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THE MAN WITH TWO MINDS
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The inviting smell of fresh brewed coffee hit him when she opened the door. She was in her pajamas. "I wasn't in bed yet," she said, with just a trace of a German accent. "I was just getting ready." She was born in the U.S.--Minneapolis--but her Mother was from Germany.
Even her loose fitting PJs couldn't hide her attractive figure, he thought. He wondered how even the alien Hyamul could have rejected such a beautiful, blue eyed blonde. Jake often wondered what she saw in a tall, gangling, craggy featured southerner like himself.
She poured two cups of coffee, placed some assorted cookies on a serving tray, and sat down beside him on the couch. He remained silent. He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn't think of a way to do it without seeming foolish. Maybe he should apologize and tell her it wasn't very important after all.
She smiled and reached for his hand. "What's on your mind, Jake?"
"What I've got to say is so far out that I don't know how to start. You'd think I'm a cotton pickin' nut."
She was silent for a moment. "Will you let me take a guess?"
He chuckled. "Sure, but ain't no way you'll even get close."
"Okay. How's this--you want me to move in with you." She laughed and held up her hands in mock defense. "Just kidding. But I see I did get a smile on that gloomy puss of yours."
Jake was fairly old-fashioned in his thinking, and Tina sometimes ribbed him about it.
He laughed. "Guess I have been pretty gloomy. But what I got to say is pretty gloomy stuff."
"Okay, I was just kidding around. But I'm serious about making a guess. Let's try this. It has to do with your boating accident."
Jake's face showed his surprise. He looked at her. "Go on," he said.
"When you had your boating accident, you were found three days later, lying unconscious on the beach. No life raft. No life preserver. About the same time, there was an article buried in the back pages of the newspaper about a UFO sighting in the vicinity. Nobody connected the two events."
"But apparently you did," he said.
"I really didn't think too much about it until I noticed that you became a totally different person after the accident. You even lost your southern accent, and that got my attention. After a while I started to suspect that the two events were related.
"I honestly began to suspect that you had been abducted by the aliens in the UFO, and that they did some kind of experiments on you." She paused. "How am I doing?"
Jake was stunned. "I can't believe it. It ain't exactly what happened, but you're damn close, Tina. After my boat turned over, I clung to the wreckage for only a few minutes before a UFO showed up and plucked me out of the water. The aliens--they looked like big bugs--did something to my mind. They drugged me and scanned my mind to learn my history, then one of them took over my mind. I knew what was going on, but I was helpless to do anything about it. I remember everything that it did while it controlled my body. I don't know how it happened, but I gradually regained control."
"Deep inside, I somehow knew that it wasn't you," she said.
Jake grinned. "It's kinda funny. To think that I used to poke fun at you for believing in UFOs and such foolishness. Did you tell anybody about your suspicions?"
"No. Who would have believed me? Everyone noticed that you had changed, but if I had even hinted that a UFO might be involved, they would have laughed at me."
Jake told her of his scheduled rendezvous with the aliens and of the probable invasion if he did not show. She agreed that it would be a waste of time to notify the authorities.
She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "But we've got to get away from here, Jake. If the aliens scanned your mind, they know everything about you, including where you live and work. They'll probably know to look here, too. Where can we go, Jake?"
Jake shook his head. "I ain't gonna drag you into this. They'll be looking for me, not you." Now he was regretting that he had even called her. He only wanted someone to talk to--not to get her involved. "I'll find a place to hide, and it would be best if I didn't even tell you where I'm going. That way, if they scan your mind they won't learn anything."
"I'm afraid, Jake. I don't want to have to face these bugs. If you go without me, I swear I'll find a hiding place of my own. Can you be sure that they'll stop at just scanning my mind?"
Again, the Hyamul part of his mind warned that the Ovahni would likely use Tina to try to flush him out of hiding. He held her close to him. "Are you willing to go on a long trip, Hon?"
"Willing and able," she said, "and speaking of travel, I have an idea. Remember my uncle that died recently? As his closest relative, he left me all he owned--including a well-equipped camper. It turned out that he had a whole lot more assets than I thought he had. I planned to sell the camper, but maybe it would make a good hiding place."
Jake thought it over. "I sure couldn't think of a better place to hide. We could stay on the move. But dammit, I don't want to squander your inheritance. I've got some investments in stocks and a little in the bank."
"When I said he had a lot of assets, I meant it. He didn't believe in investing, so all his money was in a savings account and a box full of savings bonds. I'm talking of nearly a million, Jake. Don't worry, we'd really have to go wild to squander it." She laughed. "You've never asked me to move in with you, so I guess this will have to do."
***
The next day was spent getting the camper checked out and serviced, and the following day they got their supplies and equipment ready.
They set out from Tampa at 7:00 Am on a Thursday morning, two days before the rendezvous time with the Ovahni. Their destination was Montana. They decided to travel a full day and night before stopping at an RV campsite, and agreed to take turns driving.
"They'll be looking for me Friday night at midnight. If they call in the invasion fleet immediately after they find out I'm not there, it'll take their fleet six days to get here. They're a long way from Earth, but they can shortcut by jumping through time space warp fields."
Tina looked at him quizzically. "How can you know all this, Jake?"
"Remember, I can call on Hyamul's memory almost like my own. We'd better plan on the invasion taking place in about eight days or so, give or take."
At 10:00 PM that evening they pulled into a truck stop to rest, get a bite, and change drivers. They were hungry, and the delicious smells coming from the kitchen whetted their appetites. They found an empty booth and ordered.
"I've been thinking of what you said about the invasion," she said. "Isn't there anyone that we can warn? I feel guilty that we have all this information and aren't telling anyone about it."
"Ain't no way anybody would take us seriously, Hon. But it'll be a different story after the invasion happens. We'll be in Montana then, and I've been thinking of organizing a resistance up there."
"After the invasion, won't it be too late start any kind of resistance?"
"The invaders will concentrate on heavily populated places to start with. It'll take them a while before they get to places like Montana."
"But you said that their weapons are far superior to ours. How can we hope to resist them?"
"Determination, ingenuity, and ammonia."
She raised her eyebrows. "Ammonia?"
"They're scared stiff of the stuff. A little drop on the skin'll kill them. We could sprinkle areas with ammonia-filled mines and booby traps. The mortar is a good guerilla weapon, so we could fill mortar shells with ammonia. We could make life miserable for them. They have protective suits, but hate wearing them for long periods of time."
"It's too bad we couldn't have warned the world," said Tina. "We could have sprinkled the whole world with booby traps. That would have made them think twice about invading us."
Jake slapped his hand on the table. "You just gave me an idea. We can't set ammonia booby traps all over the world, but maybe we can make the bugs think we did. If they believe it, they won't bother us--they'll look for a better place to invade."
"But how on Earth could we ever be able to fool them like that? They will be looking for you on the Gulf coast tomorrow night. There's no time to do anything."
"We've got time if we act now. We're gonna turn around and head back to Tampa. We should get back there by early tomorrow afternoon."
"Jake, have you lost your mind? What can you possibly do to convince them we are ready to use ammonia to fight them?"
"I've got Hyamul's memories, and I can write in the Ovahni language. I can write a note, attach it to a dummy, and leave it at the rendezvous point. They'll think the dummy is me--Hyamul--and pull it up."
"I suppose it's worth a try," she said. "If it doesn't work, we'll still have a few days to get away."
They reached Tampa a little past 2:00 PM. As they drove through the city, Tina spotted a clothing store and they stopped. Jake waited while Tina went into the store.
A few minutes later she emerged from the store followed by a sales clerk carrying a mannequin. They loaded the mannequin into the camper and continued on their way to Tina's duplex.
"Any problem?" He asked.
"At first he insisted mannequins weren't for sale, but when I showed him a handful of twenties, he asked what kind I wanted. I chose the gentleman lying in back of the camper."
***
Jake checked his watch as they pulled into Tina's driveway. "Three-fifteen. We still have plenty of time."
They went in, and Tina immediately stepped into a hot shower. Then, while Jake showered, she put on the coffee and popped a couple of lasagna dinners in the microwave.
After the meal, Jake sat down and composed the note to the Ovahni. He read a translation to her:
Major Hanzi, Intelligence Team Leader:
Hyamul has been incapacitated and now lies subdued within my subconscious mind. I write to you now as Jake Stewart, the human you used for the psyche transfer. I have reclaimed my mind and body. My mind was not completely erased, and began to reemerge after a six-month period. You will find the human spirit equally difficult to erase. If you invade, you will meet little initial resistance. We are aware of your technical superiority.
But every nation on the planet now knows of your vulnerability, and ammonia booby traps of every description are being planted everywhere. You will find a world saturated with ammonia. Are you willing to wear your protective suits forever?
Jake Stewart, for the leaders of Earth
They dressed the dummy in Jake's clothes and pinned the note to its chest.
***
Jake left Tina at the apartment and headed for the rendezvous point. He placed the dummy where he was expected to be, and then hid and waited until the Ovahni ship appeared overhead. He watched as the dummy was drawn up to the ship. Moments later, the dummy--minus the note--was deposited on the beach, and the ship sped off.
Days, weeks, and months passed, and the Ovahni did not return. They had obviously decided to look for easier prey.
***
Jake never did ask Tina to move in with him, but he did ask her to marry him. She accepted.
**THE END**
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