Love is in the Air

(sensitive content: nothing on-scene, but allusions to violence to humans)

The misters sprayed every several minutes, every hour, just like they did every day. No one questioned it anymore. No one wondered why the air was saturated each day with pheromones. No one asked whether removing the choice to love and simply dosing it all around was good for humanity. No one argued about anything anymore. Earth was a planet of kumbaya bliss.

Batima strolled along the sidewalk in her neighborhood walking her dog. She waved and spouted niceties to neighbors she passed. She breathed in the crisp spring air, ran a hand through her locs, and felt happy to be alive. Chipper, her chestnut brown boxer, also reveled in the pristine day and spunkily barked and wagged at each friend that stopped to pet him. Sometimes, Batima had to tug on Chipper’s leash, but never harshly, and only if she had an appointment pending.

“Ho, Batima, how are you this fine day?” The jolly, White man approaching was Randy, and his dog on the leash was Booboo, a brown and white Pekingese. Randy reminded Batima of a pineapple piñata in his Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts.

“Just wonderful,” replied Batima. “Isn’t the weather simply glorious today? God must be smiling down on us.”

“Oh, it is gorgeous. Yes, I am singing my praises today. Jesus, take me now!” Randy let out a resounding guffaw. “I’m so glad to be living in the Millennium.”

Batima leaned forward and chuckled a little. “Now, Randy. They’ve never proven we are in the Millennium.”

“What else could it be?” asked Randy, picking up his sweet Pekingese and giving her a little smooch. “Everyone the world over follows Jesus now. When else would that happen? Don’t you remember the Rapture?”

“Yes…” Batima did remember when her grandparents and parents and many others vanished. She wondered why she and her brother had not been included then, although he did go later. Even the man she was dating at the time, Joseph, disappeared. She missed his strong embrace where she could feel his bulging pecs against her. “I think it is still uncertain whether that was truly the Rapture mentioned in the Bible.” Recalling those days caused a miniscule doubt in Batima, but the misters sprayed, and her heart unclouded again.

“Which translation are you reading?” asked Randy while he played with Booboo, who was adorably snipping at his fingers. “The newest translation seems to address that better.”

Batima nodded. “I suppose.” She, too, had accepted the free Bibles that were given out, the USV, Universal Standard Version. Revelation in that version did not quite match what she read in her grandmother’s old Bible, which she was supposed to give up but had hidden away. Again, a small ache discomfited her. “I’m a little surprised to still be here, if that were the case.”

Randy snickered. “Well, no one lives to 40 anymore, so our time will be coming. Maybe the Rapture is a continuous phenomenon now. They used to debate that.” He set down Booboo, who started nosing Chipper. “But we don’t need to argue about that. Smarter minds than ours haven’t been able to figure it all out. I’m glad to be participating in the new Earth.”

“But why would we need all these misters in the Millennium?” Batima waved her free hand around.

“What misters?” Randy’s brow furrowed. “You just like to exercise your old free will too much. We’re in a glorious time. Enjoy it!” With that, Randy flourished his farewell and continued down the sidewalk with Booboo in tow.

Batima searched for a memory and could not recall when the misters were first put in place. It felt as if they had always been around, but she had a fuzzy recollection, when she was a little girl, of a time when they were not there. About a year ago, she realized that people were forgetting that the misters existed at all. She still knew, though. Such knowledge gave her a vague uneasiness, but inhaling the clean, fresh air spritzed all the restlessness away.

Batima and Chipper completed their walk, still waving and smiling at passing neighbors, and returned home.

“Batima.”

Batima turned her head toward the voice and saw an Asian woman with brunette hair peeking out from under a grayish, hooded cowl, which seemed a tad too insulatory for the weather. The woman had a noncommittal expression on her face and beckoned to Batima.

She heeled Chipper. “Yes, do I know you?”

“We have never met, but I do know you.”

The unusual woman did not startle Batima—-nothing ever did now. She simply thought the encounter curious.

“How do you know me?” she asked.

“We have been watching you. We want someone who still notices things.”

“I’ve always been perceptive.” Batima picked up Chipper and hugged him close to her. “You don’t seem like someone from around here.”

“I assume you are aware of the Kokabielings.”

Batima was familiar with that name but had to ruminate a bit to place where she had heard it. “Yes, they are the beings from beyond our galaxy who arrived and helped us put an end to all our wars.” She felt that indefinite agitation again and set Chipper down.

“I am of the Sarielites. We also come from the vast distance beyond your observable universe.”

Batima blinked her eyes. She had never met one of the Kokabielings. They only interacted with the high leadership of the various regions. She had never imagined other beings might exist beyond the galaxy. But what did that matter? All manner of extraterrestrials might be out there. The Kokabielings had visited and helped because they said Earth was an incredibly special place.

“So why are you here?”

The woman nodded toward the front door. “We should not talk about that much here.”

Batima smiled. “Of course.”

The woman waited without expression as Batima opened the front door to let them in, unleashed Chipper, and then let him out the back door to play in the yard.

“Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” Batima busied herself straightening the room.

“You can call me Sophia. We refer to ourselves differently from how you do. You are accustomed to using proper nouns as names. If you want to speak with me or reference me, use Sophia.”

“Okay, Sophia then.” Batima thought the explanation weird and somewhat unnecessary but joyfully bobbed her head, nonetheless. “What brings you to our neighborhood and to me, specifically?”

“I do not want to speak much here. We will have a time when it’s safer to discuss more. Will you come with me? Will you trust me?”

Batima felt bemused. Feeling unsafe seemed outdated. “All right, where are we going? Do I need a coat or anything?”

“Just close your eyes until I tell you to open them. The transition between places is a startling experience the first few times.”

Again, Batima thought her instructions weird but did not want to be rude so complied. She had barely closed her eyes when Sophia let her know she could open them again.

They were no longer in her house. In fact, she had no idea where she was. She did notice her contentment curl at the edge, as if a cheese slicer were gently removing layers of blithe satisfaction.

The area where Batima stood was lined with dull silver panels. The air smelled clean and fresh with a faint scent of roasting meat in the background. A gap opened among the panels, and Sophia moved into it. Batima followed and entered another room, also lined with dull silver but which held fixtures and stationary constructs and several strange beings. Batima gazed around her and felt more of the slices being shorn away, exposing her to emotions she had never felt, at least not in a long time. Her heart began to pound and beat more quickly, a sensation to which she was unaccustomed.

“Where am I?” she asked, and her voice warbled unexpectedly. Her face warmed. She stared at everything and everyone around her with enlarged eyes.

“We apologize if this frightens you,” said Sophia, “but we did not know a better way to ease you into this.”

“Ease me into what?” Batima was feeling less and less harmony and pleasure, like a paradisiacal bliss was being leeched away. “Who are you…people?”

Sophia steered her through the room to an opening on the other side. “As I mentioned, we are the Sarielites. We do not have the distinction of gender like you on Earth, but I will accept your definition of female for myself, so you can refer to me as a she to simplify your speech. I took this form to make it easier for you to communicate with me.”

Batima simply stared at Sophia, a female for convenience, who enjoyed bizarre, excessive explanations. The other beings also wore grayish, hooded cowls, but Batima could not easily ascertain facial features under the hood, like she saw in Sophia. “They are androgynous?”

“For lack of a better definition.” Sophia’s mouth turned up at the ends, and Batima recognized the attempt at smiling.

Seeing this, Batima slowed her breathing. Her eyes returned to their normal state, and the pace of her heartbeat calmed.

Sophia raised a shrouded arm. “Good, I believe you are recognizing that you are safe here, as strange as we may seem to you.”

“Yes, you asked me to trust you. I made that choice, even though I now wonder why. I feel like I’m waking from a dream, but that doesn’t make sense even to me.” Batima stopped walking. “Where are we?”

“We are aboard what you would call a spaceship, orbiting your planet.” Sophia gently placed a cloaked arm on Batima’s shoulder and steered her toward a dark opening in the dull silver paneling of the room. Batima realized she was approaching a window. “We are hidden from detection. Our mission to Earth is perilous, and many oppose us.”

As they approached the window, Batima caught an image of the Earth from space, very much like pictures in astronomy books. Her breathing hastened. “We’re out in space. How did we get here?” Batima shook her head. “No, never mind. I’ve seen enough video clips of shows and movies.” She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. She had never done that before and amazed herself that she seemed to know how. “Okay. I said I would trust you, and I mean it. I don’t really understand what is going on, and I don’t know why you need me.”

Sophia guided Batima away from the window and along the paneling toward a longer shaft, like a corridor. “Earth is a very special place. It is full of unique creatures and a variety of living entities unlike other parts of the universe.”

Batima noticed her agitation growing again. “I wouldn’t have any way of knowing that, but it’s nice for you to say.”

“We and the Kokabielings are not the only universe-travelling dwellers. Shamsielites, Tamielians, Samyazans, Azazelians, Zaqielings, to name a few. Many of the denizens of the universe have existed for many aeons.”

Batima’s contentment continued to slice away. “If this is my Rapture, I—-”

“This is not a rapture.” Sophia glided to a stop. “Batima, I’m sorry to inform you that Earth is under the control of the Kokabielings. They only helped stop the wars because they wanted to control the supply on Earth, and for that, they needed Earth to be at peace. They wanted to control the trade with Earth and the rest of the universe.”

“How?”

“After the Kokabielings convinced enough of the leaders on Earth to try their plan, they were able to flood it with a neural compound they had developed on their home world.” Sophia leaned side to side. “On Earth, they mockingly refer to it as Love Potion Number 666. Once the misters started spreading it, it was not long before the entire Earth succumbed, wars stopped, and its inhabitants lived happily under the administration of the Kokabielings.”

Batima started trembling. She remembered feeling this once when she was younger. “What do you mean by supply?”

“The rest of the universe regards Earth as full of delicacies.”

Batima grew cold. “Are you saying we’re food?”

Sophia’s figure swelled. “Yes. As I mentioned before, Earth is full of unique creatures and a variety of living entities unlike other parts of the universe.”

Batima inhaled sharply and felt her eyes begin to sting and water. “You’re going to eat me?”

Sophia raised a shrouded arm. “No, our entire crew has sworn off Soul Food. We do not regard Earth in this way. We have come to resist and to start a rebellion, to free Earth. It will take a long time, but we are here to provide a spark.”

Batima wiped her cheeks. Tears! She recollected these from when she was a little girl. How long had it been? She was beginning to remember. “What do you need from me?”

“We saw that you notice things that others had forgotten. We could tell that the mist has not totally blinded you.” Sophia began moving again, and Batima followed. “We have a targeted antidote to the effects of the compound. We believe you may be able to resist it enough to spread the antidote, creature to creature, until enough are free to start a resistance.”

Batima shook her head, and her breathing sped up. “Why can’t you stop them yourselves?”

“We are already battling them, but it will be a long war. We do not feel it is good to wait to liberate as many Earthlings as we can.” Sophia paused. Batima tried to gain control of her liberated emotions. “You will not be the only human attempting this. We have found several throughout Earth with the same ability to notice things others have forgotten.” Sophia raised an arm to Batima’s shoulder. “You will not be alone.”

Batima closed her eyes, and her forehead clenched. “Can you get me out if I call for help?”

“We will track and monitor you at all times and can remove you, when needed. We cannot promise that we can rescue you in every instance.” Sophia began moving again. “This is war after all.”

Batima noticed they were entering the area where they first appeared on the spaceship. Other beings were present now. Her heart rate slowed.

A question still bothered her.

“Why did they take so many that one day?” And not me.

Sophia wobbled back and forth. “I apologize that this will sound…impertinent. Think of how people on your planet raise and grade cattle.”

Batima’s eyes grew big and damp. That meant her grandparents, and possibly her parents, were, to continue the analogy, put out to pasture. But her brother and Joseph, her beautiful, sweet Joseph--wonderfully built and chiseled Joseph--were probably sold as…

Her eyes narrowed and hardened. Batima sensed another long-lost emotion boiling inside her like a pent-up volcano whose time was long overdue. This one exuded righteousness and came with the power to impose a different manner of contentment.

“All right, I’m in. What do I do?”

The beings approached and began hovering apparatuses over Batima. Batima felt small pricks in her skin.

“We will get you prepared to return and conduct your mission. Thank you for your bravery. I know how difficult this will be.” Sophia raised her arm. “Do you swear to stay true to your mission to free as many Earthlings as you are able?”

Batima did not know the protocol for giving an oath but decided to raise her arm, mimicking Sophia. “I do.”