Her chest tightened after seeing the next set of images. “Little is know what happened to the fifth member Theo Holmes, the official press released today is saying he was either lost and or killed in the 'fold'”. The screws were tightening harder in her chest

"Monolith"

Contact

The “Monolith” was a world affair and the US government quickly learned it couldn't keep a monopoly on it. It tried its best to keep a tight rein on access to the “Monolith” at first but information leaked here and spilled there, and soon every world government was demanding access. Within a month resources and data about the “Monolith” were shared with nearly every world leader and another month after that to the general public. By the time “Contact” happened, the government was resigned to the fact that anything to do with the “Monolith” wasn't go to stay a secret for long.

--------------------

+8 days
A White House press conference was staged and sparse details of the events of eight days ago were revealed. If anything was learned during the press conference it was the fact that the White House press secretary could repeat “Sorry I couldn't answer that at this time” ad nauseam. One concession they gave the hungry press was a photo of the alien clad in a paper gown sitting behind thick glass. That photo was all the contact Mr. Locke, David, Heather, and Beth had with Theo for over a month.

--------------------

+26 days
With some slight modifications, a CDC bio-hazard lab in Maryland it became the world's first extra-terrestrial quarantine zone. In the corner of building 8 stories up, A meeting of government officials and PhD's was in progress.

“We've finalized our medical analysis of the ET”

“Thank you, doctor, could you give us a synopsis?”

“Yes, At a height 5'1 and weight 103 lbs. 'She'...” The PhD looked to his other colleagues for approval of the title of 'she'. “She looks remarkably human like, save for the lack of bellybutton and her elongated ears. The lack of bellybutton didn't exclude her from being mammalian but further examination determined she is sterile and lacks milk producing breast tissue. That fact gave credence to our theory 'she' was designed.” The PhD shuffled and sorted her papers, in expectation of a question she knew was coming.

“Designed for what?” one of the older suits asked.

“We couldn't say. As for her internal structure she lacks many functional organs. Like her lungs, they take in air but tests show she either doesn't process the air, or she doesn't expel carbon back out. As for her heart and circulatory system, to the best of our knowledge, their only function is to distribute heat through her body and maybe carry nutrients. Her digestive system seems to be functional and extremely efficient, what little she eats is broken down and passed through her urine. As for her brain; it has no distinct areas or compartments and is totally devoid of folding or wrinkling. MRI scans and tests show external stimulation of any sort is processed in the whole mass of her brain but activity we associate with higher thinking is absent in her brain. Example; we gave her a test where we asked her to think about images we showed her. Her brain would light up with the activity of seeing the new image but paths of activity would stop or end in seemingly random areas of her brain. To put it plainly, she should not be able to think much less function with the brain patterns we saw. Then again we don't have another ET to compare her to, so she might be normal for an alien.”

“Interesting, doctor, But some of us are still wondering if she could be a threat or dangerous.” the same Suit asked.

“Physically? No, she has average strength and stamina for a human female her size. The only threat she could pose that I see, is culturally. But it's been what? 18 days since the government announced her existence and we haven't had any civil wars or mass riots yet.”

“Thank you, doctors” The older suit got up and gave out firm handshakes all around “now please excuse us, we're going to meet with the presidential cabinet and decide our next course of action.”

--------------------

+31 days
It had been harder and harder to get to sleep, at first Theo would wake in the middle of the “lights out” hours but now it was difficult to become sleepy. She was thankful they didn't see her as a big enough threat to deny her TV, books, and paper.

So Theo took up writing in a journal with a unhealthy zeal, partly in boredom and partly in fear. It started when she realized her semi unconscious actions like going to the bathroom and her posture were radically changed without her noticing. 'How long have I been thinking like a girl?' was her first journal entry. Her feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment poured out onto the pages. Blood tests, x-rays, Cat scans, MRIs, and a whole page dedicated to her first gynecological exam. Her smaller status and its impact on her relations with the lab technicians. The first 20 days, where the only people she saw were behind glass. When the door first opened and Barbra walked in, treating her almost like a child. Her heightened moods and jags of unstoppable crying. Watching the discussion of the alien on the news and no mention of Theo. Headaches and ghosts in the corners of her eyes and hallucinations of cross-section objects and people. Theo felt like it was a race against time before she lost her mind.

“Morning, Theo” the writing stopped and Theo looked up as his “human liaison”, Dr. Barbra Fleming walked thought the door seal. Theo would of guessed her age at about 45 years, her look and demeanor was that of a Jane Goodall of aliens.

“Hello, Miss Fleming” Theo quietly said while pushing the small stack of journal papers to the side so Barbra could set down a small bowl of vegetables and fruit. Theo poked through the bowl and started to eat while Barbra took a seat across the table and watched.

Dr. Barbra had been there since the start of Theo's confinement, leading the team which studied her. Even though she had been the one running all the tests and examinations, she also had been the one to hold Theo's hand and talk to her when she was scared and feeling lonely. Theo's treatment had certainly not matched her nightmare visions of being strapped down to a table and tortured and she knew Barbra was the reason for that.

“Am I ever going be to let out of here?” Theo learned that with her new tiny fragile body and soft voice she could drop massive pity bombs with the slightest effort.

“The government is still deciding, hun, so you've got to be patient, okay?” Dr. Fleming knew by now that she was playing it up but it didn't stop her heart from breaking a little. Theo lowered her head farther towards the bowl of food.

The creature who sat in front of was not fitting into Barbra's idea/dream of what first contact would be like. When Barbra first saw her huddled and naked in the corner of the isolation room, she look to the other people in the room for a prankster. How could this be an alien? Evolution couldn't be so 'limited'. It took a day for her thoughts of pranks to move on. Her thinking brought her to the idea of a 'ambassador'. She's a bridge, a means of familiar communication, a stepping stone. That idea held sway in her brain until the alien started talking. She said her name was Theo and she was the man who disappeared into the 'fold'. Did they change that man into her? Did the alien make her think she was Theo? If so, then what did they do with that poor man, and why? Barbra took every opportunity to talk with the girl in hopes she could get some of the puzzle pieces in place. Conversation was slow at first as the girl was terrified of her situation, but the fear faded. Then she would answer every question, fill in every detail she could. She's trying to prove to us who she says she is. When Barbra realized that, the girl's story became very real to Barbra.

“I'm full.” Theo said pushing to bowl back to Dr. Barbra.

Barbra looked down to the half empty bowl “You're eating less and less every day.”

The look on Theo's face told Barbra that she hit a sore spot. Barbra reached out and put her hand on top of Theo's.

“You are still you, don't worry about things like your new appetite.”

Theo gave her a sad smile “I'll try”

--------------------

Theo's breasts bounced slightly as she sat up from the toilet. They still feel brand new some times Theo thought. Turning the faucet she put her hands under the cold water and looked up to her reflection. I look almost exactly like 'her' now. The last Theo part of her, Her hair grew quickly and her roots showed the same shiny silver of the being he had met. It had been a hard day when her hair grew longer than she was comfortable with. She asked for a hair cut knowing they couldn't cut off the silver hair and keep her original brown intact. Now her silver hair came down just past her long ears.

Walking out into the main isolation room she flipped on the television and started writing again. Her journal took up most of her attention, relegating the TV to background noise. Still scribbling away, the local news station came on.

“After a whole day of debriefing 3 college students and their teacher were released from quarantine today.” Theo head jerked up.

Dr. William Locke, Heather Brown, David Noble, and Bethany Nasso seen here.” Theo watched as they cut to footage of her friends being ushered out of a government building into a white van.

“We’re the group who discovered the 'fold' as experts are calling it and made first contact with the still unnamed extra-terrestrial.”

Theo's chest tightened after seeing the next set of images. “Little is known about what happened to the fifth member, Theo Holmes. The official press release today is saying he was either lost or killed in the 'fold'”. The screws were tightening harder in her chest “Theo is survived by his mother, Debra Holmes.”

Tears were pouring out of her eyes and she was short of breath. Theo paced back and forth between the overturned furniture as Barbra's voice came over the intercom.

“What happened?” the Doctor said almost breathlessly after a run

“THEY THINK I'M DEAD! DIDN'T YOU TELL THEM WHO I WAS?!”

Barbra sighed “They don't believe your story”

“W-W-Why?!” Theo cried

Barbra stayed silent for a while deciding what to tell Theo, she opted for brutal honesty “We...They think you're a construct, you don't even come close to fitting the mold for a biological life-form, Theo, our best guess is that you are an android.”

“They think Theo's memories were copied to you somehow, they think that! I believe you Theo!”

Theo's back was turned to Barbra, she couldn't even imagine the look on Theo's face. Who could? Theo swayed side to side and slowly shuffled to her bed and collapsed into it. Barbra's own eyes were misting up, what could she say to make it better? She dimmed the lights and let Theo cry alone.

--------------------

The gang rocked back and forth in silence as the shuttle took them to their respective homes. It had been a grueling and boring month in semi-isolation. Locked in with the suits and scientists that had been there when Beth and Theo came back out of the 'fold'. The scientists at least had a mysterious hole to study and discuss. Outside communications weren't made available to them until a week and a half after their quarantine. Monitored phones calls were made to their families telling them what they were allowed to. Their requests for news about the alien were outright denied citing “national security”. Discussion between themselves mostly centered around Theo and the alien girl. Every day they would bounce their new theories and ideas off each other, remarkably many of the theories matched or came close to those of the scientists studying the alien first hand. With no evidence to back up their ideas, “gut feelings” and hope played heavily in their conclusions. She just had to be Theo, any other outcome was too sad for them to think about.

After the mandatory 30 day quarantine they were bussed out to the Pentagon for a debriefing. They had testimonials in the morning and intensive interviews after lunch. After some “rinse and repeat” the suits were satisfied that their stories were accurate and without holes. Late afternoon they were grouped together in a meeting room and the threat of treason was waved in front of their faces. When the proper amount of fear was obtained the suits gave them most of the information they wanted. She was safe, unharmed and still quarantined in an undisclosed location. Her composition was far stranger than anything the scientists studying her could imagine. They thought she was an Alien ambassador, a stepping stone to first real alien contact. Theo was brought up, but the suits felt she wasn't really Theo and if she was, integration back into society wouldn't be “feasible”. The gang did strongly object but the suits reminded them they had no say in the matter.

David swivelled around in his seat to face the others “I was thinking, we've become pretty famous, we could started up a petition or something, force the government to release her.” he said in a conspiratorial tone.

Beth eyed the driver “Yeah, they can't just make us disappear.”

“Are we going to tell the press that we think she's Theo?” Heather asked.

“We have no evidence to back our claim and plus it would sound crazy, it even sounds crazy to me some times.” Dr. Locke said to the van's window. Locke turned to the group “They can't keep her locked up forever, the public wouldn't allow it, the best we can do is to make them release her earlier than they wanted to.”

“Let’s meet up later and form some kind of plan of attack” Beth shook her fist as if her plan involved actual combat.

The others nodded their heads.

--------------------

The lights were set low for night time hours and in the darkness Theo paced back and forth. She felt the same sense of claustrophobia as she did after the first few days she'd had been put in her cage.

What did her friends think? Did they believe the government?

Her mother...

She looked in vain for a escape, she needed to get out. The front of the room had a observational window and an air lock door. The glass was at least 6 inches thick, the door was heavy and locked and behind it was another sealed air lock door. She turned clockwise looking at the other walls. Windowless, she couldn't tell if she was above or under the ground. The vents on the ceiling measured about 3 inches across, it would be tight fit for just her hands. The bathroom; if somehow she could fit into the toilet, the system was closed and not connected to the city sewer tunnels. She spun back to the front of the room and blinked. She realized she had glanced over the 'other' sides of the room.

'Didn't this room have just four sides' she thought.

She turned to a direction no one could turn to or point at.

“Oh” she mumbled

She walked around the room into the hallway. She was in the straight hallway that was in front of the isolation room. Guards stood at each end looking at her in surprise.

“HEY! STAY WERE YOU ARE” the guard to her right yelled

She frantically looked at each guard who were edging nearer and nearer with their hands on their sidearms. They were 10 feet away when she saw an empty hallway and ran. She glanced 'behind' herself and saw the guards were standing frozen in shock while looking at the place she had been standing. Whipping her head back she scanned the hallway around her and saw that she was on the 3rd floor of an eight floor building. She wound through the corridors and descended stairs in a rush. It seemed to her there was a new guard or suit at every turn but there was always an empty hallway to run down to avoid capture. She finally made it to the ground level and turned the last corner to the exit. The same two guards she first saw where stationed at the doors.

They spotted her “Hey! Stop! Please! We won't hurt you, just please come back with us.”

“Don't disappear again, will ya?” the other said.

She slowed down to a walk and surveyed the situation.

“Thank you” one said in relief.

She saw her opportunity and ran for the identical exit that wasn't guarded.
“Shit, she did it again!” cursed one of the guards

“What the hell was that?!” the guard yelled to the other while she busted through the doors into the chilly night. 'Why didn't I escape weeks ago?' she thought.

--------------------

+32 days
Beth stood in the dark looking out into the street through her blinds. A nondescript car was parked across the street, she noted the lack of a license plate. 'Why do they even need to keep tabs on me' Beth wondered. She pattered back into room and sat down in front of her computer. Beth would have hated to admit it but her apartment had a very “Hot Topic” feel to it. Posters of bands like Daft punk and Justice and cartoons like Invader Zim scattered her walls. A few plush characters laid on her bed would make Beth think of a fantasy slumber party with Totoro, Gir, and Nibbler.

She opened up her IM client and found David was online.
'I think the government is watching my house.'
'No shit?'
'Are they watching your place, too?'
'Dunno, let me check.'
'Why would they need to keep tabs on us?'
'Oh shit, I think I've got an FBI car sitting outside my place'
He continued 'maybe they want us to stay away from the press'
'idk'
'It's funny, I'm not even really freaked, it's not like I'm an international spy the worse thing they'll find is my tentacle porn room.'
'Ha ha gross'
The chat soon devolved into joking and little else. Beth was typing away when she heard a knock on the door. It took a moment for her brain to tell her that the knock was coming from her bedroom door.

Slowly she turned in her chair, before she swung around completely a soft feminine voice called out “Beth”.

Beth couldn't help but scream out before she saw the source of the voice. The girl, Theo, She was standing in the door way looking out of sorts. “You--Y--THEO!” she cried out “Fuck! You scared m---” she lowered her voice “How did you get out of their quarantine?!”.

Beth got out of her chair as Theo responded quietly “I...uh...kinda of just walked around it”

As Beth got closer she noticed what Theo was wearing. Hanging off her small and skinny frame was a white baggy tracksuit, it made Theo look like she came from the pleasure planet Risa in Star Trek. It was pure white but now it was stained with dirt and grime. 'No shoes, she ran here barefoot' Beth thought.

“You...you called me Theo...” Her lip quivered and her voice came out shakily.

“We... I believe you, we don't have any proof but we believe you.” Beth paused as Theo's earlier comment puzzled her brain “how did you walk around it? And how did find where I live?”

“Well...I just kinda realized that they didn't put walls on all of the sides of the room and walked out and then I stowed away in a few trucks until I got to the university, that's when I saw you driving home and followed you back here.” Theo mumbled

“I'm confused, Theo... I wasn't at the university tonight” Beth was getting a little scared of the weirdness Theo was putting out.

“What? No, I saw you all getting out of that van and into your cars” Theo looked to Beth in confusion.

Beth reached out and took one of Theo's hands “Theo...that was yesterday”

More confusion poured into Theo's face as she started to cry “there's something wrong with me...”

Beth rounded her up in her arms as Theo sunk to the floor in a fit of sobs. Kneeling on the floor Beth comforted Theo with some pats on the head and cooing. This reminded beth of a girlfriend she had, the one thing that pulled her out of her recollection was the long pointed ears poking into her neck. It was took a few minutes for Theo to calm down enough to say something.

“The news said I was...was dead...my mother thinks I'm dead...I want...I need to go and tell my mom that I'm not dead...” Theo said into Beth's collar.

“Oh honey, I'm sorry, of course we'll help you” Beth felt like a mom holding a scared child. “I'll call up the gang tomorrow and we will figure out how we're going to do this without the government knowing. Now I know why that car is out there now.” Beth pulled away a bit to look into Theo's exotic face “You look exhausted, let’s get you into bed.”

She helped Theo back on to her feet and lead her over the bed. Theo plopped down on the edge of the bed and looked up to Beth with tired eyes. “Let’s get those dirty clothes off of you okay?” Beth leaned down and grabbed the cuffs of Theo's pants. Theo made an 'Eep' noise as Beth pulled the pants free of Theo's legs. She was half surprised to see Theo sporting a pair of white panties. “Your top?” Theo's face turned a light purple, 'She blushes purple! Cute!' Beth thought. Theo lowered her head and grabbed the collar and slowly pulled the shirt off like any guy would. 'ah, no bra, that’s the reason for the blushing' Beth mused. Theo awkwardly covered her chest and unwittingly gave Beth the puppy dog eyes. “Aw, sorry, I'll get you a shirt” Beth tore her eyes away from Theo's perky, purple speckled breasts to find a top.

“Thank you” Theo quietly said.

Beth turned back to Theo with a light pink shirt in tow. “arms up” she offered. Theo closed her eyes tight and held her arms in the air. Beth kept her eyes locked on Theo's chest as she pulled the top over. Theo's face was a darker shade of purple now as she looked down to her chest.

“Princess?” she asked half smiling.

“Couldn't help it” Chuckled Beth. “If you want a top that's not too girly, I'll get one.” She said turning back to the dresser.

“No...it's okay, I... I don't really feel like a guy anymore” Theo sighed “A month of peeing sitting down, bouncing breasts, and crying jags does things to a person.”

Beth dropped down unto the bed next the Theo “What about periods?”.

“Nope...I don't get them...I guess I...I guess I don't have anything past my cervix...I'm sterile”

Beth draped her arm over Theo' shoulders “I'm sorry.”

“Oh, woe is me, I can't get knocked up...” Theo's face scrunched up while she compiled her thoughts “What bothers me is that it’s one more thing that makes me feel less like a human, you know?”

Theo laid back onto the bed and covered her face with her free hand. “I can't stop thinking about the 'Transporter Paradox'.” Theo peeked through her fingers to look for a sign of recognition in Beth. “It's the question; If you use a teleporter, does your soul get teleported with you or does the person who comes out the end become a new person with your memories?”

“How could you tell?” Beth asked

“You couldn't, Not even the person who got teleported could.”

“Why are you thinking about that?” Beth leaned back and propped herself up with her arm.

“‘Cause that could be me...I wasn't awake during the alien's procedure, she could just as easily have made a copy of my mind and put it in this body, They could be right in thinking I'm a robot/android” Theo removed her hand from her tear stained face and looked into Beth's eyes. “I saw some of the images of my brain...It didn't look normal...its just a solid mass crammed into my skull...How am I still me, without being human?” she cried.

Beth squeezed her hand tighter and struggled to find something to say. There were few if no strings of words that could comfort a person who thought they were not real. Beth laid down and held Theo close and stayed silent.

Theo had been quiet for a while now, so quiet Beth assumed she had fallen asleep. Beth carefully removed herself from Theo, her arms were on pins and needles. “Don't leave, please.” Theo reached out.

Beth smiled down to her “Okay, I'm just going to use the bathroom.”

She finished washing up and tip toed over to the window to check on the surveillance car that sat outside. 'How are we going to get her out of here?' Beth pondered. She made her way back to her room and found Theo glancing at the mirror that stood at the side bed.

“Are you used to seeing 'her' in the mirror yet?” beth asked.

“Almost...the hair is kinda of new, they cut off the last of my original hair last week.”

“Hey! Your hair, did they test it for your DNA?” Beth moved up to the bed and sat down on her knees across from Theo.

“Dunno, they never told me.” Theo said “And it would kinda of be hard to prove it was mine.”

“I guess...*yawn*” Beth tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“You better get some sleep” Theo chided

“Yeah, okay” Beth groaned as she slipped under the covers with her back facing Theo. She felt the bed shift slightly as Theo got under the sheets. What she felt next was Theo's head rest against her back.

“You don't mind do you?” Theo said in a small voice. “It's just I...I was really lonely in that cell.” Beth could tell Theo was blushing just from the sound of her voice.

“Shh” Beth soothed as she moved to face Theo. She pulled her closer so that Theo's head was resting on her chest.

After a few minutes of silence Beth whispered “Why did you come to my house?”

“Dunno” It wasn't an 'I'm madly in love with you' but Beth was glad it wasn't a 'you lived closer', She fell asleep smiling.

--------------------

Barbra rewound the security footage again and watched Theo's escape for the 18th time. The guards were closing in, she's looking back and forth, then she makes her 'move'. She moves forward a bit but then quickly starts to bend, twist, and collapse on herself into nothingness. Rewind again, Barbra notices Theo gets a little bigger for an instant before she disappears. What is that? Why does it do that before she disappears? When she first saw the tape she got sick to her stomach, seeing Theo's flesh twist, fold and pass through itself on its journey to becoming a dot on the screen. She rewound the tape again, not like she had anything better to do.

As soon as Theo stepped foot out of her building she wasn't in control anymore. 'A quiet manhunt' Barbra would of described the current search effort, surveillance at her friend's houses and search parties combing the area between here and New York. The 'quiet' was the use of unmarked cars and no police or media assistance, they didn't want to compete with a news frenzied mob to find the girl.

'Like she would let them catch her' Barbra mused. She could probably walk right by you with you seeing her. 'all the luck to ya' Barbra thought as she rewound the tape once more.

---------------------------

Thanks to DJKauf for editing.

Note: Sorry for the wait, it's hard to get into the right mood to write anything thats more than a few sentences at a time. I think I could manage one chapter every 8 or 9 days, maybe. I think I'm going to get some comments about the escape, let me just say I know it doesn't make sense.