10/18/2024
Missoula County Detention Facility
Missoula, Montana
Sol Planet Three
Michael walked up to the jail cell, where a young woman sat dispassionately, looking off to the side. He knew he didn’t need the translator device attached to his lab coat if she spoke English. However, he wanted her to be comfortable speaking her native Chinese dialect.
He noticed she looked up at the door to see him saying a few words to the guard before entering the cell. It was an annoyed look, one of disgust. Michael gave all the women who went through the alien abductions any life opportunity he could give them. But this woman squandered her chance during her second visit, committing four counts of criminally negligent homicide with a weapon she stole from a drunk biker at a downtown bar.
Michael discussed the trial with the guard, noting how she pled guilty after seeing that the crime was caught on video. The most dramatic moment during the proceedings was when the video showed Choi purposely shooting the tires of passing cars, causing them to lose control. All four passengers died when their car flipped and crashed into the building across the road. After the vehicle caught fire, she uncaringly dropped the weapon on the ground and walked away.
The deportation agents would arrive soon, so he wanted to say goodbye to her. Michael entered the cell after asking the guard for a private moment. The guard closed him in the cell and stepped aside. He turned around to look at the young woman sitting across the cell.
“Why in the hell are you here, Townsend?”
Michael sat down like a bear on the floor. “Hey there, Choi. Before you leave here, I wanted to come by and wish you the best of luck possible in your future.”
Choi shook her head at him, sarcastically sneering, “Are you kidding me, you phony? Luck? You wish me fricking luck. How nice of you, you out-of-touch freak. How about wishing me a one-way ticket to hell? It won’t be much worse than my life has been already.”
“We wanted to bring you to this place to give you hope of a better future. That’s why we worked to secure the visas for all thirty-eight of y’all. We knew the alien abduction was a harrowing experience. I wanted to give y’all the best opportunities we could.”
“Hell. This time, it was all boring. The only men here who wanted sex were drunk. We would go to a room, but they would fall asleep in the middle. However, that made it easy to take their money.”
“How did we fail you? What could we have done differently?”
Choi rolled her eyes in contempt. “You never had a chance. I’ll tell you this, Dr. Townsend. I had a gut feeling that I would have built a better life with the aliens when I was there. I’ll be honest with you. I have hated my life on Earth for as long as I can remember. I lived on the street. My body was my meal ticket. I still only feel better when others hurt worse than I do. It was fun making those cars crash. Somebody dies? So, what? Another woman gets knocked up, and you get a replacement.”
“I hoped better. You seemed to be interested and enjoy your experience here.”
She said mockingly, “You hoped better. I’m a good liar, you clueless bastard.” She gave him an exaggerated fake smile.
Michael took a deep breath, reflecting on her behavior while escaping Contronto’s headquarters. She was the woman who threw the grenade down the stairs to stop the oncoming guards but also killed the injured woman on the stairs. Michael remembered Choi’s unemotional attitude concerning the incident. “So, what do you want to do now? The Chinese authorities are coming to take you back soon.”
Choi shook her head. “Now, that is a damn stupid question for a guy who is supposed to be this Einstein of genomics. Yeah. They will come, take me back, torture me, and send me to the worst prison they can think of for a long time. So, what am I supposed to say now? I want to become a rich American. That sounds good.”
“Then why did you come here every chance you could?”
Choi leaned forward. “Because I wanted to find out how to get superhuman power like you. To be more powerful than a human. It’s because I hate being human and weak.”
“Look what it did to me. I am a freak, an animal. What I have in life has changed into this monstrosity.” Michael looked at his “paws” and then presented his left paw as an exhibit for his argument.
Choi looked at him with mocking eyes. “Yes, but your friend, Grandy, chose her powers, making her look freaking powerful. I get turned on thinking about it.”
“But now, you will have lots of time to think about it.”
She waved her hand at him in derision. “Screw you.”
Michael looked at Choi, thinking it seemed to fit. She was not interested in studying. Only ask personal questions of Jim, Robin, and himself about what they felt like using their essence-enhanced traits. He recalled how she tried to flirt and stay with Jim but failed.
“You had the potential to do more, but you blew it. If I could return to my human form, I would do it.”
“That’s because you grew up a rich, privileged kid in America. Nothing is going to change the life I have suffered through. Nothing will stop the haunting nightmares that will follow me for the rest of my existence. I relive the beatings, hunger, and abuse that were part of my daily existence before the aliens took us to their quark dimension. Misery will always be a part of me, haunting my dreams. I only feel better seeing others suffer, especially you scumbag men.”
Michael rubbed the back of his head while stretching his neck. He knew he had little time before the agents came for their prisoner. “Choi, if all of this, the aliens, the changes, the death and destruction, and all the rest had never happened, I would be a happier man.”
“But I would still be living my miserable, shitty life in China. No difference for me.”
“Touché, Choi. Still, I wish we could have helped you. I wish you the best possible future.”
She snarled and turned her head away. “This conversation has ended. You can check the sympathy box on your morality list now. I hope your winey American guilt trip has been satisfied. Get the hell out of my face, you gullible bastard. I hope a drunk hunter shoots your ass.” She spat on the floor.
As she finished, the guard brought two stone-faced agents to the cell. Michael looked at their stern demeanor, knowing it was probably the last time he would see Choi. They must have been warned about his appearance because the two agents did not flinch when they first saw Michael. He got up and shook the three men’s hands. “I got the information I needed. She’s yours, now.”
The acoustics were good enough to hear the handcuffs clicking behind him as the part human; part grizzly bear walked down the hall on all fours to the exit door. Smart people do dumb things, too. That conversation went as well as a constipated bowel movement.
