Parasites Love Earth!, Page 9

  "And you," said Denning, watching Sam turn and go.

  Back at the central administrative building, Sam ran into Dunlop 4, who was just returning from scanning one of the wings.

  "Find anything?" Sam asked.

  "No," said Dunlop. "I have walked through five sections of this facility and sensed nothing. And you?"

  "No," said Sam. "I just covered three wings. No, four," she corrected.

  "Are you unsure?" Dunlop asked.

  "Well, I just came out of the Reactor Wing," said Sam. "I... I didn't find anything of interest."

  Dunlop 4 looked intently at her.

  "And yet... I don't remember walking through that wing," said Sam. "I guess I've been in so many wings today-"

  Dunlop 4 raised her chin, and looked into her eyes. Hers were green. His were blue. He said softly, "I think we should both take a look at the reactor wing."

  ********

  "Are we ready?" said Hemrissk, entering the reactor control room.

  "Almost," said James. "We just want to run a few more tests."

  Hemrissk looked distracted. If he weren't, he might have picked up on the ambivalence in James' mind. The reactor was ready, indeed, had been ready since yesterday. As supervisor, James was stalling, forcing more tests on his staff, while he tried to work out for himself what he wanted to do.

  "There is no more time for tests," said Hemrissk. "We have been discovered. There is one here who can harm us."

  "Someone who could harm us?" James asked. Hemrissk had never mentioned that he was being pursued, much less by someone who could harm him.

  "Activate the gateway," said Hemrissk. The other scientists turned to obey.

  In front of them was an elaborate ray device, the particle cannon, and in front of that was the aperture, which they had designed precisely to Hemrissk's specifications. Those in the facility who were in a position to be aware of its construction had been evolved or otherwise dealt with by Hemrissk.

  "Don't you want to-"

  "No," said Hemrissk. "Activate it!"

  A scientist turned a switch. In moments, if all went well, they would be connected to a giant black hole. The envelope created by the aperture would protect them, but only for a few minutes. After that the intense gravitational field from the black hole would begin to suck in the entire planet.

  "Activate the interspace envelope!" Hemrissk commanded.

  A square box, filled with light, slowly appeared to the side of the aperture. Purely thought controlled, it would take them inside the aperture. Back to the beginning of time.

  James felt himself becoming excited, despite himself.

  The ray cannon shot out. An image started to appear in the aperture. It was dark, swirling, and ominous.

  The black hole.

  "Get to the interspace envelope," Hemrissk commanded.

  The scientists started to move towards it. But at that same moment a voice shouted, "Stop!"

  Even before he turned, Hemrissk was smiling. "Dunlop! So we meet again. Which one are you this time?"

  "Dunlop 4," said Dunlop, pointing his weapon at Hemrissk. Sam had her blaster aimed at him as well. Behind them were a dozen security guards from the Oak Ridge facility, all with blasters drawn.

  "Dunlop 4? What happened to the other Dunlops?"

  "A long story," said Dunlop. He saw the aperture start to flicker. It could only hold back the enormous gravitational effects of the black hole for so long. "Turn it off," he said.

  "I don't think so," said Hemrissk. "Did you really think you could defeat me, with those puny weapons?"

  "I did last time, if you recall," said Dunlop, and even as he spoke his eyes were shifting around the room. For a moment, they settled on James.

  "Last time you had help. One of the people I helped rewarded me with betrayal instead of gratitude," said Hemrissk. "This won't happen again." And he waved a hand, and Dunlop and everyone else found themselves frozen in place. They couldn't move a muscle, not even to pull the triggers on their weapons. Hemrissk turned to his scientists. "And now, without further delay, let us-"

  Hemrissk froze in mid sentence. His mouth opened wide, and he fell to the ground. James walked over to him. "Yeah, I mastered that."

  Hemrissk struggled to recover. He raised a hand, either to get up, or attack James, or--

  and then, suddenly, there was a gaping hole in his chest, as a bolt of light hit him from Dunlop 4's rifle. He fell to the ground.

  The room shuddered, experiencing a shock wave from the aperture.

  Dunlop walked quickly over to James. "I can probably figure out how to deactivate this device, but if you wish to help...."

  "Of course," said James, and he looked at a control, and a switch was flipped.

  The aperture flickered, and the image of the black hole faded.

  "He never learned," said Dunlop, looking down at the body. "He evolved to the point where one sought out knowledge, for knowledge's sake, but forsaking everything else that made life worthwhile."

  And as they looked at the body, they saw it change before them. Hemrissk became slim, very slim, with very slender arms and legs. His head grew slimmer as well, but taller, much taller, and divided into two large lobes. His eyes also grew large, until they were the size of unscrambled eggs.

  "And I'm just guessing, but I'll bet he had a very small penis," James muttered.

  ********

  "Good work Major, Dunlop 4. It seems you have eliminated another threat."

  "A lesser threat, General Henderson," said Dunlop 4.

  "I wouldn't call the destruction of the planet Earth by a black hole a lesser threat," said General Henderson.

  "I wasn't referring to that danger, General, but to the caliber of the opposition. As powerful as he was, Hemrissk was only one man," said Dunlop 4. "Aside from your initial capture of the two parasites, you still have had no contacts concerning the Hive parasites."

  "That troubles me as well," said General Henderson. "But we can only deal with what we have in front of us. And at the moment, it's all the scientists who were accelerated. What do you suggest we do with them?"

  "The safest course, of action, would be to sterilize," said Dunlop 4.

  "He means to kill them," said Sam, looking uncomfortable.

  "They could be a threat. If they escape confinement, they could attempt to destroy your planet again," said Dunlop. "Additionally, even though most are not as evolved as Hemrissk, they could develop mental powers over time."

  "I spoke to James Monroe about that, the scientist who helped us defeat Hemrissk," said Sam. "He says that if you give him access to Hemrissk's body, he thinks he can figure out a way to reverse the evolutionary effects, and return the evolved scientists approximately to the way they were."

  "Approximately, Major?

  Sam waggled her hand. "Plus or minus 20,000 years of evolutionary changes, he assured me." She saw the skeptical looks. "He's a genius! He should be able to."

  "It's not his ability I question, Major Arden. It's his intent," said General Henderson.

  "Sir, he helped us defeat Hemrissk. Without him, the planet might have been destroyed."

  "I'm aware of that. But I am also wondering what would happen if he changed his mind, again. Apparently Doctor Monroe has developed some formidable telekinetic powers," said General Henderson.

  "Sir, killing him would not be right," said Sam.

  ********

  "So they're not going to kill you," said Sam brightly, speaking to James, who was locked behind a forcefield, and under treble guard.

  "They're just going to put me in medical stasis, until they can figure out a way to de-evolve us on their own," said James.

  Sam looked distressed. "You have telepathy too?"

  "I got it right after the telekinesis," said James. "It's a pity, because I can see from your mind that you still have some really formidable enemies to deal with."

  "I know, and I wish I could have your help," said Sam.

  "So I will be in s
tasis, until they figure out how to de-evolve me... that probably means a few hundred years, at least, right?"

  Sam nodded, looking miserable.

  "Well, it wasn't your fault," said James. "I was responsible for a lot that happened. Including to my wife, Julie. My poor Julie."

  "Listen, Doctor Monroe. When all this is over, I'll try to-"

  James raised a restraining hand. "False hope. I have no need for that. I'll settle for the real thing," he said, and he smiled, giving her a knowing look.

  Chapter 4: The Abandoned

  "So we're talking about... shit?" Jack half asked.

  "If that is your word for excrement, yes," said Dunlop 4.

  He was seated at the conference table in the heart of HomePlanet Security in Alexandria, Virginia.

  "It's a... shit monster," said Jack.

  "The word 'monster' is most imprecise. It is a parasite, like the others you have encountered, but highly dangerous."

  "And the others weren't? Including the one who was about to get us all sucked through a black hole?"

  "Each are dangerous in their own way, Colonel Sullivan," said Dunlop 4 evenly.

  Sam, watching the two of them, somehow got the uneasy feeling that they were fighting over her.

  "Our... waste products are not alive," said Jack.

  "The Havariti are alive. Not only that, they are highly intelligent, and very self aware," said Dunlop 4. "They are parasites in that they control people from within their own bodies."

  "Dunlop, are you saying that sold waste, accumulated in the body, takes control of the body it is in?"

  Dunlop nodded. "If the solid waste is self aware, and conscious, it can do just that."

  "Does it acquire self-awareness on its own?" Jack asked. "If I eat a banana, and it goes inside of me and changes as it does, can my banana shit... take control of me?"

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sam had to restrain herself from laughing.

  But Dunlop took the question seriously. "Under normal circumstances, no. The excrement must be self-aware before it enters your body."

  "Then how does it get into our bodies?" Jack asked.

  "Do not underestimate the Havariti. They are quite cunning," said Dunlop. "The Stellar Union fought an enormous war against them."

  "The war against shit?" Jack said, with a half smile on his lips.

  Dunlop nodded. "If I understand you correctly, yes. At one point on the planet Makarena the Havariti became self aware in several million pounds of excrement. They took over a quarter of the population, entering their eyes, nose, and mouth."

  "Shit in the mouth?" said Jack, looking disgusted.

  "Our armed forced fought enormous battles with them. Every time someone on Makarena excreted waste, they were in effect creating new soldiers to be used against us, as our solid waste was made conscious and self aware."

  "Your... excrement became self aware?" Jack looked incredulous.

  "Indeed," said Dunlop 4.

  "What did you end up doing?" General Henderson asked.

  "We were forced to quarantine our waste so it could not be used against us. We all had to wear special pants with tight seals on them so the Havariti could not enter our buttocks."

  "The shit can go up your ass?" Jack asked.

  "Yes," said Dunlop 4. "And once there, it can take control of your body in moments. We waged enormous battles, on land and in space, against the Havariti, until it appeared we had finally secured a hard won victory."

  "Appeared?" said Sam.

  "Yes," said Dunlop 4. "There was only one last case to deal with."

  ********

  The Emperor of the Stellar Union.

  Somehow, despite all the tremendous security, the Emperor of the Stellar Union had been taken over by the Havariti. Nestled inside his buttocks was a half pound of malicious, self-aware intelligent feces.

  When the Emperor gave the orders for their forces to disarm, and surrender, he was met with incredulity. And then his aides realized what had happened, and he was restrained.

  But still, he was the Emperor of the Stellar Union. There was chaos and weapons fire in the palace as some tried to rally to his side, while others held him safe.

  And then Dunlop 1 arrived at the Palace. He was given access to the room where the Emperor of the Stellar Union was being held, and he pointed his weapon at him.

  "You cannot shoot him!" said one of the Emperor's most senior aides.

  "Release the Emperor," Dunlop 1 commanded.

  The Emperor, under the control of the Havariti within him, sneered, "You won't kill this body."

  "Yes I will," said Dunlop 1. "I offer you a choice." And even as he said it, he lowered his own pants.

  "I am going to count to five," said Dunlop. "On the count of 5, I am going to kill you. In that time you have a choice. You can stay inside the body which is about to be killed, or you can take control of the body which is holding this weapon."

  "No, don't!" said the aide.

  Dunlop gave the aide a withering look, and then looked at the Emperor.

  "One..." he said.

  The Emperor looked down at Dunlop's penis. Even flaccid, it was of a good size.

  "Two," said Dunlop 1.

  The Emperor quickly started to lower his pants.

  "Three," said Dunlop 1.

  The Emperor turned his ass to face Dunlop 1. Dunlop 1 obediently turned around so that his ass was facing the Emperor's, but still pointed his weapon at him.

  "Four," said Dunlop 1.

  At that moment a surge of black goo flew out of the Emperor's ass. It aimed with perfect precision for Dunlop 1's ass crack, and entered there, a large blob that sucked into his ass. Dunlop strained and gasped, and his eyes grew wide as the Havariti started to take control of him.

  The guards all pointed their weapons at Dunlop.

  Dunlop 1 groaned, and his face grew tense, and he seemed to be fighting an inner battle within himself.

  Finally, he yelled out, and squatted, and a stream of excrement started to come out of his ass. First bits and pieces, and then long snake like segments.

  The guards pointed their weapons at the excrement, but it was silent and unmoving.

  When he had finished, Dunlop looked at the pile of dung with satisfaction, and they all realized what had happened.

  Dunlop 1 had killed the Havariti, all with the power of his own bowels.

  ********

  Sophie Warner stretched and yawned as she got up from the floor. This yoga class had been especially relaxing. Margi was one of the very best instructors. Sophie smiled as she made her way to the bathroom. She saw Margi coming out just as she was going in.

  "Thank you so much for all you do, Margi," said Sophie. "I'm having a wonderful experience here."

  Margi smiled back at her. "I'm glad to hear that. I think you're going to continue to enjoy what we have to offer."

  "I'm sure I will," said Sophie, entering the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, and started to peel off her skin tight yoga outfit. Really she could have waited until she went home, but the bathroom at the yoga studio was right on her way out.

  Sophie peeled off her yoga tights down below her waist and sat down on the toilet. She started to concentrate.

  And then, all of a sudden, she felt a hot wetness between her ass cheeks. But it hadn't been coming out of her.

  It has been going into her.

  Sophie, who already felt the need to defecate, felt her bowels filled even further.

  "What is happening?" she gasped.

  She felt a surge of electricity going through her body. Her hands and feet started to wiggle experimentally as if someone else were testing control of them. And then Sophie spoke, from her own mouth, but not of her own volition.

  "Thank you," said Sophie.

  "Did I say that?" Sophie asked.

  "No, I did," said Sophie. "Let me introduce myself. I am High Judge Viruta Namurah of the planet Seeskeron."

  "Is this a joke?" Sophie
asked, uncomfortably shifting on the toilet seat.

  "It is coming out of your own mouth," said Sophie. "I have control over your own body."

  "Who... what, are you?"

  "I am what you refer to as solid waste, the kind you were about to eject from your body."

  "You are shit? That's impossible! Shit isn't intelligent. Shit isn't even alive!" said Sophie.

  "On this planet, no. But in the beginning, we were."

  ********

  Judge Viruta Namurah told Sophie a story.

  When life was created, many millions of years ago, there were the First Ones.

  In the beginning, there were very few First Ones. They reproduced as most species now do, sexually, by an exchange of reproductive fluids between two distinct genders. But in the beginning, that form of reproduction didn't work reliably. It took thousands of years of evolution for that method of reproduction to work consistently.

  In the meantime, nature took another course. The First Ones evolved an anal tract.

  "You mean, they existed for a time without an anal tract?" said Sophie. "What happened to all the food they ate?"

  "It was all absorbed. All of it. Either as energy, or body mass," said Sophie. "The First Ones consumed nutrients much less frequently than you do. They might consume perhaps once or twice a month. They had much more efficient systems for processing sustenance. Don't you think it odd that you produce thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of pounds of waste throughout your lifetime?"

  "No.... it's just the way life is," said Sophie.

  "Well, it wasn't always that way. The First Ones did not produce waste at all, at first. But as they began to evolve, they developed anuses, and their appetites grew. And then one day the first child appeared from the anus of a First One," said Sophie. "It was not like any child you had ever seen. Like your excrement, it was semi-solid."

  "A child made of... shit?" Sophie asked.

  "Not excrement as you know it. It was semi-solid, but it was white in color, and smelled of beautiful wildflowers. And it was intelligent! It had much of the knowledge of its host, and could assume shapes, even those of the First Ones. The First Ones, who had difficulty reproducing, were quite pleased, and recognized this new entity as another form of life, treating it as their own child."