“Kepler’s Man” by Resha Damania

Summary:

Extraterrestrials from Kepler 96x are in search of planets in the goldilocks zone when they discover Earth, a lonely planet with no life.Their mission is to create hybrids and use them as labour for reasons they don’t think necessary to share with the ‘insignificant ‘hybrids, they call ‘creations’.  When the first hybrid experiment is successful in the form of a creation named Malan, they create more and more identical species and set them to begin a venture that could, in many ways, turn into a disaster.Will the hybrids be able to accomplish the strenuous task with their only resources being their limited minds, feeble bodies and a few equipment? What will happen to them if they are unable to reach their goal? If they do succeed in the mission, will they be rewarded for their services?Excerpt:Malan’s naked body was curled up on a flat, grassy surface when he opened his eyes for the first time. Everything around him appeared foggy and bright. The vivid colours hit his eyes painfully. He shut his eyelids tightly as a reflex, for his eyes could not take the glaring light from the fiery ball in the sky, which had just emerged from behind a thick cluster of white clouds. He gave it a few moments before he dared to open his eyes again. This time his vision was clearer. He could see the colours green, brown, blue and white all around him. However, he neither recognized the objects nor the colours he was looking at.Malan slowly made his way up on his two feet. His legs wobbled and gave way and he landed back on the ground on all fours. He tried getting back on his feet once more. This time he was steadier than the first. As soon as he had established balance and was sure he was not going to collapse, he took one staggering step forward, and then another. He stretched out his arms, flexed his fingers and looked down at his body in amazement. He brought his hands up to his face, touching every feature and taking his time while doing it.Just then, a loud noise from behind him made him jump. He promptly turned around to find out what the sound had been. The sudden, swift movement of his action made him trip on his feet and land on the ground for the second time in the last five minutes. By this time, he had located the source of the sound. A few feet away, someone had been monitoring him the whole time.