The Horton Dilemma [ONC 2022]

LIZARDS HAVE INFILTRATED PORTLAND FOR REAL

"I'm sorry," Horton says, looking ashamed. "I know what I did was wrong. But I was so curious!"

My curiosity, I think.

"Why did you come after me?" he asks them. "Did you come to take me home?"

The other crocodile-lizard creatures look at each other, as though searching for an answer. It must be an answer they don't want to give him, or else they would simply telepathize it.

"We were...curious too."

Great, I think. I've infected all of these creatures with my curiosity. Our universe is contained within a virus, and we humans, and our feelings, are like viruses.

"You say that humans are too fragile to accept knowledge of you," Nakomi says suddenly. "But Horton has told Izzy all about the chains of worlds. He even showed her a world on a dust speck. The knowledge hasn't killed her. Hasn't exploded her brain. She's still alive."

The reptilian creatures ponder this. "This is...interesting. We have always theorized that the human mind is a fragile thing, that it is not meant to hold knowledge of the megaverse. The human brain does possess some level of plasticity, but humans who aren't careful can learn too much too quickly and damage it. We have even seen humans damaging themselves on their astral journeys to visit us."

"I think that humans are ready to learn," Horton says, his eyes earnest. "Izzy has shown me that they are ready to learn. They have evolved much since we first began to see them."

I hear a notification on my pocket computer, but I ignore it. Nothing beyond this conversation matters to me right now. The megaverse.

Another one sounds from Nakomi's pocket computer, and she opens it. "Oh no," she says, and she heads over to my living room window, opening the curtains ever so slightly and peering out. "Three Global News vans are here."

"What?"

"Well, I'm not surprised. We're all over the news. There are pics and videos of us over by EcoBowls, and we don't look that great in my honest opinion, since we're cowering, covered in food, and holding hands with lizard people."

She shows me her phone, and I scroll down a thread centering on the topic of "Izzy Belvin and Nakomi Champignon seen with lizard people." Various pictures, news stories, and personal social media takes greet me.

"Perfect," I say aloud, and then I wonder if Horton and his kind understand sarcasm. "You should all go," I tell him and the other glephkings.

"We can't," says Horton. "You'll need to explain this to your humans. Don't you want them to know everything you've discovered?"

"Well, yes, but..."

Horton rests his clawed hand on my shoulder. The gesture is so human I have to wonder if he got it from us, or if it's a piece of body language that has shown up in his world, too.

I look out of my window to see the vans for myself. A large crowd has formed. Someone has doxed me, given my address to all of these people.

Determined, I decide I will speak to Global News, sharing my story with the world.

I tell Horton and the rest of the glephkings to stay inside; if I feel it's safe for them to come out, I will give them a signal. They nod, as does Nakomi, who seems to be on board with my plan.

Nakomi and I head out of my apartment, down the elevator, and into the street holding hands. I've never been so happy that my apartment requires an access code, or else the crowd might have already made its way inside. Police have also set up a perimeter, and they aren't allowing anyone who isn't Global News or who doesn't live here to cross it, it seems. Hand in hand, Nakomi and I make our way to someone at Global News who looks important; as soon as their gaze locks with ours, they ask for a live interview. As I agree, I notice Nakomi waving to someone in the crowd, and that someone, on further investigation, appears to be Simon (AKA Zeus). He looks happy to see her. And part of me is happy to see him. Because his presence makes me believe that this crowd is genuinely interested in my and Nakomi's story, that they aren't merely interested in throwing more food or umbrellas at us.