Awakening.

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Amy looked around and studied the living area and corridor. "That lamp is magnificent." She murmured to herself. 'That does make sense.' Amy thought. 'In my culture, we don't really think about things like that.' Amy thought to Acha, thinking it over.

'An earth quake? My people say that there was an asteroid that killed all of the dinosaurs, so that could be it.' Amy suggested. At the moment, she just wanted to know more about the lamp.
 
Ah, an asteroid... No, I'm positive that was another thing, Acha said thoughtfully. I think you are talking about what we just called the catastrophe. The sky went dark and everything started to cool down... It was still warm in here then, but we knew it wouldn't last. That was when we hid. But at that time, this city at least was still intact. No, this is quite new... We both saw when the rocks blocked the exit, so they are still settling to their new position. And the bodies we saw... they were a few weeks old at most.
It felt better, trying to solve the riddle. It was almost like trying to do something about it. She sat down, her back to the base of the lamp, and drew her limbs together to warm herself. She looked up as Amelia, trying to place her in the events, because she had a role in it somehow, she was sure of that. After all, if her conclusions were right, she could open the door, and such things don't happen by accident.
May I ask what you are doing here? At first I thought you came to us, but you were surprized to find us; why then?
 
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As Acha spoke, Amy felt a feeling of dread. The ruin excavation had only started a few weeks ago. Amy felt guilty, though she had only been on site for a few days. 'Acha, I... I think this may be the fault of my people.' Amelia said, feeling like a dirtbag. 'Humans are terrible creatures, that we are. Most of us hold no concern for others, and we will destroy anything to get what we want. I am a scientist in my culture, and I was brought to this place only a few days ago. But a few weeks ago, my people began to excavate some ruins that are not far from here. They used big machines that make the ground move and tremble. And I fear...' Amy had to stop her thought speak as an overwhelming sense of sadness and anger washed over her. 'Oh Acha, I'm so sorry.' Amy thought. Amy leaned against a wall. 'I came over here because of curiosity. During the dig I noticed some out of the ordinary rocks. Today is a day of rest, so I thought that I would check it out.' Amelia told Acha
 
Is this possible? Can so much be destroyed by a mere accident? Acha felt so small all of a sudden. Murderous rage was not on her palette of feelings; she just felt the desolation of being the last tiny member of a small and unimportant race that the new people, these humans swept away without noticing. Amelia though... she didn't strike her as a terrible creature at all. She felt clearly that this tragedy shook her too; that was quite unlike what she said, that humans had no concern for others. Although she barely knew her yet, Amy was full of compassion, full of benevolence. Why did she feel guilty for something she had no part in? Acha did her best to be reassuring, exhausted as she was emotionally; she was thankful for Amy being there, for at least learning what happened from someone like her.
You are not a terrible creature. You have been nothing but kind to me. I think neither of us can help this anymore.
 
Amy nodded. 'Yes, your right. We've just got to get out of here. You look like you're freezing.' Amy remarked. 'What's your culture say about physical contact?' Amy asked. If humans had destroyed the rest of these people, Amelia was determined to save this one. Amy stood up straight, looking around the dimly lit corridor. Amy did feel guilty about all this, but Acha's words comforted her. Amy got out her journal and scribbled down a few notes before replacing it in her backpack. 'Oh, and another question, what do you eat?' Amy asked. She had a few bottles of water and some snacks in her bag. She was sure Acha would need the energy.
 
Acha took the easier question first.
We... I eat plants. Fresh ones, usually, so we rarely need to drink. Plants must have changed too, but I'm sure I will find edible ones once we are out.
Physical contact was next, a more complicated question.
We sometimes have to touch each other, but we always warn each other first, to make sure it's not threatening... those who are very close sometimes come to a point where they don't need to ask.
To her, all these questions were merely theoretical, one culture getting to know another. She decided it was safe to ask some of her own questions too.
I notice you wear feet coverings. At first I didn't want to ask, but, ah... are your feet wounded? Can you hear with them covered?
 
Amy nodded and took out two bottles of water, setting one down and opening the other. She drank a bit from it. At Acha's question, Amelia furrowed her eyebrows. 'No, actually these coverings, we call them shoes, protect our feet from harm.' Amy said, sitting next to Acha. She pulled one of her sneakers off and her sock off. Amy wiggled her toes and smiled. Her nail polish was chipping and she made a mental note to re do it. 'Humans do not hear with their feet. And we don't talk with our minds either. We have many languages and the sound comes out of our mouth. We hear with our ears.' Amy said, pushing her hair behind her ear to show Acha her ear. 'We do feel vibrations sometimes, but our feet only function for balance and mobilization.' Amy explained. She thought it was amusing, the whole thing. They were new creatures to one another, and they were sitting here talking about feet. Amelia smiled, some stress evaporating.
 
Interesting. That also answers my question about the purpose of your ears, and why you often give a sound while talking. It sounds pleasant. Acha smiled a little. It was good, talking about small, unrelated things. It gave her something she could handle. We also listen with our fingers sometimes, but with our feet it's easier, since they constantly touch the ground. This reminded her of a frightening prospect though, especially frightening if mankind was really as callous and dangerous as Amy described them. Does that mean that whenever you talk, everyone present can hear it? Do humans have... no secrets from each other?
 
Amy smiled. No one had ever told her that she had a nice voice before. Amy laughed bitterly at Acha's next question. 'Oh, we have plenty of secrets from each other. We just don't speak them. And when we do, we lower the volume of the sound so only people close to us can hear. We call it whispering.' Amy said, taking another drink of her water. 'Just a warning, if you do encounter other humans, don't speak to them. They wont understand, and they will freak out. They are close minded. But I'm going to try and limit your exposure to humans, more to protect the people than you. They would want to get all the information out of you that they could, then some would want to keep you in a cage to study you. A few might go as far as wanting to dissect you. I refuse to let that happen to you.' Amy said, frowning.
 
The concept of whispering sounded dangerous to Acha. Trusting that the sound won't carry or that somebody else may not hear better than one expects... That couldn't have been safe. She was really glad that she didn't have to resort to talking by making sounds. We cannot make sounds with our mouth. We just eat with it. But I promise I won't speak to other humans unless you think it's safe. In fact, she was quite frightened of them by now, and grateful that Amy didn't want her to meet any of them. It touched her that she felt protective about her. Still, she was also curious, not only about mankind but even more about Amy. She had no reason to doubt her description of her own species, and that meant that Amy was different from other humans. She had all but proven that when she opened the gate; she still couldn't think of an explanation for that, but Amy was in some way definitely exceptional. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you don't seem like what you say humans are like.
 
Amy sighed. 'Well, thats true. Not all humans are like that. But with today's society, we must assume that everyone is like that. Some humans are nice, and good people. But humans keep a lot of secrets from each other. And they act like someone that they are not.' Amelia said. 'There are a few humans who I would like you to meet, but they dont live where we are now. Back to the physical contact thing- I noticed that you were a bit cold. Sometimes, in my culture, if someone is cold, we offer them garments or physical contact to warm them up. And i really dont want you to freeze.' Amy said. 'I dont have any extra garments, but if its ok with you, I am still really warm.' Amy felt a bit awkward, but she wanted to make sure that Acha was alright. She felt somewhat responsible for Acha.
 
Acha looked up in surprise when she realized what Amy was getting at. Her concern felt very good, even better than the prospect of warmth. But she had to decline. Thank you. But I'm wet. I would make you wet, and then you would be cold too. I will dry eventually. But we could see if the heaters are still in working order in some of the rooms. She gestured towards the eastern side of the living area; it was almost untouched. I don't think we can find any clothes, they will probably have mouldered away by now... speaking of which, how much time passed since the meteor you mentioned?
 
'A few billion years. But you were talking about the cold. I assume Ice Age, probably the second one. But that was still a few billion years ago.' Amy said, taking another drink of her water and putting the cap back on. She grabbed the second one that she had set out earlier. 'Do you want some water, or did your sleep keep you hydrated enough?' Amy asked, putting her water back in her bag. "If the heaters are working, I'm all for it." She murmured to herself.
 
Acha smiled a sad, quiet little smile.
Thank you, I was in water, so I didn't lose any. Let us find a heater then.
She stood up and led the way. It was strange to see her home this way, maybe even stranger than where it was in ruins. Everything was the way she last saw it, being underground kept even most of the dust away. It was just empty, completely empty. She almost expected someone to step out up from inside a room, or turn a corner.
At a certain point she stopped and pointed upwards. From here on, the ceiling was covered in carvings that stood out sharply in the low light. Most of them showed forest scenes: different kinds of animals hunting each other, playing or grazing from bushes and ferns.
My sister, Oula worked on those. She did a little bit of it every day. Maybe they will be interesting to you... to see what the wildlife was like.
 
Amelia followed Acha, and when she pointed up, Amy gasped. 'Wow. These are amazing. Truly spectacular.' Amy remarked. Amy thought about her family, back home, and sighed. 'Acha, would you tell me a bit more about your family?' Amelia asked, her eyes tracing the carvings. A few creatures looked familiar, but some were completely new. Acha's sister must have had amazing skill. Amy idly wondered if Acha had any special skills or abilities, other than the ones that came from being a different species.
 
Acha thought about it a little.
We don't... didn't usually live in families on the long run. Mates stay together in the same room, and sometimes especially close friends choose to, but children stay in the room of their parents only for a while after they hatch, until they can take care of themselves. Their parents still help them, but any adult does the same. We all live... lived close by, so no one needing help would go without. But there weren't so many of us in a town, even in the bigger ones. You could say we were all relatives.
She walked slower now, so Amelia could look at the carvings.
I had just one sister, she lived nearby with her mate, that is why she started here. I lived on the other side, I don't think it's safe to go in there now. But that still wasn't far, none of the homes here are far apart. I liked to visit her when she worked and watch, and some of our friends did too. We sat here when we had nothing to do, she worked and we talked with her and each other. So she liked to work when we didn't.
It felt somewhat better to talk about them. As long as she did, they were real, they existed; they may have died, but they weren't gone.
They came to a door, one of many they passed, and Acha opened it. This wasn't a safety door like the ones at the sleeping chambers, it only had to be pushed.
This was their room.
 
Amelia followed Acha and listened to her talk. A part of her story piqued Amy's attention. 'Mates? What do you mean by mates? Can you explain that a bit more?' Amy asked, staring at the ceiling. 'Humans don't mate for life, though that is somewhat of a good thing. We date, and when we fall in love, we marry. But most marriages end in divorce, where they make their marriage no longer valid. My biggest wish is to fall in love, and have them love me back. I don't care if they are man, woman, or a complete other race. As long as they love me.' Amy said, feeling a pang of longing.
 
I don't... didn't have a mate, Acha said as they entered, so I'm afraid I can't tell you as much as I would like. But I do know that mates are mates for life. They share a room, because they no longer need to part to be alone, they are alone together now. They can no more separate than one can split one's body in two. Of course that is just what I was told, I have not experienced this myself. I can't imagine what might make a person decide that somebody he or she loved until now is from now on no longer worthy of love, and they no longer belong together; of course humans must be different.
She went to the center of the chamber while she talked, to something that looked somewhat like a round, low table of stone. It had spiral-shaped grooves in its surface. This too had a rod, or rather a thin tube, to lower into the ground, piercing through the center of the tabletop; and when she did, soon a stream, blue-green, like the lamp before, appeared to come forth from the top of the rod - now almost level with the table's surface - and flow into the grooves, running down the sides where the spiral arms continued and led the streams back in little funnels into the floor.
Be careful not to touch the streams. They are very hot.
 
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Amy smiled. 'It sounds wonderful, your culture's mate concept. Humans don't always marry because of love. And true love is few and far between. It makes me sad, how little love there is in my culture. Not many people have the chance to fall in love, and if they do, the other may not love them back. I know how devastating that feels. That's why I always admire the couples that are deeply in love and have been together for some time. Some people hurt their spouse or lover on purpose. How do you go about picking mates?" Amy asked. As the room warmed up, Amy looked over at the streams and the device. 'Thanks for the warning.' Amy said
 
Oh, that's easy. We all know... knew each other here... Acha still had trouble adjusting to talking about her people in the past tense. One knows after a while, the same way one knows when somebody is a friend, or someone one can respect and learn from. It comes with knowing each other. And then one of them moves to the other's room. Of course not all of us have... had mates. Often somebody doesn't match with anyone present, such as I. Sometimes it happened that visitors arrived from other towns, and some stayed for somebody's sake, or left with a mate.
She sat down with her back to the heating table, leaning her head slightly above the surface to dry her hair faster. She felt much more comfortable now.
Why? Is there a special way to find someone to marry in your culture? Is it difficult? I might be mistaken, but you speak as if you were in love and received no love in return...
 
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