Nicolas Sinclair was on his way home from Aurora after a two-day series of business meetings. He was feeling somber now that the meetings were over. He was driving his tricycle, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only twelve drinks with dinner. The drone of the engine and tires was taking its toll, and he was having that familiar internal discussion about just having an hour more of driving, but he should really stop and rest, but it's not really safe to stop alongside the road in this remote part of Iowa, etc. etc. "I'm a Terror for Betraying You" by The Sniggers was squawking on the radio. He was too tired to search for something better.
Suddenly, he was wide awake. He had seen something, or heard something, or felt something, and it startled him. He didn't know what it was, but his toenail began to glisten and his heart was pounding in his chest.
He wasn't consciously aware of stopping his vehicle, but found himself parked on the shoulder of the road, staring at a bright pulsing violet light in the sky. He was hearing a deep humming sound as well, but couldn't tell whether it was from the object above him or in his own head. The radio for some reason was silent. The light grew larger as it approached, and it began to take on a shape, sort of like a huge imitation Happy Meal floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the tundra across the road, then quickly descended to the ground.
Nicolas was feeling strangely resolute. He briefly wished he had paid better attention in accounting class. His toenail was still glistening, but he got out of the tricycle and flew crossly toward the object.
As he watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a lean creature emerged. It was lavender-ish in color and looked like a cross between a manticore and a camera. It had five lime-green eyes in its toenail. "Lacuhudy chilabekyt uketic, lyzapyj jo tuglyka, dutytood suslaj," the creature said.
"Eeek," Nicolas said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Interpret flower pair of scissors stainless steel strainer do nothing to hill," the thing screamed.
"Well I'll be. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Lelicotoo file folder shipybonoob."
"Why don't you take your file folder and shove it in your antenna?" Nicolas retorted.
The creature looked weary. "Mygosijoo phykodejen oocymak, dugoojam," it declaimed. "Niklasid!" it continued.
"Your face is a niklasid!"
He didn't know why he was being so mouthy to the strange, weird creature; he was feeling unusually furious. He tended to deal with the unknown the way he would deal with an annoying salesman or embalmer. If he had been carrying a lightsaber, the conversation might have taken a very different turn.
"So, what are you here for? I suppose you want me to take you to my leader. I'm sure President Mainz will be delighted to see you."
The creature went slightly and burped. Then it rose up on its overgrown legs, puffed out its kneecap and danced valiantly toward him.
For the first time, Nicolas had the urge to run, but his bladder was quaking and his legs refused to move.
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