Between Two Worlds

A crowd has gathered together just outside of my apartment building, forming a large circle. There’s a buzz of excitement as everyone’s conversations blend together to make one sound. The Dini have shown up for the ceremony. There are so many different alien species, and they all seem to come in a variety of skin colors, it’s like looking at a rainbow. I scan the crowd and realize that despite the large number gathered, Kat seems to be the only one of her race. The whole town has shut down for the day; graduation seems to be like a holiday to everyone here. This makes me nervous, I’m not sure what they expect us to do, and the thought of doing anything at all in front of so many scares me. I don’t see how some people enjoy this type of attention.

In the center of the crowd is a small wooden stage, in the center of the stage, set back a ways, are three folding chairs. I wonder who those are for? In front of the stage stands the three remaining groups of partners, not counting Kat and me. Carina and Gelyan were both Cleansed, but I’m not sure what happened to the other groups. Maybe they met the same fate? I’ve been standing here for the past thirty minutes waiting on the program to start. Already I am growing weary and start shifting from foot to foot.

“Will you stop already? You are making me nervous.” Kat whispers to me.

“I’m sorry but I can’t help it. I’m too nervous.” I whisper back.

“Why are you nervous?” she asks.

“Did we get the right stuff? Will we be expected to speak in front of everyone? What happens if we lose the hunt?” I ask.

“Don’t go borrowing trouble. We will be fine.” She whispers.

Altair walks over to the makeshift stage and climbs the stairs. In the center of the stage, he stops, taps his throat twice, and then begins to talk. The crowd falls silent as his voice is magnified, echoing off the nearby apartment buildings. Behind him, Harmony and Kyra climb the stairs, and each takes a seat in one of the chairs. “Thank you everyone for coming here today. We only have four groups remaining, this year, out of ten total groups. Some have been Cleansed already, and some have fallen prey to wild animals and other dangers of this planet. I would like to congratulate each group that has made it this far. I would also like to remind everyone that the group that takes last place will be Cleansed, immediately following the ceremony. So, good luck to you all. Harmony, please come up here and finish the ceremony.” With that, he double taps his throat and takes a seat in the empty chair.

What the heck? What kind of witchcraft allows Altair’s voice to be magnified like that? Or is it some kind of technology? I look around me and see that no one else seems to be fazed by Altair’s voice magnification. In fact, everyone around me acts like it’s a perfectly normal thing. “Hey, Kat.” I whisper, leaning towards her and poking her in the side.

“What?” she whispers, not taking her eyes off of the stage.

“How did he do that?” I quietly ask as I watch Harmony come to the center stage and double tap her throat.

“How did who do what?”

“Altair. How did his voice echo like that? How did he make it so loud?”

“The chip.” Kat whispers.

“What chip?” I ask, not really taking in anything Harmony is saying.

“The chip. The one at his throat. Double tapping it turns it on or off. It’s an old technology, haven’t you seen one before?”

“No. We don’t have any reason to amplify our voices. And the Ghemin all wear suits, so I had no idea how they did it.”

“I keep forgetting you basically lived in the dark ages on your planet.”

“Hey. We had technology, thank you very much. We weren’t stupid.” I say, defending my people.

“I wasn’t calling you stupid. I was just saying, you might have had some technology but there is a lot you didn’t have access to. There is a lot that could have helped improve the quality of life for your people. Now shush before we miss something important.”

“...each and every pair for making it this far. I’ll call out the names of each pair, when I do, please join me on the stage, and bring your scavenger hunt list plus the bag with your items in it. After each team’s items have been checked against the list, we will move on to the second part, the judging. Altair, Kyra, and I will confer and make our decision on the three winners. Remember, one of these teams will not get to participate any further, they will be immediately Cleansed. Is everyone ready, and prepared with their list in hand and item bags?” Harmony is silent a moment before continuing, “alright then let’s get started.”