The Tindrem Project

Nearly extinct race searches the galaxy for a new home.

Chapter One.Tindrem Failure

Gomak sat still, intently watching the sky as the Heshanna slowly descended into the Earth's atmosphere. He had been hiding out in this wood for the past two earthweeks, taking infinite care not to be seen by any of the Earthmen who lived in the nearby village.

The ship landed noiselessly in a small clearing that Gomak had prepared, and now as he slowly walked toward it, he noticed (it seemed he had never seen a more welcome sight) the battle scars that the ship had endured during its lifetime.

"Ta-shann, Comrade," Gomak greeted the ship's first officer.

"Ta-shann, Gomak," the Captain replied.

"Did you encounter any difficulties in completing your mission?" Gomak questioned, noticing a new battle scar on the left port of the ship.

"No…" the Captain hesitated. "Truthfully, Gomak, the mission did not go at all the way we had anticipated. But come inside now, we have much to discuss."

The two walked up to the ramp of the Heshanna; the Captain inserted his compucard into the slot on the right side of the port door and the two were whisked inside the ship. Once inside, the Captain offered Gomak some refreshments, but Gomak politely refused.

"Not now, if you please, Lorbiis. First, I would like to hear about the mission."

"Well," Lorbiis began as he took a sip of his beverage. "We were stationed outside of the city of Seattle, where we felt that the general sentiment was one of sympathy towards unknown persons, or 'aliens' as they so ineptly term us. We felt that we were gaining progress in the fostering of good will towards our people, but difficulties ensued. We had assigned some of our people to work in several larger areas of the city, but some of their co-workers detected some strangeness among our Countrymen. They discovered that we are capable of telepathic communication, which to us comes as second nature, and thus, some neglected to keep that aspect of our abilities hidden. After they were discovered, we tried to allay the initial fears and doubts of their co-workers, but to no avail. Finally, we were forced to remove ourselves from the entire situation for fear of the safety of our own."

Gomak mulled this over, while Lorbiis partook of his nourishment.

"Lorbiis," he said at last. "This first attempt has failed dismally, but, as we all know, our very existence depends upon the success of our missions. We cannot fail, or we will surely have no future to speak of."

"Yes, I am aware of this, Gomak. But how can we hope to instill trust of ourselves and our intentions into the minds of these Earthmen? They have such a capacity for greater things; things that we can teach them, but their minds seem unwilling to function beyond a certain level. There is a certain – narrow-mindedness about these humans. They refuse to believe that there exist beings greater than themselves – except for an entity which they call 'God,' the only being superior to themselves."

"Yes, I know of this 'God'," Gomak replied. "It is akin to our Universal Spirit, except that here on earth, the Universal Spirit takes many names and he appears in countless rituals – 'religions' they say here. Can you believe that there are those who think themselves superior to others simply by virtue of the fact that they belong to one religion and not another? We of Tindrem, of course, find this idea ludicrous, since we are all divined from the same Spirit. But to return to our discussion, have you any suggestions as to how we should proceed from here?"

Lorbiis sat back in his chair and lit a cigarette. "Interesting, these," he remarked as he exhaled.

"One of those quirks that Earthmen find so addicting. What is the purpose of inhaling and exhaling from a thin, white rod?" Gomak asked.

Lorbiis laughed. "Gomak, I see that you have not lost your sense of humor."

Gomak smiled at the Captain. "Well, one must keep a light face in the heart of such matters."

"Gomak, I strongly feel that we must change our 'tactics' so to speak. Apparently, our methods are simply too direct and intense for most humans to be able to accept. But I have a proposition: I would like for you to examine these COMprints."

Lorbiis handed Gomak a copy of the plans drawn up by the staff of the Heshanna.

Gomak scrutinized the papers given to him carefully. He noticed that the name at the top of the COMprints was Denver. During his own research into the Tindrem Project, he had discovered that Denver had a large percentage of young Earthmen, and that they were sometimes known to support unpopular causes. Gomak felt – no, he knew, that his landmen's cause would be considered an unpopular one by most Earthmen – unless enough time was allowed for Earth people to become accustomed to the idea of the existence of aliens. If the project was to be continued at Denver, a different approach would have to be implemented. Gomak, as well as Lorbiis, knew that in order for the new project to be even remotely successful, the origins of the Heshanna's residents would have to remain confidential until a suitable time arose for the disclosure of that information. The greatest obstacle to be overcome now was the discovery of a manner in which to establish the Tindremians into strategic positions in Denver society.

"You know," Lorbiis remarked to Gomak, "It really is a pity that we cannot simply announce ourselves to this world and request its assistance."

"Yes," Gomak answered. "But our position here would be akin to being prisoners of wars. I'm afraid that this world is not yet ready for so startling a revelation as we would be for them."

"Tell me, Gomak, do you have any notions on how we are going to establish ourselves in the new city?"

"I have an idea that we can begin from," Gomak said. "There are several …"

Gomak's mind quickly scanned the information stored in his brain for the right term. This 'amassing' ability was what enabled the Tindremians to so quickly infiltrate themselves into human society, and what set them apart from the human race. Whatever language was spoken, or whatever topic was discussed, the Tindremians could pick up, because of this ability to transfer knowledge and information from whatever source, human or machine, to their own minds, much like a computer.

"…several universities in Denver. We can place some of our Countrymen in these schools. We will have to compile school records for them, that will be a requirement, I believe."

"How do you propose that we assemble these records? Surely we cannot cite Tindrem as our place of residence."

"Yes, I am aware of this," Gomak said impatiently. "But there are occurrences of foreign students attending universities. We shall have to research a remote country of the Western Hemisphere. I think that this would be Nureyon's specialty; call him."

Lorbiis reached over to the ship's control panel. He touched the yellow transmit circle and waited for a response. After a few seconds, an image appeared on the screen.

"Yes, Captain?" The face of the young Tindremian gazed out quizzically.

"Nureyon, Gomak has an assignment for you."