Among Us

I had hoped on my return home--to my adopted home, that is--that everything would return to normal. Normal is not something I can ever hope to have again though, not that I ever really knew what that was.

I will admit, there was a certain bliss to the idea that my sister and I were alone on this planet. Now that I know for sure we are not, and the insistence that I be some kind of representative to these scattered lost aliens, life has become much more complicated.

The powers that be thought this past weekend would be an ideal time to ease some of my "alien friends" in with the rest of the human populous in San Diego. I suppose they chose San Diego for two reasons. Firstly, it is close to the U.S. border with neighboring country Mexico, so they apparently friendly with immigrants there. Secondly, this past weekend in San Diego was a convention of human interest known as Comic Con.


As I think more about it now, this cover story did work well in it's simplicity. In crowds of thousands of people, all dressed up as the strangest characters this side of Betelgeuse, no one is going to notice some strangely acting aliens. That is what they are all expecting, after all.

I cannot say what the other alien immigrants must have thought. Speaking for myself, I have gotten used to the bizarre and exhibitionist nature of humans, though the others may have assumed the convention center was some kind of intergalactic train depot. I must admit, I did feel as though we fit in better there than in regular suburban life sometimes.

I brought both Madison and April down with me to San Diego, and we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. It was the first time I remember being able to enjoy myself openly for quite a long time. I even discovered some new video games that I may add to my inventory. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how many humans seem to peacefully accept the notion of extra-terrestrial life and cultures living among them, even if it is only pretend to them.

As for my people, getting them into earth culture was quite easy there. Many opportunities presented themselves for social gatherings and the consumption of alcohol. It was a "party weekend" from what I understand, and no matter how strange and alien they seemed to behave, there were plenty of other humans that behaved even more strangely.

The rest of the week has been a little more tedious, giving identities and homes and jobs to my fellow expatriates. It will be a slow road ahead to building some little community to feel like out homeworld, but I am confident we can succeed. I have to, otherwise I fear the government may threaten us with death. Some of my peers have also discovered online gaming, so we will have many things to keep us occupied.

The Return, Part 3

Madison here. My brother has gotten a bit long-winded, as he usually does, so of course he needs me to finish off this tale of how he caused Carmageddon. Yeah, I’m still a little mad at him for causing me to worry the past couple months, but that’s just how he is.

So, Carter got himself kidnapped by the Contingency Team that for some reason intended to invade Earth. There’s a lot I never knew about out mission to Earth, but I’m sure we were never meant to live here. The fact that I came along was a bit of a fluke. I had no one to look after me except for my brother, so I had to follow him. I suppose he must have known I would be able to adapt to Earth culture more quickly than him. He also clearly knew that I would be able to figure out whatever emergency protocol he put together should something happen to him.

As much of a cold, calculating bore he can be sometimes, I do love the guy, so I was more than worried when he went missing. Once Douglas and I cracked that message that came through Carter’s satellite radio, it didn’t take me long to figure out that it was from the invading team and that my brother had to have been the “priority asset” they had captured, so I had to find a way to get him back.

I knew Douglas would be a big help. Even though it was a risk that Carter would probably not have approved, I had to tell him the truth, or at least some of it. He helped with all the computer stuff. And April was amazing. She had been so concerned since Carter disappeared, so we were there for each other with moral support. Plus, and I knew Carter would appreciate this, she helped keep up the rouse that Carter was somehow around and she was my adult supervisor. That didn't really help things with Nick, but I could never tell him anything about who were are really. He can be great and all, but he just couldn't understand what was going on. But he did help with one thing, he let me borrow his car.

By myself, I have no idea how I could have found Carter, even with the help of my friends. But I had one unexpected ally. I can only guess it was someone Carter had filled in with the plan because the next thing I knew, this freeway closure plan came together. It started with those odd posts, occasional messages. Then, as if automatically, the Bad Wolf protocol was initiated. This was some inside joke my brother came up with, but it did what it was designed to do. It caused chaos.

I can only assume we got help from someone. I want to hope that it was the Prince, just because I kinda want a VIP pass to his next concert, but that might be hoping for too much. Whoever it was, it clued me into Carter's government contact, and Carter had kept him pretty tightly under wraps from me. Good thing, too, because that's how we figured out that the invaders were using the I-405 construction as a cover. The whole construction and shut down that had been crippling the Los Angeles County traffic system was all a very sly brand of psychological terrorism. I shouldn't have been surprised. It's the exact kind of weird thing my brother would have come up with. Yet, it was working.

Then, the miracle happened. The city somehow came together with the closing of the freeway. The agents got the word out, the people of southern California stayed home, and the roads were empty for two days. This was just enough time for the rescue plan.

The invaders' plan was to destroy the freeway system during the shutdown, but when we showed up, they didn't have an escape plan. All the entrances and exits were closed, and they had nowhere to go. Luckily, the government agents surprised and distracted the invaders just long enough for me to find Carter--or I should say, for him to find me.

The jerk. He said he had it under control the whole time. Apparently, he convinced the rogue aliens of his expertise in the computer networks of Earth, so they needed him to control the various traffic cameras and signals, and whatever else he promised them to complete their evil plan. Instead, he used his access as a way to warn the city government. So, in the chaos, with the help of Nick's car, I was able to rescue him, and escape before any more government agents showed up.

As for the rogue invaders, who knows what the government is doing to them. Carter says he's been in contact with them, but won't reveal any more than that. So, he is slowly going back to his old enigmatic ways. I made sure the first thing he did as soon as he got home was to see April. She had been so worried, and they were both so relieved at their reunion. Carter was actually a sweet guy for once. I guess they have a lot to talk about now.

And I guess that brings us about up to speed. Carter is home. The world is safe. Everything is back to normal. Except for one thing.

Apparently, during Carter's time with the rogues, he discovered more of our kind than just Prince living down here. Carter's government contact asked us to be some kind of embassy for them. Yes, I said "us"! Including me!! Well, I guess all we have to do is meet these stray aliens and try to show them how to be human. If it's anything like teaching Carter, this is going to take a long time.

And here I was hoping to have the rest of the summer off.

The Return, Part 2

Where was I? Yes, I was explaining about how exactly my kidnapping led to the shutdown of a major California roadway and an unseasonably peaceful weekend.

As you may have read, all of my troubles began three months ago, at the end of April when Prince held audience in town. The musical artist you know as Prince is in fact a real prince in the royal house of my home world. His presence on Earth appeared to be benign in nature, but since his presence here was a surprise to me, I thought it might be a good idea to investigate further into others of our kind living on this planet. As I undertook this action, I knew I would have to be even stealthier than I was trained for, since it could attract all sorts of danger. Then, there was the matter of April.

Against my better judgment, I agreed to more than one date with April, who is one of my sister’s instructors at the local school, and we became quickly involved. It was never my intention, but I somehow developed feelings for April. I soon came to the decision that I could no longer keep my true identity secret from her. Telling her where I came from could put her in danger, but I knew that her not knowing and understanding the truth could endanger her more. As much personal trouble as it caused, she was at least prepared for what happened next.

As best as I have been able to determine, I was not the only one who decided to look further into the presence of Prince. When I began to quietly investigate Prince and those around him, I thought I had to be careful to arouse suspicion from those I was investigating. I had not anticipated that there would be a third party with an altogether different motive. The others that were keeping their eyes on Prince were former comrades I thought had been long gone after the mission that brought me and my sister here had failed. They were part of the invasion force.

First, you must understand, my mission was never part of any kind of invasion. Our team was to study and attempt to assimilate ourselves into human culture in attempt to understand and eventually ally ourselves with the inhabitants of Earth. However, should our mission prove that no such alliance was possible, the contingency was to be prepared if humans were too dangerous to our existence. No real invasion in such terms was planned. Unfortunately, the contingency team took matters into their own hands.

What I have since learned is that the accident that doomed the craft that was meant to bring us all to Earth was in fact no accident at all. It was an attack, meant to frame Earthlings for a act of war that was a complete fabrication.

Needless to say, my presence here, along with the Prince, jeopardized this particular plan, and I discovered it just too late. They could not touch the Prince, but due to my blog, they needed to silence me and it, and quickly. This also meant my sister was in danger of becoming their target as well.

I acted quickly to lock out my blog so they could not touch it, and I only hoped that Madison would be able to figure it out. Fortunately, I knew her friend Douglas would be able to figure something out. He was already beginning to suspect something about us, so he would be a useful ally. Luckily, they were able to pick up on my hidden codes and messages when my protocol was initiated.

Then, I would just need time. Time for my sister to figure it all out and try to contact those who would be able to help us. That time would take two months, but it culminated in the best lie the local government could come up with.

More on that in the next part…

The Return, Part 1

“How hard could it be?” As the saying goes, famous last words.

Carter here. Yes, I am finally back. For reasons that are far too difficult to explain succinctly but will hopefully become clear later, I had to go “off the grid” for a while. Of course, when I say “I had to” I mean I was forced. I must apologize to my dear sister of course and to April, who must have gone through as much emotional turmoil during my absence, which was unfortunately against my free will.

I will attempt to best explain what happened to me, which is quite a tale, so I will publish the posts over the next three days. In order to understand everything that has happened over the past two months, it is best to explain it in reverse, starting the reacquisition of this blog.

It may not seem like much, but I have been reestablished by orders from ranking government officials. I have now been commissioned a kind of ambassadorship of my people here on earth. While the government has been monitoring my actions including this blog from the beginning, they have only recently come to see the value in having an advanced alien intelligence as an ally. Of course, my sister is laughing at me right now as I refer to myself as said intelligence, but what do earth governments know. (I am also sure any government agents out there monitoring this blog have a sense of humor, which I am attempting to develop. Ha.)

So, once the government saw the usefulness of a direct, friendly forum with aliens (yes, I did say aliens with an emphasis on the plural, but more on that later), they needed a plan to get control of it. Unfortunately for them, I was detained. Thank goodness, my sister came through.

As I will explain further in Part 2, the reason for my disappearance was because I had been kidnapped by others of my own kind. Having already established that our Prince was living among humans for some time, I was prepared for this encounter, which is why I had set up my emergency protocols in a way only my sister could access them.

Back when Madison convinced me to write this blog about my life on Earth, I knew there would be more than a little risk. Yes, the government knew exactly where I was, so that was hardly a mystery, and I had established that humans will pretty much except and dismiss everything without a thought, so most would think my internet ramblings were pure entertainment. Most of the rest would be relatively benign, and any small danger from humans, I thought I had accounted for. No, it was my own alien race that I worried about reading this blog. If they were to discover it, not knowing I was alive and trying to contact them, in the wrong eyes, I would be seen as a threat exposing our ways and plans to out intended targets. (Again, more on that later.)

So, when I was "kidnapped" as you humans say, I had already set up my simple internet blog with more than the simple user password, so it shut down. It was an automated time lock that would track my whereabouts. So, I knew that when my sister, who was the only one possibly able to get into my computer, finally established contact, it would lead her right to me. Fortunately, I had also counted on the government discovering this blog was a trans-galactic communications device, so they would have an interest in helping my sister get it all back.

From what Madison tells me, the government, your government then came up with a foolproof plan to hack into my own system, shut down a major communications and shipping lane, infiltrate the alien team that had kidnapped me, and somehow in the end come out with no human casualties and getting me out alive.

It was a success, I must admit. I am here after all. I am not sure how much stealth was actually involved compared to the gullibility of the residents of Southern California. You may have heard of the cover story they used for the chaos that was my prison break.

They called it CARMAGEDDON.

A rather pedestrian code-name if you ask me, but then American English is not my first language. But “How could it go wrong?” they said. Well, I will explain exactly how in the next part...

405

>>>LINE ESTABLISHED>>>

REBOOT initialized...shutdown accepted.

Carter here. Communications to be silenced. 53 hour window.

Do no harm...

Bad Wolf

SYSTEM REBOOT...

Protocol BAD WOLF initiated...
...
...1B3B3...
...
REBOOT...

Madison here. I don't have much time. Carter is alive. That's all I can say for now. Having to scramble and reset the blog to maintain security. This old protocol doesn't make any sense, but my brother was always a little odd with his Earth references. After six weeks of this, he never said how hard it would be maintaining our cover story. All I can say for now is things are going down.

If only I can get to my brother first...

...END OF LINE...