"Brian Plante - Something Meaningful" - читать интересную книгу автора (Plante Brian)

Be calm, George Hemlick, a voice spoke. This body knows what to do if you
only relax and let it. It was one of the Canopians, turned to face me, only he hadn’t
really spoken. The creature’s voice was somehow in my head without being in the
air, perfectly understandable without being in language, absolutely clear without
being audible. It was the most immediate communication imaginable, speaking
directly into my brain, this alien brain, without a word being uttered.

It reassured me. How could I not trust it? It didn’t seem like the kind of voice
that could lie, like the voice of God. I stopped trying to scream and relaxed, and
sure enough, my Canopian eyes focused and I began drawing breath.

Irene was slumped on the bed over my dead human body, oblivious to the
exchange between the Canopian leader and me.

Can you hear me? I thought at the creature, wondering if the telepathy, if that
was what it was, worked both ways.

The Canopian didn’t react. I attempted again to lift my arm and point at Irene,
to tell them about her plan to poison me, but I couldn’t control any of my new
body’s muscles, and nearly toppled over before the two others grabbed me and held
me upright.

Don’t try to move, George Hemlick, the voice thought-spoke in my head.
Something unexpected has occurred.

The others converged on Irene, helping her into the rocking chair by the
window. They spoke words of consolation and grief to her. Real words, in English,
not the silent signals I was picking up from the leader, and Irene was assuring them it
was all right, that I was too far gone and it wasn’t their fault.

Damn straight it wasn’t their fault. I’d have been in that dead body if it weren’t
for the Canopians. Now I was alive. Not human anymore, but alive. And Irene would
get away with murder if I didn’t make these blue people understand.

She killed me! I mentally screamed at the aliens. She gave me bad medicine.
Call the police!

The Canopians all turned to face me, so I knew they must have picked up
something, but instead of calling the police they gathered around me and half
pushed, half lifted me out of the room and through the front door. I tried to fight
them off, to break away and lunge for Irene and wring her scrawny neck, but I
couldn’t make that strange alien body move. The funny arm with the octopus fingers
just flopped about uselessly at my side.

The trio of Canopians rushed me out of the house. There on the driveway was
a strange vehicle about the size of a Winnebago. It wasn’t a car or truck, though,
since there were no wheels, and it looked too flimsy for the road…all glassy and
transparent. Inside the vehicle were two rows of odd-looking seats…odd for
humans, but my alien body fit into one just fine. When the other Canopians were in