<<What do you require?>>
<<Clothes, for a start, and if I can’t go home, I’ll need some cash and ID.>>
<<ID? Cash?>>
<<Look, on our planet, everyone has a name. Everyone had a social security number, or similar. We’re all registered at birth and registered wherever we go. Everyone is traceable, so if I appear with nothing, I’ll get thrown in the slammer.
<<That’s ID, now cash is what makes the world work. It’s a kind of bartering system, if I want a chicken and you want a pot, so then we swap a pot for a chicken, right?>>
<<Right.>>
<<But if I don’t have a pot, and I don’t have anything you need, how do I get your chicken?>>
The captain looked vacant.
“I have a token, it’s either a metal coin, a paper bill, or a piece of plastic, but it means that I give you the value of the chicken, so you can use that value to get your pot from someone else, and so on.>>
The captain understood, and a few seconds later, another alien appeared.
<<We took these from your clothing. Are they money?>>
There were two $20 bills.
<<Yeah.>>
<<We can make these.>>
<<Oh brother, you can’t make them, that’s illegal.>>
<<Why?>>
<<Because these are made by the bank, so the bank covers their value. If you make your own, then you devalue the real ones and cause economic problems.>>
The third alien left, returning a few moments later. It passed over two more $20 bills. They were exact copies of the originals, even down to the serial numbers.
Michelle examined them, finding her eyesight was far better than before. She was able to focus real close, so it was almost as if she was able to magnify without artificial aids.
The bills were perfect.
<<Your eyesight has been enhanced by a factor of ten.>>
<<You what?>>
<<As a form of gratitude and a sign of our good intentions, you have been given some qualities that are an improvement on your old model.>>
<<What improvements?>> Michelle asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
<<Eyesight, hearing, strength, speed, lung capacity, agility, reaction, and others.>>
<<Others?>>
<<You are able to communicate without using speech, and you should be able to develop some thought reading.>>
<<You mean I can read minds?>>
<<With practice, perhaps.>>
<<Why?>>
<<Because you deserved some reward for losing the life you had. We understand you were mated for life, so now that relationship has to be no more. Although unimaginable for us, we appreciate the level of commitment that action requires and the sense of loss such separation will bring. This is some small compensation.>>
Michelle was staggered. The creatures had handed her youth and all these other qualities. Just because she saved a life. Then she thought of Carol and the kids. A deep sadness fell on her and she found herself crying.
<<Why does it leak?>> the captain asked the medical technician who appeared.
<<I am not sure, Captain, I believe it is a means of releasing stress.>>
Michelle stopped crying and looked at the three aliens.
<<Why?>> she asked.
<<For us, each life is very valuable. Unlike your people, we are few and getting fewer. The value of each life is priceless, so our gifts to you reflect this.>>
Her mind was an open book to them, and now they could read her mind. It was a very different mind, and they saw intricacies they never imagined. Concepts so alien to them that they were baffled. The Captain was determined to learn more from this human.
<<May I have a mirror?>> she asked, displaying one alien concept for them.
They obviously did not have such a thing, but they made one, and brought it to her.
She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection.
She gasped.
She was stunningly beautiful.
Large blue eyes set at a perfect distance apart, a pretty nose, ever so slightly turned up at the end; a lovely mouth, with full lips and perfect white teeth. The face was heart shaped, with high cheekbones, which gave her a slightly exotic Nordic look. She had perfectly shaped ears, and cascades of wavy golden blonde hair fell past her shoulders.
There was nothing in her reflection that was of Mike, except perhaps that cynical glint in the baby blue eyes.
“Well if I gotta be a girl, then let’s at least have looks and a body to die for,” she said.
She looked at her fingers. They were long and slender, with perfectly formed nails. Her sight was such that she could clearly see the whorls and ridges of her fingerprints, and a thought popped into her mind.
<<They are different to your old ones,>> the Captain answered before she could formulate the question.
<<How do you know?>>
<<We have changed anything by which you could be linked with the old body. Even your DNA is slightly different. You are cloned, but we have made sufficient changes to render you a new and unique individual. Of course you have XX chromosomes now, and not XY.>>
She frowned, as all the disquiet she had experienced initially had gone, and in its place was a kind of excited expectancy. She thought about the ease by which she accepted all this.
<<Did you help me to accept this?>> she asked.
<<Slightly. However, we have found you are remarkably resilient, and have adapted surprisingly well, considering.>>
She looked at the $20 bills, and then at the aliens.
<<You can make anything?>>
<<As long as we have an original or a design, yes.>>
<<And you are gonna put me back?>>
<<Yes. But not anywhere close to where you came from.>>
<<Like where?>>
<<We shall have to be very careful. It will be important that you must be nowhere near your original location, and in circumstances that will not draw attention to you.>>
Michelle thought for a moment. She was frowning as she tried to work out the most effective means of creating a brand new identity that could not draw undue attention to herself.
The Captain watched her and was concerned, as the human naturally managed to shield her thoughts from them, and even the most powerful mind on the ship was unable to penetrate her defences. It indicated that her mind, as yet untried and still immature, actually had unlimited potential. That could turn out to be exceptionally dangerous for the Captain, the ship and the entire alien race.
<<You need not fear me.>> she said, and in horror the Captain realised that even with shields up, the human could read its mind.
<<I’ve as much to fear as you. Humans are nasty suspicious bastards, so they’ll go for anyone who’s the tiniest bit different. So, I’m hardly likely to betray you or be a danger to you. You’ve saved my life, so we’re even. I understand your desire to have at least one human who can act as an ally, so I’m willing to be that person. There is one condition.>>
The large dark eyes of the Captain stared unblinking at her for many moments.
<<What condition?>>
<<I will never betray the interests or safety of my own people.>>
Relief flooded through the Captain, and this emanated to the others in the ship, as all had been mentally tuned in with equal concern.
<<I accept,>> the Captain stated, and the large human held her hand out.
<<Where I come from, it’s customary to shake hands on an agreement. It means that we each promise to uphold our end and may trust the other.>>
The Captain offered his long slender hand, which she took gently as they solemnly shook hands.