The Tenth Planet

Those Silent Screams You Hear May Just Be Your Own

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say…or so they say. However, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of advanced civilizations peppered throughout the Milky Way Galaxy itself, not to mention the goings on within the millions of galaxies that are scattered throughout the universe. And yes, we, the more advanced civilizations, do hear the screams of those civilizations that are teetering on the brink of extinction, despite the fact that several of those waning civilizations are, as of yet, not aware that they are screaming, or ought to be screaming due to the dire circumstances in which they presently find themselves. And due to the fact that several of those waning civilizations are ostensibly clueless with regard to their imminent demise, there are those more advanced civilizations that pity them, effectively writing them off. There are also those advanced civilizations that ignore them as a matter of course because in the lion’s share of those cases, there were steps early on that these waning bstars could have taken to avoid their present existential dilemma. Yet, time and time again, those common-sense measures were ridiculed as being unnecessary, or wasteful, or too expensive, or too simple, or not coming from someone with the right skin hue or sex organs.

My civilization, which is rather advanced, at least in a technological sense, took an entirely different tact when it came to one particular waning civilization, the humanoids of Earth—ironically, we laughed. The first time I heard this particular brand of laughter, which was purely at the Earthlings’ expense was when I had my first position, teaching the Mechanics of Matter-Anti-Matter at the Academy—knowing the Mechanics of Matter-Anti-Matter is one of the primary components that makes interstellar travel possible. On that occasion, I was drinking a hot tea-like beverage between classes when I suddenly heard five or six students from various star systems laughing hysterically and loud, too loud. The second occasion when I heard loud, obnoxious, and excessive laughter was while I was eating dinner with an old school mate’s family. Lucca developed interstellar propulsion systems, and they were absolutely brilliant. I refer to Lucca as ‘they’ because Lucca comes from the planet Ori, which is in the Cressa System. Orians are peculiar in that they can only mate with themselves, with the caveat that approximately seventy percent od all babies are born female until the age of thirty-five, and then approximately half of them enter into a menopause-like state for the next seven years, during which time, the equivalent of nasculine genitalia are being developed, with three testicles, two fully developed and functional, and the third, latent, in the event that one of the others are damaged, for what I understand, Orian intimacy can be rather taxing. Besides there being a huge age gap between most Orian parents, the female partner generally gives birth to between five and eight offspring at a time, with a gestation period of a little over two years.

While Lucca and I were drinking an aperitif prior to the meal, three of their older children, who were almost old enough to enter the academy were laughing hysterically from the familial room. When Lucca and I went to see what all the ruckus was about, we only had to see the wall monitor, and the cause of their laughter became abundantly apparent.

On the third occasion, this hysterically obstinate laughter had followed me home after a long day at work. While I was on commuter transport to my family’s compound, an elderly inter-planetary couple were laughing heartily while looking at and pointing toward the large monitor.

In the first instance, A rather famous Earthling news caster and talk-show host is grilling another famous conservative commentator who was recently fired for sexual harassment, and then the fellow who did the grilling, a little later, finds himself being accused of sexual harassment, rape actually, and losing his very lucrative post as a consequence—he ought to have been shot.

In the second instance, a president of the United States, who was indisputably beholden to the outmoded fossil-fuel industry says that climate change is a hoax, and in the next screen we saw raging forest fires in California, Brazil, Australia, and Portugal with footage of the Earthlings being evacuated and relaying their experiences of escaping the out-of-control blazes and the mourning of their losses. There was also a scene where a man says, “We must learn to live with these fires,” which was followed by images of the charred remains of various animals in Brazil and Australia, followed by another popular president—this time in a South American country—also denying the reality of climate change. This was followed by several American presidents, openly and unabashedly, stating to their planet--at global, diplomatic venues--that their country, America, would have to be first. In the final scene, a leading American senator says, “Yes, it is constitutionally justifiable for us to deny certain groups the right to vote and continue to be the bastion of democracy in the world.” This is followed by images of police arresting a woman for handing out bottles of water to Earthlings who are standing in a long line, waiting to vote.

Fortunately, however, not everyone in the Nine Systems laughed at the Earthlings’ hypocritical folly. But that does not mean that we all feel sympathetic towards the Earthlings. For example, as I speak, the largest conglomerate within the Nine Systems, the Rovan Corporation, of which my family does hold stock, has placed two options on Earth, for after its sixth extinction event. In effect, not only has the Rovan Corp. carved out two claims for itself on Earth—Antarctica and Greenland, but they are also vying for Earth’s moon, mars, its moons, Jupiter’s moon Europa, Pluto, the various asteroids and comets as well as the planets in the Alpha Centauri System.

Nor is it the case that all of us who forego laughing at the Earthlings imminent demise, endeavor to exploit it. My parents are a case in point. My parents come from three of the Nine Systems—the Kungi System, the Proxima Prime System, and the Tourkellian System. My mother is Kuingian—her planet is also called Kungi-- and my two fathers come from the other two systems. About a year after they married, they were ready to raise children, so they had three of us in quick succession. I am the middle child. They decided to form a threesome because research had shown that children born of three distinct species had a considerably higher I.Q., and are far more sensitive, than the offspring of two parents. The research also showed that the offspring of three parents had a 99.99% certainty that their children would not end up the property of the corporations and be destined to work the mines for the rest of their lives, which my parents were keen on avoiding for us.

Based on a conversation between my parents that my older brother relayed to me, it is evident that my parents are genuinely concerned about the fate of the Earthlings.

“What will be left once the temperature increases by four degrees?” my mother Gonni asked.

“Are the circumstances that far gone!” my father Remus exclaimed.

“I’m afraid so!” my mother replied.

“It was well within their capacity to have avoided this state of affairs! Why didn’t they?” my father Valian wondered.

“For them, having a thriving economy was of paramount impulse,” my mother replied.

“At the expense of their health and of their lives? No! That is sheer folly!” my brother Ares exclaimed.

“Yes, it is. And as a result, there are those of us who say ‘Good riddance to the Earthlings,” my mother responded.

“I haven’t been able to verify this, but it seems as though several corporations are vying to carve out a stake of Earth’s post-extinction event,” Ares interjected.

“How disgusting we have become!” my mother exclaimed.

“Gonni, darling, the corporations do not represent us!” my father Remus declared. “They are the epitome of avarice.”

“Yet, we do hold quite a stake in the Rovan Corporation,” my mother retorted. “Doesn’t that make us guilty by association? Huh, what I mean to say dear, is thatwe have the technology to revert Earth’s climate to its pre-industrial state. Yet, we won’t lift a finger to prevent their demise.”

“They’ve already lost in excess of 1.8 billion subjects and counting,” my father Valian interjected. “I think it’s over for them.

What Ares shared with me regarding our parents’ conversation left me with much to think about.

Several months later, I paid Iso Mami an early visit because her 444th birthday was fast approaching, and considering that she had well over four hundred descendants, almost all of whom would be paying her a visit, I thought I’d get in early.

Iso Mami is my fifteenth great-grandmother, and she is exceptionally wise. As there are so many of us, we tend to make appointments when we wish to visit our oldest elders.

When I arrived, I was cordially invited in and escorted to Iso Mami’s parlor, where she waited for me.

“Good day, Iso Mami,“ I said as I embraced her and kissed her forehead and cheeks and forehead, again, representing a triangle.

“Mischa, look at you. You are far too boney, almost emaciated. Come, you must eat, child!”

I simply smiled as we sat at the well-set table, wondering about what strategy she might be employing to recall all of her descendants’ names.

For Iso Mami, food was very important, probably because of the time before the war against the corporations but for me, it was less so. However, on this occasion, and all other occasions when I am with my elders, especially with my female elders, I make a point of eating heartily. While at the dinner table, for Iso Mami, there is no talking, except in the way of making a compliment on a particular dish, until your plate has been totally cleared. Then, we could talk, but we still had to take more food. Otherwise, Iso Mami would think we didn’t like it.

“Iso Mami?” I started.

“Yes, Mischa, child.”

“As your service android R-79 ushered me into your parlor, I noticed that your control monitor device was smashed. Would you like me to repair it?” I asked.

“Mischa, you are such a sweet child, always considering others. I smashed that thing against the flooring because I became annoyed and frustrated with the lack of choice on the tubular these days.”

“Is it the endless footage covering the Earthlings?” I asked.

“What else could it be!” Iso Mami exclaimed.” What I find most annoying is the fact that when I look around, I can’t help but think that we are on the self-same path as the Earthlings are on.”

“You will find no disagreement with me there,” I said.

“Iso Mami, when I was a child, I always felt out of all my family members that you were the most receptive to my thoughts and fears. Can I share one with you now, one which is most terrifying?”

“Oh, my, I guess I’d better sit down first.”

“You know how on Earth that their sixth extinction event began a while ago with a multitude of species of their flora and fauna decimated?”

“Oh, yes! I recently read that they have only seventeen percent of the plants and animals they had at the beginning of their Industrial Revolution, and what’s left is dying out at break-neck speed.”

“Iso Mami, what if we are locked in with them?”

“I don’t follow your meaning, child. Explain yourself.”

“You know how the extinctions of all those plants and animals are leading up to the extinction of Homo Sapiens Sapiens, of the Earthlings?”

“of course, how could anyone miss it?”

“Well, what if we’re linked to them? What if their extinction, when it happens, and if no one does anything, it will happen. What if their extinction marks the beginning of our own?”

“Woo, child! You just dropped another of your bombshells in my lap! It’s a good thing I did sit down first!”

“Who can I talk to about this? Surely your voice holds some sway in the Anarchist Forum.”

“No, I abandoned the Forum in its nascent days, soon after Iso Papi went into self-imposed exile. Although Anarchism in its multifarious forms thrives on the nine worlds, the corporations hold sway in the outer systems, where they can maintain their ultra-capitalistic practices.”

“What about Iso Papi? Wouldn’t the Forum listen to him?”

“I haven’t seen or heard from Deptus, your Iso Papio in over seventy-seven years. I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”

“But wouldn’t the Forum listen to him if he addressed it?”

“Oh, yes! They would all definitely listen to what he had to say. We would all listen to anything that he’d have to say because we are all mortally terrified of him!”

“Do you know where I can find him?”

“No, child, I have no idea where he could be. But I may still be able to get in contact with one of his former aides, who should know how to reach him. But…”

“Why are you hesitant?”

“Because a lot of hurtful time has passed between us, and I don’t know if I am ready to see him or if he’s ready to see me.”

“Iso Mami, you are about to enter your final cycle. There’s not much time left for a possible reconciliation, if that’s what you want.”

“I would want nothing more!”

“Then, let’s find him!”

By William Jackson, a Vocal+ member