These Agent stories are meant to be read serially

Although Simon had stopped by occasionally over the next couple of months to see me I hadn't received any information as to when I would be re-installed in my new body.

But, I wasn't just vegetating. I was learning. I learned subjects I hadn't realized existed and many I did know about but had never studied. One of the most important ones was history, not just the one I thought I knew, but also the one from the alien view. In most areas they agreed, but in some they conflicted to the point you'd think they were different histories. However, the alien version had pictures and, what you could call, videos to prove their version.

For the most part, I was enjoying this immensely as I'd always enjoyed learning new things. As they could transmit directly into my intellect I was learning things at a rate impossible in my former existence. Although I had the knowledge in my brain it took countless hours to assimilate it into my consciousness and digest it. This part was not so enjoyable. You've heard the saying “ Pouring ten gallons of water into a five gallon pail.” That's what I was experiencing, though with me, it was actually working. I would have had some bad headaches if I had a head.

They also showed me where and how they had interfered in human actions in very small ways to prevent some very large catastrophes. In all of these I agreed with their actions. I also came to realize that to do what they were doing they had to have some way to look into the future or some way to predict the outcome of an event. In most cases their actions were small things, such as turning off a light or maybe helping an elderly person carry their packages. Some of them were of much more drastic actions, but were extremely rare when compared to the voluminous small ones.

From what I gathered, I was being trained for the rare ones.

The next time Simon visited I immediately knew something was different. By this time I was able to judge his demeanor. He came directly to the point, “We've taken advantage of the time you were learning to upgrade your body to the one I described. It's ready for you now. I don't want to frighten you, but I must warn you. Considering the time that you haven't been corporeal there would have been some difficulty for you to acclimate yourself back into your body as it was before the accident. But your brain still remembers it and would accept it eventually.

“Acclimating yourself to the advanced body will be much more difficult. Your brain does not remember this body and so it will take time to get used to the more advanced functions it has. You adjusted to the advanced sight amazingly fast and we're hoping that will be a prediction of your progress in the advanced body. Take as long as you like to think about what I've told you.”

I replied, “It's all I did think about in my spare time. I think I'm way ahead of you on this. I realized it would not be easy as some of your training was on this subject. I sure as hell can't stay as I am. So, I'm ready.

And again, blankness. And again, instant consciousness.

At first I thought something had gone awry as I didn't perceive any difference. Then, suddenly I noticed, I was feeling glorious, a wonderful feeling! I hadn't realized how much I missed it 'til I got it back. I could feel I was lying on something resilient. I tried to move my hand to see what it was, to no avail.

Then Simon spoke, “Don't be disturbed. We have you paralyzed for the present. You'll have to get used to your new functions slowly. If you could move your arm and went to scratch your face you might break your nose. You are immensely stronger and faster than you previously were and that's just your physical functions. You have some extended therapy ahead of you.”

And so I did. I don't really know how long it was because I needed very little rest and sleep was usually a short nap. Time didn't mean much to me anyway as I had lost all connection with my past and didn't know what my future held

I finally finished my training and was ready to take on my mission. I have to admit I had envisioned myself doing grand and glorious things and saving the world.

For the next some months I turned on and off light switches, turned on or off valves, carried groceries for elderly ladies and other heroic deeds. I almost picked up the old ladies car with them in it with their groceries, dogs, grand-kids and carried the whole thing to wherever they were going. I was bored.

Then Simon showed me what could have happened if I hadn't done those things. That sobered me.

From any action there comes a myriad of other possible actions and from each of these other possible actions. Some are much more possible than others. Some are reasonably impossible.

It seems the aliens had something that showed them the most catastrophic events and which was the train of events to follow back to a small action which could circumvent it. What it was and how it worked was way above my pay grade and after seeing some of the things it stopped I really didn't care how it worked as long as it did.

Unfortunately, sometimes a catastrophic event is overlooked until it's too late to change the small action that precipitated it. And that's where the rare action comes in. There are events that could endanger thousand, even hundreds of thousands or millions of people. Sometimes it only threatens one life. But that one life could go on to enrich the whole human race if allowed to live.

One day Simon came to see me and said, “You've seen what we are doing here and how we carry it out, but you haven't seen what we feel we have to do sometimes when we misjudged a situation and things could go very bad. Would you like to?”

“I don't think I would like to, but I feel to do my work I'll have to.”

We went to a middle class neighborhood, down an alley and into a small garage. There was an attractive lady there, probably about thirty years old waiting for us.

Simon introduced us, “Matt, this is Jennifer. Jennifer, Matt. Matt, Jennifer has been one of our agents for quite a while, how long has it been Jennifer.”

“It's coming up on 157 years, Simon” she said quietly, “Just around the start of the Civil War.”

I didn't stare, but I wanted to. It's one thing to be told you're going to live a long life, possibly forever, but quite another to see proof.

I can't tell you what Jennifer did to the car, so that these techniques don't get into public knowledge.

After a few hours we proceeded to a busy intersection downtown. As it was a very chilly day Simon was able to wear heavier clothing and a watch cap that almost totally disguised his peculiar appearance. With his long slender hands in his pockets and cap pulled down all that could be seen of his skin was his face which, with a little make-up, just made him look a little sickly,

Jennifer elbowed me a bit and nodded down the street where I saw the car that had been in that garage come towards us at a very fast pace, when suddenly it veered off the road and directly into the side of a large brick building and literally exploded from the impact and started burning.

There was little chance of anyone surviving the crash, much less the fire. Of course, people were stopping and watching and soon there was a pretty large crowd. They were paying close attention to the fire and no one even glanced at Simon. The conflagration blazed higher and higher. We could easily feel the heat from across the wide street. Fortunately, the heat was keeping people at quite a distance as suddenly there was an explosion which scattered the wreckage widely in the area.

After watching for a while after the fire trucks arrived and extinguished the flames, we walked away and returned to our base of operations where Simon had Jennifer and I take a seat.

Simon stayed standing and leaning slightly towards me said, “Matt, you've seen what happens when we really blunder, which we did, badly. I can't justify what we did, only explain it and let you make your decision. What you saw was a father and son stopped from going somewhere and putting into motion actions which we couldn't have stopped any other way.

“The father had raised him, from infancy, to believe that he, above all others, was more intelligent, the wiser, and that any action of his was right because of superiority to all others. The son was very highly intelligent and having this drilled into him daily from early childhood, believed it. It seemed to prove itself in school, where he did excel above any of his classmates and many of his teachers.

“Of course, this led to his being expelled eventually when he disrupted classes and would accept no discipline. Although it was some hardship to do so his father had him tutored which led to encouraging his mania as the tutors found him very quick and praised him highly. They were paid by the father and didn't want to object about his bad behavior.

“If they weren't stopped they were going to meet with a group that had fallen under his influence and would follow him unquestionably wherever he led. It would have led to a dictatorship that eventually would have caused true worldwide warfare with not only the weapons we have now, such as nuclear bombs, chemicals, germs, and gases, but even more malignant ones which they would develop. It would have led to the end of all civilization as we know it, and very possibly mankind itself.

“We realized all this too late to stop although we tried time after time with smaller actions to no success. Jennifer can fill you in on those actions and why they failed as she was very instrumental in most of them. We also have all the records on this for you to peruse. If you don't want to pursue this field after reviewing everything, you could still go back to your previous life but, I'm afraid, as an amnesiac.”

With that said, Simon left the room, leaving Jennifer alone with me. I was distraught and confused.

Jennifer saw that and with that soft voice said, “I understand what you're going through, it's happened to me, more than once. I'm not here to convince you, one way or the other, only to help you, if I can, solve your dilemma, if you want me to.”

I thought about this offer and replied, “ Thank you, Jennifer, that's very thoughtful of you, but I think I'll take a rain check on that until I revue the records. Then, I think, would be the time for us to get together as I'll have all the facts and we can go over them together.”

She rose and responded, “ Alright, I'll wait for you to contact me. I'll be in and out of my office for the next couple of weeks so you shouldn't have any trouble getting word to me.” I didn't fail to notice just how very attractive she was as she turned and left. After all, I wasn't dead anymore.

It was one thing to study the records on those rare, violent actions, and quite another to actually witness one. As I said, I was distraught about what I'd seen, as anyone sane would have been. But I was not about to cast judgment until I'd seen all the facts.

This brought up another train of thought. I, like almost anyone else who wasn't certifiable, followed the laws and mores of the society you were in. That's what we were taught to do, but now, if I continued in this activity I, at times, would act as judge and probably executioner at times.

So, I studied and considered the records as thoroughly as I could and pondered. What was the fair, just and equitable thing to do. I figured the best thing to do now is sit down with Jennifer and bounce off of her my thoughts and hear hers, so I sent word to her that I was ready to talk

A couple of hours later she walked into my office, closed the door and asked, “Well. Are you ready to discuss things.”

“Yes, I think so. Please sit down as this may take some time.”

For hours we discussed, debated, conferred, and even argued at times. But the thing that really helped me make up my mind was one of her last statements.

“Listen, Matt, there aren't many agents like you and me, I don't know if there are any more. I've only met one and that was about 45 years ago. He may be dead, for all I know. We both have been examined both physically and mentally more than you realize. We were chosen for this task for who we are and what we believe. I'm not saying we're saints, just extraordinarily stable individuals, who are not liable to go berserk.

“If you had accepted what we showed you and not been deeply affected by it and questioned it, you would no longer be here. I've seen it happen more than once. It's a terrible responsibility to do what we do. But now, after seeing the records, who do you think would make right the atrocities that would have happened if we hadn't interfered? The police, who only act after the fact? The United Nations, who have been shown to be monumentally corrupt and totally ineffectual these last few years? The USA? Again, after the fact and probably not even then after all the arguing. Like it or not, we're it.”

I thought on what she had said. She was right, somebody had to step in before things went to hell. So if I had to turn off lights or valves, or carry groceries, it needed to be done and I didn't feel I wanted to shirk the responsibilities. And, if at times, I had to do things not to my liking, well, I've done that too, all of my life.

That is when I really became an Agent.