Sloan has remained silent during Sean’s brief tirade, but now she gives him a shame-on-you look. As if scolding a child, she states, “Professor, you of all people should know the history books contain the simplest version of events, with a number of distortions, omissions, even blatant lies. Keeping it simple is easier for people to understand . . and accept for that matter.”
Sean does not respond. He feels nauseous and light-headed. Everything he has learned and everything he has taught his students is now tainted by doubt. Furthermore, there is the possible implication that throughout human history, we have been mere pawns in a game controlled by a vastly superior race.
In a way, Sean also feels betrayed and a slight anger towards Rosenstein. Sloan is obviously too young to have received this information firsthand, and Sean suspects Rosenstein must trust Sloan enough to have shared all these secrets with her.
But why not with me?
The information Sloan has shared with him puts every other conspiracy theory floating around in the ether to shame. Ultimately, this is the conspiracy that could change everything, and given that this has been an area of intense study for him the last few years, he feels like a fool for remaining completely oblivious to it.
Why was Rosenstein so willing to share his secrets with this Sloan character, but not me? Did he not trust me? For Christ’s sake, I am the man’s protégé, why would he not want me to know about this? And knowing Rosenstein and his penchant for agitation, why had he neglected to blow the lid off this conspiracy a long time ago?
In all of their discussions and friendly arguments, Sean could not recall Rosenstein ever mentioning anything about alien conspiracies, let alone any writings on the topic save the treatise Sean read only hours ago. Sean simply assumed that Rosenstein shared his own mindset: that there are plenty of conspiracies to explore here on Earth without needing to delve into outlandish rumors and stories surrounding alien visitors and their nefarious plans for our planet.
Sloan suddenly breaks into his reverie, “Are you okay, Professor? Not that I blame you, but you are looking a little pale.”
Sean absently nods his head, betraying how he actually feels.
“I’d like to continue, if you don’t mind,” she says rather gently, sensing Sean is practically on information overload.
Sean manages to squeak out a word or two for her to continue.
Sloan takes a deep breath, “There is one final trait the EBEs possess, probably their most important strength and a characteristic that can make them virtually unstoppable.”
Sloan glances at Sean and sees that he is once again listening intently to her.
“The Foundation discovered it on what would essentially be the final night of the EBEs’ captivity . . when Jericho escaped,” Sloan says, with a perceptible note of reverence in her voice.
“Jericho?” Sean asks.
“Don’t forget, Professor,” Sloan explains, “this was back in God-fearing times, when most people still went to church on Sundays. They named their captured EBEs Jericho and Gabriel, biblical names if ever there were any.
“Both performed nearly identical in terms of physical and cognitive abilities. Neither seemed to be smarter or more intelligent than the other. The EBEs were questioned regarding ranks, class systems, and social hierarchy in their culture, but their captors never received clear answers to these questions. Nevertheless, the researchers sensed Jericho was what we would call the ‘alpha male’ of the two, with more leadership-type qualities and a kind of assumed dominance and superiority over Gabriel. He always seemed to ‘see all the angles,’ as one researcher noted, while Gabriel was viewed as more innocent, trusting, even naïve in his tendencies.
“Jericho seemed the opposite of Gabriel: controlling, self-assured, and, according to another researcher’s notes, ‘inherently devious.’ On the flip side though, Jericho also exuded a wealth of charm towards his human captors, even charisma. He seemed to naturally understand humans and their emotions, their strengths, and of course, their weaknesses.
“And one night, it seemed, he decided to exploit those weaknesses.”
Sloan pauses a moment and glances at Sean, who seems utterly enthralled by her story.
“No questions, Professor?” she asks.
“I’m with you, Ms. Sloan,” Sean encourages.
“As I mentioned before,” she continues, “their skin is extremely pliable, adaptable even, because of their unique endoskeleton. Without getting entirely science fiction on you, Professor, it was discovered that night the EBEs can actually alter their bodies and faces to appear as anyone they have come in contact with.”
“You’re talking about . . . shapeshifters?” Sean asks, no longer surprised at what the EBEs are capable of.
“You’re familiar with the term?”
“Of course I am,” Sean replies. “Nearly every culture in the world has some kind of shapeshifting myth, Ms. Sloan, which usually involves a human being turning into an animal or vice versa. Vampires and werewolves are probably the most commonly known shapeshifters in our culture. And several Native American tribes believe the thunderbird can change into a human.”
“Impressive, Professor,” Sloan notes. “There are also the ‘nagas,’ or snake people, prevalent in India and Nepal, who legend has it can turn into a snake or a hybrid between the two. Or the Brazilian ‘encantados,’ which are creatures, usually dolphins, with the ability to change into human form.”
“I thought shapeshifting is thought to be physically and scientifically impossible,” Sean argues.
“Well, as you may have gathered, Mr. O’Connell,” Sloan replies, “the EBEs have shattered many of our commonly-held beliefs regarding what a body is capable of, especially with the aid of advanced technology. It is thought that it has to do with their endoskeleton, but to be honest, no one has been able to determine how they do it.”
“What did they look like when they were captured?” Sean wonders.
“Good question, Professor,” Sloan indicates. “Gabriel and Jericho were initially found in the waters directly above where their ship crashed. Their features were so similar to a human’s, it was hardly questioned whether they actually looked different from us. Their faces were very sharp, angular-like, and their skin was dark. They certainly looked strange to their captors, not entirely human, but not so different as to appear like the little green men or the aliens with the bulbous heads and huge eyes that we so often have depicted.”
“That is something I want to ask you about, Ms. Sloan,” Sean says.
After a moment of hesitation, he continues, “I am curious what they look like in their, um . . well, their . .”
“Natural state?” Sloan offers.
Sean nods.
A bemused look crosses her face, “Well, if you’re picturing the creature from Predator or Aliens or something along those lines . .”
She pauses as Sean waits for her to continue.
“. . well, keep wondering, Professor. No one has actually seen their natural form, at least no one we know about.”
There’s that “we” again, Sean thinks.
“You’ll find, Professor,” Sloan explains, “that throughout history, in reports given by witnesses who claim they have seen extraterrestrials, the descriptions they provide are similar to what I just mentioned: dark skin and pointy or angular faces. The Foundation simply assumed the EBEs looked similar to humans, if not exactly like them. A narrow-minded and anthropomorphic point of view to be sure.