Lost Past

John woke up in the hospital with amnesia, but others knew who he was. He had an identity, including a job and an apartment. But his interactions with the people who knew him didn’t seem right. He wondered why he didn’t have a relationship with his attractive colleague Cara, since they both obviously wanted one. The life they told him he lived didn’t seem like the life he thought would be natural for him. Everyone told him that Arthur was his best friend, but Arthur was out of the country. He received a phone message from Arthur that made him more curious about his lost past. The message came in a language John couldn’t name. At least he didn’t know the name in English. He could visualize words in an alphabet that he couldn’t identify. The speaker had a strong accent, but was understandable. “Zhexp,” it started. John knew that Zhexp was a name. “They said you have amnesia. You will find you have acted in a way that is not natural to you. You will wonder why. Just remember that you made the decision to act the way you did based on more complete information than you have now.” John was eager to see Arthur and get an explanation, but then Arthur’s plane crashed. Jorxt was happy about John’s situation, because it proved profitable. He couldn’t imagine having trouble with humans, but he never met Arthur’s daughter Linda. Jorxt knew all about John. He was a human, a species obviously inferior to the Plict. Fortunately, John knew his inferiority and would never create problems for Jorxt. At least that was what Jorxt believed.