Assimilation Times Two
By Rose Gordy
Don't let this proposition assimilate you.
Art by Esmiralda
Prologue April 17, 1974
It wasn't surprising that I had the following dream while I was teaching a science fiction course: I'm the lone earth liaison or greeter of the first being from beyond our solar system. I see and feel myself walking across a huge expanse of a wide room. Then the dream abruptly ends.
Yves Solar Year 85,309—01001 Star Time
waking by sensor probe—stretching three leg limbs—easing vibrating steel body out of feather cocoon—leaving the solace of tree mates—exkl and bryt—going to assignment—e'rth in three segtomes—desiring assimilation.
May 22, 2024—9:30 a.m.
From my marvelously relaxed position on my back during my morning massage at Esalen on the Pacific, I assess myself before my newest adventure: tall, slim, assured twenty-five year old Jadine Carll. Yet my mind keeps plaguing me with questions trying to ruin my peace. “Why me? Why me? How in the world did I actually win this pain-in-the-ass mission? The only good thing about it is being brought here to Big Sur by the TV station GEBE, at their cost no less, for the Greeting Ceremony. Who would have ever thought a being from another universe would land here? And what's more that I'd be THE ONE to welcome it/him/her on behalf of the whole world! It's simply unbelievable!
Yves Solar Year 85,309—01033 Star Time
exkl and bryt telephing stories about 100,000 segtomes on that little green planet—being under cover of force field invisibility—assimilating then into that world impossible but now many zenters later being ready.
May 22, 2024—l0:30 a.m.
“Mmmmmmmm! This feels so absolutely phenomenal!” I swoon to my personal Robot Masseuse as it strokes the bottoms of my feet with such a marvelously gentle touch. “Almost more exquisite than getting it on later with Zed, my main harem stud,” I muse to myself. Still I'm overwhelmed that I'm to be THE contact with one of the Artns. Rumor has it they were here years ago supposedly without our knowledge, but I don't believe it! How could we not have known beings from beyond our planet not only came here but stayed around for years to check us out? No possibility, I say. And further how did one of them let us know “it” wanted to make contact now today in the first part of the 21 st Century? I just don't understand. What's worse no one will explain anything to me.
Yves Solar Year 85,309—01999 Star Time
standing at the portal—pressing the non gravity button—cutting the light years so arriving almost before leaving—being primed for assimilation—determining not to be zapped by weird beings e'rthings call insects as bryt was having to spend 500 segtomes in a vacuum caselet—newly arming force field against all e'rth's viruses, bacteria and other harmful agents to artns now.
May 24, 2024—12:30 p.m.
Here now in my hillside room, my Buzzer Robot rings to tell me my Platform to travel to the Greeting Area has arrived. Oh well, I might as well get this all over with! But I still wonder why I had to win the National 2024 Lottery and get this “fine” chance to make the first contact with one of “them” from beyond our solar system anyway. If I had never even touched Zed's computer, let alone mess it up, maybe he wouldn't have urged me to enter the contest. But why? And I can't fathom how I ended up with the GRAND PRIZE out of 5 million who played.
May 24, 2024—12:30 p.m.
So Jadine is finally getting what she deserves! It was a true stroke of genius for me to donate a million to GEBE to rig the lottery for her to be “THE Contact Person.” I just had to get her away from me before I did something I'd regret. I still can't believe she so casually deleted my virtual hard drive and all my back up holograms of my finest novel to date because she said I paid more attention to my wall sized computer than to her! Now my one chance of making it to BSE, Best Sellers of Earth, is gone! So Jadine has to pay. I know how much she detests being in the public eye or having any notoriety for that matter. This will teach her good! Oh yes, VERY good!
Yves Solar Year 85,309—0198 Star Time
flowing into e'rth's atmosphere—coming into sight of the greeting area—having no force field invisibility—exkl and bryt not preparing me for this—just being full out fltz of the artns with three long limbs sticking out of round body of vibrating steel—no way e'rthings going to be able to welcome me like this—main eye with two half size ones on either side—sensors on both sides of head elongating to double or triple size when needed—main eye becoming a mouth once a day to inhale liquids as only sustenance—e'rthings being unable to comprehend brain of fltz and all artns distributed in hairs on legs and head—not realizing that one artn hair brain more intelligent than the whole big e'rthing brain.
May 31, 2024—5 p.m.
Is THAT what I've been waiting to meet? No, it can't be! It smells like burning raisins and looks like some weird child's toy even from way across this room. Disgusting! Oh why was I such a fool to buy that lottery ticket? I should have used my head as my dear great grandfather always told me. Instead I let my Spirit of Adventure take over. I can't even imagine trying to communicate with this repulsive being! I'll feel so out of it like someone in one of the old Dangerous Visions stories of Harlan Ellison. Just you wait, Zed Stud, you're going to pay for getting me into this! Yes, you're going to pay big time! REAL BIG TIME!
Yves Solar Year 85,309—0202 Star Time
e'rth being having only two legs on a pulsating skin body—being covered with changing colors all over—having to fulfill my mission of contact no matter what—but communicating how—feeling sickened.
May 31, 2024—5:30 p.m.
Why didn't the TV station tell me in advance what this Artn would look like? Couldn't they have done more research? Told me what to expect? I guess no one would have even entered the contest for this prize if they did. I certainly wouldn't have! And now I'm stuck. Totally stuck! I just want to get this meeting over with once and for all and go home and yell at Zed for getting me into this! This Artn being with three legs and five odd eyes. A big one in the middle and two smaller ones on each side. Now I'll always feel they're watching me so I'll have nightmares every night forever!
Yves Solar Year 85,309—0209 Star Time
Trying to get this initial contact going—aggravating that tree mates didn't teleph how odd an e'rthing would look with two limbs hanging down either side of body and only two on the bottom holding it up—not being able to make contact—to feel non-steel skin—having to come out of my force field shield to make myself touch it. NOOOOOOOOOO! Ugggh!
May 31, 2024—6 p.m.
From Station GEBE Channel 3090, this is Rob Loonbe. Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. WELCOME TO THE REALITY SHOW OF THE 21 st CENTURY! Neither the Artn or our Earthling knows what's really going to happen after their long-awaited meeting; THE FIRST CONTACT BETWEEN ONE OF OURS AND ONE OF THEIRS. Soon these two fine beings will begin their ultimate Voyage of Discovery: A LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN OUR TWO WORLDS. What neither one knows is our station's special plan for them: THEIR MARRIAGE TO EACH OTHER TO BOND OUR TWO WORLDS TOGETHER FOREVER WITH A CHILD OR CHILDREN OF THEIR UNION. Their story will remain a classic tale for all time. Our two guests just don't know yet how it's going to evolve in the next few days and years. NOW LET'S WELCOME FLTZ FROM THE SOLAR SYSTEM ARTN AND OUR EARTH AMBASSADOR JADINE CARLL TO ALL OF OUR WORLD WIDE VIEWERS WHO HAVE WAITED SO PATIENTLY FOR THIS MOMENTOUS DAY!
In the Greeting Area the anxious Artn named Fltz from 360 light years away and the reluctant Earthling named Jadine Carll walk towards each other as though drawn by an immense magnet. What the TV producers didn't know is that all Artns are feminine, reproducing asexually like some earth plants. Also, that the Artn's goal is quite different from theirs, one they are totally unprepared for: using her force field invisibility at an auspicious time to enter into the mind field of a human to experience totally what being human truly means. Of course, the human subject will not realize this ingestion or assimilation. Fltz will teleph the information she ingests across the solar system of the universe to her planet so it can be used for the eventual control of earth and all its inhabitants.
Contact between the Artn and the Earthling is instantaneous. In one fleeting second Fltz vanishes as she is assimilated into Jadine. The station and the world of viewers are astounded since the alien is nowhere to be seen. Not knowing what to do next, Jadine remains standing alone at the Greeting Area. The camera flashes off her. Stunned, not understanding what has just happened, she lets herself be led away to her flycar by a GEBE security guard. As they pass a TV monitor, the Station Manager is on camera: “Ladies and Gentlemen, unfortunately we have experienced a major problem in the transmission of the meeting of the Artn named Fltz and the earth's emissary Jadine Carll. We will return with further information as soon as it becomes available. Stay tuned in the meantime for a special presentation of the latest advances in Super Selective Cloning to relieve the worldwide shortage of teachers and nurses.”
January l, 2024—9 a.m.
Feeling so different this morning. I'd blame it on last night's champagne I drank to excess to get over the shock of Artn's disappearance right in front of me. But no, this is no ordinary hangover! I'm so much more alert than usual despite all that alcohol. Feeling like my mind's bursting alive with insights of all kinds. About the meaning of the universe. How it evolved. Why it's still here. Especially this planet. When it will disintegrate. How to travel beyond time and space.
So what is the meaning of the universe? Why yes, of course, it's SEARCH. It's all so clear to me now. The ongoing search. Search to find. Search to discover. Search to continue searching. There are no answers. Only questions leading to more searching. We're simply here to be SEARCH. What could be clearer? Yet we'll blow ourselves up when our searching interferes with the searching of beings from any other planet. When we fight to the death of our universe to win in the searching but find out too late that there is no such thing as winning. Only the infinite loop of searching, searching, searching.
Wait a minute. How can I know all this stuff? Did that one minute with the Artn do something to me? How can I have all of these insights out of the blue? I've got to do something. Talk to someone. Find out what's happening to me. But I'm scared. Really scared. What should I do? Who should I tell? Now I understand why Artns could have been here years ago and why one of them came back if only for such a fleeting contact. All of it is clear. Its plans, its being, its scientific advancements. But what do I do with all this knowledge? I'm afraid of all of it. What will the authorities do with me if I tell them what I know? Will they keep questioning me to tell them everything or what? I don't know what to do or where to turn. Will anyone even believe me? Oh, I'm so afraid!
Then from another level of Jadine's brain:
being stymied—not understanding what's happening—nothing being clear—feeling so completely out of it—a zinclin and a zinclin not making two now—not knowing why assimilating so important—wanting to get out of this e'rthing's primitive mind—not believing this race survived so long with such a minute amount of brain power—having to use all of mine to get back to artn to tell the others assimilation on this planet still a problem.
What seems like an impossible situation really is now to both Jadine and Fltz. No one on Artn realizes the failure of this assimilation yet. Somehow Fltz has to teleph to his planet, “wanting to get out of here—wanting to return home.”
June 5, 2024—3 p.m.
I wonder why Jadine hasn't called me. Surely that contact with the Artn being couldn't have traumatized her as much as some reporters have been saying. I guess I could check on her but I'm still too angry. She deserves whatever repercussions come out of her lottery “win.” But I can't stand thinking she'll become famous over this. I've got to do something. Let's see. Think, Zed, think…I know! I have a perfect idea. Her flycar. I'll rig her flycar. I'll fix a few wires so she'll have a strange and unforeseen accident and I'll be home free with no more feelings of revenge. Just peace. Peace.
June 6, 2024—5 p.m.
Zed listens in dismay as a GEBE bulletin comes over the wires:
Jadine Carll, whose fifteen minutes of fame were cut short when the Artn from beyond our solar system disappeared during Greeting Contact, was killed today off the coast of Big Sur when for no apparent reason her flycar cascaded into the Pacific Ocean .
On a related story Honorate authorities remain baffled by the almost instantaneous disappearance of the Artn several days ago during first contact with Carll. Our investigation is ongoing.
June 8, 2024—5 a.m.
Jadine dead? I can't believe it, but it wasn't my fault. As much as I wanted to get her good, I couldn't have lined up everything so fast. Sometimes things work out better than we could have arranged them anyway. Why did she have to be so jealous of my time on the computer and rob me of all my hopes for fame and fortune? There's no way I can write my book over again from scratch. Especially not now. Jadine—gone? No way!
June 10, 2024—10 a.m.
At the accident site on Big Sur , tourists crowd the area to stare at the wreck and then watch the seals nearby. What they have no way of knowing is that Jadine lost control of her flycar when she was startled by a flash view of the Artn's physical body being telephed home. More significantly, at that moment of exit, a few of the Artn's brain hairs flew onto the beach nearby where they were later ingested by one of the pregnant seals.
Will this accidental assimilation begin a new race of animal Artns? Humans of planet earth, as one of your old songs promises, “You ain't seen nothing yet!” We of the Total Universe Control Consortium warn all of you earthlings, whether human or not, to pay attention to the workings of your brains. You may be under our control on our brain waves as time goes by without your even realizing it. Laugh our warning off. Continue to believe you rule the universe when all you have control of now is your puny earth. Know even that won't be for long. Be forewarned!