*SONG* “All Fired Up” by Pat Benatar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsnYrH3BUP8

We are born, and from that moment the
Curiosity never ends. Our senses and feelings
Consume us, our environment can be
Overwhelming…and the possibilities endless.
But first and foremost we must grasp
Understanding and learn right from wrong…
Humanity…the morals that shape us, as an
Individual…a race…a species…

It’s the 21st century…everyone has had
Expectations about where we should be by now.
Progress…Technology…Health…Personal goals…
The state of the World…Laws…Wealth…Power.

Are there Universal Laws?
For years I just listened…And the thing that
Amazed me the most is the number of people
That have lectured me about how to
Think…that they write their own
Rules…that the standard rules
Do not apply to them for various reasons…
Because of their age, weight or size…race…
Because of their gender, sexual orientation…
Because they were single or married…

Are there basic morals that apply to
Every one or not? Right or wrong?
Universal laws…morals…
People blame the government for a lot
Of things and yet…people, ordinary people
Still drive drunk…

You can get pulled over by a police officer
For a minor offense…and yet that same officer
Could be cheating on his wife for years…

Or a person can be gravely ill, go into
A hospital emergency room…not appear sick…
Can sit there and wait forever to be treated
Because it’s too busy or they don’t have the
Right healthcare so it’s not a priority…
I mean really it’s the 21st century…
There are so many issues we live with
That we accept as normal that it’s ridiculous.

Everyone hears it, right? They have to.

One of my all time favorite lines I heard
Was from a neurosurgeon who said he had
A high stress job, he saves lives…so God
And him had a special understanding, he
Can cheat on his wife, do basically whatever
He wants…because he has an important job!
Does that attitude comfort anyone?

These attitudes…are they the responsibility
Of the person…or the universe or aliens
To solve? No one’s perfect, I understand that
I do…but some attitudes I’m sorry I just
Do not get…

Years ago I was sitting having lunch with my sister
And her friend…a very privileged girl, indescribable…
And during lunch she asks, “Whoever wrote the
Rules on what is good or evil anyway? I’d like
To research evil to understand it…and then
Decide for myself what good and evil is.”
She was 38 years old at the time.
I asked her, “You mean to tell me you do not
Know or understand what good or evil is?”
She gave this little speech about wanting to
Decide for herself what good and evil really was.
Her reasoning scared me to death. At which
Point I had to get up and leave the room…
I stopped talking to her, so did my sister.

Is it the 21st century or not?
I’m sorry but we all know the difference between
Right and wrong…Deep down even the most
Privileged or powerful people know it. There are
Laws to protect us…but there shouldn’t have to be…

So basically what it comes to is…when it comes
To sex…money…and power, those morals
We live by either go right out the window or become
Obscured by circumstance?

Lo and behold…an answer was given to me by
A former friend with a very important job.
She said God doesn’t exist because he never
Answered her prayers…She can’t stop herself
From eating Twinkies or junk…so she got
Her stomach stapled and liposuction to fix that.

I could go on and on…
The 21st century is a state of wonder and genius.

Knock Knock…And the light comes, the box
Opens…a doorway opens…the Circle of Light.

And he is sitting there, brilliant and magnificent
Waiting…The look on his face is priceless. “You have
Something on your mind?” Brishan asks with
A quirky smile…Ceres is beside him, with a comical
Smile of her own.

“I have to ask you something,” I say. “Honestly
You see so much, you must…not just here, but
I’m talking about in all you’ve experienced?”

“Yes.” He says more seriously.

“Seriously are there better places out there? Out
In the universe? Places where the questions
Have more sense, reason has less stress…and
The people are more fair?”

“That depends where you go.” He says.

Ceres makes a strange, curious look. “Did
Something happen?”

“No,” I answer, “No, I was just curious
Because some days I just don’t want to think.”

Brishan laughed, he had a way about him
That was relaxing. “The mysteries of every day
Life…”

“I’m sorry but I think many would agree…If you
Try to understand the world…some days you would
Have better luck hitting your head against the wall.”
I say. “What did you want to discuss this
Time…I would like to suggest nothing normal
Because I don’t know if normal exists.”

“Nature is more pleasant.” Ceres smiled. “To watch
That is…Where there are no people…
The arctic is very interesting. Some very hardy
Species there.”

“Before this becomes some wayward debate or
Speculation,” Brishan says, “Yes, I would like
To direct the topic now.”

“I find him amusing this way.” Ceres smiles.

He just looks at her then turns to me more
Seriously. “Your dreams…”

“My dreams again? What now?”

“Normally,” Brishan says, “I would have preferred
A prepared path…with a directive in mind to
Discuss. It helps keep the motives more
Clear. But under current circumstances
There was something that arose recently that
Surprised us a little, with a rather heated
Debate.”

“Argument you mean.” Ceres corrected.

“My dreams?” I asked. “How do you always
Know what I’m dreaming? Is nothing
Private?”

“The bridge is broader than you think.”
He says. “Don’t you think of us when
You’re not writing?”

“True.”

“Well then,” Brishan went on, “For those of
Mind to listen,” he eyed his sister a bit
Firmly, “Yes, I believe there is a topic we
Must address here. We’ve discussed experiments.
Earlier on, Apollo, or Varence rather, spoke
Of abductions…on the people…and I believe
We briefly discussed the topic of how humans’
Genes on Earth are different.”

“Is that why you asked Damara if we are
Human, because you weren’t sure?”

Brishan thought carefully for a moment. “We are
Sure…I apologize, that discussion was not
Meant to offend. We respect life, we do.
We were just trying to understand what
Race was on Earth…Because there are
Differences in more standard humans, not
Just on a physical level, but it’s more
That that.”

“Except that one very large one you knew,”
Ceres interrupted. “The one you just mentioned
Who did not understand good and evil…Now
There are serious genetic errors inside of
Her…physically.”

“Ceres…” Brishan warned. “Do not explore that.
That one…is irrelevant here. Allow me please?”

“Go on then.” She said.

“You see,” Brishan explained, “we have observed
Some alarming things…That’s why we needed to
Understand the level of humanity on Earth.
Because we were made aware of experiments on
Your people? Varence observed these with notes
For some time. Intriguing, yet diabolic as well.”

“You don’t approve of them do you?” I asked.

“No, of course not. Not at all.” He gestured
Kindly with a flat palm. “But it cannot
Be ignored. Because that level of genetic
Tampering is…deplorable, unthinkable…and
Very dangerous. Some argue that it is even
More dangerous than atomic power…

“Genetic tampering is a crime on many
Worlds…Some won’t even cross it.”

“Much less go there.” Ceres added in.

Brishan raised his hand to maintain the
Direction of words. “And there are those
That would sterilize it if any of them
Saw it as a threat to space.”

“Sterilize?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Before it could grow out
Of hand. Before it could spread. It’s NOT
Something we take lightly. We must FORCE
Ourselves to address this…regardless of
Personal beliefs. You can see this
Can’t you now?”

“What I’m talking about is the Human
Genome Project. Varence described it as
The pursuit of some scientist’s
Understanding of your people’s potential…or
Rather what it really was and is…Is the
Exploration of WHAT is really in your
Genetic make up.”

“Genetic experiments are done to understand
Our DNA?” I asked.

“Allow me to explain briefly.” He said, pointing
His finger but his manner insisting to remain
Calm. “A long time ago on Earth there was
A cataclysm…remember the story of Noah that
Ceres asked you to write?”

“Yes.”

“Well…” He said… “Afterwards, well afterwards
After the ark settled on dry land and the
Planet began to fill again with life…The
Plants and animals spread, new ecosystems
Were born again…The cleansing allowed
Room for life to thrive…

“But the human survivors were of limited number…
In their day…humans of their lineage lived
For 1,000 to 1,200 years…That’s a lot of time for
One couple to have children…

“And it’s also a lot of time for outside forces to
Invade silently…secretively to tamper with genes…
The Empire’s devious forces were still lurking, studying
The life that survived…And they began tampering
With the surviving population…taking specimens
In the night…to study them, making them
Believe they were having nightmares, dreams…
While in fact they were being experimented on…

“They, the Dark Ones’ drove species…imparted
Various…additives into their DNA, playing
With their hormone levels…unstable. Mostly on
A mental level at first…Then they began
Adding fragmented DNA strands of other races
To…How do I put this, stack DNA levels
So that they could create mutated aspects
Faster. In a limited population, the DNA was
Already fixed…It would have been fine if left
Alone, nothing would have happened to their
Genetic integrity.

“Instead they were made more hormonal, libidinous…
Imparted with qualities of species that
Antagonized creative thinking, dreaming…
Anything to make them more afraid, more
Impatient…craving more…to make them breed
More, reproduce more offspring…slowly over
Generations the excessive breeding produced vast
Numbers of offspring, that inbred…The
Inbreeding caused a deterioration of their
Genes…

“When inbreeding occurs DNA fractures at the
Edges at first…and then slowly inward…
Until it’s structure collapses…Then you
Find disease…cellular instability…They lose
Their collective functional abilities…
It appears like aging…Growth rates
Become unstable, they quicken and
Slow then fall apart…You have shorter
Life spans…that decrease with each
Generation.

“Not to mention the physical appearance
Changes…There are aberrations, deformities…
Combine that with the influence of foreign
DNA strands at various stages of growth
And very quickly you have very different
Looking humans…

“For instance, the Sirian DNA influence
Increased the hair on their bodies and faces…
Reptilian DNA fragments exaggerated
Facial and skull structures…limbs…
Physical proportions…
In some cases they used fragments from
Conquered races that were very acutely sensitive…
Making the Earth humans more skittish…
Temperamental…Various species were used…
Until there were clans on Earth that sprang
That didn’t resemble humans at all…
The Simian factors were introduced…
Perhaps the only true race to be born on
Earth…such as the Sasquatch, and
Its counterpart hybrids you know as
Neanderthal man…Clans became
Tribes…Tribes became other races and
Soon the Earth was full of all sorts of
Biped humanoids…

“The size and temperamental variations in
These humanoids created conflict…
Until the true remaining tribes were
A minority…Eventually the clash of such
Hostile, violent new races resulted in their
Own destruction…They were so violent and
Unstable they killed off their own people…
Until only bands were left…

“Camp fire tales recorded history…cave
Paintings told the stories of survival…Since
Noah in the first days after the ark
Banned all technology as he declared it
Was a toxic convenience of the human spirit…
So without technology for thousands
Of years human history became a fable,
Stories that were distorted generation
After generation until one day…
Tribes in the lush new fertile grounds
Of an ending ice age oasis decidedly
Settled in fertile valleys to take up
Permanent residence…And all at once
Civilization came back…

“Cities rose again…and with cities, bullies…
Leaders…The strong dominated the weak…
And the smartest dominated them all.
The beastly biped humanoids were
Killed off or forced back into the depths
Of the wilderness to become the Forest People…
Sasquatch…

“Over time more and more new cities rose
Around the world as one ice age ended and the
Climate warmed…The population became
Diverse wherever the geography ordered it
So…along with skin color…body types and so
Forth.

“Modern man as you know him was born
This way…through a series of silent corrupt
Genetic tampering…

“For ages, generations, the Dark Empire
Monitored this new creation. We had never
Heard nor seen anything quite like it before.
Not so much variety on one single planet
That is.”

“You must understand,” Ceres interrupted,
Life does evolve on other worlds…it does.
But not this way, NOT like it has on
Earth! In space…at least from what
WE have seen most worlds do not evolve
With such extreme diversity. Diversity
Like this? So fast on one planet? You
Should see and hear what others say,”
She turned and gestured to a distant,
Invisible audience that I could not
See. “Many have sat and stared at the
Variety of species on Earth and marveled
How did this happen here?”

“You mean other planets don’t evolve
Or grow with this variety at all?” I asked.

Brishan was calm, but serious. “Please
Do not be offended at all by this. But
Yes, other worlds…at most you find
One or two humanoid type races…
And possibly one thriving ecosystem
With branches of slight variations…But
Not extreme differences. There have been
A lot of species on Earth. So many that
To record them all is ridiculous…No
Wonder prejudices abound on Earth!”

“The animal life alone has been an
Enviable treasure!” Ceres said. “The forces
That shaped this planet, shaped it for a
Very bountiful harvest of variety and
Pleasure…”

“But then what is all this stuff in
My dreams I have had about human
Experiments?”

“Well,” Brishan said calmly, “Tell me, us,
About some of these dreams you
Have had?”

Ceres sat up taller, more curious, pushed her
Long wavy blond hair over her shoulder. “I
Am curious…you sure have been dreaming more…”

“I thought you could see my dreams?”

“Thoughts, feelings…yes,” Brishan answered. “Dreams?
No. At least not entirely…Those come from
A deeper part of the mind…Well, it varies
With the individual…with more complex minds…
Reading becomes harder.”

“Oh.”

“So…please…” He went on. “Tell me about these
Dreams…You had questions?”

“Yes.” I said. “But your choice of topics here
Somewhat answers my questions a bit.”

“Why is that?” Brishan asked.

“He has an idea,” Ceres rolled her eyes, “Let’s
Not draw this out. My brother has an idea…
We were discussing it earlier. We just need more
Details, please Bill?”

“Alright,” I said… “These dreams I’ve had for
Years now…I thought they were just random
Nightmares. But they don’t feel right. They feel
Off somehow. They’re always different though…
But still creepy. They creep me out.”

“Creep you out?” Ceres asked with concern. “Why?”

“They just do.”

“So tell me, us then.” Brishan urged. “Please.”

“They’re not constant dreams, more periodic.”
I explained. “They usually happen when…I
Go somewhere that I’ve never gone before.”

“Go on,” Ceres said.

“Can I just tell you the most recent one
Rather than all of them?”

“Of course.” He said. “Whatever you are
Comfortable with.”

“Ok.” I explained. “Let me try…It started
At some kind of facility, a base I think. I
Don’t know if I was there, or just watching.
I don’t know if they could see me…At least
Not at first.

“There was this cafeteria…but it looked more
Like a café or restaurant…like it was modeled
That way, not to look so cold or prison-like.
There were a lot of people there eating, talking
At tables in small groups. They ranged in ages
From 20 to 30ish, maybe 40, I’m not sure.
They were wearing uniforms with insignias
On them. I couldn’t recognize anything other
Than a circle that looked like a planet, Earth?
But the uniforms were more informal…

“What bothered me most was their conversation.
They all seemed excited…talking fast to
Each other…about plans, ideas…hopes.
They kept talking about injections…Some
Project, like it was a big secret. But one
They were really excited about.

“They were all pretty fit looking. They did
Not seem like every day normal people off
The street. Soldiers maybe, recruits. I’m
Not sure. They were definitely select
Candidates that’s for sure, some I overheard
Volunteered…But they kept talking
About injections…the project…How special
They were…

“I heard them say they were promised super
Powers? Like they were all going to become
Superhumans with powers, all kinds of
Powers…They were very excited about it. All
Of them.

“There was a counter, like a bar, where
Many of them sat, talking really loud. They
Just kept going on and on about having
Super powers. One man kept talking
About how he wanted to fly…Another
How he wanted to have super strength…
They just laughed about it like it was
Some party…

“While they were laughing it suddenly
Turned weird…One of the men in
The room at a table full of people
Started gagging, choking…Then he fell
To the floor…At first people surrounded
Him trying to help. Then very quickly
Started gasping, choking…They started
Backing away because the man started
Transforming.

“I know this sounds strange, but…The man
Started turning into this tall, hairy
Wolfman…like a person with a wolf’s
Head…grayish-black in color. There were
Screams, people backed away.
Then it was like he, the wolfman, wasn’t
A person anymore…He started growling
Words, ‘humans,’ then tried attacking people.
Then it kept happening…There were
Alarms, guards with guns…The facility
Went under lockdown…

“No one appeared to see me?

“I saw more people transform as they
Were locked away…Some turned into more
Of these, wolf-men or dog-looking
Men…They were huge and tall and sinewy
With big wolf heads or heads like a
German Shepherd…They started fighting
The guards and organizing…

“But then others started transforming…into
These…lizard-like, dragon men? Tall
And green, or red, some were this strange
Reddish bronze color? Then they started
Organizing against the guards too.
It was nuts, chaos.

“There were riots. Suddenly it became clear
To the people they were not getting super-
Powers. It was something else…Those injections?
The guards couldn’t control them. The
People and these new mutants ran…

“And they did get out, out of the facility…
They were ranting about, a pack,
The contract, secrets…

“It was crazy, guns, shooting…Somehow
I was standing near this man
As people started getting out, FAST.
Then the man I
Was next to turned and looked at
Me…like he could see me…Then he
Kept saying he felt himself changing…
Changing into a wolfman, he was all
Excited.

“But he didn’t turn into some big wolfman!
He started changing into this huge
Grayish looking alien…tall,
Phosphorescent, transparent skin
With neon looking blood?? I was
Like what is going on? He had this
Huge elongated bulb-like head?
But some people didn’t change. Those
Are the ones the guards, doctors, base
Seemed to be looking for…not the ones
That changed…

“That’s when I woke up. I have had
Drams of these types of people before
But they were always in prison cells…
Locked away…crying out for help?
What are they?”

Brishan looked at Ceres, then back
At me…serious, again still calm.
“Experiments.”

“Experiments for what?”

“They’re obviously trying to find out
A way to see what these mysterious
Fragments in your DNA are by
Drawing them out, enhancing them.”

“But it’s awful.” I said.

“Did you think they would play
Fair? Actually create…openly
Superheroes?”

“I don’t know what to think. What
They did to these people was horrible.”

“Did they say anything to you?” Ceres
Asked.

“They just kept asking for help.” I
Answered. “Some were angry, saying
They would get revenge for what
Was done to them.”

“I know this is hard but you need to
Be brave about this…” Brishan said.
“You may not be able to stop them…But
You can make others aware.”

“Somehow that’s not very comforting.”

“Until there’s a way to help them all…
Beyond possibilities even we know…
You just have to do what you can
To survive and keep the stories
Going until it comes out…Knowledge
Is the greatest power to have…It
May seem small, but it’s not…no
Matter how scared you get or confused.
Remember that.”

Valiant

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