Adaptation: book I by Pepper Pace Page A

withdrew from her body. He had felt as close to death as he ever had and wondered if he had finally gone too far. He thought about his parents and friends and wondered if he met his end on Earth would anyone truly care. Bilal hunkered into a ball and shivered knowing that if he retreated completely within himself and passed out, the human would likely awaken and cover him with kerosene and torch him. It would damage him in the way that a bullet really couldn’t. As long as his filaments retreated and coiled into a ball within the mass of his body, then he might survive being burned alive. 
    Not wanting to take that chance, as soon as he could, Bilal sluggishly left the house. He didn’t know if he could make it back to his pod, but he had no choice. It took a day, but he made it, programmed the pod to return to the mother ship, retreated into himself, and lost consciousness.
    ~***~
    Upon awakin g, Bilal had found himself surrounded by his four parents, their tentacles pressed into his body. His eyes focused on his First Mother. Her skin was mottled black and red because she was angry, yet a tentacle formed to caress his face. He formed a tentacle and intertwined it with hers. It was akin to a human hug and kiss.
    A First Mother’s bond was strongest because she had carried him. Bilal had two mothers and two fathers. Their DNA had been mixed in order to create him before he had been implanted into his mother. It was the most efficient way to coexist on a mother ship that traveled through space for years on end. The limited space meant that one family consisted of multiple parents. Offspring generally lived with their parents until it was time for them to reproduce and to form their own family units. Parents went through a great deal to negotiate the best match. Certain traits possessed by a Centaurian were more desirable than others. But that was not the only consideration. Social standing also factored in.
    Mina, his First Mother, had been highly desired despite her being much older than his other parents. She was a high-ranking official in the Centaurian hierarchy and was one of the few Centaurians who had only one mate like in the old days. Her first mating had occurred long before her new mates had been born, and unfortunately her original mate had died of old age. A short time later it was negotiated that she would join a newly formed family. When it was time to create a child, she had demanded to be First Mother. Perhaps that was why there was some animosity between Bilal’s mothers. His Second Mother, Baba, had argued that Mina had already given birth to a child and it was her turn. Mina had never bonded with the family because of her previous mating, and the fathers thought that if she bore the child then it would help her.
    It hadn’t, and once Bilal had become an adult, she moved into her own home.
    His First Mother had gone against tradition when she had formed her own separate house away from her partners, a luxury only now possible since the formation of Earth 2 and the extended living space afforded to them. She had then invited Bilal to live with her, which he had done happily. It had deepened the animosity with his Second Mother, who didn’t even like him. It shouldn’t have ever mattered, but it caused a huge scandal within the Centaurian community. Some tried to pass laws against it fearing the collapse of Centaurian family units, but it was more unpopular to pass such laws than to allow an unhappy partner to leave. Because Centaurians were so rooted in tradition, not many considered doing such a thing.
    Baba removed her tentacles from Bilal, and he gave her a weary look. Here it comes …
    “Child, what have you done to yourself this time?”
    Child? He was an adult. His body formed into a ball, and he reached out a tentacle to communicate without words. “Mother-baba, I was attacked.”
    “Attacked?” his fathers asked, listening to his conversation through their own tentacle connection. “By