“But won’t that reduce my value to your conglomerate?”
“Not for the job we have selected for you.”
“But I thought you don’t believe in punishment, just rehabilitation.” I was almost in tears.
“You misunderstood. We do believe in rehabilitation." #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion

“It does not matter what you do. The chip will alter its pattern to compensate. From now until the end of your life, you will have 20-100 vision, or worse. You will only hear sound in a narrow range, and roses will have a very faint smell.”
As it spoke, I became panicky.
#lookinmybriefs #shortstory

"They change your vision in a way that prevents your fear from turning into anger. There are similar implants in your ears and nose. All your senses except for your sense of touch have been modified this way. Go ahead, Jane.”
“What a puny person,” the woman said. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

“Did it work?” I think the new alien had spoken. It was hard to tell.
“Yes, District Supervisor.”
“I think the lights affected my vision,” I said.
“It’s not the lights,” the alien with the doctor’s uniform replied. “It’s the nanochips that we implanted behind your eyes." #lookinmybriefs #shortstory

I lifted my head and swung my legs off the bed. To my surprise I saw another alien and a young human female. I had not heard them enter the room, which seemed to have dimmed. I stood up, and stared at the others, but I was having trouble focusing on their faces. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

Cursing under my breath, thinking of ways to chop off its scaly head, I did as I was told and stared resentfully up at the rainbow. Minutes passed, and my anger did also. I was feeling sleepy and having trouble focusing on the rainbow.
“That’s it. You can stand.”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

I would show this repulsive reptile how a chicken pecked to death a loathsome scaly lizard. My normal, human, brown eyes stared into its bulbous green lenses.
After many minutes, calm began to return to my body. I realized that the lizard was staring back at me. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

With a roar I came out of my chair, flung myself across the desk, and took hold of the alien’s neck with both hands. I pressed my thumbs inward intending to cut off the flow of oxygen to the creature’s brain. Vicious words oozed from my mouth like mud overflowing a sidewalk. #lookinmybriefs #alien

“I think you are terrified. There is no rational reason for it, and that causes your fear to transition into anger. Your anger overwhelms you, and that leads you to commit anti-social acts. Face it. You are just a big frustrated chicken.”
With a roar I came out of my chair. #lookinmybriefs #alien

"The mere sight of a human standing alongside a road. Any kind of sound above a whisper. The smell of flowers. All these terrify you, and this is what causes you to become angry.”
“You think I’m afraid?” I was becoming annoyed. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory #alien

I think I detected surprise in the mechanical voice when it spoke again.
“Oh, no. It should be just a couple of minutes more.”
I heard a ding, and the alien psychologist stood. It had to stoop, so as not to hit its thick head on the ceiling. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #alien

“We will make a determination as to the reasons for your anti-social behavior, and then we will employ methods to address those reasons.”
“How long will I have to wait? Weeks? Months?” I was impatient to get back on the street.
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory #alien

“Will I be set free?”
“Yes, but you will be assigned to a job. Probably a menial job.”
I had no problem with being employed. It had never stopped me from pursuing either enjoyment or prey.
“What happens next?”
#lookinmybriefs

I had spent years learning to control my body language, so I allowed myself to feel glee, knowing that the alien would not see through my façade.
“You favor rehabilitation over punishment?”
“Successful rehabilitation adds value to our company. Punishment does not.”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

“Will it turn me into a decent man?” I made sure to keep a straight face.
“Not necessarily a decent human, but it will make you a productive human and in doing so, it will enhance your worth to our conglomerate. You will be capable of functioning in society without harming others.”
#lookinmybriefs

“It studies brain waves. It’s quite similar to the machines that Earth scientists had developed before we arrived to help humans, only it is more advanced. It allows our computers to reverse-model conduct. That gives us clues to the early development reasons for human behaviors.” #lookinmybriefs

It was a mechanical voice, but every now and then I seemed to catch an intonation, as if the machine had slipped and had accidentally conveyed an emotion that betrayed the feelings behind the alien speech.
“What does the machine do?”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory

Afterwards, I asked the lizard doctor about the machine. The lizard did not speak English, of course. It had a small mechanical device that it placed over its snoutlike face, and the device translated its high pitched, sissy alien language into English. It was a mechanical voice. #lookinmybriefs

It was a big, white, donut shaped machine with lots of blinking LED lights, and the main bulk was positioned directly over my head. Even without the Lasik surgery my vision was 20-50, so I had no trouble focusing on the flashing rainbow. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory

I lay on my back, and to my surprise there was background music, the kind I like. The only disturbing part of the examination was that the questions were asked as I lay in some kind of machine. It was a big, white, donut shaped machine with lots of blinking LED lights. #lookinmybriefs #alieninvasion