V - the Visitors

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It was night already when Hank and Gavin, running on donuts and lots of coffee, took Daniel, running on lots of spiders and the bright desk lamp, into the interrogation chamber. The atmosphere was tense, but not hostile. In fact, Hank likened the short-fused alien to the equally easy to anger Gavin. Different metabolisms aside, psychologically the higher mammals and the higher reptiles seemed similar enough.

Praying silently that he’d be able to read the Visitor’s mimic and body language well enough, the detective opened the conversation.

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Hank: “So, Daniel, you may wonder why you are in this room and I’m obligated to tell you before we start: You are suspected of impersonation.”
Daniel: “I’m pretty sure we do not use masks of individual humans.”

Hank: “Impersonating a whole species! Or, more prosaic, Intent to Mislead.”

Daniel: “That’s hard to deny after the mask came off, I guess…”

Hank: “Yeah. But I get it! Reptiles disguising themselves as humans makes sense. Humans fear everything that’s different. We have a long history of subjugating even members our own species on that account.”

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Daniel: “Indeed! The masks make this contact so much easier! Without them, you’d never have let us mingle freely in your society, let alone get close to your children. Thank you for understanding!”

A relieved smile appeared on the Visitor’s face. But Hank wasn’t finished yet…

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Hank: “Why would befriending our children be such a priority for you, one wonders? I’ll tell you: Kids are easily impressed. They already love you to pieces and my own son would probably jump if you said frog.”

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Hank: “Molding the younger generations… making the older ones dependent on your products… probably factory seconds or stuff that’s outdated on your planet, but that aside… These are the baby stages of colonialism!”

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Hank: “I seem to have hit a nerve, but I have a haunch that there’s more.”

Gavin: “Maybe we should let Cole talk to the Visitor? Would you be okay with that?”

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At this point of the interrogation the Visitor/Human officer duo Timothy and Chris burst through the door.

Timothy: “Amanda demands the release of Daniel! Compensation for the damage he did will be sent, but the human government must not detain Daniel any longer! Why’s he in the interrogation chamber anyway? His crime was pretty clear!”

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Chris (looking at unmasked Daniel): “I have a myriad of other questions first…”

Timothy: “You wouldn’t like the answers.”

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Chris: “So that’s why we had to monitor the Bellamy residence today… and why the whole “Scientist Conspiracy” was invented in the first place! Because you were afraid an anthropologist might spot that something wasn’t quite right with your skulls!”

Timothy: “That’s the gist of it, yes.”

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Chris: “Wipe that smile off your face, lizardface! Earlier today I was ready to shoot at innocent people on you Visitors’ behalf! Because you had successfully persuaded everyone that the Bellamys were evil!”

Timothy: “You don’t know the half of what the Great Thinker has convinced MY people to condone.”

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Timothy: “Permission to speak freely, Lt. Anderson? Because this could be a one in a lifetime chance for both our species. You see, there are those who oppose the Thinker’s plans for Earth… and for our own world, for that matter.”

Chris: “They deceived us, Hank! They’ll do so again!”

Hank: “It’s not like I’d gotten lied to before in my profession. And Daniel going “Oh, plum” tells me there’s a story worth listening to here.”

Daniel: “I just wanna punch John Phillips again. He started this mess!”

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A ruse like that of the Visitors was hard to pull off and indeed in several cities where motherships were stationed, humans had seen through the disguises. The first resistance cells had formed and already perished again, but even so the awareness of the Visitors true nature was slowly spreading. Very few humans were privy to the aliens’ actual plans, though.

While at the West Coast Mike Donovan got to stare at an impressive display of tanks in the L.A. mothership, in Detroit the DPD officers had to take Timothy’s word on that they existed and were holding…

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Timothy: “…the whole of the planet’s water reserves, if the Great Thinker got their way!”

Chris: “That’s a bit hard to swallow, Tim. Not to mention stupid.”

Timothy: “Well, we had no idea that your planet is practically all water. Maybe the original plan has changed to stealing a little water and moving settlers here, but in any case the orders of our fleet are to fill up on water and humans. What you see in orbit are freighters protected by our army. The real battleships are elsewhere.”

Hank: “What would you want to collect humans for? I’m a human and I can tell you it’s a very bad idea to introduce us to a foreign ecosystem. For the ecosystem, that is.”

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Timothy: “That’s exactly why! You’re the ultimate biological weapon, Lieutenant, aggressive in battle while still being generally destructive in your downtime. The Great Thinker intends to use abducted humans as slave soldiers in their wars. And those who aren’t suited for that… You tell them, Daniel.”

Daniel: “…canned food. The idea is that if we have to kill you, we can just as well make use of all the meat.”

Timothy: “Could you please say again that this plan is insane, Chris?”

But Chris said nothing. None of the three humans in the room said anything, and neither did Daniel.

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Timothy: “Our bunch of dissatisfieds has adopted the name “Fifths Column”, because it is our hope to ally with the humans. Right now we’re scattered across all fifty motherships, but despite this presence we’re hardly able to act. Together with the people of Earth we may have a chance, especially with you guys of the local law enforcement.”

Chris: “You got that, pal. Friends, even! Now that I know you’re wearing a mask, I can see your face muscles moving beneath it. It’s scary, but you’re still Tim. And you’re still invited to our fishing trip this weekend!”

Gavin: “Fishing trip? Count me in!”

Chris: “Ugh… see what you’ve done? Gavin wasn’t supposed to learn of it.”

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Timothy: “Thank you, Chris - and sorry!”

Hank: “So what do you propose we should do next?”

Timothy: “You meet with us, either at the DPD or a neutral place. Offer protection to humans and Visitors alike that Amanda might target - that would be the Fifths Columnists and your Scientists for starters. In turn we cover up the Daniel unmasking incident.”

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Daniel: “Do I get a say in this?”

Gavin: “Sure! You can choose between your afterschool club kids getting eaten or dying in the “Great Thinker”’s wars.”

Daniel: “If you put it like that… okay, I’m in. I won’t spill anything about this meeting or anything that comes of it to the officers. But that’s all I can promise.”

Hank: “Fair enough, I suppose. Okay, let’s get Daniel out of here now! Chris - you get us a paper bag from the cafeteria. Timothy - give Daniel your gloves! Gavin - you go to checkout and pay whatever the city demands for spraying those posters. We’ll get the money back from the Visitors, I promise!”

As the DPD officers marched Daniel out, they ran into Cole Anderson.

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Cole: “Oh, are we leaving already, dad? I thought we’d stay at the police station overnight, and sleep in the cells!”

Hank: “I’ll be gone for a while, but you can totally sleep in a cell if you want!”

Cole: “I want to!!!”

Hank: “Okay, I’ll tell Officer Tachibana. But in case I’m not back yet in the morning, don’t take the bus on your own! Stay put and wait for your mother to pick you up! There’s some seriously dangerous plum out there these days.”

Cole: “Or maybe you just don’t want to be here when mom swings by…”

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Daniel: “Cole! That’s no way to talk to a parent!”

Cole: “Daniel? That’s… uh… no way to look and get taken seriously, man!”

Daniel: “That’s the point, junior. Amanda makes me wear this bag of shame for having started the brawl in the art gallery.”

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Cole: “In full public view?!”
Cole winced. If that was how the Visitors treated their miscreants… and Daniel was his afterschool club teacher in the Friends of the Visitors group… then he might get ideas like doing this to Cole, too!

I better be on my best… on my better behaviour, the boy concluded.

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Hank: “We’re walking Daniel back to Belle Isle. Please don’t comment on the paper bag, that seems to be the Visitors’ idea to punish misconduct in public.”

Rika: “It’s… uh… wholesome?”

Daniel: “You tell me.”

Rika: “Why’s Gavin out of his cell?”

Gavin: “C’mon, Rika, I sprayed a couple of posters. What could that warrant? Community hours?”

Rika: “Actually you are suspended… And the Visitors have called. Since you defiled not really the DPD’s walls, but the Visitors’ own faces, their public order office will deal with you, not Detroit’s. You are to report there tomorrow.”

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Rika saying this with a straight face, a smile even… If Hank and Gavin hadn’t believed Timothy that something was afoot, now the definitely knew! Now the men wished they had retained more of their school knowledge. What was it that snakes did to mammals’ brains? Paralyze the prey? What if the Visitors could do more? Like, charm humans into being more inclined to see things the aliens’ way, even if it contradicted their occupational knowledge?

Timothy would have to answer some more questions soon! But for now he came to the rescue:

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Timothy: “Public Order Office? That’s on Belle Isle, where we’re headed anyway. If it’s alright with you, Officer Tachibana, I’ll take the Detective along!”

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The mixed group of would-be rebels left the DPD. They had no idea what they were to each other, collectively, or where their alliance would lead.
But for now they had a - however vague - goal and a definite destination: Belle Isle.

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Gavin: “How’s it hanging, fellow Public Enemy?”

Daniel: “All over my face.”

Gavin: !!!

Daniel: “What?”

Gavin: “Tina’s right. I shouldn’t use that phrase anymore.”

Chapter 5: Belle Isle

Belle Isle was an island in the Detroit River that seperated the cities of Detroit/USA and Windsor/Canada. In the past the island had served as a popular destination, with a beach, a public aquarium, botanical garden, zoo and golfing area.

After the Visitors had purchased Belle Isle from the city of Detroit and made it their base, the island was strictly off limits. Even the bridge spanning the Detroit river had gotten torn down. Unfortunately they hadn't done the same to the Scott Memorial Fountain...

The only way to approach Belle Isle now was by boat. Timothy had used the correct codes for delivering a prisoner and was certain that nothing of Daniel’s unmasking or the Fifths Column activity had spilled outside the interrogation room. By right Tim should have been able to proceed deeper into the island without anybody batting a nictiating membrane.

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Yet there was a whole squad of armed Visitors waiting for the arrivals at the pier…

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…including not only bridge crew members, but also a Winged Krenshar, a feline native to Sirius 4 that usually wasn’t brought out into public.
As a rule of thumb only creatures that were looking identical to their Earth counterparts were allowed to be seen by humans, to uphold the pretense of the Visitors being just humans from outer space.

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Timothy: “What’s this to mean?”

Simon: “That you’re under arrest along with your human cronies.”

Markus: “And now that we have identified one Fifths Column member, the rest will follow.”

Timothy: “What makes you think I am… one of them?”

Simon: “First - you recognized the group’s name. Second - Daniel is bugged, allowing us to listen in on his conversations. We suspected my brother to be one of the insurgents and I’m ever so glad that he wasn’t!”

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Markus: “Welcome to Belle Isle, DPD officers! I'm sure you'll have a memorable stay.“

Hank: “Stuff a sock in it, lizard! We know that you eat people - I hope you choke on us!”

Markus: “People? No! Humans, yes. Not you, though. You bunch are too useful to get canned.”

Simon: “Markus! What about my brother?”

Markus: “Well, he DID say some pretty sketchy things at the DPD. If I was still Captain, I’d let it slide, knowing the circumstances were stacked against Danny. But with Amanda being in charge now you never know. We may have to make some painful concessions to bail Danny out.”

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Daniel: “I have brought something that should convince Amanda of my integrity: The human child who consistently scored highest in the skill game. Elijah requested the boy specifically.”

Gavin: “Elijah?!”

Cole: “I take it this is a bad moment to learn that I followed you and hid in the car’s trunk? Daniel helped me hide on the boat, too.”

Hank: “What the plum, Cole…”

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While the armed Visitors overpowered the police officers, Daniel ushered Cole towards the “Jericho”’s commanders. The boy followed, not really understanding what exactly was going on. Detective Reed’s brother was a scientist, so maybe Gavin, too, was part of the conspiracy? But Cole’s father was innocent, obviously. Daniel would tell that to Amanda, she’d release dad and Officer Miller and maybe they’d go visit the Belle Isle Zoo together afterwards!

Inside the base was still skipping alongside Daniel. The boy hadn’t slept all night, but instead of being sleepy, he was feeling strangely tipsy. Cole alternated between telling the alien all about the new Safariland and emphasizing that bis father was innocent. It was the single cornerstone in the boy’s mind now: The Zoo was being remodeled, aliens had taken over Belle Isle and Daniel had turned out to be an upright walking giant lizard, okay, plum happened, and sometimes it was some seriously cool plum, even. But Hank Anderson was a hero, regardless of what Cole’s mother and the aliens said!

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Cole: “...although she doesn’t deny that dad’s a hero. But if mom still believes in dad, then why don’t they get along anymo... aaahhh!”

Cole cried out when he realized that there were vines on the floor of the room they had just entered, and that they were greedily creeping all over his shoes.

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Daniel: “Just stand still for a few seconds while the hyggie-vines clean your footwear. Think of them as an automated bootbrush... with an attitude.”

Cole: “How do they know where to stop? They do know that, yes?”

Daniel: “The vines may go for the dirt in your face when you come in from the playground, but they are severly icked out by the idea of eating people. They cannot digest us. Or your species, for that matter.”

Cole: “Wow!”

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Daniel: “They can still be a nuisance, growing up the wall and into trashcans, and I get the feeling it’ll be me who has to remove the overgrowth later today.”

Cole: “That’s what you get to do for detention? Will... will you make dad clear hyggie-vines, too?”

Daniel: “No! Absolutely not! You told me your father hasn’t done anything bad, remember?”

Cole: “Uh-huh. Where are we going, Daniel?”

Daniel: “Seeing someone who was impressed with your hologame skills. - Oh, here's something cool, Cole! Stand right under the cloakroom vines and they’ll grab your jacket.”

Cole: “How do they know where to stop?!”

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Daniel: “Cloakies are a lot smarter than hyggie-vines. These here are a domesticated species that can get trained. They remember each clothing item’s owner and will only give it back to the correct person. Real expensive ones will even slap pickpockets on the wrist.”

Given their planet’s pollution, any kind of cloakie, even the most stupid ones that would steal your glasses, were an expensive luxury on Sirius 4 at the moment. But those worries Daniel didn’t share with the human child.

While the cloakies did their duty, Cole looked around.

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Near the door was a small buffet and the signs on the wall seemed to say “Grab something healthy on your way out!”. Only for Daniel’s species fruit weren’t really healthy. Too many of them would give them the runs. The human boy thought he was looking at the icky health stuff, when in truth the buffet was the aliens’ equivalent of the cookie jar.

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Next to the fruit were houses for crickets and bugs. How did the Visitors keep the buzzers off the fruit, Cole wondered? The answer was of course that they didn’t even bother to do that, because both the fruit and the insects were tasty treats to them.

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Freezers lined up along the wall were holding drinks, bowls of raw eggs and flasks that, as Daniel explained, contained egg mixed with spices. He didn’t delve into the nature of those spices, but they were most likely not salt and pepper.

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In a corner this strange arrangement was nestled. Cole at first took it for a bar, but on second glance the structures he’d taken for a table distillery turned out to be glass cages filled with rats.

And finally a large fish tank that’s roof could get raised and lowered on the push of a button, dominated the middle of the room. Giant guppies and an eel-like species that Cole didn’t recognize were swimming around inside.

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Cole: “What is this place, Daniel? A laboratory?”

Daniel: “What? No! This is one of the Belle Isle Base’s cafeterias.”

Cole: “Not for real! You guys eat the bugs and raw eggs? That's not just a gross habit of Eustace's?"

Daniel: “You saw him snack?"

Cole: "I shouldn't have, right? But I found it fun to dare him eat live bugs, so I kept on doing it..."

Daniel: "Eustace is actually eating very healthy for a kid his age. Uh... take a banana if you want.”

Cole: “So that’s why you mistook the pet shop for the diner the day we first met!"

Daniel: “...sorry.”

Cole: “Ey, it’s alright, I guess. I mean, the aliens in stories eat people, so guppies are a real improvement.”

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Cole: “Say, Daniel, how much longer do you have to wear that stupid paper bag? I mean, we’re out of public now, so there’s no need for the Bag of Shame anymore, right?”

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Daniel: “That was a lie, admittedly. I do not wear this as a punishment, but in order not to frighten the humans. After my mask came off, the paper bag was the only cover available.”

Cole: “Take it off already! …please?”

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Daniel: “There. Done. But I’ll keep the bag in case you change your mind."

Cole: “You know what, Daniel? I might have been shocked, had I seen you like this on any other day. But today I’m not afraid of anything I see, because what has happened scares me so much already.”

Daniel: “Yeah, I bet it does.”

Cole: “I don’t get what’s going on, and I have no idea what will happen next and I’m not sure I even want to know...”

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“I’m afraid”, Cole had confided into the Visitor. It wouldn’t help at all, would to the contrary undermine his authority as teacher, but Daniel replied: “I’m frightened, too.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Out commanders told us that we’d get welcomed as gods on Earth, but now we’re hated. There’s the Scientist Conspiracy, and Emma’s parents believe we are inferior to humans, because we are true reptiles and not therapsids.”

And that was only the tip of the iceberg. Markus and Amanda scheming over leadership or the humans being real people, not some semi-sentient beasts were complicating the matter. But Sirius 4 needed resources: water, food and warriors. Using the humans for the last two had seemed like an elegant solution. I they were out as a nutrition source, then what? Back to Sirius 4 and to dying out?

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Daniel knew only one thing: That he couldn’t hurt humans he had come into personal contact with, even those like Detective Reed, who had actively antagonized the Visitor, or the dangerous Phillips couple. And least of all could Daniel endanger a child. That was why he had abducted the boy: The Visitor believed that Cole was safer at Belle Isle than he’d be with his mother in Detroit.

"Emma’s parents are morons!" Cole exclaimed, impulsively hugging his teacher. "And Detective Reed snaps a lot, but he’s really fun, and knows profanity that not even dad knows! You’ll see when you get to know each other better!"

Daniel was just about to reach into the fish tank, when he noticed from the corner of his eyes that the menu right above the rodent cages advertised rat as today’s special. Daniel liked rat, the contrast between the furred body and the naked tail made his palate tingle. As a member of the lower classes he had lived off canned food for most of his life. He knew how to properly use a fork and was good at seasoning processed meat to make it less revulsive, even tasty. That was a useful skill, but also a mark of the underclass on his home world.

Those Visitors stationed on the motherships were still subjugated to that diet. Having a room at the Belle Isle base offered access to small luxuries like WISTARAT.

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For the Visitors, who gulped down live animals, their food’s taste didn’t really matter. The prey’s smell was most important, followed by the texture. A fish went down differently than a rodent, a rat’s tail produced a different sensation from a squirrel’s or a tailless guinea pig. For the serious gourmand the different fur structures of the various guinea pig races made all the difference.

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An appetizing presentation in a bowl contributed to the dining experience. In this regard the cafeteria only had to offer the good old “pull out randomly and make room for the next one in the queue” cages. But since Cole and Daniel were alone this morning, Daniel could carefully select a choice specimen. He ruffled the meal's fur while lifting it up to his mouth, to bring out the texture to the fullest, opened his jaws wide and...

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Daniel: “Ouch! Ow! The little motherplummer BIT me! Does everything on this world hate us?!”

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Daniel: “Ew... I’m not eating that! Back in you go!”

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Close up of Daniel’s breakfast misshap.

I didn’t try for this result, could just as well have ended with Daniel eating the rat.

Chapter 6: Snowscapes and Mindgames

Meanwhile the DPD officers were being led into a far less colorful chamber and ordered to take off their jackets. The coatrack wasn’t a semi-sentient “Coatie” plant like in the cafeteria, but made of sturdy metal. This was a military installation, where playful vines had no place.

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North: “No watches, glasses, piercings, rings and the like. Oh, and you better make yourself comfortable. I wouldn’t suggest wearing a tie.”

Hank: “If I take off my shirt, will I get it back washed and folded?”

North: “No stalling, prisoner!”

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Hank looked around. There were Chris’ uniform and Gavin’s leather jacket, but also clothes belonging to at least three unknown individuals. Whatever went on in the next room, it seemed to be something the Visitors performed routinely. There was no telling how many humans might have gotten subjected to the process already.

Let’s think... When Markus taunted us earlier, he said that he wants us to return to our workplaces. That implies some form of, hm, they’ll call it re-orientation or something, I bet. Torture, maybe, future-teach assisted brainwashing, more like it.

Rika Tachibana was the officer who found Markus and some cronies dead drunk and stripped to the nude in an alleyway that one morning. It’s easy to imagine that their masks have gotten damaged. Rika saw that, so the Visitors did something to her that made her not only forget what she’d seen, but also turned her into a puppet. We just didn’t notice it earlier, because Rika is a natural airhead.

If basic personalities indeed to stay intact through Visitor brainwashing, with a bit of luck this will work...


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While he slowly took off his wristwatch, Hank hit the switch that started the timer, as he routinely did when he expected to get into contact with mind-altering substances. Alcohol, drugs... in fact, the practice had started as a joke during many a party with his co-workers.
Now Hank was praying that the Visitors wouldn’t notice and that the run out timer would make him stop and think later. It was a digital knot in the handkerchief, a reminder that he had forgotten something, with no inkling what exactly that might be.

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Held at gunpoint the DPD officers had to wait for minutes that were stretching to hours in their minds. Nobody spoke a word, or did so much as grunt. Suddenly the Winged Krenshar got agitated, a moment later the door to the next room opened and a female Visitor emerged.

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Lucy: “Aw, want scratchies? Okay, but only real quick! I’m still on duty, sweetie.”

Krenshar: “Mrrr.... rao?”

Lucy: “Oh... oh, no! I think I know what those sad noises are about. But the humans have forgotten you. I’m so sorry... I know you liked them.”
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Lucy: “I’m Lucy, the veterinarian in charge of the Conversion Chamber. The previous clients are resting right now, ready to get released back into the wild later today. You can have a look and see for yourself, if you don’t believe me.”

Gavin: “I hope the first thing they’ll do back in Detroit is to buy a cat and send you photos of it!”

Lucy: “Joke’s on you, because that’s exactly what I programmed them to do! Not the sending phonepics part, of course.”

Hank: “Why’d they want to send you pictures of their phone anyway?”

North: “Pfft. Barbarians!”

The “Winged Krenshar” is a dog, by the way, a Doberman by name of Daisy that in my gameplay save is owned by the male guard, John.