Fascinating

I take it as a compliment when people call me Spock or Data. For those of you who don't know, Spock is an alien character from a science fiction television show who is from a race of very logical beings. Data is a character from another science fiction show. He is an android and is also very logical. I like to think that I am most like Spock.

I have always been this way, even as a child. Other children would want to play make believe games, but I was the one who wanted to play chess. I was teased and bullied throughout my childhood, but it never really bothered me too much. I had my chess game and a few friends who shared my passion.

I excelled in school in the maths and sciences. I never really understood why we had to take subjects like History, Art, Music, etc. They were highly illogical and had a strong emotional component to them. I did well in them, but as soon as I didn't have to take them, I focused on the sciences where I was more comfortable.

One might assume that I am one of those soft, geeky people with glasses and no social skills. On the contrary, I can tell you. I am very athletic and along with my academic scholarship, I was offered several athletic ones. It only makes sense to keep my body healthy and fit. If I don't have my health, then I can't follow my passion, which is space.

I guess I can own the geek label, in-so-much as I like typical geeky things like science fiction, comicons, video games, etc. I just don't let them rule my life. That would be illogical. I also don't wear glasses. My vision is 20/20.

When the occasion calls for it, I am quite capable of being social. I actually enjoy going to parties and meeting new people. How else can I gain insight into human behaviour? I have actually had quite interesting conversations with people who are not logical. I don't think I'll ever understand them, but I have gained an appreciation for “the other side” of things. I think it has made me more well-rounded as a person.

It was at one of these social events that something quite remarkable happened. I was chatting with one of my fellow professors (I teach astrophysics) about black holes, when we noticed someone that we hadn't seen before.

I looked at my co-worker and asked “Do you know who that is? I have never seen her and I remember every face I see.”

“No.” He said. “I don't recognize her either. I wonder if she's a student or a professor?”

“I would know if they had hired someone. I'm on the hiring committee. I am very curious and I think I will go over and introduce myself. How else will I find out who she is and what she is doing here?” I asked.

So off I went. The unidentified woman noticed my approach and smiled. She was attractive, but not overly so, was average height and slightly slim, while being fit. I noticed all of this as I walked over to her. I returned the smile and held out my hand.

“Hello. My name is Dr. Joseph Walker, professor of Astrophysics. I don't recognize you. Are you a grad student?” I asked.

She smiled again and said “My name is Lisa Tompson and I am not a student. I am a visiting professor from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. I am here to observe your department and evaluate any potential research that our two faculties could collaborate on.”

I did not detect any accent. In fact, she appeared to have no accent at all. I could usually pinpoint within twenty miles, where a person was born. In fact, the more I spoke with her, the more uneasy I felt. This was very unusual for me. Emotions are difficult for me to navigate and I wasn't sure what to do. She was in every way that I could see, perfect. Her skin was flawless, her features were perfectly symmetrical, she laughed in all the right places during the conversation and unlike any professor I know, she did not offer her own opinions or hypotheses on anything.

By this point, I was starting to panic. What or who was she? I had to get out of there. She must have noticed my discomfort as she asked me if I was feeling alright.

“You look pale and your breathing rate has increased. I'm certain that if I checked, your pulse would be quick as well.” She said.

She reached for my wrist and I dropped my glass and ran. I didn't look back, I had never been so frightened in my entire life. When I finally stopped running, I had to take a look around to see where I was. This was so unlike me. I never panicked. I never ran away from conflict. I never went anywhere without planning my route. What was happening to me?

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I flung myself around, only to find Dr. Tompson! She wasn't winded at all. Her hair was perfect. I looked around for a care, but didn't see anything. I was speechless and thought that this was probably when and where I was going to die. My whole life flashed before my eyes and I wept. What a waste my life had been. I never took chances. I never tried new things. I was boring and alone. I would die and no one would care. I looked at her and prepared myself.

“Why are you crying? It has taken me a long time to get here so that I can talk to you. Humans are so emotional. I was hoping that you would be different.” She said.

“Wait. What? You're not going to kill me? What do you mean humans?” I blubbered.

“Kill you? No. I want to talk to you.” She replied.

As it happens, there is a coffee shop near where I had stopped. We went in and sat a secluded table. She did most of the talking while I sat and stared at her, incredulous. At first, I thought she was going to tell me that she was an alien. As it turns out, she is an elf. An honest-to-goodness “Lord of the Rings” elf. We talked for hours and exchanged ideas and scientific knowledge.

She had come to me first (they had been following my career and had deemed me logical enough), to judge how realistic it would be for elves to reveal themselves to humanity. By my initial reaction, we both decided that it would be a very bad idea. Instead, she gave all the knowledge I would need to reverse climate change. It was affecting them as well and they were concerned that if it got much worse, they would have no choice but to intervene.

L'Arnai (her real name), assured me that if they found it necessary to impose their solutions on us that it would not go well for us. I believed her and promised that I would do my best to convince people that the ideas would work. I hope I can. The future of humanity depends on it.