Chapter Three: Morning in the Park
Dib awoke with a headache, and then remembered Mel. "Is she still out there? I hope she decided to swallow her pride and come back inside. Yeah, Gaz probably let her in." Hoping to see her wrapped in a sleeping blanket on the couch, he went downstairs. She wasn't there. Gaz walked out.
"What are you doing up so early, Dib? You usually sleep through the whole day, if you can. I can hear your snores."
"Gaz, did you by any chance let in a girl named Mel?"
"Mel? Mel who?"
"She's a girl from skool. Did you hear anyone last night?"
"No." Dib gulped.
"She's still out there." He put on his coat and walked outside, searching the area around the house and up and down the street. She was nowhere to be found. "Mel! Mel, I'm sorry about last night! I didn't mean any of that! I'd be GLAD to have you stay at my house! Mel? Are you here? Can you hear me?" With this being a failure, he searched the nearest areas of the city. Thinking about what she had said, he headed for the residence of the nearest alien.
"What do you want, human? It's 6:30 in the morning!" Zim complained.
"Zim, this is important! Did Mel come over here last night?"
"Who is this 'Mel'? Is she a human?"
"Obviously!" Dib kicked the door closed in his face and ran off, calling her name. After about ten minutes more of unsuccessful searching, he called the police. "Hello? I'd like to file a missing persons report."
"Describe the name, description, and last location seen of the person."
"Her name is Mel, and she's about...oh, 5'8'', has short, brown hair, glasses, was wearing a silver coat along with black pants and a black shirt, and her eyes are brown. Last time I saw her, she was outside at..." he gave his address.
"Age?"
"Huh?"
"How old is she?"
"About 12, 13, I guess."
"Okay, we'll get right on it."
"Thank you." He hung up and went back outside to look some more. Eventually, he made his way to the city park and sat down on a bench. "Ugh...I'm so STUPID! Why did I have to tell her to find some other place to sleep? Huh? Because I'm an idiot!" Looking up from the snow-covered ground, he saw a figure lying about fifty feet ahead of him, partially concealed by the snow that fell during the night. He noticed that the figure had short, brown hair. "Oh, no..." Slowly, he approached the figure, soon breaking into a run. When at last he stood before her, he confirmed his fear. Mel was lying in the snow, not moving.
"Mel!" He brushed the snow off of her and saw that she was unnervingly pale and limp. Fearfully, he lifted her arm and checked her pulse. There was none. "You're...you're...NOOOO!"
Dib awoke in a sweat, realizing that he was in his own bed. "Was it...a dream? Please, just be a dream..." Glancing at the clock, it read 6:25 AM. "Uh-oh..." Not waiting to check downstairs, he ran into Gaz's room, kicking down the door.
"Gaz! Gaz! Last night, did you let in Mel from the cold?"
"What are you doing up so early, Dib? You usually sleep through the whole day, if you can. I can hear your snores."
"That doesn't matter! Did you let Mel in?"
"Mel? Mel who? You're acting crazier than normal, Dib. You look like you just saw a ghost, which you probably are about to say."
"No time, Gaz! I've got to see if she's all right!" He rushed downstairs and out the door, heading for the park. Caught in a race against time, he desperately combed the park in every nook and cranny, hoping to glimpse her. Not a trace could be found. Dib sighed, regretting his actions.
'I can't just sit around thinking about what I did wrong. I have to find her. She's got to be somewhere around here, hopefully alive.' Without another moment's thought, he went to Zim's house and pounded on the door.
"Zim! Zim! Open up! Please! This is an emergency!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"I WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL MEL'S SAFE!" The door opened a crack, and Zim's undisguised eye peered out. Swiftly and in one motion, Zim threw the door open, pulled Dib in by the collar of his shirt, and slammed the door closed again. As soon as Dib registered what had happened, Zim punched him in the face.
"What's wrong with Mel?!" Zim screeched.
"She's missing, and I thought she might be here."
"Stupid human! She's not here!"
"Can you let me go, then?"
"NO!" Zim threw him to a wall and kicked Dib in the stomach. "She's in serious danger, human."
"Yes, I know that! I've got to go find her! She's still out there, and- -"
"Be silent! She's not on Earth. She's being tested on."
"By you?" Dib pointed a finger at Zim accusingly. (No, not THAT finger).
"Of course not! Mel is the subject of many tests by a certain species called the Falish. They want to alter her mind."
"Oh, no..."
"But they are doing it in a good way. She will have many special abilities and a heightened intelligence."
"Zim, what they're doing isn't helping her! She's having seizures! She's having severe emotional problems, too! That's why she left in the first place!"
"They're working on a hybrid project, and she's apparently their female subject. Some Falish/human hybrid is going to be involved in the tests, too. They'll take DNA from the two subjects and combine them."
"Why do that?"
"Their kind is dying. They can't reproduce, so they're trying to get some human genes, but they're very selective." Dib felt a sharp pain in his left arm. He cried out, and everything went black. "Dib! Dib! Get up, miserable human!" Zim punched him in the jaw, and Dib sat up.
"W-what happened?"
"You just clutched your arm, screamed like a baby, and had a seizure!"
"Oh, no...those are the same things that happened to Mel!"
"Huh?"
"Yesterday, she was in the emergency room because she had a seizure at skool. Zim, am I going to be taken for tests tonight?"
"Most likely. Apparently, you are the other subject."
"You said that a Falish/human and a human are going to be involved. Does this mean that she's a hybrid?"
"Perhaps."
"Zim, can you get me to their ship right now, before they take me?"
"I'll run a scan to see if there's a Falish ship nearby...yes, here it is. Hovering above the Earth. Strange that the humans don't pick up on such obvious things."
"Good. Take me there." As these words had been said, they found themselves in the Falish ship. Mel was strapped tightly to a table nearby. "That's fast, Zim; since when did you get a teleporter device to a Falish ship?"
"I...don't HAVE a teleporter to a Falish ship."
"Uh-oh." A female Falen walked to where Dib stood, and put her hand on his shoulder. She had almost grayish skin, large, gray-brown eyes, and had no antennae extending from her slightly-larger-than-normal head. She was clothed in a grayish outfit, and though she had a slit for a mouth, she spoke telepathically.
"It's going to be okay. Don't fear me," she 'said'.
"That's what you said the last time."
"Last time? Eh?" Zim inquired.
"Zim, I know him," she thought to the Irken.
"How?" Zim wondered, confused.
"I am his mother." Dib's jaw opened wide, and she ruffled his hair. With wide-open eyes, he instinctively embraced her. Before he even realized it, some tears fell down his face. He was both happy and saddened, for even though he had finally found out who his mother was, he also found out that he wasn't human. At least, not completely.
Dib looked up at the Falen who he discovered was his mother, and asked, "Is Mel going to be all right?"
"I don't know that. She's ill. We did not expect this reaction. We're doing what we can."
"Wait...if you're my mother...she's completely human, right?" The Falen nodded. "What's your name?"
"The Falish do not normally have names in the sense that you are referring. We can recognize each other by simply detecting their brain wave patterns, much as humanity is beginning to assess. But, as you may not yet be used to that, you may call me 'mother'."
"What's wrong with her?"
"I suppose I cannot hide the truth from you. She's reacting to an injection received in late October 2001. The purpose of the injection was to accelerate her mind growth, which would be necessary. For you see, Dib, our experiments must be completed before she reaches her fourteenth birthday. That's why we've brought you here now: you must be under thirteen."
"Why the age restriction?"
"At this time, your minds can enter a realm where you'll become possibly two of the most intelligent children in this galaxy. However, you need our help."
"What are you doing to stop the seizures?"
"Nothing. She must have them."
"What?!"
"She must have them, or we will be unsuccessful. It is unusual, though. The female subjects have never been known to behave this way."
"It's not right! What's happening to her is dangerous!"
"Your friend will be fine. She must help us, though."
"You can't keep her here!"
"If she does not remain with us, she will die. You must go home now."
"But--"
"You must go now. Your friend will be all right. I will make sure of that. Goodbye. I hope to see you again sometime."
"I...I understand."
"Good. I will try to visit soon." He was beamed back into his own room, and thought about what had just happened.
"I-I-I...I'm not human."
When one sees the future through precognition or related phenomena, it is sometimes hard to distinguish whether they truly see across time and space, or if they receive information about how an alternate universe will function and cause them to intentionally or unintentionally change the course of the future. Of course, this goes more into how dreams are potentially affiliated with alternate universes and the famed out-of-body experience, but this is something a bit outside the realm of philosophy, though not something to be dismissed entirely, for one cannot live with philosophy alone, unless incorporating it with every other subject studied. After all, the true dynamics of understanding life--thus approaching philosophy--are all concepts combined into a single train of thought.
"People say that it's good for children to learn from their mistakes. Humanity is full of error--but what exactly have we learned?"
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.
Dib awoke with a headache, and then remembered Mel. "Is she still out there? I hope she decided to swallow her pride and come back inside. Yeah, Gaz probably let her in." Hoping to see her wrapped in a sleeping blanket on the couch, he went downstairs. She wasn't there. Gaz walked out.
"What are you doing up so early, Dib? You usually sleep through the whole day, if you can. I can hear your snores."
"Gaz, did you by any chance let in a girl named Mel?"
"Mel? Mel who?"
"She's a girl from skool. Did you hear anyone last night?"
"No." Dib gulped.
"She's still out there." He put on his coat and walked outside, searching the area around the house and up and down the street. She was nowhere to be found. "Mel! Mel, I'm sorry about last night! I didn't mean any of that! I'd be GLAD to have you stay at my house! Mel? Are you here? Can you hear me?" With this being a failure, he searched the nearest areas of the city. Thinking about what she had said, he headed for the residence of the nearest alien.
"What do you want, human? It's 6:30 in the morning!" Zim complained.
"Zim, this is important! Did Mel come over here last night?"
"Who is this 'Mel'? Is she a human?"
"Obviously!" Dib kicked the door closed in his face and ran off, calling her name. After about ten minutes more of unsuccessful searching, he called the police. "Hello? I'd like to file a missing persons report."
"Describe the name, description, and last location seen of the person."
"Her name is Mel, and she's about...oh, 5'8'', has short, brown hair, glasses, was wearing a silver coat along with black pants and a black shirt, and her eyes are brown. Last time I saw her, she was outside at..." he gave his address.
"Age?"
"Huh?"
"How old is she?"
"About 12, 13, I guess."
"Okay, we'll get right on it."
"Thank you." He hung up and went back outside to look some more. Eventually, he made his way to the city park and sat down on a bench. "Ugh...I'm so STUPID! Why did I have to tell her to find some other place to sleep? Huh? Because I'm an idiot!" Looking up from the snow-covered ground, he saw a figure lying about fifty feet ahead of him, partially concealed by the snow that fell during the night. He noticed that the figure had short, brown hair. "Oh, no..." Slowly, he approached the figure, soon breaking into a run. When at last he stood before her, he confirmed his fear. Mel was lying in the snow, not moving.
"Mel!" He brushed the snow off of her and saw that she was unnervingly pale and limp. Fearfully, he lifted her arm and checked her pulse. There was none. "You're...you're...NOOOO!"
Dib awoke in a sweat, realizing that he was in his own bed. "Was it...a dream? Please, just be a dream..." Glancing at the clock, it read 6:25 AM. "Uh-oh..." Not waiting to check downstairs, he ran into Gaz's room, kicking down the door.
"Gaz! Gaz! Last night, did you let in Mel from the cold?"
"What are you doing up so early, Dib? You usually sleep through the whole day, if you can. I can hear your snores."
"That doesn't matter! Did you let Mel in?"
"Mel? Mel who? You're acting crazier than normal, Dib. You look like you just saw a ghost, which you probably are about to say."
"No time, Gaz! I've got to see if she's all right!" He rushed downstairs and out the door, heading for the park. Caught in a race against time, he desperately combed the park in every nook and cranny, hoping to glimpse her. Not a trace could be found. Dib sighed, regretting his actions.
'I can't just sit around thinking about what I did wrong. I have to find her. She's got to be somewhere around here, hopefully alive.' Without another moment's thought, he went to Zim's house and pounded on the door.
"Zim! Zim! Open up! Please! This is an emergency!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"I WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL MEL'S SAFE!" The door opened a crack, and Zim's undisguised eye peered out. Swiftly and in one motion, Zim threw the door open, pulled Dib in by the collar of his shirt, and slammed the door closed again. As soon as Dib registered what had happened, Zim punched him in the face.
"What's wrong with Mel?!" Zim screeched.
"She's missing, and I thought she might be here."
"Stupid human! She's not here!"
"Can you let me go, then?"
"NO!" Zim threw him to a wall and kicked Dib in the stomach. "She's in serious danger, human."
"Yes, I know that! I've got to go find her! She's still out there, and- -"
"Be silent! She's not on Earth. She's being tested on."
"By you?" Dib pointed a finger at Zim accusingly. (No, not THAT finger).
"Of course not! Mel is the subject of many tests by a certain species called the Falish. They want to alter her mind."
"Oh, no..."
"But they are doing it in a good way. She will have many special abilities and a heightened intelligence."
"Zim, what they're doing isn't helping her! She's having seizures! She's having severe emotional problems, too! That's why she left in the first place!"
"They're working on a hybrid project, and she's apparently their female subject. Some Falish/human hybrid is going to be involved in the tests, too. They'll take DNA from the two subjects and combine them."
"Why do that?"
"Their kind is dying. They can't reproduce, so they're trying to get some human genes, but they're very selective." Dib felt a sharp pain in his left arm. He cried out, and everything went black. "Dib! Dib! Get up, miserable human!" Zim punched him in the jaw, and Dib sat up.
"W-what happened?"
"You just clutched your arm, screamed like a baby, and had a seizure!"
"Oh, no...those are the same things that happened to Mel!"
"Huh?"
"Yesterday, she was in the emergency room because she had a seizure at skool. Zim, am I going to be taken for tests tonight?"
"Most likely. Apparently, you are the other subject."
"You said that a Falish/human and a human are going to be involved. Does this mean that she's a hybrid?"
"Perhaps."
"Zim, can you get me to their ship right now, before they take me?"
"I'll run a scan to see if there's a Falish ship nearby...yes, here it is. Hovering above the Earth. Strange that the humans don't pick up on such obvious things."
"Good. Take me there." As these words had been said, they found themselves in the Falish ship. Mel was strapped tightly to a table nearby. "That's fast, Zim; since when did you get a teleporter device to a Falish ship?"
"I...don't HAVE a teleporter to a Falish ship."
"Uh-oh." A female Falen walked to where Dib stood, and put her hand on his shoulder. She had almost grayish skin, large, gray-brown eyes, and had no antennae extending from her slightly-larger-than-normal head. She was clothed in a grayish outfit, and though she had a slit for a mouth, she spoke telepathically.
"It's going to be okay. Don't fear me," she 'said'.
"That's what you said the last time."
"Last time? Eh?" Zim inquired.
"Zim, I know him," she thought to the Irken.
"How?" Zim wondered, confused.
"I am his mother." Dib's jaw opened wide, and she ruffled his hair. With wide-open eyes, he instinctively embraced her. Before he even realized it, some tears fell down his face. He was both happy and saddened, for even though he had finally found out who his mother was, he also found out that he wasn't human. At least, not completely.
Dib looked up at the Falen who he discovered was his mother, and asked, "Is Mel going to be all right?"
"I don't know that. She's ill. We did not expect this reaction. We're doing what we can."
"Wait...if you're my mother...she's completely human, right?" The Falen nodded. "What's your name?"
"The Falish do not normally have names in the sense that you are referring. We can recognize each other by simply detecting their brain wave patterns, much as humanity is beginning to assess. But, as you may not yet be used to that, you may call me 'mother'."
"What's wrong with her?"
"I suppose I cannot hide the truth from you. She's reacting to an injection received in late October 2001. The purpose of the injection was to accelerate her mind growth, which would be necessary. For you see, Dib, our experiments must be completed before she reaches her fourteenth birthday. That's why we've brought you here now: you must be under thirteen."
"Why the age restriction?"
"At this time, your minds can enter a realm where you'll become possibly two of the most intelligent children in this galaxy. However, you need our help."
"What are you doing to stop the seizures?"
"Nothing. She must have them."
"What?!"
"She must have them, or we will be unsuccessful. It is unusual, though. The female subjects have never been known to behave this way."
"It's not right! What's happening to her is dangerous!"
"Your friend will be fine. She must help us, though."
"You can't keep her here!"
"If she does not remain with us, she will die. You must go home now."
"But--"
"You must go now. Your friend will be all right. I will make sure of that. Goodbye. I hope to see you again sometime."
"I...I understand."
"Good. I will try to visit soon." He was beamed back into his own room, and thought about what had just happened.
"I-I-I...I'm not human."
When one sees the future through precognition or related phenomena, it is sometimes hard to distinguish whether they truly see across time and space, or if they receive information about how an alternate universe will function and cause them to intentionally or unintentionally change the course of the future. Of course, this goes more into how dreams are potentially affiliated with alternate universes and the famed out-of-body experience, but this is something a bit outside the realm of philosophy, though not something to be dismissed entirely, for one cannot live with philosophy alone, unless incorporating it with every other subject studied. After all, the true dynamics of understanding life--thus approaching philosophy--are all concepts combined into a single train of thought.
"People say that it's good for children to learn from their mistakes. Humanity is full of error--but what exactly have we learned?"
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.