Marty took a sip of his bourbon and watched the hotel lobby through the mirror behind the bar. Most of the guests at the Bayside Hotel came for the salty air and a quiet walk on the beach. There was no real mystery there. It was the non-human guests present that held Marty’s attention.
The first colonists came to Proxmia b by the cryogenic ship Explorer VII in 2085. Three other ships were scheduled to follow that never arrived. The loss of supplies and manpower those ships were expected to bring was a devastating blow to the struggling colony, and their attempts to contact Earth were never answered. Through sheer determination and some creative genetic engineering, the settlers survived and prospered.
The Gliesians made their presence in the galaxy known twenty years ago in August 2453, but it was ten years later before anyone got to see what a Gliesian looked like. Hardly a week passed that decade without some expert attempting to predict their appearance based on what little we knew of their sun and planet from fifteen lightyears away. The experts were all wrong.
They didn’t have pointy or large ears. Their foreheads weren’t protected by thick, furrowed, boney plates. Much to everyone’s disappointment the Gliesian’s almost appeared human, but a wise man knows to never say that to a Gliesian. Their height and icy blue eyes made it impossible to mistake a Gliesian with a human.
The Gliesians consider humans to be unintelligent and reckless. Marty couldn’t blame them for drawing that conclusion. It was the Gliesians that confirmed that Earth was no longer an inhabitable planet. He had developed the same opinion just from watching the daily news. Marty couldn’t help but wonder why so many of the aliens were staying at the Bayside Hotel of all places.
Marty watched a dozen Gliesians exit the stairwell as a young human couple stepped onto the elevator. One of the aliens pointed at the elevator and whispered something into the ear of his closest companion. They both laughed heartily as they took their place in line at the salad bar.
When the second group of Gliesians started walking toward the stairway, Marty rolled up the blueprints he’d been looking over and moved to intercept. He tapped the last alien in line on the shoulder and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat when the Gliesian turned, looked down at Marty and asked, “Can I help you?”
Marty introduced himself with an extended hand. “I’ve never met a Gliesian, and I wondered if I could ask you a few questions? My name is Marty.”
The Gliesian tilted his head and inspected Marty’s hand for several seconds. When his eyes shifted to the prints in Marty’s other hand, he asked, “Are those the architectural drawings for the hotel?”
Marty let his offered hand fall unshaken and then grinned. “Yes, they’re planning on renovating one of the older sections. I work for a general contractor looking to bid on the project.”
The Gliesian glanced at the door to the stairway as it closed behind the last of his companions. He turned to face Marty and held out a hand with long slender fingers. “May I see the drawings?”
Marty nodded and opened the blueprints on top of a table that was only a couple of steps away. He weighted the corners down with the salt and pepper shakers and then pointed out their current location. “We’re right here. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
The alien glanced at Marty and his lips thinned. “I never offered one.” He began flipping pages until he found the building’s electrical diagrams.
“The Hotel Bayside has a rather esoteric patronage. There are people that live within twenty miles from here that have never heard of the place, so I find it very surprising to find dozens of Gliesians staying here.”
The Gliesian stopped studying the diagrams, looked at Marty and blinked twice before asking, “Are you saying that we aren’t wanted?”
Marty gasped. “No, not at all. I was just wondering how aliens from another star system even knew about this hotel.”
“Ah, I forgot that humans are mostly ignorant of their history.”
This time it was Marty’s turn to be offended. “I had several history courses in college and read at least two history books a year. I wouldn’t consider myself ignorant on the subject.”
“It isn’t your fault of course. Two thousand years ago, your religious institutions colored what was recorded as history. During your industrial age, it was corporations that controlled the narrative. For the last couple hundred years, what you’d call modern times, it has been the media and your governments that have controlled the information recorded for prosperity.”
Marty sighed. “So, what is it that I don’t know?”
The Gliesian ran a finger over the wiring diagram for the elevator as he answered. “There have been several different alien races to visit Earth, but you have been told all your life that we are the only alien life to ever make contact. Our first contact with humans actually happened right here at the Bayside Hotel about a hundred years ago.”
“I’ve never heard anything about it.”
“Of course you haven’t. The President was staying at the hotel during the encounter, and they classified the incident as top secret.”
Half a dozen people stepped off the elevator. Many of them stared at the Gliesian with open astonishment as they walked past. The alien just shook his head and turned his attention back to the schematic of the elevator. After a few moments, he shook his head and said, “It must be a manufacturing issue. I can’t believe humans are so reckless.”
The Gliesian turned and walked toward the stairway. Marty left his prints and caught up in two quick steps. “Reckless? What manufacturing issue?”
“Humans haven’t stopped using the elevator since we got here. That is how we know your people are reckless.”
“Why shouldn’t they use the elevator?”
The Gliesian rolled his eyes and waved toward a sign. “Can’t humans read? They’ve posted this sign on every floor to warn people. It says, ‘Don’t use in case of fire.’ I don’t see an issue with the wiring diagrams so the problem must be with the manufacturer.”
Marty opened his mouth to explain the meaning of the sign but instead asked, “What floor are you staying on?”
“We rented out the entire twenty-second floor.” The Gliesian looked Marty up and down slowly. “Maybe the problem can be traced back to the construction firm.”
Marty shrugged and opened the door to the stairway. “I’ll check out the elevator. You have a good night.”
—
Eddie D. Moore travels hundreds of hours a year, and he fills that time by listening to audiobooks. When he isn’t playing with his grandchildren, he writes his own stories. You can find a list of his publications on his blog, eddiedmoore.wordpress.com, or by visiting his Amazon Author Page, amazon.com/author/eddiedmoore. While you’re there, be sure to pick up a copy of his mini-anthology Misfits & Oddities.
Loved this story. Funny!