better,” Amanda said.
“My parents had been here before, many years ago. This planet was a very different place then. Human beings lived an idyllic lifestyle in an environment that was utopia. When we arrived six months ago, my parents were surprised to find war, disease, ecological devastation, pestilence, plague, and misery. They think the aliens have been here about three or four years. The aliens changed you using the same technology that has just been used here.” Chrysalis used her burger to gesture at the restaurant around them. “They gave you nuclear weapons, armies, and warships and hatred of one another. They constructed a history for you of endless wars, famine and disease. They degraded the environment to match the new world they had constructed. Everything you have been taught about the past, even your own memories, was constructed by the aliens.”
“Three or four years ago? Are you trying to tell me that I grew up in a utopia and now I don’t know anything about it?”
“Yes.”
“But I know there wasn’t a McCain’s here. I remember Fossils Park as it was,” Amanda said.
Chrysalis pointed to the bracelet on Amanda’s wrist.
Now Amanda understood. “Is that why you told me never to take it off?” Amanda said. “It never was about protecting me, was it?”
“It did protect you. It stopped them from changing you, or worse, make it so that you never existed at all.”
“Oh,” Amanda said, suddenly feeling frightened.
“That’s why we have to fight them. Until every last one of them are dead. Only then will your world, as it was, return.”
“How many of them are there?” Amanda said.
“Millions.”
“I think I’m going to need more than a sword if I’m going to save the world,” Amanda said.
“The more we learn to fight, the more resources will be given to us by the minder.”
“Could your parents kill all of them?”
“Yes, probably.”
“If they want all of the aliens dead,” Amanda said, “why don’t they do this themselves?” Her face fell. “Oh. It’s not about saving the world, is it?”
“No. Until I prove myself, I can’t hatch into an adult.”
“You don’t even care about saving the world,” Amanda said.
“No.”
“Well, at least that’s honest,” Amanda said, deciding that maybe sometimes it was better not to be honest.
“That’s the difference between us,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t even understand how you would give up your own life to save your planet. I think that’s the most amazingly courageous thing to do. Perhaps that’s an echo of how you were before the aliens came and they haven’t been able to crush it.”
“Don’t get too carried away with that,” Amanda said. “I don’t know that I’m really into the total sacrifice thing.”
“If we don’t win here, I will die, your world will stay as it is, perhaps you’ll die too, or the aliens will change you to someone else.”
“Is that when your parents take their revenge on the aliens and we get utopia back?”
“No,” Chrysalis said, surprised. “I am only one Chrysalis Young amongst many who want to hatch. They will simply move on and see if another Chrysalis Young can do better elsewhere.”
“They won’t even shed a few tears for you? Get a little choked up?”
“No.”
“Chrysalis, that’s horrible,” Amanda said. “I guess we’re back to killing zombies.”
But Chrysalis had a better plan. “Instead of waiting for them to attack us. We’ll go and kill them wherever we find them and the more we kill, the more resources we get, meaning we can kill many more of them at one time.”
“And any humans that turn to zombies, I keep them off your back,” Amanda said
“Yes,”
“It’s going to take us a couple of lifetimes to deal to millions of aliens,” Amanda said. “And they’re all over the world. I might have a hard job explaining to my parents why I suddenly want to go to Africa, or Switzerland or someplace, during my semester
“My parents had been here before, many years ago. This planet was a very different place then. Human beings lived an idyllic lifestyle in an environment that was utopia. When we arrived six months ago, my parents were surprised to find war, disease, ecological devastation, pestilence, plague, and misery. They think the aliens have been here about three or four years. The aliens changed you using the same technology that has just been used here.” Chrysalis used her burger to gesture at the restaurant around them. “They gave you nuclear weapons, armies, and warships and hatred of one another. They constructed a history for you of endless wars, famine and disease. They degraded the environment to match the new world they had constructed. Everything you have been taught about the past, even your own memories, was constructed by the aliens.”
“Three or four years ago? Are you trying to tell me that I grew up in a utopia and now I don’t know anything about it?”
“Yes.”
“But I know there wasn’t a McCain’s here. I remember Fossils Park as it was,” Amanda said.
Chrysalis pointed to the bracelet on Amanda’s wrist.
Now Amanda understood. “Is that why you told me never to take it off?” Amanda said. “It never was about protecting me, was it?”
“It did protect you. It stopped them from changing you, or worse, make it so that you never existed at all.”
“Oh,” Amanda said, suddenly feeling frightened.
“That’s why we have to fight them. Until every last one of them are dead. Only then will your world, as it was, return.”
“How many of them are there?” Amanda said.
“Millions.”
“I think I’m going to need more than a sword if I’m going to save the world,” Amanda said.
“The more we learn to fight, the more resources will be given to us by the minder.”
“Could your parents kill all of them?”
“Yes, probably.”
“If they want all of the aliens dead,” Amanda said, “why don’t they do this themselves?” Her face fell. “Oh. It’s not about saving the world, is it?”
“No. Until I prove myself, I can’t hatch into an adult.”
“You don’t even care about saving the world,” Amanda said.
“No.”
“Well, at least that’s honest,” Amanda said, deciding that maybe sometimes it was better not to be honest.
“That’s the difference between us,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t even understand how you would give up your own life to save your planet. I think that’s the most amazingly courageous thing to do. Perhaps that’s an echo of how you were before the aliens came and they haven’t been able to crush it.”
“Don’t get too carried away with that,” Amanda said. “I don’t know that I’m really into the total sacrifice thing.”
“If we don’t win here, I will die, your world will stay as it is, perhaps you’ll die too, or the aliens will change you to someone else.”
“Is that when your parents take their revenge on the aliens and we get utopia back?”
“No,” Chrysalis said, surprised. “I am only one Chrysalis Young amongst many who want to hatch. They will simply move on and see if another Chrysalis Young can do better elsewhere.”
“They won’t even shed a few tears for you? Get a little choked up?”
“No.”
“Chrysalis, that’s horrible,” Amanda said. “I guess we’re back to killing zombies.”
But Chrysalis had a better plan. “Instead of waiting for them to attack us. We’ll go and kill them wherever we find them and the more we kill, the more resources we get, meaning we can kill many more of them at one time.”
“And any humans that turn to zombies, I keep them off your back,” Amanda said
“Yes,”
“It’s going to take us a couple of lifetimes to deal to millions of aliens,” Amanda said. “And they’re all over the world. I might have a hard job explaining to my parents why I suddenly want to go to Africa, or Switzerland or someplace, during my semester
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