THE CONVERSATION

We decided not to record the conversation. But Moit will write down the most important parts of my and Kesti’s informal meeting.

KESTI(K) “Sorry for making you wait Rion. I’ve grown old. Reading doesn’t go as it used to. My memory even worse.” – Kesti said in a tired voice.

RION(R) “Don’t worry Kesti. It felt good to slow down a bit. A lot of things have happened in the past few days. And the botra juice suited me as well.” – I looked at Moit nodding to him as a sign of gratitude.

K “Yes. Moit knows how to make that liquid, perfectly balancing the ingredients. But let’s get to the point. Who will start?”

By pointing my hand towards Kesti I let him know that I was giving him the floor.

K “Reading these scanned documents from the expedition, I was shocked by some discoveries. Humans, through their development, are becoming more and more destructive. Both towards themselves and others. They exploit nature and its resources. Of course, some reasons are valid, considering that they must eat in order to survive. But the tendency is not only survival, but the accumulation of resources. In that way, they reduce the chances for others who do not reach those resources first to live normally. Then conflicts arise that lead to violence. And as I can see, dear Rion there are enough resources for everyone.”

R “I agree. I don’t know what the cause of all that is. Maybe fear. But that fear was instilled in them by someone. Ignorance and unawareness that there are all necessary elements for everyone. Also, I am not sure what it is in our Virteleonian nature that we do not have such problematic thoughts and behaviors.”

K “We do not exploit nature because its products are not necessary for our survival. We have no need for food. We do not eat. Animals as well. And then we come to the key of this first thesis. There is no law of the stronger, nor a food chain. There are no dangerous animals. There are no evil Virteleonians, who would kill and destroy in order to have more for themselves.”

R “I must propose a second thesis. Differences among humans and the lack of respect for those differences. There are deviations in many segments. Languages, the color of their skin, religions, sexual orientation stand out as some key differences. Instead of valuing and respecting them, it becomes a way and a means for them to divide even more. It is sad, Kesti. What do you think, why is that so?”

K “A difficult question. I would have to think about it a bit more. But the statement stands. We can come to a temporary conclusion that perhaps it is again about fear and ignorance. Or simply an excuse to do evil.”

R “We also have our own problems Kesti. Although not among Virteleonians, but with the planet itself. According to our estimates, the planet has reached half of its lifespan. And we have no idea how to extend its lifespan. Secondly, we do not have Controllers that Earth has. Regardless of the fact that the goal of the Controllers is to limit chaos and destruction which does not exist here. We have no one who can help us. On top of that, we must help the Earthlings as well. If they allow us.”

K “I know you are busy and full of questions. And you want the best. We don’t have much time left. Two more theses are very interesting. The first is reproduction and lifespan. The reproductive organs are similar. The way of reproduction is almost identical. Although they have much more creative methods that they use along with the process of procreation. They look at it from the perspective of pleasure. Here you cannot imagine ‘sex’ without also thinking of pleasure. Yes, it is nice, but not at that level. Here it feels like doing what must be done. There, it almost reaches the level of art.
Their lifespan is much shorter than ours. If our and their years were compared, we would live on average around 350 to 400 of their years. And some would reach even 600. Your opinion, why is that so?”

R “Primarily, lifestyle. A huge amount of stress, consumption of elements harmful to health, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, poor diet, lack of physical activity. In addition, I believe that when part of the Colony was sent to Earth, they did not have much freedom and possibilities during genetic engineering. They could work with what they had available.”

K “The last thesis for tonight would be art and culture. Here Earthlings are at a much higher level than us. Is that the balance that we all have. Someone is better in one part, another in another.
The amount of works and creativity that we had the opportunity to see is truly very impressive. Here we are focused on science and constant development and improvement in that regard. In a way, we are like machines. Work without any relaxation, and giving the opportunity for other talents to express themselves. Of course, as you know, there is art and some extraordinary achievements here as well in that regard. But incomparably less than on Earth.”

R “I agree. But not only culture and art. There is also sport. A very popular thing there. That is what unites people. Personally, one of the most fascinating phenomena there to me. There all differences and diversities are neutralized. We do not have that here at that level. It is more directed towards playing social games, purely for fun.”

Kesti looked at the clock.

K “Dear Rion, we will end the conversation here. We will continue in a few days, if that suits you.”

R “Of course Kesti, thank you for this pleasant conversation. Greetings Moit. Thank you once again. Thank you once again for the botra juice.”

As I was leaving Kesti’s office, a few more things that we did not mention came to my mind.

– Virteleonians have no body hair, only on the head.

– They designed and created a machine that became so intelligent that it became a threat to humanity. Unfortunately, the part about further consequences is unclear because it is located in the unscanned part of the documents.

Outside it was already dark. Waiting for transport to go home, I scanned the starry sky with my gaze. T, our Moon-satellite, of an imposing appearance, reminded me how small we Virteleonians are compared to the vastness of the Universe.

-End-