Interlude Three

It was little details that mattered.

Posture. Body language.

To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself.

He was no longer Three, but Ro, the Next Level Alien.

His human body was merely a disguise, an unwieldy spacesuit that allowed him to traverse this Earth, a world alien to him.

Clothing, his gait, even the hair on his head were adjusted to appear like an ill-fitting wig.

No. Not him. It. The Next Level Alien was beyond such primitive concepts as gender and sexuality.

That was the truth, radiating outwards. A will enforced upon base reality.

As it approached the cult compound, cultists with shaved heads, both male and female, gazed at Ro in wonder but dared not approach.

As was only proper for mammalian primitives. They were unworthy of communicating with the Next Level.

Until there was one worthy of Ro speaking to them, "Do. Mission command is aware of a malfunction within Ti's vehicle. I have brought special fuel to resolve this matter. Take me to it."

For a moment, doubt clouded the cult leader's eyes, but a subtle touch of Ro's superior mind transformed it into desperate hope.

"Yes, of course. This way."

Ro was led to a small room where a very sick woman lay confined to her bed, too weak to even acknowledge the newcomer.

Silently, Ro took out a high-tech-looking box and opened it. Inside was a piece of chocolate. He offered it to the cult leader.

"Is that it?"

"If you doubt, your time among the primitives has damaged you more than predicted. Have you gone native?" And just a bit more mental pressure, to make him believe his preached truth even more.

"Of course not. It's just been so long."

Ro then watched the leader accept the offered food and gently feed the sick woman.

The results were immediate and dramatic. A warm golden light spread from beneath her skin, revitalizing her. Sunken cheeks flushed with health, and withered flesh plumped up.

Witnessing this miracle, Three momentarily lost focus, but all attention was on the transformed woman. He knew chocolate could heal. Rin often used it when one of them was injured or slightly ill. But this was his first time witnessing its effects on someone so gravely ill.

It's one thing to see minor bruises and cuts vanish, but quite another to bring someone back from death's door.

The cult leader wept. "It's true… All of it's true…"

Three blinked, and he was Ro once more. "Doubt is for primitive minds," he said coldly, in the emotionless tone expected of a superior alien intelligence. "I have new instructions for you. Are you ready?"

Later, after leaving the Heaven's Gate cult compound, Three was himself again, his satisfaction evident in a jaunty whistle.

His first assignment from Rin had gone off without a hitch, unlike the mess Two made in Hawkins.

He wasn't sure why Rin wanted the cult to join Aperture as test subjects, but he didn't really care.

His next role? Immoral Master Xain.

Buddhafield. What a strange name.