Chapter 3 :

Elizabeth blinked several times, sleepily. She woke up from the most peaceful slumber she had for a very long time. She always had trouble sleeping because of anxiety ; when she was younger, she was afraid to close her eyes because of the nightmares which plagued her unconscious world. Her mind was also being strangely clear - she could remember perfectly everything which occurred yesterday. Her feverish, demented state, and the angel - no, Engineer - coming and giving her this bracelet before carrying her away.

As if something clicked in her head she jolted up, finding out that she was no longer in the small dark room. She was in a large circular chamber, it's mural sculptures illuminated by holographic representations of different galaxies floating throughout the air. A very detailed planetarium, she realised, and it was breathtakingly her hovered the gigantic Andromeda constellation, with such amazing, inhumane details. She could even see strands of individual stars dusting the galactical branches.

As her stare dwelled from star to star, galaxy to galaxy, it fell on the large being sitting in the middle of the platform. He - It, Elizabeth corrected herself - was in what would be best described as a lotus position. It's back was straightened and it's legs were crossed ; it's facial expression was serene. The engineer seemed to be "holding" the hologram of the Ursa Major, which lit up his strong angular features with a blue-ish glow.

How was it able to remain so calm in a lifeless planet was beyond her. It's ship has crashed, it is alone and woke up alone after 2000 years and yet, is still there watching astronomic formations as if that was the most important and fascinating thing. It was probably more knowing and wise than her, a silly, meaningless human would be. Oddly enough, she realised, she also felt pastoral. Whatever troubled her mind simply disappeared after a good night of sleep. Or was it day? Time seems to stagnate in these ships. Her current state of mind was also due to the lack of abdominal pain - she refused to believe that her wound disappeared overnight and still it did. There were even no scars, which led her to think that the Engineer had a hand in it.

After contemplating for a short while, she got an inkling on what could've caused her to rest so well ; She examined the stone bracelet the Engineer gave her yesterday with misgiving. This is probably it - she thought - whatever technology they use to sedate or induce somnolence is far greater than ours. However she did not wish to take it off ; she felt so fine. Plus she feared to somehow insult the engineer. He already spared her from a certain death - which she thought it used to be preferrable, until she woke to see these beautiful holograms which cheered her up for no specific reasons - and she did not wish for him to regret his decision. Whatever caught his interest was worth knowing. Why didn't he kill her like the others? ..Wait, "He"?

She glanced back at the engineer. He, because it was hard to refer to him as otherwise, was in deep thought. It was something human...and yet she could feel the tangible, millenial old intelligence that emanated from him, making him so alien too. How could she bring herself to hate him? She did not know. What he did was undiscutably wrong, but perhaps it was for the best. How could she ever dare to understand their greater motives? They knew more. They were wiser. Their causes were certainly beyond her human mind. Maybe it was for the greater good.

And she couldn't blame him for Charlie's death either.

It sounded like the Prometheus's crew had done something, asked something unredemptedly wrong. Maybe asking for immortality was something wrong. It would confirm the metaphoric apple of Eden...She knew she was getting ahead of herself. She was also surprised that she let things go so easily, with the simple excuse that this being was in all ways superior to her. She felt a pang of guilt but did not have the capacity to muster any contempt...safe for herself.

A swift hand movement from the Engineer caught her attention and the constellation which lay among his palms enlarged, occupying the entire room. He obviously zoomed it, and moved it in all different angles until he could see a specific galaxy in closer detail.

Many sumer-like characters appeared in the air and they left him in deep thought. There was something...repetitive about those letters. Portions of words got deleted before being replaced with new ones ; it downed unto her that these were reflections of the alien's thoughts. He was writing something without the need to move any body parts and that was a small testament of their technology. Elizabeth pondered about a small detail that happened the day prior ; he litterally entered the room without a door. Or more like, an opening crafted itself onto the wall. A portion of it gained the consistency of liquids and - not unlike the way the sea was parted by Moses - rifted, revealing the "angel". What kind of technology would enable that? She did not know. The wall, she remembered, felt like it was made of a mixture of metal and something more stony. Yet, it became watery.

As if hearing her trail of thoughts, the engineer snapped his head towards her. His stare burnt deep into her - she couldn't see that, considering his lack of visible irises but she could feel it - and she froze, unblinking. Whatever she did, it captured his interest. Whatever she did, he decided to spare her. His gaze felt heavy ; it was more than merely disturbing. She was unable to withhold it for long and slightly bowed her head, escaping from the silent exchange. She could sense him move ; his footsteps were incredibly soft for a creature of his size and he gracefully sat on his knees facing her. His eyes kept boring holes into her cranium until she finally decided to meet them again. He was just there, his back straightened, his stare unwavering. There was something ultimately powerful in his steady posture ; she couldn't help but feel humbled in his close proximity.

She never thought these creatures to be gods, far from it. God is transcendant, transuniversal and not simply limited to a physical body. Yet, in moments like these it was made hard to believe ; the blue luminosity was reflected by his transluscent skin which gave him an ethereal glow. Dark violet veins formed intricate patterns under his skin, reminding her of white marble stones. Unlike what she initially observed, his eyes were not empty ; far from it. Deeply embedded, they were abysses of intelligence and contemplation - far beyond what she'd seen on humans.

He was beautiful, she finally admitted to herself. If she could, she would've asked all the whirlwind of questions within her. Surely he knows everything. He HAS to know everything, a small voice in her declared. Who could she place her childlike faith on, else than this divine being? When she was alone in this desolate world, having lost everything?

Where on earth was that horrid android when one needed him most? She tasked herself with the search for David. No matter how she disliked him - and she knew that this feeling was silly, because said bot was probably only obeying orders - hisnpresence will be necessary. How else would she be able to communicate with the engineer?

Elizabeth fell back to reality when her hand was caught in a much larger, warmer and smothless one. She gasped loudly, looking at him with as much surprise as she could muster ; his head was slightly cocked while he assessed her reaction. Tenderly, he pulled her up and she followed. He rose to his full height, his broad shoulders almost shadowing her and he turned around, looking intently at the sculpted wall.

It was the first time she truly noticed the artwork ; many different scenes were represented in lines - not unlike egyptian hyeroglyphs. The style reminded her of the Renaissance, rich in accurate details, mixing high and low relief. There were no words to describe the beauty of it all.

Suddenly, the depictions of mythic technological, interstellar battles gained life.