Free Invaded by Melissa Landers

Truthfully, she’d been reading her favorite thesis,
     a brand-new one that argued L’eihrs were the descendants of humans, not the other
     way around.
     If you asked her, the evidence was compelling. The only reason L’eihrs clung to the
     original legend was because they’d rather amputate all eight toes than trace their
     lineage to
     Earth.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “It was an essay.”
    “On?” Helm demanded, gripping his waist with one hand.
    Cara glanced at her tablet and read aloud, “‘The Primate Connection: A Thesis—’”
    “‘Regarding L’eihr Lineage,’” Helm finished. “Written by a scholar named Larish. He
     argued that L’eihrs are related to your ancients, who in turn
     evolved from animals.”
    “Exactly,” Cara said. “Humans and L’eihrs share ninety-eight percent of their DNA
     with chimpanzees. Earth scientists believe we all descended from a single ancestor
     and
     developed differently over millions of years. But on L’eihr, you have no close primates.
     It’s as if you were dropped here by an alien race. You evolved differently from humans,
     but
     that’s mostly due to organized breeding and—”
    “A fascinating theory,” Helm interrupted. A tiny muscle twitched in his jaw. “Are
     you in humanities class now?”
    Cara cleared her throat. “No, sir.”
    “And will Larish’s dissertation help you with my exam tomorrow?” He pointed to his
     white-rimmed instructor tablet, where he kept his lectures and testing materials.
    “No, sir.”
    “Then perhaps you should make use of your translator and focus on the subject at hand.”
    Cara nodded, willing herself invisible.
    But understanding the language didn’t help her absorb Helm’s lesson. His words—
genetic port
,
reverse micro-sequencing
,
inverted
     bioethnicity
—had no context for her. It was like trying to decipher gibberish. Cara hated to admit
     it, but she didn’t belong in this class. She needed to take a massive step back
     and master the prerequisites of L’eihr science. Too bad she’d have to join the preschoolers
     to do that.
    An idea came to mind.
    Maybe she should request a rotation working in the Aegis nursery. She’d pick up some
     basic concepts that way, and besides, she felt sorry for all those motherless kids,
     taken straight from
     the artificial wombs to a quasi-orphanage. They were so darned cute, and she wanted
     to snuggle the toddlers when their caretakers weren’t looking.
    After class, she jogged to the headmaster’s office to fill out a rotation request
     and then double-timed it to the novice obstacle course, relieved to discover she’d
     made it there
     before the fitness instructor. The man had a name, but Cara preferred to think of
     him as Satan. He loved making her suffer.
Pain is good
, he’d told her.
If no hurt, you do it
     wrongly.
Satan didn’t speak very good English, but he was fluent in whoop-ass. He wore his
     ponytail extra tight and probably flogged himself for fun.
    “Sw
eeeee
ney.”
    Speak of the devil, and he shall appear…from behind a climbing wall. She hadn’t beaten
     him here. Fabulous. That meant an extra lap. At least no one would be around to watch
     her stumble
     over the balance stones and yack in the bushes. The other clones had long ago graduated
     to proficient courses.
    “Today we try new technique,” he said, rubbing his massive palms together. “Make you
     win time and move to intermediate course.” He patted his tunic pocket. “I
     fasten
t’alar
on your shoulders. Make you fast.”
    Unless he had a jet pack in there, she didn’t see how that was possible. “Is the
t’alar
an antigravity device?”
    “No.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a simple black strap. Then he smiled in
     a way she didn’t like at all. “Is
motivation
.”
    That didn’t sound good.
    “Human lung,” he continued, “it hold less air, yes? But still the body do great things
     when provoked.” He lumbered over to her and snapped