She ladled the stew into bowls and tossed the bread into a basket. Cam got them some water while she topped off their wine glasses.
Then they sat to eat. Being with him felt homey and warm. Comfortable, even though desire hummed through her veins. The best of both worlds—literally.
He tried a spoonful of her stew, and his eyes lit up. “Delicious.”
“What is food like on your planet?” she asked.
“Our food is laboratory-created to provide optimal nutrition. It contains the correct ratio of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and vitamins for our species.” He twisted his mouth. “The one component omitted is flavor. It’s not unpalatable, but meals are something to be ingested, not savored. Until I visited other worlds, I hadn’t realized everyone didn’t eat as we do. Earth food is by far the best.”
“If I’d known you’d be with me tonight, I would have made dessert.”
“What’s dessert?”
“The best part of a meal,” she said. “Would you like a roll?” She passed the basket. “You can butter it and/or dip it into the gravy,” she explained. “What about ’Topia?” She recalled the other planet he’d mentioned. “Do they eat lab-processed food like Xeno?”
“’Topia was a Xeno world, so yes.” He dipped his bread into the stew and ate it. His face contorted with near-sexual bliss. His world was very advanced. For Earth to lay claim to something superior, even if only food, filled her with pride. She loved to cook, although she didn’t do much anymore. Cooking for one seemed like too much trouble.
“What do you mean by a Xeno world?” she asked. “Did your people colonize ’Topia?”
He hesitated. “In a manner of speaking. Everything living on ’Topia was created by the Xeno Consortium. The Xenos are a creator species. They terraform planets and then seed them with intelligent life.”
Her jaw dropped. “For real? Did they create life on Earth?”
“No, but your planet was a donor world. The consortium used your DNA in its genetic projects. Xenos can’t create the basic building blocks of life itself—not yet anyway—but they can and do manipulate those blocks. When they discover interesting life-forms, they extract DNA samples and splice and combine genes.”
She noticed Cam always referred to the Xenos as “they” rather than “we.” Conscious or unconscious distancing? “It sounds a bit like playing god,” she commented, although humans had begun to tinker with genetics, too. Nothing to that extent though.
“They’re not playing,” he said in a rather grim tone.
She took a sip of wine. “What’s to keep them from coming back to Earth for more DNA?” She objected to aliens swooping in and taking what they wanted without asking.
“For one, your planet has achieved stasis in its development. New life-forms haven’t arisen in eons. In fact, the number of species on your world has declined.”
Coffee and hamburgers had been new to him, but he seemed well-informed about Earth’s genesis. “You know a lot about Earth.”
“I made it my business.” He drained his wine glass.
“Why?” She lifted the bottle to pour him another, but it was empty. “More wine? I can open a merlot.”
“Sure, why not?”
She opened the red wine, brought it to the table, and poured him a glass. “It should breathe for a while, but, oh well.” She shrugged.
“Thank you,” he said. “Your little blue planet has fascinated me. I feel rather protective of it.”
Odd. Why would he feel protective, unless Earth needed protecting? The genetic tinkering, the theft of Earth DNA, his verbal distancing from his home planet, his earlier reluctance to tell her why he’d fled...a chill swept over her as she recalled something else he’d said.
“When I asked if ’Topians ate the same thing as Xenos, you said yes because ’Topia was a Xeno world. Not is. Was. Past tense. Was there a revolution? Did ’Topia liberate itself?”
Chapter Twelve
When Chameleon had promised not to lie, he hadn’t expected Kevanne to zero in on the heart of the conflict within so few questions. He placed the odds of Earth not being invaded or destroyed at around 99 percent. The original DNA extraction had occurred so long ago, and Earth’s location in a minor arm of the Milky Way put the planet so far off the grid, it had been forgotten, except as a footnote in history. Furthermore, while the consortium wouldn’t hesitate to wipe a planet clean and start over when an experiment failed to pan out, Earth was a donor, not a project.
However, the consortium didn’t leave loose ends. He was a loose end, and so were the other castaways.
He trusted Kevanne, but if she confided in someone she trusted, and he or she confided in somebody else, who passed it on…
’Topia’s destruction would incite fear, Earth’s governments would overreact, and panic would ensue. Chatter would flood communication channels, and the extraterrestrials already present could spread the chatter beyond Earth. If the consortium intercepted a transmission and caught word of “’Topians,” then yes, Earth would be in grave danger.
“I would share that information with you if I could,” he said. “But there were…political…decisions I can’t discuss.”
She cocked her head. “Were you one of the decision-makers?”
“I am—was—a member of the ruling council.” The dissenting vote among twelve. He should have done more, sooner. How bitterly ironic his preoccupation to identify potential havens for hypothetical problems had caused him to make a fatal error. One seemingly innocuous report, a couple of missed council meetings, and...disaster.
Prophecy foretold, As the creation is, Xeno once was. As Xeno is, the creation might become. The Xeno Consortium created life, instilling it with intelligence and free will, and then let it evolve. However, they still held dominion over their creations, so when the ’Topians had come close to fulfilling the prophecy, the consortium had gotten concerned. That one line…he’d excised everything else.
He drank his wine, ate his stew, and Kevanne ate hers, and in the silence, he worried where her sharp mind might wander.
She tore off a bit of the roll and buttered it. He did the same. Amazing how delicious a starch could be. Light and fluffy, it melted in his mouth. He’d never tasted anything like it. Earth food and wine was the best in the galaxy. What else might Earth have mastered?
Kevanne chewed, and the movement of her mouth captured his attention. He recalled with vivid detail the softness of her lips as she pressed them to his. She’d felt like she belonged in his arms.
“So…” she said, and he braced himself for the next question. “What kind of DNA samples were taken from Earth? Human? Animal? Plant?”
“All of the above,” he said. “They took anything they considered interesting or useful. They spliced Earth DNA with genetic material from extraterrestrials.” That’s how they’d achieved diversity such as humanoids with horns, tails, tentacles, wings, and/or special cognitive abilities.
“Initial development occurs in laboratories. Life is generated in a growing medium, and once it takes hold, it’s transferred to a maturation vat. At adulthood, the organism is decanted, tested to verify it can reproduce, and is implanted on a terraformed planet.” Entire populations of diverse but interdependent species would be released to create an ecosystem. Once established, life then evolved without intervention, unless, as in the case of the ’Topians, it threatened consortium supremacy.