Chapter 4
They ate a fantastic lunch, and Ralph had to return to the class. Herman came with him and helped the younger children with their math. He showed them how to do the math problems, and the children seemed to like Herman.
The First asked, "What do you do for a living, Herman?"
"Mostly, my UFO studies. I write articles for online magazines and have a couple of online video channels with high viewership, and I'm paid through ads on my channels. Now that I know about all of this, I guess I'll have to stop my UAP investigations."
"Maybe not; just slow down a little. The Hero League should have someone who watches the UAP community and can warn us when an investigator is getting too close. The Ruby Corp. will pay you a salary. Also, I see how exceptional you are with the kids. Did you ever think about teaching?"
"I have a teaching degree and did substitute teaching until I started making enough money from my UFO stuff."
"We need another Elementary School teacher here. Would you be interested in a job?"
"Would I have to live here?"
"Oh, no. But you might want to move to Palmdale or one of the other small communities near here and drive in each day. Other non-suited people work here, mostly relatives of suited heroes, but I guess you could be considered a relative of mine."
"Gee, let me think about it." He stared briefly and smiled, "Hell, yes, I would want to work here. Around superheroes and maybe one day get to see an alien, talk to one, and see a spaceship. This would be a lifetime opportunity for a ufologist—to be on the inside. Or at least the closest I might ever come to being on the inside."
"You wouldn't be able to tell anyone about the Hero League: no friends, girlfriend, boyfriend (whatever you prefer), mother or father. No one. Is that completely understood? All you would be able to say is that you teach at a private corporate school for the Ruby Corporation."
"Yes, I understand, and I agree."
"You would receive a Hero League computer, and everything on it would be monitored by the Hero League IT department and AI system."
"That's fine with me."
"Okay, I'll talk to Eric about you coming on board as a teacher and UFO community monitor. You'll have to undergo special monitor training on what to be vigilant for and what you can and can't say. And there will be teacher training. Would you like to come over for dinner tonight at my house so I can continue telling you about myself and the league?"
"You betcha."
Ralph called Pam and told her what occurred and that he was bringing Herman home for dinner. She didn't go to work this week because Sarah, the nanny, was on vacation with her family.
BBQ was on the schedule for dinner, and she said, "I'll pull out a couple more steaks from the freezer."
He explained to his wife, "He's not suited, so one steak should be fine." He asked his ex-student, "Do you eat meat?"
Herman said, "Yes." Ralph continued, "Yeah, one extra steak will be fine. Love you. Bye."
"So, are you still married to the same Pam you were when you were the principal at Whitney?"
"Yes. She is now suited and also regenerated back to a 30-year-old body. We now have a son, Ralph Jr. 'Alphy.' She couldn't become pregnant before, but with the regeneration and the DNA enhancement, something changed, and we have Alphy."
While the investigator helped the children with their schoolwork, the First spoke with Eric on the phone about Herman,
"Eric, we should hire Herman as a UFO community monitor. He's also a certified elementary-level teacher, and we need more teachers."
Eric said, "I'll agree only after the security people thoroughly check him out. If his background looks clean, okay, based on your recommendation."
After finishing school at 3:30 pm, Ralph flew Herman back to his car at the Park N Ride. Herman hung on for dear life, looking down all the time. Ralph smiled at the apprehensive expression on Herman's face.
They drove to Ralph's house, and he introduced Herman to Pam and Alphy. Ralph changed clothes and left Suit in the bedroom. Mr. H and Herman went to the backyard to have a few beers and talk. The First went through an abbreviated version of his story.
When Herman found out that Ralph used to be the only red-suited Hero in the early and mid-80s, he said, "That was you!"
"What was me?"
"When I was eight, I saw a red-suited blond, curly-haired man fly in front of a car, stop it with his hands, rip off the car door, and pull out the guys in the car. You looked at me, smiled, and flew away before the police came."
"I don't remember that, but I was the only Hero then, so it must have been me."
"We must have been fated to work together in this superhero field."
Ralph smiled, "Maybe."
Ralph continued telling Herman how the aliens took the suit away from him, gave it to Holly, and later passed it on to four other Heroes over the last 35 years. Then, the Little Green Guys discovered the Large Green Others on Earth and devised a plan to clone several thousand suits.
He told his ex-student how he almost died getting the cloning started, but they regenerated him, and he fought against the aliens, broke the power cable, and again almost died. He explained why his face appeared different, and he had scars from the severe burns he received when breaking the cable.
He told Herman about his other adventures over the past few months. They ate dinner while Ralph outlined his missions, with Pam helping at times. Herman was in awe at what had happened to Mr. H. By the time they finished, it was late. Herman asked, "Can you fly me back to my car? It will take me a couple of hours to get home tonight."
Pam suggested, "Why don't you spend the night? Ralph can drop you off at your car in the morning."
"Sure, that would be great."
They showed him to the spare bedroom, "Good night."
It took Herman a while to fall asleep, thinking about everything he learned. His life was going to change dramatically after this.
A knock came on the bedroom door at 6 am. Ralph stated, "We have to leave by 6:30."
Herman jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom for a quick shower. He came out of the room and was able to wolf down a piece of toast before being rushed out to the Lexus. They parked the car at the Park N Ride, and the First flew Herman to his old Ford's location. They exchanged phone numbers. The UFO investigator drove towards his apartment, and Ralph flew to the Hero League compound.
Later that afternoon, Herman received a call from a Ruby Corporation Security representative stating they had approved his employment, his new security code, and the Ruby Corporation HR department telephone number. He called the number and gave them all the requested information.
When he next came into the compound, he would have to set up a bank account at the Ruby Bank. His paychecks would be automatically deposited into the account, and he would receive a Ruby Bank debit card. He received the Hero League information line telephone number and was told to call them with any questions.
He called the number given to him, "I need to move closer to the Hero compound, and I was wondering if there are any recommendations for where to search for apartments."
The operator cheerfully said, "Oh, sure. I'll connect you with the Ruby Corporation Real Estate office." Within three days of speaking with the real estate agent, Herman occupied a new condominium in Palmdale, paid for by the Ruby Corporation, and all his belongings had been packed, moved, and unpacked by the Ruby Moving company.
The Hero Net internet was already available at the new condominium, so he only had to plug in his new Hero computer and transfer his old files. He knew all the files would be thoroughly scanned during the transfer.
The next day, he drove to the Ruby Corporation Research Facility Gate. The guards recognized him and gave him stern expressions until he gave them his security code. After that, they all smiled and were helpful. He drove to the second gate and parked in the parking lot with about twenty other cars. He approached the inner gate, and the guards took his security code number and pointed him to the security office in the Administration building.
In the security office, they injected him with an electronic ID tag under his forearm skin and explained how they could track him anywhere on the planet through it in case of an emergency. He set up his bank account and went to HR, where he sat before a video monitor and underwent several hours of training.
This training was enjoyable. It gave a short history of the Hero League. Now he understood that the Orbs were force-fields around the Heroes, flying at high speeds to protect them from excess wind friction. He also learned about all the other powers the suits and heroes could access.
Herman learned of the DNA enhancement each Hero had received from the Little Green Guys when the suit was cloned for them and how this enhancement could be passed on to children conceived by a suited Hero.
The real shocker he learned was that all humans have a tiny amount of green guy alien DNA from hundreds of thousands of years ago, and this may be the primary evolutionary component that advanced humans from apes. He thought, 'Wow, this means we are all a little alien.'
After his HR training, he went to the Elementary school classroom and reported to Ralph. He was introduced to the class as the new assistant teacher until he completed the teacher training. All the children were happy to see him again.
Ralph explained, "You can take the teacher training from home and assist with the classes during the day. Since school ends at 3:30 pm each day, you should be able to complete a couple of hours of training each day and get through everything within the next few weeks. Then, you will be assigned a group of students to oversee."
He would start with a group of 5–6-year-olds and stay with that group through 6th grade. So, these students would be his to teach for the next six years. He may gain one or two who have advanced up a grade, and he may lose one or two who are not advancing at the same rate as the other students. They try to keep them all at the same learning ability level and adjust as needed.
Herman liked his new job teaching the children. He also met most of the suited and non-suited heroes' parents and enjoyed them. He started making friends with the other teachers and other non-suited employees. Several would meet for lunch each day. In the evenings, he would continue monitoring new orb sightings and only reported those he knew now were not Heroes on his social media channels.
He told who, when, and where the Orb sightings came from to the Hero Security Department. At first, he felt like he was informing his UFO friends, but he soon realized that he was protecting the Hero community, who were, in turn, protecting the planet Earth.