Us and Them

“Fuck them! They’re liars! They’re demons, not angels! They’re not natural!”

It hurt Amina’s heart to see her son’s mouth twisted into such an ugly expression by his rage.

“They’re human beings, just like us!”

“They’re NOT like us! That’s the whole point,” Andre said, pointing at the logo on his T-shirt. It featured a snake baring its fangs. Above this graphic were the letters K-O-B-R-A. Below the graphic was the phrase “Kill Or Be Replaced Altogether.”

“So, you want to kill people because they’re different from us? How is that different from what racists have been doing to people like us over the years? How can my son, a young Black man, support something that’s no different from lynching? Answer me that!”

“Mama, it’s not like that at all. Don’t you see that they’re colonizing us? You’re the one that taught me my whole life to resist colonization.”

“Colonization is when a stronger force comes in and takes over an existing culture, imposing its own as superior. That’s not what’s happening here. We asked the Titanians for help. We invited them here.” Andre smirked.

“Yeah, and there were natives on the coasts of Africa and South America who were foolish enough to meet the Europeans and lead them inland to their villages. How did that work out? How does it feel to know that you’re not only a traitor to your race, but a traitor to your species?”

“You will NOT speak to me that way in my own house!” Amina’s face was as stony as Mt. Rushmore. “I was the first human being to set foot on Titan. You didn’t seem to have any problem with that when it brought money in the house from the talk shows and the book.”

“I’ve never had any problem with the fact that you’re an astronaut, it’s just bringing those things down and letting them mess around with human DNA. That’s the problem.”

“They’re not messing around. They’re saving us. If anything, humans are the ones that have been messing around. We messed around so much that the air and the oceans are becoming poisonous. What they’re doing to our DNA is making hybrids that can breathe the air and drink the water and withstand the exposure to radiation from holes in the ozone. Human feelings and intellect packaged in a body that can survive on the corrupted Earth. It’s the way it’s always been. It’s evolution.”

“Exactly. The hybrids will survive, but humans like you and me will die. That’s what I’m fighting against.”

“You’re fighting against yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I never told you this because I figured if you didn’t know, nobody else would know, and they wouldn’t treat you different. The truth is, you’re a hybrid, Andre.”

“How could you do that to me?”

“How could I not? I brought a child into a world that is dying. I did what every other parent does everywhere. I gave you a fighting chance to survive. Don’t make me regret it.”