We must diffuse this situation∴
The elder was a shaman. They were respected by most of their kind for their age and knowledge, for they have lived long, certainly many lifetimes by men’s standards. He was a gray, and the grays’ powers are nearly limitless compared to Frank’s, or even the world’s greatest athlete.
He could feel it flowing through and around him.
We should take immediate custody of the floor representatives∴
A representative was a man or a woman. Anyone on earth. But they were not chosen; only born with certain predispositions in their genetic lineage that dictated who would and who would not become a representative, and Frank did not necessarily belong among them.
The Rebels cannot be allowed to spread to the surface∴
The rebels had a very dependent relationship with ‘representatives’ and kept them close, for they too were bound to earth, condemned to live in their kingdom under the oceans, in bodies that wouldn’t die, deep under the ocean floor.
Unsuccessfully trying to break out of their confines, the Gray had passed into legend until man fought man for greed and through genocide of man against man had turned them into stuff of misinterpreted parables. People as a species had not had a real relationship with the gray for millennia, and the break-up part of that relationship did not end well either. Then, and since, gray had learned to become men too. Coming down from the discs in attempt to understand and guide humanity on earth was not an easy task, especially looking like a gray. So it was decided that they would come, in limited numbers, proportional to the human population density of earth.
They came to live in the empty parts of a man’s body and life.
Possessing.
With any human bodies at their disposal, they chose to be people as average as possible. The rebels had chosen mostly ‘the best of the genetic pool’ on earth, which, for those who dwell in dark recesses of the planet, was driven by greed.
But as you know, most rebels are still deep below, under the oceans∴
They governed and ruled and often held some of the most unattainable statuses over hundreds and thousands of years. The rebel gray’s human doppelgängers saw time pass and viewed the change on earth through many lifetimes. The representatives were pawns in a game of chess between the two main denominations of the gray extraterrestrial race, whose members wanted a planet to call their own and to mingle. Frank wondered how much of what he had seen on the base related to that; when the encyclopedia showed the early contact. The elderly-looking alien then made a gesture that could have been interpreted as a shrug.
Some of that is just opinion∴
We have truly declared ourselves∴
the young one mused sadly.
They didn’t mean to harm anyone∴
For the first time, Frank recognized sadness in the alien.
That was one of my best engineers∴
The thought was too serious and had to be considered carefully, so they stopped smoothing, and got distracted. The young gray felt greatly worried.
First they drove us out, now they are attacking our engineers so we cannot demolish this nonsense∴
Shaman knew exactly where the young one is coming from, but himself knew better than to believe it was going to be that simple. Before he could wonder about what happened to his best engineer’s body, the younger one shared his own recollection.
The finder is now also a recipient who had stolen the body for study∴
We are quite alike∴
Men want to protect the earth too∴
They’re all just really rubbish at it∴
Their own kind had, turned against itself a long time ago. The radical souls were very old and have visited many bodies over the 32 millenia they have spent bound to our earth.
Most were tens of thousands of years old, rooted in what may as well have been an eternity.
For you guys anyway∴
It doesn’t matter. We are friieends.....
Something about how the gray conveyed the friendship seemed disagreeable.
Consistency was always paramount to their species, and it had been preserved that way for many millennia. They built ships that could travel long distances in time; back and forth.
They had absolutely no concept of ‘now’, other than the knowledge that they all exist at any point in time. Because of this, it was not easy for them to establish lasting relationships, and their continued existence was for the sake of existence. They compensated for this by being trusting of one another without having to spend much time together.
There was an unspoken understanding.
A feeling. A common desire for peace.
They had enough of that crap.
The Radicals were thought of as ever vengeful and always suspicious to the Rebels. Despite that they lived free, unbound to the earth, their bodies lasted shorter times than those of the Rebels.
It made sense to stay on the planet either way. Traveling time with earth as a constant is less dangerous than traveling all of space time.
Two thousand years we came and put more faith into people∴ Obedience∴
The thought was directed at Frank.
Two thousand years ago, the rebels took two birds with one stone. Then we came, stopped the rebels and drove them back to the depths...and gave many faith.
They wanted to be role models for us.
For the singular unity of the species.
The shaman raised his hands and a stream of energy lit a path through the middle of his chamber. The spirit of the alien that had once been a puddle of liquid in Frank’s kitchen exited his body.
They were no longer as one, and Frank felt very much less like himself than usual on friday nights.
Then the impish gray that had inhabited Frank’s stinky dilapidated alcoholic shell spoke up, or rather ‘thought up’.
I’ve chosen this man to be my representative∴
Our link to downstairs∴ the gray shaman said to Frank.
Weird∴
But he’s nobody. Just...kind of rubbish∴
We cannot change the directive∴
It’s too late∴ The rogues have stuck us out∴ They accomplished their quest∴ We’ll draw out the radicals, but we must ensure the Earth’s native species is unaffected; unlike last time∴
A great power started radiating behind them; a powerful ancient force that is present but not visible, that has decided to make its presence known. This made the younger gray feel more agitated, until he literally vibrated with energy.
A great golden falcon in festive robes, as a galant and understanding force flashed across Frank’s mind like a distant memory. which was now only inside his soul.
It was a powerful force with bright yellow aura.
It intimidated the impish little gray that Frank had once bashed to pulp with a hammer.
We will all perish∴
The gray’s absolute hopelessness brought out a coyness in the elder, who felt he should clarify his thought.
That’s why we must fare back∴ Do not despair∴
If we could, we would fare back and stop it once and for all∴
The shaman sincerely looked the younger one in the face and smiled.
Humans would cook medium-rare from traveling that far anyway∴
They could not withstand traveling half a century∴
And You could barely survive a couple of weeks, boozeball.
The grumpy old gray geezer amused the younger one and its spirits instantly lifted.
This cannot end well∴
The geezer shut his eyes, weighing out when to best speak.
The rogues would not force peace∴
We need to ally with surface men before the rogues do∴
Chapter Twentyseven
So, Anyway….
The complex life on earth was not simply bound to that which is alive through your eyes∴
You’ve chosen to ignore what you cannot see∴ You see us because you are not in
the reality you know, the one you’re used to∴
You’ve shed your skin on earth and followed us∴
Your etheric body traveled close to us∴
The energy spectrum that is the very core of you∴ Your soul∴
Therefore, you are no longer in what you call a waking reality∴
We, too, are etheric beings∴ Eternal Beings∴
Your decisions take you on many paths∴
Our paths do not belong all in one sequence of time∴
We travel time for our destinies∴
We are our masters∴
We no longer belong in your reality, that’s why most people no longer speak to us∴
Many thousands of years ago, we were regular visitors in your spectrum∴
We were popular∴
Back then the earth was hot and full of water∴
As you know, the earth gets hot and cold in intervals∴ Whether seasons in a year, or hot and cold climate changes, the climate was very hot and humid and new lands were only beginning to form around active volcanoes∴
We stood by and helped the fish form and start crawling ashore∴ When mammals and primates came, we came and offered advice; a helping hand∴ In return, you gave us love∴ Which is rare∴
You created energy for us∴
From then on we’ve checked in now and then, to make sure you’re okay∴
If your etheric body is separated from your physical shell too long,
you could lose it, and not finding it again, you would become what you’d call a ghost∴
A dislodged etheric being∴
Such bodies are stuck in the ethereal world, trying to find their physical shells with little success and are trapped with themselves, living through their transgressions, left to ponder∴ Purgatory for eternity∴
The most desperate and sorry of those you would call poltergeist∴
Sinners∴ Demons of the underworld∴ Rebels∴
We can transform from spirit to gray∴
Time, by itself was more than enough∴
We live out our lives impacting space and time∴ You only impact space∴
It is an intertwined spiral∴ A fractal∴
A never ending cycle∴
Time and space are merely axis we chose to move along∴
We modify potential representative candidates in the future, while this past ,(our now) still stands∴
It’s easy to make one forget what happened∴ But harder with hundreds or thousands∴When we cannot remove what’s been done, we add context to it∴
It’s not always easy making the right decisions∴ Just the right thing. As if that isn’t bad enough, life goes in cycles and everything is pretty much set up in a way that you are made to constantly struggle∴
Sucks, human∴
Do hyenas retire?∴
There’s always a price to pay∴
We have broken our own rules, for your own good∴
Last few weeks of your life has been our doing∴
You are connected to us, and we to you∴ This is how we speak∴
We have led you through a hard path of life, which you did not deserve∴
Loss of family on the human time path is an unthinkable burden∴
By now you have understood we possess the power of travel through the fabric of time and space,
but it would be yet another injustice to try to correct the wrongs that were done to you∴
You anomaly∴
Something has made you remember what your ancestors have done so well: accept us∴
Like seasons, it was meant to be∴
Life has delivered you here,
and we honor this∴
Your memories will forever belong to you∴ Visit them as you may∴
A true memory lasts a lifetime∴
We have other tidings∴
I cannot allow you to travel through time with us yet∴
Though your spirit is strong, your body cannot stand traveling far in time∴
The further in time you’d move, the less your body stand it and you could lose it, but your etheric body, being strong as it is, will live on∴
We stand on the shore of a new time, when earth has gotten wilder and is turning warmer and hotter again. A demon hitched a ride in your body recently∴
But he has pleaded the to Are’s for forgiveness and became our litigator from the Great City∴
Sorry we used you. But now you can fly around out of your body∴
I can’t promise you that you won’t get hurt, only that if you leave your body for too long, you could die. Right now, you’ve almost hit the falloff and your body is basically dead∴
You’ve pulverized yourself by the fall when you left your body behind∴
This time we’ll give you a hand∴
Like the rebels gave to Al Cohen∴
From now, you’re with us∴
No choice∴
Now go, wake∴
Back inside your body∴
Shoo∴
Chapter Twentyeight
Emergency
Frank was falling down through space at terminal velocity, body-less, confused and alarmed. He fell through clouds, rain, even a passing plane into his body on the ground of the Port of Oakland, surrounded by people.
What looked like a movie set was actually ‘the incident’ scene.
Medical teams were attending to treat dozens of trampled people with minor bruises and to a few elders who just had heart attacks. Some felt saved. The collective sweat of all the nations made the air thick and unbreathable, which only made it that much less pleasant to wake up to.
No serious injuries around. He was bought out.
His eyes opened to a set of bright lights that blinded him. Through the blurry vision and lack of eyeglasses he could make out Al Cohen in the corner where the crowd cleared for the ambulance.
He looked sheepish and yet, reminded Frank of an antelope given another chance by the lion.
Confused as a newborn baby, sitting down on a chair the medic brought to him, Al spoke to the mildly flirtatious attending nurses who were there to fulfill his every medical need.
He became an instant celebrity. Just add water.
A couple of male nurses were putting Frank on a stretcher and doing an awful job of it. Frank was finally able to move and started getting up. His body hurt immensely.
Judging by the number of fractures, and where he left his body behind, it must have fallen down to the ground from some height. Apparently, some people’s hands broke his fall. One guy had a locked neck and was already taken back to the hospital. He wasn’t the first to go back. Nobody dared to move his body in case it was broken, so somebody had at least put a furry coat underneath his head when he was out, but his body was crushed from the inside and was only just coming to and returning to the pre-owned condition he’d left it in prior to his stop in time. He was now feeling very cold, and all the hot nurses were by Al, not Frank, simply because a guy who turned from marinara back to a man just minutes before was obviously far more more interesting than a guy who just ‘jumped and fell down’. Besides, the salt & pepper image was working for Al.
Frank started feeling quite anxious by the crowd and started wishing he wasn’t there.
At that precise moment, his body fell back on the ground and he saw himself from above.
He was outside of his body once again.
Looking at himself, his body appeared pale but was beginning to gain color.
Everything looked as though it was nearly daylight, and all the colors of the world appeared very rich. There was a vibration to everything that he could detect, and the beauty of seeing the energy of the world flow through and around everything around was hypnotizing.
Before he realized what was going on, the four male nurses carried his body into the ambulance and had started driving away through the slowly parting crowd ahead, urging him to catch up. After a short chase, he caught up with them and sat in the back along wi
th himself and the three nurses in the back.
At the hospital they hooked his body up to tubes and a monitor and declared his condition as stable. After a while, when he was still not responding at all, it was clear he won’t be telling them about how he’s feeling quite yet, so he was left for monitoring with an needle in his arm.
Frank waited a while after the coast was clear and jumped back inside his body.
Now he could get up and easily get out without being noticed, but he felt quite crappy.
The second he sat up and bent his arm, the needle of the IV in his arm really hurt.
So first he had to unhook. The IV went out first with a gratuitous amount of pain. However, when he took the beeping heart monitor off it flatlined, as though he had died. It was a very loud sound, which sent him into a panic. Without consulting his reflexes, he just kicked the heart machine, which wheeled away, ripped out the wall socket and sent the pulse monitor crashing into the blinded window into the corridor, still flatlining.
Thanks to precautionary use of plastic instead of glass windows, it only registered as a thud in the hall outside.
The next problem was that he was wearing only a backless sheet, which was not efficient in escaping, especially when buck-ass nekkid.
Conveniently, the closet contained a clean pair of scrubs and the fur coat, somebody gave him in Oakland. In the back, a box of some poor bastard’s belongings hid in the shadows, and
luckily for Frank, the family hadn’t gotten around to picking it up.
Frank dressed in what was available; green scrub pants and a very girly scrub top with little cartoon ducklings, all making silly baby-faces. The old man would surely forgive him for borrowing his tan bound-brim fedora with a black ribbon, and his toupee, the both of which he would have no need for anymore anyway.
Naturally, his hair went up into a ponytail so the toupee almost worked when he saw himself in the mirror before he went.
Maybe I could make it home if I act cool.
Maybe nobody will notice.
When he finally mustered up enough courage to leave the door, there was not a foot in the hall outside, only on the far end. He turned down the stairs, efficiently lumbering, unlike himself. Obviously, it was a stupid idea, but he was only human.
Frankentown Page 18