Touched by an Alien

control. “Revere your elders, that sort of thing.”
    “We have that too. Some of us throw it out when said elders try to destroy entire populations.”
    “And some don’t,” Martini said.
    I thought about it. “The older generation’s split on this, at least.”
    “They don’t know,” Lorraine said.
    “Sure they do. If they came here from A-C, they know. They’re lying to all of you , but they know. And some of them feel they should turn the other cheek or just ignore Yates and he’ll go away. From what I’ve seen, all the active agents are Earth-born, other than the Pontifex.”
    Martini took his legs off the table. “Yes. However, you’re wrong in thinking all the older generation knows. Richard never told them what name and persona his father had adopted. He looks very different here than he did before exile, apparently. Ten years of hard living and disease warped him, externally as well as internally, and that was before the Mephistopheles parasite arrived, too. Most of our people don’t know that Yates is our former religious leader let alone that he’s Mephistopheles—they think he died right after we arrived here. Some figured it out, and of those, yes, the older ones are split about what to do.”
    “How long have you two known?”
    “Since we were young,” Martini said. “Richard isn’t aware of how young. It wouldn’t help him to know. He feels this is all his fault, his responsibility.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “If killing Yates in human form would work to destroy the parasite, I’d do it myself, on national TV.”
    “But it doesn’t work. And, now, let’s all pull ourselves together. We know the truth, and it really and truly sucks. But it’s going to suck a lot worse in a couple of minutes.”
    I had their undivided attention, and I saw Reader and the girls work to get themselves under control. I wasn’t worried about Martini and Christopher—they’d been dealing with horrible news for a lot longer than I had.
    “Mephistopheles knows all about you. He and Yates are still functioning as mostly separate entities, but he can pull up some of the A-C side when he needs to. Maybe he always could, maybe it’s something he’s learned. But he was talking to me, and I think that memory was implanted into me in case the Yates body died before the Mephistopheles side could enact his plan. And his plan is to use me to turn all of you into superbeings.”
    “How?” Reader asked. “Since you said he doesn’t want you to birth those babies.”
    “I think he’s figured out how to transfer his essence into someone else. He didn’t have enough time to do it fully with me, just enough to send in some memories.”
    “Some?” Christopher was all over this. “I thought it was only one.”
    “I did, too. But Yates figured out what the Ancients were trying to do—he was your religious leader after all. I think he figured it out when he got to Earth and saw our variety of religions. He’s known for a long time what the parasites really are. And, I’d guess he was setting himself up to attract the right one.” I turned to Martini. “You said it’s like a love connection.”
    He nodded. “All this makes sense. But why are you the person who’s supposed to help spread the parasitic menace? I mean, you’re not an A-C woman, and a smaller percentage of human women than of males remain in control when the parasite hits them.”
    “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe we’ll find out.”
    “Can’t wait,” Reader muttered.
    “We won’t have to wait long. He’s going to come to us, and soon.”
    “How do you know?” Christopher asked.
    I shrugged. “Like I know other things; it’s just in there, in my consciousness. I think I picked it up from his breath. His awful, disgusting, stinky breath,” I had to add.
    “Air transferred?” Claudia suddenly looked normal. We were back into something she was comfortable with. “That seems odd.”
    “Maybe not.” Lorraine was better, too. Good old science, the savior of Dazzlers everywhere. “The parasites travel through space, through the air, in order to find a host.”
    “But they’re encased in the gelatinous substance that allows the safe space travel,” Claudia argued. Gelatinous substance? I guessed that would apply to the jellyfish things, and it did sound more official.
    “However, we know they alter when they join with an in-control superbeing,” Lorraine countered. “For all we know, they do