Chakuthra

Chapter 2

Marcus Jackson walked into his dimly lit office and threw his coat over the nearest pile of books and papers which towered over his buried desk. With very precise steps, he skillfully maneuvered through the maze of an office in which he worked. Dark mahogany wood wrapped the small amount of walls visible behind diplomas and papers he had found especially intriguing. While his floor and desk were a mess, Dr. Marcus Jackson kept his bookcase perfectly ordered and clean. He kept his most choice books of value there. Behind the walls of paper on his desk sat an old 1990s computer in an off position - how it usually sat.

Marcus had never quite been a technology man. There was simply no need for it in the field of exolinguistics - the study of alien languages. Exolinguistics was especially peculiar, as there were not exactly any alien languages to study yet. For newer students and students of other disciplines, it remained a mystery as to why any sane person would occupy themselves with such a hopeless endeavor. As such, many esteemed members of linguistics academia would not associate with Marcus in any form. Luckily, the University of New Mexico had allowed him a position lecturing as part of its Ufology program. The majority of his work centered around how aliens may communicate and what an alien language could potentially sound like. Using grant money, he also spent most of his time researching methods to decode and translate an alien language for the inevitable day that it would happen. Of course, this was all speculation, but Marcus believed beneath all of it there lay some concrete science that was waiting to burst out of the judgmental box that is academia.

Physically, he was an average male. He was not too skinny nor too large. Neither was he particularly muscular nor overweight. On his head sat a trimmed mop of brown that occasionally moved with his eyebrows when he concentrated extremely hard. On this particular day he wore contacts instead of his usual glasses, because he was lecturing over his research as part of a series covering Alien Life in the Universe. In preparation he wore brown khakis and a denim button down shirt. Running over the lecture in his head, Marcus made a mental checklist of topics to touch on. Checking the clock, Marcus saw he had 10 minutes to be at his lecture and began to make his way across the large campus to the auditorium.

Inside of the auditorium sat a mixed crowd of about 100 people. Around half of them wore looks of boredom and frustration. Marcus recognized this type as those who were required to attend for a grade or extra credit. The other half of the audience were the students and professors who were genuinely interested in the subject matter. After a quick scan from his seat, he could see that a couple of students had worn their fandom gear, such as jumpsuits from the franchise Star Trek. The trekkies would always show up at his talks. Marcus listened to the last couple of minutes of the speaker before him. The man speaking was Dr. William Van Horn, a biologist who described the possible physical makeup of an alien species. Dr. Van Horn asserted that we as humans may not even be able to see an alien species, much less comprehend their existence. Life, as he argued, could have evolved and function an entirely different way than the Earth’s carbon and DNA based life forms.

Marcus drifted off into the lands of his own thoughts, running over the possible outcomes of his lecture. How would the students receive it? Will they all leave after the biologist? Why am I not paid enough to do this? Applause filled the room, before the host announced, “And our next speaker, the University of New Mexico’s own, Dr. Marcus Jackson of the Linguistics department!” Queue applause once more. Marcus walked up to the podium. “Today he will be discussing his research in exolinguistics - the field of study dealing with alien languages.”

“T-thank you, thank you. I am truly excited to be here today to share with you all my latest findings in -”

“DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT KLINGON?” A drooling sci fi fan dressed in a mock jumpsuit hastily blurted out. The audience burst into laughter, half of them laughing at the absurdity of the situation, while the other half awkwardly laughed in agreement.