CHAPTER TWO
DON’T GET MAD…
Still asleep, the twenty-four were transported to the cube, each in a separate bed. The ladies were placed on one side of the cube; the gentlemen were placed on the other.
Before being transported, all of them were given a treatment for any afflictions they had. Wayne was given the ability to walk. Christian was also given a treatment to cure his sleep apnea. Helen’s crippling pain was taken away. Scott, who wore glasses, now had 20/20 vision.
All had a device placed on their ears and throat. This was a universal translator that would allow any spoken word to be translated to their native language.
Around six o’clock, the first of them, Chloe, woke up to her strange new surroundings. She let out a loud scream. This set off a chain reaction that woke up the other ladies.
Thirty minutes later, Scott woke up and let out a similar yell, waking the rest of the men. Wayne let out another yell, this one of happiness. For the first time in four years, he was able to walk.
Quincy felt something unusual on his head. Not knowing what it was, he ripped off the translator.
At eight o’clock, a voice rang out throughout the cube.
“Everyone needs to meet in the center of the cube. All will be explained then.”
While everyone understood what the voice said, all Quincy heard was a bunch of gibberish. He did hear other voices that he could understand. He followed those voices to the center of the cube.
At the center of the cube was a dinner table with twenty-four chairs. The table was forty feet long by ten feet wide and made from pine. Ten chairs were placed on each of the long sides, two on the short sides.
One by one, they sat. Benjamin and Tracy ran to each other when he saw her. The other married people wondered why their spouses were left behind.
At nine o’clock, a full breakfast buffet was beamed to the table. There were pancakes, bacon, ham, eggs, sausage, toast, fruit, juices, milk and coffee. Some were hesitant to eat. Others were quick to load up a plate.
After breakfast, the voice appeared again. They could hear him, but couldn’t see him.
“No harm will come to you. You may call me Levi. I come from the planet Qadaris. We received an invitation from your planet. You are merely being studied.”
“Studied?”
“We have seen that yours is a primitive world. A world with a primal race of people. We have come to make your world a better place. Before we can do that, we must know more about you. For the next two weeks, we will find out more about what makes you tick.”
Cassidy slept with her cell phone. She tried to call her parents.
“Your methods of communication won’t work inside the cube. Speaking of communication, I see that one of you has removed his translator. In order to understand us, you must wear it. Can one of you tell him to put his translator back on?”
Another translator appeared in front of Quincy. Once he put it on, he was able to understand everything.
Levi explained that meals would be served every day at nine, one and six o’clock.
Meanwhile outside of the cube, Chloe’s husband Shawn noticed her missing from bed. He thought she was out for her morning run. However, when she didn’t return four hours later, he knew something was wrong. He called the New York City Police department to file a missing persons report.
The police told him that a report couldn’t be filed until the person had been missing for more than forty-eight hours.
Around the world, the same thing happened. People woke up to missing spouses or family members. They called the police and were given the same speech.
Back inside the cube, the twenty-four got to know each other better. If they were going to spend the next two weeks together, they may as well know who they were staying with.
When Travis found out that Jessica Schumacher was in the group, he got all giddy. “OMG! I’ve seen all of your movies. I’m a huge fan of yours. My friends are gonna be so jellin’ that I met the Jessica Schumacher.”
Christian refused to stand up. You see, the clothing provided by the Qadarians was form fitting, hugging every last curve, and Cassidy had plenty of curves. Looking at her or anyone else was like looking at them naked. Christian was aroused at the sight of this and was embarrassed to show it.
When Brody told them he served in the Marines, Francis told him he served in the Navy during Vietnam. When Wyatt said he was a cop, Quincy panicked. He explained that he was in jail and why he was there.
For the next few hours, they shared stories. At one o’clock, a plate of meats, cheeses, and breads appeared on the table.
After lunch, Levi came back.
“The first thing we noticed about your planet was it was full of anger. We want to know what causes the anger. What makes you angry?”
Twyla was the first to speak up. “Gary makes me angry. We dated for six months. We were talking about moving in together. We had the perfect relationship.
“Then, that son of a bitch got me pregnant. I never saw a man run so fast when I told him the news. I guess that immature little prick couldn’t be a man and own up to his responsibility. He left me to have this kid all by myself. You better believe once this kid is born, I’m going to sue his ass for child support.”
Quincy spoke next. “Well, I would say killing my wife and her lover would be enough to make me angry. Veronica and I were happily married for seven years. At least, I thought we were happily married.
“That was until I saw that bitch in bed having sex with our electrician. She didn’t see me, but I saw enough. I didn’t think; I just acted. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a meat cleaver. I ran back to the bedroom and barged in. I reared back and hacked into the electrician. As she screamed in terror, I hacked into her. Repeatedly, I sliced her neck until she was decapitated.
“When I saw the end result, I dropped to my knees. What had I done? My anger had gotten the better of me.”
“It’s like my father always says,” Michael said. “‘He who angers you conquers you.’ When I was in high school, the jocks would always taunt me about my race. They called me ‘kemo sabe’ and ‘Plays with Self’. I never let them get the best of me.
“When they saw they couldn’t get to me, they started taunting my girlfriend. Again, I didn’t let them get to me. Then, they put their hands on Serena. That was something my upbringing said you never do.
“I got suspended for a week for fighting, but I made sure they never messed with me or Serena ever again.”
“I got mad when I was violated,” said Chloe. “I had an important flight from New York to Dallas. I got stopped by security. I knew my belt buckle set off the alarm. I took off my belt and went through again.
“I had no metal on me, yet the alarm went off again. They pulled me aside into a secluded room. They said I had to strip down to my bra and panties. I asked why. I had no metal on me. They said it was regulation.
“Reluctantly, I did. They told me to face the wall with my hands over my head and my legs spread. They groped my breasts and grabbed my ass. As I had told them repeatedly, they found nothing. I got dressed and just barely made my flight.
“I wonder how many other women they did this to. I’m considering filing a civil suit again the airport.”
Francis was next to speak up. “I’m mad at the government. All they do is look out for themselves. They are all about how much they can make. They don’t care what happens to Joe White Collar.
“When the government defaulted on the national debt, they did away with Social Security and Medicare. I have a heart condition. How am I supposed to afford my medication? If anything happens to my house, I can’t afford an apartment or a retirement center. I would have to ask one of my kids to stay with them. They don’t need the burden.
“In the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln said ‘that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth’. Looks like he was wrong, because today, government is of party loyalty, by the highest
bidder, for themselves.”
“Sounds like what I have to go through every day,” Jessica said. “Picture what it’s like to have someone taking your picture everywhere you go. The paparazzi are there whenever I go out to eat, whenever I go shopping, whenever I go anywhere. I’m afraid to take my clothes off to take a shower, wondering if they are waiting to take my picture.
“They’re nothing but a disgusting group of vultures looking for fresh meat to prey on. I thought the Constitution gave the right to privacy.
“If I did this to a guy on the street, it would be considered stalking, and I would be arrested. Yet if they take hundreds of pictures of me when I’m home alone or with my friends, it’s legal. Where is the justice in that?
“The strange thing is, I actually feel safer here than outside. At least here I know those leeches can’t get to me. I can do whatever I want here and not have to look over my shoulder for a camera going off.” That put a smile on Travis’s face.
Wyatt said, “Don’t get me started on justice. About two years ago, we had a report about a guy who was molesting nine and ten-year-old girls. Having a daughter about that age, I was incensed.
“When we finally arrested him, it took every ounce of restraint to keep from beating him within an inch of his miserable life. I knew, though, if I did act on my thoughts, this perp would claim police brutality and walk.
“Fortunately, as what happens to most sex offenders, prison justice was served. He survived six months of his thirty year sentence before one of the inmates killed him.”
“What is it about guys and sex?” Cassidy said. “Is that all they think about?
“When I was in high school, guys tried their best to talk me into having sex with them, like I was some kind of trophy, a conquest. Sorry guys, I’m going to have sex when I’m ready, not when you want it.”
“Were you giving them any signals thinking they had a chance?” Travis asked.
“No. Just typical guys misreading my friendly nature,” she replied.
“I understand you being upset, but don’t judge the lot of us by our worst examples.”
Luisa spoke up in a thick Spanish accent. “Where is a good example? I thought I had one with my husband Emilio. We were married for eleven years. He gave me three children.
“Then, one day out of the blue, he asks me for a divorce. He said he just didn’t feel the same way as he did when we were first married. I granted him the divorce.
“He left town without as much as a forwarding address. In the year and a half since the divorce was finalized, I have yet to see a single penny in alimony or child support. If anyone can find that deadbeat son of a bitch, I would gladly give them the back payments for the chance to tell him and show him how I really feel.”
“I know how it is to get nothing from a no-good husband,” Barbara said. “I married Jack as his business was starting to increase. He was a home builder.
“While he was making all his money, my artwork wasn’t selling as well. He had the nerve to say I wasn’t pulling my weight in our relationship.
“Then, the economy took a nosedive, and so, too, did the housing market. Between foreclosures and lack of interest in new houses, he was driven out of business. He had the nerve to ask for my money from the few paintings I did sell.
“We separated soon afterwards. He refused to give up the house, so I had nowhere to go. I got a small apartment, a far cry from what I was used to. That didn’t last for long. I couldn’t find a job. That is how I ended up in the homeless shelter.”
Now, it was Benjamin’s turn. “I know a thing or two about the housing market. Nothing annoys me more than when someone comes in wanting a huge loan for a car or house, then not having the means to pay it back.
“Do they think I’m just giving money away? Am I that stupid? I’m trying to run a bank, and to have someone asking for twenty thousand or a hundred thousand dollar loan while making nine dollars an hour insults my intelligence.”
“Shortly after my husband Alan, God rest his soul, turned sixty-five,” Helen said, “he was laid off from his job on the assembly line. Never mind he was one of the hardest, more dependable workers for the company.
“They wanted to cut payroll and yet keep the same number of employees. So, what better way than to cut loose one of their senior associates on the high end of the pay scale and hire an entry-level person at base pay.
“What about employee loyalty? Pride in workmanship? Nope. It’s all about the almighty dollar, how many you can make and how many you can save.”
“My wife Dolores and I were so happy,” Wayne said. “She was a substitute teacher; I was a flight instructor, teaching people to fly small single-engine planes.
“That was until the accident that left me paralyzed. As the medical bills piled up and the income dwindled, I could see the spark fade from her eyes.
“Eventually, the responsibility of taking care of a handicap was too much for her. She left in the middle of the night. She basically took the coward’s way out and left me to fend for myself.”
Levi responded, “Thank you for the explanation. As I look around, I have another question. Are you different species?”
“Beg your pardon?”
“Well, some of you have darker skin than others?”
This offended Neveah and Quincy. “Excuse me?”
“On our planet, everyone looks the same. There are no darker or lighter, tall or short. I meant no offense.”
Brody decided to ask a question. “Can you tell us a little about your planet?”
“Well, our world is close to yours in size. We are a population of thirty million people. Our day is equivalent to thirty-seven hours and twenty-one minutes of yours. Our year is equivalent to two hundred fifty-nine days and four hours of yours.”
“What about your appearance? Why don’t you show yourself?”
“Enough questions for today. Now, we understand today is your day of ‘Giving Thanks’.”
“You mean Thanksgiving.”
“Yes. Well, we have prepared a traditional earth ‘Thanks giving’ feast.”
On the table appeared a huge twenty-pound turkey with all the fixings. Sweet potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn on the cob, rolls, and pumpkin pie.
As they ate, others shared their stories of anger.
After he said grace, Dennis said, “When I think of anger, I think of the story of Cain and Abel. They were brothers and the sons of Adam and Eve.
“Genesis, Chapter 3, Verse 1: ‘Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.’’
“Verse 2: ‘Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.’ Verse 3: ‘In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.’
“Verses 4 and 5: ‘And Abel also brought an offering of fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.’
“Verses 6 and 7: ‘Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.’’
“Verse 8: ‘Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.’
“Cain was jealous of the favor and attention that his brother Abel was getting from God. His anger led him to kill his brother.”
“I know what betrayal is all about,” Travis said. “I dated Lexie Montgomery my senior year. We had even talked about getting married one day.
“But I got accepted to Portland St., and she went to Oregon St. My best friend Bradley Rausch also got accepted to Oregon St.
“We tried to make the
long distance relationship work. Lately, her roommate answered the phone when I called. She was always out.
“Right before Finals Week, I went to visit her. I found out why she never returned my calls. She was seeing Bradley behind my back. I ended the relationship on the spot.”
“At least you got to go to college,” Marc said. Well, he said it in French, but thanks to the translator, everyone heard it in English. Likewise, all the others’ comments were translated into French for him. “I was all set to go to Central Michigan on a basketball scholarship.
“In our next to last game, I was having a great game, with twenty-eight points and eleven rebounds. Then, with five minutes in the game, someone from the other team dove for a loose ball and hit me in the knee.
“I crumbled to the ground in major pain. I tried to stand, but fell again. The doctor told me I had a torn ACL.
“When the Chippewas learned of my injury, they revoked my basketball scholarship. I couldn’t afford the tuition on my own, my parents made too much to qualify for grants, and my grades weren’t good enough for academic scholarships. That is why I’m a construction worker now.”
“Sounds like my employers,” Scott said. “They feel that because you play athletics that academics don’t matter. There is a reason they are called student-athletes, with the emphasis on student.
“I don’t believe in giving someone a passing grade they didn’t earn. Others had to struggle to find the means to attend college; others earned the right with their grades. And these overpriviliged athletes think they can be given a free ride and cruise through without doing the work. Not on my watch.”
“I had just the opposite happen to me in college,” Neveah said. “It seemed to me that some of the professors gave me a harder time than the others because I was black and they were white.
“While some of them got easy assignments, they seemed to give me the more difficult cases to study. Actually, I shouldn’t be mad at them. All they did was make me work harder and make me a better student and judge.
“Still, it felt like a case of discrimination. For the sake of the university, I kept my beliefs to myself.”
“This seems petty compared to some of yours,” Tracy said. “My neighbor has a yapping little dog.
“A dog who loves to dig holes in my backyard and leave presents in my front yard. I’ve stepped on them on more than one occasion.
“I’ve warned them time and time to keep their dog in their own yard. And time and time again, those warnings fell on deaf ears.
“Finally, I called the dog catcher when I saw it taking a dump on my lawn. My neighbor no longer speaks to me.”
“At least the dog catcher didn’t kill him, I hope,” Robin said. “Nothing makes me madder than seeing innocent animals killed for no good reason.
“Besides being a vegetarian, I’m also active in PETA. Killing chickens, cow and pigs for food is bad enough. Killing animals for their fur is cruel and inhumane. How can a mink or a chinchilla defend itself?
“Or killing elephants for its ivory? Whales for its blubber? When will the madness stop? Animals have rights, too. Just because they can’t speak up and defend their rights is no reason to ignore them.”
“The only time I ever get angry is at myself,” Akiko said. “Every time I lose a patient on the operating table, I say to myself, ‘What could I have done better to save him?’
“I know I’m not perfect. I know I can’t save everyone that comes in. I want to use everything my training has taught me to save as many lives as I can.”
“Alright, who hasn’t gone yet? Christian?”
“Well, I have been rather large most of my life. It really made me mad anytime someone would tease me about my weight.
“Gym class was especially rough. They would always laugh at me when I couldn’t do a single pull-up. I always finished last in races, and the other kids would say things like ‘Hurry up, fat boy’ and ‘Let’s run again. I bet we can still beat him.’
“Even the girls made fun of me. None would talk to me, not even to get me out of her way.”
“Anyone else? Brody?”
“Well, I come from a long line of military Wilkeses. My dad served in the Marines. My uncle served in the Marines. My grandfather served in the Marines.
“So, when the terrorists attacked on 9/11, the patriot in me knew I had to do my fair share to make every last one of them pay. That was when I enlisted.
“I got even more angry when I was deployed to Iraq instead of Afghanistan. I still killed any enemy I saw overseas.”
“I guess that just leaves me,” said Bella. “I was driving along one day, just minding my own business when I got rear-ended by some idiot.
“Luckily, I wasn’t hurt, but by the time I got out to see the damage, I could see him driving away. I didn’t even have time to jot down his license plate.
“I knew he didn’t have insurance, and all I had was liability. My fender was all dented up. It had to be at least a few hundred dollars to repair coming out of my pocket.”
After talking for a bit more, they left for bed.
Meanwhile, the Qadarians were making plans of their own. Tomorrow, they would reveal themselves to the rest of the world.