Earth Fathers, epilogue (Patreon)

Yep, this is the end.  I do see more books in the future. I want to explore the children and their career paths.  I want Max to challenge a few stereotypes the mainstream alien culture holds, and I want Rick to challenge his own people. Eventually I would even like them to visit Earth or find other humans out in space.  So there is plenty of material to mine, but for now, this is Max/Rick's happily ever for now.

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Epilogue

Max settled down in front of the camera and took a deep breath. Rick had offered to appear on camera as well, but as much as Max appreciated him and all his tentacley glory, that would not go over well with humans. So Max perched on the edge of the seat and tried to look calm and composed.

“This is Captain Maxwell Davis of the United States Air Force, 4th Fighter Squadron out of Hill. This message is for any authorities on Earth. Earth was not invaded. In fact, Earth is on the edge of populated space and aliens have no interest in the planet. The alien ships that violated Earth space almost a year ago were on an intergalactic car chase.

“Some sort of authority—either a civilian peacekeeping force or a military force, I’m unclear which—chased a ship of criminals called the Nish into the largely unpopulated area where Earth sits. When my F-35 was damaged, aliens brought me into their ship to save me.

“However, they returned to their own space, either in pursuit of the Nish or because the pursuit had ended—I’m not sure which. I am doing well, but transportation back to Earth is exceptionally expensive. Earth is far from any trade paths, so it will take me years to earn enough money to purchase passage.

“Since I cannot return to provide a report, I hope this message reaches the correct authorities. The universe is well-established with space-faring species. Most species come from roughly Earth-sized planets, and most engage in regulated trade through neutral planets. The government authorities who took me from Earth released me at one of these trade ports, and the alien equivalent of a social worker taught me how to use their technology to secure employment.

“I work for a computer programmer, providing security for him, his three offspring, and his ship. Much of my information comes from this individual, who I refer to as ‘Rick.’ His name does not translate, and neither does the name of his species, which he simply refers to as ‘the people.’

“However, I can say that his species is unpopular because they are unsymmetrical, and they find the more popular races boring because Rick’s people dislike symmetry. So the universe judges on appearance. Humans are not unique in that. However, we are biologically rare. The vast majority of all these species have tentacles. I’ve worked with a computer translation program to differential a limb from a tentacle, but I’ve have variable results. They perceive an arm as little more than a tentacle with a motion-limiting internal skeleton.

“I hope someone will contact my parents, Richard and Velma Davis, and my brother Peter Davis and tell them that I am safe, but that I don’t see any way for me to return at this time. I am working and every day I improve the computer language interface and learn about the universe. 

“Right now I can only say that the universe is diverse and generally respectful. They do have criminals, so it’s not a utopia out here. However, these people are technologically advanced and generally friendly, although a few varieties of aliens are on the condescending side.

“The ship I am on is close enough to Earth that we are broadcasting this message toward the planet. I have asked Rick to loop it to repeat as long as we are in this sector of space, but we are heading deeper into populated space, so I don’t know how many repetitions Rick will broadcast.

“This is Captain Maxwell Davis signing off. Take care of each other, Earth.”

Back to the Master Post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/masterpost-earth-22040489