Dark Hedges

All Cretans are Liars

This is the story of Mitnick, the entity.

Built in the heart of the planet Xatropus, Mitnick was created with one sole purpose in mind: to understand the nature of the bonds that bind us.

Sent to the blue planet Earth, a nubile, fresh land, ready to be exploited, Mitnick excited his ship, ready to explore this brave new world. It was then that he stumbled upon the true nature of his existence.

A moan called out to him and the android approached its source. It was an animal. Partially buried beneath Mitnick's spaceship, the creature cried out for help, but no words came out of its snout. Instead, whimpers and sobs escaped from deep within the animal.

"Hello," Mitnick said, foolishly expecting the animal to reply.

It did not.

Undeterred, the entity carried on. "My name is Mitnick. Can I relate to you?"

The animal's sad eyes met Mitnick's bright lights and the entity understood the animal was dying. Mitnick tried to lift the spaceship, but the vessel was too large, too vast for his tiny hands. The entity's gaze went back to the creature and the animal gifted Mitnick with the last breath of its weakened heart.

A million questions overwhelmed the entity's juvenile mind. He was sent to this planet to connect. To relate. Yet he couldn't. How could he when these creatures died? Was he, perhaps, meant to stop it from happening? Could he even do such a thing?

Was death inevitable?

Left alone to ponder the answer to his questions, Mitnick waited, patiently, for someone to relate to.

********

"Mr. Santoyo?"

The voice called from the distance, but he barely registered it.

"Mr. Santoyo?"

The clouds in the sky were grand and majestic. Why did people ignore them so often?

Look at the sky and understand the truth about your own insignificance, that's what his mother used to say. Perhaps that's why nobody looked up anymore. Who wants to be told they don't matter? He sighed, his head lazily resting on his hand. What a drag.

"MR. SANTOYO!"

Snapping out of his trance, Teddy jumped in his chair as a wave of laughter spread through the classroom. Turning his attention to the front, to the sullen, middle-aged woman that looked more like a model than a teacher, Teddy cleared his throat and graced the touchpad on his laptop before speaking.

"Yes, Ms. Abbett?"

She gave him an are-you-fucking-kidding-me kind of look and shook her head. "Well?"

Teddy looked at her, then at the screen behind her and immediately understood.

"Ah yes. A-sub-N equals N plus one over four," he replied, smiling confidently.

Ms. Abbett nodded and typed the answer into her own laptop. "Good. Stop daydreaming, Mr. Santoyo, and pay attention."

He nodded and fixed his eyes on the screen, fighting the desire to gaze at the clouds again. They'd still be there, even after the lesson ended. Besides, he really didn't need a reminder of his own insignificance. Not today, at least. Not ever, actually.

Stepping out of the classroom, he checked his schedule and confirmed his suspicions: free period until midday. According to his wonderfully restrictive Code of Conduct, that meant going to the Stag Lounge and spending some quality time with his fellow Stags.