The First Day (part 2)

This is a duo story written, in parts, with my friend, and talented writer Frank Goacher. The authour of each part is stated in the headline.

The First Day; Part 2
By Frank Goacher

Before I continue, I should tell you about myself. There are many things that are normal for me, and so I will discuss these as normal things. However, they may confuse others. There are many races in the Universe, but I am the only collective race. Because of this, those that know of me simply call me “The Collective”. Having a sense of humour, whenever I have visited a different planet, I try to keep the initials “T C”. Here I am Terrence Clayborn, ‘Terry’ for short. Humans love to shorten names.

Of course, I cannot explain too much. Individuals can never hope to understand a collective mind, let alone mine just as I cannot understand what it means to have only your own single memories and thoughts. Perhaps that is why I fall in love with special humans such as Christina so easily.

She usually eats a mint last thing at night in order to keep her breath fresh for the next morning.

This body is a kind of a psychic construct I formed so I can watch humanity’s development, as well as experience what it is to be human. As this body has no need for food or hygiene, I never need to eat a mint or make my breath fresh. So I don’t really know what it tastes like, except for the faint traces I find when I kiss her. I never know what she thinks, or what she likes, save for the snippets of information she decides to tell me. After thousands of years, I/we still find humans fascinating.

I have been on Earth for all this time because I was asked to watch over this new species by a galactic alliance, to determine if they will eventually be able to join that alliance, or if they will be a threat. It is something I have done many times before, but never have I been so puzzled.

Humans are the only species I have come across that kill their own kind for reasons other than food. Yet at the same time, they tend their wounded, and put themselves at risk to save others. Are they barbarians or saints? I cannot decide. They are too individualistic.

Humans could be the worst evil scourge of the galaxy, or they could be its greatest saviour. Only they should decide that. But should this war between the Resh’tar and the Telryx end in anything other than stalemate, they will not have the chance to evolve that choice naturally