Chapter 1: Beginnings

Before Brian was even born, the unthinkable happened. Aliens abducted his mother, Molly Westwood. It happened one night; they took her in the dark and never returned. There were no clues, no trace of where she had gone.

Her alien abductors came from a race that would sometimes gather samples from more primitive, non space-faring races for study. The alternatives would be to land on a world and make direct contact, or to blend in with the subjects in a covert operation, both of which involve significant risks. Primitives are rife with superstition and fear that renders them far too dangerous for direct contact, especially in numbers. The standard operating procedure is to bring back isolated samples, and learn from them.

Her selection was quite arbitrary. She lived alone in a fairly isolated place, and others would not see her abduction and raise alarm or otherwise provoke the indigenous population. Earth was a closed world to all space-faring races, except for the occasional scientific study. Exposure to the humans was prohibited, and ever since they reached out with space probes, the moon and other planets within the sol system were off limits too.

The aliens took Molly back in a space cruiser to their home world, to live there the rest of her life as their guest. They couldn’t return her to Earth, because they’d contaminated her with knowledge of her hosts and their more advanced technology. They’d not risk her disturbing the status quo back on Earth. A missing person is one thing, but one that later reappears with knowledge of alien abduction would be too much. To tamper with her memory was a risky prospect, usually resulting in little more than a vegetable. So for Molly, the journey to their home world was a one-way trip.

It took a few weeks aboard the space cruiser to get to their home world, during which they confined Molly to her quarters. The aliens provided for her basic needs, but otherwise left her alone. She was the subject of a study into primitive species, which meant that she wasn’t to be disturbed. The protocol for transferring samples was to limit interactions with the sample that could contaminate and invalidate the study. After an uneventful journey, the space cruiser arrived at its destination, and they escorted Molly to living quarters on the planet which was her new home.

Tians studied their subjects through observation and interaction. They’d keep Molly as their guest for the rest of her life, while they learned about humans. As a single subject, she posed little risk to the Tians.

The place that was provided for Molly was nicer than her former home, but for her it was still a prison. There was no lock on the door, and she was free to go out and explore. But being alone in an alien world, she felt little desire to venture out. They observed her both directly and indirectly as she went about her new life. The aliens, known as Tians (pronounced Tee-ans), would study her daily. She felt a like an exhibit in a zoo.

Tians were mostly peaceful, and they welcomed visitors from other star-faring races for trade and other mutual benefits.

Her abduction was part of the equivalent of an anthropology experiment conducted by the Tian science academy.

She was the only human, and one of a few specimens from primitive races, collected for study, although she met no other subjects. It sounded good if you were the ones doing the studying, but not much fun if you were the subject.

Tians looked roughly human, but without hair and shorter. Their skin was pale, and they wore clothing that was mostly uniform or plain in design.

Their mannerisms were cold and reserved. Or at least that’s what Molly thought. The Tian scientists were cautious not to contaminate the suspect with their own communication, so they remained distant. The unfortunate result was a reinforcement of the feeling of isolation she felt.

One thing Molly’s abductors had not planned for was the birth of her son, Brian, who arrived about six months after her arrival. He was an unexpected bonus for the Tian scientists. He provided both another human to study, and much needed human company for his mother.

The birth went smoothly. Molly was glad to have her son, but sad they would never see his father.

Molly bonded with the little bundle of joy, determined to raise him as best she could in this alien prison. She named him Brian, after her grandfather.

Brian learned both about Earth and being human from his mother. Once he was old enough to venture outside, he learned of the world of his birth, known as Tian Prime. Molly taught her son to speak English, and she tried to teach him reading and writing. But she had no Earth books to read and only she could read his writing. Eventually she gave up, glad she at least had someone to talk with in English.

Unknown to Molly, the Tian scientists had a collection of books and documents they’d gathered for their studies of Earth. They also had many hours of TV and radio broadcasts. She was unaware of them, and the scientists never thought to offer.

The Tians provided for Molly and Brian’s needs, but with things of Tian origin. Things like furniture, utensils, clothing, and toys. To Brian it was all quite normal, as he grew up with a human mother and surrounded by alien items.

A good thing of note, Brian’s birth on Tian Prime earned him a full Tian citizenship, complete with an identification chip, which was encoded and embedded in his arm. He was perhaps the first ever citizen who wasn’t of the Tian race. At least he never met another like him.