Author: Thorsten Reimnitz

The organization was called STAR COMMAND. That was a little strange since it was an English name. But English was one of the languages ​​on planet Earth. And the Earth was actually not an official member, neither in the Planetary Union nor in the Galacticon. It wasn’t ready yet. And yet those beings who called themselves the ACELS had a special interest in Earth. A long time ago they had built their first base here outside the planet ACELS and established a presence in the solar system.

STAR COMMAND served as an interplanetary space fleet. It was founded from several predecessor organizations. And because of the ACELS’ connection to Earth, it was decided at that time to name the fleet STAR COMMAND and to move the headquarters to Earth.
That was a difficult thing. The Earth was still embroiled in primitive conflicts over ideologies, raw materials and land, and two power blocs were irreconcilable. STAR COMMAND had secretly established several bases on Earth, on the one hand to direct the fleet, but also to keep an eye on the Terrans, the primitive inhabitants of the Earth. It was the wish of the ACELS for some reason. The Earth played an important role. The peoples of the other planets accepted it and fulfilled the wish of the ACELS, even if there was resistance from time to time. There were even voices who said that one should simply conquer this primitive planet and then the game of hide-and-seek would be over.
The ACELS had colonized various other planets in the solar system with living beings. When the people of the Earth were ready to observe the other planets more closely, the ACELS started the GRID. The GRID enveloped the Earth in a field of deception so that one could not see the true nature of the other planets. And so the Terrans remained clueless as to what was happening around them.
STAR COMMAND’s headquarters were in an old castle that the previous owners had given up because they could no longer maintain it. What exactly happened at the castle did not particularly interest the people who lived in the area. The main thing was that the old walls didn’t fall apart.
On the upper floor of the castle was a large hall with an equally large table. The hall was used for meetings. And that day a big meeting was scheduled. A few days ago a delegation had traveled to ACELS because one of the oldest of the Acelsians had something to announce. And conclusions should now be drawn from this announcement.

It weren’t the usual people around the table. They were special people whose job it was otherwise to live undetected among the Terrans. They observed this primitive life form directly in all parts of the world. They were twenty altogether. Not a lot considering how big the world is.
Excited discussions were held. But now the conversation fell silent, because Commander Osyra entered the room.
Anyone who saw Osyra for the first time might have problems with the strange appearance. She was nearly six feet tall and a cyborg. She was made of copper- and gold-colored metal. Her head was pyramidal in shape with two sides reaching down to her shoulders. The front of the pyramid stopped halfway up where the metal face was. Instead of eyes and mouth, she had rows of blinking LEDs. When she spoke, the LEDs formed a mouth under her metal nose to simulate a human shape. The torso ran in a triangular shape from the shoulders to the hips, but was interspersed with joints so she could move. Their limbs were made of metal. Still, she moved with some grace.
The story of Osyra itself was long and complicated. But she had been a sign of peace in unstable times. A human being lay hidden beneath all the metal. Although she sometimes had superhuman abilities, both physical and psychological, she also had emotions.
Those present rose. Osyra raised her metal right hand and made a sweeping gesture.
“You don’t need to get up,” she said. “We should get straight to the point because time is precious.”
Anyone who heard her voice for the first time could get a little confused. One would normally expect that a metal-sounding voice would come out of such a metal body. But it was not like that. Osyra’s voice was cutting, but very human.
Osyra heaved the metal body on a chair at the front of the large table. It was an old table with enough space for twenty people. But not a round one. The lords of this old castle probably didn’t think much of King Arthur and his round table.
“Three days ago a delegation from STAR COMMAND, the Planetary Union and the Galacticon was on the planet of ACELS,” Osyra said directly. “One of the oldest of the ACELS had an announcement to make.” She stopped. “I have to correct myself,” she said finally. “Actually it was just an instruction. That will cause a lot of discussion again, but the ACELS stayed out of the fate of the galaxy for a long time, so we will just carry out this one instruction.”
“What do you mean, Commander?” Asked a young African-American. “Didn’t they give any explanation?”
Osyra was silent. If she had been a little more human, she would probably have sighed at the moment. But nothing of the kind could be heard.
“You know the quirks of the ACELS as well as I do,” she said. “They spoke of a sign, something that they have felt. Something like an awakening. No more was given as an explanation. The instruction is to start the project that we have been preparing for a few years now. Project UEC.”
Those present looked at each other. “UEC” stood for “UnEarthly Child” and in fact, it had been underway for a couple of years.It was ready to start any second. But now that the moment seemed to have come, it was still exciting.

For years the twenty people gathered in the room had been watching the new generation of people in particular. The ones who were just teenagers. They found that after years of the planet earth sunk in conflict, there now seemed to be an openness among people such as mankind had never known. A togetherness, not a conflict. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for all, but there had been some promising exceptions. Disguised as an organization for young scientists, the knowledge and understanding of these people was tested. Another organization ensured international contact so that the young people could learn from each other across borders. However, the real background was always hidden. None of the twenty people revealed who was behind it all. But that should obviously change now.
“The ACELS are sure that now is the right time?” Asked a young German.
“That’s what it looks like,” Osyra stated. “Dear colleague Hoaxley, my friends, the time has come. We will introduce suitable individual Terrans to the great secret of our organization and hope to be able to bring humanity forward.”
The young American who spoke earlier raised her voice again: “What if the youngsters don’t want to be part of the secret or are overwhelmed with it?”
“Miss Newton,” replied Osyra, “you know what that means. We will have to put a post-hypnotic block on the youngsters anyway so that they don’t accidentally reveal anything.”
“But is that safe?” Asked Hoaxley. “I don’t know if we’re not doing something dangerous.”
“Post-hypnosis was developed during the Galactic War and has been improved since then,” said Osyra. “In addition, if the people belong to the organization for longer, we will of course remove the block, as it was removed from you. Of course we don’t want to risk anything.”
“We have the involuntary long-term examinations,” added Miss Newton. “You remember the saboteurs from a few years ago who had to get a block so they wouldn’t reveal our covert operations to the unsuspecting. These people are still under surveillance and so far no side effects have been seen.”
“What about the people who talk about UFOs and claim to have been kidnapped by UFOs?” Someone else asked. “Can we be sure that these are not people with post-hypnotic block who are remembering parts of what they experienced?”
“We can safely rule that out,” explained Osyra. “We followed up every story about UFO sightings and alleged kidnappings. Also to be sure that there isn’t some other alien force at work here that is really trying to land on earth. All negative so far. People with mental health problems or People who want to make themselves important. “
“What about Roswell?” Someone else asked again.
“Roswell was a secret aircraft test by the American government,” Hoaxley replied. “And the alleged aliens were dummies that were used for the test. A secret operation, yes, but not by aliens.”
“Also, think about the incident that … how long has it been? 33 years?” Said Newton. “Post-hypnosis was used by quite a few people, and there have been no side effects here either.”
“Thank you, Miss Newton,” Osyra said. “I think everyone here has a few candidates for our project. I want you to discuss with the experts here at the base whether they share your views. Then I would ask you to come back to your respective regions and start to slowly introduce the young people to our project. Please always stay in close contact with headquarters so that we are informed about every step. Do you have any questions? “
Nobody had any questions.
“Good,” said Osyra. “Then I’d like to end this meeting and let you go. You have a lot to do. Good luck!”

Hoaxley and Newton met in the hallway. Hoaxley stood in front of an open window and took a deep breath.
“Is everything okay?” Asked the young woman.
“Yes,” answered Hoaxley. “Somehow I was waiting for the moment, but now it’s exciting.”
“That means you already have a candidate?”
“Not just one,” replied Hoaxley. “Several. But I don’t know if they all want to take part. How about you?”
“I think of one young girl in particular,” Newton said. “The pre-tests look good and she’s interested in other cultures. Unfortunately, that’s still not that common in the US. Where do you work?”
Hoaxley smiled. “Here in the country,” he said. “In Germany, down in the south.”
“Oh! Is it true that the colleague who was working in the GDR had an accident?”
Hoaxley grimaced. “He didn’t have an accident,” he said firmly. “The Stasi had bugged him and noticed that something was going on. Just like our Russian colleague.”
“Oh my god,” Newton exclaimed. “Then they have him …”
“Executed, exactly.” Hoaxley turned back to the window and looked out. “We tried to start a rescue operation. But we were too late. He was imprisoned in Bautzen. Before we could bring our material across the border, they had already killed him. But he didn’t reveal anything.”
“And the Russian colleague?”
“Similar story,” said Hoaxley. “He was suspected of espionage and then they killed him with one of those neurotoxins that the West doesn’t even know exists.” He bowed his head. “Sometimes it is difficult to keep secrecy. How could we change the earth if we could reveal everything that is going on here?”
“Yeah, that’s how I feel sometimes,” Newton admitted. “But maybe something will change now. Besides, this new head of government in the USSR seems to be a very reasonable person. How do you pronounce his name correctly? Gor …”
“Gorbachev,” said Hoaxley. “It’s just a joke – he is 54 years old and still the second youngest general secretary of the CPSU in history. I don’t know. It remains to be seen.”
Newton smiled. “Yes, as always. But now we have to put trust in the young people,” she added. “A new generation that grew up very differently. Perhaps we will finally see the change that the planet so desperately needs.”

Commandant Osyra had gone into her office and was at the desk when her adjudant walked in.
“We have new news from the Admiralty,” he said. “Admiral Faku has received the green light to start his special talent promotion.”
“And that means?” Asked Osyra. “He doesn’t need capacities here in BASIS 1, does he?”
“No,” replied the adjudant. “He wants to go through with the project in ATLANTIS. You are not really convinced of it, or is my impression wrong?”
“The idea is not bad in principle,” admitted Osyra. “After all, it is about promoting gifted students in particular. However, Faku adheres to this unfortunate ideology of Dolfur Petrov. They have a very eccentric view of humans, to put it mildly. “
“Dolfur Petrov?” Asked the adjudant. “Isn’t that the one with the air petting and the hand gestures and all that … weird stuff? Well, a bit strange, but eccentric?”
“Petrov claimed in his writings to have looked into the eye of the source of matter,” explained Osyra. “All his ideology came directly from the source of matter. The source implanted them directly in his brain. And his ideology includes such ideas as that there is a master race in the galaxy destined to rule over all. He claims that this would be revealed by the ACELS at some point. I would be very careful to give such a program to a disciple of such an ideology, of all people. But if the Admiralty thinks …” 
“Should I make an official note?”
“What kind of note?”
“That you raised your concerns.”
“You can do it. That won’t change much. Unless Faku falls on his face with his project. But he will anyway. He’s far too arrogant and conceited to get real help. Think of my words. “
“Yes, ma’am!”

They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap.
- Lewis Caroll: "The Hunting of the Snark"