Chapter 1
 

Why was I opening that old-fashioned frosted-glass door on the second floor? Actually, why did I just walk through an open door and up those stairs during a stroll along a lane of one of those twisty side street neighborhoods of Cusco? These questions filtered through my mind but -- I was doing it anyway!

"Ah, you're here" -- said an enormous, beefy man somehow wedged into a normal-sized chair behind a normal desk --- with the suggestion, as I glanced around a roomful of silent, alert faces -- now we can begin? I noticed there was only one chair left and I rather quickly fell into it. What ...? I had barely noticed the initials lettered in black on the frosted glass and I tried briefly to read them backwards now as I and others now looked around at the motley group somehow gathered there. "C.O.M.F.E.A" or something?

The huge man spoke -- rather matter-of-factly considering what he was saying -- "You're probably all wondering why I brought you here?" He shrugged awkwardly, as if slightly attempting to make light of it or introduce a little joking relaxation to the scene.

If so, it didn't work. I glanced at the dozen or so others besides me. Their very mixed ages and styles of clothing, skin colors and facial features hinted at a real cross-section of this ancient Inca, Spanish-colonial and now International/tourist culture center. But the air was tense -- the frank statement, he brought us here?! -- only adding to a heavy feeling of "what next??"

  "OK, there's no way to begin gradually" -- the big man spoke again, now somehow reeking with power, just his physical appearance seeming to grow even, you wondered suddenly just how big he was if not wedged in behind that desk -- "we only have an hour. I'll just throw some things out and see how it goes."

"My ... well, my superiors ... have picked you -- for some reasons I don't know actually -- but I've been ordered to tell you ... uh, people ..." (he seemed to search for this word? -- it wasn't quite natural to him?) "... to tell you the actual truth about a number of things -- for this hour only. It doesn't come easy to me ... well, there you go, I've told you that already. Maybe I can manage to tell the truth for an hour."

 A few of us exchanged mystified glances. What in the world was this about??

"I guess..." --- he continued, then turned to what must have been a computer screen in front of him -- we could only see the back of it -- and seemed to punch a few buttons or keys and look at the screen for a few moments -- "OK now they're telling me a bit more. Well, to be honest it's a machine, just the machine telling me a bit more now that the hour has begun, so I can do a better job of this. Things have just gone too easy here on the Earth. You guys - you ... people..." (again he seemed to struggle to find this word! -- 'Who or what is this guy?!' - I found leaping to my mind) "... need to choose your own fates in some way, at least a little bit. I don't understand this, we're here to take over and everything, but somehow the ... uh humans..." (again the hesitation!?!) "...need to somehow buy into our whole program or it doesn't work.

"The part I don't get ..." (here he gave another version of that attemped shoulder shrug, very unnatural again) "... is that you ARE buying into it -- but maybe too well? What I'm ordered to do this hour is tell you the truth about things that nobody seems to ever guess, things that might even save you, or save some of you, or at least make your coming times of servitude a little freer, with more choices, more independence. Really I'm just guessing, I don't see why they want to give you guys more of a chance ..." -- he said this last part more slowly and quietly.

 People were getting restless, looking with doubtful glances at each other. How could this guy be for real? He really hasn't said anything, I found myself thinking. Then I remembered how it seemed like he really did bring me there by some psychic tractor beam or something.

Just then the big man gave a sort of frustrated jerk -- again seeming very ungainly and artificial -- if this guy was a robot (Wait! Why was that idea suddenly coming to me?) -- well anyway, if he was they sure didn't train him very well in human mannerisms! -- and he spoke again ---

"Humans are a slave species kept on Earth by a variety of other species. No, you didn't all descend from Father Darwin..." -- this might have been a joke? -- but nobody laughed -- "... or from his Apes, or Adam and Eve either. 'Human history' is a deception operation, part of my duties here on this planet actually, with the purpose of hiding your past and the true nature of your species." (Well, can't say he hasn't said anything yet!).

 "WHO ARE YOU?? AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??" -- another very large man spoke up -- a young, athletic white man, dressed like a tourist -- and he made a sudden movement as if to get up and move toward the desk.

"You can call me Captain. I'll tell you more at the end of the hour" was the gruff reply, along with a subtle ripple of that powerful body that sent the questioner rudely back in his seat. "Captain" hesitated a moment before slowly speaking again.

"The people never think! One of your heroes had a saying -- oh, not a hero, an anti-hero you would say, same difference in this case, both just tricks to get everybody to think in the same rigid ways about things -- anyway, a guy named Hitler said it better than anybody else --

"How fortunate for governments that the people they administer do not think."

He continued -- nobody thinks that "progress" might not be so "natural", or that "development" might be developing something besides benefits to your species and all your various races. Especially 'money' -- nobody seems to even notice that it isn't even money at all any more, just debt and more debt. And all that war and more war that seems to come more and more easily to everybody who accepts it, so that it's constant now -- doesn't anybody remember that 'Those who live by the sword will die by the sword'?"

Here he paused. The whole group seemed to heave a sigh, this was getting too heavy too fast now -- is the hour over yet? I looked at my watch. Really, there wasn't much time left.

Captain continued. "With more and more 'wealth' coming into fewer and fewer hands -- and of course that's been our program since I taught the basics of "money magic" to those Levite priests in Babylon, down a few ages through 'Capitalism' and 'Stock Exchanges' -- and then 'Corporations' with rights of individuals first and now rights of Nations, down through engineered 'Depressions' and now to a few thousand 'Billionaires' who 'own' more than the whole SEVEN BILLION of the rest of you -- now, with so few controlling so much stuff and so many of you! -- doesn't anybody figure that those few thousand 'Billionaires' and high flyers might all just be controlled by -- well, by me is what it actually is. The hour is almost over. It's time to tell you this. Nobody seems to think that my Imperius Petroleus Gridelectricus Hypnovideus Dinosaurus -- made to fail any time we want to pull the plug! -- is not the best technological or human thing that's come along in the last hundred years!" No awkward shrugs this time. No poorly-learned personality characteristics. The matter-of-factness suddenly fit all too well.

I felt my head beginning to swim as I was the one to ask "And so who are you actually? And what do the letters on the door mean?"

"You can read the whole title now as you leave."  

He motioned toward the door and there was a relieved hurry to the group as we all moved together to leave.

"It's written there now" -- said the "Captain" in parting -- "but no need to look for it later. No need to look for this office, either. I'm guessing I'll be assigned to another place and another job. You few can tell whoever you want about what I've told you this hour. If you can get anybody to just wake up a little more! -- maybe that other department wouldn't have to bring so many of you back as sheep next time? Sheep are OK, we' ve even found a way to make rocket fuel from sheep wool now. But if people would only think a little more! -- maybe they'd be more useful to my ... commanders?" he finished.

I looked around, like others, as I left -- on the frosted glass of the door was written now, in big black letters -- "Captain Of Martians For Earth Affars".

I almost fell down on my way down the stairs, and I did fall once I was on the sidewalk. A few others had the same stunned reaction and we stayed together for a few minutes sharing our shocked expressions and some incoherent words. I finally got up to try to find my way out of that maze of streets and lanes. I looked back and found -- the door we had all entered and finally left was now gone! Only a blank wall remained.

Go to Chapter 2

NOTE
The above is the first chapter of a book I am writing. It is set in Cusco for some actual reason.