Bedtime Story

"Tell me a bedtime story, Mama. Please?"
"Alright, Maya, but only one tonight. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"I'll go right to sleep after, I promise."

"Millions of years ago, our planet was not peaceful as it is now. There were wars, murders, crimes that I can't even begin to describe to you in way that you would understand. One of our ancestors was Jonas Talibak. You've heard of him in history class, I presume?"
"Yes, Mama. He was a great leader who brought peace and harmony to us all."
"Did your teacher tell you the whole story?"
"No. Just that we should revere him and all our ancestors."

"Well, Jonas truly was a great leader. He was a loving, caring man who wanted only the best for his people and his planet. He was saddened by all the crime, hatred and violence. One day, he summoned his advisers and had them round up all the great scientists to discuss the issues. The scientists were good, decent men and very intelligent. They had been running experiments for years, trying to isolate the gene that was responsible for violent and anti-social behavior.

Jonas asked them if they had made any progress. They told him that while they had not isolated the gene, they had come up with a way to test a person's blood that would show them if the person was likely to be prone to violence. Unfortunately, it had not been perfected yet and would take at least another year of research before it could be used on the public.

Jonas was hopeful, yet fearful. He knew that if he didn't do something soon, the planet would be at war again and the casualties would be astronomical. The prisons were overcrowded and the courts were so backlogged that it would take years for them to catch up. The advisers and scientists spent three days locked in a conference room, arguing and debating, until finally, Lars Mackovick came up with a plan.

They would pass a law requiring all people over the age of 15 to be tested for the violence gene. Then, they would put all current prisoners as well as anyone who tested positive in stasis and fly them to a small, dead planet millions of light years away. They would terraform the planet and then drop the prisoners off there and leave them. Jonas wanted to know the odds of the test resulting in false positives. He was concerned that a few of the prisoners might not actually carry the gene that causes violence and thus be forced to live the rest of their lives with violent people. The scientists assured him that the risk was minimal and well worth it, considering the ultimate benefit to the good people of this planet.

Over the following week, all citizens were subjected to the blood test and those who tested positive were put in stasis and loaded onto the spaceship along with the prisoners. Because of the distance involved, the captain and crew were chosen from single people with no children. By the time they got to the planet, they were over halfway through their lifespan. They didn't have the technology we have now that has bestowed us with our immortality. The average citizen only lived about 2000 years back then."

"Wow, I didn't know that either, Mama."
"Shh, let me finish the story, it's getting late. So, when they got to the planet, they quickly got to work, terraforming it. They transferred plants, seeds, created layers of atmosphere so that the people could breathe, and dropped off many animals. They created oceans and rivers, and made it look quite a bit like the home planet, so the prisoners wouldn't be overly traumatized when they awoke.

When all was prepared, they transferred the people to the surface, spreading them out in small groups around the planet. Then, they re-boarded the ship and headed back home. By the time they got here, only the captain was still alive, and he was barely hanging on. He was buried in a hero's grave by the capitol building, I know you've seen the plaque."

"Yes, Mama," Maya yawned. "So, what happened to the prisoners?"

"The crew left many cameras, hidden very well, throughout the planet. Our leaders still monitor them to this day. They have populated the entire planet. They have wars, droughts, famines, and plagues. But, they also have many who have learned to love. The gene isn't always passed on to each generation, apparently. They have not yet discovered how to eradicate it, as we finally did. But, some say there is hope that they will eventually evolve, as we did. If, they don't destroy themselves first."

"Do they ever get homesick? Do they wish they could come back here someday?"

"They don't know their true origins, sweetheart. Some suspect, but they have developed many religions to try to explain their existence. In each one, there are grains of truth. And don't worry, we have brought some of them back. We still monitor them, and when we find some that show evidence of not carrying the gene, we transport them to one of our ships and test them. Then, if they are negative, we sometimes bring them back here to be taught. Some, we put back in the hopes they will continue to breed and hopefully have children that will be good and just and help change their world for the better."

"That's a beautiful story, Mama. Is that the end?"

"No, child, the story continues on as long as they continue to survive. We can only watch and wait now. And, hope that they will overcome their obstacles and be worthy of rejoining our family. Goodnight, love."