Echo

to assist him.
    It was incomprehensible to believe the blood thirsty human Brothers would reject the very gifts meant to rescue them and justify the complex energy expended long ago on their behalf. But they had; making the unfortunate choice that pronounced their death sentence. She wondered if the humans had rejected Sister’s new tail. The humans must realize by now that a tail is nothing new to their species. The success of the mission demanded complex alterations of their physical and biological systems. It’s a good thing only the tail manifested, not the antlers. That would have been a disaster.
    Determination coursed through her solar veins. Her job rested on her ability to insure the Elder’s grand plan, offering salvation for both species, not failure. Success would insure the redemption from the Womb that minions sought for hundreds of thousands of years. Perhaps the humans need a different type of manifestation. She would have to ponder. If she could alter a few of her own cells and enzymes, a solution might be available. Maybe the Womb would help her. But her intention would never include getting rid of her own beautiful tail. The engineering for that would be too complex to attempt without help. She felt comforted by her tail; even as she knew it had a life of its own.
    She curiously wondered why her Brother did not try to contact her. She would have been willing to complete the mission in his stead. As things stood, now that Brother had expired, her honor (and genetic programming) obligated her to eventually complete the mission for him anyway.
    But she remained hesitant. Over the last century she observed the savage violence this species perpetrated on itself. She understood why the Womb authorized the mission. And just like the Womb, she now saw little reason to save this species. She suspected the Elders truly did make a tragic mistake. They offered excuse after excuse for this life form, hoping evolution would tame them. Now, influence from the Elders no longer a factor, the Womb passed judgment, ordering the mission. But the possibility existed her decision might abet an error. She decided to take her time. This planet needed much more observation; direct observation. She hoped the Womb would allow her the time; if she could just find, The One.
    It would truly be a tragedy if she decided to let this species self-destruct, along with Brother’s newly obtained Elder state now tragically lost. What a surprising discovery that was. Her species said goodbye to Elders long ago. In anger for their hubris, the Womb altered the minion’s ability to become Elders after discovering their fateful mistake, forever preventing healing of humans but not other life forms. Now, minion expiration came thru old age or the birth process. It appears for some reason, Brother’s own genetic instructions, meant to prevent the conversion, failed. She could not know for sure without a lab at her disposal. Her mind, distracted by the biology, pondered the complexity of their enzymes.
    She wondered if she could achieve that lofty state of Elder herself. Had she already? She easily surpassed her normal life span long ago. She would never know until the first opportunity to heal a Brother or Sister presented itself. Yet she refused to try until she decided this species deserved it. As of yet, her doubts remained strong.
    She could stay in the Hive as long as it took but she was in doubt as to the amount of time the Womb would allow her. She wanted to take her time until she received a sign of worthiness. But she was terribly lonely. Her species thrived with close contact. They lived in communal groups; hives. Similar to what was called families here on Earth, only much larger. She noticed that even most of the other species of this planet lived in families. Of course, she expected human life on this planet to have evolved similar habits. Sighing, she worried about the damage perpetual isolation would do to her mental state.
    The Hive, under the supervision of the Womb would always take care of all needs a carbon based life form required to survive; irrespective of their metabolisms. The Womb, being indestructible, easily accomplished all tasks in the pursuit of creating life. But she remained alone, unable to stop the toll her isolation undeniably looked to extract. Surely, her own iridescent eyes dimmed. Maybe the time to do something about her dilemma neared.
    The creature planned to take an excursion to the surface