PEARL

A flow of wind rushed around me like a river. I worried it would pick me up and send me hurtling toward the scene in front of me, but it didn't. Instead, the scenery shifted yet again.

I returned to my actual body, staring up at an undulating mass of black. My heart took off like a freight train in my chest. Was it possible for somebody so young to have a heart attack?

My eyes stung as I swallowed bile. Dumuzi no longer held me, and tears streamed down my cheeks. My breath came out shaky, and a cold bloom of sweat beaded on my forehead.

"That was. So. Horrible."

Then everything hit me at once, and I wailed.

I fell to my knees as the walls of ink receded until they were nothing. Coming out of the memory safe was a jolt to the senses. Everything was too much; the light, my pulse thrumming through my veins, and the tears that wet my eyelashes.

The floor was like a sheet of ice under my knees, but I was on fire. My words came out like thrown daggers. "So that is it, huh? Earth was your damn petri dish, and the second you realized—oops, we made yet another intelligent species, you bolted. Am I getting that right?"

He said nothing. It took a lot of effort to stand on two legs. They were numb as I stood, my back turned to him. I didn't want to look at him right now. I was infuriated, hurt, and feeling insignificant and fragile because I just watched her fucking die right in front of me.

Not to mention that they did not create us for a purpose. We had no fucking purpose.

That stung, too.

"They killed that girl," I continued. "They just killed her. Did you hear what she said? She thanked them for the rain. She knew you guys created her."

Yeah, so, he was right about this upsetting me. This truth made me angry. He had warned me about this—but this was not what I expected. A metallic flavor flooded my mouth.

His silence was only adding fuel to my flames.

"And yet you think you all have a say in the fate of our world? It's clear your kind makes mistakes, too, and that was a big fucking mistake. You all took responsibility for everything else except for us."

I faced him because I had to now. I needed to know how he felt about this. Did he share my outrage?

His eyes were like two purple oceans in the middle of a storm. Good. He should be upset. I trudged up to him, about to yell at him to explain, but he grabbed my wrist before I could get close enough. His favorite things to grab onto were my wrists, it seemed.

I gnashed my teeth, trying to free myself from his grasp. I knew I was probably being a bit too overemotional, but that was just how I was. "All of you are just as lousy as we are! Let go of me. You all are murderers!"

"Pearl—"

No. "No, let me talk—"

"You can talk all you want, Pearl, but what you saw was the right decision. If she had been sent back into her population, all of your ancestors would have been wiped out if they contracted her illness. It is likely that she would have died miserably and alone, shunned by her community."

I bit my tongue, literally and metaphorically. I inhaled through my nose, the sound like a thousand flies coming to eat my stomach stuffed with disgust.

He let me go, and I took a step away from him. "She never should have had one in the first place."

"This... we can agree on. We did not keep... track of your kind the way we should have. In order to save hundreds of other civilizations we created, we were desperate for a cure. Your world was utilized for observation in order to make new scientific advancements. But the very moment we realized... we—"

"Abandoned us?"

"No. Not at first."

Some of my anger fizzled out. Surprise made it hard to stay upset. I wiped away the remaining tears and glared at him. "Not at first?"

He shook his head, his eyes still clouded with emotion like purple rainstorms. "We stayed on your planet for centuries. We gave them cities, agriculture, and kings in recognition of their efforts and assistance. We originally came to your planet to obtain gold, which was necessary for engineering. We did not expect it to be so filled with life as it was."

That's why he doesn't like gold. Puzzle pieces started snapping together in place, but I still didn't like the picture they made. "What then?"

"Once we realize humanity had attained sentience, new laws took hold. The legislation should have been enacted much sooner to prevent what you saw from happening."

"The legislation should have been before you started toying around with organisms," I gritted out.

"I agree with you."

I stared at the ground, feeling burned out. Normally, I would be all over this information. But I was too... sad.

His face hadn't changed; it was still tense with worry. He watched me carefully as if I would lose it or pass out at any moment. But that wasn't the case. My body was fine–it was my mind that was brittle.

A gentle hand lifted my chin. "If it is any consolation, Pearl, we know what we have done." I stared up at him as another tear snaked its way down my throat. "The stars are permeated with suffering because of our creations. When all of this is said and done, and the last human in existence takes their last breath, my kind plans to follow shortly after, disabling the part of Osa that ages us slowly."

I fought to weasel out of his grasp. "What?"

"There are so few of my kind left. We cannot regain our population with the amount available. We created something that nearly destroyed us; perhaps it isn't the creations that need to be snuffed out of existence, but the creators themselves. It is our time to retire as gods."

I blinked my eyes and stared at him, trying to process that information. That didn't seem... "No. That's not right, either, Dumuzi."

He moved until there were mere inches between us, his gaze intense and questioning. "There is no way forward. What do you expect us to do?"

The sadness in my voice was heavy. "I can think of a few things."

He titled his head. "What else do you want, Pearl? I will grant you any request that you make. Do you want the stars? I will gather them for you. Do you want more answers? I can demonstrate all that I know. As long as your tears dry and the pain in your gaze becomes no more."

I shook my head, his towering, masculine form making my brain shrink to a raisin when he leaned over me. "Take responsibility for us for once. Help us."

"Explain."

I was sure that what I was about to demand was going to be a big ask, but I didn't care. "I want to plead my case to the council to save Earth. Maybe you all can get rid of the radiation somehow and give us food and clean water. You know, do something? Yes, we got ourselves into this mess—the radiation, the wars—but give us a shot at rebuilding. At least a shot?"

He frowned. Did he not expect me to say that?

"And I want François to come with me," I continued fast, getting everything in before he told me no. "She doesn't want humanity to die, either. You guys can't solve all of your fuckups, but saving Earth would be a good place to start if you tried. Do right by us."

The seconds ticked by slowly, like the remaining grains of sand in an hourglass.

As I waited for him to speak, I pulled an elastic out of my pocket and fixed my disastrous hair, throwing my hat on the floor. How the fuck it remained on my head during that whole memory ordeal was a mystery to me.

Focus.

"They plan to destroy Earth entirely, not save it."

I choked on my spit. "What?"

"Yes."

My eye twitched, and I fought back a massive rant. I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's so fucked up. You can't press the "nuke" button on everything you created and yourselves to avoid taking responsibility."

He sighed. "This is what you truly want?"

"Yes. Is it possible?"

There was a long bit of silence, and I shifted from foot to foot uneasily.

"Getting them to gather for you would be... difficult," he admitted. He continued, words rushing out of him so fast it was hard to keep up. "You understand they do not believe as I do. My kind has created a plethora of life across the stars; killing them and bringing them life falls under the jurisdiction of maintaining what we have created, especially when they annihilate themselves and possess lethal weapons. We do not feel remorse or regret. Or rather, we never used to."

"Do you feel any sort of remorse?"

He didn't answer, so I asked another question. "How long does Earth have left?" I pursed my lips, trying to control myself. I needed to look at things objectively before I lost it again. Shame burned the back of my neck and how hard I cried.

Nobody in my life had seen me cry.

"A time has not been set in stone. Yet—"

He looked away for a moment. When he turned his head back, an almost furious purple stare met mine.

"Yet?" I probed.

"I told my brother and the council that I would not allow you to have influence over me. I have... failed at this. I am weak-willed with what you desire. I cannot make promises. I doubt they are eager to right their wrongs with the atrocities your kind has committed. I would suggest you find another argument or reason to save your planet, other than you owe us. They couldn't care less."

I nodded—I could do that. I could try to figure something out, maybe with the help of François. My mind raced with a million thoughts, so jumbled that it was hard to concentrate.

"Let's get you home," he said, putting a gentle hand on my back, but his tone was indignant. "You must be exhausted after all of this. You need hydration and food."

"Right," I mumbled, warming at his concern.

All the anger and anxiety abandoned my system, leaving me shaky. The thought of trekking the unforgiving landscape back to my little haven made me want to ask if we could set up camp here until nightfall. But I wouldn't. The carvings on the walls were too spooky. They probably looked worse at night.

He offered his hand. It was like he was still asking if I wanted to be with him–more than an offer. I stared at his hand as the moments passed.

I took a deep breath and laced my fingers with his. I could have sworn I saw him relax.

"I'm sorry," he said as he squeezed my hand. "You are still welcome to relocate without me. It is unnecessary for you to do this with me."

Even though I was emotionally fried, I still had enough energy to give him an eye roll. "Seriously, Dumuzi? Even after seeing all of that sucky shit, I still don't hate you," I said, getting close enough that his arm rubbed against mine. My stomach was still in knots, but I spoke the truth. "I'm not going anywhere, and I still... want you. I just really dislike your council. But I've never backed down from a challenge. It's not in my nature."

"Very true," he replied as he led me down the hallway back to the lift. "And I am in awe of you because of it. Let's get you fed and rested, and we can talk about this at a later time. Yes?"

I nodded. "Alright."