the psyche?
He felt a surge of relief when the Gray began to twitch back to life. He hadn’t meant to lose control like that, despite the fact that the Gray probably deserved no less.
The Gray was hefted to its feet by the captain.
Chris said, “I’m very sorry I overreacted like that. I’m not sure what got into me.”
The Gray smiled sadistically and said, “It’s not your fault. You’re becoming more and more like them.” It pointed a long finger at Number Four and then at the captain. “Your mech was designed by them. They are crazy sick bastards, so the mech has that twisted element infused within it. The longer you stay in there, the more you’ll lose of yourself.”
Now the captain grabbed the Gray by the throat. “You’ve said enough and caused enough damage already without spreading lies about my people. We are creators and you are destroyers. How dare you judge us?”
The Gray tried to rebut but the captain carried it from the command station before it could.
Number Four ran after them, shouting at the captain, “The first mate’s almost done fixing his stasis pod. I’ll help you watch over him until it’s operational.”
Attitude
Chris shook his head in confusion. Where had all that aggression come from? Was it always within him, dormant? Was it only unleashed because he was free of his body? Or was the Gray right? Was the mech feeding his anger, even creating it?
For the first time, he realized he wasn’t alone in the room. Samda was scrutinizing him closely.
She said, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. That Gray is a killer. And he insulted me.”
“I insulted you earlier. Are you going to try and squeeze the life out of me too?”
“Oh, come on , Samda. Those people killed off your entire race. Why are you defending them now?”
“I’m not. I just don’t like to see aggression like that. It scares me.”
Chris suppressed a smile which was stupid, because he wasn’t even sure if his mech could smile. He was amused because Samda was built like a tank. It was surprising to hear that anything made her nervous. It was eerily emboldening to hear that his actions had scared her. He felt encouraged. Maybe these aliens would be forced to see that he had worth beyond just his DNA.
Then he rethought that stance. It went against his simple nature to feel so invigorated by his own strength. He was generally a peaceful man by nature.
Again, he worried that some of the suit ’s previous occupant’s thoughts or essence were intermingling with his own, skewing his judgment.
No More Mr. Nice Guy
All three members of the original flight crew returned before things could get too awkward between Samda and Chris.
The captain said to Chris, “As much as I like having you in that suit, I don’t think it’s good for your mental health. You nearly strangled that Gray to death.”
Chris pointed at Number Four and said, “That asshole didn’t scrub the unit before he put my mind into it. If I’m going crazy it’s his fault.”
Number Four explained to the captain, “We were out of time. I had no choice.”
The captain looked at the floor. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance the suit was contaminated when you transferred the Earth-man to it? You know how dangerous that can be. He might go insane and kill us all. He might jeopardize the mission.”
“I’ll transfer him back rig ht away, sir. Come with me, Earthman.”
“Go fuck yourself. I’m here to stay. If I go back into my meat I’ll be at your mercy once again. In here you can’t force me to go into stasis.”
Samda added, “You’ll just have to put someone else into the suit if you come across another fleet of Grays. Why not just let him stay? It’s the safe bet.”
The captain relented. To Chris he said, “You’ll be scrutinized closely from now on to make sure you’re not losing your mind. The second I think you’re lost, I’ll forcibly evacuate your consciousness from that unit. I hope you
He felt a surge of relief when the Gray began to twitch back to life. He hadn’t meant to lose control like that, despite the fact that the Gray probably deserved no less.
The Gray was hefted to its feet by the captain.
Chris said, “I’m very sorry I overreacted like that. I’m not sure what got into me.”
The Gray smiled sadistically and said, “It’s not your fault. You’re becoming more and more like them.” It pointed a long finger at Number Four and then at the captain. “Your mech was designed by them. They are crazy sick bastards, so the mech has that twisted element infused within it. The longer you stay in there, the more you’ll lose of yourself.”
Now the captain grabbed the Gray by the throat. “You’ve said enough and caused enough damage already without spreading lies about my people. We are creators and you are destroyers. How dare you judge us?”
The Gray tried to rebut but the captain carried it from the command station before it could.
Number Four ran after them, shouting at the captain, “The first mate’s almost done fixing his stasis pod. I’ll help you watch over him until it’s operational.”
Attitude
Chris shook his head in confusion. Where had all that aggression come from? Was it always within him, dormant? Was it only unleashed because he was free of his body? Or was the Gray right? Was the mech feeding his anger, even creating it?
For the first time, he realized he wasn’t alone in the room. Samda was scrutinizing him closely.
She said, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. That Gray is a killer. And he insulted me.”
“I insulted you earlier. Are you going to try and squeeze the life out of me too?”
“Oh, come on , Samda. Those people killed off your entire race. Why are you defending them now?”
“I’m not. I just don’t like to see aggression like that. It scares me.”
Chris suppressed a smile which was stupid, because he wasn’t even sure if his mech could smile. He was amused because Samda was built like a tank. It was surprising to hear that anything made her nervous. It was eerily emboldening to hear that his actions had scared her. He felt encouraged. Maybe these aliens would be forced to see that he had worth beyond just his DNA.
Then he rethought that stance. It went against his simple nature to feel so invigorated by his own strength. He was generally a peaceful man by nature.
Again, he worried that some of the suit ’s previous occupant’s thoughts or essence were intermingling with his own, skewing his judgment.
No More Mr. Nice Guy
All three members of the original flight crew returned before things could get too awkward between Samda and Chris.
The captain said to Chris, “As much as I like having you in that suit, I don’t think it’s good for your mental health. You nearly strangled that Gray to death.”
Chris pointed at Number Four and said, “That asshole didn’t scrub the unit before he put my mind into it. If I’m going crazy it’s his fault.”
Number Four explained to the captain, “We were out of time. I had no choice.”
The captain looked at the floor. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance the suit was contaminated when you transferred the Earth-man to it? You know how dangerous that can be. He might go insane and kill us all. He might jeopardize the mission.”
“I’ll transfer him back rig ht away, sir. Come with me, Earthman.”
“Go fuck yourself. I’m here to stay. If I go back into my meat I’ll be at your mercy once again. In here you can’t force me to go into stasis.”
Samda added, “You’ll just have to put someone else into the suit if you come across another fleet of Grays. Why not just let him stay? It’s the safe bet.”
The captain relented. To Chris he said, “You’ll be scrutinized closely from now on to make sure you’re not losing your mind. The second I think you’re lost, I’ll forcibly evacuate your consciousness from that unit. I hope you
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