①
They looked at the screen again.
“To emulate an Alien mind is not a difficult thing. You just take all the qualities that make up a typical human being - and cast them aside.”
“Normal people can’t do that!”
“Really? From what I’ve seen, people abandon their humanity all the time. After all, this young woman was willing to go feral on me not that long ago.”
The Girl turned away, finding the distorted images far more compelling than being baited. She was not going to react. She was not going to react.
“No matter how many times I point this out, it never fails to surprise me how people keep missing the obvious.
“It’s obvious to you, but not to me,” she reacted. “What’s this show called anyways?”
{Obstacle Illusion}
“Well, that title certainly fits. Is that supposed to be the front or back?”
“Makes me uncomfortable looking at it.”
“Are you getting anything out of that?”
“I think I saw part of an arm somewhere.”
After another five minutes, they gave up again because the blinking lights and screeching sounds gave them a headache.
“Why would you show this to us?”
②
They stared at the screen again. Certain body parts were emphasized and exaggerated to the exclusion of all else.
“What’s this supposed to be?”
“I think that’s a human.”
“But we don’t look anything like that!”
“From inside, we do.”
All heads turned towards the Alien Woman, who provided a diagram of a central nervous system.
“Most species focus on the external surface to gauge surface details, but others can determine the location of others through echolocation and internal heating. Our circulatory system appears as lightning bolts on the ultraviolet frequency.”
“And that’s what we’re seeing??”
“Considering that these are anthropomorphic representations of themselves twisted into 2-D forms, that’s my best guess.”
“So why are you having so much trouble, oh wise and sage one?”
“I think they must be too human for me. I’ve always had trouble understanding humans.”
③
“They’re taking a big chance allowing us to examine them this closely. If we can figure out what makes their ability tick, we won’t need them around anymore. After all, as the second contradictory truth goes, ‘Anything that occurs Naturally - ’”
“- can be recreated Artificially’,” the Girl automatically concluded.
So she knew the Weird Scientist’s theories. She might not be as useless as first thought.
“What possible use could there be in copying them?”
“Don’t underestimate the Government’s ability to weaponize tools. They’ll use anything to their advantage, even kindness. I should know, I was there. If they’re allowing us to figure out their ability, there’s only 2 reasonable outcomes, both of them unfavorable. Either we find out, and we’re unable to recreate it, or we find out, and they keep us from spreading word of discovery.”
“Meaning...” the Girl didn’t need to finish the rest of the sentence. She already knew what it meant.
“We haven’t been chosen because of our abilities. We have been chosen because we’re expendable.”
Upon hearing this, the Girl’s face crumpled up, and she stormed away in search of a private destination within these confined quarters she couldn’t possibly find.
“Was that really necessary?”
“I’m not going to sugarcoat the truth for those who can’t figure it out.”
①
The Girl raced off in sight of a private corner so no one could see the expression on her face, going as far away from the group as possible, and found to her astonishment that she’d somehow circled around and wound up facing the very people she’d intended to avoid.
Hadn’t she left them behind? They were deep in conversation about something and didn’t notice her. She doubled back twisting through the winding corridors and after a few turns, came upon the Accountant in deep thought, inscribing terribly complicated-looking colour combinations that looked like expressionist paintings. Not wanting to disturb his thought process, she darted off to the side, and was face to face to the Alien Woman again. Fortunately, she was preoccupied at the moment.
“Before we get started, I’d like to get a better look at you.”
{Our true form makes people uncomfortable}
“Yes, I get that. But I need to know what I’m dealing with here. I operate better that way. So please...”
After a slight delay, the SeerSighters unfurled their hoods off. Although only a fraction of their features was seen, it wasn’t what any of them expected. Their heads were shimmering in double-vision, like a superimposed holographic image rendered in realistic 3-D. They were essentially constantly moving while remaining perfectly still.
Even at a distance, the reveal affected those who weren’t present. While the majority of the group turned away in disgust (not from the sight, but because staring for too long caused sea-sick sensations), the Alien Woman looked upon their features with great interest, showing no signs of ill effects.
“Very interesting.”
{Your colleagues don’t think so}
She turned to see them clutching their heads and stomachs, trying to reorient their surroundings.
“They’re just not used to you.”
{We should remain covered for the remainder of our stay}
And the SeerSighters reclothed themselves again, much to the relief of everyone there. Apart from the Alien Woman, only the Silver-Haired Reporter was unaffected. The Journalist was the first to recover, and the first to take notice.
“I guess you’ve seen lots of guys like these?”
“Kid, you have no idea. I’ve been in situations you couldn’t possibly imagine. Covering war zones. Covertly infiltrating secret gatherings. Interviewing hostile subjects. All in the interest of covering news. Even with the threat of death dangling overhead, this is still a walk in the park in comparison.”
②
“You were saying something about how the Government could weaponize anything.”
“I say lots of things.”
“Are the rumours true? That there’s secret weapons designed to use against the ONEs surrounding us, walking around like regular folk?” The Journalist looked around the room and whispered, “They say you could be face-to-face with a Living Weapon, and never know it.”
“That’s rather ambitious, isn’t it? I’d recommend starting with something smaller and work your way up. Baby steps.”
“I’d still like to see one. They say that Living Weapons have sage wisdom and a youthful appearance.”
“Why are you so interested in them in the first place?”
“They were the first devices used to push back against the ONEs before GOD came along. There’s practically nothing else known about them. They’re a complete mystery.”
“Again, I ask - ”
“I was just thinking having a Living Weapon around would be really useful right now.”
“For your sake, I hope that never happens. What do you know about them?”
“They were things of massive destruction, leaving nothing in their wake.”
“What kind of destruction are we talking about here?”
“That’s the thing. Records are vague in that account. All I can speculate is that it must’ve been so terrifying that they wiped out all memories of the incident.”
“And you want to see one.”
③
“You seem rather knowledgeable about the subject. What DO you know about Living Weapons?”
“Just that if you’re looking for one, you’re better off not bothering. There’s a reason they’ve chosen to remain hidden away from public view.”
“Maybe the best way to ensure that is to remain in plain sight.” the Journalist said, gazing intensely at the Silver-Haired Reporter.
“I think you’re a little too close to the subject to see properly,” he icily responded.
“I’m going to have to postpone my questions,” the Accountant piped up, massaging his eyes in a dizzying stupor. “The colours are interfering with my thought process.”
{Waiting is not a problem}
{The problems will still be here tomorrow}
The first day ended without having made any progress.
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