Arlow Tsai is a great guy (really). Around the time space aliens became known to the human race, Arlow was informed about something strange. Copies of him were appearing around the multiverse. When he found out that he was in line for huge inherit...
Arlow Tsai was hopeful about having those two weeks that were prescribed. It was really about being able to forget that he would likely be shipped away on the extradition order. He was not sure how many days had passed (without daylight to mark time).
Today the feminine form was lost, and it felt nice to see his own body again. The new clothes were unsettling. An unnatural color, short wide pant legs, and short sleeves; it was a one piece jump suit. Obviously, it looked nothing like the clothes that others were wearing. Obviously, it defined someone in custody.
They told The elLans to leave, but they arranged for a goodbye. They mixed an ethanol drink for us all, and there were three rounds of small cups for us all. The drink seemed to burn a bit more with each cup.
Each elLan came up to me and bent a knee to kiss on the forehead. They asked me to kiss them and keep Lan tradition and not to bend at the waist. I knelt on the floor, so I had to bend my knees to kiss them.
Secretly, the elLans were thinking. See this planet Wroug, we are aliens and so is he (we bend our knees). He fell onto your planet, and somehow that lets you think you may take him where you want to take him. Do to him what you want to do with him.
Arlow is a bit misty and says: "I love you guys"
This gets an immediate reaction from the Wroug Woman because that sound "iee luv uooo" is a Wroug phrase that means "I love you". She thinks about this and asks Arl to confirm what he said. This is a set of words handed down to the Wroug a long time ago. An ambassador woman that worked with [bump over], the god of the cave; had given those words to Wroug at a time when planet Wroug had forgotten the concept. Where the ambassador woman was from, no one knew. That was thousands of years ago.
The elLans leave and Arl waves goodbye. He turns away when they are gone.
In a while, a cracking voice off afar in the hall says: "I'm scared!"
Arl is pretty sure that it was elLan "3".
The Wroug Woman eventually says: "They are ready for you outside"
Arl straightens and turns around with a confident smile. He walks out of the room.
The Wroug Woman sets the emotional display and prepares to close the patient report. She will get weeks off for having to deal with an alien, and likely could ask for more. The management seemed to be aware that working with Wroug security extends the need for time off.
She sees the emotional display for Arl. It swings quite a bit when Arl reaches the about place where "3" said "I'm scared".
Arl was showing a brave face, but was inwardly quite unsettled. She looks at the patient record, which could simply be closed.
She looks at the emotional display that still tracks Arl. She recalls the story told to her by the Lan, the one that she should think about days later.
She mutters "ten thousand suns" (a shortened version of 'may the heat of ten thousand suns follow you all of your days') and runs out. She passes Arlow in the hall. She reaches the last inspection station before leaving the site and stops there. She uses human "waves" and "come here" hand signals.
Arlow approaches and the Wroug Woman says: "You have to show me that you know what I am thinking. Please show me now that you know what I am thinking."
Each time the woman speaks, she licks her lips. So Arlow thinks that she wants a kiss because the Lans had all gotten kissed. He reaches forward to kiss her on the forehead. He places a kiss and is shoved suddenly out of the station by her. The doors close. Numbers are being spoken. The Wroug Woman waves to Arl and smiles. The numbers stop at 43. Arcing sterilizing lights dance over her forehead, and then she turns 180 degrees and a second sterilization pass is performed. She waves again to Arl.
The system created by the ancient Wroug has a special level of protection prepared for beings that try to pass along unknown things at the last line of defense.
The doors open to Arl, but stay closed on the side near the exit. Arl walks in. Numbers are being spoken, and spoken, and spoken, and spoken. When the numbers start with "One Hundred Thousand and.."; Arl thinks that this might be bad.
He recalls the videos he watched on his arrival and how the Wroug Woman acted during her sterilization. He holds his arms horizontal and widens his stance.
Dozens of red-ish, blue-ish, pink-ish, green-ish, yellow-ish arcs dance over Arl. The feeling is more intense than the nerve conduction test.
On the outside of Arl's body there were:
Tardigrade (water bear) dried husks that could have possibly come back to life in earth pond water.
Human skin lice.
Symbiotic worms that live in moist skin pores.
Numerous other biological things.
On the inside of Arl's body there were:
Two toxoplasmosis parasites that were eaten as eggs and found a home in tissue.
Yeast, amoebae, bacillus, bacteria, viruses, and phages (plus a large count of every biotic).
The Galactic Translation injection system is also in his body and covered in almost everything we previously mentioned.
Everything on the outside was broken apart completely. It converted everything on the inside to a chemical known to be safe for Arlow Tsai (ethanol). That was a fair amount of mass to be turned into ethanol. Ethanol easily passes cell walls, so it will be calories. There are so many things that work to keep cells going (things which are now gone).
It does not spare the translation system (it is broken beyond repair). It had been registered with Arlow Tsai immune defenses, and now there were no other things to defend against. Arlow Tsai (this copy) would reject the translation technology, if it were injected again.
He lays face down with odd noises and lights. He flips over, just like the training video showed. The arcs of many colors strike again, and possibly a couple of a short ones.
With the ethanol in his system, some things are a bit confused. He lets out a breath and is sure he sees the ethanol swirl-mix with normal air. Every hair on Arl's body is bit curly from being fried. The jump suit has tinges of small micro burns.
He has a lighthearted thought: What a good story this will make about my vacation.
The doors open. Two large Wroug men grab Arl by his upper arms. He is dragged off with heels bouncing. He sees the sunlight outside and is pleased. The Wroug men take a turn into a dark corridor, which Arl did not recall seeing when they came in.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
