—I’m not sure I under—
—If you lived on Earth back then, either your line died out and you have nnn.… no descendants at all, or you’re an ancestor to everyone alive … t … today. Everyone who lived a couple thousand years ago, and whose line didn’t di … disappear, is your ancestor, and mine, and everyone else’s.
— …
—Dr. Franklin?
—That’s it, isn’t it?
—That is wh … what?
—If aliens roamed the planet three thousand years ago, they couldn’t have just a handful of descendants alive today. They’d either have none—and we know that’s not true, I met one yesterday—or …
—Are you saying … ?
—That’s exactly what I’m saying. Or they’d be a distant ancestor to everyone alive. I didn’t survive because I have alien DNA, I’m alive because I’m one of the few people who doesn’t. We’re all aliens, part alien anyway. Every single person on Earth—well, 99.95 percent of them—has alien genetics.
—That’s cr … crazy.
—Thank you, Alyssa. Your services won’t be required anymore. These gentlemen will escort you out and take you … well, we’ll figure that part out soon enough. Goodbye, Alyssa.
PART FIVE
IN THE BLOOD
FILE NO. 1619
INTERVIEW WITH MR. BURNS, OCCUPATION UNKNOWN
Location: New Dynasty Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Circle, Washington, DC
—They came for you, didn’t they?
—What? No hello? No “it’s nice to see you again”?
—They’re here to kill you, not us!
—Fine, then. No hello.
—They made that gas so it would kill anyone who shared genetic material with them. They came here to wipe you out. They probably thought there were only a handful of you. But we all started dying, and they realized everyone on Earth—almost everyone—has alien genes. That’s why they stopped.
—Bingo! I told you you were smart enough! Just enough.
—You lied to us! Everything you told us … Everything you told him, it was all a lie!
—First, I only told him a story. I never said it was the truth. Besides, everything I’ve said is true, more or less. I may have omitted certain parts of the story, but I didn’t lie. A few millennia ago, they sent a dozen of these robots to Earth because they feared an attack from one of their enemies. Nasty people, or so I was told. A couple thousand years went by, no one came, so they went home.
—You said they left Themis behind so we could defend ourselves.
—Yes! They did, for a while. They also left pilots with her. You wouldn’t have been able to use Themis otherwise.
—Because of our anatomy.
—I’m sure they never thought you’d be crazy enough to mutilate your own legs, but there’s a much simpler reason. The controls wouldn’t work for humans. They shouldn’t. Even now, there are only a few people with the right DNA.
—Vincent and Kara.
—Among others. Why do you think we sent them to you?
—You sent them to me?
—Is it true they had a daughter?
—They did. Her name’s Eva.
—Such a great name!
—You seem genuinely happy.
—Why wouldn’t I be? I love children. How is she? Is she OK?
—She’s fine. What do you mean?
—That was a simple question. Never mind.
—No, not never mind. What do you mean, is she OK?
—Does she see things?
—She does. How do you know about it?
—Just a guess. Her parents had more of our DNA than most. Their child could be … closer to people like me than most humans. Our people sometimes have some sorts of … episodes, visions.
—They can see the future?
—Not really. They get … glimpses into what might be. Some of it will happen, some of it won’t. Not all of us see things. I never did. Those who do sometimes have a hard time adjusting. Without the proper guidance, it might be a bit … overwhelming at times.
—You could call it that. The poor child is scared to death.
—She’ll get over it. Children are more resilient than we give them credit for. I was saying something, wasn’t I?
—I don’t remember.
—Oh yes! Pilots! My point was, back then, you couldn’t control Themis, so they left behind a small group of people who could.
—Your ancestors.
—No! My ancestors had chosen to mate with humans. They were dead by the time the robots left, but their children were alive. There were a dozen or so families. The pure aliens were instructed to protect the bloodline.
—What does that mean?
—They were told to slaughter them, and their children, and their children’s children. Then they were to return home.
—With Themis?
—Of course. What would you do with her? So they went on their mission, probably thinking the half-humans wouldn’t put up much of a fight. But they did, they protected their families. They killed all the aliens. Then they dismantled Themis, buried her pieces all over the world so she wouldn’t be discovered.
—And the people who sent Themis didn’t notice that she never came back?