I had only been at Harvard for two months, and in that time I had successfully created a working time machine.  Now all of you probably wish to know why I did not use it to come back in time and save the planet.  The simple answer is that it is impossible to send living things through the time vortex, at least without killing the subject.  That is why I am sending this recording back to my ancestor.  She will, or has, recorded all of this, but all of you will think it is just a story she made up.  Well, it is not.  This is how all of you will die.
At the time, I was working on trying to make it possible for living things to go through the time vortex when the asteroid hit.  I had been going at it for two weeks with no promising results.  The collision knocked a conclusion into my head.  It was impossible.  No living being could survive time travel.  The thought came into my head right before I hit my desk and fell unconscious.
When I woke up, it was hard to stay on the floor.  The Earth was spinning faster due to the impact.  I estimated it was about triple the normal rate, due to how light I felt.  My computer, which I had personally programed, was beeping.  I had rigged it to tell me if anything on the planet had drastically changed, like climate or days.  It was telling me that we were actually going 3.7 times the normal rate and the Earth had been knocked out of its original orbit around the Sun due to the collision.  The planet’s atmosphere would not last much longer.  The computer warned me that the Earth was headed straight for Venus.  We would crash in twenty four minutes and eight seconds.
After making a few calculations, I determined that I would not be in danger of being hit by Venus.  But then there was the trouble that I would suffocate once the air supply in my office went out.  I jumped as my phone rang.  It was my friend, Callie, who was studying in Kenya.  She would be affected by the collision.
“We’re going to hit Venus!” she exclaimed.
I did not freak out.  I never do.  It is a little gift of mine, made possible by a tiny mutation, where my amygdala is very tiny, so it is almost impossible for me to get scared.  “I know.  I made the calculations.  Don’t worry.  You’ll be safe.”
“But we’ve been knocked out of orbit!  We’ll be killed by the changes in atmosphere!”
“Don’t worry,” I said in a calm voice.  “I’ll find a way to fix this.”
“Really?  You have a plan?”
I knew it was rude, but I hung up on her.  For the first time in my life, I had no idea what to do.
In the time before we crashed into Venus, I tried everything.  I knew there was no possible way to send the planet back in time, but I thought I could somehow make the time machine envelop the planet and take it somewhere else in the galaxy, where the planet and its inhabitants could be safe.  Living things might not be able to stand time travel, but I thought that maybe it was possible for them to stand teleportation.
However, none of my changes worked.  Recalibration of the location grid, power boosts, enlargement.  Nothing.  I had to face the truth.  Everything on Earth was going to die.  There was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
I decided not to tell anyone we were doomed.  I could not deal with all the crying and confessions.  I just ignored every call, email, and text.  I hate crying, have always hated it.  Even as an infant I never cried.  It caused a lot of kids in my hometown to think I was a robot or cyborg, a rumor which was not helped by my intelligence and memory.
Only one person actually came to see me.  Matt Brean came rushing into my lab a few minutes after my phone finally stopped ringing.  He was only a year older than me, with an above-average intelligence, placing him in Harvard at such a young age.  He also possessed a small amygdala, but did not have an eidetic memory, which was unfortunate, since otherwise he would have been exactly like me.  There were two minutes and thirty seconds left on the clock.
“I trust you’ve made the calculations,” he said.
“Yes,” I replied.  “We’re all going to die.  And we can’t do anything about it.”
“Have you told anyone yet?”
“No.  Couldn’t handle all of the tears.”
Matt nodded.  “Me either.  I really don’t get emotions.  Well, at least we’re not going to be on the colliding side.”
“Yeah, but the collision will unsettle dust and we won’t be able to breathe or it will just get way too cold.”
“So we just wait out our deaths.”
“Yup.”
“Matt,” I said.  “I’m scared.  I can feel it, but nothing’s happening.”
“Tanni, I’m also scared.  We’re about to die.  It’s natural to be afraid.”
“But I can’t feel anything.  My palms aren’t sweaty, I don’t feel a sinking sensation in my stomach, and I don’t have goosebumps.”
“That’s just because of the mutation.  Your brain doesn’t send the signals of fear to your body.”
“But why does it have to be us?  Why do we have to have the mutation?  What’s wrong with us?”
He kissed my forehead.  “Nothing.  There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I know you.  You are the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“Thanks.  You’re the coolest person I’ve ever me-”  I was cut off by another round of beeping from my computer.  It was warning me that we had thirty seconds until impact.  I wrapped my arms around Matt and put my head on his shoulder.  The impact shook the entire lab, but luckily we were protected from the 10.3 magnitude impact that happened right outside the door.  It was after the shaking stopped that all the weird stuff started happening.
There were no aftershocks, but those would have been the least of our worries anyways.  The atmosphere was surprisingly breathable, but we were not alone.  Standing right in front of us was an extra-terrestrial.

He was about ten feet tall, with a head full of scaly spikes and dark spring green skin.  His eyes were a deep red, like they were filled with blood and he only had three fingers on each hand.  He looked like an alien right out of a science fiction movie, even wearing a bright red skin suit fitted with a weapons belt which carried many unusual guns.  He was completely terrifying.  It was exactly like an invasion.  Except when this alien spoke, he spoke in English.
“Come with me,” it said.  “You are prisoners of war.”

“What do you want with us?” I asked him as we walked with what I assumed was a gun held to my back.
“I am taking you to our ship, where you will be killed,” he responded, very matter-of-factly.
“Just tell us why you think we’re involved in some kind of war.”
The alien looked at me strangely.  “You mean you do not know?  You have been fighting us for centuries.”
“Nope.  We know nothing.  Now can you let us go?”
“Unfortunately I cannot.  We must kill all human beings in this planet.  Do not worry.  It will be painless.”
“So you’re exterminating an entire species?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t have a problem with that?”
The alien’s eyes brushed over me.  “Tannira Rockson, soon you will not remember anything about our species.  You will not remember anything at all.”
I shivered.  “How do you know my name?”
“It was on your desk,” he said simply.
We followed the alien to a strange ship, about fifty meters wide, but only about fifteen tall.  It was basically a just a huge flat square, but I assumed there was much more inside.  Our captor nudged us to make us go through the circular door on the side of the ship.  I noticed that he walked almost the same way we did, but turned his foot out just a little bit out.
The alien pushed us down a small hallway filled with screams emitting from about half the chambers.  He threw us into the small chamber at the end of the hall.  It was completely bare, just four walls and a door.  There was no way anyone could escape.  It was airtight, with walls made out of titanium steel and a door made out of some material I assumed was even harder than the walls.  We were trapped, with only the cries of our fellow humans for company.
“Okay, how did you know their-” Matt started, but I hushed him and pressed my ear to the door, trying to tell if the alien had gone away.  He had not, but he was speaking with another one.
“These two are merely youngsters.  They have not had anything to do with the war.  Must we kill them?”
The answer made me go cold.  “Yes.  The girl’s voice matched the one on the message exactly.  You said it yourself.  They are obviously affiliated with their government.”
“Can we not use them for our research?”
“No, Glatrivi.  They will be executed.  No more discussion.”
“Fine, but do you know how helpful they could be?  They could be the key to unlocking the universe.  Their minds completely surpass both ours and that of any on their planet.  With all the metals and elements we have here, it is possible that we could finally escape this planet.”
“Alright.  Take the girl.  Gas the boy.”
Glatrivi opened the door and pulled me out.  Then his companion, who had sky blue instead of green skin, flipped a switch and I heard Matt’s loud gasps through the door.  He was the last human I would see for a long time.

The two aliens took me to the control center of their ship.  It was barely big enough for the three bodies.  This must be a prison ship, I thought.  Why else would it be so big and have a control center so small?
Glatrivi and his friend sat down at the controls, which were a whole bunch of buttons, knobs, and scanners.  They worked extremely fast, their combined twelve fingers flying over the board.  I felt a small bump, which they said meant we had landed on their home planet.  I looked outside, expecting to see Venus, but I only saw an unfamiliar planet covered with life.  However, I knew we couldn’t have travelled outside the solar system, so where were we?
“This is our home,” Glatrivi said.  “I believe your people call it Mercury.  We have tried to find a way to escape it for many years so our people can see the stars.  If you are wondering where we picked up your language, it was when your people sent out a probe carrying all the languages of your country.  We tried to communicate with you by sending a 72 second signal, but apparently it was not received by the right people.”
“We did receive a signal like that, but it was disregarded,” I said.  “There are some theories that it was actually aliens and the government was trying to clear it up.”
“Your government was not only trying to clear that up, but it also raged a war with us.  They thought we were threats so they bombed us.  We responded in kind and the war has been going on secretly ever since.”
“But what do you want with me?”
“We want you to design a ship big enough so that we can fly away from this planet and find a better home.  We never wanted this war and we want to escape it.”
“There’s no reason to escape the war when everyone on Earth is dead.”
“It is true that every earthing excluding yourself is dead, but the memory still lingers.  We want to get to a place where our children do not have to live through the memory that we have killed an entire planet.”
“But you haven’t killed an entire planet, just a species!  We were hit by an asteroid that we were too stupid to see coming until it was too late.”
Glatrivi sighed.  “Why do you think you never saw it?  We put a complex shield around the asteroid, both drawing it towards your planet and hiding it from your instruments.  We killed your species, there is no question about it.”
“You crashed the asteroid into us?”
The other alien responded before Glatrivi could open his mouth.  “We had to.  We had received information that your world was about to launch a missile on ours, blowing it up and destroying our world entirely.  We were simply saving ourselves.  I am Rasfroth, by the way, and this is Glatrivi.”
“I can actually picture my government doing something like that.  They were corrupt anyways.”
Rasfroth smiled, showing a set of red teeth, as if they had been painted with blood.  It kind of freaked me out, especially since she had tried to kill me earlier, but somehow her smile was reassuring.  “Tannira Rockson, you are the only human I have ever seen that is not evil and wishes our destruction.  I think I will like you.”
“It’s just Tanni and I have to ask one thing.  Why don’t you ever use contractions when you speak?”
“Because otherwise we would be being rude.  You should watch your language when around others.  We are more used to dealing with humans than the others.”
“So what would happen if I were to use a contraction in front of one of the others?”
“You would either be whipped or put to death.  They do not tolerate rudeness here.”
I swallowed nervously.  How could I be expected to not use contractions after I had used them my entire life?  I knew I would die within a few days on Mercury.  “So, how long have you been on Mercury?  And where do you live on it?  Isn’t-Sorry,” I said as the two aliens gave me a look.  “Is it not too hot for you to survive?”
“Our species has evolved over time so that we can live on the surface for long periods of time, say about fifty of your Earth years.  However, we must occasionally go underground, where it is much cooler.  You will be staying in one of our underground cities so that you will not be overheated.  You will be provided with all the materials you need to construct our ship,” Glatrivi said.
“And what happens when I finish this ship?” I asked.
“Then we will leave this planet and take you with us, relocating somewhere that both our species and you can survive.”
“So I am basically a prisoner?”
Rasforth turned her head back to the controls.  “Yes.  You are our prisoner.”

Mercury was nothing like what our probes had shown.  It was beautiful, full of color and life.  These aliens must have either reprogrammed our probes, or the government had doctored them to keep people from finding out what the planet held.  It was still hot, as would be expected, but not as hot as some places that occupied the now barren Earth.  I did not see how they thought it would be too hot for me to survive.  We had hotter temperatures in my hometown then there were here.
Rasfroth and Glatrivi pushed me through the huge city we had landed next to.  I got some looks from strangers, but they were pushed to the back of my mind as I took in the architecture and culture.  The buildings were incredible, towering blocks of some strange metal that made the Empire State Building look like a lump of rock.  They were also works of art, twisting spiral pathways to the stars.  What I assumed was the language of these people was etched into the side of each building.  These aliens were much farther along than we were.
Each alien we passed looked at me, Glatrivi, and Rasfroth strangely.  I figured not many of them had seen a human before.  No one spoke to us, only observing and turning back to whatever they were doing.  A small group of kids was playing an unusual game with a small animal that looked like it was half horse and mouse.  They were running around, laughing, and trying to avoid the animal, which was chasing them around, trying to catch one.  I gasped when it finally did and wrapped its orange tongue around one of the kids, sucking it inside its body, which should not have fit the small child.  The other kids continued laughing.
“What was that?” I asked the two behind me.
“We believe in survival of the fittest.  This planet is a lot more dangerous than yours,” Rasfroth answered.
“But their friend just got eaten and they’re- they are- laughing!”
“That is not laughing,” Glatrivi said.  “What you perceive as laughing is the equivalent of screaming in our world.  Those raters should not have messed around with that eanstown.”
“What is a rater and an eanstown?”
“A rater is what we call our young.  An eanstown is that animal you saw.  They are very common in these parts.”
“And what do you call your race?”
“Etherwserths,” the dark green alien behind me said.
The two of them were silent for a minute.  “We have never translated those words into the human language.  We have not been speaking English for several minutes,” Rasfroth said.  “How did you pick up our language so fast?”
“I do not know,” I said, careful not to piss them off as it seemed I was already in danger.  “I did not even realize we had been speaking in your tongue until you brought it up.  Perhaps it has something to do with my eidetic memory.”
Rasfroth shook her head.  “No.  You cannot have picked up the language in the two minutes you have been here.  You must have learned our tongue before you came here, but it is puzzling that you do not remember learning it.”
“What can I tell you?  I remember everything, but I do not recall learning your language.  The only explanation is that I picked it up in the last few minutes.”
Glatrivi and Rasfroth exchanged looks.  “Or someone made sure you did not remember?” Glatrivi said.
“How is that possible?”
“It is plausible that your government used your talents to communicate with us in our native language and then made you forget somehow, possibly by altering your brain.  We did receive a transmission like that a while ago, but it was not clear and came through as a few simple words.  We assumed you had picked up a little of our language.”
This was all a lot to take in for me.  “So I could have been used to communicate with you and not even know it?”
“Exactly.”
“But how do you know for sure?  There is no way to prove it.”
Rasfroth smiled knowingly.  “Yes there is.  We have to take you to Terghei.  He can help clear your head.”
“What is he, some sort of magician?”
Glatrivi smiled.  “No.  He is a scientist.  He deals specifically with humans and their minds.  He can see if you have forgotten anything.”
“How can he do that?  Will he cut open my head?”
“Sort of,” Rasfroth said, trying to reassure me, though it was not working.  “He will only target your memory area.  All he will do is stitch up the cuts made to the specific cell assemblies to cause your memory to return.  If there is no damage, which I do not believe to be true, then he will not do anything and simply stitch you back up.  Either way you will be fine.”
“Alright.  Let us go see him.”
The two Etherwserths looked shocked.  “You are not scared that some strange alien is going to be cutting open your brain?”
I tapped my head.  “Nope.  I am almost never scared.  Small amygdala.  Do not really tend to freak out.”
Glatrivi smiled.  “So you are a step up in the evolution of humans.  Glad we got you instead of some idiot human.”  I noticed his skin was getting darker.  Interesting, I thought.  What makes him do that?
I kept thinking about how these aliens worked while we headed towards Terghei’s home.  Rasfroth knocked on the door as soon as we got there.  There was a great bit of noise coming from inside, apparently from aliens inside clinking glasses or something and talking.  Terghei looked shocked to see the two aliens at his door, especially since they were hiding me behind their backs.
“Rasfroth, my dear, what are you doing here?  Have you come to take me back?”
I did not see Rasfroth’s disgusted look, but I could tell she had one on from her tone of voice.  “No, Terghei.  I need your help.  Get your friends out of here.  We will go around the back.”
“What is it?  Because unless if it is really good, I will not help you.  You did not leave me kindly and you know it.”
“Oh, I assure you, it is good,” Rasfroth said.  “You will want to drop everything to help us.”
“Alright.  Go around the back.  I will get everyone out and then bring you in.”
We waited until Terghei closed the door to go around the back, making sure I was not seen.  We heard him ushering everyone inside out.  Rasfroth pulled me in front of her when he came to the door.  “A human?” he asked.  “I thought all of them were dead!”
“This is the only one left.  She built a time machine, so we brought her here, but she can speak our language.  We think she might be the one who sent that scrambled message, and then had her memory damaged so she would forget.  Can you help us?”
Terghei nodded.  “Bring her in.  I will try my best to fix her up.”
I stepped inside to see a home that looked nothing like the alien ones in movies or books.  In fact, it looked like the home of a hermit, or someone living in the rainforest.  There were plants everywhere, with beautiful neon colors and different patterns.  A few books in the corners were the only proof that this place was in the middle of a huge city.  I spent a couple minutes admiring the decor before Terghei led me into a small room hidden behind a huge bush.  Inside, it was much more like an alien story.  Strange tools littered the tables, and bright lights shone down from every angle.  Terghei laid me down on the operating table.  Then he injected a needle in my arm, putting me under for what I thought was the first time in my life, but it turned out not to be.

When I woke up a couple hours later, I could remember everything.  How the government had kidnapped me and told me all about these aliens, or at least all they knew.  They made me listen to countless recordings, until I could finally pick up the language.  I was exhausted by the end of it, but they still made me send the message.  Being as tired as I was, I accidentally scrambled the signal, but they never knew.  They believed their message had been received.  Then they altered my memory.
Gaining the knowledge made me have a fit of rage.  How could they do this to me?  I was just a random citizen.  I was mad at the government for using me as a lab rat, but even more so at myself for allowing them to do it.  I could have tried to escape.  Instead, I decided to stay and do what they wanted.  I was stupid back when I was twelve.
I tried to sit up, but a shock of pain went through my head.  I flinched, which Terghei said was a normal side effect.  I would need to lie down for a couple hours before it was safe to move me again.  The reverse of this process had been done on several humans before me, so it was a little risky.  Terghei would need to keep me under observation for a little while to make sure I did not go crazy or die or do anything out of the ordinary.  I almost laughed, but I knew it would be taken as a scream, possibly as one of pain.  I was a captive of aliens in my very own solar system, and I let one of them cut open my brain.  That came across as crazy in my book.
A couple hours later, Terghei finally let me go.  I appeared to be fine, and there was no pain going through my head.  Rasfroth and Glatrivi dragged me out the door as soon as they could.  You did not need to be a genius to tell that Rasfroth really wanted to get out of there.
I was pushed through countless streets before we finally reached the center of the city.  It was a huge building, with countless spires and stories.  Beautiful murals and symbols were etched on practically every inch of it.  It reminded me of castles from the Dark Ages, as everything around it seemed dull in comparison and it was surrounded by a large wall, with a gate and a guard on either side.  The one on the left stopped us to ask what we were doing at the emperor’s palace, with a human, of all things.  Rasfroth showed him a slip of paper, which I presumed had something identifying her on it, and calmly explained that I had information the emperor would be interested in.  The guard nodded and opened the gate.  Rasfroth thanked him and we went inside.
I was not allowed to see the inside of the building, being human, so Glatrivi put a piece of cloth over my eyes until we got to the throne room.  It was huge and incredibly detailed.  Diamond columns spiraled up to the ceiling like giant spikes.  The walls appeared to be made of gold, as well as the giant chair in the center of the room.  In it sat the most peculiar colored Etherwserth I had seen yet.  I had seen bright orange, magenta, black, gamboge, razzmatazz, zomp, zaffre, xanadu, violet, and basically every other color imaginable as we walked through the streets.  But this alien seemed to be a mix of all of them.  His skin was patched all over with various colors.  This must be the emperor, I thought.  The colored skin must have been a family trait, given from what I had learned of dynasties on Earth.
“Do not speak of his skin,” Glatrivi whispered in my ear.  “The inbreeding of the family has caused it.  The disease is not spoken of.”
I nodded, but I did not see how the emperor’s skin was a disease.  Blood diseases like hemophilia were common in royalty in the 19th and 20th centuries on Earth, actually causing some damage, but why was an unusual skin color considered a disease?  It was possible that the skin was an after effect of some disease, which I considered the most likely of all explanations.
Rasfroth knelt at the emperor’s throne.  “Your Highness,” she said, not looking up, but instead straight at the floor.  “My brother and I have come to you with information that you might find valuable.”
I turned to look at Glatrivi.  Brother? I mouthed.  He nodded and turned his face to the floor, tilting my head so I would do the same.
“We have discovered the sender of the scrambled message we received four years ago.  There were many machines in her office that were far ahead of our own technology.  We believe that she is the key to getting off this planet and going to another.  I request that we allow her to live, on the condition that she will help us.”
“Rise, Rasfroth Fresd,” the emperor said.  “I will grant your request, but I ask you this.  Where will we keep her?  She is not fit to be kept either in the palace or in a prison.”
Glatrivi spoke before Rasfroth could.  “I will take responsibility for her.  I am already part of the team working on building such a ship.  The human will live with me, and I will make sure she does not try to escape.  I assure you that I am fully capable of keeping her in line.”
Rasfroth started to apologize for her brother’s interruption, but the emperor cut her off.  “Your brother has come up with a reasonable and helpful solution to our problem.  He may keep the human girl, but he will be held responsible if she escapes or dies.  Do you agree to those terms, Glatrivi Fresd?”
Glatrivi nodded.  “I do.”
“Then take the girl and get out of here.  You will resume your normal work tomorrow morning.  Do not fail in this mission, or it could mean your destruction.”  He looked down at Rasfroth.  “I have a few important things to discuss with you, Rasfroth Fresd.  Please stay.”
Rasfroth bowed deeply.  “Yes, sir.”  I heard only whispers as her brother dragged me from the room.

Glatrivi took me through countless streets before we got to the edge of the city, where fields of bright orange grasses that came up to my chest stretched as far as I could see.  I followed Glatrivi for about a mile before we came to a trapdoor hidden by dirt.  There was a pad on it, which Glatrivi pushed me onto.  Then he climbed on behind me and we descended underground.
We gradually descended.  It was pitch black, so I had no idea if the tunnel we were in was narrow or wide.  I assumed it was one of the two, as Glatrivi held on to me, apparently afraid I would touch the walls or fall over the edge of the platform.  I closed my eyes, knowing that the darkness could make me go blind.  When we finally stopped, I opened my eyes to a blinding light.  I turned away back to the tunnel we had just come from to let my eyes adjust.
When I turned around again, the hallway had completely changed.  It was not as bright as I originally thought, just a dim light that came from strange square bulbs on the sides of the walls, tall enough for and Etherwserth to touch, but not for a human.  Glatrivi led me down to a small circular room with about ten doors, each with a different name on it.  Glatrivi opened the one with Fresd on it.
I could tell that this room was much nicer than Terghei’s.  It seemed much more modern, at least from what I had seen of the city, with walls made of titanium and iron and no decorations at all.  A large bed took up about a fourth of the room and was about six feet too large for me.
“This is where you will be spending about half of your time while we work on the ship,” Glatrivi said, guiding me to sit on the enormous bed.  “You will sleep on the bed while I take the floor.  I will wake you tomorrow morning and get you up to speed.  Be careful around my colleagues.  They will be hesitant of you at first, but I have a feeling most of them will come to like you.”
“Why?  They should not like me.  I am human, one of the species they eradicated.”
“I know they will like you because you are not like the kind of human they have come to picture.  They think of humans as evil, vile creatures who want to kill everything in their path.  You are none of those things.  You are…. a special type of human.”  His skin got darker again.  It made me wonder even more about the anatomy of these creatures.  What changed to make them turn a darker color?
“Glatrivi,” I said, hoping my question would not offend him.  “Why does your skin turn darker like that?”
Yet again his skin turned dark.  “It is a little genetic quirk I have.  It is nothing, just a little abnormal.  I do not really like to talk about it.”
I responded after his skin had turned back to normal.  “Oh, I am sorry.  I did not mean to offend you.”
“You did not offend me.  I do not think you could ever do that.”  With the last word, his skin turned darker than I had ever seen it, or maybe it was just the light.  He sat down next to me.  “You are a good human, better than any other of your species I have ever seen.  I know you have a good mind and a good heart.  And that is why you could never offend me, not as long as your moral compass points straight, as you humans say it.”
“Thanks, Glatrivi.”
He placed a hand on my forehead.  “Get some rest, Tanni.  We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” 
He closed my eyes and I kept them closed as I heard him walk around.  When I finally thought he was sleeping, I opened my eyes and stared at him.  Glatrivi was not like what I had thought an alien would be like.  On Earth, aliens were always painted as monsters, killers, or enslavers.  That was probably mostly due to the government wanting to keep aliens a secret.  No one ever really thought that aliens would be anything but weird or dangerous.  But Glatrivi was kind, gentle, and compassionate.  He thought of me as good, not evil because of my species.  He had the purest heart of anyone, human or otherwise, I had ever or would ever meet.  He was more human than most humans.  I wondered if that was true for all aliens.

Glatrivi woke me up the next morning with a gentle shake in the shoulder.  I bolted awake, not remembering falling asleep.  Only then did I realize how bizarre my situation was.  I was working for aliens.  No, I was working with aliens who had killed every other human but me.  And they were not evil, but good and kind.  Exactly the opposite of everything I had been prepared for.  And I had been cut open by one of them.  For the first time, I wondered if I was dreaming.  I pinched myself.  Nothing but a small bit of pain.  I was completely awake.
Once I was fully awake, Glatrivi guided me out of the room by pushing me onto yet another descending platform.  It led us to a completely white room, as wide as at least a hundred soccer fields with a giant ship in the center of it.  I just stared at it for a second, shocked at the size of it.  I jumped when Glatrivi put his hand on my shoulder.  "We have built most of the ship already, compartments for the passengers, air locks for if the ship breaks down, and more.  We really need your help for the engines to make sure the ship can keep going."
“I really do not know how I can help.  I mean, you seem a lot more advanced than what I am used to dealing with.  I do not even know what half of this ship is made of.”
“It is just a few metals native to this planet only.  You will not be needing them for the engines, since they could not stand the heat coming from them, so I do not think you will need to learn much about them.  Now, I will introduce you to my colleagues.”  He gestured over to the three aliens staring at us.  They were all different colors.  One was nyanza, another onyx, and the last one was phlox.
“What is a human doing here, Glatrivi?” the onyx colored one asked.  “You and your sister were supposed to have helped in exterminating them.”
“She is far above the rest of our race and here to help with the engines of the ship.”
“How can she help if she does not speak our language?  You are the only one who can translate and you will not be there all the time.”
Glatrivi started to explain that I could speak the language, but I cut him off.  “I actually can speak your language.  It was taught to me many years ago as I listened to your communications with us.  My government then erased my memory of the events to keep it hidden.  You got the signal I sent, right?”
The three aliens’ mouths dropped.  “What is your name?” the phlox one asked.
“Tanni.  And I promise you that I was forced to cooperate with my government against my will.  From what I have seen of this planet, you are not at all of how the government painted you.  I am here to help.”
The onyx one turned back to Glatrivi.  “But how can we know she will be helpful?”
Glatrivi smiled.  “She had a time machine in her study that she built in two weeks.  She will be incredibly helpful.  Tanni, this is Efres.  He is in charge of comfort and design of the inner parts of the ship.”  He pointed to the one I had not heard speak yet.  “This is Tilnsi.  She is in charge of the more technical parts inside the ship, like doors and such.  And this is Ferjl.  She is in charge of the outer parts of the ship.  I am personally in charge of the engines and control room.  You will mostly be working with me.”
“It is nice to meet you, Tanni,” Tilnsi said.  “I am sure you will be of great help to us, provided the emperor has approved of you being here.”
I nodded.  “He has.  I am very grateful that he spared my life.”
"Well, you should probably start studying the metals and gases here.  Ferjl will help you with that while I talk with Glatrivi."
Ferjl led me to a small door that led to a room filled with screens.  A large box, about half my height, stood in the center.  Ferjl whispered something into it and the emperor’s face popped up.  “What do you need?” he asked.
“I need access to the records of metals and gases found only on this planet.”
“What is your identification number?”
“Two,” she said very simply.
“You have access.  Take as much time as you need.”  The emperor disappeared and a bunch of images and texts appeared on the monitors.
“The emperor controls the information here?” I asked.
Ferjl nodded.  "We have to ask for his permission before we get any information.  That way no one gets anything that could be dangerous.  It normally takes a while to get anything, but since we are working on the ship, we go right to the top."
We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds until she said, "You are really not what I expected.  I can see why Glatrivi likes you."
"You are not what I expected either.  I am actually glad to come here.  Wait... What do you mean about Glatrivi liking me?"
Ferjl waved her hand.  "Oh, nothing.  Just that he seems to think of you highly.  Just be careful around him.  If a relationship with a human goes too far, the penalty can be very heavy.  Now, let us talk about elements."
   For the next hour, Ferjl taught me about the elements of Mercury, or Caers, as they called it.  The metals were fairly soft and regular except for their not being on Earth, but the gases were completely extraordinary.  Most of them could power a hovercraft for at least five years.  A hovercraft takes about the same amount of power as about twenty jets, just to give you old timers something to compare that power to.  I had never seen anything like it.  I immediately started calculating engine materials in my head.  I had to figure out an alloy that could sustain itself and give enough power to push a ship through the vastness of space with no breaks until we reached a final destination.  It would have been impossible back on Earth.
I spent the next month working with the computers to try and find an appropriate alloy.  I found ones that would sustain themselves and ones that would give enough power, but I could not find one that could do both.  I might have given up, if not for the fact that Glatrivi had his faith in me.  And the small factor that I was working to save my life.
Glatrivi and I spent most of the nights talking.  We discussed everything, from our deaths to anatomy to fashion.  One night he asked me about Matt.
“That boy you were with when I captured you.  Who was he?”
“My best friend.  He had the small amygdala like me, but not the eidetic memory.  We were very close.”
“I am sorry we killed him.  I did not want to.”
“Why not?”
He sighed.  “I do not know.  I guess it was because I saw the goodness in him, like I did with you.  I am fairly sure Rasfroth saw it in you, too, but not in him.”
“You could see the goodness in me?”
His skin turned darker.  I had gotten used to it by then.  “I did not realize it until you spoke to me.  You are very brave.  Most humans would not have spoken out like that.”
I hoped he could not see me blush in the dim light, but I was fairly sure he could from his smile.  “Glatrivi, we should really get some sleep.”
He nodded.  “We should.  I do not know why, but I have a good feeling about tomorrow.”

The next day, we were woken up by Rasfroth.  “What are you doing here?” her brother asked, still in a sleepy haze.
Rasfroth smiled.  “Just came to see how my brother was doing.  I heard you guys are fairly close to finishing the ship.  I was sent here by the emperor to check it out."
"We are fairly close, but it is not complete yet."
"Well, you should get to work then.  I can talk to you later."
"What do you want me to talk about?"
Rasfroth's smile turned into a grimace.  "I think you know."
Glatrivi nodded.  "Okay, just wait here.  Outsiders are not really supposed to see the ship."
"What did she want?" I asked Glatrivi as we walked to the ship.
"Nothing really.  Just to talk about family or something.  She is always pretty cryptic."
I could tell he was lying but I decided to ignore it.  There was no use arguing with him.
"Good morning!" Ferjl exclaimed excitedly as we arrived.  "Tanni, I looked at your alloys last night and I think you might have found something!"
I snapped back to focus.  "What?  Really?  But none of those alloys worked."
"Apparently you overlooked one.  It is a mix of titanium, carbon, fadsiom, and trestam.  I reran it in the simulation with different percentages and it worked!  Now we just need to get enough of the metals and gases to build the engines!  I will inform the emperor immediately!"  There was a huge smile on her face, probably reflected on mine as well.  I had gotten used to their smiles and they no longer disturbed me.
"Ferjl, is it alright if Tanni and I go back to our room?  My sister is waiting for us there."
"Of course, Glatrivi.  We have both of you to thank for this.  You have been extraordinary.  Thank you."
Glatrivi and I celebrated with the team for a few minutes and then left to find Rasfroth.  She was in Glatrivi's room, looking around at the nonexistent decorations.  Without looking at us, she said, "Let us go outside, Glatrivi.  I have a feeling you do not want to discuss this in front of Tanni."
Glatrivi nodded.  "You are right.  Tanni, I will be back in a minute."
I smiled.  "Alright," and sat down on the bed.
A couple minutes after the two siblings left, I got up and leaned my ear against the door.  I could hear surprising well, considering that the door was made of an alien metal, but what I heard made no sense to me at the time.
“What can you possibly be thinking, Glatrivi?  You know how dangerous this is,” Rasfroth said.
I could tell from Glatrivi’s tone that he was ashamed, or embarrassed at the least.  “I cannot control it, you know.”
Rasfroth sighed.  “I know, but if you were anyone other than my brother, I would report you.  It is a wonder none of your colleagues has.”
“You would not report me, Rasfroth.  I know you.  You would kill me to spare me the humiliation.”
“You cannot tell her.”
“I have to.  I cannot stand not knowing.”
“It is your death you are arranging.”
“I really do not care.”
I pushed myself off the door as Glatrivi came back inside.  “What were you two talking about?”
“Nothing,” he said, obviously trying to push me away.  I would not stand for it.
“Oh, come on.  I was listening at the door.  She said that you would die if anyone found out what you did.”
He sighed.  “It is not what I did, but what I am doing.”

I knew from experience that Etherwserths were incredibly stubborn and cryptic when it came to answering what they saw as unimportant questions.  “What are you doing, then?”
“I am telling you something I really should not.  Something that really could get me killed.  I have not told you about it before because I was too afraid, but I cannot stand it anymore.”
“What is it?”
“Our people have a very strict law about relationships with alien life forms, specifically humans.  Any attempt to get too close to them is punishable by death.”
“You mean, like a friendship, or something?”
Glatrivi shook his head.  “No, I mean like a romantic attachment.”
I was shocked.  “What?”
“Tanni, my people are not allowed to get romantically attached to humans.  I never thought it would be a problem for me, until I met you.”
“Until you met me?”
“I am in love with you, Tannira Rockson.  I have been since you first spoke to me back on your planet.”
I was shocked.  Glatrivi was my friend, the one alien I fully trusted.  When I looked back, everything he had done to keep me alive made sense.  “Is that why you convinced Rasfroth and the emperor to spare my life?”
He nodded.  “Yes.  I knew I could not let you die.  And also, my skin changing color is not a genetic quirk.  It is sort of like blushing to you humans.  That is why Rasfroth was suspicious of me when I started talking about you.  She has known this entire time.”
“Glatrivi, I really like you, but I cannot let you die because of me.”
He looked down at his feet.  “I will die whatever you do.  Even unrequited, my feelings are still illegal.”
“Then we will hide it,” I said.  “If they do not know, they cannot do anything about it.”
Glatrivi smiled.  “No, they cannot.  We will be very careful."  Then he took my hand in his and used the other to caress my face.  His hands were just a little bigger than mine.  I had not noticed before how small their hands were compared to their bodies.  “I love you, Tanni.”
I leaned my head against him.  “I love you, too.”  We stayed like that for hours, until Rasfroth knocked on the door, telling us it was time to leave.
“They have got everyone here, ready to board, but the emperor wants to get Tanni on first so none of them see her.  Most of them do not know that there is still one human left alive.”
“Okay, we will go, but first explain how you got in here.  You do not have clearance.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you.  I now have maximum security clearance, thanks to the emperor.  He has asked me to become an important part of the kingdom.”
“He made you a governor?”
“No, better than that.  I will become the empress of the new planet we go to.”
“What?” Glatrivi said, a look of surprise on his face.  “When did this happen?”
“We discussed it the day we brought Tanni here, after you left with her.  Apparently he thinks I will make a good ruler.”
“I am surprised he did not ask you sooner, seeing as you boss me around all the time,” her brother muttered, causing me to laugh.
“Very funny, little brother.  Trying to impress your little human girl I suppose?”
Glatrivi turned a deep shade of green and my cheeks turned rosy.  “We should get on the ship before anyone else gets here.”
Rasfroth smirked.  I could tell from the looks going between them that this was nothing new.  Rasfroth always got the last laugh.
It was dead silent between the three of us as we walked towards the finished ship.  It was strange being around something so big, so big you could literally fit the entire population of Earth on it.  Tears came to my eyes as I thought about my home planet.  I had thought my life was normal, or as normal as it could possibly be with my gifts, and then all of this happened.  It was not like I hated my life on Mercury, but it just was not home.  Living with the Etherwserths was not bad, in fact, I enjoyed it much better than my life on Earth, but I could not shake the feeling I had that this place was not where I belonged.
We boarded the ship quickly going to the small, isolated part of the ship where the crew and emperor, and I assumed the now soon-to-be-empress, would be sleeping.  I was completely familiar with the ship’s workings, as I had seen and memorized all of it, so I knew exactly how to get there.  Glatrivi left me in our room and went to oversee the boarding.  Several hours later, the door opened, but it was not Glatrivi.  It was Ferjl.
"What is going on?" I asked.  "Where is Glatrivi?"
"We will be meeting him shortly," she said, with a look that was just sweet enough to make me suspicious.  I knew in that moment that she had found out about the law we broke.
  I did not struggle as Ferjl led me down the passageways, knowing it was futile.  How can you fight an alien twice your height and strength?  We got to a huge door at the edge of the ship that sent warning messages to my brain as soon as I saw it.  This was the door to the airlock.  Ferjl was going to kill me.

I saw Efres and Tilnsi walking with Glatrivi down the hallway to my right.  The three of them were talking and he seemed free.  I assumed they had not told him their plan.  I was much easier for them to overpower.
As soon as Glatrivi saw Ferjl holding me, he tried to get to me, but the other two Etherwserths grabbed him before he could take more than one step.  “You should have been more careful, Glatrivi.  Your sister might not want to do anything to you, but we certainly do.  The emperor will understand as soon as we tell him.  And if not, at least our species will be free of traitors like you."
Glatrivi just looked shocked.  These people were his friends, his colleagues, almost like his family.  And they were going to kill him because of his feelings.  Etherwserths could be pretty messed up.  But not as messed up as humans, I thought.  The Etherwserths looked like pacifists next to my race.
"You know, it is too bad it had to end this way," Ferjl said.  "I really liked you, Glatrivi.  We could have been something if you had not gotten yourself involved with scum like this.  She opened the door.  "Go get your little human pet, Glatrivi, or we will do things worse than death to her."
Glatrivi shook his head.  "She is not going to die," he said very quietly, in a tone of voice I knew the Etherwserths did not recognize as dangerous.  Glatrivi was tipping me off, telling me to run.  He was going to fight them.
As soon as Glatrivi hit Efres and Tilnsi, I jabbed Ferjl up as high I was I could reach with my elbow.  I think I hit her stomach, but I was out of the hallway before I could tell for sure.
I went to the only place I could think of to get help.  I knocked on Rasfroth's door quietly, desperately trying not to yell for her.  When she opened the door, I quickly told her what was going on and ran back to the airlock, an alien empress by my side.
It was too late by the time we got back to the airlock.  The three aliens already had Glatrivi by the arms and were pushing him into it.  By the time I could call anything out, the door had closed.  The last thing I saw before Ferjl pushed the button was Glatrivi’s mouth moving to form his last words, in English, not his language.
Tannira Rockson, I love you.

I wanted to go towards the the backstabbing traitors, but I knew it would be a bad idea.  They were all at least twice as strong as me and there were three of them.  It would be suicide.  And for what?  Glatrivi was already dead.  Rasfroth had the same thoughts.  Instead of fighting them, all she said was, “You b****,” or the equivalent in her language. 
I wanted to say something to back her up, but I ended up just biting back tears and trying to head back to my room with Rasfroth.  We made it about ten feet before I heard a whooshing sound behind me and a laugh from Rasfroth.  It still weirded me out that they laughed instead of crying.  Especially with how familiar I was with their culture.
I turned around quickly to see that Ferjl had taken a knife-like object out of her belt and thrown it at Rasfroth.  It had caught her in the middle of her back, right where her heart was.  She died immediately, a black handle sticking out of her back.  If Ferjl and her helpers were not in trouble before, they certainly were now.  I could only imagine the emperor’s reaction to her death.  The only way to hide her death for as long as possible was to get rid of the body, and me with it.
I did not try to run as Efres advanced on me.  I knew that even if I did get out of here, I was going to die.  I would have to tell the emperor about Glatrivi and then I would be killed anyways.  Better to die a more painless death then what certainly awaited me afterwards.
As Tilnsi put Rasfroth’s lifeless body in the airlock, Ferjl motioned for Efres to bring me closer to her.  “I want to do this myself,” she said.  She held my face in her hands and brought her face close to mine.  “I never really did like you, Tanni.  Humans can never be anything but trouble.  Do you know how hard it was to pretend to like you all this time, especially when I saw how Glatrivi felt?  I would have killed you a long time ago if we did not need you for the ship.  I am glad that we will finally be rid of humans.  Scum like you should not be allowed to roam this universe.  You barely got to Mars.  Do you know how pathetic that is?  We have gone places you could never dream of, outside of this galaxy.  It is incredible we did not wipe you out before.”
I allowed myself one last bit of pleasure before she threw me out of the ship.  I spit in her face and said very clearly, “This ship would not even go if it weren’t for a human.  You needed me and you know it.  You may think that we’re weak and pathetic and useless, but you needed one of us.  You needed a pathetic and weak human to make your stupid starship.  And you forgot one thing when you tried to kill her.  Cameras are posted everywhere on this ship.  And right now, this video is being sent not only to your emperor, but to all of your race.  So just remember this as you kill me: you may have killed my entire race, but you needed one of them.  Humans are not weak.  We are strong.”  I made sure to use contractions throughout, just to piss her off even more.
She did not respond, just opened the door and threw me in.  I smiled, knowing I had one last small victory.  Then she hit the button and I was whisked away into the dark void of outerspace.
Not being able to breathe is torture.  Imagine having a twenty pound brick on your chest and not being able to move it.  Asphyxiation is about twenty times worse.  I only lasted about two seconds before I blacked out.

I woke up in a soft bed, where everything was white, just plain white.  I was confused at first, because I knew I had died.  There was no air in outer space.  I could not have survived.  Then I saw a note on the table next to my bed.
Tannira Rockson-
You have died.  We apologize for the confusion, as we know you remember your previous life, given your condition.  In actuality, your first life was just a broadcast from this planet and now that you have died in that life, we now welcome you to your second and final life.  We have everything you could possibly need, including some elements you have not heard of.  However, you must not speak of your death or anything related to it, or you will have your life snatched out of your hands.  We are of course alien, so you will be confused at first, but you will get over it.  Please wait for your helper before leaving the room.  His name is Refedsitci.
-The aliens you may call Dasrfts
As soon as I saw the note, I knew I had to send this recording back to your time.  We should not be afraid of death, as we do have another life afterwards.  You will not remember your life, though.  The only reason I remembered mine was because of my eidetic memory and small amygdala.  Those two things combined made it possible for me to remember everything that happened to me.
I have not sent this message as so much of a warning, but more of a notification.  This is how we all die, one way or another.  Remember that when it is your turn.

I know some parts of this story require an explanation.  I am the one Tanni sent her recording back to, though she had no idea who I really am.  Two weeks after sending the recording, Tanni discovered how to send people back in time, using elements unknown to this planet.  She put in the coordinates for two months earlier than the recording’s date.  When she got here, she discovered that her ancestor did not exist.  And that is actually true.  Tanni’s “ancestor” is actually Tanni herself.  I sent the recording back to myself without knowing it was actually me.  In the process of coming here, I lost my eidetic memory, so what I learn now is not permanently fixed in my memory.  However, I kept the small amygdala.  That is probably why people see me as fearless.
The planet Mercury being colder than expected was due to the multitude of plants and animals that formed a stronger shield from the sun than our planet did.  Also, the pictures that were supposedly of Mercury were actually from a planet that was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.  It’s name is Mercury 2, and was hidden from astronomers and others from the time it was discovered to the death of our planet by technology the United States government got from the Etherwserths.
As for all the time travel elements and such, I used technology I had gotten from both species I met to change the memories of people who had thought they had known me for more than two years.  It took me a long time, but eventually everyone “remembered” me.  As for photographs taken before I was thirteen, more alien technology made it possible for me to make the pictures appear normal and in place.  It wasn’t hard to hack into government sites and make up a fake birth certificate and pictures.  The technology nowadays is much less advanced than what I am used to.
The alien words and names in this novel have been made up, since there is no proper English translation.  As for how I knew the genders of the aliens, they had different voice registers.  Rasfroth’s was deeper than both Terghei and Glatrivi’s, leading me at first to think she was the male, but after I discovered that Glatrivi was male, I was able to figure it out.  The aliens in this story also do not use contractions, even in their own language.  That is why some of the words in this story may seem a little off.
It’s taken a while for me to get used to using contractions again, but I can finally do it.  If I had not gone into the past, where the aliens were still yet to be discovered, I would have never used contractions again.  I am the only one who has actually met these aliens, and even fell in love with one.  The government might think they are dangerous, but all they are is peace-loving and gentle.  They are not villains.  They were protecting themselves.  Our government are the monsters who killed so many of their race.  And most of the conspiracy theories against them, like area 51 and such, are actually true, but well hidden.  They have all been started by me, though I am not credited for them.  I have travelled back multiple times to start these theories by leaving notes by the beds of certain people.  Now, my time machine remains hidden as a hairclip, used only in emergencies.
Please keep in mind that this story is completely true, no matter how impossible it seems.  I have no proof that the events in this story are true, except for the time machine and this story, which remain with me to this day.  I can’t build a new time machine, or show anyone mine, or it would disrupt the space-time continuum.  I can only show you this recording, which is not enough proof to determine the truthfulness of my story.  The only reason I have told this story is to notify, not frighten.  This is how all of you, no matter how old you become, die.  I have already experienced it.  Do not go afraid.  Go with peace in your mind, love in your heart, and faith in your soul.