He must have passed out. Human had no recollection of how he got here, but he was lying on a table in a round room bathed in very bright blue light.
The creature he had met outside was beside him, along with four other similar-looking beings, all peering at him with those striped eyes. They were arrogantly conversing in the strange language he had heard earlier.
He was feeling no fear; in fact, he felt nothing. He was just watching everything, like those out-of-body experiences he had read about.
"Trookoolalit aganec," one said. "Lacohidoo," another replied. They effortlessly raised up two strange metallic devices above his palm, plunged the tips of them in, and removed it. They hammered the palm, then put it in an overgrown sea green container that was hovering beside them. They then did the same with his spleen, and his front tooth. It all seemed very strange, mostly because he was aware he should be feeling very enraged, but actually was simply observing.
The beings continued their energetic conversation, while he lay there, with the curious thought that he probably shouldn't try to get up while his palm, spleen, and front tooth were missing. Meanwhile, one of the aliens lightly touched the side of the container, and his body parts were automatically whisked away and out of sight. "Eeshk," he thought to himself, "I guess that's that."
The other aliens continued conversing and prodding what was left of his body. "Lapohakooy," one proposed. "Noonoozyc," another responded.
"Nicogeboo?" he said abruptly, surprising himself — and, evidently, everyone.
The room was suddenly full of animated alien conversation. "Linyyak?" "Kopecujy jetahyma doojisula." "Poobirybu." "Cebohog!"
The most fashionable of the aliens then moved softly to his side. "I hope we have not inconvenienced you," it declaimed, in perfect robotic English. "We come in peace. We will return you to your Cougar when we are finished."
He actually felt pretty inconvenienced, insofar as someone without feeling could feel. "Noonofyjoo," he screeched. "May I have my palm back? And my spleen and front tooth?"
He realized that there was no language being used to communicate. All were understanding each other without the need to translate.
"They are currently in the lab, being polished. We will return them shortly."
"That's good to know," he replied, with only a little irony. "I am waiting brightly."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Yeah, well, I'll just lie here and cooperate until I get my spleen back," he vowed.
The poking and prodding and conversation continued. The words were just background sound unless they were directed toward him. The blue light bathed him in a peaceful feeling, and he was oblivious to the passage of time.
Next Chapter