The Core: The First Guest

23. The other side of the coin

I returned the book/brick and watched as the display in my eyes faded away. It was pretty cool technology and it made me wish that they had something like this back on earth.

I turned my head towards the sound and found what looked like an old chameleon. His eyes were slightly different. They were larger and more expressive than a chameleon's independent cone-type peepers. His hands and feet were splayed similarly, with 3 fingers angled forwards and 2 angled backward. I don't think he possessed a tail though. If he had it would have completed the picture in my mind of the Tela race being alien chameleons. What he did have was a rough wide mouth that seemed to be perpetually frowning at everything. He was also wearing a soft-looking robe that reminded me of a bathrobe. As for height, bent over like he was, he could have easily been taller than me if he straightened up. He shuffled closer, letting his eyes dart to every single book in my vicinity as if he was checking their positions, names, and making sure everything was well and accounted for.

"Is that a new alien species we have discovered?" He asked as he stood up a little, moving his body left and right to look at me from different angles. "Looks efficient, would need to give it a few years of testing however though. The skin seems soft." He said as he tapped his three rough fingers against my arm.

"Actually, I am not sure when the Human's were discovered," I answered, finding that knowledge to be interesting as well.

"Humans?" He asked as he shuffled over to a shelf with stacks of books and began to touch each one as if he was searching for something. "Where did you find the species that you are using now?" I asked, beginning to understand that this was not what a Tela originally looked like. There were just too many similarities to the little pet store creatures I would see back home.

"Hmm? Oh, this one? It was on a blue little planet with lots of water. I can't remember its name now though. It has been too many years." he answered as he looked at me, his hand moving on its own from book to book while he continued to search for something. "The original form was this," He said as he turned into a man-sized chameleon, with independent eyes and a tail as well. "But there were parts of it that I had discovered that I didn't like so I removed them over time." He continued as the tail vanished and the eyes began to revert back to the large round eyes he had previously. "I employ it because it is perfect for my job, allowing me to climb with ease around the tallest shelves back in storage." He said with a soft chuckle.

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't introduce myself. Hi! My name is Kevin!" I said as I reached out my hand automatically to shake his. He looked at my hand and then, without even looking, grabbed the brick that he was touching and placed it in my grasp. Oops, next time I was able to ask Tutor, I needed to ask her how Tela Citizens greeted each other. Probably not by shaking hands.

The book started to fill text in front of my eyes unbidden and I was forced to ignore it while he responded. "Kevin, you say? Like, Guest Kevin the alien from earth? The same earth that my chameleon avatar came from?" He asked with a rich old chuckle. "Don't worry, I am not interested in turning you in. If you will stay a little while, I would love to chat with you. Only old-timers like myself come here to read the news." He said as he tapped the brick still in my hand with a finger. I finally looked down and read the text it was displaying in my vision.

-Wanted! Alien invader designated Guest Kevin-

This earth alien is wanted for countless hacking events in and around our glorious Core home. Any sightings, information, and aid in capturing this evil invasive creature will be greatly rewarded.

-Immediately contact the Head of Security if you have any information as to its whereabouts-

"Just because someone is old, doesn't mean that they are slow in the mind. I have seen so many things in my time, yet the newer generations choose to ignore me and others like me, probably because we were not born in the system. Our minds are not naturally artificially sped up like these Citizen younglings' minds are." He waved his hand in the air in an exasperated gesture. I quickly started to read his background data to get a feel for his intentions while he continued.