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“Come on Stan!” Xeno yelled rushing through the bushes. “We’re going to be late!” The small boy yells pulling along his friend by the wrist.
“Where are we going exactly?” Stan asked with the branches Xeno pushed back hitting him.
“To watch the Nasa launch of course!” Xeno cheered.
Stan should have known really. Xeno had told his mother that they were going to the dollar store, but Stan should have known Xeno would drag him someplace else. The two middle school kids had been friends since childhood after Xeno and Stan got put in a pattern assignment together. At first, Stan, like the rest of his classmates, was turned off by Xeno’s know it all attitude but it started to grow on Stan. Even Xeno rambling around space and science, Stan would listen to even if he didn’t get it.
“Ok, we made it!” Xeno cheered.
They were on a cliff that was overlooking a bunch of people below.
“Xeno why didn’t we just go where everyone else is?” Stan asked, brushing his shirt.
“This is going to sound silly so don’t laugh,” Xeno mumbled “I wanted to be higher up so feel high up like the rocket,”
Stan stared at his friend. Ya, that did sound a bit silly but Stan kinda understood. Nasa was one of the places Xeno would always talk about in his ramblings. He clearly valued this place despite never being in it. Being in his home city must have also helped Xeno's obsession.
“Ok, what are they launching today?” Stan asked.
“Just a rover this time but still,” Xeno’s eyes were glued on the rocket. “That amount of planning and aerospace science that went into that rocket alone is elegant,”
“Littertal rocket science?” Stan teased.
Normally Xeno would lightly push him for making that joke but Xeno laughed along.
“Yes, Stan, literal rocket science,” Xeno smiled up at his friend.
That damned smile got Stan. The pure joy in Xeno’s smile was something Stan wishes he saw more of. Between spending most of his time studying and the teasing at school Xeno’s smile was becoming rarer. They would tease Xeno about how smart he was and how “His only friend was a girly boy,”. It was obvious they were just jealous of how smart Xeno was and was letting their self anger out on Xeno. Just the amount of self hate those bastards let out on Xeno was infuriating to Stan. He would always try to step in but Xeno stopped him saying how it didn’t bother him. A lie.
“Hey, Stan are you ok?” Xeno asked.
“Ya just think about something,” Stan replied.
The crowd below started to cheer. The rocket was getting ready to blast off. Xeno’s attention was back on the rocket. A loud countdown could be heard over the speakers. A big gust of wind almost knocked Stan back. The shuttle started to make its way off the ground. Xeno had his arms in front of his face trying to block the wind. When the wind eased Xeno looked up at the subtle already so high up. It was touching the clouds and fading in with the sky.
“So Xeno, planning on being an astronaut?” Stanley asked
“Nope,” Xeno plainly put, “While I do admit being an astronaut is an honorable job I much rather be the people on the ground getting the shuttle into space. That is truly elegant,”
Over the years of their friendship, Stan learned what Xeno considered elegant and what was not. Things that were elegant included science, advancing science, using science, things like that. What was not elegant was people stopping the progress of science.
“Science is there to help people and only that,” Xeno would say.
That had been Xeno’s motto since the passing of his grandma to cancer. Xeno was a complete wreck after that. He even pushed Stan away. His small interest in how everyday things work turned into a blown possible career. Xeno studied everything he could about science. He wanted to advance science so no one had to die unnecessarily. It was a noble goal but- This was not a noble world they lived in.
High school was mostly the same but with a few differences. Xeno still got teased and picked on and Stan would tell them to knock it off. Xeno was still a massive nerd who was good at school but Stan on the other hand was not doing so well. He started to pick up a smoking habit to deal with his mother’s constant yelling about his grades. Xeno continually expressed he hated Stan’s new habit and how the cigarettes were killing him, but after a while, Xeno stopped lecturing him about it. Stan was on the school’s track team and Xeno became the leader of the science club only after being in it for a year. Their 3rd year was the hardest. A bunch of tests and thinking about your future was not Stans thing, but Xeno had it all planned out. He was going to work at Nasa.
“Stan are you sure?” Xeno asked his friends on their walk home one afternoon.
“My mind is made up Xeno,” Stan groaned.
“I know but the military…,” Xeno trailed off showing his clear disdain for the idea.
“Look Xeno, I am not as smart as you and clearly I am not getting into any college,” Stan reminded him.
“Community college is always a-,” Xeno started.
Stan flicked the side on Xeno’s head. “Nope,”
It was quiet for a few moments after that conversation.
“Hey Xeno, can I crash at your place tonight?” Stan asked.
“You and your mom get into another fight?” Xeno questioned.
“Yea,”
“Fine but no smoking in my house got it?” Xeno demanded.
“Fine,” Stan complied.
Stan’s home was nowhere as nice as Xeno’s. Two stories, clean, always food on the table, a caring family.
“Oh hello there Stan!” Xeno’s mom sweetly said. “I am guessing you’re staying the night again?”
“Yes ma’ ma,” Stan replied “Sorry if I am a bother,”
“Hmm? Oh no, it’s nothing. I’ll order you two a pizza,” Xeno’s mom replied.
Xeno’s mom was a lot nicer than Stan’s. Always greeted him so kindly. Stan and Xeno headed up to Xeno’s room. It was decorated wall to walk with science posters and newspapers from some science articles. Stan pulled out the sleeping bag from under the bed and rolled it out. Another night of goofing off while Xeno tried to do his homework. On a Friday too!? Xeno would go off small tangents about something he read in his workbook and tell Stan about it. Despite Stans’s plain answers he was trying to listen to his friend while he was playing video games. That was how the night went for the two. It was the same routine every sleepover the two had. Around 1 am the two called it a night. Stan laid down in his sleeping bag while Xeno was in his bed. Stan thought he was asleep when,
“Hey, Stan,” Xeno’s voice mumbled. “Are you really planning on going to the military?”
“Ya, why?” Stan asked, a bit defensive.
“I just don’t want you to go that’s all,” Xeno huffed.
“I told you I made up my mind Xeno geez,” Stan remind him
“I know that,” Xeno replied, raising his voice a tad. “But-”
Quiet again. “But?”
“If you go you won’t be here with me anymore,” Xeno hesitated.
That was something Stan did have to think of when he was thinking of joining. He was going to be gone from his best friend for god knows how long.
“I know joining is a brave thing and heroic thing to do but still- I just can’t stop thinking about it. You’ve always been there, and to all of a sudden learn, you’ll be somewhere else. I don’t know, makes me kinda sad you know?”
Xeno’s words stung. It was the full-hearted truth. Joining the military did mean leaving Xeno behind.
“Damn it Xeno, why you’d got to make me reconsider my choices like that,” Stan sighed sitting up.
Stan crawled into Xeno’s bed right next to him. Xeno’s back was still to him.
“Hey come on Xeno,” Stan urged. “I am not going to die and leave you alone,”
“That’s what grandma said,”
“What?”
“Grandma, before she died she said she wouldn’t leave me..,” Xeno’s voice started to hiccup. “She promised me,”
Oh, so that was it huh?
“Xeno listen to me. I am not going to die because I know I will have you waiting for me and besides I am sure by then you’ll find some miracle drug to revive me even if I do,”
Xeno was still quiet but Stan felt Xeno hand reach for him.
“You’re going to make sure no one dies unnecessarily right? You and you’re nerdy science,”
Xeno turned to face Stan. Xeno still couldn’t look Stan in the eyes. Stan understood. The passing of his grandma was something hard for Xeno to remember.
“It’s ok. As long as you’re here waiting for me I ain’t dying,”
Xeno didn’t manage to say anything. He nodded his head. Stan lifted up the covers between the two and Xeno leaned into Stan’s chest.
“I am going to hold you to that you know?”
“I know,” Stan replied letting his arm drop around Xeno.
And that’s’ what happened. Xeno went to college while Stan went to go serve. Stan visited places he never thought he’d be able to see. His time in the military was hard especially with all the training and living conditions varying from base to base. Anytime he could he would check up on Xeno back in Houston to see how he was holding up. Xeno was so excited last he had called. He landed an internship at Nasa.
“Stan I still can’t believe it!” Xeno excitedly shouted. “When you come back I’m going telling you all about it!” Xeno talked like it was his own heaven on earth.
Xeno was excited. He was happy over the phone. No malice or contempt in his words. It was like how Xeno was when they watched the shuttle launch, but of course, there was no heaven on earth for the two.
Stan was able to go back to Houston. He hadn’t heard much from Xeno. He told Xeno about him being able to come back to his hometown for a bit. On the plane ride back to Houston he was excited to see Xeno after such a long time. When the plane landed and Stan got off there was Xeno waiting for him. The doctor smiled when he saw Stan.
“Hey you, I thought you’d had work,” Stan jeered. “Skipping are we?”
“I wouldn’t call it skipping, just having a small break that’s all,” Xeno brushed off the question.
“Ya ya either way I am glad,” Stanley said
“Agreed, now come on let’s go get your bags,”
Xeno told ahold of Stan’s hand as they made their way through the airport. Stan and Xeno never really defined their relationship. They just called each other their soulmate. One soul in two bodies, but the other part of Stan’s soul seemed different… On the cab ride back to Xeno’s apartment was something Stan noticed. Xeno’s resting was now a slightly displeased frown instead of a normally plain stare. When they reached Xeno’s apartment it wasn’t a wreck but papers were scattered about.
“Sorry about all this. Haven’t had time to clean,” Xeno explained.
Something was definitely different with Xeno. The way he talked was more direct. Not that was a bad thing but it was something that stood out to Stan. There was also something…
“Xeno,” Stan called
Xeno turned around. There it was. Xeno’s eyebags had gotten worse. His eyes looked really heavy as well. Like he was fighting to stay awake.
“You've been getting sleep? At all?” Stan asked.
“What kind of question is that Stan?” Xeno asked a bit of bitterness to it.
“Your eye bags,” Stan pointed out.
“Stanley I am really not in the mood for your games,”
Stan-ely? Stan almost didn’t recognize that was his name coming out of Xeno’s mouth.
“Hey what happened to you? When’d you become all serious?” Stan questioned a bit on edge now.
“I’ve always been serious Stan,” Xeno replied “Just get unpacked, please. I have a call I need to attend,”
“Sure,” was what Stan was able to say.
Xeno walked into what seemed like his office. Stan was ready to be called his full first name. Not by Xeno like that. What Stan was also not accepting was the outburst from Xeno’s office.
“How many times do I! Yes, I am telling you they are alive and if we don’t do something we might- No, I know what I am talking about so listen they are alive. Their brains are active! This is urgent! I mean People’s lives are possibly endangered. We have to tell the public or else!”
Xeno’s yelling stopped and just became incoherent groaning.
“Xeno what the Hell was that about?” Stan asked walking in.
“They’re just like everyone else. Inelegant and brutish. The only thing that should matter is the science,” Xeno fumed. “But they’re not listening to me!” Xeno exaggerated each word. Xeno showed Stanely a stone bird.
“This bird is alive. I know it is. I had some scans run on it and its brain is still functioning,” Xeno explained as he pulled out one of the papers from the many stacks.
“So why not get it out?” Stan asked.
Xeno pointed to another bird but this time it was cracked in half. “I tried but once I did the bird was died,”
Stan understood what Xeno was saying but there was no way that was real.
“They keep telling me my work on his must be classified,” Xeno complained. “But this has to reach the public. They are having a meeting in a week weeks with world leaders looking into this. I am going to listen to what they have to say and then I am going to go to a news station and tell them all about this anonymously,”
“Won’t you lose your job if they find out?” Stan pointed out.
“Science is elegant Stan and people who get in the way are not. This new weapon would endanger people and yet they want me to keep it classified,”
It was a different approach but Xeno was still sticking to his policy of he wasn’t going to let anyone die unnecessarily, and honestly, Stan was behind him on this.
Stan’s elite unit got called to some job watching some tech expo at night. Stan knew Xeno would be there. Stan still couldn’t stop thinking about how much Xeno had changed besides one thing he was adamant about. Science was elegant and whoever gets in his way was not. Stan decides to light a cigarette to relax more. Something about this whole thing wasn’t quite adding up. If this was some small Expo why was Stan’s elite unit called in? Xeno took another one of those stone birds in his hand and lifted it up.
“Dr. Xeno! That’s still classified. Please not out in the open like this,” Xeno’s superior urged him.
“Give it a rest. After tomorrow‘s meeting of experts, The world is bound to learn through leaks,” Xeno pointed out
“Using glass wool soaked in nitric acid as a terminal I measured voltage with a potentiometer and-,”
“Cool story Xeno- Skip to the point will ya?” Stan groaned.
Stan placed down the same paper he had shown Stan a while on the table.
“What is all that?”
“The slightest electrical signal caused by mental activity and nothing more,” Xeno explained with a grin “These are brain waves. Elegant wouldn’t you say? Yes, the stone statue is alive! Most of the specimens I've analyzed are in a state of sleep their brain waves fade, but this particular swallow is still awake and conscious,”
“So things hit by this weapon have a chance of surviving if they force themselves to stay awake?” Stan claimed.
Stan was still looking at the sallow when the white lighting took on a hue of light green
“What’s that light?!”
Stan saw his unit in front of his turn to stone.
“Must be! Take cover and get behind something!” Stan screamed as loudly as he could. “There's probably no dodging the purification light but the real fight begins afterward! Don’t let your minds fade!” Stan pushed Xeno onto the ground and placed his hand on his cheek as Stan needled down next to him.
It was dark. Incredibly dark. Stan did his best to try and move but it felt like something was pushing him back from moving. He couldn’t yell for help. He could only blink his eyes. Stan had no idea how long he’d be like his but no matter what he would not let him mind fade.
“As long as you’re here waiting for me I ain’t dying,”
No matter how long!
“Science is there to help people,” Xeno told Stan “No matter how! Yes, none can threaten us now! With my science and my childhood best friend Stanely’s proficiency with firearms I shall lead this new world as its unquestioned ruler. I believe we can do it. Isn’t that right Stan?”
“Yeah, we can,”