"The Device"
By Ailey Stafford
The Device
“Master Krywag! Master Krywag!” I turned to see Sestue running towards our Master, flinging a pen-shaped object in xir tentacles. “I have wonderful earthling technology, Master Krywag!” xe shouted once more.
“Quiet, Sestue,” Master Krywag ordered in a scolding tone. “What is this earthling technology you speak of?”
I knew I shouldn’t have been listening, I was just supposed to be working on some tech for Master’s child, but Sestue was family. I needed to know how xe got humantechnology.
“We abducted another one, Master Krywag!” Sestue announced a little quieter, but xe was still shouting.
“Calm down Sestue! Do you want everybody to know that we abducted another human?” Master Krywag responded.
“No, sir,” Sestue said very quietly. “May I continue?”
“Yes, Sestue.”
“Master Krywag, the human we took had this thing called a transmogrification device,” Sestue held up the pen-shaped thing in xir tentacles.
“Apparently, it can change your entire body structure to look like a specific human. Face, height, hair color, everything!”
“Interesting,” Master Krywag said thoughtfully. “Does this mean that we can make ourselves look like humans?”
“That’s what Iwas thinking, Master! We can try it out on the human we abducted!” Xe was shouting again.
While they were having this conversation, I continued working on the device for Pom’a.
“Done yet, Zeip?” Xe asked, watching me finish up.
“Yep!” I announced proudly, holding up the device for xir to take it. “Done.”
“Awesome! Thanks again, Zeip. You’re a real miracle worker.” Pom’a took the device happily.
“It’s an honor.” I responded, positive my skin turned from blue to pink.
“Zeip!” I heard Master Krywag shout. I turned around and stood up.
“Yes, Master?”
“Come test out this transmogrification device.”
I anxiously made my way over to Master Krywag and Sestue. I prayed that this didn’t hurt or backfire in any way.
“Master Krywag, are you positive this will be ok for Zeip? I mean, xe’s my sibling, I would hate to lose xir,” Sestue asked, obviously very concerned.
“Hush, Sestue. I’m sure this will be fine. Don’t freak out Zeip,” Master Krywag quietly said to Sestue. Xe turned to me. “I want to see if this works. Come over here.”
Xe gave me the device. It looked exactly like a pen, but there was a button on the side. I looked into the pen hole and pressed the button, and then there was a flash of light. The spots faded quickly, and when I looked up, everyone was gaping at me.
“What?” I asked, then immediately gasped. My voice was different! I heard stomping, so I turned around to see guards with their weapons pointed at me. Master Krywag and Sestue stepped in front of me.
“Hey, calm down! Xe’s with us! Xir name is Zeip! Xe’s a Masavorg! Zeip, do what you did again!” Master Krywag was shouting at me, so I was freaking out. I somehow managed to look down the pen and click the button. There was another flash of light, and I looked up. The guards were calmer, and they backed away.
“What just happened?” I asked as some of Master’s associates moved me to a table. Sestue and Pom’a sat across from me. Pom’a was just staring at me, and Sestue fidgeted.
After a few moments, Sestue said, “You looked exactly like a human. It kinda freaked everyone out.”
“I don’t know what I looked like. Can I see?”
Pom’a shrugged. “Sure.”
Pom’a led Sestue and me to xir bedroom where there was a mirror on part of a wall. I took a deep breath in, then looked into the pen and pressed the button. I looked back at the mirror, and saw a human.
“This is insane,” I said out loud.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” I heard Sestue whisper to Pom’a. Xe turned to me. “You look like the human we abducted.” Xir's eyes were bugging out of Xir's head.
“What do you plan to do with me, Sestue?” I asked.
Xe shrugged. “I guess we could make you a spy, I mean, on Earth. Would that be ok?”
I thought about that suggestion for a bit. Leaving my home, but seeing humans up close, but risking getting compromised, but SEEING
HUMANS UP CLOSE!
“Where would I go?” I asked.
“Probably the U.S, or another place speaking English. Because, y’know, we already learned English in school,” Sestue said. “We’d need to
check in with Master Krywag before anything, though. Do you wanna be a spy?”
Pom’a was sitting back in this conversation, but now xe stood next to me and was listening intently. “Well, do you?”
“Yes, I will be a spy.”
“You want to WHAT? Send Zeip onto Earth?” Master Krywag was practically yelling. Xe turned to me. “Zeip, did you agree to this?”
“Yes, Master Krywag. I believe that going onto Earth would be a great experience for me, for all of us. I could keep in touch with you, and explain what important things are happening on Earth. You can decide if you want to invade it, and I could give you a good time to do so. Please hear me out Master Krywag.”
“Sestue,” Pom’a said, “didn’t you say that Zeip in human form looked like the human that you abducted?”
“Oh, yeah,” Sestue said, sounding slightly sad. Everybody was silent for a few moments.
“How about we put Zeip down on a different part of the Earth than where the human was abducted?” Master Krywag finally suggested.
“Good idea, Master Krywag. I’ll go ask him where he’s from.” Sestue said, and then ran off.
“Midwestern US will be where you’re going to be teleported.” Sestue explained, getting me into the teleportation capsule. “The dude was from this place called Britain, which is an ocean away. Have you remastered your English?”
I nodded, and then said, in English, “Well, of course.”
“Cool. I modified the transmogrification device so you’ll be able to contact us by calling or using a hologram,” xe said, showing me a button that said CALL and another one that said HOLOGRAM. “The trip will be rough, but the capsule is pretty fireproof so it should hold
when entering Earth’s atmosphere.
“Should?” I asked, suddenly unsure about everything.
“Will. I meant will. The capsule willhold. Don’t worry.”
Xe continued as I tried to get as comfortable as possible in the small, cramped capsule.
“You will be transported to an area where you’ll go unnoticed. The capsule will turn into something that fits in the area surrounding
you. Land near a construction site? It’s a porta-potty. Land in a crowded city square? It’s a phone booth.
“Here’s your I.D. Your name is Zachary Rinker. You are a doppelgänger to Richard Hunter, the human we captured,” xe said, handing me a card with my human face on it. “I believe that’s everything. Ready for teleportation, Master Krywag.” Xe turned to Master.
“Alright, Sestue. Zeip,” Master said, turning towards me, “are you ready?”
“Yes, Master Krywag.”
“Ok. Send the capsule.”
The door closed, the whole place went dark, and that’s the last thing I remember.
“Wait, so you’re telling me, this capsule crashed,so you opened it up, found an alien, went through its memory, and was able to put it in this form?!?” Mr. Linn shouted.
“Y-yes, but this means we know that there’s intelligent life that’s waiting for the perfect moment to invade us! We can stop this before it ever happens!” I countered. Mr. Linn sat down and started rubbing his temples.
“Daniel. Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. How do we know that they don’t know we know about them?”
I had to think for a bit before I was able to come up with my answer. “We don’t, b-but they haven’t attacked yet have they?”
He was stunned. “Where exactly did you find this…capsule…again?”
“Uh, o-on an abandoned farm in Kansas we were using as a base for things.”
“How did you get it into this form?” he said, pointing to the transcript the alien’s brain put xir memory into.
“W-well, we got a neurobiologist to look at the memory part of the brain, a-and she found some pretty interesting stuff. S-she was able to put some info into the computer, and it printed this out,” I responded, motioning to the transcript.
He sighed. “And this is all real?”
I nodded.
“Alright, call the president; it’s time for an inter-galactic preemptive strike.”
“Master Krywag! Master Krywag!” I turned to see Sestue running towards our Master, flinging a pen-shaped object in xir tentacles. “I have wonderful earthling technology, Master Krywag!” xe shouted once more.
“Quiet, Sestue,” Master Krywag ordered in a scolding tone. “What is this earthling technology you speak of?”
I knew I shouldn’t have been listening, I was just supposed to be working on some tech for Master’s child, but Sestue was family. I needed to know how xe got humantechnology.
“We abducted another one, Master Krywag!” Sestue announced a little quieter, but xe was still shouting.
“Calm down Sestue! Do you want everybody to know that we abducted another human?” Master Krywag responded.
“No, sir,” Sestue said very quietly. “May I continue?”
“Yes, Sestue.”
“Master Krywag, the human we took had this thing called a transmogrification device,” Sestue held up the pen-shaped thing in xir tentacles.
“Apparently, it can change your entire body structure to look like a specific human. Face, height, hair color, everything!”
“Interesting,” Master Krywag said thoughtfully. “Does this mean that we can make ourselves look like humans?”
“That’s what Iwas thinking, Master! We can try it out on the human we abducted!” Xe was shouting again.
While they were having this conversation, I continued working on the device for Pom’a.
“Done yet, Zeip?” Xe asked, watching me finish up.
“Yep!” I announced proudly, holding up the device for xir to take it. “Done.”
“Awesome! Thanks again, Zeip. You’re a real miracle worker.” Pom’a took the device happily.
“It’s an honor.” I responded, positive my skin turned from blue to pink.
“Zeip!” I heard Master Krywag shout. I turned around and stood up.
“Yes, Master?”
“Come test out this transmogrification device.”
I anxiously made my way over to Master Krywag and Sestue. I prayed that this didn’t hurt or backfire in any way.
“Master Krywag, are you positive this will be ok for Zeip? I mean, xe’s my sibling, I would hate to lose xir,” Sestue asked, obviously very concerned.
“Hush, Sestue. I’m sure this will be fine. Don’t freak out Zeip,” Master Krywag quietly said to Sestue. Xe turned to me. “I want to see if this works. Come over here.”
Xe gave me the device. It looked exactly like a pen, but there was a button on the side. I looked into the pen hole and pressed the button, and then there was a flash of light. The spots faded quickly, and when I looked up, everyone was gaping at me.
“What?” I asked, then immediately gasped. My voice was different! I heard stomping, so I turned around to see guards with their weapons pointed at me. Master Krywag and Sestue stepped in front of me.
“Hey, calm down! Xe’s with us! Xir name is Zeip! Xe’s a Masavorg! Zeip, do what you did again!” Master Krywag was shouting at me, so I was freaking out. I somehow managed to look down the pen and click the button. There was another flash of light, and I looked up. The guards were calmer, and they backed away.
“What just happened?” I asked as some of Master’s associates moved me to a table. Sestue and Pom’a sat across from me. Pom’a was just staring at me, and Sestue fidgeted.
After a few moments, Sestue said, “You looked exactly like a human. It kinda freaked everyone out.”
“I don’t know what I looked like. Can I see?”
Pom’a shrugged. “Sure.”
Pom’a led Sestue and me to xir bedroom where there was a mirror on part of a wall. I took a deep breath in, then looked into the pen and pressed the button. I looked back at the mirror, and saw a human.
“This is insane,” I said out loud.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” I heard Sestue whisper to Pom’a. Xe turned to me. “You look like the human we abducted.” Xir's eyes were bugging out of Xir's head.
“What do you plan to do with me, Sestue?” I asked.
Xe shrugged. “I guess we could make you a spy, I mean, on Earth. Would that be ok?”
I thought about that suggestion for a bit. Leaving my home, but seeing humans up close, but risking getting compromised, but SEEING
HUMANS UP CLOSE!
“Where would I go?” I asked.
“Probably the U.S, or another place speaking English. Because, y’know, we already learned English in school,” Sestue said. “We’d need to
check in with Master Krywag before anything, though. Do you wanna be a spy?”
Pom’a was sitting back in this conversation, but now xe stood next to me and was listening intently. “Well, do you?”
“Yes, I will be a spy.”
“You want to WHAT? Send Zeip onto Earth?” Master Krywag was practically yelling. Xe turned to me. “Zeip, did you agree to this?”
“Yes, Master Krywag. I believe that going onto Earth would be a great experience for me, for all of us. I could keep in touch with you, and explain what important things are happening on Earth. You can decide if you want to invade it, and I could give you a good time to do so. Please hear me out Master Krywag.”
“Sestue,” Pom’a said, “didn’t you say that Zeip in human form looked like the human that you abducted?”
“Oh, yeah,” Sestue said, sounding slightly sad. Everybody was silent for a few moments.
“How about we put Zeip down on a different part of the Earth than where the human was abducted?” Master Krywag finally suggested.
“Good idea, Master Krywag. I’ll go ask him where he’s from.” Sestue said, and then ran off.
“Midwestern US will be where you’re going to be teleported.” Sestue explained, getting me into the teleportation capsule. “The dude was from this place called Britain, which is an ocean away. Have you remastered your English?”
I nodded, and then said, in English, “Well, of course.”
“Cool. I modified the transmogrification device so you’ll be able to contact us by calling or using a hologram,” xe said, showing me a button that said CALL and another one that said HOLOGRAM. “The trip will be rough, but the capsule is pretty fireproof so it should hold
when entering Earth’s atmosphere.
“Should?” I asked, suddenly unsure about everything.
“Will. I meant will. The capsule willhold. Don’t worry.”
Xe continued as I tried to get as comfortable as possible in the small, cramped capsule.
“You will be transported to an area where you’ll go unnoticed. The capsule will turn into something that fits in the area surrounding
you. Land near a construction site? It’s a porta-potty. Land in a crowded city square? It’s a phone booth.
“Here’s your I.D. Your name is Zachary Rinker. You are a doppelgänger to Richard Hunter, the human we captured,” xe said, handing me a card with my human face on it. “I believe that’s everything. Ready for teleportation, Master Krywag.” Xe turned to Master.
“Alright, Sestue. Zeip,” Master said, turning towards me, “are you ready?”
“Yes, Master Krywag.”
“Ok. Send the capsule.”
The door closed, the whole place went dark, and that’s the last thing I remember.
“Wait, so you’re telling me, this capsule crashed,so you opened it up, found an alien, went through its memory, and was able to put it in this form?!?” Mr. Linn shouted.
“Y-yes, but this means we know that there’s intelligent life that’s waiting for the perfect moment to invade us! We can stop this before it ever happens!” I countered. Mr. Linn sat down and started rubbing his temples.
“Daniel. Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. How do we know that they don’t know we know about them?”
I had to think for a bit before I was able to come up with my answer. “We don’t, b-but they haven’t attacked yet have they?”
He was stunned. “Where exactly did you find this…capsule…again?”
“Uh, o-on an abandoned farm in Kansas we were using as a base for things.”
“How did you get it into this form?” he said, pointing to the transcript the alien’s brain put xir memory into.
“W-well, we got a neurobiologist to look at the memory part of the brain, a-and she found some pretty interesting stuff. S-she was able to put some info into the computer, and it printed this out,” I responded, motioning to the transcript.
He sighed. “And this is all real?”
I nodded.
“Alright, call the president; it’s time for an inter-galactic preemptive strike.”