\nThe video was well-preserved, and when Commander Arie stared into the camera, it was like she was looking into your eyes, divining the desires of your heart.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe stars are not the distant dreams they were in the past,\u201d Arie said, and her voice cut like a sliver of diamond, and it made you tremble to hear her voice. \u201cThe stars are our neighbors, and I will not rest until I have met every neighbor, and seen their backyards, and sat in their homes, and welcomed them into mine.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nArie dropped her gaze, and when she looked up again her normally stony glare twinkled with a light and warmth that made her look twenty instead of a formidable forty-five. Years had distinguished her, and maybe her beauty faded a little, but her presence had outgrown her slender frame.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI pride myself on being the perfect hostess.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe reporters laughed. They asked her questions about Star Cluster 9, and Alpha Zeta, and Satellite Planet 41-003, and she smoothed down her long hair, already silver, a respectable color on her, and she answered their questions with a steady stream of knowledge, glowing with the wonder she felt whenever she visited a planet, the wonder she wanted all of Earth to feel. And they did feel it. At least, Funani felt it, and even when she was six years old, watching this video in her little bedroom covered in posters of galaxies instead of from the inside of her small quarters on an exploratory space vessel, she knew that she would follow Arie into the darkest hole of space.\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani turned off the video.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNolwazi, how much longer until we arrive?\u201d she asked her vessel.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn three point two hours, we will reach the destination,\u201d answered Nolwazi.\n<\/p>\n
\nWhen Funani travelled with other astronauts, they complained that Nolwazi\u2019s voice was too cold, too stern, but Funani designed the AI to be like another woman she respected. She designed her voice to sound like the familiar cut of a diamond. Nolwazi did not share Arie\u2019s passion, but she shared her vast knowledge of the mysteries of space.\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani turned on another video.\n<\/p>\n
\nArie was smiling in this one, and she rarely smiled, possibly because she was embarrassed by her crooked teeth, though Funani guessed she could afford the technology that would fix her smile instantaneously. Arie was not smiling at the camera, she was smiling at a creature nearly twice her size that seemed to be composed entirely of tar. The blob creature had a gaping hole near the top of its shapeless body that could have been a mouth, and several blobby appendages that could have been arms, but it was probably just Funani\u2019s mind trying to understand a shape that was entirely foreign to her.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cArie!\u201d a reporter off-screen shouted. \u201cHow did you manage to decipher the language of the people of Sept Printemps?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMost of the deciphering was done by the Sept Printempians,\u201d said Arie. \u201cI am just honored that they chose to reach out to me for first contact.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Sept Printempian gurgled, spitting a tarry blob at Arie\u2019s feet. Are smiled, and shook his hand, and did not cringe or gag as her hand was engulfed in the creature\u2019s gelatinous exterior. She pulled away, her arm stained black, and reached into a large blue duffel. She always brought her large blue duffel when she was meeting a new alien. Funani thought of the duffel as a treasure chest when she was a little girl, and it was still hard to see it as anything else. Arie pulled out a small bag, presenting it to the Sept Printempian, and the reporters laughed.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou think aliens like maple candy, Arie?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nApparently they did, because the Sept Printempian ate the entire bag, including the plastic wrap.\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani loved that video. She loved any video of Arie meeting aliens, because Arie enjoyed it so much. Arie inspired Funani to become an astronaut, then join the exploratory astronaut\u2019s league led by Arie. Funani missed home, she missed Earth, she missed people that looked like people and planets that looked like civilization, but if Arie was leading her, she would continue to travel deeper and deeper into the unknown.\n<\/p>\n
\nThough the league followed Arie from planet to planet, they were always a few planets behind her, then a few more, until their leader no longer responded to their efforts to reach out to her. The other ships gave her up as lost, for forty years they gave her up as lost. But Funani refused to give up. If they gave up, then she was just far from home, and terribly homesick, with nothing guiding her forward. If Arie was not pulling her forward, then Earth was pulling her back.\n<\/p>\n
\nShe turned on another video of Arie.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe will reach our destination in one hour,\u201d said Nolwazi.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe others had given up. They had programmed their vessels to search for Arie\u2019s form, copied from thousands of videos, but there was nothing like Arie in the universe. Then they programmed their vessels to search for life forms in the deepest, most sterile parts of the neighboring galaxies, and they found life forms they would have never believed could exist, but they did not find Arie. They decided to keep her alive through their exploration, and leave the hopeless search to Funani. Funani instructed Nolwazi to search for a blue duffel, far from any other signs of human civilization, and Nolwazi found it.\n<\/p>\n
\nIn this video, Arie was pulling a long scarf out of her bag, and wrapping it around a wide-eyed, multi-eyed, slug. The duffel was a treasure chest. And Funani followed Nolwazi\u2019s treasure map to her hero.\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nThe planet was cold, but the trees with their umbrella-like collection of thorns almost reminded Funani of home. She tried not to think of how much she missed her little bedroom, rising from solid Earth, and let her handheld guide lead her forward.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe entrance to the cave is fifteen feet to the west,\u201d said Nolwazi. \u201cNight falls in five minutes. Use caution.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani would use caution, but if Arie was inside the cave, there was nothing to fear. Arie was the perfect hostess, and she would never be rude to a guest. If she even was in there. If she had not abandoned an empty duffel on a planet and kept hopping the stars. If she had not landed and finally met an alien who did not care for her nosiness and offer of interstellar friendship. As the sun went down, the planet became colder.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cShall I turn on a light?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani nodded, and the handheld guide glowed, leading the way. She put out a signal before she stepped onto the planet, letting the other vessels know that she had found, or might have found, their old leader. None of the vessels were even in the same galaxy, though the closet ones were on their way. They cautioned Funani to stay on her ship until help arrived, or send in a drone led by Nolwazi, and she promised she would before she strapped on her spacesuit and began exploring.\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani watched Arie explore a cave on a video, a cave that was on a very different planet. The creatures in that cave were not quite like bats, but that was how her mind saw them. That was what helped her understand an entirely foreign little, winged alien. This cave was much larger and darker than the one in the film. Who knew what kind of aliens lived in this cave, or how Funani\u2019s mind would try to comprehend them?\n<\/p>\n
\nNolwazi did not tell her that there was danger ahead, so Funani continued forward. She continued into the cave until she could not see the planet she left behind her. She might have been moving down, or up, she was disoriented, but Nolwazi told her she was getting closer.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou will reach your destination in five seconds,\u201d said Nolwazi.\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani stumbled over something soft on the ground. She had a terrible feeling it was a small, slender body, that her leader had crawled into this cave and died. But Nolwazi shone her light at Funani\u2019s feet, and Funani did not see a body, but a blue duffel bag.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHello, Funani.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani turned, and there was something in the corner. It was a large lump, like a down pillow, or an undercooked loaf of bread. Its face was a mass of wrinkles, like a large shriveled apple with two slanted seeds for eyes. Thin strands of white hair trailed to the dirt of the cave floor, where two fat yarn lumps covered what were probably equally lumpy feet. The image was so unfamiliar to Funani, so foreign, so wrong. It did not match the voice that came out of the slit of its mouth.\n<\/p>\n
\nIt did not fit with Funani\u2019s memories, or the videos, but somehow her mind managed to understand that this was Commander Arie.\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n\u201cWhat are you doing here, Funani? Shouldn\u2019t you be exploring?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nHer voice was quieter, but it still cut the air like a sharp diamond. It was still the same beautiful sound in a body that did not fit Funani\u2019s memory of the commander.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat happened to you?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nArie chuckled, but she did not smile. Funani did not mind. She rarely smiled, and Funani did not want to see what her teeth looked like now. She thought that there may not be any teeth behind those sunken lips, and she realized that crooked teeth were not the worst thing in the world.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cForty years happened,\u201d said Arie. \u201cDid you think I was immortal?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nShe was immortal in the videos. If Funani turned on the tape right now, she would be as beautiful as she was in the past. That beautiful Arie made Funani want to explore the stars. This thing that Funani could barely see as Arie made her want to cry. If this was what waited at the end of the universe, she should have stayed home.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m being a bad hostess,\u201d said Arie, trying to rise to her feet, unable to rock her roundness to an upright positon. \u201cDo you need anything?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI need you to go back to the way you were before,\u201d said Funani. \u201cWhy do you look like this? Why aren\u2019t you exploring?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re older, see how easy it is to keep your figure,\u201d said Arie. \u201cAnd when you\u2019re older, see how long you can keep running before you decide to rest. I\u2019m tired, Funani. You have to explore without me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThis cave seemed too small, smaller than her room on the vessel, smaller than her room back on Earth.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI was following you,\u201d said Funani. \u201cIf you\u2019re not travelling, who do I follow?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nArie did not say anything. This old woman could not explore the galaxy. She probably could not fit in the pilot\u2019s seat, her girth would not allow the seatbelt to close. She would not be able to see the stars through her squinted apple seed eyes. She would not able to grasp the control with stubby fingers. Funani needed Arie to pull her forward, to new forms of life that she could never fully understand, to new worlds and neighbors that Arie loved, and in turn made Funani love, or else Funani would plummet back to Earth. Without the Arie she knew, how would she continue her journey?\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI will guide you to your destination.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNolwazi\u2019s voice cut through the cave like a sliver of a diamond. She sounded like the woman who spoke through the aged lump. She sounded like the voice that guided Funani through the videos of the past. She would guide Funani forward. Funani was emotional, passionate, and Nolwazi could understand more than she could ever imagine.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBefore you leave,\u201d said Arie. \u201cLet me give you a gift.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani did not want to watch Arie struggle to stand again, so she picked up the duffle and tossed it onto Arie\u2019s lap. The old woman rummaged through the bag. Funani was surprised it was so full, but she probably did not meet many aliens these days. She tossed Funani a slick paper, folded so small, and Funani caught it in the air.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI will lead you back to your vessel.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNolwazi\u2019s voice guided her out of the cave, and she left Arie behind her. She would tell the others that there was nothing there, just a duffel, and she took a souvenir from the old treasure chest. She did not look back at Arie, because there was more of Arie in the voice of her guide than in the old woman swaddled in the cave, and she needed to move forward, or Earth would call her down. She did not look away from Nolwazi\u2019s light until she was back on her ship, flying back into space.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhere are we going, Funani?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nArie was supposed to be the leader. How was Funani supposed to tell this diamond voice where to go?\n<\/p>\n
\nFunani unfolded the paper in her hand. She unfolded it again, and again, until it was completely open, spilling over her lap, a large poster of a mysterious galaxy, so similar to the posters that hung in her bedroom when she was a little girl. It made her think of Earth. It made her miss home. But it did not make her want to go home. The posters always drew her heart to the stars. Funani stood up, and hung it by her pilot\u2019s seat.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFind me someplace new, Nolwazi,\u201d said Funani. \u201cFind me a neighbor we have not met yet. Find me someone who needs to be welcomed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nNolwazi lit a new map on her screen, leading Funani into space, and Funani followed her guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The video was well-preserved, and when Commander Arie stared into the camera, it was like she was looking into your eyes, divining the desires of your heart. \u201cThe stars are not the distant dreams they were in the past,\u201d Arie said, and her voice cut like a sliver of diamond, and it made you tremble …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106117,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,19780],"tags":[19779],"class_list":["post-136312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-tcl-30-winter-2019","tag-the-colored-lens-30-winter-2019","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/106117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136313,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136312\/revisions\/136313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}