The alien presence claims that enemies have been secretly altering humans' DNA and creating hybrids to transform Earth's population into slaves. It worked at an aerospace company under an alias to retrieve an artifact that can protect against this "plague" by negating the enemies' light weapon. Iris and Mitchell are skeptical of its story and motivations, but it insists they must help re-link the artifact to its power source to save humanity from being subjected to mind control and genetic manipulation by the hostile aliens.

1. “For starters,you can begin by telling us who you are.You musthavean identity and if you claimed to
havelived here then you musthavehad a name,albeit a fakeone…”
Mitchell,hisbodysubmergedinabathtubof water,feltIris’sangerandresolve. She toocouldsense his
feelingsbecause theysharedthe same telepathicstreamof consciousness.Justbecause herphysical
bodywas seatedonherbed,abouta dozenfeetfromMitchell,didn’tmeanshe couldn’tbe connected
as closelytohimas loversengagedinakiss.She mayas well have beenridingastallionandcharging
wildlyaheadwithalance.Thiswasthe image that flashedbetweenherandMitchell.The UFO
investigatordidn’tmediate totemperherrage againstthe presence.She sensedMitchellwasonher
side – and forthis momentintime – he supportedherline of questioning.
As if the alienghostwasa suspectcaught inthe blindinglightsof aninterrogationroom, he behaveda
bitmore cordiallythantheirpriorvisitation.Gone wasthe sadisticgrin.He mayhave beencaughtin a
partial truth,not quite a lie,butanomissionnevertheless.The presence maintainedanengineered
plague wouldbe unleashedbyenemyaliens.Yetthe revelationwhichtranspiredearlierinthe evening,
namelynewsof the birthof a supercorn, had sproutedseedsof doubt.Everyonehadsecondthoughts
aboutassistingthe alienpresence,especiallysince anevolutionaryadvancementmightbe impeded.
Kassidywentsofar as to label ita ‘plague withbenefits.’
“I will askyou again,”Irissaid.Posturinginhersubconsciousmindherhandhadfoundherphysical
body’ship.Butthat was justhabit.She wasdetachedfromherphysical beingnow.Hersubconscious
was revisitingalandwhere brokenpeople traversedruddysoil indesperate attemptstofind
sustenance.ButIrishadto wonderjustexactlywhatpointof time wasthe presence recreatingfor
them?Perhapsitwasjust hispeople,decimatedfromacenturylongwar. If what the botanistconcluded
was correct,the corn had beenaffectedbylightinaway whichmayhave restructuredit,viaitsDNA,to
a positive,evendesirableoutcome.If thisplague hadbeensuccessfullylaunchedbefore,mightthe so-
calledvictimsnowbe transformedintohigherbeings?Irisadmittedthe ideawasradical.She wasbuying
more and more intothe belief thatalienworldsexisted.Yetherfathernevertoldheraliensdidn’texist;
onlythat theywouldnevervisitherhome.
“Can’tyou showusa world whereyourenemy succeeded?” Iris demandedthe answersinrapid
succession,givingthe ghostlittle chance toanswerviaimage response.
“I will startwith yourfirst question.My aliasas a human wasGalloway.Iworked atAero-Sat,a
manufacturerof geosynchronoussatellites.I,of course,assumed an identity illegally. It wasforyour
race’sbenefit.”They watchedhimshuffledownacorridorof a sterile,whitebuilding.HisIDcard pinned
to hislapel.
IrisfeltMitchell’sreaction.Itwasa grimace.Onlyitwasn’tvisual.Itwas a tug at her mind.She had
alreadyheardMitchell’sargumentastowhyhe had believedthe presence.Itwasall aboutrevenge.The
presence couldn’tbearthe thoughtof the enemyalienssucceeding.ItwaswhyMitchell originally
believed.Now,Iriscouldfeel,the more informationthe presence divulged,the lesshisstoryand
motivationswere made valid.The presence pausedandthenattemptedarebound.

2. “Ah,I see. You don’tbelieve my peoplecould behaveso altruistically. Maybeyou’reright.But I felt a
need to justify my identity theft.Yoursociety is so offended by thisnotion.Ourpeoplecould tradeeach
other’smakeup and considerit a compliment.Butthat’sbesidethe point.WhatI did wasprotectyour
planetfromthe plague.And whattheenemy aliens did on yourplanet…Ican’teven begin to recount.”
Irisgrunted.It wasanotherfailedattempttoconstrainhertone.She didn’tneedbodylanguagetoshow
the presence howangryshe was.
Mitchell,inan efforttotemperherrage,senta thoughtto the presence.“My colleaguehasopened a
dooryou probably wanted to remain close.I suggest,if you still require our assistance,thatyou divulge
whateveryou knowabouttheseenemy aliens.We need to understand why they aretrying to harmus.
So you could begin with detailing whatyou know abouttheirpresence on Earth.”
Of course,histhoughtcame more in the formof imagery.A humanfistrappedona door.Tap. Tap. Tap.
The presence,inturn,sentthe image of an openingdoortothe inquisitors.Itcreaked.Imagesfollowe d.
Disgustanddisbelief permeatedIris’ssubconscious.She witnessedalienswithfake humancloaks,
beddinghumanfemales,creatingbabies…
In anotherscene,ahumanwas beingsubjugatedtosome redbeamof light.She witnessedthe victim’s
transformation inawinkof an eye.One momentcognitive,the nextcatatonic;butultimately
programmedagainsthiswill.She couldn’thelpbutthinkof Ron.Hermindraced.Papersscattered
everywhere.Perhapsthe papersstoodformemoryfiles.A whirringnoiseactivatedascene.Itsounded
more oldschool - ratherlike the tickingemanationfromanoldprojector - than a creationfromthe late
RobertJobs.In secondsitbecame clear.Itwas the EstesPark Hotel!A blow by blow replayof her
experience of three yearsago,onlyseenfromanotherperspective becauseothershidthemselvesinan
adjacentroom,theirmindstransfixed.Whatwere theyattempting?Inamomentitbecame clearer.The
ghostswere neitherchildrennorapparitionsbutmere holographicimagessentto fool the ghost
hunters.The projectionsemanatedfromthe intruder’sminds.Theywerethe projector.Itwasasif
imageswere beingcreatedforIris’sandRon’sbenefit.She listenedcloselyto,toreadtheirminds.They
said,ineffect,if she andRon expectedahaunting,thentheywouldgetone.Sowhatreallywere the red
spheresof lightthe projectedchildrenhadthrownatRon?Some form of mindcontrol?She sensedher
physical bodygaspingforair;a noticeable riseandfall of herchest.
“Comeon!You can see whatIsee! Tell me what’sgoing on here…”
“I am afraid weare notquite as linked asyou thinkI cannotexperienceyourmemories.” The alien
presence’stone soundedsincere.She willedherphysical bodytocalm, she recalledarelaxation
technique whereyoumake an‘O’usingyour index fingerandthumb.She thenexplainedwhathad
happenedtoRon.
The ghost respondedwithdeliberatecalculation.“AsIsaid,I could only speculate.Thebest of our spies
could not uncoverevery covertact of deception used.But I would surmiseto guess,yourfriend might
nowbe a sleeper,and in time, his mind will beused fora distinct purpose.” The presence hesitated.

3. “Comeon.You damn well knowwhatthatpurposeis.Tell us!” Irischargedagain,on herwhite steed,
lance at the ready.
“We speculated theenemy mightwantto create whatyou mightcall facilitators. When the changeis
completed,theremaining humanswill need guidance.Yourfriend might head somekind of division
wherethe recently compromised mightgo forassistance.”
Mitchell intervened.“Butyou said it wasa plague.How can therebe survivors?And to get backto my
colleague’squestion,arethere otherworldswherethis changetookplace?Some evidencewe might
consider…”
Irisand Mitchell couldsense the alien’sheadswayingbackandforth.“No.No.No.There are no
surviving worlds.Don’tyou see,even if they intend forthis to be evolutionary,itcan’tbe. Largesegments
of yourpopulation will notsurvivethis change.Otherswill bedoomed to service. Once theenemy
manipulatesthestructureand behaviorof thesurvivor’sDNA,a collective consciousnesswillharness
their minds.They will become subservient,withoutchanceof resistance,againstourfoe.Thisis a
violation.It is notevolution.And I hoped you would find theexamplesIhad given you to be alarming.
Whatthey’vealready doneto yourpeopleis an outrage.Creating sleeperagents,populating yourplanet
with hybrids…”
Irisdriftedinthought.She wouldgive the presence the benefitof the doubt.Whatif it wastrue?If there
were hybrids,couldanypersonbe trusted?She pursuedhertroublingconclusion.
“So howdo we knowwho theenemiesare? I surmise you cloaked yourself somehow in human form
when alive. But whataboutthese offspring you claimexist?With a mix of alien and human DNA,
wouldn’tthey beobvious?Whatweird traits mightthey exhibit?”
“I wish it were thatsimple to detect.” The alienansweredandIrisexperiencedaflash,dourand
equivalenttoa sigh.“The DNA contribution of thealien progenitorswill remain dormantuntilsuch time
yourbiology and planetis altered. That’swhy thisis nota desirablepropagation of yourspecies;it will
only serve to furthertheir agenda:genocideand servitude.”
Mitchell felthisthoughtsechoing,asif he screamedina cave.“You claim there is no meansto detect the
hybridsorthose subjectto mind alteration.I haveto wonderhow you can ‘theorize’their existence.You
would havehad to experience theseacts foryourself. If so,then you allowed theseviolationsto take
place”.
“We werealready weakened fromtheir attacks.Wecould nothopeto stop any of their ground work.We
focused ourenergieson thebigger picture.Namely,I becamean employeeat a firm so the artifact might
do its job:protectEarthagainstthe plague…orlightweapon…if you preferto categorize it as such.Your
objectwasretrieved fromthe enemy who unlinked it froma powersourcein Russia.I managed to
repossessit and restoreits function – atleast for an interim. But wehavelittle time to arguesince its
function hasobviously been interrupted.Ido need yourassistanceto re-link the objectagain with its
powersource.And I stressagain,it mustbe you.I trustyourgovernmentswill only makea bad situation

4. worse.Oursurveillance deemed they are too embroiled in their own collusionsin an attemptto rule the
world globally.They even reworked my obituary:I had died when my ship crashed;they had me dying in
a planewreck. They haveprobably reverseengineered my craft.And obviously realized I wasalien. Yet
they failed to pursuethebigger objective.They neverconcluded my workhad to havean objectiveother
than surveillance.But if they had,I amsure they would havesecured the artifactand employed it to
workin sometwisted means…”
“You mean theartifact hasmultiple uses?” Mitchell askedthe presence.
“You could say that.But the mostimportantis aligning theballs of light in a pattern which will negate
the enemy’slightdischarge.See thatit happensorfind the remaining portion of yourpopulation a slave
race.”
“How could this work?”Irisand Mitchell inquired.
“You mightcall it a parabolicmethod. Itwill reflect the light away beforeyourDNA can be rewritten,or
worse.”