The Reptilian Plan

2

Self-control and patience were two of Chris' finest qualities – and not just in his eyes. A lesser man would assume the task of seducing Irene would be a quick and easy task, but Chris knew that he had to play the long game. He had to let her believe this was all her idea.

The previous week Max had turned up to the lab to see Irene. He knew she was stressed, so he brought her some lunch – sashimi. Chris wondered if Max had any idea that Irene was a lizard who loved raw meat, or if he just thought his girlfriend was cultured. This had been the first time Chris had seen Max in the flesh and he realised he had underestimated the size, breadth and overall attractiveness of the hunk. So here Chris was, one week later, putting protein powder into disgusting health shakes and going to the gym most days. He would never reach Max's 6'7", but he could bulk up enough to still look like a strong and viable mate.

Chris had also started making bread. Right now he could admit that his loaves maybe weren't the finest to have graced the earth, but he was hoping to have perfected the art soon. He had overheard Irene complain that Max wasn't the best cook, and wanted to subtly flex his superiority by bringing baked goods into the lab. He had to prove his intelligence. She would want her offspring to have come from both a strong and intelligent mate; one who could provide the carbohydrate side dish to the human flesh and energy they would feast off of.

Chris placed his latest creation by the kettle as he walked into the lab in the morning. A spiced fruit sourdough he'd spent all weekend slaving over, something he thought Irene would really appreciate seeing as she did want to enslave the human race and all. His body had ached all over from 5 consecutive days at the gym, so he'd missed out on exercise over his days off in order to sharped his mind instead. Susie had tried to coax him over to hers, but Chris had denied her for the first time – he couldn't afford to be distracted. He was worried it would cause complications next time he attended Aberdeen Herpetology Truthers. Women were spiteful little creatures after all, but losing a few friends was a small price to pay for saving humanity.

Chris had arrived to work a little late, so everyone had already had their morning gab and were busy in the lab which gave him an opportunity to check Irene's phone. With the amount of deadlines in the past week there had always been someone in the office and so he hadn't had any alone time to do his usual surveillance, but this week would be easy. Procrastinating after a week of productive writing, most folk would spend their time doing practical work.

He smiled to himself as he saw his name written down. Irene had noted that his rye bread last week had gone perfectly with her soup at lunch. It was the only mention of him, and was disappointing to see there was many mentions of Max. He supposed that his plan to seduce her was only two weeks old, and lizard women were probably less fickle than the human female, so it would take time to prove he was the superior mate. Although maybe Chris couldn't afford to be patient. He noticed her last entry mentioned she was coming to a break-through of sorts in her research. Panicked, he put her phone back in her bag and thought through the different options.

He knew her research was in gold nanoparticles – such a ridiculously obvious choice for her kind – and he was worried she had almost cracked the extraction of mono-atomic gold. Mono-atomic gold could be used to allow human's minds to access the lower fourth dimension, although he wasn't sure why she would need any. Surely lizard people could traverse the dimensions without over powering their brains? It was possible she wanted Max to see her for what she truly was. That she wanted him to see the beast he had fallen for, and would be forever trapped by – if Chris could not save him. Maybe it was to put into the drinking water supply, like the government so often does with other mind-altering chemicals, so that everyone would be able to see the lizards that had infiltrated their society. Chris was an optimist who still hoped the lizards were the minority, but maybe they had taken over more than he knew. Maybe they were ready for humans to see who truly ran the joint.