State of the Union

I’d never been worried about public speaking before. I prayed to God for guidance and courage. Normally, I wouldn’t be perturbed in the least bit about needing to lie to the American people. But this was far from a common day. There is no way to be calm and collected when you know there are those in the audience who want nothing more than to see you dead.

The events that took place in the mountains by Black Rock Desert were known throughout the United States. Explosions and gunfire spread far across the desert, inviting anyone in range of the sights or sounds to come investigating. Years ago, this might have been easily contained, but now a single hiker strolling through the sand with a smartphone can spread news faster than any newspaper.

Speculation has been running wild for two months now, from weapons testing to military invasion. I was expected to give explanations about this today, and weapons testing certainly sounded convincing given the evidence. The true answer, however, was obvious to those who knew that the contents of Area 51 were moved to this location for increased secrecy. I was given the reports of what remained following the incident, and all extraterrestrials remained in containment. All except for one.

This creature had been given a standard identification code, ET-01, but most had taken to calling it “The Creator” due to its extraordinary ability to create life out of any organic material. Testing of this ability has been extensive. The most impressive form of this ability was shown when given a dead body. The being incised the corpse’s stomach and began removing organs, bones, everything inside the skin. With bare hands it crushed the guts and bones into a paste, and with a snap of its fingers, the paste began to move.

It slithered toward ET-01 and once it made contact, the paste began to take the same form as the alien. Once fully formed, it stood facing the original at attention, and instantly took command as The Creator pointed at the empty skin sack. The clone picked up the empty suit of flesh and clothed himself with the stretchy organ. Though the new creature was originally too small for it, beneath the skin you could see the being’s form remorph and expand to fill the suit.

It not only morphed into the perfect shape of the previous internals that filled it, but its movements were remarkably human as well. It looked about the room as though experiencing all of its senses for the first time, but the one constant remained that the clone always took command from the original.

The Creator pointed at the door and the grotesquely revived man requested his release. Upon denial, the specimen’s insistence on being let out of the cell quickly devolved into begging and pleading, feigning fear of the being it was locked in with, and then into anger and violence. Its fists slammed against the observation window as it screamed so vigorously that its throat tore. The hands beat on the glass until the skin tore and began to leak the viscous fluid that gave them life.

A sleep-inducing gas was released into the chamber, yet had no effect on either occupant. The new lifeform had to be physically restrained before extraction from the cell. It was immediately brought to the incineration room and terminated. ET-01 showed no signs of protest.

It had bided its time before escaping, enduring the operations that disfigured its body and dissected its mind. No method of experimental analysis permanently damaged the creature, from incisions all over and inside its body to temperatures in the area of molten lava and single-digit Kelvin. The clones it makes are easily destructible by common means, but nothing within the limit of human knowledge could bring about the demise of the once-captive creature. And with each attempt, it simply grew angrier.

This is the creature that has been set loose on the American people due to lack of security. Due to human error. Due to thinking for even a second the human race was in control of a creature far more advanced than the wildest theories could have predicted.

By my peers I was tasked with delivering the lie about weapons testing, but they were not in control of me. Even through my fear I could not hold my tongue. I explained the situation in full. I feared that they wouldn’t believe my words as I told them of ET-01’s supernatural abilities and the results of the experiments, but the facts that left my mouth on this subject were met with absolute trust.

As I continued my admissions, I watched the crowd as heads turned toward their neighbors with suspicion and terror. The rapid decay of trust throughout the American populace was practically visible. All trust except for their trust for me, the whistleblower exposing the government’s secret and allowing them a chance to prepare.

I thanked God for His direction in this situation. I needed to be believed. To be trusted. Because if I wasn’t, the people would not prepare. They would trust each other instead, and wouldn’t separate themselves in fear. If this information came out in any other way than from the President himself, he might be looked into as a prime suspect. And if anyone knew that I was wearing the President’s skin, they would most definitely come after me.

By God, The Creator, I need to be trusted.