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In Our Hands

Bruce Coville


July 22

I'm totally freaked out. But that is probably true for everyone on the planet, except maybe people living in the deep rain forest or something. How could we not be, after what happened this morning?

I was sitting at the kitchen table, arguing with Mom about how much sugar I could put on my cereal when it started. The television made this weird sound. Looking up, I forgot all about the sugar.

The dweeby news anchor had been replaced by a woman who had blue skin and green hair. Her ears seemed much too small for her head, her eyes much too big. I laughed, because it was kind of cool, and I figured some idiot at the station was playing a joke, or had made a weird mistake.

"Someone's going to be in big trouble for this," predicted Mom. "I bet they get fired."

We stared at the screen, waiting for the news to come back on. (I was only watching the news because it's an assignment for social studies class.) Nothing happened. Finally, I picked up the remote and changed the channel.

The woman was still there.

I changed it again, and again, and again.

No matter what channel I turned to--- and we get forty-seven of them--- the blue woman was still there. My mother's eyes got wider, and she slid her chair closer to mine. I felt something weird--- some combination of fear and excitement begin to blossom in my stomach.

Finally the woman spoke: "Greetings, people of Earth."

Mom shook her head in disgust. "What a stupid joke," she muttered.

My skin began to prickle. What kind of joke could put a person on forty-seven channels at the same time?

The blue woman continued to speak. "What I have to tell you now will not make sense unless you know two things."

As far as I was concerned, nothing made sense right now.

"First, we are not here to threaten you."

It was such an odd thing to say I almost laughed. But part of me was too scared for that. I wished that Dad were here. I knew I would feel better if he was with us. But Dad was gone, a victim of the air crisis that had killed so many people the year I was three.

The blue woman spoke again. "Second, you must know that we can do what we say. I will now prove that to you. Please do not be frightened. This demonstration is just to help you accept the truth of what I have to tell you."

Mom reached for her coffee. Her hand was shaking, which only made me feel more frightened. Before she could pick up her cup, the light went out. Not the lights. The light. Darkness was everywhere, as if the sun itself had disappeared. I cried out in fright, in astonishment.

"Do not be afraid," said the voice from the TV, as if it had heard me. "We will return the light soon."

I wondered how the TV could work with the power out, until I understood that this was not a power loss. It was a light loss.

Suddenly, the light did come back. I rubbed my eyes and blinked.

"If you can go outside, please do so," said the blue woman. I don't like to go outside if I can help it; the air is too dirty, and it hurts my lungs. But I went. So did Mom. So did most of the people in our development.

A humming sound filled the sky. I looked up and gasped. The sky was filled with enormous red ships. They hovered there, not moving, as if suspended by invisible cables.

"This is the Vegan Starfleet," boomed the voice, which now seemed to come directly from the sky. "It comes in peace."

If you come in peace, then why are there so many of you? I wondered.

Some people cried. Others screamed. The man next to me crossed himself. The man next to him fainted. I could feel Mom's hand tighten on my shoulder.

"Please do not panic," said the voice. "Go back to your homes. We have wonders to show you."

Slowly, people drifted inside. Ann, my mother's friend from next door, came in with us. She was crying. The television was showing pictures of the Vegan Starfleet. A news announcer came on. He looked terrified.

"The reports we are seeing indicate that the Vegan fleet which suddenly appeared in our skies is so vast it can be seen from every spot on the planet. The president has said---"

The screen blinked. The announcer disappeared and the blue-skinned woman took his place.

"Forgive us if we have frightened you. But you must understand our power before you can understand our offer."

I put my hands on the table to try to stop them from trembling.

"They can do anything," whispered Ann, her voice thick with horror.

The picture changed. A beautiful world appeared on the screen. "This is our home," said the alien. Then she showed us picture after picture of clean cities, happy people, great forests. No one looked hungry. No one seemed sick.

"Now," said the Vegan, "let me tell you why we are here. You have many troubles: war... poverty... hunger... terrorism."

As she spoke, ugly images flowed across the screen. I saw young men and women, some of them no older than me, dying in battle; I saw children lying on dusty streets, their bellies swollen with hunger; I saw bombs exploding among rushing crowds. More pictures followed: a forest, yellow and dying; a dead river, thick with sludge; the remains of Chicago. I had seen all this before, of course. But now I felt my cheeks grow hot with shame. I didn't like to have visitors from another world know about these things. I was embarrassed because I knew we should have done more to fix them.

"Do not feel bad," said the Vegan, as if she were reading my mind. "Once we had these problems, too. But we have solved them. That is why we have come: to offer you our solutions." Her face appeared on the screen again, smiling and gentle.

"Think of it," she said. "With our help you can end war, hunger, and disease. We have cures for the mind and the body that can take you to a Golden Age."

"But what do they want in return?" asked Ann. She was looking right at me, as if I would have the answer. I shook my head. I didn't know.

"Here is the choice we bring you," said the Vegan. "We will teach you what we know. Or we will leave, and let you find it out for yourselves, as we did. But you must understand that you may not live through the process. Your world has reached a danger point. You have too many bombs. You have too many weapons. You may destroy the planet before you heal yourselves.

"However what we offer is also dangerous--- tools and powers greater than any you now possess. If we simply gave them to you, we have little doubt that you would destroy yourself within ten years.

"Therefore, we offer this trade: put yourselves in our hands. Let us care for your world, until you are ready to do the job properly. You will have to give up making your own laws, of course. We will do that for you. We will run your schools. We will decide what your factories make. We will distribute the products.

"In return, we will give you, amazing new tools. We will clean your water and take the poison from your air. We will feed your hungry, cloth your poor, heal your sick." She smiled. "Of course, you could do these things yourself, if you really wanted to. But then, you already know that, don't you?"

The Vegan stopped smiling. "The choice you face is too important to be made by politicians. It must be made by the people--- all the people. This, too, we can make possible.

"Soon, you will fall into a deep sleep. After you do, we will prepare you for the vote. When that is done, we will leave, so that you can think about our offer. In eight days, we will return. Then, it will be time for you to vote. If you reject our offer, that will be the end of it. We will leave in peace. If you choose to accept our offer, we will begin work immediately."

Her voice was kind. Even so, I began to shake as I felt myself grow sleepy. I reached for my mother. She moved closer to me.

  

__________

 

When I woke, my head was lying on the table. Mom was still beside me. Her right hand lay open on the table. In her palm was a strip of something shiny and blue. I looked at my own hand. I had a strip, too. I ran my finger over it. It felt like part of my own skin, almost as if it had grown there. I looked at the strip more closely It was about a half-an-inch wide, and an inch long. At each end was a black circle about the size of my fingertip.

Inside one circle was the word "YES."

Inside the other it said "NO."

Mom and Ann woke a few seconds later. We walked outside. The sky was empty. The Vegans had gone.

"Do you believe them?" asked Mom.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't know what to believe."

Other people were coming out of their homes. Everyone was talking: Fights broke out--- first with words, then with fists. I was glad the Vegans had gone I didn't want them to see this.

We went back inside. The president was on television, making a speech about what the country would do to put an end to the alien menace. But it was just words. The Vegans were too powerful for us. I knew it. The president knew it. Everyone knew it.

Besides, I wasn't sure they were a menace. After all, with their advanced science they could simply have taken over. But they didn't. So maybe the choice really was up to us. I looked at my hand and began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Ann sharply.

I showed her my open palm. "The Vegans have made a joke," I said. "For the first time in history, our future really is in our own hands!"

  

__________

 

July 23

Mom and I went to the town hall today. It was jammed with hundreds of people who had come to talk about the Vegan Proposal.

"I was in the last war," shouted a man. 'I fought to protect our freedom. I didn't want other people making choices for me then, and I don't want it now. I say 'No!' to the Vegans."

"I was in the war, too," said a tall woman. "I saw men and women lose their legs, their arms, their eyes. I saw a children with the skin burned off their bodies. I know we don't need another war. I say 'Yes' to the Vegans."

"They'll make us slaves!" yelled someone behind me.

"They could do that without a vote," said someone else. Other people began shouting, until the place was ringing with voices. It took several minutes for the mayor to bring the meeting back to order.

"Look at us," said another man, once things had settled down. "We aren't hungry, or poor. Most of us live long, healthy lives. Why should we give control to the Vegans?"

But what about the others? I wondered. What about the millions who are sick and poor and dying? Should we vote no just because we're comfortable?

The debate went on all day. Tonight, the television showed more debates, from around the country, and around the world. Demonstrations were raging in most cities, with opposing mobs carrying signs like "Nuke the Vegans!" and "Vote Vegan--- It's Our Only Hope!"

  

__________

 

July 27

Mom hasn't gone to work for the last two days. She said she couldn't see any point in it. Nothing gets done. All anyone can talk about, think about, is the Vegan Proposal.

  

__________

 

July 30

Last night, a huge screen appeared in the center of town. According to the news, screens just like it have appeared on every block of every city in the world. They have appeared in every town, every village, no matter how small, no matter how remote. They are tally screens. This afternoon, they will record the votes of six billion people as we choose whether we will rule our own future, or give control to the Vegans.

Some people are angry that the Vegans are letting kids vote, too. They say this should be just for adults. But they can't figure any way to keep us from voting. (Though I figure in some places grown-ups will grab kids' hands and vote for them.) But I don't see why we shouldn't vote: It's our world, too. It's our future, even more than the grown-ups', since we're going to be living in it longer.

I've been taking it very seriously, but my mind is spinning with all I have heard this week, all the words about the poor and the sick and the dying; about freedom and power and dignity.

I don't want aliens to run our world. But when I look around, when I see what a mess it is, when I think of the bombs that can end all life, I feel afraid. I don't know if we are grown up enough to take care of ourselves.

Last night, Mom got out the family album, and we spent a lot of time looking at pictures. I stared at the photos of Dad, who I miss so much. I believe he would still be alive, if we had had Vegan science. But what would Dad have said about all this? He was a proud man, as I remember him. Proud and stubborn. Would he have wanted to live under someone else's rule?

Do I?

  

__________

 

July 31

I am sitting in my room, staring at the strip in my hand. I am thinking of all I have seen, all I have done, all I want to do. I am thinking of the last time I saw Dad, cold and still in his coffin, and how Vegan medicine might have saved him--- how Vegan science might have prevented the air crisis, and saved so many others like him.

I think of our glory and our despair. I think of all we do to one another in the name of love, of peace, of freedom, of God--- all the good, and all the bad. I think of how far we have come in just a few thousand years. I think of how far there is to go and how many people will suffer and die before we get there.

I think of the stars, and the worlds out there waiting for us to join them.

I think of all these things, and I wonder what I will do in five minutes when the Vegans ask me to choose between the riches they offer and the freedom to find our own sad and starry path.

I look at the strip in my hand, at the YES and the NO, and I wonder.


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