—Oh, I’d love to hear it.
—There’s a homeless man. I met him before we went to Esat Ekt. I’d see him around here from time to time. I think he went to the men’s shelter down on Thirtieth. We talked … maybe twice. Nothing more. Anyway, I saw him again yesterday on my way here. He was sitting on the stairs in the little park across the street. I wouldn’t have recognized him, but he recognized me. He said he was looking for a friend. He was worried the aliens might have hurt her. He told me they met there every Tuesday around lunchtime. She bought him chai tea. You should have heard him describe the tea, as if it were the rarest thing on the planet. She lent him a new book each week, and they’d discuss it at the park over chai. He hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. I told him maybe I could help find her. Her name’s Sarah, he said. He didn’t know much more than that, but he mentioned she wore a scarf on her head. I told him I’d do what I could. I had a hunch she might have worked at the UN. Sure enough. Sarah Smith, born Sara Dhanial in Karachi, Pakistan. She is—she was—an interpreter at the UN. Diplomats and their staff weren’t rounded up like the rest of the population, but Sara lost her job and they sent her to a camp in Connecticut. I went back to the park and told him what I knew. He was sad, obviously. I offered to buy him some food. He said no, but he asked if I could spare some change. I didn’t have any, so I renewed my offer to buy him something with my card. He thought about it for a minute, then told me he’d like a couple bags of chai, but that if it was too expensive, he’d settle for one. Then he asked how much a bus ride to Connecticut would cost him. He dug into his pocket and started counting how much money he had. He wanted to bring her tea. He seemed genuinely surprised when I started crying. The point is: There is decency in this world. We just need to look for it. Given enough time, I have absolutely no doubt it will flourish again. Then, maybe.
I said we’re not ready now. Not yet. That’s not pessimism. I can’t make the forest grow faster because I want it to. I can’t will it to grow. It takes time. I hoped it could happen during my lifetime, but I don’t think it can. All I can do is plant some seeds, take care of the seedlings, and hope someone else does it after I’m gone.
—You’re a good storyteller, Rose Franklin. I will miss you.
—I’ll miss you too, so much.
—Are you trying to make me cry, Dr. Franklin? I didn’t think I would be, but I’m a little emotional. Dying is fine, I prepared myself for the dying part, but the idea of leaving this world for good is …
—I’m happy to go with you if you don’t want to be alone.
—Alone? I’m going with all my friends and family. Alone is the last thing going through my mind right now. Besides, didn’t you spend the last nine years trying to leave that planet? I’d have to be incredibly selfish to ask you to go back just to keep me company. You’re needed here, Dr. Franklin. You have a world to rebuild.
—Me? No. I’m not rebuilding anything. I’m just here to remind everyone of what will happen if they don’t.
—I can think of no one I’d rather have to remind me. I don’t think we have much time, Dr. Franklin. Let’s do something about those eclairs, shall we?
FILE NO. 2205
INTERVIEW BETWEEN DR. ROSE FRANKLIN AND VINCENT COUTURE
Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York, New York
—Did they all leave?
—Yes, Vincent. They did.
—You don’t seem happy. I can tell you everyone else is relieved that they left as promised.
—Did you have any doubts?
—It crossed my mind. My point is you should be all smiles. You got what you wanted.
—It’s not that. I can’t stop thinking about Mr. Burns. Did you see all those people boarding the Ekt ships? It was like watching cattle being led to the slaughterhouse. These people did nothing but help us. And now they’ll die. For nothing.
—It was their choice, Rose. They knew what they were walking into when they boarded those ships. They did it because they thought it was worth it. Don’t dishonor them by suggesting it wasn’t.
—Maybe you’re right. It just feels … like one more wrong thing to end a long list of wrongs.
—Since we’re talking about doing things for nothing, why the hell would you ask them to take Themis back? Lapetus, I understand, he was ugly and missing a leg. But Themis? We went through a lot of trouble—all of us—to put her together. You friggin’ died, Rose. I killed you for that. A lot of people died so we could have that robot. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, and the Ekt know we have it, what’s the downside to keeping her?
—I’m surprised, Vincent. I thought—Haven’t you been paying attention? They were using her to kill people. Our people!
—They can still do that. They’ll just use tanks or drop a buttload of bombs on each other. But we’ll be defenseless if some bad alien dudes decide to drop by.
—That’s what you’re worried about, Vincent? Evil little green men?
—Well, yeah.
—How long have we known each other?
—Counting the other Rose or not?
—I know you better than that, Vincent Couture. Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?
— …
—You can tell me.
—What am I gonna do?
—What?
—I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I … I tried being something else on Esat Ekt, but here … Here I’m the guy with the weird knees.
—Now you get to be something more.
—What about Eva? She’ll have a hard time giving that up, I’m sure.
—I thought you wanted her to have a normal life.
—She made it abundantly clear I had to reexamine my definition of normal. We both made compromises. By we, I mean mostly me.
—Eva’s nineteen, Vincent. She has her whole life ahead of her. There’s plenty of time for her to figure out what she wants to do. And you know they’ll offer you a job. The two of you have spent nine years on another world dealing with all kinds of aliens. They’ll have something for you to do at the EDC, even if it doesn’t involve a two-hundred-foot giant robot. If that’s not what you want to do, then do something else. Isn’t there anything you always wanted to do but never had the chance?
—Maybe. What will you do? They must have offered you a job. You’re the “emissary to the alien world.” You’re the friggin’ chosen one.
—I’m not sure anyone really trusts me after what I’ve done, but they offered me my old job back.
—Great! I’m happy for you.
—I said no.
—What? Why?
—Do I have to say it? Eva might not want a regular job, a regular life, but I do. Oh, Vincent, I really do. I want to go home and not worry about my day. I want to take a bath, read a book. I want to take a bath three times a day if I want to. I want … small things. I’ve had enough of the big ones.
—You’ll miss it.
—Yeah, I will. That doesn’t mean I’d be happy doing it. Maybe someday. Maybe I’ll come back, but for now, I need to take care of me. Just me.
—What will you do all day?
—Same thing I’ve been doing these past few weeks. I teach at the University of Chicago, mostly undergrads. It feels … good. Every time a student’s eyes light up when I talk about atomic weight, I feel … like I’ve accomplished something. Like maybe he or she’ll save the world someday.
—Fair enough. I’d say you’ve earned it. We’ll miss you, Rose. And let’s face it, if we’re ever in real trouble, we’ll get you whether you like it or not. I mean, we had this giant machine that could destroy entire cities, but we’ve never really done anything with it. It was always you, Rose. Just you. This is your movie. The rest of us are just extras in it.
FILE NO. 2367
INTERVIEW BETWEEN EVA REYES AND VINCENT COUTURE
Location: Themis Toy Store, Montreal, Canada
—No, Dad! I’m not pretending to do things at the cash register just so you can film this.
—Come on! It’s our first day!