When I woke up, the door and the alien that came with it were already gone. A week has passed. My mind slowly catching up with everything that happened to me. Fisiotherapy of the senses as Cedric put it. My body went through a drastic change that fateful day. But that was just the beginning, even my American citizenship was rescinded. There wasn’t a country on this planet that I belonged to. Different rules in a brand new physiology. I was told that I was a humanoid still, but I was no longer human.

A normal person might be terrified by this news or perplexed by their own implications. I chose to see the glass half full. No diabetes. No high blood pressure. No osteoporosis. No fogginess. I had the same vintage exterior with a brand new motor. Let me rephrase that, it wasn’t a glass half full kind of situation, it was a full glass and a half.

“There you go.” Cedric served me tea.

In this week's span Cedric and I established a routine. He would ring a tiny bell with the softest sound he could muster. We will sit together on the floor, a beautiful tatami already placed. He would pluck the herbs he left on my balcony beforehand, slowly grinding them into a powder. His movements were smooth and well practiced. As the ritual unfolded he would start explaining a random topic.

“The best people to share a beer with are the Arquillians…” Or he would say, “You should always contest mind altering spells…” Sometimes he would explain my new life, sometimes he would just strike up a conversation. The powder that he grinded had a deep green color. He told me that part of it was also due to the change. As he stirred the tea, I would admire the flower arrangements he sorted that morning. He had a habit of humming something while doing our ritual, his deep voice adding a certain quality to it. As he handed me my steaming cup I couldn’t help but smile. It happened every time.

“Ah... this tastes fantastic, Cedric.”

“I appreciate it.” Cedric had his eyes closed, as he grasped the cup with both of his hands. He took a small sip before looking directly at me. He was dressed in a brown robe, something more appropriate for a monk than an agent. I had an even more eccentric attire. Cedric lent me a mawashi like the sumo wrestlers use. I never thought I would wear such a thing but my skin was still too sensitive for anything else.

“You know Ernest, our firm has many branches. Tens of thousands of them.”

This was something that I heard before, so I just nodded in agreement.

“There are some that are known to be flashy.” He poured more tea into his cup and mine, the engravings on both of them were simple, bamboo trees and fine lines. It looked quite old so I handled it with care.

“We are a known branch, Ernest.” He looked outside of my window. His hands nested around his cup. “Not because we are flashy like some.” He shook his head. “We go to the bitter end to do what we do.”

“You said we are different because of the way we learn.”

He nodded again. “Among other things.”

I was on board with him but I couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably even in this beautiful setting.

Raising my cup and bringing it back without taking a sip. A simple question has been stirring inside of me for too long.

“Why me, Cedric?”

Frank barged in right at this moment. Wearing a green shirt with green shorts. The shirt looked like something that a kid might use and unfortunately his shorts looked like a sassy teenager might wear. To finish it off, he had boots and a hat with a feather attached to the brim, a humbling reminder that everything had its ups and downs, even this.

Our boss had his hands on his hips. His chin held high.

His voice came out as something out of a Monty Python movie. “Hundreds of years ago a great prophet told us of the handsome hero who will change the world. His big meaty sword would be the downfall of thousands of…”

Cedric and I looked unamused at each other.

“Why me, Cedric?”

Frank’s arms went limp, his mouth hanging open.

“We thought you were the right person, Ernest,” Cedric responded.

I wasn’t convinced, but I played along. “Call me Ern.”

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Frank's eyes widened and his shoulders slumped. His hurt expression along with the erratic way that he gesticulated made this scene an Oscar worthy performance.

“Why… why… him, Ern?”

“He is very nice.” Cedric struggled to suppress the thug on the corner of his lips. “And call me Mister Montgomery.” For the first time I cracked the ever serene Cedric, a roaring laughter found its way through his stoic facade. The booming sound was joined by Frank a moment later.

It felt good, but I still needed to know the truth.

“I am just a retired teacher.”

“Not anymore,” Cedric responded.

“But I am not hero material either,” I retorted.

“Not every choice is complicated,” Frank interjected, hands behind his back. “We need somebody who shares our ideas and we made a bet that in due time you will be that person.”

Cedric continued, his cup forgotten on the table. “We saw you for a long time. You have ambition.” He hummed for a bit before complementing his statement. “A great deal of idealism too.”

“And also a touch of crookedness to you,” Frank added with a thin smile.

“This business. Our business...” Cedric led once again, his arms folded inside of his robes. “...is based on two simple things. Efficiency and longevity, Ern.” Frank stood silent waiting for his companion to continue. “But what most people overlook is the longevity part. Many of our friends choose efficiency as the top priority when picking their coworkers.” From the otherside of the room I can see Frank shaking his head. “Which usually leads to trouble down the line, Ern. I’ve seen nasty grudges born out of life long partners. It is not a pretty sight, I tell you that.”

The mood in the room wasn’t the same. There was something deliberate in the way he told his particular story. His dark brown eyes held a different glow during this moment, his breath slower and heavier. It flashed briefly before vanishing as if it never happened. In different circumstances, I would probably dismiss it, but right now I needed to take everything into consideration.

Frank walked towards us, getting closer to the table. He put his hand on my shoulder.

“We chose you because we think you could be an ally and a friend. And that is good enough for us.”

I sighed in relief. A warm feeling spreaded through my body while some other part of me kept poking, trying to find the flaw, the gimmick, the catch. My response was to keep watching. Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

Another week has passed. My senses were calibrated once again. Using a mawashi was very comfortable, but I was ready to go back to my old clothing. According to Frank, my body was programmed to always stay at the peak of my genetic capabilities. Basically, I functioned just like in my twenties.

Our routine also felt good. I was alone for a long time and just having somebody to talk to was kind of new to me. At the end of my career, even holding somebody’s interest was getting harder and harder.

Life can be funny like that. What most people fail to realize is that you are not discarded as soon as somebody notices that you can’t keep up. You are gone before you are really finished. One day you find yourself talking passionately about a chess game or a beautiful song and you can feel that the other person is just being polite. They are not interested anymore, they just pretend to give a damn so they can pat themselves on the back. Good Samaritans listening to their elders. It is the death before death.

“Time to wash your hands, children. Dinner is ready!” Our official cook yelled at us. It made sense, since we were almost six feet away from him with the TV off.

As we sat at the table, Frank made sure we said grace. Given what we know about the Universe and the fact that they are not from here at all, led me to believe that our leadership is a little bit bonkers, to say the least.

“I think he is ready,” Frank commented.

“I think so too.”

“You wanna do the honors?” Frank gestured to Cedric.

“Where do I start? Well, the process you went through is called Rafu. Rapid ascended fusion. It is the way all of our agents get converted nowadays. Frank and I went through the same thing, but back in the day they called it Ascef.”

“Advanced ascended fusion. Same process done at a slower pace,” Frank explained.

“Back then, we didn't have this kind of technology,” Cedric continued, his fingers intertwined, his brows furrowed. Due to the time we spent together, I knew that he was trying to gauge how much of the truth I could take. “That is a very special book that you put your hand on right there, Ern. There are many different ones with just as many names, but ours is known as the Antiquarian.”

“And what is the difference between this Antiquarian and the other books out there?”

“It connects you to our system,” he responded matter of factly.

It didn’t seem too complicated, so I just nodded in understanding.

“Because it is made from the blood of a living God. In our case Seleena’s blood.”

It took a moment for me to process it. “I beg you a pardon?” I shook my head, my eyes darted between both of them.

“There are many Gods in the universe, Ern. Our company just harvests some of them,” Frank explained.

At this moment, Cedric stared at Frank, it felt like there was something more to it but I was playing catch-up already so I decided to just skip the details for now.

“What did it do to me?” I could feel that I wasn’t able to hide the panic that was simmering inside of me from surfacing to my face, it was just that this whole topic just seemed to get wilder at every turn.

Frank put his hand on my shoulder. “The conversion didn’t just change your body, but transformed it completely. In theory you still look human both on the inside and the outside, but in reality your body was permanently reconstructed to an atomic level, including several receptors that were put in place, monitoring and updating your progress.”

The man had this look on his hazelnut eyes. I saw compassion and understanding but I wanted more.

My mouth felt dry. I licked my lips several times, messing idly with the forks and knives on the table. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to know.

“So when do I get to experience, you know… powers?”

Childish as it may sound, it was a long time since I felt hope. I couldn’t help, but dare to dream.

Frank and Cedric looked amused at each other. The former raised his eyebrow, his eyes shining with mischief while Cedric turned towards me before giving the sweet response that I longed to hear.

“No time like the present, Ern.”