The Science Wars (Legacy)

April 28, 1969

Wayne has confirmed that the Elder One died. The snaketiles don't believe in burying their dead, so we're clearing out a dorm room and refitting it with a public viewing window.

Ambassador S'taass has replaced the Elder One as the snaketile ambassador to the facility. Unfortunatelly, in their religion, the Elder One cannot be repalced until the snaketiles turn against themselves again.

We've cancelled all work and all testing today and almost everyone at the facility is attending the funeral.

Finally, my turn to do my eulogy. I walk up onto the stage in the auditorium.

"Greetings all General Science Personnel," I start. "Snaketiles, Humans, Other creatures who are supposedly sentient, together we stand to honor our departed reincarnation of St. Reptile-"

S'taass punches me in the back.

"It'sss Sssaint Sssnaketile, you fool!" he whispers.

"Oh right, excuse me," I say off mic. S'taass hands me a script. I clear my throat. "The prophecy states that next time we get into a war, a new reincarnation of St. Snaketile the Honorable Warrior will realize and fight to keep his people allied, yadda yadda yadda," I continue.

"I knew the Elder One well. We first met when I forged an alliance with the colony. Your people agreed to work for us in return for food and supplies and discarded test subject corpses. I always knew there was something special about him. Unfortunately, we don't know the cause of his death, but Ambassadors F'kas and S'taass believe it was suicide and that the Elder One believed that his job was complete. Let's all remember the good times and hope that living together will bring the snaketiles and humans closer together." I sigh.

Doctor Potato is crying, and all of the snaketiles are quietly hissing in prayer. The Elder One's body is brought out in a glass case and set down on the stage. Snaketiles don't really have funerals, but I thought I'd introduce something new. Wilma won't be teaching today, as all of the snaketile children are out of school for the funeral.

I walk to my office and stay there, staring into space. Was it suicide or murder?

* * *

The calmness of the day has been interrupted. The engineering team continues to fill in parts of the colony with cement. At least a thousand snaketiles remain. Dr. Golem has been interrogating everyone in the facility. This includes me, I'm always blamed here. A huge line wraps around the facility and leads into the security wing.

Turns out, only a few thousand individuals were in and out of the culture exchange last night. A lot of the junior staff and test subjects stayed home, and a lot of snaketiles were still moving in and unpacking. We're trying to rule out all possibilities of a murder here, but asking 10,000 people will take a while, even with 10 interrogation stations. Wayne is also collecting DNA samples from around the facility.

Since I have a Level 5 security clearance, I'm first in line.

The questions are very simple. Mostly questions about how well I knew the Elder One, and have I ever had thoughts of homicide. I'm pretty sure Dr. Golem trusts me, as he knows for sure I wasn't anywhere near the elevator.

Doctor Potato is next.

"Did you know the Elder One well, private?!" snaps Dr. Golem.

"Not really, but you should ask that kind gentleman over there," mumbles Dr. Potato, while pointing at me. I sigh.