Redemption Installment 4

*This part is dedicated to Wendy, who I hear looks forward to these installments!*
I never thought it'd be so popular amongst my kinfolk. lol


Joanne awkwardly took a seat in what resembled a large conference room. The woman who had caused so much reverence when exiting the spacecraft paced up and down the side of the table, pausing intermittently to examine Joanne, and then resume her walk. Joanne squirmed anxiously, not really understanding what was going on, as seemed to be the custom in this place. Finally, the dark woman stopped pacing and turned her whole body to face Joanne.
“What are you called?” She asked, her voice strong and powerful.
“Joanne, Joanne Mitchell.”
The woman bowed slightly, making Joanne blush. “Do you have a man?” Assuming she meant did Joanne have a husband, Joanne shook her head. “Then in your world, one would call you, Miss Mitchell?”
“Yes,” Joanne answered. “But that’s very formal, just Joanne is-”
“Miss Mitchell,” the woman held up a hand. “I am sorry to interrupt you, but I must ask you some important questions.” Joanne nodded to show she understood, though she really didn’t. “First, do you know why you are here?”
Joanne thought for a minute. They were planning to destroy Earth, so what good was having her aboard their ship going to do? She shook her head. “I thought I was dreaming at first. But it’s all too real now.”
The dark woman nodded slightly. “I should explain who we are first, and maybe you can see why you are here for yourself.” The woman began pacing again. “We call ourselves Myantides, we are from the distant planet Grecio. My people have long studied your people out of scientific curiosity. You see,” she looked at Joanne pointedly. “Our people, though very alike in physical nature, have taken seemingly opposite paths in other ways. You for instance, are regarded as normal or inconsequential in your society,” Joanne wondered if this was supposed to be an insult. “Do you know why?”
Joanne blinked. Apparently the woman actually wanted an answer. A little embarrassed, Joanne replied, “Well, I’m young, a woman, I don’t have an important job or anything, and I’m black.”
“Yes,” the woman nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Have you noticed anything unusual about us since you have been here, besides our language,”
Joanne thought she had to be kidding. “You’re all different colors, I mean, like not just black or white, you’re different shades of green, and red and blue,”
Again, the woman nodded. “We were not born these colors though. If you were to come to our planet, you would see children the color of people on your Earth. Color is very important to us as we get older. Young teens dye themselves a light green when they come of age. As we grow and we gain power and influence in the world, we color our skin differently to signify our status. Can you think what the highest color is?”
“Blue?” Joanne answered timidly.
“Yes, the highest people in our culture are blue, or a dark shade of blue, as you can see on me. However,” the woman peered at Joanne. “In our culture, when a child is born with skin the color of yours, he or she is revered as if they are a god or goddess, and those of us who had to earn our color serve them in our own ways.” Joanne stared at the woman, not really understanding anything. “You look confused,” the woman stated. “Please, what questions do you have?”
Clearing her throat, and trying not to sound rude, Joanne asked, “Well, if every child who is born with black skin is a god or goddess, don’t you have an awful amount of people to worship and serve?”
The woman inclined her head gracefully. “You make a good point Miss Mitchell. In your Earth, children are born with skin the colors of their parents, and colors are common throughout the world. We however, do not have this, which is another reason we are so keen on studying your people. We are born with skin the color of snow, ivory, a pale sand, or the trunk of a tree, but a child with your dark skin tone is rare, and highly respected for they are sent from the goddesses, having earned their color in some other way before birth.” Joanne wondered how much these people knew about human genetics and if they even played a part in their world.
“So, I’m here because I’m black,” Joanne thought a minute. “Then why aren’t there more people in that room I was in? And why aren’t they all black?”
“You have good reason to ask this Miss Mitchell. Let me continue, and I will answer your question shortly.” A bit irritated, Joanne started to feel as if she were back in her high school biology class. “Along with skin color, gender is a great factor in our culture. Females are much more influential than males, unlike your culture in which males have dominated for many long years. Our people are always asking why your people have more respect for the pale skinned and males of your kind.”
“And I’m female and black, so I’m very important to you,” Joanne interrupted, getting a little uncomfortable with all this talk that reminded her of years of inequality and racism. “But I still don’t see why I’m here along with the others. There are males, females, whites, and blacks in there, what purpose is that?”
“That brings me to another difference in our peoples. Your people are constantly in conflict with one another. In fact, your weapons and ways of fighting have advanced quickly and much farther than your other knowledge. We watched for a long time as your people fought, killed, and rebuilt each other’s lands as if they were your own. However, a recent council meeting decided your people were becoming too dangerous and destructive amongst yourselves. We began our current operation in what you would consider the span of three years ago. It has taken us that long to get this far because we began by replacing the people we took with our own droids who would imitate those we took. We also worked slowly in the hope that your people would show some improvement in your self-destruction,” the woman’s eyes seemed sad as she spoke of this. “But we were sadly disappointed, and have continued until now. You and your comrades from Earth are here to continue our research after your planet is gone, for we are still interested in how you evolved the way you did.”
“What? You took us so you could keep studying us after our homes were destroyed?” Joanne’s face was flushing with anger. “That makes no sense. Are you going to lock us in little cages and test our blood and DNA or something? And what’s the purpose of destroying Earth when you’re so keen to study us?”
“Please calm yourself, Miss Mitchell. We want you to understand what is going on here, though it may be hard at first. We are destroying your world before you destroy each other. You and your comrades are here to start a new Earth.”