he had eyes. They were big and bulging and protected by horny ridges, two on the front of his head, set wide apart.
They scanned. They scanned like radar, swinging up and down and back and forth. He never looked at you and yet was always looking at you.
When he turned around, I saw a third eye in back. I think he scanned his whole surroundings at all times, like a radar warning system.
What kind of brain can put together everything in all directions at once? I doubt if a human brain could, even if there were any way to feed in the data. He didn’t seem to have room in his head to stack much of a brain, but maybe he didn’t keep it there. Come to think of it, humans wear their brains in an exposed position; there may be better ways.
But he certainly had a brain. He pinned me down like a beetle and squeezed out what he wanted. He didn’t have to stop to brainwash me; he questioned and I gave, for an endless time-it seemed more like days than hours. He spoke English badly but understandably. His labials were all alike-“buy” and “pie” and “vie” sounded the same. His gutturals were harsh and his dentals had a clucking quality. But I could usually understand and when I didn’t, he didn’t threaten or punish; he just tried again. He had no expression in his speech.
He kept at it until he had found out who I was and what I did and as much of what I knew as interested him. He asked questions about how I happened to be where I was and dressed the way I was when I was picked up. I couldn’t tell whether he liked the answers or not.
He had trouble understanding what a “soda jerk” was and, while he learned about the Skyway Soap contest, he never seemed to understand why it took place. But I found that there were a lot of things I didn’t know either-such as how many people there are on Earth and how many tons of protein we produce each year.
After endless time he had all he wanted and said, “Take it out.” The stooges had been waiting. The fat boy gulped and said, “Space him?”
He acted as if killing me or not were like saving a piece of string. “No. It is ignorant and untrained, but I may have use for it later. Put it back in the pen.”
“Yes, boss.”
They dragged me out. In the corridor Fatty said, “Let’s untie his feet and make him walk.”
Skinny said, “Shaddap.”
Peewee was just inside the entrance panel but didn’t move, so I guess she had had another dose of that blue-light effect. They stepped over her and dumped me. Skinny chopped me on the side of the neck to stun me. When I came to, they were gone, I was unstrapped, and Peewee was sitting by me. She said anxiously, “Pretty bad?”
“Uh, yeah,” I agreed, and shivered. “I feel ninety years old.”
“It helps if you don’t look at him-especially his eyes. Rest a while and you’ll feel better.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s only forty-five minutes till we land. You probably won’t be disturbed before then.”
“Huh?” I sat up. “I was in there only an hour?”
“A little less. But it seems forever. I know.”
“I feel like a squeezed orange.” I frowned, remembering something. “Peewee, I wasn’t too scared when they came for me. I was going to demand to be turned loose and insist on explanations. But I never asked him a question, not one.”
“You never will. I tried. But your will just drains out. Like a rabbit in front of a snake.”
“Yes.”
“Kip, do you see why I had to take just any chance to get away? You didn’t seem to believe my story-do you believe it now?”
“Uh, yes. I believe it.”
“Thanks. I always say I’m too proud to care what people think, but I’m not, really. I had to get back to Daddy and tell him . . . because he’s the only one in the entire world who would simply believe me, no matter how crazy it sounded.”
“I see. I guess I see. But how did you happen to wind up in Centerville?”
“Centerville?”
“Where I live. Where ‘Junebug’ called
They scanned. They scanned like radar, swinging up and down and back and forth. He never looked at you and yet was always looking at you.
When he turned around, I saw a third eye in back. I think he scanned his whole surroundings at all times, like a radar warning system.
What kind of brain can put together everything in all directions at once? I doubt if a human brain could, even if there were any way to feed in the data. He didn’t seem to have room in his head to stack much of a brain, but maybe he didn’t keep it there. Come to think of it, humans wear their brains in an exposed position; there may be better ways.
But he certainly had a brain. He pinned me down like a beetle and squeezed out what he wanted. He didn’t have to stop to brainwash me; he questioned and I gave, for an endless time-it seemed more like days than hours. He spoke English badly but understandably. His labials were all alike-“buy” and “pie” and “vie” sounded the same. His gutturals were harsh and his dentals had a clucking quality. But I could usually understand and when I didn’t, he didn’t threaten or punish; he just tried again. He had no expression in his speech.
He kept at it until he had found out who I was and what I did and as much of what I knew as interested him. He asked questions about how I happened to be where I was and dressed the way I was when I was picked up. I couldn’t tell whether he liked the answers or not.
He had trouble understanding what a “soda jerk” was and, while he learned about the Skyway Soap contest, he never seemed to understand why it took place. But I found that there were a lot of things I didn’t know either-such as how many people there are on Earth and how many tons of protein we produce each year.
After endless time he had all he wanted and said, “Take it out.” The stooges had been waiting. The fat boy gulped and said, “Space him?”
He acted as if killing me or not were like saving a piece of string. “No. It is ignorant and untrained, but I may have use for it later. Put it back in the pen.”
“Yes, boss.”
They dragged me out. In the corridor Fatty said, “Let’s untie his feet and make him walk.”
Skinny said, “Shaddap.”
Peewee was just inside the entrance panel but didn’t move, so I guess she had had another dose of that blue-light effect. They stepped over her and dumped me. Skinny chopped me on the side of the neck to stun me. When I came to, they were gone, I was unstrapped, and Peewee was sitting by me. She said anxiously, “Pretty bad?”
“Uh, yeah,” I agreed, and shivered. “I feel ninety years old.”
“It helps if you don’t look at him-especially his eyes. Rest a while and you’ll feel better.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s only forty-five minutes till we land. You probably won’t be disturbed before then.”
“Huh?” I sat up. “I was in there only an hour?”
“A little less. But it seems forever. I know.”
“I feel like a squeezed orange.” I frowned, remembering something. “Peewee, I wasn’t too scared when they came for me. I was going to demand to be turned loose and insist on explanations. But I never asked him a question, not one.”
“You never will. I tried. But your will just drains out. Like a rabbit in front of a snake.”
“Yes.”
“Kip, do you see why I had to take just any chance to get away? You didn’t seem to believe my story-do you believe it now?”
“Uh, yes. I believe it.”
“Thanks. I always say I’m too proud to care what people think, but I’m not, really. I had to get back to Daddy and tell him . . . because he’s the only one in the entire world who would simply believe me, no matter how crazy it sounded.”
“I see. I guess I see. But how did you happen to wind up in Centerville?”
“Centerville?”
“Where I live. Where ‘Junebug’ called
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