The Replacements
By Michael Cannata
I can hear the Replacements as they come and go, prowling the
corridors outside the locked laboratory doors. They are patiently waiting…
waiting for me to join them. We all know it's inevitable. Even my death can't
prevent it from happening. In fact, it would only speed up my transformation. I
am the last member of my team that still survives in the form we all once
shared. I'm still human.
My name is Peter Lindsey. Not that that means anything
anymore. Anyone that I ever knew, or knew me, is gone. They've been replaced. I've
been locked alone in these rooms for six months. I have more than enough water
to last a lifetime, but the food stores are getting low. If the rest of the
team hadn't succumbed to the pressure and were still with me we all would have
starved months ago. But survival isn't a matter of concern any longer. The
greatest need I have is to share contact with another living creature,
regardless of how different. Being alone is becoming more than I can bear. In a
language that is more like a sense than a sound, I can hear them talking to me
through the walls.
Along with the other members of my team, I've been isolated
in our laboratory for over a year. The risk of contamination reaching us before
we could finish our work demanded that we lock ourselves away from the rest of
humanity. We were safe as long as we stayed confined to the laboratory and its
closed atmosphere. The plan was to stay in here until we could discover a cure
for the disease that was killing the human race. As usual the only flaw in the
plan was found in our human nature.
In the end, our fate was determined by simply opening a door
that should never have been opened. I don’t know who finally lost control and
opened the door, but I can’t blame them. I had fought the urge almost every day
myself. The need to breathe fresh air, no matter how dangerous, had become
overwhelming for everyone. The madness of the isolation finally conquered our
reason. If I hadn't been shut away in the isolation lab I’m sure I would have
followed them.
We set out to find a cure for the disease that had wiped out
most of the world's population in the last two years. We succeeded in our goal.
The cure sits in a set of vials locked in the freezer; a cure that could have saved
everyone. But now, in the end, it will benefit no one. The results of our work revealed
a truth beyond anything we ever imagined. Unfortunately, that truth was far
more horrifying than anything we ever imagined as well.
Initially, our
greatest fear was that we would run out of resources before we could develop a
cure. Once we realized that the source of the cure lay inside our own DNA, we
knew that we could reverse the plague. But by then it was too late. Now, as I
sit alone contemplating my future, my mind keeps going over the events of the
past two years. Hopeless, the only thing I can do now is write down the story
before I become a replacement myself.
No one knew for sure how or even when the "aliens"
arrived on the planet. The first reports were of two ships that came to rest in
synchronized orbits above the poles just at the edge of space. Whether they
were actually physical crafts could never be confirmed. They appeared on radar
but they had no outline that would allow us to see their true size. At night
they shone brighter than the moon. During the day they appeared like small
suns. Shining, but casting no light. Soon, the first two were joined by four
others like them. They settled at equal distances above and along the equator.
They brandished no weapons, showed no signs of open
hostility. They made no attempt to communicate and responded to none of the
efforts by the nations of the Earth to contact them. They merely sat in place
while the people of the earth waited in growing panic. In a short time, monitoring
stations at the Arctic and the Antarctic began to detect changes in the
atmosphere. Soon, the cities along the equator closest to the ships began to
notice the change in the air. According to reports, the change, subtle at first,
eventually became so strong that it could be tasted in each breath.
Gradually, the physical symptoms of the toxins in the new air
started to infect all the people in its path. Populations closest to the sites
where the ships hovered were the first to experience a range of strange and
terrifying mutations. They lost all need or urge to eat, but they drank copious
amounts of water. Quickly, once infected, they became listless and weak. Their
skin began to blister and expand in a way that made it appear to wrap itself
around the body it once covered. Eventually, their skin hardened and became
almost like a cocoon, impervious to heat or cold and almost indestructible.
Once the infection reached its peak the people would become motionless and
remain dormant inside for about 48 hours.
After the period of "incubation," as the scientists
called it, the cocoons would open and a creature would emerge. The Replacements, as they came to be called,
were unlike anything ever seen before; Different, yet somehow familiar.
Humanoid in form, they possessed physical features not found on any creature on
the earth.
They were thin and hairless and had the largest, darkest eyes
ever seen. While intimidating, once a person looked at them they were overcome
with a sense of warmth and peace. Their face had two small openings in an
almost flat patch of flesh where the nose should be. Their mouths were small
and lipless. Instead of speech, it seemed they communicated with sounds that
resembled a strange yet soothing type of music; Voices that spoke in melody
along with whistles and slight chirps.
The people of the earth had never seen anything like them
before. They looked both terrifying and intriguing. Yet, despite their
intimidating appearance, none of the creatures ever harmed anyone they
encountered. They were giants that emanated a gentleness that was almost
palpable. They didn't conquer us, they converted us.
They nurtured each new form as it emerged from the cocoon and
grew to maturity within a week. Fully matured, they were a consistent seven
feet tall. For every cocoon that transformed successfully, the human inside
emerged, replaced by a new being. They seemed to be androgynous with no way to
distinguish between male and female. How they reproduced without a host remains
a mystery.
It was clear that their only weapon was the ability to change
the atmosphere and its composition. As time passed it became obvious; it was
all the power they needed to bring mankind to its knees. Soon, the air we all
took for granted began to change. The all encompassing atmosphere that we have
floated in, like fish in the sea, was replaced by a new mix of gases. The
replacements drew deep breaths and became stronger and more invigorated as they
basked in the air they created. The new atmosphere that was Manna to them was toxic
to humans. As the level of the toxin increased, we died as they thrived.
When the scientists of the earth finally understood the
threat we faced, they launched their best efforts to build sealed research
environments. They constructed sealed shelters and sanctuaries where the best
minds in science could be locked away and protected until they could find a means
to defend us from the "attack." Known as, The Apocalypse Teams, by the time we were secured in our
laboratories most of the world's population was beyond help. Each team
communicated by radio as we tried to coordinate our research efforts.
Despite our best efforts, each team became victim to the
effects of the new air. It has been months since I've had any communication
with the other sites. All the radios have fallen silent. We never got to tell
anyone of our success.
It was my team, Apocalypse
Team 5, which discovered the horrible truth. The only way to protect
ourselves from the alien threat was to surrender our own humanity. The animals
on the planet never seemed to be affected by the changes. We soon discovered
that it wasn't just our bodies that were susceptible to the gases; it was our consciousness
that made us victims of the disease. It was our superior DNA, our greatest
advantage over the animals of the Earth, which proved to be our greatest
weakness.
Our research revealed that we shared almost identical DNA
with the Replacements. The difference was smaller than that between a
chimpanzee and a human. The only way to avoid being transformed into a product
of the cocoons, to prevent someone from becoming a Replacement, would be to
alter their DNA. But the radical change would result in changing a human into
an animal.
It became clear; the human race faced not merely attack, it
faced assimilation.
The creatures we saw as invaders were anything but. They were
not foreign beings from another galaxy. Based on all the scientific evidence we
studied, the "aliens" weren't alien at all. They were native to our
own planet. They were a new and improved version of human beings. As they've
waited for me to join them they have revealed their story to me; Singing their
tale to me through the walls, through the air, in that melodious speech.
Millions of years ago, when our ancestors were still walking
on all fours, they came to this planet in search of a new home for their race.
They set in motion a plan to inhabit the earth; a plan that would take millions
of years. Only a few of them arrived in the first ship. Others would follow.
They were the last of their race; there was only one way to
ensure their survival. They had to use the primitive species that would
eventually evolve into humans as living incubators. Gradually, over the eons, they
manipulated our genetic composition. With
their help, we evolved in leaps and bounds. We evolved in ways faster than
science has ever been able to explain until now.
The visitors were not infecting us; the toxins in the
atmosphere were merely activating a hidden strand of our DNA that had been
sleeping dormant in our genes since the beginning of mankind itself. Throughout
time, we've carried their genetic code as unwitting hosts. The creatures that
we saw as insane mutations that consumed human forms are actually the new
inhabitants of this planet. They are the next stage in our
"evolution."
We were the ones that were diseased, not them. Their form was
bizarre and hideous. To us they looked like something out of a Hollywood movie.
Invaders from some distant galaxy, inhabitants of a freakish dimension where
life forms grew in ways we could only dream of. Through our work we discovered
that, what they are now, is what we have always been destined to be.
These are the last words that will ever be written by someone
who knew the human race before it evolved. They are my last words. As far as I
know, I am the last of what we once called Modern Humans; the last man alive on
the earth. The rest of my team stalks just outside the walls. Nourished by the
new air, free of their cocoons, their genetic transformation complete, they
wait. They are not pursuing me, they are waiting patiently. They await my death
knowing that it will not be the end of me. The DNA strand will see to it that
my body remains animated long enough for my new consciousness to take over. I
will join them on the planet they will now call home.
It was not anything they brought with them. It wasn't merely the
changes to our atmosphere that triggered the changes. It was Time. Human beings
had reached the point where their genetic structure, one that had been
carefully manipulated eons ago, was ready. Once we started to breathe in the
toxin we began to undergo changes that could not be stopped.
The invaders are not aliens, they are our forbearers. They
are what we have always been destined to become. Like any of us, each one is an
individual. Yet all of them are connected by a collective consciousness. They hold no aggression against their fellow
species. They have no delusions of Gods or religions that pit one against the
other. They have no need of war. Their nature is one of peace and their future
one of prosperity. They have a physical life span that is measured in centuries
rather than years. Their beauty exists in their hearts rather than their
appearance. They not only express love, they are love personified.
Sadly, as humans are prone to do, we were blind to that. We
only saw the change they brought, and, as it most often has throughout
mankind's history, that change inspired fear.
Before they arrived, I always believed that the human race
was doomed to a future of endless war and strife. The violence of terrorism had
spread at a pace where it was only a matter of time before some madman
unleashed the sort of biological or nuclear attack that would result in the
death of millions, if not billions of people.
People all over the world had reached a point where they no
longer trusted their own government leaders. Weapons of mass destruction were
rumored to be held by every nation and their use, once imagined, was now
anticipated. The Internet once heralded as the new frontier in communication
that would allow the voices of peace to be heard, had become a platform for
hate speech and disinformation. Conspiracy theories were running amuck. People
no longer knew what to believe.
Political leaders no longer represented the interests of the
people as much as the interests of their party. Rather than keeping the peace
they were intent on keeping their position. Religions and their followers no
longer seemed interested in spreading the word of God. Rather than seeking
truths to believe in, they focused instead on promoting their religious beliefs
as truth.
Instead of rallying together to fight the aliens that
threatened the Earth, the people broke off into armed mobs and turned against
each other. The scientists that worked feverishly to solve the problems the
invasion caused were denounced and attacked as blasphemers.
The media insisted on fueling the fear by running stories
that only made the situation worse. Factual reports were abandoned and replaced
by the most extreme speculation and opinion with no basis in truth. The outside
world has descended into madness.
When I finish writing these last thoughts down I will save
these notebooks in a safe place. I'm not sure why. I doubt they will ever be
seen by another human like me. Once I enter my own cocoon, the human race as I
knew it will cease to exist. When I am ready, when I can finally accept my
fate, I will open the door and take a deep breath of the new air that the rest
of the new human beings have been basking in. I will finally see the sun again.
Perhaps the fears that I have lived with most of my life will
not be realized. Maybe life will be better once I accept my fate. The Replacements hold a promise of change that we as a people never thought
possible… peace.
I hope that I'm not wrong about what the future holds for me.
I hope that I will, in fact, still be me
when I emerge from my cocoon. Above all, I hope, more than anything I have ever
hoped for, that finally, I will not be alone anymore.
