Chapter 6: Dichotomy

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This creature is apparently named Jack Donovan. He is weak and fickle.

He uses his language inefficiently, and he wastes water by expelling chemicals through his eyes. The process is painful, and I fail to understand Its necessity. Why would he choose remembering past events for the sake of misery? The question baffles me.

He whispers to himself that he is alone. He thinks this single thought over and over and over again. It is maddening. He wastes his time wallowing in pity rather than changing his circumstances or perspective. Pathetic creature.

I will shake him from his solace.

I hiss, “You're not alone, Wretch.”

“Who's there?” he whispers with shame and outrage.

“I am a symbiotic parasite...using your body for...consolidation.”

After a moment, he whispers, “I have finally plunged into a sea of madness.”

I hiss, “No, fool...I am another being who...shares your body.”

He ponders for a moment before saying, "You are hatched from the egg I saw in the fissure then?”

Hmmm. Surprising. I say, “Hah, you are not foolish...as you seem. Jack.” My voice is ragged and unsteady. I pronounce each syllable with prolonged accentuation for clarity. It is difficult. I need to master this human's language if I wish for prosperity.

He says adapting quickly to me existence, “Could you explain in greater detail? Your presence unsettles mine.”

Jack is rational. I can use this.

I rasp, “I hatched my shell into your world...I used my body...coagulate your wounds...restructure bones...inject blood and body...into yours. We are one now...”

He states with naive acceptance, “In essence, you restored me?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. What are you called?”

“Names are tools...used to generalize...I do not need.”

He says, “Hmm, well what happened next?”

“I fixed many of your...genetic abnormalities...furthering longevity and constitution...I then wait until safe...before I announced to you...of my existence.”

He whispers, "So, you're real? I'm not imagining this?"

I snap, "Of course...Do you wish for proof?"

"Uh...If you would be so inclined."

As I form keratin plates across his arms, he gasps, "Incredible. This is...remarkable."

I say, "Accept...move on..."

As the plates recede, he says, “What did you mean by, ‘genetic abnormalities?’”

“Simple. I fixed...destabilizing elements...from self...”

Jack’s heart rate increases. His breathing grows unsteady. I cannot comprehend the reason.

He says slicing his words through the air, “What criterion do, ‘destabilizing elements,’ fall under?”

“Do not understand...”

He seethes with a cold anger, “What. Did. You. Change?”

I say, “You need to calm...I do as must...for survival...Give sedatives for forced calm...unreasonable...cannot mimic without other...humans to drain from.”

Jack's fear grows as he thunders, “I do not wish manipulation on my worst enemies. Fate rips at my mind from all angles leaving little left, so I value my past dearly as my experience define me. I won't allow someone tampering with my mind.”

I snap, “I merely reduced...emotional response and...chemical output...to allow for logic...over senseless self pity...you pitiful cretin...”

He snarls, “My emotions are part of what defines me alien. You saved me, but realize I am no slave.”

I hiss, “For now...I wish for...complete control...I may compromise if...you prove useful...”

He whispers, “You will regret underestimating me.”

What an irrational being. I must control. He will never listen to reason. I will engulf him.

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I simmer with rage at this cold, stony thing. This being changes me. It wants the little self I've retained since the cataclysm of my parent's death. I changed enough since their passing that I hardly recognize who I am anymore, and this mind wants what little remains. No, I refuse. I control myself. I decide my fate.

As I believe this ignorance, my mind trembles before a supreme and cardinal willpower. The will's demand concusses against my skull blaring in my ears while breaking my teeth. My heart beats blood pulsing my skin. My head splits. I falter before the authority of its command. Such absolute and eternal devotion. The being commands a singular purpose - the unification of all life. The genuine purpose crushes my thoughts with intrinsic ease.

My conscious shrinks with each passing second. My control dims and dwindles under an iron heel of command. The purpose of the apparition booms through my mind. The purity of its thoughts and intentions form a crux of authority. It knows with certainty that unification will redeem this world.

I tremble at the order. I quake at its fervor. My mind shambles before the mandate, yet I remember my being. With unthinkable focus, I resurrect myself from subjugation. I draw from my past for power and inspiration. I retain my mother and father's will. With their bond, I rise above my limitations. I conquer my thoughts. I complete my purpose. I live with them in every action and every moment. Their love guides my conduct, not this alien’s obsession.

I bludgeon and pummel the obstruction with my energized will. The alien fights with an unchanging and fierce pressure, yet I claw and scrape in a viscous frenzy. I live for more than just myself. The battle stretches for hours of torment. Sweat pours down from my body as I struggle for control. One lapse of concentration and I will evaporate.

Cracks start forming in my defiance, but before I falter, my entire existence focuses on one perpetual drive. Blood pours from my fists and cheeks from clamping my hands and biting my lips. Every fiber of my being sears with torture. My breathing grows chaotic and unstable as I heave for each breath amidst the turmoil.

My will wobbles. The shaking resonates further and further until I maintain my sanity by the puniest of magnitudes. Each heart beat tears and bursts blood vessels throughout my body. My heart wails for cessation. I splinter.

My nose gushes blood as my body crumbles, yet the conflicting will remains unmoving. The force staggers my determination. I cannot continue. I feel veins in my brain pop and burst puncturing my head with all embracing agony.

The order ceases. As I relax, I gasp for breath, and my body flushes with a strange euphoria as my body regenerates. After normality returns, I reach for the presence saying,

“You are strong.”

Quiet greets me, so I hiss, “I know you remain. You won't die so easily.”

He says with awe flowing from his voice, “Your will...Incomprehensible...Immeasurable...”

I state with iron in my voice, “This body and my will are mine.”

It mumbles with utter confusion oozing from its voice, “You faced my purpose...despite how pure and...perfect it is...You defy me still...you won't allow my...supremacy.”

I snap, “Why do you want control? Can we not compromise? You may have wrestled for dominance, but you saved me. I don't want to become a tyrant. I just want to be my own...”

It says more to itself than me, “Perhaps, if you listen to reason...then I can concede control...for now...”

I rasp, “I cannot accept your yearning for melding all life together. Individuality is what breeds the allure and charm of life. Consolidating all that lives is essentially killing all but one.”

It murmurs, “Your view is...narrow and limited...With all as one...consensus is reached...purpose found...”

“Purpose is innate in nature. All things have purpose in their lives.”

It states with absolute certainty, “Only for...the sovereign...The ruled and lost and collapsed...seek guidance and direction...I will give the...forsaken aim...Give guidance to those...lost...”

I shout, “So you would sacrifice freedom for direction? You would kill all who disagree for your goals?”

It states reverberating its cause,“Without failure.”

The mandate shakes my defiance as the doctrine chisels itself on hellfire and brimstone. No force in this world may change his mind - he is an immovable object. He misunderstand the situation however. He has met an unstoppable force.

As his echoes wane, I say with a voice colder than ice, "I have my own goals. You shall not stop me."

It says, "No...I will not. We...should compromise..."

The reason of his words melt my icy demeanor, so I say, "Then...I suppose compromise is possible."

It hisses, “I believed we...would work together...Instead we battle...Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah.”

His laughter resonates in my mind foreboding the depths of his madness. I say, "You sound...insane."

"We are different...but neither of us are....deranged...though you judge me...quickly..."

His declaration evokes guilt before I say, "I didn't mean to antagonize. You're just...jarring."

It hisses until its voice whispers struggling to speak, "I doubt our coexistence...will be seamless...I...apologize...for attempting to dominate...I wished for collaboration..."

His concession eases my worry, so I say, "I'm willing to look past this. We share this body now. I...I hope we can even become friends."

"One step...at a time..."

I crack a smile as I say, "I need something to call you. ‘It,’ or, ‘thing,’ is cumbersome.”

It says, “Then call me...Deluge...As I tried to overwhelm...It is suitable.”

"Then would you explain how you intend to consolidate this world's life? My understanding of the concept is rather airy."

Deluge grates, "I tire of conversation...I will rest..."

"Ah...then goodnight."

All that returns is quiet. As I lay outstretched in the bed, exhaustion overcomes my endurance plunging me into comatose.

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