Chapter 31

In the hangar on Dóchas, several choir members, Shannon, Natalia and Bev, were waiting when the door of Alpha2 opened. After Marge, Evelyn, Fred and Chad emerged from the shuttle, Evelyn introduced their fellow passengers to the choir members. Steve and Carl, the TV cameraman, managed to get some photos of their arrival. They had hardly finished exchanging greetings when the chime sounded, signifying the start of lunch.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the choir members, in harmony, “the chime signified the start of lunch. We have the choice of having lunch in the conference room, or we can go to the dining room. As Briana cautioned you earlier most of those in the dining room are not wearing any covering. Our lunch is presented buffet style.”

Rob and Paul looked at each other, and then shrugged. Rob said, “Initially, we came to hear you sing and wWe very definitely want to do that. At the same time, we are very interested in knowing more about all of you. Having lunch in the dining room sounds like an excellent way to start.”

“I agree,” said Paul, “although, if everyone is as goodlooking as those we have already seen, then we may have difficulty focusing on our food.” Several of the group chuckled, and one or two of the visitors looked reluctant.

Sam, Rob and Marge led the group to the dining room. Their progress was rather slow as the group was interested in everything they passed in the corridor.

“It is hard to believe,” said Paul, “that we are on a spaceship. It is a place I never thought I would be.”

“Shannon, how did the choir start?” asked Samuel.

“Most of us were what you would have called nerds in college.”

“You’re from Earth?”

“Yes, many of us are. I believe the Command Staff plans on covering that with you after you hear the choir.”

“Good, and sorry for interrupting you.”

“Contrary to popular belief, nerds do other things besides technical activities. Many of us sing or play an instrument as a hobby. Quite a few of us are as proficient in music as we are in our technical pursuits. After we settled in here, we discovered the music of the ship’s home world in the library. We had some difficulty with the music at first, as it is scored a bit differently to what we were used to. It took us some time to adapt to the different way of writing music. Once we sorted that out, we had a lot of fun and enjoyment from singing and playing it. In many ways, we think it may be more expressive than the music we learnt on Earth.”

“Excuse me Shannon,” said Cass, as they had reached the dining room. “Please, everyone, help yourself to the food and follow Sam, as we will all sit together.”

“Samuel, I’ll continue when we sit down, as I don’t want to disturb you while you are selecting your meal.”

“Wow,” said Melinda, “This food looks better than I’ve seen in some fancy restaurants.”

“It is,” said Bev, “much better.”

“Well everything we’ve been told on Earth,” said Melinda, “indicates that food for space travel had to be specially prepared.”

“If you are in a weightless environment that is true, however, this is not a weightless environment.”

“You’re right. It feels so normal, I guess it didn’t fully register.”

“Samuel, do you speak Gaelic or Celtic?” asked Shannon.

“No, not really. I know enough that I sometimes understand the song’s lyrics, especially when the melody matches the emotions. If I understood what you were saying earlier, the choir learned the music together, from information in the library?”

“Our forefathers recorded the music in a manner that makes it easy to feel and sense, but at the same time, difficult to vocalize.” Pamela made a rude noise, indicating her disdain for what was said. “Many of us sang in choirs before we came here, while others were quite proficient with various musical instruments. All of us had already picked up the Celticstyle dialect, so it was just a question of getting the vocals to match what we sensed and felt.”

“You have a very interesting way of wording things,” said Melinda. “How do you know that your interpretation is correct?”

“A few of the crew, who arrived with the ship, have told us it sounded just like they remember. It was perfect, as far as they were concerned. We think we need to polish some of the expressions, as we think they could be better.”

“Ah, a true musician,” exclaimed Samuel, with a big smile. Samuel saw the expressions on Melinda’s and Paul’s faces, and realized they didn’t understand the implication. “True musicians always feel their performance, or effort, could be better, and strive to make it that way. I think you will find that most brilliant people, whether they are focused on science or music, are compulsive about their efforts. To me those who categorize them as nerds are simply expressing their envy.”

“You really believe all that shit,” asked Pamela, looking at Samuel. Several of the visitors gasped at her comment. “I don’t.”

Marge and Evelyn started to apologize. “Relax Marge, Evelyn,” said Sam, “we can tell the difference between a gem and a lump of coal. Besides, I think we have the perfect song to sing.”

“Good idea,” said Shannon, grinning. “We haven’t sung that one very much as it is a vocal challenge.”

“Yes, three in this group will certainly appreciate the challenge, and all the rest, except one, will like it, and may recognize the complexity. The odd one puzzles me.”

“Let’s take the dishes up and clean the tables off before we go listen to the choir,” said Briana. Most of the guests followed the lead of their hosts in cleaning up their luncheon area.

Shannon and Samuel led the group toward the room where the choir would sing. When they reached it, many of the choir were already there, along with the musicians. Some were looking a little nervous.

Melinda, Paul, Rob, Samuel and Pamela were seated in the front row, with the four reporters right behind them, along with the other visitors. Steve and Carl each took a position where they could photograph the choir and guests as the performance progressed. Briana’s, Siobhan’s and Maureen’s Clans were hardly noticed by the guests as they joined the audience. Sarah’s Clan joined them just before the lights dimmed for the performance.

Sam, Shannon, and Kaylin stepped out from the choir. Speaking as one, they began, “Thank all of you for coming this afternoon. As some of you know, this will be our second performance in front of an audience, which makes us a little nervous. This afternoon, we will sing six songs. Each will be sung twice. The first time will be in our home language, which is similar to Earth’s old Celtic. The second time will be in either modern Celtic or English. The seventh song will be sung in our home language, which again will sound much like old Celtic.” The three stepped back to the choir, and the performance began.

Their song set, this time, covered a broader range than when they sang for the crew. At the end of each song, the audience applauded vigorously. It was clear by the expression on Samuel’s face that he was enjoying the music.

Just before the last planned song, Sam stepped forward with Shannon. “This next song is rather unique to us, and we have only begun to practice it recently. We are not sure it can be recorded, but think it will be well received at live performances.” Pamela again made a rude sound as Sam completed her presentation. “This one will only be sung in a dialect which is similar to Earth’s old Celtic.” With that, Shannon and Sam stepped back in the choir.

The audience quickly felt the difference in this song. It told of birth, growth, near defeat and then a rise to glory among the stars. While the concept was similar to the other songs, this song carried much more feeling and emotion in the words and sounds. The choir could see the effect it had on their audience as they moved through each part. It ended on a high, causing many to have tears of happiness in their eyes. Even Pamela was visibly moved by it.

Samuel stood as the applause began, prompting the others to rise as it continued. After bowing several times, Shannon stepped to the front again, causing the applause to quiet. “On behalf of my friends, we thank you. We would like to show our thankfulness with one more song. We have only sung this one a few times, and only know it in our native Celtic dialect.”

The song had a light fast tempo, with words that drew the audience into it. From the sound and tune, it was clear this was a song of celebration that would soon have you dancing or tapping your feet.

When the song and applause ended, Samuel said, “Beyond the Stars Choir, I want to thank all of you for blessing me with your performance. I feel I could listen to this all afternoon, or longer. You are great. Seldom does one hear such depth of emotion in music. It is wonderful or simply out of this world. It wouldn’t surprise me if you had more concert requests than you can handle.”

“Thank you,” said the choir, in unison.

With that, while the reporters and editors were talking, many of the impromptu guests for the concert began to leave. As the room emptied, the Command Staff moved over to the visitors. Rob happened to look over to see Sarah and Aoife approaching while he was talking to Paul and Samuel. He just stopped speaking as he kept looking up. His reaction caused everyone to look around.

“Hi, Sarah, Aoife,” said Marge, Evelyn and Fred. “Rob, Paul, this is Dóchas’ Command Staff.” She proceeded then to introduce each member of the Command Staff to the visitors. Each nodded as they were introduced. It took a few moments before the visitors recovered enough to begin shaking hands and acknowledging the introductions.

“Marge,” said Sarah, “judging by their expressions, perhaps you should have warned them about our height.”

“It is not just your height,” replied Melinda. “All of you are outstandingly beautiful, as well as being tall and graceful.” The others in the visitors just nodded. “Would it be possible for me to do a canned intro to the choir before we begin talking about other things?”

“What do you have in mind?” asked Joyce.

“Well, I would like a spot with a background that compliments the choir songs. Carl will record me doing the intro for the video he took of the choir singing. Ideally, the background needs to convey our location.”

“For that, I think I know of a perfect place. Come, let’s all go have a look,” said Joyce, as she led them to the observation deck. Many gasped at the sight as they walked out onto it, as the view showed both the Earth and Moon, with Mars in the background.

“Perfect,” said Melinda. “Carl, we don’t want to hold things up very much, so I will do a short ad lib intro for the location and choir. Start and end with me, but be sure to include the others with us in the shots.”

“Good evening,” said Melinda, as she began the intro, “Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we are on board the space ship Dóchas. We came to hear their choir, Beyond the Stars, sing. For this special performance, we are accompanied by the editors of Grand View’s newspapers along with several reporters and staff. Behind me you can see a view of Earth and its Moon as seen from the ship’s observation platform. The choir sang six songs for us that are now on the Internet, plus 2 new ones.”

“How does that look, Carl?”

“Like you were excited.”

“I am. Do we need to do it again?”

“No, the newsroom has plenty of good tape to use.”

“Melinda, Carl,” said Brenda, “do you need to send this now?”

“Yes,” said Carl. “The earlier the news team has it, increases the opportunity to be included it in the news segment. How can they contact us if they have questions?”

“Come with me, and we can get this started.”

Melinda turned to the others and said, “Thank you so much for letting me record that before we begin the interview.”

“We don’t mind at all,” said Rob with a smile. “It is always nice to have a free advertisement for our upcoming stories.” Melinda’s expression quickly turned to a worried look.

“Melinda,” said Marge, “I think Rob is pulling your chain.” Melinda glanced back at Rob, and he nodded with an even bigger smile.

“Rob, Paul,” said Briana, “I sense you were surprised that we knew Steve and Allen.” Both nodded their heads. “We met Allen when we needed transportation to take us from the business airport to the commercial airport. This was when Adam came home on leave. While we were at the airport, Steve saw us and took pictures for a human interest story. Steve, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you had just finished another assignment when you heard about us?”

“Yes, that was the first time. I didn’t meet Allen until the second time I saw you at the airport. Good thing we met, too. Weren’t there five soldiers there?”

“Yes. They are all here, or will be at dinner time.”

“Oh, I remember that spread,” said Paul.

“You remember it?” asked Rob.

“Sure, I would have rather had it in my paper,” said Paul, as he chuckled, along with several others.

“Let’s go down to the conference room,” said Tara. “Do you mind if we show the interview on our monitors?”

“I don’t,” said Paul.

“Neither do I,” said Rob, as they followed Tara to the conference room.

The group had just settled in the conference room when Brenda and Carl joined them. Seeing them Melinda expression turned to one of concern. “Relax,” said Carl, “it went fine. We gave them a contact number if they need to reach us.”

“Rob, Paul,” said Sarah, “why don’t we give you a broad overview of ourselves first. We suspect that will answer some of your immediate questions. This will be followed by three videos we strongly encourage all visitors to see. Afterward, we will add a few details to the presentations.”

“Seems like a good way to start,” said Rob, with Paul nodding in agreement.

As the last video ended, Paul said, “Wow. I can think I have many questions, but I am not sure where to start.”

“Oh, I can,” snarled Pamela. “All of that stuff about telepathic abilities is hogwash. People have been claiming that ability for ages, but nothing has ever been demonstrated.”

“You’re right,” said Joyce, with an edge in her voice. “We can demonstrate it in a moment. First, could you answer one question for me: Who in their right mind on Earth would advertise that ability, since it would invite so much scrutiny that it would drive a person crazy?”

“Looking at it from that perspective, I agree.”

Judy looked at each of the attendees, and could see the doubts in their faces as well. “Many of you have doubts about much of what you have heard.” Everyone nodded their head. “You will not be able to tell anyone outside this society, or even this group, about our telepathic ability.”

“You understood what I just said, correct,” continued Judy, verbally. The Command Staff watched, as the implications of what they had heard registered with their guests.

“I thought I heard you say we could not tell anyone about you being telepathic outside this society,” said Samuel, “but I did not see your lips move.”

“Yes,” replied Judy, “that was the thought I projected to all of you. With your permission, we can sense your thoughts, as well. That would only be the thoughts that are in your active, or shortterm, memory.”

“In our society, we do not look at someones thoughts without permission,” said Alison. “If you are telepathic, you will know immediately when someone unknown to you is trying to probe your thoughts, or enter your mind. There are ways to protect yourself from that. If you are not telepathic, you will sense the intrusion, but not understand its intent. This will likely cause you to avoid the situation or the people where it occurred.

“The original crew communicated exclusively using telepathy. Since we joined them, we have chosen to use a mixed mode of communicating. We find the mixed mode much more universally effective. You wonder why the preference for telepathic communication? It is simply very effective in critical situations. Best of all it works in a vacuum without any accessories. It is clear and not subject to electronic interference. It automatically includes intent and emotion which spoken thoughts may not.

“Within a clan or family, this ability enhances our ability to communicate. The clan variation we refer to as a mindlink. This is a very intimate sharing of our thoughts, emotions, ideas and memories among all the members of the clan.”

Judy noted, “We know this concept is difficult to comprehend without experiencing it. Any additional questions on this topic?”

“Yes,” responded Pamela, sharply. “Look at this memory, then tell us what happened to me.”

After a moment, Judy with a concerned expression said, “Are really sure you want to do this?”

“Yes!” demanded Pamela.

Maeve, Alison, and Judy looked at the memory she had brought forth. They were shocked by what Pamela had chosen. It also gave them a sense as to why she was so hostile to those around her.

“You really want us to describe that event?”

“Yes,” responded Pamela firmly.

“Alright, but why?”

“It is the only event that I can think of where the others here could verify some of it, if need be.”

“Considering the content, we will summarize the memory you recalled in enough detail that you are sure we know its content. Okay?”

“Get on with it.”

“Well, it begins with you being invited by a close high school girl friend to an overnight slumber party in your senior year. One of the evening’s party activities was hypnotizing a person and getting them to do something funny. When you were hypnotized, they created several scenes in which you would star. This played on your deep desire to be an actress. It avoided directly asking you to do something you would likely refuse. For the first scene, you ate what you thought was a banana split. When you finished you were told to lick the bowl. As you learnt later it was a banana protruding from a girl’s vagina, surrounded by whipped cream. In the next scene, they had you kneel and lick and suck a long round lollipop. As you learnt later, it was really one of the football player’s cocks, covered with syrup. In the third scene, you were riding a horse bareback. The imaginary horse was really another football player’s legs, with his cock buried in you. During the breaks between scenes, you were given a drink that made the rest of the evening a blur and you very pliable. You learnt later that you had spent the rest of the party with your head between the legs of one of the girls, eating a banana split while other classmates fucked you.

“When you woke you were laying on the floor in the living room. Seeing that you were awake, a girl told you to shower and then come back as breakfast was ready. When you returned the group was talking about what they were going to do for the rest of the weekend. Occasionally, one of them would touch you, and it would feel just like they were touching your skin. Several times, their movement brushed your nipples, causing them to swell with arousal. You knew you had dressed, and were surprised by the sensations you felt. You didn’t know until later, that the girl that had hypnotized you had given you two residual instructions. As a result you would follow them, until someone spoke a key phrase to release the condition. The first one was that, even though you were naked, you felt and saw yourself as being dressed. The second was that you would have difficulty wearing a bra for any length of time. If you put one on, it would quickly become itchy and hot. As soon as you removed it, you would feel very comfortable. With your Dsize breasts, the lack of a bra was very noticeable.

“The key phrase regarding clothes was spoken as breakfast ended. You were shocked when realized that you were naked. The other girls were either dressed or still wearing night gowns. When you jumped up to leave, everyone laughed. When you dressed, you found it difficult to wear your bra. After several attempts you left it off and finished dressing. Returning to the kitchen, you learnt that all guests had departed. You noticed the hostess smirk when she saw your braless tits bouncing as you walked. She licked her lips causing you to blush.

“You did not hear the phrase releasing the instruction about the bra for several months. When you did, it was said by someone completely unrelated to the slumber party. By then, you realized you had missed your period. Two months later, when you went to the doctor, you found out you were pregnant. You couldn’t imagine how you had gotten pregnant. When your family heard you didn’t know who the father was, they told you to move out, since you were an embarrassment. You were devastated.

“You were even more devastated when you received the package containing a DVD. With it was a note telling you that the DVD was a recording of your performance at the slumber party. In the note, you learned your friend had switched your birth control pills a short time before the party. The group had timed the party so that they were fairly certain you would be fertile. The motive for humiliating you was one of the girls at the party felt you were trying to lure her boyfriend away from her. Then seven months into the pregnancy, you miscarried, and ended up spending some time in the hospital. It was while you were recovering you made several decisions about your future. One was not to let anyone get close to you again.

“By the time Maeve had finished the recitation, Pamela was sobbing. When she had begun crying, both Marge and Evelyn had moved over beside her, with their arms on her shoulders.

“Carl,” said Melinda, “you didn’t tape that, did you?”

“No. When Judy questioned whether she wanted to do this, I sensed it was time to turn the camera off.”

“We cut the feed to our systems before Maeve started,” said Sally. “We didn’t think it should be shared outside this room, unless Pamela chose to do so.”

“Pamela,” said Marge, “why did you recall that memory?”

“I really didn’t believe they were telepathic. I only intended to remember the part about the miscarriage because that was in the paper, so it could be independently verified. Those events are so closely tied together that I didn’t realize they couldn’t be separated until it was too late. Well, late enough that I didn’t want to back out.”

“Pamela,” said Rob, “I don’t believe you need to worry about this being shared outside this room and this group.”

“Thanks. I sense the same thing, which surprises me as I have been a pain in the ass to many in this room. Although I never showed it, I felt I could always trust what you told me. In fact, I sense I can believe all of you. Believing in anyone has been something I haven’t been able to do for a long time. Maeve, thank you.”

“Why?”

“Hearing my story out loud has made me realize that I have been blaming the world for what that stupid broad arranged. Those involved in the slumber party were no longer around when the final events took place. So I took my anger out on anyone around me. My anger seems to have grown with time. In some ways, it may have helped, as it kept me focused on music and drama. Now I realize that it also limited my opportunities.”

“Restrained or blunted anger quite often does that,” said Judy. “I am sure that if you want to discuss how to deal with the residual effects of this event any of us would be willing to listen and help, if we can.”

“Thanks. Marge, Evelyn, Fred, please accept my apologies for the things I have said and done. I hope we can be friends, although I suspect it will take some time.”

“The apology is not necessary, but gladly accepted,” responded the three reporters.

“Rob, if I’m still working for the paper, I promise to no longer be a pain in the ass or the bitch that I was. Bear in mind, I still may be bitchy, on occasion.”

“You are working for the paper, unless you decide to leave.”

“Oh, no,” said Samuel, with a smile, “I’ll be losing readers, and my editor will be after my scalp.” Everyone chuckled, as the comment lightened the atmosphere.

“Pamela, the four of us are telepathic, as well,” said Marge, referring to her fellow reporters.

“There are supposedly more abilities in the psionic category than telepathy,” said Paul, bringing the interview back on track.

“Yes, there are others. We would prefer not to explore the topic any deeper,” replied Aoife.

“I find the description of the differences in the bodies difficult to comprehend,” said Melinda, redirecting the focus. She saw Carl open his mouth and quickly continued, “Now Carl, don’t say something smart.” Everyone laughed.

“We can help you with that,” replied the Command Staff, as they let their tops and pants slide to the floor. Erin and Aoife stepped out of their pants and walked over to stand next to her.

“Melinda, you can touch, as I can see from your expression that you want to. I should warn you however that we are very easily aroused by touch. So don’t be surprised at that response.”

“Please, look closer if you want to,” said Sarah to the others, as she moved around the room.

“How can you be so relaxed?” asked Pamela, with Melinda nodding.

“Well, first, it feels natural and unrestrained to us. Second, except for a few bits, we are very much alike. We think there is less variance in our features than is normally seen among Earth’s residents, while at the same time, we are each unique. There are a number of differences between our species and yours. Many of these are quite evident, while several others are not.”

“How can there be less variance, when many of you originated from Earth?” asked Rob.

“As we noted in the presentations, when we make the transition to this species, it is by way of a genetic treatment. It alters our body in many ways, some of which you cannot see. Our facial features only change slightly, so we look very much like we did before the treatment.”

“All of you are very beautiful,” said Steve. “I would love to do a photo spread on the whole group.”

“What are the differences we can’t see?” asked Paul.

“We have two hearts, which work in parallel. Our vision can be described as more sensitive. Our psionic abilities are more responsive and stronger.”

“I agree with Steve,” said Rob. “A photo spread of this group would be great. Based on what I saw at lunch, it could include just about anyone. All of you are quite photogenic.”

“Why the interest in a photo spread?” asked Claudette.

“It is a way for people to become familiar with you,” said Steve. “It would normally be difficult for the paper to do the full nudity in a photo spread, but with careful composing and your celebrity status, it should be okay. That is really Rob or Paul’s call.”

“Steve, we would need to see the layout before making a commitment,” replied Rob, with Paul nodding.

“I am really impressed by all of you, and your surroundings, though at the same time I am puzzled,” said Rob, “Why are you making your presence known? It seems to me that you don’t need to, and in fact, it may complicate your future in this solar system.”

“There are several reasons for making our presence known,” said the Command Staff, in unison. “One is that we wanted Earth to know definitively that there are others in the universe. Growing up on Earth, we know that many doubt that idea. From our perspective, with the current divisions between different groups on Earth, it is unlikely that they will ever explore space to any extent. The history of civilizations in other solar systems indicates exploration only begins once they see the strengths in each other, rather than the differences. Based on the similarities to other cultures, we see selfrighteousness as a key characteristic behind the turmoil on Earth between the regions, races, and sexes. Many who serve as leaders have gone to great lengths to magnify the differences between groups. Their purpose is solely to maintain their position. Apparently they do not care, or don’t realize, that they are sowing the seeds for growing turmoil and possible destruction.

“The differences on Earth between genders, in terms of interactions, are largely driven by culture. The physical part of the differences is the result of selective breeding, or the preferences expressed when desiring to mate.

“So it is likely, from our perspective, that Earth’s technology will never progress enough to explore much beyond this solar system, and possibly no further than Mars.”

“Holy cow, that is a political bomb shell,” said Paul.

“Yes, if expressed as bluntly as we just did. Expressing it that way would certainly make us the object of hate or discontent. Notice, we didn’t say all politicians acted as described. There are many who truly seek to act in a way that is beneficial to their constituents, country and longterm wellbeing. The difficulty this last group faces is that they don’t make exciting news.

“A more significant reason for making our presence known is that we thought there might be others interested in joining us that weren’t aware of us. While we are not doing this as a way to find additional crew members, we are open to evaluating anyone who expresses an interest. For the last several years, as we noted earlier, we have approached a number of college graduates with a proposal of working for us. In doing this, we have focused on individuals who had few, if any, living family members. There are a number of characteristics a candidate needs to have before we approach them. While we approached candidates with the idea of employing them to work for us, nearly all have decided to stay and join our species.