A Study of Hummus

"It... It will be a short day," Lainyng looked like she hadn't slept.  In a week. "We'll just go over the baseline tests, and then you're free  to relax."

Only half the staff scientist that usually worked in  the Direct Human Studies lab had shown up that morning. Or what counted  as a morning in space.

Reflex tests. The basic psychological  stuff. Alice had been at it long enough to stop trying to come up with  new word associations, and answered honestly.

There was a knock at  the door. And after a moment - Counsellor Grerbe entered. It was the  first time Alice had actually seen her in the labs.

"Ok folks, you've got a fifth - all hands to the food court." She was chipper, smiling - until her eyes met Lainyng's."

She waited for a moment as the room emptied. Lainyng and Alice were left.

Alice didn't understand just what Grerbe said to Lainyng, but she looked troubled. Uncertain.

"I have my duty, don't worry about it." Lainyng andwered back in English. She gave Alice a uncertain smile, then exited the lab.

"What... What's going on?" 

Grerbe regarded Alice for a long moment. "History. Is that something you care about?"

~

"Three  gross eighty seven or so ... I guess you would say 'years' ago... Our  species planted it's first colony on a third planet." Alice and Grerbe  walked side by side down the hallway, slowly, "This one." Alice had  noticed the sets of circles on the walls every so often, circling tiny  illustrations of ringed planets. She had guessed they were clocks.  Grerbe pointed out one with vertical rings and two moons. "After a war  for resources. A war both foolish - as they all are - and useless,  because it destroyed so much of what we then had as a species. But it  was easier to fight than to brave space. No ships like this back  then..." She drifted off. They continued to walk.

"I wasn't  around back then. Well, my line wasn't. In some ways you could say I'm a  product of that war. But more of the new world. It's... home is there.  My home, at least."

"Just how old are you?"

"Hmm? Oh, not  Three gross yeass, not nearly. I do remember reading in the reports that  some humans have this idea of genetic memory - do you believe that's  the case?"

"Not really. I don't know anything about farming or taming horses or managing rocks together or shit."

"Hmm.  I see. Yes, the concept seems to think that your DNA changes - we've  found no evidence of that. It's not exactly the same with us. One day,  supposedly, I'll have 'kids' as you humans call them... but I'll never  know them, because I'll be gone."

She stopped for a moment.

"If  they survive, they'll all have something of me in them though. They'll  grow up, make their memories, their mark on the worlds... This will be  important in a few minutes."

The food court had all the tables  and chairs cleared out, now lining the halls. The floor was covered with  mats. A small raised platform had been set up - a few milled around,  but more slimes than Alice had yet seen  sat on the floor, talking among  themselves, pointing towards the soon to be stage.

"Every Gross -  centennial isn't the right word, but you know - They send out a 'chime  of peace' - a normal space communication. Speed of light. And the Third  Gross Chime is going to be reaching us in a few moments. It's a day to  remember the war... and celebrate the peace."

Five approached the stage. "It must be getting close..."

Lainyng... looked different. Alice couldn't tell just how she even knew it was Lainyng, but it definitely was.

Don't know them.

Don't know them.

Ken'di... was there too.

"Oh.  You two are... you can sit with me if you're comfortable with that. Or  head back to your room. Nobody would be mad at you." Grerbe made her way  to the edge of the gathered crowd, giving one last reassuring look  before sitting down on one of the few mats left. She sat on the edge so  there was a space.

Alice looked at the crowd. Except  for her... extremely alien looking friends on the stage, all there back  were to her. It felt like a classroom. It felt like...

She sat down by Grerbe.

~

There was a long silence.

It  wasn't over some speaker some intercom. The ship started to rattle.  Alarmingly. An Earthquake in space. Grerbe put a hand on her leg,  reassuring. The shaking calmed.

Grerbe leaned over and whispered, "The Survivors' guilt."

Someone  on the stage was speaking. But it was more than that... somthing was  giving her a headache. A BAD headache. Alice... she wasn't holding  together. She started to melt.

"Oh - oh dear - here, come here here, let's try..."

Something passed. There was... It felt like Grerbe. It felt like IMAX. There was... Calcaei  and the jewel of the sky at one hand and Ring'd Weltra at at the other,  hung in the vastness of space, orbiting a blue-white star. There were  space battles. Lives valiantly lost. Lives terribly lost. Planets lit  like the stars, clouds of blue...

And some survived.

There was mourning. There was hatred. We tried to be better than we were, and became worse.

And some survived.

Calcaei and the ember of the sky, Weltra of the scarred path. 

The cries of suffering had become too loud. The fleets rebelled.

Iu'husid, the eye of judgement.

Iu'husid, the gaze of the stars.

In the hashness of that world they built a peace, and stilled their anger. When the returned, they ended the tyrants.

~

Alice  was slowly recovering. Slowly the music filtered in. Obviously it was a  party. Dancing. Food. She was pretty sure she recognized some rock and  roll in the paylist at some point.

Eventually she recognized Grerbe - still there at her side. Relived as she slowly started to respond. And...

Lainyng that wasn't. She had been on the ships... she was responsible for some of those bombs.

Grerbe put Alice's shaking and Lainyng's appearance together quickly - dismissing the latter.

She cradled the girl tightly.

"I  will never see my children. But they'll all have somthing of me inside  them. And their children, and their children, and their children. It  will be part of them... but it won't be them. They'll grow. They'll  learn. And I hope they'll be better than I could ever be. The memories  can be hard to draw out. But that wasn't Lainyng back then - and Lainyng  will be back soon... It's ok...

"It's ok."