T. Harris - The Legend of Earth

“This information may not seem very important to you Humans. You — like the vast majority of the other races in the Expansion — mate within your communities and in bonding units. We Juireans did so as well until the demands for more administrators for the Expansion became so great. We could no longer leave the production and training of these administrators to chance, and instead transitioned to a more predictable and streamlined process.”

“Lord Wydor, I am aware of how the Juireans reproduce. This is not news to us.”

“I realize that, but I wish to explain what an impact the loss of so many females has had on my race. Not only were so many females killed on our two reproduction worlds, but nearly all of our young were as well, including the current pre-release brood. Currently, we estimate that there are over three billion Juireans left in the galaxy, however, approximately nine-nine percent of them are male. As time passes, there simply will not be enough new Juireans to replace those who expire.”

Wydor took a deep breath and the sadness in his eyes grew even more pronounced. “So, Mr. Cain, the only priority of the Juirean people at this time — as well for generations to come — will be to rebuild our species, and to achieve this, we have even resorted back to the old methods of impregnation, namely that of actual physical contact.”

Both Allen and Adam looked at each other and shared wry smiles. So the aliens are back to doing the nasty?

Wydor was continuing: “Although this practice will produce new offspring — and through genetic manipulation, nearly all newborns will be female — it will still take many years to rebuild just the female gender of our race. In the meantime, many millions of Juirean males will simply die off, not to be replaced. Parity in genders will not come for several generations. “

Wydor looked intensely at Adam with eyes that had now grown moist. “The Juirean people do not wish any further conflict with the Humans and we also are not interested in resuming any leadership position within the Expansion — if in the event the Humans decide to keep it in its present form. We have placed ourselves on a small group of planets in another region of the galaxy. I’m sure that with some effort, you will be able find this location, since it is hard to hide a population such as ours from prying eyes.

“At this time I just wish to express our sincere desire to be left alone. We are not a threat to anyone. Now the greatest fear for the Juirean people is that of extinction. If we are not allowed to follow our reproductive goals, then the Juirean race will die off in great numbers, destined to become only a small, single-planet colony lost to the pages of galactic history. We are too proud of a race to let that happen. We wish to rediscover our heritage and to learn once more what it means to be Juirean . One day in the distant future we will seek to rejoin the community of worlds within the galaxy, although definitely not in a leadership position.

“The past six months have been a great time of reflection for the Juirean people. We have looked back at how we became what we have become, and we have not been happy with what we saw. Although our empire was great, and we ruled the galaxy for thousands of years, we have paid a heavy toll for our success. We Juireans never intended to give away our more traditional mating bonds and what you call the family unit ; that just evolved over time as a consequence of the growth of the Expansion. The chemical desires that are within our genders still remain; three thousand years is not enough time to alter evolution and instinct. Even though this transition has been difficult for us, we are beginning to see what we have lost, and what so many other races within the galaxy still enjoy.”

The Juirean suddenly frowned and leaned in closer to the screen. “May I ask a question of you Mr. Cain, since your race is so much more intimate with this subject?”

“Sure, go ahead?” Adam said, surprised by the question.

“Now that we are having more intimate and continuous interactions with our females, we are having some difficulty in adapting. We males are confused — almost to the point of believing that our females are of a different species than us. We have such diametrically opposed ways at viewing similar events. It is very hard to understand the thinking of our females. Is it the same among Humans?”

Adam and Allen couldn’t help it — they both burst out laughing. After a moment, Adam looked into the confused eyes of the Juirean and replied. “Yes, Lord Wydor, we share the same experience and the same concerns. But that is what makes females so appealing to us — all the mystery and emotion. But I’m sure our women — females — consider us to be of a different species, as well. You will get used to it, Lord Wydor, although you will never fully understand the female mind. Just enjoy it while you can and don’t question it too deeply.”

“I appreciate the insight, Mr. Cain, if all it has done is confused me more.”

“Welcome to the club.”

“Please repeat.”

“Never mind.” Adam looked at Allen; he gave Adam a simple nod.

“Lord Wydor, I believe I speak for the rest of us here when I say we Humans do not want to continue a war with the Juireans, any more than you want to continue one with us. We never asked for any of this to happen — but here we are. We will respect your privacy and let the Juirean people recover as best you can.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cain, and also to you Fleet Marshal Allen.”

“It’s Admiral Allen, Lord Wydor,” Allen corrected.

“That is what I said: Fleet Marshal.”

Adam placed a hand on Allen arm. “It’s okay. The translation bug is converting the rank to the Juirean equivalent.”

“Oh, sorry,” Allen said a little embarrassed. He had so much to learn about alien interactions.

Adam continued: “And I am truly sorry for what has happened to your planet. As you know, we Humans also have a very special bond to our homeworld.”

“You may find this hard to conceive,” Wydor said, “but even though not a single one of our race has been born upon the planet Juir in over two thousand years, to each of us we still consider Juir to be our home — and always will.”

Wydor attempted the small smile again, even though Adam could tell he was in immense emotional pain. “I will be closing the link now, Mr. Cain, but before I go I wish to say one last thing: Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Oh, this is not for you exclusively, but for your entire race. If you had not accomplished what you have the Juirean race would have continued along our same self-destructive path. We realize now that we did not have the Expansion to serve us , but rather we existed to serve the Expansion. That had never been our intention as a people. Looking back on the millennia, it seems we never were superior to any of our subjects, even though we believed ourselves to be. We were the servants, and everyone else the masters. As a result of your actions, we will now have a chance to live as a race of people again, interacting as all the other members of the Expansion have been allowed to do. That is why I thank you. You have given identity back to the Juirean people.

“May good fortune follow you, Mr. Cain. Maybe someday, when the Juirean race has recovered, Humans and Juireans will become friends.”

The screen went blank and Admiral Allen and Adam spent a long minute in silence staring at their reflections in the shiny black screen.

“Ain’t that some shit,” Adam finally said, breaking the silence. “Tell me you were recording that, Admiral?”

“Of course, and I will get this out to Earth right away.” Allen placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Good job, Captain. When he requested you personally, I didn’t know what to expect. This will come as welcome news back on Earth. Without the Juireans to worry about, it looks like we’re pretty much in charge of the whole damn thing.”