At the far end of the restaurant, a man and woman were seated at a table. They were talking in low voices. She stretched her mind to hear them.
“Jesus Christ!” the man said. “How the hell could you get pregnant?” You stupid bitch!
“How do you think I got pregnant?” Your cock did it!
Pregnant was how these beings gestated, procreating clumsily with their genitals, like their animals in the fields.
“What are you going to do about it, Tina?” You’ve got to get an abortion.
“What do you expect me to do? You said you were going to tell your wife about me.” You lying bastard.
“Look, honey, I am, but this is a bad time.” I was crazy to ever get involved with you. I should have known you were trouble.
“It’s a bad time for me, too, Paul. I don’t even think you love me.” Please tell me you do.
“Of course I love you. It’s just that my wife is going through a rough period right now.” I don’t intend to lose her.
“I’m going through a rough period right now, too. Don’t you understand? I’m having your baby.” And you’re damn well going to marry me. Water was coming from her eyes.
“Calm down, honey. I tell you, everything is going to be fine. I want the baby as much as you do.” I’ll have to talk her into an abortion.
At a table next to them, a male creature was seated alone.
They promised me. They said the race was fixed, that I couldn’t lose, and like a fool, I turned all my money over to them. I’ve got to find a way to put it back before the auditors come. I couldn’t stand it if they put me in jail. I’ll kill myself first. I swear to God, I’ll kill myself.
At another table, a male and female were in the middle of a discussion.
“… it’s nothing like that. It’s just that I’ve got this beautiful chalet in the mountains and I thought it would be good for you to get away for a weekend and relax.” We’ll spend a lot of time relaxing in my bed, cherie.
“I don’t know, Claude. I’ve never gone away with a man before.” I wonder if he believes that.
“Oui, but this is not a sex thing. I just thought of the chalet because you said you needed a rest. You can think of me as your brother.” And we will try some good, old-fashioned incest.
The Graceful One was unaware that the various people were speaking in different languages, for she was able to filter them all through her consciousness and understand what they were saying.
I must find a way to get in touch with the mothership, she thought. She took out the small, hand-held silver coloured transmitter. It was a divided neuro-net system, half of it consisting of living organic material and the other half a metallic compound from another galaxy. The organic material contained thousands of single cells, so that as they died off, others would multiply, keeping the connections constant. Unfortunately, the dilitheum crystal that activated the transmitter had broken off, and was lost. She had tried to communicate with her ship, but the transmitter was useless without it.
She tried to eat another leaf of lettuce but she could no longer stand the stench. She rose and started toward the door. The cashier called out after her, “Just a minute, miss. You haven’t paid for your meal.”
“I’m sorry. I do not have your medium of exchange.”
“You can tell that to the police authorities.”
The Graceful One stared into the cashier’s eyes, and watched her go limp. She turned and walked out of the feeding place.
I must find the crystal. They are waiting to hear from me. She had to concentrate to focus her senses. But everything seemed blurred and distorted. Without water, she knew she was going to die soon.
DAY FIVE
Bern, Switzerland
Robert had come to a dead end. He had not realized how much he had counted on obtaining Mothershed’s list of names. Up in smoke, Robert thought. Literally. The trail was cold now. I should have gotten the list when I was in Mothershed’s flat. That will teach me to … teach. Of course! A thought that had been in the back of his mind suddenly came into focus. Hans Beckerman had said, Affenarsch! All the other passengers were excited about seeing the UFO and those dead creatures in it, but this old man kept complaining about how we had to hurry up to get to Bern because he had to prepare some lecture for the University. It was a long shot, but it was all Robert had.
He rented a car at the Bern airport and headed for the University. He turned off Rathausgasse, the main street of Bern, and drove to Langgass-Strasse, where the University of Bern was located. The University is composed of several buildings, the main one a large four-storey stone building with two wings, and large stone gargoyles adorning the roof. At each end of the courtyard in front of the building are glass skylights over classrooms, and at the rear of the University is a large park overlooking the Aare River.
