Chapter 3
What happened next, I would remember for the rest of my life.
--We can't let you be found,-- the alien told us. --The creatures who are looking for you know who you are and they know that you are human. If you can blend in as one of us, it will give you a little more time to get away. The Yeerks will be busy searching for humans, and they will probably guess that I will have given you the morphing technology, but it will buy us some time. It should also renew your strength and deter the Yeerks from pursuing you so easily.--
"What are you on about bruv?" asked the Cockney girl. I wanted to ask the same thing. I had barely understood a word of that conversation. Blend in as one of them? What were we supposed to do – paint our bodies blue and ride around on horseback? And Yeerks! What were they! As for this morphing technology – if that was what he'd said – I couldn't even comprehend that!
--You need to follow exactly as I say. It may seem strange, but it is your only way to escape being killed or infested--. I saw Ferdie's eyes widen in shock and confusion. Infested! The alien continued. --Barnod here will guard the door.-- He mentioned towards the other alien. --I need you all to put your hand on my arm and concentrate on my form. Visualise my body in your head. Think about becoming me.-- I stared. Was this some kind of joke? What was with this guy and touching things? Philip seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Touch you?" he exclaimed. "Why should we do that?"
--That device you touched has given you a great power, which I shall explain to you later. For now, you just need to do as I say. Touching my skin and concentrating on my form will allow you to absorb – or acquire – the DNA of my form into your own bloodstream. You can then carry on that concentration – and take my form. You can acquire and morph any animal you touch.--
"Take your form? What does that mean?" I asked.
The alien smiled his mouthless smile. --It means that you will become me. You will, by a formulaic zero-spacial translation, your genetic code will…-- He stopped at our blank expressions. --Your bodies will literally turn into a copy of my own.--
"Oookay," said Ferdie. "Someone please pinch me. This has to a dream".
--This is not a dream,-- said the second alien, called Barnod, in his deep, rich thought-speak. --And Eramas,-- he said rudely, -- if you want to continue with this irresponsible, illegal escapade of yours, I suggest you make these apes get on with it.-- He glanced at a small, black, handheld object, a bit like one of those really old mobile phones. --A group of Hork-Bajir Controllers are heading towards the main elevation shaft. They will soon find us. I suggest that I carry out my further duties and rendezvous with the second Fighter.--
--Yes, do that, Barnod. I shall be in touch with the rest of the crew within three standard hours. Make sure you get all of us out. I must make sure these humans escape before the enemy capture them. We must assume they know that they are human.--
--Yes, Sir,-- replied Barnod. With that, he saluted by raising his tail above his head, and turned on his heel and walked out of the room. He seemed pleased to have left – again, I had the feeling he did not entirely agree with his superior on this issue.
Even though I had no idea what these guys were talking about, I could tell that although the aliens appeared calm and in control, their thought-speak voice was becoming rather tense. I had to make a decision. This morphing, turning into another creature, was obviously some kind of advanced alien technology, unknown to the human race. Either that, or I really had gone mad and this was my padded cell.
"I'll go first," I said. "That way, if anything happens during the, err, process, you guys will know to run." I tried to sound strong, like I knew what I was doing. In truth, I was clueless. My head swam with unanswered questions. My mind kept laughing at me, not believing I was accepting what was going on. I forced myself back to the matter in hand.
The others nodded. The alien, Eramas, stepped towards me and held out his arm. It looked weak, and its' shoulder, although human like, did not seem to be jointed as freely as a humans. There were numerous cuts and grazes on it, one of which seemed to be spilling an inky blue blood.
--Concentrate on my form,-- he said. --Picture my form in your head. Concentrate on what I am, what I represent--.
I did so. I had no idea what this guy represented, other than the last half hour of complete insanity, but I managed to draw up a fairly clear picture of his alien shape in my head. It wasn't too difficult. Bladed tails and eye stalks tend to have a way of sticking in your mind. I closed my eyes and pictured his face, his four eyes, his strange nose. I pictured his blue, horse like body. As I 'acquired' him, I felt his muscles slacken. I didn't know how long to concentrate for, the guy hadn't exactly told us a great deal about this whole thing, but I felt my mind start to drift after about ten seconds anyway. I opened my eyes and took my hand from his arm. A moment later, the alien seemed to come out of his trance and stood upright again.
--Good,-- he said. The others around me were staring at me and the alien. Philip glanced nervously towards the door. I guessed their minds were bombarded with all this new information, questioning their idea of reality, just like me. It occurred to me that, even though I had just made a life changing decision on their behalf, I still didn't even know all of their names.
