Abe and the Alien

 

            Abe laid down on the straw mattress up in the loft. He was exhausted. Repairing fences on a hot summer’s day wasn’t fun, but it had to be done. A cow had found a weak spot and had broken through, leading all the other cows with it. Not only had Abe needed to repair the fence, but he had also spent half the afternoon rounding up the cows.

            Abe felt his eyes close almost immediately after his long day, and felt his body totally relax. He was in a deep sleep within minutes. His dreams were full of cows and fences, like he was still continuing his work from the day. But then, something else intruded on his thoughts, and he jerked awake.

            He was no longer lying on his straw mattress in the loft. Everything around him looked so shiny. It was way different from the dusty interior of the barn. He had never seen so much metal used in one place. Abe squinted his eyes against bright lights that were shining down on him. It wasn’t the sun, but it was a lot brighter than candlelight or even a campfire. It lit up the entire room.

            Looking around him, Abe could see that he was in some kind of metallic room. There wasn’t a hint of wood or sod anywhere. It was just so clean. What was this place? He tried to sit up, but realized he was strapped to the table that he was laying on. He struggled against his bonds for a few minutes but realized he wasn’t going anywhere and soon gave up. Panic was growing inside him, and he did his best not to scream out in terror.

            A door in the shiny wall slid open with a whoosh of air, and Abe turned to see a short creature walk through to stand beside Abe’s table. Was his skin green? He was holding some kind of notebook, and his two very large black eyes stared down at Abe. “The specimen is awake,” it said in a voice filled with strange clicks.

            Fighting down his terror, Abe asked, “Where am I, and who are you?”

            The creature didn’t answer, but was writing things down in his notebook, muttering to itself. “The specimen expects me to answer its foolish questions. Typical of its species.”

            “Okay, wait,” Abe tried again. “Please could you talk to me? I’ll answer any questions you have about my…species.” What Abe really wanted to do was shout out for help, but he doubted that he was anywhere where someone could hear him.

            The creature looked directly at Abe. Abe’s skin crawled as he felt like the creature was looking inside of him somehow. “We already know a lot about you humans,” the creature said finally. “We have studied countless specimens, and you all seem to be the same. Arrogant and unwilling to work with others unless it profits yourself. For thousands of years, we’ve been trying to figure out why that is.”

            Abe gulped and asked, “I hope that you have found at least a few that aren’t arrogant.” He swallowed again and said, “We’re not all that way.”

            The creature scoffed and said, “If you weren’t all prideful, you would take better care of each other. Instead, you use other humans to be your slaves to do all the work for you.”

            Abe thought back to his humble farm and said, “We don’t all own slaves.”

            “Your society is based on wealth. You only get to own slaves if you have the means to do so. Just because you don’t personally own any slaves does not excuse you.”

            Abe thought this was a little unfair. He lived in a non-slave state where slavery wasn’t officially allowed. But then, he grimaced as he thought about how all races weren’t treated equally. The creature continued to make notes in his notebook as he studied Abe.

            Finally, the creature finished his note-taking and turned to leave. “Wait, what will happen now?” Abe asked worriedly.

            Without turning around, the creature answered, “You’ll wake up back in your bed, not remembering anything that’s happened, and the human race will continue to survive for a little longer while we gather more evidence for your extinction.”

            Abe almost swallowed his tongue. “You can’t kill us all!” he spluttered.

            “We can when that species has been judged to create more harm than good.”

            Abe’s mind raced as he shouted, “Wait, give me a chance! Let me try to make things better! Let me remember this night, so I know that we will have to change our ways to survive!”

            The creature tilted its head to the side to consider Abe’s request. “What would one puny, insignificant human from your glorious state of Indiana be able to change?”

            “I don’t know,” Abe answered honestly. “But at least give me time to try.”

            The creature slowly turned around and stared inside Abe again. Abe shivered involuntarily. It was like someone else was inside his mind, reading all of his thoughts. Finally, the creature said, “Very well. Your request shall be granted. We will be monitoring you closely, Abraham Lincoln. If you can’t make significant changes in your lifetime, we will have grounds to wipe your species from the face of the Earth so that other species may evolve and become dominant.”

            With that, the creature walked back out the whooshing door, and Abe was left alone. How was he going to change anything? He turned the matter over and over in his mind until finally, the rooster crowed, and he found himself awake in his own bed in the loft.

            Was that just a dream? He rose to get ready for the day, and noticed a sheet of paper next to his bed. There was only one thing written on it, in large letters. It said, “We’ll be watching you, Abraham Lincoln.”

            Abe gulped down the tremendous responsibility as he started his new life. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he would give it his all. He was on a mission – a mission to change the world.