Gita and Her War with the Aliens: Invaders from Planet Zoven, #1

By VIJAY M.R., NITIN SRINIVAS and LIZZY JOSEPH

The first part of 

Invaders from Planet Zoven

 

Welcome and enjoy our book that could be classified as a work of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action & Adventure. The book is a wonderful getaway for you to spend your leisure time in a stress-free and memorable manner. 

 

The book features the main protagonist Gita, who is born as one of the septuplets in an ordinary family on Planet Earth in the 9th century CE. However, she and her six siblings exhibit extraordinary supernatural powers -- like the ability to fly like eagles, right from the day of birth.

 

Gawwaz, the tyrannical emperor of a distant green planet, called "Zoven", comes to know about a secret in the birth of Gita and her siblings, challenging his authority. Infuriated, he decides to wipe out Gita and her entire family.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Gita and her father befriend a benevolent King Sundaran, thanks to a chance encounter. 

 

Gawwaz sends his soldiers to murder Gita and her family. Gita's family mentor Neru intervenes, but he is not able to save Gita's mother, who is mercilessly killed by Gawwaz's guardsmen. Gita's father is arrested by them and taken to Planet Zoven and put in a prison there.

 

Having lost her mother permanently and seeing her father getting arrested right in front of her eyes, Gita develops a deep sense of revenge on the perpetrators.

 

As Gita and her siblings grow, Neru imparts expert training to the septuplets on various skills like wielding a mace, handling swords and daggers, shooting arrows, horse riding etc. with which Gita wins King Sundaran's deep trust in due course.

 

Planet Zoven's Emperor Gawwaz is known for his military prowess and ruthlessness in annexing planets to establish his supremacy. The inhabitants of Planet Zoven are highly advanced by several centuries, compared to their counterparts on Earth, and hence consider themselves as invincible.

 

When Gita is in her twenties, Gawwaz gets forced by the circumstances and sets his strategic eyes on Sundaran's Kingdom on Planet Earth. He decides to expand his authority from there, to all of Earth. King Sundaran is now beset with the challenge of not only safeguarding his kingdom but also with the formidable task of protecting the entire Planet Earth from Gawwaz's evil invasion plans. 

 

Gita takes on that stupendous task with her clever strategies and leads Sundaran. She has already developed an aggressive vengeful attitude towards Gawwaz, burning like a fire in her mind since childhood. She learns in due course that her enemies are in fact blessed with immortality. Not just that, they also possess the ability to freely and seamlessly change into three forms -- eagle, fish and tortoise.

 

How then does she confront this formidable challenge, with the help of King Sundaran and his army, forms the remainder of the story. 

 

You will definitely enjoy our story with twists and turns.

• Language: English
• Publisher: VIJAY M.R.
• Release date: Feb 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393154259

Book preview

Invaders from Planet Zoven

Part 1

WELCOME AND ENJOY OUR book that could be classified as a work of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action & Adventure. The book is a wonderful getaway for you to spend your leisure time in a stress-free and memorable manner. 

The book features the main protagonist Gita, who is born as one of the septuplets in an ordinary family on Planet Earth in the 9th century CE. However, she and her six siblings exhibit extraordinary supernatural powers—like the ability to fly like eagles, right from the day of birth.

Gawwaz, the tyrannical emperor of a distant green planet, called Zoven, comes to know about a secret in the birth of Gita and her siblings, challenging his authority. Infuriated, he decides to wipe out Gita and her entire family.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Gita and her father befriend a benevolent King Sundaran, thanks to a chance encounter. 

Gawwaz sends his soldiers to murder Gita and her family. Gita's family mentor Neru intervenes, but he is not able to save Gita’s mother, who is mercilessly killed by Gawwaz’s guardsmen. Gita’s father is arrested by them and taken to Planet Zoven and put in a prison there. 

Having lost her mother permanently and seeing her father getting arrested right in front of her eyes, Gita develops a deep sense of revenge on the perpetrators. 

As Gita and her siblings grow, Neru imparts expert training to the septuplets on various skills like wielding a mace, handling swords and daggers, shooting arrows, horse riding etc. with which Gita wins King Sundaran's deep trust in due course.

Planet Zoven’s Emperor Gawwaz is known for his military prowess and ruthlessness in annexing planets to establish his supremacy. The inhabitants of Planet Zoven are highly advanced by several centuries, compared to their counterparts on Earth, and hence consider themselves as invincible.

When Gita is in her twenties, Gawwaz gets forced by the circumstances and sets his strategic eyes on Sundaran's Kingdom on Planet Earth. He decides to expand his authority from there, to all of Earth. King Sundaran is now beset with the challenge of not only safeguarding his kingdom but also with the formidable task of protecting the entire Planet Earth from Gawwaz's evil invasion plans. 

Gita takes on that stupendous task with her clever strategies and leads Sundaran. She has already developed an aggressive vengeful attitude towards Gawwaz, burning like a fire in her mind since childhood. She learns in due course that her enemies are in fact blessed with immortality. Not just that, they also possess the ability to freely and seamlessly change into three forms—eagle, fish and tortoise. 

How then does she confront this formidable challenge, with the help of King Sundaran and his army, forms the remainder of the story. 

You will definitely enjoy our story with twists and turns.

Dedication

To my daughter Roshini... you continue to live in our hearts forever.

&

In the fond memory of:

M.R. Rajagopalan, John Martin, R. Jagannathan, R. Chengamalam, R. Aravamudhan, Susan Varghese

Acknowledgements

WHILE EMBARKING ON this journey of writing a book, I realized the magnitude of various detailed activities starting with coherently organizing the manuscript. The book would not have taken this shape without the sincere, dedicated and untiring effort put forth by my co-authors Nitin Srinivas and Lizzy Joseph, beyond their long working hours. Nitin’s infectious enthusiasm and intelligent questions got me fully involved in animated, thoughtful and enjoyable discussions about the story and the narrative style. Lizzy’s expertise to correct the grammatical and structural flaws in the manuscript and her attention to detail immensely helped in trying to bring out a good product.

My sincere thanks also to all the Beta Readers, friends and family members who have helped me in this endeavour—Vaijayanthi Vijayasarathi, Roshan Vijayasarathi, Vedavalli Rajagopalan, R Gurumoorthy, Dr Brindha Arulmozhichelven, Chandrakala S, Sowjanya Y, Aishwarya Sai Ramesh, Sandhya Venkatesan, Aarav Nitin, Andrew Vardhan, Kruthi Sharma, Nirupa Raghavan, Srinidhi Srinivasan, Renuka Venkatraman and Anan Venkatraman.

Their contributions have indeed helped me vastly, to bring out this book.

Lastly, thanks to you, the reader, from the bottom of my heart, for picking up a copy of this book, the first part of a series—Invaders from Planet Zoven.

Reviews by Celebrities

AMAZING NARRATIVE AND good thriller, highly imaginative and fast-paced, the authors have seamlessly blended the differing developments and conflicts between planets in the fantasy world.

-  B G Srinivas

(Former President and Member of the Board—Infosys)

AMAZING AND WONDERFUL book. Very well written fiction and thriller. 

-  G. Raghavendra Rao

(Former Executive Director and Director—Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics)

List of Characters

&

Terminologies used

(In Alphabetical order)

Chapter 1

Extraordinary love

Mache City, 9th Century CE

ON A FINE FRIDAY EVENING, the renowned Mache city in Bhahim country was unusually quiet. The market streets in the centre of the city wore a deserted look due to an unexpected shower that evening. Though the showers stopped after a while, many citizens preferred to stay indoors, which caused a huge disappointment to the merchants, since it was the final day of their year-end sales.

Mache was a prime tourist spot in Bhahim and attracted thousands of tourists from other states and even foreign countries, throughout the year. One such foreign tourist couple was walking in a principal street in the centre of the city that evening. They admired the charming houses in that street, which had sculptures of realistically crafted deities adorning the main doors. They walked through the deserted market street, where the shrewd businessmen had exhibited their works of art—magnificently carved teak wood statues, bronze idols and artistic lamps with inlay work in gold.

Just before the rain had started, the couple had visited the city's marvellous arches and the palatial building of the city’s ruler, King Sundaran. The King's impressive garden with a reservoir adjoining it and a bird sanctuary around its periphery had enthralled the foreign couple. They had arrived in Mache that morning and were absolutely delighted with the spectacular beauty of the vibrant city. After the rain stopped, they felt there was a natural air of cheerful serenity engulfing the city.

In the farther end of Mache in a sparsely populated suburb, there was an eerie silence.

Help! Help!! Save me!!!

Loud distant cries of a woman in trouble distracted Kuhza, who was taking a stroll along the shore of the river, which was overflowing because of a sudden flood. The sun had just descended. Kuhza looked all around. The entire area looked completely deserted. He could now hear the distant helpless cry quite distinctively. Then he saw it. In the middle of the river, he noticed a head emerging out of the water and disappearing again. He saw someone trapped. Clearly, the person was drowning but trying hopelessly to stay afloat. The currents in the river were life-threatening. Nevertheless, without hesitation, Kuhza jumped in and swam across, towards the slowly disappearing head. After a great struggle for what seemed like an hour, Kuhza managed to get hold of the person’s hair. He strove his way against the current in the river to the safety of the shore.

Once he regained his breath and realized what had just happened, Kuhza casually observed the person he had just rescued. The person looked like a woman in her mid-twenties, still lying unconscious and exhausted. Kuhza resuscitated her by breathing into her mouth, till the air fully filled her lungs. This helped her to cough out all the water. A few more pumps by Kuhza on her chest helped the woman to slowly regain her consciousness. After fifteen minutes, she feebly muttered, her voice hardly audible and still in a semi-conscious state, Thank you for saving my life. Could you please help me to the hospital nearby?

She knew the locality well and directed Kuhza to take her to a nearby hospital where she was serving as a physician. She could barely walk and was limping along all the way, with her arm wrapped around Kuhza’s shoulders.

Noticing her painful strides from a distance, Neru, the Chief of the Hospital rushed towards them. Both Neru and Kuhza helped the woman to a bed. Within a few seconds, the woman fell unconscious again because of sheer exhaustion. With Kuhza watching curiously, Neru treated her with some herbal medicines. Kuhza, as he started to help Neru, intermittently narrated, what had really happened and how he rescued the woman.

Neru, a man in his late sixties sported a well maintained long beard and possessed sharp eyes.

He held the woman’s hand, I am Neru. I own this hospital. The woman you saved is Leela, my assistant physician. Thank you for rescuing her. You indeed risked your life to save her. You... you..., ?

I am Kuhza. I am a gynaecologist. It’s my moral responsibility to save a life. So, please don’t thank me.

Kuhza? I haven’t heard such a name across this country. This man must be from a different country, Neru thought to himself.

Neru judged Kuhza and gave him a curious look. This man should be in his early thirties.

Kuhza then went on to narrate what had happened that evening. 

I haven't seen you here before. Are you not from these parts? Neru asked Kuhza.

I come from a distant place, Kuhza did not reveal the exact place. I treat patients in my hospital there. I have extensively researched care after pregnancy. I advise my patients to follow precautionary measures which are vital to postnatal care. 

Interesting. What brings you here? Neru asked, with a sense of curiosity.

I am a frequent visitor to this beautiful city, Mache, Kuhza was visibly excited. He went on, The culture here fascinates me. I've always felt at home, whenever I've been here. Everyone is kind and hospitable. I have heard stories about your people's never-ending willingness to serve and their benevolence goes a bit further when they even treat their enemies well. Apart from the people, I also admire the city’s architecture and lovely rock-cut temples. These aspects of the city make me travel to Mache once a month.

Mache was a glorious port city and the capital of Chenam kingdom ruled by a benign King Sundaran of Chodia dynasty, in Bhahim country, on its south-eastern coast.

What about your family? Neru probed further.

I am on my own nowadays. I don’t have any contact with my parents.

Neru interpreted, Oh. Kuhza is a forced orphan.

Kuhza keenly watched Neru treating Leela. Only an accomplished physician could work so efficiently and systematically.

Neru, regarded as a skilled physician by his patients, cured a myriad of their sicknesses by following good therapeutic practices. Over the years, Neru gained in-depth knowledge of most of the herbal medicines known at that time. His proficiency in foreign languages further helped him gain a deeper understanding of various medical practices that existed across the world. He produced many varieties of pure medicines, using hundreds of plants and minerals through an error-free processing methodology.

In his hospital, Neru focussed more on curing the diseases of his patients, by delving into its cause. He also conducted surgical procedures wherever it was necessitated. Neru's main aim was to cure his patients, with utmost care and compassion coupled with an unflinching dedication to his work. He established credibility as a lucky and expert physician among his patients. He always advised his patients to safeguard their health as he passionately believed in the maxim 'prevention is better than cure.'

Neru's gentlemanly treatment methods attracted people from various places in Bhahim. As Neru started treating poor patients free of charge, his name became popular across the country as the physician for common people. He could afford free treatment to the poor because many rich people volunteered to finance his noble services. His patients appreciated Neru for his expertise in the accurate prognosis and diagnosis of their various ailments.

Quite attracted by Neru's methodology, Kuhza asked, May I know more about you?

I grew up in Mache City and when I was ten years of age, my father was given the post of a medical advisory to the emperor of the northern state in Bhahim. You might have good acquaintances about our country as a regular visitor.

Oh yes.

So, I was naturally inclined to the medical field. I could quickly imbibe traditional herbal medicinal knowledge without much effort. Besides, I developed a fancy for magic as well. I also developed interests in astrology, palmistry, meditation and horticulture. I preferred to remain a bachelor. Later, I joined the emperor's army. I served there for two years as it was compulsory. It fascinated me. This was a great experience. Around the age of 30, after my parents had died in a fire mishap, I moved over to a small town in the same state, located beneath a huge mountain, and focussed more on medicines. Eventually, over the years, I gained mastery in both palmistry and astrology. I developed the expertise to predict a person's future by just knowing his name, place and date of birth. The people of the town regarded me as a young mystic with some supernatural abilities to cure people. They thought I possessed some mysterious powers which helped me to cure them, Neru paused, Enough about me. Would you tell me more about you Kuhza?

Yes, as Kuhza began, both noticed Leela opening her eyes.

Neru looked deeply into Leela's eyes, Are you alright now?

Yes, Guruji. Leela always addressed Neru as Guruji.

He is Kuhza. He saved you. He is also a physician, Neru looked at both of them and continued, Well, please excuse me. I have some work in the next room. I will be back.

Both Kuhza and Leela's eyes met for the first time. She saw a handsome, more than six feet tall, and well-built personality. Almost instinctively, she thought to herself, he is your man Leela.

Kuhza was so deeply engrossed in his conversation with Neru, that he had hardly noticed Leela. But, after studying her features more deeply, he was taken in by her beauty. Oh! What a stunningly beautiful woman! I have never seen a woman so simply clad with no ornaments adorning her, and yet so lovely. Her sparkling eyes are like diamonds, and her smile exudes a radiance that warms my heart. And those dimples, they speak of her innocence. He thought to himself, she is the woman I have been searching all these years.

Leela smiled. She narrated to Kuhza how she got herself into the middle of the river that evening. As usual, I was walking to my hospital taking the wooden bridge across the river. When I was halfway through, it began to crack and finally gave way, and I fell into the river. I don’t know how to swim. But for you, I would have been dead. I will never forget your help. You saved my life, and I don't know how to thank you.

Kuhza smilingly acknowledged and then continued staring at her. When eyes and eyes met, there was no need for any dialogue.

Just as Neru returned, Kuhza got up, I need to leave to catch up with an important assignment.

Neru curiously asked, When can we see you again?

Kuhza noticed Leela also had the same question in her eyes. She’s also eager to see me again.

I will come as soon as I possibly can. I have a responsible deputy named Fazci, who runs my hospital in my absence.

The obsession in his head for several years, made the gynaecologist Kuhza, very curious to see Leela again. He was experimenting on a phenomenon in his hospital, surreptitiously, due to which he had been visiting Mache regularly. At the same time, Kuhza had a tremble when he thought about the ruling tyrannical emperor of his place. If ever he’d come to know about my experiment and adventures, he'd not spare me. He is ruthless when someone doesn’t obey his commands. But Leela is so attractive and I’d be lucky to have her as my wife. She’ll be an ideal partner to carry out my experiment. At the same time, I will be faithful to her for a lifetime.

Kuhza, driven by his passion, was back in Mache within a few days. He kept visiting Mache often. After a couple of diplomatic interactions, Kuhza, Leela and Neru felt comfortable with each other. They could freely exchange their domain knowledge. Leela's feelings for Kuhza grew deeper every time she interacted with him in private, What a perfect gentleman!

In due course of time, love blossomed between Leela and Kuhza. In fact, Leela’s feelings became more intense after a couple of months. Some blind and unbounded love for Kuhza, the man of her dreams, developed.

Should I reveal about myself now? Kuhza often thought. But what'd happen to me back home? What'd happen to my life and career? Kuhza felt a shiver at the very thought of it.

One evening, Leela decided to propose to the man of her dreams. Kuhza, I cherish my aspiration of becoming your life partner. We share many common ideologies. I am an orphan. From my very first memory, Guruji is everything for me... my guardian and my mentor. I have discussed this with him too. He also approves of my love for you.

Hearing Leela utter these words, Kuhza’s joy knew no bounds. He was speechless, overwhelmed with joy, here is the woman of my dreams proposing to me!

Leela, I too had wanted to convey my love to you since the day I met you. But I didn’t really know how to express it nor could I gather the courage to do so. I am so glad you did.

Thanks for accepting me. I promise to be an ideal wife to you till my last breath.

Those thoughts kept coming back to Kuhza. Those thoughts that gave him sleepless nights. Should I reveal about myself now? Is this the right time? No. I shall reveal who I am after marriage.

Leela, leaving my hospital in the hands of Fazci, I come to Mache only once in a month. You know about it. My patients always expect my presence in my place. I am planning to construct a palatial house for us in a place called Ruby Island...,

Leela interrupted, Oh, Ruby island? Guruji and I had explored that lovely island for our herbal research. It has deep forests and splendid sceneries. It's far away from our Bhahim country. We know Ruby Island is an independent island and sparsely populated.

Kuhza continued, ... yes, I plan to take you to Ruby island once our home gets ready. But it would take time. Meanwhile, I have planned to hand-over the hospital to Fazci, to free myself from my responsibility. Till then, you'll have to adjust with me.

That’s absolutely fine with me, Leela uttered half-heartedly, as that'd mean being away from her revered Guruji. But then, she reconciled to the fact that it was the order of the day to leave one's home, after marriage.

Neru, seeing Leela’s eagerness solemnized a simple marriage. Leela herself wasn't too keen on having a grand and lavish wedding. Soon, the 'happily-ever-after' of Leela and Kuhza began. Or so they thought.

Leela after marriage became very talkative and was always fond of calling her husband by his name, Kuhza... Kuhza on some pretext or the other at least twenty times in a minute. Kuhza also deeply enjoyed it.

Should I reveal about myself now Kuhza thought. No. I shall do that later as the time hasn’t come yet.

A year rolled by.

They didn’t beget a child though they longed for one. As both were physicians, they tried to help each other to get their deficiency cured, but in vain.

Two more years went by. Both decided to consult Neru. Neru gave them his choicest and the most powerful herbal medicines. He laughed, Beware, you might be blessed with children more than what you want.

After a couple of months, Neru confirmed that Leela was pregnant. The wait was finally over. The confirmation news filled their hearts with happiness. Kuhza made some elaborate arrangements to ensure that his hospital would be well taken care of by his trusted aide Fazci, during his prolonged absence.

Close to the delivery date, Kuhza told Neru, Our home in Ruby island is ready with all the necessary facilities. Leela will have every comfort she would want. I would like to move to Ruby island with Leela. However, we’ll keep visiting you.

Leela looked at Neru, I would have preferred the delivery at Mache City in our hospital.

Neru reluctantly bid good-bye, That’s fine with me, Leela. Take care, both of you. Both are physicians. They can be on their own.

Should I reveal about myself now? Kuhza thought, No. Not just yet. I will do that later, probably after she delivers our child.

Ruby Island

YOU ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL after the delivery, Leela, Kuhza kissed his charming wife on her forehead, you have given birth to septuplets. I never imagined that Neru meant this when he blessed us. That too, in what a combination! Six daughters and one son!

Two days passed joyously with both cuddling their little ones in rotation. Their joy seemed complete.

On the third morning after their children's birth, Leela lovingly asked Kuhza, Have you thought of any names for our children?

Kuhza lifted the daughter he was playing with, My sweetie child..., he kissed the little one adoringly, ...no, not yet Leela. But however, we'll call this child, Gita. What do you say?

A great name! Leela instantaneously gave her approval. What about our other children? she asked.

Together we will think of their names as well, but later. 

Leela is in a great mood. Now the time has come to reveal the secret, Kuhza thought. Muster the courage Kuhza. If you don't reveal it now, the children will. That’d be more devastating for you.

Kuhza held her hands and looked adoringly into her eyes, "Leela, do you love me? Will you continue to love me just as intensely, even after I reveal a secret to you? 

Yes, absolutely. Don't you remember the promise I made to you when I first proposed to you? Go on, Leela's heart was now brimming with curiosity, what would it be?

I have been telling you that I was visiting you from a distant place, Kuhza fidgeted with his hands and paced the room restlessly. Leela could now clearly see that Kuhza was not his usual calm self. What's happening to you Kuhza? I have never seen you so nervous. Kuhza drank a full jar of water that was placed on a table nearby, astonishing her, this is unnerving. He never did this before.

Nothing Leela, hmm... nothing much... but..., I want to..., Kuhza mumbled for appropriate words.

He deliberately switched over to a low voice and continued, But... but I was actually... actually... visiting... visiting Mache... from... from... a distant planet.

Leela didn’t register the low tone initially as she was attending to her son. Yes, I know you had been visiting Mache, from a distant country.

Kuhza was a bit taken aback. Did Leela hear what I just uttered? Or should I gently raise my tone, he contemplated. The second part of what she heard made no sense at all as she was filled with the ecstasy of delivering septuplets. And then finally when it did seep in, she exclaimed, What? Distant planet? You mean, you... you... you... are... are... an alien? Kuhza did not fail to notice her trembling body. She almost fainted. Kuhza had expected Leela to react and so was mentally prepared to handle the situation. He rushed closer to her and supported her hips with his right hand before she fell on the floor; at the same time, he spread the cradle's velvety cloth lying rolled in its corner with his left hand. He tried to take hold of the newborn baby. However, Kuhza’s beloved child in Leela’s hands slipped off from her hands into the soft velvety cradle.

Chapter 2

Extraordinary children

Ruby Island... 9th century CE

YES. I AM AN ALIEN from a distant planet named Zoven, Leela, Kuhza emphatically declared. He just had to get the lingering burden off his chest.

Leela remained speechless for a few minutes. She felt completely cheated. How could this be? Her lips were trembling with anger. A multitude of emotions stormed her heart. Taken aback by the magnitude of the shock she had just received, she preferred to be alone. Pointing to the door, she asked Kuhza to leave the room. She impulsively pushed Kuhza out and bolted their bedroom door from the inside.

Go away. You'll never see my children and me again, she blurted out. This was not what she had intended to say. As her anger took over, the words she uttered went beyond her control.

This moment of revelation was what Kuhza dreaded the most. He thought, let her rest and calm those nerves. This must have been too much for her to bear, and if I keep unfolding more secrets, what will happen to her? No, she is a woman of grit and great inner strength. I am sure she will be able to withstand the truth about me. I’ll take Neru's help to resolve this matter. Why is he not here yet? Kuhza must have paced up and down the stairs, to the gate and back again to their bedroom on the second floor more than twenty times, with all these thoughts running in his mind.

He looked skyward every time he was on the lawn. He saw some patches of dark clouds. The wind was also blowing steadily. He knew if the wind kept blowing, the clouds would get dispersed and there won’t be rain. I must have lightning and rain today to clinch success in the last phase of my experiment. Only an hour to go. In Zoven, lightning occurs very frequently, at least once daily.

After twenty long minutes, he saw Neru entering their home. I got your message. Congratulations to you and Leela. I am so glad. Where’s Leela? Where are my grandchildren? Neru was curious.

She's inside our bedroom with the children, and then, Kuhza revealed about himself and about how Leela had just reacted when she got to know about him.

Neru listened to the entire monologue patiently. He did not react outrageously though he was surprised. He casually smiled and asked, Oh, you are a Zioe? I know about the planet Zoven and its inhabitants—Zioes. I encountered them around 25 years ago. But Kuhza, I didn't even distantly envisage you to be a Zioe. So, Leela has married a Zioe, who is handsome, and benign. You Zioes are extremely beautiful and majestic. Aah! Looking at you, I should have guessed.

Kuhza looked stupefied. Neru, mentioning terminologies, known only to Zoven inhabitants, shocked him.

Some of you are extremely dangerous too, Neru winked mischievously. 

Kuhza, note that Neru is calling you benign, still. Your advantage #1. That’s great. Utilize this fantastic opportunity. 

Have you visited Zoven? Kuhza asked.

No. I know Zioes because I have experimented with a Zioe... wait a second... his name was Razuj... who took treatment from me. He has described everything about Zioes. I was very eager to visit Zoven. But Razuj told me that only the people who have physical bodily contact with an alien can visit Zoven.

My, Lozaa! Kuhza exclaimed, when I came here to experiment on humans, he's talking about his experiment with Zioes!

Yes, Lozaa is the only God of Zoven. Many Zioes believe Lozaa is the creator of Zoven, Earth, and all the other planets known to exist..., Neru began. But, Kuhza intervened, ... you might be interested to know about our planet Zoven. We still cannot grasp how our God Lozaa created not only our planet Zoven but also the entire universe. There are many plausible theories. We are endlessly debating about how our universe was formed. It could have occurred some billions of years ago. It might have happened because of some asteroid collision or by some particles condensing, and spinning off from the sun. We are not sure.

Neru couldn't comprehend Kuhza's complex utterances. Observing that, Kuhza did not want to elaborate further. 

Neru continued, Yes, Razuj has told me many things. Your scientists have tried to prove the origin of Zoven but to this date, they have absolutely no evidence to substantiate their claims. You don’t know when life appeared in Zoven, as you exist eternally. I know Zioes male version is Zioem and the female version is called Zioef. He mentioned your mother tongue too. He proudly claimed that Zioes can speak almost all the hundred-plus languages spoken on earth, as they visit every part of the earth. I have travelled across several countries. Leela also has travelled with me to some countries. I know a bit of Greek, Chinese, French, Russian, German, Hebrew, and Latin languages. Razuj used to converse with me eloquently in these languages. You Zioes have elegant looks. I know, you are soft-hearted by nature. You generally don’t harm humans unless provoked. You are highly cultured, easy-going, advanced and generally non-intrusive beings. I understood that you Zioes are highly intelligent, compared to average humans. Your measurement system is almost similar to that of the earth.....inches...feet.

"Oh great!’’ Kuhza exclaimed. Does Neru know about our two unique secrets as well?

Neru went closer to Kuhza after checking if Leela was around. He spoke in a hushed tone, Zioes are beautiful looking, four-in-one creations with the head of an eagle, middle section of a human, tail of a fish and back of a tortoise. Not just that. If needed, Zioes could completely transform into just one homogeneous form of either an eagle, a human, a fish or a tortoise, by shrinking all the other portions. The transformation process is so perfect that it’s impossible for someone to distinguish them from a normal earthling, Neru paused and cleared his parched throat.

Neru continued, "Zioes can behave like a normal human, fly like an eagle, swim like a fish and