The Alien by K. A. Applegate
Authors: K. A. Applegate
got it,â Marco said sarcastically.
I asked Marco.
He shrugged. âLike I would know? What am I, a science teacher?â
âA radio telescope is a telescope that sees by picking up radio waves and other radiation from outer space,â Cassie said.
Marco gave her an incredulous look.
âNot all of us sleep through science class, Marco,â Cassie said.
âWhat?â Marco snapped. âWhat about the changes you made?â
Suddenly I stopped. The truth . . . the
whole
truth . . . was beginning to dawn on me. A radio telescope? A huge, high-powered collector of broad-spectrum energy?
My mind raced through memories of classes from a long time ago. I could almost picture my teacher explaining . . . yes. Yes! With the right adjustments, the right software . . . Yes, I could bounce the collected energy back, focus it, modulate it with my own mind, and . . .
And break into Z-Space. Zero space.
I could use the system to send messages through Z-Space! I could communicate with my own world!
I felt it as a blow that made me weak. It was true. I could use that radio telescope to call my home world. To call my people. My family.
I donât think I had ever admitted, till that moment, just how much I wanted to see another Andalite.
âAx, what are you hiding
now
?â Rachel demanded.
I tried to concentrate on her question. But my mind was spinning. It made me feel weak. I could contact my home planet. I
could
.
But at the same time, there was another truth: I had to destroy this technology. I had broken the law of
Seerowâs Kindness
. I had given the humans a huge advance in technology!
âAx, Rachel asked you a question,â Prince Jake said tersely. âWhat is this? Whatâs up with you?â
My duty was clear. I could not tell my human friends what I had done. I had to erase the damage.
But before I did that . . . would it be wrong to contact my family? Would it be so wrong to once again see them?
I lied.
T hey left, and I ate. I feed at dark whenever possible. It is not the way I would do it at home, but I must always be very careful not to be seen.
When I run in the open spaces it must either be dark, or Tobias must watch over me.
My friends tell me that from a distance I look like a normal Earth animal. A deer, or perhaps a small horse. But if any human saw me clearly, he or she would immediately know that I am not an Earth species.
So I eat at night, running wildly through the open grassy fields where Cassieâs farm meets the edge of the forest. I run beneath a single moon, so different from the moons of my own world. The moon of Earth rises and sets. On some nights it cannot be seen at all. There are always at least two moons in our sky. And when all four moons are in the night sky, it is nearly as bright as day.
Home. Eighty-two light-years away. Sometimes I hurt from thinking about my home. A warrior has to overcome that. But on nights when I stood alone in the forest, or ran alone in the fields, I couldnât help but think of home.
And now it was worse. So much worse, thinking that I could talk to them, if I really wanted to.
I could turn the humansâ radio telescope into a Z-Space communicator. But if I did, I would have broken our own law. I would have given the humans an advanced technology.
I couldnât do it. I wasnât Elfangor. I couldnât just decide to break the law of
Seerowâs Kindness
.
And yet, in the back of my mind, there was another thought. I had already accidentally transferred the software to the humans. It was an accident, so I hadnât broken the rules. And if I went to the observatory to wipe out the software . . . I would actually be doing the right thing.
I could go to the observatory and
He shrugged. âLike I would know? What am I, a science teacher?â
âA radio telescope is a telescope that sees by picking up radio waves and other radiation from outer space,â Cassie said.
Marco gave her an incredulous look.
âNot all of us sleep through science class, Marco,â Cassie said.
âWhat?â Marco snapped. âWhat about the changes you made?â
Suddenly I stopped. The truth . . . the
whole
truth . . . was beginning to dawn on me. A radio telescope? A huge, high-powered collector of broad-spectrum energy?
My mind raced through memories of classes from a long time ago. I could almost picture my teacher explaining . . . yes. Yes! With the right adjustments, the right software . . . Yes, I could bounce the collected energy back, focus it, modulate it with my own mind, and . . .
And break into Z-Space. Zero space.
I could use the system to send messages through Z-Space! I could communicate with my own world!
I felt it as a blow that made me weak. It was true. I could use that radio telescope to call my home world. To call my people. My family.
I donât think I had ever admitted, till that moment, just how much I wanted to see another Andalite.
âAx, what are you hiding
now
?â Rachel demanded.
I tried to concentrate on her question. But my mind was spinning. It made me feel weak. I could contact my home planet. I
could
.
But at the same time, there was another truth: I had to destroy this technology. I had broken the law of
Seerowâs Kindness
. I had given the humans a huge advance in technology!
âAx, Rachel asked you a question,â Prince Jake said tersely. âWhat is this? Whatâs up with you?â
My duty was clear. I could not tell my human friends what I had done. I had to erase the damage.
But before I did that . . . would it be wrong to contact my family? Would it be so wrong to once again see them?
I lied.
T hey left, and I ate. I feed at dark whenever possible. It is not the way I would do it at home, but I must always be very careful not to be seen.
When I run in the open spaces it must either be dark, or Tobias must watch over me.
My friends tell me that from a distance I look like a normal Earth animal. A deer, or perhaps a small horse. But if any human saw me clearly, he or she would immediately know that I am not an Earth species.
So I eat at night, running wildly through the open grassy fields where Cassieâs farm meets the edge of the forest. I run beneath a single moon, so different from the moons of my own world. The moon of Earth rises and sets. On some nights it cannot be seen at all. There are always at least two moons in our sky. And when all four moons are in the night sky, it is nearly as bright as day.
Home. Eighty-two light-years away. Sometimes I hurt from thinking about my home. A warrior has to overcome that. But on nights when I stood alone in the forest, or ran alone in the fields, I couldnât help but think of home.
And now it was worse. So much worse, thinking that I could talk to them, if I really wanted to.
I could turn the humansâ radio telescope into a Z-Space communicator. But if I did, I would have broken our own law. I would have given the humans an advanced technology.
I couldnât do it. I wasnât Elfangor. I couldnât just decide to break the law of
Seerowâs Kindness
.
And yet, in the back of my mind, there was another thought. I had already accidentally transferred the software to the humans. It was an accident, so I hadnât broken the rules. And if I went to the observatory to wipe out the software . . . I would actually be doing the right thing.
I could go to the observatory and
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