The Others

What if our world, without our awareness, was plucked from our galaxy like an apple, reduced to a ridiculously small size, and stuffed in an artificial environment within a laboratory of highly advanced species from a parallel reality?

And what if one day, some young rebel from that super-advanced species reveals herself to us?

This story will delve into the impacts of such an event.

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"Oh my god, mom! I can't believe you're finally letting me see this highly clastified project of yours!" Nunu said as she spun around on her tip-toes, waves of chestnut hair flying wildly. She almost stumbled but quickly caught herself. "Oops! Silly me." She laughed.

"Highly classified project, dear." You should pay closer attention during your grammar lessons at school." Divani walked over to her 12-year-old daughter with a hair tie and a brush in hand. "Now, turn around so I can fix your hair."

"With your hands?" Nunu asked.

"With my hands. Now, stand still if you don't want me to mess things up."

"Yes, madam!" Nunu saluted and spun around, standing at attention so her mother could start brushing through her lengthy chestnut locks.

"Ouch! That hurts! What is that thing?" Nunu whined. "And why can't I use the stylebot?"

"It's called a brush. Now stand still." Divani said.

"It's a torture device, is what it is. Ouch!" Nunu continued to whine as her mother untangled the knots in her hair with the brush.

Eight years ago, Divani Bishop, Nunu's mother, made it to the position of lead astrophysicist at ICON Interstellar Communication and Observation Network, the most prominent institute for finding extraterrestrial intelligence in space.

Thanks to a significant breakthrough in quantum entanglement and particle physics, Divani and her team achieved the unthinkable: creating a breach in the fabric of the universe. This allowed them to catch a glimpse into a parallel reality that existed alongside their own yet remained hidden from them until now.

While observing this alternate reality, they discovered a planet that bore striking similarities to their own and was home to intelligent extraterrestrial beings. These beings looked as good as identical to them and referred to themselves as humans, although they seemed far less advanced, still grappling with diseases and wars as they stood on the brink of annihilating themselves.

Despite these barbaric tendencies of these self-declared civilized species, the humans, Divani had to admit that their culture was much more filled with colors than theirs.

While Divani's people were technologically advanced, their society lacked color and creativity. These humans, on the other hand, expressed themselves through various forms of art, music, and literature with a high level of skill and imagination.

To conduct a more thorough analysis, Divani and her team went against ethical principles by removing the entire planet Earth, as the humans called it, from its native galaxy as if it were an apple on a tree. Using advanced technology, they reduced the planet to handheld size and placed it in an artificial environment that mimicked their galaxy, but was in reality nothing more than a transparent box in a laboratory.

Unaware that their whole planet was abducted and placed in a hyper-modern aquarium by alien species from another reality they could never hope to understand, the humans kept fighting wars and diseases and killing themselves and their home planet just like they always did. While all the while their planet orbited among celestial bodies they thought they knew, but were in fact artificially fabricated.

This forbidden project, baptized as "The Others," was highly classified, and only a select few individuals knew about it. Not even the highest authority of their species was aware of its existence.

This was four years ago, and for at least as long, Nunu kept pestering her mother to show her this highly secret project or give her some details about it.

Divani kept discrete and kept her mouth shut until she could not take it anymore when Nunu, on her 12th birthday, threatened to shout to anyone who would listen that the highly respected and decent Dr. Divani Bishop liked to walk around naked on Sunday mornings in their house.

"There," Divani added the final touch to her daughter's chestnut hair, a double bubble braid. She looked pridefully at her daughter's pretty face as she observed her work. Nunu excitedly rushed over to the holographic display to see herself.

"Rad!" Nunu said as she admired the 3D image of herself from all angles.

"I've never seen anything like it, Mom. This is a way better hairdo than what that boring stylebot spills out. Where did you learn this?"

Divani's face lit up with a knowing smile. "A true magician never reveals her secrets."

As she observed the humans, without them knowing it, Divani was captivated by their intricate sense of fashion. In particular, their hairstyles caught her attention; even though they were created by hand rather than machines, they were still works of art.

Fortunately, Divani and her people never had to stress about their hairdos. Their stylebot could fix any hair mishaps in mere seconds. However, the selection of hairstyles was limited and dull, nothing compared to what she saw humans sporting.

Divani was captivated by it and made a conscious effort to learn, even if it meant using primitive tools like brushes and combs. She chose to learn in the traditional manner, practicing on dolls. And she felt rather proud when she observed her daughter's hair.

"Okay, can we go now?" Nunu said. For a moment, she had been captivated by her new hairstyle, but now she was more than ready to see the secret project her mother had been working on for years.

"Certainly!" Divani said. Nunu wasted no time and headed towards the teleportation device until her mother's hand landed on her shoulder.

"But first." Divani turned her around so she could face her. "Some ground rules."

Nunu raised an eyebrow. "Ground rules? You sound like my teacher."

"Listen." Divani crouched down to be at eye level with her daughter, gently holding her cheeks in her warm hands. "What I'm about to show you is highly classified, my dear. Only a select few know about it, which is why I need you to make a sacred oath not to tell anyone."

"Do I have to put my hand on my heart?" Nunu asked.

"Mmm," Divani nodded. "And swear on my grave that–"

"But you're not dead?"

"Not yet, no. But when I do pass, and my body is laid to rest in a grave, if you have broken your oath, then it will be desecrated. Do you want to defile the final resting place of your mother?"

Nunu shook her head earnestly.

"Then repeat after me…"

"Can we go now?" Nunu asked after taking the oath with her hand on her heart.

"Not yet. I also need you to promise that when we reach the laboratory, you will listen to my instructions and not touch anything until I give permission," Divani said.

"Do I have to take another oath?" Nunu asked.

Divani shook her head. "No need, darling. A promise will suffice,"

"Then I solemnly swear to you, Mom, that I won't touch anything and will follow your instructions," Nunu said while holding crossed fingers behind her back.

Divani's smile widened as she affectionately stroked her daughter's cheek. "That's my good girl. Now, let's be on our way."

After using the teleport device in their home, Divani and Nunu stood before a looming grey structure with spherical towers and translucent white circles embedded in its walls that functioned as windows beneath a cloudless blue sky. Upon entering the hallway, Divani and Nunu were greeted by a holographic figure. "Good day, Dr. Bishop and young Miss Bishop. How are you today?"

"Hey there, Clarence!" Nunu greeted the hologram with a grin. "Have you been a good boy?"

"As always, Miss Bishop. As always." The holographic figure answered.

As Divani and her daughter entered the facility, unseen sensors detected their presence and triggered a neural interface system. It scanned their brainwave patterns and neural signals, comparing them to the database to confirm their access privileges. Divani had received special permission from her supervisor for her daughter to enter certain areas of the facility. However, the highly confidential area remained strictly off-limits for Nunu.

Thankfully, Divani had a friend skilled in neural engineering techniques, allowing them to deceive the system. As soon as Divani gave the signal, Nunu activated a concealed external device that would overwrite her own brainwave patterns and neural signals with those of one of Divani's colleagues who had clearance to access this area.

"We're in!" Nunu's pretty face lit up with a smile as she rubbed her hands.

She saw the relief on her mother's face when they entered the restricted area where a secret was kept that only a few individuals from their widespread species, throughout several planets, knew about.

"Yes, we are dear. Now, remember what I said." Divani looked sternly at her daughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Nunu said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'll follow your every lead. Now, please, show me this big secret of yours because I'm dying to see it." She eagerly scanned the room, her head darting from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of this much-talked-about secret.

Divani smiled. "Well, it's not exactly a big secret, my dear. In fact, It could fit comfortably in the palm of your hand."

"In my hand?" Nunu gaped dumbfounded at her cupped hand. She couldn't believe that something so small could possibly be as amazing as she had hoped.

"This way, sweety," Divani ushered her daughter through a door that simply dematerialized when they approached it.

Nunu let out a gasp of amazement as they entered the laboratory.