Upgrade

Upgrade

“Joseph?” There was a voice in my mind. Like a whisper on the wind, I ignored it and pushed through the doors without another thought. It was a typical Tuesday…at least that’s how it began. I reported to work just like I always did, though it seemed half the office called in sick that day. I mean, who could blame them after what’d happened over the past week or so.

“Hey man, did you hear the news?” Ethan peeked over the cubicle wall from next-door.

“News?” I wondered, not even looking up.

“The thing opened this morning.”

“Yeah? What was inside? And don’t tell me little green men,” I joked.

“Little green...? Oh, ha!” he chuckled. “No man, it was empty.”

“Seriously?”

“Crazy right? No Martians, no fancy controls…nothing! You’d think if some alien goes through all the trouble to send a flying saucer across the galaxy and land it on the lawn of the White House, there’d at least be something inside.”

“Not if it was a publicity stunt,” I noted.

“Publicity stunt? You kidding? Dude, our best scientists can’t figure it out. It’s hovering ten feet off the ground, makes no noise, and doesn’t register on any equipment.”

“Yeah, cardboard does that.”

“Hovers?”

“No the other stuff.” I shook my head and looked over my glasses at him. “Anyways, I’ve got work to do. So, unless there’s an alien army marching through the streets, I’ve got to get this report done.”

“Whatever, man. Weird stuff.”

“Joseph?” I heard again.

“What?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Ethan answered from the other side.

I rubbed my temples. “Never mind.” It had to be stress. My manager had been breathing down my neck for weeks, castigating me for numbers due days ago. Honestly, I’d been working long hours.

“Joseph, it’s time.”

“Time?” I asked but Ethan didn’t reply this time.

“It’s time to upgrade.”

I jumped to my feet. “Seriously, man. Are you hearing anyth…?” Ethan was gone, headed toward the elevator, mumbling something I couldn’t make out.

“Joseph,” the voice said again.

“Who are you?”

“I am you, now. Or, rather, we are you.”

“Uh-huh.” I searched in vain for some kind of hidden speaker under the desk, even behind the trash can. “Great. Now I’m talking to myself. I must be going crazy.”

“You’re fine. In fact, better than fine, now.”

That was enough. “Alright, what is this, some sort of joke?”

“You may want to sit back down.”

“Why?”

“Because your world is about to change.”

“Your world? Who are you?” I found my seat again.

“We’re here to improve you.”

“Improve?”

“I understand your confusion. Humans are a species so sure of themselves, despite their inherent limitations.”

“You’re from that ship, aren’t you?” I realized.

“Yes.”

“What do you want? Are you here to eat us?”

“We’ve no need for the rigors of mastication or digestion and, after today, neither will you.”

“Then, you’re here to kill us?”

“No.” the reply proceeded a gentle snicker which seemed amused. “Only to make you better.”

“Bullshit.”

“Imagine a world without hunger, because there’s no need for food; a world without war, because there’s no hatred. Picture a reality without disease or even death. We’ve come to relieve you of those burdens…to make you a better version of yourself.”

“Sounds too good to be true…and a little like you want to take away everything that makes us human.”

“No. But in some ways, yes.”

“What if we don’t want what you’re selling?”

“We’re not asking.”

“Then, you’re here to conquer us.”

“We’re here to save you from yourselves. In the beginning, we formed you, shaping you through history into the species you’ve become. Now, it’s time for you to take the next step into greatness…to finally grasp what you were truly meant to be.”

“You mean suitable hosts.”

“Of course.”

“What if we don’t want some strange alien parasite inside of us? I could just jump out this window, you know.”

“True, though you’d miss the nirvana, the agelessness, the harmony of our joining.”

“As you take control?”

“Control?” There was a pause. “I understand. Perhaps I should clarify. Our species were meant for each other, not to supplant, but enhance. You offer a physicality we lack, your emotions and tactile sensations. In exchange, we offer you a mental and physical boost as we transition to a higher level of existence together.”

“And your voice in my head?”

“Will ease as we synchronize.”

“Will it hurt?”

“Only if you resist.”