. Almost two and a half thousand of our years ago, God spoke to a follower of his, a young woman called Mary. He told her he would do an impossible thing, and give her a son, who would save his people from their sin. And he was born, though Mary had never been with a man, and he lived, and he taught for three years. Those he taught were confused, they thought the promised one would be a ruler, and a destroyer of their enemies. Some came to see he was more than that, but it was only later that they truly understood that somehow the infinite One had become a man. Wicked men killed him, and they put him in a grave. On the third day, he rose again returning from death, and appeared to those he'd taught on several different occasions. Fifty days later he left our home planet went to be with the One, who he called his father, and he was given rule and authority and honour and power, for he was and is and is to come, and he has broken the power of sin and death and reconciled people to God, and bought us back into a relationship with Him. In the beginning, he was with God and he was God, and always will be. For the One is somehow also three, who we call Father, Son and Spirit. Does that make sense?]

  “Of course,” Jakav said aloud, “Aza my fiancé is brain organisms and muscle organisms

  and bone organisms and digestive system organisms and skin organisms, together she is Aza, and she would not be Aza without all of these things that make her her. It is not the same, but that the One is three without stopping being One we know.”

  [By dying for our sins, Jesus, who's name means the One Saves, paid what we could not pay, and took the punishment we deserve, and so we trust in him for our forgiveness, and know that we are forgiven. We do not add anything to our salvation by what we do, but we obey God out of love, out of respect. He took our sins on himself and gave us his righteousness. ]

  “That is what the one did!” Jakav said, happily “But are your years are so very short? We heard from prophets that the One had just done something marvelous to save us from sin only about two hundred years ago.”

  [I'll ask Magdalena. She knows more of your world than I do.]

  [Magdalena, they wonder why their prophets told them God had just done something wonderful about a two hundred of their years ago. Any ideas? Are their years decades of ours or something?]

  [No, they're about the same. It's a genuine Earth-like planet, or a terraformed Mars, but with two little suns to confuse the astronomers, not to mention sun-dials. As far as we see, they haven't filled the planet yet. Lovely place to visit, except for highly aggressive predators and it's over twenty one hundred light years from home.]

  [That's a long way.]

  [Yes. Oh! Of course! James, if you had a good enough telescope here, you'd be seeing Christians thrown to lions, or whatever else was happening on Earth in A.D. two hundred and fifty or something. In this part of space, the cross was

  only about two hundred years ago, because of propagation delay.]

  [Maggie, remember I told you God said you shouldn't go further? Could there be a link?]

  [I need to stay in the light-cone of Christ? That's confusing, but OK. I don't want to go further, James. But I do want to come back here, once I've told the solar system we're not alone in the universe. You said they had prophets? They know God?]

  [They know God.]

  [Hallelujah. James, you won't tell anyone what we've found will you?]

  [Of course not. Can I tell people you've got something exciting? Otherwise they might worry.]

  [OK.]

  [I'd like to talk some more if I may, but I'll just tell them... want to stay on the line?]

  [Of course!]

  [Jakav, Aza! Magdalena says you are a very long way from here, light would take something like twenty three hundred of our years to get there. Maybe that is why.]

  “So the message of prophecy came at the speed of light?” Jakav asked.

  “I do not understand. Light is instant!” Aza said.

  “Not quite,” Jakav said.

  [Even from one planet to another, the speed of light is slower than we'd like,] Magdalena pointed out, [One day your scientists will be able to bounce radio from one place to another, and you will hear how slow light is.]

  “That was Magdalena?” Aza asked.

  [It was, Aza. James is somehow letting you hear my thoughts and me yours. Sadly we would not understand each other without him. He has a mighty gift from God, mightier than I knew. I didn't know he could do that!]

  “Do you say light is the same as radio?” Jakav asked.

  [Both are electro-magnetic radiation.] Magdalena thought [But the length of the wave is so vastly different, it does not help much except with some of the maths. Or keeping the physicists happy.]

  “I'm a physicist.” Jakav said.

  [Enjoy your studies. God's universe is marvelously complicated.]

  “How do you travel here? How does your machine fly? How does it carry us here?”

  [Ah, well, my grandparents' teacher Boris thought he was playing with gravitons, but they worked out he got it a bit wrong, he was actually bending space on a very small scale. Then they put their heads together — just a figure of speech — not really, and they

  worked out how to make a complete bubble of space which could move around much faster than light can, which is impossible of course. The actual equations are too complicated for me, I'm afraid. Just keep on studying, there's undoubtedly things to learn we haven't found out, and there's nothing that says you have to solve one thing before the other.]

  “What would happen if your grandparents did put their heads together?” Aza asked curiously.

  [So their skin touched? A bit like when they touched hands, but with less padding. So their blood mixed? Depends on how compatible their blood was, but probably bad news. So their brains touched? They'd probably die. Our brain cells don't even survive being near our own blood. But anyway, my new friends, Rachel and I are leaving, we hope to return, but we must go.]

  “Why? Is it near harvest time at your home?” Aza asked.

  [Not exactly. We have exciting news, your people are the first we have met.]

  “But there are thousands of stars, millions!”

  [And a few of them have planets with plants. And a few that have plants have simple animals, and a few of the ones with simple animals have complex animals, which spend all their time eating plants or being eaten. So we were fascinated to find how many animals there are here, and how few seemed to eat each other. Then we found that a lot of what we thought were animals were intelligent beings who could change their shape, and at least one of them was unafraid of drawing geometry for a strange machine.]

  “The One is great. Many in the city do not agree.”

  [Many on our homes also. But more trust God now than it used to be,] James said, then, sensing that enough had been said for now, he added [Be well, Aza and Jakav. The maker of all things visible and invisible watches over you. It is time that I stop.]

  [Aza, Jakav.] Magdalena thought quickly [The One bless you in all ways, and if some elements are much more valuable than others, look to their symbols in the periodic table. There is a sample of the ones I can safely touch. I hope to return, but if I cannot, enjoy this cave. Rachel and I enjoyed making it for you. She also sends her greetings, but she cannot hear thoughts like I can, and you are doing now.]

  James cut the connection, and briefly checked his temperature in the Peace. He was well, and he was hopeful. Maggie's bitterness towards God and him seemed to have gone entirely. He touched Maggie's thoughts again and found her deep in excited conversation with Rachel. He didn't interrupt.

  [Maggie?] James thought.

  [I thought you'd be coming back for a chat sooner than this.]

  [Rachel needed to not feel left out.]

  [True. Aza and Jakav seem to have decided to stay at the cave and explore, so we're leaving soon.]

  [Just come back safely, please. And check your air tanks are fully charged and everything.]

  [I will, don't worry.]

  [And get Rachel to cross check.]

  [OK, OK. Who appointed you my mother? It's not like I've not done this before, James.]

  [That I know. So please follow the checklist very very thoroughly.]

  [Is there something wrong?]

  [Not if you get back safely, Maggie. Just people who love you two worry.]

  [What about?]

  [Things like God not letting me get in contact.]

  [Please tell Rachel's and my parents we'll be about a week in warped space, assuming there's nothing we need to slow down for. And please tell the university that Rachel will be submitting her PhD thesis on arrival, and they'll want to make sure its processed quickly.]

  [And as I prepare the world for your Earth-shattering arrival, may I request the pleasure of your company for chat and food? I'm on Mars already.]

  [Ooh, why?]

  [Because God told me to come, the same time he told me I wasn't to talk to you.]

  [OK. That explains that bit then. But I actually meant why do you want

  to meet?]

  [Because, Magdalena Space-Searcher Alien-finder Karella (bnt Pania Margaret James hi Jim Sandra Richard) hi John (bn Heather Alice Simon hi Matthew Eliza Albert) we are not cousins except in the seventh degree, we love the same God, and I actually like you quite a lot.]

  [You... you're asking me for a date?]

  [Yes. I would very much like to walk with you, Maggie.]

  [And if I manage to come back here, you'd be willing to come too?]

  [I'd pull every lever I could to stay near you. Do you know how valuable some of those elements you left them are? It was a lovely thought. Especially making three of everything so they wouldn't feel they were destroying the collection.]

  [So, what's the most valuable?]

  [All I heard was their delight. Don't assume we can repeat that exercise, Maggie. I think from now on you'll need to rely on linguists.]

  [Hmm. I know one who's asked to walk with me but isn't pressing me for an answer.]

  [I think it's called giving you time to think about it. I've been accused of not giving you that space to think before now.]

  [Thank you, James. You are a godly man, who tries to be kind. I'm sorry for yelling at you; I just didn't want kindness, I wanted someone to be angry at. I'll walk with you.]

  [You're not angry at God any more. Can I ask what happened?]

  [I remembered I told Mick I wanted God to let me fly to new places and meet aliens. And Mick told me God was great, and I promised him that if I did meet aliens, I'd try to tell them about Him.]

  [Mick was a good brother, and a good friend. I do keep checking, every so often, Maggie, just in case.]

  [You do?] Maggie was surprised, shocked. [Everyone says he's dead.]

  [Not everyone Maggie, I've never been fully convinced.]

  [Then what?]

  [Maybe he went too far, and there is a limit to this gift. The light-cone of Christ, perhaps? I don't know. Or maybe God has been hiding him from me just like he was hiding you.]

  [For what purpose?]

  [For his own purpose, Maggie. His plans are bigger.]

  [I'm going to be really angry with God if it was all about me sorting out my relationship with Him.] Maggie thought.

  [Are you really?]

  Maggie thought for a bit [Surprisingly, no, I don't think I am; I guess I'm past that. God is great, his reasons are not our reasons, but He knows best, and he loves best. It's not for the creature to tell the creator how to run the universe.]

  “You are smiling like the cat who's got the cream. What's up?” Rachel asked.

  “I just told James something he was pleased to hear about God. And he leaked.”

  “Leaked?”

  “Let out a stray thought. Mr perfect control isn't so perfect after all, which is encouraging.”

  “Is it? I'll believe you. What did he leak? Interesting gossip, or something?”

  “The well known eligible bachelor, linguist and farspeaker seems to have been secretly planning his future for a while.”

  “You're being cryptic, Maggie.”

  “He thought to himself, 'Finally Maggie's back with the Lord. I wonder how long an engagement she'll want.'”

  “Engagement? Hold on, you've not been going out on the sly, have you?”

  “He asked me out about five minutes ago, which was a bit of a shock. First date when we get home, but it seems like he's been making plans for a while.”

  “You don't mind him thinking about engagement?”

  “No. I've known him most of my life, on and off, I just never thought he might be interested.”