Humans had discovered the planet Sidbury over a hundred years ago. Discovered, invaded, and easily conquered since the native humanoid life form, the Bungee, pathetically offered no resistance. The hairless, svelte Bungee, whose skin color ranged from pale violet to deep aqua with gold splotches, were ridiculously passive compared to myriad other sentient beings encountered since Earth United had perfected travel between the stars.
As planets went, Sidbury couldn’t hold a candle to old (polluted) Earth--it had only one viable continent. But that continent was exceedingly pleasant—not only a breathable atmosphere, but soft breezes, lush vistas and now, ready-made servants (slavery was frowned on). Earth United made a huge killing selling tracts of land to the highest bidders. And even a more sizeable fortune selling the rights to the new planet’s name.
∞
Skipper G. Sidbury woke up on his 13th birthday at first brush of daylight, instantly alert. With a huge smile, he impatiently sprang out of his opulent bed. Today he was going to the planet’s premier amusement park! There was a soft knock at his door.
“Come,” he called out.
Varete, Skip’s favorite Bungee servant, entered the suite with Skip’s daily outfit (white flowing trousers, silky beige undertunic, and white, high-collared overcoat embroidered with the family crest) folded over one slender purple arm.
“Hey,” Skip called out excitedly, “We’re going to the park today! You and me, afino! And well, about 200 other kids.”
Varete smiled gently. He had been looking forward to this day, also. Today, Skip officially became the head of the Sidbury dynasty. The possibilities... Although it was only a fool who bet on a kamet’s egg before its shell splintered.
Initially, the Bungees suffered derisive suspicion from their human overlords. However, after 100 years of living side by side with these gentle, subservient natives, the humans that once scorned his people now found them indispensable to their comfort.
Thus, Bungees were a commonplace sight in all aspects of life. It was not unusual for him to accompany the boy to his amusements. Skip’s elders were too busy to spend frivolous time with a 13-year-old boy. Instead, a stiflingly formal birthday dinner would be held tonight with local and foreign dignitaries, some of whom were currently guests at the estate.
“Varete,” mused Skip, lifting his arms as the servant fastened a gold sash around his waist, “I overheard some people talking last night. They said my father was a ‘mifir-sangi.’ And laughed! I asked grandfather about it and he got mad at me. He said ‘some doors shouldn’t be opened’ and kicked me out of his study. Why?”
He looked at Varete plaintively, his soft brown eyes troubled.
Varete coughed softly, caught off-guard. There were ears everywhere. “Ah. Yes. Well. I believe it means something unpleasant not to be mentioned in polite conversation. We can explore that later perhaps, but now you must eat breakfast and get ready to go! All your friends will be waiting for you to open the park.”
Successfully distracted, Skip nodded happily, his long blonde hair over one eye, “They’ll kill me if I’m late!”
Varete sighed in relief. Truly, this was not the right moment to explain to the teenager that his father indulged himself with Bungee lovers. And certainly not why they were more than willing.
∞
Skip shook his head to clear the waves of slight dizziness he had been feeling all morning. He was determined to have the best day, ever! Except for the Bungees and some human amusement park workers, the environment was adult-free. All the young heirs were here, most of them friends from school. The young elite swarmed like a mass of crop-eating insects from attraction to attraction, laughing, screaming, and shouting at a volume that made their servants cringe.
They approached a newly-opened attraction—a domed building labeled “The Mysteries.” Statues of strange deities postured, as if warning them to stay away. A recorded voice enticed them to “TRY YOUR LUCK! WHO WILL BE DEEMED WORTHY TO VIEW THE MYSTERIES?” Two exotically-clad guards at the door stood with wooden expressions. When plied with questions, they simply gestured towards the entrance indifferently.
One black-haired boy aggressively elbowed his way to the front. Everyone watched as he swaggered onto the entrance platform, and a light overhead flashed bright orange. The platform revolved and spat him out again. The crowd laughed and teasingly jeered. “Reject!” “Loser!”
Skip inhaled nervously and went forward. Varete sighed in relief as a rainbow of colors flashed overhead when his master stepped onto the platform. An interior doorway then appeared and Skip walked through it, out of sight of the crowd. Soon over 120 teenagers had passed through the portal and the bored and disgruntled rejects drifted away in search of other fun.
∞
Along with other key personnel, Varete slipped into the amusement park building through a back entrance.
His people had not been warriors, but they had other skills. Decade after decade they had interbred with the humans; slowly, skillfully altering their genetic composition. The colonists’ lax morals had made it all the more easy, no matter how much they wished to hide their sins. There was scarcely a pure-blood human left on the planet.
Here and now, the culmination of decades of work would be tested.
They had designed this current crop of children to trigger in full at a certain age so that with certain stimuli so that they would morph into something neither human nor Bungee, but a new breed who would be walking flashpoints—generating changes in every sleeper they encountered.
Soothed by the chemically-altered atmosphere inside The Mysteries, Skip sat happily giggling with his friends, as they watched their skin change colors: light violet, aqua, deep red with silver streaks. So pretty!