We don't know where we come from. We don't know what brought us here. We only know we are alive, and me and my brethren are still searching for the answers. Who am I? I have no name. I am one in tens of trillions. Names would be impossible. Numbers? Nope, wrong again. We all are assigned designations as these species do. The intelligent are our elders, leading us to knew beings everyday. And we cannot stop searching, for our home, our birth, our creation site.
"The new X-K bacteria, shown here, is a new type of steroid. It stimulates your muscles, all your muscles. You run faster, jump higher, throw farther, hit harder. X-K is for internal use only. Talk to your doctor if X-K is right for you." The headline bothered Ryan. He had never understood the reasons behind steroids and muscles enhancers. Too many side effects. He enjoyed the simple, hectic life without too much spare time. He worked hard so he could play better on his days off. Ryan, 23, works for the U.S. branch of security for new germs and weapons. It was exciting to see new materials everyday, but the chances of being involved was low. Skinny and sort of lanky, at 6 foot, brown hair and eyes, Caucasian, and appropriate number of toes and fingers. He read the leaflet again briefly, and crumpled it up and threw it out. He didn't care about what new drugs did to people, as long as he wasn't involved with it. He stepped out of the shelter of the awning into a March gale wind, rain splattering his face.
The cold air whipped around his face, and stung his cheeks. He wrapped himself in his jacket, and hurried on. His next meeting was across town, and in rush hour traffic. Trudging down the sidewalks, he noticed young children hanging out together, drinking pop, laughing, wearing interesting clothes that make you stare at them. They were lounging in front of a bank. All but 2 were joking, and those 2 were in the back alleyway there. Ryan's journey across town involved going through that alleyway, so he decided to go quickly by, and try not to disturb the couple. Upon his entering the alleyway, the couple broke and started back towards the group. The girl, at around 16 or 17, sneezed in Ryan's direction, and blinked her eyes, as if clearing her head. She blinked again, then threw the boy off of her, as if his presence would kill her. Ryan shook his head at the relationship, and continued on his way.
We had intercepted one of the beings. She was a female, roughly 19, and had no intention of trying to go out with the males. Her mating pattern was erratic, and seemed to be based on a once a few deca-days or so. They meant nothing to us, but we are fascinated by them. We entered through her mouth, and ceased control of her mind instantly upon breathing us in. We learned all we could of the female, then she had sneezed. We weren't expecting it, and were dragged along by the current of air. We landed on a substance of hard and cold feel, a rubbery but leathery feel. We made our way up to the head, and entered when the male breathed in. Then we set to work on his brain.
Ryan knew something was wrong when he found he couldn't move. He had just started to exit the alleyway, and was held back. His legs wouldn't move. He pulled them, yanked them, yelled at them, nothing moved them. His arms came next and then his body. His head remained unfrozen though, so he looked around and he sought for help. Upon thinking to calling for a woman's help, his jaws clamped shut. Ryan was wheeled back into the ally, and was released. Breathing again steadily, he thought to himself, 'God, I need a vacation.' And then to his ultimate surprise came the answer. 'What's a vacation?' Ryan shook his head, trying to clear it. It was probably just his muttering, probably he thought. Ryan willed himself to the meeting, and upon entering the building, felt a need to barf. He stumbled into the building, and into a guest bathroom. After entering the bathroom, Ryan's sickness fell away. He now heard the voice again, 'You can hear us, yes?' and weakly Ryan whispered 'Yes.' Ryan then felt pleasure in an adrenaline rush in his torso and in his crotch. The things inside him made him feel good though, so he decided to answer more of the questions. 'What are you?' he asked quietly, in spite of being in a public bathroom. 'We are the unknown, unmentionables, not visible beings sent here to help you.'
'And how did you come here.?'
'Frankly, we do not know.'
'Then how do you know you're real?'
'We do not understand. Please elaborate.'
'How do you know that you are really alive and in my head?'
'We do not. But we do not question our sudden appearance.'
'Very well. What are you?'
'Again, we do not know. We have just appeared, from nowhere it would seem.'
'Well, can I at least control my own body?'
'Of course, just let us know if you need us.'
'Why would I need you?'
'We don't understand it either, but the innermost wishes of your human body become possible, and attainable. For instance, that man wanted to use the girl to his advantage. The deal was for 5 minutes before we left. He agreed, and the girl went with him here. We didn't do anything, but it happened. We are unable to give you anymore information on what, and who we are. Maybe you will discover it for yourself.'
Ryan was still standing in the alley. He turned his head minutely, then sharply. The muscles felt almost rusty. He looked behind him. The group of kids were gone, replaced by a group of older men and women. Ryan gazed at them, wondering what they were doing there, outside the bank, but when he checked his watch, a total of 5 minutes, 48 seconds and 21 milliseconds had gone by. He needed to get to that meeting.
Stumbling out of the alley into the harsh wind again, Ryan was soaking in a few seconds. He thought furiously "Damn this rain. Stop for God's sake!". Then the most extraordinary thing happened. The rain just suddenly stopped. He shook his head, and thought about the sudden change. "What the hell happened? Why did it stop all of a sudden? I mean, it's nice and all, but I'm still soaking wet." Instantly, Ryan felt a warmth and was dry in a blink of an eye. The building was across the street, and Ryan hurried in. He caught the elevator, and prayed he wasn't too late. Had he glanced at his watch, he would have seen the numbers go backwards.
'Ah, here he is ladies and gentlemen. Ryan Darrings, our campaign manager. Tell us, what do you have for us today? Some new idea on killing people with the scary XY flu or something?'
'No sir, what I have is something altogether different.'
Ryan was a researcher in germs and weapons. He was also a science-fiction nerd. Things like the infection weren't hard to cope with. He pulled out of his pocket a miniature replica of a modal germ to vaccinate those with cancer. But he didn't know that. He had just really hoped he had something that would make him rich.
The meeting was a success, and the money piled in. After a total of 3 years, Ryan had amassed so much money, he gave most of it away, just so others could benefit of it. He kept enough though, to live it up for as long as he lived.
~ 3 years later ~
'Hey Ryan, thanks for waiting. Those cars were just horribly slow today. You cured cancer and saved half the world from starvation, but can't you make the traffic better?'
'No if you still want to go to this party Meg.'
'Alright then, let's get it on!'
Ryan and Megan, his new girlfriend, were going to a dance club. Ryan had found Megan in a similar club, dancing for money and love. He had given her a home and a real job, but she still craved the nightlife. Now, as they headed for the Dark Alley, he was sure those freaky little things had left him. Meg had come to him out of sheer genius on his part, and they hadn't shown their faces since his life changed 3 years ago, if they had faces. The club was in sight when Ryan stopped Megan.
'Meg, before we go in, take these.'