Brian Saves the World, Maybe

Chapter 4 - Dale Meeks

Sunday was largely uneventful. Brian tried to set aside thoughts about aliens long enough to take care of more terrestrial responsibilities, like mowing the lawn and getting groceries.

TV had little to say—a welcome break for Brian—until the evening.

Brian, we are going to need a pair of smart glasses.

Smart glasses? What for? Brian remembered those. They had been pulled off the market a few years back due to privacy concerns.

If we alter them appropriately, it could enable us to identify Observers.

Really? Now we're talking! Well,  I happen to know someone that has a pair of them.  But there's no way he's just going to let me borrow them—unless I give him a really good reason.

***

Not only was Dale Meeks a know-it-all; he was also an outspoken conspiracy theorist. People at work were either annoyed or entertained by his outlandish ideas, and he didn't care which boat you were in. If you wound up in the same room as him you were going to hear about how the government has been putting poison in the water for years, and how the pyramids weren't actually built by aliens—they simply gave the Egyptians the plans for them. It seemed Dale had been hewn from a different kind of stone than everybody else.

In addition, Dale was a survivalist. He had all kinds of survival gear and weapons stocked up for a rainy day; the kind of rainy day that brings a zombie apocalypse. And it wouldn't matter if it were The Walking Dead or the World War Z variety—he was ready for either.

Those were the reasons Brian had decided to approach Dale about his situation. Well, that, and because he happened to own a pair of smart glasses.

With the things Dale already believes, it shouldn't be a big stretch for him to accept that I have an alien in my head, and that said alien needs our help to save the world from impending doom, Brian thought.

At lunch, Brian sat across from Dale, who seemed to be studying his roast beef sandwich between bites to determine the optimal spot for his next chomp.

"Dale, do you think it's possible for aliens to communicate with us?"

"I have heard of that happening," he said casually, still focused on his sandwich.

"Do you think it would be possible for an alien to communicate with a person through telepathy?"

"Very possible. I have heard numerous accounts of that type of thing."

"What if I told you that a friend of mine claims there is an alien voice in his head, warning him of a coming invasion?"

"I would say he needs to be taken seriously," Dale replied, looking up from his sandwich for the first time. "He could be crazy, but only a fool wouldn't explore the possibility he is telling the truth." Dale said all this with a dead-serious look on his face. "In fact, I would like to interview this friend of yours. It shouldn't be hard to wheedle out if this is legitimate."

After some hesitation, Brian said, "Well, you're looking at him."

"What!? The aliens are talking to you?" Dale seemed more skeptical that an alien was talking to Brian than the fact an alien was talking at all. "That's just ludicrous. Why would aliens choose you to talk to?"

"Keep your voice down," Brian said, looking around the room nervously. He slowly exhaled. "I don't know. But it's just one alien, and what I've heard makes me think we could use someone like you."

"I'm listening," Dale said, staring directly at Brian in a disconcerting way.

Brian shared with Dale how TV had introduced himself and had proven his existence to him and Jessica.